The Official 2012 Major League Baseball Thread

Wow, Kuroda shut down the powerful Angels with such poise today at the Cathederal of Baseball in the Boogie Down Bronx and did so with ease. Now I know why the Yanks signed him. If he pitches like this all season, just give him his 16-21 wins now and the Yanks the AL East title. I witnessed a A-BOMB, BY AROD and Nick "Swisher-licious" got 3 more rbi's to make it 9 in 7 games. Go Yanks!

lgna69xxx said:

Wow, Kuroda shut down the powerful Angels with such poise today at the Cathederal of Baseball in the Boogie Down Bronx and did so with ease. Now I know why the Yanks signed him. If he pitches like this all season, just give him his 16-21 wins now and the Yanks the AL East title. I witnessed a A-BOMB, BY AROD and Nick "Swisher-licious" got 3 more rbi's to make it 9 in 7 games. Go Yanks!

Click to expand...

CY Kuroda, kind of has a nice ring to it.

Panic on the Sox boards all over the internet, here is what they are saying and I quote-

"I think they can deal with a minor injury to Ellsbury. The thing that is really killing and will kill the Sox is the F****ng bullpen. They need some serious help. I still don't understand why Paps wasn't resigned. I don't care if his save total had decreased slightly thru the years.Hopefully Bailey comes back strong whenever he comes back."

Can you safely say that the Sox fans are about to "throw in the towel" already on the season, it's only two weeks in?.

Yankees spoil fenway's birthday bash

BOSTON -- Alex Rodriguez took over fifth place with his 631st career home run, Eric Chavez added two homers and the New York Yankees spoiled the Boston Red Sox 100th anniversary celebration of Fenway Park with a 6-2 win Friday.

Rodriguez's solo shot on the first pitch of the fifth inning put him past Ken Griffey Jr. and 29 homers behind Willie Mays' fourth-place total of 660. Nick Swisher and Russell Martin also connected for New York, and Derek Jeter moved into 18th place with his 3,111th career hit, passing Dave Winfield.

The victory came exactly 100 years after the Red Sox beat the Yankees' forerunner, the New York Highlanders, 7-6 in 11 innings, and one day after Curtis Granderson hit three of New York's four homers in a 7-6 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Clay Buchholz (1-1) allowed all five homers in losing for the first time in 12 starts. Josh Beckett also served up five homers in the Red Sox's second game of the year, a 10-0 loss at Detroit.

Ivan Nova (3-0) won his 15th consecutive regular-season start, allowing two runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts in six innings.
Both teams wore throwback uniforms similar to those used in Fenway's first major league game. The Red Sox had off-white uniforms and caps with the only printing on either being the words "Red Sox" in red across the chest. The Yankees uniforms were all grey with the only printing the letters "NY" on the caps and left breast. It is believed to be the first time the Yankees have worn throwbacks.

The Red Sox lost their fourth straight game, a span in which they've been outscored 31-8.

Some outstanding players took the field for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, most of them were among the about 200 retirees who strolled to their positions during pregame ceremonies marking the anniversary. They included Hall-of-Famers Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Bobby Doerr and Dennis Eckersley plus Pedro Martinez, Luis Tiant, Nomar Garciaparra, Mo Vaughn and Johnny Pesky.

Terry Francona, let go as manager after last year's September collapse that cost the Red Sox a playoff berth, received one of the loudest ovations. New manager Bobby Valentine has been booed several times by the home crowd as the Red Sox (4-9) have gotten off to another slow start after opening last season at 2-10.

Buchholz's beginnings haven't been good either. He allowed four runs in each first inning of his other two starts. On Friday, he gave up only one run in the opening inning. But by the time he left after walking Granderson to lead off the seventh, he had allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks with just two strikeouts.

The Yankees led 1-0 three batters into the game. Jeter reached on an error by second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who lost his popup in the sun. He moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Rodriguez's single.

They needed only three batters again to take a 3-0 lead in the second. Swisher led off with a homer, Raul Ibanez grounded out and Chavez drove an 0-2 pitch into Boston's bullpen in right-center field.

The Yankees stretched their lead to 5-1 on leadoff homers by Chavez in the fourth and Rodriguez in the fifth. They were the second homers of the year for both.

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb...meId=320420102

Hello All,

Commentary
Bobby's not helping his cause any
Keeping Morales in too long Wednesday is manager's latest early-season blunder

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...sox-manager-bobby-valentine-not-helping-cause

...

Valentine was booed again Wednesday night when another curious managerial decision with his pitching staff backfired and helped saddle the team with another loss.

Valentine brought in left-hander Franklin Morales to start the eighth inning with the Sox trailing 3-2. After a fly out, Josh Hamilton singled to right and moved to second on a passed ball. At that point, Valentine had Morales intentionally walk Adrian Beltre, a powerful right-handed hitter.

By this time, the Red Sox had had warm-up action behind Morales. Vicente Padilla initially began warming up, but that right-hander was replaced by another right-hander, Matt Albers, in the bullpen. Albers was loose.

Valentine, though, stuck with Morales, who walked another right-handed slugger, Nelson Cruz, on a 3-and-2 pitch, loading the bases. Texas manager Ron Washington sent up Craig Gentry, a right-handed batter, to pinch hit for David Murphy, a left-handed hitter.

Time for a pitching change with the bases full and a 3-2 game? Wasn't that why a right-hander had gotten ready in the bullpen?

No. Valentine stuck with Morales, who got ahead of Gentry, 0 and 2. Gentry fouled off two pitches and then took two pitches out of the strike zone. And Morales' next pitch plunked Gentry on his left foot, forcing home a run that made it a 4-2 Red Sox deficit.

Now, time to bring in the right-hander? Nope.

Again Valentine stuck with Morales, this time against right-handed hitter Mike Napoli, who had homered three times in the two-game series, including a two-run bomb Wednesday. The result? A two-run double to left-center. Texas on top, 6-2.

Finally, Valentine came out of the dugout, took the ball from Morales and called for Albers, who ultimately got Brandon Snyder to bang into an inning-ending double play.

The fans booed Valentine's appearance.

continued...

Valentine seems to be worst than expected. It was a given that he would be using his mouth against players publicly to hold them accountable. Had he stood his ground on that for some useful purpose fans might have respected the reason, if not the tactic. But he shot himself down by apologizing, thus making it look like he didn't have control of his reasoning.

Fans seem to have appreciated, for the most part, his hard nose no nonsense work ethic and purposeful best for the overall team decisions. But fans thought they were also getting a no nonsense game strategist who would leave out all sentimentality to make the best possible game moment to moment decisions to win. Yet, he completely fumbled Bard's excellent performance by leaving him in past endurance when everyone, including the other team, thought Bard was going to be hooked. Yesterday, he fumbled mightily again with mistakes that were beyond opinion, just plain dumb.

Valentines goofs are scarey, and it's not just the two mentioned. He's made key mistakes in the space of two weeks an arm chair manager wouldn't. It doesn't seem like Francona made that many in any one entire season. That's on top of all his personality quirks and talent for alienating players with public criticism. If he can't make simple logical game decisions a bar drunk can make then he's not worth tolerating at all.

peeeuuuu,

Merlot

And what was Bobby V's mistake today? Should he have left in Doubront for 150 pitches instead of taking him out after 99, which btw had him a 7-0 lead? Maybe he should of brought in the bullpen savior Aceves, oh wait, he did, to the tune of 5 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks in 0.0 innings pitched!....... The problem is not just Valentine, it is also the players, duh. I heard that Bobby V actually tipped his cap to the booing fans lol, I think he wants out of boston, cant say I blame him.

Get well Michael

ARLINGTON, Tex. — A labrum tear has been detected in Michael Pineda’s right shoulder and the 22-year-old pitcher is now expected to miss the entire 2012 season, a crushing blow for both the player and Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, who traded away his top hitting prospect, Jesus Montero, last January in order to acquire Pineda from the Seattle Mariners.

