JC Romero To Rejoin Phillies June 3rd
May 26, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
Phillies pitcher JC Romero, who was suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball’s drug poilicy is scheduled to rejoin the team on June 3rd.
Romero took an over the counter supplement called 6-OXO that contained a substance called androstenedione, which is on MLB’s blacklist of banned PEDs.
The supplement did not specify androstenedione on the label nor in the ingredients and Romero continues to plead his case about not knowing about the substance.
Despite all of the trouble, the Phillies need Romero back in the line-up as pitching has become a trouble area for the 2008 World Champions. The Phillies will need to make a roster move to add Romero back into the dugout.
Todd Zolecki of MLB.com quoted Romero on his return.
“Overall right now, I’d give myself a ‘B,’” Romero said, asked about how he is throwing in the Minors. “When I start getting guys out in the big leagues, then I will tell you what grade I give myself. I’m good. I’m healthy. I’m ready to go.”
Phillies Fans It Is Not Time To Panic
May 15, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
If you have been watching the Phillies lately you may be wondering just where exactly DID the offense go? Or you may be wondering how it is possible that Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were a combined 0-22 with 12 strikeouts in their series with the Dodgers this past week. This is a very tough concept to grasp after what the team showed last season.
Scoring only 24 runs their most recent home stands against the Braves and Dodgers, the Phillies just cannot seem to get the ball moving.
Leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins has struggled almost the entire season, and was dropped to fifth in the lineup this past week for back-to-back games. Last night after resuming his role at the top of the lineup against the Dodgers, Rollins was still unable produce runs.
Shane Victorino was 0-4, Ryan Howard struck out to end the game as usual and was 0-4, and Chase Utley fell below .300 for the first time this season.
The offense has been a huge problem for Philadelphia but the defense is also on its way down the elevator as well.
In 5 straight appearances Brad Lidge has surrendered at least one run, Jamie Moyer got “waxed” on Wednesday night after throwing three solid innings, and after the best start of the season for Cole Hamels (who struck out 9 through 7 innings) Chad Durbin surrendered two critical runs that lead to another Phillies loss at the “Bank”.
There is no doubt that the Phillies are just “a mess”, but IS IT officially time to hit the panic button in Philly?
During the first 30 games of the season, the ‘Phightin Phils have shown promise, and at other times the remains of what could be called a World Series hangover tend to lurk on in through the clubhouse doors.
The 2009 season started slow for the Phillies as they dropped their first two games at home to the Braves. Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer immediately picked up their first losses of the season while Cole Hamels also picked up his first loss on the road against the Rockies the following week.
The Phils hovered around the .500 mark for most of April until it came time to play the ever-so-hot Florida Marlins. Condrey, Moyer, and Madson all tallied wins as the Phillies blew the Marlins out of the water taking the sweep. The series proved to be nothing short of impressive.
In game 1 Shane Victorino hit his first career regular season grand slam highlighting a seven-run rally in the ninth to take the victory 7-3.
In game two, Chase Utley’s RBI in the top of the 10th proved to be the winning run sticking it out for another victory winning 6-4.
Shane Victorino dominated game three knocking in 4 “ribbies” and stealing two as the Phillies crushed the Marlins 13-2.
The next series was against the Nationals where the team capped off a season high 5 game winning streak picking up two victories.
As the Phils continued working through the beginning of May the defending champs dropped 2 of 4 to the Mets and were headed back home to take on the Braves and Dodgers.
Jayson Werth had no trouble proving he is “Werth It” stealing four bases including home in a single game, while Carlos Ruiz stayed solid at the plate after making a few stance adjustments.
However, the rest of the team just could not seem to get the wheels turning. Key RBI opportunities and poor decisions on the bases seemed to be the difference between the Braves and Phils. While the Dodgers just ripped at the Phillies pitching spanking 38 hits in just three games compared to the Phillies 10.
Charlie Manual has expressed concern about his club stating, “We don’t look good.”
So is it really time to hit that panic button if you are a Phillies fan?
Not Yet.
