Cardinals beat Astros 13-5 for 3-game sweep
(Yahoo! Sports)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — David Freese’s three-run homer snapped the Cardinals’ seven-game longball drought and St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 13-5 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/23/cardinals-beat-astros-13-5-for-3-game-sweep
-yahoo-sports/

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Nova headed to the DL but avoids shoulder surgery

[...]

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http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/08/nova-headed-to-the-dl-but-avoids-shoulder-s
urgery/

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A-Rod Once Again Voted Most Hated Player By His
Peers

From Wallace Matthews:

Hot on the heels of being voted baseball's MOP -- Most Overrated Player -- in a Sports Illustrated poll back in May, and another by Men's Journal that named him baseball's MHP -- Most Hated Player -- in June comes word that A-Rod has topped another anonymous SI poll: according to the magazine, he is also "baseball's biggest phony", whatever that means. A-Rod "won'' the poll with a whopping 26 percent of the vote.

.... The runner-up in the voting is none other than the Yankees' own Nick Swisher, who garnered 14 percent. Swisher also ran second to A-Rod in the MHP voting. Is Swish poised to make a run at the man at the top?

What is there to say about this besides that I really hope A-Rod comes back and tears the cover off the ball.



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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/owqKuX0A6oQ/a-rod-once-again-vo
ted-most-hated.html

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Avilas hit gives Tigers 3-2 win over Jays in 11
(Yahoo! Sports)

DETROIT (AP) — Alex Avila’s RBI single with two outs in the 11th gave the Detroit Tigers a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, one inning after center fielder Austin Jackson kept the game tied with a spectacular catch.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/23/avilas-hit-gives-tigers-3-2-win-over-jays-i
n-11-yahoo-sports/

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McHugh pitches SHO ball, but Rockies beat Mets
1-0 (Yahoo! Sports)

NEW YORK (AP) — Collin McHugh pitched two-hit ball over seven scoreless innings for the Mets in his major league debut, but the Colorado Rockies completed their second straight four-game sweep of New York with a 1-0 victory Thursday as Jordany Valdespin misplayed Tyler Colvin’s leadoff drive in the eighth into a game-changing triple.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/23/mchugh-pitches-sho-ball-but-rockies-beat-me
ts-1-0-yahoo-sports/

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Yanks Nova on DL with rotator cuff inflammation
(Yahoo! Sports)

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees have put pitcher Ivan Nova on the 15-disabled list because of inflammation in his right rotator cuff.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/23/yanks-nova-on-dl-with-rotator-cuff-inflamma
tion-yahoo-sports/

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Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants Series
Preview

No Melky? No problem so far for the Giants. Since the 2012 All-Star Game MVP was suspended for a positive PED test, the Giants are 5-2 and have opened a 2.5-game lead in the NL West; they have won eight of their last 11 games.

The Giants added three new faces since they last faced the Braves, trading for Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro right before the July 31 deadline and claiming lefty reliever Jose Mijares off waivers in early August. Scutaro, in 25 games with his new team, has hit .337 with 18 RBI and has struck out a grand total of six times. Conversely, Pence is hitting just .193 in 21 games with the Giants, striking out 22 times. Scutaro isn't the only Giants hitter with a hot bat. Angel Pagan has hits in 10 of his last 11 games, hitting .375 in that stretch with five multi-hit games among his last six and Joaquin Arias has nine hits in his last 16 at-bats.

But let's not forget he who was out! Buster Posey has been the hottest Giants hitter this month, hitting .375 and slugging .719 with 18 RBI in August. He was unavailable for Wednesday's game with a sore hamstring muscle, so whether or not he plays will depend on the severity of the injury.

The Braves will see Tim Lincecum for the first time this year and he has been trying to salvage what has been an ugly year for him. His walk rate (10.2%) is the highest since his rookie year, his strikeout rate (23.2%) is the lowest of his career and has already given up as many home runs as he did all of last year. However, Lincecum has put up more respectable numbers since the All-Star Break, posting a 3.10 ERA in his last eight starts with 47 strikeouts.

Since the Break, San Francisco's best starter has been Madison Bumgarner. He's held hitters to a .174 average with 61 strikeouts in 56 innings, leading the team with a 1.93 ERA. In August, he's only walked three in 30 innings with a 1.55 ERA. While Bumgarner has been their best pitcher this month, Ryan Vogelsong has been hit hard. Still among the top 10 in the NL in ERA, Vogelsong has given up 15 runs in four August starts, 11 of them over his last two.

Atlanta will miss Matt Cain again but will not avoid Barry Zito, who seems to give the Braves fits despite what his overall season stats may say. This would be his first start against Atlanta in San Francisco.

San Francisco's bullpen is squarely in the middle of the NL with a 3.75 ERA. Sergio Romo continues to be the most effective reliever for the Giants with a 2.13 ERA, setting up for Santiago Casilla and his 24 saves and 3.20 ERA. Romo has struck out 10 in just 6.2 innings in August.

Pitching matchups after the jump.

Thursday, August 23, 10:15 p.m. ET

Tommy Hanson

#48 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-6

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 28, 1986

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Tommy Hanson12-523230000132.2135666320561194.271.44

Barry Zito

#75 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: May 13, 1978

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Barry Zito9-824241100138.113574681858794.421.40

Friday, August 24, 10:15 p.m. ET

Ben Sheets

#30 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 18, 1978

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Ben Sheets4-377000044.0431715610313.071.20

Ryan Vogelsong

#32 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-4

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 22, 1977

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Ryan Vogelsong10-723230000148.2128494710511172.851.20

Saturday, August 25, 4:05 p.m. ET

Mike Minor

#36 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Dec 26, 1987

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Mike Minor6-1023230000136.2127787224461094.741.27

Madison Bumgarner

#40 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-5

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Aug 01, 1989

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Madison Bumgarner14-725252100171.2138605418321602.830.99

Sunday, August 26, 8:00 p.m. ET

Tim Hudson

#15 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 175

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 14, 1975

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Tim Hudson12-421211100134.01245955939823.691.22

Tim Lincecum

#55 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 5-11

Weight: 165

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Jun 15, 1984

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Tim Lincecum7-1326260000146.0150898615661515.301.48

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/8/23/3262096/atlanta-braves-at-san-francisco-gian
ts-series-preview

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Surging Mariners hope to keep 2nd half rolling
(Yahoo! Sports)

SEATTLE (AP) — For much of his first two seasons as manager of the Seattle Mariners, Eric Wedge has preached exactly what his team has practiced over the past month.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/08/23/surging-mariners-hope-to-keep-2nd-half-roll
ing-yahoo-sports/

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1993 Leaf Florida Marlins Team Set

1993 Leaf Florida Marlins Team Set These cards from the Leaf set in 1993 look fantastic.  That Teal lower-right hand corner works very well with the Marlins team colors, and Leaf did a great job in selecting the photos for … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/1993-leaf-florida-marlins-team-set/

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Jeter Responds To Skip Bayless and His Stupid
Comments

In case you did not know, here's what Skip said yesterday on First Take:


In this second video you can hear Jeter's response and Skip & Stephen A's reaction to said response:


It would seem that Skip's real issue--besides being an idiot--is with MLB and their lack of HGH testing, which I think we all can agree with, however, making Jeter your target is just ridiculous. If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, it's Jeter.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/mssdaZmMVPw/jeter-responds-to-s
kip-bayless-and-his.html

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