Friday, October 28, 2005
Fate of game ball a well-kept secret
Thu, Oct. 27, 2005
HOUSTON - As the corks popped and champagne sprayed in the Chicago White Sox's locker room, a conspiracy was unfolding.
If any of the Sox knew what happened to the game ball, none were saying.
"I don't know, I really don't," World Series MVP Jermaine Dye said.
"I have no idea what happened to it," said Bobby Jenks, who earned the save.
Mark Buehrle knew the answer, but he wasn't telling.
"I can't say," said the Game 2 starter. "I know who has it, I know where it ended up, but I'm not going to say. Who knows? Maybe I stole it and put it in my locker."
The game ended when Astros pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro grounded to shortstop Juan Uribe, who threw the ball to first baseman Paul Konerko. The 1-0 victory secure, Konerko ran toward the mound and disappeared in a cluster of celebrating players.
When asked about the game ball's fate after it popped into his glove, Konerko wasn't revealing anything.
"I'm not doing interviews," he said as he partied with his teammates on the pitcher's mound.
The final-out ball from last year's World Series caused all kinds of commotion.
Boston first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz caught a toss from pitcher Keith Foulke to finish off a sweep of St. Louis, then kept the ball and squirreled it away. When the Red Sox wanted the souvenir, it touched off a debate: Were the Red Sox, Mientkiewicz or Major League Baseball entitled to the prize?
Eventually, a compromise was worked out and Mientkiewicz loaned it to the Red Sox for a year.
---
CATCH OF THE GAME: Astros second baseman Craig Biggio was hoping for some friendly fan interference on Chicago shortstop Juan Uribe's acrobatic catch in the ninth inning.
With one out and Jason Lane on second, Chris Burke popped a foul ball down the left-field line. Uribe ran over, his eyes to the sky, reached into the first row of fans, caught the ball and fell headfirst into the seats.
"The guy goes into the stands. How'd he pull it out?" Biggio said. "If I was a fan, I would've mauled him."
Sox third baseman Joe Crede was ready to make a play on the pop before Uribe went for it.
"I thought a fan caught it at first," Crede said. "But as he came back over and I saw he had the ball in his hand, I started screaming, 'Three, three, three!' so the guy wouldn't tag up."
Uribe also made the championship-clinching putout, beating Orlando Palmeiro by a half-step on a bouncer up the middle.
---
FAN APPRECIATION DAY: Not long after their season ended in disappointment, the Houston Astros came out of their dugout to greet the loyal fans who hung around to say goodbye.
"We wanted to come back out," first baseman Mike Lamb said. "These fans love us and we love them. That was the emotional part, saying thank you."
The fans were hardly the factor the Astros hoped they'd be at Minute Maid Park. Houston went 36-17 at home this year with the stadium's retractable roof closed and the noise trapped inside.
But major league baseball officials ordered the roof open for Games 3 and 4, diminishing the decibel level.
"I wish the roof was closed, to see how loud it could've gotten," Biggio said. "It's not an excuse, but to witness it would've been something."
---
KEEPSAKE JERSEY: Before he agreed to any postgame interviews, Astros slugger Lance Berkman went around the Houston locker room with a black marker and asked each of his teammates to autograph his jersey.
---
BIG HURT, BIG SMILE: Frank Thomas tried to hobble away from a bevy of teammates chasing him with bottles of champagne in Chicago's clubhouse after the White Sox won the World Series.
Caught in the corner of the clubhouse with a trash bag covering his broken left foot and a smile on his face, all he could do was laugh as he was soaked by the bubbly.
"This means everything to me," he said. "Whatever I do after this is extra. I just always wanted to get right here."
Thomas missed the first two months of the season recovering from offseason ankle surgery before hitting 10 homers in his first 69 at-bats. He missed the rest of the season after breaking his foot in late July.
"It doesn't matter that I didn't play in the Series," he said. "I'm just so happy for the team.
---
EXTRA BASES: The Astros are the first team to be swept in their first trip to the World Series. ... Chicago's 1-0 victory marked the 23rd time a team has clinched the World Series with a shutout. It was the third straight year it's happened. ... Astronauts Bill MacArthur and Valery Tokarev greeted fans on a giant video screen from the international space station before Game 4. ... Game 4 lasted 3 hours, 21 minutes - 2 hours, 21 minutes shorter than Game 3, the longest in World Series history.
Source: http://www.kentucky.com/
HOUSTON - As the corks popped and champagne sprayed in the Chicago White Sox's locker room, a conspiracy was unfolding.
If any of the Sox knew what happened to the game ball, none were saying.
"I don't know, I really don't," World Series MVP Jermaine Dye said.
"I have no idea what happened to it," said Bobby Jenks, who earned the save.
Mark Buehrle knew the answer, but he wasn't telling.
"I can't say," said the Game 2 starter. "I know who has it, I know where it ended up, but I'm not going to say. Who knows? Maybe I stole it and put it in my locker."
The game ended when Astros pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro grounded to shortstop Juan Uribe, who threw the ball to first baseman Paul Konerko. The 1-0 victory secure, Konerko ran toward the mound and disappeared in a cluster of celebrating players.
When asked about the game ball's fate after it popped into his glove, Konerko wasn't revealing anything.
"I'm not doing interviews," he said as he partied with his teammates on the pitcher's mound.
The final-out ball from last year's World Series caused all kinds of commotion.
Boston first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz caught a toss from pitcher Keith Foulke to finish off a sweep of St. Louis, then kept the ball and squirreled it away. When the Red Sox wanted the souvenir, it touched off a debate: Were the Red Sox, Mientkiewicz or Major League Baseball entitled to the prize?
Eventually, a compromise was worked out and Mientkiewicz loaned it to the Red Sox for a year.
---
CATCH OF THE GAME: Astros second baseman Craig Biggio was hoping for some friendly fan interference on Chicago shortstop Juan Uribe's acrobatic catch in the ninth inning.
With one out and Jason Lane on second, Chris Burke popped a foul ball down the left-field line. Uribe ran over, his eyes to the sky, reached into the first row of fans, caught the ball and fell headfirst into the seats.
"The guy goes into the stands. How'd he pull it out?" Biggio said. "If I was a fan, I would've mauled him."
Sox third baseman Joe Crede was ready to make a play on the pop before Uribe went for it.
"I thought a fan caught it at first," Crede said. "But as he came back over and I saw he had the ball in his hand, I started screaming, 'Three, three, three!' so the guy wouldn't tag up."
Uribe also made the championship-clinching putout, beating Orlando Palmeiro by a half-step on a bouncer up the middle.
---
FAN APPRECIATION DAY: Not long after their season ended in disappointment, the Houston Astros came out of their dugout to greet the loyal fans who hung around to say goodbye.
"We wanted to come back out," first baseman Mike Lamb said. "These fans love us and we love them. That was the emotional part, saying thank you."
The fans were hardly the factor the Astros hoped they'd be at Minute Maid Park. Houston went 36-17 at home this year with the stadium's retractable roof closed and the noise trapped inside.
But major league baseball officials ordered the roof open for Games 3 and 4, diminishing the decibel level.
"I wish the roof was closed, to see how loud it could've gotten," Biggio said. "It's not an excuse, but to witness it would've been something."
---
KEEPSAKE JERSEY: Before he agreed to any postgame interviews, Astros slugger Lance Berkman went around the Houston locker room with a black marker and asked each of his teammates to autograph his jersey.
---
BIG HURT, BIG SMILE: Frank Thomas tried to hobble away from a bevy of teammates chasing him with bottles of champagne in Chicago's clubhouse after the White Sox won the World Series.
Caught in the corner of the clubhouse with a trash bag covering his broken left foot and a smile on his face, all he could do was laugh as he was soaked by the bubbly.
"This means everything to me," he said. "Whatever I do after this is extra. I just always wanted to get right here."
Thomas missed the first two months of the season recovering from offseason ankle surgery before hitting 10 homers in his first 69 at-bats. He missed the rest of the season after breaking his foot in late July.
"It doesn't matter that I didn't play in the Series," he said. "I'm just so happy for the team.
---
EXTRA BASES: The Astros are the first team to be swept in their first trip to the World Series. ... Chicago's 1-0 victory marked the 23rd time a team has clinched the World Series with a shutout. It was the third straight year it's happened. ... Astronauts Bill MacArthur and Valery Tokarev greeted fans on a giant video screen from the international space station before Game 4. ... Game 4 lasted 3 hours, 21 minutes - 2 hours, 21 minutes shorter than Game 3, the longest in World Series history.
Source: http://www.kentucky.com/
Ortiz knew '05 edition was lacking
October 27, 2005
HOUSTON -- Major League Baseball named a 12-member Latino Legends team last night, though the team's slugging left fielder, Manny Ramirez, was not in attendance. Still, Ramirez was a topic of discussion, for both Pedro Martinez, a pitcher on the Legends team, and David Ortiz, who did not make the team but attended Game 4 of the World Series to receive the Hank Aaron Award, presented to the best all-around hitter in each league.
Martinez, who has three seasons remaining on his contract with the Mets, said he visited Boston recently and was surprised to see that the ''papers said I was manipulating Manny" into requesting a trade to Queens.
''Manny's a strong man," Martinez said.
Ramirez had a meeting scheduled for yesterday in South Florida with his agent, Greg Genske, and Red Sox owner John W. Henry, though that get-together was postponed when Hurricane Wilma tore through Fort Lauderdale, where Ramirez lives.
''I don't know what [Ramirez's] idea is right now," said Ortiz, standing in a Minute Maid Park hallway next to fellow Hank Aaron Award winner Andruw Jones of the Braves.
''I'll tell you what, if you're going to let a guy like Manny go, you better bring someone in like this."
He motioned to Jones, who led the majors with 51 homers this season. Henry, though, wasn't convinced as of late last week that Ramirez wants out of town.
''We do this every six months or so -- certainly every winter," Henry said, intimating that the mere fact that the sides are meeting isn't unusual.
Ortiz, meanwhile, seems to have moved past the initial sting of being swept out of the postseason by the White Sox. He knew early on in the season, he said, that the 2005 Red Sox weren't as well constructed as the 2003 and 2004 editions.
''Tell you the truth," he said, ''in 2003, when we almost got to the World Series, it was tough. That year it hurt more than this year, not because we won the World Series the year before, but because we had a better team in 2003. At the very beginning of [this] season you could see our team doesn't have the consistency that we need to win the World Series.
''Last year we struggled in the playoffs but we bounced back. We had the team. But this year it was up and down. We knew that the way we played we were a little surprised being in the playoffs. After that, come the playoffs, we played the team that played the best all year round."
Ortiz worried all season about the team's pitching, and come the end of the year, the club's shortcoming, he said, ''was pretty much that."
And, he said, when the time came to play small ball, the Red Sox couldn't do it.
''When you need a guy to move a runner over, they're not used to it," he said. ''It's not their fault. It's not their game."
Source: http://www.boston.com/
HOUSTON -- Major League Baseball named a 12-member Latino Legends team last night, though the team's slugging left fielder, Manny Ramirez, was not in attendance. Still, Ramirez was a topic of discussion, for both Pedro Martinez, a pitcher on the Legends team, and David Ortiz, who did not make the team but attended Game 4 of the World Series to receive the Hank Aaron Award, presented to the best all-around hitter in each league.
Martinez, who has three seasons remaining on his contract with the Mets, said he visited Boston recently and was surprised to see that the ''papers said I was manipulating Manny" into requesting a trade to Queens.
''Manny's a strong man," Martinez said.
Ramirez had a meeting scheduled for yesterday in South Florida with his agent, Greg Genske, and Red Sox owner John W. Henry, though that get-together was postponed when Hurricane Wilma tore through Fort Lauderdale, where Ramirez lives.
''I don't know what [Ramirez's] idea is right now," said Ortiz, standing in a Minute Maid Park hallway next to fellow Hank Aaron Award winner Andruw Jones of the Braves.
''I'll tell you what, if you're going to let a guy like Manny go, you better bring someone in like this."
He motioned to Jones, who led the majors with 51 homers this season. Henry, though, wasn't convinced as of late last week that Ramirez wants out of town.
''We do this every six months or so -- certainly every winter," Henry said, intimating that the mere fact that the sides are meeting isn't unusual.
Ortiz, meanwhile, seems to have moved past the initial sting of being swept out of the postseason by the White Sox. He knew early on in the season, he said, that the 2005 Red Sox weren't as well constructed as the 2003 and 2004 editions.
''Tell you the truth," he said, ''in 2003, when we almost got to the World Series, it was tough. That year it hurt more than this year, not because we won the World Series the year before, but because we had a better team in 2003. At the very beginning of [this] season you could see our team doesn't have the consistency that we need to win the World Series.
''Last year we struggled in the playoffs but we bounced back. We had the team. But this year it was up and down. We knew that the way we played we were a little surprised being in the playoffs. After that, come the playoffs, we played the team that played the best all year round."
Ortiz worried all season about the team's pitching, and come the end of the year, the club's shortcoming, he said, ''was pretty much that."
And, he said, when the time came to play small ball, the Red Sox couldn't do it.
''When you need a guy to move a runner over, they're not used to it," he said. ''It's not their fault. It's not their game."
Source: http://www.boston.com/
October was one to remember
HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros had just been swept by the Chicago White Sox in the 101st World Series on Wednesday night, but even that disappointment couldn't completely ruin what had been a magnificent October by the Astros. For the first time since the franchise began play in 1962, Houston reached the World Series with an inspiring October run that won't soon be forgotten.
"[October] was a lot like our season in general," said second baseman Craig Biggio. "Some highs, some lows, but we kept moving ahead until the end. Every day was tense -- every pitch, almost. A lot of emotion swings. Say what you will about it, it was never boring."
Quite the opposite.
Beginning with the Wild Card-clinching win over the Cubs on Oct. 2, right through the Game 4 loss in the World Series to the White Sox, October was a wild ride for the back-to-back National League Wild Card winners.
The Astros capped their unbelievable run from a 15-30 record in May to the playoffs with a come-from-behind win over the Cubs at Minute Maid Park on the final day of the regular season. Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the Astros tied the game on Jason Lane's homer, and Adam Everett scored the go-ahead run later on an error in the inning as Houston earned a 6-4 win behind Roy Oswalt.
Oswalt, as he had been so many times during the season, was the stopper in the game the Astros had to have to edge the Phillies for the final NL playoff berth.
The Astros met a familiar foe in the National League Division Series in the Atlanta Braves.
Morgan Ensberg drove in five runs on three hits in Game 1, tying Carlos Beltran's franchise record for RBIs in a playoff game, and Andy Pettitte limited Atlanta to four hits and three runs in seven innings as Houston took a 10-5 victory in the opener.
The Braves evened the series the next day as rookie Brian McCann, in his first career playoff plate appearance, hit a three-run home run off Roger Clemens to help the Braves to a 7-1 win behind John Smoltz.
A sellout crowd at Minute Maid Park saw the Astros regain the series lead with a 7-3 win in Game 3 as Oswalt held the Braves to three runs in 7 1/3 innings. Mike Lamb broke a 2-2 tie with a solo homer in the third, and Biggio, who had three doubles on the day, keyed a four-run Houston seventh with a leadoff two-bagger off Chris Reitsma.