“I’m devastated,” Cashman said on a conference call Wednesday afternoon. “Obviously, there’s always risk involving pitchers. Obviously, this was a big move that I pursued this winter. You always go in with eyes wide open that there’s a risk associated with pitching. It’s extremely difficult, but even more difficult for the player.”

Dr. David Altchek, the Mets’ team physican, will perform arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to fix the tear and Pineda is expected to be fully recovered and ready to pitch in games a year from now.

Dr. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees’ team physician and the doctor who made the initial diagnosis that there was a tear, will assist in the surgery. Ahmad said the prognosis for Pineda is good because the procedure can be done with a scope and because there was no damage to Pineda’s rotator cuff.

“Shoulder surgery is challenging,” Ahmad said in the conference call. “Based on what we know from Michael’s m.r.i. scan, this is a discrete tear and we do feel that the tear can be repaired arthroscopically and based on that we are optimistic we can get him recovered.”

Pineda first reported pain in his right shoulder after a spring training start on March 30. He had a magnetic resonance imaging test the next day that revealed tendinitis but no structural damage.

Pineda did not appear in another game until Saturday, when he pitched in an extended spring training contest and had to stop after 15 pitches when he felt more pain.

“We believe that this took place on that last singular pitch in the 15-pitch rehab outing,” Ahmad said of the tear that now needs to be repaired. Until that point, Ahmad said, it was “fair to speculate that there was something very small” in Pineda’s shoulder that was not detectable in the March m.r.i.

Cashman said the image on the Tuesday m.r.i. was “radically different” than the one in March.

Cashman stressed that the Yankees gave Pineda a complete physical examination before making the trade with the Mariners. He said there was no indication of a problem then, and he absolved the Mariners of any blame and said they had not concealed any injury.

“In no way do I believe nor do the New York Yankees believe that the Seattle Mariners had any knowledge of any issues with Michael Pineda prior to the trade,” he said. “He was a fully healthy player that we acquired. We had full access to his medicals, which were clean.”

The disclosure that Pineda will need surgery came as Andy Pettitte was scheduled to make his latest rehabilitation start, this time at Class AA Trenton on Wednesday night. Pettitte is expected to rejoin the Yankees before the middle of May, and with Pineda now gone for the season and other Yankee starters stuggling, he will probably will be ushered right back into the starting rotation after a one-year retirement.




http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/sports/baseball/pineda-is-out-for-the-season.html

Yankees have seen enough; send old man Freddie Garcia to bullpen

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees have decided to put struggling starter Freddy Garcia in the bullpen with rookie David Phelps the favorite to assume the fifth starter role for the moment.

With a day off scheduled for May 7, the Yankees only need one start from the No. 5 spot until veteran Andy Pettitte's possible return around May 10.

Used primarily as the team's long reliever, Phelps has thoroughly outpitched Garcia through the first month of the season. In four starts, Garcia lasted just 13 2/3 innings and his ERA was 12.51. He is 0-2.

"Like any of you guys, if you don't do your job, what you are supposed to do, that's what happens," Garcia said Sunday following a Saturday start in which he was lifted in the third inning after allowing six earned runs to Detroit. "I didn't pitch the way I'm supposed to pitch. That's the reality."

Phelps has thrown 17 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and has a 3.57 ERA and a WHIP of 1.08, which is better than any starter on the team.

"I envision him as a starter," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Phelps before Garcia was officially removed from the rotation. "I haven't seen anything that has told me he can't be a starter. Time will tell as we move forward."

Phelps, who pitched three scoreless innings Saturday, has replaced Garcia in three of his four starts. Against those same opponents, Phelps' ERA is 2.89, while Garcia's ERA is 15.75.

Phelps said that despite being a reliever all season his arm is stretched out enough for him to throw 85-100 pitches. He could start Thursday in Kansas City.

"I feel prepared to do it," Phelps, 25, said.

