CUP O' JO - Dec 11, 2008

TOMMY EVERIDGE - Los Gigantes de Carolina, Puerto Rico (1B, Oakland A's Organization - Midland Rockhounds, AA)  Tommy was 1-for-2 with a single and a walk in yesterdays loss to Caguas.  He also had... gasp... another fielding error.  But he notched a double play so all is forgiven as far as this fan is concerned.  The AA Rule 5 draft is underway as we speak.  Stay tuned to see how it goes for Tommy. The A's left him unprotected so we'll see if his whopper of a 2008 season with the Rockhounds was enough to tempt another team or if Tommy will stay put and hope something breaks in the A's organization.  For at least another hour or so, the hope of a PTown Area Pro playing in the bigs close to home is still alive.  Fingers crossed for ya Tommy.

Ed: Had a spirited email from a friend of Tommy's who thinks the mention of his errors is unnecessarily negative especially since I'm not there to see them.  Let me just say that Tommy's errors dropped like a rock during the 2008 regular season, with only five in 87 games at 1B the entire year in Midland.  6 E's in  less than 20 games at the position with Carolina does stand out relative to the position stats available for the league. Maybe home field conditions and weather are playing a part? The morning newspaper articles haven't commented on that.   I haven't played the game for 25 years, but I've been an avid fan for almost 50 and some things catch your eye.  Hopefully Tommy's channeling more of the positive Pearls of Wisdom karma which I think has been plentiful. Unlike many other blogs.
Other Chatter from the 707 area code: 

JJ Putz' trade to the Mets is generating a lot of speculation that the Mariners will slide Brandon Morrow into the closer role in Seattle.  I don't think that's Brandon's first choice.  If it happens, hopefully he will be another American who's just happy to have a job right now.  And his is pretty cool, don't you think?  Sweet office.  Nice view.

And Jonny Gomes future is becoming a little more murky as the non-tender deadline approaches tomorrow. Which may be a good thing. The Rays quietly traded starting pitcher Edwin Jackson to the Tigers for left handed outfielder Matt Joyce yesterday.  Matt's bat has plenty of pop and he's considered not to be a liability in the field.  The press seems to think that this was the trade the Rays were looking for to shore up RF.  And they're still in the hunt for a DH with Milton Bradley, Jason Giambi, and one or two others in the mix.  Fans are still hoping that they will sign Free Agent Rocco Baldelli to be a full time DH. Rocco could also platoon with Joyce and Perez in RF with Aybar at DH.  But... the brand new chatter is that Rocco is talking to the Cincinnati Reds.  Which doesn't make a lot of sense given they are a National League Team and Rocco was allegedly hoping just to DH. The deadline to offer arbitration to Jonny and teammate Gabe Gross is tomorrow night.  We should know soon whether Jonny will get a chance at a fresh start with a new team as a free agent or whether the Rays will hold him hostage "keep him on board" for another season.  Haven't run into a single Gomes Fan in PTown that has fingers crossed for another season in Tampa Bay.  FREE JONNY GOMES.  Let the boy play.  Somewhere else. Have a hunch where that will be?  Let me know.  I really shouldn't repeat the rumors I'm hearing as they aren't even on MLBTradeRumors.com.  The penultimate source for anything that might possibly actually happen and then some.