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Baseball Notebook: Blue Jays acquire Bullington, Loewen
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Published: October 25, 2008
■ Blue Jays: Toronto acquired two of the top four picks in the 2002 draft yesterday, signing converted pitcher Adam Loewen to a minor-league contract and claiming right-hander Bryan Bullington off waivers.
Bullington was selected by Pittsburgh with the top selection and Loewen was taken fourth by the Baltimore Orioles. Neither player has panned out so far professionally.
Baltimore released Loewen on Monday, but had hoped to re-sign him to a minor-league deal.
Loewen, a native of Surrey, British Columbia, said that leaving the Orioles was "extremely difficult," but said the chance to join Toronto was too good to pass up.
"I grew up watching the Blue Jays and was a huge fan all my life," he said. "This is a great opportunity. I'm really excited to get going."
Loewen's pitching career ended in July because of recurring stress fractures in his left elbow. Loewen worked with Baltimore batting coach Terry Crowley in September before joining the Orioles' instructional league team. He went 8-8 with a 5.38 ERA in three years as a pitcher.
Loewen, who will attempt to reach the majors as a first baseman/outfielder, said he had no regrets about giving up pitching.
Toronto also claimed Bullington from Cleveland. Bullington is 0-5 with a 5.45 ERA in parts of three major-league seasons, two with Pittsburgh and one with Cleveland. Bullington, 28, missed the 2006 season following right shoulder surgery.
To make room on the roster, Toronto designated outfielder Kevin Mench for assignment.
■ Dodgers: All eight coaches who finished the year working with Manager Joe Torre will be back for the 2009 season, including Manny Mota, who returns for his 30th season as a coach with the Dodgers and his 40th in the organization.
Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and first-base coach Mariano Duncan will return for their fourth season in Los Angeles, while third-base coach Larry Bowa, hitting coach Don Mattingly, bullpen coach Ken Howell, instructor Jeff Pentland and bench coach Bob Schaefer will all be back for their second season.
■ Mariners: General Manager Jack Zduriencik said Ned Yost, the recently fired Milwaukee Brewers manager, and Jim Riggleman, a former Seattle interim manager, are two candidates to be Seattle's manager in 2009.
Riggleman was hired as the bench coach of the Washington Nationals yesterday, but the Mariners said he remains in the running to return to Seattle.
Zduriencik was introduced as Seattle's eighth full-time GM this week. Zduriencik says he wants to choose a new Mariners manager soon. He did not offer a timeline.
■ Nationals: Former players Marquis Grissom and Pat Listach are joining the Washington coaching staff.
Grissom will be the first-base coach, and Listach the third-base coach.
Rick Eckstein, older brother of 2006 World Series MVP David Eckstein, will be the hitting coach, and Randy Knorr the bullpen coach.
■ World Series: Game 2 of the World Series was a thud on television.
The Tampa Bays Rays' 4-2 victory on Thursday night received an 8.1 fast national rating and 13 share on Fox, the network said yesterday. That is the second-lowest rating for a Series game, ahead of only the 8.0 for the St. Louis Cardinals' 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 opener.
The first two games averaged an 8.7/14, a 19 percent drop from the 10.8/18 for last year's Boston Red Sox-Colorado Rockies series. Philadelphia's 3-2 win in Wednesday's opener received a 9.2/15.
Still, Fox said it was pleased.
"Game 2 came through to give Fox its best Thursday night rating in seven months, and that comes off Game 1 earning us our best Wednesday night in more than five months," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "Now, with the series tied at a game apiece, we're looking forward to interest building as the games continue and the drama unfolds."
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