NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
BB:
Bill Barnwell
ED:
Ed Agner
PR:
Phil Rippa
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Record at the
All-Star Break (46-41)
First-Half Review
BB: Ah, the Phillies. Can you really
blame them for not knowing any better? Sure, they've lucked out the
most when it comes to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and
Revenue Sharing program. Sure, they just opened a brand new stadium.
Sure, they have a farm system that has as many upper-echelon prospects
as anyone in the game short the Angels and maybe the Mets. That doesn't
mean they know what they're doing, though. At-bats go to guys who have
no clue what to do with them. The guys who do sit on the bench, or get
sent down to AAA after a slow start. Their minor-league pitchers don't
throw their best pitches because they won't develop their secondary
pitches any other way. Their players get hemorrhoids. Okay – maybe that
is better than intestinal disorders. But it's still not good.
ED: And all that's BEFORE Bob Boone
takes over! Oh yeah, that's some salve for my wounds!
BB: First, the good. Jim Thome has
been Jim Thome (.289/.406/.653, 78 strikeouts). Bobby Abreu has morphed
into Super Bobby Abreu (.306/.440/.569). Pat Burrell remembered how to
hit (.276/.391/.483).
ED: I'd just like to state
again how much I fantasy-hate Pat Burrell. Paul Konerko too.
BB: And, finally, David Bell
converted some of his scrap into home runs (.274/.361/.476).
PR: Bell is overdue a
Kendall/Jenkins hideous injury so that gravy train will soon run out. I
attribute him lasting this long on the new park because the Vet would
have claimed his ACL already.
PR: On the good too is that somehow,
Ricky Ledee hit .318/.408/.576 with 6 home runs and 24 RBIs in only 85
at-bats. That would probably earn most folks the starting job but this
is the Phillies. Now all management needs to do is make sure Ledee has
a little cushion in the dugout to rest his bum on.
BB: On the pitching side, Ryan
Madson has probably been the best setup man in the National League in
his rookie season. Randy Wolf is pitching very well, despite his 3-5
record, with a 3.56 ERA. Eric Milton is 11-2. The good.
PR: Of course, all the NL Rookie of
the Year votes will go to Kaz Matsui and then thing will truly truly
truly get ugly.
ED: Well, also on the good tip
is the fact that a few Phillies starters still have their arms somewhat
intact. Of course, it IS merely the first half of the
season. Yeah, playing for Dallas Green did Bowa some good.
BB: And then, the bad. In reverse
order: Eric Milton has a 4.72 ERA and, according to Prospectus, has
been the majors' luckiest starter.
ED: Feh! Darren Oliver is the
majors' luckiest starter. Or Jose Contreras! Or Pat
Hentgen! Or any O's starter! Oh, you mean lucky in the way
of winning games despite sucking instead of how those other guys are
lucky merely to still collect major league paychecks despite
sucking. OK. I gotcha.
PR: I have odd likes and dislikes
and in a perfect world my ultimate starting five would be Tim Hudson,
Johan Santana, Ted Lilly, Eric Milton and John Stephens. So I will just
focus on Milton’s 11 wins and Lilly’s all-star selection.
Lalalalalalala…. I am not listening.
BB: Besides Wolf, no one in the
rotation has been effective. Kevin Millwood has a 5.15 ERA. Brett Myers
is at 5.68. Vicente Padilla has a ERA just above four, but hasn't been
able to pitch very often.
PR: Millwood getting flipped for
Matt Morris would benefit the Phillies. It would not benefit Morris’
rotator cuff.
ED: You know Dallas Green could
never recommend firing Bowa with a track record like that.
BB: Rheal Cormier, believe it
or not, isn't actually one of the best relievers in baseball, and has
regressed from his performance last year.
ED: But-but...he's a LEFTY~!...AND
French-Canadian. He's almost Eric Gagne. But not.
BB: Billy Wagner's been hurt off and
on, killing countless fantasy teams (stupid 30% of my auction) in the
process.
