At 3 games out of first in baseball’s toughest division — and with one of the NL’s best records since May 1 — the Rockies were informed Monday evening that veteran starter Rodrigo Lopez was likely lost for season with a torn flexor tendon in his forearm.
Their response? Stand pat at the trade deadline and hope that two rookies — Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Hirsh (who is finishing up a rehab stint in the minors) — can combine with journeyman fifth starter Josh Fogg to effectively back up Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis in the Rockies rotation.
Not bloody likely.
Jimenez has electric stuff, but he’s still raw. Franklin Morales is a stud — a lefty who tops out at 97 mph — but he’s 21, and the Rockies likely won’t bring him to the majors until the other starters have failed consistently enough that the Rockies fall out of contention. Don’t ask.
In other words, the Rockies did NOTHING to strengthen a team in the thick of the playoff hunt, even though they knew they were losing a top of the rotation starter.
The Rockies are stocked in the minors with top-shelf position players, including an abundance of outfielders (Cory Sullivan, a former starting CF is languishing on our bench) and middle infielders — but because young players come cheap (a perfect fit for Rockies ownership), they’ll be kept around until the club refuses to pay Matt Holliday or Garrett Atkins or Aaron Cook, then plugged in as part of the never ending “youth movement.”
What does this say to the team? Well, I don’t know. But I suspect that, no matter what they’ll say publicly, many of the Rox regulars have to be disappointed that the GM and ownership didn’t find a veteran starter (Kyle Losche would have been a good fit, I think) or a power reliever (O. Dotel, who went to the Braves, now the National League’s best team top to bottom — while the Rockies couldn’t even cobble together a deal for, say, Troy Percival, or even, gah, Solomon Torres).
Jason Hirsh has been terribly inconsistent. And the best pitchers in the Rockies farm system are either injured or, in the organization’s eyes, a year away.
The bullpen as currently configured is decent — when Fuentes returns, they could be quite formidable, provided Hurdle keeps LaTroy Hawkins out of tight games — but their starting pitching is weak, which could lead to an overused bullpen and another sad, predictable, fade.
Too bad. They were one decent starter away from making a legitimate playoff run — and one top-shelf starter (like, for instance, the Chisox J Garland) from really contending for a division title.
I don’t know how he’d do if the stike zone was being called tight, but Michael Vick is, possibly, available if the money is right.
Rumor is that Vick tosses a bulldog pup high and away at 95+ from the spread, not to mention his potential on the pads as a pinch runner.
Hey, you got two good months from an ex-O who led the AL in losses last year.
Can I interest ya in Steve Trachsel?
The silver lining is that they didn’t go get Earvin Santana from the Angels.
As a Phillies fan I can only point out that if Rockies fans are looking for sympathy, they can find it by opening the dictionary and looking between ‘shit’ and ‘syphillis’
The Phils are so …. flustrating … thank God Eagles camp has just opened.
My Cardinals appear to have placed this season on the shelf, and given the overall injury bug they have experienced, that may not be a bad idea. No need to race out and make moves with young talent when it is proving that it can produce now.
Fortunately, Colts training camp opened this week, and I am taking my 5 year old to see the Colts practice the next couple mornings. It was her idea, as she saw Petyon on TV, but far be it from me to discourage her.
TW : Remembers 1918, which was 10 years after the Cubs last won anything.
thor – given their recent history, I heard a talk show caller suggest that Vick would make a good addition to the Indiana Pacers, as their rap sheet and his general thuggishness would blend well together.
I don’t know who Cory Sullivan is, but I’ll give you Jacque Jones and 100 billion dollars for him. Hell, I’ll throw in Mark Prior and a large cardboard box of spare titanium rotator cuffs and elbow joints – and free delivery.
Bring back Baylor Ball! Get good, not great starters, really solid middle relief,and platoon your closers and spend the money on offense and defense. You’re playing 80+ games at Coors Field fer christ sake.
Time will tell if the Rangers did well. We got some good prospects, but Tom Hicks-owned teams seem to run from a “win now” philosophy, which means our farm system could be gutted by start of next season.
Well sheeit ah crap.
Kason Gabbard is a nice pick up, though I’m not sure the Sox have a real need for Gagne.
You don’t like LaTroy “All I Do Is Blow Saves” Hawkins ?!
