Continuing Careers of Ex-Mets, 2008 (2009 content too)

[nymr83]

i wouldnt mind signing Lopez to a minor league deal if he's agreeable. he had a decent obp in 2005 and 2006, once hit 23 homers, stole 44 bases in a year, and i think is a decent middle infielder defensively, not a bad guy to have in the syatem incase of emergency.

[Guest AG/DC]

I was preparing to write about the travails of LoDu in an upcoming KTE. It looks like Nationals Park might be even more of a power drain than RFK, and LoDuca has contributed to the cause zero homers in 139 at-bats.

Regarding middle infield emergencies, we're not far from one as it is. Lopez, though, is not known to be a friend maker.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

i wouldnt mind signing Lopez to a minor league deal if he's agreeable. he had a decent obp in 2005 and 2006, once hit 23 homers, stole 44 bases in a year, and i think is a decent middle infielder defensively, not a bad guy to have in the syatem incase of emergency.

[Guest AG/DC]

Well, a middle infielder with a .645 OBP is capable of being a major leaguer, just not a starting one.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

AG/DC - "Well, a middle infielder with a .645 OBP is capable of being a major leaguer, just not a starting one."

A guy with a .645 OBP can start for my team any time and I don't care what position he plays. Now a .645 OPS isn't nearly as impressive definitely isn't worthing of a starting role.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

Well, a middle infielder with a .645 OBP is capable of being a major leaguer, just not a starting one.

[Guest AG/DC]

Dar!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Victor Zambrano signs a minor-league deal with the MFYs.

Tough break for Paulie. I wonder what's up with his x-wife Sonia

[soupcan]

LoDuca:

"I apologize to the organization and the fans. I'm a better baseball player than I played," Lo Duca said. "To give me a chance to hook on with another team - big-time class act."

[bmfc1]

More from LoDuca who said all the right things:

"When Jim and Manny just called me in there, I apologized, I feel bad. I'm a better player than I played; it's just an unfortunate year this year. I had the knee surgery and just when I started to feel healthy, I broke my hand. I actually started to feel better at the plate. Their reasons are verified, definitely. Kory needs to play. He has future with this organization. And a lot of these guys here, especially Jesus, they need to play. Them giving me my release is sort of a class act by them.

"I think they're making the right move. Other guys in here need to play and I'm taking up a spot. Bottom line. You gotta be honest with yourself. Do think can play? Yeah, most definitely. And I'm going to come back next year, if it doesn't happen this year, and I'm going to shove it to a lot of people, believe me. I can play this game, I know I can. It's just unfortunate. But like I said, a lot of the young kids here need to play. I'm not going to be here next year. Those guys need to get at-bats and learn up here. This is an organization that's going to go in the right direction."

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2008/07/2009_comes_on_july_31.html?nav=rss_blog

[Guest AG/DC]

Well, there's only one direction they can go in right now.

Paulie doesn't do much for his caveman rep with constructions like, "Do think can play?" does he?

While he's tossing around apologies, he might want to send one to Omar Minaya, his wife, his girlfriend, and me.

What are the odds that he's a 2009 Yankee?

[Farmer Ted]

Royce Ring DFAd by the Braves.

[Guest AG/DC]

Jermaine Allensworth, still lacing 'em up:

Now and Then: Jermaine Allensworth

Passion for baseball still burns in former Boilermaker

By Nathan Baird �

nbaird@journalandcourier.com

� August 4, 2008

Jermaine Allensworth left Purdue 15 years ago as a first-round draft pick pursuing a major league dream.

Jermaine Allensworth advises young and old about how to play the game. (Photo by Bill Meyer/Schaumberg Flyers) Speed was one of Jermaine Allensworth's assets as a Boilermaker. (Photo provide by Purdue Sports Information)

The outfielder spent parts of four seasons in the major leagues with three teams. While Allensworth admits his major league career is likely in the past, he still makes his living playing the game he loves.

