Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Mr. Fleece
According to Yahoo Sports, federal prosecutors have issued new indictments to “home-run king” Barry Bonds*. He is now being charged with 14 counts of lying to a grand jury, as well as 1 count of obstruction of justice. Initially, Bonds* had been charged with 4 counts of perjury. All counts are still centered around the question […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants, _Mitchell Report/Steroids | No Comments »
Posted on May 7th, 2008 by McFleece
Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman has a piece out today about impending free agent Mark Teixeira. The Braves 1st baseman is, of course, close to cashing in on a phat contract this offseason if he can stay healthy and put together a fine year. The inevitable payload will be a payoff for Teixeira after he risked a lot of cheddar by not […]
Filed under: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers | 4 Comments »
Posted on May 6th, 2008 by Mr. Fleece
Barry Zito’s time in the bullpen appears to have been short-lived, according to mlb.com. Zito has been slated to make the start on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. His time in the bullpen seemed to have been largely uneventful, maybe just a few days to clear his head. He ended up missing just one turn […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | 4 Comments »
Posted on May 4th, 2008 by McFleece
Art Spander of InsideBayArea.com writes an open letter today to Athletics GM Billy Beane urging the savvy executive to sign free agent slugger Barry Bonds* in an effort to sustain the early success of the A’s through the summer. Putting the baggage of Bonds* aside, Spander’s argument is semi-convincing. Here are some highlights:
Spander reminds Beane that […]
Filed under: Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 28th, 2008 by Mr. Fleece
It was inevitable, the Giants couldn’t survive any longer with the struggling Barry Zito (0-6, 5.61 ERA) in their starting rotation. As a result, the Giants have decided to demote their enormous investment to the bullpen. Giants’ management is in a tough spot with this one, and they have decided to try and straighten Zito out. This could […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | 8 Comments »
Posted on April 23rd, 2008 by Old Navy King
According to Sandy Burgin at MLB.com, the San Diego Padres claimed 25-year old pitcher Josh Banks off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Banks, a starting pitcher in the minors, will be sent to Triple-A Portland in the bullpen. Padres manager Bud Black had this to say about Banks, “He’s a right-handed pitcher with a […]
Filed under: Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays | No Comments »
Posted on April 23rd, 2008 by Old Navy King
Jon Heyman at SI.com gives us the latest on the Barry Bonds* saga. Bonds, MLB’s all-time home run leader, is waiting patiently back in his Beverly Hills home waiting for his phone to ring, and for someone to make him an offer. Apparently, even with all the baggage he has, Bonds* can’t believe that nobody […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers | No Comments »
Posted on April 19th, 2008 by Old Navy King
According to Henry Schulman at the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants starting pitcher Noah Lowry hopes to be back pitching with the team sometime in May. But when he does return, which current starter get knocked out of the rotation? Well, it seems like the answer might actually be nobody. The Giants organization is mulling over […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | 2 Comments »
Posted on April 16th, 2008 by Old Navy King
The 2008 payrolls were released earlier this month by Major League Baseball, and there were a few surprises. What isn’t much of a surprise is that the New York Yankees were once again #1 on that list, topping $209 million (yet another payroll record).
Of interest though is that both the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets have leap-froged the […]
Filed under: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals | No Comments »
Posted on April 11th, 2008 by Mr. Fleece
The Philadelphia Phillies have signed former Giants LHP Steve Kline to a minor league deal. The Phils have been limited from the left-side in their bullpen, with J.C. Romero as their lone lefty up to this point. Kline was a very solid LHP out of the pen up until 2005, where he began to decline. […]
Filed under: Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants | 6 Comments »
Posted on April 10th, 2008 by McFleece
The San Francisco Giants have no interest in Oakland A’s 1st baseman Dan Johnson, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Gate.
Johnson was desinated for assignment by the A’s yesterday, and it was widely believed that the Giants would be interested in his services given their public desire for a left-handed 1st baseman. Apparently […]
Filed under: Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on April 9th, 2008 by McFleece
UPDATE: (Apr 9, 4:01pm EST) - Susan Slusser is on the pulse as usual, reporting that Johnson has, in fact, been designated for assignment. The A’s will now have 10 days to trade Johnson or put him on waivers.
