ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — Bob Forsch, the only pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals history to throw two no-hitters, has died. He was 61. Team spokesman Brian Bartow said Forsch, the third-winningest pitcher in franchise history, died Thursday at his home near Tampa, Fla. The cause of death wasn’t immediately known. The death came less than a week after Forsch threw out the first pitch at Game 7 of the World Series, a few hours before the Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 to win the championship. Forsch was the stand-in for his longtime manager, Whitey Herzog, who is recovering from a fall that left him in a hospital for more than three weeks. “I was supposed to throw out the first ball and was still on medicine, so they decided Forschie would do it,” Herzog told the AP in a phone interview from his home in suburban St. Louis County. “We’ve kept in touch throughout the years. To drop dead like that, it’s a real shock.” Forsch, a 6-foot-4 right-hander known for clutch performances in crucial games, played on three World Series teams in the 1980s under Herzog, and one of his three career postseason victories came against the Milwaukee Brewers in the Cardinals’ 1982 World Series championship. Forsch won 20 games in 1977 and twice was a 15-game winner, and had a career record of 168-136 with a 3.76 ERA. Forsch was an accomplished hitter, too, with a .213 career average and 12 home runs. “We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Bob Forsch,” chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “Bob was a one of the best pitchers in the history of our organization and a valued member of the Cardinals family.” Forsch, who was a 26th- round draft pick of St. Louis in 1968, threw no-hitters in 1978 (Phillies) and 1983 (Expos). His older brother, Ken Forsch, threw a no-hitter for the Astros in 1979, making them the only brothers in major league history to pitch official no-hitters. The younger Forsch is one of only 30 major league pitchers to throw at least two no-hitters, according to STATS LLC. His were the only two thrown at old Busch Stadium, where he won more games and pitched more innings than any other pitcher. In all, he won 163 games for the Cardinals from 1974 to 1988, trailing only Bob Gibson and Jesse Haines. He finished his [...]
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NEW YORK (AP & Staff) — Baseball’s free-agent signing season began Thursday with Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Aramis Ramirez all available in a market far stronger on hitting than starting pitching. C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle, Roy Oswalt, Edwin Jackson and Hiroki Kuroda topped the list of free-agent starters, while Jonathan Papelbon, Heath Bell, Francisco Rodriguez and Jonathan Broxton were among the available closers. With no new collective bargaining agreement, draft-pick compensation remained in force for top free agents ranked according to a statistical formula agreed to in 1981. Teams have through Nov. 23 to offer salary arbitration to their former players who became free agents, and free agents not offered arbitration can sign after then without costing their new clubs any picks in next June’s amateur draft. Among the 166 free agents, there are 21 Type A players and 37 Type Bs. The possibility of dropping compensation has been discussed in negotiations for a new labor contract if the players’ association would agree to a slotting system of fixed signing bonuses for draft picks. But the union has thus far resisted slotting. The current labor deal runs until Dec. 11. Pujols is represented by Dan Lozano, who broke off last year from his former colleagues at the Beverly Hills Sports Council. Carlos Beltran has left Scott Boras to be represented by Lozano. San Francisco, which acquired Beltran from the New York Mets in July, may be interested in signing the outfielder to a deal of about three years. “There is no negotiation yet,” Beltran said in an email to The Associated Press. “I made a decision about switching agents, but it has nothing to do with having (a) better chance of negotiating with anybody, it’s just time to make a change. There is no doubt that I will consider coming back to SF.” Thursday was the first day free agents could negotiate with all teams following a four-day exclusive window for their former clubs. Infielder John McDonald became the first of the free agents to sign, agreeing to a $3 million, two-year contract to stay with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pitcher Chien-Ming Wang and the Washington Nationals have agreed to the terms of a contract, pending a physical, a person familiar with the deal told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. Wang went 4-3 with a 4.04 [...]
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(AP & Staff) — There have been only a few simultaneous knockouts in the history of boxing. Fortunately, there’s still time to pray for another one Saturday night when Jose Canseco steps back into the celebrity ring against Lenny Dykstra in Hollywood. Seriously, who are you supposed to root for? The superstar-turned-snitch who’s always low on money and already beyond embarrassment? Or the superstar-turned-swindler who’s under indictment for grand theft auto, drug possession and indecent exposure and possibly on his way to the slammer for a very long time? And that’s just the main event! In what could be an evening-long orgy of faux-celebrity self-destruction, the undercard also matches convicted felon Joey Buttafuoco against Lou Bellera, husband of his former lover and current porn actress Amy Fisher, who went to prison as an 18-year-old in 1992 for shooting Buttafuoco’s then-wife, Mary Jo, in the head; plus the “Long Island Lolita” herself, taking on “Octomom” Nadya Suleman; and Tareq Salahi, half of the White House party-crashing couple, squaring off against former O.J. Simpson guest-house squatter Kato Kaelin. This thing is wrong on so many levels that anyone who shells out $19.95 for the pay-per-view should get a free towel for the shower they’re going to need afterward. The cast of characters reads like a remake of “The Grifters.” Then again, if it catches on, think of the possibilities: Shaq vs. Kobe, Frank McCourt vs. Bud Selig; Latrell Sprewell vs. P.J. Carlesimo; Barry Bonds against the world. Sure, FOX tried to make a go with a “Celebrity Boxing” show in 2002, but it lasted only two episodes before cancellation. Despite that small sampling, it managed a sixth-place finish on TV Guide’s 50 worst all-time shows list. “It’s an interesting card, a battle of train wrecks,” is how promoter Damon Feldman described the upcoming event to the Philadelphia Daily News, and he should know. Feldman just happens to be the go-to promoter for down-on-their-luck celebrities, having previously staged fights between Rodney King and a retired cop as well as Tonya Harding and a waitress, among others. Feldman also pleaded no-contest earlier this year to charges of staging some of those bouts without a license, but why let details get in the way of a story about redemption? Feldman won’t — despite the fact that the last time he lined up a fight for Canseco, the disgraced slugger sent his identical twin, Ozzie, INSTEAD [...]
