Baseball News from L.A. Times
Dodgers owner says if fans vote him into the lineup, ‘It’d be a great honor.’
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said he would like to see Manny Ramirez play in the All-Star game if fans vote him into the National League’s starting lineup. Continue reading on L.A. Times

Major League Baseball has gone soft on its interpretation of the rules of the game.  Baseball, for all intents and purposes, has not changed its rules in over 30 years.  This comes as a stark contrast to other sports such as basketball and football that are constantly evolving their rules which inevitably allows the calls made by the ref’s and officials to impact the outcome of the game a little bit more.

In baseball, there are really only a limited amount of calls that can be made by the umpiring crew.  …

So your team just came off of one of the worst seasons in franchise history.  Ticket sales are projected at an all time low for the upcoming season.  The team’s superstars are grumbling and upper management is enforcing strict parking space rules at the practice field.  What can the franchise do? How do they erase the sting of a horrible season in the player’s and fan’s eyes alike?  Simple…You change your logo.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the Detroit Lions unveiled their super amazing stimulus plan for their …

Baseball News from L.A. Times
Rodriguez and Broxton look just fine in their closer roles, but starters Peavy, Sabathia and Webb struggle.  The Angels would not start their season for another five hours, but the time had come for K-Rod. Scot Shields sat at his new locker, the one Francisco Rodriguez had occupied for the last six years, and watched on television.  Continue reading on L.A. Times

We’ve all played sports video games before.  From the original sports games like RBI Baseball, where you could bunt for a homerun, to Tecmo Bowl where you could literally kill a quarter with a single running play.  The question still remains…Will they ever be able to create a sports video game that gets everything right?  Let’s face it, no matter how advanced the computer’s AI gets, it’s still a computer with a finite amount of movements and reactions to your input on the controller.  Don’t get me wrong, video games …

Every year or so, a sports movie comes out that is supposed to make you feel good, tell a captivating tale, break your heart, or keep you on the edge of your seat.  Unfortunately, I always walk away disappointed which is why from this day forward – with the exception of The Sandlot – I will never watch another sports movie. 
I hesitate to even put The Sandlot in the “sports movie” category because it is really more of a story about growing up, getting into trouble, facing your adversity, and …

Baseball News from L.A. Times
Joe Gordon, a second baseman who made his major-league debut in 1938, is selected by a veterans committee for enshrinement. But three stars with ties to the Dodgers are denied.  Joe Gordon, a nine-time All-Star second baseman for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians from 1938 to 1950, was elected today to the Hall of Fame by a vote of a veterans committee. But former Dodgers stars Gil Hodges and Maury Wills and current Dodgers Manager Joe Torre all fell short of enshrinement. Continue reading …

Baseball News from L.A. Times
Pitcher slips on an ice-covered step outside his Pennsylvania home. The injury adds another question mark to a depleted rotation.  Chad Billingsley fractured a bone in his lower left leg when he slipped on an ice-covered step outside his Pennsylvania home Friday night, adding another question mark to a depleted Dodgers rotation that is set to lose Derek Lowe and Brad Penny this winter. Continue reading on L.A. Times

FoxSports.com ran a story today about the top home run hitters in Major League Baseball, but it’s unclear how they came up w/ their list.
As evidenced below, their rankings don’t quite match up w/ how well each player has actually performed. Total home runs is certainly a valid metric to consider, but At-bats per HR would seem to be the most accurate gauge of who the best MLB home run hitter is thru 8/7/08.
Below is a list of the players that FoxSports ranked as the Top 18 Home Run …

The Atlanta Braves have given up on this season, as evidenced by the trade of slugger Mark Teixeira, to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. For the Braves, who have Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson on the DL, and virtually no shot at a division title or wild-card berth, the time had come to shed payroll and plan for next year.
Teixeira adds more offense to an already potent lineup in L.A. I would assume that he’ll bat 3rd before Vlad Guerrero or 5th (after him). The trade …

The New York Yankees bolstered their chances of making the playoffs by acquiring Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates. The trade gives the Yankees another outfielder who will improve the batting lineup and a reliever who will be a welcome change to the bullpen.
While the trade is by no means a guarantee that New York will reach the playoffs, it puts them a leg up for the 2nd half of the season. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are showing signs that they’re just not ready to …

The Boston Red Sox helped usher in a new 500 Home Run club member this weekend, as outfielder Manny Ramirez clubbed his 500th and 501st home runs against the Baltimore Orioles.

Manny Ramirez trots around bases after 500th home run
The historic 500th home run came against the Orioles Chad Bradford, who up until Saturday night, had given up very few home runs in the past 2 years. Manny had been swinging early in the count for several days, trying to be aggressive and to reach the milestone, but it was …

Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has come out of the closet – well sort of.
It seems that Tejada has been lying about his age ever since coming to the big leagues at “17″ (he was really 19) – Tejada is now 33, or 31, or 33… sh**, he’s probably still lying about it just like most people think Dikembe Mutombo (of NBA fame) is. While the 2 year age difference really doesn’t make much of a difference, unless you’re the GM of the Astros and you just signed him …

Home run champ and hated teammate Barry Bonds appeared in court Friday to plead “not guilty” to 4 counts of perjury and an obstruction of justice charge.  All charges stem from Bonds testimony against a grand-jury about his ties to steriod usage in MLB.  It was the first time in about 3 weeks that Barry has made a public appearance.  No trial date has been set, but rumors put it after the upcoming baseball season or even in 2009.
Barry Bonds has denied all involvement from day 1, so it’s really …