07.31.05
Nothing Whatsoever To Do The Lack Of Big Deals At The Deadline
(photo by Matt Baab)
I think we all know how this feels. Especially Chuck LaMar.
Creed Sucks…And Crede Has A New Understudy
Utility IF Geoff Blum (above), who performed admirably during Khalil Greene’s absence earlier this year, is on the way to the White Sox having been traded by the Padres in exchange for LHP Ryan Meaux.
Dusty Denies LA Story
From MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat :
The Los Angeles Times quoted sources saying Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker wants to take over the Dodgers if Jim Tracy doesn’t return in 2006. The Times quoted a source saying, “[Baker] would love the Dodgers to come calling and then hope the Cubs would let him go.”
“I don’t know where these things come from,” Baker (above) said Sunday about the report. “I’ve got a year and some change on my contract [with the Cubs]. I’ve never not honored a contract in my entire life. I don’t renegotiate contracts. I’ve never done that. Only one time have I ever signed before the end of the season, only one time. This is the first time since I was a player that I’ve had a contract over two years, and most of the times that was at my choice.
“I didn’t sign here for four years thinking about going somewhere else,” Baker said. “I signed here for four years because I thought it might take that long, No. 1, and, No. 2, because I wanted to make sure we saw this thing through. LA, that’s kind of out there. Sources, there’s always a source saying something. It seems like I’m in more rumors than somebody in Hollywood.”
Deadline Deals – The Few, The Confirmed
1) Braves get P Kyle Farnsworth from Detroit for Zach Miner and Roman Colon. Look for Fernando Rodney to be Detroit’s closer down the stretch, as the Tigers have wisely begun looking towards 2006.
2) LHP Ron Villone (2-3, 2.45 ERA) is moving from Seattle to Florida in exchange for right-handers Yorman Bazardo and Mike Flannery
3) The Cubs acquire OF Matt Lawton (.273, 10 HR’s, 44 RBI) from the Pirates ; Pittsburgh will receive OF Jody Gerut (.260, 1 HR , 12 RBI).
Sultan Of Sloth Tells Manny, “Hands Off My Cake”
David Wells, as interviewed post-game on NESN last night (from the Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin)
”I didn’t know until we hit in the bottom of the inning and there’s no Manny,” Wells said. ”The guy’s messing with my cake. I want to try to get a ring, man. If he’s not out there, that creates a problem. And I don’t know the situation. Whatever it is, he better have a great excuse because we need Manny Ramirez in the lineup. I don’t care what’s going on. This team needs him.
”If he’s going to come out and say he needs another day off, that’s not going to sit well with a lot of guys. There’s no question. . . . It’s selfish for him not to step up. Listen, we’ve got a couple guys hurt. We need you in there. His impact in that is tremendous. The [opposing] pitchers are going, ‘Oh boy. What do we throw this guy?’ He’s hitting everything. For Manny not to step up, I think that was selfish on his part.”
Indeed, if only Manny were capable of “stepping up” the way Boomer did in Game 5 of the 2003 World Series.
Groom : I’m Not Torre’s Buddy
A teary-eyed Buddy Groom was so upset about being designated for assignment yesterday that he wanted to send a message to relievers who might consider joining the Yankees.
“Don’t come here thinking you might get a chance at a lot of opportunities,” he said, “because unless you’re one of Joe’s boys, you’re not going to get a shot.”
Although Joe Torre agreed that the lefthanded reliever wasn’t used regularly during his three-month stint here, Torre took offense at Groom’s assertion that he plays favorites. “If I started pitching or playing guys because I liked them, or didn’t play them because I didn’t like them, I’m doing a disservice to the rest of the team,” Torre said.
“If I’ve ever done that,” he added, “I’m not aware of it.”
“They just said they got Embree and that’s it,” Groom said. “It wasn’t anything like I hadn’t done the job or whatever. Maybe it was my age? I don’t know.”
Buddy Groom (above) is 40 years young.
Rickey : Hall Of A Conspiracy
From the New York Post’s Brian Costello :
When Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs give their induction speeches today, future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson will not be watching. He’s got a game.
The 46-year-old outfielder will not be playing where he thinks he belongs — in the major leagues — but in an independent league game in Yuma, Ariz., for the San Diego Surf Dawgs.
Henderson believes he still has what it takes to play in the big leagues, but no one has shown interest since he finished the 2003 season with the Dodgers.
“I would love to play anywhere,” the all-time steals leader said. “I think my skills are there. To me, it’s just the chance. Why can’t I have a chance? I see [the current] players and what [teams] need, and you’re saying I don’t have none of that? That shocks me. Then I’m not a Hall of Famer. I should have never played the game.”
Henderson (above) believes it’s his status as a surefire Hall of Famer that is holding him back. The former Yankee and Met thinks someone in baseball does not want to delay his induction. Players are eligible to be inducted five years after their final major league game, meaning Henderson could be inducted in 2008.
“I don’t know why, unless I’ve done too much in the game,” Henderson said, when asked why he believes he is not on the big leagues’ radar. “Most people say you’re a Hall of Famer and they’ve got a certain date that they want me to go to the Hall of Fame. They feel that if I continue playing it would screw up when I go into the Hall of Fame. I don’t think that’s fair to me.”
Heyman At The Trading Deadline
Along with providing an autopsy for the Mets’ failed (for now) pursuit of Manny Ramirez, Newsday’s Jon Heyman serves up the following with less than 3 hours to go before the trading deadline :
The Yankees are scanning the weak pitching market and considering Ron Villone, Eddie Guardado (who has a shoulder tear), Scott Sauerbeck, Kevin Millwood, Bobby Howry, Jason Johnson, Scott Eyre, Rick White and Mark Redman. One person said even Jeff Weaver’s name came
The Yankees called Cincinnati about Ken Griffey Jr., but the Reds called back to say, “No thanks.” Which stunned everyone, given that the Reds finally had their chance to get out of most of the $47 million remaining on Griffey’s contract.
Regarding the Reds’ intractability, one NL exec said: “They’ve made Kent Mercker damn near untouchable. Kent Mercker!”
The Phillies sought only a No. 1 starting pitcher, a reliever and two top prospects for Billy Wagner. No mention of a first-born son, though.
Trachsel Labors In AA Rehab Start
2B Kaz Matsui went 1 for 2 with a single in 3 innings of action last night for Gary Carter’s Gulf Coast League rookie Mets.
Cottagers Thumped By MLS All-Stars
Though a return to the East/West format would’ve excited, well, no one, what does it say about Major League Soccer’s place in the overall scheme of things that a friendly between the league’s stars and a club that finished 13th in last season’s Premiership standings was thought to be a marquee match?
Presumably, Major League Baseball are taking notes and will prepare to send the Kansas City Royals on a barnstorming tour of Japan shortly before the 2006 season.
Lovers of overpriced satellite TV pay channels can look foward to the following friendlies this morning and afternoon :
12: 30pm EST Arsenal v. Porto, Amsterdam Arena (Gol TV)
2:30pm EST AC Milan v. Chelsea, Giants Stadium (Gol TV)
4:00 pm EST Ajax v. Boca Juniors, Amsterdam Arena (tape delay, Gol TV)
Setanta’s US satellite channel will carry the 2nd leg of Liverpool’s 2nd qualifying round Champions League match against Kaunas this Tuesday at 2:30pm EST.