Game 4 of the NLDS made playoff history.
The longest postseason game in Major League history had it all: grand slams by Atlanta's Adam LaRoche and Houston's Lance Berkman, and a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth by Astros catcher Brad Ausmus.
The game featured Clemens' first relief outing since July 18, 1984, and his first career pinch-hit appearance. Houston backup catcher Raul Chavez played first base for the first time in his career, and starting catcher Ausmus played some first base, but then moved back behind the plate when Clemens came in the game.
The sellout crowd of 43,413 saw Houston come back from a 6-1 eighth-inning deficit to win, 7-6. They saw 90 years on this earth and 42 years of Major League experience do battle when the 43-year-old Clemens faced 47-year-old Julio Franco.
When it finally ended, they saw Houston rookie Chris Burke drill a walk-off home run with one out in the 18th inning to send the Astros to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"It took every single guy we had. It took every single ounce of energy we had," Houston closer Brad Lidge said. "That's why it feels so good right now. It's just incredible. When you win a game like this, you know you've put everything on the line ... that's why it feels great."
The Rocket was literally the last man in the bullpen. He delivered a sacrifice bunt in the 15th in a pinch-hit appearance, and then stayed in the game for the final three innings.
"I've been in a lot of wonderful playoff games, a lot of wonderful World Series -- a couple of them," Clemens said. "I think a couple of the best ones I've been in have been on the losing side. But this game here was incredible."
Burke's next playoff at-bat would come on Oct. 12, when he delivered a pinch-hit two-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 1 of the NLCS at St. Louis. However, the Astros couldn't mount much else offensively against Chris Carpenter as the Cardinals claimed a 5-3 victory.
Game 2 of the NLCS was Oswalt's turn, and once again the right-hander was sensational in a big game. The right-hander gave up five hits in seven innings, although he lost his shutout bid on a solo homer by Albert Pujols in the sixth. Oswalt walked three and struck out six.
"He was outstanding," Everett said. "Every pitch he threw just seemed like it had a little bit extra. His curveball was great; his slider and his fastball [were] tremendous."
Burke, the NLDS hero, contributed a triple, an RBI single and two runs scored. The top third of the order -- Biggio, Willy Taveras and Lance Berkman -- were a combined 6-for-14. Burke, Everett and Ausmus contributed a combined two RBIs and three runs scored.
The Astros returned home for Game 3 and took a one-game advantage in the series, thanks to Lamb's two-run homer and Lane's RBI single and run scored, as the Astros and Clemens won, 4-3.
In Game 4, the Astros outpitched, outhit and outplayed the NL Central Division champs in a tight contest that wasn't decided until Houston snuffed out a ninth-inning rally with an improbable double play that even the Astros doubted they could turn.
When Eric Bruntlett and Everett teamed up for the game-ending 4-6-3 double play on a slow grounder off the bat of John Mabry, the Astros had parlayed their October magic into one more win that put them on the cusp of the World Series.
"When that ball left [Mabry's] bat, I thought, 'No way we turn that double play,'" Ensberg said. "I didn't think it was hit hard enough, but Eric made a quick throw, and Adam turned it about as quick as you'll ever see. It was an amazing play, really."
Houston's pitching staff continued to stifle St. Louis, holding the Cards to one run on five hits.
"I think we're all a little shocked right now at the way that game just ended," said Lamb. "It's a great feeling to be up 3-1 on the defending National League champions, but we've still got a long way to go."
That became evident the next night when the Astros came within one strike of clinching the NL pennant.
In Game 5, the Astros appeared to have their first trip to the World Series wrapped up after Berkman's go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh, but Pujols' three-run blast in the ninth off Lidge saved the Cards.
"This is why this game is so great. This is why we all play it and this is why we all love it," said Lane. "This was two great teams slugging back and forth."
Added Ausmus: "It just wasn't meant to be. It was actually a great baseball game to sit and watch. Unfortunately for us, we wound up losing."
It was truly one for the ages, with tension on every pitch and an emotional grind for all. There was the euphoria for the Astros over Berkman's opposite-field three-run homer in the seventh inning off Carpenter that gave Houston the lead, followed minutes later by the disappointment over the Cardinals, one pitch away from elimination, rallying with one of the more incredible comebacks in playoff history against one of the best closers in the game.
"The fans certainly got their money's worth," said Biggio.
Back in St. Louis for Game 6, the Astros turned to their stopper one more time.
With Oswalt pitching another masterpiece in a convincing 5-1 win over the Cardinals, the resilient Astros did what their doubters said they couldn't do -- make it to the World Series for the first time in the 44 years since the franchise began play in 1962.
Lane contributed a home run, and Ausmus had three hits.
"People that thought we would be down or flat after [the loss in Game 5] don't understand this team at all," Ensberg said. "I mean, we came back from 15-30; we came back from devastating losses before. No one in this room doubted we would come back again."
Houston's first World Series game didn't go as well as hoped, as Roger Clemens left in the second inning because of a strained left hamstring.
Lamb hit his third homer of the postseason and Berkman drove in two runs on two hits, but it wasn't enough as the White Sox and Jose Contreras recorded a 5-3 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.
Game 2 proved to be one of the most exciting games of the Series, as Houston was unable to hold a 4-2 lead in the seventh. Pettitte held the White Sox to two runs in six innings, but the White Sox broke through for four runs off the Houston bullpen in the seventh to take the lead.
The Astros weren't finished.
With two on and two outs in the top of the ninth, Jose Vizcaino lined a two-run single off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks to tie the game. Burke slid under the tag of Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski to keep his team alive.
Unfortunately for the Astros, the White Sox had an improbable comeback of their own for the bottom of the ninth.
With one out, Scott Podsednik, who didn't hit a homer in the regular season, hit a solo shot to right-center off Lidge to give Chicago a 7-6 victory and a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
The Astros were rolling along with a 4-0 lead in the fifth in Game 3 at Minute Maid Park. Oswalt was on the mound, the crowd was into it and the Astros seemed headed towards their first Fall Classic win. But a five-run fifth by Chicago, during which it sent 11 men to the plate, erased Houston's lead.
The Astros tied it on Jason Lane's RBI single in the eighth. And it stayed tied until the 14th inning, when former Astro Geoff Blum's home run gave the White Sox the lead in what was the longest World Series game in history.
Brandon Backe shut out the White Sox on five hits in seven innings in Game 4, but Chicago right-hander Freddy Garcia (another former Astro) was just as stingy. The game went to the bullpens, and Jermaine Dye's RBI single with two outs in the eighth was the difference in a 1-0 victory that gave the White Sox their first World Series title in 88 years.
For the Astros, their wild October ended with the tying run at second when Orlando Palmeiro grounded out to end the game.
"I was with a World Series winner [the Angels in 2002], but this was more exciting because we came from so far back and had so much to overcome to get here," Palmeiro said. "This has been an unbelieveable run."
Source: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/
"[October] was a lot like our season in general," said second baseman Craig Biggio. "Some highs, some lows, but we kept moving ahead until the end. Every day was tense -- every pitch, almost. A lot of emotion swings. Say what you will about it, it was never boring."
Quite the opposite.
Beginning with the Wild Card-clinching win over the Cubs on Oct. 2, right through the Game 4 loss in the World Series to the White Sox, October was a wild ride for the back-to-back National League Wild Card winners.
The Astros capped their unbelievable run from a 15-30 record in May to the playoffs with a come-from-behind win over the Cubs at Minute Maid Park on the final day of the regular season. Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the Astros tied the game on Jason Lane's homer, and Adam Everett scored the go-ahead run later on an error in the inning as Houston earned a 6-4 win behind Roy Oswalt.
Oswalt, as he had been so many times during the season, was the stopper in the game the Astros had to have to edge the Phillies for the final NL playoff berth.
The Astros met a familiar foe in the National League Division Series in the Atlanta Braves.
Morgan Ensberg drove in five runs on three hits in Game 1, tying Carlos Beltran's franchise record for RBIs in a playoff game, and Andy Pettitte limited Atlanta to four hits and three runs in seven innings as Houston took a 10-5 victory in the opener.
The Braves evened the series the next day as rookie Brian McCann, in his first career playoff plate appearance, hit a three-run home run off Roger Clemens to help the Braves to a 7-1 win behind John Smoltz.
A sellout crowd at Minute Maid Park saw the Astros regain the series lead with a 7-3 win in Game 3 as Oswalt held the Braves to three runs in 7 1/3 innings. Mike Lamb broke a 2-2 tie with a solo homer in the third, and Biggio, who had three doubles on the day, keyed a four-run Houston seventh with a leadoff two-bagger off Chris Reitsma.
Game 4 of the NLDS made playoff history.
The longest postseason game in Major League history had it all: grand slams by Atlanta's Adam LaRoche and Houston's Lance Berkman, and a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth by Astros catcher Brad Ausmus.
The game featured Clemens' first relief outing since July 18, 1984, and his first career pinch-hit appearance. Houston backup catcher Raul Chavez played first base for the first time in his career, and starting catcher Ausmus played some first base, but then moved back behind the plate when Clemens came in the game.
The sellout crowd of 43,413 saw Houston come back from a 6-1 eighth-inning deficit to win, 7-6. They saw 90 years on this earth and 42 years of Major League experience do battle when the 43-year-old Clemens faced 47-year-old Julio Franco.
When it finally ended, they saw Houston rookie Chris Burke drill a walk-off home run with one out in the 18th inning to send the Astros to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"It took every single guy we had. It took every single ounce of energy we had," Houston closer Brad Lidge said. "That's why it feels so good right now. It's just incredible. When you win a game like this, you know you've put everything on the line ... that's why it feels great."
The Rocket was literally the last man in the bullpen. He delivered a sacrifice bunt in the 15th in a pinch-hit appearance, and then stayed in the game for the final three innings.
"I've been in a lot of wonderful playoff games, a lot of wonderful World Series -- a couple of them," Clemens said. "I think a couple of the best ones I've been in have been on the losing side. But this game here was incredible."
Burke's next playoff at-bat would come on Oct. 12, when he delivered a pinch-hit two-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 1 of the NLCS at St. Louis. However, the Astros couldn't mount much else offensively against Chris Carpenter as the Cardinals claimed a 5-3 victory.
Game 2 of the NLCS was Oswalt's turn, and once again the right-hander was sensational in a big game. The right-hander gave up five hits in seven innings, although he lost his shutout bid on a solo homer by Albert Pujols in the sixth. Oswalt walked three and struck out six.
"He was outstanding," Everett said. "Every pitch he threw just seemed like it had a little bit extra. His curveball was great; his slider and his fastball [were] tremendous."
Burke, the NLDS hero, contributed a triple, an RBI single and two runs scored. The top third of the order -- Biggio, Willy Taveras and Lance Berkman -- were a combined 6-for-14. Burke, Everett and Ausmus contributed a combined two RBIs and three runs scored.
The Astros returned home for Game 3 and took a one-game advantage in the series, thanks to Lamb's two-run homer and Lane's RBI single and run scored, as the Astros and Clemens won, 4-3.
In Game 4, the Astros outpitched, outhit and outplayed the NL Central Division champs in a tight contest that wasn't decided until Houston snuffed out a ninth-inning rally with an improbable double play that even the Astros doubted they could turn.
When Eric Bruntlett and Everett teamed up for the game-ending 4-6-3 double play on a slow grounder off the bat of John Mabry, the Astros had parlayed their October magic into one more win that put them on the cusp of the World Series.
"When that ball left [Mabry's] bat, I thought, 'No way we turn that double play,'" Ensberg said. "I didn't think it was hit hard enough, but Eric made a quick throw, and Adam turned it about as quick as you'll ever see. It was an amazing play, really."
Houston's pitching staff continued to stifle St. Louis, holding the Cards to one run on five hits.
"I think we're all a little shocked right now at the way that game just ended," said Lamb. "It's a great feeling to be up 3-1 on the defending National League champions, but we've still got a long way to go."
That became evident the next night when the Astros came within one strike of clinching the NL pennant.
In Game 5, the Astros appeared to have their first trip to the World Series wrapped up after Berkman's go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh, but Pujols' three-run blast in the ninth off Lidge saved the Cards.
"This is why this game is so great. This is why we all play it and this is why we all love it," said Lane. "This was two great teams slugging back and forth."
Added Ausmus: "It just wasn't meant to be. It was actually a great baseball game to sit and watch. Unfortunately for us, we wound up losing."
It was truly one for the ages, with tension on every pitch and an emotional grind for all. There was the euphoria for the Astros over Berkman's opposite-field three-run homer in the seventh inning off Carpenter that gave Houston the lead, followed minutes later by the disappointment over the Cardinals, one pitch away from elimination, rallying with one of the more incredible comebacks in playoff history against one of the best closers in the game.
"The fans certainly got their money's worth," said Biggio.
Back in St. Louis for Game 6, the Astros turned to their stopper one more time.
With Oswalt pitching another masterpiece in a convincing 5-1 win over the Cardinals, the resilient Astros did what their doubters said they couldn't do -- make it to the World Series for the first time in the 44 years since the franchise began play in 1962.
Lane contributed a home run, and Ausmus had three hits.
"People that thought we would be down or flat after [the loss in Game 5] don't understand this team at all," Ensberg said. "I mean, we came back from 15-30; we came back from devastating losses before. No one in this room doubted we would come back again."
Houston's first World Series game didn't go as well as hoped, as Roger Clemens left in the second inning because of a strained left hamstring.
Lamb hit his third homer of the postseason and Berkman drove in two runs on two hits, but it wasn't enough as the White Sox and Jose Contreras recorded a 5-3 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.
Game 2 proved to be one of the most exciting games of the Series, as Houston was unable to hold a 4-2 lead in the seventh. Pettitte held the White Sox to two runs in six innings, but the White Sox broke through for four runs off the Houston bullpen in the seventh to take the lead.
The Astros weren't finished.
With two on and two outs in the top of the ninth, Jose Vizcaino lined a two-run single off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks to tie the game. Burke slid under the tag of Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski to keep his team alive.
Unfortunately for the Astros, the White Sox had an improbable comeback of their own for the bottom of the ninth.
With one out, Scott Podsednik, who didn't hit a homer in the regular season, hit a solo shot to right-center off Lidge to give Chicago a 7-6 victory and a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
The Astros were rolling along with a 4-0 lead in the fifth in Game 3 at Minute Maid Park. Oswalt was on the mound, the crowd was into it and the Astros seemed headed towards their first Fall Classic win. But a five-run fifth by Chicago, during which it sent 11 men to the plate, erased Houston's lead.
The Astros tied it on Jason Lane's RBI single in the eighth. And it stayed tied until the 14th inning, when former Astro Geoff Blum's home run gave the White Sox the lead in what was the longest World Series game in history.
Brandon Backe shut out the White Sox on five hits in seven innings in Game 4, but Chicago right-hander Freddy Garcia (another former Astro) was just as stingy. The game went to the bullpens, and Jermaine Dye's RBI single with two outs in the eighth was the difference in a 1-0 victory that gave the White Sox their first World Series title in 88 years.
For the Astros, their wild October ended with the tying run at second when Orlando Palmeiro grounded out to end the game.