PR: If saves and steals could be
combined into one position, it would be Tight End but now we are going
down a road that is far far away from a baseball recap.
ED: Well, someone's gotta put some
effort into not making Jerry Hunsicker look like a complete fool.
Lord knows Hunsicker isn't trying too hard in that regard.
BB: Jimmy Rollins is moving on to
the advanced stages of majoring in Mike Caruso (.270/.332/.378).
Placido Polanco's had an off year (.265/.329/.370).
PR: Rollins appear to be more
possessed by the spirit of Jackie Tavener (.255/.318/.364). I am all
about setting Ed up with Ohio references.
ED: Yet Polanco will still be a
valuable commodity...to Tony LaMullet and the ESPN foofs.
BB: The Phillies sent Marlon Byrd
down to AAA after he rocked Citizens Bank with a .297 OBP, opening up
playing time for Jason Michaels (not the worst thing in the world) and
Doug Glanville (maybe the worst thing in the world). No one's really
having an average season on this team except for Mike Lieberthal –
everyone else is either doing fantastic or doing poorly. And, finally,
Larry Bowa is still the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. There may
be a correlation here. I'm not sure.
ED: You forgot to mention how the
Phillies are competitive now because they have a NEW STADIUM~!!!
Man, we really need to get you to a barber for a Selig cut.
Second-Half Outlook
BB: There are a few ways the
Phillies can go. They could right the ship – Millwood and Myers could
come around, Polanco and Byrd could return to their normal level of
production, and Wagner could stay healthy. Of course, on the other
hand, the wheels could fall off – Wagner could remain hurt and miss
most of the second half. Milton could go 3-8 in the second half and it
wouldn't be extraordinary. They could keep throwing ABs at the top of
the order away with Rollins. Thome could get hurt and if he does, this
team doesn't have a guy to replace him in the heart of the order. The
guy they had got traded away because he wasn't the best third baseman
in the history of baseball.
ED: What? Dave Hollins
could've replaced Tho...OOOOOhhhh. Right. That Rolen
guy. Whatever happened to him?
BB: The big road trip for the
Phillies is at the end of July: at Florida, Chicago, San Diego, and Los
Angeles. If they can stay in the race till then, they've got a huge
three weeks in September, when they play series at home versus the
Braves and Mets, then on the road against each.
ED: The Phils will collapse out
west, and the Braves will pop back into first. The Phils will
then scrap back into the races but, unless Bowa is fired or
spontaneously combusts, will fall short. Thems the breaks.
But hey, that NEW STADIUM prolly still smells NEW STADIUMY~!
Well, maybe not in Philly, I guess.
PR: You guys could have saved a lot
of keystrokes. They play in Philadelphia. Therefore, there will be no
title.
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
BB: I talked up Bud Smith and Bud
Smith got non-tendered. Dave Duncan giggled.
ED: NO HITTERS~! are
CRAP! CRAP!
BB: The Phillies still haven't run
away with the division despite having the best team, talent-wise, by
far. Larry Bowa is still employed. Scarily, Bob Boone still lurks.
Seriously. Fire Larry Bowa already. How hard can this be? Do I need to
get Stephen A. Smith on this?
ED: You think Stephen A. Smith
even knows the Phils are in town? And if he DID crusade for
Bowa's head, you KNOW he'd beg for the Phils to hire Don Baylor.
Wouldn't that really just be a carbon copy of same thing?
PR: I think Stephen A. Smith would
scream – and I do mean scream – that Philly needed to hire Billy
Cunningham to take the realms. And then someone would have to pull him
aside and have a little chat.
ATLANTA BRAVES
Record at the
All-Star Break (45-42)
First-Half Review
BB: All the talk in the media has
been about how the Braves dynasty is over, and how they're going to be
trading away their big parts. The problem is that the Braves are all of
a game back of the Phillies in the East, and the Braves don't have
Larry Bowa managing them.
