Four years ago today, the Nationals signed Odalis Perez to a minor league contract. He pitched to a 4.34 ERA in 159 2/3 innings for them that season, then didn't show up to Spring Training the next year. Three years ago today, the two sides came full circle and Washington released him. Here's the latest from Perez's old division, the NL East…
- Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels ruled out the possibility of signing in his hometown of San Diego, asking Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com "why would I want to go where fans only support you from the third inning through the sixth?'' (Twitter link). Hamels will hit free agency after the season if the Phillies don’t sign him to an extension.
- Cody Ross told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Marlins’ decision not to give him a raise as a pre-arbitration eligible player bothered him and increased his willingness to go to an arbitration hearing against his former club.
- Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal took a look at Jason Bay's contract and what the future could hold for the outfielder and the Mets. Bay is owed $16MM in 2012 and 2013, then a $17MM vesting option for 2014 comes into play.
- Here's the latest news regarding a contract extension for Ryan Zimmerman. The Nationals have approximately 36 hours to get their franchise player signed long-term before his self-imposed deadline. Zimmerman can't become a free agent until after 2013.
redsx968
ouch. San diego…burned…
Lastings
Be careful Cole, you’re going to make those 20 Padres fans very angry with words like that…
Chris Bosh
I’m sure he’s not worried though, they’ll only be angry for about 1/3 of the amount of time a normal fan would be angry.
dudemanbro
aren’t you supposed to be playing the knicks?
MetsMagic
Haha, I get it. Good one, the Knicks are playing the Heat and Chris Bosh is on that said team. Haha
Lastings
Don’t forget to check out “HOOPSRUMORS” (bonus points heading my way for that plug)…
Jaysfan724
aren’t you supposed to be playing for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows?
Lastings
Don’t forget to check out “HOOPSRUMORS” (bonus points heading my way for that plug)…
WonderboyRooney10
Hah! Now thats a brilliant quote. Why even ask him that question? Pads would offer him 8 years 30 MM
rainyperez
zing
dylanp5030
Quick Cole rule out 28 more teams by signing that extension to stay in Philly for the next 7 years.
Blue387
Clearly Hamels is going for the Ron Burgundy approach to San Diego.
rfffr
Odalis Perez still exists apparently. Raise your hand if you can think of another Odalis
LUWahooNatFan
No reason why the Nationals can’t wait till after the year to re-sign Zimmerman.
Clayton Wilson
For their sake, it’s better to get it done now since he’s coming off a disappointing year.
Patrick Nichols
What are you talking about? He just had, by far, the best season of his career statistically speaking.
Clayton Wilson
He played 101 games with a .289, .355, .443 line and 12 HR.
In 2010 he hit .307, .388, .510 with 25 HR
In 2009 he hit .292, .364, .525 with 33 HR
In 2006 he hit .287, .351, .471 with 20 HR
2011 didn’t come all that close to his best season, statistically speaking….
Are you referring to Jordan Zimmermann?
Clayton Wilson
He played 101 games with a .289, .355, .443 line and 12 HR.
In 2010 he hit .307, .388, .510 with 25 HR
In 2009 he hit .292, .364, .525 with 33 HR
In 2006 he hit .287, .351, .471 with 20 HR
2011 didn’t come all that close to his best season, statistically speaking….
Are you referring to Jordan Zimmermann?
inleylandwetrust
His new nickname should be Candid Cole amiright?!
Lastings
How about the Cole truth or Cole blooded?
inleylandwetrust
It’s a Cole world indeed
WonderboyRooney10
cole world, cole life, cole blooded
User 4245925809
Not to mention they will give him a lump of ‘cole” for Christmas now..
EdinsonPickle
Where’s Arnold’s Mr. Freeze at? He would jump at the chance to make up some new puns.
JacksTigers
Is Cole in Michigan? Because it’s pretty dang cole.
JacksTigers
Is Cole in Michigan? Because it’s pretty dang cole.
BitLocker
Haha, that’s a hard burn.
swatrob
I’m a Padre fan and 90% of the fans are awful, not as bad as Dodger fans but pretty bad. With that said I show up for batting practice and I don’t leave until the last pitch.
rsanchez1
Hey, at least they aren’t Phillies fans.
