12 runs in 10 games=Montreal Expos

[TreAnt985]

Sorry if this one's been discussed elsewhere, but I didn't see any similar thread. The Expos have scored 12 total runs in 10 games this season, and their starting OF for today's game (and this isn't an anomoly) is Terrmel Sledge (0-for-14 in his career), Peter Bergeron (career .226 hitter with .304 OBP) and Matt Cepicky (.217 BA and .253 OBP career). Even when Nick Johnson returns and if he can remain healthy, this team's offense will be by far the worst in baseball.
What should they do to try to remedy this situation? There aren't many big names available that the Expos could get, so I'm thinking signing some exciting players who have years of ML experience would be best. At least they'd help get some crowds for the team and help out with teaching the bevvy of young players on this team.
My personal favorite is Rickey; and before you say he's done, his .321 OBP last year (mostly due to an injury) is higher than the career OBP of 6 of the Expos' 8 batters in today's game (not counting the pitcher of course). They do need a real leadoff guy and a LF and can't spend any money on a big name....

[JamesI]

Scary that in 10 games the Expos scored as much as the Orioles did against Boston on Thusday.

[Crash Course]

Rickey won't help the Expos. But, taking a page from Rickey's book could - - - the Expos should go like the 1976 A's - - every time someone gets on, they run. And, keep running until they're tagged out.

Might not mean more wins - but, they could be more interesting that way.

[pathogan]

...I heard this one this afternoon...unfortunately, they ran into a very hot marlins staff... :(

[TreAnt985]

Rickey won't help the Expos.
Who are some other available players who might be able to help them?
From what I've read, their biggest problem is leadership and not taking pitches. Rickey may be bad, but considering their current lineup..... :rolleyes:

[TreAnt985]

Just to note, the Spos tied their season high by scoring 3 runs today, but still lost 6-3. They're now up to 15 runs in 11 games. Albert Pujols is the current ML run-scorer, with 14 in 12 games through today's game.

[SmedIndy]

They should play Sledge full time. I know it's a bad lineup - but Sledge has skills.

[PianoMonkey]

I know this: if your team is in danger of scoring fewer runs than the number of home runs the royals hit, then "danger" isn't a strong enough word...

[pathogan]

...another 3 games :D

[TreAnt985]

At least Terrmel Sledge got his first career hit! Too bad he went 0-for-22 before he got it....

[pathogan]

At least Terrmel Sledge got his first career hit! Too bad he went 0-for-22 before he got it....


...is that his actual name?

[Crash Course]

As far as I know, yes.
Have you ever met his sister?

[Craig S.]

Have you ever met his sister?

They are definitely family.

I don't think any one player is the answer for the Expos. They're not going to score a lot of runs, and they will lose a ton of games.

[gyb13]

what about McGriff?

[TreAnt985]

They need to do something like that (i.e. bring in a famous veteran), as bringing up guys who should be at AA obviously isn't working. The Expos don't need a 1B nearly as much as they need a (or two or three) outfielders, but if management doesn't do something soon to shake things up, this team is 2004's Detroit Tigers, even when/if Johnson and Everett come back.

[SmedIndy]

Why do they need a famous veteran? They need an actual ballplayer, not a name!

[gyb13]

The Expos don't need a 1B nearly as much as they need a (or two or three) outfieldersWilkerson can move back to the OF if they get a 1B while Johnson's out

[sweaver]

Without Vlad and Vasquez, the Expos are circling the drain this year. Their second lease on life with F. Robby at the helm seems to have run out.

[TreAnt985]

Why do they need a famous veteran? They need an actual ballplayer, not a name!
Everything I've read says that they don't have a team leader. Also, their clubhouse is supposedly void of any fun or interaction between players because no one wants to watch them play because they're doing so badly. Having a veteran player could at best provide a little leadership and create fan interest, and at worst help the team offensively (since they can't get any worse averaging 1.7 R/game). I haven't been able to see any Expos games recently, but some Expos fans (there are still a few out there) say that all the players (and Vidro in particular) aren't even trying to win by swinging weakly and not running even mildly hard.
Bringing up AAA guys hasn't worked at all, so I think a famous, crowd-drawing batter could help out on many more fronts than bringing up 10 minor leaguers could, and we all know that MLB won't fork out the cash to trade for a real hitter....

[TreAnt985]

Without Vlad and Vasquez, the Expos are circling the drain this year. Their second lease on life with F. Robby at the helm seems to have run out.
Frank hasn't been managing well at all this year from several reports I've read. His most recent attempt to get his players to hit was to not have batting practice before the game. I read an article on mlb.com where he says he can't enjoy watching TV anymore because he's too busy thinking about why the team isn't doing well. I guess he hasn't figured out yet that it may be because he plays Endy Chavez, Peter Bergeron (when he's healthy) and Ron Calloway like they're Cal Ripken.

[sweaver]

The Expos are now 10.5 games back. I generally count a team as toast when they get more than 10 games out of the lead, although the Wild Card changes that somewhat.

[gyb13]

yeah, you should change your definition to 10 gms out of the wild card. pennants mean jack.

[PianoMonkey]

what was the furthest back the Marlins got last year before they turned it around?

