Speaking of Turkeys ..

By Howard Cole, www.baseballsavvy.com

There are a lot of ways we can go here. Another discussion of J.D. Drew is both apt and tempting, but a little too obvious.

The Angels trading right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg for right-hander reliever Chris Resop is borderline-blockbuster, but of very little interest to anyone outside of Anaheim . Or in it.

OK, fine; so they signed Gary Matthews, Jr. BFD.

Not to be eclipsed in the competition for south Orange County dominance, the Padres secured deals for coaches Craig Colbert and Bobby Meacham, while bringing in a reliever of their own, in Royce Ring.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers re-signed Nomar Garciaparra, and locked up center fielder Juan Pierre with a big deal (that's actual center fielder, Juan Pierre; as opposed to agent-labeled center fielder, J.D. Drew). The Pierre contract's a turkey, you say? Oh contraire, succotash breath.

I don't understand the criticism over this one. Yes it's a lot of money - I'll pay an extra quarter for a cold hot dog; 50 cents for one that's actually cooked - but the man shows up and earns it. He's a team guy. The contrast to Drew couldn't be more stark.

Pierre never misses a game, and I mean never, hits .300 in his sleep, steals bases, and unlike Kenny Lofton at this stage of his career, can actually catch a fly ball. On top of that, he's been a World Champion, and hit .300 in his one postseason. What more do you want?

Plus, there's the "Two First-Names Club" to consider. "J.D." is a lame first name anyway, so with Juan Pierre replacing him, and joining Jeff Kent, Brad Penny and Russell Martin, and with Ted Lilly still a possibility, the Dodgers are in good stead.

Carlos Lee makes Olmedo Saenz look like Tripp Cromer, and wasn't motivated to play on the West Coast, Cliff Floyd is another Drew, Mark Loretta is headed to San Francisco , and with Jeff Francis signing an extension to stay with the Rockies, L.A. really needed Pierre 's two first-names in the fold. I'm all for it.

Awards: The writers got it mostly right this year, so let's lay off the conspiracy theories, shall we. There was no gerrymandering. Reporters didn't get together on anything, and the fix wasn't in to keep Albert Pujols or anyone else out. It's not the Veterans' Committee and Joe Morgan keeping the Hall of Fame safe from middle-infielders with a lifetime batting average above .271. Secret ballots equal democracy. Enough, already. The process works.

Well, except for the moronic Joe Girardi National League Manager of the Year thing. Girardi's Marlins finished with the 9th best record in the NL, six games under .500, and closer to last place than to first. There's no "Tony Pena Award" in baseball. You shouldn't win a trophy just because your working conditions include having a boob for an owner. There's not enough bronze on the planet.

Talkback: Your comments are always encouraged.

 

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