– Scott Elarton was released by the Royals organization yesterday. When they announced that at the head of the RSTN broadcast last night, the first words out of my mouth were “Now there’s a surprise.” Of course, I was being sarcastic; it was not at all surprising to see the struggling righty let go, no matter how healthy he said his shoulder was.
Here’s what I don’t understand: last night in an interview, Buddy Bell said he gave Elarton the option to finish out the season in Omaha, but Elarton turned that down, and so the decision to release him was made. But in the article at royals.com, Elarton said he would “‘ideally’ like to finish the season on a Triple-A team.” I don’t get that at all. If pitching for a triple-A team would be an ‘ideal’ way to finish the season, why not make it with Omaha and avoid the shame and hassle of being released and having to shop himself around to other organizations?
I am sad to see Elarton go; he struck me as a very kind, humble, classy individual. But I have said several times, both in conversation with other fans and right here on this blog that he no longer displayed major league-caliber stuff. It seemed like he was rushed back up to the bigs before he showed that he was ready, and payed the ultimate price for that.
– In the 9th inning of last night’s loss to the Yankees, my dad (with whom I got to watch the game) and I were amused at the number of scouts who were there to watch Octavio Dotel. I would love to know what teams sent those guys, but I suspect I’ll know soon enough. When A-Rod came to the plate, Dad said Dotel should pitch around him, lest he surrender home run #500 to Mr. Rodriguez. I disagreed, figuring that Dotel should pitch to Rodriguez and make the scouts’ trip worthwhile. He did, and he did, as A-Rod struck out. I hope that at-bat convinced the scouts to throw in additional players or otherwise increase Dotel’s market value.
– On the subject of A-Rod, I really hope he keeps hitting homers. I have never EVER considered myself a fan of the man, and a lot of times I think he’s a whiny little girl, but I’d much prefer for him to be the home run king than Barry Bonds.
– On the subject of nothing I’ve mentioned yet, I made the mistake of going to Hobby Lobby today. I wanted a frame for a George Brett poster that’s kind of an odd size. I found one, but ended up leaving the store with a bag full of other things — and no frame. Go me.
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