Do You Hit Your Mother With Those Balls??

Talk about a freak accident... Almost as random as a mascot detaching a man's retinas with a wiener, Minnesota Twins centerfielder Denard Span attacked his own mother with balls. (SO many male naughty-bits jokes can be made at the expense of this statement. I prefer to take the high road.)

During the first inning against the Yankees at their ridiculously over-the-top for spring training and the minors Spring Training park, Steinbrenner Field, Span fouled a 3-2 pitch over by the 3rd base dugout and directly into the chest of his mother, Wanda. Span immediately ran over to make sure she was OK. After the paramedics arrived and she declined to go to the hospital, Span proceeded with his at bat, only to get called out on strikes. Span ended up going 0-2 on the day, and left the game after the top of the third - presumably to go buy the biggest bouquet of apology flowers ever.

Top Five MLB Rookies, Destined for Greatness

Every now and again, Babes Love Baseball has the pleasure of posting a guest article from knowledgeable women who we know you'll love. Pammy Rosen is a Montreal-born lifelong Expos baseball fanatic. Since the Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005, she has been following the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins. Other than baseball, Pammy also enjoys watching NHL hockey, CFL football, boxing and mixed martial arts. Enjoy!


Every year brings about renewed optimism and this year is no different. While many teams are looking forward to what 2010 might bring, individual front offices are busy building their hopes, dreams and baseball ticket sales around the lowest of the low in baseball terms – the rookies. Some of these guys are going to be carrying bats and riding on the media bus at times this season, but they will have a major impact both this year and going forward. Here are five rookies to watch in Major League Baseball this season, as they’re headed for huge things.

Season Previews: Milwaukee Brewers

With Spring Training underway, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing with our preview of the National League Central, here are the Milwaukee Brewers.

Milwaukee Brewers
Haven't made the Series since
Brew Crew Eighty-Two.

Making a push this
Year while they still have Fielder
Eating Playing at first base.

Lost Cameron to
Free Agency, now they have
Gomez in Center.

Corey Hart wears his
Sunglasses at night, while in right,
Ryan Braun in left.

They also signed Jim
Edmonds - apparently he
Still plays baseball. What?

Felix Hernandez vs. Kendry Morales

I know this MLB 2K10 commercial featuring Seattle Mariners co-ace Felix Hernandez and Los Angeles Angels first baseman Kendry Morales has been around for a couple of months, but it cracks me up every time.

So I thought just in case you hadn't seen it yet, I'd bust it out. Hopefully 2K Sports keeps these ads coming.

Enjoy!

Babes Love Visiting Ballparks!

Hey Twins fans! Have you always wanted to visit another ballpark but you just don't feel like planning out such a complicated trip? Have you always wanted to meet Sooze or Marea? Come take a ride with the Babes on the TwinsTrain!

Planning out a baseball trip can be time consuming. You have to figure out schedules, find tickets (preferably before you get to the ballpark and you are stuck paying $300 for a seat to a guy with a trenchcoat and a creepy scar above his eye), figure out where you're going to stay, how you're going to get to each city, how you'll get around, and a slew of other details.

Season Previews: Chicago Cubs

With Spring Training underway, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing with our preview of the National Leage Central, here is everyone's favorite hard-luck ballclub, the Chicago Cubs.

Big Z's still the ace
Dempster, Wells, Silva and Tom
are right behind him

Good riddance Milton
He is a ticking time bomb
Nice OBP though

Ryan The Riot
and Fontenot at second
Big D Lee at first

Soto at the plate
and Aramis Ramirez
at the third base spot

Alfonso and Byrd
out there with Fukudome
best jersey ever

Season Previews: St. Louis Cardinals

With Spring Training underway, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing with our preview of the National Leage Central, here are the St. Louis Cardinals.



McGuire became
The batting coach for the Cards –
Will he teach them how

To hit better? Or
How to use steroids, then ‘fess
Up (cry) to Costas?