Rockies Furious Over Collapse Of Shoppach Deal
Almost immediately after acquiring OF Larry Bigbie from the Orioles last night, Colorado thought they had an agreement to flip Bigbie to Boston in exchange for C Kelly Shoppach (above, 21 HR’s, 67 RBI’s in 2005 for Pawtucket).
Problem is, the Red Sox supposedly reneged on the agreement, and now the Rockies are making noises about putting Theo Epstein on their Do-Not-Call List. And can ya blame them? Manny Who? How can the chance to posses Larry Bigbie not be priority No.1 at Fenway this weekend?
In a somewhat related note, Boston have picked up OF Jose Cruz Jr., a player whose 2003 Gold Glove means about as much as a Golden Globe Award (ie. nothing) from Arizona.
Pettitte Toys With Mets, Streaking Astros Solidify WC Lead
I think it is fair to say that the Mets could use some help in the middle of the order. Not that I’m thinking about anyone in particular this evening.
Houston’s Andy Pettitte (above, 8 IP, 3 hits, 2 walks, 6 K’s, 0 ER) was brilliant Saturday night, keeping Mets hitters off-balance all game, no one looking worse than the overmatched Cliff Floyd, pinch hitting with Chris Woodward on 2nd in the 8th.
Tom Glavine, a frequent whipping boy around these parts, was nearly as good (7 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, no walks), his sole costly mistake coming while allowing a 400 foot solo HR to the Astros’ Jason Lane.
The flipside to having 3 of the NL’s highest paid players (Piazza, Beltran, Pedro) on the NY roster would be Jose Offerman’s appearance as starting first baseman. While John Olerud was hitting a grand slam for Boston tonight, there’s a sinking feeling that Wil Cordero could be donning a Mets uniform any day now.
07.30.05
Manny / Mets Deal Supposedly Off (Again)
Meanwhile, Terry Francona has given Manny the rest of the weekend off, “for the good of the team”, which is fairly curious way to phrase things considering that Ramirez’ earlier insistance on time off was the catalyst for these trade talks. On one hand, the Red Sox are demanding greater value for one of the game’s most dangerous players, then they demonstrate how indispensible he is by keeping him out of the lineup.
The Mets remain interested in Danys Baez, the Rays’ closer, but will have to hustle to put together another deal by today’s deadline. They also will be hard-pressed to duplicating the power injection Ramirez would have provided to their lineup. Other available acquisitions could include Pittsburgh closer Jose Mesa and first baseman Daryle Ward. The Rangers appeared near a deal that would ship Soriano to the Twins for a package including Kyle Lohse. Mets insiders had called his acquisition a “super longshot” in recent days anyway.
The initial driving force behind the spirited discussions had been Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, who had been incensed by Ramirez’s recent behavior, from refusing to play last week after Trot Nixon suffered an oblique strain because he needed a day off despite the shortage of outfielders, to his latest annual trade request. Lucchino’s willingness to part with Ramirez, the AL’s home run and RBI leader entering the weekend, who was booed at Fenway Park on Friday night during each plate appearance, had created a division within the Sox hierarchy. GM Theo Epstein and other front-office personnel were against trading Ramirez, realizing that would be the start of a need to retool the entire team.
Giants Acquire Winn
The Yankees have one less outfielder to pursue. Seattle is sending OF Randy Winn to San Francisco in exchange for C Yorvit Torrealba and pitcher Jesse Foppert. Foppert’s been rehabbing a neck injury at Fresno ; he’s not pitched for the parent club since June 24.
Mets Land Clean-Up Hitter From East Coast Contender
Wil Cordero did actually bat 4th for the Nationals a few weeks ago.
I can only assume that Cordero gives a great backrub or makes an awesome cup of coffee — his continued employment in organized baseball is one of the great modern mysteries.
Teen Visits Yankee Stadium Toilet, Disappears
Yankee officials have denied the teen is in their custody, nor is he scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Angels.
Little League Ump : Speak English Or Die
(the members of S.O.D. consider revoking their sponsorship of the local Little League side).
From the Boston Globe’s Cristina M. Silva and Raj Mishra :
The Methuen West Junior League team had jumped to a 3-1 lead in the third inning Tuesday night when its assistant coach gave a simple command to his pitcher, ”Tira lo bien!”
But that prompted an umpiring call, which unhinged the teenagers on the field, enveloping these boys of summer in a very adult controversy about ethnicity and discrimination.
Hearing this cry in Spanish to deliver a good pick-off throw to second base, the umpire halted the game and ruled: English only on the diamond. The unprecedented ruling was quickly condemned by national Little League officials, who yesterday instructed state officials to ban the umpire for the rest of the 2005 tournament.
Little League International spokesman Lance Van Auken, whose organization also runs Junior League, said yesterday there is no rule forbidding Spanish or any other language on the field, and said it was believed to be the first time an umpire tried to ban a language from being spoken.
He said the umpire was concerned that Spanish gave the Methuen team an unfair advantage, allowing the coaches to freely give orders without the other team understanding, though it’s usual to give signs so the opposing team doesn’t know the play.
”He simply overstepped his authority,” Van Auken said. ”Mistakes happen a lot in baseball. We recognize that umpires are humans, just like all of us, and make mistakes like we all do.”
Little League officials would not name the umpire or the district administrator who upheld the English-only call after Mosher protested from the dugout, demanding to see the prohibition in the rulebook.
The umpire and district administrator could not find anything, Mosher said, but the administrator told him he had to uphold the call in order to back the umpire. The umpire said that anyone caught speaking Spanish would be thrown out of the game. At that point Mosher relented, not wanting to hurt his team’s chances.
In an unrelated story, MSG and Fox Sports NY officials continue to employ Fran Healy despite the announcer’s struggles with the English language.
Edes : Greedy Rays Kill 3 Way Mega-Trade
From the Boston Globe’s Gordon Edes :
The proposed three-way deal that would have sent Manny Ramirez to the New York Mets before tomorrow’s 4 p.m. trading deadline may have hit an insurmountable snag today when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the third team in the deal, demanded that top Red Sox prospect Hanley Ramirez be included in the trade, according to major league sources.
For the Red Sox, that was a deal breaker, and unless the Devil Rays have a change of heart, it would appear that the deal is dead.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, the Red Sox would have received outfielder Mike Cameron, pitcher Aaron Heilman, and outfield prospect Lastings Milledge from the Mets, and infielder/outfielder Aubrey Huff from the Devil Rays. But according to major league sources, the Devil Rays, who on Friday were prepared to accept a package of prospects that included Double-A pitcher Anibal Sanchez from the Red Sox, today insisted on Hanley Ramirez, and the Red Sox turned it down. Manny Ramirez and Devil Rays closer Danys Baez would have gone to the Mets in the deal.
It’s possible that the Red Sox and Devil Rays could resume talks about a straight two-way deal for Huff, who would give the Red Sox a lefthanded bat to replace the injured Trot Nixon. But Huff is due in excess of $6.75 million next season, which could make him too expensive for Boston’s taste at this time.
Interesting to note that the under-utilized Heilman might’ve been a key component in this trade. And it would be just the Mets kind of luck if Milledge were hit by a bus Monday afternoon. Unless there’s something else in the works that involves Braden Looper and a one-way plane ticket, I have a hard time imagining Tampa Bay and New York working out a seperate deal for Baez.
