Cubs manager Lou Piniella allegedly told Milton Bradley "you're not a player, you're a piece of s---'' one day, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, then batted him third the next. Which only shows that 1) Piniella has a deep sense of guilt, or 2) things can turn around in a hurry in baseball.
When Yankees general manager Brian Cashman showed up unannounced in Atlanta to meet his struggling $200 million team, alarms went off, and shrill headlines were created. But while Cashman did meet with manager Joe Girardi in Atlanta, there's no evidence whatsoever that Girardi's in any sort of trouble.
Folks always talk about how important it is to get off to a good start. These players, managers and executives can say they're off to spectacular starts ...
Baseball is doing better than most businesses. But you know something's amiss when even the Yankees are claiming they can't add salary or expand their payroll.
The Pedro Martinez Sweepstakes kicks off in earnest today when he throws for at least four teams: the Cubs, Rays, Angels and Yankees. The workout will take place down in the Dominican, where he's been working out and waiting for the appropriate deal.
A potentially great pitching market is threatening to become almost nonexistent. Roy Halladay has been declared untouchable, Jake Peavy has a serious ankle injury that could keep him out past the July 31 trade deadline, Chris Young appears headed to the disabled list with shoulder inflammation and Erik Bedard was scratched from his last start with a stiff shoulder.
Manny Acta appears to be on his way out as Nationals manager, and while respected ex-big league manager Jim Riggleman reportedly will be installed as the interim manager, team higher-ups also have begun internal discussions about permanent candidates. One of those candidates to replace Acta, according to National League sources, is Bobby Valentine, who is currently in his seventh season as manager of the Chiba Lotte Mariners in Japan.
Apparently Raul Ibanez's stunningly excellent start seems too excellent to a blogging bloke or two (more on that later). Yet the Phillies import is far from the only player putting up extraordinary numbers. Here's my list of the season's top 25 out-sized performances to date, and please know I'm casting no aspersions.
The wealthy Yankees, Red Sox and Mets were all hoping that by some miracle Stephen Strasburg would slip to them due to signability concerns. (Hey, it happens -- coveted hurler Rick Porcello fell all the way to Detroit at No. 27 in 2007.) But there was no talking the needy Nationals off the pitcher who's considered one of the greatest prospects of all time.
A Washington Nationals official pretended on Sunday not to know a thing about Stephen Strasburg, the San Diego State pitching phenom who's expected to go first to the Nats in Tuesday's draft. "What's Tuesday? Who's Strasburg?'' he said, feigning ignorance.
In light of the Braves' ultrabusy last six months, the events of Wednesday -- when Atlanta released iconic pitcher Tom Glavine, acquired young slugger Nate McLouth and called up pitching phenom Tommy Hanson -- seem like nothing more than the latest installment in a months-long soap opera.
No team looks perfect with nearly two months to go before the trade deadline ... well, no team except the Dodgers, that is. Whomever they use performs. At least that's the way it looks now. But even the Dodgers -- who are getting a .379 season out of Juan Pierre and have big performances out of Eric Stults, Jeff Weaver, Eric Milton and just about everyone else in blue -- still might need some help eventually.
The Phillies were scouring the trade market for starting pitching help even before Brett Myers became the latest big-name casualty with the increasingly fashionable torn hip labrum. Teammate Chase Utley beat the four-month prediction for him to return from the same injury, but Phillies people understandably worry that it may be more difficult for a pitcher to come back as quickly. In any case, the world champions are aiming high now in their quest for a starter, with Jake Peavy appearing to top their list of desirable aces, perhaps followed by Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and Erik Bedard.
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