Almost one full year ago–June of 1998, to be exact–I had become increasingly frustrated at Jim Leyland’s idea of "entertainment" in what was turning into The Lost Season in south Florida. My frustration stemmed from watching as his young and promising pitchers were made to throw close to a gross of pitches on an all-too-frequent…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Recalled pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim from Tucson of the Pacific Coast League (AAA); optioned pitcher Bobby Chouinard to Tucson. [5/27] Kim blew threw Double-A and Triple-A, leading to talk that he, like Billy Koch, will soon be installed as the major-league closer. Kim did pitch well in the PCL, but in one of the…
The Chase for… .500? Yes, it’s early, but given the attention Larry Walker and Sean Casey are getting for having batting averages around .400, it’s probably not unreasonable to mention that John Olerud’s OBP is .505. In 1998, Mark McGwire spent a few weeks around the magic mark, and in 1994, Frank Thomas ran a…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Optioned infielder Hanley Frias to Tucson of the Pacific Coast League (AAA); recalled pitcher Bobby Chouinard from Tucson. [5/22] Given the innings the D’backs normally get from their rotation, you wonder if they have any real use for an extra pitcher, much less one of Chouinard’s dubious qualifications. That said, they also ride…
IT’S A HIT! “They were all real slow knuckleballs that just happened to drift on me for whatever reason. They felt good coming out of my hand. It’s just part of the game and part of the frustration for anybody throwing the knuckleball.” — Steve Sparks, Angels pitcher, on hitting four batters “I was trying…
The Ballad of Super Joe I’m not a big fan of David Howard. Regular readers probably know that. Last year, in his first season with the Cardinals, Howard hit .245 in 102 at-bats, with four extra-base hits and 12 walks giving him a sad .322 OBP and a meek .333 slugging average. All three averages…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Purchased contract of C Steve Decker from Edmonton; recalled 1B Chris Pritchett from Edmonton; optioned OF Reggie Williams to Edmonton; designated INF Dave Silvestri for asssignment. [5/18] An interesting pair of callups. First off, it means that Bavasi and Collins belatedly realized that Dave Silvestri doesn’t add much value over Andy Sheets. Second,…
ATLANTA BRAVES Placed RHP John Smoltz on the 15-day DL (swollen elbow); activated RHP Russ Springer from the DL; recalled 1B Randall Simon from Richmond; optioned C Pascual Matos to Richmond. [5/17] Maybe it’s just because the Braves exude a certain confidence that they know what they’re doing, or maybe it’s that they’re the major…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Placed OF Tim Salmon on the 15-day DL, retroactive to 5/4 (sprained wrist). [5/11] Recalled OF Reggie Williams from Edmonton. [5/12] Salmon’s out five weeks, and with Mo Vaughn saying he doesn’t feel light-footed enough to play first base, and with the organization’s consistent unwillingness to call up and play Chris Pritchett, that…
Getting a Grip As the first quarter of the season draws to a close, the biggest, baddest offense in the NL West belongs to the Arizona Diamondbacks. That’s got to be one of the most surprising developments in baseball thus far, especially when you consider that Travis Lee and Tony Batista, arguably the best offensive…
Old Folks… Some of the biggest news in the division is being made by guys who had pretty good seasons during the Cold War. And nobody has been hotter in May than Tampa Bay’s Fred McGriff. McGriff, who posted a .284/.371/.443 in 1998, was written off by most analysts. His age, declining power and long-gone…
Keeping Count Sure, everyone’s excited about Jeff Weaver, and for good reason. The right-hander has shown outstanding command of very good stuff, he doesn’t get rattled and he’s surviving pretty well despite dubious offensive and defensive support. But perhaps the happiest thing about his first month in in the majors has been Larry Parrish’s patience…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Purchased the contract of INF Dave Silvestri from Edmonton; optioned LHP Mike Holtz to Edmonton; transferred 2B Justin Baughman from the 15- to the 60-day DL. [5/8] You have to hand it to the Angels: they’ve begun to notice that something’s amiss in the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, it’s going to take more than…
TELL US ABOUT IT, SKIP “Basically the whole series, we got outmanaged, outplayed, outhustled, outpitched and everything else. You can’t play dumb baseball.” — Jim Leyland, Rockies manager, on being swept by the Phillies “Every time we swing, nothing good happens.” — Tom Kelly, Twins manager “It’s hard to win six or seven in a…
The Kansas City Royals are in a state of flux. The dependence on veteran mediocrity is being abolished, and the team’s commitment to youth has provided an opportunity for potential stars like The Brothers Carlos to play every day. And just as the situation on the field has changed, so has the front office, where…
Just a few weeks into the 1999 season, most roto teams have begun to separate themselves into the apparent contenders and rebuilders. However, with nearly 75% of the season left to play, it’s early enough to recast your fate and take advantage of some small sample-size fluctuations around the majors. Here are five players off…