SB Nation User Blog: nickjs21

Harden, Gaudin traded to Cubs

nickjs21 — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:41:54 -0000

Harden, Gaudin traded to Cubs

"The Cubs have traded for Oakland A's pitcher Rich Harden in a multi-player deal. This counters the move of the Milwaukee Brewers, who acquired CC Sabathia.
The Cubs also acquired Chad Gaudin for right-handed pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson."

This is the entirety of the article.

Bob Timmermann blogs the SABR convention

nickjs21 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:59:35 -0000

Bob Timmermann blogs the SABR convention

Timmermann attended the 38th SABR convention in Cleveland and caught an Indians game while he was at it. I thought I'd pass along this tidbit:

Thunderstorms delayed the start of the game until 8:48, but it was worth the wait. Cliff Lee dissected the Giants, striking out a career-high 11 and winning his 11th game of the year.

Cleveland fans impressed me. They do love their team and they're an optimistic bunch even though the team is beset with injuries. They also don't have the St. Louis vibe of "Look at us, we're great fans. We're the world's greatest fans! Love us! Peter Gammons says so!" They just root for their team.

But tonight, there was an extra rooting interest as Omar Vizquel made what was likely his last appearance before Cleveland fans. Vizquel played in Cleveland for 11 years (1994-2004) and won 8 Gold Gloves and played on two pennant winners. Each time Vizquel came to bat, he was given a standing ovation. And when Vizquel flied out to left in his last at bat, he was given a standing ovation as he went back to the dugout and he briefly saluted the crowd.

It did not seem like this was anything forced or manufactured. There were no scoreboard announcements telling people to cheer for Omar Vizquel. The fans just sincerely liked him. There were plenty of Vizquel t-shirts and jerseys present at Progressive Field.

Chacon goes nuts

nickjs21 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:33:33 -0000

Chacon goes nuts

According Chacon, he was in the lunch room after batting practice when Cooper asked him to join him in his office.

"And I said, 'what do you want to speak to me about?'" Chacon said. "He said, ‘we just want to talk to you.’ I said, ‘anything you can say you can say to me right here. I don’t want to go to the office. He looked at me and I said there’s nothing for me to say to you guys.’ And I don’t think whatever they had to say to me they were going to make me happy. I didn’t want to get in a closed-room conversation. I just wanted to be left alone.

"I sat down to eat and Ed Wade came to me and very sternly said, ‘you need to come with me to the office.’ I said ‘for what?’ I said 'I don’t want to go to the office with you and Cooper.’ And I said ‘You can tell me whatever you got to tell me right here.’ He’s like, ‘oh, you want me to tell you right here?' And I said, ‘yeah.’ I’m not yelling. I’m calm."

It deteriorated quickly afterward, according to Chacon.

"He started yelling and cussing," Chacon said of Wade. "I’m sitting there and I said to him very calmly, ‘Ed, you need to stop yelling me. Then I stood up and said 'you better stop yelling at me.' I stood up. He continued and was basically yelling and stuff and was like, ‘You need to (expletive) look in the mirror.’ So at that point I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him because at that point I wanted to beat his (butt). Words were exchanged."

Players quickly intervened to separate Wade and Chacon, who remembers being pulled away by backup outfielder Reggie Abercrombie.

Shapiro on Wedge, Peralta, etc.

nickjs21 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:36:14 -0000

Shapiro on Wedge, Peralta, etc.

Shapiro was on ESPN Radio last night (Yes, okay? Yes. I listen to it. Sometimes I have to. My iPod hasn't been working in my car and I hate Cleveland radio and I just wanted to hear sports ... Don't judge me).

It's pretty vanilla for the first part, but there are some interesting answers.

RODA: Mark, are the players you touted as your core players two years ago still the same today?
SHAPIRO: (Lists the core. Paraphrasing until quotes) Grady, Fausto, Westbrook, "Aaron Laffey has probably put himself in the boundaries of that group," Victor, Choo/Francisco both have a chance "... Jhonny Peralta, you know, uh, still a solid player to build around, maybe not quite the player we had hoped he'd be..."

RODA: Is Eric Wedge still the guy you believe can lead this team to a World Series championship?
SHAPIRO: Yeah, I, I hesitate to even dignify that with an answer. But he didn't tear Victor Martinez's hamstring, he didn't break Travis Hafner's shoulder, he didn't blow out Jake Westbrook's elbow ... we're getting everything out of the team, we just don't have the talent on the field every night to win as many games as we want to.
RODA: Same goes with Derek Shelton and Carl Willis, you're-
SHAPIRO: Yeah I feel strongly about our staff, they're doing a good job.

You guys remember the Hurtin' Murton?

nickjs21 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:19:46 -0000

You guys remember the Hurtin' Murton?

A Tribune reporter speculates that the recent call-up of Matt "Greatest Right-Handed Hitter of Our Generation, Says Nick, And He Doesn't Care What You or Manny Ramirez Has to Say About That" Murton may just be to showcase him in a trade. The moving parts include Murton and Rich Hill for Coco Crisp. And ... God I hope someone else. That's an awful deal.

If they think that little of Hill, we could get a lot more from the Cubs than I thought. I originally figured something like Hill + Patterson would be nice.

Pitching in Coors revisited

nickjs21 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:41:50 -0000

Pitching in Coors revisited

Just in time for the Indians to open a series at Colorado, The Hardball Times has a new article called What to pack for Denver, using PITCHf/x data to determine what pitches work in Coors.

Unfortunately C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee are not scheduled to pitch during this series; the effect Coors would have on C.C.'s fastball and Lee's curve would seem to be the most interesting to watch.

FWIW, the starters should be Byrd, Laffey, and Sowers.

Mets demolish Randolph's bathroom

nickjs21 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:50:15 -0000

Mets demolish Randolph's bathroom

The Mets fired Willie Randolph late last night. Rick Peterson, the pitching coach, was also axed. I thought he was supposed to be good?

It seems odd to take the entire team to the opposite coast, win the first game in the series, and then fire three coaches after the game.

Livan wants to go Bradley on STO crew

nickjs21 — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:56:30 -0000

Livan wants to go Bradley on STO crew

Livan Hernandez apparently doesn't appreciate what Rick Manning and Matt Underwood had to say about him. No word yet on if it's a complaint about Underwood's home run calls.

Mets acquire Grit, Pies

nickjs21 — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:53:14 -0000

Mets acquire Grit, Pies

Nothing saves a clubhouse like a cheek stuffed with chaw.

Rosenthal: LA should deal Kemp

nickjs21 — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:38:15 -0000

Rosenthal: LA should deal Kemp

Is Colletti dumb enough?
I've heard Joe Torre and Jeff Kent have no love for Kemp and have said so.

I'd welcome him to Cleveland with open arms.