The Baltimore Orioles hired Buck Showalter as new manager on Thursday after meeting with numerous other candidates including interim manager Juan Samuel.  Before the hiring by the Orioles, Showalter had been linked to the Florida Marlins earlier in the season. 

Showalter’s last tour of duty came with the Texas Rangers where he served as manager for four years before being fired at the conclusion of the 2006 season.  Since then, Showalter had served as a senior adviser of baseball operations under the Cleveland Indians and most recently worked with ESPN where he was an analyst for Baseball Tonight. 

Twice named Manager of the Year, Showalter’s career began with the New York Yankees in 1992 after being promoted to the coaching staff two years earlier.  In 1995, the Yankees clinched the American League Wild Card berth and were eventually defeated by the Seattle Mariners in an exciting and memorable finish to the playoff series.

Shortly following the season, Showalter left the Yankees due to personal differences and conflicts with owner George Steinbrenner.  The 1995 playoff appearance marked the first for the Yankees since 1981.  In 1996, the Yankees went on to win the World Series after defeating the Atlanta Braves in six games. 

Showalter was hired shortly thereafter by the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks.  He began work two years before the team was to begin play in 1996 in order to help the upstart team form what would become an eventual roster. 

In just the second season of play, the team compiled a 100-62 record.  However, the third season was considered disastrous following several free-agent player acquisitions a season earlier.    After three years with the Diamondbacks, Showalter was fired as manager.  Once again, the Diamondbacks won the World Series in the year following Showalter’s departure. 

Showalter faces a much different challenge in Baltimore.  The team has experienced several dismal seasons with the latest of blows coming on April 12 when the team set a record for Camden Yards with the lowest paid attendance since the opening of the stadium in 1992.

In the years following the departure of Cal Ripken Jr. the team has struggled mightily and has failed to contend.  The team last made the playoffs in 1997.  Much of Showalter’s work will be with young talent as the Orioles have been unable to attract free-agent players to the city.  In late 2008, the team briefly flirted with signing then free-agent and hometown product Mark Teixeira before he eventually chose the Bronx as a landing spot.  

If the Showalter experience in Arizona is remotely similar to what can be expected in Baltimore the once proud baseball tradition at Camden Yards may be resurrected.  Much like the case in Arizona, Showalter will be expected to develop and encourage young talent to perform.  The question will be when or if Showalter is once again convincing enough to lure veteran players to the city. 

Maybe… finally… one of the nicest parks in Major League Baseball will once again experience sellouts and the thrill of a late season push toward October play.  And maybe Showalter will be around to experience it without watching the success unfold a season later on television. 

Used with permission of the author.

Cade Caldwell is an Atlanta-based sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

In what was supposed to be the first meeting between two Major League Baseball rookie phenoms.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg reached another first milestone as he was scratched from what was supposed to be his first time facing Atlanta Braves rookie sensation Jason Heyward. 

Though Strasburg faced the Braves earlier in the season, it was during the time that J-Hey was sidelined with an injured thumb.  Once again, this battle between these two surging stars will have to wait.

Despite injuries and scratched starts, Heyward and Strasburg are easily two of the biggest rookie stars in MLB and, barring season-ending injuries, seem among the most likely candidates to claim the National League Rookie of the Year. 

As the season began, Heyward was widely considered the No. 1 MLB prospect with Strasburg sitting in the No. 2 position.  With expectations and pressure high, Heyward delivered in his first major-league at bat with a three run home run off of Carlos Zambrano on opening day in front of a delighted Turner Field crowd.  In the history of the Braves organization, Heyward is the fifth to begin his career with a home run while appearing at the plate for the first time. 

Since then, Heyward has been named the Rookie of the Month in both April and May of this season.  In June, Heyward was placed on the disabled list due to a thumb injury.  Although he was selected to start the All-Star Game he did not play due to the injury. 

Thus far, Heyward boasts a .276 batting average through 349 plate appearances.  With 81 hits on the season, Heyward is currently at 11 home runs and 48 RBI’s. 

