MLB Trade Deadline
MLB Major Trades at the MLB trade deadline.
Well the MLB Trade Deadline has came and went and here are the big deals, you will notice that the Sox only had a minor deal despite having a record just above .500 and 4th in the A.L. East
--BOSTON -- The Red Sox on Tuesday acquired lefty reliever Craig Breslow from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed reliever Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik, according to a major league source.
The 31-year-old Breslow has a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings for the Diamondsbacks this season, with 42 strikeouts and 13 walks. He has held hitters to a .233 average.
-The Red Sox also trades Lars Anderson for a Minor League Prospect seconds before the deadline.
-Phillies Trade Hunter Pence to Giants, Pence, 29, hit .271 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs in 101 games this year with Philadelphia. His homer total considerably exceeds that of any existing Giant -- Buster Posey has a club-high 13 -- and his RBI total fits between Posey's 61 and Melky Cabrera's 52. Phillies Get: Schierholtz who finished his Giants tenure with a .270 batting average, 23 homers and 119 RBIs in 503 games after he reached the Majors in 2007. This year, he compiled a .257 average with five homers and 17 RBIs in 77 games. His final act as a Giant was lining a run-scoring single in the 10th inning on Monday night as the Giants lost to the Mets, 8-7.
Seth Rosin, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training this year, went 2-1 with a 4.31 ERA and 10 saves in 34 games, including five starts, for San Jose this season. The 23-year-old was San Francisco's fourth-round pick in the 2010 Draft. and 21 year old catcher Tommy Joseph
-The Dodgers added veteran outfielder and leadoff hitter Shane Victorino to their collection of stars in a trade with the Phillies for reliever Josh Lindblom and Minor League pitcher Ethan Martin on Tuesday.
-The Dodgers also acquired reliever Brandon League from Seattle in exchange for a pair of Minor Leaguers on Monday.
-Braves acquire left-handed starting pitcher Paul Maholm and veteran backup outfielder Reed Johnson from the Cubs in exchange for highly-regarded pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman to the Chicago Cubs
-Texas acquired Geovany Soto from the Cubs on Monday night for Double-A Frisco right-hander Jacob Brigham, the club announced on Tuesday morning. Soto, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award and was named an All-Star in 2008, is hitting a career-worst .195 with six home runs and 14 RBIs in 51 games. But he has had his best month of the season in July, hitting .250 with one home run, five RBIs and eight runs scored.
-The Cincinnati Reds acquired Kansas City Royals closer Jonathan Broxton and will make him their setup man, according to a high-ranking Reds' official with direct knowledge of the trade.
MLB Midseason Power Rankings
By: Tom Nappi
From Worst to first and my playoff prediction as we have reached Mid-Season
30) Houston Astros (33-53) - Will there ever again be hope for the Astros
29) Chicago Cubs (33-52) - Will they ever be good enough for even the playoffs
28) Colorado Rockies (33-52) - Back to their normal selves after 2 years of glory
27) San Diego Padres (34-53) - Another Rough Year for the Padres
26) Seattle Mariners (36-51) - Felix Hernandez and that's about it
25) Minnesota Twins (36-49) - Injuries and rough season so far for the Twins
24) Philadelphia Phillies (37-50) - The most shocking team by far, no one could have predicted this but poor offense and injuries have hurt the Phillies chances at coming around from this one.
23) Kansas City (37-47) - Only 10 games below .500 this is actually pretty good for the Royals.
22) Milwaukee Brewers (40-45) - The loss of Prince Fielder seems to have to stuck a dagger in Brewers playoff hopes.
21) Miami Marlins (41-44) - The addition of Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buhrle and 3 games below .500 at all star break = very disappointing. P.S. go back to your old uniforms and get rid of those awful Green walls in the new stadium but keep the bakini dancers.
20) Arizona Diamondbacks (42-43) - Still in the playoff hunt only 4.0 games back but don't expect much
19) Toronto Blue Jays (43-43) - About what I expected, good pitching....no hitting.
18) Oakland Athletics (43-43) - Pretty good pitching and defense as usual but no hitting, but don't count on much
17) Boston Red Sox (43-43) - .500 at All Star Break. Time to worry if the Sox starting pitching doesn't start pitching well, they are done!
