mlb Page 549 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Rays Choose A Lawyer And A Golfer; Who Could Be More Exciting?
Tampa Bays Rays executives know that it's always a challenge to try and fill Tropicana Field, so with that in mind they went for the most exciting choice ever to throw out the first pitch in Game 1 of the ALDS. Was it the cast of Lost? Christian Bale? Tiger Woods? Well, you're close. Doing the honor...

Mets Fans Go Out With Quiet Grace And Dignity
I prefer not to think of this as an obscene gesture, but as a salute to 45 great years at Shea Stadium. The Marlins' 4-2 win on Sunday ended the Mets' season, but please, let there be no tears. Did you really want Shea to go out in some bland early-round playoff game? This is a much more appropriate...

Ozzie Guillen Lives to Curse Another Day
The White Sox picked a pretty good time to end their five game losing streak as they beat the Indians with a solid effort from starter Mark Buehrle. The win leaves the White Sox a half game behind the Twins who won themselves a ballgame in K.C. This gives the Sox a game tomorrow with the Detroit Tig...

Mets Close Out Shea as Losers; Brewers Go Wild
CC Sabathia, Milwaukee's big time mid-season acquisition, stepped up on the final day of the season to help the Brewers clinch the National League Wild Card spot with a win over the Cubs. Ryan Braun was once again the hero as his 2 run homer in the 8th put them ahead for good. The Brew Crew clinched...

Dustin Pedroia: Enemy of the Geese
Dustin Pedroia's stat lines this season have no doubt caught the eyes of fantasy baseball geeks, but his road to approach teammates like Big Papi in superstar status has been a bit tougher. Of course, everything's tougher when you're only five foot nothing. A profile in today's Boston Globe tells ta...

Game 162: Win or Go Home (or Play Again Tomorrow)
• Mets 2, Marlins 0 Johan Santana pitched the gem that the New York faithful needed from him. It was an absolutely impressive complete game, three hit shutout. But man, was it bizarre to hear Mets Manager Jerry Manuel talk about the game afterward, "Wow, wow, wow, wow. I think if I had to describe t...

HOLY CRAP! Phillies Win NL East On An Incredible Double Play
Jesus. Brad Lidge tried to give the entire city of Philadelphia a heart attack. In the top of the 9th with a two run lead, Lidge allowed a run to score and proceeded to load the bases. Jimmy Fucking Rollins made a ridiculous double play to clinch the National League East for the second straight year...

Tampa Bay Rays Win AL East in Fitting Fashion
• Tigers 6, Rays 4 The Rays lost to the Tigers last night but that didn't prevent fans on Main Street in Tampa from celebrating. With the Yankees putting up 19 runs to beat the Red Sox at Fenway, Tampa Bay clinched their first ever American League East crown. One more time: The Tampa Bay Rays are th...

Time To Unleash Your Shea Stadium Memories
"June 14, 1987. Mets, Phillies. We're enjoying a beautiful afternoon in the right field stands ..." One of the most famous Shea Stadium stories is fictional, of course. What can top Jerry Seinfeld explaining the physics of The Magic Loogie to Kramer and Newman? But you have real Shea memories, no do...

Strange Brew: Ryan Braun, Of All People, Keeps Milwaukee In The Chase
• Brewers 5, Pirates 1 (10 innings). Brew Crew Ball called it: This morning is the appropriate time for the untucking of shirts. Come on, untuck 'em! Wait ... is that, Brewers underwear? Oh Jesus. Well, tuck it back in, I guess. Ryan Braun was hitting .198 in September, with one home run and five RB...

Fukudome You, Oklahoma
Disturbing news from Oklahoma this morning, where once again our fundamental constitutional right to wear Kosuke Fukudome attire is being threatened by "the man." Rumors and Rants has the story, as apparently one of their readers was sent home from work on Casual Friday for wearing a Fukudome T-shir...

AL Roundup: Let's Play "Pounce on the Punto"
• Twins 7, White Sox, 6. : Coming into this series, the Minnesota Twins were 2.5 games back of the Chicago White Sox, but now sit atop the AL Central with a half game lead after storming back from a 6-1 deficit to defeat the spiraling White Sox 7-6 in a dramatic 10th inning. The Twins sturdy closer ...

Detroit Tigers' Season Cruelly Refuses To End
Despite what the calendar says, the Detroit Tigers called off their season weeks ago. They've won 5 games this month. They've lost 12 of their last 13, given six in a row to the Indians and Royals, their closer has already retired, Gary Sheffield is sharpening knives in his basement, and despite leg...

Were The Mariners About To Issue A Code Red On Ichiro?
This comes as news to me, but then I haven't followed the Mariners very closely since, well, ever; and that includes the years I lived in Seattle. Apparently Ichiro Suzuki is so unpopular with his teammates that several of them got together earlier in the season and planned how they were going to "g...

The Mets Take One Step Closer To Inevitable Implosion
This is going to be an interesting, rain-soaked weekend in baseball for the Northeast's playoff-challenged teams. Last night's Mets loss was just...wow. After switching over to ESPN to watch the game once the Phillies got completely waxed by the Braves, I was fully prepared to root for the Bastard M...

Twins Make Final, Headlong Dash Toward AL Central Title
With the Twins' most crucial three-game series of the season looming on Monday night, the Minneapolis Pioneer Press ran a column with the following headline: It's Not Likely That The Twins Can Sweep Their Final Two Series. That's the spirit, Twin Cities! But despite themselves, Minnesota fans find t...

Red Sox Clinch Playoffs, Celebrate Accordingly
Question for the day: Is the pictured celebration by the Red Sox on Tuesday really warranted, considering that all they clinched was a wild-card playoff berth? Sure, it's the playoffs, and that's cause for happiness, I suppose. But you didn't even win your division (although technically they still c...

The Tampa Bay Rays Are Still Adjusting To Success
The Rays have been a remarkable story all year and are headed to their first playoff appearance in the short history of the franchise, but they are still adjusting to the center stage of Octoberdom. The biggest stumbling block for them right now? They can't think of anyone to throw out the first pit...

Little Stein Just Wants People To Acknowledge The Unfairness Of It All
It just really isn't fair, and Hank Steinbrenner wants everyone to know it. Just take a look at the standings, everyone. The Yankees will finish with more wins than the Dodgers this season, yet the Dodgers are going to the playoffs, and the Yankees aren't! Oh, the horrid inequity of it all. In an ar...

Give Him Liberty, Or Give Him Beer: Rowdy Fan Says He Was 'Striking Back For Red Sox Nation'
When his colonial ancestors were being oppressed by a larger, more formidable power, they fought back the only way they knew how; with bold, guerrilla tactics. Could Red Sox fan Chris Sciesinski do any less? Trapped behind enemy lines at Tropicana Field, taunted and scorned beyond all reason by Tamp...