SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – After racking up 19 hits in a 10-4 victory capping a season-opening sweep of the Astros, the Giants showed they do have one major weakness – spelling.Reserve utility man Eugenio Velez entered the game as a part of a double-switch in the seventh inning. His grey Giants road jersey spelled out “San Francicsco.”

This past Winter the front office was proactive in upgrading the offense, and it showed in a drubbing of the Astros as the Giants never trailed in the series. But there’s one thing that general manager Brian Sabean and his baseball operations staff was unable to prepare the team for, a fourth-grade spelling bee.

Velez, contacted by phone on the team’s bus played Koi.

“No, no, I didn’t know,” Velez said. “That’s the first I’ve heard.”

No word on how manager Bruce Bochy will handle the lapse, but scouts are suggesting extra homework and flash cards in place of PSPs, laptops, and i-pads during organized team travel.

It’s also possible that a team tudor gets hired for road trips, but currently Sabean is only kicking the tires on a few free-agent English teachers. The fiscally conservative Giants likely won’t be in the market for such talented spellers as the Yankees and Red Sox seem to attract.

This sadly isn’t a one-time issue, it’s a troubling relapse to one of the darker eras of Giants baseball.

In 2006 on Moises Alou bobblehead day, the Giants handed out thousands of misspelled figurines of the veteran outfielder. The doll was sporting a Giants home uniform with the word “GNATS” painted across the front.

As for Wednesday’s error, authorities haven’t ruled out the misspelling being the work of professionals (see below).

This isn’t a new issue to baseball, just last season the Washington Nationals featured error-filled home jerseys that would have had early ’90s card collectors buying wax-packs by the truck load. Ryan Zimmerman and his mates took the field with the word “Natinals” emblazoned on their chests.

In that scenario the jersey manufacturer apologized for the error, and the Nat’s corrected the mistake by the third inning.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has come under fire for turning a blind eye to the performance enhancing drug era. Now Selig is sure to face more questions as people worry about the ramifications this new affliction might have on society. When asked, one former president made it known that he was worried about the kids.

Re-printed 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. Besides his contributions to Examiner.com, the I.J. and Sports Climax, Theo is the play-by-play voice for Sonoma State University baseball and softball.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

HOUSTON – At this rate Tim Lincecum will surely win his third-consecutive Cy Young award, Bengie Molina will be the most prodigious 35-year-old catcher in the game, John Bowker will win a gold glove for his outfield defense, and Mark DeRosa will shatter Barry Bonds’ single-season home run record.Oh, the excitement of an Opening Day win.

Exaggeration aside, it was an awfully fine all-around performance for the 2010 vintage of the Giants, as they picked up a crisp 5-2 win over the Astros in Houston on Monday.

Lincecum (1-0) hushed concerns after a less than Tim-like Spring, holding the Astros to four singles over seven shut-out innings. He also fanned seven, walked none, and looked cool in his second Opening Day gig as a big leaguer – he lasted just three innings against Milwaukee on the season opener last April.

“It wasn’t the kind of hyped-upped-ness where you don’t know what’s going on,” Lincecum told reporters. “Obviously Opening Day can be overwhelming, more exciting than a usual game, but I tried not to let it overwhelm me.”

Newly acquired first baseman and clean-up hitter Aubrey Huff had an excellent seat to watch his diminutive teammate.

“Just watching him tonight, I got an idea what it’s all about,” said Huff, who went 1-for-4 with a single and scored a run in the Giants’ three-run second. “He knows how to step it up.”

The Giants’ ace also improved his lifetime record to 34-2 when getting at least three runs of support. As a team in 2009, San Francisco won nearly three-quarters of its games in which they scored three or more runs – a stat that perhaps was the impetus behind the signings of Huff and DeRosa.

Both moves paid dividends Monday, as DeRosa’s first hit as a Giant was a home run off Houston reliever Tim Byrdak in the eighth inning.
But it was a walk DeRosa drew in the second, following Huff’s single, that may have been the bigger at bat. Molina, the re-minted Opening Day catcher, followed DeRosa with one of his two singles scoring Huff. THen, Bowker drilled a single off the top of the Crawford Box in left, bringing home DeRosa, and sending Molina to third. Juan Uribe’s sac-fly to deep right-center scored the slow-footed Molina, making it 3-0 Giants.

“It was nice watching the bats do their thing today,” said Lincecum, who contributed at the plate too by getting down two sac-bunts on first pitches. “… I was definitely excited for this game more than anything. This is where it matters.”

