Josh thinks the baseball pundits are stupid (and I think Tito agrees, but you really can't tell...)
Someone from MLB.com is utterly convinced that Santana is definitely not remaining in Minnesota for the upcoming season. Reading this article, like most Santana articles, made me sick to my stomach - I've been trying to put him in the back of my mind because I'm a bit too attached to the prospects and I don't want to see them go. Besides, I personally feel that we really don't need him at all - our rotation without him would consist of Beckett, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Schilling, Lester and Buchholz* (if the Sox go with the six-man rotation), and after Schill leaves at the end of the year it would still be pretty strong. Wakefield admittedly doesn't have too much time left, though, but by that time there should be someone else on the market or a prospect (Bowden?) who will be ready for the big club.
My parents' team, the Mets, does need pitching immediately, so Santana would be a good fit for them. Then again, they'd have to pay the price with several top prospects, including Fernando Martinez. (If you're interested in the Mets' current prospects, you can check out this blog here.) I've never been a fan of tearing up the farm system - I tend to be sentimental about prospects, as I mentioned above. The common enemy I share with my parents and brother, the Yankees, have included Melky Cabrera and Philip Hughes in their offer. I wouldn't mind if the Yankees end up with Santana for a number of reasons - they'd have to give up some of their top prospects and position players, we have a weapon to counter him with (Josh Beckett)...and I'd like to be able to like Hughes, but because he's on the Yankees right now I feel like I can't.
On that note, I'd also love to know why everyone persists in trying to compare Clay Buchholz to Joba Chamberlain. I think they're quite different pitchers with very different talent areas - and personally, I think that Chamberlain would make an excellent closer. I know New York is trying to slot him into their starting rotation right now, but in all honesty he seems to have more of a reliever mentality. From what I saw of him this year, he operated more on adrenaline, fist-pumping and all. I first noted that he'd be a better closer in the now notorious 'Good Things Dustin Pedroia Did Last Night'** entry, and I'm going to stand by that. If the rotation doesn't work out for him (which I honestly can't really see - I'm not so sure he's built up his endurance, because I heard somewhere that this season he'll still be on a new set of 'Joba Rules'), expect him to come back out of the bullpen. He'll be the heir to Mariano Rivera, just watch. After all, look at what happened when the Sox decided to try to put Papelbon in the starting rotation.
The right comparison to make involving Clayboy is one with Ian Kennedy, like the author of this article has done, and, I might add, has done very nicely, including lovely graphics of Clayboy and Kennedy throwing. (Also, I love Clayboy's changeup being referred to as the 'Hand of God' - nice touch.) This is clearly more evenly-matched than taking someone who is likely to be a better reliever and trying to compare him to a kid destined to be a starter (and yes, Clayboy is destined to start, otherwise the events of September 1st, 2007 would probably not have happened). Let's not try to compare apples and oranges. (Besides, Apples to Apples is a much better game than Apples to Oranges could ever be.) If you want someone to line Joba up against, start looking at closers - Jonathan Papelbon is a great place to start, you know. I think he's a pretty decent closer himself, or so I've heard.
Okay, I'm done. I've just seen this 'Chamberlain or Buchholz?' stuff too much lately, and I finally decided to speak my mind on it. In internet jargon, ur doin it wrong.
*Or, as I call them, Josh, Daisuke, Wake, Schill, Lester and Clayboy. But that's irrelevant.
** This entry reared its head several times throughout the later months of the 2007 season and during the postseason as my way of coping with a loss. I felt awful that Dustin had tried so hard only to see his efforts end up being for naught, and so I wrote it up after a gut-wrenching close loss to the Yankees. It then came up every time Dustin did something obscenely awesome during a game regardless of whether the Sox lost or won. Dustin's Rookie of the Year campaign ended up becoming the 'Good Season.'
My parents' team, the Mets, does need pitching immediately, so Santana would be a good fit for them. Then again, they'd have to pay the price with several top prospects, including Fernando Martinez. (If you're interested in the Mets' current prospects, you can check out this blog here.) I've never been a fan of tearing up the farm system - I tend to be sentimental about prospects, as I mentioned above. The common enemy I share with my parents and brother, the Yankees, have included Melky Cabrera and Philip Hughes in their offer. I wouldn't mind if the Yankees end up with Santana for a number of reasons - they'd have to give up some of their top prospects and position players, we have a weapon to counter him with (Josh Beckett)...and I'd like to be able to like Hughes, but because he's on the Yankees right now I feel like I can't.
On that note, I'd also love to know why everyone persists in trying to compare Clay Buchholz to Joba Chamberlain. I think they're quite different pitchers with very different talent areas - and personally, I think that Chamberlain would make an excellent closer. I know New York is trying to slot him into their starting rotation right now, but in all honesty he seems to have more of a reliever mentality. From what I saw of him this year, he operated more on adrenaline, fist-pumping and all. I first noted that he'd be a better closer in the now notorious 'Good Things Dustin Pedroia Did Last Night'** entry, and I'm going to stand by that. If the rotation doesn't work out for him (which I honestly can't really see - I'm not so sure he's built up his endurance, because I heard somewhere that this season he'll still be on a new set of 'Joba Rules'), expect him to come back out of the bullpen. He'll be the heir to Mariano Rivera, just watch. After all, look at what happened when the Sox decided to try to put Papelbon in the starting rotation.
The right comparison to make involving Clayboy is one with Ian Kennedy, like the author of this article has done, and, I might add, has done very nicely, including lovely graphics of Clayboy and Kennedy throwing. (Also, I love Clayboy's changeup being referred to as the 'Hand of God' - nice touch.) This is clearly more evenly-matched than taking someone who is likely to be a better reliever and trying to compare him to a kid destined to be a starter (and yes, Clayboy is destined to start, otherwise the events of September 1st, 2007 would probably not have happened). Let's not try to compare apples and oranges. (Besides, Apples to Apples is a much better game than Apples to Oranges could ever be.) If you want someone to line Joba up against, start looking at closers - Jonathan Papelbon is a great place to start, you know. I think he's a pretty decent closer himself, or so I've heard.
Okay, I'm done. I've just seen this 'Chamberlain or Buchholz?' stuff too much lately, and I finally decided to speak my mind on it. In internet jargon, ur doin it wrong.
*Or, as I call them, Josh, Daisuke, Wake, Schill, Lester and Clayboy. But that's irrelevant.
** This entry reared its head several times throughout the later months of the 2007 season and during the postseason as my way of coping with a loss. I felt awful that Dustin had tried so hard only to see his efforts end up being for naught, and so I wrote it up after a gut-wrenching close loss to the Yankees. It then came up every time Dustin did something obscenely awesome during a game regardless of whether the Sox lost or won. Dustin's Rookie of the Year campaign ended up becoming the 'Good Season.'