Buster Olney's NL Central comments

[mikechamp]

From an ESPN chat:

Mandatory Linkage: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=16143
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If Lilly got ejected, why didn't Hudson get ejected?

Buster Olney
The handling of that series made me scratch my head, and your example is one of the reasons. The home plate ump felt comfortable reading intent last night, but the night before, that was not the case -- and if you were in that crew and willing to read intent last night, then how was Renteria not ejected. I do give the home plate ump credit for this last night: He stuck to his guns, informed all incoming pitchers about the situation. But all in all, it was a series that was handled inconsistently.
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Why is Rink Ankiel still down in AAA? It has to be because of his contract, because this guy is absolutely tearing it up down there. How good is it to see his comeback?

Buster Olney
I haven't asked a Cards exec specifically, but I've read (a Joe Strauss piece, I think, in the P-D) about how Ankiel's option situation is a problem. He's not on the 40-man roster, and if the Cardinals add him to the 40-man and to the big-league roster, than they'd have to pass him through waivers if they wanted to send him back to the minors. So from the Cardinals' perspective, the best thing to do would be to wait until they are absolutely certain they're going to keep him for good before adding him to the 40-man and 25-man roster. He's definitely a guy you root for.
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Buster, is there any truth to the Adam Dunn to LA for Nomar trade rumors? If not, do you see the Reds moving him at any point during the season?

Buster Olney
I'm sure the Dodgers would love to do a Nomar for Dunn deal, but I can't figure out why the Reds would want to do that; they'd want a prospect or two in return. I don't know how Nomar really helps them.
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Buster, what are the Cubs going to do with their RF situation? Heard any thing? Also, what do you think of Felix Pie?

Buster Olney
My guess is that eventually, RF will be some kind of platoon; Pie is a huge upgrade defensively for the Cubs, and if I were in Hendry/Piniella's shoes, he'd be playing every day. Makes the pitching that much better.
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Do you think Carlos Zambrano turns it around or continues to struggle?

Buster Olney
I think Zambrano turns it around; in an odd sort of way, that fight with Barrett might have been the best thing to happen to him, because he could take a step back and say: Wow, I really am acting like an idiot, and it's time to get down to the business of pitching. I bet it ends up working like a reset button for him.
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[Hungary Jack]

Nomar for Dunn would be a crowning achievement for the Reds front office.

The only thing better might be Homer Bailey for Jose Valentin.

[TabascoElvis]

Do you think Carlos Zambrano turns it around or continues to struggle?

Buster Olney
I think Zambrano turns it around; in an odd sort of way, that fight with Barrett might have been the best thing to happen to him, because he could take a step back and say: Wow, I really am acting like an idiot, and it's time to get down to the business of pitching. I bet it ends up working like a reset button for him.
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I'm personally looking forward to seeing how this actually plays out the rest of the season. All I've heard from the majority of talking heads is the same as Olney: how the fight works in Z's favor. I've never seen anything in his mental makeup that would lead me to that conclusion.

[mikechamp]

I'm personally looking forward to seeing how this actually plays out the rest of the season. All I've heard from the majority of talking heads is the same as Olney: how the fight works in Z's favor. I've never seen anything in his mental makeup that would lead me to that conclusion.

I don't see how anyone can even take a guess on this one way or the other. The words "mental consistency" and "Zambrano" don't belong in the same sentence, so the fight could have about a 1000 different possible effects on his performance from this day on.

[keener98]

Do you think Carlos Zambrano turns it around or continues to struggle?

Buster Olney
I think Zambrano turns it around; in an odd sort of way, that fight with Barrett might have been the best thing to happen to him, because he could take a step back and say: Wow, I really am acting like an idiot, and it's time to get down to the business of pitching. I bet it ends up working like a reset button for him.
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I'm personally looking forward to seeing how this actually plays out the rest of the season. All I've heard from the majority of talking heads is the same as Olney: how the fight works in Z's favor. I've never seen anything in his mental makeup that would lead me to that conclusion.

Well his last 2 starts since the fight seem to support that theory.