My parents, like all people from Texas, are very proud of their state and wanted me to have a name that resembled it; they wanted me to have a "Texas" name but didn't want people to think I was named after the city, so they took the "O" out.They could have named him Cody or something and that would've sufficed. I actually like Huston better.
"My mechanics were way better than it was last start," he said. "My sinker was sinking downward instead of side to side and I got myself in a couple of jams. But I was lucky enough to get out of them."Fantasy Impact: Ponson falls into the Jose Contreras category for fantasy play: good enough to consider, but make sure he's hot when you pick him up. If Ponson can keep his shoulder in for another outing, however, there's no harm in giving him a try over other options.
He's just not getting over the hump," Mozeliak said. "Typically, I have a very optimistic tone. But in this case, it's hard to envision this getting to a point where it's going to work for us or for him."I wonder if anyone will give him a chance.
After last season, DeWitt, vice president of player development Jeff Luhnow and Mozeliak made it clear they were in accord on the new organizational initiative to improve on the team's drafts and player development. The refusal to go along cost former GM Walt Jocketty his job. And no matter what the spin is publicly, DeWitt and Luhnow aren't about to sign off on the plundering of prospects to remedy short-term concerns.Interesting that the Cardinals may have attempted to make more of a splash if current Reds GM Walt Jocketty was still around.
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"I don't think there's one Band-Aid or one player (available in trade), who changes the dynamic of our club," Mozeliak said. "And I surely don't think it's to the extent of where you're willing to sacrifice a lot of your future to just do that. Given that you don't have any certainty of success that (acquired players) may bring you."
"There's a spot open, and it's an opportunity for him to go out there and throw extended pitches," La Russa said. "I think it would be a really difficult assignment. But there isn't anybody he's bumping that gives us a better chance to win, even though it's really difficult for him."If you take a hard look at the state of the Cardinals staff, however, you understand it is an overachieving unit held together at the back end with Scotch Tape and Band-Aids. The Cards needed Mulder before this start, but they held off. He could've climbed the hill weeks ago, but they were not going to push the limit.
“I would like to pitch before the end of the year,” Gallardo said. “That’s what I’m shooting for. If I’m not ready, it’s not worth taking the risk. But everything’s going good.That would be a remarkable turnaround. Considering ACL tears used to take a one-year recovery, Gallardo would be back in one-third of the time. Typical recovery time these days is six months.
“I’m going to do everything possible to stay on the right track. I’m not counting on it but hopefully I can come back (in September). That’s my goal.”
Catcher Chris Snyder also visited a specialist Monday and was told that his injury is healing properly. Snyder initially was diagnosed with a left testicular fracture, but he said tests showed it was not a fracture but rather "badly bruised." He hopes to return from the disabled list immediately after the All-Star break.I'd feel funny being the reporter asking these questions, but he did his job. That said, I don't want either of those injuries.
"He and maybe a couple of others are sort of sitting out there," Byrnes said. "I think it's a bit of assessing any player's readiness, then knocking somebody out of the lineup, dollars, etc.Adding Bonds is obviously a publicity risk, but with the way the D-backs have come back to earth, it makes sense for them to explore him as an option. Outfielder Eric Byrnes' season may be over due to his chronic hamstring problems, which has the D-Backs in need of doing something creative with their outfield.
"I don't want to talk about him specifically but, believe me, we've considered a lot of options. There is sort of no one obvious option right now, but there are a lot of considerations."
Tottenham Hotspur are one of the first clubs to look into the possibility of adapting the approach of the Oakland A's to the boundaries of professional football, working with Beane himself, who admits to "falling in love" with the game during a couple of months he spent in England in 2006.Because soccer is not as statistically driven as baseball (it's not even close), The Bleacher Report points out that the accurate analysis of soccer is much more difficult. Good read, nonetheless.
Beane is exploring the possibility of adapting the model to football with professor Bill Gerrard of the University of Leeds. It is hoped that such a model will expose similar imperfections in the labour market for professional footballers to those identified in baseball.
All of which will be of benefit to professional football clubs, allowing them to sign suitable players for a lower cost, and could have the impact of breaking the dominance of the Premier League by the "Big Four."
There are many difficulties associated with the development of such a statistical model for football though, namely, the choice of the key performance indicators that will be used.
Ten potential owner groups were approved to bid on the Cubs by Major League Baseball (MLB), said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the sale process was ongoing.That's the first time I've ever quoted Reuters. Just wanted to mention that.
"It's cooking," one source said. "It's happening. There's 10 approved bidders right now."
The Cubs have spent a lot of time on the phone recently with Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane trying to pry away right-hander Rich Harden. Expect the phone lines to start burning a little hotter beginning today.Interesting that Sabathia won the A.L. Cy Young last year, and Harden's expected to be a leading candidate for the award this year. If the Cubs end up landing Harden they may be getting the better pitcher -- at least for this year.
