March 2010 - Baseball Wiretap

Hunter Impressed With Austin Jackson's Center Field Defense

Sep 26, 2014 12:29 PM

Torii Hunter has been impressed with Detroit rookie Austin Jackson and the way he plays a defensive center field. "The way he kept his glove, that's what I look for," said Hunter, an AL Gold Glove winner for nine years running. "Some guys bend their wrist when they catch the ball, and the glove will get caught in the grass and then flip up, not because you did it but it'll flip up because it's going forward. So when it hits something, it'll flip up, and the ball comes out. "But him, he dove and he kept the glove up. That's instincts. That lets you know he has it all. I watch for little stuff like that. He has a lot of instincts, and I think he's well on his way. All he has to do is keep working hard, keep learning and keep asking questions. Whatever works for him, keep it in. Whatever doesn't work for him, throw it out the other ear. And I think he'll be fine." Hunter already knew about Jackson, who grew up in Denton, Texas, near Hunter's offseason home. They talked about working out together this winter, but their schedules didn't match up. When Jackson was named the Tigers' Opening Day center fielder, Hunter started watching.

MLB.com

Tags: Detroit Tigers

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Cano Finishes April With .400 Average

Sep 19, 2014 9:12 PM

Robinson Cano (1-for-4) completed the month of April with a .400 (34-for-85) average, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 8HR, 18RBI, 65 total bases, a .765 slugging percentage, 11 multi-hit games and 21 runs score. He becomes just the second American Leaguer to record a .400 average and 8HR in the month of April in the Expansion Era (since 1961), joining Manny Ramirez with Boston in 2001 (.408, 9HR) He also becomes the fourth Yankee to finish April with a .400 batting average or better (min. 50PA) in the expansion era, also Paul O?Neill in 1994 (.448) and 1996 (.400), Clete Boyer in 1962 (.429) and Willie Randolph in 1976 (.400).

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: New York Yankees

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Wakefield Reports To Bullpen Duty For First Time Since 2002

Jun 15, 2014 11:49 PM

Tim Wakefield officially reported to duty as a reliever on Friday night. The veteran knuckleballer had a chat with manager Terry Francona to discuss usage and preparation. Wakefield last pitched in relief during the 2004 American League Championship Series. The last time he worked as a reliever with any regularity was in the first half of the 2002 season. The reason for the move is the return from the disabled list of Daisuke Matsuzaka, who will start on Saturday night. "We talked to [Wakefield] about a couple of things," Francona said. "One thing we didn't want to do is try to think we were doing something to help him and [then] hinder him. He expressed, like I knew he would, 'Hey, I'll be ready for anything.' He always is, which is good. We want to keep him stretched out, for obvious reasons. At the same time, we'd like to not bring him in the first outing with the bases loaded, that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. The one thing we want to try to do is keep him stretched out, and if that's a problem, something's really going right." Depending on the workload of the starters, Francona indicated that there could be occasions when Wakefield is slotted into the rotation to give everyone an extra day of rest. "That's also very realistic," Francona said. "We'll see. We don't have a date circled, but that's certainly something that could happen."

MLB.com

Tags: Boston Red Sox

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Toronto Wants Tallet To Start Upon Return

Sep 25, 2014 6:48 PM

Blue Jays starter Brian Tallet, on the 15-day disabled list with a forearm strain, is expected to be back "sometime in May" according to Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston. Tallet, who went on the DL April 18, is currently rehabbing at the Jays' Minor League facility in Dunedin, Fla. With the Blue Jays starting rotation pitching very well as of late, many wonder how Tallet will fit into the equation upon his return. "We're going to have him start," Gaston said. "We don't want to send him back to the bullpen only to bring him back as a starter. His program is based on that he's coming back as a starter."

MLB.com

Tags: Toronto Blue Jays, Injury

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Ordonez Leaves Game With Abdominal Cramping

Sep 26, 2014 12:28 PM

Magglio Ordonez left Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels because of abdominal cramping. Ordonez reached base on an error and later scored in Detroit's eight-run fourth inning, but did not take the field for the fifth. Don Kelly entered the game in left field, with Brennan Boesch moving from left to right.

SI.com

Tags: Detroit Tigers, Injury

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Giants Interested In Buying Golden State Warriors

Sep 26, 2014 12:28 PM

Giants president Larry Baer said, ?It?s possible we could have some relationship? with groups that are trying to buy the Golden State Warriors. Baer, in a recent interview with the Business Times, said that the Giants have been approached by different groups looking to buy the Warriors. Baer declined to mention which groups approached the baseball club. The Giants have a history of entrepreneurial endeavors outside of baseball. There are at least 10 suitors for the Warriors, according to the SportsBusiness Journal.

San Francisco Business Times

Tags: San Francisco Giants

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Red Sox To Honor Nomar On Wednesday

Jul 2, 2014 9:46 AM

The Red Sox will honor the recently retired Nomar Garciaparra with a pregame ceremony before Wednesday night's contest at Fenway Park against the Angels. Garciaparra signed a one-day Minor League contract with Boston on March 10 so he could retire as a member of the Red Sox, the team he played for from 1996-2004 and with whom he won two batting titles with. He threw out the first pitch before Boston's Grapefruit League contest on the same day he retired.

