Joe Torre said this weekend that Cal Ripken Jr. will be a part of his All-Star team next month, no matter what. And that's great.
But here's our question: Why should it come down to that? Why should this burden have to be dumped on the manager's shoulders?
|  | | Cal Ripken has been selected to appear in 18 straight All-Star Games heading into this season. |
It ought to be way more simple than that. Cal Ripken Jr. ought to be in this All Star Game whether he's elected, selected or subpoenaed.
He should be there, thanks to a concept baseball has kicked around for years but never got around to putting in play.
What would be cooler, more apropos, more timely than to introduce, starting with Cal Ripken, a special "living-legend" slot on each All-Star roster?
"We've talked about that," says commissioner Bud Selig. "It's been an ongoing discussion. And we will continue to talk about it."
Talking about stuff like this, of course, is what baseball does best. Actually doing stuff like this, however, often seems to be what baseball does worst.
But if that ongoing discussion is going to rage anew over these next two weeks, we want the ongoing-discussion panelists to think long and hard about that emotional moment next month when Ripken is introduced in Seattle. Then they need to try to figure out how there possibly could be any down side to that living-legend idea.
You wouldn't be compelled to use it every year. But when you have a player of Ripkeneseque stature, winding down a long and illustrious career, what better way to honor him than to put him in uniform for one last All-Star Game?
Let his peers and his admirers stand and salute him as all of America watches. Give him that one last time at the plate -- a moment guaranteed to provide built-in romance and All-Star ratings points, or your money back.
But do it with a special roster slot, so it doesn't prevent some more deserving player from making this team or, as in Troy Glaus' case this year, from being rightfully elected to start this game.
There shouldn't be any controversy over whether somebody like Cal Ripken belongs on an All-Star team -- not after he's already been on 18 of them. But that controversy had already started to flare a week ago, before Cal turned off that faucet by announcing his impending farewell tour.
The living-legend concept would pull the plug on that type of furor, with no fuss and no muss. If people want to see a player like Ripken in this game, let them see him, whether he's hitting .210 or .410. And this way, no one gets left out of the party because they do.
Selig says the concern about this, or any, All-Star alteration has been not to introduce gimmicks that "affect the flow of the game" or would, in any way, prevent the managers from "using the best players."
But our reponse to that is: It's an All-Star Game. It doesn't count. If the big concern is making sure the managers use the best players, why are fans allowed to vote in the first place?
Fans don't elect the best players. They elect the players they like the best. Big difference. So let's not hear any more about that argument.
Instead, let's consider all the good will that could be generated by a Ripken sighting on one side of the field and, say, a Tony Gwynn appearance on the other. If anyone thinks Barry Bonds would complain about only having 1,000 media types to talk to instead of 1,500, because Ripken had turned into almost as good a story, they haven't been paying attention.
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Triviality
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Cal Ripken is one of only three active players with both an MVP trophy and a Rookie-of-the-Year trophy on the old trophy shelf. Can you name the other two?
(Answer below)
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Because you wouldn't go handing out these slots to any old Ed Vosberg or Devon White. It would go only to players on a special platueau.
"It should be just for potential Hall of Famers," Selig said. "Or at least possible Hall of Famers. We should have very high standards. A Ripken and a Gwynn fit those standards."
So what, you wonder, would have to happen for this concept to be set in motion? Approval of both houses of Congress? A proclamation from the United Nations General Assembly? An offseason baseball "Survivor" mini-series in which potential living legends vote each other off the team?
"No, it would probably just come from me at some point," Selig said. "There are a series of things we've been discussing with regard to the All Star Game. This is one of them. We'd probably just discuss it and then do it. It wouldn't be a long legislative process."
So if it's that simple, what's the issue? What's the hang-up? What's everybody afraid of?
Just bring Cal and Bud to the podium in Seattle in two weeks, on All-Star Monday, and make an announcement that can't possibly be criticized by anyone but the nit-pickers.
We'll even let Bud take all the credit. We promise.
Miscellaneous rumblings
The John Rocker trade was a continuing source of fascination to other clubs this weekend. As much as the deal made baseball sense for the Indians, it sure is eye-opening to see a team like the Braves trade a closer having as good a year as Rocker.
