At first glance, Kyle Drabek does not appear to be an intimidating force on the mound. Once the ball leaves his hand, though, opposing hitters immediately recognize that he is exactly that, a borderline assassin. With only six Major League starts to his name, Drabek is already inflicting damage on his targets with a variety […]

Few teams have liquidated their rosters the way the Pittsburgh Pirates did during the 2009 season. After shipping out five of their eight Opening Day position players, a member of their starting rotation, and over half of their bullpen, few players remained from the original group. Had Ryan Doumit not suffered a wrist injury that […]

Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Neil Walker made a goal to become a Major League baseball player. While a gifted overall athlete – playing baseball, football, and basketball in high school – his decision was made easier given his lineage as the son of a Major League pitcher, former Montreal Expo Tom Walker. When the […]

Don’t let his mustache and borderline mullet fool you, Travis Snider means business all the time with the Toronto Blue Jays. After all, he has gone through his share of ups and downs at the Major League level. Now, with the Jays fully committed to him, he’s ready to embrace the opportunity of having an […]

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jason Frasor has been around the city of Toronto and the team’s clubhouse long enough to have a pretty good idea of what the franchise has, wants and needs. Now, on the verge of the 2011 campaign – his eighth with the club – an optimistic Frasor is ready to […]

The concept of leadership in sports is as intangible as it is cliche, plied more often to soft-spoken veterans in the clubhouse than to anyone else for any legitimate reason. If not used to generically describe athletes with acknowledged service time, the oft-misused tag is pinned to players for whom simple statistics and accomplishments don’t […]

When the Baltimore Orioles came calling with a minor league contract offer in December, Jeremy Accardo didn’t have to think twice before accepting it. After all, he had already endured a rollercoaster of a tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays and was anxious for a fresh start. After starting the 2007 season with 21 consecutive […]

Scott Podsednik waited patiently this past offseason for a phone call from a major league team with a job offer. After all, the veteran outfielder was coming off a respectable season split between the Royals and Dodgers where he hit .297/.342/.382 with 40 walks, seven triples, and 35 stolen bases. You might assume that he […]

When the Pittsburgh Pirates visited the Baltimore Orioles for a spring training contest on Monday, there was little excitement following their lopsided 8-2 loss. That was until Pirates’ center fielder Andrew McCutchen had some choice words for Matt Wieters concerning a play at the plate in the top of the fifth inning of Monday’s tilt. […]

Earlier this week, Blue Jays manager John Farrell announced that oft-injured right-handed pitcher Dustin McGowan will continue his current rehabilitation with the intent of returning, not as a starter, but a reliever. “We’re going to groom him as a reliever now,” Farrell said. “Medically, that’s the advice we’ve been given top to bottom.” For McGowan, […]