The Futility Infielder

Clearing the Bases, Sweating Profusely

It's a hot August night in New York City, following a long, hot day. Hot enough that a power transformer went down near my office, causing a fire that blew off two manhole covers, one less than 50 feet from my window. At this point I can't string more than about three sentences on the same topic, so here's a notes piece.

• Did somebody say hot? Bernie Williams is en fuego. Both the New York Times and the Daily News had articles today on how the Yankee centerfielder is streaking despite two ailing shoulders which require daily treatment. Bernie's numbers for July (.368 AVG/.427 OBP/.557 SLG) and August (.357/.413/.476) have long since erased the memory of his early-season struggles, bringing him up to .324/.411/.487 on the year. Though his power numbers have suffered (he's on pace for only 22 homers), the enigmatic Williams seems content to concentrate on putting the ball in play and hitting the gaps. Given that he's got the 3rd best OBP in the league, nobody's complaining except the Jeter-haters, and they don't count anyway. As I write this, tonight's ballgame is in the fifth inning and Bernie's got a 2-run homer and a 2-run double. Did I say en fuego?

• Retracto Ad Absurdum. Every man has his price, including Nelson Doubleday, apparently. After raising quite a ruckus last week, Doubleday has reportedly agreed to sell his half of the New York Mets to co-owner Fred Wilpon. Back in June, Wilpon had filed suit against Doubleday for failing to live up to an agreement to sell his half once the team was apprased. Last week Doubleday countersued, claming that the appraisal was biased, and that the Commissioner's office was "in cahoots" with Wilpon to artificially devalue the franchise.

According to the agreement, Doubleday will get $135 million for his share of the team, actually a smaller amount than the one set by appraiser Robert Starkey, once debt was subtracted. But Doubleday will receive $100 million up front, rather than an earlier-agreed-upon 20 percent of the sale price, with the rest to be paid over five years. Doubleday will also get $20-40 million if the Mets move into a new ballpark, based on how soon that actually happens. So for his squawking, Nelson got his hands on the loot sooner rather than later, and all it cost him was a public statement along the lines of what came out of the Commissioner's office churned out on Doubleday's behalf:

I am pleased this is behind us.While I was not happy with the results of the appraisal, I deeply regret and apologize for the conclusions many drew from the papers that were filed last week by my lawyers.

I did not in any way mean to impugn the integrity of the commissioner, who has been a longtime friend and will continue to remain one, or anyone from his office. Nor did I intend the counterclaim to get in the way of the ongoing collective-bargaining process. That was not my intent or goal. If it did, I apologize to the commissioner and to Don Fehr if it in any way had a negative effect on bargaining.

How convenient.

• Dateless wonder. The news on the labor front--with the players again declining to set a strike date, is cause for some optimism. Consider all of my fingers crossed (this makes it very difficult to type, but if Bernie can gut it out with his bum shoulders, I'll carry on).

If you need a simple primer on the labor situation, Murray Chass of the Times has a decent Q & A, ideal for breaking down the issues into bite-size chunks. Chass points out, as Allen Barra did a couple of weeks ago, that "the players have not asked for anything new of real significance. The players are trying to hold on to the substantial economic gains they have made since the advent of free agency in 1976." More chillingly, he notes that the players and owners have never negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement without a work stoppage, with the players going on strike five times and the owners locking out the players three times. A worthwhile opportunity to get your basics straight.

• Say It Ain't So, Joe! I was saddened to read that Baseball Prospectus's Joe Sheehan has cryptically decided to hang it up. I don't know Joe personally so I can't speculate as to the reasoning or the timing, but leaving midseason and without advance warning does seem somewhat odd.

Over the past few years, I've enjoyed Joe's insightful work in the published annual Prospectus, in his Daily Prospectus columns, and his occasional contributions to ESPN. Like Rob Neyer of ESPN, on any given day Sheehan could take on the game from a variety of angles, sometimes going straight for the numbers, other times speaking of the headlines, his own observations at the ballpark, or occasionally climbing atop his soapbox. Suffice it to say he's taught me a lot (Lesson #476: When you can't pull anything else off, a notes column will do).

Because Joe's a Yankees fan in a field which often has its share of anti-Yankee bias (especially among his BP colleagues), Joe's been a great ally to have when it came to Yank-related arguments, espeically at playoff time. But more than anything else, his work has been an essential staple of my lunch hours and late nights, and I will miss not having it around. I can only hope Joe finds some other outlet for his fine writing; here's wishing him all the best.