Carl Everett reference timeline
An incomplete brief and quickly growing history of incidents
Which does not, at least yet, attempt to catalog comments about gay people, dinosaurs, et cetera
Yankees
Drafted #10 overall by the Yankees in 1990. In 1992, the Yankees threw him to the Marlins. Everett slags the Yankees on his way out.
Marlins
As a Marlin farmhand, gets into a confrontation with his manager. One account said that three coaches had to restrain him (there were three coaches at a AAA game?). He was suspended for not hustling and insubordination.
Also gets into some kind of dust-up on a team flight when someone puts their briefcase on Everett’s jacket.
Marlins dump him to the Mets for a player of no consequence.
Mets
Everett had a weird relationship with the Mets. Reading accounts of his time there, as an organization they seem split between “impressed with his ability and hustle” and “annoyed with his attitude and frequent dogging”.
In particular, Dallas Green thought little of Everett, and Everett seems to return the favor (and in this Everett’s got a lot of company).
This is where the child abuse comes up.
[For a more complete account on what went on, see this post]
The Mets dump him to the Astros. Everett slags New York and the Mets in interviews (and still does).
Astros
Everett has two productive years.
The Astros dump him to the Red Sox, supposedly as a cost-cutting measure. Later comments from people in the organization reveal that Everett had worn out his welcome.
Red Sox
The Red Sox sign Everett to a three year deal with option year.
Suspended ten days on 7/20/2000 for bumping (and probably head-butting, depending on which camera angle you watch and which account you read) umpire Ron Kupla during an argument in which Everett had to be restrained by others.
Gets into a screaming match 8/6/2000 with manager Jimy Williams coming off his suspension.
Fined in spring training (3/30/2001, $97,222) for missing the team bus (and general friction with his manager)
Ejected 8/15/2001 for throwing his bat at the feet of the homeplate umpire
Fined (but not suspended) for his 8/14/2001 when, facing Jamie Moyer, he gets into a heated exchange with the pitcher over Everett standing outside the batter’s box. When Everett later homers, he trots around the bases, staring at Moyer, and coming home grabs his crotch and spits. Moyer was not amused.
(Piniella later inexcusably does not call in his designated plunker to bean Everett in the butt)
Suspended four games 9/17/2001 after a “verbal altercation” with Joe Kerrigan which, according to press accounts at the time, was impressive for both volume and content. Everett had arrived late for a workout.
During his time with the Red Sox, Everett has several incidents where he has to be held back from writers. And other players, almost brawling with Darren Lewis in one incident.
Traded Everett to the Rangers 12/12/2001
Rangers
Gets hit in the head by a cell phone 4/19/2003 thrown by a fan in Oakland. The fan gets charged (outcome unknown). Everett, who takes the phone and throws it over a wall and hits a stadium employee, is not charged.
Traded Everett to the White Sox 7/1/2003
White Sox
Let Everett go as a free agent.
Expos
Signed Everett in December 2003, traded him to the White Sox 7/18/2004
White Sox
Plays for the 2005 World Champion White Sox, though his performance is terrible.
Teammates on Everett, a summary
Players as a general rule don’t go after another guy in public. Many players, though, seem to genuinely like Everett, even as they may find him nutty. Some, it’s equally clear, don’t.
The majority of evidence that there are many players who don’t like him come from asides and anecdotes relayed by anonymous sources. In contemporary accounts, this is entirely reasonable, though perhaps as Everett asserts, a little cowardly.
However, the amount and consistency of those comments is hard to dismiss. I can’t believe that all those reporters, all those times, made up players telling them that they’re weirded out by Everett because he’s so crazy, that he had to be held back from fighting the hitting coach back in the cages (not a real incident), or whatever.
Organizations on Everett, a summary
Some, like the White Sox, are strong and public in their praise of Everett. No organization is equally vocal and public in criticism, but he’s been repeatedly dumped — even when a promising young player — for whatever they could get at the time.
On his recent not horrible behavior
It could be that Carl has become a better person, and so on and so forth.