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(AP & Staff) — Matty Alou, once part of an all-Alou outfield for the San Francisco Giants with brothers Felipe and Jesus, died Thursday in his native Dominican Republic. He was 72. He died of diabetes complications, according to his former Dominican team, Leones del Escogido. The Giants also confirmed his death and said Alou had been sick for several years with a variety of health issues. Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda said he knew his “great friend” had been ailing. “We roomed together a few times with the Giants,” Cepeda said by phone. “Very funny guy, hell of a ballplayer. When Matty was playing with the Giants, he was a dead fastball hitter, he could pull anybody, I don’t care how hard they threw.” A two-time All-Star, Alou became the 1966 National League batting champion with the Pirates when he hit .342. He spent his first six years with San Francisco from 1960-65 and also played for St. Louis, Oakland, the New York Yankees and San Diego. “Although he played for six different teams, Matty remained a part of the Giants family as a longtime employee and will be forever linked with his brothers, Felipe and Jesus, as the first all-brother major league outfield, the Giants said. Alou — who worked for a time as an adviser in the Giants’ baseball operations department before his health problems persisted — was a career .307 hitter with 31 home runs, 427 RBIs, 1,777 hits and 236 doubles in 15 major league seasons. “He went to Pittsburgh and switched from a light bat to a heavy bat, and he hit .340 one year,” Cepeda recalled. The Alou brothers made history in 1963 when they appeared in the same outfield for several games. Felipe Alou, who managed the Giants for four seasons from 2003-06, takes pride in how the Alou name has endured in baseball. “It’s a family legacy,” Felipe said during his time managing the Giants. “The Alou legacy is a legacy in itself. I see all of us together being a force going through this game, and still going. The respect, I’m proud of that, and length of service.” Leones President Luis Manuel Bonetti added: “Dominican baseball in general and Leones in particular, has lost one of its most emblematic figures and an extraordinary human being.” Felipe Alou still believes he cost the Giants a championship in 1962 when he failed [...]
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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP & Staff) — Robinson Cano doubled in a run in the seventh inning to help an MLB All-Star team beat Taiwan’s national team 5-3 Thursday in the second game of a five-game series. The New York Yankees’ second baseman also singled and scored in the sixth inning in the game in Taichung. “They got a great team,” Cano said. “They played a pretty good game.” The Taiwanese went ahead 3-2 in the fifth, scoring twice on three hits and a walk. The MLB squad tied it in the sixth and added two more runs in the seventh. Relievers Rich Thompson of the Los Angeles Angels, Ramon Ramirez of the San Francisco Giants and Bill Bray of the Cincinnati Reds kept the Taiwanese scoreless from the sixth inning on. In the series opener Tuesday, the MLB team won 7-0 in a game halted in the sixth inning because of rain. The teams play in Taichung on Friday before closing the series with two weekend games in Kaohsiung.
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BOSTON (AP & Staff) — Dale Sveum remembers both good times and tough times in Boston. Now, he’d like another chance with the Red Sox — as manager. Boston interviewed Sveum, currently the Milwaukee Brewers’ hitting coach, for its open managerial job on Wednesday. A third base coach with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2005, Sveum was the second person interviewed by the Red Sox this week. The club brought in Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin on Monday. “It was the greatest experience I could ever have; we won the World Series in ’04,” said Sveum, who turns 48 this month. “For being a coach or a staff member or whatever you want to call it, it’s the ultimate place you want to be.” Sveum has some big-game managerial experience on his resume, albeit a brief stint in Milwaukee. He managed the Brewers for the final 12 games of the 2008 regular season and the playoffs after Ned Yost was fired. “You never know until you’re thrown right into the fire, but then I felt right at home,” Sveum said. He and Mackanin both hope to get the job vacated when Terry Francona left following a record September collapse. After holding a nine-game lead in the wild-card race through Sept. 3, the Red Sox missed the playoffs with a loss on the final night of the regular season. Sveum’s time in Boston wasn’t always full of great moments. He was criticized a number of times for his aggressive approach that had runners cut down at the plate. “The thing about when I was judged as a third base coach, you get scrutinized,” he said. “I’m glad I was scrutinized for being aggressive instead of passive. I’m not a passive person. I’m a very aggressive person and always have been.” But he thinks that spending time with the Red Sox gives him a better understanding of the intensity in Boston. “The thing about the passion of the fans here and the media, it was kind of — I don’t want to say it was comical — but if you do the same thing in Milwaukee, there’s nothing said about it,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I made a couple of decisions I’d like to have back or a couple of comments in the paper.” Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington thinks Sveum’s experience with the Red Sox could [...]
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NEW YORK (AP & Staff) — Maybe a “For Sale” sign should be erected outside Dodger Stadium. Team, ballpark, land and television rights available. Price: $1 billion and up. The process of finding a new owner for the Los Angeles Dodgers began early Wednesday when current boss Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball released a joint statement saying they had agreed to a court-supervised sale of the once-glamorous and now bankrupt franchise. In the long-term, the deal will allow the Dodgers to move ahead and try to get back to baseball’s elite. But the club’s fans may well have to endure another season adrift as the sale works itself out. While the sides hope for a quick deal, giving McCourt the money to pay his divorce settlement by April, MLB sales sometimes drag on for six months to 1½ years. Once bidders are identified, the court is likely to conduct an auction. “Baseball can choose to have their approval process move like molasses in winter or like Castor oil through a baby,” said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp, a Chicago-based consulting firm. The price likely will break the record for a baseball franchise, topping the $845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Chicago Cubs in 2009. Investors will be solicited by the Blackstone Group, McCourt’s investment banker. Dallas Mavericks co-owner Mark Cuban and Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle, who lives in California, have been mentioned as possibilities. Asian investors have made inquiries. Former agent Dennis Gilbert, a friend of Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, hopes to put together a group. Former Dodgers Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser have said they might be interested, as has former general manager Fred Claire. Claire is aligned with former Oakland Athletics President Andy Dolich and former Dodgers batboy Ben Hwang, who brought in the financial backers. Claire, the Dodgers’ GM from 1987-98, assumes the price will be $800 million to $1 billion and up. “I’ve been working on this venture since early July,” Claire said. “My motivation is to see the Dodgers be what they need to be in the community.” Given the future broadcasting rights at stake and their ownership of regional sports networks in southern California, News Corp. and Time Warner Inc. have been considered possible bidders, as could The Walt Disney Co. But News Corp. is out, an executive said. “Contrary to questions I got today, we’re not [...]
