Thanks to Miss Chatter for first drawing my attention to the trade rumors about Elijah Dukes.
Apparently, Washington has made their interest in Dukes more public in recent days.
So why don’t we want him?
“Since 1998, he has been arrested 6 times on charges including possession of marijuana, assault, and resisting an officer. On May 23, 2007 it was reported that his wife filed a restraining order after he threatened to kill her.” — ESPN
“The St. Petersburg Times reported NiShea Gilbert filed for court protection after receiving a threatening message on her cell phone on May 2, as well as a text message that included a picture of a handgun.” “You dead, dawg. I ain’t even [expletive]. Your kids, too.”
I knew little about Dukes before now, but I remember reading Jeff Passan’s opinion article about why Tampa Bay should get rid of him just a few weeks ago.
These are the people that ruin baseball. Guys like Dukes are the antithesis of what baseball is all about in Washington.
Bringing Dukes to Washington would mean a couple things. My preference for Nook in Center aside, I am deeply concerned about what Dukes presence in our clubhouse would mean for a young team. If anything can be said about the 2007 Nationals (and it has been said, over and over again), the team has camaraderie. With Manny in charge, the guys have really come together and shaped their own environment. It sounds like a positive, energetic, optimistic place to play baseball. Why give this kid a chance to pull us all down?
I know, perhaps I’m not being fair. Dmitri is part of our team, part of that positive environment. Washington has been a good place for him to rebuild himself. And I’m glad we’ve been able to help him do that. Dmitri suffered from depression and pledged to get help. He made the choices that lead to his acceptance in Washington. He is the difference.
Dukes is only 22 and he’s already made a lot of personal mistakes. He’s not going to grow up anytime soon. He lacks the maturity of our young 22 year old. He does not fit here; this would be a giant mistake.
I have no idea who they might want in exchange, but we should not be trading any of our guys for troubled, dangerous Elijah Dukes.
Entries (RSS)
June 12th, 2007 at 9:03 am
I feel that you are only looking at the Duke’s story from the side of the woman. No charges have been formally filed, and last time I checked cases that were tried in the media (Duke Lax, the Mike Vick saga to name two) don’t always turn how they are portrayed Bottom line Dukes can hit the ball, another bat in the lineup to protect Zimmerman & Co. Dukes has been able to keep hitting during this ordeal and that, in the end, is the bottom line. Another reason to trade for Dukes is beacuse he is young (as you said 22) and could turn it around. He is from Tampa Bay (Hillsborough HIgh) so a change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered. I am sure too, the fact that the Nats could probably get Dukes for 60 cents on the dollar is attractive to them as well… something to think about
June 12th, 2007 at 9:22 am
If the trade does happen I hope you are right and that being in a new place surrounded by positive guys would turn him around. However, is it really worth it to bring him here? You take the good with the bad I guess, and hope that his hitting and fielding make up for antics outside of baseball…
June 12th, 2007 at 9:27 am
I just can’t justify his actions being nullified by his hitting. There are no excuses for his behavior.