Results tagged ‘ Chris Dickerson ’
Dickerson: 'Everybody wants to be a Yankee'
Chris Dickerson was feeling bittersweet Friday, when he packed a small box of belongings and hugged his now-former Brewers teammates including longtime friend Ryan Braun. The Brewers traded Dickerson to the Yankees for pitcher Sergio Mitre, and Dickerson figures to play while outfielder Curtis Granderson recovers from an oblique strain.
“Nobody saw this coming,” Dickerson said. “It’s an opportunity [with New York], but being with these guys in the locker room here, the personalities, the talent, we all got the feeling there was something special for 2011.
“It’s tough, but where one door closes, another one opens, I guess, to be complete cliche about it. It’s a game of supply and demand. I had a good time here, but how I have to look forward at what I have to do to help the next team succeed.
“It’s exciting. I think everybody, somewhere in his heart, wants to be a Yankee.”
Dickerson left Maryvale Baseball Park just after 9 a.m. local time to pack-up his Spring Training residence. He planned to travel overnight to Tampa to report to Yankees camp.
It’s a reunion of sorts. Dickerson was drafted by the Yankees out of high school in the 32nd round of the 2000 Draft but attended the University of Nevada instead. Three years later, he went to the Reds in the 16th round.
“That whole circle of life, I guess, brings me to New York,” he said.
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Brewers trade for righty Mitre
The Brewers added a candidate for their fifth starter slot on Friday in right-hander Sergio Mitre, acquired from the Yankees for outfielder Chris Dickerson in Milwaukee’s first Major League trade of 2011.
Mitre, 30, is 13-29 with a 5.27 ERA in 177 games, including 64 starts, over seven big league seasons with the Cubs, Marlins and Yankees. He had a 5.73 ERA in Yankees Spring Training games.
The Brewers need a fill-in for injured Zack Greinke at the start of the season, and Mitre will presumably be in the mix. The leading inside candidate is nonroster right-hander Marco Estrada.
The Brewers had acquired Dickerson last season from the Reds for fellow outfielder Jim Edmonds, and Dickerson’s departure leaves Brandon Boggs and Jeremy Reed a solid chance of beginning the year on Milwaukee’s Major League roster. There would be spots for both if regular right fielder Corey Hart begins on the disabled list with a rib-cage strain.
But general manager Doug Melvin may not be done making moves. FoxSports.com reported that the Brewers are among the teams looking at Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan, a left-handed-hitting center fielder.
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Dickerson, Schafer sent for x-rays
Outfielders Chris Dickerson and Logan Schafer were both sent for x-rays during the Brewers-Giants game in Scottsdale. Dickerson has a right rib-cage injury after a violent collision near third base in the fourth inning, and Schafer injured his right thumb sliding into second base in the fifth.
Dickerson was running from second to third base on Zelous Wheeler’s grounder when he slammed, full-speed, into Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval. Both players hit the ground in pain and were tended by athletic trainers. Dickerson walked off — out on runners’ interference — and Sandoval stayed in the game.
Jeremy Reed took over for Dickerson in right field and belted a long home run in the top of the fifth.
Schafer was out the game by then with a thumb injury suffered when he tangled with a Giants infielder at second base.
The Brewers are suddenly short of healthy outfielders in camp. Corey Hart is just beginning to swing a bat after suffering a rib-cage strain last month, Caleb Gindl said he was undergoing an MRI scan Monday after injuring his right knee the day before, and Carlos Gomez was held out of Monday’s starting lineup with tightness in his back.
The only other outfielders in big league camp are Brandon Boggs, Ryan Braun and Reed. There’s also Mark Kotsay, though the official roster lists him as an infielder.
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Dickerson cites loose turf for hamstring pull
The Brewers expect outfielder Chris Dickerson to miss the team’s remaining five home games after he slipped on some loose turf in Tuesday’s loss and strained his left hamstring.
Asked how he felt Wednesday afternoon, Dickerson said, “I feel like I got kicked by a donkey.”
He blamed the injury on a loose chunk of center field grass at Miller Park, where the grounds crew recently replaced a swath of turf that had worn out over the summer. The ballpark, with its retractable roof and high walls, has proven a very difficult place to grow grass over its 10 seasons.
Dickerson, who was hurt when he broke back on a double over his head, thinks it’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
“You you come out there with me right now, we could pick up a square and walk off with it,” he said. “It was so noticeable last night that guys in [the Reds] bullpen were yelling at me last night going, ‘What the heck is going on out there?’ There were huge divots. Every first step, we were taking huge chunks out.”
Manager Ken Macha said he expected Dickerson to miss about five days. That would coincide with the season’s remaining homestand. The Brewers will finish the year next week at New York and Cincinnati.
Macha took a moment to praise longtime head groundkeeper Gary Vanden Berg and the rest of the Miller Park crew.
“Every place has issues,” Macha said. “In Oakland, they play football games and the outfield is a disaster. The people here, they do a great job with the field.”
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Dickerson gets start in CF versus Pirates
As the Brewers open a three-game set against the Pirates on Friday, there’s little of note in the lineup.
The only real question when manager Ken Macha fills out his lineup card these days is who is going to play center field. For the series opener, the answer to that question was left-handed hitting outfielder Chris Dickerson.
