By Elaine Donnelly
Extending sexual misconduct to combat units
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
The moment Gio Gonzalez walked off the mound in the seventh inning Sunday afternoon, he figured his day was probably done. So it was that Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson pulled his left-hander in the hope of adding some offense, and watched the game devolve into a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs over the final two innings.
Reserved for the better part of February for the contentious process of salary arbitration, the Ellis East Room on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency Phoenix went unused. For the first time since arbitration began in 1974, none of the players who filed wound up arguing their cases.
Patience can be a hard sell in sports. There's always the fear of a window closing, of somebody's shelf life expiring. Seize the day, that's the ticket, because who knows what tomorrow will bring — outside of the Mayans, maybe?
Johnny Cueto left Cincinnati's game against the Chicago Cubs with two outs in the fourth inning with a strained muscle in the upper right side of his back.
Through his wheeling and dealing, Jim Hendry helped the Chicago Cubs reach the playoffs three times as general manager. He also saddled them with big contracts and underachievers to go with a few troublemakers _ and now, he's out of a job.
Chicago Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano left Monday's game against the Houston Astros after straining his left quadriceps after trying to beat out a grounder in the first inning.
The man who changes everything wears his hair long and unkempt. He brings with him a ring, from the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies - teammates turned rivals - along with a swagger, a presence, lofty expectations and a $126 million price tag.
Capsules of National League teams, listed in order of finish last year:
A look at the best-of-seven American League championship series between the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers:
Starlin Castro hit a run-scoring double in the eighth inning to break a scoreless tie and Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.
Alfonso Soriano and Tyler Colvin homered, Carlos Zambrano continued his resurgence since rejoining the Chicago rotation and the Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 5-4 on Tuesday night.
Wade Davis shrugged off a rocky start to pitch seven innings and Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer Friday night to lead the surging Tampa Bay Rays over the New York Yankees 3-2.
Just like a long line of predecessors, Lou Piniella thought he could lead the Chicago Cubs to that elusive championship and end a drought that dates to 1908.
Adam Dunn hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career, powering the Washington Nationals past the San Diego Padres 7-6 Wednesday night.
FIVE SERIES FOR NATS FANS TO WATCH THIS SEASON:
"Leave this place? No, never," he said after going 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs. "You saw how much it was jumping when we got it going. Let's see what can happen now. We just had some tough moments before."
Alfonso Soriano added: "He was very honest with the players.
