Sid Fernandez without question had the fattest derrier in baseball. I don't know if it accounted for his peculiar success with a mere 88 MPH fastball, but it must mean something. Maybe extra kharma was stored there along with the 15 walarus steaks.

And what is a "walarus," you ask? Why, a walrus from Belarus, of course!

Oh, yeah: Mick, what was the score of that game last night? It seems my 34-24 prediction was a wee pessimistic . . .

David Wells is svelte nowadays compared to Sidney Ponson. Sad to say, Ponson looks a bit like a pudgy 12-year-old in his ESPN picture.

When Ponson tires, Rich "El Guapo" Garces is ready to step in.

John Kruk just has to make this team somewhere....

Late-career Boog Powell. Greg Luzinski.

No doubt Bartolo Colon makes the team... kind of reminds me of a bloated garden gnome.

Also we can't forget the American Idol winner - Mo Vaughn.

Kevin Mitchell.

Tony Gwynn.

I'm not sure I'd call him fat, but the amazing Kirby Puckett looked like a bowling ball, and moved like one too.

I also remember being shocked at the sight of Dave Parker running to first in his September audition with the Jays. I think it was actually on a double, but in my mind I can't imagine him running all that way with his massive bulk on those skinny legs. He looked a little like a hippo dancing en pointe.

http://www.torontobaseballguys.com
1994 ROY Bob Hamelin was a big guy. Plus, he was rookie of the year!

According to the Globe, Adam Peterson is the player that would go to Arizona for Shea Hillenbrand should the Shawn Green deal get done.

Gitz, my boss is an OU grad and former four-time All-American wrestler, so I was rooting for the Sooners purely out of self-interest.

What, no F.A.T. catchers? I'm thinking Mike LaValliere ...

Rick Reuschel. Denny McClain (or was that just post-career?).

ok, he was NOT fat, but I have to say that Mark McGwuire (sp?) was so big at the end of his career, that he's the only guy I ever saw who from the centerfield camera looked like he didn't fit in the batters box...

and that includes Mo Vaughn, however Mo stood so far forward that there was always lots of the box behind him... so he might have counted too...

This from yesterdays article in the Globe:

"Shawn Green hasn't been with the Toronto Blue Jays since 1999 but he's still having an impact on the organization as a domino in a series of events that sources say will result in Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Shea Hillenbrand winding up with the Blue Jays."

What does Blair mean by "as a domino in a series of events"?

Is there more to this trade than meets the eye? Does the aquisition of Shea have a domino effect in terms of other moves?

Man this is driving me crazy!!!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050105/DIGEST05-1/TPSports/Baseball
COMN for the Globe article referenced above - Jeff Blair calling a deal potentially "iminent" I take as a very substantiated rumour

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050105/DIGEST05-1/TPSports/Baseball
COMN for the Jeff Blair article that Marc described.
Apparently Arizona has asked for Peterson.

Oh and by referenced above I mean the one from today that Marc referred to, not the one from yesterday that Pumped is referring to

You want catchers, then Ernie Lombardi. No, I'm not old enough to have seen him play, but I've got the pictures to prove it.

Given the number of Expos, Rangers, and Yankees fans on here, it's a little surprising nobody has mentioned the F.A.T. toad yet. Or are we all trying to forget the memories? :)

I hope that 'asked for' Adam Peterson isn't the same as 'will be receiving' Adam Peterson.

I'm not crazy about Hillenbrand at his salary, but to give up a decent prospect for him would be an awful deal, and would be another case of trading a player when their value is at their lowest.

Dear Shawn Green,

How ya doin', cousin? Listen, have you been to Phoenix lately? Man, it's ugly. Flat with more smog than LA in the 70s. The music scene sucks, the food's nowhere near as good as LA, and the people aren't called rednecks for nothing. They've got more skin cancer clinics than LA's got rehab clinics. Worst of all, there's the surfing. Have you ever tried to surf on sand?

So, please just for me, don't sign on the dotted line for that contract extension. Shea belongs, you don't!