Edgar Renteria added a two-out RBI double in the seventh, and DeRosa’s blast was all the offense the Giants would need.
Sergio Romo came on and pitched a scoreless eighth, but it will likely cost him in kangaroo court, as the eager right-hander bounded off the mound thinking his strike out of Michael Bourn ended the inning. It was only out number two. Romo gave up two hits, but escaped unscathed, other than the embarrassment he’s sure to face from teammates.

“I was just excited,” Romo said. “(I got) caught in the moment on my first Opening Day.”

Brandon Medders coughed up two runs in the ninth, but closer Brian Wilson came on to pick up the final two outs, sealing the win, and earning his first save of the season.

As is the case in nearly every one of Lincecum’s starts, the ‘Franchise’ was the story. But for Giants manager Bruce Bochy, the dominance his starter flaunted isn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“The last couple times in spring training, you could see Timmy getting where he wanted to be, and he took it into tonight’s game,” Bochy said. “He was his normal self.”

Re-printed with permission of the author.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

CHICAGO – Phones may be ringing across Chicago after the Chicago Cubs Opening Day 16-5 loss in Atlanta yesterday. “The Cubs are horrible.” “Zambrano is awful.” “We were robbed by that call — we need replay.”Well, two out of three of those comments might be correct and some may say all three are correct.

The Cubs scored three runs on a Marlon Byrd home run in the top of the first, but Zambrano was not on his game. The Cubs No.1 starter gave up six runs in the bottom of the first, three on a three-run home run by rookie Jason Heyward in his first at bat.

In all, Zambrano was rocked for a total of eight runs before being yanked in the second inning. It was the earliest exit for Zambrano in his career. While his pitching was far from perfect, there were a couple of times when defense was lacking as well.

Z didn’t handle the pressure of an Opening Day start on the road and has toned down his fiery temper, at least in front of the cameras. Regardless, the fans cannot point the finger only at Z. The Cubs as a team totally fell apart in the 6th inning after a blown call by umpire Marvin Hudson on a Byrd fly to center was called out.

Replays showed the call by Hudson incorrect, supplying more ammo for those who are calling for instant replays to have a greater role in Major League Baseball.

“Replays support the #cubs in bad call in 6th on what should’ve been a hit for Marlon Byrd. Ramirez was doubled off,” Tweeted Cubs MLB beat writer Carrie Muskat.

“Absolute BS. Yet another reason replay MUST be adopted. #Cubs got screwed,” Tweeted Bleedcubbieblue.

Even Lou Piniella wasn’t on his game today. He did come out to challenge that call in the sixth, as he should have, but the fiery Lou that Cubs fans expected never materialized — even after the umpires had a meeting and refused to overturn the original call.

If this is a glimpse of things to come for the season, it will be a long season. The Cubs need to get over this game and Lou needs to show he’s really in it. If the skipper of the team loses his fire, it may trickle down the ranks and this season will be another very long one for Cubs fans.

Re-printed with permission of the author.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

WASHINGTON, D.C. – When the Washington Nationals open their season at Nationals Park on April 5th, President Barrack Obama will have the honor of tossing the opening pitch.

This will be Obama’s first visit to Nationals Park and his ceremonial pitch will mark the 100th Anniversary of the inaugural Opening Day pitch thrown by a president. The first to do it was President Howard Taft on April 14, 1910.

A baseball fan at heart, the President is no stranger to the mound. He threw out the first pitch at the 2009 MLB All-Star Game at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2009 in St Louis.

The Nationals opener against the 2009 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies and will be broadcast on WDCW DC – 50. Start time for the afternoon game is 1:05pm.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

The Minnesota Twins have signed catcher and local Joe Mauer to a massive eight year, $184 million contract, which includes a full no-trade clause. The contract is the fourth largest in Major League Baseball history in both value and average salary.

Mauer, who was entering the final year of his current contract with the Twins, got the new new deal that will cover him through the 2018 season, when he will be only 34.

In this final season of his current $33 million, four-year contract, Mauer will earn $12.5 million then under the extension agreed to yesterday, he will earn $23 million in each of the next eight years of his new contract.

Even Mauer’s teammates were impressed with the deal. Twins center fielder Denard Span reportedly tweeting, “184 million for Mauer! Wow.”

Mauer, 26, has won three American League batting titles and was last year’s American League MVP. He is considered one of the best defensive catchers in baseball.

