Chipper Jones told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that he and Jim Thome met and complained "like two old grannies" last summer when Jones was struggling and Thome wasn't playing much. Thome finished strong and re-signed with the Twins and Jones is eager to play again, too. Here are the details on Jones and from around the majors:
- Jones says getting rest every week or ten days helps him stay strong throughout the season. The veteran third baseman has only played in 135 games once in the past six seasons because of a variety of injuries, so it makes sense to give him the occasional day off.
- The Phillies tried to sign George Sherrill this winter, before he signed with the rival Braves. Philadelphia sent executive Pat Gillick to see Sherrill and manager Charlie Manuel talked to him, but the left-hander wanted to play within driving distance of his father.
- Joe Torre makes about $2MM in his new job with MLB, according to Olney.
- Gio Gonzalez looks very, very good, according to a scout.
Hmm…I thought the Phillies wanted to win this year. You can’t have a complete pitching performance without good relief pitchers. Starting pitchers don’t always cut it and, certainly, George Sherrill is NOT the way to go. Every time they’d announce his name at Dodger Stadium, it would spark the old craving for a cigarette and I would wish they still had indoor smoking sections so I could retreat from the game during his 2/3 of an inning while he gave up four consecutive runs. I feel sorry for the Braves.
It is Dodger fans you should feel sorry for. Your team just went 80-82 and your haul from this offseason included names such as: Cormier, Rincon, Miles, Carroll, MacDougal, Thames, Kapler…
Sherrill, at this point in his career, is no more than a LOOGY. Too bad Joe Torre couldn’t see that. His numbers with the Braves should be much better.
Too bad Sherrill refused to go to the minors and fix his mechanics..
6 man pen Madson is a one of the best set up men
and Lidge’s salary ain’t going anywhere…
Well isn’t that just a cherry on top for Braves fans our number 3 lefty in our bullpen, was one of our rival’s top relief targets…
Gio!! He’s Oakland’s #1… oh wait, that’s Cahill, oh wait that’s going to be Brett Anderson… 3 #1 pitchers for less $ than 1 of Philly’s starting 5 gets paid. Nice work Oakland. Lock these guys up now.
Every time someone mentions Gio Gonzalez I start having nightmares of that Gonzalez / Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia trade. Ah, what could have been. Glad to see him doing well in Oakland.
For 162 X 9 innings I like the Braves pitching more than I like Philly. That is not taking ANYTHING away from the Philly rotation, but I feel that the Braves pen is much deeper. With Ugla in, and a healthy Prado, I am not sure if Philly is even the best team in that division. Jones’ health is probably not going to be an issue.
“Jones’ health is probably not going to be an issue.”
Well, if/when Chipper goes down that opens up a hole in LF. This is why I am REALLY hoping that both McLouth and Schafer get it together. Both have looked great this spring and both are capable of being productive. That way the defensively superior Schafer can play center and McLouth and his horrible arm won’t have to be relied upon as much out in LF.
Or they ship a couple of young pitchers out for a legit left-fielder if Chipper goes down early. Either way, they can fill the LF hole with someone productive if Prado is forced to play 3B. They made the playoffs with Diaz, Melky, Ankiel, and McLouth in the outfield last year, so it’ll be borderline impossible to get less production out of their outfield this year.
Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd for Freddy “piece of fat garbage” Garcia = worse trade ever!