We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Category: Professional

Audio from Chiefs Training Camp – Friday 8/5

Posted on

The Kansas City Chiefs had a walkthrough Friday morning inside the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex and then practiced outside in the afternoon.  Click below to listen to interviews with players and coaches from Friday’s workouts.

C Casey Wiegmann[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CaseyWiegman.mp3|titles=CaseyWiegman]
T BrandenAlbert[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/BrandanAlbert.mp3|titles=BrandanAlbert]
T David Mims[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/DavidMims.mp3|titles=DavidMims]
DE Wallace Gilberry[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/WallaceGilberry.mp3|titles=WallaceGilberry]
QB Coach Jim Zorn[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/JimZorn.mp3|titles=JimZorn]

Royals lose in 10 innings to Detroit

Posted on

Brennan Boesch came through too late for Rick Porcello. His hit came just in time for the Detroit Tigers, though.

Boesch hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

“I just didn’t want to do too much,” Boesch said. “I just wanted to make sure I was under control and just try to play pepper back up the middle. I wanted to do that.”

The Tigers extended their lead in the AL Central to four games over the Cleveland Indians, who lost in extra innings around the same time the Tigers were winning.

Porcello, who had won his previous five starts, took a 3-0 lead into the seventh.

“Every time he goes out there now, we really feel we’re going to win,” Boesch said. “He’s really been pitching well. He’s been growing all season long, getting better as the year goes on. That’s what we need from him. He’s stepping up big.

Wilson Betemit led off the 10th with a walk and pinch-runner Andy Dirks took second on a wild pitch by Aaron Crow (3-3) with one out.

Daniel Schlereth (1-1) worked two scoreless innings and Jose Valverde pitched the bottom of the 10th for his 31st straight save.

Manager Jim Leyland pulled Porcello after he gave up a run on three singles with one out in the seventh.

“I feel bad for Rick,” Leyland said. “He deserved to get a win. He was fantastic. I’m sorry he didn’t get a win.”

Austin Jackson and Boesch opened the game with back-to-back triples in the Tigers’ two-run first inning. Alex Avila tacked on a solo homer in the fifth.

Johnny Giavotella made his debut for the Royals and hit an RBI single before scoring the tying run on Alcides Escobar’s single in the seventh.

Royals starter Felipe Paulino gave up three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking two.

Porcello had a string of wins in five straight starts snapped. He left with one out in the seventh after giving up Giavotella’s RBI single.

Phil Coke came on, gave up an RBI single to Mike Moustakas and left. David Pauley gave up Escobar’s tying hit to center field.

“The team got the win and that’s the biggest thing,” Porcello said. “Obviously, it’s nice for yourself personally to get a win, but we got the win and started the series off to a good start. That’s the bottom line, the most important thing. I definitely had plenty left in tank. The skipper wanted to go with a lefty-lefty matchup. That’s his call.”

Giavotella went 2-for-3 in his big league debut, with a double, a walk a steal and a run in addition to his RBI single.

“I had some jitters coming into the game, some butterflies here and there, but after that first ground ball I calmed down and felt comfortable out there,” Giavotella said. “On the double, I looked up into the stands and saw my dad. He gave a little fist pump and I gave one back to him. It was a nice moment.”

— Associated Press —

Cardinals win second straight at Florida

Posted on

Lance Lynn pitched himself into big trouble before getting the biggest out of his young career.

Lynn struck out Mike Stanton with the bases loaded to seal his first major league save, Lance Berkman’s second double of the game brought home Albert Pujols with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals held on to beat the Florida Marlins 3-2 on Friday night.

Called upon because regular closer Fernando Salas was unavailable, Lynn gave up a hit and two walks in a 24-pitch roller-coaster of a ninth and held on anyway.

“A little out of control,” Lynn said. “I was able to regroup and get it done.”

