New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tore?the ACL ?in his right knee?yesterday while trying to catch a glide ball during practice in Kansas City prior to last night's game against the Royals. Rivera could be out for the rest of the season, possibly a career ending injury. Let's just say right off the bat that this is the largest challenge the Yankees have faced in more than 15 years. Rivera has been the Yankees closer since 1997. The Yankees have missed one post-season in his entire huge league career. Rivera has 608 career saves , the most in MLB history. The 42-year ancient Panamanian has been his usual self. At the time of the injury, he was 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA and five saves. Needless to say, who will the Yankees place out there in the ninth? Rafael Soriano did save 45 games for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010. Soriano struggled in 2011 and although he has pitched better in 2012 his walk totals are a small scary (six walks in nine innings). Being the closer might be shot in the arm he needs. David Robertson has pitched well as an eighth inning set up man but is untested as a closer. Then again Rivera pitched well as an eighth inning set up man but was untested as a closer after John Wetteland went to Texas after the 1996 season. Robertson hasn't given up a run in 11 innings pitched this season and has 18 strikeouts to boot. But eighth inning success doesn't always translate into the ninth and Robertson is an unknown quantity in the ninth as is Phil Hughes who has struggled to regain his form of 2010 when he won 18 games. Hughes has had success in the bullpen as an eighth inning set up man during the Yankees World Series championship season of 2009. The dark horse in all of this is Joba Chamberlain who dislocated his right ankle while jumping on a trampoline late in spring training. He just got place on the 60-Day Disabled List but could be back late in the season. If Soriano, Robertson and Hughes don't pan out and they don't trade for a closer then Chamberlain is an option. In the grand scheme of things, losing Mariano Rivera is terrible for baseball. He is a class act on and off the field and even Red Sox fans cheer for him . That would never happen with Jeter or A-Rod. Mariano Rivera is in a league of his own and it would be shame if this was the way his storied career finished.
Read the rest here: Mariano Rivera Tears ACLLast night, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jered Weaver threw a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins en route to a 9-0 victory. Weaver's no-no comes less than two weeks after Chicago White Sox pitcher Philip Humber tossed a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners. The 29-year ancient righty was very nearly perfect . Only two batters reached base against Weaver. After striking out, Chris Parmelee reached first base on a passed ball by Angels catcher Chris Iannetta in the second inning. The only other base runner was Josh Willingham who walked in the seventh. Otherwise, Weaver was dominant striking out nine. This no-hitter is the tenth in Angels' history and comes nearly exactly fifty years after the late Bo Belinsky (better known for spending his nights with the likes of Mamie Van Doren )? spun the first in franchise history against the Baltimore Orioles. Nolan Ryan threw four of the Angels no-hitters while Mike Witt tossed a perfect game against the Texas Rangers on the last day of the 1984 season. Witt would also get credit for pitching the last two innings of Mark Langston's no-no against the Seattle Mariners early in the 1990 season although those no-hitters would no longer count if they were thrown today. Prior to Weaver's gem, the most recent Angels no-hitter came last season when Ervin Santana tossed one against the Cleveland Indians . The Twins have seen better days. They have not scored a run in 19 innings. On Tuesday, the Twins were shutout by journeyman pitcher Jerome Williams. It was Williams' first huge league shutout since 2003. The Twins own the worst record in MLB. The Angels, of course, have had a rough start as well in 2012. But thanks to the Twins they have won three in a row for the first time this season. As it turns out, Weaver's next start will also be against?Minnesota on Monday?when the Angels visit the Twin Cities. Could Weaver be the second coming of Johnny Vander Meer? Even if Weaver doesn't throw back to back no-hitters, he has nearly half of the Angels' 10 wins this season. He is 4-0 and leads the AL in both ERA (1.61) and strikeouts (45) . Weaver was the runner up to Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Cy Young Award balloting in 2011. I picked Weaver to win the 2012 AL Cy Young Award . We'll see where Weaver is at in September but he's making a excellent case for himself so far.
See the original post: Jered Weaver No-Hits Twins
I had not heard about Tim McCarver's riff on global warming causing an increased number of homeruns. There's a reason for that. As much as I like baseball, I try to avoid watching games covered by the dynamic duo of McCarver and Joe Buck. Indeed, when the Red Sox have been in the post-season I turn the sound down and listen to Joe Castiglione on WEEI instead. This isn't to say that weather doesn't play a role in how many homeruns get hit or don't get hit. The wind can all the difference between a three run homerun and a third out of the inning. Indeed, the air in Denver is so thin that over the past few seasons baseballs are placed in a humidor to reduce the number of homeruns that were hit at Coors Field. But in recent years, homeruns have been declining. In 2009, 5,042 homeruns were hit ?in MLB. That figure fell to 4,613 in 2010 and fell again to 4,552 last season. So from 2009 to 2011, homeruns have declined by more than 10%. So I reckon Larry Thornberry is being overly generous when he says, "He usually doesn't prattle too terribly on air." Indeed, his prattlings are known as McCarverisms . Here are but a sample: "That pitch wasn't down and in, that pitch was down and up." "Watch Darren Daulton use his mitt like a glove." "Yankee pitchers have had fantastic success this year against Cabrera when they get him out." The thing about McCarver that stands out for me was something he said during the pre-game show of the 2003 All-Star Game at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. He said that in order to have success at the All-Star Game you needed to have experience. Well, the hero of the 2003 All-Star Game was first time Texas Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock, a first time All-Star, who hit a two run homerun off Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne in the bottom of the 8th to give the American League a 7-6 victory. It was Gagne's only blown save that season and he would go on to win the 2003 NL Cy Young Award. As for Blalock, it was his? first full season in the bigs . So much for needing experience to succeed in the All-Star Game.
Read the rest here: McCarverismsTexas Governor Rick Perry announced today that he’s dropping out of the GOP race for President , admitting there’s no “viable path” to the nomination. He then endorsed Newt Gingrich ( who happens to be right on the food stamp thing ). I happen to agree with Perry’s choice and his campaign assessment. He peaked last Fall when it was his turn and has been hanging around ever since. Unfortunately for him, the build-up was too huge and his debate performances were too small, more memorable for his gaffes than his policy positions . That leaves only Newt, Ron Paul, Romney, and Santorum left for the chance to oust Obama in the Fall.
Rick Perry Heading Back to Texas