RACISTSEXISTHOMOPHOBE !
thor,
Thank you for your support. Though I would prefer it if you stayed at least 100 yeards away from me, at all times.
Boo fucking hoo. Try having Tom Gordon and Brett Myers go down early in the season, then Ryan Howard. Now, when Myers and Gordon are coming back, Utley, Victorino, and Bourne go down. They brought Chris Roberson back up, for Christ’s sake. He hit .190 while he was up last year. Of course, he promptly went four for four tonight, but that will happen again when Ana Marie Cox edecides she doesn’t like anal anymore.
I think you mean the ChiSox’ J Garland. He was on the block, too, because starting pitching is the one thing our farm system does have. The Rockies never came up in any trade rumors I heard, but we’re hurting for a SS and CF, so it seems like it would’ve been a natural fit.
Instead, we’re stuck with lazy, overweight K-prone Juan Uribe, and the balsa wood-like yet grindy Darin Erstad. Not to mention potential 20-game loser Jose Contreras and free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye. The trades we did make don’t make much sense, either.
So don’t feel too badly. There is much disarray on the South Side, too.
And that’s just it JD, Michael Vick was never known, until now, for his thuggishness, nor as a thug, nor any other devilish construct. I believe the guy to be an OK dude, albeit one who enjoys the sport of bulldog fighting. That for that he might do six-years time and lose millions upon millions says much more about us than him, I mean, it’s not like he hurt anyone. Bulldog fighting is an acquired taste, not a pleasant one, but, nonetheless it’s not like rape, murder or violent mayhem that so many others are responsible for, for example, say, Tom Osborn of Cornuhusker fame. It’s not like Michael Vick hugged Christian Peter and Lawrence Phillips before patting their asses and sending out into the world to commit their nasty little crimes again and again. Nope. Vick got more class than that, until proven otherwise in a court of law!
But Michael, how my supposed to carry your water bottle and provide you refreshing, cool squirts of Aquafina if I’m a 100-yards away? Surely I’ll soak any bystanders and all persons close to you.
Was it something I said? Was it the Save Michael Vick posters? The candlelight vigil? What?
Dear God, why would anyone want Kyle Lohse? He’s 60-74 in his career, with an ERA a quarter-run higher than the league average. J.D. Durbin hasn’t pitched any worse than the Lohser this year, and he’s 3 years younger. What was the point?
At least pairing Mateo with Myers gives them a lock on WB/IP (wives beaten per inning pitched). Forgive me: I’m feeling just a tad Iguchi right now.
I’m not giving up on the Phightin’s just yet. Chutley & Victorino will be back before September. If the World’s Losingest Sports Franchise can just hang tough until they’re back, there’s still a strong chance to finish the season 1 game out of the playoffs again.
TW: In my opinion, Ryan Howard has more raw power than anyone else in the majors.
Shit, I almost forgot: Booooooooooo!
Everybody believed OJ was “an OK dude” right up until he tried to decapitate his ex-wife.
Torturing animals is most definitely “thuggish behavior”. If you think otherwise, I pray for your children.
Where I used to live, a group of thugs (“non-hispanic whites”, FWIW, honest-to-God gap-toothed hillbillies, actually) raised pit bulls for illegal dog fights. What caught the attention of authorities was that they used to catch cats and small dogs to “train” the fighting dogs and videotape the results for their own amusement (no, nothing on the Internet from these creeps as it was 20 years ago – some shit continually returns like bad fish). Problem was, some of their “dog toys” weren’t strays and were snatched right out of the owners’ front yards in broad daylight. I was dismissed from that jury pool, thank God.
Bastards only got 2 years. I think they got most of that for methamphetamine possession (with intent to sell). Justice caught up to them eventually: of the 5 who went to trial, 3 later met violent deaths “at the hands of others”, 1 is serving 25-to-life for attempted murder (stabbed a guy outside a bar 7 times and couldn’t kill him), and the last is paraplegic from a motorcycle accident. It’s a small town, so their careers as troublemakers were easy enough to follow.
For what it’s worth.
It sure would be a good joke on Jeff G. if after all his ragging the Rockies won the World Series this year. His head would like so explode.
Thor, would you stop supporting Michael Vick if he said he only did it for the money, that he got no sadistic pleasure from dog fights at all? That could be his argument in the sentancing phase of the trial. Cause then your head would so like explode, dude.
Dogs should be loved and respected and only used to test cosmetics if no pigs are available.
