Juan Pierre

Longtime outfielder Juan Pierre, who won the World Series in 2003 and twice led MLB in stolen bases, has reportedly retired from baseball.

Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald passed along the news:

After starting out 2012 sluggishly, the Philadelphia Phillies have put the pedal to the medal over the last week, winning six straight games and seven out of eight against San Diego, Houston, Chicago, and now Boston.

Carl Crawford was on your wishlist, but you couldn’t get you mitts on him? Don’t worry. He’s not the only player capable of stealing a ton of bases this year. Here are some players you can add to get a nice boost in that category. Average Draft Positions are from Mock Draft Central.
 

It could just be a coincidence, or there could be something to it.  Adam Dunn is just another example of a player who has been linked with the crosstown Cubs who is headed to White Sox.  Let's take a look into Kenny Williams' past.

1. Jim Thome

Over the last several years, the Los Angeles Dodgers' management team of owner Frank McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti have utilized the deferred contract option as a tactic to bring in numerous big name players with highly valued contracts—without paying much up front.

Looking back at several of the players who were still part of the Dodgers payroll in 2010, and who will be receiving paychecks from McCourt into the future, there's no doubt that many of the deals have failed miserably.

Joe Torre has made it official: he will be stepping down as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of the 2010 season, and thus comes to a close one of the great managerial careers in baseball history.

It is a bitter-sweet end, though, as after 12 brilliant season with the New York Yankees, Torre leaves the Dodgers without having brought a championship to L.A. in his three seasons there.

To make matters all the more wrenching, Torre's Dodgers reached the NLCS in each of his first two years at Chavez Ravine, but could never get over the hump.

The saying “defense wins championships” is generally a phrase left for the fans of the gridiron. The punishing hits and the game-changing interceptions are all things that can change the entire outcome of the game. While overlooked to a degree in baseball, defense is an integral part of today’s game.  This year, a few surprises on defense have made the entire White Sox team better overall defensively.

Okay so I'm a little late with Part II of my season-long look into the lost art of the stolen base. You can read part I here as a template for what future articles in this series will look like (if you are a new reader of mine). For those that aren't, yes it's the same format.

Last year, you might recall I had a season-long series on the art of the stolen base and whether or not we'll ever see a 100-steal man again.

While I have my doubts, I will however be continuing that monthly column update with yearly totals so look for that at the beginning of each month for the rest of the season.

With that here is the first installment of 2010:

So, I was Jonesing (get it?) for some Sox news and decided to make my way to BleacherReport. 

And by the looks of things, there is pandemonium, chaos, and a lost season on the South Side. 

All of you in panic mode are fools, and I'm going to show you why.

The Hitters

Much has been said about the production—or lack thereof—from the Sox lineup. Let me sprinkle some reality into your lives.