LAS VEGAS – It had already been a long day. With nearly every agent representing all of the top free agents as well as every general manager in Major League Baseball traveling from a hospitality suite to the lobby area of The Bellagio yesterday, the media-types working the angles and looking for any glint of information were already exhausted. There was no way to process any more of the fodder for posting on the web or talking on TV.
The only thing most people wanted to do was get a hot shower and a hot meal.
At least that’s the way I felt. Finally able to adjourn the media workroom after waiting for Ronny Paulino or Jason Jaramillo to pass a physical (yeah, so glamorous) so that Phils’ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. could announce Wednesday’s trade, the plan was to clean up and take a breather before catching up with my old work friends from work Leslie Gudel, Neil Slotkin and Matt Yallof.
Matt had already been up at the crack reporting on the CC Sabathia deal with the Yankees for SportsNet-New York on Wednesday and was understandably cooked. Yet, as I was looking for the exits, Matt came barreling around the corner with his tie askew, BlackBerry hanging from his hand like a six-shooter, hair no longer meticulously crafted and tired eyes pleading for a break that wasn’t coming.
“Whoa… where are you going in a hurry?”
“Yeah, I don’t think I can make it tonight.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Mets just made a three-team, 12-player trade with the Mariners and the Indians. Minaya is on his way down.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Wish I was.”
“Oh man. When is this day going to end?”
“No time soon.”
Who would have ever thought that talking, walking and writing could be so tiring? No, it’s not digging ditches or anything like that, but everything is relative. Making the scene at the schmooze fest that is the baseball Winter Meetings can wear you out. Just ask the Phillies’ brass who tirelessly worked around the clock to put together a deal before jetting back to Philadelphia.
Hey, it takes a while to get a guy like Ronny Paulino.
Nevertheless, while joshing with Amaro before the TV/web-only availability the other day, I asked the GM how the tables had been treating him in Las Vegas.
“So Ruben, how much are you up?”
“Twenty-four. I’ve been up 24 hours.”
I believe him. He looked like he’d been up all night working all the angles.
Now he gets to go home with Ronny Paulino.
More schmooze
One of the highlights of the Winter Meetings was getting the chance to chat a bit with former big-league All-Stars Eric Davis and Ellis Burks. Davis, of course, was a star for the World Champion Reds in 1990 and famously returned from colon cancer in the late 1990s to put together a few more successful seasons before retiring in 2001.
During his prime many thought that Davis might be the first ballplayer to put together a 50-50 season, but injuries robbed him of too many games.
So after being introduced to Davis I reminded him of a home run I witnessed at Camden Yards at the tail end of the 1993 season when he was playing for Detroit.
“The ball was still on its way up by the time it hit the batters’ eye,” I said.
“Yep,” Davis said. “Arthur Rhodes. It was a 2-1 pitch. Slider.”
Who is he, Rain Man?
These days Burks works for the Cleveland Indians as an advisor, but during his days as a player Burks clubbed 352 homers and batted .291. A strong case could be made that Burks should have been the NL MVP in 1996 over Ken Caminiti.
Anyone who gets a chance to listen to Charlie Manuel talk about hitting and his days as manager with the Indians has heard an Ellis Burks story or two. When informed that Charlie still speaks highly of him and asked if he had any favorite memories of playing for Manuel, Burks launched into one of the finer impressions of the Phillies’ manager.
Burks also talked about his days with the Red Sox and his teammate, John Marzano, who died after a fall in his home last April and a man Burks referred to as his best friend on the team.
“He was just fun guy. I miss him a lot,” Burks said.
More coming?
One of the most interesting developments on Thursday morning was watching teems of GMs, scouts, players and agents hurry to the taxi queue and a ride to the airport immediately following the Rule 5 Draft. It almost looked as if it were the last day of school and all the kids where pouring out of the building as fast as they could just to get away from the place.
Even most of the Phillies’ traveling party had left Las Vegas on Thursday morning, Amaro and a few other execs were sticking around an extra day in order to continue working.
Hey, who knows? Maybe he’ll come home with Nick Punto, too.
Charlie Hustler
Stopped by the Forum Shops in Caesar's Palace this morning with the hope of catching up with Pete Rose. The most infamous ballplayer alive and the ex-Phillies and Reds great spends some time in a memorabilia store where he signs autographs and chats with the fans.
However, Pete rolls in during the afternoon and wasn't around during the visit. He has my digits though... he'll call to chat, right?
"I felt like I had the flu again."
- Charlie Manuel when asked how he felt after learning that the Mets had acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz on the same day.
