MLBTR Roundup

I haven't consistently read MLB Trade Rumors this year, which deeply saddens me. As one of their pioneer readers (MLBTR was started just 3 months before Cooly and I began reading. Nerd street cred!!! I just did several fist pumps to celebrate my heroics.), I am disgraced by my lack of loyalty for a blog that has been so good to me in the past.

A beautiful thing happened last week, which may have turned my spirits and this blogs lifeline around. My brand new job has virtually no Internet restrictions (the only website blocked is FIFA.com, suck it soccer!). This means I have 45 minutes every lunch time to read up on terrible writers and blog. I'm sure you all are as happy about this as I am.

One of the things that turned me off to MLBTR recently was the loss of humor from the site. More hired part time posters started working there, and with less Tim Dierkes postings we had less opportunities for quips about Fernando Tatis and Reggie Sanders. A few things on MLBTR stuck out today, which I think you all should know about. When speaking about the White Sox pursuit of Adam Dunn, Tim gave us this tasty lick:

The 30-year-old Dunn is hitting .276/.366/.559 with 17 home runs in 314 plate appearances this season. The batting average would be the highest of his career, his 11.5% walk rate the lowest. The White Sox have gotten just a .218/.293/.371 line out of the DH spot, with Mark Kotsay getting the most starts there.

Seriously, they are batting .218!!!! That is horrible. What is worse is the DH spot has an OBP of .293. This is atrocious. The 2008 Mariners wouldn't have stood for this kind of production. And they allowed Jose Vidro to bat the majority of the time! (Not to be confused with Fernando Vina, which I always do)

Ben Nicholson-Smith gave us another morsel of excitement when he added this to another post:

MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince hears that Sal Fasano, who currently manages in Toronto's system, is an early candidate to replace Cito Gaston as the Blue Jays' manager in 2011. Fasano, 38, had an 11-year MLB career that included a stint with the Jays in 2007.

The MLBTR I know would have unabashedly made fun of Fasano's lack of skill and willingness to sport a great mustache. Because Tim no longer shares his bouts of comedic wisdom with us, I will have to append my own thoughts to the end of the Sal Fasano bulletin.

...Fasano, 38, had an 11-year MLB career that included a stint with the Jays in 2007, three trips to a barber, and reportedly 7 showers has spent the majority of his coaching much like his playing career, drinking truck loads of Old Style, belching Led Zepplin, and giving great massages.