FanHouse Byung Hyun Kim

If Pirate fans are looking for signs that things are changing under the new front office in Pittsburgh, they have to look no further than today's announcement that the team is cutting Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim was signed to a major league deal at the beginning of spring training and expected to take a spot in the Pirates' bullpen, but has been awful in his few spring appearances with the Pirates. Accordingly, the Pirates swallowed the $300,000 pill they'd given themselves and sent Kim on his way.

It seems like a small thing, but buying out veteran contracts is something that the Pirates almost NEVER did under Dave Littlefield. If it was going to cost the Pirates money to cut someone, the Bucs simply soldiered on with that player on the roster, whether they belonged there or not.

That being said, the Pirates' bullpen is still going to be terrifying this year. Buying Kim out and trading for Tyler Yates leaves three bullpen spots to be decided from Franquellis Osoria, Evan Meek, Sean Burnett, and Phil Dumatrait. If you've never heard of any of them, it simply means you're not a Pirate fan. If you own Matt Capps in a fantasy league and are counting on him for saves this year, you'd better hope the ball goes straight from the starters, to Damaso Marte, to him, because the rest of this pen probably isn't holding many leads.

This is seriously high comedy at this point. I'm not quite sure I remember one player getting kicked around the league as much as Byung-Hyun Kim has this year. After getting placed on waivers by the Diamondbacks, he was re-signed by the Marlins Saturday. Thus, the Byung-Hyun Kim tree of teams in '07 reads as the following: Rockies, traded to Florida, placed on waivers, picked up by Diamondbacks, designated for assignment, re-signed by Marlins. Technically, he's only been on three teams, but he's in his second stint with Florida.

Of course, it can't go without mention that BK had a rather notable start his last time out with Arizona, throwing only 17 pitches while giving up four hits and three runs, retiring one batter. He was in typical form in his re-debut with the Marlins on Saturday, giving up four runs in one inning, including a 3-run shot to Adam Dunn. I just hope BK didn't get rid of his place in South Beach!

Previously at FanHouse:
Byung-Hyun Kim Returns to Arizona
Marlins and Rockies Swap Jorge Julio and Byung-Hyun Kim

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Atlanta Braves (64-59) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (71-53)-1:05PM Est.

What was once an incredibly tight four-team race in the NL West is quickly starting to become a three-team battle for second place. The Diamondbacks have won their last four games, and have opened up a 5-game lead on the second place San Diego Padres. It's not only the NL West they lead to, as the Diamondbacks are the only team in the National League with 70 wins on the season, and have a one-game lead over the Mets for homefield advantage in the playoffs. Brandon Webb hasn't given up a run since July, and Micah Owings is not only pitching well, but he's outhitting his opposition as well. Today the Diamondbacks look to complete a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves, a team they've dominated that last few seasons. Since last season these two teams have met 12 times, and Arizona has come away with a victory in 10 of the meetings. The Braves meanwhile have fallen to 5.5 games behind the Mets in the NL East and are growing desperate for wins. John Smoltz will get the start this afternoon in hopes of stopping the bleeding, but Smoltz hasn't picked up a win in his last four starts. Yusmeiro Petit starts for the Diamondbacks, replacing the recently DFA'd Byung-Hyun Kim.

After getting cut by the Padres, David Wells has found himself unemployed. He was somewhat effective this year though he did struggle mightily in his last handful of starts for San Diego. But the guy hasn't been out of baseball long, meaning it's still possible someone might pick him up. Troy E. Renck in The Denver Post suggests that team could be the Rockies:

Pitcher David Wells clears waivers today and indicated Wednesday that he still wants to pitch, preferably on the West Coast. The Rockies have had internal discussions about adding him.

Of course there isn't much to substantiate that rumor, but it's a possibility. If not the Rockies, then probably another team since Wells cleared waivers. I know -- shocking that David Wells would clear waivers -- right? I'm guessing the brilliant start by Ubaldo Jimenez on Wednesday night could have squashed the chance of Wells getting picked up by Colorado. Another team however, might find a use for him. And yes, I'm looking at you Arizona -- the same team that just cut Byung-Hyun Kim.

(via Ben Maller's MLB Rumors)

Previously at FanHouse:
David Wells Has Worn Out His Welcome
Is David Wells Done With the Padres?

The Diamondbacks wound up not making any major moves at baseball's July trading deadline, instead choosing to get some veteran leadership for their core of young players through free agency. So they have gone out and picked up Jeff Cirillo on waivers from Minnesota, and in a "Back to the Future" move, some guy named Byung-Hyun Kim from the Marlins. Remember him, Arizona?

Kim, 28, spent his first four-plus major league seasons in Arizona, mostly as a reliever. He saved 70 games from 1999-2002 in Arizona. Kim was the closer for the Diamondbacks in their World Series championship season of 2001, surrendering two memorable game-blowing home runs to New York in Yankee Stadium before Arizona returned home to win the final two games.

Kim returns as a starter and not a closer, so the shudders of Snake fans will be kept to a minimum. To ensure that, we've chosen to show Kim in happier Arizona times, receiving his World Series ring ... you know, the one he almost single handedly gave away to the Yankees. Hopefully, not too much blood will gush when the old wounds of Diamondback fans re-open.

On Deck is The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

New York Yankees (31-31) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (37-28)-ESPN 7:05PM Est.

I mentioned in yesterday's On Deck that this series was a rematch of the 2001 World Series. (You might have also noticed that I used a picture of Justin Verlander in yesterday's On Deck as well. So, you're welcome, Justin.) At the time I failed to notice that this was one of three World Series rematches going on right now. The Yankees have now won seven straight games, and a large part of it's due to Bobby Abreu. Over the last eleven games, Abreu is hitting .488 with two home runs and 12 RBI. Which basically means I really wish that Jermaine Dye/Bobby Abreu trade had happened at this point. Forget his contract. Mike Mussina will be facing Livan Hernandez in today's matchup. As for the team Hernandez won the World Series MVP with, they've got their own rematch as well.

Florida Marlins (32-33) vs. Cleveland Indians (37-26)-7:05PM Est.

It's not the greatest week to be a Cleveland sports fan right now, is it? Sure, the Cavs are in the Finals, but they're getting destroyed. Now they have to relive that ground ball through Tony Fernandez's legs in 1997 as well as the Indians face the Marlins again. Florida is catching Cleveland at the right time, as they've been in a bit of an offensive slump lately. They were shutout by the Marlins 3-0 last night, and they'll look to avoid their longest losing streak of the season, four games, tonight against Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim just gave up 7 runs in 2.2 innings during his last start against Tampa Bay, and is 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA in his career against the Tribe. All of which means Cliff Lee should have plenty of support tonight.

Minnesota Twins (31-31) vs. Atlanta Braves (35-30)-8:10PM Est.

It's been some time since the Twins and Braves met in 1991's World Series, but it was one of the best World Serieseses I've ever seen. Minnesota looks like they're starting to come out of a slump as they've won their last two games, and are once again at .500. The Braves meanwhile have also been struggling as of late, and are falling farther and farther behind failing to gain any ground on the struggling Mets in the NL East. Chuck James goes for the Braves, and he's pitched well for them lately. In six of his last seven starts, James has allowed two or fewer earned runs. His record during that span? 2-3. That's not cool. That's not cool at all. Score some runs for the guy.

The original Todd Helton to the Yankees trade rumor, which we touched on last week, was first reported by The Denver Post, based on reports from scouts. The fact that The Post reported the rumor made it easy for the competing newspaper in town, the Rocky Mountain News, to shoot it down shortly thereafter:

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd both found reports of a possible trade of Rockies first baseman Todd Helton and left-handed closer Brian Fuentes to the Yankees "amusing."

Cashman and O'Dowd have not even talked since last month, when the Yankees were looking for help in the rotation and the Rockies were trying to unload Byung-Hyun Kim, since dealt to Florida. Rockies ownership said at the time the organization ended talks with Boston about a deal of Helton in the offseason that the issue would not be raised again. Also, Helton has a no-trade clause in his contract, and New York isn't among teams that would interest him.

