Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Don't Let the Door Hit You...
Matt Morris is gone, traded to the Pirates for outfielder Rajai Davis and a player to be named later. Personally, I'm ecstatic about the trade (though Morris is certainly none too pleased). Even though Morris's value plummeted to the point where Brian Sabean was essentially begging teams to take him, just the fact that the Giants won't have to pay him the remaining $12 million or so on his contract as he gives up run-scoring double after run-scoring double is enough to make me a happy camper.
It's hard to see what the Pirates want in Morris (they agreed to pay all of Morris' remaining salary...suckerssssss). Then again, why do the Pirates do anything they do? They're a team going nowhere and if they want Morris around to teach the young pitchers, well, $9.5 million seems like a lot for veteran know-how.
Morris finishes his Giants career with a 17-22 record and a 4.73 ERA in 344.1 innings. He also gave up a ridiculous 380 hits in those same innings. His contract looked silly when it was signed, and I know of a lot of fans who can shout out a big, fat "told ya so."
As for Davis, from what I've read on some Pirates blogs, he's nothing to write home about. In fact, when I was in Anaheim attending an Angels-Pirates game last month, I distinctly remember seeing Davis's name in the leadoff spot in Pittsburgh's lineup and saying, aloud, "Jesus, the Pirates suck." Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Corey Humes at MVN calls Davis basically a Quad-A player who can't hit major league pitching. Beautiful. Looking at his minor league numbers, he looks like a powerless speed guy who can take a walk, and apparently he's a very good defensive center fielder. If everything pans out, he looks like a good fourth outfielder. Sound familiar? The Giants' entire system is chock full of these guys.
Don't take that as a complaint though. Again, I'm just happy to be rid of Morris and his salary. Now the question is who will take his spot in the rotation. I'd love to see Jonathan Sanchez get another crack at starting, but unfortunately I think we're in for the next installment of Russ Ortiz. The Giants can also still make moves until the end of this month, as long as they pass a player through waivers. I certainly expect to see Dave Roberts gone, and maybe (if there's justice in the world) Pedro Feliz.
It's hard to see what the Pirates want in Morris (they agreed to pay all of Morris' remaining salary...suckerssssss). Then again, why do the Pirates do anything they do? They're a team going nowhere and if they want Morris around to teach the young pitchers, well, $9.5 million seems like a lot for veteran know-how.
Morris finishes his Giants career with a 17-22 record and a 4.73 ERA in 344.1 innings. He also gave up a ridiculous 380 hits in those same innings. His contract looked silly when it was signed, and I know of a lot of fans who can shout out a big, fat "told ya so."
As for Davis, from what I've read on some Pirates blogs, he's nothing to write home about. In fact, when I was in Anaheim attending an Angels-Pirates game last month, I distinctly remember seeing Davis's name in the leadoff spot in Pittsburgh's lineup and saying, aloud, "Jesus, the Pirates suck." Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Corey Humes at MVN calls Davis basically a Quad-A player who can't hit major league pitching. Beautiful. Looking at his minor league numbers, he looks like a powerless speed guy who can take a walk, and apparently he's a very good defensive center fielder. If everything pans out, he looks like a good fourth outfielder. Sound familiar? The Giants' entire system is chock full of these guys.
Don't take that as a complaint though. Again, I'm just happy to be rid of Morris and his salary. Now the question is who will take his spot in the rotation. I'd love to see Jonathan Sanchez get another crack at starting, but unfortunately I think we're in for the next installment of Russ Ortiz. The Giants can also still make moves until the end of this month, as long as they pass a player through waivers. I certainly expect to see Dave Roberts gone, and maybe (if there's justice in the world) Pedro Feliz.
Labels: Matt Morris, pirates are a horrible franchise, rajai davis
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Excitement For Naught
If tonight's 7-5 loss to Atlanta illustrates anything, it's that even if a season is completely lost and all hope for organizational competence has been abandoned, there are still reasons to get excited over a fun baseball game. The Giants' comeback from down 4-0, with two out in the ninth, no less, was scintillating, even if the eventual result was that all too familiar "L".
In the ninth, I started out thinking, "Well, let's at least avoid a shutout." Moral victories always provide a sort of weird placebo for the depression of a 95-loss pace. When the first two batters walked, I pumped my fist, as Tim Hudson's shutout bid came closer to ruin. When Barry Bonds and Klesko made outs, though, I threw up my hands, muttered an F-bomb, and made a dash for the radio dial. However, Rich Aurilia and Pedro Feliz, two of the most awful hitters in baseball this season, got back to back clutch hits (who'da thunk it?), and good ol' "two out" Bengie struck again to tie it.
The comeback was fun because 1) it was a two out comeback from four runs down against a seemingly invincible pitcher, 2) it tied the game, obviously, and a Giant win, however much of a rarity these days, always makes the day brighter, and 3) it prevented Matt Morris from getting a loss for my fantasy team. Yeah, yeah, real team before fantasy, but you have to take everything into account here.
