The Game of Baseball

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Giambi to his credit was trying to clear the air, and get MLB past the era, where every power hitter is now looked at with suspicion. as I have stated before on this site, MLB Management and Ownership are as culpable, if not more so than the players. There is no doubt in my mind they knew what was going on, yet as long as there were fannies in the seats they were willing to turn a blind eye. It was not until Congress forced their hand that MLB toughened their steroid policy.

Now instead of taking the opportunity that the Yankees player gave them, they are now trying to paint him as the villain. No statement may have been more telling than when New York owner George Steinbrenner was asked to comment on his player's situation said "He should have kept his mouth shut."

MLB is in danger of having their own McCarthy era, but instead of hunting for Communists, they are trying to track down steroid abusers. In reality, any punishment levied by Selig would be overturned by an arbitrator. The penalty for first time offenders when Giambi was reportedly taking "that stuff" was counseling.
(C) Copyright thesackattack.com 2007

Posted by Jeff Sack at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

What has come as no surprise to anyone who follows Major League Baseball, the Baltimore Orioles have fired Sam Perlozzo. Orioles executives Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette informed Perlozzo of the decision Monday. The Orioles were a very unimpressive 122-164 under Perlozzo and finished fourth in the American League East in 2006. Perlozzo replaced the short lives Lee Mazilli as the O’s manager, after serving as bench coach under Maz.

It is rumored that the Orioles already have a call into former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi who is currently a baseball analyst for Fox and for Yankees broadcasts on the YES network. The former Big League catcher started his career with the Cubs and was a member of three of the World Champion New York Yankees teams in the mid to late 90’s.

Bullpen coach Dave Trembley, who has served as a minor league manager in the organization, will be the interim manager when the Orioles begin a six-game trip in San Diego on Tuesday.

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Now that teams are dropping out of their divisional races right and left, we may start to see a manager here and there get canned. The first likely name to be let go is Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo, who has the Orioles sitting in last place in the AL East at 29-40. At 15.5 games back of the Red Sox, the O'
s are as good as done in the American League, and only the Royals and Rangers have a worst winning percentage than the Orioles.

The hot seat has been under Perlozzo for some time now, and many felt that if he was unable to get the job done this season, he was going to be let go. Getting the job done means simply being an average team, around .500 or maybe better. Not many thought that the Orioles would challenge the Red Sox and Yankees, but also a lot of people did not think the team would be 11 games under .500 and getting worse before the 4th of July.

Things have gotten so bad for Perlozzo that fans have begun to boo him anytime he takes the field, and someone fan has gone so far as to wear a paper bag on his head. Sources say one name to keep in mind for Perlozzo's possible replacement is that of Joe Girardi. The former Mariners manager is going to be a hot name out there this year to get his hat back in the ranks of being a Major League manager, but right now, he may be a good fit for the O's.

No question that the team can not just standby and see how the season plays out. The fans are getting antsy, the attendance at Camden Yards is getting smaller, and on the field, the teams play is getting worse. So look for Perlozzo to be on the shortest of leashes as he and the O's limp towards the All-Star break.

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

A 1-on-1 interview with Cleveland Indians ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia!



A 1-on-1 interview with Cleveland Indians third basemen/outfielder Casey Blake!

Posted by Jeff Sack at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

Texas Rangers' rightfelder Sammy Sosa hit his ninth career grand slam off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Matt Belisle as the Rangers beat the Reds 7-6 Friday night. The long ball put Sosa at 599 career home runs, just one short of some very elite company. Only four other MLB players have reached the mark, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

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With the trade deadline just around the corner, plenty of names are being bantered about, including the Reds Adam Dunn, whose name was mentioned here on the site last week. Other names that appear to be ready to go to the highest bidder include players Jermaine Dye, Mark Buehrle, Carlos Zambrano, Troy Glaus, Scott Rolen, Mark Teixeira and perhaps even Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.

Dunn could be the key name in the list above though, as he has power and really could help out an American League team with the ability to slide in the DH role and hit 15-20 homers throughout the rest of the season. His power is what is going to draw offers from teams. Zambrano is an interesting story, as he has been in the headlines more for his fight with catcher Michael Barrett two weeks ago then his record, which sits at 7-5 with a 4.89 ERA. Some say that a trade for Zambrano is just what he needs to get his career on track.

As for others in that list above, Dye is hitting just .221 with 11 homers for the White Sox, and he clearly would be a short term answer for a team. Buehrle is having a so-so year at 3-3 with a 3.69 ERA, but again, could be a quality starter on a contending team. Glaus will surely get looks, as he is hitting .286 with 10 homers for the Blue Jays. Teixeira is going to be sought after as well, as with the last place Rangers he is hitting .302 with 12 home runs.

