Cleveland Sports Forum

I don't know why ANYONE would go to Venezuela these days, even if it's your native land!

Well, they have the only scantily clad cheerleaders in baseball !

Venezuela



Professional baseball has been played in Venezuela since 1945, and some of the best Major League Baseball players have come from this country. One distinguishing factor about Venezuelan Baseball is their use of cheerleaders in between, and during innings. Their routines have been known to incorporate nationalistic themes and Latin rhythms. Hopefully, Venezuela will soon start importing its baseball cheerleaders, as well as, its best baseball talent.

Now granted, beach volleyball cheerleaders have somewhat of an advantage, but I am going to have to cast my vote here (Spain) over Venezuela.

Spain



The Spanish girls on this beach volleyball cheer squad deserve a standing ovation. Not only do they perform sexy dance routines, but they do it in the sand and in the hot sun. Most people understand that sand ends up in the most unlikely of places. Regardless of these tough conditions, these Spanish cheerleaders persevere and provide the highest quality entertainment. Oh, and by the way, most would agree that American beaches should make these bikini bottoms mandatory.Wonderful.

Oh My!

Somehow I knew you'd be the next post, my good friend UD

Good research......

Phillies To Sign Jonathan Papelbon
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 11 at 1:18pm CST]
The Phillies have agreed to sign Jonathan Papelbon, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter). The agreement is pending a physical. The Phillies appeared to have a deal with Ryan Madson earlier this week, but talks fell through and the sides didn't complete the rumored four-year, $44MM deal.

Papelbon, 30, posted a 2.94 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings for the Red Sox in 2011, saving 31 games. He's a Type A free agent who will cost the Phillies their first round draft pick in 2012. Boston will obtain the 31st overall pick in next June's draft unless the Phillies sign an additional Type A free agent with a higher ranking than Papelbon. If the Phillies lose Madson to another team after offering him arbitration, they'll surrender one pick and gain two.

Papelbon is the first of MLBTR's top 50 free agents to sign. Check out MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker for the details.

Dallas does it right:

J.R. wrote:Dallas does it right:

Actually, that looks left to me.

Abducted major leaguer Wilson Ramos rescued

CARACAS, Venezuela -- The kidnapping ordeal of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos ended after two days when Venezuelan police commandos swooped in to rescue him in a flurry of gunfire and arrested five alleged abductors.

Ramos said he was happy and thankful to be alive, and that the final moments had been hair-raising as police and the kidnappers exchanged heavy fire in the remote mountainous area where he was being held.

"The truth is I'm still very nervous, but thanks to God, everything turned out well," Ramos told Venezuelan state television, speaking by telephone after arriving at a police station in his hometown of Valencia early Saturday.

He thanked the police and National Guard commandos who rescued him, saying "the boys did a great job."

Ramos, 24, had not been seen or heard from since he was seized at gunpoint outside his home Wednesday night and whisked away in an SUV. It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, and the abduction set off an outpouring of candlelight vigils and public prayers at stadiums as well as outside Ramos' home.

Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami announced on Friday night that Ramos was "safe and sound" after the rescue. He didn't say whether anyone had been wounded in the gunfire.

Five men were arrested in the kidnapping, including a Colombian "linked to paramilitary groups and to kidnapping groups," El Aissami said.

"I don't know who those people were. I know they're Colombians by their accent," Ramos said. "Three guys grabbed me there in front of my house, they took me to another SUV and from there they took me into the mountains," in central Carabobo state.

He said his abductors spoke little to him. "They simply told me to cooperate, that they were going to ask for a ton of cash for me."

"They put me in a room with a bed. I was lying there," he said. "It was hard for me to think about, if I was going to get out alive first of all ... about how my family, my mother were."

Ramos was to first undergo medical checks at the police station and then be reunited with his family, El Aissami said.

Ramos' mother Maria Campos de Ramos celebrated, exclaiming on television: "Thanks to God!"

"Thanks to my country, to my neighbors and to my family, who were supporting us," she said. Shortly afterward, she spoke with her son by phone and said jubilantly: "He's fine."

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo hailed the news.

"We are thrilled with reports that he has been rescued," Rizzo said in a statement. "We greatly appreciate all the prayers and thoughts of all who have joined us in wishing for this conclusion to what has been a nightmarish 48 hours. We are eager to see Wilson and let him know just how many all over the world have been waiting for this news."

Ramos had recently returned to his homeland after his rookie year with the Nationals to play during the offseason in the Venezuelan league.

"As soon as I feel all right, I'm going to start playing," Ramos said.

"They didn't physically harm me, but psychologically I underwent very great harm," he said.

Ramos had been just outside his door with relatives on Wednesday when he was abducted in his working-class neighborhood in Valencia, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Caracas. Authorities tracked down the abductors after initially locating their stolen SUV abandoned in a nearby town on Thursday.

"I was always praying to God, and thanks to God he gave me the miracle of sending me these wonderful people," Ramos said. "I'm alive thanks to them."

President Hugo Chavez had authorized the "rescue operation by air" that freed Ramos, Information Minister Andres Izarra said on his Twitter account.

Security has increasingly become a concern for Venezuelan players and their families as a wave of kidnappings has hit the wealthy as well as the middle class.

