There’s no denying that Solomon Torres is an interesting guy. He first arrived in the big leagues as a 21-year old back in ‘93 and didn’t do much. Then he disappeared after the ‘97 season, only to return in ‘02 and become a solid reliever for the Pirates.
Now Torres has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, but according to reports, he may retire rather than report to his new team. Quoth the soon-to-be-36-year-old:
It’s a giant move, and I have to make a decision if I want to go forward… This is going to change my life, my family’s life. If …read more

The Texas Rangers have traded outfielder Freddy Guzman to Detroit for catcher/first baseman Chris Shelton.
Who are these guys? Glad you asked.
Guzman once was known as Pedro De Los Santos and played second base in the San Diego Padres organization. Then when the visa crackdowns came along, his name changed and he aged a few years. Guzman has decent on-base skills and is fast. His ceiling is a poor-man’s Juan Pierre, but really, he’s a fourth outfielder. Actually, so is Pierre, but I digress.
Shelton spent all of 2007 in the minors after batting .273/.340/.466 for the Tigers in ‘06. The guy …read more

Not to sound cold, but the other day I was thinking about the Astros’ recent housecleaning, and I wondered why nothing had changed yet in Pittsburgh. Well, now it has. Dave Littlefield has been dismissed as general manager, with Senior Director of Player Development Brian Graham stepping in as Interim GM.
The Pirates, meanwhile, continue to be a complete mess. They need to lose 3 of their final 22 games to assure their 15th consecutive losing season. There’s some decent young talent in the organization, especially pitchers — Tom Gorzelanny, Paul Maholm, Ian Snell, Matt Capps — but not enough to …read more

In the “you have to read it to believe it” department comes this article on Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Salomon Torres. Seems he — no, you know what, I’m just going to let the man speak for himself:
I’ve given everything I have to the team, to the city of Pittsburgh, and I would like nothing more than to be part of a championship there.
Last championship? 1979. Last winning record? 1992.
On his current elbow injury:
I don’t have a problem with the diagnosis or the treatments. But they told me it would be up to me to tell them when I felt good …read more

I’ve already made my distaste for the All-Star game abundantly clear. Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune has pretty well outlined why I can’t muster any enthusiasm for the so-called Midsummer Classic:
Every year, even 64 slots seem too few for the truly deserving. Virtually half of those are already committed, one per team, minimum. It devalues the honor when a player is handed an All-Star uniform for no more reason than the simple – and regrettable – fact that he plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates or Kansas City Royals.
Yeah, that part never sat right with me. Either we’re fielding …read more