It's official...Daisuke Matsuzaka and Terry Francona are back together.
The Japanese right-hander has arrived in Goodyear, Arizona and is in camp for with the Cleveland Indians, ready to compete for a role in the starting rotation. The 32-year-old "Dice-K" is expected to compete for one of two open spots in the Tribe's rotation behind Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez and Brett Myers.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, if Matsuzaka is added to the 40-man roster, he'll make $1.5 million this season. He can earn an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses.
In his six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Matsuzaka went 50-37 with a 4.52 ERA.
Five days ago, the Cleveland Indians designated Johnny Damon for assignment. Thursday, the 38-year-old outfielder was released.
What say you, Twittersphere!
Sweet ass or not, Damon had been struggling this year for the Tribe, hitting just .222 in 64 games. He did manage, however, to inch closer to the 3000 hit plateau.
Dude leaves Cleveland with 2769 base knocks on his resume.
The 38-year-old Damon hit .261 with 16 home runs and 19 stolen bases last year for the Tampa Bay Rays. The Tribe will be the outfielder's fourth team in as many years.
On this date in 1977, Cleveland Indians second baseman (and current San Francisco Giants broadcaster) Duane Kuiper hits the one and only home run of his 12-season major league career.
The "blast" comes off of Steve Stone of the Chicago White Sox, in the second inning of the Tribe's 9-2 victory at "The Mistake On The Lake". Two other Indians homer off of Stone in the same inning...first baseman Andre Thornton (an inside-the-parker) and left fielder Bruce Bochte.
Suffice it to say, "Kuip" has probably called more home runs in the last few days than he ever hit.
Friends of The Hall, Cardboard Gods author Josh Wilker and Larry Granillo from Baseball Prospectus have both written about Kuiper in the past year or so. You can read their pieces by, as luck would have it...clicking their names.
After a frenzied day of "who got put on waivers" and "who didn't"...one waiver wire pick up stuck.
That's right, if you believe the folks on Twitter (and, really, why wouldn't you?), Jim Thome is leaving the Minnesota Twins and heading BACK to the Cleveland Indians.
There's no word yet as to who is heading north.
In 12 years with the Tribe (from 1991 through 2002), Thome hit a team-record 334. In his final year, the future Hall of Famer hit a single-season team record 52 homers.
On August 15, the 40-year-old slugger became the eighth man in history to hit 600 homers.
In case you were keeping track, Cleveland Indians second baseman Orlando Cabrera has as many World Series rings as Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined have NBA Championship rings.
And now that I’ve got that obvious attempt to capitalize on web traffic out of the way, I can tell you this.
With a second inning single of New York Yankees pitcher Freddy Garcia on Sunday, Cabrera became just the 262nd player to record 2000 hits. He sits 16th among active players (I’m not includuing Manny Ramirez) and joins Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Lee as the second player to reach the milestone this season.
"It means a lot," the 36-year-old said of the milestone. "I never started my career thinking, 'I'm going to get there,' or anything like that. I'm really, really happy that I'm still playing and was able to get to that number.
Cabrera is hitting just .242 for the Tribe this season after signing a one-year deal back in Spring Training.
Last season, the Chicago White Sox honored one of their greats, Frank Thomas, by retiring his Number 35.
This July, they're set to unveil a bronze statue of the one-time Sox legend...the eighth to grace U.S. Cellular Field.
Coincidentally...I'm planning on being at that game. But that's neither here or there now is it?
So with that…here comes the AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Team captain Paul Konerko is on the verge of two major milestones in this...his 13th year on the Southside. Coming off, arguably, one of the best years of his career, Konerko is just 139 hits away from 2000 and 35 home runs away from 400 career blasts.
Also approaching 400 career bombs...the newly acquired Adam Dunn.
Sure, the "Big Donkey" is 46 home runs away from the milestone...but he's done it before. And given that he had a five year stretch (2004-2008) where he hit 40 or more home runs...is 46 really out of the question?
The ageless Omar Vizquel enters his second season with the White Sox the active leader in games playes, at bats and plate appearances. For his career...he's sitting at 2799 hits all-time.