Wait a second…
Was this entire post just some elaborate semaphore, intended to provide intellectual cover for something dark and hateful?
Rockies’ tenuous grip as allegory for our search for a more effective Baby-Killing Policy in Eye-rack?
Or maybe baseball is just baseball…
Oh, where is the wise and earnest Perfesser Rice Carrit when you need him?
TW: binoclar impulses
Nah, that’s not my bag, baby! Honest!
Comment by BumperStickerist on 7/31 @ 9:09 pm #
HAH! Jeff G. whining like a Phillies fan……
Bumper, where ya located? Upper Darby, here.
.
.
.
TW: must be courageous. Through 10,000 losses. Right.
Jeff – you are a genius!
molyuk,
Lohse is a slightly better than league average starter over the last few years. That makes him better than Eaton at least (admittedly a low hurdle to clear), and probably better over the medium term than the journeyman Durbin and the rookie Kendrick. Losing the position players we lost really hurts. Offensively, Utley was like fourth or fifth best in the league, and the best fielding second baseman at least in the NL. You could see it got to Howard last night, as he was trying to do too much in his at bats. He’s back to missing badly.
Funny how every year is the same with this team lately. HOw much do they miss the playoffs by this year? 1, 2 games?
Token —
I did mean Garland. Don’t know why I typed “Gardner.” I was still feeling kicked in the stomach, I guess.
From what I heard locally, the White Sox were asking ridiculous prices for everyone. Their price for Contreras was a couple of AAA all stars.
I hope Ken Williams chokes on these guys.
As for “whining,” well, I’ve been following the Rox for years, and they’ve finished over .500 in a season, what, once, maybe twice?
Coors Field is not the offensive park it was. It still has the big outfield, but its not the homerun park of Philly or Cincy or Houston, etc. Humidor. Google it.
I predicted this year they’d win 85-88 games. Last year, they faded right after the all-star break — we went out a got a left handed reliever when we needed a shortstop and a center fielder.
This year, we have all the position players, backlogs at a number of positions in the organization, and we did nothing.
The local spin is that the asking prices were too high. But I’m looking at the trades that WERE made and thinking, we could have had Gagne or Dotel as 7th and 8th inning guys for a minor leaguer, and Lohse for a pittance.
He’s servicable, and playing on the Reds ain’t likely to bolster your W-L record. His era this year is what, 4.25? Pitching in that bandbox at Cincy, not bad. Of course, heading to Philly ain’t much better.
People forget, the Rox are the number one defensive team in the league. They’re also among the league leaders in fewest walks allowed. A pitcher who comes here and throws strikes will win. We keep the infield grass high, and — as noted above — the legend of the Coors Field home run barrage is a thing of the past.
The Rox are still feeling burned by Hampton, Kile, and Neagle — paid so much money, got so little in return. But pitchers shouldn’t be afraid to pitch here. Lopez, before going on the DL, was 5-1 at home. Francis has always pitched well here. Cook has had problems — until he threw a 74 pitch complete game last week.
I like Jimenez. I don’t yet trust Hirsh. And though I like Fogg as a player — he’s a scrapper — he is one of those guys who milks his talent dry just to be average.
Garland would have flourished here.
Jeff,
Gagne had a no-trade clause that limited the specific teams he could be traded to without his approval. For example, he could have been traded to Yankees, but not actually, the Red Sox, without his approval. I don’t think the Rockies were on his list of “approved” teams.
You are right on about Coors. It has gone from an astronomical park factor of 131 in 2000 to a more modest 107 last year. Still hitter friendly, but not a statistical freakshow any longer.
What I’ve never understood, especially in this age of statistical hyper-analysis, why pitchers shy away from places like Coors, or frankly Ameriquest Field here in Dallas. Yes, their ERAs will go up a bit, but it shouldn’t be any harder to WIN — after all the other team’s pitcher still has to pitch in the same park. I think. And he is going to have less “local knowledge” about how best to do that.
Anyway, good luck with the Rockies. I will toil away here in Dallas, being a fair-weather fan for the Rangers, and still pining away for my beloved Cubs, looking for their first title in 101 years.
In response to the how Gagne helps the Red Sox question…
In essence, if you’re playing against the Sox and have not secured a lead after 6 innings, you can pretty much forget about winning. With a back end of the bullpen going Okajima, Gagne, Papelbon, that’s pretty much lights out. Add Manny Delcarmen to that, and you’re almost talking after 5 innings.
