Tennis Star Lindsay Davenport has a Baby Boy

She gave birth in California last weekend.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA, USA – It was a joyous day in Newport Beach for one of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s all-time greatest players on Sunday as Lindsay Davenport, who announced her pregnancy in December and subsequently left the Tour, gave birth to her first child, Jagger Jonathan Leach.

Davenport had an incredible professional career, being one of just 15 women since the inception of computer rankings over 30 years ago to own the No.1 ranking, and reaching a number of Grand Slam finals, claiming the 1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon and 2000 Australian Open singles titles. She married investment banker and former Southern Cal player Jonathan Leach in Hawaii on April 25, 2003, and at the end of last year announced she would be leaving the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour to have the child.

Congratulations to Lindsay and her husband. What kind of name is Jagger for a baby boy? According to this website, it is a rare baby name.

Braves Trade McBride to Tigers for Ledezma

The Atlanta Braves traded reliever Macay McBride to the Detroit Tigers for Wilfredo Ledezma.

Macay McBride was living his dream, pitching for the Braves. Then came Wednesday, and the small-town Georgia boy got smacked by the business side of baseball. The Braves traded the left-handed reliever to Detroit for another lefty, Wilfredo Ledezma, whom they frankly believed was better. And said so. “Macay’s still a young guy who certainly is capable of getting better,” Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz said. “It’s obvious by our actions we like Ledezma and his future better.”

Ledezma, 26, was 3-1 with a 4.79 ERA in 23 appearances for the Tigers this season, and 15-18 with a 5.15 ERA in 106 games (33 starts) over five seasons. McBride had a 3.60 ERA in 18 appearances for the Braves this season, and had pitched significantly better since returning from an April demotion to Class AAA.

He was shocked when manager Bobby Cox called him to his office Wednesday. “It kind of hits you all at once,” said McBride, 24. “I don’t feel anything right now…. Growing up watching the Braves, I wanted to be part of a team that wins here. But these guys [Tigers] are pretty good, too.”

Schuerholz said Ledezma’s starting ability attracted the Braves, but that they planned to use him out of the bullpen, for now. Ledezma has an 8-13 record and 5.56 ERA in 33 career starts. He was to fly to Atlanta with the Tigers on Wednesday night. They play the Braves in a three-game weekend series at Turner Field starting Friday. McBride took equipment from his Braves locker to a storage room in the visitors’ clubhouse. “It might make it an easier transition, just being able to walk over there,” he said, and smiled.

McBride, from Sylvania, was a first-round draft pick by the Braves in 2001. “It’s a sad day; we all like Macay,” right fielder Jeff Francoeur said. “It’s like when Langy [Ryan Langerhans] was traded. You always hear you lose buddies as the game goes along, and the more I’m here, the more I realize that.”

Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski said the move made sense for the Tigers because McBride has minor-league options left and Ledezma does not. The Tigers needed roster flexibility because they have some players coming off the disabled list soon, including pitcher Kenny Rogers, scheduled to start Friday’s series opener.

The payroll impact is a wash: McBride makes $400,000, Ledezma $415,000.

On paper, this looks like a great trade for the Tigers. They get a kid two years younger who’s already pitching much better. Still, John Schuerholz doesn’t miss too often when making trades involving young pitchers. He knows what he’s doing.

Sad news for McBride, in any case.

O say can you start over again?

The firing of Sam Perlozzo on Monday was the first of a number of changes that the Orioles will make.

Tim Marchman of the NY Sun hails the hiring of Andy MacPhail as a savior for the club – come 2009.

Among the contracts they’re paying out this year are $8 million each for starters Kris Benson and Jaret Wright, $3 million each for relievers Chad Bradford and Jamie Walker, $5 million each for outfielders Jay Payton and Jay Gibbons, and $8 million for Melvin Mora. All of these players have their uses, even at these prices, but you can’t build a team around midlevel players making market salaries. This is basic common sense: Two $8 million no. 4 starters are nowhere near as valuable as a $16 million ace and a fringe no. 5 starter.MacPhail, having overseen the building of two very good farm systems, is a good bet to build a third, and the way he’s spent money on stars like Puckett and Sammy Sosa shows that he’s very aware that in baseball, two nickels don’t add up to a dime. Because the Orioles have money and as long as they’re simply run soundly, they’ll be competitive once they’ve flushed the pipes of players like Wright and readied the farm system to start producing some cheap, usable talent.