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CHICAGO (AP & Staff) — Theo Epstein is looking for a new manager to lead the Chicago Cubs. He knows exactly the type of candidate he wants, too. In his first major on-field move since becoming the team’s president of baseball operations, Epstein fired Cubs manager Mike Quade on Wednesday and began the search for his replacement. The move came one day after the club introduced new general manager Jed Hoyer and scouting/player development head Jason McLeod. Epstein, who joined the Cubs a little more than a week ago, quickly laid out the qualifications he has in mind for the team’s next manager. One of those is managerial and/or coaching experience in the major leagues, which would eliminate a popular fan choice in Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. “The next manager must have leadership and communication skills; he must place an emphasis on preparation and accountability; he must establish high standards and a winning culture; he must have integrity and an open mind; and he must have managerial or coaching experience at the major league level,” Epstein said. Epstein spoke with Sandberg on Wednesday and let him know that he wasn’t in the Cubs’ plans. Sandberg, who managed in Chicago’s minor league system and left the organization after Quade was chosen to replace Lou Piniella during the 2010 season, does not have major league managerial or coaching experience. Sandberg managed Philadelphia’s Triple-A team last season and could be a candidate in St. Louis. Another potential candidate in Chicago could be Terry Francona, Epstein’s manager in Boston who did not return to the Red Sox after their epic September collapse. Another name that’s been mentioned is Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Dave Martinez, who once played for the Cubs. Epstein fired Quade but made sure he did it in person by traveling to Florida. He called Quade an “outstanding baseball guy” but said it was time for a change. Quade got the job after the Cubs went 24-13 during a 37-game interim audition at the end of the 2010 season. He had replaced Piniella — who retired — on an interim basis. But the Cubs then stumbled through another disappointing year, finishing fifth in the NL Central with a 71-91 record that extended their infamous World Series championship drought to 103 years. Epstein and Hoyer had a long meeting with Quade last week. Epstein had another lengthy conversation with him [...]
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LOS ANGELES (AP & Staff) — The Major League Baseball and Frank McCourt made an agreement Tuesday to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers. Embattled Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball reached an agreement late Tuesday to sell one of the sport’s most storied franchises, ending a seven-year tenure that saw the team return to the playoffs regularly but was recently mired in legal troubles capped by its filing for bankruptcy protection. A joint statement said there will be a “court-supervised process” to sell the team and its media rights to maximize value for the Dodgers and McCourt. The Blackstone Group LP will manage the sale, which could include Dodger Stadium and the surrounding parking lots. The announcement came as the Dodgers and MLB were headed toward a showdown in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware at the end of the month as mediation between both sides was ongoing. McCourt and baseball Commissioner Bud Selig have traded barbs since MLB took control of day-to-day operation of the team in April over concerns about the team’s finances and the way it was being run. McCourt apparently realized a sale of the team he vowed never to give up was in his best interest and that of the fans. “There comes a point in time when you say, ‘It’s time,’” said a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because details of the negotiations had not been made public. “He came to that realization at the end of today.” McCourt filed for bankruptcy protection in June after the league rejected a 17-year TV contract with Fox, reported to be worth up to $3 billion, that he needed to keep the team afloat. Selig noted that almost half of an immediate $385 million payment would have been diverted from the Dodgers to McCourt. The franchise’s demise grew out of Frank McCourt’s protracted divorce with Jamie McCourt and the couple’s dispute over the ownership of the team. The divorce, which played out in public in court, highlighted decadent spending on mansions and beach homes and using the team as if it were their personal credit card. They took out more than $100 million in loans from Dodgers-related businesses for their own use, according to divorce documents. In bankruptcy filings, attorneys for MLB said McCourt “looted” more than $180 million in revenues from the club for personal use and other business unrelated [...]
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NEW YORK (AP & Staff) — Three Boston Red Sox and three Los Angeles Dodgers head the list of this year’s Gold Glove winners. Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier became the first trio of Los Angeles Dodgers to win NL Gold Gloves in the same year, and Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury became the first three Red Sox in 32 seasons to win the AL honor together. Kershaw became a first-time winner at pitcher when the awards were announced Tuesday. Ethier earned his first Gold Glove in the outfield and Kemp regained the NL award he also earned in 2009. Gonzalez earned his first AL Gold Glove to go along with two he won in the NL while with San Diego, Pedroia won at second base for the first time since 2008 and Ellsbury picked up his first Gold Glove. “I try to be a complete player. You can always go into offense slumps,” Gonzalez said during the awards show on ESPN2. The previous three Red Sox to win in the same year were shortstop Rick Burleson along with outfielders Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn in 1979. Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle was the lone AL holdover, winning for the third straight year. Baltimore’s Matt Wieters won at catcher, the Angels’ Erick Aybar at shortstop, Texas’ Adrian Beltre at third, and Kansas City’s Alex Gordon and Baltimore’s Nick Markakis in the outfield. Beltre won for the third time, after gaining the award in 2007 and 2008. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina became the first NL catcher to win in four straight years since Charles Johnson from 1995-98. Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto and second baseman Brandon Phillips also won along with Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Philadelphia third baseman Placido Polanco and Arizona outfielder Gerardo Parra. Phillips and Tulowitzki joined Molina as the NL holdovers, with Phillips winning for the third time in four years. “It just shows my hard work really played off,” Phillips said on the show. Polanco also won AL Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2009. This year’s AL group displaced Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer; Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, second baseman Robinson Cano and shortstop Derek Jeter; Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria; former Rays outfielder Carl Crawford; and Seattle outfielders Ichiro Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez. Suzuki’s streak of Gold Gloves ended at 10. The right fielder, who had won in [...]
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NEW YORK (AP & Staff) — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is looking for more pitching help after signing ace hurler CC Sabathia to a five-year contract extension. His major offseason goal already accomplished, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is still hunting for more starting pitching as he reshapes the team following its first-round elimination. Cashman signed a three-year contract worth about $9 million Tuesday, a day after his previous deal expired. The announcement came less than 24 hours after CC Sabathia chose not to become a free agent and instead agreed to a contract that gave him an additional $30 million guaranteed for 2016. “He’s certainly the most important piece as we entered this process,” Cashman said during a conference call. “CC provides us a lot of security, and that’s obviously why he makes what he makes.” A weak free-agent class for pitchers is headed by Edwin Jackson, C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle and Hiroki Kuroda. Bats are more plentiful, with Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran on the market. “Pitching, pitching, pitching. That will be the main thrust,” Cashman said, a sign the Yankees could explore trades involving low-priced players such as Jesus Montero and Brett Gardner. “I don’t anticipate a bat being of need at all. I anticipate people knocking on our door about the current bats we have.” On other topics, Cashman said A.J. Burnett is likely to remain with the Yankees and stay in the rotation; wouldn’t say whether the team intends to re-sign 40-year-old Jorge Posada; praised catcher Russell Martin but wouldn’t say whether he will offer a multiyear contract; said he’s open to re-signing pitchers Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, and third baseman Eric Chavez; and wouldn’t commit to whether the Yankees would have an interest in Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, who may become available in the posting process from the Nippon Ham Fighters. Cashman has been GM since February 1998, when he succeeded Bob Watson. The only general manager to serve longer with the Yankees is Ed Barrow from 1920-45. Under Cashman, the team has won four World Series titles and six AL pennants, finishing first in the AL East 11 times and advancing to the playoffs in 13 of 14 seasons. He’s presided over baseball operations during the transition from George Steinbrenner to the more collegial environment establish by son Hal Steinbrenner. “I have a big seat at the [...]
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NEW YORK (AP & Staff) — Three days before the opening of the free-agent market, the Cleveland Indians acquired pitcher Derek Lowe from the Atlanta Braves for minor league left-hander Chris Jones on Monday in the first significant trade of the offseason. Rather than become a free agent, CC Sabathia agreed to a new deal with the New York Yankees that adds an additional season and $30 million in guaranteed money, bringing the left-hander’s total over the next five years to $122 million. Several teams exercised contract options on pitchers, among them Tampa Bay on James Shields ($7.5 million), Texas on Colby Lewis ($4 million), Kansas City on Joakim Soria ($6 million) and the Chicago White Sox on Jason Frasor ($3.75 million). Cincinnati exercised a $12 million option on second baseman Brandon Phillips, and the Colorado Rockies elected to keep former AL MVP Jason Giambi ($1 million). The World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals exercised a $7 million option on catcher Yadier Molina and declined options on right-hander Octavio Dotel ($3.5 million), shortstop Rafael Furcal ($12 million) and outfielder Corey Patterson ($1.1 million). Cleveland will have to pay Lowe $5 million of his $15 million salary next year, with the Braves responsible for the rest. The 38-year-old was 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA in 34 starts last season, leading the NL in losses. He’ll join Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Fausto Carmona in the starting rotation. “He’s a quality pitcher with durability, pitching 180 innings or more every year since 2002,” Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. “The last time he was on the disabled list was 1995. In addition to his durability, there’s some leadership potential. His experience will complement a very young rotation.” Cleveland also exercised Carmona’s $7 million option and declined an $8.5 million option on outfielder Grady Sizemore, who gets a $500,000 buyout. Sabathia had until midnight Monday to opt out of the $161 million, seven-year contract he agreed to before the 2009 season, a deal that calls for $23 million annual salaries in the next four seasons. The new deal adds a $25 million salary for 2016 and gives the Yankees a $25 million option for 2017 with a $5 million buyout. Sabathia has gone 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA during the regular season for New York. “My son loves it here. All my kids love it here. My wife loves it here, [...]
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(AP & Staff) — Tony La Russa’s genius as a manager will be debated for decades. Not so his exit.. “What a way to go out,” Washington Nationals manager and sometimes-rival Davey Johnson said, summing up what just about everybody in baseball was thinking. Great entertainers talk about leaving with the audience wanting more, and La Russa did that. He could have been back managing in St. Louis next year if he desired, or anywhere else for that matter, for as long as he wanted. His resume hardly needed updating. In his 33rd season, he just notched his first Game 7 and his third World Series title, once again validating the thousands of wins that already staked him to a comfortable third place on the all-time list. He’s been called a pioneer for using computers before they were fashionable in baseball and credited with developing the modern bullpen and creating the one-inning closer, starting with Dennis Eckersley in Oakland some two decades ago. More impressive, perhaps, La Russa was still tinkering with conventional wisdom as recently as the final few innings of Game 7 on Friday night, mulling over a very risky scheme to move right-handed closer Jason Motte to the outfield for an out or two — in case he needed a left-handed reliever — and then putting him back on the mound. La Russa’s reputation for innovation, though, cut both ways. Some of the same people who lauded him for heralding the dawn of the statistical age in baseball turned on La Russa for dragging his feet once “Moneyball” became all the rage. Others argued that being a control freak may explain how La Russa won two Series rings with less-talented squads in St. Louis, but also failed to win more than one in Oakland, where he presided over teams bristling with individual stars and unchecked egos. What was often overlooked by both sides in the debate was how desperate La Russa was to win every time out regardless of tactics. Tigers manager Jim Leyland was one of several confidants who believed La Russa, a lawyer who has never practiced, got his degree mostly to see if he could finish atop his class. “Look, we all want to win. It’s the business,” said Leyland, who first ran up against La Russa as a minor league manager in 1979, then went to work for him and remains one of [...]
