Marlins pitcher receives surprising package from Kuwait

When it comes to the plastic tubs that hold mail in the clubhouse, major league ballplayers usually know what to expect: Autograph requests for cards and pictures, pieces of fan-made art varying in quality and the occasional talisman meant to end a slump or heal an injury.

But what Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Hatcher opened before a recent game caught him off guard, reports the Palm Beach Post. Inside a package that arrived from Camp Buehring in Kuwait was an American flag and a picture of a smiling boy holding a baseball. A letter from Sgt. Joseph Hjelmstad of Minnesota accompanied both items, explaining that the package was a thank-you gift for Hatcher's actions back in July.

[Related: 'Moneyball' author rips moviemakers]

That was when Hjelmstad took his son Joey to a Marlins-Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Hatcher and Hjelmstad struck up a conversation about Hjelmstad's continuing military duty and ended it by tossing Joey a baseball ? the same one that was in the picture Hatcher received. Two months later and back on patrol in the Middle East, Hjelmstad wanted to make sure that Hatcher's actions did not go unappreciated.

From the Miami Herald:

The flag came with a certificate of authenticity that said it had been taken on patrol covering 780 miles in Iraq from Aug. 27-30 with stopovers at three different U.S. military bases.

"I remember him giving me the rundown [at the game]," Hatcher said. "He told me he was about to get sent back over. I said 'Are you serious? I've heard that before.' He said, 'When you asked it showed you actually cared about the troops.' So, I flipped his son a ball. Then this (package) showed up today.

"Pretty nice gesture on his part."

We'll say. And it also was nice on Hatcher's part to take time to visit with the Hjelmstads before that game in Chicago. In some of the correspondence I've had with the great military members who read the Stew overseas, they always mention that baseball is one of their great ties to feeling like they're back at home. That one soldier has the opportunity to strengthen that bond with one interested and caring ballplayer really makes me feel good about the sport.

Our best BLS wishes to both men.

Big BLS H/N: Larry Brown Sports

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Marlins-pitcher-receives-surprising-package-from?urn=mlb-wp20158

Adam Everett Rafael Furcal Álex González Nick Green

Detention Lecture: Your 2011 Colorado Rockies

As the regular season winds down, 22 teams are facing an offseason filled with golf rounds and hot-stove strategery.

But we're not going to let them get off that easy. No sir. No way. In an attempt to bring some closure between franchise and follower, we're giving a blogger from each team the opportunity to detain their squads for the equivalent of a Saturday morning detention stay.

Up next in our series is our own Mark Townsend, the Colorado Rockies' expert around these parts. After another season of watching the best shortstop in baseball, he thinks it should be renamed the "Tullet."

Attention! I said attention Colorado Rockies!

No more!

No, don't you give me that look. You're not getting off the hook this time. No chance. I have been far too lenient with you these past two seasons. Why? Because I believed in you. Because you've shown me in the past you could learn from your mistakes and correct yourself in time for a strong finish.

But no more. My faith in you has not been rewarded. Instead, you have taken advantage of it and probably laughed about it behind my back. You're very clearly a changed baseball team, and I'm not falling for it again. Yes, you fooled me one season. Shame on you. You won't fool me again this season.

I've had it up to here with your cavalier attitude and your willing acceptance of mediocrity. My tolerance for the continued deterioration of your fundamentals will now cease. Your days of taking extended naps ? innings at a time ? are done. I demand better than that. We all demand better than that.

Every time myself, this loyal fanbase, and baseball experts across the country dare raise our expectations of you, you let us all down. You are 18 years old, and you have still never won the National League West. It's time to grow up and achieve something.

No, I'm far from done. You will sit here. You will listen to everything I have to say. You will think about everything I have to say. And you will come back here next spring a better baseball team.

Understood?

The punishable offenses: Gentlemen, I have never seen worse base running at any level of baseball than what you've exhibited this season. I look around this room and I see Dexter Fowler, maybe the best athlete to walk these halls, and he needs a GPS to get from one base to the next. Study! Spend an offseason with a tutor that has a proven track record as a base stealer.

But before you take that step, be sure you can grasp the very basics of base running. For example, never make the final out of an inning ? or game ? at third base.

Ian Stewart, man, what happened to you? This was suppose to be your big leap year into superstardom, and instead you fell off the earth. ZERO home runs? A batting average well shy of the Mendoza Line? Very disappointing, but I guess we should have known you weren't the most alert guy in the classroom.

