Rosenthal talked to one club official who finds a 50% chance of Gerald Laird or Jarrod Saltalamacchia being traded before the deadline. The Rangers want young pitching.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Come on Walt, offer up Homer Bailey and a lesser prospect for Salty. That would take care of the catching situation for the next five years.
Raisor,
I'd be very surprised if WJ hasn't made precisely that offer. Problem is getting the Rangers to believe Homer is worth it.
Salty's a terrible catcher. I wouldn't mind giving them Bailey and Votto for Salty and AA or higher bullpen arm, and play Salty at first base.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
If Saltalamacchia can catch well enough to stay behind the plate, he'll be one of the best hitting catchers in the NL. He showed good patience in the minors, and his power stroke is developing.
Teagarden is the one to target, but he's still at least two years away from being a productive major leaguer.
"I prefer books and movies where the conflict isn't of the extreme cannibal apocalypse variety I guess." Redsfaithful
You'd better take out EV's home splits then too?
Can't hit lefties. Check
Can't play center. Check.
Injury Prone. Check.
and now...
can't hit on the road.
The good thing is that by a year from now it will be, "can't hit loogies when behind in the count in Comiskey Park in May"
Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand
Volquez has pitched well at home and on the road.
I'm a big fan of Josh Hamilton, I think he's a remarkable story but I also think he's starting to become a bit overrated. People talk about him like he's the best player in the game...he's not, heck, he's not even the best or even second best player on the Rangers IMO, as that belongs to Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley. Our own Adam Dunn is OPSing 25 points higher than Hamilton despite not having as many good hitters around him as Hamilton does. Josh is an awesome player but I'd take Volquez over Hamilton any day of the week.
Hamilton has been very good, no doubt. But normalize his RBI opportunities and he's just another very good player. If he had 75 RBI, nobody would be talking him up as the best player in the league. Pat Burrell has easily been a better player than Hamilton, and he didn't even make the all-star team. Ian Kinsler has been more productive than Hamilton, as has Milton Bradley, when he's played. PA for PA, Hamilton is the 3rd best batter on his own team -- and yet Hamilton is being called the front runner for MVP.
It's ironic, but for all the complaining conventional types do about stat-heads ruining the game, the inane focus on "real stats" like batting average and RBI really detracts from our ability to appreciate the contributions of players in proper proportion.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
How about the inane focus on defense? Because if you can watch Pat Burrell and Josh Hamilton play the game and conclude Burrell is the better player, then I'd say you're watching a different game. Better hitter? Maybe, although it's arguable. More statistically favorable offensive player? Burrell's got him there.
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
I like Laird and think he'd probably give the Reds a quality primary backstop for the next couple of years (his OB and SLG percentages this season reflect the kind of work he can do, IMO), provided he can stay healthy. That last one is a major concern because he's never healthy for long.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
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