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Tuesday, July 13, 2004 |
Even More Pickoff Moves
I got started writing the Angels Midterm, but unfortunately, it looks like a good chunk of my piece got stranded on my computer at work. It's not lost, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to publish it, meaning probably no earlier than tomorrow night.
A Short Fuson
The Texas Rangers Blog forwards a story from the Dallas Star-Telegram before going on hiatus. It looks like Grady Fuson might get the reins for the Rangers as early as Friday. One side effect might be the departure of pitching coach and ex-Dodger Orel Hershiser. Hershiser is said to have "tremendous loyalty to [current GM John] Hart".All-Star, All-Schmar
Did anybody watch this? I understand Vlad went 1-4, Frankie gave up nada y nada in two-thirds of an inning, Gagné walked one and struck out two, and Paulie ... well, Paulie was in the lineup, right?Aurilia To Cubs?
It just makes too much sense: Aurilia is a Solid Veteran Presence, he worked with Dusty in San Francisco, and he might -- read might -- do better facing NL pitchers he knows. Especially, he could prove useful as a reserve. The Cubs get him only if their number comes up before some other club thanks to the way DFAs work, but it's a nice thought.More Jimy Williams Speculation
The late thrashing handed to the Astros hasn't done anything for manager Jimy Williams' tenure. If anything, it's expected we may hear of his firing before play resumes on Friday.How Lowe Will We Go?
Arrive In The Third... suggests the Dodgers might want to pursue Red Sox "pitcher" Derek Lowe:I think there is one possible guy who might work for the Dodgers -- Derek Lowe. True, his stats are not good this year (5.57 ERA), but we are talking about a ground ball pitcher (3.39 ground ball to fly out ratio this year) with the worst defense in the major leagues behind him. Put him in a pitchers park with (arguably) the best defense in the majors behind him and things may well be different. Boston is frustrated with him (although his last outing was sharp, seven scoreless) and rumor has it would consider a trade, but the problem is they likely want pitching in return and the Dodgers really don't have any to spare right now.The problem I have with this move is his peripherals have collapsed over the last two years: his K/9 is now a lowly 4.42, his K/BB 1.12, down from 8.05 and 2.83 in 2001, respectively. These park-independent stats won't get better in Dodger Stadium -- well, facing a weak NL West they might, but we can't count on it. Essentially, for this to work his H/9 has to go down, that is, for the Dodgers to somehow turn him into Jamie Moyer or Tommy John. The Dodgers seem to have pulled this trick with Ishii, but Lowe might prove a tougher case: he's on pace for a career-high 18 home runs surrendered. Sometimes, you've just gotta take 'em behind the barn.
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