Gonna be a short one today, as Phil spent the majority of his Sunday words blathering on about Lance Berkman's recent appointment to the position of Baseball Jesus.All in all, it's not a bad article. Some of the Florida stadium stuff is interesting, if a little stale but it's a readable sojourn from his usual stuff - a brief respite from the reactionary.
Phil's Whispers is another matter. He has his ear to the ground so he can belch forth the obvious couched in the stupid.
Let's get started:
The Cubs' farm system has improved since Tim Wilken was hired as scouting director, but two underproductive decades are evident in there being only five players on the All-Star ballot who started their careers in the organization. Baltimore and San Francisco (three each) are the only teams with fewer representatives among the 230 players on the ballot. Oakland and Washington/Montreal lead the way with 13. The White Sox have 10, which is tied for the fourth most. …
Oh, come on! Check out some of these names that made the ballot. Tell me this matters. Please. I want you to put that in the books.
I thought I'd only have to say this once but let's reiterate for shits and giggles. World Series Championships are ALL that matters. Not some cutesy 'we won with our own players' crap. Half the reason a team develops a farm system is to have the option to trade said farm system for better talent that fits the club's needs.
For a brief example, the three best players for the White Sox this year have been Quentin, Floyd and Danks. Where would they be without them? All three were acquired in the last year for players doing marginally nothing for their respective clubs at any level. If the Sox go on to have a great season, does it mean less because the Sox didn't draft them? In case you were wondering, the answer is no.
And All-Star appearances mean zero, zilch, nada w/r/t a player's worth. It's a popularity contest heavily influenced by mouth-breathing fans who vote on how cute a player is or how awesome their name sounds let alone just being on the ballot. That means about as much as getting a blue ribbon that says 'Participant' on it. C'mon. Garciaparra (31 at-bats) is on the ballot.
The Mariners apparently are serious about wanting to bring back Ken Griffey Jr. They have had Duane Shaffer scouting him recently.
$20 says Phil works in Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn into the conversation.
...It's clear Jay Bruce is ready to replace Griffey or Adam Dunn for the Reds. …
There it is.
First, we readers of Phil are going to be subjected to incessant Dusty Baker Reds updates all year. I've resigned myself to that fact.
Second, the minute Dunn and/or Griffey are traded, the Reds have officially written off the season. Deadline deal at best, meaning they won't get much back. If earlier, value is diminished due to contractual obligation and unsignability, meaning they won't get much back.
Third, from FireJoeMorgan.com, Dusty Baker had Dunn attempt two bunts last night in the ninth inning of a game they were losing. Now that's some managing.
Fourth, saying Dunn should be traded over and over again won't make it come true. He won't command a salary bigger than he has right now. The Reds will have to fill that position in the batting order in the offseason, probably at a higher market value than Dunn from this weak-ass free agent market next year.
The only player worth considering given the Reds needs is Pat Burrell and he's a career Adam Dunn clone.
I just don't understand the logic here.
I don't exactly know the implication here. Is he saying the D'backs should have kept Quentin and not signed Byrnes? Because of 62 at-bats?
If he is, then it's stupid.
If he isn't then why in the fuck write that?
BTW, Chris Carter is well on his way to becoming a journeyman minor leaguer - a lot of power, hits for a low average, doesn't walk much while compiling these attributes at Single-A ball or below. Seems like a steal to me.
On that front, Nick Swisher, not exactly ripping it up lately, was traded for Gio Gonzalez, Fautino De Los Santos and Ryan Sweeney. Phil cried foul from the highest of all high mountaintops.
An update:
Gio Gonzalez: 0-2, 4.85 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 9.92 H/9. Compare every peripheral to last year. Ugh.
Fautino De Los Santos: 2-2, 5.87 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 11.35 H/9...in Single-A ball.
Ryan Sweeney: Having himself a nice little season. Still 4th outfielder at best. Not an everyday player.
Given Swisher's career averages, versatility, age and wildly reasonable contract obligation, seems like a steal to me again so far.
Just some thoughts.
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