Mark Worrell is hacked off (update: Mark Worrell is gone)
Posted on December 4th, 2008 by erik in Mark WorrellRevealing interview with Mark Worrell by Dustin Mattison:
DM: … Has the team given you any indication of its plans for you for the future?
MW: No, they haven’t given me any indication. To be quite honest with you, I was hoping they would get rid of me. I would like to be given a fair chance. They haven’t given me a fair chance at all. Every year, I’ve put up great numbers, out battled my competition, and up to this point I have nothing to show for it but 13 days in the big league. With almost any other team, I think I would have had a real shot.
For the sake of Worrell’s sanity, I hope he is included in the deal for Khalil Greene.
UPDATE: And just as he aired his grievances 19 days early of Festivus, it turns out the trade is Mark Worrell and a PTBNL for Greene. Padres fans can click here and here to read more about Worrell. The Padres seem to have a knack for building a solid bullpen undervalued relievers, so I’m sure he will fit right in.
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this whole article is weird for me…i completely agree that worrell has every reason to be pissed, but this article almost doesn’t seem like its really mark talking…the part where he talks about how good of a hitter he could be if the cards gave him a chance is almost comical…it all almost seems made up
i really like the word almost, apparently
He did seem to be forgotten a lot by even Cardinals fans when it came to prospects.
Do you think his success would have been short lived here in the bigs as major league teams scouting might have found flaws in his mechanics or delivery? I know Duncan and LaRussa aren’t flawless, but there had to be something there to keep him down for so long given the bullpen situation? I’d be curious to know what you guys thought about him and his potential.
If Mark Worrell thinks he was dominating AAA, what was Motte doing to the competition in Memphis?
My suggestion: he was eradestroying batters.
Burt, I am sure Worrell has Kelvin Jiminez in mind (not Motte). I think Worrell snapped and is popping off publicly in an attempt to get traded. My guess is that he found out his name was included in trade talks and decided to help nudge his way out the door. Gotta believe he has succeeded and is now property of the Padres. But who else did we give up from Greene?
Oh, I understand his frustrations. I think we all similarly every time LaDuncan indulged their masochistic tendencies and brought Jimenez to the mound.
While I feel some sympathy for Worrell , he seems to have a little too big of an ego/sense of entitlement for someone who had, as he says, “but 13 days in the big league.” He was overlooked for promotions and that is unfortunate, but spouting off like this might actually hurt his chances of leaving. Logical or not, teams put a lot of emphasis on “make up.” I think this hurt the trade value of Reyes* (prompting the season-long struggle to unload him) and it could do the same for Worrell.
Hopefully we don’t have to worry about this. Petco would be a great park for him to pitch in and I’d wish him well in his pursuit to be the next Cla Meredith.
*I do not think Anthony Reyes had/has a problem w/ “make up.” Worrell…maybe, but not Reyes.
Wow!!! That dude is pissed.
Worrell said to be included in the Greene trade. Him and a PTBNL, according to mlbtraderumors
I’m hearing the other player involved is Luke Gregorson
Worrell stated that he was mad that the Cardinals promoted some of their “up and coming prospects” over him, despite the fact that he was outperforming them. Kelvin Jimenez was never an “up and coming prospect,” so it’s fairly clear that’s not who Worrell was referring to. He had to be referring to Perez and/or Motte, as they are the only relievers who fit his description.
Good luck to Worrell though, whatever shot he gets with San Diego will have been earned.
Speaking out about being passed up is one thing, it can be taken as competitive fire, or some other crap that writers like to talk about.
Badmouthing teammates, such as straight out calling Jimenez trash (even though he is..) probably would be viewed very, very differently.
Could also have been talking about McClellan, who came out of nowhere to pitch in MLB this year.
Our season could have been very different if they had shut KMC down in August when he started showing signs of fatigue and called Worrell up for the rest of the year…
I didn’t think Worrell was given a fair shake by the team, either. Good trade all around.
uh oh. Kevin Towers says the PTBNL is “more highly regarded” than Worrell.
Do you have a link on that? I read at SI that it is 2 pitchers, one position player that is on their list to choose from.
Worrell will get his shot with the Padres. Good for him. Now he’ll have to back up the talk. But I like his chances of being a successful middle reliever in Petco. And let’s see him jack one out of that yard! Although his shot in Washington would have left any park.
My mistake, that part was from rotoworld, they said that Towers “indicated” the PTBNL was more highly regarded.
Krasovic is the one implying the PTBNL is more highly regarded.
“The Padres will get a second minor leaguer, one possibly better regarded than Worrell, Towers said, by April 1. They will choose from a list of three prospects, two of them pitchers.”
http://tinyurl.com/5l4ofz
I really wish we could find out who is on that list of PTBNL. Also, how does that pick go? Do they have until April 1st to pick the player as I saw that date listed on one of the articles over the trade. I’m trying to remember how long it took until Detroit picked Lambert for the Maroth trade a couple years back, though I’m assuming it varies.
I know mark and he has been giving me pitching lessons he did want to get off the cardinals to get more playing time. If i was in the bigs and i was underused then i would be pist but i believe that he will get a better chance with the padres.
The AP article also says the PTBNL list is composed of 2 pitchers, and 1 position player. The SD GM is supposedly said something to the effect “he might want to take another look in spring training before deciding”, with the deadline at April 1. So, among these players are ones that would get a look in early spring training. I don’t think the list is something like Mather, Motte, & Perez as they already should have enough on those guys to make a decision. Since Worrell was at AAA for two years, they could of also seen enough of him. However, I think it does put into play guys like Jon Jay and Clayton Mortensen.
Given that I think that Greene is a still a very good gamble as he is a potentially huge upgrade over Izturis, and if you have to give up good prospects to get a guy like that, then I think you do it. The Cards should be a contender next year, and you simply cannot trot a guy like Izturis out there for another 135 games.