MySports Today

• Looks like there is talk that the Mets are ready to make offers to two and maybe three free-agent pitchers, Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez, and Randy Wolf.  The Mets hope to get a shot signing one of them.
• The Tigers are still looking for a pitcher and there is talk that they will have a deal with Joe Deimel by the end of the week. Rumor is Joe wants to play for the tigers and the deal could be a lock.
• The Orioles have signed Mark Hendrickson to a one year deal. Deal still pending a physical that is scheduled for next week. Hendrickson had a 5.45 ERA with a 2.63 ERA in his last 14 games.
• There is talk that the Red Sox are working on a deal with Brad Penny. Rumor is the Red Sox are getting Penny at a good price.

Mike Mussina announced his retirement from the Major Leagues the other day. During his 18-year career, Mussina pitched for only 2 teams – the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, he started 536 games, he amassed 270 wins and he had a career 3.68 ERA. At age 39, he became the oldest player to win 20 games for the first time in his career (Mussina’s friend Jamie Moyer had previously held that honor when he won 20 games in 2001 at the ripe old age of 38). With a 34-start, 200+-innings pitched, 3.37 ERA season under his belt during the 2008 MLB season, it appeared that Mussina had plenty of juice left in his tank to hit the “all-important” 300-win milestone.

So why retire now? As ESPN’s Buster Olney writes, Mussina is not like most super star athletes who seek the limelight and always want to be remembered for their achievements and awards. Mussina would rather retire to the Quiet Life in Pennsylvania, surrounded by the beautiful Pennsylvania landscape and watching his own children make names for themselves in their respective sports. What a nice way to be able to go out…

Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals was named the 2008 National League Most Valuable Player. Pujols received 18 of the 32 1st-place votes, while Ryan Howard of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies garnered 12 1st-place votes. Pujols topped Howard 369 points to 308 points. Milwaukee Brewers Left Fielder Ryan Braun finished well-behind in 3rd place with 139 points. Interestingly enough, Manny Ramirez, acquired in a mid-season trade by the Los Angeles Dodgers, finished 4th in NL MVP voting, while CC Sabathia, acquired in a mid-season trade by the Milwaukee Brewers, finished 6th in NL MVP voting.

It was the 2nd NL MVP Award for Albert Pujols, who also won in 2005. In 2008, Albert Pujols hit .357, with 37 home runs and 116 RBI’s. Pujols was walked 104 times during the course of the season and he led the NL in intentional walks issued. Pujols led the NL in slugging percentage and was 2nd in the NL with a .462 on-base percentage. Pujols also struck out only 54 times in 524 at-bats. Pujols was the only player on all 32 ballots of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He battled a sore right elbow for most of the season and had surgery in mid-October to address the nerve irritation in the elbow that caused numbness and pain in his forearm. Pujols received a $200,000 bonus for winning the award.

Ryan Howard got off to a slow start on the year, but rebounded in a huge way as the season progressed. Howard led all of MLB with 48 home runs and 146 RBI’s. He had a .543 slugging percentage and a .339 on-base percentage, but for the 2nd straight year, he struck out 199 times.

Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Pinella was named the NL Manager of the Year. Pinella garnered 15 of 32 first-place votes and edged out Philadelphia Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel to win the award. It was the 3rd time Pinella won the award, but the first time for him in the NL. He had previously won the award with the Seattle Mariners of the American League in 1995 and 2001.

Pinella led the Cubs to a 97-win season. The Cubs won the NL Central Division for the 2nd time with Pinella as Manager. But for the 2nd straight season, much to the dismay of Cubs fans all across the globe, the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs in the 1st round.

Pinella earned a $100,000 bonus for winning the award – here’s to 2009, Lou!

It’s just “Manny Being Manny” – I’ve heard that quote used so often over the last few years after a “Manny occurrence”. For those of you who don’t know what a “Manny occurrence” is, just ask his teammates in Cleveland and Boston. Whether it be misplaying an easy fly, not running hard to 1st base after an easy ground ball or fly out, faking an injury to skip games, or complaining that he wasn’t getting paid enough, Manny has had a long list of “Manny occurrences” over his productive 15-year career in the big leagues. Ramirez is coming off of an 8-year, $160 million contract with the Red Sox. At 36, he is looking to get paid in what will likely be his last free agent contract. His shark agent Scott Boras is seeking a 5-6 year offer at a dollar amount close to the $27.5 million per year amount that the New York Yankees are paying Alex Rodriguez. He’ll have plenty of suitors – the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the New York Mets. Will he get what he wants? Not likely. But at the end of the day, Manny is going to get paid this off-season, financial crisis or not.

Ramirez’s current team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, has already made him an offer. The terms were not disclosed, but Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has said that the offer was very competitive and would put him just below Alex Rodriguez in terms of per year salary.

