The Mark Buehrle saga continues...The latest is that Buerhle will not sign or negotiate a contract extension with any team that he is traded to prior to being granted free agency this coming off-season -- even his beloved hometown St. Louis Cardinals come calling for the strike-throwing southpaw.

This comes on top of the no-trade clause he's demanding from the Chicago White Sox in extension negotiations...it's been mentioned before that he's entering the "Bronson Arroyo" zone as a highly tradeable commodity if he agrees to a hometown discount extension without no-trade provisions as protection in the contract. Arroyo believed the Sox would never trade him after signing a bargain contract with Boston, but that's exactly what they did in the Wily Mo deal and exactly what Buehrle fears will happen to him in the Windy City. 

I talked to some baseball people that felt like a lot of the trade chatter around Buehrle was either agent or club-based and being used for leverage in negotiations rather than for legitimate trade purposes. But there should be a much higher level of trade discussion about many other players (particularly starters and relievers) once the Buehrle situation is resolved one way or the other. Perhaps Eric Gagne...perhaps Brad Lidge...perhaps Chad Cordero.

The more I see of Jacoby Ellsbury, though, the more I think that he's in the Clay Buchholz "untouchable" class of Red Sox prospect...the Sox haven't had many homegrown prospects quite like the fleet-footed Ellsbury, who almost looks like he's hovering and not even touching the ground when he's running at top-speed around the bases. Kind of like me...

This from the Lefty

Flippin' sweet! Thanks for the shout. I love the blogosphere. Great tidbit on DP's cherokee.

Another thing- I'm transcribing Jacoby Ellsbury's sound from today (he was interviewed by a small throng), and I thought that the readers would like to know that Haggs had the best question by far. After having the rookie confirm that he did, in fact, run a 4.2 second 4o yd. dash in college at a "pro day", our man Haggs asked, "Have you put on speed since then?"

I don't know about you, but I found it hilarious- wise ass. According to that 4.2, the guy is faster than anyone in the NFL, and Haggerty dryly asks him if he's gained a step. Ha!

Thanks again for the shout out.

Mad props to the Lefty for unearthing this gem, where I could purchase some Team Haggerty attire if and when there ever is a Team Haggerty, as I'm always looking for the perfect combination of "comfy yet chic fashion."

Loyal reader Alyssa chimed in on the athlete's child site: "Geez, You'd think with that kind of capital, they'd at least hire a webdesigner and photographer. I guess I am supposed to just trust in Camp Mirabelli as I can't see half the merchandise."

Speaking of lefties, here's where you want to visit if you're hoping to see the "Oka-Doke" befuddle big league hitters at the All-Star game in San Francisco next week. Set-up men historically get jobbed when it comes to All-Star berths, but if anyone deserves it this season it's Hideki Okajima. The lefty set-up man has overcome a lot of difficulties making the cultural transition from Japan to the United States this season, but you'd never guess it by the way he's performed on the mound. This just in from the Red Sox multi-talented and omni-present media relations staff:

With just under eight hours remaining in the
online balloting for the Monster 2007 All-Star Final Vote on MLB.com,
the official website of Major League Baseball, and a record 18.7 million
votes cast, the outcome of the races for the final roster spot on each
league's All-Star Team will likely not be decided until the balloting
deadline - 6:00 p.m. (EDT).
   
Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideki Okajima continues to hold onto his
narrow lead over Detroit Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman and the three
other pitchers vying for the final roster spot on the 2007 American
League All-Star Team - Pat Neshek of the Minnesota Twins; Kelvim Escobar
of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; and Roy Halladay of the Toronto
Blue Jays. 
   
On the National League ballot, San Diego's Chris Young leads all
vote-getters, but is followed closely by Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago
Cubs; Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros; Brandon Webb of the Arizona
Diamondbacks; and Tom Gorzelanny of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
   
Fans can still cast their votes via their mobile phones by
texting the word "Vote" to 36197 to receive the ballots. In Canada, fans
should text the word "Vote" to 88555.
   
The Monster All-Star Final Vote program has seen nearly 60
million votes cast since its inception in 2002, including a record 18.6
million last year when fans chose A.J. Pierzynski of the Chicago White
Sox and Nomar Garciaparra of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Previous winners
of the Monster All-Star Final Vote include: Scott Podsednik (AL, 2005);
Oswalt (NL, 2005); Hideki Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004);
Jason Varitek (AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Johnny Damon (AL,
2002); and Andruw Jones (NL, 2002).
   
The 78th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will
determine home-field advantage in the 2007 World Series, will be
televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and
Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball
International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT).

ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com
will provide extensive online coverage of all festivities surrounding
the 78th All-Star Game. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play
coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game as well as the State Farm Home
Run Derby and Midsummer Classic.

I must admit, though, that I'm highly amused by Minnesota Twins righty Pat Neshek's push to have himself named as the 32nd man on the AL All-Star roster...pro sports needs more guys like this.

This from Neshek:

On a couple interviews today people asked me why they should vote for me and I basically told them a couple things.   I really don't know how to describe this but I'm the fan/collector/guy that somehow managed to get to the big leagues. I seriously wake up each day and can't believe how I got here and am thankful to even touch the uniform!   

Basically if I wasn't playing baseball right now I would probably be the guy who was coming home from work and planning a night around baseball…planning what games to go to, which minor league teams to get autographs at, which guy to take on my fantasy team and which guy to trade in MLB The Show…heck this is what I do in the off-season, no lie!   

Basically I'm a fan of baseball, if your team wasn't represented in this final 5 Vote I would love to represent you and all the fans of the game. I can tell you right now that nobody in the world, no other player would appreciate this more than me. So if you want somebody that is a fan of the game, a guy just like you, a guy that would probably pass out if elected to the ALL STAR game then you can help me out by voting here! 

In honor of Pat Neshek, the baseball Everyman, a Question of the Day: If you could wish any professional athlete to post an entertaining and, more importantly, candid blog, who would it be and why? Think World B. Free or Turk Wendell...Let's discuss...In fact Wendell is so good that I've included this from his wikipedia entry:

Eccentric Personality

Wendell is probably best known for his baseball-related eccentricities, which included:

• Wendell insisted that the umpire roll the ball to the mound rather than simply throw it to him (If an umpire would ignorantly throw the ball to him, Wendell was known to let it go past him, or even to let it bounce off his chest, after which he would retrieve it from the ground).
• Whenever he began a new inning, Wendell would turn and wave to the center fielder and wait for him to wave back before proceeding.
• At the beginning of each inning, Wendell would reportedly draw three crosses in the pitcher's mound dirt.
• Whenever his catcher stood, Wendell would crouch down.
• When entering or leaving the field, Wendell would always take a tremendous leap over the baseline.
• Wendell would chew black licorice (an alternative to the chewing tobacco used by many players).
• Wendell often brushed his teeth between innings (some claim that he brushed between every inning). While brushing, he often hid in the dugout, either by ducking behind objects or by facing the wall.
• Wendell forcefully slammed his rosin bag onto the pitcher's mound between outs.
• Wendell wore jersey number 99, in honor of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn, the main character in the movie Major League (played by Charlie Sheen). In addition, in 2000 he signed a contract worth $9,999,999.99.^[1]
• Wendell wore a necklace made from the claws and teeth of various animals he had hunted and killed.
• While in the minor leagues, Wendell was rumored to drink only orange juice (no food or any other drink) on days he pitched.
• Wendell sometimes threw his glove into the stands when leaving a game.

And finally I leave you with the Red Sox Nation Daily Dose. This looks alarmingly like Tom Emanski and Manny if they got together for a video...

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion