YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Mark Townsend

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    • I should first explain that this was by no means an ordinary foul ball. This was actually a frozen rope off the bat of Albert Pujols, who got well out in front of a Chris Sale breaking ball during their first inning confrontation on Friday night.

      To me, if you're not wearing a glove, that's one foul ball you'd want to avoid unless the safety of a loved one depended on it. However, the group of fans sitting halfway down the third base line and about halfway up the bleachers Angel Stadium of Anaheim really didn't have much time to think or react.

      Instead, all they could do was hold up their full cups of beer as a substitutes for leather, and the results were not pretty. In particular, they were not pretty for the man wearing the black Angels hat with the white t-shirt. Though his beverage did stay intact, which is very good news, he ended wearing most of the plaid shirted man's beer in front of him.

      And to make matters worse for everybody, it looked like plaid shirt may have been in the best position to grab the souvenir after it hit the ground, but was a little slow reacting. We're not sure who ended up with it, but for him it may have been a sacrifice worth making to end up with a Pujols baseball.

      Read More »from Beer explosion! Fans’ attempt to catch foul ball with full beer cup backfires (Video)
    • Troy Tulowitzki and Madison Bumgarner. (AP Photos)The Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants have an interesting history when it comes to throwing around accusations. If you recall, during a game at Coors Field in September of 2010, Tim Lincecum tossed a baseball out of play and could be seen mouthing the words “blank this juiced ball fertilizer.”

      I’m paraphrasing, of course, while channeling my inner Vin Scully.

      Lincecum never backed off his words following the game, and the accusation seemed to be that Colorado would occasionally throw a few non-humidor baseballs into the bag later in games to give their offense a better chance at instant offense. Though it felt more like gamesmanship than anything, Major League Baseball took San Francisco’s complaints seriously, even changing the rules for how baseballs at Coors Field were handled between the point where they leave the humidor and end up in the umpires hands.

      Case closed. That particular issue has not resurfaced since, whether it be the Giants or any other team visiting Coors Field, but the hard feelings between the National League West rivals have seemingly lingered since that point without ever truly boiling over.

      That brings us to Coors Field on Friday night. For a few seconds it seemed like we may have been headed towards that inevitable flare up. It happened in the third inning with Troy Tulowitzki running on first base, D.J. LeMahieu at the plate, and Madison Bumgarner pitching. As it's being reported, Tulowitzki asked first base umpire Tim McClelland to check the baseball. McClelland complied, stopping play to give it a once over before tossing it out of play.

      Read More »from Troy Tulowitzki denies accusing Madison Bumgarner of doctoring baseballs
    • The Houston Astros introduced Reid Ryan as their new president on Friday.

      It's possible somewhere down the road we'll look back at that moment as the turning point in their organization's history. For now, though, they're still the same old Houston Astros, which means losing games in every way imaginable will continue.

      For example, let's look at Friday night's 5-4 walkoff loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Astros held a 4-1 lead through five innings, but saw that evaporate by the time the ninth inning rolled around. The all too familiar sense of impending doom had to be consuming Astros fans at this point, and especially so when Pittsburgh loaded the bases with one out after pitcher Edgar Gonzalez botched a would be 1-6-3 double play.

      However, as bleak as it looked for that moment, fans were able to let out a temporary sigh of relief after Gonzalez recovered to strikeout Neil Walker for a huge second out. Gonzalez then made the biggest pitch of the game, getting Russell Martin to hit a weak fly ball into short right field for what should have been the third and final out of the inning.

      Only one little problem... Impending DOOM finally arrived at PNC Park.

      Read More »from That’s so Astros: Collision, dropped fly ball gives Pittsburgh walkoff victory over Houston (Video)
    • The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

      With their desired lineup intact for the first time in 40 games, the Atlanta Braves offense turned it up a notch in their 8-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jason Heyward, who just returned from the disabled list on Thursday after undergoing an emergency appendectomy in Colorado last month, reached base three times to help set the table. Justin Upton then cleared it in the sixth, cracking his third career grand slam off Paco Rodriguez.