16) Detroit Tigers (44-42) - After a rough start, the Tigers have turned things around and only 3.5 games behind in the Central.
15) Tampa Bay Rays (45-41) - There line up is a disgrace but the Rays pitching is terrific, which is why the Rays will be in the hunt for the 2nd wild card spot.
14) Baltimore Orioles (45-40) - I will be shocked if the Orioles keep this up but they will continue to get better every year and will be a competitor in the A.L. East within the next 2 years if they aren't already.
13) Cleveland Indians (44-41) - The Indians are right in the hunt for the A.L. Central and have improved drastically from last years horror show.
12) San Francisco Giants (46-40) - Tim Lincecum has been a disappointment but they continue to remain competitive in the N.L. West
11) St. Louis Cardinals (46-40) - The Bearded nobodies in the Cardinals bullpen will emerge towards the end of the season...BEWARE!
10) New York Mets (46-40) - The Mets have had quite the turn around this year and R.A. Dickey has led the way as he had an terrific first half of the season.
9) Cincinnati Reds (47-38) - The Reds are shockingly terrific this year and are not going away. The Reds will be a wild card threat and perhaps an N.L. Central threat.
8) Atlanta Braves (46-39) - The Braves are playing terrific through the first half and with their solid rotation will be around come playoff time.
7) L.A. Angels (48-38) - The Angels should at the very least clinch a wild card spot in the A.L. they have had a tremendous turnaround since their awful start and with the emergence of Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo and the turnaround of Albert Pujols, they are an easy World Series contender.
6) Chicago White Sox (47-38) - Ever since the addition of Kevin Youkalis the White Sox are playing .700 baseball. Youk seems to be just the piece they needed to turn their season around. The White Sox are on top of the Central and will be around come playoff time. Youkalis was the A.L. Player of the week this week!
5) L.A. Dodgers (47-40) - The Dodgers are surprisingly on top of the N.L. West but it has shown to be a pretty weak division this year however the Dodgers have been playing well and should be competitive come playoff time.
4) Pittsburgh Pirates (48-37) - Hell has frozen over. The Pirates are a good team, 11 games above .500 and in 1st in the NL Central at Mid Season...This could be the year the Pirates go from Worst to First! P.S. Andrew McCutchen is a beast!
3) Washington Nationals (49-34) - The Nationals are an unbelievable story and have climaxed quicker than most thought as they lead the N.L. East and should be taken very seriously.
2) Texas Rangers (52-34) - The Rangers are playing elite as expected and will certainly more than likely have a deep playoff run. The fear is will the Texas Rangers be the Buffalo Bills of Baseball and lose 3 World Series Straight.
1) New York Yankees (52-33) - Despite losing Mariano Rivera to a more than likely season ending injury and having Brett Gardner, C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda go to the D.L. The Yankees are back to being the best team in baseball and should be feared by everyone come playoff time.
Tom's Midseason predictions
Here is how I believe the playoffs should break down after a 2012 first half of irony and surprises in MLB.
NL East - Washington Nationals NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals NL West - L.A. Dodgers
National League Wild Card
Atlanta @ Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Wins!
Division Series
Pittsburgh VS Washington - Washington in 6
St. Louis VS L.A. Dodgers - St. Louis in 7
Washington over St. Louis in 7, Thats Right The Nationals make the World Series!
AL East - New York Yankees AL Central - Detroit Tigers AL West - Texas Rangers
American League Wild Card
Chicago White Sox @ L.A. Angels - Angels Win!
Division Series
Yankees VS Angels - Yankees in 7
Detroit VS Texas - Texas in 7
Yankees Over Texas in 7
World Series
Yankees over Nationals in 6 games!
Let's Flash Back.
Tom's Prediction Prior to Season Start - Most of my picks are still very alive, except the Phillies they will not win the World Series and probably won't make the playoffs!
AL East - N.Y. Yankees
AL Central - Detroit Tigers
AL West - Texas Rangers
WC 1- L.A Angels
WC 2- Boston Red Sox
NL East - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West - S.F. Giants
WC 1- Miami Marlins
WC 2 - Atlanta Braves
AL Winner - N.Y. Yankees
NL Winner - Philadelphia Phillies
WS Winner - Philadelphia Phillies in 6
Saturday Headlines
The Boston Bruins are set to take the ice in Toronto tonight at 7 to take on the Maple Leafs. The Bruins won their last game 5-3 Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators. 
