Home add your blog Archives Search Forum Contact RSS FEED

This site is an rss/xml news reader containing our favorite feeds. All articles are the copyrighted material of the blogs that wrote them.

Ouch! Brandon Wood Cut From DWL Team

post from 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 18 November 2008 09:52:00 AM. © 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

The Times is reporting that Brandon Wood was cut from his Dominican winter league team.

Brandon Wood, the Angels' top prospect and a candidate to start in their infield next season, has been dismissed from his winter club because of poor performance.
Wood hit .167 for Estrellas in the Dominican winter league, with one home run and 16 strikeouts in 48 at-bats. The club sent him home after 13 games.
You've got to perform pretty much right off the plane," Angels minor league director Abe Flores said.
General Manager Tony Reagins said the dismissal would not extinguish Wood's chances of winning a roster spot in spring training.
"We put weight on the winter-ball season, but we'll monitor how he is in spring training," Reagins said. "He'll get an opportunity to fight for a job, whether it be at shortstop or at third base."
The Angels have incumbents at those positions: Erick Aybar at shortstop and Chone Figgins at third base. Reagins has said that Figgins could be moved to left field or second base, depending on what other moves the Angels might make this winter.
Wood, 23, hit .296 with 31 home runs in 103 games at triple-A Salt Lake last season. He also had three stints with the Angels, hitting .200 with five home runs and 43 strikeouts in 150 at-bats.
This is the second consecutive winter-ball club for which Wood has failed to complete a season. He hit .152 in nine games for Guasave in the Mexican winter league last year, then went home for the funeral of his grandmother. He returned to Mexico, but the club released him rather than reinstate him.

Man, this is not looking good.

More on DWL action at The Fabulous Forum.

Read The Full Article:
http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2008/11/ouch-brandon-wood-cut-from-dwl-team.html

Digg this

The Hall of Fame game changes

post from FishStripes on 18 November 2008 09:46:41 AM. © FishStripes

This year's Hall of Fame game will be the first that doesn't include two major league teams playing each other.

Baseball's legends and old-timers will play in a new Hall of Fame Classic, a creation deemed insufficient by the group opposed to the elimination of the annual exhibition between major league teams.
The inaugural Hall of Fame Classic will be held on June 21 -- Father's Day and the first day of summer. It will replace the Hall of Fame game, discontinued this season after 68 years because of scheduling problems.
"We're honored to be a part of this," said Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, which is working with the Hall of Fame to put on the Hall of Fame Classic.
"There's a lot we can do to promote the game of baseball. This will be a great success and hit here in Cooperstown. It will be a lot of fun -- autographs, family entertainment. That's what it's all about," he added.
Next June's game at Doubleday Field will feature four Hall of Famers and more than 20 other retired major leaguers, although the decision on who will play will not be made until later, Hall of Fame spokesman Craig Muder said.

Not being a resident of New York state or Cooperstown specifically, I don't feel one way or the other about the game being discontinued in its original format.

But the residents of New York state are less than pleased.

Although U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and other members of Congress objected, baseball commissioner Bud Selig defended the move, explaining that major league teams play 162 games in 183 days and that the addition of interleague play and interdivision matchups made scheduling two teams for a game in Cooperstown exceedingly difficult.
---
Eliminating the game was unpopular with many fans, including Cooperstown native Kristian Connolly, who started a Web-based crusade to save the annual game.

I can kinda understand where they are coming from -- they see Hall of Famers and former major league players pretty regularly. However, they don't see present day major leaguers playing a live game all that often in Cooperstown, and now it will be like never.

The one time I went to Cooperstown the Hall of Fame game was part of induction weekend and honestly I didn't see the stars of either club play that day. The ones who took the field were the guys you have never heard of and the normal starters signed autographs for the fan.

Which was a good day, since I got some autographs, but it was far from being a normal game.