      ''As soon as he took that swing, I knew that ball was going to be out of the ballpark,'' said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. ''That was one of the prettiest swings I've seen put on a baseball.'

      After traveling an estimated 461 feet, we're sure the baseball agreed with Gonzalez's assessment. It was Upton's tenth homer — out of 14 — to travel over 420 feet this season. He's

      Read More »from The Juice: Justin Upton helps Braves Slam the Dodgers; Paul Goldschmidt mashes two homers for Arizona
    • As an appetizer to Friday night’s nearly full slate of 14 games, Major League Baseball has published the entire MSG broadcast of David Wells' perfect game against the Minnesota Twins from May 17, 1998 on their Youtube channel.

      That’s right, it was exactly 15 years ago today that Wells joined the history books as the thirteenth pitcher to throw a perfect game in MLB history. We’ve actually added another eight perfect games to this list since then (most recently Philip Humber and Felix Hernandez during the 2012 season), so obviously we’re seeing them at a much more frequent clip over that timeframe, but it certainly doesn’t diminish Wells’ accomplishment on that afternoon one bit.

      Of course Wells also claimed in his book that he was partially in the bag (aka “half-drunk“) that afternoon after spending the previous night out drinking with the cast of Saturday Night Live. If true, I suppose that adds another layer to his performance. Then again, taking one look at the lineup Minnesota fielded that day makes you wonder if he could have been completely hammered and still done just as well.

      Here it is with their batting averages leading in to that game included:

      Read More »from 15 year anniversary: Relive David Wells’ perfect game at Yankee Stadium
    • (AP)You know the speech we’re talking about. It happened prior to the Boston Red Sox April 20 game against the Kansas City Royals, which was their first game at Fenway Park following the tragic events at the Boston Marathon and the subsequent manhunt that paralyzed the city for nearly 24 hours. We also know you remember the powerful (and colorful) words longtime Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz used to punctuate his heartfelt message on that highly emotional day.

      Within minutes of the speech, Ortiz's phrase "This is our f***ing city" was the most talked about topic on social media, and within 24 hours it was already being attached to t-shirts with several companies looking to raise money for those affected by the Patriot Day bombings.

      Needless to say, it caught on faster than a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin catchphrase in the late 90s, and now Ortiz himself is going one step further by selling actual bats emblazoned with his famous quotes over at a bigpapi.com.

      And, once again, all net proceeds will go to the victims of those horrific events.

      Read More »from David Ortiz selling bats brandishing famous Boston speech quotes to benefit bombing victims
    • Fan builds Yankee Stadium replica using 75,000 matchsticks

      (MLB)For 86-year-old Bill "Brother Beans" Becker, it was three years and $300 well spent.

      In his own words, that's how long it took the life long Yankees fan from Toms River, N.J. to create a Yankee Stadium replica using only matchsticks, and that's how much it cost him to burn through — literally — all 75,000 matches that were required to complete his unique, extensive and completely awesome project.

      When broken down, that's roughly 70 matches a day that Brother Beans (his nickname may be my favorite part of the story) burned. He then scrapped off the charred tips before shaping them into perfect position and setting them in place. Tedious work for most of us, but not Becker. In fact, according to Becker, it's not the first such project he's undertaken. A number of years ago he also created a Lambeau Field replica, so he obviously enjoys the work it requires and the personal satisfaction it creates.

      Speaking of satisfaction, the New York Yankees themselves were very impressed by his efforts once they learned of the creation and even put the replica on display at the new Yankee Stadium before their game against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

      You can learn more about that cool event and how Brother Beans came up with the idea to create a matchstick Yankee Stadium in the video below.

      Read More »from Fan builds Yankee Stadium replica using 75,000 matchsticks
    • The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

      To say Raul Ibanez enjoys hitting at Yankee Stadium would be an understatement. After enjoying a terrific postseason in 2012 in which he delivered three home runs at the Stadium — including his dynamic Game 3 in the ALDS where he connected for game-tying and game-winning blasts — the 40-year-old veteran has returned with just as big a bang this season while wearing a Seattle Mariners uniform.