Pujols doubled off Florida starter Anibal Sanchez (6-5) to lead off the eighth, and Berkman drove Sanchez’s final pitch of the game into center field to put St. Louis on top. Matt Holliday hit his 18th home run for St. Louis and Mitchell Boggs (1-3) threw a scoreless seventh for the win.

“I was excited. Something for Lance, something for Boggs, his first win, mostly our team and the excitement of the moment,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “You’re facing the next young superstar in our league with the bases loaded and nowhere to go with him and you end up getting a punchout, that’s a dramatic moment.”

Stanton had three hits, including a triple, and stole a base for the Marlins, who had a serious chance in the ninth.

Joe Thurston, selected earlier in the day by Florida from Triple-A New Orleans and back in the majors for the first time since 2009, singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and the Marlins had runners on first and second after Dewayne Wise drew a one-out walk.

But Lynn — called on to close after Salas needed a combined 51 pitches in appearances Tuesday and Thursday — struck out Emilio Bonifacio on a 95 mph fastball and then, after walking Greg Dobbs on four pitches to load the bases, got Stanton swinging.

Sanchez gave up eight hits and three runs while striking out seven in 7 1/3 innings, and it still wasn’t enough to snap what now is a 10-game winless streak for the right-hander. He batted in the seventh, the Marlins clearly thinking he had one more inning of work left against the heart of the Cardinals’ order.

The move backfired after Pujols and Berkman doubled two batters apart, and the Marlins lost for the sixth time in their last eight home games.

“Albert got the better of him in that situation,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. “When you get in those situations you can’t let the big guys hurt you. Find a way.”

St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook gave up two runs and six hits in six innings, throwing 106 pitches on the steamy 89-degree night to help take some burden off a weary Cardinals bullpen.

The Marlins are already ailing up the middle defensively, with second baseman Omar Infante going on the disabled list Friday with a broken finger and shortstop Hanley Ramirez still dealing with a sprained left shoulder — and another blow came Friday, when center fielder Mike Cameron sprained his left hand.

Cameron was shaken up trying to make a diving catch, appearing to twist his wrist in the turf and writhing in pain for a few moments. Cameron remained in the game until the bottom of the sixth, when he was replaced by pinch-hitter Bryan Petersen.

Cameron was 2-for-2, raising his average to .177 for the season, .219 in 21 games with Florida.

“It got to the point where I didn’t want to make myself look like a fool swinging with one hand,” Cameron said. “It just got kind of worse over the course of the game. I just decided not to take any more chances.”

Florida opened the scoring in the third when Stanton — batting third for the first time in his career, just as Logan Morrison debuted in the cleanup spot — hit an RBI triple to the gap in right-center to score Dobbs. Morrison nearly made it 2-0, but Pujols ranged to his right to snare a sharp grounder that he flipped to Westbrook covering the bag to end the inning.

St. Louis took the lead in the fourth on Holliday’s leadoff homer, a double by Berkman and a run-scoring single two batters later by Gerald Laird. Buck pulled Florida into a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the home half of the fourth.

— Associated Press —

Todd Haley Press Conference – Friday 8/5

Posted on

Click below to listen to Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley speak with the media Friday.

Part 1[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/805A.mp3|titles=805A]

Part 2[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/805B.mp3|titles=805B]

Chiefs sign final draft pick Justin Houston

Posted on

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Friday that the club has signed third-round draft pick LB Justin Houston.

Houston (6-3, 268)was the first of Kansas City’s two third-round picks (70th overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft.

He played in 36 games (24 starts) at the University of Georgia, recording 105 tackles (70 solo), 38.0 stops for loss and 20.0 sacks (-134.0 yards). He added 78 QB pressures, an interception, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Houston was a prep standout at Statesboro High School in Statesboro, Georgia.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Audio from Thursday at Chiefs Training Camp

Posted on

The Kansas City Chiefs had a walkthrough Thursday morning and then a full practice session in the afternoon on Day 7 of their 2011 training camp at Missouri Western State University.  Thursday was the first day that veteran free agents could practice during camp and many spoke after practice.  Click here to here from the Chiefs players that spoke to the media.

