Posts by Mullet at FanHouse

Remember Hideki Irabu? Sure you do ... he's the man that George Steinbrenner once called a "fat toad" after a disappointing career in pinstripes. Well, he's back in the news ... no, not because the Yankees have signed him to help the starting rotation, but because he's been arrested after a drinking binge which saw him down 20 mugs of brew before assaulting a bartender:

Irabu, 39, became angered after his credit card was rejected. He then allegedly pushed the bartender against the wall, pulled his hair and smashed at least nine liquor bottles at a bar in Osaka, western Japan, a police official said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

The bartender sustained no injuries. Irabu paid the bill with another credit card.

You know, bar etiquette demands that you at least attempt the second credit card before pulling the bartender's hair and smashing up the place in a fit of drunken rage. I think that's mentioned in the Zagat guide, I'm not sure.

Hey, didn't the Yankees sign Sidney Ponson after a bar incident? Hmmmmmm.

It looks like the Rangers offense is going to be missing an important component going forward in 2008 as Ian Kinsler, having an offensive season to be proud of so far this season, might be out for the rest of it with a sports hernia (ouch!)

Kinsler, an All-Star second baseman and potential Most Valuable Player candidate, did not rule out returning this season, but acknowledged he was "mentally" preparing for season-ending surgery.

"There is a lot of stuff I still wanted to accomplish," Kinsler said. "You prepare to play the whole season, and when it's cut short, well, it's not what you expect to have happen at all. I'm having a great season. I wanted to steal the MVP from [Josh] Hamilton. I guess I'll just have to do it again next year."

He could still steal the award from Josh Hamilton, but it will now have to be off of his mantle. As much as he wanted to steal it from him, this will be a huge loss for Josh as it will be to Texas. Outside of the power numbers, Kinsler's numbers this season compare favorably with one Chase Utley. Thanks in large part to Hamilton, Kinsler's scored an incredible 102 runs so far, and was on pace for 200 hits before the injury occurred (he has 165 to Utley's 133). To be at full strength to make a run at the award next season, the prudent thing to do might be to sit him out until then.

Nine and a half games in back of the A.L. East leader and six and a half games out of the wild card spot is a very un-Yankee like place to be. And it's making the Yankees do some very un-Yankee like things.

Consider today's Yankee moves, where they demoted Melky Cabrera and waived Richie Sexson (I assume to give him his release). This comes on the heels of Hank Steinbrenner basically giving up on 2008 to focus on 2009, so getting rid of these two for callups Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom kinda fits that line of thinking.

But this is the New York Yankees we're talking about ... they never do things like this. And certainly they've proven lately that every time the baseball world buries the Yankees, they rise from the beyond and make everybody eat their words. Releasing Sexson and ... more telling ... sending a guy who's been up in the majors for two and a half seasons back down to the minors can be construed as a message to the rest of the roster to say "Hey, nobody's giving up ... and if you don't believe that, you'll be in the minors along with Melky."

But I'm not going to pretend to know what anybody in the Yankees' hierarchy is thinking, least of all Hank. Because at the end of the day with this team being where it is, any message that is being or isn't being sent isn't going to bring Joba Chamberlain, Chien-Ming Wang, or Jorge Posada off the DL. It may pick up some of the performances of the players on the roster, but how much? So while the season certainly is long from over, today's moves is an admission that the reaper grows closer.

Just as soon as one rumor dies, another rumor becomes fact. That Mark Teixeira trade, which the Braves finally agreed to execute, found a suitor rather quickly as the Angels have stepped up and traded Casey Kotchman, and AA lefty righty Stephen Marek to Atlanta for Tex.

It could have been easy for the Angels to sit tight as they have a huge lead in the A.L. West, and we've never known the Angels to make a trade like this in-season. But they understand that to take a division championship (of which they have three in the last five seasons) to the next level, they needed another impact bat. Teixeira more than fits the bill with his splits of .283/.390/.512, while on his way to another 30 HR, 110 RBI season, and now you have to consider the Angels a serious candidate to not only get to the playoffs, but to make the World Series as well.

For Atlanta, they get Kotchman ... who like Tex is a free agent after this season is under the Braves control over the next three seasons. Marek currently has a 3.71 ERA for AA Arkansas this season while averaging 11.13 K's per nine innings, so it seems they got a stud back for Teixeira. But do you believe that Kotchman, Marek, and a season of Teixeira (with no playoff appearance) are worth Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and three other minor leaguers? That's a tough sell.

Chase Utley had said if the Phillies could find a "piece that will fit into our puzzle to give us a better chance", that they would pull the trigger. The Phillies have found that piece. But will Joe Blanton give the Phillies a better chance at the division? They hope so, as they've traded three minor leaguers to get the big righty.

A's fans, who couldn't have been too happy that the club traded Rich Harden in the middle of a pennant race, are most likely ecstatic over the departure of Blanton, who is 5-12 this season with a 4.96 ERA while hitters are hitting .284 off of him. (Blanton's last start in green and gold saw him booed mercilessly by the Oakland faithful.) Of the three prospects Oakland received in return, two of them have been ranked near the top of their system, although looking at the grades on the list I'm not sure how much that says.

But still a very good haul for a struggling pitcher, one who's going to be saddled with a lot of expectation in a small ballpark. Certainly, Blanton is a step below guys like A.J. Burnett and Matt Cain, but Blanton was probably the most realistic option out there for the Phillies. That doesn't mean the expectation will be any less in Philadelphia ... which is the wrong city to get off to a bad start in.

The elderly contingent of the New York Mets took another injury hit, as Pedro Martinez's second half debut will be delayed a little bit, as a pain killing injection will force him to miss his first start out of the break, which was scheduled for Sunday in Cincinnati. He could go on Tuesday against the Phillies, but if he can't answer the bell then, the Mets can go with a four-man rotation with an off-day on Monday.

There's never a fortunate time for an injury, but with Mike Pelfrey as the reigning NL pitcher of the week, and Oliver Perez having given up two runs in his last 20 innings, the back of the rotation can hang in fairly well while Pedro misses this start. As for Pedro, it's just another in the long line of injuries he's suffered in this odyssey of a season ... from his hamstring injury in April to groin problems and shoulder tightness in his last start against Colorado, and now this. It seems like a temporary thing, but we'll always wonder what's next with Pedro, as one injury for an older pitcher always seems to lead to another.