TORONTO (AP) -- Carl Pavano, written off by New York Yankees' fans, will return and start for the team on Saturday at Baltimore.
Welcome to the third annual Baseball Prospectus Ultimate Fantasy Draft. We will attempt to answer this question: If you were starting a baseball team from scratch, which players would you want to build your team around? That is, which players would you take -- and in what order would you take them -- if your goal was to win as many championships as possible over the medium-to-long-term?
After huffing and puffing uphill past luminous Aspen groves and delicate wildflowers for more than an hour, we expected a big reward: a sweeping view of Steamboat Springs, an imposing waterfall, a cold beer -- something.
Baseball umpires and management signed an agreement Wednesday that will allow the sport to start using instant replay to help determine calls on the field.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Dear fans: Please be patient.
Tom Glavine's teammates want him back next season. Now, it's up to the Atlanta Braves front office to decide whether he'll get that chance.
MINNEAPOLIS -- If the quality of play in Olympic baseball competition was consistently more suited to a beer league than to Beijing, if the value of an entire sport depended solely on the names in that day's lineup, if someone was trying to pass off the worst-of-the-worst as the best-of-the-best, then dropping baseball beginning with the 2012 London Games might make some sense.
One big part of the Red Sox championship teams has already moved from Boston to the Dodgers. Could another be on the way?
Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who apparently doesn't mind giving away Adam Dunn's innermost financial goals and is himself way overpaid, recently told the Cincinnati media that Dunn will seek $100-120 million as a free agent. So we now have an idea what one top free agent will seek, anyway.
I supply special mud for Major League Baseball. The story goes back to when pro baseball teams began using new balls for each game. They wanted to remove the factory gloss and make the balls easier to grip. The umpires tried in-field dirt, shoe polish, and tobacco juice, but everything damaged the ball.
TORONTO (AP) -- Carl Pavano, written off by New York Yankees' fans, will return and start for the team on Saturday at Baltimore.
Welcome to the third annual Baseball Prospectus Ultimate Fantasy Draft. We will attempt to answer this question: If you were starting a baseball team from scratch, which players would you want to build your team around? That is, which players would you take -- and in what order would you take them -- if your goal was to win as many championships as possible over the medium-to-long-term?
After huffing and puffing uphill past luminous Aspen groves and delicate wildflowers for more than an hour, we expected a big reward: a sweeping view of Steamboat Springs, an imposing waterfall, a cold beer -- something.
Baseball umpires and management signed an agreement Wednesday that will allow the sport to start using instant replay to help determine calls on the field.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Dear fans: Please be patient.
Tom Glavine's teammates want him back next season. Now, it's up to the Atlanta Braves front office to decide whether he'll get that chance.
MINNEAPOLIS -- If the quality of play in Olympic baseball competition was consistently more suited to a beer league than to Beijing, if the value of an entire sport depended solely on the names in that day's lineup, if someone was trying to pass off the worst-of-the-worst as the best-of-the-best, then dropping baseball beginning with the 2012 London Games might make some sense.
One big part of the Red Sox championship teams has already moved from Boston to the Dodgers. Could another be on the way?
Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who apparently doesn't mind giving away Adam Dunn's innermost financial goals and is himself way overpaid, recently told the Cincinnati media that Dunn will seek $100-120 million as a free agent. So we now have an idea what one top free agent will seek, anyway.
I supply special mud for Major League Baseball. The story goes back to when pro baseball teams began using new balls for each game. They wanted to remove the factory gloss and make the balls easier to grip. The umpires tried in-field dirt, shoe polish, and tobacco juice, but everything damaged the ball.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Billy Wagner has more pain and swelling in his pitching elbow, and the New York Mets' All-Star closer is out indefinitely.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Umpires want baseball to take another look at instant replay.
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The balloons went up and the confetti came down, sparking a celebration that was 17 years in the making.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Greg Maddux is back with the Los Angeles Dodgers for another stretch drive following a 120-mile trip up the California coast.
BOSTON (AP) -- Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, the last player to hit for the Triple Crown, was resting comfortably Tuesday night after having triple bypass heart surgery.
TORONTO (AP) -- The New York Yankees activated outfielder Hideki Matsui off the 15-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Justin Christian to Triple-A on Tuesday.
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Josh Beckett's next start has been pushed back a few days while the Boston Red Sox try to determine the cause of lingering numbness in the his right hand.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Kip Wells, who started on opening day for Colorado before getting demoted and later cut, signed Tuesday with the Kansas City Royals.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have re-acquired Cooperstown-bound righthander Greg Maddux in a trade with the Padres, SI.com has confirmed.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Braves pitcher Tom Glavine is scheduled to be examined Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews in Alabama, a visit that is expected to determine whether the pitcher's stellar career is over.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Rangers All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a sports hernia, and could be headed for season-ending surgery.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Belittled by New York tabloids that call him "American Idle," disparaged by some teammates for his lack of durability, Carl Pavano could return to the Yankees this weekend.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels were holding out hope that their game scheduled for Tuesday night at Tropicana Field will not be postponed because of Tropical Storm Fay.
MIAMI -- Apparently, Cubs manager Lou Piniella doesn't believe in the powers of a black cat. Or Steve Bartman. "And that goat I don't believe in, either,'' Piniella said.
Baseball, being a team game and all, is never supposed to come down to just one guy deciding a team's fate. Nevertheless, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers are banking on one guy to awaken their long-sleepy lineups and push them to the top of the National League West and beyond. And you know what? In the short time that Manny Ramirez has been swinging for the Dodgers, and the shorter time that Adam Dunn has played for the D'backs, the one-guy theory seems to be working.
Thousands come out in Chicago to honor the late comedian
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The New York Mets found help for their struggling bullpen, acquiring durable right-hander Luis Ayala from the Washington Nationals on Sunday for a player to be named.
The Detroit Tigers have placed reliever Todd Jones on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore right shoulder.
Braves pitcher Tom Glavine is out for the season, and his illustrious career could be over if he needs major surgery on his injured left elbow.
Slumping center fielder Melky Cabrera was demoted to the minors Friday, the biggest move in a mini shake-up by the struggling New York Yankees as they tried to regroup for a playoff push.
No. 2 pick Pedro Alvarez agreed to a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates that included a $6 million signing bonus. It was one of six agreements reached among the top 11 players in this year's draft in the hours before Friday's midnight deadline.
First baseman Yonder Alonso from Miami, the seventh overall pick in the amateur draft, agreed to a contract with the Cincinnati Reds shortly before baseball's midnight deadline on Friday.
Tampa Bay closer Troy Percival was put on the disabled list Friday with a cartilage injury to his right knee, his third stint on the DL this season.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Yankees have fired two scouts under investigation in a probe of possible skimming from contracts with Latin American players, The Associated Press has learned.
As the schedule shrinks, the wild card dangles tantalizingly just beyond their fingertips, and Hank Steinbrenner utters the dreaded words "next year," one gets the sense that the fork is poised above the New York Yankees. Of course, a sudden unexpected surge a la Eli Manning's Giants or a collapse by the suddenly injury-prone Rays and Red Sox (remember the '07 Mets), could extend the Yankees' streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances. But with a full M.A.S.H. tent and decimated pitching staff in the Bronx, it sure smells like an early offseason for these two-steps-forward, two-steps-back Bombers.
Mark your calendars for the grand openings: The Yankees and Mets will inaugurate their new stadiums just two days apart next spring.
Time expired on Thursday afternoon on waiver claims made on two Mariners, left fielder Raul Ibanez and left-hander Jarrod Washburn. Both players will be remaining with Seattle.
With seven weeks left in the season, roughly half of the teams in the majors can reasonably consider themselves a shot to play into October. If you're a fan of one of the teams in the other half, well . . . while all the attention from here on out will be paid to the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Mets and the Phillies, and even the upstart Rays and Marlins, there are actually good reasons for many of you to send in your ticket deposits for 2009. Here are five of them:
Major League Baseball is working out technical issues to start instant replay for boundary calls such as home runs, hoping to institute the system later this year.
CHICAGO -- Ron Santo came to Chicago as an awestruck 20-year-old rookie in 1960, so he's been part of this city's rich baseball scene -- for better, for worse, for a lot of just plain in-between -- for nearly 50 years. Not once in all the time that he played with the Cubs, or that year that he went down to the South Side to play for the White Sox, or in the many seasons since that he's broadcast Cubs' games to a loyal and adoring audience, has he seen his adopted hometown quite like this.
BOSTON (AP) -- World Series MVP Mike Lowell was put on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday because of a strained left oblique muscle, another blow to the middle of the Boston batting order.
The Los Angeles Dodgers activated infielder Nomar Garciaparra from the disabled list Tuesday and placed center fielder Andruw Jones on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Aug. 10.
BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Red Sox acquired pitcher Paul Byrd from Cleveland on Tuesday, hoping to boost a rotation hurt by an injury to Tim Wakefield and the struggles of Clay Buchholz.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Hank Steinbrenner blames injuries for the New York Yankees' slide from contention.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Skip Caray, the voice of the Braves for more than three decades, was remembered Monday for simple contributions like cracking jokes to players in the clubhouse and his cries of "Braves won!" during the 1995 World Series.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Charlie Zink will replace fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the Boston Red Sox rotation.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Rays placed rookie All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria on the 15-day disabled list Monday because of a right wrist fracture, the second major blow to the team's surprising first-place run in as many days.
