|
|||
If there isn't a "Part 2" to Walt Jocketty's trade of
Fernando Tatis and Britt Reames to Montreal for pitchers Dustin
Hermanson and Steve Kline last week, then we must question how
much this trade really helps the Cardinals.
The Cardinals added two pitchers who will undoubtedly help them, but they created a big hole in the process. Slugging third basemen like Tatis don't grow on trees. Sure Tatis was disappointing during the second half of 2000, but do you give up on such a brilliant talent after just three bad months? Maybe there was more going on with Tatis behind the scenes than we know. If Jocketty can land San Diego's Phil Nevin or someone else to fill the third base void, then this trade looks much better.
Looking at the current replacements for Tatis, Craig Paquette is a nice player who should be valued for his versatility, but it was evident last season that he is exposed when he has to play too much. Paquette has very good power and a solid glove at third base, but he lacks the discipline at the plate to be any more than a .250 hitter. Placido Polanco was probably the Cards' best hitter in 2000 but lacks the power you need from a corner position. These two guys need to be on the bench, filling in at other positions, or coming in on a double switch, not starting everyday.
I'm of the belief that Reames could be better than Hermanson given the brilliant pitching he displayed down the stretch and in the postseason in 2000. Hermanson has great stuff, no question, but he has been an underachiever as underlined by his sub-.500 career record (47-48).
The thought process always is with the Cardinals that pitching coach Dave Duncan can use his magical tutelage to coax the best out of a talented, but underachieving performer. It is hard to argue with Duncan's track record. However, Reames seemed to have the talent and tough mindset that it takes to survive and succeed in the majors. He was constantly throw into tough situations and he constantly came through. That is not easy to find in many of today's pitchers. Reames got himself into plenty of jams, but more times than not he emerged from them unscathed.
Yeah, maybe when Reames is going around the National League for the second time he will find success harder to come by. But after overcoming so much in his career- such as Tommy John arm surgery- it would be a little shocking if he started getting lit up all of a sudden.
Kline has to be considered the key to the deal if you are a Redbirds fan. He's proven to be a durable "shutdown" lefty out as a setup man out of the bullpen and can even close a game if need be, as evidenced by his 14 saves in 83 appearances during the 2000 season. The Cardinals will have to cut down on those appearances since he started to show signs of fatigue as a result of all the overuse late in the season. Finally they have a lefthanded specialist out of the 'pen that is under 40 years of age (where have you gone Rick Honeycutt and Jesse Orosco?). Kline will give Tony La Russa much more flexibility when making late inning pitching changes in 2001.
It will be a few weeks, maybe months, before we will know what to make of this trade. When and if there is a "Part 2" to this deal, we can then render a final verdict. This is one sequel I'd really like to see.
|
|||||||||