The other thing that might help the Orioles is finding talent discarded by others. Jeremy Guthrie, the winner of last night’s game is a prime example. Guthrie’s got a WHIP of less that 1 and if not for the bullpen would be something like 6-1. Clearly the Orioles made a good guess here with a talent another team had discarded. But what Marchman is suggesting is that MacPhail understands the value of players, at least in terms of salary. That alone would be an improvement over the current situation. (Hopefully he also understands the value of players in terms of talent.)

While it’s true that the Twins did win two World Championships with MacPhail as GM, the Cubs, Baseball Musings notes, were not so successful with him as club president.

During MacPhail’s twelve seasons running the Cubs (1995-2006), Chicago’s record was 916-1011, a .475 winning percentage, 22nd in the majors. Twenty third were the Orioles at 911-1014, .473. If they’re going to hire someone new, shouldn’t it be someone with a track record that’s different from your team’s own history?

Hardball Times notes that MacPhail in taking the position with the Orioles might be giving up the chance to succeed But Selig as commissioner.

MacPhail, though, will not be Sam Perlozzo’s boss.

Perlozzo seems like a nice guy and I wonder how much his firing will affect the team’s play, it’s not like there’s a lot of talent, though the Orioles have scored 13 runs in two games since his dismissal.

Last night on a radio show, Perlozzo was asked about his best memory with the Orioles. He credits Angelos for hiring him as Davey Johnson’s third base coach, affording him the opportunity to be near his dying father for the last month. He also said that when Flanagan fired him, he had a message from Angelos that if he wished to return to the club in some capacity, he should let the owner know. Perlozzo said that the offer made him feel appreciated. Despite some of the negative things he had to say about the club, he didn’t seem to rule out the possibility of returning to the club in some capacity. Perlozzo also indicated that Leo Mazzone plans to stay on, but that they’ve talked very little since his firing. Mazzone, Perlozzo said, has a professional interest in continuing to overhaul the pitching staff.

Thomas Boswell who celebrated Perlozzo’s hiring wrote in All too familiar

Ten years ago, the Orioles parted ways with a manager, Davey Johnson, who clashed with owner Peter Angelos, then left town on the very day he was voted AL manager of the year.So, let’s get this straight. In ’97, the Orioles didn’t want a smart, cocky manager who made his players bristle (even Cal Ripken) and who didn’t give a fig about his relationship with Angelos. Now, a decade later, Baltimore’s dream candidate is Girardi, who laid down the law to young Marlins players and gave his boss a piece of his mind worthy of Davey.

Being a good manager isn’t just about relationships with others, it’s about knowing how to utilize your resources, and managing the talent you have for the best result. I suspect that that’s a bigger reason for Girardi’s (and Johnson’s) success than the fact that they were strict.

And if you’re interested the Baltimore Sun has quotes from different members of the Orioles’ organization accompanying the hiring and firing of managers since 1994.

“In looking at his background, we felt he was the man. It’s not that we felt Davey Johnson wasn’t the man. We weren’t comparing him against Davey Johnson. We just had the feeling Phil was the right man for this job.”- Assistant GM Frank Robinson, Oct. 16, 1994

And he was the right man, at least until the season started. Regan, a highly regarded pitching coach, lasted one year. (His pitching coach that year is current GM, Mike Flanagan.)

Not everyone thinks that Girardi should take the job if offered. Ken Rosenthal has written that Girardi ought to wait until the end of the season to see what his options are. Former Mets GM Steve Philips was even more emphatic

This morning on the same show, Steve Philips called the Orioles managerial job the “worst in baseball” and said the team is afraid to take a risk — and, if he was Joe Girardi, he’d stay away from that job “with a 10-foot pole” because it might hurt his chances for successful career as a manager. He added that bullpens are where GMs make the biggest mistakes because of the inherent uncertainty with the position.

Still, while it’s uncertain if the O’s have actually made an offer to Girardi (according to the Sun the Orioles are actually in negotiations with him. Other sources have indicated that the O’s have not completed their interview process.

