“Well, just put it this way, at 10 past three, about 20 minutes after Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports broke this story, I talked to Jim Leyland. He didn’t know anything about it. ‘Nobody has talked to me. Can’t be true.’ That’s how fast (the signing happened).”
That was MLB Network’s Peter Gammons, discussing how quickly the deal that put Prince Fielder in a Detroit Tigers uniform took place. Leyland, the manager, was even left in the dark, fueling his sense of disbelief. Minutes later, the ink was dry on the nine-year, $214 million contract. One of the game’s best power hitters is shockingly headed to Motown, making an already immensely talented Detroit team even more dangerous.
That Leyland was taken aback by the news is not altogether surprising. It was widely expected that the powerful Fielder would go to the Washington Nationals or another one of his few suitors. The Tigers weren’t even mentioned in relation to him until today. They had to replace the mighty hole left by Victor Martinez, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. It was perceived that they would just sign one of the lesser free-agents or make a trade. No one but the Tigers front office thought they would with such a slugger as Fielder.
“Everyone knew Mr. Ilitch and Mr. Dombrowski were going to make a move when Victor went down,” outfielder Brennan Boesch said in a phone interview with the AP, as documented by Sports Illustrated. “But I don’t think anybody thought it would be this big.”
Ricky Rubio (far right) tied the game, while Kevin Love (center) shocked the Clippers. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
My friend Erik and I stood at the counter in Webfoot, a relatively new bar on the University of Oregon campus, and took in the final few minutes of the Los Angeles Clippers game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the big-screen. As we watched, we struck up a conversation with a man named Jay sitting on a nearby stool milking a beer. He, who had lived in Minnesota before moving to Eugene, was a diehard fan of the Timberwolves, and was ecstatic about the uplifting direction of the team. He said this game, which was televised on ESPN, was the only time he has seen them play this season. And, largely due to the play of star forward Kevin Love and rookie point guard Ricky Rubio, was he ever in for a treat.
As we watched the closing minutes, we talked about these two players, among others. As Rubio made two fancy passes to center Darko Milicic for baskets, Jay raved about his potential. We agreed that even at the age of 21 he already has Steve Nash’s passing ability. The latter of the two passes to Milicic confirmed this, as he threaded the needle between two Clippers to where he knew Milicic would be. It bounded at the perfect height for the 7-footer to grab and swoop in for a layup. My friend Erik, Jay, and I were in awe.
Rubio–with a beard that, though it tries, doesn’t keep him from looking like a kid–came over from Spain and has lived up to the hype. Despite his youth, he is poised and his decision-making is intelligent.
“You’ve got to give him rope and let him go because he’s got that ability,” head coach Rick Adelman told the LA Times. “But I think probably the biggest thing I really love about him is he’s a competitor. He doesn’t back down from anybody. He gets a lot of attention but he keeps an even keel. He doesn’t get too high, too low. He just plays. He’s been better than I thought he was going to be.”
He may be a rookie in the NBA, but he sure doesn’t play like it. He has been playing professionally since he was 14 and, at 17, was on Spain’s Olympic team in 2008 that finished second. His having this background was evident, but though he played well beyond his years there were instances where he was just a 21-year-old having the time of his life.
Though his passing is superb, his shot is far from appealing. He is shooting only 39 percent on the season and was 0-9 from the field with a half-minute remaining. Minnesota had fought back from a 11-point halftime deficit, and they were down three, 98-95, with a chance. The crowd in Los Angeles was buzzing. The Timberwolves were the underdog and in a hostile environment, but that didn’t affect them. They stayed calm and collected. And Rubio wasn’t afraid of the moment.
Fausto no more: the deceit that made a baseball career possible
After years as the conjured Fausto Carmona, Roberto Hernandez Heredia is arrested. (Photo: Reuters/Mark Blinch)
I’m not saying it’s right, but were I raised on a dirt floor in the Dominican Republic and found I could throw a baseball a little, and that seemed like more fun than, say, working a tobacco farm for a few pesos a day, I’d change my name to Doris Day and wear a wedding gown for a shot at professional ball.
That was Yahoo Sports‘ Tim Brown, talking about Roberto Hernandez Heredia, formerly known as Fausto Carmona. The Cleveland Indians starting pitcher was arrested Thursday on false identity charges in his native Dominic Republic, where he was playing winter ball in preparation for Spring Training. He was going by Carmona, a 28-year-old. He is in fact Heredia, a 31-year-old.
