Just looking for some discussion. I saw this, and was shocked that no one had brought it up.
quote:It's late morning at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, and already 92 degrees. There is no breeze. No clouds. Just stifling humidity.
"I don't know whose idea this was to play a day game," says Class AAA Bulls third baseman B.J. Upton, wiping the perspiration from his forehead. "It's the hottest time of the year here. It's going to be about 130 (degrees) on the field. And you wonder why we can't wait to get out of this place.
"I still can't believe I'm here. The three of us all thought we'd be all up in Tampa by now."
quote:No trades means no call-ups.
"I don't know what they're waiting for," Young says. "They're what, 30 games (actually 20) out of first place? They think we're going to mess up their clubhouse chemistry. B.J. should be up there. What are they waiting for? They always have excuses."
Young stops himself.
He has already said too much. Please, he asks, let it be known that he was just venting. Don't take him seriously.
quote:Dukes, the oldest of the trio at 22, laughs and shakes his head. Trouble? He may be the king. He has been suspended four times the last two years, and was ejected five times last year and twice this year.
"The only thing holding me back is me," says Dukes, who is hitting .293 with 10 homers and 50 RBI this season. "I know I can play in the big leagues. On any team. But they want to see whether I can stay away from trouble.
"If I can just do that, if I can just keep my cool, I'll be fine. Because when there is trouble, whether it's my fault or not, I'm the one who's got to pay the consequences."
Dukes is staring disgustedly at his baseball jersey while talking. It has dark stains around the collar. His pants have tears by both knees.
If this were the big leagues, the uniform would be in the garbage.
But this is Durham.
"In the big leagues, you throw your uniform on the ground, and it's washed and hung up nicely in your locker," Dukes says. "Here you do that, you come back the next day and find it still on the floor. Those guys up there (in the big leagues) shower in Evian. Here, we use sewer water."
Young, 20, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound right fielder, was suspended 50 games in April by the International League for throwing a bat at an umpire.
Dukes, a 6-2, 240-pound left fielder, has been suspended twice by the Devil Rays — the first time for one week and the second for two weeks — for fights and/or arguments with a teammate and coach.
Upton, 21, a 6-3, 180-pound shortstop, was arrested in June for suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
"Its embarrassing," Upton says. "Those things shouldn't have happened. Not to me. Not to Delmon. Not to Elijah. Then we get lumped together and people have this perception of us
quote:
The shame of it all is that there are players that would give anything to be playing a hot day game, or wearing a uniform with stained collars or torn knees, and these guys want to gripe? What are they going to do when they play a day game in Texas or Kansas City? Sit out because it's too hot?