Link: The Detroit Tiger Weblog.
So the Urbina-Polanco trade took a very interesting twist today with Danny Knobler's report that Urbina was part of an alcohol fueled altercation on the team's flight to LA on Sunday night. Knobler isn't saying which player Urbina was fighting with, just that it wasn't just one player. Jayson Stark further reports
"Ten guys wanted to kill him," one person on the plane told Knobler.
Another source told Rumblings that the teams involved in the Urbina trade talks were aware of the incident. But clearly, the Phillies decided Urbina's volatility was worth taking a chance on, in part because of his close friendship with Bobby Abreu.
Knobler points out that this deal, or one similar to it, would probably have gone down without the incident. The altercation just expedited the process.
Again, I'd like the record to show, despite this troubling news, I am not turning on Urbina. My guess is that this is just an instance of teammates pushing each other's buttons. Just because you get in a fight with someone doesn't mean they aren't a great friend or teammate.
