The Los Angeles Dodgers traded two minor leaguers to the Kansas City Royals for 2005 all-star Scott Podsednik.
The Dodgers gave up triple A catcher Lucas May and A-ball pitcher Elisaul Pimentel. The Dodgers will also pay Podsednik's remaining salary this year. In 73 triple A games, May has a triple slash stats line of .300/.356/.500. He turns 26 years old this year, however.
When I first heard about this trade on the radio, my first thoughts were, and I am channeling my inner Ned Colletti by the way, former All-Star (one time), rookie of the year runner up, former stolen base leader and owner of a shiny World Series ring.
Here's Colletti's take:
"He has been a World Series champion with the Chicago White Sox [in 2005]," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "He brings speed, he is a good hitter, he can play left field or center field if necessary, and he can drive in runs. With Reed Johnson and Manny being out and not knowing exactly when they'll be back and not knowing if they will have additional issues the rest of the season, this is a safeguard against them having any trouble staying on the field."
World Series champion is meaningless. Certainly the pitching, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye had a much larger role. Podsednik played well for the Chicago White Sox during their World Series run, but in said World Series, he got on base 28.6% of the time--I know only 22 plate appearances but still meaningless to include that as the reason to trade for him.
He does steal a lot of bases, but he also gets caught stealing a lot too--leading the league in that category two times and the leader this season. For his career, he has stolen a base at a 75% rate. This year, he is at 71.4% and last year he was at 69.7%. He is 34 years old, so it isn't unreasonable to note that his speed has diminished somewhat.
Podsednik isn't a useless player, but it is a mildly useless trade. He fills in nicely as a bench player and an okay pinch runner. It's not as bad as giving up Carlos Santana for Casey Blake, but it's just a ho-hum typical Colletti move--trading away young players for old veterans who once upon a time played in a World Series or an All-Star game.
One more thing. The article ends with this pearl:
"Podsednik is expected to arrive in time for Thursday's game against the San Diego Padres, and the Dodgers will announce a corresponding move at that time. The club probably will do one of three things: (1) Option outfielder Xavier Paul to Albuquerque, (2) designate veteran outfielder Garret Anderson for assignment or (3) send a reliever to the minors, thus reducing the pitching staff from the 13 the Dodgers have carried for the past week to the more conventional 12."
If you had to rank those, wouldn't you rank them (1) designate veteran outfielder Garret Anderson for assignment, (2) designate veteran outfielder Garret Anderson for assignment and (3) designate veteran outfielder Garret Anderson for assignment?
While Anderson used to be an All-Star, he does own a .182/.206/.277 31 OPS+ stat line. While it is ridiculous that the Dodgers carry 13 relief pitchers, keep in mind Joe Torre goes through relief pitchers recklessly. Chad Billingsley pitched the Dodgers first complete game on July 21st since the 2008 season.
What did the Dodgers do? They designated pitcher Jack Taschner for assignment. Sure, that's not a bad idea, but somehow, someway Garret Anderson is on the roster.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Garret Anderson
Somehow Garret Anderson has played played 62 games and have 132 plate appearances. He is used primarily as a spot starter and pinch hitter. His line this year:
.183/.198/.286 with a 32 OPS+
Not only is he not a good pinch hitter, but he's not even a pinch walker. Let's see if he is still on the Los Angeles Dodgers roster at the end of the season!
.183/.198/.286 with a 32 OPS+
Not only is he not a good pinch hitter, but he's not even a pinch walker. Let's see if he is still on the Los Angeles Dodgers roster at the end of the season!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Business Card for Biznass
I went to a party with my friend Melissa. When we arrived at the party, it was pretty much dead. We got there at 10, so we were expecting people to show up within an hour. This gave us time to catch-up.
“I still keep getting messages from Amanda,” I said.
“And you guys stopped dating three months ago?” she asked.
“Yeah, and she broke up with me. Apparently, she wants to get back with me.”
“And you don’t want that?”
“No way. Not after the way it ended. Plus, she has too much drama. It’s just annoying. Also, her laughs. She needs an inhaler when she laughs. I can’t be funny.”
“You’re not funny.”
“Well, sometimes I say something that is funny…” I said. “Oh, hey, before I forget, I got a new phone number.”
“What’s the number?”
“I don’t know. I’ll call you.”
I called her. At this time, people started showing up. Melissa went to go talk to guys, and I decided to talk to girls.
“Hey, so we’re at a party,” I said.
“Yeah, looks like we are,” one of the girls said.
“What’s in the red cup?” I asked.
“Beer from that keg,” she said.
“You’ll never see juice in a keg. It’s always in a box. I want to do a keg stand to minute maid. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
At this point, we just kind of looked at each other and parted ways. I never have productive things to say. Conversation wise, I’m best suited to find a girl who watches VH1.
I met back up with Melissa.
"I completely bombed," I said.
"Bad jokes?" she asked.
"I gotta start writing jokes beforehand. I can't make anything up on the fly.”
"Do you think that would make a difference?"
"Probably not. How about yourself? I saw you talking to a guy over there.”
"Yeah, Brad. He's okay. He gave me his business card and told me to call him for a date.”
"Are you going to call him?"
"No, he should make the first move. It's tacky.”
"Let me see the card.”
Melissa hands me the card.