WR Steve Breaston[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SteveBreaston.mp3|titles=SteveBreaston]
DL Kelly Gregg[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/KellyGregg.mp3|titles=KellyGregg]
CB Brandon Carr[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/BrandonCarr.mp3|titles=BrandonCarr]
FB LeRon McClain[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/LeRonMcClain.mp3|titles=LeRonMcClain]
S Jon McGraw[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/JonMcGraw.mp3|titles=JonMcGraw]
TE Leonard Pope[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/LeonardPope.mp3|titles=LeonardPope]

Royals use six-run sixth inning to beat Baltimore

Posted on

Alex Gordon matched his career-high with four hits and Yamaico Navarro drove in three runs to the lead the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-4 on Thursday night.

The Royals sent 11 men to the plate in a six-run sixth inning to break open the game. The inning included eight hits with Navarro doubling home two runs and Chris Getz stroking a two-run single. Melky Cabrera and Billy Butler added run-producing singles in the inning.

The Royals had 17 hits with every starter having at least one. Gordon, Cabrera and Butler, the first three Kansas City hitters, combined to go 8 for 14 with six runs, two doubles and three RBIs.

Reliever Blake Wood (5-0) worked two hitless innings, walking two and striking out two, to pick up the victory.

Royals starter Jeff Francis, who pitched eight scoreless innings to beat Cleveland in his previous start, gave up four runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings before Wood replaced him.

Orioles rookie left-hander Zach Britton (6-9) again ran into difficulties in the first inning. Britton, who had allowed 13 runs in a combined one inning in his previous two starts, allowed three runs and three hits in the first. Two of the runs were unearned after his throwing error. Britton, who allowed six runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings, is 1-8 in his past 14 starts after starting the season 5-1.

Navarro, Butler and Jeff Francoeur, who had three hits, each drove in a run in the first.

J.J. Hardy homered for the Orioles in the fifth inning, his 19th this season and the 100th of his career. Hardy, however, left after six innings with a sore left ankle.

Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters and Chris Davis drove in the other Baltimore runs. Markakis and Wieters each had two hits and an RBI. Adam Jones doubled and singled for his seventh multi-hit game in his past 12.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs sign LB Tamba Hali

Posted on

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Thursday that the team has signed LB Tamba Hali, who had been designated the club’s franchise player.

Hali (6-3, 275) has started 79 regular season contests with the Chiefs, posting 296 tackles (217 solo), 41.5 sacks (-258.0 yards), 58 QB pressures, an INT, 19 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. His 19 forced fumbles are third in Chiefs history behind LB Derrick Thomas (45) and DE Neil Smith (29), while his 41.5 sacks rank seventh in franchise annals. The Ghanga, Liberia native entered the NFL as a first-round pick (20th overall) of the Chiefs in 2006.

Hali saw duty in 47 games (34 starts) at Penn State, recording 179 tackles (84 solo), 36.0 stops for loss and 14.0 sacks. He prepped at Teaneck High School in Teaneck, New Jersey.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Pujols leads St. Louis past Florida in opener

Posted on

For Albert Pujols, slumps tends to be brief.

The St. Louis Cardinals slugger snapped out of a three-game skid, hitting his 25th home run and finishing a triple shy of the cycle to help beat the Florida Marlins 7-4 on Thursday night.

“I just put a good swing on them,” he said. “Hopefully I can continue to do that the rest of the series.”

Pujols came into the game only 1 for 14 on the Cardinals’ trip. He walked and scored in the first inning, singled and scored in the third, homered in the fourth and doubled in the sixth. The first baseman also made a lunging backhanded stop to start a 3-6-3 double play.

“Watch him play defense and run the bases — he’s a great player,” manager Tony La Russa said.

