my turn

I suppose that I can’t let this week get away from me without throwing my predictions out there, too.  Here are Wyatt’s, in case you missed them.

Mine:
AL
East:  Rays (although their decision to send David Price to the minors at the start of the year concerns me – I’d say he’s at least their 4th best pitcher.  Also, the three best teams in the AL are in this division, and I like the O’s longterm, too.)
Central:  Indians (love their hitters, their pitching is sketchier, but everyone else in the division has bigger question marks)
West:  Angels (I feel strangely confident that they’re the best team in the division)
Wild Card:  Red Sox (their depth is tremendous – and the Yankees’ A-Rod absence for the first few weeks will be just enough to put Boston in front)
MVP: Grady Sizemore

NL
East:  Mets (I like the Sheffield addition, at the very least for some depth.  They might have to find someone other than Delgado for 1B, though.  Also, Matt Stairs and Jayson Werth of the Phillies are great complements for one another, aren’t they?)
Central:  Cubs (and I don’t think it’s particularly close)
West:  Diamondbacks (this is basically a coinflip division between the Backs and the Dodgers)
Wild Card:  Dodgers (I expect the Mets, Phils, Braves, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers to be duking this out into late September – the West teams just play in a slightly weaker division.  I also think the Rockies might actually surprise some folks, no joke)
MVP:  Albert Pujols

NLCS:  Cubs over Mets in 6 (for my sanity, please, only six)
ALCS:  Red Sox over Rays in 7
World Series: I’m not going there…yet.

Cubs’ Possible Trade Targets and Home/Road Splits

In case you haven’t noticed, the Cubs keep coming up in Jake Peavy trade rumors.  Apparently, along with the Braves and Dodgers, they are one of the finalists to nab him.  I’m frankly a little surprised; I’m not sure where these teams match up – the Cubs don’t have any real overwhelming, top-flight prospects (at least, not any they’d be willing to trade), and the Padres are looking for a handful of guys just like that.

I’m mainly here to point out that Peavy’s road ERA over the last 3 years is 1.01 runs HIGHER than his home ERA.  That’s okay, he’s still a great pitcher, and while he’s greatly helped by his home park, there could be other factors.  It just seems like you might want to weigh that in a decision to trade for him.

Still, I’d love to see the Cubs go get him, especially if they can keep Soto (no brainer), Samardzija, Vitters, and Ceda (probably in that order of importance).  I like Felix Pie, but I think that ship has sailed with the announcement that Fukudome and Johnson will platoon in center next year.

And that decision leaves right field open.  One of the most interesting names being batted around for that spot right now is Jeremy Hermida of the Florida Marlins.  Hermida is a nice role player with a little upside – he was a top prospect, and he’s struggled with motivation (mediocre teams can do that to ya) and some injuries.  He fits nicely in the Cubs’ plans by batting left-handed, too.  I have no idea what it would take to move him, but I do know that his three year home/road splits are more encouraging. Not also that he hits lefties well enough that he wouldn’t necessarily require a platoon partner (although that might be ideal – in fact, the Cubs might actually already have him in Mark DeRosa, who could play the outfield against opposing left-handers with, say, Ronny Cedeno starting at second).

Of course, this is all a bit pie-in-the-sky right now, but we’ll start to see pieces fall into place soon, I think.

Next time:  drawing a parallel between the Red Sox of the decade’s first half and the Cubs teams of current vintage with regards to offseason plans.

Quick Thoughts

This would be pretty awesome.  Means nothing, but would be cool nonetheless.

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Also, I’m picking Tampa Bay in 7.  Just a hunch – I think the Phils will take a couple behind Hamels and maybe win a high scoring game 4 (Blanton vs Sonnanstine in Citizen’s Bank Bandbox).  Tampa’s homefield advantage and overall higher talent level will prevail.

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Wyatt Watch.  Probably ought to be a Dauthan Watch, too.

Enjoy the series.

Scattered Thoughts

First off, apologies for my extended absence.  There is no one good reason to explain it all away; sadly, I might have another extended break after this post, as I’m heading to school soon, plus taking a trip and generally being socially busy in the near future.  Hopefully I’ll still find time to blog throughout the fall, but I have a lot of adjustments to make as I get back to school.