Your cousin,

Mike
(ed. note: Mike Green is, as far as anyone can tell, unrelated to Shawn Green, and thinks very highly of Tucson)

Floyd Rayford, believe it or not, played third base at one point. Mobility was not his strong suit.

Maybe an Expos fan of the '70's can convince me it was just late-career corpulence, but I remember Bob Bailey when he came to the Reds in '75-'76 beign Large.

And speaking of Expos, wasn't Le Grande Orange Le Grande Fatty?

On an unrelated note, I love writing headlines; it's my favorite part of the quasi-journalism I do every day. ESPN.com usually is Bland Vanilla Headline Site, but today ...

"Troy Story 2: Trojan Force."

Genius. Genius. Bravissimo.

Mick, When Rusty Staub arrived in Montreal, he was of average build. He took a liking to things French, including the cuisine (note to self: add food to Tug McGraw's 3 ways to not waste money-"wine, women and song"), and left for New York a bigger man.

Add C.C. Sabathia to Lolich and El Sid for a decent hefty lefty trio.

What about that guy who played right field for the Yankees in the '20s and '30s?

Hit a lot of homeruns, apparantly.

I always remember Fernando Valenzuela as being on the portly side, but after checking his bio on various sites they all list him as weighing 195 lbs.

I was also going to add in Sabathia, his bio on espn has him at 290 lbs. That's a big man.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=34244
There were indications Tuesday evening that Arizona and outfielder Shawn Green — who would come to the D-Backs from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a deal agreed to by the teams Monday — were significantly apart in negotiations on a contract extension. - COMN

The Arizona paper also mentioned a Peterson for Hillenbrand swap, but I suspect (hope?) that they had the same source as Blair.

Have any of y'all seen former Pirate minor leaguer (currently in the Orioles system, I think) Walter Young play? He has quite a large... uh... reputation. I've never seen him, so I'm hoping someone else has.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=34166
I know we beat the proposed Hillenbrand trade into the ground yesterday, but I found a little bit of news to add to the mix. Apparently, at least according to this story (COMN) the D'Backs would have to include some money in the transaction.

I'm gonna guess the deal would look something like Hillenbrand plus $1.5M, in exchange for Peterson.

The question is what does JP do with the additional cash? He has surplus $ right now that he isn't able to spend, so what's he gonna do with even more.

I'm also go out on the limb with a totally fabricated trade scenario; Hinske to the Tigers for Urbina, and maybe we flip the cash to the tabbies. Detroit seriously needs a 3B as they intend to play last year's back up catcher Brandon Inge as their starter at third going into the 2005 season.

Maybe we could pry Dmitri Young from the Tigers, as part if a larger deal.

Maybe we could pry Dmitri Young from the Tigers, as part if a larger deal.

Or what about Rondell White? He's signed for around 3.3M this year, I believe, and would be useful in the LF/DH mix. Plus he's a righty!

I got the feeling from the article (and another one I read yesterday) that Peterson had been agreed on in exchange. Swapping a minor league short reliever for a full time player is a pretty good move as far as I am concerned. Especially given the apparent fragility of Peterson's makeup, which implies he may not be suited for closing.

Rondell White is due $3M in 2005. Looked at his stats and I always envisioned him to be a better player than he actually is. He's a minor improvement on Hillenbrand when healthy which he never is. He's played more than 150 games exactly once in his career in 1997.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0105bowling0105.html
On an unrelated note, although it may impact the Jays broadcasts, Tom Candiotti is now officially a two-sport player. COMN

Peterson's control started abandoning him towards the end of his stint in AA, just before his call-up. His walk troubles continued in the AFL. I still like Peterson as a prospect but less than I did a year ago.

Sorry for the Hijack

What do people think if Bottalico as a fit for the Jays??
67 IP last year, about 1K/IP, about 2K/BB

Last two winters he's signed Minor League Deals and then made the Club foe half of 2003 and all of 2004..he'd probably come cheap....

Hillenbrand at 1B? Please no. I'll keep Hinske there and see what he can do. And once again, call the Mets. Cliff Floyd's available, especially if they land both Delgado and Beltran. Floyd's a bargain if you can keep him healthy, and leaving him at DH will go a long way toward accomplishing that. Last 3 years OPS+ 143, 132, 110.

