Lost in Translation

In case I don't have a chance to write tomorrow (with Charles Karault, I'll be on the road), here is a quick extra one for Saturday.

That 10th spot on our roster could easily have been filled by any of 3 guys we were excited to keep in 2005 who were lost to other leagues. They were:

• Tony Batista 12-06 Off to Fukyouova, Japan or somewhere like that. He gave us 32/110/14 in addition to that ugly .241 BA for a dozen dollars. He was one of the real bargains of the 2004 draft.
• Jay Payton 5-06X He looked like a great pickup until he headed to the Bosox. His numbers for the year were weak, but he hit .360 for us after we stole him and threw in 3 HR's and 14 RBI's in just over a month.
• Dustin Hermanson 2-06 We gave up Kent and Williams to Lou for this guy, and he gave us 16 saves and the promise of more this year. The Giants, I have it on the best of authority, really wanted to sign this guy to be their closer, but they couldn't make the deal, and so had to settle for spending real money for Benitez.

We probably were hit the hardest of any team in the keepers we lost. But most everyone was hurt:

• Any 9 lost Randy Johnson 28-06.
• The Bums lost Adrian Beltre 22-06 and Carl Pavano 8-06.
• Busch Leaguers lost Steve Finley 18-06 and Matt Clement 6-05
• The Cartel lost Eli Marrero 3-06. I wouldn't have included Marrero here, but I never want to waste an opportunity to bring up Marrero's great value.
• Hobo lost Richie Sexson 28-05.
• Old Rips lost Jason Kendall 17-06 and David Wells 13-06.
• Lou lost Scott Podsednik 36-06. Not everyone would keep him, but 70 steals is a throwback to the Vince Coleman era.

Lesson learned: never play for next year. It might not come.