Things Could Be Worse
Today's homer by everyone's favorite foul-mouthed thug followed yesterday's homer by everyone's favorite tall-assed weird stance guy, giving the Nats' two primary pinch-hitters their first two homers of the year. It's a far cry from last year when Daryle Ward hit a pinch hit homer every other game. (Or so it seemed; my memory's a bit fuzzy).
The interesting thing about today's game was that it was a giant FU to all the people clamoring for Cordero's head. Cordero was effective in two innings, shutting down the Dodgers -- guess he got those mechanical issues worked out, eh. Meanwhile, it was Luis Ayala, the man many thought should get the chance to close, who blew not one, but two leads. The team, as I've said, is teetering on the brink. These next four weeks are going to be ugly, and I'm fascinated to see 1) how Manny handles it or 2) if having your date puke all over you at then end of the night makes you forget about the good time you had in the middle.
At any rate, things could be worse. Here are the players every Nats fan should be thankful we don't employ:
1b: Richie Sexson, .208/ .298/ .405, 89 OPS+. Sure, he's got 21 homers, but that's ALL he's doing.
SS: Tony Pena, .261/ .280/ .343. Ahhhh, brings back the memory of Guzman, eh? Supposedly he's got a great glove. He'd have to catch everything between Nebraska and Middle Tennessee to make up for that "bat" though.
2b: Josh Barfield, .243/ .271/ .325. Cleveland thought they were getting a star 2B when they traded Kevin Kouzmanoff. Just looking at that OBP gives me a headache.
3B: Little Nicky Punto, .198/ .288/ .256. If you want to know why the Twins suck this year, this is a good place to look. Those are stats that would kill a deadball era catcher with embarrassment (assuming there's one who hasn't been dead for 75 years).
LF: Craig Monroe, .221/ .262/ .371. Yeesh. No wonder the Tigers DFAd him! He boasts an impressive 96/20 K/BB ratio!
CF: Juan Pierre: .289/ .323/ .346. Stolen bases, blah blah blah. He's got that going for him, I guess. And he's an ok defender, even he throws like me. (and I throw like a girl... a crippled girl)
RF: Delmon Young: .291/ .321/ .410. Those aren't terrible stats, but it's a STRONG year for MLB RFers, and Young has the worst OPS+ of any regular RFer. Sucks to be him.
DH: Sammy Sosa, .246/ .306/ .451. Again, not bad. But you'd want better for a DH, especially in that park.
C: Brad Ausmus, .231/ .312/ .313. You mean there's someone worse than Schneider!? Laird and Kendall are also worse than "Snyder" by OPS+, and neither of them are the defender that Schneider is.
RHS: Ervin Santana, 5-12, 6.38 ERA. Remember when some (I love hiding behind that!) wanted us to trade Soriano to the Angels with him being part of the package?
LHS: Mike Maroth, 5-6, 6.79 ERA. One of the things people cited about the pathetic 2003 Tigers team was that they were willing to give their SP playing time, and that they'd develop in the majors. Look at the roster. Other than Bonderman, have any of 'em worked out? Do we have to put an APB out for Nate Cornejo?
CL: Dan Wheeler, 11 saves, 5.19 ERA. See, anyone can be a closer!
How many games do you think that team would win? Brutal!
Surprisingly, 4 of those 12 players are on teams that would qualify for the post-season if the season ended today.
With that, I'm off again for a few days... off to Minnesota to eat fried foods at the fair. Contrary to the rumors, I'm not scouting out bathroom stalls. Have a good Labor Day, and enjoy the Giants series; that might be our last chance for a series win this year!
The interesting thing about today's game was that it was a giant FU to all the people clamoring for Cordero's head. Cordero was effective in two innings, shutting down the Dodgers -- guess he got those mechanical issues worked out, eh. Meanwhile, it was Luis Ayala, the man many thought should get the chance to close, who blew not one, but two leads. The team, as I've said, is teetering on the brink. These next four weeks are going to be ugly, and I'm fascinated to see 1) how Manny handles it or 2) if having your date puke all over you at then end of the night makes you forget about the good time you had in the middle.
At any rate, things could be worse. Here are the players every Nats fan should be thankful we don't employ:
1b: Richie Sexson, .208/ .298/ .405, 89 OPS+. Sure, he's got 21 homers, but that's ALL he's doing.
SS: Tony Pena, .261/ .280/ .343. Ahhhh, brings back the memory of Guzman, eh? Supposedly he's got a great glove. He'd have to catch everything between Nebraska and Middle Tennessee to make up for that "bat" though.
