The Futility Infielder

Cleaning House

Having traveled the past two weekends and been bogged down with work in between, I haven't had as much time to keep up with my web log. But I wanted to jot down a few thoughts on some recent trades and other baseball news before it becomes too old. So consider this something of a house-cleaning.

Fred McGriff to Chicago: Finally! Apparently two weeks of reality therapy was enough for McGriff to realize that finishing his career in Tampa Bay was not an option. Chicago gets a significant upgrade at first base, where Matt Stairs, Ron Coomer, and Julio Zuleta have been underwhelming. Stairs' numbers there aren't horrid, but Don Baylor sat him against lefties, leaving two guys who couldn't find the Mendoza line with a map and compass (all stats as 1B only):

          PA   AVG   HR  RBI   OBP   SLG

Stairs   257  .265   10   39  .385  .475

Coomer    66  .197    1    5  .254  .279

Zuleta    91  .190    3   11  .266  .310

Total    414  .236   14   55  .338  .404

McGriff  306  .332   17   53  .400  .565

The deal was finally announced with the Devil Rays receiving Manny Aybar and a player to be named later, most likely AAA shortstop Jason Smith, who is on the DL right now but is nothing special when he's not (.233 AVG/.271 OBP/.367 SLG). I'm still surprised Tampa Bay GM Chuck LaMar couldn't extract more from one of the deepest farm systems in baseball. Wait, I take that back--I'm not surprised at all, given how poorly the Rays have fared with LaMar at the helm.

Jermaine Dye to Oakland: I'm not sure which is more impressive--the bold move Oakland made by trading two prospects to get Dye, or the way Royals GM Allard Baird was fleeced by A's GM Billy Beane and Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd. As Gary Huckaby said over on Baseball Prospectus, "Should the Royals even pay to have a phone system? They'd be better off without one. Why doesn't Baird just send a kidney to Beane?"

First, the A's: they have no chance to catch the Mariners in the AL West race, but they're only five games behind Minnesota in the Wild Card race. It's like a poker game; Billy Beane tosses a couple of chips into the pot, selects a couple of new cards, and emphatically declares his team "in." Dye is in the midst of a sub-par year, but the previous two seasons he's been a stud, averaging .308/30/119. He's locked up through next season, contract-wise. The deal means Jason Giambi is staying put, at least until the end of the year, but it's questionable whether it gives them a better shot at re-signing him. After all, Damon's $7.1 million will come off the books (given his free-agency), but Dye, who's eligible for arbitration, figures to at least double his $3.8 million salary. Giambi passed up Oakland's offer of $90 million over 6 years due to the lack of a no-trade clause; his price will only go up as the season progresses, meaning the A's certainly won't be able to keep everybody. Still, they're a smart organization with a trio of excellent young pitchers in Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder--they'll find a way to remain competitive.

The Royals: I don't think there's anybody besides Baird who can put a positive spin on this one. All Baird has to show for one of his best players is an overpaid glove-man, Neifi Perez, to add to a growing collection that includes Rey Sanchez. Now the talk is that Sanchez will be dealt to the Atlanta Braves, who are looking for a shortstop since Rafael Furcal went down for the season. Thus the Royals would get younger and less expensive, but no less slick-fielding at short. But if they think Perez will hit significantly better than Sanchez, they are in for a rude awakening:

                        PA   AVG  HR  RBI   OBP   SLG

Perez (Coors '98-01)  1293  .315  28  167  .341  .474

Perez (Away '98-01)   1126  .248  10  115  .288  .340

Sanchez (career)      3970  .276  12  291  .314  .341

Turk Wendell to Philadelphia: No analysis to offer here, just a fond farewell to one of the city's most eccentrically entertaining players. I'll miss ol' 99 and his bizarre collection of habits and superstitions: jumping over the foul lines, brushing his teeth between innings, wearing the teeth of animals he's hunted, nearly freezing to death hunting those animals, signing contracts where all of the numbers are a penny short, to keep the figures at $.99, giving up game-ending home runs... So long, Turk.

Ken Griffey Jr. Whines, Again: So what else is new? It's gratifying to watch Griffey wallow miserably in the bed which he's made for himself. He whines because he wants to leave Seattle to play closer to home. He whines because he finally gets to choose his city, only to find his salary severely hampers the team's ability to field a competitive team (it doesn't help that he signs with a mid-market club which throws around nickels like they're manhole covers). He whines because they attempt to break up that team of underpaid underachievers and retool. He probably whines when he does long division and gets a remainder. Grrrr...

Deion Sanders Pulls A Rare Double: On Friday, Neon Deion officially retired from football. On Saturday, he was released by the AAA Syracuse Sky Chiefs (Toronto affiliate), the second team to drop him this season during his so-called comeback, during which he proved that he couldn't hit sand if he fell off a camel. Next up, we'll strap him to a rocket and shoot him straight into the sun. So long, sucker.