I’m always curious why a player blocks trades. There are plenty of reasons, like their family loves it there, but this would be an obvious improvement in terms of chances of winning.
I don’t know about ballparks, but the Celtics’ and Bruins’ arena has had 33 different names in 29 years. (sort of).
A new lease agreement between the Brewers and the Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District (operators of American Family Field in Milwaukee) was approved today by the district’s board. If the lease is approved by MLB and the state, it will keep the Brewers in the city through 2050.
The agreement includes a commitment by the district to use several hundred million dollars of state and local taxpayer funds on renovation and winterization of the stadium (formerly known as Miller Park), which originally opened in 2000.
Kinda has to be weird to continue playing for a team that didn’t want you anymore.
Considering that he’s said that he’s open to changing positions, it certainly seems like he just doesn’t want to go to Houston itself. So it’s not that he doesn’t want to be traded at all. He just doesn’t want to be an Astro.
I don’t blame him.
Sammy Sosa, who had three seasons of 60+ home runs with the Cubs during the height of the steroid era, has not been welcome by the team since 2007, due to Sosa’s unwillingness to admit any steroid usage.
Today, Sosa issued a letter of apology for non-specific “mistakes” which he made during his playing days. In response, the Cubs have invited him to participate in next month’s fan convention in Chicago, likely a prelude to inviting him to appear at Wrigley Field next season.
Sosa’s letter:
https://wgntv.com/sports/cubs/i-made-mistakes-cubs-officially-invite-sammy-sosa-for-2025-convention/
Reading between the lines, he bought his steroids and HGH in the Dominican Republic.
I’ve been in a ton of sports bars in Wrigleyville over the last 12 years. No one wants Sosa back
The Astros have signed Christian Walker to a 3 year, $60 million deal, pending a physical.
And Patrick Sandoval is heading to Boston for 2 year, $18.5 million contract.
I wonder what on earth prompted this apology from Sosa. Certainly he doesn’t think it will get him into the HOF. Is he trying to come back to MLB in some capacity? Coaching? Just seems like this is out of nowhere.
I would imagine that he realizes that he’s not likely to make it into the Hall. My understanding is that he’s been looking, for years, to be able to participate in official activities with the Cubs, like the fan convention and appearances at Wrigley.
How much of that is about him trying to relive the days when he was beloved in Chicago, versus just an opportunity for him to make some appearance money, I have no idea. Either way, I do believe that he’s wanting affirmation of his place in Cubs history.
What’s the problem? What, he was good enough to play there but not be there anymore?
Yanks signed Paul Goldschmidt today for 1B.
Waiting on details of the deal. One report is a one-year contract for only $12.5m.
They also traded backup catcher Trevino for power right-hander Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson.
The team is really coming together at this point.
So second base will probably be a combination of DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera.
If they were going to sign an old washed up 1st baseman I would rather they kept Rizzo. At least he’s a great clubhouse guy.
4 posts were split to a new topic: Rickey Henderson has died at age 65
Rizzo had very little left and it is a one year deal it looks like. With any luck, this is a place holder job for Ben Rice.
Goldschmidt is fading fast. Rice showed very little last year. Fans fell for him because he had a few good games when he first came up but then he dropped off quick. In 50 games he hit .171 with an anemic OPS. The only promising thing is he had a very good 30 games in AAA. I’ve seen nothing to make me confident that he is the future.
Rice never should have been in the majors last year. He was barely advanced from AA. He can be very good and needs at least a half season in AAA this year and probably the entire season. His minor league progression has been very good.
Also, I’ll admit to be intrigued by having a third catcher on the team, almost unheard of these days.
A dedicated thread to Rickey Henderson as he has died has been pulled from this thread.
I’d much rather take a gamble on Goldschmidt than the corpse of Anthony Rizzo. Carlos Santana was another option, and another gamble. Goldy has a sneaky skill too: base-stealing. He has an 83% success rate for his career and swiped 11 times last season without getting caught.
Rice might see some action next season. Goldschmidt is a righty and the DH slot will be open after the inevitable Stanton injury. I’m not sure he’s the future, but it would be nice if he got some mixed AAA and MLB time in 2025. If he’s a dud, they can go after Vlad.
They might not be done. Hopefully they can improve on that DJ/Oswaldo combo.