Stephen A. Is Ready For His Close-Up
From the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir (link courtesy Sam Frank) :
In Mr. Smith, who is 37 and continues to write a twice-weekly column (sometimes on his BlackBerry from an ESPN studio) for The Philadelphia Inquirer, ESPN believes it has a franchise. “Stephen A. is ringing a bell,” said Mark Shapiro, an executive vice president of ESPN. “People like him and dislike him, but they still watch him. These days, it’s hard to find a talent who strikes a chord that way. Polarization is a commodity.” He added: “We’re in the hit-making business. And Stephen A. is a game-changer.”
A writer for The Allentown Morning Call argued that Mr. Smith’s report about the prospective departure of Larry Brown as coach of the Detroit Pistons deserved “a grade of C because he said nothing while acting like he knew everything.” Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has called him an entertainer, not a journalist. And two New York Post columnists, Peter Vecsey, a former NBC and TNT basketball analyst, and Phil Mushnick, have assailed him several times. Mr. Vecsey, who regularly flays Mr. Smith’s stories, called him a “multi-media fraud.”
Some of the complaints about Mr. Smith have to do with race. Mr. Mushnick said in a phone interview that Mr. Smith “speaks in two voices” to appeal to ESPN’s different but overlapping audiences: one that is straightforward and another than appeals specifically to “urban street blacks or white street wannabes.”
Mr. Smith does not deny that race figures prominently in his persona, or that growing up among rappers subtly influenced his idiosyncratic vocal cadences. But unlike Stuart Scott, another well-known black ESPN announcer, Mr. Smith rarely uses hip-hop terminology.
perhaps the most riveting part of almost any studio session with Mr. Smith is watching him not speak. He clearly suffers from the pain of anticipation. He sits in his custom-made suit, trying not to fidget as Mr. Saunders hands the verbal ball to Mr. Legler or Mr. Anthony. Mr. Smith stares through each speaker, a ticked-off, silent, impatient predator seeking his moment. Rage – or is it fervent hope? – seems to paint his stern face. When his time comes, his expression alters. He is relieved but energized, spitting out his words at high decibels.
“I’m struggling,” Mr. Smith agreed. “I’m struggling with the reality that I feel differently, that I have a minimal amount of time to express what I want to say. Somebody is saying something I don’t agree with and I have 45 seconds. I’m like, ‘Damn it, can I fit it all in?’ “
Anticipation is a funny thing. if you ever watch Skip Bayless paired with Smith on “Cold Pizza”, you’ll often see the former shaking his head in disapproval before the latter has opened his mouth.
Though I’ll resist the temptation to castigate Smith’s forthcoming “Quite Frankly” debut before having seen it, ESPN’s commercials for said program do little to bolster Stephen A.’s credentials as anything other than a basketball guy. Tom Brady is “all the Patriots need? “
Harper To Wilpon : Pull The Trigger
Whatever might be holding up the Mets’ acquisition of Manny Ramirez, the New York Daily News’ John Harper says no price is too high.
There isn’t any debate from a baseball standpoint, even if they have to give up Braden Looper in addition to Mike Cameron and Lastings Milledge in this proposed three-way deal with the Red Sox and Devil Rays. The inclusion of reliever Danys Baez from the Devil Rays makes it pretty much of an even swap with Looper.
As of late last night, however, the Mets had rejected the Red Sox’s offer because owner Fred Wilpon refused to pick up the entire $64 million remaining on Ramirez’s contract.
Nevertheless, if the chance is there to revive the deal by tomorrow’s 4 p.m. deadline, the onus is on the Mets to find a way to make it work, especially if money is the only sticking point. The Mets have too much invested in the win-now possibilities of this team to let the money scare them off. They can’t pretend to be building for the future, no matter how young David Wright and Jose Reyes may be, when Pedro Martinez is at the top of his game right now … and perhaps for not much longer.
Besides, Mike Piazza’s $15-million-a-year comes off the payroll after this season, Wilpon has his own TV network as of next season, and finally he has a new stadium in the works.
So money can’t be the deal-breaker here, not with the Mets drawing crowds to Shea again, and the possibilities of full houses nightly in August and September should they add Ramirez and make a real run at the playoffs.
There isn’t any doubt that GM Omar Minaya, who wanted to acquire Ramirez last winter, was pushing to make the deal, and people close to the situation say Pedro was pushing Mets executives as well.
At the same time, someone close to Minaya said the Mets’ GM was savvy enough to understand that even if he doesn’t get Ramirez, the word of such a potential deal might just prompt Rangers’ GM John Hart to lower his demands for Alfonso Soriano.
“Either way he gets his guy,” the person said of Minaya.
However this shakes out, it must be very comforting for Tampa fans (all 5000 of them) to know that the Mets are committed to their team’s player development each summer.
Johnson To Suns : Don’t Match
The NBA’s free agent crop — restricted and otherwise — is begining to thin out. On Thursday, the Nets signed PG Jeff McInnis to a two year, $7 million deal. Yesterday, Suns PG Joe Johnson (above) reportedly asked Phoenix not to match the Hawks’ offer sheet, hoping to claim a greater share of the limelight in Atlanta (which comparitively, shouldn’t be so hard).
Antoine Walker is said to be in talks with Miami, and over in Portland, where they put the “fun” in “dysfunctional”, one of Mo Cheeks’ former assistants is neither being paid nor allowed to leave.
McAdam : Manny, Schilling In Spat
From the Providence Journal’s Sean McAdam :
Spurred by his request to be dealt and, to a lesser extent, by increasing frustration in the clubhouse with his antics, the Red Sox stepped up their efforts yesterday to deal Manny Ramirez, talking trade with at least five major league teams.
Ramirez further alienated himself from teammates and members of the organization when he rebuffed the team’s attempt to put him in the lineup Wednesday at Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field after the Sox found themselves short a position player.
Ramirez’s insistence that he be given a day off Wednesday as promised, sources indicate, infuriated some teammates and resulted in an angry confrontation between Curt Schilling and Ramirez.
Schilling got into a heated argument with Ramirez and David Ortiz had to step in and separate them.
Newsday’s Ken Davidoff, Jon Heyman and David Lennon have futher details on the Manny-The-Met rumors.
One executive involved in the talks estimated that the trade has a “20 percent” chance of happening.
The Mets, according to a National League official, were insistent that they wouldn’t trade outfield prospect Lastings Milledge, and that could prove to be a significant obstacle heading into Sunday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trading deadline. The Mets didn’t want to pay the entire $64 million remaining on Ramirez’s contract through 2008. The Devil Rays are notoriously difficult, demanding trading partners.
The Mets began Friday holding separate conversations with the Red Sox and Devil Rays (who want pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit for Baez), but those merged into a single negotiation by day’s end. Mets minor-league pitcher Gabby Hernandez is included in the bargaining.
07.29.05
Mets Gunning For Manny
(Manny considers waiving his 10/5 right of refusal if he can use Jeff Wilpon’s executive commode)
From the New York Times’ Lee Jenkins :
The executive said he believed there was a chance that the trade would go through but was not optimistic. A second executive, who requested anonymity because the trade did not involve his team, said Mets General Manager Omar Minaya believed the Red Sox asked for too much from the Mets, creating a snag.
The parties planned to negotiate again Saturday to try to resuscitate the deal.
The Mets are most concerned about Ramirez’s contract – he is owed more than $64 million through 2008 – and they will probably not agree to a trade unless the Red Sox agree to cover a large portion of his salary. Boston has some incentive to move Ramirez because he has requested a trade and the Red Sox have long been trying to shed his contract to have greater financial flexibility. In the past two years, they have put him on waivers and tried to trade him several times.
