Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the
Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.
Monday, August 08, 2005 |
Pickoff Moves, Lunchtime Edition
Scary Campfire Story
First time I've heard of this: Randy Youngman of the Register tells us a horror story:With first baseman Darin Erstad signed through 2006 and likely to be offered an extension this winter, Kotchman probably is the most expendable prospect in the Angels farm system.... and some say he is living in these woods to this very day. The End.Or was until this weekend.
UTK Quick Hits
From today's UTK:- Carroll says Giants closer Armando Benitez should be back with the team next week.
- Former Angel Jose Guillen "is suspected of having a torn rotator cuff and will have Dr. Andrews check it out" at ASMOC. As good as Guillen can be at the plate, if it is a damaged rotator cuff, the Angels dodged a bullet on this one, albeit unknowingly.
- It's not much consolation to the Dodgers, who have yet to satisfactorily solve the spot behind the dish, but Paul LoDuca will miss some additional time (though not on the DL) with a strained hamstring.
- Carroll thinks Kirk Rueter will be back in August but not in the rotation after his gouty toe has mended.
David Pinto Plays Angels GM
A brief piece, something we've all thought about for a while:Casey Kotchman gets another start as Erstad recovers from a an inflamed right hip, and it pays off for the Angels. He's driven in five of the six Angels runs today with two home runs, one a grand slam. I'd like to see Erstad move back to center when he gets back and Finley move to the bench. Keep Kotchman at first!I'm pretty sure that Erstad could handle one season at center and he'd be done for his career. Figgins is now a better alternative and one likely to stay healthier. A Figgins/Erstad platoon in center could be workable; looking at Finley's contract as a sunk cost, I'd suggest gently that the early season injury excuse could be legit, but he gets two months next year to show so, and if not, out he goes. Finley's claims of being historically a second-half performer don't cut it; he's only very slightly (by ten points) better in the second half than in the first half, with his career best month being May.
Comments:
The big question is whether Erstad would be anywhere near as good as he used to be out in center. I seem to recall the Angels recently putting a definitive kibosh on him at that position, but if they get all Darwinist on us, why not let him wreck himself in center and destroy his resale value? The Angels shouldn't care, but Stoneman has shown some concern in those matters, though there are the precedents of the released Shawn Wooten and Brad Fullmer (remember them?). Use Kevin Appier if you need a higher-dollar-value contract, but I imagine Arte's loathe to make that move again.
Oh, as for the Yanks; the way things are going now, I imagine they'll stick with Bubba Crosby in center or some other replacement level character. Bernie Williams became expendable last year whether he knew it or not, and they proved it by not picking up his option.
I have felt for awhile that Erstad was going to be inevitiably moved back to CF (likely when Kotchman was planned on being up in the bigs...such as in 2006). This would make perfect sense (and would even legitimize the Finley contract where they may have wanted someone that could DH 2006 and play CF if Erstad gets hurt). Of course, the contract that throws all this early planning off (as always) is the fact that they signed OC for so many years.
Not sure why OC makes a difference here, unless you're considering putting Erstad in center for more than the duration of his current contract. The thinking in the Stoneman brain trust seems to be leaning in the direction of converting one of the middle infielders currently bumping their heads against both AK and O-Cab to centerfield. Left field wouldn't be a bad place to put somebody like, say, Brandon Wood, especially if you think Anderson's unlikely to perform in the DH role on a regular basis (he's declining scary fast this year).
My thought was that if Erstad moved to CF, then Figgins would have likely moved to SS next season (assuming Dallas and Casey panned out). Picking up OC for so many years theoretically forces Figgins to be thought of only as an injury replacement, a DH, or an age replacement (namely Finley or GA). If Eckstein was on the team for one more year (which was plausible at the time), it would have put Figgy at 2nd till AK came back (like he did) and as an insurance policy and then juggle him around the rest of 05 (which has happened) and then let Eckstein walk the next year (2006)while Figgy holds SS for those young guys. Figgy then could move to CF or LF (or 3B if Dallas doesn't pan out or 2B if AK is gone after next year). Instead (because of OC's contract), Figgy is likely to just be as a roving insurance policy for another season.
Newer› ‹Older
 |
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.