ED: And as much as I'm not on
the “every member of Braves management/coaching staff for the HOF
bandwagon”, like seemingly far too many are, Bobby Cox does good work
in-season. At least he's no Larry Bowa, anyway.
BB: The biggest problem for the
Braves is that Marcus Giles (who John Schuerholz called "Our best
player" only a year after he spent a season trying to deal Giles away
and/or leave him with "personal problems" in AAA) has been out for most
of the season. Other problems – Chipper Jones getting old and receiving
advice from Dale Murphy. Mark DeRosa getting 249 ABs with a .610 OPS.
DeWayne Wise. Andruw Jones getting outhit by Adrian Beltre. Julio
Franco not having enough Jesus Juice to pass out to the rest of the
team. Even Mike Hampton hasn't hit so far.
PR: Chipper quietly getting moved
back to third is one of those stories that only I seem to care about.
That year of Vinny Castilla really wasn’t worth the hassle. Especially
with DeRosa hitting approximately his weight. At this point, maybe they
should sweet talk Bob Horner or Ken Oberkfell out of retirement. Either
of those two coming out of retirement could put up the numbers that
Chipper and DeRosa are cobbling together.
ED: Chipper will get hot, Giles will
get healthy, Wise and Franco will be left at some rest stop along the
way and the Braves will make a run. God hates us all.
PR: Adam LaRoche is making people
think that maybe he should learn how to throw the Ephus pitch.
BB: JD Drew's been fantastic, though
- .312/.434/.628. Just in time to sign with the Rangers next year and
break apart again.
ED: Or I could see him replacing
Hidalgo in Shea next year. Having Drew and Cliff Floyd as corner
OFers would be...well, my fantasy team, really. Or there's always
the Padres. Kevin Towers loves him some cripples too.
BB: Horacio Ramirez is 2-4 with a
2.28 ERA. He's got a 31/29 K/BB ratio. Which one of these things do you
think is the accident?
PR: Horacio Ramirez’s own
conception? Oh sorry…
ED: Umm...umm...let's see, Leo
Mazzone is a GENIUS! sooooo...Hmm. I am stumped.
BB: The Braves pen has been, as you
might expect, effective. John Smoltz has an absolutely filthy 44/3 K/BB
ratio in 41 IP. He also still looks like James Mercer. Juan Cruz's at
40/17.
ED: And Chris Reitsma's done a
mostly-respectable job eating the middle innings. Boy, wouldn't
the Cubs have loved Juan Cruz back.
BB: Antonio Alfonseca, who has
six fingers and maybe one day we'll have a picture of his hand (sorry –
that is just to pump up our Google searches) is at 26/16…eh, maybe not
so effective.
ED: Not as effective as KRIS AND
ANNA BENSON or NATALIE PORTMAN'S ANKLE, but at least he's not suffered
any HIDEOUS SPORTS INJURIES for us to have PICTURES of along with his
freakish hand. HITS~!
PR: Based on this recap, I think the
person searching for “Larry Bowa’s beard” is going to be very very
confused.
BB: John Thomson, who everyone was
lining up to kiss when united with Leo Mazzone, has a good K/BB ratio
(72/27), but a 4.82 ERA. He just likes to give up home runs. It's
unfortunate. I think we can also declare Mike Hampton to be just about
useless at this point. Before he signed with Colorado, he had kept his
G/F ratio above 2 for his entire career. Since he got there, and after
he got traded, he hasn't been able to get it back up there. When you
don't strike anyone out…
ED: Leo Mazzone, in his GENIUS!, is
making Hampton lie low until the playoffs. Either that or
Hampton's seen enough of Rafeal Furcal's fielding to turn himself into
a fly ball pitcher all of a sudden.
PR: The thing with Hampton is that
the Braves aren’t even paying much of his absurd contract. I just
wonder if it is a matter that the Braves front office doesn’t want to
admit that Hampton is a failure or they are afraid that he is going to
be grabbed by like the Phillies and he will actually perform well. Not
that that is a possibility – I am just wondering.
