The Carlos Beltran trade, from all sides. Art Rhodes, on keeping criticism in the clubhouse. Bill Bavasi, on taking Kenny Williams to the cleaner. The Controversial Willie Banks, pitchers old and new on going deep into the game, and Carlos Pena digging the walkoff. All this and more in this week’s edition of The Week In Quotes.
I’ll often talk here about “cascades”–the situation where one part of the body being injured or out of whack causes another injury–but it’s interesting to see the same concept apply to a team. Since the term comes from network science, it’s not surprising that it shows up in any networked system–a body, a team, even a league.
Tim Hudson went to the DL as a precaution after he once again felt an oblique strain affecting his motion. Little did the pitching-rich A’s know that Rich Harden would have a recurrence of his non-throwing shoulder’s laxity disorder. Had Harden gone on the DL, they would have been down two starters, but even then, the A’s were ready with Kirk Saarloos and John Rheinecker. This still leaves Justin Duschscherer in the bullpen and Joe Blanton on the verge. That’s just sick depth (and part of the reason that Billy Beane will be dangerous this trading season.) My favorite part of the episode is Larry Davis’ “everybody will make their next start” quote. It’s semantics like that which makes my job so “interesting.” Hudson will be out the minimum, while Rich Harden’s absence will depend on his pain tolerance. Remember his mechanics got out of whack early in the season when his gloveside drooped.