Earlier in the season, he wripped out an ingrown toe nail with pliers.  Now, Jose Guillen has done it again.  He has put himself out up to 10 weeks by partially tearing his lateral collateral ligament in his right knee.  He did this when he bent down to put on a shin guard as he prepared to bat. 

Actually, it’s been quite a news-making week for Guillen.  Just a few days ago, he was quoted in the Kansas City Star as saying he was “embarrassed” by the money he’s making this season.

“If I suck, then I suck. And I suck. That’s the way I’m playing. If you suck, you suck. You have to take responsibility in this game. Right now, that’s the way I feel.

“Yes, I suck.” 

I wonder what kind of quotes he made after the injury.

No, Jim Parque is not a name that most people associate with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  He made only five starts with Tampa Bay, resulting in a 1-1 record and a whopping 11.94 ERA. 

Chris DeLuca in the Chicago Sun-Times writes about Parque’s confession of how HGH was used by him to try to keep his job with the Rays.  If his ERA is any indication, the HGH wasn’t really working for him. 

But, Parque saw and felt the difference.  In a first-hand account that he gave to the Chicago Sun-Times, Jim Parque describes how HGH impacted his life as he tried to hold on to a professional baseball career and, moreso, how it impacts him now. 

With my career in jeopardy, I turned to performance-enhancing drugs, like some other players did. I never had needed them before, but with a shoulder that wouldn’t heal, it was realistically the only thing I could turn to.

This isn’t the story of a star.  It wouldn’t come close to explaining why someone with high levels of baseball talent like Alex Rodriguez or Mark McGwire might allegedly try something like this.  But, it’s the story of a good baseball player and the struggles to hold on to the dream.

Did I hurt people? Did I disgrace baseball? Yes, but I was trying to preserve a financial future, keep my family’s lifestyle intact and keep a lifelong journey alive.

The Boston Red Sox have designated Julio Lugo for assignment today, ending his stay in Boston.  As quoted in the Boston Globe, Lugo could only speak in metaphors:

“When you see a good looking girl, you get married and sometimes things don’t work out,” Lugo said. “I gave it my best and unfortunately things didn’t work out. This is the best for both parties. I wanted it to work out but it didn’t.”

It sounds like the Cubs, Mets and Cardinals are interested in his services the rest of the year.  But, here’s my question.  It it were the balance of the league minimum, would he look better on the Rays roster than, say, Joe Dillon?

Jason Beck of MLB.com has a good article about Edwin Jackson and his past with the Tampa Bay Rays.  As Rays fans know, the Edwin Jackson we watched most times out to the mound was a little less sucessful than the one that is currently pitching for the Detroit Tigers.   That isn’t lost on Edwin as well. 

Joe Maddon, as is typical of him, stuck with Edwin Jackson and kept his a starter when the numbers weren’t there.  He could have been stuck in the bullpen, a la Jason Hammel.  But, Joe stayed with him.  And, while the Rays aren’t getting the benefit of the results, Edwin seems very appreciative of the faith.

“They gave me an opportunity, especially when I could’ve gone to the bullpen,” Jackson said. “He stuck his neck on the line to keep me starting, and I was thankful for that.”

And, how does he feel about meeting up with som many ex-teammates? 

“It’s definitely a good feeling to be back with some of the old teammates and old friends,” Jackson said. “It’s like a family reunion all over again. We’ve been catching up, having a lot of fun.”

Jason Hammel is 5-4 with a 4.07 ERA so far this season with the Colorado Rockies.  Better than that, he’s coming off a June where he was 4-0 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP.  These are pretty impressive numbers from someone who could rarely manage more than a spot-start with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Hammel spent the 2008 season in the Rays bullpen, mostly in mop-up duty.  In the minors, he made 110 starts compared to only seven relief appearances.  Overall, he was 37-34 with a 3.46 in the minor leagues.  But, when he came up to the big leagues, he couldn’t hold onto a starting job. 

The Rockies pretty much knew when they acquired him this spring that he would be a starter.  And, if you listen to Rockies’ pitching coach Bob Apodaca, he’s not suprised with the results.

