![]() |
A weblog of baseball news and analysis
|
|
|
Friday, June 20, 2003
Slumping Bellhorn shipped out for whiffmaster Hernandez.
The Colorado Rockies traded All-Star shortstop Jose Hernandez to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night for infielder Mark Bellhorn and minor league pitcher Travis Anderson.(SI.com) Brad Zellar: "I almost can't believe what I've seen over the last four days, and I desperately need somebody to cough up some reasonable explanation for the insane brand of baseball the Twins played in Kansas City. How the hell does a team bang out 62 hits and 37 runs over four games and still find a way to lose three-out-of-four to such a thoroughly mediocre club? Beats the living hell out of me, but no, it really doesn't. The pitching sucks." (Yard: The Blog) Doug: "Dear Jerry Colangelo: I hate you. Matt Williams was one of my all time favorite ball players and I hold you personally responsible for Matty's early retirement...I hope you get trapped in an elevator. With Rob Dibble. And Rick Sutcliffe." (Westwood Blues, June 18) Rob Neyer: "Developing All-Star caliber major-league starting pitchers isn't easy, for anybody. But the Braves have featured a number of great pitching prospects since Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzone took the reins in 1990. And it's at least a bit surprising that not even one of those prospects has, in the years since, totaled even 100 victories in the major leagues." (ESPN.com) Al: "Aaron Gleeman seems surprised Torri Hunter is "struggling", but Torri is just hitting his career norms...Bobby Kielty is every bit as good, much cheaper, and dealing Torri would have allowed the Twins to add a piece to the puzzle without losing a thing (much like BOS did by sending Hillenbrand to ARI)." (Al's Baseball Ramblings, June 20, 06:07:13 AM) Peter White: "There no question in my mind that the acquisition of John Olerud had a devastating cascade effect on the Mets while a gloriously positive one for the Mariners. As Pat Gillick watched Ken Griffey and Alex Rodriguez flee for greener pastures, he was able to find a way to replace them with pieces like Olerud, Mike Cameron, Bret Boone and Ichiro that were a greater sum together than the void left behind. Pat Gillick efficiently replaced two MVP-caliber players. Steve Phillips couldn’t even replace John Olerud." (Mariner Musings) Shawn Weaver: "[Ryne] Sandberg's a great player. He belongs in the Hall of Fame. But he's no Joe Morgan." (Cincinnati Reds Blog) Prospectus Triple Play: Expos, Giants, Blue Jays. "The Expos' continued refusal to promote [Terrmel] Sledge, despite his league-leading performance and the Expos' awful major league roster, has gone from cute Free Erubiel Durazo takeoffs to downright astounding and punched-hole-through-the-keyboard-inducing. At press time, the Expos were reporting that they'll consider calling up Sledge if he hits for the cycle in his next at-bat, ends three-and-a-half decades of political strife and language wars in Quebec, and raises the dead." (Baseball Prospectus) Prospectus Triple Play: Angels, Cubs, Tigers. "Why mess with success? When you've got Alan Trammell and Lance Parrish in the lineup, and a rotation anchored by Jack Morris and Dan Petry... Oh, wait, that's the 1984 Tigers. This year's model looks a little different, and injuries and lackluster performance have resulted in many shifts over the last two weeks." (Baseball Prospectus) Lovable Losers. Steven Goldman on the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked - the 19 teams since 1901 that have won fewer than 30% of their games. This year's Tigers could make it 20. The Padres could make it 21. (Baseball Prospectus) |