In Dusty We Trusty?....

Dusty Baker is at it again, this time talking about recent happenings in the Chicago Tribune. The more things that come out of his mouth, the more and more I can start to understand why the inmates ran the asylum last season. Baker started the press conference by stating that he wants to find out why Sosa was so upset with him and said,
"(I) was going to wait until the whole thing was over with, until the trade was over and things went down, I'm going to talk to him. I'm going to call him. I call anybody that's traded away from the team I'm on and I talk to everyone that's traded to the team I'm on."

So wait a second, now you're ready to call him and talk to him for the first time to see what the problems were while he was here. So instead of meeting this thing head-on to try and correct it, you decided to dodge the problem and hope it went away, and now that he's gone, you're ready to deal with it - now that it doesn't matter. Is this the way that competent managers go about handling thier players? But don't fret, it goes on. When Baker was asked about the rumors that he had Sosa forced out of the organization and that with this trade Dusty got his wish he had this to say, "Hey, man, there's always speculation, speculation is usually wrong." And when asked if he had gotton his way Baker replied, "No, man, I've said that before, I said what I said and how I felt. No, Dusty didn't get his way. That's the craziest speculation there is."

And with that all of the months of rumored has settled my worries about him running a clubhouse. Except for the fact that this speculation was probably right. Even if he didn't come out and say he wanted Sosa gone it was probably insinuated somewhere along the lines of the offseason. He had a major rift with his start player, and didn't even contact him once in 4 months - and one month to go before spring training - to work things out. Give me a break. The other thing bothering me here is Dusty refering to himself in the third person. I know players do this a lot but I have never heard a manager talk like that. This little display is really bothering me alot and as much as players might like to play for Dusty (where are all the free agents by the way?) he doesn't seem to have a handle on things on the field or cracking the whip in the clubhouse to show who's boss. Sometimes you have to put your job over being these guys friends every once in a while.

Another gem that came out of the press conference was this from GM Jim Hendry talking about the Sosa trade,
"I would hope [the relationship] would be repaired," Hendry said. "… He not only hit the 60-plus home runs and had great seasons. He also did a lot of good things for the organization behind the scenes. It's very unfair to see it get to the magnitude of the negativism that has happened."

Wow, what a load of double talking outta both sides of your mouth that was. The magnitude of negativity was perpitrated by Hendry and the Cubs so the media would build a case to vilify Sammy so the fans would turn on him, which he got at the Cub Convention, so he could dump Sammy easily without any real backlash from the fans. I'm not trying to be a Sosa homer here, as I think he needed to go for the sake of clubhouse sanity, but c'mon Hendry, anyone can see through this display. Does everyone really think the fans will just live off the company line, like last year when Prior was only going to be out a week or so. The more and more lies told will become distrust from the organization to thier fanbase and will eventually wreck the relationship they have.


Go Home Young Ball, Go Home....

Former BoSox and current Mets 1B Doug Mientkiewicz has returned the ball that caused such a fiasco during the last month and it landed today on Yawkey Way and found a home in the Fenway Park Museum. The ball was the final out of the world series, which Mientkiewicz caught and kept, and after a minor fight between the Red Sox and Mientkiewicz he decided to loan it to them for one season. The ball had armoured gaurds, was brought to the park on a Brinks truck, and was carried by those same gaurds till it was handed over inside the park after walking down the red carpet. There hasn't been drama like this surrounding a meaningless baseball since Harry Carays restaurant blew up the Bartman Ball last year. I don't know whether to think it's funny or pathetic to see things like this.


March 1st or else....

New Atlanta Braves ace Tim Hudson has laid down an ultimatum of a new contract by March 1st otherwise he will test the free agent market at the end of next season. If Hudson is actually intent on signing a contract now and not just providing lipservie Braves GM John Schurholz better get a move on since Hudson will be one of the top, if not the top, free agent next season. If Hudson can stay healthy during this upcoming season you can be sure that the Yankees will look to fill the convient void Kevin Brown's departure leaves with Hudson. This will dramatically push up the annual salary on his new contract. Chipper Jones has gone on record saying that he'll be willing to restructure to make some room for Hudson, so now we'll have to see how serious he is on resigning with Atlanta.


It's Deja Vu all Over Again....

Yogi Berra is suing the TBS corporation, one of Ted Turner's cable companies, for an ad on a bus promoting the show Sex and the City, which he claims has caused 'severe damage to his reputation'. The ad on buses is a multiple choice question which asks what the definition of a 'yogasm' is: (a) a type of yo-yo trick, (b) sex with Yogi Berra or (c) what Samantha has with a guy from yoga class. Berra is seeking $10 million on charges of commercial use of his name without permission and unjust enrichment by use of his name without permission.

There's no way in hell Yogi is gonna get all that money, but here's my top ten favorite Yogi-isms from over the years:

10. " The future ain't what it used to be "
9. " When you come to a fork in the road....Take it "
8. " It's deja vu all over again"
7. "I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early."
6. "I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."
5. "Texas has a lot of electrical votes." - after George Bush stated that Texas was important to the election.
4. "The wind always seems to blow against catchers when they are running."
3. "It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much."
2. "Slump? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hitting."

And the Number one Yogi-ism (drum rolling....)

(still rolling....)

1. "Baseball is 90% mental -- the other half is physical."


Other MLB news...

- The Dodgers have bid on and signed 3B Norihuro Nakamura to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. Nakamura has been injured the last two seasons in Japan since he spurned an offer he verbally agreed to with the Mets in 2002. The Dodgers are hoping he can come in and challenge either Jose Valentin at 3B or Hee Sop Choi at 1B.

- The new ownership of the Toronto Blue Jays has renamed SkyDome after themselves, with the new stadium being called the Rogers Centre. Rogers Communication has also announced that they will be allocating $210 million in payroll over the next three seasons, including thier $50 million payroll this season. So instead of looking to a $30 million increase next season in payroll look for them to try and sign guys but not nab them in the end, allowing the team to pocket that extra money.