Ask Baseball America By James Bailey
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February 25, 2000Okay, we're closing the window on the "Why didn't John Doe make my favorite team's Top 10 list?" questions. Too many of them. I was able to field the Mariners questions because I wrote that list. But I didn't write the other 29 lists and I don't know in each and every case why someone didn't make it. That's the honest answer. If you want another way to look at it, just write down your player's name and where you'd slot him in your team's Top 10. Keep your notes in a safe place and pull them out in a year or two. Did we blow it or did your guy fade out of sight? Only time will tell. Another question we've seen a lot lately is are we going to revise all the lists to reflect trades, etc. That answer is, "No." If someone got left out--like an Abraham Nunez--and he's a big prospect, he'll show up in our Top 100 list next week. So be patient until next Wednesday, and you'll see that list on our Website. For today, we've got three questions that are absolutely unrelated to the Top 10 lists. And all three are newsy, topical questions about trades or people who repeatedly fail drug tests. Enjoy and have a nice weekend. I have two major questions about the Pirates' offseason moves. 1) Why would they throw money at Wil Cordero? 2) Why John Vander Wal? It seems the Pirates could get more for Al Martin, perhaps a closer prospect? I like the trade because it allows Chad Hermansen a chance to play in the majors, but unless those prospects are any good, it seems like we just gave away a good leader. Thanks, Paul Franz My official answer to the first question is "I don't know." But it doesn't take much prodding to get me going down the "Pittsburgh has money burning a hole in its pocket" road. The Pirates are the one small-revenue team out there that just doesn't seem willing to spend its payroll prudently. They haven't learned that you can get replacement-level players for the minimum salary. And calling Wil Cordero a replacement-level corner outfielder is being kind. Cordero owns a 766 career OPS (.333 on-base and .433 slugging). He's not an especially gifted defender at any position, he doesn't steal bases, he's laid down a grand total of one sac bunt in the last three seasons. I just don't see where he's a guy you want to lock up for three years at nearly Pat Meares money. (And don't get me started on the Meares signing. I've gone on that rampage before.) As for the Martin trade, it was pretty clear that he wanted to be gone from Pittsburgh after suffering through the trade rumors for so long. I'd rather have Martin in my lineup than Cordero, but that's not that big of a difference. And I wouldn't look at it like it was a trade of Al Martin for John Vander Wal and two minor leaguers. I'd look at it like the Pirates got two minor leaguers and John Vander Wal. The two righthanders they picked up both have some upside, though neither was included on the Padres Top 10. Geraldo Padua pitched well at Class A Greensboro last year, while he was still in the Yankees organization, and James Sak posted great numbers at Double-A Mobile. If you want more details on them, check out the story we ran on the trade earlier this week. Was Martin given away? I don't think so. The Pirates got a couple of pitchers with a chance to help them and a useful bench player. Could he have fetched more? Apparently not. The guy had been on the trade market for well over a year. It was time to move him for whatever reasonable offer they could get and this was a reasonable offer. Here's another trade-related question, going back to the big Jeremy Giambi for Brett Laxtion deal that the Royals and A's pulled off last Friday. I guess the Giambi-Laxton trade has made Mark Quinn the happiest man in KC. Does this in fact give Quinn the inside track on the Royals DH job this year? Jim Emmons Quinn, you might remember, had made some noise about wanting to be traded if the Royals didn't think he was good enough to help them. Kind of a strong demand from someone with 60 big league at-bats, but he does seem like he could help at the big league level and now he should get a chance at a semi-full-time job. His biggest competition for time at the DH slot is probably Paul Sorrento, who would be one of the worst DH's in the game if he got the nod. Quinn gets on base, hits for a little power and can also play the outfield better than Sorrento if the Royals needed someone to fill in. What I'm saying is, this trade should give Quinn the inside track on the DH job. If he doesn't outhit Sorrento this spring I'll be surprised. Now that Darryl Strawberry has let the Yankees down again, who will end up DHing with Jim Leyritz? Everyone says Tim Raines will get the first shot, but a 40-year-old coming off serious illness is a longshot. This would seem to be a perfect chance for Nick Johnson, but the Yankees rarely let anyone jump past Triple-A. He probably won't make the team out of camp, but if he tears up the International League in April and the Yankees aren't getting production out of the DH, will they bring him up? Gregory Cavalli The Yankees certainly aren't known for rushing guys through the system. The last big-time impact position player they had break into the lineup spent more than a year at Triple-A Columbus. That was Derek Jeter, who collected 486 at-bats at Columbus in 1995 (incidentally as a teammate of Strawberry's) while Tony Fernandez was scuffling in Yankee Stadium. Fernandez hit .245 with five homers that year, easily his worst as a full-timer. Still, the Yankees resisted the urge to bring up Jeter. Will they follow the same course with Johnson? I think they will get him some significant time in Columbus, while the DH at-bats go to Leyritz, Raines and Roberto Kelly. There's no reason to think that those guys can't do a reasonable job between them, but if things start getting really desperate in New York, maybe they'll call up Johnson and move Tino Martinez to DH. Nick Johnson fans who want to see him in New York are going to have to be patient, because the Yankees most likely will be. Directory: mlb mlb -> By Ken Gurnick mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> 2010 – What’s the name of the umpire whose errant call cost the Tigers’ Armando Galarraga a perfect game in 2010? (Jim Joyce) gabp mlb -> Wednesday, September 23, 2015 headlines: Verrett stumbles in the fifth as Mets lose to Braves 6-2 mlb -> All-Star History In what city was the first All-Game played? (Chicago, 1933) Baseball & Pop Culture mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> The Impact of Television Revenue on Major League Baseball mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips Download 1 Mb. Share with your friends:
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