Season Previews: Los Angeles Angels

With Spring Training underway, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing with our preview of the American League West, here are the Los Angeles Angels.

They won the AL
West the last three seasons. Will
They again this year?

Lost Vlad, but they got
Matsui – he’s still pretty
Good for thirty five.

Bobby Abreu
Is also getting on in
Years. Still got it too.

Torii Hunter: Great
Player, not so great when he
Chooses his words. Oops.

Fernando Rodney
Will get more than a few K's.
Lost Lackey, Matthews.

Aybar, Napoli,
Weaver - can they win it? My
Bet's on Seattle...

[Angels Win] | [Halos Heaven] | [Halo Hangout] | [The Dugout]

Welcome to Fantasyland

Filmed during the 2008 baseball season, Fantasyland follows fantasy baseball enthusiast Jed Latkin as he goes up against the best of the best.

Latkin, a research analyst for ING and a hardcore fantasy baseball nut, beat out several hundred people for a seat at the TOUT WARS table, to test his skills against the foremost experts in the industry.

Enjoy the exciting, humorous, and sometimes scary and surprising lengths to which otherwise normal people will go just to win a mere contest of pride. Enjoy!

[Fantasyland]

Blah Blah Steroids: Jose Canseco

Can you imagine the sort of shady crap you'd have to be involved with for the FEDERAL BUREAU of INVESTIGATION to show up at your doorstep? Yeah, that kind of thing only happens on television... unless you're Jose Canseco.

I happened to be scanning my Tweetdeck this afternoon when @JoseCanseco (yes, I totally follow him and yes, aside from the fact he has a little trouble with spelling and some anger management issues, it's pretty entertaining) tweeted the following...

Man Muscles is Rich

Joe Mauer has finally agreed to a contract extension with the Twins. All is right again in Minnesota.

The 26-year-old All-Star catcher inked a $184 million, eight-year contract Monday at a news conference in the Twins' spring training home of Fort Myers, Fla. Interestingly, he used the same pen he signed his rookie contract with in 2001 as the No. 1 pick in the draft right out of St. Paul's Cretin-Derham Hall High School.

Ron Washingon Knows How to Party

Ron Washington has called his partaking in powders a "huge mistake" last season, referring to his past use of cocaine, which was made public Wednesday when Major League Baseball announced that he failed a drug test last summer.

Before apologizing for partying like a rock star, the Texas Rangers manager offered to resign as the Rangers' skipper, but team president and former badass Nolan Ryan was not having it.

"I made a huge mistake and it almost caused me to lose everything I have worked for all of my life," he said. "I am not here to make excuses. There are none."

Babes Love Brawls

Monday's contest between the Mariners and the Diamondbacks saw the benches clear and Cliff Lee get ejected for... not knowing how to pitch?

Lee was tossed for supposedly trying to hit Arizona catcher Chris Snyder in the bottom of the third inning. There had been an incident in the first where Snyder ran into Lee, who was trying to cover home, and knocked him down. "All I know was I was rolling on the ground," Lee said. "I got knocked down. I didn't see it all. I was looking at the play." Hmmm. Lee claimed this had nothing to do with the poorly placed pitch, instead saying that he was having a hard time landing inside pitches that day. If Lee wasn't one of the best pitchers in the game, we might have believed him....

Season Previews: Texas Rangers

With Spring Training underway, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing with our preview of the American League West, here are the Texas Rangers.



The Texas Rangers
Are a fairly young team. The
Roster’s still not set.

Taylor Teagarden
And Saltalamacchia
Vying for catcher.

Fat Elvis Out of Commission

Lance Berkman will not be participating in baseball-related activities for a few weeks after undergoing minor surgery on his left knee Saturday.

Since his recovery time is scheduled for 2-4 weeks, he may even be on the bench for Opening Day, which means Geoff Blum would likely start in his place.

