Flash from the desert:
Initial reports confirm that Travis Hafner has not injured his elbow or his back or his left shoulder. He is not at this time expected to not be ready for opening day. Lonnie Soloff has acknowledged that Hafner will not be prohibited from engaging in baseball-related activites and that he is not "day to day".
Re: Articles
1412civ ollilavad wrote:Flash from the desert:
Initial reports confirm that Travis Hafner has not injured his elbow or his back or his left shoulder. He is not at this time expected to not be ready for opening day. Lonnie Soloff has acknowledged that Hafner will not be prohibited from engaging in baseball-related activites and that he is not "day to day".
That is not Not Funny!
UD
Re: Articles
1413Chris Perez out 4 to 6 weeks with strained left oblique: Cleveland Indians spring training briefing
Published: Sunday, February 26, 2012, 11:18 AM Updated: Sunday, February 26, 2012, 4:30 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- All-Star closer Chris Perez will miss four to six weeks as he recovers from a strained left oblique muscle. Lonnie Soloff, Indians head athletic trainer, said there was still a chance Perez could be ready for Opening Day on April 5.
Perez strained the oblique in his first bullpen session of the spring Thursday. He stopped throwing after 25 to 30 pitches because of a pain in his left side.
"His body was clearly not ready for the intensity of that bullpen session," said Soloff.
When asked if that meant Perez came to camp out of shape, Soloff said "No, I'm just saying he wasn't prepared for the intensity of the bullpen session."
Perez said he came to camp in shape.
"What Lonnie meant when he said that is that it was the first day (of camp) and I was going 100 percent," said Perez. "He probably wanted me to go 50 to 75 percent.
"That's not who I am. I get work in at 100 percent. I'm not going to throw a bullpen at 50 percent, miss all my spots and pretty much waste a day. I was doing what I normally do in the bullpen. I felt a cramp, so I think I was a little dehydrated and I pulled it.
"I'm physically ready to go. It wasn't because I came here out of shape. I've been the same (conditioning wise) since I've been here. It was one of those fluke things and we have to move past it."
This is the second big injury for the Indians in spring training. On Friday it was announced that center fielder Grady Sizemore wouldn't be ready for Opening Day because of a strained lower back.
Soloff said that the Indians hope to have Perez back in Cactus League games by mid-to-late March. He said it's still possible that Perez could open the season on time.
"We'll have to see how things go and how he responds to his throwing sessions," said Soloff.
Soloff said because Perez is a closer, and doesn't need as many innings as a starter to get ready for the season, he could be ready for Opening Day.
"It's definitely a positive," said Soloff. "We won't have to build him up as much."
Perez saved 36 games last year, converting 90 percent (36-for-40) of his save opportunities. He was named to the All-Star Game along with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
Soloff said that a pitcher has to "know thyself' when it comes to the intensity he throws with early in camp.
"He's learned," said Soloff of Perez.
Said Perez, "Lonnie wants me to learn to take my time out there and get ready for Opening Day. It's a process. I'm still young. By no means am I a veteran in this game. I'm still learning my body and learning how to get ready for Opening Day.
"Looking back on it I wish I would have gone 60 to 65 percent ... I don't think there is any way I could have prevented it."
Perez said the "four to six weeks' recovery time seems to be on a "long side' to him. He thinks he could be back pitching in games by mid-March.
"Luckily I'm a reliever and I don't have to be built up to five or six innings (per appearance) right away," said Perez. "Personally, I think spring training is too long for relievers anyway. So maybe this can be a blessing in disguise. I can get back in there with eight or nine days left, get my five appearances and be ready to go."
Asked how many innings he would need to get ready for the regular season, Perez said, "There's no answer after that. Last year I was ready after six outings and had 14. It just depends. . .Obviously, this is a setback because I can't even throw. I need to build up my arm strength when I came back."
Perez appeared in nine Cactus League games last spring. He also pitched in some minor-league games.
"I did my usual off-season conditioning," said Perez. "I'm ready to go. It's just unfortunate with this oblique thing. I'm strong, my legs are strong, my legs are strong. The timing is just bad.
"I guess it's better that it happens now than a month from now where I'd be guaranteed to miss games."
Published: Sunday, February 26, 2012, 11:18 AM Updated: Sunday, February 26, 2012, 4:30 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- All-Star closer Chris Perez will miss four to six weeks as he recovers from a strained left oblique muscle. Lonnie Soloff, Indians head athletic trainer, said there was still a chance Perez could be ready for Opening Day on April 5.
Perez strained the oblique in his first bullpen session of the spring Thursday. He stopped throwing after 25 to 30 pitches because of a pain in his left side.
"His body was clearly not ready for the intensity of that bullpen session," said Soloff.
When asked if that meant Perez came to camp out of shape, Soloff said "No, I'm just saying he wasn't prepared for the intensity of the bullpen session."
Perez said he came to camp in shape.
"What Lonnie meant when he said that is that it was the first day (of camp) and I was going 100 percent," said Perez. "He probably wanted me to go 50 to 75 percent.
"That's not who I am. I get work in at 100 percent. I'm not going to throw a bullpen at 50 percent, miss all my spots and pretty much waste a day. I was doing what I normally do in the bullpen. I felt a cramp, so I think I was a little dehydrated and I pulled it.
"I'm physically ready to go. It wasn't because I came here out of shape. I've been the same (conditioning wise) since I've been here. It was one of those fluke things and we have to move past it."
This is the second big injury for the Indians in spring training. On Friday it was announced that center fielder Grady Sizemore wouldn't be ready for Opening Day because of a strained lower back.
Soloff said that the Indians hope to have Perez back in Cactus League games by mid-to-late March. He said it's still possible that Perez could open the season on time.
"We'll have to see how things go and how he responds to his throwing sessions," said Soloff.
Soloff said because Perez is a closer, and doesn't need as many innings as a starter to get ready for the season, he could be ready for Opening Day.
"It's definitely a positive," said Soloff. "We won't have to build him up as much."
Perez saved 36 games last year, converting 90 percent (36-for-40) of his save opportunities. He was named to the All-Star Game along with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
Soloff said that a pitcher has to "know thyself' when it comes to the intensity he throws with early in camp.
"He's learned," said Soloff of Perez.
Said Perez, "Lonnie wants me to learn to take my time out there and get ready for Opening Day. It's a process. I'm still young. By no means am I a veteran in this game. I'm still learning my body and learning how to get ready for Opening Day.
"Looking back on it I wish I would have gone 60 to 65 percent ... I don't think there is any way I could have prevented it."
Perez said the "four to six weeks' recovery time seems to be on a "long side' to him. He thinks he could be back pitching in games by mid-March.
"Luckily I'm a reliever and I don't have to be built up to five or six innings (per appearance) right away," said Perez. "Personally, I think spring training is too long for relievers anyway. So maybe this can be a blessing in disguise. I can get back in there with eight or nine days left, get my five appearances and be ready to go."
Asked how many innings he would need to get ready for the regular season, Perez said, "There's no answer after that. Last year I was ready after six outings and had 14. It just depends. . .Obviously, this is a setback because I can't even throw. I need to build up my arm strength when I came back."
Perez appeared in nine Cactus League games last spring. He also pitched in some minor-league games.
"I did my usual off-season conditioning," said Perez. "I'm ready to go. It's just unfortunate with this oblique thing. I'm strong, my legs are strong, my legs are strong. The timing is just bad.
"I guess it's better that it happens now than a month from now where I'd be guaranteed to miss games."
Re: Articles
1414I guess Hoynsiee can be a journalist when I give him the topic.
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Home > Cleveland Indians > Indians
The mystery of Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez is a way of life in baseball-mad Dominican Republic
Published: Saturday, February 25, 2012, 10:35 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer
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View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain Dealer
The deception of Roberto Hernandez began crumbling over the past year in the Dominican Republic, but the Indians insist they were surprised by the identity fraud perpetrated by the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Roberto Hernandez changed his name and age for a chance to seek fame and fortune in the big leagues. He found both, but now he's paying the price.
Twelve years ago, Hernandez became Fausto Carmona and dove headlong into the deep pool of lies and deceit that is baseball in the Dominican Republic. Hernandez emerged from that murky water last month with more than $15 million in career earnings and a big problem.
He was arrested on Jan. 19 by the Dominican National Police outside the U.S. Consulate in Santo Domingo after he applied for a visa using a false identification. For the time being he is a prisoner in his own land.
Indians fans know Carmona as the hero of the Bug Game against the Yankees in the 2007 playoffs. They are still trying to figure out who Hernandez is. They know at least this much, he's 31 instead of 28 as listed in the Indians media guide.
There are so many questions. When did Hernandez become Carmona? How was the arrangement made? How much money exchanged hands? How was he caught? When will he be able to rejoin the Indians, who opened spring training a week ago?
The one question that does not need an answer is, why?
In the Dominican Republic, players change names and ages without a thought. Agents called buscones -- Spanish for seekers or lookers -- tell them big-league teams will pay more for a 16 year old than a 20 year old. When the Indians signed Hernandez, they believed he was 17, but he was really 20.
The lengths to which the buscones and others have gone to deceive MLB teams is legendary. Sometimes towns, schools and hospitals are involved in the scam. All to make a player a couple of years younger and fatten his signing bonus.
"This has been going on forever," said Jorge Brito, Hernandez's agent. Last year the Dominican Republic, a tiny Caribbean island, saw 86 of its native sons open the season on big-league rosters. No other country outside the United States supplied more players to The Show.
The Dominican has always been a buyer's beware market. Some scouts call it the wild west in terms of player acquisition. The talent is cheap and plentiful, and not restricted by the annual MLB annual draft. Such conditions spawned a culture of fraud that knew no bounds.
Things began to change after the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. tightened its borders and scores of Dominican players were found to have bogus ages in the spring of 2002. Indians pitcher Bartolo Colon went from 26 to 28 and his brother Jose, in the minors with the Tribe, went from 23 to 26.
How is this story going to end for Hernandez? If you're worried about not seeing him standing on the mound with sweat dropping off the bill of his cap on a hot July night, calm yourself. At some point before the Indians break camp on April 2, according to sources, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to grant him a waiver to join the Indians. He could still face a suspension by Commissioner Bud Selig.
A deal gone bad
View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain Dealer
After a solid spring camp in Florida, Roberto Hernandez made his debut with the Indians in 2006.
Hernandez had been coming to the United States as Carmona since 2002, when he was in Class A ball. When he was arrested on Jan. 19, however, he could not have been that surprised. The baseball grapevine in the Dominican had been buzzing for over a year about his true identity.
A year ago, a story in a Dominican newspaper claimed that the Fausto Carmona pitching for the Indians was an impostor. About a month before Hernandez was arrested, a spiritualist named Yohanny Ventura Solares went on "El Gobierno De La Manana," a popular morning radio show in Santo Domingo, and said the pitcher Fausto Carmona was really Roberto Hernandez.
Solares said she had been threatened and beaten by Hernandez's father, Beato, because she kept requesting the $1 million pesos ($26,000 in U.S. dollars) that Hernandez promised her for, according to the radio station's Web site, "spiritual work with candle lights and oil" on a birth certificate that Hernandez gave her. She said Roberto Hernandez used the birth certificate to sign with the Indians.
She said she once talked to the real Fausto Carmona, warning him about the potential danger, but he did not seem concerned about the situation. She said the real Fausto Carmona told her that he had assumed another name.
Acting on this and other information gathered by MLB investigators, the Dominican police were waiting for Carmona outside the U.S. Consulate. He was released Jan. 20 on $13,000 bail.
Hernandez, according to sources close to the investigation, has been cooperating with Dominican and U.S. authorities on just how the fraud took place. He had no choice if he wanted to continue pitching in the big leagues. William Weissman, U.S. consulate general in Santo Domingo, made it clear in public comments following Hernandez's arrest that one of the possible penalties for players using false identifications was a lifetime ban from the United States.
Hernandez has been visiting independent baseball schools since early February, warning young players about the dangers of changing their names and ages. After each speech he passes out T-shirts with the message "In Truth There is Triumph."
Brito says his client tells players that teams will still sign them when they're 18 or 19.
"He tells them not to listen to the [buscones, coaches and trainers] who are trying to convince you to change your identity or age," said Brito. "Those people are trying to take advantage of you."
Country boy
Hernandez's teammates call him "Grande" -- Spanish for large -- because he's 6-4 and weighs close to 250 pounds. As big as he is, Hernandez has made a career of making himself invisible when necessary. When he won 19 games in 2007, teammate CC Sabathia owned the headlines and the Cy Young Award. In dealing with the media, Hernandez has always done what he's required to do, but little else. He'll talk after one of his starts and then makes himself scarce.
"Quiet," is how former Indians bullpen coach Luis Isaac described the pitcher.
Perhaps now we know why.
Hernandez grew up in a village in Yasama, a mostly agricultural region northeast of Santo Domingo. He worked on his father's farm and had already traded his name and identity with Carmona when he left home to sign with the Indians.
Winston Llenas, who ran the Indians' baseball academy in the Dominican Republic at the time, signed Hernandez. Llenas remembered him as being tall and thin with a strong right arm, good movement on his fastball and a bad set of teeth from eating raw sugar cane.
"He was just a country boy, who didn't have access to proper health care," said Llenas.
At the Indians' baseball school, Hernandez was quiet, polite and a fast learner. When the Indians paid to get his teeth fixed, he started gaining weight and velocity on his pitches. He stayed at the school for about a year, played one season in the Dominican Summer League and was off to the States.
The Indians say they didn't know Hernandez's real name or age when they signed him for an estimated $9,000 on Dec. 28, 2000. A college junior in the United States can still be considered a prospect at 20. Traditionally that has not been the case in the Dominican, where MLB teams prefer their prospects to be 16 or 17.
"We had good people there, respected people," said John Hart, Indians general manager at the time, "but we weren't doing the kind of thorough background checks that they do now."
The Indians placed Hernandez on the restricted list on Jan. 26. He doesn't count against their 40-man roster and won't get paid his $7 million salary until he's allowed back into the United States.
A documentary on the Dominican's baseball passion
He is not alone
The Hernandez timeline
Career timeline on Roberto Hernandez, the pitcher Indians fans have known as Fausto Carmona:
2000: On Dec. 18, signed with Indians as a non-drafted free agent for an estimated $9,000. Indians list his birth date as Dec. 7, 1983.
2001: Pitched in the Dominican Summer League.
2002: Made his debut in the United States, pitching in rookie ball at Class A Burlington and Class A Mahoning Valley.
2003: Put himself on Indians organizational map by going 17-4 at Class A Lake County in Eastlake. Baseball America named him the No.3 prospect in the team’s minor league system.
2004: Advanced from Class A Kinston to winning two starts for Class AAA Buffalo in the postseason. Added to the 40-man major-league roster on Nov. 19.
2005: Promoted to the big leagues twice, on July 17 and Sept. 12, but did not appear in a game.
2006: Made his big-league debut on April 15, beating the Tigers by allowing one run in six innings. He was moved to the bullpen and finished the year at 1-10.
2007: Won 19 games and finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting.
2008: Signed four-year, $15 million contract extension on April 10. Deal included club options from 2012-14.
2009: Went 5-12 and was sent back to the Arizona Rookie League to try and correct his mechanics and mental approach to pitching.
2010: Made his first American League All-Star team.
2011: April 1, made his first opening day start, allowing 10 runs on 11 hits in three innings in a 15-10 loss to Chicago.
2011: Oct. 31, Indians exercised the $7 million option on his contract for 2012.
2012: Jan. 19, arrested by police in the Dominican Republic outside the U.S. Consulate. Dominican authorities say Carmona is really Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that he’s 31 instead of 28.
2012: Jan. 20, released from jail after posting $13,000 bail. Ordered to surrender his passport.
2012: Jan. 26, Indians placed Carmona on the restricted list, meaning they could use his roster spot and didn’t have to pay him until he rejoined the team in the United States.
2012: Feb. 20, Indians pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., but Carmona was still in the Dominican Republic.
— Paul Hoynes
Related stories
Lake County host family still supportive
Marlins closer Leo Nunez was charged in September in the Dominican under similar circumstances. His real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo, and he played in the big leagues for the past seven years under an assumed name and age.
Oviedo, who is 29 instead of 28, turned himself in to Dominican authorities. He recently signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Marlins but, like Hernandez, he's on the restricted list and will not get paid until he's able to join his team in the United States.
How many more players are playing under assumed names in the big leagues and minors? Some estimates put the number as high as 30.
"Given where we've been over the last five years, and the fact that we've had two in the last year, I would be hard pressed to say there is no one else in that situation," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor and human resources.
The Marlins supposedly knew for months about Oviedo's true identity. How much did the Indians know about Hernandez? Like a lot of their players from the Dominican Republic -- Colon, Jhonny Peralta, Andy Marte -- the Indians heard rumors about Hernandez's age and identity. Acta, a Dominican native, knew about the newspaper story from last year, but did not know if it was accurate. Indians' officials said the arrest caught them by surprise, but the next day they traded for Colorado right-hander Kevin Slowey to compete for Hernandez's spot in the starting rotation.
One explanation for catching long-time identity thieves like Hernandez and Oviedo is that MLB's Investigative Unit is doing a good job stopping fraud among younger players.
"Our focus is a few degrees off of Fausto Carmona," said Manfred. "Our diligence is on the issue of incoming players. When we sign Rob Manfred, age 16, we want to make sure that we're getting Rob Manfred, age 16."
Last year, MLB investigators did background checks on more than 800 players who signed professional contracts in the Dominican Republic. In about 15 percent, fraud was found. MLB statistics say fraud was discovered in over 60 percent of the players investigated in 2002.
With fraud among the younger players decreasing, one investigator said they are hearing more and more about older players.
Headquarters, Santo Domingo
MLB established an office in 2000 in Santo Domingo to try to oversee the flow of players from the Dominican to the U.S. MLB's investigative unit, scouting bureau, baseball academy, drug prevention program and youth baseball program operate out of the building.
Three years ago MLB's Department of Investigations, headed by Dan Mullin, a former deputy chief of the New York City Police Department, took over the investigation of players' identities. The unit includes three full-time investigators, 10 contract investigators and two U.S.-based supervisors who spend two months at a time in the Dominican.
The investigators are subject to lie-detector tests twice a year to guard against fraud. In the past, investigators hired by teams have been involved in the scams they were paid to expose. MLB team employees have also been caught. In 2009, officials and scouts from several teams, including David Wilder, senior director of player personnel of the Chicago White Sox, were fired for allegedly skimming bonuses from Dominican prospects.
No Dominican player can sign a pro contract unless he's first investigated by MLB. Since 2008, a player found to be lying about his age or identity faces a one-year suspension.
Not all prospects receive complete MLB clearance. That usually involves questions about the player's identity. A common practice among buscones is to move a player from one town to another and have him assume the identity of another family. When a player's family history comes into question, he can take a voluntary DNA test -- DNA tests for employment are prohibited in the Dominican Republic -- to prove who he is.
MLB labels its investigation into such players as "inconclusive." It doesn't stop teams from signing them, but it is a red flag.
The investigators are not as rigid concerning a year or two difference in age. They believe age is more of a concern for the team interested in signing the player. The Indians follow MLB's investigation with one of their own on every Latin American player they sign. They avoid players labeled "inconclusive" and administer steroid tests to every player they sign. It is not a fool-proof system.
In 2008, the Indians signed 17-year-old Dominican shortstop Jose Ozoria for $575,000. In 2009, MLB informed them that Ozoria was really Wally Bryan and that he was 20 instead of 17. The Indians kept Bryan in the system, but he was eventually suspended for a year. He is no longer with the organization.
The signing bonus? The Indians never retrieved a cent. When it happened, John Mirabelli, Indians director of scouting, said, "It's a cost of doing business in that part of the world." Since then the Indians have included language in all contracts that says a player will receive his signing bonus only if that player is approved by the U.S. Consulate for a visa to travel to the United States.
Rafael Perez, MLB's director of Dominican Operations (not to be confused with the Indians reliever), says the Department of Investigations is bringing order to a corrupt system.
"We're on the right path," he said.
As part of the process to establish a player's true identity, MLB's Dominican office prepares a list of the country's top 100 amateur players. The players, who must be at least 15 and have their parents' consent, are registered, tested for steroids and scouted in preparation for the international free agent signing season, which begins July 2.
The next challenge to the Dominican's ecosystem for finding, developing, identifying and signing players is the new basic agreement between MLB owners and players. This year each team is limited to just $2.9 million for signing international free agents starting July 2. Last year, Texas alone spent $17.6 million. It seems clear that this is MLB's first step to eliminate the power of the buscones and usher in a worldwide draft.
Through it all, Perez says the supply of players in the Dominican will never end.
"Baseball is the sport. It is the passion in the Dominican," said Perez. "The Dominican player can fulfill the American dream with baseball."
Change in culture
Ulises Cabrera and Brian Mejia are challenging the old ways. In October 2009, they formed the Dominican Prospect League. Since its start, over 200 DPL players have signed contracts worth $35 million.
In the Dominican, there is little, if any, high school baseball. Youth leagues are few and far between. The government doesn't have the money to support such ventures. The DPL, open to players aged 15 to 20, plays games on a weekly basis. It allows big-league teams a chance to evaluate the best players on the island and decide if they want to sign them.
Under the traditional system, buscones teach players the fundamentals -- hitting, fielding, running, throwing. Some buscones house and feed their players. What they don't do is play games.
"That's not playing baseball," said Cabrera. "You're asking big-league teams to commit a lot of money to players based on a tryout.
"By playing games twice a week, we're giving a big-league scout a chance to see a player for 75 at-bats ... just like they could with an American high school kid. The Latin American player deserves to be treated just like the American player."
One of the reasons the league was formed was to help repair the image of baseball in the Dominican. Acta is a member of its advisory board.
"We got a lot of different people to sit down and work on this -- buscones, coaches, trainers and players," said Cabrera.
Cabrera, who played shortstop at Vanderbilt and spent two years in the minors with Texas, said few of the 200 DPL players who signed contracts have run afoul of identity problems.
"What happened with Fausto Carmona was 12 years ago," said Cabrera, a former agent who still includes Acta as a client. "MLB has a lot more oversight in place now. Everybody in baseball knew what was going back then, but they didn't ask those kind of questions. They left it untouched."
Cracking the age barrier
When Hernandez changed his identity in 2000, he was already old by the standards set for Latin American prospects by MLB. Perhaps those times are changing. Cabrera thinks so and believes the DPL has had something to do with it.
"In reality, the majority of players who are signed from Latin American in any given year are older than 16," he said. "The average age is closer to 18 to 19. What the DPL is providing is a chance for MLB teams to actually see these players and the results are that kids 18 and 19 have been receiving contracts larger than they were five to 10 years ago."
Big-league teams prefer younger Latin American players because it can often take two or three years to assimilate a player to pro ball, the English language and American culture.
Age has always been a sore point with Dominican players and officials. Teams give big signing bonuses to Cuban defectors whose identities are harder to investigate than most Latin American players, but are reluctant to do the same with Dominican players once they hit the high teens or early 20s.
As part of the new basic agreement, an International Talent Committee was formed in December. Manfred and Michael Weiner, director of the MLB players association, are co-directors. The worldwide draft will be its main focus, but they will address a number of issues in their twice-monthly meetings.
"That is a topic, a big topic on the international committee we've formed," said Manfred.
Will that be enough to stop the next tall, skinny Dominican pitcher from turning his life upside down for a chance at the big leagues? It would be nice to say yes, but as Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez said of his teammate and fellow Dominican: "It's hard to say no when they tell you if you're two or three years younger, you can make more money and get to the big leagues. Roberto wasn't the first to do it and he won't be the last."
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Home > Cleveland Indians > Indians
The mystery of Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez is a way of life in baseball-mad Dominican Republic
Published: Saturday, February 25, 2012, 10:35 PM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer
Follow
33
Share
View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain Dealer
The deception of Roberto Hernandez began crumbling over the past year in the Dominican Republic, but the Indians insist they were surprised by the identity fraud perpetrated by the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Roberto Hernandez changed his name and age for a chance to seek fame and fortune in the big leagues. He found both, but now he's paying the price.
Twelve years ago, Hernandez became Fausto Carmona and dove headlong into the deep pool of lies and deceit that is baseball in the Dominican Republic. Hernandez emerged from that murky water last month with more than $15 million in career earnings and a big problem.
He was arrested on Jan. 19 by the Dominican National Police outside the U.S. Consulate in Santo Domingo after he applied for a visa using a false identification. For the time being he is a prisoner in his own land.
Indians fans know Carmona as the hero of the Bug Game against the Yankees in the 2007 playoffs. They are still trying to figure out who Hernandez is. They know at least this much, he's 31 instead of 28 as listed in the Indians media guide.
There are so many questions. When did Hernandez become Carmona? How was the arrangement made? How much money exchanged hands? How was he caught? When will he be able to rejoin the Indians, who opened spring training a week ago?
The one question that does not need an answer is, why?
In the Dominican Republic, players change names and ages without a thought. Agents called buscones -- Spanish for seekers or lookers -- tell them big-league teams will pay more for a 16 year old than a 20 year old. When the Indians signed Hernandez, they believed he was 17, but he was really 20.
The lengths to which the buscones and others have gone to deceive MLB teams is legendary. Sometimes towns, schools and hospitals are involved in the scam. All to make a player a couple of years younger and fatten his signing bonus.
"This has been going on forever," said Jorge Brito, Hernandez's agent. Last year the Dominican Republic, a tiny Caribbean island, saw 86 of its native sons open the season on big-league rosters. No other country outside the United States supplied more players to The Show.
The Dominican has always been a buyer's beware market. Some scouts call it the wild west in terms of player acquisition. The talent is cheap and plentiful, and not restricted by the annual MLB annual draft. Such conditions spawned a culture of fraud that knew no bounds.
Things began to change after the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. tightened its borders and scores of Dominican players were found to have bogus ages in the spring of 2002. Indians pitcher Bartolo Colon went from 26 to 28 and his brother Jose, in the minors with the Tribe, went from 23 to 26.
How is this story going to end for Hernandez? If you're worried about not seeing him standing on the mound with sweat dropping off the bill of his cap on a hot July night, calm yourself. At some point before the Indians break camp on April 2, according to sources, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to grant him a waiver to join the Indians. He could still face a suspension by Commissioner Bud Selig.
A deal gone bad
View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain Dealer
After a solid spring camp in Florida, Roberto Hernandez made his debut with the Indians in 2006.
Hernandez had been coming to the United States as Carmona since 2002, when he was in Class A ball. When he was arrested on Jan. 19, however, he could not have been that surprised. The baseball grapevine in the Dominican had been buzzing for over a year about his true identity.
A year ago, a story in a Dominican newspaper claimed that the Fausto Carmona pitching for the Indians was an impostor. About a month before Hernandez was arrested, a spiritualist named Yohanny Ventura Solares went on "El Gobierno De La Manana," a popular morning radio show in Santo Domingo, and said the pitcher Fausto Carmona was really Roberto Hernandez.
Solares said she had been threatened and beaten by Hernandez's father, Beato, because she kept requesting the $1 million pesos ($26,000 in U.S. dollars) that Hernandez promised her for, according to the radio station's Web site, "spiritual work with candle lights and oil" on a birth certificate that Hernandez gave her. She said Roberto Hernandez used the birth certificate to sign with the Indians.
She said she once talked to the real Fausto Carmona, warning him about the potential danger, but he did not seem concerned about the situation. She said the real Fausto Carmona told her that he had assumed another name.
Acting on this and other information gathered by MLB investigators, the Dominican police were waiting for Carmona outside the U.S. Consulate. He was released Jan. 20 on $13,000 bail.
Hernandez, according to sources close to the investigation, has been cooperating with Dominican and U.S. authorities on just how the fraud took place. He had no choice if he wanted to continue pitching in the big leagues. William Weissman, U.S. consulate general in Santo Domingo, made it clear in public comments following Hernandez's arrest that one of the possible penalties for players using false identifications was a lifetime ban from the United States.
Hernandez has been visiting independent baseball schools since early February, warning young players about the dangers of changing their names and ages. After each speech he passes out T-shirts with the message "In Truth There is Triumph."
Brito says his client tells players that teams will still sign them when they're 18 or 19.
"He tells them not to listen to the [buscones, coaches and trainers] who are trying to convince you to change your identity or age," said Brito. "Those people are trying to take advantage of you."
Country boy
Hernandez's teammates call him "Grande" -- Spanish for large -- because he's 6-4 and weighs close to 250 pounds. As big as he is, Hernandez has made a career of making himself invisible when necessary. When he won 19 games in 2007, teammate CC Sabathia owned the headlines and the Cy Young Award. In dealing with the media, Hernandez has always done what he's required to do, but little else. He'll talk after one of his starts and then makes himself scarce.
"Quiet," is how former Indians bullpen coach Luis Isaac described the pitcher.
Perhaps now we know why.
Hernandez grew up in a village in Yasama, a mostly agricultural region northeast of Santo Domingo. He worked on his father's farm and had already traded his name and identity with Carmona when he left home to sign with the Indians.
Winston Llenas, who ran the Indians' baseball academy in the Dominican Republic at the time, signed Hernandez. Llenas remembered him as being tall and thin with a strong right arm, good movement on his fastball and a bad set of teeth from eating raw sugar cane.
"He was just a country boy, who didn't have access to proper health care," said Llenas.
At the Indians' baseball school, Hernandez was quiet, polite and a fast learner. When the Indians paid to get his teeth fixed, he started gaining weight and velocity on his pitches. He stayed at the school for about a year, played one season in the Dominican Summer League and was off to the States.
The Indians say they didn't know Hernandez's real name or age when they signed him for an estimated $9,000 on Dec. 28, 2000. A college junior in the United States can still be considered a prospect at 20. Traditionally that has not been the case in the Dominican, where MLB teams prefer their prospects to be 16 or 17.
"We had good people there, respected people," said John Hart, Indians general manager at the time, "but we weren't doing the kind of thorough background checks that they do now."
The Indians placed Hernandez on the restricted list on Jan. 26. He doesn't count against their 40-man roster and won't get paid his $7 million salary until he's allowed back into the United States.
A documentary on the Dominican's baseball passion
He is not alone
The Hernandez timeline
Career timeline on Roberto Hernandez, the pitcher Indians fans have known as Fausto Carmona:
2000: On Dec. 18, signed with Indians as a non-drafted free agent for an estimated $9,000. Indians list his birth date as Dec. 7, 1983.
2001: Pitched in the Dominican Summer League.
2002: Made his debut in the United States, pitching in rookie ball at Class A Burlington and Class A Mahoning Valley.
2003: Put himself on Indians organizational map by going 17-4 at Class A Lake County in Eastlake. Baseball America named him the No.3 prospect in the team’s minor league system.
2004: Advanced from Class A Kinston to winning two starts for Class AAA Buffalo in the postseason. Added to the 40-man major-league roster on Nov. 19.
2005: Promoted to the big leagues twice, on July 17 and Sept. 12, but did not appear in a game.
2006: Made his big-league debut on April 15, beating the Tigers by allowing one run in six innings. He was moved to the bullpen and finished the year at 1-10.
2007: Won 19 games and finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting.
2008: Signed four-year, $15 million contract extension on April 10. Deal included club options from 2012-14.
2009: Went 5-12 and was sent back to the Arizona Rookie League to try and correct his mechanics and mental approach to pitching.
2010: Made his first American League All-Star team.
2011: April 1, made his first opening day start, allowing 10 runs on 11 hits in three innings in a 15-10 loss to Chicago.
2011: Oct. 31, Indians exercised the $7 million option on his contract for 2012.
2012: Jan. 19, arrested by police in the Dominican Republic outside the U.S. Consulate. Dominican authorities say Carmona is really Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that he’s 31 instead of 28.
2012: Jan. 20, released from jail after posting $13,000 bail. Ordered to surrender his passport.
2012: Jan. 26, Indians placed Carmona on the restricted list, meaning they could use his roster spot and didn’t have to pay him until he rejoined the team in the United States.
2012: Feb. 20, Indians pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., but Carmona was still in the Dominican Republic.
— Paul Hoynes
Related stories
Lake County host family still supportive
Marlins closer Leo Nunez was charged in September in the Dominican under similar circumstances. His real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo, and he played in the big leagues for the past seven years under an assumed name and age.
Oviedo, who is 29 instead of 28, turned himself in to Dominican authorities. He recently signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Marlins but, like Hernandez, he's on the restricted list and will not get paid until he's able to join his team in the United States.
How many more players are playing under assumed names in the big leagues and minors? Some estimates put the number as high as 30.
"Given where we've been over the last five years, and the fact that we've had two in the last year, I would be hard pressed to say there is no one else in that situation," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor and human resources.
The Marlins supposedly knew for months about Oviedo's true identity. How much did the Indians know about Hernandez? Like a lot of their players from the Dominican Republic -- Colon, Jhonny Peralta, Andy Marte -- the Indians heard rumors about Hernandez's age and identity. Acta, a Dominican native, knew about the newspaper story from last year, but did not know if it was accurate. Indians' officials said the arrest caught them by surprise, but the next day they traded for Colorado right-hander Kevin Slowey to compete for Hernandez's spot in the starting rotation.
One explanation for catching long-time identity thieves like Hernandez and Oviedo is that MLB's Investigative Unit is doing a good job stopping fraud among younger players.
"Our focus is a few degrees off of Fausto Carmona," said Manfred. "Our diligence is on the issue of incoming players. When we sign Rob Manfred, age 16, we want to make sure that we're getting Rob Manfred, age 16."
Last year, MLB investigators did background checks on more than 800 players who signed professional contracts in the Dominican Republic. In about 15 percent, fraud was found. MLB statistics say fraud was discovered in over 60 percent of the players investigated in 2002.
With fraud among the younger players decreasing, one investigator said they are hearing more and more about older players.
Headquarters, Santo Domingo
MLB established an office in 2000 in Santo Domingo to try to oversee the flow of players from the Dominican to the U.S. MLB's investigative unit, scouting bureau, baseball academy, drug prevention program and youth baseball program operate out of the building.
Three years ago MLB's Department of Investigations, headed by Dan Mullin, a former deputy chief of the New York City Police Department, took over the investigation of players' identities. The unit includes three full-time investigators, 10 contract investigators and two U.S.-based supervisors who spend two months at a time in the Dominican.
The investigators are subject to lie-detector tests twice a year to guard against fraud. In the past, investigators hired by teams have been involved in the scams they were paid to expose. MLB team employees have also been caught. In 2009, officials and scouts from several teams, including David Wilder, senior director of player personnel of the Chicago White Sox, were fired for allegedly skimming bonuses from Dominican prospects.
No Dominican player can sign a pro contract unless he's first investigated by MLB. Since 2008, a player found to be lying about his age or identity faces a one-year suspension.
Not all prospects receive complete MLB clearance. That usually involves questions about the player's identity. A common practice among buscones is to move a player from one town to another and have him assume the identity of another family. When a player's family history comes into question, he can take a voluntary DNA test -- DNA tests for employment are prohibited in the Dominican Republic -- to prove who he is.
MLB labels its investigation into such players as "inconclusive." It doesn't stop teams from signing them, but it is a red flag.
