MLB Baseball's MLB Baseball friend's fan blogs

Two thousand eleven was a difficult year for Major League Baseball.  There was no strike, no brawl in which a player grabbed an elderly coach and threw him to the ground, and no collision between players that proved to be career-ending for anyone.  (Buster Posey should be fine this season.)  On the field, things were good.  In the stands and outside the park, however, tragedy struck the baseball world.

Christina Taylor Green, the nine-year-old granddaughter of former Phillies GM Dallas Green and daughter of Dodgers scout John Green, was shot and killed in Tucson at the Gabrielle Giffords Congress on Your Corner event in January.

Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, was beaten nearly to death outside Dodger Stadium on Opening Day.

Continue reading "New season brings new hope"

Most basketball hoops let you to adjust the height of your rim from 7 as well as a half for the regulation height of 10 feet. On specific greater end basketball objectives, they may possibly be able to modify even decrease. However the method by which these systems modify can differ extensively.

Adjustment methods fall in two key categories: individuals that allow for six-inch increments and people that allow for “infinite” increments. A basketball rim that adjusts in six-inch increments can adjust at six points in involving 7 as well as a half and a 10 feet: 7.five, 8, 8.five, 9, 9.five and ten feet. With systems which might be infinitely adjustable, you happen to be in a position for making extremely tiny adjustments, like and inch or much less in case you so wish, which means you can set it at any point in between the minimum and maximum height.

Continue reading "Basketball Hoop Adjustment Methods"

Pitching machines deliver technically-sound and constant pitches, allowing batters to create excellent mechanics such as an effective and consistent swing. Practice sessions also turn out to be much more powerful and effective for those who have a pitching machine that fits your skill degree as well as the game you wish to perform. For example, various pitching machines can use distinctive forms of balls. Some use standard-size baseballs, softballs, or each though other people use specialized baseball-sized or softball-sized pitching machine balls. Some even support golf wiffle balls.

Should you program to use your pitching machine for Tiny League or Youth League players, ensure the machine accepts Reduced Injury Element (RIF) balls. Chances are you'll also want "dimpled" or "sting free" balls for players who use dent-prone aluminum bats. The specs in each and every item listing will let you know which sort of ball to use together with the machine.

Continue reading "Identify the correct Pitching Machine for you"

Continue reading "Crime in sports"

I'm not sure if the New York Knicks have all the pieces in place right now, but by adding Carmelo Anthony they are certainly one big step closer to being a NBA championship contender. Although considering the mismanagement over the last 10 years it's heard to believe they won't mess this up too.

Watch for the Knicks to make some strong stragetic moves during this off season to sure things up and make them a true Eastern conference powerhouse.

New York NY Direct TV can bring you all the Knicks action you want.

Continue reading "Are the New York Knicks real contenders with Carmelo Anthony on board?"

If you’re looking for a baseball book that will keep you entertained until Opening Day, check out Dirk Hayhurst’s The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran.  The book details Hayhurst’s 2007 season at three different levels of the minors.  He describes long bus rides, living with host families, Kangaroo Court, and battling the urge to give up on a dream.  It’s an honest story about the arduous journey it takes so many ballplayers to reach their ultimate goal, knowing they may never achieve it.

Hayhurst has since made it to the majors, pitching in 25 games, making three starts, and compiling a 0-2 record and a 5.72 ERA for the Padres and Blue Jays.  The Kent State University graduate’s book received rave reviews from Bob Costas, Keith Olbermann, Tom Verducci and Tim Kurkjian, and made

Continue reading "A baseball read to hold you over until Opening Day"

Following Andy Pettitte’s retirement announcement last week, the New York Yankees are left with a big hole in their starting rotation.  CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett are the team’s top three starters, while the last two spots are up for grabs.  Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre are options for Joe Girardi, but their limited experience in The Show may hurt their chances, as the Bronx Bombers tend to go with more established pitchers.  That leaves Freddy García (35) and Bartolo Colón (37), both of whom will try to prove they are not washed-up.

García won 12 games last season for the White Sox, but his 4.64 ERA is more indicative of the type of year he had.  I went to Chicago one weekend and actually saw him give up seven earned runs in just 2.1 innings of work against the Marlins.  The ChiSox eventually lost the game 13-0 in front of their home fans.  García surrendered three home runs in that game and 23 overall in only 157 innings pitched, numbers that are unlikely to improve if he makes half his starts at New Yankee Stadium.

Continue reading "Yankees look to fill Pettitte’s shoes in rotation"

While it should come as no surprise that a professional baseball player holds the state of Georgia's high school home run record, it may come as a shock that the record-holder is not a slugging outfielder like Jason Heyward, Mike Cameron, Jeff Francoeur, Nick Markakis, or J.D. Drew.  It isn’t a catcher with pop like Buster Posey or Brian McCann.  It isn’t even “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas or “The Georgia Peach” himself, Hall of Famer Ty Cobb.  In fact, the record-holder isn’t a position player at all: it’s Diamondbacks pitcher Micah Owings.

Owings’s 69 career high school home runs are fourth in the United States behind Jeff Clement (75), James Peterson (73), and Drew Henson (70), who have combined to hit a grand total of 14 in the majors.  Peterson hit 11 in the minors but never even played in the big leagues, and Henson collected one hit in eight major league at-bats before deciding he had a better chance of succeeding as a quarterback in the NFL.  Clement has shown decent power in the minors but has yet to prove he can hit major league pitching.  If he doesn’t do it soon, Owings – who won a Silver Slugger as a pitcher during his rookie year (2007) and has hit nine homers in his brief big league career – will likely pass him.

Continue reading "Who ever said pitchers can’t hit?"

Trevor Hoffman, Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader, announced his retirement this week after an illustrious 18-year big league career.  The seven-time All-Star finishes his career with 601 saves, a 61-75 record, a 2.87 ERA, and 1,133 strikeouts.  In 1089.1 innings pitched – spanning 1035 games – he surrendered exactly 100 home runs.  Hoffman spent the bulk of his career with the Padres, with whom he won four division titles and one National League pennant.

Hoffman was drafted as a position player, but after hitting .249 and .212 in his first two seasons in the low levels of the minors, the Reds turned him into a pitcher.  Hoffman found immediate success on the mound, going on to become a dominant closer for nearly two decades, but Cincinnati lost him to the Marlins in the 1992 Expansion Draft.  After half a season in the majors, he was traded to San Diego in a deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Florida.  Hoffman would spend the next 15 and a half seasons in a Padres uniform.

Continue reading "Trevor Time calls it a day"

Two cities that produce NBA Eastern Conference contenders also have the two teams that are favored to win the Super Bowl as the NFL playoffs are set to begin this weekend.

NBA spread betting experts might recognize that Atlanta and Boston produce two East contenders and with the Falcons and Patriots, both cities have the Super Bowl XLV juggernauts as well.

Just as in the NBA’s East, Atlanta’s team is viewed with an eye of pessimism. The Falcons had a great regular season but don’t have a ton of playoff experience. They’re a young squad that is gaining it on the fly.

Meanwhile, Boston’s team - just like in the NBA – is experienced, savvy and has done it before. The Patriots are the odds-on favorites to do it all and considering they’ve won it three times this decade, why bet against them?

Continue reading "Patriots, Falcons Super Bowl Favorites"