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| Miggy's mojo motivates AL in Motown |
| 05.02.06 (11:25 am) [edit] |
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The 76th All-Star Game will go down as a different type of Midsummer Classic, a celebration of the increasing global popularity of baseball and the international superstars who fill more and more big-league rosters every season. But with a 7-5 victory over the National League before 41,617 in Comerica Park on Tuesday night, the American League proved it's still rockin' in the free world. "Tonight was a great game for the American League," AL third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. "We brought a lot to the table. ... We had guys that could hit the ball out of the ballpark at any time, in any direction. It was a fun game for us." It should have been, because the AL won its third straight All-Star Game and by rule its third straight home-field advantage in the World Series. The Junior Circuit also ran its undefeated All-Star streak to nine. The NL hasn't won since 1996. And a day after Major League Baseball announced the March 2006 debut of the World Baseball Classic, several players who are expected to be key participants in the 16-country tournament shined on the game's biggest midseason stage. Leading that charge was Dominican superstar shortstop Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles, who started the party with a homer, got the defense rolling with a Gold Glove-caliber play, and walked away with the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. Tejada is the fifth Latin American-born player among the last eight MVP winners. Tejada kicked off the AL's fiesta and helped induce another NL siesta with his glove. With Monday night's CENTURY 21 Home Run Derby champion, Bobby Abreu, on first base for the NL after a leadoff single in the first inning, Carlos Beltran scorched an offering from AL starter and winning pitcher Mark Buehrle up the middle for what appeared to be a single. But Tejada ranged a few feet to his left, knocked the ball down and flipped it to his Orioles teammate, Brian Roberts, while on the ground for a rally-stifling, highlight-reel double play. "I think more than the home run, I think the play he made defensively in the first inning, to me, that relaxes Buehrle," AL manager Terry Francona said. "The whole game, I think, changes on that. That's a heck of a play." It shifted the momentum right into the AL dugout and right into Tejada's wheelhouse. Tejada got the scoring going with a no-doubter of a solo shot off Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz, crushing an 0-1 fastball 436 feet into the left-field seats for his first career All-Star Game home run. "I tried to make the best pitches I could against a great lineup," said Smoltz, who took the loss while pitching in his hometown. "One got away." Dominican slugger David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox made it 2-0 in the third with an RBI single off the wall in right field against Roy Oswalt. Tejada pushed another run across in that inning with an RBI fielder's choice, and Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners kept the pressure on with a two-run single in the fourth against Livan Hernandez. "I think the game is going in the direction of more international players playing in the Major Leagues," Ichiro said through an interpreter. "We're not quite there yet. It's going to get more globalized." Fair enough, but the global baseball power of the United States wasn't about to be left out of the AL's All-Star party. After two opening shutout innings, the AL went from Buehrle to burlier, giving the ball to Angels ace Bartolo Colon, a big man who tossed a big third inning before yielding to Johan Santana, Matt Clement and Jon Garland. All three kept the NL quiet through the sixth while the AL did more damage. Batting right-handed, switch-hitting Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira belted an opposite-field, two-run home run off Dontrelle Willis in the bottom of the sixth and added an intriguing piece of trivia to a game that had become a rout. Teixeira led the AL in home runs at the All-Star break with 25, but every one of them had been hit left-handed over a course of 267 at-bats. "I just felt comfortable in the box," Teixeira said. "Hopefully this will start some good things for me right-handed." While Teixeira picked a special time to get out of his right-handed slump, the NL picked another bad time to try to get out of its All-Star slump, and the sheer power of the AL lineup might have had a lot to do with that. Reigning AL Most Valuable Player Vladimir Guerrero batted sixth. A-Rod, an annual 50-homer threat, set the table from the two-hole. Teixeira checked in at No. 7 on the lineup card. "It's easy to put yourself ninth without even blinking an eye," said AL catcher Jason Varitek, who batted eighth. Added AL batting leader Brian Roberts, who batted ninth: "When you've got Vladdy batting sixth, what else do you need to say?" Even though the AL built the big early lead, the game still managed to provide a few dramatic moments. In the middle of the fourth inning, the home-team Tigers staged a moving video tribute to their longtime, Hall of Fame radio man Ernie Harwell, which had the Comerica faithful and the players in the AL dugout out of their seats for a standing ovation. And in the top of the seventh, the AL opened the bullpen gate for Kenny Rogers, the Texas Rangers pitcher who caused controversy and garnered a 20-game suspension for a recent physical confrontation with television cameramen. Rogers was booed by the crowd and tattooed by Andruw Jones, the Major League leader in homers at the All-Star break with 27 for the Atlanta Braves. Jones plastered a Rogers offering into the nether regions of the left-field bleachers to get the NL on board in the seventh and cut the AL's lead to 7-2. Rogers, who played the game while his suspension is under appeal, kept his head up when swarmed by media throughout the long weekend. "I know I've earned the right with the way I've pitched, but there's a lot of other stuff going on," Rogers said after Tuesday's game. "I didn't want this to be a distraction and I hope it hasn't been." It wasn't. The NL continued its comeback in the eighth when Miguel Cabrera hit an RBI fielder's choice off Joe Nathan to make it 7-3, and the Senior Circuit added two more in the ninth on a Luis Gonzalez double against B.J. Ryan and a Carlos Lee fielder's choice. If things seemed to be getting interesting, that ended when closer Mariano Rivera took the hill for the final out, closing out his second straight All-Star Game and preserving the AL's streak and Tejada's big night. "I'm going to keep working hard and let's see if I can keep up my game, the way that I play," said Tejada, who leads all active Major Leaguers with 843 consecutive games played. "I've got to keep playing hard, and if the guys continue to give me all that I've been getting, I've got to take it."