"I was with a World Series winner [the Angels in 2002], but this was more exciting because we came from so far back and had so much to overcome to get here," Palmeiro said. "This has been an unbelieveable run."
Source: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/
Mets turn attention to free agents
10/27/2005
NEW YORK -- Four players who hold great interest for the Mets -- White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, Phillies closer Billy Wagner, Angels catcher Bengie Molina and Padres catcher Ramon Hernandez -- filed for free agency on Thursday, the first day they were eligible to do so. Each would fill a significant hole in the Mets' projected team for 2006.
At this point, the Mets have no definite designs for first base, second base, closer or catcher. Chances are the club won't sign more than two free agents and who they do sign -- if any -- will dictate what other free agent they will pursue.
For example, if they were to sign Hernandez and Konerko, they might be more inclined to have rookie Anderson Hernandez play second base. But if they were to sign Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal -- he was not among the 62 players who filed for free agency on Thursday -- to play second base, as they have discussed, and Molina, they might be more inclined to have rookie Mike Jacobs play first base next season.
The Mets will begin to put their planned pursuit in action now that players who have filed are free to speak with all clubs. Only a free agent's incumbent club can negotiate a contract during the 15-day filing period which began Thursday. But all clubs can discuss how the player would be used, the strengths of the club and the benefits of playing in a specific market.
Two Mets were among those who did file: Marlon Anderson and Danny Graves. Anderson is almost certain to return. He is a favorite of manager Willie Randolph and signed with the Mets last offseason because of his desire to play for Randolph. Anderson batted .321 as a pinch-hitter and .246 overall in 2005. He started 47 games -- 16 at first, 16 at second, four in left field, nine in right and two as the designated hitter.
Graves will not to return. His Mets tenure was marked with appearances that, for the most part, were brief and ineffective. Now his tenure looks the same. The Mets declined to exercise their option on the contract of the veteran relief pitcher on Thursday, choosing to pay a $500,000 buyout rather that pay him $5 million for 2006.
The Graves move came as no surprise. The former closer not only pitched poorly -- a 5.75 ERA in 20 appearances and 20 1/3 innings -- he also was removed from the Mets 40-man roster for two weeks in the late summer. Signed by the Mets on June 11 after he was released by the Reds, Graves allowed 29 hits, five of them home runs, and eight walks and hit three batters. Opponents batted .337 against him.
Graves is one of six players with options for 2006 who ended the season with the Mets. The others include Braden Looper and Doug Mientkiewicz -- whose contracts require action by the Mets on Monday -- Kaz Ishii, Felix Heredia, Dae Sung Koo and Steve Trachsel. Only Trachsel's option is likely to be exercised.
There was little chance the Mets would exercise their option on Mientkiewicz's contract when the season ended, and his public criticism of the club on Monday only reinforced that likelihood. By not picking up the option, the Mets save the entire $3.75 million Mientkiewicz would have earned in salary next season. He receives $450,000 by the terms of the buyout in the contract. But the Red Sox, the club from which the Mets acquired the first baseman in January, is obligated to pay that figure.
Mientkiewicz batted .240 in 275 at-bats, his strikeouts (39) and double play ground balls (11) nearly exceeding his RBI total (29) and extra-base hits (24).
Koo, who already is off the 40-player roster, Heredia and Ishii were three of the seven left-handed pitchers who appeared in Mets games last season, joining Tom Glavine, Royce Ring, Tim Hamulack and Mike Matthews. Of the seven, Glavine is the only one certain to return. The other six southpaws for 134 2/3 innings or 39 percent of the 346 innings thrown by Mets left-handers in 2005. Their combined ERA was 5.35.
The Mets have seven players eligible for free agency -- Miguel Cairo, Mike DiFelice, Roberto Hernandez, Jose Offerman, Mike Piazza, Shinjo Takatsu and Gerald Williams.
Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/
NEW YORK -- Four players who hold great interest for the Mets -- White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, Phillies closer Billy Wagner, Angels catcher Bengie Molina and Padres catcher Ramon Hernandez -- filed for free agency on Thursday, the first day they were eligible to do so. Each would fill a significant hole in the Mets' projected team for 2006.
At this point, the Mets have no definite designs for first base, second base, closer or catcher. Chances are the club won't sign more than two free agents and who they do sign -- if any -- will dictate what other free agent they will pursue.
For example, if they were to sign Hernandez and Konerko, they might be more inclined to have rookie Anderson Hernandez play second base. But if they were to sign Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal -- he was not among the 62 players who filed for free agency on Thursday -- to play second base, as they have discussed, and Molina, they might be more inclined to have rookie Mike Jacobs play first base next season.
The Mets will begin to put their planned pursuit in action now that players who have filed are free to speak with all clubs. Only a free agent's incumbent club can negotiate a contract during the 15-day filing period which began Thursday. But all clubs can discuss how the player would be used, the strengths of the club and the benefits of playing in a specific market.
Two Mets were among those who did file: Marlon Anderson and Danny Graves. Anderson is almost certain to return. He is a favorite of manager Willie Randolph and signed with the Mets last offseason because of his desire to play for Randolph. Anderson batted .321 as a pinch-hitter and .246 overall in 2005. He started 47 games -- 16 at first, 16 at second, four in left field, nine in right and two as the designated hitter.
Graves will not to return. His Mets tenure was marked with appearances that, for the most part, were brief and ineffective. Now his tenure looks the same. The Mets declined to exercise their option on the contract of the veteran relief pitcher on Thursday, choosing to pay a $500,000 buyout rather that pay him $5 million for 2006.
The Graves move came as no surprise. The former closer not only pitched poorly -- a 5.75 ERA in 20 appearances and 20 1/3 innings -- he also was removed from the Mets 40-man roster for two weeks in the late summer. Signed by the Mets on June 11 after he was released by the Reds, Graves allowed 29 hits, five of them home runs, and eight walks and hit three batters. Opponents batted .337 against him.
Graves is one of six players with options for 2006 who ended the season with the Mets. The others include Braden Looper and Doug Mientkiewicz -- whose contracts require action by the Mets on Monday -- Kaz Ishii, Felix Heredia, Dae Sung Koo and Steve Trachsel. Only Trachsel's option is likely to be exercised.
There was little chance the Mets would exercise their option on Mientkiewicz's contract when the season ended, and his public criticism of the club on Monday only reinforced that likelihood. By not picking up the option, the Mets save the entire $3.75 million Mientkiewicz would have earned in salary next season. He receives $450,000 by the terms of the buyout in the contract. But the Red Sox, the club from which the Mets acquired the first baseman in January, is obligated to pay that figure.
Mientkiewicz batted .240 in 275 at-bats, his strikeouts (39) and double play ground balls (11) nearly exceeding his RBI total (29) and extra-base hits (24).
Koo, who already is off the 40-player roster, Heredia and Ishii were three of the seven left-handed pitchers who appeared in Mets games last season, joining Tom Glavine, Royce Ring, Tim Hamulack and Mike Matthews. Of the seven, Glavine is the only one certain to return. The other six southpaws for 134 2/3 innings or 39 percent of the 346 innings thrown by Mets left-handers in 2005. Their combined ERA was 5.35.
The Mets have seven players eligible for free agency -- Miguel Cairo, Mike DiFelice, Roberto Hernandez, Jose Offerman, Mike Piazza, Shinjo Takatsu and Gerald Williams.
Source: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/
And Guillen thought Baker was his friend ... oh, well
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Houston -- The buzz from Wednesday's World Series Game 4 at the former Enron Field:
-- Cubs manager Dusty Baker, despite a warm relationship with cross-town counterpart Ozzie Guillen, was quoted in a magazine article saying he wouldn't root for the White Sox in the postseason. ("I sure as heck ain't rooting for the White Sox or Cardinals.") Guillen's response: "I thought we were friends. ... That's OK. We'll see (which team) owns the town now."
-- We all know World Series tickets are worth a fortune. But World Series ticket stubs? Leaving the park, fans have been offered 50 bucks for their stubs, and the asking price on eBay ranges from $68 to $149.
-- The bat Scott Podsednik used for his walk-off homer in Game 2 is going to the Hall of Fame. In Games 3 and 4, it sat in the clubhouse, marked by an official from Cooperstown who's taking it home. Podsednik vowed not to use it again unless he cracked two other bats.
-- A sign held by a man who's no fan of Carlos Beltran, who left the Astros for a $119 million contract with the Mets: "Tickets: $125.00 each. Airfare: $450.00 each. Beltran watching the World Series on TV: priceless."
-- Braves pitcher John Smoltz, in town to accept the Roberto Clemente Award, didn't seem bothered by the loss of supposed guru Leo Mazzone, who left Atlanta to become the Orioles' pitching coach. "It's not going to be a huge void, and I think he'll tell you that himself," Smoltz said.
-- A.J. Pierzynski claims his obsessive-compulsive behavior stems from his reaction to which pitcher he's facing the next game. If it's a right-hander, Pierzynski does things right-handed, for instance stepping first with his right foot. Before facing a lefty, he does the opposite.
-- White Sox coach Harold Baines is in his first World Series since he played for the 1990 A's, and he hasn't changed at all. "Harold doesn't talk too much," Guillen said. Maybe it's not surprising, considering Baines is the bench coach and Guillen usually does all the chatting.
-- During his loud and disturbing pregame blabber, the public address announcer lost his mind. At one point he roared: "Houston Texans fans ... Houston Astros fans are the best in the country."
-- Caught on the sixth-inning Kiss Cam: those smooching Bushes, George and Barbara.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/
Houston -- The buzz from Wednesday's World Series Game 4 at the former Enron Field:
-- Cubs manager Dusty Baker, despite a warm relationship with cross-town counterpart Ozzie Guillen, was quoted in a magazine article saying he wouldn't root for the White Sox in the postseason. ("I sure as heck ain't rooting for the White Sox or Cardinals.") Guillen's response: "I thought we were friends. ... That's OK. We'll see (which team) owns the town now."
-- We all know World Series tickets are worth a fortune. But World Series ticket stubs? Leaving the park, fans have been offered 50 bucks for their stubs, and the asking price on eBay ranges from $68 to $149.
-- The bat Scott Podsednik used for his walk-off homer in Game 2 is going to the Hall of Fame. In Games 3 and 4, it sat in the clubhouse, marked by an official from Cooperstown who's taking it home. Podsednik vowed not to use it again unless he cracked two other bats.
-- A sign held by a man who's no fan of Carlos Beltran, who left the Astros for a $119 million contract with the Mets: "Tickets: $125.00 each. Airfare: $450.00 each. Beltran watching the World Series on TV: priceless."
-- Braves pitcher John Smoltz, in town to accept the Roberto Clemente Award, didn't seem bothered by the loss of supposed guru Leo Mazzone, who left Atlanta to become the Orioles' pitching coach. "It's not going to be a huge void, and I think he'll tell you that himself," Smoltz said.
-- A.J. Pierzynski claims his obsessive-compulsive behavior stems from his reaction to which pitcher he's facing the next game. If it's a right-hander, Pierzynski does things right-handed, for instance stepping first with his right foot. Before facing a lefty, he does the opposite.
-- White Sox coach Harold Baines is in his first World Series since he played for the 1990 A's, and he hasn't changed at all. "Harold doesn't talk too much," Guillen said. Maybe it's not surprising, considering Baines is the bench coach and Guillen usually does all the chatting.
-- During his loud and disturbing pregame blabber, the public address announcer lost his mind. At one point he roared: "Houston Texans fans ... Houston Astros fans are the best in the country."
-- Caught on the sixth-inning Kiss Cam: those smooching Bushes, George and Barbara.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
For New Mets, it's getting real old
September 16, 2005
With a wasted grand slam, a blown ninth-inning lead, a couple of errors and some questionable choices, the Mets showed there is no shortage of ways to ruin a day, only a shortage of ways to explain it. In finding wins and words, the Mets are at a loss."I'm pretty much out of words," said Cliff Floyd, whose grand slam in the fifth turned a three-run deficit into a one-run lead and seemed to give the club some life for a change. But the Mets coughed up that lead to the Nationals and dropped the game, 6-5, in the 10th. It was a we've-seen-this-before 15th loss in their past 18 games.
"All you're going to hear is the same thing from me, until we start winning," Floyd said after the Mets were swept at home and fell further back in their only remaining race - the one to stay out of last place. They are 4½ games behind Washington and falling fast.They gave up the lead in the ninth on Brad Wilkerson's ground ball under Kaz Matsui's glove with the infield in - a ball that might have been a game-ending double play if the infield had been back.They lost on Vinny Castilla's two-out single in the 10th - after manager Willie Randolph declined to intentionally walk Castilla with Keith Osik on deck. All of that after they had seized the advantage on Floyd's uplifting 30th homer of the season.It all added to the Mets' sense of bewilderment over how their spirited season has gone out of control so quickly. When the Mets go south, it seems, they don't stop at the Mason-Dixon line, they go all the way to Antarctica. That's the way it happened last year, too."We have a lot better team this year, regardless of this streak. We have a better team," said Braden Looper, who was charged with his seventh blown save. Without even being asked why this is happening to the Mets, he said, "I don't know."Floyd said, "I would have told you you were the biggest liar in the world if you'd have told me this would happen."It looked as if Floyd was going to give the Mets at least a day of hope when he drilled Livan Hernandez's two-out, full-count pitch over the rightfield fence for a 5-4 lead."The way things are going for us," Randolph said, "you never feel like things are totally safe."Things got unsafe in a hurry in the ninth when pinch hitter Ryan Zimmerman laced a single to right and took second when Gerald Williams - a defensive replacement - made an error in trying to corral the ball's unusual spin. "That is a play I did not make," Williams said, refusing to say if he should have made it.Cristian Guzman's grounder put the tying run on third and Jose Guillen was hit by a pitch. With one out and fast pinch runners Kenny Kelly and Brandon Watson on third and first, Randolph had his middle infielders playing halfway against Wilkerson until the count reached 3-and-2, then directed them to come in. Matsui and Jose Reyes said that was done because a double play seemed less likely with Watson moving from first.Randolph, though, insisted that never happened. He said his fielders were in from the first pitch. "We wanted to play in and cut down the run at the plate. Basically we were in. A few steps here and there, but basically we weren't back."It didn't work. The ball handcuffed Matsui for an error, and Kelly, a former quarterback for the University of Miami, raced home with the tying run. Then the infielders moved back for pinch hitter Carlos Baerga, who hit into a double play.That merely set up the 10th-inning heartache from Castilla, whose single against Roberto Hernandez (6-6) drove in Nick Johnson from third. Randolph admitted having thought about walking Castilla but said: "They could have pinch hit with a lefthander. I'm sure they would have hit with [Brian] Schneider."But Schneider had not started this series because of a shoulder injury and was unavailable yesterday, according to a posting on MLB.com before the game.In the end, it was just another long, lost day for the Mets. It was beyond description. As Floyd put it: "It's already been said, five or six times this week."
Source: http://www.newsday.com/
With a wasted grand slam, a blown ninth-inning lead, a couple of errors and some questionable choices, the Mets showed there is no shortage of ways to ruin a day, only a shortage of ways to explain it. In finding wins and words, the Mets are at a loss."I'm pretty much out of words," said Cliff Floyd, whose grand slam in the fifth turned a three-run deficit into a one-run lead and seemed to give the club some life for a change. But the Mets coughed up that lead to the Nationals and dropped the game, 6-5, in the 10th. It was a we've-seen-this-before 15th loss in their past 18 games.
