Manny would sign with Oakland A´s

All signs point to Oakland soon will be signing free agent Manny Ramirez as a designated hitter.

Ramirez, who must serve a suspension of 50 games before playing for violation of drug policy in Major League Baseball, has attracted interest not only in Oakland but also of the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays.

However, the Orioles' general manager, Dan Duquette, said recently that he sees as Ramirez, 39, can fit into his team.
Discussions between the Jays and Ramirez, reportedly, did not get far.

General manager Billy Beane said last week that BD wants to add a veteran to help strengthen the middle of the lineup. The co-owner of the A's, Lew Wolff has expressed interest in adding to Ramirez, who has 555 homers and a .312 batting average in 19 seasons in the majors.

The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that the A's "possibly" sign Ramirez just before or after the team comiemce spring training this weekend.

Barry Praver, one of Ramirez's agent, declined to comment Wednesday, but the A's officials have done nothing to discourage speculation about Ramirez.

According to a report by Fox Sports, while complying with the suspension Ramirez can play games of spring training and extended spring training games. When the regular season begins, Ramirez can train with the team big league or minor league squad, but has to leave the stadium as soon as you open the doors to the public.

Michael Pineda comes to New York Yankees

Michael Pineda was recently talking with Robinson Cano and he admitted to his friend who was feeling a little overwhelmed with the change to the Yankees and the prospect of playing for a big team in a big city.

Cano calmed him instantly, said Pineda. "My head was spinning because I have never stayed in New York," said Pineda told Cano.

"He said, 'Do not worry man, I'll take care of you.'"

Pineda, 23, was presented Tuesday to the minor league complex for the Yankees, the first time it has put a dress of the Yankees since the turn of January that sent Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi the Mariners by Pineda and the prospect Jose Campos.

Any uncomfortable feeling that Pineda had clearly gone now. He spoke with a group of reporters for about 10 minutes, laughing and smiling after running a set of sprints in bright sunlight with several other pitchers.

"It's my first day and I'm excited because it's my first time practicing with the New York Yankees," said Pineda. "I came early because it's my first time living in Tampa and do not know what I'm doing."

At one point, Pineda said he was careful speaking English, but that was easily understood and made ​​several jokes.

He had a light session-launch to catch anything different items, and when someone asked how his fastball, he replied with a smile, "as a 65 (mph)."

He spoke briefly about his love of fishing and how to enjoy cooking. "Dominican Cuisine" he said of his culinary expertise. "I'm Dominican."

Like any pitcher who comes to the field, Pineda has parts of his game who wants to sharpen. For him it is his two-seam fastball and changeup. "I'm concentrating a little more on that," he said.

He also wanted to avoid what happened last season when he had a brilliant first half. Before the gap-Star Game, Pineda was 8-6 and 3-03 effectiveness. After that, he was averaging 1-4 and 5-12.

Gary Carter dies at 57

The former catcher and Hall of Famer Gary Carter died Thursday at age 57, confirmed his daughter.

"I am sorry to inform you that my precious father went to live with Jesus; us today at 4:10 pm.," He wrote Kimmy Bloemers on the porch of the family on the Internet. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to write but I wanted to be the one to report. He is now in heaven and met with her ​​father and maa. I believe with all my heart that Dad received a standing ovation when he entered the gates of heaven to be with Jesus. "

Carter was diagnosed with four tumors in the brain in May. In recent months, the family hoped to chemotherapy and other treatments, tumors were controlled.

But in January, the family revealed that doctors had found new tumors in the brain of Carter.

Carter made ​​a public appearance earlier this month, going to the Opening Day varsity baseball coach was.

Last spring, after experiencing headaches and forgetfulness, Carter underwent an MRI where they were found four small tumors.

Carter, a 11-time All-Star, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 after retiring from baseball in 1992. He finished his 19 seasons with .262 average, 324 homers and RBIs 1.225.

Nadal says he does not cheat

The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal said on Monday that it is "impossible to cheat" and that doping has little meaning in sports like tennis, soccer, or accuracy.

Speaking to television channel Antena 3 the Spanish player said, in relation to the puppets of the French Canal Plus which implied that Spanish athletes achieve their excellent results thanks to doping in Spain have been given more propaganda what should be.

