On Boxing Day, the pursuit of Masahiro Tanaka finally begins. Patrick McCaw Raptors Jersey . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. So for the new capped fee of $20 million, any one of the 30 Major League teams can get in on the bidding and getting a deal done by 5pm on January 24. Tanaka was a spectacular 24-0 this season with a miniscule 1.27 ERA. He is the same age Yu Darvish was when he was posted two years ago and, like Darvish, wants the challenge of pitching in the Majors. The Blue Jays were in on the chase for Darvish, but to what extent we will never really know. There were rumblings at the time that the Blue Jays barely lost out to Texas and their winning bid of $51.7 million. But Alex Anthopoulos and the organization would never confirm or deny that and in the end, it was felt the Rangers were actually bidding against themselves just to be sure they got Darvish. Texas signed him to a six-year, $60 million deal but if certain conditions are met, the sixth year turns into a player option. So far its been a good investment by Texas. Darvish is 29-18 over two seasons with 401 innings, 498 strikeouts and 169 walks. He was added the American League All-Star roster his first year, and only missed last years mid-summer classic due to an injury. Most scouts believe Darvish to be a better pitcher than Tanaka, who projects by many to be a number 2 or 3 starter, rather than a staff ace. When Tanaka won the Sawamura Award as top pitcher in Japan in 2011, over Darvish, he conceded that although he had slightly better numbers than Darvish in a couple of categories, he said "as a pitcher, Im nowhere near his calibre". The Blue Jays self-imposed five-year limit on contracts is one thing working against them, although Anthopoulos conceded a couple of weeks ago that the Jays might go to six years for the right player. The biggest thing going against the Jays is the desperation of some of those big-name teams that figure to be in on the bidding and the marquee presence of others. The Yankees pitching staff needs an infussion of youth and talent. The Dodgers havent won a World Series since 1988 and Texas has never won one. Boston is in that year-by-year battle for bragging rights and now that theyve won three World Series titles this century to the Yankees two, they arent going to let up now. The Blue Jays may make an offer just to say they did, but Id bet on Texas or the Yankees to be Tanakas ultimate landing spot. A couple of trivia points on Darvish. The first Major League hit he surrendered was to his countryman Ichiro Suzuki and the first home run he surrendered was to Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays on April 30, 2012. Darvish still won that game though, 4-1. Another Babe It was on December 26 of 1919 when the most infamous deal in Red Sox history went down. It was the day Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. This is the story of another player who went by the nickname "Babe". Werner Birrer was a reliever and occassional spot starter for parts of three seasons in the 1950s with the Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers. Hes better known for his years pitching in the International League, in Buffalo, the city where he was born. He ultimately made it into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and was a valued member of the community as a teacher and a coach. Babe Birrer passed away back in November at age 85. He had one day in his career where it all came together and earned him the sobriquet "Babe". On July 19 of 1955, Birrer came on in relief in the sixth inning to try and protect a 5-4 Tigers lead over Baltimore. Not only did he pitch four shutout innings of relief to earn his second of four career saves, Birrer slugged a pair of three-run homers to propel the Tigers to a 12-4 victory over the 0s. What was so special about that? Well, those were the only two home runs and only six runs batted inn of Birrers entire career. As far as anyone knows, he is the only Major League player in history to cram all of his home runs and RBI production into just one game. For that one day, that one game, Werner Birrer was called "Babe" by his teammates for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, the two relievers who surrendered those home runs to Birrer, George Zuverink and Art Shallock, are both still alive and amongst the 100 oldest surviving Major Leaguers. Shallock is 89 and 245 days, Zuverink 89 and 128 days. Just a little known page in the book of Tigers history. Vince Carter Jersey . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun the international tournament will likely return in September 2016 rather than 2015. Marc Gasol Jersey . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. PITTSBURGH -- Trevor Rosenthal didnt panic and neither did his manager, Mike Matheny. Rosenthal, the St. Louis Cardinals closer, got into a major ninth-inning jam, allowed the Pittsburgh Pirates to draw within a run and then load the bases with none out. It seemed the Pirates, who lead the major leagues with five walkoff victories, were on the verge of doing it again. However, Rosenthal escaped the jam for his 10th save and Shelby Miller won his fourth straight start as the Cardinals held on for a 6-5 win Sunday night. "That felt like a walk-off win right there," Matheny said with a relieved smile. "That was beyond impressive what Trevor was able to do there at the end to get it back together. Thats why he is pitching at the end of games." Rosenthal survived an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen to notch his 10th save as the Cardinals avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. He got Ike Davis to foul out for the first out then induced Jordy Mercer to hit into a 1-2-3 double play to end it. "I just wanted to throw a fastball low in the zone and either get him to hit it on the ground or strike out," Rosenthal said. "It couldnt have worked out any better, though Im sure the rest of the guys in this clubhouse wish I could have got the job done sooner." Allen Craig and Yadier Molina had two hits each, including RBI singles in a four-run first inning. Craig went 5-for-11 in the three-game series after entering with a .202 batting average. Molina was 0-for-12 in his previous four games. "Hopefully, this is a spark," Matheny said. "Weve been looking for that thing that can get us clicking." Miller (5-2) walked four and allowed four hits in 5 1-3 innings, but held the Pirates to just two runs -- which came on Mercers first home run of the season in the fourth inning. "I didnt have much but I gave it what I got and fortunately it was enough to help us get a win," Miller said. Fred VanVleet Jersey. Charlie Morton (0-5) was charged with only one earned run of the four he allowed over six innings but remained winless since Sept. 2, a span of 14 starts. He also fell to 2-10 in his career against the Cardinals. "I just tried to get back out there and put up zeroes after that first inning," Morton said. "We kept chipping away and we almost pulled it out but I cant give up four runs there, especially in the first inning. It put us in a bad spot from the start." Pittsburghs Pedro Alvarez had three hits. Jon Jay also has two hits for St. Louis as did Tony Sanchez for the Pirates, whose season-best four-game winning streak ended. Mark Ellis also had an RBI single in the first inning for St. Louis and Craig added a sacrifice fly. NOTES: McCutchen returned to the lineup after missing Saturdays game with soreness in his left ankle. ... Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte was not in the lineup because of lower back tightness, which caused him to leave Saturday nights game in the fourth inning. ... Pirates RF Travis Snider batted leadoff after missing the previous two games while serving a suspension from Major League Baseball for his actions April 20 in a benches-clearing brawl with the Milwaukee Brewers. ... Bourjos, who started the previous four games, did not start because of a cut on his right wrist that came as a result of getting spiked Saturday night while attempting to break up a double play. However, he entered the game in the game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement. ... The Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series with LHP Tyler Lyons (0-2, 3.45) facing LHP Travis Wood (2-4, 4.75). ... The Pirates are off Monday then begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Milwaukee. ' ' '
On Boxing Day, the pursuit of Masahiro Tanaka finally begins. Patrick McCaw Raptors Jersey . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. So for the new capped fee of $20 million, any one of the 30 Major League teams can get in on the bidding and getting a deal done by 5pm on January 24. Tanaka was a spectacular 24-0 this season with a miniscule 1.27 ERA. He is the same age Yu Darvish was when he was posted two years ago and, like Darvish, wants the challenge of pitching in the Majors. The Blue Jays were in on the chase for Darvish, but to what extent we will never really know. There were rumblings at the time that the Blue Jays barely lost out to Texas and their winning bid of $51.7 million. But Alex Anthopoulos and the organization would never confirm or deny that and in the end, it was felt the Rangers were actually bidding against themselves just to be sure they got Darvish. Texas signed him to a six-year, $60 million deal but if certain conditions are met, the sixth year turns into a player option. So far its been a good investment by Texas. Darvish is 29-18 over two seasons with 401 innings, 498 strikeouts and 169 walks. He was added the American League All-Star roster his first year, and only missed last years mid-summer classic due to an injury. Most scouts believe Darvish to be a better pitcher than Tanaka, who projects by many to be a number 2 or 3 starter, rather than a staff ace. When Tanaka won the Sawamura Award as top pitcher in Japan in 2011, over Darvish, he conceded that although he had slightly better numbers than Darvish in a couple of categories, he said "as a pitcher, Im nowhere near his calibre". The Blue Jays self-imposed five-year limit on contracts is one thing working against them, although Anthopoulos conceded a couple of weeks ago that the Jays might go to six years for the right player. The biggest thing going against the Jays is the desperation of some of those big-name teams that figure to be in on the bidding and the marquee presence of others. The Yankees pitching staff needs an infussion of youth and talent. The Dodgers havent won a World Series since 1988 and Texas has never won one. Boston is in that year-by-year battle for bragging rights and now that theyve won three World Series titles this century to the Yankees two, they arent going to let up now. The Blue Jays may make an offer just to say they did, but Id bet on Texas or the Yankees to be Tanakas ultimate landing spot. A couple of trivia points on Darvish. The first Major League hit he surrendered was to his countryman Ichiro Suzuki and the first home run he surrendered was to Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays on April 30, 2012. Darvish still won that game though, 4-1. Another Babe It was on December 26 of 1919 when the most infamous deal in Red