BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Activated 1B/OF-L Chris Richard from the DL; optioned OF-R Luis Matos to Rochester. [7/24]
Cancelled Richard’s recall/reactivation; announced they would recall 2B-B Brian Roberts from Rochester on Friday. [7/25]
Skip the decisiveness, we’re back in business as Akbar’s House of Waffletastic Indecision.
Chris Richard managed to reinjure himself in his last game in Rochester, so Brian Roberts got a reprieve for blowing his previous opportunity to be recalled by not having his passport handy. That brings us back to the same point we were at before Roberts got sent down, which is that the Orioles will flim-flam their way through their second-base situation, wallowing through a non-choice between Roberts and Jerry Hairston Jr. It could be worse, because it has been–they could keep finding ways to get Luis Lopez into the lineup. Assuming that finishing close to .500 or keeping third place are actual (versus worthwhile) goals, this doesn’t really help realize either of them.
Is there any general manager who has done less with more than Kenny Williams has done in the last 20 months? He inherited a division winner with a low payroll, a core of good young players and a farm system bursting at the seams with talent. Under his watch, the team has shed talent like my wife’s cat Ashley sheds hair, while adding payroll and bad players like an Angelos on speed.
The ESPN.com version of the wire story has the headline “White Sox send Durham to Athletics for prospect, cash.” Um, no. Jon Adkins is 24, and had a career minor-league ERA of 4.13 coming into this season, during which he’s been lit up in Sacramento, with an ERA that would fit neatly above the median for the Texas Rangers and peripheral numbers that do not hold much promise. Maybe Adkins will be the one guy in a thousand who breaks the mold and turns into a legitimate quality major leaguer. It’s not likely, but you have to root for the guy.
Last week in this space, I talked about how baseball teams should knock it off with the Obey-o-Tron and build their fan base with the kind of cheer clubs you see in soccer. Here’s the cool part: it’s already happening. I got e-mail from readers all week long.
THIS WEEK’S MOST-SUBMITTED SET OF QUOTES
“Whack it. Hack it. Stay aggressive.”
–Bruce Kimm, Cubs manager, on his hitting philosophy
“I want my big boys swinging. If they feel comfortable swinging at first pitches, I want ’em hacking, because they’re the guys who can do the damage.”
–Kimm
The San Diego Padres were the consensus sleeper pick of 2002, considered by many to be a team on the fast track, maybe even on pace to pattern the recent success of the Oakland A’s. General Manager Kevin Towers and manager Bruce Bochy talked about the importance of plate discipline, of finding pitchers who throw…
It’s not much of a secret that we’re strongly pro-player in baseball’s labor disputes–a quick look at the contents of the Baseball Prospectus Baseball Labor and Economics page will tell you that. Some of us are more interested in the business side of things than others, but we’ve discussed these issues amongst ourselves and we’re pretty much all on the same side of the fence.
Unlike some of my partners in crime here at BP, I won’t froth about labor issues without some serious provocation. While I believe the owners lie about their financial situation with reckless abandon and wield the relocation/contraction stick with all the subtlety of “The West Wing,” I can’t get too righteously indignant about it.
Regarding saving $160 million (or more) through prudent contract management, MS (and many others) writes:
How on earth is Jeff Bagwell at $6.5 million a waste of a roster spot, time, money, etc.? Sure, his power numbers are way off, but he’s got an 872 OPS, and baseball can’t work that with the first signs of your best player ever showing a little decline, you release or trade him…. He’s still an above-average offensive player, and bound to turn it around in the next couple of months.
ANAHEIM ANGELS
Placed RHP Al Levine on the 15-day DL (shoulder tendinitis), retroactive to 6/27; recalled RHP John Lackey from Salt Lake. [6/28]
I don’t disagree with the idea of bringing up John Lackey to move into the rotation. Lackey is the organization’s best upper-level prospect, and he’s obviously ready to go.
This week’s question comes from Chuck Valenches, who writes:
I am the broadcaster for the Pirates’ Triple-A club, the Nashville Sounds. We do a promotion where fans are encouraged to write in and “Ask the Sounds”…. One question we received we cannot find an answer for.
Q. Has there ever been a game in which both teams scored at least one run in every inning, and when was the last time it happened?