Rumors for March, 2011
Baseball fan will get paid to watch all 2,430 regular season games
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I think we all dream of being paid for doing something we love, playing baseball, writing about baseball or being a baseball broadcaster to name a few. But what about getting paid for just watching baseball games?
Apparently, a lucky aspiring actor named Mike O’Hara, was drafted by Major League Baseball to watch all 2,430 regular season games reports Jeremy Olshan of the New York Post. O’Hara beat out 10,000 other applicants for the job.
His task appears to be simple enough, he’ll be holed up in MLB’s “Fan Cave,” in front of 15 flat-screen televisions so he can watch baseball all day long. While watching the games he’ll tweet his thoughts, will be interviewed by MLB sportscasters, and will have his daily adventures chronicled in online videos.
MLB officials wouldn’t say how much O’Hara is being paid, but it’ll be in the range of a batboy salary and the league minimum.
Florida Marlins release OF Dewayne Wise
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The Florida Marlins have released Dewayne Wise after the outfielder exercised his out clause, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.
Wise was originally signed by the Marlins to a Minor League deal in mid-January. He had been competing for a backup outfielder job with the Marlins, but he lost it to Scott Cousins.
Wise, 32, may be best remembered for his perfect game saving catch for Mark Buehrle in 2009 while with the Chicago White Sox. In eight Major League seasons, he has hit .222/.260/.382.
Dodger fan refuses lunch date with Frank McCourt
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Long-time Los Angeles Dodgers fan and season ticket holder Brian Gadinsky, or Brian from Westwood as known by his peers on Dodger Talk radio, declined an invitation to have lunch with owner Frank McCourt, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times reports. On top of that, he also said he will not go back to Dodger Stadium until there’s a change in ownership.
It’s never been about winning or losing,” said Gadinsky. “The Dodgers have been part of my life, and I will love them no matter what.”
The lunch came about when Gadinsky declined to renew his season tickets, but he turned it down because of McCourt.
“My friends all asked me if I was crazy,” Gadinsky said. “I told them, no, I am just tired. … I am tired of being loyal to a man who has not returned that loyalty.”
“This is not a crusade, I am not calling for a boycott, I love my team and, as always, I hope and pray and believe they will go 162-0,” said Gadinsky. “But I can no longer support a man who has taken this great foundation and allowed it to rot.”
Maybe Gadinsky should give Andre Ethier a call since it sounds like he too may not return to Dodger Stadium after the 2011 season.
Isringhausen offered Extended Spring Training spot
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Right-handed relief pitcher Jason Isringhausen recently said that there’s no way that he would go to Triple-A. The New York Mets heard that loud and clear, so instead of hurting the veteran reliever’s ego, they offered him an opportunity to stay in Florida for extended Spring Training, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.
GM Sandy Alderson is expected to get an answer from Isringhausen by Wednesday.
Isringhausen said on March 28 that he has no intention to accept a Minor League assignment.
“I came here to make the team,” he said.
The 37-year old signed a Minor League deal with the Mets in mid-February. He last pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009 before he blew out his elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He went 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in nine appearances that season.
Extended Spring Training occurs after the big league clubs go north to play the real games. Often times these informal games are used for players to rehab injuries and a place to work with players that are waiting for their Class A season to begin.
Giants leaning towards promoting Brandon Belt
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San Francisco Giants’ rookie first baseman Brandon Belt could officially be named to the team’s 25-man roster by Wednesday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It’s likely that Cody Ross‘ recent injury opened the door for Belt to break camp with the big league club.
Although Belt was doing well in Spring Training, many expected him to open up in Triple-A to play everyday. However, with Ross out, the Giants have the option to move Aubrey Huff to the outfield and giving Belt the spot at first.
Promoting Belt this early could pose problems in the long run for the team’s budget if he succeeds. Players traditionally need three years of Major League service time to be eligible for salary arbitration, but if Belt succeeds in his rookie and sophomore year and the Giants do not demote him, he could qualify as a Super Two (the top 17% of players in their second year). Anytime salary arbitration comes around, there’s potential for a player to cost the team millions in salary as opposed to the $400,000 and change due to them as a Major League minimum.
Interested to find out more about Super Two’s, click here.
Andre Ethier isn’t convinced he will be on the Dodgers next year
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On Tuesday before the final game of the Freeway Series, Andre Ethier addressed the media (including Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com) where he backed up his comments that he made the night prior.
