Thomas' exit should benefit Lind

Monday, April 21, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

Frank Thomas was released by the Toronto Blue Jays, and at some point Adam Lind is probably going to be the beneficiary of this decision that was right for everybody involved. Maybe later this week, or maybe later than that, Lind will be called up and inserted into the lineup as the left fielder.

But on Sunday, Lind was in Syracuse, N.Y., still recovering from a sore neck that popped up when he slept wrong in the middle of last week. He has missed the last couple of Triple-A games, and in his absence, so much has been going on -- the weather has warmed up, the Chiefs' hitters have been thriving against a bunch of right-handed starters and the Jays suddenly developed the need for another bat. "Bad timing," Lind said late Sunday afternoon.

 
 

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

    Ask Buster a question: Buster's Mailbag

Links

Subscribe

RSS RSS Feed

Recent Updates

Archive

More