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EMOO NEWS |
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EMOO NEWS |
Vol. II, Ed. V EMOO NEWS August 14, 1998
The trading deadline came and went last week with a number of trades being made in both the NL and EMOO. Some of the AL players who switched leagues included Fernando Tatis, Darren Oliver, Tony Phillips, Matt Karchner and of course Randy Johnson. It’s a short list but Randy Johnson perfectly epitomizes the reason why EMOO shouldn’t allow AL players to be picked up mid-season. Someone of Johnson’s caliber stands to romp through the NL his first time through the league before hitters even start to become familiar with him. This bodes well for him and the Astros. It would also bode well for the EMOO team lucky enough to acquire his services. In the hands of one of the contenders, he could almost singlehandedly determine who the 1998 champion is. So much power in the left arm of one player. Johnson will solidify the Astros’ rotation, bumping Pete Schourek or Jose Lima to the bullpen. In the event Billy Wagner does not recover fully from his header last month, Johnson could be pressed into service as a closer if Houston doesn’t want to put that much pressure on Scott Elarton or Jay Powell. With the Braves’ bullpen being propped up like a third country dictator and with the Padres’ questionable backend of a rotation (Hamilton, Hitchcock, Langston behind Brown and Ashby), the NL playoff picture is shaping up to be a true three team race. Atlanta is used to the playoff atmosphere, San Diego plays the best defense of the three and Houston probably has the nicest 1-8 batting order of the bunch. Playoff rotations shape up to include Ashby, Brown and Hamilton for San Diego, Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Neagle for Atlanta, and Johnson, Hampton, Reynolds for Houston.
On the other side of the coin, several prominent NL players got their walking papers out of the NL. Players switching leagues include Todd Stottlemyre (Midnight Xpress), Royce Clayton (Tennessee Ruxpins), Todd Zeile (Mooners), Steve Reed (Smart Alecs) and top prospects Freddy Garcia (traded to the Laze one day earlier by the Mooners), Jacob Cruz (Gamecox) and Carlos Guillen (Dainty Hunchbacks). No single EMOO team got hit harder than the others. Stottlemyre thins out the Xpress’s rotation somewhat after they’ve already lost Ramon Martinez to injury for the season. Clayton’s batting average and power were non-existent but he supplied speed on the basepaths. Yet, the Ruxpins most likely have the SB category sewn up in any event. For them, the loss is one of depth as much as anything, particularly since their other starting SS, Mark Grudzielanek, was also traded but within the confines of the NL. Todd Zeile’s loss means either putting Bill Mueller or Charlie Hayes at 3B for the Mooners. They, too, had acquired the depth recently to withstand the loss of Zeile as they did a good job of picking up viable talent for players they really didn’t want to go to war with during the dog days. The Smart Alecs, already desperate for pitching, could ill afford the loss of a top relief pitcher in Steve Reed. Reed was maintaining in ERA in the high ones with a CR of right around 1.0. The one team that perhaps took a hit as great as any other is the Dainty Hunchbacks. At first glance, that probably seems like an odd statement. But Guillen is probably no more than a ½ season away from the bigs. With Seattle, he’ll probably move to either 2B or 3B and play alongside Alex Rodriguez. Although Guillen missed parts of several seasons to injury, he was making up for the time in ’98 with numbers of .293-8-41-3 while displaying a strong glove afield. Those are solid numbers for a middle infielder and for a team attempting to rebuild like the Hunchbacks are doing.
