Off-day Ramblings

by Jim McLennan on Jun 17, 2005 2:57 PM EDT in Diamondbacks News

No game to cover, but a couple of things to keep you going while I polish up my "special report". A nice story on Tony Clark, documenting his trip around the majors. He's actually younger than I thought - I had him in his late 30's but he only turned 33 on Wednesday. If he keeps up this pace, he might well find himself in demand at the end of this season.

While he's performed very well so far, I don't think the D'backs would be wise to re-sign him, with Conor Jackson knocking on the door. Signing Clark too would mean a logjam, and the likely departure of Tracy. Better to trade Clark when his value is at its highest - which would be pretty close to now, since it's hard to see him improving over the remainder of the year.

Possible trading partners? Let's say, teams that are currently at or above .500, with a 1B weakness:
Mets: Mientkiewicz, OPS: .660
Padres: Nevin, .712
Jay: Hinske, .730
Orioles: Palmeiro, .746
Braves: LaRoche, .755
Angels: Erstad, .759
Indians: Broussard, .760
Red Sox: Millar, .765
For all these teams, Chad Tracy (.806) would be an upgrade (as an aside, Tracy is also above Todd Helton's .770 so far), never mind Tony Clark's 1.100 OPS.

Speaking of trades, eminent sense in the Banana shock! Well, not actually in the printed version, but on their site, the pseudonymous "Fanboy" says, "The D-Backs aren't one reliever away from being a World Series contender and management needs to realize that. While the moves made this off-season have improved the team, management needs to be realistic when it comes to the goals they set this season. Mortgaging the future in order to make a run at the postseason this season shouldn't be one of them." Really, I couldn't have put it better myself.

Finally, welcome Carlos, the latest poster here. Everyone say, "Hi, Carlos!". ;-) He's a Cubs fan, but don't hold that against him - he clearly suffers enough... On the subject of tall players, he mentions Chris Young, the Texas Ranger, listed at 6'10", but apparently taller and perhaps even a seven-footer. Odd to take a couple of inches off his height - usually it's the other way. See Tom Cruise for details!

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Thanks

I also think it's weird that he's taking a couple of inches off his real height, especially being a pitcher... who knows.

Thanks again for the snippet in the main post :)

(Johan Santana pitches to R. Clayton, from Arizona) Great, Clayton! you hit the ball! ... into a double play.

by Carlos on Jun 18, 2005 2:38 PM EDT reply actions

Funny...I was actually right about something

I feel pretty good now about making fun of Omar Minaya on getting Mientkiewicz instead of Tony Clark way back in January.

Of course, I feel pretty bad that I made fun of the Diamondbacks for acquiring certain players who have exceeded my expectations (Estes by pitching well, and Glaus by not having injury problems). Plus, I thought the team would have get a full return of value out of their offense to contend, which hasn't been the case.

Goes to show what I know.

I'd be the best at everything, if only there weren't so many people better than me at everything...or, if everyone died, just for a few seconds.

by Daniel @ AZ Snakepit on Jun 18, 2005 7:19 PM EDT reply actions