"John Schuerholz is so shrewd," said one NL executive, "that I have to think Atlanta did a good thing getting rid of the guy. Not that John Hart or the Indians people aren't just as sharp. But you never know about a player until he's on your team. And by trading him, the Braves are saying this guy was a negative every single day, to somebody of influence in that clubhouse."
It's almost time to start warming up for some hot All-Star controversies. One has already flared between Cliff Floyd, the Marlins' most deserving position player, and Bobby Valentine, who will manage the NL team.
| |
|
| |
| 2001 SEASON STATISTICS |
| AB |
R |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
SLG |
| 269 |
64 |
20 |
63 |
.338 |
.636 |
|
|
After the bad blood stirred up by the Marlins-Mets meetings a few weeks ago, Floyd said he didn't want to be on the All-Star team if Valentine was managing it. Valentine's response this weekend: "Then he's definitely not on the team."
The commissioner's office needs to step in on this one, because Floyd clearly should represent his streaking club in this game.
What might have been the biggest All-Star flap of all, though, has already been defused. For weeks, Barry Bonds was insisting he would not take part in the All-Star Home Run Derby because "it messes up my swing." In fact, Bonds went so far as to say he would never appear in any derby again.
Now there are indications he has recanted, thankfully, as part of his continuing image-reshaping campaign.
"I can't tell you exactly what happened," said one baseball man who knows Bonds well. "All I know is that Scott Boras is doing everything he can to polish this guy off at every turn."
One team that has stepped up its search for starting pitching is the Phillies.
Since June 1, when the Phillies reached 17 games over .500, their starters have been bludgeoned for 91 runs (81 earned) and 21 home runs in 104 1/3 innings. In nine of their last 20 games, the starter never even made it through the fifth inning (compared with seven times in their first 53 starts).
So the Phillies are said by teams that have spoken with them to be investigating the usual suspects: James Baldwin, Pedro Astacio, Albie Lopez, Jason Schmidt, Woody Williams, Esteban Loaiza, the currently disabled Pat Hentgen and Pete Harnisch, and even -- according to at least one baseball official -- David Wells.
The Phillies also are viewed as having one of the deepest supplies of minor-league pitching around. And they've been telling clubs they would trade some of their young arms (and position players) for veteran pitching.
There have been reports that they offered Randy Wolf and onrushing Triple-A right-hander Brandon Duckworth (leading the International League in strikeouts) to Colorado for Astacio. But other clubs say they've been told Duckworth is available only if the pitcher coming back is A) not a half-year rental and B) pitching better than Astacio. Ditto for minor-league RBI assembly line Eric Valent.
Instead, the Phillies are said to be offering prospects such as Nelson Figueroa (who will start in the big-leagues against Atlanta on Tuesday), David Coggin (5-5, 3.12 at Triple-A Scranton) and one-time No. 1 pick Reggie Taylor (.208 in an injury-plagued season) for some of those free agents to be.
Publicly, baseball officials have had very little to say about the Yankees' new cable TV network, which could push their annual local media revenues close to a half-billion dollars. But privately, some of the "disparity" hawks are almost apoplectic over the ramifications of the Yankees' latest money machine.
If the Yankees are asked by their fellow small-marketeers to share a big chunk of those cable profits, the result isn't likely to be massive peace and harmony in the already-fractured ownership ranks.
As clubs begin to do more serious investigations of which players might be on the trading shelves in the next month, they continue to express concerns that not enough clubs are out of the race to create a significant market.
In the National League, for instance, only four teams were more than six games out of the wild-card race in the loss column after play Sunday. Among pitchers on those clubs -- the Mets, Expos, Reds and Pirates -- these are the only starting pitchers off to decent starts:
ERA under 4.00
Rick Reed, 2.96
Tony Armas Jr., 3.03
More than six wins
Reed, 7
Armas, 7
More than eight quality starts
Reed, 13
Chris Reitsma, 9
Kevin Appier, 9
Clubs that have talked to the Mets and Expos say they've been told Reed isn't available, and Armas can be had only for a potential superstar. Appier makes too much money to be marketable. And the only Reds pitcher in this group, Reitsma, is young, cheap and unproven.
