Alumni Odds and Ends

Three stories about three players who once were Timber Rattlers

J.J. Putz is with White Sox, trying to move on after bad endings with Mariners, Mets

The J.J. Putz who last year questioned the chemistry of the Mariners' clubhouse in 2008, and last month was quoted as questioning the handling of his injured elbow by the New York Mets, was nowhere to be found Monday.

Instead, after he made his first appearance against the Mariners since being traded from Seattle in December 2008, Putz sounded happy and relaxed. That's in part because he again feels at home, in the familiar confines of the American League and with a team, the Chicago White Sox, that trains near his Arizona residence.

"Everything feels good," he said after pitching a scoreless inning for the White Sox in a 5-4 Mariners win, one of two games Seattle played Monday.

Mariners’ Johnson progresses step-by-step

Rob Johnson has talked to the doctors who fixed his hips and he even got a reassuring message from Alex Rodriguez to let him know everything’s going to be fine.

Johnson, the Seattle Mariners’ starting catcher, is feeling good again and may start his first spring training game by the middle of this week. That’s a big step after a scare last week when he got out of bed and couldn’t walk without pain.

It’s part of the recovery process from the surgery Johnson had on his right hip in October and his left hip in November to repair cartilage damage and shave the bone. Knowing that his discomfort was part of the recovery process didn’t make it any less painful, or worrisome, for Johnson.

Aumont better in second spring outing for Phillies

In just over 2 months, Phillippe Aumont has moved across the country, been transformed from a reliever to a starter, and been told to revert to the mechanics that he used before the Seattle Mariners selected him in the first round of the 2007 draft.

In other words, he is very much a work in progress.

But even though the Phillies are more worried about progress than results when it comes to their new, 21-year-old pitching prospect, a little success never hurts.

[Sunday], Aumont had that success, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam and finishing with 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the Phillies' 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

"I was able to throw a little more strikes, and have a little more focus in the game," said Aumont, who allowed two hits and one walk with no strikeouts. "We've been working the last few days on some stuff, and it paid off a little bit today."

A little on JJ

J.J. Putz struggles with fear factor

When you're joining a new team -- one counting on you as a key component of the bullpen -- there's enough to think about on the field and around you.

But for J.J. Putz, there's something else to preoccupy his thoughts while fitting into his role as the White Sox' right-handed setup man.

Surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow last summer limited him to 29 games in his only season with the New York Mets after almost six seasons with the Seattle Mariners. And though the spurs are gone and he is ostensibly healthy, the nagging worry about his elbow is something else to take care of this spring training.

''I'm probably overly cautious,'' he said Friday, even after throwing a fine inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ''Any time I get a little sore or something, I kind of overexaggerate in my head what it is. That's going to probably be the hardest part getting back from having surgery. But so far, everything's working in the right direction.''

Good to see one of my favorite former Rattlers is getting back on the mound.

This next part...This next part is all Ozzie:

When he struck out two and gave up only a hit in one inning Friday, it certainly looked that way.

''I didn't know he threw a forkball, and I thought it was a changeup,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said of Putz's favorable first outing. ''A 3-2 count, power pitcher, strikeout.''

There's JJ

Ex-Rattler JJ Putz ('00) has signed with the Chicago White Sox.

Check off 'Add a significant bullpen arm' from the Hot Stove list of things to do for White Sox general manager Ken Williams.

One year to the Dec. 11 date of J.J. Putz being part of a three-team deal involving the Mariners, Indians and Mets, sending him from Seattle to New York, the right-hander agreed to terms with the White Sox on a one-year, $3-million contract, with up to $3 million in incentives for games finished. Putz, who turns 33 in February, is 23-19 with a 3.24 ERA, 103 saves and 356 strikeouts covering 337 career relief appearances and 352 1/3 innings pitched over seven Major League seasons.

Putz figures to take over Octavio Dotel's role as part of the late-inning setup crew, but when healthy, he also gives the White Sox yet another option to close behind Bobby Jenks.

It should be mentioned that one of JJ's Timber Rattlers teammate in 2000 was Matt Thornton. The two are teammates with the White Sox now.

Wither JJ?

A couple of stories from a couple of sources on JJ Putz ('00).

