Diamond Gems - musings on baseball both locally and nationally
Manny Parra and Grant Balfour, who began the season pitching for the Huntsville Stars, were called up to the Milwaukee Brewers from Nashville Monday.
Parra, a left-handed pitcher from California, will be making his major league debut. Manny was drafted out of American River Junior College and has spent five seasons working his way through the minors. He has battled arm problems, including shoulder surgery in 2005.
This is what makes minor league baseball so interesting, especially at the AA level. You never know when you can see a player play here in Huntsville one day and the next day play in the major leagues. About half of the Brewers' current roster prepped in Huntsville. The major league has many players who played here as opponents of the Stars.
Ken Griffey Jr. homered in the Reds 10-3 victory over the Braves Monday. The blast was number 587 of his career, moving him past Hall of Famer Frank Robinson into sixth place on the all-time list. Next in his sights is active player Sammy Sosa, just 15 home runs ahead of Griffey.
Alex Rodriguez has 496 home runs as of Monday and soon should become the 22nd member of the 500 club.
The Cubs fired the first shot in the trade wars, picking up catcher Jason Kendall from the Oakland Athletics. The next two weeks will see some teams maneuvering to improve their chance at a playoff run by trading for veteran players while other clubs will attempt to improve their future by obtaining young prospects. The process is always interesting to observe.
Jim Sandoval can be reached at casandman@aol.com