Allensworth joined the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League this season. He has played for three teams in the unaffiliated minor league since 2004.

"I was part of a tradition that not all people can say that they're part of," Allensworth said. "It was awesome. In hindsight, to be on the field playing with or against Hall of Fame guys, it's amazing. I'm like, man, I should've been getting everybody's autograph."

Allensworth played his last major league game, with the New York Mets, on May 29, 1999. At age 28, he missed the entire 2000 season, and he believes that hindered his chances of returning to the majors.

In just over 1,000 big league at-bats, the Anderson native batted .260, hit 15 home runs and stole 42 bases.

"He played hard and smart, very smart," said former Purdue coach Dave Alexander, now an amateur scout for Seattle. "He had really good instincts. He had great judgment running the bases, knew how to play, threw the ball to the right base. It came natural to him."

Allensworth lives in Bloomington, Ill., in the offseason. He and his wife Susan, who he met at Purdue, settled there because she has family ties in the area.

In the offseason, Allensworth helps cultivate the next generation of baseball stars by offering personal instruction to players ages 10-18.

"You're teaching kids the finer points, trying to fine-tune them, helping them get better," Allensworth said. "There's nothing better than to see or hear of them doing well. To have them attribute some of their success to the help you're giving them, it's a good feeling."

As the oldest player on the Flyers roster, Allensworth, 36, has accepted a mentor-like role among his teammates as well. Having endured knee troubles this season, he says his body will tell him whether or not he'll return for another season in 2009.

"I was on a championship team last year and thought about stopping then," Allensworth said, referring to the Northern League's Gary SouthShore Rail Cats. "But after I looked back, my body felt good, so I said let's do it again and see what happens."

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Royce Ring DFAd by the Braves.[/quote:2zo28v2f]

Worth a flier? It's not like he can do worse.

[Guest AG/DC]

(Cathy)ACK!(/Cathy) There's that phrase again.

8.46 ERA.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

(Cathy)ACK!(/Cathy) There's that phrase again.

8.46 ERA.[/quote:uwghipix]

That would be worse.

[Guest sharpie]

Chad Bradford to the Rays in a waiver deal for a playa to be named layta.

[smg58]

Bradford's 2.45 ERA would have looked nice here. I'm guessing the Orioles would have been willing to trade him before the deadline, too.

[stevejrogers]

Lo Duca signs with the Marlins.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/A-conversation-with-USA-Olympic-team-manager-Dav?urn=mlb,91172


Neat interview with Davey Johnson about managing the Olympic team, and his thoughts on the Willie situation.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Jose Oquendo, manager of Your Puerto Rico National Team in the WBC and Randolphian minority-big-league skipper-in-waiting:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/7333A8BA8ED9E48D8625750D0016A7B6?OpenDocument