Presumably, Boston’s Anibel Sanchez and New York’s Yusmeiro Petit are two of the players that Tampa covets.
Outside of the financial considerations, it is hard to imagine that Huff and Cameron provide enough offense to satisfy Boston’s needs, givne that splitting up Ramirez and David Ortiz will have a major impact on the sort of pitches Big Papi sees.
After tonight’s 5-2 loss to the unconscious Houston Astros, the Mets find themselves with a record of 52-51, the same mark they’d set by the close of play the Friday evening before last season’s trading deadline. Not that I’m suggesting the Mets should exercise caution when trading young talent for a spacey slugger who is indifferent about fielding (if not playing altogether). Nothing should inspire Carlos Beltran more than becoming the 2nd Highest Paid member of the team.
Not to be outdone, the Orioles and Rockies swapped Larry Bigbie and Eric Byrnes. In all seriousness, Baltimore’s window of opportunity has already been closed on Peter Angelos’ neck. After losing to Chicago this evening, the free-falling O’s are trailing Boston by 6 games.
In one of the more spectacular salary dumps to not feature the word “Aurilla”, Texas have obtained Phil Nevin from San Diego in exchange for Chan Ho Park. Given that the Rangers now have first basemen in Mark Teixeira and Nevin, the odds of prospect Adrian Gonzalez being moved between now and Sunday evening have improved.
ChiSox Lose Big Hurt, Twins To Miss Torii
A fractured foot has ended Frank Thomas’ 2005 campaign, frustrating for both the longtime White Sox fixture as well as for a Chicago offense that could use the extra dimension of power Thomas brought to the table.
Minnesota’s Torii Hunter tore a tendon in his left ankle when his cleats snagged the CF wall padding while trying to haul in a David Ortiz double in the first inning against Boston last night. ESPN’s Harold Reynolds is reporting that Hunter will miss 4-6 weeks. Already faced with the challenge of finding another bat, Terry Ryan can now look forward to a stretch run without one of the game’s premier defenders.
Spurs Nearing Davids Deal
The Champions League draw for the third qualifying round was announced today, summarized by the Guardian’s Fiver thusly :
Scouse conspiracy theorists (ie everyone on Merseyside) were quickly disappointed when it emerged that Liverpool and Everton would not face each other, a turn of events that left the red half of Liverpool with nothing to complain about and the blue half with a stinker against Villarreal. Assuming they see off FBK Kaunas, Rafa Benitez’s side will play KF Tirana or CSKA Sofia, although chief executive Rick Parry soon warned: “When you see what happened to Celtic in midweek, you can’t take anything for granted” – neglecting to mention that thing you can take for granted is that the MU Glazerballs always get an easy draw. This year their likely opponents are Hungary’s Debrecen. No, us neither.
Meanwhile in Scotland, the Queen’s Celtic have already stolen a march in the annual Old Firm race to see who can get knocked out of Europe earliest, but should they overturn their five-goal first-leg deficit against Hoxton side Artmedia, a tie against Partizan Belgrade or Sheriff Tiraspol awaits. Elsewhere in Glasgow, not even the Pope’s O’Rangers will be confident that they can be beaten by Anorthosis Famagusta or Trabzonspor. But having threatened to make the group stages last year, Irish outfit Shelbourne will fancy their chances of going one better. An away scoredraw against Steaua Bucharest next week would see them play Rosenborg, where a win would prompt no end of drink-related lazy national stereotyping and derring-do.
Queens Park Rangers celebrated the launch of their new red & black striped away shirt with a visit to Beano Land yesterday. March Bircham (above) posed for television and still cameras, shortly before head-butting Gnasher and being led away by security.
Graziano : Mets Still Fixated On Soriano
The Newark Star-Ledger’s Dan Graziano continues to insist that the Mets are close to acquiring Alfonso Soriano, while Will Carrol reports that the Cubs are also in hot pursuit (both links courtesy Marc Perlman).
From Graziano :
Yesterday found the Mets still hard at work on a deal that would bring them the Texas Rangers second baseman Alfonso Soriano (above). As of last night, the sides were discussing a deal that would send right fielder Mike Cameron, outfield prospect Lastings Milledge and a pitching prospect — possibly Yusmeiro Petit — to the Rangers for Soriano and 23-year-old first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Final details had yet to be worked out, and some of the names could change, but the Mets are working to finalizing the deal in some form before Sunday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
There also was word circulating yesterday that the Mets were one of the teams interested in getting Aubrey Huff from the Devil Rays, but a Mets official said there was no truth to it. The Mets are not out to grab whatever hitter they can get — they like Soriano and are willing to stand pat on offense if they can’t get him.
The Mets were also trying to beef up their bullpen. Worried they won’t be able to get Danys Baez from Tampa Bay, they’ve been pestering the Mariners about left-handed closer Eddie Guardado, and an executive with one of those two teams said the Mets’ early offers had piqued Seattle’s interest.
If they can’t get either Baez or Guardado, they believe they have a chance to get Jose Mesa from Pittsburgh to help ease the workloads of Braden Looper and Roberto Hernandez in the season’s final months.
Raissman On Larry, Sid & Joe
(Zeke and his new hire crack up while watching a tape of Jamal Crawford trying to defend)
Leave it to the Daily News’ acerbic Bob Raissman for finding the most thrilling moments from yesterday’s coronation of Larry Brown.
Larry Brown sat at the end of a table, holding a WFAN microphone, listening to Joe Benigno deliver a stern lecture on how recent Knicks teams have never made a commitment to defense.
Brown was making the rounds from radio to TV to print interviews yesterday at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, where the inevitable – his coronation as Knicks coach – occurred and reality began sinking in.
As Benigno rapped, his partner, Sid (Sidiot) Rosenberg, pointed to some kind of electronic board in front of him. The light on this gizmo had gone dark.
“Are we off the air now?” Benigno asked.
A serious-looking guy, holding a telephone, nodded yes. He looked at a technician who was fingered for the sudden silence. Brown surveyed this bizarre scene and smiled.
“You guys make mistakes like I make mistakes,” Brown said.
The line broke the tension. The techie and his serious colleague commenced their attempt to get the show back on the air. Sidiot started yapping about his beloved Brooklyn.
He asked Brown about his Brooklyn days and where he grew up.
“I would have gone to Midwood (High School) …” Brown said.
“My sister went to Midwood,” Rosenberg said.
Benigno: “Are we back on the air yet?”
They were not.
Yesterday’s Jocks, Tomorrow’s Leaders
Writes David Roth,
Alright, you know how Republicans have scramblin’ token-con J.C. Watts, pass-catching anti-abortion butthead Steve Largent, and well-gelled tax-opponents like John Elway and A-Rod and (sigh) Carlos Beltran? And, like, every other pro athlete except for Fred Hoiberg and Bill Bradley?
Well, now Democrats have a strong right arm with some mild leftward leanings coming down the pike — Heath Shuler (above) is running against Charles Taylor (neither the Liberian dictator nor the Salon.com film critic) in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. And even weirder, it seems like he’s got a decent shot.
No news on whether Jeff George is going to challenge Denny Hastert. I’ll keep you posted.
If this Roberts guy doesn’t work out, perhaps Ryan Leaf still has a shot at the Supreme Court?
The (Near)-Fatal Flying Spikes Of Jose Guillen
The day after Sammy Sosa did his finest Roy Keane impersonation, the Nationals’ Jose Guillen jumped on the bandwagon….and Little Larry was nearly lost in the process. From the Washington Post’s Les Carpenter.