Will the Orioles change? Certainly they’ve changed personnel. But will they adopt a consistent, effective philosophy and long term planning? I’ve been watching them for too long to be convinced that anyone hired this week will be around past 2009.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Yankee News – June 20 edition

- the Yanks were shut down last night by Josh Fogg. As if that’s not surprising enough, the game was played a mile above sea level!

- Josh Phelps was demoted to Triple-A Scranton and Andy Phillips was recalled.

- the Short Season Staten Island Yankees and rookie level Gulf Coast League Yankees began their seasons yesterday, both losing. SI’s top prospects are three pitchers: Dellin Betances, Zach McAllister and Angel Reyes. The top GCL prospects include infielders Abraham Almonte and Prilys Cuello.

- Phil Hughes will begin throwing within a week. That’s very good news. I could see him joining the big club in early August after a few minor league rehab starts.

- the Yanks signed two Chinese teenagers to minor league deals.

- EJ Fagan finished his analysis and ranking of the Yanks top 30 prospects. Definitely worth a read.

Denver Broncos This Years Darkhorse?

So, who is this year’s team?

Don’t like the 5-1 Indianapolis Colts , 6-5 New England Patriots , or 7-2 San Diego Chargers ? OK, here’s a radical suggestion: D. As in the Denver Broncos .

I think it’s quite obvious were my money is going. But, do you want to make some money? Listen up!

Going off at a mere 9-1 to win the AFC and a big 17- or 18- or even 20-1 to take Super Bowl XLII, some gamblers have got to be thinking about Mike Shanahan’s boys.

There is a lot of talk about New England’s off-season. But, take this into consideration.

As good as the Patriots’ offseason was, the Broncos can boast one amazing addition in cornerback Dre’ Bly, adding him to an already respectable ‘D’. This creates the most fearsome secondary in the league; today’s speculative depth chart puts the starters as Champ Bailey, Bly, John Lynch and Nick Ferguson.

Check out this and other examples of the overhauled Denver Broncos at realfootball365

Cubs ship Barrett to Padres

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs traded embattled catcher Michael Barrett and cash to the first-place San Diego Padres on Wednesday for backup catcher Rob Bowen and minor league outfielder Kyler Burke.

Barrett, batting .256 with nine homers and 29 RBIs, has had problems defensively and also been involved in two dugout exchanges this month with Cubs pitchers — one of which led to a clubhouse brawl.

Barrett and starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano got into a skirmish in the dugout June 1 and it carried over into the clubhouse, where Barrett got a black eye and needed stitches in his lip.

The Atlanta Braves had scored five runs just before Zambrano and Barrett went at it in the dugout. Zambrano pointed at his head and screamed at Barrett, who allowed a run to score on a passed ball and throwing error.

Less than two weeks later, Barrett and pitcher Rich Hill had a verbal exchange in the dugout during an eventual loss to the Seattle Mariners.

“The fight had nothing to do with [the trade],” general manager Jim Hendry said during a telephone conference call. “The Rich Hill situation, that’s normal Major League Baseball every night. It just happened to be seen and blown out of proportion. That happens all the time. It wasn’t even discussed in-house about being an issue. … We just felt like we were trying to shore up the position in a little different fashion, a little bit more defensively.”

An emotional player, Barrett was the central figure in a brawl with the White Sox last season. He set it off by punching A.J. Pierzynski in the jaw after he’d been run over at the plate. Barrett was suspended for 10 games.

Barrett, who signed a $12 million, three-year deal in January 2005, has a $4.5 million salary this year and will be eligible for free agency after this season. Of the $2.2 million he is still owed this season, the Cubs will pay $1.5 million and the Padres are responsible for the remaining $700,000.

“It was an honor for me to put on a Chicago Cubs uniform, and I want to personally thank Jim Hendry, the Cubs organization, and all of the Cubs fans for making the past four years so special,” Barrett said in a statement released through his agent. “At the same time, I’m very excited to go to San Diego and do everything that I can to help the Padres win the NL West.”

Barrett has been known more for his offensive abilities than his ones behind the plate. In 2006, he batted a career high .307 with 16 homers and 53 RBIs.

