The Arizona Diamondbacks have watched the Los Angeles Dodgers acquire a couple of big name talents, including Manny Ramirez. Now the D’Backs have made their move by trading three minor leaguers to the Cincinnati Reds for slugger Adam Dunn.

Currently, Arizona only leads the Dodgers by 1.5 games in the National League West. The team’s bats, which were blazing earlier in the season, have cooled off considerably as of late. The infusion of Adam Dunn into the lineup should help tremendously.

Dunn is tied for the lead in home runs in the major leagues. His 32 homers are as many as Ryan Howard and Carlos Quentin have on the season. In addition to his home runs, Dunn is .233 with 74 RBIs. While the batting average isn’t impressive, he does walk a lot and as a result has a .373 on-base percentage. The 28-year-old Dunn will likely bat fourth or fifth in the lineup and play in the outfield for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Earlier in the season, Dunn was criticized by JP Ricciardi during a radio show. Ricciardi, who is the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, said that Dunn didn’t even like the game of baseball. After Dunn responded to the comments, Ricciardi offered a full apology.

The minor leaguers the Reds will get in return for Adam Dunn are Dallas Buck and two minor leaguers to be named later.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Said Ricciardi: “Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much? Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player? There’s a reason why you’re attracted to some players and there’s a reason why you’re not attracted to some players. I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here.”

Dunn was obviously not too happy when told about the remarks.

Said Dunn: “I know nothing about this clown. I have no idea who he is. I don’t really care what one guy thinks, to be honest with you. If I’m a GM, I don’t know if I would go out of my way to kind of discredit a player. It pisses me off to be honest with you. He doesn’t even know me. If he knew me, fine, say what you want. This guy doesn’t know anything about me other than what he sees on whatever SportsCenter they have up there. That’s it.”

Eventually, Ricciardi apologized for his remarks.

“I apologize to him. I have to be better than that,” said Ricciardi. “Unfortunately, you get caught in the heat of the moment. I don’t even know Adam Dunn.”

The right way for this saga to end would be the Blue Jays trading for Dunn and Dunn before a Canadian hero. We’ll see if Ricciardi makes the right move.

“What Ricciardi Just Call Me?!?!”

Photo: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve