Posts Tagged ‘tampa bay rays’
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
J.A. Happ (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The problems in 2013 are continuing for the Toronto Blue Jays.
On Tuesday night at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Blue Jays’ starting pitcher J.A. Happ was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Rays’ center fielder Desmond Jennings during the second inning.
The baseball went into the right field bullpen off of Happ’s head.
There is no report yet on the injuries Happ sustained, but it was reported that Happ was in stable condition at the Bayfort Medical Centre in Tampa Bay.
Line drives off the bat in baseball can be one of the most dangerous instances in sport. Pitchers sometimes just do not have the appropriate time to react.
(more…)
Tags: tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays
Posted in MLB |
Friday, December 28th, 2012
Hideki Matsui (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
Hideki Matsui has retired from baseball.
On Thursday, Matsui, who was the 2009 World Series Most Valuable Player with the New York Yankees, decided he was finished playing professionally after ten seasons with the Yankees, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays.
An all-star in 2003 and 2004, Matsui might have had his finest season in 2005, when he set a career high with a .305 batting average and 116 runs batted in.
In the 2009 World Series, the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Matsui was a monster, batting .615, with three home runs and eight runs batted in.
An outfielder, Matsui starred with the Yomiuri Giants for ten seasons before coming to the United States a decade ago. In Japan, he was a nine-time all-star and three-time Japan Series champion.
(more…)
Tags: hideki matsui, los angeles angels of anaheim, New York Yankees, oakland athletics, tampa bay rays, yomiuri giants
Posted in MLB |
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
Josh Hamilton (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
There is no doubt that the Toronto Blue Jays have opened their wallets big time this past offseason and are willing to make a big time move to contend in the American League.
But you have to put everything into perspective. This was still a horrible baseball team last season at 73-89, and will have to win a minimum of 20 extra games to put them in a position to be in a playoff spot.
I know they acquired a whole bunch of talent, but with every single player they acquired, comes a question mark.
The Angels seem to be in a stronger position with the acquisition of star outfielder Josh Hamilton from Texas. The Hamilton-Albert Pujols combination gives the Angels some serious fire power.
The Blue Jays will also have to contend with the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays who will all expect to be in contention as well come year’s end.
Tags: albert pujols, detroit tigers, josh hamilton, los angeles angels of anaheim, New York Yankees, tampa bay rays, texas rangers, toronto blue jays
Posted in MLB |
Saturday, December 1st, 2012
Russell Martin (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are hoping that Russell Martin of Toronto, Ontario is able to duplicate his all-star seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2007 and 2008.
On Friday, the Pirates signed Martin to a two year contract worth $17 million, significant when you take a look at the Canadian’s poor performances the last two seasons with the New York Yankees. He only batted .237 in 2011 and .211 in 2012.
The Pirates are trying to upgrade a position from last season where former Blue Jay Rod Barajas only batted .206. Still even though Martin was extremely inconsistent, he did hit 21 home runs this season and had a big home run late in a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Divisional Series.
In other baseball news, the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals acquired centerfielders over the last two days. The Braves acquired B.J. Upton (.246, 28 HR, 78 RBIs) from the Tampa Bay Rays and the Nationals acquired Denard Span (.283, 4 HR, 41 RBIs) from the Minnesota Twins. Upton’s contract is for five years where he will make $75.5 million.
(more…)
Tags: atlanta braves, b.j. upton, denard span, jordan walden, los angeles angels of anaheim, New York Yankees, pittsburgh pirates, russell martin, tampa bay rays, tommy hanson
Posted in MLB |
Friday, November 16th, 2012
Miguel Cabrera (Wikimedia Commons)
Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants have won baseball’s Most Valuable Player Awards for 2012.
Cabrera’s AL MVP win should come as no surprise. That is what happen when you become the first player in over forty years to win the triple crown. Posey meanwhile hit .336 and became the first catcher in the National League to win the batting title since Ernie Lombardi of the Boston Braves led the National League in 1942.
Outfielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won the AL rookie of the year in a landslide. Trout led the AL in runs and stolen bases. Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals won the NL rookie of the year. He was fifth in the senior circuit in runs.
Another National to win an award was Davey Johnson who won the NL manager of the year. He was the AL manager of the year with Baltimore in 1997. Also for the second time in his career, Bob Melvin has won the manager of the year award. Nobody expected him to lead Oakland to the AL West title, but Oakland did just that getting by the sexier teams such as Texas and the Angels.
(more…)
Tags: bob melvin, boston braves, bryce harper, buster posey, davey johnson, david price, detroit tigers, ernie lombardi, los angeles angels of anaheim, miguel cabrera, mike trout, new york mets, oakland athletics, r.a. dickey, san francisco giants, tampa bay rays, washington nationals
Posted in MLB |
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
One of the most intriguing stories heading into the weekend, is how the Calgary Stampeders’ running game will respond to Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach Cory Chamblin’s guarantee this week that the Riders will limit Jon Cornish to under 100 yards.
