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Not All is Well for ‘El Duque
He went from escaping Fidel Castro’s tyrannical government on a raft
to winning World Series games for the New York Yankees. He is a role model and
idol to thousands of Cubans and millions of baseball fans around the country
that know his story. Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez came through for the
Yankees by pitching almost flawlessly in the post season this last handful of
years. However, come this week’s official announcement, he will be replaced by David Wells, and traded off the Yankee team.
For those of you who don’t know, David Wells is another Yankee hero, known for his colorful and down-to-earth personality. He had achieved much success with the Yankees a few years ago, even hurling a perfect game in 1997. Like “El Duque”, Wells has been battling injuries these last couple of years. But unlike “El Duque”, Wells brings trouble to the Yankees. David Wells is an individualist; he’s not a team player. Ask any of his former teammates or managers. He’s played for a host of teams- the Tigers, Reds, Orioles, Yanks, Blue Jays, and most recently, the White Sox. Each time he left or was traded, his ego was the reason. He is also overweight and didn’t even pitch most of last year. He was a bust for the White Sox.
David Wells and Yankees skipper Joe Torre never got along; I doubt they
will get along this time. Mr. Torre has his work cut out for him this year,
with an all-new Yankees line-up. The man doesn’t need any more distractions.
Why did the Yankees opt to acquire Wells? Well, “they” didn’t;
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner did. Seems like David Wells had dinner with
George AFTER Wells already had a verbal agreement to play for the
Arizona Diamondbacks. “The Boss” George Steinbrenner outbid Arizona, and
sources out of New York are saying Wells will receive a 2-year deal worth
$7million, with a no-trade clause. The Yankees pitching rotation looks like this: Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Mike Mussina, Sterling Hitchcock…and now instead of El Duque…David Wells!
George Steinbrenner should not have undermined his staff. CEO’s should not be making deals to acquire players. This could spell doomsday to manager Joe Torre, especially if Wells does not perform well.
A great idea would be to keep El Duque. Maybe he could pitch in relief or
backup one of the five starters if one of them gets injured. But according to
sources, the Yankees will trade him. Goodbye, El Duque. May you find success with another team. We at the Dailyskew will keep our fond memories of you. And Mr. Wells? You had better put or shut up, boy.
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