"All you're going to hear is the same thing from me, until we start winning," Floyd said after the Mets were swept at home and fell further back in their only remaining race - the one to stay out of last place. They are 4½ games behind Washington and falling fast.They gave up the lead in the ninth on Brad Wilkerson's ground ball under Kaz Matsui's glove with the infield in - a ball that might have been a game-ending double play if the infield had been back.They lost on Vinny Castilla's two-out single in the 10th - after manager Willie Randolph declined to intentionally walk Castilla with Keith Osik on deck. All of that after they had seized the advantage on Floyd's uplifting 30th homer of the season.It all added to the Mets' sense of bewilderment over how their spirited season has gone out of control so quickly. When the Mets go south, it seems, they don't stop at the Mason-Dixon line, they go all the way to Antarctica. That's the way it happened last year, too."We have a lot better team this year, regardless of this streak. We have a better team," said Braden Looper, who was charged with his seventh blown save. Without even being asked why this is happening to the Mets, he said, "I don't know."Floyd said, "I would have told you you were the biggest liar in the world if you'd have told me this would happen."It looked as if Floyd was going to give the Mets at least a day of hope when he drilled Livan Hernandez's two-out, full-count pitch over the rightfield fence for a 5-4 lead."The way things are going for us," Randolph said, "you never feel like things are totally safe."Things got unsafe in a hurry in the ninth when pinch hitter Ryan Zimmerman laced a single to right and took second when Gerald Williams - a defensive replacement - made an error in trying to corral the ball's unusual spin. "That is a play I did not make," Williams said, refusing to say if he should have made it.Cristian Guzman's grounder put the tying run on third and Jose Guillen was hit by a pitch. With one out and fast pinch runners Kenny Kelly and Brandon Watson on third and first, Randolph had his middle infielders playing halfway against Wilkerson until the count reached 3-and-2, then directed them to come in. Matsui and Jose Reyes said that was done because a double play seemed less likely with Watson moving from first.Randolph, though, insisted that never happened. He said his fielders were in from the first pitch. "We wanted to play in and cut down the run at the plate. Basically we were in. A few steps here and there, but basically we weren't back."It didn't work. The ball handcuffed Matsui for an error, and Kelly, a former quarterback for the University of Miami, raced home with the tying run. Then the infielders moved back for pinch hitter Carlos Baerga, who hit into a double play.That merely set up the 10th-inning heartache from Castilla, whose single against Roberto Hernandez (6-6) drove in Nick Johnson from third. Randolph admitted having thought about walking Castilla but said: "They could have pinch hit with a lefthander. I'm sure they would have hit with [Brian] Schneider."But Schneider had not started this series because of a shoulder injury and was unavailable yesterday, according to a posting on MLB.com before the game.In the end, it was just another long, lost day for the Mets. It was beyond description. As Floyd put it: "It's already been said, five or six times this week."
Source: http://www.newsday.com/
New York forces decisive Game 5
Monday, October 10, 2005
NEW YORK - They finally passed the ball to their best player, Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of them all. The New York Yankees finally weathered a storm of Angels with a little small balling of their own, unearthing the one winning formula those pesky roadrunners from Los Angeles could not trash.
Give the ball to Mo and stay out of the way.
Even with the agony of his postseason defeats, Rivera remains an October reliever without compare. He is more important to the Yankees than Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson. Only Joe Torre ranks ahead of Rivera on the old dynasty depth chart.
So at 10:31 ET Sunday night, when the bullpen door swung wide and the ominous sounds of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" filled the black Bronx night, Yankee Stadium was alive with the promise of a new Division Series day.
For a moment, it felt like 1996 or 1998 or 2000, the glory years. Bob Sheppard told the crowd that Bernie Williams had moved from DH into centerfield, that Tino Martinez had moved from the bench into first base, and that Mariano Rivera had moved from the bullpen onto the mound.
Two minutes later, to start the eighth inning, Yankees clinging to a 3-2 lead, Rivera threw some heat under Juan Rivera's chin. The fans roared. Rivera would send a harmless bouncer to second base.
Steve Finley was next. He would strike out looking on a 94-mph fastball. Adam Kennedy would go through the motions and slap a benign grounder to third.
Rivera wasn't getting beaten in the ninth, not after a wild and crazy season that saw the Yankees recover from an 11-19 start, recover from nine games back of the Orioles. The closer closed out Chone Figgins on another 94-mph fastball that Figgins watched. Orlando Cabrera bounced back to Rivera. With the crowd standing and roaring and making the house quake, Rivera convinced Vladimir Guerrero to bounce out to second.
Game over, threat removed, series tied.
Rivera secured the final six outs of another Game 4 with the Angels that saw the Yankees wobbling around the ropes. Three years ago, Rivera never had the chance to save his team. He made good on his chance Sunday night. He sent the Yankees back to Anaheim with the belief that they can go through Mike Mussina to get to Chicago and the ALCS.
This night was a referendum on what the Yankees are and what they have been. Torre won championships in four of his first five seasons, then watched the Arizona Diamondbacks, Angels, Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox knock out his team in big sudden-death fights.
The Yankees were desperate to avoid another early exit. They were desperate to avoid taking another step down a perilous postseason trail blazed by the Atlanta Braves, the undisputed kings of October flameouts.
Shawn Chacon was the one who started to put them on a more prosperous path. Chacon was a combined 2-16 this year and last for the Colorado Rockies. He was just another bottomed-out arm in the mile-high clouds, always just good enough to lose.
He was pitching on 10 days rest. He was pitching his heart out on 10 days rest, too, giving the Angels nothing but a cheap infield single through the first five innings, when he faced the minimum 15 batters.
But the Yankees offense could do no better against John Lackey. The third inning was a small portrait of big Yankee problems. After Bubba Crosby bunted Jorge Posada over to second, Jeter and A-Rod stood ready to knock Posada in. Jeter went down swinging. A-Rod went down looking in a hopelessly amateurish plate appearance, but not until he ordered the bat boy to return to a fan the lumber he'd accidentally flung into the stands on Strike 2.
The crowd appreciated the gesture enough to chant "M-V-P," although the chant was so low in effort and volume that only a cat could hear it. Deep down, true Yankee fans don't care whether A-Rod wins the award. True Yankee fans only care whether A-Rod helps their team win a championship.
Until Sunday night, the only Yankees who appeared capable of forging memorable postseason moments were former ones. El Duque Hernandez destroyed the same Red Sox machine that steamrolled through the Bronx last year, and Roger Clemens expanded his own mythology by finishing as the last man standing at the close of Sunday's epic 18-inning marathon staged by the Astros and Braves.
The Yankees El Duque and the Rocket left behind weren't up to the Game 3 task. But this was a new night, a new beginning. Mike Scioscia had a sick Game 4 starter on his hands, Jarrod Washburn, so he turned to his Game 2 starter. Lackey was going on three days rest.
He spent much of the night shattering Yankee bats, anyway. But after the Angels handed him a 2-0 lead in the sixth, Lackey surrendered a two-out RBI single to Gary Sheffield, who hadn't done a thing all series.
Scioscia went to his bullpen, as did Torre in the seventh. When he came out to get Chacon, Torre heard the fans begging him to turn around and retreat to the dugout. "Nooooooooooo," they moaned. It didn't work. Chacon surrendered the ball, acknowledged the standing ovation by removing his cap, and watched Al Leiter get Darin Erstad on an inning-ending double play.
Ruben Sierra managed the tying single in the eighth, and Jeter's slow bouncer to Figgins at third scored Posada - barely. Jeter and Posada on another crucial playoff play at the plate. No, it wasn't the option pass that stunned the Oakland A's and the world in 2001, but it might've won this division series all the same.
In the end, the Yankees packed their not-so-secret weapon on the plane pointed toward Game 5. Mariano Rivera has to touch the ball Sunday night. It's the one and only way the Yankees get to stop in Chicago on the way home.
Source: http://news.enquirer.com/
NEW YORK - They finally passed the ball to their best player, Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of them all. The New York Yankees finally weathered a storm of Angels with a little small balling of their own, unearthing the one winning formula those pesky roadrunners from Los Angeles could not trash.
Give the ball to Mo and stay out of the way.
Even with the agony of his postseason defeats, Rivera remains an October reliever without compare. He is more important to the Yankees than Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson. Only Joe Torre ranks ahead of Rivera on the old dynasty depth chart.
So at 10:31 ET Sunday night, when the bullpen door swung wide and the ominous sounds of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" filled the black Bronx night, Yankee Stadium was alive with the promise of a new Division Series day.
For a moment, it felt like 1996 or 1998 or 2000, the glory years. Bob Sheppard told the crowd that Bernie Williams had moved from DH into centerfield, that Tino Martinez had moved from the bench into first base, and that Mariano Rivera had moved from the bullpen onto the mound.
Two minutes later, to start the eighth inning, Yankees clinging to a 3-2 lead, Rivera threw some heat under Juan Rivera's chin. The fans roared. Rivera would send a harmless bouncer to second base.
Steve Finley was next. He would strike out looking on a 94-mph fastball. Adam Kennedy would go through the motions and slap a benign grounder to third.
Rivera wasn't getting beaten in the ninth, not after a wild and crazy season that saw the Yankees recover from an 11-19 start, recover from nine games back of the Orioles. The closer closed out Chone Figgins on another 94-mph fastball that Figgins watched. Orlando Cabrera bounced back to Rivera. With the crowd standing and roaring and making the house quake, Rivera convinced Vladimir Guerrero to bounce out to second.
Game over, threat removed, series tied.
Rivera secured the final six outs of another Game 4 with the Angels that saw the Yankees wobbling around the ropes. Three years ago, Rivera never had the chance to save his team. He made good on his chance Sunday night. He sent the Yankees back to Anaheim with the belief that they can go through Mike Mussina to get to Chicago and the ALCS.
This night was a referendum on what the Yankees are and what they have been. Torre won championships in four of his first five seasons, then watched the Arizona Diamondbacks, Angels, Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox knock out his team in big sudden-death fights.
The Yankees were desperate to avoid another early exit. They were desperate to avoid taking another step down a perilous postseason trail blazed by the Atlanta Braves, the undisputed kings of October flameouts.
Shawn Chacon was the one who started to put them on a more prosperous path. Chacon was a combined 2-16 this year and last for the Colorado Rockies. He was just another bottomed-out arm in the mile-high clouds, always just good enough to lose.
He was pitching on 10 days rest. He was pitching his heart out on 10 days rest, too, giving the Angels nothing but a cheap infield single through the first five innings, when he faced the minimum 15 batters.
But the Yankees offense could do no better against John Lackey. The third inning was a small portrait of big Yankee problems. After Bubba Crosby bunted Jorge Posada over to second, Jeter and A-Rod stood ready to knock Posada in. Jeter went down swinging. A-Rod went down looking in a hopelessly amateurish plate appearance, but not until he ordered the bat boy to return to a fan the lumber he'd accidentally flung into the stands on Strike 2.
The crowd appreciated the gesture enough to chant "M-V-P," although the chant was so low in effort and volume that only a cat could hear it. Deep down, true Yankee fans don't care whether A-Rod wins the award. True Yankee fans only care whether A-Rod helps their team win a championship.
Until Sunday night, the only Yankees who appeared capable of forging memorable postseason moments were former ones. El Duque Hernandez destroyed the same Red Sox machine that steamrolled through the Bronx last year, and Roger Clemens expanded his own mythology by finishing as the last man standing at the close of Sunday's epic 18-inning marathon staged by the Astros and Braves.
The Yankees El Duque and the Rocket left behind weren't up to the Game 3 task. But this was a new night, a new beginning. Mike Scioscia had a sick Game 4 starter on his hands, Jarrod Washburn, so he turned to his Game 2 starter. Lackey was going on three days rest.
He spent much of the night shattering Yankee bats, anyway. But after the Angels handed him a 2-0 lead in the sixth, Lackey surrendered a two-out RBI single to Gary Sheffield, who hadn't done a thing all series.
Scioscia went to his bullpen, as did Torre in the seventh. When he came out to get Chacon, Torre heard the fans begging him to turn around and retreat to the dugout. "Nooooooooooo," they moaned. It didn't work. Chacon surrendered the ball, acknowledged the standing ovation by removing his cap, and watched Al Leiter get Darin Erstad on an inning-ending double play.
Ruben Sierra managed the tying single in the eighth, and Jeter's slow bouncer to Figgins at third scored Posada - barely. Jeter and Posada on another crucial playoff play at the plate. No, it wasn't the option pass that stunned the Oakland A's and the world in 2001, but it might've won this division series all the same.
In the end, the Yankees packed their not-so-secret weapon on the plane pointed toward Game 5. Mariano Rivera has to touch the ball Sunday night. It's the one and only way the Yankees get to stop in Chicago on the way home.
Source: http://news.enquirer.com/
BamaMail still not perfect
October 10, 2005
You know what's a lot of money? $8.1 million.
It's what "A History of Violence" made at the box office last week. In Major League Baseball, it's what Tim Hudson, Julio Franco and Brian Jordan of the Atlanta Braves made together this year. In the NFL, Chargers quarterback Drew Brees or Colts running back Edgerrin James could start on your team for $8.1 million.
For a university, though, $8.1 million just doesn't go as far as it used to.
myBama, the one-stop Internet portal that most of us have grown to dislike, cost that much, and we still haven't seen a solid return on the University's investment. It's expensive, sure, but if that's the going rate to replace a creaky system like Tide Navigator and Tide Guide, then we'll just have to accept it.
What we won't accept, however, is a shoddy e-mail system, and UA officials did something about that last week when they brought back BamaMail on a permanent basis. The old e-mail system had been running in place of myBama's e-mail function since the system crashed earlier this year.
It's telling that myBama actually made BamaMail look good. While we've longed for it ever since it was banished, BamaMail still has its flaws. The system tends to time out at inopportune times and users can lose hours of work. It's not as technologically advanced as other e-mail clients, and BamaMail inboxes tend to be choked with spam. Still, it was better than the hard-to-use, slow-loading myBama e-mail system.
Since it's back for the foreseeable future, we'd like to suggest some improvements to BamaMail. After fixing the spam and timing out issues, let's work on making the system better.
For a model, Web e-mail just doesn't get any better than Gmail, Google's e-mail system. It's user friendly, the interface is clean and the system is lightning fast. While it's not entirely fair to compare the leviathan Google to the University and its relatively limited resources, we could still import a few Gmail concepts for use in BamaMail.
The easiest and most important upgrade would be more space. The nature of e-mail has changed over the past few years. Now, we're sending pictures, videos and other files to each other via e-mail. The limited space on BamaMail isn't accommodating e-mail's growth.
While not everyone that uses the system fills up their inbox, those that do should be able to petition the University for an appreciable increase in space.
In the 21st century, we, as college students of a major university, have the right to a university e-mail address for the ease of campus-wide communication.
We also have the right to a functioning e-mail system.
Source: http://www.cw.ua.edu/
You know what's a lot of money? $8.1 million.
