I thought the O’s did well when we sent Miguel Tejada to the Astros. Now I like the trade even more:
The Houston Astros shortstop told the Oakland Athletics when he was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 1993 that he was 17. But he was actually 19, meaning he is now 33, two years older than his listed age in the Astros’ media guide and other baseball records.
“I’m a poor kid that wanted to sign,” Tejada told the Houston Chronicle about how he followed a coach’s advice in shaving two years off his age. “I’m feeling free now. It’s something that I had in my mind.”
I applaud the man for his honesty, certainly, but sucks for the Astros. This might explain why his offense has declined in recent years (although there are other, more nefarious reasons why that might be).
I have absolutely no interest in who wins this year’s World Series (Rockies or Indians/Red Sox) but the fact that the Rockies GM is a fellow Tar and their shortstop, probable Rookie of the Year Troy Tulowitzki, cites Cal Ripken as his idol makes me think I’ll be rooting for them to continue their incredible streak (21 wins in 22 games) in the Series.
Even though he defected to the hated Yankees (I blame this more on Angelos then Moose) I still have a special place in my heart for Mike Mussina. It pains me to see this once great pitcher fall on such hard times: He’s being dumped from the Yankee’s rotation (for one start at least) in favor of young stud Ian Kennedy. I feel for ya Moose….but I’m also kinda glad things didn’t work out that great for you in New York.
This is kind of cool: one of the two minor league players who got traded yesterday from the Mets to the Twins for Luis Castillo I actually know. Drew Butera, a 23 year old catcher, is a good friend of one of my college roommates. Last summer I saw him play with two of my former college roommates and we hungout for a bit afterwards. We even went to Dairy Queen (its the minors, what do you expect?). Drew got assigned to Double A with the Twins and I wish him luck. According to my roommate, who has the inside scoop, the Twins might be looking to DH Joe Mauer a bit more next year due to knee problems and continued growth. Anyway, just thought that was cool.
Jon Heyman, in his writeup today of the Mark Teixiera trade to the Braves, includes an odd little tidbit of information about new Ranger Jarrod Saltalamacchia:
This last consideration may not bother many, but Salty has an unusual family situation. Now 21, he married a teacher at his high school in West Palm Beach, Fla., who is now 37, according to records. His wife Ashley, who recently gave birth to their second child, insisted to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that their personal relationship didn’t begin until the fall of 2004, when Salty was 18.
The Rangers apparently are aware of Salty’s unusual family situation and are said to believe he’s maturing. Besides, switch-hitting catchers are hard to come by.
Uh, what? Thats all we get? Luckily The Big Lead had a link in their Roundup today that provided some more details, click here to find out a little more about Ms.Saltalamacchia or “Ashley” as she goes by. And no, no found pictures as of yet, sadly.
One of my favorite blogs is MLBTradeRumors.com, its a daily must-read for me. Today though there is a guest post up which includes the suggestion that the Orioles trade Eric Bedard to the Phillies (with the Pat Gillick connection being the main reason here). How to put this politely? Um, thats not going to happen. The Orioles arent about to trade Eric Bedard. The author of the post makes this point:
If the Orioles don’t feel they can retain Bedard long-term, they might be wise to listen to offers and begin another rebuilding.
Here’s the problem with that statement: The Orioles haven’t tried rebuilding in the first place. We’ve been losing for a lot of years now but we’ve never torn the whole thing down and tried to start over with youngsters. Thats why we signed Jay Payton and Aubrey Huff this off season, thats what the O’s front office thinks of as rebuilding. We didnt trade Tejada last year, when his value was high, why would we trade our ace pitcher now? Especially when he’s coming off a performance like his last start (first career shutout, career high 15 strikeouts). Not only do we not want prospects for our 28 year old ace but thats never been the team’s philosophy.
Look, I appreciate the fact that being 11 games under .500 at the halfway point means there’s going to be a rash of speculation about who the Orioles are going to be dumping, if anyone, but Bedard isn’t on that list. Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Steve Trachsel, they are all on that list but Bedard isn’t. Sorry to disappoint Phillies fans.
Jayson Stark gives two Orioles honorable mentions in his mid-season awards column: Jay Gibbons for AL Least Valuable Player and Jeremy Guthrie for AL Rookie of the Half-Year. Congrats to Jeremy and, uh, sucks to be you Jay.
I was always taught that when a pitch was coming inside that you were supposed to turn your front shoulder to protect yourself. The Tiger’s Craig Monroe was apparently told something else entirely. After watching this video (after the jump), I like my way a lot better.
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