The highly anticipated Newcastle Knights Members Commemorative jersey has arrived in the Hunter and will be available for collection to Members from this Saturday August 27, from 8am.
The limited edition jersey features the names of each of the 224 players who have represented the Newcastle Knights over the past 23 years and is a reward for members who were fully financial season ticket holders prior to the Hunter Sports Group's winning vote to acquire the Newcastle Knights. This Commemorative Jersey will not be available for sale.
The Members Only Commemorative Jersey will be made available as a ‘Thank You' gift to members who paid FULL PRICE for their ticketed memberships, making them fully financial as at Thursday March 31, 2011.
Eligible members will receive a personalised Jersey Redemption Slip via the mail. Each slip will reference the member's full name and membership number as per their membership card. The Jersey Redemption Slip will advise the date, time and location information on how jerseys can be redeemed over the period of one week.
To collect in person, eligible members must present their personalised Jersey Redemption Slip, along with their 2011 Newcastle Knights Membership Card to the following points of collection:The Commemorative Jerseys have been ordered in limited supply of junior, ladies and unisex sizes and will be dispersed in a first come first served basis to avoid disappointment.
Please note: Newcastle Knights Ordinary Members and members who have received FREE or DISCOUNTED memberships are not eligible to receive a jersey. Members who paid for full or part membership, including the family friendly community membership packs after March 31 will not be eligible to receive a jersey.
2011年8月23日星期二
2011年8月22日星期一
Bring on the Yankees?
I’m still not sure if Rochester will be the host city for the transplanted Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2012, but it certainly makes for an intriguing conversation.
The Yankees will hit the road for all 144 games next year because PNC Field is undergoing a $40 million facelift. International League president Randy Mobley says there are six possible scenarios for where the SWB Yankees would play, and I’ve come to believe Frontier Field is one of them.
I asked Wings GM Dan Mason point blank on Friday is Frontier was in the mix, and he told me to ask Randy Mobley. So I did. Mobley happened to be in town to present organist Fred Costello with an award. He also wouldn’t refute it. And then in the parking lot, Wings CEO Naomi Silver asked me “Did you get your scoop?”
I said “You tell me. Are you gonna have another team here next year?”
She said “I really don’t know.”
So yesterday, I did a little more research and some off-the-record interviews and came to the conclusion that Frontier is at least IN THE MIX. So we decided to break the story in Sunday’s D&C.
As Naomi told me, there are “positives and negatives” associated with this.
I mean, 144 games in one summer on a grass field? That’s an awful big burden on the grass AND the grounds crew.
Will company pay more for signage?
Will people attend 144 games? Will more attend the Yankees games than the Red Wings games, and wouldn’t that be embarrassing if they did?
(I don’t think it would be embarrassing. Who cares if Scranton outdraws the Wings here? They’re the YANKEES Triple-A club. They’re fresh).
So many questions, so little time.
Personally, I’d have the SWB Yankees play the first half of the season in Staten Island. The S.I. Yankees play in a great 6,500-seat stadium and don’t start action until mid-June. The team would be close to New York (good for quick recalls and scouting players), and no one would have to deal with the dreadful possibility of a game every night in April at frigid Frontier Field.
Come June, shift over to Rochester for the second half.
I think it’s an offer the Wings should seriously consider. I wouldn’t do this if it were the Charlotte Knights or the Norfolk Tides. But this is the Yankees. Love them or hate them, they are hu-u-u-u-u-u-ge, Rochester.
A-Rod just finished up a rehab gig with Scranton. Imagine him in Rochester? Or Jeter? Or Rivera?
We’d be the talk of the minor-league baseball world for a summer.
Remember: This is not about staying close to Moosic, Pa. It’s about making it as convenient or the SWB Yankees as possible. If there was a city 10 hours from Moosic, but that city was within one hour of eight teams, that city would be the No. 1 choice.
It’s not about finding a vacant stadium someplace. Again, you have to be in a city that makes sense geographically.
And no, it’s not about playing road games all year in the 13 different IL cities. You think the Yankees want their top minor-leaguers on the road all year? Where would their wives and kids live?
The Wings have to make a profit on this, of course. Maybe they’ll save enough to replace that Little League scoreboard in left-center (the one with the small print).
They also can’t be burning out their personnel. There’s no reason the Scranton organization can’t relocate or hire people to work the games.
I envision a “Summer 2012″ season ticket plan, or a 30-game ticket package (15 Yankees, 15 Red Wings).
I understand the naysayers who want to keep Frontier Field the home of the Red Wings - and only the Red Wings. But those same people would be in the stands watching the SWB Yankees, especially if a hot prospect was there or a rehabbing superstar.
This may never materialize, of course. Someone else might get the call. But I found it interesting that Randy Mobley stayed an extra day in town instead of flying home Saturday. Oh, and who were the Red Wings playing on Saturday? The SWB Yankees.