We all know the defending World Champs have one of the best teams in baseball, possibly even a better team than last year with the addition of Raul Ibanez.
Trust me when I say this. Victorino WILL drive in runs, Ryan Howard WILL make contact, and Jimmy Rollins WILL return to his old self at the top of the order. The question is WHEN will it start, and WILL it happen soon enough to compete with the Mets, Marlins, and Braves in the NL East.
As long as the proper adjustments are timely made and players start stepping up like the play of Jayson Werth during the last few games, hits will come, runs will be scored, and games will be won.
This is not the time to panic just yet. The Phillies will rise out of their slump and you will see the them at the top of the NL East come October, I guarantee it!
*Inserts 2008 WS Game 5 DVD*
Why Jayson Werth Is “Werth It”
May 13, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
Jayson Werth has proven himself as being “Werth It” in Philadelphia time and time again, and last night he made sure no one would forget it!
While Pedro Feliz stood in the batter’s box, Werth stole second, then stole third, and when catcher Russell Martin flipped the ball back to pitcher Ronald Belisario after a routine pitch, Werth was sliding into home.
The “Puma-like creature” was safe at the plate on the rare steal, tying the Philadelphia Phillies team record of four stolen bases in a single game as the Phillies rolled over the Dodgers 5-3.
In a game that opened with tension in the Phillies dugout after Jimmy Rollins was dropped from the leadoff spot, Werth stole more bases than he did all season.
“I guess he was feeling frisky or had a lot of energy,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “He wanted to run.”
According to ESPN, No Phillie had stolen home since 2007, and Pete Rose was the last one to steal three bases in an inning (1980).
Werth has tallied 21 total RBIs so far this season for the Phils, currently one short of Ryan Howard (22), and sits with a hearty .395 OBP so far on the year.
Stolen bases haven’t been the only record Werth has tied while wearing a Phillies “uni”. On May 16, 2008, Werth had a career night against the Blue Jays, hitting three home runs , including a grand slam, a three-run home run, and a solo shot which put him one “round-tripper” short of hitting for the “homer cycle”. In doing so, he tied the Phillies team record that night with 8 RBIs in a single game.
Watching Werth from the seats during that misty night was nothing short of remarkable. Looking back, it felt as if the WS Championship was already “on ice”.
Whether it be running into walls to make a potential game saving play, stealing three bases (including home) in one inning, or Jayson Werth just being Jayson Werth, “the Puma” has been getting it done for the Phils in dramatic fashion.
As the rest of May unfolds look for Werth to charge both the defense and offense for the Phillies. If you ever had the chance to see Jayson play you will understand exactly why he is “Werth It”.
Manny Faces McCourt, Teammates
May 11, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
After being suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games, Manny Ramirez apologized to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt during a meeting on Saturday in which was held to discuss his 50-game suspension.
The meeting was requested by McCourt who told reporters he is “furious” with the events that unfolded leading up to the positive test. McCourt is also expecting Ramirez make a formal apology to his teammates in the near future.
The drug is question is called human chorionic gonadotropin. In the world of performance enhancing drugs, hCG is increasingly used in combination with various anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) cycles.
Ramirez has denied all claims that he used the drug to enhance his performance, but instead has said he was given the drug by his doctor for medical reasons.
The Dodgers now head east for a six game road trip begining with a 3 game series against the Phillies who eliminated them from the post season last year. It will be the first meeting between the clubs since last season.
An Open Letter to Yankee Fans
May 10, 2009 by Chuck Mosca
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
Dear Yankee Fans,
I have had the good fortune to come in contact with a few of you over the last twenty four hours. That is always a distinct pleasure. It is good to see that you are able to find something of interest to deflect your attention from the sorry state of the current edition of your baseball team.
The news that ex-Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez had been suspended from Major League baseball as a result of failing a random drug test seemingly pumped new life into what has become a rather meek and troubled fan base.
Congrats.
There is this gleeful hope among you that this news will serve to undo what is such a painful period in your beloved team’s history.
“See? The Red Sawx cheated too,” you seem to be collectively shouting. “Now the World Series wins are tarnished!!!!”
Actually, very few Yankee fans use the word “tarnished,” because it is multi-syllabic but you get the idea. I do admit that I admire your fighting spirit since you root for the American League version of the Washington Nationals. That said, I am sorry to inform you that neither this new revelation, nor any that will follow will tarnish the World Series Championships won by the Red Sox in this decade.
You see, the sad reality of this baseball generation is that it will be forever tainted by Steroid use. Performance Enhancing Drugs infiltrated the sport to such an extent, that no team should expect to have escaped the stigma of having juicers on their roster and no player should expect to escape suspicion of the authenticity of his statistics. No one who enjoys the game of baseball likes this Steroid-induced cloud under which baseball finds itself but we all must accept that it has.
If and when the smoke clears and we have a more complete understanding as to just how many players used or are still using, it seems pretty certain that every franchise will have been implicated to some degree.
Your problem, dear Yankee fans, is that since 2004, you have become so fixated on the Red Sox that you simply cannot comprehend what is going on in the baseball world. Thus, yesterday’s breaking news allowed you to rejoice in the fact that a former Red Sox player, and not a current or ex-Yankee had been implicated.
Perhaps, it might be useful to re-count the Yankees, past and present, who have been identified as having violated baseball’s policy on the use of PEDs: Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Kevin Brown.
Giambi, Pettite, Rodriguez and Sheffield were all members of that infamous 2004 Yankee team that will be forever remembered as having established a new low for choking in major league sports. They have become the standard against which all post season collapses, in all sports, will forever be measured.
Given the aforementioned widespread use of PED since the mid 1990s, it is patently absurd to attempt to make a case that any of the World Series Championships are now somehow diminshed. Yes, misery does, indeed, love company but you should take no joy in this.
Yesterday’s news painfully reminds all baseball fans that the gaping wound the players, and due to their complicity, the owners and player’s union, have opened in the fabric of the game will not soon heal. It doesn’t, however, change history and no thinking person would attempt to build the case that any one team benefited or was harmed more than any other team.
The World Series Championships of 2004 and 2007 mean as much to Red Sox fans today as they did early Thursday morning. Sadly, Yankee fans, there is no Time Machine in which you can travel back and revise history. It is, what is.
How ironic that history, once your biggest ally (”1918!!”) now haunts you to such a debilitating degree.
Manny Fallout: If You’re Shocked, Realize This Is A “You” Problem
May 8, 2009 by David Allan
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
So Manny being Manny included Manny being on the Juice.
Now it’s Manny being suspended.
So what? I mean if we aren’t going to demand that accountability for this fall at the feet of someone that can do something about this than what does it matter?
So let me start with us, the fans. In all honesty, we have so far been complacent in the destruction of the records and numbers that mean something in our game. That’s right, I said it: our game.
I’ve written about wanting to pass along the game of baseball to another generation in the condition we found it. Instead of looking for changes to the game that benefit us, as well as others, we have looked to it to be bigger, faster and stronger. We marveled at 500-foot home runs.
We turned our eyes blindly to the chase of Maris. Why? Because it allowed children to talk about McGwire, father’s about Maris and grandfather’s about Ruth. It was a single strand, a lineage that connected generations.
From the Model T to the Bentley, from the Prop plane to the Lear Jet, from the AM Radio to the HI-DEF plasma, we spanned generations. From an era when 60 and then 61 seemed untouchable to one where 70 was quickly replaced by 73 we didn’t ask any questions.
We simply lived in the naïve bubble where men were super human and that was fine. We then acted out-raged and indignant when we found out that the numbers being produced by chemically enhanced athletes.
Really were we that mad? I don’t think so. If we were, we would have demanded more than the half hearted effort by the house competition committee and later Senator George Mitchell that did little to expose the depth of the problem, and less to address and correct the issue.
Let me address that for a minute. George Mitchell spent month upon months compiling names, digging into the deepest cracks and darkest corners of baseball. What did he come up with Gregg with three G’s Zaun, Chuck Knoblauch and Ron Villone? Are you kidding me?
