Thursday, June 23, 2011

College World Series 2011: South Carolina Downs Virginia; Florida, Cal Win In Early Games

College World Series 2011: South Carolina Downs Virginia; Florida, Cal Win In Early Games

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OMAHA, NE - JUNE 27: Construction continues on TD Ameritrade Park, as the new host stadium for the men's 2011 NCAA College World Series on June 27, 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska. Rosenblatt Stadium is preparing to host it's final series beginning tomorrow. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
12 months ago:OMAHA, NE - JUNE 27: Construction continues on TD Ameritrade Park, as the new host stadium for the men's 2011 NCAA College World Series on June 27, 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska. Rosenblatt Stadium is preparing to host it's final series beginning tomorrow. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Day four of the College World Series saw Florida beat Vanderbilt, Cal eliminate Texas A&M and South Carolina down Virginia.
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Update

College World Series 2011 Bracket Update: Florida, South Carolina In Control

We're down to crunch-time in the College World Series and two teams hold a distinct advantage. The South Carolina Gamecocks and Florida Gators survived the first four days without a loss and will be in the driver's seat on the road to the final road. Both teams must only win once more while the four other teams still in contention must win three times without losing.
In the top-half of the bracket, North Carolina and Vanderbilt will square-off in an elimination game on Wednesday. The winner of that game moves forward to face Florida and must beat the Gators twice in as many days. Vanderbilt dropped a rain-delayed game to the Gators on Tuesday morning to begin the fourth day of the College World Series.
On the bottom-half of the bracket, the news is worse for Virginia and California. The Cavaliers and Golden Bears will battle it out on Thursday in an elimination game, but the path to the final round of the College World Series is grueling for both teams. The winner of Thursday's game will have to come back Friday and beat South Carolina to stay alive, then must beat the Gamecocks again on Saturday to advance.
Texas and Texas A&M were both eliminated after dropping two-straight games to open the College World Series. The full bracket and schedule can be found here.
For the latest on the tournament, head College World Series hub. You can find recaps of the opening round matchups, as well as previews of each team in the tournament there
Jun 22 7:01a by Brian Floyd - 0 comments
Update

College World Series 2011 TV Schedule: North Carolina, Vanderbilt In Elimination Game Wednesday Night

North Carolina and Vanderbilt are the only show in town at the College World Series on Wednesday after four days with multiple games. The stakes are high for both the Commodores and Tar Heels as the winner keeps hope alive for a national championship and the loser heads home, falling just short. There is no early game on Wednesday, with North Carolina and Vanderbilt taking the field in prime-time at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
Coverage of Wednesday night's game begins at 7 p.m. EDT. ESPN2 will have the broadcast duties for the elimination game and ESPN3.com will handle the online stream.
The winner of the elimination game will advance to face the Florida Gators for the right to represent the top-half of the bracket in the final game of the College World Series. However, Florida must win just once to advance while either Vanderbilt or North Carolina must beat the Gators twice. Check out the full bracket here.
For the latest on the tournament, head College World Series hub. You can find recaps of the opening round matchups, as well as previews of each team in the tournament there. For more on this game, North Carolina fans should check out Carolina March and Vanderbilt fans should head over to Anchor of Gold.
7:01a by Brian Floyd - 0 comments
Update

College World Series Scores: South Carolina Hammers Virginia, 7-1

South Carolina scored early and often in Tuesday's College World Series matchup with Virginia, cruising to a 7-1 win. The Gamecocks came out with a flash, scoring three runs in the first to take an early lead. With Virginia unable to answer, the Gamecocks poured it on, chasing Cavaliers' starter Will Clark from the game in just 3-1/3 innings. Clark gave up six earned runs, which proved to be all South Carolina needed.
Virginia drops down in the bracket to face California on Thursday. The Golden Bears staved off elimination earlier in the day by downing Texas A&M, 7-3. South Carolina is in the driver's seat after Tuesday's win and will be odd until Friday. The Gamecocks must only win once more while Virginia or Cal must beat them twice to advance to the final round.
A full look at the bracket as it stands now can be found here.
For the latest on the tournament, head College World Series hub. You can find recaps of the opening round matchups, as well as previews of each team in the tournament there. For more on this game, Virginia fans should check out Streaking The Lawn and South Carolina fans should head over to Garnet And Black Attack.
Jun 21 11:27p by Brian Floyd - 0 comments
Update

South Carolina Vs. Virginia Weather Delay, 2011 College World Series: More Rain Delays Game

