Tag Archives: Baseball

5 Predictions for the Yankees Upcoming Season

82946283_crop_650x440Today is the day that the greatest sport’s franchise will start another journey to the ultimate goal of a 28th World Series Championship. With more questions that need to be answered for the Yankees at the beginning of a season in more than 20 years. What are the 5 key things that will happen this year to help the Yankees reach baseball nirvana.

1. The Yankees will win less than 95 games this year. Last year they won 95 games and the place where they will likely lose these 2 or three games is within the division. Last year in the AL East the Yankees went 41-31. The team I see them dropping a few games to or the revamped Toronto Blue Jays, with their rebuilt rotation and potent lineup. Look for the Yankees to go 8-10 against the Blue Jays and finish the year with 92 wins.

2. The everyday outfield for the Yankees will not look the same at all. Ichiro Suzuki after signing a two year deal in the offseason will play a huge majority of the games in right field. That move does not comes as much of a surprise after the loss of Nick Swisher to the Indians. Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner will likely switch fields after Gardner has proven to be the best centerfielder in baseball playing left field. This is not a slight on Granderson’s defense at all but with this move the Yankees are assembling one of the fastest and most proficient outfields in all of baseball.

3. Derek Jeter will have a very similar season to last year. After struggling in 2011 Jeter proved all critics wrong by coming out and leading the American League in hits and reinventing his career along the way. Now after coming off a broken ankle it is just another chance for Jeter to prove everyone wrong. Jeter will bat over .315 and pick up over 180 hits.

4. Alex Rodriguez will have litte to no impact on the season at large. ARod the scapegoat for Yankee playoff woes will have the worst offensive season of his career. Woth Youkilis coming off a decent stint with the White Sox hitting 15 HR and driving 46 in 80 games Youk will be the everyday third baseman all year. ARod will not be back until the at least the All Star Break and by then Youk will be solid at the hot corner.

5. Yankees will win the World Series over the Nationals in 6 games.

It should be a great season and the Yankees should come out on top. If they don’t the door may close on an era of greatness for Jeter, Rivera, and Pettitte.

Los Angeles Dodgers Pitcher Overload!

Don Mattingly

As anyone who is a fan of baseball knows, pitchers are critical to a baseball team. They are capable of making or breaking a game, so having talent on a team is obviously very important.

Don Mattingly and the Los Angeles Dodgers have some choices to make!  With all of the money the Dodgers have spent on players recently, it’s no surprise to me that they’ve got quite a few pitchers to choose from.

I know I wouldn’t want to be the one choosing who makes it in the rotation. I admit, though, I do feel more confident in their pitching this year versus previous years. Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley have been favorites of mine and according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times,  Kershaw was named the opening-day starter. I’m really excited to see who else makes it in the five starting spots!

You’ve got a great group of men, Don. Make us proud!

-Nikole Davidson (@SportsWithNikki)

Diamondbacks Former TV Analyst Sentenced to Jail for DUI

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According to an ESPN report Arizona Diamondbacks player and analyst was sentenced to 4 months of jail time stemming from a DUI charge.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks television analyst Mark Grace has been sentenced to four months in jail under a work-release program.The 48-year-old former first baseman with the Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs pleaded guilty Thursday to felony endangerment and misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol.Grace was arrested last August in Scottsdale — his second drunken driving arrest in 15 months — and could have faced more than three years in prison. He had pleaded not guilty in October to four felony counts of aggravated DUI and was scheduled to go on trial March 19.The Diamondbacks fired him as their analyst after the August arrest but later invited him to participate in a fantasy camp.A Maricopa County Superior Court spokesman says the jail sentence begins Feb. 10. Grace must also serve two years of probation.

No one likes to see anyone get in trouble, and when alcohol and driving is involved you pray that nobody is fatally. Hopefully Grace can get the help he needs.

Indians and Clear Channel Announce 5 Year Deal to Broadcast Games

chief wahoo batting

The Cleveland Indians and Clear Channel announce a 5 year extension to broadcast the all regular season games on WTAM 1100 as the flagship station and to simulcast 144 games on sister station WMMS 100.7. Below is a statement from the Indians on the agreement.

The Cleveland Indians will continue their 15-year relationship with WTAM 1100 AM through 2017 with a new five-year deal announced today.

As part of the new agreement, WTAM 1100 AM will air all regular season games and WMMS 100.7 FM will simulcast the majority of Cleveland Indians games. Tribe games will continue to be distributed to the entire Indians Radio Network, which consists of 26 stations across Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

The Indians also reached a multi-year deal with Jim Rosenhausto continue partnering with “Voice of the Indians” Tom Hamilton in the Indians radio booth.

All Indians games will also be available for online and mobile streaming with MLB Gameday Audio, MLB.TV and the top-selling sports mobile application of all-time, MLB At Bat.

Source Cleveland Indians

Hall of Fame Manager Earl Weaver Dies at Age 82

earl weaver dies at age 82

Today baseball lost one of their greats, former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver died at the age of 82 on a cruise ship at 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

Weaver won 1,480 games during his 17 years as manager of the Orioles and guided the team to 4 american league pennants and 1 World Series championship (1970).

Earl Weaver is where most managers get their combativeness with umpires from, he was ejected 91 times in his career and once in each game of a double header. However, it was never to upstage the umpires or steal the spotlight, he always wanted his players to know he would fight for them and encourage the umpires to get the call right.

Orioles owner Peter Angelos released a statement;

“Weaver stands alone as the greatest manager in the history of the Orioles organization and one of the greatest in the history of baseball. This is a sad day for everyone who knew him and for all Orioles fans, Earl made his passion for the Orioles known both on and off the field. On behalf of the Orioles, I extend my condolences to his wife, Marianna, and to his family.”

Weaver has the 5th best winning percentage of all time at .583, including 5 seasons of a 100 or more games won, and 6 other season with 90 wins or more. Weaver was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996 by the veterans comittee.

Below is a video of Earl Weaver and TIm Kurkjian of ESPN telling an untold Earl Weaver story.

Source ESPN