Hi all.  Hope you  enjoyed your Easter weekend.

Here’s how I see baseball today.   The majors returned to Mexico this weekend for two blowouts, 11-1 and 21-6. as far as I recall each team won one of the demolitions and the fans seemed to enjoy the games, one-sided though they were.
This is the time when final decisions are made.  Instead of telling David Goforth to go forth and multiply, the Brewers told him to go backward to AAA.  The Yankees made a number of moves, most surprisingly sending huge prospect catcher Gary Sanchez to AAA.  It was assumed he’d be the backup to Brian McCann, but with this move I have no  idea who their backup catcher will be, considering they unloaded John Ryan Murphy-presumably to make room for Sanchez.  The Yankees also sent Rob Refsnyder to AAA, since their infield is just too crowded for him at this stage of the game.  It was that or unload Chase Headley who mostly plays third base. Their bull pen is also a crowded house, so James Pazos will start another year with AAA Scranton. His old teammate Nick Rumbelo will be back in AAA, so they can shout “Let’s get ready to rumbelo!”
Pittsburgh isn’t keeping Eric O’Flaherty, the often-maligned lefty from last year’s Mets’ bull pen. He’s off to the Braves in a straight cash deal. The Mariners appear to be trying to unload Jesus Montero, the main prospect they got when they traded Michael Pineda to the Yanks.  While Pineda still has a job he has a reputation for getting hurt and putting pine tar on his neck, so he’s a 4 or 5 starter at best in spite of how lost that Yankees rotation is. The Reds signed reliever Ross Ohlendorf who was mentioned in this space last week.  I speculated he might be riding herd in his family’s south pastures this week, considering they own a cow ranch in Austin, Texas.  He was temporarily freed from the prospect of returning to that arduous profession by the Reds. The Mets found their bull pen had no room in it for elderly Buddy Carlyle. He was released.

Pirates closer Mark Melancon is 31 today.  Given the shredding of the Pirates, I wonder how many games this Colorado native will have to save in 2016. While he made his debut as a Yankee, and also played in Houston and Boston, he came into his own under the Jolly Roger. As  a Pirate he’s been an All-Star twice and on a playoff team 3 years in a row.

As a high schooler he was a member of National Honor Society, a claim few players can make. That’s more of a  group where nerdy broadcasters like yours truly can be found. The Yankees took him in round 9 in 2006 from University of Aerizona. In spite of Tommy John surgery that took his 2007 season he still made the show in 2009. In spite of 2015 being his best year, there was much speculation about Melancon leaving Pittsburgh as part of the demolition of the team.  Neal Walker, Pedro Alvarez, Antonio Bastardo and Charlie Morton all left the Steel City, leaving fans crying in their Iron City beers. Melancon remains, and only time will tell what this year’s Pirates team will be like.

Paul Wilson is 43 today.  After a wretched 1993 season the Mets had the first pick in the nation in 1994. Paul Wilson was their choice. They were hoping for more than a 40-58 pitcher with a near 5 ERA in 7 years. They only had one major league season with him, 1996. then after 3 lost years he resurfaced in Tampa Bay for 3, then moved on to Cincinnati for his final 3 years in the majors. He was last spotted in the independent Golden Baseball League in 2008.

Vic Raschi was born this day in 1919 and died in 1988. In a decade in the game he had a marvelous record of 132-66 between the Yankees, Cardinals and Kansas City A’s. As a Yankee he was an All-Star 4 times and took home 6 World Series rings. As a Cardinal he gave up the first of 755 home runs to a rookie named Henry Aaron. Aaron  had also gotten his first hit in the majors off Raschi in an earlier game. After retiring, he ran a liquor store and coached college baseball in upstate New York.