Braves put RHP Jurrjens on 15-day DL (AP)

The Atlanta Braves have put right-handed pitcher Jair Jurrjens on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle. The club announced the move Sunday, making it retroactive to March 25. The Braves recalled left-hander Mike Minor from Triple-A Gwinnett. Jurrjens was hurt in Atlanta’s game against Toronto on March 24 and has been [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/04/03/braves-put-rhp-jurrjens-on-15-day-dl-ap/

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Game 3: Twins at Jays

Time: 12:07 p.m. CDT

TV: FSN

Radio: TRN, XM 179

Starting Pitchers: Nick Blackburn (10-12, 5.42 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) vs. Brett Cecil (15-7, 4.22, 1.33).

Patience will probably be a theme for Twins fans for the start of this season. The Twins have a killer first six weeks when they face mostly AL East [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://stickandballguy.com/blog/2011/04/03/game-3-twins-at-jays/

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Sunday Rockpile: Injury Fear Mongering and Solid
Defense Dominate Rockies' Opening Series

Colorado Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez: Poor outing due to cut cuticle on thumb - ESPN
This was discussed at length in the comments of yesterday's Rockpile, but since we haven't "officially" addressed it, here you go. A lot of folks were worried that there was something more to Ubaldo Jimenez's lackluster opening day performance, and they were indeed correct. Ubaldo has a cracked cuticle that supposedly affected his performance and was the reason why he was only able to top out at 93 MPH - about 6 MPH slower than what we've seen in the past. Troy Renck isn't completely optimistic in his article detailing the situation, but Jimenez thinks that, with an off day tomorrow, he'll be able to bounce back and make his next start. Jim Tracy, however, says the Rockies won't hesitate to skip said start if the injury isn't fully healed. This may be the best strategy, even with the added rotation discomfort that the next topic provided last night...

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies - Recap - April 02, 2011 - ESPN
In addition to Ubaldo Jimenez's opening day finger issues, the Rockies are now dealing with a similar situation with their number two starter, as Jorge De La Rosa exited after 5.1 dominant innings with a blood blister. While the injury was seemingly minor in nature, it also had to have been affecting DLR enough for Jim Tracy and Keith Dugger to notice something from the dugout and subsequently pull him from the game. The good news is that Tracy doesn't feel the injury is significant enough to have a chance of affecting Jorge's next start. Even still, it is now completely obvious that the Rockies need to hire some sort of manicurist to keep these guys' hands in tip-top shape. In the meantime, let's hope that Jhoulys Chacin doesn't exit tonight's game early with a debilitating hangnail or something of that ilk.

Armstrong: Rockies' "D" steals show - The Denver Post
Make no mistake about it - the biggest reason the Rockies were able to get on the board in the wins column last night was because of their stellar defense. There were several highlight-reel plays - Carlos Gonzalez's diving catch, Seth Smith's wall-crashing grab, and great plays on infield shots by Ian Stewart and Troy Tulowitzki, just to name a few - and almost another one in the ninth had Jose Lopez been able to come up with Justin Upton's scorcher up the middle in the ninth inning on which Lopez got significant leather. There are also some notes on Jim Tracy, the Lineup Juggler as well as scouts' impressions of Ubaldo's opening day gaffe.

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Hot Dogs and MLB

The following was emailed to us as a press release. I think it is interesting and wanted to share it with you. So here is a story about the relationship between MLB and Hot Dogs.

Enjoy.

MLB Ballparks Predicted to Serve Almost 22.5 Million Hot Dogs in 2011
                             Consumption up 5 percent from 2010, first increase in three years

Washington, D.C., March 31, 2011 — Although stadium menus continue to expand faster than franks on a hot grill, fans still relish the hot dog as their favorite food at the ballpark, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council’s 2011 annual report released on Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Opening Day.

Humphrey Bogart said, "A hot dog at the ballpark is better than steak at the Ritz."  How about almost 23 million of them?  

