August 31, 2008
by Chris Lima
River Avenue News

Good news for Yankees fans; Joba Chamberlain may be activated by the Bombers as early as tomorrow, according to reports from the Associated Press and mlb.com.

Joba threw a session (35 pitches), the first time he has faced live batters since suffering a right rotator cuff injury August 4th against the Texas Rangers. Cody Ransom and Brett Gardner were the lucky two that got "volunteered" to face Joba.

It is still unknown as to Joba's role with the team; either back in the rotation or anchoring the bullpen.

With a recent string of quality starts, Pavano's job seems safe for now. Sidney Ponson has struggled of late, so Chamberlain could bump him from the rotation. Rasner has pitched well, but has been the bearer of bad luck in recent weeks.

The Yanks look to take down Toronto in the last game of the series and travel to Detroit to face the hapless Tigers.

According to numerous news services and the associated press, Royals outfielder Jose Guillen had to be restrained by third base coach Luis Silverio while security guards removed a heckling fan.

Excerpts from Associated Press article posted on ESPN.com:

Kauffman Stadium security removed the fan, who started in on Guillen after he stopped at first base in the second inning after hitting a drive off the wall in left field.

"When I got that hit to left field, that guy started saying all kinds of stuff. 'Why didn't I make it to second?'" Guillen said. "Hey, I hit the ball hard. People who know baseball know the guy [Rangers left fielder Marlon Byrd] made a nice play. I had no chance to make it to second. I can deal with that."

When Guillen flied out to left to end the fourth, the fan's heckling apparently escalated.

"The [next] at-bat, when I hit the ball to left field, he said the magic words," Guillen said. "Something personal about my family. I don't deal well with that. That's enough right there."

"I understand who I am and the money that I'm making," Guillen said. "I understand that I'm hitting .250, and the fans are expecting a lot more than they're seeing. But the word he said, trust me, anybody would want to go there."

Posted by ESPN News Services:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds asked a federal judge Monday to toss out most of the government's case against him that charges the slugger lied to a federal grand jury about his alleged steroids use.

In a filing made in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, lawyers for baseball's home run king argue that many of the charges stem from ambiguous answers to ambiguous questions posed by prosecutors.

Bonds is charged with 15 counts of making false declarations to a grand jury in December 2003 and one count of obstruction of justice. His lawyers on Monday asked a judge to toss out 10 charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is scheduled for trial on March 2.

Each count is attached to a specific question and answer or denial. While rarely are these motions granted, in this case many of the questions were indeed somewhat ambiguous, so it's possible some counts could be dismissed, but unlikely it'd be more than a few.

Even if the judge throws out the charges in question, Bonds is still going to trial, ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack reports. It will take the judge two to three months to rule on Bonds' request.

The 44-year-old Bonds, an unsigned free agent, hit .276 last year with 28 home runs, 66 RBIs and a major league-high 132 walks. He doesn't admit nor deny using steroids in the latest court filing.

Instead, Bonds' lawyers argue that "the questions posed to Mr. Bonds by two different prosecutors at his grand jury appearance were imprecise, redundant, overlapping and frequently compound."

For instance, they argue that when Bonds denied if he had "taken anything like" steroids, he was answering a "fundamentally ambiguous" question.

A spokesman with the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco declined comment.

The 15 counts pending against Bonds are contained in a second federal indictment charging Bonds with repeatedly lying when he testified that he never used performance-enhancing drugs.

A federal judge threw out the first indictment and ordered prosecutors to draft a new one after she found some charges contained multiple allegations. The superseding indictment charged Bonds with making "false declarations" instead of "perjury."

Once in a while, baseball fans are subject to moments that will change the game for ever. Recently, for better or worse, these fans have seen things that baseball's forefathers may have never dreamed of; Barry Bonds destroying the All-Time Home Run Record, the steroid scandal rocking the game to its core, a no hitter pitched by a cancer survivor, the list goes on.

Now, it seems, baseball fans will exhibit another change to the game; Instant Replay.

Baseball Officials have determined that human error, once considered to be a beautiful part of the game, is no longer going to be a factor in the game. Instant replay will now be used to determine "boundary home run calls".

It is with much displeasure that the staff here at 108 Red Stitches has come to accept the fact that technology has once again stuck its ugly head into America's Pastime.

