Baseball

I don't know what to do right now, as we still have two more days until Yankee baseball. 

This should help you kill some time (it certainly helped me).

I'm a big Ian Kennedy fan. He absolutely tore up the minor leagues in his first full professional season, something that very few pitchers do. No, Kennedy doesn't have the front-line potential that Hughes and Joba have, but he still is a valuable asset. Check this out, his numbers speak for themselves:

The first road game for the Yankees in the 2009 Playoffs was taking on the red-hot Minnesota Twins.

After three games of dominating pitching and late-inning clutch hitting, the Yankees disposed of Minnesota in a series sweep and moved on in the playoffs.

Starting on Friday, the Yankees will take on the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Championship Series.

The Angels are no strangers to the Yankees in the playoffs, and quite frankly, have been a pain in the Yankees' rear-ends in recent time.

A wise man once said that age is nothing but a number.

The Los Angeles Dodgers certainly hope that is the case on Thursday evening when 21-year old Clayton Kershaw steps to the bump against the defending World Series Champions.

Manager Joe Torre announced late on Wednesday afternoon that the southpaw would get the call in Game One as the Dodgers look to get revenge for a loss in last season’s NLCS to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Red Sox have had four team captains since 1923—Jimmie Foxx, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, and the current captain, Jason Varitek. 

So many great players have played for the Red Sox throughout the years, so being named the captain is a prestigious honor. 

Prior to Varitek being named in 2005, the Red Sox hadn't played with a captain since
Rice retired in 1989. 

Varitek struggled heavily both offensively and defensively this season, so much so that he did not play an inning in the three-game playoff series against the Angels. 

As much as I love the Washington Nationals, I think it’s fair to say that they haven’t done much right since moving to D.C. five seasons ago.  Too many of the team’s personnel decisions have backfired, leading to several very long, very ugly, very bad years.

One of Jim Bowden’s first moves was to trade a part-time outfielder and a poor-hitting shortstop to the Angels for the volatile Jose Guillen.  At the time, it seemed like a steal.

And it was, but not for the Nationals.

Article originally posted on www.stadiumjourney.com

Pittsburgh’s beautiful PNC Park receives accolades as being one of the best of the 21st century ballparks.

There is no doubt that the Pirates did everything right. Location, scenery, and fitting tributes to the Pirates' rich history are all done just right. Unfortunately, what’s missing is the product and patrons.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in pursuit of the franchise’s first pennant since 1988.

That season, they went on to win the World Series behind the heroic effort of Kirk Gibson and the steady arm of Orel Hershiser.

In 2009, the Dodgers will turn to a young core, including 21-year-old Clayton Kershaw to start the series, in an attempt to break the World Series drought.

With the news that both GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy have received two-year extensions to stay in their respective roles for the San Francisco Giants, fans and media alike are starting to look for a new scapegoat.

Managing partner Bill Neukom and the rest of the Giants ownership group saw it fit to retain both men in their respective roles.  Why they made such a decision is a question fans will be pondering for a long, long time.

I’m becoming a bigger fan of baseball history.  I don’t have a lot of free-time, but when I do, I like to read books about baseball.  I’m currently working my way through “Eight Men Out”, the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox.  One of the major players in the “Black Sox” scheme, was pitcher Eddie Cicotte.

Ah, the season is over and the speculation begins.  

The offseason is a breeding ground of excitement, uncertainty, disillusionment, and hyperbole.  It's a time when every fan becomes an expert, and within Cardinal Nation there is, no doubt, a great deal of whispering about Tony LaRussa's pending future.  

A good number of people are voicing the opinion that the Cardinals would be ok—perhaps even better off—without LaRussa at the helm for the 2010 campaign.