The SF Chronicle’s Susan Slusser speaks with a former Yankee/D-Backs pitcher who seems to be very eager to get the heck out of the Oakland A’s organization.
Brad Halsey figured when he was held out of his start at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday that he was coming up to start for Rich Harden on Tuesday. He said he was told he was being held in readiness in case Harden couldn’t go.
Harden can’t go, but instead of Halsey, the A’s are going with left-hander Dallas Braden, and Halsey is convinced that he was bypassed because the A’s found out that the left-hander is scheduled for an MRI exam later this week.
That makes Halsey furious because he said he complained of arm trouble all spring and was repeatedly told he didn’t need an MRI.
“I kept going in and saying, ‘My arm is bothering me, it’s not right,’ and they said, ‘Oh, it’s just biceps tendinitis, you’ll be fine,’ ” Halsey said by phone from Sacramento. “Then they send you down and screw you. I’m grinding it out, trying to be a team guy, and I get f — . It’s all just a business decision, because if I came up and pitched Tuesday and then had an MRI and had to go on the DL, they’d have to pay me major-league DL money. It’s such a mom-and-pop organization.
“Basically, they pulled the plug on me because our trainer called them to say I was scheduled for an MRI. I’m a team guy, I’m pitching through problems, and they tell me, ‘You’re the guy, you’re going to start (at Baltimore)’ – and then I get skipped specifically for that reason (the possible injury). It’s (messed up) the way they treat the people they employ. I mean, I’m a person too, not just a piece of the puzzle.”
A’s general manager Billy Beane said he was not aware that Halsey was scheduled for an MRI and if Halsey was under the impression that he was set to start at Baltimore, his assumption was erroneous.
“We held Brad back but we hadn’t made a decision,” Beane said. “We wanted to keep our options open until after (Sunday’s) game. It sounds like Brad is disappointed but we’re using this opportunity to use a young kid we think very highly of and who deserves an opportunity. We’re sorry Brad’s disappointed, but we’re more worried about getting Bob Geren 25 healthy bodies.”
As for Braden, Halsey said, “The kid is good, dude. I’m sure he’ll be fine. But the issue is the decision making – they’re totally fine with me here shredding my arm, because it won’t cost them money.”
With all due respect to Mark T.R. Donohue, it was pretty hard not to laugh at Woody Page today when he described Denver as “a good baseball town.”
From the glass-is-half-full side of things, Newsday’s Wally Matthews is less disturbed by Chase Wright’s history making Sunday evening than he is encouraged by the Yanks’ ability to hit Daisuke Matzusaka.
Salutations to Metsblog’s Matthew Cerrone, whom (unlike some of us) refrains from profanity or kicking the dog in wondering why the heck Endy Chavez wasn’t in right field instead of Shawn Green during the 7th inning yesterday.
I’m not even halfway done with the suggestions from Redleg Nation’s readers, but today would’ve been a very good day for Wayne Krivsky to stay off the internet.