Anyway, I had planned to write an extended breakdown of why I thought the Dodgers would win the NL West, while analyzing their organizational standing going forward.  Then earlier this week, the Diamondbacks’ Orlando Hudson went down for the season.  Hudson is one of the more underrated players in all of baseball in my mind – he’s one of the few truly game changing defenders at second base (he’s a 3 time Gold Glove winner, for what that’s worth), and he’s developed into a really solid hitter (.305/.367/.450
this year).  As the difference in the standings has been between 2.5 and 0 games in favor of the Diamondbacks everyday since July 1 and the actual team quality difference has been even less than that (actually favoring the Dodgers based on expected W-L records), I figured the Dodgers’ upgrade – adding Manny – plus the Diamondbacks’ loss would equal an easier road for the Dodgers.  Today, though, Josh Byrnes and the Diamondbacks threw a wrench in that idea, trading for Adam Dunn.  Dunn is not a perfect fit there, as they could really use a good outfield defender, but his lefty stick fits nicely in a lineup that leans heavily to the right.  The price was right, too.  I guess I still like the Dodgers by a nose, because the addition of Dunn is largely offset by the subtraction of Hudson.  That’s been enough to keep them in first so far, but as long as Joe Torre resists the temptation to throw Andruw Jones or Juan Pierre into the outfield instead of Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier, the Dodgers are the better team.

Moving along, Cubs manager Lou Piniella basically told Kosuke Fukudome to start hitting or he’ll be losing playing time.  Fukudome has not been quick to react to the league’s adjustment to him, and his numbers have gotten worse as the season has gone on.  The Cubs have to be hoping that Kosuke’s 2008 is roughly the equivalent of JD Drew’s 2007, which is to say, a negative outlier.  Kosuke has good on base skills, so he’s been a plus even with the struggles, but the Cubs have the personnel to bench Fukudome occasionally; against righties, Mike Fontenot can start at second while Mark DeRosa moves to the outfield.  Lou also said that Reed Johnson could get time instead of Kosuke, but Reed’s struggled against righties, and is pretty much already in a straight platoon with Jim Edmonds in center, with Johnson starting versus lefties.

Speaking of Mike Fontenot, he’s been great for the Cubs this year, but they might see what trade value he has this winter.  He’s limited to one position, second base, and has never hit against lefties.  He could be start for about half the teams in the National League.  If not, he’ll continue to be part of an excellent bench.

Tampa Bay, already one of the most interesting teams in baseball in 2008, has been noteworthy of late.  Rocco Baldelli returned from a mitochondrial disorder to play for the first time all year, just as Carl Crawford hits the disabled list with a finger injury.  Evan Longoria, AL rookie of the year shoo-in, also hit the DL with
a wrist injury.  Crawford might be down for the year, a tough blow for a Rays team that was finally going to have its intended starting outfield all set.  Oh, and lefty pitching phenom David Price is knocking on the doorstep of the majors.  He should get a look later this fall, helping the team in the rotation or bullpen.  Also of note is that Price has thrown just over 90 innings so far this year.  If the Rays set a cap at about 150 innings for him this year (roughly the ceiling Clay Buchholz notoriously faced for the Red Sox last year), he’s still got quite a few innings left.  One last Rays/Price note:  if you haven’t read the recent Sports Illustrated feature on African Americans in baseball, do it ASAP.

One last thing:  the Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley should be on your NL Cy Young shortlist/watchlist.  He’s one of the best pitchers in the NL this year, along with a lot of guys you’ve already heard about:  CC Sabathia, Dan Haren, Brandon Webb, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Tim Lincecum, Ben Sheets, Johan Santana, and Jake Peavy.  He’s probably just a hair behind all those guys in total value so far this year, but gets no media coverage.  Along with Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers are going to have a devastating 1-2 punch in the rotation for years.

