The Mariners say goodbye to Rich Aurilia, as the dismantling continues in Seattle. Josias Manzanillo recalls what it was like to be ‘destroyed’ by a line drive. The Red Sox deny stealing signs. Derek Jeter thinks that highlight reels have affected major-league hitters’ willingness to bunt. Drayton McLane denies that Roger Clemens will be traded, and points to ‘The Tonight Show’ as evidence. Mike Lowell thinks it’s all those rotoheads who kept Juan Pierre out of the All-Star Game. And Ken Griffey Jr.’s hurt again. All this and many more quips from around the league in your Monday edition of The Week In Quotes.
Why the heck is the Futures Game scheduled for Sunday afternoon, when MLB
games are still being played? I caught bits and pieces of yesterday’s contest,
held at 3 p.m. Central at Houston’s Minute Maid Field, but was too distracted
by the great finishes in Philadelphia and Boston to pay it too much mind.
Having missed three innings, I was never able to get fully into the game.
It’s as if MLB wants to bury the Futures Game by putting it up against
regular-season games. Speaking mostly for myself, I would much rather the game
be, say, this afternoon, than have it be up against the last few games of the
first half. Having the Futures Game on Monday creates a practical issue–how to
have the Game, the All-Stars’ batting practice, and the Home Run Derby in the
same place on the same day while selling tickets to either one or two
sessions–but that can be dealt with by either moving the Futures Game to a
different location or truncating the day’s BP sessions.
The Home Run Derby is a turgid two hours that exists largely because no one
seems to know how to stop getting corporate sponsorship for it. Making the
Futures Game the centerpiece of All-Star Monday would make the day shine,
while giving the players in it a proper stage for their skills.
It’s really not even funny anymore. Sure, I’ve made my share of jokes at Ken Griffey’s expense, but just at the stage where he was finally getting some recognition for how good his career has been and revitalizing his present, his hamstring gave way. It wasn’t a particularly taxing play, but it doesn’t take much to split his chronically weakened hamstrings. I’d feel worse for Griffey if I hadn’t seen him stretching before a recent game. Like too many other players, he seemed to coast through the warm-ups. I’m not sure if there are other stretches he does, perhaps in the training room, but just the example he set didn’t help. Forget the kids in the stands, the kids on his team were watching and emulating him. Griffey is likely out a month, and with his condition, it could stretch longer. In his absence, the Reds will find out what Wily Mo Pena can do (two homers yesterday brought his season total up to 10, his season line to .270/.314/.491…PECOTA’s had him pretty well pegged so far). They’ll also see if John Vander Wal can come back from ACL surgery in just six months.
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but what the Yankees buy with all that money is depth. Sure, you look at second base or the front of their bullpen and it may not look like it, but when injuries happen, that’s when the depth shows up. With Mike Mussina trying to pitch on three days rest and stressing his elbow, the Yanks could reach down and pull up a rejuvenated Orlando Hernandez. He played the part of “Good Contreras” today, going five strong innings. He only needs to make a cameo start before heading to the pen since Kevin Brown should make his rehab start on Thursday, then come back to the rotation next week. The Yankees have been extremely conservative bringing Brown back, so he should be ready once he does re-appear. Mussina, on the other hand, is a bit more concerning. Elbow soreness is never a good thing, but team sources sound worried that this is Mussina finally admitting something that’s been going on all season. Expect a DL stint in hopes that rest and treatment will dig up the Mussina that they need come playoff time.
With a stadium that struggles to generate revenue (largely because of its co-football tenants), cash-conscious ownership and ever-stiff competition from other teams, this major league general manager makes tough decisions every year, keeping his team in contention the last few seasons and earning multiple playoff berths along the way. The similarities between Billy Beane and the latest in Baseball Prospectus’ series of GM Q&As mostly end there.
Terry Ryan’s scouting background and the success of his scouting and player development staff have helped the Minnesota Twins build one of the best farm
systems in the game. A staunch proponent of defense, athleticism and aggressive play over power and patience, he strives to tailor the Twins to the quirky
Metrodome and its unique characteristics. Ryan recently chatted with BP about the challenges of running the small-revenue Twins, the importance of makeup in ballplayers, the trade-offs of offense for defense, and more.