One of the most popular players here at The Southpaw is current San Diego Padres second baseman David Eckstein makes a catch against the Cleveland Indians in the third inning of a Spring Training game Monday.
Spring Training is almost over. It's a bittersweet feeling, kind of like riding the school bus for the last time. You're moving on to better things, but you had a lot of fun while it lasted.
There are myriad of reasons why we love Major League Baseball.
Here at The Southpaw we've compiled a list of our top 100.
Remember Pat Listach?
Ty Cobb hit .370 or better 12 times in his career.
Since 1957, there have been 12 instances of players who have hit .370 or better. Can you name them?
Somebody has a ton of time on their hands.
The best part is the Marty Barrett picture.
This time it was a matter of equal rights, not a game, that saw the Japanese beat the United States.
In today's first pitch, find out what is causing ardent Phillies fan and YDR reporter Jeff Frantz to hope the team loses on Opening Night. And why is he asking, "What, are we Notre Dame now?"
From The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With an apology to Congress, baseball and the kids who looked up to him, All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada received a sentence of one year probation Thursday for misleading Congress about the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Tejada faced possible prison time, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay issued a sentence of one year of unsupervised release, 100 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine. Kay waived drug testing often required of other convicts on probation and said he wouldn't restrict the Houston Astros player's travel.
Tejada briefly addressed the court, speaking softly in accented English, and said he was sorry to Congress, the court, his sport and kids. "I learned a very important lesson," he said.
Tejada pleaded guilty last month to withholding information about an ex-teammate's use of steroids and human growth hormone when questioned by a House committee's investigators in August 2005.
He also acknowledged he bought HGH while playing for the Oakland A's, but said he threw the drugs away without using them. Prosecutors said they have no evidence to contradict that.
We here at The Southpaw appreciate really great writing and reporting.
It brings our heroes and villains to life. It tells us a little about ourselves, where we come from and where we're going.
While on lunch today, we found a story in "Sports Illustrated's 50 Years of Great Writing."
It's a profile of Josh Gibson by John Schulian. It was written in 2000.
And it's wonderful.
What's so crazy about pitchers batting ninth?
Oh, and we have more on the Pirate player's wife being charged in kidnapping.
The Detroit Tigers' home opener is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. on April 10. Sounds innocent enough. But it's the time many Christians believe Jesus was dying on the cross. The Associated Press story follows on the jump.
The best part about this story is the guy who says the start time is an "insult to Catholics." And there's two reasons.
First, he must have forgotten other Christian denominations also believe Christ died before rising from the dead.
Second, he's still going to the game instead of Good Friday services.
Which of these players was not a member of the first Hall of Fame Class?
a. Babe Ruth
b. Christy Mathewson
c. Walter Johnson
d. Cy Young
e. Ty Cobb
f. Honus Wagner
George Kell has died. If you're asking who that is, you're probably younger than 50.
Japan's Ichiro Suzuki hits a line drive single past South Korea's Lim Chang Yong driving in two runs in the tenth inning of Japan's 5-3 victory.
Ichiro. Ichiro. Ichiro.
Up here in the Ivory Tower, most of the sports fans aren't big followers of the World Baseball Classic.
Several news outlets have offered their take on Curt Schilling's illustrious career.
Curt Schilling has announced his retirement on his blog, 38pitches.com.
Schilling won three World Series titles, collected a 216-146 record compiled a 3.46 ERA and more than 3,000 strikeouts while pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox.
Ichiro Suzuki hits a single during the eighth inning of Japan's 9-4 win over Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
Japan dropped the United States with ease Sunday, during a 9-4 win. Of course, the big problem for the United States, other than Davey Johnson doing his best impersonation of Tony Muser, is pitching. The Major League Clubs have completely tied the hands of Team USA, when it comes to pitching.
That said, the game would have been much more entertaining if Joe Morgan had locked Steve Phillips out of the broadcast booth. The former Mets General Manager had one of his worst days behind the mike. The normally astute Phillips, was bungling trivia questions about Japanese professional baseball.
Tom May, The Southpaw's astute brother-in-law, sent in a question about a certain celebrity who tried out for a Major League Baseball team. So we here at The Southpaw spent some time looking up the tryouts and minor league careers of several celebrities.
Can you pick the teams these guys were once associated with?
George Clooney, Garth Brooks, Mario Cuomo, Charlie Pride, Kurt Russell, Conway Twitty
Team USA battles Japan in the semi-finals of the World Baseball Classic tonight.
