Josh Reddick showed off his beard and belt?
One of the best parts of spring training is team photo day! Lucky for us, many teams had their official photo day yesterday giving us some great shots of our favorite guys. (I suggest thumbing through the Getty Images’ photo gallery.) As I was perusing through the pictures, I came across some real gems, including the insanely crazy picture of Josh Reddick above. I did some Googling and found out there was a story behind the photos.
I think I’ve mentioned before that we try to visit one out-of-town MLB Ballpark every summer. Since I’m spoiled and got to spend a week in Italy, this summer’s trip had to be a bit closer to home. A weekend jaunt to Minneapolis to see some of the bf’s college friends while simultaneously checking out the Brewers and Twins during Interleague seemed like a great excuse.
It’s about a six hour drive from Milwaukee to Minneapolis, so we headed up Friday morning and drove home Sunday afternoon, since I have class on Monday
follow the jump for pics galore
One of the great things about spring training isn’t just that baseball is back, but that it marks the return of many players who lost all or most of last season to injury. Like our shadow player below. Can you guess who this is?
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Thank heavens for the New York Post. Without them, how would he know that Derek Jeter sends his single-serving ladyfriends away with gift baskets?
He used to give out t-shirts. True story.
But hey, trends spread like wildfire in baseball. By now, stars all around the game are in the post-booty gift basket game. Step into my office; I’ll show you the baskets I’ve been able to unearth so far.
Continue reading
Continuing on my second year football men trend, I accidentally stumbled on this adorable gem in my photo research for yesterday’s ACoH Ryan Mathews. I have to be honest – I’m not really a Broncos fan, so I sadly missed wide receiver Mr. Eric Decker up until now. If you’re familiar, you will certainly enjoy the abundance of photos I have collected. If you aren’t familiar yet, just thank me later ;)
Yes, some people have to work today.
Happy last weekend of summer as we know it! For those of you not spending it at work, or moving to your dorm, or counting down the hours until you can put the kids on the school bus, we bring you five ways to spend that (hopefully) least of laborious days. Continue reading
Seriously, I’m ashamed that I had no idea that Scott Baker was this hot until this past weekend. My beloved O’s played the Twins in Minnesota, and Mr. Baker had the pleasure of pitching – and earning a win, of course – against them. I had the pleasure of watching him pitch.
Now you, too, can enjoy the pleasure of ogling Scott after the jump.
Here we are, a little over a month into the new baseball season. While we try to not panic/be overly confident about our favorite teams’ and players’ seasons thus far, it’s hard not to get a little excited about the breakout rookies. Yes, it’s true that some (most) rookie hot streaks don’t last, and a .360 batting average in the first six weeks of a major league career isn’t necessarily a harbinger of a long and prosperous career. Still, ten Aprils ago, that’s what they were saying about Albert Pujols.
Let’s meet a few of the newbies, shall we?
Jaime Garcia
OK, not technically a rookie (he appeared mostly in short relief in 10 games in 2008 before needing Tommy John surgery), but he’s a Cardinal so I’m bending the rules. He’s also the first lefty to start for the Cards since Mark Mulder and he is awesome. After what the Phillies did to Santana, I was scared to death that Garcia’s hot streak was about to get clobbered by Utley and co. … and then he held them to three hits over six innings.
The Yankees played their home opener on Tuesday afternoon and a lot of the local media coverage in the city focused on the huge ovation for former Yankee Hideki Matsui, who received his World Series Ring as a member of the visiting Angels. (There was also an impromptu group hug with his old teammates, which you can see about to happen in the picture above.) Granted, I’m not a Yankees fan, but I live in New York and I’d completely forgotten where Matsui had ended up. And he’s not the only familiar face showing up somewhere new in the first weeks of the new season:
You knew it was only a matter of time….
So…that game just happened. It was a thrilling combination of bad teams, bad umpiring, bad announcers, and a stadium that everyone hates…but it was fun.
Congratulations to the Twins for outlasting the Tigers to get to the postseason. Now, go get some rest before your game in New York!
Celebrating O-Cab's key home run. Who knew he could FLY, too?
Quick add from CuteSports:
The following picture comes from MLBNetwork reporter Trenni Kusnierek’s twitter feed:
Champagney Mauer
So, we got that exciting September baseball after all, huh? It’s been a while since I followed a baseball game that didn’t involve the Cardinals during my work day, but I was definitely keeping tabs on the first half of that doubleheader. In between actual work, of course.
