Red Sox 4, Pirates 2

Times wires
Sunday, June 26, 2011

Red Sox 4, Pirates 2

PITTSBURGH — Andrew Miller picked up his first win with Boston with six solid innings as the Red Sox snapped a four-game losing streak. Miller, recently promoted from the minors, earned his first AL victory since 2007 with Detroit. Pittsburgh tied a season high with four errors.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/red-sox-4-pirates-2/1177460

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Review

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No matter who wins the debt showdown, we lose

We?ve hit a point in the debt ceiling negotiations where I can?t figure out if they?re going very well for the Democrats or very poorly. The only thing I?m sure of is that they?re going very poorly for the American people.

There are two plausible paths to a deal on the debt ceiling. One is that the two parties come to a negotiated compromise. The other is that they don?t, and the government either defaults on its debt or stops paying military salaries and Social Security benefits, and voters and investors force the government to come to a deal. One path requires concessions on both sides. The other requires catastrophe to put so much pressure on one side or the other that they break.

Republicans are betting that the Democrats don?t have the stomach for a catastrophe, and that a negotiated compromise is essentially inevitable. As such, their leverage is their credibility when threatening catastrophe. The first part of that plan was walking away from the negotiations. The second part of that plan was to have each member of the leadership make strong, unqualified statements that there will be no tax increases in the final legislation. They?ve left themselves no further room to maneuver. Boehner will tell the president that having watched his ambitious lieutenant abandon the talks, and having been forced to say what he?s said, he simply can?t cut a deal that includes both higher taxes and his political survival.

Democrats are betting that Republicans don?t have the stomach to be blamed for a catastrophe. As the Republicans have gotten increasingly hot, they?ve remained notably cool. While Mitch McConnell is saying that the administration ?is acting in bad faith? and ?it?s not enough for the president to step in front of a microphone every once in a while and say a few words that someone hands him to say about jobs and the economy,? White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is refusing to return fire. ?We are confident that we can continue to seek common ground and that we will achieve a balanced approach to deficit reduction,? he said today. Obama is similarly insistent on sticking to kumbaya themes. ?I have a larger vision for America,? he said today, ?where we work together, Democrats and Republicans, to live within our means, to cut our deficit and debt, but also to invest in what our economy needs to grow.?

As the Democrats understand it, their leverage is ensuring the public blames the Republicans for the consequences of letting the debt ceiling cave in. And Republicans are playing right along. When Eric Cantor abandoned the debt talks, he said, ?the vice president deserves a great deal of credit for his leadership in bringing us this far,? and admitted that Democrats had agreed to ?a blueprint to move forward to trillions of spending cuts and binding mechanisms to change the way things are done around here.? Democrats, in other words, had held up their end of the bargain. It was Republicans who were refusing to negotiate a final deal. And Republicans have admitted that.

McConnell, with all the subtlety of a Bond villain, put it plainly. ?The suggestion here is that this is all just some big quid pro quo exercise between the two parties,? he said. ?This is dangerous, and it?s wrong.? Really? The idea of the two parties compromising on a debt deal is dangerous and wrong?

The American people don?t think so. Perhaps that?s why Obama is more popular than any major Republican, the Democratic Party is more popular than the Republican Party, and a deficit deal that includes both tax hikes and spending cuts is more popular than a deal consisting of either element on its own. That gives the Democrats their leverage. The Republican Party begins in a worse position, and is positioning itself catastrophically, for a debt disaster. And as much as Boehner doesn?t want to lose support among the Tea Party and McConnell doesn?t want to raise taxes, what they really don?t want is to lose seats in the next election.

And so we?ve reached the game of chicken that was, perhaps, inevitable from the start. Republicans are betting that Democrats will break too early for their intransigence to harm them, and Democrats are betting that Republicans can?t weather a crisis atop an unpopular policy position and a disastrous attitude toward negotiations.

Whichever party wins, the country is likely to lose. If the Republicans win, we?re going to get an unbalanced debt deal that relies too heavily on frontloaded spending cuts, forgoes tax hikes that could further reduce the deficit, and rewards a reckless and dysfunctional model of negotiating through brinksmanship. If the Democrats win, we?re likely to see some sort of crisis before we see any sort of action, and this isn?t an economy or market that can handle much more bad news. Heads, dysfunction. Tails, catastrophe.

Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=db12533d50b66c953aa9e3b0f1c56a3e

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Lonnie Chisenhall: Videos offer insights to Cleveland Indians new third baseman

Tribe fans learn about their new third baseman straight from Lonnie Chisenhall himself in a pair of videos.

Lonnie Chisenhall is about to find out if Crash Davis was right in "Bull Durham," and you DON'T have to carry your own bags in The Show.

The Indians on Monday purchased the contract of the 22-year-old third baseman who earlier in the day was named the International League Player of the Week after hitting .429 with two homers and 14 RBI since his return from injury (concussion) on June 22.

In the first of these two videos, shot during Spring Training, he discusses what he perceives as his strengths and weaknesses. In the second, he talks about a Columbus Clippers June 24 win.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2011/06/lonnie_chisenhall_videos_offer.html

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Tampa Bay Rays beat Houston Astros 7-2

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, June 25, 2011

HOUSTON — Wade Davis didn't snap the Rays pitchers' interleague play 0-fer, but he did get down two bunts, one leading to a run. He made a textbook play on a comebacker by freezing the runner off second to start a key first-inning double play.

Oh, yeah, and he pitched seven strong innings in what manager Joe Maddon considered his sharpest outing of the season as the Rays rolled past the worst-in-baseball Astros again Saturday, 7-2.

"He did a lot of things well," Maddon said. "He was a good baseball player tonight."

Davis wasn't alone as the Rays won their third straight and improved to 7-1 in their current stretch of interleague play, moving to a season-high nine games over .500 at 43-34 and within two games of first place as the Yankees went ahead of the Red Sox.

Evan Longoria delivered another hands-on performance at the plate, doubling in a pair of runs as he went without batting gloves for a second straight game, while B.J. Upton (with a single and a homer) and Casey Kotchman (with three hits to raise his average to .342) also knocked in two each.

Longoria said he'll stick with the bare-handed approach after a second straight multihit game. "If the results keep coming, I really can't stop now," he said. "My swing feels good; it's in a good spot. It's not a direct result of no gloves by any means, but as superstitious as we are, I'll keep going that way."

Davis has his own good luck charm, a small wooden owl he bought in Seattle that sits in his locker, and he has won his three starts since. But the more aggressive use of his fastball and improved thinking on the mound probably have a little more to do with it.

"He was a lot better (Saturday)," Maddon said. "Strike-throwing, method, how he went after them."

Davis (7-5, 4.32) said it has been an ongoing process, and he's encouraged by the progress.

"I think I stayed under control better than I have all year throughout the whole game," he said. "Everything's coming together a little better, got some things to build off of, momentum."

Saturday, the Rays got him runs in each of the first three innings — on their way to their first 10-plus hit game since June 12 — and he took it from there. The first-inning double play, aided by Jeff Keppinger's base-running mistake, helped, and Davis pretty much handled whatever else came up.

The biggest out came in the sixth, protecting a 4-1 lead. The Astros had two on with one out, and Davis got Carlos Lee on a foul pop. Then after he loaded the bases by hitting Matt Downs, he got Brett Wallace to swing at a curveball and ground out to first.

The Rays are comfortable and confident with the pitching of their top three starters, James Shields, David Price and Jeremy Hellickson. So a major factor in how they do the rest of the season will be what they get out of Davis and Jeff Niemann, who today makes his second start since coming off the disabled list.

"If Wade continues to pitch like that and we get Niemann back (to form), we'll have a chance to win every night," Upton said. "Not that we don't feel that way already, but when those guys are on their game, it makes us a lot better ballclub."

"We haven't really seen all of (the starters) really put it together at the same time," Longoria said. "If they can do that, I said going into the season I'd take those five guys in our rotation and put them up against anybody and be really pleased with what we have."

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-beat-houston-astros-7-2/1177433

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'In time he will challenge Woods, Hagen and Nicklaus'

Under Discussion: Rory McIlroy's spectacular first major success at the US Open

Chatting are: Tony Leen, John McHenry, Simon Lewis and Charlie Mulqueen

 

TONY LEEN, Irish Examiner sports editor: Just going through the press conference transcript from McIlroy at Congressional last night. He's got a very shrewd head on young shoulders. Did he receive media training or is that just natural?

