No more Sydney Ponson. This also kills the Burnett deal, which is a bummer and unfortunately probably shows the Orioles management team of Flanagan and Beatty just isn't ballsy enough to take this team to contention. Maybe I'm wrong. I definitely would have done the Burnett deal, Mike Lowell (who is young enough to make a comeback and really isn't hitting that much worse than Nevin this year) be damned. Who is going to start in Sydney's place? Maybe there is other stuff in the works. It shouldn't be tough to find a starter who can do better than Ponson's 6.04 ERA.
I like the deal, though. Moving Ponson for a hitter like Nevin is basically a salary move, but Nevin helps a team more than Ponson. I've been a fan of Nevin's ever since he played for the Tigers in the early nineties, so it'll be good to be able to watch him again. I don't really know where he's going to play, with the unbelievable Rafael Palmeiro tearing it up right now. I really mispredicted him, although I still stand by my notion that Sosa will have a better second half then Raffy (so far, it's close).
I wonder if the O's want Jason Johnson - having the best season of his career, and the Tigers are looking to deal - back to fill that last starter void? Or will Hayden Penn be recalled?
Trade Deadline Notes: Closers, Phillies, Buyers
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3 comments:
i'm glad the orioles aren't giving away bigbie and penn (and that's just the beginning of the deal) for a two-month rental pitcher who really isn't "proven" even if he has the potential.
some in baseball think that lowell is turning into a sammy sosa-type player. at best, that means he's not reliable, and would cost a heavy chunk of change to hold onto an unreliable 1B/DH (who we have MANY of already!).
i can't believe we let baldwin go to the rangers though. he was incredible... and now with us playing texas monday, i have a bad feeling that could come back to hurt us.
the starter void is what worries me about giving up ponson. who IS going to fill the void? hmm. they had planned on getting burnett to take sidney's place, and then moving sidney to bullpen to take long-reliever spot that baldwin vacated. would have been an okay plan, but it's falling apart. only a week left of the trade talks, thank goodness.
Losing Bigbie wouldn't be anything - he's the type of player that you can easily find at AAA somewhere. Penn is highly touted, but I think it's worth giving up one prospect for a chance at the World Series, which Burnett would have given. He's the only one of significant value the O's would have given up.
Burnett may not be "proven," depending on your definition, but he's certainly the best pitcher available right now and is going to be the most highly sought after free agent pitcher this off-season. I'd say he's one of the twenty best pitchers in the game.
Losing Baldwin does suck. I wish the O's had the balls to release Steve Kline, especially after his earlier season comments about the O's fans.
I bet the O's have something else cooking with acquiring a starting pitcher. Otherwise, this all doesn't make a lot of sense. We'll see. Heck, who's even starting tonight? Ponson was supposed to.
i'm with you about kline - he rejected going to bowie and as a result they let baldwin go. they should have let kline go then, but he's too much of a salary hit. that's the perfect situation where economics trumped doing the best move for the team, and that aggravates me. baldwin was said to be a great clubhouse presence. kline... complete opposite.
i disagree about bigbie - i think he'll develop into a solid LFer. he's already made some great defensive plays, and could continue to improve offensively. i don't think he'll blossom into brian roberts' numbers, but just hitting .290 and being healthy is fine for me.
penn's delivery reminds me of mussina, except for the little hop mussina does after some pitches. if he evens it out, he could be great. it seems maturity might be an issue right now though. i'd do a penn-julio-kline for burnett deal, but taking on lowell and giving away bigbie in addition is a bit ridiculous. marlins are lucky the market is thin this year.
the latest is that nevin hasn't even heard about the deal yet (so says his agent) so ponson has to still be pitching. i'd be surprised otherwise.
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