Jose Guillen, desperate to keep a sixth-inning rally alive and break up a double play, flew feet first into Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, knocking Jones to the ground and igniting a war of threats tossed between clubhouses after Jones realized that Guillen’s spikes had cut him high on the right leg.
“There are correct ways to break up a double play,” Jones said. “Almost castrating somebody is not the way to do it.”
Then he glowered.
“I’ll remember that the next time I go into second base against them,” he said.
To which an agitated Guillen replied:
“Next time I come even harder then.”
Soriano – Not A Met / Chacon – No Longer A Rockie
Writes David Roth,
For awhile, there was talk the Soriano trade was already done, But the only deals that really went down today were the Yanks adding a 9th starter in Shawn Chacon and the Pirates trading Dave Ross (I pretend to be him in Pittsburgh-area bars to get dates) for some fictitious Padres shortstop. I’d be surprised if the Soriano deal really happens. But whatever takes my mind off Dan Wheeler’s transformation into Mariano Rivera, you know?
Ausmus, Astacio, Humble Mets
Much will be made of the Mets’ inability to score more than two runs off Houston’s Ezequiel Astacio, he of the 8.24 big league ERA entering Thursday’s game, but it is worth noting that Astacio won 5 games for Round Rock this past June, posting an an ERA under 1.00 during that month in earning his second call-up of the year.
Astros fans and members of the McLane family will recall Houston going 36-10 over their final 46 games last season to claim the NL Wild Card. By comparison, the Astros are a mere 32-14 over their last 46 games this season. Nothing for the Mets to worry about, then.
Though the Mets were felled by Astros C Brad Ausmus’ squeeze bunt in the 7th and game-winning double off Roberto Hernandez in the 9th, questions remain about manager Willie Randolph’s inaction. With the winning run on 2nd and first base open, Randolph had Hernandez pitch to Ausmus rather than walk the Astros catcher with the pitcher’s spot coming up next. Houston’s 2nd run was set up nicely by PR Eric Brunlett stealing 2nd — one of 3 steals against Mike Piazza on the evening. If ever there were an occasion to pull Piazza in favor of Ramon Castro, you’d think it would be with the Mets protecting a slim lead in a game where the opposition has made their intent to run pretty obvious.
Minute Maid was packed to the rafters with beer enthusiasts doning anti-Beltran shirts, Houston radio abuzz with accusations of “selling out”. How many of these geniuses wouldn’t switch jobs for an extra 2 grand let alone 20 million, is besides the point because it is unlikely they’ll be offered a raise of either amount in the near future.
Says David Roth, “Who knew anyone — let alone an entire fan base — could build up so much resentment towards a guy who was with them for all of 70 or so days?”
When Jose Offerman was introduced as a pinch-hitter in the top of the 9th, the gentleman sitting to my left asked “is he still beating his wife?”
“You must be thinking of Julio Lugo,” I replied, though I was still impressed. It is hard to answer when someone stopped beating their wife.
The local comedian in charge of the “Kiss-Cam” chose to focus on Chris Woodward and Doug Mientkiewicz. To their credit, the platonic couple fell into each other’s arms, almost on cue.
Showing that he’s not just sitting around groping Chris Woodward, Mientkiewicz warmed up Pedro Martinez prior to the home 8th inning. That he wore no protective gear whatsoever while doing so was either very brave or very stupid, but we’ll let Woodward hassle him about that when they get back to the hotel.
07.28.05
Radio, Radio : Tim Cook On USA Today’s Announcer Rankings
(noted surrealist Dave Niehaus)
Writes Tim Cook :
I was glad to see the Giants in 2nd (NL, behind Vin Scully), who I especially like because they’re really funny. One example is Krukow referring to excessive, redundant relief pitcher warm-ups as “dry humps,” a term probably invented to describe Dusty Baker’s managerial style.
Taking a full measure of this list, however, I can see that it is crap. That is, they ranked the Oakland guys as 2nd place AL, and I hate listening to them. The Mariners’ broadcasters are so cornball, robotic, errant or cliched, with insights apropos of nothing, save perhaps for Dave Niehaus’ involuntary and at times surreal outbursts providing a listener some ear-arresting NOISE to listen for should the team ever return to significance.
I have a hard time imagining all the other teams’ play-by-play guys really being worse.
With all due respect to Mr. Cook, he didn’t hear Ron Santo discussing his favorite childhood sandwiches (in detail) during the Cubs’ 6-0 loss to the Diamondbacks today.
Hickey : Yanks/M’s Deal For Winn Unlikely
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s John Hickey :
The New York Yankees have been considered the presumptive winners of efforts to get Randy Winn (above) from the Mariners.
It might not be as simple as that.
A confidant of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Winn isn’t necessarily at the top of the Yankees’ wish list.
“Winn’s a nice player, but they just haven’t been convinced he can play center field for them,” the source said.
That said, there aren’t many options anywhere for the Yankees, who are looking to upgrade in center with Bernie Williams on the downside of his career.
Sources also are saying that, in contrast to some speculation, the Mariners have not offered starting pitcher Gil Meche to the Yankees. And there have been no discussions that would send Williams from the Bronx to Safeco Field.
Yankees starter Carl Pavano, suggested to be part of a Winn-to-New York deal, isn’t a factor in trade talks, either.
Pavano wasn’t going to be available to Seattle unless the Yankees got more pitching in return from the Mariners, but it hardly matters because Pavano is on the disabled list and can’t be traded.
Piazza Persecution, Continued
I’m on my way to Houston in a few minutes, so if there’s a press conference to confirm or deny anything, I should be within earshot.
NHLPA’s Goodenow “Resigns”
When Richie Phillips is laughing at you for poor leadership, well, it’s time to try something else.
Paging Mr. Blackwell & Paul Lukas
If there weren’t enough problems in the state of Washington already, something needs to be done on behalf of the Class A Everett Aquasox.
Pats’ Johnson Retires
Following last week’s announcement that the recovering Tedy Bruschi would miss the 2005 season, New England’s training camp was rocked this morning with the news that inside LB Ted Johnson (above), having suffered multiple concussions, is calling it quits.
A 3 time Super Bowl champ, 10 year vet, former Colorado Buffalo and mainstay of New England’s run defense, Johnson’s departure might present a new challenge for Mike Vrabel and rookie Ryan Claridge, among others. Could this mean the return of Roman Pfiefer? Roman Polanski is out of the question and I don’t think he could play for Bill Belichick, anyway.
Rays Coach Defends Lunatic Lou
From the Tampa Bay Tribune’s Carter Gaddis and Bruce Lowitt :
Although Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella (above) won’t discuss the latest round of potshots taken at him by a veteran Red Sox starter, Rays bench coach John McLaren — whose experience on Piniella’s staff dates to the early 1990s in Cincinnati — spoke Wednesday out of loyalty to his longtime boss and friend.
“First of all, I think if David Wells and Curt Schilling ever pitched for Lou Piniella, they would love him,” McLaren said. “Because one thing Lou brings to the ballpark every night is a desire to win, a passion to win that is unbelievable.”
Boston manager Terry Francona apologized Tuesday to Piniella for Wells’ disparaging comments after Monday’s game. What Wells said boiled down to an indictment of Piniella’s ability to handle young players.
That’s a misconception, McLaren said.