And speaking of hits...outfielder Juan Pierre is 158 hits away from reaching 2000 for his career.
CLEVELAND INDIANS
As if the Indians signing journeyman Orlando Cabrera (who is 52 hits away from 2000 for his career), Cleveland has decided on making August 13 a date to circle on your calendar.
And what's going on August 13?
Well...it's none other than Mike Hargrove “Human Rain Delay” Bobble Head Day. Great seats are still available.
DETROIT TIGERS
Last November, Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson succumbed to dementia. This season, not only are the Tigers going to honor their former skipper with a patch on their sleeves...but they'll be retiring his number as well.
Pretty classy.
Current manager Jim Leyland enters the season second in wins among active managers trailing only Tony LaRussa. With 1493 career victories, he's only 78 wins behind Hall of Famer Dick Williams on the all-time list.
Also bound to make some headlines in the Motor City is outfielder Magglio Ordonez. Should "Maggs" be able to bounce back from last season's ankle injury, he'll get the eleven home runs it'll take to reach 300 for his career.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
A quick scan of the Royals' roster isn't going to excite a soul. And of the four names you're likely to recognize...one of them is catcher Jason Kendall.
Yikes.
Currently, Kendall is fifth all-time in being hit by pitch having been plunked 254 times. In order to surpass Don Baylor and move into fourth place...he'll need to get hit 14 times. It's possible.
MINNESOTA TWINS
Up in Minnesota, Jim Thome is back swinging for the fences. Currently, Thome is eighth all-time and just eleven home runs away from becoming the latest slugger to reach 600 for his career.
Conversely, Thome resides second all-time in strikeouts. The designated hitter has struck out 2395 times in his 20 seasons as a pro and trails only Reggie Jackson and his 2597 Ks.
Lastly, Minnesota will honor Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven by retiring his number this July. His Number 28 will join five former Twins and Jackie Robinson up on the facade at Target Field.
A week after entering hospice care, the greatest Cleveland Indian of all-time, Hall of Famer Bob Feller has passed away...succumbing to leukemia.
The 92 year-old former pitcher had been hit with a number of health problems after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in August. In the past few months, he had suffered from pneumonia, thrush, vertigo and, in October, had a pacemaker installed.
Last week, he had been moved from the Cleveland Clinic to hospice care.
Feller is the Indians all-time leader in wins, starts, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts having spent his entire career (18 seasons) in Cleveland. He also holds a number of single-season records for the Tribe. The righty led the American League in strikeouts seven times and eight times, he was named to the All-Star team.
And yeah...feel free to add three no-hitters to those many pitching achievements.
"Rapid Robert" finished his career in 1956 with a 266-162 record and, without a doubt, would have reached 300, had he not taken time off to enlist in the Navy during World War II, where he served for three years.
The Indians retired his Number 19 in 1957...he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years later. And up until a few hours ago, he was the longest tenured living Hall of Famer.
On a personal note, I met Feller close to 20 years ago when he came to town to sign autographs during a Rockford Expos game. I showed the ball he signed to a couple of guys I knew from the now defunct Expos farm team and, immediately, I was sent back to the autograph line to get them something signed.
Oh, and since you're here...why not watch a video of Feller throwing out the first pitch at an Indians Spring Training game from this past March. I mean, what else do you have going on?
Do you have any stories you'd like to share about Feller? I'd love to read them.
According to team vice president of public relations, Cleveland Indians legend Bob Feller has been transferred from the Cleveland Clinic to hospice.
The 92 year-old Hall of Famer has been hit with a number of health problems after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in August. Since then, he has suffered from pneumonia, thrush, vertigo and, in October, had a pacemaker installed.
Feller is the Indians all-time leader in wins, starts, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts having spent his entire career (18 seasons) in Cleveland. He also holds a number of single-season records for the Tribe. The righty led the American League in strikeouts seven times and eight times, he was named to the All-Star team.
And yeah...feel free to add three no-hitters to those many pitching achievements.