But it's not just the guys on the field making mistakes here. Yes, Dan O'Dowd, I see you back there. For the second straight offseason, you handicapped your manager by miscasting veterans as utility players. This year, your major gaffes were Jose Lopez and Ty Wigginton. Lopez had absolutely nothing to offer coming off an abysmal 2010 in Seattle, and Wigginton getting starts in left field at Coors Field? How did you expect that to go?

And then you bring in Felipe Paulino. That move I actually applauded initially because he felt like a perfect fit at the back of the rotation. Of course you immediately moved him to the bullpen, where he predictably fell apart and was released by May 22. Since then, he has been reborn with the Kansas City Royals, as a starter, where he belonged all along.

Partners in crime: Now, I will acknowledge you haven't been responsible for all of your deficiencies. None of us were expecting Jorge De La Rosa's ulnar collateral ligament to pop back in May. When we first saw the grimace on his face, and heard the news later that evening, we all went into a state of panic.

That was, until Juan Nicasio showed up to take his place and earned my respect quicker than any new Rockie I can remember in a long time. Kid, you really gave us a tremendous lift during that time and were a true bright spot. To then lose you in the manner we did was the lowest point of the season for reasons that go well beyond baseball. We remain hopeful you can resume your career and become an even better story and a bigger fan favorite in the coming years.

Also, I bet there are few teams in history that can boast losing not one, but two different players to hand injuries involving doors. Please, when you leave this room, be careful.

Something to build on: As you know, we've had to expel several players this season. Most of them we couldn't show the door fast enough, but we also had to part with the first and only ace we've known in these parts, Ubaldo Jimenez. That wasn't easy, but unfortunately it was a necessary step in our attempts to rebuild for long-term success.

In return we've landed Drew Pomeranz and Alex White from the Cleveland Indians. If all goes according to plan, those two young men, along with Jhoulys Chacin, will be cornerstones in our rotation for years to come. We've also seen glimpses into our future with the strong performance of Rex Brothers in the bullpen, and we hope that young catching prospect Wilin Rosario and jack-of-all-trades Jordan Pacheco can continue their growth and fill supporting roles in next season's lineup.

And hey, as long as we're penciling in Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez every day, this team has a legitimate chance to contend with anyone. We just need guys around them that share their drive and can feed of off or complement their talents.

Shape up or ship out: If I've already addressed you by name, or your name is Todd Helton and Jason Giambi, you're free to leave right now.

I'm keeping the rest of you here because I don't honestly know what your future holds with the Rockies. I'm expecting a lot of turnover this offseason, and as we currently stand, you're all expendable. I'm just being honest, and I don't feel bad saying that because you've brought it on yourself.

Listen, somehow, someway, an impact bat needs to be added to this lineup. Whether we have to deal one or two of you to receive that, sign one, or better yet, one of you wants to step up into that role, we can't move forward without it. Let's face it, when one or both of Tulowitzki and Gonzalez catch fire, this lineup clicks. But the problem is both of them have gone cold at the same for extended periods the past two seasons.

That, and we have to protect against one of CarGo's inevitable collisions with an outfield fence that knocks him out for three days to three weeks at a time.

We're also in dire need of a veteran starter to serve as insurance in case one or both of De La Rosa or Nicasio can't return to form. To make that happen, we'll probably have to dump at least one of our well paid relievers, in addition to Aaron Cook, As you saw walking here, Cook's locker is already cleaned out, so he knows his days are numbered.

Now I want you to sit there and ponder if your days are numbered. I want you to understand in two seasons, we've gone from contenders to completely irrelevant in a very winnable division. What was your role in that decline? Why were you unable to focus, stay hungry and perform well for six months in a season many people felt this division was yours for the taking?

Right here, right now, is the time to begin your self evaluation and the time to figure out how you're going to contribute positively in 2012. When you think you've found the answer, write it down and put it on my desk on your way out the door.

And yes, you each have to write your own.

Principal Townie
@Townie813

Read more from Big League Stew's Detention Lecture series here.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Detention-Lecture-Your-2011-Colorado-Rockies?urn=mlb-wp19154

Chris Davis Ike Davis Mark DeRosa Daniel Descalso

TMZ: Manny Ramirez arrested for domestic violence

Surprise! Manny Ramirez's first big headline following his sudden retirement from baseball last spring isn't a positive one.

