to move up and down
Awkward. One man decided to show off his rally squirrel during the Cardinals-Phillies game on Thursday. No one was hurt in the incident, except this man’s dignity. Apparently he lost a bet, while security suspects he might have been drinking (REALLY?).
This is probably the greatest photo you will see all day. Yes. New York Mets relief pitcher Manny Acosta says goodbye to his dog before boarding the team bus after their 9-4 baseball victory over the Cincinnati Reds. They start their series with the Toronto Blue Jays tonight.
The Blue Jays lost in more ways than one on Tuesday night. Brett Lawrie completely lost it on an umpire and got tossed from the game. Not before he thew his helmet at him, and all that other yelling stuff. We look at the key pitches that led to his meltdown.
Lawrie loses his cool: Perhaps it was just the frustration of the moment. But when Brett Lawrie and John Farrell exploded in rage at an umpire in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s loss, the team’s current run of futility probably had something to do with it too.
Arguing a called third strike, Lawrie slammed down his batting helmet, which bounced up and glanced off umpire Bill Miller.
Farrell, the Toronto Blue Jays manager, joined the argument. Leaping up and down and waving his arms, Lawrie had to be restrained. Miller ejected both Lawrie and Farrell, and Lawrie may face a suspension for his antics.
Photo: Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper warms up before his National League MLB baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We don’t believe he was hit by a pitch during his stretch, but you never know these days. REUTERS/David DeNoma
The Toronto Blue Jays have signed ex-Expos outfielder Vladimir Guerrero to a minor-league contract, according to a report. He is expected to report to extended spring training in Florida.
One, two, three, four: Josh Hamilton made history last night, hitting four home runs against the Baltimore Orioles.
And he does appreciate how fortunate he was to be playing baseball at Camden Yards on Tuesday night as a member of the Texas Rangers. Because, before his epic performance against the Baltimore Orioles, Hamilton had to do something even harder than launching a quartet of two-run homers.
He needed to save himself from personal ruin.
Hamilton went from first-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 1999 to out of baseball altogether because of drug and alcohol addiction.
He recovered and returned to the majors in 2007 with Cincinnati, and was traded to the Texas, where he has become a star – the AL MVP in 2010 – while still battling his addiction. He had a relapse before this season, but is off to a torrid start.
If you don’t have anything nice to say…
Philadelphia’s Jonathan Papelbon leaves the field as fans react after he gave up a three run home run to the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on Monday. The Mets won 5-2. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
Bryce Harper gets hit by Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, then steals home. All in a day’s work for the Nationals rookie. Hamels later admitted he hit Harper on purpose, in a “welcome to the big leagues” moment:
“I was trying to hit him. I’m not going to deny it,” Hamels said. “That’s something I grew up watching, that’s kind of what happened, so I’m just trying to continue the old baseball because I think some people are kind of getting away from it. I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn’t say anything because that’s the way baseball is. But I think unfortunately the league’s protecting certain players and making it not that old-school, prestigious way of baseball.”
New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera says he will return to the mound by 2013, vowing to overcome a knee injury that figures to end his season.
Rivera had hinted at the start of spring training that he would retire after the 2012 season, and he wasn’t sure what he would do after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament while shagging fly balls during batting practice Thursday.
Back at Kauffman Stadium on Friday, the 42-year-old closer firmly said he will not allow his career to end this way.
“I’m coming back. Write it down in big letters. I’m not going out like this,” he said. “This has me thinking, I can’t go down like this. If it takes two, three, four, five, seven more (seasons), whatever it takes.”