I told Naomi on Saturday that she has always liked challenges. She agreed to let a local videographer go deep inside the organization for a PBS documentary two years ago. Sure, the series was forgettable, but still . . .
And Rochester Community Baseball, Inc. took over operational control of the attendance-starved Batavia Muckdogs.
Do the Yankees and Mandalay Baseball WANT Rochester? Will Rochester accept this mission if asked?
This may be an offer too good to pass up.
DURING SUNDAY’S RAIN DELAY AT FRONTIER Field, a couple of Scranton Yankees thrilled the crowd by rushing out of the dugout and sliding headfirst onto the rain-soaked tarp.
”Warming up the fans or next year,” I joked in the press box.
THERE WERE MAYBE 100 PEOPLE jammed around the visitor’s dugout at Frontier Field on Thursday night, trying to get an autograph from Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. Meanwhile, in the concourse, nearly 10 times that figure waited for an autograph or photo with Hall of Shamer Jose Canseco.
What’s wrong with this picture? And why was Jose even invited here?
Canseco is a self-confessed baseball pariah, whose former teammates won’t even friend him on Facebook. Sure, his stories turned out to be true. But if you write a book about your cheating neighbors and your thieving cousins, does that make you a Good Samaritan or a high-paid gossip?
If Canseco truly wanted to rid baseball of steroids - after he was done using them and making millions off the game - he could have quietly set up a meeting with Commissioner Bud Selig to detail his true confessions. Instead, he wrote a book. Then another.
Thursday, he actually warmed up with Wings catcher Rene Rivera before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Hey, look at me. He counted the number of fans who asked for his autograph. He refused to speak to the media. He signed his name over Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley’s, even though my friend asked him not to.
You thought Canseco was funny when that ball conked him on the head and sailed over the fence for a homer in 1993? Or when he threw out his arm pitching a few days later? That was just the beginning.
Move over, Max Patkin. Canseco is the new clown prince of baseball.
TWO SEASON SEATHOLDERS TOLD ME that there was nearly an incident while Canseco signed last week . Some wise guy fan reportedly brought a large plastic syringe and asked Canseco to sign it. He was furious and wanted to end the signing.
Don’t know if this happened, but if it did, Canseco has no right to be outraged. He made himself the poster child for steroids, and made millions off of steroids (both as a player and an author).
GOOD OLD MLB STRIKES AGAIN. The Washington Nationals wanted to wear special hats honoring the 30 soldiers recently killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. MLB said no, because such hats are reserved for days like the Fourth of July, when all 30 clubs wear them.
The Yankees will hit the road for all 144 games next year because PNC Field is undergoing a $40 million facelift. International League president Randy Mobley says there are six possible scenarios for where the SWB Yankees would play, and I’ve come to believe Frontier Field is one of them.
I asked Wings GM Dan Mason point blank on Friday is Frontier was in the mix, and he told me to ask Randy Mobley. So I did. Mobley happened to be in town to present organist Fred Costello with an award. He also wouldn’t refute it. And then in the parking lot, Wings CEO Naomi Silver asked me “Did you get your scoop?”
I said “You tell me. Are you gonna have another team here next year?”
She said “I really don’t know.”
So yesterday, I did a little more research and some off-the-record interviews and came to the conclusion that Frontier is at least IN THE MIX. So we decided to break the story in Sunday’s D&C.
As Naomi told me, there are “positives and negatives” associated with this.
I mean, 144 games in one summer on a grass field? That’s an awful big burden on the grass AND the grounds crew.
Will company pay more for signage?
Will people attend 144 games? Will more attend the Yankees games than the Red Wings games, and wouldn’t that be embarrassing if they did?
(I don’t think it would be embarrassing. Who cares if Scranton outdraws the Wings here? They’re the YANKEES Triple-A club. They’re fresh).
So many questions, so little time.
Personally, I’d have the SWB Yankees play the first half of the season in Staten Island. The S.I. Yankees play in a great 6,500-seat stadium and don’t start action until mid-June. The team would be close to New York (good for quick recalls and scouting players), and no one would have to deal with the dreadful possibility of a game every night in April at frigid Frontier Field.
Come June, shift over to Rochester for the second half.
I think it’s an offer the Wings should seriously consider. I wouldn’t do this if it were the Charlotte Knights or the Norfolk Tides. But this is the Yankees. Love them or hate them, they are hu-u-u-u-u-u-ge, Rochester.
A-Rod just finished up a rehab gig with Scranton. Imagine him in Rochester? Or Jeter? Or Rivera?
We’d be the talk of the minor-league baseball world for a summer.
Remember: This is not about staying close to Moosic, Pa. It’s about making it as convenient or the SWB Yankees as possible. If there was a city 10 hours from Moosic, but that city was within one hour of eight teams, that city would be the No. 1 choice.
It’s not about finding a vacant stadium someplace. Again, you have to be in a city that makes sense geographically.
