mlb Page 441 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Yorvit Torrealba Spread The Holiday Spirit By Slugging A Venezuelan League Umpire
Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba is spending the offseason playing for his hometown Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan League, and after missing badly for strike three took his frustrations out on the umpire in an ugly way. It was, if my Spanish is correct, one of two attacks on the home plate u...

FBI Docs: The Sad Story Of The FBI Agent Who Was Ordered To Unclog George Steinbrenner's Toilet
On Thursday, we described the FBI's internal investigation into Steinbrenner's curiously close relationship with the bureau's Tampa field office. We will now commence with the presentation of amusements and oddities found in the nearly 700 pages of new Steinbrenner records the FBI turned over to us....

Heading Into 2012, Oddibe McDowell's Water Bill Is Once Again Past Due
Bad news for Oddibe. With the new year approaching, he still hasn't paid his water bill. More as the situation warrants....

FBI Docs: George Steinbrenner Thought The FBI Was The "Nearest Thing To Perfection"
When we published my October profile of Howie Spira, the gambler who tangled with George Steinbrenner and wound up in prison, I knew the story wasn't over. In the course of my reporting, I'd submitted a few Freedom of Information Act requests to the FBI. These things can take a while for the federal...

The BBWAA's Internal Explanation Of Its Initial Statement About Bill Conlin Says A Lot About The BBWAA
We told you yesterday how the Baseball Writers' Association of America had to revise its initial statement about the accusations made against Bill Conlin, after the original one affirmed Conlin's "good standing" as a Baseball Writer and forgot to express any sympathy toward the alleged victims or a...

The Atlanta Braves Wish You A Merry Christmas By Performing The Worst Rendition Of "Jingle Bells" Imaginable
Kris Medlen (the puffy-cheeked one with the bent brim) is the only one who gives it any effort, and he's followed by Chipper Jones's smug sunburnt visage. Ugh. Merry Christmas....

The Boston Red Sox Who Stole Christmas
Aww, that's cute! Cute and a violation of copyright, per Character Arts, the company that represents licensing concerns for the Rudolph character (officially owned by the cleverly-named Rudolph, LLC). You can get the full story over at Boston Sports Then And Now, but the gist is that the Red Sox pro...

Victor Conte Says Ryan Braun's Test Result Is Exactly What You'd Expect From Fast-Acting Testosterone, Not Anabolic Steroids
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: Conte says Braun is "dead in the water."...

This Is Don Mattingly As Mother Ginger In A Ballet Rendition Of <em>The Nutcracker</em>
The Dodgers manager's wife, Lori, had introduced him to the ballet. He "thought it would be fun" to join the company in his hometown of Evansville (Ind.), and he made his debut on Saturday night—blonde wig, makeup, blue dress, and all, thinking it "would be funny." Mattingly didn't dance, but based...

Teams Bid For Yu Darvish, Carlos Zambrano Climbed Some Mountains, And Other Hot Fucking Stove News
Your roundup of all the hottest hot-stove items of the day (and whatever shit Ken Rosenthal is throwing against the wall.) This is ... HOT FUCKING STOVE!!...

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About How Spectacularly Broke The Mets (And Their Owners) Are
Dan Lewis at Amazin' Avenue makes sense of the Mets' finances so you don't have to. Essentially, they're fucked independent of Bernie Madoff, and everything the team could conceivably sell is mortgaged. Makes you yearn for a couple months ago, when the team was a fuzz less fucked, but still fucked. ...

John Rocker Admits Steroid Use, File Under "Who Gives A Shit?"
John Rocker wants you to give a shit, because he's got a book coming out. It makes a perfect Christmas present for someone you hate, but is not appropriate as a gift for Eid or Diwali because John Rocker doesn't want brown people currency. To drum up interest for the book, Rocker's doing the intervi...

Report: Derek Jeter Once Again Plowing Everything In Sight
Baseball season never ends for the New York Post. Derek Jeter's in the news today because he's reportedly back in the game with a vengeance. After breaking up with Minka Kelly, Jeter is "bedding a bevy of beauties" (because the Post lives in the 1960s) and diluting the collectibles market at the sam...

Phillies Sign Dontrelle Willis, Reports Some Guy Who Says He Accidentally Got Forwarded An Email From Ruben Amaro
Ruben Amaro is a ninja—except when his email blasts on free agency signings find their way into the wrong hands. A reader forwards along this missive, purportedly from Ruben Amaro to the front office announcing that the Phillies are signing Dontrelle Willis to a one-year deal pending a physical. Bec...

A Guide To The Medical, Semantic Mess Of Ryan Braun's PED Case
We told you on Saturday night about Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, the reigning National League MVP, and his failed drug test....

Someone Wrote The Craziest Thing You'll Ever Read About Tom Verducci
Over at Baseball Prospectus, Jason Parks leers literarily at SI's man: "He didn't intend to harass Verducci, although in hindsight the behavior he exhibited did appear suspect to most casual eyes. ... On the walks, he said he would track his (the World) movements, studying his gait and his smile, ho...

Report: National League MVP Ryan Braun Failed A Performance-Enhancing-Drug Test
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is disputing the results of his recent urine test, which is why MLB hasn't announced the result or any discipline. If Braun's appeal fails, he would face a 50-game suspension next spring....

Oakland A's Trade All-Star Pitcher Not Named Gio Gonzalez, Twitter Is Validated
Oakland pulled off a trade yesterday, sending Trevor Cahill, Craig Breslow and some cash to the Diamondbacks. In return, Oakland received "one of the Diamondbacks' top young pitching prospects, right-hander Jarrod Parker, plus outfielder Collin Cowgill and reliever Ryan Cook, a pair of rookies."...

Here's The Newspaper Ad Albert Pujols Took Out To Thank St. Louis Fans
It's become almost expected for itinerant athletes to go the newspaper ad route when leaving town, and at this point free agency might be the only thing keeping print media alive. Pujols took out a full-page ad on C10 of today's Post-Dispatch fondly reminiscing on his time in St. Louis, but the typi...

A Dress Code For Baseball Scribes: Fair Or Foul?
Rick Bacon is the sports columnist for The Citizen-Pollinator of West Waterville, Missouri. He won an APSE award in 1987 for his column, "Batting Around." This is his second column for Deadspin. Read his first here....