April 9, 8:59am (EST) - Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Gate reports that the Oakland A’s may designate 1st […]
Filed under: Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 8th, 2008 by McFleece
UPDATE: (4/8, 10:25am EST) - The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that the Phillies will pay Wes Helms’ entire 2008 salary as part of this trade. Not a bad deal for Florida, who will only have to pay Helms’ $750K buyout next winter (or excerise a $3.75M club option, but this is the Marlins so let’s […]
Filed under: Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 7th, 2008 by McFleece
UPDATE: (4/7) 10:19am (EST) - The Giants could also take a look at Oakland first baseman Dan Johnson, who could be made available to make room for Chad Gaudin on the roster, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. MLB Fleece Factor also labeled Johnson as potential trade bait here.
Apr 6, 11:18am (EST) - Henry […]
Filed under: Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals | 3 Comments »
Posted on April 5th, 2008 by Old Navy King
As per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants have formally released relief pitcher Steve Kline. The team has been trying to trade the southpaw for awhile now, but he drew little interest. We had reported the possibility of a Kline for Wes Helms trade with the Phillies, but that never came to fruition. Since […]
Filed under: Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on March 28th, 2008 by McFleece
Despite the distinct possibility of receiving a discount for his services due to league-wide disinterest, the San Francisco Giants are holding steady in their refusal to bring back outfielder Barry Bonds* for another go around in San Francisco, according to the L.A. Times.
Regarding the Bonds* issue, Giants team president Peter Magowan tells the Times, “No, […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on March 24th, 2008 by McFleece
Giants utility man Kevin Frandsen ruptured his achilles tendon today and may miss the entire season as a result, according to MLB.com.
The news is devastating for San Francisco, as they were relying on Frandsen to compete at 2nd base alongside Ray Durham, at 3rd base, and even in the outfield. Now, the already thin Giants […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 24th, 2008 by McFleece
Because March Madness shouldn’t just be for college hoops fans…
MLB Fleece Factor introduces the Sweet Sixteen of Offseason MLB Fleeces!
We’ve set up the brackets, and we’re leaving it up to you to determine the winner of this honor…let’s call it the 2008 Offseason Golden Fleece Award!
Here’s a complete set of brackets for you:
Click Here For Your “2008 Sweet […]
Filed under: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, _Polls | 14 Comments »
Posted on March 22nd, 2008 by McFleece
The Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting that the San Francisco Giants have claimed 3rd baseman Jose Castillo off waivers and the Marlins have elected not to pull him back, effectively making him a Giant.
Castillo will compete with Kevin Frandsen and Rich Aurilia for playing time at 3rd base in San Francisco. His .297 career OBP will […]
Filed under: Florida Marlins, San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on March 21st, 2008 by McFleece
According to the Associated Press, the perjury case against Barry Bonds* has been put on hold for three months as prosecutors begin the process of obtaining a new indictment against the former San Francisco Giants outfielder. The reason for the new indictment is due to an order from U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to the prosecutors to […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 20th, 2008 by McFleece
It looks like Felipe Lopez may be the odd man out in the Nationals middle infield crunch, as Christian Guzman has not played himself out of the shortstop position this spring and Ronnie Belliard has a grasp on the second base job. (Although, that could change with a trade of Belliard). Earlier this week, Lopez […]
Filed under: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals | No Comments »
Posted on March 19th, 2008 by Old Navy King
Jayson Stark, of ESPN.com “fame,” brings us all some more juicy rumors as Opening Day rapidly approaches:
The Chicago Cubs are getting really frustrated with the whole Brian Roberts saga, as are we! After seemingly 3 months of negoitations, and with the regular season less than 2 weeks away, the Orioles supposedly have still not even told […]
Filed under: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 18th, 2008 by McFleece
David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer puts his GM hat on today and suggests a swap of Phillies 3rd baseman Wes Helms and Giants reliever Steve Kline.
With Pedro Feliz entrenched as the starter at 3B in Philly and Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett also on the roster, Helms is clearly available via trade, as we’ve mentioned […]
Filed under: Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 17th, 2008 by Old Navy King
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe delivers some knowledge down to all of us:
Mets GM Omar Minaya thinks that Moises Alou will be back much sooner than most people think. He is still, however, looking to add a right-handed hitting OF/1B.
