sports drinks are kosher now? well I certainly learned something new today.

Ridiculous

Did OldTimer hack Jon Heyman's twitter account?

I posted about this in the Fielder thread. Not sure how much truth there is to it.

heh

Kurjian on moving to 3rd base.

Hot corner a difficult position to master

 

To be successful at third base, a player must have a lot of courage, among other things

 

By Tim Kurkjian

ESPN.com

 

Lou: What's the fellow's name on third base?

Bud: What is the fellow's name on second base.

Lou: I'm not askin' ya who's on second.

Bud: Who's on first?

Lou: I don't know.

Bud and Lou: Third base!

On the mythical St. Louis Wolves team in Abbott and Costello's famed routine, the third baseman's name is I Don't Know. Bud and Lou could not have used a more appropriate moniker for the poor fellow. In the history of Major League Baseball, third base has been the most misunderstood, misrepresented and underappreciated position on the diamond.

No other position has been more difficult to scout or been home to a wider spectrum of ability; after all, it is where the great Brooks Robinson and, for a while, Dave Kingman played. Third baseman is a place of contradiction, an orphan position, a lonely station where few players want to play but where many have, briefly and often, poorly. It is a position about which many questions are asked, and so often the answer is: I Don't Know.

This is relevant again because the Tigers are planning to play Miguel Cabrera at third base in 2012, and the Marlins will play shortstop Hanley Ramirez at third. This is not a story on whether Cabrera or Ramirez can play third, it is a story about the position and its understated degree of difficulty because it requires so much: offensive production, great hands, quick reactions and quicker feet, a strong arm and a very large dose of courage.

I was there for the first game in spring training that Alex Rodriguez played at third base after his trade to the Yankees before the 2004 season. Rodriguez had moved from shortstop, a position he had played his entire career, a position that he was on his way toward becoming the best ever to play, someday replacing Honus Wagner. But Rodriguez moved to third in order to play for the Yankees. In his first game at third base, the second batter of the game, the Phillies' Jason Michaels, whistled a one-hopper past A-Rod's left ear. A-Rod never even moved.

"That was quite an introduction to third base," I said to him after the game.

"I never saw that ball," he said.

"Did that ever happen at shortstop?" I asked.

"Never," he said.

Cal Ripken began his career as a third baseman, moved to shortstop for 15 years, then moved back to third. "I used to get hit in the cup at third, then I moved to shortstop, and I never got hit in the cup," he said. "Then I moved back to third, and got hit in the cup again."

That is what Ramirez is in for. That is what Cabrera is in for again in his move back to third base after four years away from playing the position. When Chipper Jones moved back to third base after a year in left field, the first chance he got was one of those diabolical, top-spin, in-between-hop smashes to his left. Miraculously, he handled it cleanly for the out, and later said, "I'm glad I got a ball like that in the first game. The position was saying, 'Welcome back.'"

Jones is an example of the lack of respect the position has received in baseball history. He is, by any definition, one of the five greatest third basemen of all time, and yet, it is amazing how many people question whether he is a Hall of Famer. That is not even a debate; he unquestionably is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, his numbers compare favorably to those of George Brett and no third baseman in history has a higher OPS than Jones. And yet, partly because of the position, people aren't sure what to do with those who play third base. That explains, in part, why there are fewer third basemen in the Hall of Fame than any position.

Jones was signed as a shortstop but was moved to third base after suffering a serious knee injury. Matt Williams was signed as a shortstop and was moved to third, as were Troy Glaus and many others. It is a difficult switch, especially late in a career. Just ask Rico Petrocelli and Jim Fregosi, who said it took a great deal of time getting used to being so close to the hitter. Doug Rader, a five-time Gold Glover at third, also was signed as a shortstop but was moved to third because of his size. He said playing third base "was like recovering a fumble."

"I concentrated every pitch at shortstop, but you have to do it more at third," Ripken once said. "You have to make yourself ready for your own safety. On a ball hit to third, you can't afford to take a step back. You have to be like a hockey goalie. There's some fear. And there is no comfort zone. You're on edge. It's a highly stressful, anxious position."

No one played it better than Robinson, who won 16 Gold Gloves. He had great hands, and his body was seemingly relaxed at all times. He often took ground balls from his knees to get himself ready, and he was semi-ambidextrous: He writes and eats with his left hand.

"It's much more difficult for a shortstop or second baseman to move to third than vice versa," said Robinson, who was signed as a second baseman and moved to third. "At second and shortstop, you can position yourself after the ball is hit. You just don't have time at third."

Ron Santo, recently elected to the Hall of Fame as a third baseman, remembered playing deep at third one day in spring training in 1959 when the Dodgers' Frank Howard came to the plate. "He was the biggest person I'd ever seen in my life," Santo said. "He hit a one-hopper that hit me in the stomach and knocked me out. When I woke up in the hospital, there he was again, standing over me. I said, 'Am I in heaven? Who is this giant?'"