CHARLIE MULQUEEN, veteran golf correspondent: No training that I ever heard of.  But he certainly comes across as a very articulate and thoughtful young man who makes sense when he speaks - and that's something that can't be said of every sportsman, professionals very much included.  There are many good reasons for how well he presents himself.  Rory himself can take a bow because he's inherently a nice guy, courteous and affable, and has been, if you like, blessed with the gift of the gab.  He has a very sharp sense of humour that also comes across no matter what the situation may be.  All that said, I believe he owes a great deal to his parents Gerry, who is an outgoing, extremely friendly man who loves the scene but doesn't get too close to his son when he's playing golf and hasn't been averse to advising Rory pretty strongly whenever he has felt the need. Rosie is a quiet lady but a  very determined and sincere person who took two or even three jobs to help pay the bills when Rory needed to be transported all over the country when he was still an amateur.  In every sense, the McIlroys make for a formidable team.

JOHN McHENRY, former Tour professional: He has demonstrated he has a great head. The maturity he showed this week was fantastic. He answered everything including people talking about Augusta and him winning the US Open. He lead from the start he wants to be there.

TONY LEEN: And another thing out of the presser which you both alluded to post Masters: Rory saying he should have communicated better with caddie JP Fitzgerald at Augusta. I think Chubby said something similar afterwards last night - that player and caddie had got their act together this time?

JOHN McHENRY: They were great this time. You only have to look at the first hole. A three wood short of the bunkers and a punched wedge shot into a back pin position therefore ruling out any spin or a shot over the back of the green. There was nothing to cavalier about yesterdays round It looked very easy a sure sign of their maturity.

CHARLIE MULQUEEN: I am absolutely thrilled for J.P.  I have known him a very long time, as has John, and he really is a remarkable individual.  He was an outstanding amateur golfer, as we all know, and since turning to the caddying game, has won a Ryder Cup with Paul McGinley and also worked for, among others, Greg Owen when he nearly won a US PGA Championship, Darren Clarke and Ernie Els.  He did take a bit of stick after Augusta and some wanted Rory to ditch him altogether.  JP knows when to keep his mouth shut so we'll never know what advice, if any, he gave to Rory at Augusta but whether he got it right or wrong there, it was great to see him come out on the right side this time.  He's a good guy and deserved his major!

TONY LEEN: Some media are describing McIlroy’s swing as the best in world golf? Is everyone just caught up in the flush of success at the moment. How would you rate his swing?

JOHN McHENRY: I would go along with the hype. As a striker of the ball he is so far ahead of anyone out there at the moment. That said, there is far more to golf than just striking the ball and he is still leaning all of that quickly. This course was made for his game in that it was long right to left and soft. He will have greater challenges in his pursuit of further majors, but he is already establishing an X factor that few in the world possess.

CHARLIE MULQUEEN: Obviously, John you know the hell of a lot more about the golf swing than I do but even I could see that he was totally at ease with the driver, most importantly, of all and with the long and medium irons.  His swing looked absolutely perfect, never seemed to deviate from the same plane, and whatever work he did with putting coach Dave Stockton seems to have paid a very rich dividend.  Combine all of that with the perfect composure he displayed from first drive to final putt and you have the ideal recipe for a successful golfer.

TONY LEEN: I had to laugh when the subject of a golf slam came up afterwards. Rory reminded everyone he hjad just won a first major, but going to St George, unquestionably he's now a marked man.

SIMON LEWIS, Irish Examiner golf correspondent: I think he's got a target on his back for a while after jumping out quickly at the last three or four majors but now he's made that extra leap and one won, undoubtedly we'll be seeing McIlroy at the top of the odds' lists from here on in.

JOHN McHENRY: Yes and he has the game to win so many more. The hype is unbelievable but we must remember that when we are making comparisons with Nicklaus and Tiger we are talking about careers of 20+ years. It was interesting to hear McDowell talk about him living the past year reflecting about his win and wanting to move on. Rory hopefully will win another major soon so that he doesnt have to fall into that category.

TONY LEEN: Fair point, but the natural human inclination now will be to PRESUME he's going to win everything. It might take a couple of disappoints to cool that kind of talk.

CHARLIE MULQUEEN: Marked man or not, Rory will enjoy the challenge of Royal St Georges.  It's located at Sandwich in Kent and is a sop to the South of England given that all the other courses on the rota are in the north west or in Scotland.  It's a bouncy, unpredictable place, especially, when the weather is dry and sunny, but it's the kind of place that should hold few fears for Rory and the other Irish because they all grew up playing such courses.  I think he has a great chance there and also in the US PGA at the Atlanta Athletic Club in August.  His confidence now knows no bounds and he won't care who's chasing him or on his tail, if anything I think he will benefit from the challenge.  And, yes, I believe in time he will challenge all the records set by Woods, Hagen and even Nicklaus.  He is THAT good.

