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Friday, August 06, 2004 |
Pickoff Moves
Again, a case where I should have punched the clock on a bunch of small stories. Not a big surprise by any means -- it's what happens when you get too eager to push the "Publish" button.
More Across The Blogosphere On DePo's Trade
I was about to say that I should probably stop forwarding these because they're all beginning to sound alike -- except that they're not. Folks, DePodesta's midterm seems to be the trade everyone's talking about. First, "tomorrow" finally arrives at U.S.S. Mariner, and they thump the tires on DePo's trade deal. They're a little underwhelmed compared to some others (one of which we'll get to in a moment), but they're still upbeat:LA gets a starter in Brad Penny who is pitching well but with mediocre peripherals and is a decent injury risk. Despite that, he's now their best starter and the best player in the deal. Choi gives them power and patience.... I don't think they dramatically improved this year, as some make it seem. They did improve their future without degrading the team too much today, so it's a good deal for LA. But it's not a homerun.On the Finley trade:
Finley, at 39 years old, is still a good player, but not one Arizona needed. Murphy's an overrated prospect who gets more mention because of his mentions in Moneyball than he should. He's got mediocre stuff and average command and profiles as a 4th starter. Hill's a backup catcher on a real team, though he can start for Arizona right now. Abercrombie is the biggest joke of a "top prospect" we've seen in ten years. Pretty much all rational observers, even his biggest fans, have given up on him. He'll be available in the Rule 5 draft this fall if anyone wants him.Whew. Steaming stuff. Over at Hardball Times, two articles, one about the trade directly by Vinay Kumar. Despite some omissions and slightly misleading charts, Kumar's unqualifiedly enthusiastic:
[DePodesta] could quickly make the Dodgers one of the elite teams in the National League. Paul DePodesta may not currently be the most popular man in LA, but given time, that will change. DePodesta is building a monster.Also in Hardball Times, Larry Mahnken uses negative coverage of the trade as a springboard to discuss the poor job the media's done analyzing it:
The new meme is that sabermetrics ignores chemistry, that sabermetrics dehumanizes baseball. Exhibit A: the Dodgers' trade of their "heart and soul," Paul Lo Duca, along with dominant reliever Guillermo Mota and rightfielder Juan Encarnacion to the Marlins for "platoon first baseman" Hee Seop Choi, "fifth starter" Brad Penny, and a prospect."When the public is underinformed, it's the media's job to step in and provide information," Mahnken says, but that implies that it's up to the country's sporting pages to address the inadequacies of the nation's primary schools. Stephen Hawking wrote in the acknowlegements of A Brief History of Time, "Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales." Knowing this, sportswriters picked their major, and chose anatomy over mathematics.The general view in the mainstream is that the Dodgers got fleeced, that this trade was only justifiable if they could grab Charles Johnson and Randy Johnson in related deals, which they didn't. And it doesn't make any sense. Unless you decide that chemistry is something that can be manifested in one or two players rather than an entire team.
How They Did It (So Far)
The Cards ripped up the preconceptions from last year, and have raced out to a huge and probably insurmountable lead in the NL Central. Brian Gunn at THT goes over how they did it, waxing lyric over the underratedness of defense (Alex Cora, call your agent), the joys of star players, the benefits of health, and dumb luck. We'll see these guys in September, and it'll be no picnic.Fessing Up
Jonah Kerry confesses his sin of picking the Snakes to win the NL West. Of course, Jon made the same prediction; my guess of the Padres doesn't look so horrible, but who knows how this crazy race will end.Seligula Votes Himself Emperor Indefinitely
Or something like that. Blah.Nomo, Jackson Status
Nomo will start pitching rehab assignments as early as next week, but will stay with the team when not pitching rehab. Jackson will have a bullpen session today. Nomo might also appear in the bullpen for the first time in his career once reinstated. Is that a good idea, though? I seem to recall he had problems with first innings...
Comments:
Rob;
I think the coaches are eminently more qualified to decide Nomo's and Jackson's fate, but my intuition tells me that Nomo certainly will be on the playoff roster as will Jackson if he's healthy. As I recall that roster must be set prior to the September roster expansion.
If I were Tracy I would be more concerned about an offenseively non productive lineup, as always, anchored (literally) by the 16 million dollar slug, which must have playoff caliber teams licking their chops for their left handed pitchers.
Rick
I think the coaches are eminently more qualified to decide Nomo's and Jackson's fate, but my intuition tells me that Nomo certainly will be on the playoff roster as will Jackson if he's healthy. As I recall that roster must be set prior to the September roster expansion.
If I were Tracy I would be more concerned about an offenseively non productive lineup, as always, anchored (literally) by the 16 million dollar slug, which must have playoff caliber teams licking their chops for their left handed pitchers.
Rick
# posted by 
: 8/06/2004 12:25:00 PM
: 8/06/2004 12:25:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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