Sunday, June 25, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
Don Demeter LAN,BRO b. 1935, played 1956, 1958-1961
Dick Drago CAL b. 1945, played 1976-1977
Alejandro Pena LAN b. 1959, played 1981-1989. The Dodgers got most of his good years, though he did have shoulder trouble in a Dodger uniform that kept him off the field in 1985; his 95 MPH fastball came back. The Dodgers traded him and Mike Marshall for Juan Samuel, a dubious proposition; Pena was in turn traded to the Braves in 1991, and contributed to their first postseason run since 1982. He retired in 1996.
Aaron Sele ANA b. 1970, played 2002-2004, All-Star: 1998, 2000. The guy Voros McCracken was once accused of being, Sele had some fine years with Boston, Texas, and Seattle before turning into an expensive joke with the Angels. Going back to Seattle last year, where he was mostly ineffective, he's been a pleasant surprise for the Dodgers... who will almost certainly have to replace him before the season's over, as his history of second half futility is well-known.
Barney White BRO b. 1923, played 1945, d. 2002-07-24
Arte Moreno, Still A Hero
The Arizona Republic (RR) has a great article up reviewing Arte Moreno's ownership of the Angels at the three year mark. On his famous walking tours of the stadium:"Sometimes I go out there and can't get back," Moreno says. "But the only way I can learn what's going on is to walk the stadium."On knowing what to take a loss on:
"When I came in, our lowest price on ball caps was $19.95," Moreno says. "A guy or a mother takes a son or daughter into the gift shop, you don't want them to be embarrassed. So I put a $6.95 hat in.Arte quotes John Wooden when he says that "there's a difference between passion and love. Passion is short term and love is long term. For me, I have a love of the game." Still the best owner in SoCal."They told me you're going to lose money selling a $6.95 cap. Well, we sold almost 60,000 hats. I'm in the marketing business and those boys are wearing my hats."
Not Many Starters Out There
Jeff Weaver's going to be a hot commodity if the current market for starters holds up. Several contending teams could use a number three, and he's one of the few on the market:The Mets have taken fliers on Jose Lima, Dave Williams and Jeremi Gonzalez. Lima and Gonzalez are gone, and Williams has a 6.48 earned-run average in three starts for Norfolk. The Dodgers have polished up Aaron Sele, the Brewers have tried Rick Helling, and the Reds and Diamondbacks have taken their chances with Joe Mays and Kevin Jarvis, respectively."It shows you how desperate everybody is," one American League general manager observed.
The Dodgers already have sipped from that well, and have neither the depth nor aptitude of bullpen to survive regular collapses in the starting rotation, so General Manager Ned Colletti approaches his first trading deadline needing to get a middle-of-the-rotation starter, at least.
Considering that very plan in the off-season cost him a live-armed setup man, Duaner Sanchez, for a No. 5 starter/mop-up reliever, Jae Seo, and a triple-A reliever, Tim Hamulack, Colletti would seem to have his work cut out.
That's not to say there aren't possibilities. Livan Hernandez, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Tim Hudson, Dontrelle Willis, Paul Byrd, Ramon Ortiz and — ain't this a pip — Jeff Weaver could, under the right circumstances, be available. The tricky part for Colletti will be to take in a starter and hold on to Chad Billingsley, especially, and his other big-league-ready studs — all assembled and preserved under three other regimes — as well.
Swindle: Dodgers 7, Pirates 0
We understand that in Oakland, the myth of Milton Bradley in the outfield has taken on epic proportions, like stories about the Loch Ness Monster, or Elvis sightings. In the telling, Bradley's power has only increased, so that now he can "cloud the minds of otherwise clear-headed general managers, tricking them into trading valuable prospects for a pig-in-a-poke".The valuable prospect in this case turned out to be the redoubtable Andre Ethier, who drove in four runs in last night's game against Pittsburgh's Zach Duke, and both times, getting caught trying to turn a single into a double. No matter, as the Pirates couldn't gain any traction against the ghost of Aaron Sele and the Dodgers. If the Dodgers eventually have to send Sele back to Las Vegas or release him, well, he's had another day where he helped the team.
Earl Weaver Rides Again: Angels 6, Diamondbacks 4
I didn't see this one, as I was out watching Shakespeare by the Sea's production of A Comedy of Errors. (Plug: they're fargin' hilarious, plus it's free, so bring a blanket and head down to Point Fermin to see them.) But, I did get in the car in time to hear Q rip one out of the park with Adam Kennedy on base. Get me some guys who can hit the ball out of the ballpark.Labels: angel stadium, angels, diamondbacks, dodgers, owners, pirates, recaps
: 6/25/2006 10:18:00 AM
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