Team-by-Team Trade Possibilities: AL Central

Yesterday, I ran down the big rumors involving AL East teams, today, it’s the AL Central.   Without further ado…

AL Central
Cleveland Indians – The Indians have already been busy, moving free agent-to-be ace CC Sabathia to the Brewers earlier this month.  Over the weekend, they sent 3B/1B/OF Casey Blake to the LA Dodgers for Jon Meloan, a high minors pitching prospect, and Carlos Santana, a catcher at High-A ball with impressive hitting numbers.  They also acquired Anthony Reyes from the Cardinals for minor league pitcher Luis Perdomo.  A couple of years ago, Reyes looked like a good bet to have a long career as a middle of the rotation starter, but faltered in St. Louis.  These all look like good moves for a team that is not contending this year, but will in the near future.  Maybe they should have held onto CC a bit longer, but the package they got – centering on LF/1B Matt LaPorta, who might be up in September – is not lacking.
It now seems as though the Indians have done most of their selling.  They would like to move Paul Byrd, but there probably are not lots of teams panting after him; he’s 37, he’s struck out 51 men in 110.1 innings, and he’s given up 23 home runs.  Oh, and he has a 5.14 ERA.  He’s no more than a back of the rotation starter at this point, but some teams just need a guy to take the mound and give them 5 solid innings every 5 days.  He might not move until the waiver period in August, but I suspect someone will bite, even as an injury replacement.

Kansas City Royals – As has been the case in recent years, the Royals are in a position to sell off their veterans at the trade deadline.  This year, there are fewer to move, but they have several nice pieces, so we’ll see what happens.  There has been some noise about the Yankees wanting Brian Bannister; if they can’t pry Jarrod Washburn from the seemingly very stubborn Mariners, they might turn their attention elsewhere.  That’s where Bannister comes in.
Jose Guillen is another name who keeps popping up in rumors, but as I wrote yesterday, most of the contenders seem pretty well set at the outfield corners/DH.  Also, the Royals are not just going to give him away, as reports indicate they want to get back a nice package of players for him.
Catcher Miguel Olivo has been connected to at least a couple teams who badly need to improve behind the plate – Yankees and Marlins.  Despite what Joe Girardi says, the Yankees can do better than Jose Molina back there.
Theoretically, Esteban German could be moved, but there does not seem to be much interest.  Mark Grudzielanek’s name has been whispered around this time of year every year since he’s been a Royal, but he’s still there, and it does not seem like they want to move him.

Detroit Tigers – The Tigers have had a real roller coaster of a season.  Still, they’re only 6.5 games out of the division lead right now, and coming on pretty strong.  They’re looking for relief help, especially now that Freddy Dolsi and Joel Zumaya are experiencing some aches and pains.  They’ve been linked to all the usual suspects, and seem to be especially hot on Gians lefty Jack Taschner and O’s lefty George Sherrill.  Presumably, they could be a suitor for Scott Eyre, should the Cubs decide to move him, which seems likely, given their other two lefties (Sean Marshall, Neal Cotts) and the emergence of Jeff Samardzija.
This year marks the second straight year they’ve been linked to Pittsburgh shortstop Jack Wilson, but Pittsburgh would rather keep him, as they have few in-house replacement options, so the asking price is high.  He’ll probably stay put, unless Detroit decides they can’t live without him.

Minnesota Twins – The big story here is that Livan Hernandez just keeps getting lit up, while Francisco Liriano is toying with Triple A hitters.  Seriously, check out his recent starts, he’s been tremendous.  There are service time concerns, I guess, but Minnesota is just being incredibly cheap if they won’t cut bait on Livan and call up Liriano as soon as…last week.  Most of the other players they’re rumored to be interested in are hitters – that’s pretty much the case every year with this franchise, by the way.  They seem to be really interested in adding a third baseman, with the two primary targets being Hank Blalock of the Rangers and Adrian Beltre of the Mariners.  They also might be interested in LaTroy Hawkins, who the Yanks recently designated for assignment.

Chicago White Sox – Sox GM Kenny Williams recently said the “climate was awful” for trades, which for some reason I find hilarious.  They already have a nice bullpen, but they have been linked to Oakland A’s closer Huston Street nonetheless.  They’ve also been linked to the A’s Justin Duchscherer, who’s leading the AL in ERA.  They also might be willing to move Orlando Cabrera, which would open up shortstop for Alexei Ramirez, their current second baseman.  That would make sense if they acquired Brian Roberts, who they’ve been rumored to like, but it seems unlikely to me.  The Dodgers and Red Sox are also interested in Cabrera.
There have been some rumblings that they might send their backup shortstop, Juan Uribe, to the Red Sox for their backup infielder, Alex Cora, but those talks seem to have fizzled.  They would probably still be interested in moving Uribe, and in the right deal, they would part with third baseman of the future Josh Fields.  At this point, I would be surprised to see them make any blockbuster deal, but Kenny Williams has been quite a dealer in the past, so not much would shock me.

