Most years, the days before the July 31 trade deadline turn into a
giant starting-pitching auction. Get your Randy Johnson here. Get your Kenny
Rogers there.
But not this year. The consensus in the industry is that there could be very
little starting pitching available. Here's a look at the possibilities:
Andy Ashby: Available for quick occupancy. When
Ashby all but said publicly the other day that he didn't intend to sign a
long-term deal with the Phillies, the club apparently decided to put him
on the market immediately. So a dozen teams were expected to watch Ashby's
next couple of starts to see if he's better than his numbers (2-6, 5.86)
suggest. Prime suitors: Indians, Mets, Reds, White Sox, Angels, Blue Jays
and possibly the Red Sox, Mariners, Braves and Diamondbacks.
Ismael Valdes: The Cubs are on a long ride to
nowhere. They're making noises about going young (and not just Eric Young).
So Valdes, a big-time disappointment, doesn't fit. Eminently available.
Brad Radke: Two months ago, he seemed like the
winner of the Most Likely Starter to Be Traded award. But now there are
increasing indications that the Twins want to do what it takes to keep him --
and that Radke is comfortable in Minnesota and wants to stay. Unless that
changes, this is one big name who isn't going anywhere.
Ramiro Mendoza: The Yankees have always resisted
trading him. But suddenly, Mendoza is having troubles keeping the ball down
consistently. Jason Grimsley has stepped into his swing-man role. And given
George Steinbrenner's passion for a big midseason deal, Mendoza is more
likely to leave the Bronx than ever before.
Rolando Arrojo: Arrojo has been another
disappointment in Colorado. Can't be a free agent until 2003. But sources
say the Rockies are shopping him. Tampa Bay has shown interest in bringing
him back.
Kent Bottenfield: Won 18 in St. Louis last season, but an
underwhelming 4-5, 5.15 in Anaheim this year. Just went on the DL, which could kill
all his value as a reclamation project.
Mike Mussina: The most fascinating name out there.
Orioles say now they're not trading him. But they're increasingly worried
they can't sign him, as the animosity between Mussina and Peter Angelos
mounts. Could be a last-minute blockbuster entry on the market.
Scott Erickson: Orioles appear inclined to keep him
-- at least this week -- because they'll need him if Mussina walks. But they'd
better decide soon. Erickson is four weeks away from becoming a 10-and-5 guy
with veto power over any deal.
Darren Dreifort: The Dodgers don't think they'll be
able to re-sign him. But if they stay in the race, they almost have to keep
him.
Kirk Rueter: Another guy whose availability depends
almost solely on whether his team can hang in the race. A July collapse, and
he'll be gone.
Esteban Loaiza: Ditto.
There are other, less-likely names, too -- Denny Neagle, Chan
Ho Park, Kevin Appier, to name three -- whose availability will be determined
by the pennant race and their teams' feel for keeping them. But while
starters figure to be in short supply, teams looking for a closer could find
John Wetteland, Robb Nen, Roberto Hernandez, Rick Aguilera, possibly Todd
Jones and (lest we forget) John Rocker, among others, out there for the
right price.
So there will be action as that deadline approaches. It just
won't be the kind of action we've all gotten used to.
Remember the good old days, like two weeks ago, when
the Yankees were looking for a big outfield bat? They've now shifted gears
and begun hunting for a starting pitcher, as their concerns about David Cone
and Roger Clemens grow. One scout on Cone: "I've never seen him more afraid
of his own stuff."
Then again, now that it's all but clear the Cubs
don't want to throw a big-time extension at Sammy Sosa, you can bet your
autographed copy of the Ernie Banks Story that Sammy will be an ex-Cub by
August. And the Yankees would be one of his most desired destinations. The
Mets and Red Sox (with whom Sammy actually signed a voided contract during
the strike) would also be right up there. Remember, as a 10-and-5 man, Sosa
can drive this train wherever he wants.
Guess who else is being shopped? Albert Belle. Yeah,
he has a no-trade clause, but he's been convinced to move on before, for the
right chunk of change.
