Rumors for April, 2011
Beaten Giants fan in coma – has a long road to recovery
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The San Francisco Giants fan that was brutally beaten last week after a game with the Los Angeles Dodgers is in critical condition. Doctors have said that “There is evidence of brain injury and dysfunction.” ESPN reports that doctors at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center said that 42 year-old father of two, Bryan Stow, suffered a severe skull fracture and bad bruising to his brain’s frontal lobes and his long recovery process may include issues with memory, thinking ability and personality.
Between the Giants, Dodgers, Los Angeles County, American Medical Response and a handful of other entities, a reward of $100,000 has been offered for information leading to the capture of the two shaven-headed young men that are suspected of beating Stow after last week’s game. Stow was headed to a taxi stand when the two young men began to taunt him and swear at him and other Giants fans. Stow was punched in the back of the head, fell to the pavement and was kicked before the attackers ran off.
Sketches of the two victims can be seen here.
The Giants plan to honor Stow by dedicating Monday’s game against the Dodgers in San Francisco to him. The team will collect donations from fans to support Stow and his family. Stow will also get a tribute from the team in a special ceremony before the game.
Divorce of Dodgers owners may be resolved soon
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The highly publicized divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt, owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, may be resolved soon, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. In its 18th month of negotiations, the sides may finally be coming to a settlement.
Commissioner Bud Selig has been monitoring the divorce very closely, but has not made any public comments regarding the proceedings or the team’s future. He may have to get involved when the team and FOX finalize a television deal that could be worth $3 billion over 20 years.
Frank and Jamie are currently fighting over the ownership of the team that Forbes valued at $800 million. Frank has previously said that he has no intention to sell the team, but that could change depending on the outcome of the divorce.
Jose Bautista absent due to ‘personal family matters’
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2010 Major League home run champion Jose Bautista is expected to miss the entire three game series versus the Oakland Athletics this week due to “personal family matters, John Lott of the National Post and MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm report.
Juan Rivera will take Bautista’s place in right field while Edwin Encarnacion will be the team’s designated hitter.
Major League Baseball has a bereavement list that a player can be placed on if they have to attend to a serious illness or death in his (or his spouse’s) immediate family. A player must miss a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven games. It’s unknown if the Blue Jays have used this, but if they did they can all up a player on the team’s 40-man roster to replace Bautista.
R.A Dickey and Kevin Slowey are set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro next January for charity
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Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is organizing a group that will set off for Africa in January to climb Mount Kilimanjaro according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. Twins reliever Kevin Slowey, sat down with Dickey Monday morning to have breakfast in Manhattan to talk about the adventure.
The excursion will help raise money for a charity called the Bombay Teen Challenge, a group fighting against sexual trafficking in Mumbai, India.
“R.A. and I have gotten to be good friends,” Slowey said. “This is something that if you get the chance to go do, you’d be remiss not to consider it. And it’s definitely for a great cause.”
According to the New York Times (via Christensen), Mets bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello and Mets physical therapist John Zajac will also join the two pitchers on their adventure.
Slowey said he is open to talking to the Twins if they have any concerns. Given the fact that there’s no rope climbing there should not be a problem says Christensen.
“There is no technical climbing involved, though it’ll still be a very difficult physical endeavor,” Slowey said. “It’s basically a 12-day hike with stops at different altitudes.”
Derek Jeter rents a $15,500 apartment because of a noisy neighbor
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Yankees captain, Derek Jeter, who recently put his $20 million apartment on the market, has rented another apartment in the same building for $15,500 a month reports Jennifer Gould Keil of the New York Post.
Apparently, Jeter was not getting enough rest as he would like, because of a neighbor’s noisy construction. That’s why the shortstop signed a lease for a 2,087-square-foot corner pad away from the “construction site” to ensure he could get enough rest during the season.
Jeter started the season with just two hits in his first 14 AB’s for a horrible .143/.235/.378. Lets just hope he can find comfort in his new apartment and bring back his bat to life and start hitting like he’s used to.
