Being odd man out doesn't sit well with ex-Ray Guillen
By TOM JONES
Published May 18, 2003
Jose Guillen is causing trouble. Hmmm, imagine that.
The former Devil Rays outfielder, who thinks he is right and every baseball executive is wrong about where Guillen should be on baseball's food chain, says he is getting a raw deal in Cincinnati and wants to be traded.
Guillen took over for the injured Ken Griffey and played well, batting .356 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs. He said he knew that when Griffey came back, Griffey would play. And he knew Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns had to play, too.
Well, Griffey is back. That means Guillen is sitting.
"I've proved I can play every day," Guillen said. "I'm going to play once a week and everything is going to go bad. Move me and let me play."
Reds manager Bob Boone talked to Guillen, but that didn't slow down Guillen's mouth.
"I'm not afraid to speak the truth," Guillen said. "I'm not happy with the situation. I want to play every day. He said I'd get a lot of at-bats, but I don't know what a lot of at-bats means. He told me I'm the fourth outfielder, and that means playing once or twice a week. We have three great outfielders that need to play. I've been around long enough, I'm not stupid. They are going to play and I'm not going to be here."
FLYING THE COOP: The Orioles still haven't signed their No. 1 pick from last year, pitcher Adam Loewen. The left-hander has until May 27 to sign or go back into the draft. If he chooses to enter the draft again, he will be considered by some to be the top prospect. That's of interest, because the Rays have the top pick.
A MINOR DEAL: Former Orioles prospect Ryan Minor, best known for starting at third base the night Cal Ripken's streak ended, is starting over as a pitcher in the Dodgers organization. The 29-year-old made his pitching debut last week in the Florida State League, allowing three hits and one run with a strikeout in one inning against the Clearwater Phillies.
FIRST STEPS: It has been rumored for years, but the Mets appear to be inching closer to moving catcher Mike Piazza to first base. He is taking grounders during batting practice, but he likely won't make the move until he breaks Carlton Fisk's home run record for catchers. He entered the weekend trailing Fisk by eight.
The Mets have to do something, because Mo Vaughn's career might be over because of a knee injury.
By the way, in case you hadn't noticed, the Mets, with the second-largest payroll in the majors at $119-million, are a mess.
GIANT LOSSES: Maybe the Giants aren't as good as they appear. They have won two series against teams that were above .500 when they played the Giants. One was Houston and the other was the Pirates, who since have dropped like an anvil in the standings. Meantime, the Giants have lost series to winning teams such as the Cubs, Braves, Phillies and Expos.
"Records don't mean anything," San Francisco's Marquis Grissom said. "To me there are no bad teams in the major leagues. Anybody can beat you on any given day."
DOWN AND OUT: Dodgers catcher Todd Hundley remains on the disabled list with an inflamed sciatic nerve in his lower back, and doesn't appear anywhere close to returning.
"I've never been so uncomfortable in my entire life," Hundley said. "It is miserable. I don't have any sense right now of when I can come back. One day it's good, one day it's bad."
WHATTAYA WANT: Houston reliever Billy Wagner was glad to check out of his Philadelphia hotel room last week. Seems his room telephone accidentally was picking up calls meant for guest services.
"At first it was funny," Wagner said. "You kind of razz people. Then it gets old. They'd call to ask me for their luggage, and I'd tell them to go get it themselves. People would tell me they were going to call my manager. I'd say, "Good, because I have something to tell him, too.' "
A BEST-TELLER: Anaheim shortstop David Eckstein has co-written a children's book. Well, kind of. He was interviewed by his co-author for a book called Have Heart, a first-person story about how he overcame the odds to become, as the book says, "a 5-foot-6 sparkplug shortstop" for a World Series champion. Eckstein said he had his mother and brother review the book to "make sure it was in the words I would actually use, since it's me telling a story."
The Angels will hand out free copies to children during an upcoming home game against the Rays.
GLOVE COMPARTMENT: Atlanta's Robert Fick made an error with his glove last week at Dodger Stadium. While signing autographs, he set the glove on a folding chair next to the dugout.
"This kid goes, "Did you tell that lady she could take your glove?' " Fick said. "I was like, "Dude, you let her take my glove? That was my gamer.' "
A woman wearing a Dodgers jersey snatched the glove and disappeared into the crowd. She and the glove were not found.
NEW FRONTIERS: Padres chairman John Moores believes a post-Castro Cuba could be worth checking out as a future home for a major-league team.
"You have enough smart people there to figure out a way to get enough of a middle class to have baseball in Havana," Moores said. "You'd like to see two Latin-American franchises, maybe in Havana and Mexico City, in the next 20 years."
What about Puerto Rico, which is the part-time home for the Expos this season? Moores said attendance for Expos games has been good, but he doesn't know if Puerto Rico can support an 81-game schedule.
SHORT HOPS: The Padres were interested in Julio Lugo as a backup infielder, but backed off when Lugo wanted a two-year deal. That left him available for the Rays. ... Arizona pitcher Curt Schilling is denying a rumor he is interested in going back to his old team, the Phillies, when their new ballpark opens next year. ... The Twins and Royals have been division rivals since the Royals joined the league in 1969. But last week was the first time since 1987 that they had played while occupying first and second place. ... The emergency lights on the career of the Rangers' Ruben Sierra are flashing. Entering the weekend, he was hitting .247 with only two homers and six RBIs. Last week, he sat out as rookie Mark Teixeira started in the outfield for the first time. ... Check this out: the Giants' Felipe Alou managed against Frank Robinson last week. Earlier in their careers, both were fired (by the Expos and Indians, respectively) and replaced by Jeff Torborg, who was fired by the Marlins last week. ... Arizona shortstop Tony Womack (.184 average) appears out of a job. Alex Cintron, 24, was called up from Triple-A Tucson and inserted into the lineup. Womack is not happy and hinted at a trade request.
- Information from other news organization was used in this report.
