2006 MLB General News Thread

#1

Posted Friday September 8th

Howard Continues MVP Campaign With 2 More Homers

MIAMI, FL -- The Florida Marlins decided to pitch to Ryan Howard, and he made them pay. Twice.

Howard hit his 55th and 56th home runs, and Jamie Moyer pitched eight sharp innings to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat Florida 3-2 Friday night.

Howard hit a two-run drive in the sixth and a solo shot in the eighth for his seventh multihomer game this season. The first homer came on a 2-0 count with the Marlins leading 1-0, and the second came with one out.

Howard said he was a bit surprised the Marlins pitched to him. Even with 80 walks this season, he's on pace to finish with 64 home runs and 159 RBI.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260908128

#2

Posted Wednesday September 13th

Twins SP Liriano Out For Season

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Liriano's highly anticipated return to the Minnesota rotation came to a sudden halt because of elbow problems Wednesday and Dan Haren pitched eight shutout innings, leading the Oakland Athletics over the Twins 1-0.

"Obviously he won't be pitching again," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Something is in there bothering and continuing to stop him. ... Obviously when he gets in game and puts a little extra torque in there, something is not right. We have to make sure we stop it and do what we have to do."

Pitching for the first time in more than a month, Liriano slumped off the mound in the third inning. Trainers and Gardenhire immediately rushed out to attend to the All-Star lefty and a hush fell over the crowd that had been so excited to see him back in action.

"The last two pitches I threw, I felt a pop and it really hurts," Liriano said.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260913109

#3

Posted Thursday September 14th

Papelbon Done For Season, Wants To Start In 2007

BOSTON, MA --Right-hander Jonathan Papelbon, who had a strong rookie season as Red Sox closer before an injury to his right shoulder, said Friday that he plans to return to Boston's starting rotation next season.

Papelbon, speaking to reporters prior to the announcement that the Red Sox-Yankees series opener at Yankee Stadium had been postponed, said he would not pitch again this season after he was sidelined Sept. 5 when he was diagnosed with a tired shoulder -- technically, a "transient subluxation event" -- but not the torn labrum that he feared.

An AL rookie of the year candidate, Papelbon had 35 saves in 41 opportunities this season. He is 4-2 with a 0.92 ERA.

His inclusion among the staff would give the Red Sox a rotation of Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Papelbon and Tim Wakefield. Boston has run the gamut of No. 5 starters this season, partly due to injury and performance, and losing Papelbon would force the Red Sox to look elsewhere for a closer.

Keith Foulke, Boston's stopper for their run to the 2004 World Series title, is under contract in 2007 and remains an option. Eric Gagne, Octavio Dotel, Danys Baez and Scott Williamson are among those closers or former closers who will be available in free agency.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2589493

#4

Posted Monday September 18th

Mets Clinch NL East For First Time Since 1988

NEW YORK, NY --Ending nearly two decades of disappointment in their division and days of delay, the New York Mets brought the NL East title back to Shea Stadium for the first time since 1988 with a 4-0 victory over the Florida Marlins on Monday night.

"If this is what playoff baseball in New York is like, to me it's the best," David Wright said before sticking a cigar in his mouth and high-fiving fans in the first row during the 90-minute postgame celebration.

Jose Valentin, one of their unexpected stars, homered twice. Steve Trachsel, their longest-tenured player, combined with Guillermo Mota, Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner on a four-hitter.

The Mets became the first team this season to clinch a playoff berth and can prepare for their first postseason appearance since 2000, when they won the wild card for the second straight season and lost to the Yankees in the World Series. The Mets are likely to meet St. Louis, Los Angeles or San Diego in the first round, starting in the first week of October.

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/b ... index.html

#5

Posted Friday September 22

Soriano Becomes First 40-40-40 Player

NEW YORK, NY --Alfonso Soriano became baseball's first 40-40-40 player, Pedro Astacio turned in a rare strong road start, and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 3-2 Friday night.

Soriano hit his 40th double, stole his 41st base and scored a run. With 45 homers, he already was only the fourth major league player with 40 homers and 40 steals in a season.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260922121

#6

Posted Friday September 22

Bonds Ties Aaron For NL Record

MILWAUKEE, WI --Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's National League's home run record, hitting his 733rd Friday night.

Bonds' three-run homer in the sixth inning off Milwaukee reliever Chris Spurling was his 25th of the season. The San Francisco Giants outfielder is 22 homers from Aaron's all-time record of 755.

With runners on first and third, the 42-year-old Bonds hit a 2-0 pitch that just cleared the wall in center field to give the Giants an 11-10 lead.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2599341

#7

Posted Sunday October 1

Baker Says He Won't Return To The Cubs

CHICAGO, IL --The word will be official Monday, but Dusty Baker was already saying Sunday night what most people have suspected for weeks: His tenure as manager of the Chicago Cubs is over. "I'm gone. I won't be back," Baker told the Chicago Tribune after the Cubs' 8-5 win over the Rockies on Sunday. "Somebody's got to take the blame, and it might as well be me." Baker told the Tribune that he regards Monday's meeting with general manager Jim Hendry as merely a formality. "If they wanted me back, I would have heard something by now," he told the paper. Instead, Baker will exit after four years at the helm on the North Side. "I don't have second thoughts about anything," Baker said. "I have no regrets about coming here or nothing. Again, I just wish we could have gotten it done. We were close and then since that time, things have gotten worse." After a serious run at the World Series in Baker's first season of 2003 -- just five outs away -- the Cubs took an NL-worst 65-96 record into Sunday's meaningless season finale against the Colorado Rockies.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2609583

#8

Posted Tuesday October 10

Joe Torre To Return To The Yankees

TAMPA, FL --oe Torre was in his office at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, about to give the media his season wrapup, when general manager Brian Cashman walked in and handed him his cell phone.