The country has one of the highest murder rates in Latin America, and the vast majority of crimes go unsolved. The number of kidnappings has soared in recent years.

Major League Baseball officials said it was the first kidnapping of a major leaguer that they could recall. But relatives of several players have previously been kidnapped for ransom in Venezuela, and in two cases have been killed.

Some kidnappings in Venezuela have previously been carried out by highly organized criminal groups that demand ransom.

Bodyguards typically shadow major leaguers when they return to their homeland to play in Venezuela's baseball league.

Izarra praised the authorities' handling of the rescue, saying that the police "hit a tremendous home run."

Oh those crazy Venezuelans.

He should have dedicated his off season to getting deep into the Amazon to find himself as Omar Vizquel reportedly did one off season as a member of The Tribe.

Cleveland. Not Yanomomo.

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Reds and Phillips far apart on extension

November 18, 2011

Fri Nov 18 07:34am EST

By Mark J. Miller

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips will make $12 million next season, thanks to the option that the team exercised on Oct. 31. But the two sides would like to make the three-time Gold Glove winners stay last a little longer than that.

MLB.com reports that GM Walt Jocketty met with reps for Phillips during the general manager meetings in Milwaukee this week, but a new deal isnt imminent.

"Weve made progress, but were not close," Jocketty said Thursday, MLB.com reports. "It will take a little bit of time. Its a complicated contract. It gets down to trying to determine the number of years and amount of dollars. We're still a ways apart on both." The 30-year-old Phillips, a two-time All-Star, won his first Silver Slugger award this past season after batting .300 with 18 homers and 14 stolen bases.

Red Sox expected to make Valentine manager

By Ian Browne / MLB.com | 11/30/11 1:03 PM EST

BOSTON -- After several weeks of searching for their next manager, the Red Sox are poised to hire Bobby Valentine to fill the position.

A source confirmed on Wednesday that Valentine is expected to be named Boston's skipper, replacing Terry Francona, who asked the Red Sox not to pick up the options on his contract. Valentine has returned from a trip to Japan and a Thursday announcement is anticipated, The Associated Press reported.

The Red Sox have declined comment on reports regarding Valentine.

Tigers third-base coach Gene Lamont, the other finalist for the job, told MLB.com Tuesday night that the Red Sox hadn't yet informed he is out of the running. But the Red Sox might have been waiting until they finalize a contract agreement with Valentine before having closure with Lamont.

Valentine's hire will mark the end of a protracted search for Francona's successor.

Following an epic collapse down the stretch, Francona parted ways with the Red Sox on Sept. 30, ending an eight-year tenure that included two World Series championships.

Shortly after Francona left, general manager Theo Epstein was also in the process of moving to the Cubs, which put the managerial search on hold for a bit.

Ben Cherington succeeded Epstein as GM on Oct. 25 and spent his first month on the job trying to identify the best manager for the Red Sox going forward.

Valentine was one of six men who interviewed for the job, and easily the most experienced of the group.

For a while, Dale Sveum was portrayed as the front-runner. But after a second interview on Nov. 16 that included Red Sox ownership, no offer was made, and the Cubs, led by Epstein, hired Sveum.

It was after Sveum went to the Cubs that rumors started to swirl about Valentine as a candidate. In truth, Cherington and Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino had initially met with Valentine at a charity event in Connecticut on Nov. 3, but initially kept his candidacy under wraps to avoid any conflict of interest due to his job at ESPN.

Valentine had a second interview at Fenway Park on Nov. 21 and held an informal session with the Boston media afterward.

The 61-year-old Valentine last managed in the Majors for the Mets in 2002 but jumped at the chance to interview for the Boston job.

"Well, other than they have one of the best teams in baseball, one of the best organizations in baseball, one of the greatest places and venues in baseball, with a great, now, winning tradition over the last 10 years, other than that, there's really no reason that I want to be here," Valentine quipped after his second interview.

That same day, Cherington seemed intrigued by what Valentine could offer the Red Sox.

"Highly intelligent, creative, open-minded, certainly experienced, [he] has won titles in Japan, he's won in a major market and has a real passion for the game," Cherington said on Nov 21.

This would be Valentine's third stint as a Major League manager.

He managed the Rangers from 1986-92, going 581-605, and the Mets from 1996-02, notching a 536-467 record. That stint included a trip to the National League Championship Series in '99 and a World Series berth a year later, where the Mets lost a five-game Subway Series to the Yankees.

He also went to Japan, managing the Chiba Lotte Marines (2003-09).

Valentine is known for being a savvy tactician and having a great baseball mind. He has also had his share of controversy over the years and didn't hide from that during his recent meeting with the Boston press.

"If only all your experiences could be good then we'd live in this fairly land that Fenway Park is built around. You can't. I've had bad experiences that I hope I learn from and I've had good experiences that I hope I've learned from," Valentine said.

"Some of those bad experiences, I think I caused. Some of them were caused by the surroundings. Some of the good experiences I had, I had something to do with them, and some of them I was just happy to go along for the ride. I hope like [heck] I've learned from whatever experiences I've had."

Guess Sandy was the token minority interview.