Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: July 20, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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So the rumors started yesterday that the Los Angeles Dodgers are seriously interested in trading Yasiel Puig. We heard these same rumors last season, but Puig is still with the Dodgers. Is this the season the Dodgers deal him? While it seems as though he’s been around longer this is just Puig’s 4th season in the majors and he is just 25 years old. Remember Puig came out of the gate like a sure fire superstar. Puig came in and played 104 games in 2013. He hit .319 with 19 home runs and 42 RBI’s and added 11 stolen bases. There are some people out there who have identified him as the Rookie of the Year, but he actually finished 2nd to Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins. Puig also picked up some MVP votes that season and finished 15th in that voting. In 2014 Puig played 148 games hitting .296 with 16 home runs and 69 RBI’s and making his first All-Star team. He also picked up some MVP votes after that season and finished 19th in the voting. Puig was injured for much of the 2015 season. He played in just 79 games. He hit .255 with 11 home runs and had 38 RBI’s. The Dodgers where hoping a healthy Puig would bounce back t numbers more like his first two seasons, but he hasn’t. In 76 games Puig is hitting .256 with 7 home runs and 32 RBI’s this season. If the Dodgers do find a taker for Puig; which player will they get? Let’s take a look at some landing spots for Puig.

How about the New York Yankees? Take it easy Yankees fans I don’t think you’ll be getting Aroldis Chapman for Puig, but there are some options for these teams to deal. A more likely trade that could happen between these two teams is Puig for Carlos Beltran. Beltran is 39 years old, but is having a good season. He’s hitting .301 with 19 home runs and 58 RBI’s. If Clayton Kershaw’s return is pushed back with his injury the Dodgers are going to have to find a way to stay in contention for a wild card spot and adding some offense might help. Beltran has been able to stay healthy this season and has appeared in 88 games this season for the Yankees. Another plus for the Dodgers is Beltran is in the last year of his contract and with the young outfielders they have in their system he won’t be in the way. Beltran is owed about $8 million for the rest of this season while Puig is under contract for two more years at $7 million apiece. It’s two teams with plenty of money; so swapping salaries shouldn’t be an issue. The Dodgers could get some offensive help to put between Corey Seager and Adrian Gonzalez while the Yankees can get a young outfielder they can build around.

Another possible landing spot for Puig could be the rebuilding Atlanta Braves. It might sound odd to some people as the Braves are on their way to losing 100 plus games this season and possibly next season as well. It would actually give the Braves a chance t look at Puig and decide if he could be part of their rebuilding as his contract was coming to an end after the 2018 season. If so they could try to resign him or if not they could just let him go into free agency. The tough part would be figuring out what the Braves could send back in return. I don’t think the Dodgers would be interested in Nick Markakis. With the Braves rebuilding they’d want to hang on to their young players. Could the Braves out together a package featuring someone like Chase D’Arnaud or Jace Peterson with a pitcher or two thrown in be enough to get the Dodgers to send them Puig. It’s a deal that the Braves need to look into the question will be can they find a player or players that would interest the Dodgers enough to trade them Puig.

Could another rebuilding team like the Milwaukee Brewers be a team that could step up and tried to add Puig. It could be an easy deal if the Dodgers where willing to accept Ryan Braun and what’s left of his contract for Puig. Braun is signed through 2020 with an option for 20121. He’ll receive $20 million next season and in 2018, $19 million in 2019, $17 million in 2020 with a $15 million dollar option for 2021. Braun is 32 years old and it seems as though his power has been in decline. While Braun is still a home run threat he’s not the same player who hit 41 home runs in  2012. In 77 games this season Braun is hitting .313 with 13 home runs and 44 RBI’s. If the Brewers are going to truly rebuild they need to find a way to move Braun’s contract and this could be the answer they’ve been looking for. The issue may be will the Dodgers who have some talented young outfielders be willing to tie themselves down with Braun until 2020. Don’t forget that the Dodgers are going to be paying off Carl Crawford’s contract for the next couple of seasons.

