"He may be here in a few days."
- John Gibbons, before yesterday's game
But maybe not. After all, once the team is done with its current stretch facing eight right-handed starters in a row, there are a couple of southpaws on the horizon (Lester and Danks.)
Gibbons noted that Lind had had the neck problem but was getting beyond that. Well, yeah - he returned to action five days ago. Lind didn't play last night against the two Pawtucket right-handers, so he's still 5 for 13 since getting back into the lineup.
Jeff Blair wrote that he had been told that the service time issue (making sure Lind isn't arbitration eligible as a Super 2 after the 2009 season) "is, in fact, 95 per-cent of the reason that Lind hasn't been up yet." (Blair also mentioned that the Rogers higher-ups were "freaking out" about Frank Thomas' option year. )
I'll be curious to see what the GM says if someone actually comes out and asks him if service time really was the reason Lind stayed in Syracuse this week. Someone needs to ask the question. Because it would mean that management was worried Lind might do so well that they simply wouldn't ever be able to send him back to the minors, either this year or next (he has another option year after this one). They were afraid he would succeed.
Ricciardi has to deny it. But I want to hear it anyway.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20080426052146407