Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing
July 31, 2009 at 2:52 pm | Posted in rumors | 10 Comments
Anyone predict that Vinny Rottino would be the big Dodger acquisition of the day? Anyone? After a day full of rumors both predictable (Roy Halladay!) and much much less (Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell? What would the Padres have wanted, the Dodgers’ top 15 prospects, the corpse of Jackie Robinson, and the right to carve “Beat LA” onto the moon?) the deadline passed without the Dodgers adding anyone to the major league roster, other than yesterday’s deal for George Sherrill. I must admit that I’m a little conflicted.
On one hand, guys like Clayton Kershaw, Scott Elbert, James McDonald, and Andrew Lambo are still in the organization, and that’s definitely a good thing. But on the other, you just feel like this is the year that it’s finally time to go for it. Whether that meant a starter like Halladay or Jarrod Washburn or the idea of getting Bell to go with Sherrill and create an unholy bullpen, you wanted to see them do something.
So yeah, I’m disappointed. But in the same breath, I’m also happy, because Ned Colletti didn’t get desperate and go make a deal when the right deal just wasn’t there. Toronto’s demands for Halladay were well-known to be unreasonable, and I really feel that if the Dodgers had anted up for Halladay, it would have cost so much that we wouldn’t have been all that thrilled about it.
So what are we left with? This has still been the best team in baseball to this point, and the addition of Sherrill does improve an already-impressive bullpen. The questions about the rotation remain, but really, short of paying an absurd ransom for Halladay, what was to be done? Washburn’s terribly overrated, and considering how incredibly happy Seattle fans were with the trade, it’s hard to say that he’d have been the right choice for the Dodgers.
Going forward, don’t worry about the offense; it’s just a slump. Don’t worry about the bullpen; rumors of its demise have been great exagerrated, with the addition of Sherrill and return of Ronald Belisario. The starters? Yeah, there’s some cause for concern, but the sky is hardly falling.
And remember! This is important – the fact that the corpse of Jason Schmidt is going tonight against Atlanta’s Tommy Hanson, one of the brightest young stars in baseball, is just bad timing. The Dodgers ARE making the playoffs, and Schmidt is NOT pitching in October. Remember that when he’s down 8-0 in the 2nd inning tonight.
10 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a Reply
How Many McCourt Sins?
MSTI on the web
MSTI Library
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
I feel like I’m going to be sick. It’s over. Yes, we’ll be in round 1 of the playoffs. Probably. This should have been the year.
Comment by barbara billingsley— July 31, 2009 #
I’m completely okay with Ned not making a marquee move. But why not add a bat on the bench? Am I the only one tired of watching Loretta go out there? And if we didn’t go out and get a fifth starter, quit fucking around and hand the job to Elbert, McDonald or even Stults.
Comment by TheSleaze— July 31, 2009 #
I “assume” that a move for a bat off the bench was not made, b/c THEY “assume” Eye Chart will fill that role once he’s back. Is that too much to assume for the LA front office?
Comment by Gibby's Limp— July 31, 2009 #
I “assume” that a move for a bat off the bench was not made, b/c THEY “assume” Eye Chart will fill that role once he’s back. Is that too much to assume for the LA front office?
Comment by Gibby's Limp— July 31, 2009 #
tragic,
We were wrong for a day about Schmidt.
Comment by DavidS— July 31, 2009 #
Schmidt is our ace!
I’m kidding, but he did do well. Props to him.
Comment by LAFord— July 31, 2009 #
MSTI culpa.
MSTI culpa.
MSTI maxima culpa.
;-)
Comment by The Dude Abides— July 31, 2009 #
BTW, Joe Beimel is back in the NL West. He’s a Rockie.
Comment by The Dude Abides— July 31, 2009 #
it doesn’t help that Bar-imel will be pitching hald his outings at Coors. on paper, Sherrill has got to be the better pick-up.
man, everytime MSTI makes a doomsday prediction about Schmidt, he does… something.
please keep it up with the reverse jinx.
“But in the same breath, I’m also happy, because Ned Colletti didn’t get desperate and go make a deal when the right deal just wasn’t there. ”
pretty much sums up how I feel. We know Toronto was asking for the dishwasher and the kitchen sink. and any deal with a division “rival” was a stretch. were the Padres to deal their best pitcher and hitter in the same day, they wouldn’t have any fans left. If Peavy didn’t okay the deal, then maybe, perhaps, possibly Adrian Gonzalez would be in a Dodger uni.
damn that Peavy. screwing the Dodgers in his final act as a Padre…
Comment by slam— July 31, 2009 #
If the Martin in Heyman’s deal was Ethan Martin, it would have been a great move. If it was Russell, however, it would be terrible. Despite having a major down year, Martin is still elite defensively and productive offensively, with the second highest OBP among full time catchers in all of baseball.
As for Schmidt, this start was either a fluke against a weak hitting team (albiet one that is heavily left-handed and feasts on crappy fastballs) or a promising sign. In his first two starts, Schmidt seemed to overthrow and try to throw 95 again, despite a clear inability to do so. Tonight, he seemed to dial it back and had solid command and movement combined with some really nice, slow breaking pitches. If he can keep that up, Schmidt really does have a chance to keep it going for a few years, sort of like Frank Tanana when injuries robbed him of his velocity. He will never be a dominant ace again, but could slot into a 4-5 slot if this wasn’t a fluke start.
Comment by Alireza— August 1, 2009 #