The investigators are not as rigid concerning a year or two difference in age. They believe age is more of a concern for the team interested in signing the player. The Indians follow MLB's investigation with one of their own on every Latin American player they sign. They avoid players labeled "inconclusive" and administer steroid tests to every player they sign. It is not a fool-proof system.
In 2008, the Indians signed 17-year-old Dominican shortstop Jose Ozoria for $575,000. In 2009, MLB informed them that Ozoria was really Wally Bryan and that he was 20 instead of 17. The Indians kept Bryan in the system, but he was eventually suspended for a year. He is no longer with the organization.
The signing bonus? The Indians never retrieved a cent. When it happened, John Mirabelli, Indians director of scouting, said, "It's a cost of doing business in that part of the world." Since then the Indians have included language in all contracts that says a player will receive his signing bonus only if that player is approved by the U.S. Consulate for a visa to travel to the United States.
Rafael Perez, MLB's director of Dominican Operations (not to be confused with the Indians reliever), says the Department of Investigations is bringing order to a corrupt system.
"We're on the right path," he said.
As part of the process to establish a player's true identity, MLB's Dominican office prepares a list of the country's top 100 amateur players. The players, who must be at least 15 and have their parents' consent, are registered, tested for steroids and scouted in preparation for the international free agent signing season, which begins July 2.
The next challenge to the Dominican's ecosystem for finding, developing, identifying and signing players is the new basic agreement between MLB owners and players. This year each team is limited to just $2.9 million for signing international free agents starting July 2. Last year, Texas alone spent $17.6 million. It seems clear that this is MLB's first step to eliminate the power of the buscones and usher in a worldwide draft.
Through it all, Perez says the supply of players in the Dominican will never end.
"Baseball is the sport. It is the passion in the Dominican," said Perez. "The Dominican player can fulfill the American dream with baseball."
Change in culture
Ulises Cabrera and Brian Mejia are challenging the old ways. In October 2009, they formed the Dominican Prospect League. Since its start, over 200 DPL players have signed contracts worth $35 million.
In the Dominican, there is little, if any, high school baseball. Youth leagues are few and far between. The government doesn't have the money to support such ventures. The DPL, open to players aged 15 to 20, plays games on a weekly basis. It allows big-league teams a chance to evaluate the best players on the island and decide if they want to sign them.
Under the traditional system, buscones teach players the fundamentals -- hitting, fielding, running, throwing. Some buscones house and feed their players. What they don't do is play games.
"That's not playing baseball," said Cabrera. "You're asking big-league teams to commit a lot of money to players based on a tryout.
"By playing games twice a week, we're giving a big-league scout a chance to see a player for 75 at-bats ... just like they could with an American high school kid. The Latin American player deserves to be treated just like the American player."
One of the reasons the league was formed was to help repair the image of baseball in the Dominican. Acta is a member of its advisory board.
"We got a lot of different people to sit down and work on this -- buscones, coaches, trainers and players," said Cabrera.
Cabrera, who played shortstop at Vanderbilt and spent two years in the minors with Texas, said few of the 200 DPL players who signed contracts have run afoul of identity problems.
"What happened with Fausto Carmona was 12 years ago," said Cabrera, a former agent who still includes Acta as a client. "MLB has a lot more oversight in place now. Everybody in baseball knew what was going back then, but they didn't ask those kind of questions. They left it untouched."
Cracking the age barrier
When Hernandez changed his identity in 2000, he was already old by the standards set for Latin American prospects by MLB. Perhaps those times are changing. Cabrera thinks so and believes the DPL has had something to do with it.
"In reality, the majority of players who are signed from Latin American in any given year are older than 16," he said. "The average age is closer to 18 to 19. What the DPL is providing is a chance for MLB teams to actually see these players and the results are that kids 18 and 19 have been receiving contracts larger than they were five to 10 years ago."
Big-league teams prefer younger Latin American players because it can often take two or three years to assimilate a player to pro ball, the English language and American culture.
Age has always been a sore point with Dominican players and officials. Teams give big signing bonuses to Cuban defectors whose identities are harder to investigate than most Latin American players, but are reluctant to do the same with Dominican players once they hit the high teens or early 20s.
As part of the new basic agreement, an International Talent Committee was formed in December. Manfred and Michael Weiner, director of the MLB players association, are co-directors. The worldwide draft will be its main focus, but they will address a number of issues in their twice-monthly meetings.
"That is a topic, a big topic on the international committee we've formed," said Manfred.
Will that be enough to stop the next tall, skinny Dominican pitcher from turning his life upside down for a chance at the big leagues? It would be nice to say yes, but as Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez said of his teammate and fellow Dominican: "It's hard to say no when they tell you if you're two or three years younger, you can make more money and get to the big leagues. Roberto wasn't the first to do it and he won't be the last."
Re: Articles
1415How is this story going to end for Hernandez? If you're worried about not seeing him standing on the mound with sweat dropping off the bill of his cap on a hot July night, calm yourself. At some point before the Indians break camp on April 2, according to sources, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to grant him a waiver to join the Indians. He could still face a suspension by Commissioner Bud Selig.
Jimmy Buffett had a line on a 1978 double live album that "tragedies often become comedies."
I think this whole identity thing is going to blow over before the All Star Break and "the player once known as Fausto Carmona" will settle the name issue and win 15 or more games in 2012.
More good news is that on days and nights he pitches, ESPN and MLB will be more inclined to show Cleveland Indian highlights.
Jimmy Buffett had a line on a 1978 double live album that "tragedies often become comedies."
I think this whole identity thing is going to blow over before the All Star Break and "the player once known as Fausto Carmona" will settle the name issue and win 15 or more games in 2012.
More good news is that on days and nights he pitches, ESPN and MLB will be more inclined to show Cleveland Indian highlights.
Re: Articles
1416rusty2 wrote:Shocking ! A player did not want to play in Cleveland.
Curt Schilling is a Republican. Cleveland proper is not a very accepting place for conservative Republicans.
With 12 years between now and that almost Schilling occurrence, I do not give a bloody sock.
Re: Articles
1417kenm wrote:I guess Hoynsiee can be a journalist when I give him the topic.
Did you really contact him with the idea, or are you just thinking he might have gotten from lurking on these boards?
If I were a sports writer, I'd likely lurk on boards for fan thoughts to go along with locker room and front office visits for story inspiration.
Re: Articles
1418You don't really think that's how Free Agents choose where they're signing do you? If it's the case, we just need to target all the left-wing right-handed hitting OF's.Curt Schilling is a Republican. Cleveland proper is not a very accepting place for conservative Republicans.
Re: Articles
1419Baseball Card Executive Says Manny Ramirez Used Corked Bats
Cork Gaines | Feb. 1, 2012, 11:40 AM |
Back in April, a New York memorabilia company put up for auction a corked bat that was allegedly used by Manny Ramirez when he played for the Cleveland Indians (1993-2000). That auction came with an x-ray showing that the bat had been illegally corked, as well as some evidence that the bat was drilled and repainted.
This wasn't the first time there was evidence that Manny cheated during his days in Cleveland. In a recent radio interview, Jeff Morris, a former executive with Pacific Trading Cards, recalled a story of how his company had obtained two bats used by Manny that turned out to be corked.
In 2000, Pacific Trading Cards cut up on of the two bats and inserted the pieces into a series of baseball cards. During the production of the cards, it became apparent that the bat included some cork. And despite efforts by the company to remove the cards with cork from production, a few still found their way into circulation.
One of the cards (seen above) is now up for bid on eBay, for a whopping $5,000.
It is not clear if the card company obtained the bats directly from the Indians and Ramirez (they probably did not). However, Morris says that they matched markings on the bats to those used by Manny during games.
Morris says the second bat was not used by the company. However, he later confirmed with an x-ray that the second bat was also corked. It is unclear if this second bat is the same bat that was auctioned last year.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/baseball ... z1nac7V2wk
Cork Gaines | Feb. 1, 2012, 11:40 AM |
Back in April, a New York memorabilia company put up for auction a corked bat that was allegedly used by Manny Ramirez when he played for the Cleveland Indians (1993-2000). That auction came with an x-ray showing that the bat had been illegally corked, as well as some evidence that the bat was drilled and repainted.
This wasn't the first time there was evidence that Manny cheated during his days in Cleveland. In a recent radio interview, Jeff Morris, a former executive with Pacific Trading Cards, recalled a story of how his company had obtained two bats used by Manny that turned out to be corked.
In 2000, Pacific Trading Cards cut up on of the two bats and inserted the pieces into a series of baseball cards. During the production of the cards, it became apparent that the bat included some cork. And despite efforts by the company to remove the cards with cork from production, a few still found their way into circulation.
One of the cards (seen above) is now up for bid on eBay, for a whopping $5,000.
It is not clear if the card company obtained the bats directly from the Indians and Ramirez (they probably did not). However, Morris says that they matched markings on the bats to those used by Manny during games.
