Baseball

One star has taken over the headlines and drawn all the attention on themselves this post-season. It’s not Alex Rodriguez, not Ryan Howard…I’m talking about the umpires.

The New York Yankees bludgeoned the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 10-1 in Game Four of the ALCS Tuesday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim to move within one victory of their first trip to the World Series since the 2003 season.

Yankees ace lefthander C.C. Sabathia allowed only one run on five hits and two walks over eight stellar innings to help New York take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Angels in the best-of-seven series.

Sporting News has named Colorado Rockies manager the 2009 NL Manager of the Year.

A panel of 22 MLB managers voted and selected Tracy for the first Manager of the Year award in his career.

Under Tracy, the Rockies went 74-42 since taking over and ended the regular season  32-games over .500 and earned a Wild Card spot.

Giving this award to Tracy appeared to be a no brainer for anyone who payed attention to the Rockies since Tracy took over on May 29th after the club dismissed Clint Hurdle.

There seems to be an uproar lately surrounding Kobe's baseball allegiance. If you follow sports at all, you know that the Los Angeles Dodgers are playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.

At the Dodgers' home games, Kobe can be seen on the sideline next to the mayor, cheering for...the DODGERS.

If you know Kobe, you know that he was born and partially raised in Philadelphia/the Greater Philadelphia area. To Philadelphia fans, this is treason of the highest degree. How can one of the most famous sons of Philly turn on them?

Welcome to Philly, the city of Brotherly Love.

Wait, the city of Brotherly Love, not after the year of 1968 when they booed Santa Claus, becoming notorious for their infamous boos among four major pro sports teams. Fans booed merely anyone who underachieves or criticizes their city and even their own teams.

Sooner or later, I'll get around to writing my thoughts on the San Francisco Giants' 2009 season. Right now though, there's still some unfinished business i.e. the Los Angeles Dodgers. As long as their season lives on, the final flourishes haven't been brushed on the Gents' season.

That's not to say I define the San Francisco vis-a-vis the Bums, but—as any die-hard fan of los Gigantes must acknowledge—if the Dodgers were to win the World Series, the Orange and Black year takes on a grayer hue.

After all has been said and done, Jose Cruz will return to the Houston Astros organization in a new role, with details to be worked out in the near future.

According to MLB.com Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart, Cruz met with president of baseball operations Tal Smith at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday, Oct. 20, before agreeing to remain a part of the Houston organization.

ESPN’s Amy K. Nelson reports that the departing head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Donald Fehr, will receive an $11 million dollar severance package from the players.                                   

It's official. The quick courtship of Rudy Jaramillo by the Chicago Cubs added up to a three-year deal worth reportedly $800,000 per season on Wednesday morning.

The salary makes Jaramillo the highest paid coach in baseball.

Jaramillo comes to Chicago with an impressive resume, having coached 17 Silver Slugger Award winners in 10 seasons. He is considered one of the most respected coaches in the game.