At first, the news was stunning and conjured up all sorts of questions. ‘Why?’ was recurring. Brown answered that, and then I understood. That Heredia did this was strange, but it made sense: living a lie made playing in the major leagues possible.
What the Indians do in reaction to this odd twist isn’t worth discussing at the moment. That he changed his name isn’t either, though settling on Fausto Carmona is quite cool. That he lied about his age isn’t pertinent either. After all, it’s not as if he’s alone on that front, as Brown documents:
Rafael Furcal, Bartolo Colon, Neifi Perez and [Ramon] Ortiz, among others, were discovered to have lied about their ages. Years later, Miguel Tejada and Vladimir Guerrero were found to have shaved a year or two from their birth certificates. In March 2009, MLB investigated at least 40 cases of age irregularities among Dominican Republic prospects.
What happened as a result of his conjured name, however, is worth chronicling. The 6’4″ right-hander was signed in 2000, thought to be 16 years old. He went 17-4 with Lake County, Cleveland’s Single-A affiliate, in 2003, his second year in their farm system. He proceeded to fluctuate from level to level over the next three-plus years, putting up respectable numbers for Akron, Kinston, and Buffalo. The latter was the Indians Triple-A affiliate. He was oh-so close to living the ultimate dream. And no one suspected a thing. To Cleveland and the rest of baseball, h was just a 22-year-old Dominican trying to make it. They had no reason to believe he was a late-blooming 25-year-old.
The legend of Jorge Vazquez and his journey to the Bronx
Jorge Vazquez has been hitting moonshots for many years. Will he finally get to hit them out of Yankees Stadium? (Photo: Zimbio)
On Friday, the New York Yankees sent Jesus Montero packing. They lost the power and high batting average he was expected to bring. And with an aging lineup, his absence appeared to leave a hole. That might not longer be the case. Jorge Vazquez is beyond ready, waiting for his time to come.
The road he has traveled in an effort to reach the major leagues has been long. It may have come to an end. A 29-year-old native of Mexico, standing a stocky and strong 5’11″, 225 pounds, Vazquez is a living legend and may finally get to show New York what he can do.
He isn’t a household name here in the United States, but he sure is in his home-country. “Everybody down there in Mexico knows Chato,” Yankees infielder Ramiro Pena, who has played with him in winter ball, told The Star Ledger. “Chato” means small and chunky in Spanish, The nickname may be unflattering, but it fits his physique well. And he’s more than “Chato.” There is an incredible amount of strength within his pudgy build. His countrymen can speak to that, too.
“He can hit homers everywhere,” said Pena.
“I like to watch him because he hits a lot of them,” added Yankees pitching prospect Manuel Banuelos.
“He’s a powerful hitter,” chimes in former Yankee and current Boston Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves. “He’s intelligent and he’s still focused. He would be a star in the big leagues, even if he came late in his career.”
What he has accomplished is extraordinary, but he has yet to reach the level Aceves believes he would excel at. He has played first base and third base throughout his career, but has been, and forever will be, blocked at both positions. This is due to the investments the Yankees made in sluggers Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. It’s very unfortunate, as this man might be able to outproduce either as a replacement, if given the opportunity. That big of a role won’t be there, however, but donning pinstripes appears to be in his near future. Considering what he has done to get to this point, that is a very exciting prospect.
Can Michael Pineda handle the pressure that comes with pitching in New York? (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
The New York Yankees have always been potent offensively. The lack of consistent starting pitching has been their downfall. On Friday, the front office did its part to try to rectify the problem. In the early evening, they signed former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal worth $10 million. It was what they pulled off a few hours earlier, however, that has the greatest potential to turn a weakness into a strength.
Michael Pineda, a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic who had a tremendous rookie season with the Seattle Mariners in 2011, was traded to the Yankees for one of their top prospects, catcher Jesus Montero. These two young players aren’t household names, but their futures are bright. And this deal could easily be a win-win for teams currently on opposite ends of the spectrum.
“The risk for both clubs is low,” wrote MLB.com’s Bernie Pleskoff. “The reward for both clubs is outstanding. This could be a transformational deal that will have fans of both clubs buzzing about for a long time.”
