Month: August 2017

Bo Bichette skipped his freshman year of high school to hit big league bombs

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Normal 15-year-olds go to high school five days a week and deal with world-ending problems like homework, relationships, and trying to make the all-important freshman team.

Back in 2013, Blue Jays prospect Bo Bichette wasn’t a normal 15-year-old. Instead of starting high school the traditional way, Bichette spent the bulk of the year going to work with his dad, Dante, a four-time All-Star outfielder who at the time was serving as the Rockies hitting coach.

Dante, who retired after the 2001 season, accepted the Rockies job in Nov. 2012 and said he had immediate regrets about missing his family when he arrived in spring training. Those regrets vanished when Bo not only showed up at Coors Field, but became a valued member of the organization.

The KBO has its own Home Run Derby called the Home Run Race, which Cheap Custom Baseball Jerseys is split into two days, effectively combatting the fatigue MLB players experience in later rounds. It’s OK to admit that the final rounds of the Home Run Derby are sometimes the least exciting because with fatigue comes dropped bat heads, and with Wholesale Jerseys dropped bat heads come pop flies.

If we’re already going to campaign for a longer All-Star break, what’s an extra day or two for the most moonshottiest long balls and inclusion of those less tater-oriented among us? The All-Star Game was one of the most fun in years, or at least the only one that featured a gold-plated catcher taking a posed photo of an ump and the batter. The KBO has the fun thing figured out, and Rob Manfred would benefit from taking a few notes. In the meantime, throw some KBO games into your regularly scheduled mix of MLB.

With his seventh inning triple, Cody Bellinger became the first Dodger rookie to complete the cycle. The triple was not shy of Bellinger, and I am starting to think that this guy might be what the scouts call “good.”

The 5 best moments of the 2017 MLB All-Star Game

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The 2017 MLB All-Star Game is over, and the American League defeated the National League, 2-1 in extra innings to continue its recent dominance of the Senior Circuit. It doesn’t matter like it used to, since the All-Star Game no longer determines which league has home field advantage in the World Series, but that doesn’t mean the midsummer classic is without fun.

FOX and Major League Baseball invited all the living Latin members of the Baseball Hall of Fame to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the All-Star Game, and it made for a great start to this year’s proceedings.

They didn’t just line up to pitch, either: There was a video package showing highlights from each player’s career, and then they got a second introduction when they walked one at a time to the center of the infield to set up for their pitch.

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting Cheap Basketball Jerseys at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though. Subscribe to Cheap Blue Jays Jerseys our daily MLB newsletter and let us do the heavy lifting for you each morning to find the things you need to see.

In a field full of bubble teams that should be selling to help rebuild or adding to give all of this a better shot in 2018, the Royals have positioned themselves to go for it now. There are no guarantees with their record, and in the end, their poor start could prove to be too much of an anchor holding them fast. Right now, though, there are 10 teams in the AL sitting behind the Royals, and if they had played like they have the last two months all season, the number would be larger than that.

The All-Star break is too short

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Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though. We’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny the impact Selig has made on the game. He certainly fits the “fame” definition of Hall of Fame, so there’s that. Selig was commissioner during turbulent times such as the 1994 strike, the Montreal Expos’ relocation, and the infamous tied All-Star Game in 2002, which led to the winning team being granted home-field advantage in the World Series (thankfully that rule was undone this year).

Of course, Selig’s biggest legacy will be his role in baseball’s steroid era, the fallout of which is still being felt today. His handling of the scandal, and what could’ve been done differently, will be debated for many years to come and there don’t seem to be any easy answers. Nevertheless, there were some positives of Selig’s tenure, the most notable being over 20 years of labor peace and exploding league revenues.

White Sox: And the White Sox make it three teams we’re not mad at.

Astros: You just knew the Captain of the Fun Police, Brian McCann, wouldn’t have a nickname. Maybe he’s been a bad influence on George Springer and Cheap Authentic Jerseys Dallas Keuchel.

Mariners: Ben Gamel definitely should have Cheap Baseball Jerseys had a nickname, because I assumed he was Mat Gamel. Mike Zunino, you’ve got a Z in your name, like, Z Man is right there if you’re lazy as heck. Just pretend!

Clayton Kershaw is currently on the disabled list with a back injury

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Along with John Buccigross and Steve Levy, Cohn is one of the few “SportsCenter” anchors to keep the NHL flame burning in Bristol with ESPN not holding any TV rights. The native New Yorker told the Post she’d like to succeed Gary Bettman as NHL commissioner.

Previously, she admitted to the Post that ESPN’s liberal tilt has cost the sports cable network viewers. “If anyone wants to ignore that fact, they’re blind,” she said.

What we saw Tuesday was a “SportsCenter” anchor unplugged. After 25 years at ESPN, Cohn’s not afraid to tell it like it is, or at least at how she sees it. Good for her.

And enough already with the feel-good Cubs crap that’s coming a decade too late for Bartman. As Kyle Koster of the The Big Lead wrote, the ring was an “insultingly transparent public relations stunt that only accomplished the very thing Bartman has fought to avoid” all these years.