Let’s reach out for one more team here and add the Toronto Blue Jays to the list of teams that could be a good spot for Puig. Jose Batista is injured and in the last year of his contract. Don’t forget that Batista is looking for a big payday at the end of the season and adding Puig could allow the Blue Jays to let Batista walk. Edwin Encarnacion is also in the last year of his contract and has been recruited by David Ortiz to sing with the Boston Red Sox and take over his role with them next season.  At 25 Puig along with Devon Travis would be the youngest player on the Blue Jays roster. The difficult part again here is finding someone to send back to Los Angeles in a deal. Ezequiel Carrera has had a solid season for the Blue Jays; so maybe they could add him into a deal with a young pitcher like Drew Hutchinson and a couple of bullpen pieces for Puig. This is the tough part about making a deal. While it looks as though Puig would be a good fit for the Blue Jays and their future it’s difficult to fin the right set of players to send back to the Dodgers to make a deal.

There are four interesting options for Yasiel Puig. Do the Dodgers finally go through with their plan to deal Puig or will he still be there at the end of the season? Remember this is a different front office talking about trading Puig this time; so maybe he ends up being dealt this time. Would you like to see your favorite team acquire Puig? Or do you have a better landing spot than the four I picked for him. If you do let me know.

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Mets Squeeze One Past The Cubs

Posted: July 19, 2016 by Daniel Kupres in baseball, fantasy, Minor League Baseball, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio
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Jake Arrieta enters tonight’s game searching for lucky number 13.  He would be challenging Noah Syndergaard looking to hit win number 10.

The Cubs would open the game up giving Noah some trouble early on. He is able to hold them at bay.  The third inning would see Rizzo and Zobrist striking out.  With two outs, Wilson Contreras would smack a line drive double to right.  With Jason Heyward at the plate, Noah would throw a wild pitch, Contreras takes advantage taking third base but Rene Rivera’s throws it away allowing Wilson to snag home and the first run of the game.

Jake would help himself in the bottom of the fourth hitting a double to right.  Tommy La Stella would send a line drive t right fielder Michael Conforto, he sends it home but Jake is able to get under the tag scoring the second run of the game.  Terry Collins would challenge the call and it would be over turned in favor of the Mets and the third out of the inning.

Jake would hold the Mets to two singles and a walk through 5 innings.  The top of the 6th, Jose Reyes would send a line drive to right making it all the way to third base for his first triple of the year.  Curtis Granderson would fly out to Heyward but it would be enough for Reyes to score and tie the game at 1.

Jake would make it through 7 full inning giving up 1 run on 5 hits striking out 8.  Pedro Strop would take the 8th inning and make it quick.  Hector Rondon would enter the 9th but would immediately give up a single to James Loney, Neil Walker would force him out. Astrubal Cabrera would single pushing walked to second but with two outs, it would be Rene Rivera’s single to right that drives Walker in for the second run of the game for the Mets.

Jeurys Familia would try to keep the Cubs from winning.  He would have trouble by walking Russell and Montero.  Javier Baez would single to load the bases.   Matt Szczur would send a grounder to first, Loney throws it home for the first out.  Kris Bryant would send a grounder to third but Jose Reyes to Neil Walker to Loney ends the game for the Cubs.

Dan the Man

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Lester

Posted: July 18, 2016 by Daniel Kupres in baseball, Minor League Baseball, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio
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The All Star Break was exactly what the Cubs needed as they opened up taking two of three from the Texas Rangers.  Jon Lester needed the break big time and with a 7 – 5 record, and a 3.38 ERA he seemed to need a small break also.   Lester is  seeking his 10th win of the season.  

Lester would go 6 full innings without giving uo a run.  The top of the 7th would see Wilmer Flores leadoff with his ninth home run of the year.  Lester would get the first two outs in the top of the 8th but gives up a single to Curtis Granderson.  That would be enough for Joel Maddon as he brings in Pedro Strop who immediately hits Yoenis Cespedes but Strop would end the inning striking out Neil Walker.  

