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Blog*Spot ArchivesContactRichard Ceccarelli Josh Mandir |
Friday, June 04, 2004Ortiz demands tradeRamon Ortiz is dropping hints that he want's out of Anaheim if he isn't back in the rotation soon.
"If the Angels don't see him as a starter, then it's time to move on," said Pat Roache, Ortiz's Boston-based agent. "He wants to stay in Anaheim, he loves the people there, but he's a starting pitcher. He doesn't want to become accustomed to the bullpen. He's had tremendous success as a starter."What amazes me about this whole mess is the timing. Ramon has just found his groove in the bullpen. He's pitching well and his innings are increasing. He has a 1.35 ERA in 13 innings of relief, while on the flip side he has a 9.28 ERA in 21 innings as a starter. This has to be more fun for him then struggling like he did early. "It just seems to me that some of the pitchers have been given preferential treatment to work through their struggles while remaining in the starting rotation, while Ramon, a 44-game winner over the past three years, has not been given the same opportunity,"His agent says that he's disappointed by what he calls "preferential treatment" given to other starters. Umm... does Ramon really want to bring up the subject of preferential treatment to starters? I would assume he speaks of the recent struggles of John Lackey and Bartolo Colon. The pair has been horrible to say the least, but have they been bad enough to drop from the rotation? Have they been any worse then Ramon Ortiz was as a starter? Let's find out:
I hardly find Colon and Lackey's struggles comparable to Ortiz's. Ramon "won" his spot in the rotation out of spring, and he promptly (and justifiably) lost it. I don't think these guys deserve to lose their spots quite yet. If their stats ever get into Ramon Ortiz territory then yeah, let's make a change. But that change shouldn't be Ramon Ortiz- it should be someone who's proven that they can get outs in the big leagues. Kevin Gregg and Scot Shields should have leap-frogged Ortiz by now. If Ortiz wants a trade I say we give it to him. I don't know if there's anyone out there willing to take him off our hands at this point, but I would think a swap for a decent reliever would be a good one for all involved. The Orioles could use some starting pitching, and they've got the pieces we need. The Devil Rays are dumb enough to go for it. Didn't Bill Bavasi sign Ramon? Hey Bill, get on the horn and get this done. Ramon: there's the door. Get the fuck out. |
