Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Joe Blanton to Philly for 3 A ball prospects. Expect his WHIP and ERA to go down slightly since he doens't have to face the DH anymore and unfamiliar pitcher who throw strikes always have the advantage in the short term. He'll get his share of W's down the strech as he'll go from a #1 or 2 starter to a 3 or 4 which improves his matchups. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 apparently Oakland has something against its pitchers because they seem to cast them all off after they start pitching decently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 apparently Oakland has something against its pitchers because they seem to cast them all off after they start pitching decently Beane's smart. he knows they suck this year. Sell em off and collect the prospects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 true, but when you suck every year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 true, but when you suck every year.... Right, but name a pitcher he's dealt or let walk that's been successful afterward. Mulder? broken, Zito? crap, Hudson? mediocre I guess you could say Isringhausen was pretty good for a short time and Haren has been ok, but they got a beast of a hitter in that deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans4e64 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 That is the dumbest trade for Philly. I knew they were going to go for the cheap fix/stop gap route that they've done for the last 15 years. I called it with some buddies of mine about a month ago. Their management just doesn't want to commit to winning, period. I knew they wouldn't go get a proven pitcher, and instead they would go for some cheaper has-been. Not to mention they give up their 2nd and 4th top prospects for a garbage pitcher? Wow. Nice job, Phillies. They are right there, with the division easily theirs if they went out and got a C.C., Harden or Burnett. But no, why would they spend the money. If they are going to waste top prospects for an end of the rotation starter, they might as well do it for an ace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 The local )Bay area) sports said that Blanton was 5-12 this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 That is the dumbest trade for Philly. I knew they were going to go for the cheap fix/stop gap route that they've done for the last 15 years. I called it with some buddies of mine about a month ago. Their management just doesn't want to commit to winning, period. I knew they wouldn't go get a proven pitcher, and instead they would go for some cheaper has-been. Not to mention they give up their 2nd and 4th top prospects for a garbage pitcher? Wow. Nice job, Phillies. They are right there, with the division easily theirs if they went out and got a C.C., Harden or Burnett. But no, why would they spend the money. If they are going to waste top prospects for an end of the rotation starter, they might as well do it for an ace. I couldn't disagree more. The don't have the prospects to have gotten Sabathia so forget him. Why would you want Harden? He's constantly on the DL. If you're going to trade for a guy you want to be reasonably sure he's going to pitch. Rich Harden is the gamble of all gambles. As for Burnett, he's 5 games over .500 for his career but he's got a big name. He's been terrible this year (4.96 ERA) and would have been a rental because he can opt out after this year. He's also a fan of the DL. He would have been more expensive in terms of prospects (and salary) so why pay a preium for a pitcher just because of his name? Can Burnett occassionally twirl a gem? Sure, but more often than not he's mediocre at best which explains how he's a .500 pitcher. Blanton is young (27), under contract through 2010, and better than average. I'm aware that Blanton is also a .500 pitcher and has an ERA close to 5 this season. He also doesn't have a history of arm or blister problems like Burnett, he makes about 10 million less than Burnett, he's under team control for for 2 more years, and he was cheaper to acquire. Because he's relatively inexpensive that leaves the Phils with room to maneuver this off-season. Burrell will be a FA and they can either bring him back or use his 12 million plus the 10 additional million they won't be paying Burnett to go get a better left fielder. Frankly I'd love it if the Phils could find a way to convince Colorado to take Burrell, Myers (to close for them), and a prospect or two for Holliday. It won't happen, but I'd like it. Would I have like Sabathia? Yes, but they didn't have the ammunititon to trade. Gimmie Blanton over Burnett though. I wouldn't touch Harden with a 10 foot pole and I think the Cubs will ultimately pay for that deal when Harden breaks down again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 Over his 10 year career, Burnett averages 128 innings per season. As of today he's thrown 127. The last two years he's started 21 and 25 games respectively. This year he's started 20. The annual breakdown is coming, and it's coming soon. Buyer beware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Rich Harden is the gamble of all gambles. Not necessarily...I realize his track record with the DL, but if he stays healthy, the Cubs worked over the A's on this trade. The Cubs were not looking for their ace of the future...They are looking for a guy who can help them win for two months, and then win in October. And the prospects that Chicago gave up are not going to light the world on fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 true, but when you suck every year.... You ever read the book, Money Ball. Good book and explains his strategy. His goal is to basically be competative about 2 out of 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Beane's smart. he knows they suck this year. Sell em off and collect the prospects. suck? they are 6 games out of the division and 4.5 out of a wild card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 suck? they are 6 games out of the division and 4.5 out of a wild card And they just dealt two pitchers out of their rotation and will probably move thier closer too. An important part of being a GM is knowing when you may be OK, but really not good enough to do anything. half the league is in the position they are in. Were they going to win the World Series this year? No. So why not sell high on some assets and plan for next year and let the kids