Indians' Chris Perez Fined Under New Social Media Policy for "Inappropriate" Tweet

It looks like Chris Perez is the lucky recipient of this season's first fine handed out under Major League Baseball's new social media policy. Well done, sir.

The Cleveland Indians right-hander has to dish out $750 (umm... that's like you or I being fined fifty cents) for an "inappropriate" tweet last Saturday night after a heated game with the Kansas City Royals. Yes, the same game in which Jeanmar Gomez, Jack Hannahan, and Manny Acta were thrown out of.

Joe Garagiola Jr., MLB's Dean of Discipline, claimed in a letter to Perez that he "demonstrated a reckless disregard for the players on both clubs." We'll just tell you what was tweeted since it has since been unfortunately deleted:

"Huge team win tonight, time for a sweep of the Royals. It's not 'Our Time,' it's TribeTime. P.S. You hit us, we hit you. Period."

Perez cited the First Amendment and his right to freedom of speech as an American when faced with the fine. Ah, Chris, that is an excellent rebuttal... but it does not help your teammate Jeanmar's appeal case. It was supposed to be an accident, remember?

[Chris Perez on Twitter]

No One Throws Baseballs at Mike Moustakas Intentionally

...Except Jeanmar Gomez I guess.

The Cleveland Indians right-hander has been suspended for five games and also fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball after they concluded he intentionally threw a 92 mph sinker at Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas last Saturday.

It all started in the top of the third inning of Cleveland's 11-9, 10-inning win when Jonathan Sanchez plunked Shin-Soo Choo and the benches cleared. This [allegedly] triggered a reaction from Gomez in the bottom half of the inning. Actually, his first pitch was also a 92 mph sinker, but it was called for a ball. He immediately threw the same pitch an inch to the right and nailed him. Obvious retaliation. This caused another on-field ruckus and delayed the game for several minutes. Gomez, along with Indians manager Manny Acta and hot corner Jack Hannahan (who got real excited during the ordeal) were each ejected.

Of course, Gomez plans to appeal the suspension... Hopefully this doesn't spark the most boring intra-divisional rivalry of all time.

[MLB]

Aramis Ramirez Finalizes $36 Million Contract with Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers finalized their three-year, $36 million deal with Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, giving their lineup some much-needed pop for the next few seasons. The contract also includes a mutual option for a fourth year, just in case Ramirez isn't actually in the twilight of his career as we suspect.

The 33-year-old third baseman spent the last eight seasons with the Chicago Cubs, his brand new division rival and mortal enemy. However, don't expect him to take out a full-page ad in the Tribune or Sun-Times, or for any Cubbies faithful to be seen burning his jersey on Youtube... he wasn't exactly a deity.

Ramirez was a big contributor to any wins the Cubs did have though, batting .306 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI in 2011. His power at the plate is a welcome sight for Milwaukee, considering the loss of big bats Prince Fielder to free agency (and possibly to the Cubs) and Ryan Braun to an imminent 50-game suspension for suspected cheating. We'll keep you posted on whether or not he wins his appeal, which by the way, will never happen.

This seems like some kind of white flag by the Brewers, since their interest in Ramirez didn't peak (at least not publicly) until the whole Ryan Braun fiasco went down. The veteran might not exactly be a last resort, but he certainly wasn't in the middle of their radar up until last weekend. Is this a signing born in desperation, or will the Brew Crew be happy with their new hot corner?

[ National Post]

Brewers Sport their Rally Caps, Beat Cardinals in NLCS Opener

It's pretty amazing the way Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder can turn a game around.

The Milwaukee Brewers rallied in the fifth inning of NLCS Game 1 against their bitter division rivals with huge back-to-back hits by Braun and Fielder to come away with a 9-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Braun launched a 463-foot, two-run bomb in the first inning before adding a two-run double during the huge six-run fifth. Fielder followed up with a homer worth two runs before Yuniesky Betancourt capped the comeback with a two-run shot of his own.

While we were honestly hoping for a few plunkings, maybe a bench-clearing brawl, and definitely some more smack-talk from the two sides, all we got was a small stir-up and an umpire's warning to Tony La Russa after Jaime Garcia hit Fielder immediately after Braun's first inning longball.

Brewers ace Zack Greinke, who made some awkward comments regarding Chris Carpenter and his "phony attitude" on Saturday, hinted that there may have been some heckling coming from the opposing dugout on Sunday:

Will the Brewers and Cardinals Go all Bush League on Each Other in the NLCS?

Remember back in August 2010 when then-Washington Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan was rounding the bases in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals and smashed into catcher Bryan Anderson for no good reason as he crossed the plate? I say for no good reason because he scored standing up and there was no attempt at a play. Not very nice, and I'm pretty sure Cardinals fans didn't forget about that move. In a totally unrelated incident a few days later, Morgan went berserk during the entire series against the Florida Marlins. He separated Brett Hayes' shoulder on a hard play at the plate during one game before charging the mound and taking a swing at Chris Volstad the next night. Yikes.

Fast forward to a year later on August 1, 2011 and Morgan is now enjoying an exciting season with the Milwaukee Brewers, who are holding a two-game lead on the Cardinals. He's just nailed a three-run double to center field off Chris Carpenter, whose abs we'd like to wash our laundry on. Of course, Morgan gets a little excited and maybe a little cocky and does this fist-pumpy thing directly at the Cardinals' dugout. Hilarious, but not cool. Also not cool? Tony La Russa accusing the folks at Miller Park of altering the stadium's lighting to give the opposition a disadvantage. Give me a break.

Alex Rodriguez Gets Plunked, Joe Girardi Cries About it

The Cleveland Indians, as good as they were to kick off this season, are attempting to spark a rivalry with the New York Yankees... who have beat them 12 of the last 15 meetings.