The Cubs bats would turn it up quickly.  Javier Baez would send a line drive to left for a single and steals second base.  Kris Bryant reaches first getting hit by Steven Matz.  With one out and two men on, Anthony Rizzo steps in the gets into a 2-2 count, Matz serves a fastball belt high and Rizzo takes him to right center for a three-run home run.  

The Cubs grab a couple base runners but it would be Matt Szczur’s double that leads off the top of the 6th that gets Matz pulled from the game for Seth Lugo.  Almora would push Matt to third and it would be David Ross’s fly ball to center that scores Matt putting the Cubs up by 4.  

Seth Lugo would pitch two innings not allowing a base runner.  Erik Goeddel would enter the bottom of the 8th striking out Wilson Contreras and Addison Russell.  Matt Szczur would knock his second double of the game and would be driven in this time by Almora on his single to center but an error by Cespedes would put Almora on third.  Ross ends the inning with a fly ball.  

Carl Edwards Jr would enter the game getting the first out but gives up back to back singles that takes him out of the game for Hector Rondon.  With one out and two men on, Travis d’Arnaud steps into the box grounding into a game ending double play to put another W in the column for the Cubs and a much needed win against the Mets.  

Go Cubs Go!

Dan The Man

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Almost tied at 55

Posted: July 17, 2016 by Daniel Kupres in baseball, fantasy, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio
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The series finale between the Cubs and the Texas Rangers ends today with John Lackey seeking his eighth win against the strong Cole Hamels looking to grab win number 10.  Hamels would strikeout the first six batters.  Cole gives puts the first batter on due to a fielding error by Adrian Beltre with Albert Almora taking first base.  With two outs, Javier Baez sends a line drive to left field allowing Almora to cross home for the Cubs first run of the game.  

The Rangers were quick to end first inning but Lackey gives up back to back singles to start the second off to Pronce Fileser and Ryan Rua.  With one out, Elvis Andrus drives in Prince with a line drive to center field.  Robinson Chirinos sends a fly ball to Almora but it’s far enough to bring Rua in for the second run for the Rangers.   

The Rangers are up 2-1, going into the 4th and Lackey assists in adding another run by walking Ryan Rua and Nomar Mazara.  Chirinos’s double to left brings in Rua for the third run of the game for the Rangers putting them up by 2.  

Lackey is able to hold the Rangers up until the eighth inning when he gives up a leadoff home run to Ian Desmond but is able to end the inning completing eight innings giving up 4 runs on 6 hits but strikes out 8.   I would say a pretty typical outing for Lackey but without the run support.  Clayton Richard enters game preserving the game for Lackey and the Cubs.  

Cole Hamels combats Lackey with eight full innings but only gives up only one run but strikes out seven.  Sam Dyson enters the game for the Rangers to hold the game for the Rangers and receives his 19th save of the year.  The Cubs took the series, everyone wants a sweep but this is still a positive weekend for the Cubs.  

Go Cubs Go!
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Cubs Hammel the Rangers

Posted: July 16, 2016 by Daniel Kupres in baseball, Minor League Baseball, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio
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Jason Hammel still seeking out his 8th win of the season will have to take on the best in the AL West, the Texas Rangers and back from the disabled list, Yu Darvish.

Hammel would make it a quick 1st inning but goes into the 2cd giving up a single to Ryan Rua.  With two outs Elvis Andrus would send a routine ground ball to Addison Russell who’s throw pulls Rizzo off of first, Rua never stops, Rizzo’s throw home is out of reach for Montero but bounces back to him, Miguel’s throw to second is perfect getting Andrus out at 2cd to end the inning.

That would be the only run Hammel gives up through 6 innings.  He would only give up one more hit, walks one and strikes seven for a quality start.

Yu would have batter luck through the first two innings but give up a leadoff walk to Montero and a one out single to Tommy LaStella.  With two men on and two outs, Rizzo would send a line drive to right scoring both runners.  Yu would only make it 4 and 1/3 innings but he’d strike out 9 Cubs while walking four.

Shawn Tolleson would replace Yu to finish the 5th but it would be in the bottom of the 6th with two outs and two men on, he’d give up a single to Matt Szczur scoring Jason Heyward putting the Cubs up 3-1.  That would be all the Cubs need to fly the W in Wrigleyville.