I don't like a Hillenbrand for Peterson deal. If Hillenbrand was going to put this team over the top or stick around for a while - sure. But a year's rental of a guy that we already have two of (Hinske, Koskie) for a 25 year old who throws 97 MPH - no thanks. Peterson did struggle in the majors (after being rushed) and never recovered in AAA. Do you write him off for this? His AFL line of 2.13 9BB/ 15K in 12 IP shows he was starting to turn it around in a hitters league.

I don't really buy the whole fragile makeup thing. He pitches 50 IP in AA (ever) gets sent to the majors under the great bullpen magician Carlos Tosca and struggles - whoa there is a surprise.

Even if it is true and he does have some character defect, let him set up this year in the 7th and 8th , start posting some good K numbers and light up a few radar guns. The Jays might find they like having a decent bullpen for a change, or they can trade him to a team that sees good ML numbers for something better than Hillenbrand - say a real 1B prospect?

I think Bottalico would be a great addition. Another idea is Osuna last of the Padres, although I'd obviously prefer an even better relief ace to settle down the whole bullpen.

When I simultaneoulsy think of fat and baseball, outside of my own high school career, the name that most often comes to mind is Senior Smoke, Juan Berenguer (the Minnesota years).

I don't really buy the whole fragile makeup thing. He pitches 50 IP in AA (ever) gets sent to the majors under the great bullpen magician Carlos Tosca and struggles - whoa there is a surprise.

I'm not ready to call him fragile either.

However, I think it's a real stretch to think Tosca had any impact on his struggles in Toronto. It's not like he was pitching the 9th with one run leads. He pitched in three games, and in all three the Jays were comfortably behind when he entered.

Charlie Kerfeld. Maybe it's the specs that padded the tonnage, as he's listed on baseball-reference.com as 225 lbs.

I'm not thrilled with this potential deal but 9BB in 12IP is not good even for the AFL. I don't care what his ERA is especially in just 12IP.

Pistol - point taken re: his usuage but I think Tosca had a manner about his use of the bullpen that was his downfall - the sort of "you better succeed here or else" feeling he seemed to exude.

Mick, apparently three AP writers watched different games Monday and Tuesday; three of them voted Auburn #1. I wonder what baseball would be like if there were polls for it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7021
An up & Comer for heaviest man in baseball is 27 year old Rookie closer for the Rockies - Aaron Taylor. ESPN lists him as 245 (COMN), but by all accounts that is a generous understatement.

My thoughts on a potential Peterson for Hillenbrand deal:

- if it means Hinske is on his way out of town, I'm all for this deal
- IMO, I don't think Peterson will ever be more than a replacement level pitcher in the bullpen.
- The only free agent hitter on the market I would prefer over Hillenbrand is Magglio Ordonez, I would prefer signing him to a 1 year $8-10 million deal, but I doubt that this would happen.
- While I've never been Hillenbrands biggest supporter, his numbers over the last three years are better than I remembered, his consistancy over that span at home/on the road/vs. righties/vs. lefties is impressive to say the least and hisstrike out rate last year is very good.

A fat thread and no Cecil Fielder? Me Grimlock glad that at least someone mentioned Fat Rich Garces.

Cecil was mentioned in the original comments.

Willie Stargell was fairly Huskie at the end of his career.

hey, you grimlock, how bout a futures team with Fielder(this time Prince) aswell. I would also prefer a one year deal for magglio, problem is, i think him and his agent are thinking it will all be down hill from here. So they want to get the long term deal done this year.

You Grimlock should read the original question more carefully!

Gitz, interesting idea. How do we turn that into tomorrow's QOTD?

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/newsblog_discussion/25407/
COMN for a Primer discussion on just who's to blame for the Jays' '04 season and how much. I'm trying to fight the good fight but there are several fronts to the battle.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/Stats/box_VZ.shtml
Ismael Ramirez had a rough outing for Oriente in the Venezuelan League yesterday, although he did walk only 1 and struck out 5 in 3.1 innings. COMN. Ignore the YTD ERA. It reflects 2005 numbers only.

