Links for Thursday, exactly seven years after the Padres traded Jason Bay and Oliver Perez to the Pirates for Brian Giles. Bay and Perez are teammates once again, though Perez barely pitches and Bay is on the disabled list with a concussion…
- Micah Owings cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Owings asked to be traded after the Reds designated him for assignment last week.
- Gregg Zaun told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that his injury rehab is going well and says he plans to play in 2011.
- The Rangers have been "very active" recently, one executive told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
- MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that the Padres will pass on Brad Hawpe (Twitter link). They had interest, but appear to be content with their current outfielders.
- Jamey Newberg checks in on all the prospects the Rangers traded away this summer in an MLB.com article. Justin Smoak was the big name in the Cliff Lee trade, but Josh Lueke and Blake Beavan have played well for the Mariners since the deal.
- In this video clip at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Indians assistant GM Chris Antonetti explains that he'd like to see improved infield defense, since Cleveland pitchers induce lots of grounders.
- Mets GM Omar Minaya tells Dan Martin of the New York Post that he knows his job isn't completely secure.
- Juan Pierre explained to Scott Merkin of MLB.com that Manny Ramirez could help the White Sox this season. Pierre's reasoning is simple – he considers Manny "probably one of the top five hitters ever."
In Juan Pierre’s eyes, I’m “probably one of the top five hitters ever.”
Manny says “Thanks, uh, you’re one of the top five hitters in my eyes too”
i find what he said to be surprising, afterall manny was the reason as to why he sat his ass on the bench in LA, the same will be for chicago
Gotta love those gut-busting jokes at Juan Pierre’s expense. I personally can’t figure out whether it’s his .299 career batting average or his 500+ career steals that makes him such a laughingstock among the experts that post on message boards.
lighten up buzz killington
When it comes to defending the honor and integrity of Juan Pierre’s career achievements I will never lighten up—not even after moonraker45 lightheartedly advises me to do so.
You Sox fans always get your panties in a bunch….it’s that Hawk Harrelson homer syndrome.
Wait, so fans aren’t supposed to be “homers”?
what makes him a laughingstock is calling manny ramirez one of the top 5 hitters ever.
c’mon. I can start naming 5 players from the last decade that are/were better hitters than ramirez.
this is what happens when people play a game while being ignorant of its history.
He may not be one of the top 5 hitters ever but relative to his time he is one of the better if not best hitters to ever play the game.
In the last 20 years….the only hitters I would say where better than Manny were Pujols, Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez.
Manny isn’t one of the top 5 hitters off all time, but I’d put him top 25. Yes, the whole “steroid” thing puts a bit of a damper on it (though people forget that he never tested positive for ANY “enhancer” let alone steroids).
and steroids dont help you take walks and hit singles, they do on the other hand help you hit home runs and win 2 world series when your 3-4 hitters, manny and big papi were on them…many is a career .315 hitter yes there are some hits in there becuase he was though to have used roids but I would easily put in in the top five hitters since he came into the league and for sure the top 50 of all time
“and steroids dont help you take walks and hit singles, they do on the other hand help you hit home runs”
You really don’t use reason in your argument. First, you shine no light on how steroids help a hitter, then use a terribly conceived idea highlighted above. If steroids make balls that were not gonna be HRs become HRs, then can they not turn a soft linedrive to the SS into a single into LF? Also, if they increase a hitters HRs, would pitchers be more careful in their approach to him and concede him walks more often than a guy with lesser power?
Among the top 5 hitters most similar to Ramirez (according to baseball reference): Jimmy Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams.As you say, “c’mon”. Like him or not, PED’s or not, Manny’s lifetime numbers are SICK and consistently sustained over an 18 year period. An off the cuff comment by Pierre about Manny’s greatness hardly makes him a laughingstock or a baseball history ignoramus.
You forgot the pop gun throwing arm only rivaled by johnny damon in its eliteness
And now we are discussing his arm… OK, well name one player in the HISTORY OF BASEBALL that could make a running catch near the wall then HIGH-FIVE a fan better than Manny Ramirez could. Go ahead, I dare you.
lol Minaya would say that to the newspaper
check out giles’s stats he was a beast for a couple year period
Blake Beavan has an ERA close to 6.00 and is averaging 4.5 K/9 since coming to the Mariners organization. Not sure how that qualifies as playing well.
I hope Beaven does well but how is an almost 6 ERA and more than a hit per inning pitched split between AA and AAA pitching “very well”? Did the author even look at how he’s done before writing this?
The Padres can have Bay and Perez back.
Unfortunately for Pierre, one of the top five hitters ever doesn’t mean one of the top five hitters in the game today.
Manny’s a great hitter definitely will have his name among the best… but top 5 all time? Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron…
I say the Dodgers give Manny to the Sox for Pierre and Andruw Jones…If that happens, I will seriously laugh myself to death…and then I’ll cry for twenty years.
I’m glad that, we pass in Hawpe we need another starting pitching.
I would like to see the Indians score a run or two per game.
I guess I qualify as the assistant Indians GM now. Can I be the assistant to the assistant and just be an armchair quarterback?
Willie Mays was one of the top 5 hitters ever. I guess JP thinks he could help the Sox.
Antonetti hit the nail on the head there. The Indians MUST find a way to play better infield defense. Even Cabrera has sucked this year at SS.
Masterson’s FIP-ERA differential is disgustingly bad. Fans and “experts” are calling for him to move to the pen…..give him a defense, and this guy is a legit #3 right now.
Tribe would have at least 5 more wins now with better D.
Not too worried about the offense. Santana and Grady are out. Anyone notice how much of a funk Choo has been in since Santana went down? Choo has no protection in the lineup now….he has Duncan batting behind him half the time.
The defense and the top of the rotation are the biggest concerns. A better defense though, makes the rotation look a lot better.
I think we know enough about Micah Owings to know that he’s not a very good major league pitcher, his control isn’t up to par. That said, he might be the one pitcher who actually has a shot at transitioning into a hitter at this level (besides Ankiel I guess). Ankiel took time to reach the majors as a hitter, I’d guess that Owings wouldn’t need that much time. Who knows, hitting is hard but Owings has shown the ability, he should probably give it a try if his time is running out as a pitcher.
Dear Gregg Zaun,
No
Sincerely,
Everyone