Fausto Carmona is Not Fausto Carmona

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Way to go, Fausto. Now who are we going to talk up and pray they can be the leader of our vaunted pitching staff?

5 YEARS AGO HE WAS AWESOME!

[RedDawg53]

I hope Asdrubal Cabrera is his real name and not Miguel or Jose something... Fausto was an odd name. Where does "Asdrubal" rank?

[RedDawg53]

STO. Tribe vs Royals 8/27/11. Fausberto is pitching. Nothing else on tv tonight. May as well watch him pitch the last time in a Tribe uni...

[Adverb Harry]

A new interesting wrinkle: According to Pedro Gomez of ESPN, "Fausto" was paying the family of the real Fausto Carmona hush money. When he refused to increase the amount, they ratted him out.

Should have paid up, Fausto...er, Roberto.

[skatingtripods]

Explains the struggle after 2007. Once he had his big breakout year, the real Fausto Carmona's family had a lot of leverage. That's a major distraction to deal with. Maybe even some guilt about having a fake identity.

The one question that nobody has answered is why did he do this? Was his family under the watchful eye of the government for one reason or another? Was his farmer father growing some drugs or something?

The real Carmona family was probably a family friend. Amazing that we've had Heredia since he was 17 way back in 2000 and this never came to light.

In the same Outside the Lines interview about the hush money, Pedro Gomez hinted that we're going to find out about some other Latin players in the near future.

[pup]

"Leo Nunez" is a rat. Pretty simple, IMO. Which is why others are on thin ice.

[bookelly]

This thing is gonna get much, much bigger than just Fausto and that Marlin guy. There are probably dozens of Caribbean players shitting bricks right now.

Watch how small the winter ball rosters get next winter as many guys "decide to stay in the States to work out with the parent clubs."

[googleeph2]

No doubt.


So apparently Fausto Carmona is actually Kevin Slowey?

[skatingtripods]

AP reporting that Roberto Hernandez, his agent and his attorneys are expecting to receive judicial pardon sometime soon, allowing Hernandez to return to the Indians.

If he does come back, I'm curious to see how he comes back. A mess because all of this happened or a more focused pitcher because the truth is out and he's no longer hiding anything or paying hush money.

[peeker643]

AP reporting that Roberto Hernandez, his agent and his attorneys are expecting to receive judicial pardon sometime soon, allowing Hernandez to return to the Indians.

If he does come back, I'm curious to see how he comes back. A mess because all of this happened or a more focused pitcher because the truth is out and he's no longer hiding anything or paying hush money.

With one notable exception he's never struck me as the mentally strong type. Maybe because of what was hanging over him, maybe just because that's who he is. We should know quite soon.

[Jumbo]

AP reporting that Roberto Hernandez, his agent and his attorneys are expecting to receive judicial pardon sometime soon, allowing Hernandez to return to the Indians.

If he does come back, I'm curious to see how he comes back. A mess because all of this happened or a more focused pitcher because the truth is out and he's no longer hiding anything or paying hush money.

With one notable exception he's never struck me as the mentally strong type. Maybe because of what was hanging over him, maybe just because that's who he is. We should know quite soon.

Ironic, considering how much credit he got for being unflappable during the bug game.

[peeker643]

AP reporting that Roberto Hernandez, his agent and his attorneys are expecting to receive judicial pardon sometime soon, allowing Hernandez to return to the Indians.

If he does come back, I'm curious to see how he comes back. A mess because all of this happened or a more focused pitcher because the truth is out and he's no longer hiding anything or paying hush money.

With one notable exception he's never struck me as the mentally strong type. Maybe because of what was hanging over him, maybe just because that's who he is. We should know quite soon.

Ironic, considering how much credit he got for being unflappable during the bug game.

Yep. That's the one exception and he was unflappable that night. Not to mention strong and dominant.

[GodHatesClevelandSport]

AP reporting that Roberto Hernandez, his agent and his attorneys are expecting to receive judicial pardon sometime soon, allowing Hernandez to return to the Indians.

If he does come back, I'm curious to see how he comes back. A mess because all of this happened or a more focused pitcher because the truth is out and he's no longer hiding anything or paying hush money.

The article I see says they "hope" to receive it and return to the Indians this season.

Fat chance.

An immigration lawyer buddy of mine analyzed it thusly: "Will he make it back into the USA? Not without a waiver which is only available to spouses or children of US citizens or Permanent Residents. To the best of my knowledge, he lacks those relatives at this time. I do not foresee that he will be pitching this season, but who can say what discretion may be exercised on his behalf."

[Jumbo]

AP reporting that Roberto Hernandez, his agent and his attorneys are expecting to receive judicial pardon sometime soon, allowing Hernandez to return to the Indians.

If he does come back, I'm curious to see how he comes back. A mess because all of this happened or a more focused pitcher because the truth is out and he's no longer hiding anything or paying hush money.

With one notable exception he's never struck me as the mentally strong type. Maybe because of what was hanging over him, maybe just because that's who he is. We should know quite soon.

Ironic, considering how much credit he got for being unflappable during the bug game.

Yep. That's the one exception and he was unflappable that night. Not to mention strong and dominant.

Duh, right - I missed the "With one notable exception" in the original post.

Amateur psychologist time: I wonder if the distraction of the bugs actually gave him something to focus "through," rather getting caught up in the moment, the pressure of succeeding well, or worrying about his own name.

[skatingtripods]

The article I see says they "hope" to receive it and return to the Indians this season.

You're right. My bad. Little lost in translation. Nick Camino, the 1100 beat writer, said that Hernandez's agent, Jorge Brito, is "confident" that his client will return to the US soon.