Through it all, scouts will spend the next few weeks traveling the country in search of that one player that will be able to add enough to put their team over the top. Look for it to be an active trading period this year, as there are enough quality players on the market that should make the next few weeks very interesting.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:51 AM | Permalink | Comments

While the Cleveland Indians pitching has still been their strong suite in 2007, the offense has suddenly found itself in a total position of slumping. That point was proven on Tuesday night, as the Florida Marlins shut out Cleveland for the second time in three days, beating the Tribe 3-0 in Florida. Cleveland lost another shutout loss, this time to the Reds 1-0 in 12 innings. In both meetings, the Indians starter kept them in the game, but the offense was asleep at the wheel. C.C. Sabathia was the victim of the offensive sleepwalk on Sunday, and Tuesday it was Fausto Carmona, who lost for the first time in 11 games.

The Indians have dropped seven of their last 10, and with it have now put themselves in a tie with the Tigers for first in the AL Central. "If you look at the last 10 games, we've been in an offensive funk," Tribe manager Eric Wedge said after the loss on Tuesday. "We need to nip this in the bud and get back on track." That track appeared to be back on Monday, as the team put up 7 runs after falling behind 7-0 to Seattle in a makeup game at Jacobs Field. On that night though it was closer Joe Borowski who allowed the winning run in the 9th to score to spoil the chance for the comeback.

The teams batting average sits at .274, but that number has started to drop with the recent lack of success at the plate. With two more games vs the Marlins coming up, then three at home vs the Braves and three vs the Phillies, it's important for the Tribe to find their stroke once again. Travis Hafner at .264, Trot Nixon, who started the year on fire, at .250, and David Dellucci, who failed in a chance to win and tie the game on Monday night, at .239 are scrapping right now to find their stroke. For the Indians, they had better do what they can to start finding it, before the Tigers roar overtakes them in the Central.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

Could the recent surge of the once left for dead New York Yankees be tied to the fact that media magnet Jason Giambi is sitting on the sidelines? That's the opinion of Wallace Matthews in todays edition of Newsday, who says that Giambi's recent injury has actually sparked the Yankees, who have won six in a row and are back within 9.5 games of the Red Sox in the AL East. Matthews points out that since Giambi has missed 10 game, the teams offense has suddenly hit the ball well, including players like Bobby Abreu, who has hit .500 in that time, Melkly Cabrera is hitting .378, A-Rod .371 and Jorge Posada .364.

With Giambi's foot healing, the decision of what to do with him upon his return is going to be an important decision for Joe Torre. He was quoted in the paper as saying "We still have to go with what's best for us. When we get closer to that time, we'll figure it out, but right now, it seems all right." That type of statement does not bode well for Giambi, who with his stupid statements earlier this season blaming baseball for the substance issue may find himself sitting the bench upon his return.

The absence of Giambi has put Johnny Damon in the DH role, where he is likes to play and it allows him to take a break from center while Cabrera plays the position, an upgrade on defense for the Yankees. The team has rolled to winning 9 of 11, and are 5.5 back of the wild card lead with the Tigers leading the way, and are one win away from .500. So say what you want about Giambi and his production on offense, for now, the Yankees are better with him out of the lineup and sitting the bench.

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While many teams have shown interest, it looks like the comeback of former Angels closer Troy Percival is all but complete. The LA Times is reporting that the closer is going to sign with the World Series Champion St.Louis Cardinals. The 37-year-old will join the Cards in two weeks. He has not pitched in about two seasons, as his last time on the mound was July of 2005. He has 324 saves, but was forced to walk away from the game with a forearm injury that stopped his career.

Percival started throwing again in April, and declared after his velocity returned that his goal was to find himself back on a Major League mound. The salary for his return is not going to be much by Major League standards, but he will make $500,000, and if he pitches well, he could make between $1.5 and $2 million. The deal also has a clause that states he can become a free agent once again if is not added to the Cards Major League roster within two weeks.

Scott Spiezio, new Cards teammate, says he welcomes the addition of Percival to the team. "I know what a competitor he is, and I know he's wise enough to say if he's got something or he doesn't," Spiezio said. "He's got a chance to help us." Five other teams were interested in the hurler, including Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Oakland, Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

The stock for Braves outfielder Andruw Jones continues to fall, as Jones, entering the final year of his contract with the Braves, continues to be in a season long slump. Jones is hitting just .226, and while it could be the pressure of being a free agent bothering him, he is doing himself no favors with not playing well.

Things have been so bad for Jones, he is hitting just .185 with four homers, 19 RBIs and 31 strikeouts since May 2nd. Not that Jones is a .300 hitter, but his career average of .267 would be welcomed by the Braves right now, who are trying to keep pace with the Mets and stave off the Phillies in the NL East.

