On November 11, 2011, the Marlins officially re-branded themselves as the Miami Marlins with a new logo, uniform, color scheme – the whole 9 yards!

A huge VIP event was held at the site of the new ballpark at night, which included a private concert by Pitbull and a fashion show featuring the new uniforms worn by various Marlins players and coaches, including Ozzie Guillén, Logan Morrison, Hanley Ramírez, and Josh Johnson.

So apparently they even did this with a touch of style. Did anyone else out there miss this?

On December 10, 2011, Pujols signed a ten-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, worth approximately $254 million. Even though the Angels have not had really too much production out of Pujols, it should only be a matter of time before one of the best offensive players of this generation looses his slump and reportedly it is an issue that the slugger is getting sick of addressing.

The official start to the fan-balloting program, which is known as the largest in sports, took place on Apr. 19 during a press conference which was attended by former Royal George Brett, who is this year’s ambassador. This is the first time the game has been played in Kansas since 1973.

Baseball fans have a large say as to who plays in the Midsummer classic and the online balloting will be available until June 28 at MLB.com as well as the websites of all 30 teams. Each email address will be allowed to send in 25 ballots. The final voting takes place on MLB.com from July 1-5 and fans can also vote for the game’s most valuable player.

The winner of the game, which is contested between the National and American Leagues, will get home-field advantage in this year’s World Series. The National League won the last two All-Star Games as well as the last two World Series with san Francisco being crowned champions in 2010 and the St. Louis Cardinals winning the title last year.

Last year’s all-star balloting produced a total of 357.5 million votes and it’s expected that this year’s total could shatter that record. The 30 MLB ballparks will receive a combined total of 20 million ballots and close to 100 Minor League parks will also receive ballots.

The online ballot will be available to fans in several languages including English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Spanish. In addition, audio functions will be in place for fans who are visually impaired. Each stadium will start its balloting program by May 8 at the latest and will run until June 22.

Fans who vote are also eligible to win a sweepstakes prize which will send them on a week-long, all-expenses paid trip to the All-Star Game. There will be other balloting centers located throughout the nation and in the Dominican republic and Puerto Rico at various stores and banks that are operated by the game’s sponsors.

In addition, The ballot will enable fans to vote for players to take part in the annual home-run derby which is a popular part of the All-Star Game festivities. Fans will be able to vote for their three favourite players in each league for this event.

The Alls-Star teams for the NL and AL will be officially announced on July 1 and the nine starters for the AL will be the winners of the fan balloting program while eight NL starters will be voted in. the reserves and pitchers for the teams will be selected by player ballots and the managers.

The AL team will be managed by the Texas Rangers’ Ron Washington and Tony La Russa, former boss of the Cardinals will manage the NL. Fans will be able to vote online during the game for their choice of most valuable player.

Humber made it to the Majors after being drafted third overall in 2004 by the New York Mets. He was selected right after the Detroit Tigers chose pitcher Justin Verlander. However, Humber’s career seemed to be jinxed from the start since he had to undergo Tommy John surgery to have an elbow-ligament replaced in 2005 and didn’t record his first win until 2010 as a member of the Kansas City Royals.

Humber came close to blowing his perfect outing in the ninth inning after falling behind in the count to Michael Saunders 3-0. However he fought hard and struck Saunders out. The next batter was John Jaso, who flied out. Humber then struck out Brendan Ryan to close the game after reaching a full count. Ryan, who was pinch hitting, checked his swing with the count full and the ball managed to get away from White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski, who scooped it up and threw to first base to complete the out.

Pierzynski claimed he was more nervous in this game than he was when he played in the World Series. He said it just came out of nowhere and he wanted to make sure Humber would be remembered forever by getting the perfect game. Humber said he thought it might have been over once the ball got away from Pierzynski on the last pitch, but once he saw the umpire call it a strike he was overcome with excitement, emotion, joy, and gratitude.

The 29-year-old Humber entered the game with just 11 victories in 29 major league starts and proved you don’t have to be an experienced pitcher or a Hall of Famer to achieve something special in the sport. His 11 wins were the second-lowest of all pitchers who have pitched perfect games. In fact Robertson had just one win and four starts to his name when he threw his in 1922.