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NEW YORK (AP & Staff) — For CC Sabathia, there’s no better place to pitch than Yankee Stadium. The big left-hander decided to stay with New York rather than test the free-agent market, agreeing Monday to a new deal that adds $30 million and one season to his existing contract, giving him a package that pays $122 million over the next five years. “My son loves it here. All my kids love it here. My wife loves it here, obviously, and I do, too. I love pitching for the Yankee fans and everything, so it was the easy choice,” Sabathia said during a conference call. The 31-year-old had until midnight to opt out of his current agreement, which had $92 million remaining over the next four years in $23 million annual salaries. New York added a $25 million salary for 2016 and gets a $25 million option for 2017 with a $5 million buyout. “It was just more time. That’s all it was. It was never a question about money or anything like that,” Sabathia said. “I just want to end my career here. I want to make sure I end my career as a Yankee and, hopefully, I’ve done that.” Sabathia agreed to a $161 million, seven-year deal with New York before the 2009 season. He has gone 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA during the regular season for the Yankees. Sabathia headed a staff that included rookie Ivan Nova, injury prone Phil Hughes, inconsistent A.J. Burnett and surprise additions Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. Without Sabathia, the Yankees’ rotation would have been in trouble. “CC is the ace of our pitching staff, a leader in our clubhouse and a driving force for the Yankees in our community,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in a statement. “He is exactly the type player and person that Yankees fans and this organization can be proud of. We are excited that he will be wearing the pinstripes for many years to come.” When he signed with the Yankees after pitching for Cleveland (2001-08) and Milwaukee (2008), Sabathia moved his family from California, where he grew up in Vallejo, to Alpine, N.J. He said the key for him was his family “and making sure everything was kosher with them” with living in the New York area. Then he learned what it was like pitching in the $1.5 billion new Yankee Stadium. “The energy, [...]
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ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — David Freese swooped in, expecting Elvis Andrus to bunt. He did, but the ball trickled wide of the line. The St. Louis third baseman scooped up the foul, scanned the crowd and spotted his target sitting near the Texas dugout: a man in the front row wearing a Rangers jacket, with a glove. Freese flipped him the souvenir, drawing a big smile and making yet another friend in his hometown. Then again, why not? There was plenty to share in this World Series. A Game 6 that ranked among baseball’s greatest thrillers. A three-homer performance by Albert Pujols that’s probably the best hitting show in postseason history. Ron Washington running in place, Tony La Russa reacting in dismay at a ball that got away. Everyone learning how to chant Nap-Oh-Lee! Oh, and a Rally Squirrel on the scoreboard and a telephone mix-up in the bullpen. “I told you it was going to be a great series — and it was,” Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said. Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI double in the first inning Friday night in Game 7. Freese and the Cardinals, however, would not be denied. A night after twice rallying when it was one strike from elimination, St. Louis came back to win the championship with a 6-2 victory. “Now that we’ve won it, it makes yesterday greater,” La Russa said. Said Hamilton: “It was actually fun to watch and fun to see. You hate it, but it happened.” An October for fans to cherish, for sure. A lot of them tuned in: The clincher drew the most viewers for a baseball game since Boston won in 2004, and boosted overall television ratings 19 percent higher than last year’s World Series between Texas and San Francisco. Even before the opener, many observers predicted this Series would be a dud because it lacked big-market teams. Minus the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies, some said, it would attract little attention. Inning by inning, it got more intriguing. “I know there’s been a lot of conversation about ratings,” Commissioner Bud Selig said before Game 7. “Some of it, in my opinion … was misinformed.” No mistaking that it was quite a run for baseball. Exactly a month before the Cardinals won their 11th championship, they captured a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. The [...]
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ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — Losses like these create reputations. Debacles like this take decades to overcome — if ever. Twice within a strike of winning their first World Series title, the Texas Rangers came up short both times. “You study all year long, get straight A’s and then you have to pass the one test to pass the course,” Colby Lewis said. “We didn’t pass each time.” In a year of unprecedented collapses, the Rangers saved the worst for last. A night after they were a pitch from winning the first title in the 51-year history of the franchise, they wasted a two-run lead Friday and lost Game 7 of the World Series 6-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Texas players walked around the quiet clubhouse, exchanging blank looks, not quite ready to go home. Clubhouse attendants took down their nameplates and packed their gear. In a century-plus of World Series play, rarely has there been such an empty feeling. “I want to celebrate and was thinking about it,” Elvis Andrus said, “but that moment never came.” Until now, the 1986 Boston Red Sox had been the only team to come within an out of the title without winning it. Red Sox fans dwelled on Bill Buckner’s error for 18 years, until the 2004 Sox won the team’s first championship since 1918. These Rangers will be remembered for a triple failure, for Neftali Feliz allowing David Freese’s tying triple in the ninth inning of Game 6, for Scott Feldman giving up Lance Berkman’s tying single in the 10th and for Mark Lowe allowing Freese’s game-ending home run in the 11th. “I tried the best that I could,” Feliz said. “What happened? It wasn’t what I envisioned, that was all. A bad outcome.” Texas had not lost consecutive games since Aug. 23-25 against the Red Sox. But Matt Harrison, Feldman, C.J. Wilson and Mike Adams combined to give up six runs, and the Cardinals became the ninth straight home team to win Game 7. “This will never be a good feeling. It hurts,” David Murphy said. “It’s hard to go through a full season and play so well and get to Game 7 of a World Series and not get it done.” After last year’s five-game loss to San Francisco, the Rangers became the first repeat AL pennant winner since the 1998-01 Yankees. They finished as the first team [...]