However, I would submit this: if you went to go see Old Faithful, which blows up every 90m or so, and it didn’t go off on time… or the next hour… or the next hour… would you back away slowly, or would you go stick your head in the hole to see what’s up?
Comments
106 Responses to “Carl Everett reference timeline”
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And just so we don’t need to answer this again, here’s an article about the infamous dinosaur comments, among Carl’s other charming behaviors.
Delete this if it’s too off-topic…
But is there any effective way to contact the Mariners to show that we, as fans, don’t want someone like this brought into the organization?
It’s questionable as to whether it’d be effective or not, but maybe if enough fans contact them, it could tip things if he’s already a marginal target for them anyway.
If he does sign, Seattle will come even closer to becoming a real baseball down as people sit in the outfield seats and yell, “Hey Everett, You Suck!”
Has he changed (at least as far as the most egregious acts, like having to be restraining from attacking people)? There is nothing like that since 2001 — indeed, the only act mentioned above after 2001 is the cell phone incident, which is bad luck more than bad behavior (what yould you do if you got beaned in the head with a cell phone?).
Yeah! Let’s sign the Terell Owens of baseball minus any of the talent! Hoepfully we can wrap him up for 3-4 years and trade him to SD in 2007 for scraps, eating 90% of his salery. Weeee!
People don’t change. People who beat their kids with belts and leave marks on their faces don’t change. They may alter some behaviors but they do not change.
I’m not prone to such threats but I will not attend a game or buy an item of merchandise if this guy is on the team. I’ve put up with a lot of sucky left fielders in my day, I’ve paid good money to watch Pee-Wee Briley, Mike Felder, and Tracy Jones, but not a dollar for a Carl Everett team.
#1–more reference material:
Verducci in 2000
Michael Silverman in 2000
Bob Nightengale in 2001
FWIW, from the pretty low-key Larry Dierker:
“Carl’s temper has been a problem in the past, and may be again in the future. Some guys have a low flash point, and he is one of them.
Carl Everett played so hard for us that he inspired the whole team. Still, there was that scary, uncertain side to his personality–and that’s what keeps him moving from team to team. I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes more stops before he hangs up his spikes.”
Sounds like Seattle will have finally have someone to boo besides A-Rod.
#7– sorry, that last citation should have been
Jay Mariotti in 2003
I can honestly say that I am EAGER – EAGER I TELL YOU – to drop several hundred dollars a year for Ms tickets so I can bring my children to watch Carl Everett showcase his skills with the Ms.
There are headcases like Manny Ramirez who are pains in the ass but smack the crap out of the ball, and then there are players like Everett.
I don’t know if anybody who matters with the Ms reads this blog, but if you do hear this: Everett is a terrible player who will contribute nothing to the team with his bat. At best, he may help you win 1 game next year. He is actually far more likely to get into a fight with Ichiro and put him on the DL for 2 months than help the team win that 1 game.
But beyond the speculation about his performance on the field, I GUARANTEE that I will not bring my children to watch someone like Everett play baseball. I took my 3 year old to 10 games last year. We even collected a foul ball from Felix’s first home game. The plan next year was to start bringing her 2-year-old sister to 10 games next year. They are going to be really disappointed when that doesn’t happen next year. But I hear the Storm and the Sounders play games in the summer as well.
After work, if it is not too late, I’ll compose my letter to the Ms.
jackm said: People don’t change… They may alter some behaviors but they do not change.
I’m not willing to say that Everett hasn’t changed. However, his past behavior (and his play, for that matter) is bad enough that I don’t think it’s worth the risk to find out.
#6 – I don’t want Everett on this team at all, but to say people don’t change is crap. People can always change. With your outlook why would we ever let anyone out of jail? People are not bound to their poor behavior. Granted he should pay the consiquences for his behavior, and I really hope one of those consiquences is the M’s not signing him.
This move shows the desperation of the Mariner organization. Three years ago the M’s wouldn’t touch this guy with a 90 foot dinasaur bone.
“what yould you do if you got beaned in the head with a cell phone?”
Good question. …Hmm, I think the best thing to do would be to look for the speed dial labeled “mom”. Then I would ask if throwing things at stranger’s head was something she taught her children.
Is there any indication that Everett (as opposed to his wife) actually hit the child? I read the column above to say that the wife hit the child and Everett “failed to stop her”. I’m not justifying that — both parents have a responsibility to protect their children — but this account could be of a father who was on the road with his baseball team a lot and then when he was home he didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on. Not good – a neglectful father no doubt — but not an abuser.
I’d be willing to bet there are a fair number of baseball players — or professional athletes in general — who are lousy parents. Probably a few in Seattle right now.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should sign him, and I’m not saying he’s anything but a jerk, but referring to him as someone who beats children with belts might be going overboard.
BTW, I should add that while I won’t bring my kids to the games, I know I’ll go. I won’t like the fact that he is on the team, but I’ll go. But I’m serious about not bringing my kids.
In truth, taking a 4 and a 2-year-old to the ballpark is a hassle. But they dig the cotton candy and I think it is important in an American-mythology-remember-those-summers- when-Dad-took-us-to-the-ballpark-and-we-ate-our-weight-in-candy kind of way. But if a fool like Everett is on the team, the mythology can easily wait a year. I need to buy them ski clothes and get them ski lessons anyway. So I certainly have other places to spend my money.
But I’ll be there. If for no other reason than to shout, “Everett, you suck.”
#5 Terrell Owens is good though and can probably play LF better than Everett.
#17: That’s a good point. T.O. isn’t doing anything now. Maybe the M’s should sign him to play in left.
[deleted extremely long URL pasted as text]
If Everett can come in here and contribute for a year I am on the record as being all for it. We need to add a lefty who can hit 25 dingers and drive in 80 or more RBI’s, and if Everett is the best available, I say sign him at a discount. If there is one team in the majors that could use some more nasty, it would be the Mariners.
People do change… it’s just so rare as to make your statement conventional wisdom…. But I don’t see any evidence that Carl has… or even that Carl remotely wants to.
Every once in a while a team I care a lot about will hire someone I find impossible to root for. Someone I will hope fails, even while he plays for my favorite team. If he plays for the Ms next year, I hope he bats like Cirillo and trips on every base.
Man, I wish Lou were still here. Then it’d almost be worth it bring Carl here. The groundscrew would be hiding a body by June.
#16: That’s what Rainiers games are for, Kelly.
InSpO –
If you are in politics, you should now that an attack is only “‘Ad Hominem” if it is irrelevant to the discussion.
The whole point of the post was that it IS relevant.
Your entire post applies pretty much to the dinosaur jokes. The rest of his issues are baseball related or stability related (beating your child until they have bruises on their face, etc.)
And you could even argue that not believing in dinosaurs is a good argument against mental stability.
At the very least, we disagree a lot on what issues you call “silly” or “small”.
He is an ok pull hitter and will likely provide more HR and RBI’s than Raul.
This is highly unlikely. SLG the last 5 years:
Everett: 438-439-510-402-435
Ibanez: 495-537-454-472-436
Raul’s last 2 are depressed by Safeco Field. Everett’s last 1 (and half of the 2 before that) are inflated by US Cellular. Here are both of their OPS+ (meaning park-adjusted, 100 being an average hitter):
Everett: 98-94-124-85-94
Ibanez: 112-116-99-121-111
HR totals:
Everett: 14-16-28-7-23 (total: 88)
Ibanez: 13-24-18-16-20 (total: 91)
Again, Ibanez’ numbers are hurt by Safeco, Everett’s are helped by US Cellular.
Re: #13
Would that be a man-made 90-foot dinasaur bone?
#2– actually, I was wondering what was the best way to get the Mariners’ ear (aside from having someone who know Matt Olkin urging him to point out to Bill that Carl’s numbers are terrible)
#19 InSp0:
“Look at his home run placement and his doubles placement. In cellular field most of his doubles hit the 372 wall. The same wall in Safeco is 327. Hmm.”
You are comparing two different points on the RF wall…
The Right-Field Pole In US Cellular is 335, the RF Pole in Safeco is 327. The Right-Field Power Alley at US Cellular is 372, and at Safeco it is 387.
