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Sunday, October 02, 2005 |
Pickoff Moves, One Day Left Edition
One day left of the regular season, that is.
The Dodgers Blogosphere Frets Over Tracy
Well, I suppose it's true if you also count Rich Lederer's Baseball Analysts as an extended part of that scene; today, he channels The Clash in asking the not-rhetorical-anymore question, "Should He Stay Or Should He Go?" It's especially important now that it appears the Dodgers are looking to advance the decision to Tuesday, and have narrowed the choices to two: extend Tracy or evict him. The third choice would be to let him stay without another extension, a possibility the Times dismisses today asincreasingly unlikely, in part because the Dodgers don't believe Tracy will back off his demand easily. It also would require Tracy to forfeit his seven-day opt-out clause.Jon's already called out Tracy on his very public gamble that would, if successful, vault him to de facto assistant general manager, with veto power over the team's player acquisition decisions. If, as Jon writes, Tracy makes this gamble knowing he won't be offered an extension, there simply cannot be any club in baseball that would take him in, and he deserves it. Some of us -- I certainly did -- thought Tracy showed some basic class by shaking the hands of his opponents on the last game of the year in 2004. Today erased all that and more, marking him a petty, stubborn man with a passive/aggressive streak ninety feet long. Time to go, Jim.
He Kent Take It Anymore
Another 90-loss season and Jeff Kent's gone. Or maybe if the offseason rebuild doesn't pass muster, Kent's gone. Maybe:He will pass judgment because time is running out for him to win a World Series. He will be 38 in March and can't stand the thought of enduring another 90-loss debacle.If the rebuilding passes muster, he'll report to spring training and prepare in his typically austere manner. If it doesn't, he'll let the front office know, and maybe he'll ask to be traded to a team that has a plan and a prayer of winning.
Kent won't disclose what he thinks the Dodgers need to do. He's mindful of a player's place in the pecking order. He's respectful of ownership and the front office and has a healthy appreciation for the task at hand.
..
"I've got a lot to think about," Kent said. "I've got faith in the people making the decisions and I'll just wait and see."
Angels Make Final Postseason Pitching Adjustments
The Times reports Jarrod Washburn may appear in the bullpen again, as if Scioscia forgot the terrible results of that last year.There was a long pause when Washburn was asked if he would be upset if he was bumped to the bullpen.I apparently incorrectly figured Washburn would be the fifth guy back on Thursday, but this makes it sound like he's dropped even further down on the team's depth chart. I just have to believe this show of no-faith predicts a laurel and hearty handshake after the season's over."Yes," Washburn said, "but I wouldn't cause any distractions, because that's the last thing they need going into the playoffs."
Kevin Gregg will make the team and Esteban Yan won't after Yan gave up a three-run dinger to Alfonso Soriano yesterday.
Races
The only movement since I last posted on this was the NL Wildcard race, and even then, nothing changed. Houston beat the Cubs 3-1, and Philly beat Washington 8-4, so neither team advanced. Philly's elimination number from the Wild Card is one, meaning the best they can hope for is a loss by Houston and a victory by Philly; in that event, a one-game tiebreaker would be played in Philadelphia.Yo Soy Un Perdidor: Dodgers 2, Padres 1
Well, at least the Dodgers en masse are losers; the team won yesterday, but it's not much in the way convincing the likes of Jeff Kent to stay. Not that Kent was in the lineup anyway, as he got the day off. The good news: an excellent outing by Jackson, in some ways his best this year, going five innings using only 72 pitches while allowing only one run on three hits, walking one. The rest of the relief corps held down a lineup that looked startlingly like the one the Pads will take into the postseason. Padres fans, let me tell you from experience: the pain will be brief.Auditions: Angels 7, Rangers 6
As mentioned above, this game was principally important for its effect on home field advantage, and also to decide who to cut from the postseason roster. Esteban Yan came up wanting, but what surprised me was how bad Texas starter Juan Dominguez looked after his excellent performance against the A's only last Sunday. Maybe it's their damned and damnable stadium.
Comments:
When I look at the accomplishments of McCourt/Depo and compare them to the accomplishments of Jim Tracy, its clear to see who has to go.
Funny, I reached the exact opposite conclusion you did.
Funny, I reached the exact opposite conclusion you did.
# posted by 
: 10/02/2005 02:20:00 PM
: 10/02/2005 02:20:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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