In this week's Baseball Notes column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe praises the Padres for building a roster suited to their home ballpark. Let's take a look at a few other highlights from Cafardo's piece….
- The Padres aren't talking about Adrian Gonzalez at the moment, but according to a GM who has inquired about the slugger, a losing streak might be all it takes for San Diego to reconsider Gonzalez's availability.
- According to multiple scouts, the Cubs would move Derrek Lee if they could. Lee is earning $13MM in the final year of his contract, and also has a no-trade clause.
- Rhode Island native Chris Iannetta acknowledged he'd heard rumors that he could be traded to the Red Sox, but said: "They’re just rumors. I don’t put any stock in any of that until someone directly involved actually tells me."
- The Diamondbacks may have to think about dealing someone like Kelly Johnson in an attempt to acquire help for their bullpen (7.42 ERA).
- Some managerial speculation: Cafardo thinks that if Joe Torre doesn't return to the Dodgers, he'd fit with the Braves, Mets, or Blue Jays next year, and wonders if the Orioles might consider Davey Johnson to replace Dave Trembley.
I doubt the Jays are going in that direction
Can Colvin play 1B?
Can Tyler Colvin play 1B?
Kelly Johnson for bullpen help? I think he may be a touch better than that 😉
I’m guessing that from Iannetta’s comments, he isn’t a regular visitor to this site, sorry Tim.
No offense to Joe Torre and his fans, but I don’t want him anywhere near a Braves dugout, unless he’s on the opposing teams side. I rather have Ned Yost or Fredi Gonzalez. And I will probably get grilled for my comment on Joe Torre.
Why would the D’backs trade on of the top offensive players in the NL for a reliever or two? That’s really undervaluing Johnson by a lot.
Calling Kelly freaking Johnson one of the top NL offensive players is overvaluing him a lot. Ever heard of selling high? The guy has some nice stats, but let’s not think the D-Backs are getting some team’s top prospects for this guy.
Let’s also not think that the D’backs should sell one of the top performing players ON THE SEASON for a couple of relief pitchers. It’s premature and unnecessary and would put them at a disadvantage. Terrible trade idea and scenario.
Can a Boston writer possibly go one column without mentioning Adrian Gonzalez?
They’re all awful, but Cafardo is especially bad imo. It really does seem like he sits down every week without any ideas of what to write ahead of time, does some googling, and writes some BS as if it were informed or authoritative.
I’m not so sure it’s fair to characterize all Boston writers as “awful”. Clearly Shaughnessy is a miserable curmudgeon whose only contribution to society is stirring up controversy and being Gordon Edes’ curly-haired boyfriend.
Peter Gammons may be a minion of the Red Sox, but he’s earned well-deserved praise as he clearly loves the game as much as anyone. And while Cafardo may not be breaking any news in these Sunday columns, he’s been right just as often as he’s been wrong, and MLBTR clearly thinks he’s a tad interesting if they link his column every Sunday.
I dunno, Gammons seems to me like a formerly good writer. “Wrong as often as he’s right” doesn’t sound like high praise frankly, especially given that most of the things Cafardo gets right are completely obvious. And it’s not as if MLBTR is flooded with material on sundays. Gotta post something.
But agree to disagree. No accounting for taste.
Id like to see the Sox try and get Iannetta, but im not sure exactly what kind of trade value the Rox have for him. Couple of years ago hes putting up allstar numbers, and now hes back down at AAA.
I love how he ignores the fact that Torre has said he has zero interest in going somewhere new… he will either continue with the Dodgers or retire…
Cafardo can’t seem to write one of these columns without mentioning Adrian Gonzalez. As a Red Sox writer, he shows this entitled attitude that is really tiresome. He might do well to note that the Padres are in first, while the Red Sox are in fourth. And with Beltre at third bass, Youkilis at first base, and a rotating cast of DH candidates (Ortiz, Lowell, Martinez, etc.), I’m just not sure what they would do with Gonzalez, especially since his defense is part of what makes him valuable (and the same goes for Beltre and Youkilis).