Up next:  AL West

Team-by-Team Trade Possibilities: AL East

The non-waiver trade deadline is quickly approaching, and the rumors are flying.  We’ve already covered a bunch of the trades that have happened, so here’s a quick rundown of each team’s status.  By the way, the best site on the web for rumors is MLBtraderumors.com, which aggregates rumors from reliable sources in one place.

Anyway, team by team, division by division, here we go, starting with the Worldwide Leader’s favorite division.

AL East
Baltimore Orioles – The O’s are overachieving a bit this year, making a run at .500, but the difference between 78 wins and 82 wins should not be enough for the team to hold onto its veteran hitters.  They ought to be shopping Jay Payton, Ramon Hernandez, Kevin Millar, Melvin Mora, and Aubrey Huff.  It’s unclear whether anybody on that list other than Huff could bring back a worthwhile piece.  The O’s would especially like a young, promising shortstop in return.
Early in the year, there were a bevy of Brian Roberts rumors, usually with the Cubs as the destination, but obviously they all fell through.  Rumor has it that O’s owner Peter Angelos, a notorious meddler, squashed any Roberts deal, but it might be wise to explore their options with him.  They don’t have an immediate replacement, but as an ideal top of the order hitter and a solid glove man at second base, Roberts could be a hot commodity.

Toronto Blue Jays – There have been nonstop A.J. Burnett rumors since roughly the beginning of time, but he can opt out of his contract after this year.  If he doesn’t, he’s due $12 million in each of the next two years.  His market value is probably right around that, give or take, oh, $4 million, so it remains to be seen whether he should opt out.  Anyway, most of the teams who wanted pitching have already turned to better or more easily acquired alternatives.  At this point, I’d say it’s more likely that Burnett stays put.
There have been some other rumors about Toronto’s two primary shortstops, David Eckstein and John MacDonald.  MacDonald is one of the best gloves at shortstop in all of baseball, but he is not any kind of hitter.  He might be an upgrade for the Dodgers or another team in need of a shortstop.  Eckstein isn’t much of a defender, but he’s an adequate bat at either middle infield slot.
Matt Stairs could also be moved, he can still hit, but this year, most of the contenders are pretty well set at first base, DH, and the outfield corners.  He might be Plan B for a team like the Mets, though, as he’ll come more cheaply than, say, Raul Ibanez.
Two other names being batted around:  Greg Myers and Rod Barajas.  Neither is more than a temporary solution at catcher.

New York Yankees – It usually is not possible for the Yankees to do anything quietly, but by their own standards, their recent surge has been quiet.  Even with injuries to 60% of their opening day starting rotation (Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Chien Ming Wang), the Bombers have gotten good pitching.  The offense has been another story, but the recent acquisition of Xavier Nady should change that, and Damaso Marte will bolster the bullpen from the left side.  The Yankees will definitely be buyers over the next 4 days, but they might not do anything too noteworthy.  It seems at this point as though they will add Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners, although the M’s want a solid prospect in return, and the Yankees would rather just absorb the innings eater’s contract and send back a C+ prospect.  Nonetheless, I think both teams will figure it out in time for the Yankees to add Washburn before his scheduled start Friday.

Boston Red Sox – The Sawx just got David Ortiz back from injury, which just about amounts to adding a bat at the deadline.  They’re one of the few teams that doesn’t have an obvious hole to fill at the deadline, especially if Clay Buchholz can return to pitch effectively.  The bullpen could use a little help, maybe from the left side, but with the transition of Justin Masterson from starting to relieving, they might be fine.  There’s been some chatter that they might add a shortstop, especially a defensive minded one, but Jed Lowrie will probably be good enough that Julio Lugo’s job might be in jeopardy even when he recovers from injury.  Lowrie’s bat is definitely major league ready, but scouts doubt his ability to handle it defensively.
Due to Manny Ramirez’s recent antics, there have been some rumblings about his potential departure, but I doubt that Boston could trade him for more than 80% of his true value.  He’ll stay put, but don’t be surprised if he becomes a free agent in the offseason if/when Boston declines his $20 million option for next year.