Strasburg was hyped like no other prospect in the history of Major League Baseball and was selected first overall in the 2009 draft.  Moments before the deadline to sign with the Nationals, Strasburg set a record with a contract valued at $15.1 million. 

The former San Diego State University star began his MLB career against the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of a sold out Nationals Park on June 8, 2010.  Living up to the hype, Strasburg did not disappoint with 14 strikeouts across seven innings and no walks.  Amazingly, the last seven batters in his rookie start were fanned.  The debut performance set a team record for strikeouts by a starter.

Strasburg currently boasts a 2.32 ERA with a 5-2 record across nine starts.  Thus far on the season, Strasburg has 75 strikeouts and has not had a start where he did not strikeout at least five batters. 

Strasburg was not selected for the All-Star Game as Phillies Coach Charlie Manuel indicated he needed to be “broken in” prior to becoming an All-Star.  In all fairness, the pitchers Manuel selected had played the entire first-half of the MLB season.  Strasburg later acknowledged that he felt “undeserving” of a selection given his amount of starts.

The Nationals have placed a 160-inning limit on Strasburg.  Currently, Strasburg is at 54.1 innings for the season.  Tests that have been conducted on the arm of the rookie phenom show inflammation in the right shoulder but no structural damage has been revealed.  Assuming Strasburg returns to the mound as normal it would appear that the battle between the two rookies might go until the end of the season. 

And with the Braves and Nationals meeting up in three more series before the end of the regular season, we might get to see the Heyward-Strasburg battle after all.

Used with permission of the author.

Cade Caldwell is an Atlanta-based sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

After the All-Star break the Detroit Tigers were trailing the Chicago White Sox by a half game in the American League Central and at that point didn’t have any gaping holes. They could have used a starting pitcher preferably a left hander, since they didn’t have one in the starting rotation after releasing Dontrelle Willis on May 29th.  

Andy Oliver who they called up wasn’t quite ready yet with his ability to throw strikes.  Ted Lilly seemed like he could have been destined to Detroit in that case.   Their offense had been steady placing the team in the top ten in the majors in hits and batting average. 

Their horse in the middle Miguel Cabrera is putting up Triple Crown numbers, as he sits in the top three in batting average, home runs, and has a substantial lead in RBIs.  He also leads the majors by being a part of 32% of the Tigers runs, 5% ahead of Ryan Howard of the Phillies.

Fast forward and we’ll check in with the present day Tigers.  After suffering injuries to Brandon Inge–broken hand out 4 weeks, Magglio Ordonez–fractured ankle out 8 weeks, and Carlos Guillen who pulled his hamstring, the Tigers are looking like their AAA affiliate Toledo Mudhens. 

The serious injuries actually started earlier in the season when they lost their 8^th inning setup man Joel Zumaya who fractured his elbow during the most productive season of his career. In the starting lineup only four players have not seen any time in the minors this year. Rookie Austin Jackson, Johnny Damon, Miguel Cabrera and Gerald Laird, who is hitting a whopping .187.   

Miguel’s Triple Crown chances may be shot now that he shouldn’t expect anything decent to hit with the lineup surrounding him.  Another scary thought is Brennan Boesch. The Tigers’ rookie slugger was tearing up pitching from the day he was called up but is currently battling a 4-for-37 slump, that’s a .108 average.

The Tigers are now are in 3^rd place three games back from the White Sox, after a 3-7 stretch in their last ten.  The road is not getting any easier for the Tigers either as the next 7 series on their schedule is against teams with a record better then .500.  In that stretch they also face the White Sox twice. 

So what are the Tigers to do after missing the postseason last year in heartbreaking fashion.  We all remember losing in extra innings to the Minnesota Twins in an extra game to decide the AL Central crown.  The Twins last season overcame a seven-game gap in the final month, went 17-4 to pull even on the final weekend. 

Do they give up and pack it in and hope for another next year? I hope not, Detroit needs to make a move to try and keep this team’s playoffs chances alive.  I agree with GM Dave Dombrowski to not give up prospects for a rental player for two months.  The Tigers don’t have the depth for one player to make them a World Series Champion.  What they do have though is a good team with a ton of money coming off the books this year.  On opening day the Tigers posted the 6^th highest salary in Major League Baseball at $122 million and $52 million of that will be coming off the payroll next year.  

Coming off the books are Dontrelle Willis $12 million, Jeremy Bonderman $12.5 million, Nate Robertson $10 million, Gerald Laird $4 million and Magglio Ordonez  $17.5 million. Mags had an option for $15 million for next season but he won’t make enough at bats this year to pick that up so he will be a free agent next season.   With all that cap room I think you make a move for a player and then sign him to an extension.  The only player on the roster for the 2011 season that is being vastly overpaid is Carlos Guillen.  Carlos will bring in around $13 million for two bad hamstrings a .280 batting average and the worst range in baseball at second base.  

The Tigers have three viable options before the trade deadline.  Their first and second  option is to make a play at Corey Hart or Jayson Werth.  The Tigers must give up a first tier pitching prospect plus another position player to land him.  Once you land him you make sure you sign him to a nice 4 year extension that takes the place of Magglio at right field for the remainder of this season plus the next few years.  If that can’t happen you go after Josh Willingham of the Nationals.  He is not as valuable and will come cheaper than Werth and Hart but still has numbers that are decent enough to make an impact .272 15 HR’s and 50 RBI’s. 

The problem with Willingham is he can’t step into the 3rd spot in your order more like 2nd or 6^th in the American League.  I can’t see us going after Adam Dunn because I feel like he is a rental guy and he is making $15 million this season. To re-sign him to an extension would cost way too much money for his overall worth. 

I hope the Tigers don’t sit and do nothing because the product on the field is going to be tough to watch for the remaining months.  “To my knowledge, we have absolutely nothing going on,” manager Jim Leyland said. If that is the case I feel bad for the skipper because Matt Garza simply overpowered us for a no-hitter yesterday by throwing fast balls in the top of the zone and an occasional curveball for a strike in his historical game yesterday. 

If we don’t make any moves there are a few things that will be certain for the remainder of the year. There will be no playoffs, no Cabrera Triple Crown and a lot less Tigers fans going to the ballpark.  The Detroit Tigers rank 13^th overall in major league baseball with over 30,000 fans on average attending their home games. There will also probably be another no hitter against this Tigers team in the months ahead if nothing is done.   For all us Michiganders, I hope we see something happened soon because football season is still too far away when we were right in the pennant race such a short time ago.

Used with permission of the author.

Mateo Ferda is a Detroit-based sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The day Andre Dawson donned a Chicago Cubs uniform, he was destined to be one of the most beloved players in Cubs history. He brought spark to a last place team in 1987, winning the Most Valuable Player Award that year.

Every time he took the field or came up to bat, you could see the fans chanting his name. As it turns out, Chicago was the spark Dawson needed at a time in his career when he was contemplating either going to Japan or giving up on the game.

In his Hall of Fame induction speech yesterday in Cooperstown, Dawson thanked the Cubs for giving him a job when he showed up at spring training with a blank contract, and the fans for their love and support, telling them the feeling was mutual.

“I want to thank my good friend and agent, Dick Moss, who had the idea to show up in Arizona in Spring Training in 1987 with no job, no contract and no uniform. The Cubs gave me a job and for that I’m also thankful. And from my heart, from my heart, thank you Cubs fans. You were a true blessing in my life. I never knew what it felt like to be loved by a city until I arrived in Chicago. And though it wasn’t my way to show it, I can’t express to you enough how I appreciate what you did. You gave me new life in baseball when I arrived in Chicago and you are the reason I continued playing the game. I can’t thank you enough for how good you were to my family and me. You were the wind beneath the Hawk’s wings.

“In 1987, I thought about giving up the game or maybe going to Japan. But I knew there had to be a place where the game could be fun again. I found that place. It’s called Wrigley Field. It reminded me that if you love this game, the game will love you back.”

Jack Keefer made the trip to Cooperstown with his father and younger brother Joe. The boys are too young to have seen Hawk play in person, but they are true Cubs fans and know from their father, and other season ticket holders, all about Hawk and what he meant to the fans and the team.