BB: Johnny Estrada: 26.7 VORP in the
first half. Kevin Millwood: 2.6. Who would've thought?
ED: C'mon, that's no way to feed us
jokes about John Schuerholtz's idiocy.
BB: Andy Marte is hitting
.264/.338/.527 in AA. Wilson Betemit is at .281/.340/.480 in AAA, which
I guess is a start. The next big Braves pitcher? Dan Meyer. 86/12 K/BB
ratio in 13 starts (65 IP) at AA.
Second-Half Outlook
BB: The Phillies have to play 42
games on the road in the second half. The Braves have to play 35.
That's a pretty decent sized advantage right there. The Marlins have to
play 39 – the Mets only have to play 34, but they're the Mets.
PR: Of the Braves road trips, they
get to go to Pittsburgh, Montreal and Arizona. Plus, they have a home
stand against Colorado. The also have plenty games against the Mets
left. All that should help the offense right itself.
BB: I read a quote where John
Schuerholz talked about how he was going to be more flexible and tricky
with his pickups in July to help the Braves win. It begs the question –
why wouldn't you just have been more tricky five years ago? Is Otis
Nixon really that important?
ED: Not as important as those Terry
Pendleton and Luis Polonia pick ups anyway.
BB: Basically, the Braves are going
to have to rely on Russ Ortiz and Jaret Wright to carry their rotation
to the playoffs. Even if they do, and they get there…is that something
you really want to pin your hopes on? Do you want to stand behind Jaret
Wright? Well – maybe you do. If someone's throwing something at you,
chances are it will hit him instead.
PR: I would rather rely on Jaret
Wright than Jamey Wright. Poor little Royals.
ED: The Braves will win the
East. Lord knows I don't want 'em to, but everyone had their
chance to kill them off and failed. We have no one to blame but
the Phils and Marlins. Stupid crappy East. Of course, the
Braves will be lucky to win a game in their division series, but that's
better than any Larry Bowa-lead team will ever do.
PR: Well, by the time the playoffs
roll around, the folks in Atlanta will have their hands firmly wrapped
around Michael Vick’s ankles so they won’t even notice when the Braves
go away again.
BB: Oh – and if the Phillies fire
Larry Bowa, the Braves are screwed.
ED: Well, yeah… unless, of course,
he's replaced with Bob Boone.
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
BB: I said the Braves would win
(JDGP * .65) games, with JDGP being the number of games J.D. Drew plays
in. J.D. Drew has played in 78 games, which would be 50 wins – the
Braves have only won 45. Why is the formula off? Because Drew's pinch
hit in games. He's got 282 ABs – which, if you divide it by four (an
average amount of ABs per game), is 70.5 REAL games played. Plug that
into the formula and the Braves win…45 games. I'm a mathematical
genius. The new formula is ((JDAB/4) * .65).
ED: Math is hard! Let's go
shopping!
BB: Then again, I said Johnny
Estrada would hit .290/.330/.440. He's hit .332/.382/.481 so far. If he
regresses and loses forty points off of each of those, he'd be
hitting….292/.332/.442. Right.
FLORIDA MARLINS
Record at the
All-Star Break (45-43)
First-Half Review
BB: We're going to split the Marlins
hitters into two groups, kinda like the Phillies. First, we have those
who've decided to hit this summer. Certificates go to Miguel Cabrera
(.295/.369/.539), Mike Lowell (.305/.384/.571), and Hee Seop Choi
(.275/.393/.513). Damion Easley (.262/.352/.514) gets a pat on the back
and maybe a steroid test.
ED: Dusty still questions
whether Choi can stand the heat.
