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Odalis Perez Traded To The Kansas City Royals
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, MLB, Trades,
Disgruntled Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Odalis Perez, was finally traded away from L.A. to the Royals for pitcher Elmer Dessens. Along with Perez, two minor leaguers - Blake Johnson and Julio Pimental - and cash considerations were sent Kansas City’s way. Perez has been particularly vocal this season about how unhappy he was with the Dodgers and their use of him, and even though the organization said that they weren’t going to trade him, off Perez goes on his merry way to the baseball equivalent of Hell. And, let’s be honest - the Dodgers overpaid big-time to get Dessens. The moral of the story? If you’re going to bash your club, at least perform well because a 6.83 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, and .346 BAA does not validate anyone mouthing off, so they, that is Perez, deserves to play with the Royals. Out of the frying pan into the fire.
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The defending World Series champion, Chicago White Sox, made a big and perhaps bold move in acquiring Kansas City Royals closer, Mike MacDougal, who has only appeared in 4.0 innings of work this season after starting it on the disabled list. Howver, the White Sox were sorely in need of middle relief pitching to bridge the gap between their starters to closer, Bobby Jenks and MacDougal could prove to be a very effective set-up man. The Pale Hose’s bullpen was the least used in the majors thanks to a lack of faith in the relievers, but to be fair, also because of the effectiveness of the starting rotation. However, if the White Sox plan to go deep in the playoffs, they’ll need to rest their staff for the long stretch. In return, the Royals received two minor league pitchers - Tyler Lumsden and Daniel Cortes, who do not project to make it into the majors for at least one or two more seasons.
Trading Places: Charlie Villanueva and T.J. Ford
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, NBA, Trades,
The Toronto Raptors traded PF Charlie Villanueva to the Milwaukee Bucks for PG T.J. Ford on Friday night. The trade helps both teams fulfill needs on their roster.
Free agent Mike James, a standout PG for the Raptors last season, will likely come at too high a price for the Raptors. So, acquiring Ford, a player who came back last season from a serious spinal cord injury the season before, makes a lot of sense. In fact, Ford may eventually end up being a better fit for Toronto. Averaging 12.2 points and 6.6 assists, Ford’s ability to run a break, penetrate and find the open man will better utilize the shooters on the team, players such as Morris Peterson and newly drafted, Andrea Bargnani.
Bargnani, this season’s number one overall draft pick is commonly compared to the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki - a 7-foot perimeter player that can fill it up from the outside. Ford’s ability to break a defense down with his dribble and then dish it off will be more than welcome by Bargnani’s waiting hands. Mike James, was a score-first PG and had a career year. Somewhere out there, an NBA team is ready to overpay for his services. Believe me, the T-Dot will be happy to have Ford. Unfortunately, Ford comes at a high price - PF Charlie Villanueva.
Villanueva proved his critics wrong by the end of the season as he proved a viable and versatile player, finishing the season averaging 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds. He was able to score from all over the floor and clean the glass with deftness. He’ll fit in well with the Bucks, complementing C Andruw Bogut and SG Michael Redd.
Both Ford and Villanueva should thrive with their new teams - Ford racking up the assists by dropping dimes to Chris Bosh, Bargnani, and Peterson. Villanueva should continue his progress and build on last season’s rookie breakout. Again, the trade makes sense for both, but I think the Bucks make out on this deal in the whole scheme of things. It’s hard to find a player as versatile as Villanueva, especially almost being 7-feet!
Yesterday was the first day of Summer. Two days ago the NBA Season came to an end with the Miami Heat’s first title, ending a flat out fantastic NBA Playoffs. Three days ago the NHL Season came to an end as the Carolina Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup title behind the heroics of a rookie goalie.
So, as the seasons and sports officially transition, what are sports geeks to look forward to during the summer of 2006? Here is my Top 11{ref1} list for what to expect during upcoming 3 months.
11. MLB All Star Game and Home Run Derby: There is usually at least one memorable moment from the All Star Game and Home Run Derby. In Pittsburgh this year.
10. MLB record watch: Can Barry Bonds catch the Babe? Will Ichiro break more records. Someone will set a record, surely.
9. Wimbledon: I don’t even know who the tennis stars are these days, but I’m looking forward to the traditional 6:00 am breakfast for Wimbledon.
8. NFL Kickoff Weekend: The return of professional football will signal the next season change.
7. Return of NCAA Football and the Longhorns defending their first title in years: We’ll find out a lot about this team on September 9th when they host Ohio State.
6. The British Open: Can Phil make up for his debacle at the US Open?
5. The NBA Draft: Who will draft the Stache? Who will draft the next Sam Bowie?
4. Fantasy Football Season: Ah, the best time of the year. Productivity goes down and trash talking goes up. Everyone thinks that they can be the next best Billy Beanesque type General Manager.
3. World Cup Quarterfinals: The action really heats up and the top teams have to be on their game to move on.
2. World Cup Semifinals: Can the United States advance further than they ever have before? They have yet to reach the final 4, this might be the year.
1. World Cup Finals: Seriously, it doesn’t even matter who is playing. This is the number one event of all of 2006.
It’s gonna be a hot summer, enjoy!
Tennessee Titans Trade Steve McNair To Baltimore Ravens
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Editorial, News, NFL, Trades,
Okay, so it’s not a DONE done deal as the former NFL MVP, Steve McNair, still needs to pass a physical. It’s more of a formality and this will get finalized. This trade wasn’t much of a surprise as it’s been rumored for months now, but for it to finally get done will help the Titans organization and McNair to move on with the business of playing football and not football business.