The Council projects that MLB ballparks around the country will serve 22,435,400 hot dogs this season, enough to round the bases 31,160 times and, if laid end-to-end, would stretch from AT&T Park in San Francisco to Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.  That represents 1.06 million more hot dogs than 2010, or a 5 percent increase, the first increase in three years. 

In addition, the Council predicts ballparks will sell 5,161,370 sausages this year, more than 227,000 than in 2010, an increase of 4.6 percent.  

"Major League ballparks today offer some of the most extensive menu and food options of anywhere in the country," said Tom Super, spokesman for the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.  "Yet these numbers once again confirm the hot dog is MVP of stadium concessions. The increase in projected consumption is a positive sign that as our economy slowly starts to turn around, people are heading back to the ballpark to catch baseball games — and to grab a hot dog, of course. The hot dog is a great economic indicator."  

While the Council can’t predict which teams will play in the World Series this year, it can with some degree of confidence, forecast the top hot dog consuming MLB venues. Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, tops the list this year, dethroning two-time champion Fenway Park in Boston.  The Council projects that Dodger Stadium will serve two million hot dogs over the 2011 season. This number should perhaps be even higher when you consider one of the stadium’s most popular dogs, the Dodger Dog, is actually a foot-long frank served grilled or steamed and topped with mustard and relish.

New York’s Yankee Stadium, where fans are expected to consume 1.62 million hot dogs this season, finished second in this year’s report. On the menu at Yankee Stadium is the classic Nathan’s Famous "water dog," served boiled and on a steamed bun.

Rounding out the top three is Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, coming in at 1.5 million hot dogs. Fans at "The Bank" nosh on the South Philly Dog, topped with broccoli rabe, roasted peppers and sharp provolone on a crusty Italian roll. 

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers, finished fourth with 1.35 million hot dogs projected. This is up 65 percent from 2010, evidence that a World Series appearance is a great boost to overall sales. Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, rounded out the top five with 1.33 million hot dogs estimated to be consumed.  

Although it didn’t crack the top five, AT&T Park, home of the World Champion San Francisco Giants, is also expected to see a significant increase —66 percent over last year. Playoff appearances also impact the bottom line —just ask the Atlanta Braves, who posted the highest year-to-year percentage increase (42 percent) of all teams outside of the World Series contenders.

Why the Popularity?

Culinary historians note that sausages joined peanuts, popcorn and soda on the concession menus at ballparks sometime in the 1890s.  By the early 1900s, the hot dog as we know it today was  becoming increasingly popular at public events – boxing matches, fairs, carnivals, horse races – but nowhere more popular than at baseball games.  

"It made sense," noted Super. "The hot dogs were relatively inexpensive and easy to produce in mass quantities. They’re already cooked, so they just needed to be re-heated.  And by knowing the exact size and weight of a product and having it available with minimal preparation time, vendors knew exactly how much profit could be made on each item and how many could be sold in a given time.  Most importantly, fans loved them – hot dogs were inexpensive, easy to handle and tasted great."   

The same holds true today.  

When asked what it is about the hot dog that has sustained its popularity for generations, the answer from concession managers was unanaimous: tradition.

The head of concessions at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, where sausage reigns supreme, acknowledged the unwavering appeal of the hot dog.

"While brats are still king in Milwaukee, I think overall, hot dogs evoke a sense of tradition and Americana to the average fan," said Ken Niedermeier, concessions manager
at Milwaukee Sportservice.

Another reason? It’s a favorite at any age.

"Hot dogs remain the number one concession because everyone is a kid at a baseball game — young and old," said Mark Null, director of operations for Levy Restaurants at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

And, perhaps most important to those Major League fans hoping to catch a homerun, foul ball or maybe even a kiss on the jumbotron, is the hot dog’s functionality.

"You can hold a beverage in one hand and the dog in the other. It isn’t messy, typically, so no one is afraid to sink their teeth into one," said Joey Nigro, general manager for concession provider Delaware North, Inc., at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.  

