Links for Thursday, after lots of chatter about Derek Jeter's acting ability…
- The Padres will wait until Saturday to activate Chris Young from the disabled list, at which point they'll need to remove someone from the 40-man roster according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that Joe Torre has informed his wife and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti about what he plans to do next season, but he will not make his decision public just yet.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams chatted with Joe Posnanski about football and the challenges of being in second place. Check it out at SI.com.
- Brian Bass cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple A, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Bass for assignment earlier in the week.
- Andre Ethier told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that it doesn't even make sense to comment on the rumor that he'd like to play in Boston.
- Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs argues that the Royals should offer Wilson Betemit a contract this offseason, since he can be something of a "bridge between the present and the future."
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he and assistant GM Chris Antonetti met with friend and former colleague Josh Byrnes. The former D'Backs GM "would make anybody better," including the Indians, Shapiro said.
fitz
About the only way Jeter can get on base lately.
Old22
“Fakin’ one for the team”
Slopeboy
He due to start a hitting streak come next friday!
Pasta Diving
And if Pedroia would have done it, it would have been a sign of grit.
SpaldingBalls
The thing is, any player should do it no matter how good the hitter. Get on base any way you can. But come on, this play shows EXACTLY why baseball NEEDS replay in all aspects, save balls and strikes. There is no reason that the “human element” should influence a game that may end up determining home field advantage for the playoffs.
Old22
I was listening to the Dan Patrick show today, and enjoyed the talk about Jeter’s act. I think it is very much the baseball equivalent of faking a foul in the NBA or the NFL, although much tougher to pull off as it does not happen nearly as often. The funny part on the Dan Patrick show today was not the free pass Jeter manufactured, but how long he was acting. All the way to first base, and even when the trainer came out to check on him he was still grimacing in fake pain. Hilarious!
Guest
There is nothing wrong with what Jeter did. The problem is that the Umpires suck.
Ethier can be had at the right price but hes not going anywhere.
fitz
Let’s hope so.
start_wearing_purple
I think it’s funny and I agree Jeter did nothing wrong… he said it himself, his job is to get on base. If the umps blow a call, that’s their problem…
I don’t think the Sox pursue a trade for Ethier… maybe when he’s a FA (2012?).
thegrayrace
He’ll be a free agent after the 2012 season, yes.
thegrayrace
He’ll be a free agent after the 2012 season, yes.
dire straits
Funny how he didn’t even deny the rumor.
Guest
What’s your point? Is he gonna make Agent Ned trade him?
dire straits
Bingo! Good job!
lakersdodgersyankees4life
He said it was so ridiculous that he shouldnt dignify it with a response… thats pretty close to denying it…
MB923
Personally, I think this went way out of proportion. First of all, the most important thing, is that the Rays won the ball game. Secondly, I think this is only getting all of the attention it’s getting because it’s Derek Jeter. If it was not someone on the Yankees, Red Sox, or not another all star player, the media wouldn’t care.
Players do these kinds of acts all the time. Outfielders trap balls to act as if they caught them, catchers frame pitches to catch the corner even though they know the pitch is outside the plate.
Cheating and Overacting are not the same thing.
In no way whatsoever am I defending Jeter, but what player in their rightful mind is not going to take advantage of a blown call by an umpire? Is he going to go over to him and say “Hey I wasn’t hit by the pitch”?
The person (or people I should say) who should get blamed the most are simply the umpires, it is their job to get the call right. If you knew an umpire blew a call in your favor, why go over and correct him? This is a team sport, why go over to an ump and tell the truth?
It’s the umpires who are the wrong ones in these cases. It’s not a class act by Jeter, but it’s far from cheating. 9 out of 10 times when Michael Jordan traveled he wasn’t called for it, same for 9 out of 10 shoves he did.
I think the media and the fans blew this way out of proportion.
Sleepykarl
The exact same thing happened a few weeks ago when VMart faked getting hit at the Trop, no one made it a media crisis.
kimofromkauai
Derek Cheater and A Fraud – role models for Americas youth.
start_wearing_purple
… Get over it.
lakersdodgersyankees4life
I bet if Dustin Pedroia did it, Sox fans would be calling him a genius. Look, he’s a HOF and he knows how to get on base any way possible. It’s done, it’s over….
Henry Castellanos
And if Pedroia or any other Sox player did it, it would have shown a sign of grit, and everybody would be saying “OMG that was so cool, I wanna be like that, help my team in any way like Pedroia did” and ESPN and everybody else says “Genius!”. Funny how fans way in over their heads blow this out of proportion just to take another cheap shot at the Yanks. I deal with this everyday, but I think ur the classless people.
Just_MLB
yeah but if Pedroria or any other Sox player did it…AGAINST The Yankees…IN THE PLAYOFFS…and lets say…it decided a game…you would be screaming bloody murder..
most yankee fans like the thing the entire universe is against them and then develop amnesia when people bring up the legion of calls that have gone your way. You guys are the Chicago Bulls of baseball…gtfohwtbs
Sleepykarl
I wouldn’t be mad a lil’ Dustin, I would be mad at the ump. Everyone
is focusing this ordeal on Jeter when he just took what the ump gave him. Any player would take a free base if given, the umps have to do a better job of not giving then away.