Now the American League versions of the same stats, among the seven teams that are fading out of the wild-card race. (We did not include the White Sox.)
ERA under 4.00
Tim Hudson, 3.32
Jason Johnson, 3.57
Ramon Ortiz, 3.86
Mark Mulder, 3.88
Jeff Weaver, 3.96
More than six wins
Mulder, 8
More than eight quality starts
Hudson, 12
Weaver, 11
Scott Schoeneweis, 10
Mulder, 9
Barry Zito, 9
Again, of all the pitchers in this group, none is currently available.
"The one thing we're finding," said one disgruntled club official, "is that there are a lot more buyers than sellers -- even more than usual."
Scott Rolen on his much-publicized blowup with manager Larry Bowa, over the Phillies manager's quote (later denied) in a Philadelphia Daily News column by Bill Conlin that "the No. 4 hitter ... is killing us":
"It wasn't the content of the article that aggravated me," Rolen said. "It was the way it was handled by the manager. I think we handle things different ways sometimes, and I think that was my hang-up with the whole thing. Not what was said and what was in there, but rather the forum that it was cast in, I guess.
"It upset me. It frustrated me. It hurt me. I didn't see the need for that. I thought that was (injecting) a negative atmosphere into a positive situation. I felt that we were struggling, but still two games up in the division, where I've never been. Where we set out at the beginning of the year to be and it was just handled in a way that just didn't please me, I guess.
"I prefer to handle things in a face-to-face manner. That's the best way I can characterize what I'm talking about. I would have preferred that that comment or alleged comment or that tone of that article had been taken up with me face-to-face, man-to-man."
But Rolen says he and Bowa have talked the matter out several times -- "and it's behind us. It's over. I'm not looking over my shoulder at it. He's not looking over his shoulder at it. We're fine.
"So we had an argument," Rolen went on. "So what? I've had an argument with my brother. I've had an argument with my father. We love each other. And we're out there competing. We're on the same team. So whether we have an argument, if we get in a fistfight, it doesn't matter. We're on the same team for the same cause and we're going out to win."
Rolen has said repeatedly he hasn't performed up to his own expectations in the No. 4 hole. But it's fascinating to note that he has a higher average with runners in scoring position (.329) than Bret Boone (.305) -- but Boone has nearly 30 more at-bats in those situations (105 to 76).
Indications are that the Yankees attempted to expand that Jay Witasick-for-D'Angelo Jimenez trade with San Diego to take a run at Phil Nevin. But those conversations ended as soon as the Padres asked for Nick Johnson, whom the Yankees are mulling recalling if Tino Martinez doesn't start to hit.
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| Lima |
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| Mlicki |
Then there was that Dave Mlicki-Jose Lima deal. Lima had become a clear persona non grata with Astros management. But the Tigers were even more frustrated with Mlicki, who was 10-19, 6.29 in the season and a half since signing a three-year, $15.5-million contract. He was also leading the American League in gopherballs (with 19) despite pitching in Comerica Park, which is tough to do.
To make the deal workable financially, the Tigers will pay Lima only what they owed Mlicki (who had about $2.1 million due this season and $5.2 million next season), while Houston will pay the difference between Mlicki's salary and the season and a half left on Lima's three-year, $18.75-million deal.
And for those keeping track of the All in the Smith Family trading history, this is the sixth deal since 1996 between Tigers GM Randy Smith and the Astros, whose club president is his father, Tal. Those six trades have involved 27 players -- three of whom were Brad Ausmus, who mysteriously avoided being included in this deal.
Ausmus went from Detroit to Houston in December, 1996, U-turned from Houston to Detroit in January 1999, then headed back to Houston one more time last December, in the Chris Holt-Roger Cedeno extravaganza.
Incidentally, before 1995, the Tigers and Astros hadn't made a deal in 20 years.
Useless information dept.
That Barry Bonds-Mark McGwire 500-homer duel was fun and all. But think how cool it would have been if this had been a real, healthy Big Mac kind of year. So we recreated each guy's last 162 games, through Sunday. And here's how that race looked:
Bonds: 63 HR, 129 RBI
McGwire: 60 HR, 134 RBI
Other fun facts on this duel, courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau:
Last game in which two 500-homer men played against each other: Aug. 1, 1976 (Frank Robinson starting in left field for Cleveland, Hank Aaron pinch-hitting for the Brewers).
Last NL game in which two 500-homer men played against each other: July 17, 1973 (Aaron in right for the Milwaukee Braves, Willie Mays in center for the Mets).
There have been only two games in major-league history in which two 500-homer men both homered. In June, 1970, Ernie Banks and Mays did it. In May 1971, Aaron and Mays did it.
Elsewhere on the Barry Bonds front, let's try once again to put those 39 homers in perspective. We know home runs ain't what they used to be. But 39 would have led the National League over a full season twice in the '90s, an amazing six times in the '80s, three times in the '70s and twice in the '60s.
And 39 also equals Stan Musial's career high -- and surpasses the career highs of both Dave Winfield (37) and Eddie Murray (32). You've gotta be kidding.
Ruben Sierra has hit eight home runs this month, believe it or not. More reason for any latent disbelief: The last time he'd hit eight or more in a month before this: August, 1987.
Speaking of rebirths, Juan Gonzalez had 18 homers and 65 RBI heading into Monday. In 1996, on the way to 47 home runs and 144 RBI, he finished June with 17 homers and 57 RBI.
In Chicago, it's a great time to wonder what might have been if the season had just started on Memorial Day. ...
From May 24 through Sunday:
Mariners, 22-7
White Sox, 22-7
From Opening Day through May 23:
Mariners, 33-12
White Sox, 14-29
It isn't easy to hit back-to-back-to-back home runs and still lose by nine runs. But the Tigers did it Sunday, in a 14-5 loss to the Twins. Last time that happened, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: April 9, 1997 -- at Coors Field, of course. Barry Larkin, Willie Greene and Reggie Sanders went back-to-back-to-back for the Reds -- and they still lost, 13-4.
Then again, a development like this almost makes sense for the Tigers and Twins.
Booth Newspapers' Danny Knobler reports the Tigers now have lost three straight games (and four of five) in which they've gone back-to-back-to-back -- by scores of 14-5, 12-4 and 11-5. And the Twins now have given up back-to-back-to-backers three times in the last two seasons -- and won all three games.
Meanwhile, Milton became the first pitcher in history to serve up back-to-back-to-backers two years in a row on the same date (June 24).
It might be easier for the Devil Rays to trade Albie Lopez if he'd stop throwing batting practice. He just finished a streak of six straight starts allowing 10 hits or more. The bad news is, that streak hadn't been matched in seven years. The good news is, at least the last guy to do it was Kevin Brown (from April 4-28, 1994). According to Elias, no other pitchers have had streaks this long since 1990.
AL starters who have had the most saves blown for them by their bullpens, through Sunday:
Corey Lidle, Oakland, 6
Steve Sparks, Detroit, 4
Barry Zito, Oakland, 4
Jamie Moyer, Seattle, 4
Kenny Rogers, Texas, 4
Meanwhile, the two AL starters whose offenses have gotten them off the hook the most in games they left facing a loss: Steve Parris (Toronto) and John Halama (Seattle), with four apiece.
Mets pitcher Al Leiter finally got a hit last week, ending an 0-for-44 schneid. But he'll be relieved to hear that wasn't even the longest 0-for-by an NL pitcher in the 2000s. The Elias Sports Bureau's Kevin Hines reports that Jose Lima ended an 0-for-54 donut-fest on May 2, 2000. In between his own hits, Lima gave up 226.
Larry Bowa says he'll recommend to Bobby Valentine that rookie shortstop Jimmy Rollins deserves to be on the All-Star team. And he does. Rollins leads the league in triples (8) and is tied for the league lead in steals (24 -- in 26 attempts). According to the Elias Sports Bureau's Ken Hirdt, since 1957, no rookie has ever led his league in both categories in the same season. Rollins also has committed only four errors all year.
After his two homers at Shea Stadium this weekend, Chipper Jones now has hit 23 of his 209 career home runs (11.0 percent) against the Mets. But Elias' Randy Robles reports that's only the ninth-highest percentage against one team of active players. No. 1 is -- surprise -- Bobby Bonilla, who has thumped 36 of his 286 against the Reds (12.6 percent).
Brewers infielder Mark Loretta pitched himself into rarified company Thursday by making his first career pitching appearance and striking out two in an inning (Ruben Rivera and Reds pitcher Chris Nichting). The complete list of mystery pitchers who whiffed more than one hitter in the same outing (of under two innings), courtesy of Elias' Kevin Hines:
Mark Whiten, Cle., 1 IP, 3 K 7/31/98, at Oak.
Greg Gross, Phi., 2/3 IP, 2 K 6/8/86, at Mon.
Jeff Hamilton, L.A., 1 2/3 IP, 2K, 6/3/89, at Hou.
Vance Law, Mon., 1 IP, 2 K 9/1/87, at S.F.
Mike Anderson, Phi., 1 IP, 2 K 6/27/79, at ChC
Wayne Nordhagen, ChW, 1 IP, 2 K 5/27/79, vs. Cal.
Larry Biittner, ChC, 1 1/3 IP, 3K, 7/4/77, vs. Mon.
There's a first for everything in life. And Thursday marked the first time Jeff Bagwell had ever struck out four times in a game. The Reds' four-headed pitching monster of Lance Davis, Danny Graves, Scott Sullivan and Jim Brower got him once each, in the 1,547th game of Bagwell's distinguished career.
According to the Astros, Bagwell had been one of only three of the 18 active members of the 300-Homer Club to make it through the first 10 years of his career without a four-K game. So the two survivors are Rafael Palmeiro and somebody named Cal Ripken.
The Sultan's Corner
A few tidbits from the Sultan of Swat Stats, SABR's David Vincent:
With Devil Rays rookie Joe Kennedy scheduled to face the Red Sox on Thursday, will New Englanders be, ahem, "debating" whether Jimy Williams should let a Nixon (Trot) face a Kennedy for the first time since the 1960 presidential election?
Whatever, we should all be alerted to the fact that the only previous home run by either a Nixon off a Kennedy or a Kennedy off a Nixon was on July 16, 1950, by Bob Kennedy (Indians) off Willard Nixon (Red Sox). Brunch was not served afterward at Hyannisport.
When Sammy Sosa homered last Wednesday, it was the first time he'd hit a home run on June 20 since 1998 -- but the eighth time in his career. And that busted him out of a tie for second place into a tie for the all-time lead in most homers on June 20. The all-time leaders on homers for that date, which is also the birthday of Nicole Kidman and Carlos Lee:
Hank Aaron, 8
Sammy Sosa, 8
Harmon Killebrew, 7
Through Sunday, Mark McGwire had hit seven home runs -- all of them in the state of Missouri (six in St. Louis, one in Kansas City). So if, like us, you really need to know the record for most consecutive home runs in a season hit in one state, here goes:
|
Batter
|
Year
|
Consecutive
|
State
|
|
Chuck Klein, Phillies
|
1932
|
25
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Pa. (Phi. and Pitt.)
|
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Fred Pfeffer, Cubs
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1884
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25
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Ill. (all at home)
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Gavvy Cravath, Phillies
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1914
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19
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Pa. (home)
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Mel Ott, Giants
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1943
|
18
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N.Y. (home)
|
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Magglio Ordonez, White Sox
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2000
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18
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Ill. (16 at Comiskey, 2 at Wrigley)
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Dante Bichette, Rockies
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1995
|
17
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Col. (home)
|
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Ralph Kiner, Pirates
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1948
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17
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Pa. (home)
|
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Cliff Lee, Pirates
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1922
|
17
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Pa. (home)
|
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Gary Sheffield, Padres
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1992
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17
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Calif. (home)
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Finally, the Flying Giambi Brothers homered in the same game off the same pitcher (Seattle's Ryan Franklin) Thursday -- just the ninth time that's ever happened. The others:
Sept. 4, 1927: Lloyd and Paul Waner off Dolf Luque (same inning)
June 9, 1929: Lloyd and Paul Waner off Doug McWeeney
Sept. 15, 1938: Lloyd and Paul Waner off Cliff Melton
Sept. 15, 1990: Cal and Billy Ripken off David Wells (same inning)
May 28, 1996: Cal and Billy Ripken off Scott Davison (same inning)
Oct. 2, 1999: Vladimir and Wilton Guerrerro off Paul Byrd
May 8, 2000: Jason and Jeremy Giambi off Ramon Ortiz
Sept. 18, 2000: Vladimir and Wilton Guerrero off Jesus Sanchez.
