A Place in the Rotation

Bill Plaschke's column in The Times this morning reminds me once again how much I don't want to see either Ervin Santana or Bartolo Colon back in the Angel's pitching rotation. That, of course, isn't Bill's principal point. He's merely pro Joe Saunders and if that means sacrificing Santana or Colon, then so be it.

I, however, almost don't care who replaces either of them. The team has been let down far too often by the erratic Santana and the apparently chronically ill Colon. (Has he ever spent on entire month off the disabled list?) When either one of them is good, he is very good indeed. Unstoppable. But that only happens occasionally, like lightning flashes on a summer evening.

Plaschke is right: keep Saunders. I would add a corollary: make a place for him by dumping Santana. Trade him for a player who can hit the long ball. And Colon? Trade him when you can. And in the meantime, keep a hospital bed ready for him; he's never that far away from the disabled list.