Poblanotes 49.1- Winter Meeting Whirl

[chicoruiz]

Oh wow... It seems like just a few days ago that my staff put me on the big choo-choo train to the winter meetings. They pinned a card to my jacket with my name and destination on it, handed me a paper bag full of sandwiches and cookies, and made sure that I still had the money belt around my waist containing the 45 million dollar free agent budget with which I'd been entrusted.

"All right, Chico", they said... "Remember your job is to bring back a star shortstop, a very good catcher, and as many good starting pitchers as you can afford with the money you have left over. Do you think you can handle that?"

So you can see why I feel a little bit sheepish about returning without any of those things. In fact I'm returning with more than half my free agent money still in my money belt. The bulge it causes is quite obvious; several of my fellow passengers looked at me quizzically until I told them it was a colostomy bag; since then I've had plenty of privacy and time to think.

My big purchase of the winter meetings turned out to be Robert Chenowith, a power-hitting first baseman from Yellow Springs. I've always had the suspicion that our holdover first basemen had their power numbers, modest though they were, inflated by our home park. It will be fun to see what a for real power hitter can do in El Paso, especially hitting behind Cano. Plus he fields his position well, seldom gets injured, and is by all accounts a swell guy. Pretty much the definition of a player worth a big money contract.

After that, i put my nose to the grindstone addressing our more pressing needs, but despite wearing my nose down to a nubbin, I didn't make a love connection with any of the big money players (speaking of a love connection, who was this "Kate" person at the winter meetings. She seemed very popular).

I did land a couple of shortstops, Ricardo Munoz and Jose Nunez, who can excel with the glove, put the ball in play, and run fast. So far in their careers, however, this skill set hasn't translated to anything resembling success. My new catcher, Angel Garcia, has some defense and pop, but at 27 still hasn't had a chance to showcase his skills on a regular basis.

The two pitchers I signed, David Bates and Pancho German, have a lot in common: they're relatively inexpensive, they each pitched moderately well in the BBA a few seasons ago, and they each spent the last two seasons in the UMEBA, where they earned little or no distinction. More importantly, they each throw bunches of ground balls, which is a major point of emphasis for me.

So maybe my staff is going to be upset with me, but I think I can defend my decisions. I still have a pile of cash in case a new opportunity presents itself, especially at shortstop. And I'll continue to live by my motto: Don't fall in love with an overpriced free agent just because you have a need at his position. And don't fall in love with a dreamer, 'cause he'll break you every time...

For more info on the players mentioned in this article, click here.

[Dington]

I really like Munoz. Hope he gets some ABs.