The only contracts bigger than Mauer’s deal are the $275 deal Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees in December 2007, the A-Rod $252 deal he signed with Texas in 2000 and a $189 deal signed by Derek Jeter in 2001 with the Yankees. Roger Clemens’ $28,000 prorated deal in 2007 with the Yankees in which he actually received $17, 443, and the $25.2 million Rodriguez deal with Texas are the only two higher average salaries than Mauer’s. CC Sabathia, now with the Yankees, also has an average salary of $23 million.

This signing makes Mauer the highest-paid catcher, surpassing Jorge Posada’s four year $52.4 million with the Yankees.

Mauer was the Twins’ No. 1 overall pick in 2001. After sitting out the first month of last season, he hit 28 home runs and had 96 RBIs, helping propel the Twins in the AL Central Division champs.

A press conference will be held at the Twins spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, at 7pm this evening.

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

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

If you build it, they will come. And yesterday they came – all 13,391 fans, setting a new Cactus League record. And those fans saw the Cubs lose to the Dodgers 7-3. It’s not surprising that this game was so popular, the Cubs and Dodgers have the most draw in the Cactus League, with Cubs fans following their team to the different Arizona venues.

But the biggest losers of the day were not the Cubs; the biggest losers were the fans who could not get out of the parking lot after the game at Camelback Ranch.

What makes this so disturbing is that fans can get in and out of every other stadium in the Phoenix area with minimal problems. This is year two for Camelback Ranch – which is shared by the Dodgers and White Sox.

You’d think that after the horror stories of last year, the powers that be would have figured out a better way to route traffic out of the stadium than what is currently in place. Not so. If you park in the lot, and if you park in handicap parking (or ADA, as they call it there), forget about getting out – that is if you get there early and you’re lucky enough to get one of the few coveted handicap spots.

Some will say that Camelback Ranch was put up quickly and the infrastructure isn’t quite ready to handle it. Not true. If the person, or people, designing the place had done their homework, getting in and out of the parking lot could have been made a lot easier. The Cubs need to take a good, long look at Camelback Ranch, see all of its flaws and learn from them.

Trying to get out of the parking lot probably made Cubs fans, who were in the majority at the end of the game as Dodgers fans started leaving in droves around the seventh inning, forget that former Cub favorite Reed Johnson hit a three run home run for the Dodgers, or even that the Cubs lost.

In addition to writing her Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com, Miriam Romain has been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is a contributor to SportsClimax.com . She is currently covering the Cubs in Arizona during Spring Training 2010 while she takes a break from writing her book with the working title “Summers at Wrigley with my Dad.”

Some dreams do come to fruition. When asked when was the first time you said to yourself, “I want to own the Cubs?” Tom Ricketts, chairman and new owner of the Chicago Cubs, reminisced about that moment that came in 1990.

“Last fall I was going through some papers on my desk and I found my business school application. It was an essay written in 1990, and one of the questions they asked was to tell what your dream job would be. I wrote “I’d like to own the Chicago Cubs, or a baseball team,” says Ricketts. At the time, he was living with his older brother, Pete above the Sports Corner bar at the corner of Sheffield and Addison. “It has been a dream for a long time.”

While Ricketts did not grow up in Chicago, he became a fan by watching the Cubs on WGN, and he has lived in Chicago long enough to call it home, even attending the University of Chicago. Ricketts was involved in Fantasy Baseball for a while and read everything Bill James wrote.

“Obviously living right up here and going to so many games how can you not [fall in love with the Cubs]? I love business, I love baseball. Being able to do both at once is terrific. And then to combine it with the family, it’s [great],” he states.

Ricketts makes it very clear that the money to buy the Cubs came about because of his father’s success with Ameritrade. When he realized that Tribune was going to have to sell the Cubs, Ricketts went to his family, talked to them about owning the team, they agreed and they threw their hat into the ring.

Since introducing the family, which included his brothers Pete and Todd and sister Laura, at a press conference at the end of October, Ricketts has had somewhat of a crash course on who and what the Cubs are. He knew from a fan’s point of view (a fan who really did meet his wife in the bleachers), but not from the business side.

He and Crane Kenney, president of the Cubs, have made trips to see all Cubs operations, including a couple of trips to the Dominican Republic. Unlike many owners who want to have a hand in everything, Ricketts is watching and learning and letting the people hired to do their jobs do them and be held accountable for their actions.

The family is putting money into the team at all levels, and Ricketts is firm in pointing out that all revenue generated from the team will go back into the team to help continue improving not only talent, but fan game day experiences. Some of those changes will be evident on Opening Day.

In addition to writing her Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com, Miriam Romain has been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is a contributor to SportsClimax.com . Romain is currently covering the Cubs and MLB from Arizona during Spring Training.

