Our travels today take us from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Springfield, Mo. We’ll be watching the Springfield Cardinals take on the Arkansas Travelers in a Double-A Texas League contest.
Springfield’s first minor-league team, the Reds, finished second in the Class D Missouri Valley League back in 1902. Their 83-40 record placed them 2 1/2 games back of the Nevada Lunatics.
The two worst teams in the league? The Jefferson City Convicts and the Iola Gasbags.
I don’t even want to know…
[Source: Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball
Oh, and also Andrew Brown!
195 – yes, indeed. KT & co. have done it again and turned a number of unwanted players into a larger number of more desirable players. Now the question is, where do you put everyone? And how often, i.e. in terms of at-bats?
I am thrilled that we’ve been able to add young pitchers with upside, like Inman and Startup. I love KT’s adherence to the philosophy of “always get an extra arm in a trade”.
Anyone know off the top off their heads, how many guys are left from the opening day roster? Has the team turned over more than 50% by now?
Doesn’t Oakland still owe us a player as well?
Also, let’s not forget about Jack Cust!
199 – Jay, thanks, that’s a great number. It backs up statistically what we all knew anecdotally (see the Aaron Cook game); this team swings too early and often.
195: We’ll see how these trades play out, but man, they look pretty smart and calculated right now. I have to remind myself how lucky we are to have a smart management team. How much must it suck to be small market fan with a perennially bad team with management that seems bad or average? You cannot buy your way into contention; or, if you do, you get about one shot a decade, and if your management is bad or average, that will probably not work out too well. How do you find happiness if your team is: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, KC, WDC, Baltimore, Seattle? Yes Seattle will be fewer games back this year, but that is little solace, I am sure. Some of these teams might be getting smarter, but at least in recent history, not so much. I left Tampa off because I think they are trying to be smarter about it.
There are some perennially under-achieving big market teams (SF, Texas, Chicago NL) but I cannot feel bad for them.
Not to blather on, but a lot of these teams seem to have two settings: contending, meaning go out and spend a lot on players rather rashly, hoping that money means quality; or, re-building, where they rashly discard veterans and accumulate young players, hoping young means good later. They can justify their actions to fans in each case, but in both cases the underlying fundamental remains the same: they are bad at assessing quality players, either in their prime or projecting them into the future.
since opening day
Out:
P-Mac
Bowen
Branyan
Sledge
Thompson
Linebrink
In:
Bradley
Germano
Thatcher
Barrett
Hairston
Hampson
Ensburg
Makowiak
Ledezma
I dont know who will be cut or sent down to make room for the three new guys, but not quite half yet.
Phil Nevin thinks he’s better than Morgan Ensberg right now.
206: I’ve been reading dodgerthoughts today to get their reaction on the Betemit deal, and the consensus seems to be, “bad trade, but at least Colletti hasn’t completely screwed up yet.” They’ve been living in terror that Colletti is going to pillage their team at the deadline and make an absolutely terrible trade. You are right, we are really lucky to have the management we do, where we can have confidence in their trade deadline actions.
Padres pregame hosts are ripping the moves. Nevin said he is better than Ensberg.
Nevin is almost more annoying than the callers. Why am I still listening to the radio? I think I’ll stop now…
208: Nevin is a dork. There is no way he is, at this moment, better than Ensberg. He can’t field or take a walk like Ensberg. Now, he may be hitting as bad as Ensberg but that’s not saying much.
The only thing about Ensberg that I don’t like is that he’s past his prime and I’m hoping his declining phase is not as steep as Nevin’s was.
212: Maybe he is just coming off an injury and he is not past his prime. Alot of people here think Marcus isnt past his prime, so I think I can give Ensberg the same confidence.
210: Since when do any of the guys on the radio really know what they are talking about? You can really only listen to XX to hear the news and for some entertainment.
213: NOG is 3 years younger than Ensberg. Mo will be 32 in 3 weeks or so. You are right that he has been hurt and is doing better as of late. I know he’ll get on base and hit lots of XBH (18/52). I think he’ll be good the rest of the way.
Is Matt Morris dishing Bochy?
“I’m excited about getting back to the NL Central and getting some better defense and some young guys out there who are looking to play hard,” Morris said.
Morris found it difficult adjusting to losing in San Francisco, and the Giants’ way of doing things, after spending his first eight seasons in St. Louis.
“It’s been hard — it’s almost been that you start to accept it (losing) and I hate to say that, unfortunately,” Morris said. “It was different. I was used to (Cardinals manager) Tony La Russa in the past and he kind of runs the show and there’s a lot of structure. I went to the Giants where it was totally opposite, a different, laid-back feeling.”
210: The Padres can’t win this one since it’s not the moves that the radio guys would do. Not making moves would be worse, though. The radio guys been pusssshing Lamb/Loretta for a couple of weeks now.
216: I would have liked Loretta here a big more because he would start at 2B, but I like the moves we made. Lamb would had been a good pick-up as well, but its not like we didnt do anything.
If Nevin is slamming the trade for Ensberg, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Ensberg’s probably going to cost us next to nothing, and he strengthens our bench. Basically, he takes Branyan’s spot.
The Pads didn’t need Loretta after they acquired Machowiak, who might be getting some PT at 2b. I’m a huge Loretta fan, but I bet the ‘stros wanted more than we were willing to part with.
Towers was looking to add to the bench, and that’s exactly what he did.