In fact, with the Dodgers’ stubborn refusal to clinch their division title and the Braves’ surprising surge against the Rockies, all of a sudden we’re entering the final weekend of the regular season with a few playoff spots not quite settled. Still, let’s take a minute to congratulate those teams who have already clinched their division — because if there’s anything we here at Ladies… like better than pictures of athletes, it’s pictures of athletes celebrating.
This is officially the 1,300th post on our fine site and we decided to celebrate with a list of 13 very special hotties. Since we realized it was the 1,300th post pretty late, not every one of the Ladies… was able to join in the fun, but we picked a few individual hotties, plus some “all-time” hotties.
Follow the jump for the pictures!
No, no! He's not going anywhere!
Somewhere, in a vast wilderness where cell phones signals go to die and there is no SportsCenter, Crane is feeling a psychic wave of untold joy and relief. That’s because the trade deadline has passed and Roy Halladay stayed in Toronto. Hey, Riccardi, thanks for playing with the heads of Jays’ fans these last few weeks! There’s a special place in hell for GMs like you – right beside John Ferguson Jr.
It’s been a busy few days. Let’s put all the nonsense of PEDs and Papi behind us and concentrate on the actual game of baseball baseball transactions. If your fave player left on a jet plane today for another team and you don’t know when he’ll be back again (hint: check the team schedule), I’m sorry to hear that. On the other hand, if your team has been injected with newfound playoff hope, congratulations! Hope that works out for you guys! Unless you like the Red Sox, and then…you know how I feel. Continue reading
So it was a busy week as baseball got back into the groove of things after the All Star break. There was a whole lot going on. Brand new division leaders, a naked Tony Bernazard, and to top it all off, a PERFECT GAME! More on all of this week’s happenings after the jump.
Hey, it’s my nation’s birthday today! We’re …old! Today – if the weather and my second sinus attack in a week clears – I’ll be joining my fellow Canadians enjoying BBQ, drinking beer (not Molson), and rubbing red face paint off my tired children’s cheeks as I grumble to Mr. Bee about how we shouldn’t have stayed out late watching the fireworks when we have to get up for work in the morning.
Some random facts about Canada:
Today we’re showing our True Patriot Love by rolling out our favourite Canucks on the mound and at the plate (or in the case of Russell Martin, behind the plate). So be your most polite, apologetic self, grab a double-double and join us after the jump. Continue reading
I got the idea for this post when I was talking to my friend about the last time the Yankees won the World Series. It’s almost going to be nine years, but nine years isn’t that long. If I ever complained about a nine-year World Series drought to a Cubs fan, I would more than likely get a smack in the face…and it would be completely warranted.
However, when I think back to where I was the 2000, it seems like ages ago. The last time the Yankees won it all I was a freshman in High School. It feels like I graduated from H.S. ages ago; forget about actually being a freshman. The bottom line is we all follow our team with one goal: to see them win it all at the end. Don’t get me wrong, you can still enjoy the season, but you are never fully satisfied unless your team is the last one standing. Unless you root for the Phillies, Red Sox or Cardinals, the last time your team won it all can seem like a lifetime ago.
So let’s take a little trip down memory lane and see what life was like the last time your team were World Champions. Sorry to all Washington, Milwaukee, Houston, San Diego, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Texas, and Seattle fans. You need to have won at least one to qualify.
A.k.a. the “Complete MLB Rundown (To The Exclusion Of Everything Else)” edition. Why? Because I can. Yesterday’s scores presented BBC-style for extra hilarity and confusion.
Good morning. I know in darkness I will find you giving up inside like me.
There’s a magical thing that happens every year after the All-Star break… the Yankees start winning! In an attempt to summon those W’s into our current state of affairs, I thought we’d explore a little all-star action… Ladies style of course!
Earl Weaver would not be happy with our depth at certain positions, but I can’t help that hotties gravitate towards center field and the pitchers’ mound! There has to be some scientific explanation for this phenomenon.
The Minnesota Twins are a team to watch. They are 2 1/2 games back as of last night, going into the 4-game series with the AL Central leaders the Chicago White Sox. They have Justin Morneau, who made quite a showing at the All-Star game. They have Joe Mauer, whose combination of talent, respectability and good looks are more than enough to qualify him as a HDH. And they have the stuff to contend, incluidng scrappy, hungry young players like Carlos Gomez – above – and Denard Span … after the jump.