"The French treat me great, but when I go into court encourage me less, I understand Spanish because we have spent many years in the Tour and win Roland Garros," said the player, adding: "I've been three or four drug tests in so far this year, it is impossible to cheat. "

Nadal was publicly via Twitter, which coincidentally had to undergo a drugs test on Saturday at 8:30 am.

"I have not seen anywhere doping. All I know is I can not take. I played the final (Roland Garros), 2005 against (Argentine) Mariano Puerta, who later tested positive, but I've never seen doping, "said the player.

Nadal justified the successes of Spanish sport and based on these principles: "The effort, the desire to excel and work are vital"

The Spanish tennis player, number two in the ATP, who said he would love to be the champion of Spain in the 2012 London Olympics, admitted he is happy with the general treatment will occur in France.

New York Yankees Tony Peña want to manage MLB Baseball

After having led the Kansas City Royals to win the award for Manager of the Year, the dominian Tony Pena has served as bench coach for the Yankees in recent years.

However, the desire to assume the reins of manager is something that has not gone to the former Baseball Star..

"Everyone knows where I am. The desire to manage is there, "Pena said when talking to writers today during the celebration of the exaltation ceremony Hall of Fame Baseball Latino.

Peña is currently the bench coach for the Yankees and manager Joe Girardi.

However, it has received proposals for re-manager in recent years.

"There have been rumors, but only that, I have called" Pena said.

But the veteran baseball man does not want to receive calls only to meet requirements of interviews with members of the minority.

Peña is the right hand of Joe Girardi who manages New York Yankees and said that every day has to go running in his mind to respond to the foreman when he asks for advice.

"I have to go running in my mind and start thinking as he thinks that when I order something I can respond as he expected," he said.

He said: "It is sometimes difficult, because you have to control a bit to not tell ahead to do something, but these things happen."

Linsanity rules NBA

"The Linmania" (or Linsanity) is fever right now. But not only in New York, but throughout the NBA. Lin is feeling right now.

The New York Times on its Web site devoted five issues in their NBA page, all related to Jeremy.

The USA Today is not far behind and responds with three others.

The owner of the Knicks has put this team in New York to live an exciting time. They won five games on line, all without the super millionaires Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

Lin is a player not drafted. On Saturday, scored 20 points to lead the Knicks over the Timberwolves for Ricky Rubio, which was the fifth victory run the Knicks, who is also his fifth game with 20 or more points.

That meant that on Monday the New York Times and USA Today placed the figure as read. The social network Facebook and Tweeter are in the same wavelength as the media. Yesterday ESPN had three songs dedicated to the player of Taiwanese origin, born in Palo Alto, CA, United States.

Big Papy resigned with Boston

David Ortiz agreed with the Boston Red Sox, avoiding arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday, according to a source told the team to Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine.

The parties agreed to a contract of $ 14,575 million, the midpoint between what he called Ortiz and the Red Sox offered him, the source said.

The Red Sox offered $ 12.65 million (a slight increase in salary of $ 12.5 million in 2011) and Ortiz called for $ 16.5 million.

"It's just one of those things when we were all together in the same room made sense to reach a middle ground and we did," said general manager Ben Cherington Red Sox, according to the Boston Globe.

Ortiz was in the same hotel as Cherington in St. Petersburg, Fla., according to the newspaper, but left without comment.

Cherington said the team "made ​​it clear to the player" that the team wanted to come back.

Ortiz's agent, Fernando Cuza, told reporters "that both parties were happy with the deal and leave it at that. This is a process and once we get together, it was a matter of get on the same page and so did. "

Pepe please Messi after footprint

Pepe, The Real Madrid's Portuguese defender wanted to apologize for his action in Wednesday's game against Barca in the Copa del Rey, where Leo Messi stepped on, but saw his action as involuntary. "It never goes through my head hurt a colleague."

The defender, who has spoken to the media club, explained that "with respect to the play with Leo Messi from and I mean that was an involuntary act.

But even then, if Messi is offended I apologize for what I intend to defend my team and my organization, "he said.

Finally, in his defense, emphasized that comes "in body and soul, never goes through my head hurt a colleague."

Gary Carter´s health is getting worse

Gary Carter's health has worsened.

The former catcher and Hall of Famer who played for the New York Mets was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May, received on Thursday the results of his last scan, according to his daughter Kimmy Bloomers.

"I would say that the results were good ... now there are several new points tumors in the brain of my dad. I write these words with tears in my eyes because I'm sad for my dad," she wrote in her blog.