I really liked the Stampeders’ response actually. Both Cornish and John Hufnagel (Calgary’s head coach and general manager) both responded with the statement that all they are concerned about is winning football games and they could care less about statistics.
(more…)
Tags: andre ethier, b.j. upton, baltimore ravens, brandon morrow, british columbia lions, buck pierce, Calgary Stampeders, cory chamblin, dallas cowboys, denver broncos, Edmonton Eskimos, houston texans, john hufnagel, jon cornish, los angeles dodgers, matt moore, new england patriots, Saskatchewan Roughriders, st. louis cardinals, tampa bay buccaneers, tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays, vincent jackson, winnipeg blue bombers
Posted in CFL, MLB, NFL |
Saturday, September 15th, 2012
The Edmonton Eskimos will try to snap a two game losing streak to their provincial rivals, the Calgary Stampeders, when they face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium this afternoon (TSN, 1pm).
The Eskimos may be sitting last in the Western Division at 5-5, but with a victory can move an important six points up on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a possible opportunity to cross-over in the East come playoff time, if they cannot make up ground on the 5-5 Saskatchewan Roughriders.
This week the Eskimos and Tiger-Cats also made a trade. Edmonton acquired fullback Darcy Brown from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for defensive back Ricardo Colclough and a sixth round pick in the 2015 Canadian Football League draft.
(more…)
Tags: baltimore ravens, british columbia lions, british women's open, chris gimenez, dallas cowboys, daniel nestor, darcy brown, davis cup, detroit lions, Edmonton Eskimos, hamilton tiger-cats, inbee park, ivan nova, izak van der merwe, james shields, jiyai shin, kevin smith, lesean mccoy, marco andretti, matt stafford, michael vick, milos raonic, montreal alouettes, new york jets, New York Yankees, philadelphia eagles, pittsburgh steelers, raven klaasen, ricardo colclough, san francisco 49ers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, seattle seahawks, tampa bay rays, toronto argonauts, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, CFL, Indy Racing League, Ladies Professional Golfers Association, MLB, More, NFL |
Sunday, June 17th, 2012
Brett Cecil (Keith Allison, Getty Images)
The Toronto Blue Jays just might not be out of the hunt for an American League playoff spot just yet.
On Sunday, the Blue Jays delivered a very significant sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies at the Rogers Centre.
Colby Rasmus had a home run and three runs batted in for a 6-2 Toronto victory. With the win, Toronto swept Philadelphia and improved to 34-32, three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for an American League Wildcard spot.
But it was the pitching that deserves a lot of the credit in Toronto after three starting pitchers–Drew Hutchison, Brandon Morrow and Kyle Drabek all got injured last week.
Hutchison injured his right elbow in Toronto’s 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies Friday night and is on the disabled list. Six Blue Jay relievers stepped up and pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings. Today it was Brett Cecil that performed admirably and only gave up two earned runs in five innings of work.
(more…)
Tags: Brett Cecil, colby rasmus, milwaukee brewers, philadelphia phillies, tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays
Posted in Home, MLB |
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
J.P, Arencibia (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
For the first time in franchise history, a Toronto Blue Jays catcher has been named the American League Player of the Week.
J.P. Arencibia was bestowed the honour this past week from May 14-20. In six games last week, Arencibia batted .360, with nine hits, seven runs, four home runs and ten runs batted in.
In a 14-5 win over the New York Mets on Friday, Arencibia went three for five with two home runs and six runs batted in. He also had three hits in a 8-1 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays are playing some of their best baseball of the season at the moment. After their convincing 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays last night, they have now won five of six and are two games up on the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wildcard chase. Arencibia, Yunel Escobar and Colby Rasmus all had two hits and despite having six walks, Kyle Drabek threw a quality start.
Tags: colby rasmus, j.p. arencibia, Kyle Drabek, new york mets, New York Yankees, tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays, Yunel Escobar
Posted in MLB |
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
The Toronto Blue Jays will probably have third baseman Brett Lawrie out of the lineup for a little while.
On Tuesday, the Langley, British Columbia native threw his helmet, which bounced and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller, while arguing a strikeout call in Toronto’s 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at the Rogers Centre Tuesday night.
If anything, it was a solid learning experience for Lawrie, who is in his second season with Toronto. So far in 2012, he leads the team with a .289 batting average.
(more…)
Tags: brett lawrie, New York Yankees, tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays
Posted in MLB |
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Jered Weaver (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
In the second no-hitter in a week, Jered Weaver delivered magic last night in Anaheim.
Weaver struck out nine and walked one as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim defeated the Minnesota Twins 9-0. Phil Humber of the Chicago White Sox threw a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners on April 21 in a 4-0 win. Minnesota now has not recorded a hit in their last 15 innings.
