Rumors for May, 2010
Should the Astros trade Roy Oswalt now or wait?
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Earlier today, Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com said that the Houston Astros are not looking to trade Roy Oswalt right now. However, we wonder if it’s in the best interest of the Astros to trade him now rather than wait until July. Let’s break it down:
Less sellers in May: The market is not diluted with an oversupply of pitchers, so negotiation leverage should stay with the Astros.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says that Cliff Lee could complicate things for the Astros once he becomes available. If the Mariners decide give up on the season and get rid of Lee, the market clearly becomes diluted with another big name pitcher. Lee is more affordable and he’ll be off his next employer’s books after this season. Oswalt is due the rest of his $15 million salary for 2010, $16 million for 2011 and a $2 million buyout for 2012 – a much larger financial responsibility.
Less buyers in May: Don’t get me wrong, there’s teams that needs starting pitchers now. However, come July, there may be more buyers and therefore causing the price of Oswalt to go up. Teams may not be ready to bet the farm this early in the season. They’ll have more of a desire to go for it come July.
Will the Astros sweeten up the deal? There’s no indication that Astros Owner Drayton McLane would offset the cost of Oswalt by throwing in money now, but if you can push the Astros to the last minute, then he may be willing to sweeten up the deal.
Payroll purgatory teams could be in it later on: Teams like the Rangers, Mets and Dodgers could be willing to go for it come the end of July so by waiting the Astros get a few more perspective buyers. Right now, it’s unlikely that either of the three teams would make a run for Oswalt given his financial liability.
Minnesota Twins Rumors: Could Cliff Lee be headed to the AL Central?
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According to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via ESPN Insider), the Minnesota Twins have a solid farm system with a history of producing big league performers and that could be used to land a big name player before the July trade deadline.
Goldstein says that Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn could be trade bait in July since last year’s first-round pick Kyle Gibson could be ready to pitch in the Major Leagues soon.
Should the Twins decide to pursue Cliff Lee, Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider says the Twins and Mariners are “the easiest two-team match to conceive at this stage.”
Gregg Zaun Retirement Rumors: Brewers catcher has torn lebrum
Posted by: | CommentsAdam McCalvy of MLB.com says that Brewers catcher Gregg Zaun has a torn labrum on the front of his right shoulder and he might retire if the injury lingers deep into the summer.
Zaun’s doctors recommended a conservative treatment over 2-4 weeks, at which time the doctors will re-evaluate his range of motion and strength. If he does not evaluate well, Zaun will require surgery, causing him to miss 4-6 months.
“I’m pretty disappointed,” Zaun said. “Things were just starting to roll offensively. … For this to happen now is just bad timing, as usual.”
McCalvy says the injury dates back to April, so we’re wondering if it was the root cause of his throwing problems back to the pitcher as seen in this video:
Zaun expects to have answers in the next few weeks as to how he wants to move forward in his career.
VIDEO: Mark Buehrle and Ozzie Guillen ejected for arguing balk and throwing glove
Posted by: | Comments5/26 15:42: Here’s Ozzie’s take from after the game, courtesy of Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times:
“Because he’s (umpire Joe West) a f—ing a–hole, that’s what he is. I just went out to ask him … I wasn’t asking about the balk because you’re not allowed, anytime you go out there to ask about balk or whatever. The thing I went out to ask him about was why he was embarrassing Buehrle. I’m not going out to argue about the balk because the rule, but I went out to ask him why he’s embarrassing Buehrle and he give me one of this [dismissing him with his hands]…”
Here’s from Joe West:
Why the balks?
“He has a couple of really good moves and those two were both balks, so I called them.”
Ozzie said he was more upset that you were embarrassing Mark:
“He didn’t say that to me. I don’t know what he’s talking about. Ozzie came out because Buehrle was making gestures on the mound that could have got him kicked out so he was protecting Buehrle, that’s all he was doing. I don’t have a problem with that.”
why did you toss Buehrle?
“He threw his glove. There wasn’t that much to it, was there?”
5/26 12:53: Chicago White manager Ozzie Guillen and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle had a short day at work today. Guillen was ejected after arguing with umpires about a balk in the second inning. Buerhle was called for a second balk in the third inning and was ejected after he threw his glove toward the field. Here’s the video:
Ozzie Guillen expresses dislike for Cleveland in autographed baseball
Posted by: | CommentsThis one is courtesy of Deadspin and the Dan LeBatard Show. Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen doesn’t like Cleveland that much. He autographed an Indians fan’s baseball with the following lines:
“When are you going to win anything in sports? Please.”
“Bye Bye Lebron!! LOL”
Stephen Strasburg Debut Rumors: Not June 4th?
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5/26 13:42: According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, he tweets:
The #Nats are tentatively planning to have RHP Stephen Strasburg make his Major League debut against the Bucs at Nationals Park in June.
So it looks like June 8-10 are the hot tickets.
5/26 11:44: June 4 has been widely recognized as the date of Stephen Strasburg’s MLB debut. However in a series of Tweets, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says that June 4 may not be the date:
i think it’ll be a home date sometime in mid june, thats my guess.
June 4 is the series opener with the Cincinnati Reds. If he doesn’t make his debut that weekend, and if Heymen is correct with his debut being at home, he has the Pittsburgh Pirates from June 8-10, the Chicago White Sox from 18-20 and the Kansas City Royals from 21-23.
We suggest the June 19 date versus the White Sox – you can take in the debut of Strasburg and get a Ryan Zimmerman Bobblehead.
White Sox Mark Buehrle angry with fake Facebook account
Posted by: | CommentsMark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune
says that White Sox starter Mark Buehrle is angry at whoever is operating a Facebook account in his name. Apparently, this person is portraying Buehrle in an unfavorable way.
“They’re definitely not making me look good,” said an obviously upset Buehrle, who has informed Major League Baseball’s security department to investigate the matter.
The Facebook page states that he’s doing some illegal acts. Some people have told Burhre’s mother about his Facebook antics and saying that he’s setting a poor example for kids.
We’ve tried to locate the offensive account, but we haven’t found it yet. If you know where the link is, please share.
Tampa Bay Rays Sean Rodriguez stung by actual stingray
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At least Tampa Bay Rays infielder Sean Rodriguez didn’t play for the Detroit Tigers. In what we can easily call the Stupid Injury of the Day, Rodriguez was stung by a stingray on Monday morning behind his Redington Beach condo when he took his 2-year-old daughter, Sofia, into the water to get a closer look at some dolphins.
According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Rodriguez saw a falsh in the water and felt something on right heel.
“I actually thought it was a catfish at first, that it grazed me. I didn’t think much of it,” Rodriguez said. “And then I got out of the water, and I was like whoooaaaa.”
Shortstop Jason Bartlett and his 1-year-old son were with the Rodriguez’s and assisted in the situation.
“I ran up and called 911 and had the paramedics come out just in case,” Bartlett said. “They got there, they looked at it and they’re like, yeah, it’s a stingray. We were panicking, wondering if they’ve got poison in them, and they’re like just put it in hot water and treat it like a cut.”
Rodriguez eventually played when he had to replace Carl Crawford after Crawford was ejected for arguing with umpire Bob Davidson.