Said Boras about his client Jeff Weaver, “There’s been a lot of interest. Pitching is […]
Filed under: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals | No Comments »
Posted on March 15th, 2008 by McFleece
UPDATE: (3/15 @ 10:30am EST) - Further showcasing Inge’s versatility, the Tigers played him at shortstop for an inning yesterday. Inge played shortstop at Virginia Commonwealth, but was switched to catcher when the Tigers drafted him.
Despite the injury to third baseman Andy and the fragility of Nomar Garciaparra, the Los Angeles Dodgers still do not seem interested […]
Filed under: Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on March 14th, 2008 by McFleece
It turns out that a Rockies fan pulled the old switch-a-roo to secure Barry Bonds’ tainted 762nd homerun ball - which might be Bonds’ last career homerun ball, and could land the fan some serious cheddar.
The Rocky Mountain News tells us that 24-year-old Boulder, Colorado resident Jameson Sutton pretty much fleeced two other fans in the chase for this ball […]
Filed under: Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, _Off-Field Fleeces | 2 Comments »
Posted on March 13th, 2008 by McFleece
The Fleece Factor crew continues to work hard to complete in depth previews of all thirty major league teams as the 2008 season quickly approaches. These MLB team outlooks should be finished soon, at which point we will put ourselves on the line and make our own individual predictions. So stay tuned for those!
We have […]
Filed under: Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, _Team Outlooks (2008) | No Comments »
Posted on March 13th, 2008 by Mr. Fleece
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants are reportedly scouting Detroit third-baseman Brandon Inge. The Tigers would need to pick-up a portion of Inge’s $19.1 million contract. The Tigers are in desperate need of some more bullpen help, so they may look to acquire some arms in such a deal.
Currently, the Giants have Rich […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on March 10th, 2008 by Old Navy King
SI.com’s Jon Heyman gives us the scoop on some juicy rumors from around the league:
It seems the San Francisco Giants clubhouse is much more calm without Barry Bonds around any longer. No real surprise there, since Bonds had a media-circus following his every move. But OF Dave Roberts was outspkoen on the topic, saying, “It’s […]
Filed under: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers | No Comments »
Posted on March 8th, 2008 by Old Navy King
According to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times, Juan Rivera is the odd-man out in a crowded Angels outfield. With the team already figuring out how to find at-bats for Vlad Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Garret Anderson and Gary Matthews, Jr., Rivera seems destined to ride the pine. Reggie Willits is another OF who could […]
Filed under: Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on March 7th, 2008 by McFleece
UPDATE: Mar 7, 10:01 am (EST) - The MRI revealed Lowry has a condition known as exertional compartment syndrome and will need sugery. In fact, Lowry will undergo that surgery today, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy believes Lowry could begin throwing in two to three weeks but this condition is […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on March 6th, 2008 by McFleece
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a couple interesting notes up today. Let’s check them out:
Heyman writes that the White Sox “haven’t been enamored” by any of the Giants’ offers for 3rd baseman Joe Crede. Heyman thinks that a solution could be San Fran’s hard-throwing relief pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. But it’s also possible that the White Sox may end up waiting until […]
Filed under: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers | No Comments »
Posted on March 2nd, 2008 by Old Navy King
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Ted Uhlaender, one of Giants GM Brian Sabean’s top advisers, was in Tuscon, Arizona to check out the game between the White Sox and Diambondbacks. He was thus able to witness White Sox 3B Joe Crede’s home run off of pitcher Max Scherzer of the D-Backs.
We […]
Filed under: Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
Posted on February 29th, 2008 by Mr. Fleece
Update: (3/1) 12:39am (EST) - According to ESPN, the previous testimony of Bonds has revealed a number of other positive tests.
Feb 29, 2:31pm (EST) -We have more good information here from Foxsports, as a federal judge plans on “unsealing” Barry Bonds’ grand jury testimony in regards to his potential (haha, sorry, have to be politically […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants, _Mitchell Report/Steroids | No Comments »
Posted on February 29th, 2008 by McFleece
San Francisco second baseman Ray Durham’s sore right shoulder caused him to undergo an MRI last night, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Results are not known at this time.
This is troubling news for an already anemic Giants offense as well as it’s infield defense. The Giants have also lost shortstop Omar Vizquel for 4-6 weeks to due knee […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants | No Comments »