"Brian said he was shocked at the report and so was I," O'Dowd said.

In Sunday's Denver Post, it was also acknowledged that the Yankees were highly unlikely to trade for Todd Helton. Despite what these papers write, and what the General Managers say, I don't think you can bury this rumor. Of course they're going to try and laugh it off. Let's say Helton never gets traded. Do you think GM Dan O'Dowd wants Todd to know he was seriously trying to get rid of him? Of course not. He wants Helton to feel comfortable and wanted by the franchise at all times. But considering Helton's hefty price tag, there's no question in my mind that O'Dowd would dump him to clear payroll if he had the chance.

Previously at FanHouse:
Your First of Many Todd Helton Trade Rumors: Yankees?

Well, the original reports from the weekend turned out to be wrong. We knew that Josh Fogg would miss his scheduled start on Sunday (Taylor Buchholz pitched in his place). However, optimistic reports from Fogg indicated he would avoid a stint on the DL. So much for that. The Rockies will play it safe and stick the right-hander on the DL, allowing Rodrigo Lopez, who is fresh off the DL, to start on Thursday.

It was one of those things where I thought this Friday was a realistic goal, but giving me the extra four or five days isn't going to hurt," Fogg said. "There was still a question mark in the trainer's mind and the team's mind. And I can't go out there and put the team in a bad position when we might already be short on relievers."

So let's see shall we, the last time we had a Rox pitcher DL party, Byung-Hyun Kim, Ramon Ramirez, Rodrigo Lopez, and LaTroy Hawkins were all invited. Now, Josh Fogg becomes the fifth pitcher to join the group. Colorado may not have been bitten as hard by the injury bug as the Yankees, but they've certainly taken the shaft this year. Luckily for them, it looks like Fogg won't miss more than his allotted two weeks.

Previously at FanHouse:
Invitations to the DL, Rockies Pitchers Are Invited
Injury Bug Is Biting the Rockies

This is what you call an equal value trade, except in this case, the value on both sides is incredibly low. In fact, this trade is probably only noteworthy because it involves two of the more noticeably awful pitchers in Major League Baseball this year.

The Marlins and the Rockies exchanged horrible pitchers today, as the Marlins gave up a psychologically rattled Jorge Julio and the Rockies dealt an extremely displeased Byung-Hyun Kim, resulting in a total trade ERA of 22.00+. That's, um, really bad.

On the bright side, things couldn't get any worse for either pitcher in their former locales, so a trade might be best for everyone at this point. Kim gets a chance to work on his mechanics with a new, less hostile coaching staff, and Julio can work on whatever mental demons have caused him to struggle so mightily in Florida. Maybe the clean mountain air will clear his head, or something like that.

Neither team's fortunes are going to be changed by this trade, but at least it gives both players a chance at a new start. Whether they make the most of that new start, and lower those ridiculous ERAs, is up to them.

Previously on the FanHouse:
Jorge Julio Needs to Talk It Out
Byung-Hyun Kim's Whining On His Way to the Pen

First it was Byung-Hyun Kim to the DL, then starter Rodrigo Lopez, followed by reliever Ramon Ramirez. I couldn't even begin to list you the hodge-podge of pitchers that have been assembled to fill those spots on the big club. And now, the latest Rockies pitcher to go down, is LaTroy Hawkins, who was sent to the 15-day DL on Tuesday. However, given Hawkins' (pictured) 0-3 record and 8.59 ERA, the injury might actually help the team.

At some point there's just really nothing you can do, except for maybe figure out new pitching programs. Maybe the humidor is making the balls heavier or something and they're weighing down the Rockies' arms. Who knows what the answer is? Weird thing though, it's the offense that has failed to produce more than the pitching. They've scored just 11 runs in the past six games -- that's fewer than two per game. Look, it's already bad enough when your team isn't very good to begin with. But then you start piling on injuries like this, and it almost makes things unfair.

Previously at FanHouse:
Injury Bug Is Biting the Rockies