2BETDSI Sports News - Latest US and International Sporting News

Nationals finalize coaching staff

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:45:13 GMT

The personnel the club retained are hitting coach Rick Eckstein, pitching coach Steve McCatty and third-base coach Pat Listach.

Additionally, the Nationals named former Mariners manager John McLaren as bench coach, Jim Lett as bullpen coach and Dan Radison as first-base.

Arizona St. baseball coach Murphy resigns

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:22:52 GMT

Murphy became the school's head baseball coach in August 1994 and helped the Sun Devils become one of the premier programs in the Pac-10 and the nation. During his tenure, Arizona State won four Pac-10 titles, including three in a row, and clinched four College World Series berths. Since the 2000 season, no other Pac-10 school has won as many games as Arizona State.

Murphy was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times and the National Coach of the Year in 1998.

ECU baseball coach signs extension

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:12:54 GMT

Godwin assumed the head coaching duties in the fall of 2005 following a short stint as an assistant. Under his tutelage, the Pirates have gone 161-90 and made three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances.

"Coach Godwin's teams have achieved a great deal of success on the baseball field, but just as importantly, he and his program have embraced both East Carolina University's values and Coach Keith LeClair's vision for ECU Baseball," said athletic director Terry Holland.

Arizona gets Heilman from Cubs

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:13:31 GMT

"Aaron has been a successful, durable reliever who will add experience and stability to our bullpen," said Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes.

The 31-year-old Heilman went 4-4 with one save to go along with a 4.11 earned run average in 70 appearances out of Chicago's bullpen last season. In 375 career games -- 25 of those starts -- Heilman has compiled a 26-37 record with 10 saves and a 4.22 ERA over parts of seven big-league seasons with the Mets and Cubs.

Angels retain coaching staff for 2010

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:57 GMT

Bench coach Ron Roenicke will be back for his 11th straight season with the club and fourth in his current role. He was previously the team's third base coach.

Pitching coach Mike Butcher returns for a fourth season. He was the pitching coach for Tampa Bay in the 2006 season and spent 2000-2005 in the Angels organization in various minor league coaching roles.

Lincecum nabs second straight NL Cy Young

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:30:03 GMT

Lincecum placed first on 11 of the 32 ballots cast by two writers from each NL city to finish just six points ahead of St. Louis' Chris Carpenter, making him the first repeat winner since Arizona's Randy Johnson won four straight from 1999-2002.

The six-point margin was tied for the third closest election in the NL since the ballot expanded from one to three candidates in 1970.

Pettitte, Tatis file for free agency

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:45:17 GMT

With Pettitte and Tatis filing, the total stands at 171 players who will hit the open market at midnight.

Pettitte, 37, had a terrific season for the World Series champion New York Yankees, going 14-8 to go along with a 4.16 ERA.

Royals come to terms with righty Brad Thompson

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:24:11 GMT

Because Thompson was a minor league free agent he was able to sign a 2010 contract prior to Friday, when major league free agents can begin signing with new clubs.

Thompson, who turns 28 on January 31, pitched in 32 games with eight starts for the St.

Cubs, Grabow agree to two-year deal

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:07:05 GMT

Although financial terms of the deal are not known, the Chicago Sun-Times reported it be worth $7.5 million with an official announcement coming as soon as Thursday.

After being acquired last season from Pittsburgh, Grabow posted a 3.24 earned run average in 30 appearances with Chicago. He set a career high with 75 games with both the Pirates and Cubs.

Pair of Cardinals vie for NL Cy Young Award

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:21:47 GMT

Heading the list are a pair of St. Louis Cardinals teammates in right-handers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. San Francisco Giants righty Tim Lincecum, who claimed the award a year ago, also figures to get some votes.

Carpenter, who made just four starts combined in 2007 and 2008, went 17-4 with an NL-best 2.24 earned run average over 28 starts in 2009 to re-establish himself as a Cy Young Award candidate. The 34-year-old recorded three complete games and one shutout while helping St. Louis capture the NL Central title for the first time since 2006.

Nationals add former manager Johnson to front office

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:08:01 GMT

Johnson will serve as a senior advisor to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo. The former skipper compiled a 1,148-888 record over 14 seasons with the New York Mets, Cincinnati, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He guided the Mets to a World Series title in 1986 and was named the American League Manager of the Year following the 1997 campaign after leading the Orioles to a 98-64 record.

He also led Team USA to the semifinals of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Brewers claim C Kottaras off waivers

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:22:42 GMT

Last season with Boston he batted .237 with a home run and 10 RBI in 45 games.

Over his two seasons in the majors, the 26-year-old has a .235 average with a homer and 10 RBI in 48 games.

Scioscia, Tracy honored as top managers

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:21:04 GMT

Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy was adorned with a similar honor in the National League after guiding his team to 74 wins and a playoff appearance, having taken over for the fired Clint Hurdle at the end of May when the team was 10 games under .500.

