11/05/24
June 28, 2002
Expos Acquire Colon.: For the first time in recent memory, the Expos acquired a big name player. I'm shocked. I mean, I guess it's pretty much their last chance to win before they get contracted/moved, but still. Good for them for not giving up. Now, the question is: Can the Expos make a postseason run?
posted by Bernreuther to baseball at 12:32 AM - 8 comments
I don't know if they will be able to make a run or not. Currently, they are in the biggest hole of any second place team, and the Braves have been on fire lately, so the wild card is their only hope (against the NL west). I am glad to see they are trying to be competitive. The interesting part of this for me is that it seems that Cleveland seems to be officially entering a "rebuilding phase". Does this mean that Thome is on the way out as well (Atlanta could use a first baseman).
posted by trox at 08:14 AM on June 28, 2002
they're saying that Thome could land in atlanta or boston. But Boston has nothing to offer in a trade, so I'm guessing atlanta... which means that no, Montreal doesn't have a shot... I was really hoping that this would be the year that Atlanta fell off, but I guess not. Maybe next year...
posted by Bernreuther at 11:06 AM on June 28, 2002
being a mets fan, i always want atlanta to fall off and if there is any year that it could go down, this is it (despite what the standings say at this point). their pitching has been overachieving this year. they have the best team era in baseball (who's second: mets) and are doing it with wash ups (moss, hammond, millwood, lightenburg, lopez et al). maddux seems to be wearing down and might not make it through the season. glavine, of course, is stellar as usual. potent line up aside, i think the marlins, expos, and mets all have a shot at the east. 7 games back is nothing in july. the mets made that up in one week last september. the expos concern is can they beat the teams inside the nl east on a consistent basis and with the duo of colon and vasquez it doesn't seem like a reach at all. the marlins, expos, and mets are playing each other to play atlanta in september. who ever does the best agaisnt eachother will be the one left standing to face the braves down the stretch. my betting money is on the expos. and i don't think minaya is done trading to get there yet.
posted by oliver_crunk at 11:53 AM on June 28, 2002
Atlanta's gonna peter out eventually, but it's not going to be this season -- Colon trade or not. Bartolo's awesome, but you can only run him out there once every five days, and les Expos still give the Big Cat, Wil Cordero, and Troy O'Leary pleny of ABs (all at positions where they should be getting major offense). Looking at the Braves, any inflation in their team ERA should be offset by the fact that Sheffield and Chipper really haven't hit yet (no reason to think they won't), and there's help on the way at 2B when Derosa and Giles return. It is nice to see the Expos go out and acquire a high-priced player for once. It's hard not to root for them, if for no other reason than to mess with Bud's master plan!
posted by herc at 07:41 PM on June 28, 2002
My Expos! They actually acquired a high salary player. You are all talking about them as contenders. Oh my, I'm fainting...
posted by qbert72 at 02:38 AM on June 29, 2002
It is nice to see the Expos go out and acquire a high-priced player for once. It's hard not to root for them, if for no other reason than to mess with Bud's master plan! Why does everyone think the Expo's success will make Bud look bad? As far as I know, they're still not drawing many fans. So the better they do (without actually making the playoffs) the stronger his argument gets.
posted by oddovid at 08:33 AM on June 29, 2002
I'm adopting Coach Christeas' motto towards our Expos: believe, enjoy, trust.
posted by qbert72 at 12:47 PM on June 29, 2002
I suppose it's a case of "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," but instead of being happy for Montreal fans that their team is making a run, I'm wondering if MLB would be willing to give away the team's future in trades just to prove their point about the need for contraction. Having said that, they didn't really give up much for Colon. Their best prospect and a decent 1B for Colon and Tim Drew isn't a bad deal. I don't know if it's enough to get them over the top, but it gives them a nice rotation now that Tomo Ohka has fufilled his promise (somewhere other than Boston, of course).