Here is what Rotoworld says:

The Jays may have to give up reliever Adam Peterson in order to acquire Shea Hillenbrand from Arizona.
Peterson has the potential to be a quality setup man. It's not an especially high price to pay, but we're still not sure the Jays should be surrendering any talent for the arbitration-eligible Hillenbrand. He might make more than he's worth next year.

COMN for a Primer discussion on just who's to blame for the Jays' '04 season and how much

The "front" I found most interesting was the comparison to the O's. I hadn't realized their payroll was quite so low last year, despite the signings of Tejada, Lopez, Palmeiro, and Ponson. (and would've been lower without Segui -- their highest-paid player! -- eating up $7 million). Even with bumps for Tejada, Ponson et. al., losing the $13M spent on Segui, Cordova, and Groom should leave them a ton of room, no?

Why DOES the current perception seem to still be that the O's are over-spending fools? (Maybe that was just me) The Tejada and Lopez contracts look pretty good now, especially with what happened this off-season.

It's kind of ironic that one signing that got a huge amount of (justified) criticism -- Mike Bordick -- ended up landing them their best player last year, Mr. Mora...

Oh, and to Kyle's post about the QOTD, there are a few of us in Ottawa hoping to see big Walter this year...

I'm trying to fight the good fight but there are several fronts to the battle.

I don't think it's worth the aggravation. Primates aren't ones to change their minds.

Weird discussion at Primer- pretty much echoing the thinking that JP's a SABR GM, which I thought was a perception that'd been shattered...

I just posted a long response there under the handle "google boy".

GT- I liked Mora with the Mets, got to watch him a lot, but I don't think anyone saw him becoming what he has. Sometimes, they really do shock you.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1104924132014&call_pageid=969907739730&col=970081600908&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
COMN for an article on Delgado and the Mets. Article says the Mets play Piazza at 1B, which is wrong. Was truly ugly watching him there last year.

Geez,

Delgado wouldn't meet with him because his agent wouldn't be there? Maybe he's getting the words agent and lawyer mixed up.

The more time that goes by, the more I dislike Delgado. On the other hand, the more time that goes by, the more pleased I am that J.P. wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole.

Any previous mentions of Delgado not caring about money are pure BS in my books.

In the "did you know" department. When the Bosox lost Cabrera and gained Renteria (both Type A free agents) this off-season, they gained two draft benefits:
-they moved up their draft position in the first round by 5 spots, and
-they gained a supplemental round pick.

Sweet, huh?

Mike,

I remember reading something earlier about that, along the lines of that if Boston and St. Louis had signed each other's SS, then each would have flipped their 1st rounders to each other, and each would have also gained a supplemental 1st round pick. To me that seems like a significant loophole.

How about DH/1b/C Shawn Wooten? He has to have some of the biggest thighs/buttocks I have seen on a ballplayer.

Any previous mentions of Delgado not caring about money are pure BS in my books.

I don't every remember Delgado ever saying anything about not caring about money. In fact I remember him saying that money is very important since it allows him to do charity work in his native Puerto Rico.

I think it was basically a Bauxite assumption that since Delgado liked it here he might offer a discount, however his actions never really displayed that idea while here.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3298200
Wow! COMN for ex-Jay Tony Batista's new team. $15M over 2 years.

No, he definitely said something about money at the beginning of the 04 season. I wish I could find a quote for but I'm not that resourceful.

It was something like "I've already made all the money I'll ever need", or something to that extent.

Now I'm going to have to try and find it for you...I'll be back.

An QOTD about largness and no mention of Pudge Rodriguez, granted not the biggest of the big, but should be in on nick name alone!

I remember reading something earlier about that, along the lines of that if Boston and St. Louis had signed each other's SS, then each would have flipped their 1st rounders to each other, and each would have also gained a supplemental 1st round pick. To me that seems like a significant loophole.