And no, it’s not about playing road games all year in the 13 different IL cities. You think the Yankees want their top minor-leaguers on the road all year? Where would their wives and kids live?
The Wings have to make a profit on this, of course. Maybe they’ll save enough to replace that Little League scoreboard in left-center (the one with the small print).
They also can’t be burning out their personnel. There’s no reason the Scranton organization can’t relocate or hire people to work the games.
I envision a “Summer 2012″ season ticket plan, or a 30-game ticket package (15 Yankees, 15 Red Wings).
I understand the naysayers who want to keep Frontier Field the home of the Red Wings - and only the Red Wings. But those same people would be in the stands watching the SWB Yankees, especially if a hot prospect was there or a rehabbing superstar.
This may never materialize, of course. Someone else might get the call. But I found it interesting that Randy Mobley stayed an extra day in town instead of flying home Saturday. Oh, and who were the Red Wings playing on Saturday? The SWB Yankees.
I told Naomi on Saturday that she has always liked challenges. She agreed to let a local videographer go deep inside the organization for a PBS documentary two years ago. Sure, the series was forgettable, but still . . .
And Rochester Community Baseball, Inc. took over operational control of the attendance-starved Batavia Muckdogs.
Do the Yankees and Mandalay Baseball WANT Rochester? Will Rochester accept this mission if asked?
This may be an offer too good to pass up.
DURING SUNDAY’S RAIN DELAY AT FRONTIER Field, a couple of Scranton Yankees thrilled the crowd by rushing out of the dugout and sliding headfirst onto the rain-soaked tarp.
”Warming up the fans or next year,” I joked in the press box.
THERE WERE MAYBE 100 PEOPLE jammed around the visitor’s dugout at Frontier Field on Thursday night, trying to get an autograph from Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. Meanwhile, in the concourse, nearly 10 times that figure waited for an autograph or photo with Hall of Shamer Jose Canseco.
What’s wrong with this picture? And why was Jose even invited here?
Canseco is a self-confessed baseball pariah, whose former teammates won’t even friend him on Facebook. Sure, his stories turned out to be true. But if you write a book about your cheating neighbors and your thieving cousins, does that make you a Good Samaritan or a high-paid gossip?
If Canseco truly wanted to rid baseball of steroids - after he was done using them and making millions off the game - he could have quietly set up a meeting with Commissioner Bud Selig to detail his true confessions. Instead, he wrote a book. Then another.
Thursday, he actually warmed up with Wings catcher Rene Rivera before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Hey, look at me. He counted the number of fans who asked for his autograph. He refused to speak to the media. He signed his name over Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley’s, even though my friend asked him not to.
You thought Canseco was funny when that ball conked him on the head and sailed over the fence for a homer in 1993? Or when he threw out his arm pitching a few days later? That was just the beginning.
Move over, Max Patkin. Canseco is the new clown prince of baseball.
TWO SEASON SEATHOLDERS TOLD ME that there was nearly an incident while Canseco signed last week . Some wise guy fan reportedly brought a large plastic syringe and asked Canseco to sign it. He was furious and wanted to end the signing.
Don’t know if this happened, but if it did, Canseco has no right to be outraged. He made himself the poster child for steroids, and made millions off of steroids (both as a player and an author).
GOOD OLD MLB STRIKES AGAIN. The Washington Nationals wanted to wear special hats honoring the 30 soldiers recently killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. MLB said no, because such hats are reserved for days like the Fourth of July, when all 30 clubs wear them.
2011年8月20日星期六
Prosecutors want another shot at Clemens trial
WASHINGTON -- Prosecutors pursing a perjury conviction against baseball star Roger Clemens acknowledge they made a critical error that ultimately doomed their high-profile trial but asked a judge for another chance to convict the pitching standout of lying about using performance-enhancing drugs.
The U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia filed arguments Friday disputing Clemens' position that a second trial would violate his constitutional protection against double jeopardy by making him face the same charges twice. The filing is the prosecutors' first public admission of fault in the mistrial and first explanation of what went wrong.The prosecutors wrote it was their duty to make sure that evidence was not included in their exhibits. "The government accepts responsibility for its oversight, and regrets the burdens that error has placed on this court and defendant," they wrote, but argued the mistake was due to the press of other trial matters and was not intentional.
They said it was an oversight that they showed jurors evidence that U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton had ruled inadmissible - evidence that the defendant's teammate told his wife that Clemens had admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens had argued the showing of the evidence was a deliberate ploy to invoke a mistrial because the prosecutors' case was going badly. But the prosecutors say their case remains strong and Clemens wants to "gain an unwarranted windfall from this inadvertent error."