Injuries in spring training are bad, injuries in June are worse, and injuries at this time of the year -- especially to teams that fancy themselves playoff contenders -- can be absolute season killers.
PHOENIX (AP) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired slugger Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds for a minor-league pitcher and two players to be named later.
TORONTO (AP) -- The Blue Jays released outfielder Shannon Stewart on Monday, bringing his second stint with the team to a disappointing finish.
TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Blue Jays got outfielder Vernon Wells back before Sunday's 4-0 loss to Cleveland, only to lose third baseman Scott Rolen after the game.
SEATTLE (AP) -- The surprising run of the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays took a hit Sunday when the club placed outfielder Carl Crawford on the 15-day disabled list with a hand injury.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will miss at least two starts and go on the disabled list because of a stiff right shoulder, manager Terry Francona said Sunday.
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago White Sox placed right-hander Jose Contreras on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a ruptured left Achilles' tendon, a season-ending injury.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds told Giants fans Saturday night during a pregame ceremony honoring the team's former outfielders that he's not retired.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Royals traded pitcher Horacio Ramirez to the Chicago White Sox for minor league outfielder Paulo Orlando on Saturday night.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Mets purchased the contract of Brian Stokes from Triple-A New Orleans to make an important start against the Florida Marlins on Saturday night.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Royals second baseman Mark Grudzielanek may be out for the season after a MRI revealed a torn deltoid ligament in his right ankle.
DENVER (AP) -- A possible trade to send Brian Giles from San Diego to Boston fell through Friday, and the Padres outfielder said he was upset that details of the talks became public.
SEATTLE (AP) -- One of the biggest among a truckload of criticisms of the Mariners this season -- from within and the outside -- is that the players are too indifferent.
Francisco Liriano is not here to be a savior. He, alone, is not going to grab the Twins by the scruff of their scrappy little necks and drag them into the postseason. Not by himself, he isn't.
It's hard to imagine that a team that plays just down the road from Disneyland and is one of the most fan-friendly in baseball could be scary, but the Los Angeles Angels have been frighteningly good this season. At 71-43 they have the best record in baseball, are on pace for the franchise's first 100-win season and lead the AL West by 10.5 games -- an advantage more than twice as big as that of any other first-place team -- and yet everyone associated with the Angels believes they can play even better.
A red "easy" button sits on a table below the players' mailbox in the Dodgers clubhouse, mere inches from Andruw Jones' slot, which is overflowing with fan letters he has yet to pick up. Judging from the reaction he gets at Dodger Stadium every time he steps into the batter's box these days, he probably isn't missing anything he hasn't already heard.
The first-place Tampa Bay Rays acquired reliever Chad Bradford from Baltimore on Thursday, bolstering their bullpen with a proven postseason pitcher.
Cito Gaston will return as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays next year.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Lefty reliever Scott Eyre was acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Chicago Cubs on Thursday for a minor league pitcher.
Where in your opinion does Ryan Ludwick stand in any early NL MVP discussions? A couple of stories have pointed out how his offensive stats mirror those of first-half favorite Chase Utley, and the last two weeks have demonstrated that he has worked his way through a June swoon and come back swinging. And if you've seen many Cards games you know that he can play a little defense, too (witness that game-changing double play he turned in the finale of the last series with the Cubs). -- Greg Pils, Madison, Wisc.
Joba Chamberlain was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday by the New York Yankees due to rotator cuff tendinitis in his pitching shoulder.
Livan Hernandez was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies from the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
The Braves had it so good for so long that, if you believe in the law of averages and baseball's cyclic and somewhat cosmic nature, their current predicament should come as no surprise. The one-time champion Braves -- boastful winners of 14 straight division titles (if you don't count that strike year in there) -- officially have crapped out. At 52-61, the Braves sit in fourth place in the NL East they won so often it seemed they might never stop winning it. They are busted for this season, the third straight year that they won't be in the playoffs.
DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Rockies confirmed that they are interested in adding veteran pitcher Livan Hernandez, put on waivers Friday by the Minnesota Twins.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Billy Wagner was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a strained left forearm, leaving the New York Mets without their All-Star closer as they chase a playoff spot.
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a broken left foot.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder apologized Tuesday for pushing a teammate in the dugout during a loss, saying he should have done a better job of handling frustration due in part to the Brewers' losing streak.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Cubs closer Kerry Wood was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after being sidelined for three weeks because of a blister on his right index finger.
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Boston Red Sox fan sued the New York Yankees and two of its fans Tuesday, alleging he was attacked at Yankee Stadium last summer.
