The Pendleton Panther

Three years ago the Tampa Bay Rays were the worst team in baseball, no one showed up to watch the games, and hardly any fans stayed loyal to them.  This all has changed in the last three seasons in 2007, the Rays only had about 17,000 people that showed up for the games, and usually only that many people when the Yankees or Redsox were in town. Luckily that was the year the club made it to the World Series.  The attendance has sky rocketed since then , the average attendance currently is roughly 23,000 people.  The Rays “break out year” has really turned around that franchise into something great.  In the 2010 season, the Rays are not only first in the AL East but their leading the entire Major Leagues with the best record.  With their current success the Rays hopefully can snag a championship before some of their veteran players such as Carl Crawford contracts are up.  Well we should all enjoy this season and hope it continues for a long time, this brings light to Tampa and also its surrounding area.

The Rays designated Pat Burrell for assignment.

The Tampa Bay Rays have designated Pat Burrell for assignment. That means that the Rays have 10 days to decide whether to place Burrell on waivers, release, or trade him. He is no longer on the 40-man roster. Burrell hit just .202 this season, playing mostly as the designated hitter against right-handed pitchers. He only had 2 home runs and 13 RBI’s. He struck out 28 times in 84 at- bats. Burrell was signed by the Rays before last season to a two-year, $16 million deal. The Rays will be responsible to pay Burrell the remaining $9 million of his contract. Burrell had previously played for the Phillies and helped them win a World Series in 2008. To replace Burrell, the Rays called up Hank Blalock from Triple-A Durham. Blalock had an out clause in his contract that he could exercise if he wasn’t called up in the next week. Blalock was hitting extremely well in Triple-A and the Rays hope that he can provide them with some offense.

Jamie Moyer, now 47 years old is still successful in the Major Leagues. After beating the Mets at home in a complete game shutout, which he is the oldest pitcher to ever complete that task, he was looking ahead to the game against the Brewers. He came out looking just as sharp, against a god Brewers lineup. He only had one bad inning, which he gave up three solo home runs. However for the rest of the game, he was able to get a ton of outs and was able to limit the hits. He allowed 5 runs, only 4 of them earned in 6 and 1/3 innings. He completely confuses people at the plate and he has a way of “staying off the barrel” as Chipper Jones was quoted saying. He provides a lot of inspiration for many of his teammates, especially Shane Victorino, as he still just keeps going. It is truly amazing how effective he is, even while his fastball is at least 10 m.p.h slower than the average Major League fastball. But he truly hits his spots and keeps the ball down, which is his key to success.

The ruling for “stealing other teams signs” is completely legal in Major League Baseball although it is frowned upon, but you must use the naked eye to do so.  You are not allowed to use binoculars or video cameras in anyway to steal signs.  Earlier this week, a man named Mick Billmeyer was caught in the Bullpin using binoculars to “steal signs” at Coors field in Colorado.  Charlie Manuel stated repeatedly that they were not cheaters, they would not waste their time stealing signs to win.  The coach stated that he was just watching the Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, and his set up to the plate.  But someone said they caught him still peaking through the binoculars even when the Rockies were hitting which completely contradicts what Manuel stated.  It seems hard to believe that such an amazing team would steal signs the cheat, that is why I do not believe it.  I just think that the coach was look at  Ruiz but he was caught looking at the wrong time, its hard to not believe that their not cheating but well they are innocent until proven guilty.

Starlin Castro had a record-breaking debut.

Starlin Castro, the prized short stop prospect for the Chicago Cubs, had 6 RBI’s in his MLB debut on Friday night. In his first at bat against the Reds’ Homer Bailey, Castro took a 2-2 hanging curveball and drove a deep fly to right field for a home run. It travelled 362 feet and was good for three RBI’s. He then lined out to center in his second at bat, once again hitting the ball hard. In his third at bat of the night, he laced a triple to left center field, scoring Soto, Fukudome, and Lee. He then fouled out to 1st and grounded out back to the mound in his final two at-bats. However, his six RBI’s were the most ever in a MLB debut. The 20-year old Castro is also the youngest short stop in Cubs’ history and the 6th Cubs’ player to homer in his first at-bat. This terrific performance has to leave the Cubs wondering how good this young phenom could potentially be.

