The Weekly MLB Rundown: 06.20.08

Posted by A.J. Stevens on 06.20.2008

Alliteration! Obscure references to the worst song ever written! Controversy! It's the Rundown!

LEADING OFF

This week, we've got good feedback from readers, some stories that are in progress, high-level shakeups, a peek behind the curtains, and this week's walkoffs. Let's get started!

YOU SPOKE, WE LISTENED

Rob and Remy weighed in with opinions on the ongoing saga of Edwar Ramirez. I'll tell you what, guys. You both are spirited contributors to the column these past few weeks. Let's make a deal: if Edwar Ramirez finishes at a certain level in ERA+, BAA, or WHIP, I'll let you two have a guest section of the final column. You get to pick at least two of the stats, and the threshold. Sound good? Good.

Kent Baker tried to bait people with Ramirez, but sorry man, the Jays showed him nothing. He walked three of the four batters he faced that game and gave up a double to the other one. Only needed 17 pitches to accomplish all that, too. That wasn't the Jays showing him anything, that was, by any standards, a terrible performance. I think even Remy and Rob can agree to that one.

NEWS OF THE WEEK

Is it Griffey, Rays? Who wants to know? Who wants to kno-o-ow?
Now that Junior's hit 600 home runs, the trade rumors have begun in earnest. The most frequent rumor is that Griffey is willing to waive his no-trade clause to move closer to home and play in Tampa Bay. Being in the American League, this would allow Griffey to take some of the demand off of his ailing knee (and other body parts) to DH. Tampa Bay sounds like a perfect fit, as they have had a rotating cast of characters at both RF and DH all year long.

The question is: will Griffey be a help or a hindrance? Aside from the obvious point that Junior is much older than the rest of the clubhouse, I think his veteran presence can at least help to mentor the younger players. While Junior doesn't have World Series experience, or even much postseason experience, he has always played the game "the right way" and can be an enormous positive influence on the Rays.

As for the batting, the Rays DHs so far this year have hit .248/.330/.426, and the RF have hit .250/.320/.447. Griffey is currently .244/.356/.391. His BA and OBP are similar, so the Rays won't be gaining or losing much by adding Griffey at either position. The 30-50 point difference in SLG, however, is where the Rays are going to feel it. Signing Griffey, regardless of his age, brings the perception that the team is signing "old" Griffey, who can mash extra-base hits at will. Instead, the Rays will be getting Old Griffey, who can still mash extra-base hits as long as he is thrown breaking balls to hit.

In conclusion: Griffey to the Rays is probably not a win for the Rays. While Griffey may want to go to a contender for his remaining time as a baseball player, I think his time as a full-time contributor has passed. The Rays do need an upgrade at either DH or RF, but Griffey is not the answer.

One-third of the Catching Molinas hurt. Also, concussions in baseball.
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was involved in a horrific play on Sunday, which resulted in him being carted off the field on a backboard. Eric Bruntlett was trying to score from second base, when Molina, who was blocking the plate, reached back to field an errant one-hop throw from Chris Duncan. Reaching back caused him to turn slightly away from Bruntlett, who plowed Molina over, driving him headfirst into the dirt. Molina feebly showed the home plate umpire that he had held on to the ball before collapsing. The end result? Molina has a mild concussion and is not expected to play again until Thursday the 19th.

Concussions have been a big story in the sports world over the past year. In baseball, Ryan Church has had two concussions so far this year. After the second one, he wasn't put on the DL until about a week afterwards, and even tried to play after being "medically cleared" to do so, even though he was obviously in no shape whatsoever to be anywhere near a baseball diamond. I'm concerned with Molina trying to come back within a week after getting concussed. There should be some sort of medical standard in baseball: you get a concussion, you get an automatic trip to the 15-day DL, no questions asked. This would solve two problems: one, it protects the player. Two, it keeps the team from playing a man short -- effectively playing with a 24-man roster, which is bad for the team. I wouldn't be surprised if Molina starts a game, and then sits down again for a stint. Especially with a demanding position like catcher, where the player is involved in every play, extra precautions should be taken for the player's long-term health.

[Update: after this article was written, the Pirates' Ryan Doumit is also out with a mild concussion, the result of being hit with too many foul balls. He is expected to return in "2 to 3 days."]

Yankees pitching manages to get more coverage in this column despite warnings from everybody to just shut up already.
Chien-Ming Wang injured his foot running the bases in Houston, and is out until September at the earliest. My personal opinion of the Yankees pitchers aside, Wang was a good fit in the rotation, keeping the team in the game enough to earn tons of wins over the past couple of years. With the injury, trade rumors are immediately starting to swirl, the most prominent being C.C. Sabathia going to the Yankees. While this is a great idea for the Yankees in theory, it isn't going to happen. Yankees GM Brian Cashman is on the record saying that "there is no trade market" for pitchers right now. The Yankees have also recently demonstrated a reliance on their farm system (Kennedy, Hughes, Chamberlain) to provide them with quality starting pitching. This is a deviance from their recent policy of signing high-priced free agents, which hasn't worked out for them as far as pitchers go (Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano come to mind).