Teams last week were asked to send the Olympic
committee a list of prospects it would not be making available for the
Olympic baseball team. Among the names submitted were Ryan Anderson
(Mariners), Gookie Dawkins and Jason LaRue (Reds), Grant Roberts (Mets),
Chad Hutchinson (Cardinals), Jon Garland (White Sox) and, believe it or not,
Deion Sanders (Reds, not Redskins).
One of our most trusted scouting sources had this
eye-popping review of Tampa Bay's first-round pick, Rhode Island high school
center fielder Rocco Baldelli: "He's Joe DiMaggio. We're talking 6-4, with
absolutely beautiful movements. I'm telling you, the more I watched him, the
more I thought, he moves just like DiMaggio." Gulp.
At the 25th-anniversary celebration for the Big Red
Machine last weekend, the Reds confined the Pete Rose tribute to Barry
Larkin laying a rose on third base as he took his position in the first
inning. But Rose is expected to have more than just a symbolic presence next
weekend in Philadelphia, when the Phillies honor the 20th anniversary of
their 1980 World Series champs.
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List of the week
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Reds closer Danny Graves has pulled off the greatest daily double of the
year in bullpen land. He's 8-0 -- but hasn't blown a single save (9 for 9).
Stats Inc.'s David Pinto reports that since Stats started keeping blown
saves in 1987, no relief pitcher has ever made it through a season with no
blown saves and won more games than that.
Our list is: Most wins in one season (since '87) by a reliever with
no blown saves:
Pitcher Year W L Sv Blown
D. Graves '00 8 0 9 0
A. Rhodes '96 8 1 1 0
S. Frey '90 8 2 9 0
B. Holton '88 7 3 1 0
B. McClure '89 6 1 3 0
J. Bautista '93 6 1 2 0
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Rose is scheduled to attend several functions before
the Saturday night ceremony, including a parade, golf tournament and gala.
And there are indications he has a ticket to sit in a luxury box inside the
stadium -- through no doing of the Phillies -- for the ceremony itself. There
then may be some silent attempt by his ex-teammates to direct attention in
his direction at some point. Could get verrrrry interesting.
It's increasingly clear that one of the big problems with
baseball in both Florida metropolii is that so many of the residents think
of themselves as being from somewhere else. Last week in Miami, there were
so many more Red Sox fans than Marlins fans, the Marlins actually had to
resort to showing replays of Bill Buckner's mishap on the board twice in one
night, apparently just to knock those Red Sox fans down a peg. Nice.
One of the most touching scenes of the week was Juan
Gonzalez finally getting to play right field in the stadium -- Three Rivers --
where his idol, Roberto Clemente, once played. And not a season too soon,
either, since this is Three Rivers' grand finale. Gonzalez had his picture
taken in right field before the game, drove in a run in his first at-bat and
then headed for right field, tears in his eyes. "It's a great emotion for me
... because this is my hero -- a national hero," Gonzalez said.
Finally, here's a draft story that sums up modern baseball
technology: The Pirates' first-round pick this year -- left-hander Sean
Burnett, from Wellington (Fla.) High School -- comes from the same school as
their first-round pick last year, right-hander Bobby Bradley. On draft day,
Burnett and his family were listening to the draft on the internet, but
their computer froze just before his choice was announced. So how did he
find out the Pirates had taken him? Bradley was listening to the draft on
his laptop from his minor-league homestead in Hickory, N.C. -- and called
Burnett on his cell phone to relay the news. What a world.
Useless information dept.
Funny things happen in interleague play. In the
first week of this civil war, 16 pitchers won a game against the other
league before they won a game against their own league. Then again, 16 also
lost a game against the other league before they lost one against their own
league.