The winner faces Korea, but tonight's game at Dodger Stadium, which will begin at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
The game should be a good one. Japan is the favorite to win the tournament while the U.S. is the host team and well, it's our national pasttime, so pride is at stake.
And there are many great storylines.
Korea knocked off Venezuela and will play the winner of tonight's Japan-U.S. game in the final of the World Baseball Classic.
What's amazing is Venezuela's roster iis an MLB All-Star team that ncludes Bobby Abreu, Carlos Silva, Felix Hernandez, Francisco Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez, Ramon Hernandez, Miguel Cabrera, Melvin Mora and Carlos Guillen.
The Southpaw found this on YouTube and thought it was worth a watch.
The Gingerbread Man in Gettysburg, one of The Southpaw's favorite restaurant's, has confrimed it has changed its name to Gettysburg Eddie's. While the tiny borough might be known for a great battlefield and an almost as famous speech, the town also boasts being the birthplace to one of the greatest pitchers in history, Eddie Plank.
The Nats sign a solid free agent and release someone who was expected to contribute to the rotation.
Besides that, a bunch of odd things.
Forget about representing your country. Your employer wants you back. Dodger dogs going kosher. And who's Honey Bear? Or was that Sugar Bear?
Only five players currently have streaks of four seasons or more with 30 stolen bases. Who are they?
The World Baseball Classic dominates today's story lines.
According to New York manager Joe Girardi, Hideki Matsui will not play the field until June.
He will either pinch hit or DH.
Someone should tell the Yankees' brass it cannot use more than one DH in a lineup.
Houston Astros infielder Aaron Boone is going to have open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve.
Here's hoping everything turns out well for him.
Why not celebrate the Irish? Afterall, baseball is based on the Irish game of rounders.
First of all, it's St. Paddy's day. Not St. Patty's day. Paddy's the male, Patty's the female.
That said, let's take a look at all the teams that wore green in honor of St. Patrick.
A Met got a clutch hit. Now that's news.
Thanks to David Wright, Team USA moved on to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic.
Oh, and Sidney Ponson has resurfaced.
Happy St. Patrick's Day. In honor of the Roman former slave, who never really chased snakes out of Ireland but did help unite the country while baptizing thousands, we look at some of the best "Irish" names in baseball history.
3. Born in Belfast,and a graduate of Penn State, we have Irish McIlveen.
2. Paddy Green batted .185 for his career, but the Villanova product did swipe two bases in his cup of coffee with the bigs.
1. Troy O'Leary, hit 127 homers in his career, including 28 in 1999.
Well, back to the first pitch report.
On the eve of St. Paddy's day, the Philadelphia Phillies are celebrating St. Jude's day.
Houston general manager Ed Wade must be impressed with Ivan Rodriguez' performance in the World Baseball Classic.
There's no truth to the rumor Adam Dunn wants to keep Brian Roberts as a pet. The Orioles' diminutive second baseman teamed with Dunn and Jimmy Rollins to propel Team USA to a win.
After a couple days of rest in the bullpen, The Southpaw is ready to fire some bullets.
Who's the better shortstop right now: Derek Jeter or Jimmy Rollins?
An Orioles' bullpen stalwart is being shut down.
Oh yeah, and are some Phillies' officials concerned about Cole Hamels?
Who is the only member of the 500 home run club with more than 100 triples?
It would be a stretch - not to mention a very bad pun - to say Mark McGwire came out swining.
He more or less bunts the ball to third on this one, with some help from the New York Times, which volunteered not to stress steroids in the interview.
That said, Big Mac is always interesting.
The Los Angeles Dodgers need pitcher Randy Wolf to have a strong season if they are going to make the playoffs. Wolf is an underrated player with a 90-78 record and 1,227 strikeouts against 547 walks in 1,468 innings.
ESPN's Eric Young tells Jonathan Papelbon to zip it.
Plus, there's an addition to the Orioles' family.
Oh, and we have a happy Fidel.
Who are the three members of the 500 home run club who had more doubles than long balls during their careers?
A story came across the wire Thursday about the Tampa Bay Rays that got us at The Southpaw thinking. We know how dangerous that is. Especially when Jeff Frantz is thrown into the mix.
Might the World Champs move on from one of their biggest postseason stars? Are the Orioles going to sign a future Hall of Famer? And how does Hugo Chavez' happiness pertain to baseball?
We look at all those questions and more in today's edition of First Pitch.
