Hey McCourt… Manny wasn’t a free agent

Yesterday Mason and Ireland on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles had beleaguered Dodgers owner Frank McCourt on the air for a half an hour of questions being asked and calls from fans.

It should be noted that he will be beleaguered for a lot longer than he will be the owner of the Dodgers.

He of course painted himself as the victim, all the while saying “I take full responsibility.” He pushed the blame elsewhere and made it clear that the $126 million he took from the Dodgers was NOT true (he said it was only about $100 million, most of it loans and it was cumulative.

I admire the guy to a degree for facing the music. But when he kept saying things like “I learned my lesson” and “I don’t need all of those things anymore” which sounds a lot like someone saying “I swear this is my last cigarette.”

One caller called in to ask why can’t a marquee franchise like the Dodgers sign a Type A free agent. A good question.

McCourt dismissed it saying “What about Manny Ramirez?”

I so wish either Mason or Ireland pointed out that Ramirez was a trade. Manny wasn’t on the open market and offered top dollar by the Dodgers?

He was in a trade with the Red Sox and Pirates of which the Red Sox picked up most of the contract. And yes he resigned with the Dodgers, but only after he received NO OTHER OFFERS.

The question was valid, especially when the likes of CC Sabathia could have been the difference between a trip to the World Series and an NLCS exit.

Ah well… the soap opera goes on as the Dodgers won’t be able to meet payroll.
Look for the Chavez Ravine firesale coming soon.

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Sorry Pirates fans… I won’t jinx your team any more

It seems like every time I write something positive about the Pirates, they lose.
Every time I try to be positive about Pittsburgh and hope they finally make their way to .500, the team does a faceplant.

And I often have received nasty comments from Pirate fans when I criticize them… now I am getting flustered comments from Pirate fans when I praise them.

Here I am, a Red Sox fan blogging… and we Sox fans constantly get accused of only focusing on the Red Sox and Yankees. So I try to open up the discussion to the Pirates, and evidently I am causing them to lose.

So Pirate fans, I will stop blogging about them for a while.
But if we get to June and they are STILL sub .500, you can NOT blame me!

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The Most Recent No Hitter For Each Franchise (Updated for May 3, 2011)



Last year I wrote a post where I had each most recent no hit game for each franchise. And with Francisco Liriano’s gem tonight, that old post is now obsolete.

So dutifully, here is the updated list of each team’s most recent no hitter.

THE MOST RECENT NO HITTERS
FOR EACH FRANCHISE

MINNESOTA TWINS
Francisco Liriano – May 3, 2011
1-0 over Chicago White Sox

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Roy Halladay – October 6, 2010
4-0 over Cincinnati. (Playoff Game)
TAMPA PAY RAYS
Matt Garza – July 26th, 2010
5-0 over Detroit.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Edwin Jackson – June 25, 2010
1-0 over Tampa Bay

OAKLAND A’S
Dallas Braden – May 9, 2010
4-0 over Tampa Bay. (Perfect Game.)

COLORADO ROCKIES
Ubaldo Jimenez – April 17, 2010
4-0 over Atlanta.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Mark Buehrle – July 23, 2009
5-0 over Tampa Bay. (Perfect Game.)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Jonathan Sanchez – July 10, 2009.
8-0 over San Diego.

CHICAGO CUBS
Carlos Zambrano – September 14, 2008.
5-0 over Houston.

BOSTON RED SOX
Jon Lester – May 19, 2008.
7-0 over Kansas City.

DETROIT TIGERS
Justin Verlander – June 12, 2007.
4-0 over Milwaukee.

FLORIDA MARLINS
Anibal Sanchez – September 6, 2006.
2-0 over Arizona.

HOUSTON ASTROS
Roy Oswalt, Peter Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner –
June 11, 2003.
8-0 over New York Yankees.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Bud Smith – September 3, 2001
4-0 over San Diego.

NEW YORK YANKEES
David Cone – July 18, 1999.
6-0 over Montreal. (Perfect Game.)

PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon – July 12, 1997.
3-0 over Houston. (10 innings.)

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Hideo Nomo – September 17, 1996.
9-0 over Colorado.

TEXAS RANGERS
Kenny Rogers – July 28, 1994.
4-0 over California. (Perfect Game.)

ATLANTA BRAVES
Kent Mercker – April 8, 1994.
6-0 over Los Angeles.

SEATTLE MARINERS
Chris Bosio – April 22, 1993.
2-0 over Boston.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Bret Saberhagen – August 26, 1991
7-0 over Chicago White Sox.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (AS MONTREAL EXPOS)
Dennis Martinez – July 28, 1991.
2-0 over Los Angeles. (Perfect Game.)

BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson – July 13, 1991.
2-0 over Oakland.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Dave Steib – September 2, 1990.
3-0 over Cleveland.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM (AS CALIFORNIA ANGELS)
Mark Langston and Mike Witt – April 11, 1990.
1-0 over Seattle.

CINCINNATI REDS
Tom Browning – September 16, 1988.
1-0 over Los Angeles. (Perfect Game.)

MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Juan Nieves – April 15, 1987.
7-0 over Baltimore.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
Len Barker – May 15, 1981.
3-0 over Toronto. (Perfect Game.)

Bonus
WASHINGTON SENATORS
Bobby Burke – August 8, 1931
5-0 over Boston.

The Padres and Mets are still on notice. As are the Nationals who haven’t had one in Washington.

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