[gyb13]

they finished 10 games behind the braves...but of course they won the wild card

after eyeballing some dates using retrosheet:

when Torborg was fired, they were 16-22, 9 GB of the Braves
On May 22nd, after a 6-gm losing streak, they were 19-29, 13.5 GB
On Jul 20th, 15.5 GB (but 6 GB of the wild card)

[SmedIndy]

Clubhouse leaders do nothing if there is no talent.

[OaktownTribeFan]

Exactly. Frank can't manage if he doesn't have the horses.

The team has a sad history, as most here know. The exodus of great players has been going on for 10 years, and doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. The Expos, a once proud franchise, are now a rump enterprise.

[TreAnt985]

Exactly. Frank can't manage if he doesn't have the horses.
Minaya must have his hands tied in regards to player movements. Obviously, there's no way they'd land a big free agent anytime soon, but Manaya hasn't made many moves for this struggling team recently, and the few he has made have backfired horribly (N. Johnson, Colon, etc.).
At least their offense appears to have awoken slightly--I think they've scored 4+ runs in 3 straight games now, but I wonder how well they'll do the rest of the season if they keep batting Chavez lead-off and Calloway playing 60% of the games....
Just for interest, I used the SBE to find the worst outfielders last year based on RCAA, and here were the results:
RCAA RCAA
1 Endy Chavez -37
2 Ron Calloway -31
3 Jose Macias -25
T4 Quinton McCracken -20
T4 Jermaine Dye -20
The worst 3 in the majors last year were all Expos, and the two worst by far are both regular players again this year. Rebuilding with a young team is one thing, but using young-ish players (Chavez is 26, Calloway is 27) year after year with no possibility of them ever becoming good is the Expos.

[gyb13]

Manaya hasn't made many moves for this struggling team recently, and the few he has made have backfired horribly (N. Johnson, Colon, etcjury's still out on the Nick Johnson trade...

[SmedIndy]

How can the Johnson trade have backfired in a month???

[TreAnt985]

How can the Johnson trade have backfired in a month???
Johnson hasn't played a single game yet, doesn't want to play for the Expos, and has had his return from back problems set back by about two months already. Essentially trading Vazquez for Johnson, who may play 1/2 a season for the Expos and has already been called 'Nick the Sick' and a whiner by fans (since he REALLY doesn't want to be playing for the Expos) is, at the moment, a huge bust for the Expos. Also, just trading a guy who's been on the DL at least once for 5 straight years for a player who is a top-tier pitcher doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a general standpoint.
Johnson may one day be the next Barry Bonds with high OBP and SLG totals, but it will never be with the Expos. It may just be that I've started to keep up a lot with Expos news and fan forums recently, but I've gotten the impression that Johnson has no intention of playing for an awful team like the Expos and that he is most-likely drawing-out his back injury for as long as possible to avoid playing for them.
I'm just saying that this trade has worked out very favorably for the Yankees and very unfavorably for the Spos in many regards. :)

[SmedIndy]

Never judge a trade by a month.

[TreAnt985]

Never judge a trade by a month.
Either way, Nick Johnson doesn't seem to be prepared to play for the Expos, and he's definitely needed in their lineup to be their 'big bat.' Most trades shouldn't be evaluated so quickly, but having someone on your team who doesn't want to play for you at all (and may not have to if he continues his usual string of injuries) doesn't exactly seem ideal, especially when a good pitcher was traded for him.
However, the Expos' offense seems to have perked up some recently, as I think they scored 10 runs vs. the Rockies (and not at Coors Field, although it was vs. Jason Jennings) last night. Chavez seems to be turning it around in the leadoff spot, but it probably won't last for more than a week or so, as his previous stats have shown. I'm just glad I'm not an Expos fan because watching this team play every day would be terrible :D

[SmedIndy]

Nick better want to play for the Expos or he won't play anywhere.

Besides - sometimes you judge trades by who you get in the next trade. Endless cycle.

[ExposFan2004]

The Expos had to make some moves over the winter for budgetary reasons - they knew they'd have a budget of ~$40M in 2004, and a projected payroll of ~$55-60M if they kept everyone exept Vlad. So they dumped some overpaid drek for next to nothing (El Duque, Barrett, Macias), and moved Vazquez for the best offer they could get: nick Johnson (high risk/high upside), Juan Rivera (decent prospect in his own right), and Randy Choate (who turned into John Patterson). 1 year of Vazquez for 3 years of Johnson plus Rivera and Patterson? Not a bad deal, IMHO - 1 established major leaguer (albeit with a history of injuries) and two pretty good prospects in Rivera and Patterson. The deal might not work out for the expos (if Johnson doesn't get healthy), but it's a reasonable gamble.

[TreAnt985]

Well, after rebounding for a few games, the Expos are back to where they started. They've lost 16 of 20 road games this year, and lost 3 straight to the Brewers. It doesn't appear that Expos "management" will do anything anytime soon....Johnson's still out for at least 2 weeks (and you know that'll get pushed back), so their only hope is Everett, who's rehabbing.
The only media attention they get is when everyone makes fun of their attendance, so maybe they need to bring in some people who would bring good attention to the team and maybe even some fans....
F. Robinson said after today's game that with his "personnel it doesn't seem to be working," so maybe something will change soon.

[gyb13]

everett's supposed to come back tonight

[TreAnt985]

everett's supposed to come back tonight
I think I saw him in the lineup for tonight's game. Their starting OF is Chavez, Rivera, and Everett....