Archive for January, 2008
Baseball is arguably America’s most popular game. It is a bat and ball game played by to competing teams of nine players each. The aim of the game is to score points through runs. To do this a ball is thrown and is hit with a bat and the hitter has to run and touch four markers or bases arranged at the corners of the diamond spot. The players on the offensive teams would take turn throwing the ball and trying to score runs while the defensive team tries to stop them by getting the hitters out using different ways. The teams switch between offence and defense as soon as the defensive teams get three out on the hitter. Each offensive play for a team is considered an inning, nine innings makes up a game. At the end of nine innings the team with the most number of runs wins the game.
In North America the professional league teams are divided into the National League and the American League. Each of these is further divided into three, the east, west and Central divisions. Towards the end of a league year four teams per division would play the play offs of that division. The winner of the play offs becomes champions of the Major League Baseball and qualifies for the World Series. Apart from the US baseball is enjoyed and passionately played and followed in other parts of the world. In regions such as East Asia, the Caribbean, South America, North America and Central America and even in South Africa the game is played at amateur, youth and professional levels
January 30th, 2008
Newly clean and sober center fielder Josh Hamilton arrived at the batting cages Friday morning with a smile on his face. He is 6-4, 240 pounds and is wearing a royal blue Rangers shirt which he claims brings out the blue in his eyes. Hamilton spends the following 45 minutes in the cage swinging one-handed with an smooth but powerful grace. He hits a few line drives off tees and soft-tosses before spending 25-30 more minutes in full-scale batting practice. This training is nothing compared to last year when he spent hours hitting hundreds of balls a day while trying to catch up on the over 3 seasons that he missed to drug addiction. Later on in the day Hamilton spends 2 ½ hours with a relentless personal trainer before heading off to his similarly rigorous pilates instructor. After all this, when he arrives home Hamilton’s future is tested when he urinates into a cup and waits for confirmation that says that Hamilton is clean, sober and drug-free.
January 28th, 2008
The Detroit Tigers are talking with Curtis Granderson about a long-term contract extension. Curtis Granderson is not set to became a free agent until the end of the 2011 season, however. Last year Granderson made $410,000 and was thinking that maybe the team could sign him a likeminded contract for the 2008 season. The club now has more of a reason to sign Curtis to a long-term contract over the next few months after he was almost selected for his first All-Star game. The Detroit Tigers would prefer the contract to stretch a minimum of one season. At this point contract length or salary have not been discussed.
January 28th, 2008
The San Francisco Giants are working on the development of a new parking lot next to AT&T Park including a ballpark village with shops, clubs, a garage and even a concert hall.Plans should be announced next month for a 4,000- to 5,000-seat hall on part of parking lot A. Currently the 16-acre lot contains parking for near 2,000 cars and is the last of the undeveloped parking parcels. The Giants do not want to lose any more of their 15,000 parking spaces that they currently have.
January 22nd, 2008
At this time he Houston Astros have not determined whether they will take action with Miguel Tejada or not after he was targeted for lying in front of a congressional committee. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said during its hearing on steroids Tuesday that it had called for and investigation by the Justice Department after Tejada lied to the committee in 2005 about his steroid use. George Mitchell’s report issued last month included Adam Piatt saying that he talked about steroids with Tejada and that was provided with steroids and human growth hormone in 2003.
January 17th, 2008
Atlanta Braves reached a tentative deal to acquire the oft-injured Kotsay from the Oakland Athletics for reliever Joey Devine. The trade is contingent on Kotsay passing a physical and the commissioner’s office approving the money involved in the deal. Kotsay hit .214 with one homer and 20 RBIs in 56 games last year. He is a career .282 hitter in 11 seasons in the majors.
He had surgery last spring and missed the first two months of the season unfortunately.
January 14th, 2008
The San Diego Padres have purchased the contract of third baseman Gary Schneidmiller from the Amarillo Dillas. Schneidmiller will report to Spring Training in Peoria, AZ with a chance to make the Double-A San Antonio Missions. Schneidmiller had 33 extra base hits this past season and with the departure of David Freese to St. Louis in a deal that netted Jim Edmonds there is little competition at the hot corner in Double-A.
January 10th, 2008
The Seattle Mariners are continuing to pursue a trade for Baltimore Orioles ace Erik Bedard. the Cincinnati Reds also remain in the hunt, but the Mariners have the edge because they are willing to part with top outfield prospect Adam Jones. Jones has been slated to start in right field for the Mariners in 2008.
January 8th, 2008
The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Jackson were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week on Dec,3 2008 for games played Monday, Nov. 26 through Sunday, Dec. 2. Howard led the Magic to a 3-1 week, Jackson led the Warriors to a 4-0 week averaging 23.0 points.
January 5th, 2008
1) George Mitchell
2) Bud Selig
3) Jimmy Rollins
4) Theo Epstein
5) Frank Thomas
6) Josh Beckett
7) C.C. Sabathia
Josh Hamilton
9) Hank Steinbrenner
10) Jon Lester
January 3rd, 2008