Objectively, you can expect Everett’s power numbers to decline if he played half his games in Safeco.
Subjectively, he is a major A**hole with declining skills, and if the M’s sign him, they will get less of my money next year. Maybe none…
Let’s not underestimate 1) the PR spin machine otherwise known as the local beat writers, and 2) the naivete of the casual Mariners fan.
The local writers will need to acknowlege Everett’s past, but I’m sure they’ll spin it as a “he’s a changed man” story and showcase the Kenny Williams quotes. They’ll also dig up some time in Everett’s past when he donated money to a charity or visited a hospital, and point to that as evidence of his compassion. They can cherry pick events to show him in a neutral/positive or sympathetic light. Oh, and they’ll use the ridiculous “he’s got a World Series ring!” logic to illustrate that he has “winning intangibles”.
You can contact Mariners here:
[look, it's a link! you too can use the URL tag rather than just pasting huge links in!]
regarding Carl Everett or any other player for that matter.
John In L.A.
I do have my logical fallacies down pretty good.
Things important in baseball: hit the ball in ways that help put points on the board and catch and throw the ball to keep other teams from getting points on the board.
See this is what I am talking about. I certainly do not condone someone hitting their kids. But what does that to do with winning or losing? Let our courts deal with it. On a personal level I don’t agree that it is good to start fights with umps, I would never do it. The larger question here is did the Bosox win that game? Who cares if he believes in Dinosaurs or not? Will it stop him from hitting the ball over the 327 rf wall?
[edited as this paragraph drives discussion OT]
All I’m asking is that we talk about what’s important to making the team better. Not if the player will also kiss the baby and give a chunk of their money to charity.
Drive by. Thank you. that is what was looking for.
Did someone say logical fallacies?
[this is not the forum for that]
[ot]
Derek, I think you should submit this as your next PI article.
That’s nice Doug. I’ll try not to rise to the bait.
Thanks for the link in 29 Floyd. I just sent the M’s this:
“For the love of God, do not sign this over the hill nut-job to the Mariners.
“Even if he were as nice as John Olerud and Edgar rolled into one, I would object to the Mariners signing a player with his declining skills for anything like $4M a year.
“The fact is Carl Everett is not nice. He has some peculiar views, some obnoxious views and an unpleasant history. He has never played more than two straight seasons with one organization.
“With the decline in his performance over the past five years Carl Everett is far more trouble than he is now worth.”
Honestly, after the Scott Spezio fiasco is anyone in Seattle going to buy the “He’s got a Ring” mystique?
Bums win rings too. There are a lot of players on that White Sox team that are worth avoiding. And even the White Sox think Carl Everett is worth avoiding.
All I’m asking is that we talk about what’s important to making the team better.
Me, too.
Carl Everett sucks as a hitter. He won’t make LF better than it was in 2005, as he’s a worse player than Randy Winn or Raul Ibañez. He’s old, on the decline, has little to no defensive value or speed, and has injury baggage. His OBP is low, his power is mediocre, and he’s joining a team that already has a bunch of guys who swing out of their shoes at everything. I wouldn’t want him if he was Mother Theresa off the field. The fact that he’s an asshat merely clinches it.
Let’s be honest … we can’t quite be clear on what Everett is likely to do in Safeco. Remember how we all thought Ibanez, based on his stat trends, skills set and player comps, would be a disaster by 2005? Instead, he stunned us all by not only hanging on to his present level of ability in his age 32 and 33 years but even building on it in spite of the fact that Safeco presents no advanatge for him.
Here’s all we know about Carl Everett and Safeco Field: Believe it or not, he’s only had 14 at-bats there … 4 hits, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0 walks, 5Ks.
Then again, remember how many of us derided Bavasi for thinking Ibanez would be a good fit for Safeco based on his small sample size there as a visiting player (42 ABs, .381 average)? We were right to question the logic, but dead wrong about everything else.
We can criticize Everett for his character, and for his defense, and his offenseive “trend” numbers look very suspect. But we can’t say for sure how his offensive skills set will translate to Safeco. We just can’t.
