Puzzled by the Angels trade of Young Lefty Reliever Dusty Bergman for Old Lefty Reliever Jason Christiansen aka J.C. Loogy?
Me too, especially when i looked at the stats compiled over at Pearly Gates Blog. Everyone responding was puzzled, startled even, mocking Stoneman all the while. Here why Stoneman made this trade:
Stoneman thinks the bullpen needs a Situational Lefty. Sure, he could call up Jake Woods, Dusty Bergman, Eric Cyr and they might have comparables in the ballpark to J.C. - and longterm all are younger, but Scioscia will not employ any of the aforementioned Lefties as a Situational Lefties. By acquiring J.C. at a semi-steep price, Stoneman sends a simple message to Scioscia - you will employ the Situational Lefty strategy. Your bullpen now comes equipped with a LOOGY, use him.
Mike might be the biggest Italian bruiser in our organization, but he is not the Don. Make no mistake about it, Don Stoneman has spoken.