It was also Humber’s first complete game in the majors and the right-hander ended it with nine strikeouts and a total of 96 pitches. In his first start of the season five days earlier Humber threw 115 pitches over 5 1/3 innings resulting in a no-decision in a game against the Baltimore Orioles. Chicago claimed Humber from Oakland on waivers in January 2011and he went 9-9 last season. He pitched 163 innings and had an ERA of 3.75 in what was his first full season in the majors as a starting pitcher.

In a tearful interview yesterday, Joba expressed that he “feels like he let the Yankees down”, and insisted there was nothing reckless about what he did, and would not apologize for what he called “being a father.”

“I feel like I let my team down to be perfectly honest with you, and that’s the most frustrating part,” Chamberlain said.

In an interesting twist, Chamberlain denies reports of the bone actually puncturing the skin, but continued to downplay the severity of the injury.

“It’s one of those things that bothers me — people were asking me if it was life threatening or if I was going to lose my foot. There was no bone even out of my ankle,” Chamberlain said.

Research shows that most patients who dislocate their Subtalar, stay enclosed in a cast for at least 6-12 weeks, then undergo rehabilitation which has no scheduled timetable due to complications the patient may have sustained while being injured.

Joba is optimistic however, stating he plans to return and pitch at some point this season for the Yanks. He was trying to work his way back from elbow ligament replacement surgery and had been on the disabled list since last June.

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones announced on March 22 that the upcoming Major League Baseball (MLB) season will be his last. Jones said he wanted to make the announcement as soon as possible to get it over with so he can concentrate on playing this year. He said he was getting tired of all the questions regarding his future and wanted to give the press a definitive answer.

Jones, who has played his entire 19-year Major League career with Atlanta, thanked his family, friends, fans, and teammates at a press conference and said he’s happy and proud to have spent every season with the Braves. Jones was fortunate enough to play during the team’s most successful period in history by winning the World Series as a rookie in 1995 and winning 11 straight division titles with the team.

Braves’ president John Schuerholz said Jones has 18 amazing seasons with the team and hopes that his 19th will be the best yet by winning another World Series ring. Schuerholz said Jones has been an all star several times during his career and has better than a .300 batting average, but most of all, he could be depended on for getting a hit when the team really needed it.

The 39-year-old Jones still had an option year left on his contract which would have seen him earn about $7 million next season. However, he said he felt it was time to say goodbye and leave the team on his own terms. He added that his knees were beginning to bother him in spring Training and realized his playing days were coming to a close.

Jones told his Braves teammates a week earlier that he was going to call it a day at the end of the season and promised he wouldn’t quit on them halfway through it. Recent press reports had stated that Jones said he might not be able to make it through the year, but he said he was simply joking and his words were taken out of context.

Jones said he’s achieved everything he wanted to as a player and he didn’t announce his retirement in the offseason because his body was feeling fine. He said the aches and pains didn’t start until he began Spring Training.

He started his association with Atlanta back in 1990 when the club drafted him first overall during the First-Year Player Draft. Jones was named an all star seven times and was named the National League’s MVP in 1999. So far he has batted .304 throughout his career with 454 home runs, 1561 RBI and an on-base percentage of .402

Eddie Murray is the only other switch hitter in MLB history to reach at least 1,500 RBI and 2,500 hits in a career. Jones won the batting crown in 2008 with a 364 average, which is the second best by a switch hitter. Mickey Mantle managed to bat .365 in 1957. Jones is also in some elite company for several other offensive categories and it’s likely he’ll someday be a Hall of Famer, quite possibly on the first ballot.

Varitek was traded to the Boston Red Sox as a Minor League prospect by the Seattle Mariners in the late fall of 1997. After his debut in September of ’97, Varitek spent his entire career with the Red Sox and eventually became the starting catcher and club captain for the 2004 and 2007 World Series Championship Teams.

Varitek is one of only two players in the history of baseball to have played in the World Championship game of the Little League World Series, in the National Championship game of the College World Series, and in the Major League World Series.

Varitek has also caught for an MLB record four no hitters during his career which includes pitchers: Derek Lowe, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester and Hideo Nomo.

Major League Baseball’s players’ association released a statement after the appeal was upheld by a score of 2-1, which said that most grievances against drug tests aren’t made public, but all parties agreed it was in the best interests of everybody concern to announce the arbitration board’s decision to rescind the suspension.

MLB also released a statement which said the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program is essential to the league, but any player who tests positive will be given the chance to prove their innocence via the appeals process, which is what Braun did. It went on to say that MLB and the Players’ Association agreed to let a neutral third party make the final decision on the case and while it respects the arbitration process, MLB disagrees with arbitrator Shyam Das’ decision.

The news of Braun’s positive test was broken in December by ESPN. The broadcasting company said that Braun had tested positive during a urine sample which showed his levels of testosterone were elevated. Braun then asked for another test, which he also failed. Some fans are questioning the legitimacy of his MVP season last year when he hit 33 home runs and added 111 RBI. His batting average stood at .332 and he also stole 33 bases. In addition, Braun was named a starter for the All-Star game, but missed it because of an injured leg.

Braun said he was relieved and pleased with the decision and that he’s glad his good reputation and name have been restored. He added that he was innocent of any wrongdoing and truth is on his side. He said he cooperated with the league during its investigation and pointed out that he passed more than 25 other drug tests during his career, including a minimum of thee over the last year. He then thanked the Brewers organization, his family, lawyers, agent, teammates, fans, and friends for standing by him.

Braun said he  provided the urine sample on Oct. 1, but instead of being delivered to the lab the same day like the rules say it should be, it didn’t arrive until two days later. He said there was a 44 hour delay in the arrival of the urine and that could have tainted it, resulting in a failed drug test. He didn’t accuse anybody of tampering with the evidence, but said that the protocol wasn’t followed.

The Brewers would have been in trouble next season if Braun had to serve a 50game suspension since the club lost free-agent slugger Prince Fielder to the Detroit Tigers in the offseason.

Photo via Dinur of Flickr.com

The New York Yankees have found  a new Designated Hitter according to multiple reports that included a Tweet from ESPN’s Buster Olney yesterday.

According to the New York Post a deal was in the making for a few weeks prior to any announcement made by the club. The deal which was just finalized Tuesday includes a one-year, $1.1 million contract along with a possible $2.9 million in performance bonuses by the end of the season.

“We plan on DH-ing him, putting him in the outfield as well,’’ manager Joe Girardi said.

Raul had 84 RBI’s for the Phillies last year, earning him well over 1,050 total RBIs in his 16 season career, which he began as Seattle Mariner in 1992.

Raul tallied 20 home runs for the Phillies in 2011 and finished the season batting .245 and with a .289 OBP.

The Phillies offered Ibanez arbitration this past November, and therefore, the Phillies will receive a supplemental draft pick in June.

As a Phillies fan, I wish Raul the best of luck in New York.

Photo by Matthew Straubmuller of Flickr.

On Monday, February 20th, The Oakland Athletics announced that the team has agreed to sign free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez to a minor league deal.

Ramirez is expected to report to spring training by the end of the week. The deal is worth about $500,000 if he makes the club out of spring training.

However, there is a slight catch to the deal. Ramirez must serve a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy for the second time in the last four years, making him eligible to join the A’s on May 30–his 40th birthday.

Ramirez played in just five games with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 before he was suspended. He announced his retirement shortly after, but has decided to come back to baseball in 2012 with the A’s.

Ramirez’s last decent season came with the Dodgers in 2009, where he posted a .290 batting average, with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs in 104 games. He was traded to the Dodgers at the 2008 trade deadline from the Boston Red Sox.

Ramirez owns 555 career home runs (14th on all-time list), with a career .312 batting average and .411 on-base percentage in 19 big-league seasons. His Hall-of-Fame status is questionable due to the previous drug allegations.

Despite his recent struggles, Ramirez has always been an on-base machine, the type of hitter A’s General Manager Billy Bean has been known for cherishing. Ramirez fits Bean’s “Moneyball” formula, as he has maintained a .400+ OBP in his last three full seasons.

The A’s have not reached the playoffs since 2006, where they were swept by the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 American League Championship Series. The A’s hope to rebuild their offense after signing the Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes, who expressed interest in playing with Ramirez according to ESPN.

Will the signing of these sluggers be enough to compete in the American League West (Albert Pujols to the Angels, etc.)? Will Manny return to form? What effect will Mannywood have on the Coliseum and A’s fans? Are you excited about the deal?