“We felt he was on his way to becoming a terrific player, an All-Star caliber player,” Hendry said.

“This year he has had a little tougher time defensively, and a lot of it is probably from trying too hard. Maybe some of it is it’s the last year of his deal. He’s been a really, really good offensive player and for the first couple years really showed a lot of improvement defensively, then, like I said, we’ve had a little rougher time the first half of this year. We just felt like we needed to make a change.”

Koyie Hill has become Zambrano’s catcher the last three starts. Henry Blanco, who was supposed to be Barrett’s backup this season, has been on the disabled list with neck problems.

Bowen is batting .268 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 30 games for the Padres this season.

Chicago obtained Barrett in a trade with Oakland on Dec. 16, 2003, one day after the Athletics acquired him from Montreal. Prior to the trades, he had spent his entire six-year career with Montreal.

Hendry said discussions on the trade with Padres GM Kevin Towers began three or four days ago. As the Padres negotiated the trade, former Cub Greg Maddux — now part of the San Diego rotation — was asked about Barrett and gave club officials a ringing endorsement of the catcher.

The trade comes less than a week after San Diego and Chicago got into a bench-clearing brawl at Wrigley Field, one that began when Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee was hit by a pitch and took a swing at Padres’ pitcher Chris Young. Each player is appealing his five-game suspendion.

Burke, 18, was San Diego’s first-round compensation pick in last year’s first-year player draft. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound left-hander was the 35th overall pick in the draft out of Ooltewah (Tenn.) High School. In 62 games at Class A Fort Wayne, he batted .211 with one homer and 21 RBIs in 213 at-bats.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com was used in this report.

I think this is a great move for the Padres. They get an All-Star caliber catcher for only $700K and they have no strings attached to him as he becomes a free agent this winter. The Padres, if they don’t trade him, will recieve a compensatory draft pick if they can’t re-sign him in the offseason.

This is a great all around move for San Diego. With Bard and Barrett behind the plate they will get plenty of rest and should both put up very good numbers. Beware though fantasy owners, their at-bats will both go down.

******

-Cleveland cut ties with reliever Roberto Hernandez today. Cleveland is responsible for the remainder of his $3.3 million salary this year and a $200,000 buyout of a $3.7 million team option for 2008. Look for Philadelphia, New York Yanks, and Tampa Bay to give him a call.

-Randy Johnson was placed on the 15-day DL with a herniated disk in his surgically repaired back, making the timing of his return to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rotation unclear.

-Curt Schilling is having shoulder problems and could miss his next start.

-The Oaklnad A’s brought back OF Milton Bradley from 15-day DL.

-The Cleveland Indians placed OF David Dellucci on 15-day DL.

-Kansas City placed DH hitter Mike Sweeney on the 15-day disabled list and recalled 1B/DH/LF Billy Butler from AAA. If you have room for Butler on your fantasy team then I would recommend picking him up. He plans on sticking with the Big League club and he has to hit to do so. Look for him to mash!

The Other Golfing Parents- Moms on the LPGA Tour

With all the talk about Tiger Woods and his wife just having a baby, its forgotten there are Moms who play professional golf too.

(June 19, 2007) — PITTSFORD — Being a mother is not an easy job by itself, but balancing children and life on the LPGA Tour can get pretty demanding.

That’s the challenge that 28 women on the tour face on an almost daily basis.

There just aren’t enough hours in the day for them to accomplish everything they want to.

“First of all, it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done. But it’s hard work,” said Nancy Scranton, a 22-year tour veteran and mother of 2-year-old twins. “I don’t get any free time, and I don’t work out anymore.”

Fortunately it’s not even more difficult. The women on the tour no longer have to make the choice between career and family.

In 1993, the LPGA partnered with Smucker’s to become the first professional sport with a traveling day care center.

Instead of having to leave the kids at home or give up professional golf, the moms can stay on tour and have the confidence that their children are with trained professionals. Four full-time, credentialed staff members of Bright Horizons Family Solutions care for the children while the moms hit the links.

“We’re very proud of the consistency of the program,” said Betsy Clark, the vice president of professional development for the LPGA. “It’s something absolutely needed if the moms want to perform well.”

