The "Former Nat Watch" Thread (2008)

[ronnynat]

Zach Day announced his retirement.

[spidernat]

Zach Day announced his retirement.

Any word on what he's retiring from? Maybe the press conference will be carried on ESPNEWS   

[tomterp]

Zach Day announced his retirement.

Can we get a link?

[ronnynat]

Can we get a link?

Not really. That's all it said on Baseball Digest Daily.

http://blog.baseballdigestdaily.com/blog/_archives/2008/6/18/3750977.html

I'll keep looking, but he's not really someone most baseball people care about, though.

[tomterp]

I know one fan who's going to be disappointed.

I found a brief Q&A on the Twins site:

What's the status on Zach Day? He's an oft-injured yet talented starter the Twins signed in January to a Minor League deal. I saw him first listed on the Triple-A roster than on the Class A Miracle roster, but now he's on neither. Do the Twins plan on giving him a chance?
-- Joe M., Westwood, N.J.

Day was still battling shoulder problems during spring training and remained at extended Spring Training to try and build back his shoulder strength. Day had undergone rotator cuff surgery in 2006 and went through more shoulder problems in 2007, as well. Unfortunately, he never was able to get that shoulder strength back and in early May, the 29-year-old decided to call it quits after making six appearances for Class A Fort Myers and moved back to his hometown of Cincinnati.

[mikehughes]

Daryl Thompson, one of the other guys we sent to the reds in the Kearns deal makes his major league debut this weekend against the yankees, heres a article about it and a little on him and how Bowden thought adding him in the trade was "sticking it" to the reds
http://www.rotoauthority.com/2008/06/a-look-at-daryl.html

[MrMadison]

Daryl Thompson, one of the other guys we sent to the reds in the Kearns deal makes his major league debut this weekend against the yankees, heres a article about it and a little on him and how Bowden thought adding him in the trade was "sticking it" to the reds
http://www.rotoauthority.com/2008/06/a-look-at-daryl.html

he went 5 innings, gave up 4 hits, 4 walks, 2Ks and ZERO runs against the Yankees in his debut.

we'll see whether Bowden "stuck it" to the Reds or not for sure.

that said, I'm not sure how giving up a pitching prospect is "sticking it" to anyone.

[MrMadison]

Armando Galarraga....you know, that nobody pitcher who didn't matter from the Soriano deal:

7-2 with a 3.03 ERA in 70 IP has a 1.065 WHIP for Detroit.

[ronnynat]

The list goes on. The Reds signed Mackowiak to a minor league deal.

[MrMadison]

Superstar Church was activated from the DL not too long ago.

[ronnynat]

Daryl Thompson, one of the other guys we sent to the reds in the Kearns deal makes his major league debut this weekend against the yankees, heres a article about it and a little on him and how Bowden thought adding him in the trade was "sticking it" to the reds
http://www.rotoauthority.com/2008/06/a-look-at-daryl.html

He got whooped by the Pirates tonight.

4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR

[sportsfan882]

Hopefully the nagging about JB letting Rasner go will cease. The dude is garbage. I know I wasn't fooled by his "hot" start with the Yankees.

He gave up 10 hits and 6 earned runs today in 5 IP. His Season ERA is now up to 4.94 and rapidly climbing.

[ronnynat]

Outfielder José Guillen initiated a near-brawl with pitching coach Bob McClure in the Royals' clubhouse before Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

Witnesses said no blows were exchanged, but the two had to be separated after exchanging heated words. Guillen remained in the lineup as the designated hitter.

Guillen is thought to have been upset at what he considered excessive supervision by coaches in the clubhouse. The coaches' lockers in the visitors' clubhouse at Tropicana Filed are located alongside the players' lockers.

Witnesses said Guillen knocked over a chair near his locker and began talking in a loud voice. When McClure told Guillen to be quiet, Guillen responded by knocking over another chair and moving toward McClure.

Manager Trey Hillman was conducting his pre-game news conference in the dugout when the incident occurred. Hillman was later observed talking quietly with Guillen.

http://www.kansascity.com/385/story/693290.html

Same old Guillen, but he is having a great season.

