In 2008, Shoppach was impressive at the plate. He hit 21 homers, knocked in 55 runs and scored 67 times in only 352 at-bats. But last season, Shoppach struggled as he played in only 89 games. In those contests, he hit .214 with 12 homers, 40 RBIs and 33 runs.

The 29-year-old catcher is regarded as an average behind the plate and slightly above average when it comes to calling games. With the wood, Shoppach hits for power but also strikes out a lot.

Going into the 2009 campaign, the Rays were very confident in Dioner Navarro at catcher. But he struggled mightily at the plate and there were questions about his dedication and his physical shape. Now the Rays at least have competition for Navarro, who is eligible for arbitration.

Kelly Shoppach was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

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The pictures, which aren’t exactly safe for work, show a nearly nude Sizemore in a number of different poses. Some of them are indeed hilarious.

Sizemore’s girlfriend is Brittany Binger, who happens to be a Playboy Playmate. If you do a Google Image search of Brittany Binger, you can see that she’s not exactly known for discreet pictures on the internet either.

Major League Baseball has tried to intervene. They’ve sent this letter to a number of websites in an attempt to get Sizemore’s pictures removed:

“The photos posted in the article cited below are the property of Grady Sizemore. They were stolen from a personal computer. We’ve begun an investigation and request that you immediately remove Mr. Sizemore’s property from the posting. We also ask that you preserve any records associated with its submission in anticipation of a criminal complaint to be filed with local law enforcement.”

The Indians are also supporting their star player.

“We fully support Grady as he deals with this personal matter. The posted photos were stolen from his girlfriend’s e-mail account and a legal investigation is under way.”

Grady Sizemore is dealing with nude pictures hitting the internet (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

After striking out in their bid to land Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Phillies called the Cleveland Indians about their ace. The two teams soon agreed to a deal that sent Lee to Philadelphia in return for four minor league prospects.

Lee’s Cy Young award numbers were obviously impressive. He had a 22-3 record to go along with a 2.54 ERA. This season, Lee has continued to pitch well. He has a 3.14 ERA and a record of 7-9. Considering that the Indians are 42-60, his record is relatively good.

On the Phillies, Lee will form an intimidating one-two punch with Cole Hamels atop the starting pitching rotation. When the playoffs arrive, Philadelphia is now a team no one wants to see across the diamond. Already stacked with a potent offense, their pitching should also be a strength now as well.

The Indians received catcher Lou Marson, pitcher Jason Knapp, shortstop Jason Donald and pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

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DeRosa got hurt on Tuesday and has been diagnosed with a strained left wrist. He underwent X-rays and was relieved to learn that there wasn’t a broken bone or any other series injury.

Said DeRosa: “It’s the best case scenario. I was back at the hotel last night kind of panicking a little bit.”

The Cardinals are not expected to put him on the disabled list. Instead, DeRosa will probably miss between two and fives games. Returning early next week is the most likely outcome.

Prior to coming to the Cardinals, DeRosa was hitting .270 with 13 homers, 50 RBIs and 47 runs while with the Indians.

Once healthy, DeRosa is expected to return to his role as the everyday third baseman for the Cardinals.

Mark DeRosa - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

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Cliff Lee Near No-Hitter (Image: Zuma Press)

Lee finished with nine innings pitched and six strikeouts while allowing three hits and two walks. On the season, he’s 4-6 with a 2.88 ERA. Last season, Lee was 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA.

At the plate, the Indians got their runs via the long ball. Mark DeRosa hit a two-run blast in the first innings and Kelly Shoppach followed that up with a solo shot in the fifth.

With the win, the Indians are 29-36. The Cardinals dropped to 34-30.

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Andy Sonnanstine won with his arm and his bat (Image: Newscom)

Sonnanstine proved that giving him a bat wasn’t all bad as he had an RBI double in the fourth inning. On the mound, Sonnanstine got the win by giving up five earned runs in 5.2 innings. Neither team scored after the fifth inning and the Rays were able to beat the Indians by a final count of 7-5.

The hitting star for Tampa Bay, outside of Sonnanstine, was Jason Bartlett. The shortstop went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI to raise his batting average on the season up to .370.

Cleveland got a pair of homers from Ben Francisco as he finished 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and four RBIs. The loss dropped the Indians to 14-25, while the win propped the Rays up to 19-20.

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5) Baltimore Orioles
Although the Orioles have a handful of very good players on their squad, the team as a whole is heading to another season without a postseason appearance.

4) Cleveland Indians
Before the season started, the Indians were an American League sleeper pick. Now? They just appear as if they are asleep.

3) Pittsburgh Pirates
Not long ago, the Pirates seemed to be on the right track. But with eight straight losses, the Pirates are headed back down to the cellar.

2) San Diego Padres
Although their record of 13-19 isn’t horrible, they have been outscored by 38 runs — the worst in all of Major League Baseball.

1) Washington Nationals
Who else? Everyone knew the Nationals were a bad team heading into the season and they currently have the worst record in baseball at 10-20.

The Washington Nationals are the Worst of the Worst (Image: Newscom)

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-The Kansas City Royals have signed Kyle Farnsworth to a two-year contract. Farnsworth, who split 2008 with the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, joins a Royals bullpen which has been given a makeover this winter.

-The Detroit Tigers have traded Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Edwin Jackson. Joyce will have a chance to start for the Rays in the outfield, while Jackson will likely be given a spot in the starting rotation for the Tigers.

-The Cincinnati Reds have signed Arthur Rhodes to a two-year contract.

-The Colorado Rockies have signed relief pitcher Alan Embree to a one-year deal.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

When looking at Lee’s numbers, it’s difficult to keep your jaw from hitting the floor. He had a record of 22-3 to go along with a 2.54 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of 1.11. He also had 170 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 223.1 innings pitched.

The 30-year-old Lee had by far his best season in 2008. In 2007, Lee had a 6.29 ERA and a record of 5-8. In fact, in his previous four seasons, he only had one campaign with an ERA under 4.00.

Second place in the AL Cy Young Award balloting was Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay. Halladay, who already has a Cy Young Award to his name, finished 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA.

Lee finished with 24 first place votes, while Halladay got four. Lee joins National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

Photo credit: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Why would the people in Erie boo Sarah Palin for talking about the Phillies? Erie isn’t Phillies country. Even though both cities are in the state of Pennsylvania, Erie is almost an eight hour drive away from Philadelphia.

Those Erie residents who booed are most likely either fans of the Cleveland Indians or the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both of those teams are under two hours away. I guess Sarah Palin will know better next time.

Here is the Sarah Palin video of her getting booed in Erie, Pennsylvania:

Post from: Knuckle Curve