Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Don't Believe the Hype
I don’t know if you looked outside your window yesterday (or on ESPN), but there's baseball being played, people. That means today is a good day. But that's not the only reason I'm happy. There's another huge reason I'm happy. In today's world of "find the next Michael", "find the next Tiger", and even now "find the next LeBron", the media machine is set to all-hype-all-the-time. Jered Weaver was getting some of that treatment after last year's College World Series. He was viewed as a no-brainer top pick, yet ten teams passed on him simply because they feared his agent's demands (one Scott Boras) would be too much. Now an eleventh team has passed--the team that drafted him--the Angels. And I'm standing up and saluting them for doing it.
Yeah, he went 14-4 with a 120 K in 133.1 IP, not to mention a 7.2 K/BB ratio and, oh yeah, a 1.96 ERA in 2003. Yes, he even improved in '04 with a 15-1 mark, 213 more K in only 144 IP, a 10.1 K/BB ratio, and an even lower 1.62 ERA. Okay. Wow. Very solid. But there are a lot of pitchers who post great numbers in college and never make it in the bigs. All pitchers (as fantasy players well know) are a crap shoot, even the established ones at times. This is unproven talent no matter how you look at it, and the Angels weren’t willing to overpay no matter how good Weaver may seem. Scioscia told MLB.com that Weaver will have a good career, it just won't be with us. He's right. Weaver will probably be very good. But he doesn't deserve the 5 year, 10.5 million he was asking for.
Are you kidding me? 5 yr/10.5M? Boras eventually dropped it to 8 after he saw the Angels were basically telling him to go fly a kite, but that was as low as he would go. The Angels’ deadline to get a deal done passed, and they swiped the deal off the table. Rightly so. This isn't a team that acted as if money is much of a factor lately, but to give Weaver--who's never pitched a professional inning in his life--more than Shields, Donnelly, K-Rod, Gregg, and Lackey made combined last season in his first season would've been very foolish. That's almost the whole bullpen and one starter. It's very encouraging to see a team be fiscally sane even if they are among the higher payrolled clubs. Congrats to Stoneman and Co. Yes, Weaver would've been a great addition, but not at this price.
So, what's the fallout from this? Very little, for now. I know Boras can really be unreasonable to deal with, but I place this on the shoulders of Weaver. He's never played a day and he's already making himself out to be a prima donna. Not only that, but it he's showing me that he got a lot more maturing to do in his head before he'll be able to handle the responsibility of being a Major League player. You hear guys like me all the time say he's doing a disservice to the game by not appreciating the opportunity in front of him. I’m not saying that. I don't know Weaver. What he's doing is showing very little faith in his future performance by trying to get all the money he can now. Good luck elsewhere, Jered, but I've gotta be honest--I'm relieved it's over.
To the Diamond!
The Angels have four spring training games in the books now and Casey Kotchman has 7 RBI in 10 AB. There isn't a spot for him right now, but don't tell me that Darin Erstad isn't sweating just a little more than normal in the Arizona sun. Colon and Byrd made it through there first starts of the spring with no fireworks, although Colon did walk 2 and give up a run before getting the win. Lackey was absolutely rocked on his first trip to the mound, but it all means very little this early in the going. Currently, Cabrera, McPherson, and Jose Molina are all nursing minor injuries, but they're not worth picking up the phone and crying to your mother (maybe I'm the only one who does that when I have to DL a player).
Let's Get It Started?
The Halos got rid of their perennial primary leadoff option in the offseason by non-tendering David Eckstein, who eventually landed in St. Louis. Who'll be the black-eyed pea of the '05 club? No guarantees, but it may be Darin Erstad. Erstad has 91 ABs in the 1 hole the last 3 seasons, sporting a .231 AVG, but that's a pretty small sample to go with. He's got decent speed for that spot, but he's a much better 2 hitter, with what he's able to with the bat. Hitting Figgins in the top spot seems pretty obvious to me, with his .350 OBP and blazing speed, but for some reason Chone can't ever seem to get knighted or whatever it is you have to get to get legitimized in the bigs. I'd call 17 3B and 34 SB pretty legit though. If you're looking for something to watch early, it could be this.
Draft Guide is Percolating Onto Paper
It wasn’t as fast as I'd hoped, but I'm trying a different approach this year. I think it's better suited your needs, less conjecture and more meat and potatoes. Look for that soon (I better get it done soon--my first draft is this Saturday). If you've got any old Johnny Mathis CDs, break them out and fire up "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". You can even make up your own lyrics about singing at the 7th inning stretch when he starts crooning about caroling in the snow. You won't even notice it's a Christmas song (okay, I'm done with that, we got way off track). Enjoy the baseball, people, but remember--if someone ever offers you 5 million dollars to do something you've never done professionally (unless it's illegal), take it. For the Angels, Matt Allen--ESPN.