With Dickerson starting, it leaves a pair of right-handed hitting outfielders on the bench in Carlos Gomez and Lorenzo Cain. For Dickerson, the start is his third of the homestand and first in center field since August 15 against the Rockies at Coors Field.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks 2B
Hart RF
Braun LF
Fielder 1B
McGehee 3B
Dickerson CF
Escobar SS
Lucroy C
Narveson P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Dickerson tipped to trade by buddy Braun
The Brewers swapped outfielders with the Reds on Monday, acquiring Chris Dickerson from the Reds for Jim Edmonds. Dickerson had a spy in the Brewers clubhouse who tipped him off to the deal two days ago.
That would be All-Star left fielder Ryan Braun, a fellow Los Angeles native who is a few years younger than Dickerson, 28, but has long shared a circle of friends. Braun sent a text message over the weekend when he heard the Brewers were close to dealing Edmonds.
“He kind of tipped me to what was going to happen,” Dickerson said. “Sure enough, he was right.”
Dickerson was the Reds’ 16th round Draft pick in 2003. Now he’s starting fresh.
“It’s strange,” Dickerson said. “It’s a weird feeling for anybody, especially the first time. Even talking to the GM today, he expressed that. I was drafted by the Reds and came up through their system, and it’s tough to [sever] the relationships that you have. It’s going to be different. I’ve been playing with [Joey] Votto for seven years. It’s a part of the game, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
“But the positive thing is that it’s a chance to start over and get an opportunity to play now that I’m healthy. I had success in my rehab stint and I’m ready to go.”
Dickerson hit the ground running in his Minor League rehabilitation assignment after spending his downtime looking at video of the game’s great hitters. He’s a left-handed hitter, so the list included Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres and Chase Utley of the Phillies, but it also included a right-handed hitter: Braun.
“He does so many things really well,” Dickerson said. “I looked at a lot of the game’s great hitters and compared my swing to theirs, and I took that down to Louisville with me and it worked out really well. My first game back went well and I think that gave me a lot of confidence. Then when I knew I was healthy, it snowballed from there.”
Dickerson, a natural center fielder who can play all three outfield positions, has not played since Tuesday because of a death in the family.
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Melvin: Dickerson will join big league club
Newly-acquired outfielder Chris Dickerson is ready to return from his Minor League rehabilitation assignment and is expected in uniform for the Brewers tonight at Miller Park.
The 28-year-old, acquired by the Brewers on Monday in a trade that sent Jim Edmonds to the Reds, has missed a large chunk of 2010 after surgery to repair a broken hammate bone in his right hand and a clean-up procedure on his right wrist. He last played Tuesday for Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate.
I asked Brewers GM Doug Melvin whether this deal was about acquiring Dickerson or accommodating Edmonds, who now gets to play for a first-place team.
“A little bit of both,” Melvin said. “But the reason a player like Dickerson is in it, is that we’re still trying to win as many games as we can. I don’t consider us out. I consider us trying to get a good streak together. We’re still coming back with a player who can play on our Major League team, not a Class A prospect.”
Dickerson is under club control for four more seasons after this one and will still be a low-cost, “zero to three” player in 2011.
In parts of the past three seasons with the Reds, Dickerson is a .274 hitter with eight homers and 30 RBIs in 148 games, including 94 starts. He’s a left-handed hitter and thrower.
“There’s a little bit of injury history to him, but he can play all three outfield positions,” Melvin said. “He’s a contact guy more than a power guy. He can run well.”
Of Edmonds, Melvin said, “I liked him. He played well for us and is a good, veteran guy. I liked his presence, too. He’s the kind of guy who follows the game real well, and I thought he was good for our club. He got some big hits for us. I believe he can still play if he gets through the injury factor.”
Both teams reviewed the players’ medical records before consummating Monday’s trade. Edmonds only earns an $850,000 base salary this season, so there’s no cash involved.
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Edmonds dealt to Reds
Jim Edmonds will continue his comeback season in a pennant race.
Edmonds, the 40-year-old who returned from a year off and proved he still can play, was traded within the National League Central from the third-place Brewers to the first-place Reds on Monday. The Brewers received another outfielder, 28-year-old Chris Dickerson, in return.
Dickerson was in Cincinnati’s Opening Day lineup but has missed most of the season after surgery to repair a broken hammate bone in his hand and to “clean out” his right wrist. He has been on rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville since July 16, batting .442 (19-for-43) with three homers, seven RBIs and six stolen bases in 13 games. He is coming off consecutive three-hit games but has not played since Tuesday.
In parts of the past three seasons with the Reds, Dickerson is a .274 hitter with eight homers and 30 RBIs in 148 games, including 94 starts. He’s a left-handed hitter and thrower.
Edmonds turned 40 on June 27 and has battled a series of nagging injuries this season after sitting out all of 2009. His most recent ailment is a very sore right Achilles that has limited his ability to run but hasn’t hampered him at the plate, where Edmonds owns a .286 average this season with eight home runs and 20 RBIs in 73 games.
With Edmonds out of the picture, it could open more playing time for Brewers rookie center fielder Lorenzo Cain, who made his first two career starts during the just-completed sweep of the Reds and logged his first RBIs and stolen base on Sunday.
The trade is general manager Doug Melvin’s first since Spring Training, when he dealt catcher Matt Treanor to the Rangers.
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Adam McCalvy
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