Spring training will be here before we know it. Here’s some links to get you in the mood:
Aaron Cunningham’s got a start on a helluva baseball cap collection. The former South Kitsap standout was just traded to his fourth organization in five years. In case you missed it, Cunningham was sent to San Diego along with outfielder Jerry Hairston for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and a minor leaguer. Cunningham, an outfielder, was orginally a sixth-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2005, which traded him to the Diamondbacks, who packaged him with five other players in a deal with the Athletics for pitcher Dan Haren. While Oakland remained high on Cunningham, they needed a third baseman and they have a glut of outfielders so it wasn’t all that surprising that they moved him along.
Cunningham’s a career .309 hitter in the minor leagues and has a couple cups of coffee in the majors with Oakland. Check out his career numbers.
Jason Hammel, another SK grad and part of the Rockies’ starting rotation, filed for arbitration.
Royals utility player Willie Bloomquist, and yet another South Kitsap grad to make it to the majors, had this to say about Mark McGwire in a story in mlb.com: “I respected Mark McGwire when I watched him when I was a kid, and I think he’s a tremendous talent with or without steroids,” Bloomquist said. “But it’s just unfortunate that one of the greatest years of our game happened to be when he broke the home-run record on a performance-enhancing substance.”
Speaking of McGwire, his confession was coordinated by Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary, who as this Santa Rosa Press Democrat blog points out, helped sell us George Bush’s war on Iraq. Is there any remaining doubt about the connection between the sports world of fun and games and the hardball real world of serious spin, revisionist history and expert damage control?
The M’s get a lot of love in this week’s issue of the Sporting News. This P-I blog sums it up pretty good.
Not everybody is bullish on the Mariners. Read Rob Neyer’s ESPN.com blog.
What’s going on with Russell Branyan, who’s still in limbo. Here’s a recent post on the power-hitting IB from the U.S.S. Mariner.
Here’s all you need to know about the Mariners’ Jan. 30-31 Fanfest.
That’s all for now folks. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
