Trade to Diamondbacks stung ex-Angel Saunders

Discussion in 'National League West' started by truebluefan, Mar 8, 2011.

  1. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2010
    Messages:
    212,768
    Likes Received:
    821
    Trophy Points:
    113
    [​IMG]

    "Last July's trade to the Diamondbacks clearly shocked left-hander Joe Saunders. His voice cracked and his eyes watered as he talked to reporters in the visitor's clubhouse in Arlington after getting the news.

    Some of that sting still lingers.

    "I was pissed off. I'm not going to lie to you," Saunders said Sunday after facing his former team for the first time in the Cactus League. Saunders was knocked from the game in the third inning of the Angels' 7-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.

    "I was pissed off because they traded for another pitcher. That's why I was so shocked. I was sure if someone was getting traded it was going to be for a hitter. That's what we needed at the time. Don't get me wrong. Dan Haren is a damn good pitcher - but I thought they had a damn good one. I wasn't getting results at the time. But I was going out there, battling and losing 2-1 or 3-2. I thought we had a good starting five."

    Saunders was 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA for the Angels when they sent him and three other pitchers including two prospects (Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin) to the Diamondbacks for Haren. In 13 starts for the last-place Diamondbacks, Saunders was 3-7 with a 4.25 ERA.

    "It was awkward at first," Saunders said of changing teams for the first time. "It feels more like I belong now. At first when you do get traded and go to a new team, it's like the first day of school. You're just trying to fit in, trying to learn everyone's name. Now I've had two months (last season) and it feels more like I belong."

    That feeling was a little muddled Sunday, coming back to his former spring home to pitch against the Angels.

    "It was a little weird coming into the visiting dugout," said Saunders, the Angels' first-round draft pick in 2002. "I'd been on that side a long time. But it was a lot of fun going against some old friends I'd never faced before."

    It couldn't have been that much fun."

    Read more: http://articles.ocregister.com/2011-03-06/news/28666880_1_joe-saunders-tyler-skaggs-cactus-league
     

Share This Page