Baseball Page 1181 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

This Comebacker That Francisco Liriano Caught Between His Legs Could've Turned Out Badly
There were any number of bad, horrible things that this Eric Hosmer comebacker could've caused to Francisco Liriano's lower half—never mind the shard of bat that came flying in his general direction—but no harm, no foul. Hosmer got his revenge later with a walkoff single in the ninth, but Liriano wa...

Bud Selig Hopes It Takes Tiebreaker Games To Decide The Wild Cards
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: The Commish on Melky, the wild cards, and labor peace....

Free Alex Smith's Hat!
Yesterday, Alex Smith revealed that the NFL has threatened him with $15,000 fines if he continues to wear his San Francisco Giants cap during press conferences. It's non-approved gear from a competing league, you see, and that's not cool. Postgame is prime time for marketing NFL products, and the le...

Dale Sveum Doesn't Even Have The Heart To Be Mad At His Players For Not Paying Attention
This is life as a Cubs manager. There are 25 people (40 in September!) whose only goal in life seems to be to give you agita. They do bad baseball things, but even worse they do dumb baseball things, and after a while it just becomes too much to take and you have to check out. There's no way to stay...

The White Sox Hope To Sleep Their Way To Success
They're in the midst of 20 games in 20 days, so the White Sox want their players to get some rest and when and where they can as they chase the AL Central title. Per CSN Chicago, that means manager Robin Ventura will be giving some players days off. But it also means they want guys to take naps:...

Before Last Night's Game, A Rays Infielder Played Catch In The Parking Lot With Some Tampa Fans
A reader named Chris and his friends got to last night's Red Sox-Rays game several hours before the first pitch. Who knew people actually tailgated at Rays games? Anyway, Chris sent a tweet to pitcher David Price and shortstop Elliot Johnson, inviting them to come play catch. It was a lark, but wh...

The NFL Will Fine Alex Smith For Wearing A San Francisco Giants Cap
Alex Smith grew up in La Mesa, outside San Diego, so it's not a surprise he used to wear a Padres cap at postgame press conferences. But Alex Smith used to be terrible, so something had to change. Last year, in the midst of a successful season, he switched to a Giants cap and used it as a good luck ...

Who Is The Blurry Guy In This Photo, And Why Did Manny Ramirez Steal His Pants? The Long Baseball Life Of "The Machete"
After Roger Clemens's first start in the Atlantic League, the Associated Press sent across the wires a photo of him in the middle of his lumpy follow-through, pitching to an out-of-focus batter at the plate. The Hall of Famer, of course, had dropped in to pitch for the Sugar Land Skeeters; his oppon...

Vernon Wells' Full-Speed Header Over The Outfield Wall Was Quite Impressive
Times aren't great for the $154 million Angels, currently four games behind the A's for second place in the AL West. If they're going to make up any ground fast, they're going to need to (a) stop giving up bombs like this Ian Kinsler shot, and (b) keep their left-fielders from doing unnecessary head...

Yunel Escobar Used The "I Know Gay People And They Weren't Offended" Defense During Today's Ill-Advised Presser
The Blue Jays suspended Yunel Escobar three games for his "Tu ere maricón" stunt Saturday, then marched him out in front of the New York press at Yankee Stadium today to face the music about why he did such a thing....

Even The Mets' PR Staff Is Giving Up
Remember when the Mets were serious contenders in the NL East? Hahahahaha. That never happened. I mean, they were tied for first in early June, but then the earth kept rotating on its axis, and the next 90 or so games actually happened....

Is It Poor Form To Literally Rip A Home Run Ball Out Of Another Fan's Hand?
This is from Anthony Rizzo's first of two home runs yesterday (the Pirates' collapse continues apace). I want to draw your attention not to the play, but to the two gentlemen in center, struggling over that all-important baseball. Who has the moral high ground, and the right to the ball?...

Lonnie Chisenhall Hits Walk-Off Single, Is Thanked By Teammates With An Attempted Cornholing
Not entirely sure what's going on here. After leading his team to victory with a walk-off hit last night, Cleveland Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was treated to a rather odd celebratory scrum....

Ozzie Guillen Thinks ESPN's Buster Olney Is "Full Of Shit"
Today ESPN's Buster Olney published this (Insider-only) post questioning whether the Marlins' not meeting attendance projections could be blamed on Ozzie Guillen (and not, say, the team's utterly disappointing performance this year). Olney even opened the door for Guillen to be fired after the seas...

Pythagoras, Meet Hippocrates: Kevin Gregg's Season Was The Opposite Of Lucky
This afternoon, the Baltimore Orioles released reliever Kevin Gregg. On Tuesday, the team had designated him for assignment. That night, they went out and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2, moving into a tie for first place in the American League East. They beat Tampa Bay again the next night, and again ...

The Royals Are Hiring A Window Washer: "Must Not Be Afraid Of Heights"
Via Baseball Prospectus's Ben Lindbergh, this excellent job posting for which we are already updating our resumés. The Royals are seeking a new window cleaner, and the job consists of all the excitement a window cleaner could hope for....

Jeff Kent Took His <i>Survivor</i> Cues From "The Fat, Naked, Gay Guy"
You can thank CBS for bringing together two things you probably haven't thought about in nearly a decade: Survivor and Surly Former Second Baseman Jeff Kent™. The show has already filmed, and Kent is back from the Philippines, but since it doesn't premier until next week Kent can't talk about what w...

Kid's Sign At Phillies Game: "If I Can Beat Cancer, You Can Beat The Astros"
This year's Astros team has drawn plenty of unfavorable comparisons, but now we finally can add one worse than the '62 Mets to the list: childhood cancer. A kid at last night's Philly-Houston game was spotted holding the above sign, which, considering the incredible strength required for a child to ...

Josh Beckett Got Thrown Out At First By The Right Fielder
Ah yes, the old 9-3 in the scorecard (or the incongruous "J. Beckett grounded out to right" in the play-by-play)....

Kyle Seager Just Ripped Off Manny Machado In The Most Awesome Way Possible
Well, it looks we have a new consensus Coolest Trick Baseball Play of the moment, and it's when a third baseman comes charging in on a bunt, fakes a throw to first, trusts that his shortstop is covering, and then catches the runner making a wider-than-advised turn around third. It memorably happened...