Ok, maybe that’s not fair. But let’s face it, LaTroy was not working for the Cubs and probably never would.
I for one, think Jerome Williams has some talent. He is getting off to a slow start (spending most of it in the minors) having to tend to his ill father earlier in the year. Still, he’s 23 and very promising.
I know very little about David Aardsma other than what we are reading in the press now. He was a high draft pick in 2003. The Cubs say they’ll take a wait-and-see approach as to whether he’ll start or pitch out of the pen.
At this point, this looks like a very solid deal for the Cubs especially considering their injury situation. Williams could be the real deal. Aardsma could be the icing on the cake.
But unless Aardsma proves to be strong out of pen, they still haven’t taken care of business.
Followup: Here’s an article headlined “Teammates Will Miss Hawkins”. Yes, and so will Cubs’ opponents.
Ok, I’ll stop being so smart. Seriously, Cubs management did LaTroy a favor by trading him. He can get a fresh start in San Fran. He had too much baggage and there was too much discontent among the fans to be effective in Chicago.
Aardsma Trivia: Just read over at Cub Town (along with their analysis of the Cub trade) that Aardsma displaces Hank Aaron at the top of alphabetical list of career players.
Latroy Hawkins numbers with the Cubs (2004-2005):
G: 98
W-L: 6–8
Sv-Op: 29-42
H: 90
R: 36
ER: 31
SO: 82
W: 21
ERA: 2.76
When you let the fans and the talk show hosts (Mike North – White Sox fan, Steve Stone – a fired guy carrying a grudge, Doug Buffone – a FOOTBALL guy, for crying out loud) decide your roster by bullying you into trading players that THEY don’t like, you’re asking for trouble.
They got rid of Sosa becuase he played his boom box too loud and left the last game early. They let Alou go because he was moody and pissed on his hands. Now they wonder why they aren’t scoring enough runs.
Look at those Hawkins numbers and tell me that the bullpen is better WITHOUT Latroy.
One more Hendry trade and Dusty won’t win the 88 games that he wins every year.
I thought the trading of Hawkins was caused by Mark Prior getting hurt and the Cubs needed another starter, Jerome Williams. I have a feeling Mark Prior might miss the entire season.
hehe, I knew that headline would get a rise outta DonS. :)
You notice I spent most of my article talking about what we got and 2 sentences about LaTroy.
My feeling is LaTroy would have been fine as a setup man. But let’s face he doesn’t have it as a “go-to” guy and that’s what Baker insists on using him as.
I don’t listen to talk radio. Most of my info I get is from the web and the feeling is mutual.