John Schuerholz Rumors

Odds and Ends: Wakefield, Guillen, Lowell

Some random rumorage not quite worthy of individual posts...

• Jeff Goldberg of the Hartford Courant speculates that Tim Wakefield could be making his final start for Boston tonight.  With Wakefield, the Red Sox possess one of the most lopsided contracts in baseball history.  They have a perpetual $4MM club option with him, one that never goes away until they decline it.  But $4MM is nothing to the Sox, and Wakefield was certainly worth that much in '07.  They'll exercise it.
• The Mariners were once close to an extension for Jose Guillen, but currently it's on the backburner.  Even if the team exercises his $9MM option, Guillen can and probably will void it.  He's going to want at least three years, $30MM.  The Mariners could get by without him.
• Mike Lowell has more Philly connections than I realized.  The Phils definitely seem like his second choice if the Red Sox let him go.  I think the Phillies should just sign Mike Lamb and spend the excess money on pitching. 
• Neal Huntington's first move: a waiver claim of Kevin Thompson.  It's over now.
• Joel Pineiro gets a $500K signing bonus, $5MM in '08, and $7.5MM in '09.  Originally he wanted to test the market, but he appreciated the Cardinals giving him a chance.
• John Schuerholz found Scott Boras' suggestions obnoxious and idiotic.  Also, Steve Phillips comments on the A-Rod/Mets situation back in 2000.

---

Schuerholz To Step Down

Wow, they just keep on coming.  According to Ken Rosenthal, Braves GM John Schuerholz will step down (to be announced at a press conference this afternoon).  Schuerholz will serve as team president, so at least he can be consulted on moves.  Assistant GM Frank Wren will take his place.  Wren spent about a year as Orioles' GM in '99.

Sometimes I can be overly critical of GMs...but Schuerholz is awesome.  This is a huge loss for the Braves. On the bright side, I'm sure Wren has learned a lot working under him. 

Here's a solid look at Wren's brief time as Orioles GM.  Not sure who the author is.  Even with the concession that Peter Angelos did much meddling, Wren seemingly did a lousy job.  Wren did not part on good terms with the O's - he was fired and criticized in a public statement.

---

Lijit Search

---

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner