Yeah, it wouldn't shock me if he didn't land all that far away. I could see him taking over in Baltimore when one of the big boys comes for Showalter. Last thing Williams probably wants to see, though, is Scioscia exercising his opt-out
Yankees lefty CC Sabathia released a statement today announcing that he has checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation program and will not be available for the postseason.
Seager goes from prospect to key to Dodgers' playoff hopes by Mark Saxon | ESPN Staff Writer — 4 minutes ago LOS ANGELES – Now that we’ve all seen Corey Seager’s talent blossom for a month, it’s easy to forget that his arrival was met with relatively modest expectations, at least to the extent that one of the game’s brightest prospects can slip in the room unannounced. He arrived, for example, with a fraction of the fanfare of Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant, the talk of the Cactus League. Seager had a good, but not great, season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Originally snubbed for a September call-up, he got a late-night call that he was being beckoned to San Diego to meet his new Los Angeles Dodgers teammates on Sept. 3. The team was dealing with an array of injuries to its infielders, with Enrique Hernandez hitting the 15-day disabled list, speedster Jose Peraza dealing with a tight hamstring and Howie Kendrick still weeks from returning from his own hamstring injury. Perhaps it was just a matter of tempering expectations, but the Dodgers acted like their top prospect would be a spot starter for Jimmy Rollins at shortstop and Justin Turner at third base, giving them depth they sorely lacked. They admitted it was more a matter of necessity than opportunity, but they’re often related, of course. “It got to the point where we kind of needed him here,” was how Dodgers vice president for baseball operations Josh Byrnes put it at the time. It has gotten to the point where they need him to remain one of their best players in their most meaningful games. The team is intent on reaching its first World Series since 1988, a journey that begins Friday with Game 1 of the NLDS against the New York Mets. Mindful of Rollins’ stature, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly hasn’t made any announcement that Seager has taken over the position, but his lineups have. Seager started at shortstop in 20 of the Dodgers’ final 26 games, even after Rollins returned from a bruised right index finger. In San Francisco, before the team clinched the division, Mattingly summoned Rollins to his office to break the news that Seager would be playing over him. Seager, 21, hasn’t disappointed thus far, batting .337 with a .986 OPS in his first 27 major-league games. In 113 plate appearances, Seager had 13 extra-base hits and was on base 44 times. In 563 plate appearances, Rollins, 36, had 40 extra-base hits and was on base 160 times. The discrepancy in production became too yawning for the Dodgers to ignore even if entering the playoffs with a 21-year old at their most important defensive position is a little scary. Rollins, who has played in 46 postseason games and two World Series, gives them a valuable insurance policy if Seager fails. They’re not anticipating that based on the way he thrived in the pressure of September. After the Dodgers’ final game, when Seager went 3-for-3 with a walk and a home run, Mattingly was asked when he knew his youngest player was more than a highly touted prospect, that he was capable of helping this team win big games now. “Probably two years ago, in spring training,” he said. “Obviously, you never know with a guy coming up. Everybody had seen where he was rated on the prospects list and how people had been talking about him,” Mattingly said. “People know about his talent, but I think you never know how it’s going to go up here. It looks like he’s come pretty quick. He looks pretty comfortable.” And what about the extra crackle of the postseason? How will he handle that? “You never know, but I’m not really concerned about Corey,” Mattingly said. Seager already has crossed a lot of items off his bucket list at an age when many well-regarded players are trying to do enough to get the promotion to Double-A. He realizes the intensity rises in the postseason, when there are fewer games and more viewers. His older brother, Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager, is in his fifth season and has yet to experience what Corey Seager is about to -- October pressure. “I came in here with no expectations, so it’s really nice to have success, but it’s also nice to get in the playoffs, so I look forward to that, to see how that atmosphere is going to be and to see how far we can go,” Seager said Even if he is 15 years younger than teammates such as Rollins and Chase Utley, Seager can use these next four days off before the playoffs nearly as much as they can. Between three levels, Seager played in 152 games this season, 34 more than he did the previous season and 51 more than he did in 2013. He admits he was exhausted late in the 2013 season and blames a 16-for-100 slump at Class A ball on bad habits that originated with fatigue. Mattingly gave Seager two days off going into the final road trip to rest what he called “heavy legs.” Seager said those two days went a surprisingly long way in helping him feel refreshed. Now, his greatest obstacle could be psychological, handling baseball’s grandest stage at such a young age. He said he imagines he will have butterflies on Friday. “It’s going to be one of those kinds of things where I won’t really know until I’m out there in that environment,” he said. “It’ll be fun to see.”
ALANA: "Hey Donnie, here's an email asking if you know the words to the National Anthem..." DBB: "Of course [clears throat]... My country tits and things..." CAMERAMAN: [to Alana] "That's not even the right song..." ALANA: "STFU idiot, let him go!" DBB: "...green beans and dairy queen, and you I see... ALANA: [thinking] "OMG, I am so getting a sports Emmy for this!!!" DBB: "... lanterns and food that's fried, hillbilly country pride, where you get sodomized, let Freida sing..."
GUERRERO: "Hey Jeemy, why you dressed like Heisey?" ROLLINS: "Heisey? Dam u mexicanz is stoopid!" KENDRICK: "Um, he's Cuban actually." ROLLINS: "I dont care where he frum. If he speak mexican then he mexican!" GUERRERO: "Hey Howee, I don't gets what him say." KENDRICK:
ROLLINS: "Hey Skip, whattya think?" MATTINGLY: "Shouldn't you be focused on trying to win a battle title Dee?" ROLLINS: "I swear, I hate you more than I've ever hated anything." MATTINGLY: "That's the spirit Dee, go get em!" ROLLINS:
ROLLINS: "Nice job keeping my spot warm Rook." SEAGER: "What?" ROLLINS: "I mean, I appreciate you filling in so I can rest for the playoffs." SEAGER: "Um, didn't Donny have a talk with you about..." ROLLINS: "Yeah, yeah, whatever. We'll see who's out there Friday." SEAGER: "Um, okay." ROLLINS: "But, like I said, thanks for keeping my spot warm." SEAGER: "I think the only thing that's gonna be warm is where you'll be sitting on the bench... meat." KENLEY: "Oh snap, he got you man!" ROLLINS: "STFU and go back to the Philippines bkitch!" KENLEY: "Wow, really geographically ignorant racist!"
LOPES: "He Lo, why u be all sweaty and shit?" BUNDY: "Man I wuz just watching one a dem Girls Gone Wild vids. Had to git my jerk on. You feeling me?" YEAGER: :wow: LOPES: :wow:
I'm already there, and nothing has started yet. But the timing of that decision....it must have gotten out of control. The playoffs are days away. Wonder if he did something else in conjunction with getting drunk that forced their hand.
In the team’s initial talks with the Dodgers regarding Hector Olivera, Los Angeles initially asked for Andrelton Simmons to be included in the deal — a notion which the Braves quickly shot down. I ain't even mad at that. Maybe they revisit a Simmons' deal with Puig as the bait? Simmons and Seager on the left side is
Imagine having a CK and Grienke with Simmons behind them. Talk about strengthening the middle. Personally, I'd send every Cuban not named Yadier Alvarez to Atlanta for Simmons. Have all of Olivera's buddies on the next flight out. Rrrrracist.
Good for CC. Best of luck with the rehab. Baseball is a game, after all is said and done. Alcoholism is not. I think Yogi's passing and this makes the Yanks the sentimental favorite...
