Is there anything worse than an under-performing whining millionaire who STOLE money from an organization that doesn’t have any to begin with? Yeah, that’s right David Dellucci, I am talking about you.
Before I came over to WFNY, I wrote for the Indians blog Dump David Dellucci, which has since been renamed “Bench Ben Francisco.” While the site was essentially our thoughts and opinions on the day to day madness that is our love for the Red, White, and Blue, we also took aim directly at a man who we thought was criminally underachieving and overpaid – DD himself.
Sure, I took plenty of shots at his game on both DDD and WFNY, but his play warranted the criticism. Thankfully, on May 29th, The Indians designated Dellucci for Assignment. Of course, DD went unclaimed and ended up signing a minor league deal with Toronto.
And that brings us to the present. Yesterday, the Indians played the Blue Jays for the first time since Dellucci was brought up from AAA Las Vegas. Before last night’s game, the PD’s Paul Hoynes spoke with the “outfielder.”
As Hoynes put it, Dellucci became a flash point for everything that has gone wrong with the Indians over the last three seasons. The boos at Progressive Field and rip jobs by bloggers peaked this year until he was designated for assignment on May 29.
Then came the quotes:
“I have no idea,” said Dellucci, when asked why he was targeted. “Like I said, it’s disheartening when you know you’re giving the very best you can.
“I mean I try to break up a double play and I tear my hamstring off the bone and people don’t appreciate that. The guys in the clubhouse know I gave it my all. They know how I was every single day. That’s all that matters.”
Guy, are you serious? You want to know why fans never took to you? BECAUSE YOU NEVER DELIVERED! Here are the facts, Dave:
-In 2007, at age 33, Dellucci was hitting a robust .230 with four home runs and 20 RBI in 199 AB’s until he was lost for the season with a torn hamstring.
-In 2008, at age 34, Dellucci hit .238 with 11 homers and 47 RBI in 375 AB’s while platooning in left field, despite the fact that he literally can not play the field.
-In 2009, at age 35, Dellucci was designated for assignment after hitting .275 in 40 AB’s with zero homers and one RBI. That’s right, ONE RBI! Worst of all, after he was activated from the DL, he went 6-8, which means he went 5-32 the rest of the way.
But how is he doing in Toronto you ask? How does 1-23 – .042 BA – sound to you?
Sounds like a guy who is finished. Except we already knew that. He was finished three years ago! Only the Indians and the Shapiro regime would be rooked into giving this guy a three-year contract when nobody else offered more than two. His inflated Texas numbers in 2005 (29 homers and 65 RBI’s) coupled with his clubhouse presence made him a target. Unreal.
In the meantime, Dellucci has the nerve to say he was upset with the fan treatment he received during his very unsuccessful two and a half year stint in Cleveland. Hey, Dave, had you actually produced, maybe the fans would have accepted you more. Instead, you tell Indians.com beat writer Anthony Castrovince that the fan treatment was ” uncalled for, because I tried my best.”
If you don’t like the criticism, then don’t play the game and collect those fat paychecks that total up to $11.5 million.
Look at my other former Tribe whipping boy, Casey Blake. For every Casey hater out there, there are three Tribe fans who appreciate his hard work, professionalism, and versatility. The Indians gave him his shot to be an everyday player and he capitalized. The Indians gave Dellucci $11.5 million for a total of 68 RBI in three years.
Not a bad deal for you DD. Take your money, shut your mouth, and go away.
——
Just for giggles, I thought it would be fun to look back in the archive for some of my favorites Dellucci musings from DDD and WFNY. Enjoy.
April 19, 2008 -
Spare the details of this one and the fact that once again Jake Westbrook gets no run support, the bottom line is Dave Dellucci is just not good enough. The mediocre at best LF butchered two balls today in the lights of that weak Metrodome and also grounded into a pair of double plays. Thanks Dave. Tribe needs a bat in LF, a REAL one.
June 3, 2008 –
How many more DP’s can DD hit into? You love how he K’d with the bases loaded and one out last night as well. With Shin-Soo Choo now up, its time to play the future in a three-man platoon in the corners – Choo, Franklin Gutierrez, and Ben Francisco. DD is treated as if he has some great track record and will turn it around.
Dude is 34 years old and never had a prime to begin with. Rewind three years back – The Indians passed on giving Bob Howry a three-year, $12 million deal, he then signed with the Cubs. Howry has been great this year and solid in his first two. That same money, was given to DD a year later. Can you say Ricky Gutierrez? Cut bait NOW Shappy!
June 30, 2008 –
Meanwhile, the Indians went into the season with a platoon of Big Dave Dellucci and K-Mike in left, that lasted a month and a half before the K-Mike was dumped and DD was relegated to pinch-hitting duty while the Indians fell out of contention. Since he stole from us on the Marte is the only player with zero RBI line, we will steal right back from a certain fat-man PD columnist, who dropped this gem line about DD – Dellucci was 15 for his last 27 going into the game. That’s 15 strikeouts, not — don’t be silly — hits.
July 21, 2008 –
GM Mark Shapiro tells us that the rest of the season is to evaluate the young players to see what we have for next year and beyond, yet Wedge still gives Dellucci regular AB’s? It’s bad enough he is soaking up an unwarranted roster spot and stealing an undeserving $4 million this year and next year.
August 19th, 2008 -
Then you have David Dellucci. The man we want to drop like a stone has decided that what is going on in Cleveland for him just isn’t good enough. In today’s PD, he was quoted as being frustrated by his lack of PT of late.