What were the odds?

As first reported by TMZ, Ramirez was arrested at his home in Florida on Monday night after an incident with his wife. The AP later reported that Ramirez was being charged with battery.

From the AP:

Ramirez, 39, and his wife were arguing in their bedroom when he slapped her face, causing her to hit her head on their bed's headboard, according to a police report. She told the deputy she was afraid the situation would escalate and called police.

Ramirez denied hitting his wife, according to the report, telling a deputy "he grabbed his wife by the shoulders and when he shrugged her, she hit her head."

Ramirez has had incidents with the law before. In 1994, he was arrested on charges of drunken driving in the Washington Heights, New York neighborhood where he was raised. During a humorous situation in 2008, he was lectured by a Seattle police officer after jaywalking near Safeco Field.

Police were not involved during a 2008 incident where Ramirez reportedly shoved the team's traveling secretary during a dispute, but the run-in has been generally cited as one of the reasons the Red Sox traded him to the Dodgers that year.

Ramirez retired from the Tampa Bay Rays and baseball the first week of this season after he flunked a second drug test. Ramirez would have been suspended for 100 games had he not retired.

UPDATE: TMZ has a mug shot.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/TMZ-Manny-Ramirez-arrested-for-domestic-violenc?urn=mlb-wp19271

Jake Fox Juan Francisco Kevin Frandsen Freddie Freeman

Dan Gilbert Is Mad At The Internet, Making Up Words

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/9/15/2428410/dan-gilbert-bloggissists-nba

Howie Kendrick Adam Kennedy Jeff Keppinger Ian Kinsler

Blue Jays scout Japan?s Yu Darvish: Is he worth $100 million?

Like what Yu see, Alex Anthopoulos?

Anthopoulos, the GM of the Toronto Blue Jays, recently returned from Japan where he scouted 25-year-old right-hander Yu Darvish, one of the best pitchers ? if not the best ? in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

If Anthopoulos wants Darvish for the Blue Jays, he likely will be costly. Very costly. Maybe not quite Vernon Wells money, but probably at least $100 million. And perhaps half of it would go to Darvish's team in Japan ? just for the right to negotiate.

And you're not just negotiating with anybody. Darvish gets treated like a rock star in Japan; Trey Hillman, who managed him there, has likened his vibe to a combination of "Elvis and Fonzie." He's got a witty personality and a lot of confidence, as Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan reported three years ago. Born to a Japanese mother and an Iranian father, Darvish stands 6-foot-5 with uniquely handsome features. He's not just the circuses, but he's the bread, too. He can pitch, first and foremost.

Upon returning to North America on Friday afternoon, Anthopoulos came clean to the Toronto media about the reasons for his three-day tour. It wasn't to see the Buddhist temples.

"I'm doing my homework," Anthopoulos said. "If I go see guys for the draft ... it doesn't mean that we draft those players, or we have them high on our list. But I go see them, I want to have as much information as we can on all players.

"But there's no question, he's the reason that I went. I can sit here and [joke] ? say 'I went there to experience the culture, or build relationships.' But if he hadn't pitched I wouldn't have gone, at least not in 2011."

It's hard to believe that Anthopoulos would invest so much in any one player so recently after the Jays cleared the salaries of Wells and Alex Rios, two of the more overpaid players in recent major league history. Toronto probably isn't one pitcher away from contending for the World Series ? even if Darvish turns out to be everything he appears.

And, as unfair as it sounds, what if Darvish is another Daisuke Matsuzaka? Or worse: Kei Igawa?

Two of my favourite baseball analysts ? Dustin Parkes and Andrew Stoeten at The Score in Canada ? recently had a lively debate over Darvish and what he might be worth to any team:

Parkes: "Take $100 million and buy the half of that big island that has the Domincan Republic. Buy it, buy every single player there. Go out, spend it all on Central America. I guarantee, it'll be a smarter purchase than Yu Darvish." [...]

"Tell me all the times that an Asian starting pitcher has ended up working out and being worth the value that was invested."

Hispaniola, man! The island is Hispaniola. But, as to his main point. It's simply pragmatic to let the other teams go on fishing expeditions for if/come players no matter where they're from ? especially ones with nine-figure price tags. It's just not nearly as fun to stay on the sidelines.

