Bud Selig once expected that right after the All-Star break, he would emerge from a tumultuous owners' meeting and announce the second phase of his historic realignment plan had finally been approved.
Well, don't bet your Jose Canseco DH-of-the-year trophy on it.
No official announcement has been made. And the commissioner himself says only that he is "waiting" on a bunch of new schedule studies that will help everyone reach a proper solution. But if that means his realignment plan isn't dead for next year, then it's at least in critical condition.
So the Devil Rays can start to make their designated hitter plans for next year, because they're almost certainly facing one more year in the American League. And the Diamondbacks can stop grumbling about losing all those dates with the Dodgers, because they're apparently about to get a stay of their execution to the American League.
Nobody figured on this a few months ago. So what happened?
You name it. The AL Central owners balked at having to play in a six-team division while everyone else played in a four-team division. And some NL owners were grumbling about either A) losing the wild card or B) getting stuck in the same division as the Braves with no wild card to bail them out.
And the final blow was uncertainty over the future destination of the Expos in particular and several other clubs in general. That has caused some of the master planners to urge Selig to wait a year so he doesn't have to realign two years in a row.
Once, it was thought that this realignment had to happen before next year, because this winter was the only time Arizona and Tampa Bay could be moved involuntarily. But sources now say they can be moved after the 2001 season, too, because their agreements gave baseball the right to reroute them up until their fifth season.
So the last pressing question, if realignment is on hold, is: Where does that leave the schedule debate? After the scheduling abominations of this year, it's clear no one wants to continue along under the current system.
"I've said all along that my goal was an unbalanced schedule, rotating interleague opponents and preserving interleague rivalries," Selig said. "Let me just say I'm still committed to that. But we're testing a whole lot of formats, and we're just not there yet."
But Selig hinted strongly that baseball can keep the current division set-ups and still go to an unbalanced schedule next year. And that clearly is where the schedule innovators are heading. So don't touch that cursor. You haven't heard the last of this tale.
Even with all the sentiment pointing toward Paul Beeston reducing the Dodgers' Wrigley Field brawl suspensions on appeal, Beeston needed a convincing reason to tone down Frank Robinson's original ruling. And sources say he was presented with one.
Beeston was shown evidence at the appeals hearing that indicated the fan in the middle of the incident was a convicted felon who reportedly spit in Chad Kreuter's face. Videotapes showed that act infuriated Kreuter's teammates and caused them to go racing toward the action when their original intent was to make peace.
Beeston also was reportedly told at the hearing that there have been numerous incidents of players and fans mixing it up over the years in which the player wasn't suspended. Cesar Cedeno and Reggie Smith were involved in one such incident in the early '80s. Jim Rice and (ironically) Don Baylor were involved in another while teammates on the '86 Red Sox. Then there's Tony Phillips, who actually left a game, showered, changed and then went into the stands -- but still wasn't suspended.
The Phillies continue to ask for top value if they trade Andy Ashby. But after Ashby's second major showcase start, when he allowed six runs against the Brewers on Wednesday, scouts were notably unimpressed.
"He had better downward movement than he's had," said one scout. "But he has no command. And even his velocity is down from what it was last year."
The Phillies' plan was to move Ashby quickly, before other pitchers hit the market. But they may have to hold off and hope he starts pitching better. Meanwhile, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Toronto still appear interested.
A scout who watched Brad Radke pitch last week says Radke's trade value has only gone up this year if the Twins decide to deal him.
"He really looked good," the scout said. "His velocity was back. And he was very sharp. I don't know if they're moving him. But there'll be a lot of interest if they do."
The Indians sure have kept the transactions column in business. Six times this season, they've called up a pitcher from the minor leagues, then sent him packing the next day. And at one point last week, they went through a streak of three consecutive days in which they released a pitcher -- and called up another pitcher from Buffalo to replace him. That streak might be as unbreakable as DiMaggio's.
Here's a list of some starting pitchers who are currently on the market (or figure to be) -- and their records (as starters only) against teams that currently have a winning record:
NL starters -- Kevin Tapani (3-6), Francisco Cordova (2-3), Andy Ashby (1-4), Darren Dreifort (1-4), Jose Lima (0-5), Steve Woodard (0-4), Ismael Valdes (0-0).
AL starters -- Steve Trachsel (4-6), Willie Blair (5-1), Brad Radke (3-4), Roy Halladay (2-3), Scott Erickson (2-5), Esteban Loaiza (1-3).
One of the plot lines beneath the surface of the Yankees-Cubs tug o'war over Sammy Sosa went all the way up to the owner's box. "There's no love lost between Steinbrenner and the Tribune Company, or between Andy MacPhail and the Yankees," says one prominent baseball man. "They were coming from different planets, even before all this."