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax™

If he was nervous about pitching for the first time for the Washington Nationals, it didn’t show in Stephen Strasburg’s spring training debut against the Tigers on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old right hander impressed both his team and the opposing Tigers by throwing two shutout innings, striking out one and allowing just two hits in the two innings he pitched. His fast ball reportedly went no lower than 96, and as high as 100 miles per hour.

The Nationals chose Strasburg as the overall first draft pick in this year’s Player Draft. The 2009 Golden Spikes Award winner signed a $15.1 million four year deal with the Nationals on August 25.

He made his professional debut with the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League on October 16. Strasburg was named the 2009 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award winner last summer. The award is given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.

Strasburg was the only collegiate player selected to represent the United States Baseball team during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China. In his only start in the Olympics he pitched seven innings striking out five of the fist six batters he faced. He allowed only one run. The game was called after eight innings because of rain.

The 6’4″ 220-pounder throws and bats right. His fast ball has been clocked consistently at 95-97 miles per hour. Strasburg finished the 2009 season 31-1 with a 1.32 ERA for San Diego State University.

He allowed only 59 hits, 15 earned runs, 19 walks and had 195 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched. His first career no hitter came on May 8, 2009, in his final home start against the Air Force. He struck out 17 batters in that game.

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

Copyright 2010 © Sports Climax™

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Jason Heyward who is considered to be the No. 1 prospect in Major League Baseball for the 2010 season is making a big impression in the Atlanta Braves organization as well several vehicles parked in and around the Kissimmee stadium they call home during spring training.

During a recent batting practice, Heyward damaged a Coca-Cola delivery truck then later sent another ball out of the park that smashed the sunroof of Assistant GM Bruce Mannos’ car. That ball is said to have caused $3,400 dollars damage to the vehicle but Manno handled it well saying “If I knew what happened to the ball, I would have Jason sign it.”

Heyward who stands 6’5″ and weighs a stout 245 pounds was selected 14th overall by the Braves in the 2007 draft and the then 17-year-old signed a reported $1.7 million dollar deal.

After being assigned to the Gulf Coast and Appalachian minor league system he hit a combined .302 with one home run and 6 RBI’S in 12 games. In 2008 he had a strong showing and over the course of 127 games he hit .316 with 11 HR’S 52 RBI’S scored 91 runs and even stole 15 bases.

This spring training, Heyward’s power is drawing a lot of attention and gives him a shot at earning the starting spot in right field. ” I just try to hit the ball hard, I’ve got a big frame and I guess that’s what does it.” said Heyward.

Like many others in the Braves’ clubhouse, teammate Eric Hinske is impressed. “[Heyward] is all he’s made up to be. He has got a unique sound when the ball comes off his bat, and he can hit the ball really far”.

Braves manager Bobby Cox who is in his final season as the skipper for the Braves has high hopes that he will have Heyward on the 40 man roster in this his last season.

Heyward started last season at single A Myrtle Beach team but ended at AAA Gwinnett playing in 99 games hitting .323with 17 HRs, 63 RBIs and 69 runs scored.

Expected to be in the line-up sometime this season, local Braves fans may want to update their car insurance when Heyward brings his large frame and big swing to Atlanta.

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced in a press conference this afternoon that they have come to terms with Justin Upton to keep him in Arizona though 2015.

According to a report from USA Today’s Inside Pitch, The breakdown of the deal is as follows: $1.25 million signing bonus and $500,000 this year, $4.25 million in 2011, $6.75 million in 2012, $9.75 million in 2013, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 million in 2015.

The Sporting News broke the signing bonus down further reporting Upton will receive half of that bonus on April 15 and the remaining amount on July 15.

The 22-year-old Upton is an outfielder for the Diamondbacks but played shortstop in high school at Great Bridge High in Chesapeake, Virginia. After being switched to the outfield by the Diamondbacks, he is said to have difficulties gauging fly balls but is considered by many to have one of the stronger arms in baseball.

Upton is a solid hitter at the plate, last year hitting .300 with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs.

The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Upton as the first overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft. At the young age of 19, he was called up to the majors in 2007.

“Justin’s age (22) played a major factor in the decision,” Larry Reynolds, Upton’s agent said. “This financially sets him up for life, and the bottom line is that he’ll still be a free agent at a time he’s just 28 years old.”

The six-year deal is the second largest contract in Diamondback history. The largest was Randy Johnson’s four-year $53.4 million deal in 1999. Had Upton not signed the deal, he would have been eligible for salary arbitration after this season.

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

© 2010 – Sports Climax^TM