Sausage Consumption

Miller Park in Milwaukee, home of the Brewers and the world-famous Klement’s Sausage Race in the sixth inning of each game, is projected to serve 900,000 sausages this year, good for a landslide victory in the Council’s third-annual sausage consumption survey.  Miller Park is the only stadium in Major League Baseball where sausages out sell hot dogs.  

The Minnesota Twins, who played their first season at the new Target Field in 2010, cracked the top three this year and finished runner-up to the Brewers, with approximately 500,000 sausages expected to be sold. Finishing third, and slipping from number two in 2010, is U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, with 345,000 projected in sausage sales.  

Signature Dogs

While the hot dog tradition is as strong today as it was in 1900, today’s fans certainly have more selections than they did 110 years ago, with stadiums around the country offering signature dogs to hungry fans. 

Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, features the St. Louis BBQ Bacon Dog, a bacon-wrapped jalapeno dog served with baked beans, pickles, tobacco onions and sweet St. Louis-style barbecue sauce. 

A staple at Rogers Center, home of the Toronto Blue Jays is the Homerun Dog, a foot-long hot dog topped with maple baked beans, crumbled Canadian bacon, caramelized red onions and Canadian Cheddar.

At Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, fans flock to the "Most Wanted" dog, topped with beef brisket, BBQ sauce, chopped onions and kosher pickles.

At Angels Stadium in Anaheim, a fan favorite is the Halo Dog, an all-beef hot dog wrapped in bacon and topped with charro beans, shredded Monterey Jack cheese and pico de gallo salsa.

New Products

Although the popularity of the hot dog is unwavering, stadiums still strive to come up with new twists on the old favorite.

New this year to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles is the "Doyer Dog," named for the Spanish-language pronunciation of the Dodgers (Los Doyers). The Doyer Dog is an all beef hot dog loaded with chili, nacho cheese, onions, tomatoes and jalapenos.

Also being unveiled this year at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the Birdland Dog, a new play on the crowd-pleasing Esskay dog, featuring the tastes of Baltimore: smoked pit beef, Little Italy pepperoni hash, stewed tomato jam and crispy fried onions. Nestled in a fresh baked bun, it’s a hot dog that eats like a meal.

New to Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds, is the Meat Lovers Hot Dog, a jumbo hot dog wrapped with bacon and deep fried, then topped with beef and black bean chili, shredded pepper jack cheese and crispy salami.
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is expanding its offerings from Nolan Ryan Guaranteed Beef available at the ballpark to include hot dogs and sausages. Selections will be served on a potato bun and topped with gourmet condiments.

A new addition for 2011 to the "Say Hey Sausage" location at San Francisco’s AT&T Park is a California-sourced, low-fat apple chicken sausage.  Staying out West, at Seattle’s Safeco Field, you can get the "Hit It Here Dog" a bacon wrapped, jumbo, all- beef hot dog topped with pulled pork and Washington apple-habanero pepper relish. 

And Miller Park will for the first time feature a racing sausage shish-ka-bob, with a cut of each of the five Klement’s Sausage Race participants — the bratwurst, Polish sausage, Italian sausage, hot dog and chorizo. 

Dogs for a Cause 

As the economy slowly recovers and food prices remain high, many ballparks across the country continue to offer specials like "Dollar Dog Nights" or all-you-can-eat package deals. 

But the Philadelphia Phillies and Hatfield Quality Meats are taking it even a step further in 2011. Hatfield, the hot dog and sausage supplier of the Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park, is building upon the success of their "Home Runs Against Hunger" program, which was initiated last year.  For every Phillies home run hit, 100 pounds of product will be donated to Philabundance, a local food bank.

Now that’s something we can all root for.  

While not mentioned, the hot dog at JRS isn't bad. It may not be the best one in all of baseball, but it was satisfactory. At least it was last year.

