Audio Interview With Diamondbacks Beat Writer
Nick Piecoro

post from Beyond the Box Score on 05 March 2011 11:03:10 PM. © Beyond the Box Score

Diamondbacks Beat Writer Nick Piecoro was kind enough to join us for an interview. The link is after the jump... [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/3/5/2032526/audio-interview-with-diamondbac
ks-beat-writer-nick-piecoro

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

TEAM #12 Boston Red Sox

post from Diamond Futures on 05 March 2011 10:01:40 PM. © Diamond Futures

Ranaudo could end up as the best collegiate pitcher from the 2010 draftWe have always been admirers of the way Theo Epstein runs the Red Sox. They draft well, aren?t afraid to pay above slot bonuses, excel at scouting the international market, sign[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://baseballnumbers-diamondfutures.blogspot.com/2011/03/team-12-boston-red-sox
.html

Digg this

Tim Alderson: "Dude, I can throw a baseball
again."

post from 22gigantes on 05 March 2011 09:02:58 PM. © 22gigantes

Hardcore San Francisco Giants fans know the name. Tim Alderson. First round draft pick in 2007. At one time, he was thought to be a future big league ace. Somebody who could win a Cy Young Award or two. But another Tim has since stolen the show in San Francisco and a lot of folks don't even remember Alderson now.
Alderson at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, AZ (2007) Alderson, 22, fizzled after he was traded by the Giants to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Freddy Sanchez. His explosive fastball has reportedly lost a good deal of velocity, his once-excellent curve has become flat.

But according to Tom Smith, a blogger who writes for Rumbunter.com (a Pirates blog), Alderson is back on track. Well, at least pitching again.

According to Smith's article, Alderson's high school teammate Kevin Rhoderick (an 8th round draft pick himself, by the Chicago Cubs in 2010) called Alderson and gave him some simple advice: Relax and pretend you're throwing darts.

So far, so good. Alderson is pitching better this spring. There's good video footage of him throwing here. Check out the YouTube side bar, too, for more Alderson vids.

Maybe, just maybe, he'll make himself memorable.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/22gigantes/ySKM/~3/C9T0EMlgeQY/tim-alderson-dude-i
-can-throw-baseball.html

Digg this

ST7: Rangers come back against A's, win 6-3

post from Rangerfans.com on 05 March 2011 09:01:23 PM. © Rangerfans.com

The Rangers got behind quickly in this game. They were down 3-0 in the first inning on the strength of a three run home run by Kevin Kouzmanoff. However, that shot was the only runs the A's got the whole game. After that, the A's were kept off the board. In the first, there were only two hits (a double and the HR). After that, the A's had just five more hits total spread out over 8.1 innings. And all of those were singles. No more extra base hits. So overall, I'd say this was a good pitching performance by the Rangers. The overall line certainly shows that.

Offensively, we got back quickly - in the top of the second, we got two back on a two run home run by Taylor Teagarden. Two more in the top of the third on a two run single by Mitch Moreland. Added another on a Esteban German single in the fifth, and finally our last run came in the ninth on a small ball sequence of events (single, walk, bunt, fielder's choice).

Arthur Rhodes continues to impress so far this spring. While it's a rather small sample, I'm far more pleased to see him get off to a start this way than the other way, which usually is followed up by "Well, I was working on some pitches". Yeah, I know spring is the time for that, but you don't want to HEAR it. Even in games that don't count, you'd rather have your guys do well, then resort to spring training "explanations". :)

We're now 5-2 in the spring. Great start!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.rangerfans.com/archives/2011/03/st7_rangers_come_back_against_as_win_6
-3.html

Digg this

Atlanta Braves Spring Training - News & Notes

post from Talking Chop on 05 March 2011 09:01:20 PM. © Talking Chop

The old man can still swing it.

The Atlanta Braves improved to 6-2 in Spring Training today with a 6-4 victory over the New York Mets. Derek Lowe didn't give up a hit in three innings, Scott Proctor struck out three batters in his lone inning, and some guy named Chipper Jones hit a monster 2-run home run in the 5th inning off of Dillon Gee. Let's take a look at some of the happenings on Saturday afternoon:

Jason Heyward Will Return Sunday.

Good news for Braves Country as our 21-year old star missed three games this week with a sore groin. It wasn't anything serious, but whenever J-Hey suffers an injury you have to worry just a little bit. He's expected to be in right field and get two or three at-bats tomorrow against the Washington Nationals.

Chipper Jones Plays 3rd Base Again.

Not only did Chipper have a big day at the plate, but he made another stride in his recovery with a solid defensive performance at the hot corner. All reports indicated he was moving well and his throws were strong. This was just the second time Chipper has played third in a Spring Training game and we'll probably see him back out there on Monday or Tuesday.

Nate McLouth Continues To Hit.

He went 1-for-3 with a walk and he's now sporting an impressive 1.388 OPS through his first five Spring Training games. Even better, McLouth now has as many hits (six) as he did all of last year's spring. It's an awfully small sample size, but if Nate can keep this up it would be huge for the Braves.

Randall Delgado Pitches Solid 9th Inning.

After getting roughed up a bit in his debut on Thursday, Delgado pitched a scoreless 9th inning to close out the game. He allowed just one hit and struck a batter. There's a good chance we'll see Arodys Vizcaino in the next few days, and it sounds like Julio Teheran's back spasms have subsided.

Phillies Outfielder Domonic Brown Needs Surgery.

