Happy birthday to Scott Kazmir, who turns 28 today.
Yes, Scott Kazmir is only 28.
Kazmir was a first round pick by the Mets in the 2002 draft, with Grady Fuson, in his inaugural draft with the Rangers, famously passing him over to take South Carolina shortstop Drew Meyer.
Kazmir was dealt to Tampa Bay for Victor Zambrano in the summer of 2004, had four really good seasons for the Rays, but went south in 2009 and hasn't been able to put it back together. Kazmir was traded late in the 2009 season to the Angels for Sean Rodriguez, in a deal that had some Rangers fans and D/FW media members screaming about Tom Hicks being too cheap to take on the salary of a great young ace, but that trade backfired badly on Anaheim, and they ended up releasing Kazmir last season.
Just 28 years old. To put this in perspective, Scott Kazmir is younger than Taylor Teagarden, Alexi Ogando, Darren O'Day and Craig Gentry.