Just_MLB
Jeter is the face of all that is good with sports. not dustin…not
youk…not papi…but when someone with a rep like Jeter does something like
this…the reaction will be bad. if A-Rod does this, no one is
surprised…if Jeter does it, its like catching the Pope at a p0rno theatre.
wtk
Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Tim Raines…these were the heroes we had growing up!
-wtk
Backup_Slider
As for that to-be-removed Padre, if I were in Cesar Carrillo’s spikes, I wouldn’t re-re-unpack my suitcase just yet. {Alas, this comment seems doomed to drown in a sea of nonsensical Yankees-RedSox banter. Throw me a life preserver, please.}
Steve619
Co-signed.
markjsunz
Most likey with Eithier being owed $9.25 million next year he will be traded for some sort of position player or players that fill a void and the team that gets eithier will pay the contract next year for the scabs the Dodgers receive. McCourt gets to sell Either, and pockets salary. A McCourt wet dream.
anthony
****crosses fingers Torre is headed out of town****
Guest
Were gonna suck next year, hes gone.
Ferrariman
why don’t dodgers fans like joe torre? i don’t get it.
thegrayrace
If you watched enough Dodger games this season, you’d understand. Absolutely terrible bullpen management, questionable/inconsistent lineups, and he stuck with Garret Anderson and his sub-.200 batting average as the Dodgers primary bat off the bench for how many months? Even prior to the Dodgers 2nd half collapse, there were at least a dozen losses one could’ve pinned on Torre’s decisions pretty easily.
thegrayrace
If you watched enough Dodger games this season, you’d understand. Absolutely terrible bullpen management, questionable/inconsistent lineups, and he stuck with Garret Anderson and his sub-.200 batting average as the Dodgers primary bat off the bench for how many months? Even prior to the Dodgers 2nd half collapse, there were at least a dozen losses one could’ve pinned on Torre’s decisions pretty easily.
dire straits
Torre, you’re not favre and we don’t care to have you back. So just say it already.
0bsessions
fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/derek-jeter-cheated-…
That sums up my feelings on the matter. I couldn’t care less that he did it, it’s the media reaction that irks me. He cheated and he admitted to it. No harm, no foul with me because we know everyone does it and in the scheme of things, it’s minor.
The thing that bugs me is the absolutely monumental double standard. He pulled the drama queen routine and everyone in the media’s salivating over his junk, as per usual. People are on and on about his grit and how hard nosed he is and all about the team, blah blah blah. Pierzynski got absolutely roasted in the media for doing the exact same thing just a few months ago. God forbid it was A-Rod who did it, or it’d be the biggest MLB scandal since the Black Sox.
People are just going to take away from this the fact that Jeter is all about the team, not the glaringly obvious fact that he is not, in fact, above the rest of the MLB as so many would like to paint him. He’s not about the sanctity and purity of the game. He will take the advantage if he thinks he can get away with it. He is not a special, innocent snowflake in the rough and tumble MLB. He’s not a shining beacon of the best of the best this sport has to offer. He does pretty much every other crappy thing most other MLB players do. Yet, the delusion will persist, because he’s The Captain.
moonraker45
Pierzynski did it and it lead to a no hitter being broken up! I was so pissed when then happened, because they were losing, and lost anyways so he shouldnt have pulled that crap.. but in the end its the umpires who make the call… I saw a few weeks ago, Posada made a tag with his glove while the ball was in his hand. . It’s not his fault or Jeters fault for trying, you’re right in thinking too much is made of this crap..
TwinsVet
Since when does an HBP break up a no hitter?
moonraker45
it pulled romero out of rhythm and out of the stretch and the very next batter broke up the no hitter.
TwinsVet
You’re arguing a counter-factual.
Maybe if AJ did NOT fake the HBP, Romero would have been too comfortable, and AJ would have hit an HR on the next pitch.
Or maybe some fan would have rushed the field in rage that AJ didn’t get his base, attacked Romero, injured him, and ended his career.
You can’t prove any of it. All you can prove is that AJ’s acting did not cause a no-hitter to be broken up.
Sleepykarl
Why wouldn’t AJ do anything to break up a no hitter? He’s not exactly wanting to get no hit. It’s like when Jason Donald knew he was out in the imperfect game, but he’s not gonna argue with being called safe.
Sleepykarl
Why wouldn’t AJ do anything to break up a no hitter? He’s not exactly wanting to get no hit. It’s like when Jason Donald knew he was out in the imperfect game, but he’s not gonna argue with being called safe.
TwinsVet
Jeter was an idiot. Feign some pain for about 3 seconds, then take your base.
By going for the Oscar, putting on the whole show, he just drew much more attention to it. Umpires watch SportsCenter too; next time the ump’s certainly aren’t going to be so quick to give him the benefit of the doubt.