Was Wikipedia winking at us?
As reader Martin pointed out - and I hope he doesn't mind the nickname because that's the best I can do at the moment, and it's kind of catchy - the Wikipedia page for reliever Chad Bradford includes a line about the Orioles trading him to the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 7 for John Cass.
John Cass?
Exactly.
Cass isn't the player-to-be-named in that deal. There's no evidence that John Cass exisits. For all we know, he's a distant relative of Mama Cass. But he's not part of any baseball trade.
And to think I always assumed that everything in Wikipedia was 100 percent accurate because, you know, anybody can contribute to it.
I actually use Wikipedia as a resource quite frequently. It's one of my favorites. But in this case, we were led astray. And if I'm reader Martin, I'm calling them out on it. And so am I, since I actually made a phone call to check on it.
"I don't know what that's about," was the response I got from the Orioles.
It still appears that the Orioles are more likely to receive cash in this transaction than a low-level minor leaguer.
John Cass... better then Jack Squat?
Maybe they meant some cash.(very small).
Rotoworld does not have a John Cass listed for any sport.
Roch, I think “John Cass” has to become some sort of inside joke here. I fully expect to see a commenter here using it as a posting name sometime soon.
I think Olson might be an okay starter with the Padres if he were to go there. The NL is the weaker league, and the NL West is the weakest division. I think with his style of pitching, if you take him out of the brutal AL East and put him in Petco Park (a park that ESPN rates as the most pitcher friendly of all parks according to its “park factor” stat), he might pitch to a 5.00 ERA or so. Nothing spectacular, but, at his cost and what San Diego is doing now, that might be welcome, and some reasonable success might improve his confidence. If he’s going to pitch to a 6.00+ ERA here, that’s just not going to cut it.
John Cass is our current starting shortstop!
PS I still can't believe Brian Burress shot himself in the leg.
I just wanted to say that I am pleased to be in Baltimore and that I look forward to being the Orioles' starting shortstop for many years to come.
The Baltimore Orioles traded Chad Bradford to the Tampa Bay Rays for ham sandwich considerations.
Mama Cass was a couple of years before me at Forest Park High School.
I always heard she had potty mouth. I always wanted to believe that.
We had the worst teams in town. By far.
Whatever happened to Maceo Dailey? He was the only guy who could play basketball at FPHS back then.
I was in "The Importance of Being Ernest" in the 12th grade. No, not Ernest Worrell.
John Cass... that's from the old Gregory Peck movie "Young Mr. Lincoln":
Abe Lincoln: [cross-examining Cass] J. Palmer Cass.
John Palmer Cass: Yes, sir.
Abe Lincoln: What's the "J" stand for?
John Palmer Cass: John.
Abe Lincoln: Anyone ever call you Jack?
John Palmer Cass: Yeah, but...
Abe Lincoln: Why "J. Palmer Cass?" Why not "John P. Cass?"
John Palmer Cass: Well, I...
Abe Lincoln: Does "J. Palmer Cass" have something to hide?
John Palmer Cass: No.
Abe Lincoln: Then what do you part your name in the middle for?
John Palmer Cass: I got a right to call myself anything I want as long as it's my own name!
Abe Lincoln: Well then if it's all the same to you, I'll call you Jack Cass.
Mama Cass for C Bradford might be a good deal. She has geographical ties to MD and might convince Teixeira to stop "California Dreamin'" Ok. Sorry, about that, Roch. That remark probably lost you a few hundred readers alone. I promise I'll stop.
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Wow, that was inspired. Wish I had thought of it! - Roch
Thanks for the clarification. I looked all over for a John Cass before posting originally. I didn't want to look stupid over here. I only look stupid because I wasted a half hour searching for him. Whoever he is, I think I unwittingly played the mark in his wiki-con.
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That's OK. It made for a decent blog entry. I enjoyed it. - Roch
I use to date John Cass mother. She was a good ole girl.
Well, I think he will be better than Luis Hernandez, Alex Cintron, Brandon Fahey, Juan Castro, Freddie Bynum, and Jerome Cass (John's brother).
Keep in mind....John Cass did not committ any error last season nor cost his team any games.
Too bad.. a fictional man, have better stats than the bunch above.. Oh, how can we dream of the next John Cass.
In Spring training...the John Cass fan club will be born.
Just a thought...since Jack is the nickname for John, maybe it was an editorial comment about the trade.
Here you go, Roch...
http://pr.typepad.com/
John Cass has made himself known. Oh, what would we do with Google and Wikipedia in our lives?
Go to your wikipedia and look up censorship........
Roch,
Whats your favorite baseball blog? (Besides your own of course)
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You can't go wrong with anything that comes from Buster Olney or Ken Rosenthal. I enjoy Jerry Crasnick's work and occasionally check out Keith Law. And while this doesn't pertain to your question, Orioleshangout does a tremendous job with the minor leagues, and the message board is a must-visit. I don't consistently check the local blogs, and I know I should. There's good stuff out there. I'm lousy at bookmarking, so I need reminders of all the names (hint, hint). - Roch
So, the articles that I have read indicated that the PTBNL in the Chad Bradford deal was not on the Tampa Bay 40 man roster. Now, I read about a Rule 5 LHP named Eduardo Morlan from Tampa being considered a top prospect. Well, if he is in the Rule 5 draft that means he did not make the Tampa 40 mna roster. So, why didn't the Orioles try to get Eduardo Morlan as the PTBNL?
We would have been better off getting Sid Finch in the Bradford deal.
And this is why my college professors didn't allow us to use wikipedia as a scholarly source for research.
Yeah, but Jack Squat hit better than the Orioles 2008 shortstops...