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ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — It wasn’t the chill in the late October air that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up one final time. It was how fitting absolutely everything about this one felt at the end. The World Series trophy is back in one of America’s last real baseball towns for the 11th time in the history of the grand old game, this time passed around a stage set up at second base by a Cardinals team given up for dead on at least two occasions only a night earlier. Then again, you could have said that same thing about these guys a handful of times beginning in late August. Even Commissioner Bud Selig did. An hour or so before St. Louis finally shook free of the Texas Rangers with a 6-2 victory Friday night in Game 7, Selig remembered a meeting in his Milwaukee office with Cards manager Tony La Russa two months earlier. At the time, St. Louis trailed the Brewers by 10 1/2 games in the National League Central; the Cardinals’ chances of catching the Braves for the wild card, meanwhile, looked to be longer than drawing to an inside straight. Selig remembered searching for a way to soothe one of the most competitive men he’s ever met. “I congratulated him on his great year,” the commissioner said. But he wasn’t expecting what came next. La Russa, dead-serious, said, “We’re not done.” “And,” the commissioner added, chuckling, “he wasn’t kidding.” Far from it. “If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back, and sometimes they could have come back but they give in or give up. And I knew the character on our team,” La Russa said, recalling that meeting in Milwaukee. “We started winning some games, regained some respect, and then it got better. … They just grabbed every game like it’s the last game.” In his 16th season in charge in St. Louis, and nearing his fifth decade in the game as alternately, a slap-hitting shortstop, a know-it-all coach and finally, the closest thing to a genius the game has, La Russa won his third World Series title and second in six seasons. The three rings tie him with Sparky Anderson, Miller Huggins and John McGraw, and just like that trio and the handful of managers ahead of them, it practically guarantees entrance to the Hall of [...]
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(AP & Staff) — The comeback is complete, and the Cardinals are the champs! St. Louis beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 to win its second World Series title in six years. ___ Lance Lynn pitches a perfect eighth, striking out Adrian Beltre to end the inning. It’s been a wild ride of a season for the Cardinals, who were 10½ games out in the wild-card race on Aug. 25. And don’t forget, this team lost a legitimate ace in spring training when Adam Wainwright had major elbow surgery. Wainwright, who won 39 games the past two years and had a pair of top-3 finishes in Cy Young Award balloting, has missed the entire season. Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli and David Murphy due up in the ninth for Texas against closer Jason Motte. ___ Murphy’s leadoff double chased Chris Carpenter in the seventh. Strong effort on three days’ rest by the Cardinals’ ace. Arthur Rhodes and Octavio Dotel got out of the inning with St. Louis’ three-run lead intact. Yadier Molina added an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to make it 6-2. After scoring twice in the first inning, the Rangers haven’t been able to push anyone else across. Texas pitchers have issued 41 walks in the World Series, breaking the previous record of 40 set by the 1997 Florida Marlins. ___ A close call goes to the Cardinals in the fifth inning. With first base open, Texas intentionally walked David Freese to load the bases with two outs. Scott Feldman fell behind 3-1 on Molina, then threw a strike. The full-count pitch also looked like a strike, right on the outside corner, but this time Feldman didn’t get the call from plate umpire Jerry Layne. Ball four, 4-2 Cardinals. Hard to argue with walking Freese in that spot, even though Molina has a clutch pedigree. Freese has just been on such a tear lately, especially in big situations. It was the first time he was intentionally walked all year. C.J. Wilson came on and hit Rafael Furcal with his first pitch, forcing in another run. Skip Schumaker strikes out to end the inning. St. Louis leads 5-2. ___ Allen Craig makes a leaping catch at the left-field fence in the sixth, probably taking a home run away from Cruz. Carpenter works a 1-2-3 sixth. ___ Big sequence in the top of the fifth inning. [...]
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ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — David Freese gave credit to Albert Pujols for setting him on the right path. He praised manager Tony La Russa for believing in him. He thanked Mark McGwire for the swing tips that paid dividends few could have imagined. Just maybe, Freese should give a little credit to himself. The hometown kid who once quit baseball finished off an October to remember with the MVP of the World Series on Friday night. The St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up their 11th championship in dramatic fashion, a 6-2 victory over the Texas Rangers in the first Game 7 since 2002. Freese batted .348 for the series, with seven RBIs, three doubles and one big homer. He’s the fourth Cardinals player to win the MVP award, joining Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson in 1964 and ’67, catcher Darrell Porter in 1982 and David Eckstein in their 2006 victory over Detroit. Freese drove in 21 runs in the postseason, shattering the previous record. “I’ve had plenty of days of my life where I thought I wouldn’t be even close to being a big leaguer,” Freese said. “I’m here because of everybody around me. They’ve put so much trust in me to accomplish not only baseball but just stuff in life, and to do this is — I’m just full of joy, finally.” Freese was burned out on baseball after a standout career in suburban St. Louis, so he decided to spurn a scholarship offer from Missouri to simply be a college student. He even rebuffed the Tigers’ coaches when they called midway through his first semester to see whether he’d changed his mind. It wasn’t until about a year out of high school that the itch to play finally returned. Freese gave in and enrolled at St. Louis Community College-Meremec, and his play there caught the attention of the coaching staff at South Alabama. Freese blossomed into the Padres’ ninth-round draft pick in 2006, and a trade to the Cardinals eventually brought him home. “If you wrote a story like that — a guy gets traded, comes back to his hometown, he’s a hero — if you sent that in the script, it would get thrown back in your face,” Commissioner Bud Selig said. This wasn’t a perfect fairy tale, though. That would be too easy. After he arrived in St. Louis, Freese was arrested for DUI [...]
