A little side note in the Cubune on Valentin

[HaroMaster87]

Does this little blurb spell doom for us Sox fans that wanna kick Jose to the curb? Or is it the clubs way of giving Jose a "fond farewell"?



"Shortstop Jose Valentín has been named the club's recipient of the 2004 Roberto Clemente Award. With the nomination, Valentín becomes one of 30 finalists for the national award, which recognizes the players who best exemplify the game of baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions to their teams."

[soxtalker]

By itself, it probably doesn't mean much. But consider a couple other items.

First, why wasn't he traded before the August 31 trade deadline? Maybe the other teams weren't interested, though his power numbers should have merited some interest. So I wonder if the Sox may not have tried very hard to trade him. That just seemed odd in that it would have been good for both the Sox and Jose.

Second, Jose seems to have been playing a lot lately. That means less playing time for Valdez and to a lesser extent Harris and Uribe.

[HITMEN OF 77]

I think Jose has won that award more than once while he's been with the Sox.