First, MLB Trade Rumors

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times said the White Sox were closing in on a deal with free agent reliever J.J. Putz, perhaps encouraging Putz's friend Matt Thornton to leverage their bromance as a recruiting tool. Today, Williams implied that leaks of the team's interest affected the possible deal. Cowley thinks they'll still get it done:

The Sox might have to up the ante a bit, but Putz wants to pitch on the South Side and there is still a deal close to happening.

Bromance? Does this guy write for TMZ, too?

An update on that post -- free of terms that I need to look up at Urban Dictionary -- has an update from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Sox general manager Ken Williams indicated Wednesday that the pace of the negotiations changed after the news of a possible deal went public.

The White Sox evidently believe that rival clubs stepped up their interest in Putz only after seeing the report. Other sources suggest that those clubs were preparing to enter the process, anyway.

Then, there is this from Bruce Levine of the Worldwide Leader (Chicago Division):

Rehabbing right-handed pitcher J.J. Putz will throw in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Wednesday for a number of teams, including the Chicago Cubs.

Putz will throw again Friday, according to a Cubs source.

Agent Craig Landis said Putz will be shut down after that until early January.

Putz also is seriously being considered by the Chicago White Sox.

Upwards of 12 teams will have looked at Putz, who ideally could be a primary set-up man or a closer if he's able to become 100 percent healthy again.

For the record, Putz and Thornton were both in the starting rotation of the Timber Rattlers in 2000.

He's free

JJ Putz ('00) was involved in that big three-team trade last year that sent him from Seattle to the New York Mets...an injury-shortened 2009 with the Mets.

There are a pair of new items over the weekend that pertain to the former Rattler. Neither are surprising.

Item #1

As expected, the Mets declined reliever J.J. Putz's $9.1 million option for 2010 on Friday, opting instead to buy out his contract for $1 million. The move makes Putz eligible for free agency, though the Mets can still negotiate a new deal with him.

...

After coming to the Mets in a three-team, 12-player trade last winter, Putz was limited to just 29 games because of injuries. His agent, Craig Landis, said Friday that Putz is healthy and playing catch. But $9.1 million would have been a hefty price to pay for a setup man coming off elbow surgery.

The Mets might be interested in re-signing him at a lower price, but Putz's first preference will likely be to sign as a closer somewhere.

Item #2

On the third day of MLB free agency filings, two more players have joined the ranks.

J.J. Putz, who the Mets declined their club option on Friday night, and the Twins Carl Pavano were officially added to the ranks today, it was announced by the MLBPA.

A few sites have chimed in with who they think should sign the former All-Star closer

JJ Putz to Detroit Tigers Makes Too Much Sense Not To Happen

Last off season, JJ Putz was the best move the Tigers didn't make.

If not for an injury to Fernando Perez that killed a three-way deal involving the Rays, JJ Putz may have been hamstringing Detroit in 2009 and not the Mets, and Edwin Jackson may have formed a dominant pitching tandem with Felix Hernandez instead of Justin Verlander.

Putz became a free agent today when New York declined his nine million dollar option. This time around, the Tigers have much less to lose in taking a shot on the Trenton native and former Michigan wolverine.

The Quest For Relief Revisits J.J. Putz

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski sounds as if he'd prefer a veteran closer for next season. Re-signing Brandon Lyon or Fernando Rodney is a possibility, but the free agent market could end up pricing both of them out of the Tigers' range. (Rodney has already said he's hoping for a three-to-four-year deal.) If that's the case, Detroit will have to look elsewhere, so we're dusting off The Quest For Relief for yet another offseason.

Developing.

JJ for the USA

The Detroit Free Press has a story about Michigan native JJ Putz ('00) as a kind of preview for him playing for the US in the World Baseball Classic.

When J.J. Putz returned home to Michigan last October, he visited his younger brother at work. That was nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fact that Brian Putz is a Taylor firefighter.

The elder Putz, an All-Star reliever with the Seattle Mariners in 2007, wanted to go on a run with his brother. For two nights, he waited up from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. No calls.

Even though the quiet nights meant that J.J. missed seeing Brian in action, the time was well spent. J.J. has lived in Arizona for the past several years, so he relishes any opportunity to spend time with his family. And with those trips to the firehouse, the message from J.J. to his brother was clear: I’m proud of you.

Brian will return the favor on Saturday afternoon. He plans to be there, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, when Team USA opens the World Baseball Classic against Team Canada.

Putz, 32, will be in the Team USA bullpen – wearing his country’s colors for the first time in tournament play.

