Pujols Joins Elite 500 HR Club

The Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols is one of baseball’s all-time greatest hitters. He’s had a couple slow years since joining the Angels after spending 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he proved that he is still one of baseball’s best Tuesday when the Angels took on the Washington Nationals. The Angels won the game by a score of 7-2.

Of course their win was not the story of the night. The night was all about Pujols. He became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit home runs numbers 499 and 500 in the same game and also became a member of an elite club joined only by the best hitters ever to play the game. Members of the 500 home run club include names like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Reggie Jackson and now Albert Pujols.

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Also here's the video of Pujols' historic 500th career home run!! :-)

National's Bryce Harper Benched During Game

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The Washington Nationals’ young star outfielder Bryce Harper was pulled from Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals during the bottom of the sixth inning by manager Matt Williams.  Harper was replaced by Kevin Frandsen. The 21-year, old two-time All-Star was removed from the game due to, the way Williams put it, his “inability to run 90 feet.” That cost Harper the last three innings of the game and the at-bat that could have potentially won the game for Washington. Williams continued saying,

“Lack of hustle. That’s why he came out of the game. He and I made an agreement, this team made an agreement, that when we play the game, that we hustle at all times.”

For more on this story and video footage Harper and comments by Williams CLICK HERE! Brought to you by Outside Pitch Sports Network LLC

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MLB News: Rick Ankiel Retires

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Rick Ankiel officially announced his retirement Wednesday via St. Louis broadcaster Dan McLaughlin who made the announcement during the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training Broadcast. This brings to an end the career of a very unique and intriguing ballplayer.

Drafted straight out of high school in 1997 by the Cardinals, Ankiel made his major league debut as a pitcher in 1999 at the age of 20. In 2000 he was rated at the number one overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America. After having a good regular season Ankiel faltered in the playoffs. He completely lost control of his pitches. He had two very poor starts, one in the NLCS against the Braves and the other in the NLCS against the Mets. He lasted no more than three innings in each start.

Ankiel continued to struggle in 2001 and was soon sent to the minors. Shortly after he had Tommy John surgery and besides on appearance pitching in relief for the Cardinals in 2004, it looked as though his career was at its end.

Read the rest of the story on OPSN - Outside Pitch Sports Network, a Major League Baseball Advanced Media Afiliate

Update: Mark Mulder Ruptures Achilles Tendon, Needs Season Ending Surgery

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Mark Mulder, who is trying to make a comeback to Major League Baseball after a six year hiatus, was injured early Saturday while warming up for his first bullpen session of the spring. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reported early Saturday morning that the Angel's pitcher injured his ankle. Mulder was taken in for x-rays and it was later found that he ruptured his left Achilles tendon. The injury is going to require what will probably be season-ending surgery.

This is a major and very unfortunate freak injury for Mulder that may not have just sidelined his comeback but ended it completely. He injured the ankle during some easy agility drills during a warm up for his first bullpen session in years. 

I feel for the guy, I really do. I watched him grow as a pitcher with the A's and he was dynamic. When Mulder pitched you knew it would be a quick game and most likely a complete one, maybe even a shut out. The first time I ever sat in the Diamond Level at the Coliseum, Mulder pitched the game. The game was under two hours!! At the time I was thinking, thanks a lot Mark! But when he announced his plans to comeback I was all for it! He was probably my favorite of Oakland's "Big Three" (along with Tim Hudson and Barry Zito) in the early 2000s. I'm very sorry to see this happen to him even though he most likely would have been pitching against my Athletics with the Angels. Which if he were back to his 2000s form would have been formidable. All I keep thinking is,

 "Really? Seriously? How could this happen? It's like a freak accident! Poor guy!"

Ok, back to the facts of the story and not my rambling .... In November Mulder held a tryout session and the scouts were impressed with what they saw. It was rumored that his fastball was hitting the 90 mph mark. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim soon signed Mulder to a minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training. There were hopes that he would be able to stay healthy with his new delivery and possibly make the Angels' starting rotation. Mulder would have been battling for the fifth spot in the Angels rotation with Joe Blanton and Tyler Skaggs, whose importance just rose immensely. Angels' general manager, Jerry Dipoto, told the media,

"My heart goes out to him. I know how hard he worked, and we're all disappointed for him. Every one of us."