Sure he came up with Roger Clemens, but he managed to whiff on Arod and Manny Ramirez. As fans we waited 20 months and let baseball spend in the neighbor of twenty million dollars to compile the results and Senator George Mitchell managed to miss out of on two guys that have launched over 1000…that’s right, 1000 home runs combined.
So what are our options? Your option is to be a better fan. Don’t fall in love. If you never fall in love, you never get hurt. Love your wife, love your parents, love your kids, and your pets. Like your team but be a smarter fan, a better consumer. Your other option is to fall in love with baseball, not the home run, but baseball.
Debate the designated hitter, marvel at a player taking an extra base, get excited about a steal of home, a well executed bunt or a flawlessly turned double play. Learn to enjoy the finer points of the game, like a pitcher that can get a much needed ground ball or a relay to the plate that gets the runner by a step.
As a fan is a fan of the entire game and not the long ball, quit trying to break down baseball into the simple act of the home run, and make it about what it is, and that is so much more.
THE PLAYERs’ ASSOCIATION
Lets talk players association for a minute. The group that, for its part, allowed a generation of players to take, inject and ingest whatever it took to raise the pay checks of baseball players everywhere.
The players association through the pure greed was allowed to distort the priorities of players across baseball. As the steroid scandal reached a fever pitch, the players association did nothing but bury their head in the sand and deny that the problem existed.
No one person is responsible for the issues of baseball, but for certain the players association are one of two groups of people that have the power to impose real change on the game and they have opted to ignore the issues in favor of fat pay checks.
They don’t act remotely embarrassed when their largest stars are outted. They simply don’t care and refuse to do anything about the problem, so what is a fan to do?
It is clear to me that 50 percent of the power in this debate lay in their hands and they don’t recognize there is any problem. I am starting to believe there is right, we will continue to follow the game as they see fit.
THE OWNERS
Just as culpable in all of this are the owners. When Mark McGwire blew up to the size of an NFL Linebacker nobody brought it up. When Barry Bonds allowed his head to expand from Melon to Basketball size, their only concern was how many could he hit into McCovey’s cove.
That number translated into butts into seats and “saved” the game of baseball. The owners would promote this juiced up behemoths on posters, magazines and cereal boxes.
Instead of wondering why, the owners blindly dolled out the fattest paychecks to the worst offenders and now in some sense of bonus self-righteousness are acting like the guardians of the game.
MANNY RAMIREZ
Where does Manny fall in all of this? Well I have said before Arod doing steroids was like your girlfriend cheating on you and then you taking her back. You have given up the right to be shocked by any level of disrespectful behavior she displays from that point on.
So save me your anger because it makes you look stupid. Manny Ramirez is responsible for what he took, and his 533 home runs certainly are tainted in my eyes. I will say this as some who has defended Manny I am at worst disappointed.
But who do we believe is clean? Pujols, I’ll believe it because there is no evidence to the contrary. But I certainly won’t be “blinded sided” or “flabbergasted” if that is not the case.
Manny’s job is to perform at the highest level and if steroids are part of that performance I can honestly say I am not bent out of shape about it. Did he break the rules? Yes. Did he know he broke the rules? Yes. (He may say he didn’t, but his withdrawal of his appeal tells me something very different.) As it says in the rules Manny will now serve 50 games.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
Well I go back to the fans perspective through our jaded view of the world, lets look at some of the guys that may have gotten forgotten and marvel at just how good they are. I am not talking about Willie Mays or Roberto Clemente we know how good they were.
But how about…
Will Clark…
Fred McGriff…
Don Mattingly…
Larry Walker…
Robin Yount…
George Brett…
Ichiro Suzuki…
Brooks Robinson…
Some of them already all time greats, and hall of famers, some of them become more and more deserving of our admiration and respect as it becomes obvious that they must be compared to their peers and not a generation of athletes with clearly inflated ego’s and pay checks.