Also, Gagne provides protection against the possibility that Papelbon sees a recurrence of the shoulder/fatigue issues he saw last season (some people have been questioning his velocity as of late).
Overall, the Sox just got extremely stronger. With Gagne added to the team, and a stronger Curt Schilling basically serving as a trade deadline acquisition (should be starting Sunday), this team is really poised for the stretch run and to make a push deep into October (and November, thanks to the ridiculous scheduling changes).
As for the Rockies… I’m not sure why they would make a move unless simply making the playoffs is your goal. I don’t see them as a team that has the ability to make a deep run into the playoffs and, quite frankly, I’m not sure one acquisition would have even gotten them into the playoffs in the first place.
Right now, there’s such a disparity between the two leagues that, unless you’re a top flight NL team, you’re better off continuing to build your minor league system, bring up good talent, and then use those younger chips when you’ve developed the major league talent to a point where you’re a dominant NL team. The St. Louis Cardinals being handed the WS by the Tigers last year not withstanding, the NL is the weaker sister and it’s just highly unlikely that an NL team, unless it’s one of the more dominant ones, is going to win the WS.
So, if you’re completely content on just making the playoffs and making a first round exit, then sure, I can see why you’d be intent on making a trade. However, if you’re goal is to make a deep run through the playoffs, and hopefully into the WS, there weren’t any trades out there that were going to help the Rockies do that.
And you weren’t going to get Gagne for just a couple minor leaguers. You needed at least one serviceable big league starter (ala Kason Gabbard) and a couple of decent minor leaguers (David Murphy and Engel Beltre who, really, was the crux of this deal, interestingly enough).
Mr. O’Brain:
Downingtown here! Long suffering to the point of being numb.
Jeff: I was just as surprised as you that the Roks did nothing. As for whether or not Atlanta is the best team in the NL? We’ll see. I’m not sold on their lineup or defense, although Teixeira is a stud and just might be energized by actually playing with a contender for a change. They get the gold star for the best moves.
Those who poo-poo Lohse forget that he has been running an ERA of just above three in his last 6 games. It’s amazing how a pitcher’s confidence is bolstered when your team leads the NL in runs scored. One must also remember that the Phils don’t have a whole lot of first grade talent in their system to trade for top ranked starting pitching and JD Durbin, who has pitched well of late, is the quintessential journeyman (5 teams this year alone.)
All in all the Phils will find it difficult to continue to compete with the Braves and Mets (who, surprisingly, did not step up for pitching, apparently believing that Pedro Martinez’s return would be boost enough) without Utley, Madsen Victorino and Bourne. If they somehow outlast all of these injuries (think about it for a minute: Garcia, Leiber, Howard, Utley, Meyers, Gordon, Madsen (twice), Victorino, Bourne, Werth) the one guy who may be said to have saved the season will be AA call up Kyle Hendrick. While he hasn’t been the reincarnation of Cy Young, he has given them semi-quality starts (6 innings, four runs or less)in all but one game. Without him the team would have been buried long ago despite a great offense and good defense.
Ah, Jeff; Roks and Phightin’ fans both lease Heartbreak Hill.
[quote]Those who poo-poo Lohse forget that he has been running an ERA of just above three in his last 6 games. [/quote]
So, those who “poo-poo Lohse” should put more weight in 6 games than in his 7 years in the majors, over 1000 IP, with a career ERA of 4.83, and a career low ERA of 4.18?
The sad thing is, for a while here in Reds land, Lohse was the good pitcher.
I spent the last three weeks back in Philadelphia and finally realized the reason I moved away (an overwhelming urge to stalk, kidnap and bury Howard Eskin alive).
I did hear someone say that Utley had “American-League offense” which is code for “bend over Phillies fans, in two years we’re trading him to the BoSox to for an 18 year-old pitching prospect from Japan with undiagnosed syphyllis and a chronically broken thumb”.
Agent w,
There’s a much shorter version: getting Gagne keeps him out of New York, and keeps them from having to face him.
Agreed, the Sox have the guns to get it done this year, and the back end of the ‘pen is an embarrassment of riches. Get Manny and Ortiz back to form, and they might even win a pennant for a change!
