It was on this day in 1956 that Frank Robinson hit his first Major League home run, en route to 586 career homers and a legacy as one of baseball's all-time greats. Today, the Orioles are honoring Robinson with a statue at Camden Yards that will be unveiled before tonight's game with the A's.
Some notes from around the Majors…
- The Reds have made it a priority to establish a strong bond with their fans — and hopefully increase attendance — by retaining popular players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips, explains Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- Former Expos/Nationals closer Chad Cordero told reporters, including Bill Ladson of MLB.com, that he'd like to make a comeback next season (Twitter link).
- Delmon Young could be activated from the Tigers' restricted list by Tuesday or possibly even Monday night depending on the outcome of his evaluation by a counselor on Monday, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Chris Iott of MLive.com. If Young is judged to require treatment for anger management and/or alcohol abuse, however, he would be sidelined for an indeterminate amount of time.
- Bobby Valentine told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that the Red Sox are considering using Aaron Cook as a reliever. Cook can opt out of his contract if he is not called up to Boston's Major League roster by May 1 and the Sox have no clear spot for Cook in the rotation. Cook has made just one relief appearance in the last eight seasons but recently said he's open to the idea.
- There's no language in Cook's contract that would preclude a trade, notes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, although he adds there's no reason to think the Red Sox would want to do that (via Twitter).
- The sale of the Dodgers to the Magic Johnson/Stan Kasten/Mark Walter ownership group is expected to be closed by Monday, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- "This is a massive decision gone wrong right now," Yankees GM Brian Cashman told ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews in regards to the Michael Pineda/Jesus Montero deal and Pineda's subsequent season-ending shoulder injury. "So all scrutiny is fair….Our fans are right to be upset about this. I'm devastated by it," Cashman said.
- Besides the Cardinals, Carlos Beltran said the Indians pursued him the hardest in the offseason, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). Beltran said he ultimately chose to sign with St. Louis because he wanted to play for the World Series champions and remain in the National League.
- The Brewers have transferred Chris Narveson to the 60-day DL and called up reliever Vinnie Chulk to take Narveson's spot on the 40-man roster, the team announced via Twitter. Mike McClendon was optioned to Triple-A in another corresponding move. Narveson will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday that will sideline him for the rest of the 2012 season.
MLBTR's Dan Mennella contributed to this post.
Chulk huh? Somehow I feel like this won’t fix the bullpen.
Cashman admitted he was wrong is somehow a nice change from Walt Jocketty or others who are less concerned about the fans.
He didn’t say he was wrong in making the trade. He said it is “a massive decision gone wrong right now”. Very different meaning. If the doctors didn’t find anything wrong with Pineda’s shoulder how was Cashman suppose to know not to make the trade?
The Mets could use Aaron Cook. Chris Schwinden was terrible last night.
Did you honestly expect anything different?
Think he’d help us?
This means that just under 10% of the Tiger’s roster is getting help for alcohol dependence.
I have never been, but is Detroit really THAT depressing?
Yes…. Yes it is.
But I would bet that an equivalent percentage of most teams could or should be getting treated for alcohol dependence (just look at the amount of DUIs every year involving MLB players).
And I know more than 10% of us are guilty of posting ridiculous trade proposals while under the influence, so we all need to look out for ourselves.
But I would bet that an equivalent percentage of most teams could or should be getting treated for alcohol dependence (just look at the amount of DUIs every year involving MLB players).
To that I would add “managers” (see La Russa, Tony).
more than 10% of us are guilty of posting ridiculous trade proposals while under the influence,
Personally, I prefer to post and then get trashed – although it’s usually just by the other folks on this board :p
“more than 10% of us are guilty of posting ridiculous trade proposals while under the influence”
WHAT!! It’s not in vogue for some of these preposterous proposals we see here to be read without a tankard of grog by some of these people’s sides?? No wonder!
Good for Chulk. Its been awhile since hes been in the majors (2009 in fact), but I wish him luck in Milwaukee.
Quick hits: Young cook dodges Cashman’s belt, then ran.
Injuries are a common occurence with pitchers.
Good to see that Frank Robinson is finally being honored by the Orioles. As a Yankees fan growing up, I can recall how Robinson and the Birds terrorrized my Yankees teams continually for years. Robinson was a true Superstar who could do everything on the ballfield, and do it exceedingly well.
Sadly for him, steriod use by the younger generation of players and the growth of fans falling in love with power stats have diminished his accomplishments. He has become one the most under-rated HOF’ers ever. Those of us that had the pleasure of seeing him play are happy that he is still being remembered.