Thursday, July 30, 2009
Philly Sports 101 |
| Phillies Finally Have Pitching Depth Posted: 30 Jul 2009 05:03 PM PDT For the first time in years, the Phillies have depth in the rotation. The rotation now looks like this: Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, and J. A. Happ. Rodrigo Lopez will start for the Philies tonight in San Francisco. This may be his last start because I don't see him taking anybody else's spot. Then there's Pedro. Pedro Martinez will make a start for Triple A Lehigh Valley tomorrow. He will throw between 70-80 pitches, so he may be ready to join the big league club soon. He may have to go to the bullpen and start if Happ or Moyer really start to struggle. How he'll like that, nobody knows. Poor Rodrigo Lopez may have to go back to the minors. There are some tough decisions too be made for Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee. With all that said, this is a good problem for the Phillies to have. Note: Ben Francisco will start tonight for Shane Victorino (bruised knee) in centerfield. This is Francisco's first game as a Phillie. 
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| Big Papi, Ramirez on 2003 List Posted: 30 Jul 2009 04:22 PM PDT Two Red Sox who helped break the "Curse of the Bambino" in 2004 have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs. According to the New York Times, Red Sox DH David Ortiz and Dodgers (former Red Sox) outfielder Manny Ramirez are on the lists of players who tested positive for PEDs in 2003. I can't say I am surprised by Ortiz being linked to 'roids. He was cut by the Minnesota Twins in 2002 and was signed by the Red Sox. After that, Ortiz exploded, hitting 31 homers in a season he started as a backup. He was no longer a backup after that and established himself as one of the best hitters in the game. Manny tested positive this year and is already back from his 50-game suspension. Apparently Manny has been juicing for quite a while. That's what this report tells me. When the Mitchell Report came out, everyone thought that the Yankees juiced themselves to championships because of their many players in the report. Their bitter rival, the Red Sox, weren't exactly clean either. Ortiz was open about the report when interviewed after the Red Sox game today. Ortiz said he will reveal details to the public about his PED use after he gets more information. Big Papi's close friend Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said this about Ortiz being linked to PEDs: "This really, really hurts. "I don't know what to think about this. I guess you just never know what people do in the dark." "I still love him but at the same time it's tough to hear that. I know it's going to be tough on him and tough on his family once this gets out. It's Big Papi, man, it's the Big Dog of Boston and he helped win two World Series with those guys, with the clutch hits. And now all those things are going to be tainted." Well said Torii, well said. 
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| Posted: 30 Jul 2009 08:05 AM PDT The Pittsburgh Pirates made two big deadline moves yesterday and one move today. First, they traded away shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to Seattle for Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement and four prospects. The Pirates also traded away three-time all-star second basemen Freddy Sanchez to the Giants for pitching prospect Tim Alderson. Today, the Pirates traded John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Cubs for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, and Josh Anderson. So, in one day, the Pirates traded away both their starting middle infielders for prospects. The 31-year old Wilson was batting .267 with 4 homers and 31 RBIs. Wilson is a solid hitter and a good defender. The Mariners also received 27-year old pitcher Ian Snell, who was pitching in Triple A for the Pirates. Seattle hopes that Snell can restart his career after winning 14 games in 2006. Cedeno will probably start at shortstop for the last-place Pirates. Cedeno is batting average is only .167 but he does have 5 homers. Cedeno is no where close to the hitter Wilson was for the Pirates. In the other deal yesterday, the Giants will receive second basemen Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates. Sanchez should help the Giants struggling offense a lot. He is batting .296 with 6 homers and 34 RBIs. Sanchez must be happy to go from a last-place team to a team (the Giants) who are contending for the NL Wild card. Sanchez will most likely play in tonight's game against the Phillies. The 20-year old pitcher Tim Alderson was the fourth ranked prospect in the Giants system. He is a good prospect but he will not help the Pirates win this season or next. The Cubs have been looking for a lefty out of the pen and Grabow should fill that void. Grabow has a 3.42 ERA pitching this season for the Pirates. If I'm a Pirates fan, I'm disgusted. The Pirates are in last place and basically trading away any quality player on their team. The last time the Pirates had a winning record for a season was in 1992. That's 16 years and they are still trying to rebuild their team... poor Pirates fans! 
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