Manny Ramirez is one of the most prolific right-handed hitters of all-time. He may even be the best right-handed hitter of our generation. Some career stats – 527 home runs; 1725 RBI’s; 1444 runs scored; a .314 batting average; a .593 slugging percentage; and an unbelievable 1.004 OPS. Ramirez has also played well when it mattered most – in the post-season. He has played in the post-season 10 times – 5 times with the Indians from 1995 through 1999, 4 times with the Red Sox from 2003 through 2007 and 1 time with the Dodgers in 2008. Over those 10 post-seasons, Ramirez has accumulated the most home runs of any player in MLB history – 28. He has driven in 74 runs, scored 64 runs and walked 70 times. Ramirez has a .286 career post-season batting average, a .396 on-base percentage and a .550 slugging percentage. He helped the Red Sox win World Series in 2004 and 2007.

Do his numbers justify the crazy deal he is about to sign? Without a doubt.

Does he deserve it? No, because of his lack respect for the game.

We should know where Manny lands during the next few weeks, and then we’ll be ready to see or hear about the next “Manny occurrence”.

The San Diego Padres are shopping ace starter Jake Peavy, and after numerous discussions with several teams, GM Kevin Towers has announced that he has narrowed the focus down to 3 NL teams. While he did not name the 3 teams, it is widely believed that the list includes the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs, and one of either the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Braves are considered to be the front-runner to land Peavy. The Braves have the deepest talent of the teams in consideration, and the Braves have made a strong push to make the trade for Peavy in order to get back into the NL East race.

The Cubs have a combination of MLB and minor league prospects to offer the Padres. Pitcher Sean Marshall, Infielder Ronny Cedeno and Outfielder Feliz Pie have already played in numerous MLB games and could be made part of a package that the Cubs send to the Padres. The tricky part for the Cubs is the ongoing negotiations that the Cubs are having with their most reliable 2007 starter, free agent Ryan Dempster. It is unclear if the Cubs would make the trade for Peavy if they intend to sign Dempster too. On the other hand, a rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Peavy, Dempster, Ted Lilly and Rich Harden would arguably be the best rotation in all of baseball. With the Cubs qualifying for post-season play 2 years in a row, but going winless in the playoffs, the Cubs might just be desperate enough to unload good young talent to win now.

It is widely believed that the Astros, Dodgers and Cardinals do not have the talent to compete with what the Braves and Cubs have to offer, so the inclusion of these teams on the “list” could be a ploy used by the Padres to increase the chips thrown in by the Cubs or Braves.

It’s November, so let the “hot stove” fun begin!

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in Game 5 of the World Series to win the World Series Championship. Game 5 had been suspended on Monday, October 27th and the teams resumed play with the score tied at 2 in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Phillies took a quick 3-2 lead on an RBI single by Jayson Werth with 1 out in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Rays tied the game at 3 in the top of the 7th inning on a 1-out solo home run by Rocco Baldelli. But the Phillies answered right back in the bottom of the 7th inning with an RBI-single by Pedro Feliz. That put the Phillies back up for good with a 4-3 lead. Phillies reliever J.C. Romero worked 1 1/3 innings of relief to pick up his 2nd win of the World Series. Phillies Closer Brad Lidge pitched a stressful 9th inning in which he allowed a Rays runner to get to 2nd base with only 1 out. But Lidge kept his season-long perfect save streak alive and preserved the win by retiring the final 2 Rays hitters to give the Phillies their first World Series title in 28 years.

Phillies dominant starter Cole Hamels was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. He started 2 games for the Phillies, allowing only 4 total earned runs in 13 innings of work. He won Game 1 of the World Series and took a no decision in the decisive Game 5. Hamels was 4-0 in 5 post-season starts.

After being swept out of the playoffs by the wild card Colorado Rockies in the 2007 NLDS, the Phillies felt like they had something to prove in 2008. The Phillies clearly used that 2007 playoff experience to their advantage during the 2008 playoffs. The Phillies went a perfect 7-0 at home at Citizens Bank Ballpark, and lost only 1 game in each series, compiling an 11-3 record. The Phillies used solid starting pitching and a stifling bullpen to finish off their opponents when they got the lead. The city of Philadelphia had not experienced a championship team since the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA World Championship, and they had not experienced a World Series title since the Mike Schmidt-led Phillies won the World Series in 1980. The long wait was worth it for Phillies fans. They will be celebrating this special World Series Championship for a long, long time. Broad Street will be rocking on Halloween on Friday, October 31st when the city plans to honor the 2008 World Series Champion Series with a long-anticipated victory parade.

World Series game five is tonight at 8:00PM Phillies are up three games to one. Is tonight the night they finsh off the Rays? Or will the Rays hitting come back to live another day? Should be a great game.