benefit Or detriment
Any time Team trades Blingie’d player, Blog takes notice.
Guts joins non-Blingie’d Rodrigo Lopez as erstwhile Baltimore multiple Opening Day starter who ended up on Rockies.
In return for Guts Team gets one durable starter in Jason Hammel and one capable reliever in Matt Lindstrom.
Pitching in Camden bandbox against AL East bats vs. pitching in post-humidor Colorado against weaker bats from light-hitting NL West?
Probably pitching in Colorado slightly easier.
Also Guts won’t likely be No. 1 starter in Colorado so he’ll likely face weaker opponents and get better run support.
Guts could bust loose in 2012 and rack up a sick win-loss record. But even if he does that, it’s doesn’t follow he would have done so in Blartzinore.
Couple other observations:
Hammel started 96 games over past three years for Colorado and hit 21 batters. Guthrie started in 99 games over that span and hit 34 batters.
So Orioles fans who like watching A-Rod get plunked will have make do with less.
Among Guts’ many plunking victims is Michael Cuddyer, whose wrist Guts almost broke in August. Cuddyer — a longtime Twin who just moved to Colorado — sent a tweet Monday, saying “I hope you bring some ice with you. My wrist still hurts! LoL welcome aboard man, excited for your addition!”
A couple years back Guts’ Yankee-plunkings got so obvious, they caused a mini shit-storm.
So Blog recommends Guts not, you know, dig in too deep when he finally picks up bat in NL. At least for first few months. That stuff gets around in baseball.
Hammel gave up 56 dongs over last three years and Guts gave up 76. But their ratios of home runs per nine innings are close to even for their careers. So it’s a safe bet that Hammel will give up plenty of home runs at Camden.
Both Hammel and Guthrie are very durable. In fact, in many ways, they are very similar pitchers. But Hammel is far cheaper and Team also gets Lindstrom, who is coming off the best year of career, having posted a 3 ERA over 63 appearances for Rocks. Team pays less combined for new guys than Guts would likely have cost.
If you like pitchers with meat on their bones, you’ll love Lindstrom (6′ 3″, 220 lbs) and Hammel (6′ 6″, 215 lbs). Blog of Team personally likes giant Sasquatches who cast lumpy shadows from pitching mound.
Guts is 32, Hammel is 29 and Lindstrom is 31. So new guys are a tidbit younger. Of course Guts is mad durable and is one of best athletes in baseball so that’s probably a wash.
Blog of Team concludes that benefit or detriment of trade remains to be seen. Or, to paraphrase Walter Cronkite: TIME WILL TELL.
But if Blog of Team had to say RIGHT NOW Blog of Team would say: Good-ish trade.
For the O’s to become winners they must assemble players who have the “stuff” to win. Despite his admirable qualities (always in shape, never injured), Guts just isn’t that kind of player. His Razor-Straight fastball just doesn’t ‘cut’ it in this Division. I worry for him – that fastball will be even straighter in the rarified air of Coors Field, and he may break records for giving up dingers.
Well if Guts continues to suck in Colorado against Padres’ No. 2 and No. 3 starters then anything Team got back is bonus!
Maybe I’m wrong about Guts not being their No. 1 starter, the Denver Post says “He immediately becomes the leading candidate to start on opening day for the Rockies.”
guthrie has never learned how to pitch, his velocity range is way too tight the dude throws fastballs at 93 and off speeds at 89 this is a joke the man needed to establish a velocity range from 82 to 93 he never did that in balmer his fastball is sooo straight another big problem plus when the man did throw a good game on a rare occasion we never hit for him, bad karama or something o’s fans are a trip the dude loses almost 20 games and they refer to him like whitey ford get with it o’s fans stop these love courtships with certain players nicky is way overpaid roberts is finished we need fans to love the team not these overpaid nice guys who sign autographs with a smile the ravens would never tolerate the way the o’s management coddle certain players ravens cut heap if that were the o’s they would never want to offend the fans
one more thing whats this crap about oriole hitters taking first pitch strikes routinely in 2011 are you kidding me we dont have one hitter that can hit 300 its alright for a 300 hitter to start behind in the count but these soso hitters we have are in a hole from the outset the first pitch is almost always the best pitch a average hitter will ever see talk about doing the pitcher a favor wow, come on guys atleast try to keep the pitchers honest