Everett’s wife said that they both whupped the kids. The court finding was that w/r/t to the abuse that got them in trouble, she had whupped the kid and Carl didn’t do anything to stop her.
Disclaimer, obviously: I don’t have the court documents and thus am only repeating what the reports were.
[ot]
I bet if the Mariners signed a T-Rex, he would hit like .322 with at least 54 homers. Unfortunately, the Mariners couldn’t sign a T-Rex because they don’t exist.
I’m not sure dinosaurs would be eligible for the big leagues even if they were still around.
Even if they were the Yankees would probably try to establish temporary residency for the big lizards in Honduras so that they could sign one without going through the draft.
43 – The Yankees have Godzilla…
Oops, big mistake on my part.
From 2002 through 2005, Everett had 50 at-bats, 14 hits, 3 home runs and 8 RBIs at Safeco … with two walks and 13 Ks.
I wouldn’t take Everett’s wife’s word on who whupped the kids. Of course she has a motive to claim he was doing it too, whether he was or not.
T-Rex would have a huge strike zone. With those teeny little arms they have, there’s no way he could cover the outside corner. So I think he’d strike out a ton.
re: the Everett offer rumors, I am comforted by the memory of how certain the media were last year that Cory Koskie was about to be signed. Let’s hope Carl is this year’s Koskie. (and I apologize to Koskie for using his name in an analogy with Everett).
Okay, how about Everett admitting he hit kids in the interviews, implying belt use as well?
Like seriously, what do you want from me at this point, pictures of Carl Everett cracking his kid with a belt while holding his driver’s license up to the camera?
I find it disturbing that the “good guy”-”bad-guy” argument could turn on such a fine point as WHO actually beat the kids, vs. just allowing it to happen… It’s not like Everett is full of other redeeming qualities we can look at. “Refuse to Abuse” vs. “Refuse to Watch Your Wife Abuse”… doesn’t have the same ring to it…
#45, Godzilla was not a dinosaur but rather a radiation-induced monstrosity. As far as I know, Everett has never denied the existence of those….
Yeah, you would think that the Scientists that invented the T-Rex would have gone for larger arms. Silly Scientists.
I’m starting a religion.
A central tenet of that religion is that Carl Everett does not exist.
Since I have never seen Everett in person, I feel this is only logical.
And since Carl does not exist, the Mariners can’t sign him, he can’t break Moyer’s neck in Spring Training and I won’t have to see him in any line-up cards.
With regards to Ad Hominem… My point is that dismissing his problems with teammates, fans, umpires, managers, etc as ad hominem is a misuse of the term.
No one believes that anything but bat-swinging skill is irrelevant to player evaluation. That’s simply not true.
54 – I want to be “Grand Inquisitor”
I want to be Head Epopt of Advanced Theological Studies
I would make a hard play for Ankylasaurus.
Up-side: Using his club-like tail, he put up good numbers in Cuba last year: 304/.349/.515. His layer of protective shell allows him to crowd the plate in a way that no amount of man made armor will ever be able to. In other words, he’s the DH that we’ve been waiting for.
Down-side: We would have to await a ruling from MLB about how far up his tail he can rub pine-tar. He would have a little trouble adjusting to the quality of American pitchers, but given that he has two brains, he would soon make the changes needed. He is irrationally afraid of some giant comet crashing into the earth, but if one comes, we could shut the roof at Safeco.
Does anyone know if the rumors that he speaks fluent Japanese are true? If they are we should definately grab him.
I’m not to proud to admit I had to look up “Epopt”… Still not sure if they exist – haven’t seen one…
*off to look up epopt
If they did sign him it would be fun to sit in the outfield and see if you could make him lose his marbles. Hold up pictures of Barney, Jeff Goldblum and Nathan Lane until his head actually explodes.
I’m an epopt, and I saw myself in the mirror a few minutes ago.
Like at the start of Scanners.
Cool.
I have also heard tell that the Mariners are signing a Plesiosaur as their mascot for next year. Should be a real crowd pleaser.
Hey, if you were an Egyptian Christian ‘initiated into Eleusinian mysteries’ you could be an Epoptic Coptic.
