Following Former Red Sox 2016

LogansDad

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There is an interesting piece on Bronson Arroyo in the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/sports/baseball/bronson-arroyo-playing-with-house-money-in-comeback-bid.html?ref=baseball
He talks about trying to outlast Papi as remaining members of the '04 Sox, and the most interesting bits have to do with his being traded three times last year.
Thanks for posting this. I've always had a soft spot for Arroyo, and hope he finds a way to latch on somewhere this year.
 

Flunky

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Wow. He grew 5 inches in two years from being 5'5" at 18? That must feel like winning the lottery.

I will love Daniel Nava forever. Even if he's on the Yankees. Sitting at a early Sept. game in 2013 in the new toilet bowl the idiotic MFY fans next to me were making fun of him because "he looked like a plumber". It was such a weird insult. I guess they like their centaurs handsome in NY...
 
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InsideTheParker

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Wow. He grew 5 inches in two years from being 5'5" at 18? That must feel like winning the lottery.

I will love Daniel Nava forever. Even if he's on the Yankees. Sitting at a early Sept. game in 2013 in the new toilet bowl the idiotic MFY fans next to me were making fun of him because "he looked like a plumber". It was such a weird insult. I guess they like their centaurs handsome in NY...
I remember reading somewhere that Nava was given growth hormone. This is a really legitimate use, since he was abnormally small.
I'd rather not see him or anyone I like on the Yankees, thank you very much!
 

Gubanich Plague

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Jul 14, 2005
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A Japanese friend who's a huge Marines fan alerted me about Navarro's problem with the bullet. I know the laws are very strict about guns and ammo (I used to live there), but when I read the story at your link I was surprised at the reaction (2 days in jail, a small fine, and a month-long suspension).

I should have posted something here; thanks for posting it yourself.

I also didn't know about the gambling scandal; that's huge! Japan has had recent gambling scandals in sumo, which have (partially) led to its decline.
 

JimRiceHOFer

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There is an interesting piece on Bronson Arroyo in the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/sports/baseball/bronson-arroyo-playing-with-house-money-in-comeback-bid.html?ref=baseball
He talks about trying to outlast Papi as remaining members of the '04 Sox, and the most interesting bits have to do with his being traded three times last year.
Arroyo pitched in ST for the Nationals today. Made a few hitters look foolish on some breaking balls.
 

Mike Greenwall

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Great piece. It reminded me of the articles of past years reading about Carlton, Palmer, and Seaver, as they went for one more spring training camp with the hope of squeezing out a few more innings from those amazing but spent arms. Love those stories. Go get 'em Saturn balls! ARod's greatest gift is making sure Arroyo is part of baseball lore.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Watched the Mets at Tradition Field today, starter was old friend Bartolo Colon, who gave up a few hits and runs. Out of the bullpen, though? Stolmy Pimental. Who got one out, then a hard hit double, then a HR to Kolton Wong (way outa there), then I think he broke the next guys hand with a HBP, then another long HR, then another HBP, whereupon he was ejected from the game, mostly for the safety of the Cardinals and of the minor leaguers playing on the field beyond the LF fence.
 
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mauidano

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threecy

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Not sure where to drop this and it may be moved...apparently Curt Schilling's feelings are hurt that the Red Sox don't care about him. Schill touches on a few subjects in the podcast.
http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2016/03/11/curt-schilling-on-enough-about-me-podcast-red-sox-ownership-never-gave-a-expletive-about-me/
I read some of the quotes and it appears he's upset about a meeting with the ownership in which they accused him of lying about being hurt, and how they acted differently than they had before.
Quite frankly, it sounds similar to how they treated Tito in the end.
 

mauidano

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I read some of the quotes and it appears he's upset about a meeting with the ownership in which they accused him of lying about being hurt, and how they acted differently than they had before.
Quite frankly, it sounds similar to how they treated Tito in the end.
Possibly. He knows as well as anyone this is big business. Personal feelings don't always come first. He's a quirky guy and ownership is too. I think he's looking for "Pedro love" and just not getting it. He's a Sox HOF and maybe someday a MLB HOF. He gets a pass from Sox Nation on a lot of his bizarre tweets. Tito was just screwed royally.
 

vadertime

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Daniel Bard pitched a perfect inning of relief to get the save for the Pirates against the Sox today.

Also a story on his comeback.