BB: And now, those of you who didn't
make the grade so far this year…we don't mean to be mean, but we're
going to make fun of you in front of the entire class. Luis Castillo
(.282/.348/.356), your mother would be disappointed. Alex Gonzalez
(.250/.275/.450), your line reads like something Chuck Carr would laugh
at. After the horrible knee injury. Jeff Conine (.256/.322/.387),
report back to Baltimore immediately. Ramon Castro
(.135/.231/.260!!)…you're innocent until proven guilty, maybe.
PR: Alex S. Gonzalez is disappointed
in Alex Gonzalez too.
ED: Juan Pierre, Bill? Where
is the fastest man alive? Is he too fast to be pinned down on one
list?
PR: Juan Pierre is so out. It’s all
about NATURAL ATHLETE Carl Crawford now. Get with it old man.
BB: God – I didn't notice until now
that the Marlins had Wil Cordero and Lenny Harris on their bench. Sweet
sassy molassy.
PR: Yet again proving that Bill
didn’t read anything I wrote in the preview. *sigh*
ED: Well, not at the same
time. Lawrence Phillips...Oops! Wil Cordero has missed most
of the season with a bum knee. Our wish that his wife Golluylied
him is probably merely a dream.
BB: Armando Benitez has been
absolutely lights-out in the first half – 40 games, 46 innings, 30
saves, 41 strikeouts, a 0.98 ERA. About the only thing he hasn't done
is record any productive outs. Stupid ESPN.
ED: But he's still Armando
Benitez. You KNOW how that will turn out.
PR: I am begging for a
Yankees/Marlins rematch. BEGGING!
BB: Everyone else in the Marlins
bullpen has been nice enough to let Armando do things by himself,
though. Matt Perisho might be the second-best pitcher in the Marlins
bullpen, and that should explain to you the situation pretty clearly.
ED: I have a strange Perisho
fetish. Or is that Venafro? Or are they the same guy?
PR: The acquisition of Billy Koch
has been pretty negligible. Boy, Benitez and Koch in the post-season is
the ultimate taunting of the Baseball Gods.
BB: The one thing that's kept the
Marlins afloat has been their starting pitching. Their big four
(bizarrely in this order) – Carl Pavano, Brad Penny, Dontrelle Willis,
and Josh Beckett – have all been effective in weird ways this season.
Pavano's season has been shockingly good for someone who has no buzz
around him – 9-4 with a 2.85 ERA, and, most surprisingly of all, 123
IP.
ED: Yeah, but he lost Alyssa Milano
so...I don't know what that means.
PR: He’s not good in bed?
BB: Penny's 8-7 but with a 3.20 ERA
and better peripherals than Pavano. Prospectus has Willis as the second
flakiest starter in all of baseball over the first half, but his
overall numbers are about what you might expect- 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA
and decent, if not great peripherals. Beckett has been great – an 84/22
K/BB ratio in 76 IP, but he can't keep his fingers blister-free.
ED: Penny is probably the only one
I'd put money on right now. Pavano's made a nice recovery from
Torborgery but the high innings pitched and the modest K rate doesn't
instill much faith. Willis will have control issues for as long
as he has that leg kick - and then there's the matter of the IP at his
age, to boot. Beckett will get healthy in September and carry the
Marlins to the Wild Card. God hates the Mets and Phillies most.
Second-Half Outlook
BB: The Marlins finish their season
on a nine-game road trip: at Atlanta, Montreal, and Philadelphia to
finish. Generally, they're going to want to be a few games up by then
if they want to win whatever race they're competing in.
ED: Meh. The Fish practically
own the Braves and Phils and...Les Expos? Hah!
BB: A lot of the Marlins potential
for success depends on injury. If they can get Beckett healthy, and AJ
Burnett can keep up the work he's done so far, the Marlins might not
even need a bullpen beyond Benitez. They really, really, really, really
need another arm in the pen, maybe more so than any other team in
baseball. If I were Jack McKeon – and if I were, every new day would be
a blessing – I'd consider putting Burnett in the bullpen to pitch two
or three innings at a time, to build his arm strength up. But I'm young
and naïve.
ED: No, it's a good
idea. But, in case you haven't heard, Jack McKeon is OLD
SKOOL~! A pitcher ain't hurt if his arm is still attached.
PR: Priority number one should be
unloading Jeff Conine back to the Orioles. Priority number two should
be keeping the Feds off of Cordero and Castro’s back.
BB: Oh – and if the Phillies fire
Larry Bowa, the Marlins are screwed.
ED: Well, yeah, unless of
course, he's replaced with Bob Boone.
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
BB: I said Carl Pavano had a good
chance of being this year's Jeff Suppan. He's been this year's Sidney
Ponson instead.
PR: Either way, that doesn’t bode
well for young Pavano’s career.
BB: Ed said that Juan Pierre
wouldn't have a .700 OPS. He's hitting .740 this year…but he's been
nice enough to get thrown out on 40% of his steal attempts. Sure, it's
a bad thing but…if you're going to have Juan Pierre, you're almost
forced to send him 80 times a year. Even if he gets thrown out 40
times…what's the point of having him if he's going to steal eight
bases? The point, I suppose…don't have Juan Pierre on your team.
ED: THE GLOVE! THE
THREAT OF STEALING! Didn't you pay attention to Tim McCaver in
last years' World Ser...Oh. Right. You were still trying to
kill Aaron Boone. Never mind.
NEW YORK METS
Record at the
All-Star Break (44-43)
First-Half Review
BB: This was the worst thing that
could've happened to the Mets. They spent JUST enough in the offseason
to push their team out of last place and towards mediocrity – and now,
now that they have a .500 record and are two games back in a division
full of flawed teams – they're doomed to spend money on parts that they
really shouldn't be. This team needs to rebuild. Everyone's said it for
years. The Mets have just kind of smiled condescendingly and thrown $30
million at another free agent.
ED: Exactly like the Reds - except
for the whole spend money part of the equation.
BB: What a weird year the Mets
rotation has had. Scott Erickson hasn't pitched a single game. I guess
that's for the good of everyone.
ED: Yeah, that may be the only
highlight in the Erickson-Guerrero household.
BB: Al Leiter's arm is falling off,
and he has a 51/46 K/BB ratio…and a 2.40 ERA. How do you do that? You
have a .198 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls-In-Play). Sure – adding
Mike Cameron is good, and the Mets have a pretty solid defense. But no
one sustains a .198 BABIP. If anyone deserves it, it's Leiter – his arm
previously left to rot in 170 pitch outings by Lou Piniella – but
that's going to come around.
PR: I really like Al Leiter too so I
wish he could have found his way off the Mets. Them staying in
contention will ruin that hope. Sadly, I keep envision him having a
Dave Dravecky moment – I mean in the sickening arm injury department,
not in the being dead department.
BB: Tom Glavine's arm was supposed
to have fallen off two years ago, and he's got a 2.66 ERA with slightly
more appealing peripherals – a 66/33 K/BB ratio. His way of avoiding an
ERA more in line with his peripherals? 8 homers in 128 innings. He's a
better bet to stay effective than Leiter is – but then again, everyone
else on the planet is.
PR: The hip story line for all the
media is how all the creaky potential Hall of Famers are having good
years – Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine. And of course,
all they quote is the ERA. Still, the 128 innings raises my eyebrows,
especially after seeing that he has surpassed 100 pitches 11 times in
19 starts (including 5 times over 110). Glavine has never really struck
me as having the rubber arm that the Rocket and the Big Unit have so
while its true that it is a better bet to stay effective longer than
Leiter – that is like saying the Expos have a better chance at getting
into playoff contention than the Orioles.
BB: Steve Trachsel's got a 3.36 ERA
but otherwise is having a Steve Trachsel year. Jae Weong Seo's K/BB
ratio, in 79 innings, has been 37/30. That's not going to work, and it
hasn't – a 4.76 ERA. The Mets have also let Matt Ginter start 11 times,
along with Dan Wheeler, Tyler Yates, and James Baldwin, all of whom
have business being on a AAA roster if the team is hurting for pitchers.
