From: niepornt@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (David Marc Nieporent)
Subject: McWeekly's dubious ratings
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 22:15:42 GMT


You know, I like Paul White and Peter Gammons (not his rumors, of
course), but they, along with the other mediots who rated the offseason 
moves by the teams, seem to have gone off the deep end.

--
Boston *improved* by getting Dawson and Calderon?  Gag.  Are they crazy?
I mean, I guess they're improvements over Herm Winningham, but really.

I say they're *worse* than before, except that Winningham won't be playing.  

I mean, before the winter moves, they could have put a Plantier/Greenwell/
Burks outfield out there.  If these guys weren't healthy, at least they
had Zupcic, who isn't awful.  I fully expect Dawson to be pathetic.  The
last few years he's been a 250/270/400 hitter on the road.  Fenway will
help a little, but nowhere near as much as Wrigley.  

They'll have a better offense than last year, since Jack Clark,
Winningham, and Hatcher won't be getting lots of ABs.  On the other
hand, their best hitter last year was Brunansky, and *he's* gone, right?

Then again, they did sign Bob Melvin.  Oh joy.  
-------
Toronto *wins* by replacing Stieb/Key/Cone with Stewart?  They don't
have *anyone* to be their 5th starter now.
----
Baltimore: they claim Harold Reynolds helps; I disagree.  Tim Hulett
would have been a better choice.  And "they would have graded higher had
they signed Dawson"???? Why?  I thought the object was to *win.*
-----

Kansas City was the best in the AL because of Cone/Gagne/Lind?  Huh?
Cone is great, no question.  But pitching was their *strong* suit,
remember?  This team had a putrid offense, and Gagne/Lind doesn't help.
At all.  Since when was Greg Gagne with a spoon anything special?
"Gagne and Lind are arguably the best DP combo in baseball"???
Obviously not offensively.  And defensively, maybe, but are they really
much better than most of the other DP combos in baseball?  Enough to
justify their non-hitting?
----
Chicago can ill afford to lose a Greg Hibbard?  Why?  Aren't there
bunches of pitchers out there who can pitch 175 innings with a 4.40 ERA? 
----

The Mets gain with Tony Fernandez?  I don't see it.  Sure, he's better
than Dick Schofield, but they lost Whitehurst, and they still have a
collection of players but no lineup.
----
Philadelphia only gains a little by adding Inky/Milt Thompson and Danny
Jackson?  Why?  Because "they promised Joe Carter."  I fully expect
Inky/Milt Thompson to be better than Joe Carter next year.  And in the
future.  Okay, Danny Jackson isn't great, but he's certainly as good as
Dave Stewart or Jack Morris.  
---
Montreal will *miss* Spike Owen?  Why?  Cordero is better.  Now,
Barberie, sure.  But Spike Owen?  
----
Chicago loses by replacing Maddux with Guzman BIG TIME.  Not just a
little.  But they GAIN by replacing Dawson with Maldonado.  Just because
they're too dumb to know it doesn't mean he won't help them more.  He
outslugged and outwalked (gee, that's tough) Dawson.  And that's without
park effects.
----
St Louis?  I don't like them, but their losses didn't hurt a bit.
Dumping the Big Cat has got to be worth 20 or 30 wins right there.
----

Why does Houston need a shortstop so badly?  I mean, what they have
isn't great, but I'd rather have their combination of Ramirez and Cedeno
and Candaele and anyone else than signing Spike Owen to a big contract.
Or, even worse, signing Greg Gagne to a big contract.  At least Spike
can hit.
----
Why do the Dodgers have trouble at third base?  What's wrong with
Sharperson?  
----
Did San Diego really do badly?  Fernandez and Santiago aren't worth 
*that* much, and they replaced Jerald Clark with Phil Plantier.  Big bonus.  
Myers is gone, but he wasn't that great for them, either.

---
Colorado: Andres Galarraga is a *good* pick?  Huh?  
Florida: They'll probably lose more than the Rockies in 93?  Why?  Are
	they planning not to play their good players?
---

-- 
David M. Nieporent   | Is it too early to start making predictions for 1993?
niepornt@phoenix.    | Probably, but that never stopped me before.
   princeton.edu     | ALE: Baltimore ALW: Chicago NLE: Montreal NLW: Atlanta
Baltimore Orioles 93 | AL MVP: Cal Ripken  AL Cy Young: Mike Mussina
Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball