MLB News and Rumors

It’s no secret by now that the Josh Beckett of 2011 is vastly different to the Josh Beckett of 2010.
Last year, the right-hander wasn’t healthy to start the season, and it showed. He was roughed up to the tune of a 5.78 ERA and served up 20 home runs in 21 starts.
The Yankees hit nine of those homers against Beckett, and his ERA against New York in five starts was 10.04. Yankee batters hit nearly .340 against Beckett, and his shortcomings became crystal clear in those five outings.
But in 2011, Beckett is a new pitcher, and the immense success he’s had against the Yankees this season is helping to highlight his resurrection as an elite starter.
After Wednesday night’s start at Fenway Park, Beckett is now 4-0 against the Yankees in 2011 with the following numbers: 34 IP, 22 H, 7 ER, 10 BB, 38 K.
That equates to a 1.85 ERA in five starts for Beckett against the best lineup in baseball this year outside of Boston.
Of the teams Beckett has faced at least twice th…

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The Milwaukee Brewers are planning to wear special jerseys Sunday to honor the city’s German heritage, and Zack Greinke provided a sneak peek by accident.

Greinke had the wrong jersey on when he hit for Milwaukee starter Marco Estrada in the fifth inning against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Greinke, who started and got the win against the Pirates on Friday night, was wearing Sunday’s jersey with Bierbrauer across the front.

Greinke moved Jonathan Lucroy to second with a sacrifice, but the Brewers failed to score.

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The streak didn’t reach the magic 10 mark for the Philadelphia Phillies and Roy Oswalt in the 3-1 final. Long ago, the first stage of this dominating process was initiated in St. Louis (2010) and extended to 8 straight victories, do you remember what happened next?
Tal’s Handy Caps:
Yesterday’s Penthouse Occupancy was: 2. After having his coconut rocked, Chooch Ruiz barehanded the bunt and dove to the plate for the on-the-neck-tag out in the fourth. Plus, he busted up a 5th-inning threat, forcing the runner back to third for the unassisted out. With a rusty arsenal, Oswalt escaped 3 straight jams, allowing only 3 runs, when it could have exploded in his face. Cholley’s Doghouse is filled with Jimmy Rollins. J-Roll botched a fielding decision that inspired a threat in the break-through fourth, when he did not allow Raul Ibanez to record the out. He also made the 27th out on a bobbled ball when he didn’t go full speed down to first.
The Phillies are 34 games over .500, which equa…

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(cartoon by Choi Hoon, Naver.com, used sans permission)
Described by Reuters as  “a national treasure in Korea” (not so much of a treasure in Arlington), 19-year MLB veteran P Chan Ho Park was demoted yesterday to Japan’s minors by the Orix Buffalos.
Park was taken off Orix’s active team roster after a nightmare game against the Chunichi Dragons at the weekend, the Pacific League club said on Monday.
Having given up six runs in a little over three innings, Park, who burst onto the MLB scene with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994, copped a stinging rebuke from Orix coaching staff.

“He needs to pull himself together,” pitching coach Osamu Fukuma told the Sankei Sports newspaper. “He has not come here to fool around. He needs to do a lot better.”

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