Really interesting article by Tom Verducci on a Danish company that is taking the tracking of pitches to the next level.  The information looks pretty solid and the tracking is similar to 3D Doppler weather radar. 

They can track pitch time / distance (rather than mph), spin RPMs on breaking balls and more. 

Also, why Tommy Hunter is a stud!  Read below:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tom_verducci/04/12/fastballs.trackman/index.html?eref=sihp

Wow...Napoli to get ABs at C, 1B, DH

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http://prosportsblogging.com/nfl-football/dallas-cowboys/rumour-cowboys-on-the-verge-of-firing-wade-phillips/

True or is this guy going out on a limb?

A couple of excerpts:

Word now comes from two great sources close to the organization that Jones is gauging interest from a few former NFL head coaches currently working on TV networks.  CBS in-studio analyst Bill Cowher is Jones number one choice to replace Phillips.  His second choice is NFL Network/Fox analyst Brian Billick.  Both Cowher and Billick have Super Bowl rings, something Jones really wants to have when it comes to who will be leading his struggling team.

I am told that if the Cowboys lose to the Houston Texans on Sunday that Jones won’t hesitate in firing Phillips.

Any chance this goes REALLY ugly for Clemens?  Sure appears headed that way.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/08/19/clemens.perjury/index.html?eref=BrkNews

Pitching legend Roger Clemens will be indicted by federal authorities for making false statements to Congress in 2008 during testimony related to his alleged performance-enhancing drug use, according to the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/sports/baseball/20clemens.html?_r=1&hp

Federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Said on The Ticket (Rhags and Followell) that he (Cuban) has been offered to help in the purchase on "multiple levels" either as a part of Greenberg / Ryan or with another group.  Doesn't want to subvert what Greenberg / Ryan are doing and has communicated that to Greenberg.  Said if you had asked two weeks ago, that he would not likely be involved, but now wants to help and be a "backstop" for a deal and be involved.  Not ready to say in what capacity.  Said he wants to see the Rangers run in the right way.  Added that new developments have changed things and therefore elevated his interest in being part of this thing

Also, when asked if he wanted Ryan to stay on if he was supporting another purchase group that "we would definitely ask Ryan to stay on in his current role." 

My guess is that he's in with the Gilbert group, wants to be a minority owner and an asset on the business side and how to run the club.

(SERIOUS LANGUAGE WARNING!) 

http://blip.tv/file/2856053/

I would love to hire Wally Backman to go to Tom Hicks' house.  Apart from that...this is funny as hell.  Love the bat boy wandering around in listening to Backman go nuts. 

“Let’s go get a beer Doc”

Walter Wayne Backman (born September 22, 1959 in Hillsboro, Oregon) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He is best known for his time with the New York Mets from 1980-1988 and was a member of their 1986 World Series-winning team. Backman was recently named the manager for the Mets' Brooklyn Cyclones minor league franchise of the New York-Penn League for the 2010 season.[1]

From MLB Trade Rumors.  Is it possible that the Red Sox would eat that much salary?  Are we still only sending MaxRam?

http://tinyurl.com/yg8dsen

Talks between the Rangers and Red Sox for Mike Lowell have accelerated, reports ESPN's Gordon Edes.  Perhaps the Rangers' interest picked up after Lowell hit two doubles today.  Just two days ago Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that the Rangers' interest in Lowell was "light," and the Sox didn't expect a suitable offer from any team.

Via WEEI's Rob Bradford, it was known that the Rangers would scout Lowell again today.  However, Bradford said the Rangers' interest is "tempered by their reluctance to allocate any substantial amount of money to a player who would be filling a reserve role."  Bradford says that for the Rangers to take Lowell on as a backup, the Red Sox would have to assume almost all of his $12.5MM salary.  Potentially, a bigger market for Lowell could develop once teams get a better look at him.

PhilKid03 -

I know it's more than four hours away, but I'm already going out of my mind. I just went to see Avatar, but that only worked for three hours of distraction.

Anyway, discuss the Cowboys and Eagles here today.

Really, I should see this as a successful season, win or lose. 11-5 with a divisional championship was about the high end of my expectations for this team in 2009, so they've met that. A playoff win would be icing on the cake. Unfortunately, they're not playing a team that would merely upset me to lose to, they're playing a team that would burn me for a long time to lose to. And, worse, they're perfectly good enough to do so. The Cowboys are almost certainly the better team right now, and they're at home, but that's only enough to be favored a bit, not heavily. If it were the Packers, I'd move on after a few weeks of anger and remember '09 as a pretty good year. Philadelphia is something entirely different.

Man what I would give for the days back when I considered the Eagles irrelevant.