Tampa Bay Rays – Like Boston, Tampa is solid in all facets of the game.  There have been rumblings that they’ll add a bullpen arm or a right handed hitting OF/DH, but they might find the price too high.  Their minor league talent and depth is unbelievable, and they might decide to hold onto it.  Rocco Baldelli will make his return sometime in the next month or so to fill that void.  Also, last year’s top pick David Price seems likely to make a Joba/K-Rod-esque impact on this pennant race, negating the need for the bullpen addition.  A Gabe Gross/Erik Hinske/Rocco Baldelli/Jonny Gomes timeshare in RF and at DH is, in my opinion, better than they could do via trade.

Up next:  The AL Central

Umpiring Thought

Lou Piniella and Cubs first base coach Matt Sinatro just got tossed from today’s Cubs-Marlins game after Mark DeRosa was called out while diving into first base on a bang-bang play.  At first, I thought DeRosa was obviously safe, but after several replays, I concede that the ball beat him there.  Headfirst slides into first base are a post all to themselves, but this one’s about the nature of umpiring.

Now, I know that there are “magic words” and specific things you can do to get yourself thrown out of a game as a player or coach/manager, and I understand that.  Umpires shouldn’t be forced to go through verbal abuse more than accountants just because their job is in the public eye.  In this case, Matt Sinatro, who I have never seen react to any call so vehemently, immediately slammed his hat down and approached the first base umpire.  He was quickly shown the gate, not before a thorough chewing out and a slight bump.  Piniella came out looking like he intended to be tossed, and the home plate umpire came to the scene of the crime to defend his coworker.  Again, I understand all that.  The problem is the thought process of many umpires.

The ultimate goal of umpires should be to make the correct call every single time.  I understand that they’re human, and make mistakes, but everything that the umpires union, MLB, other umpires, and teams do should encourage flawlessness.  Currently, this is not the case.  Most of the time, umpires uphold the original call, whether or not it’s correct.  They always act as though they are unimpeachable.

For this reason, as you might guess, I support instant replay for home run and fair/foul calls.  In the current structure, replay on ball and strike calls would do more harm than good, as umpires usually have at least slightly unique strike zones, and if they made everyone adapt,

1.  Games would last 5 hours (no joke) from reviews, or
2.  Literally everyone even tangentially involved with baseball would be disgruntled, or
3.  Both.

So while it allows for more error, we cannot yet have instant replay on balls and strikes.  However, replay could be instituted at the bases.  There are not so many close calls as to slow down the game significantly (if at all – replay reviews would probably be shorter than arguments), and most importantly, would lead to more correct calls.  There would need to be a limit on “challenges,” or whatever you want to call them, but it would be helpful.

Instead, we have umpires who stand by, hands behind their back, stone faced, while they idly allow the incorrect calls to continue.

So:  Replay please.  And also, can we reevaluate the way umpires behave regarding close calls and overturns?  That would be great.

A Quick Thought

Actually, I’ve been thinking this for awhile, and it doesn’t seem ground breaking to me, but no one else has been bringing it up.  Something is wrong with Carlos Marmol, basically since June began.  His ERA for the first two months of the season, April and May, was well under 2.00 each month.  In June, it jumped up over 7, and for July, it’s over 11.  He still looks unhittable, but he can’t seem to get the ball over the plate.

Here’s my thought:  I think he’s hurt.  I’m no injury expert; I haven’t really seen anything in his mechanics to indicate this, but after posting an insane, under 2.00 ERA for all of last season and the first two months of this one, it seems odd that his numbers would jump that much unless:

A.  He’s hurt, or

B.  He’s tipping his pitches.

I’m not ruling out the latter, BUT I think the Cubs’ staff would have noticed that and attempted to change it.  The injury seems more likely – if it isn’t obvious, it might come down to whether or not Marmol is just trying to pitch through it rather than going to the training staff.  Hopefully the All-Star break gives him some rest (although he is an All-Star now, replacing Kerry Wood).  His ERA is up over 4.00 now, but his peripherals are still solid, so he might settle in.

