Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the
Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.
Friday, April 21, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Chris Donnels LAN b. 1966, played 2000-2001Bert Hogg BRO b. 1913, played 1934, d. 1973-11-05
Jesse Orosco LAN b. 1957, played 1988-2002
Stan Rojek BRO b. 1919, played 1942-1947, d. 1997-07-09
Germany Smith BRO b. 1863, played 1890-1897, d. 1927-12-01
OT: My Aim Is Tru: A One-Graf Review Of Capote
What a brilliant performance. And what a revolting man. Thank you, Bennett Miller, I'm going to run down to the stainless steel collar store and the gun shop now.Growing Pains: Angels 6, Twins 4
With the Angels' still frustratingly sloppy play over the last few games, they at least needed a win that didn't feature crooked numbers in the "E" column, the better to keep their normally steady manager from calling the team out in the papers. They got it, though it required the offensive services of Jose Molina to help out. And indeed, his clutch two-out hit in the eighth was the big difference in the game:
WPA graph courtesy of Dave Appelman and fangraphs.com.
Frankie got a 1.1 IP save despite allowing a baserunner. Vlad's appalling lack of power continues. One wonders if he isn't nursing an injury, or at 30, merely declining.
Roster Notes
- Is it a good thing or a bad thing when they start talking about disabling Rivera and/or Salmon?
"Well, you know, we're getting on four days, five days," manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think obviously if (Salmon) is not going to be ready in a reasonable amount of time we're going to have to do something, because with both Tim and Juan down it really impacts what we need to do in ballgames."
The logical callups would be Howie Kendrick or Kendry Morales, and I'd have to think Kendrick before Morales, the former hitting .386/.407/.579 for the Bees, and the latter .236/.250/.309.Update: MLB Trade Rumors claims Izturis is being showcased so the Angels can make a trade, and thus bring up Kendrick so he can be... a bench player. Apparently nobody in Bizarro Universe bothers to notice that the Angels are short outfielders. Nah, doesn't make sense to me, either. (Hat tip to the Rev.)
- When Escobar starts talking to the press about how much money he's going to make after this season, well, doesn't it sound an awful lot like he's counting his health chickens before they've escaped the MRI machine?
- Cesar Izturis isn't sure whether he wants to play the outfield, and might just reject the idea outright, leading to a trade or release.
- Julio Franco became the oldest player to homer in baseball history when the 47-year-old took Padres reliever Scott Linebrink deep for a two-run blast.
- Worried about K-Rod's 6.75 ERA? How about Oakland übercloser Huston Street's 7.94 ERA?
- Speaking of Street, he had a slight muscle strain and missed a game — a save opportunity which Justin Duchscherer ultimately blew — but is expected to return to the lineup today.
Update: Or not. Street will miss today's game for sure, and may miss others. The A's are being very conservative with him.
- The Giants have activated closer Armando Benitez.
Forbes' Franchise Valuations
Forbes has a sortable franchise valuation page available, and damned if sorting by debt doesn't show the Dodgers the most indebted, and the Angels among the least. What's impressive is the Angels franchise is shown to be worth $368 million, while Arte bought the team in 2003 for only $184M. That's about doubling the club's value in less than three years.
Comments:
If Salmon and Juan both go down, why should Kendrick necessarily be a bench player? Isn't the obvious move to experiment with him as the team's standing DH for a couple of weeks?
And given the need for a reserve outfielder, I think the second callup should be Tommy Murphy before Morales. You can't argue with Murphy's outfield defense, he's a solid pinch runner, and since 2004 he's suddenly developed an ability to hit for average and power.
Knowing Scioscia's tendencies to go with the old hand, however, Pride will likely get the nod.
And given the need for a reserve outfielder, I think the second callup should be Tommy Murphy before Morales. You can't argue with Murphy's outfield defense, he's a solid pinch runner, and since 2004 he's suddenly developed an ability to hit for average and power.
Knowing Scioscia's tendencies to go with the old hand, however, Pride will likely get the nod.
# posted by 
: 4/21/2006 04:39:00 PM
: 4/21/2006 04:39:00 PM
Newer› ‹Older
 |
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.