“There’s one fly in the saccharine sweet storybook ending. The Cubs could have done this in secret,” Koster wrote. “They could have done it without dragging Bartman, who has been dragged through more mud than Miss O’Leary’s cow, back into the spotlight.

Darvish struck out 10 with just one walk, making him the first pitcher since 1900 with 10-plus strikeouts and no more than one walk in his first start with the team.

With a last-minute deal before the July 31 trade deadline, the Dodgers pulled off their blockbuster trade for Darvish. Teams hoping the Dodgers might sit pat were brutally disappointed to see the best team in MLB get even stronger.

Clayton Kershaw is currently on Hockey Jerseys Cheap the disabled list with a back injury, but the potential for a Kershaw-Darvish tag team in the postseason is enticing. Lurking behind those Jerseys For Cheap two is Alex Wood, who is currently 13-1 with a 2.33 ERA., and Rich Hill, who was the National League pitcher of the month in July.

Disney/ESPN bid for MLB streaming is a power move, not power play

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ESPN’s entanglements with Major League Baseball are growing. Are they about to put a stranglehold on the game?

The network’s parent, Disney Corp., announced Tuesday that it had agreed to pay $1.58 billion to increase its stake in BAM Media, the company responsible for streaming MLB content, from 33 percent to 75 percent. BAM Media is a spinoff of MLB Advanced Media, baseball’s digital enterprise. Disney will employ BAM Media to help it launch its own streaming service next year.

Jeffress had a 2.38 in 158 appearances for Milwaukee over parts of three seasons, then was dealt to Texas in the Jonathan Lucroy trade last season. He’s struggled this year, though, posting a 5.31 ERA/5.83 FIP with the Rangers.

Everybody wants Brad Hand. Lefty reliever has a 2.57 ERA with 181 strikeouts in 143 1/3 innings over the past two years. He’s under club control through 2019, so the price will be steep.

Analysis (Gatto): Chicago deals its top prospect as it tries to become unbeatable in the NL Central. In exchange, it gets a controllable (through 2018) bullpen standout in Wilson and a power-hitting backup/platoon catcher in Avila (11 home runs in 2017). Wilson has closing ability (13 saves after replacing Francisco Rodriguez this season) but will serve as a key setup man for Wade Davis with the Cubs.

Detroit can now wish upon Candelario, 23, a corner infielder who already has 50 plate appearances in the majors. His NFL Jerseys Authentic Triple-A numbers this year are good but not overwhelming, though (12 homers, .868 OPS in the PCL through July 29).

Paredes, 18, was holding his own in the Single-A Midwest League (seven homers, .741 OPS through July 29) in his first full pro Liverpool Cheap Jerseys season. He signed with the Cubs out of Mexico on July 31, 2015.

Red Sox GM returns compliment, calls Yankees ‘Golden State Warriors’ after trades

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Eight months after Yankees GM Brian Cashman called the Red Sox “the Golden State Warriors of baseball,” Boston GM Dave Dombrowski returned the flattery on deadline day.

Dombrowski, who earned his team that “compliment” by adding Chris Sale to an already loaded Red Sox rotation, took a look at what his archrivals have done in recent weeks, capped by Monday’s move to acquire A’s starter Sonny Gray.

His assessment of that deal and the Yankees in general?

“You mean the Golden State Warriors?” Dombrowski joked with reporters (via ESPN.com). “Yeah, I think the Golden State Warriors have significantly made some moves. I expected it. I would’ve been surprised if they didn’t. But I think Brian probably has made them the Golden State Warriors and we’re the significant underdogs, when I’m listening to the MLB Network. I would anticipate, like he said earlier in the year that he didn’t know how the Red Sox would lose a game, I think it’ll be the same. I don’t know how they’ll lose a game right now. They made some good moves. They made their club significantly better.”

Analysis: The Blue Jays parted ways with another pitcher while the Indians moved to bolster an already-strong MLB Cheap Jerseys bullpen for the race to win the AL Central.

Smith, 33, had a 3.28 ERA for the Jays in 35 2/3 innings this season. He knows Cleveland well; he pitched with the NBA Jerseys For Sale Indians from 2009-13. Now he’ll join a relief corps that already included Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Zach McAllister and Dan Otero.

Josh Reddick: Astros ‘down in the dumps’ over lack of moves at trade deadline

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Dallas Keuchel said recently that calling the trade deadline a “disappointment was an understatement.” Josh Reddick is backing up those comments.

In an interview with MLB Network Radio, the 30-year-old outfielder said everyone in the clubhouse “knew” the team was going to make a trade that put the team over the top. That solidified their position as the team to beat in the AL.

“During tonight’s game, there was an incident involving a security guard,” the statement read. “We contract with a third-party security company and are currently investigating the situation. Violence in any form is not acceptable. We take this incident seriously.”

According to EastBayTimes.com, fans said “other guards appeared to express aggression against other fans.”

“We saw a line of about five, six security guards walking along the walkway on the top deck. The guard in front [who later got into the altercation] seemed to be looking for someone specific,” one fan told EastBayTimes.com. “They passed about three or four sections to our left, then returned.