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| The Game: MLB\'s Marketing Quandary; Rbk Scores AHL All-Star Deal |
| 11.23.05 (10:41 am) [edit] |
MAJOR League Baseball's stricter drug policy has put commissioner Bud Selig in perhaps his strongest position ever. But the situation remains problematic for MLB in marketing its rank and file.
Under pressure from Congress, MLB and the MLB Players' Association last week beefed up testing and penalties for steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. A player who tests positive for steroids now gets a 50-game suspension for the first offense (up from a 10-day suspension), a 100-game suspension for the second offense (up from 30 days) and a lifetime ban for a third offense (up from 60 days).
However, even though Rafael Palmeiro received a 10-day ban last May after testing positive for steroids, the public court of opinion imparted the equivalent of a lifetime ban on the man whose lifetime stats read like a Hall of Fame resume: 569 home runs, 1,835 RBIs and 3,020 hits. He won't be back in a Baltimore Orioles' uniform (the team for which he has played in seven of the last 12 seasons), and likely won't be hired by any marketer.
It's also not likely that MLB—which prides itself on its history and constantly celebrates players and their achievements—will put itself in a position where it has to honor Palmeiro for his on-field success, much as it has done, except on rare occasion, with Pete Rose. That may hold true for others who have produced Hall of Fame stats but have also been linked to steroids, including Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.
To his credit, after entering the 2005 season as a virtual steroids poster boy, Jason Giambi turned around his on-field actions with the Yankees and was named American League Comeback Player of the Year. But do too many questions remain for marketers to risk putting MLB players in campaigns? As U.S. Senator Jim Bunning, R-Ky., a Hall of Fame pitcher and advocate of tough drug-testing policies, said in a statement, "From my days as a baseball player and union representative, I know that sometimes agreements you were told were written in stone can somehow change and become open to interpretation. I and my colleagues will be watching very closely, and if things unravel we still have tough legislation we can move through Congress."
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| AL triumphs after big start |
| 10.24.05 (6:09 am) [edit] |
This wasn't exactly what Houston fans had in mind when they envisioned Roger Clemens starting the 75th All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.
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The crowd had barely calmed itself from the buzz created by the appearance of ceremonial first-pitch honoree Muhammad Ali when Clemens put the National League in a quick six-run hole, which led to a 9-4 American League win.
An Ivan Rodriguez RBI triple and two-run homer by Manny Ramirez gave the AL an immediate 3-0 lead. With two outs, Jason Giambi reached on a Jeff Kent error, and after Derek Jeter singled to left, game MVP Alfonso Soriano cleared the bases with a first-pitch homer to left field that gave the AL a six-run advantage.
Soriano finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and one run scored.
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"I felt a little sorry because he's been nice to me all of the time," Soriano said of Clemens, a teammate when both were with the Yankees last season. "But you know, I had to do my job in the game. I am sorry, but you know, I am happy right now."
As was everyone else in the AL lockeroom. National Leaguers were a little stunned.
"It goes to show you that on any given night, anything can happen," Mets All-Star lefty Tom Glavine said. "We're all human in this game. For Roger -- he's had such a storied career -- it hasn't happened much, if at all. I'm sure he'd tell you that if he was going to have a bad outing, I'm sure he would rather it be an All-Star Game rather than one in September in a pennant race."
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| Plans afoot for 2006 All-Star Game |
| 10.24.05 (5:02 am) [edit] |
Representatives from Major League Baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the City of Pittsburgh assembled Tuesday at PNC Park to begin planning the events of the 2006 All-Star Week.
The meetings, which will continue Wednesday, are the first step in a 10-month cooperation between the city, team and league to showcase Pittsburgh and PNC Park during the events and activities surrounding the July 11, 2006 Midsummer Classic.