Hammel would get the win as Adam Warren and Travis Wood score the hold with Hector Rondon scoring his 15th save of the season.  Two down, one more for the sweep.

Go Cubs Go!

Dan the Man

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How was your Week?

Posted: July 16, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in Auto Racing, football, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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Yesterday (Friday) was the last day for NFL teams to sign players they had placed the Franchise Tag on to long term deals. If a deal couldn’t be reached then the player would go through the 2016 season playing for what the Franchise Tag ranks his position at. If I remember correctly it’s the average of the Top 5 salaries at the position. One player who looked like he wouldn’t be able to come to an agreement with his team and even threatened to sit out the entire season was Von Miller of the Denver Broncos. Miller won the Super Bowl MVP award and until yesterday was unable to come to contract terms with the Broncos. Apparently Miller was so unhappy he even cropped Broncos General Manager John Elway out of a photo he posted on social media. Yesterday the Broncos and Miller agreed to 6 year $114.5 million dollar deal with $70 million dollars in the deal being guaranteed. This deal makes Miller the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history based on guaranteed money, as well as the highest-paid player in Denver franchise history.It’s being reported that Miller gets a $23 million signing bonus and $42 million guaranteed at signing, $61 million guaranteed after the first year and $70 million guaranteed after the second year of the deal. The guaranteed money was the biggest hurdle the two sides needed to clear to get the deal done. A lot of the big money contracts handed out to defensive players haven’t really worked out. Just ask the Miami Dolphins about Ndamukong Suh’s contract. It’s a big time deal for a Super Bowl MVP so now he has to play up to it.

Miller wasn’t the only player to receive a new contract yesterday. The Baltimore Ravens agreed to terms wit their kicker Justin Tucker on a 4 year $16.8 million dollar deal. Tucker’s deal includes $10.8 million fully guaranteed, with a $6 million signing bonus. The New York Jets and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson reach a contract agreement yesterday. Wilkerson’s deal is for 5 years and $86 million dollars. The deal also includes . $36.75 million of the deal guaranteed at signing. The contract also  includes a $15 million signing bonus. The contract, which averages $17.2 million per season, also includes an injury guarantee of $53.5 million. The Oakland Raiders signed cornerback David Amerson to a 4 year contract extension worth a maximum value of $38 million dollars. Amerson wasn’t a Franchise player for the Raiders, but they still worked out a contract extension with him.

