John Sickel's looks back on J.P. Howell's career
It seems clear that Howell suffered from being rushed by the Royals in '05. Many pitchers have seen their careers collapse after being rushed in that way. But he's overcome adversity, and has found his niche in relief. As long as he remains healthy, I see no reason why he can't be an effective pitcher for a long time to come. He had some good luck on balls in play last year, and I imagine his ERA will rise this year as the H/IP corrects, but I expect he will remain an above average pitcher. He did well against both left-handers and right-handers, and doesn't have to be confined to a LOOGY role.
The Gathright for Howell trade stands out as one of Moore's most clear mistakes. I was mildly opposed to the trade at the time. It looks worse two years years later.
almost 3 years ago
James Quinn
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Howell has had one good year
the year before, he had an ERA over 7. Joey, on the other hand, batted over .300 for us one year. I’d wait to see if Howell can sustain that kind of performance before declaring this a mistake of Dayton’s.
Chaim Mattis Keller New York City's # 1 Royals fan!
by cmkeller on Mar 27, 2009 5:57 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I see your point,
but I am pretty comfortable calling it a mistake right now. Tampa Bay has already gotten quite a bit more out of Howell than the Royals got out of Gathright. And since Gathright is now gone, the deal will probably look worse and worse every month. Even during Gathright’s one good half season he was bearly good enough to be a 4th outfielder.
As a disclaimer, I should also admit to a time when Dayton Moore was clearly smarter than me. I was very unhappy with the Burgos – Bannister deal.
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I was mildly unhappy with it as well.
I thought Gload might be better thanhe has been. In retrospect no one could win with the principles who were involved. That trade was a lose-lose situation. Who knew at the time.
Another trade I really hated, the McDougal for whats-his-name-I-suck-left-handed-fat-prospect-pitcher-who-sucks. I expected McDougal to have several more good years left in him. I still think the Royals lost on that deal. McDougal did give the Pale Sox two good months which is much more than the Royals will get out of that deal.
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Oh yeah,
Cortes still has a shot. I am not sold on him like some, but he still might do some good for the team.
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whats-his-name-I-suck-left-handed-fat-prospect-pitcher-who-sucks = Tyler Lumsden (now an Astro)
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And we got Parraz for him
Not a great prospect, but certainly a trade up.
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Mar 28, 2009 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Have to disagree
MacDougal had a good 1/3 of a season for the White Sox immediately after the trade, and that was it. Since then he’s pitched poorly, been injured a lot and spent more time in the minors than in the majors. Now, he’s an overpaid pitcher on a guaranteed deal who isn’t likely to help his team much. Now, Cortes is still a prospect, so nothing is guaranteed, but I’d much rather have a top 100 prospect than an unimpressive, often injured middle reliever. Wouldn’t you?
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Mar 28, 2009 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Is Daniel Cortes a top 100 prospect?
If so I would be rather surprised.
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by James Quinn on Mar 29, 2009 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions
According to Baseball America
You might want to read up more on Cortes. You’ll like what you see.
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Mar 30, 2009 2:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I think it was definitely a mistake
It looked like a bad trade at the time, trading a talented pitcher who might at least make an effective reliever for a speed-only OFer. Gathright’s flukey OBP spike gave me pause. But Powell evolved into an effective reliever (I don’t think one should expect him to be a dominant reliever for the rest of his career and he’s definitely no starter). And Gathright never became more than just a speed-only OFer, who was eventually non-tendered.
Long story short, when a talented SP prospect gets some MLB starts and looks like he can’t handle that, don’t just trade him away for a 5th OFer. Try him in the bullpen and you might have a good reliever.
The immoderate moderator
He always felt like a Powell to me.
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Mar 28, 2009 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions
This trade
would have been more useful if they parked a number of new cars in the outfield for advertising purposes. We’d then have the only known outfielder capable of dealing with that “park effect”.
The General Theory of Royaltivity
by kabrink on Mar 27, 2009 7:52 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Didn't like the trade at the time
but if Gathright had been a bit better on defense, playing center at the same level he played left, it could have turned out well for the Royals, I guess. Instead, they spent a bunch of money on older, not so great relievers and ended up releasing Gathright, basically getting nothing for the trade, and spending a bunch of money to fill the hole. It happens to the best of ’em, but if/when trades start ending up like this for a particular organization…
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What is weird about it all,
Gathright was neither an ex-Brave or a Bible thumper. Weird. What was going on here? Gator wasn’t even noticably gritty.
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He must have been a good character guy in the clubhouse
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Mar 28, 2009 5:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Moore only acquires high-character players
(except for all of the troubled a-holes he acquires)
The immoderate moderator
by Scott McKinney on Mar 28, 2009 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions
He's found the market inefficiency!
Troubled guys are undervalued! Maybe!
Even more valuable: troubled guys who are actually good at baseball.
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by Matt Klaassen on Mar 28, 2009 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions
Unfortunately
Elijah Dukes and Wily Aybar are no longer being shopped. Each were acquired in exchange for the rarest of talents — minor league relievers.
Almost like Mike Jacobs, except for the “troubled”, “good”, “undervalued” and “minor league” parts.
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