      On Tuesday, Ibanez hit a two-run homer in Seattle's 4-3 loss. On Wednesday, he went deep two more times, including a first inning grand slam off Phil Hughes and a two-run shot in the fifth that iced away Seattle's 12-2 victory. That brings his totals to six home runs and 13 RBIs at Yankee Stadium since the beginning of the 2012 playoffs. He's 10 for 21 overall and obviously feels more confident taking shots at the short porch in right. Right, Raul?

      ''I can't tell that much of a difference even though when you hear it, depending on how you're doing, you know,'' Ibanez said with a sly smile.

      The sly smile gives him away. Or maybe he just heard he became the oldest player (40 years, 347 days) with at least six RBIs in a game since Barry Bonds in July 2007. Thanks to Elias for that tidbit. On the flipside, Phil Hughes allowed seven earned runs in the first inning after allowing only two first inning runs in seven starts all season. That's a rough night for the old ERA.

      D-Backs get last laugh: Justin Upton returned to Arizona with a four-hit game, including a monster home run, in Atlanta’s win on Monday night, but the Diamondbacks ended up winning the series with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday. New offensive centerpiece Paul Goldschmidt paced the attack with three doubles, while Eric Chavez knocked in three against former A’s teammate Tim Hudson. Heath Bell pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

      Read More »from The Juice: Raul Ibanez clobbers two home runs, drives in six as Mariners rout Yankees
    • David Price diagnosed with left triceps strain, likely to miss at least one start

      An already disappointing start for reigning American League Cy Young Award winner David Price ran into another hurdle on Wednesday night after the left-hander was forced to exit his start against the Boston Red Sox with what was originally termed as "tightness in his left triceps" and later diagnosed as a strained triceps.

      Price, who entered the game with a 1-3 record and a 4.78 ERA, had a fairly encouraging beginning to his outing, holding Boston off the scoreboard in the first two frames despite allowing two-out doubles in each. He then ran into serious trouble in the third after walking Stephen Drew to begin it. That was followed by three singles, the last of which was delivered by David Ortiz. It was at that point Price could be seen looking at his arm and shaking the fingers on his left hand while half-heartedly backing up the plate.

      Head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield and manager Joe Maddon quickly converged on the scene to check him out. After a couple minutes of discussion and more hand shaking, the decision was made to get him out of the game and it was about an hour later than we heard the triceps tightness report.

      It wasn't until after the Rays finished their 9-2 loss to the Red Sox and an MRI was completed that we received a more thorough report. Roger Mooney of Tampa Tribune provided those details via Twitter.

      Read More »from David Price diagnosed with left triceps strain, likely to miss at least one start
    • Should Mariano Rivera be considered to start all-star game in his final season?

      (USA Today)Mariano Rivera will be an all-star in his 19th and final season. That's a foregone conclusion, regardless of performance or what statistical analysis might suggest.

      By the way, through the first six weeks the numbers strongly suggest he belongs. He's a perfect 16 for 16 in save chances through the Yankees first 39 games, which is quickest he's reached that number of saves throughout his Hall of Fame career. He also owns a sparkling 1.56 ERA and opposing batters are hitting just .219 against him.

      He's every bit as good now as he was before his ACL tear suffered last season, if not better. The only thing standing in his way of appearing at Citi Field on July 16 is injury, but if complete knee reconstruction can't slow him down, what can?

      He'll be there, but now we're starting to hear some debate over what exactly his role should be at the Midsummer Classic.

      Naturally, the first thought is "Mo" belongs in the ninth inning, but there's no guarantee the National League will hit in the ninth inning. let alone that there will be a save opportunity. If you hold him back waiting for that situation to develop, there's a chance Rivera's true impact on the game is minimal. So what would be the next most logical spot for Rivera to appear to guarantee maximum impact and presence?

      According to Billy Chuck over at Billy-Ball, it's a pretty simple solution. He believes Rivera should start the game, and he offered his nine reasons why in a piece written on Wednesday.

      Read More »from Should Mariano Rivera be considered to start all-star game in his final season?

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