In fact you’d probably be an Epoptic Coptic Heretic.
Jim:
I think you only looked at 2005 for Carl’s Safeco numbers. He actually has 36 at bats over the last three years (his OPS in those ABs is .857). I didn’t check to see how many he has for his career. Either way, it’s too few appearances to draw conclusions from.
Ralph Malph: I think we need to be careful adjusting for park effects. In fact, over the past three years, Everett’s performance in Cellular has been a mixed bag. His power is a bit more impressive at home than away (SLG .438 to .431), but his batting average is significantly depressed in Cellular (.217 to .282). Over the same period, Ibanez at Safeco has an OPS of .841 and an OPS away of .779. Whether it was luck or secret sauce, the Mariners nailed their projection that Raul would hit better in Safeco than the average hitter. Without knowing what caused them to so believe, I can’t evaluate whether Everett is especially cut out for Safeco. And, if so, why Burnitz isn’t an equally good bet with far less baggage and similar contractual expectations.
#57: I disagree about the suitability of an Ankylasaurus for the M’s. With Sexton firmly ensconced on the squad, it might harm his performance if someone taller is signed, and the Ankylasaurus, while known more for being wide, is certainly tall. I am also unsure that he can get to first base effectively, even on what would be for others (such as Carl Everett)a routine double.
You might also consider where you get your numbers. Castro has been known to plan baseball statistics in his country’s state controled press, so I would correct down at least 20%
#65: [OT]
#65- Off topic.
Surely watching dinosaurs runs the bases would just make us pine even more for the heyday of fleet-footed John Olerud.
I’m hoping they sign Pleaseeasaur.
Hell yeah brother. Pleaseeasaur put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
Thanks, Derek, for bringing these issues out into the open here. Just as some others, I emailed the Mariners my concerns about Carl Everett’s behavior. Personally, I don’t think his likely contributions to the team outweigh these very real and important (at least to me) issues. Also, as a father of two young daughters, I quite like the Mariners family friendly atmosphere (everything else equal).
All right…..all of you wise guys claiming Everett is a kook for not believing in dinosaurs,,,have YOU ever seen one?
Live? No.
Fossilized? Many times.
I mean really, you could argue that there aren’t any stars because all we see is evidence that they were around a long, long time ago.
They have the nails that they used to hang Jesus from the cross in a church in Rome. They also have Doubting Thomas’ finger…It hasn’t rotted, as it was inserted into God…I’m not kidding…I saw it…
I have never seen love. But I believe in it.
Okay, so I let the whole dinosaur thing run because it was amusing, but I really, really don’t want to get into any kind of religious argument here.
Jesus would never get caught stealing…(Last one…I promise…Back to Dionsaurs)
[right after I asked nicely too]
[ot]
[ot]
[aaaaaaaaand that's three strikes. You don't know us.]
[wrong thread]
Am I the only one who is entertained by the remarks by Derek — within the brackets — throughout each of the delted comments?
In addition, the discussion of theology, philosophy, and metaphysics on a topic concerning Carl Everett is ironic as all, for the lack of a better term, hell.
At any rate, though, if GM Bill Bavasi wants to go out in a flame of idiocy, then he ought to sign Carl Everett.
I just got through e-mailing the Mariners in the hopes of preventing the SoDo MoFo era.
If we had his number, we could call him personally and tell him that Seattle is a place-your-briefcase-on-someone’s-jacket sort of town. We’re crazy like that.
AK1984
Without Derek’s comments, the whole moderation thing would just be somebody hitting the delete key. I enjoy the edit comments as much as my own commments, which is saying quite a lot.
I’m terribly jealous I don’t also get to add comments to some posts. If I knew a damn thing about anything, I’d start a page like this one just for the opportunity to hack away. Fortunately for the cyber world, my expertise doesn’t translate well into this type of format.
Hmmm, Carl Everett or Velociraptor? Longer arms than T-Rex, and that little profile would make for a great Rickey Henderson style strike zone. Kidding aside, I also have small children, and would have to think really hard about bringing them to a park containing Carl Everett.
