Last week’s roundtable was all about the controversy surrounding baseball’s unwritten rules. This week we’re all about surprises — the Angels rookies and the White Sox remaining in contention despite appearing to be sellers at the non-waiver deadline. Our knights (get it?) also discuss who needs to make a move the most with the waiver deadline fast approaching and five division titles still up for grabs.
Strike 1: The Angels stood pat at the deadline and remain within a game of the Rangers despite leaning heavily on rookies in many key spots. In the long run, will the franchise be better off by standing pat at the non-waiver deadline and letting the rookies sink or swim this season?
Joe Lucia: I think the team was doomed from the start of the year when they pulled the trigger on Vernon Wells. That’s got potential to set them back for years.
Daniel Moroz: Flags fly forever, but I think the Rangers are clearly the better team so the Angels would have had a hill to climb either way to make the playoffs. Not heavily mortgaging the future seems like the right play, since they’ll need good cheap younger players to fill in the pieces around their older expensive guys in the near future.
Garrett Wilson: Considering the Angels had minimal financial flexibility, it was unlikely they could have landed an impact player anyway, so not making a trade probably was best for their long-term plans. It is funny that the question is framed as letting the rookies sink or swim since it is actually veterans like Abreu, Hunter, Pineiro and Wells who are underperforming and holding the team back right now.
Matt Lindner: Definitely stand pat and see what the kids can do. The fact that guys like Jordan Walden and Mark Trumbo are getting this kind of experience in a pennant race so early on in their careers onliy bodes well for their future. Those same kids are the only thing helping the current front office save face at this point in light of the head-scratching trade for Vernon Wells and the Abreu contract. If I’m GM Tony Reagins, I’d rather have a team of overachieving rookies and underachieving veterans than the other way around because even if they can’t overtake the Rangers this year, it’ll bode well for the organization in the future.
Mark Smith: It seems as though the Angels are maxed out on their payroll, so they weren’t going to add one of the bigger pieces. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to add at the deadline, and the Rangers only added two relievers who may add one win to the Rangers down the stretch. This team probably isn’t as good as the Rangers anyway, so if they couldn’t add anything major, they might as well have stayed pat.
Strike 2: The White Sox appeared to be sellers at the deadline, getting rid of Edwin Jackson to get Jason Frasor. They’re now just 4 games out of first place with plenty of baseball left to be played. What needs to happen for the men in black to overtake the Tigers and Indians for the AL Central title?
Matt: Simply put, their overpriced (and quite frankly overrated) sluggers need to start doing their job. Enough has been said about how large of a disappointment Alex Rios and Adam Dunn have been this season, but the good thing is there’s still plenty of time and plenty of meaningful games for them to turn things around. That said, I’m still not sure as to what GM Kenny Williams was thinking at the deadline. Either you’re in or you’re out, don’t go for it half-heartedly.
Mark: Getting guys like Dunn, Rios, and Beckham to hit would be nice. I didn’t think the Jackson trade made much sense for the White Sox, but if they had actually extracted a real return for him like Colby Rasmus, it would have made more sense considering their rotation depth. Getting Frasor (a reliever who gives minimal value) and a young pitcher who may or may not start long-term didn’t give them any short-term value.
Garrett: They’ve made their bed and now they have to lie in it. The bizarre Jackson trade seemed to signal to me that they don’t think they are legit contenders, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them just kick it into cruise control the rest of the way. They might get lucky and catch a hot streak and overtake the Tigers, but I wouldn’t expect management to do anything on the trade market to give them a boost. Heck, if anything, I wouldn’t be shocked if they traded away more players before the month is out.
Joe: They need their hitters to start playing up to their potential. If Adam Dunn and Alex Rios show a fraction of their talent over the final six weeks, they can easily win the division.
Daniel: Having currently disappointing players like Adam Dunn get really hot would help, but being a fair bit behind a team that’s as good or better than you (Detroit) makes it tough. Trading Edwin Jackson doesn’t square with going for it, so I assume the team’s plan is to run into some good fortune.
Strike 3: Five out of of the six divisions in MLB have at least two teams within four games of first place. Which contender could stand to benefit most from a waiver deadline deal and what’s it going to take to get them over the top?
Garrett: With the injury to Rickie Weeks and the continued ineptitude of Casey McGehee, the Brewers could really use some help in the infield. They don’t just need some more offensive production from their infielders, they need someone who can catch the ball too. I mean, their infield defense is abysmal all the way around. If they could just find someone to man second, short or third with an above average glove and a passable bat, it would really help the team out. They can probably still win the division without such a player, but I have a hard time believing they can win in the post-season without being able to catch the ball. A guy like Clint Barmes of Adam Kennedy could actually be a big help for the Brew Crew.
Mark: If the Giants could acquire a bat, it would be a big help. I’ve given up on them bringing up Brandon Belt and letting him play, but if they added him and another bat, the Giants could put a little extra distance between them and the Diamondbacks.
Daniel: The Giants have the smallest lead, aren’t likely to get in via the Wild Card, and may not be better than the team behind them, so they’re the ones who could use the most help. Getting a catcher who can actually hit some might be handy. And a shortstop that’s better than Orlando Cabrera.
Joe: The Yankees need a starting pitcher pretty badly. They’re making the playoffs regardless, but solidifying their rotation could result in them overtaking Boston in the division.
Matt: The Cardinals. If they’re going to overtake the Brewers, they’ve got to get some help at the back end of that bullpen. Offensively, they’ve got a ton of firepower with guys like Berkman and Pujols, but that bullpen is a liability. Milwaukee is definitely catchable as well, especially given the fact that all infielders that aren’t the progeny of Cecil Fielder haven’t been hitting the ball of late.
