random notes for weekend discussion:
- the phillies might not be the only team to move their 2007 closer into the 2008 rotation. the cubs are contemplating doing the same thing with dempster. and if dempster is in the rotation, then presumably jason marquis is out; the only other guy dempster might nudge aside is sean marshall, and since marshall is better and cheaper than marquis i don't know why he'd take the fall.
- if you haven't read john mozeliak's diary yet, recording his thoughts / actions during his early days on the job, it's a must-read.
- here's a little trivia about one of the pitchers frequently mentioned as an stl trade target, ervin santana: he's got a persistent, ugly home-road split.
HOME w-l era avg/obp/slg AWAY w-l era avg/obp/slg 2005 9-3 3.18 .233/.297/.361 2005 3-5 7.43 .321/.394/.596 2006 10-2 3.02 .224/.292/.342 2006 6-6 5.95 .262/.334/.461 2007 6-4 3.27 .250/.314/.382 2007 1-10 8.38 .325/.398/.607 career 25-9 3.14 .234/.300/.359 career 10-21 7.14 .299/.372/.546 i don't quite know what to make of that. anaheim does have a pitcher-friendly park, but the effect isn't that pronounced. moreover, 2 of the other 3 parks in his division (seattle and oakland), where he makes a disproportionate number of his road starts, are decidedly pro-pitcher; doesn't make a whole lotta sense. i think he, like anthony reyes, has more ability than his w-l and era figures suggest, and he's still 3 years away from free agency. . . . if they can get him on reasonable terms, i like the idea in spite of the home/road thing.
- could greg maddux make it to 400 wins? he needs 53 more to get there, and at least one person thinks he's got a shot at it.
- carlos gomez is working for the diamondbacks now. . . .
- despite having stolen only 3 bases in 3 games, the 1986 cardinals are off to a good start: 2 wins in their first 3 games. willie mcgee's batting .500, jack clark is at .556 with an ops over 1.400, and all 3 starting pitchers so far (cox tudor and forsch) have turned in quality starts. greg mathews faces the expos today . . . .
- head over to Future Redbirds and vote in the Readers' Top 25 poll, a followup to the top 25 series erik and azru did last week.