Also, it’s interesting to see this thread when a lot of folks blasted the FO for making a “nice guy” move and trading Torrealba so he could start for someone else. Actually, I’m now kind of excited about the pitcher we got, but before that, when he was just PTBNL, many people seemed to be hacked about the club adopting anything other than a purely utilitarian stance on players. Are those the same folks who are now incensed at the prospect of adding Carl “The Whack-job” Everett? For the record, I thought sending JoeJessica to the Rockies was indeed a classy move, and I like to see my hometown club behave that way. I’d also like to see them win. But not with Everett.
I’m happy to see organizations try and take care of people, be it finding a guy like Torrealba a starting job he wants elsewhere, or trying to get a long-time minor leaguer a cup of coffee.
Generally, people are cool with that.
I would further argue, though, that there’s a difference between generally not caring if a player’s a jerk and the level of jerkiness Everett has reached.
Maybe as an act of generosity towards mankind, the M’s have decided to sign Everett; and then send him to Arizona, never to be heard from again.
Not like they need that extra spot on the roster, they’d just waste it on carrying a gigantic bullpen.
87. Most of us protesting the idea of signing Everett are incensed at the idea of the Mariners thorwing $4M at a replacement level DH who will hinder rather than help the team.
That Everett is worth 63RAR as a kook and a bigot is just the icing on the cake.
Yeah, you’re right IgnatiusReilly, as there is no need for Carl Everett if the M’s are going to have a 13-man pitching staff . . . six-man rotation or eight-man bullpen—it doesn’t matter one bit!
I think that Everett’s personality problems are an issue. But really, the dealbreaker for me is the fact that he sucks. That is the important thing here.
If the M’s want to go for a problematic player, why not see what it would take to get Milton Bradley. At least he can play. He would be a much better defensive player. At 27, he is not in his decline phase, and is likely be a lot more productive offensively. He is also pretty much crazy, but at least he backs it up with solid performance.
I have followed Milton Bradley’s career and while he has had his share of dust-ups and been moved from team to team early in his career, the similarities with Carl Everett probably end right about there. MB is someone I would definitely take a risk on because given the right environment, one where he can play to the best of his ability without being concerned about other stuff, he has the chance of being a great addition to the team from an offensive and defensive production standpoint.
MB’s views are not wacky views. He has views that are similar to many African American men that were raised without a father. It’s a tough way to grow up, in tough neighborhoods, and all of those experiences can stay with a person long into adulthood.
It’s no surprise to me that Billy Beane is hard after him as an undervalued asset to a baseball team.
I’d rather take a chance on Nomar or Frank Thomas’ returing to health with a one-year deal than bring Jurassic Carl into Seattle.
If I remember correctly, both Dave and DMB was all for the Ms signing Milton Bradley when he was last available. (link)
I just want to chime in that the Everett rumored signing is just as bad as when the Ms signed Ben Christensen. (Whatever happened to that signing?)
If the Ms sign Everett, I will be attending zero games until he’s no longer on the roster/receiving compensation from the team.
Ah, thankfully Christensen was released by the Ms in June of last year. Not for his character, but for his 9+ ERA in the minors…
I too just got finished anti-Everett emailing the Mariners via the provided link. When the email was transmitted, their auto reply form supplied the information that my experience is important to the Mariners. What part of it? As a draftee prison guard at Leavenworth Kansas I went AWOL for 19 months during the Vietnam era taking a prisoner with me (he went voluntarily). It was an experience I found important. If the Mariners ask I’ll be glad to tell them all about it.
Sent my email as well.
I’m all for people being given a chance to redeem themselves, but Everett isn’t talented enough to take the risk on.
I have followed and supported the Mariners from day 1… I even forced myself to accept Vince Coleman… but if Carl Everett becomes a Mariner I will have to abandon the team until he’s gone. One bad apple and all that…
#99….ya right
[sorry, ot]
I think the timeline omits another blowup when he was a Met when Everett was thrown out of a game and threw his manager, Bobby Valentine, aside when Valentine tried to get between him and the ump.