And here's the thing: At this point, 26 players have gotten contracts totaling $100 million. It's a lot of money, but it's not like this is 1999 and Kevin Brown's the only guy with a $100 million deal. It's getting to be ... common? Yes, I just said $100 million isn't that much money anymore. As to Dustin's point about pitchers from Asia:

Stoeten: "It's an incredibly small sample size. ... You don't just write off the whole continent because previous guys haven't been as successful as you'd like. There's absolutely no reason, if you believe in Yu Darvish, to hold against him the fact that Dice-K didn't work out or Hideo Nomo flamed out after a few good years."

I do believe in Yu Darvish, kind of, even though ? like most others ? I've only seen him pitch a little on video and at the World Baseball Classic. Call it a hunch. A $100 million hunch. But he'll be worth it.

Anthopoulos isn't the only GM hot after Darvish, of course, but only a handful of major league teams have the interest and means to pull off a deal. The New York Yankees are in on everybody, and even though they failed in the past by signing Japanese pitchers such as Igawa and Hideki Irabu, they will be looking for pitching again in free agency. They will have motivation and money.

The Boston Red Sox are lurking, too, but they'll still be paying Matsuzaka in 2012, when he'll be trying to come back from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. Dice-K was 26 when he started with the Red Sox, and had two good seasons (one that included a World Series victory), but only disappointment and injuries followed. He had been overworked in Japan, though; Darvish has been babied by comparison.

The Mets and Dodgers might have the means, but they are a little distracted right now and would be better off sitting this one out out. MLB Trade Rumors lists all of the teams rumored to have interest in Darvish, and Evan Brunell of CBS Sports whittled those down to the Yankees, Texas Rangers and Blue Jays as being the top suitors. I'd also add the Washington Nationals, because they get impulsive.

We all could be getting ahead of ourselves, though.

Darvish hasn't come out and said, "I'm coming to America in 2012," though he did recently hire agents Don Nomura and Arn Tellem. That's a sign change is coming.

Also, Darvish's Japanese team has the right of first refusal, and the Nippon Ham Fighters (greatest team name ever) have not said they're going to let him go. If they do let him try free agency in the United States, he would be subject to a posting fee ? which is determined via silent auction among those MLB teams interested.

Before the 2006 season, when Matsuzaka came to the Red Sox, Boston won the posting auction for $51.1 million ? payable not to the player, but to his team from Japan. Call it a tribute. (The nice part: You get the posting fee returned if contract negotiations with the player fail.)

In Dice-K's case, agent Scott Boras negotiated a $52 million contract that runs through next season. (That's part of where the $100 million guess for Darvish comes from.) I'll never forget that puffy winter coat Dice-K wore on the tramp steamer over here.

Here's to Darvish being more than a guy in a coat, but instead a star in North America.

Follow Dave on Twitter ?�@AnswerDave ? and engage�the Stew on Facebook

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Blue-Jays-scout-Japan-s-Yu-Darvish-Is-he-worth-?urn=mlb-wp18464

Kevin Kouzmanoff Mike Lamb Matt LaPorta Jeff Larish

Norwich City Vs. West Bromwich Albion: Canaries Sent Tumbling At Home

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2011/9/11/2418198/norwich-city-vs-west-bromwich-albion-final-score-report

Hanley Ramírez Édgar Rentería José Reyes Ryan Rohlinger

England's display against Argentina was a stinker | Eddie Butler

England used up all their luck to come through 13-9 against Argentina and were saved only by Ben Youngs' try

In a game that hauled rugby back to the swamp, England avoided sinking through the bottom of the World Cup. But they were gulping mud against Argentina and this victory will leave a pretty disgusting taste. This was a stinker, saved only by the single try of the match, scored by the replacement scrum-half, Ben Youngs.

The try followed a line-out five metres from the Argentina line, a position gained by a kick to the corner by Jonny Wilkinson when the score stood at 9-3 in Argentina's favour. If the decision to go for a five-metre position rather than a three-point penalty seems brave it arose only because England's kicker, Mr Jonny Precision himself, had missed four kicks at goal.

And if that sounds as if England would have won easily if the second most successful accumulator of points in the history of rugby ? only Dan Carter of New Zealand has scored more ? had not chosen this of all days to lose his guidance systems, then Argentina might point to the five penalties missed by Mart�n Rodr�guez and the one by Felipe Contepomi. Waywardness worked both ways.

