Joe Sheehan - Bad Manners

Mom always told me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. Well, Joe Sheehan hasn't been listening to my mother. But who can blame him? I mean, it's not his mother. And he's never been to my Mom's house, so how would they have been a position to talk to each other anyway?

Let's speak plainly. Joe is not enthusiastic about the signing of Guzman and Castilla. Among other broadsides, Joe mentions:

It's strange that the Expos, having employed Tony Batista for a year, managed to bring in a player who is of the same type, yet worse. That's not easy to do. The two-year commitment is baffling, although there was probably a market among GMs for Castilla based on his league-leading RBI total. There's a symmetry to that, actually, the point at which blind spots about the value of RBI and the effect of Coors Field on offensive statistics converge. If you squint, you can almost see art and beauty in it.

Well, as we've shown below...Vinny Castilla's career statistics away from Coors Field suggests that he should at least have a .002 higher OPS than last year's third sackers. I mean, isn't that an improvement?

Joe is less kind in discussing Guzman:

You know what this contract is? It's Pat Meares all over again. Meares, like Guzman, was the starting shortstop for the Twins until they didn't want to pay him any longer. They non-tendered him after the 1998 season, and the Pirates signed him to a minor-league deal, then quickly gave him a four-year contract in early 1999. Meares missed most of '99 and all of 2002 with injuries; when healthy, he was barely a replacement-level shortstop. The contract was a burden on the Pirates for years.

Mr. Sheehan, I knew Pat Meares. Pat Meares was on my fantasy team. Guzman is no Pat Meares.

In fact, in some places, calling someone Pat Meares is fighting words. I believe that Chris Mathews called Zell Miller "Pat Meares", leading Senator Miller to challenge Matthews to a duel. Do not use such comparisons lightly, Mr. Sheehan.

I think that Sheehan's mostly got it wrong. Castilla and Guzman '05 will be a wash with Batista and Cabrera '04, both offensively and defensively. They will be a wash salary-wise as well. So these signings are simply treading water, not a step in the wrong direction!