SIMON LEWIS: I think he's dealt great so far with the massive expectation that's been placed upon him for so long up to this point, he'll handle all this in the same way. And to that last point, Chubby Chandler, his manager, was saying he's as good in a press room as he is on the course and it's difficult to argue with him on that. Everybody loves Rory.
Think you're right, Charlie, especially about Atlanta which apparently is very similar to Congressional.

JOHN McHENRY: I agree, but he will be carrying the favourite's tag for some time to come. No other player out there at the moment seems to have the ability to go so low so frequently. The manner of his win leading from the front much like Augusta means that mant player will be forced to play more agressively from the word go now which should make things more exciting. Mc Ilroy has significantly moved the game and the challenge on and he's still learning. Watch out for the younger brigade of 20 somethings There could be a huge changing of the guard in the coming years

TONY LEEN: Endorsement and commercially, what's this worth and will Rory capitalise?

CHARLIE MULQUEEN: Well, when Chubby Chandler and the boys at ISM are finished with this, the money accruing to Rory will make his $1.44m look like chicken feed.  Whether, say, Lough Erne, the lovely course near Enniskillen, and Jumeirah in Dubai, two of his major sponsors at the moment, will be able to afford him is another matter.  He's the hottest property in the game, knows how to sell himself very well, again largely because inherently he's such a nice guy.

SIMON LEWIS: The names he's being compared to are the legends of the game and putting his win here into context draws those names into the conversation. He got the Nicklaus seal of approval last night, the records he's broken are Tiger's, and he's the youngest winner of a US Open since Bobby Jones. That's some trio right there.

TONY LEEN: Rory reckoned that after the birdie at 10 it was his to lose. DId anyone have any doubts once he'd negotiated his way through Saturday?

CHARLIE MULQUEEN: It was interesting to watch and listen as Colin Montgomerie and Butch Harmon debated that issue on Sky Sports.  Monty declared it as good as all over before the finish of the third round and was proved right, a point he gleefully made a few times as the finish he had predicted drew ever closer on Sunday night.  Harmon was more circumspect, pointing out there was still a long way to go, and that's fair enough.  Dare I say I was on Monty's side simply because Rory was swinging so well and was clearly in control of his emotions.  Quite remarkable for a young man of such tender years and I just wish those who like to see a negative side of Rory because he has uttered one or two thoughts with which they are unhappy would remember just how young he still is.  When they were 21 or 22, did THEY ever say anything they later regretted.

JOHN McHENRY: This was a totally different Rory McIlroy all week to the one at Augusta some ten weeks ago. He oozed attitude and controlled aggression. His first hole yesterday simply reinforced his newly found confidence and status. The soft course meant that he could control things much more easily - no tricky chips or par putts. Yesterday he delivered but the biggest round of his life was probably on Saturday in my opinion because that was the day he said to the world i can going to win this thing going away.

TONY LEEN: What of the chasing pack? Will Westwood ever win the major he truly deserves. And who is the pick for ye of those bright young things referred to - Jason Day, Ishikawa?

SIMON LEWIS: Day has been very impressive the last three majors and he's got a great game, but he's so pedestrian in his play he's not a great one to watch in that respect. He won't care about that and that could be the great rivalry of the future. We know Ishikawa's got game and then there's the Italian kid Manassero. We could be in for another golden era.

CHARLIE MULQUEEN: I certainly like look of Jason Day, although I wish he'd speed it up a bit, but the longer Westwood goes without a major on his cv, the more you fear the Holy Grail of a major may never be his.  For the biggest threat to Rory, perhaps we should be looking easterly and towards Korea and Japan where the likes of Noh and Ishikawa are showing lots of potential.  And, as Simon says, there's also no knowing how far Manassero can go.  As for the Americans, they seem to be going in the same direction as their tennis players, there was a time when they dominated that game, now the best they could do at Congressional was joint third for two guys we have hardly heard of - Chappel and Garrigus.  It's a far cry from the halcyon days of Woods and Mickelson.

