Major League Jerk

I’m sorry to be the bearer (get it?) of bad news, but Panda Watch is going on a two week hiatus. You see, the Panda was placed on the DL against his wishes.

“I’m not thrilled about it, but that’s because of my competitive nature. I wanted to keep playing. It’s something I’ve been dealing with for a month now,” said Byrnes, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal in August.

I love the little dig there by the Arizona Republic writer. “…Byrnes, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal in August.” Apparently, signing large contracts should make you impervious to pain. Wait, what? Is Hef defending the Panda? Again, I must say, when the Panda stops trying to pull everything and hit everything over the fence he is a damn good outfielder. He steals bases well (when he’s healthy), he’s a great teammate, and he’s got a good sense of humor. I like the Panda. Really. Just stop trying to hit them all out of the park. Please.

At any rate, we’ll be seeing more of Alex Romero here in PHX for a little while. Romero is another fleet footed outfielder who’s supposed to be good. I enjoyed watching him the first few weeks of the season while Miguel Montero was rehabbing his something or other. I like watching players develop so this should be an interesting two weeks.

The Dbacks, who have not played well on the road, have 19 road games in June. [Sigh]. Time for the annual June Swoon as we revert to the mean. Luckily they’re facing the Giants and the Nationals before heading out. Hopefully they can pad the win column before suffering many embarrassing losses during their trips East.