My Sports News Digest

In case you didn’t get enough of her at the Super Bowl, never fear, you can see Madonna at another sporting venue: Yankee Stadium on September 6th. The Yankees will be in the middle of an 10-game road trip then, so it won’t interfere. And I hear that Mystique and Aura will stay behind to be backup dancers. But for all of the crap Madonna got leading up to the Super Bowl – and for as bizarre and off-putting her public persona has become – I ain’t gonna hate. We all have guilty pleasures in life. As a guy who [...]

Read the full story

Updated Feb 6, 2012 10:26 AM ET The Colorado Rockies made a significant addition to their rotation on Monday, acquiring right-hander Jeremy Guthrie from the Baltimore Orioles for right-handers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom, according to a major league source. Guthrie, 32, likely will be the Rockies’ No. 1 starter. He was scheduled to go to a salary arbitration hearing Monday. He asked for $ 10.25 million; the Orioles offered $ 7.25 million. He is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Hammel, 29, will replace Guthrie in the Orioles’ rotation, and Lindstrom, 31, will move into [...]

Read the full story

Last week when Edwin Jackson agreed to a one-year, $ 11 million deal with the Nationals there were several reports that he turned down multi-year offers elsewhere. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com now has at least one of those offers pegged, reporting that Jackson said no to a three-year proposal from the Pirates believed to be worth around $ 30 million. Barring a major injury or the worst season of his career Jackson should have little trouble securing at minimum another nice one-year deal as a free agent again next offseason, but turning down $ 30 million in guaranteed money for [...]

Read the full story

Brewers, Shaun Marcum avoid arbitration Craig Calcaterra Feb 3, 2012, 3:29 PM EST Leave a comment The Brewers and starter Shaun Marcum avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract. The settlement was for $ 7.725 million, which was at the exact midpoint between their competing offers. Marcum’s 2011 was good overall – he was 13-7 with a 3.54 ERA in 200.2 innings – but he ran out of gas at the end of the season. Skip to Comments Tweet Email Older – Gary Carter makes the opening game for Palm Beach Atlantic University More HardballTalk Gary Carter makes the [...]

Read the full story

Roy Oswalt’s options seem to be dwindling. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington told reporters on Wednesday that it’s “unlikely” his team adds a starting pitcher before spring training, and now the Rangers are saying much of the same. A source explained to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Thursday evening that the Rangers already feel like they have an adequate starting rotation for 2012 and don’t want to move left-hander Matt Harrison to the bullpen to clear room. The Cardinals might still be alive as a potential landing spot, but Oswalt did not appreciate their initial offer. [...]

Read the full story

The details are slim, but they’re still cringe-worthy. According to reporter Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was spotted consuming alcohol at a bar in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Monday night. It’s not clear what exactly the 2010 American League MVP was drinking or how intoxicated he became. A Rangers spokesman told the Morning News in a written statement that the organization is “aware of a situation” but not prepared to comment further. Hamilton, a recovering drug and alcohol addict, is entering the final year of his contract with the Rangers. He also had [...]

Read the full story

To ESPN, the Pirates and Astros are “other” Craig Calcaterra Feb 2, 2012, 12:40 PM EST 2 Comments Pirates blogger Jon Anderson of The “Mc” Effect was reading ESPN.com this morning when he noticed this fun little poll about the NL Central: Look, I’m not gonna pick either the Astros or the Pirates to win the NL Central this year, but I think they’re probably owed something more than being listed as “other” in a poll about it all. Skip to Comments (2) Tweet Email Older – The DH has tainted hitting records? Really? More HardballTalk The DH has tainted [...]

Read the full story

Ryan Theriot has agreed to a one-year, $ 1.25 million deal with the Giants that includes $ 750,000 in potential incentives, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Theriot has been a starter for most of the past five seasons, but his performance ceased warranting regular playing time several years ago. He hit just .271 with a .321 on-base percentage and .342 slugging percentage in 132 games last season-which was actually better than his 2010 production-and at age 32 is a sub par defender at shortstop. Of course, Heyman called Theriot “a good veteran shortstop option” because … well, that’s what [...]

Read the full story