Posts belonging to Category Major League Baseball

Did Aroldis Chapman really hit 105 mph on the radar gun last Friday? Does it matter?  In his major league debut on Tuesday night, Chapman challenged all of his skeptics with a perfect, 1-2-3, 8th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The first hitter that the 22 year-old Chapman faced was Jonathon LuCroy, whom he retired on 3 straight pitches: 98mph fastball, a filthy 86mph slider, 102 mph fastball, and then another untouchable 87 mph slider.

He then retired the next two hitters, Craig Counsell and Carlos Gomez, on weak groundouts that more than likely have their hands hurting today.

(more…)

According to Rotoworld, Manny Ramirez is not currently in the Chicago White Sox starting lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Indians.  After many were disappointed that Manny was not available for Monday’s contest, we quickly learned that Ramirez’s flight from Los Angeles was scheduled to arrive in Cleveland this afternoon, and that he would undoubtedly be in Tuesday’s lineup.

For those who wish to remain hopeful about Ramirez making his White Sox debut tonight, remember that there are still several hours until the game’s scheduled start time.

Considering that Ramirez has been a regular on the All-DL Team this season, it wouldn’t surprise me if his inclusion in the starting lineup was a game time decision.  Ozzie will most likely let him stretch and take batting practice before having a street-spanish-riddled coversation with him about whether he is able to play.

Currently, Mark Kotsay has been penciled in as the White Sox DH for tonight’s game against the Tribe.

On Monday night, Mike Moustakas established a new precedent for what we call a “career night.”  After being named the Texas League Player of the Year earlier in the day, Moustakas lead the Royals’ AAA affiliate Omaha Royals to a 23-5 route of the Round Rock Express that featured 25 hits, 11 of which went for extra bases.  Since being selected 2^nd overall in the 2007 draft, Moustakas has mashed his way through the Royals minor league system, and Monday’s performance only further solidified his place at the hot corner in 2011.

(more…)

The Chicago White Sox are set to retire Frank Thomas’ #35 on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, IL.

March 13, 2000

On August 16^th, Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neil Huntington announced that they had agreed to terms with their 2^nd round draft pick(52^nd overall) of 2010, RHP Stetson Allie.  However, due to the hype surrounding their 1^st round pick Jameson Taillon, Allie has not received the appropriate exposure for a prep whose fastball can reach triple digits.  Ranked by Baseball America as the 8^th best prospect headed into the 2010 First Year Player Draft, Allie possesses the size and strength that makes scouts drool.  At 6’4,” 225 lbs, he already has the build of a power pitcher- now it’s just a matter of whether he will best serve the Pirates organization as a starter or reliever.

As a senior at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, OH, Allie posted video game like numbers, going 9-1 with 1.29 ERA and 134 strikeouts in just 60 innings.  Even more impressive was the fact that he lead his team to a Division I State Championship on June 6^th, and was the game’s winning pitcher with a line of 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB and 13 strikeouts.  On that day Allie put on a show for those in attendance, lighting up the stadium’s radar gun with a fastball that averaged 93-96 mph and touched as high as 101.  For the skeptics out there who might not believe that a prep pitcher hit triple digits, here is a video of Allie’s outing from the championship game:

(more…)