Predictably, all the focus in the AL East through the first six weeks has centered around the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. After all, the Yankees have won the World Series in three of the last four falls while the Red Sox have made back-to-back wild card appearances.
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Center Stage
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As if they don't have enough to worry about in Baltimore, there's the mystery of Mike Mussina, the one constant through the good years and bad years.
Here is it, almost one-quarter of the way through the season and Mussina has one win. Naturally, there's more than a few theories floating around regarding his ineffectiveness.
One holds that his impending free agency has become a weight on Mussina's valuable right shoulder. Owner Peter Angelos has offered $60 million over five years, but that's about $10 million from where Mussina wants to be, and Angelos' offer includes a good chunk of deferred salary.
Mussina said last week that if he thought the talks were proving to be a distraction, he would call them off and not discuss his future until after the season. To date, however, he doesn't believe that to be the case.
Then there's his actual mound performance. Baltimore broadcaster -- and one-time Orioles pitching coach -- Mike Flanagan believes Mussina is overthrowing his fastball, which in turn, has lessened the effectiveness of the rest of his pitches.
"What's been confusing for him," Flanagan told the Baltimore Sun, "is his curveball is excellent and his changeup is excellent, but his fastball location is not. (There's) too much effort, too much leg and too much push-off (with his fastball).
"It's like he's trying too hard. He's trying to manufacture more on his fastball. Moose is grinding his fastball right now, forcing it. He just needs to let it out."
Mussina's biggest problem has been the home run ball. He's already served up 14, after allowing just 16 all last season. He looked better in his most recent start, allowing three runs in seven innings, but got just a run of support and was saddled with his fifth loss.
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The two teams have been separated by no more than three games all season and when the Red Sox swept Baltimore over the weekend while the Yanks were surprised by Detroit, elevating the Sox into first, that dominated the news in the division.
But lurking not far behind are the Toronto Blue Jays, just 4½ games out -- after starting the season 3-10 -- and positioned to crash what has been a two-team party in the East the last two seasons.
"I like where we are," manager Jim Fregosi said. "In fact, we're very fortunate to be where we are right now, considering the way we've struggled pitching-wise."
The Jays have a deep and talented staff, but it is also young, and that inexperience has been on display at times through the first six weeks. Chris Carpenter (3-4, 4.88) and Kelvim Escobar (4-4, 4.91) have had bouts of inconsistency, as has journeyman Frank Castillo (1-3, 6.15), who's keeping the seat warm for rehabbing Joey Hamilton.
Roy Halladay, who some believe has the highest upside on the staff, has been banished to the bullpen after giving up 57 hits in 34 1/3 innings over his first seven starts, replaced for now by Lance Painter.
Only irrepressible David Wells (7-1, 2.92) has pitched as expected. Wells stymied the Devil Rays Sunday with a gem (complete games, two runs, no walks, 118 pitches) and seems to be back on track after all the distractions brought on by his trade to Toronto last season.
"He is what he's always been -- one of the best pitchers in the game," asserts Fregosi.
Still, despite a staff ERA of 5.82, the Jays are not far out of the picture -- thanks to an offense that leads the AL with 72 home runs.
A key has been Jose Cruz Jr., who has re-emerged as a force under the tutoring of hitting coach Cito Gaston.
"Cito's done a good job with Jose," Fregosi said. "He spends a lot of time with him. With Jose, I think a lot of it is his mental approach. He's got him thinking positively."
Gaston has Cruz feeling confident about his ability to hit breaking pitches. In a game against Anaheim, Cruz collected three base hits off breaking balls -- something he had never done in a game at any level.
Cruz's quick hands and powerful stroke have resulted in 13 homers already, or one fewer than all of last season. For now, all the talk of phenom outfielder Vernon Wells replacing him in center field has been put on hold.
Cruz isn't the only hitting for power. Until the Red Sox stopped the streak Monday night, the Jays had homered in 21 consecutive games at SkyDome and scored a minimum of six runs in a stretch of 17 straight home games. The club that was forced into dealing one of the game's best hitters, Shawn Green, hasn't missed a beat offensively.
At the beginning of the week, the Jays were first in homers, fourth in runs scored, first in slugging percentage and fifth in the stolen bases, reflecting their balance of power and speed.
Raul Mondesi, acquired in the Green deal, has been given a fresh start (.294-10-23). Carlos Delgado (.315-12-29) continues to emerge as one of the game's best sluggers. Up and down the lineup, the Jays can hit -- seven of their hitters have 23 RBI or more, a pace for 100 or more each.