But, one pebble on the upside is that he gave hated Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy the sarcastic nickname by which he is now often known, “CHB”. Shaughnessy REVELED in making fun of Everett’s unusual religious beliefs. R-E-V-E-L-E-D. It was pretty disgusting. But Everett got a measure of revenge when he was recorded telling another Globe writer ” . . you or your curly haired boyfriend”. And the tape was played on both radio and TV in Boston as the Boston Medea was in full attack mode toward Everett. Dan Shaughnessy, by the way, is apparently NOT gay. But his hair does look like Bozo the clown’s with a perm. The irony of the macchiavellian slime Shaughnessy getting his joke nickname from an unsophisticated guy he picked on is kind of pleasant.
Here’s Everett’s homophobic comments on gays. I can’t say I’ll boycott the team if they sign him–I love baseball too much–but I will definitely agitate for Bavasi’s firing if it happens.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
White Sox’s Everett opines on gays, Wrigley, steroids
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ESPN.com news services
Chicago White Sox designated hitter Carl Everett, infamous for his run-in with umpire Ron Kulpa in 2000 while playing for the Boston Red Sox, sounds off on a number of issues in the July edition of Maxim magazine. Some of the highlights, as reported by The Chicago Tribune.
Everett
• Everett has had gay teammates, whom he has accepted, but: “Gays being gay is wrong. Two women can’t produce a baby, two men can’t produce a baby, so it’s not how it’s supposed to be. … I don’t believe in gay marriages. I don’t believe in being gay.”
• Wrigley Field is the worst park in the majors: “They need to implode Wrigley.”
• Most baseball fans don’t know diddly: “Fan is short for fanatic — he’s crazy about something he really doesn’t know about. And it’s proven that 99 percent of baseball fans have no idea what they’re watching.”
• Jose Canseco is a “bitter, ignorant individual.”
• The congressional hearings examining steroid use were a waste: “We have a war going on — I have family in that war — yet we’re talking about steroids. … If everybody in the world got on steroids, we’ll still lose more kids to a war than we will from steroids.”
103. Sounds like Carl Everett and John Rocker need to hang out together.
Carl, when you come to Seattle, maybe you can tell Rick Rizzs, Ron Fairly and Dave Henderson to explain the game better. Then we’ll have “a better idea of what we’re watching.” Maybe he really thinks everyone in the world IS on steroids.
Now Jose Canseco may be a bitter, ignorant individual, but when a comment like that comes from Carl Everett (assuming he wasn’t misquoted), don’t you think that’s like, for lack of a better expression, the pot calling the kettle black?
Carl Everett? Uhg, we’ve already had a Kevin Mitchell; do we really need him?
I emailed the M’s and a few of their sponsors to raise my objections on this recent hire, here is the M’s response.
I’ll be taking my children to other ballparks this summer. Have fun without us.
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Dear John,
Thank you for your email regarding the announcement that the Seattle Mariners have signed Carl Everett to a one-year contract. We welcome your comments and appreciate the passion with which you have expressed your opinion.
We believe Carl Everett will be an asset to the Mariners both on and off the field. We are aware of the issues that Carl had in the past, but we believe he has dealt with them and has successfully moved on. We hope fans will give him a chance here in Seattle.
As with every player we sign, Bill Bavasi and his staff have done a thorough job researching Carl. They have talked to numerous people throughout the game of baseball, including Ozzie Guillen, his manager last season. They are confident that Carl’s intensity, enthusiasm and competitive spirit will be a good for our team both on the field and in the clubhouse. As a switch-hitter, he will provide our lineup with versatility and the left-handed run production we need.
In addition, we like that Carl was a big contributor to a World Series Championship team in Chicago last year, when he batted .251 with 23 home runs and 87 RBI. In the post-season, he batted .300.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts. We are looking forward to the 2006 season. We believe we have a good foundation in place with exciting young players like Felix Hernandez, Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Lopez, and experienced veterans like Jamie Moyer, Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre and Raul Ibañez. We still have work to do, but our goal is to become a championship caliber team as quickly as possible. We hope you will be there with us for all the excitement of Mariners baseball in 2006 and beyond.
Seattle Mariners Fancare