MLB.com

Tags: Boston Red Sox

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Union Comes Out Against Arizona Law

Oct 25, 2014 5:09 AM

Union executive director Michael Weiner issued a statement denouncing Arizona's new immigration law, which has sparked widespread protests over the last few days -- including one outside Wrigley Field Thursday as the Diamondbacks played the Cubs. The meat of the statement, which Weiner said reflects the "institutional position" of the union and was arrived at after consultation with the members, reads as follows: The Major League Baseball Players Association opposes this law as written. We hope that the law is repealed or modified promptly. If the current law goes into effect, the MLBPA will consider additional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of our members. While the Diamondbacks have said they will not take a stand as an organization on the issue, Weiner's statement makes the union's displeasure with Senate Bill 1070 abundantly clear. Not that the "additional steps" the union would take in response are clear, but missives like this are best kept a bit vague.

Fanhouse

Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks

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Phillies Place Madson On 15-Day DL

Jun 28, 2014 6:54 AM

The Phillies placed Ryan Madson on the 15-day disabled list Friday, allowing the reliever time to recover from a broken right big toe. Madson, who sustained the injury after Wednesday's game, was placed on the list retroactive to Thursday. Philadelphia recalled Antonio Bastardo from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace Madson, who began the year as the team's closer. The 29-year-old, right-handed Madson is 1-0 with four saves and a 7.00 ERA in nine appearances this season.

MLB.com

Tags: Philadelphia Phillies, Injury

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GM Feels Acquiring Teixeira Has Not Aversely Affected Braves

Oct 21, 2014 6:53 PM

The Braves are struggling, but GM Frank Wren believes his team has the advantage of time. He won't be gunshy, however, about making a big trade. ?The (Mark) Teixeira trade hasn?t impacted us at all,? he said. ?If you look at the players we gave up, I?m not sure it?s had any effect on the major league club. We had Escobar ahead of [Elvis] Andrus at shortstop, we had [Brian] McCann ahead of [Jarrod] Saltalamacchia at catcher, the other guys wouldn?t have made our club. Neftali Feliz would be in our bullpen.?

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tags: Atlanta Braves

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Rival Exec: Why Wouldn't Phillies Invest In Pitching?
There has been a lot of discussion on Ryan Howard's extension, particularly how it affects Philadelphia's flexibility in the future.

ESPN

Amid Front Office Rumors, Ripken Watches Game With GM
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. joined Andy MacPhail in taking in the Orioles' 8-3 loss to the New York Yankees.

Baltimore Sun

Dye Interested In White Sox Return
Jermaine Dye is still without a job, but he believes he can help his former team.

Chicago Sun-Times

Rollins Isn't Worried About Next Contract
Jimmy Rollins will be a free agent after the 2011 season.

MLB.com

Orioles Prospect Tillman Tosses No-Hitter
Chris Tillman threw the first no-hitter for Triple-A Norfolk since 1992 on Wednesday.

ESPN

Protesters Chant 'Boycott Arizona' At Wrigley
Protesters are upset over Arizona's new immigration law.

ESPN

Percentage Of Black Players Drops Again
Just nine percent of players in the major leagues last season were black.

ESPN

Ordonez Gets 2,000th Hit Against Twins
Only six Venezuelan players have reached 2,000 hits.

ESPN

Morneau Out Again, Not Worried About Back
Justin Morneau says his "tweaked" back isn't related to the injury that prematurely ended his season in 2009.

ESPN

Perez Calls Kendrick's Walkoff Bunt A 'Stupid Play'
Chris Perez called Howie Kendrick's walkoff bunt 'a stupid play.'

Yahoo! Sports

Pence Gets Tangled With Ball Boy
Joey Votto got an RBI triple as Hunter Pence struggled to field the baseball.

MLB.com

Beltran Not Close To Return
Carlos Beltran may not return until June.

New York Daily News

Study Tabs Indians As Having Most Negative Reactions
The scale listed the Giants and Athletics as the most-liked teams in baseball.

Wall Street Journal

Strasburg Could Be In Majors By June
Stephen Strasburg has been lights out for Double-A Harrisburg.

ESPN

Embree Returns To Red Sox
Alan Embree made 211 appearances for the Red Sox from 2002 to 2005.

ESPN

Changes In Place For All-Star Game
There will be a designated hitter at every All-Star Game regardless of where it's held.

ESPN

Yankees Executive Worried Obama Took One-Liner Incorrectly
Yankees assistant GM Jean Afterman encouraged Barack Obama to hold the World Series trophy because she said his White Sox may not win it again.

New York Daily News

Talks Between Phillies, Werth At 'Impasse'
Jayson Werth's agent has been in contact with the Phillies, but no progress has been made.

CSN Philly

Scout Thinks Hoffman's Changeup Is 'Gone'
Trevor Hoffman has already blown three saves this season.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Howard Deal May Increase Fielder's Price Tag
Prince Fielder has similar numbers, but is much younger than Ryan Howard.

Chicago Tribune