Rumors for May, 2010
Huston Street's return to Rockies may be delayed
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Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports says that Huston Street was removed from his second rehab appearance for Double-A Tulsa on Saturday night. He came in to strike out Carlos Colmenares on three pitches, then threw two balls to Abel Nieves and then was removed from the game.
Street was scheduled to work next week with a two-inning stint and then a back-to-back appearance at Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Ringolsby says his schedule will be reevaluated once the extent of his injury is known.
Detroit Tigers Rumors: Lineup and roster shuffle
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Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports talks about several lineup and roster moves the team made on Saturday:
- Carlos Guillen will become the team’s second baseman when he returns from a strained left hamstring.
- The team sent Scott Sizemore to Triple-A Toledo.
- They demoted right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer to Triple-A Toledo.
- They promoted right-handed pitcher Armando Galarrago and infielder Danny Worth.
Morosi adds that Dontrelle Willis could be out of the starting rotation if he has another horrible outing like he did on Saturday – 7 walks and 4 earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Andre Ethier breaks bone in pinky
Posted by: | CommentsThe Dodgers just beat the Padres for their sixth straight win and are currently sitting two games above five-hundred. All should be well in Dodger land right? Wrong! During batting practice prior to today’s game, Andre Ethier broke a small bone in the little finger of his right hand. Ethier will return to Los Angeles on Sunday to meet with team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache and hand specialist Dr. Steve Shinn at the Kerlan-Jobe clinic. Dodgers trainer Stan Conte said no prognosis for Ethier will be available until after that examination.
Ethier said his finger got pinched against the knob of his bat while he was taking a swing. “I was just in the cage hitting, taking regular swings,” Ethier said. “This is something I have done quite a few times before, but it’s usually a sprain or a bruise. This time, it finally gave way, I think. I swung three or four more times afterward, thinking it was just a sprain. But then I sat around for an hour, and it started throbbing a little bit. “I thought at that point that it must be pretty bad this time. I went out and played catch, and it flared back up a little bit. So then I tried to hold a bat just to see what it felt like, and it didn’t feel right.”
There was no initial indication, from Dodgers trainer Stan Conte or anyone else, as to whether Ethier is likely to be placed on the disabled list. But each player holds the bat slightly differently, and Ethier seemed to indicate that this injury would prevent him from holding it the way he normally does. “It’s a flexion thing,” he said. “I kind of position that pinky right above the knob, and it’s a leverage point in my swing.”
Ethier was off to a MVP start this season, batting .392 with 11 doubles, 11 homers and 38 RBIs. He also leads the majors with a .744 slugging percentage and is second in the N.L. with a .457 on-base percentage. He is hitting .490 (24 for 49) so far in May, with five home runs and 19 RBIs.
Check out the IPHONE app and you will see the major offensive stats for the National League with Ethier leading or tied for the lead in all of them.
Information from Tony Jackson of ESPN.com was used in this article.
PRO Rumors: Brad Lidge, Nick Johnson, Willy Taveras
Posted by: | Comments- After just 3.1 innings of ball this year, Phillies closer Brad Lidge will be making his first trip to the DL according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. He has had inflammation in his right elbow since he pitched Sunday against Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park. An MRI on Thursday in Philadelphia revealed no loose bodies or damaged ligaments, which the Phillies and Lidge considered good news. But the MRI still showed inflammation in the elbow joint.
“It is disappointing, but also the doctors said it’s definitely a possibility because we didn’t treat it at all,” Lidge said. “We just gave it a couple days’ rest. There are treatments we can give for it, hopefully, exactly what we need. It’s frustrating it didn’t go away on its own.” Two options for Lidge are a second cortisone injection — he received his first in March — and a joint lubricant injection. He said they will make that decision Monday in Philadelphia.
- According to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNEWYORK.com Yankees designated hitter Nick Johnson is unlikely to return to action before the first week of June and could be out until August. Johnson’s sore right wrist may require surgery to remove inflamed tissue, GM Brian Cashman said. The surgery would keep him out four to six weeks on top of the month he already is expected to miss.
Cashman said Johnson got a cortisone shot in the wrist last weekend in Boston, but it will not be known for a couple of weeks if that treatment was effective.
- The Washington Nationals have designated speedy outfielder Willy Taveras to make room Mike Morse who is returning from the DL according to Mark Zuckerman of Nats insider via tweeter.
Jermaine Dye Rumors: Could the San Diego Padres be a destination?
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Tim Sullivan of the Union-Tribune says that if the Padres want to remain in contention, they will likely need one more legitimate bat.
