Game On!
Q. Is Clement a powerflush?
A. Cyber-Seattle reads Capt Jack as being eager to drive the Bavasi pets out to the pound, and adopt his own litter. ... and, in view of the fact that Capt Jack has, in fact, installed good chemistry overnight, he has every right to our support in this.
In many cases, notably Betancourt's, Putz' and Silva's, Capt Jack's moves could be construed as installing a new attitude.
But in Clement's? Jeff Clement is a MODEL keep-your-mouth-shut-do-everything-they-ask org spear carrier. No way in the world that Jeff Clement was dealt because of attitude. You might as well see a club trade Edgar Martinez and assume it was because Edgar was a bad actor.
Nor was the trade because Zduriencik doesn't like lefty power.:- )
Nor because Clement has been written off by baseball. Look, maybe YOU are not high on Clement; that's your right. But speaking objectively: Jeff Clement is, after all, the key to a major trade today.
Clement is evidently gone because the Pirates wanted him, not because Capt Jack pushed a castoff at them for the Pirates' two most sought-after trade chips.
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Q. Then what?
A. Zduriencik wants to bring the 2009-10 M's up to fighting trim as soon as possible. That's the only reason you would bring in a 31-year-old defensive shortstop making $8M. You're talking about today.
I approve of this. :- D
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* On the use of RLP in the theoretical and pragmatic senses, see the exchange between CPB and Dr. D in the comments. Thanks CPB.
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Look, let's be fair, my friends. Right now we are talking about the upgrade that Jack Wilson gives us over Ronny Cedeno's 2009.
Had Bill Bavasi made this trade, the point of reference would have been Jack Wilson vs. an RLP 2009 and/or some other valuable club-controls player.
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So there is an important lesson learned here. It's a lot tougher to actually find a value-providing year 1-3 player for Friday night, then it is to pencil one out on paper.
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Q. What's the exec sum on Jack Wilson again?
A. Here's the original quickie first impression.
It looks pretty clear that Wilson IS really slick with the glove ...
... and he'll probably hit well enough to avoid the pitcher-in-the-lineup effect. I doubt that Wilson will give away much, offensively, to the other glove-first SS's in the AL.
Dr. D, like Earl Weaver and most ML managers in history, has zero problem with no-bat, slick-glove players at CF and SS. (Of course you then have to put genuinely productive bats, such as Adam Dunn's or Bobby Abreu's, at other positions.)
At some point you have to take your mishmash of disorganized talent and form a BALLCLUB out of it. Jack Wilson and Franklin Gutierrez can definitely going be part of a diamond-hard winning attitude.
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Marco Scutaro woulda been a lot cooler. I'd like to know why it wasn't, say, Clement-for-Snell and then something-else-for-Scutaro. I'm sure there's a good explanation.
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Q. Anything on Ian Snell?
A. Think Gil Meche.
Everybody in baseball has called for a "change of scenery." In the case of the actual Gil Meche, how did the "change of scenery" work out? How did it work out when Zeus sent Hercules out to off the manticore?
Gotta loooooooove Ian Snell -- especially in terms of replacing RRS-Vargas-Olson. Wow. ::standing O::
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Q. Meche? Like what?
A. Well ...
- Plus fastball, 94 mph
- Curve, and slider, and change (4 legit pitches)
- Potentially plus command (2+ BB rate many years)
- Absolutely no pitchability
- Questionable makeup, easily demoralized
- Has shown serious flashes
The fact that Ian Snell has actually HAD a 2006-07 puts him in a completely different category than all of the wannabes.
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Q. Thumbs up or thumbs down on the trade?
A. I could ehhhhhh on Wilson. Though, we do admire the win-now mindset and the Gillick-like, craft-a-real-ballclub, non-VORP-bound creativity.
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Ian Snell, as a studling young Meche re-weld, instead of the baling wire and band-aids, that one I could get excited about. Actually, am excited about. Snell has the hot FB, the 4 pitches, and the 8k, 2.5bb background. He could be just a tweak away from pulling a Meche. As Meche was. Um...
Snell is not unlike Brandon Morrow, either.
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Jeff Clement, when the amigo hits 37 homers a few years on -- we hope (and expect) that cyber-Seattle will cut a little more slack on quality-for-quality than they currently do on Adam Jones. (Jones already HAS been replaced; replacing a #3 overall LH masher will be tougher.)
The M's gave up their Great White Lefty HR Hope. It hurts to lose Clement, and it hurts bad.
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But they accelerated the re-crafting of their NL-style ballclub and they will play to win in 2009. Game Breaker, Baby!
Two thumbs (gingerly) up.
Cheers,
Dr D