- Trent and I are each feeling a little under the weather
- Site maintenance issues continue to take up a lot of time and effort
- It's early November
Our most pressing issue is one which, once resolved, should leave everyone feeling pretty pleased. In the meantime, if you're starved for warm and fuzzy news, Ryan Anderson claims to be nearing a comeback. The 6'11 southpaw who hasn't thrown a competitive pitch since 2000 remains positive and upbeat about his chances at a big league career, looking to break camp with a team and resume his ascent to the Majors.
Anderson, as you surely remember, was once a strikeout machine who posted unacceptable walk rates over three Minor League seasons. When healthy, the Little Unit had three big flaws:
- Struggled against lefties
- Poor control
- Lousy work ethic
Now, more than four years removed from his first major injury, Anderson has answered the questions about his attitude and ethic but simultaneously introduced a new concern: health. He's had three significant surgeries since 2000, getting work on a torn rotator cuff and similarly damaged labrum. At this point, it seems extremely unlikely that Anderson ever completes another professional season before he calls it quits.
Understand that by no means am I rooting against the guy; he's displayed tremendous perseverance, and - much like Justin Thompson - makes for a heartwarming "against all odds" story, should he ever achieve his goals. However, we've heard all this stuff before. Just last March, Anderson deemed 2004 to be his last chance. Around the same point in time, Bryan Price remarked that Anderson "looked very good...the best I've ever seen him." In the previous March, Anderson established that his goal for 2003 was to "just be able to play." You see the same kind of stuff every year - people talking about the kid's resilience, and Anderson being quoted as saying something like "I'll play anywhere, I just want to pitch."
Don't buy into the hype. Let him throw an inning first.
In other news, Jim Street is the latest media figure to call Jason Varitek the "heart and soul" of the Red Sox.
He also states that "there is no reason to think Boone and Spiezio won't bounce back from poor seasons in 2004."
If you don't read Mariner Mailbag, you're not missing much.