It ended up being a 3-way:

Renteria (STL -> BOS)
Cabrera (BOS -> ANA)
Eckstein (ANA -> STL)

Though the Angels did not get a compensation pick because Eckstein was not offered arbitration (he was non-tendered I think).

BTW, it's not really a loophole. If you offer arbitration, you run the risk of the player accepting. It only becomes a loophole if teams start colluding in order to hoover up supplemental picks.

B.J. Ryan looks like a rather large individual.

B.J. Ryan certainly is tall but he's FAR from being fat. He's actually probably considered "skinny" for someone his height.

Baseball is sure going to crap when even the Japanese leagues are overpaying for ML players!

MatO, what is the phonetic pronunciation of "Fukuoka." Is it more or less "[Screw] you over," which is what Batista's contract will do to the Hawks?

Maybe Batista's signing is the economic fallout of the weak US dollar.

I saw Luke Easter play in the International League at the end of his career. A massive man. had to be at least 260.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-simers4jan04,1,5304966.column?coll=la-headlines-sports
I looked for that LA Times article referenced in the Primer thread about Werth being a "typical, immature, cloddish jock" and found a lovely article by T.J. Simers. The Werth-hating comes from his despise of Paul DePodesta, who he refers to as Google Boy (dp's inspiration, most likely). Either he really hates DePo or he's just comically over the top. I can't tell, myself:

And now we're being told that the Dodgers are going to send Shawn Green, probably the nicest athlete in town, a guy who set the Dodger record for most home runs in a season, who also unselfishly made the switch from outfield to first base, to Arizona so they can secure Navarro

From his latest article, "DePodesta's Computer Must Have a Bad Virus." COMN. This has to be satire, right?

My favourite line is this one:
(Remember when Google Boy made a point of saying he wasn't trying to trade Green? I did a Google search for Pinocchio and DePodesta and found 21 matches.)

Let's take a look at those 21 matches.

First of all, we only have 6. The common "we have omitted some entries very similar to the 6 already displayed" phrase appears at the bottom. Showing all 21 similar articles, we have:
- 7 DePodesta-related articles with a sidebar ad, "Enter to Win a Gift Certificate to La Cucina Di Pinocchio!"
- 6 LA Times articles with Simers' own March 13, 2004 reference to Pinocchio -- the exact same articles, just under different URLs.
- 3 NY Newsday links in which they run that same March 13 story.
- 3 links to various pages with numerous links to stories on them, one of which is about the story Pinocchio or something called Pinocchio, and one of which is about DePodesta -- unrelated, of course.
- 2 links to a blog entry about the Dodgers and the USA Olympic Basketball team losing to Italy (or Team Pinocchio, as the "writer" puts it).

Simers' point -- DePodesta is a liar -- has not been made 21 times across cyberspace. And the real kicker? He wasn't even referring to DePodesta with the Pinocchio comment in that original article. It was Frank McCourt:

I took for granted Gammons' report [that the Dodgers were going to hire Paul DePodesta] was accurate because McCourt was the same guy who was telling us that Evans was a legitimate candidate to remain as Dodger GM. I don't necessarily need to see a growing nose to know I might be dealing with Pinocchio.

That was quite entertaining, if only for myself.

Anyone know more about Simers, or is he just another one of those writers? Put another way, if he applied for a job at the Toronto Sun, would he fit right in?

Maybe Batista's signing is the economic fallout of the weak US dollar.

I thought he signed for 15 million yen.

KRAMER: (reading the price tag on a Stetson hat) Three hundred dollars. Hey, Mr Oh, how much would these run you in Tokyo?
MR OH: (thinks for a second) Ahh, about, uh, thirty thousand yen.
KRAMER: (shocked) Thirty thousand?! These are practically free.

who he refers to as Google Boy (dp's inspiration, most likely)

Yeah, what a dumbass. Like only real hardcore computer nerds use Google. If you're gonna slag a guy to be funny, at least do it well. Seriously, who doesn't use Google? Arg.

Simer's tag line should be "Making Richard Griffin look smart".

For those prospects buffs out there, SportsWeekly previewed the AL east in their latest issue. Nothing earth shattering. Hill best hitter, League best pitcher. Marcum seemed to rank higher than on the BA list as did Chacin.

