Ajaxtalk

Thank you, Buck Showalter.

Thank you for coming out and saying what's been on my mind — and probably a lot of others — for the past week or so. If commissioner Bud Selig ends up using his "best interests of baseball" privilege and bans Alex Rodriguez for the rest of his life, many of us are going to see it as little more than a poorly disguised "get out of jail free card" for the New York Yankees.

Zeux schreef:In principe is A-Rod natuurlijk een 'first offender', want hij heeft nooit een ban gekregen voor het gebruik tussen 2001-2003 dat hij vrijwillig heeft toegegeven, dus dat zou dan automatisch 50 games moeten betekenen. Braun kreeg 65 games. Argument bij A-Rod zou 'obstructie' zijn. Want de anderen hebben zich willoos over gegeven? Braun heeft geloof ik zelfs een rechtszaak gevoerd rond aantijgingen van gebruik.

Dat A-Rod harder wordt gestraft, is dus in principe unfair. Eigenlijk alles meer dan dat Braun (ook first offender) heeft gekregen. Misschien kun je het oprekken naar 75. Maar ruim 200?

InnerHarbour schreef:Ik zag na 3 dagen al dat ik niets te zoeken had aan slag tegen die power house line up van jou. Overigens heb ik met 6-5 gewonnen.

Zeux schreef:Hmmm, Adam Jones houdt niet van Europees voetbalsupportersgedrag. En terecht.

Zeux schreef: Het goede nieuws is: de Mets beginnen nu aan een 3-game serie in Los Angeles.

InnerHarbour schreef:

Zeux schreef: Het goede nieuws is: de Mets beginnen nu aan een 3-game serie in Los Angeles.

Boewhahahahahahahaha, sterkte, morgen Harvey wordt jullie beste kans.

"Of course I like it," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "I like flat-screen TVs with high definition. I like air conditioning in my 1956 Bel Air. I like computers.

"That group that argues against technology and advancement, I would challenge them to take away all the technology that makes our lives better. To bury your head in the sand and reference 'old school' all the time is a really poor argument. This is the time. It's our time to make the right decision. Live with it, understand it."

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Red Sox have added more intrigue to their six-game West Coast road trip that starts Monday night against the Giants at AT&T Park. Xander Bogaerts, the No. 1 prospect in their farm system, has been promoted from Triple-A Pawtucket, MLB.com has confirmed.

News of the promotion of Bogaerts was first reported by WEEI.com.

This will mark the first time the 20-year-old Bogaerts has been in the Major Leagues.

Lauded for his five-tool package, Red Sox fans have been clamoring for weeks to see Bogaerts get a chance with Boston.

It will be interesting to see how often Bogaerts plays. His main position is shortstop, and Stephen Drew had finally gotten hot at the plate before going 0-for-7 in his past two games.

The other option for Bogaerts is third base, where he has gotten some work, both in the World Baseball Classic and in the Minors. However, Will Middlebrooks homered Sunday night and is batting .462 in eight games since his return from Pawtucket on Aug. 10.

Playing in National League cities for the next six games, Bogaerts should at the very least get chances to pinch-hit when he isn't in the starting lineup.

The one obvious time that manager John Farrell can start the right-handed-hitting Bogaerts is at shortstop against left-handed pitching. The Sox face all righty starters in the three-game series in San Francisco.

Bogaerts, who is from Aruba, hit .284 with nine homers and 32 RBIs while compiling a .369 OBP and a .453 slugging percentage over 60 games for Triple-A Pawtucket. He predominantly played shortstop, his natural position, but also saw action at third base in 10 games. He hit .311 with a .502 slugging percentage in 56 games for Double-A Portland earlier this season.

The shortstop will become the first 20-year-old to make his big league debut with the Red Sox since Jeff Suppan in 1995, and will be the first Red Sox position player age 20 or younger since Dwight Evans debuted in 1972 at age 20.

To make room for Bogaerts on the roster, utility infielder Brock Holt has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. Catcher David Ross will also be activated following his two-month recovery from a second concussion, and Ryan Lavarnway will go back to Pawtucket.