“It’s difficult for any player to be the best they can be when they’re sharing time,” said Dellucci, who has a year and $4 million remaining on his contract. “Any player that gets to see live pitching consistently is going to be better off. “
Memo to DD – you should be thankful that your agents were smart enough to convince Mark Shapiro to give you a three-year deal, because that is the only reason you are still here. Now he has the gall to say “oh, I’m not getting in a groove because I don’t get regular at-bats.” What a a deuche .
May 11, 2009 –
The fact that we were all told that Matt Laporta was “up here to play, not sit” and yet Wedge starts David freaking Dellucci in all three games over the weekend is disturbing. DD may have started 6-9 in his first two games, true. Since then, the overpaid and underwhelming 35 year old is 2-19. Haven’t we seen enough of this guy? How can he still be a member of this team, let alone a starter every single game?
May 12, 2009 –
Talk about a wasted $11.5 million and two-plus seasons of complete underachieving. Although, I can’t even say DD is underachieving, because he is what he is – an average ballplayer at the tail end of his career. With this said, why in the heck does Eric Wedge continue to trot this guy out day in and day out at the expense of top prospect Matt Laporta?
Author: TD
TD is a born and bred Clevelander who agrees with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt when he says ""Ranch Dressing makes everything better except for cereal and ice cream."TD has written 253 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
Amazing work.
Is that a rubber fish he’s holding?
It’s green. It must be a metaphor. A $12 million metaphor.
My favorite quote was in the article about Delucci on Ohio.com. They mentioned his 1-23 with the Blue Jays and he said something like “I’m still getting adjusted here.” No, you’re 1-23 because you suck.
I think more than a hamstring was ripped off his bones.
When All You’ve Got Isn’t Good Enough: The David Delluci Story
Excellent post, so funny
I agree that Delucci has no business being in the majors…but, I can’t blame him for “stealing” a salary. It’s not his fault Shapiro was dumb enough to throw him money. No one here can say honestly that they would turn down that contract.
I’m kinda mixed on this situation……these guys don’t determine their worth….the “market” and their owners do. They certainly are human and don’t want to disappoint fans. Granted, fans certainly have their right to do anything they want, and if you perform worse than you previously have, you are likely to hear it.
matt #9: the market determines worth, and sometimes GM’s determine worth. This was Mark Shapiro all the way, unless you’re going to tell us that any other major league team was ready and willing to cough up a guaranteed $11.M/3year deal to David Delucci (career backup stiff and 34 years old).
Delucci’s performance was abysmal, a joke, but:
- did he demand the platform to address the fan ripping, or was he just answering Hoynes’s question?
- did he have the goods on Dolans, which forced them to give him the money and the at bats ahead of LaPorta or anyone else?
- if you were him, would you at least kind of wonder why the fans would seemingly take out all of their Shapiro/Wedge venom on you and not, let’s say, Franklin Guittierez or Ryan Garko, none of whom were hurt but none of whom could take advantage of opportunities just laid out for them?
As Paul Brown said to the lost bus driver: “I don’t blame you, son. I blame the guy who hired you.”
@ 11- If I was doing so poorly, I would not be trying to make other excuses. Maybe other people are doing poorly also, but you have to own up to your own miscomings.
Sweet Dave is a piece of trash. He owes Buck Showalter a debt of gratitude.
Peace Out.
@11: I don’t see any excuses in his comments for his performance. Said he tried his best which resulted in his injury, which fans didn’t take into account when making him a poster boy for the current state of affairs. Look, the perfect response would have been a Crash Davis-like: “The fans have a right to be disappointed in the way I played. I was, too. Cleveland was great to me.” But he didn’t say that, so what? We have an absolute right to rip him for his performance. I just don’t see cause to rip him for this quote which came in response to a question.
Okay folks…you won..Dellucci is gone…and you lost Derosa, whom you hated as well…move on…the Tribe still continues to fall…Find a new scapegoat…DeRosa and Dellucci are no longer eligible for that honor…no one stole money from the Tribe…Dellucci was offered the contract, he signed it…who among you would not have? DeRosa got traded to the Tribe,he did not ever sell himself as the best 3rd baseman…the Indians organization put him at third,and yet the Tribe fans booed him ,and blamed him for all the Tribes problems..Tribe fans,and the press are mean spirited,as obvious by so many of these replies…find some one else to whine about…Dellucci did not seek out the interviewer, he was asked a question and gave an honest answer…actually, I thought his words were kind… Dellucci is with Toronto now,DeRosa ,with the Cards….spend your empty, mean- spirited lives blaming someone else for the down fall of the Tribe. You’ve got 25 guys to pick from…good luck to you,and I’m sorry in advance for the guy you all choose to crucify next.
who hated DeRosa? He took some time to adjust to the AL, but had decent power numbers when he turned it around. Decent enough that we should have gotten more for him when we traded him. The anger comes from having JhP play 3b all spring, even after DeRosa was acquired, then starting the season with him at SS. That makes no sense. But Wedge likes Jamey Carroll, and we get DeRosa in the OF when JhP finally gets to 3b. This mishandling of the roster is what tribe fans are pissed about.
If you werent pissed about the Delucci signing and continual poor performance while continually getting ABs (when he was healthy) you just havent been paying attention.
@ #15 -
I don’t recall anyone really ever going after DeRosa? He was a gamer and one of the few players who showed a pulse during the miserable first half. I don’t recall him ever getting booed or blamed for the woes of a lost season.
Really, whether folks are nasty about Dellucci or Francisco or whoever, it really all comes back to Wedge & Shapiro & Dolan. Those are the guys that fans are *really* angry at.
Dellucci got designated for assignment by Toronto.