Some People Should Keep Their Mouth Shut

I think it's always true that some people should keep their mouths shut. But the past few days, I think there a few more than normal.

• Jim Rice decided it was a good idea to use his speech to a bunch of Little Leaguers to rip Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, according to LoHud. Peter Abraham asks if it's too late to vote Jim Rice out of the Hall of Fame for being a "no-class idiot"? Why exactly did they vote him in in the first place? Rob Neyer responds by saying: "running down today's players is nothing but boring, self-aggrandizing poppycock."

• Our next idiot is Jerry Manuel show decided it was a good idea to use David Wright's concussion as an opportunity to rip on Ryan Church. Earth to Jerry, despite the injuries to your team this year, you're not totally immune. You haven't done a bang up job. Your team failed down the stretch last year. And you're supposed to be a bigger person. Ripping a guy who is no longer on the team is petty and immature.

• Speaking of the Mets, their GM is not doing much to improve his reputation. From Rob Neyer:

  • Whatever else might happen today, this is going to rank as the strangest news of the day:

  Jon Heyman has reported that the Giants claimed Gary Sheffield off the waiver wire, but the two teams could not come to an agreement on a deal.

  Last night, I contacted one of my sources, a Giants front office official, who confirmed for me that Omar Minaya was asking for "high level talent” for his aging slugger, something that Giants GM Brian Sabean was not willing to part with.

  We were also told that there is a strong possibility that Minaya will be asking for the same type of "high level talent” for Billy Wagner, if and when he decides to finally move him.

  "Minaya just doesn't get it, does he? No, he doesn't. Maybe he'll blame it on Adam Rubin.

• Three's a charm with the Mets, it seems. This has to be the most bizarre. You knew that Gary Sheffield wouldn't be a good citizen all year long. Via the New York Post: "The Mets rejected his bizarre request for a contract extension. So Sheffield, according to sources, initially became verbally abusive, then demanded he be released or traded to the Marlins, then threatened to return home to Florida, and finally just pulled himself from the starting lineup." According to the New York Times, he doesn't remember this today but can't understand why the Mets didn't send him to San Francisco. Joel Sherman think that this guarantees Sheffield unemployment in 2010. Nice work, Sheff. No wonder no one wants to go watch the Mets.

• Lastly, someone made a claim on Jose Valverde but the Houston Astros pulled him back. Why? Their General Manager, Ed Wade, doesn't want to trade anyone but Ivan Rodriguez. Ummm...This team is going no place this season (9 games back in the Wild Card, 10 games back in the NL East, and -71 run differential) and they have Valverde, LaTroy Hawkins, Miguel Tejada and maybe a few other pieces they could dump, save some money, and maybe pick up a few prospects. All three become free agents after the season is over. Nice way to run the organization.
  

Some people are better off keeping quiet.

(pictures from the Providence Journal, Getty Images, Amazin' Avenue, New York Daily News, and Delaware Online)