Writing's On Center Field Wall (Story on Edmonds)

Discuss the latest video games, other sports, entertainment, movies, and any [OT] stuff.

Moderator: LGB Mods

Post Reply
User avatar
dmiles2186
Hockey God
Hockey God
Posts: 7288
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 12:29 am
Location: Selling Air Bombays--for kids who want to coach

Writing's On Center Field Wall (Story on Edmonds)

Post by dmiles2186 »

Apparently, the Padres are very close to releasing Edmonds and eating his 8 million dollar salary. Wow.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/news/200 ... ield-wall/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Padres should appease hungry fans by eating Edmonds' big contract
By Tim Sullivan
UNION-TRIBUNE

10:15 p.m. May 7, 2008

Should you happen to run across John Moores around mealtime, be sure to pass him some Pepto-Bismol. If the Padres' owner is about to eat Jim Edmonds' contract, indigestion would seem inevitable.

But the time has come for aggressive action, and the time has passed when Edmonds could be counted on as a productive ballplayer.

You have to know you've overstayed your welcome when Callix Crabbe is sent up to pinch hit in your place in the ninth inning. You have to know the end is near when your general manager goes on the radio to remark on how much your legs and bat have slowed down.

You almost have to wonder whether manager Bud Black sent Crabbe up Wednesday night in Atlanta to play a percentage or to shame Edmonds into retirement.

That's how bad things have become, both for Edmonds and the Home Team, and maybe that's as bad as it can get. If the Padres are to make any progress this season, if they are to climb out from Rock Bottom and cling to their disaffected fan base, they must face up to their flaws, swallow some salary and promote some prospects.

Maybe Crabbe for Edmonds was the tipping point. Maybe it signals some major moves, and in short order. Maybe it tells you that Padres management has resolved to change the story because it is resigned that it can't change the standings.

Edmonds is due $8 million in 2008 salary. Because a portion of that has already been paid and because the St. Louis Cardinals are obligated for $2 million of the total, the Padres' remaining payments will run about $4.75 million. Though that is a ponderous pile of cash -- the same sum Dyne Techservices agreed to pay for LGI Inc. last month -- the potential cost of standing pat could be exorbitant.

Fans are already angry. Padres management can't afford to let that anger cool into apathy. From a symbolic standpoint, at least, swallowing an expensive mistake tells the baseball consumer that pennants are more important than pride. There ought to be some value in that.

The value of Jim Edmonds at this point would seem puny. He will be 38 years old next month and has been in steep decline since he played a robust role on St. Louis' 2004 National League championship team. His batting average actually rose Wednesday night, but to only .180, and his recent work in center field would suggest he's been chasing fly balls while shackled to his eight Gold Gloves, much like the chain of cash boxes Dickens devised for Jacob Marley.

"I think he probably got a mulligan for the first two to three weeks just based on missing all spring," General Manager Kevin Towers told XX Sports Radio on Tuesday morning. "But, you know, certainly he's lost a step or two. I think that's been pretty obvious in the outfield, going back on balls, covering the gaps. And he just doesn't seem to have his legs underneath him (or) the bat speed with guys that have plus velocity."

Those are not the words of an executive dithering over a decision, but of a man who has already made up his mind. Barring a Fountain of Youth effort Thursday afternoon against the Braves, or an unscheduled trip to the disabled list, Edmonds may be lucky to last the weekend with the Padres.

Were the Padres more competitive, Edmonds' underperformance might be more palatable. He is a four-time All-Star, after all, one whose slow starts can be a contrary indicator. Edmonds has been able to improve his end-of-April batting average in each of the last four seasons, and once turned a .200 start into a .290 finish.

Given the calf problems that scuttled his spring and a stat sheet that shows 363 career home runs, Edmonds has probably earned a longer look than he's likely to get.

But the conditions that allowed the Padres to stick with Kevin Kouzmanoff last spring no longer exist. The Padres were one game back in the National League West when Kouzmanoff bottomed out at .108 last May 7. As of Wednesday, they are 10 games below .500.

"The thing that we don't know," Towers said Wednesday night, "is (whether) the calf is still bothering him. Jimmy is the type of guy who wants to go out and play every day. If it's still bothering him, he hasn't told us that it is."

Towers wonders, too, whether Edmonds is still suffering from the post-concussion syndrome diagnosed last August; whether it may have impaired his reaction time and/or his ability to recognize pitches.

"If there is any residual effect of that, that could affect his timing at the plate," Towers said. "We've seen it with hockey players and football players, how having concussions affects their play. I don't know if it has anything to do with (Edmonds), but I know it was a significant concussion."

Perhaps the Padres should seek a fresh medical opinion before making an irrevocable move -- the disabled list can serve as a hedge when the alternative is an outright release -- but keeping Edmonds in the lineup in his current condition is no longer an option. Jody Gerut has raised his average to .308 at Triple-A Portland with a .366 spurt over his last 10 games, owns 16 extra-base hits in 27 games, and played center field as recently as Wednesday in Omaha.