Happy Birthday to Adam who runs one of the best blogs on SBNation.  Sincerely Adam, I hope you have a fantastic birthday.  Is it too much to ask for another great Rangers move for Adam's birthday?

I will leave the rest of this space for comment by Ben and Josey.

In order to fill up space to make this a fanshot, according to his Facebook, Adam thinks that Hail to the Chimp is the best move ever.  Ha!

http://deadspin.com/5316174/do-not-make-cj-wilson-your-espy-wingman

Texas Rangers reliever C.J. Wilson was at the ESPYs for some reason, but since he wasn't nominated for anything (one would assume) he decided to spend the evening busting horny dudes with his Twitter—including a certain noted sportscaster-lothario.

His last update from the ceremony:

I've seen 30 different dudes try flirting with the trophy girls, making trophy wives? hahaha

Come on, guy! Flirting with award show trophy girls is the only moment of fun most of these fellas get in a year. (Besides playing children's games for million-dollar salaries, of course.) Why do you gotta call them out on interweb blog sites? That's not being very "bro-like." But one guest in particular received special attention from Wilson.

Those messages were later deleted from Wilson's feed, but helpfully preserved by this website that refuses to let your most embarrassing online moments die a noble death. If you can't even make small talk with a statuesque statue holder without getting called on it, then what's the point of being a superstar?

Probably one of the most debated guys on the roster, C.J. Wilson blew his third game of the season last night.  He's been "excellent" for the last 3-4 weeks though, right? 

This is why he drives me nuts as a reliever.  C.J.'s BAA with no outs and no one on is .345.  Wow...  With an 0-0 count, he has a BAA of .375.  With a 1-0 count his BAA is also .375.  With a 2-0 count his BAA is .600.  On the road, C.J.'s BAA is .294

C.J. typically gets himself in trouble, and then gets himself out.  His BAA's after 1 or 2 outs...or with RISP are pretty damn good. 

In 2008: BAA with none on, none out: .311; BAA with 1 or 2 outs: .182.  The reason he sucked last year is that he had a BAA of .328 with RISP.

In the last 20 games, when C.J either comes into the game in the middle of an inning OR when he leads off an inning, he has walked / HBP / given up a hit....to the first batter he faces 14 times. 

Even though this year C.J. typically works out of the jam he puts himself in, watching him start off by putting a runner on is maddening. 

I think this is the root of why people get frustrated with C.J....and that ends up magnifying his big mistakes like the one last night.

Could it be that the Rangers are the mystery team?  Another option for an old grizzly vet that could come in and teach the young pitchers a thing or two?

-------------------------

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2008/12/rumors_suggest_andy_pettitte_o.html

Now rumors suggest Andy may have upwards of a three-year, $36 million contract waiting for him...somewhere.

Where exactly this contract is exists remains a mystery. According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, "Pettitte's people" are spreading rumors of an alleged deal with a mystery team:

It isn't believed that this $36-million claim has moved the Yankees to change their offer by even one dollar, which could indicate they question whether such an offer exists.

Holy crap!  I come to LSB today and there are pop-up ads freaking everywhere.  Ads by SBNation that are covering up posts and fanshots and pretty much everything else.  They are long or wide...and there is NO way to close them.  WTF???

This sucks!

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. 

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long.

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long.

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long.

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/07/heymans-lates-6.html

The Twins, Giants, and Dodgers have interest in Hank Blalock, who has a $6.2MM option for '09.

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 28 words long. If you just have a quote, link, video or photo you'd like to share with the community, try creating a FanShot instead.

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 28 words long. If you just have a quote, link, video or photo you'd like to share with the community, try creating a FanShot instead.

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 28 words long. If you just have a quote, link, video or photo you'd like to share with the community, try creating a FanShot instead.

We need to trade for this guy...  :)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,369826,00.html

NEW YORK —  Ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte can confound hitters — and umpires — when he's on the mound.

The umps working a game Thursday night between the Class-A Staten Island Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones had nothing to go by when Venditte made his professional debut, less than two weeks after getting drafted in the 20th round by the Yankees.

He pitched the ninth, and after retiring two batters and allowing a single, a switch hitter stepped to the plate for Brooklyn. That's hardly unusual. But it becomes intriguing against Venditte, a switch pitcher.

Things got a tad dizzying when designated hitter Ralph Henriquez, who had taken his on-deck circle swings as a lefty, entered the batter's box from the right side.

Venditte put his specially made glove (it has six fingers, two webs and fits on both hands) on his left hand, and got ready to pitch right-handed.

Henriquez then changed his mind and switched sides of the plate, because a batter sees the ball sooner when it is thrown by a pitcher using the opposite hand.

So Venditte shifted his glove to the other hand.

Then it happened again.

And again.

And again.