There are things you can look back on," Bard said on a Monday morning that called for reminiscing as he returned to Fort Myers to face his former team, the Boston Red Sox. "This is getting complicated, but my spin rates were vastly different in 2011 than my previous two years. It's a weird thing. I was still pitching well, but the ball was coming out of my hand a lot different. My velocity was down. My command was not terrible, but my misses were more common, and I was walking a few more guys. That was just an uphill battle. I didn't know anything was wrong. I was just fighting through it."
For one day, at least, Bard's story had a happy ending. He entered in the ninth inning, retired all three batters he faced, including a strikeout of catcher Sandy Leon, and was credited with a spring-training save. "You really have to admire his perseverance," said Red Sox manager John Farrell, Bard's pitching coach when he made his major-league debut in 2009. "The last four or five years, it's been a long road for him through the thoracic outlet, the surgery that followed, the adjustment to the arm slot that looks like he's gaining some comfort with. So, you're happy to see him back in a big-league environment and throwing the ball well."
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/47911/ex-red-sox-reliever-daniel-bard-brings-perspective-to-latest-comeback-attempt
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Rosenthal is reporting that the reason he's choosing to retire now is because the White Sox told him he could no longer bring his 14-year-old son into the clubhouse. Apparently, the kid has been coming to the park with his dad and even going on road trips for years. LaRoche is choosing family over team...an admirable decision.

Can't figure out why the sudden change of policy. Seems like it's long been a tradition for guys to bring their kids to the park. Other than Dusty Baker's kid nearly getting plowed trying to retrieve a bat that one time (save by JT Snow), has it ever been a safety concern?
 

soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
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We now know why

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 7m7 minutes ago
Sources: LaRoche chose to retire after #WhiteSox prez Ken Williams told him that he no longer could bring 14-year-old son into clubhouse.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 7m7 minutes ago
LaRoche’s son, Drake, 14, has traveled with him for several years. Adam, in a Chicago Tribune story last year, called him team’s “26th man.”
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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Yeah it looks like Ventura made an exception last year and the kid was in the clubhouse full time. (not just once in a while or after games etc.) I can see why that likely annoyed teammates for various reasons.
 

TheYaz67

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I've met Drake, and seemed like the nicest kid - can't really see him as an "annoyance" to other players, but certainly could have annoyed a few who wouldn't say anything to LaRoche directly but went to the manager/GM. Or there was no complaints and they are just being pricks....
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Apparently, Ken Williams, who was the one who made the decision, defended it by saying that the kid wasn't banned fully, he just couldn't be there every single day as he had been. Williams said something to the effect of he was there 100% of the time and he preferred that the kid be there less (paraphrasing from reading a series of Rosenthal tweets this afternoon).

Kid's 14 and been around locker rooms for most of his life. I doubt he was the kind of kid the players had to be careful with their language around or something like that...he's probably heard it all by now. Unless the kid was being a nuisance, I'm not sure how objectionable his presence really could have been.
 

garlan5

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May 13, 2009
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Obviously I'm not in the mlb and don't know how these things normally go but it seems like AL went a little too far with it. It seems a little entitled to think that's okay to do day in and day out. Isn't that reserved for the superstar players even if that is biased. Even then I can't imagine guys like Papi going that far. The dusty baker reference was close in comparison. I remember thinking how crazy it was to have your kids out there in a big game like that. When my kids are around me im overly focused on them and what they're doing and not wanting to bare any responsibility on anyone else.
 

mauidano

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So doesn't the kid go to school? I mean how "full time" can it be? But then again, if you do it for one, then you do it for all. Next thing you know it's a day care center. If LaRoche is all jacked up about that and willing to leave $13 mill on the table at the end of his career, then see ya. He should have stuck it out and made the team release him and kept some of that cash.
 

InsideTheParker

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I heard a bit of a game between the Cardinals and the Tigers earlier today. I was surprised to hear that Saltalamacchia was catching for the Tigers. Only got to see him strike out once. Still showed big old loopy swing during that AB. Brandon Moss was in the OF for the Cardinals.
 

mauidano

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Brad Penny retires. Had a rough Spring and saw the light. Brad always took advantage of his fame and money and was romantically linked frequently to actresses, models, etc. Finally married an OKC Thunder cheerleader.

His team mates are livid and threatening to boycott a game because his wife Laci will no longer be around the clubhouse and part of the team.
 

VBSoxFan

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Aug 8, 2005
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In the latest news regarding Arroyo, it appears he has a partially torn rotator cuff, not as severe as the original diagnosis, but not merely inflammation of the bursa sac.

From the linked article:

Coming off 2014 Tommy John surgery, Arroyo said before camp that another major injury would likely be the end of the road for him. That seemed to be the case when the first doctor to read his MRI said he had suffered an 80 percent tear of his rotator cuff. However, in a baffling twist, it turns out that doctor misread the MRI.

The situation then took another step into the land of confusion on Friday when FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that Arroyo's rotator cuff was intact, and he was only dealing with inflammation of the bursa sac. The Nationals quickly disputed that report, which led to Saturday's announcement.

