According to the
story I read yesterday on MLB.com, the Angels and White Sox are among the seven
winners from the “Mookie Betts trade fallout.”
Wow, who knew?
With the Angels,
it comes from their acquiring outfielder Joc Pederson, who was made expendable
with Betts’ arrival. Pederson joins
Justin Upton and Mike Trout to give the Halos (yes, Hawk Harrelson did rub off
on me despite my best efforts) an outfield “as good as almost any” in
baseball. Again, wow.
I must be
missing something with Pederson.
Baseball-reference.com ranks him with the likes of Wally Post and Dave
Nicholson, to say nothing of Phil Plantier and Cory Snyder. As good as what? If Trout makes Pederson as good as Frank
Robinson made Post, the Angels may be a little better. Otherwise, Pederson is just another guy who
hits homeruns in an era that confuses power with talent. Think Mark Trumbo or
Chris Davis. Now try to think of them in
the postseason. Hint: They both were,
not that they did anything memorable, outside of Trumbo going one for hour and
Davis hitting .185 over the course of three series.
Now for the White
Sox: Betts leaving Boston helps our
wildcard chances (along with that of the Angels and Rays). Just keep in mind that “to write off the Red
Sox in 2020 is silly.” Then, what do you
call writing, “The AL wildcard spots are wide open,” before pitchers and
catchers have even reported to camp?
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