Agent W:
Well yea, for two reasons: 1) I’m a desperate fan and am willingly grasping at straws. 2) The fact that he’s pitching well now works in our favor now (hopefully.) All in all I’m content with the move and that it didn’t involve giving up Rowhand, Bourne or Victorino.
I grew up in Mass and spent many a sunny afternoon in Fenway’s Center field bleachers (back in the day when you could walk up and get a $2 bleacher ticket.) Thanks for explaining the Gagne trade with regards to Papelbon’s previous shoulder issues. That makes sense to me and, BTW, they must have the best back-end bullpen in baseball now.
Many of my friends and relatives are very concerned about the everyday lineup, especially since Papi appears to be not his usual self. I think that it’s etched into the psyche of Red Sox Nation that without a killer offense nothing good will happen in the long run. The one concern I have is if the offense does languish Francona will not play small ball in any way, even under pain of death. He makes Earl Weaver look like Leo Durocher. However, with that pitching staff and a decent if not excellent defense the Sox should be OK for a playoff run.
I’m concerned that the Tigers will figure out how to play baseball again and the Yanks are always the boogey men but I feel pretty good about the Bosox chances this year.
Cue the piano to be dropped on my head. Yeesh! Bosox and Phillies! Let me look up the definition of masochist…
Agent W,
In addition to bolstering the bullpen, the Red Sox getting Gagne prevented anyone else (cough*YANKEES or TIGERS*cough) from getting him. As the Sox have three pitchers aged 28 or younger already in their starting rotation, Papelbon (who could be a starter), DelCarmen, Hansack, Lester, and Hansen, Kason Gabbard became expendable. And the Sox didn’t give up any of their prized position prospects (Ellsbury, in particular).
As for the Rox, I don’t think anyone in the Denver area particularly likes or understands the Monforts, who apparently have the same PR people and PR strategy as the White House. The Rox definitely could’ve made some noise this year with the NL so wide open (and the NL West so closely bunched). The Monforts inactivity at the deadline is both puzzling and disappointing.
And for those who poo-poo the NL, remember that the Cardinals (83 wins) won the World Series last year, with Jeff Weaver winning the clincher.
BWAAAA HAHAHAHA! He is the pure definition of an arrogant prick, is he not? I’ve met the guy and, believe me, he is what he is!
However, Pablo might back me up in saying that as tough as Philly sports talk radio is, it’s not even in the same solar system as Boston Red Sox Nation Talk. The Bosox could win 20 in a row and, after the first loss, a hundred people will call up screaming for Francona to be fired. Whenever I visit I just turn on WEEI and smile, basking in the insanity.
Pablo: Great point about Gagne and the Yankees, who really, really could have used him. (insert evil laugh here)
Pablo,
Yeah, that too. I’m a little surprised the Yankees sent a reliever out, considering how bad their bullpen has been (and Mariano Rivera was on the radio begging for bullpen help). Granted, based upon Joe Torre’s inefficient bullpen management, Proctor’s arm is probably about to fall off… but I can’t see how they trust a youngster (Joba Chamberlain) to step in and be the 8th inning bridge to Mariano in NY. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Which, from a Red Sox fan’s perspective, is quite delicious.
Manny is definitely coming back to form, but last night not withstanding, Ortiz still worries me. I know many people knock the idea that his lack of serious production this year is due to his issues with his right knee, saying that it’s not his plant and drive leg, but that line of thinking shows an ignorance of the mechanics of a baseball swing. Yes, your power does come from your drive leg (as well as hips, core rotation, etc…), but if you can’t transfer that weight and power to your front leg as the bat travels through the hitting zone, then you end up off balance, dropping the head of the bat and, a ball that may have traveled 400 feet only flies 340 feet. I see a major problem with Ortiz’s weight transfer right now. He’s still strong enough to hit some home runs with just his upper body, but without the proper weight transfer, he’s not the same hitter.
I really would have liked to have Jermaine Dye come in here… not as a savior, obviously, but as insurance. Of course, I agree with the Sox holding onto Hansen, Delcarmen, and Masterson (specifically, Delcarmen and Masterson, as I would have been OK shipping Hansen out).
Hopefully JD Drew can actually do something in the last 2 months of the season, and into the playoffs, and make this all moot.
Hey I’m in NE Ohio where we have are the best farm team in the majors. Cleveland will devolop a player to greatness or the edge thereof, and then trade for a AAA player and 2 A players to be named later. As soon as a team starts to come together they get broken up.