Toronto is young, too. Among everyday position players, only catcher Darrin Fletcher is older than 30.
If the Jays have a weakness or two, it would be their bench and overall depth, exactly where you'd expect some holes on a middle-market ($46 million) payroll team.
"We can't really afford too many injuries," Fregosi said. "I don't have guys on my bench making $2-$3 million to get the job done for you for long stretches of time. That's the major difference between a club like ours and a club like Boston or New York."
But Fregosi believes the bullpen is better than its shown, that the 6.46 bullpen ERA is the result of a nightmarish series against Seattle in which the Mariners scored 47 runs in three games and threw the entire staff out of whack for a couple of weeks.
"I think some of our pitchers are just getting over the scars from that," said the manager.
But if the young pitchers can become more consistent and ease the burden on the bullpen, the picture should brighten.
"Not many people gave us a chance last year or this year," said Carpenter. "But we've been able to put a scare into some people. We've got a great team. Our offense is one of the best in baseball and our pitching is starting to come around."
Around the Junior Circuit
Frank Robinson, baseball's judge and jury on disciplinary matters, didn't take kindly to Detroit manager Phil Garner's recent comments in which Garner suggested some teams might try to bait quality pitchers into beanball battles, in the hopes of getting them ejected. "We don't need that," Robinson said, his displeasure evident. "We don't need people in positions of authority making statements like that. It's ridiculous. Even if he's thinking that, he shouldn't say that. I don't expect people in authority to say that."
Robinson endorses an idea in which the first player to leave the bullpen or dugout during an altercation would face automatic suspension and believes baseball should study it this winter. Such a rule change would require the approval of the Players Association.
Oakland better think about keeping Jeremy Giambi around for the entire season, since his presence seems to help older brother Jason at the plate. With Jeremy on the A's, Jason is hitting .345 with 11 homers and 30 RBI. Without him, Jason struggled with a .212 average.
Seattle, which has only been searching for a left fielder and/or leadoff hitter since the wraps were being taken off the Kingdome, may have an interest in Rickey Henderson, released over the weekend by the Mets. Manager Lou Piniella managed Rickey in a prior life when both were with the Yankees and Piniella can handle the mercurial outfielder's personality.
Hall of Famer Jim Palmer was at the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and had dinner with some horse racing enthusiasts. "They were saying that when they performed an autopsy on Secretariat, they found his heart was almost three times bigger than the average horse," Palmer said. "Now, I don't know if Pedro Martinez's 'corazon' is three times bigger than the average pitcher. But when he's on the mound, I think it is." Palmer, who pitched with or against many of the best pitchers of the post-expansion era, believes Martinez is the best pitcher he's ever seen.
On the rise: Boston Red Sox
With their two best position players sidelined (Nomar Garciaparra, 15-day DL with strained left hamstring; Carl Everett, out of the starting lineup since last Thursday with a strained right quadriceps), the Red Sox are inexplicably on a roll. They've won six straight, and 10 of their last 12.
"Our big guns are out," said outfielder Darren Lewis, "but it doesn't matter. We've got guys who can play. A lot of them don't get credit, but they should." The pitching has been superb, too. On the current road trip, only one of their five starters has yielded more than a run or failed to go at least five innings. Meanwhile, the bullpen is unscored upon over the last 13 1/3 innings.
On the fall: Baltimore Orioles
In retrospect, the Orioles fast start looks like a mirage as the O's have come crashing down to earth. They looked positively inept in being swept four straight by Boston over the weekend. Particularly noteworthy was the hapless bullpen, which has already blown nine saves in 14 save opportunities.
Albert Belle has reverted to jogging down the line on grounders, Cal Ripken's back has flared up again, and too much of the everyday lineup resembles the former Grateful Dead side project: Old and In the Way.
What did Mike Hargrove do to deserve all of this?
Babe Ruth Award: Alex Rodriguez
So far, the crop of would-be free agents this fall has been mostly a bust. Juan Gonzalez is slumping and unhappy in Detroit, while pitchers Brad Radke and Mike Mussina are under .500.
Then there's A-Rod. Over the last week, the fabulous Seattle shortstop hit a mere .483 (14-for-29) with five homers and 13 RBI. For the season, he's at .364 with 13 homers and 40 RBI and an incredible .727 slugging percentage.
So much for distractions in his contract year.
Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal-Bulletin covers the American League for ESPN.com. | |
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