Transaction Analysis: September 14-22, 1999

Claimed LHP Jeff Kubenka off of waivers from the Dodgers. [9/20]

It’s a bit surprising that the Snakes didn’t have a third catcher up
sooner. Greg Colbrunn really isn’t much more than an emergency catcher, and
Kelly Stinnett has had to fight off the usual collection of bumps and bruises.

In this organization, Barajas is considered a prospect, especially after a
season in the Texas League in which he hit .318/.354/.488 with 41 doubles
and 14 home runs. He has a decent defensive reputation, but he’s played in
High Desert last year and El Paso this year, so he’s been helped by hitting
in two of the best hitting environments in organized baseball. He hasn’t
helped himself by walking: only 24 in 127 games this year.

Activated RHP Brian Rose off of the DL. [9/17]

Recalled C Steve Lomasney from Trenton (Double-A). [9/18]

Losing Mercker doesn’t mean as much as it might have when Bret Saberhagen
was missing. With Sabes backing up Pedro, and with Pat Rapp having good
starts more often than not, the Sox shouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever
clinching the wild-card.

The interesting decision was to call up Lomasney. In 47 games at Trenton,
he managed to paste a dozen home runs. Only 22, he’ll have an excellent
opportunity next spring to put Scott Hatteberg into some other team’s uniform.

The most amusing aspect of this was Hill’s statement that he likes the
direction the Cubs are going (behind Florida?), and things would have been
much better this year if only Lance Johnson hadn’t struggled with an
injury/managerial snit fit.

Hill has his uses (pinch-hitter, lefty masher), but the team’s primary
off-season task is going to be to shop for a good offensive center fielder.
Henry Rodriguez is only under contract through next season, and Corey
Patterson will undoubtedly be in a Cubs’ uniform by 2001. The creative
solution would be to go out and get Johnny Damon to lead off and play
center field, and move him to left field once Rodriguez leaves and Patteron
is ready. The more pathetic alternative will be to get some 30-year-old
stiff with a reputation and a nice price tag. We both know which one is
more likely.

Nobody is pretending Karsay’s elbow is sound. He’s monkeying around with a
new grip on his curve, which reflects how desperate the situation is. With
Steve Reed hurting, Paul Shuey hurting or being wildly ineffective, and
none of the left-handers earning their keep, the Tribe’s pen is enough to
make everyone unhappy. Well, unless you’re Sean DePaula and you have a shot
at getting onto the postseason roster because of all these problems.

O’Dowd’s future in a front office has been inevitable for a couple of years
now. What will be interesting is to see how well he does out of John Hart’s
shadow, and how many people from the Indians’ organization he can convince
to come with him.

The most interesting possibility is that he’ll bring hitting instructor
Charlie Manuel over to manage. Once upon a time, Manuel was one of the
game’s better managerial prospects. After winning the PCL in 1992 with a
pretty mediocre Colorado Springs roster (anyone else remember the wispy
clouds of hope that got spun around Beau Allred?), he was named manager of
the year over noted peers like Jim Riggleman, Bob Boone and Bill Russell.
He won a title again in Charlotte in 1993. But a combination of need
(Manuel’s current reputation is as the man who has to keep Jim Thome’s
swing correct) and the inequalities of opportunity (Boone was certainly
never hired for merit) might have cost Manuel his opportunity to manage a
big league team.

I hope he gets the shot now. While the real reason would be his prior
association with O’Dowd, it would be interesting to see if the experience
of managing in the mile-high conditions of Colorado Springs prepared Manuel
for the challenge of running a team on Planet Coors. It’s interesting to
note that one of the other names mentioned for the job is Royals’ manager
Tony Muser, who also has thin air experience from managing the Denver
Zephyrs while Manuel was in Colorado Springs.

Recalled 1B/OF Larry Sutton from Omaha. [9/15]

Activated 2B Carlos Febles off of the DL. [9/17]

After a season in which he had a 0.78 ERA as Wichita’s closer, you’d think
that Carter should have been up sooner, except that the Royals let him help
win the Texas League championship. Assuming he sticks around, Muser would
be well advised to give Carter first crack at the closer’s job next spring.
Better yet, let him share the job with Scott Service for the first few
months, taking a page from Jack McKeon’s playbook with the Reds this season.

