Fish ‘seeking replacement’ for Ozzie Guillen – Jose Reyes | FLA
2012
Tonight’s the night for Adam Greenberg
2012
For an end-of-season game between the bottom two teams in the NL East, there are sure to be a lot of eyes on Tuesday night's Miami Marlins-New York Mets contest.
The reason, of course, is Adam Greenberg, the 31-year-old former major leaguer who will get one more trip to the plate after the Marlins granted the wish of his "One At-Bat" campaign. It will have been 2,642 days since Greenberg, then a member of the Chicago Cubs, was hit in the head by a Marlins pitcher in his only major-league plate appearance.
[Jeff Passan: Miguel Cabrera sits out Tigers' raucous celebration]
Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen announced on Monday night that Greenberg would not start the game, but would instead enter as a pinch hitter at some point. Guillen seems to be approaching the at-bat like the voluntary sacrifice of one of his 27 outs — which might not be far from reality considering Greenberg could be facing knuckleballer R.A. Dickey — and so it will be interesting to see how and when Guillen elects to make that sacrifice if the game remains close.
But forget about a storybook ending with Greenberg winning the game with a key RBI in "baseball's latest storied stunt" (as SB Nation's Rob Neyer calls it).
From the sound of it, Guillen won't put him in if the outcome hangs in the balance.
From the Palm Beach Post:
Guillen said he will manage the game like he does any other game — to win. That's why he said Greenberg likely would be used without the game on the line.
"I'm not going to pinch hit him for the pitcher just because," he said.
"If I need a base hit to take the lead or something then I will figure it out another inning. I'm going to manage my game to win the game. I will figure out how to play him but if the game is on the line, I'm going to manage it to win one game."
[More: Red Sox's belly flop spoils mood for Orioles]
As our pal Ian Casselberry points out, the uncertain time of the appearance is likely to provide a boost to Marlins ratings as fans will have to stick around and wait for Greenberg to enter the game rather than see him do his thing in the first inning and then head off elsewhere.
Greenberg is expected to hold a contract-signing press conference at noon in Miami. His story has attracted so much attention that a casino in Las Vegas has laid out odds for the result of his plate appearance. A strikeout is the surest bet at 7-to-5 while a home run will pay out at 50-to-1. As for getting hit in the head again, that's lumped in with drawing a walk at 5-to-1.
Are you ready for the postseason?
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Giancarlo Stanton unlikely to return Friday – Giancarlo Stanton | FLA
2012
Bo Porter hired to lead Astros rebuilding job from dugout
2012
Over the past few years, Bo Porter has earned the label of someone who might make a great manager one day.
Next year, Porter will get a chance to prove that thought right. After interviewing for the Pirates and Marlins for managing jobs in recent years, the 40-year-old has been hired as the new manager of the Houston Astros. The news was broken by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports late Wednesday night and confirmed in a press conference held by the team on Thursday morning.
[More: Is Ozzie Guillen one and done in Miami?]
Resurrecting the Astros as they enter American League play in 2013 is going to be a tough challenge for Porter. Not only because the team will be coming off two consecutive 100+ loss seasons, but also because GM Jeff Luhnow and Co. will still be in the middle of a down-to-the-studs renovation as the team transitions into the AL West, which has become one of the toughest divisions in baseball. In those regards, Porter should be a perfect fit as he has enough youth and energy to withstand an extended rebuilding job. This was not a job designed for the Terry Franconas or Tony La Russas of the world.
Porter will have to wait to start the heavy lifting, though. He's currently still the third base coach for the postseason-bound Washington Nationals and will serve in that capacity until that playoff run is over with. Still, the Astros wanted to get this deal signed early. As Jon Heyman of CBS Sports speculates, Porter may not have lasted on the market much longer and the Astros simply took advantage of being the only team with an opening instead of waiting for next week's round of firings to occur.
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A’s and K’s: Chris Carter whiffs as Oakland sets AL team record for strikeouts
2012
It's possible your grandkids will want to know: Where were you when Oakland Athletics batters set the AL record for strikeouts in a season?
Give the youngsters some candy and tell them you can't recall, but that you definitely saw the highlight on The Stew:
Chris Carter, there must have been something out there better than the swing you put on that pitch from Rangers right-hander Roy Oswalt. No matter, I still want to believe in you.
[More: Is Ozzie Guillen one and done in Miami?]
But believe this for sure: Carter's strikeout in the second inning was Oakland's third of the game and 1,325th of the season, surpassing the AL-record whiff count set by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2007. And we all know what happened to the Rays a season later: They went to the World Series.
Speaking of specious correlations, it used to be widely believed that strikeouts were the worst thing possible for an offense. But the A's strikeout-laden season helps to prove something else. Reporter Casey Pratt, who covers the A's for CSN Bay Area, strikes up some good points:
[D]oes it really matter? They are having their best season since 2006. The all-or-nothing approach is something that has been working for them at the plate. The team has 99 home runs since the All-Star Break which ties them for the most in baseball. The team's 182 long balls this season are tied for seventh in MLB, and the club is 73-37 when they hit a homer.
Pratt adds that Oakland came into play Wednesday having scored 339 runs since the break, second-most in the AL. Before the break, they were last in the AL in runs scored. And they struck out less frequently in the first half.
This is not to say that strikeouts are good. They're certainly good for pitchers. But they're not as bad as double plays, for example. And even that's not the point. It's just that they can be overcome. Sluggers will strike out, but give me a team of sluggers, as the A's have been in the second half, and I'll take my chances. The A's did, and they're probably going to the playoffs. With a 9-3 victory at Texas, their magic number to clinch a wild-card spot rests at five and they're within three games of the Rangers for the AL West lead.
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Guillen brushes off critical comments from Bell (Yahoo! Sports)
2012
ATLANTA (AP) -- Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen brushed aside recent criticism from Heath Bell and said he doesn't respect the Miami reliever.
Guillen brushes off critical comments from Bell (Yahoo! Sports)
2012
ATLANTA (AP) -- Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is brushing off criticism from reliever Heath Bell.
Bell critical of Guillen in radio interview (Yahoo! Sports)
2012
Bell says he lacks respect for Ozzie Guillen – Heath Bell | FLA
2012
Guillen laughs off rumors of possible firing (Yahoo! Sports)
2012
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