If the Braves fall out of the race, which is unlikely to happen given the team does have a solid foundation, the team may want to start thinking about moving Jones. Then again, if he doesn't come out of the slump the team can always try and get him back for a discount.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Bobby Cox, Braves skipper, stated that after a few games last week Jones started to look back to form, and that he had better balance and was "not collapsing on his back leg." If Jones can get back to form for the remanider of the season, he would not only help the Braves chances in the East, but would be able to pocket a lot more dough at the end of the year.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

While the New York Mets are thinking nothing but about a run to the World Series this season, reports say they have their eyes on a pitcher who was recently in the news for something other than pitching. The New York Post reported on Thursday that Cubs hurler Carlos Zambrano may be in the teams plans as we near the trading deadline.

The 26-year-old hothead pitcher made national news last week when during a game he and catcher Michael Barrett got into a scuffle into the Cubs dugout. The pitcher ended up throwing a punch at Barrett in the clubhouse which sent the catcher to the hospital. Zambrano said he was sorry for the incident and that it was something that just got out of control.

This season the pitcher is 5-5 with a 5.62 ERA. He will become a free agent at the end of the season, which means any team that takes him on if a trade could be worked out, may only be getting his services for the stretch run. The toll of impending free agency may be getting to Zambrano, as last season he was much better at 16-7 with a 3.41 ERA.

The Mets are still hoping to get something out of Pedro Martinez this season as he tries to make it back from a torn right rotator cuff. The rest of the staff is pitching well, with a 3.42 ERA, but there is no doubt that they could use another starter for the stretch run and into the playoffs.

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New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez, who has been on the disabled list all season is starting to make some progress in his comeback. Martinez who is recovering from off season rotator cuff surgery, threw off the mound on Tuesday for the first time since the operation. Martinez who threw 31 pitches felt no discomfort in the effort. This step is a major part of the recovery process after having this procedure.Martinez said he was very pleased after the exercise, he plans to throw again Friday.

Posted by Jeff Sack at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

Look for the Padres to be buyers this season near the trade deadline, as they have a dogfight on their hands in the NL West with the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks the two other teams in the division along with the Pads battling for first place. One player that the Padres are eyeing is Reds left fielder Adam Dunn, who would be a solid rent-a-player as he would be a free agent at the end of 2007.

Dunn is hitting .255 with 14 homers and 35 RBI, and has seven steals. He would add solid pop to a Padres lineup that is somewhat void of it. Dunn has hit 40 homers in each of his last two seasons, and two years ago added 101 RBI. Of course the big part of the deal is what the Padres would have to give up in return, and what part of their team would take the hit becuase of it.

The starting rotation is solid, but Jake Peavy as good as he is has a tendecy to get hurt, and two others in the rotation will likely not be around in two-three years in Greg Maddux and David Wells. So while the Reds might want the farm for Dunn, the Padres have to be careful not to risk too much of the future for a player that might not be around after October.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments

Time again for our weekly power rankings around Major League Baseball. As always, if the team has a number next to its name, that is the ranking from a week ago. Here we go.

1. Boston 37-19 (1) - Despite a hiccup on Sunday vs the Yankees, the Red Sox remain in firm control of the AL East with a 10 game lead of 2nd place Toronto, and the Yankees are still 12.5 back and looking for magic beans to try and catch up.

2. NY Mets 35-20 (3) - New York jumps a spot after another solid week. They have also opened up a 4 game lead on the Braves, this after Atlanta has been hot on their heels from the start of the season. Still a very solid 18-7 away from Shea.

3. Cleveland 34-21 (2) - The Indians lost two straight at home over the weekend for the first time all year, but still are a MLB best 19-6 at home. They remain up 2.5 over Detroit and have taken 5 of the first seven against their biggest Central rival.

4. Los Angeles Angels (6) - The halos continue to stay hot, winning 8 of 10, and are now a solid 5.5 up on the Mariners in the weak AL West. As long as they don't hit too many bumps in the road, this is by far the class of the American League West.

5. Milwaukee 32-26 (4) - Going 4-3 since last weeks power rankings, the Brew Crew seem to be trying to get back on track after a string of losses. They still have a comfortable 6 game lead on the Cardinals, but need the offense to start it up again.

6. Los Angeles Dodgers 34-23 (7) - While pitching is heavy in the NL West, the Dodgers are solid in that regard and should be able to stick around against the likes of the Padres and D'Backs. They have a team ERA of 3.64 and Brad Penny and Randy Wolf are a combined 14-4.

7. Detroit Tigers 32-24 (5) - The Tigers dropped the first two in Cleveland and looked to be headed for a long weekend, but then the bats got hot and Jeremy Bonderman gave them a great outing Sunday to gain the split.

