Achievers/Bums - 7/22/08

Separated at Birth
Jim Bowden and Roddy Piper

ACHIEVERS
Nick Markakis - OF - Baltimore Orioles - Markakis has finally found his groove. Since the beginning of June, Markakis has hit .333 with 5 HRs and 28 RBIs. He added to those totals tonight by going 2/4 with a 2B and HR. Markakis won't help you too much with HRs and RBIS, so don't overpay for him. If your league ranks OBP or BBs, see if you can pick him up, but it might be too late.
Adam Lind - OF - Toronto Blue Jays - The super-prospect went 4/5 with a HR and 3 RBIs against the Orioles. While he will eventually be a decent player, Lind will still be inconsistent this season. Play at own risk.
Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies showed some heart in coming back against the Mets in the first game of a big series. And we all know how tough the Mets are when they are under pressure. (BTW, Joe Blanton stinks)


BUMS
Jim Bowden - GM - Washington Nationals - I will give Bowden credit for one thing: he makes me feel confident that I could be a MLB general manager. First, the Nats traded Jon Rauch for 2B Emilo Bonifacio, adding to the Nats' stable of weak hitting IFs (Felipe Lopez, Ronnie Belliard, Willie Harris). Rauch was a solid if not specatular closer who was under contract until 2010 with his highest salary totalling only $2.9 million. While he was not untouchable, Rauch was worth more than another 2B who can't hit.

Of course, you can't discuss weak hitting middle infielders without mentioning Cristian Guzman. Guzman's 2008 success has been a pleasant suprise, very similar to Dmitri Young's comeback with Nationals in 2007. After his great season, Bowden signed the oft-injured, poor fielding Young to an extension. Instead of moving Young with his value restored, Bowden rendered him untradeable by signing him to a large contract. Young now resides on the DL (shakes magic eight ball) .... to get his diabetes under control. (Somewhere, even Mark Prior and JD Drew are making fun of "Da Meat Hook.") Bowden today signed the oft-injured, poor fielding Guzman to an extension. Instead of moving ... you get my drift. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Those teams with Jim Bowden as your GM are condemned to be stinky.

Johan Santana/NY Mets Bullpen Did Santana spend his off season desecrating an Indian burial ground? Beating up nuns? Speaking our new Messiah's name in vain? Santana had a pretty good outing tonight (8 IP, 4 Ks, 2 R) against the Phils, but his awful luck reared its head again. He is wiping his tears away tonight with $100 bills, but Santana is quickly losing time to redeem himself for this season.
It is not fair to blame Santana's bad luck; you really need to blame the Met's crummy bullpen. Duaner Sanchez, de facto closer with Billy Wagner on the shelf, rose to the occasion by giving up three runs without getting a single out. I predict that the Mets will overpay for a RP in the next week. Hey, the Nats have Jon Rauch ... oh, nevermind.