Clemson first baseman Ben Paulsen, the third round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies, rejected the team’s first contract offer according to his father, Clemson assistant coach Tom Riginos. “It was way below slot,” Reginos said. “He’s enrolling in summer school and will work camp. He’s not afraid to come back to school.” Riginos said seniors Matt Sanders, Ryan Hinson and Clinton McKinney have signed their contacts, but at this time he expects second baseman Mike Freeman to return to school. The one signee of concern is pitcher Madison Younginer, the seventh round pick of the Red Sox. Riginos said Younginer will probably go thr the summer before making a decision.
Three with state ties taken in draft
June 9, 2009 By
Two USC signees and one Clemson veteran were selected Tuesday night in the opening rounds of the Pro Baseball Draft.
USC signee SS Christopher Owings of Gilbert was the 41st overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Gamecock recruit Will Myers of North Carolina was the 91st overall pick by Kansas City.
Clemson first baseman Ben Paulsen was the 90th overall pick by Colorado.
The Draft resumes at Noon Wednesday with rounds 4-30. The Draft will conclude Thursday with rounds 31-50.
Braves cut Tom Glavine
June 3, 2009 By
The Braves made a shocking move Tuesday when they released veteran Tom Glavine. The 43 year old future Hall-of Famer has been on the disabled list since August because of offseason shoulder and elbow surgery. Glavine was coming off a solid minor league start in Class-A Rome last night where he threw six scoreless innings. He declared after that outing he was ready to join the Braves rotation and thought he might be ready to go on Saturday against the Brewers.
By cutting him now the Braves save the 1 million dollar bonus they would have had to pay Glavine if he made the big league roster. He signed a one-year contract in February that includes a $1 million guarantee and a $1 million bonus when he made the active roster, and bonuses of $1.25 million after 30 days on the roster, and another $1.25 million bonus after 90 days.
I think this is a bad move on Atanta’s part. If they did it just to save a couple of million dollars that, to me, is a classless move. Glavine is a guy that has won two Cy Young awards and has spent the better part of his career leading the team to the postseason every year.
There are reports the team was concerned his velocity was down. That is a legitimate concern. But they knew that when they signed him. Plus hasn’t he at least earned the right to try to pitch again? Why did they allow him to rehab this whole time only to cut him loose a few days before his return to the majors? Were they hoping for a setback to bail them out?
I think the fact that the team called up Tommy Hanson to pitch Saturday (the spot Glavine had targeted) shows what direction the team wanted to go. But, again, why not tell Glavine that BEFORE he went through all this rehab?
I know this is a business but I think this could have been handled better by the organization. It looks especially bad after the way the treated John Smoltz. How can you disrespect two guys that have meant so much to your organization?
Smoltz to pitch in S.C.
May 29, 2009 By
Braves fans that want to watch former Brave and future Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz pitch again will get their chance this weekend. Smoltz is scheduled to make a rehab start with the Greenville Drive Sunday at Fluor Field. The game is at 4:00 against the Charleston RiverDogs.
Smotlz is trying to get back in shape to so that he can join the Red Sox rotation later this summer. Fans interested in checking out the former Brave can call the Drive ticket office at 864- 240-4500. The office is open today until 6 p.m. and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday.
