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BigRapidsJackass · July 13th, 2008, 08:57 PM

I called it last year in mid-August (I think it was went Cook went on the DL) and I was very pleased that I was wrong.

But that doesn't change facts. It's over for '08. Time to start looking to next year. Any other approach would be downright foolish.

Starting Points:

1. Must be traded. Fuentes (gone after this year), Herges (same, and has some value), Torrealba (to the first club that will take his contract or most of it), Taveras (as soon as he establishes his health)

2. Should be traded if the price is right. Hawpe, Holliday, Atkins (at least one of the 3, depending on the offer), as well as Barmes (move him before he hits his natural level of .250 BA)

3. Of no use, and should be waived right away. Podsednik. Podsednik this year: .584 OPS. Cory Sullivan, career: .720 OPS. (For comparison: Steve Finley, the epitome of uselessness, last year before he was waived: .490 OPS.) Cory Sullivan is making $1 million this year to play CF for the Sky Sox. Why?? Seth Smith should be playing CF every day for the Sky Sox to see if he can handle the position. Podsednik is worse than useless. He is below replacement level, since Cory Sullivan is the very definition of replacement level. Taveras must be traded, Pods dumped, Spilly must play almost full time in CF when he comes back, and Sully can be the backup. Nothing else makes any sense at this point.

4. Should play 2B everyday. Jeff Baker. We've seen enough this year to determine that he appears to be roughly average defensively at 2B. We need a full year of offensive and defensive performance to see if he is someone who could hold down the position. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by playing guys like Clint Barmes at Omar Quintanilla at 2B. Nothing. We know what they can do, and it is called "replacement level utility man." Baker may yet turn out to be something more. Let's see.

5. Should play most of the time for the Rockies somewhere. Ian Stewart. Time to let him get some major playing time to see if he is going to be MLB starter material. His minor league stats the last couple years have been good, but not exactly awesome. He needs the playing time. 3B (particularly if Atkins is moved), 2B (occasionally; I've seen enough to know he's no starter there); RF, 1B, LF. Get his bat out there 2/3 of the time. Period.

6. No point in letting guys like Redman get hammered. Hirsh is accruing MLB service time right now, being equally crappy for the Sky Sox. If he's going to get better, it's going to be by working against major league hitters. Goodbye Mark Redman, tomorrow would be best.

7. We have a left-handed relief specialist, we just don't know it. His name is Jorge de la Rosa, and he's better than Jeremy Affeldt in that role. We control his contract through arbitration for '09, and he shouldn't be starting. He'll never be an adequate MLB starter. He may be more than adequate out of the pen. Use him for the rest of the year in that role, and we'll know if he's worth hanging on to. Please do not make me sit through Cedrick Bowers. Nice story that he made the majors at 30; now go back to Korea.

8. Let's have a nice long look at Dexter Fowler and Casey Weathers. By that I mean: mid-August callup for Weathers, beginning of September for Fowler. If GenR-ration 2009 isn't ready, well, then 2009 will look pretty bleak.

9. Sign some cast-offs. Sometimes these guys play well and re-establish trade value; remember Jay Witasick? It's not a bad idea when you've got nobody else to fill the roles vacated by traded players. Don't expect any miracles, but every year some players revive their career in August. LaTroy Hawkins might be one of those guys this year.

10. Don't release guys like Vizcaino. You owe him big money next year. Don't get me wrong: I hated the fact that we signed him, hated it more that it was for 2 years. But my hunch: he'll pitch well in the 2nd half. He may be useful next year, and if he re-establishes some value we might actually be able to trade him instead. Now is not the time for panic or frustration moves.

But most of all: face facts. It's over. The D'backs gave us a huge opening, and we did nothing with it. No team with Webb, Haren, and Randy Johnson (even the 40+ year old version) is going to play that poorly all year. Plus you won't leapfrog both them and the Dodgers. Unlike last year, the wildcard isn't open, since there's plenty of good-record runners up in the other 2 divisions. No fantasy land here: 2008 is done. What we do for the rest of this year is important in determining whether we compete next year. Time to get on with it ...