Phillibuster
Yeah, then they might actually attend every game to capacity.
Kyle Haker
only when their team starts winning for the first time in a century
Phillibuster
Snap! Except for, you know, the 1993 season. And the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Oh, my mistake, sorry… I thought you were speaking as a Cubs fan, and thereby understood just what a century of losing is about.
Kyle Haker
what? first team in any sport to 10,000 losses who?
Phillibuster
What? Longest one-name, one-city team in all of sports? Who was that again?
skoods
Lol! No one alive now cares if they lost 100 games ten straight years in the 1930s…Just like I’m sure A’s fans aren’t “giddy” that their franchise won many championships when they were in Philadelphia 60+ years ago.
Seriously…you’re pathetic.
Ohhhplease
and they get enough batteries to rain out of the top decks….
rickjimbo
Batteries are popular with people who also booed Santa (wrong sport, right city)
swatrob
Although he can stay in Philly and play in a place where if you have two bad outings you get booed non stop.
Phillies_Aces35
That’s what he likes… a fan base that’s as passionate about the results as the players.
It’s like that everywhere in the North East… Boston, New York, etc. It’s a different atmosphere than the West Coast. There’s more pressure and more expectations.
FS54 2
passionate? you mean rowdy?
Phillies_Aces35
…sigh…
… nope… passion. Players like Curt Schilling, John Kruk, Mitch Williams, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee guys who’ve played all over have said it’s one of the most passionate crowds to pitch in front of and enjoyed it.
Clayton Wilson
Javier Vazquez has said that same thing just about every place he’s ever pitched aside from New York…..
FS54 2
it seems more people believe otherwise such as pat burrell, tim lincecum, etc.
Phillibuster
You gave 2 examples to counter his 5, and say that it’s somehow “more?”
And one of them has never played in Philly as a member of the home team. Of course he’s not going to get the same vibe.
FS54 2
name one player who has voiced discontent against home fans. everyone likes to praise their home fans. the examples I gave are not of players who spoke against Phillies fans, but are examples of players I have seen ill treatment against from Phillies fans.
anyways, wasn’t their a list recently saying Phillies having worst fans of all american sports teams?
skoods
Um, anyone who has a problem with fans booing/heckling millionaires on other teams has no reason being a fan of sports.
FS54 2
that makes a lot of sense.
Phillies_Aces35
Jimmy Rollins called us front runners…
MITCH WILLIAMS BLEW GAME 6 OF THE WORLD SERIES… you never hear him say a bad thing about the fans… can’t get much more scrutinized than that.
Most of those players comments came after they left.
FS54 2
exactly my point. when players play for a team, they sugarcoat things about their teammates, fans, and organization.
HobokenMetsFan
“name one player who has voiced discontent against home fans”
jimmy rollins and ryan howard calling philly fans “front runners” immediately comes to mind….
Phillies_Aces35
I’m sure glad Tim Lincecum’s an expert after playing here 3-4 times…
Much better example to give than a guy like Jim Thome.
FS54 2
like I said, neither Tim nor Pat said anything. I am just mentioning the treatment they received. Besides any rivalries (NYY/BOS, LAD/SFG), I don’t see any other fans treating opposing players this way. Booing is one thing, but calling names and holding indecent signs about a player is another.
bigbird24
What? Vomiting on fellow Phillies fans isn’t an endearing factor in a fanbase?
Phillies_Aces35
Not any moreso than putting a good man in a coma for wearing another teams colors…
There’s bad fans everywhere. One idiot doesn’t equal a fan base.
crashcameron
that John Kruk, what a pitcher!
(used to love watching him jog out o the bullpen!)
FS54 2
passionate? you mean rowdy?
Ryan
Yet Brad Lidge can suck, HARD, for three years, and people around here would line up to pay top dollar for him to christen their kid.
Philadelphia thinks they are something special, and ESPN does their best to spread that idea, the truth is, it is no different from any other town.
Phillies_Aces35
I’m pretty sure Brad Lidge was booed fairly often in 2009-2010… I was at a game vs. the Reds in 2010 and he got booed until he threw his first pitch.
