I honestly don't get it. I am trying to wrap my brain around it but it just won't stretch that far. Can anyone, anywhere give me one reason why we have Oscar Salazar on our team? Since I could not understand it I had to do some research and see what this guy is all about. Maybe I just don't have all the facts and need to be enlightened. Here goes...
According to Baseball-Reference.com Salazar was signed by the A's as an amateur free agent in 1994. In case you missed it, the year was 1994! He then disappears till 2002 with the Tigers. This can only mean two things:
- He was a scab. How else do you explain the signing in 1994 and then the almost immediate departure? We have a '94 scab on our team. And no matter whose side you took in the strike, one thing is certain - it sucked. And now Salazar is a constant reminder for me that Tony Gwynn was robbed of .400.
- He is not good at baseball. True, he is more than likely better than me, but I'm not sure how much better. Since once again reaching the majors in 2002 he has played in 142 games with 281 AB's. Hell, A-Gonz already has 134 AB's this season! Salazar is currently riding the Mendoza Line and I honestly have no clue what his purpose is. It seems like we'd send down Blanks before him and that's crazy.
So, with his batting skills at a minimum that leaves us with an interview Bud Black gave on the Mighty XX* at the beginning of the season. He claimed Oscar was a good player to have because he played multiple positions very well. This is also not true, his worst fielding percentage is at 2B and SS (.800 at SS and .893 at 2B. which by infielder standards is average at best). He's almost perfect in the outfield, but do we really need another outfielder hitting .200? True 'Scoot' Hairston is out for another week or so, but why not bring up another young guy from Triple A? Bring up Mike Baxter (.294 in Portland) or Aaron Cunningham or best of all Luis Durango. Durango is hitting .307 in Portland right now with 16 stolen bases! Last year Durango played nine games with the Padres and hit .545 and he's only 24. Instead we have a 32-year old way below average outfielder starting in key games. Even if Salazar is out of options and demoting him means we lose him - SO BE IT. Let him drink SOBE's while living in his car outside of La Mesa's Downtown trolley stop.
Of course this is just my opinion, but I don't see the point of starting someone who is actually not good (and wasn't last year) as opposed to someone who has the potential to be our future starting centerfielder. I thought Kevin Towers was gone? I thought the days of trying Desi Relaford, Kerry Robinson and Joe Randa were over? Can we try not to squeeze by with the bottom of the barrel just once? Let the kids play Jed - not the scabs.
*And why the hell did the Mighty 1090 change to the Mighty XX? It's dumb and it's hard to say.
UPDATE: Oscar Salazar was not a scab in 1994. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/replacement_players.shtml But this blog isn't fact based, so whatever...
8 comments:
It'd be fun to have a player named Durango. I don't know why. Because there's a car named after him?
I like Oscar. He's been around. Actually got signed out of Italy. Played in Mexico, Venezuela etc..
According to the UT:
"Eleven years Stairs’ junior, the 31-year-old Salazar has already played for 23 different professional teams in nine countries. Salazar has already played for eight different major league organizations."
Also, it's not really fair to say: "He was a scab." and "We have a '94 scab on our team." First off, it's not true. He was 15-years-old when the '94 season started. And when the strike hit in August, he was 16, certainly not a big league caliber player at that age (moreover, minors aren't affected by strikes). A lot of times guys will sign at, say, 16 and then workout with a team in extended spring training and/or their academies before actually playing in the minors.
Secondly, there's not much information on him. So starting a rumor like that about a guy that has been busting his ass his entire life to make the bigs can have an impact. Google -"oscar salazar" scab- and this entry is the first one. You don't have to like him or want him on the roster... but don't crush the man by starting some type of McCarthy-era rumor.
PS- I'm calling walkoff HR from Oscar before the season is over...
I'm glad the guy has been working hard to get where he's gotten, but maybe he could do it somewhere else.
The scab thing was more of a joke than anything figuring the age thing (as you pointed out) would reveal that. And I figure more people have googled 'Scab found in Salazar's burrito'are googling 'Oscar Salazar Scab'.
Your UT quote actually makes him sound worse than I did.
If you've read this blog before you know we like to be way more opinionative than most. Saying something outrageous is not beyond us.
If this blog does impact his future then I would feel bad and we would have a lot more readers.
To compare a little blog with McCarthy is just as ridiculous as me calling him a scab.
P.S. If he hits a walk-off homerun I will eat crow right here on this blog.
P.P.S. - wouldn't you rather an exciting young player than a guy still trying to establish himself at 32 (his BDay is in a couple weeks)?
Who's Oscar Salazar?
Dallas,
You're looking at the glass half empty. He's been wanted by 23 different organizations! Tony Gwynn can't say that. He wasn't in demand like Oscar. One lone team. No one else even wanted Gwynn. He was stuck winning batting titles with the Padres because he had no other suitors...
Actually, I like the idea that Salazar is a "Scab." As we know, a scab represents healing. No matter what color your skin, the scab is going to be darker than you. If you're the darkest person in Nigeria -and you cut your finger- that scab is going to be darker than you. So maybe the universe is trying to tell us something: healing comes in darkness. With all their fancy bio-technology and genetic engineering, they have no clue how to make a scab.
We don't need a band-aid like Burrell, we need a scab Oscar Salazar.
The man has seen it all. He's been everywhere and done everything. He's like the guy on the DOS XX commercials except with less at-bats.
We all need a guy like Salazar. A guy that shouldn't be in the big leagues. A guy like Eckstein (who, by the way, isn't exactly a young and exciting player). Sure it'd be fun to see a guy like Durango. It's been fun watching Venable and Blanks. They haven't really performed like we'd hoped as of yet: but I still like them. What's not to like?
But why single Salazar out? Why not Stairs? Stairs has struck out in 12 times in 29 at-bats. That's 42% of the time. Salazar doesn't strike out as much. Has a higher average and OPS. And compared to Stairs, he's an up-and-comer with minimal MLB service time. Why wouldn't you root for a guy like that? And when it comes down to it: there are more unproven big leaguers on the Pads roster than there are proven ones.
Also, the idea of Salazar being a "scab",in the context you used it, is basically calling him a sell-out. But when did ever sacrifice his moral integrity for a payday? I just think the attack was unfair. Saying he sucks. His family sucks. His eyebrows suck. His name sucks. Pretty much everything is fair game. But calling him a "scab" (in the context you did) seems just way off base. I think the game needs more Oscar Salazars. They counterbalance the bonus babies who never had to work hard.
Everyone loves the story of a David Eckstein, a Jim Morris, a Josh Hamilton, etc...
Why not Oscar? Is there something different about him.....?
Lew,
Your DOS XX joke is gold.
I have to disagree with you on Eckstein not being exciting. He's the most exciting guy on the team!
People love stories like Eckstein or Morris or Hamilton because they have at least one amazing season. Salazar's story is less appealing as he has yet to do anything.
And holy God if I don't wish Matt Stairs was off the team! Another bad signing.
Finally, as a lifelong Padre fan I'm getting tired of rooting for guys like Salazar. Like I mentioned in the post it seems like management is always trying to sell us on guys like him or Stairs or Ray Lankford. It's a bummer and I long for a change. Sell me on an (actual) young guy not someone whose played for more organizations than Crash Davis.
This blog is one of the worst ones ive read. Keep at it though.
I say we sign Burrell at the minimum and have him take Salazar's place. Now I know he has not has amazing numbers lately but he Has in the past. That is more than Salazar can say. Burrell at least brings potential and we would only have to pay with the minimum.
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