I guess it is sad that a 68 year-old tradition has ended, but honestly, I would've been just as happy if I had seen some legends of the game. Then again, I don't live in Cooperstown where they show up on an annual basis.

If you would like to read about the history of the game, go no further than here:

The Hall of Fame Game.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.fishstripes.com/2008/11/18/664307/the-hall-of-fame-game-chan

Digg this

Dodger Thoughts: The Core's Future

post from Dodger Thoughts on 18 November 2008 09:38:00 AM. © Dodger Thoughts

Independent of what happens this offseason, the group of Dodgers that left the field 50-52 on July 25, the last day before the midseason acquisitions of Casey Blake and, soon after, Manny Ramirez, remains mostly intact and should improve next year.

Read The Full Article:
http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1176672.html

Digg this

Links for 18 Nov 08

post from Ducksnorts on 18 November 2008 09:14:18 AM. © Ducksnorts

Hooray, it’s links:Giles and Hoffman (It Might Be Dangerous…). Paul DePodesta offers his thoughts on the re-signing of Brian Giles as well as the latest in the Trevor Hoffman negotiations (or lack thereof). [h/t LynchMob]John Moores to give[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://ducksnorts.com/blog/2008/11/links-for-18-nov-08.html

Digg this

Pedroia Wins AL MVP

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 18 November 2008 09:04:00 AM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

It was announced today that Red Sox 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia has won the 2008 AL MVP award. He hit .326/.376/.493 with 17 HR, 83 RBI, 213 hits, 20 SB, and 118 runs scored for the Sox this year. He also won the Gold Glove for AL 2nd baseman and the Silver Slugger award.

Here's how the rest of the top ten finished:

2nd - Justin Morneau
3rd - Kevin Youilis
4th - Joe Mauer
5th - Carlos Quentin
6th - Francisco Rodriguez
7th - Josh Hamilton
8th - Alex Rodriguez
9th - Carlos Pena
10th - Grady Sizemore

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/457534962/pedroia-wins-al-mvp.h
tml

Digg this

Mets waiting on Medical reports before they talk
dollars............

post from Dom D's Mets Fan Blog on 18 November 2008 08:56:51 AM. © Dom D's Mets Fan Blog

According to David Lennon of Newsday, the Mets have no formal offer on the table for K-Rod or Fuentes.

The Mets are waiting for medical reports for the two pitchers. The next step after that is sought of a interview process with the players and their agents...

Lennon says it can happen later this week or maybe before Thanksgiving....

Stay tuned!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ddmetsfanblog.com/2008/11/mets-waiting-on-medical-reports-before.html

Digg this

What to Write, What to Write

post from The WGOM on 18 November 2008 08:34:23 AM. © The WGOM

SBG wanders through the topics wondering what to write.

Read The Full Article:
http://stickandballguy.com/blog/2008/11/18/what-to-write-what-to-write/

Digg this

Please explain to me how we eneded up with a
groudhog

The new Gwinnett Braves are holding tryouts for their mascot:

The G-Braves will be holding auditions to portray Chopper — a corpulent cartoon groundhog — at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville. No experience necessary, though reserved types who hate to dance might want to look elsewhere.

In case you didn't know, corpulent = "excessively fat" -- a wonderful message to send to the youth about baseball.

But seriously, a groundhog? I didn't know that Gwinnett was known for their groundhog population. Surely there are better mascots in the world. I mean, Diamond Duck was a helluva lot better than "Chopper the groundhog." How lame...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2008/11/18/664284/please-explain-to-me-how-w

Digg this

AL MVP Preview

Joe MauerPhoto: Icon SMI The BBWAA announces the American League Most Valuable Player Award winner this afternoon at 2 PM EST. This is a very tough race to predict for a number of reasons. First, the Red Sox own...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/030186.php

Digg this

More Quality

Joe Magrane joins the MLB Network. I've been impressed with their hires so far....

Read The Full Article:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/030185.php