Mariano Rivera tears ACL

The greatest closer of all time has been sidelined due to an unfortunate injury during batting practice today. Apparently Mariano Rivera likes to shag balls during batting practice so that he can stretch all of his muscles playfully. He also jokes with manager Joe Girardi that someday he hopes to play in the outfield. Rivera was racing back to catch a ball near the warning track, when he crumpled to the ground grasping his right knee. An MRI tonight has confirmed that he has a tear in his right ACL. Rivera is 42 years old and possibly in his last season of baseball with the Yankees, and hoped to have a successful year without any problems. Unfortunately, that will not be the case. The all time saves leader with 608, hoped to continue increasing that number for the rest of the season, but as of right now, there is no timeline for his return. The 5 time World Series Winner, 12 time All-Star, and record holder will be sure to come back. More news to come later, but I hope the Sandman has not fallen to sleep.

Roy Halladay Leaves the Phillies

Roy Halladay has reportedly left the Phillies to go back to home attend to a family matter, but should return when the Phils go to DC against the Nationals. Apparently Halladay spoke to Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee on Tuesday that he needed to leave, but Manuel still had him pitch on Wednesday. Before last night Roy Halladay was 107-0 when his team gives him a 4 run lead, and after last night, he's now 107-1. Halladay was 42-4 in 50 starts when the Phillies give him the lead, before last night's start. So now we step back and look and see what exactly was going on with Roy Halladay. What is the pressing matter with his family that he had to return home for and asked to do so Tuesday? Obviously, his head was not in last night's game and he was thinking about his family's well-being rather than pitching. That's hard to comprehend because Phillies fans know that Halladay is a perfectionist when it comes to pitching and always puts his best stuff out there. Last night was only the second time in his career that he gave up 12 or more hits and 8 or more earned runs. Something must be wrong with Doc. Pressure at home and pressure on the field must finally be getting to Roy Halladay because the Phillies' offensive struggles are still being put on the pitching. Last night the Phil's offense was amazing, but the pitching faltered. As the ace of a team trying to compete in the tight race for the National League East, Roy Halladay has to pick up the slack, especially since Cliff Lee was placed on the DL. The story following Halladay's family matter is still developing and hopefully everything is ok with the Doc and his loved ones. He is expected to come back Friday, but nothing is guaranteed.

Weaver Throws No-Hitter

No clever title today, I've seen enough puns and witty titles about Jered Weaver's no-hitter, all of which take away from the greatness of a no-hitter. There have been 274 no-hitters in Major League history, which includes 21 perfect games. Within the past 10 years, 22 no-hitters have been pitched, 5 of which were perfect games, and of those 22 no-hitters, 10 were pitched within the last 2 years. So call it what you may, but the past few seasons have been the Year(s) of the Pitcher. We've seen every kind of perfect game/no-hitter in which "nobodies" like Phil Humber and Dallas Braden pitch perfect games, but we also see the aces come out like Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, and now Jered Weaver. Weaver threw 9 innings of no-hit ball, with 121 pitches, 9 strikeouts, and 1 walk, the no-hitter was complete. There was a chance of a perfect game until there was one out in the 7th inning where Weaver issued a walk. But there was only one thing on Jered Weaver's mind when getting ready to go out to the mound in the 9th inning: using the men's room. So, he went, came back, and got the last three outs. Weaver had enough on his mind, let alone adding his pressing bladder to the situation. With this win, the struggling Angels swept the Twins for their first three game winning streak of the year.

Newcomer CJ Wilson told Weaver a week before after Phil Humber's perfect game that it was time for him to throw his no-hitter, to which Weaver replied, "No chance." Weaver's no-hitter is the 10th in Angels franchise history, 4 of which belong to Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. The last no-hitter for the Angels was pitched by Ervin Santana, who still plays for the Angels, last year on July 27th. If you can remember, Santana's no-hitter was not a shutout of the Cleveland Indians, but The Indians scored a run in the game in the first inning as a result of an error, a stolen base and a wild pitch. It was an unbelievable night for the fans, for the Angels, and for Jered Weaver. Last year Weaver resigned with the Angels for less money so he could pitch for his hometown team, and the fact that he pitched his no-hitter at home was truly remarkable. Congratulations Jered Weaver.

