Joe Blanton; UK Athletics Wallpaper
The Philadelphia Phillies are listening to offers for University of Kentucky alum Joe Blanton, who stands in line for a substantial raise in arbitration this offseason, Ed Price reports for AOL Fanhouse. Blanton was 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA in 2009 and something around $7 million in 2010. In five career postseason starts, Blanton is 2-0 with a 4.03 ERA. (Read more)
Joe Blanton; Photo from Wikimedia Commons
The Phillies were off Saturday, so no Bluegrass ties in the Yankees extra-inning win. But don’t fear, here are several Kentucky storylines to get you through a Sunday morning:
You probably know California Redwoods quarterback Shane Boyd better for his days roaming the gridiron at Commonwealth Stadium, but he also spent time on the diamond for the Cats as a left-handed reliever. Boyd was drafted in the thirteenth round of the MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins out of high school but chose to pursue football and baseball on the collegiate level. Boyd appeared in 19 games for UK between 2002 and 2004 with mixed results before being drafted by the Twins again in 2004. Boyd spent time with the Titans, Cardinals and Texans in the NFL, before a season in the Canadian Football League. This year he is the starting QB for the California team in the inaugural UFL season. Last week, Boyd scored the first touchdown in league history, shown below.
Chris Rusin; Photo: UK Athletics
Sorry for the late links, but here there are for your Friday afternoon:
Homer Bailey; Picture from Wikimedia Commons
A former Bat was in action on the mound, and the state’s college and minor league teams had several announcements. Check out those stories in today’s hot links:
Ashland, Ky., native and UK alum Brandon Webb told Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic that he has no interest in accepting a restructured deal from the Diamondbacks if they decline his $8.5 million option. Webb hasn’t pitched since Opening Day due to an injury to his throwing shoulder and underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in August.
“If it comes down to that and they ask me to do something like that, I would have to – just for myself – see what else is out there and see if there’s something better,” Webb told McManaman. Arizona has until five days after the end of the World Series to decide on the option. Diamondbacks’ GM A. J. Hinch responded: “I don’t know what the plans are moving ahead, but if Brandon Webb is healthy, why wouldn’t you want him?” (Read more)
Louisville moved closer to the playoffs as Bowling Green moved further away Tuesday. Check out those stories and more in today’s hot links:
Former UK pitchers Brandon Webb and Scott Downs both received bad injury news Sunday. The Daily Independent in Ashland, Ky., first reported that Webb would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery Monday. The newspaper quoted Webb’s father that Brandon had elected to let Dr. Keith Meister repair his injured right shoulder.
Toronto Blue Jays closer and former UK pitcher Scott Downs was also placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. Downs was suffering from the same injury to his left foot that caused him to spend 19 games on the disabled list earlier this season.
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