“Andre’s speech was fantastic. All of them were, they were funny, clever and they made good points. It was really cool when Andre thanked all the fans at Wrigley, all of them [other regulars who made the trip to Cooperstown with the Keefers] were so honored that he remembered them and more importantly thanked them. You could see it in their faces,” said Keefer.

Aside from being named National League MVP in 1987 with the Cubs, during his 21-year career, Dawson made the All-Star team eight times. He finished his career with 438 home runs, 1,591 runs batted in, and 314 stolen bases. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1977 with the Montreal Expos.

Dawson may have gone into the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo, but he will live on In Cub lore as a pride of Wrigley and the Cubs for generations to come.

Used with permission of the author.

Miriam Romain is a Chicago-based sportswriter and national columnist covering the Chicago Cubs for Examiner.com. The Windy City native is also the Associate Editor for SBNation Chicago and has been published in the Maple Street Press Cubs annuals. In her free time, Romain is working on a book titled “Summers At Wrigley With My Dad.”

Copyright © 2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The LA Angels of Anaheim traded left-hander Joe Saunders over the weekend in exchange for Dan Haren, ace of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It was an unceremonious end in Anaheim for Saunders, and his teary interview about it all demonstrated how a one-time golden child can end up with little overall value to a ball club – the dreaded “business” of sports.

Angels “new rules” about walk-off celebrations

He was accompanied in the trade by three minor league players, all pitching prospects with only Dan Haren coming over from Arizona.

Times have changed for Saunders. the Angels #1 draft pick in 2002, paid $1.8 million in a signing bonus. He was written about  in the book, “Odd Man Out” by Matt McCarthy, a former minor league pitching prospect for the Angels.

As the team’s top pick and the number 12 pick overall in 2002, Saunders was seen as a star in training by his A-level minor league teammates. According to McCarthy, they all knew he was the favorite child and would be groomed differently than them.

It took three years for him to make his major league debut and it was inauspicious. Appearing in two games in late summer he didn’t distinguish himself as he gave up 8 earned runs in 10.1 innings.

In fact, it took until 2008 for him to have a breakout season. His record was 17-7 with an ERA of 3.41. He was vying for the club’s ace pitching spot with Jered Weaver after the inevitable departure of John Lackey.

Weaver finally got his All Star game invite

When that time came, Saunders wasn’t able to replicate his great season. While his 2009 record was an enviable 16-7, his ERA ballooned to 4.60, walking more players and giving up more home runs.

In 2010 he seemingly lost his command and his record sat at 6-10 when he got the news that his only baseball home was saying an unceremonious farewell, to acquire a true ace.

Saunders cried when interviewed and realized that his relationships of eight years standing as well as his comfortable Southern California lifestyle were now history.

It’s clearly not a rags to riches to rags story. Saunders has the stuff to recover and at his age, 29, he has time to do it. He is going to a club that has given up on the season by trading their ace and is out of the race in the NL West.

He won’t have to suffer too long in Arizona however, since he is on an expiring contract, having been signed for only one year at less than $4 million in the off season by the Angels.

In the end, Saunders was an expendable as anyone else on a ball club seeking to maintain relevance in the AL West pennant race. He just never thought the human sacrifice to help his team would be him.

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

For the past two seasons, the AL Central race has gone to the last day of the season. Actually, it’s gone past that, as both the Chicago White Sox (in 2008) and Minnesota Twins (2009) needed an extra game to win the division outright.

 This year, the AL Central will once again likely come down to the wire, with three evenly matched teams fighting for what will likely be, barring a collapse of the Tampa Bay Rays, one playoff spot.

At the time of this article, the White Sox have a 2.5 game lead over the Detroit Tigers and a 3 game lead over the Twins.

Interestingly enough, the Twins actually have the best run differential of the three, and the Tigers seem to be playing above their heads right now with a negative run differential despite a winning record.

Offensively, the Twins have led the way so far. With Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer, they have scored the most runs in the division and have also gotten surprising production from Delmon Young.

On the other side of the ball, the White Sox have allowed the fewest runs, but will be without Jake Peavy for the remainder of the season. The Sox have a terrific bullpen, and have been scoring more runs lately as Gordon Beckham remembers how to hit.