Ok the word have “where we have” is supposed to have a strikethrough
Most of Lohse’s 4.18 career era was in the AL, where era’s tend to tick higher (the DH is offset somewhat by pitchers being able to stay in close games longer, but there you have it).
As for the Rox being pretenders who couldn’t make a run in the playoffs… First, they have the offense to beat anyone. And second, in short series, you are going to have to face Aaron Cook or Jeff Francis twice.
Francis is a pitcher. He just wins. Cook, on the other hand, is absolutely dominating when he’s on. And it’s beginning to look like the light finally clicked on for him.
Beyond that, the Rockies tend to play their best against the best. They swept the Yankees earlier this year, and in Boston, lost 2-1 (Aaron Cook outdueled by Tim Wakefield), before beating Schilling, and handing Josh Beckett his first loss of the season. They have trouble with 2 pitchers with similar styles: Chris Young of SD and Brad Penny of the Dodgers. And they touched Penny up for 3 runs (finally) is 6 innnings last time out in a game they lost thanks to an uncharacteristic 2 unearned runs. They then came back to beat the Dodgers the next two games, including handing Billingsley his first loss of the season.
This was after taking 2 of 3 from San Diego.
Had it not been for a freakish 1-9 road trip a while back, in which the Rockies blew 6 saves (4 wins), they could easily be in first place in the division.
So I disagree with the idea that a third starter or one more power arm for the bullpen (I was hoping for Dotel or Lidge, who is a Denver native) wouldn’t have meant much. With Francis, Cook, and Garland in a short series — and an offense that can hit with anyone in the league — I’d take my chances.
Sadly, I sniff a collapse coming. Like, maybe, a 5 game losing streak to the Marlins and Braves.
But I’m pessimistic that way.
Later this week should tell us much. The Rockies go to Atlanta to face Smoltz and Hudson. Cook and Francis will both pitch that series for the Rockies, along with Jimenez.
I’d give Hirsh a short leash. If he falters, or if Fogg falters, I’d bring Morales up and just let the chips fall. Lefties who throw 97 are fairly rare. And he’d have a good defense and a good offense behind him.
RE: Jeff
True, ERA’s are fairly higher in the AL than the NL. I won’t argue that point. Of course, his 4.18 happened in 2005. One season. Furthermore, his ERA last year with half a season in Cincy was 4.57.
At absolute best, Lohse is a dead average MLB pitcher. His career ERA+, which accounts for park and league factors, suggest he’s actually a slightly below average MLB pitcher. His career WHIP of nearly allowing 1.5 base runners per inning is god awful.
Had it not been for a freakish 1-9 road trip a while back, in which the Rockies blew 6 saves (4 wins), they could easily be in first place in the division.
That’s true… of course, for good teams, those type of things average out over the course of a 162 game schedule. You’ll have hot stretches where everything goes your way and you win more one run games than a team normally would. Then, of course, you’ll go through a down swing and do the same thing.
I never put much stock in, “If not for this uncharacteristic bad stretch, we would be in [insert place here].” A baseball season is a series of ups and downs and, for the most part, teams will find their level by game 162.
Pablo,
Great minds think alike on the keeping Gagne from NY. You a Sox fan too?
With their pitching (starting and relief) they’ll be in games even on nights when their offense fails (think of those back to back 1-0 games). But, I think this year they have enough variety of skills offensively (doubles hitters, homer guys, singles guys) and a couple of guys with enough speed (Lugo, Crisp) to not have to play station to station all the time.
I think they should be prohibitive World Series favorites right now.
*** Breaking *** – (OT)
– In a speech made just this morning, Democratic Presidential hopeful Orack Obama declared his intent to invade Pakistan, if and when he takes office in the White House. The Senator also said that the U.S. should shift the focus of the WOT from Iraq back to Afghanistan, and that Pakistan should be our next target, in going after the Talibon, and Al Qeada.
– In related news, another of the Dem candidates, Hillery Clinton, on hearing the reports of Obama’s break from the rank and file opposition to the war, came down with a severe case of the vapors. Political insiders are anticipating her office to quickly release a statement to the Press in which she reverses her existing stance on her original congressional vote to go to war. An unnamed source said that the statement is expected to be a hard hitting retort along the lines of “America – Fuck yea!”