"Rapid Robert" finished his career in 1956 with a 266-162 record and, without a doubt, would have reached 300, had he not taken time off to enlist in the Navy during World War II, where he served for three years.
The Indians retired his Number 19 in 1957...he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years later.
Oh, and since you're here...why not watch a video of Feller throwing out the first pitch at an Indians Spring Training game from this past March. I mean, what else do you have going on?
A couple of years ago, I wrote the following about Minnesota Twins slugger Jim Thome:
Thome is very good, not great. Hall of Famer? Perhaps…but not on the first couple of ballots.
Then...I followed it up with this gem:
His home run total, while incredible, will not be as eye popping five years after Thome's retirement. Basically, we’ve got a guy who smacked the Hell out of the ball, but was never the most dominant, much less feared, player of his era. And because of that, he'll get lost in the mix.
Since I ignited the first Thome powder keg (and trust me...plenty of you were upset), dude has hit 89 more home runs and is sitting at 587 for his career. That's right, the guy is now alone in eighth place all-time, having just surpassed Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.
The only players with more bombs that aren't in the Hall are Barry Bonds (762), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Sammy Sosa (609) and Alex Rodriguez (605) and that's only because they are either still playing, just retired or aren't eligible to be enshrined yet.
And yes...I know I conveniently just side-stepped the steroid discussion.
But getting back to Thome.
The Peoria, Illinois native crushed a Justin Germano pitch in the twelfth inning Saturday to give his Twins a 1-0 victory over his former team, the Cleveland Indians.
And in case you were wondering, it was only Thome's 19th home run against the Tribe (a team that he hit a club-record 334 for) and first against the righty Germano.
I have to imagine that you're immediately wondering "who in the world is James Gammon?" Well, in one phrase, I can sum him up.
"You may run like Mays...but you hit like shit".
The gravelly voice, mustachioed actor was acting for decades before his legendary turn as Cleveland Indians manager Lou Brown in the 1989 release "Major League" and its first sequel, 1994's "Major League 2".
He succumbed to cancer late Friday night at the age of 70.
According to The Orlando Sentinel:
"He had cancer two and a half years ago," his wife, Nancy, said Saturday. "It came back aggressively about a month ago in his adrenal glands and liver, and he was very weak. They couldn't do surgery or chemotherapy. He decided he wanted to come home, and we did hospice."
Gammon's career came to a close with more than 135 television and screen credits to his name...ranging from his film debut in the 1867 classic "Coolhand Luke" to the afore mentioned baseball classic "Major League". On television, he had notable supporting roles on "Gunsmoke", "Monk" and as Don Johnson's father on "Nash Bridges".
Stumbling around the internet, I found a nice little piece written about Gammon back in June of last year. Take a trip on over to the site Vaguely Unpleasant and take a look at it yourself.
If you’ve known me for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard the story of the time my friend Jeff and I decided to up and drive to Cleveland for spring break.
Some destination, huh?
Well…long story short, we froze our behinds off walking around downtown (and an empty Jacobs Field) and on the way home, Jeff drank all the remaining Dr. Peppers before we even left Cuyahoga County.
In his ongoing series “Stealing Home”, friend of The Hall Navin Vaswani checks in from Cleveland where, surprisingly, there weren’t THAT many more people in the stands than when I was there before the season even started.
History was made Wednesday night in Cleveland, and I'm proud to say I paid only $7 to be a part of it. Only 10,071 souls came out to watch the Indians entertain the Texas Rangers, the smallest crowd in the history of Progressive Field since it opened way back in 1994. I don't know where the hell everyone else was, or what they were doin; downtown Cleveland isn't exactly brimming with excitement, and the Cavaliers were playing down in Atlanta. It guess it's safe to say that, 16 years later, Progressive Field's novelty has worn off for the average Indians enthusiast.
Read the rest of Navin’s adventure in Cleveland HERE.
You can follow his exploits on Twitter at @eyebleaf or visit his piece of the interwebs over at Sports and the City.
