| Jump to bottom |
JJ Hardy Trade
i had the same reaction, Yoop.
Very surprised Brew Crew would take Gomez over Bowden.
I'd be very surprised if Gomez ever hits or walks enough to be an effective MLB OF.
JJ Hardy Trade
Word out of Boston being posted that the Brewers could have had Red Sox prospect Michael Bowden, a very solid pitching prospect, but the Brew-crew wanted bigger fish from the Red Sox like Clay Buchholz or Daniel Bard. No deal.
So they settled on Carlos Gomez from the Twins. Meaning they valued Gomez over Bowden....I have to say this surprises me a bit. I would have figured the Brewers would have coveted the pitcher....but maybe the Red Sox prospect hype machine has given Bowden more rep than substance in the Brewers' eyes.
JJ Hardy Trade
Nice post, Yooper. I think this may go down as a win- win, unless Hardy gets right back to where he was a couple seasons ago, is in the All Star conversation at SS, and then it blows up on Milwaukee. Both teams trade from a position of strength. Denard Span came on strong for the Twinkies last year, so they could afford to deal Gomez, and Escobar is clearly the man that the Brewers want at SS in their future.
I had Hardy at the top of my list for SS for the Tigers to get. There are no perfect solutions, but there are no solutions at all within the organization, and none in the pipeline, either. The Tigers need to make an acquisition at this position, and Hardy was the best that was readily available. He doesn't have speed, and could not be plugged in at a 1 or 2 slot, but he has real upside at the plate which he has shown in the majors, and he's steady defensively.
The next best option would be Scutaro, but there is a limited scenario where we could make that work. He will likely be offered arby and turn it down by Toronto. He's a type A free agent and would cost the Tigers a first round pick. If the Tigs offered arby to Polanco, he declined and we get TWO top picks, we could justify giving up a No 1. Scutaro is the same age as Polanco, is steady with the glove, does everything that PP does, could hit 1 or 2, and do it at SS. We have potentially a guy to fill in at 2B with Sizemore, but no such person at SS. Granted that Marco is coming off a career season. He's the only player in the league to have a HIGHER contact rate than Polanco's 93%. Without the compensation for Polly, it would be tough to lose a No. 1. We need those picks to build the future.
After that, we're down to trades. Not much else on the free agent market.
CD- I dispute the idea that Polanco has below average range, or that Sizemore could even come close to his range. Range is not just how far you can run sideways, but you actually have to make plays. Polanco has been on a gradual decline in his RZR, but you have to look at that stat along side the OOZ totals. There's no magic formula since one is a pct and one is raw numbers, but you can get a good idea. And again- something is amiss with Polly's numbers atop the RZR charts from a few years ago, since NO 2B is within a mile of those numbers in 2009. I wonder if the formula hasn't been tweaked. Still, his decline is evident when you look at his ranking in the RZR charts.
I really can't project what Sizemore would do at the plate or in the field. I'd like to see DD being able to replace Polanco as the No. 2 hitter (where he's still as good as any) and in the field, where he's still as good as any in the AL. Scutaro does that. Who knows what DD might trade for. I don't see it on the surface, but it probably comes at SS. It ain't Uggla, ain't Hardy, and ain't Sizemore.
Getting a SS to fill Polly's role in the lineup, or better yet, a leadoff role so Curtis could be moved down, would be the ideal situation. Then, we can take a flier on Sizemore, add some speed and some pop there, and the combined duo is a big plus over PP and TGAE/ Pacman.
As for what to expect from Polanco, the aberration is in his first half 2009 stats, same as with several of the other Tiger veterans. His second half splits are right in line with the previous three years. .310- .315 average and a .350+ OBP, 7- 10 HR or so. If Sizemore is plugged in, he'd have to take a spot atop the lineup, get on base at least at that .350 clip, add some extra bases and some speed, in order to justify the certain decline in the field. Replace PP's lineup spot at the SS position, and the duo can be a net plus.
If not Scutaro, then Figgins could be a dynamic addition, fully paid for if Inge and Thames are lopped off the roster through trades. There are a couple ways to improve the team, but Losing Polanco and keeping Everett is a great leap backwards.
JJ Hardy Trade
i had the same reaction, John.
i'm normally in DD's corner more than most on his site, but i can't imagine how he wouldn't/couldn't top that offer. Maybe the Brewers love Gomez. I think it's unlikely that he'll ever hit or walk enough to be an above-average MLB CF. Yes, he can catch and run like the wind, but i don't think they got enough back for a good player like Hardy: a 27-year-old SS who hits with power, gets on base and plays above-average D.
To me, this looks one-sided.
Would have been, in my view, a major addition for the Tigers to add Hardy. Now it's the rival Twins who benefit.
I also thought the Tigers should have gone hard after Hermida who was picked up by the Red Sox for almost nothing.
both would have fit very well in our lineup, IMO.
JJ Hardy Trade
Interesting trade, my initial thought is the Twins did a tad better.
Most felt the Brewers were going to get an arm back when they dealt Hardy. But they took a young speed merchant CF instead. So Brew-crew took the top shelf defense and the off-chance that a 23-yr old will figure out a way to get on base at some point. The Brewers were of course hurt by Hardy's bad season and the fact the whole world knew they were itching to move him with Escobar ready to play SS for them. The Brewers also save some cash on this deal.
I think its a "win" trade for the Twins overall as my first twitch reaction. Hardy is just coming into his age-27 season....he has an excellent shot to have a resurgence to his numbers from '07/'08 at his age. He's also a defensive upgrade for the iffy work the Twins were rolling out at SS last year. He gives them power potential from another source in their lineup....added on to Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Cuddyer. Hardy is making the league switch and that can hurt some guys...so he's no sure thing offensively to rebound coming off his worst season. Being sent to the minors delayed his free agency and I'm sure the Twins liked that part.
Subtracting Gomez might make it less likely the Twins non-tender Young Delmon Young now. Losing Gomez was no big deal for them now that they have Ben Revere and Aaron Hicks in their system as the outfield of the future.
JJ Hardy Trade
I'm a little surprised the Twins gave up Carlos Gomez. Wasn't he the supposed centre pievce of the Santana deal?
JJ Hardy Trade
Could someone wake up Dombrowski and tell him that the season is over. Time to get active.
JJ Hardy Trade
No biggie for me. I like Hardy's glove, but he is basically a statue with real good glove work(kind of Polanco at SS)and a so/so stick without much chance to hit for a high average or high OBP. He does have some ability to hit 20+ homers, but he has no speed. He really doesn't fit the old Twins model in terms of contact hitting and speed as he is very slow. Maybe becoming an outdoor team now is changing their way of thinking...
JJ Hardy Trade
The Twins have acquired JJ Hardy in exchange for Carlos Gomez going to the Brew-Crew.
| Jump to top |
