Kuzul

The Kansas City Royals are continuing their makeover for the 2013 season by signing 2002 AL MVP Miguel Tejada.According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Tejada's contract is a one-year minor league deal that can be worth $1.1 million if he makes it to Kansas City. There are additional incentives that can make the contract worth $1.5 million in total.In 2012, he played 36 games in the Baltimore Orioles organization but requested and was granted his release at mid-season.With the Royals, he will probably be asked to play a utility role. He could back up Mike Moustakas at third base, Chris Getz and Johnny Giavotella at second base and play some at the designated hitter.When he played for the Oakland Athletics in the early 2000s, he was one of the elite players in the game. The power hitting shortstop won the MVP in the 2002 season made famous by the ...

After Melky Cabrera’s shoddy webmaster skills died a timely death, I started thinking about past ruses of steroid explanation. Instant comedy seems to be born every time a baseball player is accused or caught red-handed in using performance-enhancing drugs.  Some dopey anecdote is concocted, and the authorities and the fans are supposed to blindly buy it.So, without further adieu, here is the first installment of “Great Moments in Steroid Scandals.”"Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never."You remember that one, right? Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro looked into the eyes of Congress, wagged his sanctimonious finger and affirmed to the world he wasn’t dirty.His adamancy spoke volumes, as his performance in Washington was actually worthy of Tinseltown.  The only enhancers Raffy ever took were Viagra pills—and he was paid to tell us that.But only ...

ESPN Deportes reported that former Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada wants to continue playing baseball in 2012. He was released by the Giants on Thursday after a subpar season. While the Orioles have a very good shortstop in J.J. Hardy, Baltimore should consider whether or not Tejada could temporarily fill a need at third base. Admittedly, he was given a shot at third for the Orioles in 2010 and his performance there was not great. While Mark Reynolds was downright awful fielding third base for the Orioles, Tejada was not substantially better, committing 15 errors in 280 chances over 93 games with the O's for a fielding percentage of .946. However, in 2011 with the Giants, he split time evenly between 3B and SS. His performance at third dramatically improved, and in 44 games at the hot corner he committed just two errors in 130 chances for a fielding percentage of ...

The Giants offense has been lifeless over the past week and now, their best offensive threat is injured.  Third baseman Pablo Sandoval broke the hamate bone in his right hand while taking a swing in Washington on Friday and will have surgery to remove it this Tuesday in Arizona.  He will likely miss at least 4-6 weeks, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The injury to Sandoval couldn't come at a worse time for a Giants lineup that is struggling to score runs.  The Giants have been shutout twice in the past four games and many of their key hitters currently have batting averages in the low .200s. Ryan Rohlinger, who got some playing time with the Giants last season, has been called up from Triple-A Fresno and should be with the club for Sunday's game against the Nationals.  On Saturday, Bruce Bochy moved Miguel Tejada, who has played the last several years ...

Aaron Rowand hits game-winning single in the bottom of the 12th inning and goes 2-for-3 in Giants' 5-4 win. Looks like things have not changed much since last year. The San Francisco Giants continued their victorious but torturous ways, as a sellout crowd at AT&T Park witnessed one of the greatest, yet weirdest games baseball fans will ever see. The game featured two dramatic ninth-inning rallies with two outs and nobody on, a strike zone the size of a golf ball at one time and an SUV at another, an unlikely hero two home openers in a row, and an extra-inning dogfight where the Giants stranded a runner at third with nobody out in the bottom of the 11th inning. If you thought that was weird, the St. Louis Cardinals moved their left fielder and put five men in the infield in that ...

The Giants did not expect to start their trek to a repeat title like this. The Giants hit a road block on Thursday's opening day at Dodger Stadium, kicking the ball around in the sixth inning. Miguel Tejada botched a throw to second with a runner at first with one out, followed by a rare Posey throwing error with the bases loaded. Just nanoseconds before, Posey made a great save on a pitch by Lincecum in the dirt. The Dodgers drew first blood in the game on the error. As Posey threw the ball, the runner at third, Matt Kemp, appeared to already be back on the base. "I thought he was off the base," Posey said after the game. "I would not have thrown it if I thought he wasn't." To complicate matters further for the Giants, Clayton Kershaw was dominant for the Dodgers. In seven shutout innings of ...

You know their name, but can you trust their game? Here are some former fantasy studs that you should avoid on fantasy draft day.Chipper Jones, 3B, Atlanta BravesI love Chipper Jones. I believe he has put together a Hall of Fame career. I wouldn't touch him this year, even with his reasonable 186 ADP. He hit just .264 and .265 the past two years. He has just one 500 at-bat season (2007) in his past seven years. It was easy to justify owning him when he was hitting well north of .300, but he'll be 39 in April. He's far to great of an injury risk to trust on your team. If he slides big time in your draft, maybe you can take a look at him since third base is so shallow, but he's going (on average) before Placido Polanco, Chase Headley, Kevin Kouzmanoff and countless other that will ...

The game of baseball can be truly amazing to watch at times—especially when one rookie player completely stuns a veteran so much that he forces an error. That’s exactly what happened on Wednesday afternoon in an exhibition game between the Los Angeles Angels and the defending champion San Francisco Giants in Tempe, Ariz. Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos forced 14-year veteran Miguel Tejada into making an error with sheer boldness. Bourjos started the bottom of the fourth inning by laying down a beauty of a bunt to reach on a single. The next batter, Erick Aybar, blooped a double into right field. As the relay throw came in to the shortstop Tejada, Bourjos was already rounding third base with no signs of stopping. Stunned, Tejada turned to throw but literally threw the ball directly into the ground, the ball rolling harmlessly toward the first-base dugout as Bourjos crossed the plate. Speed kills. Angels fans have known ...

It’s that time of year again.The fields are being cut, the dirt is getting watered, and the mounds are being built up and pounded down. Spring Training 2011 is upon us, and along with it a whole new flood of young players, free agent signings, offseason trades, and, of course, the prognostication and prediction as to where each team and player will stack up against their peers. Pitchers will be looked at for their ability to win games and strike players out. Hitters will be analyzed for holes in their swing and their talent in both contact and power hitting. Speedsters and leadoff men will practice their leadoffs and jumps in the hopes of a good season of stealing bases and going first to third on singles. But who is looking at the fielders?Every player in the league—minus the 14 designated hitters in the American League—will be taking ground ball, ...

At first glance, identifying the five best catching prospects in the Houston Astros’ system is like deciding which Jersey Shore cast member to invite to your niece’s Christening. It’s a quandary, really*. Your options are pretty bad across the board. Scouring the Houston system for promising catchers wasn’t easy; in fact, it was darn near impossible. Truth be told, I was tempted to just start and end this list with the words “Craig Biggio” and hope everyone reading was 45 or older. Fortunately, my better judgment won out; the last thing I need is all 12 Astro’s fans mad at me**. I’ve never messed with Texas, and believe me, I don’t plan on starting now. But seriously, as Astros fans flock to the ‘net in need of baseball info, it’s our job at Bleacher Report to try our best to make the best of a bad situation, so I’ve compiled a list ...