Archive for August, 2009
Hernandez is in todays news -
The New York Times seems to think he did, only the paper says so in such a mealymouthed and sidelong way that one starts to wonder if something else is going on here.
Reporter David Waldstein cites a Oakland-Toronto series in May 2001, during which Tejada and Blue Jays third baseman Tony Batista, a friend from the Dominican Republic, both hit well. Tejada went 4 for 10 with three home runs; Batista, 6 for 13, with a home run.
More significant in the eyes of some of the players was an incident in the second game of the series. Tejada did not get to an easy ground ball Batista hit off reliever Mark Guthrie with the Athletics leading, 8-2. When the inning was over, A’s players fumed on the bench.
Tejada, now 35, said his teammates were skeptical because Batista dropped a foul pop-up he hit in the previous game.
Lacking any hard evidence, Waldstein places the accusations in the mouths of some of Tejada’s former A’s mates, whose suspicion was further aroused in July when Tejada “failed to catch what appeared to some as a soft line drive off the bat of Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Adrian Beltre,” a teammate of Tejada’s in the Dominican Winter League. By mid-July 2001, some of them had grown so wary of their shortstop that manager Art Howe was forced to shake himself from his seasonlong nap and convene a team meeting:
Not surprisingly, several people who attended the meeting, in the A’s home clubhouse, described it as contentious and ugly. Frank Menechino, an A’s infielder at the time, said the veteran Ron Gant took control at the first hint that it might turn nasty.
“I think Ron Gant calmed it down before it snowballed into anything big,” said Menechino, now the hitting instructor for the Class AA Trenton Thunder. “Like: âHey, man, we can’t worry about what the other teams are doing in this league. But we can’t pull the Dominican guys out of our team and suspect them of anything until we catch them.’ He basically calmed everything down. Everything was fine after that. I seriously can’t prove, say, yes or no, that guys were doing it. But who knows?”
…
Johnny Damon, who played for the Athletics then, absolved Tejada by saying observant opponents had been interpreting Tejada’s inadvertent cues.
“Miggy was telling guys there was no way he would be doing it,” Damon said. “I think what we concluded was that the hitters were seeing him move on certain pitches. That happens, you’ll see a young player move closer to the hole on a fastball away, you’ll see him creep a little toward the hole. I think that’s what it all came down to, Miggy not being able to hide the extra steps. But it seemed like all the Dominican guys were killing us.“
And with that last bit, the team meeting sounds less like an airing of well-founded suspicions than an exercise in a sort of clubhouse McCarthyism. There’s a persistent and especially odious stereotype in baseball that suggests Latino players lack a certain loyalty to their teams, that they act as a sort of free-floating junta within the game. Many years ago, the former Giants skipper Alvin Dark famously questioned their “mental alertness,” adding, “You can’t make most Negro and Spanish players have the pride in their team that you can get from white players,” and, “One of the biggest things is that you can’t make them subordinate themselves to the best interest of the team.” (This has a political corollary in the longstanding notion that minorities, and especially blacks, are insufficiently patriotic.) Nearly a half-century later, you find no less than Keith Hernandez accusing the Mets’ Latino faction of conspiring to get Willie Randolph canned. There’s a rich history of this, and it has never been more than a lot of racist hooey, and so forgive me if I’m a little skeptical of a Times story whose every paragraph fairly rings with echoes of Alvin Dark.
Friendship or Betrayal From Inside the Lines? New York Times
.
Any response to Did Miguel Tejada Tip Pitches In 2001? Mlb?
Every day should be opening day when you open your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite Major League Baseball team prominently displayed. All 30 teams available. Matching labels and cover are also available. These MLB checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
I like it when I see news about Gonzalez,
Iowa Cubs (70-65)
The Iowa Cubs made it four in a row tonight with a 7-4 thumping of the Oklahoma City RedHawks.
Casey Fossum improved his record to 6-4 by allowing only one run on two hits over five innings. Fossum walked four and hit two batters. He struck out nine.
Blake Parker pitched the ninth inning and picked up his 20th save. Parker allowed one hit and didn’t walk anyone. He struck out two.
First baseman Micah Hoffpauir went 2 for 4 with three RBI and a run scored. Third baseman Andres Blanco was 2 for 5 with two runs scored. Shortstop Darwin Barney was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Tennessee Smokies (34-28)
Ryno’s Boys stayed tied for first place by beating the Moblie Bay Bears, 7-4.
Starter Jeremy Papelbon gave up two home runs in his five-inning start, but got the win anyway. Papelbon allowed four runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out one.
Brian Schlitter got save number twenty-one. He pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing no runs on one hit. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out two.
