HBT Weekend Wrap

Here’s what went down over the past 48 hours:

The Yankees are talking to Andruw Jones. Say what you will about the Yankees offseason thus far, but if they lose this one to the Phillies for less money, it’s gonna really hurt.
Frank McCourt went to New York to plead with Major League Baseball to help him out in keeping the Dodgers. I picture Selig in his office talking to his consigliere and saying “do I have to see him?” not unlike Don Corleone before Luca Brasi came in during Connie’s wedding.
Meanwhile Joe Torre was likewise petitioning MLB , in his case for Sandy Alderson’s old gig as an advisor to Selig. They should have hired him on the spot and made it his first task to give McCourt the bum’s rush out of the MLB offices.
The Mets want another starter, but won’t pay much for one. This is totally shocking.
We can make fun of the Chicago Sun-Times for mixing up pictures of Matt Garza and Joaquin Benoit, but I sorta live in fear of doing this myself.
The Yankees are still thinking about Rafael Soriano. If form holds, there will be a report discounting any Yankee interest in him in 3 … 2 … 1 …
The Rangers tried to get Matt Garza before the Cubs did. Or maybe it was Joaquin Benoit. We’re not entirely sure.
I hate this world sometimes. I truly hate it.
I kinda feel bad that Luis Castillo is always lumped into stories with Oliver Perez. I mean, no, he didn’t earn his contract either, but they are light years apart in terms of magnitude of suckitude.
Here’s hoping Tony Gwynn gets better soon.
My wife got me “Bull Durham” on DVD for Christmas, so now I can study the subject of baseball groupies much more closely. Pfun Pfact: the woman who played Millie is married to Tom Lennon from “The State” and “Reno: 911.” I just thought that was weird and that you should know about it.

And now on with our scheduled week.

Major League Baseball just announced that it has approved a roster substitution for the Milwaukee Brewers due to the ankle injury sustained by Gio Gonzalez: right-handed pitcher Zach Davies will take his place. In accordance with league rules, Gonzalez will be ineligible to return if the Brewers make it to the World Series.

That rule is designed to prevent roster gamesmanship such as having a pitcher fake an injury after he’s done being used in an effort to give a team a fresh arm in a short series. A second layer on that is an independent consult with the league, which may approve or disapprove the request based on the specific facts and circumstances of the case. In this case, Dr. Gary Green, MLB’s Medical Director, confirmed Gonzalez’s injury after communicating with the Brewers’ evaluating physician. Not that anyone can really suggest that Gonzalez was faking. The dude’s ankle went sideways.

That being said, this is a benefit to the Brewers at least for the short term. Davies did not have a fantastic season, going 2-7 with a 4.77 ERA in 13 starts and failing to make the Brewers’ initial postseason roster, but he is fresh — he hasn’t pitched since September 28 — which could prove very useful for Craig Counsell and the Brewers after last night’s 13-inning game.

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