Lazy Sunday - One Week Later

As the Bizarro Season continues (up is down, night is day, etc.), the last-place Indians taking the first three from the first-place Rays constitutes a surprising turn of events as Matt Ginter led the Erie Warriors past Tampa Bay last night. Just when you thought you knew something about this game…

Nevertheless, it is Sunday and we are a full week removed from the CC deal, so round up the kids, it’s time for a Lazy Sunday:

Right out of the gate, the PD Sports Page (non-Pluto division) continues the trend that began last weekend in regards to the CC trade with another “effort” this morning. Starting with being scooped at every angle by the Milwaukee media, to simply getting all of their information from Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel, to not even having an in-house writer do a piece on Matt LaPorta (a writer from the Huntsville paper was a “special contributor”), the PD’s coverage has been as disappointingly superficial as we’ve (unfortunately) come to expect, skimming along the surface of the deal, seemingly afraid to take a dive to any depths of examination for the trade.

As alluded to above, that broad brushstroke coverage continues today as Hoynes compares the Sabathia and Harden deal, though I can’t figure out what he’s saying, then goes off on how much better things were in the 90’s. If you’re looking for a link, by the way, you’re not going to find one as I would just feel more directly responsible for exposing you to it if I did link it. The link to the PD is on the sidebar, if you are so inclined, but the coverage provided here (bowing humbly), at LGT, and by Tony Lastoria has done laps around what the PD has provided, despite Pluto’s best efforts.

Speaking of Pluto, he has a thought-provoking piece on where Victor fits next year and how the Indians have a decision to make regarding 1B and C for 2009, which could ultimately be decided by the performances of Garko and Shoppach down the stretch. To me, Victor and LaPorta should fill 2 of the 3 positions between C, 1B, and LF (maybe not out of the gate…and no, I’m not suggesting Vic in LF, you know what I mean) to give the 2009 Tribe as much offense as possible.

I’d throw Shoppach, Garko, and the varied corner OF out there for the rest of the season is some sort of convoluted “position” battle for 2009:
If Shoppach keeps hitting at the pace he is, he becomes the de facto C, with Vic at 1B and LaPorta in LF.
If Garko can come close to his 2007 (finding his 2006 isn’t happening), Vic stays behind the dish and LaPorta goes to LF.
If Chootierrez AND The Ben Francisco Treat show enough to merit them taking up BOTH corners of the OF (and I think that The Frisco Kid has claimed one spot for 2009 with his play this year), Vic dons the tools of ignorance once again and LaPorta mans 1B.
The hope would be that ONE of these players would be able to separate themselves (that is, between Shoppach, Garko, and Chootierrez) as 2008 trudges on, because determining how to get the most pop in the everyday lineup remains tantamount to the Indians’ 2009 season, particularly considering the fact that you don’t know if Pronk is going to be returning to the team or if the “mild mannered DH” known as Travis Hafner figures to wear Pronk’s #48 for the foreseeable future.

Back to the LS, a very nice piece on the emotion of the CC deal and how the reality of the way that sports and particularly baseball operate comes via…wait for it…Shelden Ocker. It’s a very human piece that gets to the crux of what many of us were feeling, how running a sports franchise is a business that has to rise above the emotions of the fan, and a candid admission from Ocker on how he approaches news like this as a result of covering the team for such a long time. Say what you will about Ocker, but this piece (though it bears a striking similarity to Pluto’s first reaction…which, of course, is impossible to find on the PD website, so I gave up) rises above the din that came spewing from Livy, Hoynes, and the absurd world of Sports Radio (among others) in the past week as everyone took their shots at the Indians, resembling a pack of hyenas, ready to pounce on a wounded animal.

While it is easy to appeal to the basest of human emotions (frustration, anger, etc.) and lob arrows of “I-told-you-so” from a dismissive and arrogant perch, it’s much more difficult to explain a situation from an emotional standpoint without devolving into the “You should be mad at (fill in the blank) because (fill in the blank) failed you as fans” that plays to the lowest common denominator. The Ocker piece is a good effort to capture a feeling while not letting the feelings take control of the situation and water it down with cynicism and petulance. Knowing now that this writing exists somewhere in Ocker’s body I would hope that the article would represent the norm and not the exception that it is from the rest of the flippant members of the media.

Off the soapbox and back to the trade, I know that it’s been linked in the comments section, but for those that don’t peruse the comments, here’s Baseball America’s recap of the CC trade as well as a take on the deal from Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan, who felt that the Indians made the move too early and that the Indians should have waited for “desperate GM’s” to start their bidding war for Sabathia. My problem with this is that Rosenthal has reported that the Dodgers were only offering a package built around 3B Andy LaRoche (and even that alleged deal was nixed by McCourt) and many of the other teams rumored to be in the mix (namely the Cubs and Phillies) simply didn’t have a centerpiece to offer in a trade that is as highly-thought-of, or as close to MLB, as LaPorta was.
Does anyone prefer what the Cubs gave up for Rich Harden (realizing fully that Harden wasn't going to net what CC did), quantity over (what seems to be) quality?

Waiting for July 31st certainly would have made the next three weeks VERY interesting for us, but I seem to remember Nationals’ GM Jim Bowden holding out for “just the right deal” for Alfonso Soriano…right up to the point that Soriano was still wearing a Washington uniform on August 1st because Bowden didn’t think that he was getting fair value for Soriano.
What did Bowden end up with in return for Soriano ultimately?
Well…LHP Josh Smoker and RHP Jordan Zimmerman – the two players chosen with the compensation picks for the Nationals losing Soriano to the Cubs in Free Agency. Considering that Soriano left at the end of 2006, it couldn’t feel good to Nats’ fans that Zimmerman, while promising, has made 12 starts above A ball, while Smoker has pitched a total of 22 innings since joining the organization, none above Washington’s Low-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League as the Washington parent club scuffles along with no help from trading Soriano when the time was right.

Is there something to waiting out the best deal?
Sure (although the same logic that led Billy Beane to move Harden now, that is injury, is applicable in any case…even given the night-and-day injury histories of Sabathia and Harden), but it’s not ALWAYS the best thing to do, despite what ESPN (who has a rooted interest in “creating” stories) tells you. If the team gets the deal and the player they want on July 7th, why wouldn’t they take it if the Brewers were going to take LaPorta of the table on Monday morning? By the way LaPorta (or “The Door”…and no, I’m not sold on that one either) is picking up right where he left off in his dismantling of AA pitching.

Excuse me, if you will, I have to go watch “The Door” (not good if I have to sell MYSELF on it…maybe “The Doorman”?), Wes Hodges, and Hector Rondon in the Futures Game while watching to see if Jeremy Sowers and his 7.81 ERA can benefit from this upside-down, inside-out season and keep this train rolling into the Break.