Author: awperform@gmail.com (Arthur Weinstein)

Stephen A. Smith, ESPN sued by parents of dethroned Little League champs

Parents of Jackie Robinson West Little Leaguers who were stripped of their 2014 championship claim ESPN defamed the team.

Parents of Jackie Robinson West Little Leaguers who were stripped of their 2014 championship claim ESPN defamed the team.

FBI questions former NFL star Jeremy Shockey in drug, gambling probe

The FBI questioned the former NFL TE about his friendship with a former USC football player charged with heading a drug and gambling ring.

The FBI questioned the former NFL TE about his friendship with a former USC football player charged with heading a drug and gambling ring.

Animal instinct: Beasts put their reputations on line with Super Bowl predictions

Can an animal really pick a Super Bowl winner? Or does it put its snout in a food bowl with a Panthers or Broncos logo because it’s hungry?

Can an animal really pick a Super Bowl winner? Or does it put its snout in a food bowl with a Panthers or Broncos logo because it’s hungry?

Reds owner: Talk of NL adopting DH ‘blown out of proportion’

Baseball fans are buzzing about recent news reports suggesting the National League plans to adopt the designated-hitter rule.

Reds owner Bob Castellini, who would have a vote on whether the NL adopts the controversial rule first embraced by the…

Baseball fans are buzzing about recent news reports suggesting the National League plans to adopt the designated-hitter rule.

Reds owner Bob Castellini, who would have a vote on whether the NL adopts the controversial rule first embraced by the AL in 1973, made his stance on the issue clear Thursday.

MORE: MLB’s offseason winners and losers

Asked about the rumors that the NL could see the DH in place anytime soon, Castellini offered reporters a one-word response: “No.”

“All that is blown out of proportion,” Castellini told reporters, via Cincinnati.com. “There’s no groundswell for it. The commissioner had a press interview after our owners’ meeting and he was taken out of context.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments after last week’s owners meeting in Florida suggested NL owners might be more receptive to such a controversial move than in years past.

“Twenty years ago, when you talked to National League owners about the DH, you’d think you were talking some sort of heretical comment,” Manfred told reporters, via ESPN. “But we have a newer group. There has been turnover, and I think our owners in general have demonstrated a willingness to change the game in ways that we think would be good for the fans, always respecting the history and traditions of the sport.”

Those comments were spun into stories that the move is all but done. The New York Post reported in a headline: “National League DH seems almost inevitable for 2017.”

Manfred has since expressed surprise at how news reports misinterpreted his comments to suggest the DH will soon be featured in the NL.

“The most likely result on the designated hitter for the foreseeable future is the status quo,” Manfred told ESPN.com earlier this week. “I think the vast majority of clubs in the National League want to stay where they are.”

The topic is certain to come up as owners renegotiate with the players’ association MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, which expires after this season. But three-fourths of all MLB owners, or 23 in all, would have to vote in favor of the DH rule for it to become a reality.

Fans don’t need to wonder how Castellini will vote.

“Our fans are used to the wonderful baseball that’s been played here for nearly 150 years, and we don’t plan to have any kind of campaign to change it,” Castellini said.

Mets minor league affiliate to wear glow-in-the-dark uniforms

The Mets have a new Single-A affiliate this year, the Columbia (S.C.) Fireflies, and you could say all of these players have a bright future.

At least while they’re with the Fireflies. That’s because the team on Wednesday unveiled new glow-in-the-dar…

The Mets have a new Single-A affiliate this year, the Columbia (S.C.) Fireflies, and you could say all of these players have a bright future.

At least while they’re with the Fireflies. That’s because the team on Wednesday unveiled new glow-in-the-dark uniforms and caps players will wear during the 2016 season.

MORE: The best and worst of the MLB’s spring training caps

The team is playing its first season in Columbia after 32 years in Savannah. The team had been known as the Sand Gnats for the past 20 seasons (just try coming up wtih a cool uniform promotion with that nickname).

Now, with a clever new nickname, new glow-in-the-dark uniforms and a new stadium (Spirit Communications Park), fans are, pardon the expression, glowing with excitement.

And yes, glowing stuff will be available in the team store.

Yoenis Cespedes hits social media to thank fans for support

Wonder why Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes is so popular with Mets fans?

It’s more than just the fact that the slugging outfielder helped carry the Mets to the World Series last year after joining the team for the stretch run.

A day after signing a th…

Wonder why Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes is so popular with Mets fans?

It’s more than just the fact that the slugging outfielder helped carry the Mets to the World Series last year after joining the team for the stretch run.

A day after signing a three-year, $75 million deal with the club, Cespedes took to social media Wednesday in a series of bilingual tweets to thank fans for their support.

MORE: MLB’s offseason winners and losers

“Happy to still be a part of the New York Mets,” Cespedes Tweeted. “Now it’s time to get ready for Spring Training.”

Another fan wrote in Spanish, “We are really happy you stayed here with Mets !!”

Cespedes’ reply: “Gracias!”

The 30-year-old Cespedes hit 17 home runs in 57 games with the Mets last year, with a slash line of .287/.337/.604.

 

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