Sunday, July 02, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Today's Birthdays
There were a couple yesterday, but not even worth writing about.Tony Armas CAL b. 1953, played 1987-1989, All-Star: 1981, 1984. A highly strikeout prone power hitter in the Pittsburgh organization who passed through Oakland and Boston before coming to the Angels, where he was mostly a reserve. His homers peaked at 43 in 1984; five years later, he was out of baseball.
Gil English BRO b. 1909, played 1944, d. 1996-08-31
Joe Magrane CAL b. 1964, played 1993-1994
Steve Sparks ANA b. 1965, played 1998-1999. And out of baseball following 2004, thus proving how difficult it is for knuckleballers to stay active. Incidentally, the guys who sponsor Sparks' page, Knuckleball Headquarters, have some really interesting stuff on the floater.
Answering A Brave Man
It's fair to say that there's a decent amount of sentiment going against the Jeff Weaver signing at this point, and so with few reservations I commend you David Lassen's comments in the Ventura County Star, in which he labeled Jeff Weaver's recent DFA a "mistake":...[B]arring a last-minute trade — the Angels are going to get nothing for the 29-year-old. Given the paucity of major league pitching, and the certainty that Weaver will be pitching for someone else very, very soon, this will simply be as the latest example of general manager Bill Stoneman's inability to complete a trade when faced with the need to do so.He goes on to address the problem with depth this creates; that objection is solidly met with Joe Saunders. Lassen also mentions that the DFA fails to get the team anything for Weaver. A fair point, but they already surrendered a draft pick for him; in a weak draft class, it might not have mattered so much, and the book is yet to close on the other side as well. Bill Stoneman could surprise us.
Finally, Lassen mentions that this is hardly a way to introduce Young Weaver into the system, by upsetting his tender feelings for his brother's welfare and rudely reminding him that baseball is, in fact, a business. Well: shall we recall Jered's year-long holdout, then? Anyone using Scott Boras as an agent wears the label naif as readily as a streetwalker impersonates a nun.
Roster Notes
I didn't publish my normal bullety stuff yesterday out of laziness and a need to keep up with things around the house, to which I shall shortly have to return. But —- Grady Little and Eric Gagné disagreed over whether Gagné will even pitch this year; a report yesterday had Gagné unable to throw his bullpen session.
- University of Nebraska doctors gave Darin Erstad a new orthotic to help with his inflamed ankle, but he still has no timetable for returning to the club.
- Mike Scioscia says "there's no cavalry coming" for the Angels offense but also mentions that Bill Stoneman is "exploring alternatives".
The Betting On Mike Napoli's Future
Having done so profoundly well so far, it's interesting to read John Sickels' review of Mike Napoli's 116-at-bat-old career. Especially, the comments in that thread are intriguing, one of which invites us to take a look at his spray chart, which mostly tells us that he's not really using all fields; eventually, goes that line of thinking, he'll get found out, although his later hits are revealing some power to right-center. Another commenter notes that Napoli is doing at 24 what Mickey Tettleton was doing at age 28. Finally, the pre-hemorrhage Peter Gammons said the Angels think he will be a star.
Right around the time Armas came along, I noticed people stopped caring about outfield arms. And yes, I blame him entirely for this.
: 7/02/2006 10:46:00 AM : 7/02/2006 12:40:00 PM : 7/02/2006 08:49:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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