Alex Gonzalez signed with TB. The AP story calls him versatile and says that he'll play 3B.

Question: does anyone remember Gonzalez ever playing any position other than SS, even for an inning?

Presumably he's intended to be plan B at SS should Upton not work out. I guess this also means that Julio Lugo is out of the TB picture.

Simer's tag line should be "Making Richard Griffin look smart"

He makes Joe Cowley look smart.

Alas, the fact that Google Boy's team actually finished in first place has clearly deranged his mind. Perhaps some sympathy is in order.

Question: does anyone remember Gonzalez ever playing any position other than SS, even for an inning?

Yup, 9 games in 1995, his rookie year. I think they were just Sprague the occasional day off and the backup infielders (Cedeno and Perez) were more middle infield types. Gonzo always had a third baseman's arm.

Yup, 9 games in 1995, his rookie year. I think they were just Sprague the occasional day off and the backup infielders (Cedeno and Perez) were more middle infield types. Gonzo always had a third baseman's arm.

So, the last time Gonzalez played 3B Kirstie Alley looked good in a bathing suit.

Piniella's looking for 20 HR. He'd be better off rooting for a 700 OPS. And he might not even get that.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/Sports/2004/05/09/452467.html
He makes Joe Cowley look smart.

NOBODY makes Joe Cowley look smart... Reading his comments from last spring still gets me riled up (COMN).

Yup, 9 games in 1995, his rookie year.

That's obviously true, of course, but do you actually remember that? :)
Nine meaningless games from ten years ago? I don't remember the 19 games Jayson Werth played in right field in 2003.

That's obviously true, of course, but do you actually remember that?

Believe it or not, yes. There was even some speculation at the time (I'm not sure how well founded) that this could be a sign of things to come for Gonzalez.

Phelps, Gonzalez...and I think the D-Rays still have Abernathy...
Why don't they sign Tom Evans, make it a complete infield?

Abernathy is with the Twins.

For those prospects buffs out there, SportsWeekly previewed the AL east in their latest issue. Nothing earth shattering. Hill best hitter, League best pitcher. Marcum seemed to rank higher than on the BA list as did Chacin.

Does anyone have a link?

No link to the Sports Weekly, but I have the print version here. They have the wrong affiliates for AA and Rookie at the bottom, and there's nothing in there that you can't get here for free (and better, in my opinion).

Tennesse Smokies? Medicine Hat Blue Jays? Come on.

Tennesse Smokies?

Also known as the Tennesee Smokies...

Post#273391?

Also known as annoying...

Braby21,

We all try to correct our own typos, and believe me, everybody makes them at one point or another. Gitz' top 2 comments in this thread are a classic example-unless a walarus really is a walrus from Belarus, after all.

You Grimlock should read the original question more carefully!

That's what me Grimlock get for skimming and posting at work!!! Me Grimlock was about to call Calvin Pickering a big fatso, but unfortunately, he was in the original comments too!

Has no one mentioned Babe Ruth? The greatest fat guy of all? Or is he too skinny make the team?

but do you actually remember that? :)

Indeedy-do, yes; I think there was actually some discussion at the time (or after the season) of Gonzo becoming a 3B - he didn't really play good defense at SS as a rookie, and Ed Sprague really didn't look like a future All-Star.

We all try to correct our own typos

Am I the only (other?) one who thinks that adding an extra post to correct an obvious typo is a waste of everyone's time? It's one thing if the typo makes the meaning of the post unclear, but for a simple mis-spelling where everyone can tell what was supposed to be typed? What's the point?

Actually, Grimmy, yes, Da Babe is nominated up in post #273328 though not by name, as such.

I agree, that was my point up there. Thanks G.T.

Am I the only (other?) one who thinks that adding an extra post to correct an obvious typo is a waste of everyone's time?

I can only speak for myself, but it drives me crazy when I find that I've made a spelling mistake or worded something poorly. If I make a second post to correct myself, it's usually for my own benefit so I can sleep at night.

