Kent Mercker: He’ll be here all week

I keep hearing how funny Kent Mercker is, but unlike with Adam Dunn, I never see Mercker’s quotes. That changed, with this interview with Hal McCoy. It’s not like he’s telling jokes, but the guy is just very funny in normal conversation. His perspective is just a little different than most people, which is a great thing.

Oh, and the point of the article is that Mercker wants to play next year. Kremchek has been bragging about his repair job, and says Mercker can start throwing in December. The original target date for throwing was August 2007.

For what it’s worth, I spent last summer in a jury trial involving medical malpractice committed on a major league pitcher – a major issue was letting the guy rehab too soon (clearing him to throw in January after an October rotator cuff repair). I’m obviously not qualified to offer opinions about the contents of Mercker’s elbow, or Tim Kremchek’s surgical work, which is generally acknowledged as excellent. I’m just noting that an over-aggressive rehab can cause problems. But given Mercker’s age, attitude, and situation, there’s not much downside in being aggressive.

Anyway, on to the funny:

“I found out the only thing I’m good for out of baseball is to pack lunches and drive my kids to school,” he said. “I tried to fix a dishwasher today, and now I’m on my way to buy parts to replace the ones I broke.”

“I’d love to do 20 to 25 TV games,” Mercker said. “When I’m ready to pitch, they could activate me and not tell anybody. I could wear my uniform in the booth, leave the booth to go to the mound and get one hitter out, then return to the booth. I’d be the first guy to go from the TV booth to the pitcher’s mound.”