Well, the news just keeps rolling in, doesn't it?
AK signed a minor league deal with the AL champions. He'll work on earning a spot as a back-up second baseman, but I challenge you to find anyone who believes that he'll have an everyday job in Tampa. I guess I've already moved on from caring about the Kennedy issue, because, well... I don't care. I wish Adam the best of luck in his pursuits, and I hope he finds a situation that makes him happy. Saved us $400,000 now, didn't it?
The news that did get my attention was that Joel Piñeiro, the guy who last season (and the one before that) showed as little emotion (pre-game, mid-game, or post-game) as I have ever seen from a latino ball player, is lashing out at José Oquendo (the PR manager) for relegating him to bullpen duties for the upcoming Classic. (Maybe 'lashing out' is too subjective a term, but then, I'm a blogger, not a journalist.)
However you see it (and whatever terms you use to describe it), I can understand his feelings. Joel was eager to represent his country as a starting pitcher (as he did in 2006), and actually made statements earlier on that if he wasn't going to be in the rotation, he probably wouldn't participate. Then the Cardinals made it known that they would prefer he didn't participate in the WBC because of the Spring Training time he would miss.
Of course, LaRussa denies any direct involvement in Oquendo's decision (and I believe him), but that doesn't mean the issue wasn't in the back of Cheíto's mind when he picked his starting three and Piñeiro wasn't one of them.
Joel opted to skip the World Baseball Classic, but I choose not to see it as a spoiled player throwing a hissy-fit. I think that Joel probably knows the importance of being present for all of ST, and would have skipped out only for a really good reason (ie, taking the mound as a starter for Puerto Rico). Now that that isn't an option any more, he has decided to remain in Jupiter for camp.
Personally, I'm glad to see him finally show some corazón about something. And he has really sexy eyes.