Jeff and all:
Is it just me or is the Padres’ Chris Young a perpetual magic act?
He beat Cole Hamels 1-0 in a great pitcher’s duel last week. He’s 6’10” tall but tops out in the high eighties on his fastball, which he throws about 80% of the time. Why can’t anybody get around on him? Is his strange behind-the-ear motion that tricky for great hitters (Utley) to pick up that causes them to be late on just about every fastball, especially if he’s up in the zone. He doesn’t even spot it that well!
When was the last time you saw a guy throwing a mid to high 80’s fastball with no movement 80% of the time who is close to unhittable? I’m a former pitcher and I’m confused.
“Comment by Lost My Cookies on 8/1 @ 8:52 am #
I spent the last three weeks back in Philadelphia and finally realized the reason I moved away (an overwhelming urge to stalk, kidnap and bury Howard Eskin alive).”
With or without an oxygen tank?
Regarding BBH’s comment. Gary Johnston is ready to roll…
cch, I’m in NE Ohio, too, and feel that pain. None of these fans know the heartache, stomach ache, complete whole body ache of being a Cleveland sports fan. Cleveland is God’s pinata.
– BJT – One word – “Satchel Page”. When he was on his game, nobody could touch his “slo-mo” fast ball, which was so lathargic getting to the plate, steals used to drive the Indians catchers absolutely nuts. Between his pitching style, homey press interviews where everyone tried to guess his true age, and pre-game barf sessions form nervousness, he was probably one of the most colorful characters ever to step on a ball field.
of course that should have been “ccs”. Unless, there is a cch out there that is also a Cleveland sports fan. Than wallow with us if you please.
BBH;
Didn’t ole Satch have some mad movement on his “slo mo” fastball? I seem to remember Buck O’Neill talking about that and his absolute pinpoint control.
Mr. O’Brain;
My Vote? Sans mask. Definitely!
– That was the key BJT. In those days we talked about a pitch that was reffered to as the “screwball”, which was medium speed, and “hopped”. And yes, the old man had remarkable control, renowned for being able to put the ball right where the catcher called for it, inspite of the crazy tracks they took getting to the plate.
– I havn’t followed the tribe in many years, having moved to Padre-land, so I’m not familiar with the current crop of pitchers. But as a Buckeye, I echo the shared pain over the years, particularly when I lived through the glory years of Bearden, Lemon, and Feller et al. Veeck, Boudreau, Doby, Avila, Easter, Gsrcia, all childhood hero’s of mine. the ’48 club was a hard act to follow.
I’m from NE Ohio too. I don’t mind the Indians trade moves (well, move really) as Kenny Lofton was clearly an upgrade over Nixon at this point. My kingdom for a closer though, Borowski isn’t cutting it. Yes, mental toughness, he’s a gamer, etc. Still doesn’t wash away the 4.99 ERA. I think they’re still a lot better than they’ve played since the break, but right now they’re not a great team – just a team with a great home record.
Could be worse, as I’m assuming there are still Pirates fans out there somewhere. If you didn’t see Matt Morris’ comments after having been traded to the Bucs, they were priceless. Along the lines of “well, you hear talk and you hear about a lot of destinations. Pittsburgh. Wasn’t expecting that.”
BJ and Craig C – After moving to the States from Ireland, after my Grandfather’s retirement, they moved to Dublin, PA. where Grandma said they could play out their Irish suffering by being Phillies fans.
All of this woe is me, and not one Cubs fan has dropped by to point out the rapidly approaching 100 years of futility? The Phillies may have 10,000 losses, but that is simply a function of them having more opportunities to date than the Cubs. That record belongs in the friendly confines.
That was me. Sorry.
– Cubs fans….If the Indians fans are Gods Piniata, Cubs fans are whats left on the floor after the party’s over.
A Rangers fan, eh. Me too. Odd thing is generally we don’t totally suck, we’ve just never had enough on the mound for a serious run, even when we had Nolan Ryan we didn’t have enough. I need to adopt another team. My interest in baseball has been flat-lining for far too long.
Jeff, I’ll start watching and rooting for your Roks. Why not, I need a new dog in the fight, as they say.
