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Saturday, April 02, 2005 |
Pickoff Moves
OT: Popeless
The Vatican has announced the death of Karol Jozef Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II. Of course, the networks, who have negotiated rooftop rights going back ten years partly in anticipation of this day, now get to finally use those deals. (Frankly, the other Rooftop Report is a better deal, and more often used, to boot.)At least the chronic death watch TV from the last couple weeks is over. I openly wonder now whether one of the networks won't get the bright idea to have a televised celebrity dead pool following the kinds that have been on the Internet for so long.
He'll be remembered for helping to take out Communism. Whatever other arguments I may have had with his religion and dogma, for that alone his greatness is assured. The Cardinals -- not the St. Louis or Phoenix teams -- know what to do. Requiescat in pace.
Dodgers DL Gagne
Yow. I'm not at all shy to suggest he shouldn't have been trying to monkey with his mechanics in the first place; just like Mark Prior last year, arm troubles morph into leg troubles and vice versa. Will Carroll naturally has something to say:Eric Gagne starts the season on the DL, not for his knee as expected, but due to elbow pain. This is likely related to the knee, in that Gagne significantly altered his mechanics to protect the knee. The stress gets transferred somewhere and it may be that it was Gagne's elbow. The pain is described as "over the drill holes" by Paul DePodesta, pointing to the points where Gagne had a new ligament installed almost a decade ago during Tommy John. Gagne is well past the "honeymoon" period on that ligament, so watch his response closely. Gagne is not only going to have to heal, he's going to have to figure out the mechanics again. Now's the time to grab Yhency Brazoban in your fantasy league.I'm quite certain this isn't terrible in the prep-him-for-surgery-stat kind of way it can end up sometimes, but then, Prior's leg troubles last year weren't thought to be major, either. Just because it's called a "sprain" doesn't mean he won't be out for a couple months with ancilliary problems.
Cap'n Happy's Back Back In Trouble
Former Dodger Kevin "Cap'n Happy" Brown had his back act up on him again during a spring training game in which he gave up four runs in three innings. Brown will now be replaced in Friday's start against the Orioles, by Jaret Wright.A's Sign Four-Year Deal With Rich Harden
Oakland signed a 4 year/$9M contract with Rich Harden. The A's are also having similar discussions with shortstop Bobby Crosby. Crosby got hit hard by a pitch in an exhibition game Thursday, but X-rays came back negative.Angels, Anaheim Talk Turkey
... "but sources on both sides indicated no deal was imminent."Jeff Weaver: Jered Still Has Hopes
According to the Times story above, Jered Weaver "still wants things to work out" between him and the Angels. Kinda late for that, but I wouldn't be surprised either way.My Shortstop Is A Super Citizen At Nosebleed Elementary
Maicer Izturis won the Fred Haney Memorial Award for his hot spring training numbers (.339/.456/.534), but what he really wants is a job on the 25-man roster. If he makes the team, he's got a standing offer to stay with his half-brother Cesar.Morales Playing In The Dominican
Kendry Morales is playing games in the Dominican at the Angels' training facility there while he awaits his U.S. visa. He's (re-?) learning third base while there, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise. I doubt Dallas McPherson has much to worry about, but it should prove a cautionary tale: depth becomes regular playing time. Just ask Chone Figgins.Angels 8, Dodgers 3
Too bad I missed this one. It sounds pretty wild with Wash giving up three but the Angels coming back on a pair of botched 1-2-3 double plays by Paul Bako. Is anything going right for the Dodgers?Angels Set Spring Training Attendance Record
The Angels set a spring training attendance record, according to the Arizona Republic. 106,690 saw the Angels play in 15 spring training games, an increase over last year's 106,351 in 16 games, itself a record. Tempe Diablo will get $20M in renovations for next year. (Hopefully that includes seating upgrades.)More Projections
- The AP likes the Dodgers and Angels to win their respective divisions.
- In the Times, Tim Brown projects the Angels will take their division.
- Joe Sheehan likes the Blue to win the division. I'm going to admit it right now: I really like to hear this comment coming from him after an offseason where some of the saber-guys have gone overboard with the hero worship for DePo:
Despite the tons of column inches printed to the contrary, DePodesta has proven he can make substantial, positive changes midstream. He's not Walt Jocketty or Billy Beane just yet, but when he identifies the Dodgers' needs come July, he'll be able to make a deal that addresses them and makes them better. That's an important skill. The Dodgers will be the best team in baseball over the last two months of '05, and win the West going away.
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