The Angels have acquired pitcher Zack Greinke from the Milwaukee Brewers for 3 players including top prospect shortstop Jean Segura. Greinke will join a rotation that includes Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and Dan Haren. Look out American League!
Zack Greinke career statistics
Greinke won the ’09 Cy Young as a member of the Royals
Team USA poses for a team picture.
As the Opening Ceremonies will welcome the 2012 summer Olympics, the U.S. Olympic team is only days away from competing for a gold medal. Lets take a look at the players, coaches, competition and the path the U.S. will have to navigate to bring home another gold.
With the 2012 MLB pennant races drawing near its time for teams to declare themselves buyers or sellers for the remainder of the 2012 season. Sports with Balls will be on top of all the deals as they go down in July & August. Check back for regular updates.
The Buyers:
Yankees, Orioles, Blue Jays, Tigers, White Sox, Rangers, Angels, Athletics, Nationals, Braves, Reds, Pirates, Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers
The Sellers:
Twins, Royals, Mariners, Marlins, Phillies, Brewers, Cubs, Astros, Rockies
Players potentially available via trade in August:
Jeff Francoeur, Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Matt Capps, Kevin Millwood, Carlos Lee, Josh Johnson, Heath Bell, Aramis Ramirez, Francisco Rodriguez, Randy Wolf, Juan Pierre, Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins, Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton, Chase Headley, Clayton Richard, Alfonso Soriano, Matt Garza, Carlos Marmol, Jason Giambi, Rafael Betancourt, Stephen Drew.
The Deals that have gone down:
The Philadelphia Phillies have signed 28-year old LHP Cole Hamels to a 6-year contract extension. The deal with worth $144 million dollars, the richest in franchise history and the 2nd largest contract to a pitcher in Major League Baseball history. The 6-year deal includes a team option/vesting option for a 7th season which will increase the total value to $158 or $162 million.
Philadelphia selected Hamels with the 17th pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, he has compiled an 85-58 record with a 3.38 ERA during his seven seasons with the Phillies. Cole Hamels made his Phillies debut in 2006, has been named to the All-Star game three times and was the 2008 NLCS & World Series MVP.
Source: Dodgers acquire Hanley from Marlins | dodgers.com: News.
The Dodgers have acquired 3B/SS Hanley Ramirez and left-handed reliever Randy Choate from the Miami Marlins for starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and Minor League pitcher Scott McGough. The deal is expected to be announced Wednesday afternoon.
Hanley Ramirez career statistics
Randy Choate career statistics
The Dodgers added some much needed pop to a lineup desperate for help. Of course, Hanley Ramirez has seen a serious decline in offensive numbers over the past two seasons. The Dodgers roll the dice with Ramirez hoping he won’t be distracted by the Hollywood lifestyle.
The Ichiro Suzuki era has officially ended in Seattle after 12 years. The Mariners traded Ichiro to the Yankees Monday afternoon in exchange for right-handed pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar. Ichiro’s contract was to expire following the 2012 season. According to reports Suzuki requested a trade in the last few weeks to a contending team, the moves also works for Seattle as they won’t have to deal with the pressure of resigning him in the offseason.
Ichiro Suzuki career statistics
2001 MVP & Rookie of the Year
NCAA President Mark Emmert announces the punishment toward Penn State Monday morning.
The NCAA made their ruling on the Penn State football program Monday morning. Even though they were not given the “Death Penalty”, they were handed down strong punishments that will sting the program for a long time. They have been fined 60 thousand dollars, a four-year bowl ban, a loss of 20 scholarships a season and vacating of all Penn State wins since 1998. Continue reading
Larkin has joined the halls of baseball’s immortals.
The historic halls of baseball’s greats have opened its doors and invited three more men into their fraternity. Barry Larkin, Ron Santo and Tim McCarver head the class of 2012 into Cooperstown. Larkin played 19 seasons for the Reds, he was a 12-time all-star, 3-time gold glover and the 1995 NL MVP. Santo was a Cub for 15 seasons, making 9 all-star games and winning 5 gold gloves. He was selected by the Veteran’s committee after being snubbed for many years. Tim McCarver is the 2012 recipient of the Ford C Frick Award for baseball broadcasting excellence. McCarver has broadcasted since 1980 for NBC, ABC and currently works for Fox covering Saturday and playoff games with Joe Buck.
The 2012 MLB trading deadline is only a little over one week away. As the regular season heads towards it final two months the time has come for teams to determine if they are going to buy, sell or stand pat.
What is the best way to determine what team are in a good position for a postseason run and what teams should look towards 2013?
Your answer is:
coolstandings.com provides an updated percentage chances of reaching the postseason for each team in the majors. Click here to read about how it works.
Happy Anniversary!!!! Believe it or not but the Sports with Balls Blog has been around for over a year, time sure flies when you are having fun.
Just wanted to say thank you to all those who contribute to the blog and of course all of those who have taken time to read the blog.
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