"Dr. Jimmy Harris will come tonight at my father's house to talk with families about the next step," she added.

Carter, 57 years and member of the Hall of Fame, underwent magnetic resonance tomography Friday in North Palm Beach, Florida, and the results were sent to his doctors at Duke University for evaluation.

A day earlier, fell during a doctor's appointment and completely tore the elbow, wrote Bloomers. Also fell on Christmas Eve, he said.

"It's very painful and need surgery, but all I can do now is keep Dad rehabilitation," he said.

Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard most voted for NBA All Star Game

Kobe Bryant Dwight Howard

The second installment of the popular vote for the upcoming All-Star center Dwight Howard kept, the Orlando Magic, as preferred by the public, while Kobe Bryant of the Lakers in Los Angeles is the second .

The Spanishs Pau and Marc Gasol along with rookie Ricky Rubio in third place in their respective positions of power forward, pivot and base, respectively, within the Western Conference.

Another Spanish, guard Jose Manuel Calderon, Toronto Raptors, is sixth in the Eastern Conference.

While the power forward Nene of the Denver Nuggets is the best Latin American player ranked at fourth place in the list, behind Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies.

Another power forward, dominican Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks, who is injured and will be sidelined for at least three months, ranks sixth in the voting in the Eastern Conference.

The Argentine veteran guard 'Manu' Ginobili, the Spurs San Antonio Spurs, also injured, was in eighth place in the Western Conference.

Howard is the most voted in the Eastern Conference, followed by the base star of the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, who beat LeBron James, Miami Heat, second last week, which fell to third place.

While in the Western Conference, Bryant continues as the preferred, followed by forward Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the third in the vote is for the guard Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers.

According to the current voting for the All-Star Game to be played on February 26 in Orlando (Florida), the starting lineups would be the Rose, Dwyane Wade, Howard, James and Carmelo Anthony to the Eastern Conference.

Dominican Carmona arrested for false ID

Who will be next?

In the Cleveland Indians they knew him as Fausto Carmona a pitcher born in the Dominican Republic 28 years ago.

But yesterdat it was learned that his real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and has 31 years, not 28.

The trap actually Carmona-Hernandez was discovered on Thursday when his fake ID was not passed to renew your visa to return to the United States and reported to spring camp of the MLB Baseball team.

At the time he was arrested and presumably faked his identity in order to subtract years and provide his firm with a major league team.

"I am aware of what happened, but for now I can not comment (...). We must await the official position of the team ", said the Indians manager, Manny Acta, interviewed in The Chronicle.

The official position of the team does not arrive soon, according from the statement of Chris Antonetti, Indians General Manager. "We are gathering information (...). At the moment we can not say anything more, "said the site of MLB.

Not yet known if the crime be prohibited from participating Carmona in the field or even in the spring season.

In November the Indians exercised a one-year option and $ 7 million for the right services for the 2012 season.

Carmona came on the scene of the majors in 2006 as one of the Indians bullpen. In 2007 he finished fourth in voting for the Cy Young Award after winning 19 and losing 8 games with an ERA of 3.06.

After two good years their performance has been erratic, collecting improved to 33-48 with an ERA of 5.01 in 111 starts between 2008 and 2011.

Tigres del Licey out of baseball finals

In Dominican Baseball, Aguilas Cibaeñas defeated 5-4 to the Tigres del Licey in the final game of the Round Robin and now the baseball team from Santiago will play in the Final Series of dominican winter baseball against the Leones del Escogido.

Aguilas Cibaeñas rebounded from a slump had six straight wins, which gave them his ticket to the final.

The win went to reliever Mauricio Báez, pitching a scoreless inning and striking out two opponents, while the closer Miguel Batista is credited with the rescue, the fifth of the "Round Robin".

The defeat was for Freddy Dolsí, who pitched two thirds of an inning and allowed one run.

New York Yankees trade Montero for dominican Pineda

New York Yankees sent two of their top prospects to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-hander Michael Pineda, several sources reported.

The Yankees broke away from the catcher Jesus Montero and pitcher Hector Noesí, in exchange for right-hander Pineda and Jose Campos, Jon Heyman reported from CBSSports.com.

The Yankees also signed japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda for one year and $ 10 million.

Pineda, 22 recorded 9-10 with 3.74 ERA for the Mariners last season with 173 strikeouts in 171 innings.

Montero, 22, played 18 games with the Yankees in 2011 where he hit .328 with a .406 OBP, four homers, 12 RBIs in 69 innings.

Manny wants to be a model player

At the beginning of last season, Manny Ramirez abruptly retired from baseball after a second anti-doping rule violation in the majors, choosing to quit the sport rather than comply with a suspension of 100 matches.

Now, Ramirez wants a chance to prove a major league team for spring training, hoping that his request out of retirement and that obtaining a reduction of his punishment, 100 to 50 games show MLB baseball teams that he has changed.

"I want to show people that Manny can change, you can do the right thing," Ramirez told ESPN's Pedro Gomez in an interview. "And prove that I can still play. I do not want to leave the sport as I did".

I also want to teach my children that if you make a mistake, do not quit. Go back and fix it. And if you're going, you're going the right way. "

"Many people come to me and say, hey, this guy made ​​a mistake but not conquered. Look how it ended. He did the right thing and back, "Ramirez said to Gomez.

2013 ford fusion is launched

Ford arrived at the Detroit Auto Show with the new 2013 Fusion arrives as the latest global model and will be available with three modes of operation: diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid, each designed to offer the best performance and exciting driving experience.

Its silhouette is strong and fresh and represents the latest model in a series that began with the Fiesta and Focus, cars designed to satisfy consumers who want efficiency, useful technologies and an attractive appearance.

The design is based on five points: innovation profile silhouette with a much more robust, lines that suggest a lightweight and efficient car, a refined surface language elements such as LED lights and exhaust pipes that express the technological qualities of the car and a new face that marks the evolution of Ford's global design in small and medium vehicles.

Also known as Mondeo in other parts of the world, will sell three trim levels: S, SE and the highest Titanium.

The new Fusion delivers high performance levels. You can choose between a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine yields between 26 and 37 miles per gallon, has start-stop system, front wheel drive or all-manual transmission or six-speed automatic. The other is a 2.0-liter engine with automatic transmission, 19-inch wheels and all-wheel drive.

Al Horford out for 3 months

The NBA All-Star center Al Horford will miss at least three months with a shoulder injury a major blow to a playoff contender Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference.

The team announced on Thursday that the dominican Horford broke his left pectoral muscle in the first quarter of Wednesday's game against Indiana.

The injury is likely to require surgery, an impressive team that has made the playoffs four consecutive years and has had a solid start with wins over Miami and Chicago in the early stages.

Horford, a two-time All-Star, could be out for up to four months, which would lead to his rehabilitation away in the playoffs - the Hawks are going to find a second opinion before making the final decision to undergo surgery, but even the most optimistic projection will keep him out until mid April.

Sports Teams as Design Influence

If you've ever watched an old home and garden show, you often notice the same kind of designs: plain wall colors, subtle decorations and a lot of flowers. Let's be practical, not everyone is a fan of flowers in every room. Maybe you want something that speaks to you better, like sports.

If you're a sports fan, you have to look no further than your favorite team to redesign your space. For a child's bedroom, you can let your imagination run wild by adding large amounts of sports memorabilia to everything possible. Painting murals of the field or buying cutouts of the child's favorite player will make the room a fan's dream.

For an adult's room, you may want to go with something a little more subtle. Granted, you may love baseball but there's no need to have cutouts of the entire infield in your room. Go for linens that match the teams colors. Alternating the colors, like having gold shams and purple sheets can look good and serve as a personal touch to one of your most personal spaces.

If you want to get creative, you could have a headboard or nightstand made out of the wood from baseball bats. Another great idea is to paint the walls a deep or neutral tone of the team colors, with three walls one color and the last acting as an accent wall. Then hang professional black and white photos of the playing field or court.

Another great idea is looking to the mascots. While most mascots are created to look like cartoons, you can find figures or pictures of the actual animal or item the mascot was created after and add it to the decor. For example, if your team is the Cardinals you can get a professional photograph of a cardinal bird, frame it and add it into the decor.

No matter the team or colors, you can always find a way to make the design work. Just be creative and keep an open mind. Soon your room is going to go from old and dated to fun and sophisticated.

Megan Gates is an active blogger who provides written work to the blogosphere pertaining to NY Real Estate Listings, Hamptons Condos, home improvement and the latest architecture, design, fashion and travel. Follow her on twitter @MEGatesDesign.