If there was one other factor, besides Youngs's timely try, that saved England it was that in the last 10 minutes Argentina finally began to run out of steam. And yet if this was unsurprising in the ranks of a team that had played only one top international match all year prior to this, against Wales, then there was still the sight of them rallying for one final fling at the death, raising themselves for one last burst against a team of supposedly finely tuned professionals. England were not exactly full of zip as they manned their defences for the last time.

Tiredness follows close behind clumsiness, and England were cack-handed from the start. They knocked on, and gave away so many penalties that eventually Dan Cole was sent to the sin-bin. Wilkinson's kicking further deepened the gloom. When Ben Foden finally made a clean break his long pass to Delon Armitage bounced in front of the wing and England found themselves in another fine mess.

Argentina were hardly mothers of a more inventive style, but grappling is what they do and they willingly hauled England into the close encounters of a game played at the pace of a monstrously strong but utterly immobile clam. Besides, what little running there was came from their wing Gonzalo Camacho.

And again, they might refute the charge of being devoted to a slow game and make another point, that two of their most influential players, the fly-half Contepomi and the centre Gonzalo Tiesi, were victims of some pretty crude challenges to their ribs and knee. England might counter by saying that crudity was the only thing they could do with anything approaching efficiency and, mercifully for them, rugby still tolerates a bit of brutishness.

But they will not be able to rely on the formula again. England used up all their luck to wring out this victory. And the game demands a greater array of skills. This was a one-off, a throwback game, but it won't work again.

Of course, England have started badly at World Cups before. In 1991 they lost to New Zealand in their opening game and still made it the final. In fact, so complete was their reversal of form 20 years ago that they really should have beaten Australia in that Twickenham final. Four years ago they were dreadful against the USA in their opening game and even worse against South Africa, but rallied to play the Springboks again.

Wilkinson will not kick as badly again, but is there anything more to come from a pack that can do nothing but win slow ball and dip a shoulder to charge? Not a pass escapes the hands of the England forwards. And now that the outside world has had a good look at Manu Tuilagi, the centre needs to expand his repertoire. Following the forwards' example and running mulishly is not enough.

Foden looked lost. It seriously looks as if England have had enterprise drilled out of them. They were never the most devil-may-care of teams, but this was a blocked-drain display and there's little time to shift the ? well, it stank.

Youngs came on to make a difference, injecting a little vim into the stolid beasts before him. The rumour was that he was struggling on a knee that would not strengthen, but here he was, coming on to the save the day. That is the fast track to full restoration.

Can the entire team follow their No 9? Next come Georgia, hardly light relief. They represent more of the same: a slow-paced game of grappling and grunting. And then even more of the same from Romania.

It is an ongoing diet of soup from the bottom of the swamp and England cannot rely on a replacement and good aerobic conditioning to spare their blushes. Dare they just let rip? That might play straight into the hands of the Scotland, whom they meet in the final pool game. What murky waters are being stirred.

• England rugby union team
• Argentina rugby union team
• Rugby World Cup 2011
• Rugby union

Eddie Butler

guardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/sep/10/rugby-world-cup-2011-england-stinker

Logan Morrison Daniel Murphy Donnie Murphy Xavier Nady

Wedgie! Foul ball sticks in mask of Mariners catcher Josh Bard

It was obvious all afternoon ?�and perhaps all season ?�that the Seattle Mariners needed a wake-up call. Unfortunately for catcher Josh Bard, when the call finally came, he was on the receiving end. And even more unfortunately, it did nothing to jump start his team in their 3-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics ? a game in which their offense was three-hit by starter Brandon McCarthy.

The alarm went off during the bottom of the sixth inning, with Bard behind the plate performing his catching duties. Oakland's Cliff Pennington stepped in with two outs and got a pretty good piece of Michael Pineda's first pitch 93 mph fastball, but fouled it straight back into the hockey goalie-type mask worn by Bard.

And when I say into the mask, I don't mean hit the mask and bounced straight down or deflected away. I mean literally into the mask, where it wedged between the top two bars.

Watch Bard get a wedgie:

Bard later admitted he was temporarily dazed by the impact. That might explain why he asked home plate umpire Bill Welke for a new ball before being informed the old one was stuck in his mask.

"I think it was just one of those times when it was a perfect placement and maybe a softer ball than normal," Bard said. "It just stuck. Obviously I'm grateful that I still have my eye and nose. I still have plenty of nose," he joked. "So it's all good."

That's wedged in there pretty good.

Looks like my mask has a new handle!

