6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: These Rumors Aren't On Ice

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Wednesday, November 10, 2004

These Rumors Aren't On Ice

Hockey's locked out, so now we have armies of bored sportwriters mumbling stuff about this trade or that trade that doesn't make sense. Forthwith, a few such:

Shawn Green For Mike Piazza: Mike's old, he's a catcher, worn out, has no versatility (can't even play first base), and might be able to play every third day. So the Dodgers end up paying for a starting player when all they get is a power-hitting DH -- which doesn't help them. Any such trade is about the PTBNLs or "minor leaguers" the Dodgers would get in return. Meantime, Green's 2004 second half was substantially better than his first half (and I'd be tempted to say, all of his 2003). Smell-o-meter: purest BS.
Randy Johnson to Anybody Else: Until today, I would have laughed this one off, but for a change, Ken Rosenthal names names, in particular quoting agent Alan Nero, who says
He wants to achieve milestones that very few pitchers in the history of the game have had a chance of achieving. I don't think he fits into a rebuilding situation with any club. My feeling is that it would be best for everyone to focus on what is important to Randy. And what was important to Randy seven months ago hasn't changed.
Which, translated, means that somebody -- not necessarily the Yankees -- has the stuff to pick up Johnson. Most of the Yankees best prospects are still in the low minors; last year's top prospect, Dioner Navarro, dropped four places to fifth, when he "came in overweight and lost some bat speed". But the 2004/2005 free agency pitching crop is full of starters who are past their prime (Pedro Martinez, Woody Williams), injury risks (Pavano, Lieber), or inconsistent (Odalis Perez, Derek Lowe, Matt Clement), which means somebody could overpay to remove one last good season from the Big Unit. Smell-o-meter: more plausible than it was yesterday, but don't get your hopes up, Angel fans -- or especially, Yankee fans.
Troy Glaus to Boston: Only in the alt-universe where Theo Epstein is a total moron and picks up the insane five-year, $60M contract Glaus is purported to seek does this make sense. I can't see Theo paying top dollar for a guy who might -- or might not -- have what it takes to smack homers over the Green Monster reliably, let alone play third capably. Smell-o-meter: BS, again. Like Nomar, Troy is going to have to prove he can stay healthy for a full season and will need to take fewer years at fewer dollars -- and it won't be with the Sox.
Jeromy Burnitz to Anaheim: I guess Stoneman is supposed to forget that Burnitz hit his 37 homers in Colorado, where you can just reach up and touch the Space Shuttle from the cheap seats. Smell-o-meter: stinky cow heiny.