play now. Why hold on to a false hope of a miralce run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 And they just dealt two pitchers out of their rotation and will probably move thier closer too. An important part of being a GM is knowing when you may be OK, but really not good enough to do anything. half the league is in the position they are in. Were they going to win the World Series this year? No. So why not sell high on some assets and plan for next year and let the kids play now. Why hold on to a false hope of a miralce run? bull sh--...8 Wild card winners have made the World series since 2000 and 3 have won it...with a healthy Harden and their young kids, they could have gone on a run.....I am not saying they would have but at least give your team a chance and hold off on these deals until July 31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 bull sh--...8 Wild card winners have made the World series since 2000 and 3 have won it...with a healthy Harden and their young kids, they could have gone on a run.....I am not saying they would have but at least give your team a chance and hold off on these deals until July 31 Agreed...Sometimes a GM obtains a player (ex. Sabathia) to send a message to his players that he believes in them to get it done...It works both ways...Trading away players sends a message that "You guys don't have it" and we're looking at the future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Not a bad trade for the Phils. Blanton keeps the ball down, which will help him in that park. He will benefit from an unfamiliar league. Once the league figures out to lay off his low junk, he could be in trouble, but not so bad in the short term. A playoff rotation of Hamels-Myers-Blanton-Moyer doesn't look so bad. The only true prospect Philly gave up was the 2B, who is good, but blocked by Utley. Now if they added Burnett as well, Myers could head back to the pen and setup for Lidge...then look out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 bull sh--...8 Wild card winners have made the World series since 2000 and 3 have won it...with a healthy Harden and their young kids, they could have gone on a run.....I am not saying they would have but at least give your team a chance and hold off on these deals until July 31 So those 13 days would have made the difference then? You have to win the wild card to get into the playoffs and they didn't have the horses for it this season. There are at least 3 teams going for the WC that are significantly better than they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 So those 13 days would have made the difference then? You have to win the wild card to get into the playoffs and they didn't have the horses for it this season. There are at least 3 teams going for the WC that are significantly better than they are. and how do you know this? should Minnesota trade some players? Cardinals? D-rays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen. John Blutarsky Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 and how do you know this? should Minnesota trade some players? Cardinals? D-rays? The cardinals should, they are the third best team in their division behind the Cubs and Milwaukee and are doing it with smoke and mirrors right now. I think the Rays pitching gives them a decent shot so they should be adding, not subtracting right now. They need another bat. I'm not sold on Minnesota but they have a decent nucleus. They aren't in a position to add so they really need to evaluate whter or not they have the legs to make it or if they can subtract to be better next year. Being a GM is poker and you need to be able to read the hand that is dealt before you see all the cards. A good GM has a feel for his team, where they are going and whether they have a real shot or not. Example, the Bills were nominally in the playoff race in November, did you legitimatly look at that team and think Wow, if things fall right they can make a run? Giants fans could have done that given their defense and the way their offense got it together. Half our team was on IR, we had mediocre to terrible QB play all year and our defense was a seive. Sure we were nominally in the race, but not really if you were honest with yourself. A bunch of these MLB teams are in the same boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 The cardinals should, they are the third best team in their division behind the Cubs and Milwaukee and are doing it with smoke and mirrors right now. I think the Rays pitching gives them a decent shot so they should be adding, not subtracting right now. They need another bat. I'm not sold on Minnesota but they have a decent nucleus. They aren't in a position to add so they really need to evaluate whter or not they have the legs to make it or if they can subtract to be better next year. Being a GM is poker and you need to be able to read the hand that is dealt before you see all the cards. A good GM has a feel for his team, where they are going and whether they have a real shot or not. Example, the Bills were nominally in the playoff race in November, did you legitimatly look at that team and think Wow, if things fall right they can make a run? Giants fans could have done that given their defense and the way their offense got it together. Half our team was on IR, we had mediocre to terrible QB play all year and our defense was a seive. Sure we were nominally in the race, but not really if you were honest with yourself. A bunch of these MLB teams are in the same boat. I understand your point, the '07 Bills are a decent comparison. However, it's hard to say the Cards are doing it with "smoke and mirrors" when your sample size is 95 games. I think "smoke and mirrors" can last about a month. At some point, you have to just say that they are a good team. They have been either leading the division or been within 3 games of the Cubs for 4 months now. And they have done it without Mulder, Carpenter, Isringhausen, and even Pujols missed a bunch of games. And they are still ahead of the team (Milwaukee) that you claim is better. And unlike football, where it was pretty clear the Bills were not a championship-level squad, the Cards won the World Series in '06 after going 83-78 and slumping their way into the playoffs. They beat the HEAVILY favored Mets and Tigers to win it all. Baseball is different like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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