8. San Diego Padres 33-23 (9) - San Diego has won 7 of 10 to stay right with the Dodgers near the top of the NL West. The Padres are an impressive 17-9 at home, and with studs on the mound should make anyone sweat in the NL.

9. Arizona D'Backs 34-24 (10) - Did we mention that the NL West is the best division in baseball? Three teams separated by by a half a game for first, second and third in this tough division. While the Dodgers and Padres have won 7 of 10, the D'Backs have won 9 of 10 to keep the pressure on their fellow NL West foes.

10. Atlanta Braves 32-25 (7) - Are the Braves slipping a bit? Now 4 back of the Mets, this is a dangerous time for the tomahawks, as they have to keep within striking distance of the more powerful Mets in order to avoid a lost season.

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

While the Chicago Cubs are crumbling right before the eyes of their fans, manager Lou Pinella will have to sit back and watch the next four games. Monday, MLB announced that Pinella will sit out four games after kicking dirt on an ump during a game over the weekend. The incident of Pinella comes just a few days after pitcher Carlos Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett went at it in the teams dugout during a game in which the Braves clobbered the Cubs.

Pinella went at third base ump Mark Wegner after he felt the ump missed a call in the Cubs game on Saturday. Later on, Pinella said that the ump got the call right. Whoops. "I didn't think he got it right from my vantage point in the dugout," Sweet Lou said. "There were frustrations involved also. I have to go out there and defend my team.At the same time, there was no need for all the extracurricular stuff, too. I apologize to the umpire for that. I really do. I respect these guys. It's over and it's time to move on."

The Cubs were expected to be a team on the rise this season, as they went on a spending spree that included grabbing Lou to manage the team in place of Dusty Rhodes. The team has shown no signs of getting better, as Pinella's rants started early in spring training, and the team has not gotten much better. Going into tonight's game vs the Brewers in Milwaukee, the team is at 23-31, 8.5 games back of the Brew Crew. The team added on the field Alfonso Soriano, Mark DeRosa, Ted Lilly, and Jason Marquis. This coming off a season in which they were last in the NL Central at 66-96.

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella was suspended "indefnitely" by MLB on Sunday after his nuclear meltdown on Saturday caused him to be ejected from the game between the Cubs and the Atlanta Braves. Pinella, who never ceases to amaze or amuse during his tantrums, was run in the eighth inning. He stormed from the dugout after Cubs outfielder Angel Pagan was caught stealing third after the ball bounced away from the Braves catcher.

Pinella immediately started arguing with third base umpire Mark Wegner, kicking dirt, amd throwing his cap as he has done many times in the past with other teams. Wegner says Pinella made contact with him, a fact that Pinella denies. Pinella was immediately tossed from the game, which incidentally the Cubs lost to the Braves 5-3. Pinella will meet Monday with MLB Vice president John McHale Jr. After that meeting MLB will then determine the length of the suspension.

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As the New York Yankees continue to do whatever it takes to climb back in the AL East race, there is a real chance that they just may jump ship at some point and start dealing players. The New York Daily News states that one player that may be on his way out is outfielder Johnny Damon. While most Yanks have no-trade clauses built in their deals, Damon has a list of 12 teams that he could be traded to if the Yanks see fit.

The list of 12 teams was picked by Damon himself, and he claimed recently he is not concerned with the possibility of being traded, but a source said that the center fielder has expressed uneasiness over the idea of being dealt. "I'm not concerned. Maybe if this was my only team ever, but I've been around," Damon said.

Damon is hitting .258 with three homers and 18 RBI this season. He is in the second year of his four-year, $52 million contract. "It's a good team and a great place to eventually win," said Damon, who reached the 2,000-hit plateau a few nights ago.

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

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The temper of Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano got the better of him Friday, as he and catcher Michael Barrett went at it in the dugout during the Cubs 8-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves. The Braves had just scored a few runs, one of which came across after Zambrano threw a pitch that bounced off of Barrett's glove. The catcher, trying to make a play to get the runner at third, threw the ball into left field, allowing the run to score.

After that top of the 5th inning, Zambrano was seen in the dugout on TV pointing to his head, and then he and Barrett exchanged words before something was said and Zambrano pushed Barrett after the catcher pointed at the scoreboard. That started the mini-fight that saw a lot of pushing, but no punches were thrown.

Cubs manager Lou Pinella was one of among the few who stepped in. The manager then told Zambrano to take a shower and go home, then returned to the dugout. Just a few seconds later a clubhouse attendant could be seen saying something to Piniella. Pinella, along with Derrek Lee and pitching coach Larry Rothschild made their way back into the clubhouse, only to find that Barrett was in there once again with Zambrano.

The manager told Barrett he was not allowed in the dugout the rest of the game. Barrett then had to go to the hospital to be looked at, and Pinella said postgame that both will face measures for what took place during the game.

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