Month: August 2017

Jaime Garcia is likely going to be traded sooner or later. Even though trade talks between the Braves and Twins went from “This is happening and he’ll be going to the Twins soon,” to “He’ll be starting for the Atlanta Braves tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers,” in the span of a day, it appears that Garcia’s time as a Brave will be coming to an end soon, as the team is actively shopping him on the trade market. However, if Jaime Garcia does indeed get moved soon, then he’ll look back on his final days with the Braves with a great amount of fondness.

Playing in a reunion series with the first major league club that gave him a shot probably brings up a lot of emotions, and loving one team doesn’t mean someone is throwing another team under the bus unequivocally, despite what fans may thing about his effort for the Mets.

Cespedes also just says stuff that throws people off all the time, even when he doesn’t mean to or is giving interviews in his native language (this was an interview conducted in English only). This is yet one more example of that phenomenon.

There’s also the fact that players are as wary as ever these days of bad press and saying the wrong thing. Whether Cespedes went into this interview hoping to purposefully annoy Mets fans and stick it to Terry Collins or not (which by all accounts he did not), it’s a great set of quotes and those are few and far between in baseball right now.

Having a player speak his mind about his team and his career hopes Fashion Online Shop Cheap Jerseys should be welcomed so that it happens more often. Jumping down someone’s throat Cheap Youth Jerseys about a quote that could be construed any number of ways isn’t going to make players more open and accessible in the future.

Jose Canseco, in his pure and mostly hilarious Twitter form, thinks he can outhit Aaron Judge. You may remember other such Canseco Twitter gems such as dog puke, time travel being possible, and his nearly amputated finger after a poker night gone wrong.

Washington looks poised to be a threat with the second best offense in the league, averaging 5.52 runs per game and the third best ERA among starters at 3.71, but will need to use the trade market to shore up a disastrous bullpen that owns an MLB-worst 5.20 ERA.

While the Dodgers have emerged as clear favorites in the National League, the field is a bit tighter in the American League with the Houston Astros (+425), Boston Red Sox (+600) and Cleveland Indians (+800) all looking like legitimate contenders.

After making strides over the last two seasons with 86 wins in 2015 and 84 in 2016, the Astros finally appear to have taken their place among the league’s elite teams with a 60-29 record through their first 89 games. Houston ranks fifth in the majors in team ERA at 3.93 and best in the majors by a considerable margin on offense with 5.92 runs per game.

Boston and Cleveland are two of the four teams in the MLB with better team ERAs than Houston, which they’ll need to help try to overcome the Astros’ superior offense.

Other potential contenders to win this year’s World Series include the New York Yankees (+1400 at sports betting sites), Arizona Diamondbacks (+1600), Colorado Rockies (+2500), and NBA Cheap Jerseys Kansas City Royals (+3300).

That makes all of this a little harder to swallow, even if the reasoning Minnesota Vikings Cheap Jerseys behind the contracts made plenty of sense at the time they were signed.

The trade deadline is still more than a week away, and the rumors just keep heating up around the league. It almost feels like the next few days the rumor mill will hit critical mass, and and then the dam will break and all the trades will actually start to happen.

During the 2016 offseason he went home for a week but didn’t stay long, feeling unsafe in the country of his birth. Ahead of spring training he told MLive columnist David Mayo, “When I’m Wholesale NBA Jerseys back in Venezuela, I went for one week. I used to live there. Now I live here, in the United States. It’s hard to leave your country. It’s hard to leave your family over there. My whole family’s in Venezuela. I worry about them. They worry too. They say, ‘Let’s keep fighting,’ you know?”

With Venezuela’s political future currently on the razor’s edge, where President Nicholas Maduro plans to hold a referendum that could see democracy come to an end in the country, it takes courage for Cabrera to speak so openly, especially in support of the protesters.

He went on to say, “I protest for truth, for the end of communism, and I Real Madrid Cheap Jerseys am not with dictators. To the people of the resistance, you are not alone.”

Ultimately, Cabrera is not a politician or an opposition leader, but rather a man who loves his home, and the people who live there. When he pleads, “Please do not do anything to my family,” he is not being hyperbolic. Death threats, assassinations, and violence loom large and real in the periphery of every day life for Venezuelans, especially those willing to speak out against the dictatorship.

Yeah, I think adding urgency definitely helped, because otherwise it’s just like watching kids hit whiffle balls over the house. There need to be some stakes in order for an event that doesn’t matter to feel like there’s some point to it, I think. But now that they have, yeah! It’s just about crushing baseballs as fast as you can, and faster than the other guy!

Movies not your thing? You probably have a video game you’ve been meaning to catch up on. Or you could enjoy Jon Bois’ wonderful sci-fi sports story, 17776. Your lawn probably needs to be mowed: Look at it; your neighbors are embarrassed for you. Or maybe you even have kids you should pay attention to. Am I insinuating that you’re a bad parent if you would prefer baseball be back sooner instead? Hey, you asked me the question, Rhetorical Device. This is your guilt we’re talking about.