"We're anxious to get started," said Patty Paytas, Pirates' vice-president of communications and the ballclub's All-Star coordinator. "A lot of work has already been done, but now the heavy lifting begins. We're excited to welcome Major League Baseball to the best ballpark in America and look forward to working with them and the entire Pittsburgh community to make the 2006 All-Star Game the best ever."
Approximately 20 MLB officials were on hand Tuesday for the first round of meetings. Marla Miller, senior vice president for special events for Major League Baseball, held a general information session for the staff, followed by breakout sessions on such issues as security, appropriate use of space and ticketing.
"We now have our All-Star manual and timetables. Everybody has their own binder," said Paytas. "It's really impressive. It's a very organized process."
The 2006 game marks the fifth time that the City of Pittsburgh has hosted the Midsummer Classic. Forbes Field was site of the 1944 and 1959 All-Star Games and Three Rivers Stadium hosted the 1974 and 1994 All-Star Games.
"Major League Baseball is thrilled to once again be in the great city of Pittsburgh and to begin planning and preparations for the 2006 Midsummer Classic," said Mille. "Each year, All-Star Week brings a high level of excitement to the middle of summer and we are sure that this year's events will give the fans in Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania the ultimate baseball experience."
Although the All-Star Game itself remains the marquee event of All-Star Week, the ancillary events have taken on added prominence since the Pirates last played host in 1994.
Major League Baseball All-Star Week festivities get underway with John Hancock All-Star FanFest, July 7-11 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center; Taco Bell All-Star Sunday -- which includes the XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game -- on July 9 at PNC Park; and All-Star Workout Day -- including the All-Star Home Run Derby -- on Monday, July 10 at PNC Park.
"It's a very, very large event," said Paytas. "The more you get into the planning, the more you realize that. But you also realize how fortunate we are to have this because it really is a premiere event."
The XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game will be televised live on ESPN or ESPN 2 on Sunday, while on Monday the All-Star Home Run Derby will air live on ESPN, immediately followed by the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game. The 77th MLB All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive, national radio coverage of the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage and MLB.com Radio will provide exclusive play-by-play coverage of the Midsummer Classic on the Internet.
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| City of Houston going wild over 'Stros |
| 10.24.05 (4:53 am) [edit] |
Albert Pujols' tear-the-heart-out-of-Hou ston home run in Game 5 tested the most devoted Astros fan.
A little more than 48 hours later, the city bubbled over with excitement for the Astros' first World Series appearance in franchise history.
"After the Pujols home run, I didn't think they were going to make it," said 48-year-old Steve Schares, a fan since he became an Astros "buddy" at age 10. "They ran all the Houston disasters in the paper."
A city known more for sports letdowns than championships, including the former Oilers dropping a big lead in a playoff game at Buffalo, the University of Houston upset by North Carolina State at the NCAA Final Four and countless Astros disappointments, there was room for reasonable doubt.
"Here we go again," said Jimmy Disch, a professor of kiniesology at Rice who once taught Astros slugger Lance Berkman. "We're just doomed."
Wednesday night's 5-1 win at St. Louis changed all that.
Many fans watched Game 6 projected on the wall of a building in downtown Houston. A T-shirt company began printing Astros National League champion shirts the second the game ended.
Academy, a sportswear store, stayed open until 2 a.m. CT selling the shirts and caps (limit two to a customer) and faced a long line of people waiting outside Thursday morning, queued as if they were buying World Series tickets instead of T-shirts.
The city quickly organized a send-off party for 9:30 a.m. on Friday, when the Astros will leave Minute Maid Park by bus for the airport and their flight to Chicago.
"It's going to be a 10-day party," said Rice baseball coach Wayne Graham, who coached Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte when they played at San Jacinto Junior College, and Berkman with the Owls.
Mayor Bill White declared Friday, Saturday and Sunday "No Socks" days in the city, preparing to do battle with the evil forces from Chicago who dress in pale hose.
"We had a staff meeting [Thursday] morning, and everybody was talking about the Astros," said Clay Hoster, president of Republic National Bank. "All the bars are full, everybody's talking about it."
Craig Biggio, in his 18th season with the Astros, talked about how long he waited to get to the World Series.
The city waited even longer.
"I thought that would be our year in '98 when we got Randy Johnson [for the second half of the year]," said Disch, who attended the second home game in Houston history when the Astros were called the Colt .45s and played at Buffs Stadium. "I had a good feeling going into Game 6."
Disch plays baseball in an over-55 league. His team name? The Colt .45s.
"This will show the type of spirit Houstonians have," said Schares, who deals in sports memorabilia as a sideline to his microscope business. He purchased 50 photos of Chris Burke's 18th-inning homer that eliminated Atlanta from the NLDS.
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