There where four players who didn’t agree to new deals with their teams and can no longer negotiate long term deals again until after the season. Each is tied to his team for one year on a franchise player price. Those four players are; Kirk Cousins, quarterback Washington Redskins. Eric Berry, safety Kansas City Chiefs. Alshon Jeffery, wide receiver Chicago Bears and Trumaine Johnson, cornerback Los Angeles Rams. In a few of these cases it may actual be in the teams best interest to have these guys player under the Franchise Tag for a season. There are still plenty of questions about Cousins as a quarterback and now the Redskins get a chance to look at him for one more season before deciding if they want to make a long term commitment to him. There are a lot of experts who think Jeffery is a #1 receiver in the NFL, but he’s had his share of injuries. The Bears now have the entire season to see if he can stay healthy and be their top receiver. Berry returned to the Chiefs after going through treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma 2014. After being declared cancer free, Berry came back for the 2015 season and was named to the Pro Bowl, the AP All-Pro team, and was named the 2015 AP Comeback Player of the Year. While it’s not the happy ending to the story that people will want; it’s not a bad idea for the Chiefs to let Berry play under the Franchise Tag and make sure he stays healthy. Johnson led the Rams with 7 interceptions last season. He had never had more than 3 in any season before 2015 and I don’t believe the Rams had any injury concerns with Johnson. It may have been more of a case of him having his best season in 2015 and the Rams may want to see if he can repeat that or if it was an anomaly.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss this week’s NASCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway because of concussion like symptoms. Earnhardt Jr. mentioned he wasn’t feeling well going into last weeks races in Kentucky, but thought it might be a sinus infection or allergies. After the medication that Earnhardt Jr. was given by a family doctor didn’t help he met with a neurological specialist. After that evaluation was done it was decided that it would be best for Earnhardt Jr. to sit out this week. Now there is no timetable for Earnhardt Jr’s return and this maybe end up being more than a one race absence. Remember Earnhardt Jr. missed two Sprint Cup Series races in the 2012 season after suffering two concussions in a six week stretch. It’s a difficult time for Earnhardt Jr. too miss, but it’s better for him to sit out than try to drive with those symptoms. Earnhardt Jr. currently sits 13th overall in the driver standings, but does not have a win. Depending on how many races he’ll have to sit out there’s a chance that Earnhardt Jr. will fall out of The Chase. Alex Bowman is going to fill in for Earnhardt Jr. in the #88 car for the New Hampshire race. Bowman drives part-time for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. JR Motorsports is owned by Earnhardt Jr. It was announced yesterday that if Earnhardt Jr. is going to be out for the July 24th race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Jeff Gordon will take the wheel of the #88 car as the fill in driver. This type of injury will be a day by day thing to deal with and hopefully it won’t keep Earnhardt Jr. out to long. Of course it’s better to wait and make sure he’s 100 % before he gets back behind the wheel. There;s no reason for him to put his life at risk or possibly something happening to another driver. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Jimmie Johnson won the pole for Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 with an average speed of 133.971 m.p.h. Johnson will share the front row with Kyle Busch who’ll start 2nd. Martin Truex Jr starts 3rd while Kyle’s brother Kurt Busch is starting 4th. Denny Hamlin starts 5th to round out the Top 5.   

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Cubs top Texas

Posted: July 16, 2016 by Daniel Kupres in sports
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The Cubs open the second half of the season with Kyle Hendricks taking on the Texas Rangers 25 year old southpaw Martin Perez.  Perez would make it a quick 1st inning but gives up a one out double to Addison Russell in the bottom of the 2cd, he scores on Javier Baez’s two out double.  

Perez would hold the Cubs to that one run until the bottom of the 6th when Kris Bryant would lead off with a single and moves to third on Anthony Rizzo’s double.  Wilson Contreras would walk to load the bases.  Russell would drive in Bryant and Rizzo.  On a fielders choice, Jason Heyward drives in Wilson.  It wouldn’t stop there as Matt Szczur would drive in Russell and Heyward.  It does stop there as the Rangers bring Tony Barnette enters the game to end the inning.  

Hendricks would pitch a full 6 innings giving up only 3 hits walking two and striking out three.  Carl Edwards, Jr, Travis Wood, Pedro Strop and Justin Grimm take part in the last three innings with only Wood giving up two hits and Edwards striking out two.  

Cubs win 6-0 with another afternoon game on Saturday with the Rangers activating Yu Darvish.  

Go Cubs Go!

Dan the Man

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Let’s Call it Wednesday

Posted: July 13, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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On Monday Tim Duncan retired from the NBA after 19 seasons. Now after a career like Duncan’s you might expect a little fanfare to announce his retirement. There was no gigantic goodbye press conference called. There was no cool Instagram video posted. There was no picture on Twitter making the announcement. As a matter of fact I don;t think social media was involved in making the announcement at all. So how did Duncan go out; the San Antonio Spurs out out a simple press release announcing his retirement. It’s almost the way you’d expect Duncan to go out. While Duncan wasn’t looking for the spotlight as he was retiring and didn’t seem interested on having one more retirement type season, but after the career he had if he would’ve wanted that who could’ve blamed him.