JOHN McHENRY: The challenge for Rory now in my opinion is to find his own zone over the coming weeks to properly prepare for the Open Championship. Dave Stockton seems to have added some steel no doubt and has given him confidence on the greens as he putted far more aggressively this week that I have seen him for some time. We know he has the game to win many more, the real challenge will come over the delicate chips and putts he will undoubtedly have to make in the future if he is to win many more championships. I like what I see so far but everyone in the game must be fearing the day he executes his half shots and his chipping and putting the same as his long game. If he ever achieves that then no one will be able to live with him. My biggest fear for Rory right now is how he handles the hype surrounding his comprehensive win. He seems very balanced as do Gerry and Rosie. He would do himself a favour to talk to the like of Nicklaus about this one as he can reasonable expect to win more and he must learn how to live with his own expectation and stay winning.

 

 

 

 

 

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/iLStEW5hWKM/post.aspx

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers must make good on promise to re-sign young stars

By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, June 25, 2011

"The big money for all teams is spent by re-signing your own guys. You draft somebody, then you re-sign them and those are the big contracts. … It doesn't take very long to spend $30 or $40 million in the National Football League. That's (through) re-signing guys."

— Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer, March 24, 2010

Whether you remain skeptical or buy every word of it, the moment of truth has arrived for the Bucs' stated intent to lock up their up-and-coming players.

For a team that has consistently, though not wrongly, eschewed free agency and maintained that its wish is to invest in homegrown talent, the opportunity has arrived to make good on those promises.

If, as anticipated, the collective bargaining agreement being negotiated includes provisions for players with four or more years of experience to earn unrestricted free agent status, the Bucs will have many such players to make decisions on, including MLB Barrett Ruud, G Davin Joseph, LB Quincy Black, RB Cadillac Williams and OT Jeremy Trueblood.

The Bucs will make earnest attempts to re-sign them or watch them walk. The latter route would mean the Bucs would be taking a path different from the one promised since the Jon Gruden-Bruce Allen regime was still in place.

GM Mark Dominik and coach Raheem Morris take great pride in the quality of players they've drafted the past two years. Gruden and Allen did not have remarkable draft success, but some of their early-round selections — Ruud, Joseph and others — are now reaching free agency. Many look as if they're worth keeping around, but we'll soon find out how the Bucs really feel.

The Glazer family, which owns the Bucs, has consistently maintained that free agency is often a money pit. The Bucs have shown you can win by choosing the right players rather than the most expensive.

But at some point, if you believe in them, you have to keep those players on your team. That time has come for the Bucs.

GOING CAMPING: Bucs players have organized the closest thing to a minicamp during this NFL lockout.

Though they can't communicate with coaches during the work stoppage, they've taken the initiative to take their offseason workouts to another level with a three-day camp at IMG Academies in Bradenton this week. Players have been practicing off and on at USF, but that consists mostly of quarterbacks, receivers and running backs.

This week, defenders will be added to the mix, giving players the opportunity to run 7-on-7 drills. Those involve quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, linebackers and defensive backs. There will be optional morning weightlifting sessions.

QB Josh Freeman will be responsible for the onfield instruction, while much of the credit for logistics goes to LB Tyrone McKenzie.

FRANCHISE TAG?: Use of the franchise tag reportedly will survive in a new collective bargaining agreement, but something that's less clear is whether teams will be able to use it when the league reopens for business.

In February, before the lockout, the usual deadline to tag franchise players came and went. Some teams used it (the Colts tagged QB Peyton Manning), but some didn't because of the uncertainty ahead.

Now, reports are that some owners want the opportunity to use the tag when the long-awaited free agency period opens. Discussions are ongoing.

Why does this matter to the Bucs? If use of the tag is permitted before this season, don't totally dismiss the Bucs using it on Ruud if they feel they're not yet prepared to replace the team's four-time leading tackler.

There's precedent. The Bucs used the franchise tag two years ago on WR Antonio Bryant, who earned $9.88 million in 2009 after the sides couldn't agree on a long-term deal.

The price tag for Ruud could approach $10 million, but word is the new CBA will include a much higher salary floor. If that mandate makes it into the final version of the CBA, the Bucs will have to spend well over $100 million in salary after spending roughly $80 million in uncapped 2010.

The franchise tag pretty much takes a player off the market. The compensation for signing a franchise player has historically been two first-round draft picks. Such deals almost never happen.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/tampa-bay-buccaneers-must-make-good-on-promise-to-re-sign-young-stars/1177381

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