Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO -- Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez will have Tommy John surgery Friday, ending the season for the reigning NL Rookie of the Year. Manager Mike Redmond announced Thursday the right-hander would have the elbow ligament transplant procedure. The decision was expected after the 21-year-old Fernandez was put on the disabled list this week. "Our focus is to get him back," Redmond said before the Marlins began a four-game series in San Francisco. "I'm glad he's having it done and starting his recovery process. Obviously it's a big blow for us." The operation will be done in Los Angeles....

Playing above .500 near the 40-game mark, and sporting two of baseball's brightest young stars, the Miami Marlins certainly appeared headed to greener pastures, perhaps even a dream season in the cards. It appears the season is a nightmare now. FOX Sports MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal has confirmed earlier reports, that all signs point to ace Jose Fernandez needing those three dreaded words — Tommy John surgery.

Organizers of a one-day street festival in Minneapolis sued the city Thursday, saying an ordinance that limits events around the time of Major League Baseball's All-Star game in July is unconstitutional. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, claims the city ordinance gives MLB the authority to approve activities in certain areas for 15 days surrounding the July 15 All-Star game at Target Field. Organizers of the One Day in July Street Festival, which will commemorate the 80th anniversary of a deadly Teamsters strike in 1934, say MLB shouldn't have control over...

Direct link here: British Canadian footage of 1919 World Series

Over the last two weeks, we polled the Awful Announcing readers on their opinions of each local broadcast team around the majors. The polls were broken down division by division to gain the perspective of both fans and rivals for each broadcast team. The votes are in, and we weighted your grades on a four point scale for each broadcast crew and sorted them to determine who your favorite and least favorite broadcast teams were. Each “A” vote received 4 points, 3 points for a “B” vote, down to 0 points for an “F” vote. The total points scored were...

Cool, zoomable map.

As a scheduled part of their home opener, the Atlanta Braves set off fireworks before their game against the New York Mets on Tuesday. As an unscheduled part of their home opener, the fireworks set fire to the American flag that flies above the Braves Vision video screen in center field. "It happened because of new pyrotechnics," Braves spokesperson Beth Marshall said. "For the first time, they put pyrotechnics on Braves Vision. One of the pyrotechnics flew at the flag and lit it on fire." Marshall added that the material of the flag is flame retardant, so it went out...

'Back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts'

Eric Stults likely regrets leaving a lifeless 89 mph fastball right below Giancarlo Stanton’s belt and over the middle of the plate. Stanton’s mammoth blasts aren’t too surprising anymore, but this shot still doesn’t have a clear landing point, or not one we can find. Perhaps the ball was reduced to smithereens. Perhaps it extended beyond the atmosphere into orbit.

"There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit." Al Gallagher, ( retired major leaguer, quoted in 1971)

Talk about a growing controversy. Wednesday the San Francisco Giants made San Diego Padres fans forget the Los Angeles Dodgers are the division rival they most want to beet. The Giants tweeted they are the first team in Major League Baseball with an "organic, edible garden." But that's only true if it's 2011 because the Padres are about to enter their third season with one... :snip: The best part about Wednesday's spat? It has a name: #GardenGate.

SYDNEY -- Baseball fans and Dodgers fans have been listening to the musical, knowing voice of Vin Scully for 65 years. If anyone's an authority on the game, it's him. So hearing Scully rave about the entire experience of the Opening Series is a good clue that the first regular-season Major League Baseball action Down Under, and the week-long celebration of Australian culture that surrounded it, amounted to one smashing success. "Everybody talks about the long trip from Los Angeles to Sydney -- 14, 15 hours, whatever it is, and another 14 to 15 back -- but I will tell...

SYDNEY (AP) -- Adrian Gonzalez ripped line drives to all areas of the park, often scattering his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in the outfield from the safety of the batting cage. It was just a few hours after arriving in Australia, with his body thinking it was about midnight. Related Stories Still, the first baseman who led the Dodgers in hits, home runs, RBIs and games played last season did a good job of making Sydney Cricket Ground, the home for two Major League Baseball season-opening games this weekend, sound and look like a real ballpark. The Dodgers and their...

Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers applauded as the team was sold for $2 billion, and cheered with each expensive new addition. Now the bill is coming due. And guess who is going to pay the price? Actually, you don't need to guess. The way baseball finds ways to separate fans from their money knows no bounds... At the heart of the issue is a new regional sports network that will pay the Dodgers $8.35 billion over the next 25 years. It was created by Time Warner Cable solely to broadcast the team's games, and it's the reason the new...

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter says he will retire after this season. In a lengthy letter posted Wednesday on his Facebook account, Jeter, 39, started by thanking his fans and supporters throughout his career. He also referenced a "bunch of injuries" that had him sidelined for much of last season. "And this is, I could not be more sure," Jeter wrote. "I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball."

Alex Rodriguez has dropped his lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the players' association, according to court records, and MLB announced the Yankees third baseman intends to accept his season-long suspension.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – The baseball Hall of Fame says slugger Ralph Kiner has died. He was 91. The Hall says Kiner died Thursday at his home in Rancho Mirage. Kiner hit 369 home runs during his 10-year career, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He won or tied for the National League lead in homers in each of his first seven seasons.

Curt Schilling, the former Red Sox pitcher and current ESPN analyst, announced in a statement with the network this afternoon that he has cancer. "I've always believed life is about embracing the gifts and rising up to meet the challenges. We've been presented with another challenge, as I've recently been diagnosed with cancer,'' said Schilling, who turned 47 in November. "Shonda [Schilling's wife] and I want to send a sincere thank you and our appreciation to those who have called and sent prayers, and we ask that if you are so inclined, to keep the Schilling family in your prayers."...

According to one baseball legend, Alex Rodriguez has “ruined the game.” Tommy Lasorda, who managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976-96 and guided the club to two World Series titles, was curt when asked by ESPN about A-Rod’s one-year suspension. “He should have gotten more,” Lasorda said Tuesday. “What he's done? He's trying to ruin the game. You can't do that.” Lasorda is of the opinion drug users shouldn’t be elected to the Hall of Fame and was upset by A-Rod after presuming the New York Yankees star was clean. “I was thinking, ‘At least this guy is doing it...

In a trying month for baseball, this was a good day.For much of the week, it seemed as if Alex Rodriguez was intent on shattering two decades of relative peace in our national pastime. But here was one achievement even Rodriguez couldn’t smear: Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association, and the World Umpires Association decided — collectively — to expand instant replay, and they did it the right way.It took years of thoughtful evolution on the issue — from commissioner Bud Selig and others — and then months of intense work from the triumvirate of John Schuerholz, Joe Torre...