That's an important point for the prosecutors to make to the judge, who has scheduled a Sept. 2 hearing on the retrial debate. Normally, when a defendant requests a mistrial, a second trial is not considered double jeopardy. The exception would be when the judge finds prosecutors intentionally provoked a mistrial.But the prosecutors pointed out the sudden ending to Clemens' trial came only on the second day of evidence in what was supposed to be a four- to six-week case. It came before prosecutors called crucial witnesses such as Brian McNamee, the pitcher's longtime trainer, who said he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone, or showed their key physical evidence - needles that McNamee said he used to inject Clemens and which the prosecutors said contained Clemens' DNA and traces of the drugs.
The defense planned to dispute both vigorously, arguing that McNamee is a habitual liar who fabricated the evidence to blackmail his former boss. But jurors only had hints of that dispute in opening arguments and had seen no evidence of it yet.
"It is impossible to credibly assert that the government had a motive for derailing defendant's prosecution because it believed the case was going badly when the case was barely going," the prosecutors said.
Clemens has steadfastly denied using performance-enhancing drugs during a standout 24-season career in which he broke multiple records pitching for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros. Clemens was the most prominent player accused of using drugs in a December 2007 investigative report to Major League Baseball led by former Sen. George Mitchell. Clemens went before a House committee in February 2008 to fight the allegations. He is charged with lying under oath by telling lawmakers he never used the drugs.
The quick end to his trial came when prosecutors were showing jurors a video of Clemens' testimony. In the video, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., was questioning Clemens and pointed out that his good friend and teammate Andy Pettitte says Clemens admitted using human growth hormone in a private conversation in 1999 or 2000. Clemens responded that Pettitte "misheard" or "misremembered" their conversation. But Cummings said Pettitte's wife, Laura, has given lawmakers an affidavit saying that her husband told her about the conversation with Clemens at the time it happened.
Walton had ruled the day before the trial began that Laura Pettitte's comments were inadmissible hearsay because she didn't speak to Clemens directly. When prosecutors aired the video, Walton sent jurors out of the courtroom and scolded the government attorneys for a move that a "first-year law student" would have known to avoid. Clemens attorney asked for a mistrial and Walton granted the motion, saying Clemens couldn't get a fair trial with a jury that had seen the video.
Prosecutors pointed out that Walton's ruling on Laura Pettitte's statement came the day before the trial began, long after their exhibits had been prepared and as they were preoccupied with jury selection, opening statements and other trial matters. But the prosecutors acknowledged they should have redacted their exhibits to comply with Walton's ruling.
"Unfortunately, neither government counsel additionally focused on whether the substance of Laura Pettitte's testimony might be embedded in a question of one of defendant's congressional interlocutors," said the filing. The prosecutors said the reference to Laura Pettitte "would have been removed had government counsel adequately focused on it."
Friday's filing was signed by assistant U.S. attorneys Steven Durham and Daniel Butler, the two prosecutors who conducted the trial, along with their boss, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Machen Jr. and a colleague from the office's appellate division. That suggests there has been no change in the prosecution team despite the error.
The U.S. attorney's office declined to answer any questions, noting that Walton has issued a gag order preventing parties from commenting.
In San Francisco, prosecutors have not yet said whether they will attempt to retry home run king Barry Bonds. A mistrial was declared in April after a jury deadlocked on three counts charging Bonds with lying to a grand jury in 2003 when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs and said he allowed only doctors to inject him. Bonds was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice for giving the grand jury an evasive answer, and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday on Bonds' attempt to set side that conviction.
The U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia filed arguments Friday disputing Clemens' position that a second trial would violate his constitutional protection against double jeopardy by making him face the same charges twice. The filing is the prosecutors' first public admission of fault in the mistrial and first explanation of what went wrong.The prosecutors wrote it was their duty to make sure that evidence was not included in their exhibits. "The government accepts responsibility for its oversight, and regrets the burdens that error has placed on this court and defendant," they wrote, but argued the mistake was due to the press of other trial matters and was not intentional.
They said it was an oversight that they showed jurors evidence that U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton had ruled inadmissible - evidence that the defendant's teammate told his wife that Clemens had admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens had argued the showing of the evidence was a deliberate ploy to invoke a mistrial because the prosecutors' case was going badly. But the prosecutors say their case remains strong and Clemens wants to "gain an unwarranted windfall from this inadvertent error."
That's an important point for the prosecutors to make to the judge, who has scheduled a Sept. 2 hearing on the retrial debate. Normally, when a defendant requests a mistrial, a second trial is not considered double jeopardy. The exception would be when the judge finds prosecutors intentionally provoked a mistrial.But the prosecutors pointed out the sudden ending to Clemens' trial came only on the second day of evidence in what was supposed to be a four- to six-week case. It came before prosecutors called crucial witnesses such as Brian McNamee, the pitcher's longtime trainer, who said he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone, or showed their key physical evidence - needles that McNamee said he used to inject Clemens and which the prosecutors said contained Clemens' DNA and traces of the drugs.
