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Jim Edmonds Makes Sense of Ozzie Guillen
Cubs centerfielder Jim Edmonds, whose return to St. Louis Friday night was honored by Cardinals fans if not by Tony La Russa, shared a revelation with Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times:
Edmonds would have been traded to the White Sox this past December if he hadn't exercised his right to block such a deal.
Edmonds said he got a call from St. Louis management in the week after the winter meetings in December...
"They told me I was traded to the White Sox, and that I had an hour to OK it, and I told them I needed more than that," said Edmonds, who had asked for a trade closer to his Southern California home after being told he didn't play a big part in the Cardinals' 2008 plans.
"I was sitting on the beach one day with my family, running around with my son, and they told me I had an hour to decide whether I wanted to play with the White Sox or not," he said.
It's unclear what the deal was, although the Cards were said to be interested in Juan Uribe at that time.
"I needed more time, and they kept pushing me and pushing me," he said, "and I said, I can't answer that question today, so obviously I guess I can say no."
The next day he was traded, with cash, to San Diego for infielder David Freese -- a deal he later says he was told by Padres officials had been worked out for weeks.
It seems to me that this story could explain the reaction of White Sox pinhead manager Ozzie Guillien a couple Saturdays ago, after the Cubs had beaten the White Sox, 11-7, in the second game of their series at Wrigley and Edmonds had homered twice in a nine-run fourth inning.
Said the pinhead Guillen after the game:
"He just had a good day..I don't want to promote the guy who's just hitting [.238 and stuff]. He just had a good day. Good for them. I think I'd rather have him out there than [Alfonso] Soriano."
Edmonds shuns the White Sox; Guillen offers a public dig at the first opportunity. Makes perfect sense to me. In fact, I think Chicago fans have seen this movie before.
Finally, speaking of players who wore both Cubs and Cardinals colors, ClassicAthletes.com catches up with one of my favorite Cubs ever, Don Kessinger, a six-time All-Star shortstop for the team between 1964 and 1975. Kessinger was traded to the Cardinals for the eminently forgettable Mike Garman following the '75 season, eventually ending up with White Sox in 1977 and becoming their player-manager in 1979, his last year in baseball.
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