Pittsburgh attempts to avoid the sweep today at 1:35.
Neal Huntington attempts to replace the worst hitting first baseman in baseball in Lyle Overbay with the seemingly near the end of the road Derrek Lee.
Lee was obtained yesterday from the Orioles for Bradenton first baseman Aaron Baker,who was assigned to the Frederick Keys.
Lee's numbers are not anything to get too excited about-.246 with 12 homers and 41 RBIs,but he has hit well over the last three weeks and with some luck,might be getting hot at the right time.
Lee has to be an upgrade over Overbay,but should not be looked at as the answer to the offensive woes.
Baker was leapfrogged by Matt Curry as the top first baseman in the Pittsburgh farm system and does not seem to a loss that I'll worry about for now.
Baker is most noted for being 2010's target by the Hagerstown Heckler,that shows up occasionally and acts like an ass for an evening.
Baker shut the guy down with a long homer on this night.
The Indians made two moves,one major and one lesser.
The major deal was obtaining Colorado ace Ubaldo Jimenez in exchange for the two top pitching prospects in the Cleveland system in 2009 top pick Alex White and 2010 first rounder Drew Pomerantz,along with AA starter Joe Gardner and utility player Matt McBride.
Jimenez struggled early this season,but has been strong since April despite a reported dip in velocity.
Well,considering he was a 97-98 MPH guy,I can live with a drop to 95.
It's the 90-92 pitcher falling to 88 that concerns me more than Jimenez's fall.
Give the Indians credit,they went out and got a top of the rotation starter after losing their past ones.
I hate losing Drew Pomerantz,who looks to be the best of the four.Pomerantz has elite stuff and could have been in the 2012 Indian rotation.
Power armed lefties are not easily available and Pomerantz is the type that the team could have controlled for six seasons.
Alex White is another loss,but between his finger issues and something I just cannot put my finger on (No pun intended),I do not feel as bad about.
Joe Gardner was a super guy,when I met him last season,but his numbers at Akron are pedestrian and his reliance on the sinker makes me think that he is a 5th starter at best.
Matt McBride has always been a favorite of mine,but has always struggled in his AAA attempts and might not hit enough for a corner outfielder or first baseman and is unlikely to ever catch again.
Whether you like this deal or not and I am in the middle,one has to give the Indians credit to getting the major leaguers in a big deal instead of prospects.
As much I love prospects and minors-none of them can be sure things and Jimenez is an established player signed at a reasonable rate for multiple seasons.
I think the Tribe will miss Pomerantz,but I applaud the gamble.
Cleveland also traded Orlando Cabrera to the Giants for AAA outfielder Thomas Neal.
Cabrera had been playing second base for the Tribe,but was going to have his time reduced with the recent callup of Jason Kipnis.
Cabrera will be starting at short in San Francisco with Miguel Tejada currently on the DL.
Neal was hitting above .290 in Fresno,but has seen a dip in power since he played for AA Richmond last season after hitting 22 homers in the hitter friendly California League in 2009.
I am not sure on Neal's future,but whatever the return was for Cabrera,who was leaving at the end of the season was worth the effort...
No comments:
Post a Comment