“I’m not surprised at all.  But I think his emphasis has changed. He thought of himself more as a breaking-ball pitcher. We needed to get him thinking about the importance of his fastball.  He has such good off-speed stuff — his slider, curve, changeup — that I think he underestimated and maybe didn’t emphasize his fastball enough.”

Over on www.raysallday.com, I compare the Jason Hammel trade for Aneury Rodriguez to the Edwin Jackson trade for Matt Joyce.  In the end, I think the Hammel trade could be worse.

photo:  commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jhammel.jpg

Jonny Gomes seems to have latched onto the Cincinnatti Reds roster, putting up decent numbers in limited amount of playing time since being recalled from Triple-A Lousville.  He’s hitting .313 with five HR and 16 RBI in 83 at bats.

It would also appear that the Reds fans have latched on to Jonny Gomes, much like Rays fans did.  Gomes’ hometown newspaper in Santa Rosa, CA ran an article about his popularity among Rays fans. 

See if this type of quote sounds familiar:

Wrote one fan to the Reds’ Web site. “Gomes is a good player. He makes up for any natural lack of natural ability with his desire and hustle. This guy gives 110 percent on every play, and you can’t teach that. I would love to see him in the line up daily, as it will give the other guys some meaning to the word hustle.”

It seems like every time there’s discussion about what the Rays lack compared to last year, there’s talk of clubhouse leadership being lost with the departure of Cliff Floyd.  That may be true, but it’s hard to replace the energy that Jonny Gomes brought to the team. 

photo: flickr.com/photos/62373848@N00/536849079

In the final results of All-Star voting, Josh Hamilton has been selected as the third starter in this year’s game in St. Louis.  Clearly, this selection is based on last year’s performance and not on what he has done this year.

Last year, Josh hit .304 with 32 home runs and 13o RBI.  Clearly a sensational season.  And, perhaps more important in his nationwide appeal, he put on a spectacular display of power in the Home Run Derby of the 2008 All-Star festivities. 

This year, however, has been plagued by injury and average statistics.  He’s currently on rehab making his way back from abdominal surgery on June 9.  He has played in only 35 games, hitting .240 with just six home runs and 24 RBI. 

Obviously, his appearance in this year’s game will be a gift of the fan vote.  He would not have been selected by the players or by manager Joe Maddon without it.  Torii Hunter or Carl Crawford would have been much more deserving selections based on this year’s performance. 

photo:  picasaweb.google.com/…/q76vqNX2kDt1wsv15ReH9g

The Rays traded Winston Abreu today to the Cleveland Indians for minor league relief pitcher John Meloan.  Abreu is expected to join the Indians’ bullpen in the next few days after a corresponding move can be made with the big league club.

The Indians are desperately trying to improve a bullpen that has a 12-17 record and a 5.07 ERA which is second highest in the American League.  Over the weekend, the Indians traded Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later and claimed Jose Veras off waivers from the New York Yankees.

According to a Sports Illustrated poll of current major league players, Lou Piniella is the manager players would least want to play for.  Piniella told the Chicago Tribune

“I take that as a compliment,” Piniella said. “We demand things and we want to win. There are some pretty good names on that list.”

Piniella received 26% of the vote, followed by fellow Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen with 21% and Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa with 10%. 

Interestingly, Rays manager Joe Maddon was listed as the fourth most popular manager as one players would want to play for. 

photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/harsh1/2726701679/

The Washington Nationals optioned Elijah Dukes to Triple-A Syracuse today.  According to the Washington Post, the Nationals don’t consider Dukes a “finished product” and want him in a lineup everyday, as long as it’s not the Nationals’ lineup. 

“I didn’t see the consistent at-bats I wanted Elijah to have,” (Acting General Manager Mike) Rizzo said. “I think he understands this is a developmental process… He can use this time to right himself down there.”

Reportedly, the Nationals are at least listening to anyone who might be interested in trading for Dukes.  You have to wonder how many teams are out there that would take on that kind of baggage.  The Rays were so willing to get rid of him that they traded him to the Nats for Glenn Gibson who is pitching for the Hudson Valley Renegades.  So far, in two starts, Gibson has given up nine earned runs and has walked nine batters in just 5 1/3 innings.