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Blog*Spot ArchivesContactRichard Ceccarelli Josh Mandir |
Tuesday, May 17, 2005Dawn: SantanaToday's Matchup: Ervin Santana (0-0, 0.00) vs. Scott Elarton (0-2, 7.47) RICHARD: Sean has some interesting thoughts on Santana today. I think he's right in guessing that there's no way Santana displaces anyone of the five arms in the rotation at the moment, no matter how well he pitches in this audition. The only effect a strong showing may have on the Angels is an increased likelihood to trade an arm (Lackey) for a bat at the deadline, knowing they have a viable replacement in the minors. JOSH: I actually think that if anyone is going to get traded it is Washburn. He is almost guaranteed to be gone after the season. The problem is, they can probably only trade him to a contending team, which means they will not get the immediate hitting help they appear to need. I suppose trading Lackey could bring that in from a non-contending team (someone like Mike Sweeney, if he is still doing ok, maybe), but I just don't see the Angels trading him. JOSH: Well, looks like Santana has had a rough start. It can be as important to see how he responds to aversity as seeing if he can dominate. The rest of the game is certainly more important for him than the first inning. RICHARD: I suspect we can chalk-up Santana's struggles to the jitters. He was hurt again and again on hanging sliders left fat in the zone, something I've never known him to do. He did at times show the nasty breaking pitch that will make him a front-line starter, but unfortunately it appears the day got the best him, and it wasn't there with any consistency. It's hard to find the bright side of a 4 IP, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 HR performance, but there it is. Comments:Angels trade Washburn in mid-July to a non-contender for a NAME bat and the NC team then flips him by the end of July to a contender for prospects. Man, how many bad outings in a row is that for Kevin Gregg now? It might just be me, but it seems like whenever that guy goes out to the mound, the other team's offense just explodes. |