The former star southpaw for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals has not thrown a pitch in the majors since 2008 and officially announced his retirement in 2010. Mulder was sidelined by shoulder injuries after being traded from the Athletics to the Cardinals. A star on the Athletics, Mulder dominated the league between 2001 and 2005.  In that time he averaged 18 wins a year with 3.65 ERA.  After the trade he pitched only 12 2/3 innings with the Cardinals.  He has since been working for ESPN as an analyst.

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During the playoffs last year Mulder figured out a way to throw the ball without it affecting his shoulder by watching Dodger's pitcher Paco Rodriguez's delivery. He was able to replicate Rodriguez's delivery without any shoulder pain or strain. He has been training extremely hard since October to be ready for spring training. Mulder was confident about his comeback just Friday saying,

"That was the first day I really thought to myself, 'OK, I'm ready to start this."

Mere hours later Mulder was at the hospital getting the news that he'd have to have season ending surgery on his left ankle. For Mulder the comeback was more out of curiosity than necessity which prompts one to believe that he will return to ESPN and retired life especially given that he is already 36 years old. Mulder talked about the injury Saturday afternoon on his Twitter account,

@markmulder20 I can handle this. But seeing my son in tears when he saw me in a boot and crutches and I told him I wasn't going to pitch - that was tough.

Mulder, unfortunately, just seems to have a streak of bad luck. After finding a way to throw with his often injured shoulder, he wasn't even able to make it to his first bullpen session. It is highly likely that his comeback attempt was thwarted before it even officially started.

The southpaw has not made an official statement on what he believes his future to be. Mulder is expected to address the media Sunday morning

For More News From Around The League Check Out MLB Nation!

Mulder Injures Ankle, Comeback Sidelined

Mark Mulder, who is trying to make a comeback to Major League Baseball after a six year hiatus, was injured early Saturday while warming up for his first bullpen session of the spring. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reported earlier this morning that the Angel's pitcher injured his ankle. He was taken in for x-rays but the severity of the injury is still unknown. This is a major and unfortunate setback for Mulder.

The former star pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals has not thrown a pitch in the majors since 2008 and officially announced his retirement in 2010. Mulder was sidelined by shoulder injuries after being traded from the Athletics to the Cardinals. He has since been working for ESPN as an analyst.

During the playoffs last year Mulder figured out a way to throw the ball without it affecting his shoulder by watching Dodger's pitcher Paco Rodriguez's delivery. He was able to replicate Rodriguez's delivery without any shoulder pain or strain.

He held a tryout session in November, according to the Los Angeles Times, and the scouts were impressed with what they saw. It was rumored that his fastball was hitting the 90 mph mark. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim soon signed Mulder to a minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training. There were, and still are, hopes that he would be able to stay healthy with his new delivery and possibly make the Angels' starting rotation. Mulder, if he returns, will be battling for the fifth spot in the Angels rotation with Joe Blanton and Tyler Skaggs.

Mulder, unfortunately, just seems to have a streak of bad luck. After finding a way to throw with his often injured shoulder, the southpaw wasn't even able to make it to his first bullpen session. Hopefully for the comeback candidate the x-rays will comeback negative and he will be able to pitch again during the spring.

For More News From Around the League Check Out MLB Nation!!

Angels Give Mulder His Chance at a Comeback

Mark Mulder, now 36, has not pitched in Major League Baseball since 2008.  Yet now six years later he is getting his chance at making a comeback with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Mulder and the Angels came to an agreement on a minor league deal Wednesday. The deal includes an invitation to Spring Training which means he may have a shot at making the team's starting rotation.

Read the rest of my article on Sports Unbiased - your website for all the latest Sports News, Polls and Predictions!

A's Sign LAD's Infielder Punto

The Oakland Athletics recently signed Los Angeles Dodgers back up short stop Nick Punto to a one year deal for $2.27M with an option for 2015. Depending on Punto's production and days on the disabled list in 2014 the A's have a buyout option for 2015 of $250K.