The Houston Astros first baseman hurt his knee doing a base running drill on March 1, and initial tests showed only a bruise. After playing in five spring games, the knee continued to swell, so their team doctor recommended arthroscopic surgery like he had on the same knee back in 1999.

The Milton Bradley Insanity Time Line

*Constantly updated every time Milton gets out of hand*

Milton Bradley is nuts. You know it, I know it. This insanity is clearly a large contributing factor to the reason he has gone through eight different teams over his 11 seasons in the big leagues. That, or he really likes to move around a lot.

When I saw his recent ESPN interview, I began to wonder when exactly it all went bad for him. This prompted me to assemble a timeline made up solely of the uncooperative, batshit crazy, flat-out stupid things the habitually-troubled outfielder has done. Keep in mind, the guy has talent in there somewhere. And aren’t we all a little crazy? Anyway, I don’t have all day, so we’re only going back as far as 2003.

Season Previews: Oakland Athletics

With Spring Training underway, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing on with our preview of the American League West, here are the Oakland Athletics.

How can elephants
Balancing on giant balls
Be called athletic?

What a weird mascot
Not sure if I like Stomper...
Ben Sheets saves the A's!

Bobby Crosby's gone
So is Adam Kennedy
Also Cunningham

Who signed with the Sox?
Nomar Garciaparra.
He quit playing ball

Jack Cust is a beast
Daric Barton has a job?
Well, so does Chavez

Love Andrew Bailey,
Braden, Cahill and Devine
Ziegler too I guess

No playoffs for them
Obligatory mention
of Moneyball. Yay!

[Athletics Nation] | [Moneyball Blog] | [Swingin' A's]

Cubs GM Blows a Gasket Over Milton Bradley

Jim Hendry is not impressed with Milton Bradley. Still.

Even though the outfielder is no longer under his supervision since he joined the Seattle Mariners, the Chicago Cubs general manager felt the need to respond to Bradley's latest allegations that the club treated him like crap and the fans were a bunch of racists.

"I think it's time maybe Milton looked himself in the mirror," a slightly pissed off Hendry said Wednesday. "He just didn't swing the bat. He didn't get the job done. It's really unfortunate that you ... try to use the other areas for excuses."

Raise Your Hand If You Also Thought Nomar Garciaparra Had Already Retired

Nomar Garciaparra will sign a one-day contact with the Boston Red Sox Wednesday so he can retire a Beantown hero.

Quite possibly the twitchiest player in the history of baseball, Garciaparra played his first eight seasons in a Red Sox uniform. He'll hang up his cleats with a nifty .313/.361/.521 career line, just four big league at bats short of 6,000.

The team is expected to have a formal press conference at 10:30am EST this morning.

Funny, but am I the only one who thought Nomar already called it quits? I guess I assumed he retired after last season when he kind of fell off the face of the game. And honestly, I also mistakenly thought he retired the season before that until I saw him sporting an Oakland Athletics uni.

Get Well Soon, Joe Nathan

Superbad Twins closer Joe Nathan, who left the game against the Red Sox on Saturday due to soreness in his surgically repared right elbow, just delivered a crushing blow to Twins Territory: he MAY be out for the season. That sound you just heard? The residents of the entire state of Minnesota simultaneously breaking out into hysterical sobs.

Nathan had MRI and CT scans on Monday to determine if the tightness he was feeling in his elbow was just a kink from his surgery last October, or if it was something more serious. Turns out he has a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), and that could lead to Tommy John surgery. Ouch.

Season Previews: Seattle Mariners

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training camps this week, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Beginning with our preview of the American League West, here are the Seattle Mariners.

Mariners hoping for
Their first division title
Since two-thousand-one.

Beefed up their roster
Like they’re a real big league team.
Hoping it pays off!

They picked up Milton
Bradley, Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins.
Will it be enough?

Did Bradley learn to
Count since last season? Lose the
Attitude? (Doubt it!)