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SAN DIEGO (AP & Staff) — General manager Jed Hoyer and assistant Jason McLeod are leaving the San Diego Padres to accept similar positions in the Chicago Cubs’ front office. Because Hoyer was still under contract, the Cubs have agreed to send the Padres a player to be named as compensation. Both teams said Wednesday that they will hold news conferences after the World Series. The Padres will announce on Monday morning that Josh Byrnes will replace Hoyer as general manager. The Cubs will introduce Hoyer as GM and McLeod as senior vice president of scouting and player development at a date to be determined. The deals have been in the works since Theo Epstein left his job as Boston Red Sox general manager and was hired by the Cubs as president of baseball operations. Hoyer and Byrnes both worked under Epstein with the Red Sox. Byrnes is a former GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks. “If we bring in someone as a general manager it will be because there is someone I think is one of the best and one of the brightest in the game,” Epstein said Tuesday after he was introduced in Chicago. “Somebody who can make a real impact for the Cubs. We have a ton of work to do. It’s going to be a lot of hard work. We’re ready for it. … I think it was important to develop a structure that allowed for the hiring of the GM, if we got the right person.” The moves give Byrnes the chance to once again serve as GM under Jeff Moorad. Byrnes was hired as GM of the Diamondbacks in November 2005, when Moorad was one of Arizona’s top executives. Byrnes and manager A.J. Hinch were fired by the Diamondbacks on July 1, 2010. In March 2009, a group headed by Moorad began its purchase of the Padres on an installment plan. Moorad fired GM Kevin Towers after the 2009 season and hired Hoyer away from the Red Sox. The Padres went 90-72 in 2010, leading the NL West for much of the season before stumbling in September and missing the playoffs. After Hoyer traded three-time All-Star slugger Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox for three prospects and outfielder Eric Patterson in December, the Padres struggled badly and finished last in the division at 71-91. The Diamondbacks, who hired Towers as GM late in the 2010 [...]
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ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — Those massive home runs that Albert Pujols hit at Rangers Ballpark, they’ll be rattling around for years to come. Same goes for those long drives that Mike Napoli delivered. A huge swing or two or three, a masterful job on the mound, a sparkling play in the field can do more than win a World Series game. They can create a legacy that lasts forever. Just ask “Mr. October.” “It absolutely can define a career,” Reggie Jackson said by telephone this week. “I’m not saying whether that’s right or wrong, but that’s how it happens.” Every fall, in fact. Someone steps up — maybe a monster talent like Pujols, perhaps a good player like Napoli given a chance when the stars align. Might even be a fringe guy — Allen Craig for St. Louis this year, Cody Ross for San Francisco the last time around. Napoli and the Texas Rangers can close out the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night. If they win their first championship, the catcher who was traded twice within a week in January is destined to part of the lore. For a long, long time. “What year did Babe Ruth call his shot? 1932? You still see kids out there, calling their shot,” Jackson said. “That game wasn’t on TV, those kids didn’t see it. But they’ve heard about it, they know about it all these years later.” Jackson hit a Game 7 home run in a 1973 win for Oakland, then earned a nickname for life when he homered three times in the Yankees’ Series-clinching victory in 1977. Suppose he’d done a little less, say, hit three balls off the wall at Yankee Stadium on that signature night. Would he still be “Mr. October”? “Probably not,” he said. Already a three-time NL MVP, Pujols put on what many called the greatest hitting show in postseason history when he tied Series records with three home runs, six RBIs and five hits during the Cardinals’ romp in Game 3. Those are Pujols’ only hits in the Series so far, with Texas often pitching around him or simply issuing intentional walks. Yet if the Cardinals win the championship, chances are his pulverizing performance will be the featured shots in replays. In Game 5, Texas manager Ron Washington made Pujols the first player in World Series history [...]
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ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — Bobby Valentine thought about the bizarre events he had seen in Game 5 of the World Series, when 19th-century technology fouled up Tony La Russa and the St. Louis Cardinals. “It’s kind of stupid, isn’t it?” said Valentine, who’s managed more than 2,000 major league ballgames. In the age of email, texting, iChat and Skype, baseball remains tied to the traditions established in the Civil War era of flannel uniforms. La Russa conveyed his decisions to the bullpen with a device born the same year as the National League: the telephone. And when the instructions didn’t get through to bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist — twice! — baseball lore was made with the Cardinals’ 4-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday night, a game that will be forever known as the “Phone Foulup.” Now St. Louis is trailing 3-2 in the Series and must win two in a row for the title. “It’s amazing,” said baseball historian Keith Olbermann, a commentator on Current TV. “With all this technology here, they can’t get a phone call completed from one part of the building to another part of the building? You go to an Apple store, the communications device the salesman is carrying is capable of launching a nuclear device. It’s mind-boggling.” For all the high-tech scoreboards in each ballpark and computers in each clubhouse that track every pitch, decisions on which relievers to warm up are passed along on Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of 1876. While there were 328 million wireless devices in the U.S. as of June, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association, baseball sticks with land lines, of which there are 114 million. And because of that, the World Series rings fans were talking about Tuesday had nothing to do with the shiny ones on players’ fingers, but rather the old-fashioned-sounding bells that sound off on bullpen phones. After the game, with Rangers Ballpark nearly empty, the bullpen phone 400 or so feet away could be heard ringing when the narrow black handset with the gray pushbuttons was picked up in the visitors dugout on the third-base side. But with a crowd of 51,459 a few hours earlier, an unbelievable meltdown occurred. With the score 2-all, right-hander Octavio Dotel replaced Chris Carpenter to start the eighth inning and Michael Young doubled. Adrian Beltre struck out and Nelson Cruz was intentionally walked. La Russa said [...]
