You know those freaky coincidences, like the one where President Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln, President Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, and
Lincoln Kennedy became a serviceable offensive tackle? Well, those Kennedy/Lincoln things were
urban legend. But feel free to bring on the legend of the Cassel brothers. Everyone knows by now that
Tom Brady is
reportedly out for the season, and that he was replaced by
Matt Cassel. Here's the
strange part:
Turns out, Matt Cassel wasn't the only one who was summoned that day to replace an injured starter. Astros lefty Wandy Rodriguez exited Sunday's game in Denver after just one inning with a right oblique strain, and manager Cecil Cooper called for Jack Cassel, who has experience starting and relieving and was stretched out after making 17 starts for Triple-A Round Rock.
"I just had this gut feeling that once Matt got in there, I was going to pitch today," Jack said after the Astros beat the Rockies, 7-5. "Unfortunately for Wandy, it came so soon. But I was happy to get in there and make the best of it."
Creepy. Two injuries, two sports, two brothers ready to step in. There's a joke there somewhere, but I'm finding it increasingly more painful to type. Perhaps there's a third Cassel brother that can finish this blog for me? Actually, no there's not. But there is a
third Cassel brother in the White Sox organization ...
Justin Cassel is a pitcher out of UC Irvine. (If I'm Monday starter
Javier Vazquez, I'd be nervous.)
