The Angels have inked him to a two year deal worth roughly six million big ones. Not the end of the world, certainly, but not something the Angels needed to do, nor should have done. He's 36, which makes it much more likely that last year was a fluke, not a breakout, especially when you consider that he pitched in one of baseball's best pitchers parks. But why am I so down on this deal? Two words. Mark Petfuckingkovsek.
You remember Mark Petkovsek. Nice guy. Reliever. Pitched for the Angels. Came over in a trade for essentially nothing back in 1998. Pitched two years in Anaheim, one pretty good, one pretty OK. While not really a scrapheap guy, he was acquired for nothing, didn't make a ton of money (Carrasco will make slightly less from the Angels in his two years than Petkovsek made in his career). But he got the job done, then found a sucker team to sign him to a big deal, from which he was cut before his first season in Texas was over. In the meantime, the Angels got solid season from previous no-names like Brendan Donnelly, Al Levine, Lou Pote, Ben Weber, and Scot Shields. The moral of the story? Signing middle relievers to big deals is for dipshits, because they're volatile from year to year, unreliable, and no guarantee to outperform whatever journeymen flotsam and jetsam you may have in your minor leagues, or who may be available for free. That is a lesson that EVERY team should have learned from watching the Angels over the last five years. I guess it's too much to ask that for the Angels to figure it out for themselves.
Multi-year deals for middle relievers with shaky track records are foolish. It's the type of move that makes me lose a lot of faith (or least what's left of my faith) in Stoneman.
On the plus side, I'm going to take this opportunity to be the first member of the Halosphere to start calling him Pipo! I suggest the rest of you do the same.
**UPDATE**
Then again, maybe he won't be relieving. The OC Register reports the worst news of the off-season. The Angels are officially out of the Paul Byrd chase. They have withdrawn their offer. This would not be particular bad news if not for the word that Carrasco could be taking his starting role. He's started all of six games in his career. Hell, why not take the Konerko money and go after AJ Burnett if that's the case. I officially call this whole thing "stupid".
Friday, December 02, 2005
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6 comments:
Of course alot of us pooh-poohed the Byrd signing, too, which appeared to be a reach at the time.
yeah, but Byrd had won 17 games in a season before, and when healthy was a serviceable #5 starter with a past.
Carrasco is over the hill at 36, and nowhere close to a proven commodity as a starter. I call bullshit on the notion that he will actually factor into the starting rotation this season. Something's a-brewin'
I didn't mean to give the impression that I'm anti-Paul Byrd. I like him. I'd rather have him back. But when I say it's not necessarily bad news, that doesn't make it good news. That just means he's going to be paid more than he's worth, probably by a fair margin. The Angels could absorb that. But not retaining Byrd isn't the disaster that signing Konerko would be, or that moving Pipo! into the rotation likely will be.
So to sum up, losing Byrd = not good, but not awful.
Carrasco is a Tommy John survivor, so maybe he has the strength to start...
We can only pray at this point.
Colon, Escobar, Byrd, & now Pipo! Another home run by the old pitcher turned g.m. Bill Stoneman. Bank on it.
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