Joggin' Ronny Paulino badly wanted out of Pittsburgh (or Indianapolis,but that is beside the point).
The Pirates wanted to move him before his attitude became contagious.
So in the Pirates only move of the Winter Meetings thus far,the Pirates sent Paulino to the Phillies for
Jason Jaramillo in a swap of backup backstops.
The Post-Gazette reports that John Russell was a main factor in bringing the Oklahoma State product in as Russell managed in him 2007 and must have been impressed with something from Jaramillo.
Jaramillo has never played in the bigs yet,despite decent numbers and but was seemingly behind Lou Marson in the Phils catching prospect hierarchy.
Jaramillo played here in Hagerstown in 2005 as a member of the Lakewood Blue Claws and as often we see the Claws here,I got to scout him often.
The bat is about what you would expect from a backup catcher,not a lot of power as his 8 homers last year in Lehigh Valley was a career high and was average in OPS as well.
In an interesting,you couldn't do this if you tried note,Jaramillo spent the last two seasons entirely in AAA and finished with the exact OPS -.711
Jaramillo will likely be a 250-265 hitter and that is acceptable for a backup catcher.
Defensively,he is solid,but not outstanding.
I remember his arm as being above average,enough to at least not allow runners a free pass anyway.
Jaramillo should be exactly what he should be next season,a good backup catcher that will not have fans shouting for him to play more,but solid enough that he wont kill you if he has to play extended time in case of an injury to Ryan Doumit..
Paulino had been adamant about leaving the Pirates since last season and had a few teams interested after a strong winter season in Puerto Rico.
Paulino will backup Carlos Ruiz in Philly and I would question how happy he will be backing Ruiz up when he could never handle sitting behind Doumit.
But the Phillies too were able to turn a player that could be third on their catching prospect list (behind Marson and Travis D'arnaud,who we should see this year in Hagerstown on Lakewood visits) into someone that they think can help them.
The Pirates get something for someone I would have been happy to just see get out of town,so that is a good move.
Jaramillo will not be a long term answer,but should be fine in the role that he should play.....
The New Jersey Devils used a fluke play in the second period to break a scoreless tie and dominated the game thereafter in defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Rock 4-1.
Travis Zajac shot the puck into the boards and as Dany Sabourin turned to play the puck,it bounced straight to the waiting Zajac,who slammed his 5th goal in the net and the Devils never looked back.
Zach Parise (16) and Dainius Zubrus (7) stretched the lead to 3-0 in the third period before Pittsburgh scored their only goal of the night.
Patrik Elias ended the scoring with an empty netter (11) to finish the scoring.
The Devils play two games in a row on Friday and Saturday against the Rangers and Sabres to finish the three game homestand......
Hell Raisers
1) Great game by Scott Clemmensen tonight with 26 saves on 27 shots.
The pipes helped him a bit as the Penguins clanged a few shots off them,but overall,Clemmensen continued to play well.
As long as he stays hot,the Devils should ride him for as long as they are able to.....
2) Must have been a frustrating night for Sidney Crosby as he wrestled around with Brian Gionta and was given two two minute minors.....
3) Bryce Salvador left the game late after being hit in the face with the puck.
No word on the results of X-rays....
4) Had to feel good for Travis Zajac on his goal.
Zajac was hustling on his entire shift and being in the right place at the right time was the result.
Zajac seems to have more confidence this year than last and it shows with his play....
5) Andy Greene was cleared to begin skating and could be playing again next week.
Greene may go to Lowell on a conditioning assignment,but no word yet.....
Bullpen Notes
The Indians were involved in a three team deal tonight with Seattle and the New York Mets.
The main name in the trade was Mariner closer J.J.Putz going to the Mets,where they want him to be the setup man for newly signed Francisco Rodriguez.
However,the agent for Putz has already stated that Putz wants to close and will not be happy as a setup man.
The Tribe sent Franklin Gutierrez to Seattle and added reliever Joe Smith from the Mets and second baseman Luis Valbuena from the Mariners.
Smith should help the Wahoos in the pen after a solid 2008 in middle relief,while Valbuena spent September with the Mariners and should be the starter at AAA Columbus.
Smith is a sidearmer that is especially tough on righthanded hitters and should be their top middle reliever next season.
Gutierrez always seemed to be one of like 10 interchangeable Cleveland outfielders that hit 275 with 12 homers,so he should not be a huge loss for Cleveland.
I am not a huge Arena Football fan,but it looks like their league is trouble and may not play in 2009.
They say that they will return in 2010,but have you ever known a league to take time and return?
That sounds nice,but I would be shocked to see that happen...
Back later with an interview on the Paulino-Jaramillo trade!
Photo Credits
Jaramillo:Getty Images
Clemmensen:Bruce Bennett-Getty Images
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