Biography
Phil Rogers is in his third decade covering major league baseball, and has done it for the Tribune since 1997. He covered Sammy Sosa's major ...
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Rangers' Daniels quite the architect
October 8, 2011
ARLINGTON, Texas — These must be uneasy times for Theo Epstein. He would not figure to have had a great Saturday night, undoubtedly sorting through his career crossroad somewhere, whether at his home in Boston or maybe at a Starbucks in Wrigleyville. Only his barista knows for sure.
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Tigers built for a long run
October 8, 2011
Like Rudolf Nureyev, the Tigers have turned on a dime.
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Ventura starts out highly respected — as former player
October 6, 2011
NEW YORK — One of the biggest games in his 15 seasons a couple of hours away, Magglio Ordonez came wheeling out of the batting cage with a smile on his face.
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Cubs could have bigger plans than GM for Epstein
October 5, 2011
In the race to beat the Soviets to the moon, NASA enlisted more and more scientists and engineers, recruiting them from around the globe. Bill Gates and Paul Allen did a similar thing in beating other entrepreneurs to the early cyber billions.
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Epstein could cost Cubs much more than money
October 4, 2011
Here's a question for Cubs Nation. How badly do you want Theo Epstein?
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Verlander continues quest for coveted prize: title
October 3, 2011
DETROIT — Waving white towels over their heads, Comerica Park fans chanted "MVP, MVP, MVP." Justin Verlander stared straight ahead for eight eyes-on-the-road innings, his every pitch one more mile marker on a trip he hopes will end at the ultimate destination.
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Hudson vows Diamondbacks can bounce back
October 2, 2011
MILWAUKEE — Daniel Hudson kept his composure, answering questions in short, choppy sentences. The disappointment showed on his face, but the defeat seemed to have barely registered.
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There's talk Epstein may be available
October 1, 2011
Theo Epstein wore a Red Sox jacket Friday at Fenway Park, explaining his part in the decision-making process that led to the stunning departure of manager Terry Francona. He seemed every bit in charge, as much as always, but it was noted his assistant, Ben Cherington, also participated in meetings between management and Francona.
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And the envelope please
October 1, 2011
Justin Verlander dominated American League MVP talk in September. But what about his man-child teammate, Miguel Cabrera?
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Out on limb for Yankees over Brewers in World Series
September 29, 2011
What more does the Brew Crew need?
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Red Sox and Braves collapses complete
September 29, 2011
Are you kidding me?
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A crazy hiring season begins in Chicago
September 27, 2011
As the baseball world was spinning wildly Monday, at some point between the Marlins' phony-baloney interviews with Eduardo Perez and two other managerial candidates and the Ozzie Guillen charade at U.S. Cellular Field, the Rays were preparing to host the Yankees in their continued pursuit of a wild-card spot.
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Guillen out the door, wants more money
September 27, 2011
Ozzie Guillen was holding court with reporters when Mark Buehrle walked into the dugout before Monday night's game. He took a look at his manager, who was giving his side of an afternoon meeting with Jerry Reinsdorf, and reflexively spat out two words.
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Yankees, Rangers Phillies teams to beat
September 24, 2011
Enjoy the undercard.
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Cubs manager doomed from start
September 21, 2011
Mike Quade never had a chance.
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Another successful season for Sandberg managing Triple-A
September 17, 2011
Ryne Sandberg has done it again.
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Verlander making case for combo Cy Young-MVP awards
September 14, 2011
The year Steve Stone won the Cy Young Award, he finished ninth in Most Valuable Player voting. He's glad things have changed since 1980, that pitchers are getting a little more respect.
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Ricketts willing to wait on Epstein
September 11, 2011
Theo Epstein is bored in Boston. Brian Cashman tires of having Yankees President Randy Levine and two Steinbrenner brothers tell him what to do.
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Playoff edge goes to Yankees because of bullpen
September 10, 2011
As much fun as it would be to see the Brewers and Tigers create havoc in October, this is shaping up as a postseason that will be low on surprises. The three best teams entering the playoffs are likely to be the Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox, in that order.
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Rios and Peavy accent current and future woes
August 31, 2011
And you didn't think Alex Rios cared?
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There's long list of potential GMs for Cubs
August 27, 2011
She could have run her own team a long time ago – probably should have, really — but nobody has had the guts to hire Kim Ng as a general manager. Could Tom Ricketts be the guy?
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MLB rankings: Granderson helps Yankees move up to No. 1
August 22, 2011
1. Yankees (2): You know you're pretty good when you can hit a guy with 34 home runs in the No. 2 hole. That's what Joe Girardi did when Alex Rodriguez returned on Sunday, and Curtis Granderson delivered an inside-the-park homer for No. 35. It helped Ivan Nova improve to 13-4 as he solidifies the No. 2 spot in the playoff rotation.
