Derek Jeter returns today. They hadn't decided if he will DH or play in the field, but he'll play. I haven't heard how they made room for him, but I hope it's Ishikawa. He looks like he's never played first base and he'd never seen a curve ball before.
Of course the injuries continue. Gardner got hit in the shin with a pitch and Hafner was hit in the foot by a pitching machine gone haywire. At least, that's the story. It is possible that the machine struck Hafner out and they're too embarrassed to say? Naw!
Another Japanese pitcher has gone on the DL. Yu Darvish has a "shoulder strain" and the Rangers put him on the 15-day DL. I just read an article in ESPN The Magazine, how pitchers in Japan are misused (and abused) by American standards, at pretty much all levels of competition. There is a high school tournament held in August that is a single elimination event. Last year, a 16-year old phenom threw 772 pitches over a 5-day span. He didn't make it through the first inning of the last game, which his team lost 17-1. I haven't been able to find out how many of those 17 runs he was responsible for. Throwing that many pitches isn't uncommon over there, which may be why Japanese pitches don't always fare as well as expected in the US.
The Dodgers have finally reached the .500 level after 90 games. They are now only a game and a half out of first in the NL West. The Giants, however, are now in last place, 10 games under .500. Pittsburgh has cooled off and St. Louis is back in first place in the NL Central.
There may be some kind of announcement in the next few days over the Bio-Genesis flap. There was talk that suspensions would be announced before the All-Star break, but I also heard that there might not be anything for at least a week. Either way, this is going to be a mess, especially since lawyers, unions and arbitrators are involved.
***THEY SAID IT***
"Oakland Raiders’ LB Kaluka Maiava has been charged with assault after a fight earlier this year in a Maui bar. Gosh, and there goes the NFL’s streak of about 72 hours since the last arrest." -- Janice Hough
"In the NFL, 31 players have been arrested just since the Super Bowl. In fact, a lot of teams are switching to the no-huddle offense because players aren't allowed to associate with known felons." -- Jay Leno
"The winner of
this year’s annual “Nathans hot dog eating contest” Joey Chestnut, wolfed down
69 dogs in 10 minutes setting a new record. Is that Anthony Wiener guy one of
the judges?" -- TC Chong
"According to Merriam-Webster, having one wife is monogamy. According to Tiger Woods, it's monotony." --RJ Currie
"The six dirtiest jobs, according to U.S. News & World Report:
oil-rig worker, slaughterhouse worker, crime-scene cleanup technician,
dairy farmer, plumber and gastroenterologist. Early-line favorite to top next year’s list: Aaron Hernandez publicist." -- Dwight Perry
" 25 NHL coaches getting fired the past two seasons: “The Kardashians don’t go through men that quickly.” -- Greg Drinnan
"During a match at Wimbledon, Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium turned
to a BBC announcer and asked him to be quiet because he was talking too
loudly. Is there any way we can arrange for her to sit behind Dick
Vitale at basketball games?" -- Brad Dickson
"Reports are that MLB will suspend as many as
20 active players for PEDs, including Ryan Braun and A-Rod, possibly on
the day after the All-Star Game. So much for ESPN trying to fill a slow
sports news day." -- Janice Hough"Cuban television just aired its first Major League Baseball game since 1961. Now, the Cuban people realize there's one thing worse than totalitarian rule -- major league umpiring. It was a two-month-old major league game, so apparently they're getting the MLB Network." -- Brad Dickson
CP-
No comments:
Post a Comment