The history of the Marlins and the history of their Home Run Sculpture have a surprising amount in common. Grant Brisbee investigated both in Miami and came to the conclusion that the Marlins, like their dinger statue, will be normal and beloved someday.

Brewers: The Brewers not only have nicknames, but Eric Thames went with a Korean one, Sang Namja.

Cardinals: Paul DeJong, Carson Kelly, Matthew Bowman, Greg Garcia, Lance Lynn, Jedd Gyorko, Zach Duke, and Brett Cecil: congratulations on tying the Orioles for the most players without a nickname.

Pirates: For a bunch of sea-based outlaws, the Pirates did a good job following the rules.

Reds: Bronson Arroyo has “Free Love” on his jersey, which is not a Very Cheap Jerseys nickname so much as an advertisement that’s giving me a twitch. Otherwise everything here is on the up and up.

Corey Seager, how are you going to have no nickname Wholesale NHL Jerseys when Kyle Seager put “Corey’s Brother” on his jersey? Scott Kazmir was similarly boring, as was Josh Fields.

Joey Votto is in the midst of a remarkable career. He’s established himself as an elite offensive player and is on a Hall of Fame track. But not enough people seem to notice. And it’s hard to understand why.

Since making his major league debut in 2007, Votto has established himself as one of the premier first basemen in the league. Entering Monday’s action, the 33-year-old lefty slugger has a career batting line of .312/.425/.539 with 248 home runs.

To put that in perspective, Votto ranks third in Wins Above Replacement (51.6 WAR) among active first baseman, only trailing behind two legends. Hall of Fame lock Albert Pujols (99.7 WAR) has a career slash of .306/.388/.564 and fellow future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera (69.7 WAR) has a .318/.388/.564 batting line for his career.

Granted, both Pujols (608 home runs) and Cabrera (459 home runs) have hit for more power, but they’ve each played longer than Votto. Pujols has been in the league for 16 years, while Cabrera has played in the bigs for 14 seasons. Votto is in the middle of his 10th full season.

In fact, if Votto continues to hit at his current rate — he has averaged a .312/.425/.539 slash line with 29 home runs and 94 RBI per 162 games — for even four more seasons, he would boost his career home run total to 370 while maintaining his high OBP and raising his RBI total to 1,178.

While Votto would still be slightly lacking in home run and RBI totals, his batting La Galaxy Cheap Jerseys average and OBP would each rank in the top 10 among current Hall of Fame first basemen. The dude knows how to hit and deserves to be in the conversation when talking about the best-hitting first Miami Dolphins Cheap Jerseys basemen of all time.

The Yankees acquired Athletics ace Sonny Gray just before Monday’s MLB trade deadline, the team announced.

Oakland will receive prospects Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian in return, while the Yankees will also get $1.5 million in international bonus money from the A’s.

Contenders had been lining up all summer to procure Gray, who has two years of team control remaining on his contract before becoming a free agent in 2020.

“We wanted to get through the deadline and try to resolve some of the positional issues that we had,” Alderson told reporters, via the New York Daily News. “So, at the same time we were working our way through the deadline, we’ve seen that Cabrera has moved to second and ultimately to third, we think that Jose Reyes can play well at second, [Neil] Walker can play some first base and second base. I think the flexibility that our existing infielders possess allows us to move some pieces around and give Amed a chance to play shortstop.

“It was a combination of just getting through the hullabaloo of the trade deadline, and then at the same time allowing some of our other players to get more familiar with some of the NBA Basketball Jerseys other positions. Plus, he’s (Rosario) continued to play really well.”

With Rosario called up, all eyes will be on Cabrera, who reportedly was New York Giants Cheap Jerseys frustrated and asked for a trade after the Mets moved him to second and now third base to accommodate Rosario. It was expected Cabrera would be dealt to make room for Rosario, but that didn’t happen. Could the Mets be in for more locker room drama as their season (48-55) continues to unravel?

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is a monster social phenomenon. When a major league pitcher with mythical locks gets in on the fun, things can get a little . . . hairy on Twitter.

In Sunday’s episode, injured Mets ace Noah Syndergaard was on screen for a few seconds throwing a spear. It looks as though he took down a horse.

Maybe if his real team was in contention and not getting torched by the Dodgers for a third consecutive night, the comments wouldn’t have been as nast— oh, who are we kidding? The nastiness was coming like winter no matter what.

For the record, Syndergaard did the shoot in the offseason, so that last comment is inoperative. That also means the trolls can ditch the “More Game of Baseball, less ‘Game of Thrones'” hot takes. Not that it will stop ’em.

In addition to Gray, the Yankees in recent weeks have acquired third baseman Todd Frazier, relievers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle and starter Jaime Garcia.

So as MLB enters August, two of its most hallowed franchises are separated by a half-game, with the Yankees in the lead. They meet 10 more times before the season’s end.

And as much flattery as Dombrowski dispensed Cashman’s way on Monday, he knows trades on paper don’t win championships (remember the Indians won the AL in 2016).

