Be Like Tike

• Julio Franco was designated for assignment by the New York Mets today so that the ‘Mazins could bring up potential problem child Lastings Milledge. Milledge could be the sparkplug that the team needs or he could be just the distraction that the team doesn’t need. The other possibility is that he is being showcased for a trade, but as many people have said, the market is rather barren this year especially with Mark Buehrle re-signing in Chicago. The Mets are losing a very good story in Franco, but gaining a potential impact player. Anyone know of a team needing a public relations coup right about now? How about Julio Franco bobblehead (or cane) night?
• The interesting thing about the Franco designating, though, is that if the Mets were going to name someone as a hitting coach, why didn’t they just name Franco and allow him to bow out gracefully, instead of Rickey Henderson? The rumor mill had Henderson wanting to play earlier this week and now he is the hitting coach. Something tells me he does not envision himself being there for very long . . . It may just be a way of re-acclimating himself with the major league game for now. Also factored in, though, is that Henderson has been Jose Reyes’ personal base-stealing coach for a couple of spring trainings now.
• This article is a waste of internet space. Preseason games are never worth watching. Ever.
• Pacman Jones’ latest arrest is probably not going to end up counting against him. It seems as if the cop simply set out to arrest Pacman. Oh, wait, he did? That’s what Jones’ attorney is claiming and it doesn’t appear as if he is very far off. Apparently the police officer isn’t familiar with the concept of probable cause . . .
• Alex Goligoski is going pro. This is very good news for Penguins fans, as Goligoski profiles as a pretty good offensive defenseman. He will probably start the season in Wilkes-Barre due to a shoulder injury, but will see action at some point next year. Think of a defense core in the second half of this season that includes Gonchar, Whitney, Letang, Goligoski, Sydor, Eaton, Orpik, and (maybe) Scuderi. That ain’t bad, folks.
• The Penguins took steps to wrap up another young player for two years yesterday, signing Colby Armstrong to a two year contract at $1.2 million a year. Army is an important, gritty player who the fans love and it’s nice to see the team avoiding arbitration with its young guys. I’ve never understood the concept of tearing a player down to save your team money if he figures to play an important role later, but that’s for another time.
• A great website concerning the NHL.
• The Oilers finally managed to overpay for a player, signing Sheldon Souray to what is surely an exorbitant contract. Kevin Lowe has been trying to spend money, going as far as severely irking the Sabres organization by offering Thomas Vanek a massive offer sheet. Lowe succeeded at last, signing an aging defenseman to what looks like a Gonchar-esque contract in a year where teams seem to be spending whatever money they have. This is a solid personnel signing, but not a good economic signing.

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