It's what "A History of Violence" made at the box office last week. In Major League Baseball, it's what Tim Hudson, Julio Franco and Brian Jordan of the Atlanta Braves made together this year. In the NFL, Chargers quarterback Drew Brees or Colts running back Edgerrin James could start on your team for $8.1 million.
For a university, though, $8.1 million just doesn't go as far as it used to.
myBama, the one-stop Internet portal that most of us have grown to dislike, cost that much, and we still haven't seen a solid return on the University's investment. It's expensive, sure, but if that's the going rate to replace a creaky system like Tide Navigator and Tide Guide, then we'll just have to accept it.
What we won't accept, however, is a shoddy e-mail system, and UA officials did something about that last week when they brought back BamaMail on a permanent basis. The old e-mail system had been running in place of myBama's e-mail function since the system crashed earlier this year.
It's telling that myBama actually made BamaMail look good. While we've longed for it ever since it was banished, BamaMail still has its flaws. The system tends to time out at inopportune times and users can lose hours of work. It's not as technologically advanced as other e-mail clients, and BamaMail inboxes tend to be choked with spam. Still, it was better than the hard-to-use, slow-loading myBama e-mail system.
Since it's back for the foreseeable future, we'd like to suggest some improvements to BamaMail. After fixing the spam and timing out issues, let's work on making the system better.
For a model, Web e-mail just doesn't get any better than Gmail, Google's e-mail system. It's user friendly, the interface is clean and the system is lightning fast. While it's not entirely fair to compare the leviathan Google to the University and its relatively limited resources, we could still import a few Gmail concepts for use in BamaMail.
The easiest and most important upgrade would be more space. The nature of e-mail has changed over the past few years. Now, we're sending pictures, videos and other files to each other via e-mail. The limited space on BamaMail isn't accommodating e-mail's growth.
While not everyone that uses the system fills up their inbox, those that do should be able to petition the University for an appreciable increase in space.
In the 21st century, we, as college students of a major university, have the right to a university e-mail address for the ease of campus-wide communication.
We also have the right to a functioning e-mail system.
Source: http://www.cw.ua.edu/
Pakistan Will Accept India Relief
10/10/2005
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan said Monday it will accept relief aid for earthquake victims from longtime rival India.The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telephoned Pakistan's high commissioner in New Delhi and "reiterated his offer to send relief aid to us for earthquake victims."High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan met Singh and then contacted the government in Islamabad, which decided to accept the Indian offer after consultations at the highest level, ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said."Our high commissioner in India has informed Indian authorities what we need for the victims of earthquake," Aslam said.Earlier Monday, India said Pakistan had turned down its offer of helicopters for rescue operations.Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They fought three wars after gaining independence from Britain. However, the two sides have taken several steps since last year to improve relations.
Source: http://www.11alive.com/
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan said Monday it will accept relief aid for earthquake victims from longtime rival India.The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telephoned Pakistan's high commissioner in New Delhi and "reiterated his offer to send relief aid to us for earthquake victims."High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan met Singh and then contacted the government in Islamabad, which decided to accept the Indian offer after consultations at the highest level, ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said."Our high commissioner in India has informed Indian authorities what we need for the victims of earthquake," Aslam said.Earlier Monday, India said Pakistan had turned down its offer of helicopters for rescue operations.Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They fought three wars after gaining independence from Britain. However, the two sides have taken several steps since last year to improve relations.
Source: http://www.11alive.com/
O's, Perlozzo Expected to Retain Crowley
Monday, October 17, 2005
HOUSTON, Oct. 16 -- The coaching staff under Orioles Manager Sam Perlozzo likely will start coming together Monday when Baltimore is expected to announce the return of hitting coach Terry Crowley. Crowley and Perlozzo spoke at length Saturday night and both agreed the hitting coach should come back. Only a final approval from management is needed to make the return official.
"I would think Crow is okay," Perlozzo said.
Perlozzo said there would be a few changes to the coaching staff, but declined to detail what they would be. Perhaps the most intriguing situation exists with pitching coach Ray Miller, who last week had surgery for an aortic aneurysm. The team is proceeding cautiously with Miller, whose contract expires in November.
Baltimore, according to one team source, has in interest in Atlanta Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone, a close friend of Perlozzo, but does not want to proceed until Miller's status is determined. The Orioles may face stiff competition for Mazzone. According to a source, the New York Yankees have asked for permission to speak to the pitching coach. The Braves, according to the source, have granted a small window for the Yankees and Mazzone to speak. If the Orioles have serious interest in Mazzone, they may have to force a decision from Miller. Perlozzo said he planned to visit Miller this week.
Crowley's return is not unexpected. The decline this past season of what had been one of baseball's most imposing offenses in 2004 could hardly be blamed on the coaching staff. Several injuries -- Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Sammy Sosa, Luis Matos and Javy Lopez missed significant time -- helped drop Baltimore to 16th in runs scored.
Orioles Note: Philadelphia assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. interviewed with the Orioles on Saturday for an undetermined front-office job.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
HOUSTON, Oct. 16 -- The coaching staff under Orioles Manager Sam Perlozzo likely will start coming together Monday when Baltimore is expected to announce the return of hitting coach Terry Crowley. Crowley and Perlozzo spoke at length Saturday night and both agreed the hitting coach should come back. Only a final approval from management is needed to make the return official.
"I would think Crow is okay," Perlozzo said.
Perlozzo said there would be a few changes to the coaching staff, but declined to detail what they would be. Perhaps the most intriguing situation exists with pitching coach Ray Miller, who last week had surgery for an aortic aneurysm. The team is proceeding cautiously with Miller, whose contract expires in November.
Baltimore, according to one team source, has in interest in Atlanta Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone, a close friend of Perlozzo, but does not want to proceed until Miller's status is determined. The Orioles may face stiff competition for Mazzone. According to a source, the New York Yankees have asked for permission to speak to the pitching coach. The Braves, according to the source, have granted a small window for the Yankees and Mazzone to speak. If the Orioles have serious interest in Mazzone, they may have to force a decision from Miller. Perlozzo said he planned to visit Miller this week.
Crowley's return is not unexpected. The decline this past season of what had been one of baseball's most imposing offenses in 2004 could hardly be blamed on the coaching staff. Several injuries -- Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Sammy Sosa, Luis Matos and Javy Lopez missed significant time -- helped drop Baltimore to 16th in runs scored.
Orioles Note: Philadelphia assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. interviewed with the Orioles on Saturday for an undetermined front-office job.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
DePodesta widens managerial search
10/17/2005
Atlanta Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton has been added to the Dodgers' managerial mix and is scheduled for a formal interview Wednesday, Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta said Sunday.
DePodesta said there also could be up to two more candidates interviewed, which would bring the total to eight.
DePodesta also said he is considering some candidates with ties to Dodgers history, and although he wouldn't name them, various sources said they were former Detroit bench coach Kirk Gibson, Texas pitching coach Orel Hershiser and former Dodgers outfielder Bobby Valentine, now the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.
Gibson, who like Hershiser was a Dodgers World Series hero in 1988, was fired along with Tigers manager Alan Trammell on Oct. 3. Trammell interviewed for the Dodgers job last Wednesday.
Valentine's club has a 2-1 lead over Softbank in the best-of-five Pacific League championship series and is trying to reach the finals against Central League champion Hanshin. Valentin, who previously managed the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, still has close ties with Dodgers Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, who presently is a special consultant to owner Frank McCourt.
"We continue to do research on some other candidates," DePodesta said. "We believe pretty strongly in Dodger tradition. I'm not going to get into actual names, but we're definitely exploring and having some conversations with some former Dodgers in addition to the ones we already have interviewed."
The Dodgers interviewed five candidates last week. They included Jerry Royster, manager of the Dodgers' Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate; Trammell; San Francisco bench coach Ron Wotus; Dodgers player development director Terry Collins; and Northridge resident Torey Lovullo, manager of Cleveland's Double-A Akron affiliate.
Pendleton will be the sixth candidate interviewed, and there might not be a seventh even though DePodesta said the list ultimately could go as high as eight. DePodesta also said second interviews with those candidates who aren't eliminated after the first round of interviews might be conducted by telephone, which clearly would save time. DePodesta said he still is holding out some hope of having a manager in place before the World Series, which begins Saturday. Major League Baseball discourages clubs from making such major announcements during the World Series because it doesn't want its marquee event upstaged.
One source said McCourt has ordered DePodesta to have a manager in place before next Tuesday's start of the club's three-day organizational meetings at Dodger Stadium. But DePodesta's comments Sunday seemed to indicate otherwise.
"It certainly would be nice to have the new manager involved in those meetings," DePodesta said. "But we're not going to do it because we're pressed for time, whether it's because of the World Series or because of the meetings."
Hershiser has made no secret of his desire to manage the club for which he pitched a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988. Several sources say Hershiser wowed Oakland general manager Billy Beane during a preliminary phone conversation last week before the A's ultimately re-signed manager Ken Macha, and DePodesta's ties to Beane are well known.
Source: http://www2.dailynews.com/
Atlanta Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton has been added to the Dodgers' managerial mix and is scheduled for a formal interview Wednesday, Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta said Sunday.
DePodesta said there also could be up to two more candidates interviewed, which would bring the total to eight.
DePodesta also said he is considering some candidates with ties to Dodgers history, and although he wouldn't name them, various sources said they were former Detroit bench coach Kirk Gibson, Texas pitching coach Orel Hershiser and former Dodgers outfielder Bobby Valentine, now the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.
Gibson, who like Hershiser was a Dodgers World Series hero in 1988, was fired along with Tigers manager Alan Trammell on Oct. 3. Trammell interviewed for the Dodgers job last Wednesday.
Valentine's club has a 2-1 lead over Softbank in the best-of-five Pacific League championship series and is trying to reach the finals against Central League champion Hanshin. Valentin, who previously managed the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, still has close ties with Dodgers Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, who presently is a special consultant to owner Frank McCourt.
"We continue to do research on some other candidates," DePodesta said. "We believe pretty strongly in Dodger tradition. I'm not going to get into actual names, but we're definitely exploring and having some conversations with some former Dodgers in addition to the ones we already have interviewed."
The Dodgers interviewed five candidates last week. They included Jerry Royster, manager of the Dodgers' Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate; Trammell; San Francisco bench coach Ron Wotus; Dodgers player development director Terry Collins; and Northridge resident Torey Lovullo, manager of Cleveland's Double-A Akron affiliate.
Pendleton will be the sixth candidate interviewed, and there might not be a seventh even though DePodesta said the list ultimately could go as high as eight. DePodesta also said second interviews with those candidates who aren't eliminated after the first round of interviews might be conducted by telephone, which clearly would save time. DePodesta said he still is holding out some hope of having a manager in place before the World Series, which begins Saturday. Major League Baseball discourages clubs from making such major announcements during the World Series because it doesn't want its marquee event upstaged.
One source said McCourt has ordered DePodesta to have a manager in place before next Tuesday's start of the club's three-day organizational meetings at Dodger Stadium. But DePodesta's comments Sunday seemed to indicate otherwise.
"It certainly would be nice to have the new manager involved in those meetings," DePodesta said. "But we're not going to do it because we're pressed for time, whether it's because of the World Series or because of the meetings."
Hershiser has made no secret of his desire to manage the club for which he pitched a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988. Several sources say Hershiser wowed Oakland general manager Billy Beane during a preliminary phone conversation last week before the A's ultimately re-signed manager Ken Macha, and DePodesta's ties to Beane are well known.
Source: http://www2.dailynews.com/
Hearing aid gives Carrie Earnhardt, 107, new lease on life
Tue, Oct 18, 2005
By Michelle Grace Lyerly
For the Salisbury Post
When 107-year-old Carrie Jefferson Poole Earnhardt was checked into the hospital in August, nurses made a fast discovery:
Mrs. Earnhardt's hearing aid was nowhere to be found.
It wasn't the first time the hearing aid had gone missing. On other occasions, members of Mrs. Earnhardt's family had discovered it in a variety of locations — snuff cans, included.
"Before she went to the hospital, she lost her hearing aid," said Mrs. Earnhardt's niece, Shirley Cranford. "This lady is a one-way conversation."
Family members made a quick search for the errant hearing aid, but it couldn't be found. Mrs. Earnhardt is a resident of The Meadows of Rockwell Retirement Center and workers there joined in the search for the hearing aid.
No one had any luck in finding it.
"The only way she could find it is when the hearing aid sneezed," said Eva Millsaps, activities director at The Meadows.
Fortunately for Mrs. Earnhardt, the folks at Salisbury's Beltone Hearing Aid Center learned of her plight and came to her aid. They outfitted her with a new hearing aid, which made all the difference in the world as far as Mrs. Earnhardt's hearing is concerned.
"It'll make a difference," Millsaps said. "The last two months she wasn't able to hear."
The lack of hearing affected Mrs. Earnhardt's baseball watching. She's an ardent fan of the Atlanta Braves — she has an autographed photo of Chipper Jones in her room — and rarely misses one of their games on television.
Without a hearing aid, Mrs. Earnhardt spent most of her time sleeping instead of watching ball games.
Beltone's Lee Wade outfitted Mrs. Earnhardt with her new hearing aid, then laughed that the company was giving her a discount on its cost.
"This is a freebie," he told Mrs. Earnhardt. "You don't have to pay for it."
According to Marie Wade, another Beltone representative, Mrs. Earnhardt is the oldest person to ever be outfitted with a hearing aid by the company.
Mrs. Earnhardt is also apparently the oldest Rowan County resident.
"How you feeling?" Wade asked Mrs. Earnhardt upon fitting her with the hearing aid.
"Pretty good," she immediately replied.
Mrs. Earnhardt is a distant relative of Dale Earnhardt by marriage to her late husband, John.
Mrs. Earnhardt was born Carrie Jefferson Poole in Richmond, Va., on Aug. 14, 1898. She was the second-oldest of 10 children. She has lived in Rowan County most of her life.
Mrs. Earnhardt is a mother of five and has 11 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren. She has one living brother, New London's Buford Poole, who was born in 1916.
Mrs. Earnhardt's two nieces, Cranford and her sister, Flossie Peele, were on hand when she was outfitted with her new hearing aid. They also brought two of Mrs. Earnhardt's favorite foods — chicken wings and deviled eggs — so they could celebrate the occasion.
Mrs. Earnhardt wore a red corsage, then sang a song for the group whose members turned out for the hearing aid presentation. Mrs. Earnhardt used to be part of a singing group along with her daughters, Viola and Mary. They called themselves the Piedmont Yodelers.
"It's so important for the residents to communicate and this hearing aid will help her," said Carol Young, a social worker at The Meadows. "She's special."
Source: http://www.salisburypost.com/
By Michelle Grace Lyerly
For the Salisbury Post
When 107-year-old Carrie Jefferson Poole Earnhardt was checked into the hospital in August, nurses made a fast discovery:
Mrs. Earnhardt's hearing aid was nowhere to be found.
It wasn't the first time the hearing aid had gone missing. On other occasions, members of Mrs. Earnhardt's family had discovered it in a variety of locations — snuff cans, included.
"Before she went to the hospital, she lost her hearing aid," said Mrs. Earnhardt's niece, Shirley Cranford. "This lady is a one-way conversation."