“I’ve been in a position [in the past] where we made acquisitions where we were praised to the hilt that we were going to run away with the division, and we didn’t,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve been looked at on a secondary basis after we’ve done things, and we’ve done really well. So, I’m not good at prognosticating Vintage MLB Jerseys Cheap these things. It really comes down to how you play. If we play like we’re capable of Toronto Maple Leafs Cheap Jerseys playing, I think we can play with anybody. But we have to do it.”

The first impact pertains to the Cardinals. Yes, this was an exhibition against backups and Gabbert, a first-round pick in 2011, is still behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton on the Cardinals’ depth chart. In that sense, Gabbert’s outing doesn’t mean much in terms of shaking up the order. Gabbert, however, enjoyed an encouraging first act with quarterback-friendly coach Bruce Arians.

“Those second and third reads,” Arians said in expressing how impressed he was with Gabbert. “He was off his initial target at the start in the pocket. Very, very calm. I was very happy, very pleased with him.”

The second impact pertains to Colin Kaepernick. Gabbert’s performance didn’t invite criticism. Until Kaepernick is signed, every backup quarterback and more than a handful of starters are going to be under the microscope. Regardless of your feelings about Kaepernick, or Gabbert for that matter, that’s the way it is. The Kaepernick conversation continues to dominate the day-to-day headlines.

“What is it about?” Sherman said. “It’s not about football or color. It’s about, ‘Boy, stay in your place.’”

Sherman admitted that Kaepernick “may not be the best, but he’s better than a lot of these dudes starting.” That sentiment has been supported by statistics in other media reports. But Sherman actually pointed out specific players he says are inferior to Kaepernick.

“Now if you told me this guy threw eight pick-sixes last year and played like a bum, had no talent, that’s one thing,” Sherman said. “But (Buccaneers backup QB) Ryan Fitzpatrick, (Ravens backup QB) Ryan Mallett or whoever is playing for the Jets right now — whoever is starting for the Jets is Miami Dolphins Cheap Jerseys terrible — have jobs. You’re telling me fans would rather you lose and put a worse player out there because a guy took a Lebron Cheap Jerseys stand? That’s where it’s so troublesome to me.”

There’s the report on CTE that has sent active players into retirement, into consideration of retirement and into “passionate” declarations that, no problem, a football field is “the perfect place to die.” That shed yet more light on concussions in the sport, including the frightening battle with postconcussion symptoms by Michael Oher, who ended up being released at the start of camp, still struggling nearly a year after his injury.

There’s a team in the league’s biggest market, the Jets, gutting its roster, denying it was tanking for the No. 1 pick and having the commissioner back it up.

There’s the wave of players who howled in protest over how much NBA players earn in free agency compared to them, in a more brutal, potentially lethal sport that takes in a third more in revenue every year.

There’s the star player, Ezekiel Elliott, on the league’s most marketable team, waiting for the end of a yearlong investigation into a domestic violence accusation. There also is the handful of players drafted with criminal histories or accusations hanging over their heads, as teams wrestled with the risk-reward balance and with their own checkered past on accepting or rejecting such players.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said while Peppers, who rejoined the Panthers this year on a one-year contract, isn’t very vocal, he leads by example with “veteran savvy.”

Tomlinson said it was an “honor and privilege to play in the NFL” and that he has Grade Cheap Jerseys stood on the shoulders of former running backs Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Smith.

He ranks fifth all-time in rushing yards with 13,684 and led the NFL in rushing in both Jerseys Supply 2006 and 2007. He also led the league in rushing touchdowns three times, including an NFL record 28 touchdowns in 2006. Tomlinson had three receiving scores that year as well to set a new NFL mark with 31 total touchdowns.

Three stars

3. Jake Guentzel, Penguins — Guentzel assisted on Rust’s goal, him him 14 points to pass Jaromir Jagr (1991) for most in a playoff year by a Penguins rookie.

2. Bryan Rust, Penguins — Rust hadn’t scored all series, but got the Cheap Custom Baseball Jerseys first goal of the game for his fifth of the playoffs. You’ll remember it was Rust who scored both Penguins goals when they edged the Lightning in Game 7 of last year’s Eastern Conference finals. He now has nine points (8 goals, 1 assist) in 12 career playoff elimination games.

1. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins — Fleury’s shutout was the first of this postseason and the ninth of his playoff career. It’s the 10th road shutout in NHL Game 7 history.

“I’m excited about leading this organization to the next level,” Botterill said after he was introduced as the franchise’s eighth general manager. “I truly understand from my time as a player here in Western New York — both in Rochester and Buffalo — how passionate and loyal the fans in this region are towards the game of hockey. I know that they deserve success.”

Owner Terry Pegula wanted a GM to help fix the Sabres’ structure and discipline issues — and Botterill seemed eager to do just that. For Botterill, that endeavor starts by hiring a coach who can command a locker room and mold the team’s younger players.

“The things I’m looking for (in a coach), with so many young players in our Cheap China Jerseys organization, a developer, an educator and a communicator,” Botterill said. “In today’s world, in today’s game, they Cheap Baseball Jerseys have to have that strong communication with the players.

“And finally, they need to have that presence in the locker room. The players have to understand the head coach is in control and leading the charge.”