 

 

All sorts of players in major league history have tried to play third. For some, it didn't work as well as they hoped, so they moved to another position: Harmon Killebrew, Steve Garvey, Tony Perez and Richie Allen started at third and ended up at first. Near the end of his career, the Red Sox briefly put Carl Yastrzemski at third; it didn't go well, and Yaz desperately asked former Red Sox third baseman Frank Malzone, "Can you help me?"

In the late '80s, Yankees manager Billy Martin played Don Mattingly a few games at third; Mattingly throws left-handed. Ryan Braun, the Most Valuable Player of the National League in 2011, started his major league career at third but was moved to left field, where he has become very good defensively.

It's a cyclical thing, but the game has a number of very good third basemen these days, including Jones, Rodriguez, David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman, Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, Scott Rolen, Kevin Youkilis, Pablo Sandoval and Aramis Ramirez. The Blue Jays have perhaps a new young star at third in Brett Lawrie. The Phillies have Placido Polanco, who didn't wear a cup as a second baseman because it slowed him down making the double play, "but I definitely wear one now that I'm playing third," he said with a smile. And the Cardinals have David Freese, who won the MVP of the 2011 NLCS and World Series.

And now, two more stars will move to third base -- Ramirez and Cabrera. Will Ramirez adjust to being so much closer to home plate? Will Cabrera move well enough to play the position? Will they continue to hit at the same rate they did at their previous positions?

I don't know.

That's third base.

Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. His book "Is This a Great Game, or What?" was published by St. Martin's Press and is available in paperback. Click here to order a copy.

When you thought it was dead, it was reborn......... Thanks to Ozzie Guillen and yahoo.

 

http://m.yahoo.com/w/sports/mlb/news/article?offset=4&urn=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cap%3A20050301%3Amlb%2Carticle%2Cap-optimisticmarlins%3A1&.ts=1329178387&.intl=US&.lang=en&.tsrc=yahoo

When you thought it was dead, it was reborn......... Thanks to Ozzie Guillen and yahoo.

 

http://m.yahoo.com/w...=en&.tsrc=yahoo

 

And who wrote this? Seems to be no writer given a title.

 

NVM - found it... Steven Wine.

I was reading the palm beach post the other day and Capozzi was talking about the early arrivals to st. One was Infante who said he spoke to Hanley two weeks ago and he was not happy about moving but knew he had to do it.

I was reading the palm beach post the other day and Capozzi was talking about the early arrivals to st. One was Infante who said he spoke to Hanley two weeks ago and he was not happy about moving but knew he had to do it.

 

Which makes sense, unlike other articles that lied about him requesting a trade etc. He shouldn't be happy. But he should act like a pro and he has.

 

Damn it Squall, is it to much to ask for your star player to be happy with whatever he is asked to do. He NEEDS to be happy, he just doesn't know it yet.

Guillen making fun of Hanley's Powerade commercial & his thoughts on Hanley moving to 3rd...

 

You know that new Powerade commercial starring Hanley Ramirez that’s been running throughout Latin America?

Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen still hasn’t seen it, but that didn’t stop him from listening to a brief description of the ad and delivering his take on it Monday afternoon in Coconut Grove.

Told Hanley spends part of the commercial scrawling Twitter addresses of his critics on his bat, Ozzie couldn’t resist.

“How big is that bat?� he said at the Marlins Caravan kickoff. “That bat must be huge.�

After the laughter subsided, Hanley’s new manager added a few more thoughts.

“That’s good marketing, to put it that way,� Guillen said. “If you feel that way, you have reason to feel that way. I don’t think Hanley has to show fans, the media, all that stuff. How about starting with his teammates? That’s it. Start with his teammates. We’re all for real. We’re all here to win.�

Ozzie also added his take on how Hanley should view his move to third base, which was triggered by the signing of former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.

“How about this one: We improved this ballclub to help you to win,� Guillen said. “How about that? That’s what the Marlins did. The marlins took a good ballclub with a great group of guys, a bunch of kids, [and] brought in a lot of experienced players to help him win. He’s the Marlin that has spent the most time here.

“Hanley is the man here. OK, well, prove to people you are the man here.�

Oh, this is going to be an interesting year, isn’t it?

 

http://blogs.sun-sen...is-critics.html

More from Guillen on Hanely moving to 3rd:

 

“Hanley Ramirez can be one of the best players in the National League,� said Guillen, who arrives in the NL after managing the AL’s Chicago White Sox from 2004-11. “That’s a lot to say, because there are a lot of good players here.

 

“But he has to want to be.�

 

“You can be the best player in the game, but when you’re losing, it’s not fun coming to the ballpark. That happened to Hanley a lot,� explained Guillen. “I hope this year, when he is driving to the new park, with his new teammates and a new attitude, he just gets out of the car and has a big smile on his face.�

 

“A lot of good players move,� said Guillen. “Bad players, they get released or traded, or they play in Mexico. Good players, they move to another position.

