Edgardo Alfonzo on playing second base while Ray Durham is on the shelf:
"The manager knows I played there before and he says I have to do it. I'm not going to say I feel very good. I just feel all right. I don't really feel comfortable there. I played third base the last few years. But if I have to do it for the team, I have to do it."
What a wuss. This is a guy who signed a big-money deal, hasn't hit a lick all year, and complains (just like a pouty teenager... "if I *have* too...") when you ask him to move to a position he has played for years. On top of it all, he won't speak his mind when asked about it.
The lights went out at the Big O last night. Thankfully the emergency lighting was working; still, it underlines the impression that the park isn't a safe place - absurd, yes, but I have heard the same thing from Montrealers. The delay lasted 42 minutes, and Javier Vazquez was actually winding up when the outage happened.
It's one more tiny finishing nail in the Expos' coffin. We haven't heard much on the possible 2004 destinations for the team since the players held a players-only meeting and presented the team with a demand: play our home games in just one city next year. A few days later, with impeccable timing, Monterrey (Mexico) came forward with an offer to host the team in 2004, but nothing has come of that yet. The only thing of which I am certain, is that the Expos won't be in Washington in 2004... other than that, a myriad of possibilities are in play. I still think Montreal is the favourite.
At the owners’ meeting in Boston, MLB stated that they have now extended their “firm deadline” to make a decision on the Expos’ destination to Labour Day, but even the MLB brass are sounding pessimistic that anything can be actually decided. Bob DuPuy said that they have “not given up” on the idea on a permanent solution being in place by 2004. DuPuy later fell down the stairs of the hotel where the meetings are taking place; no word on whether he was also struck by lightning or whether his pants were, in fact, on fire.
One other small piece of news on the Expos front is that a stadium bill in Oregon is going to be skipped past the Senate Committee, which had been blocking it. If it does bypass the committee, it might well be passed by the Senate - and it’s known that the governor of Oregon supports it. The bill calls on PGE Stadium, which is a bit small, to be the “temporary home” until a real stadium gets built; that might not be enough for MLB.
Incidentally, just to show how a powerful lobby can subvert parliamentary government, let me explain how the bill managed to bypass the Senate committee. The stadium bill is very popular in the House, so the House Rules committee managed to substitute the entire text of the bill, for the entire text of a bill that the Senate had already passed. Since that bill had been “passed” by the Senate, this “amended bill” doesn’t have to go through the committee. Instead, it can go directly to the floor of the Senate (once passed by the House), because the Senate only has to vote on the “amendments”. The deal is apparently being engineered by the chief lobbyist for the stadium backers.
The bill they threw out? A bill to create a “rainy day” contingency fund. It’s almost too funny to be true... sensible fiscal planning thrown out the window in a rush to build a stadium with public money.
Jack Cust is finally getting a chance in Baltimore this past week and he's been doing OK, hitting .208/.345/.542 but most importantly hitting for good power, with two doubles and two homers in the week. Only a good power performance can make Cust productive at the big-league level, since his ability to draw walks will suffer inordinately if he sees too many strikes, and pitchers will come right after him if he doesn't hurt them for extra bases.
Ismael Valdes threw six perfect innings in the Texas League yesterday... it's too bad they didn't let him try to emulate Bronson Arroyo, whose perfect game for Pawtucket on Sunday was just the fourth perfecto in 120 years of IL play. Valdes has been forgotten around the AL to some degree, but he makes the Texas rotation much better if he's at the front of it. Hmm. Wait... scratch that. On further reflection, it’s much better for the Rangers if Valdes doesn’t emulate Bronson Arroyo.
Another Texas pitcher is also on his way back... if you cheer on all the Canadian players (like me) or the underdogs (ditto) you will be cheered to know that Jeff Zimmerman is beginning his return from his latest injury... hopefully this time he can make it back to the majors.
Finally, spare a thought for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (that's in the CFL for our American audience) who are in the process of being taken over by the league as the owners are out of money. With a horrible 0-8 team this year, attendance has plummeted to 14,000 per game, and it looks as if the jig is up; some in the know are saying the team may be moved to London, Quebec City, or elsewhere.
If so (though is should be remembered that the team has been on the verge of collapse before) it would mean the end of a team that traces its roots in Hamilton - as the Hamilton Tigers - back to 1869. That, my friends, is tradition.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030814100335999