Thursday, July 20, 2006
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves, looking for bullpen help as they make a run at the National League wild card, acquired closer Bob Wickman from Cleveland for minor league catcher Max Ramirez on Thursday.
Wickman, 37, is 1-4 with a 4.18 ERA and 15 saves this season. He's eligible for free agency this winter.
The Braves were desperate to upgrade a bullpen that's tied with Kansas City for first in the major leagues with 20 blown saves. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox has used Chris Reitsma, Mike Remlinger, Ken Ray and Jorge Sosa, among others, to close games this season.
Ramirez, 21, was rated Atlanta's No. 20 prospect by Baseball America before this season. He was hitting .285 with nine homers in 267 at-bats for the Braves' Class A Rome affiliate. He was picked for the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.
With Cleveland at 42-52 and 21 games out of first place in the American League Central Division, baseball front office people expect Indians general manager Mark Shapiro to shop Aaron Boone, Guillermo Mota, Ronnie Belliard and possibly one or two more veterans between now and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
The Braves have won 14 straight division titles, but their chances looked to be in doubt when they were 33-46. Since then, Atlanta has won 12 of 16 to get back into wild-card contention, five games behind Cincinnati.
Atlanta's seven-game winning streak ended Wednesday night at St. Louis. The Braves were off Thursday, and play a weekend series in Philadelphia.
Wickman earned his 15th save Wednesday to help the Indians end a five-game losing streak. The right-hander is 1-4 with a 4.18 ERA in 29 games.
Cleveland has been a disappointment this season and fallen far back in the AL Central and wild-card races.
Ray, who has five saves in eight chances, had perhaps the most success, but no reliever fared well enough to hold the job.
The Braves also struggled to close games last year, when former closer John Smoltz made his return to the starting rotation.
Wickman, 37, is 1-4 with a 4.18 ERA and 15 saves this season. He's eligible for free agency this winter.
The Braves were desperate to upgrade a bullpen that's tied with Kansas City for first in the major leagues with 20 blown saves. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox has used Chris Reitsma, Mike Remlinger, Ken Ray and Jorge Sosa, among others, to close games this season.
Ramirez, 21, was rated Atlanta's No. 20 prospect by Baseball America before this season. He was hitting .285 with nine homers in 267 at-bats for the Braves' Class A Rome affiliate. He was picked for the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.
With Cleveland at 42-52 and 21 games out of first place in the American League Central Division, baseball front office people expect Indians general manager Mark Shapiro to shop Aaron Boone, Guillermo Mota, Ronnie Belliard and possibly one or two more veterans between now and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
The Braves have won 14 straight division titles, but their chances looked to be in doubt when they were 33-46. Since then, Atlanta has won 12 of 16 to get back into wild-card contention, five games behind Cincinnati.
Atlanta's seven-game winning streak ended Wednesday night at St. Louis. The Braves were off Thursday, and play a weekend series in Philadelphia.
Wickman earned his 15th save Wednesday to help the Indians end a five-game losing streak. The right-hander is 1-4 with a 4.18 ERA in 29 games.
Cleveland has been a disappointment this season and fallen far back in the AL Central and wild-card races.
Ray, who has five saves in eight chances, had perhaps the most success, but no reliever fared well enough to hold the job.
The Braves also struggled to close games last year, when former closer John Smoltz made his return to the starting rotation.
Ed Lucas
This is the story of Ed Lucas. Ed is blind. He is also a reporter for the Mets and the Yankees and has covered the playoffs, the World Series and the All Star game.
You may be asking yourself how does a blind man report on baseball games. Ed hasn’t always been blind. Even though he was born with a congenital eye disease he was able to see. He had a love of baseball from a very young age, as both of his parents were fans of the Giants – that is the NY Giants, prior to their move west. As a matter of fact the last game that Ed saw was the 1951 thriller in which Bobby Thomson hit the “shot heard ‘round the world”. He was twelve years old. He came home from school and watched it on TV with his family. After the game he went outside to play baseball in the nearby sandlot and was hit between the eyes with a baseball. Shortly afterwards, he lost his sight – partially due to the eye disease that he was born with, although doctors believe that being hit in the head with a baseball may have also contributed in the loss.
Initially, when Ed lost his eyesight he thought it was the end of the world. The image of blind people that he had in his mind was that of a panhandler on the streets of New York or New Jersey, selling newspapers or pencils. Ed did not know what would happen to him or what a blind person could do. Several things transpired that helped bring meaning back to his life.