After a few good tugs, the ball was finally dislodged. Bard then examined his mask, deemed it fit to continue, and a game with little effect on the standings carried on. But hey, it's moments like these that make playing out the string worthwhile for everybody.

Well, except maybe for the catchers.

Speaking of catchers and wedges, Mariners skipper Eric Wedge, a catcher in his day, says he's never seen a ball get stuck in the mask during his career. He also questioned Bard's decision to stick with the likely damaged mask.

"I wouldn't have taken the mask back out there, because if it got stuck, it almost got through, but he stuck with it."

I'm siding with the skipper on this one.

Follow Mark on Twitter ? @Townie813 ? and engage the Stew on Facebook

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Wedgie-Foul-ball-sticks-in-mask-of-Mariners-cat?urn=mlb-wp18471

Brandon Hicks Aaron Hill Eric Hinske Jarrett Hoffpauir

La Russa exhausts Cardinals resources to gain sweep of Brewers

Trailing by 10 1/2 games in the standings, the St. Louis Cardinals traveled north to Miller Park knowing that any hope of a September surge in the NL Central hinged on winning, and probably sweeping, the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game series.

From the outside, it seemed like a long shot. After all, the Brewers had gone 21-3 at home and 36-12 overall since July 5, turning what had been baseball's tightest race into an apparent (cheese)cakewalk.

With their backs planted firmly against the wall, St. Louis came out exactly like a team in that position should on Tuesday and Wednesday, stealing two victories with good pitching, one�big swing of the bat by starting pitcher Jake Westbrook, and an unlikely assist via Ryan Braun's embarrassing faceplant.

Smelling blood, or at least sniffing one last chance to climb back into relevance, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa managed the finale on Thursday ? an 8-4 victory that clinched a sweep ? like there was no tomorrow. Well, aside from sending rookie Brandon Dickson to the hill for his first major league start. But the 26-year-old right-hander had a short leash.

A big reason LaRussa was able to execute his aggressive managerial game plan was because Thursday's game eerily copied what happened Wednesday offensively, with Rafael Furcal and Albert Pujols each connecting for first-inning solo home runs to stake St. Louis to a 2-0 lead. Dickson held Milwaukee's offense at bay through two, and Pujols followed with a grand slam in the third inning to extend the lead to a comfortable 6-0.

Comfortable for only a short while, because Dickson allowed a two-run homer to Corey Hart that trimmed the advantage to 6-3 in the bottom of the third. La Russa stuck with the rookie through that frame, but at the first hint of trouble in the fourth, he went to the bullpen. And it was an unusual call, as La Russa turned to Octavio Dotel, typically a setup man and at times a closer, to play an unfamiliar role as a long reliever.

How unfamiliar was Dotel? Well, it's the earliest he had entered a game in more than 10 years. And ? wouldn't you know? ? he flourished, striking out five over 2 2/3 scoreless innings for his longest outing since tossing three innings with the White Sox on Sept. 9, 2009. Honestly, you might be hard-pressed to find a more dominant appearance in his 13-year career.

The official scorer also credited Dotel with the victory.

Safely through six, La Russa turned to the Cardinals saves leader, Fernando Salas, for an earlier-than-usual and rare multi-inning assignment. The only blemish in his two innings was a solo home run by Prince Fielder.

Taking an 8-4 lead to the ninth, La Russa continued taking no chances, giving the ball to red-hot Jason Motte for the third straight day. Motte's scoreless ninth not only sewed up the big win, but it also extended his streak of appearances without an earned run to 32.

Afterward, La Russa didn't offer much comment on his plan for the afternoon. But he did acknowledge the importance of what the Cards had accomplished before quickly turning the focus to their next piece of business: a series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals welcome them to St. Louis this weekend ahead of their final series with Milwaukee, a three-game set, beginning on Labor Day.

"We just came here to try to win the series," La Russa said. "Obviously, it wasn't easy. These guys are playing pretty well in their ballpark. Taking three games out of three is awesome. We just need to flip the page and be ready to play tomorrow with Cincinnati."

Just knowing they have a meaningful game Friday should help the players flip the page quickly. And though it still feels like a real long shot, maybe ? just maybe ? St. Louis can help squeeze out one or two more weeks of competitive September baseball somewhere in the National League.

