Beltran and Bonds, Unit who?

After a lot of fluff and false reports, it appears that Randy Johnson will be a D-Back for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the best player on the block, (Randy Johnson included), is Astro's centerfielder Carlos Beltran. I've said on many occasions that Beltran is more valuable than Johnson because he is younger, but there is another condition. Beltran, who is a free agent come the end of the season, must be resigned to be more valuable than the Big Unit. The team that will be given the first chance to sign Beltran is still up in the air. With the deadline fast approaching, we could find out soon. The Miami Herald on Wednesday reported on a three way deal that would send Yorvit Torrealba to Florida for prospects who would be shipped off to Houston for Beltran. Imagine Bonds and Beltran batting 3-4 in the order. Bonds and his .365 average, 26 home runs, and .600 on-base percentage following Beltran with a .272 average, 25 home runs, and 76 RBI'S. Both would certainly become much more productive because Bonds would be less likely to draw walks, and Beltran would either see more pitches to hit in front of Bonds or get a ridiculous amount of RBI opportunities. Even if the Unit is perceived to be the biggest catch of the deadline, Beltran, who is already a good RBI man, could become so effective he could be among the top five in the league. With the two sluggers in the middle of the order, it would almost guarantee the Giants a playoff spot.

Who Wants the Unit?

Why would anyone want the Big Unit? He is 40 and expensive, and far less valuable than Carlos Beltran. It mays seem ridiculous and preposterous, but let's see who's talking in four years when Beltran is putting up numbers similar to .320, 40 HR'S, 40 SB'S, 100 RBI'S and RS, plus playing gold glove calliber CF, and Johnson is sitting at home waching "Cops" and eating Cheetos. Beltran(26)is a can't miss 5-tool player who should be a dominant force in the league for years to come. Beltran would be a good fit in San Francisco. Remember what happened last time the Giants signed a speedy young outfielder with pop? It parlayed into one of the best signings in the history of the franchise. Plus at the end of next year Bonds, who turns forty tomorrow, will be free to sign with an American League team where he can DH. The Giants can't loose Bonds without already having another major building block in place. They have a farm system rich with pitching as well as three very good young pitchers in Lowry, Williams, and Foppert to go a long with with the games' most dominant starter, Jason Schmidt, and one of the most consistent leftys of all time, Kirk Rueter. In order for the Giants to continue to compete, a few things would have to happen. They would have to get Beltran, be it through a trade or signing him this winter. Also, the young pitchers would have to live up to expectations. Of course, the Giants have showed no interest in Beltran, but GM Brian Sabean keeps things under raps. If Beltran did travel westward, it would cement the Giants place in the pennant race for the next ten years.

Old Dog, Same Trick

Before the baseball season I engaged in many spirited debates with other sports fans about the National League Central. The only two teams that got any air time in our discussions were the defending champ Cubs and the Astros with their new look pitching staff. I was a major defender of the Cubs on the grounds that they are, hands down, the most talented young staff ever to be assembled. Then something happened: former Atlanta ace and veteran righthander Greg Maddux signed with the club. Well now I'm thinking the National League pennant has been decided, but that was before the sluggers from St. Louis put their two cents in. The Cardinals were 7 games in front of the Cubs at the All-Star break, but with Wood returning, Prior with no elbow damage, Maddux heating up, trade rumors for Nomar and Unit swirling, and the 'Stros teetering at five-hundred, the Cubs are well positioned to make a run at the red hot Red Birds. The most recent sign of life was Greg Maddux's complete game shut out of the Milwaukee Brewers in which he beat Ben Sheets. The Hall of Famer returned to form by throwing an 85 mile an hour fastball that jammed many Beer Makers, and mixing speeds with great success. Perhaps the most Maddux-of-ten-years-ago-like was nibbling the corners with two strikes and punching guys out looking. Whether or not Maddux's first complete game shutout in exactly two years was the beginning of a miraculous, curse breaking, second half rally or just one good outing,  it provides much needed momentum for the injury-plagued North Siders if the are to undertake the nearly unimaginable endeavor of catching the Cardinals.  