Scioscia, who also won this award in 2002, finished first on 15 of 28 ballots cast by two writers in each league city. He also placed second on 10 and third on another for a total of 106 points based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system.

BBWAA to name top managers on Wednesday

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:33:14 GMT

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim skipper Mike Scioscia appears to be the front runner in the AL after guiding his team to an AL West title for the third straight year and for the fifth time in the past six seasons.

Scioscia, who won this award in 2002, may have turned in the best managerial job of his career this season, as his team overcame a ton of injuries to his starting staff early on, including the tragic death of promising righty Nick Adenhart, while having to use 14 different starting pitchers throughout the season.

Shouse files for free agency

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:51:56 GMT

The 41-year-old lefty went 1-1 with a 4.50 earned run average in 45 appearances last season with Tampa Bay.

In 467 career games with Pittsburgh, Boston, Kansas City, Texas, Milwaukee and the Rays, Shouse has a 13-10 record with six saves and a 3.72 ERA.

Greinke captures AL Cy Young

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:19:40 GMT

Greinke placed first on 25 of 28 ballots cast by two writers from each AL city and second on three others for a total of 134 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system, as he became the first AL pitcher to win the award while pitching for a last-place team since Roger Clemens won it with Toronto in 1997.

Seattle righty Felix Hernandez finished second with 80 points, placing first on two ballots, second on 23 and third on another. Detroit's Justin Verlander received the other first place vote and finished a distant third with 14 points.

Report: Royals to host 2012 All-Star Game

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:13:39 GMT

Comcast SportsNet New England reported the news on its site Tuesday, stating that an official announcement could come as early as next month's Winter Meetings.

The Boston Red Sox, who hosted the event in 1999, had hoped to land the game to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park.

Greinke heads the list of AL Cy Young Award candidates

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:50:37 GMT

Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke figures to be the front-runner, but Seattle's Felix Hernandez and New York's CC Sabathia should also garner some attention from the voters.

Greinke was the silver lining in otherwise another disappointing season for the Kansas City Royals, going 16-8 with a 2.16 earned run average for a Kansas City team that lost 97 games on the year. He also led the majors in ERA and finished third with 242 strikeouts.

"Big Unit" among three more to file for free agency

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:54:30 GMT

Joining him were Cincinnati Reds pitcher Kip Wells and Chicago Cubs reliever John Grabow.

Johnson, 46, became the 24th pitcher in major league history to amass 300 career wins this past season. The intimidating left-hander started in 17 of his 22 appearances with the Giants, going 8-6 with a 4.88 earned run average. He missed a significant time with a tear in his rotator cuff.

Bailey, Coghlan named league's top rookies

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:10:46 GMT

Bailey, Oakland's first Rookie of the Year winner since Huston Street in 2005, placed first on 13 of the 28 ballots cast and received a total of 88 points. He was also second on six and third on five other ballots to finish 23 points ahead of Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus.

It marks the eighth time that an A's player has won the rookie award, tying the New York Yankees for the most winners in the league. The overall mark is held by the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League with 16.

Reds agree to one-year deal with Hernandez

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:27:19 GMT

"It's a good place with great players," Hernandez told the team's website. "I know they'll do very good next season. That's why I decided to come back." Hernandez, whose $8.5 million option was declined and bought out for $1 million last week, appeared in just 81 games in his first year with the Reds last season and hit .258 with five home runs and 37 RBI. However, he did hit .328 with runners in scoring position.

Acquired from Baltimore prior to the start of last season, knee injuries plagued Hernandez for most of the year, but he is expected to be 100-percent once spring training starts.

BBWAA set to name top rookies

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:29:13 GMT

The awards don't figure to be landslide victories as they were a year ago when Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria was a unanimous choice in the AL and Chicago's Geovany Soto placed first on 31 of the 32 NL ballots.

In the American League Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus and Chicago infielder Gordon Beckham figure to be the favorites, while Detroit righty Rick Porcello should also get some votes.

Eight more elect for free agency

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:01:04 GMT

Byrd, who turns 39 on December 3, pitched in seven games for the Boston Red Sox last season, going 1-3 with a 5.82 earned-run average. Over his 14-year career, Byrd has compiled a 109-96 record with a 4.41 ERA.

Red Sox third baseman Chris Woodward also filed for free agency, while the Rockies had three relievers hit the market: Chad Fox, Juan Rincon and Rafael Betancourt.

Mariners ink SS Wilson to two-year contract

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:54:13 GMT

Per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Mariners acquired the 31-year-old, along with pitcher Ian Snell, from Pittsburgh on July 29.

Blue Jays' Wells undergoes wrist surgery

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:03:20 GMT

The procedure was deemed necessary after Wells complained of discomfort following the end of the regular season.

Wells, who turns 31 on December 8, batted .260 with 15 home runs and 66 RBI in 158 games last year.