The Boston Redsox started out their season against the New York Yankees.  In a close game, the Redsox came out on top starting their season 1-0.  But this early win was one of their only good games played in the first couple weeks of the season.  The Redsox then fell behind all of the American League East teams except the Orioles, who are currently 14 games behind the Yankees.  But things are starting to turn around for the Sox.  They have won three games in a row and have started to gain some momentum.  Following John Lackey’s gem against his former team, the Redsox have to opportunity to sweep the season against the Angles, and go for four wins in a row.  Dice K will be on the bump for tonight, and his gyro-ball should shut the door on the series.They will need some more momentum for the Yankees are coming to town once this series is over, and it will be a great opportunity to gain back some games on the Yankees.

The Tampa Bay Rays have signed second baseman Ben Zobrist to a three-year extension. The financial details of the extension won’t be announced until Monday, but the deal will probably give Zobrist a significant raise over his current salary of $400,000. Included in the deal are club options for the 2014 and 2015 season. Before last season, Zobrist was considered a utility player who could basically play every position besides catcher and pitcher. However, that all changed last year. Last season for the Rays, Zobrist really caught fire. He hit .297 with 27 home runs and 91 rbi’s. He also stole 17 bases and had a .405 on base percentage. He was also named the team’s most valuable player and was voted into the MLB All Star Game for the first time in his career. The Rays are hoping last season wasn’t a fluke and Zobrist can continue to put up big numbers. He will have to if the Rays have any chance of contending in a division that includes the Yankees and Red Sox.

As I watched the Cardinals play the Mets, I just thought it was a normal tight scoring game but little did I know that it would take 6.5 hours!   The Cardinals controlled the majority of the game.  The birds had the bases loaded on several different occasions. But the Mets would not give up and fought it out, with amazing plays, timely pitching, and stellar composure.  No one realized this game would be so excited after each club went through several pitchers, both clubs ran out.  Soon enough after the 14th inning they had to start position players to pitch! Generally you do no see that unless one team is down by a lot and they let a position player throw an inning or two.  Innings later, the Mets get on the board with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 20th!  The Cardinals did not give up,

Albert Pujols (avoided mostly during extra innings) was finally pitched to and he delivered with a double to left-center field.  Then he advanced to third base with a ground ball to the right side.  The next hitter Yadier Molina hits a line drive single to tie the game in the bottom of the 20th!  The Rockies did not back down, they strung together a couple of hits mixed with a sacrifice fly gives them the game winning run! Rockies win in 20!

Friday night was an exciting night for baseball fans! Ubaldo Jimenez was not very known to non baseball fans compared to highly represented players such as Derek Jeter and A-Rob, but this young man threw a no hitter last night for the first time in the Rockies organization history!   The Atlanta Braves have never faced Jimenez before Friday, therefore they did not know his tendencies from a hitters standpoint.  The young pitcher was throwing over 96 and touched 100mph, the fastball clearly through off the Braves.  Through seven innings he had 8 walks which is quite a bit, considering he through a no hitter.  He said ” in the 8th inning, i was very nervous and I just battled through it”.  This no hitter was very rare because the season has just begun.  His no hitter was a battle for the most exciting game on Friday, another game might just trump all!

The 2010 Boston Red Sox were looking to have a great start heading into the season. With addition of Mike Cameron in center field, moving Jacoby Elsbury to left field to save his legs for stealing bases, and the addition of Adrian Beltre at third base, the Red Sox looked stronger than ever.  Unfortunately however, they are at a dismal 4-8 record to start off the season. The bats are virtually

Boston Red Sox

silent so when the pitching staff has a good day, which hasn’t happened to often, they aren’t scoring any runs.  They have also been extremely noticeably week at the catching position defensively. Other players are stealing bases at will because the catchers are both slow and inaccurate to second base, and the Red Sox pitching coach does not believe in the “Slide step,” designed to help hold the runners on. If the Red Sox don’t get their act together they are going to fall too far behind the league leaders in Tampa Bay and New York.

The Brewers scored 10 runs in the first inning on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, the Milwaukee Brewers scored 10 runs in the first inning against the Washington Nationals. Jason Marquis started for the Nationals and didn’t record an out. Rickie Weeks and Craig Counsell singled to start the game. Ryan Braun then drove in Weeks on a single of his own, with Counsell advancing to second. Prince Fielder was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Casey McGehee walked, scoring Counsell. Jim Edmonds was then hit by a pitch, scoring Braun. Greg Zaun singled, scoring Fielder. Marquis was then replaced by Miguel Batista. Carlos Gomez hit an infield single, scoring McGehee. Pitcher Doug Davis hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Edmonds. Weeks then came up for the second time in the inning and walked, once again loading the bases. Craig Counsell then came up and hit a grad slam to make it 10-0 Brewers. Prince Fielder then struck out for the second out of the inning. Casey McGehee then grounded out to second to end the inning. This is the fifth time in franchise history that the Brewers have scored 10 runs in one inning, and the first time that it has happened in the first inning.

Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no-hitter in Rockies' history last night.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no-hitter in the Rockies’ 18-year history on Saturday night. Despite walking 6 Braves batters and throwing 128 pitches, Jimenez was able to make it through nine innings without giving up a single hit. Jimenez is used to a heavy workload. He threw atleast 100 pitches in 29 of his 33 starts last season. After giving up up a walk to lead of the bottom of the sixth inning, Jimenez began working exclusively out of the stretch after talking to his pitching coach. Jimenez was also helped out by great defense. Center fielder Dexter Fowler made an unbelieveable catch in the 7th inning, sprinting towards the gap in left center to make a diving catch on a line drive hit by Troy Glaus. This is the first perfect game of the 2010 season and the last since Mark Buehrle threw one on July 23, 2009 against the the Tampa Bay Rays.

Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer has signed a lengthy and luxurious deal. The reigning American league MVP has agreed to an eight-year, $184 million contract extension. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and covers the 2011-2018 seasons, during which he will receive $23 million a year. Mauer has won 3 AL batting titles to go along with his MVP last season. Mauer is also one of the game’s best defensive catchers. He has won two AL Gold Gloves. This contract is also the richest ever for any catcher in the history of baseball. Mauer is now the second-highest player in baseball, second to Alex Rodriguez. Mauer was originally picked first overall by the Twins in the 2001 MLB Draft. He was a USA Today High School Player of the Year in both football and baseball. He turned down a football scholarship to Florida State to enter the MLB Draft. He was also All-State in basketball his final two years in high school. Talk about a well-rounded athlete.

Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan will miss the entire 2010 season with an elbow injury. Nathan made the decision after playing catch with pitching coach Rick Anderson for about 10 minutes on Sunday. Nathan initially hurt his arm on March 6 during an outing against the Boston Red Sox. Nathan will hopefully have Tommy John Surgery within the next two weeks to replace his injured Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his right elbow. With advances in surgery techniques, the probability of returning to original form are nearly 100 %. However, there is always that slight chance that Nathan might never regain his original form. For instance, fellow Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano would consistently hit the mid to high 90’s with his fastball before having Tommy John in 2006. After the surgery, his fastball fell to the high 80’s to low 90’s and his off-speed pitches didn’t break as much. Hopefully for Nathan and the Twins, the surgery will go well and he will be back for the 2011 season. The 37-year old Nathan had a career-best 47 saves last season.

Spring training is a very good time for ball players to get loose and ready for the actual season.   Spring training also gives them the opportunity to bring up young prospects and see what they can do.  Many of the times prospects are brought up for spring training but sent back down to triple or even double A pending on where you are.  Usually they say your not ready because spring training no one is 100% healthy, so if your not hitting against 100% healthy pitchers what makes them believe they hit pitchers that are ready to go when they cannot hit from an 85% pitcher in spring training.  A recently traded man, named Roy Holliday who used to play for the Blue Jays and now plays for the Phillies. Roy faces one of the top pitchers in the league (C.C Sebathia).  This will be a great match up and potentially a great match up between leagues.

Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum decided to stop throwing from the windup and switch the stretch position hoping that it would improve his control. Sadly enough, it didn’t work.  Lincecum, a stellar and young pitcher, who is also a two-time Cy-Young winner, lasted only one inning in his spring training debut.  ‘I had been struggling out of the windup,” he said.  He told his pitching coach that he was going to throw from the stretch so that he could have a little more control, and throw more strikes than he was.  Lincecum was supposed to throw two innings in the game vs. the Mariners.  Instead, he gave up three runs on two hits while throwing twenty-nine pitches.  Lincecum said he was a little more ”amped up” than usual.  The San Francisco Giants still went on the beat the Seattle Mariners eight to seven on Wednesday even though Lincecum did not have his best stuff.

Jason Hayward plays for the Atlanta Braves, he was selected in the Amateur draft in 2007, Hayward as made great improvements since then.  He is 6’4″, 230 lbs, the man child was only 17 years old when he played his first professional game.  Hayward hit .303 as a teenager, and continued to do better.   Hayward made his way through the minor league system in three years and is making his Major League Debut in spring training.  Hayward is a very cocky man, thats what manager Bobby Cox stated in his interview, “he wouldn’t be nearly as well developed if he hadn’t been so cocky”.  Hayward, is looking to help the Braves win their first NL East in four years after winning 14 consecutive. Hayward, won the award “Minor League Player of the Year” last year.  Today Hayward plays in about one hour and hopefully does well to stay on the major league roster.  Hayward is ranked fourth in the minor leagues for prospects, hopefully he will do some damage behind Chipper Jones.