If 109 games didn't convince you the Tampa Bay Rays are for real, game number 110 should have done the trick. The Rays were dominated Sunday by Detroit starter Armando Galarraga, putting only four runners on base in seven innings, they trailed by two runs in the eighth inning and one run in the 10th inning, their closer gave up home runs in the ninth and 10th innings -- and the Rays still won the game. And there were 33,438 people at The Trop.
When the Red Sox originally offered Manny Ramirez in trade to the other 29 teams, they went 0-for-29. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein made tens of calls and found no takers.
Early last week I was sitting in my regular spot in the press box at Turner Field when Skip Caray stopped by during a mid-game break. Skip did that often, to say hi to our friend Patty Rasmussen, who writes for the Braves' magazine ChopTalk, or to crack on some sorry play on the field. Mostly, though, it was to tell us his latest joke.
BOSTON -- By 3:15 p.m., five television trucks were idling on Van Ness Street, beyond right field of Fenway Park. A few steps from a statue of Ted Williams and within view of a series of banners honoring Red Sox greats, a local sports reporter led into the afternoon news broadcast and summed up the club's prevailing attitude toward Manny Ramirez: "They loved his power hitting but not his antics ..."
Skip Caray, a voice of the Atlanta Braves for 33 years and part of a family line of baseball broadcasters that included Hall of Famer Harry Caray, died in his sleep at home on Sunday, the team said. He was 68.
In this week's edition of Diamond Digits we look at the Windy City's "other" winning team, the worst of the bests, a Nationals disaster and a pitcher who really used his head to get to the top. (NOTE: All stats through Monday night.)
Ken Griffey Jr. thanked Cincinnati Reds fans on Saturday for their support during his nine seasons in his hometown, and apologized to them for his throat-slash gesture last weekend.
LOS ANGELES -- Manny Ramirez arrived at Dodger Stadium on Friday like a bad Hollywood cliché, another long-haired diva seeking reinvention, another high-maintenance character seeking acceptance, as well as a $20-million-a-year deal.
BOSTON (AP) -- Jason Bay made it clear shortly after arriving at Fenway Park: He's not Manny Ramirez.
The Texas Rangers fired pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti after Friday night's 9-8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Manny Ramirez showed up at Dodger Stadium with a new attitude, a new number and a willingness to cut his flowing dreadlocks.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Ken Griffey Jr. spent a good part of his childhood in Cincinnati, played there for nine more years. It's the place he raised his children, where he's made numerous friends, still has family.
Latest in a series of scouting reports provided to SI.com by the network of former scouts, players, coaches and executives at the Baseline Group. See below for past reports.
The biggest winner at the trade deadline is an easy call this year. It's the team that dispelled the notion that it was incapable of making a monster trade, that established itself as the favorite in baseball's most winnable division, the team that landed one of the greatest hitters and greatest clutch hitters for nothing more than a song. And for not such a great song, at that.
I was sitting in front of a camera at about 4:45 p.m. yesterday, phone off, waiting to go on ESPNews to talk about what had been a very mild trade deadline. While wondering how I could stretch the White Sox' outfield/first base logjam into 10 minutes, with a kicker on the wonder of Arthur Rhodes' illustrious career, I heard a voice in my ear: I was being pushed back to 5 p.m. No problem...more time to build the case for Rhodes as the best reliever in the Marlins' pen.
The Florida Marlins bolstered their bullpen Thursday by acquiring left-hander Arthur Rhodes from the Seattle Mariners for minor league right-hander Gaby Hernandez.
Ned Colletti has made a lot of -- to put it more kindly than many people in Southern California do -- questionable decisions during his tenure as the Dodgers general manager. And maybe someday, Thursday's deadline-pushing trade for Manny Ramirez will get lumped into that category.
The Manny Ramirez era in Boston is over, his homers and headaches shipped far, far away to Los Angeles.
The Dodgers, who appeared to be running second at best for days in the race for embattled superstar Manny Ramirez, pulled a last-minute shocker and acquired Ramirez just before Thursday's trade deadline from the Red Sox, who were determined to unload the unhappy slugger.
Minutes before the Pittsburgh Pirates left town for a weekend series in Chicago, general manager Neal Huntington sat them down in their clubhouse to tell them he had traded popular outfielder Jason Bay for four young players.
Ken Griffey Jr. is leaving home to get back in a pennant race.
As the clock ticks toward Thursday's 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline, SI.com's Jon Heyman weighs in with the latest trade talk from around the majors.
It got very quiet for a couple of days, at least on the transaction wire. The rumor mill went nuts, but there were just three trades, two of which involved the Yankees, and just one of those affecting a contender.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Detroit reliever Todd Jones was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday as the Tigers waited for Kyle Farnsworth to join them.
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
Photos
