Baseball Page 1218 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Cubs Win! Cubs Win (A Video Game-Induced, Alternate Universe World Series)!
Sony's new ad campaign for MLB 12 The Show hinges on the tagline, "So real, it's unreal." Apparently, that includes the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, thanks to some Michael Bay-worthy special effects....

Davey Johnson Has Nicknamed Drew Storen "Tinkerbell"
Johnson, the Nationals' manager, picked the name because Storen, the team's closer, has a tendency to tweak his delivery. All well and good. And plenty of swell options for entry music....

ESPN's Keith Law Is A Fan Of Bad Spring Training Twitpics, Unless It Involves One Of His Bad Spring Training Twitpics
We told you two weeks ago about the hilarity that is Bad Spring Training Twitpics, the site that's collecting all the bad art being snapped by the cameraphones of the many baseball writers now roaming around spring training. That same day, Keith Law let his many Twitter followers know he was also a ...

Aw, Hell, Here's One More Tim Kurkjian Imitation From Rays Infielder Elliot Johnson
With Linsanity dying out, we needed something new. Call it Kurkjianomie....

Red Sox Minor Leaguer Pete Ruiz Has His Own Tim Kurkjian Impression
It's more understated than Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia's, we'll argue. Arencibia's is perhaps funnier—he brought Kurkjian's voice to a comically high pitch—but Ruiz's seems more precise. He's Darrell Hammond to Arencibia's Will Ferrell....

Marlins Players Think Trippy Home Run Structure Could Distract Hitters
The colorfully gaudy sculpture, which will do this when the Marlins hit a home run, will be positioned in left-center field, where it could be in the field of vision of left-handed batters. [Miami Herald]...

Inside The Spring Training Market For $4 Porn
Excerpted from former Padre and Blue Jay Dirk Hayhurst's splendid new book, Out of My League, a true chronicle of life as a pitcher bouncing between the minor leagues and the show. Some names have been changed....

Ike Davis Probably Has Valley Fever, New York Mets Continue To Be Incapable Of Catching A Break
Ike Davis has Valley Fever. Or at least that is what the Mets are saying Ike may have. In light of Mets team doctors' track record, though, it is probably safe to assume it's likely much, much worse....

The Nationals Have "Natitude," And Stephen Strasburg Is Starting To Think "Dynasty"
There are legitimate reasons for the Washington Nationals to think they're ready to contend this season: Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman, and Bryce Harper are healthy; and Edwin Jackson and Gio Gonzalez have been brought in to help the cause. But Strasburg is already looking past contending—he's a...

This Just Might Be The A-Rod Photo To End All A-Rod Photos
At least until he brings his own food into the men's room and has his girlfriend feed it to him as he kisses the mirror. But only then....

Brien Taylor, Former Yankees Superstar-To-Be, Arrested On Cocaine Trafficking Charges
Brien Taylor, the can't-miss prospect who missed, was arrested yesterday on a whole mess of drug charges. This comes after an undercover operation by the Carteret County (NC) Sheriff's Office, in which cops allegedly purchased large quantities of crack and cocaine from him....

A.J. Burnett Will Miss 2 To 3 Months Because He Broke His Face Trying To Bunt
Burnett fractured his orbital bone when this happened on Wednesday, and he had to have surgery this morning. Best-case scenario has him out of the rotation until early May, which means Erik Bedard will likely be the Bucs' Opening Day starter. It's only been a few weeks since the trade, but it's alre...

Watch Tim Kurkjian Watch J.P. Arencibia Do His Tim Kurkjian Impression
The voice is dead on. Either the Blue Jays catcher is a master of impersonation, or he's squeezing his testicles between his knees....

Minor Leaguer Suspended For Refusing Drug Test Says Testers Went To The Wrong Address: "I'm 28 Years Old. I Don't Live With My Mom!"
Yesterday, MLB announced that minor leaguer Justin Dowdy is suspended for 50 games for refusing to take a drug test. Dowdy, a former White Sox pick who spent most of last season with the Giants' AAA Fresno Grizzlies, signed last month with the independent Grand Prairie (Texas) AirHogs and so will ha...

Now A.J. Burnett Is Officially A Pirate: He Hurt Himself Bunting A Ball Off His Face
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle's affection for the bunt is such that he once had his cleanup hitter do it last season with the go-ahead run on first—and in a game in which that cleanup hitter already had two hits. Hurdle holds an annual bunting tournament in spring training, and yesterday, this is w...

David Wright Still Thinks Those "Underdog" Mets Shirts Are A Dumb Idea
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: Wright remembers that you can't be an underdog without having zero expectations....

Here's How You Get A 50-Game Suspension Without Failing A Drug Test
Refuse to take one! Deceptively simple. Via Hardball Talk:...

Exclusive: Former Reliever Mike Stanton Weighs In On Current Outfielder Mike Stanton Now Going By Giancarlo Stanton
The news came across the wires this morning that thumping Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton, who finished 5th in the NL with 34 home runs last year, will now go by Giancarlo Stanton, his birth name. (His full name is Giancarlo Cruz Michael Stanton, and he says he prefers Giancarlo.)...

Jeff Samardzija Would Like To Eye-Hump You For A Moment
Spring training photo day is a second (or fifth) chance to make a first impression. No matter that Jeff Samardzija had had four largely irrelevant seasons in Chicago. This is 2012, and it's a new start, and a hairy intense Samardzija wants you out of those pants and in his bed before he's done smell...

Miguel Tejada Wants To Return To Oakland: "Tell Billy To Give Me A Call"
Oh boy, the strangest team offseason in recent memory might be getting even weirder. Miguel Tejada—the 5-9, 220 lb. shortstop who hit 156 home runs in his seven years in Oakland—wants to come back to play for the A's....