Monday, May 16, 2005 |
FJT Pens A Winner
Weaver's loss of velocity is news to me, though I confess I don't necessarily pay attention, so I greet any such claims with the enthusiastic embrace of a newborn to the nipple. But OP's failures are likely just part of his long downward spiral from his career year of 2002. Forget it -- that's in the rearview.
No, DePo's real "gamble" was that he was about to get any genuine starter of quality in the offseason. His big signing, Lowe, came with an overhigh pricetag, but there Tom Meagher rode to DePodesta's defense, claiming he might be a "very, very shrewd" acquisition based on park effects. Whether that happens or not, I still believe DePodesta was caught in the offseason with a number of less-than-complete strategies for building the team; some of these manifested themselves by overpaying for guys with diffident track records (Drew, Lowe). Where he redeemed himself was in his refusal to get involved in a bidding war for the now reverting-to-his-former-crappy-self Adrian Beltre (a move I at first violently opposed but later recharacterized as the natural consequence of that refusal).
Agreed about Penny's injury possibly still malingering around, and affecting him through the Cardinals and Marlins series. The pig in the poke continues to bedevil even the most dedicated observers.
DePodesta, surprisingly, has half a bench and a half a bullpen; last year, the team's depth was its strength. This year, Tracy gets to reach back for ... Jason Grabowski as a pinch hitter? No thanks. The extended slump is real. The Dodgers problems' are real. That this is a flawed team should not be a surprise; that this is a flawed team where so much has gone wrong on the bench, is.
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