Baseball

Much like we discussed Manny Parra yesterday (click here  to view), David Purcey was a pitcher who was on many people’s radar as a breakout candidate for 2009.  That clearly didn’t come to pass, however.  Besides his 6.19 ERA and 1.75 WHIP at the major league level, he struggled at Triple-A, posting a 4.46 ERA and 1.51 WHIP.

In what might have been a game that could have put the Los Angeles Dodgers back against the wall, this series stands even at one game a piece. Charlie Manuel’s decision to remove Pedro Martinez after seven brilliant innings in Game Two, only to see his bullpen give away the game in the eighth inning.

The bright side is that Pedro will certainly be ready for a repeat performance in Game Six if it should go that far. As I have mentioned in earlier stories I like the way the Phillies rotation sets up for the rest of the series.

Heavy rain was expected in the forecast for Saturday night. Most didn't even think Game Two would be played and expected it to be moved to Sunday at 4 p.m.

But Joe Girardi and Mike Scioscia opted to have Game Two be played on the scheduled night and it was a good thing, because baseball all around the world got a classic of a playoff game.

The Yankees had A.J. Burnett on the mound, making only his second career playoff start, while the Angels countered with Joe Saunders, who hadn't pitched in two weeks and was making his first start of the 2009 playoffs.

Now that the flames of the initial reactions of Giants hitting coach Carney Lansford's firing have cooled off a bit, I wanted to take a look at the overall picture about the Giants brass' decision not bring the Bay Area native back.

The National League championship series is tied at 1-1 heading back to Philadelphia.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slipped by surrendering home field advantage, but all it takes is stealing one win from the Philadelphia Phillies to shift the balance of power back into their hands.

Yes, there is no typo in the title.

I heard rumors today that the Milwaukee Brewers have reached an angreement with the Kansas City Royals to acquire the rights of Zack Greinke and unknown minor leaguers for the rights of JJ Hardy, Manny Parra, Mat Gamel, and Angel Salome.

I looked at every Brewers news source I could think of, but there are no official news or rumors related to this move.

If the trade indeed proves to be more than a speculation here are the numbers for each player for the 2009 season in their respective league.

Gary Sheffield is recognized as one of the greatest players who have ever played the game, and he started his Hall of Fame career with no one other than the Marlins.

Well, technically he didn't start out with the Marlins but it was with the Marlins where he made a name for himself.

Gary was a first round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers and he spent four years with the Brewers where he underproduced and was constantly fighting with the front office, calling them racist. The Brewers, finally exhausted by Sheffield's attitude, traded him to the Padres.

Dear Bud,

      The season was memorable, but the World Series needs to change. The game has never been healthier, but not for fans. It's your job to fix it...

I have been so busy with the baseball playoffs that I nearly missed the press release by the Arizona Diamondbacks announcing the selection of a contractor for the new Spring Training home of the Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.