For the second consecutive night, the College World Series has been delayed by a nasty rain storm. This one isn't quite as bad as yesterday's, but it's still delayed the game between South Carolina and Virginia multiple times. A rain storm just before the game caused a rain delay until 7:30 pm ET, but before they were able to get out onto the field, it started pouring again. The grounds crew at TD Ameritrade Field offers some insight.

another rain delay handed down by the almighty clouds which happens to be our new boss. love you clouds, please don't cut our pay!less than a minute ago via Twitter for Android Favorite Retweet Replytd groundscrew
cws_groundscrew

I, for one, welcome our new cloud overlords.
For the latest on the tournament, head College World Series hub. You can find recaps of the opening round matchups, as well as previews of each team in the tournament there. For more on this game, Virginia fans should check out Streaking The Lawn and South Carolina fans should head over to Garnet And Black Attack.
7:57p by Kevin McCauley - 0 comments
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College World Series 2011 Schools: Cal Baseball Ends Magical Run In Omaha

College World Series 2011 Schools: Cal Baseball Ends Magical Run In Omaha

Jun 23 8:07p by Avinash Kunnath
Read More: college world series results, college world series scores, cws results, cws scores, 2011 college world series, cws 2011, college world series bracket, college world series, 2011 ncaa baseball tournament, cal baseball, virginia baseball
The Cal baseball team had enjoyed some incredible success this season, including one of the most incredible comebacks in college baseball history to win their Regional. But all good things must end, and unfortunately for the Bears they ran into a team that was just better than them. The #1 Virginia Cavaliers took out the Bears in a decisive 8-1 victory. Virginia will move on and face South Carolina, needing two wins to advance (SC needs only one).
Cal's Dixon Anderson was chased after three innings of pitching, giving up two runs but needing 66 pitches to retire 9 batters. Virginia's Tyler Wilson started where he left off on Sunday against the Bears, giving up five hits and striking out five in seven and two-third innings of work. Virginia added four runs in the decisive sixth inning and two more in the ninth.
John Barr was 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Kenny Swab went 2 for 5, Keith Weman was 2 for 2 with 1 RBI, David Coleman was 1 for 4 with 1 RBI, Chris Taylor was 1 for 2 with 1 RBI. The Bears also gave up three unearned runs Tony Renda drove Cal's only run home in the bottom of the 8th.
For more on the Bears, head to California Golden Blogs. For more on Virginia, Streaking the Lawn is your place.
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Lincecum lifts Giants over Twins, 2-1

Lincecum lifts Giants over Twins, 2-1

4 hours, 22 minutes ago
Preview | Box Score | Recap

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Tim Lincecum(notes) needed a psychological boost. When he got it, his fastball command returned.
Lincecum struck out 12 in seven superb innings, helping the San Francisco Giants beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Thursday.
“I wasn’t worried about what would happen when I threw pitches,” said the two-time Cy Young Award winner. “It was just confidence. Early in the game, when I was commanding the zone, I just opened my mind to be that much more confident.”
Miguel Tejada(notes) and Cody Ross(notes) drove in runs for the Giants, who won their second straight following a season-long five-game skid.
Michael Cuddyer(notes) extended his hitting streak to 12 games with three hits and RBI for Minnesota, which lost its second in a row after a season-best eight-game win streak. The Twins are 15-4 since their last losing rut.
Lincecum (6-6) rebounded from a rash of poor starts. He gave up three hits, walked two and never allowed a runner past second base.
“Even when I threw a bullpen I wanted to have belief in myself,” Lincecum said. “I wanted that to carry over into games. I was executing my pitches and believing in what I threw at the moment.”
Javier Lopez(notes) pitched the eighth and Brian Wilson(notes) got three outs, despite allowing his first run in 15 1-3 innings, for his 21st save in 23 chances.
Brian Duensing(notes) (4-7) allowed just his sixth earned run in his last 22 2-3 innings. He yielded six hits, walked two and struck out five.
“A very good pitching matchup,” Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They just pitched a little better. That’s the Duensing we were looking for. He was consistent and has good stuff.”
Lincecum entered the game with the worst NL ERA (7.59) in June. He threw 72 of his 109 pitches for strikes in one of his most effective starts. He won for the first time since May 27.
“Timmy was outstanding,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said. “It was good to see him back on track. He was comfortable throwing any pitch and he had good rhythm.”
The Giants opened the scoring in the second inning. Pablo Sandoval(notes) singled with one out and Pat Burrell(notes) followed with a double. Sandoval scored on Tejada’s infield groundout.
Duensing and reliever Alex Burnett(notes) got the Twins out of a tight spot in the seventh. The Giants had runners on first and third with no outs and failed to score after pinch-runner Emmanuel Burriss(notes) was caught trying to score on a safety squeeze and pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz(notes) grounded sharply to second with the infield in.
“That guy was filthy,” Duensing said of Lincecum. “That’s how you win Cy Young awards. He has really good stuff, gets ahead in the count a lot and made us chase a lot.”
Burnett hit Aaron Rowand(notes) with a pitch but then got Bill Hall(notes) to fly out.
Ross added an RBI single in the eighth against Glen Perkins(notes).
NOTES: Bochy said there would “be a little bias” when it came to All-Star roster additions when asked about RHP Ryan Vogelsong(notes). … The Twins activated RHP Joe Nathan(notes) after the game and plan to activate INF Jim Thome(notes). RHP Jim Hoey(notes)was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to make room. … Giants OF Andres Torres(notes) and SS Brandon Crawford(notes) were given the day off and both are likely to start Friday.… Twins C Joe Mauer(notes) (sore back) and INF Tsuyoshi Nishioka(notes) (sore hamstring) were held out of the starting lineup. They both pinch hit. … Giants INF Mike Fontenot(notes) (right groin strain) could start a rehab assignment this weekend. …Twins OF Denard Span(notes) (concussion) may start hitting again when the team arrives in Milwaukee. … Cuddyer has eight doubles over his last 12 games.
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Rangers holding on to 1st place in woeful AL West