Manzella with his father

Houston Astros’ shortstop Tommy Manzella is finally being given his chance. The 26-year old is slated to begin the season as the Astros’ starting shortstop. Manzella played college ball at Tulane before being drafted by the Astros in 2005. However, he has faced a ton of adversity in his life. While in the minor leagues, his home was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. He and his dad had to go back to their house just to salvage some of his uniforms from high school and college. The hurricane caused an oil spill near their house, which forced them to move out. Manzella’s mom also died of cancer a year and a half ago. While these tragic events have created setbacks for Manzella, they haven’t stopped him. The Astros are counting on him to be their everyday shortstop, and so far, Manzella has been successful. Astros manager Brad Mills has said that Manzella “has done everything right so far.”

Vizquel with the Giants

Recently-aquired White Sox shortstop Omar Vizquel is allowed to wear #11. The number was un-retired by the White Sox today because his previous number, #13, is the number of manager Ozzie Guillen. #11 had been retired for the only Venezuelan in the baseball Hall of Fame, Luis Aparicio. Like Vizquel, Aparicio was a shortstop. He played from 1956-1973 with the White Sox, Orioles, and Red Sox. He had 2,677 career hits. Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Gloveer, feels honored to wear the number of his fellow countryman. “For me, it’s like a huge celebration, trying to keep his name alive and trying to spread the word of Venezuelan shortstops,” Vizquel said Monday. Aparicio also feels glad that Vizquel is the one to wear his number for the White Sox. “If there is one player who I would like to see wear my uniform number with the White Sox, it is Omar Vizquel,” Aparicio said. This is the second time that the White Sox have unretired a number. Harold Baines’s #3 was unretired after he rejoined the team in 1996 and 2003 for his third and final tenture with the team.

Self described as having the least marketable skill in America, Gar Ryness is “The Batting Stance Guy”.  Gar Ryness is able to perfectly imitate–and parody–nearly any major league baseball player from Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds.  Every nuance of the big leaguer’s set up is captured by the 36 year old adept.  Gar Ryness even registered the domain name “thebattingstanceguy.com” to entertain the masses.  Ryness’s talent has earned him an interview with David Letterman and several engagements entertaining professional ball clubs.  Gar now tours the country stopping to get laughs out of major league teams.  It’s not just the stances that he has nailed; routines, superstitions, the Batting Stance Guy has it all to a tee.   You may wonder how such a simple act of imitation could be so amusing, but the appeal is more than apparent once you see one of his videos.

Not only is Kevin Youkilis a two time World Series champion, an American League gold glove first basemen and Red Sox MVP, he is also a “great person.” He recently started the foundation “Hits for Kids.” In this organization he gives back to kids who endure difficult challenges such as, medical or emotional distress. For example, kids who go through the day

Kevin Youkilis

without support from a nurturing or loving family, and also kids who live within a community that lacks the resources for them to grow and learn. His goal is to raise awareness and funds for people who are dealing with these types of challenges. Kevin’s latest charitable undertaking is to equip all the community baseball fields and to increase the safety in Boston so that the kids can enjoy the game they love.

It is great to see that the most talented individuals in baseball are also spending a great amount of time helping those who have not been as fortune as they have and also living up to the fact that kids look up to them as their heroes.

Orlando Cabrera was traded to the Twins during the 2009 season.

The Cincinnati Reds have signed veteran shortstop Orlando Cabrera to a one-year contract worth $3 million. The deal also includes a $3 million option and a $1 million buyout for the 2011 season. Cabrera, a 12-year veteran,  is a career .275 hitter who has played for the Expos, Red Sox, Angels, White Sox, Athletics, Twins, and now the Reds. For the Twins last year, he led all MLB shortstops in errors with 25. However, he did have a good offensive season, hitting .284 and leading all American League shortstops in RBIs with 77. He also had 186 hits, good for fourth among all MLB shortstops. He won a World Series championship in 2004 for the Red Sox after being traded from the Expos. Cabrera is known as a line-drive hitter who can stretch singles into doubles and doubles into triples with his outstanding hustle. Cabrera also is known as a team-leader who creates a good team-atmoshere for whoever he plays for. He has 1818 career hits.