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Hendry took fall but doesn't deserve all blame
August 20, 2011
Unfortunately, Jim Hendry wasn't the Cubs' problem.
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MLB whispers: Young guns coming through
August 20, 2011
Under pressure to improve his lineup, Braves GM Frank Wren wouldn't send his best pitching prospects to the Mets for Carlos Beltran. That looks like a great decision, and not just because Beltran has been a non-factor for the Giants. Randall Delgado, 21, and 20-year-old Arodys Vizcaino pitched great in a victory over the Giants on Tuesday, and 23-year-old lefty Mike Minor beat the Giants' Tim Lincecum on Thursday. With those three and the 20-year-old Julio Teheran in the wings behind guys like Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Craig Kimbel, Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty, the Braves should be strong for years. …
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Revamped playoffs, including 1-game wild-card scramble, close to fruition
August 20, 2011
Joe Girardi insists his Yankees were trying to win the American League East a year ago, even if it didn't look like it.
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Big spending on amateur draft unveils long-range plan
August 18, 2011
Tom Ricketts has a new favorite player. He's Zeke DeVoss, not Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or any of the other quick-fix, high-dollar remedies to the problems that ail the Cubs.
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It's way past time for Cubs to cut losses
August 13, 2011
Not so fast.
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Buehrle 1 of 5 lefties looking at big paydays
August 13, 2011
Mark Buehrle rolls on. He's headed toward both the last turn in what has been one of his best seasons and a chance to go on the free-agent market this winter.
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Teens learning Ripken way
August 6, 2011
When Cal Ripken Jr. built his youth baseball facility in Aberdeen, Md., he wanted kids to get the feeling of what it is like to play in big-league stadiums. He spent heavily to construct a 3,500-seat replica of Camden Yards, complete with a hotel that stands in for the right-field warehouse in Baltimore.
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Guillen in frustrating position
August 4, 2011
Ozzie Guillen has never been PC, and, bless him, he's not mellowing with age.
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Trade for Beltran may be master stroke
July 30, 2011
When the White Sox traded for Freddy Garcia in 2004, Ken Williams had the perfect explanation for the mid-season move.
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Sox should sit tight at trade deadline
July 29, 2011
Dancing in the halls.
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Don't be surprised if La Russa wears Sox uniform next year
July 28, 2011
Turning up the heat.
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Williams and Sox paying, dearly, for mistakes
July 28, 2011
You knew Ken Williams was going to do something. He always does.
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Alomar joins Hall's family
July 24, 2011
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Maria Alomar couldn't stop crying. Her youngest son, Roberto, was making the speech he'd been planning for seven months, since he learned he'd be joining baseball's Hall of Fame.
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Beltran at top of list for deadline trade
July 24, 2011
Carlos Beltran is a carpe diem sort of guy. He's on center stage again, and he's soaking it up.
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Hall honors longtime exec Hemond
July 24, 2011
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Roland Hemond never worked for George Steinbrenner, Walter O'Malley or Gussie Busch. He never was given unlimited resources to work with, but made up for it with a limitless imagination.
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Gillick perfect man to run Cubs
July 22, 2011
Hall of Famers generally speak of the past, not the future. But not Pat Gillick.
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Some modest proposals for Cubs and Sox
July 20, 2011
Just how "all in'' are the White Sox these days?
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Phil Rogers' MLB power rankings
July 18, 2011
Statistics through Sunday (ranking last week)
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Hamilton relies on faith to cope with fan tragedy
July 16, 2011
There's no way for any of us to know how Josh Hamilton feels these days, but if you ask him he will do his best to let you know. That says a lot in itself.
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Rogers' power rankings: Red Sox on upswing
July 14, 2011
Statistics through Sunday (last week's ranking)
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Pirates and Indians turned heads in 1st half
July 14, 2011
Justin Masterson vs. Kevin Correia in Game 1.
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Think of All-Star star Fielder in Cubs uniform
July 13, 2011
PHOENIX — Winning friends and influencing October. That's Prince Fielder these days.
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Jeter, Pujols will be missed at All-Star Game
July 12, 2011
PHOENIX — Alert the historians. The 2011 National League All-Star team must be the best in history.
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Yankees' Cano wins HR Derby
July 11, 2011
PHOENIX — Apparently Robinson Cano didn't get the memo.
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Szczur adjusts to pro baseball quite well
July 10, 2011
PHOENIX — When the dog days arrive later this season, they'll be another new experience for Matt Szczur.
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Granderson outclasses the crowd in first half
July 9, 2011
The psychoanalyst Helene Deutsch once said "the ultimate goal of all research is not objectivity, but truth.'' It's in that spirit that we conclude Curtis Granderson should be the American League's first-half Most Valuable Player.
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Konerko takes All-Star snub in stride
July 3, 2011
Paul Konerko isn't an All-Star?
