A Cuban pitcher defected in the Netherlands:
A top Cuban pitching prospect with a 100 mph fastball has defected from the national team while playing in a tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
ESPN The Magazine reports that several unidentified sources confirmed that Aroldis Chapman walked out of his hotel room and did not return.
He’s reported to be 21, which means the major league team to sign him will get a full career out of the player.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:31 pm | International, Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
July 2, 2009
Soriano Sits Again
Sam Fuld leads off for the Cubs for the second straight day as Alfonso Soriano sits on the bench. Fuld is 1 for 1 with a walk tonight and a run scored. Fuld is old for a rookie at 27, but at least he’s making it tough for Piniella to move him out of the lineup. Maybe this benching will get Soriano going again.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:48 pm | Management, Players | Permalink | No Comments
July 2, 2009
Makeup Date
Nationals Journal prints the details of the resumption of the suspended game between Houston and Washington.
Posted by David Pinto at 7:40 pm | Games | Permalink | No Comments
July 2, 2009
Rechecking Attendance Numbers
Beyond the Boxscore debunks the interleague attendance boost:
Again, if they had the same distribution of days of week, I come up with an expected attendance of 31719 per game; this puts the two groups almost exactly even [Interleague +0.4%].
I’m going to restate that- if the interleague games weren’t lumped onto Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there would be practically no difference in attendance [about 1000 total extra tickets per team per year, maybe 100 per game].
It’s the scheduling, not the games.
Posted by David Pinto at 6:18 pm | Attendance, Games | Permalink | No Comments
July 2, 2009
Insect Alert
Insects swarming in leftfield at San Diego are delaying the ninth inning of the Astros/Padres game. The Astros lead 6-1 with a man on first and two out in the top of the ninth. The Padres leftfielder, Kyle Blanks, came in as they appear to be bees. The people in the stands don’t appear to be bothered by them.
Update: They’re showing a picture of a Padres jacket hanging on a chair, covered with bees. The announcers are saying they are killer bees.
Update: Of course, I’m reminded of this:
Update: They cleared the fans out of the stands near the bees.
Update: I feel like I’m in a B-movie!
Update: The Padres should have Sting sing the National Anthem at their next home game.
Update: It looks like they are planning to put a big plastic trash bag over the chair with the jacket. The scoreboard, at 6:40 EDT, is saying the game will resume in 15 to 30 minutes.
Update: There’s a guest in the Astros booth from the Padres, Tom Garfinkel, president and COO, who says there are 2000 bees in the jacket attached to the queen. The grounds keeper has a bee keeper on speed dial, and the bee keeper is on his way to the park to handle the situation.
Update: The jacket belongs to one of the ball girls.
Update: The bee keeper is in his radiation suit and is spraying the inside of the jacket with something. There’s now a pile of bees on the ground. I don’t know if they are dead, or if the spray can was set for stun. I suspect PETA won’t be happy.
Update: They threw the jacket and pile of bees in a trash bag and carted it off.
Update: The game is underway again at 7:02 EDT.
Update: Berkman doubles into the bee corner and the Astros lead 7-1.
Posted by David Pinto at 6:14 pm | Games | Permalink | 1 Comment
July 2, 2009
Upsetting the Royals
On June 24th, Rany Jazayerli called for the firing of long time Royals trainer Nick Swartz:
But what if I told you that there is, in fact, one person who has been with the Royals for the last 15 years? What if I told you that he occupied a position of considerable importance; that by all appearances he was as bad at his job as anyone in the organization; and that, despite this, he enjoys unparalleled job security? Wouldn’t that trouble you a little?
It certainly troubles me. It especially troubles me that, even though this person is having probably their worst year ever in 2009, no one – not the team, not the media, not even the fans – seems to be pointing fingers in his direction.
So let me be the one to crash the party here and say what needs to be said: Nick Swartz needs to be fired. Immediately.
For this, the Royals will not allow Rany any access:
As those of you who follow me on twitter (@jazayerli) know, the Royals are PISSED OFF at me right now. Let’s just say you won’t hear anyone from the front office on my radio show anytime soon.
I confess to being surprised that after years of being critical of the Royals when criticism was warranted – which, as their win-loss record shows, is most of the time – my last post should have set them off like that. I must have overlooked the rules of decorum that go with evaluating the record of Supreme Court Justice Nick Swartz. Criticize a player, liken the manager’s intelligence with that of a farm animal, call for the GM’s head: these are all acceptable things. But suggest that the trainer might need to be upgraded after 19 years – well, that’s beyond the pale.
The Royals should really be aware that it’s not good to alienate one of your supporters, especially one with a significant voice on the web. The Royals may have a bad team, but they have very good sports writers following them, and I think they’re more likely to pick up on the story now.
Posted by David Pinto at 6:11 pm | Blogs, Injuries, Management | Permalink | No Comments
July 2, 2009
Mets Take the Lead
With two out in the top of the tenth, Matt Capps hits Fernando Tatis. Tatis steals second, and Church singles him in. Can the Mets hold a 9-8 lead?
Update: K-Rod retires the side in order in the tenth. He blows the save but gets the win as the Mets return to .500.
Posted by David Pinto at 5:28 pm | Games | Permalink | No Comments
July 2, 2009
Diary of a One-Hitter
Ryan Tatusko came close to a no-hitter on Wednesday, July 1. Here’s his account of the game. It’s a great read.