ED: And the Kris Benson rumors
continue to swirl. Benson would be SUCH the perfect Met.
Although, I REALLY-REALLY-REALLY will try to avoid reading about what
Anna Benson would have to report on Mike Piazza's sex life.
BB: Kaz Matsui has pretty much been
mediocre, hitting .269/.336/.411 and leading the league in errors at
shortstop. Jose Reyes missed two months and has come back to hit
.216/.242/.330. Mike Cameron's at .229/.330/.447 with great defense –
pretty much exactly what the Mets could've hoped for.
PR: WHO ARE YOU TO DOUBT THE FUTURE
OF THE METS?!?!?!?! MATSUI AND REYES WILL RULE SUPREME!!!!!!!!!!! YOU
ARE A LITTLE PASTY WHITE NOTHING!!!!!!!!!! Or something.
BB: All the spare parts that the
Mets offense have been hoping to fill in the non-Piazza and Floyd gaps
have been pretty useless. Ty Wiggington is the only exception, by
virtue of slugging .500. Jason Phillips has a .630 OPS. Todd Zeile's at
.698. Shane Spencer is at .762. Karim Garcia's at .677. Joe
McEwing…let's not talk about Joe McEwing. The only decent part of the
Mets bench has been Eric Valent, hitting .279/.349/.471 in 80 or so
ABs. So many crappy white guys. It's like someone wanted to imitate the
Red Sox bench from a few years ago, but wanted nothing to do with Manny
Alexander.
ED: Well, Spencer and Garcia
can be useful in strict platoon roles. But they shouldn't be
playing in that OF this year, unless something went horribly wrong -
and with Cameron, Floyd and Hidalgo, odds on the horrific are pretty
good. I could still see Spencer and Garcia holding down LF for
the Cards or even Marlins, but I don't expect creativity from GM's
anymore. For some reason, I'll be really happy when Todd Zeile
retires.
PR: That would be one less guy older
than you gone from the league Ed? Be careful what you wish for.
PR: Lest we also forget the Piazza
learns first on the fly saga that is going on this year. Gotta love the
Mets. “Screw Spring Training! He can learn doing games against the
Phillies and Braves. First can’t be that tough. Mo Vaughn used to play
it. Oh wait…”
BB: Now – even though I am bashing
for the Mets for not recognizing where they are in the success cycle –
I love that they acquired Richard Hidalgo for David Weathers. At least
Hidalgo has some upside – David Weathers is ALWAYS going to be David
Weathers, even in the best-case scenario.
ED: Oh yeah. Now the
question is - can the Mets do the right thing and lock Hidalgo up in
Shea for 2-3 more years. Nothing more, nothing less. But
unless Hidalgo can throw middle relief, he's only gonna help the Mets
so much.
Second-Half Outlook
BB: The Mets start off the second
half with an eleven-game homestand versus all four of the other teams
in the division. Unless they go 8-3 or better, they won't be a
contender.
PR: Unless they move to the AL
Central they won’t be a contender.
ED: And they won't, because
they're not. That pen will really be exposed in the second half,
making the Mets sign every fungible reliever to overpriced contracts in
the offseason. But hey, the Mets are still having a better season
than was expected. And they swept the Yankees at Shea.
That's as good as it can get for the Mets, really.
BB: Kaz Matsui HAS to be better than
this. Al Leiter has serious Dravecky/Saunders potential – I am buying
mlb.tv for all his starts in the second half.
PR: Oof… I am stepping all over
people’s jokes in this one. Eh, I ain’t going back to change mine
because it is true. Maybe the Mets should just put Dr. James
Andrews on retainer.
ED: Why does everyone forget
about Tom Browning? Jeez.
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
BB: We didn't write very much about
the Mets. Rippa is right in that Al Leiter, Tom Glavine, and Steve
Trachsel are a very white starting three. That hasn't changed one bit.