Some other winners here? The Baltimore Ravens receivers, who haven’t had a decent quarterback take the snap from under center for several seasons. In particular, I think McNair’s former Titans teammate, WR Derrick Mason should be happy as he was McNair’s main target back in Tennessee. Another winner? The newly drafted Titans QB Vince Young. The irony here is that Young is compared to McNair in their ability to throw and run.
So, who loses? Without question, Ravens QB Kyle Boller gets the downgrade here from his starting spot. There was great hope for Boller a couple of seasons ago, but he didn’t come close to delivering on the Ravens’ faith. However, Boller is still a young kid (25 years old on June 17) and there’s nothing wrong with learning from an MVP. Hopefully, Boller will take advantage of it. If not, he loses a little more.
McNair will bring a tough mentality to the Ravens and a winning attitude. He will easily command the players in the huddle and have a leadership role that has been missing from a Ravens QB for quite some time. Despite the wear and tear that goes with being an NFL quarterback, McNair’s talent level is still pretty good and has a couple of seasons left in the tank, if you ask me.
The New York Mets, desperate for starting pitching, traded RP Jorge Julio to the Arizona Diamondbacks for SP Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. In his first season in the National League, Hernandez has been nowhere near as effective as he was in the American League. However, the dimensions at Chase Field are not particularly favorable for pitchers.
Consider El Duque’s home/road split. At Chase Field, Hernandez is 0-3 with an 8.16 ERA, 1.85 WHIP (walks+hits per inning pitched), and a .319 BAA (batting average against). On the road, El Duque is 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and .242 BAA. It’s obvious that Hernandez needed to get out of Arizona in order to have a chance to pitch productively.
In New York, more to the point - Shea Stadium, El Duque will have a strong chance to right his ship of a season as he will be going to a pitcher’s park, backed by a huge offense that includes Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, David Wright, et al. In two career starts in Shea Stadium, Hernandez owns a 1-0 record with a 1.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and .140 BAA.
Hernandez will likely become the fourth starter behind Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, and Steve Traschel. He will also likely be looked upon to help rookie and fellow Cuban defector, Alay Soler acclimate to the majors, essentially becoming Soler’s mentor.
El Duque has proven his worth in New York before when he played for the New York Yankees from 1998-2004, helping the Yankees win three World Series titles in a row from ‘98-‘00. Getting a chance to contend again, I’d look for Hernandez to bring his game up and help the Mets in a big way, the same way he did with the Chicago White Sox last season.
Detroit Lions Trade Quarterback Joey Harrington to the Miami Dolphins
Posted by Jeff Chan Categories: Athletes, Front Office, NFL, Trades,
The trade became official earlier today and the Miami Dolphins have their insurance quarterback in Joey Harrington. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins for only a 2007 sixth-round draft pick and the pick can be elevated to a fifth-round pick if Harrington reaches a certain threshold of playing time. This fan for one was happy to see Harrington leave town. Harrington was the overall number three draft choice in the 2002 draft behind David Carr and Julius Peppers. Overall, the majority of the 2002 first round draft picks have been disappointments. The Lions have given up on Harrington after four seasons by signing three quarterbacks in the off-season, including Jon Kitna, Josh McCown and Shaun King. Most NFL teams go by the philosophy of you’ll know if a player is a solid quarterback after 48 games, and Harrington has not had success in 58 games as the Lions QB, but the Lions were an unusual circumstance of being bad from top to bottom in their organization. If Dante Culpepper is not ready to start the season, Harrington is assumed to start for the Dolphins opening week.
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| Len Pasquarelli
So far in the young 2006 season, Alfonso Soriano has given the Washington Nationals a legitimite power threat in the middle of the line-up even playing in the spacious RFK stadium. Soriano has played decently in LF, so far he hasn’t been a liability and with time he should be pretty decent in the outfield. He’s already a better fielder than Manny Ramirez, so as long as Soriano hits, the defense should suffice. The player they traded to acquire Soriano, Texas Rangers LF Brad Wilkerson has struggled striking out an American League-leading 23 times. The trade though did leave a void in the lead-off spot for the Nationals. Rookie Brandon Watson has already been demoted back to the minors, and the team has recalled Ryan Church to replace him.
Dante Culpepper Traded to the Miami Dolphins
Posted by Jeff Chan Categories: Athletes, Front Office, NFL, Trades,
Dante Culpepper doesn’t have to worry about the love-boat scandal, or being on a team that doesn’t support their star player anymore. Culpepper drastically improves the Miami Dolphins chances into becoming a contender next year. In exchange for Culpepper, the Vikings will receive a second round pick. Culpepper was due a $6 million dollar roster bonus on March 20th. The Dolphins will be able to cut Gus Frerotte and save about $1.4 million in salary cap space.
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Jose Theodore in a Trade with the Montreal Canadians
Posted by Jeff Chan Categories: Athletes, Front Office, NHL, Trades,
The deal was straight up, goalie for goalie, with the Montreal Canadians picking up David Aebischer. To the casual hockey fan, Jose Theodore is more of the big name player, as he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 2001-02. During that season he led the league with a .931 save percentage, but many believe he hasn’t been the same player he used to be. The hockey fans on espn.com seem to be split on the decision on who at this point is the better player, with the vote being 53%-47% in favor of Theodore. Here is one analysts who thinks the Avs got the short end of the stick, and Theodore won’t rejuvenate his career making the switch from the Canadians to the Avalanche as Patrick Roy did.
Read More | Terry Frei
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