Wanting him back for $1 million dollars to mentor the young pitchers isn’t ignoring his failures in 2009.
User 4245925809
What? They boo players in Philly? Lets send JD Drew there to announce his retirement and see if they actually do.
Phillies_Aces35
… might as well just send Stephen Drew. Anybody with the last name Drew.
I honestly feel bad for that guy. The front office made guys like Schilling, Rolen, and Drew out to be villains.
Ryan
WHAT? The front office made Schilling a villain? You sound an awful lot like one of these guys who just started following the team after 2007 because they became “cool”.
I do not remember anyone who works in the front office doing anything but promoting Schilling, and Rolen to sell tickets. They were unable to sign JD Drew, and so THEY never said anything regarding him.
I remember those players being berated on WIP when I used to listen, and I remember the callers, who collectively have a 6th grade education taking shots at the roster. But I doubt any of those callers were Dave Montgomery, or Ed Wade, or Lee Thomas.
Phillies_Aces35
Schilling wanted out so he could win. Sorry he got tired of wasting his career here… ended up being the best move he could have made for himself.
… you don’t see Toronto hate Roy Halladay because he demanded out.
JD Drew said he wanted to be payed or he wouldn’t sign. The Phillies drafted him anyway… Really their fault.
I’m wrong about Rolen.
crashcameron
right about Doc Halladay. like Boston Bruins fans at the time, we cheered when Raymond Bourque won a ring in Colorado. Watching Halladay pitch got us Canucklehead baseball fans through a lot of slim summers
crashcameron
send JD to Atlanta, St Louis, LA, Fenway and anywhere else he played to announce his retirement and you’re gonna hear boos.
or crickets.
Ryan
I think you have selective memory. Lidge has been given a pass for almost four years because of 2008. At the same time, legit producers like Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, and Ryan Howard have been the constant subject of media scrutiny.
Now, as for the actual point of my comment, this happens everywhere. AJ Burnett helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series, almost winning game 2 on his own. Yeah, he just got run out of Gotham. Happens everywhere, the problem is, when it happens there, the fans and the organization “demand excellence”. When it happens here, its the fan base “forcing the organization’s hand”.
The way the media portrayed the Donovan McNabb trade nationally is a classic case. Even though the team traded McNabb, the media blamed the fans for running him out, and told us that we would, let me quote, “rue the day” that (somehow) we did that. I just passed McNabb, he was standing outside of the unemployment office.
Phillies_Aces35
I think YOU have the selective memory.
You can’t get passed 2009. He had the worst season ever for a reliever. That’s fine. He came back in 2010 and was lights out. He pitched okay in 2011.
crashcameron
standing outside the unemployment office? with millions of dollars in his pocket?
BitLocker
Have they turned on Cliff Lee yet?
dylanp5030
They don’t turn on full effort players. Look at Raul. He still was getting Raul chants even after hitting under 200 for some months.
Ryan
No we are less progressive than the Yankees. We lie in waiting for our players to fail here before turning on them, as opposed to Yankee fans who turn on the player, or more specifically their wives, prior to the player ever joining the team.
rsanchez1
Phillies fans don’t forget. When Wes Helms still played with the Marlins, he would get booed every time he went up to bat.
elscorchot
yeah, have fun booing bleeping wes helms.
dylanp5030
Hamels getting boo’d had little to do with his performance more for his preperation that season. He is one of the most beloved Phillies right now because he accepted that, owned up to it, and has a solid mind set now.
MB923
lol I posted about that in another thread. That sounds more like something that happens in LA than in San Diego.
Adam Moreira
Did Hamels’ stance change? I thought that he was determined to go to free agency in the next offseason and wasn’t considering signing an extension now.
nm344
you thought wrong
northsfbay
I was visiting San Diego. 5 minutes before the game. No lines at the ticket window. I bought tickets right behind the dugout for $50.00 at ticket. At At&T Park, you would need season tickets to sit behind the dugout. They are football fans in San Diego. They don’t know they have a baseball team.
rsanchez1
Whoa-ho, normally I hear people piling on Marlins fans, but no less than Cole Hamels just majorly insulted San Diego fans. Can’t wait to see the highlights of Phillies @ San Diego.
