Glaus/Rolen trade looks better for Jays

If you had to pick one of the players in this deal to miss 3 months following arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder, you'd have picked Rolen, right? But you'd have been wrong.

about 1 year ago Torgen 17 comments 0 recs |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I hope you didn't just jinx Rolen....

But it is a surprise isn’t it. Is there something about playing third for St. Louis that causes shoulder troubles.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 23, 2009 12:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

hadn't Glaus previously had major shoulder surgery?

or is it the other shoulder this time? Anyway, it doesn’t sound like the surgery is going to be too invasive, as we know, but shoulders are a tricky business. Given that he will need time after the surgery to rehab and tune up, sounds like Glaus will miss about a month of the regular season if all goes well. I hope it does.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 23, 2009 4:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Cards still won that one...

Glaus hit 27 jacks last year. He played most of the season. He won a gold glove. No wash there at all. How many more games would the Jays have won with him in the lineup?

by Andy Mc on Jan 26, 2009 12:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

How many games would he have missed if he was playing on turf?

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Jan 26, 2009 1:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

David Wright won the Gold Glove right?

I watched Glaus play the year before, he wasn’t awful in the field but if he won a Gold Glove there is a real problem with the voters.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 27, 2009 1:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

might be a problem either way

Glaus isn’t a bad fielder, just not an exceptional one. He looks a little stiff out there but he gets the job done. I love David Wright but I’m not sure that he was more deserving of the award than Glaus. Zimmerman and Feliz are better fielders than either, though Zimmerman only played about 2/3 of the season in 2008 and Feliz is a pretty poor hitter, which affects who wins for some reason.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 27, 2009 10:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

At least Wright can, you know, bend down to get the ball...

It would be nice if the people voting had some interest in choosing the best fielder instead of just being interested in filling out the ballet as quick as they could.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 27, 2009 11:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Glaus' Plantar Fasciitis could easily have been remedied...

Anyone who has experienced this condition (myself included) knows it disappears after a tormenting and sometimes very painful couple of weeks/months. Even without orthotics, the condition corrects itself in the vast majority of cases, and Glaus didn’t get it from the turf, he got it from changing his shoe size. Hopefully Rolen can hit the ball this year, and I will be convinced it was a good deal, :)

by Andy Mc on Jan 27, 2009 12:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Didn't he change his shoe size to relieve his heel spurs?

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Jan 27, 2009 4:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He changed his shoe size in ST, so no.

by Andy Mc on Jan 27, 2009 7:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ah, it was his toe that was bothering him

so he got bigger shoes to relieve that, and that’s what made the heel problem flare up.
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070424&content_id=1927717&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

"He almost has to start. Do you believe in miracles?"

by Torgen on Jan 28, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

“Heel spur” is an incorrect term for this. The two are often confused. I only know this because I had the condition. Plantar Fasciitis is a severe cramp at the arch of your foot, usually towards the back of the arch. You need to stretch it out regularely, and sometimes get orthotics, although I only stretched, and it went away. It was pretty bad, but the specialists I spoke with told me it would just “disappear,” and it did. That was about four years ago, no pain ever since.

Glaus wanted out, I guess, but he seems to be the healthier of the two (at least in 2008).

by Andy Mc on Jan 27, 2009 7:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think that's right

but my understanding is that your recovery can be seriously delayed, even for years, if your job requires you to stand, walk, or run on hard surfaces for significant periods of time every day. Baseball is hard on a condition like PF because it’s hard to get any kind of break once the season has started and you’re out there more or less every day. It’s not hard to imagine that Glaus’ doctor told him that continuing to play on the turf could delay his recovery and that a trade to a team that plays on a softer surface would make him a lot healthier a lot faster. I have no knowledge one way or the other, but it’s plausible.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 28, 2009 11:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good points on the hard surface...

but the docs don’t recommend resting this condition. Actually, they say you need to stretch it out, and stay active, although 162 games of baseball may be a little tough. It did hurt pretty bad.

by Andy Mc on Jan 28, 2009 1:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't know about all Doctors....

but I was told no running, stretching and heat.

by Tom Dakers on Jan 28, 2009 2:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Rolen could still bounce back...

Rolen is capable of making this deal look really nice, if he reverts to his old self. He could hit 25 jacks and 40 doubles, with an OBP of .350 easily I think. If he has a big season, along with Wells, Rios and Overbay, the Jays could very well contend. I see him as the key to success for 2009, and I hope he mashes the ball right out of ST. It would be really nice to have him hitting in the 2 hole, or maybe 5, depending on the SP.

All I can say is this: He is a monster in MLB 2007 The Show, but that’s just a video game, right?

by Andy Mc on Jan 29, 2009 11:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I basically agree

I thought, at the time of the deal, and still think, that it was a good trade for the Jays. Glaus is a fine player, but Rolen has the higher upside (more potential for greater overall value, offensive and defensive) and the Jays need to make moves like that where they take on some risk in exchange for upside, if they are going to compete with the rest of the AL East. And they could afford the additional year of Rolen, since no one is breaking down the door of the minors to play third base for the Jays and Rolen, while not young, is still only signed through his year 35 season. which isn’t too bad.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Jan 30, 2009 6:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs