It has been said that many notable events involving the Chicago Cubs have occurred the past month � whether it be Sosa�s cork shattering all over the infield, Clemens v. Wood with Hee Seop Choi darn near getting killed, Kyle Farnsworth going UFC on Paul Wilson, Mark Prior striking out 16 (but not winning) Sosa uncorking (pun) a 520-foot blast � the events going on in Cub land (good and bad) have been noteworthy at the very least. Now you can add Corey Patterson�s torn ACL and dumb Dusty Baker comments to the mix. Somebody tell Dust that I�ll take South Florida over the UP of Michigan any day in January � unless it involves skis or snowmobiles. And then there was something college hoop coach Al McGuire once said to a recruit leaning towards a sun-belt school over Milwaukee-based Marquette � �Why would you go somewhere where the rats are as big as elephants???� And let�s not even start with alligators and snakes. Maybe Ironwood isn�t so bad after all. Never mind home field advantage for the World Series � the All-Star festivities are going to be much more fun seeing what else Dust is going to have to say. Please, don�t put a gag order on yourself.
But don�t blame Baker, or AL counterpart Mike Scioscia too much for the debacle that was selecting the All-Star reserves. Also don�t blame the players, who had a say for the first time since 1969. It was an incredibly flawed process that took the second place finishers at each position in instances where the first place nominees was the same as the fans. In one case Mike Sweeney was selected after finishing second to Carlos Delgado with a whopping 6 percent (21 total votes) of the vote. Just when the fans selections were getting knowledgeable (thanks to internet voting) now it is the reserve vote that�s getting messed up. Just something else you can blame Bud for now.
So now for what was right and wrong�
AL � I never thought I�d end up sounding like a Yankee apologist, but how the hell can you snub future HOF�er Roger Clemens, along with David Wells (also in his last year in all probability) who is having a control year of historical proportions � along with Mike Mussina. In their place we get Tampa Bay de-facto closer Lance Carter along with set-up men Shigetoshi Hasegawa along with the Angels Brendan Donnelly. At least the latter two have put up sparking numbers � Donnelly with a microscopic 0.41 ERA and 53 K�s in 44 IP shile Hasegawa sports an 0.81 ERA. It�s just the wrong year to slight the Yankee big three. And the selection of Carter (14 saves, 4.17 ERA) is even more laughable considering Aubrey Huff and Rocco Baldelli were very deserving candidates. There�s 4-5 snubs right there from guys I would had bet the farm on being selected. Gil Meche was another one I would had tried to find room for if at all possible, and an incredible comeback story. At least they did get it right with Jamie Moyer � a first-time choice at age 40. Royal closer Mike MacDougal is a questionable selection, although I realize that he will be the only KC player when Mike Sweeney (bad back) pulls out. I would have had Carlos Beltran as my Royal representative myself. I suggested A.J Pierzynski (.292/9/47) while Oakland�s Ramon Hernandez (.270/11/37) got late support, and the eventual nod. As it turns out it is Jason Varitek who deserved the spot and is having a career year (.293/15/50). Although I suggested Milton Bradley, C.C Sabathia (8-3, 3.27 ERA) was not a bad choice as the Cleveland representative. One other player you may look to pull out is Toronto�s Roy Halladay, who will be pitching Saturday on three days rest and will start again on Thursday. Jays manager has already sent a memo to Scioscia asking that Halladay not pitch � don�t think the team is doing him a favor their. As expected, Torii Hunter�s slide to fourth in the fan voting cost him a spot on the roster altogether, simply no room at the inn there. I would had also found a way to get Frank Thomas in his home park over Carl Everett.
NL � A similar slide to fourth in fan voting also cost Sammy Sosa not only a start, but a roster spot as well. The backlash from cork-gate really kicked in the final week with Sammy free-falling from second in the fan balloting. The most notable snubs on this side were from pitchers Dontrelle Willis and Hideo Nomo, the backlash towards Baker on Willis has been incredible, although I get Dusty nominating Kerry Wood and Russ Ortiz (ex-Giant hurler) as Captain�s picks. Expect Willis and Nomo to get in when Shawn Chacon and Kevin Brown both pull out. As bad as the selection of Lance Carter was, the selection of Pittsburgh arsonist Mike Williams (and his 6-plus ERA) was 10-times worse. Ditto for the Mets Armando Benitez, who wouldn�t even win too many precincts in Queens. Armando wasn�t even among the three choices on a Mets website poll asking who should be elected. Myself I would had gone with Jae Weong Seo over Benitez and Kevin Millwood over Williams, with Jason Kendall being the second NL catcher (satisfying the Pittsburgh representation) over LA�s Paul LoDuca. Although Geoff Jenkins (.286/20/68) couldn�t squeeze his way into a crowded NL outfield, at least he was represented as one of the five candidates for the final NL spot, and was holding a slight lead in Internet balloting going into the final day. |
THIS PICTURE SAID A THOUSAND WORDS... |
Besides Rocco Baldelli (similar to Patterson except for the power), look for Houston third baseman Morgan Ensberg to be a great replacement on many rosters, and also in Corey�s salary cap range. The late-bloomer (28 next month) has blown up from .242/3/19 in 142 AB�s last year to .304/17/42 in 181 AB�s in �03. Multiply that by three (543 AB�s) and you have 51 home runs and 126 RBI, along with the .300 average. Sounds like a better value than Troy Glaus, eh. The power explosion at the major league level is not totally unexpected. Two years ago Ensberg bombed 23 along with 61 RBI in just 87 games � and although the college game (with aluminum bats et al) is a different animal, take note that Morgan is third on USC�s all-time home run list behind Mark McGwire and Geoff Jenkins. That�s pretty heavy company for a school that�s sent a lot of players to the bigs.
Then there is the Scott Podsednik phenomenon. Local joke in Milwaukee has many thinking that Pod was the European dude the Bucks drafted in the second round of the recent NBA draft. What he really is a scrappy type who has compiled a .327 average along with a surprising 18 stolen bases. Not much of a minor league bio but was a track guy back in high school � so the speed is not a fluke. Pod added to his legend with a home plate collision that left him with six stitches and a shiner. Unfortunately, Jermaine Dye did not fare nearly as well attempting a Pete Rose on Ray Fosse collision and wound up with a separated shoulder and possible season-ending surgery. Hope that was worth it.
Suddenly the hottest Cincinnati outfielder is Carlos Guillen, who is forcing Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, and Austin Kearns (all slumping) to take turns on the bench. Guillen is now hitting .338 with 17 HR and 44 RBI in just 234 AB�s. He�s a good best to be near a full-time starter for the balance of this season.
This was a horrible week for some of the top starting pitchers, especially those who had the fortune of going up against San Diego. Jason Schmidt, Kevin Brown, and Hideo Nomo were among those who were tagged for losses v. the Padres. Even closer Eric Gagne was cuffed around while making a critical mental error in one outing. But none of that compares to the 35 hits and 15 ER Barry Zito has absorbed, including a numbing 15 hits/2 walks and 7 ER in 5 1/3 IP v. Tampa Bay. That sends Zito�s ERA into the 3.50 range and sets off some alarms � something�s not right there.
And then there�s the trade watch, which unfortunately has many a power-hitter rumored to be going to LA, with Juan Gonzalez being the latest possibility. If Juan went out of his way to say no to Montreal he better refuse this as well � Dodger stadium is where sluggers go to die, just ask Shawn Green.
Most took a wait-and-see attitude when it came to picking up Corey Patterson on Sunday night, with only 19 taking the plunge and no doubt are kicking themselves by now, while no one dropped him. The top adds/drops for the week were as follows�
ADDS
The nice thing about All-Star week is you can concentrate on utilizing the pitchers who will have the best matchups. There will obviously no two-time starters, but your pitcher is almost guaranteed to go once (unless he�s a fifth starter). The best pitchers who do not appear in the All-Star game generally appear on Thursday, which make them two-time starters for the following week. Those who do appear in the All-Star affair generally will work on Saturday or Sunday at the very latest. One possible exception would be out of the Cubs-Marlins series, who will only play three games and not begin until Friday. Still, I don�t see Dontrelle Willis, Kerry Wood, or Mark Prior being held back until Monday. One favorable matchup belongs to the Yankees, who draw Cleveland at home. Texas should also do well offensively in Tampa Bay. Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson are both slated to return by next weekend, and historically have done very well v. San Diego � but don�t know if I want to recommend that one with the Padres current hot streak. Pedro Martinez also does not have the best of track records v. Toronto while Oakland�s starters could have their hands full again at Arizona. Stay away from Todd Helton and Preston Wilson, who spend the weekend in Frisco. Helton has a career .223 average at Pac Bell International Airport.
Now for the Free Agent list, where there is actually only one candidate�
C � Ramon Hernandez (660) - No, no, no!!!! Varitek, not Ramon