With Phelps and Garcia having pitched on Saturday, the Yankees added rookie D.J. Mitchell to their bullpen. Mitchell, who nearly beat Phelps for the long reliever role in spring training, was 2-1 with a 3.12 in four Triple-A starts. Reliever Cody Eppley was returned to Triple-A.

Meanwhile, Pettitte, who turns 40 in June, will take the mound for Class A Tampa on Monday. If all goes right, Pettitte may only have to make one more minor league start before returning to the Yankees.

Even before Sunday's demotion, Garcia didn't seem long for the rotation with Pettitte looming. In his career, the 35-year-old Garcia has only pitched twice out of the bullpen.

"I'll be a long reliever, whatever," Garcia said. "I'll be ready. Definitely, I'll be ready."

Garcia said he is healthy, despite the fact his fastball has been clock a few miles per hour lower this season. Garcia threw mostly in the high 80s as he went 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA in 2011.

Phil Hughes also continues to struggle and could be the next starter to lose his rotation spot. Hughes has a 1-3 record and a 7.88 ERA to start the season.

The struggles of Garcia and Hughes have been highlighted given the recent season-ending injury to right-hander Michael Pineda and the struggles of the team's top pitching prospects.

Pineda, who was pegged for a rotation spot after being acquired in the blockbuster offseason deal that sent Jesus Montero to Seattle, will have shoulder surgery on Tuesday.

Manny Banuelos had a 10.13 ERA in two starts before going on the disabled list with a back injury, while Dellin Betances picked up his first win in five starts the other day, lowering his ERA to 7.25.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7869683/new-york-yankees-demote-freddy-garcia-bullpen

Good! Freddie has lost the magic he had last season and I have really liked this Phelps kid a lot. He reminds me of a cross between Mussina/Robertson and Mariano.

Not-so-mighty Red Sox hammered by Orioles at Fenway

by Scott Lauber

Remember when the Red Sox were dominant at Fenway Park?

These days, they’re just dreadful.

With today’s 8-2 throttling by the upstart Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox have lost four consecutive games — and nine of their last 10 — at home. “Sweet Caroline” still blares midway through the eighth inning, but that is the lone similarity to the past nine seasons, when the Sox owned a .636 winning percentage (464-265) at once-friendly Fenway.

Making his Red Sox debut in place of injured Josh Beckett, veteran sinkerballer Aaron Cook was spiked on the left leg in the second inning before being tagged for six runs in the Orioles’ seven-run third.

Cook allowed a two-out walk and five consecutive hits, including Adam Jones’ two-run homer into the Monster Seats, before being lifted for reliever Clayton Mortensen. Mark Reynolds greeted Mortensen by launching a three-run homer that opened an 8-0 Orioles lead.

Lights out, especially with the way the Red Sox have been hitting with runners in scoring positon. Over the past five games, they are 7-for-46 (.152) with runners on second and third.

En route to falling to 11-15, the Red Sox were blanked for six innings by Orioles starter Jason Hammel. They finally broke through with Ryan Sweeney’s two-out RBI double in the seventh. Cody Ross added an RBI single to cut the margin to 8-2, but after catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled, Marlon Byrd struck out to halt any further attempt at a comeback.

It was a disappointing debut for Cook, a veteran of 10 seasons with the Colorado Rockies. Cook invoked his May 1 opt-out clause to receive a promotion from Triple-A Pawtucket, where he had gone 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA and proven beyond any doubt that his balky shoulder is healthy at last.

Cook used his signature sinker to breeze through a nine-pitch first inning, inducing three consecutive groundouts to shortstop Mike Aviles. He recorded two quick outs in the second before trouble began.

Chris Davis singled to left field, went to third on Wilson Betemit’s single and came racing home when a pitch skipped past Saltalamacchia. Cook covered the plate, took a flip from Saltalamacchia and got spiked by Betemit, opening a gash in his left leg.

After being checked on the field, Cook returned to the dugout for medical attention. Mortensen came in from the bullpen, and momentarily, it appeared the Red Sox would be forced to make a pitching change. But Cook came back to the mound and finished the inning by getting Reynolds to ground to third.