Apparently unsure of how the rules handle such an oddity, the umpires didn't stop the cat-and-mouse game until Venditte walked toward the plate and said something while pointing at Henriquez. Umpires and both managers then huddled and the umps decided the batter and pitcher can both change sides one time per at-bat, and that the batter must declare first.

The ruling favored the pitcher, since he gets to declare last.

About seven minutes after he first stepped in, Henriquez struck out on four pitches as a righty against a right-handed Venditte and slammed his bat in frustration. Staten Island won, 7-2.

"It's probably been a long, long time since he's seen a right-hander as a righty," Venditte said. "I think in that situation, I had the upper hand because he wasn't used to that. It's been a long time since he'd come in the game as a switch hitter and faced a righty as a righty."

It wasn't completely new to Venditte, who went 9-3 with a 3.34 ERA and seven saves as a senior at Creighton.

"That same thing happened my sophomore year against Nebraska," he said. "But in that situation he got to hit off me right-handed, and I faced him lefty. He hit a line drive to center but it got caught, so I lucked out."

It's unclear what the MLB rule book says on the matter. While it's clear that both a batter and a pitcher are allowed to change sides once, the umpire's decision that the batter must declare first remains debatable.

"We're waiting on an official ruling on it," Staten Island media relations director John Davison said.

Pat Venditte Sr., who raised his son as ambidextrous from the age of 3, said the Missouri Valley Conference had rules in place for such a situation. There, the pitcher had to show which arm he was going to pitch with.

"My first thought was, isn't there a rule to cover that?" asked Venditte Sr., by phone from Nebraska.

Justin Klemm, executive director of the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation, said his organization was working with major league baseball to remedy the lack of a clear rule.

"We don't want to rush to any interpretation beyond what is in our manual," Klemm said, referring to the minor league umpire manual. "Obviously what's in our manual doesn't cover every situation. We want to be as fair as possible, but we're going to do that in a timely manner."

It's all happening because Venditte Sr. decided to experiment with his son at age 3, having him first kick footballs with both feet, then punting with both, and finally throwing with both hands. He and his 3-year-old son played long toss — pitchers mound to plate — with each arm.

Because his son was home-schooled, Pat Jr. wasn't dissuaded from doing something that might have been seen as "unnatural," his father said. By the time he started playing organized baseball, his son was already better with both hands than most kids were with either.

"By the time he played at 7, people were in awe," Venditte Sr. said. "It spurred us on. He was doing things that people found unique and different."

Some scouts have noticed that Venditte throws harder from the right side — near 90 mph as opposed to about 80 from the left side — and have decided that means he's naturally a righty.

Not so fast, his father said.

"The reason he's not as fast from the left is he drops his arm from the left side to get more movement, he throws a sweeping slider," he said. "The coach at Creighton thought it was more difficult to hit. He has equal arm strength. He can stand at home plate and throw it out of the ballpark from both sides."

The Yankees have enough faith that Venditte can bring his ambidextrous pitching game to the majors to draft him not once, but twice. They drafted him in the 45th round after his junior year as well, but Venditte chose to return to Creighton.

Venditte is not the first professional pitcher to throw with both hands, although he may be the first in the modern era with the potential to regularly switch arms.

Greg A. Harris, who pitched for Cincinnati, Montreal, San Diego, Texas, Philadelphia, Boston and the Yankees from 1981-95, was a righty throughout his career. He pitched from the left side for two batters in the second-to-last game of his career.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=280519102

Yep...he did it...watched in on ESPN.

Top 1st: Kansas City

This is pretty awesome guys!  I've got a couple of players and I am training them up!

Want to create your own player, train him, negotiate contracts with team owners, or even own the team?

Welcome to Goalline Blitz.
Check it out, the hottest football game going, it's free and tons of fun.

http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=3916027

This is not spam...just a Rangers fan sharing with my AL West friends!

Seriously though...it's pretty funny.

• Descriptive Words

  This is a site for sharing all things that FAIL with the world. Gather your fail pics and email them to failpictures@gmail.com. Include your name and/or website for extra credit.

30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 words

30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 words words words words and more words.

Hey Mariners fans!  I wanted to share this cool link with my fellow AL West fans.

Want to create your own player, train him, negotiate contracts with team owners, or even own the team?

Welcome to Goalline Blitz -- A free sports role-playing game!
Check it out, the hottest football game going, it's free and tons of fun.  The game is currently in beta, so get in and get head before the game is released!

http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=3916027

I'm so addicted I have 6 players now.  Hope you guys have fun!

Ortonius

As a huge Trey Hillman fan, I wanted to share this with you guys. 

Want to create your own player, train him, negotiate contracts with team owners, or even own the team?

Welcome to Goalline Blitz.
Check it out, the hottest football game going, it's free and tons of fun.

http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=3916027

I'm so addicted I have 5 players and I'm adding a 6th today.  Check it out!