Why, Brian McNamee, must you have to put images of Roger Clemens in a hot tub into our minds?
It's quite possible Eric Chavez, right, is introducing teammates Mark Ellis, center, and Bobby Crosby to the benefits of actually taking a bat with them up to the plate. The Oakland Athletics had the worst offense in baseball last season, with Ellis batting .233, Crosby hitting .237 and Chavez spending most of the season on the disabled list. Could new additions to the roster have the A's primed for a playoff run?
Last season, the Oakland Athletics were lost at sea. They played as if they wanted a permanent vacation in Davey Jones' Locker. However, a strong, if quiet, offseason has their ship righted and the squad ready to contend in the American League.
Dominican Republic's catcher Miguel Olivo, center right, is surrounded by Netherlands' players celebrating their 2-1 victory in the eleventh inning of a World Baseball Classic game in San Juan, Tuesday.
Roger Clemens has ties to the Obama administration. No, he didn't forget to pay taxes.
At least that we know of.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal authorities have found performance-enhancing substances on the materials Brian McNamee said he used to inject Roger Clemens, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The Associated Press has a good nugget on the Seattle Mariners' financial struggles.
With All Star talent such as Corey Koskie, left, Jayson Bay, head down, and Russell Martin, far right, Team Canada should have had a stronger showing in the World Baseball Classic.
Can a man making $25 million be a loser? Jayson Stark says it's possible.
And, A-Rod's doctor says there's no surprises.
What is the highest-grossing baseball movie of all time? And no, this is not adjusted for inflation.
A. Field of Dreams
B. The Rookie
C. A League of Their Own
D. The Natural
The Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer will undergo an MRI on Tuesday on his back.
Mauer has been one of the most dominating players in the American League during the past four seasons. During that time, Mauer has batted .319 and twice finished in the top seven in MVP voting.
The Twins look like contenders in the central division, but their catcher's balky back could get in the way.
After a brief time away from the computer, we're back with some news:
A-Rod's having surgery, Lou Marsen is catching on and Ken Griffey Jr. is up to his old tricks.
Alex Rodriguez's season from hell continues.
And the skids have been greased to put a new stadium in the Marlins' future.
You wouldn't think being a legend could minimize someone's impact on the game.
That being one of the most treasured icons in Major League Baseball history could keep people from understanding how great you are.
Japanese third baseman Shuichi Murata blasts a home run against China during the first game of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
The World Baseball Classic has begun.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday on a $45 million, two-year contract following months of talks.
The agreement is subject to the outfielder passing a physical, a person familiar with the talks said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the deal was not final.
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and manager Joe Torre left spring training in Arizona and met Wednesday morning in the Los Angeles area with owner Frank McCourt, Ramirez and the players' agent, Scott Boras.
Mike Rizzo will run the day-to-day operations of The Washington Nationals. However, the general manager's post remains open.
Finally, it looks as if the Manny Saga is over.
When was the last time a postseason saw both the ALCS and the NLCS go seven games?
In our first look from the Ivory Tower The Southpaw is joined by four colleagues in taking a look at reliable pitchers.
The Southpaw asks, "If you needed to win a game and could pick any pitcher in history, who would you choose?"
But The Southpaw has some qualifications.
In today's first pitch we take an in-depth look at some issues for the area's squads, the Philadelphia Philles, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals.
We also look at the underrated Orlando Hernandez and what he brings to his new team.
Alex Rodriguez kisses his daughter during practice for the World Baseball Classic.
Here's a collection of stories and links you might want to peruse for the start of the World Baseball Classic.
Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus makes a valiant attempt Sunday at a base hit by the Seattle Mariners' Matt Tuiasosopo. Seattle outslugged the Ranges, 13-6.
We've got A-Rod. We've got Manny. And a member of the Phillies World Championship team has joined the Orioles. But before O's fans get excited, they should know they didn't get Cole Hamels.
Which of these sluggers batted over .300 for their career?
A. Mickey Mantle
B. Willie Mays
C. Frank Robinson
D. Eddie Murray
E. Carl Yastrzemski
F. Duke Snider
Alex Rodriguez is reportedly asking Major League Baseball officials to postpone their meeting that was scheduled for today.
Scandals in Washington D.C. are so contagious they've even caught a high-profile baseball official.
With a supposed federal investigation under way, Nationals general manager Jim Bowden has resigned.
He admits he's a distraction, blames the press and claims innocence.
But that's not the only big news Sunday.