Rangers holding on to 1st place in woeful AL West

By STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Sports Writer 6 hours, 45 minutes ago

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)—Nearly halfway through the season after their first World Series, the Texas Rangers have six wins fewer than the same point a year ago.
Texas has played under .500 since an incredible 9-1 start and already has as many interleague losses this season despite having played only half its schedule against National League teams.
Yet, the Rangers (40-36) are still leading the AL West—mainly because they are the only team in the division without a losing record overall.
“It’s amazing that we’re still in first place,” reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton(notes) said. “We need to kind of feel a sense of urgency here to get this thing going and really do what we’re capable of doing. Hopefully, it comes sooner than later.”
Last season, an 11-game winning streak in June and a 14-4 interleague record put the Rangers in control of the division on the way to their first American League pennant.
This time, the Rangers are puttering along still trying to build some momentum.
They could benefit from their current stretch playing 16 of 19 games at home before the All-Star break. They spent an off day Thursday with a 2 1/2 -game division lead over Seattle (37-38).
Manager Ron Washington often repeated his now well-known phrase—“That’s the way baseball go”—during the franchise’s first championship season. While that still applies, Washington is not interested in comparing this season to last.
“This is the way 2011 is going,” Washington said. “If it means we’ve got to go to the wire like this, we go to the wire like this. The bottom line, at the end, if we’re in first place, we’re in first place. I would like to be six games up. … You can look back, and you can always say what caused it, and this caused it and that caused it, but that’s what it is.”
The Rangers played six weeks without Hamilton after he broke a bone in his upper right arm trying to score with a headfirst slide April 12 at Detroit.Nelson Cruz(notes), another slugging outfielder, missed 17 games during the same time because of a strained quadriceps muscle.
Texas already has 60 errors, matching Houston for the most in the majors.
Neftali Feliz(notes) has four blown saves, matching his total the previous two seasons, after giving up four runs in the ninth inning of a 5-3 loss Wednesday night to the Astros, who have the majors’ worst record. It was the Rangers’AL-high 13th blown save and their 14th loss when the opposing team scored in its final at-bat.
The first half of the Lone Star Series, when Texas won the first two games before the flop by Feliz, started that 19-game stretch when the Rangers’ only three road games are at Houston next week. That is after another day off Monday.
“We’d like to generate a little bit of momentum with our style of play. Find a way to be consistent offensively, on the mound and defensively,” Michael Young(notes) said. “Whenever you’re at home, it’s a good opportunity to work on those things.”
Through 76 games last season, the Rangers had won 46 and had a 3 1/2 -game division lead—and were only a half-game behind the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball.
They were coming off their 11-game winning streak—all against NL teams—that had started with them only a half-game up in the division. That margin was never closer than 3 1/2 after that before winning the AL West by nine games.
After losing two of three games last month at Philadelphia, including a loss to their 2010 second-half ace Cliff Lee(notes), the Rangers took two of three against Atlanta and the Astros.
Their trip to Houston is sandwiched by three-game sets at home against theNew York Mets and Florida, the NL East’s bottom two teams.
“In years past, I can remember being extremely excited being in first place going into the All-Star break,” Ian Kinsler(notes) said. “That’s not the case anymore. We understand there’s a long way to go. … The key is to stay in first place as long as possible.”
With the struggles by the rest of the AL West teams, the Rangers (31-35 since the quick start) have remained on top of the division since May 16. Their 2 1/2 -game lead after Seattle’s 1-0 loss Thursday at Washington was their biggest advantage in two weeks.
“Just being at home in general is hopefully going to be a pick-me-up, and playing interleague games, hopefully we can capitalize on that like we did last year,” Hamilton said. “We’re back almost to a point of having everybody where they were at the beginning of the season when we made that 9-1 run. Hopefully, we can have that same frame of mind and just play the game.”
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Riggleman was pushed one too many times