But on a funny note:

Albert Pujols Homer-less in April

It's May 2nd, and I was hoping by the end of April, the Philadelphia Phillies would have a record of .500 or better, but one city is hoping for something more. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signed Albert Pujols to a 10-year $240 million contract this off season, hoping for a chance at having one of the greatest players of all time on their team. But as of right now, it looks like the Angels spent a lot of money for little return. Albert Pujols' trophy room has 3 MVP awards, 2 Gold Gloves, 6 Silver Sluggers, a Rookie of the Year award, and 2 World Series rings. He is a man who has 6.88% of all MVP shares, to which the only two people ahead of him are Stan Musial and Barry Bonds. Pujols has 445 homeruns, 80 of which were hit in the month of April, meaning that 17.9% of his homeruns are in April. If you still do not know what I am talking about, or have not been following baseball, Albert Pujols has not hit a homerun! With very little production, the Angels are now 9-15 in the AL West, and to put things in perspective: if you're team is below both the Athletics and the Mariners, you're in trouble. Pujols has been given a lot of attention due his lack of hitting the long ball, and is putting pressure on Prince Albert. I even made a bet during an at-bat that Albert would hit a homerun, and he was walked, saving me $50. Across the city of Los Angeles, Matt Kemp has hit 12 homeruns and only makes $7 million a year, while Pujols is making much more, maybe the money is slowing his swing down. Albert is hitting .208 this season in 96 at-bats with 8 doubles, and 5 RBIs. Half way across the country, Pujols' main replacement Carlos Beltran has already hit 5 homers, are Cardinals fans happy? I would think so, especially since they are still salty about losing Pujols in the first place, and are looking for some form of sweet revenge. I for one know not to underestimate Pujols because he can hit, he is Albert Pujols for crying out loud! I'm not writing him off, but he certainly needs to start producing if the Angels want a chance in the AL West.

#BeastMode

The term "Beast Mode" is thrown around Major League Baseball quite often now, and older fans may not understand the whole idea of Beast Mode or what a hashtag is. Well here you go #Beastmode. Following baseball players on Twitter offers a lot of insight to what happens off the field. Most players are just like you and me, they have kids, go to church, go shopping, and strive to win. Many players post about the day's game, like Andrew McCutchen posted the other day about how upset he was with his error that cost the Pirates the game. But back to my main point of Beast Mode. In 2011, the National League MVP award went to Ryan Braun with Matt Kemp finishing in 2nd. But after the off season, there were rumors of Ryan Braun taking performance enhancing drugs. After clearing his name, Braun went back to baseball, and Matt Kemp started a journey that the hopes to finish at the end of this season. Kemp wants that award. And as of right now, Matt Kemp is leading the Majors in batting average .417, homeruns - 12, RBIs - 25, and runs scored - 24. He is in BEAST MODE, he is the epitome of beast mode, and through 23 games, Kemp is leading the blazing hot Dodgers to a 16-7 record. Where is Ryan Braun? Well, through 22 games, Braun has 7 HRs, 2 3Bs, 5 2Bs, 3 SBs, and a .294 batting average. Those are still great numbers, but after losing Prince Fielder in Milwaukee, Braun has lost someone to bring him home, to help that lineup win games. So who will finish the season with better numbers? I can't say that. I can't even say that Kemp will win the NL MVP, but as of right now, he has my vote, and I do not see him slowing down any time soon. Rumors have been going around that Kemp could be the first player to be in the 50-50 club, hitting 50 homeruns and stealing 50 bases. I love Ryan Braun, that's a fact. As for Matt Kemp, I think that he is a standup player, who has been increasing his numbers every year, and hopes to continue that. A few years ago it used to be Andre Eithier and Matt Kemp battling for who would be the Dodgers #1 outfielder, and in recent years, Kemp has won. Right now, the only person to come close to touching Matt Kemp is Josh Hamilton, who will be out for a couple days with back problems, and with that, I think Kemp will try to cushion his RBI totals and continue his warpath against the Rockies. Good luck to Matt Kemp in attempting his MVP campaign and 50-50 club, and good luck to Ryan Braun on posting his incredible numbers like he always has.

