The Baseball Thread

dumping somewhere in the neighborhood of $275 mill, it smells an awful lot like
the sawx are positioning themselves for a big off-season free agent signing.

if so, they have learned nothing from their past mistakes...

this begs the question...

why have a "trading deadline" on july 31st when a massive block-buster can still happen on august 25th?

the royals are pounding the sawx today.

it's gotta feel good to unload Beckett and Crawford.

Next up, Valentine?

it's all about the cash now...

besides the dodgers, who claimed anyone after July 31st?

Rockhead wrote:

ok.

it's early, but hey...

who do you like for the world series this year?

I like Detroit and the Reds.

rooting for SF, but I don't see it. damn that Zito...

Angels over the Nats.

Melky Cabrera recuses self from title

Melky Cabrera lost the right to play baseball by failing a drug test and now he has given up
his chance to win the National League batting title.

Cabrera was disqualified from the NL batting honor at his own request when Major League
Baseball and the players' association agreed Friday to a one-season-only change in the rule
governing the individual batting, slugging and on-base percentage champions.

Serving a 50-game suspension, the San Francisco Giants slugger entered Friday with a league-
leading .346 average, seven points ahead of Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen. Cabrera, the
All-Star game MVP, was suspended Aug. 15 for a positive test for testosterone and is missing
the final 45 games of the regular season.

Cabrera had 501 plate appearances, one short of the required minimum, but would have won
the title under section 10.22(a) of the Official Baseball Rules if an extra hitless at-bat were
added to his average and he still finished ahead. With Friday's agreement, that provision won't
apply this year to a player who "served a drug suspension for violating the Joint Drug Program."

he process for the change was set in motion Wednesday evening when Cabrera's agent, Seth
Levinson, sent an email to union head Michael Weiner with an attached letter from Cabrera in
English and Spanish.

"I ask the Players Association to take the necessary steps, in conjunction with the Office of the
Commissioner, to remove my name from for the National League batting title," Cabrera wrote
in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

"To be plain, I personally have no wish to win an award that would widely be seen as tainted,
and I believe that it would be far better for the remaining contenders to compete for that
distinction," Cabrera wrote. "So too, the removal of my name from consideration will permit
me to focus on my goal of working hard upon my return to baseball so that I may be able to
win that distinction in a season played in full compliance with league rules. To be plain,
I plan to work hard to vindicate myself in that very manner."

Heath Bell Critical Of his manager Ozzie Guillen

Miami Marlins reliever Heath Bell was critical of Ozzie Guillen during a radio interview Monday, hinting
that he does not respect the Marlins' opinionated manager.

Bell, who was removed from the closer role after struggling earlier this season, made the comments on
"The Dan Sileo Show" on 560 WQAM in Miami.

"It's hard to respect a guy that doesn't tell you the truth or doesn't tell you face-to-face," Bell said.
"There's probably reasons why."

Bell, 34, has a 5.19 ERA and has converted just 19 of 26 save opportunities this season, his first since
signing a three-year, $27 million contract with the Marlins.

Bell has posted a 3.12 ERA since the demotion from the closer role but said that Guillen has not given
him the opportunity to reclaim the job.

"I stunk in April, plain and simple," Bell said. "I said I stunk, I worked hard, I busted my butt. I think
I've had a tremendous second half. I'm not closing -- I know that. But I just kept my mouth shut because
I want to regain what I had, and I feel like I can't do that."

Bell initially declined to comment directly about Guillen during Monday's interview, saying only, "it's been
an interesting year with Ozzie."

But although he did not state Guillen's name, Bell eventually offered harsh criticism, presumably directed
at the mercurial manager.

"It's just one of those things that -- what you see is what you get," Bell said. "I'm not going to be two-faced.
I'm not going to sneak around your back and say this and that."

Bell's comments came one day after Guillen told Fox Sports Florida that he defends his decision to replace
Bell with Steve Cishek. But Guillen also told the website that Bell would be given the opportunity to close
again in 2013.

Guillen also made headlines on Friday when he made public comments that reportedly angered Marlins owner
Jeffrey Loria.

"If Jeffrey doesn't think I'm doing the job I should do ... it's not the first time he's fired a manager," Guillen
told reporters Friday in New York. "Look yourself in the mirror and ask why so many (expletive)
managers come through here."