According to Fanhouse there is an upcoming prospect in the Rays organization that might be “The next Derek Jeter”. His name is Desmond Jennings, he is 6’2 with 180 pounds of muscle.  He has the potential to be a great baseball player with his innate awareness and skill.  Last year, for the triple A affiliate of the Rays, the “Durham Bulls”,  he hit .318 with eleven home runs and 68 RBIs as a center fielder. These stats are very similar to those of Derek Jeter.  According to multiple sources, Jennings has the five tools that scouts look for.  His ability to hit to the opposite field is outstanding and another trait that resembles Derek Jeter.  Every year, Desmond improves his instincts at the plate.  His ability to absorb information at the plate is very uncommon for some one as young as him. This year, Jennings will most likely make his debut in the Big Leagues, pending on how well he does will decide if he will stay at the highest level.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has asked for a record $13 million in salary arbitration on Tuesday. The Giants offered him $8 million. Lincecum is a two-time Cy Young Award winner and is only 25 years old. He won the prestigious award in his first two full-seasons in the league. He has a career record of 33-12 while posting a 2.55 ERA. He lead MLB in strikeouts during both seasons.

On Saturday, the Chicago White Sox announced that they had signed closer Bobby Jenks and left fielder Carlos Quentin to 1-year contracts. Jenks’s contract is worth $7.5 million while Quentin’s is worth $3.2 million. Jenks had 29 saves last season and is known for his high-velocity fastball. He has 146 career saves. Quentin is a power-hitting outfielder who hit 21 home runs last season despite missing a lot of games due to injury. Quentin’s best season was in 2008, when he hit .288 with 36 home runs and 100 rbi’s.

The Boston Red Sox have found another shortstop. On Friday, they signed veteran Marco Scutaro to a 2-year deal, with an option for a third, worth $12.5 million. The deal gives the Red Sox a starting shortstop in Scutaro, and if Jed Lowrie is able to regain his game after wrist surgery, they can use Scutaro as a utility infielder. However, because the deal is for only two years, the Red Sox are paving the way for Cuban phenom Jose Iglesias to inherit the position in 2012. Assuming Scutaro is the starter, he will become the seventh player since 2003 to be the team’s opening day shortstop. If the Red Sox have one weakness as a team, it is the offensive production of their shortstop. Scutaro is just a career .265 hitter and doesn’t figure to put up big power numbers. If he can play solid defense and provide a little production in the lower half of the order, the Red Sox will be happy.

Placido Polanco has signed a three-year, $18 million deal with the Philadelphia Philles. The contract includes a mutual option for the fourth year and bonuses for accolades such as all-star, mvp, etc. Polanco returns to Philadelphia, having played for the club from 2002-2005. Philadelphia had needed a third-baseman since declining Pedro Feliz’s option last month. Polanco will have to make the switch to third base, a position he played in the past, due to the presence of all-star Chase Utley. Polanco said he is comfortable playing third and will do anything to help the Phillies win a championship. Polanco, a 10-year veteran, is a career .303 hitter and has won 2 Gold Glove awards. The Phillies envision Polanco, a contact hitter, hitting second in the batting order, between Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.

The Boston Red Sox suddenly changes Dustin Pedroia into playing shortstop.  According to the Redsox, there was an open hole in the shortstop position.  So Pedroia was the one that will fit for the job.  Back in college, he played shortstop in his career at Arizona State College.  Also, he played shortstop for the Redsox in the minors.  In their minds, they looked at three different players to fill in the second base position, Adam Kennedy, Orlando Hudson and Placido Polanco.  I do not really know what will happen with the new middle infield arrangement.  Maybe this could help the Redsox next year in baseball.  The only way how we can tell is when they play the game, and every play is successfully executed.

St. Louis Cardinals’ slugging first baseman Albert Pujols has won the 2009 National League MVP Award. Pujols, who won the award unanimously, led the National League in home runs, runs, and slugging percentage. He hit .327, good for third in the NL, with 47 home runs, 135 rbi’s, 124 runs, and a .658 slugging percentage. Pujols also stole 17 bases, a very high figure for a first baseman. Pujols has hit at least 30 home runs in every season in his career and has 5 seasons of 40+ home runs. This is Pujols’s second straight MVP and third overall. In my opinion, Pujols is the best player in baseball due to his ability to hit for so much power and maintain a very high batting average. He is also a very good defensive player, having won a gold-glove in 2006 and finishing second this year. Pujols is also one of the game’s best base runners despite not having blazing speed. I believe if Pujols stays healthy, he will eventually be considered as one of the greatest players in the history of baseball.