ANGELS WILL TRY TO TRADE SMITH.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer Lee Smith might be a runaway leader on baseball's all-time saves list, but he fretted over his future with the Angels when Troy Percival Troy Eugene Percival (born August 9, 1969 in Fontana, California) is a Major League Baseball reliever on the St. Louis Cardinals. Percival came out of retirement on June 8, 2007 when he signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals[1]. got off to a blazing start as the Angels' closer this season. Smith said he would rather be traded than suffer the indignity in·dig·ni·ty n. pl. in·dig·ni·ties 1. Humiliating, degrading, or abusive treatment. 2. A source of offense, as to a person's pride or sense of dignity; an affront. 3. of a diminished role in the bullpen. On Sunday, the Angels voiced their commitment to Percival and said they will attempt to grant Smith's wish. ``I'm well aware that this guy is the king of saves,'' general manager Bill Bavasi William J. Bavasi (born December 27, 1957, Pasadena, California) is the current general manager and vice president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners. The son of longtime Major League Baseball executive Buzzie Bavasi and the brother of Peter Bavasi, also a former MLB said. ``If he's not going to be there (in the closer role) because somebody else took the job, I'm going to do my very best to get him a closing job somewhere. . . . I'm going to make inquiries.'' Smith, who had to step aside for Percival at the start of the season because of post-op knee soreness, seemed pleased with the news. ``I have no grudge grudge tr.v. grudged, grudg·ing, grudg·es 1. To be reluctant to give or admit: even grudged the tuition money. 2. , I just hope we can get something done soon,'' Smith said. ``. . . I don't want to be in the way of the team's focus. I don't think I should have to sit back and wait for somebody else to fail before I get a chance. I don't want that. ``If they can find another team that needs a guy to close, it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to charge up the battery in the boat.'' The Angels' first priority in that regard will be to showcase the big right-hander in some safe relief situations. They did exactly that Sunday at Anaheim Stadium, summoning him for the ninth inning when they held a four-run lead against the Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Twins have played in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. . Smith, making only his fifth appearance of the year, got the side in order to finish a 5-1 Angels victory. ``It was getting to the point where I was fighting with Mark Eichhorn Eichhorn played for four different ballclubs during his career: the Toronto Blue Jays (1982, 1986-1988, 1992-1993), Atlanta Braves (1989), California for innings,'' Smith said dryly of a mop-up colleague in the bullpen. This hasn't been easy for the man who has a record 471 saves. Smith required surgery on his right knee after stumbling into a hole in an offseason hunting accident. The knee was still puffed up at the start of the season, resulting in an assignment to the disabled list. Percival, asked to stand in for him, responded with 11 overpowering saves in as many opportunities. |
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