“He’s my big brother – I’d look up to him, anyway,” Brian said in a telephone interview earlier this week. “I have the greatest respect for what he does. And when he says the same thing to me, it means a lot.

There are two pages to that story so make sure to read it all.

JJ speaks

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times gets a few thoughts from JJ Putz ('00) on the differences between the Seattle Mariners last year and the New York Mets so far.

Loosening up a clubhouse is a role that J.J. Putz takes seriously — and he has the whipped-cream pies to prove it.

Putz, however, sees a markedly different attitude with the Mets than on the downtrodden Mariners team he left behind. Putz, in fact, painted a grim picture of a house divided last year in Seattle, contributing to the historic flameout that ensued.

Putz has had nearly two weeks to soak up the Mets' atmosphere, having showed up in Port St. Lucie in early February to work out at the team facility and get acclimated.

"It's different. Big time," he said Sunday. "It's almost like there's a more relaxed feeling. They just know they're going to win. Where in Seattle, a lot of times, it was expectations, and a lot of times we didn't really know how to deal with that. Here, it's a given. We will win. Not 'we're supposed to win this year,' but: We will win."

There is a bit about injuries, his own included. Then,

But Putz also made it clear that he felt there was more to their collapse than just injuries. The Angels, for instance, had far more players get hurt than the Mariners and still won 100 games.

A poorly constructed roster and a long list of underperforming players would seem to be two major culprits. That's just me. But add Putz to the chorus of those who point to a dysfunctional clubhouse as tearing apart the Seattle ballclub. John McLaren and Bill Bavasi, you might recall, both alluded to the exact same thing upon their firing last June.

I started by asking Putz if all that was overblown. He shook his head and said no, and noted that there was an undercurrent of internal tension all season.

"There were just some guys that just aren't really team guys," he said. "There's a lot of guys that are team guys in there. There was definitely some butting heads on certain things. What the hell can you do? Some guys are just stubborn."

He refused to name any names. But his inference was strong.

Read the article for that rest of that last part.

It's not Putz's problem any more, of course. He's delighted to be with a Mets team that is legitimately built to win. Oh, he was initially a little taken aback by fact that the Mets, barely 24 hours before his acquisition, had signed Francisco Rodriguez, the single-season saves leader, and to realize that he was no longer going to be a closer.

"If there was anything that pissed me off about the whole thing, it was the fact they did trade me somewhere knowing I wasn't going to close," he said. "That was the only thing that didn't sit well with me from their [the Mariners] standpoint."

But Putz quickly concluded that setting up for a contender was something he could live with.

"I'm just closing the game in the eighth," he said. "That's the way I'm looking at it. To have a chance to come to a contending team and win, it's not that big a deal.

There's more. Go read it.

"The Moose isn't going to be around anymore"

Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald catches up with JJ Putz ('00) to see how the trade from Seattle to the New York Mets has affected the Putz family.

J.J. Putz had prepared himself to be traded long before the Seattle Mariners dealt him to the New York Mets in early December, so when it happened it wasn't a shock.

His family still hasn't come to grips with it.

His wife, Kelsey, cried knowing she'd leave a circle of close friends she'd made in Seattle. And his 3-year-old twin daughters, Lauren and Kaelyn, still aren't fully aware of what has happened.

"We keep telling them the Moose isn't going to be around anymore, but I don't think they fully realize it yet," Putz said. "When they sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' they still say 'root, root, root for the Mariners.' We have to correct them on that now."

Plenty more at the link.

Find your way back

JJ Putz ('00) got a rehab start in the Arizona League yesterday. The Kitsap Sun has this on what is ahead for the ex-Rattler.

Putz started the game and retired all six hitters he faced, with three strikeouts, in the rookie-level game at the Mariners' spring training complex. He's scheduled to pitch again this weekend for the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers, who play Tucson at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.

If that outing goes well, the Mariners could reinstate Putz. Manager Jim Riggleman said he probably wouldn't use Putz in a save situation for his first few outings.

Two ex-Rattlers and a pie

I read about this a few days ago, but just got around to tracking it down.

JJ Putz ('00) is notorious for the shaving cream pie to teammates during interviews. After his first save off the disabled list earlier this week, he was nervous.

He should have been more paranoid.




That is Mark Lowe playing the role of Kato to JJ's Inspector Clouseau at the end.

Thanks to Bleeding Blue and Teal for the video.