No sir.
MONTREAL EXPOS
Record at the
All-Star Break (31-56)
First-Half Review
BB: The class-action lawsuit for
fantasy players suing Prospectus is in the works. Best offense in the
NL after the Rockies? The Expos scored 290 runs in the first half.
Two-hundred-ninety. Now – I'm not going to say I know the exact reason
why. But I'm going to read off some numbers, and then I'll tell you
what they are. .293. .259. .357. .354. .311. .310. .325. .296. Those
are the on-base-percentages for the eight guys with the most ABs for
the Expos this season. The Expos TEAM OBP is .298. Someone needs to
pray for Nick Johnson.
ED: Phil prays that the Expos
move to D.C. so he can see more of Nick. Is that close enough?
PR: The scenario will play out like
this. The Rippas move to Loudoun County for work and family related
reasons. MLB awards Northern Virigina the Expos. I become insanely
giddy at having baseball within 10 minutes of my house. On July 31,
Montreal trades Nick Johnson to Anaheim. No TV and Beer make Homer go
something.
BB: Must…find…nice things…Jose
Vidro's hitting pretty solidly - .291/.357/.448 isn't slouching at all
– oh. OMAR!!! signed him to a 4 year deal that will pay him big bucks
when he's…34. That won't do. Brad Wilkerson's got 55 walks in 348 plate
appearances…but he's hitting .232. Um…Carl Everett hasn't been kicked
out of Canada yet. I think. The news is kinda slow coming from there.
ED: Umm...the San Juan portion
of their season is over. So...umm...well, there will be a lot of
Montrealeans (?) to ignore the last days of their baseball
team. Hey, it's not like they'll be booed.
BB: Now – the Expos rotation was
holding up their part of the bargain for a while. Livan Hernandez is a
legitimate ace at this point. Tomo Ohka was keeping his head above
water…until he broke his arm. Zach Day's been adequate…but his
peripherals are terrible. Tony Armas…has stayed out of the way when
he's hurt. Claudio Vargas has just been stinky.
PR: Zach Day has been very
effective… at etching his name permantely on the Disabled List. Are we
sure Felipe Alou still isn’t the Expos manager?
ED: Is Armasacito officially
NOT a prospect anymore? Man, that Pedro deal is never going to
look good, is it? Whatever happened to that GM? Oh,
right. Poor li'l O's fans.
BB: At least they drafted Chad
Cordero – now they have that closer problem settled for six years. Only
24 more guys to go. Oh well.
Second-Half Outlook
BB: Livan Hernandez will probably
get dealt somewhere – back to San Francisco, maybe? Orlando Cabrera's
asked for a trade, but a .612 OPS, a creaky back, and a big salary is
going to make it hard.
PR: The Cubs are reportedly all set
to pull the trigger on a trade for Cabrera. That will please me since I
hate Cubbies fans.
ED: Well, umm...really, the best
case scenario for the Expos is that Selig FINALLY moves them out of
Montreal and gives them a permament locale. Then a sale to a real
owner. And a new manager and GM. And THEN - and only then -
can you look on the bright side for the Expos. Of course by then
Nick Johnson will be a big star - or overpriced cripple -
elsewhere. But hey, it could be worse - they could be the Orioles.
BB: There is literally nothing
else of value here. No – I'm not forgetting Nick Johnson. I'm just
figuring he's going to be hard to trade after he puts a bullet through
his head.
ED: And FINALLY I get the
tie-in to how I think Nick looks like the guy who blows his brains out
in the first half of Full Metal Jacket. Ahh, if only that joke
was worth it.
Self-Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
BB: I wanted to see Joe Vitiello get
300 ABs. Ed wanted to see Randy Choate get regular work out of the pen.
Choate did…in Arizona. Joe Vitiello has…in Toledo. Ed forecast Carl
Everett beating the life out of Nick Johnson. It turned out the Expos
organization did it for him.