At some point early last season, I made up my mind that I absolutely hate day baseball games. I’m not entirely sure what happened during a day game that made me so spiteful towards that time slot, but there it is. But lately, I have been trying to like afternoon baseball a little bit more, and about 99% of my past English teachers would have me draft up a pro/con list to help determine the stronger argument.
This was the first Google Image result for “day game.” Not a promising start, but we’ll forge ahead. Continue reading
All of you will have to excuse me this week. I had to fight the urge to do another Rafael Nadal HDH. And I do mean fight. I was so close to just giving in and doing an All–Wimbledon version. But I didn’t because my obsession fandom should not be a burden to Ladies. Instead I decided to go with an All-Star we haven’t covered yet. You all saw Cinnamon Girl’s All-Star post showing that really hot wall picture of Joe Mauer. Well, I was hooked. So here’s much more from the Minnesota cutie.
Many years ago, the Kansas City Royals were no-hit by Jon Lester, and they haven’t won a game since. Wait, that was like 11 days ago but time has dragged by while Royals Nation waits for the team to pull out some kind of non-failure. It’s been a voyage of suckitude not seen since the infamous 19-game losing streak of 2005. You want to know how it feels? I’ll show you:
Pat Neshek is out of the Minnesota Twins lineup, likely for the rest of the year. He has an acute partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, as shown on an MRI from Friday, May 9, 2008. Neshek and the organization are hoping he won’t need Tommy John surgery, as that would put him out for most of the 2009 season as well. According to twinsbaseball.com, Neshek said doctors feel the injury can be treated with rest and rehabilitation. “We’re going to prepare for Opening Day next year,” Neshek said. In the meantime, will he still be able to update us on his status in his entertaining and informative blog, On The Road With Pat Neshek? The rest of the story, after the jump…
Carlos Gomez started out with a home-run in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox last night, and went on to hit a triple, double and single, thus completing the cycle in reverse order. He’s only the 8th player to do so for the franchise … the last one being Kirby Puckett back in August of 1986. The Minnesota Twins crushed the Pale Hose 13-1 (kudos to Livan Hernandez for his near shut-out) by the end of the night. This rare feat comes just one day after Chicago’s pitcher Gavin Floyd nearly had a no-hitter. Some more interesting facts about Gomez after the jump.
I saw this tiny item at the bottom of Paul Hagen’s Baseball Notes today:
Twins reliever Pat Neshek was dominant early last season, but had a 4.83 earned run average in the second half. He thinks the fade might have been caused by an unhealthy lifetsyle, so he’s become a vegan.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading, so I went to Neesh’s blog and sure enough, it’s true! From the March 13 entry:
The last time I ate a whopper jr. was in 2004…the article never gave a date but people might have thought I ate those things last year…not the case. I didn’t go Vegan to do better on the field or improve my game, the article makes it sound like I was looking for answers and this is what I came up with, not the case. I feel like the article was suppose to be about me getting stronger and how I struggled late last season and in some odd way the vegan thing got tied in. … For the most part of the season last year I was vegetarian (didn’t tell anyone) if I had the choice and when we were on the road I really didn’t have a choice and ate what the clubby had or whatever restaurant was close…who cares. This really isn’t new to me its just another step that I’m trying out. I’m not telling anyone to go out and go vegan, I’m not here to say this is the best thing in the world, as is everything I do on here I’m telling my story and shedding light into the life of a ballplayer…
Aside from the defensive tack he takes, this is a really cool news item. How many major league pitchers are vegans? Pat, you have to come to Citizens Bank Park–PETA says we have the best vegetarian ballpark food!
The Minnesota Twins are kind of the Little Match Girl of the AL Central this year. They’ve got their dirty little faces pressed up against the window, watching the Tigers and Indians feast and be merry. The Twins are 6 games out of first place, which isn’t a ridiculous amount, but the Tigers and Indians just do not seem to give any ground. Also, their rotation seems to be……well…..Johan Santana and Pray for Rain. He has the third-lowest ERA in the American League. He has more strikeouts than the next two Twins pitchers put together. He’s a big ol’ studmuffin, but that’s about it. And here he is:
TGIF, so it’s time for another hotties-in-motion video. This time, we’re checking out Joe Mauer– who recreates the classic Mean Joe Green commercial, but with a cute twist. Sadly, however, Joe is not shirtless – nor does he take advantage of the water in his hand and pour it all over his body, Flashdance-style. This will have to do.
Ladies... 
