Three of the teams that were widely expected to be favorites for World Series contention (Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees) are at home licking their wounds.
Two teams not even expected to make any progress at all (Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians) surprised just everyone connected with baseball.
Chicago White Sox relying on Adam Dunn, Alex Rios and Jake Peavy for 2012 - MLB News
Chicago White Sox relying on Adam Dunn, Alex Rios and Jake Peavy for 2012 - MLB News
The Chicago White Sox management is relying on their three best players and expecting a bounce-back effort from them in the next Major League Baseball season.
In 2010, Ryan Howard was the recipient of a five-year, $125 million contract extension that will keep the slugger in Philadelphia through the 2016 season.
At the time, the deal seemed unnecessary, as Howard wouldn't be eligible for free agency until after 2011. However, given the fact that other first basemen like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and (at the time) Adrian Gonzalez would also be free agents, it made some sense in that the Phillies didn't want to risk his value being dictated by the market. As such, they bet that they deal they gave him would be considerably less expensive than the deal he would have signed as a free agent.
Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Carlos Quentin went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and Mark Buehrle pitched eight strong innings to power the Chicago White Sox past the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 in the opener of a three-game series.
Brent Morel collected two hits for the White Sox, who snapped their six-game losing streak and beat Minnesota for just the second time in nine games this season.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The anxiety-ridden Chicago White Sox were at least able to make some adjustments to start a three-game series at Minnesota.
Without a walk in the four-game series against the New York Yankees , the first time since 1967 they didn’t have a walk over a four-game stretch, they made changes to their hitting approach.
Adam Dunn seems a certainty to go over 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career.
There are bad free agent signings. And then there is Adam Dunn.
Dunn looked like a sure thing when the Chicago White Sox signed him to a US$56 million (Dh205.7m), four-year deal last winter.
MINNEAPOLIS -- When Paul Konerko takes his swings Friday night, everything will be just fine.
When he does anything else, including walking to and from the plate, he will be in considerable pain.
Konerko was back in the lineup for the second consecutive game after getting hit in his left knee by a pitch Sunday against the Red Sox.
He went on to talk about his strikeouts, and let the record show that he began the night fourth in that category with 118. But neither he, nor Mark Reynolds (121), nor Austin Jackson (120), who replaced him as the Tiger center fielder, has any reason to fear leading in that category, not as long as Adam Dunn (139) is around.
BOSTON (AP) - Reliever Boone Logan struck out Adrian Gonzalez with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning, and the New York Yankees came back to beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 last night to win their eighth straight game and take over the lead in the AL East.
Logan (3-2) was the first of five Yankees relievers who combined to throw 4 1-3 shutout innings after starter Bartolo Colon couldn't make it out of the fifth. Mariano Rivera was the last, pitching the ninth for his 29th save.
It was only a matter of time until the Phillies and Giants’ bad blood finally came to a head. And believe it or not, it had nothing to do with Chase Utley or Jonathan Sanchez.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that Ramon Ramirez’s fastball drilling Shane Victorino in the back during the top of the sixth inning was intentional.
Look, I know this time of year can be frustrating. The Toronto Blue Jays currently sit twelve games back in the AL East, it’s not even August yet, and in many ways they’re already playing out the stretch, because for the 18th year in a row, the team isn’t going to be making the playoffs.
might be called up from Triple-A Albuquerque due to the overall offensive struggles of the team, reports Bill Shaikin, of the Los Angeles Times.
Chicago Cubs1BCarlos Pena(thumb) is ewearing a molded cast-like guard to protect his injured right thumb, reports Gordon Wittenmyer, of the Chicago Sun-Times. "These guys are geniuses, man," Pena said of the training staff. "Hopefully, that thing is going to really help me and protect it. It's not 100 percent, but it's so much better. I'm happy."
Is youngish Boston General Manager Theo Epstein a certified "Boy Wonder" for acquiring all-stars Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez this past MLB offseason?
Hah, don't make Baltimore skipper Buck Showalter laugh. A spoiled rich kid is more like it.
This past weekend, fans rejoiced as baseball made its long-anticipated return. After a long and tumultuous offseason, America's national pastime is back full force with new and improved teams that should make 2011 a great year for the sport.
Only three games have been played, and although it's still very early, certain teams have made strong statements from the get go. At the same time, other teams have shown that maybe they aren't as talented nor as deep as they seem on paper. Either way, Opening Weekend was a lot of fun to watch.
The White Sox might have the only rotation that could compare to the vaunted Phillies -- Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy and Edwin Jackson. Peavy tore a tendon in his right arm last July and may be questionable to start the season. The bullpen will not have Bobby Jenks for Ozzie Guillen to kick around anymore. Instead, the No. 1 pick from last June, left-handed pitcher Chris Sale, may just come in and close games. The club has also added Jesse Crain from the Twins.
The Houston Astros about halfway through last season decided to enter rebuilding mode by trading both Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt.
However, there is one more expensive piece currently on the team that could offer some quality pieces in return to help the rebuilding process, and that is Carlos Lee.
Owings back with D-Backs seeking success on mound, at plate
Teams called Micah Owings this off-season to see if he wanted to compete for a job as a starting pitcher. Other clubs viewed him as a relief candidate and a potential bat off the bench.
There was even one team, he said, that asked if he would consider converting full-time to being a position player.
Here we sit, January 25, 2011. It doesn't seem so long ago that the Twins lost in three games to the Yankees. The memory is engrained in our minds. But at the same time, it seems like so long ago that we have watched a live Twins game. October! That means we have gone through November and December, and most of January without any baseball games to watch. If you're like me, you're ready. I'm ready! There are several Twins contingents around the Upper Midwest on the Winter Caravan. Twins Fest is this weekend in Blaine. And most important, we are just three weeks away from Pitchers and Catchers reporting.
With football season coming to a close, many sports fans now turn their attention to the sunny beacon of hope that is spring training.
Even at this early stage of the season, it is always fun to pick who will win the major awards and which teams will be playing in October, but the following goes one further, not only picking those things, but also making some more player-specific predictions for all 30 teams.
Third base is the biggest question mark in the White Sox lineup this season. The two main contenders for the job are the young hopeful Brent Morel, who came up at the end of last season with a competent glove and a potentially potent bat, and the lithe, ageless Methuselah, future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel. And of course, Mark Teahen is still around and the Sox have to pay him $4.75 million this year , so they might as well try and find something for him to do.
