Carpe Datum

Life Force Returning

It's like waking up after you've had the crud for a week and realizing that suddenly you aren't stopped up, you slept ok, your head feels fine, no more body aches. Ah, this is what it feels like to feel normal, and you'll never take it for granted again.

Chan Ho Park just got traded away (pending approval from baseball admins, who will approve if there is a God). I don't give a crap what they got for him. A warm bucket of spit would be fine, especially if they pick up a good fraction of his salary in the bargain. Apparently, though, we got Phil Nevin, a right-handed hitting guy who can make a good emergency catcher and also play first base, dh or even some outfield. Would be a perfect platoon partner for Dellucci, who can't hit lefties very well but murders righties (Nevin is the opposite, stat-wise).

While we're dreaming, maybe we'll trade Barajas and let Gerald Laird have some well-deserved time in the majors, then we'll get rid of Hidalgo for a half-decent prospect. Hell, I wouldn't mind trading away Soriano if we got pitching in return, but I also wouldn't mind the Rangers signing him for another 4-5 years and $10 million per year. I'm right behind pretty much everything Adam is saying over on the Ranger blog here.

Nevin may not be such a great hitter nowadays, but the Ballpark at Arlington has a way of reviving the slumps of all but the worst hitters (i.e. anyone but Barajas and Hidalgo). He's vastly overpaid right now (probably as much or more than Hidalgo based on production vs salary), but that's ok. I'd rather overpay Nevin than overpay Park, because I know for a fact that Park drains my life force when he pitches. Maybe Park will do well back over in the NL in a pitchers' park. Whatever. I never have to root for him again, and that's ... (sniff) ... that's just wonderful.

Oh, and keep in mind what I said last week when the Rangers slumped their way to under .500. I still say this division will be won at 10-15 games over .500, so I won't be surprised if the Rangers continue to torture all of us by hovering at .500 or just over for another month or two. I have no idea who the hell is going to pitch for them, though. Right now, I think the starter on the staff besides suspended Kenny with the best numbers is Chris Young, who has something like a 10 ERA in his last five starts. That's life with a rookie, I'm not worried about him yet, but when a rookie is your "sort of" ace ... ick.

I'm willing to write off the rest of the season for a couple more pitching prospects. We have three very good ones in the minors now (Danks, Volquez and Diamond, all around AA ball) who may be ready to dip their feet in the majors next year. If we can get a couple more, odds are one or maybe two of them will pan out and give us a cheap, respectable #1 or #2 guy (or guys) for a few years, and we can compete with Oakland.

Posted by Observer at July 29, 2005 10:57 PM