March 19, 2016 [LINK / comment]
In the process of assessing my progress toward rendering all Major League Baseball stadiums (since the second decade of the 20th Century, that is), I have created a brand-new page: Stadium diagrams. It is unique in that it does not compare the stadiums per se, but rather my renditions of them. It shows the number of variations (major changes from year to year), lower-deck versions, upper-deck versions, football and other sports versions, and also lists particular features such as entry portals and support beams.
Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals this year, in hopes of returning to the majors, has suffered a health setback: a partially torn rotator cuff. It's not as bad as originally thought, but he will still be in rehabilitation for at least four weeks. If he doesn't improve, he may decide to retire. See washingtonpost.com
Granted, it doesn't matter one bit, but it's nice to point out that the Washington Nationals have the second-highest winning percentage in this majors this spring, .800 (12-3). The winningest team right now is the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are 14-4. The Nats' game against the Mets today was called off because of weather. Speaking of which, we had snow here in Virginia today. Up until now, it has been a very warm March. Rookie pitcher Lucas Giolito performed very well in his first (unofficial) major league outing.
Former Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche has decided to retire for personal reasons, even though he still has one year left on his contract with the Chicago White Sox. My first thought was that he must have a lot saved up if he doesn't need the $13 million in salary he would have been paid. But then we learned it was in reaction to being told by The Management that LaRoche's son was spending too much time with the team in the dugout. It's one of those awkward situations that depends on the personalities involved, and in this case, the team mates didn't seem to mind at all. White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams is taking some heat for what happened. See MLB.com.
LaRoche racked up 255 home runs, 882 RBIs, and an average of .260 during his 12 years in the majors. Eighty-two of those homers were when he was with the Nationals, from 2011 through 2014. I didn't always give him as much credit as he was due, and it's worth pointing out that he played a key part in both the Nationals' division championships, 2012 and 2014. Besides Chicago (AL), LaRoche also played for Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Arizona.
Adam LaRoche made it to second base after hitting a single for the Chicago White Sox last July 21, in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at U.S. Cellular Field.