“The guard in the lead seemed to single someone out in the crowd. She began pointing at someone several rows up, gesturing and yelling. The group of guards started walking up to the fans, and all of a sudden the guard [black jacket in the video] grabbed a female fan’s hair and punched her several times.”

As far as actually automating balls and strikes in MLB games, it’s clear that obstacles remain. Nothing with this sort of scope simply gets thrown into action. Just look at the pitch clock. While many believe that it’s on the way to the majors, the pitch clock was first implemented in the minor leagues as a beta test. Before Tampa Bay Lightning Cheap Jerseys MLB would consider a beta test for US Cheap Jerseys Club automating balls and strikes, we’d probably need to see an independent league implement a system and prove that it really works.

Taylor registered double-digit sack totals six times over an eight-year span from 2000-07.

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Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 and restored a winning tradition to the franchise. He became the first owner in league history to win three Super Bowls in the first seven years of ownership. Dallas has advanced to the postseason 13 times under Jones. A leader in marketing, Jones’ vision has shaped and inspired the Cowboys’ most recent project, “The Star,” the crown jewel of sports facilities.

He led the NFL with a career-high 18.5 sacks in 2002 and recorded more sacks than any other NFL player from 2000-11. He also recorded a league-tying 29 opponents’ fumbles recovered in his career.

Warner explained Saturday during his Hall of Fame induction speech at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, that he saw the Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback on a box of Wheaties while stocking shelves in Iowa.

A 3 a.m. conversation with that box of Wheaties “set the wheels of change in motion” for Warner to eventually join Marino as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Dan, I know you have no idea the role you played, but thanks for the motivation,” he said to Marino, who was seated behind Warner as he delivered his induction speech as the last member of the seven-man 2017 Hall of Fame class to speak Saturday in Canton.

After going undrafted from Northern Kids Football Jerseys Cheap Iowa in 1994, Warner spent training camp Knicks Cheap Jerseys with the Packers but was released. He then bagged groceries before getting an opportunity to play for the Iowa Barnstromers of the Arena Football League. After three seasons with the Barnstormers, with two Arena Bowl berths, Warner went to NFL Europe in 1998 before getting another shot at the NFL with the St. Louis Rams in 1999.

Panthers secretly tweeted the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ theme song over the course of three days

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The string of tweets is similar to what the Atlanta Hawks did in 2015 when they created a Spotify playlist thanking fans for their support after their 19-game winning streak.

It’s not the first time the Panthers have entertained us with their tweets. During last season, they mocked the NFL’s newly implemented social media policy preventing teams from using unapproved videos and GIFs during games. The tweet in question was later deleted.

Today’s surprise was a great way to make the offseason even a little more fun. NBA team Twitter accounts are usually the most creative, but the Panthers stepped it up right here.

OK, but we’re certainly not leaving OBJ off this list, either. With Eli Manning struggling of late, just imagine what New York’s passing game would be without Beckham as the straw stirring the drink. In an era full of first-round wideout whiffs, Beckham has done things few have to start a career at the position.

Before Jones puts away a small fortune for Prescott, he needs to take care of Martin. Interior offensive linemen lesser than him have enjoyed cashing in during free agency. The best guard in the league deserves the most guard money.

Collinsworth said that style frustrated defenses and set up big plays, and it didn’t take long for that to catch on when Warner was given a chance to start for the Rams.

Warner recalled the moment when he knew he belonged in the NFL, and it’s not what you might think. He was driving with his Hockey Jerseys Cheap wife Football Cheap Jerseys Brenda in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the week after his first start on Sept. 12, 1999, when he threw 309 yards and three TDs against the Baltimore Ravens. A Rams staffer let him know he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

I made it clear I wanted to stay with the Montreal Canadiens my whole career

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On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Andrei for his great contributions during his 16 seasons as a proud member of the Montreal Canadiens. Arguably one of the best defensemen in franchise history, Andrei was a model of dedication to the great game of hockey. A respected figure around the league and among his teammates, Andrei demonstrated leadership both on and off the ice. Andrei’s commitment to our franchise was second to none, proven by his overcoming three serious and potentially career-ending injuries. I would like to wish Andrei the best of luck in the next step of his career, and happiness with his family.

Markov, who participated in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics with Russia, said he’d welcome another trip to the Winter Games next February, but has no guarantees he’ll be named to the team.

While he spent time looking ahead to his next opportunities, Markov spoke more often of the past, and his tenure with the Canadiens, which now is complete.

“I made it clear I wanted to stay with the Montreal Canadiens my whole career, but it’s a business, I don’t blame anyone,” Markov explained. “My dream was always to win the Stanley Cup and bring it to Montreal; but now it is time for me to move on.”

The mutual decision to part ways was made public Thursday, though one did not need to read tea leaves in order to predict this likely outcome. An unrestricted free agent who averaged $5.75 million per-year on his previous contract, Markov became somewhat expendable when the Canadiens signed former Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner to a five-year deal July 1. With just about $18 million committed annually the next four years to three defensemen — Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, and Alzner — the Canadiens were not Cheap Bike Jerseys For Men looking Cheap Authentic Jerseys From China to invest in a big contract with Markov, no matter their history with the stalwart defenseman.