Cook is effective only when he pitches down in the strike zone, and in the third inning, he left pitches up and over the plate to Nick Markakis (RBI single), Jones (two-run homer), Matt Wieters (double), Davis (single) and Betemit (RBI single).

http://bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/red_sox/

Man, look out for the Nationals in the next few years. With Strasburg and Harper they have 2 young studs and many good player around them and a great manager in Davey Johnson. They play some exciting b-ball.

Adrian Gonzalez at a loss for words

by John Tomase, The Boston Herald

Here’s how rough things have gotten for Adrian Gonzalez — he waved away reporters before taking any questions last night.

Gonzalez has faced the cameras in good times and bad throughout his Red Sox [team stats] career, but yesterday’s game was apparently too much to take.

He went 0-for-8 in a 9-6 loss to the Orioles, and suffered the final indignity of striking out against Orioles first baseman Chris Davis with the Red Sox trying to rally in the 17th.

Though Gonzalez started the day 6-for-10 in the series, much of his contact was soft and he still appeared to be searching for his swing. He had just one extra-base hit, a double in Saturday’s 8-2 loss.

Yesterday he looked lost, at one point recording outs on three straight pitches in extra innings. His at-bats got progressively worse, too. He struck out twice, grounded into a double play, and didn’t get the ball out of the infield after a fifth-inning flyout.

We’re nearing the point of the season where Gonzalez feels he found his swing last year. For now, he’s hitting .264 with just two homers and 15 RBI. He hasn’t driven in a run since April 28.

Armed, but not ready

When Ryan Sweeney was preparing for the 2003 draft as a senior at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he fully expected to be selected as a pitcher.

Featuring a 93 mph fastball and an outstanding slider and knuckle-curve, he was mildly surprised to go in the second round to the White Sox as an outfielder.

Needless to say, he has no regrets, but for a time last night, he thought he might make his return to the mound.

With the Red Sox out of relievers in the 16th inning, manager Bobby Valentine asked him about pitching in relief. Sweeney was due to lead off the 17th, however, and couldn’t warm up. Darnell McDonald took the mound instead and ended up losing after surrendering a three-run homer to Adam Jones.

“If we had played another inning, maybe I would have pitched,” Sweeney said. “I have no idea. I had been throwing (in the outfield) for 16 innings, so I was loose, but I haven’t thrown off a mound in 10 years, so I probably would have needed to warm up a bit. When you haven’t done something for 10 years, who knows what I would throw now?”

Help wanted

With the bullpen in shambles following a series that saw it throw 252⁄3 innings (not including McDonald’s), the Sox could use some reinforcements for the three-game set that opens tonight in Kansas City.

One possibility for recall is right-hander Mark Melancon, who has struck out 12 in 72⁄3 shutout innings since going to Pawtucket after a disastrous start for the Red Sox [team stats].

Though a team source said last night that things were status quo regarding Melancon, he is rested (he threw an inning Saturday) and experienced. Another potential call-up would be Junichi Tazawa, but he threw two innings for the PawSox yesterday.

Melancon posted a 49.50 ERA in two innings with the Sox, allowing 10 hits, 11 runs and five homers before being shipped to Pawtucket.

Miller time

Left-hander Andrew Miller returned to the big leagues in impressive fashion, striking out three in 11⁄3 perfect innings. He was added to the roster on the eve of his 30-day rehab window closing when the Sox placed right-hander Aaron Cook on the disabled list with 11 stitches in his knee following a collision at home plate in Saturday’s loss to the Orioles. . . .

The next hit the Orioles get off Matt Albers will be the first. The right-hander has been downright filthy against his ex-mates. He threw two scoreless innings yesterday and has not surrendered a hit in 10 lifetime innings against them, striking out 13. . . .