For a generation we lost our grip on reality, fans once celebrated Tony Gywnn, and Cal Ripken Jr. with as much zeal as George Bell and Kirk Gibson. I am not interested in the Manny story because it holds zero new information for me. It once again shows that we haven’t learned our lesson.
In the end, ratings were up, gates were up, profits were up. Not just chicks were digging the long ball.
Leave you with this and maybe it helps you to reframe what is important as a fan:
“I believe in the soul. The c***, the p****, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curveball, high-fiver, good Scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap, I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, I believe there oughta be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days. Good night.” – Crash Davis Bull Durham
It’s time again to be a kid, to throw your hands over your ears and scream NA NA NA NA NA, I’m not listening, maybe it’s time to BELIEVE.
Not in Manny or Arod, but in baseball.
Unseasonably Hot in Toronto – Blue Jays Off To A Great Start
May 7, 2009 by David Allan
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
After a month of tempered excitement, the Blue Jays’ bats have remained fairly hot. They put a 15 and 9 stamp on April and opened with three straight in May to run their record to a collective 18 and 9.
This puts them two games ahead of the Red Sox, who were getting slapped around in Tampa over the weekend by the Rays, including a couple of four-RBI performances by Longoria, and Carl Crawford ripping six bases in the Sunday matinee.
Although the storyline of the past month has most certainly been the bats, it should also be noticed that the Blue Jays are continuing to injure young pitchers at an alarming rate.
Although getting huge innings from Roy Halladay as per usual, a pleasant surprise thus far this season in Scott Richmond and a couple of good starts from long man Brian Tallet before an absolute stinker in KC. Watching some of the other arms they have run out there to cover key injuries tells me that the pipe line may to have run dry.
Can you blame them? From a year ago they are down their two, three, four and five starter with Burnett leaving and injuries to McGowan, Marcum and Litsch. They have also lost Rickey Romero for the time being, in his few starts this season the rookie looked like he belonged with the big club this year.
They have since found out that Scott Richmond has developed into a nice back-of-the-rotation starter.
On the other hand, David Purcey has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, to me at least that he in fact is what he is, a guy that will never live up to the lofty status of being picked in the first round of the draft.
For the most part some of the bats have started to pick up where the others left off, and in other cases they have continued at their torrid pace. After a month, I think it’s time to assign some grades for April and wax intellectual about the potential for the Jays season.
Many people still doubt the Blue Jays ability to survive the 162 games grind a top the American League East.
Starting Pitching
As mentioned the Jays starting pitching has surprised thus far, especially considering the injuries to some of its key members that will likely keep them out all season. Fortunately, the top of their rotation is 250-plus-inning horse Roy Halladay, and so far posting a 5-1 record Doc has done nothing to disappoint.
Youngster Ricky Romero came out of the gates with guns blazing and the lefty posted an ERA of 1.71 in his first three starts before an injury put him on the 15-day
DL. He followed Jesse Litsch, and closer B.J. Ryan, some of those injuries more devastating than others to be sure.
Along with the pleasant surprise that was Romero, Scott Richmond has posted a 4-0 record, an ERA of 2.67, with a K/BB ratio of 2.16/1 and a WHIP of 1.220.
With inspiring starts to the season from Halladay, Romero and Richmond, and Brian Tallet doing an admirable job, except for one shelling in Kansas City has held down the fort a midst the rash of injuries.
Bullpen
How many teams have their closer go down and their pen gets better. That is the case with the Blue Jays. B.J. Ryan came out of spring training with more than his share of doubters. He did nothing to dispel those opinions when he managed to blow two of the four save attempts that were granted to him, posting an 11.12 ERA in 5.2 innings of work.
Other than Brandon League, the rest of the bullpen has been outstanding. Justin Frasor is 4-0 and has yet to give up an earned run in 10 appearance totaling 10.1 innings. Scott Downs is three for three in save opportunities and has fashioned a 0.66 earned run average thus far in 2009.
Jesse Carlson has also been lights out giving up two earned runs in 14.2 innings this year.
