Scott Elbert, Dodgers 2009 minor league pitcher of the year, still out without explanation but starting to throw in Phoenix
Some mysteries actually remain that way. Explanations that come, if they come at all, are vague. Or they feel partial, or too convenient.
Reliever Ronald Belisario has disappeared without explanation, the Dodgers saying only it’s a personal issue.
But Belisario is hardly the only member of the Dodgers’ organization to leave without the team clarifying why he was suddenly gone.
Left-hander Scott Elbert, the Dodgers’ 2009 minor league pitcher of the year, left triple-A Albuquerque on June 10 for a personal matter.
The team gave him permission to leave and placed him on the inactive list. The Isotopes haven’t seen him since, and no further explanation of his situation has been offered.
On Thursday, bullpen coach Ken Howell said Elbert is back at the team’s training facility in Phoenix and just starting to throw.
"He’s coming to the ballpark, playing catch again," Howell said. "He’s just trying to get back to the swing of things, and he’s going to walk his way through it."
Whatever "it" is.
Elbert, 24, had a one-day call-up at the end of May, but the left-hander walked three left-handed-hitting Rockies in Colorado. The next day he was sent back to Albuquerque.
He made one more start in Albuquerque before being placed on the inactive list for what the team termed a family matter. Elbert’s second child was born in April.
So Elbert, who lives near Phoenix, is back playing catch. Explanations still lacking, a timetable for his return still unknown.
-- Steve Dilbeck
Reliever Ronald Belisario has disappeared without explanation, the Dodgers saying only it’s a personal issue.
But Belisario is hardly the only member of the Dodgers’ organization to leave without the team clarifying why he was suddenly gone.
Left-hander Scott Elbert, the Dodgers’ 2009 minor league pitcher of the year, left triple-A Albuquerque on June 10 for a personal matter.
The team gave him permission to leave and placed him on the inactive list. The Isotopes haven’t seen him since, and no further explanation of his situation has been offered.
On Thursday, bullpen coach Ken Howell said Elbert is back at the team’s training facility in Phoenix and just starting to throw.
"He’s coming to the ballpark, playing catch again," Howell said. "He’s just trying to get back to the swing of things, and he’s going to walk his way through it."
Whatever "it" is.
Elbert, 24, had a one-day call-up at the end of May, but the left-hander walked three left-handed-hitting Rockies in Colorado. The next day he was sent back to Albuquerque.
He made one more start in Albuquerque before being placed on the inactive list for what the team termed a family matter. Elbert’s second child was born in April.
So Elbert, who lives near Phoenix, is back playing catch. Explanations still lacking, a timetable for his return still unknown.
-- Steve Dilbeck
Why can't the Dodgers trade for C. Lee??? Trade Billingsly and any other prospects we have in the minors to get him. Use the money you are saving from Manny leaving next year to sign Lee to a long term deal. Lee and Kershaw at the top of the rotation with Furcal, Kemp and Either at the plate sure looks like a winner to me!!!!
Posted by: Jay | 07/09/2010 at 03:20 PM
The Dodgers aren't exactly saving money when Manny leaves. A lot of his contract is deferred so the Dodgers will be paying him in 2011 as well.
Trading Billingsley for Lee is a short-sighted decision that would sting for years to come as Lee is probably going to sign with the Yankees in the off-season. Note: Another recent short-signed deal, Casey Blake for Carlos Santana, is starting to have the makings of many of those bad quick fix veterans for prospect deals (i.e. Paul Konerko, John Franco, Sid Fernandez, Pedro Martinez) from the 80's and 90's Dodger fans constantly bring up.
I'd rather see Bills in the Dodger rotation for at least the next 4-5 years (minimum) that 3 months of Cliff Lee since he isn't enough of an upgrade over Billingsley to get a World Series ring for the Dodgers.
Posted by: Rob | 07/10/2010 at 07:35 AM