I Can't Say 'Nomar' Without Hearing Jimmy Fallon

[cubfan33]

Major error on my part on Sunday - The Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia is not forty dollars, it is thirty dollars, making it even more of a great value and giving any baseball fan even less reason not to own one. To make up for my error, I'll give anyone that buys the SBE and says "UTK sent me" a couple bonuses: two entries in the contest, announced at the end of the newsletter, and two dollars off the normal price for any UTK merchandise.

I read my Billy-Ball newsletter early this morning as I sipped some coffee from my Cubs mug and as always was greatly entertained. However, Bill made a comment about the Twins and "small market" that forced my hand and made me write before finishing the first pot of coffee, something always quite dangerous. I wrote: "Great column, as always. Despite my Twins boycott, I like seeing them win as well. However, calling them a small market team - or calling ANY team large or small market - is patently incorrect. The fact is that Minneapolis is one of the best sports markets in America and the Twins have the single richest owner in baseball - if not for Paul
Allen, it would be in all of sport. Were the Twins small market when they were loaded with guys like Puckett, Gagne, Molitor, and Hrbek? Were they small market when they regularly drew 3 million fans to the Baggydome? Revenue is no predictor of baseball success. Otherwise, my Cubs would be on top every year and that certainly isn't the case. There are two kinds of teams - smart and dumb, not large and small." Bill liked my last line and that's high praise.

I was in the WXLW studio today as the Devil Rays thrashing ended and had a Tampa player on the phone within seconds of the final. Hearing Hal McRae yelling and throwing things was as entertaining as it was ten years ago in Kansas City. I expect that kind of behavior from a five year old, but not a major league manager. Let's hope Chuck Lamar remembers what got McRae the gate then and shows him the gate now. The Devil Rays are about to start (again) with fresh players and there is some light at the end of a long, dark, bleak tunnel for them and their fans. If you have young players, it helps to have a manager with some maturity.

I also had a good long talk with one of our favorite players, known here as "Morpheus." He was pretty adamant that the players really hadn't selected a strike date, but that they were ready to. "We have a really good owner here and a great general manager ... to walk out on them would be as hard as it would to look the fans in the face and tell them there's no baseball. We're staring down the barrel of a gun here - if we strike, that's about all we have. Everyone knows Bud is just going to implement the first day it's legal and we'll be back in here picking cotton and saying "yes, massa - no, massa." Arbitration? Gone. Salary cap? They'll drop one in right around eighty million. We're ready to move a bit on revenue sharing if they're willing to put it on the field rather than in their pockets like they do now. Tell your readers that we don't want this. We'll go as long as we can and do anything we can." Let's hope we have a couple owners listening.

Why does Frank Robinson want out of Montreal? It's not the losing streak or falling out of a purported chase for the division or wild card. Robinson merely can't stand the hopeless task he'll face in winding down a franchise - contraction or not, relocation or not - and knows he and Omar Minaya are facing an enforced fire sale to set the franchise up for either sale or a dispersal draft. It could be so bad that Minaya is taking offers on the just acquired Bartolo Colon and Cliff Floyd. MLB is not setting this franchise up for a sale or a move; they're setting it up for contraction or bankruptcy.

A few deals in the past couple days and one non-deal. Kenny Rogers nixed a move to Cincinnati, but Fred McGriff-like rumors that he would put aside "family reasons" to play for a contender remain, with Seattle the oft-mentioned suitor. The Reds gave up less, but may have gotten less in Brian Moehler. Bob Boone got one of his kids to go along with the other one, since he thinks Aaron Boone is "the best third baseman in the game." The Brewers dealt off Tyler Houston to the Dodgers for a couple minor league arms, helping both teams. Milwaukee needs arms of any kind somewhere in the system and Houston and Jolbert Cabrera give the Dodgers some flexibility. The Dodgers need something more, likely an arm or two that they probably can't afford at this point. Those bleeding blue will need to hope that Kevin Brown continues to improve and gets back to L.A. by late August.

Yesterday, the Reds and Ken Griffey finally agreed that this was as good as it gets. Medically, there was nothing further to be done for his chronically injured hamstring and playing now wasn't any worse for all concerned than it would have been next week or next month. Griffey is reportedly at about 65 to 70 percent. Our medical advisors all agree that the Reds made the right decision, but none would say that Griffey wasn't a ticking time bomb. "There's only two things possible here," said an orthopedic surgeon. "Either he plays at a jog or trot level or that [muscle] snaps again. I guess with a player like him, you can accept that level." I never like seeing decisions made on the basis of hopes and prayers rather than science, but I also hope Griffey can hold together through the season.

Barry Bonds had an MRI on his injured hamstring. No new information was found and Bonds is expected to return by the weekend. Like Griffey, Bonds is expected to play at less than 100 percent, but Bonds also plays a less strenuous defensive position. I have to take this opportunity to say "you're welcome" to Tom Goodwin. My jab at him inspired a home run at almost the exact moment many of you were reading UTK. Across the diamond at PacBell, Reggie Sanders is also nursing a sore hammy. I won't say anything bad about Shawon Dunston, since he's the cornerstone of my 1986 Diamond Mind team (which tells you a LOT about why I'm 30 games back in the standings!)

The Rangers Yearbook for 2002 shouldn't be written by the always great Jamey Newberg (who, by the way, broke the news of who the Reds were willing to give up before anyone else), but by Lemony Snicket. The season, from the free agent signings to the plethora of injuries, has been a series of unfortunate events. The latest chapter in this sad tale is the end of Jeff Zimmerman's season. After looking good at the start of his rehab assignment, Zimmerman's elbow exploded again and he was forced to return to Dallas today for an MRI and a meeting with team physicians. While the Rangers aren't saying it officially, Zimmerman is all but done for 2002 and this injury could make 2003 in some question. For an assessment of where the Rangers may look for saves, check out some great analysis over at Diamond Science. You'll be hearing a lot more from Baseball's Mad Scientists in coming weeks.

The Royals sent Mike Sweeney into the MRI chamber today and results, surprisingly, looked good for the slugger. There is apparently little or no herniation or nerve entrapment. This of course makes the pain and swelling he's experiencing in his lower back and SI joint a bit more mysterious. Without more of a diagnosis, its impossible to guess when Sweeney will come back. Dropping him on the DL retro is almost pointless at this time, since he's gone nearly fifteen days already. The Royals have gone on a tear without Sweeney and even so aren't in the race, so there's no rush with Sweeney - bad news for fantasy owners who need his bat. There's no telling how long the alien that has possessed the body of Raul Ibanez will stay in Kansas City.

I just got word that Vlad Guerrero left the game early with what's being called a 'knee contusion.' I don't have any more information on the injury or how it occurred, so keep an eye on this one. Wait - nice of (name deleted) to call and tell me Vlad made a great catch, robbing Jeromy Burnitz of extra bases, but slammed into the Shea Stadium wall. The injury looks to be painful, but not serious. Hey Mets fans - Mo Vaughn is still fat, but at least he's hitting now.

In Yankees news, Mariano Rivera will throw in the bullpen tomorrow in Cleveland. If he pitches well and has no pain in his strained shoulder, he'll avoid the DL and likely be back sometime this weekend. If the pain is still there, the Yanks are willing to place him on the DL and go with what they have, most notably Mike Stanton and Steve Karsay. Sterling Hitchcock pitched in a side session and appears ready to head out on a rehab assignment. Hitchcock will still be the man without a role for the Yankees, but pitching depth is never a bad thing. Finally, Yanks catcher Jorge Posada took a foul ball off the ear, necessitation stitches. As bad as it looks, he'll likely miss no more than one or two games and could even play tomorrow depending on conditions.

Staying in Cleveland, the Tribe pen will be without Bob Wickman. On the DL for the first time in his career, Wickman finally succumbed to the pain in his elbow and was placed on the list today. Paul Shuey will likely get most of the saves while Wickman is out, but Shuey has always been fragile himself. A losing team doesn't really need a closer anyway, so this injury only affects those of you relying on Wickman for saves in your fantasy league.

Javy Lopez's shoulder did not respond to cortisone injections and he had an MRI. The results aren't known, but Braves sources tell me that Lopez has a strained acromioclavicular joint and has played with it for several weeks while being treated with anti-inflammatories and painkillers. If Lopez is not able to return to the lineup on Friday, he'll head to the DL and the Braves will dip down to the minors for a backup to Henry Blanco.

[cubfan33]

Moises Alou was hit on the elbow by a pitch yesterday. X-rays after the game showed no fracture, which relieved Alou. "I was sure it was broken," he said. The Cubs will work hard to keep swelling to a minimum but there's no time frame for Alou's return. Alou has had as much luck as the Rangers this year on the injury front, but he's still a UTK favorite.

