December 17, 2004
Sans Laptop
I'm still getting used to this whole writing-without-my-computer thing, so you'll have to let me off the hook with just one real article today. I'll try to be back on track for Monday, although my computer will probably just be in some HP warehouse by then. In the meantime, go check out all the good stuff we had this week at The Hardball Times.
Oh, one quick note: I saw that the Giants are non-tendering A.J. Pierzynski, making him a free agent after one year with the team. I had two thoughts ...
1) I wonder how much Pierzynski would want to be Joe Mauer's backup?
2) Dealing Pierzynski is without question one of Terry Ryan's best deals, which is really saying something. He dealt what turned out to be one year of Pierzynski (and a sub par year at that) for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser.
Pierzynski had his worst year as an everyday player, hitting just .272/.319/.410 in 510 plate appearances, ranking eighth among National League catchers in Win Shares with 13. He also alienated some of his teammates and apparently made such an impression on Felipe Alou and Brian Sabean that they went out and gave Mike Matheny a three-year contract to be their catcher.
Nathan had 44 saves and a 1.62 ERA in 72.1 innings and established himself as one of the top closers in baseball. Liriano posted a 174-to-60 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 156.2 innings (28 starts) between Single-A and Double-A. Bonser posted a 153-to-57 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 161.1 innings (28 starts) between Double-A and Triple-A.
Almost makes up for not having Corey Koskie anymore, I guess.
Today at The Hardball Times:
- Free Agent Wrap-Up: The Third Wave (by Aaron Gleeman)
