Instant trade analysis: Eddie Guardado to the Twins
Nice move for the Twins, who have been looking to upgrade their bullpen. "Everyday Eddie" made his name in Minnesota, and you'd think he'd be fired up to return to the Twins and help them reach the finish line.
I don't know anything about Mark Hamburger, the young pitcher the Rangers received in return. But if Hamburger makes it big, and someone wants to make a movie about him, this title is already taken.
What amazes me most about the Twins' run is that they're doing so despite getting close to nothing from the quartet of players they received from the Mets for Johan Santana. Carlos Gomez enters tonight with a brutal .256/.291/.348 line, and Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey have combined for zero appearances. The youngster Deolis Guerra has a 5.44 ERA for Class A Fort Myers.
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Comments (6)
Good for Minnesota. Of course, being a half-game BEHIND the ChiSox made this deal possible.
Is anyone watching the Dodgers-Phillies series? Maybe there is something to be said about hustle. Not that the Phils have it; the Dodgers appear borderline lifeless. Manny was Manny last night on the hit by Victorino. Tonight, Jeff Kent allowed Jason Werth to score from SECOND on a routine ground ball.
Which reminds me, Ken: was it one of your colleagues (WM?) who recently heaped ridiculous amounts of praise on Joe Torre, saying (more or less) that the Yankees suck this year because he's no longer the skipper?
Just to be clear: I meant that everyone is aware of the Phils' hustling prowess. What's incredible is the seeming lack of interest on the part of the Dodgers. They look shell-shocked.
In the top of the eighth with runners on second and third and two out, pinch-hitter Juan Pierre grounded out to the pitcher. The Dodgers have left 12 men on base tonight....
Wes Ferrell? 193-128 with a 4 career ERA?
At least he hit 38 career HR's as a pitcher - career .281/.351/.446 - more than his brother Rick, a catcher who hit 28 HR's in his career and is already in the HOF (frankly, he's my # 1 worst member), .281/.378/.363 career!
Picture Jason Kendall in the HOF - that's what you got with Rick Ferrell!
These latest nominees for the HOF are just as ridiculous as Bowie Kuhn. None of them deserve election. If they did, they would have been voted in a long time ago. Some of them stopped playing 80 years ago. Their stats haven't changed. At some point the HOF won't be taken seriously any longer. As far as I'm concerned it is already a joke. Who will be nominated next, the Yankee bat boy from 1996-2000?
As a slighly more than casual fan, the only two I'd vote for are Allie Reynolds and Mickey Vernon for the simple reason that they are the only two I've heard of.
Sorry for continuing the Dodgers rant all by my lonesome, when I should be finishing getting ready for my mini-holiday (48 hours) in the Shenandoah River Valley.
The Jeff Kent lowlights summary below is from a commenter on Jonathan Weisman's DodgerThoughts (www.dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com). Enjoy!
This one has got to be on the short list of worst games in Jeff Kent's career, right?
1st inning: With a runner on second, grounds out to short.
3rd inning: Kills a potential rally by loafing and turning a should-be double into a single. Next batter [Manny] hits into GIDP.
5th inning: With a runner on third and one out, strikes out.
7th inning: With the bases loaded and one out, strikes out.
7th inning: Falls asleep on defense, letting a runner score from second on a routine groundout.
9th inning: With runners on first and second and no outs, hits a double play ball. (Which the defense drops, getting only one out, but still.)