Sox history went down. It was the day Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. This is the story of another player who went by the nickname "Babe". Werner Birrer was a reliever and occassional spot starter for parts of three seasons in the 1950s with the Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers. Hes better known for his years pitching in the International League, in Buffalo, the city where he was born. He ultimately made it into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and was a valued member of the community as a teacher and a coach. Babe Birrer passed away back in November at age 85. He had one day in his career where it all came together and earned him the sobriquet "Babe". On July 19 of 1955, Birrer came on in relief in the sixth inning to try and protect a 5-4 Tigers lead over Baltimore. Not only did he pitch four shutout innings of relief to earn his second of four career saves, Birrer slugged a pair of three-run homers to propel the Tigers to a 12-4 victory over the 0s. What was so special about that? Well, those were the only two home runs and only six runs batted inn of Birrers entire career. As far as anyone knows, he is the only Major League player in history to cram all of his home runs and RBI production into just one game. For that one day, that one game, Werner Birrer was called "Babe" by his teammates for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, the two relievers who surrendered those home runs to Birrer, George Zuverink and Art Shallock, are both still alive and amongst the 100 oldest surviving Major Leaguers. Shallock is 89 and 245 days, Zuverink 89 and 128 days. Just a little known page in the book of Tigers history. Vince Carter Jersey . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun the international tournament will likely return in September 2016 rather than 2015. Marc Gasol Jersey . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. PITTSBURGH -- Trevor Rosenthal didnt panic and neither did his manager, Mike Matheny. Rosenthal, the St. Louis Cardinals closer, got into a major ninth-inning jam, allowed the Pittsburgh Pirates to draw within a run and then load the bases with none out. It seemed the Pirates, who lead the major leagues with five walkoff victories, were on the verge of doing it again. However, Rosenthal escaped the jam for his 10th save and Shelby Miller won his fourth straight start as the Cardinals held on for a 6-5 win Sunday night. "That felt like a walk-off win right there," Matheny said with a relieved smile. "That was beyond impressive what Trevor was able to do there at the end to get it back together. Thats why he is pitching at the end of games." Rosenthal survived an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen to notch his 10th save as the Cardinals avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. He got Ike Davis to foul out for the first out then induced Jordy Mercer to hit into a 1-2-3 double play to end it. "I just wanted to throw a fastball low in the zone and either get him to hit it on the ground or strike out," Rosenthal said. "It couldnt have worked out any better, though Im sure the rest of the guys in this clubhouse wish I could have got the job done sooner." Allen Craig and Yadier Molina had two hits each, including RBI singles in a four-run first inning. Craig went 5-for-11 in the three-game series after entering with a .202 batting average. Molina was 0-for-12 in his previous four games. "Hopefully, this is a spark," Matheny said. "Weve been looking for that thing that can get us clicking." Miller (5-2) walked four and allowed four hits in 5 1-3 innings, but held the Pirates to just two runs -- which came on Mercers first home run of the season in the fourth inning. "I didnt have much but I gave it what I got and fortunately it was enough to help us get a win," Miller said. Fred VanVleet Jersey. Charlie Morton (0-5) was charged with only one earned run of the four he allowed over six innings but remained winless since Sept. 2, a span of 14 starts. He also fell to 2-10 in his career against the Cardinals. "I just tried to get back out there and put up zeroes after that first inning," Morton said. "We kept chipping away and we almost pulled it out but I cant give up four runs there, especially in the first inning. It put us in a bad spot from the start." Pittsburghs Pedro Alvarez had three hits. Jon Jay also has two hits for St. Louis as did Tony Sanchez for the Pirates, whose season-best four-game winning streak ended. Mark Ellis also had an RBI single in the first inning for St. Louis and Craig added a sacrifice fly. NOTES: McCutchen returned to the lineup after missing Saturdays game with soreness in his left ankle. ... Pittsburgh LF Starling Marte was not in the lineup because of lower back tightness, which caused him to leave Saturday nights game in the fourth inning. ... Pirates RF Travis Snider batted leadoff after missing the previous two games while serving a suspension from Major League Baseball for his actions April 20 in a benches-clearing brawl with the Milwaukee Brewers. ... Bourjos, who started the previous four games, did not start because of a cut on his right wrist that came as a result of getting spiked Saturday night while attempting to break up a double play. However, he entered the game in the game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement. ... The Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series with LHP Tyler Lyons (0-2, 3.45) facing LHP Travis Wood (2-4, 4.75). ... The Pirates are off Monday then begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Milwaukee. ' ' '
