Monday, August 5, 2013


The pissing contest between MLB and Alex Rodriguez will now end up in the hands of an arbitrator.  We can only hope that the arbitrator will be wearing gloves.  A-Roid will be suspended, along with as many as a dozen other ballplayers today, and A-Roid will be allowed to play tonight as he appeals the suspension.  Here’s Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan and Tim Brown:


Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says that this is MLB’s best option:


Joel Sherman of the New York Post says that only A-Roid can create a scene like this:


Do you remember when A-Roid was likeable?  That is the question posed by Tim Brown of Yahoo!Sports.com:


How do the Yankee players feel?  Here’s the NY Post:


Former major leaguer Doug Glanville, now working with ESPN, has some very interesting views on this whole A-Roid thing:


My take will wait until tomorrow after all the dust settles today.

Let’s go to the games.  The Marlins lost two out of three this weekend to the Cleveland Indians, who have now won 10 out of their last 11.  Yesterday, Scott Kazmir dominated for six innings, striking out seven and allowing only two Marlins hits.  The Indians lead the majors with 15 shutouts, while the Marlins also lead MLB by having been shutout 13 times.  Nathan Eovaldi again deserved better, allowing only one run over seven innings of work.  The team has NOT scored a run with Eovaldi in the game in his last four starts.  That is pretty much how you define NO RUN SUPPORT.  The Fish will enjoy a day off today and will take on the Pirates in Pittsburgh in a three-game series starting tomorrow.  The expected pitching matchups for the series with the Pirates:

TUESDAY       Henderson Alvarez vs Jeff Locke 7:05 pm
WEDNESDAY   Tom Koehler vs Charlie Morton 7:05 pm
THURSDAY      Jose Fernandez vs Gerrit Cole  12:35 pm

After the Pirate series, the Fish will head to Atlanta to take on the Braves in a three-game set over the weekend.

The Fish are still at the bottom of the list in runs scored in MLB, with 354 runs in their 110 games.  Here are the rest of the bottom-dwellers:

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 43-67 354
White Sox 40-69 394
Nationals 54-57 413
Phillies 50-61 417
Astros 36-74 417

The Yankees are making a move to join  the bottom-dwellers list, as they are now the sixth lowest-scoring team in the majors, just three runs behind the Phils and Astros with 420 runs in their 110 games (56-51).

In contrast, the Boston Red Sox lead the majors with 568 runs in 113 games.  The Detroit Tigers have scored 557 runs in 109 games.

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

Cardinals 15 Reds 2
The Cards pounded the Reds with 19 hits, 10 of them were for extra bases.  David Frees, Matt Adams, and Tony Cruz all connected long distance.  Lance Lynn was the beneficiary of all the runs, improving his record this year to 13-5.

Pirates 5 Rockies 1
AJ Burnett tossed the complete game, Russell Martin blasted a three-run homer.  Burnett struck out nine and only walked one.

Brewers 8 Nationals 5
The Brew Crew scored five runs in the sixth inning, with a two-run single by Jeff Bianchi the key hit.  Juan Francisco drove in two runs in the win.

Dodgers 1 Cubs 0
The Dodgers set a franchise record by winning their 14th consecutive road game and are 14-2 since the All Star break.  Hanley Ramirez scored the only run of the game, but had to leave the contest in the seventh innings after making a catch in foul ground and running into the wall.  

Royals 6 Mets 2
Lorenzo Cain drove in two runs and Mike Moustakas connected long distance in the win.  The Royals have won nine our of their last ten.

Padres 6 Yankees 3
Ian Kennedy took a shutout into the sixth inning against his original team.  Everth Cabrera went 2-5 and drove in two runs, Mark Kotsay also drove in a pair of runs.  Phil Hughes was, once again, awful for the Yankees, giving up five runs and six hits in only 2 2/3 innings.