Valentine said Kevin Youkilis [stats] is ready to start a “walking program” as he returns from a sore back. It doesn’t mean the third baseman is as infirm as it sounds — he will walk through some of the motions he’ll need to do on the field once he returns.

http://bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1061129784&srvc=sports&position=3

Jays implode in series finale

He still leads the world in home runs and four other major offensive categories. His batting average remains above .300.
But the slump goes on for Jose Bautista.
In his past 21 games, the Toronto Blue Jays slugger is batting .197 with two homers and 11 RBIs. During that period, his OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) has fallen from 1.155 to 1.084 — which, it should be noted, is still sufficient to lead the majors.
Bautista is clearly struggling at the plate, his timing off, his power sapped, his frustration often evident.
“Not being consistent with my load, swing getting a little too big, swinging too hard — just out of synch,” he said before Thursday’s 10-3 loss to Oakland.
His misery had plenty of company in that dispiriting defeat. As Bautista went zero for three with two strikeouts and a walk, the entire Toronto lineup managed just five hits off Athletics starter Guillermo Moscoso and three relievers.
Jays starter Brad Mills left after Oakland’s six-run, bat-around third inning. The A’s added another four in the sixth off Luis Perez on their way to winning the series, two games to one.
“We were flat, there’s no question about it,” manager John Farrell said. “Typically, on day games you have to set the tone from the mound and we were unable to do that.”
Although he is scuffling, Bautista remains intimidating. He still draws lots of walks (Thursday’s lifted his total to 91, most in the majors) and opponents pitch to him with care. During that 21-game slump, he has been on base in all but three games.
But the torrid pace that took him to celebrated heights at the all-star break has disappeared, along with his remarkably precise timing at the plate.
“Another thing that’s hurting me right now is my patience,” he said. “I’m really swinging at a lot of pitches out of the zone, partly because I went through a stretch where I felt like a lot of borderline pitches were going against me. That’s made me expand my zone a little bit.”
He has 33 homers, but only two in the past month. Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees are closing in with 32 each.
Bautista is not worried about that.
“I’ve said it a million times: I don’t try to hit home runs,” he said. “They just happen sometimes, and I don’t judge my success by the amount of home runs that I hit.
“As long as I’m getting on base and driving people in, I’m going to be a happy player. If that comes via home runs, so be it, and if not, I’ll take it.”
The Jays’ improved pace (17-11 since July 8) and the hoopla surrounding the arrival of uber-prospect Brett Lawrie have helped push Bautista’s slump into the shadows. Edwin Encarnacion in particular has helped to compensate for Bautista’s declining production.
With another hit Thursday, Encarnacion has a 10-game hitting streak. He is batting .380 over his past 26 games.
Early in the season, Encarnacion stuck out for all the wrong reasons. Now the Jays are giving serious thought to picking up his club option for next season, to the point where they have started working him out in left field to improve his versatility.
Farrell stopped short of committing the Jays to Encarnacion beyond this season, but the one-time starting third baseman has clearly raised his stock.
Encarnacion, the regular DH, started at first base Thursday. He will work out in left field during batting practice two or three times a week for the rest of August. The Jays will not use him there in a game until they are confident he can handle the job, Farrell said.
After hitting a grand slam homer and a double the previous night, Lawrie was quiet in Thursday’s matinee. He went zero for three with a walk and made a throwing error.
J.P. Arencibia hit his 19th homer, tops among American League catchers. It was small consolation, he said.
“It was irrelevant in the game,” he said.

Who cares about the Jays....they weren't favored to win anything anyway. No one ever dubbed them DA BEST TEAM EVAH!! LOL!!!!

I'll just be happy if they finish ahead of the Red Sox or Yankees. Heck, i'm cheering as much for the Rays as i do the Jays.

My team is & always will be the EXPOS!! :thumb:

Rivera's knee problems more complicated than at first thought

NEW YORK -- The agent for Mariano Rivera said that the evaluation Monday of the 42-year-old Yankees closer's injured knee did not go smoothly.

"We ran into complications," Fernando Cuza told the New York Post. "I am referring to Dr. (Christopher) Ahmad and (Yankees general manager) Brian Cashman for further information."

