Because I'm stoked, believe and am ready to see if the offensive tipping point has been reached. I think there's several individuals that just need to taste offensive success as a team for a bit to acquire the confidence and ease up on their pressing. This offense could snowball into a pretty good run scoring team if that is the case. I guess we'll see.
One could almost spell things with last name initials in the lineup card. With one more trade a Vs LHP lineup maybe could have been this:
Jackson, CF
Ackley, LF
Cano, 2B
Kemp DH
Seager, 3B
Denorfia, RF
Hart, 1B
Zunino, C
Taylor, SS
Just don't know what "ZT" is. Checking the context of it, "Jacks DH", maybe ZT is "Zduriencik thing". All I did was switch Kemp in for Morales from yesterday's lineup, switching DH/1B with him and Hart. I know Kemp wasn't available and am not lamenting him not being acquired. He fit perfectly as a #4 with the K last name missing though. I guess I could have been that guy who calls Kendrys by first name while others by surnames. I may have now wasted all the novelty and humor with all the words that followed, sorry for that.
We picked up Kendrys Morales, a proven MOTO bat, for a RP with 32 MLB innings who was getting beat up in AA and AAA this year. We're renting a good bat and the cost was next to nothing. The interesting thing is that there wasn't a better offer coming the Twins' way. Pryor was the best guy dangled in front of them? Really? Was every team fearful that Morales' bat wouldn't come around, eventually? All the same, you have to look at this move as a feather in Jack Z's cap.
We picked up Austin Jackson for Nick Franklin. We brought in as much as we possibly could have in a Franklin trade, straight up. We even leveraged David Price to accomplish it. Take that TBR! In and of itself, this was a very nice move by Z, too. Jackson for Franklin is pretty sweet. It will be sweeter if we can get Jackson to stick around Seattle. Jackson if a very fine player, but no mashing hero. However the market was pretty short of mashing heroes, so (as far as the trade goes) we're all smart enough to take what we got....and be quite happy.
Chris Denorfia is the definition of a 4th OF/complementary player. He historically slaps lefty pitchers around and he can play 3 positions in the OF. He's struggled this year but he is classic #4 stuff. We gave up a "washed up" Almonte and a AAA RP who was on the verge of a MLB stint. He has some promise. RP's are notoriously fickle, you will remember. We're renting Denorfia's bat and the cost is not much. With Jackson's arrival, Almonte was completely expendable. Something for next to nothing has a nice sound to it.
In each and every trade we did very well. In each and every trade we ended up with the best player (looking at the Jackson/Franklin deal purely as a two-team event) in the deal. And it wasn't even close.
All of that spells out a clear M's victory and high fives all around for Z's fleecing 'em.
We kept out young arms and Deej, too. Nice. Nice.
But in the 24 July games after the 1st, we scored a total of 60 runs. 2.5 a game. We lost 14 games in that stretch. We scored 2 or less runs in 13 of them. Man, in the month of July 4 runs was an offensive explosion for the M's. It was clear at the end of June that we were WAY short of RH bats. We were certainly pretty pokey in adding them. So how do we look at that? Well, take your pick:
1. Z bet that our staff would keep us from totally spiralling into the ground and that he could get the guys he needed for low cost at the deadline. Basically that's exactly what happened.
2. Z bet that Hart and Morrison would heat up and we wouldn't need to make a move. Basically that's exactly what didn't happen.
3. Z needed to find exactly the right deals to fit into a very small salary window (Hart's lost bonus). The FO wouldn't let him make the huge move, despite Mather's protestations.
4. Z was unwilling to make the huge move and settled for several smaller ones...in effect hedging his bets.
5. Z simply had a case of the slows.
6. Mix and match 1-5.
In the end, our Sharkanado of trades brought us 3 players of value. 2 of them are rentals, but the cost was essentially nothing. Jackson was as good as we could expect for the bait we dangled. September will be a month that counts for the M's and it's been a while since we could say that. So why isn't this all a Grand Salami for our GM?