Going back through my Twitter timeline, it definitely does say "hope" to.

Either way, athletes get preferential treatment everywhere else. I imagine this would be no different. Not saying it excuses what happened or anything.

[gotribe31]

Also, a judicial pardon is just step one. That just allows him to go apply for a visa to come back to the US under his true name. Even with a pardon, they don't have to grant the visa. Even if they do grant the visa, it certainly doesn't have to be any time soon. It makes sense for his lawyer to try and play the political game in the media, but take that with a grain of salt. I'm far less confident than his agent. Still a ways from resolution on this one.

[pup]

Is the Marlin who is rolling over for the DR government back in the states yet?

[gotribe31]

Is the Marlin who is rolling over for the DR government back in the states yet?

Last I had seen, no. That was as of late January though, so not sure if it has changed.

To me, that is extremely telling. Like you said, he's rolling and giving both the DR and USG some tangible info about what he did, others that were involved etc. Fausto/Roberto, to my knowledge at least, has no such information to offer, or at least his camp has not publicly acknowledged that such information exists that he'd be willing to give up. If the guy who's cooperating and giving up others hasn't made it back yet, Fausberto has a LONG ways to go in his campaign to come back to the states. His agent can say whatever he wants, but if he doesn't realize that this thing isn't near conclusion, he's an idiot who is just making things worse.

[pup]

Is the Marlin who is rolling over for the DR government back in the states yet?

Last I had seen, no. That was as of late January though, so not sure if it has changed.

To me, that is extremely telling. Like you said, he's rolling and giving both the DR and USG some tangible info about what he did, others that were involved etc. Fausto/Roberto, to my knowledge at least, has no such information to offer, or at least his camp has not publicly acknowledged that such information exists that he'd be willing to give up. If the guy who's cooperating and giving up others hasn't made it back yet, Fausberto has a LONG ways to go in his campaign to come back to the states. His agent can say whatever he wants, but if he doesn't realize that this thing isn't near conclusion, he's an idiot who is just making things worse.

Si, Si Pedro

[WiscTribeFan]

Is the Marlin who is rolling over for the DR government back in the states yet?

Last I had seen, no. That was as of late January though, so not sure if it has changed.

Nope.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-marlins-oviedo

This came out in September and he's still trying to get back in. Good luck, Fausto.

[Jumbo]

Per the news the last few days: Roberto Hernandez (finally starting to get used to writing it that way) had his DR false identity charges dropped, and so the big obstacle to his return is dealing with US immigration. Now, apparently, his contract has been restructured to (1) reduce his 2012 salary and (2) eliminate an option year in the contract. I assume the Indians threatened to just outright rescind his contract on the basis of his identity/age issues, so Hernandez and his agents agreed to the restructuring.

The first point makes a good deal of sense. Even though he is currently on the restricted list (and so won't get paid for as long as he isn't eligible to pitch), it's possible that he could be eligible to pitch again sometime this season. Even if that happened, Rob shouldn't be entitled to the prorated remainder of his contract for the rest of the season, because he will need some to get back to major league level and the original contract the Indians signed (and the decision to pick up his option) were based on their understanding of Rob's age.

The second bit, relating to terminating one option year, is a little more interesting. Now, Rob's got two option years left, a $9M option in 2013, and a $12M option in 2014. I don't see any great reason for bothering to terminate the 2014 option. First of all, I highly doubt that he'll even pitch enough this year to make the Indians want to pick up the $9M option, so why bother making an issue out of 2014? Alternatively, if they do keep him around (or trade him to somebody else who wants to take a chance), and he pitches well in 2013, why not leave the option available?

Pending any as-yet unreported details, the only answer that makes sense is that they want to get out of paying a buyout. Cot's doesn't list what any buyouts might be, so I suppose they could end up saving $500K - $1M on the back end. Again, I doubt it will even matter, since chances are so low that they'd pick up 2013 anyway.

[CAVSTRIBEBROWNSin07!]

And he's also 31 years old. Not 28.

You mean he's Oldberto?

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Who cares? We don't need him.

They should tear his contract up and flush it down the toilet.

It' ain't 2007 anymore, he's never going to get it together because he's weak mentally.

[googleeph2]

If he can come back and play before the trade deadline, maybe they can flip him for a hitter this summer.

[dazindiansfanuk]

A precedent been set?

Dominican pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo, formerly known as Leo Nunez, received a pardon from the U.S. State Department, a mandatory requirement for eligibility for a visa to travel to the United States and continue his career with the Miami Marlins, a source told ESPNdeportesLosAngeles.com Wednesday

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/79646 ... ource-says

[peeker643]

A precedent been set?

Dominican pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo, formerly known as Leo Nunez, received a pardon from the U.S. State Department, a mandatory requirement for eligibility for a visa to travel to the United States and continue his career with the Miami Marlins, a source told ESPNdeportesLosAngeles.com Wednesday

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/79646 ... ource-says

Because he rolled over on others. It'll take that level of cooperation from Fausto. It's going to be a long while.

[scrambler]

Fausto Carmona may not be Fausto Carmona, but Chirs Perez is God. Tribe Twelve, world champions.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Oviedo just suspended 8 weeks by MLB.

So, even if Hernandez sorts his Visa issues, he's not likely to pitch this year!

[swerb]

Either way, I'd love to see some clarity on this. Guy could be an asset for us down the stretch. Will affect what they potentially do at the deadline.

[WiscTribeFan]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/indians-gm ... --mlb.html

Cleveland Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said he doesn't think the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona will face the same eight-week suspension that Miami reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo received for age and identity fraud when he was allowed to return to the United States.