I completely reject the notion that "time was running out" on Ramirez. He pitched well in the big leagues last year (3.58 FIP) - he just happened to get hammered on BABIP, and had some absolutely rotten situational luck. And then he went down to AAA and struck out 35 guys in 28 innings.
All told, in 2006-2007, Ramirez pitched 113 innings with a 3.42 FIP and a 3.25 ERC. Just for comparison, in those same two years, Brian Fuentes pitched 127 innings with a 3.56 FIP and 3.00 ERC. And if Fuentes had been DFAd in spring training, we'd all have been trying to get O'Dowd committed...
Giving up on Ramirez was an absolutely disgusting decision. I had him projected at 3.51 entering the season, and with his early dominance, that projection has gone all the way down to 3.16. He's one of the top 20-30 relievers in the game.
Incidentally, the Royals bullpen is the perfect example of what we're not doing. Stud closer Joakim Soria? Rule 5 pick. Joel Peralta? Waiver claim. And then Ramirez. That's a top three that quite a few higher-profile teams would be very envious of.
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But it was an offseason that was based on staying competitive for the next several years...
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I'd cut out the last six words there. It was an offseason that was based on staying. Period. I get absolutely no sense that progress was even being attempted.
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The only reason he's still around is O'Dowd's other ridiculous tendency: the refusal to give up on his "prospects" when their prospect status has long since disappeared.
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Yep. Nix I can kind of understand... former first round pick, great glove, bat showing signs of improvement... but someone really needs to explain to me why Baker isn't just seen as garbage.
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Barmes will play 2B for another month or so until his numbers return to a Barmes-like bottom.
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Undoubtedly. And there's still no excuse for it. The Cubs' 2B situation is no less crowded than it was during the offseason; Theriot or Cedeno could be had. D'Angelo Jimenez is in AAA. The Nats would probably part with Felipe Lopez. Any of those guys would bring far more upside than Barmes.