Rumors for May, 2011
Felipe Lopez clears waivers, accepts assignment to Triple-A
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Rays’ infielder Felipe Lopez has cleared waivers and has accepted assignment to Triple-A according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Lopez was designated for assignment by the Rays two days ago. In 24 games this season with the Rays, Lopez was hitting .222/.263/.347. He signed a one-year, $1 million contract in February of this year.
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Mets sign RHP Brian Sweeney to a Minor League deal
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The New York Mets have agreed to a Minor League deal with right handed pitcher Brian Sweeney according to the Somerset Patriots website. He was currently playing with them in the Atlantic League.
Sweeney has a career record of 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 117 innings throughout 73 games with the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres.
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Former MLB infielder Russ Adams retires
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Former Toronto Blue Jay infielder Russ Adams has decided to retire from professional baseball at the age of 30, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports.
Adams was hitting .180 with one home run and five RBIs in 61 at-bats for the Triple-A Buffalo.
In five Major League seasons (2009 being the last), Adams hit .247/.313/.372 in 286 Major League games for the Blue Jays. He spent 139 games with the big league club in 2005 where he hit .256/.325/.383 with eight home runs and 63 RBIs.
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Ramon Aguero clears waivers, outrighted to Double-A
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Right handed pitcher Ramon Aguero has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Double-A Frisco according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Aguero was designated for assignment yesterday. The Rangers claimed Aguero off waivers from the Pirates in early April after being designated by Pittsburgh during Spring Training. He was 2-5 with a 6.14 ERA in 29.1 innings throughout 25 games with the Pirates Double-A and high-A teams.
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Red Sox notes: Jenks, Wheeler, Youkilis and Lackey
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Here are some Boston Red Sox’s notes:
– Right handed pitchers Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler have been placed on the Disabled List according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Jenks’ injury was described as a right bicep strain while Wheeler’s is a calf strain.
To replace both pitchers, the Red Sox called up right handed pitcher Scott Atchison and left handed pitcher Rich Hill adds Speier.
– According to Aaron Gleeman of NBCSports.com, yesterday’s crowd at Fenway Park of around 500 or so after the rain delay, sang “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie to Kevin Youkilis. The small crowd replaced the word “You” on the song with “Youk”, (what they call Youkilis).
– Right hander John Lackey had an awful outing today, allowing 8 runs on 10 hits throughout 4+ innings reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Lackey’s ERA is now up to 7.16.
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Eric Chavez fractures bone in toe of left foot
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New York Yankees infielder, Eric Chavez, has fractured his fifth metatarsal of his left foot (pinky toe), according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.
Chavez was legging out a triple in the top of the fourth inning in Detroit against the Tigers. He has been filling in for Alex Rodriguez – who had a scheduled day off. After Chavez left the game, Rodriguez was substituted in to pinch run.
In 16 games this season for the Yankees, Chavez was hitting .290/.405/.355 with five RBIs.
Boston Red Sox place Dennys Reyes on restricted list
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The Boston Red Sox have placed left-handed pitcher Dennys Reyes on the restricted list, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com adds that Reyes has returned to Mexico because he needed time at home.
The 34-year-old reliever was 0-0 with a 16.20 ERA in 4 relief appearances in 1 2/3 innings this year with the Red Sox. He had previously been designated for assignment by the Sox on April 8, but he cleared waivers and was sent to Ft. Myers, Florida “to work on some things,” GM Theo Epstein said in mid-April.
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Josh Thole teaches sign language to his deaf dog
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Every catcher has to learn to give signs to his pitchers and infielders throughout the game, but in Josh Thole’s case the sign giving doesn’t end behind the plate.
The Mets catcher taught his deaf dog, Picca, to understand sign language according to Nicholas Hirshon of the New York Daily News. Thole adds that his dog caught on pretty fast.
“She knows sit, stay, that kind of stuff,” Thole said. “She’s an inside dog. She’s very good. She really minds her own business.”
Thole bought the dog for his wife Kathryn, but they didn’t notice anything unusual with the dog at first. A couple of months later they noticed Picca started to act weird, “She wasn’t responding to any of the calls we gave her,” Thole said. “She would just ignore us.”
The couple took the dog to their veterinarian to find out what was wrong with him. The Dr. repeatedly blew on a whistle that emits a high-pitched sound only dogs can hear, but Picca didn’t react.
Some pet owners who discover their dogs are deaf fear the difficulties in raising the animals and return them. Thole said that was never an option.
“There was no giving her back,” he said.
Animal experts applauded Thole’s decision to pore over sign language books and teach Picca. Of course the fact that Thole’s profession makes him spend a lot of time giving signs to human beings had to help make things smoother.
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Olney on: Rays, Dodgers, Greinke and Lincecum
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Here’s the latest from ESPN’s Buster Olney:
– The Tampa Bay Rays will have ten of the first 60 picks in the upcoming MLB draft. According to a rival executive “If they hit it right on just half of those picks, then this draft will set them up for years to come. This draft is loaded with pitching, and they’re in a great position to take advantage of it.”
Olney also explained the Rays’ strategy for the upcoming draft. The team will use Rocco Baldelli to cross-check all position players, and former Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland to cross-check all pitchers.
They will evaluate the best players, rank them, and when their pick comes up, they will select their highest-ranked player, regardless of position.
– One official said that it’s almost impossible, even through poor financial management, where the Dodgers could not have enough money to pay it’s players.
The team ranks 12th out of 30 teams and they have a lot of resources so it wouldn’t make much sense that they could have cash-flow problems. The problem though is serious and it is an immediate problem.
– Right handed pitcher Zack Greinke made his Brewers’ debut yesterday, but according to Olney he’s still rebuilding his arm strength and command, so it could take him a few more starts before he is at the top of his game.
– Tim Lincecum threw seven scoreless innings in yesterday’s game, and struck out ten batters. This is the 29th time since 2007 that Lincecum has struck out ten or more batters in an outing ranking him first since that time.
Lincecum 29, Johan Santana 17, Justin Verlander 16, C.C. Sabathia 15, Jake Peavy 15.
Also he is now the Giants’ record holder with 10-plus K games since 1900. Lincecum 29, Christy Mathewson 28, Jason Schmidt 27.
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Giants GM denies Jose Reyes trade rumors
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Despite the flurry of Internet rumors regarding the possible trade involving the Mets and Giants for Jose Reyes, at least one person in San Francisco is denying anything is about to happen – GM Brian Sabean.
“Honestly, I haven’t seen or talked to [Mets GM] Sandy Alderson since January. . . . I haven’t talked to anybody from the Mets, so I have no idea where the hell it came from,” Sabean told ESPN.
Sabean added, “So typical of today’s world, I guess we’re playing in New York and our shortstop isn’t playing too well and [Reyes] is a free agent to be. It’s connect-your-dots, so there’s nothing to talk about.”
On May 3, Mychael Urban and CSNBayArea.com reported that the Giants have internally discussed the possibility of adding Reyes. Reyes will be a free agent after the season and given that the Mets are in financial trouble, they may be a prime candidate to let one of their star players go before he walks for free.
“I don’t care if you people talk about that a lot, but I’m still gonna concentrate on playing my game,” Reyes said, according to Mark Hale and Steve Serby of the New York Post.
“I’m still a New York Met, so whatever happens, happens. I just want to play baseball,” Reyes said. “I just told my agent, ‘I just want to focus on playing baseball. I don’t want to think about anything else,’ because right now I’m still a New York Met.”
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