I was watching the two NY teams last night, (actually, I was tracking the games using ESPN’s Gamecast), and after they both lost, I had a couple of thoughts flash through my head.
Regards the Mets, they now have 23 blown saves this season, in 59 chances. The Mets starters are a hair’s breath away from having the best ERA in the league (3.89), while their relievers are the same distance from the worst (4.25). They have been blowing leads since the beginning of the season, and I have to wonder how Omar Minaya is gonna answer the questions of another lost season due to pitching, and particularly, bullpen failures. How could he have failed to acquire the help they needed before the trading deadline? Wasting another season of MVP-caliber performances from David Wright and Jose Reyes, the Mets are in danger of watching the playoffs yet again. (I know they are just a half-game back, but as the pressure goes up, you think their relievers are suddenly gonna start getting guys out?)
As for the Yanks, it is clear that Cashman’s gamble, that Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain would combine with Chang, Mussina, and Pettite to form a solid enough rotation for them to hit their way into the playoffs, has failed spectacularly. Should Cashman have realized that the team’s hitter would regress after posting a league-best 968 runs last season? Sure. Not this much, but he should have seen that they would come back to earth a bit.
Obviously, he couldn’t have forseen as many injuries as they have sustained. No one could have. But, the bench he put together, and the second-tier pitching he compiled, set the team up poorly. Ignoring the possibility that Damon, Posada, Giambi and Matsui were all old enough to be serious injury risks was bad planning. Where are the Triple AAA replacements for the Yankees in the outfield? First base? Where are the power hitters in their system?
And, not for nothing, trading a power bullpen arm for Ivan Rodriguez has been a disaster. Hawkins has yet to give up a run for the Tigers, and it seems like Pudge has yet to drive one in for the Yankees. (10 for 48, 1 double, 1 home run, 1 RBI).
To bring this around to the Giants, well, every team has tough times, and maybe, just maybe, Sabean has the team in the right direction. The young pitchers have been good to great, and the farm system seems to be coming back to life. Of course, there isn’t a position player on the roster who will be around when the team is in contention again, which is on him and his crack team of albatross contract creators. Not to mention, replacing your entire offense at once is something usually reserved for expansion teams, which, outside of our pitching, is pretty much exactly what the Giants look like right now.
But, looking forward, there is some cause for guarded optimism. He hasn’t traded Matt Cain for some 30-year old who just hit four home runs in a week for the first time ever, and, thank God, he didn’t trade The Franchise for Vernon Wells, who –sorry, Kent– has fallen on some hard times (although he’s red-hot right now).
6 Backtalkers
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(Still reading, not a-posting much.) Truth be told, I wanted Wells when he was healthy and temporarily “slumping” a few years ago…never for Lincecum.
I have high hopes for the farm system guys + we’ll draft high again this next year as well. Imagine if this team had completed the trade that I DID want–one that, at the time, was even realistic, as the Padres completed a similar trade for less than what we had–in Schmidt for “blocked” young guys in Adrian Gonzalez (Teixiera) and Ian Kinsler (Soriano). Hell, if the Marlins can compete with reclamation projects, our front office is still behind in the foresight department.
The back-to-back home runs by Big Money (aka, Fatter Guy) and Lil’ Money (aka, Fat Guy) were certainly exciting last night.
Guarded optimism is the best way to describe what I’m feeling, though I believe that there’s a chance that at least
btw, it’s Kyle Farnsworth for whom Rodriguez was traded, not LaTroy Hawkins
Just wondering, if none of the position players currently on the 25 man
roser won’t be around when the team is in contention again, then why
the optimism? On the basis of the pitching alone?
FYI: Hawkins was a throwaway by the Yanks, picked up by Astros. Yankees got Pudge for Kyle Farnsworth, who’s useless.
Alas for the Yankees, Pudge hasn’t hit worth a crap and reportedly can’t work with some pitchers (Pettite always uses Molina). Looked like good deal when it was made, but it hasn’t helped a bit.
As for the Giants: It’s hard to win without an offense, and the Giants don’t have one.
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