AGRI Biz

With the possible addition of Cliff Lee, baseball's top southpaw, the Yankees would have formed the most formidable rotation in baseball, and perhaps one of the best ever. Sabathia. Lee. Pettitte. Hughes. Burnett. Four of their five starting pitchers would be headed to Anaheim for this year's All-Star Game. But what about the sixth man? With the addition of Lee to the front of their rotation, someone would have to be moved out. That ...

It took an offensive blackout and countless griping from fans, but St. Louis skipper Tony LaRussa has finally made the move. Monday night against the Washington Nationals, Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols found himself batting cleanup. It was the first time Pujols batted outside of the third spot since May 30, 2003, when he hit fourth against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matt Holliday will now bat third. "It's a couple things," La Russa said. "No. ...

It's finally official: the St. Louis Cardinals have retained All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday. Holliday and the club announced today that they've agreed to terms for a 7-year/$120 million contract that will keep the sweet-swinging slugger in St. Louis through 2016. The deal comes complete with a no-trade clause and a vesting option for 2017 that will kick in if he finishes in the top 10 for the 2016 National League MVP ...

Whether you've heard of him or not, Jason Heyward is good. Really good. I suppose those of you who are still uninformed need an explanation. Heyward, age 21, was born in McDonough, Georgia, also the hometown of outfielder Matt Murton. As the crow flies, The Geranium City, as McDonough is known, is just 27 miles away from Atlanta, home of the Braves. After being an All-American at Henry County High School, he was ...

Ben Sheets, the former Milwaukee Brewers' ace, has not filed for free agency this year. He hasn't needed to. For the last year, Sheets, 31, sat on the free agent market, the most notable in-season free agent. Last offseason, the New York Mets and Texas Rangers were in hot pursuit of Sheets. However, he opted for elbow surgery to repair his torn flexor tendon. After having elbow surgery he has begun ...

I want to ask each and every one of you a question. What becomes of the never-was? Not the has-beens, the drop-outs, or the draft-day busts. I speak of the men who were never given their chance to compete at the major league level. They were robbed of the chance to play the game they loved. I present to you, on this Veteran's Day, the story of one such man. I ...

Mark McGwire is back in St. Louis. Big Mac will join the Cardinals' coaching staff as the hitting coach. We've all heard the various complaints, criticisms, and even praise for the Redbirds' new hitting instructor, but how much of it is warranted? Should a player get a coaching job just because of his superstar status as a player? Without a doubt, some superstars have gone on to excel as a major ...

Recently, several sportswritersùmost notably ESPN's Peter Gammonsùhave suggested an expansion of the Major League Baseball playoffs to resemble the NFL by adding two wild cards to each league. But if we're going to install a Wild Card for each division winner, we'd be taking away the competition of divisions, as there'd be a good chance a team could make the playoffs by finishing in second or even third place. Or imagine the ...

The St. Louis Cardinals were the first team to clinch their division this season, and they did it with some help from the bench. Backup catcher Jason LaRue hit a solo-shot in the top of the eighth that put the Cardinals up 4-3. They would eventually win by a score of 6-3 over the Colorado Rockies. LaRue entered the game as a defensive replacement for Yadier Molina, who took a foul ball ...

The Mets are tired and numb from injuries. They're trailing the Phillies by an impossible 18 games in the NL East. They trail the Colorado Rockies by an equally insurmountable 18-1/2 games in the NL Wild Card race. It's time to put their long, miserable season to sleep. But not before a bedtime story. The year is 1969. The Mets are playing in a new ballpark—playing quite terribly, too. Coming into this season, ...