As a manager, Oquendo is a not-so-secret weapon By Joe Strauss ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Wednesday, Nov. 26 2008 CAROLINA, PUERTO RICO � Long tired of watching two pitchers "squeezed" by one very inconsistent home plate umpire, the home team's manager trudges to the mound for a word or two with his frustrated reliever. Except the mound visit is a ruse. As the umpire joins the conference to speed the process, the Carolina Giagantes manager becomes an unleashed bundle of fury, turning on the arbiter with a head-bobbing spew of unprintables. The drama plays out. Umpire ejects manager. Manager swipes three clouds of dirt at the umpire with his right foot. Manager stalks to the plate, where he raises and lowers his arms to portray variable strike zones. Manager then again uses right foot to cover plate with dirt. "It's a little different here," a grinning Jose Oquendo explains in his office, moments after the Gigantes are subdued 6-2 by fierce rival Santurce. For six months every season at Busch Stadium, Oquendo is universally seen as Whitey Herzog's one-time "Secret Weapon" and Tony La Russa's current Cardinals third-base coach. Oquendo does his job, teaching as well as serving as traffic cop, with the rarest displays of disgust. But it is different here. Oquendo runs a clubhouse full of Class A and AA players along with a heavy dose of Independent League talent looking to catch on somewhere. Once a place where native major league players routinely appeared, the Puerto Rican Winter League has assumed a more developmental flavor as costs were slashed after last year's shutdown. A top talent such as Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina would receive $12,000 a month. (Molina has so far politely declined Oquendo's invite for a three-game-a-week routine.) There is no team charter; players must drive themselves to games across the island. Carolina's roster includes only two pitchers who worked mostly at Triple-A last season, including Cardinals prospect P.J. Walters. Catcher Bryan Anderson is also among the mix. "If you don't compete, you won't be here long," says Oquendo, anticipating a fresh injection of pitching within days. "You can come out and work on something, but once you're in the game you have to perform. If you don't perform, they get rid of you." At Estadio Roberto Clemente some 20 minutes east of San Juan, Oquendo manages one of six entries in the reborn Puerto Rican Winter League. And for a second time Oquendo will lead Puerto Rico's national team in next spring's World Baseball Classic, an event viewed as a warm-up act for the major league season on the mainland but considered a national test in the United States' Caribbean commonwealth. No. 27 in your program, No. 1 in your hearts, Oquendo is two weeks removed from a runner-up finish in the Seattle Mariners' managerial search. Just as the Mariners ultimately chose Don Wakamatsu from seven finalists as the first Japanese-American to manage a major league team, Oquendo hopes one day to become the first native Puerto Rican to manage in the majors. The Montreal Expos named Felipe Alou the first Dominican-born manager in 1992. More recently, the Washington Nationals chose Manny Acta as their manager shortly after he led the Dominican Republic in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Ozzie Guillen became the first Venezuelan when hired by the Chicago White Sox in November 2003. Alou and Guillen's breakthroughs occurred more than two decades after the San Diego Padres named Preston Gomez the first Cuban-born, non-interim manager in 1969. Most recently Cuban-born Fredi Gonzalez became Florida Marlins manager in 2007. "I think doors have been opened," Qquendo says. "Fredi spent a lot of time with the Marlins in the minor leagues. He knows the situation, bottom to top. Same with Acta. Felipe was with the Expos for so long. What works against me is that I've only been with two teams, the Cardinals and the Mets. You have to study other organizations. What they've got, their payroll, all that. You don't pay as much attention to the other league." Oquendo interviewed for the San Diego Padres' managerial vacancy in 2006 before the job went to Los Angeles Angels pitching coach Bud Black. The Mariners' search also included Joey Cora, like Oquendo a Puerto Rican-born former major-league infielder and current coach. "It would be a real big deal," Oquendo says. "We have (managers from) the Dominican, Cuba, Venezuela. Well, how long has Puerto Rico been involved in the major leagues? And we haven't had one. I know Joey wants to do it. Myself, (Jose) Cruz, Sandy Alomar Sr. ... we've got more candidates now." Oquendo, 45, says he remains patient. "It's not in my nature to scream and yell, 'Why not me?'" Oquendo says. "My nature is to take it a step at a time. If the door opens, so be it. If not, I love what I'm doing. I don't think (being repeatedly passed over) would stop me from doing interviews. If you keep interviewing, you don't know what might happen." Oquendo enjoys his role with the Cardinals, where he is considered a master defensive instructor and believes he now might have momentum for a managerial job. He has lost 20 pounds since the Cardinals' season ended, which helps his high blood pressure. "Somebody has to be putting my name out there," he says. "If nobody was asking me to interview, then I'd be worried, because then nobody would be wanting me. I'd rather interview, get more comfortable in the process, hear what they have to say and handle the questions they ask. San Diego and Seattle had different sets of questions." The Mariners sought someone who could calm an uneasy clubhouse. Former MVP right fielder Ichiro Suzuki represents to Seattle what Albert Pujols means to St. Louis. "They were more worried about how to handle problems in the clubhouse. Both want to know how you handle superstars. I think Albert gives me good experience, " Oquendo said wryly. "How do you handle situations, not necessarily on the field, but situations in the clubhouse and the media? I don't think I would have a problem with any of that." Oquendo, part of La Russa's staff for 10 seasons, skirts the possibility of eventually managing the Cardinals. La Russa's contract expires after next season and the inevitable questions soon will sprout about his future. Asked if he ever has broached the topic to his boss, Oquendo says, "That's stuff I don't get into." Oquendo dismisses any suggestion his style would be a Herzog-La Russa (or should it be La Russa-Herzog?) hybrid. "Each of them had their own way of handling players and handling situations in the game," Oquendo says. "But it's not fair for me to draw so much from Whitey because I was a player then. As a player you view the game a lot differently than when you're a coach. I played for Joe Torre also. He was different than Whitey and Tony. But Torre came to us in a different situation. He didn't have the players that Whitey had early in the 80s. He had the players that were the reason Whitey quit." A lengthy association with La Russa is "a plus," says Oquendo. "Tony has won everywhere he's gone. He's got his style of doing it. I like the way he runs things and communicates with players. He creates a family atmosphere. I respect the way he runs the game. I don't have to do everything the same way he does, but he does a tremendous job getting the best of his players." Pressed on the possibility of succeeding La Russa, Oquendo relents. "If something happened, it would be a nice place to manage," he says. "But at the same time, I hope Tony stays forever." For now, Oquendo is preparing for the excitement and accompanying controversy that go with the WBC. Puerto Rico is typically short on pitching but long on catching. Oquendo can carry only three catchers from among the catching Molinas, Yadi and Bengie; freshly-awarded NL Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto; and former AL MVP and national hero Pudge Rodriguez. Former New York Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams has voiced interest in playing in the Classic. However, Oquendo insists Williams play in the league to be considered. Oquendo was similarly rigid on two-time AL MVP Juan Gonzalez appearing in games in 2006. When Gonzalez balked, Oquendo excluded him. "I don't want to put a guy who might one day go into the Hall of Fame out there to embarrass himself," Oquendo says. He knows with visibility comes scrutiny. "They'll come out when I do the first (45-man) list for the Classic. And they'll really come out for the second," Oquendo says, alluding to the local press. "The choices will be heavily scrutinized. There's second-guessing. It's part of it." For now, Oquendo can only work his team and wait. That, too, is part of it.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Jorge Julio has joined the Milwaukee Brewers, where no one will call him fat.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Omar's special assistant Wayne Krivsky gets hired away by Baltimore.

