Poblanotes 51.1- Newbies

[chicoruiz]

Three years ago I signed Hao Hang. Two years ago it was Robert Chenoweth. Last year it was Jose Sanchez. And this year it was... (drum roll) … pretty underwhelming.

Chilis fans (and there actually are some now) could be excused for feeling let down at my performance at winter meetings. After all, there was money to spend, a history of one big signing every season, and the sense that one more push might get El Paso into the playoff picture. But I felt that there wasn’t value for money in the top of this year’s FA market, so my shopping came mostly in the clearance rack.

Let’s look at my newbies:

C Antonio Ruiz- No relation… Catcher is the one position where I was willing to make a big free agent splash, but I just couldn’t make myself fall in love with any of the big money options. So I ended up giving 3.3 million to this guy, who’s maybe 10% better than what I had. I have quantity rather than quality behind the plate; sooner or later one of these guys will pan out. I’d have backup-level catching available in trade, though with my luck, the one I trade will be the one that catches fire.

P Jose Arellano- The oldest free agent I’ve ever signed, at 34. His career has been up and down, but the last few years, in Chicago and Jacksonville, have been mostly up. He got 1.8 million, and he’ll at least contend for a rotation spot.

P Larry Fain- Another rotation candidate, and like Arellano, a ground ball producer. He got 1.5 million. One problem: when I told him that his name reminded me of Larry Fine of the Three Stooges, he replied, “Larry Who of the The Three Who???”. How can a young man reach adulthood without knowledge of this vital piece of popular culture? I plan to fix this; by midseason we’ll be having deep discussions on topics such as “Shemp- The Most Underrated Stooge”…

OF Pablo Lara- 25-year-old acquired in a trade… You ever just have a feeling about a guy? I needed to improve my outfield defense, and when Pablo hit the trade block and I researched him, he just felt to me like a guy who was about to take a big step forward. I better be right, because I gave up a pretty good prospect to get him.

OF Guo-Dong Zha- For the last couple of years I’ve been carrying a veteran as a sixth outfielder, but he was a lefthanded hitter, and I needed a righty bat. So here came Zha in the Rule 5 draft. He won’t hit for much average, but he can play late-inning defense, run, and hit with enough power to be a semi-useful bench bat. When you have Hector Cano Jr. in front of you, that’s good enough.

So there you have it: five guys who, if not stars, at least have a role on this team. And if one or more of them poops the bed- well, as I said, there’s still a little money in the budget. But I have a good feeling about these guys. Or maybe that’s just gas…

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

[woods]

Zha was the one guy I would've preferred not to lose in the Rule 5 draft. Nice job picking him up.

[chicoruiz]

Zha was the one guy I would've preferred not to lose in the Rule 5 draft. Nice job picking him up.

Yeah, he was first on my list after all the “No way in hell this guy is actually going to end up rule 5 eligible” guys.

[CTBrewCrew]

GREAT! now thats all i see is all i see is Larry Fine now