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Why the skipper sayonaras? MAILBAG: May 2
Q: Why did the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals wait until the season started to fire their managers? It's not as if these teams had pennant expectations coming into the season. -- Jon Chang, New York
Any chance the Cubs may replace Baylor ? -- Andy Cary, Peoria, Ill. PWG -- I think this month has distorted the role of a manager. The Cubs have had injuries, they have age at some positions, their bullpen isn't set right now. Is that Baylor's fault? Chicago is only a couple of games behind Houston and St. Louis, and that's what counts.
Q: How long will Bobby Cox last in Atlanta if the team doesn't start
producing better results, both on the field and in the stands? -- Mike M., Austin, Texas
Q: What are the Cincinnati Reds going to do when Ken Griffey Jr. comes off the DL? Adam Dunn,
Juan Encarnacion and Austin Kearns have all been extremely productive. I have
always liked Griffey, but at this point it seems his return could ruin the
continuity of this outfield. -- Eric Wilburn, Ohio
Q: With Matt Mantei coming back from Tommy John surgery, do you think
Byung-Hyun Kim will continue to close once he returns, even though Kim has
been unhittable and flawless so far? If Kim continues to close, how much
leeway do you think Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly will give him until he puts Mantei into the closing role? -- Brian, Binghamton, N.Y.
Q: I'm a big New York Mets fan. Considering the fact that Rey Ordonez is struggling
with his best attribute (defense) and that they have a nice shortstop in
the making in Jose Reyes, do you think the Mets will trade Ordonez? Or will
they wait until Reyes is ready to come to the big leagues? -- Maurice
Mills, Irvington, N.J.
Q: Without a doubt, the Boston Red Sox can score runs, but will they make a move to bolster their starting pitching rotation? -- Eric Karp, New York
PWG -- I doubt the Cubs would trade Prior under any circumstances. Rolen? Larry Bowa has said that if they fall far enough behind, they have to explore. As I mentioned in another response, I think Cincinnati is a possibility. But I'm not sold on Rolen being gone yet. I heard they could dump Travis Lee and Doug Glanville, but I think the Bowa/Ed Wade situation bears a month worth of watching before kissing off a great third baseman. That is, if the Phillies aren't being run by an accountant owner.
Q: What's up with the Baltimore Orioles? You and most of your fellow writers
continually refer to them as a bad team, yet they're playing close to .500
ball with success against the Yankees and the Red Sox. Is it just a matter
of time before they fall down? -- Roy Baty, San Francisco
Q: If the Pittsburgh Pirates and GM Dave Littlefield decided they needed to move Jason
Kendall and his albatross-like salary, would we find any takers? Who would
be interested? -- Scott Brady, Pittsburgh
Q: What would you think of a straight-up trade of Andruw Jones for Todd Helton? The Rockies save one run a game in center, and Andruw's long pop flies clear the fences at Coors, while the Braves fill the black hole at first and get the pure hitter they so desperately need. And both have big,
long-term contracts. Your thoughts? -- Chris, Washington, D.C.
Q: What do you think is the toughest park for a visiting bullpen? Despite
the tussles in Dodger Stadium over caps last year, I think it has to be Pac Bell Park. Your thoughts? -- Matthew Greber, San Francisco
PWG -- I think someone will take Hampton, and I think he'd be a great pitcher for the Red Sox, and in Fenway. I still wouldn't rule out the Cardinals -- he almost went there -- or the Cubs.
Q: I have been a baseball fan since I was very young. I also grew up with
the world's pastime, soccer. Instead of contraction, what about taking a
page from the top soccer leagues and use relegation? The bottom two teams
are sent down to Triple A and the top two Triple A teams move up to the
majors. Every year teams fight for the World Series and for their lives to
remain in the majors. -- Andrew Hartman, Killeen, Tex. |
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