“The thing about the young players, Lou likes to challenge players and they know he’s demanding,” McLaren said. “I’ve always told young players and other coaches have told young players, ‘Son, stand your ground with Lou, and you’ll never have a problem with him.’
“He wears his emotions on his sleeve. We know that. I think some of the shots he’s been taking, I think it’s uncalled for. I think his record speaks for itself.”
Piniella’s record as Devil Rays manager is 169-256.
While we’re judging track records, I’m having trouble determining which Chuck LaMar is for real and which isn’t.
“Pretend The Ball’s A Pie”
Painfully low wages, “crowds” in the low triple digits, wins as rare as solar eclipses. The 2005 Tampa Bay Devil Rays? Nope, try East Stirlingshire F.C., the subject of Jeff Connor’s “Pointless : A Season With Britain’s Worst Football Team”, excerpted in today’s Guardian (link courtesy Jesper Eklow)
By the time I arrived at Firs Park, in the wake of the club’s worst season ever – eight points from 32 games – the relationship between Mackin and the hardcore East Stirlingshire support had reached an all-time low. The “Shire” fans hated the chairman; the chairman despised the fans. The fear of Shire fans was that Mackin and the board would simply sell up, walk away, and allow the club to join the ranks of other vanished Scottish football institutions such as Third Lanark, Clydebank and Airdrieonians. They felt the board – based on Mackin’s infamous decision in the summer of 2002 to set a wage cap of £10 a week and his lack of investment in Firs Park – was deliberately setting the club out to be uncompetitive. Mackin’s famous wage cut had made national news, along with what amounted to a mass walkout of senior players.
The warfare was brutal at times. Some fans alleged that Mackin, during one of his famously rare appearances at a game, had used binoculars to spy on them. Or maybe he was just counting them. If Mackin wasn’t going to dip in his own pocket, more money certainly wasn’t going to come from the turnstiles: the average home gate was about 200
Inured to the suffering that goes with being a Shire supporter, many have turned their side’s haplessness into a positive. A mordant sense of humour comes with the territory; travelling to see their team lose every week has become like a medal of honour. At one of their early matches, with the Shire still embedded in a dreadful losing run, I was seated in the Firs Park stand when a 10-year-old, face almost invisible under a black and white scarf, turned to his father and asked: “Dad, can I clap when we score?” “Yes, son, but you’ll be waiting a long time,” replied his father. On another occasion, 4-0 down against Stenhousemuir at Ochil View, one Shire fan shouted from the terraces: “Come on Shire, 5-4 will do.”
Home matches were invariably enlivened by four or five teenagers, quick-witted and sarcastic in the manner of Scottish youth, who always sat in the stand directly above the home dugout, a homemade Shire flag draped over the railing in front of them. The Dead End Kids, as I christened them, had a great line in patter and already possessed the sense of the absurd that goes with supporting the Shire. No one was safe.
“Pretend the ball’s a pie,” they would chorus at striker Ross Donaldson (above, middle). Once, when the Tony “The Cat” Mitchell went down at the feet of an opposing centre forward and took a blow to the head, one of them called: “Get the vet to put him down, he’s still moving,” as the poor goalie writhed on the turf.
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Pick The Crazier Act From Last Night’s Mets/Rockies Game
Ladies and Gentlemen, which was the bigger What The Fuck moment at Coors Wednesday evening?
a) Mets 1B Doug Mintkiewicz getting himself tossed inbetween innings — with his club ahead by 8 runs.
b) Rockies CF Cory Sullivan stealing 2nd with two out in the 5th — and his club trailing by 8 runs.
c) The New Bash Brothers, Marlon Anderson and Ramon Castro, going back-to-back off Colorado starter Jamey Wright.
The New York Times’ Lee Jenkins reports that Steve Trachsel will be making his 3rd rehab start on Saturday, this one on behalf of the Eastern League’s Binghamton. Trachsel threw 3 innings for St. Lucie (FSL) last Sunday — since said stint was completed in less than 2 hours, Trachsel clearly isn’t in midseason form yet.
Manny The Unavailable
A terrific performance by knuckleballer extraordinaire Tim Wakefield (above) was pushed to the background yesterday by the alleged selfishness of Manny Ramirez. With Trot Nixon unable to take the field against Tampa Bay, we’re led to believe that Manny refused to relinquish a day off (Kevin Millar would ultimately start in left). The condemnations begin with the Boston Herald’s Tony Massarotti :
Twenty million a year clearly is not what it used to be, because it cannot buy you even a hint of compassion, pride, sacrifice or dedication. All it seems to get you is blank stares and apathy, along, of course, with an annual request to be traded.
With their roster in a state of physical decay, the Red Sox took the field at Tropicana Field yesterday for the finale of a seven-game road trip. The Sox claimed a 4-1 victory without Matt Clement and Trot Nixon, each of whom was injured in Tuesday night’s extra-inning win. And they also won without Manny Ramirez, who apparently decided that a day off outweighed any responsibility to the team, even in a time of need.
Star players have received the kid-glove treatment for a long time in Boston, where the squeaky wheel gets more grease than fried calamari, Rhode Island style. Red Sox officials – and Francona, in particular – may take more than their share of grief for acquiescing to their adolescent left fielder, but here’s the problem:
If they do not give Ramirez what he wants, he is liable to quit on them at the most important time of the year, offering only further proof that he has positively no regard for their interests.
So, really, what are team officials to do? You want the home runs and RBI, you get the teenage behavior, too. With Ramirez, it is all part of the deal. The Red Sox won a World Series last year and Ramirez was a very big part of that, and the unfortunate reality is that the Red Sox need Ramirez more than he needs them.
Echoes the Boston Globe’s Gordon Edes :
Because he is the team’s cleanup hitter, has Hall of Fame ability, and possesses a contract, the second-richest in the game, that makes him unmovable, Ramirez is rarely held accountable. ”Manny being Manny” has become as much a part of the New England lexicon as pahking the cah in Hahvahd Yahd. One day someone from within the Sox clubhouse or in the Yawkey Way offices will rise up and condemn him for his selfish indifference.
That day has yet to come, mainly because his bosses and his teammates feel like Ramirez is, in essence, holding the team hostage. Speak out against him, and the fear is that Ramirez will withdraw like a petulant child and go into a three-year pout. Let it slide, and you have a man with the potential of repeating as the World Series MVP.
So the Sox mostly look the other way, though there were plenty of people angry that Francona ran out an outfield yesterday that had Kevin Millar making just his fifth start in left field and rookie Adam Stern making his first start in right. Maybe they did so because they’ve been through this drill before — think Labor Day 2003 in Philadelphia, when Ramirez refused to pinch hit, and last July in Anaheim, Calif., when he begged out because of a supposed hamstring injury that didn’t keep him from playing in the All-Star Game just days earlier. One Sox veteran blamed the media. ”You guys never hold him accountable,” he said. ”I’ve never seen a guy get such a free pass. You all think it’s a joke, ‘Manny being Manny.’ What is ‘Manny being Manny?’ Him disrespecting the game?”
Then there are the oddball demands to be traded, another annual event. Sports Illustrated’s highly respected Tom Verducci said Ramirez asked to be traded because he had no privacy in Boston. This from a guy who recently allowed the Globe Magazine to run a spread on his son’s bedroom
07.27.05
Dusty Decries Reckless Boo Birds
(the next time Derek Lee and Jeromy Burnitz do the chest-bump, Derek should try it without a family of baby chicks stuffed down his jersey)
From MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat :
Former Chicago Cubs pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, now with the San Francisco Giants, did not get a warm reception in his return to Wrigley Field. Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee called the fans’ taunting and booing of Hawkins “classless.”