Quick hits: Dustin Hermanson is out with an infected elbow, the result of a fall in his home. Women will enjoy this - he was washing dishes barefoot and fell. Robert Person left yesterday's game early and then thought to tell team officials that his elbow had begun hurting again. He was placed on the DL today. Larry Bowa had intended to send Person to the bullpen anyway, with Brett Myers and Joe Roa taking rotation slots from Person and Terry Adams. (Note: the Mark Prior-Myers matchup will be on WGN tomorrow afternoon.) Preston Wilson is still dealing with sore wrists, the result of crashing into the ivy ... I mean bricks at Wrigley.

Next report tomorrow ...

Oh, the contest. Here's the simple, easy contest - tell a friend, acquaintance, enemy, neighbor ... whoever! - about UTK. When they sign up for the newsletter, have them enter "YOUR NAME sent me." I'll put all the names in a hat and the winner will get ... a free copy of Midway's SlugFest 20-03 (Playstation 2 version.) Depending on how many entries we have, I'll toss in some UTK T-shirts, hats, and mugs. Remember, you can also buy a copy of the excellent Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia and get TWO entries, as well as a great product, for only THIRTY dollars. Until next time, I'll see you on Netshrine.com or Yahoo Messenger.

I'd also like to again thank Rob Neyer for making UTK his Link of the Week. All the readers that found us through Rob have sent our subscriber base over 3000! (Hey Rob - can you leave that link up another week?)

[Gosfgiants]

Any word on Jeff Kent? He's missed the past two games with what the team is calling sore legs.

[cubfan33]

Strained right quad ... was supposed to start tonight, but Stan Conte held him out for rest. I didnt check before writing or I would have mentioned him!

[Allard]

Will just keeps proving that UTK is the best reason to go to work and read my email in the morning. I'm dying to know who Morpheus is.

Kinda odd that Mike Sweeney has back and hip pain, but the MRI is fine. When my wife had a herniated disk, the pain was identical. She was told that the MRI was just the first step in diagnosing the problem, and that a myelogram was needed to really find the problem. For those that aren't familiar with the procedure, dye is injected into the spinal column and a cat scan is done, showing where any disks may be protruding against the spinal cord. Oh, and then you have a migraine for a week.

Is this procedure commonly done to MLB players?

[KCBOOMER]

Originally posted by cubfan33
The Royals sent Mike Sweeney into the MRI chamber today and results, surprisingly, looked good for the slugger. There is apparently little or no herniation or nerve entrapment. This of course makes the pain and swelling he's experiencing in his lower back and SI joint a bit more mysterious.

There's no telling how long the alien that has possessed the body of Raul Ibanez will stay in Kansas City.

You had indicated earlier that the Sweeney injury sounded an awful lot like the I-Rod injury. It may turn out to be true because there still isn't a timeframe set on his return.

Ibanez has been hitting well since he was given an opportunity about the middle of last year.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by cubfan33
Bob Boone got one of his kids to go along with the other one, since he thinks Aaron Boone is "the best third baseman in the game."

I think his quote was best 3B in the NL, not the game.

[satchel]

Originally posted by cubfan33
Finally, Yanks catcher Jorge Posada took a foul ball off the ear, necessitation stitches. As bad as it looks, he'll likely miss no more than one or two games and could even play tomorrow depending on conditions.

Small detail - it wasn't a ball, it was a bat. Milton Bradley's bat. At the end of his follow-through, the bat came all the way around behind him - it may have flown out of his hand - and clocked Posada on the ear.

Interestingly, later in the game, Bradley's bat knocked askew the helmet of replacemet catcher Widger.

[cubfan33]

Correct on Posada. I got a call telling me it was a foul and I didn't double check before sending. Happens ... injury is the same or I'd be more upset about it. Bradley's gonna take a dot or two for that backswing - and soon.

Thanks for the comments, Allard. Myelograms are a good tool and may need to be done in Sweeney's case because the MRI sounds too good to be true. This totally reads like a disc herniation/nerve impingement in his lower lumbar spine. I wouldnt say Myelograms are common, but they're a tool and baseball team physicians will use any tool possible since cost isnt much of an issue.

[padresfan19]

What's going on with Jose Vidro? He hasn't been in the Expos lineup the last few days and I haven't seen an injury report. He's on both my fantasy teams, and I need him in there!

[soxfan121]

Uncle Miltie better move up in the box and quick...

If he doesn;t get plunked tonight, I'd be disappointed; even if it was an accident, the replay of Posada getting hit was scary.

[cubfan33]

Vidro's back is still stiff. One source has him being held out not for injury, but for trade hold. Info from Montreal is next to impossible to get which is why I haven't reported on him.