June 30, 2006
Love, Luck, and Lollipops, Mr. Hammond
Chris Hammond was designated for assignment today by the Reds. Brian “Love” Shackelford has been called up to take his place.
Chris Hammond was a guiding presence in the bullpen early in the season, but lately he just hadn't been getting it done on the mound. At 40 years old, you had to figure that he was getting pretty close to hanging up the cleats anyway, but you never know. He “retired” in 1999 but returned in 2002, so maybe we'll be seeing him again round-about 2010 or so.
Till then, we'll be looking for great things out of Love Shack.
What’s not funny is how he blames his problems on the whole team:
It’s a dicey situation.
[i][b]”I can’t give them to myself,”[/b] said Weathers, who is 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA and nine saves in 33 games this season. “To me, that’s the Catch-22. To pitch better, you have to pitch more. To pitch more, you have to pitch well enough that somebody wants you out there again.
“It’s hard to complain, because we’re a game and a half back and leading the Wild Card. We’re winning. That’s the most important thing. I’m not a trouble-maker.” [/i]
oops, i put that in the wrong comments section.