The New England Patriots take on the New York Giants this Sunday in a 2007 Super Bowl rematch, Good news for the Patriots as RB Ahmad Bradshaw and WR Hakeem Nicks are doubtful for the Giants. 
In baseball off season news Chicago Cubs President Theo Epstein allegedly met with Terry Francona about becoming the next Cubs manager, after firing Mike Quade last week. Cubs also interviewed other candidates for the position as well. 
The Red Sox have allowed Jonathan Papelbon, David Ortiz, Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek to become free agents. The Sox and Cubs have asked the Rangers permission to talk too Pitching Coach Mike Maddux about there vacancies at the Manager Postion.
Free Agent Jim Thome will sign with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Sports Update 10-28-2011
The Boston Bruins hosted the Montreal Canadians for a 2 game home series starting Thursday Night and concluding Saturday. The Bruins first round playoff opponent has gotten off to a slow start this season, with a 2-5-2 record, but came out on top Thursday. Thomas Plekanec knocked in a goal for the Canadians 10:46 into the 3rd period to cap off the 2-1 victory over the B's. Bruins and Canadians meet Saturday 7:00pm at the Garden.
The Patriots will head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers this Sunday. Tom Brady has historically been very successful against the Steelers totaling a 6-1 record since 2001.
Dane Fletcher and Ras-I Dowling did not participate in practice today, 8 other players we limited, the Patriots Also activated Kevin Faulk and 2 other players from the Physically unable to perform list.
The Cardinals sent out Jamie Garcia in St Louis Thursday Night for game 6 of the World Series, The Rangers sent out Colby Lewis. The Texas Rangers found themselves 1 strike away from a world series victory for their 2nd time Thursday Night but could not come through as David Freese hit the game winning homer for the Cardinals in the 11th inning. The Cardinals found themselves down 9-7 in the bottom of the 10th after Josh Hamilton hit a 2 run homer in the top of the 10th for the Rangers, Ryan Theriot and Lance Berkman had base hits in the 10th to drive in 2 runs off Fernando Salas too send the game into the 11th. David Freese would then hit a solo shot in the 11th off of Jamie Garcia to keep the Cardinals alive and send the World Series to game 7 Friday Night.
ESPN SCOREBOARD:
Coverage: FOX
8:05 PM ET, October 27, 2011
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E | |
| TEX | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 2 |
| STL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 3 |
L: M. Lowe (0-1)
Game Notes
New Red Sox GM Ben Cherington announced during his introductory press conference that John Lackey will undergo Tommy John Surgery and will miss the entire 2012 season.
Sports Headlines 10/23/2011
We are at the middle of the High School Football season and Friday’s TVL Game of the week on WMRC featured the Hopkinton Hillers and the Holliston Panthers. Hopkinton played without there starting Quarterback Mike Decina. Holliston came out on top in this game as they shutout Hopkinton 20-0. Dan Barone had 3 touchdown runs for the Panthers. Holliston is now tied on top in league play with Westwood, as the Panthers are 2-0 in the league, 5-1 overall. 
Westwood bested Medway last night 7-0 to improve too 6-1 and 2-0 in league play. Bo Berluti caught a 10 yard touchdown pass from Alex Berluti. 
Millis-Hopedale remains undefeated as they took down Dover-Sherborn in Tri-valley small play. Final score of that game was 28-0. Jim Perkins had 3 touchdown runs for Millis-Hopedale. 
In Midwatch Play Shrewsbury over Wachusett 36-29, North Middlesex lost to Hudson 34-19, Marlborough defeated Algonquin 35-14 and Westborough got crushed by Nashoba 57-13. 
Tonight the Milford Scarlet Hawks battle the Fitchburg Red Raiders. Milford and Fitchburg are both 3-3 in the season and undefeated in league play. The winner of Fitchburg and Milford will be in first place in Mid-Wach A. Game can be heared tonight on WMRC with coverage starting at 5:45pm, beginning of the game will be available online only until B.C. Football ends, then the game can be found on 1490am.