The Cardinals’ David Freese suffered a mild concussion when he was hit in the helmet by a 3-2 pitch from Clay Hensley with the bases loaded in the third inning. The hard-earned RBI put the Cardinals ahead to stay, 4-3.

“It’s not how you would want one, but I’ll take it,” Freese said.

Freese said he was dizzy after the game but feeling better. He said he likely would miss at least one game but didn’t expect to be sidelined long.

Marlins second baseman Omar Infante broke his right middle finger diving for a grounder in the third.

Six St. Louis relievers limited Florida to one run after Kyle Lohse lasted only three innings — his shortest outing this season — even though his teammates gave him a 7-3 lead. He allowed seven hits and walked three and threw 74 pitches.

Florida had 14 hits, including five doubles, but stranded 12 runners and hit into two double plays.

The Marlins’ odd home-road disparity continued. They are 24-33 at home and 31-23 on the road.

Kyle McClellan (9-6) replaced Lohse and pitched three scoreless innings. Lance Lynn struck out the side in the seventh.

Fernando Salas came on to retire Gaby Sanchez on a flyout with the bases loaded to end the eighth, then pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save in 23 chances.

Matt Holliday hit his 17th home run for St. Louis, while Skip Schumaker had three hits, including a two-run double.

August has historically been Pujols’ best month, and a 3-for-4 night hiked his average to .280. He batted in the eighth needing a triple to complete the cycle and lined out to right field.

“Albert gets pitched tough all the time, and he’s just amazing,” La Russa said.

Clay Hensley (1-4), making his fourth start since joining the rotation from the bullpen, lasted 2 1/3 innings and allowed six runs. His ERA rose from 3.09 to 4.46.

After coming out of the game, Hensley phoned Freese and apologized.

“I didn’t have any idea where the ball was going. Hands down, the worst I’ve ever pitched in my entire career,” Hensley said. “It’s frustrating, because the lack of control that I had tonight could have seriously hurt somebody.”

In the first inning, Hensley walked consecutive batters before Holliday homered.

“We can’t give guys free passes — three or four walks and a couple hit batsmen,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. “They’ve got guys like Pujols, (Lance) Berkman and Holliday. We can’t put guys on in front of those guys and expect not to get burned.”

Florida pulled even with four hits in the bottom of the first, including an RBI double by Infante and a two-run double by Logan Morrison.

Hensley hit Holliday and Freese with pitches in the third. The pitch to Freese was Hensley’s last, and Schumaker then hit a two-run double to put the Cardinals up 6-3.

Infante was hurt when Schumaker’s grounder deflected off his right hand before rolling into right field.

— Associated Press —

Kansas City resigns Carr and add Piscitelli

Posted on

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Thursday that CB Brandon Carr has signed his restricted free agent tender. The club also announced the signing of unrestricted free agent S Sabby Piscitelli (pronounced Pis-Ka-Tell-Ee).

Carr (6-0, 207) has started all 48 games in three seasons with Kansas City (2008-10). He has registered 207 tackles (175 solo), four interceptions for 98 yards, 47 passes defensed, one forced fumble and four fumble recoveries. Carr also has four tackles (three solo) and one pass defensed in one postseason start. He was a fifth-round selection (140th overall) of Kansas City in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Carr won two NCAA Division II titles at Grand Valley State. He earned all-conference honors at Carman-Ainsworth High School in Flint, Mich.

Piscitelli (6-3, 224) has played in 50 games (20 starts) with Tampa Bay (2007-10) and Cleveland (2010). He has recorded 115 tackles (93 solo), five interceptions for 144 yards, 14 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 18 special teams tackles. Piscitelli entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick (64th overall) of Tampa Bay in 2007.

Piscatelli finished his collegiate career at Oregon State with 178 tackles, a sack, 29 passes defensed and 15 interceptions. He earned all-state honors as a senior at Boca Raton High School in Boca Raton, Fla.

— Chiefs Public Relations —

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File