The defense planned to dispute both vigorously, arguing that McNamee is a habitual liar who fabricated the evidence to blackmail his former boss. But jurors only had hints of that dispute in opening arguments and had seen no evidence of it yet.
"It is impossible to credibly assert that the government had a motive for derailing defendant's prosecution because it believed the case was going badly when the case was barely going," the prosecutors said.
Clemens has steadfastly denied using performance-enhancing drugs during a standout 24-season career in which he broke multiple records pitching for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros. Clemens was the most prominent player accused of using drugs in a December 2007 investigative report to Major League Baseball led by former Sen. George Mitchell. Clemens went before a House committee in February 2008 to fight the allegations. He is charged with lying under oath by telling lawmakers he never used the drugs.
The quick end to his trial came when prosecutors were showing jurors a video of Clemens' testimony. In the video, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., was questioning Clemens and pointed out that his good friend and teammate Andy Pettitte says Clemens admitted using human growth hormone in a private conversation in 1999 or 2000. Clemens responded that Pettitte "misheard" or "misremembered" their conversation. But Cummings said Pettitte's wife, Laura, has given lawmakers an affidavit saying that her husband told her about the conversation with Clemens at the time it happened.
Walton had ruled the day before the trial began that Laura Pettitte's comments were inadmissible hearsay because she didn't speak to Clemens directly. When prosecutors aired the video, Walton sent jurors out of the courtroom and scolded the government attorneys for a move that a "first-year law student" would have known to avoid. Clemens attorney asked for a mistrial and Walton granted the motion, saying Clemens couldn't get a fair trial with a jury that had seen the video.
Prosecutors pointed out that Walton's ruling on Laura Pettitte's statement came the day before the trial began, long after their exhibits had been prepared and as they were preoccupied with jury selection, opening statements and other trial matters. But the prosecutors acknowledged they should have redacted their exhibits to comply with Walton's ruling.
"Unfortunately, neither government counsel additionally focused on whether the substance of Laura Pettitte's testimony might be embedded in a question of one of defendant's congressional interlocutors," said the filing. The prosecutors said the reference to Laura Pettitte "would have been removed had government counsel adequately focused on it."
Friday's filing was signed by assistant U.S. attorneys Steven Durham and Daniel Butler, the two prosecutors who conducted the trial, along with their boss, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Machen Jr. and a colleague from the office's appellate division. That suggests there has been no change in the prosecution team despite the error.
The U.S. attorney's office declined to answer any questions, noting that Walton has issued a gag order preventing parties from commenting.
In San Francisco, prosecutors have not yet said whether they will attempt to retry home run king Barry Bonds. A mistrial was declared in April after a jury deadlocked on three counts charging Bonds with lying to a grand jury in 2003 when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs and said he allowed only doctors to inject him. Bonds was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice for giving the grand jury an evasive answer, and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday on Bonds' attempt to set side that conviction.
2011年8月19日星期五
Beckett, Red Sox hold on to beat Royals 4-3
Dustin Pedroia drove in three runs with a pair of well-timed singles, Josh Beckett survived a shaky start to go seven innings and the Boston Red Sox got back on the winning track with a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.
Jason Varitek drove in the other run for the Red Sox, who had lost five of their last seven games after getting shut out by the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
Beckett (10-5) and the Royals proved to be the perfect matchup to turn things around. The right-hander allowed all three runs in the first three innings to improve to 7-1 in his career against them – his only loss came July 28 in Boston. Beckett also reached the 10-win plateau after failing in his four previous attempts.
Daniel Bard worked the eighth for Boston, and Jonathan Papelbon made it through a perfect ninth to extend his career-best streak to 24 consecutive saves. It was his 29th of the season.
Luke Hochevar (8-10) labored through 114 pitches in just six innings for the Royals. The former No. 1 overall draft pick allowed all four runs on eight hits and two walks, despite getting some help from his defense.
The Royals threw out three Red Sox base runners: Varitek was nabbed at second trying to stretch a single in the second inning; Crawford was thrown out by center fielder Melky Cabrera trying to score from third base on a shall flyball in the fourth; and Pedroia was thrown out at second base by catcher Salvador Perez, who made an alert play after a late throw to the plate on Pedroia’s RBI single in the fifth.
Alex Gordon hit a tying two-run homer in the third inning for Kansas City, and he also scored on a sacrifice fly by Billy Butler in the first, playing a significant role in all the Royals’ runs.
Boston didn’t waste any time matching Kansas City in the second. Josh Reddick doubled leading off and came home on Varitek’s two-out single. The Red Sox then pulled ahead in the third when Mike Aviles singled against his former team, Ellsbury walked, both advanced on a groundout and came scored on Pedroia’s single.
Alcides Escobar led off the bottom half of the third with a single, and Gordon followed by slapping a pitch from Beckett over the left-field wall to tie the game. His 16th homer matched a career high.