[Zvon]

He looks totally stoned^

[Guest Edgy DC]

CJ Nitkowski, who stil plays in Korea and therefore qualifies for this thread, reveals little about his number choices.

He's from the New York area (Long Island, I think) and I thought he was an MLBS, but it turns out that he's a YLDB:

http://www.cardboardconnection.com/interviews/interview-with-former-mlb-player-cj-nitkowski.html

[Guest Edgy DC]

Here's a nutty blogger with a strange Jorge Juilo obsession: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2009/06/an_ode_to_jorge_julio.php

But he gets his Mets stint all wrong. He didn't pitch 2 1/2 months. More like seven weeks. Of those, he sucked the first two weeks, got buried, but slowly got his act together over the last five. The effort in Yankee game he mentions was one of only two runs he yielded in 9 2/3 innings that month.

The idea that he was traded because of the crowd's derision is itself risible. The crowd was much harsher a month earlier, and the trade (for Orlando Hernandez) clearly helped the team, dipping into bullpen depth to make up for rotation shallowness.

[Fman99]

For those of you not clicking on external links, it should be noted that Julio is in the news because he was released by Milwaukee, who will now pay him the rest of his $950,000 (!) salary to not be a Brewer.

Hey, I'm not a Brewer either. Where's mine?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Can you prove that you're not a Brewer?

[Fman99]

Can you prove that you're not a Brewer?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Okay, you win:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x254/rtfanatic/Libshusband0082-1.jpg?t=1243966509