User 4245925809
“Whoa-ho, normally I hear people piling on Marlins fans”
That’s because there is only about 500 total of us and not enough for us to defend ourselves…
rsanchez1
“Us” eh?
I guess you must be one of those fair-weather fans.
User 4245925809
Nah.. Actually since they got the team, because it was the 1st one in Florida (where i live) but also a Red Sox fan as well since the 60’s.
Watch them most nights on TV, but never been called a fair weather fan before.. tho have accused many Sox fans of being band wagoners since they won the 1st series in ’04..
you know.. Watch a few fish games at old land Shark in the afternoon and you would think there were only 500 people judging by the amount of red from empty seats.. that is why said 500 of ‘us” and yes… It was a joke… i don’t think our tigers fan friend understands them 🙂
rsanchez1
Heh, well that’s the kind of joke that the people who pile on Marlins fan say.
And I’m not going to watch a few Fish games at old Land Shark in the afternoon, because those games ain’t happening anymore. I’m going to watch afternoon games at Marlins Ballpark live, with a nice air-conditioned stadium rain or shine.
User 4245925809
Yep.. Land shark is a thing of the past and good riddance to it!
I have not been “down” to Miami for a couple of years to a game, but hopefully this year will get to make the trip for a game or 2 at the new stadium.
One thing for sure.. The dome will be a far sight better than the thunderdome/tropicana field/dumpsterdome..or whatever they want to name the field in St. pete the rays play in.. My Son and I always go to the boston series games a couple times each year and that field is horrid…
JacksTigers
I know your quoting someone, but you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say something piratey.
User 4245925809
I could quote many more of robert newton’s (john silver) classic lines.. but think quoting that one was enough huh?
rsanchez1
That Cody Ross quote is the money quote for the Marlins’ situation. Cheaping out now will only make it more expensive for them later, especially when Mike Stanton’s first arbitration hearing comes and he gets paid a record-setting amount.
Then again, they could sign Stanton to a long-term deal before he gets too expensive. The Marlins pretty much gave away Cody Ross to the Giants – that’s how much they respected Ross.
PhanaticDuck26
Cole got booed a bit when he threw a fit about Utley making an error behind him back in the 09 postseason I believe. That was the last time I really think he was given a hard time by the fanbase, and personally I think he deserved it. He was overtly upset about it, he let that affect his mindset, and has been criticized about his ‘mental toughness’ for a while after that. Showing up your teammates during a game would not have been appreciated by fans of any city, not just here…but either way, his attitude and overall dominance have changed since then, and I think now the fanbase just wants to lock up a good ol-fashioned piece of homegrown talent
Phillies_Aces35
Calling out the prodigal son was a massive sin for Cole… but what did him in was the comment after Game 3, which was taken out of context by the media…
ejr
those were dark days.
6kitties
And, everyone thought Roy Halladay was a warrior when he showed up Polanco for his error in the field in a meaningless game in May. Lee has also been visibly upset at the infield as well. Cole is not perfect but this criticism should apply to everyone on the club and sometimes players get caught up in the game. It seems he can’t do anything right in Philadelphia except deliver a WS win to a championship starved city.
Bob M.
Cole has survived as bad as it can get in Philly in 09.
Clayton Wilson
Figured Mike Minor all but demanding a trade if he’s not a permanent member of the Braves rotation this season would’ve been featured here.
Minor for superstar Seth Smith, get it done Wren.
rundmc1981
Yes, interesting news. Bold statement, but also interesting comments about him having the upper hand over Teheran/Delgado considering he’s older, southpaw, etc.
I would love to see some consistency from him. I don’t think he’s really gotten a fair shot, so it’s difficult to judge his stuff. I still remember his 13 K effort vs. CHC.
And if Minor isn’t the southpaw of our future, there’s always Sean Gilmartin.
Marlon Brando
Love the anti-Philly sentiment wherever I go. Watch less ESPN and try visiting.
Clayton Wilson
Were you not expecting it here after reading that Hamels publicly trashed the Padres and their fans?
……
straightuphonestguy
Hamels must of course, be referring to the legion of Philly fans that will be in attendance at Petco.