The Red Sox nearly pulled ahead in the fourth when Crawford reached on a single, swiped second base and then stole third – replays showed he should have been called out. Aviles lofted a shallow fly to center moments later, and Cabrera caught it on a jog and unloaded toward home in one motion. Perez fielded the throw, turned and braced himself as Crawford barreled into him at the plate, holding on for the out.
It was the 21st time a Royals outfielder has thrown out someone at the plate, leading the major leagues.
Undaunted, the Red Sox pulled ahead in the fifth. Jed Lowrie doubled with one out and came around to score on a two-out single by Pedroia, who added a double in the eighth inning for a three-hit game.
Beckett and the bullpen made the lead stand up the rest of the way.
Jason Varitek drove in the other run for the Red Sox, who had lost five of their last seven games after getting shut out by the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
Beckett (10-5) and the Royals proved to be the perfect matchup to turn things around. The right-hander allowed all three runs in the first three innings to improve to 7-1 in his career against them – his only loss came July 28 in Boston. Beckett also reached the 10-win plateau after failing in his four previous attempts.
Daniel Bard worked the eighth for Boston, and Jonathan Papelbon made it through a perfect ninth to extend his career-best streak to 24 consecutive saves. It was his 29th of the season.
Luke Hochevar (8-10) labored through 114 pitches in just six innings for the Royals. The former No. 1 overall draft pick allowed all four runs on eight hits and two walks, despite getting some help from his defense.
The Royals threw out three Red Sox base runners: Varitek was nabbed at second trying to stretch a single in the second inning; Crawford was thrown out by center fielder Melky Cabrera trying to score from third base on a shall flyball in the fourth; and Pedroia was thrown out at second base by catcher Salvador Perez, who made an alert play after a late throw to the plate on Pedroia’s RBI single in the fifth.
Alex Gordon hit a tying two-run homer in the third inning for Kansas City, and he also scored on a sacrifice fly by Billy Butler in the first, playing a significant role in all the Royals’ runs.
Boston didn’t waste any time matching Kansas City in the second. Josh Reddick doubled leading off and came home on Varitek’s two-out single. The Red Sox then pulled ahead in the third when Mike Aviles singled against his former team, Ellsbury walked, both advanced on a groundout and came scored on Pedroia’s single.
Alcides Escobar led off the bottom half of the third with a single, and Gordon followed by slapping a pitch from Beckett over the left-field wall to tie the game. His 16th homer matched a career high.
The Red Sox nearly pulled ahead in the fourth when Crawford reached on a single, swiped second base and then stole third – replays showed he should have been called out. Aviles lofted a shallow fly to center moments later, and Cabrera caught it on a jog and unloaded toward home in one motion. Perez fielded the throw, turned and braced himself as Crawford barreled into him at the plate, holding on for the out.
It was the 21st time a Royals outfielder has thrown out someone at the plate, leading the major leagues.
Undaunted, the Red Sox pulled ahead in the fifth. Jed Lowrie doubled with one out and came around to score on a two-out single by Pedroia, who added a double in the eighth inning for a three-hit game.
Beckett and the bullpen made the lead stand up the rest of the way.
2011年8月18日星期四
Big boys don TWU jerseys
The Trinity Western University men's hockey team continued to beef up its roster for the upcoming season by adding three new faces, including a Langley product.
Forwards Tristano Falbo (Langley), Aman Sidhu (Port Alberni) and defenceman Dylan Mooney (Squamish) will be wearing Spartan colours this year.
The trio, all over sixfeet, will help the Spartans develop a more physical brand that will certainly go along ways towards TWU's efforts to move up the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League ladder after five straight years of fourthplace finishes.
The 6-foot, 190-pound right-handed shooting Falbo will bring a tough, physical brand to the Spartans and will no doubt add sandpaper to the lineup.
Falbo, who had a stint with the Junior A Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in 2009, arrives already wellknown to Spartans coach Dwayne Lowdermilk, as the Trinity Western bench boss has had a hand in developing Falbo since he was a youngster.
"It has been a lot of fun as a coach to watch a player, like Tristano, that I have taught since he was eight or nine years old develop as a man and hockey player," Lowdermilk said.
"Tristano brings character and is a tough, grinding hockey player. His ability to match up against all types of players and game situations is exciting."
Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/boys+jerseys/5270423/story.html#ixzz1VMuiVouE
Forwards Tristano Falbo (Langley), Aman Sidhu (Port Alberni) and defenceman Dylan Mooney (Squamish) will be wearing Spartan colours this year.
The trio, all over sixfeet, will help the Spartans develop a more physical brand that will certainly go along ways towards TWU's efforts to move up the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League ladder after five straight years of fourthplace finishes.
The 6-foot, 190-pound right-handed shooting Falbo will bring a tough, physical brand to the Spartans and will no doubt add sandpaper to the lineup.
