The End Of Morgan Ensberg, Dan Johnson Going To New York, Elijah Dukes' Child Support, Ian Snell Wants Out Of The Steel City, Taking On Keith Law, A Fitting End To Biggio's Career In Houston, and the end of Jeff Allison's comeback...again.

The End Of Ensberg

The career of Morgan Ensberg in Houston is over.

With the acquistion of Ty Wigginton (a great aquisition, more on that tomorrow), the Astros have made it clear it's time to cut bait and designated Ensberg for assignment.  It's a sad end to a player that had promise during Houston's title run in 2005, but a torn ligiment in his shoulder during an accident in 2006 sapped the life out of Ensberg's swing and left him powerless, resulting in the Astros' inevitable collapse in 2006 and a big reason why they were so awful this year.

Will Morgan get another shot?  Probably.  There are teams looking for third base help and the Astros could get some decent roster filler if they can accomodate them, but it's still a #### end to a career for a person who looked like he would be the first stable third baseman for the Astros since Ken Caminetti.

Dan Johnson – Potential Yankee?

Dan Johnson is rumored to be headed to the Yankees at some point before the trade deadline is over.

Of course, this was mentioned by ESPN’s resident Yankee fan, Buster Olney, but I did read an article that the Athletics inquired about Brett Gardner, a outfielder in the Yankees' system, only to be rebuffed by saying he was not available.  Why?  Gardner looks like he's a fourth outfielder and won't be anything special.  He's the return of Bubba Crosby from what I've read and seen of him.

Moving on, why would the Athletics be interested in moving Johnson, a player that has legitimate power, a decent glove, and plays hard?

Aside from the injury history, which is substantial, Johnson is a bit streaky, which is how he went from hitting over .300 to hitting below .250 in a month's time. 

But there's another reason.

One is that Johnson can't be sent down because of the fact that he's out of option and would be lost on waivers.

The other is that Oakland is trying to make room for Daric Barton, a solid young first baseman that brings up memories of John Olerud.  Though Johnson has more power, Barton has a solid bat and does a lot of things well.  Plus, with this season looking lost, Oakland is looking to give their kids a shot and see where they can go from here.\

It's the usual Oakland policy, but should work out well for them.

Personally, I'd move Nick Swisher back for first base myself.

But that's just me.

Dukes May Be In Contempt Of Court

Things don’t seem to be getting easier for Elijah Dukes, who may be held in contempt of court.  Dukes was ordered to pay the first of his court ordered payments for child support from his wife:  $3,300 for his wife's alimony and $2,800 in child support for the three children they had together.  He hasn’t paid a cent yet, though his attorney has said he’d pay by Monday.

If Dukes doesn’t pay by Monday, he could be forced to pay immediately, or possibly face jail time.

I used to wonder if Dukes was maybe, criminally disturbed and needed help to overcome his demons.  I honestly wondered if he was just truly a soul that needed help.

Now I’m wondering if he’s just a ####.

One of your duties as a man is to ensure that your children are cared for.  To not do so makes you a coward in my book.

Ian Snell Wants Out Of Pittsburgh

Ian Snell wants out of Pittsburgh in a bad way, calling out teammates, management, yelling several times that he hates losing and even acting like a spaze when he supposedly trembled his hand and said  "I'm starting to break. I'm getting stressed out. I don't know about these other guys, but I just want to win. I don't want to be called a loser. Man, even my family calls our team losers, and I don't want anyone to say that about our team."

Ooookay.

Snell has a lot of value.  He’s a young pitcher that isn’t eligible for arbitration until next season and he plays well, can dominate, and shows the potential to be a middle of the rotation horse.

He’s just acting like a horse’s ####.

Is it true the Pirates have one of the worst management offices in baseball?  Yes.  Is it true that they’ve been #### in almost every deal they’ve made?  Oh yes.  Is it fair for him to call out teammates?  No.  Like it or not, they’re in the same boat with you and like or not, you have to see them the next day after they read about your antics in the paper.

Snell has been on the block for a while and was most recently offered to the Braves in exchange for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  In reality, the Pirates have so many other needs, but young pitchers typically can bring oodles back in exchange.

Should the Pirates do a trade, perhaps with the Devil Rays, they could get some quality outfield talent in the process, get Snell out of the National League where he wouldn't come back to hurt them, and be rid of a headache in the process.

It's a mutually beneficial trade, but the con is that the Pirates would be down a starter and the farm system isn't exactly deeply stocked enough where  they could accomodate such a trade.

It's a real catch 22 for them.

Disagreeing With Keith Law…Sort Of…On Brandon Morrow

I usually agree with most of Keith Law’s post.  He’s also the only person on that staff (aside from maybe Tim Krukjin) that knows what he’s talking about.

But I disagree with him as far as the Mariners’ use of Brandon Morrow. 

Should Morrow be in the majors at the moment?  No.  But that doesn’t mean he’s irrepariably damaged.  Allowing Morrow to build innings and stamina works out well for him and it allows him to adjust to major league competition.  Plus, he can be optioned back to the minors next year to allow himself to build starter’s innings and eventually allow him to join the Mariners’ rotation in 2009 or so.

But that assessment is ONLY if the Mariners are smart enough to send Morrow down to allow him to develop his breaking stuff, as he’s relying on his fastball too much and his control needs work.

If they continue to see him as a reliever, however, and treat him as such, then yes, I would probably have to change my opinion to Law’s, that the decision to draft Morrow over Tim Lincecum is one of the worst draft decisions in ages.

Biggio To Finish Career As He Begun

Craig Biggio has one more special moment coming up.

Astros ace Roy Oswalt has asked Biggio to be his catcher for a few innings during his final start of the season, likely during the Sept. 28-30 final home series against the Atlanta Braves.  Biggio has agreed provided that the Braves are not in a fierce fight for a playoff spot.

I love the fact that Biggio will finish his career the way he ended it, the same way I remember him when I used to collect his cards during the early 90’s, mostly Donruss and Fleer.

As a catcher.

Biggio will be coming full circle.  And I can’t find a more beautiful and fitting way to end the career of one of my favorite players ever to play the game.

That Jeff Allison Comeback…Never Mind

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the potential comeback for Marlins prospect Jeff Allison, who has been had his share of legal issues, due to drugs, criminal behavior, and addiction.

The comeback is over for now.

Allison has been placed back on the major league restricted list because of a legal issue that has come up, likely because of that stolen car charge nearly a year ago.  The Marlins have said that he’s welcome to come back once all legal issues have been resolved. 

Damn.

This has been a hard fall for a kid who was once seen to be the potential ace of a major league staff.

Now all that is gone.