MLB News and Rumors

For the Philadelphia Phillies to compete in the NL East with the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, the general presumption was that starting pitching would have to shoulder the burden.  Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels — arguably the best starting top three in MLB — would have to pitch at their best for the Phillies to contend. That became an even greater responsibility when general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. failed to add an impact hitter to the team’s everyday lineup.  But now that Halladay is on the disabled list with a shoulder injury (please pardon that pun in the first paragraph), where does that leave the Phillies’ chances this season?  Halladay was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation. But the fear is that this could be a longer-term injury for the right-hander, who will turn 36 years old next week. As my colleague Jaymes Langrehr detailed in an earlier post, Halladay has been demonstrating signs of concern for at least the p…

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Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore.

At least that’s how he seemed after his team’s 10-3 loss to the Houston Astros Wednesday night. That gave the Mariners their second series loss of the season to the Astros, and it’s only April.

Houston was generally considered to be the worst team in MLB — if for no other reason than its $ 26 million payroll. That alone should keep the Mariners out of last place in the AL West this year. Yet right now, Seattle looks like the worse team. 

Wedge was so fed up with what he saw that he held a closed-door meeting with his players following the game. Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune reported that Wedge’s voice could be heard outside the clubhouse as he chewed out the team. 

We’re just four weeks into the 2013 season and Wedge already doesn’t like what he sees from his club. While speaking with the media, he made a point to mention that several hitters …

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Although unable to perform in the Grapefruit League with a sore right Achilles tendon, Boston remains optimistic that juicehead designated hitter David Ortiz will be ready for Opening Day on April 1 when the Red Sox visit Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The 37-year-old Ortiz, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the Minnesota Twins in September 1997 and inked a free agent contract with the Red Sox in January 2003, permanently shelved himself in August after returning briefly from the strained tendon that was first sustained on July 18. “Big Papi,” an eight-time All-Star and 2004 ALCS Most … Continue reading →

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If you follow the Hot Stove League, like I do, you are probably quite aware of the Cardinals offseason moves (or lack thereof).  A while back, Joe Strauss expressed his concerns about the lack of moves by the Cards and, with other teams making significant moves to improve their rosters, it begs the question as to whether the Cardinals have lost ground to the other contenders for the NL crown.

Here’s a look at the contenders in the NL and their offseason moves (to date):

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals lost Kyle Lohse and Lance Berkman (who missed most of the 2012 season) to free agency and recently lost Chris Carpenter to injury.

Carpenter also missed most of the 2012 season to injury, so that’s a wash.  Berkman was replaced at first by Allen Craig, who will be healthy to start the 2013 season.  So the only real whole that the Cardinals need to fill is that of Lohse, who will be replaced in the rotation by one of Shelby Miller, Joe Kelly or Trevor Rosenthal. You can ex…

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The Red Sox have long been reported to be interested in catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli, and now it sounds like they’re ready to show him up close what the team can offer.
Napoli is visiting Boston this weekend to meet with the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Napoli would most likely play first base if he were to sign with Boston, with his catching abilities taking a back seat since the Red Sox have catchers Ryan Lavarnway, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and the newly signed David Ross all under contract.
Napoli, 31, is also reportedly meeting with the Mariners.

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If you thought Giancarlo Stanton was thinking irrationally when he ripped the Miami Marlins on Twitter earlier this week and would later apologize, think again. The 23-year-old outfielder is still upset, and he was not shy about making his feelings known when speaking with MLB.com’s Peter Gammons on Thursday night. “I do not like this at all,” Stanton said. “This is the ‘winning philosophy?’ Then to say it’s not about money? What is the motivation? There comes a breaking point. I know how I feel. I can’t imagine how the city and the fans feel.” “Jose, Bonifacio, Hanley … all three are gone now. I had people warn me that something like this could happen, but it runs against the competitive nature every athlete has, that nature that everything is about winning. This kind of thing is what gets talked about all the time around this team. Former Marlins come back and they warn us. It gets talked about during the stretch, in the clubhouse, after games, on the road. Again, I do not like this at

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Much to the same tune as their cross-freeway rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Angels have now failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season despite huge signings, trades and money thrown into the team. In spite of spending over $ 315 million in signing both Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson to long-term deals and trading for Zack Greinke midway through the season, the Halos could not emerge from the shadows of the Texas Rangers or hold off the surging Oakland A’s in 2012. While it is not necessarily panic time in Anaheim, it is certainly do-or-die time for manager Mike Scioscia. The Angels’ manager has been on the hot seat for over a year now, and if he can’t win in 2013 it will most likely be his last season with the Angels. “I have told him. He wants to come back, I want him to come back,” said owner Arte Moreno. “He’s been the manager of the Angels for 13 years. He will be the manager of the Angels for a 14th year. Period.” http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/news/article….

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