what's on my mind grapes?

This is an awfully pessimistic selection of news items in a week that saw the Red Sox finally move into first place, the Padres extend their winning streak to nine games (and still end up as far from a division lead as the Orioles are), and the Braves start to make some noise in the NL East.  Still, it’s hard to avoid the fact that there have been some truly pointless moves made this week by executives who should know better.

Rhetorical Question of the Week: How much longer must Red Sox fans suffer through Dennis Eckersley? This is actually a case in favor of him sticking around at NESN; if he was just full of inappropriate slips of the tongue, I could enjoy him. Instead, his color commentary gives Joe Morgan a run for his poorly-earned money.

Much-needed Journalistic Smackdown of the Week: Joe Posnanski ridicules Steve Phillips and those who make up subjective criteria to insist great players aren’t that good.

Why Do You Still Have A Job? It’s hardly news, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be criticized: the Cubs should never, ever have given Aaron Miles a major-league deal, much less a two-year contract at almost five million dollars. Miles is a fringe bench player who, at 32, is coasting on a flukishly productive 2008 (a year in which he almost posted a league-average OPS). This year, he’s regressed to the worst offensive production in his career, reaching base at just a .253 clip. On top of that, his only extra-base hits are six doubles, putting his slugging percentage at a paltry .269 – third worst among NL second basemen with more than 10 at-bats. Even if we give him an extra double and four extra singles to bring his BABIP up to .300, his OPS stands at a nauseating .636. This isn’t bad luck, this isn’t a bad start – this is a bad baseball player. That Chicago is paying him like an above-average bench presence – let alone giving him 21 starts! – is an insult to the intelligence of Cubs fans.

Mistake of the Week: I love Kevin Towers, but… this has not been a good week for the Padres’ GM. His reported trade bounty for starter Jake Peavy was, at best, a fair return – which begs the question of why he’d bother to take it rather than hold onto his under-contract ace. Still, it was the sort of deal that would have only slightly disappointed me had Peavy not vetoed the trade. But one under-the-radar trade did occur that makes me wonder what Towers is thinking. Disclosure of possible compromise to objectivity: my fondness for outfielder Jody Gerut is biased by having met the man at a Fall League game. But while his offensive production this year is underwhelming, it’s also out of line with what he demonstrated last year with only a little BABIP luck. More importantly, he has brought tremendous defensive value and helped cover the spacious outfield at Petco Park. Scott Hairston deserves more playing time, but Chase Headley isn’t gonna be a defensive asset in the outfield, and 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff has been a far greater offensive disappointment than Gerut.

Still, despite being the least of San Diego’s problems, Gerut’s hardly a guy who should be considered untouchable in trade talks. The real problem here is the return: outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. is not the hitter his father was. He’s had a solid 2009 at AAA, but it’s his fourth year at the level, and he’s never demonstrated a consistent ability to get on base or hit for power. His moderate speed might make him a fun player to watch, but his most optimistic upside would seem to be a slightly slower Juan Pierre. Unless Towers is assembling young talent for a larger deal, my faith is considerably shaken.

Underrated Cut: Like the Padres, the Marlins are a generally smart ballclub. They undermined my faith in them this offseason, but there’s little reason to think they’re a bumbling group of incompetents. Yet that’s the only way one can really justify the demotion of starter Ricky Nolasco, who will reportedly make at least two starts at AAA before returning to Miami. On one hand, the Marlins don’t have much to lose; after a hot start, they’ve fallen into a pretty solid fourth place. On the other hand, a tiny dent in Ricky Nolasco’s service time isn’t worth putting the big-league team at a considerable disadvantage this early in the season. Nolasco’s ERA stands at an atrocious 9.07, but I simply don’t think he’s been terrible as much as bad and unlucky. His strikeout and walk rates are in line with those of useful pitchers, and his XFIP stands at an acceptable 4.32. The surge in line drives and dip in grounders are worrisome, but to me, it’s far too early in the year to conclude that those wouldn’t return to normal.

Perhaps Nolasco has lost his ability to command his stuff, but the bottom line is this: If I’m wrong, the Marlins would keep him around to continue giving up a few too many homers. If I’m right, they’re insulting a 26-year-old who was their best pitcher last year, hurting his confidence while giving him no reason to feel any loyalty to the team when he reaches free agency. And for what? An early look at the raw, erratic arm of Sean West? With Rick VandenHurk and Anibal Sanchez on the DL, there’s really no way anyone the Marlins promote will be as good as Nolasco. The six-year cycle has been broken; 2009 is not going to be a fun year for Marlins fans.

Underrated Addition: Not to end this on such a negative note, it’s worth noting that the wildcard-contending Reds finally did something about their thin outfield.  After a quarter season of Darnell McDonald – an experiment whose failure should surprise no one – the team recalled Jonny Gomes, who declined sharply after a great rookie campaign in 2005, but remains young enough, at 28, to be a very good hitter.  While he struck out quite a bit at AAA Louisville, he could add some power to the Reds’ bench, and at least be an upgrade from McDonald.  He and Laynce Nix give Cincy what I believe is their best shot of winning this year, and that dark horse chance at a playoff berth gives me my only real interest in the NL Central.