Mondesi a Diamondback

[mark1]

This is the best we could do to jump start a terrible offense? Hitting below .200 for the month of July? D-Back management is pathetic. This team doesn't deserve to make the playoffs, and won't. The D-Backs are liars also. They said they will only make a trade that is "salary neutral" BS! They are still paying 2 mil of Mondesi's contract for this year.

"New York had been scheduled to pay $7 million of Mondesi's $13 million salary this season, with Toronto paying the rest. Mondesi is owed $4,333,333 for the rest of the season and Dellucci is owed $300,000 from his $900,000 salary. The money the Yankees are sending Arizona means the teams split the remainder of the salaries for both players."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/story?id=1587181

Read this article. Mondesi is a joke as a hitter and can't even get along with Joe Torre.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/38327.htm

" Mondesi was batting .258 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs and has been a bust in the clutch, hitting .152 (16-for-105) with runners in scoring position."

"We tried to pull out all the stops," Cashman said. "He was hitting under .200 for the month of July and we had Reggie Jackson work with him to try and make it work."

In June he hit .204 with 4 HR's
in July so far he is hitting .191 with 2 HR's

This guy is a head case who can't hit. How the hell does this guy help the team?
I'm going to go bite the head off some nails now and chill out.

 

[mark1]

From the East Valley Tribune. It keeps getting better and better.

"Mondesi has a powerful throwing arm and at times a temper to match. After being pinch-hit for Sunday for the second straight game, he departed Fenway Park before the game ended to fly back to New York. He didn't rejoin the Yankees, who traveled from Boston to Anaheim, until Tuesday.

That indiscretion cemented the Yankees’ intent to make Tuesday's deal.

While with Los Angeles, Mondesi ripped manager Davey Johnson and general manager Kevin Malone in an obscene tirade. Also during his Dodgers career, Mondesi was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. Prosecutors decided not to file drunken driving charges due to a lack of evidence, although his blood-alcohol level was .083 percent. The legal limit in California is .08 percent."

This guy is a mental case.

 

[outcent]

Before we start bashing the organazation about spending money at the trading deadline we need to be thankful for all of the dbacks early success. We all knew we didnt have much money to spend and I think 1mil for the rest of the year is very little. The risk to reward ratio is possibly very good. We were defenitaly not going anywhere with what we had. We may not still but at least Joe did something.

 

[njlawrence]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/30/sports/baseball/30pins.html?th[/URL]

Hope he can single-handedly turn around the anemic offense as he will make Ruby look like Gonzo in the attitude department !!

Interesting trivia, looks like Karim Garcia may replace him in RF for Yankees.

 

[AZZenny]

I find this trade nauseating. I actually woke up in the middle of the night thinking, "G!D!@#$@! - is Joe Jr THAT stupid?!!"

I don't mind so much what we gave up - Looch was a nice guy, but was gone one way or another after this year - but there is a hypocrisy and a cynicism in this move - talk about selling out for a quick-fix - and an absurd quality to the expectations for this guy.

We shall see how well BB can manage THIS development. He didn't sound like he was kidding a few days ago when he said he'd just as soon bring up more Triple-AAA and even Double-AA players, as see a trade. Maybe this is a little organizational experiment in pi$$ing on the clubhouse floor to see if conflict works as well at generating runs as rookies having fun does.

Part of me is hoping this one goes nuclear so we can get a REAL GM.

 

[mark1]

The most confusing thing about this trade for me is the fact that Mondesi has caused trouble at every stop. Isn't Jerry's philosophy to ship those kind of guys out of town?

If you look at Mondesi realistically, he has a bad attitude and can't hit. I appreciate the fact that Joe Jr is trying to upgrade this team but, they have hitched their wagon to the wrong guy. You'll never convince me we couldn't have done better than Mondesi. Bottom line, we needed to make a major upgrade to the offense and we failed miserably. Mondesi is not a difference maker, he's just more of the same.

 

[AzKarl]

Sorry but Mr. C. is a hands on Owner

First of all Jerry Colangelo had to be involved in this. No decision with this potential financial impact and team chemistry impact is anything but a committee decison. That's how the Suns operate and that's how the Dbacks do. You can bet they asked the opinions of some of the vets to see if it could work. Jerry is not going to want to lose on a deal to archrival George. Also don't you think in New York and L.A. there is hyper media scrutiny that can be disturbing to certain sensitive personalities. BOB and the Phoenix media could be just what the Doctor ordered for both Mr.Mondesi and the DBacks.

 

[Chainthroer]

Initially, I did not think I'd like a trade for Mondesi, as I thought we'd give up too much for him. But, the cards fell well, due to Mondesi being in Torre's dog house. We did not give up a lot, although I like Delucci. Still, Mondesi should bring better offense overall. The new atmosphere away from Torre could cause a better attitude and correspondingly better offensive output.
Also, I like him better than Juan Gonzo2. Just think he will personalitywise mesh in better and has better familarity with the NL. Just my opin - I think we made out fairly well.

 

[SunCityCarl]

Though Mondesi "knows" the National League, being what I would call disrespectful to Joe Torre (multiple ring wearer) how will he treat a single ring wearing Bob Brenly? Especially if he goes 2 for 10 & gets lifted for a PH? I hope he is successful here, because if he's not he will try to take the team with him!

 

[arthurracoon]

Originally posted by devilalum
Wasn't Delluci the last original Diamondback?

yup

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Originally posted by SunCityCarl
Though Mondesi "knows" the National League, being what I would call disrespectful to Joe Torre (multiple ring wearer) how will he treat a single ring wearing Bob Brenly? Especially if he goes 2 for 10 & gets lifted for a PH? I hope he is successful here, because if he's not he will try to take the team with him!

Not like we're going anywhere in particular at the moment

Mike

 

[AZZenny]

The man is doing his job with the bat - though his throws from RF and his base-running still leave a bit to be desired. I thought this, from today's rag, was ...well...he's got a good work ethic, and the guy has the sense to stay away from Murph.
Could we borrow his guru for a week, maybe? Will it take a whole lot more to move Murph outa here?

"Mondesi's recent surge stems from early hitting sessions with Leo Posada, a friend and hitting guru who was a minor league instructor with the Los Angeles Dodgers when Mondesi, at 17, signed his first professional contract out of the Dominican Republic.

Posada, 67, worked with Mondesi extensively Wednesday morning and before Thursday's game.


Mondesi blast gives D-Backs key sweep

Mark Gonzales
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 8, 2003 12:00 AM




SCOUTING REPORT

New York Mets

The Mets took two of three at Houston. Left-hander Tom Glavine is 0-2 with an 8.74 ERA in three starts since the All-Star break. Glavine has a 3.96 road ERA but has a 6.27 ERA at Shea Stadium. Glavine is 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA lifetime at Bank One Ballpark. Former ASU player Jeff Duncan is batting .257 but has lost some playing time because Roger Cedeño is 13 for his past 27. Former Red Mountain High and Mesa Community College standout Vance Wilson went 2 for 7 with a home run in the Houston series.
• D-Backs-Expos box score


Raul Mondesi's extra work helped give the Diamondbacks their 500th victory Thursday night, as well as earned Mondesi his first home run with Arizona and his first beer shower.

"It was cold, but it's a good feeling," Mondesi said after he launched the first pitch from left-hander Eric Knott in the bottom of the 10th inning over the left field fence for a 5-4 victory over Montreal at Bank One Ballpark.

"I hope they do it again (tonight)."

The win gave the Diamondbacks their first three-game sweep since June 27-29 at Detroit and moved them to within three games of Philadelphia in the National League wild-card race.

"I was looking for anything," said Mondesi, who has five hits in his past two games.

Mondesi's recent surge stems from early hitting sessions with Leo Posada, a friend and hitting guru who was a minor league instructor with the Los Angeles Dodgers when Mondesi, at 17, signed his first professional contract out of the Dominican Republic.

Posada, 67, worked with Mondesi extensively Wednesday morning and before Thursday's game.

Posada played for the Kansas City Athletics from 1960-62 and now is retired and living in Miami, occasionally giving hitting advice. He is the uncle of catcher Jorge Posada, Mondesi's former teammate with the New York Yankees. Jorge Posada Sr. also is a longtime baseball man and was a scout with the Colorado Rockies.

Mondesi is not trying to ignore any advice from Diamondbacks hitting coach Dwayne Murphy, he said.

"Leo's not trying to take anybody's job," Mondesi said before the game. "It's just that I've been here for just over a week, and (Murphy) hasn't seen me that much. I've known Leo for a long time. He has helped me a lot.

"One year I was struggling (in the minors) and I called him and hit over .300 for the next 20 games. We work hard, but he also knows how to help me relax and feel comfortable."

Posada declined comment.

"You can just tell by (Mondesi's) body language in the box," manager Bob Brenly said. "He feels more comfortable now. He feels quicker. He can wait on the ball longer. He's laying off tough pitches."

 

[BC867]

Raul Mondesi's need to bring in his own Hitting Coach is probably the nail in Dwaye Murphy's coffin. It seems that everyone EXCEPT Murph' is working effectively with our hitters.

His quotes sound like "deer in the headlights" comments. He doesn't seem to be in charge of his responsibilities. And I get the impression that he hasn't earned the respect of the team as the "leader of the hitters".

Mark Grace announced that he wants to pursue the path to managing, rather than announcing. Especially with him hanging out there in limbo as an injured player with a sub-.200 batting average, why not give Gracie the responsibility of Hitting Coach now?

We read snippets of how well he's tutoring some of the players. I'm sure he'd have the players' respect when instituting things like situational hitting. And he'd free up a roster spot for a deserving young player during September.

 

[schillingfan]

Jay Bell announced his retirement today. He shipped his family back to Phoenix. The Mets would make anyone want to retire.

I suspect he will show up in the D-Backs organization in some coaching/managing capacity as well.