The two teams will move right along with their four-game series Sunday afternoon in New York, with the Yankees leading 2-0. The first two contests featured a couple hit batsmen, including Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Controversial! Tex, who was hit by Jon Lester earlier in the week, was nailed in the right shoulder on Friday by Fausto Carmona. He got super pissed and the benches cleared, with Joe Girardi and Manny Acta enjoying a little face-to-face confrontation.

Rivalries and Sweet, Sweet Redemption

Most of you may remember our Ballpark Photo Contest we held back in January, where we asked you to send in your pictures to be voted upon by readers. The winner of that glorious contest was a sassy young lady holding a pork-chop-on-a-stick at Target Field, but one of the runners up was the poor guy on the left, Atlanta Braves fan Mateo Walter and his friend David Gregory (the Los Angeles Angels fan on the right).

The two guys have an ongoing bet: during Interleague play, when one of their favorite teams inevitably loses, they have to don the winner's jersey. It's an embarrassing disaster and we absolutely love it.

Big Papi: In a New York State of Mind

Big Papi is feeling blue. Turns out many New Yorkers don't care for him much. In fact, most of them were repulsed by the idea of hugging the Boston Red Sox slugger.

Our favorite line from this entire video...

"It really hurts my feelings, mang."

[MLB Fan Cave]

Here... Get Your Face Fixed

[Nothing Like Some Good Old Fashioned Trash Talk]

OMG Albert Pujols Hugged Jim Hendry, Cards Doomed

There are a whole new set of rumors swirling around Albert Pujols this week after the so-called "inappropriate" hug between two longtime rivals: the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman and Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry.

Of course, we don't quite believe him, considering he should be on the hunt for a new cornerman since Carlos Pena signed only a one-year deal worth $10 million back in December.

However, Hendry said the hug was nothing but a greeting between two good friends and they discussed nothing but their families, no business:

Boston Red Sox Dish $142 Million for Carl Crawford

Carl Crawford has officially signed the richest contract of any outfielder in the history of the game.

The All-Star left fielder and the Boston Red Sox reached a preliminary agreement late Wednesday night on a $142 million, seven-year contract, which is subject to a physical, of course. The average annual value of the deal -- $20,285,714 -- is the seventh highest among current players and 10th-largest in baseball history.

Juan Uribe Leaves Giants for Rival Dodgers

Juan Uribe has done the unthinkable.

The second baseman finalized a three-year, $21 million deal Tuesday with his old team's most hated rival: the Los Angeles Dodgers. Uribe was offered arbitration to the tune of $20 million over three years last week by the San Francisco Giants, but it wasn't enough to keep their Championship team in tact.

THE METS HAVE GOTTEN THEIR SAVIOR!!!

Hallelujah and Amen ladies and gentlemen, the New York Mets will finally stop hemorrhaging like a severed artery. As you may have heard, the Metsies made a trade of epic proportions this afternoon, sending their very own Ryan Church, who had the innate ability to make the Mets outfield as porous as a mesh condom for...dun dun duh....JEFF FRANCOEUR.

Francoeur, since his Major League Debut in 2005, has 65 outfield assists, the most in baseball during that period. Please, please, try and contain your excitement.

Sorry Mets. Unless you're willing to fire the entire front office and DFA the entire roster, there's no way to right this ship which is sinking faster than Leo and Kate and those two sad children in the North Atlantic. Omar Minaya shouldn't be running a Banana Stand never mind a baseball team, and ohhhhh Jerry Manuel, you don't fool us with your smart man glasses.

Blow it up. Start over. This is the most hopeless group of humans to exist since the 2003 Cubs.

It's nice to be back.

--Lizzy

[Newsday]

Scott and Russ: Rival Buddies at the Mall

So I ran into these guys at the Mall of America this afternoon, me a mangled mess after a good seven hour stint inside Nickelodeon Universe. Yeah.... I'll take a beer now, please.

Anyhow, I stopped them and took their picture, informed them I'd make them famous on BLB and harassed them for a couple of questions. The guy on the right, who I obviously got along with best (Man Muscles Jersey!) is named Scott Anderson. Scott is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, but is currently studying in enemy territory as a pharmacy student at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

We Love Men Who Take Charge

Like the Chicago Cubs, for instance, who are taking charge of the NL Central. Now holding a four-game lead over the once-surging Milwaukee Brewers, the North-Siders are enjoying some hitting on the part of Alfonso Soriano and some lights-out pitching by guys like Ryan Fricking Dempster, who is 12-4 with a 2.90 ERA.

The Yankees Will Now Take Your Dignity

Despite an obvious sabotage attempt by Mariano Rivera, the Yankees were able to take this weekend's series from Boston 2 games to 1. It also means the Yanks are 10-8 against the Sox on the season, giving Red Sox fans everywhere reason to be ashamed. I mean, what's the point of the Red Sox winning the division if they can't beat the Yankees. What's that? The playoffs you say? Yeah. We'll see you there.

Here are a few things we've learned from this weekend's series:

When Boston loads the bases in the bottom of the ninth, down one run and Big Papi at the plate, Sarah loses her mind and cries like a little girl.

The Yankees need to hurry up and spank Joba into shape before Rivera single-handedly sinks the ship.

Watching Clemens and Schilling pitch the same game is like watching two water buffalo slowly kicking each other to death over the course of 4 hours.

Youkilis could make a successful living as a human target for the Yankees bullpen.

You cannot deny that Derek Jeter is clutch. Yeah yeah, and he's hot too. I get it.

Red Sox fans? Waaaay dumber than Yankees fans.