Tuesday, January 04, 2005 |
Pickoff Moves
Frank, Arte: Trade Teams
Bob Keisser of the Long Beach Press-Telegram suggests that the real offseason trade should be ownership of the Dodgers and Angels:Angels owner Arte Moreno and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt should simply trade teams.Moreno picks up his entire team and front office and moves them to Los Angeles. Garret Anderson, Vladimir Guerrero and Darin Erstad become Los Angeles Dodgers and play in the finest traditional ballpark in the business.
Moreno wants a team with the name Los Angeles, so much so that Monday he announced his team will now be known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a clear spur in the pantyhose of Anaheim politicians and community leaders. But it makes all the business sense in the world for a proactive owner who wants to win on and off the field.
Dodger fans want nothing less. Franchise history demands it, and a soft, passive Dodgers team isn't good for baseball. Despite last season's divisional title big props for the pitchers in Arizona and Colorado the Dodgers need Levitra. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will take his current team to Anaheim, call them the Anaheim Angels, and position them as the rhinestone of low-budget baseball.
...
McCourt bought the team on credit, and only did so because he promised baseball commissioner Bud Selig, the Saddam Hussein of sports, that he would operate them like a small-market team. McCourt's bluster is big, but everything he's done is comparable to what we've seen in Oakland, Minnesota, Florida, Pittsburgh and Montreal.
He's slashed stadium operations. He's raised the price of everything, from tickets to churros, and is working toward a goal of having a mini-payroll by 2006 when the first of his loans come due.
Selig Approves Green Trade, Other Modifications
Bud Selig approved the Green trade yesterday, says the AP. The Times further adds that the Diamondbacks now have 72 hours to work out an extension with his agent, Greg Genske. Other changes:- David Ross "isn't expected to play every day".
- "Against left-handed pitching, Antonio Perez would play third base in place of Valentin or second base, with Kent sliding over to first and Choi sitting."
- Perez is now the Dodgers' primary free agent target, as free agent Derek Lowe is considered too expensive.
- DePodesta on 2005's competitiveness:
Our expectations are such that we are not going to let anything get in the way of winning now. But we also know we want to build this organization back into what it once was, where it is just a perennial powerhouse. In order to get there you have to make some very difficult decisions in the short term.
- DePo on the upheaval this offseason:
We know our fans don't want to see different faces out there every year. And quite frankly, we don't want to have to go through the process of having to reinvent the wheel every year, either. We are going to go through some short-term turnover in order to create long-term stability.
Does anybody believe that, having learned at the hand of the trademaster, Billy Beane?
Sturtze, Yanks Agree To One Year Deal
Former Dodger prospect Tanyon Sturtze and the Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $1M deal, according to the AP.Wine, Women, And Song -- Two Outta Three Oughta Be Plenty
This guy claimed he's resigning from the Angels in whatever position at Anaheim Stadium because the name change amounts to a prostitution of the franchise. Jeez, cheaper beer and prostitutes? You just can't make some folks happy...
" If the Dodgers' most recent deal goes through, only two of the nine starters from LA's 2004 Opening Day lineup will still be with the team.
In less than a year, DePodesta has facilitated the departures of third baseman Adrian Beltre, set-up man Guillermo Mota, outfielders Dave Roberts, Juan Encarnacion, Green and Steve Finley, second baseman Alex Cora, infielder Jose Hernandez, pitchers Jose Lima, Hideo Nomo, Mike Venafro, Paul Shuey, Tom Martin and Scott Stewart and catchers Paul Lo Duca, Todd Hundley and Tom Wilson. "
You expect change with a new owner, but that's pretty amazing. Were all those guys absolutely essential? Of course not. Stuff happens.
But that's a pretty hefty roll over, and when you look at what the team has gotten in return ... let alone prospects for the coming season.
Maybe we'll all be surprised. But somehow, I think the Owner Trade may be the most logical thing I've heard yet.
: 1/04/2005 01:18:00 PMMan... I could write a book there. The only losses I think were arguable were Beltre and Mota, and Mota, post-trade, promptly fell apart in Florida. I've already gone over whether the Dodgers should have signed Beltre (and whether they got a better deal in J. D. Drew), but overall, I'm not sure these losses amount to a serious problem. The goal generally should be getting to (1) good and (2) cheap, if possible, because you can then buy more of good if you need it on the free agent market. Lo Duca? An aging and increasingly expensive catcher with big second-half fades. Encarnacion? A no-OBP corner outfielder minus the kind of SLG that makes you want to keep him there. Nomo? Career over. Venafro? Career never really started. And so on. Most of that list consists of has-beens or never-was's. I can live without them provided the Dodgers manage to win. The scary part about DePodesta, to me, is that he seems to have these baroque trades set up in his head as though they were completed -- and then the bottom drops out.
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