Growing up listening to Chicago radio and TV…I have been inundated with Cubs and White Sox talk all my life. And it made me sick to my stomach.
Maybe it was because of that I’ve never had much of an affinity for either team.
You see, because of other influences (family, vacations, etc.), I have always been more of an East Coast fan. And that’s why it is bittersweet that, finally, the division that always bored/bothered me is finally getting some national attention.
It doesn’t matter what side of the Ozzie Guillen Twitter war you’re on or whether or not you think Joe Mauer’s new contract is a good deal for the Twins (it is)…Minnesota and Chicago have made the baseball world stand up and take notice.
So with that…here comes the AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The White Sox are a little difficult to get a handle on lately. A few years back, they win the World Series…and let go of the best player to pull up the palehose since the Eisenhower administration all in the name of “diminished skills” and getting younger.
And who do they bring in…35 year-old Jim Thome.
Last season, four years following their supposed youth movement, they trade Thome to whoever will take him. They get rid of the equally ancient Jose Contreras and look to get younger again.
And who do they bring in? An over-the-hill designated hitter (Andruw Jones), an equally as seasoned left fielder (Juan Pierre) and one of the few players in the Majors who could tell you where he was when man landed on the moon (Omar Vizquel).
Jones is seemingly a lifetime (and a few pants sizes) away from the wide grinned 19 year-old who, in 1996, became the game’s youngest ever to go deep in a World Series game. But all kidding aside, he is 12 home runs away from reaching 400 for his career and still has the pop to, if healthy, accomplish the feat by the All-Star break.
While the acquisition of Jones is a little bit of a puzzler, Vizquel actually makes some sense considering his 11 Gold Gloves fits nicely on Chicago’s bench as a mentor to some of their younger players.
Unfortunately that’s about all he can do. Well…that and pad his Cooperstown caliber stats.
The all-time leader among Venezuelan born players in a number of categories, the Sox actually issued Vizquel the retired number of countrymate (and Hall of Famer) Luis Aparicio.
And speaking of retired numbers (note the shameless segue), the Southsiders are planning on retiring Thomas’ number on August 29. It’s the least they can do for their team leader in runs scored, total bases, doubles, home runs and RBI.
CLEVELAND INDIANS
Now that Kerry Wood is already in mid-season form (out at least two months with a back injury)…enter new closer Chris Perez. Perez, if you’re keeping track, is one save away from TEN for his career.
You guessed it Tribe fans…not many milestones to choose from in 2010.
DETROIT TIGERS
Raise your hand if you knew that new Tiger Johnny Damon is the active triples leader with 95.
Nice work.
Give yourself another pat on the back if you knew that he is sitting ninth among active players…75 hits shy of 2500 for his career.
On the other side of the outfield, rightfielder Magglio Ordonez is quietly putting up, yes I’ll say it, a terrific career. Mags is 26 hits away from 2000 for his career and 23 home runs away from 300.
And I know it isn’t really a “milestone” per se, but Detroit reliever Fu-Te Ni has the shortest last name in the Majors this season. At six letters, he is one of a slew of players to have the second shortest full name ever.
The shortest…former Pittsburgh Pirate catcher Ed Ott.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
And from one of the game’s shortest names…to one of the league’s longest. Royals shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt is only two letters (18) behind Texas catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (20).
Unfortunately, that’s about all Kansas City has going for it outside of Jason Kendall climbing up the all-time hit by pitch list.
It’s true.
Kendall is sitting at fifth all-time with 248…just 39 behind all-time leader, Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings.
MINNESOTA TWINS
Let’s all make each other a promise. When Joe Mauer’s contract is up following the 2018 season…we’ll meet back up and talk about how the American League’s best hitter is a steal at just $23 million a season.
As it is, the Twins will open their new stadium with future Hall of Famer Jim Thome on the bench. While he isn’t likely to hit the milestone, Thome is 36 home runs away from 600 for his storied career.
Also within shouting distance for Thome (provided he plays another two seasons), is the all-time strikeout record. With 2313 to his credit(?), the five-time All-Star is 284 shy of Reggie Jackson’s record 2597 whiffs.
Thanks to the magic of facebook (yes, I’veFINALLY succumbed to its wiles), I’ve been able to re-connect with some old friends. One of them is an old buddy of mine named Jeff, who, in 1996, joined me on a trip to Cleveland for Spring Break. It wasn’t the ideal destination, but we made the most of it.
We ate sandwiches at a toll plaza in South Bend after we determined that swinging by Notre Dame would be too much of a hassle.
Closer to C-Town, we were pulled over by a cop who thought we were “joy riding”. It was after two in the morning and we were driving a BMW with Illinois plates, so I suppose we COULD have been joy riding…but alas, we weren’t.
We were just lost.
Once we found our way, we hit The Flats (where a waitress showed us her well-placed shamrock tattoo), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and since it was March, we walked around a vacant and cold Jacobs Field. But more on that place later.
So, with all apologies to the guy who slammed me for not including any milestones for the milestone-less Pittsburgh Pirates, here comes the AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX The heart of the Sox lineup is poised to do some great things this season...historically speaking. They are getting older, sure, but with that age comes some milestones.
Now, I’m going to be the first to say that when I wrote a while back criticizing Jim Thome, I might have been a touch misguided. I’m not going to take back the statements where I said he wasn’t dominant or feared, but the longer he sticks around, the more apt he is to make me eat my “he’ll get lost in the mix” comments regarding his first ballot Hall of Fame candidacy.
This season, the Peoria native enters the season with 541 home runs. He’ll likely jump over Harmon Killebrew’s total (573) this season and, along with Alex Rodriguez, is inching closer and closer to the 600 mark.
Thome is 12 RBI away from hitting 1500 and aside from Harold Baines (1628) and Andre Dawson (1591), everyone who has 1500 or more RBI and is Hall eligible…has had their ticket punched.
This last stat I bring up only because I was criticized in the past for mentioning it. Thome is 116 strikeouts away from passing Sammy Sosa (2306) and becoming second all-time to Reggie Jackson’s 2597 Ks.
Surrounding Thome in the Sox lineup are two hitters that are both two long balls away from reaching 300 for their career…Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko. Last year, Dye hit his second in Game 5…Konerko in Game 11.
CLEVELAND INDIANS On April 4, 1994, President Bill Clinton christened the then Jacobs Field by throwing out its first pitch. Fans of that inaugural contest watched six sure-bet Hall of Famers: Eddie Murray (enshrined in 2003), Ken Griffey, Jr., Randy Johnson, Manny Ramirez, Omar Vizquel and Jim Thome. Also on the field were such notables as Edgar Martinez, Kenny Lofton and Albert Belle.
Now, fifteen years later, the now Progressive Field is in the middle of the pack as the fifteenth oldest stadium. In its time, “The Jake” has hit its own milestones.
Between June 12, 1995 and April 4, 2001, the Indians set a record by selling out 455 straight games. Demand for tickets was so great that all 81 home games were sold out before opening day on three separate occasions.
The Indians have since "retired" the number 455 in honor of the sellout record.
DETROIT TIGERS Lost in all the Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez hubbub of late is the fact that Gary Sheffield is putting up one gem of a career.
A major leaguer at 18, Sheffield got off to a quick start by getting both his first hit and first home run with the same swing of the bat. Now, 498 home runs later…Sheffield is on the cusp of becoming the twenty-fifth player to hit 500 long balls. Something tells me that, again, he'll waste no time and get number 500 out of the way in the Tigers first series against Toronto.
Also worth mentioning...Sheffield comes into 2009 with 1633 RBI. Everyone who is Hall eligible and has more RBI than “Sheff” is enshrined in Cooperstown.
Throw out Barry Bonds and Sheffield is third on the active list for runs scored (behind Griffey and Rodriguez) and hits (behind Griffey and Vizquel).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS and MINNESOTA TWINS Like I did previously with the Pirates, I could make something up here. However, I’m fresh out of any good Kevin Seitzer and Kent Hrbek references to make it worth anyone’s while.
