I went to the doctor and said "Doctor, It hurts when I do this!" The Doctor said "Well the alternative is doing something else, which may hurt more. I say keep doing what you're doing again and again and maybe eventually it won't hurt anymore"
Rim shot!
Finally though even Mike Rizzo couldn't ignore what was infront of him. Dan Haren is bad right now. The reason isn't injury, it's apparently mostly age affecting velocity. but you can't go to the DL with that. This is bad news for the Nats, who were relying on Haren to eat innings and at least be decent, but it's worse news for Haren. He isn't just going to rest and come back and be good. He needs to be a different pitcher from here on out. Can he learn to do it? Maybe. Can he learn to do it fast enough to help the Nats? I'll be honest. I doubt it.
For now it's the Ohlendorf show. He's not the best option in the world, but sometimes you get lucky (My favorite example of this, which I'm sure you've seen me quote before is the 2005 Yankees. Struck down by injuries and bad pitching the Yankees had to throw out Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon for 21 games at year's end. They combined for roughly a 3.00 ERA and a 15-3 record. The Yanks won the AL East. Small would be out of baseball before the next season was over)
The offense is still trying to pull itself together, they are almost up to around 4.00 runs a game since the Twins double header! (sounds unimpressive but they weren't much over 3 a game from late April until that doubleheader) But that's still not good enough. They are still waiting on Bryce to put them over that hump.
*Not true. Mike Rizzo and I only discuss the expanding role of women during the Gilded Age when we converse. Which is never.
17 comments:
MLB Trade Rumors says the Nats may be looking to do some dealing to fill that spot, but they're just picking up on Kilgore's speculation.
IN any case, it's time to speculate wildly as to who might be a candidate and how the trade pieces fit together. You know, since there's not much actual good baseball to watch.
Isn't it a little strange that Harem's strikeout rate is on par with his career average? That doesn't usually happen with guys who are getting hit like he is. Usually it's the swing and miss rate that plummets alongside the opp ave going up.
Good one, Harper.
What do you think about trade rumors about Storen?
Taylor jordan might be the guy also. Can't we just DFA haren? Nobody is gonna claim him and if they do then we should say thank you
At least Ohlendorf's delivery is fun to watch. Somebody get that guy in a throwback, stat! How awesome would have been to see him pitching in that 1924 uni they wore last year?
I sure hope Bryce comes back healthy and raking. If he's close to the way he started the season, he could be a huge catalyst.
Also, the Braves grasp of 1st place doesn't feel that strong. Since their 12-1 start, they've gone 32-32. I think it's much more likely they are a .500 club that had a hot streak than a .600 club that's had an off month or two. So if the Nats can just manage to score a few more runs, they could make a run at them.
Seriously, somebody give Ohlendorf some stirrups already
Braves remind me a lot of the Yankees, actually: shaky batting being propped up by high-level pitching. B.J. and Heyward have stunk all year*, Justin started great and then tanked, Uggla is who he is now. Unfortunately, they still have the biggest lead of any team in baseball. Not impossible to overcome, but we'll have to be near-perfect to do it. More bad news is that the three best records in all of baseball are in the NL Central (how weird is that?), so we're actually closer to the division lead than we are to the WC.
*Seriously, who thought that Span could underperform the way he is and still be the better choice over B.J. Upton? Not me.
Two points. Have you seen reports that Davey might want to bring up Jordan or Karns to start in Haren's place instead of using Ohlendorf. Is that crazy or what?
And on DFA'ing Haren, don't veterans have some kind of veto over being sent to the minors? Wouldn't they have to release or trade him, which would allow another team to sign him without his albatross of a salary? Or is he albatross free if someone claims him on waivers?
Section 222- DFA'ing him is simply taking him off the 40 man, and gives, i think 10 or 15 days to release, trade, or option him if nobody claims him off waivers.
Yup, the way the NL Central teams are playing, definitely puts more pressure to win the division. But, don't forget there are two WCs.
@ Clip & Store,
Doesn't putting Haren on the DL count against the 40 man roster? And if so why would we do that vice some other option (minors, etc)?
...I should have directed my question to the group as I'm unfamiliar with all the options re Haren.
Froggy, that's right. Unless they put him on the 60 day DL, he's still on the 40 man roster. I'm sure they want a little time to figure out what to do with him, including maybe giving him another shot after some rest and treatment for whatever ailment he has. (I'm skeptical there's any ailment other than age and ineffectiveness, but who really knows?).
My question is whether DFA is what you do with a veteran who is not going to consent to going to the minors (if he passes through waivers). If someone is going to trade for him, you don't need to try to pass him through waivers to do that, right? Or is sending him through waivers the tried and true way to see who might be interested in a possible trade? And if no one is going to trade for him, then the only option, once his DL stint is up, is to bring him back or release him. What I don't know is whether liability for his contract changes once he is released.
@222,
I kind of thought DL'ing him would count towards the 40 man. Thanks for clearing that up. Looks like a lose / lose / win situation...Nats / Rizzo / Haren as I bet his contract is guaranteed, no?
Correct, he is on the 40 man unless he is put on the 60 day DL. I hope Harper comes back to respond to some of our comments!
Sometimes Harper likes to be Reggie Jackson aka 'the straw that stirs the blog'.
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