This Team Makes No Sense

Put Ruben Gotay on waivers. Watch Ruben Gotay get claimed by the Braves. .318 against RHP - a great bat to have coming off the bench, a great bat to be able to fill in for the middle infielders. A Brave. An Atlanta Brave.

I don't think anyone expected Gotay to be a .296 hitter again, but he was a young player that could come in off the bench and fill in and hit against righties - how is he not on the Opening Day roster?

PECOTA's got him at .261/.329/.408 for 2008. His probable replacement (if he ever gets healthy) is Jose Valentin. PECOTA's got Valentin at .240/.312/.395. And to make it even better, Gotay actually wanted to be on this team.

Another probable replacement will be (again if he ever gets healthy) Damion ".252/.326/.417 in 2008" Easley.

Don't get me wrong. I love 'Stache and I love Easley - but Gotay deserved to be on this team, especially after what he did last season. Yes, he couldn't hit lefties. Yes, he didn't play an OF spot. But with Castillo at 2B who would need a rest probably once a week, what's the problem with having Gotay in there to start against RHP?

To exacerbate the problem, we all know that 'Stache can't hit lefties either - as evidenced by his .211 BA in 2006 and .226 in 2007 (as compared to .288 and .275 against RHP respectively). It would be cheaper - and probably safer - to keep Gotay on to platoon with Easley.

I'll be scratching my head if anyone needs me.

Sweet Hypocrisy

Image swiped from Brooklyn Met Fan

I love it when Yankee fans don't get what they want and then proclaim that they never wanted it. From a Bugs & Cranks post entitled: Watching the Yanks is Better Than Watching Your Team:

7. Johan Santana is not a Yankee. That makes the Yankees less a group of mercenaries, and more a team with younger, unproven pitchers whom we should enjoy watching develop.

Are you fucking kidding me? As soon as the proposed deal was no longer Hughes and Kennedy almost every Yankee fan and their mother (and their frightening looking owner-spawn) this side of Brian Cashman wanted the deal done.

Now Santana is a "mercenary" and the Yankees are the epitome of a youth movement. But before you can even clean the blood up that was dripping out of your eyeballs from reading that bullshit, the author pulls out this masterpiece:

9. Even if the team sucks this year, many contracts are expiring and I know the Yankees will have the money to go out and pursue CC Sabathia, Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish and first baseman Mark Teixiera for 2009.

Hold on, let me get this straight. You're happy the Yankees didn't get Santana because he's a "mercenary" and you're thrilled about the youth movement -- but, if they suck this year you can go out and sign big names to fill the holes. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

20 seconds ago you wrote that you're happy that the Yankees are mercenary free and without skipping a beat you advocate, wait for it, signing a mercenary.

Pure unabashed brilliance.

A (Not So) Tough Decision

Yesterday, Willie Randolph announced his starting rotation. This news isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds because Willie didn't really announce anything. He told everyone that he had a solid front 4 and no fifth starter - but that's no problem because the Mets don't even need a fifth starter until the third week of the season!

Why there is even a discussion about the fifth starter spot is a mystery to me. There is a 24-year-old that throws 95 and a 63-year-old that topped out at 81 in his first simulated start. They both got knocked around - Pelfrey to the tune of an 8.31 ERA so far this spring and El Duque 5 runs in 3 innings.

Willie had this to say: “[Pelfrey and Duque] didn’t step up and distinguish themselves.’’

I think everyone can agree on that point - but what they can't agree on is why Duque is in the discussion. He has pitched in one live game, he got smacked around, and the season starts in a week. Start the season with a 4-man rotation and bring up Pelfrey as soon as you need a fifth starter. As for Duque, throw him in the bullpen or trade him I don't particularly care.

All Duque has done the past two seasons is get hurt at big times and leave this team with a gaping hole in the rotation. Pelfrey has shown flashes of brilliance (and admittedly flashes of mediocrity as well) and deserves a spot - at least to start the season. If it's May 15th and Pelfrey is routinely getting knocked around then we can get worried and start blasting the lack of starting pitching depth. As of right now though, Pelfrey needs to start.

Is he the next Doc? I think we've established that he isn't. But we need to find out if he's an upgraded cog in Generation K 2.0 or if he's someone that can contribute to this team now. Not including him in the Santana deal makes no sense of he's not going to get a chance to play and prove himself. There's nothing left to learn at AAA - call the Professor and get Pelfrey suited up, the season starts in 7 days.