The Giants lost it in the 13th when Jonathan Sanchez was all over the map, but almost made another comeback in the bottom of the inning before Freddy Lewis struck out with the bases loaded. Sucky, yet still exciting. If the Giants are going to lose, let's at least see some fight like they showed in the 9th and 13th innings of this game.
On a related note, around the 5th inning, about the time when Chipper Jones (who is having a remarkable season) launched his 17th home run, I sent a text message to my friend that said, simply: "Matt Morris is horseshit." Not only is he killing my fantasy team, he's effectively destroyed whatever trade value he may have had with his awful pitching over the past month.
I could see maybe another GM being crazy enough to take on the remainder of Morris's bloated salary when he was keeping his ERA under 4. Now that his peripherals have caught up to him and he can't get anybody out, what could the Giants seriously get for him besides like the second coming of Alfredo Simon? I mean, the pitching market is absurd, but not that absurd, not to the point where a team will give up a high-potential player for a pitcher who is rapidly approaching Jamey Wright territory. You could practically see the advance scouts dashing for the exits about the time Kelly Johnson ripped a single to plate two runs today. Ick.
In the ninth, I started out thinking, "Well, let's at least avoid a shutout." Moral victories always provide a sort of weird placebo for the depression of a 95-loss pace. When the first two batters walked, I pumped my fist, as Tim Hudson's shutout bid came closer to ruin. When Barry Bonds and Klesko made outs, though, I threw up my hands, muttered an F-bomb, and made a dash for the radio dial. However, Rich Aurilia and Pedro Feliz, two of the most awful hitters in baseball this season, got back to back clutch hits (who'da thunk it?), and good ol' "two out" Bengie struck again to tie it.
The comeback was fun because 1) it was a two out comeback from four runs down against a seemingly invincible pitcher, 2) it tied the game, obviously, and a Giant win, however much of a rarity these days, always makes the day brighter, and 3) it prevented Matt Morris from getting a loss for my fantasy team. Yeah, yeah, real team before fantasy, but you have to take everything into account here.
The Giants lost it in the 13th when Jonathan Sanchez was all over the map, but almost made another comeback in the bottom of the inning before Freddy Lewis struck out with the bases loaded. Sucky, yet still exciting. If the Giants are going to lose, let's at least see some fight like they showed in the 9th and 13th innings of this game.
On a related note, around the 5th inning, about the time when Chipper Jones (who is having a remarkable season) launched his 17th home run, I sent a text message to my friend that said, simply: "Matt Morris is horseshit." Not only is he killing my fantasy team, he's effectively destroyed whatever trade value he may have had with his awful pitching over the past month.
I could see maybe another GM being crazy enough to take on the remainder of Morris's bloated salary when he was keeping his ERA under 4. Now that his peripherals have caught up to him and he can't get anybody out, what could the Giants seriously get for him besides like the second coming of Alfredo Simon? I mean, the pitching market is absurd, but not that absurd, not to the point where a team will give up a high-potential player for a pitcher who is rapidly approaching Jamey Wright territory. You could practically see the advance scouts dashing for the exits about the time Kelly Johnson ripped a single to plate two runs today. Ick.
Labels: finding solace in a bad season, Matt Morris
Friday, June 29, 2007
When Fantasy Meets Reality
When things aren't going right for the Giants (think the past three years), the one thing that I have to fall back on and keep me checking box scores every day is fantasy baseball. You see, I play in this keeper league (or a "dynasty" league), and keeper leagues, as opposed to regular one-season leagues, turn the obsession dial up a few notches. Just think of your typical, run-of-the-mill roto league, only with the insanity increased like a thousandfold.
You see when managers get to keep every one of their players from year to year, some of them turn into rabid, player-hording bastards, and their definition of the words "player value" gets all thrown out of whack. Managers try make moves that will build up their team for the future, while at the same time keeping it competitive for the present. Naturally, anybody under age 25 becomes a hot prospect, while anybody over 35 becomes trade poison.
This of course means that trying to make trades turns into a kind of retarded chess match, where you're trying to negotiate a fair deal with a lunatic who is ridiculously overvaluing his players. It's the kind of thing that leads to inevitable demands of Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield for Elijah Dukes.
Anyway, my team is in a sort of Sabean-esque bind of pseudo-contention. I'm sort of at the point where at any moment I could either make a heroic charge toward the top, or fall completely on my ass and start the rebuilding process. Much in the vein of our fearless leader, Mr. Sabes, I'm trying to ignore the writing on the wall as long as possible.
I recently acquired Matt Morris to help bolster my pitching (as part of a larger deal; he was actually pretty much a throw in), and this of course gives me another incentive to watch Giants games, as I was discussing the other day.
The thing is, I don't really think Morris is any great shakes (and who does?), and I don't think he will continue to perform as well as he has, but all I ask for are some reasonably good innings. You see, innings pitched is one of our categories, and if you can just find guys who can toss up about 160-200 innings a year without completely messing themselves, you've got value (I have Kyle Lohse on my team for this reason, for God's sake).
Well, as it so happens, there's a chance for sick irony tonight's game, as Morris makes first start as a member of my team. You see, two of the guys I traded in that deal are Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin, two young guys with some potential. I like both guys a lot, but I felt that Jackson won't amount to much more than a better version of Doug Mientkiewicz, and I'm just too impatient to sit and wait for Quentin to turn his season around.
Wouldn't it be horrible then, if Morris got beat around tonight and it was those two guys doing the beating? Given my luck in trades over the years, it'll probably go down that way. Jackson will suddenly learn to pull the ball and smash two homers, touching off a tear where he rips 25 more bombs. Quentin finally discovers himself with the help of a hanging Morris curveball and turns into an All-Star. Meanwhile, Morris turns into the 2006 version of himself, kills all his trade value, real- and fantasy-wise, my team sinks to the bottom of the league, and various profanities emanate non-stop from my mouth for the next five years.
Ok, it probably won't happen like that, but really, if it did, I wouldn't be surprised in the least. You're looking at a guy who traded Mark Teixeira for Jose Hernandez and Raul Ibanez in 2003. So let's go Matty Mo, for the Giants and my fantasy team!
-Speaking of Quentin, I don't think he'll be any kind of threat this series. Why? Check out these splits. In Arizona, maybe the NL's leading bandbox now that Coors Field has been reborn under the humidor, Quentin has been one of the best hitters in the league, at .284/.372/.529.
On the road? Eegads. .131/.229/.167. That's a line that shouldn't keep you in the major leagues. Hopefully he doesn't suddenly learn how to hit away from the desert this weekend.
You see when managers get to keep every one of their players from year to year, some of them turn into rabid, player-hording bastards, and their definition of the words "player value" gets all thrown out of whack. Managers try make moves that will build up their team for the future, while at the same time keeping it competitive for the present. Naturally, anybody under age 25 becomes a hot prospect, while anybody over 35 becomes trade poison.
This of course means that trying to make trades turns into a kind of retarded chess match, where you're trying to negotiate a fair deal with a lunatic who is ridiculously overvaluing his players. It's the kind of thing that leads to inevitable demands of Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield for Elijah Dukes.
Anyway, my team is in a sort of Sabean-esque bind of pseudo-contention. I'm sort of at the point where at any moment I could either make a heroic charge toward the top, or fall completely on my ass and start the rebuilding process. Much in the vein of our fearless leader, Mr. Sabes, I'm trying to ignore the writing on the wall as long as possible.
I recently acquired Matt Morris to help bolster my pitching (as part of a larger deal; he was actually pretty much a throw in), and this of course gives me another incentive to watch Giants games, as I was discussing the other day.
The thing is, I don't really think Morris is any great shakes (and who does?), and I don't think he will continue to perform as well as he has, but all I ask for are some reasonably good innings. You see, innings pitched is one of our categories, and if you can just find guys who can toss up about 160-200 innings a year without completely messing themselves, you've got value (I have Kyle Lohse on my team for this reason, for God's sake).
Well, as it so happens, there's a chance for sick irony tonight's game, as Morris makes first start as a member of my team. You see, two of the guys I traded in that deal are Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin, two young guys with some potential. I like both guys a lot, but I felt that Jackson won't amount to much more than a better version of Doug Mientkiewicz, and I'm just too impatient to sit and wait for Quentin to turn his season around.
Wouldn't it be horrible then, if Morris got beat around tonight and it was those two guys doing the beating? Given my luck in trades over the years, it'll probably go down that way. Jackson will suddenly learn to pull the ball and smash two homers, touching off a tear where he rips 25 more bombs. Quentin finally discovers himself with the help of a hanging Morris curveball and turns into an All-Star. Meanwhile, Morris turns into the 2006 version of himself, kills all his trade value, real- and fantasy-wise, my team sinks to the bottom of the league, and various profanities emanate non-stop from my mouth for the next five years.
Ok, it probably won't happen like that, but really, if it did, I wouldn't be surprised in the least. You're looking at a guy who traded Mark Teixeira for Jose Hernandez and Raul Ibanez in 2003. So let's go Matty Mo, for the Giants and my fantasy team!
-Speaking of Quentin, I don't think he'll be any kind of threat this series. Why? Check out these splits. In Arizona, maybe the NL's leading bandbox now that Coors Field has been reborn under the humidor, Quentin has been one of the best hitters in the league, at .284/.372/.529.
On the road? Eegads. .131/.229/.167. That's a line that shouldn't keep you in the major leagues. Hopefully he doesn't suddenly learn how to hit away from the desert this weekend.
Labels: Matt Morris, obsessive fantasy baseball disorder
