MLB News
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at Root.ctrl_discussion_link.Control_Init(Object sender, EventArgs e)
July 29
Houston Chronicle
"
Astros righthander Roy Oswalt has agreed to waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies, his agent, Bob Garber, confirmed Thursday. "I'm gone," Oswalt said. "It's pretty tough packing up my locker. It's tough to leave Houston, but I'm going to a good situation. Philly has a good situation, but now I have to hurry up and pack my locker up." The deal is pending Oswalt passing a physical. To make the deal happen, Garber said Oswalt dropped his demand for the Phillies to pick up his $16 million option for 2012. The Astros are expected to receive lefthander J.A. Happ and two prospects from the Phillies. Happ was runner-up for last year's National League Rookie of"
"
After protracted negotiations and plenty of swirling rumors, the Orioles named Buck Showalter the club's manager, two sources confirmed Thursday. He'll replace interim Juan Samuel, the club's third base coach who compiled a 16-31 record after taking over for Dave Trembley on June 4. The hiring was first reported by ESPN. He'll take over Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels for the start of a seven-game home stand. His deal is for three years starting in 2011, and the coaching staff is expected to remain with the team through at least the end of the season. Showalter, 54, will lead his fourth team in what will be his 12th season as a big league manager. He becomes the Orioles' 10th"
July 29
Los Angeles Times
"
Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee used his rights as a player with 10 years' big league experience and five years with the same team to reject a trade to the Angels last week. "It was very tempting," Lee told reporters in Houston after the Cubs' 8-1 loss to the Astros on Wednesday. "I didn't just say no right away. A lot of thought goes into it." According to a major league source, Lee vetoed the trade seven to 10 days ago. The Angels then turned their sights to Kansas City, acquiring Royals third baseman Alberto Callespo for two minor league pitchers on July 22. Lee, 34, called the process "agonizing" and said he spoke to several friends on the Angels before making the decision."
"
The Nationals placed 22-year-old phenom Stephen Strasburg on the disabled list with an inflamed right right shoulder before Thursday's game, eliminating any chance he will pitch Sunday and placing his remarkable rookie season on pause. "They're talking every precaution with me," Strasburg said. "It's feeling great already. I'm making big strides. I'm just going to keep getting better, keep getting stronger, and when the time comes I'm going to be ready to go." Since Strasburg has not pitched since July 21, he could return to the rotation as soon as Aug. 6. That seems unlikely given the necessary caution the Nationals are taking. Strasburg, though, will travel with the Nationals and"
"
A's right-hander Ben Sheets was diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow that will require surgery and sideline him the rest of the season, manager Bob Geren said before Wednesday's game against the Texas Rangers. The veteran pitcher feared such a diagnosis when he was placed on the disabled list Saturday and revealed that his elbow has bothered him all season. This is a reoccurrence of the injury that sidelined Sheets for all of the 2009 season. He underwent surgery for a torn flexor tendon in February 2009, and the A's signed him to a one-year, $10 million contract this past January in the hopes he was recovered and would return to his All-Star form. Sheets, 32, went 4-9 with a"
July 29
Los Angeles Times
"
All those questions about the Dodgers' pitching this season gave way Wednesday to their sudden need for another bat. The Dodgers announced prior to Wednesday's game in San Diego they had acquired outfielder Scott Podsednik from the Kansas City Royals for a pair of minor leaguers, catcher Lucas May and pitcher Elisaul Pimentel. Podsednik, 34, was batting .309 for the Royals, with five home runs and 44 RBI. He also has 30 stolen bases in 42 attempts. The Dodgers expect him to join the team Thursday. He is owed about $600,000 the rest of the season. There is a club option next year at $2 million, with a $100,000 buyout."
July 29
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"
Second baseman Ian Kinsler will be placed on the 15-day disabled list today with an injury to his left leg that isn't considered serious but needs to be rested and treated for the stretch run and possible run into the postseason, a major-league source said. Mitch Moreland, who has been playing first base at Triple A Oklahoma City, will have his contract purchased and be in Arlington tonight for the series finale against second-place Oakland. He will need to be added to the 40-man roster, which the Rangers can accomplish by moving Mark Lowe to the 60-man disabled list. Lowe, the former UT-Arlington star, was acquired in the Cliff Lee deal despite being out with a back injury. Kinsler did"
July 29
Los Angeles Times
"
Those eight American League West championship flags flying above the outfield wall in Angel Stadium could have some company soon, only the next one raised might be white. Three days after acquiring pitcher Dan Haren for an expected playoff push and three days before the nonwaiver trade deadline, the Angels might have gone from buyers to sellers on a potentially landscape-altering Wednesday afternoon. Joel Pineiro, who won seven of his previous eight decisions, was scratched from Wednesday's start because of a left rib-cage strain, an injury the right-hander suffered while warming up in the bullpen. During a 7-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, the team announced that Pineiro would be out six to"
"
Jhonny Peralta became the Tigers' choice Wednesday to put some punch into a batting order gashed by last week's trio of injuries. Peralta, 28, was traded to the Tigers by the Indians in a straight-up deal for minor league pitcher Giovanni Soto. Peralta's value to the Tigers is two-fold: He can play third base, and he can hit for power, as evidenced by past seasons with the Indians when he hit 24, 23, and 21 home runs. He was batting .246 for the Indians this season, with seven home runs, 23 doubles and 43 RBIs in 91 games. The Tigers have lost eight of 10 since the All-Star break and their offense took a dramatic nosedive recently when regular third baseman Brandon Inge broke his hand,"
"
Jason Bay looked to take another step closer to the disabled list when Jerry Manuel said the left fielder hadn't gotten much better from the mild concussion he was diagnosed with Monday. "He's a little better," the Mets manager said. "But nothing significant at this time." That could be bad news for Bay, who crashed into a wall trying to make a catch in Los Angeles but didn't begin to feel symptoms until the flight home on Sunday. The Mets will wait another day or two to see if they subside, then he could be sidelined for longer. "If there's no progress at that time, we'll make a decision to put him on the DL," Manuel said before the game against the Cardinals."