Jayson Stark on trade deadline, Hernandez, Wandy and Slowey
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Here’s the latest from Jayson Stark of ESPN:
– One GM is predicting that July 31st will be a “fascinating deadline.”
– The Rangers, Yankees, possibly the Red Sox and other teams will be in the market for starting pitching.
– One executive has already scratched Felix Hernandez off the list of potential targets since they think Mariner’s GM Jack Zduriencik may not want to make such a risky move. “I sincerely doubt it,” the exec says. “Enough bad stuff has happened there that they have to show progress in the next year or two. And trading Felix would not help them show it.”
– Two early trade candidates include Wandy Rodriguez and Mike Pelfrey.
– The Twins aren’t eager to trade Kevin Slowey, but scouts following the Twins think that it could change.
Are the baseballs juiced for the 2011 season?
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Here’s some news about baseballs and the procedures employed to ensure their integrity in Colorado:
– An unnamed bullpen catcher that’s close to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution believes that the baseballs have been juiced this year in an effort to boost attendance in a bad economy. The catcher says the baseball are harder this year.
– There was some controversy last year that the Rockies were using humidored and non-humidored baseballs during the game. The balls that are kept in the humidor have been proven to stay in the ballpark where as those that are non-humidored have the tendency to fly out due to the thin air in Colorado. Here’s what The Denver Post had to say about the new procedure:
“An authenticator employed by MLB meets the umpire-room attendant at the humidor before the game, watching as the baseballs are removed. The authenticator follows the attendant to the umpire’s room, where the baseballs are rubbed down. He then accompanies the attendant as the baseballs are placed in the Rockies’ dugout.
During the game, the authenticator sits in the photo well just to the right of the Rockies’ dugout with the ball bag in sight. Because the authenticator cannot leave his post, an MLB-contracted security officer meets the umpire-room attendant at the humidor if more baseballs are required during the course of the game.”
Colorado Rockies release left-hander Greg Smith
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The Colorado Rockies released left-handed starting pitcher Greg Smith at the end of Minor League Spring Training, Jack Etkin of Inside The Rockies reports.
Smith was a non-roster invitee to the team’s big league camp, but he went 0-0 with a 10.38 ERA.
The 27-year-old Smith went 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA over eight starts with the Rockies in 2010.
Alfredo Simon has been cleared to start throwing program
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Former murder suspect and right-handed pitcher Alfredo Simon of the Baltimore Orioles has passed his physical and has been cleared to start his throwing program reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Simon will be stretched out as a starter adds Zrebiec.
Simon had previously been suspected for the murder of 25-year-old Michel Castillo. Simon was accused of firing celebratory shoots into the air on New Years Eve, a practice not uncommon in the Dominican Republic.
The 29-years old was 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA in 49 appearances for the Orioles in 2010.
Kyle Kendrick’s World Series ring stolen during residential burglary
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Owning a World Series ring has to be one of the most important items for any baseball player. Unfortunately, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick, who won the World Series with the team in 2008, had his ring stolen from his house last week reports Jennifer Sullivan of the Seattle Times.
Kendrick’s home in Mount Vernon was burglarized between March 30 and April 1, police said. The right handed pitcher was with the team at that time.
Lt. Chris Cammock said investigators aren’t sure why the home alarm system failed to go off and are looking into whether burglars disabled the alarm.
Detectives believe that the thieves spent several hours inside Kendrick’s home given the amount of items taken. They broke Kendrick’s safe where the ring was stored and took a framed Ken Griffey Jr. jersey off the wall. Thieves also took baseball gloves, bats all items that were keepsakes from different stages in Kendrick’s career, as well as televisions, computers and other high-end electronics, Cammock said.
Major League Baseball reported the ring contained 103 diamonds in a white-gold setting. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Det. Brandon Young at 360-336-6255 or police dispatch at 360-428-3211.