Family members made a quick search for the errant hearing aid, but it couldn't be found. Mrs. Earnhardt is a resident of The Meadows of Rockwell Retirement Center and workers there joined in the search for the hearing aid.
No one had any luck in finding it.
"The only way she could find it is when the hearing aid sneezed," said Eva Millsaps, activities director at The Meadows.
Fortunately for Mrs. Earnhardt, the folks at Salisbury's Beltone Hearing Aid Center learned of her plight and came to her aid. They outfitted her with a new hearing aid, which made all the difference in the world as far as Mrs. Earnhardt's hearing is concerned.
"It'll make a difference," Millsaps said. "The last two months she wasn't able to hear."
The lack of hearing affected Mrs. Earnhardt's baseball watching. She's an ardent fan of the Atlanta Braves — she has an autographed photo of Chipper Jones in her room — and rarely misses one of their games on television.
Without a hearing aid, Mrs. Earnhardt spent most of her time sleeping instead of watching ball games.
Beltone's Lee Wade outfitted Mrs. Earnhardt with her new hearing aid, then laughed that the company was giving her a discount on its cost.
"This is a freebie," he told Mrs. Earnhardt. "You don't have to pay for it."
According to Marie Wade, another Beltone representative, Mrs. Earnhardt is the oldest person to ever be outfitted with a hearing aid by the company.
Mrs. Earnhardt is also apparently the oldest Rowan County resident.
"How you feeling?" Wade asked Mrs. Earnhardt upon fitting her with the hearing aid.
"Pretty good," she immediately replied.
Mrs. Earnhardt is a distant relative of Dale Earnhardt by marriage to her late husband, John.
Mrs. Earnhardt was born Carrie Jefferson Poole in Richmond, Va., on Aug. 14, 1898. She was the second-oldest of 10 children. She has lived in Rowan County most of her life.
Mrs. Earnhardt is a mother of five and has 11 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren. She has one living brother, New London's Buford Poole, who was born in 1916.
Mrs. Earnhardt's two nieces, Cranford and her sister, Flossie Peele, were on hand when she was outfitted with her new hearing aid. They also brought two of Mrs. Earnhardt's favorite foods — chicken wings and deviled eggs — so they could celebrate the occasion.
Mrs. Earnhardt wore a red corsage, then sang a song for the group whose members turned out for the hearing aid presentation. Mrs. Earnhardt used to be part of a singing group along with her daughters, Viola and Mary. They called themselves the Piedmont Yodelers.
"It's so important for the residents to communicate and this hearing aid will help her," said Carol Young, a social worker at The Meadows. "She's special."
Source: http://www.salisburypost.com/
Old approach won't yield new results for Yanks
Start the drumbeat. Another desperate Yankees off-season is under way, and a dizzying list of free-agent and trade possibilities is making the rounds.
Right fielder Gary Sheffield and catcher Jorge Posada might be dealt. Second baseman Robinson Cano could be the bait for Twins center fielder Torii Hunter. Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon, Orioles closer B.J. Ryan and Padres catcher Ramon Hernandez are among potential free-agent targets.
So?
The Yankees haven't won the World Series since 2000 and might not win another before 2010, no matter how much money they spend, no matter how many additional mercenaries they acquire.
They're too old, too unathletic, too reliant on unheralded performers like pitchers Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon.
What the Yankees need is an infusion of young talent, similar to the one they received in the mid-1990s — back in the day before owner George Steinbrenner formed the YES Network and started pursuing television stars first, baseball players second.
But unlike the Braves, who advanced as far as the Yankees this season while blending in an impressive array of youngsters, the Yankees possess neither the patience nor scouting-and-development savvy to replenish from within.
Cano and right-hander Chien-Ming Wang represent a start, but Cano is half a player, invigorating on offense, indifferent on defense, Alfonso Soriano without the power. Outside of Class AA third baseman Eric Duncan and Class A right-hander Philip Hughes, the Yankees' system is short on top upper-level prospects.
From a business perspective, the Yankees' star-driven formula is a proven success — the team drew 4 million fans this season for the first time in its storied history. Alas, aging, overpaid stars make for good box office, but not good baseball.
The Yankees would be truly dangerous if they used their vast resources in a different way, trading expensive veterans and the majority of their salaries for premium young talent. Let's say the Yankees could send Sheffield to the Blue Jays for right-hander Brandon League, Posada to the Diamondbacks for first baseman Conor Jackson and right-hander Carl Pavano to the Tigers for center fielder Curtis Granderson. Such deals would make the Yankees a better, more interesting team, and their trading partners would be getting established veterans at a discount.
The problem is, the Yankees don't even think that way. Steinbrenner isn't interested in building for the future, and many Yankees fans have adopted his mindset, setting unrealistic expectations, demanding new stars.
Thus, the Yankees have fallen into the classic trap: By trying to win the World Series every year, they don't win it in any year, digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole. They've already committed $145 million to 12 players in '06, and that's not including left fielder Hideki Matsui and setup man Tom Gordon, potential free agents who must either be signed or replaced.
This is not the profile of a team in a rebuilding mode. And even if the Yankees could get younger by trading say, Sheffield and Posada, they would create other problems. Imagine No. 2 hitter Alex Rodriguez hitting in the middle of the lineup without Sheffield to protect him. Imagine a new catcher and a new pitching coach trying to handle a staff in decay.
The Yankees drumbeat is coming, only once again it has no rhythm. Cue up the same tired refrain.
Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/
Right fielder Gary Sheffield and catcher Jorge Posada might be dealt. Second baseman Robinson Cano could be the bait for Twins center fielder Torii Hunter. Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon, Orioles closer B.J. Ryan and Padres catcher Ramon Hernandez are among potential free-agent targets.
So?
The Yankees haven't won the World Series since 2000 and might not win another before 2010, no matter how much money they spend, no matter how many additional mercenaries they acquire.
They're too old, too unathletic, too reliant on unheralded performers like pitchers Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon.
What the Yankees need is an infusion of young talent, similar to the one they received in the mid-1990s — back in the day before owner George Steinbrenner formed the YES Network and started pursuing television stars first, baseball players second.
But unlike the Braves, who advanced as far as the Yankees this season while blending in an impressive array of youngsters, the Yankees possess neither the patience nor scouting-and-development savvy to replenish from within.
Cano and right-hander Chien-Ming Wang represent a start, but Cano is half a player, invigorating on offense, indifferent on defense, Alfonso Soriano without the power. Outside of Class AA third baseman Eric Duncan and Class A right-hander Philip Hughes, the Yankees' system is short on top upper-level prospects.
From a business perspective, the Yankees' star-driven formula is a proven success — the team drew 4 million fans this season for the first time in its storied history. Alas, aging, overpaid stars make for good box office, but not good baseball.
The Yankees would be truly dangerous if they used their vast resources in a different way, trading expensive veterans and the majority of their salaries for premium young talent. Let's say the Yankees could send Sheffield to the Blue Jays for right-hander Brandon League, Posada to the Diamondbacks for first baseman Conor Jackson and right-hander Carl Pavano to the Tigers for center fielder Curtis Granderson. Such deals would make the Yankees a better, more interesting team, and their trading partners would be getting established veterans at a discount.
The problem is, the Yankees don't even think that way. Steinbrenner isn't interested in building for the future, and many Yankees fans have adopted his mindset, setting unrealistic expectations, demanding new stars.
Thus, the Yankees have fallen into the classic trap: By trying to win the World Series every year, they don't win it in any year, digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole. They've already committed $145 million to 12 players in '06, and that's not including left fielder Hideki Matsui and setup man Tom Gordon, potential free agents who must either be signed or replaced.
This is not the profile of a team in a rebuilding mode. And even if the Yankees could get younger by trading say, Sheffield and Posada, they would create other problems. Imagine No. 2 hitter Alex Rodriguez hitting in the middle of the lineup without Sheffield to protect him. Imagine a new catcher and a new pitching coach trying to handle a staff in decay.
The Yankees drumbeat is coming, only once again it has no rhythm. Cue up the same tired refrain.
Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/
Jimmie Johnson gives pal a ride to remember
October 20, 2005
HAMPTON, Ga. - With Jimmie Johnson clutching the wheel, Marcus Giles squeezed himself through the passenger-side window of a tricked-up stock car and the two double-clutched into the sunset on a last-chance power drive.
Remarked the Braves second baseman, "I might have to change after I'm done."
On an afternoon that made Granite Hills High School back in El Cajon, Calif., proud, one old schoolmate showed the other what he does at the office. Wednesday, Johnson took Giles on a 10-lap joy ride at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Not quite competition speed: 175 mph, topping at 180. But it did the trick.
"There is no question about it," Giles said. "This is more intimidating to face than a 100-mph fastball."
Three years ahead of Giles back at Granite Hills in suburban San Diego, Johnson (Class of '93) wasn't on the baseball team, but the pair became friends on weekend "excursions."
The two tried to keep tabs on each other over the years until Giles - who confesses to not following NASCAR but is on a crash course - found his friend moving around the top of his field. Johnson sent a helicopter to fetch him to Richmond for a race after a Braves day game in Washington, D.C., and no longer does Giles believe that NASCAR is "just about driving around as fast as you can."
Which was the genesis to Wednesday's excursion. After Johnson was done with an afternoon of testing, Giles pulled on a fire suit, was fitted with a helmet and the two were off.
SUSPENSION UPHELD: A National Stock Car Racing Commission panel unanimously upheld the two-race suspension and other penalties handed down by NASCAR to Todd Berrier, Kevin Harvick's crew chief. Berrier was banished from Talladega Superspeedway on Oct.1, the day before the Nextel Cup race, after NASCAR inspectors found several technical violations in the trunk area of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
UNSER AILING: Al Unser remained hospitalized in Albuquerque, N.M., with pancreatitis, and his wife said the four-time Indianapolis 500 champion will stay through next week for gall bladder surgery. Unser, 66, was admitted to Presbyterian Hospital on Tuesday. Doctors found his pancreas was inflamed, most likely because of gallstones.
Source: http://www.sptimes.com/
HAMPTON, Ga. - With Jimmie Johnson clutching the wheel, Marcus Giles squeezed himself through the passenger-side window of a tricked-up stock car and the two double-clutched into the sunset on a last-chance power drive.
Remarked the Braves second baseman, "I might have to change after I'm done."
On an afternoon that made Granite Hills High School back in El Cajon, Calif., proud, one old schoolmate showed the other what he does at the office. Wednesday, Johnson took Giles on a 10-lap joy ride at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Not quite competition speed: 175 mph, topping at 180. But it did the trick.
"There is no question about it," Giles said. "This is more intimidating to face than a 100-mph fastball."
Three years ahead of Giles back at Granite Hills in suburban San Diego, Johnson (Class of '93) wasn't on the baseball team, but the pair became friends on weekend "excursions."
The two tried to keep tabs on each other over the years until Giles - who confesses to not following NASCAR but is on a crash course - found his friend moving around the top of his field. Johnson sent a helicopter to fetch him to Richmond for a race after a Braves day game in Washington, D.C., and no longer does Giles believe that NASCAR is "just about driving around as fast as you can."
Which was the genesis to Wednesday's excursion. After Johnson was done with an afternoon of testing, Giles pulled on a fire suit, was fitted with a helmet and the two were off.
SUSPENSION UPHELD: A National Stock Car Racing Commission panel unanimously upheld the two-race suspension and other penalties handed down by NASCAR to Todd Berrier, Kevin Harvick's crew chief. Berrier was banished from Talladega Superspeedway on Oct.1, the day before the Nextel Cup race, after NASCAR inspectors found several technical violations in the trunk area of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
UNSER AILING: Al Unser remained hospitalized in Albuquerque, N.M., with pancreatitis, and his wife said the four-time Indianapolis 500 champion will stay through next week for gall bladder surgery. Unser, 66, was admitted to Presbyterian Hospital on Tuesday. Doctors found his pancreas was inflamed, most likely because of gallstones.
Source: http://www.sptimes.com/
Hooping, testing, hunting, returning
Tuesday October 25, 2005
Attention, column shoppers: We have a three-for-one deal today covering St. Johns basketball, Alan Rick on random steroid tests and hunting with Chipper Jones and Tony Alred’s return to Palatka — all for our usual low price. Enjoy.
Hoop it up
Buster Harvey’s first “boot camp” at St. Johns River Community College has given way to plain ol’ basketball practice (fairly demanding itself) with the season a mere 10 days away.
The Vikings open Nov. 1 — a week from Tuesday n at Pasco-Hernando CC, culminating five weeks of conditioning drills on top of a full month of practice.
“Boot camp” was Harvey’s term for the conditioning phase n two days a week of long-distance running (gradually working from two miles up to six), two days a week of sprinting outdoors and “elevation running” on Fridays at Ravine Gardens. Oh, and weights every day.
Practices run three hours a day n heavy on fundamentals n plus an hour working with weights.
“They survived,” said Harvey, the Vikings’ new coach who came to SJRCC via Edward Waters College via Florida CC-Jacksonville (winning seven Mid-Florida Conference championships), plus a stop at Jacksonville University, where he was interim head coach.
“The kids learned they can go a lot farther than they think they can mentally and physically, and they like it. And they’re starting to see some definition in their bodies.”
It’ll help them play the 94-foot game that Harvey prefers — and that they’ll have to play to offset a lack of size.
The two biggest players n Mark Barber and Josh Hood, sophomores who saw little action during a 4-24 season in 2004-05 n are both working through injuries. Barber (6-foot-6, 246 pounds) will miss two or three weeks with a severe ankle sprain and it’s fair to wonder whether Hood (6-9, 258) will ever become a factor because of the foot problems that dogged him throughout his freshman year. Only one other Viking, EWC transfer Chris Lamb, is as tall as 6-5.
“We’ve got scorers,” Harvey said. “The weakness, of course, is going to be height and inside strength. We’ve got a tough schedule and we’re going to have to grow up quick. The sophomores are learning a new system and the freshmen are adjusting to college.
“Progress, I think, is pretty good. We’re pushing them pretty hard and they’re responding.”
Testing and hunting
How serious is minor league baseball about combating steroid abuse? So serious that if, say, Alan Rick wanted to go hunting with Chipper Jones on his west Texas ranch, he’d have to advise the proper authorities he was heading out of town so that arrangements could be made were his number to come up for a random test.
Did I say “if” he wanted to go hunting with Chipper?
Rick n 2002 Palatka High grad, son of SJRCC baseball coach Sam Rick and a class A catcher in the Chicago Cubs’ system — has been there, done that and probably will do it again, which brings us back to steroid testing.
“I keep my cell phone on me and if they call, I have 4-6 hours to go to the local hospital and get tested for steroids,” Rick said. “I know I’m perfectly clean, but if I don’t take the test, I’m considered positive for steroids.”
The first positive finding brings a 50-day suspension without pay, he said, followed by 100- and 150-day suspensions for subsequent offenses n the third positive test accompanied by mandatory counseling.
If Rick gets the call n no, not THAT call, but for a steroid test — a minor league baseball representative contacts Putnam Community Medical Center to verify that he has been tested within the prescribed time.
If he’s headed out of town n again, say, for a hunting trip with Chippern he must advise the appropriate authorities as to his itinerary so that plans can be made for an alternate test site.