Grade: A -, the Bullpen has been the best in baseball, and A + + unit, of their 15 wins in April half were fashioned by Roy Halladay and Scott Richmond. Although a 4-1 month of April is very Halladay-esque, a 3-0 effort by Richmond most certainly won’t be repeated.
Beyond that I question the health of Romero and Litsch as the Jays have proven time and time again, that they are incapable of keeping young pitching healthy.
(On a Side Note: Shawn Marcum (Tommy John’s Surgery – Sept. 10, 2009) was throwing bullpen sessions in KC. If we add up the debacle that is Ryan after coming back to early, the Jays poor record with pitchers. (Brandon League last year, Casey Jansen, McGowan, Marcum, Litsch this year, Romero this year, Ryan) Wouldn’t it make sense to protect this young arm?)
The Lineup
The bats have been outstanding since an opening day trashing of the Tigers. They are in the top three in the majors in average (first), on base percentage (T-third) and Slugging percentage (second).
They also lead the league in hits, RBI and total bases. To go with that they have nine come from behind nine times, and already produced four walk off wins.
So far this season the Jays have been pleasantly surprised by veteran Scott Rolen, youngster Adam Lind, second basemen Aaron Hill and catcher Rod Barajas.
Vernon Wells has been serviceable but not spectacular. He continues to produce an unusually high number of double plays 19 percent in 2008 and 18 percent in 2009. (The Major League Average is 10 percent.)
Marco Scutaro started the year on a massive role and has since cooled off. Early in April he was batting around .370, and has seen that tumble to a very Scutaro .267 to end the month.
Alex Rios continues to be the worst number three hitter in all of baseball. In a prime spot in the hottest line up in baseball Rios has been nothing but disappointing. Like clean up hitter Wells, Rios has hit into in an above average number of double plays.
He ended the month of April with exactly one home run. He was also batting a measly .248 with a .366 slugging percentage.
“Rookie Sensation” Travis Snider has not been anything close to sensational. If you listened to Blue Jays fans you’d think they were talking about Duke Snider. Some how a two-bomb effort in the middle of the month has struck a cord with fans.
That night in Minnesota, he hit home runs number two and three of the year and was batting .316 and topped out at .348 the two nights later. By the time Apr. 30 had rolled around an early hot pick for rookie of the year was batting .258.
Since Apr. 16, Snider has one multiple hit game and only eight hits in 39 at-bats (.205).
The real engine thus far for the Jays has been second basemen Aaron Hill in the two-hole. Hill returning from a concussion that knocked him out after only 55 games in 2008 has been on fire.
So far this season Hill leads all major leaguers in hits with 38 through the end of April. A second basemen with a career line of .289/.343/.419, Hill already has 12 extra-base hits, including six home runs to go along with his 38 hits. To start the 2009 season Hill hit .361/.412/.567 and has driven in 20 RBI.
Rob Barajas has been having a career year thus far. A major leaguer since 1999, Barajas bats .244, with 162 game average of .244/.292/.413 with 17 home runs and 68 RBI. So far this season the Ontario, CA native is hitting and astonishing .299/.333/.493 and is on pace to drive in 90 runs this season.
Grade: Even without the heart of the order beating, the Jays sticks have been the hottest in baseball, they’ve earned an A + this month.
The overall grade for Cito Gaston’s squad is an A as they finished the month of April with a 15 – 9 record and a lead in the American League East.
Manny Ramirez Fails Drug Test, Nets 50 Game Suspension
May 7, 2009 by Mike Clay
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
Reports are swirling that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has failed a drug test and will be suspended 50 games.
Update 12:25 p.m.- A 50 game suspension will be handed to Manny Ramirez as early as this afternoon according to multiple reports. The Los Angeles slugger has tested positive for a substance on Major League Baseball’s blacklist of banned substances according to a first report by the LA Times.
Scott Boras, Ramirez’s agent, told ESPN’s Peter Gammons that his client did not test positive for steroids, but for a drug that was prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition.
Whatever the case, the suspension will cost Manny approximately 7.7 million dollars from his new contract.