I think a lot of Rockies fans are fatalistic about a swoon because the ownership of the Rox invite it. As a Rox fan you just have an inevitable sense of doom. Holiday won’t get signed, Hurdle will pull the starter because of a hit count so Hawkins can even up the game in the 7th inning. Crap like that. The Monforts need to sign Holliday, and they should have made some sort of deal at the deadline, even if it wouldn’t have significantly effected the play on the field. Why? Because that’s what motivators and leaders do, I.E., good professional sports owners.
The ironic part of the whole thing is that while the Monforts wait out the inevitable non-signing of Holliday, other players will continue to drive up his price. Ichiro and Rodriegez are going to inflate Holliday’s price. So if they are going to sign him, they should do it now. But they won’t so we’re screwed. That black cloud will always hover above our heads as Rockies fans until ownership changes. It’s so depressing.
Jeff, you’ll have to get through me to get at Garland. And I have access to armor and powerful weapons… Oh, and Kenny Williams – bite me.
HAH! Jeff G. whining like a Phillies fan……
I resemble that remark! Speaking of which, I forgot about Madsen. Christ.
BJ,
I haven’t listened to much Philly radio, but Red Sox Nation will worship you, then wish you dead, and then worship you again, sometimes in the space of a 3 game series.
Theo Epstein. ‘Nuff said.
A fine sctoch,
Long suffering, aside from ’04. Cubs fans should take heart. It is possible.
Yeah, if they can wake the bats up in the postseason, I can’t see who’s going to beat them. But then again, we are talking about the Red Sox.
Major John:
Who were those people last night in White Sox uniforms and what did they do with the pitching staff?
Inquiring minds want to know!
tw: election holiday I wish…
Normally, I’d agree. But I suppose you just had to see the freakish nature of the thing to believe it.
Try being an Angels fan. This time passes every year without a move from our GM Stoneman.
Hey, Jeff, since you’ve got a nice blog dealie going here, and you’ve got a nice face, I tell you what I’m gonna do.
You can have Jennings back — modern MLB record holder* Jason Jennings, that is! Enjoy.
*most earned runs in a
I guess you can’t use the “less than” sign anymore?
Should’ve continued: *most earned runs in a less than 1 inning start (11, vs. Padres — the worst-hitting team in MLB — on Sunday)
Re #51 by Michael Vick – Sorry, but the Cubs have played 562 more games than the Phillies. While their recent record of futility is greater (worse?) they were actually a pretty good team in the early years, so they built up a pretty good aggregate record through about 1945.
Re: #42 by BJTexs – I actually heard a pretty good explanation from a former major leaguer about why Chris Young can be so tough to hit. Think Randy Johnson and 1968. When your delivery comes from 6’10” (or almost a foot higher than the average pitcher, the ball passes through the “hitting zone” at a steeper angle. Therefore there is a much shorter window of time (and space) where the ball is easily hittable. Remember when the mound was lowered after 1968, EVERY pitcher suddenly became less effective. There is a natural advantage to being taller — if you overcome the disadvantages of being really geeky.
benjamin – My mistake. Now that I think about it, that makes the Cubs’ futility that much worse, given their lack of success in the last 99 years. It would be a shame to see them break their streak prior to reaching 100 years.
BJ – the only calm and rational explanation I can give for the White Sox rotation is….alien abductions. Seriously.
Major John, Jose Contreras (last night’s first victim) is done unless he can get the bite back on the forkball. And watching the damn Yankees treat the whole staff as BP two nights running is absurd. Then again, A-Rod is 0-9 in the 2 games.
There are only 5, count ’em FIVE! players left from the 2002 WS championship team (Anderson, Figgins, Lackey, Shields and Rodriguez), so what the f*ck more do you want? Besides, the only players anyone had any real interest in were Kotchman and Willits, the team’s best young talent. The Angels have a long history of trading away their future for a present that fails to deliver. After cheering for them for more than 35 years (remember “Tanana and Ryan and three days o’ cryin'”?), I’ve seen far too much of that.
No trade is far better than a bad one (see Bavasi, Buzzie).
But see, OJ’s ex-wife was no dog, pun intended.
Spiny
At least do something, how did that Hillenbrand acquisition work out? Fan since 72, Uncle pitched for them in 76-78
Stoneman has not done shit…. Guererro came over because of OC. Texeira was acquire for 1 roster man and 4 MLP That is what the minors are for Spiny. I’ve played the game, A AA AAA Talent pool is all it is. Unfortunately I did not have the elbow to succeed. Stoneman has mde a rash of bad decisions Glaus for one….