6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Pickoff Moves

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Thursday, November 02, 2006

Pickoff Moves

Today's Birthdays

George Bell BRO b. 1874, played 1907-1911, d. 1941-12-25

Orlando Cabrera LAA b. 1974, played 2005. I've mellowed on him since I first weighed in on his signing. He's settled into being a respectable signing for the Angels. One more thing: he doesn't look like it on TV, but he's pretty well muscled, too.

Al Campanis BRO b. 1916, played 1943, d. 1998-06-21. Born in Kos, Greece; he played for seven games for the Dodgers but eventually became the club's GM. Forced to resign after making idiotic comments about blacks, claiming they lacked the "necessities" to manager a club.

Jose Fernandez ANA b. 1974, played 2001

Paul Hartzell CAL b. 1953, played 1976-1978

Tom Paciorek LAN b. 1946, played 1970-1975, All-Star: 1981. Brother of the less-famous John Paciorek, whose name goes down as having the longest perfect streak in major league history: three at-bats, three hits and two walks. The guy the Dodgers traded for Dusty Baker.

George Sharrott BRO b. 1869, played 1893-1894, d. 1932-01-06

Jerry Standaert BRO b. 1901, played 1925-1926, d. 1964-08-04

And Speaking of Dusty Baker...

Dusty Baker will interview for the Padres' open managerial job. Another former Dodger, ex-hitting coach Tim Wallach, will interview for the position on Saturday.

Roster Notes

The Pirates refused the $6M option on Jeromy Burnitz, who says he may retire. He played almost not at all in the second half.
The Mariners will not bid on Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Update: Former Angel farmhand Alexi Casilla was honored as the Twins' Minor League Player of the Year. More at MLB.com.
Update 2: It's just like junior high around here, what with everyone being interested in everyone else... but first, Adam Kennedy and the Angels have said their goodbyes:
As expected, the Angels essentially severed ties with veteran second baseman Adam Kennedy, who was informed by Stoneman this week that the team would not attempt to retain the free agent. Stoneman, who spoke by phone with Kennedy on Tuesday, did leave the door open a crack for a possible return.
"I told him if he doesn't find a deal to his liking, and he'd be interested in coming back on a short-term contract, we'd be open to that," Stoneman said.
Kennedy, though, has already drawn interest from three to five teams, according to his agent, Paul Cohen, and it is possible he could command a deal in the four-year, $18-million range.
Also, the Angels are "extremely interested" in Gary Matthews, Jr., the Rangers' 32-year-old centerfielder, now a free agent, whom the Halos will "pursue aggressively" according to Bill Stoneman (blecch). The Rangers, Giants, Cubs, and Rockies are also expected to make bids; Matthews is believed to be asking for a 3-4 year deal in the $6M/year range. Such a deal could turn Chone Figgins into tradebait.
Aramis Ramirez, not surprisingly, is also a top priority for the Angels.
The Halos are also interested in making a bid on Barry Zito's services, but not on Daisuke Matsuzaka's.