San Antonio selected Duncan with the #1 pick in the 1997 draft. Duncan entered the NBA after winning 3 player of the year awards in college. He was named AP Player of the Year, Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year and he also won the John R. Wooden Award. Duncan then went on to win the 1997-98 NBA Rookie of the Year award. That was just the start of the awards that Duncan would win throughout his career. He won 5 NBA Championships with the Spurs and was named Finals MVP. 3 times. He won 2 NBA MVP. awards and he did it in back to back seasons; 2001-02 and 2002-03. Besides winning the MVP twice Duncan finished in the Top 5 of the voting 9 other times. Duncan also made 15 All-Star teams and was named MVP of the 1999-00 game. Duncan played in 1392 games; he averaged 19.0 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game while playing an average of 34 minutes a game. Duncan should go down as one of the best to every play the game and I’ve even heard some experts mention he should be in the Top 5 all-time. One of the things I found more interesting about Duncan’s 19 year career was the fact that he played all 19 of those seasons with one team and he had the same head coach Gregg Popovich for all 19 of those seasons. By comparison Kobe Bryant just wrapped up a 20 year NBA career that saw him play for 10 different head coaches. That begs the question; will we ever see a player with this long of a career play for just one head coach?

Now there is no better All-Star game than the Major League Baseball All-Star game. It’s far and away the closet to the actual game that is played during the regular season. While the National Hockey League did improve their game last season and it was a lot more watchable than it had been. Of course it is a three on three game and it’s different than what they do in the regular season. The National Football League Pro-Bowl is a huge joke. In a way it’s almost understandable. Football is a very physical game and the last thing a team or even a fan base needs is for it’s Pro-Bowl player to get injured going all out in an All-Star game. The biggest joke out of all the All-Star games has to be the fiasco the National Basketball Association puts on. There is absolutely no defense played and you have to believe sooner or later we’re going to see an NBA All-Star team score 200 points in the game. Baseball is so different because it’s difficult to fake. In the other All-Star games you can make it look like you’re trying without really trying. In baseball though there’s still a pitcher on the mound and unless he’s willing to serve one up t the hitter and make himself look bad he’s going to pitch to that batter like it’s a regular game. Ever now and then you get a blowout in the MLB All-Star game, but the majority of the time you get a close well played game like last nights.

Tuesday on the Sports Time Radio podcast Dan the Man selected the National League  to win the All-Star game. Of course we know by now that he was on the wrong side of that pick as the American League  picked up a 4-2 victory to claim home field advantage in the World Series. What I still don’t know and I haven’t been able to find out is; why was the NL the visitors? I thought for sure with the game being played at Petco Park in San Diego that the NL would be the home team. I’ll have to do a little more research and try to figure it out. Now the NL got off t a quick start as Kris Bryant hit a solo home run in the Top of the 1st off of Chris Sale to give the NL a quick 1-0 lead. The A.L. turned it around in the bottom of the 2nd inning getting a solo home run by Eric Hosmer to tie the score and then a two-run home run by Salvador Perez put the AL up 3-1 and it turned out to be a lead they would relinquish. Hosmer and Perez both hit their home runs off of their former teammate Johnny Cueto. The AL added a run in the Bottom of the 3rd inning. David Ortiz drew a walk and then Edwin Encarnacion came into to run for him and allow Ortiz to walk off the field to a big crowd reaction in his last All-Star game. Xander Bogaerts doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd for the AL It was Hosmer again who came through for the AL with a single to left field off of Jose Fernandez to bring Encarnacion home and put the AL up 4-1. The NL did get a run back in the Top of the 4th inning. Buster Posey drew a one out walk. Anthony Rizzo singled moving Posey to 3rd base. Marcel Ozuna singled to center off of Aaron Sanchez to drive in Posey and cut the AL lead to 4-2. The NL got 10 hits in the game with Daniel Murphy being the only guy with 2 hits. The AL got 8 hits in the game with Hosmer and Jackie Bradley Jr. each getting 2 hits. The AL used 10 pitchers in the game with Corey Kluber getting the win and Zach Britton picking up a save. The NL used 9 pitchers in the game with Cueto being the pitcher who took the loss. Hosmer was voted the games MVP.

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Great Start to the All Star Break

Posted: July 10, 2016 by Daniel Kupres in baseball, fantasy, Minor League Baseball, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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John Lackey looks to stay above .500 with another win to go into the All Star break on a good note.  Jonathon Niese would get the start for the Pirates and immediately get the ball rolling for the Cubs with singles to lead off man Ben Zobrist, then on one out to Anthony Rizzo and to load the bases Wilson Contreras.  Addison Russell would also smack a single but this one gives him two RBI’s.  Lackey would only give up one single in the bottom half. After the 1st, Cubs 2-0.