Riggleman was pushed one too many times

Jeff Passan
By Jeff Passan, 5 hours, 22 minutes ago

Jim Riggleman lived out the fantasy of every overtaxed, underpaid, mistreated worker Thursday: He told his boss to go screw himself.
In doing so, he found himself unemployed, no longer manager of the Washington Nationals after he quit Thursday afternoon in a contract snit. Riggleman told general manager Mike Rizzo he wanted the 2012 option on his deal picked up or he would not board the team bus following the Nationals’ game against the Seattle Mariners.
The charter toward the airport had one less passenger than scheduled after a 1-0 victory pushed the surprising Nationals to their 11th victory in 12 games and over .500 for the first time this deep into the season since 2005, their inaugural year in Washington.

Jim Riggleman, pictured here in his final game as manager, won his last three games, all by one run.
(Getty Images)

“I’m 58,” Riggleman told reporters in Washington. “I’m too old to be disrespected.”
However you feel about someone up and quitting midseason, Riggleman’s rationale makes sense. In sports, coaches who lose get fired. Conversely, those who win should get compensated accordingly. Riggleman was among the lowest-paid, perhaps the lowest, managers in the major leagues. He wasn’t asking for a raise. He wanted security. Some sort of appreciation for a job, lucky or not, well done. The Nationals refused.
Riggleman’s resignation ends a festering contract situation borne of his belief – one rooted more in reality than paranoia – that to the Nationals he was nothing more than a placeholder manager. Next year, as Stephen Strasburg(notes) returns and Bryce Harper(notes) arrives to fortify a solid core, the Nationals’ glitz factor will grow significantly. Riggleman, always businesslike, rarely charismatic, more square-jawed baseball lifer than personality, never fit the high-profile visage the Nationals want in that position.
From the start, when he spent nearly half a season with “interim” preceding his managerial title, Riggleman’s status with the Nationals was tenuous at best. He was Manny Acta’s bench coach and, at his initial news conference following Acta’s firing, said: “Manny did all the right things.” For the dearth of talent Washington gave him, Riggleman did a lot of right things, too.
He handled the Strasburg hype machine with aplomb. He helped turn a middling team this year into one with playoff aspirations, Pollyannaish though they may be. True, Riggleman’s record in his nearly two full seasons with the Nationals is 140-172, his career record 662-824. “I know I’m not Casey Stengel,” Riggleman said.
Knowing, however, that Riggleman would leave behind his managerial career in such a huff, someone had to have given him the idea entering the season that the Nationals might pick up his option. Which, if the case, is an entirely disingenuous move for an organization that has at times mistreated scouts and employees alike.
When they moved from Montreal, the Nationals were supposed to evolve into a model organization, filling a market with a decades-old baseball vacuum. Instead, gone are their original team president (Stan Kasten, quit) and GM (Jim Bowden, resigned), plus a host of others brought down by the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal, in which a player named Carlos Lugo falsified his name and age before signing for $1.4 million.
Their new ballpark is meh, their teams a combined 146 games under .500 since arriving seven years ago and their support in D.C. best described by the rows of empty seats behind the plate that end up on television nightly. The Nationals’ divorce from Riggleman was inevitable. It just makes them look bush league that management so disgusted the manager that he quit amid one of the best runs in franchise history.
The action itself reflects poorly on Riggleman. Every day he asked 25 men to play through injuries and personal problems and slumps, with racing minds and wounded confidence and brains turned mush from grueling travel. What he demanded from them they had every right to demand from him.
“It’s a 162-game schedule, it’s a nine-inning ball game,” Riggleman said in September 2010. “That’s what you signed up for, that’s what you give.”
Pushed one too many times, Riggleman decided he could give no longer. He wasn’t going to play the patsy. He wasn’t there to keep someone else’s seat warm. He grew up in Rockville, Md., a little more than 20 miles from Nationals Park, and wanted to be the hometown boy who turned the hometown team into a winner.
So he waited until the Nationals were playing their best baseball to see if that was realistic. If ever Washington was going to pick up his option, it would be now. So he made a threat. Rizzo called his bluff. And gone was Jim Riggleman, almost assuredly never to be a manager again, not with the napalm trail he left on his way out.
Unemployment never felt so good.
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