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Friday, October 22, 2004

RUMORS
(Before jumping into something here, did you know that Lindsay Lohan has a single out? It's called "Rumors", which is why I think of it here. But it's not attached to an album, it's just a single. What the hell? What is the world coming to? The song blows, by the way ...)

On last night's playoff BTF IRC session, someone, I don't remember who, claimed that he had been speaking with an AP writer that covers the Mets, and that this writer claims that a Jose Guillen for Mike Piazza swap is in the offing. Grain of salt, natch, but would such a move be wise?

Piazza, I would have to assume, would get most of his playing time at DH and 1B. This means that Glaus would definitely be gone, unless he can play third and McPherson returns to the PCL.

But Piazza also makes around $15 million next year, which is far more expensive than either Glaus or McPherson will be. Would he be worth that much more money?

I don't think so; in fact, I think the chances that Piazza will out-hit Glaus and/or McPherson in 2005 are not as high as you might think. First of all, as a 36-year-old (former?) catcher, he's not in the best shape physically. He missed thirty games last year and nearly 90 in 2003. He missed that time last year despite playing first more than backstop. There's also this to consider:

Year   SLG   OPS+

2000 .614 159
2001 .573 150
2002 .544 140
2003 .483 124
2004 .444 108
That's not a surprising trend for a catcher. Piazza has been a great player, and to the best of my knowledge a class act. But he is a shadow of his former self, and at this point just sticking him at DH might not be enough to keep him healthy and productive (just see Tim Salmon in 2004).

So if this is for real, I'm not sure I like the move. I like Piazza, but it seems more like a PR move than a baseball move.

However, thanks to Sean I noted that the Angels have made a baseball move: Angees Riggs has been unconditionally released. I never thought he brought much to the table as a player, but hopefully he can hang on somewhere. It's hard to root against the AAA lifers, even when they're unexceptional ballplayers. Fare thee well, Angees ...

Comments:
He brought a big ass double to the table in a pretty big game against the A's.

And yes, I'm the type who think that one moment for some guys is worth a career. Crazy as it sounds, I think the Edmonds trade was won the day Kennedy hit three homers. Anything else is gravy.
 
By the way, I really don't care for the font you use on this site. Look into it. Thanks.
 
I see what you mean when you say a moment can make a career. At the same time, we can't really pretend that Riggs was that great of a ballplayer, just because he had a great moment or two. But it's the sort of thing that will make us look back on him in fondness.

What kind of font would you suggest? I've just been using the Blogger template. The font also looks different on different browsers; IE doesn't really like it, but it looks pretty good on Safari. Suggestions? I am to please.
 
It's probably the template. I like the font that shows up on the page where you post comments. Easier to read. I kind of the like the font on the template that the Assclown uses, too. Don't change for me, though. I was just making a suggestion.

Btw, I emailed Sheehan about his "two best teams" comment in today's Prospectus (he says this is the first series in years with the two best teams - I said we had the two best in 2002). In his last line he asks:
"Who starts Opening Day, Pedro or Colon?"

I told him I don't care, as long as the first out recorded is a fly ball to Beltran in center.
 
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