The win comes at a time when the underachieving Angels are trying to salvage their season. After the Angels swept the Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays won two of three against Texas, the Angels are seven games back of the Rangers in the American League West.
Speaking of the Blue Jays, they were able to do something the Twins couldn’t do yesterday, and that was hit the baseball. Yunel Escobar had three hits, while Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson each delivered home runs in Toronto’s 11-5 win over Texas.
The Blue Jays are now three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League West and will start a four game series tonight in Anaheim starting tonight.
Tags: chicago white sox, edwin encarnacion, jered weaver, kelly johnson, los angeles angels of anaheim, minnesota twins, phil humber, tampa bay rays, texas rangers, toronto blue jays, Yunel Escobar
Posted in MLB |
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Bobby Valentine (Wikimedia Commons)
The Boston Red Sox have named Bobby Valentine as their franchise manager, replacing the fired Terry Francona.
The Red Sox are coming off a disastrous September where they blew a nine game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Wildcard chase and failed to hang on.
Valentine, who most recently was an analyst for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, has extensive managerial experience in the past–eight years with the Texas Rangers and seven years with the New York Mets. Valentine also spent seven years managing in Japan.
In other recent baseball news, the Tampa Bay Rays signed Jose Molina to a one year deal worth $1.8 million this past weekend. Molina doesn’t have a lot of power in his bat, but did hit a career high .281 this season, and has worked very well with younger pitchers on Major League Baseball rosters in the past.
In two other key free agent signings so far, the Texas Rangers signed closer Joe Nathan this past week to a two year contract worth $14.5 million from the Minnesota Twins. Nathan, who is now 37 years old, only had an earned run average of 4.84 last season after missing 2010 due to Tommy John Surgery. From 2004-2009, Nathan was one of the most elite closers in baseball, collecting 246 saves over six years.
Also, the Chicago Cubs signed David DeJesus to a two year contract worth $10 million from the Oakland Athletics. DeJesus batted .240 with 10 home runs and 46 runs batted in last season.
Tags: bobby valentine, boston red sox, chicago cubs, david dejesus, joe nathan, jose molina, new york mets, tampa bay rays, texas rangers
Posted in MLB |
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
Kirk Gibson (Wikimedia Commons)
The American League and National League Managers of the Year were handed out on Wednesday.
In the National League, there was absolutely no surprise with who the winner was– Arizona Diamondbacks’ skipper Kirk Gibson.
Nobody, and I mean nobody on the planet expected the Diamondbacks to win the National League West, and get by the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. But they did just that and did so in a convincing eight games.
The Diamondbacks’ regular season record of 94-68 was a huge surprise to many, as they were 65-97 a season ago, and 27 games back of the division leader. They won the division without having anyone bat .300 or hit twenty home runs.
In Tampa Bay, Joe Maddon was very deserving of the American League Manager of the Year. Maddon helped orchestrate a remarkable comeback for the Rays, who were once trailing the Boston Red Sox by nine games for the wildcard spot as of September 1. Tampa Bay finished with a record of 91-71.
In other news, the Toronto Blue Jays have signed reliever Cole Kimball from the Washington Nationals. Despite rotator cuff surgery in July, Kimball posted a 1.93 earned run average in 2011.
Tags: arizona diamondbacks, cole kimball, joe maddon, kirk gibson, tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays, washington nationals
Posted in MLB |
Monday, November 14th, 2011
The St. Louis Cardinals have named a former Toronto Blue Jay catcher as their next manager.
On Monday, the Cardinals named Mike Matheny manager to replace the retired Tony La Russa.
Matheny batted .215 with the Blue Jays in 1999, with three home runs and seventeen runs batted in 57 career games.
He also played with the Milwaukee Brewers, Saint Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants in a career from 1994 to 2006.
But the real question surrounding Matheny is his lack of managerial experience. Matheny had worked with the Cardinals the last three years as a minor league instructor and special assistant in player development.
In other baseball news, Atlanta Braves’ Craig Kimbrel has named the National League Rookie of the Year. Kimbrel, the team’s closer had 46 saves (record for rookies) and an earned run average of 2.10 last year. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Rays’ starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson has been named the American League Rookie of the Year. Hellickson was 13-10, with 117 strikeouts and an earned run average of 2.95.
Also, former Montreal Expos’ starting pitcher Charlie Lea passed away Friday at the age of 54. Lea pitched for the Expos from 1980-1984 and again in 1987. On May 9, 1981, Lea was the first French-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter as Montreal defeated San Francisco 4-0. He was also only the second Expo to throw a no-hitter, following Bill Stoneman who did it twice. Dennis Martinez was the only other Expo to throw a no-hitter in 1991.
Tags: atlanta braves, bill stoneman, charlie lea, craig kimbrel, dennis martinez, jeremy hellickson, mike matheny, milwaukee brewers, montreal expos, saint louis cardinals, san francisco giants, tampa bay rays, tony la russa, toronto blue jays
Posted in MLB |
Loading ...