The big story in the NL East came from the Phillies camp. Top-prospect Domonic Brown will miss 3-6 weeks with a fractured hamate bone (which is in his right hand) and he'll have to undergo surgery. He was having a poor Spring Training to date, but the kid is a talented baseball player. Best of luck to him with his surgery.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2011/3/5/2032379/atlanta-braves-spring-training-news-n
otes

Digg this

Philadelphia Phillies Domonic Brown Breaks Hand

post from The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on 05 March 2011 08:24:52 PM. © The Ghost of Moonlight Graham

Let’s just say these past two weeks won’t be the “Best of times” section in Domonic Brown‘s autobiography. On Friday, I wrote about Brown’s recent struggles at the plate. At the time he was 0-for-15 with 9 whiffs. Now in a span of 24 hours, it’s gone from bad to worse for the Philadelphia Phillies’ [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://theghostofmoonlightgraham.com/2011/03/06/philadelphia-phillies-domonic-bro
wn-breaks-hand/

Digg this

Loney to have MRI on knee

post from 22gigantes on 05 March 2011 08:02:30 PM. © 22gigantes

I'm not one to wish injuries on anybody. Not even Los Angeles Dodgers players. Sick, I know.

But when I found out today that Dodgers first baseman James Loney was injured, I couldn't help but think back to last weekend when I watched my beloved San Francisco Giants beat said Dodgers 8-3 at Scottsdale Stadium.

Somewhere around the 5th inning, when the starters were all removed, my son and I (who were perched on the berm above the left field wall right next to the Dodgers bullpen), started riding Loney and a few of his teammates, who had began running wind sprints on the track. Such is the norm for players during spring training games. You may remember I wrote about that here.

That day I noticed Loney wasn't running as fast as his teammates, even catcher Rod Barajas (who will never be confused for Rickey Henderson). I, being the Dodger hater I am, let Loney hear it every time he sprinted from left to center and center back to left. Mostly things like, "Pick it up Loney!" and "C'mon Loney, move it, you slacker!" Loney grinned from ear-to-ear every time I barked at him.

Loney (in back with dark blue) running sprints during game last week.Now I hear his left knee is aching and he's going in for an MRI.

Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly said Loney first began to feel it during stretching exercises before Thursday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds (the night before I saw him play). He felt it again after playing the four innings when we saw him. That explains why he wasn't running as hard as the rest of the guys.

Do I feel bad about my razzing now? No. Should I? No. I didn't know the dude was hurt. I sincerely thought he was just taking it easy. The fact that he smiled at me every time I chirped at him led me to believe he knew I was kidding around.

I do wish for a speedy recovery for Loney. These guys are human beings after all. Just because they make a thousand times as much as I do, doesn't take that away.

So get well soon, Loney. You slacker.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/22gigantes/ySKM/~3/k-IVerS0WG8/loney-to-have-mri-o
n-knee.html

Digg this

Cain plays light catch; still no timetable for
his return

San Francisco Giants starter Matt Cain (inflamed right elbow) played light catch from about 60 feet Saturday with no problems. He is slated to throw from 90 feet Sunday and possibly do some flat-ground pitching as well, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News tweets.

Cain, not surprisingly, will not make his scheduled start Tuesday, as Ryan Volgelsong will get the ball again. The right-hander still has plenty of time to let the elbow calm down and build up his pitch count but there is no timetable for Cain's return.

Pitching coach Dave Righetti said he wasn't sure what the next step was for the right-hander. The good news for Cain is that an MRI revealed no structural damage. You can bet that the Giants will take an extra cautious approach with him. I'm guessing he's probably still over a week away from appearing in a game.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/22gigantes/ySKM/~3/EY3xwwJJjqQ/cain-plays-light-ca
tch-still-no.html

Digg this

A's blank Giants 6-0

San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner, making his first spring start after two relief appearances, went three innings for the Giants, allowing just one unearned run on two hits, but it wasn't enough as the Oakland A's snapped the Giants' four-game win streak with a 6-0 victory. [view box score] [download the PDF press pass for this game]

Miguel Tejada, Brandon Belt and Mark DeRosa all had singles for San Francisco.

Brett Anderson, who was coming back from a shaky relief appearance in his first outing, gave up one hit and struck out five in three innings. The A's improved their spring record to 3-4.

Bumgarner walked one and struck out one. The Giants committed four errors in the game (DeRosa, Tejada, Thomas Neal, Charlie Culberson).

Coco Crisp hit a two-run single for the A's and Mark Ellis had an RBI single.

GAME SUMMARY
Final score:OAK 6, SF 0 Winning pitcher: Anderson (1-1) Losing pitcher: Bumgarner (0-2) Save: noneGame ball: Anderson (3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 5 K) Top play: Crisp's two-run singleGiant homers: noneGiants' record: 7-3Streak: Lost 1 Next up: SEA at SF, Sunday, 12:10 p.m. PST, game information [pdf]TV/Radio: KNBR 680 AM (no TV)Starters: Nate Robertson (0-0, 0.00) vs. Tim Lincecum (0-0, 5.79)Venue: Scottsdale Stadium

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/22gigantes/ySKM/~3/L-AOtTTC9UQ/as-blank-giants-6-0
.html

Digg this

Phillies RF Brown breaks right hand (AP)

Roy Halladay breezed through three scoreless innings, then got the official word: He’ll start on opening day for the Philadelphia Phillies. Whether rookie outfielder Domonic Brown will be with the Phillies then is uncertain. Brown broke his right hand during a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, an injury that may require surgery [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/03/06/phillies-rf-brown-breaks-right-hand-ap/

Digg this