Talking about B.C. Football, the Boston College Eagles play at 3:00pm today as they take on Virgina Tech who is ranked 12th in the country. B.C. is having a rough season as they are 1-5 and 0-3 in ACC play, Virgina Tech is 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in ACC Play. Coverage starts on WMRC at approximately 2:45 today. 
Theo Epstein has officially resigned from the Red Sox and is set to become the new President of the Chicago Cubs, press conference is expected to be held Tuesday, Ben Cherrington will take over as Red Sox G.M. 
Game 3 of the World Series is tonight as the Cardinals head to Texas, series is tied 1-1. Kyle Lohse takes the Hill against the Rangers Matt Harrison. 
The 3-4 Boston Bruins take on the San Jose Sharks tonight at the Garden game time is 7:00pm. 
Earlier this week the Lions and Eagles agreed on a trade that would send RB Ronnie Brown to the Lions and RB Jerome Harrison to the Eagles, but the trade was nullified as it was discovered during a physical that Jerome Harrison had a brain tumor. Jerome Harrison since had surgery and is expected to have had the Brain Tumor removed. 
Patriots have a bye week this week but some games going on is the Chargers @ the Jets – 1:00pm start, Tim Tebow gets the start for the Broncos as they take on the Dolphins at 1:00 and Carson Palmer and the Raiders welcome the Chiefs at 4:00. Sunday Night game is the Peyton Manningless Colts at the Saints and on Monday the Ravens battle Jacksonville.
Todays Headlines 10/21/2011
Bruins got their 3rd win of the season as they took down the Toronto Maple Leafs last night 6-2.
Tim Thomas got the start at goalie, he’s now 3-2 on the season.
In the 1st Period Nathan Horton, Zdeno Chara and Chris Kelly all had goals, no one scored in the 2nd period, but in the 3rd period Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin knocked in goals for the Bruins.
Mark Bartkowski has been sent back down too providence and Stephen Kampfer is in!
David Krecji saw action last night, he has been out since the early part of the season with a core injury. 
According to reports The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are finishing up negotiations that would send Theo Epstein to the Cubs. The current hold up appears to be reviewing of medical records of players that the Red Sox would receive in exchange of Epstein. San Diego Padres General Manager Jed Hoyer is expected to join Theo in Chicago and would take over as Cubs GM.
The Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals played game 2 of the World Series last night, the Cards took game one with a 3-2 Victory, but in game 2 the Rangers struck back scoring 2 runs in the 9th to take game 2 2-1 and tie up the Fall Classic at 1.
Colby Lewis for the Rangers went 6.2 IP and gave up 4 hits and 1 run while Jamie Garcia went 7 scoreless innings for the Cardinals. Josh Hamilton and Michael Young both had sacrifice hits in the 9th to drive in runs. Jason Motte gave up both runs, only 1 run was earned.
A trade that would have sent Running back Ronnie Brown to the Lions has been voided after Jerome Harrison, the player that Brown was being traded for, failed his Phycial, reports are now that a Brain tumor was discovered during Harrisons Physical.
Texas Rangers to the World Series!
The Texas Rangers have advanced to there 2nd straight World Series after they took down the Detroit Tigers Last Night in Game 6 of the ALCS 15-5. Michael Young and Nelson Cruz both hit Home Runs off of Brad Penny in the 7th.
The game took a turn for the worst for the Detroit Tigers as a 9 run 3rd inning for the Rangers capped things off. Michael Young started with a double which would drive in Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton. Adrian Beltre would then single to Center to drive in Michael Young. David Murphy then singled to center to drive in Beltre and Nopoli. Ian Kinsler would continue the 3rd inning rally with a single to left to drive in 2 more runs and then Michael Young in his second at bat of the inning would double to right field which drove in Kinsler and Andrus.
The Texas Rangers will advance to the World Series for there 2nd year in a row and will take on the winner of the NLCS either the Milwaukee Brewers or St. Louis Cardinals. The National League winner will have home field advantage as they won the All Star Game.
ESPN SCOREBOARD
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| DET | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| TEX | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | 15 | 17 | 0 |
L: M. Scherzer (0-1)
Sports News 10-14-2011
Sports News 10-13-2011
Nelson Cruz hits a 3 Run Homer in the 11th to help the Texas Rangers go up 3-1 in the ALCS as the Rangers cruise to a 7-3 victory. 