[Update: a few hours after I wrote this, the Yankees signed Sidney Ponson. It's a good signing from a financial standpoint, as they'll only be liable for the prorated minimum salary (assuming he gets called up to the major leagues). He's built a reputation as a doof and a negative influence in the clubhouse. The Yankees have enough veterans to counteract the influence, but it remains to be seen if the same veterans can put up with his attitude. Last time he pitched for the Yankees he didn't manage to last long with the team, despite having a reasonably good outing. Maybe the obvious "second chance" here will serve to mellow him out somewhat.]

WALKOFFS OF THE WEEK

• Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, vs. Chicago AL


• Reed Johnson, Cubs, vs. Atlanta (walk-off HBP)


• Chad Tracy, Diamondbacks, vs. Kansas City


• Chris Duncan, Cardinals, vs. Philadelphia (walk-off E-1)


• Kevin Millar, Orioles, vs. Houston

AFTER THE FACT

I'm going to give you, the reader, the benefit of peeking behind the curtain, as it were, here at the Rundown. As far as you know, the column magically appears at 12:01 Eastern time every Friday morning. However, the column is actually written well before that. It is "due" by 10 PM Thursday evening, which gives the editors time to add some finishing touches to the column, like a headline photo and other adornments. As I have a week to work on the column, but still wish to remain somewhat relevant to the issues at hand, I will generally sit down for a few minutes every day and brainstorm ideas for the column. The best of these ideas will get fleshed out between Tuesday and Thursday. I write a teaser and add photos Thursday afternoon (due to the time difference, I have until 7 PM on Thursday to get my column in) before the final submittal.

As a side note for those who may be interested, here is a list of topics that didn't make the cut:

• Hall of Fame game - no more


• Diamondbacks horrible


• Mets coaching staff canned

In some cases, I felt that other topics were more relevant. In other cases, I decided to expand a bit and not have it be part of the news "blurb" that appears near the top of the column every week. In any case, that's not where I was going with this. Two of the three news items/opinion pieces up top were written relatively early on in the week, and then something happened later on in the week to add to the tone of the article. Rather than completely re-write them, I've left them intact, with updates afterwards. We here at the Rundown do strive to bring you the most accurate and up-to-date stories possible.

And this leads to...

METS AND MARINERS MINUS MANAGEMENT

I'm a sucker for alliteration. Ahem.

The interesting thing to do with these stories is to contrast how the firings were handled by upper management. In one case, the team lost a GM first, then the manager a week later. In the other case, the manager, along with the pitching coach and first base coach, was fired after the first game of a road trip -- at 3:15 AM, mind you. What could have been handled different?

In the Mariners' case, firing Bavasi (the GM) was the right move. The Mariners have developed a reputation over the past few seasons of not making any moves at the trade deadline, especially in seasons when they had a relatively decent shot at the AL West title. The best move they had recently was the offseason acquisition of Erik Bedard, but that will not turn out to be the best move for them until they upgrade their offense and fielding. Recent indecision over where to play Ichiro Suzuki is an indicator that the Mariners don't have a clear picture for their future, something that has caused local fans to lose confidence in management. Hopefully whoever lands the GM job in Seattle will be able to be more effective and show the fanbase that they are willing to make the right moves to win a pennant or two.

As far as the Mets go, the wrong person got canned at the wrong time. While Randolph's attitude may or may not have been a problem in the NY clubhouse, ultimately he was handcuffed by upper management. See the above example with Ryan Church not going on the DL as an example. The Mets have been struggling for offense all season, and due to injuries have had a rotating cast of outfielders. Also, the Mets have the highest average player age in the major leagues. Management made a great move in getting Johan Santana in the offseason, but relying on Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, at a total combined age of roughly 1000, for their starting rotation proved to be their downfall. It's a testament to pitching coach Rick Peterson that John Maine has developed from a serviceable starter to someone who can adequately fill a #2 spot in the rotation, but unfortunately he lost his job as well.

Ultimately, the Mets' problems can be traced to the culture of backbiting and politics engendered by the owner and his son, the Wilpons. Until ownership, management, and the field personnel can interact with each other transparently and set clear expectations for what is happening, the Mets are not going to succeed.

CLOSING IT OUT

Interleague play continues this weekend. Will the management shakeups on both coasts bring good tidings or bad tidings for their respective teams? Will Prince Fielder hit yet another inside-the-park home run? Will Dan Uggla or Chase Utley be the home run leader this time next week? All this and more in next week's edition of the Rundown!

If you've got a comment or just want to talk some baseball, leave a comment below or e-mail me at [e-mail]. I'm especially interested in hearing suggestions on topics that you would like me to write about. We here at the Rundown love our commenters, regardless of whether or not we agree with them. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you next week! -AJS