Monday, August 02, 2004
Expos 2 Other Teams 1 - Wap! Pow!
If there are two things I've learned from this weekend is that sanding off varnish takes more time than you think and the Expos are still hot, hot, hot, (and not unlike Buster Poindexter they had there best recent year in 1994 - Car 54 where are you?) After the slow start to the 2nd half, mainly because they were playing Atlanta - a team they are 3-10 against this year, the Expos are 8-2 in their last 10 and seemed poised to spoil someones playoff dreams
Expos 1 - Mets 10
Good : Nothing really. I guess F-Rob is getting wiser. None of the Fantastic Four were wasted in this game. Just Vargas, Kim, and new Frightful X member, Corocoran.
Bad : Biddle gets shellacked. I take back that OK thing I said last time. He's not a starter...well he's not a starter on a good team. On the Expos he's a servicable #5. However they've got enough potentially mediocre guys in AAA that Biddle need not be doing this. Shame they didn't trade him when he was racking up mirage saves last year.
This should be a GM mantra. Always trade a non-dominating closer. They are much more likely to end up back setting up, then in an All-Star game. Look at Borowski in Chicago, Mike Williams in Pittsburgh. Let them go for a good AA player. (If you're wondering I think Cordero is better than that though still not untradeable.)
Expos 9 - Marlins 0
Good : Everyone is still hitting. Johnson, Wilkerson hit HRs and even Livan had as many hits as he gave up, 3.
Livan pitched a great game. A great complete game. I still don't see why there aren't more of these in the majors. I do believe you need to be careful with a young or injured arm. But once you get around Livan's age (29) I don't see why you can't be throwing 110-120-130 pitches a game. Save your bullpens for when you need them - give yourself an extra roster spot by cutting a reliever. Makes sense to me.
Bad : Nothing.
Expos 8 - Marlins 5
Good : I love this new "hitting the baseball" Tony Batista much better than old "swing and miss" TB. He's batting .299 since the first brave game with 5 HR and 19 RBI. 2 more hits in this one
Ayala, Horgan, and Cordero combine for 0 runs in 3 innings. 3 hits total - 2 by Horgan in a 1/3 of an inning (but to be fair they were infield hits) . I proclaim the Montreal bullpen the biggest hidden story of MLBs second half.
Bad : Patterson...well he wasn't bad but he wasn't good. He threw a lot of pitches (112 in 5 innings) for as few runs as he gave up. Struck out a lot - which helps. Boy has got to get that head on straight.
Biddle. That's right Biddle. Since he got rocked and removed on Thursday, F-Rob brought him in for an inning on Saturday. Just to get his feeling back. Not a bad move by F-Rob, until you consider it's Rocky Biddle. Walk, pinch-hit LoDuca HR, single. If the Marlins hadn't given him a sacrifice out after that - I think the game could have been lost. F-Rob was not happy with his performance. Could a demotion be in store?
Endy might be slowing down.
Expos Marlins - Rained out!
Good : Day of rest for the team
Bad : We were leading at the time.
Zach Day broke his hand on a bunt attempt (did noone teach him ho to bunt? Why did he have his hand wrapped around the bat like that?) He'll be replaced today. Probably by Scott Downs - but options are plentiful and noone really stands out. Rigo Beltran is in Edmonton, along with youngster Josh Karp. I would like to see either Wilton Chavez or John Rauch be given the call. It's time to see what we've got with Wilton, and maybe a change of location will get Rauch pitching like people thought he would in Chicago.
Oh yes, the trade...ummm I'll get to that later.
Expos 1 - Mets 10
Good : Nothing really. I guess F-Rob is getting wiser. None of the Fantastic Four were wasted in this game. Just Vargas, Kim, and new Frightful X member, Corocoran.
Bad : Biddle gets shellacked. I take back that OK thing I said last time. He's not a starter...well he's not a starter on a good team. On the Expos he's a servicable #5. However they've got enough potentially mediocre guys in AAA that Biddle need not be doing this. Shame they didn't trade him when he was racking up mirage saves last year.
This should be a GM mantra. Always trade a non-dominating closer. They are much more likely to end up back setting up, then in an All-Star game. Look at Borowski in Chicago, Mike Williams in Pittsburgh. Let them go for a good AA player. (If you're wondering I think Cordero is better than that though still not untradeable.)
Expos 9 - Marlins 0
Good : Everyone is still hitting. Johnson, Wilkerson hit HRs and even Livan had as many hits as he gave up, 3.
Livan pitched a great game. A great complete game. I still don't see why there aren't more of these in the majors. I do believe you need to be careful with a young or injured arm. But once you get around Livan's age (29) I don't see why you can't be throwing 110-120-130 pitches a game. Save your bullpens for when you need them - give yourself an extra roster spot by cutting a reliever. Makes sense to me.
Bad : Nothing.
Expos 8 - Marlins 5
Good : I love this new "hitting the baseball" Tony Batista much better than old "swing and miss" TB. He's batting .299 since the first brave game with 5 HR and 19 RBI. 2 more hits in this one
Ayala, Horgan, and Cordero combine for 0 runs in 3 innings. 3 hits total - 2 by Horgan in a 1/3 of an inning (but to be fair they were infield hits) . I proclaim the Montreal bullpen the biggest hidden story of MLBs second half.
Bad : Patterson...well he wasn't bad but he wasn't good. He threw a lot of pitches (112 in 5 innings) for as few runs as he gave up. Struck out a lot - which helps. Boy has got to get that head on straight.
Biddle. That's right Biddle. Since he got rocked and removed on Thursday, F-Rob brought him in for an inning on Saturday. Just to get his feeling back. Not a bad move by F-Rob, until you consider it's Rocky Biddle. Walk, pinch-hit LoDuca HR, single. If the Marlins hadn't given him a sacrifice out after that - I think the game could have been lost. F-Rob was not happy with his performance. Could a demotion be in store?
Endy might be slowing down.
Expos Marlins - Rained out!
Good : Day of rest for the team
Bad : We were leading at the time.
Zach Day broke his hand on a bunt attempt (did noone teach him ho to bunt? Why did he have his hand wrapped around the bat like that?) He'll be replaced today. Probably by Scott Downs - but options are plentiful and noone really stands out. Rigo Beltran is in Edmonton, along with youngster Josh Karp. I would like to see either Wilton Chavez or John Rauch be given the call. It's time to see what we've got with Wilton, and maybe a change of location will get Rauch pitching like people thought he would in Chicago.
Oh yes, the trade...ummm I'll get to that later.