There were a number of big EMOO trades the week of the trading deadline but almost none the last day. The Suns attempted to strengthen themselves for the stretch drive by acquiring Rick Reed, Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Delino DeShields, Gary Sheffield and Scott Radinsky while giving up Tony Womack, Scott Rolen, Masato Yoshii, Cory Lidle, Andruw Jones and Danny Darwin. Expect more HR, RBI and an improved BA while seeing fewer SB from the Suns. The Mudhens made two small trades, parting with extra catcher Scott Servais for some pitching depth in Jeff Juden then trading ’98 contract Steve Trachsel and Marc Pisciotta to the Smart Alecs for C prospect Ben Petrick, coveted by the Mudhens’ front office, and Steve Cooke, a pitcher for the Reds who could be worth a flyer next April at 3 cents. They were not able to unload Ellis Burks and his 32 cent contract though they tried most of the week. The Xpress were active, trading with the Mooners, Flyers, Smart Alecs, Ruxpins, and Mooners again. In all, Mike Hampton, Javier Martinez, Manny Alexander, Matt Williams, Rondell White, Carlos Perez, Brian Jordan, Doug Jones, Andy Stankiewicz, Mark Lewis, Braden Looper, Russ Ortiz, Andy Ashby, Mark Smith, Bernard Gilkey, Emil Brown, and Kris Benson came aboard while Eric Young, Charlie Hayes, Kris Benson, Chipper Jones, Ryan Jackson, John Halama, Carlos Perez, Manny Alexander, Juan Castro, Gregg Olson, Wilton Guerrero, Brian Jordan, Ryan Klesko and Chris Peters went. Notice that several of the players were listed more than once. Bernard Gilkey could have an upside (his downside can’t get worse) having been traded to Arizona. The Xpress already struck paydirt once with Greg Vaughn earlier in the year. The Smart Alecs attempted to improve their pitching, talking trade for Schilling, Stottlemyre, Hampton, Shaw and Reed among others. They dangled Brian Jordan and, later, Jason Kendall in front of various contending teams. Ultimately, they walked away with Carlos Perez, the return of Matt Morris and Steve Trachsel. They were pleased they held off in obtaining Stottlemyre and they dodged a bullet when Pete Harnisch signed a contract renewal with the Reds. Now they just need to worry about getting all the staff healthy. Perez broke his nose trying to outdo the other Perez clan in their constant game of "Who’s the Worst Driver?", Harnisch hurt a tricep muscle during his last start, and Shawn Estes hit the DL as Jon Thompson was coming off of it. The trades of Bill Pulsipher to Milwaukee and Ted Lilly to Montreal could open doors for those two Smart Alec pitchers before much longer. The Smart Alecs did make three trades during July that each took probably no more than 2 minutes. Each was a one-for-one: Castro for Stankiewicz, Judd for Brandon Larson and Petrick for Gabe White. The Mooners were as busy as the Xpress which stands to reason since two of their trades was directly with the Xpress. The Mooners added Charlie Hayes, Eric Young, Brian Jordan, Ryan Klesko, Chris Peters, John Franco, Wally Joyner, Terry Adams, and Tony Eusebio while parting company with Jeff Shaw, Brad Ausmus, Freddy Garcia, Jim Eisenreich, Andy Ashby, Mark Smith, Bernard Gilkey, Emil Brown, Mike Hampton, Javier Martinez, and Manny Alexander. Seven or eight of the new acquisitions will receive immediate playing time. The new outfielders of Brian Jordan and Ryan Klesko are a step up from Eisenreich, Smith and Gilkey. In the IF, Joyner, Hayes, Young and Eusebio are not on the same map with Ausmus and Manny Alexander. As for the pitching, Shaw for Franco was a scratch in terms of ability while the Mooners sacrificed Hampton and Ashby along with the ultra leaguers Martinez and Garcia for Peters and Adams. The net effect is an improved offense and a pitching staff that will attempt to hold onto its edge until season’s end. The Ruxpins were manning the phones fast and furiously throughout the final two weeks. In early July, a trade with made with the Herders and, later on, deals were worked out with the Mudhens, Strangers, and Xpress. One area of concern was catcher, where the Ruxpins lost Mike Lieberthal for a month. The Ruxpins also added another closer and some all-around depth while sacrificing prospects for next season. Wilton Guerrero could be a sleeper down the stretch. The Hawaiian Laze came out of hiding to make a couple of deadline moves and