“They weren’t this strict last year,” Rick said.
OK, OK, about hunting with Chipper.
Seems they have the same agent, B.B. Abbout, who invited Rick and some of his other clients to join Jones on a hunting trip last year at the ranch. (Incidentally, Sam Rick and Larry Jones — Chipper’s father — know one another. And being from Pierson, where a youth baseball-softball complex is named in Chipper’s honor, Chipper is familiar with Palatka.)
“We went to Atlanta and flew out on Chipper’s private plane. We went out there just to clear out some deer,” Rick said. “(Braves first baseman) Adam LaRoche was there. We also took batting practice with Chipper in his cage.
“It was a blast. We’re probably going out again.”
Him again
A familiar face will be on the visitors’ sideline tonight when Palatka hosts Clay in a pivotal District 4-3A football game.
Tony Alred is in his first season as the Blue Devils’ defensive line coach after 33 years of coaching and teaching in Palatka. He coached the offensive and defensive lines at various times n the o-line more recently n and guided the wrestling programs first at Palatka South and then PHS.
Alred still lives here and was to have spent one last season with Panther football this fall before retiring. But when wife Diana accepted a position as guidance counselor at Green Cove Springs Middle School over the summer, he took a job at nearby Clay High. He won’t be involved with wrestling, however.
“I’ve seen some of the kids and Wilson (Edwards, Palatka’s second-year head coach with whom Alred long served as an assistant) and told them I’m going to pull for them in every ball game but this one,” he said. “I miss Palatka. I miss the prayer breakfasts on Friday morning. It’s going to be funny looking (across the field) at everybody.
“(But) I don’t think it will be that big a deal. Once the game starts, it’s just competition. We have a lot of the same type of kids (at Clay) that they have in Palatka. In fact, some of them are related.”
Jim McCool, the Panthers’ head football coach from 1983-2003, was the first to call and wish him well, said Alred, joking (or maybe not joking) that McCool has tried to pump Alred for information on the Blue Devils in subsequent telephone conversations.
Where Alred was part of a veteran staff at PHS, he is among comparative youngsters at Clay. “Most of the assistants are in their 20s, coach (Jim) Reape is in his 30s n and I’m 60. Most of them call me the old man,” he said. “I told them, ‘You better listen to this old man.’”
They have n and not just about high school football. The good people of Green Cove were quick to pick up on Alred’s love of Tennessee football and pretty much everything Volunteer.
Thus he entered his classroom the Monday after Florida’s 16-7 win over his Vols to find the place decorated in orange and blue.
Source: http://www.palatkadailynews.com/
Attention, column shoppers: We have a three-for-one deal today covering St. Johns basketball, Alan Rick on random steroid tests and hunting with Chipper Jones and Tony Alred’s return to Palatka — all for our usual low price. Enjoy.
Hoop it up
Buster Harvey’s first “boot camp” at St. Johns River Community College has given way to plain ol’ basketball practice (fairly demanding itself) with the season a mere 10 days away.
The Vikings open Nov. 1 — a week from Tuesday n at Pasco-Hernando CC, culminating five weeks of conditioning drills on top of a full month of practice.
“Boot camp” was Harvey’s term for the conditioning phase n two days a week of long-distance running (gradually working from two miles up to six), two days a week of sprinting outdoors and “elevation running” on Fridays at Ravine Gardens. Oh, and weights every day.
Practices run three hours a day n heavy on fundamentals n plus an hour working with weights.
“They survived,” said Harvey, the Vikings’ new coach who came to SJRCC via Edward Waters College via Florida CC-Jacksonville (winning seven Mid-Florida Conference championships), plus a stop at Jacksonville University, where he was interim head coach.
“The kids learned they can go a lot farther than they think they can mentally and physically, and they like it. And they’re starting to see some definition in their bodies.”
It’ll help them play the 94-foot game that Harvey prefers — and that they’ll have to play to offset a lack of size.
The two biggest players n Mark Barber and Josh Hood, sophomores who saw little action during a 4-24 season in 2004-05 n are both working through injuries. Barber (6-foot-6, 246 pounds) will miss two or three weeks with a severe ankle sprain and it’s fair to wonder whether Hood (6-9, 258) will ever become a factor because of the foot problems that dogged him throughout his freshman year. Only one other Viking, EWC transfer Chris Lamb, is as tall as 6-5.
“We’ve got scorers,” Harvey said. “The weakness, of course, is going to be height and inside strength. We’ve got a tough schedule and we’re going to have to grow up quick. The sophomores are learning a new system and the freshmen are adjusting to college.
“Progress, I think, is pretty good. We’re pushing them pretty hard and they’re responding.”
Testing and hunting
How serious is minor league baseball about combating steroid abuse? So serious that if, say, Alan Rick wanted to go hunting with Chipper Jones on his west Texas ranch, he’d have to advise the proper authorities he was heading out of town so that arrangements could be made were his number to come up for a random test.
Did I say “if” he wanted to go hunting with Chipper?
Rick n 2002 Palatka High grad, son of SJRCC baseball coach Sam Rick and a class A catcher in the Chicago Cubs’ system — has been there, done that and probably will do it again, which brings us back to steroid testing.
“I keep my cell phone on me and if they call, I have 4-6 hours to go to the local hospital and get tested for steroids,” Rick said. “I know I’m perfectly clean, but if I don’t take the test, I’m considered positive for steroids.”
The first positive finding brings a 50-day suspension without pay, he said, followed by 100- and 150-day suspensions for subsequent offenses n the third positive test accompanied by mandatory counseling.
If Rick gets the call n no, not THAT call, but for a steroid test — a minor league baseball representative contacts Putnam Community Medical Center to verify that he has been tested within the prescribed time.
If he’s headed out of town n again, say, for a hunting trip with Chippern he must advise the appropriate authorities as to his itinerary so that plans can be made for an alternate test site.
“They weren’t this strict last year,” Rick said.
OK, OK, about hunting with Chipper.
Seems they have the same agent, B.B. Abbout, who invited Rick and some of his other clients to join Jones on a hunting trip last year at the ranch. (Incidentally, Sam Rick and Larry Jones — Chipper’s father — know one another. And being from Pierson, where a youth baseball-softball complex is named in Chipper’s honor, Chipper is familiar with Palatka.)
“We went to Atlanta and flew out on Chipper’s private plane. We went out there just to clear out some deer,” Rick said. “(Braves first baseman) Adam LaRoche was there. We also took batting practice with Chipper in his cage.
“It was a blast. We’re probably going out again.”
Him again
A familiar face will be on the visitors’ sideline tonight when Palatka hosts Clay in a pivotal District 4-3A football game.
Tony Alred is in his first season as the Blue Devils’ defensive line coach after 33 years of coaching and teaching in Palatka. He coached the offensive and defensive lines at various times n the o-line more recently n and guided the wrestling programs first at Palatka South and then PHS.
Alred still lives here and was to have spent one last season with Panther football this fall before retiring. But when wife Diana accepted a position as guidance counselor at Green Cove Springs Middle School over the summer, he took a job at nearby Clay High. He won’t be involved with wrestling, however.
“I’ve seen some of the kids and Wilson (Edwards, Palatka’s second-year head coach with whom Alred long served as an assistant) and told them I’m going to pull for them in every ball game but this one,” he said. “I miss Palatka. I miss the prayer breakfasts on Friday morning. It’s going to be funny looking (across the field) at everybody.
“(But) I don’t think it will be that big a deal. Once the game starts, it’s just competition. We have a lot of the same type of kids (at Clay) that they have in Palatka. In fact, some of them are related.”
Jim McCool, the Panthers’ head football coach from 1983-2003, was the first to call and wish him well, said Alred, joking (or maybe not joking) that McCool has tried to pump Alred for information on the Blue Devils in subsequent telephone conversations.
Where Alred was part of a veteran staff at PHS, he is among comparative youngsters at Clay. “Most of the assistants are in their 20s, coach (Jim) Reape is in his 30s n and I’m 60. Most of them call me the old man,” he said. “I told them, ‘You better listen to this old man.’”
They have n and not just about high school football. The good people of Green Cove were quick to pick up on Alred’s love of Tennessee football and pretty much everything Volunteer.
Thus he entered his classroom the Monday after Florida’s 16-7 win over his Vols to find the place decorated in orange and blue.
Source: http://www.palatkadailynews.com/
Poor nations littered with old PCs, report says
Much of the used computer equipment sent from the United States to developing countries for use in homes, schools and businesses is often neither usable nor repairable, creating enormous environmental problems in some of the world's poorest places, according to a report to be issued Monday by an environmental organization.
Source: http://www.monitortoday.com/
Source: http://www.monitortoday.com/
Maddux ready for 20th
October 22, 2005
Greg Maddux, who believes the Houston Astros will beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series, said he hasn't regretted spending the last two seasons back in Chicago with the Cubs, and he's looking forward to next season.
In September speculation circulated around the Windy City about his possible retirement at the end of the season. Before hitting his home course for 18 holes at Spanish Trail on Thursday, he contradicted that speculation.
"That was just the media being the media," Maddux said. "They get a whiff of something, then make it out to be bigger than it actually is. I don't blame 'em. They have a job to do, too.
"I look forward to another good year next year. It would be nice to win, too."
The '06 season will be the 20th for the Valley High graduate, and he'll turn 40 just a couple of weeks into it.
Maddux hasn't helped the Cubs reach the playoffs since he returned to the franchise that drafted him in 1984, but said he cherishes every start he makes at Wrigley Field.
And the stretch in Chicago has provided him with invaluable time with his wife, Kathy, and children Amanda and Chase.
"I've had a great time," Maddux said. "Anytime you have (all those) day games, you can spend more time with the wife and kids. That was accomplished.
"Next year, I'll do what I can to help them win. I'll take care of myself.
"Even though we haven't won, I have enjoyed playing there, enjoyed going back and enjoyed living there. Wrigley is the greatest park in the majors."
$9 MILLION MAN
That's the contract Maddux secured for 2006 when he pitched his 188th inning in 2005. Before '04, he signed a two-year, $15 million pact with the Cubs in which a third season, at the above rate, would be guaranteed if he threw 400 total innings those first two years.
He logged 212 2/3 innings in '04 and 225 in '05.
"They wanted it," Maddux said of the 400-inning stipulation. "I just knew it covered the club. The last thing they wanted to do was sign a guy like me, at that age ... all that money, and have me not able to play. I understood that."
ROLLING 15s
His major league-record streak of consecutive seasons with at least 15 wins ended in October, at 17, when he finished '05 at 13-15. As the season was winding down, manager Dusty Baker juggled his rotation to give Maddux a shot at continuing the impressive run.
"I had my chances," Maddux said. "I felt like I pitched well enough to get there, but I also blew a couple of games myself. I felt I let two or three games get away from me in the sixth or seventh innings. But I went out there 35 times.
"Hopefully, I'll have 35 starts next year and have a chance to win 20, not 15."
JERSEY MATES
With 3,052 strikeouts and 907 walks, Maddux will have an opportunity to become only the second player to have 3,000 whiffs and fewer than 1,000 free passes in his career.
The other, like Maddux, wore No. 31 on his Chicago Cubs' jersey.
Hall-of-Famer Fergie Jenkins was the first.
SORRY, OZZIE
Maddux, with some hesitation, picks Houston to beat the White Sox in the World Series.
It's a difficult situation, he said, because of his current city of employment and because Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen played for the Atlanta Braves with Maddux for part of 1998 and all of '99.
"But having been in the National League for 20 years, it's just kind of tradition," Maddux said about rooting for the senior circuit.
He likes Houston's pitching over Chicago's and believes the lineups are about equal.
"Chicago probably plays a little better defense than Houston. But, you know, it's baseball," Maddux said. "I thought St. Louis had the best team two or three weeks ago, then Houston beats 'em pretty good. Houston handled them.
"So ... Houston."
Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Greg Maddux, who believes the Houston Astros will beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series, said he hasn't regretted spending the last two seasons back in Chicago with the Cubs, and he's looking forward to next season.
In September speculation circulated around the Windy City about his possible retirement at the end of the season. Before hitting his home course for 18 holes at Spanish Trail on Thursday, he contradicted that speculation.
"That was just the media being the media," Maddux said. "They get a whiff of something, then make it out to be bigger than it actually is. I don't blame 'em. They have a job to do, too.
"I look forward to another good year next year. It would be nice to win, too."
The '06 season will be the 20th for the Valley High graduate, and he'll turn 40 just a couple of weeks into it.
Maddux hasn't helped the Cubs reach the playoffs since he returned to the franchise that drafted him in 1984, but said he cherishes every start he makes at Wrigley Field.
And the stretch in Chicago has provided him with invaluable time with his wife, Kathy, and children Amanda and Chase.
"I've had a great time," Maddux said. "Anytime you have (all those) day games, you can spend more time with the wife and kids. That was accomplished.
"Next year, I'll do what I can to help them win. I'll take care of myself.
"Even though we haven't won, I have enjoyed playing there, enjoyed going back and enjoyed living there. Wrigley is the greatest park in the majors."
$9 MILLION MAN
That's the contract Maddux secured for 2006 when he pitched his 188th inning in 2005. Before '04, he signed a two-year, $15 million pact with the Cubs in which a third season, at the above rate, would be guaranteed if he threw 400 total innings those first two years.
He logged 212 2/3 innings in '04 and 225 in '05.
"They wanted it," Maddux said of the 400-inning stipulation. "I just knew it covered the club. The last thing they wanted to do was sign a guy like me, at that age ... all that money, and have me not able to play. I understood that."
ROLLING 15s
His major league-record streak of consecutive seasons with at least 15 wins ended in October, at 17, when he finished '05 at 13-15. As the season was winding down, manager Dusty Baker juggled his rotation to give Maddux a shot at continuing the impressive run.
"I had my chances," Maddux said. "I felt like I pitched well enough to get there, but I also blew a couple of games myself. I felt I let two or three games get away from me in the sixth or seventh innings. But I went out there 35 times.
"Hopefully, I'll have 35 starts next year and have a chance to win 20, not 15."
JERSEY MATES
With 3,052 strikeouts and 907 walks, Maddux will have an opportunity to become only the second player to have 3,000 whiffs and fewer than 1,000 free passes in his career.
The other, like Maddux, wore No. 31 on his Chicago Cubs' jersey.
Hall-of-Famer Fergie Jenkins was the first.
SORRY, OZZIE
Maddux, with some hesitation, picks Houston to beat the White Sox in the World Series.
It's a difficult situation, he said, because of his current city of employment and because Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen played for the Atlanta Braves with Maddux for part of 1998 and all of '99.
"But having been in the National League for 20 years, it's just kind of tradition," Maddux said about rooting for the senior circuit.
He likes Houston's pitching over Chicago's and believes the lineups are about equal.
"Chicago probably plays a little better defense than Houston. But, you know, it's baseball," Maddux said. "I thought St. Louis had the best team two or three weeks ago, then Houston beats 'em pretty good. Houston handled them.
"So ... Houston."
Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Baseball Today
Monday, October 24, 2005
(AP) --
No game scheduled. The World Series moves to Houston for Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
STARS
Sunday
_ Scott Podsednik and Paul Konerko, White Sox. Podsednik homered in the bottom of the ninth inning and Konerko hit the 18th grand slam in World Series history in Chicago's 7-6 win over Houston in Game 2 of the World Series.