They still have Junior,
Mike Sweeney, And Ichiro.
This could be their year!

[Lookout Landing] | [U.S.S. Mariner] | [Marinerds]

Dominate Your Fantasy Baseball Draft

...by being super shady.

Some people might say fantasy baseball is for nerds. Boy are they ever wrong. Fantasy baseball is a game of skill, risk, and, of course, chance: the chance that half the guys you draft end up on the disabled list by May. That's always awesome.

In an effort to help you dominate your fantasy baseball draft, I've compiled a short but effective list of ways to assist you in doing so.

Continue reading and comment on this story at Fantasy Pros 911.

Season Previews: Cleveland Indians

With Spring Training games starting this week, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing on with our preview of the American League Central, here's Melissa with the Cleveland Indians.

I think that I shall never see
a tea mug lovely as Grady's...


Oh, wait - we're supposed to do haiku. Never mind.

Tribe fans all want to
wipe '09 from history books,
forget it ever happened.

Eri Yoshida: Still Kicking Ass

A year ago this month, we wrote about a 17-year-old, 114-pound, Japanese knuckleballer named Eri Yoshida.

The Kobe 9 Cruiser made history last March by becoming the first female to ever play professional baseball in Japan. Pretty impressive. These days, Yoshida is still kicking ass and taking names: like fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, whose delivery she studied on video as a young girl.

Banning Maple Bats Means the Unfortunate End of Xtreme Baseball Watching

Seriously, how many more eyes need to get poked out before Major League Baseball just bans maple bats all together? Look at those terrified fans to your left, splintered shards of wood hurling toward them at a dizzying pace. It’s quite hilarious alarming.

Then again, you should always be aware of your surroundings when at a baseball game. Not only could a maple bat split in half and fly into the stands to impale you or a loved one, but there is also a risk of foul balls and home runs smoking you in the head when you’re innocently flagging down the beer vendor.

Yes, maple bats have been providing endless excitement for casual fan for many years now.

Continue reading and comment on this story at SportsUntapped.

Speaking of bats hitting baseballs and smashing into pieces due to unadulterated badassery, here is Joe Mauer's new MLB 10: The Show commercial. It's awesome, obviously.

A Little Help From My Friends?

As John Lennon and Paul McCartney once cooked up in a swirl of psychedelic delusion, "I get by with a little help from my friends."

As many of you know, I am a student at St. Cloud State University, currently studying criminal justice, journalism and broadcasting. Weird combo, I know.

Anyhow, I'm in a rather enjoyable rhetorical and analytical writing class this semester and I need some help on a paper I've been assigned. It's a persuasive essay on a semi-controversial topic, with my assigned persuasion being from the minority end.

Naturally, as a rabid baseball fan, I've chosen to write about the Steroid Era and its relation to the Hall of Fame. It seems the majority of fans (and the voting members of the BBWAA) feel steroids have no place in the Hall. That will be apparent when Mark McGwire's 23.7 percent of the votes he received in 2009 drops even farther next year thanks to his recent admission of performance-enhancing drug use. Unless he gets brownie points for honesty? Probably not.

Season Previews: Detroit Tigers

With Spring Training games starting this week, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Continuing on with our preview of the American League Central, here are the Detroit Tigers.

Go Tigers, meow!
Will Jim Leyland quit smoking?
Poor Marlboro

Miguel Cabrera
Is not an alcoholic
He's just a mean drunk

Justin Verlander
Motor City Kitty ace
Can't wait for Scherzer

Jackson in center
They picked up Johnny Damon
For $8 million bucks

Joel Zumaya
The Guitar Hero-rocking
Klutzy reliever

Everett at short
Brandon is the Angry Inge
When he can't hit bombs

We really are sad
Leyland can't smoke inside the
Clubhouse this season.

[Detroit 4 Lyfe] | [The Detroit Tiger Weblog] | [Motor City Bengals]