Morris says the second bat was not used by the company. However, he later confirmed with an x-ray that the second bat was also corked. It is unclear if this second bat is the same bat that was auctioned last year.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/baseball ... z1nac7V2wk
Re: Articles
1420Asdrubal Cabrera said Monday that he's "not on the same page" in long-term talks with the Indians.
Cabrera inked a one-year, $4.5 million contract in February, avoiding arbitration. The 26-year-old shortstop isn't scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2013 season, so neither side is in a great hurry to get something done. "We're not on the same page right now, the team and my agent, so we made the decision to sign for one year," Cabrera told reporters Monday.
Source: Nick Camino on Twitter Feb 27 - 11:30 AM
Cabrera inked a one-year, $4.5 million contract in February, avoiding arbitration. The 26-year-old shortstop isn't scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2013 season, so neither side is in a great hurry to get something done. "We're not on the same page right now, the team and my agent, so we made the decision to sign for one year," Cabrera told reporters Monday.
Source: Nick Camino on Twitter Feb 27 - 11:30 AM
Re: Articles
1421Matt Damon, Ben Affleck planning movie on Yankees' wife swap: Book of Norman
Published: Monday, February 27, 2012, 8:05 AM
By Norman Chad, Special to The Plain Dealer
AP File
The Kekiches, left, and the Petersons: Susanne, Mike, Marilyn and Fritz. In late 1972, Yankees pitchers and close friends Kekich and Peterson decided to swap wives -- and lives, including their children and pets. A proposed movie about the incident, sporting the working title "The Trade," has garnered the attention of actors and bosom buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
Crawling gingerly toward big-screen reality — nothing happens quickly in Hollywood, other than Joan Rivers’ plastic surgeries — is a Ben Affleck/Matt Damon film production of the infamous Mike Kekich-Fritz Peterson 1970s wife swap.
The movie is tentatively titled, “The Trade.” It essentially is “Moneyball” with benefits.
For you kids out there who only know “Wife Swap” as a two-week, made- for-TV deal, this was the real deal, lock, stock and peril. In October 1972 — though it did not become public until March 1973 — Kekich and Peterson, close friends and Yankees pitchers, decided to swap wives and lives.
Kekich swapped his wife, Susanne, his two kids and a Bedlington terrier for Peterson’s wife, Marilyn, their two kids and a poodle.
Let’s deal with the most glaring component first: Who trades a Bedlington terrier for a poodle? Bad judgment, and a bad sign for Kekich — his new arrangement did not last long. Meanwhile, Peterson and Susanne are still married nearly 40 years later, buoyed, I’m sure, by having that terrific terrier by their side.
And let’s deal with an obvious personal note next: I would never trade my Toni, aka She Is The One (And Then Some). How stupid do I look? I would lose her nimble mind and shapely body, her gorgeous face and great cooking and, I suspect, all the Tupperware.
After Kekich and Peterson swapped personal lives, their professional lives tumbled. Clearly, both lost their fastballs. Kekich had 32 victories before the swap, was traded to the Indians that season and won only seven more games in his career. Peterson had 101 victories before the swap and just 32 after and he, too, was exiled to Cleveland in 1974.
The day the wife swap was publicized in 1973, a Yankees executive quipped, “We may have to call off ‘Family Day’ this season.”
Wow, how things change. If Kekich and Peterson swapped in 2012, the Yankees likely double up promotion of “Family Day” and have Newt Gingrich throw out the first pitch.
(Column intermission: My High School Team of Destiny, Springbrook in Silver Spring, Md., begins its road to a possible boys basketball title this week — three home playoff victories would get the Blue Devils to the state semifinals. I’ll be rooting for curmudgeonly coach Tom Crowell and senior standouts Demetric Austin, Timmy Christian and Brandon Emery. And, yeah, that’s my stepson Isaiah looking fine near the end of the bench.)
Of course, Kekich-Peterson happened pre-cable and pre-Internet. Just imagine the news cycle if this occurred today — the endless chatter on how it would affect the Yankees’ pitching rotation and their chances of beating the Red Sox, pre-Twitter and pre-Kardashian.
Speaking of which, how has the Kardashian clan not seized on this swap-a-palooza business? It’s a slam dunk if they put their marketing caps on: Kim doesn’t dump Kris Humphries, rather, Kim and Kris swap spouses with Khloe and Lamar Odom. NOW WE’RE TALKING RATINGS, BABY! Viewerwise, “Kim & Kris & Khloe & Lamar” would make “American Idol” look like “Upstairs, Downstairs.”
By the way, that brings us to “Wife Swap,” an ABC staple since 2004. I apologize to women — it’s as if they have no say in these matters. Then again, we’re only in the 21st century. Perhaps by the next millennium, the species will have evolved to the point of “Husband Swap.”
“Wife Swap,” naturally, begot “Celebrity Wife Swap,” where last month, somewhat disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard and somewhat unstable actor Gary Busey traded mates for a week. You had to feel for Gayle Haggard on this one: The long-suffering minister’s wife might have thought she had it bad, then one morning she wakes up to find out she’s being shipped to Gary Busey! Doesn’t that violate some precept of the Geneva Conventions?
Anyway, even if “The Trade” is made — Peterson has signed on as a consultant — I doubt it can equal the glory of “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” the original mate-swapping tale that preceded Kekich-Peterson. That 1969 film defined my adolescence — I was 11 when I saw Natalie Wood in a negligee, and I don’t think I looked at another woman until I was 28.
As for “The Trade,” Affleck reportedly will play Peterson and Damon will portray Kekich, but — who knows? — they might swap ro
Published: Monday, February 27, 2012, 8:05 AM
By Norman Chad, Special to The Plain Dealer
AP File
The Kekiches, left, and the Petersons: Susanne, Mike, Marilyn and Fritz. In late 1972, Yankees pitchers and close friends Kekich and Peterson decided to swap wives -- and lives, including their children and pets. A proposed movie about the incident, sporting the working title "The Trade," has garnered the attention of actors and bosom buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
Crawling gingerly toward big-screen reality — nothing happens quickly in Hollywood, other than Joan Rivers’ plastic surgeries — is a Ben Affleck/Matt Damon film production of the infamous Mike Kekich-Fritz Peterson 1970s wife swap.
The movie is tentatively titled, “The Trade.” It essentially is “Moneyball” with benefits.
For you kids out there who only know “Wife Swap” as a two-week, made- for-TV deal, this was the real deal, lock, stock and peril. In October 1972 — though it did not become public until March 1973 — Kekich and Peterson, close friends and Yankees pitchers, decided to swap wives and lives.
Kekich swapped his wife, Susanne, his two kids and a Bedlington terrier for Peterson’s wife, Marilyn, their two kids and a poodle.
Let’s deal with the most glaring component first: Who trades a Bedlington terrier for a poodle? Bad judgment, and a bad sign for Kekich — his new arrangement did not last long. Meanwhile, Peterson and Susanne are still married nearly 40 years later, buoyed, I’m sure, by having that terrific terrier by their side.
And let’s deal with an obvious personal note next: I would never trade my Toni, aka She Is The One (And Then Some). How stupid do I look? I would lose her nimble mind and shapely body, her gorgeous face and great cooking and, I suspect, all the Tupperware.
After Kekich and Peterson swapped personal lives, their professional lives tumbled. Clearly, both lost their fastballs. Kekich had 32 victories before the swap, was traded to the Indians that season and won only seven more games in his career. Peterson had 101 victories before the swap and just 32 after and he, too, was exiled to Cleveland in 1974.
The day the wife swap was publicized in 1973, a Yankees executive quipped, “We may have to call off ‘Family Day’ this season.”
Wow, how things change. If Kekich and Peterson swapped in 2012, the Yankees likely double up promotion of “Family Day” and have Newt Gingrich throw out the first pitch.
(Column intermission: My High School Team of Destiny, Springbrook in Silver Spring, Md., begins its road to a possible boys basketball title this week — three home playoff victories would get the Blue Devils to the state semifinals. I’ll be rooting for curmudgeonly coach Tom Crowell and senior standouts Demetric Austin, Timmy Christian and Brandon Emery. And, yeah, that’s my stepson Isaiah looking fine near the end of the bench.)
Of course, Kekich-Peterson happened pre-cable and pre-Internet. Just imagine the news cycle if this occurred today — the endless chatter on how it would affect the Yankees’ pitching rotation and their chances of beating the Red Sox, pre-Twitter and pre-Kardashian.
Speaking of which, how has the Kardashian clan not seized on this swap-a-palooza business? It’s a slam dunk if they put their marketing caps on: Kim doesn’t dump Kris Humphries, rather, Kim and Kris swap spouses with Khloe and Lamar Odom. NOW WE’RE TALKING RATINGS, BABY! Viewerwise, “Kim & Kris & Khloe & Lamar” would make “American Idol” look like “Upstairs, Downstairs.”
By the way, that brings us to “Wife Swap,” an ABC staple since 2004. I apologize to women — it’s as if they have no say in these matters. Then again, we’re only in the 21st century. Perhaps by the next millennium, the species will have evolved to the point of “Husband Swap.”
“Wife Swap,” naturally, begot “Celebrity Wife Swap,” where last month, somewhat disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard and somewhat unstable actor Gary Busey traded mates for a week. You had to feel for Gayle Haggard on this one: The long-suffering minister’s wife might have thought she had it bad, then one morning she wakes up to find out she’s being shipped to Gary Busey! Doesn’t that violate some precept of the Geneva Conventions?
Anyway, even if “The Trade” is made — Peterson has signed on as a consultant — I doubt it can equal the glory of “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” the original mate-swapping tale that preceded Kekich-Peterson. That 1969 film defined my adolescence — I was 11 when I saw Natalie Wood in a negligee, and I don’t think I looked at another woman until I was 28.
As for “The Trade,” Affleck reportedly will play Peterson and Damon will portray Kekich, but — who knows? — they might swap ro
Re: Articles
1422Asdrubal and Tribe not on same page. I would assume not. No one is on the same page with the Dolans. But more bad news on the Dolans in following article.
Re: Articles
1423Sheldon Ocker: Not likely that Dolans are contemplating sale of Indians
GOODYEAR, ARIZ.: Speculation turns into rumor, rumor turns into “fact” and before you know it, a relatively bizarre proposal takes on a life of its own and is adopted as truth.
When it was reported late in the offseason that the Indians had no player under contract past 2012, the speculators went to work in earnest. They theorized that Larry Dolan and his son Paul had purposely rid the Tribe of all its guaranteed contracts as part of a plot to sell the team.
Hey, doesn’t it make sense that if the payroll is cut to the bone, a new owner will have fewer bills to pay, making the club easier to purchase?
It doesn’t take more than a little contemplation to figure out that the opposite is more likely to be true. If a franchise has no players under long-term contract, it probably has few marketable stars that make the team more competitive and attractive to its fans.
If the Dolans really wanted to sell the team — and I don’t think they have any intention of doing so; they like owning a club they grew up rooting for — they would try to build value by adding talented players who would transform the franchise into a contender, which would increase ticket and merchandise sales, attract more sponsor money and lift television ratings.
Isn’t that how sports franchises become more valuable? The Dolans didn’t buy the Indians from Dick Jacobs when the team was down on its luck and bereft of viable players.
The appeal of the team as an investment was its decade-long record of achievement, from winning numerous division championships to making two appearances in the World Series. This was a club that sold out 455 consecutive games. That’s why Jacobs received top dollar.
There was one instance of an owner selling off his team’s assets, then trying to scrounge up a buyer. When Charles Finley decided to dump the Oakland Athletics, he began shedding the franchise’s best players with the intention of selling what was left of a bare-bones operation. Unfortunately for him, Major League Baseball stopped him from gutting the team before he could get too far with the scheme.
Finley was selling players for cash and pocketing the money. In no way does that resemble what the Dolans are doing.
More than likely, the fact that every Indian is employed on a one-year deal is a consequence of two things: Most Tribe players are young and have yet to prove they are worthy of multiyear contracts, and General Manager Chris Antonetti has tried to sign at least two players — Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera — to long-term contracts, but neither has agreed to the idea.
So whether you are Dolan fans or Dolan critics, don’t count on the Indians changing owners any time soon.
On the other hand, anyone out there with tens of millions in extra cash should contact Paul Dolan immediately. No doubt he would welcome a silent investor, someone who wants to indulge in the perks of ownership without calling the shots.
I know. Good luck with that.
Another example of speculation run amok occurred when Antonetti was looking for ways to add players to the club over the winter.
An offhand remark about having depth in the bullpen turned into a proposal — apparently on a sports talk show — that the GM should trade closer Chris Perez and make Vinnie Pestano the guy whose job it is to save games. From there, speculation became rumor then an idea that probably would happen.
No such luck, and it’s doubtful that Antonetti ever entertained the idea of jettisoning Perez. No player on any team is absolutely untouchable, but it’s a matter of degree. The problem with trading Perez is that you might fill one hole — by obtaining a first baseman, outfielder or starting pitcher — only to create another hole.
It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Pestano could become an effective closer. But there’s no way to know for sure. Fact is he’s been a setup man for only one season, a time span that does not provide enough evidence to determine if he can save games consistently.
But that’s not even the primary issue. If Perez is sent packing and Pestano is elevated to closer, who becomes the Tribe’s setup man? Do I hear, “Who cares?” Wrong response.
It is no less important to have a solid pitcher to hold leads in the eighth inning. If a pitcher blows the lead in the eighth, the closer becomes irrelevant.
Of course, manager Manny Acta has several relievers who had an exceptional year in 2011. So which one would you pick as the successor to Pestano in a setup role?
How about Joe Smith? He was practically flawless last season. There is the problem that as a side-arming right-hander he might be a little too vulnerable to lefties. But how many of those bat in the eighth inning?
Then there’s Tony Sipp and Rafael Perez. Both pitchers performed well most of the time in 2011. Want to give the setup job to either of them (or maybe both; they could share)? You’re not sure, are you?
Maybe it was best to leave well enough alone. If it’s not broke. …. well, you know the rest. No, the Tribe did not find its right-handed bat, but there’s a chance that Kevin Slowey or Derek Lowe (or both) will become the starter they were seeking.
And there’s something about bullpens. Remove one important cog, and it changes the way the entire machine works. The Tribe relief corps was the most proficient and reliable sector of the club last season. Do you really want to mess with it
GOODYEAR, ARIZ.: Speculation turns into rumor, rumor turns into “fact” and before you know it, a relatively bizarre proposal takes on a life of its own and is adopted as truth.
When it was reported late in the offseason that the Indians had no player under contract past 2012, the speculators went to work in earnest. They theorized that Larry Dolan and his son Paul had purposely rid the Tribe of all its guaranteed contracts as part of a plot to sell the team.
Hey, doesn’t it make sense that if the payroll is cut to the bone, a new owner will have fewer bills to pay, making the club easier to purchase?
It doesn’t take more than a little contemplation to figure out that the opposite is more likely to be true. If a franchise has no players under long-term contract, it probably has few marketable stars that make the team more competitive and attractive to its fans.
If the Dolans really wanted to sell the team — and I don’t think they have any intention of doing so; they like owning a club they grew up rooting for — they would try to build value by adding talented players who would transform the franchise into a contender, which would increase ticket and merchandise sales, attract more sponsor money and lift television ratings.
Isn’t that how sports franchises become more valuable? The Dolans didn’t buy the Indians from Dick Jacobs when the team was down on its luck and bereft of viable players.
The appeal of the team as an investment was its decade-long record of achievement, from winning numerous division championships to making two appearances in the World Series. This was a club that sold out 455 consecutive games. That’s why Jacobs received top dollar.
There was one instance of an owner selling off his team’s assets, then trying to scrounge up a buyer. When Charles Finley decided to dump the Oakland Athletics, he began shedding the franchise’s best players with the intention of selling what was left of a bare-bones operation. Unfortunately for him, Major League Baseball stopped him from gutting the team before he could get too far with the scheme.
Finley was selling players for cash and pocketing the money. In no way does that resemble what the Dolans are doing.
More than likely, the fact that every Indian is employed on a one-year deal is a consequence of two things: Most Tribe players are young and have yet to prove they are worthy of multiyear contracts, and General Manager Chris Antonetti has tried to sign at least two players — Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera — to long-term contracts, but neither has agreed to the idea.
So whether you are Dolan fans or Dolan critics, don’t count on the Indians changing owners any time soon.
On the other hand, anyone out there with tens of millions in extra cash should contact Paul Dolan immediately. No doubt he would welcome a silent investor, someone who wants to indulge in the perks of ownership without calling the shots.
I know. Good luck with that.
Another example of speculation run amok occurred when Antonetti was looking for ways to add players to the club over the winter.
An offhand remark about having depth in the bullpen turned into a proposal — apparently on a sports talk show — that the GM should trade closer Chris Perez and make Vinnie Pestano the guy whose job it is to save games. From there, speculation became rumor then an idea that probably would happen.
No such luck, and it’s doubtful that Antonetti ever entertained the idea of jettisoning Perez. No player on any team is absolutely untouchable, but it’s a matter of degree. The problem with trading Perez is that you might fill one hole — by obtaining a first baseman, outfielder or starting pitcher — only to create another hole.
It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Pestano could become an effective closer. But there’s no way to know for sure. Fact is he’s been a setup man for only one season, a time span that does not provide enough evidence to determine if he can save games consistently.
But that’s not even the primary issue. If Perez is sent packing and Pestano is elevated to closer, who becomes the Tribe’s setup man? Do I hear, “Who cares?” Wrong response.
It is no less important to have a solid pitcher to hold leads in the eighth inning. If a pitcher blows the lead in the eighth, the closer becomes irrelevant.
Of course, manager Manny Acta has several relievers who had an exceptional year in 2011. So which one would you pick as the successor to Pestano in a setup role?
