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…
Edmonds Down, Soon Will Be Out What happened to the bizarre gag order that the Angels’ front office imposed about discussing player injuries? It looks like they temporarily rescinded it after the announcement that Jim Edmonds’ right shoulder would require surgery and that he wouldn’t be back in the lineup for at least four months….
Contrasts in Contingencies If there’s one watchword about pitching, it’s Joaquin Andujar’s favorite: "youneverknow." The vagaries of who gets hurt and why, and who winds up being ineffective and why, are issues that every major league general manager has to anticipate. Teams have to be prepared to lose a starting pitcher, so today’s question is,…
BALTIMORE ORIOLES Released RHP Heathcliff Slocumb outright; recalled RHP Gabe Molina from Rochester. [4/30] Recalled 1B Calvin Pickering from Rochester; optioned INF Jesse Garcia to Rochester. [5/3] Random flail of the weekend: things are going badly, somebody has to die, and you don’t casually kill family. Slocumb has swung between mediocre and bad throughout his…
BONDS OUT 10 WEEKS “It’s probably one of the largest challenges I’ve faced since I’ve been manager here.” — Dusty Baker, Giants manager “We’re missing a big part of our offense. I know he doesn’t want to be there and he’ll be back as soon as he possibly can. Now we have to go do…
HITTERS Glen Barker PS Age 28 Year Team Lge AB H DB TP HR BB R RBI SB CS Out BA OBA SA EQA EQR Defense 1996 Fayettvl SAL 138 31 0 0 1 10 9 7 6 3 110 .225 .277 .246 .182 8 36-OF 113 1996 Jacksnvl Sou 121 15 0 1 0…
Et Tu, Bobby? Although a fair amount of ink has been spilled on the Braves’ supposed bullpen woes this season, there wasn’t much evidence that Bobby Cox had started worrying about it. But Tuesday night’s display of Leylanditis Chronicus should have all Braves’ fans concerned. With 20-year-old rookie Odalis Perez already over 100 pitches, Cox…
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Optioned CF Dante Powell to Tucson; recalled INF Hanley Frias from Tucson. [4/26] With Tony Womack healthy and "sizzling", the Diamondbacks’ outfield was already crowded. It isn’t as if Powell was going to do much more than play as a defensive substitute. Meanwhile, Frias gives the team a viable middle infield backup in…
The Johnson Effect? There has been a lot of talk about Raul Mondesi’s hot start this season, especially the fact that he’s finally taking bad pitches. After walking only 30 times in 148 games in 1998, he’s already accepted 15 free passes in the season’s first 19 games. And he’s not the only story so…