Right fielder Tyler Colvin hit a bases-loaded triple and a solo home run for four RBI tonight. Colvin was 2 for 4 and scored twice.
Third baseman Marquez Smith was 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Shortstop Starlin Castro went 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored. Castro also stole his third base for Tennessee.
Daytona Cubs (27-34)
The D-Cubs were thrashed by the Clearwater Threshers, 6-2.
Rafael Dolis started and only went three innings. He gave up two runs on three hits, although one of the two runs was unearned. Dolis walked four and struck out three as his record dropped to 3-9. His ERA is a respectable 3.54 though.
Left fielder Marwin Gonzalez hit his second home run, a solo home run in the fifth inning. Gonzalez was 1 for 3.
DH Brandon Guyer was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Second baseman Jake Opitz was 2 for 3 wih a walk.
Peoria Chiefs (38-23)
The Chiefs shucked the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 11-1.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx continues to dominate the Midwest League. Tonight he improved his record to 7-1, tossing 6.2 innings and allowing only one run on five hits. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out six. The Chiefs expect Bibens-Dirkx to start the playoffs for them, but I really think he needs to get a September call-up. Please?
It was a six RBI night for right fielder Kyler Burke, including a triple and a grand slam. It was Burke’s 14th homer this year. Burke was 2 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice.
DH Ryan Flaherty was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. He scored twice and had two RBI. First baseman Rebel Ridling was 2 for 5 with an RBI and three runs scored.
Center fielder Jose Valdez made his Midwest League debut a successful one. He was 2 for 5 with two runs scored.
Boise Hawks (30-38)
The Hawks lost their sixth game in a row as they were messed up by the Tri-City Dust Devils 3-1.
Starter Robert Hernandez was pretty good tonight. He went five innings and allowed only one run on four hits. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out five.
Eduardo Figueroa got the loss in relief. He gave up two runs, one earned, over his 1.2 inning relief stint.
Shortstp Hak-Ju Lee was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
.
Thoughts?
Take a look at a video of Gonzalez at his best:
Fantasy Baseball Headlines - Jay Bruce, Geovany Soto and more
Want to give yourself an edge? Want the same professional equipment that MVPs use? Want to buy it for less? Get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $99 when you shop at BaseballRampage. These guys have nearly everything you need, from bats balls and gloves to cleats, bases, even pitching machines.
I wonder how Bruce’s fans feel,
I watched not one second of Friday’s affair. I managed about 10 minutes of Internet access and caught the 2-1 score, posted this premature comment and then later flipped on my XM radio to catch the final 5-2 win. The good news is the Cubs got a win and Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano went a combined 6/6 with 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 Runs Scored and 2 BB’s. The bad news was the comedy of errors from the offensive heroes and the Cubs needing a dramatic come-from-behind win against a team missing their five best players. Some links and notes after the jump…
- Bruce Levine is sticking with the Minnesota Twins as the team awarded the claim on Rich Harden. How he got past the entire NL is a little confusing with the way he’s pitching and the rather minimal committment left on his contract. I don’t hold high hopes that the Twins would take the rest of his contract and give up top prospects for Harden. And it looks like the San Francisco Giants were awarded the claim on Aaron Heilman. The Sun-Times says a few more Cubs were claimed, but doesn’t offer up any names.
- In minor league news, 2009 first round pick Brett Jackson has been placed on the disabled list with inflammation in his right wrist. He should be back for Peoria’s playoff run as they have already clinched a playoff spot in the Midwest League. As of this writing, Iowa is a 1.5 back of Memphis and tied with Nashville with just over a week left in the PCL season. In Double A, Tennessee is tied with West Tennessee and the two teams finish the season with a five-game set.
- The Daytona Cubs aren’t going to be repeating as FSL champs, but they’ve thrown their second combined no-hitter in the last two weeks. Both times 20-year old pitcher Oswaldo Martinez was involved and he has not given up an earned run in 10.1 IP since joining Daytona.This time he combined with Mike Perconte on the no-hitter, last time it was a four pitcher effort with Martinez, Craig Muschko, Chris Siegfried and David Cales.
- Alfonso Soriano is set to have his MRI on Monday.