Cubs would go down quick in the top of the 2cd but Lackey would allow a solo home run to star off the bottom half to Sean Rodriguez.  Adam Frazier singles and scores on Eric Fryer’s one out double to left.  With two outs, John Jaso sends a line drive to right scoring Fryer.  The Pirates are now up 3-2.  

Kris Bryant stars off the 3rd with a walk and advances to third on Rizzo’s double to right.  Contreras would ground out to first but drives in Bryant to tie the game at 3.  Andrew McCutchen would lead off the bottom half of the 3rd with a solo home run to take the lead.  

The back and forth of leads would stop in the top of the 4th, after Albert Almora, Jr launches his 2cd home run of the season driving in Baez to take the lead, 5-4.  Niese would then give up back to back singles to Bryant and Rizzo prompting his removal for Arquimedes Caminero to end the inning.  

Lackey would make it to the 7th walking Josh Bell and giving up a single to John Jaso.  With no outs, Maddon brings in Pedro Strop.  He gets the first out and the second out from McCutchen but is scored as a sac fly to tie the game at 5.  

Pirates set up man, Tony Watson enters the game and immediately strikes out Almora but gives up a double to Matt Szcuzr.  Zo pops out on a bunt.  With two outs Bryant’s sends a line drive to left scoring Szczur for the Cubs to take the lead again giving Watson a blown save.  

Carl Edwards, Jr and Hector Rondon take the last two innings of the game for the hold and save as Strop is awarded the W with a blown save.  Lackey would go six innings giving up five runs on seven hits but strikes out nine only walking two.  Not the greatest outing but with the bats hitting and the bullpen holding, the Cubs take a game from the Pirates putting their lead at 7 above the second place Cardinals.   
Go Cubs Go!

Dan the Man

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Injury Update for the San Francisco Giants:

Posted: July 10, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio
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If it seems as though you have been seeing more of the Sacramento RiverCats and less of the San Francisco Giants these days, then you may just realize how serious the injury bug has impacted the Orange and Black. If not for the fact that the backup corps has been stellar, fans would be watching the Los Angeles Dodgers storming up from behind.

As it is the Giants remain six-and-a-half games ahead of LA after their 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Saturday afternoon at AT&T Park. The good news is that Sergio Romo shut down the D-backs in the eighth inning for the second straight game, thus reestablishing his position as the set-up guy for Santiago Casilla.

Here are the most recent developments:

Gregor Blanco: After missing three games with a strained left knee, Blanco was able to pinch-hit in Tuesday’s game against the Rockies. He punctuated his recovery Friday night, by hitting his first home run of the season, also his first as a pinch-hitter. He is listed as day-to-day.

Angel Pagan: Pagan was kept out of last Sunday’s lineup for general soreness. He had played in nine straight games. He returned to the lineup for Monday’s day-game against the Colorado Rockies, and was the difference with his two-run home run.

Denard Span: Span had an old neck injury resurface, aggravated while evading a pitch during the Oakland series. It was looking as though a return to the disabled list was in order, before he made rapid improvement this week. 

Span’s MRI results were negative and after being out of the lineup for a week, he returned Friday, going 0-5, but making a superlative back-handed catch in right-center field. The catch off the bat of Ricky Weeks occurred in the ninth inning with a runner on board, and after crashing into the wall, Span almost doubled the runner off first base.

Hunter Pence: Pence took batting practice last Saturday, the first step toward rehabbing his surgically repaired torn hamstring in his right leg. He reported no discomfort when working the weight machine, but that he can not yet drive off the leg when he swings a bat. Pence is slated to return in late July or early August and would appear to be on that time-line.

Joe Panik: As of June 29th, Panik was placed on the 7-day DL for concussion symptoms suffered in mid-June when he was struck by a pitch. After passing the concussion tests the first three times, Panik showed symptoms the fourth time they ran the battery of tests. He is expected back after the All-Star break.

