MLB News and Rumors

Former Atlanta Braves / New York Yankees slugger Andruw Jones was arrested this Christmas morning on battery charges. He’s already been bailed out though so he won’t be spending his holiday behind bars. Details still aren’t clear but he was arrested just outside of Atlanta by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department at 3:50 AM. I wonder how his new Japanese team the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles will feel about this. Here’s a link to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department inmate posting for Andruw Jones. And of course the mugshot: addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fmysportsrumors.com%2Fblog%2F2012%2F12%2F25%2Fandruw-jones-arrested-for-battery%2F’; addthis_title = ‘Andruw+Jones+arrested+for+battery’; addthis_pub = ”;

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Andruw Jones will play in Japan next year. The one time MLB star has reportedly signed a deal worth $ 3.6 million to play for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Jones is guaranteed the money from the Golden Eagles, something he would not have been assured of had he accepted a deal stateside. Last year the 35-year-old hit .197/.294/.408 but did hit 14 home runs and drove in 34 RBI in 233 at-bats. Jones spent the last two seasons with the New York Yankees.
Ten Gold Glove awards and 434 home runs highlight the time Jones played in the United States. His best season came in 2005 when he hit 51 home runs and drove in 128 runs for the Atlanta Braves. He played for the Braves from 1996 to 2007 before signing with the Los Angles Dodgers. He also played for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox.

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Roy Oswalt was supposed to be part of a team with Four Golden Arms last year with the Philadelphia Phillies. While Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels did their part in pacing the 102-win Phils to another postseason bid, Oswalt went on the disabled list twice for a bad back and let in five runs in the crucial Game 3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. He ended up with a 9-10 record on the season with a 3.69 ERA. (Rookie Vance Worley ended up being the fourth golden arm for the Phils, going 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA.)

Now Oswalt is looking for another team and one thing has been made clear: It won’t be the Detroit Tigers. The folks in Motor City were trying to get Oswalt to sign on and even had American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander give him a recruiting call, according to CBSSports.com. However, Oswalt told the team that he wasn’t interested, the site notes.

The consistent rumor is that Oswalt will end up with the Boston Red Sox this season and attempt to show the world that his 34-year-old back is all healed up and he can pitch like he has in previous seasons so he can find a better long-term deal next offseason.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

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Roy Oswalt was supposed to be part of a team with Four Golden Arms last year with the Philadelphia Phillies. While Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels did their part in pacing the 102-win Phils to another postseason bid, Oswalt went on the disabled list twice for a bad back and let in five runs in the crucial Game 3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. He ended up with a 9-10 record on the season with a 3.69. (Rookie Vance Worley ended up being the fourth golden arm for the Phils, going 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA.)

Now Oswalt is looking for another team and one thing has been made clear: It won’t be the Detroit Tigers. The folks in Motor City were trying to get Oswalt to sign on and even had American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander give him a recruiting call, according to CBSSports.com. However, Oswalt told the team that he wasn’t interested, the site notes.

The consistent rumor is that Oswalt will end up with the Boston Red Sox this season and attempt to show the world that his 34-year-old back is all healed up and he can pitch like he has in previous seasons so he can find a better long-term deal next offseason.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

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Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most free throws attempted in a game Thursday night, putting up 39 (and sinking 21) in the team’s 117-109 win over the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, the Magic — tied for the Southeast Division lead with the Miami Heat — lost the services of starting shooting guard Jason Richardson, who didn’t play most of the second half due to a sprained left knee, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

X-rays taken on the knee were negative after the game, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, but he will have an MRI on Friday.

The 30-year-old Richardson, the fifth overall pick in the 2001 draft out of Michigan State, is averaging 11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

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# 3 Dustin Ackley – Seattle Mariners
2B
DOB: 2-26-1988
ETA: 2011

Ackley resurrected his status as the game's top MIF prospect this fall after a fairly pedestrian 2010 season across two stops (Double-A and Triple-A) by posting a .424/.581/.758 slash line in the Arizona Fall League.  After a line of .267/.368/.407 in 501 AB's in the high Minors, Ackley's utter torching of AFL pitching should land him the everyday 2B job in Seattle to open the season.
After a brilliant career at the University of North Carolina, Ackley was the second overall draft pick in 2009 behind some guy named Stephen Strasburg, and later signed for a massive million.  Ackley's bat is the finest MIF bat in the Minors today, and he couples a plus-plus hit tool ranking with excellent strike-zone discipline.  He is the best baserunner in the Mariners system and he should be able to stay at second base despite having below average hands in the field.
Ackley has true All-Star upside at a relativ…
Yardbarker: MLB

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Brett Jackson rifled an RBI single into the LF corner with two oputs in the bottom of the 9th to score Jim Adduci from 2nd base with the winning run, as the Cubs scored one in the 8th and one in the 9th to edge the Cleveland Indians 2-1 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny & warm Mesa this afternoon.

box score
Randy Wells got the start for the Cubs today, and threw four shutout innings (57 pitches – 35 strikes, 6/3 GO/FO), allowing a single and a walk while striking out two. Kerry Wood pitched the 5th and the struck out the side (S. Duncan-Valbuena-Donald) after allowing a lead-off single to Travis Buck, and Andrew Cashner pitched the final four innings (55 pitches – 33 strikes), allowing a solo HR to Jayson Nix (the second batter he faced). Cashner got a ton of ground balls today (7/1 GO/FO), and may have taken the lead in the battle for the 5th starter job (with Randy Wells now solidly #4) with his performance today. For the day, Cashn…
Yardbarker: MLB

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#8 Jarrod Parker – Arizona Diamondbacks
RHP
DOB: 11-24-88
ETA: 2011

Kevin Towers, the Sombrero's favorite GM, has quite a decision to make this spring with how to handle Jarrod Parker in 2011.  Parker is now more than a year removed from Tommy John surgery and has repeatedly stated that he feels as good now as he ever has.  His fastball is reaching the mid-90s and the slider is as deadly as ever.  It is most likely the best right-handed slider in the Minors today, and Parker has two other secondary offerings that should grade as a 60 by the time he reaches his mid-20s.
Unfortunately, Parker missed all of 2010 due to his surgery, so this ranking may seem ludicrous to some people and is considerably more aggressive than most other ranking systems out there.  Here's why: Parker is the only guy in the game with the combination of arm speed, athleticism, command, and diversity of pitches, as well as a clear path to Major League starts in his early 20s.  The fact that…
Yardbarker: MLB

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