LockerK
1581
After their play over the last week, Cleveland looks to finally be out of it. The young call ups are playing well, and I’ve got hope for this team next year if they can even halve the injuries from this year, and if Ubaldo can turn it around in the off-season.
Erik_J
1583
I saw that right before I went to bed. That sucks. :( It says he was found on a trail near his home, so I hope it was something natural and not some sort of violence. Watching games won’t be the same. Now it is just Gary Thorne’s stupid ass.
Sarkus
1584
The medical examiner has ruled it a suicide. Reports say he had financial issues.
Erik_J
1585
Yeah, I saw that. And reports that he took the Orioles awfulness personally. People blaming Angelos, etc. That’s a lot to drop at one guys feet, as much as I hate Angelos. Sad day in Baltimore.
sluggo
1586
So the Yankees, trailing 7-1 thanks to Phil Hughes getting bombed and on the verge of being swept by Oakland (!), get grand slams in back-to-back innings from Cano and Martin to take a 10-7 lead, now 13-7.
Also, the Twins put Jim Thome on waivers and the Indians put a claim in for him, but it’s unknown whether they’ll actually get a deal done (Thome has a no-trade clause and it’s unclear if he’d OK a trade to Cleveland).
Sarkus
1587
The Yankees are obviously going to make the playoffs, but I have hard time believing they are going very far this year. That pitching is just not going to be good enough when they face better staffs.
As for the Mariners, its crazy how well all these kids are suddenly doing. Carp, Seager, Wells, and Robinson (the latter two acquired in the deadline deals) are all hitting very well, each with an OPS+ of 135 or more. And that’s with Smoak on the DL and the only other decent hitters being Ackley, Ryan, and Ichiro (sort of). At least the season looks to end on a positive note for the future.
sluggo
1588
That’s kind of how I feel as well. If they have to rely on Nova and Colon as their 2 and 3 starters, it’s going to be a tough haul at best once the playoffs start.
But for today, major league history! For the first time ever, a team has hit 3 grand slams in one game. The guy who hit #3 and is now the answer to the trivia question: Curtis Granderson, who gets RBIs 100-103 and puts the Yankees up 21-8.
Hearing rumors that the Cardinals may be trying to pass Chris Carpenter through waivers. Yankees? You out there?
Sarkus
1590
It sounds like whether Thome goes to Cleveland or finishes the year in Minnesota is now up to him. By most accounts he was willing to go to Philly (and the feeling was mutual), but the Indians claimed him instead.
Thongsy
1591
If he goes to Cleveland at least he would have a chance, though slim as it is, to make the playoffs one last time and maybe even go to the World Series. Is there a reason why he wouldn’t want to go to Cleveland? It could come full circle and he could end his career where he started it.
Sarkus
1592
Looks like he accepted the trade to the Indians so I guess he agreed with your position!
;-)
Sarkus
1593
On that crazy Yankee win over the Oakland - yes, they ended up with three home runs. But they had 16(!) at bats with the bases loaded. Jeter had four of those, and only drove in a single run.
More a complete meltdown by the A’s pitching then anything else.
The current Phillies manager has a long history with Jim Thome, since they were together with the Indians and ended up at Philadelphia together. However, Thome’s time in Philadelphia was probably the low point in his career while his 11 or 12 seasons with the Indians was probably the highlight, as he got the majority of his 600 HRs there. The Baseball Hall of Fame if (and in all reality when) it inducts Thome, will almost certainly induct him as an Indian. There is some poetry in going back to Cleveland to finish his career and maybe make a stronger case for Hall of Fame induction.
Of course, there are other factors at work here. Philladephia could have only claimed Thome on waivers if every other team (meaning every team not the Twins or the Phillies) passed up the opportunity as a result of having the best record in baseball. Perhaps more importantly, Thome is no longer a viable fielder. The National League has no Designated Hitter Role for him to fill, which leaves him only a handful of pitch hitting appearances. Meanwhile, Cleveland just lost their DH Travis Hafner to the DL, possibly for the remainder of the season. Thome might not be the force he once was, but considering how injury plagued the Indians have become Thome represents a significant offensive upgrade.
Though the Indians have potentially knocked themselves out of playoff contention with their miserable performance this past week fueled in part by so many injuries, acquiring Thome would remains a move of desperation and a no brainer. Thome gives the Indians a better shot at making the playoffs. More importantly, it gives fans a reason to keep coming to games. $8 bleacher seats could give you a chance to take home a HR ball from a future Hall of Famer and Indians great!
The only question is what the Indians gave up to get him. Some organizational depth prospect like Jerad Head? No problem. A combination of team MVPs Justin Masterson and Asdrubal Cabrera? Organizational suicide!
Sarkus
1595
That its the classic “player to be named later” probably means its a lesser prospect. Especially under the circumstances.
The Indians claiming him makes sense but the question was whether Thome would agree to a trade to a team that may or may not make the playoffs and all the personal disruption such a move entails.
The fact that he was put on waivers should tell you has already been willing to do so.
Thome has a no-trade clause, so the Twins wouldn’t have bothered to put him on waivers unless Thome had stated a willingness to be traded. Meanwhile, the way waivers work is the teams in the same league get to claim him first, with the team with he worst record getting precedence for teams in the same league. Meaning, if Thome said he was OK with some potential trades, he had to know there was no chance a play off shoe in would be the only team to claim him.
Now, maybe you don’t understand why anyone would want to be bothered with changing teams without a strong playoff motivation, but clearly that is at play here. The Indians are a discouraging 6.5 games behind Detroit, but they do get to play Detroit 6 more times. I think Thome just wants to finish his career in Cleveland, especially with the Twins continuing to play badly.
Sarkus
1597
Not necessarily. A lot of players are put on waivers this time of year where the team has no intent of trading them, where they are simply there to clog up the process. After all, a team can simply pull someone back if they get claimed. The player has no say in any of it until a trade has been worked out.
And while Thome was willing to at least consider a trade, that doesn’t mean that Cleveland was on his list. There was some doubt, from what I’ve read, over whether he really wanted to go back there, even with his earlier history. Philadelphia was apparently on the list of teams he thought would be a good fit, but that doesn’t mean Cleveland was.
None of which matters now since he decided to take the trade to Cleveland.
Going to be hanging out in our suite finally at AT&T Park for tonight AND tomorrow. Only downside is that I have to watch the Giants play. Still… free food and booze.
— Alan
Carp was waived and claimed and pulled back.
Lance Berkman cleared. Trading shingle is hung out for him.
Lorini
1600
Interesting article on the MLB’s worst everyday starting players. Out of the 30 listed, this is how the Dodgers and Angels players (and former players) look:
Dodgers
Current players
Juan Uribe
Ted Lilly (although since being benched after 83 pitches and ahead 3-2, his ERA is under 3.00 in the last three games he’s pitched.)
Former players
Derek Lowe
Jason Werth
Brad Penny
J. D. Drew
Angels
Current players
Jeff Mathis
Bobby Abreu
Vernon Wells
Former players
Chone Figgins
John Lackey
Now I don’t know if this is an anomaly or what, but I do wonder if there are any other set of two teams that have or have had this many poor performers. Perhaps it’s the smog.