On Monday night, Ethier shared his thoughts about next season by saying he wasn’t sure he would be with the Dodgers. Ethier is entering the final season of his two-year, $15.25 million contract that will pay him $9.25 million this year. If he has even a decent season in 2011, he will receive a significant raise in 2012 as he is eligible for arbitration for the final time.
“My salary is increasing each year,” Ethier said. “I would say the likeliness of me being here beyond this year, it’s not just my decision. … I have been kind of lucky to be in one spot in baseball for as long as I have been, for six years now. That is a long time to be in one city playing for one team. There is no inclination now other than to go out and play this year and see what we’ve got. If I don’t play well, we have seen them non-tender guys here. If you do play well, sometimes they don’t offer those guys arbitration because their salaries are too high.”
Ethier did say that he would love to stay in LA for many more seasons if the team continues to head in the right direction by putting teams out on the field that have a chance to win on a daily basis. But it doesn’t look good for Ethier fans as the team continues to head into the unknown as there ownership is still up for grabs and money has become a major factor.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said that he held preliminary discussions during spring training with Nez Balelo, Ethier’s Los Angeles-based agent, on a possible extension for Ethier, but that those discussions died fairly quickly. Was it because Ethier has no interest in being in LA any longer or was it because the Dodgers brought an unacceptable offer to the table?
Lets not forget Ethier is still under team control next season. Ethier and Matt Kemp have become the face of the Dodgers and fan favorites and if the Dodgers traded him during the upcoming season, Chavez Ravine may turn into a ghost town as the fans may turn on the team.
Ethier has been on the edge of becoming a super star in the league for the last two seasons, but he has been hampered by injuries that have lingered longer than expected. Last season, Ethier was leading all the NL triple crown categories before he broke his finger. After that, Ethier seemed to be a different player.
As a leader of the Dodgers, I couldn’t disagree with Ethier more on the timing of his comments. I also don’t see the Dodgers trading Ethier unless they are completely overwhelmed with an offer. But if he in fact does not sign a contract extension, he could become a trade candidate come next years trade deadline. Rumors did surface last season before the trade deadline that the Red Sox were interested in Ethier.
Red Sox designate C Mark Wagner for assignment
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In order to make room for the recently acquired Michael McKenry from the Colorado Rockies, the Boston Red Sox designated Mark Wagner for assignment, the team announced via a press release.
The 26-year-old catcher was a ninth-round draft pick of the Red Sox in the 2005 MLB Draft. He has not played in the Major Leagues during his six professional seasons. He has spent time as high as Triple-A in 2009 and 2010 and has a lifetime .264/.349/.420 average.
Giants release Jeff Suppan
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The San Francisco Giants have released right handed pitcher Jeff Suppan according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Brian Sabean Giants GM, says it was a mutual decision as Suppan wasn’t going to make the rotation or the bullpen.
Suppan was 3-8 with a 5.06 ERA and 51 SO in 101.1 innings with the Brewers and Cardinals in 2010.
In 18 Spring innings, Suppan allowed 11 earned runs on 18 hits for a 5.50 era.
Rockies deal Mike McKenry to the Red Sox for Daniel Turpen
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The Colorado Rockies have traded catcher Mike McKenry to the Red Sox in for Daniel Turpen, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Jon Morosi of FOXSports also confirms the deal is done.
McKenry was 0-for-8 with a walk and five strike outs last season with the Rockies. Turpen has a career record of 16-12 with a 2.86 ERA and 198 SO in 239 innings throughout 156 games in four Minor League seasons.
Serial bank robber in Ohio could be a Red Sox fan
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Ohio authorities are searching for a serial bank robber responsible for two bank robberies in Hamilton County last week and one this week in Butler County reports Jennifer Baker of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The suspect is described as a male white, late 20’s, 6’0, 170 lbs, last seen wearing dark sunglasses, dark colored zip-up type jacket, blue jeans, and purple gloves. In both robberies the suspect’s description is very similar and in both cases the robber was wearing a Boston Red Sox cap.
Apparently the suspect entered the U.S. Bank branch at 6915 Ohio 128 in Miamitown just before 5:30 p.m. Friday and passed a teller a note and a white plastic bag, he also implied he had a gun, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office officials say.
One possible scenario is that this man, is a hardcore Red Sox fan and is saving some money to buy season tickets in Fenway Park for the upcoming season. Another possibility is that this man is a Yankees fan so he wears a Red Sox’s cap to rob banks and make the Red Sox fans look bad. There’s also a real chance that this could be a campaign to save money for Adrian Gonzalez’s extension. Or the last possibility is he is a huge fan of the movie “The Town” and is acting out his own movie.