Who says those AL pitchers can't hit? Fifteen
different AL pitchers got a hit in the first week of interleague play. Six
of the 11 who came to bat Tuesday got a hit. Mike Stanton got one in relief
for the Yankees, hiking his career average back to an amazing .500 (7 for
14). Cal Eldred scored three runs for the White Sox -- something no AL
pitcher has done since the pre-DH era. And Red Sox pitchers had been 1 for
54 until Monday, when they actually put together a two-game hitting streak
(by NL refugees Pete Schourek and Ramon Martinez). But the bad news is, of
those 15, only five got a hit and a win in the same game. Most of them would
probably take the hit, anyway.
It's over. After 48 consecutive days in which at
least one team scored 10 runs in a game, no one did it last Monday. It's
believed to be the second-longest streak in history.
Love that AL West. In a span of four days last week,
the A's were in first, second, third and fourth place. And the Rangers were
tied for first, lost and found themselves in last place the next morning.
What a race.
The 100th home run of the year in Enron Field was
hit last Sunday (June 4), in the Astros' 28th home game. The Sultan of Swat
Stats, SABR'S David Vincent, reports that the earliest they ever got to 100
home runs in any season in the Astrodome was Aug. 2, 1994, in the 51st home
game of the year. Crazy place.
Steve Trachsel is the official king of the Big Apple
1-0 game. He now has won a 1-0 game in New York (Yankees) and lost one
(Mets) in the same season. And Devil Rays public-relations genius Rick
Vaughn reports that no visiting pitcher had done that since Billy Travers of
the Brewers did it in 1976 -- in a May 25 win over Dock Ellis and a June 25
loss to that same Dock Ellis.
It's a funny game. Last weekend in Florida, the Blue
Jays scored 11 runs June 2 and lost (11-10), then scored one run the next
day and were winning in the eighth. Oops. Closer Billy Koch then allowed
back-to-back homers to Mike Lowell and Kevin Millar for a 2-1 loss. Koch had
never allowed back-to-back homers in his career before that.
Hard to believe, but Tony Gwynn finally made it over
Mount .300 for the first time all season Wednesday. Twice in his career,
according to Stats Inc.'s David Pinto, Gwynn has had streaks of more than
300 straight games without ever dipping below .300 -- a 374-gamer from May 9,
1990 to Sept. 19, 1992 and a 340-game streak from May 1, 1993 to Oct. 1,
1995. And if he hadn't gone 1 for 4 on Opening Day 1996, that second streak
would have spanned 603 straight games.
No National League team had ever scored 18 runs in a
game against any American League team -- postseason or regular season -- until
the Giants whomped the A's, 18-2, last Sunday. And the 29 runs scored in the
White Sox' 17-12 win over the Reds on Tuesday tied the record for most runs
ever scored by both teams in a game between the two leagues. The only other
time the tote board hit 29 was that nutty 15-14 game between the Blue Jays
and Phillies in the 1993 World Series.
Roger Clemens' big-time performance against his
buddy Pedro in that memorable Sunday night game was viewed at the time as
evidence that he hadn't lost it. His ERA since: 9.82.
Gotta love those Tigers. Through Friday, they were
22-18 when they scored more than one run, 18-11 if they scored more than two
runs and 15-5 since April 25 when they scored more than two. It's those
darned shutouts that are killing them. They're 0-8 when they score zero
runs.
Would you believe Juan Gonzalez has two RBIs all
year against left-handed pitching (in 43 at-bats)?
The Diamondbacks blew no saves from April 29 until
last Sunday. Then, of course, they blew saves on back-to-back days.
We all knew that the big four in the middle of the Devil
Rays' order was going to hit, right? Wrong. They haven't gotten home runs
from two of those four in the same game since May 4.
It's still hard to believe that Greg Maddux and
Terry Mulholland gave up 13 hits apiece in back-to-back games last weekend.
The Elias Sports Bureau searched back 30 years and couldn't find any other
occasion in which Braves starters gave up that many hits in back-to-back
games. Not even in those glorious days of Buddy Jay Solomon and Tony
Brizzolara.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer at ESPN.com. Rumblings and Grumblings will appear each Saturday. | |
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Jayson Stark archive
Stark: Week in Review
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