“I can’t win, right?” Hawkins said after Wednesday’s game, a 4-3 Cubs win over the Giants. “My mother and father told me a long time ago, everybody isn’t going to like you.”
The fans who stuck around for the eighth inning Tuesday night soundly booed Hawkins, who was dealt to the Giants on May 28. He had gotten negative feedback last year and this season in Chicago, including threats to his family, but Tuesday seemed more intense.
“It was worse [Tuesday] night,” Baker said when asked to compare the fans’ response last season and now. “At least they didn’t say, ‘Hawkins [stinks]‘ before. That was bad. I was in the dugout saying, ‘Sorry, Hawk, but we’ve got to beat you.’ If you’re going to boo, you boo, get it over with and go about your business. That gave me chills a little bit to wonder who’s next on that kind of magnitude of the booing list.”
Wait a minute. Is Baker saying he’s next?
“I ain’t saying nothing,” Baker said, “but it’s a possibility.”
Responds Ben Schwartz,
What business does Dusty think people have at a ball game besides watching it? Dusty is unfair, because the fans did cheer the homer and the walks Latroy gave up in the 8th. Still, staying in line with Tribco management re the overly critical in Wrigelyville, it’s pretty obvious that the “boo birds” who sat in the rain for hours and stayed through an extra innings game past midnight CST are probably not “true” Cub fans.
Worst Excuse Ever For Missing Work :
You were commemorating Alex Rodriguez’ 30th birthday.
Then again, I don’t think I want to know how Michael Kay marks Jeter’s birthday.
You Can’t Polish A Turd Blossom…
…but you can cut one out of the newspaper. From the AP :
It may be President Bush’s nickname for key political adviser Karl Rove, but some editors don’t think it belongs in their newspapers.
About a dozen papers objected to Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s “Doonesbury” comic strips, and some either pulled or edited them.
The strips refer to Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff, as “Turd Blossom.”
Lee Salem, editor at Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes the strip to 1,400 papers, said the complaints from 10 to 12 newspapers weren’t unexpected. As opposed to other times when editors have objected to Doonesbury content, the syndicate did not send out replacement strips.
“Given the coverage of Karl Rove, we thought it was appropriate, especially given the history of the strip,” Salem said.
In the strip, Bush and an aide are lamenting the problems the administration has had over allegations that Rove leaked the name of a CIA officer to reporters.
Bush says, “Karl’s sure been earnin’ his nickname lately.”
The unnamed aide says, “Boy Genius? I’m not so sure sir …”
Bush then says, “Hey Turd Blossom! Get in here.”
The term is said to be one of several nicknames Bush uses for Rove, one of his closest allies and who is widely credited for Bush’s election in 2000 and re-election in 2004. The mainstream U.S. media have rarely mentioned the nickname, but it has gained traction in the international press and on the Internet.
Among those with concerns was the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal, whose editors removed the offensive word from the strip’s final panel.
“I didn’t think (taking out the word) hurt it,” Executive Editor Joel Rawson said. “I would prefer to run the strip and if we can edit it, that’s fine.”
Raissman On M.I.A. Sather
Though the New York Rangers are making a cursory effort to mend fences with fans dismayed by the NHL’s recent lockout (giving away free tickets, hot dogs and hugs from Rod Gilbert), the New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman wondered in his Monday column about the club president’s conspicuous abscence.
On a Madison Square Garden Network special program signaling the return of the NHL, Sam Rosen opened an interview with Don Maloney, the Rangers’ assistant GM, by asking a question about Friday’s draft lottery.
Rosen should have started the interview with a more relevant inquiry: “Don, where is Glen Sather?”
The name of the MSG special was “Hockey’s Back.” A more appropriate title would have been: “Hockey’s Back – Sather’s Not.”
Considering that Rosen is the voice of those sappy, insincere radio commercials designed to sucker fans into buying tickets, there was no way the veteran Rangers houseman was going to ask a legitimate question. Especially one embarrassing to the pathetic disorganization employing him.
And yet, the absence of Sather, the team’s president/GM who according to Daily News Rangers beat man John Dellapina was off fishing somewhere north of Vancouver, was enough of an embarrassment in itself.
Sather’s absence again shows that the Rangers are a headless organization. It also shows Sather doesn’t care about fans.
Think about it. Appearing on the show, for the express purpose of informing and reaching out to their respective fan bases, were Devils boss Lou Lamoriello and Isles GM Mike Milbury. But on the MSG Network, the home of the Rangers, an assistant GM – Sather’s errand boy – is forced to do the shtick-handling.
If Sather (above) really cared about Rangers fans, he would’ve cut his vacation short. He not only would have appeared on the MSG program, but also attended that Manhattan gathering where NHL executives joined with commissioner Gary Bettman to formally bring back a league coming off a 310-day lockout – during which Sather had plenty of time to fish.
When it comes to fans and media, Sather is just an empty suit. So, some may say his absence on Friday was business as usual.
On a rare day like Friday, a man in charge of a team that has ripped off fans, an executive of a league that has bridges to rebuild with fans, needed to be front and center.
Instead of realizing the importance of this symbolic moment, and seizing it, Sather went fishing.
Surplus To Tampa Requirements, Nomo Nabbed By Yanks
The Yankees’ obsession with rehabilitating former Mets continues with reports that Hideo Nomo — waived yesterday by the Devil Rays — is about to join the pitching staff alongside Al Leiter.
If the thought of Nomo , deemed unworthy of a roster spot in Tampa, taking the mound for the Bombers doesn’t blow your mind, consider if you will, the sight of Randy Johnson behind the wheel of a Mini Cooper.
Ben Schwartz On The Cubs
From Ben Schwartz :
The Cubs have been on an upswing lately, but they still manage to lose games they should be winning easily.
Couldn’t help thinking last night as Greg Maddux (above, left) clocked his 3,000th strikeout (and less than 1,000 walks) before the Cubs folded to the Giants in the 11th, that the Tribco Mascots are giving Maddux a Nolan Ryan season of milestones while losing crucial games. They’re at a point in the season where wins count now more than they will in September. But 10 hits and two runs says a lot, esp. when you’re playing a team that won with 13 hits and three runs. Even the much anticipated return of Latroy Walkins to Wrigley was bitter sweet. After every save he blew for us, it was nice to see him throw one our way. He handed a lead off, first pitch homer to Michael Barrett and walked more Cubs before ending the inning with the game tied. The Cubs never took the lead after that and SF did, proving they don’t need Latroy to lose games.
And after all the complaining I did last winter about the Tribco’s cheap off-season tactics and lame clubhouse feuding, I’d like to apologize to TribCo, since judging by the firing/retirement of their top editor out here, it’s apparently a company-wide policy. Hm, inflated circulation, dropping stocks, budget cuts for their most conservative papers — apparently you just can’t sell a Republican newspaper anymore.
Dierker On Beltran
Larry Dierker (above) might not have managed the Astros for a few years, but that doesn’t mean he’s no longer a company man.
From today’s Houston Chronicle :
Coming back to Houston for the first time since October, Carlos Beltran may get a little emotional on Thursday.
He will have some great memories from his October juggernaut against the Braves and Cardinals. That two-week stretch of baseball made him a lot of money when he signed with the Mets. He would have made about the same amount of money with the Astros. He apparently had a no-trade clause in the Astros offer, too, but it didn’t cover the length of the contract.