It's hard to keep a hot bat down on the farm when the big club is mired in last place; harder still to call him up without first clearing a roster spot.
Image

2015-2016 LGB Sponsor of Not Ott, because he is a booger-eating dumb dumb

User avatar
dmiles2186
Hockey God
Hockey God
Posts: 7288
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 12:29 am
Location: Selling Air Bombays--for kids who want to coach

Re: Writing's On Center Field Wall (Story on Edmonds)

Post by dmiles2186 »

Update...Edmonds is being released.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8122 ... OF-Edmonds" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Jim Edmonds' tenure with the Padres lasted 26 games.

The Padres plan to release the center fielder, whom they acquired last Dec. 15 from the Cardinals. An announcement is expected Friday.

Edmonds, who turns 38 on June 27, will become a free agent after he clears release waivers, which is likely to be sometime next week.

His agent, Paul Cohen, said that Edmonds, a 16-year veteran, wants to continue playing.

"Obviously it has been a real bad three weeks for him," Cohen told FOXSports.com. "He wishes he would have played better for the fans and the teams. But in the right situation, he's going to play."

It is highly unlikely that another team would claim Edmonds and become responsible for the remainder of his $8 million salary, of which the Cardinals are paying $2 million.

Edmonds opened the season on the disabled list with a right calf strain and never produced for a team that has lost 17 of its last 21 games.

He hit one home run in 90 at-bats, and his batting average/on-base/slugging line was .178/.265/.233.
Image

2015-2016 LGB Sponsor of Not Ott, because he is a booger-eating dumb dumb

User avatar
goon attack
Hockey God
Hockey God
Posts: 17344
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2003 2:18 pm

Re: Writing's On Center Field Wall (Story on Edmonds)

Post by goon attack »

funny thing is, he started out strong once in the lineup. I think he hit safely in 5 or 6 games, then tanked miserably.

I dunno though....a bit early to actually cut him I'd say. Heck, Glaus isn't hitting much better than Edmonds and nobody is talking about cutting him.

Maybe they just weren't ready for Edmonds' laid back style. Dude does appears to be dogging it quite a bit.

I'd pick him up on the cheap if I were a contender, especially if you could do it for only a part of the 4.75 the Padres owe him. Shit, especially in the American League if a team is hurting in the outfield. You could platoon him in CF and hit him DH too.

I think his experience will be valuable in the post season.

Does Oakland have a center fielder? Looks like they've been splitting duties between to scrubs.
Official 2023-'24 Sponsor of: Dua Lipa, Craig Berube, and yoga pants

'22-'23: Kim Wexler; '21-'22: Slayyyter; '21: fat chicks and covid-19; '19-'20: Taco Bell's Spicy Tostada (discontinued); '18-'19: Bhad Bhabie; '17-'18 Pitbull.'16-'17: Donald J. Trump, Black Lives Matter, and Karlie Kloss; '15-'16: the Hadids; '14-'15: $17.8+ trillion U.S. national debt; '13-'14: another season of bitter disappointment; '13: communism; '11-'12: Vlad Sobotka and fake, drunken lesbianism; '10-'11: Ryan Reaves, Bo Derek's cans, Willow Palin, and the new Lightning logo; '09-'10: the epic destruction of the Politics Forum; '08-'09: Sandy Miller

User avatar
theohall
Hockey God
Hockey God
Posts: 9212
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2003 9:49 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

Re: Writing's On Center Field Wall (Story on Edmonds)

Post by theohall »

goon attack wrote:Heck, Glaus isn't hitting much better than Edmonds and nobody is talking about cutting him.
Dunno about that...

6 RBI in 26 games and 90 AB for Edmonds
21 RBI in 35 games and 120 AB for Glaus.

I don't see Jimmy making up 15 RBI in 30 AB ever.
Official LGB sponsor of Robert Thomas 2022-2023 Season

User avatar
goon attack
Hockey God
Hockey God
Posts: 17344
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2003 2:18 pm

Re: Writing's On Center Field Wall (Story on Edmonds)

Post by goon attack »

You're right theo. Glaus has produced. I was thinking more BA, but that's not even that close. Bad comparison on my part.
Official 2023-'24 Sponsor of: Dua Lipa, Craig Berube, and yoga pants

'22-'23: Kim Wexler; '21-'22: Slayyyter; '21: fat chicks and covid-19; '19-'20: Taco Bell's Spicy Tostada (discontinued); '18-'19: Bhad Bhabie; '17-'18 Pitbull.'16-'17: Donald J. Trump, Black Lives Matter, and Karlie Kloss; '15-'16: the Hadids; '14-'15: $17.8+ trillion U.S. national debt; '13-'14: another season of bitter disappointment; '13: communism; '11-'12: Vlad Sobotka and fake, drunken lesbianism; '10-'11: Ryan Reaves, Bo Derek's cans, Willow Palin, and the new Lightning logo; '09-'10: the epic destruction of the Politics Forum; '08-'09: Sandy Miller

User avatar
theohall
Hockey God
Hockey God
Posts: 9212
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2003 9:49 pm
Location: Jacksonville, FL

Re: Writing's On Center Field Wall (Story on Edmonds)

Post by theohall »

you are half-right goon. Glaus hasn't produced crap in home games. Almost all of his RBI are on the road.
Official LGB sponsor of Robert Thomas 2022-2023 Season

Post Reply