Friday, April 29, 2005

Trade Valent?

Eric Valent, who drew interest during the winter, could be dealt to open up the roster spot when Cameron is activated. -NY Post

Brilliant! I had no idea it could be done, but by all means. I would still prefer to see Diaz demoted than collecting dust next to Marlon Anderson, but if they're serious about maybe giving Floyd the occasional day off, or maybe putting Diaz at second (kidding, although he was an IF), he certainly looks like Valent's superior.

Jae Seo takes the mound tonight against Washington, hoping to follow up his outstanding debut with the big club. He might not have to face Nick Johnson, whose hot streak may be interrupted by a minor injury. Surprising? Not even a little bit. He's one of the few remotely scary names in that lineup. There's Wilkerson, Vidro, Jose Guillen... No, I don't give a damn what Vinny Castilla is hitting at the moment. That's about it, though I once kept a candle burning for Terrmel "Sister" Sledge. Jae should make it to the sixth inning in one piece.

The Nationals counter with Livan Hernandez. The festively plump Cuban has had a somewhat erratic career ERA-wise, but except for his abnormally good 2003, his peripherals have been fairly consistent. Strikes out around six per nine, walks about three, and watches at least one clear the fence. Unspectacular, but he delivers those innings in massive quantities, which helps a lot. On a side note, am I the only one who thought he was older than 30 by now? Of course I thought the same about Sidney Ponson last year and he was only 27.

I had kind of gotten used to life above .500, and am ready to see the Nats assume their rightful position as the division's chew toy. Mark my words: Vinny Castilla starts getting exposed tonight!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Look at you, fancy boy, with that visitor ticker above the magical eight grand mark, its trajectory approximating that of Mango Tree's ERA. I'll show you a f---ing chew toy.

As for your "festively plump Cuban" comment, I'd like to remind you that someone who very aptly fit that description has held sway over that island for … well, since your boy Red Schoendist patrolled the keystone sack for the runner-up St. Louis Cardinals (who, incidentally, came within one Dave Roberts heist of the world championship). As a festively plump Irishman (which of those three resounds most?), I take offense to your harsh sizing-up of Livan. Also, your fiercely derogatory remarks about Mr. Castilla’s hot start.

It’s surprising, really, how quickly people put on airs. A few scant months ago, we were debating "the David Wright Factor" and mucking around in obvious crowd-pleasing, grand-opening, audience-draw devices like VORPs. Today, we’re essentially announcing time of career death like Patrick Dempsey in the OR. I suppose clandestine communiques with Omar Minaya can do that to a person.

Bet the readership didn’t know about that, huh? That’s right, Flushing devotees ("Flushees" or "Flushpuppies," as your host snidely terms you in e-mailed asides), it seems our champion of "sunlight as the best disinfectant" here has been liaising with Omar himself. It’s not, like, Mitch Albom bad, but it’s enough to make you wonder about posts titled, "Sweet, sweet Omar," or scratch your head when he undertakes to persuade us that Jae Seo is going to blank the Nats. Particularly when Vinny whoops up like whoa on Victor, and Jae is letting festively plump Cubans load up on him like it’s buffet time at the Havana Hyatt. You wonder where a man’s loyalties lie, if not his passions.

Critiquing because he loves,
J. Ola