Falbo, who had a stint with the Junior A Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in 2009, arrives already wellknown to Spartans coach Dwayne Lowdermilk, as the Trinity Western bench boss has had a hand in developing Falbo since he was a youngster.
"It has been a lot of fun as a coach to watch a player, like Tristano, that I have taught since he was eight or nine years old develop as a man and hockey player," Lowdermilk said.
"Tristano brings character and is a tough, grinding hockey player. His ability to match up against all types of players and game situations is exciting."
Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/boys+jerseys/5270423/story.html#ixzz1VMuiVouE
2011年8月17日星期三
Port Authority needs money to keep bridges & tunnels in shape
Everyone who lives or works in the New York-New Jersey region depends on bridges, tunnels, airports, bus terminals and airports. Despite all the rhetoric about high-speed rail, we still need regular cars, planes, vans and trucks to bring us the food we eat, stock the stores we shop in and transport the cosmetics we cannot live without.
The bridges and tunnels that span the Hudson River, linking New York City to New Jersey and to most of the nation, are operated by the Port Authority, a bistate agency under the control of the governors of New York and New Jersey. Since this agency can't impose taxes, it gets it money from tolls, fares, airplane landing fees and rent from the World Trade Center site.
Now it wants to raise tolls - a $4 increase for E-ZPass customers on the bridges and tunnels now, then an additional $2 next year - plus a $1 hike in PATH fares.
People are upset. Commuters, who are going through tough economic times, say they can't afford it. Gov. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie say they were unpleasantly surprised by the proposal.
I'm here to deliver an uncomfortable truth: We have to take our medicine. We have to pay enough for public transportation to work over the long haul, even when it's an entity as distrusted as the Port Authority that's pocketing the money.
The authority is a necessary evil. We cannot live without it, yet we have a hard time living with it, whether it's rebuilding the World Trade Center site or raising tolls and fares to maintain the aging infrastructure it operates.
We have come to accept extortionate gas prices that send dollars abroad, but are reluctant to spend more to maintain the bridges and tunnels that we take every day.
Why? We need to spend today if the system's going to be functioning well tomorrow. Take, for instance, the George Washington Bridge suspender ropes. Simply put, these ropes hold the bridge up, but they have not been replaced since the bridge opened in 1931. Most other major suspension bridges of a similar age - the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, the RFK Bridge in New York - have replaced their suspender ropes. The pain of higher tolls is nothing compared with the pain we would feel if the span of the George Washington Bridge collapses.
There are dozens of critical maintenance projects like that - basic improvements that need to be made to keep things running smoothly.
And contrary to popular belief, tolls are actually the best way to pay for highways and bridges.
In fact, long before the federal government built the Interstate Highway System, states used tolls to finance the construction of the New York State Thruway, the Maine Turnpike, the Oklahoma Turnpike linking Tulsa with Oklahoma City and, of course, the New Jersey Turnpike, which was built in less than two years.
New Jersey, best known for producing Bruce Springsteen and beefsteak tomatoes, is a vital source of skilled workers in New York City. Manhattan's high-income jobs, in turn, support the shopping malls, school districts and pristine suburbs of the Garden State. Since 2002, there has been a 21% increase in Manhattan workers coming from northern New Jersey.
This region cannot survive without investing in our cross-Hudson links; these arteries are our lifeline.
In baseball we may compete with the Phillies and Red Sox, but when it comes to economic activity, we are competing with global cities in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
They recognize the central role of transportation in generating jobs.
If our region is to continue to compete as a global center for business, culture, health care and media, then our state governments must provide modern, safe and reliable ways to move throughout the area.
Raising the tolls by $4 now and by $2 in 2013 is not easy. Even the governors of the two states have expressed concern about the magnitude of the proposed increase.
But, like jumping into cold water, it's better to do it all at once, rather than to go inch by inch into the pool.
This is the right time to invest in infrastructure - when the contractors are so hungry for work that they are willing to cut their profits. And with interest rates at an all-time low, there is no better time to borrow money for long-term projects.
The bridges and tunnels that span the Hudson River, linking New York City to New Jersey and to most of the nation, are operated by the Port Authority, a bistate agency under the control of the governors of New York and New Jersey. Since this agency can't impose taxes, it gets it money from tolls, fares, airplane landing fees and rent from the World Trade Center site.
Now it wants to raise tolls - a $4 increase for E-ZPass customers on the bridges and tunnels now, then an additional $2 next year - plus a $1 hike in PATH fares.
People are upset. Commuters, who are going through tough economic times, say they can't afford it. Gov. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie say they were unpleasantly surprised by the proposal.
I'm here to deliver an uncomfortable truth: We have to take our medicine. We have to pay enough for public transportation to work over the long haul, even when it's an entity as distrusted as the Port Authority that's pocketing the money.
The authority is a necessary evil. We cannot live without it, yet we have a hard time living with it, whether it's rebuilding the World Trade Center site or raising tolls and fares to maintain the aging infrastructure it operates.
We have come to accept extortionate gas prices that send dollars abroad, but are reluctant to spend more to maintain the bridges and tunnels that we take every day.
Why? We need to spend today if the system's going to be functioning well tomorrow. Take, for instance, the George Washington Bridge suspender ropes. Simply put, these ropes hold the bridge up, but they have not been replaced since the bridge opened in 1931. Most other major suspension bridges of a similar age - the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, the RFK Bridge in New York - have replaced their suspender ropes. The pain of higher tolls is nothing compared with the pain we would feel if the span of the George Washington Bridge collapses.
There are dozens of critical maintenance projects like that - basic improvements that need to be made to keep things running smoothly.
And contrary to popular belief, tolls are actually the best way to pay for highways and bridges.
In fact, long before the federal government built the Interstate Highway System, states used tolls to finance the construction of the New York State Thruway, the Maine Turnpike, the Oklahoma Turnpike linking Tulsa with Oklahoma City and, of course, the New Jersey Turnpike, which was built in less than two years.
New Jersey, best known for producing Bruce Springsteen and beefsteak tomatoes, is a vital source of skilled workers in New York City. Manhattan's high-income jobs, in turn, support the shopping malls, school districts and pristine suburbs of the Garden State. Since 2002, there has been a 21% increase in Manhattan workers coming from northern New Jersey.
This region cannot survive without investing in our cross-Hudson links; these arteries are our lifeline.
In baseball we may compete with the Phillies and Red Sox, but when it comes to economic activity, we are competing with global cities in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
They recognize the central role of transportation in generating jobs.
If our region is to continue to compete as a global center for business, culture, health care and media, then our state governments must provide modern, safe and reliable ways to move throughout the area.
Raising the tolls by $4 now and by $2 in 2013 is not easy. Even the governors of the two states have expressed concern about the magnitude of the proposed increase.
But, like jumping into cold water, it's better to do it all at once, rather than to go inch by inch into the pool.
This is the right time to invest in infrastructure - when the contractors are so hungry for work that they are willing to cut their profits. And with interest rates at an all-time low, there is no better time to borrow money for long-term projects.
2011年8月16日星期二
Mariano Rivera records save with perfect ninth inning for Yankees against Royals, insists he's fine
KANSAS CITY - Yankee fans may have been worried about Mariano Rivera after three rocky outings last week, but the closer wasn't concerned.
Rivera calmed any fears Monday night, throwing a perfect ninth inning to earn his 31st save of the season in the Yankees' 7-4 win over the Royals. Asked if the crisis was over, Rivera chuckled.
"It's daily routine, guys," Rivera said. "I don't worry about it. I have peace of mind, believe me."
Rivera had been frustrated after his last save, having given up a three-run home run to Russell Branyan before closing the win against the Angels last Thursday.
"You just want to do your job, especially in a situation like that when your teammates are there battling and you go out there and don't do your job," Rivera said. "We won. The whole team did great."
Rivera had little trouble Monday night, as Salvador Perez grounded out to first base to start the ninth, then Mike Moustakas grounded out to shortstop. Rivera caught Alcides Escobar looking at strike three to end the game, recording career save No. 590, 11 shy of Trevor Hoffman's all-time record.
NO SPLITTER, NO FREDDY
Freddy Garcia's right index finger isn't quite ready for action, but the veteran appears to be close to a return to the mound. Garcia, who cut himself in what has been described as a kitchen accident, is to test his finger in the bullpen either Tuesday or Wednesday. As long as he can throw his splitter, Garcia should be penciled into the rotation sometime during this weekend's series in Minnesota.
Rivera calmed any fears Monday night, throwing a perfect ninth inning to earn his 31st save of the season in the Yankees' 7-4 win over the Royals. Asked if the crisis was over, Rivera chuckled.
"It's daily routine, guys," Rivera said. "I don't worry about it. I have peace of mind, believe me."
Rivera had been frustrated after his last save, having given up a three-run home run to Russell Branyan before closing the win against the Angels last Thursday.
"You just want to do your job, especially in a situation like that when your teammates are there battling and you go out there and don't do your job," Rivera said. "We won. The whole team did great."
Rivera had little trouble Monday night, as Salvador Perez grounded out to first base to start the ninth, then Mike Moustakas grounded out to shortstop. Rivera caught Alcides Escobar looking at strike three to end the game, recording career save No. 590, 11 shy of Trevor Hoffman's all-time record.
NO SPLITTER, NO FREDDY
Freddy Garcia's right index finger isn't quite ready for action, but the veteran appears to be close to a return to the mound. Garcia, who cut himself in what has been described as a kitchen accident, is to test his finger in the bullpen either Tuesday or Wednesday. As long as he can throw his splitter, Garcia should be penciled into the rotation sometime during this weekend's series in Minnesota.
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