azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Jan. 9, 2005 12:00 AM
The Cirque de So Lame, better known as the Diamondbacks' off-season, might be worth our attention after all.
By requesting another 48 hours to negotiate with Shawn Green, management finally acknowledges this is no longer an unsophisticated baseball town. We can see through the bad trades, the money-saving tactics and the double-speak. Signing Green is a great way to save face after a disastrous off-season (think Jerry Colangelo, Wally Backman and Randy Johnson) not to mention fill a giant hole in right field.
Green alone isn't a franchise savior, but he represents an important piece of a reconstruction project that looked unsalvageable two months ago. Luis Gonzalez batting third, Troy Glaus fourth and Green fifth is a formidable middle of the batting order.
And just a hunch, but he probably won't purposely bump Gonzalez in the dugout, either, if the left fielder drops a fly ball.
The Diamondbacks could use another solid, thoughtful professional in the clubhouse. Dodgers hitting coach Tim Wallach told the Los Angeles Times, "I probably root for him more than I root for anybody else because I know how badly he cares, how hard he works, and how much he wants to be the guy that everybody looks to."
If the deal turns out to be Green and $10 million for minor league catcher Dioner Navarro, minor league pitcher William Juarez and two lower-level pitchers, and the Diamondbacks can work out a reasonable extension, that's a steal.
Critics are writing this deal off as spending too much for a player on the downswing. Huh? Green is 32, not 38, and what many fans in Los Angeles didn't know for a long time is that his decreased production the past two years had to do with a shoulder injury. He's 14 months removed from surgery, and as one former National League West executive told us, "Look at his second-half numbers from 2004 and then make your evaluation. Everyone I talked to said that's when he started feeling better."
Green had 49 and 42 home runs, consecutively, in 2001 and 2002 but dropped to 47 total in the following years. He appeared to regain his stroke, not to mention his power, after the 2004 All-Star break with 18 home runs and 45 RBIs.
Is he a risk? Of course. But so is everyone out there, from unproven young prodigies to experienced veterans. Johnson has been tagged a risk since he hit his mid-thirties, and I'd still bet on him in a heartbeat.
Pitcher Javier Vazquez, falls into the risk category, too, but at 28, with an impressive career in Montreal followed by a bad half season with the New York Yankees, he's a risk worth taking. He'll be convinced of the advantages of playing in Arizona, despite the vibe he's sending out now.
Gamble baseball is what the D-Backs have to play after the post-World Series deconstruction, not to mention the position they were forced into by Johnson. The team did offer him an extension, but he wanted none of it, demanding a trade to the Yankees despite "no comments" to the contrary.
If management can come to terms with Green and prove to Vazquez that this place has merit, the Diamondbacks can contend in a wide-open NL West. Throw into the mix the young talent such as Carlos Quentin and Conor Jackson that awaits in the minor leagues, and the outlook isn't so gloomy anymore.
Considering the circus that defined the off-season, that's progress.
Reach Boivin at [email protected] or (602) 444-8956.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0109boivin0109.html
The Cirque de So Lame, better known as the Diamondbacks' off-season, might be worth our attention after all.
By requesting another 48 hours to negotiate with Shawn Green, management finally acknowledges this is no longer an unsophisticated baseball town. We can see through the bad trades, the money-saving tactics and the double-speak. Signing Green is a great way to save face after a disastrous off-season (think Jerry Colangelo, Wally Backman and Randy Johnson) not to mention fill a giant hole in right field.
Green alone isn't a franchise savior, but he represents an important piece of a reconstruction project that looked unsalvageable two months ago. Luis Gonzalez batting third, Troy Glaus fourth and Green fifth is a formidable middle of the batting order.
And just a hunch, but he probably won't purposely bump Gonzalez in the dugout, either, if the left fielder drops a fly ball.
The Diamondbacks could use another solid, thoughtful professional in the clubhouse. Dodgers hitting coach Tim Wallach told the Los Angeles Times, "I probably root for him more than I root for anybody else because I know how badly he cares, how hard he works, and how much he wants to be the guy that everybody looks to."
If the deal turns out to be Green and $10 million for minor league catcher Dioner Navarro, minor league pitcher William Juarez and two lower-level pitchers, and the Diamondbacks can work out a reasonable extension, that's a steal.
Critics are writing this deal off as spending too much for a player on the downswing. Huh? Green is 32, not 38, and what many fans in Los Angeles didn't know for a long time is that his decreased production the past two years had to do with a shoulder injury. He's 14 months removed from surgery, and as one former National League West executive told us, "Look at his second-half numbers from 2004 and then make your evaluation. Everyone I talked to said that's when he started feeling better."
Green had 49 and 42 home runs, consecutively, in 2001 and 2002 but dropped to 47 total in the following years. He appeared to regain his stroke, not to mention his power, after the 2004 All-Star break with 18 home runs and 45 RBIs.
Is he a risk? Of course. But so is everyone out there, from unproven young prodigies to experienced veterans. Johnson has been tagged a risk since he hit his mid-thirties, and I'd still bet on him in a heartbeat.
Pitcher Javier Vazquez, falls into the risk category, too, but at 28, with an impressive career in Montreal followed by a bad half season with the New York Yankees, he's a risk worth taking. He'll be convinced of the advantages of playing in Arizona, despite the vibe he's sending out now.
Gamble baseball is what the D-Backs have to play after the post-World Series deconstruction, not to mention the position they were forced into by Johnson. The team did offer him an extension, but he wanted none of it, demanding a trade to the Yankees despite "no comments" to the contrary.
If management can come to terms with Green and prove to Vazquez that this place has merit, the Diamondbacks can contend in a wide-open NL West. Throw into the mix the young talent such as Carlos Quentin and Conor Jackson that awaits in the minor leagues, and the outlook isn't so gloomy anymore.
Considering the circus that defined the off-season, that's progress.
Reach Boivin at [email protected] or (602) 444-8956.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0109boivin0109.html