The St. Louis Cardinals are up 2-1 in the NLCS after they defeat the Brewers 4-3. Chris Carpenter bests Yovani Gollardo.
A team source told the newspaper that Terry Francona was distracted by marital issues and his use of pain medication last season, allegations the former Red Sox manager has strongly denied.
"It makes me angry that people say these things because I've busted my (butt) to be the best manager I can be," Francona said when the Globe presented him with its findings. "I wasn't terribly successful this year, but I worked harder and spent more time at the ballpark this year than I ever did."
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia had plenty to say. Speaking to WEEI from vacation in Mexico he couldn't believe someone from the organization would talk that way about Francona, who "had everyone's back since Day 1."
"He's protected every single guy in that clubhouse and that's why I respect him like you can't believe," Pedroia said. "Whatever job he gets, if he needs me for a couple of games or whatever just let me know, I'll go play for free. That's how I care about this guy. This guy is my family.
"For him to have to deal with this, he's the best manager in the history of the Red Sox organization. He won two World Series, look at the run that he had there, it's pretty remarkable. That's the part that hurts and whoever the person it is that's saying this I think they need to take a step back and kind of look in the mirror and understand what they're saying about a guy. A lot of guys in this organization have his back and I'm one of them."
Papi out of Beantown Next Year?
Espn Article:
Longtime Boston Red Sox slugger and free-agent-to-be David Ortiz spoke about the possibility of signing with the AL East rival New York Yankees during an interview Wednesday with ESPN's Colleen Dominguez, after expressing frustration with the state of the Red Sox, who've seen manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein leave in the wake of the team's September collapse.
"There's too much drama, man," Ortiz told Dominguez in reference to the Red Sox. "There's too much drama. I have been thinking about a lot of things. I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year."
Boston Bruins fall to 1-3 as they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday 3-2
Sports News 10-12-2011
The Chicago Cubs have reportedly agreed with Theo Epstein on a 5 year close to $20 Million Dollar Deal for Theo to become the new President of the Cubs.
The Boston Globe has released an article written by Bob Hohler which digs into the problems with the Red Sox ownership, atmosphere in the club house and accuses certain players of being careless to the team.
"The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season."
Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony have mentioned that players may start their own league if NBA Lock Out wipes out the 2011-2012 NBA Season.
Tigers win game three 5-2 against the Rangers on Tuesday and now trail 2-1 in the Best of 7 ALCS.
Game 4 is this afternoon at 4:15pm
The Cardinals and Brewers are knotted up at 1-1 in the NLCS, Game 4 is tonight at 8:05 PM.
The New York Jets have traded WR Derrik Mason to the Houston Texans for an undisclosed 3rd Round Draft Pick 
Looking for a fun Read Check out Jessica Dempsey's article about the Come Back Kids, The Detroit Lions! Click Read More for Article!
Sports Update October 10th 2011
Nelson Cruz hits a walk off grand slam and the Texan Rangers take a 2 game lead over the Tigers after Monday Night's 7-3 victory!
Meetings between the NBA players and owners are over, sides remain very far apart, The First two Weeks of the NBA season have officially been Cancelled.
Colorado Avalanche take down the Boston Bruins 1-0. The Bruins are now 1-2 on the season and head to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes Wednesday Night at 7:30. 
The red hot St. Louis Cardinals took down the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 12-3 to tie up the NLCS at 1-1.
The Detroit Lions beat up on the Chicago Bears on the first Monday Night Football game in Detroit since 2001, 24-13 and the Lions are now 5 and 0 for their first time since 1956.
1st Round 2011 MLB Playoffs
--In the MLB playoffs the New York Yankees were eliminated earlier this week by the Detroit Tigers, The Tampa Bay Rays were also eliminated by the Texas Rangers.
---Last night the Milwaukee Brewers took down the Arizona Diamondbacks winning game 5 3-2, the game went 10 innings. 
---The St. Louis Cardinals finished off the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 in game 5 to knock them out and shock the world.
---The ALCS is set to begin tonight at 8pm as the Detroit Tigers send Justin Verlander to the mound to take on the Texas Rangers C.J. Wilson.