Deadline Wrap-up
August 1, 2005
Wouldn't you know it - the very day I point out Pedro Astacio's one
redeeming pitching ability - that he hasn't walked many batters this
year -
he goes out the very same night and walks six Cincinnati Reds.
This only
days after I suggested that the Reds would be a good team to start
against because a) they'll be playing in Petco and b) because the Reds
have the second worst offense on the road in the NL. So of
course, they turn those 6 walks into 7 runs. It's been that kind
of year for me. Oy!
Well, the trade deadline passed and as expected none of the big names
that had been mentioned got traded. However, there were a
few surprising names that moved. The Braves nabbed Kyle
Farnsworth from the Tigers for Roman Colon and Zach Miner. I
don't know what the record is for the shortest time period between a
guy being named closer and being traded as such, but Farnsworth has to
come close. Even though Braves GM John Schuerholz confirmed that
Farnsworth will be
used in a set-up role, it's an interesting gamble on the part of the
Braves
because Farnsworth is returning to a league in which he suffered some
major meltdowns the last couple of years.
Then there's also the issue of moving to a park that turns more fly
ball outs into home runs than Comerica. On the plus side,
Farnsworth is much less a flyball pitcher than he was so there's a good
chance that he'll continue to pitch well. Still, the
Braves problem hasn't been getting to the 9th but closing it out.
Unlike current Braves' closer Chris Reitsma, Farnsworth has yet to blow
a lead as the closer.
Reitsma will be on a short leash but it will probably take successive
failures for Bobby Cox to switch to Farnsworth. Fernando Rodney
is the favorite to get the saves in Detroit now and I
like his chances to thrive in the role. Colon is not a bad
pitcher and should be given a chance to show if he can make it as a
starter. Regardless, his results will be inconsistent this year.
Jody Gerut got traded again, this time to Pittsburgh. After
getting buried on the bench in Chicago where Dusty Baker has trouble
figuring out which players give him the best chance to win, Gerut may
get a reprieve with the Pirates. He still may end up as nothing
more than a caddy for rookies, but if he can get off to a hot start, he
could see regular playing time over Tike Redman until Craig Wilson
returns. Matt Lawton goes to the Cubs and takes over
in left field. The obvious place in the line-up to bat him would
be lead-off, but with Baker at the helm he could bat anywhere. If
he bats lead-off, Derrek Lee's chances of winning the triple crown go
up significantly.
Ron Villone got traded to the Marlins for prospects. He'll be the
designated lefty in the late innings which could yield some vulture
wins down the stretch along with solid ratios. in real baseball
terms, it gives the back-end of the Marlins' pen a little more
legitimacy with another hard thrower.
With Ramon Hernandez opting for season-ending surgery on his wrist, the
Padres acquired Miguel Olivo and David Ross to backstop. Olivo
still has intriguing offensive talent although it has yet to show up in
his batting average. Perhaps hitting coach Dave Magadan can teach
him to be more selective. If Olivo can raise his average to the
.250-.260 range, he could be the only 15-homer, 15-steal catcher in the
big leagues. Ross won't add much production in a back-up role and
is probably not worth considering for a fantasy roster. He
entered the league with a bang in 2003 when he popped 10 homers in 124
at bats, but his power production has been in steady decline since.
The Mariners and Giants exchanged Yorvit Torrealba and Jesse Foppert
for Randy Winn. The Padres and D-backs have not taken advantage
of the division and now that the Giants have Randy Winn in the fold,
they have an outside shot to win the division, especially if Bonds
returns (however unlikely). The Padres had a chance to bury the
West the way the Cardinals have in the Central, but poor play, poor
game managing, poor roster management and injuries to some key players
have cost them their chance to run away and hide. Now they will
have to fight to get into the playoffs. With the addition of
Winn, the Giants actually have a line-up that resembles that of a major
league team. They are still a long shot to win the division, but
Winn is imminently signable for next year, making one less thing to
worry about this winter for GM Brian Sabean. As for Torrealba and
Foppert, both have some talent but both also have significant
performance hurdles to overcome to make it in the majors as
regulars. Torrealba struggles to make contact and Foppert has
walked more than a batter per inning this year in limited major league
action. His walk rate in AAA this season hasn't been much
better. At this point, neither is worth a roster spot in a keeper
league.