 

“Look at the players being moved. Good players. Michael Young. Miguel Cabrera. A-Rod. Robin Yount. Cal Ripken. You’re not talking about Pedro Perez. You’re talking about good ones. That is for a reason.�

 

 

 

http://www.athlonspo...ounce-back-2012

Hanley says he has "nothing to say" about moving to 3rd this season...Sounds like he's still not happy about the move.

 

So much for trying to find out what's happening inside Hanley Ramirez's head and how he feels about moving to third base. Mum was the word from the Marlins' former shortstop, who brushed aside our repeated attempts to ask him about his surgicially repaired left shoulder and his thoughts on moving to third.

"I don't have nothing to say," Ramirez said.

 

 

 

 

http://miamiherald.t...-reporters.html

Gullen interview on Hanley moving to 3rd:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6hUykk9e5E

How long does Hanleys grieving process get to last? After a while, it's going to get old. He has the right to be upset. At some point though your going to have to suck it up and deal or request a trade.

How long does Hanleys grieving process get to last? After a while, it's going to get old. He has the right to be upset. At some point though your going to have to suck it up and deal or request a trade.

 

 

:shifty

He can grieve as long as he wants. He just better move to 3rd and hit. I don't care if he's pissed every ininng he's at third long as he plays decent and hits.

How long does Hanleys grieving process get to last? After a while, it's going to get old. He has the right to be upset. At some point though your going to have to suck it up and deal or request a trade.

 

 

It might last until he actually plays - seeing as how he's been pretty much f***ed with since it came out that he wasn't 100% thrilled to to point of shivering orgasm at the opportunity to change the defensive position he has always played

He can grieve as long as he wants. He just better move to 3rd and hit. I don't care if he's pissed every ininng he's at third long as he plays decent and hits.

 

Yep. Let him grieve and be pissed for the next 12 years, just focus that pissed off energy into his swing.

Say, god forbid, he comes out and puts Out the worst year of his career or struggles for the majority of the year? Is everyone going to blame Hanley, who will in turn probably blame the FO for moving him or are we going to blame the FO for moving him in the first place?

 

All this is Theoretical, so don't make it more than such. I just want to see what Everyone thinks because it's not far from the realm of possibility.

 

I'm just trying to stir up debatable conversation.

And there goes the controversy...Cant wait for the season to start

RT@AKuperstein Hanley on Twitter (in spanish) "3rd Base with the Marlins forever..." cont

more Hanley "And now what are you going to say if the whole world knows I'm going to play 3b for the marlins papi. Tell me!"

Nice to hear it directly from Hanley, now let's just get this season going.

Hanley Ramirez felt strongly enough about a negative write-up in the Dominican newspaper “Hoy� to fire off a response on Twitter.

 

Franklin Mirabal in what appears to be an opinion piece writes that Ramirez’s friendship with Jose Reyes inevitably will be damaged. Ramirez is moving to third base to accommodate Reyes, who the Marlins signed to a $106 million contract. Mirabal goes on to say the signing was a way for the Marlins front office to frustrate and cast down Ramirez.

 

In Mirabal’s estimation, it’s a show of disrespect and the Marlins ultimately will jettison Ramirez, who he says has not matured sufficiently to take on the face of the franchise role the Marlins were counting on when they gave him a $70 million deal. Mirabal criticizes Ramirez for not taking on a leadership role.

 

Ramirez’s response via Twitter (translated from Spanish): �Folks, via this medium I want to let everyone know that what came out in the newspaper Hoy about me, the team and Guillen is a lie.�

 

In a follow up tweet, Ramirez wrote: “And now what are you going to talk about if the whole world knows I’m going to play third base with the Marlins.�

 

And yet another: “Trying to soil my image with lies. Third base with the Marlins forever baby�

 

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_baseball_marlins/2012/02/miami-marlins-hanley-ramirez-takes-offense-at-article-in-dominican-newspaper.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+marlinsblog+%28Florida+Marlins+%7C+Sun-Sentinel+Blogs%29

Hanley is a beast.good of him to come out and say something..... Again.... But I don't get why one week he is good while the next he's dodging questions about. He kinda is leaving himself open for the speculation. It's just the nature of the industry.

Hanley is a beast.good of him to come out and say something..... Again.... But I don't get why one week he is good while the next he's dodging questions about. He kinda is leaving himself open for the speculation. It's just the nature of the industry.

 

He probably gets bombarded with questions all the time. After a while I would stop answering stupid questions too.

 

Or he just loves this sh*t and is drawing more attention to the team. I think this is more likely considering the reality show and the direction the team appears to be heading.

 

Very well could be.