What does this mean for current A's short stop Jed Lowrie? Of course A's Assistant GM David Forst denies that Punto's signing has anything to do with Lowrie but with the quick progression of top prospect and short stop Addison Russell, who put up good numbers at AA Stockton (29 doubles, 10 triples, 17 homers and 21 stolen bases) during the MiLB regular season as well as in the Arizona Fall League where he finished with a .307 batting average in 18 games to help the Mesa Solar Sox to first place in the East Division of the six-team made-for-prospects league.

Russell could easily be ready for the big leagues by the end of Spring Training in March. If this is the case Punto is a perfect addition for the Athletics. He could pick up slack for the rookie who while prepared for the majors might not be ready for an everyday assignment.

Punto is a 36 year old veteran who played in 116 games for the Dodgers last season posting a .255 average while providing strong defense in the infield. Lifetime, over 13 MLB seasons, Punto's batting average is .248 and he is a proven asset at second base, short stop and third base. So where is Lowrie's role in this picture? So how can the club justify saying that a Lowrie trade is not in the stars?

Rumors are that the Cardinals are needing to fill a gaping whole at short stop and a number of players have been mentioned as potential suitors. Names like the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki, Rangers' Jurickson Profar, Red Sox's Stephen Drew and potentially Oakland's Lowrie are on the list. Lowrie, 29, hit .290 in 662 plate appearances last season for the A's. Until the signing of Punto, Lowrie was looked at to be the two year bridge for Russell to adjust to the major leagues. However, there are other places for the A's to play Punto. As a utility infielder he could play backup for third baseman Josh Donaldson but Donaldson rarely missed a game for the A's in 2013 and finished fourth in the Most Valuable Player voting. He could also platoon at second base but the A's already have the 1-2 combination of Eric Sogard, a huge fan favorite, and mid season acquisition from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Alberto Callaspo.  If the A's are serious about putting Punto in the shortstop role that leaves Lowrie the odd man and with his numbers excellent trade bait.

Read this article in its entirety on Sports Unbiased, your website for all Sports News, Polls and Predictions!

2013 World Series Game Six: A TRUE STORY: The Day I Wore Red #SockSwag

 ... Red Sox crowned World Series Champions

Make no mistake I am NOT a Red Sox fan .... but I am an AL girl and there were conflicting reasons to root for either team so I went with the Red Sox (you know if you read any of my blog before about the whole mess of the hierarchy of World Series Titles, etc). Plus, I like a few of the players in Boston like David Ortiz aka Big Papi! He so adorably happy all the time, he reminds me of Bartolo Colon a bit (#TeamBartolo) and also playing for the Red Sox were former Athletics, NorCal native Jonny Gomes and the "smartest man in baseball" Craig Breslow ... As I mentioned before as well I'm an American League girl at heart so my alliegence is to the AL. 

Ortiz was named the MVP of the World Series this year, his postseason record is so good it's awe inspiring! And he performed as well or better than he did almost a decade ago when the Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918. Ortiz's lifetime postseason batting average is .295 with 17 home runs. One might think he'd have big numbers playing for contenders like the Twins and now the Red Sox combining for a total of 82 post season games having gone to the ALDS eight times, the ALCS six times and the World Series three times! But it's hard to keep an almost .300 avg  having played what equals to a full half season's worth of post season games! Yes, Big Papi has had the good fortune of playing for competitive teams but every time he goes to the playoffs he is CLUTCH and this year was no different! He deserved that MVP award! Congrats Big Papi!!


Earlier today I wrote an entire blog post about all this and much more using my phone, turns out that even though I have app on my phone - it was all lost because it wouldn't publish! Apparently my phone isn't compatible with Blogger. It's a Galaxy S3 I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. I need a new phone anyway so I think I will make sure my new one is compatible. Now I feel like I am just completely rambling but earlier I felt like I had more content and meat to the whole thing. Ugh! Frustrating much?! So here are some pics of my Red SockSwag! I will write and add more to this tomorrow most likely but for now this is all I got in me ... keep getting distracted by wanting to watch Pitch Perfect! LOL! 