Yeah, he went 14-4 with a 120 K in 133.1 IP, not to mention a 7.2 K/BB ratio and, oh yeah, a 1.96 ERA in 2003. Yes, he even improved in '04 with a 15-1 mark, 213 more K in only 144 IP, a 10.1 K/BB ratio, and an even lower 1.62 ERA. Okay. Wow. Very solid. But there are a lot of pitchers who post great numbers in college and never make it in the bigs. All pitchers (as fantasy players well know) are a crap shoot, even the established ones at times. This is unproven talent no matter how you look at it, and the Angels weren’t willing to overpay no matter how good Weaver may seem. Scioscia told MLB.com that Weaver will have a good career, it just won't be with us. He's right. Weaver will probably be very good. But he doesn't deserve the 5 year, 10.5 million he was asking for.
Are you kidding me? 5 yr/10.5M? Boras eventually dropped it to 8 after he saw the Angels were basically telling him to go fly a kite, but that was as low as he would go. The Angels’ deadline to get a deal done passed, and they swiped the deal off the table. Rightly so. This isn't a team that acted as if money is much of a factor lately, but to give Weaver--who's never pitched a professional inning in his life--more than Shields, Donnelly, K-Rod, Gregg, and Lackey made combined last season in his first season would've been very foolish. That's almost the whole bullpen and one starter. It's very encouraging to see a team be fiscally sane even if they are among the higher payrolled clubs. Congrats to Stoneman and Co. Yes, Weaver would've been a great addition, but not at this price.
So, what's the fallout from this? Very little, for now. I know Boras can really be unreasonable to deal with, but I place this on the shoulders of Weaver. He's never played a day and he's already making himself out to be a prima donna. Not only that, but it he's showing me that he got a lot more maturing to do in his head before he'll be able to handle the responsibility of being a Major League player. You hear guys like me all the time say he's doing a disservice to the game by not appreciating the opportunity in front of him. I’m not saying that. I don't know Weaver. What he's doing is showing very little faith in his future performance by trying to get all the money he can now. Good luck elsewhere, Jered, but I've gotta be honest--I'm relieved it's over.
To the Diamond!
The Angels have four spring training games in the books now and Casey Kotchman has 7 RBI in 10 AB. There isn't a spot for him right now, but don't tell me that Darin Erstad isn't sweating just a little more than normal in the Arizona sun. Colon and Byrd made it through there first starts of the spring with no fireworks, although Colon did walk 2 and give up a run before getting the win. Lackey was absolutely rocked on his first trip to the mound, but it all means very little this early in the going. Currently, Cabrera, McPherson, and Jose Molina are all nursing minor injuries, but they're not worth picking up the phone and crying to your mother (maybe I'm the only one who does that when I have to DL a player).
Let's Get It Started?
The Halos got rid of their perennial primary leadoff option in the offseason by non-tendering David Eckstein, who eventually landed in St. Louis. Who'll be the black-eyed pea of the '05 club? No guarantees, but it may be Darin Erstad. Erstad has 91 ABs in the 1 hole the last 3 seasons, sporting a .231 AVG, but that's a pretty small sample to go with. He's got decent speed for that spot, but he's a much better 2 hitter, with what he's able to with the bat. Hitting Figgins in the top spot seems pretty obvious to me, with his .350 OBP and blazing speed, but for some reason Chone can't ever seem to get knighted or whatever it is you have to get to get legitimized in the bigs. I'd call 17 3B and 34 SB pretty legit though. If you're looking for something to watch early, it could be this.
Draft Guide is Percolating Onto Paper
It wasn’t as fast as I'd hoped, but I'm trying a different approach this year. I think it's better suited your needs, less conjecture and more meat and potatoes. Look for that soon (I better get it done soon--my first draft is this Saturday). If you've got any old Johnny Mathis CDs, break them out and fire up "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". You can even make up your own lyrics about singing at the 7th inning stretch when he starts crooning about caroling in the snow. You won't even notice it's a Christmas song (okay, I'm done with that, we got way off track). Enjoy the baseball, people, but remember--if someone ever offers you 5 million dollars to do something you've never done professionally (unless it's illegal), take it. For the Angels, Matt Allen--ESPN.