Sullivan says that while the team may be hoping for internal players to come around such as Kyle Blanks, Max Venable or Scott Hairston, the team may have to look at external options if they want to be competitive in the NL West.
A cost-efficient option might be Jermaine Dye.
“San Diego was one of the places Jermaine was excited about playing,” agent Bob Bry said Tuesday. “He continues to work out every morning and hits most days and is still waiting for an opportunity with a team that has a chance to advance to the playoffs. San Diego, seemingly, would be a good fit.”
There was talk between the Padres and Dye, but no offers were made.
Dye has been reluctant to sign with any time or for any price.
Dye was quoted in April saying, ”I’m not going to a bad team, and I’m not playing for $1.5 million.” He obviously wants to keep the ball in his court and will not accept any job for the sake of playing ball.
Other options for the Padres could be Carlos Lee from the Houston Astros or Jose Guillen or Ernie Smith from the Royals, but they both have large contracts that will not be attractive to the Padres unless their teams are willing to eat up most of the salary.
Pat Burrell designated for assignment, Hank Blalock called up
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5/15 09:45: According to The Tampa Tribune, Pat Burrell has been designated for assignment and Hank Blalock has been officially called up.
5/15 09:35: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says that it appears that Hank Blalock will be joining the Tampa Bay Rays today at Tropicana Field.
It is unknown what roster move the Rays will make to accommodate Blalock. Topkins says that the promotion of Blalock could mean the end of DH Pat Burrell. Another option would be to send down utility man Sean Rodriguez.
The Rays were forced to make a decision Blalock. Blalock’s agent, Scott Boras, said that Blalock would activate the out clause in his Triple-A contract which will force the Rays to either promote him to the Big Leagues or allow him to become a free agent.
There was speculation that the Rays would trade Blalock rather than just let him walk away.
Blalock, 29, hit 25 home runs in 2009 for the Texas Rangers, but had a .277 on-base percentage. You can see Blalock’s contract history and statistics here.
Cubs Carlos Zambrano dancing on tables at Y Bar in Chicago
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The Chicago Tribune says that Cubs relief pitcher Carlos Zambrano was seen partying at Y Bar on Wednesday night. They say he was dancing on the end table in the VIP section and could be seen swinging his jacket in the air Petey Pablo style.
We’re glad that one of baseball’s highest paid relief pitchers still knows how to party despite his 1-3 record and 7.07 ERA. Go Big Z!
Phillies Charlie Manuel regrets talking about binocular incident
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Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy was not too happy about Phillies manager Charlie Manuel’s comments on Thursday. Manuel was asked why so many teams were suspicious of the Phillies, he said, “Because we beat them. That’s why. . . . Keep crying.”
Tracy responded by saying, “We don’t cry here. I want to make that clear right now. We work very hard.”
“I shouldn’t have said a word,” Manuel said on Friday. “If I said something, I’ll definitely talk to him (Tracy) and things like that. But I didn’t even say anything about Colorado. I didn’t even say nothing about that particular game.”
Manuel doesn’t believe he said anything derogatory about the Rockies, but said he would be willing to talk directly to Tracy.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.
Mets are not wearing "Los Mets" jerseys against Arizona Diamondbacks
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A New York Mets team official said they will not wear “Los Mets” jerseys for either of their two series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team will wear the jerseys to celebrate Fiesta Latina, on Aug. 13, and Hispanic Heritage Month, on Sept. 17.
Arizona’s law SB-1070, which goes into effect in August, will make it a state crime to be in the United States illegally. The law also gives police permission to question anyone they suspect of being undocumented. This week, the state created further controversy by restricting what can be taught in ethnic studies classes in public schools.
There’s been an outcry for Major League Baseball to remove the 2011 All Star Game from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, but that appears unlikely.
The Phoenix Suns wore “Los Sons” jersey for their basketball playoff game on May 5, coincidentally around the same time the Arizona law was passed.
Information from Andy Martino of the New York Daily News was used in this article.
Cameron Diaz dating Alex Rodriguez to get back at Kate Hudson
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to a US Weekly insider
, they believe Cameron Diaz is dating Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez as a form of “reliation” after Hudson hooked up with Justin Timberlake in January 2007 – just two days after the couple of four years split.
“Kate thinks it’s payback, pure and simple,” the insider says.
Diaz’s friend says, “Cameron was actually in a serious long-term relationship with Justin. She thinks it’s a joke Kate would be mad. Kate is only upset because she hates being single.”
The article goes on to say that Hudson got breast implants after she broke up with A-Rod to appeal to the Yankee’s preference for “busty women”.