On the other hand, we’re talking Team Herk, which is why trading Rusch for
Murray would otherwise seem a bit strange: Rusch could still turn into a
good left-handed reliever, while Murray’s older and coming off of an awful
season in Norfolk, which is not a tough park to pitch in: 91 runs and 22
home runs in 145 innings, with a poor 70-to-96 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

Royals fans can at least take some small satisfaction from knowing that
Larry Sutton was nice enough to stay out of the way most of the year, and
that Febles will get a chance to finish with a flourish.

I don’t think it’s a uniquely Beertown phenomenon that there was almost
wild exultation when the GM-designate came out and said the organization
he’s inheriting basically sucks. You’d think the guy had predicted the
sunrise. What this really means is that all of those ex-Brewers working in
every nook and cranny of the organization had better start calling the
Angels or some other suitably adrift franchise, sprucing up resumes, and
finding out where the office fax machine is.

Johnson doesn’t deserve a callup after another ugly minor league season
(6-12, 5.38 ERA, 24 home runs in 147 1/3 innings, and 105 runs allowed on
174 hits and 63 walks), but with Guillermo Mota and Carl Pavano aching, the
Expos could use a spare body. It’s better to hand some waste innings to a
waste pitcher than add any more mileage to Tony Armas Jr.’s arm. Armas has
already done all he needs to do this season, and the only thing the Expos
are playing for is fourth place.

Given how successful Bobby Valentine has been with his bullpens lately, I
like Rusch’s chances of turning into a good left-handed long reliever.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I suspect that Juden’s hitting 17 batters had nothing
to do with his unique brand of understated charm, or his joy at spending
most of the year pitching in central Ohio. It’s just that he didn’t pitch
particularly well: a 5.56 ERA, 164 hits and 76 walks allowed in 176 1/3
innings, along with 24 home runs. At least he’s still bringing the heat,
with 151 strikeouts. Talent-wise, he might have been a good middle reliever
for the Yanks this year, except that there would undoubtedly have been some
sort of clubhouse clash of the titans between Juden and a red ass like Paul
O’Neill.

With Oakland’s playoff chances rapidly petering out, Chavez ended up doing
Vancouver some good in helping them get to the Triple-A World Series during
his rehab assignment. Of course, in his absence the Canadians will get to
use Adam Piatt, so they won’t exactly be short-handed.

Ugh, another Turner Ward contract. If owners want "cost
certainty," they’d be doing themselves a favor if they didn’t keep
rewarding fourth outfielders with multi-year deals for considerably more
than the minimum.

It is nice to see Ducey get his payday after a career on the fringes.
Unlike a stiff like Derrick May, Ducey had a chance to be a legitimately
good major league player, but injuries and a few bad breaks kept him from
getting even as much service time as a nepotista like May.

Activated SS Pat Meares from the DL. [9/21]

Perfect timing for Sprague, because more playing time this year was
probably only going to keep hurting his rate stats. Now he can stagger into
the free-agent market and see who wants to make him the next Danny Tartabull.

Fassero brings in Brian Hunter Lite, which should make it that much easier
for the Ms to non-tender Hunter this winter.

Activated RHP Cory Lidle from the DL; recalled 1B Steve Cox,
DH Julio Franco and LHP Jim Morris from Durham; designated
LHP Terrell Wade, RHP Mickey Callaway and OFs Carlos
Mendoza and Rich Butler for assignment. [9/18]

Recalled RHP Eddie Gaillard from Durham. [9/21]

I know everyone thinks it’s just swell that Jim Morris and his "98
mph" fastball got this late lease on life at 35. Hell, even I think
it’s pretty cool. But in a dog-and-pony show like the D-Rays, it’s hard to
say that a guy who put up a 5.48 ERA in a brief tryout in Durham earned it.
We’re talking about a franchise that would pinch-run giraffes ("Look,
it can touch home plate from third base! It tags up in less than a
second!") or clone a Jose Canseco Mini-Me to pinch-hit and pitch if it
thought it would get the bluehairs and beehives of sunny Florida to buy a
ticket.

If you want to take the talk of stripping franchises from markets
seriously, take the D-Rays. They’ve shown absolutely no ability and even
less interest in fielding a professional baseball team. "Steve Cox?
He’s too young to be shooting for any records. It’s a damned fine thing
that we’ve got the Crime Dog in the fold. Unless Bill Buckner’s finally
returning those calls…."

What is there to say? They earned it, having done a much better job in
their Rangers lifetimes than the Tom Grieve/Bobby Valentine combo did. They
started off with a script calling for Baltimore West, and built off of
that. While the Mariners frittered away the years that should have belonged
to them, the Rangers have slowly put together a decent farm system to back
up great frontline talent. Hats off to a well-run operation.