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Yankees Game Chat Coming at 12:30 Today

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/?p=13787

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Yankees Get 3 Homers to Beat Tigers 10-6

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/?p=13782

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K-Rod Almost Blows Terry's first Win!

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Sunday's Yankee Lineup

Girardi is going with the same as the first two:

Brett Gardner, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Jorge Posada, DH
Curtis Granderson, CF
Russell Martin, C

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/p4pEApYgzg8/sundays-yankee-line
up.html

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Fish Wrap: Marlins 4, Mets 6

It's never a good idea for a closer to issue a leadoff walk with the game tied in the top of the ninth. That point was driven home--if you will--for the Marlins when Leo Nunez's leadoff walk to Ike Davis became the go-ahead run that set the Mets' win in motion on Super Saturday at Sun Life Stadium. 

The second game of the Marlins series with the Mets started a heck of a lot better than it ended. The Fish jumped to an early lead off of Jon Niese, scoring twice in the bottom of the first. With Omar Infante at first, Hanley Ramirez doubled, and Gaby Sanchez walked to load the bases for Logan Morrison, whose RBI single plated two runs.

With the Fish playing some nice D behind him, Ricky Nolasco had a good night on the mound, holding the Mets scoreless through three innings before giving up a solo home run to David Wright in the fourth. The Mets added a tying run off of Ricky in the sixth on Ike Davis's two-out RBI double.

Ricky went seven innings for the Fish and gave up two runs on seven hits, striking out four, before the call to the bullpen.

Unfortunately, Jon Niese settled down after his rocky first inning, and didn't allow another run to the Marlins in his seven innings of work. He did, however, hit Donnie Murphy with a pitch in a scary moment in the bottom of the seventh. The ball struck Murph on his right hand, and he was lifted from the game. 

Fish fans got some good news from Murphy after the game, when he tweeted:

@dmurphyirish22 ...Got lucky and didn't break my hand and should be back in a day or 2!

With Murphy out of commission, Scott Cousins came in to play right field, and Bonifacio moved from right to third base, the second of three positions he played in the game, which tied a franchise record. (Ten bucks says he's tied with Alfredo Amezaga, though I'm far too lazy to bother looking it up. And speaking of Amezaga, Boni must've been channeling him somehow, because he had a great night on the field, too, showing off some very nice defensive moves. We now begrudgingly admit that he is not the worst MLB player of all time.) 

Clay Hensley held the score in the eight inning before Leo Nunez took over in the ninth. Leo walked Ike Davis to open the inning, and Josh Thole's two-out line drive to left plated him to put the Mets in the lead.

The Marlins fought back in the bottom of the inning and tied the game against Francisco Rodriguez. John Buck singled with one out, and Brett Hayes came in as a pinch runner. He moved to third on a two-out single by Bonifacio, and scored when Gregg Dobbs pinch hit and singled to center. 

Then came the tenth inning. Ryan Webb made his Marlins debut, and it didn't go so well sucked. Webb gave up three straight singles to the Mets to put them back in the lead before Mike Dunn replaced him on the mound. After Dunn recorded two outs, he gave up a two-run double to Willie Harris, which put the Mets up 6-3.

In the bottom of the tenth, the Marlins staged a mini attempt at a comeback against Blaine Boyer. Gaby Sanchez doubled, and Brett Hayes singled him home to bring the Fish within two, but Scott Cousins grounded out to end the game. 

A pity to see the Marlins bullpen waste a good night from Ricky Nolasco, and a great night of defense for the Fish. The good news is, the pen has 160 games to attempt to redeem itself.  

And the series is tied.

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Something Lackey-ing Down in Texas

John Lackey tries to hide his shame in dugout. (AP Photo)Losing is fine, but getting pummeled into fine pieces of embarrassment by the mortar & pestle bats of the Texas Rangers has become too much for my kind heart to take. 21 runs in two games is a[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.sawxblog.com/2011/04/something-lackey-ing-down-in-texas.html

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