Triple-A outfielder Xavier Paul has been told by the Dodgers that he will be promoted later today to fill the empty roster spot that Manny will leave open.
The Dodgers set a record last night against the Washington Nationals as the first team in history to start a season with a home winning streak of 13 games.
Update 1:58 p.m.- RBI Magazine has learned that Manny Ramirez denies any involvement with performance enhancing drugs. The positive test is being blamed on a perscription drug issued to Ramirez by his doctor.
The Dodgers organization has scheduled a team meeting to take place this afternoon to discuss the matter.
More updates to follow**
Does Anyone Remember Pat Burrell?
May 1, 2009 by Ari Bluestein
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
When you see the statistics of seven home runs, 17 runs-batted-in and a batting average of .359 compared to one homer, eight RBIs and an average of .254, it’s really easy to say the former line is much better. To identify the names behind these stats, current Philadelphia Phillies left-fielder Raul Ibanez is the former and former Phillies left-fielder and current Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Pat Burrell is the latter.
Ibanez, who was acquired in the off-season as a free agent from the Seattle Mariners, has caused passionate Phillies fans to forget about the man who occupied left-field on a day-to-day basis for almost nine full seasons. Burrell was a former number one overall pick by the Phillies in the late-1990s and he has been a fan favorite in Philadelphia for most of his time in the City of Brotherly Love.
After the Phils won the World Series in October 2008, all the baseball fans in Philadelphia knew that Pat Burrell was to be a free agent and there was concern around the city that the Phillies organization would not re-sign him. During the winter meetings, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. made it clear that he was interested Raul Ibanez. Of course all the Phillies fans knew was that he played in Seattle, a team that was very rarely seen on televisions in the Philadelphia area, and that he was 36-years old, a whole three years older than Burrell.
Despite all the potential criticism, Amaro knew what a great player Ibanez was and he signed the veteran outfielder to a three-year contract. As a result, Burrell signed with the team the Phillies beat in the World Series, the Rays, and only received a two-year contract to be mainly a designated hitter.
Burrell made a couple memorable returns to Citizen’s Bank Park in the beginning of the 2009 season with an exhibition game and an emotional World Series ring ceremony. In the exhibition game as a member of the Rays, Burrell unloaded on a Cole Hamels fastball, reminding Phillies fans of what they would be missing in the upcoming 2009 season. Then in the ring ceremony, Burrell received the loudest and longest cheer from the Phillies faithful when presented with his championship ring. Pat’s ovation lasted longer than even current Phillies superstars Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.
But to this writer, it seems like ages ago when Pat Burrell was a member of the Phillies, in the ballpark as a member of the Rays and receiving his championship ring. Raul Ibanez has made all of the Phillies fans forget that there was any other Phillies player that played left-field in recent years. The Phils faithful has embraced Ibanez as the great player that he is. Signs in the stands at Citizen’s Bank Park read “I-BOMB-EZ” and now you can see quite a few fans wearing the number-29 Ibanez jerseys. And typical to Philadelphia, a new chant that goes “RAOOOOL” and sounds like “BOOOO” is now heard throughout the ballpark every time Ibanez steps to the plate.
There is no doubt that Raul Ibanez has won over Phillies fans with his timely hitting, solid defensive play and his hustle both in the field and on the base paths. Does anyone in Philadelphia remember the beloved Pat Burrell? I’m sure there are many who do, but Ibanez is easily causing some fans to forget.
Ryan Zimmerman Wears “Natinals” Jersey
April 30, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
No, that is not a typo in my title. Ryan Zimmerman was spotted wearing a jersey with a monsterous misprint. Nationals was actually spelled “Natinals”.
At first, and like most other baseball fans, I thought this was a case of the “O” hiding behind the jersey. Not this time.
Also spotted wearing the misprinted jersey was Nationals outfielder Adam Dunn. Apparently it took the entire team and 25,000 fans until the 3rd inning to realize it!
The jersey drama however did not stop there. Reports that someone else on the Nats was wearing a jersey that had the “N” upside down.
I guess in the times of recession you must cut corners to keep the production line moving, or in this case the letters.
