Rumors for June, 2011
Baseball players and their nicknames
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A lot of baseball players have nicknames, many of them given by teammates, others by managers, sports broadcasters, etc. It doesn’t matter how you get it, but you’ll probably be known for better or worse by your nickname rather than your real name.
Earlier this month, I saw an article from Booth Newspapers’ Steve Kornacki that talked about how some Tigers’ relivers have given each other nicknames. Brayan Villarreal for example is called Zorro, Ricky Martin and Benicio del Toro.
Ryan Perry, who was placed on the Disabled List earlier this year with an eye infection is called “Cyclops”. Al Alburquerque is called “Avatar”, because apparently he looks like a character from the James Cameron motion picture “Avatar”.
Jose Valverde was already known as “Papa Grande” and Daniel Schlereth said he could be called “the Alaskan Assassin”. The team is looking nicknames for Brad Thomas and Joaquin Benoit.
Other famous players with nicknames include George Herman Ruth “The Bambino”, Lou Gehrig “The Iron Horse”, Joe DiMaggio “Yankee Clipper”, Hank Aaron “Hammer”, Reggie Jackson “Mr. October”, Cal Ripken Jr. “Iron Man”, to name a few.
Recently we’ve learned nicknames like “El Hombre” for Albert Pujols, “A-Rod” for Alex Rodriguez and “The Freak” for Tim Lincecum.
Freddy Garcia is called “The Chief”, Adam Dunn “Big Donkey”, Jarrod Saltalamacchia “Salty”, Larry Walker “Booger”. Recently, we learned according to our reliable sources, Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo is called “Trumbo Tron”.
In Spanish it’s no different, we have nicknames for a lot of players. I’ll list some names with their nicknames and explain what it means.
Johan Santana is called “El Gocho” in Venezuela, because he comes from a state in Venezuela where everybody is referred as to “Gochos”. Mariano Rivera is called “Apaga y Vamonos”, in English “Turn it off and let’s go”, referring to the fact that when he comes into play the game is almost over.
Carlos Zambrano is called “El Toro”, “The Bull” in English. Adrian Gonzalez is called “El Titan”, in English “The Titan”. Bobby Abreu is called “El come dulce”, in English “Candy eater”, why? I really don’t know.
If you have more nicknames please share it with us via comment or tweet.
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Dallas McPherson clears waivers, outrighted to Triple-A
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Infielder Dallas McPherson has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, reports Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
The White Sox designated McPherson for assignment earlier this week. The infielder was hitting .133/.133/.133 in 15 AB’s with the White Sox this season.
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Pitchers notes: Matsuzaka, Hughes, Pineda and Millwood
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Here are some notes regarding some Major League pitchers:
– Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka will definitely undergo Tommy John surgery probably next week reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Dr. Lewis Yocum will perform the surgery.
– Phil Hughes threw about 50 pitches in a simulated inning yesterday according to Marc Carig of the Newark Star Ledger. The right hander will face batters in live batting practice on Saturday in Anaheim. Hughes is hoping that throwing live BP on Saturday could be the final step before going on a Minor League rehab assignment.
– Mariners sensation Michael Pineda is at 70.1 innings so far in the season, and ESPN’s Buster Olney wonders if the Mariners will limit the usage of Pineda from now on. Usually the teams that apply those kinds of guidelines give their young pitchers around 170-175 innings of workload per season, so Pineda would have about 100 innings left for the final four months of the season says Olney.
– With Matsuzaka undergoing season-ending surgery, Kevin Milwood’s chances with the Red Sox went straight up, but the right hander had a rough start at Triple-A last night. Millwood lasted only 2.2 innings allowing four runs snf five hits for Triple-A Pawtucket last night, reports Peter Abrahams of the Boston Globe. The 36-year old has a 5.79 ERA in four starts in the minors for the Yankees and Red Sox this season.
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Florida Marlins have inventory to trade for July if necessary
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The Florida Marlins have the inventory to trade if they need to address a need before the July 31 trade deadline, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel reports.
“We have pieces,” president of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest said. “Some of them we may not want to move, but I can’t remember a situation where we haven’t been able to make a trade because of inventory. There are definitely situations where we haven’t wanted to move that inventory. I don’t think our system is as bare as it’s been portrayed. It’s fair that we’ve graduated four high-end guys in the last 20 months. Any system that can do that, one, is doing pretty well, and two, it’s going to leave a little hole at the upper level, certainly positionally.”
The Marlins like what their current team is offering on the field, so there are no immediate concerns.
“I think that’s fair based on the guys playing out here. We like what we see,” Beinfest said. “We think we have the right people. An injury can change things as we get closer to the deadline. You always want to enhance. Maybe depth is an issue.
“I think we have the right guys. I think John Buck is going to hit better than he is right now and Hanley (Ramirez) is Hanley. You don’t go from what he’s been able to do to this. I just don’t believe it. He’s going to come out of it. As far as the young guys, LoMo has been very good. Mike is still feeling his way a little bit, which was going to be expected, but he’s done a good job as well.
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Current Yankees team playing like it’s the 2000 season
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After reading the headline you might think I lost my mind, and you’re probably right, but this title actually makes a lot of sense. Yesterday, Yankees starter Freddy Garcia worked 7 innings while allowing just three runs and nine hits leaving his record at 4-4 with a 3.34 ERA in 56.2 innings through 10 games, 9 starts.
The day prior, Bartolo Colon threw a four hit shutout to put his record at 3-3 with a 3.26 ERA in 66.1 innings throughout 11 games, 8 starts. If you read the stats carefully, it looks like we’re talking about early 2000’s numbers for both pitchers, but no, it’s 2011 and these two guys are really pitching well.
This off season, the Yankees were looking at Cliff Lee, but spurned them to sign with the Phillies. After that, Andy Pettitte decided to retire leaving the team with only three arms in their starting rotation.
What did they do? Well, they decided to sign Colon and Garcia to minor league deals and make them compete for two spots in the rotation alongside with some rookie prospects.
Most people almost had a heart attack when they found out about it, including me, but so far, Brian Cashman has prove us all wrong. Both pitchers are doing a great job, and hopefully for the Yankees and their fans, it will last for the reminder of the season.
This strategy gave us a different look from the Yankees. The Yankees are usually the team that overpay players just to get them signed, and a lot of people believe they build championships just by buying super stars at each position.
Before this this past offseason, they could have been right, but this season, the Yankees proved us wrong. They built their rotation out of what we will all deemed as over the hill pitchers and they’re getting results. They also signed two other veterans in Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez that have been better than advertised (at least while Chavez was healthy).
The Yankees’ biggest acquisition this off season was Rafael Soriano, a signing that Cashman thought was unnecessary. He’s not only injured, but has been struggling the entire season.
I don’t know if the Yankees will win the World Series or even get to the post-season. From what I’ve seen so far they probably will, and I’m sure Colon, Garcia, Chavez and Jones will be an important pieces of their quest to get back on top.
In 2000, Garcia was 9-5 with a 3.91 ERA in 20 starts for the Mariners. Colon was 15-8 with a 3.88 ERA in 30 starts for the Indians. Jones hit .303 with 36 HR’s and 104 RBI’s with the Braves and Chavez hit .277 with 26 HR’s and 86 RBI’s for the A’s. So yes, this season, the Yankees have one of the greatest 2000 teams in the Majors.
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Injury updates: Zimmerman, Chapman, Holliday, McClellan and Matsuzaka
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Here’s a running list of injury updates around the Major Leagues:
– Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman played three innings today in an extended Spring Training game reports Steven Miller of MLB.com. Zimmerman has been on the Disabled List since the second week of April.
– The Cincinnati Reds are not planning to activate left hander Aroldis Chapman until at least Friday according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The team has not decided if Chapman will have another rehab outing.
– The St. Louis Cardinals have placed right handed pitcher Kyle McClellan on the Disabled List with a strained hip flexor according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
– Matt Holliday has also been placed on the Disabled List with a quad injury according to Leach.
– According to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com, right handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka has decided to undergo Tommy John Surgery and will be out 12-18 month.
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Royals trade Lucas May to the Diamondbacks
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The Kansas City Royals have traded catcher Luke May to the Arizona Diamondbacks, reports Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com.
The Royals will receive right handed pitcher Andrea Pizziconi from the Diamondbacks in exchange for May adds Magruder.
May, who will be added catching depth at Triple-A Reno, was hitting .176/.263/.329 with 2 HR’s and 13 RBI’s in 85 AB’s for the Royals’ Triple-A team.
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Orioles designate Jake Fox for assignment
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According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports, the Baltimore Orioles have designated Jake Fox for assignment.
Fox was hitting .188/.250/.396 with 2 HR’s and 4 RBI’s in 48 AB’s for the Orioles this season.
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Cardinals have checked in on Padres Heath Bell
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According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the St. Louis Cardinals have checked in on San Diego Padres’ closer Heath Bell. However, Olney reminds us that current closer Fernando Sales is 10-for-10 in save opportunities for the Cardinals as of last night.
Bell is a free agent after the season and while he’s indicated that he would like to remain with the Padres, the small market Padres may trade him. If the Padres decide to keep Bell, they could offer him arbitration this winter and if he does go to another team, San Diego will likely be awarded two draft picks due to his likely Type-A free agent status.
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