June 21: What You Missed

THE LEAD:

Despite their recent four-game winning streak, the Mariners remain 13 games back in the division, causing rumors that the team is actively shopping Cliff Lee to heat up. Today ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney said Lee likely has one more start with the Mariners and that the Twins are the most likely landing spot.

So today we brought on Josh Wetzel, the announcer the Rochester Red Wings, Minnesota’s AAA team. The most discussed prospect for this potential deal is Wilson Ramos, a catching prospect stuck behind Joe Mauer for the foreseeable future. Wetzel gave us the inside scoop on how Ramos projects as big league prospect.

On Wilson Ramos’s skill set:

He certainly has shown the signs the last month of the kind of hitter he can be. He has immense power. Tom Kelly, the former Twins manager says he has as much power as anybody that he’s ever been around. … He’s got a great arm. He’s got a rifle behind the plate.

On whether Minnesota would be willing to trade for Cliff Lee, and what the Mariners might demand:

From what I’ve read if you trade for Cliff Lee it wouldn’t just be Wilson Ramos going to Seattle, it would be probably one of the regular guys in the rotation and maybe someone else. Personally, if I’m the Twins I try to do it. … This is a unique opportunity this year for Minnesota with what they’ve accumulated in their lineup.

On how Ramos projects as a major league player:

I don’t’ think Ramos is going to hit for a tremendous batting average at the major league level. But if he plays everyday he’s going to hit some home runs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him with a .260 batting average with 15 or 20 home runs at least, as an everyday major league catcher, and maybe more than that with the kind of power he has.

We then brought on Jim Callis of baseball America to tell us more about Ramos. He seemed to think he’s ready to contribute at a high level immediately at the major league level.

If he were with any other organization he would be playing regularly in the big leagues right now (the only reason is that he’s stuck behind Joe Mauer) and we’d hear more about him. … He’s a pretty good overall catcher. He’s got a strong arm, plays good defense, can hit for average and shows some power. He’s got the tools to be a potential all-star at the big league level.

On a Lighter Note:

Lady Gaga is quickly becoming a regular in the New York sports scene, and continues to provide material for sports talk shows across the country. Earlier this month Gaga, a Yankees fan, was photographed giving the one-finger salute to Mets fans at Citi Field.

After attending a game at Mets/Yankees game at Yankee Stadium on Friday night, she apparently got past security and made her way into the Yankees clubhouse, all the while wearing a loose fitting Yankees jersey that hardly covered her black bra and underwear.

While in the clubhouse, a not-so-sober Gaga was seen repeatedly groping herself and trying to cozy up to numerous players. As reported by the New York Post, this infuriated Yankees’ co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner and caused him to permanently ban Lady Gaga from the clubhouse.

According to Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman, however, the blame should fall on the Yankees security staff, and that Gaga, as well as any other celebrity, will continue to be allowed in the clubhouse, but only after Yankee victories.

In Other News:

A day after Graeme McDowell took home the U.S. Open crown despite shooting a 3-over 74 on the final of round and finishing the tournament at even par, many are left to wonder whether or not the course, Pebble Beach, was setup as too difficult for even the best players in the world.

ESPN Radio play-by-play man Sean McDonough joined the show to discuss his opinions of the course and how the final round played out.

On the complaints regarding the 14th green:

I think it’s hard to completely blame the USGA for that…some of it is just the way the green is and has been for a long time. … It did get to be crazy from time to time, but they did take other measures too to try to stop that from happening. I think it got a lot more water than some of the other greens did.

On whether anything special stood out on the final day:

I don’t think there were any memorable shots, I think it became more a matter of the gritty northern Irishman who hung in there and made a lot of pars and didn’t make any big mistakes…on a day when Tiger, Phil, Ernie and the other guys had a great opportunity there that they just couldn’t capitalize on.

On if he was surprised in Tiger’s disappointing final round:

I was, a little bit, just because I think everybody was trying to believe ‘ok, there’s the vintage Tiger, the golfer, and he’s back, or he’s coming back.’ And now the reality is…you wonder if he just had that one hot day that maybe anybody else could’ve had.