Richie Sexson to the Yankees
17. July 2008 by JJK.
The New York Yankees have reached a tentative agreement with Richie Sexson.The Yankees will only have to pay Sexson the prorated minimum of $390,000 from his $14 million salary with the Mariners. Seattle will be paying the remainder of nearly $6 million Sexson is owed for the season. Sexson will most likely take over at first base against left-handed pitching or play DH. The Yankees were in desperate need of a right-handed hitter in the line up. Sexson hit .344 avg against lefties this year. Hopefully he can bring that stat with him and keep his .218 avg in Seattle.
CRAP!!!!
17. July 2008 by critter.
Well, this afternoon Red Bulls Captain and one of the greatest US Soccer players ever, Claudio Reyna, announced his retirement. He’s been sidelined for almost two months now with herniated discs and other lingering issues, and is just at the age obviously where making a full comeback is too much of a longshot. Reyna will stay on with the Red Bulls management & front office.
This certainly doesn’t solve any of the Red Bulls offensive issues, since they still haven’t filled the void left by the transfer of Jozy Altidore earlier this season. Luckily, Juan Pablo Angel is healthy again, scoring a great header upon his return, to lead the offense.
The Red Bulls host one of the toughest teams this weekend when they square off against Landon Donovan and David Beckham. I’ll be there to catch all the action, which makes me wonder….do you think I could get a press pass and an interview session with Becks (and his wife) using The Sports Blog as my credential? Hmmmm…..
Mets begin 2nd Half
17. July 2008 by Glendo.
One misstep after another has imperiled the Mets’ 2008 season, cost Willie Randolph his job and cast a pall on the organization. Of course, the season can be rescued, but given the restrictions the Mets face, few young, big league-ready personnel and many immovable veterans,the chances of bringing in fresh talent to fill the voids created by the absences of Moises Alou and Ryan Church are remote.
Until the surge of the most recent nine games, no facet of the team’s performance had performed to the unrealistic expectations the front office presented in March and re-confirmed in May. General manager Omar Minaya’s assertion that the Mets have “championship-caliber talent” has not been supported by the players’ performances even now. The prolonged absence of Pedro Martinez undermined the rotation almost as much as the abject shortfall of the offense and the early problems of Aaron Heilman. The batting order had lacked consistency and power, and Alou had underperformed. The lack of offense had been the greatest problem.
But the improved offense relieved some of the pressure on the rotation and bullpen. Since the managerial change, Delgado occasionally has played with greater purpose at first base and his production has changed the look of the batting order. Beltran has taken a step in once in a while and Castillo’s understudies, Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes, have provided more pop and more range, respectively.
I look for the Mets to continue the second half of the season the way they finished the first. The Mets are a half game behind the divison leader Phillies, yes the Phillies have not been playing that great of late and allowed the Mets to make up this much ground in a week, but that happens. The Mets know that all to well.
The Mets start up the 2nd half with 4 games in Cincinnati over the weekend. The Mets will open with the top of the rotation and go from there. The Mets need to keep up the good play in Cincy, because they return home next week for a huge series with the Phillies. That series could very well be for 1st Place in the division.
MATCHUP
NEW YORK METS (51-44, 2nd Place NL East/ .5GB) at CINCINNATI REDS (46-50, 4th Place NL Central/11.5GB)
Tonight: Mets (Johan Santana, 8-7, 2.84) at Reds (Johnny Cueto, 7-9, 4.67) 7:10pm ET
Friday: Mets (John Maine, 8-6, 3.99) at Reds (Bronson Arroyo, 7-7, 5.97) 7:10pm ET
Saturday: Mets (Oliver Perez, 6-5, 4.44) at Reds (TBA) 7:40pm ET
Sunday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 8-6, 3.64) at Reds (TBA) 1:15pm ET
Hurdle Was Ready To Use Wright As Pitcher
17. July 2008 by gchacko.
With no one left in his bullpen as the 2008 MLB All-Star Game dragged into the fifthteenth inning, NL manager Clint Hurdle approached Mets third baseman David Wright about taking the mound, according to The Boston Herald.
Hurdle was just worried about what Mets general manager Omar Minaya would have thought of such a decision.
“Don’t worry,” Wright remembered saying. “They’re probably sleeping by now. Nobody will know.”
Minaya was happy it didn’t come down to Wright’s pitching prowess.
“I would have a problem with one of our position players pitching in an All-Star game, there’s no doubt,” he said.
Wright admitted that he hadn’t pitched since Little League.
“I would have made up stuff on the mound,” he said Wednesday through team spokesman Jay Horwitz. “In a way, I wish it would have happened. It would have been thrill for me to remember for the rest of my life.”