That in turn would apply pressure to Commissioner Bud Selig, whose baseball industry sanctions minor-league umpires to arbitrate major-league games so the elite can enjoy an in-season vacation, not to be confused with a five-month off-season vacation. When the regulars return from fishing, perhaps the more confrontational types could be urged to avert disorder instead of baiting players and managers.If players don't get a vacation during the season why should umps?
"I'm good, excited," Sabathia wrote. "It's weird leaving these guys."ESPN attributed the text to one of its online reporters, Amy K. Nelson. Way to go, Amy, but how is it you are the one getting C.C.'s texts and not someone like Steve Phillips?
Strikeouts galore: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez are the first Giants to have 100 or more strikeouts before the All-Star break since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958.I'm a big fan of these three young pitchers, and that's quite a remarkable statistic. The cupboard is never too bare when you have aces to get you by. San Francisco may be out of the race this year, but they're only a couple of special hitters away from competing in a big way.
"I think then, we would certainly look at (Kershaw), and of course, (Jason) Schmidt, who is going to start again on Tuesday (for Triple-A Las Vegas) rehab-wise," Torre said. "We'll be having to make a decision in the next two and a half to three weeks on him."Fantasy Impact: This all hinges on Brad Penny's delayed return, but those who were disappointed in Kershaw probably don't want to drop the young flamethrower just yet. He's got some seasoning under his belt now, and could develop into something special for the stretch run. Schmidt is a risky option because of his health, but could be a sleeper as well
“I didn’t really know what to expect from him, because I hadn’t seen him pitch much,” Francona said before the game. “You hear the reports, but I guess he got here a little quicker than I probably thought.Bartolo Colon is on the mend, and Clay Buchholz continues to dominate in the minors. Masterson threw just 58 of his 100 pitches for strikes. He's certainly a work in progress and Saturday helps the cause more than it hurts, but whether Masterson's the best Boston option as the team's fifth starter has not yet been answered.
“We had a lot of meetings in the spring about guys who could help us, and his name certainly came up,” Francona added. “But to put a guy in there every five days and have him hold his own, that’s a lot.”
"Yeah, it's tougher to take," Tulowitzki said Saturday of his return to the DL. "The other injury was baseball-related. You're out there on the field, going all out. And this one's kind of a stupid injury that I could have prevented."Stupid or not, the incidents with maple bats are piling up, and a player finally going down might kick MLB into gear in terms of solving the problem.
"Today is the golden era of baseball," Selig said. "The game today is more popular than it has ever been in its long and distinguished history."That may, in fact, be true depending on what set of statistics you look at. But if fewer fans are going games, even for economic reasons, that means baseball is slightly out of touch with what fans are looking for. That's makes any boom period slightly less shiny, even if it is still fairly golden.
Mulder will temporarily fill the void left by Randy Flores, who has left ankle tendinitis and on Thursday became the seventh Cardinals pitcher on the DL. Flores had been the second left-handed reliever alongside Ron Villone.Fantasy Impact: Drop Mulder. He won't get any saves, or so it would seem, and he's not going to help you much as a setup guy unless you play in a league with holds. Isringhausen looks to be less and less a part of the Cardinals future if this sort of things keeps up. He's 35, and certainly on the downslide of his career. The Cardinals might turn things over to their young guns for the rest of the year at the back of the 'pen.
"I'm definitely excited. Obviously, there's a need for it," Mulder said. "I've always liked facing lefties."
Jason Isringhausen was unavailable on Friday night and could be headed back to the disabled list after feeling a pop in his knee while stretching in the dugout during Thursday's game against the Tigers.
The rookie outfielder didn't get the ball from his first home run a week ago because the fan who caught it wanted more than the three bats and autographed ball Gonzalez offered. He hit his second career homer Thursday, a solo shot in the sixth, and it landed over the wall in right and was retrieved for him.Sorry, but the fan who won't accept Gonzalez's fair payment for the ball is a meat head. It's merely a home run ball. It's not number 756. A few bats and an autographed ball is more than fair compensation. Get over yourself. You were lucky it landed in your lap.
"It's not home run No. 1, but it's No. 2, and my mom and my family are going to enjoy it," he said.
Cardinals starters have the best winning percentage in the majors at 36-17 (.679).According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Cardinals bullpen converted 75.6 percent of their save opportunities last year, but only 55.8 this year. They blew 11 saves in 2007. They've blown 19 in 2008. If Ryan Franklin Jason Isringhausen aren't the answer, the Cardinals still have potentials answers in Kyle McClellan and Chris Perez. McClellan's had the better run of late.
Ryan Franklin, who suffered his fourth blown save when Gary Sheffield homered off him in the ninth, said, "We're also crushing the whole league in holds (60). Our holds are way more than our blown saves. You can't look at just one part of it."
"If I'm ready to play first base, I think I'm going to play first base," Pujols said, adjusting his stance of the day before. "If I feel the same way I feel today, I think I'm going to be playing (Thursday).Pujols continues to impress with both his ability and his willingness to play. He's old-school tough, and here's guessing he goes yard tonight.
"Something crazy has to happen ... for me not to play."
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