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Monday, August 29, 2005 |
The Moment Angels Fans Have All Been Waiting For
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First baseman Darin Erstad has not been told he will start in center field when the Angels play Oakland on Tuesday night, but the wheels for such a move — which would displace the struggling Steve Finley and clear first base for rookie Casey Kotchman — have been set in motion.I have no idea if this will actually work out to being a positive with regards to Erstad's bat, but as far as I'm concerned, Finley not starting in center has to be a good thing. You can imagine what Finley's reaction might be -- wait, the Times story won't leave you hanging on that one:Erstad was instructed by Manager Mike Scioscia before Sunday's game to extend the length of his long-toss routine so he can stretch out his arm in preparation for a move. Erstad played long-toss with his outfield glove.
Asked how quickly he could make the transition, Erstad, who won Gold Glove awards as an outfielder in 2000 and 2002, said, "I don't know … we'll find out. I've done it before, and it hasn't been that big of a deal to switch."
Finley, who is batting .215 with nine home runs and 48 runs batted in and is in the first year of a two-year, $14-million contract, says he has no intention of retiring after this season, and he's convinced age has nothing to do with his struggles.At your age, Steve, that "click" is a back spasm, or a ruptured disc."You just don't go from what I did last year [.271, 36 homers, 94 RBIs] to this year," Finley, 40, said. "I feel terrible that I've let everyone down. … But I feel healthy and have complete confidence in my abilities. I'm just waiting for that one click."
Comments:
Well, let's wait and see if they really do it. The story (in a part Rob did not quote) also noted that Erstad could move to left, in which case Finley would still be playing (and Anderson would be DH).
And even moving Erstad to any outfield spot is not yet assured, though it does appear as though something is up.
We'll have a better idea in just over 24 hours.
And even moving Erstad to any outfield spot is not yet assured, though it does appear as though something is up.
We'll have a better idea in just over 24 hours.
# posted by 
: 8/29/2005 02:42:00 PM
: 8/29/2005 02:42:00 PM
Well, I thought I covered that here. I thought it was pretty well known that left was an open possibility. But given that means abandoning Rivera's productive bat in left, I can't believe this is a direction Stoneman or Scioscia want to proceed in.
if your going to have both finley and erstad in the OF, why would erstad be the one in LF? Or should i ask mike scoiscia
# posted by : 8/29/2005 04:03:00 PM
: 8/29/2005 04:03:00 PM
Might be that it's Erstad in LF and Figgins in CF - again for Anderson to DH and Kotchman to 1B - all of which would make sense.
Or then it's a Kotchman/Quinlan/Rivera platoon of some sort.
Or then it's a Kotchman/Quinlan/Rivera platoon of some sort.
# posted by : 8/29/2005 05:33:00 PM
: 8/29/2005 05:33:00 PM
best bet erstad in center casey at first and figgins at third whith possible qulian playing first with a lefty pitching. as far as finley he will be back next year he is a good ball player he has to much pride to give up now you young guys out there think 40 is old 40 is just a number mark my words finley will be back
# posted by : 8/29/2005 06:27:00 PM
: 8/29/2005 06:27:00 PM
If he is, it'll be with a different team. This is an age-related decline, and I don't think any amount of offseason pushups will make a difference.
This will only be productive for the team if Erstad can return to CF calibur. It may take him a few games to get re-adjusted to well struck balls with some serious spin coming his way. I still think Finley has some pop in the bat, he will be an above average pinch hitter. - muh 2 cents
# posted by : 8/30/2005 12:45:00 AM
: 8/30/2005 12:45:00 AMNewer› ‹Older
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