Braves 4 Phillies 1
Make it ten straight wins for the Braves, who extended their lead in the NL East to a whopping 12 1/2 games over the second-place Nats.  Chris Johnson had two RBI and Alex Wood won his second consecutive game, tossing six innings of one-run ball.  Craig Kimbrel notched his 34th save of the season.

Over in the American League,

Tigers 3 White Sox 2 (12 innings)
Torii Hunter ended the game with a run-scoring single to complete a three-game sweep.

Mariners 3 Orioles 2
Henry Blanco’s two run homer was the difference.

Twins 3 Astros 2
Oswaldo Arcia broke a 2-2 with a home run in the seventh inning.

Rangers 4 A’s 0
Derek Holland struck out 10 over scoreless innings of four-hit ball.  Mitch Moreland homered with a runner on base and Nelson Cruz also left the building.

Blue Jays 6 Angels 5
Jose Bautista tied the game with a run scoring single, and Edwin Encarnacion followed him with the RBI single that decided the game.

Red Sox 4 D-Backs 0
Felix Doubront threw seven scoreless innings, his 15th consecutive start of allowing three runs or less.  Jacoby Ellsbury drove in a pair of runs  in the win.

Rays 4 Giants 3
Wil Myers hit a two-run homer, but it was Sam Fuld’s RBI single in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference.

Today in MLB, in the National League,

Braves @ Nationals 7:05 pm
Mike Minor vs Stephen Strasburg

Dodgers @ Cardinals 7:05 pm
Zack Greinke vs Adam Wainwright

Brewers @ Giants 10:15 pm
Tyler Thornburg vs Chad Gaudin

Over in the American League,

Tigers @ Indians 7:05 pm
Anibal Sanchez vs Cory Kluber

Red Sox @ Astros 8:10 pm
John Lackey vs Brett Oberholtzer

Twins @ Royals 8:10 pm
Kevin Correia vs Jeremy Guthrie

Yankees @ White Sox 8:10 pm
Andy Pettitte vs Jose Quintana

Rangers @ Angels 10:05 pm
Martin Perez vs Jerome Williams

Blue Jays @ Mariners 10:10 pm
RA Dickey vs Hisashi Iwakuma

Here are the latest trade rumors around the majors, as we approach the August 31st cutoff date for any trades.  Any players traded this month have to clear waivers first:


Here is ESPN chiming in with their gossip:


TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Atlanta Braves are baseball’s hottest team right now, having won ten games in a row.  What is the team record for consecutive wins? The answer comes later, alligator.   

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


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


In college football, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel, is in hot water again, this time the focus of an NCAA investigation which could cost him eligibility this season.  This has the potential to be really ugly.  Here is the ESPN.com story:


Here is more on the "Johnny Football" scandal from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo!Sports:


The University of Miami Hurricanes are practicing in preparation for this upcoming season.  Here is the Herald’s daily report:


The other university in town, FIU, starts practice today, as the Ron Turner era officially begins.  Here is David Neal’s story in the Herald:


In Dolphin news, the Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys played yesterday in the Hall of Fame game, the first preseason game of the year.  A couple of early turnovers by the Dolphins cost them and the Cowboys ended up with a 24-20 win.  Fins backup QB Matt Moore showed that he is one of the better backups in the NFL,completing 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown.
Next game for the Dolphins is next Friday, in Jacksonville, against the Jaguars.  Game time is 7:30 pm.  

James Walker of ESPN has the good news from the game:


Here is Armando Salguero’s report on the game from the Miami Herald:


SIDE NOTE:  It is PRESEASON football, folks.  Just to keep things a little bit real, the Fins have played in the Hall of Fame game four times.  They are 0-4.  Don’t sweat it.  No time to panic. Yet.

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.  

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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: The Atlanta Braves are baseball’s hottest team right now, having won ten games in a row.  What is the team record for consecutive wins?

The Braves won 15 games in a row from April 16 to May 2, 2000.    

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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