The best playing mother on tour by a mile is Hall of Famer Juli Inkster.(HOFer Nancy Lopez still plays some and is a mother also, but hasn’t been a force on tour in quite a few years) Juli who two teenage daughters born before the LPGA began its daycare.

After Juli, the best playing Mom is either Pat Hurst, Hee Won Han(who is expecting her first child next month) or Carin Koch.(A nominee for one of the sexiest women golfers) Hee Won has the most US victories, Pat is the only pne of the three to win a Major Championship. Pro golfer Moms are not much unlike other working Moms, except the travel they do and those good enough to make it on television. If I were to guess right, some of these Mothers have probably had their kids tell complete strangers, ‘My Mom was on television!’

The rest of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle article is below the fold

Denver’s Top Five Current Athletes

FanHouse is posting the top five current athletes for America’s top 20 sporting cities. Here are Denver’s.

5. Joe Sakic: One of the classiest players anywhere in sports, Sakic is nearing the end of a long and distinguished career spent entirely with the Avs/Nordiques franchise. Age is not slowing him, either: he put up 100 points last season for the first time since 2000-01. A Hall of Fame lock whenever he decides to hang up his skates, the only thing keeping him down this list is the relative popularity of the NHL.

4. Matt Holliday: The Rockies’ 27 year-old left fielder is emerging into one of the best hitters in all of baseball. Last year he hit .326 and launched 34 homers; this year he is hitting the stratosphere with a .362 BA and an OPS that breaks the 1.000 barrier (he’s currently at 1.015).

3. Champ Bailey: The best player on the state’s most popular team, Champ had a ridiculous ten interceptions last year en route to All Pro status. Now if only the Broncos had John Elway still kicking around…

2. Carmelo Anthony: Though he’s overshadowed by draft mates Lebron James, Darko Milicic, and Dwyane Wade, ‘Melo also just happens to be one of the best players in the game; certainly he’s one of the highest scoring. Would have been an easy #1 on the list until the Sixers got restless and decided to blow the team up. But they did and thus…

1. Allen Iverson: Iverson is one of the most iconic players in the sporting world, to say nothing of the NBA. Though his tenure in the city is short — note to self: do not make hacky joke re: Iverson height here, good job self — and his impact on the court debatable (the Nuggets could have gotten bounced in the first round with or without him), by the criteria established above Iverson is number one with a bullet.

I don’t know, shouldn’t Champ Bailey be #1? After all, he is “The best player on the state’s most popular team”. I think I would also swap Melo and Iverson. Just for the simple fact, the City of Denver has a longer relationship with Carmelo Anthony. Joe Sakic is a great choice and great man. And, Matt Holliday would make the Blake Street Bombers proud.

10. John Elway, No One In Particular (It could be the year 2302 and Robot John Elway could still run for governor with a platform of WOOOOOOO I’M JOHN ELWAY and win 80% of the vote.)

Funny! But, true. haha

The Rockies Win, The Rockies Win

I spoke earlier about the invasion of the evil empire. Well, the first game is over and the Colorado Rockies beat the New York Yankees, 3-1. How about those powerful Yankee bats at Coors Field? What did it? Pitching. Josh fogg went 7 innings allowing 4 hits and 1 run. Not bad for someone who sucks, according to bronxbanter.

Josh Fogg kinda sucks, though, and he’ll take the mound tonight against the Yankees. One might not be surprised to find that Fogg’s only two wins came on the road and that his ERA at home is 2.77 runs higher than his road mark, though one might be surprised to find out that those two wins game against the Mets and Red Sox. What’s more, the Rockies have won Fogg’s last three starts and Fogg’s ERA over his last four starts (two home, two on the road) has been 3.91. Then again, opponents have hit .326/.375/.495 against him in those four starts, so, even when he does well, Josh Fogg sucks.

And, although in the eight there was a bases loaded scare. LaTroy Hawkins, came through to force a ground out. The bullpen pulls through.

Yorvit Torrealba was masterful in his game calling and added a home run. The Rockies recorded three runs off Yankees starter Mike Mussina, with Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins posting RBIs. Great game Rockies!