Well I was off and about on the left coast this past weekend and, surprisingly, I did not find the time to sit down at a computer and blog instead of enjoy the comfortable weather and sunshine that plagued San Francisco for a few days. Not that I would have been able to write if it was raining and foggy, as I was guided to an excellent hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that has left me craving burritos (a serious, night sweat craving) and I would have stuffed myself full of those all day instead of sitting at a computer. Now that I have actual responsibility to deal with today it is the appropriate time to get back in the saddle and steal company time.
Shock of the Season. Living in DC I will say a few words. Manny Acta is not a bad manager. He is not a great one, but he is far from the worst. He was 1. Dealt a crappy hand with having Jim Bowden as his GM and 2. There just was not enough talent to compete in a division such as the NL East. He is a good manager of people and you cannot fault him for calling on his bullpen when his starters failed, even though he knew the bullpen would make the deficit insurmountable. At the end of the day this is a good move for both parties and I do not think this is going to reflect poorly on Acta at all. Washington is an absolute mess of a franchise and that is the most polite way of stating the issues. Jim Riggleman, the bench coach, is likely to take over as interim manager.
Yikes. Ok, a little bit of economics to explain why this has disaster written all over it. There is a theorum, The Coase Theorum, that basically states that resources will find their most efficient use (as long as there are well defined property rights, no barriers to bargaining, yada yada yada). It is used frequently now with Cap and Trade arguments regarding everyones favorite externality, pollution. Pedro Martinez throws a Mid-80's fastball with a disgusting change up. He would have to reinvent himself in the likeness of Trevor Hoffman to even be a decent 5th starter. There was a nice little rumor about Pedro and the Rays a month or so ago and it went a little something like this...Pedro called up a friend in the Rays organization and said 'Hey, I'm feeling just swell, how about you check me out because I want to pitch in the bigs again.' 'Ok Pedro, you have my full attention let me come down and see what you got." Pedro unleashes a few 86-MPH fastballs...'You know what Pedro, I am going to pass, best of luck.' What does this have to do with Coase? Well the most efficient use for the Externality (negative, not positive. He is a diva...a diva that can't mow down line ups anymore) known as Pedro Martinez is probably not in the Major Leagues. This is a case where a GM(Ruben Amaro Jr.) is trying to pull a move that will make him look like a genius when in reality it is going to make him look like a horse's you-know-what.
A Good Pitching Decision. So John Smoltz is batting .500 for his starts, Brad Penny has been everything the Sox could have hoped for and more. Jon Lester has found his stride, Josh Beckett is in contention for a Cy Young (if Greinke falters in the second half), and Tim Wakefield has been Tim Wakefield, but better. So why promote Clay Buchholz and move to a 6-man rotation? For one thing, the kid has earned it, going 7-2 with 2.36 ERA and a 3:1 K-BB ratio. Second of all, who knows what will happen to Penny and Smoltz down the stretch. It could be a trade bait move if the Sox can trick Toronto into dealing Halladay to them, but I doubt it. It looks like a move to see just how much depth they really have and let play on the field sort everything out.
Not a bad Mid-Season Award list. I usually stay away from posting this kind of stuff, but this is actually not bad. I mean, the only thing wrong is that I believe Ken Wakamatsu should be AL Manager of the year, but Washington is also a fine pick. Also, after seeing him pitch on Thursday, I have to believe that Tim Lincecum is going to go back-to-back with Cy Young awards. The Freak is just downright filthy and his only true competition is Dan Haren who is known for having a poor second half.
And 10 years ago today...Ted Williams threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park to start the 1999 All-Star game.
Time for a meeting...back in a flash.
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