I can’t help wondering if one of his feelings will be regret. I don’t know the specifics of the offers, but I do know what it is like to play in Houston and New York. This is why I think he may have second thoughts.
Though his chances of making the playoffs again would be only slighter better today with the Astros than they are with the Mets, the road to the playoffs will be rougher in New York.
He and his new teammates will be scrutinized pitch by pitch. The media will be relentless until the end of the season, and the players will just have to deal with it. Each radio and television station and every newspaper will be fighting for a scoop; when they don’t get a spectacular story, they’ll invent one.
In New York, Beltran has already experienced bone chilling weather in April. He has likely played in a few red-hot days there too. It can be as hot there as it is in Houston, but there is no retractable roof at Shea Stadium, a situation that is obvious every five minutes when an airplane roars overhead from LaGuardia Airport. It’s noise pollution to the max.
Because there is no roof, there are many rain delays. Suspended and postponed games are a drag, and they are not part of the schedule in Houston. In Houston, he knew the game would start on time and continue until it was over. It would not be hot; it would not be cold.
Living conditions are good anywhere if you have enough money. But I think Beltran and his wife would be more comfortable spending the summer here. If you are from Puerto Rico, the Houston summer seems perfectly normal.
Drayton McLane was sure that Beltran would return to the Astros, but he didn’t see the Mets’ whole hand. It just so happened that the Mets general manager, Omar Minaya, a native of Puerto Rico, returned to that island nation to sit down with Carlos and make him feel at home. The Astros were not afforded the same opportunity.
It probably seemed like the perfect marriage in January. I wonder if it feels that way now.
After reading the above commentary, I don’t know why the Astros even bother to have a GM. Dierker’s sales pitch this off-season could be irresistable : “Come To Minute Maid, Where The Games Always Start On Time.”
Manny The Immoveable
The day after a report surfaced that Manny Ramirez had requested a trade, the Boston Herald’s Tony Massarotti reassures us that the Red Sox left-fielder isn’t going anywhere.
Here we are, in year five of an eight-year sentence without parole, acting as if all of this is somehow news. Manny is unhappy. Manny wants out. But Manny still has more than three years remaining on a contract that pays him an average of $20 million a season, and unless he is willing to eat, say, half of the money, the Red Sox have a better chance of moving the left field wall than the man who drains his bladder inside of it.
“When was this, when he was pissing in the scoreboard?” bemused Sox manager Terry Francona said yesterday when informed of a Sports Illustrated report that Ramirez has (again) asked to be traded. “I’m at a loss on that one. You guys can have fun with that one because I know it’ll have some legs for a couple of days. So go ahead and knock yourselves out.”
Let’s get something straight here: Ramirez never has been happy in Boston. Never, ever, ever. We might go so far as to suggest that Ramirez never has been truly happy anywhere, but none of us is really capable of knowing that. What we do know, for certain, is Ramirez has spent almost as much energy trying to leverage his way out of Boston over the past five years as he has knocking in runs.
Last year? Don’t kid yourselves. Ramirez put on a happy face and accepted his plight, but only after the Red Sox placed him on waivers. The Sox tried to give him away, for goodness sake, and nobody took him because of the anvil that is his contract. It was as if the Sox left the keys in the Rolls Royce and asked someone only to pick up the payments, and nobody wanted the burden or responsibility of dealing with the headache.
The History Of Time, As Told By Mike Cameron
Bad enough that Mike Cameron was blown away by the Rockies’ Brian Fuentes to end last night’s game (with Jose Reyes representing the tying run on 2nd), but the Mets’ right fielder also has to put up with Sam Frank saying “he’s no Stephen Hawking” (though I think Mike’s got slightly more range).
(Cameron was also caught looking against ex-Met Mike DeJean with the bases loaded in the 7th. Is Gary Sheffield still available?)
From this past Sunday’ NY Daily News and the man Peter Vescey dubbed Filip “King Kong” Bondy :
There is no doubt that Beltran has struggled in his new environs. The fans at Shea are sharp enough to have noticed, and are starting to give him the business in the time-honored fashion reserved for famous Met disappointments.
The mid-afternoon start and the sun directly over home plate made his life miserable in the early innings. Beltran knew it would. He turned to Cliff Floyd in left and told him to help out, if he could. Mike Cameron in right was skeptical about any such problems.
“The sun has been there for 500, 600 years . . .” Cameron said, proving himself no great astronomer.”
Knicks, Brown Together At Last
In news slightly less shocking than learning someone had to be bribed to play Good Charlotte, The NY Times’ Howard Beck is reporting that Larry Brown — less than two weeks removed from his Detroit divorce — will become the new head coach of the New York Knicks.
Apparently, the chance to use his considerable abilities to revive the Knicks was too tempting to pass up. Brown, 64, has accepted in principle the Knicks’ offer to become their 22nd head coach.
Negotiations could be completed today. Barring any unforeseen snags, the team is expected to make an announcement by tomorrow.
“He’s made his decision that he wants to coach the Knicks,” Brown’s agent, Joe Glass, said yesterday by telephone. “Now it’s up to the Knicks and myself to come up with an arrangement that works for both parties.”
Glass declined to characterize the talks, but he sounded optimistic that an agreement would be reached before long. On a scale of 1 to 10, Glass said, Brown’s chances of joining the Knicks rated an 8.
Parameters of the contract are unknown, but Brown is expected to earn $10 million to $12 million annually for three to five years.
Now the Knicks have almost as many head coaches on the payroll as they do guards. But full credit to Brown and Glass, who parlayed an embarrassment like negotiating with Cleveland while the Pistons were still in the playoffs into a sizeable raise. And if this means Stephon Marbury’s days at MSG are numbered, keep in mind that each team he departed became a playoff contender soon afterwards.
07.26.05
Going Fucking Nuts For The Royals’ Freebie Doughnuts
A bush league (albiet tasty) promotion in a major league town, scarfed down by the Kansas City Star’s Joe Posnanski (link courtesy Repoz and Baseball Think Factory) :
Sometimes the promotional wizards roll sevens, draw royal flushes and spin triple bells. And the Royals hit the jackpot on one promotion. It is more than a promotion, really. It transcends marketing. It transcends baseball.
The Royals will still give you Krispy Kreme doughnuts when the team gets 12 hits.
And it is sheer brilliance.
Monday night, the Royals played a lousy game against the Chicago White Sox. Starter Zack Greinke (above), who had been pitching better lately and was supposed to be the point of this column, couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning. That sort of took a charge out of the “Zack Greinke has been pitching better lately” column concept.
This doughnut giveaway has to be the best move the Royals have made in the last few years. In fact, let’s go ahead and look at the best moves the Royals have made the last few years:
1. Starting giving the fans doughnuts if the team gets 12 hits.
2. Drafted Zack Greinke.
3. Traded 36-year-old Jason Grimsley for top prospect Denny Bautista.
4. Traded waiver-pickup Jose Bautista for top prospect Justin Huber.
5. Created a talking Denny Matthews bobblehead doll.
6. Got overpowering lefty Andrew Sisco as a Rule 5 draft pick.
7. Hired Guy Hansen as pitching coach.
8. Got rid of the Dance-Off.
OK, they haven’t gotten rid of the Dance-Off yet. I’m ready to give them credit for killing it right now, though. We even have an idea for them: A “Guess how many times Guy Hansen will walk out to the mound tonight” promotion.