On the surface, the Yankees don't seem to have lost that championship aura. But on the field, it's another story. They are 11 games under .500 (16-27) over their last 43 games. And among the teams that had a better record than the Yankees since May 9 were the Tigers (24-20), Devil Rays (21-24), Brewers (20-26), Cubs (19-24), Marlins (22-25) and Phillies (22-24). No wonder George was in vintage off-the-field form.
Useless information dept.
What happened to Pedro Martinez last week was hard to believe, but here goes:
Sunday's loss to Toronto made three straight Pedro starts the Red Sox have lost. That's only the second time that's happened in his Red Sox career (79 starts, including the postseason).
The three home runs he allowed Sunday made six in two starts. He'd served up six in his previous 28 starts combined.
The leadoff home run he gave up Sunday to Shannon Stewart was his first to a hitter leading off a game since Nelson Liriano hit one on April 20, 1996. That was 139 regular-season starts ago. And the guy who hit it is retired now.
Finally, the two-run home run he allowed to Carlos Delgado was the first he'd given up with anyone on base since Chris Hoiles hit one on Sept. 24, 1998. That was 43 regular-season starts and 325 innings ago. And in that time, according to the Elias Sports Bureau's Ken Hirdt, Pedro faced 460 consecutive hitters with men on base without giving up even one home run. Incredible. And of course, Hoiles is also retired now.
When the Blue Jays took over first place in the AL East last weekend, it was only the second time any AL East team other than the Yankees or Red Sox had held undisputed possession of first place at any time after April since the three-division era began in 1994. The other was the '97 Orioles, who miraculously went wire to wire.
Should this come up again in October, remember that Magglio Ordonez hit six home runs against the Yankees this season. No one hit that many against them all last year. The last guy to hit more, according to Elias, was Albert Belle in 1998, with seven.
The Sultan of Swat Stats, David Vincent, reports that Bret Boone became the first second baseman in history to have two three-homer games in a career. His father, Bob, had seven seasons of three homers or fewer. Meanwhile, there now have been eight three-homer games by second basemen in the '90s. There had been nine in history before that.
Vincent also reports that Alex Cabrera's home run in his first big-league at-bat Monday made him the oldest player to achieve that feat in almost four decades. Cabrera was 28 years, 185 days old. He was the oldest since Cuna Barragan went deep for the Cubs on Sept. 1, 1961. Barragan was 29 years, 73 days old.
Elias' Ken Hirdt says that if Orel Hershiser doesn't pitch again this year, he'll become only the third pitcher since 1950 to finish a season with at least 10 more hit batters than wins. Hershiser ended his Dodgers stint with 11 HBPs and one win. The other members of this club: Ken McBride (16 HBP, 4 wins for the '64 Angels) and Tom Murphy (21 HBP, 10 wins for the '69 Angels). Must be a freeway thing.
One more reason these Rockies are a different kind of team: Through Friday, they have more wins from their bullpen (23) than their starters (20). Only one team in history has ever pulled that off over a full season, according to Elias: the '97 A's (36 relief wins, 29 starter wins). Of course, finishing first and doing that is the real challenge.
The Orioles just went through a stretch in which they gave up at least eight runs in seven straight games. The last team to have a longer streak of crazy eights, according to Elias: the legendary 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who finished 20-134.
Jose Lima has now lost 12 straight games. Since Ken Reynolds did that for the 1972 Phillies, only one other NL pitcher has had a losing streak that long in the same season. That was the immortal Anthony Young, who amazingly had two of them (13 in 1992, 14 in '93).
ESPN research genius Jeff Bennett determined that Mark McGwire made it from 350 home runs to 550 in a ridiculous three years and three weeks. The previous 550-homer guy, Reginald M. Jackson, needed eight years. Just so we make this clear, when you watch Big Mac, you're watching Babe Ruth.
If the Mets make the playoffs, will they vote Roger Clemens a partial share? Their win over Clemens last June started them on a 65-30 tear. Their win over Clemens this June started them on a 13-6 blitz (through Friday).
The Detroit Free Press' John Lowe reports that if Nelson Cruz had just given up the winning run to the Yankees in the 11th inning Tuesday in Detroit, the winning pitcher would have been Nelson (Jeff) and the losing pitcher would have been Nelson (Cruz). And the headline in the tabs would have had to be "Full Nelson." Right?
Finally, who said Ruben Sierra would never be an All-Star again? He'll play for the Pacific Coast League All-Stars this month in the Triple-A All-Star game. Which will make him the first player ever to make a Triple-A All-Star team after making the major-league All-Star team, according to the Triple-A historians.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer at ESPN.com. Rumblings and Grumblings will appear each Saturday. | |
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