The Sports Review

The Pittsburgh Pirates were overjoyed by their victory over New York Yankees last Tuesday night as this is the first win since the 60 World Series that the Pirates have registered over the Yankees at their own backyard. The margin of victory (12-5) will also be a welcome sight for the Pirates fans and this stupendous win was achieved courtesy of home runs by Ryan Doumit and Jose Bautista. The Pirates hitters were on song for the entire game and they took an unassailable lead of 7-1 by the end of the fifth inning. The Pirates fans, seeing the tide change in their favor, will be rushing to book their tickets for future games well in advance. 

Hank Blalock, the Rangers’ talented infielder has not been given the green light to continue playing for the team. Previously he was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, rendering his wrists unable to perform optimally. He is under medication and is expected to see his doctor in Texas for a follow up examination. While he will miss the three game match against arch rival Rays, Blalock has been advised to rest for at least two to three more days. Rangers’ manager Ron Washington expressed his concern and wished Blalock a speedy recovery so that he can resume playing with the team soon without being put into the disabled list for extended period of time.

The Chicago White Sox are on a roll lately and have registered their 7^th consecutive win with a 7-2 thrashing over the Cleveland Indians courtesy of some heroics by none other than Jermaine Dye. He had a three run homer in the sixth inning of the match and came up with a solo shot in the seventh to seal the fate of his opponent team. The Cleveland Indians by virtue of this defeat have had five straight losses and will need to get their act together before their next game against the White Sox team. Dye, one of the sport’s powerful hitters, has made eight home runs in this season so far.

Chipper Jones, the no.10 third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, sustained further injury to his already strained right quadriceps while belting out a double, leaving Atlanta Braves to fend for themselves during last Sunday’s game against Los Angeles. Fortunately, his team did not suffer much due to his absence and instead managed to score 6-1, making them the victors.

Previously, Jones injured his right quad during the April 9 at Colorado. He did not fully recuperate and trooped on to play but this proved to be a bad mistake. He successfully extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He took quite a while to get back on his feet after sliding into second base, and that’s when Jones knew that something was wrong. When asked to comment, the Atlanta Braves’ manager Bobby Cox does not know if Jones feels up to it for the following Monday night game. With opponents like Washington, it’s best to be sure, he says. He maintains that Jones’ injury is nothing major and fans should not worry too much.

Alex Rodriguez, known for his remarkable baseball playing, has set another record for baseball’s highest contract, finalizing his $275 million, 10-year agreement with the Yankees. The previous mark of the outstanding baseball player was his $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas in December 2000. However, after having been traded to the Yankees in 2004, he cancelled that contract during the final game of the World Series. The new deal allows Rodriguez to earn $30 million more for achieving historic records.

P.S. A-Rod is 18th on the career list with 518 homers, 244 shy of Barry Bonds‘ record.

Minnesota is faced with the dilemma of dealing Johan Santana of their starting rotation. Two-time Cy Young Award winning player can become a free agent following the 2008 season. Minnesota is not ready to fork over the kind of cash the player is going to command. In this edition of Major League Baseball Fastball, Neil Borenstein examines Johan Santana’s situation, including who will be the top suitors and when is the right time to trade the player away

A-Rod is happy to be back to the New York Yankees, where he believes he belongs. The player has discovered happiness with the Yankees this year, and all along has a desire to stay, despite the specter of free agency. The power-hitting 3B said Saturday that his wife and he finally feel like they are New Yorkers. The club seemed prepared to move on, until Alex Rodriguez contacted them recently about a new contract that turned out to be worth about $275 million over ten years.

The Indianapolis Colts have lost their defensive end Dwight Freeney till the end of the season. He injured his left foot during the matchup against the San Diego Chargers on last Sunday. The team were two points behind the Charges, and Freeney, while making a spin motion, badly hurt his foot, which caused its dislocation and get him out of the games for quite a long period. Actually it was the midfoot, which will take time to heal. For this period the Colts want to replace Freeny with a defensive end from the Denver Broncos, because he is likely to be sacked by them.

Jacque Jones, 32, is a .294 hitter against right-handed pitchers, who averaged 25 home runs and 78 RBIs a season from 2004-2006 before hitting just five homers this year to go with 66 RBIs and a .285 batting average. Having been Tigers’ opponent some time ago, he is now one of the Tigers! Jones was traded by the Cubs, and feels that this deal will be successful for him; according to his words, he is moving from one good team to another good team and to the very good manager. By pulling off the one-for-one swap, the Tigers filled their need for a left-handed bat to add some semblance of balance to a predominantly right-handed lineup. As president/general manager Dave Dombrowski says, Jones is a proven left-handed hitter that can play left field. Therefore the team gained a lot by acquiring him, and we can hope for new and better results.