Jake Peavy’s 2016 season ended with a career-worst 5.54 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, and divorce papers. According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Peavy’s wife Katie, a childhood friend he married at 19 years old, filed for divorce in October, right after the Giants were eliminated in the NLDS by the Cubs. Peavy didn’t pitch in the postseason. He hadn’t started a game since July, and made his last appearance on Sept. 21. Peavy wasn’t placed on the DL, but Crasnick says the pitcher was sidelined after stepping on a pair of scissors at home. Before all of that, Peavy had been pitching through distraction. In June, it was revealed that he had been the victim of a Ponzi scheme—one that also targeted Roy Oswalt and Mark Sanchez—and may have lost around $15 million. According to a suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, financial adviser Ash Narayan had ingratiated himself with the athletes by playing on “their shared Christian faith and interest in charitable work” and secretly invested their money in a ticket brokerage company of which he was a major shareholder. The investigation dragged on during the season, pulling Peavy away from baseball for depositions and conference calls, and left him paranoid about the relationships in his life: It turned me into a person I never wanted to be. People would text me and I’d say, ‘What does this person want from me? What’s their motive?’ I had numerous relationships for 10-15 years with people who let me and my family down in a huge way. You put the blame on yourself in these situations, but I can’t even tell you the mindset I was in from the start of spring training through the season. With the divorce still not finalized, Peavy is staying away from baseball to take care of his four sons: “I’m not shying away from getting divorced,’’ Peavy said. “It’s not something I’m proud of or something I wanted or asked for, but it happened and I’m dealing with that. But I also have four boys I’m responsible for in life, and I just feel deep down that it’s in my best interests and my family’s interests to be there through this time. “When I sign with a team, I’m all in. For me to leave right now with so much uncertainty in my life, it wouldn’t be fair to an organization and it wouldn’t be the right thing to do as far as being a dad.’’ The 35-year-old still hopes to find a team later this season, assuming the market gets hot for guys who throw 90-mph fastballs. [ ESPN]
Related Posts
Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson will return from a hamstring injury soon as he is a quick healer .
Henderson limped off early in Liverpool s thrilling 3-3 draw at Arsenal and missed the 5-0 win against Swansea City on Boxing Day as a result.
The England midfielder will not be fit to face either Leicester City on Saturday or Burnley on January 1, but could return to first-team duty swiftly.
It depends on the healing process and if the player is a quick healer or not, Klopp told a news conference on Friday. There are big differences between individuals.
Hendo starts running outside today, [at] which pace and whatever we will see, but he is on a good way.
I don t want to say any date because on the one side it would maybe …
Neither Newcastle United or Brighton and Hove Albion could break their recent slumps in the Premier League, playing out a forgettable 0-0 draw at St James Park on Saturday.
The Seagulls and Magpies went into the game hoping to improve on runs of one win in nine and 11 games respectively, and both looked like sides lacking in form.
Rafael Benitez and former Toon boss Chris Hughton went with expansive-looking line-ups following under-powered defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea respectively last time out, but the contest was too stretched for large parts.
Karl Darlow saved from Lewis Dunk while Mat Ryan denied Isaac Hayden and Dwight Gayle at the other end, although none of the chances were gilt-edged.
The Toon remain just a point above the drop zone, bu…
Julian Draxler has revealed he agreed terms with Juventus ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, but the Serie A champions did not meet Schalke s valuation and he eventually joined Wolfsburg instead.
Juve had earmarked the Germany international to add more creativity to their midfield, but missed out after they failed to agree a fee.
Draxler, 22, has now admitted he was keen to join Juve, but is adamant he is now happy at Wolfsburg.
It was an honour for me that Juventus wanted me and tried so hard to sign me. I have always followed them closely, Draxler told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
I had agreed terms with Juventus, but both clubs could not agree a deal. In the end Wolfsburg wanted me to replace Kevin De Bruyne. But I would have been a Juventus player had n…
Ralph Hasenhuttl quickly turned his thoughts to next season after Southampton confirmed their Premier League status with two games remaining on Saturday.
