Baseball thread No. 7: Somebody slip the pinstripers a Mickey

Hey, not everyone has Ren McCormick on his side, you know.

 

Kazmir trade done

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Scott Kazmir has been traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Los Angeles Angels, giving the AL West leaders a major boost to their unsteady rotation.
The Angels acquired Kazmir, a two-time All-Star, on Friday night for two minor leaguers and a player to be named. The left-hander was 8-7 with a 5.92 ERA this season for the defending AL champion Rays.
Tampa Bay receives left-hander Alex Torres and infielder Matt Sweeney in the deal.
Looking to lock up their third straight division title, the Angels began the night four games ahead of second-place Texas.
Because he was dealt before Aug. 31, Kazmir is eligible for postseason play with Los Angeles. He had to clear waivers to be traded at this point in the season.

 

Being more of a Halos fan than a MLB fan, I'm not too familiar with Kazmir, beyond the Mets trade fiasco w/ him.

Why should I think this is a great move for the Angels? I say great, because that seems to be the consensus on the sports talk stations here, which of course means jack shit. His numbers and his health issues don't impress me much.

 

Turn the Angels game on now, and you'll find out why they did it.

 

It is definitely a risk, but right now the Angels could certainly use some depth in the rotation. Kazmir has the ability to produce and he has been better of late, so it's worth a shot, though it is kind of an expensive gamble. Guys with flaws are all that is going to be available at this point.

Long term, this could definitely cost the Angels some payroll flexibility, though I always go the impression that they could spend more if they chose to. Also, they may need some pieces to build the rotation around, especially if they lose Lackey.

 

Angels first baseman Kendry Morales has 2 homers and 2 doubles. Both of the doubles hit off the top of the wall in right field. The second double required a video review. He is a couple of feet short of a four-homer night.
Angels have six runs in the seventh (still batting), five of them coming after a blown call at first by the umpire. They trailed, 6-2, before batting in the seventh.
He now is the club's single-season leader in homers by a switch hitter, passing Chili Davis.


EDIT: Angels ended up with 7 runs in the seventh. Morales singled home another run in the eighth. He is 5 for 5 with 6 RBIs. It's 11-6. Angels trailed, 6-1, in the sixth.

 

Morales is a goddamn stud. He's the only guy in the league who should siphon first-place votes from Mauer.

And the genius Scioscia, of course, had him collecting splinters in his ass while the likes of Casey Kotchman (who I am a big fan of) and Garret Anderson provided next to nothing the last couple years.

 

Well, Morales' .213 average last season didn't exactly inspire confidence.

 

Nor did his career line of .249/.302/.408 entering this season. 12 HRs, 45 RBI in 377 AB over three years.

Wasn't exactly "stud"-like performance. But I'm sure that was Scioscia's fault, too.

 

Yeah, that's a real fair opportunity he got there, less than 400 ABs over, what, four seasons. But the first time he's playing everyday, he puts up MVP numbers.

He deserved a chance long before this, and given Scioscia has a 10-year deal there and is one of the last old-fashioned powerful managers, I think it's fair to blame Scioscia for Morales' delayed breakout.

 

Should Scioscia shoulder all the blame? Or should management carry some of it, seeing as to how they signed players who effectively blocked Morales from getting the chance he got until this season?