- I’ve got some Internet troubles at home, so dont’ expect much from me this weekend, hence this hastily done post.
what do you think?This will be shocking news for Bruce fans, but there are those of you who will say that you saw it coming. I can’t say I’m all that surprised. Bruce is sweet, I hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
Here’s a clip of Bruce:
Bruce Blitz Draws a Sports Fan
Every day can be opening day when you open your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite MLB team proudly displayed. All 30 teams available. Matching labels and cover are also available. These MLB checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
I wonder how Gonzalez’s real fans feel,
Believe it or not, the D-Cubs threw another no-hitter tonight, less than two weeks after the last one. It was another one of the seven-inning no-nos. Generally good news from the farm tonight, although Brett Jackson went on the DL with a sore right wrist. Iowa Cubs (69-65) The Iowa Cubs moved into second place with a 4-2 victory over the Oklahoma City RedHawks. Jeff Samardzija dominated tonight for six shutout innings tonight. He gave up only three singles and one walk. The Shark struck out six. Jeff Stevens threw two perfect innings of relief, striking out three. The I-Cubs were paced tonight by a pair of solo home runs. The first as a third-inning shot by right fielder Brad Snyder, his 14th on the season. Snyder was 1 for 3 with a walk overall. The second one was an insurance run in the eighth inning by DH Matt Craig. It was his fourth home run for Iowa, seventh in the PCL and 11th overall. Craig was 2 for 4 on the night with two runs scored. Shortstop Darwin Barney was 2 for 3 with two stolen bases. Barney had one RBI and scored once. Left fielder John-Ford Griffin was 2 for 3 with a walk. The Iowa Cubs are two games behind the Memphis Redbirds in the standings with ten games to play. They have no games left with Memphis, however. Tennessee Smokies (33-28) The Smokies late-inning heroics just keep on coming. They scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Mobile Bay Bears, 3-2 and move back into a tie for first place. Starter Chris Carpenter allowed one run on five hits in his six inning start. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out two. David Cales got the win with two innings of relief. Cales gave up two hits and a walk, but didn’t allow any runs. He did not strike anyone out. Right fielder Tyler Colvin had the big blow, an RBI double that tied the score in the two-run ninth. He later scored the winning run on Doug Deeds‘ pinch-hit single. Colvin was 1 for 4. Center fielder James Adduci was 2 for 4. Catcher Welington Castillo went 2 for 3. Daytona Cubs (27-33) The Daytona Cubs split a double-header tonight, losing the first game, 3-2 in nine innings and winning the second game, 3-0 as the D-Cubs staff tossed their second seven-inning no-hitter in less than two weeks. In the first game, Ryan Searle started and allowed two runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. Searle walked one and struck out six. Chris Siegfried pitched the ninth inning and took the loss, allowing a run on two hits. He struck out one. Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. First baseman Jake Opitz and center fielder Tony Campana were both 2 for 4. The no-hitter was in the second game, as starter Oswaldo Martinez pitched the first four innings, walking two and striking out one. Martinez has now pitched in four games since signing out of the Mexican League: two of those games were no-hitters. He pitched two-thirds of an inning in his Cub debut on August 15. Mike Perconte finished the no-no and got the win since Martinez didn’t go five innings. Perconte walked one and fanned three. Jake Opitz was the DH for the second game and was 2 for 4 with two RBI.
Peoria Chiefs (37-23)
The Peoria Chiefs were knocked on their ears by the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 8-3.
Justin Bristow started but only lasted two innings. He allowed three runs on four hits. Bristow walked four and struck out two.
Jeff Beliveau pitched much better in relief, but got the loss anyway. Beliveau allowed one run over his four innings of relief. He surrendered five hits. He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out four.
Center fielder David Macias had a two-run double in a 1 for 4 game. The Chiefs did not have a hit after the second inning tonight.
Boise Hawks (30-37)
The Hawks were officially eliminated from the playoffs tonight with a 7-2 loss to the Spokane Indians.
Chris Rusin started and took the loss. He went four innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three.
Right fielder Jae-Hoon Ha hit his second home run in the second inning. The solo shot was his only hit in a 1 for 4 game. Shortstop George Matheus went 2 for 5 with a double.
AZL Cubs (13-15, 29-27 overall)
The rookie league team’s season is now over.
what do you think?How do you think this news about Gonzalez will affect the rest of the team this season?
Searching for autographed baseball memorabilia? There is only one place you can go to ensure that the signatures are real - IronClad Athetics. These guys have tons of selection, and reasonable prices, plus they have an Iron Clad Signature Authenticity guarantee, ensuring that every signature is 100% real, no imitations and no forgeries. Get authentic autographed baseball memorabilia now.
Nobody’s better than Phillips these days -
“
These are the notorious decoy coyotes of ESPN, propped up by The Worldwide Leader In Bird Control to scare off nesting geese and captured here in terrifying synthetic predation, like Steve Phillips in those fake press conferences.
The photo is courtesy our gal in Bristol. There are many, many more where these came from. Come back on Sunday for a full gallery of Blazer Girl’s adventures among the synthetic creatures of ESPN.
*****
Thanks for your continued support of Deadspin and its superficial, one-dimensional trash. Bentern makes his glorious return tomorrow. I’m here on Sunday.