It has been no secret that Ned Colletti loves the San Francisco Giants as much as Frank McCourt loves the Red Sox. Colletti chased Jason Schmidt when other teams had concerns on his declining velocity; he has used every chance possible to get Ramon Martinez playing time in Dodger Blue; he has made Dodger fans suffer through the gopher-ball pitching of Brett Tomko; and he insists upon employing "pinch-hitting specialist" Mark Sweeney despite his microscopic batting average and no power.
And now, the recent injury to Jeff Kent brings even more insanity to Crazy Neddie's penchant for Giants retreads, as Colletti apparently covets 95-year old shortstop with no bat Omar Vizquel as the latest "intriguing fit":
The Dodgers also are hoping to acquire a middle infielder by Sunday night's trading deadline, but that will be harder to pull off than a Kent diagnosis. For a player to be eligible for postseason play, he must be in the organization by 9 p.m. PT Aug. 31.
The club is expecting Kent to return from suspected cartilage damage, not that he doesn't need surgery to fix it. But having played in pain at age 40, Kent is not likely to cut short what could be his final season by a month. Even if his knee rules out playing defense, he could remain an asset as a late-inning pinch-hitter. The club also expects Rafael Furcal to return in September from back surgery, but neither is expected back within the next week.
So the front office spent part of Sunday trying to make a waiver deal for a middle infielder. One intriguing fit could be San Francisco's Omar Vizquel, particularly because of Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti's relationship with San Francisco GM Brian Sabean. Colletti was Sabean's assistant for 12 years.PHOENIX -- The Dodgers were planning to announce a diagnosis on Jeff Kent's left knee after Sunday night's game with the D-backs, Kent's MRI apparently delayed from Saturday's original schedule.
It is notable that Vizquel is mentioned as an intriguing fit without any mention of his statistical credentials (he's batting .186 this year with a pathetic Sweeney-like .250 OBP, and has 1 error in 63 games at short). Vizquel is only a fit because he wears orange and black. Which should be exactly the reason why he shouldn't fit the bill for Dodger Blue!
Look, Ned: the only "intriguing fit" you should be considering is a size 32 pair of Sevens jeans. Don't bring us another offensive black hole in Vizquel. Please.
