Around The League: Andy Pettitte, Grady Sizemore, Ryan Theriot, SF Giants and more… | The Golden Sombrero Baseball Blog | MLB, Fantasy, College & High School Baseball News

Around The League: Andy Pettitte, Grady Sizemore, Ryan Theriot, SF Giants and more…

  • These days I feel like most of us have forgotten how good Grady Sizemore was from 2005-2008.  Over those four seasons, Sizemore appeared in three All-Star games while playing in 639 of 748 possible games for the Cleveland Indians.  But after several injuries – the most recent being a microfracture in his knee – Sizemore has only played in 139 games over the last two seasons.  Now in the last year of his contract, Craig Calcaterra speculates whether the Indians will pick up his $8 million option for 2012.

  • After the success of the HBO Series Hard Knocks and Penguins/Capitals 24/7 (although I am admittedly a bigger fan of the MLB Network’s programming), Showtime has decided to feature a similar, all-access show on the San Francisco Giants.  As if Brian Wilson didn’t already treat his life like it was a reality series…
  • After being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, Ryan Theriot took several jabs at his former team and new rival, the Chicago Cubs.  More specifically, Theriot stated that he was, “Finally on the right side of the Cubs-Cards rivalry.” His former teammates, especially Koyie Hill, didn’t appreciate “The Riot’s” remarks.  He hinted that the Cubs will likely retaliate when Theriot comes to Wrigley, and even acknowledged that, “There’s probably a chance he’s going to feel how hard the dirt is around the home-plate batter’s box.”
  • “These guys don’t have to be the guy who failed to get a hit in 18 career at-bats. That’s almost not even having the chance to qualify for being hideous. If you’re thinking of the guy who constantly got on your nerves by having one horrible at-bat after another over the course of his career; you’re on the right track. If you have a story or anecdote that illustrates something surrounding the game of baseball that is completely inexcusable and awful, we need it.”
  • Our noble leader of the General Chapter in the Baseball Bloggers Alliance wrote a compelling article that evaluates whether Andy Pettitte is a Hall of Famer.  By comparing his career numbers to several Hall of Fame pitchers, and some who are Hall of Fame hopefuls, Blogging From The Bleachers puts Pettitte’s great career in a new perspective.  Although his numbers and accomplishments place him in an elite group of pitchers, the fact that he used PEDs  (although I am able to look past it considering that he was one of the few who told the truth) will ultimately be the deciding factor in his Hall of Fame candidacy.
  • As a Chicago White Sox fan, I was thrilled to learn that Joe Crede is back in baseball after signing a one-year, Minor League deal with the Colorado Rockies. Crede, who was an integral member of the 2005 Championship team, is my second-favorite White Sox third baseman of all-time – after Robin Ventura, obviously.  Many forget just how good Crede was (+57.9 career UZR) before an assortment of injuries derailed his career and nearly wiped him off the map.  This past weekend, while at the Missouri High School Coaches Conference, I talked with a coach who played against Crede in high school.  Without hesitation, he asserted that Crede was the greatest player he had ever seen, and his success in 2005 was a long time in the making.

Around The League is a series that highlights some of the baseball’s best articles and writers.  Have an article that you would like us to consider?  Be sure to either email us or send it our way on Twitter.



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