Birthdays are cool when you're a kid, and as you get a little bit older, they mark milestones here and there. You know, like how 16 means you can drive, 18 allows you to buy scratch tickets and 21 means you can drink — legally.
But as you get older, birthdays start to suck, for obvious reasons. It's probably safe to say that Randy Wolf has never had a birthday suck as bad as the one marking his 36th trip around the sun.
The veteran left-handed pitcher turned 36 on Wednesday. He was also released by the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. To make matters worse, Deadspin points out that the Brewers tweeted the news of the release exactly one hour after Milwaukee mascot Bernie Brewer wished the pitcher a happy birthday.
Happy birthday, Randy Wolf!
— Bernie Brewer (@Bernie_Brewer) August 22, 2012
It's an unceremonious end to what has been a brutal season for Wolf in Milwaukee, limping toward the end of a three-year, nearly $30 million contract. Wolf was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA and an insane 1.57 WHIP. No one has allowed more hits in the big leagues this year than Wolf. He had given up 22 runs in his last 30 1/3 innings, a five-start stretch in which he unsurprisingly went 0-4.
Wolf also had a $10 million team option following this season. He had a better chance of the Brewers presenting him with cake on his big day than he did having his option picked up. Now, neither of those things will happen.
But hey, happy birthday, Randy!
