June 4, 200719 yr Apologies if this has already been posted. 4. The Giants got so fed up with Armando Benitez that they shipped him out of town -- and still agreed to pick up his $5 million price tag. Long considered a combustible ninth-inning head case, Giants management may have witnessed the final straw last week against the Mets, when Jose Reyes got in Benitez's head so badly that the righty balked in the tying run. The Marlins are paying Benitez only $333,333 for the remainder of the season. Still, you have to wonder why the Marlins are so obsessed with having a Proven Closer". The team's trade for Jorge Julio blew up in their face earlier this season, and it would be little surprise to see the Benitez trade do the same. Meanwhile, both Kevin Gregg and Henry Owens, two effective relievers with no major league track record as closers before this season, were both doing fine in the ninth-inning role. There's no denying that it's a great luxury to have Billy Wagner or Trevor Hoffman at the back of your bullpen. But for every Wagner or Hoffman, there's a Papelbon or Gagne, a starting pitching prospect converted to closing who instantly dominates the league despite no experience in the role. Teams have gotten smarter over the years about not overpaying for relievers with closing experience. But every time you see a Danys Baez multimillion contract or Jorge Julio trade, you can see teams' old, ridiculous biases kicking in. (For a great take on the Benitez deal, check out this excellent parody of The Onion). http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keri/070604 Now the onion post regarding the trade. Pretty funny. http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/story/2007/6/1/33414/61229
June 4, 200719 yr Funny thing is Benitez probably weighs less today than when the Giants signed him. (comment on some of linked material)
June 4, 200719 yr Author I was looking at the weights various websites have him listed at, and it ranges from 180! to 260. 180 - http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/...=2006&t=SFN 229 - http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/conten...amp;line=207647 260 - http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5290 Many more have him listed at 229 and 260 than just these two. Maybe the 180 is when he made his debut (13 years ago?)
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