Bryce Harper: The "Lebron" of Baseball

Bryce Harper has been referred to as many names, but the first time I read about him, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headlines, "The 'Lebron' of Baseball" and that title stuck with me. Now, let's consider what has happened between now and then, Harper dropped out of high school to pursue his career in the Majors. When Harper was 17, he was being scouted at a New York Yankees training camp, where he pitched, caught, and played outfield. Harper was a natural catcher, but we all know too well that most catchers career's are cut short due to problems with their knees deteriorating. Bryce was then drafted as a second pick by the Washington Nationals and converted to a full-time outfielder, he now predominately plays left field, but also is able to play center (right field being taken by Jayson Werth). In his debut at-bat, nothing special happened, Harper hit a soft grounder back to the mound and was forced out at first. His second at-bat was a slamming double to straight-away center, and was only a few feet short of a homerun. In his last at-bat of the game, Harper hit a sacrifice fly for his first RBI of his MLB career. He also flashed his glove in Sunday's game by making a great catch off a hard hit ball from Juan Uribe, slammed into the outfield wall, and still remained in the game. Right now Bryce is the youngest player in the National League at the age of 19, and is the first position player of the MLB 2010 draft to play. So what will happen with Bryce Harper? In my opinion, he will probably stay on the Nationals roster the entire season, but possibly could come back full-time in September. Who knows? The Nationals could keep him on the entire season and he could become Rookie of the Year, and the Nationals will have him help to winning their first NL East Pennant. I don't know if all of that will happen, but I do know Harper's track record. He once hit a 570 ft homerun, something that sluggers now have never done. One thing I do like about Bryce Harper is that he comes from a Christian family, and Harper is not cocky about hist talent, but modest and puts God in front of everything, which I find to be admirable. I wish Bryce Harper luck in the rest of the MLB career and hope that he lives up to all the hype that people give him.

Age is just a Number

My dearest apologies blog followers, but I haven't been posting for approximately one week due to my recent trip to Baton Rouge. I was following my other love of bowling rather than posting about baseball, and in my absence a perfect game has been pitched, and that's about it. Phil Humber is his name and his start after the perfect game, he was Rocked! But as I have been looking more and more into baseball I keep seeing these names come back time and time again. I look at MLB Trade Rumors and all of a sudden, a familiar name has been signed to a one-year deal with another ball club. Favorite of mine, Vladimir Guerrero (age 37) is now working out for the Diamondbacks, hoping to make a deal sometime soon. Hideki Matsui signed with the Rays as of yesterday, Matsui is 37. Recently, Johnny Damon has signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Indians. Damon is now 38. Jamey Carroll signed a one year deal with the Twins, Carroll is 38. Manny Ramirez is serving his suspension with the Oakland A's, but once he returns he will be 40. Jim Thome is now playing with the Phillies, Thome is 41. Omar Vizquel is playing with the Toronto Blue Jays, Vizquel is 45. Last but certainly not least, Jamie Moyer made the team with the Colorado Rockies at the ripe old age of 49. Those names are the names of All-Stars, World Series Winners, an MVP, Silver Slugger winners, Gold Glove winners, and various MLB records and recognition. Who are these men? They are ballplayers and that is what they love to do, want to continue to do, and will until they are told they have to stop. Their numbers may have dropped off slightly, but they are making the team, and ensuring that their roster spot is still there at the end of the season so that they have a chance for glory once more. Some people wrote off Jamie Moyer in his 20s, but he has more wins in his 40s than in his 20s. Moyer has set the record for the oldest pitcher to win a game, and continues to set that record as the season goes on. Vladimir Guerrero gained an All-Star position and won a Silver Slugger at the age of 35. Omar Vizquel has been playing since 1989, and still manages to play first base, second base, and outfield at the age of 45. How many people can say that they can still get out there in such a demanding sport at the age of 45? Jamie Moyer is the oldest player in the Majors right now at the age of 49, and has 10 years to go if he wants to break the record Satchel Paige, who stopped playing in 1965 at the age of 59. Wrapping up this blog I know it was not what it normally is of stats, facts, and recaps of current news, but more of a hommage to the "elderly" players in the Majors. I hope they succeed in their new teams and hope these veterans can set an example for the rookies.