Babe Ruth wasn't really fat, though, was he? I mean, toward the end he was, but in his prime wasn't he just a stocky Roger Clemens-like guy? I've always heard what a tremendous athlete he was supposed to be.

(For a comparable case see Presley, Elvis.)

Babe Ruth wasn't really fat, though, was he?

Well. I understand that when pressed on the issue, Ruth claimed that he wasnt all that fat, its just that he's big boned, and has a sweet hockey body.

http://www.baberuth.com/flash/about/viewheadline.php?id=949
From "The Official Web Site of the Sultan of Swat" (COMN for a decent piece arguing The Babe's Athlete of the Century ranking):

He invented pinstripes. The New York Yankees began wearing them to make him look thinner.

Fat, but awesome.

For the longest time I thought Clemens was fat... boy was I wrong.

http://www.thebirdwatch.com
Two more fattys (who, ironically, were once traded for each other): Jeff Brantley, in his later years, and Dmitri Young. I still remember the image of Dmitri chugging his way around the bases after hitting a triple in the '96 NLCS.

Lance Berkman is rather stocky, too, no?

Who was the big guy who played LF for the Senators in '65? I want to say Frank Howard but I could be wrong. I remember going to Yankee Stadium while at the World's Fair and seeing a giant Michelin tire man; almost had a check swing home run but it hooked around the foul pole.

I am one to correct the vast majority of my typos, I confess. I don't make too many, thankfully, but that's only because I'm so anal before I hit "post this comment." If I can make a joke of it, as I did above (and save the snide "THAT was a joke?" comments), all the better.

Far more annoying is when I point out that Jeff Brantley and Dmitri Young being traded for each other has nothing to do with irony, though maybe it's irony according to a certain lithe, female Canadian singer, who I would gladly call by name if I could be sure of spelling it correctly. Far, far, far more annoying than me pointing that out is laying on a smiley face to indicate that I'm kidding about the irony thing. OK, OK, OK, in truth I don't really mind the smileys; it's the reason behind the smileys -- i.e. the imperfections of electronic conversations -- that irk me. So here's my :) to show my jocular countenance in action.

Though, really, it's NOT irony! I apoligise to MO Boiler for using him/her as an example. I don't have any of my myriad mistakes to dredge up, or else I'd gladly do it. Oh, hell, I may as well bring up again that I was wrong about Ted Lilly. There. Everybody happy? What's that, you say? You'll be happy when I shut up? Done.

And I apologise, naturally, for the typo in apologise. Shutting up ... now.

I wonder what Cleveland would want for Ryan Ludwick. 26 years old coming off injury. Kid has some pop. I wouldn't quite rate him as high as Kevin Mench but he seems a similar player in terms of potential and history profile.

If Boone plays third for Cle. this year Blake is an outfield option pushing Ludwick to dispensible.

However, it appears right now the most pressing issue for the Jays is to find a catcher.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1959692
It appears, at least according to Jerry Crasnick, that the Jays do not need to look further for a catcher. COMN.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/050106preaa.html
COMN for Baseball America's preseason All America team. Those that are listed as juniors will be draft eligible this year.

And here's a post I put up a couple months back looking at some of the top candidates for the Jays pick at #6.

I've liked Ludwick since he was an A's prospect. I suggested a couple months ago that the Jays go after him. I like his power potential and he isn't too shabby in the outfield either.
Josh Bard would be a nice catching option too, since he is stuck behind Victor Martinez.
Ben Broussard would be an interesting 1B/DH option, but he would likely cost a fair bit more than either Ludwick or Bard.

Another trade suggestion, since it looks like the Green and subsequent Hillenbrand deals might be dead, would be to look at Oakland and try to get Hatteberg (not that great, but better than what the Jays have) or Durazo and throw in Melhuse (a former Jays farmhand), who expressed a desire to be traded when the A's obtained Kendall (who has a history of playing almost all the games behind the plate). Dan Johnson deserves a shot too given his proven track record at triple-A and his age (25).

Minor league first baseman John Gall (St. Louis) deserves a shot too

I don't understand why the deal for Hillenbrand is contingent on the D' backs aquiring Green? Aren't they after Green to play in the outfield?