I was definitely ready to watch some baseball with my SockSwag, JD, Bud Light, Diet Coke and my #OaklandKoozieSwag .... only thing missing was the pizza but it was about to arrive! hehehe!

"THINGS" brought to you today by the letter B & the number 13 (also, the color RED)

So I've figure a couple of things out ... actually after re-reading this I realize I have absolutely NOTHING figured out but that I am completely ok with that. Quick exampIe! I was going to start out this blog talking about RED #SockSwag for the World Series and I am completely ok with that ... now onto the nonsense ....

First off, I don't really care who wins this World Series. Nothing really against either team except that the Cardinals have two more World Series Titles than the Athletics (I'd like OAK to @ least re-tie STL for second all time)  and the Red Sux have the most obnoxious and annoying fans - they show up the way A's fan know how to show up - A's fans however just do it with a bit more class .... ok, they can be 'wickedly' (or just 'wicked'?? 'HELLA' makes much more sense!) obnoxious! (I still hate you girl who tried to fight me by chasing me and grabbing me by the back of the head at Game 5 of the 2003 ALDS  - yea, ten years and I am still pissed off - which quickly leads me to digress even farther off topic but it puts the damn Kirk Gibson HR in perspective a little.) It's been a decade and I still hate the way we played games 3-4 in Boston, I still hate losing that particular game five more than some of our other playoff failures and yes, I still hate that girl and most all Boston fans (I did before that day but esp after) so I guess I could say I can hold onto a grudge too! I should probably hate the Dodgers but I don't really. It doesn't hurt that rooting for the Dodgers when they win it just pisses off the gnats fans so kinda works for me! So I was only seven when I watched Gibson hit the walk off against Dennis Eckersley that many still believe changed the course of that world series 25 years ago. I guess I get it, I always said to "get over it, it was only game one." Yes, it was only game one. But it was my first ever World Series experience that included my favorite team and more than likely I didn't fully see the 1988's HR's significance the way that I look at the significance of those two games in Boston in '03 for instance. Still I may always think that that whole Boston debacle was more of a series momentum changer than game one in 1988 or I may find Joe Carter's walk off vs the Philadephia Phillies' closer Mitch Williams to win it for the Toronto Blue Jays in game 6 of the 1993 World Series more iconic. As I mentioned I was only a kid in the midst of my "first real World Series" (b/c I mean how could it count without the A's in it?) and for some reason the wins from back then are more vivid than the loses (the same goes for football) while the older I get the more the losses hurt and stick with me... like a plague. Good times the post season!! LOL! Naw really, I do LOVE the MLB Post Season which, thank goodness brings me back to my original thought .... 

LOOK HOW FAR OFF TOPIC I GOT?? OMG!!!

I was supposed to be talking about how for the FIRST time I am going to wear and debut pictures of my new RED and white #SockSwag during game six of the 2013 World Series! (See any team can have SockSwag?!) Just to preface or disclaim or What I mean is .... ok, sure, I haven't ACTUALLY MADE my own pair of socks YET but the way that I go with designs, layering, lengths and colors right now for the A's is what I envision for my own line sports teams/colors themed socks ... but again I am getting off topic here. I am NOT wearing the socks as particularly RED "SOX" (although I lean more towards Red Sox and American League victory as I believe I have made abundantly clear. If I haven't I am clearly not doing a blogger/writer's job of effectively exchanging information with other parties ... hmmm....) - more like neutral #SockSwag - especially since one, I noticed today that the Cardinals had some pretty kick ass #StLouisSockSwag on today! Either way it's gonna continue to be a very Red October indeed and this year's World Series Champion team will absolutely be wearing red ... 

St. Louis Cardinals

**COMING SOON: 2013 World Series Game Six: A TRUE STORY: The Day I Wore Red #SockSwag**

First attempt at a Video Blog .... Why I want the Dodgers to Win it All in 2013 & Other Random Ramblings!

Well this probably is gonna be one of the more ridiculous things you will see today! I was home alone bored and annoyed with some of the things people were saying on facebook. Then I began snap chatting with friends, sending mini videos and such - a couple people snapped back that they like my little rants so I decided to rant to my phone and capture it on video! This is the result ... it's probably embarrassing and  through the video most you - the few of you who actually care about my blog (so basically no one)  - will be like "what's wrong with this chick?" and it may be partially because of the unusual ways I choose my  MLB postseason picks.  Most people don't understand my reasoning and I have been trying to figure out how to upload this damn video for long enough that I can barely explain them anymore! So I guess if you care then you will have to bear with me through the video! lol!

VIDEO LINK: My First Attempt at a Video Blog



JUST KIDDING! I wouldn't subject you all to my insanity until I get some feedback (seriously I want to know if it's really bad like you'd rather kill yourself than watch another video or if it's alright enough for me to give it a try when I have a planned topic and some help) and  so if you do watch the video keep in mind that it was recorded on the fly but again if you do watch PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! THANK YOU!!

My reasons for my postseason allegiances are quirky, some are detailed and others need no explanation there but they are what they are so here goes!  I want the Dodgers to win it all and here's why: First, the St. Louis Cardinals have the 2nd most amount of World Series Titles in baseball history (11). The New York Yankees of course are number one on that list with 27 titles but with their history of having more money than most teams being in 2nd place is just about the same as being on top! My A's have won 9 World Series in franchise history putting them 3rd all time.  While 3rd is a great place to be considering there are 30 teams in Major League Baseball but there was a time just within the past decade where the Cardinals decided it was time to pull away from the tie for second! Well I want that tie back and that means the Cards NOT winning the series and hopefully not even getting the chance to! Unfortunately it looks as though they are going to have a chance at lucky number 13 this year being up in the NLCS 3-1 over the Dodgers! But as we all know in this game anything is possible! Second I hate the Detroit Tigers ... can't stand 'em. Boom, enough said! lol! And finally are the Boston Red Sox. This team has been extremely hard to justify rooting for. They are playing Detroit of whom I am still completely bitter, reason one! But I have always hated the Red Sox second to the San Francisco Giants so just being angry with the Tigers isn't enough so the approach I had to take was to ignore the fact that Boston fans are completely obnoxious, look instead at the individual players (something that also helped me pick the Dodgers to root for to win it all ... Mark Ellis! Hello? Everyone and their mom loves Mark Ellis!! He'll always have a piece of my heart, unless of course he willingly signs with the dark side of the Bay Area!) and remember that it's been a decade since 2003, the year no one really wants to talk about. That was probably one of the worst post season performance by the A's that I have ever seen. Going into Boston up 2 games only to make mistake after mistake and end up back in Oakland losing game 5 ... I shudder even now thinking about it! UGH! But the Red Sox have guys like Johnny Gomes who was a complete joy to have in Oakland last year and Craig Breslow who was great with the A's and is the so called "Smartest Man In Baseball." Also who can hate a guy like Big Poppy (David Ortiz) or a guy with a kick ass name like Jarrod Saltalamacchia who also hit a walkoff in game 2 of this years ALCS against the Tigers? Yeah, hard to hate those guys ... good people, good ballplayers! Still don't like the Red Sox as an organization or their fans but the team I can get behind. So I guess they are my AL choice and the Dodgers are my NL hopeful and if it comes down to the two of them let the Dodgers win it all. Oh and I almost forgot ...1988 and Kirk Gibson. Yes, that home run in game one was a walk off, it was against my all time favorite player, The Eck and the A's did lose that World Series. I was 7 then, 8 when we annihilated the Giants in the WS. I still hate the Giants but the Dodgers and their fans also hate the Giants so I've learned over the years to let go of the '88 hate and embrace the Dodgers in that they are also rivals of two teams that the A's are rivals with - The Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim and the Giants. So I see more of an alliance in the last 20 years than a long standing grudge. A lot of people would disagree but these are the reasons I'm rooting for the Dodgers to get a ring this season! Good luck to them this post season!