Follow Mark on Twitter ? @Townie813 ? and engage the Stew on Facebook

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/La-Russa-exhausts-Cardinals-resources-to-gain-sw?urn=mlb-wp18150

Mitch Moreland Justin Morneau Logan Morrison Daniel Murphy

Fabio Capello's tactics in Bulgaria were as refreshing as his team | Richard Williams

The England coach finally ditched his old rigid ways to embrace modern trends

England in their smart new Oxford and Cambridge strip of dark and light blue came through the least troubling of examinations on Friday night. The adoption ? at last ? of a modern and rational 4-2-3-1 formation gave them a structure that offered reliability in defence and flexibility in attack, enabling them to seize the initiative against opponents every bit as undistinguished as their recent record suggested.

There were flares and rockets in the stadium and banners bearing the images of the 19th?century revolutionary heroes who freed Bulgarians from the Ottoman yoke, but several thousand empty seats told a less stirring story. Lothar Matth�us's side showed little or no improvement over the team, then coached by Stanimir Stoilov, who lost at Wembley a year ago.

A quotation from Friedrich Schiller, in both the original German and a Bulgarian translation, adorns the fa�ade of Sofia's Vasil Levski Stadium: "A man is only truly a man where he plays." Perhaps more relevantly to the England football team under Fabio Capello, the great 18th?century philosopher also said: "There is a limit to a tyrant's power."

Capello has tended to be the servant of events rather than their master, the latter surely having been what England expected on the Italian's appointment three and a half years ago. The current trend towards incorporating talented young players seems to have been forced upon him but on Friday night at least he made the most of it.

His selection was an interesting one, with no conventional centre?forward, two holding midfielders and no place for Frank Lampard in the starting XI. Slowly, slowly, the older generation is slipping into the shadows. Rio Ferdinand's No5 shirt was taken by Gary Cahill, and the Bolton Wanderers defender celebrated his fourth appearance with the opening goal, an opportunist shot which found the net off the Bulgarian goalkeeper's legs while the defence was in disarray following a corner kick.

And what was that about no centre?forward? Six minutes after Cahill's first goal for England Wayne Rooney was scoring his first international goal in a year by meeting a corner kick from the right with the sort of thumping header that, as it is traditional to say on these occasions, would have done Nat Lofthouse proud. In the last minute of the half he was there to add another with a tap-in.

Tactically the most interesting aspect of England's performance as they went three goals up was the freedom Theo Walcott, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing were given to interchange in the line behind Rooney, all taking turns at slotting into each of the three positions across the pitch. The presence of Gareth Barry and Scott Parker meant that the creative trio needed to spend little time worrying about defensive duties, while Barry and Parker were not burdened with the need to show imagination.

For the third goal it was Walcott carrying the ball infield from the right, feeding Young with a reverse pass before Old Trafford's new hero produced the low cross for Rooney that further exposed Bulgaria's defensive flaws. But the confident slickness of the move was impressive and England were firmly on the front foot.

Cahill, on the eve of the first anniversary of his senior international debut in the home defeat of the Bulgarians, contributed several decisive interventions before the interval, chasing back to rob Tsvetan Genkov on one occasion before heading a flat right?wing cross away from the same player with a smart piece of anticipation. Chris Smalling, at 21 the youngest member of the team here, showed signs of uncertainty on his debut ? and inexperience in the right?back position ? when allowing a deep cross from the opposite flank to float over his head to the lurking Martin Petrov.

From Bulgaria there was no sign of the sort of football once associated with Georgi Asparuhov and Hristo Stoichkov, not to mention Dimitar Berbatov, whose decision to step away from international football in order to concentrate on his career with Manchester United now seems rather sadly pointless. Their most combative moments on Friday night were provided by Blagoy Georgiev, a 29-year-old midfielder from FC Terek Grozny in Chechnya. Hirsute and powerful, Georgiev looked every inch the sort of chap who might not need persuading to carry on playing in a war zone.

England had trouble maintaining their efficiency in the second half and could have doubled the score with better concentration but once again they had played on foreign soil in the sort of positive manner they find difficult to emulate at home. Wales at Wembley, a fixture no more threatening on paper than this affair here, will be an interesting test of their ability to hold the mood and, more so, of the real depth of Capello's influence.

• Euro 2012 qualifiers
• England
• Fabio Capello
• Bulgaria
• Euro 2012

Richard Williams

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/sep/03/fabio-capello-tactics-bulgaria-england

Trevor Plouffe Nick Punto Alexei Ramírez Hanley Ramírez