"Okay, while you're looking at that, I'm going to talk to my friend," she said.
The card was plain white with the phone number in black. Under the number, it read “call me, baby.” I stuck the business card in my pocket and went for a walk around the party.
While I was walking, I overheard two girls talking about The Surreal Life. That caught my attention, so I decided to join in.
“Hey, sorry I couldn’t resist, but I love that show,” I said.
“I can’t believe C.C. botched that Go Fish game,” she said.
“No kidding. I’m Ryan, by the way.”
“”Hi, I’m Ariel.”
“Who do you think is the most famous? I think it's Vanilla Ice.”
“It has to be Ron Jeremy. I mean, Sublime referenced him in a song,” she said. “But I really have to get going. I have work in the morning.”
“Well, I’d love to hang out with you. Perhaps we could watch The White Rapper Show together some time.”
She gave me her number, so I called her so she could have mine.
“So you don’t have a business card?” she asked as she showed me a card Brad gave her.
“So that guy gave you a business card?” I asked.
“Yeah, what a tool.”
“I know. He gave my friend a business card. I guess he’s hoping someone will call or text him.”
We gave each other a hug, and Ariel left. I met back up with Melissa. I told her all about Ariel, and she told me about a cool guy named David. Our night was going well. That was until I saw Amanda walking in. She saw me and walked toward me. Fortunately, Melissa was next to me. That is until she decided to go talk to David some more. I was alone.
“Hey Ryan, I’ve been thinking about you. What’s up?” Amanda asked.
“Oh, nothing much. Just drinking fruit juice,” I said.
“That’s funny. I tried calling you yesterday, but it said that the number was no longer in service. Did you get a new phone?”
“Yeah, it’s the new chocolate. It’s pretty cool.”
“What’s your new phone number? We should hang out soon.”
“Ummm,” I hesitated.
I reached into my pocked, pulled out Brad’s business card, and I gave it to her.
“I still keep getting messages from Amanda,” I said.
“And you guys stopped dating three months ago?” she asked.
“Yeah, and she broke up with me. Apparently, she wants to get back with me.”
“And you don’t want that?”
“No way. Not after the way it ended. Plus, she has too much drama. It’s just annoying. Also, her laughs. She needs an inhaler when she laughs. I can’t be funny.”
“You’re not funny.”
“Well, sometimes I say something that is funny…” I said. “Oh, hey, before I forget, I got a new phone number.”
“What’s the number?”
“I don’t know. I’ll call you.”
I called her. At this time, people started showing up. Melissa went to go talk to guys, and I decided to talk to girls.
“Hey, so we’re at a party,” I said.
“Yeah, looks like we are,” one of the girls said.
“What’s in the red cup?” I asked.
“Beer from that keg,” she said.
“You’ll never see juice in a keg. It’s always in a box. I want to do a keg stand to minute maid. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
At this point, we just kind of looked at each other and parted ways. I never have productive things to say. Conversation wise, I’m best suited to find a girl who watches VH1.
I met back up with Melissa.
"I completely bombed," I said.
"Bad jokes?" she asked.
"I gotta start writing jokes beforehand. I can't make anything up on the fly.”
"Do you think that would make a difference?"
"Probably not. How about yourself? I saw you talking to a guy over there.”
"Yeah, Brad. He's okay. He gave me his business card and told me to call him for a date.”
"Are you going to call him?"
"No, he should make the first move. It's tacky.”
"Let me see the card.”
Melissa hands me the card.
"Okay, while you're looking at that, I'm going to talk to my friend," she said.
The card was plain white with the phone number in black. Under the number, it read “call me, baby.” I stuck the business card in my pocket and went for a walk around the party.
While I was walking, I overheard two girls talking about The Surreal Life. That caught my attention, so I decided to join in.
“Hey, sorry I couldn’t resist, but I love that show,” I said.
“I can’t believe C.C. botched that Go Fish game,” she said.
“No kidding. I’m Ryan, by the way.”
“”Hi, I’m Ariel.”
“Who do you think is the most famous? I think it's Vanilla Ice.”
“It has to be Ron Jeremy. I mean, Sublime referenced him in a song,” she said. “But I really have to get going. I have work in the morning.”
“Well, I’d love to hang out with you. Perhaps we could watch The White Rapper Show together some time.”
She gave me her number, so I called her so she could have mine.
“So you don’t have a business card?” she asked as she showed me a card Brad gave her.
“So that guy gave you a business card?” I asked.
“Yeah, what a tool.”
“I know. He gave my friend a business card. I guess he’s hoping someone will call or text him.”
We gave each other a hug, and Ariel left. I met back up with Melissa. I told her all about Ariel, and she told me about a cool guy named David. Our night was going well. That was until I saw Amanda walking in. She saw me and walked toward me. Fortunately, Melissa was next to me. That is until she decided to go talk to David some more. I was alone.
“Hey Ryan, I’ve been thinking about you. What’s up?” Amanda asked.
“Oh, nothing much. Just drinking fruit juice,” I said.
“That’s funny. I tried calling you yesterday, but it said that the number was no longer in service. Did you get a new phone?”
“Yeah, it’s the new chocolate. It’s pretty cool.”
“What’s your new phone number? We should hang out soon.”
“Ummm,” I hesitated.
I reached into my pocked, pulled out Brad’s business card, and I gave it to her.
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