Baked Zito

A's southpaw, Barry Zito, continues to struggle, losing again, this time to the sub-500 Indians in Oakland' s last game before the break, but I am forced to concede that he pitched much better than he did in starts prior to that (namely that Fenway incident). Oh yeah about that Fenway outing, the exuse that lefty's struggle in Fenway is due to the ballpark is inconsistent and invalid. If Unit or Zito's teammate, staff ace Mark Mulder, pitched there they would still get guys out. What I'm getting at is that Zito and his atrocious ERA should be banished from the pathetic little venue we call the Net (for short)for the remainder of time. Billy Beane has been called the best GM in the league and he's got a great chance to prove himself here by dealing the former Cy Young winner for another formidable bat to reinforce Eric Chavez. As a Giants fan, I am obligated to throw out lopsided trades in which the Giants instantly become a championship caliber team and the poor Athletics get taken advantage of like a 17-year old with R-Kelly. If I'm Zito, my best destination is likely East, to Boston for Nomar or to the Bronx for whatever gas the Boss has left in the Minor League tank. It would be unlikely that Zito would be dealt for prospects and the Red Sox may or may not be on the brink of a deal that would bring another Cy Young winning lefty, Randy Johnson to Fenway and ship Nomar to Wrigely. The Cubs and Cardinals are probably too good for the Astros to to get back in the hunt, so they could be dealing some older guys who won't interest the A's, but Rent-a-Player Carlos Beltran could find himself in his third uniform of the year before the 7-31 trade deadline. If the two franchises swap the switch hitting, base swipping center fielder for the knee buckling, curveball throwing pitcher, both teams would benefit. The A's, who have good pitching but are in desperate need of a bat, could add speed and power to compliment Chavez and the very underrated Elrubia Durazo. Houston gets more pitching for the future and would then have a staff with Clemens, Petite, Oswalt, Miller, and Zito -- pretty good eh? Of couse that's assuming a change of scenary helps the former ace return to form. If you're sitting in front of your computer eating Honey Nut Cheerios and wondering if I have read the Mike Tyson book of Logic, I haven't. This is a very flawed and thus unlikely deal. The biggest flaw is the Athletics obsession with being thrifty.
 
I know you're stunned at my arrogance, shocked at my humility, and perplexed by my opinions all at once.... wow, I am good.




and..... I'm spent

Bryant and his Balls

Some may feel it tacky and inappropriate to rip off the name of a popular tv show to name my blogg. First,I DO NOT CARE, second, all you haters can be the first to join my list of people who can bite me. Well not the first, but certainly the most recent. In fact my first incoherent rant deals with someone whining, complaining, and manipulating his way towards the top of my list, one Kobe Bryant. Contrary to what the cult of botoxed babies we regretfully refer to as Laker fans, Kobe is not Micheal Jordan. In fact Kobe is not even as valuable as his now former comrade Shaquile O'Neal. Wow!!!!!!!, getting that out there is cathartic, really I speak the truth. As any human on the face of this earth I will need to back up a statement with solid proof. Well that I can't do, but neither can anyone who holds an opinion opposite to mine. Though their numbers balance out relatively even, just their positions alone tip the scales toward the Diesel. As talented as Kobe is, he plays a position where physicaly gifted athletes are bountiful(T-MAC, Vincanity, Micheal Finely, Rip Hamilton, etc.), but a big bodied big man is the most rare thing in the league. HMMM Big bodied big man fits the description of Shaq very, very, well. I now pause for a brief aside to ask you to please refrain from sticking fingers, any other body part or blunt poking devices into the morbidly obese holes in my argument(read closely they are plentiful). Now the real thing that bothers me about Kobe's logic is that he thinks that by getting rid of the big man and making his team worse will increase his chances of winning. Maybe he really should have gone to college. Kobe needs to do more without Shaq than Shaq does without him to not come off looking worse than anyone could have ever imagined. Pardon me, I appear to be having a little trouble staying with the flow of tne post, but my true hatered of KB(I never got he why he does't have a nickname)brings up a lot of different emotions. My big problem is not that Kobe thinks he can win, but that Kobe thinks he deserves to decide the fate of the big man and the best coach to walk the face of the earth. Bryant is now using the same balls to break up the Lakers that he used that fatefull summer day in Colorado when he decided he was above the law and broke a marital vow to his wife. The most important thing for Kobe is that he does better with one of the LA teams than Shaq does in South Beach. One variable is that Shaq rose to his spot as one of the top players in the league without Kobe. We can all see how a seven foot monster in tne middle could make Kobe's job easier, so he has more to prove away from the Diesel. One thing Kobe could do to turn my vision of him around is to sign with the Clippers and leave the Lakers with a team whose best player is an aging and ineffective Gary Payton, playing Buss for the fool he is. You will notice I have no memorable send off, but from the time I wake up tomorrow afternoon (it's too late to think now) I will slave to ensure that next time I write something for my devoted fans I will leave them with a zinger to hold them 'til my next post. In essence this means it will be 2-3 weeks 'till i think of something. I know you're stunned at my arrogance, shocked at my humility, and perplexed by my opinions all at once. Wow, I am good. Oh, expect my next post sooner than later because I just pulled out my new sendoff.


And............ I'm spent