Ahmad, of New York Presbyterian Hospital, is the Yankees' team physician.

A high-ranking team official told ESPNNewYork.com Tuesday morning that he didn't believe the complications were serious, but he said the team was still gathering information.

Another team official, who wouldn't specify Rivera's "complication," told ESPNNewYork.com that the pitcher had not suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in addition to a torn ACL and damaged meniscus -- a significant revelation because when an athlete tears all three, orthopedic surgeons refer to it as "the terrible triad" -- generally a career-ending injury scenario.

"No surgery has been scheduled yet," Cashman said. "I think (Rivera) will be here tomorrow and will be able to talk you."

Cashman declined to comment in detail when asked specifically about Cuza's comments.

"I have no comment on that," Cashman said.

Cashman said the "complications" will not impact Rivera's ability to return from the injury. ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney earlier reported the "complications" would not affect Rivera's ability to have surgery or return to play in 2013.

"I'll let Mo talk about it when he is here," Cashman said. "Any follow-ups on that should go to Mo. He is in good spirits and you'll see him tomorrow."

Cashman did rule out any chance that Rivera could return this season.

"What he's got is correctable," Cashman said. On Monday, Dr. Russell Warren, a knee specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery; Dr. David Altchek, the New York Mets' team physician; and Ahmad all examined Rivera's knee. After Rivera fell on the warning track May 3 while shagging fly balls in Kansas City, the Royals' doctors diagnosed a torn ACL and a damaged meniscus in his right knee. Rivera is expected to have surgery and has vowed that he will pitch again.

Most estimates have Rivera missing this year and returning in 2013. But Rivera hasn't ruled out a return this season.

In 2008, Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo returned from a similar injury in five months. Gallardo was 22 at the time, but there is not necessarily a link between age and recovery.

Prior to the injury, Rivera had hinted this could be his final season. After the diagnosis, though, Rivera defiantly said he would return. "I can't go out like this," Rivera said.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/sto...yankees-source-says-complications-not-serious

The "Natural" at it again

Congrats to my favorite non Yankee besides Brett Lawrie of the Jays, Josh "The Natural" Hamilton. If this guy could and would of stayed healthy on and off the field at all times he would be the best player in the game and would challenge for many offensive records

BALTIMORE -- Josh Hamilton has become the 16th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game.

Facing the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, the Texas Rangers outfielder hit two-run homers in the first, third and seventh innings and added another in the eighth off of Darren O'Day to tie the major league record. He also doubled in the fifth, going 5 for 5 with a career-high eight RBI.

The 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record.

The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay.

Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900. Hamilton is the sixth AL player to perform the feat.

Hamilton leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs and is batting .406.

http://tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=395419

lgna69xxx said:

BALTIMORE -- Josh Hamilton has become the 16th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game.

Click to expand...

Yup I'm not into baseball since forever but this caught my attention !
It's been a long time since the last one.

Who the hell is Cody Ross?

I just checked the box score of tonight's game and they have some guy named Cody Ross hitting cleanup for the Red Sox? Who??

Red Sox lost again, by the way. Walk machine Daniel Bard lost again for the fourth time against the lowly KC Royals. "Cody Ross" went hitless in three attempts. Cody who? Where did they find this bum? And he's hitting cleanup? Is Bobby Valentine doing everything he can in order to force Cherry into firing him?

Last place Red Sox lose again

As i said a cpl weeks ago in the free for all thread, he seems to be a poor mans Scott Podsednik without the hot playboy playmate for a wife, therefore Scott is much better.

Red Sox lost again tonight. Lost a close one against the lowly KC Royals, who must be wishing they'd play all 162 games against these same Red Sox.

I hope there aren't that many bridges in the New England area. I'd actually miss this board's loyal Red Sox fans.

By the way, as i mentionned recently, it's been a tough year for Boston-based teams sports fans. Today, the voice of the Red Sox died. Sure, it's a tragedy. However, he won't have to be forced to watch that crappy baseball team any longer:

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...announcer-dies-suffering-heart-attack-driving