The Washington Nationals made draft history on Monday by signing number one pick Stephen Strasburg to a record-breaking $15.1 million deal. There was plenty of “will he, won’t he†talk leading up the announcement, but in truth the result was never really in doubt. Even as the midnight deadline gradually got closer and closer, it seemed unthinkable that a deal would not be reached.
The Nationals simply could not let Strasburg slip from their grasp. Continue reading
Baseball is like any other sport: it’s nothing without the fans. Unfortunately, sometimes the fans are the ones who grab the headlines and it’s normally not for the right reasons.
Shane Victorino received an unwelcome present at Wrigley Field this week. He would normally be quite happy to be given a free beer, but it’s not such a treat when it’s being chucked over you while you’re attempting to make a catch in the outfield. Continue reading
We’ve reached the point of the regular season when teams are evaluating their rosters and accepting that decisions have to be made. It’s not easy for a general manager to look at an off-season acquisition and accept that the move hasn’t worked out as planned. Some GM’s will hold on in the hope that the player will come good and save their blushes, but more often than not such indecision only makes a bad situation worse. The best GM’s recognise that a change is needed and then act quickly, even if that means casting aside a popular veteran.
Two such veteran players were collecting their belongings from their respective clubhouse this week. Continue reading
The non-waiver trade deadline on Friday 31 July 2009 will be remembered for many reasons. It wasn’t just the deals and non-deals that made it memorable, but also the way the news was circulated and commented on. Twitter came to the fore as baseball fans around the world became fully absorbed in the rumoured and confirmed trades, with MLB.com recognising the trend and incorporating fans’ ‘tweets’ into their online coverage.
There was certainly lots to tweet about. Continue reading
History was made by Mark Buehrle on Thursday. The White Sox ace pitched only the 18th perfect game in Major League history, mowing down twenty-seven Tampa Bay Rays hitters in order.Â
Everyone who witnessed it will have their own story, most of which will begin with a slice of good fortune that made it possible. The 28,000 present at U.S. Cellular Field in particular will always be thankful that they decided to go to the ballpark on that day. For baseball fans in the UK, we were lucky that the game was being played during the daytime in Chicago, allowing us to follow it live during the British evening.
So long as you knew what was going on. Continue reading
It’s one of those oddities of MLB that the second half begins not once teams have played half their games, but when the regular season gets going again after the All-Star break. The fact that teams had less than eighty-one games left when play resumed on Thursday (some had just seventy-two) puts even more emphasis on this being the ‘business end’ of the season.
Judging by the first half, it’s going to be full of excitement, drama and intrigue. Continue reading
There’s been lots of MLB news for me to catch up on since I returned from my trip to Rotterdam. British baseball fans received further information about the future of ESPN America, while Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter on Friday night was a great way to end the working week.Â
The mid-season break gives us all a chance to take stock, ready for the second half of a season that looks set to produce some exciting pennant races. Continue reading
There are some sights that you come to expect on a Major League ballfield. Albert Pujols blasting two homers in a game is a common sight, albeit an always spectacular one (especially when one of those bombs is of the grand slam variety, as happened against the Royals last Sunday). Milton Bradley going nuts is a familiar firework show of a different kind, one that Cubs manager Lou Piniella finally tired of on Friday.
But John Smoltz pitching in a Red Sox uniform? You see the footage, do a double-take and still it doesn’t fully sink in. Continue reading
Last week, having two capital S’s in your name seemed like a good luck charm. Stephen Strasburg was selected as the number one pick in the Amateur Player Draft, leading to what should be an historic pay day.
This week, both Sammy Sosa and Setanta Sports will be left feeling like the double S has turned into a curse. Continue reading
It’s been an important week in the MLB calendar as the 2009 First-Year Player Draft was completed over three days. Hundreds of key decisions were made based on years of scouting reports and statistics. It will be several years before we can judge whether a team’s draft was successful or not, but right now they are all hoping that they have just acquired some young players who can make a difference in the future.
And if the draft picks don’t work out, we also saw an example this week of the sort of devious tricks that can be used to win a ball game. Continue reading