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Fans get All-Star vote right
July 3, 2011
Weighing performance ahead of popularity, fans did a good job at the polls this season.
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Many worthy All-Stars won't get call
July 2, 2011
Matt Thornton provided the model. Gavin Floyd reaffirmed it, reaching his potential for the White Sox after frustrating the Phillies.
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Wells' failure points to larger problem for Cubs
July 1, 2011
One minute Randy Wells was cruising. The next he was throwing a meatball to Alexei Ramirez that the White Sox shortstop sent flying into the left-field bleachers.
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It's time to start thinking about All-Star rosters
June 25, 2011
Every team has its guy — a fringe candidate it believes should be recognized as an All-Star.
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Soriano tries to soothe fans
June 22, 2011
Alfonso Soriano isn't Albert Belle, who thrived on criticism. He's also not Milton Bradley or Todd Hundley, who couldn't get critics out of their heads.
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Cubs, Sox down, but still worth watching in City Series
June 19, 2011
Unsold tickets. Unfulfilled expectations. Uncertain futures.
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Aggressive approaches
June 18, 2011
Starlin Castro rarely has met a pitch he didn't like. Alexei Ramirez is only slightly more discriminating.
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Strange but true, Pirates flirting with contention
June 18, 2011
Forget Paul Maholm's 3-7 record. He has compiled a 3.12 earned-run average over 89 innings, holding opponents to 70 hits.
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Days dwindling down for management team?
June 8, 2011
CINCINNATI — As the Cubs prepared to take the field Wednesday, Jim Hendry was in Arizona bearing down on Day 3 of baseball's amateur draft with as much intensity as he had brought to the conference room more than 30 hours earlier when the Cubs made their first pick.
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Thome and Jeter always at head of class
June 5, 2011
Tom Morgan, who runs a baseball card shop in Naperville, always is being asked about the value of unusual bits of memorabilia. He recently was asked to weigh in on a Pete Rose-autographed ball that carried an inscription.
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Gut instinct has place in baseball draft
June 4, 2011
Shortly before the 2004 draft, an American League scouting director was singing the praises of Old Dominion's Justin Verlander. He said he had "the best combination'' of velocity and a power breaking ball in the draft, but there was an issue.
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Jays' Reyes losing at historic rate
May 28, 2011
For John Danks, the disappointment of what he calls "a broken record'' is building exponentially.
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Aging Yankees need to move fast
May 21, 2011
Running in place.
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Royals accelerate plan to compete for playoffs
May 14, 2011
How wide open has the American League Central become?
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Cubs will have to get in line for Pujols
May 11, 2011
Give Jim Hendry credit. He's not the kind of guy who'll give someone a warm embrace and then slip quietly out the side door.
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If Sox dump Guillen, list of potential successors is long
May 7, 2011
Firing Ozzie Guillen isn't going to fix what's wrong with the White Sox, not in 2011 and certainly not in future seasons. To sack him and leave general manager Ken Williams in charge would be a mistake, as Guillen consistently has found a way to stay competitive without the homegrown studs who ruled Comiskey Park when Ron Schueler was the GM.
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Heat on Guillen and Williams?
April 25, 2011
These are confusing times, for sure.
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MLB power rankings: Yankees hang onto top spot
April 25, 2011
Statistics through Sunday (last week's ranking)
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Will Braun contract force Cubs' hand?
April 23, 2011
Ryan Braun is a great player to build a team around. But the dynamics of baseball signings seldom end with the team locking up the player.
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Garza's time should come — if he keeps pitching as he has
April 20, 2011
Attention, Bill James. You too Jayson Stark.
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Bonds deserves to serve time
April 16, 2011
From the perspective of a citizen, not a baseball writer, it seems right for Barry Bonds to serve some jail time for his felony conviction on obstruction of justice.
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Reasons to be optimistic
April 14, 2011
Mike Quade was making things difficult, whether he knew it or not.
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Bonds trial ends with whimper
April 13, 2011
Mike Quade was sitting in the visiting manager's office at Minute Maid Park late Wednesday afternoon when someone stuck their head into the door.
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Re-signing Mark Buehrle sure looks good now
July 24, 2009
Some rules, like records, are made to be broken. Thank goodness that Jerry Reinsdorf didn't let one of his unwritten ones get in the way of his baseball franchise a few years back.
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White Sox Triple-A skipper Shines razor-sharp
July 5, 2006
Evaluating?
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Examination of bats proves little
June 5, 2003
About halfway through ESPN's two-hour, "Say It Ain't So-sa," special, the broker who owns the authenticated bat that Sammy Sosa used to hit his 498th career home run, did something remarkable. He and another man held the ends of the bat while a third man used a hand saw to slice through the barrel.
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No need for Sosa to cheat
June 4, 2003
Talk about overkill.