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Re: The MLB Thread
I'm a lifelong Cubs fan. Which means i'm an Andre Dawson fan. Which means i'm a fan of 80's-era Expos with Gary Carter & Andre Dawson & Tim Raines.
Ultimately i'm a Gary Carter fan. Just one of the great good, family men of baseball. I just felt it'd be a nice tribute to honor the Expos-Gary Carter, of which he spent his best years in Montreal statistically. I believe the Montreal Canadiens also did some tribute for Carter, and I believe the Washington Nationals are planning something, who still have Carter's #8 retired.
It's just right now all of the New York press is making the rounds with the Mets tribute, plus the correlation to Carter having a World Series ring from the '86 Mets.
Re: The MLB Thread
I'm a Minnesota Guy, so I've been a lifelong fan of the Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, and Gophers.
Though this past year or so has most likely been the worst year of sports for Minnesota teams since the the beginning of professional sports in the state. 
Past Season For Each Team:
Vikings: 3-13 (Last Place)
Twins: 63-99 (Last Place)
Wolves: 17-65 (Last Place)
Wild: 39-35-8 (Missed Playoffs)
Gophers Football: 3-9 (Last Place)
Gophers Basketball: 17-14 (Missed NCAA and NIT Tournaments)
Hopefully things are looking up for my teams:D
Re: The MLB Thread
Wow, those are some ugly records. Guess I should feel better about some of the crushing losses in post season play my teams have dealt with over the years. Boston would like to thank Minnesota for David Ortiz (2 rings with the Sox). Kevin Garnett (1 ring with the Celtics). And on a lesser note, Randy Moss for a near perfect season with the Patriots.
A quick note on Tim Wakefield. He was around for so long, it'll be odd for him not to be on the team anymore. It seemed like any time I had tickets to a game, Wakefield would be pitching about 70% of the time. He was a consummate team guy. Never griped about his role and would do anything asked of him to help the team. And he was of great help right up until this last season. Last year was a bad one for him. He never had a great stretch like he'd have in previous years. Let's face it, he was never consistently good, but he'd always have that one month or so where he was nearly unhittable. That never happened last season. He was very hittable all season long. He pitched some decent games, but nowhere good enough to rely on going forward. He probably could still pitch in the majors for a lesser team, but he wanted to retire with the Red Sox.
Jason Varitek may not be far behind.
Re: The MLB Thread
Varitek should've been gone a couple seasons ago honestly. It amazes me how long they've kept him around, and it's probably because of the AL having the DH, that as long as Varitek's glove was there, he would always be worthy of a backup catcher job. Plus Boston is not very deep at catcher.
Has Boston re-signed Varitek yet? I checked on redsox.com, with Salty & Shoppach now on the team, where will Varitek fit in? Backup DH for Papi?
Re: The MLB Thread
Varitek should've been gone a couple seasons ago honestly. It amazes me how long they've kept him around, and it's probably because of the AL having the DH, that as long as Varitek's glove was there, he would always be worthy of a backup catcher job. Plus Boston is not very deep at catcher.
Has Boston re-signed Varitek yet? I checked on redsox.com, with Salty & Shoppach now on the team, where will Varitek fit in? Backup DH for Papi?
They signed Varitek to a minor league deal, invited him to spring training with no guarantee he'd make the team. And I can't see how he does make the team, unless Salty or Shoppach gets hurt or something. He can't catch up to "high" heat anymore, as in up in the strike zone. And he LOVES to swing at that crap. He can't throw out baserunners, never could really. His strength was always his handling of the pitching staff. Beckett loved throwing to him, and he was the preferred battery mate for others as well. But his skills just aren't there anymore. He had a decent year last season as a backup, but they now have a much better defensive catcher in Shoppach in reserve, so there's really no spot for Tek. Maybe he sticks around for the spring to work with the staff, and to see if an injury opens a spot for him. But I wouldn't expect more than that.
Re: The MLB Thread
As the old saying goes, when your done... you're always the last to know.
At least Varitek isn't Willie Mays in a Mets uniform, or Pete Rose in an Expos uniform.
Only other chance for Varitek would be Salty being turned into a situational DH, and making Shoppach the full-time C.
Re: The MLB Thread
Former All-Star outfielder Mike Cameron retires after 17 seasons
by Bill Ladson / MLB.com
VIERA, Fla. -- Two months after agreeing to terms on a Minor League deal with the Nationals, outfielder Mike Cameron announced his retirement Sunday.
Cameron, 39, indicated to MLB.com in December that 2012 most likely would be his last season, and he wanted a chance to mentor a player like the Nats' Roger Bernadina.
If Cameron had played this season, he could have been in a platoon situation with Rick Ankiel in center field. With Cameron out of the picture, the Nationals could have Jason Michaels replace Cameron.
Then again, the Nationals could choose to start the year with Jayson Werth in center field and Bryce Harper in right. Manager Davey Johnson has said he is going to give Harper every chance to make the team out of Spring Training.
Last season, Cameron played for the Red Sox and Marlins and hit a combined .203 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs. He is perhaps best remembered for being traded from the Reds to the Mariners as part of the deal that sent Ken Griffey Jr. to Cincinnati after the 1999 season.
While Griffey spent a lot of time on the disabled list, Cameron was an All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove Award winner. His best season was 2001, when he hit .267 with 25 home runs and 110 RBIs.
Cameron played for eight teams during his 17-year career, including the White Sox, Mets, Padres and Brewers. He had a career .249 batting average with 278 home runs and 968 RBIs, and was one of 15 players in big league history to hit four home runs in one game.