WALKING OFF TO TEXAS
The White Sox have a 2-0 lead in the World Series after Scott Podsednik's ninth-inning homer gave Chicago a 7-6 victory over Houston on Sunday. Podsednik, who did not homer in 507 regular-season at-bats, has two postseason homers.
GRAND
Chicago's Paul Konerko hit the 18th grand slam in World Series history during Sunday night's 7-6 win over Houston. It was the first World Series grand slam since the Yankees' Tino Martinez did it in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series against San Diego.
FAREWELL
Harry Dalton, who spent more than four decades as an executive with the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels and Milwaukee Brewers, died Sunday from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 77. ... Ted Bonda, the former Cleveland Indians owner who hired Frank Robinson as baseball's first black manager, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 88.
SPEAKING
"Not too many times are you going to hit a grand slam in the World Series and that would be the second-best thing that happened all week" — Paul Konerko after hitting a grand slam in Chicago's 7-6 win over Houston in Game 2 of the World Series on Sunday night. Earlier in the week, Konerko was named ALCS MVP and became a father for the first time.
SEASONS
Oct. 24
1911 — The World Series between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics was resumed after six days of rain, and Chief Bender beat Christy Mathewson 4-2 to give the A's a 3-1 lead.
1981 — The Los Angeles Dodgers came back to beat the New York Yankees 8-7 in a sloppy 3 1/2-hour game and tied the World Series 2-2. The Yankees blew a 6-3 lead. On one play, Reggie Jackson lost the ball in the sun and it bounced off his shoulder for a two-base error.
1985 — Danny Jackson's five-hitter cut St. Louis' lead to 3-2 in the World Series as the Kansas City Royals took Game 5, 6-1. Willie Wilson's two-run triple highlighted a three-run second inning and chased starter Ken Forsch.
1987 — Kent Hrbek's grand slam highlighted a 15-hit barrage as the Minnesota Twins pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 11-5 at the Metrodome to force the World Series to a seventh game.
1992 — The Toronto Blue Jays took baseball's championship outside the United States for the first time, beating the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 11 innings in Game 6 of the World Series.
1994 — Atlanta's Greg Maddux became the first pitcher to win three straight Cy Young Awards, unanimously sweeping the NL honor. Maddux was 16-6 with a 1.56 ERA, the third lowest in 75 years.
2000 — Benny Agbayani hit a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as the New York Mets handed Orlando Hernandez his first postseason defeat, beating the Yankees 4-2 to cut their World Series deficit to 2-1. The Mets also ended the Yankees' record 14-game winning streak in the World Series.
Today's birthdays: Rafael Furcal, 28; Mike Matthews, 35; Arthur Rhodes, 36.
Oct. 25
1911 — Fred Merkle's 10th-inning sacrifice fly scored Larry Doyle to give the New York Giants a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. The victory cut the A's lead in the Series to 3-2.
1981 — Steve Yeager and Pedro Guerrero hit back-to-back homers in the seventh inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees in the World Series.
1986 — The New York Mets rallied for three runs with two outs in the 10th inning against the Boston Red Sox to push the World Series to a decisive seventh game. The tie-breaking run scored on Boston first baseman Bill Buckner's error on Mookie Wilson's slow grounder.
1987 — The Minnesota Twins, behind Frank Viola, won their first World Series championship by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 in Game 7, becoming the first team to win four home games.
2003 — Florida's Josh Beckett threw a shutout to lead the Marlins to a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Pitching on only three days rest, Beckett, who was named MVP of the series, allowed five hits in Game 6 as Florida won its second title in seven seasons.
Today's birthdays: Tony Torcato 26; J.J. Davis 27; Pedro Martinez 34.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/
(AP) --
No game scheduled. The World Series moves to Houston for Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
STARS
Sunday
_ Scott Podsednik and Paul Konerko, White Sox. Podsednik homered in the bottom of the ninth inning and Konerko hit the 18th grand slam in World Series history in Chicago's 7-6 win over Houston in Game 2 of the World Series.
WALKING OFF TO TEXAS
The White Sox have a 2-0 lead in the World Series after Scott Podsednik's ninth-inning homer gave Chicago a 7-6 victory over Houston on Sunday. Podsednik, who did not homer in 507 regular-season at-bats, has two postseason homers.
GRAND
Chicago's Paul Konerko hit the 18th grand slam in World Series history during Sunday night's 7-6 win over Houston. It was the first World Series grand slam since the Yankees' Tino Martinez did it in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series against San Diego.
FAREWELL
Harry Dalton, who spent more than four decades as an executive with the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels and Milwaukee Brewers, died Sunday from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 77. ... Ted Bonda, the former Cleveland Indians owner who hired Frank Robinson as baseball's first black manager, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 88.
SPEAKING
"Not too many times are you going to hit a grand slam in the World Series and that would be the second-best thing that happened all week" — Paul Konerko after hitting a grand slam in Chicago's 7-6 win over Houston in Game 2 of the World Series on Sunday night. Earlier in the week, Konerko was named ALCS MVP and became a father for the first time.
SEASONS
Oct. 24
1911 — The World Series between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics was resumed after six days of rain, and Chief Bender beat Christy Mathewson 4-2 to give the A's a 3-1 lead.
1981 — The Los Angeles Dodgers came back to beat the New York Yankees 8-7 in a sloppy 3 1/2-hour game and tied the World Series 2-2. The Yankees blew a 6-3 lead. On one play, Reggie Jackson lost the ball in the sun and it bounced off his shoulder for a two-base error.
1985 — Danny Jackson's five-hitter cut St. Louis' lead to 3-2 in the World Series as the Kansas City Royals took Game 5, 6-1. Willie Wilson's two-run triple highlighted a three-run second inning and chased starter Ken Forsch.
1987 — Kent Hrbek's grand slam highlighted a 15-hit barrage as the Minnesota Twins pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 11-5 at the Metrodome to force the World Series to a seventh game.
1992 — The Toronto Blue Jays took baseball's championship outside the United States for the first time, beating the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 11 innings in Game 6 of the World Series.
1994 — Atlanta's Greg Maddux became the first pitcher to win three straight Cy Young Awards, unanimously sweeping the NL honor. Maddux was 16-6 with a 1.56 ERA, the third lowest in 75 years.
2000 — Benny Agbayani hit a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as the New York Mets handed Orlando Hernandez his first postseason defeat, beating the Yankees 4-2 to cut their World Series deficit to 2-1. The Mets also ended the Yankees' record 14-game winning streak in the World Series.
Today's birthdays: Rafael Furcal, 28; Mike Matthews, 35; Arthur Rhodes, 36.
Oct. 25
1911 — Fred Merkle's 10th-inning sacrifice fly scored Larry Doyle to give the New York Giants a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. The victory cut the A's lead in the Series to 3-2.
1981 — Steve Yeager and Pedro Guerrero hit back-to-back homers in the seventh inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees in the World Series.
1986 — The New York Mets rallied for three runs with two outs in the 10th inning against the Boston Red Sox to push the World Series to a decisive seventh game. The tie-breaking run scored on Boston first baseman Bill Buckner's error on Mookie Wilson's slow grounder.
1987 — The Minnesota Twins, behind Frank Viola, won their first World Series championship by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 in Game 7, becoming the first team to win four home games.
2003 — Florida's Josh Beckett threw a shutout to lead the Marlins to a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Pitching on only three days rest, Beckett, who was named MVP of the series, allowed five hits in Game 6 as Florida won its second title in seven seasons.
Today's birthdays: Tony Torcato 26; J.J. Davis 27; Pedro Martinez 34.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/
MLB: October 24, 2005
Monday October 24, 2005
Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens had a cortisone shot after Game 1 of the World Series, according to a team official, making it less likely he will pitch again in the series.-- Washington Post
According to the team official, the Astros are leaning toward starting rookie right-hander Ezequiel Astacio in Roger Clemens's place if the latter is unable to pitch. A second option would be lefty Wandy Rodriguez. Still another option for the Astros would be to use their Games 2, 3 and 4 pitchers -- Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Brandon Backe -- on three days' rest in Games 5, 6 and 7 (if necessary). But pitching coach Jim Hickey said that was unlikely.-- Washington Post
It came as no surprise Sunday when Astros Manager Phil Garner said he still considered Roger Clemens his starter in a potential Game 5 of the World Series on Thursday.-- New York Times
They might be fighting words in this town, but Ozzie Guillen said them anyway. "I hate Wrigley Field," he said. The Chicago Cubs, occupants of Wrigley Field, have not appeared in the World Series since 1945. The White Sox are in the World Series this year, but their manager says this will remain a Cub town even if the Sox win. "We'd have to win seven World Series in a row," Guillen said.-- Los Angeles Times
According to White Sox officials, commissioner Bud Selig has assured them he will order the Astros to keep the dome open at Minute Maid Park if there is no rain. As the Cardinals and Braves will attest, the hometown crowd din in Minute Maid when the dome is closed is a significant advantage for the Astros, who kept it closed throughout the NLDS and NLCS despite perfect weather outside. This season the Astros were 15-11 at home with the dome open and 36-17 with it closed.-- New York Daily News
Word is, George Steinbrenner is blaming Billy Connors for allowing Leo Mazzone to use the Yankees to get a sweeter deal with the Orioles and has eliminated Connors, a friend of Mazzone's, from meetings.-- New York Post
Maybe the Tigers can get Atlanta Braves' pitcher John Smoltz to come back to his home state, Michigan, and help turn this sad-sack franchise around.-- Detroit News
While the Yankee world anxiously awaits Brian Cashman's decision whether to stay or leave as GM, another potential high command defection could be forthcoming if Gene Michael is unable to get his authority and responsibilities restored. It has been learned that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who are looking for an experienced player evaluator to work with 24-year-old Andrew Friedman - a baseball neophyte who has been put in charge of the baseball operations by new owner Stuart Sternberg - have put Michael at the top of their list, if they can get permission to talk to him.-- New York Daily News
The unhurried Dodger managerial search had candidates worrying, wondering and wandering Sunday. It's been 10 days since Terry Collins interviewed, and he has been on pins and needles. It has been eight days since General Manager Paul DePodesta said he would include former Dodger players in expanding the list of candidates. Turns out only former Dodger pitching great Orel Hershiser was given an interview, although DePodesta said several other candidates were "talked to or about." Hershiser flew home to Dallas on Sunday after attending a college football game Saturday and does not expect to be interviewed until at least Tuesday.-- Los Angeles Times
With a lot of teams looking for catching help, and the pool of available catchers thin, an interesting situation is developing in Atlanta. The emergence of young catcher Brian McCann could lead the Braves to put Johnny Estrada on the market.-- Newark Star-Ledger
Right-hander Pedro Astacio and infielder Neifi Perez, both former Rockies, are on the list of players the team has interest in signing this off-season.-- Rocky Mountain News
Robin Ventura said he had declined Jim Tracy's overtures to join the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates.-- Los Angeles Times
The Padres yesterday fired assistant trainer Jim Daniel, who filled that job for eight seasons and worked 14 seasons as a minor league trainer for the franchise. Daniel's dismissal was unrelated to the club's questionable handling of ace pitcher Jake Peavy, whose bruised right side was known to trainer Todd Hutcheson but not to manager Bruce Bochy going into Peavy's disastrous Game 1 start in the playoffs this month.-- San Diego Union-Tribune
Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/
Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens had a cortisone shot after Game 1 of the World Series, according to a team official, making it less likely he will pitch again in the series.-- Washington Post
According to the team official, the Astros are leaning toward starting rookie right-hander Ezequiel Astacio in Roger Clemens's place if the latter is unable to pitch. A second option would be lefty Wandy Rodriguez. Still another option for the Astros would be to use their Games 2, 3 and 4 pitchers -- Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Brandon Backe -- on three days' rest in Games 5, 6 and 7 (if necessary). But pitching coach Jim Hickey said that was unlikely.-- Washington Post
It came as no surprise Sunday when Astros Manager Phil Garner said he still considered Roger Clemens his starter in a potential Game 5 of the World Series on Thursday.-- New York Times
They might be fighting words in this town, but Ozzie Guillen said them anyway. "I hate Wrigley Field," he said. The Chicago Cubs, occupants of Wrigley Field, have not appeared in the World Series since 1945. The White Sox are in the World Series this year, but their manager says this will remain a Cub town even if the Sox win. "We'd have to win seven World Series in a row," Guillen said.-- Los Angeles Times
According to White Sox officials, commissioner Bud Selig has assured them he will order the Astros to keep the dome open at Minute Maid Park if there is no rain. As the Cardinals and Braves will attest, the hometown crowd din in Minute Maid when the dome is closed is a significant advantage for the Astros, who kept it closed throughout the NLDS and NLCS despite perfect weather outside. This season the Astros were 15-11 at home with the dome open and 36-17 with it closed.-- New York Daily News
Word is, George Steinbrenner is blaming Billy Connors for allowing Leo Mazzone to use the Yankees to get a sweeter deal with the Orioles and has eliminated Connors, a friend of Mazzone's, from meetings.-- New York Post
Maybe the Tigers can get Atlanta Braves' pitcher John Smoltz to come back to his home state, Michigan, and help turn this sad-sack franchise around.-- Detroit News
While the Yankee world anxiously awaits Brian Cashman's decision whether to stay or leave as GM, another potential high command defection could be forthcoming if Gene Michael is unable to get his authority and responsibilities restored. It has been learned that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who are looking for an experienced player evaluator to work with 24-year-old Andrew Friedman - a baseball neophyte who has been put in charge of the baseball operations by new owner Stuart Sternberg - have put Michael at the top of their list, if they can get permission to talk to him.-- New York Daily News
The unhurried Dodger managerial search had candidates worrying, wondering and wandering Sunday. It's been 10 days since Terry Collins interviewed, and he has been on pins and needles. It has been eight days since General Manager Paul DePodesta said he would include former Dodger players in expanding the list of candidates. Turns out only former Dodger pitching great Orel Hershiser was given an interview, although DePodesta said several other candidates were "talked to or about." Hershiser flew home to Dallas on Sunday after attending a college football game Saturday and does not expect to be interviewed until at least Tuesday.-- Los Angeles Times
With a lot of teams looking for catching help, and the pool of available catchers thin, an interesting situation is developing in Atlanta. The emergence of young catcher Brian McCann could lead the Braves to put Johnny Estrada on the market.-- Newark Star-Ledger
Right-hander Pedro Astacio and infielder Neifi Perez, both former Rockies, are on the list of players the team has interest in signing this off-season.-- Rocky Mountain News
Robin Ventura said he had declined Jim Tracy's overtures to join the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates.-- Los Angeles Times
The Padres yesterday fired assistant trainer Jim Daniel, who filled that job for eight seasons and worked 14 seasons as a minor league trainer for the franchise. Daniel's dismissal was unrelated to the club's questionable handling of ace pitcher Jake Peavy, whose bruised right side was known to trainer Todd Hutcheson but not to manager Bruce Bochy going into Peavy's disastrous Game 1 start in the playoffs this month.-- San Diego Union-Tribune
Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/
