mlb Page 378 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Is Chipper Jones Getting Fat Again?
Chipper Jones joined the Braves on Saturday to spend a few days hanging around the team's spring training complex as a "special instructor," which is baseball-speak for "old guy who stands around leaning on a fungo bat and spitting seeds." So how's retirement been going for Chipper? Aside from the o...
Time To Retire The Verducci Effect: What <em>Really</em> Predicts Pitcher Injuries?
Originally published in Baseball Prospectus....
Tim Lincecum Had A Very Zen Offseason
Now that spring training has officially kicked off, it's time for baseball writers to spend the next two months filling column space while absolutely nothing of consequence happens. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal got started today, asking various members of the San Francisco Giants to share their favori...
Mark Buehrle Will Leave His Family Behind Because His Dog Is Banned In Toronto
New Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle loves his puppies, American Staffordshire terrier Slater, and Vizslas Drake, Duke and Diesel. But Toronto doesn't love Slater. Ontario has a ban on pit bulls and related breeds, so Slater—big slobbery baby that he is—isn't allowed in the province. So rather than le...
Alfredo Aceves Is In Mid-Season Form
Alfredo Aceves began tossing batting practice this morning, pretty standard procedure for this time of year. Alfredo Aceves does not know the meaning of pretty standard. So, instead of using it as a slow and steady way to ease into spring training and build arm strength, he used it as another opport...
Carl Pavano's Freak Spleen Injury Nearly Killed Him
Live by the freak injury, nearly die by the freak injury: On January 12, Carl Pavano slipped on some ice outside his Vermont home, fell onto the handle of his snow shovel, and after taking a moment to recover, went about his business until he couldn't anymore:...
Jeffrey Loria Told Jose Reyes To "Get A Nice House In Miami" Four Days Before Trading Him And Decimating The Marlins' Roster
We knew that the Marlins had given Jose Reyes “verbal assurances” that they wouldn’t trade him, but yesterday brought a new report about the exact content of those promises and when the Marlins were making them. In particular, walking pair of conspicuously expensive sunglasses Jeffrey Loria told Jos...
Mike Piazza's Book Tour Produced An Excellent Illustration Of The Absurdity Of Steroid Handwringing
Mike Piazza wrote a memoir, and if early releases are any indication, it's mostly about how weird a human being he is. Perhaps because of his eccentric streak, many apparently hoped that the book would be a tell-all about the steroid era, like Jose Canseco's Juiced from someone who isn't (as much of...
Biogenesis PED Records Just Being Given Out In Boxes Of Cereal Now
First, the Miami New Times obtained some records of South Florida "anti-aging" clinic Biogenesis, which appears to tie MLB players to banned performance enhancing drugs. Then Yahoo obtained additional Biogenesis records, naming additional players....
You Know Spring Training Is Here When You Read Sentences Like "Denard Span Said He Started Screaming And Making Noises To Discourage The Bird"
There is no baseball, no real, meaningful baseball for another 44 days. But the dead zone of the sports calendar has quickened considerably by the advent of spring training. Camps in Arizona and Florida stir to life, as co-workers who haven't seen each other since September get back together for som...
Mike Piazza Once Hired A "Karate Guy" To Teach Him How To Beat Up Roger Clemens
After Roger Clemens threw a large part of a shattered bat at Mike Piazza in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series, the Mets catcher's first instinct was to beat him up. Piazza thought better of it, though, for plenty of reasons: It was the first inning of a game in the World Series; Clemens was half-apolo...
Another Weird Baseball Injury: Francisco Liriano Broke His Arm While Trying To Scare His Children
A few days before Christmas, the Pirates were reportedly close to inking a free-agent contract with lefthander Francisco Liriano. The deal appeared to be on the verge of falling through, however, when the team announced that Liriano had mysteriously injured his non-throwing arm sometime over the hol...
Felix Hernandez's Contract Extension May Fall Through Because Of An "Elbow Issue"
On Thursday it was reported that the Mariners and staff ace Felix Hernandez had agreed to seven-year, $175 million contract, the signing of which was a mere formality to be completed by spring training. Apparently the source speaking on condition of anonymity because the contract is not official has...
This Is The Line For Single-Game Marlins Tickets Minutes Before They Went On Sale
So, the Marlins are not exactly popular in Miami ever at the moment. Whether it is the $1.2 billion dollars Jeffrey And The Amazing Technicolor Stadium the county's on the hook for, the unwillingness to spend money on a major league roster or the appurtenant fire sales, the Marlins are really not p...
Economists Disagree Over How Influential Jose Canseco Was In Spreading Steroids, Start Getting Personal
With advance apologies for giving any more press to Jose Canseco, you might want to check out a little contretemps happening over at Econ Journal Watch about Canseco's role as the Johnny Appleseed of baseball steroids. There's been a debate for a few years now about Canseco's claims to have spread t...
Tim Lincecum Cut Off All His Hair
Well look who got a haircut right before spring training! Tim Lincecum has dropped his signature Dazed and Confused look for something more Joseph Gordon-Levitt-y. It's grown-up and adorable and it'll be even more surprising when such a clean-cut guy says "now I know what chicks feel like" the next ...
Curt Schilling Says Red Sox Officials Urged Him To Consider PEDs
Curt Schilling never did play in 2008. He spent the entire season trying to come back from a shoulder injury revealed before spring training, but not without some controversy. Schilling wanted to have surgery; the Red Sox, who had signed Schilling to a one-year contract, wanted him to treat it with ...
The First Weird Baseball Injury Of 2013: Twins Reliever Breaks Ribs During "Horseplay"
Troy McClure warned us, but did we listen? We did not. After TwinsFest at Target Field two weeks ago, Minnesota reliever Anthony Swarzak got into a good-natured tussle....
Juan Pierre Wants You To Know That "Beast Mode" Is Also "Christ Mode"
Miami Marlins outfielder Juan Pierre has a website. The website is called BeastModeForChrist.com. This is what the "about" page on BeastModeForChrist.com says:...
This Coco Crisp Bobblehead Does The Bernie, And You Want It
The A's adopted the Bernie Lean as their rally dance last year, and it seems to have been worked. After Coco Crisp introduced the clubhouse to the song (actually, two songs: "Moving Like Berney" by ISA and "Bernie Lean" by ATM & IMD), and adopted the latter as his walk-up music, Oakland went on a la...