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ST. LOUIS (AP & Staff) — Those massive home runs that Albert Pujols hit at Rangers Ballpark, they’ll be rattling around for years to come. Same goes for those long drives that Mike Napoli delivered. A huge swing or two or three, a masterful job on the mound, a sparkling play in the field can do more than win a World Series game. They can create a legacy that lasts forever. Just ask “Mr. October.” “It absolutely can define a career,” Reggie Jackson said by telephone this week. “I’m not saying whether that’s right or wrong, but that’s how it happens.” Every fall, in fact. Someone steps up — maybe a monster talent like Pujols, perhaps a good player like Napoli given a chance when the stars align. Might even be a fringe guy — Allen Craig for St. Louis this year, Cody Ross for San Francisco the last time around. Napoli and the Texas Rangers can close out the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night. If they win their first championship, the catcher who was traded twice within a week in January is destined to part of the lore. For a long, long time. “What year did Babe Ruth call his shot? 1932? You still see kids out there, calling their shot,” Jackson said. “That game wasn’t on TV, those kids didn’t see it. But they’ve heard about it, they know about it all these years later.” Jackson hit a Game 7 home run in a 1973 win for Oakland, then earned a nickname for life when he homered three times in the Yankees’ Series-clinching victory in 1977. Suppose he’d done a little less, say, hit three balls off the wall at Yankee Stadium on that signature night. Would he still be “Mr. October”? “Probably not,” he said. Already a three-time NL MVP, Pujols put on what many called the greatest hitting show in postseason history when he tied Series records with three home runs, six RBIs and five hits during the Cardinals’ romp in Game 3. Those are Pujols’ only hits in the Series so far, with Texas often pitching around him or simply issuing intentional walks. Yet if the Cardinals win the championship, chances are his pulverizing performance will be the featured shots in replays. In Game 5, Texas manager Ron Washington made Pujols the first player in World Series history [...]
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(AP & Staff) — Not-so-instant replay. Game 5 started the same way Game 4 did, with a lineout by Rafael Furcal to Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre. Tough start for Furcal on his 34th birthday. Albert Pujols swings at a 3-0 pitch and flies out to center field to end the first inning. C.J. Wilson retired the Cardinals in order. Besides his record-setting performance in Game 3, Pujols is 0 for 11 in the Series. Chris Carpenter issues a two-out walk to Josh Hamilton in the first, but that’s it. Scoreless after one. ___ This is shaping up as the most competitive World Series in nearly a decade. With the Cardinals and Rangers tied at two games apiece, Carpenter is facing Wilson in a rematch of the opener. It’s the first time the Series has been tied 2-all since 2003, when the Florida Marlins upset the New York Yankees in six games. The last seven-game Series was the year before that, when the Angels beat the Giants. Carpenter has excelled in October, but Wilson has been a dud. A 16-game winner during the regular season with a 2.94 ERA, the Texas ace is 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA in four postseason starts this year. Those numbers could cost him some serious cash, too, because Wilson can become a free agent next month. This is his last chance to prove to potential suitors that he can thrive under pressure in a big postseason game. No pitcher has ever lost four times in one postseason, according to STATS LLC. Wilson walked six and lost to Carpenter 3-2 in Game 1, though the lefty threw the ball better than he had in his previous playoff outings. The fiery Carpenter is 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA in four starts this postseason. The only time he didn’t win, he was pitching on three days’ rest for the first time in his career. Carpenter owns eight career postseason wins, tied with Yankees closer Mariano Rivera for the most among active pitchers. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made a change to his lineup for Game 5, inserting Skip Schumaker in center field. Schumaker, who is batting eighth, replaced slumping Jon Jay, who is 0 for 14 in the Series. The scrappy Schumaker, who mostly played second base this season, missed the NL championship series because of a strained muscle on his right side. He has one at-bat [...]
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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP & Staff) — Inning by inning, this World Series is getting more intriguing. Derek Holland provided the latest twist, boosted by a pregame pep talk from his manager. The Texas lefty shut down the St. Louis Cardinals on two hits into the ninth inning, and the Rangers won 4-0 Sunday to even things at 2-all. A day after Albert Pujols set a team record by scoring 16 runs in a postseason game, they never got close against Holland. “When I came off the field, arm hairs are sticking up. It’s not like I have much, but man, it was tingly,” Holland said. Rangers manager Ron Washington came to the mound after 8 1-3 innings following Holland’s second walk of the game. So close to a shutout, and with the crowd chanting his name, Holland pleaded his case, trying to talk his way into staying in. “He was begging,” Washington said. Or, as Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler described it: “A lot of profanity, we sounded like sailors out there.” Washington listened, then signaled for closer Neftali Feliz. Holland had done his job in Game 4, and then some. He had kept Pujols in the ballpark and the Rangers in this Series. “Now it’s a best out of three,” Pujols said. “See who can win two games. At the end, that’s who is going to be raising the trophy.” Holland struck out seven and came within two outs of pitching the first complete-game shutout in the World Series since Josh Beckett’s gem for Florida to clinch the 2003 title at Yankee Stadium. “I was very focused. I knew this was a big game for us,” said Holland, who was 16-5 with 3.95 ERA and four shutouts in the regular season. “I had to step up and make sure I was prepared.” Hobbled Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI double in the first inning. Then Mike Napoli broke it open with a three-run homer in the sixth that set off a hearty high-five in the front row between team president Nolan Ryan and former President George W. Bush. And just like that, for the first time since 2003, the World Series stood at two games apiece. Game 5 is Monday night at Rangers Ballpark. It’s a rematch of the opener, when Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter topped C.J. Wilson. After that, it’s back to Busch Stadium to crown [...]
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