Kingman's Line Update
In our continuing effort to A) provide a pitching version of the Mendoza Line and B) to turn the last 20-game loser of the 20th century, Brian Kingman, into an even larger cult hero, we're turning this portion of the column over to the aforementioned Mr. Kingman.
Our hero has proposed that to measure the 20-loss pace of assorted current pitchers, we should create the Kingman Line. How does it work? If you're on a pace to lose 20 or more, you're below it. Pretty darned simple, we'd say. So here comes Kingman's latest report:
The Kingman Line
Pitchers below the line:
|
Pitcher
|
W-L
|
POSP (Percentage of season team has played)
|
|
Bobby Jones
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3-10
|
.463
|
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Albie Lopez
|
3-10
|
.457
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Pitchers on the line:
|
Pitcher
|
W-L
|
POSP
|
|
Livan Hernandez
|
6-9
|
.463
|
|
Javier Vaquez
|
5-9
|
.469
|
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Steve Trachsel
|
1-9
|
.469
|
Odds to lose 20:
|
Pitcher
|
W-L
|
Odds
|
|
Roger Clemens
|
10-1
|
AABTO (Approximately a billion to 1)
|
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Omar Daal
|
8-1
|
AABTO
|
|
Curt Schilling
|
11-2
|
AABTO
|
|
Pedro Martinez
|
7-2
|
AABTO
|
|
Mike Hampton
|
9-3
|
AABTO
|
|
Randy Johnson
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9-5
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100 million to 1
|
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Greg Maddux
|
7-5
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80 million to 1
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* These guys don't have enough starts left to lose 20 games even if they lost all of their remaining starts. Congratulations are in order for Omar Daal, who has less of a chance to lose 20 than Randy Johnson or Greg Maddux.
More serious odds to lose 20:
|
Pitcher
|
W-L
|
Odds
|
|
Steve Trachsel
|
1-9
|
2,500-1
|
|
Dave Mlicki
|
4-8
|
1,800-1
|
|
Jose Mercedes
|
3-8
|
1,300-1
|
|
Todd Ritchie
|
3-8
|
1,250-1
|
|
Britt Reames
|
2-8
|
1,200-1
|
|
Bryan Rekar
|
1-8
|
1,000-1
|
|
Javier Vazquez
|
5-9
|
800-1
|
|
Livan Hernandez
|
6-9
|
700-1
|
|
Albie Lopez
|
3-10
|
600-1
|
|
Bobby Jones
|
3-10
|
500-1
|
Key factors in determining odds to lose 20:
1: Number of losses
2: Losing percentage (games started/games lost). For example, Jones has lost 10 of 15 starts for a losing percentages of .667. Trachsel has lost nine of 12 for a .750 losing percentage.
3: Starts remaining (most starters should have about 17 starts left.)
4: Team winning percentage (Tampa Bay at .297 means we are likely to see Rekar, Wilson and Lopez flirt with the Kingman line all season (barring trades).
Other notes:
The first 10-15 losses are the easiest to achieve. Getting to 10 losses too fast will result in a trip to the minors or the bullpen.
To have a good shot at losing 20, 15 losses should be accomplished by Labor Day.
Each loss after 15 becomes increasingly more difficult to achieve with the 20th loss being the most elusive.
Special citation to Trachsel. Who'd have thunk he could spend two weeks in the minors, throw a no-hitter and still come back and challenge for 20 losses (which is a more difficult feat than a minor-league no-hitter)?
Trivia answer
Jeff Bagwell ('94 MVP, '91 Rookie of the Year) and Jose Canseco ('88 MVP, '86 Rookie of the Year).
Jayson Stark is a Senior Writer at ESPN.com. Rumblings and Grumblings appears each Monday.
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