This is pretty awesome guys!  I've got a couple of players and I am training them up!

Want to create your own player, train him, negotiate contracts with team owners, or even own the team?

Welcome to Goalline Blitz.
Check it out, the hottest football game going, it's free and tons of fun.

http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=3916027

Be a little patient, cause they have gotten killed with new users.  They are currently adding new teams and leagues.

I bought MLB2k8 (XBox 360 version) several weeks ago and finally have gotten the settings just right and the roster changes in place.  I started my franchise with the Rangers last night and had a great game...and just maybe...it will be a good omen for the season.

Millwood pitched through the 8th going 8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's, which seems about right for Milly.  He did give up a HR to Richie Sexson in the 2nd. 

Trailing 2-1 (Byrd scored on a Blalock single in the 4th) going into the 9th, I had Laird (batting 9th), and then Kinsler, Young, Hamilton leading off with Botts as the DH in the clean-up spot.  J.J. Putz had come on to close out the game after a stellar effort by Bedard.

Laird struck out.  Kinsler then singled, and was followed up by a MY double.  With MY and Kinsler on 2nd and 3rd respectively, Hamilton struck out.  Two outs...the equalizing runs on base, and up to the plate steps Bottsy.  Botts took a ball on the first pitch and then ripped the second pitch back up the middle to plate Kinsler and MY.  I screamed "HELL YEAH!".  Blalock then struck out to end the Top of the 9th.

Blue Glove Lefty entered the game to try and close this one out for the Rangers.  C.J. made quick work of the Mariners in the 9th as he induced a pop fly to left and then struck out the next two batters to earn the save.

Botts won player of the game going 2-4 with 2 RBI.  It was a hell of a game and one that I hope to see replicated in the early part of the season.  I have serious, serious doubts about this team and SI's predicted record of 72-90 maybe be closer to accurate than I want to admit, but that's why they play the games.  Maybe there is hope.  :)

I turned this game on about 5 minutes ago, and the score has gone from Jazz by 1 point, to Jazz by 12 points.  During this period, I have never seen a team get so many non-calls and get shafted more by the refs in such a short amount of time.

I assume that Dallas' reputation as a bunch of crybabies is what really hurts them in these situations.  And yes...they could play better and get the game to the point where they are up by enough points where it doesn't matter, but good grief...Dirk goes into the middle and gets hammered to the floor and there's no call.  Unbelievable.  

I miss REAL basketball, when there were actual real plays and defense...when there was no traveling and the rules were actually enforced.

End rant.

 Yahoo Fantasy League - 12 teams (details below)

You may have to go to this link to sign up - http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/lsbbaseball
LSBBaseball (ID# 27861)
Password: saltalamacchia

It is a points league with the same settings as a Newberg keeper league that I am in.

Please name your team the same as your username so that we know who each other are.

Join up.

Ortonius

Draft Type: Live Draft
Draft Time: Thu Mar 20 2:00pm CDT

Roster Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL, DL
Stat Categories: R, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SB, BB, W, L, CG, SHO, SV, OUT, ER, BB, K
Stat Modifiers: R (1), 1B (1), 2B (2), 3B (3), HR (4), RBI (1), SB (1), BB (1), W (10), L (-5), CG (5), SHO (10), SV (5), OUT (.667), ER (-1), BB (-1), K (1)

This is too funny!

http://www.theneweditor.com/index.php?/archives/7647-Report-Wrigley-Field-to-be-Renamed-After-Barack -Obama.html

Report: Wrigley Field to be Renamed After Barack Obama

Chicago (Rooters) -- Only hours after Tribune Company CEO Sam Zell told CNBC that he wouldn't hesitate to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field, Rooters can confirm that a strong movement is afoot to rename the venerated baseball palace after Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Requesting anonymity, sources have indicated that the 12 prominent supporters of Sen. Obama who will seek to purchase the rights from Zell's Tribune Company plan on renaming the park "Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope Field."

The sources tell Rooters that in addition to the name change, there will be some other minor changes to the ballpark's concession-stand menu, including Obama's personal recipes for manna and loaves and fishes, as well as his own homemade wine, made from Chicago tap water.

Critics of the plan contend that Obama is a fan of the crosstown White Sox.

But Obama supporters point out that the movement to rename the field after the Illinois senator illustrates his desire to "change the status quo" by reaching across the aisle for the good of the country and form alliances with rivals, be they political or sports-based.

When contacted for comment, Obama's campaign released the following statement: "It's not just enough to change the players. We've gotta change the game."

If the name change goes through, Obama supporters say that free manna will be given out to the first 20,000 fans attending the March 31 Opening Day game against the Milwaukee Brewers.