Keith Law...

[DMVol]

Doesn't think much of the trade:

Padres come out ahead in Street deal

By Keith Law | July 20, 2014 11:23:03 AM PDT

Huston Street fills a need for the Angels, but they paid a hefty price for his services.

The Los Angeles Angels were desperate for a closer in the best year they've had since acquiring Albert Pujols and the San Diego Padres had a spare closer lying around whom they didn't need, but the amount of talent heading to San Diego in exchange for Huston Street is baffling.

The Angels seem to have paid for name value or the Proven Closerâ„¢ tag rather than for production; Street hasn't been worth more than 1.0 fWAR -- a metric that derives a pitcher's WAR using FIP -- in any season since 2009, coincidentally the last time he reached 60 innings in one year.

Street is a good fit for the Angels' park -- a fly-ball pitcher who throws a ton of strikes -- and wasn't just a Petco Park fabrication, but he's also not going to strand every runner he lets reach base indefinitely. There are only a few right-handed relievers in the American League working with a below-average fastball, like Street has, and only one of them, Koji Uehara, is a successful closer. Street is probably worth half a win on paper to the Angels, more than that in the standings because of the high-leverage work he'll get and who he's replacing, but I don't foresee him adding enough W's in the standings to justify all they gave up to get him.

I said on Twitter that I wouldn't have dealt shortstop prospect Jose Rondon straight-up for two-plus months of Street's services, so I certainly don't like the total price for the Angels in this trade -- and love it for San Diego.

[Blarg]

I said on Twitter that I wouldn't have dealt shortstop prospect Jose Rondon straight-up for two-plus months of Street's services...

 

That's it, I'm putting Law on blast.

[Spirit]

I said on Twitter that I wouldn't have dealt shortstop prospect Jose Rondon straight-up for two-plus months of Street's services, so I certainly don't like the total price for the Angels in this trade -- and love it for San Diego.

 

 

Again with the "If you follow me on Twitter" bs. 

[Spirit]

Damn it Eric! 

[gotbeer]

2 plus months?  What about the Option?

[laagamer]

2 plus months?  What about the Option?

 

For someone who fancies himself an expert, he doesn't seem to know much. 

[arch stanton]

I don't really care what Keith Law thinks and neither do any major league front offices anymore.

[jshep]

2 plus months?  What about the Option?

 

He mentioned the option in the tweet about Rondon he's referencing, so yeah that's weird that it was phrased that way in the article.

Edited July 20, 2014 by jshep

[laagamer]

I don't really care what Keith Law thinks and neither do any major league front offices anymore.

 

Zing

[jshep]

I don't really care what Keith Law thinks and neither do any major league front offices anymore.

 

So I don't mean to step on your appeal to authority here, but I'm guessing the major league front offices that have interviewed him for jobs care what he thinks.

[m0nkey]

He doesn't like it for us, so I don't like him!

[jshep]

He doesn't like it for us, so I don't like him!

 

East coast bias!

[arch stanton]

So I don't mean to step on your appeal to authority here, but I'm guessing the major league front offices that have interviewed him for jobs care what he thinks.

The Blue Jays cared enough to fire him and nobody else has taken him in.

[RallyMo]

Guys, the plus clearly refers to the entire other season they'll have him for. Clearly.

[jshep]

The Blue Jays cared enough to fire him and nobody else has taken him in.

 

Well about the Blue Jays firing him...

 

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060531&content_id=1481471&vkey=pr_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

 

 

It is with mixed emotions the TORONTO BLUE JAYS announce the resignation of KEITH LAW. LAW has been with the Club since 2002, serving in more recent years as a Special Assistant to the General Manager.

 

LAW says, "I'm grateful to J.P. RICCIARDI and the BLUE JAYS for the opportunities they have given me over the last four years, but am excited to move on to the challenges of my new role with ESPN."

 

 

And as far as no one taking him in

 

On December 29, 2011, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Law interviewed for a number of front office positions with the Houston Astros, including the title of Scouting Director. Despite all of this, Keith Law decided to remain with ESPN in order to spend more time with his family.

 

 

Of course I'm still not seeing how not being employed by a major league front office automatically invalidates his knowledge anyway.

[Make Angels Great Again]

Rondon and Alvarez are probably the only two that will amount to anything in this trade.

 

I'm not high on Lindsey at all, neither am I on Morris.

[seenoevil]

Stupid law

[arch stanton]

Well about the Blue Jays firing him...

 

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060531&content_id=1481471&vkey=pr_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

 

 

And as far as no one taking him in

 

 

Of course I'm still not seeing how not being employed by a major league front office automatically invalidates his knowledge anyway.

Not questioning his knowledge just his application of that knowledge. Some seem to be more interested in "winning" trades than winning baseball games. I'm sure he's much happier in his current position where he's never going to be help accountable for results.

[Blarg]

The silliness of Law's statement about trading Rondon straight up for Street is that is not what the Padres were accepting so his opinion is not validated by what he posted on twitter.

[DowningRules]

I don't no nothing about no Law, so I don't care what he says, or doesn't say.  I was hoping to gain more info on the players invloved in the trade and why the Angels farm guys in the trade made it a better trade for the Pads.  But there was nothing in his statement to make me freak out. 

 

No numbers, no (worthless) projections (see:  MacPherson, Dallas, and Wood, Brandon for worthless projections), no nothing.

 

Remember when the Devil Rays were hyped on Sean Rodriguez in the Kazmir trade?  That had me worried a bit.  I just remembered him. 

[CaliAngel]

I don't really care what Keith Law thinks...

 

Honestly I don't care what any of these damn writers think anymore, they're rarely right and when they're wrong it's not like there's any accountability for the bullshit they spewed months or years in advance.

[Lou]

in Law's 4 seasons with Toronto, they finished in 3rd place three times and 5th once.

Evidently his genius wasn't utilized

[Chuck]

in Law's 4 seasons with Toronto, they finished in 3rd place three times and 5th once.

Evidently his genius wasn't utilized

Ha! This.

[Lou]

Just after the 2010 Draft:

Keith, what are your thoughts on Chris Sale?

Klaw(1:25 PM)

I ranked him 47th. The White Sox took him 13th. You do the math.

Keith, what was your reason for ranking him that low again?

Justin (Aus)

Speaking of the draft… what are your thoughts on Chris Sale’s mechanics? I recently saw a scouting video and, well, ow. It looked like an injury waiting to happen.

Klaw (1:18 PM)

I don’t love the arm action, but this idea that arm action guarantees injury has to die. It’s all probability, and there have been pitchers with subpar mechanics who’ve pitched in the majors for several years before getting hurt, as well as plenty of pitchers with "clean" arm actions who got hurt anyway. Back to Sale, I’m more concerned that he’s a sidearming lefty without much of a breaking ball. If you knew nothing about him but that one sentence, what would you say he was in the big leagues?

[Lou]

Law on Sale (cont):

'If I did draft him, I'd see if I could raise his slot just enough to get him better angle on the slider and get him to take advantage of his height. His current delivery, slot, and repertoire make him look a lot like a reliever to me."