The Tigers would seem to have a great lineup, with the fifth best batting average and seventh best OBP in all of baseball. However, the team is only tied for 16^th in runs scored. Pitching wise, the Tigers rotation is rather thin after Justin Verlander, and even he hasn’t been overly impressive (3.87 ERA) thus far in 2010.

Over the rest of the season, the White Sox may be at a scheduling disadvantage, as they have played six more home games than the Twins and seven more than the Tigers.

But the most important thing to who wins the division will be head-to-head competition.

In September, the White Sox have seven games with Detroit and three with Minnesota. The Tigers and Twins play each other five times that month.

Minnesota seems to have the edge in head-to-head competition, with winning records over both the Tigers and White Sox. The Tigers are at the biggest disadvantage, as they also have a losing record against Chicago.

All in all, if the last two years have proved anything, it’s that anyone could ultimately walk away with the AL Central.

If I had to put my money on one team at this point, it would be the Twins, who have the best run differential to date, winning records against both the White Sox and Tigers, and have been involved in the one game playoff in each of the past two years.  

Used with permission of the author.

 Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Donnie baseball is catching his share of heat after Bruce Bochy enforced rule 8.06 to force Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton off the mound, and spur the Giants to a come-from-behind 7-5 win in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

While it was Mattingly’s untimely two-step that is catching the headlines, it was Matt Kemp’s Rude-boy behavior that sent the dominoes tumbling.

First of all, there was absolutely no fiber in Kemp’s body that actually wanted to fight – even if his opponent was going to be the diminutive Tim Lincecum. Boxer’s don’t come out of the corner and position themselves between their trainer, the referee, and the other fighter. But instead Kemp gave everyone – in particularly Pablo Sandoval who rushed toward his teammate like a bounding rottweiler – ample opportunity to prevent the fisticuffs from developing.

Here’s an excerpt from Bay Area News Group Giants beat writer Andrew Baggarly’s blog. And remember, Baggarly covered the Dodgers for many years, too.

“Let’s get this out of the way: Kemp is a headcase. He’s a tremendously talented baseball player, but he’s had his share of run-ins with teammates over the years. Lord knows how many times Joe Torre has reached for his favorite migraine medicine on Kemp’s account.

So I wasn’t entirely surprised to see Kemp make like Billy from Family Circus and take a rather curved path toward first base. But like a good college basketball team, it was really interesting to watch everything that happened away from the guy with the ball, er, beef.”

Kemp took exception to a pitch that “clipped” his jersey. This is when the wheels began to loosen.
Home-plate umpire Adrian Johnson was forced to issue warning to both clubs simply because of Kemp’s overreaction.

Also irked by the pitch’s proximity was Joe Torre’s bench coach Bob Schaefer, who began to fume, and was later ejected when Giants reliever Denny Bautista came up and in to Russell Martin. An ejection that would prove critical.

In the sixth inning, Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw was kept in to bat for himself — during a one-run game — then hit Aaron Rowand with the first pitch in the top of the seventh. Rowand took his base without a scene as both Kershaw and Torre were ejected.

As a result, instead of Torre’s second-in-command (Schaefer) taking the reins, it was the inexperienced Mattingly who became the acting manager – all because Kemp couldn’t distinguish between a bad outing for Lincecum and a pitch with intent.

This all resulted in a thrilling win for the Giants, and a frustrating moment — if not extremely embarrassing — loss for the Dodgers.

Used with permission of the author.

Theo is a staff reporter and feature writer for the Marin Independent Journal where he covers local prep and college sports. As an Associate Production Manager for ESPN, he helped produce Sunday Night Baseball among other national ESPN and ABC Sports telecasts. In addition to his contributions to Sports Climax, he is a columnist for Examiner.com and is the play-by-play voice for Sonoma State University baseball and softball.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella will be retiring after this season ends. In making his statement today, Piniella said via press release,

“I couldn’t be more appreciative of the Cubs organization for providing me the opportunity to manage this ball club. I’ve had four wonderful years here that I wouldn’t trade fro anything in the world. I’ve grown to love the city and the fans, but at my age, it will be time to enter a new phase in my life. It will enable me to spend more valuable time with my family – my wife, my kids and my grandchildren. God has blessed me to have been able to work this many years in the game that I love.”

