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Book Report Andre Agassi

post from Jim Walewander's Blog on 21 November 2009 10:43:28 PM. © Jim Walewander's Blog

Open is perfect Thanksgiving reading. As we sit down to show thanks with our family (yes the ones that drive us all crazy) we learn that Andre Agassi’s family makes our own family seem downright normal. Sure my parents bought be chewing tobacco, but Andre’s dad handed out speed. Now that’s playing to win.Note to all [...]

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Dave Cokin’s Hardcore Football 11/22/09

post from Dave Cokin's Hardcore Football on 21 November 2009 07:46:00 PM. © Dave Cokin's Hardcore Football

Nice job by Army brings the free college play record to as solid 8-5 for the season.

Congrats to everyone who joined me for my 30th Annual College Game of the Year winner with the UCLA Bruins. I’ve got a terrific day going with a big play winner on UConn, and a chance for something really spectacular if the late games cooperate. College basketball continues to be outstanding, and I’ve even been running well in the NFL lately. In other words, anyone playing my games right now is raking in some major profits. Here’s hoping that continues, and parties interested in obtaining these top selections should be sure to leave contact info in the comment section. I’ll get in touch with details and we’ll roll from there.

Sunday’s free NFL play is on the Chargers-Broncos clash. I normally don’t like playing square sides, especially in the NFL. But Denver is in trouble. They are crashing back to earth after the 6-0 start, they’ve got a banged up starting QB and an unreliable backup, and San Diego has really started to turn it on. It’s revenge for the Chargers, and I have to believe they have a big edge in confidence right now. The most worrisome aspect of this game is how popular a play the Chargers will be, and that eliminates them from consideration for me as a big play, but this could be one of those games where the public gets healthy. I’ll go with the flow and back San Diego minus the points.

Back on Monday with some college recaps.

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Why Don't Losses Count Anymore

post from Beyond the Box Score on 21 November 2009 06:12:00 PM. © Beyond the Box Score

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP Click this if you don't get the joke. Browse more photos » [...]

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http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/11/21/1168286/why-dont-losses-count-anymore

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No Starlin Castro For Curtis Granderson

post from TigerBlog on 21 November 2009 06:07:41 PM. © TigerBlog

Phil Rogers at the Chicago Tribune struck down a trade for Curtis Granderson that would involve top prospect Starlin Castro. The shortstop prospect had a solid season (.302 batting average) at High A ball and at Double A (.288 average, 12/10 strikeout to walk ratio) as a 19 year old and he raked in the [...]

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The Pittsburgh Pirates designate Robinzon Diaz
for assignment

post from Pittsburgh Pirates on 21 November 2009 05:51:06 PM. © Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have designated 26-year old righty swinging catcher Robinzon Diaz for assignment. Diaz played in 41 games for the Pirates last year and he was 36 for 129 (.279 avg, .664 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 19 RBIs. He also played in 44 games in AAA-ball last season in [...]

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http://www.bucslocker.com/2009/11/21/the-pittsburgh-pirates-designate-robinzon-di
az-for-assignment/

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Pauly On Seinfield

post from A Die Hard Yankees Fan on 21 November 2009 05:50:00 PM. © A Die Hard Yankees Fan

Check out this clip of Paul O'Neill in Seinfeld:

video details and more

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Saturday's Links

post from A Die Hard Yankees Fan on 21 November 2009 05:37:00 PM. © A Die Hard Yankees Fan

Yuri Sucart is the guy that A-Rod said helped him get the steroids and persuaded him to use them. It turns out that while A-Rod has successfully turned his career in the right direction, Sucart has hit rock bottom. Here's more from Michael O'Keeffe:

Banks began foreclosure proceedings on Yuri Sucart's Miami home and three South Florida rental properties in the months after Rodriguez's Feb. 17 news conference.

Perhaps even more disturbing for Sucart, who spent the past 15 years as A-Rod's anonymous go-fer, his rich and famous cousin dragged him out of the shadows and turned him into another steroid sidekick, much like Roger Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, and Barry Bonds' boyhood friend Greg Anderson.

Unlike McNamee and Anderson, professional trainers who worked with world-class athletes for years, Sucart is not a fitness guru - he's a pudgy middle-aged man who suffers from lower back pain and other health problems. Rodriguez has a history of letting others take the blame for his blunders - agent Scott Boras, for for example, took the rap after Rodriguez announced in the middle of the 2007 World Series that he was opting out of his contract with the Yankees. But the idea that an elite ballplayer like A-Rod would use performance-enhancing drugs based on the recommendation of a cousin who spent the past decade laying out his clothes and making dinner reservations strains credibility, and [Sucart's attorney John] Ruiz says it was not right for Rodriguez to drag Sucart into his steroid scandal.

A-rod didn't really need to bring his cousin into this. There's a lot more in the story about A-Rod and Sucart and Surcart's many problems.

Anthony McCarron sees a future battle brewing between the Yankees and Red Sox for the services of Aroldis Chapman. Here's what one baseball executive told him:

"He is an extremely talented guy," says one baseball executive who has seen Chapman pitch. "My bet is that it'll come down to the Yankees and Red Sox, like it always does now. Most of us believe that. To them, it's only money.

"And I think the Yankees will get him. They can give him a big-league contract over five years for $20 million and they don't even feel that."

There was also this quote from a Latin American scouting coordinator:

"Aroldis is special. He doesn't have the command and control of Strasburg, but he could end up being another Randy Johnson. When Randy was drafted, some people said he'd never get it together and be any good. Aroldis is one of those great talents that comes around and you hope he eventually grows up enough to master it."