We have only one comment to add, a suggestion per say. We're hoping that baseball puts more thought into the process and technology used to aid in the replays than they did when they began to install the QuesTec cameras throughout Major League Stadiums.

According the numerous reports from the Associated Press and ESPN.com's News Wire Services, ex-Yankee hurler Hideki Irabu was arrested for assaulting a bartender after having "many beers".

According to the Associated Press:

Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu was arrested Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a bartender after drinking 20 mugs of beer, a police official said.

Irabu, 39, became angered after his credit card was rejected. He then allegedly pushed the bartender against the wall, pulled his hair and smashed at least nine liquor bottles at a bar in Osaka, western Japan, a police official said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

The bartender sustained no injuries. Irabu paid the bill with another credit card.

The police official said Irabu admitted the assault.

August 19, 2008
by Chris Lima
River Avenue News

Former CBS Sports personality Chris "Mad Dog" Russo will be joining the likes of Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, and Bubba the Love Sponge as Sirius Radio announced his hiring.

Russo is best known for his weekday drive home radio show, Mike and the Mad Dog on CBS Radio. Russo was recently let go from the show, and after a tearful goodbye, Chris and Mike finally went their separate ways (the two were known to have had a rocky relationship, at best).

Russo, as many Yankee fans are accustomed to, is a ardent San Fransisco Giants fan, and despises both of New York's major sports teams (Baseball-Yanks, Football-Giants).

Sirius announced the signing of Russo, in a press release on their website:

NEW YORK, Aug 19, 2008 /-- SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) announced today that it has signed renowned sports talk personality Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, the former star of the Mike and the Mad Dog show, to a five-year contract to headline a new sports talk channel exclusively available on SIRIUS and XM.

Mad Dog's recent departure from the market-leading Mike and the Mad Dog has been national news in recent days -- a dramatic reflection of his loyal fan base, huge popularity and strong name recognition. Mad Dog is known for having helped popularize the sports talk radio format across the country and speculation on his next step has been high.

"Mad Dog's fans are passionate about their sports and passionate about where they get their sports news and commentary from -- these are the listeners that any audio entertainment company would want," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio. "Having Mad Dog on SIRIUS and XM will fuel subscriber growth and create new and exciting opportunities for advertisers. Choose whatever sports analogy you want -- this is a big win."

According to ESPN.com news services, the Los Angeles Dodgers are set to acquire Greg Maddux from the San Diego Padres:

The team had agreed to the terms of a deal with the Padres for veteran right-hander Greg Maddux, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night because no announcement had been made.

It's unclear what the Padres will receive in return for the 42-year-old Maddux. MLB.com reported on Monday night that the Padres would receive two players to be named later. The trade, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, was expected to be announced Tuesday.

According to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, no deal had been reached Monday night, but conversations are ongoing. Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch and general manager Ned Colletti would not confirm the deal to the Times either.

Atlanta, Georgia
By Chris Lima
River Avenue Staff Writer


The AL Central leading Chicago White Sox acquired Reds' outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., adding a bit of offense to their lineup. It's not currently known where or how Griffey will play in this lineup, but it was a huge addition to their lineup.

The Manny Ramirez saga is officially finally over in Boston, a last minute trade involving the Dodgers and the Pirates rid Beantown of their perpetual whiner.

The Dodgers received Manny from the BoSox and send third
outfielder Brendon Moss from the Red Sox, in exchange for left fielder Jason Bay.

The Bay trade is a bonus for the Red Sox; addition by prevention. The Tampa Bay Rays were holding talks with the Pirates, attempting to move Bay into Tropicana Field. The request from the Pirates was a bit high, and Tampa Bay quickly fell out of favor.

Ramirez is reunited with former BoSox teammate, Nomar Garciaparra, and joins former rival manager Joe Torre in what looks to be an extremely

The Yankees made a significant improvement to their lineup by adding Pudge Rodriguez and shipping Farnsworth over to Detroit. They also added former Bucs Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to help solidify their outfield and rotation, respectively. baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pirates. The Pirates also received RHP Craig Hansen and crowded Dodger outfield (Matt Kemp, Juan Pierre, Andre Either, and Andruw Jones).