- 2007 - The Bucs traded LHP Mike Gonzalez and SS Brent Lillibridge to the Atlanta Braves for 1B Adam LaRoche and minor league 1B/OF Jamie Romak. Gonzo ended up injury-bitten, Lillibridge became a utility player for six seasons and Romak has been a callup the past two seasons, getting into 27 MLB games, while LaRoche has held a starting job at first for several clubs since the deal after putting up a slash of .265/58/213 in three Bucco seasons.
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| Brent Lillibridge 2005 Bowman |
- 2013 - Hall of Famer Stan the Man Musial of the Cards, who was born in Donora, died at the age of 92. His 24 All-Star Game selections are more than anyone except Hank Aaron. When he retired after the 1963 season, Musial had an NL record 3,630 hits – 1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road – and a .331 batting average. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969 on his first appearance on the ballot, garnering 93.2 percent of the vote. In 2001, SABR master Bill James ranked Musial the tenth-greatest baseball player in history. No wonder Mon Valley’s Donora is called “The Home of Champions.” Ben Cosgrove of Sports Illustrated noted that his nickname was dubbed by not St. Louis, but Brooklyn, fans. “The story goes that at Ebbets Field on June 23, 1946, Dodgers fans took to chanting "Here comes the man" when Musial, who routinely destroyed Dodger pitching, stepped to the plate. St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Bob Broeg heard the chant, stuck it (Stan the Man) into his next column, and the most fitting nickname in baseball history was born.”
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| Stan Musial 1948 Bowman (Blony Bubble Gum) |
Romak actually got a cup of coffee the last two years in the big leagues. It isn't much but I think its enough for him to shake the career minor leaguer thing.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat. I thought he got just a sip, but he did get into 27 games over the past two seasons, so he deserves his props. Thx.
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ReplyDeleteI liked the Adam LaRoche trade at the time, and his career body of work is not bad, overall. But, MAN, his can't-hit-in-the-first-half-to-save-his-life-but-then-fattened-his-stats-in-second-half-garbage-time routine got OLD, FAST.
ReplyDeleteVery true, Will. I hope Jordy can shake the early bat blues; they're the two poster children for slow starters.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mercer is another one with an extreme first half - second half split. I know that's been a not-uncommon phenomenon with some ballplayers throughout history, but most of them had more slack to play with than Mercer does. I still say he's a really good utilityman faking it as the starter at short. We can get by with him, don't get me wrong, and I love that he's a homegrown player and all that. I just don't think he's really a legitimate starting ML shortstop.
ReplyDeleteThe Pirates still have some coin lying around. If it were up to me, I'd sign Ian Desmond in a heartbeat. He becomes the starter---where he would be a massive upgrade in the hitting department--and Mercer goes back to being a superutilityman, where he basically takes over Josh Harrison's role. On the days when Mercer isn't playing somewhere else, he can be the late inning defensive replacement for Desmond. That's what I'd do. Desmond is still out there last I looked, and his price tag has to be falling.
He turned down the Washington offer, Will, so he's looking for big $ (but you're prob right; he isn't getting his anticipated payday), and the FO isn't going to give up their top pick for him. Desmond overplayed his hand; I wouldn't be surprised if he waited until the draft and then signs without the draft compensation, which killed his shot at a pillow contract.
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