Tuesday, July 30, 2013

TUESDAY BLOG - July 30th, 2013


Let the pissing contest begin!  ARod vs Bud Seelig. . . 

According to his attorney, Alex Rodriguez will not accept a deal from MLB, and will fight any suspension or punishment from MLB.  Here’s the full story from ESPN:  


The NY Daily News is reporting that if Rodriguez chooses to appeal any punishment and suspension in order to protect his contract, the commissioner of baseball, Bud Seelig, will invoke his right to ban any player to protect the integrity of the game.  Here are the details:


The Marlins blew a 5-3 lead in the seventh inning last night and fell to the Metropolitans 6-5.  Ike Davis had the key hit, a run-scoring double, and Daniel Murphy scored two runs and drove in three.  Tonight, it will be Nathan Eovaldi taking the mound for the Fish, and the Mets will counter with Zack Wheeler.  Game time tonight at Marlins Park is 7:10 pm.  Here are the probable pitchers for the rest of the series with the Mets:

WEDNESDAY Jenrry Mejia vs Henderson Alvarez   7:10 pm
THURSDAY Matt Harvey vs Tom Koehler 12:40 pm

Some Marlins Notes from beat writer Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald:


Mike Puma of the New York Post has the details on what led to the argument between Tino Martinez and Derek Dietrich:


My take:  Understanding that there are three sides to this story . . . Martinez, the players, and the truth . . . the players felt that Martinez was verbally abusive and Dietrich reported that Martinez had grabbed him by the shirt only after he was sent down to the minors.  (Of course, no mention by Dietrich or the local media on what triggered it). Martinez had a hard time getting players to do what he asked them to do, and couldn’t handle the attitudes of some of the players.  Not every great player can become a coach and work with today’s crop of spoiled players, especially on a team full of players who probably aren’t ready for prime time.  Bottom line, whatever Tino was doing was not working anyway, as this team is the worst offensive team in the majors, last in runs scored, and last in team batting average at .232.  Hopefully the next coach will be able to reach the young players.  NOTE TO OWNER JEFFREY LORIA:  You are not in charge of hiring the manager and the coaches.  When you get involved, you undermine your manager and your GM, and human nature dictates that they will not support your choice on or off the field.  You obviously don’t know or understand the game.  Allow your baseball people to do their jobs.  If they are not qualified to do that, they’re the ones that need to be fired.  By the way . . . Why haven’t you sold the team yet?  What the hell are you waiting for?

The Fish are still at the bottom of the list in runs scored in MLB, with 333 runs in their 104 games.  Here are the rest of the bottom-dwellers, and, as you can see, we have a traffic jam of teams trying to make the bottom five:

TEAM          W-L       Runs
Marlins  40-64 333
White Sox 40-63 381
Astros 35-69 391
Phillies 49-56 398
Royals 51-51 399
Nationals 52-54 399
Giants 46-58 399

In contrast, the Detroit Tigers lead the majors with 533 runs scored in their 104 games.  That is exactly 200 more runs in the same number of games as the Marlins.  The Red Sox have scored 532 runs in 107 games.

In the Major Leagues yesterday, first in the National League,

Pirates 9 Cardinals 2
Francisco Liriano pitched seven innings to improve his season record to 11-4.  Pedro Alvarez blasted a three-run homer in the first inning and the Pirates climbed to within 1/2 game of the Cardinals in the NL Central. 

Braves 9 Rockies 8 (10 innings)
Andrellton Simmons tripled to drive in Dan Uggla in the bottom of the tenth to end the ballgame.

Brewers 5 Cubs 0
The Brewers scored five times in the top of the ninth inning.  Carlos Gomez drove in the first run and Jeff Bianchi and Rickie Weeks added two-run doubles later.

Padres 2 Reds 1
Pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning against Reds closer Aroldis Chapman.

Over in the American League,

Rays 2 Red Sox 1
David Price scattered two hits and pitched into the eighth inning.  Sean Rodriguez and Wil Myers drove in runs for the Rays, who moved into first place over the Red Sox by 1/2 game.

Rangers 4 Angels 3
Geovany Soto and AJ Pierzynski both homered in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally the Rangers.

Indians 3 White Sox 2
Jason Giambi’s pinch-hit homer leading off the bottom of the ninth inning ended the ball game.

A’s 9 Blue Jays 4
Yoenis Cespedes went 3-5 with a homer and a triple and drove in three runs.  

Today in MLB, in the National League,

Brewers @ Cubs 2:20 pm (GAME 1)
Yovani Gallardo vs Carlos Villanueva

Brewers @ Cubs 8:05 pm (GAME 2)
Tyler Thornburg vs Jake Arrieta

Cardinals @ Pirates 4:05 pm (GAME 1)
Lance Lynn vs AJ Burnett

Cardinals @ Pirates 7:35 pm (GAME 2)
Tyler Lyons vs TBA

Giants @ Phillies 7:05 pm
Barry Zito vs John Lannan

Mets @ Marlins 7:10 pm
Zack Wheeler vs Nathan Eovaldi

Rockies @ Braves 7:10 pm
Juan Nicasio vs Alex Wood

Reds @ Padres 10:10 pm
Mat Latos vs Edinson Volquez

Yankees @ Dodgers 10:10 pm
Andy Pettitte vs Zack Greinke

Over in the American League,

Astros @ Orioles 7:05 pm
Bud Norris vs Wei-Yin Chen

White Sox @ Indians 7:05 pm
John Danks vs Zach McAllister

Nationals @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Stephen Strasburg vs Anibal Sanchez

Diamondbacks @ Rays 7:10 pm
Ian Kennedy vs Roberto Hernandez

Mariners @ Red Sox 7:10 pm
Joe Saunders vs Brandon Workman

Angels @ Rangers 8:05 pm
CJ Wilson vs Derek Holland

Royals @ Twins 8:10 pm
Ervin Santana vs Mike Pelfrey

Blue Jays @ A’s 10:05 pm
Mark Buehrle vs Dan Straily

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Who holds the record for most strikeouts in a game? The answer comes later, alligator.   

Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


Here are the latest trade rumors around the majors, as we approach the July 31st trade deadline:


Here is ESPN chiming in with their gossip:


From Fox Sports and Yardbarker, here is the latest buzz:


In Dolphin news, the Fins scrimmaged yesterday at the Seven-Name Stadium.  The Miami Herald was there, along with more than 22,000 fans.  There are two reports:



Just a reminder:  The Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys will play in the first preseason game this year this Sunday, August 4th, in Dallas.  The game will be broadcast nationally by NBC, Channel 6 in South Florida.

Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with news from all around the league:


We can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.  

In NBA News, I’m still hearing that free agent center Greg Oden could be making a decision as to where he will sign as early as today.  The Heat are still in the running, with the New Orleans Pelicans also in the picture.  Heat or Pelicans?  You would think there really isn’t anything to think about.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com looks at some of the obstacles surrounding Oden:


In case you missed it, Windhorst had a very interesting article on the Heat after 2014:



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I’m selling three lots totaling a little over five acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock.  Click here to see some photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions: 


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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who holds the record for most strikeouts in a game?   

Tom Cheney of the Washington Senators struck out 21 batters in a 16 inning game in September, 1962.  

Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” radio segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ON MY RADIO SEGMENTS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS - jerry@descargadeportiva.com

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. 

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