Ed was a Giants fan and much to the chagrin of his father he also loved the Yankees. Up until the days of free agency many players had part-time jobs in the off-season so that they could support their families. Somehow, Ed’s mother discovered that Phil Rizzuto was working at a men’s clothing store in New Jersey and she took Ed there so that he could meet one of his Yankee idols. Phil took an interest in Ed and encouraged him. Ed’s mother, Rosanna, also sent a letter to Leo Durocher who at the time was the manager of the NY Giants. Durocher invited him to the Polo Grounds to meet the team and he also became friends with Russ Hodges.
The other event that helped to shape his life was meeting a nun while walking down the street with his mother. She told them of a local school, St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, and encouraged them to search it out. Later that year Ed was enrolled in this special school and learning that blind people can do many things.
After two years he graduated from St. Joseph’s and enrolled at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. Because of Ed’s love for baseball he created a club while he was at school, which he called Diamond Dusters. Once a week celebrities such as Jackie Robinson, Lindy McDaniel, Russ Hodges and many others would come to the school to talk about baseball and read the newspapers to the blind students. It was during this time that Ed began writing about baseball. Accompanied by his uncle he attended many games; he carted around a large reel-to-reel tape recorder and began interviewing players whenever he could.
After graduating from high school Ed attended Seton Hall University and was conferred with a degree in communications. For four years he worked at a local radio station and had his own show “Around the bases with Ed Lucas”.
All of these years later Ed is still reporting on baseball games; he attends quite a few Yankees and Mets home games. So, how does he do it? He does not do the play by play although he does have the uncanny ability to determine where a hit ball will go just by the sound it makes coming off of the bat. Ed’s method is this – he sits in the press box and listens to the local radio broadcast of the game. Then after the game he goes to the field or the locker room or press area and interviews players about what happened during the game – perhaps an extraordinary play or call or any incident that may have been out of the ordinary. He adds his notes to the tape and sends it in to someone that types and submits it for him. He has had articles published in many newspapers and magazines.
Ed has had the opportunity to meet many famous baseball personalities. Some of his favorites are Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ron Guidry, Lindy McDaniel, Dave Righetti, Monte Irvin, Alvin Dark, Bobby Thomson and many more. There is no way to name all of them and if you ask him he will not pick just one favorite. He has nice things to say about everyone he has met – including Barry Bonds, who many members of the media have taken a disliking to. Ed has known the Bonds family for years and says that Barry has always gone out of his way to be nice or to help him in any way that he can.
Of course, there have been challenges along the way. Some of the players are uncomfortable talking with him or do not know how to approach him. One time he was interviewing Willie Mays and didn’t realize that he was blocking the AP photographer, who was working under a tight deadline, from getting a picture. But for the most part Ed has had many positive experiences.
And after all of these years Ed still counts Phil Rizzuto as one of his closest friends. As a matter of fact, Phil hosts a celebrity golf tournament every year to benefit St. Joseph’s School, where Ed is now employed as the Director of Development and Public Education. Together they have raised over a million dollars in the past fifteen years. *
Ed certainly has come a long way from that scared twelve-year old boy. Isn’t it amazing how baseball can change your life?
You may be asking yourself how does a blind man report on baseball games. Ed hasn’t always been blind. Even though he was born with a congenital eye disease he was able to see. He had a love of baseball from a very young age, as both of his parents were fans of the Giants – that is the NY Giants, prior to their move west. As a matter of fact the last game that Ed saw was the 1951 thriller in which Bobby Thomson hit the “shot heard ‘round the world”. He was twelve years old. He came home from school and watched it on TV with his family. After the game he went outside to play baseball in the nearby sandlot and was hit between the eyes with a baseball. Shortly afterwards, he lost his sight – partially due to the eye disease that he was born with, although doctors believe that being hit in the head with a baseball may have also contributed in the loss.
Initially, when Ed lost his eyesight he thought it was the end of the world. The image of blind people that he had in his mind was that of a panhandler on the streets of New York or New Jersey, selling newspapers or pencils. Ed did not know what would happen to him or what a blind person could do. Several things transpired that helped bring meaning back to his life.
