Friday, June 13, 2003
...Matt Williams announces retirement
Starting 3B Matt Williams has announced his retirement after clearing waivers following his release by the Diamondbacks. Several teams were interested in Williams, most notably the Rockies, but Matt decided that he did not want to uproot his daughter, whom he has sole custody of, from their Arizona home. While Elephants management lauds the parenting skills of Mr. Williams, they do regret that he did not bring his bat to Coors.
posted by Mariner Optimist 8:50 AM
...Cervezas acquire Javier Lopez... and pay the price
Suddenly looking like the Rule 5 pick that he is, Javier Lopez allowed seven runs in two-thirds of an inning on Thursday, more than quadrupling his ERA.
Lopez had allowed two earned runs in 25 innings this season. His ERA went from 0.72 to 3.16.
The line for Lopez looks like...
IP - 2/3 H-8, ER-7, ERA-94.50, WHIP-12
Suffice to say, this acquisition does NOT look like it will help the Cervezas rise from the cellar of the ERA & WHIP standings to push them into the money.
posted by Mariner Optimist 8:44 AM
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
...Benedicts Surging
Two weeks after benching Nelson Cruz, the Benedicts have gained 13 points in the standings, and find themselves in third place, just 1 point behind the Payolahs, and only 5.5 points behind the first-place Elephants. Is this threat to the Elephants Championship run a real one?
With Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Todd Helton, and Jim Thome leading the offense, the power numbers for the Benedicts are real. They currently sit with 10 points in HR & RBI and have the guns to possibly even catch the Elephants in these categories. Batting average is also strong, but the Benedicts 11 points is very tenuous, and could be a weak point. The Benedicts have NO basestealers, so are unlikely to overcome their Achilles heel where they are dead last in stolen bases.
Pitching is the Benedicts strong suit right now, with the Eggs getting great contributions from Adam Eaton, Carl Pavano and Tim Worrell, and free agent pickups Jae Weong Seo and Claudio Vargas. Kerry Wood and Jason Schmidt anchor the staff and Billy Wagner provides a second stud reliever to keep the Benedicts high on the saves standings. The concern here would be depth, with nothing palatable sitting on reserves, the Eggs are extremely vulnerable to injury or another slump. But so far, Craig has done a fantastic job picking up free agent pitchers to fill holes.
The Eggs could really benefit from another starting pitcher, and some stolen base threats. Since these are unlikely to be found on the free agent market, they may need to wheel & deal to get over the top. Unfortunately for the Eggs, they have little of value to deal. $6 Tim Worrell is their best bargain, but his value for next season is a huge question mark and unlikely to get both a replacement closer and something else in return. $1 Carl Pavano or Hector Villafuerte are needed where they are, and are unlikely to reel in a bigger fish. The only good NC trade chit is Mets prospect David Wright, but he is not an elite prospect.
So the Eggs have a very good team, but this may be as good as it gets. A good pickup here or there in free agency, and they could sneak away with the title. But they have a very thin margin for error. Their best hope may be injuries/AL trades to the Elephants because if the Elephants fade, the race becomes wide open with no clear favorite. Welcome to a pennant race, Benedicts!
posted by Mariner Optimist 3:56 PM
