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Sunday, August 15, 2004 |
Pickoff Moves
DePo Still Rates With Ex-Boss
Billy Beane backs up his former assistant despite uninformed criticism:"You think about a guy in his first year as GM, to have that kind of conviction and to do what he did, ultimately in the face of criticism, and to stand up to it all, that's the kind of guy you want leading your franchise, someone not following mass opinion."
Yankees Acquire Everyone, Etc.
Factoids galore in this New Jersey Star-Ledger article:- Cleveland is only one game out from the Twins? Ooh, Batgirl will not be pleased.
- Carlos Beltran wants to play with the Yankees (did you expect any New York-area paper to say something different?)
- Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro on DePo's Big Trades: "You've got to respect the courage and the conviction to make those moves that people don't understand right away."
- Finally, for the superstitious, El Ladrón switched back to a black glove for his last start -- and see what happened? It's el guante rojo, Bart...
How Werth Got Here
A nice story in the Springfield State Journal-Register about how Jayson Werth became a Dodger. "I felt pretty comfortable when they traded me to L.A., knowing what was going on over here and what they had.""I thought when we acquired him, there was no doubt in my mind that he could be a platoon outfielder and play all three outfield positions. And I also thought that he had a very legitimate chance to be a very good everyday player," [DePodesta said]."The downside I thought on him was very, very limited. I really thought he'd be a good platoon guy. I thought the upside on him was enormous. What he's done so far this year I think has even exceeded my expectations for him."
Snakes Headed For A Bad Place
Arizona Diamondbacks record since Al Pedrique took over: 7-33Arizona Diamondbacks record since Finley trade: 2-10
Helen made a good point last night: the Snakes had a .311 WPCT (33-73) as of the trade deadline, but they now have a 35-83 record, for a .297 WPCT. That translates to a 48-114 record, but if they keep playing they way they have since August 1 (2-10, .200 WPCT), they might actually end up with a record of 44-118, for a major league record all-time worst. Let's say they'll be motivated down the stretch.
Two Teams, Two Roads
A good article in the Sacramento Bee about the Giants and A's approach to player acquisition.Newhan Bullet Points
From today's Ross Newhan column:- Darren Dreifort has been experiencing "hip discomfort". Dear God, no.
- The Angels and Dodgers, along with both New York teams, apparently are siding with Baltimore owner Peter Angelos against Expos relocation to Washington, on the grounds that a 2000 MLB study suggested that both New York and Los Angeles could support third teams, and they'd just as soon such a precedent not get set.
- Jeff Moorad, new Snakes GM, faces "allegations by other agents that representatives of Moorad's firm have been guilty of stealing clients". Thanks in part to Moorad, Arizona has a whopping $170M in deferred payroll obligations. But, fans of the Blue can thank their lucky stars that the man who convinced the Dodgers to shell out $16M/year in 2004 and 2005 for Shawn Green will no longer be hawking his questionable goods.
Angels Bullets
Again from the Times:- A clarification about the earlier blowup about Guillen failing to attend an all-hands meeting:
"That day in Texas, I was just kind of playing around," said Guillen, giving his side of the story for the first time. "I didn't even talk to one of those [reporters]. They heard me say something and they blew it up the next day like I was not in the meeting. I was the first one there."
- Also in that article, the Angels signed 18th round pick, 3B Mark Trumbo for a signing bonus of $1.425 million, a huge bonus for someone taken so low in the draft. This Daily News article says Angels scouts liken Trumbo to Troy Glaus, and believe he fell as low as he did because everyone expected him to play football at USC. Bane may have snagged another good gamble.
- Wash finally says he isn't feeling discomfort in his ribcage after a session of catch. He'll throw again on consecutive days starting Monday.
Comments:
"But fans of the Blue can thank their lucky stars that the man who convinced the Dodgers to shell out $16M/year in 2004 and 2005 for Shawn Green will no longer be hawking his questionable goods."
Except, of course, that he'll now be hawking them as CEO. But at least Dodger fans won't have to worry anymore as long-term trades with the Dodgers won't happen.
The Finley record is probably one of those flukes of scheduling/randomness (plus, let's not forget that Luis Gonzalez left the lineup one game later). The Pedrique thing is more worrisome because there were basically two reasons for firing Brenly and hiring Pedrique. 1) The team needed a change. It's sort of hard to argue for or against this point. 2) Pedrique would be much better at handling the young squad since he managed most of them at Tucson. But it's been hard to see any progress in the young team since Pedrique's promotion. He was probably a short-timer when he was selected as interim manager, but the club has done absolutely nothing to make anybody change their mind about that.
Except, of course, that he'll now be hawking them as CEO. But at least Dodger fans won't have to worry anymore as long-term trades with the Dodgers won't happen.
The Finley record is probably one of those flukes of scheduling/randomness (plus, let's not forget that Luis Gonzalez left the lineup one game later). The Pedrique thing is more worrisome because there were basically two reasons for firing Brenly and hiring Pedrique. 1) The team needed a change. It's sort of hard to argue for or against this point. 2) Pedrique would be much better at handling the young squad since he managed most of them at Tucson. But it's been hard to see any progress in the young team since Pedrique's promotion. He was probably a short-timer when he was selected as interim manager, but the club has done absolutely nothing to make anybody change their mind about that.
The great thing is that now with DePo we don't have to worry too much about getting hoodwinked by other GM's.
mattkew
mattkew
# posted by 
: 8/15/2004 11:31:00 AM
: 8/15/2004 11:31:00 AM
Derek -- so, what does Bobby Cox's comment, "The Dodgers are putting all kinds of pieces together there real quick. Believe me, they know what they're doing" translate to? Is he, also, involved in ideological ass-covering?
"then he is a fool, as most thought he was at the time of the trade."
It's not DePo's fault that most people aren't particularly well educated in how baseball really works, instead just regurgitating the myths that they learned off TV "analysts" and what their dad/coaches taught them as kids.
mattkew
It's not DePo's fault that most people aren't particularly well educated in how baseball really works, instead just regurgitating the myths that they learned off TV "analysts" and what their dad/coaches taught them as kids.
mattkew
# posted by : 8/16/2004 12:07:00 PM
: 8/16/2004 12:07:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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