walked away with some solid 1999 talent. Included was Scott Rolen for Vinny Castilla, who had a 1998 contract; Jeff Shaw for John Franco, saving the team 11 cents in salary cap for essentially the same player; Tony Womack for Delino DeShields, again a savings of 12 cents; lastly, Masato Yoshii for Rick Reed, a savings of 14 cents. The payback for Dante Bichette was Cory Lidle while the loss of Joyner and Terry Adams reaped Jim Eisenreich and a since-departed Freddy Garcia. Ausmus for Eusebio is essentially a scratch. The Kittyhawk Flyers did most of their dealing earlier in June and July, having given up the body for dead some time back. Chipper Jones and Javier Lopez have been added to EMOO’s very own version of the Atlanta Braves. Note that, for all their playoff appearances in the 90’s, the Braves have but one title to show for it. Regarding the Flyers, one could fairly ask the question, "Was it better to make their dumping trades when they did or could they have received more in return had they waited longer?" Cliff Floyd, Dustin Hermanson and Alan Benes were fine additions but couldn’t the Flyers have done better than Ryan Jackson and John Halama for Rondell White and Carlos Perez? Also, a note to the Flyer front office: prospect Orlando Cabrera has passed the 100 AB mark. Barring a serious slump or an injury, he will not be minor league eligible in 1999. The Scruffy Lookin’ Nerz Herders were fairly quiet down the stretch, being content with acquiring youngsters like Mark Kotsay, Todd Dunwoody, Preton Wilson and Scott Elarton for next season. The Dainty Hunchbacks were quiet. While they sniffed the air a little, making several inquiries, nothing came of them. The Gamecox entertained several offers and made an equal number, including a four for one offer for a young SS. They walked away with Andruw Jones. Added to the nucleus of Vladimir Guerrero, Ruben Rivera, Sean Casey, Paul Konerko, Adrian Beltre, Matt Clement, Steve Woodard, Dennis Reyes, Carl Pavano and Javier Vazquez at or near the major league level along with Lance Berkman and Michael Barrett perhaps a year off, the Gamecox are still worth keeping an eye on in 1999. Finally, the Wayfarin’ Strangers resisted offers for Barry Bonds, Brian McRae and Brian Anderson, adding prospect Edgard Clemente and pitchers Brian Boehringer and Gabe White in an effort to lift themselves into 11th and out of the cellar before season’s end.
One player that was not traded who could have had sleeper value down the stretch for one of the EMOO contenders is Kelly Stinnett. With the Diamondbacks trading away of Jorge Fabregas, Stinnett should see more playing time. He already had 8 HR while sharing time with Fabregas and Damien Miller.
Major league baseball should consider expanding the All-Star festivities to incorporate an NL vs. AL minor league all-star game consisting of all the top minor leaguers regardless of minor league level. Imagine watching the top minor leaguers on the field at the same time: the Cards’ Rick Ankiel or the Padres’ Matt Clement pitching to the A’s Eric Chavez or the Rangers’ Ruben Mateo; the A’s Eric Dubose throwing to the Braves’ George Lombard or the Pirates’ Emil Brown or Chad Hermansen. The game could be played as the first game of a doubleheader leading up to the major league all star game or could played on Monday in conjunction with the HR derby. Such a game would give fans an opportunity to see the stars of tomorrow, the players that they often read about but never get to see live; it would give the players the chance to play in front of 50,000 people and to rub elbows with the major league counterparts; it could provide another boost to the overall popularity of major league baseball, in general.
Hand in hand with minor league all stars, here’s the 1998 rollcall of EMOO minor leaguers who have made the all star team for their respective leagues: Florida State League (A)-Julio Ramirez OF (Gamecox); Carolina League (A)-Brent Butler SS (Scotnel Suns); South Atlantic League (A)-Milton Bradley (Kittyhawk Flyers); Midwest League (A)-Rick Ankiel (Midnite Xpress); Double AA-Bruce Chen and Freddy Garcia (Hawaiian Laze), Ted Lilly and George Lombard (Smart Alecs), Adrian Beltre and Daryle Ward (Gamecox), Emil Brown (Midnite Xpress); Triple A-Bobby Estalella (Mudhens), Ron Belliard and Alex Gonzalez (Wayfarin’ Strangers), John Halama (Kittyhawk Flyers).