George Steinbrenner was on the line.

"He has informed me that I will be here as his manager next year," Torre said about 15 minutes later.

And with that, Steinbrenner ended three days of speculation that followed his team's second straight first-round exit from the AL playoffs.

Let's just say that he echoed support and commitment to having me go on in this job," Torre said. "I felt comfortable with the conversation."

Steinbrenner recounted the talk in a statement issued through spokesman Howard Rubenstein, saying he told Torre: "You're back for the year. I expect a great deal from you and the entire team. I have high expectations, and I want to see enthusiasm, a fighting spirit and a team that works together. Responsibility is yours, Joe, and all of the Yankees.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2619564

#9

Cory Lidle Killed In Airplane Crash

NEW YORK --A small plane piloted by New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan's Upper East Side, killing at least four people, authorities said.

Lidle died in the crash.

The twin-engine plane came through a hazy, cloudy sky and hit the 20th floor of The Belaire -- a red-brick tower overlooking the East River, about five miles from the World Trade Center -- with a loud bang, touching off a raging fire that cast a pillar of black smoke over the city and sent flames shooting from four windows on two adjoining floors.

Large crowds gathered in the street in the largely wealthy New York neighborhood, with many people in tears and some trying to reach loved ones by cell phone.

"I was worried the building would explode, so I got out of there fast," said Lori Claymont, who fled an adjoining building in sweatpants.

Young May Cha, a 23-year-old Cornell University medical student, said she was walking back from the grocery store down 72nd Street when she saw an object out of the corner of her eye.

"I just saw something come across the sky and crash into that building," she said. Cha said there appeared to be smoke coming from behind the aircraft, and "it looked like it was flying erraticaly for the short time that I saw it."

"The explosion was very small. I was not threatened for my life," she added.

Richard Drutman, a professional photographer who lives on the 11th floor, said he was talking on the telephone when he felt the building shake.

"There was a huge explosion. I looked out my window and saw what appeared to be pieces of wings, on fire, falling from the sky," Drutman said. He and his girlfriend quickly evacuated the building.

The plane left New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, just across the Hudson River from the city, at 2:30 p.m., about 15 minutes before the crash, according to officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. But they said they did not where the aircraft was headed.

FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said the plane was apparently not in contact with air traffic controllers; pilots flying small planes by sight are not required to be in contact.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate.

Former NTSB director Jim Hall said in a telephone interview he doesn't understand how a plane could get so close to a New York City building after Sept. 11.

"We're under a high alert and you would assume that if something like this happened, people would have known about it before it occurred, not after," Hall said.

Mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark, daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark, lives on the 38th floor and was coming home in a cab when she saw the smoke.

"Thank goodness I wasn't at my apartment writing at the time," she said. She described the building's residents as a mix of actors, doctors, lawyers, writers and people with second homes.

Sgt. Claudette Hutchinson, a spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo., said fighter jets "are airborne over numerous U.S. cities and while every indication is that this is an accident, we see this as a prudent measure at this time."

However, all three New York City-area airports continued to operate normally, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said. In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said neither President Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney was moved to secure locations.

"All indications are that is an unfortunate accident," said Yolanda Clark, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration. She said there was "no specific or credible intelligence suggesting an imminent threat to the homeland, at this time."

The crash struck fear in a city devastated by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Sirens echoed across the neighborhood as about 170 firefighters rushed in along with emergency workers and ambulances. Broken glass and debris were strewn around the neighborhood.

"There's a sense of helplessness," said Sandy Teller, watching from his apartment a block away. "Cots and gurneys, waiting. It's a mess."

The tower was built in the late 1980s and is situated near Sotheby's auction house. It has 183 apartments, many of which sell for more than $1 million.

Several lower floors are occupied by doctors and administrative offices, as well as guest facilities for family members of patients at the Hospital for Special Surgery, hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Fisher said.

No patients were in the high-rise building and operations at the hospital a block away were not affected, Fisher said.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2621860

#10

Piniella To Coach Chicago Cubs

CHICAGO, IL --Lou Piniella's coming to Wrigley Field, agreeing Monday to a three-year contract to manage the Chicago Cubs and accepting a job that has long been one of the most challenging in baseball.

His assignment: Get to the playoffs and win a championship with a franchise that hasn't been to a World Series since 1945 and hasn't won one since 1908.

"I feel terrific about Lou. I think he's a tremendous baseball man and a proven winner from the beginning of his career," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Monday.

"I think he's absolutely the perfect choice as we move forward."

Piniella, who will be introduced Tuesday at a news conference, has a deal that is worth about $10 million.

"I'm basically a blue-collar-type manager that believes in a good work ethic, preparation and a desire to win a baseball game," Piniella told the Chicago Sun-Times over the weekend in Detroit where he worked the ALCS for Fox TV.

Piniella replaces Dusty Baker, another veteran manager with a strong resume, who left after four years when his contract was not renewed following a 66-96 last-place finish in the NL.

Piniella has 19 years experience managing in the big leagues with four teams -- the Yankees, Reds, Mariners and Devil Rays -- and said his work in TV and a year away from the dugout on a daily basis refreshed him.

Known for his fiery style and outbursts with umpires -- in which he's thrown his cap, flung a base and kicked dirt on the plate -- the Cubs hope Piniella can be the spark the team obviously lacked during the final two seasons of Baker's tenure.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2628162

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2006 MLB General News Thread

Ryan Howard Hits 55th and 56th Homerun