Subtle warning signs seen in Baltimore for Sabathia by Wallace Matthews | ESPN Staff Writer — 7 minutes ago NEW YORK -- The news that CC Sabathia had checked himself into a rehabilitation facility for alcohol abuse came as a shock to many, but there were subtle warning signs that the New York Yankees pitcher's drinking may have been reaching a crisis point last weekend in Baltimore. After the Yankees' game with the Baltimore Orioles was rained out on Friday afternoon, Sabathia was seen by reporters walking unsteadily as he left the Yankees' clubhouse. The normally affable pitcher also failed to respond to the greetings of reporters who have known him for a long time. A short time later, an onlooker noticed Sabathia offering a paper cup containing a brown liquid to a teammate who was finishing up a workout, urging the teammate to "take a sip." The teammate refused, saying he still had some running to do. Sabathia was then ushered out of the building and into a waiting cab by a third teammate. The scene came the day after a raucous clubhouse celebration at Yankee Stadium, where the Yankees toasted their clinching of a playoff spot with a win over the Boston Red Sox. A clip of a postgame TV interview with backup catcher John Ryan Murphy exclaiming, "I think everybody is on the same page, and the page is drinking" quickly went viral. Earlier this season, Sabathia was involved in an incident outside a nightclub in Toronto in which he nearly got into a brawl with some heckling fans, and paparazzi took a photograph of Sabathia on a hotel balcony in Atlanta smoking what a tabloid speculated could have been a joint. Sabathia said it was a cigar. The New York Post reported on Monday that Sabathia was on "a week-long bender" leading up to the weekend in Baltimore, and drank heavily throughout the weekend. Yankees GM Brian Cashman denied a report by the Post that Sabathia "arranged for the magnums of champagne" that were guzzled in the clubhouse celebration and that he had provided the commemorative wine bottles that were given to each Yankee before the September ceremony honoring Alex Rodriguez's 3,000th hit. The Yankees normally do not allow alcohol in the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, nor on flights back to New York due to the danger of players driving home intoxicated. They do, however, permit beer and wine in the visiting clubhouse and on flights to away games since players will be transported to the team hotel on a bus. Both Cashman and manager Joe Girardi described themselves as "shocked" when Sabathia came forward before Sunday's season finale at Camden Yards and asked for help with his alcohol problem. Asked whether there was any one incident that triggered Sabathia's decision, Cashman said: "I would say no. I'm not going to get into detail other than to say yesterday I got a phone call." "CC has demonstrated a great deal of courage in trying to tackle this problem," Cashman said. "Time and place have no bearing. There is something here that needs to be taken care of, and I applaud him."
According to Matt Eddy at Baseball America, Andrew Friedman and his Dodgers added center fielder Andrew Toles on a minor league deal. Friedman, of course, was at the helm when Tampa Bay drafted Toles from Chipola JC in the third round of the 2012 draft. In his pro debut that year, Toles batted .281 with a .327 on-base percentage and .482 slugging percentage with 23 extra-base hits and 13 steals in 51 games for the Princeton Rays. His second act was even better. The next year with Bowling Green, he batted .326/.359/.466 with 62 steals in 79 attempts and 53 extra-base hits in 121 games. For his efforts, BA named him the No. 19 prospect in a loaded Midwest League, and the staff here at DRaysBay viewed him as the organization's sixth-best prospect. The Rays chose him as their minor league player of the year. Toles' walk rate was always pretty low, but he also did not strike out. While he had power, he did not sell out to get it. He put the ball in play and used his legs to get hits most players wouldn't. Things quickly turned south. Through two months with Charlotte, he was batting just .261/.302/.337. After he went 0-for-1 on May 25, it was revealed that he was benched for lackadaisical play and would miss some games. Days later, he left the team and was eventually placed on the inactive list. He never returned to the Stone Crabs. No one seemed interested in talking about his stint on the inactive list; given that it was described as personal reasons, I can't blame anyone for that. Trouble seemed to follow Toles throughout his baseball career. At Tennessee, where his father and uncle starred on the gridiron, he was dismissed from the team after being named to the SEC's All-Freshman team a year earlier. "Within all successful programs, there is a certain standard of accountability to which every member of the team must be held," Volunteers coach Dave Serrano said. Toles landed on his feet the next season with Chipola, one of the premier junior college programs that has produced Jose Bautista, Russell Martin, Pat Corbin and others. Toles would be reportedly suspended and benched there, but he would still be drafted by the Rays that summer and earn a $394,200 bonus. In 2015,Toles moved past his departure from the previous season and reported to spring training with the Rays. Apparently, they did not like what they saw, and he was released at the end of March. It is clear that Toles has talent. Still just 23 years old, he will, however, have to show that his ability is still there after missing an entire season. Presumably, Friedman and the Dodgers did their homework on a player he is already quite familiar with and feel he is ready to resume his professional career. Hmmm..Toles vs. Eddy Julio? They answered that Eddy Julio news pretty quick, all I'm sayin.