How about Joe Smith? He was practically flawless last season. There is the problem that as a side-arming right-hander he might be a little too vulnerable to lefties. But how many of those bat in the eighth inning?
Then there’s Tony Sipp and Rafael Perez. Both pitchers performed well most of the time in 2011. Want to give the setup job to either of them (or maybe both; they could share)? You’re not sure, are you?
Maybe it was best to leave well enough alone. If it’s not broke. …. well, you know the rest. No, the Tribe did not find its right-handed bat, but there’s a chance that Kevin Slowey or Derek Lowe (or both) will become the starter they were seeking.
And there’s something about bullpens. Remove one important cog, and it changes the way the entire machine works. The Tribe relief corps was the most proficient and reliable sector of the club last season. Do you really want to mess with it
Re: Articles
1424Sheldon Ocker: Not likely that Dolans are contemplating sale of Indians
Sizemore’s injury creates a battle in left field February 26,2012
GOODYEAR, Ariz.: Grady Sizemore might not miss more than the first two or three weeks of the schedule, but the task of replacing him is taking on the feel of building the Great Pyramids or finding a quarterback to lead the Browns.
No stone will be unturned in the effort to pick the most capable replacement for the Indians’ oft-injured outfielder. That is, as long as the man is already in training camp. General Manager Chris Antonetti has said he does not intend to make a trade or sign a free agent to fill in for a player who probably will miss only a small chunk of the season. [Who's he kidding?]
Nevertheless, the search could touch as many as 13 candidates, ranging from favorites to long shots. And who is the favorite? Manager Manny Acta admits to keeping a list of prioritized players.
“We do have that kind of list. We just don’t tell you [the media],” he said. “Everybody has to have a depth chart. But we also allow every one of those guys to change our mind.”
It’s no surprise that the list is fluid and will depend on how well each player responds to the challenges of spring training.
Assuming that Michael Brantley moves from left to take Sizemore’s place in center (not an absolute certainty but the probable outcome), the Tribe is looking for a left fielder.
One player not originally thought to be in the mix is Matt LaPorta. At one time, the organization seemed to be leaning toward making him into a full-time outfielder, more or less. Instead, the first-base side of LaPorta won out, and for the past two seasons, he has played the corner infield position more than any of his lodge brothers.
But that does not exclude him from the long list of contenders to play left field. For one thing, he’s available, having lost the first-base job to Casey Kotchman.
“He’s going to get reps in left field, too,” Acta said. “Who knows? We’ve got the whole of spring training to find out. Everybody who plays the outfield has a chance to be the starting left fielder.”
LaPorta’s edge would be his major-league experience and the possibility that he will figure things out at last and turn into the right-handed power hitter the Indians have been waiting for him to become. Consistency has been LaPorta’s problem, but maybe things will click in his third full big-league season.
His problem: It’s difficult to get a legitimate read on hitters during exhibition season, when even veteran scouts, coaches and managers can be fooled. More weight will be given to a player’s approach at the plate than the numbers he puts up.
LaPorta will never be mistaken for Roberto Clemente as a defender, but few competitors for the job are Gold Glove candidates. Moreover, in 36 major-league starts in left, LaPorta has made one error.
With exhibition season a week away, it’s easier to figure out the long shots than the favorites.
Nick Weglarz, 24, is big, powerful and slow-footed. He also has played only 50 games at the Triple-A level, and because of injuries that slowed his progress, he needs more time in the minors.
Thomas Neal also lacks major-league experience, though the 24-year-old hits the ball hard.
“The reports we get on him project him to be a home run, power guy,” Acta said. “He hit 20 home runs before having shoulder surgery.” [3 years ago in Class A!]
An injury limited Trevor Crowe to 15 major-league games last year. He has been the Tribe’s No. 4 outfielder in the past, but that does not seem to carry much weight these days.
Russ Canzler is listed as an infielder. But in eight minor-league seasons, he has played third, first and right plus 76 games in left. The Indians signed him because of his potential at the plate — .314, 18 homers, 83 RBI at Triple-A Durham — but he has just three big-league at-bats, and his defense is said to be marginal.
Jason Donald is not an outfielder, but Acta said he might get a few reps in left and right during the course of exhibition season. What Donald can do for sure is play third, short and second. That’s why he will make the team regardless of the outcome of the left-field sweepstakes, which probably will exclude him. [I'd be Happy with Donald in the OF on a semi-regular basis. He won't be a worse fielder than LaPorta or Duncan or Canzler. He can hit. He can run. He bats righty. ]
That leaves Ezequiel Carrera, Aaron Cunningham, Shelley Duncan, Chad Huffman, Fred Lewis, Felix Pie, Ryan Spilborghs and LaPorta to fight it out.
Any of these players conceivably could win the left field job, though Spilborghs, Duncan and LaPorta seem to be the early favorites.
[Thankyou Sheldon for the analysis of Spilborghs, Cunningham, Lewis and Pie's strengths and weaknesses]
Sizemore’s injury creates a battle in left field February 26,2012
GOODYEAR, Ariz.: Grady Sizemore might not miss more than the first two or three weeks of the schedule, but the task of replacing him is taking on the feel of building the Great Pyramids or finding a quarterback to lead the Browns.
No stone will be unturned in the effort to pick the most capable replacement for the Indians’ oft-injured outfielder. That is, as long as the man is already in training camp. General Manager Chris Antonetti has said he does not intend to make a trade or sign a free agent to fill in for a player who probably will miss only a small chunk of the season. [Who's he kidding?]
Nevertheless, the search could touch as many as 13 candidates, ranging from favorites to long shots. And who is the favorite? Manager Manny Acta admits to keeping a list of prioritized players.
“We do have that kind of list. We just don’t tell you [the media],” he said. “Everybody has to have a depth chart. But we also allow every one of those guys to change our mind.”
It’s no surprise that the list is fluid and will depend on how well each player responds to the challenges of spring training.
Assuming that Michael Brantley moves from left to take Sizemore’s place in center (not an absolute certainty but the probable outcome), the Tribe is looking for a left fielder.
One player not originally thought to be in the mix is Matt LaPorta. At one time, the organization seemed to be leaning toward making him into a full-time outfielder, more or less. Instead, the first-base side of LaPorta won out, and for the past two seasons, he has played the corner infield position more than any of his lodge brothers.
But that does not exclude him from the long list of contenders to play left field. For one thing, he’s available, having lost the first-base job to Casey Kotchman.
“He’s going to get reps in left field, too,” Acta said. “Who knows? We’ve got the whole of spring training to find out. Everybody who plays the outfield has a chance to be the starting left fielder.”
LaPorta’s edge would be his major-league experience and the possibility that he will figure things out at last and turn into the right-handed power hitter the Indians have been waiting for him to become. Consistency has been LaPorta’s problem, but maybe things will click in his third full big-league season.
His problem: It’s difficult to get a legitimate read on hitters during exhibition season, when even veteran scouts, coaches and managers can be fooled. More weight will be given to a player’s approach at the plate than the numbers he puts up.
LaPorta will never be mistaken for Roberto Clemente as a defender, but few competitors for the job are Gold Glove candidates. Moreover, in 36 major-league starts in left, LaPorta has made one error.
With exhibition season a week away, it’s easier to figure out the long shots than the favorites.
Nick Weglarz, 24, is big, powerful and slow-footed. He also has played only 50 games at the Triple-A level, and because of injuries that slowed his progress, he needs more time in the minors.
Thomas Neal also lacks major-league experience, though the 24-year-old hits the ball hard.
“The reports we get on him project him to be a home run, power guy,” Acta said. “He hit 20 home runs before having shoulder surgery.” [3 years ago in Class A!]
An injury limited Trevor Crowe to 15 major-league games last year. He has been the Tribe’s No. 4 outfielder in the past, but that does not seem to carry much weight these days.
Russ Canzler is listed as an infielder. But in eight minor-league seasons, he has played third, first and right plus 76 games in left. The Indians signed him because of his potential at the plate — .314, 18 homers, 83 RBI at Triple-A Durham — but he has just three big-league at-bats, and his defense is said to be marginal.
Jason Donald is not an outfielder, but Acta said he might get a few reps in left and right during the course of exhibition season. What Donald can do for sure is play third, short and second. That’s why he will make the team regardless of the outcome of the left-field sweepstakes, which probably will exclude him. [I'd be Happy with Donald in the OF on a semi-regular basis. He won't be a worse fielder than LaPorta or Duncan or Canzler. He can hit. He can run. He bats righty. ]
That leaves Ezequiel Carrera, Aaron Cunningham, Shelley Duncan, Chad Huffman, Fred Lewis, Felix Pie, Ryan Spilborghs and LaPorta to fight it out.
Any of these players conceivably could win the left field job, though Spilborghs, Duncan and LaPorta seem to be the early favorites.
[Thankyou Sheldon for the analysis of Spilborghs, Cunningham, Lewis and Pie's strengths and weaknesses]