July 29
Philadelphia Inquirer
"
Perhaps no player on the Phillies has a more difficult time sitting idle than Shane Victorino, but the hyperactive centerfielder has no other choice for the near future after he was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday. "I hope I can keep my sanity," Victorino said with a smile before the Phils played Arizona at Citizens Bank Park. Victorino had an MRI exam on Tuesday and was diagnosed with a left abdominal strain. He was hurt Tuesday diving into a base, then aggravated the injury chasing down a fly ball. Victorino left the game in the seventh inning. "I felt it earlier, but when I accelerated to catch the ball, that's when I felt it again," he said. "I figured I'd better do"
"
Former Texas Rangers and current New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez filed an objection to the Rangers' bankruptcy plan Wednesday over concerns about whether he would receive the $24.9 million he's owed in deferred compensation. Rodriguez's attorney, Joe Wielebinski of Dallas, said in the filing that his client is objecting "out of an abundance of caution due to the potential uncertainties in the plan." The Rangers went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late May. Rodriguez isn't the only player listed as a creditor. Current Rangers third baseman Michael Young is owed nearly $4 million. Other former players among the list of creditors include Kevin Millwood ($12.9 million); Vicente"
July 29
Newark Star-Ledger
"
A fan in the left field bleachers at Progressive Field thought it was a good idea to wear a brand new LeBron James Miami Heat jersey. Too soon, dude. Hundreds of fans sitting near the poor sap jeered him out of his seat in the left field bleachers, causing quite the stir during the sixth inning of the Yankees-Indians game on Wednesday night. Eventually, the man took his talents outside of the stadium gates in left field, all at the behest of stadium security. But before he made it out, the mob of Clevelanders, with everything but torches and pitchforks, followed him all the way to the exit. They shouted obscenities and threw debris at the man and his sparkling new James jersey."
July 29
San Jose Mercury News
"
Wilson fined; it's shoes ... got to be the shoes Brian Wilson's 30th save cost him $1,000. That's what the Giants closer was fined Wednesday by Major League Baseball for wearing orange shoes --- the ones he sported in the All-Star game — in Tuesday night's game. Florida manager Edwin Rodriguez had complained about Wilson's shoes to the umpiring crew before the start of the ninth inning Tuesday, calling them "a little too bright, too flashy." But crew chief Tom Hallion allowed Wilson to pitch in them, and that appeared to be the end of it. Until Wednesday. Although there is no official rule, Major League Baseball prefers that a player's cleats be at least 50 percent of the team's dominant"
"
Tigers manager Jim Leyland didn't agree with the one-game suspension he received Wednesday from Major League Baseball's home office in New York. But he accepted it, as well as a "pretty good fine," which all came about in the aftermath of his Monday spat with umpires Marty Foster and Gary Cederstrom during the Rays 5-0 victory over the Tigers, a game more noteworthy for Matt Garza's no-hitter. "That's OK, it's part of the game of baseball," said Leyland, who was at least satisfied the commissioner's Bud Selig's office understood he did not spit on Foster. The verbal warfare with Foster, and the flap with Cederstrom, all developed after Foster called B.J. Upton safe on a steal attempt at"
July 29
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"
Pirates right-hander Ross Ohlendorf left Wednesday's game against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning after being struck on the right side of his head by a line drive. Ohlendorf was taken by ambulance to nearby Rose Hospital. Results of a CT scan were negative, and he returned to Coors Field after being diagnosed with a contusion and abrasions. With two outs and a runner on third base, Troy Tulowitzki drilled a shot toward the mound. Ohlendorf was following through on his delivery when the ball hit him near the temple. It was not a soft swing by Tulowitzki. Fans sitting behind home plate in the third level of Coors Field were able to hear the sharp crack when the ball connected with"
"
Right fielder Justin Upton said the right hip flexor that forced him out of Tuesday night's game in the fifth inning was feeling better Wednesday, and he sounded even more confident that the injury won't keep him out for an extended period. "It's nothing too serious," he said. "It's muscle tightness. These guys (trainers ) are pretty good at working on it and getting us back to 100 percent as quick as possible. It's nothing to really worry about." Still, he was out of the lineup Wednesday, although manager Kirk Gibson said Upton was available to pinch-hit. Gibson said that because Upton missed several weeks with oblique injuries each of the past two seasons, he will be cautious in bringing"
"
Yogi Berra, who missed Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium and the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., after injuries from a fall on July 16, was released from the hospital Wednesday morning. Berra, 85, had been in the hospital since July 17 for rehabilitation to regain his ability to walk, Dave Kaplan, a friend and the director of the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, N.J., said in a telephone interview. Some published reports indicated that Berra was released from the hospital July 18, which Kaplan described as inaccurate."