While Southampton had to settle for a 3-3 draw at home with Bournemouth despite twice holding the lead, Cardiff City s 1-0 defeat at Fulham means the Saints are certain to be in the top flight for another campaign.
They were sitting in the relegation places and had managed just one league win when Hasenhuttl took charge at the end of last year, yet the Austrian has impressively engineered a route to safety in his time at St Mary s Stadium.
Now the former RB Leipzig boss is planning for a rebuild of his squad in the transfer window, with the aim to make sure the south-coast club are not in the same situatio…
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has hailed the progress of defender Jores Okore following a string of impressive performances.
The Denmark international moved to Villa Park from Nordsjaelland at the beginning of last season, but his career in the Premier League got off to a miserable start.
Okore sustained an injury to his cruciate ligament in September last year and missed the remainder of 2013-14.
The 22-year-old returned to the side in the 1-1 draw with Southampton last month, and has played every minute since then earning the praise of his manager.
Jores is getting better and better. He s only 22 years old, Lambert told Villa s official website.
He is outstanding. He has come in and his first game was against Southampton after 14 mon…
Leroy Sane was hailed by Julian Nagelsmann as one of the best players in Europe as the Bayern Munich head coach defended the winger on Friday.
It was reported Sane was slightly late for the start of training on the eve of this weekend s Bundesliga game against Augsburg, and that it could cost him a club fine.
There is a strong chance of Sane starting that match on Saturday, as head coach Julian Nagelsmann gives some a rest after the Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Germany winger Sane has started just 13 of Bayern s 23 domestic league games this season, with Nagelsmann having such an array of talent in attacking midfield roles he has to mix and match.
Similar applies to Serge Gnabry, who like Sane appeared as a substitute in the 2-0 victory …
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hit a stunning winner as Napoli beat Atalanta 2-0 to move 18 points clear again at the top of Serie A.
The 11th goal of the Georgian s debut Serie A season came in the 60th minute, with his twinkle-toed run into the penalty area followed by an explosive finish.
Fed the ball by Victor Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia still had plenty of work to do and left Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi bamboozled by his shimmying footwork, with the defenders collectively powerless to prevent a masterpiece.
Amir Rrahmani s looping header in the 77th minute made the points safe, as Eljif Elmas sent a corner from the right into the danger zone and the centre-back did the rest.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!
A fabulous goal and it s that man again! Kvara twists one way then an…
Jurgen Klopp has hailed La Liga as the best domestic competition in world football ahead of Liverpool s Europa League final against two-time defending champions Sevilla in Basle.
Spanish sides have dominated European competition in recent years, with Sevilla s success mirrored by Real Madrid and Barcelona winning the Champions League in 2014 and 2015 respectively. This year s final will be contested by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Klopp told a news conference: It s the best football country I would say, a combination of good managers, scouting, good education of players.
Lots of young players from South America like to go to Spain because they can settle in. There are a lot of reasons, but at this moment La Liga is the highest level and it is the job of ever…
Hulk and Axel Witsel led the well wishes to Andre Villas-Boas as he bids farewell to Zenit.
Head coach Villas-Boas announced in September that he would be departing the club at the end of the Russian Premier League season, which concluded on Saturday.
Zenit overcame CSKA Moscow to win the Russian Cup this month but were unable to prevent Leonid Slutsky s team deposing them as league champions.
Former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Villas-Boas had been linked with the coaching positions at Marseille and Valencia, but confirmed in April he would be taking a year out.
Hulk Zenit s highest scoring player during the Russian Premier League title triumph under Villas-Boas in 2014-15 thanked the Portuguese in an Instagram post.
…
Barcelona and Spain star David Villa says the health struggles of Tito Vilanova and defender Eric Abidal have provided valuable life lessons.
Vilanova is battling parotid gland cancer, which has culminated in surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while the France defender was diagnosed with a tumour in his liver.
And Villa says his own battle to come back from a broken leg has been put into perspective by the pair s respective struggles with illness.
When you compare my injury to the diseases Tito and Abidal have had, their problems have been a lesson in life – two incredible people, Villa told El Pais.
These examples give us strength. They are the ones who encouraged us, urging us to be strong and fight. You see that the little annoyances of life…