Ed was a Giants fan and much to the chagrin of his father he also loved the Yankees. Up until the days of free agency many players had part-time jobs in the off-season so that they could support their families. Somehow, Ed’s mother discovered that Phil Rizzuto was working at a men’s clothing store in New Jersey and she took Ed there so that he could meet one of his Yankee idols. Phil took an interest in Ed and encouraged him. Ed’s mother, Rosanna, also sent a letter to Leo Durocher who at the time was the manager of the NY Giants. Durocher invited him to the Polo Grounds to meet the team and he also became friends with Russ Hodges.
The other event that helped to shape his life was meeting a nun while walking down the street with his mother. She told them of a local school, St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, and encouraged them to search it out. Later that year Ed was enrolled in this special school and learning that blind people can do many things.
After two years he graduated from St. Joseph’s and enrolled at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. Because of Ed’s love for baseball he created a club while he was at school, which he called Diamond Dusters. Once a week celebrities such as Jackie Robinson, Lindy McDaniel, Russ Hodges and many others would come to the school to talk about baseball and read the newspapers to the blind students. It was during this time that Ed began writing about baseball. Accompanied by his uncle he attended many games; he carted around a large reel-to-reel tape recorder and began interviewing players whenever he could.
After graduating from high school Ed attended Seton Hall University and was conferred with a degree in communications. For four years he worked at a local radio station and had his own show “Around the bases with Ed Lucas”.
All of these years later Ed is still reporting on baseball games; he attends quite a few Yankees and Mets home games. So, how does he do it? He does not do the play by play although he does have the uncanny ability to determine where a hit ball will go just by the sound it makes coming off of the bat. Ed’s method is this – he sits in the press box and listens to the local radio broadcast of the game. Then after the game he goes to the field or the locker room or press area and interviews players about what happened during the game – perhaps an extraordinary play or call or any incident that may have been out of the ordinary. He adds his notes to the tape and sends it in to someone that types and submits it for him. He has had articles published in many newspapers and magazines.
Ed has had the opportunity to meet many famous baseball personalities. Some of his favorites are Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ron Guidry, Lindy McDaniel, Dave Righetti, Monte Irvin, Alvin Dark, Bobby Thomson and many more. There is no way to name all of them and if you ask him he will not pick just one favorite. He has nice things to say about everyone he has met – including Barry Bonds, who many members of the media have taken a disliking to. Ed has known the Bonds family for years and says that Barry has always gone out of his way to be nice or to help him in any way that he can.
Of course, there have been challenges along the way. Some of the players are uncomfortable talking with him or do not know how to approach him. One time he was interviewing Willie Mays and didn’t realize that he was blocking the AP photographer, who was working under a tight deadline, from getting a picture. But for the most part Ed has had many positive experiences.
And after all of these years Ed still counts Phil Rizzuto as one of his closest friends. As a matter of fact, Phil hosts a celebrity golf tournament every year to benefit St. Joseph’s School, where Ed is now employed as the Director of Development and Public Education. Together they have raised over a million dollars in the past fifteen years. *
Ed certainly has come a long way from that scared twelve-year old boy. Isn’t it amazing how baseball can change your life?
Detroit Tigers
This week the Detroit Tigers continue their reign as the best team in baseball; nothing new there.
The team up the most spots since last week is the suddenly-surging Atlanta Braves (8-2 Last 10 games). While they may be out of the NL East race they haven't given up and are only five games out of the National League Wild Card spot through Monday's games..
A pair of NL West teams take the prize as "Biggest Loser" as the Los Angeles Dodgers (3-7 Last 10 games) and Colorado Rockies (2-8 Last 10 games) both fell six spots this week.
Notice the ranking of the Oakland A's compared to it's American League West counterparts. In the actual standings the A's (13th) are leading the division. In these rankings, though, they rank behind both the Los Angeles Angels (8th) and the Texas Rangers (11th). That race is sure to be an interesting one right to the very end.
The team up the most spots since last week is the suddenly-surging Atlanta Braves (8-2 Last 10 games). While they may be out of the NL East race they haven't given up and are only five games out of the National League Wild Card spot through Monday's games..
A pair of NL West teams take the prize as "Biggest Loser" as the Los Angeles Dodgers (3-7 Last 10 games) and Colorado Rockies (2-8 Last 10 games) both fell six spots this week.
Notice the ranking of the Oakland A's compared to it's American League West counterparts. In the actual standings the A's (13th) are leading the division. In these rankings, though, they rank behind both the Los Angeles Angels (8th) and the Texas Rangers (11th). That race is sure to be an interesting one right to the very end.