Chad Jennings is reporting that former Yankees minor league pitcher Jose Valdez was signed by the Astros and added to their 40-man roster.

?The Valdez kid threw well last season, and he?s lighting up the Dominican Winter League,? Houston GM Ed Wade told mlb.com. ?We had a couple of guys see him down there and they felt this kid had a chance to be a real significant contributor to the back end of the bullpen. We gave him a roster spot as a Minor League free agent, which is a rarity.?

Looks like Josh Johnson's days in Florida will come to an end when he can become a FA after the 2011 season. The Marlins apparently don't want to go long-term and will instead go year-to-year. Yanks should sign both Felix Hernandez and Josh Johnson.

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Citi Field No Longer Be Dedicated To The LAD

This press release from the Mets:

FLUSHING, N.Y. -- The New York Mets today announced plans to expand the presence of club history at Citi Field next season in a variety of ways including renaming areas of the ballpark after Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Tom Seaver and William A. Shea. The Mets also have re-formed the Mets Hall of Fame Committee, and will increase the number of visuals commemorating great players and moments both inside and outside the ballpark. The Mets previously announced a 2010 opening of the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum at Citi Field.

RENAMING OF AREAS IN BALLPARK The Mets will rename and visually theme Citi Field's VIP entrances and outfield bridge after individuals who made an indelible mark on the club. First Base VIP will be named after Hodges to honor the manager who led the Mets to their first World Championship in 1969. Third Base VIP will honor Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher and Mets leader in wins, earned run average and strikeouts. Left Field VIP will be named after Stengel, the first manager in Mets history. The outfield bridge will be dedicated as Shea Bridge, honoring the legacy of the man who was the driving force to bring National League baseball back to New York after the departure of the Dodgers and Giants.

METS HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM & HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE The centerpiece for Mets memorabilia will be the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum, located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and accessible from both inside and outside the ballpark. A re-formed Mets Hall of Fame Committee will evaluate potential inductees, and is comprised of a combination of media members with a long-standing connection to the club and Mets front office staff.

Media members on the committee are: Marty Noble, the Mets.com beat writer who is entering his fifth decade covering the team; Gary Cohen, the New York native and voice of the Mets on SNY who has been a Mets broadcaster for 21 years; and Howie Rose, a Queens native and radio voice of the Mets on WFAN who has covered the team for 21 years on radio and television.

The Mets committee members are: Dave Howard, executive vice president, business operations who has been with the organization for 18 years; Jay Horwitz, vice president, media relations who just completed his 30th season with the team; Tina Mannix, senior director, marketing who has been with the Mets for nine years; and former Mets pitcher Al Jackson, a pitching consultant who is entering his sixth decade with the Mets. Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon serves as ex-officio.

"The re-formation of the Mets Hall of Fame Committee is central to our concerted efforts to better connect our present and future to our past," said Wilpon. "It reinforces the organization's and our fans' shared desire to recognize our greatest players. With our 2010 opening of the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum at Citi Field, now was the time to bring this group together."

Candidates will be evaluated on their impact on the field while in a Mets uniform, how they represented and affected the organization and their place in Mets history.

The Mets Hall of Fame was established in 1981 with an inaugural class of Joan Payson, the first Mets owner, and Casey Stengel, the first Mets manager. The Mets Hall of Fame has 21 members including former players, managers, front-office executives and broadcasters. Tommie Agee was the last person inducted in 2002.

The following is the list of Hall of Fame members in order of the year they were inducted:

Joan Payson (1981); Casey Stengel (1981); Gil Hodges (1982); George M. Weiss (1982); William A. Shea (1983); Johnny Murphy (1983); Ralph Kiner (1984); Bob Murphy (1984); Lindsey Nelson (1984); Bud Harrelson (1986); Rusty Staub (1986); Tom Seaver (1988); Jerry Koosman (1989); Ed Kranepool (1990); Cleon Jones (1991); Jerry Grote (1992); Tug McGraw (1993); Mookie Wilson (1996); Keith Hernandez (1997); Gary Carter (2001); and Tommie Agee (2002).

The Mets will announce further details about the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum in the coming weeks.

IMAGERY & TEAM COLORS Next season, fans will be greeted by Mets colors as they approach Citi Field with full-color banners of Mets players on Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Mets logos will be added on entry points to the parking areas and on the light poles in the parking lots. The addition of team colors will continue inside the ballpark with staircases painted with blue and orange and more Mets logos throughout the ballpark. Flowers in the gardens at Mets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda will also be blue and orange.

"These additions amplify our commitment to better recognize our team's heritage and honor the players and memories our fans cherish," said Howard. "Ownership is acting upon our fans' desire to see more Mets around the ballpark. We hear our fans loud and clear and these additions continue the process that started last season."

So it took them a year to realize its stupid to build a new stadium in New York that's dedicated to a team currently playing in L.A.

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Tigers Draft Overview

Marc Hulet at Fangraphs gave a nice synopsis of the Tigers last few draft classes. He says some pretty nice things about Jacob Turner, the Tigers first round draft pick this year, and while the Tigers minor league system was gutted with the pre-2008 season trades, the front office has been able to stock things [...]

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http://www.tigerblog.net/tigers-draft-overview/

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Chapman Changes Agent

According to Sam Borden, Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman has fired his agent, Edwin Mejia, and has signed on with the Hendricks Brothers. One of the Hendricks Brothers clients is Andy Pettitte, another is another Cuban defector, Angels first baseman Kendry Morales. Jennings speculates that that could have been one of the reasons for the switch.

Maybe Pettitte can encourage Chapman to come here.