What The Hell Was He Thinking?

CARP Notes has an in depth story about yesterday's trade, but what really has Albert pissed this morning is the GM Buchanan's utter failure to address his team's needs. If you don't look at Saves, here's a team with the worst pitching in CARP. 6 points in 4 categories. Albert Belle would love to tee off against these guys. What's worse, it's hard to see any of the likes of Mussina, Lee and Cabrera having a better 2nd half than their first.

"Oh Albert, it's not that bad," you say. Oh my little friend, it is. Buchanan has been paying zero attention to this team and then pops his head up and makes one of the worst trades in years without so much as testing the market. Case in point, what would be his 2nd or 3rd best pitcher (based on year to date stats) and a decent pitcher on anyone's staff has never pitched an active inning since being acquired in a supplemental draft. It's true, look it up. Armando Galarraga since being acquired (not including closers) ranks during the same time period (props to sportsline for letting Albert crunch these numbers) 2nd in WHIP, Tied for 3rd in Wins, 4th in Ks, & 5th in ERA on the Buckos. In other words, with Galarraga on the bench, the Buckos sent out Livan Hernandez and during this same period he racked up the following stats: 3 Wins, 3 Losses, 6.37 ERA, 1.84 WHIP & 15 Ks (in 53 2/3 IP!!). Galarraga during the same period, 3 Wins, 2 Losses, 4.69 ERA, 1.24 WHIP & 26 Ks (in 40 IP). "That's not SOOOO bad, Albert." But it is, consider during this time period, the following other players were active, Betancourt 9.00 ERA, 1.88 WHIP (17 IP); Millwood 7.07 ERA, 1.71 WHIP (28 IP). Why wasn't Galarraga activated immediately after being be drafted 2nd overall in the 1st Supplemental? Why hasn't he been activated since then? Asleep at the wheel.

But back to addressing his pitching needs. "But Albert, he got this stud minor league prospect named Hellickson." Here's what some of the scouts/pundits say, "" "As for the current projection, I think Hellickson could be an effective big leaguer right now, but the inconsistent curve (lack of feel) and flashes of inconsistency (feel and mechanical inconsistency) would make him more of a 5th starter or middle reliever for the time being. He should certainly be in the minors for a number of reasons, but should also be (and probably will be) in Double-A for some time this season." -ETA 2010, projects #3 Starter. "Still, unless he can get better and more consistent results with his breaking balls, he's likely to end up in the bullpen sooner or later." "But Albert, those reviews were probably written before the season started, before he became en fuego." Well consider this, in 3 out of his last 4 starts, has been 4.50, 5.40 & 7.20. Class A is catching up with him, my little friends. To be fair, Albert will note that his last start was a 7K, 0 H performance in 5 IP, but "Hellickson is still probably two years away and most likely will spend the bulk of his season at High Class A Vero Beach, but he is leader of the next group of arms behind the more advanced Price, McGee, Davis, Niemann, and Talbot." That's quite a group to be behind. Oh well, Buchanan still has Arod to trade, I can see it now, $2 Iwamura, $1 Chavez & Daniel Cortes for Arod and a Pick.