All Things Bubba: Rained Out

Thursday, October 26, 2006

The weather is not being kind. After a two-hour rain delay last night, Game 4 of the World Series was re-scheduled for tonight. But it may not be played tonight; the weather looks iffy through the weekend. We may have November baseball again.

Lots of news today....

New labor agreement: The players and owners have reached an agreement. Hallelujah. Nothing that affects Bubba, so far as I could tell. Except that he'll be making more money, whether he ends up in the majors or minors.

Gary Sheffield: The Yankees have decided to pick up Sheff's option. And Sheff is not happy about it.

I suspect the Yankees picked up the option just so they can trade him. Good riddance. We need pitching and defence, not another aging slugger.

Phil Hughes: He's apparently a baseball card collector, and actually posts to this forum using the screen name nyyphily45.

Derek Jeter: Won the Hank Aaron Award for outstanding offensive performance in the AL.

A-Rod: It sounds more and more like he will be traded. Yes, I know Boras came out and said he would not be traded. But that's just what agents do. Ditto Cashman. They are positioning themselves for the negotiations to come.

Both Jeter and Torre were asked yesterday if they thought A-Rod would be back next season. Jeter said something like, "Yes, he still his years left on his deal." Torre said something like, "Yes, he's got a no-trade." It was striking that neither said anything about Alex's ability, or that the team needed him. Sounds to me like they are greasing the skids under him.

Some Bubba links...

This Rangers fan thinks Texas should give Bubba a look-see:

Bubba Crosby -- How do you go from being a starting outfielder for a division-winning team to a minor league free agent in less than a month?

Texas, eh? Well, he'd be close to home at least...

This religious news site mentions Bubba:

According to Yankees Team Chaplain, George McGovern, Lidle took part in many Baseball Chapel activities. "I met Corey soon after he was traded to the Yankees from the Phillies. I met him at a Yankees team members Bible study at a hotel in Baltimore where the team was staying when they played the Orioles in August. Also at the study were Bubba Crosby, Sal Fasano, and Scott Proctor."

Geez. If Bubba was at Bible study with Cory Lidle, in August, in Baltimore...it must have been the very day he was DFA'd. No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.

A lot of baseball blogs from Taiwan, like this one, are mentioning Bubba's name. I don't read Chinese, alas, but running the pages through Babelfish...it sounds like there was some kind of documentary released over there, about baseball in Taiwan. And it featured either Wang talking about Bubba, or Bubba talking about Wang. I haven't been able to figure out exactly what was said, but it sounds like it was good. (If forced to guess, I'd say Wang was praising Bubba's defense and hustle in the outfield.)

And closer to home...this woman named her dog after Bubba.

posted by BubbaFan, 8:04 AM

7 Comments:

I still don't think Alex will be traded. There's no one in baseball as valuable as he is ( except maybe for Manny, Ortiz, Pujols, Howard, or Dye- but they ain't going anywhere). I don't think Cashman and Steinbrenner are stupid enough to trade away one of the game's greatest players.

Sorry, Man, but there'a just no way he is even close to being worth $26 mil a season.

He is costing the Yankees big time, especially in the clutch, and he doesn't sell tickets.

I doubt the Yankees will get what A-Rod is worth in any trade. But I think he's so disliked (by Torre and his teammates) that they'll try to get rid of him anyway.

Now, this doesn't mean they'll trade him for a used rosin bag and a bucket of balls. They'll want something reasonable in return. If no one offers anything, he may end up staying. But I think someone will make an offer Cashman can't refuse.

And I think it will be good for everyone involved. A-Rod is a fantasically talented man, but he's too fragile to cut it in NY, in Jeter's shadow. If he goes somewhere else, he'll be the big star. No one will be comparing him to Jeter. They'll be cheering him, not booing him.

I think the well in NY is poisoned for Alex now: he's not accepted, by the fans, by the media, or in the clubhouse. He needs a fresh start.

And Yankees need someone who's not a constant distraction, who can fit in, who doesn't fold under pressure.

Trading A-Rod now also gives the Yanks some control over where he goes. In 2007, he can exercise his option, and go anywhere he wants. He could sign with Boston after next season, regardless of what the Yankees want. So there's certainly an advantage to trading him now.

A local radio personality here in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, had an idea to bring A-Rod home. As you know, the Marlins have an abundance of talented starting pitchers (7 of them, if you count Mitre and Vargas), but they could use a guy with pop in the middle of the lineup... Anyway, this guy suggested that the Yankees pay the entire remaining sum of A-Rod's salary, give him to the Marlins at no monetary cost, and simply ask for Dontrelle Willis in return. Besides being a valuable left hander, D-Train would make A-Rod's $$ up easily with jersey and other item sales.

Interesting idea. I wonder if A-Rod would go for it? He wants to go to a contender. The Marlins were, this year, sort of, but they weren't expected to be. And they fired the manager credited with the turnaround.

I think the Yankees would demand more than Willis, especially if they were paying A-Rod's salary. A young prospect or two at least. Do the Marlins have any young catching talent they're willing to trade?

Yes, but actually, I don't think the Marlins would go for it. Willis IS the Marlins. He is the face of the team. Twice as many people show up to Dolphins Stadium when he starts. Trade him, and they may as well move the team to the Galapagos Islands.

When the guy made the suggestion, everyone was calling in saying that Yankees would have to throw in more... perhaps Melky Cabrera... I called in and told him they'd need to throw in Bubba and Kevin Thompson. (Heh, the Yanks aren't using them anyway.)

I would trade Melky, if the deal was right. I suspect his value will never be higher than it is right now.

I'm not that wild about Willis, though. As you note, he's the face of the Marlins franchise, and so worth a lot more to them than to us. His mechanics look like an injury waiting to happen. And he's an NL pitcher; his numbers won't be as good in the AL.