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Wednesday, August 31, 2005 |
Idiocy In Anaheim
Unbelievably, Bill Stoneman thinks this crippled team has what it takes down the stretch:
"The talent is here," said General Manager Bill Stoneman tightly before the game. "The production has to happen."Not if you overestimated that talent in the first place, Bill. Finley: done. Anderson: aging, cursed with chronic medical conditions hampering his production, and signed for too long. McPherson: a rookie, and also coming with his own chronic medical conditions, we learn. Juan Rivera: a nice bench guy, but hardly a starter. Chone Figgins: an inconsistent bat and with too low an OBP to use as a leadoff man. Francisco Rodriguez: untested in the closer role, and it looks like he can't handle the whole season there. Donnelly: declining, badly. Shields: overworked, because instead of getting more quality bullpen guys, Stoneman went out and got a mediocrity like Esteban Yan (and now followed up by a certifiable piece of junk like Jason Christiansen). When the offense predictably stumbled in the second half and four-run leads became scarce, the responsibility for sealing those deals fell upon an overtaxed bullpen.
"He was a guy who was available," effused Stoneman of lefty Jason Christiansen.He was available for a reason! What idiocy. What BS.
Update: Speaking of second-order effects blindness:
"It can't hurt us," setup man Scot Shields said. "We feel like we're pitching a little better, but hopefully he can come in and get out some of the left-handers we haven't been able to get out. It's a good addition."What? Of course it can hurt you. Imagine -- and this really takes only a very little imagination -- what that means to your workload if they get someone who can't get out tough lefties. One more call to Scot Shields. One more call to Frankie. One more call to -- oops, I ran out of names.
Update 2: The one possible excuse Stoneman has for this: Bergman would have been a six-year minor league free agent at the end of the year, anyway.
Comments:
Well, Matt, Dallas was something of a gamble; he hasn't really established himself at the major league level, and his strikeouts have increased at every level. Sure, he hit all those juicy home runs, but so did Jack Cust, whose 32-HR 1999 Cal League season should also serve as a cautionary tale for those ready to assign the starting shortstop job to Brandon Wood.
All that said, there's a nonzero chance McPherson will be even better than advertised. If he's been hiding a bone spur in the minors for some time (which seems possible -- he had back issues even then), this could be a huge blessing in disguise.
Wait and see.
That said, I can't wait to see spring training.
Wait and see.
That said, I can't wait to see spring training.
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