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Sunday, August 01, 2004 |
Trades, Trades, Go Away
Lost in the sulphurous smoke left behind by DePo's Dodger-splosion is the fact that the A's made no moves for the first time in three years. The Giants made only one move of limited consequence, trading reliever Felix Rodriguez and his 9.9 VORP to the Phils, in exchange for Ricky Ledee, and his towering 13.4 VORP. Practically a wash, but when you consider Ledee's projected 15.3 VORP, he's on a tear, versus F-Rod's 22.3 90th percentile VORP, you realize that -- yup -- the Phils got snookered on this deal, insignficant as it is. This makes the Giants a better team, but not by enough to get them past the Padres.
Over and over again, we hear how the Dodger bullpen is worse without Mota. Does anybody think that Alvarez could take over Mota's job? Or do they just not bother to follow the dots that somebody might get kicked out of the rotation with a new starting pitcher?
Comments:
I'm not sure what you mean, Tommy.
The Marlins miss Pudge very much. So much so, that they overpaid for his ghost, in the form of Paul LoDuca. Paulie is many things, but a power-hitting catcher who can contribute strongly in the second half is not one of those things.
My initial reaction to these trades was positive, tempered by Saturday night's loss. But Sunday's victory showed we can win close games minus Mota. All that has to happen is for Tracy to get a little creative. And remember that Alvarez wasn't available from the bullpen on Saturday night because of his Thursday start in Colorado. But used judiciously, I see no reason why he can't absorb Mota's innings and be successful -- maybe not as successful as Mota would have been, but better than, say, Dreifort.
The Marlins miss Pudge very much. So much so, that they overpaid for his ghost, in the form of Paul LoDuca. Paulie is many things, but a power-hitting catcher who can contribute strongly in the second half is not one of those things.
My initial reaction to these trades was positive, tempered by Saturday night's loss. But Sunday's victory showed we can win close games minus Mota. All that has to happen is for Tracy to get a little creative. And remember that Alvarez wasn't available from the bullpen on Saturday night because of his Thursday start in Colorado. But used judiciously, I see no reason why he can't absorb Mota's innings and be successful -- maybe not as successful as Mota would have been, but better than, say, Dreifort.
Depo was on the radio today and said that there was no way to make the trade without Lo Duca AND Mota. It was the only trade that made sense for both sides.
# posted by 
: 8/02/2004 04:51:00 PM
: 8/02/2004 04:51:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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