Monday, January 12, 2004
Cirillo to the Pirates?
Anyone who thinks that the Padres got over on the M's by dealing Jarvis, Wiki & Hansen for Cirillo have got to be wondering about this one. Why turn a 2-yr, $15M disaster into a 4-yr, $42M singles-hitting, skills-deteriorating catcher like Jason Kendall. And give up Ramon Hernandez as well? I guess there could be a LOT of cash coming to San Diego in such a deal, and then it might make sense. I'll be watching closely, as I hope Jeff is able to put up some numbers for someone in the NL, and not end his career on the sour note it sounded in Seattle. If no cash is coming, I'm guessing that the Pirates would have taken Jarvis, Wiki & Hansen as well, and not even asked for Hernandez, since Jarvis would probably be a #2 on the Pirates. I'm not convinced the Padres know what they are doing now that they have a little money to spend.
In other news...
Roger Clemens signing with the Astros is verrrry interesting. I wonder if he will return the retirement Hummer that the Yankees gave him. I know I'd like a Hummer when I retire... ahem, excuse me for that segue. Anyway, the Rocket pitches for his hometown team, who now have 2/5 of last year's Yankee rotation to go with Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller, giving the Astros the nod as favorites in the NL Central and probably clinching the Cubs making a move to sign Greg Maddux or Pudge Rodriguez. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said "I'll always think of him as a Yankee," and I thought Wow - I still think of him as a Red Sox (or is that Red Sock) who had just lost his way. I think he should go into the Hall with a gunslinger outfit instead of a baseball cap, so he doesn't have to pick a team.
Jeff Nelson and Kenny Rogers signed with the Rangers today. "The Gambler" gets 6M over 2 years to continue the Rangers proud tradition of crappy starting pitching at any price. Nellie will be dominant in some outings and completely flammable in others, and I'm looking forward to seeing his sourpuss when he walks in the winning run when the Mariners face him in Arlington.
The little-blue-pill-popping one-man M's wrecking crew known as Rafael Palmiero will have a lot less of us to pick on as he goes from the Rangers to the Orioles. His .260/.350/.508 line looks like a good pickup for the free-spending O's (for whatever reason, I can't find a link that shows what he will be paid). And now instead of terrorizing the M's against whom his 3-year average is .294/.406/.679, he takes it to the GD Yankees whom he has lit up to the tune of .346/.438/.731 ! Go Raffy, keep those pills a popping!
In other news...
Roger Clemens signing with the Astros is verrrry interesting. I wonder if he will return the retirement Hummer that the Yankees gave him. I know I'd like a Hummer when I retire... ahem, excuse me for that segue. Anyway, the Rocket pitches for his hometown team, who now have 2/5 of last year's Yankee rotation to go with Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller, giving the Astros the nod as favorites in the NL Central and probably clinching the Cubs making a move to sign Greg Maddux or Pudge Rodriguez. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said "I'll always think of him as a Yankee," and I thought Wow - I still think of him as a Red Sox (or is that Red Sock) who had just lost his way. I think he should go into the Hall with a gunslinger outfit instead of a baseball cap, so he doesn't have to pick a team.
Jeff Nelson and Kenny Rogers signed with the Rangers today. "The Gambler" gets 6M over 2 years to continue the Rangers proud tradition of crappy starting pitching at any price. Nellie will be dominant in some outings and completely flammable in others, and I'm looking forward to seeing his sourpuss when he walks in the winning run when the Mariners face him in Arlington.
The little-blue-pill-popping one-man M's wrecking crew known as Rafael Palmiero will have a lot less of us to pick on as he goes from the Rangers to the Orioles. His .260/.350/.508 line looks like a good pickup for the free-spending O's (for whatever reason, I can't find a link that shows what he will be paid). And now instead of terrorizing the M's against whom his 3-year average is .294/.406/.679, he takes it to the GD Yankees whom he has lit up to the tune of .346/.438/.731 ! Go Raffy, keep those pills a popping!