Wyatt Watch: Still no blog posts from my intrepid brother and partner.  However, in breaking news, he has an extra special first post coming up.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know…

Today’s two big questions (in my mind):

• Will Wyatt ever blog?
• How will Rich Harden’s first start as a Cub go?

With regards to the first question: yes, I just don’t know when.

With regards to the second question, some wild speculation: 7 IP, 7 K, 2 BB, 2 H, (Edit: ) 1 R (earned), 94 pitches, W.

Edit: I didn’t realize this until after I wrote it, but that line is eerily similar to the one put up by Sean Gallagher, who the Cubs traded to Oakland in the Harden deal. Last night, Gallagher made his Oakland debut with a line of 7 IP, 7 K, 3 BB, 2 H 2 R (both earned), 96 pitches, W. Wow.

Cubs/A’s Swap

Well, I’m not exactly breaking the news, but the Cubs and A’s made a deal yesterday in which the Cubs added Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and Josh Donaldson.  It seemed to come as a surprise to some media types who SHOULD be in the know, but anyone who’s been checking the right spots would not have needed an inside scoop to see the Cubs making a deal for a good-to-great starting pitcher this month.

As a Cubs fan, I’m immensely pleased with this deal.  Earlier this season, I told Wyatt that I was not exceptionally worried about the Cubs making a trade this deadline that mortgaged their future – they just do not have much in the way of minor league prospect depth, so it’s not like they had some superprospect (see LaPorta, Matt; Price, David; Beckham, Tim; etc.) who it would have been foolish to deal.  Still, to bring back Harden (not to mention Gaudin) without touching Geovany Soto, Carlos Marmol, Jose Ceda, Tyler Colvin, OR Donald Veal seems too good to be true.  Gallagher is a nice, major league ready back of the rotation starter who could become something more.  I suppose there is some small chance that he turns into a nice Number 2 starter, and a minuscule chance he becomes something more, but in all likelihood, he’s just a nice pitcher, not a star.  Gaudin is only three years older and has a similar ceiling, without those small chances that he becomes a star, I suppose.

Murton and Patterson are both useful in their own right, but neither really had much future in Chicago, so it’s really difficult to feel like they lost much here.  They’ll both be useful pieces for Oakland, but Murton is limited to an outfield corner, and he’s a nice little red headed doubles and walks machine with no defense to speak of.  He knocks lefties around (career rates of .316/.389/494 agains them), not so much righties, although he’s serviceable against them.  He fits alright with this A’s team, which has had trouble to score some runs, as does Patterson, who can be an insurance policy for any situation in which Mark Ellis leaves via free agency after the year, although his second base defense is slightly below average.  As an outfielder, his bat is nothing to write home about, but again, he can probably help out this year’s A’s as a part-time outfielder, whether it’s platooning with Murton in left, or spelling Ellis at second without much dropoff at the plate.  Still, he’s 25 without much development left, and what he is right now is…useful, but not outstanding.  The last player in the deal, Josh Donaldson, is a catcher who owned the Northwest league last year for awhile, but in the Midwest league this year, in more at bats, he’s really struggled.  He’s got a long way to go to get to the majors at all, let alone start.

Lastly, on to Harden, the star in this deal.  There’s a lot that can be said here, but I’ll boil it down to this:  when healthy, Rich Harden is one of the 10 best pitchers in the league.  That “when healthy” bit is pretty serious, though, as he really does have some trouble staying off the disabled list.

So the A’s get some minor lineup upgrades for the near term and a young, cheap starter to plug into the rotation, but that seems a little low for Harden and Gaudin.  For the Cubs, it’s a relatively low risk proposition – if Harden breaks down, well, Gaudin is going to give you roughly what Gallagher would have, and as long as they were going to keep pretending Reed Johnson can play center, I can understand why they could afford to pass on Murton.  Patterson is no better than the 4th best second base option they have behind Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, and Ronny Cedeno, and Donaldson is blocked by Geovany Soto now and for the foreseeable future in Chicago.

All that to say, I’m a little confused on what Billy Beane and the Oakland front office saw here – it’s a useful enough group of players, but for an ace and another useful pitcher, it just doesn’t seem like enough.

Hats of to Jim Hendry, who gave up significantly less than Doug Melvin did, and Melvin only got one pitcher, albeit one who is healthier than Harden in CC Sabathia.  It’s absolutely a worthwhile gamble.