July 13th, 2008, 08:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
BigRapidsJackass Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,174	Stick a Fork in 'em I called it last year in mid-August (I think it was went Cook went on the DL) and I was very pleased that I was wrong. But that doesn't change facts. It's over for '08. Time to start looking to next year. Any other approach would be downright foolish. Starting Points: 1. Must be traded. Fuentes (gone after this year), Herges (same, and has some value), Torrealba (to the first club that will take his contract or most of it), Taveras (as soon as he establishes his health) 2. Should be traded if the price is right. Hawpe, Holliday, Atkins (at least one of the 3, depending on the offer), as well as Barmes (move him before he hits his natural level of .250 BA) 3. Of no use, and should be waived right away. Podsednik. Podsednik this year: .584 OPS. Cory Sullivan, career: .720 OPS. (For comparison: Steve Finley, the epitome of uselessness, last year before he was waived: .490 OPS.) Cory Sullivan is making $1 million this year to play CF for the Sky Sox. Why?? Seth Smith should be playing CF every day for the Sky Sox to see if he can handle the position. Podsednik is worse than useless. He is below replacement level, since Cory Sullivan is the very definition of replacement level. Taveras must be traded, Pods dumped, Spilly must play almost full time in CF when he comes back, and Sully can be the backup. Nothing else makes any sense at this point. 4. Should play 2B everyday. Jeff Baker. We've seen enough this year to determine that he appears to be roughly average defensively at 2B. We need a full year of offensive and defensive performance to see if he is someone who could hold down the position. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by playing guys like Clint Barmes at Omar Quintanilla at 2B. Nothing. We know what they can do, and it is called "replacement level utility man." Baker may yet turn out to be something more. Let's see. 5. Should play most of the time for the Rockies somewhere. Ian Stewart. Time to let him get some major playing time to see if he is going to be MLB starter material. His minor league stats the last couple years have been good, but not exactly awesome. He needs the playing time. 3B (particularly if Atkins is moved), 2B (occasionally; I've seen enough to know he's no starter there); RF, 1B, LF. Get his bat out there 2/3 of the time. Period. 6. No point in letting guys like Redman get hammered. Hirsh is accruing MLB service time right now, being equally crappy for the Sky Sox. If he's going to get better, it's going to be by working against major league hitters. Goodbye Mark Redman, tomorrow would be best. 7. We have a left-handed relief specialist, we just don't know it. His name is Jorge de la Rosa, and he's better than Jeremy Affeldt in that role. We control his contract through arbitration for '09, and he shouldn't be starting. He'll never be an adequate MLB starter. He may be more than adequate out of the pen. Use him for the rest of the year in that role, and we'll know if he's worth hanging on to. Please do not make me sit through Cedrick Bowers. Nice story that he made the majors at 30; now go back to Korea. 8. Let's have a nice long look at Dexter Fowler and Casey Weathers. By that I mean: mid-August callup for Weathers, beginning of September for Fowler. If GenR-ration 2009 isn't ready, well, then 2009 will look pretty bleak. 9. Sign some cast-offs. Sometimes these guys play well and re-establish trade value; remember Jay Witasick? It's not a bad idea when you've got nobody else to fill the roles vacated by traded players. Don't expect any miracles, but every year some players revive their career in August. LaTroy Hawkins might be one of those guys this year. 10. Don't release guys like Vizcaino. You owe him big money next year. Don't get me wrong: I hated the fact that we signed him, hated it more that it was for 2 years. But my hunch: he'll pitch well in the 2nd half. He may be useful next year, and if he re-establishes some value we might actually be able to trade him instead. Now is not the time for panic or frustration moves. But most of all: face facts. It's over. The D'backs gave us a huge opening, and we did nothing with it. No team with Webb, Haren, and Randy Johnson (even the 40+ year old version) is going to play that poorly all year. Plus you won't leapfrog both them and the Dodgers. Unlike last year, the wildcard isn't open, since there's plenty of good-record runners up in the other 2 divisions. No fantasy land here: 2008 is done. What we do for the rest of this year is important in determining whether we compete next year. Time to get on with it ...