According to Arroyo, the first MRI was read by a non-baseball doctor. That takes the Nationals medical staff off the hook, as many may have assumed they were directly involved in the originial misdiagnosis. In the end, the Nationals probably deserve an approving nod for regaining control of the situation and not going out of their way to throw the other doctor under the bus.
Glad that's all cleared up.
 

Van Everyman

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In the latest news regarding Arroyo, it appears he has a partially torn rotator cuff, not as severe as the original diagnosis, but not merely inflammation of the bursa sac.

From the linked article:



Glad that's all cleared up.
Ok but if you're going to clear this up, you should probably note that the article also says that the partial tear isn't new:

Early Saturday morning, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced that Arroyo has a partial tear in the rotator cuff tendons, which are inflamed and have caused some discomfort. However, that's also consistent with an MRI taken on Arroyo's shoulder in 2014, meaning there's no new significant damage and he could be back on the field in 4-to-6 weeks.
So this isn't like some tempered good news – it's great news because he's in exactly the same place he thought he was in, long term health-wise, when he started spring training.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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So doesn't the kid go to school? I mean how "full time" can it be? But then again, if you do it for one, then you do it for all. Next thing you know it's a day care center. If LaRoche is all jacked up about that and willing to leave $13 mill on the table at the end of his career, then see ya. He should have stuck it out and made the team release him and kept some of that cash.
Probably mentioned in the other thread, but the kid is home schooled, so his schedule is pretty flexible.
 

SoxLegacy

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Oct 30, 2008
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Will Middlebrooks not making the Brewers 25 man roster, and he's not on the 40 man either. Reportedly heading to AAA. Did little in 38 plate appearances this spring.
 

InsideTheParker

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The New Yorker has an article on the hiring of Dave Roberts as the Dodgers manager. There are no surprises in this, but some had thought that stats guy Zaidi would hire a more stats-oriented manager, e.g., Kapler.
The contemporary manager has to process reams of information and back up decisions with an informed thought process he can explain both to his players and his bosses. That last part—explanation—is key: above all, a manager needs to be able to communicate ideas to the men on the field. . . .
In interviews for the managerial job, Roberts impressed Zaidi and the rest of the Dodgers brain trust with his replies to their requests for detailed explanations of how he’d handle given game situations. He demonstrated, everyone said, an agile mind. But I was also told that it was his warmth and “energy” that landed him the job. “He has incredible empathy for guys,” Zaidi said. “If something is a tough situation, he won’t have trouble saying that’s tough, as opposed to a kind of robotic attempt to always put a positive spin on things, which guys don’t like. I think that empathy makes the difference.” The Dodgers’ third baseman, Justin Turner, a former Met, told me that when Roberts was a first-base coach with the San Diego Padres, he would ask him questions that went well beyond the perfunctory. “He’s just a guy who genuinely cares about you, and not just as a baseball player,” Turner said. “He cares about you as a person.” For Zaidi, this quality is clearly paramount. “Good baseball strategy is good baseball strategy,” he said. “I think somebody can bring a lot more positive impact by getting players wanting to play for him and wanting to play for the team, and keeping guys . . . on the same page.”
“I think that a lot of times in baseball there is a thought that if everybody plays individually well then collectively we’ll have success,” he said. “But for me it’s more a thinking the team-first mind-set, mentality, and all the other individual statistics and things will take care of themselves.” He meant things like giving up an at-bat to move a runner over, or taking a walk when that’s the right move, but also knowing how to bunt and go the other way. It was about winning baseball games, but he conveyed it as almost a moral imperative. “It’s a philosophy that he’s been talking about since day one, and he’s getting everyone to buy into it,” Turner said. “So far, everyone is really intrigued.”
http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/dave-roberts-and-the-importance-of-baseballs-middle-managers?intcid=mod-latest
 

BestGameEvah

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Yes, team first.
Iglesias Vows to be a Better Teammate:

“Everybody wants to hit .300 in the big leagues,” Iglesias said. “In my first two years, that was my goal.”
But that goal consumed him to the point where he became selfish. Sometimes, he would try to get a hit to improve his stats when the team needed him to simply hit the ball on the right side of the infield to advance a runner.


http://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/jeff-seidel/2016/02/21/detroit-tigers-jose-iglesias/80721626/
 

BestGameEvah

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Oh, and Middlebrooks is healthy and has been healthy the las year. He was always one to point to 'not being healthy' as the reason his play was so poor. Guess Counsell wasn't buying it!
 

mauidano

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Will Middlebrooks not making the Brewers 25 man roster, and he's not on the 40 man either. Reportedly heading to AAA. Did little in 38 plate appearances this spring.
He's still married to Jenny Dell, so he's still got that going for himself.
 
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John Marzano Olympic Hero

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And a World Series ring. Probably a couple million bucks too. And he plays baseball for a living.

Will Middlebrooks is a lucky dude.