Matt Duffy: Duffy was reported by Andrew Baggarly to be out of his walking boot and now taking ground balls, and seemingly on track to return to the lineup after the All-Star break.

Kelby Tomlinson: Tomlinson has been rehabbing in Sacramento with the RiverCats; he will return to the Giants after the All-Star game.

Matt Cain: Cain is on track to return after the All-Star break. He made a rehab start a week ago Saturday in an Arizona (Rookie) League game. He went three-and-one-third innings, giving up two runs on three hits, one of them a home run, and struck struck out six.

Sergio Romo: Romo hurled his second consecutive scoreless eighth inning, Saturday afternoon against the D-backs, indicating that his return from the 60-day disabled list is obviously a great success.

Ehire Adrianza: Out since April 15th, Adrianza’s recovery from a broken left foot has gone slower than intended. It was originally thought that he would miss six-to-eight weeks.

The replacements:

Ramiro Pena: 16 G, 44 AB, 5 R, 16 H, 7 RBI, .364/.378/.477/.855. Pena missed four games with a sprained ankle but is back, fully recovered.

Conor Gillaspie: Gillaspie had nine hits in 18 at-bats, at one point earlier this week, with six runs scored. In his last thirty games, his line looks like this: 21 G, 51 AB, 9 R, 17 H, 9 RBI, .333/.370/.490/.861 (quite similar to that of Pena).

Grant Green: Stats since being called up: 8 G, 30 AB, 9 H, 5 RBIs, .300/.344/.433/.777. Grant hit the decisive two-run home run in Saturday’s win over the D-backs.

Ruben Tejada: Stats in his last seven games as a Giant: 6 G, 17 AB, 2 R, 4 H, 1 RBI, .235/.278/.412/.690. Tejada doubled home Gregor Blanco in Saturday’s game, in the sixth inning, for a much-needed insurance run.

Jarrett Parker: Last 30 games: 52 AB, 9 R, 15 H, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, .288/.422/.423/.845

Mac Williamson: Since he has been recalled: 17 G, 46 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .217/.333/.370/.703

Albert Suarez: 3-1, 6 Games started, 49 IP, 3.67 ERA, 13 BB, 34 SO, 1.10 WHIP

Derek Law: 3-1, 2.90 ERA, 32 G, 1.10 WHIP

Unlike last season, when the Giants staggered and eventually dropped out of the race after losing Pence, this season there has been no let-down.

The club’s record was 33-21(61.1%) on May 31st. Since Pence went down, the team has gone 23-12 (65.7%), so you can see that not only is there no let-down, the team has picked the pace up.

Part of the explanation is the improved starting pitching, though Jeff Samardzija has continued his inconsistent streak, but the main reason is that the replacements have been stellar.

One of the hardest roles to perform in baseball, is to step in cold to replace a regular in the lineup, especially if you are coming up from the minor leagues. Not only are you on a new team, you are playing at a considerably higher level.

From Pena’s .364 batting average to the home run power supplied by Parker and Williamson, to the 3-1 record of Suarez and his 1.10 WHIP, those entrusted with the task of not allowing the team to sag, have collectively done their jobs to infuse fresh enthusiasm into the clubhouse. 

The result is that San Francisco remains six-and-a-half games up on Los Angeles, the Dodgers contending with the injury bug themselves with the shelving of Clayton Kershaw. His lower back flared up recently and he was placed on the 15-day DL on June 29th.

One of the earmarks of championship teams is that they have depth. It’s an intangible that often separates the top dogs from the dead dawgs. The day he replaced Matt Duffy in the lineup, Conor Gillaspie went 4-5, after riding out an 0-for27 stretch.

He has been hot ever since.

Derek Law and Albert Suarez have been huge, and though he was sent down when Sergio Romo was activated, Suarez is back, having established himself as legitimate.

As long as the guys who are busing back and forth from Sacramento to San Francisco, can continue to help rack up the wins, there is no need to panic. Just don’t let that bus get “…stuck in Lodi, again.”

Mark O’Neill

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