Piniella said that by announcing his intentions now, it would give General Manager Jim Hendry time to find the next Cubs manager, and not have to do so in secret. Piniella also said that while he will retire, his job has not ended and he wants to continue to win as many games as possible.

“I want to keep the momentum going more than anything else and win as many games as we can to get back in this pennant race. I’m going to give every effort I have to help this team win and that will remain my sole focus through the rest of the season,” he said.

Piniella is only one of five managers to win at least three Manager of the Year Awards, including one in 2008 with the Cubs. He will retire with the 14th most wins by a manager in major league history. He is the first Cubs manager in more than 70 years to have a record of .500 or better in each of his first three seasons leading the Cubs.

So now the question really becomes, who will be the next Cubs manager? Will it be Ryne Sandberg? Will it be Joe Girardi? Will it be Joe Torre? All three names have been mentioned in recent weeks as successor to Piniella. It’s up to Jim Hendry to make a decision.

Used with permission of the author.

Miriam Romain is a Chicago-based sportswriter and national columnist covering the Chicago Cubs for Examiner.com. The Windy City native is also the Associate Editor for SBNation Chicago and has been published in the Maple Street Press Cubs annuals. In her free time, Romain is working on a book titled “Summers At Wrigley With My Dad.”

Copyright © 2010 Sports Climax, LLC

On July 13, 2010, Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees lost one of their most eccentric owners on the same day they celebrated their 81^st All-Star Game. 

George “The Boss” Steinbrenner suffered a heart attack in his Tampa, Florida home and passed away after 37 years of ownership in Major League Baseball, a stint that began in 1973 when he purchased the Yankees.

To commemorate the owner, the Yankees will be wearing custom-made patches on their game jerseys for the remainder of the season.   

Steinbrenner revolutionized ownership in all major league sports after his purchase of the New York Yankees from CBS on January 3, 1973, an acquisition that occurred after his failed attempt to purchase the Cleveland Indians a year earlier.

Steinbrenner would go on to hold ownership of the Yankees longer than any previous owner in the team’s history and soon became known for his controversial moves with management, players and other personnel.

Three months after he unpacked his bags in the Bronx, controversy ensued when the team’s president left the organization after crossing paths with The Boss. The following season, Steinbrenner attempted to hire rival manager Dick Williams from the Oakland Athletics but was prevented from doing so due to Williams remaining under contract with the A’s. Adding controversy to this attempt was the fact Williams had mysteriously resigned following a second consecutive World Series championship for his A’s.

At that same time, the A’s and Yankees rivalry was fueled when the flamboyant Yankees owner began targeting and signing several Oakland players including Catfish Hunter and most notably, Reggie Jackson. 

Steinbrenner was also notorious for his grooming demands that prevented players from displaying facial hair with the exception of mustaches – a policy that was challenged several times most notably by fan favorite, Don Mattingly.

A more recent example of the results from the hair codes around the Yankee clubhouse is when Johnny Damon left the Boston Red Sox organization with his shoulder-length hair and a full beard then showed up at his first Yankees press conference as clean shaven as a Marine.

Throughout his years at the helm, regardless of performance, Steinbrenner would change management. In fact, Billy Martin was fired and eventually rehired five times among the twenty changes that were made in The Boss’ first 23 years of ownership.  Many times personal animosity would result from on-field moves and decisions such as the case of Buck Showalter’s resignation in 1995. 

One of Steinbrenner’s most unusual moves for the era came before the beginning of the 1981 season when Dave Winfield was presented with a $23 million contract over a period of ten years.  At the time, this move made Winfield the highest paid player in the history of baseball. By 1985 Steinbrenner openly questioned the performance of Winfield to media personnel after the team struggled in a September series against the rival Toronto Blue Jays. 

The feud with Winfield finally culminated in 1990 when it was discovered that Steinbrenner had paid for information to be “dug up” on Winfield who had already sued the Yankees in the amount of $300,000 due to a violation of contract issues.