If you're asking me, it is simply because of the M's July. We've fallen 4 games behind Toronto with the Royals and Yankees breathing down our necks. We were under-gunned in July and we all knew that we were in June......or in May, even. Z's a cautious guy, he is very careful with his youthful MiLB resources. I can well appreciate that. But sometimes....just sometimes....as the French Revolutionary Georges Danton (not Frederick the Great, BTW) said, "L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace!"
Of all the teams chasing the 2nd WC spot, none can boast a King and Kuma 1-2. None. None have the bullpen we have. We've got our Cano and that matches their best guy, too. Seager is dang good, Zunino is RBI tough and a leader behind the plate. Ackley is hot and we've added bats.
If they get into the the playoffs the M's are a heck of a Sharkanado themselves. Stay out of that water if you're the Orc or Angels! Guys, it's going to be an interesting finish. Back in March this is what almost all of us were hoping for in '14. Late summer matters in Safeco! Hooooray!
Whether Z's mid-summer acquisition efforts deserve an "A+" or a "C" is worthy of debate. We were 30 days late....perhaps. But "coulda/shoulda/woulda" isn't that productive right now. Our rosterbation right now is limited to whether Hart and Chavez should be DFA's and who our 1B should be. Let us chew on that, but the M's are now a big factor and promise to be in '15, too.
The next two months promise to be great fun. We may end up being well frustrated at the end of the journey but I'm looking forward to the trip.
Go team!
moe
Comments
Plaw,
I'm more and more inclined to believe that Kemp's $ cost was the huge issue for us....not the guys swapped out. Even if LA pops in $10M per, Kemp is still nearly a $12M man and that was too rich for us.
I think the big question going forward relates to Morrison and Hart. We're packing two hacks right now. Big hacks, in fact. Hart is at .592 OPS and it's getting worse (if that is possible). His last 28 days are at .503. I would have released him yesterday. He's of absolutely no help going forward. He has to go. Soon. Corey Hart looks completely broken/old.
Morrison's numbers are even more dismal. Really. He's at .593 but over the last 28 days his OPS # is an atrocious .388. In his last 19 starts, he's been on base 11 times. Alas, he's had hits in 3 straight games so therefore he's "coming around" and will continue to get his whacks. But he looks completely lost and he must go back to Tacoma. Soon.
We can't score runs so we can't afford to pack those guys around. I would rather we called up Smoak/Kelly/Montero/Choi/Tenbrink. Any of 'em. With Kelly/Choi/Tenbrink you can call 'em up and if they don't hit right away then send 'em down.
When Saunders comes back we will likely see Morales at 1B and Denorfia getting some DH time. But carrying Hart and Morrison (not to mention Chavez: .626/.559 over the last 28 days) will doom us.
I would move them both as soon as possible. Smoak is a better option right now.
Here's a question: When Willie B returns, does Taylor get optioned out? If he keeps hitting that will be very unlikely.
And my favorite AAA OF trade target, Steven Souza homered again last night. But picked up their MIF, so he's off the table.
We're better, but still have a huge 1B/DH hole to fill. And that assumes Morales finds his '13 stroke pretty soon. Last night's double looked better.
moe
He's not a total loser there and it might help bring his bat around. If he starts to hit he would be a 1B solution for the rest of this season. He's probably got a better chance of becoming effective at the plate than the other pretenders.
I was just turning the lineup into acrostic. I thought about using Ty Kelly except he doesn't make sense as a #4. The lineup spells JACKSDHZT.
I thought the Dodgers had decided not to move Kemp, although it could be that nobody involved wanted to pay enough of Kemps salary to make things work. I'm not certain it would've been the right move for the M's anyway.
You're right, we still have a huge lack of production at DH and 1b. The only other options I see are Choi and Peterson. Don't think either is ready to produce any better than the 5 guys who Have been used here that have struggled more than anything. Best to hope that Morales, who also had a decent opposite field double the day before (was misplayed and would've been an out vs many LF) is putting things together. If Morales is one and Denorfia is 1/2 then we need a 1b to figure things out and soon. Smoak has put up a AAA line that's exactly what I'd like to see him put up in MLB but it's not very likely those numbers wouldn't fall again in the show. I don't have an answer for 1b anyway.