2b: Josh Barfield, .243/ .271/ .325. Cleveland thought they were getting a star 2B when they traded Kevin Kouzmanoff. Just looking at that OBP gives me a headache.
3B: Little Nicky Punto, .198/ .288/ .256. If you want to know why the Twins suck this year, this is a good place to look. Those are stats that would kill a deadball era catcher with embarrassment (assuming there's one who hasn't been dead for 75 years).
LF: Craig Monroe, .221/ .262/ .371. Yeesh. No wonder the Tigers DFAd him! He boasts an impressive 96/20 K/BB ratio!
CF: Juan Pierre: .289/ .323/ .346. Stolen bases, blah blah blah. He's got that going for him, I guess. And he's an ok defender, even he throws like me. (and I throw like a girl... a crippled girl)
RF: Delmon Young: .291/ .321/ .410. Those aren't terrible stats, but it's a STRONG year for MLB RFers, and Young has the worst OPS+ of any regular RFer. Sucks to be him.
DH: Sammy Sosa, .246/ .306/ .451. Again, not bad. But you'd want better for a DH, especially in that park.
C: Brad Ausmus, .231/ .312/ .313. You mean there's someone worse than Schneider!? Laird and Kendall are also worse than "Snyder" by OPS+, and neither of them are the defender that Schneider is.
RHS: Ervin Santana, 5-12, 6.38 ERA. Remember when some (I love hiding behind that!) wanted us to trade Soriano to the Angels with him being part of the package?
LHS: Mike Maroth, 5-6, 6.79 ERA. One of the things people cited about the pathetic 2003 Tigers team was that they were willing to give their SP playing time, and that they'd develop in the majors. Look at the roster. Other than Bonderman, have any of 'em worked out? Do we have to put an APB out for Nate Cornejo?
CL: Dan Wheeler, 11 saves, 5.19 ERA. See, anyone can be a closer!
How many games do you think that team would win? Brutal!
Surprisingly, 4 of those 12 players are on teams that would qualify for the post-season if the season ended today.
posted by Chris Needham at
10:35 PM
10 Comments:
Sammy Sosa has 75 RBIs I'll have you know.
I think we're bringing him in to PH and play Dmitri in the OF next year.
By
Unknown, at 8/29/2007 11:52 PM
I only saw one of Cordero's innings but the Dodgers killed themselves from what I saw. Bad baserunning and bad bunting helped mask a lead-off walk.
Very glad he got through 2 unscathed but I didn't see a guy who was large and in charge.
By
Anonymous, at 8/30/2007 8:19 AM
You going to any games in the HumpDome?
By
Anonymous, at 8/30/2007 8:38 AM
mmmmm...fried cheese curds
By
Anonymous, at 8/30/2007 9:15 AM
I'd take Pena over FLP. Those numbers are all higher than those of our SS
By
Anonymous, at 8/30/2007 12:43 PM
Stay far, far away from the spam curds. The corn fritters were pretty good, though.
Give Delmon a break, he's a rookie. On the Nats he'd immediately be their best long-term hitting prospect.
By
Simon, at 8/30/2007 1:47 PM
As far as Fick's homer is concerned, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile. He is a lousy first baseman, as evidenced by his playing James Loney's fairly routine grounder into a base clearing double. He is a lousy outfielder and he is a terrible hitter. I hope they show him the door when the season ends.
By
Anonymous, at 8/30/2007 9:24 PM
Be glad the Nats are losing. There are seven or eight teams vying for the worst record in MLB and the Nats are in the running. I would certainly like a number one pick in next season's draft. Winning now serves no purpose for the long term building program. Further, if the Nats finished strong, that would just give the Lerner's incentive to stand pat for next season with another $38 million payroll.
By
Anonymous, at 8/30/2007 9:31 PM
I agree. Going 58-104 would suit me just fine. Maybe then, we could get rid of FLop and Fick.
By
Anonymous, at 8/30/2007 9:34 PM
If this were the NBA, I would say you guys are right. But lets be realistic, is there really that much drop off between the #1 and the #6 pick in the MLB draft?? Waving the white flag now sets a really bad precedent for next year. We're not KC or fuckin Pittsburgh; we need to at least act like a big-market team. I think a better goal would be to try and overtake the Marlins so we finish NOT in last place for the first time since we got these bastard children of Canada.
By
Rob B, at 8/31/2007 10:19 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home