Monday’s Bunts and Boots–Heads, Overpaid Relievers, and TV Movies

The Head will be moving on. The Brewers designated Kevin “The Head” Mench for assignment on Monday, in order to make room for Salomon Torres on their 40-man roster. Even if he ends being released, Mench will have little trouble finding employment with another team. Though he lost his power stroke in Milwaukee, he has a history of pounding left-handed pitching. With several teams looking for punch from the right side, including the Angels, Yankees, A’s, Mets, and Pirates, someone will come calling. Could you imagine if the Yankees signed Mench and platooned him at DH with Hideki Matsui, another player known for a large noggin? They could plan a remake of that Ray Milland/Rosey Grier classic, The Thing With Two Heads…
When I first read reports that Eric Gagne’s free agent deal with the Brewers will likely pay him $10 million for the 2008 season, my reaction was simple: Are they out of their minds? I know the Brewers badly need bullpen help after losing Scott Linebrink and Coco Cordero to free agency, but did they even watch Gagne pitch in August, September, and October? Did they turn on the television sets in the postseason, when Gagne looked about as effective as Felix “The Run Fairy” Heredia? Gee willickers. The Gagne deal, if it’s true, makes the Yankees’ signing of LaTroy Hawkins to a one-year contract worth $3.75 million seem positively brilliant…

Speaking of Hawkins, the Yankees decided to sign the Colorado right-hander after overworked Luis Vizcaino demanded a three-year deal from New York. Given the arm problems that “The Viz” had in mid-season, a multiple year deal makes little sense. But that won’t stop someone, perhaps even the Rockies, from giving it to him…

It’s not a baseball movie per se, but I enjoyed the film adaptation of Mitch Albom’s For One More Day on Sunday night. The television movie presents the story of a mythical ex-ballplayer, struggling with alcoholism and estranged from his family, who ventures to the verge of suicide before an encounter with his late mother. Michael Imperioli, though not particularly athletic, does good, nuanced work in portraying Charley “Chick” Benneto, a retired catcher who appeared in the 1973 World Series with the Mets. (And no, the story isn’t based on the real life of either Duffy Dyer or Ron Hodges, in case you were wondering.) The film features a brief cameo by former major league infielder Luis Gomez, who portrays a retired Mets player on Old-Timers Day.