After investigation by MLB, Steinbrenner would receive a lifetime ban from baseball that was later lifted when he was reinstated in 1993. The feud would remain so bitter that Winfield chose to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of the San Diego Padres – the first team Winfield had played for and the city he had left to become a member of the Yankees.

Steinbrenner eventually become less involved in the actual operations of the team and it was during this period that the team became a consistent contender, playing neck-and-neck with the eventual World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays until September 1993. The Yankees finally returned to the playoffs in 1995 ending a 14-year drought. 

In a more recent move that was heavily criticized by the media and numerous members within baseball, Steinbrenner hired Joe Torre in 1996 in what would end up his longest managerial relationship at a record of twelve years. With Torre as manager, Steinbrenner produced a World Series winner when the Yankees defeated a very competitive Atlanta Braves team in six games in 1996. 

The team would return to, and win, the World Series again in 1998, 1999 and 2000 while making the playoffs every season for 12 consecutive years until falling short and finishing third in the competitive American League East in 2008. 

Success was once again right around the corner as the Yankees again captured the World Series championship in 2009 after a series with the Philadelphia Phillies.  The championship marked the 27^thof the organization and the seventh under the ownership of Steinbrenner. 

Steinbrenner leaves behind a legacy of championships and controversy as owner of the New York Yankees.

The salaries of professional sports were forever changed when Dave Winfield was pulled away from the San Diego Padres with such a lucrative offer for that time.  For the most part – prior to Steinbrenner – management was content to hire general managers and presidents who would run the operation of the game as they watched from a distance.

The Boss was one of the first to become involved in day-to-day operations of the team and began a legacy of management changes during unsuccessful periods that still echo today.  Steinbrenner was one of the first to look for immediate success with new management and that trend has continued across all four major sports leagues. Above all, though, Steinbrenner will remain beloved as a man that loved his Yankees, city and game.

Used with permission of the author.

Cade Caldwell is an Atlanta-based sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The Cubs limped into the All-Star break with a record of 39-50, uncertain about if, or when, Carlos Zambrano will return to the team and also where they will be playing spring training games in the future.

According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Cubs and the City of Mesa, the deadline for Mesa present the Cubs with plans for a new Spring Training facility has passed.

According to the agreement, the Cubs are now free to talk to the Florida group trying to woo them to Naples, and that group can now approach the Cubs again.

A naplesnews.com column pointed out that Mesa has not lived up to the MOU. It claims Mesa does not have financing and does not have a site picked out. It also claims the Naples group, called Project Home Run was ready with its own MOU when the Cubs “caved in” to Major League Baseball to stay in Mesa.

The naplesnews.com piece is quick to point out what the City of Mesa has not done pertaining to the exclusive agreement with the Cubs, but it also appears to leave out some key pieces of information such as the fans outcry to stay in Mesa, the sites that have been targeted for a new stadium and how the stadium would be financed.

They even go as far as likening the Cubs bad fortunes to its ties to Mesa. Where do they come up with this stuff?

The writer says Naples is ready to play ball, has financing and a site picked out, but what he fails to also state is that the teams are so far apart very few people would want to come to Spring Training in Florida after all the years in Arizona and the proximity to the other teams.

And what does Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts say about the MOU deadline? Not much, which is expected, although he did tell Comcast Sportsnet that he is not worried about deadlines and the team is working with the City of Mesa on an agreement that will be agreeable to everyone.

Today, Cubs spokesperson Peter Chase issued a statement that the Cubs are encouraged by the progress Mesa has made and they continue to work with the City of Mesa to finalize a deal.

Apparently, new options have become available to the Cubs, including land that is partially privately owned right now, near a light-rail line that will extend to Downtown Mesa in 2016. A downtown location was considered by the Cubs and Mesa in the 1990s when the Cubs decided to renew the lease at HoHoKam.

The question now is, will the Naples group make another move?

Used with permission of the author.

In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, Miriam Romain maintains a Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com. The Chicago native has also been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is writing a book with the working title “Summers at Wrigley with my Dad.”

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