Keith Foulke Retires
UPDATE: Foulke retired after feeling some elbow pain this spring.
Word via a Cleveland radio station is that closer candidate Keith Foulke will announce his retirement today. He was the favorite to pitch the ninth inning, but now it will go to Joe Borowski.
The move is quite a surprise; perhaps he uncovered a serious injury. He'll abandon a $5MM salary. Foulke is 34; he's got a 3.30 career ERA in 755 innings.
And let him always be remembered for his heroic 2004 post-season performance. Especially the terrifying bottom of the 9th in game 6 of the ALCS.
Posted by: snowmanny | February 16, 2007 at 08:29 AM
It was very good...I wouldn't call it "heroic." It wasn't like a relative had just died or he was hurt (neither was Curt Schilling).
This is pretty shocking, you would think that the Cleveland medical staff would catch a career-ending injury before allowing the signing.
Posted by: zubes007 | February 16, 2007 at 08:33 AM
LMAO...Borowski also failed his physical for the Phillies...this year could be another disaster.
Posted by: zubes007 | February 16, 2007 at 08:34 AM
I'm not all that surprised. Foulke has always seemed uninterested in baseball. I believe he went as far to say he didn't particularly like the sport. I might be mistake on that. Anyways, i don't see it as a huge lose. Foulke wasn't expected to be a stud closer this year. They can do without him.
Posted by: Ripwa | February 16, 2007 at 09:18 AM
The Indians hang so close, yet they refuse to take the necessary affirmative steps to get themselves over that hump. Borowski? come on.
Posted by: beauhoopman | February 16, 2007 at 12:18 PM
"neither was Curt Schilling"--lol--I haven't heard anyone bust out the ludicrous "red dye" theory for a while now...
As for Foulke, he should have been the WS MVP over Manny. Foulke got worked in the playoffs like he was a set-up man for Joe Torre...
Posted by: Makaveli616 | February 16, 2007 at 01:04 PM
Today should be a national holiday. I made a league on Yahoo. Might be interesting to get anyone who is on here regularly involved. It should be very competitive. I'm going to delete anyone with a poor yahoo fantasy history.
LeagueID#: 8252
Password: win
Format: 5x5, H2H.
Draft: Live, Tuesday February 20th. 8 p.m. EST
Posted by: Chase035 | February 16, 2007 at 01:11 PM
Foulke is a diehard hockey fan and his going to the Red Sox was inspired by the words of Orr. He's unfortunately someone who played baseball because he was good at it. His heart was never there & during last season he was talking about retiring after the season. Despite the fact he was never the type of player I could get behind or one that fans could support, I sincerely hope his legacy of the 2004 playoffs lives on. He went above and beyond when he was needed most. I'd like to think that one day, he'll get the same type of hero's ovation like Dave Roberts gets because of "the steal".
Posted by: TNS | February 16, 2007 at 01:41 PM
Not only do I despise fantasy sports, I despise spam.
Posted by: MickS | February 16, 2007 at 02:05 PM
As a BoSox fan, I'll always be grateful for Foulke's 2004, and I'm sad to hear he's retiring. A lot of the criticism he got from Boston fans and media was unfair; here's hoping Boston fans remember him well.
Posted by: JitteryMcFrog | February 16, 2007 at 02:44 PM
"Not only do I despise fantasy sports, I despise spam."
MMM Spam - fried spam and eggs kicks ass
Posted by: touchmymonkey | February 16, 2007 at 02:50 PM
"Not only do I despise fantasy sports, I despise spam."
MMM Spam - fried spam and eggs kicks ass
Posted by: touchmymonkey | February 16, 2007 at 02:51 PM
To me that is not quite spam as he is not trying to make money off it. Not something I want on here a lot, but I can let this one go.
Posted by: RotoAuthority | February 16, 2007 at 03:32 PM
I agree with your 1st and 3rd post Roto.
Posted by: plh903 | February 16, 2007 at 03:46 PM
Triple posting... what a noob.
Posted by: beeniez | February 16, 2007 at 04:30 PM
"Foulke was a hockey fan and his going to the Red Sox was inspired by the words of Orr."
I always thought he was a big Revolutionary War buff and his going to the Red Sox was inspired by 26,000,000 pictures of George Washington...
Posted by: snowmanny | February 16, 2007 at 04:45 PM
Hm, there was an old Federalist Congressman from Massachusetts named Orr.
The Cars are from Boston, and their bassist was named Orr, maybe that's what he meant.
Posted by: plh903 | February 16, 2007 at 04:54 PM
"Borowski also failed his physical for the Phillies...this year could be another disaster."
Well, not quite. He failed a physical for a two-year contract, then the Phillies tried to sign him for just one year. So the same doctors that said no for two years felt he could perform well enough for one more year, and the Indians agreed and jumped in. That being said, Borowski won't get all of the save chances. It's likely going to be Betancourt being that second guy, but I hope it's Fernando Cabrera, and by July he's the full time guy.
Posted by: nickjs21 | February 16, 2007 at 08:19 PM
i hope he realizes what he meant to the Red Sox championship team and that Red Spx fans will always remember him for what he meant to that team.
Posted by: jmonahan7 | February 16, 2007 at 10:11 PM
i hope he realizes what he meant to the Red Sox championship team and that Red Sox fans will always remember him for what he meant to that team.
Posted by: jmonahan7 | February 16, 2007 at 10:11 PM
i have the "time" mag of him holding varitek after the win in a frame in the living room. the wife makes fun of it because of the awkward position but, considering i graduated fire academy the same night they clinched the W.S. she let's it go. anyways foulke and schilling did something amazing that year. no matter their future all red sox fans should be grateful.
Posted by: jd | February 17, 2007 at 02:10 AM