[houston-nat]

Glenn Gibson, the pitching prospect we gave up for Elijah Dukes, has a 6.81 ERA and 4-8 record in 19 games. He hasn't lasted five innings in his last eight performances, mainly because his last six performances have been out of the bullpen. In his last four he's allowed 13 hits and 8 runs in 9.2 innings.

[JMUalumni]

Guillen made the final vote ballot for the all-star game.  Joe Sheehan, of BP, ripped into his inclusion on this ballot in his article today.  I tend to agree with him, he is having a good season, but he is no where near some of the other guys that deserve a spot on the AL team (two Orioles come to mind in Roberts and Markakis):

Once again, the fans get to pick one last All-Star in the wildly overhyped "Final Vote" process. The AL ballot includes arguably the worst player to ever be part of this, Jose Guillen, a corner outfielder/DH with a .297 OBP. He’s not one of the 100 best players in the AL this year, and having him on the ballot rather than Markakis or 50 other guys is a joke.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Doesn't protocol require one freak per side?  I thought they had that covered with Manny, but maybe in the AL you need two.

Guillen made the final vote ballot for the all-star game.  Joe Sheehan, of BP, ripped into his inclusion on this ballot in his article today.  I tend to agree with him, he is having a good season, but he is no where near some of the other guys that deserve a spot on the AL team (two Orioles come to mind in Roberts and Markakis):

[houston-nat]

Doesn't protocol require one freak per side?

Dukes didn't get in, did he?

[ronnynat]

Superstar Church was activated from the DL not too long ago.

Superstar Church is back on the DL w/ post-concussion syndrome. I still think we got the best of that trade.

[tomterp]

Superstar Church is back on the DL w/ post-concussion syndrome. I still think we got the best of that trade.

Yeah, Milledge is really tearing it up for us right now.

[ronnynat]

Yeah, Milledge is really tearing it up for us right now.

Even when both are healthy, we got the better player. It'll be more obvious within a year or so. Schneider just makes the trade even worse for the Mets.

[spidernat]

Yeah, Milledge is really tearing it up for us right now.

[tomterp]

Even when both are healthy, we got the better player. It'll be more obvious within a year or so.

I have high hopes for Milledge long term, but in 2008 the Mets got the better player. 

Milledge - 302 AB's, 7 homers, 32 RBI, .245/312/368
Church - 205 AB's 10 homers, 36 RBI, .307/370/512

Even with 97 fewer AB's, Church has accomplished more.

[houston-nat]

but in 2008 the Mets got the better player. 

Milledge - 302 AB's, 7 homers, 32 RBI, .245/312/368
Church - 205 AB's 10 homers, 36 RBI, .307/370/512

Even with 97 fewer AB's, Church has accomplished more.

That makes sense, because this year they'll still be relevant and in a few years they'll suck even more. I see a trend here.

[ronnynat]

I have high hopes for Milledge long term, but in 2008 the Mets got the better player. 

Milledge - 302 AB's, 7 homers, 32 RBI, .245/312/368
Church - 205 AB's 10 homers, 36 RBI, .307/370/512

Even with 97 fewer AB's, Church has accomplished more.

If you looked only at the first year after a trade is made, most prospects (when they are involved) would look worthless b/c they aren't helping your team win right away. We got better than just a prospect. We got an MLB-ready 23 y/o that will be in our outfield for years to come. We definitely got the better end of the deal, IMO.

[MrMadison]

from my forum travels, it looks like the Mets fans have begun to sour on The Trade.

Schneider has come back down to earth, and is being what Schneider always was(.250/.333/.299 is his line at the present time....remember when Schneider was hitting like .340-something and all the Mets fans were laughing at us?), and I read somewhere that he lost the starting catcher job and also the Mets may be looking to trade for a Catcher soon(i'm trying to find some more evidence of this).

and Church is in the DL.  I honestly think his career may be in jeopardy here, multiple concussions are serious business.  and while I think he needs to shut his face sometimes when he's talking about the Nationals, I worry for the guy's health.