I think it is partly a money thing and partly because Chad Tracy (ousted from third base by Glaus) would be in the outfield should Green not come. If Green comes, then the D-Backs would play Tracy at first base.

The D-Backs also have to find playing time for Scott Hairston now that Counsell is on the team.

Both Tracy and Hairston are young, cheap guys with lots of upside and I find it incredibly insane that they chose to go with older mid-level guys like Counsell and Clayton making millions of dollars. It also doesn't make a whole lot of sense to lock up Green to a multi year deal with Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin almost ready for the show.

No wonder the D-Backs are in such deep debt.

Minor league first baseman John Gall (St. Louis) deserves a shot too

Who Is John Gall?

Couldn't resist.

Going solely from memory, I think there was a first baseman who played for the Indians in the 60's named Bob Chance. His nickname was "Fat" and he was

maybe it's irony according to a certain lithe, female Canadian singer, who I would gladly call by name if I could be sure of spelling it correctly

I can't believe that nobody seems to get the genius of that song. It seemed to be a "revelation" to many that many of the things that were supposedly ironic really were not at all. I remember what seemed like a full-page article in the Globe letting the world in on the little secret that maybe Alanis needs a dictionary.

I think I'm the only one that gets it -- that was the whole point! What could be more ironic than a song called "Ironic" that really wasn't about irony? Pure brilliance, I tell you!

Whether or not this is my lame attempt at irony is left for the reader to decide...

GT - your post above reminds of of the scene in The Princess Bride where Vizzini challenges Wesley to a battle of wits.

"Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I'm not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me."

"Truly, you have a dizzying intellect."

"Wait till I get going! Where was I?"

Whether or not this is my lame attempt at irony is left for the reader to decide...

...or maybe it's not.

I wonder what Cleveland would want for Ryan Ludwick. 26 years old coming off injury. Kid has some pop. I wouldn't quite rate him as high as Kevin Mench but he seems a similar player in terms of potential and history profile.

Whish ic why (ironically) Texas dealt him in the first place, though Ludwick can play CF a titch better than Mench (and shouldn't "Shrek" Mench have gotten earlier mention in this thread, solely for the size of his head?) ... if I recall, the Tribe gave up Ryan Drese for Ludwick and Drese turned out to tbe the freaking staff ace for the Rangers, so who knows if that would affect Cleveland's perception of his value?

I wonder what Cleveland would want for Ryan Ludwick. 26 years old coming off injury. Kid has some pop. I wouldn't quite rate him as high as Kevin Mench but he seems a similar player in terms of potential and history profile.

The Indians seem to have a bit of a glut of outfielders at the moment:

Gerut (L)
Crisp (L)
Sizemore (R)
Ludwick (R)
Escobar (R)

If they don't want to part with Ludwick, Escobar might be worth taking a flier on...

Escobar is a member of the Chicago White Sox now, after being claimed on waivers.

You'd think there'd be a mention of Joey Meyers thusfar, what with James' hilarious comment on him in the NBJHS:

"Meyer was a talented hitter, big, strong guy, but just as fat as a bear in August. Huge, fat thighs, fat arms, immense rump. He was kind of gross, actually."

Ah, I forgot Rick Reuschel. The dude was fat, but he was also surprisingly agile, much like Cecil Fielder.

Another former Blue Jay (I think?) who was a bit portly was Joey Hamilton. Maybe he's mentioned somewhere up there? Anyway, I'd rather have Reuschel. (Duh.)

"Here's an astonishing fact: Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A's. Of no other baseball in the whole of North America can this be said."

Sorry but with other people quoting stuff I just felt I had to get that in there.

http://kmarx.com
I'm surprised that no one mentioned Wilbur Wood yet. He was one round mound of left-handed knuckleballs. And how about Smoky Burgess? By the time he hung up the tools of ignorance for good, he was well beoynd ample. COMN to see.

How could anyone forget my biggest fattest blunder

Japanese pork chop loving pitcher Hidecki Irabu. He was a hefty guy