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Kings of the hill A's and Cards possess the top rotations in baseballPosted: Thursday March 28, 2002 11:59 AM
Marc Lieberman, my wife's cousin, celebrated his 53rd birthday Wednesday night, right around the time -- lucky! lucky! -- he came down with a most heinous case of bronchitis. Like the Larry Walkers and Derek Jeters and Joe Randas of the game, Marc was tough enough to pop a couple o' pills and attend a gala bash at Bistro Chez Jean-Pierre in Palm Beach, Fla. In short, he took one for the team. Enter my dilemma: Near the end of the evening, dear Marc -- diehard White Sox fan/sufferer -- was presented with a beautiful chocolate cake, candles aglow. After we all sang Happy Birthday, Marc engulfed the deepest of deep breaths and blew his heart out. Moments later, a slice was placed inches from my face, spittle aglaze like fireflies atop a papaya. Oy. On with the questions ...
Jeff, do you agree that no team has a better trio atop its rotation than the
A's? Or are you sane enough to think that the Yanks and Braves each have three
pitchers just as good as Oakland's? Heck, New York has four if you toss in David
Wells, and so does Atlanta, if Jason Marquis steps up this year.
Steve, why do they let guys like you get into this place? There is a huge difference between the starting trio in Oakland and those in New York and Atlanta, and it is this: In Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, the A's have three Grade-A studs, all younger than 27. Last season, those guys combined for 56 wins, and none had an ERA above 3.50. Yeah, the Yankees and Braves are imposing, but they're also Jesse Orosco- old. The likelihood of Roger Clemens or Tom Glavine coming down with an injury is much greater than any of Oakland's studs doing so.
How do you see the Cardinals' starting rotation shaking out, not so much on
Opening Day, but come the All-Star break? Matt Morris, Darryl Kile and Woody
Williams seem locked in. Then you have an apparently healthy Garrett Stephenson,
an improved Andy Benes, Bud Smith, and, egads, Rick Ankiel. Who are the two
losers in this seven-man competition? Will the Cards move a starter?
Well, Ankiel is out for an indefinite amount of time, and Benes really isn't starting material anymore. If Tony La Russa has his Disney dreams come true, the mid-summer rotation will be Morris, Kyle, Williams, Smith and Stephenson. That's a World Series-caliber collection.
As a Mariners fan, I'd like to ask how you can write off the Angels this
season. Tell me, please, because I would also like to count them out, but any
team with a healthy Darin Erstad and a manager like Mike Scioscia scares the
hell out of me. I smell overachievers.
Since the beginning of spring, Sports Illustrated baseball editor Dick Friedman (Writer's note: Raise requested) has been very, very high on Anaheim. We've debated the team's merits back and forth and, well, I just don't see it. The Angels have an improved rotation, but Aaron Sele and Kevin Appier, the new top starters, don't hold up against the guns in Seattle and Oakland. Moreover, it's simply difficult to see the Benji Gil-driven Halos scoring a ton o' runs. Tim Salmon is a near-finished product, there's no pop in the middle infield and Erstad seems to have lost his way a bit. A good, plus-.500 club? Yes. A contender? No way.
Jeff, can you tell me how the Rockies get away with blaming Coors Field for
their pitchers' poor records? Sure, their ERAs are affected by the park, but the
opposing hurler deals with the same elements, so the thin air is no excuse. All
Colorado's pitchers need to do is outpitch the other team's guy.
Last year when Mike Hampton signed with the Rockies, he came to Coors Field full of the piss and vinegar needed to conquer the park. Then -- BOOM! -- he started getting shelled (14-13, 5.41 ERA). The same happened to Denny Neagle (9-8, 5.38 ERA). Both men believed they could take on the giant, and both fell swiftly. The issue here isn't as easy as you say, Jason. Pitchers get hammered on a regular basis at Coors, and then -- suddenly -- they're different players altogether (home and road). They pitch more tentatively. They don't challenge hitters. They nip-and-pick and pick-and-nip, trying to find the perfect corner strike. Mentally, it's impossible to perform one way at Coors, then another way on the road. So the once GI Joe-esque Hampton went soft, and paid the price.
I realize Gary Sheffield hits for power and average, and drives in runs, but
how much will his off-the-field attitude disrupt the Braves this season? Brian
Jordan was Atlanta's quiet clubhouse leader in the past and carried them at
times. Does Sheff's bat make up for his baggage?
To be honest, I was shocked when the Braves finally traded for Sheffield. He's just not the same mold as many of his new teammates. Manager Bobby Cox hates music in the clubhouse. Sheffield considers it a necessity. Cox hates players in jewelry. Sheffield wears much of it. Cox hates complainers. Sheffield is often the King of Whines. All that said, Sheff will fit in fine. Despite public perception, few men play harder -- and that's all the Braves' players will ask of their new right fielder. At his best, Sheffield can be gregarious and helpful and intelligent and deadly. Expect such in his new home.
Jeff, I see Tim Raines has joined the Florida Marlins. What do you think his
chances are for the Hall of Fame? A number of people say he is on the bubble.
What do you think? He is a great guy.
David, I looooooooove that you asked this question. From here, Tim Raines is a Hall of Fame selection: 2,588 hits, 808 stolen bases, .295 average, .386 on-base percentage. If we can all think back to the mid-'80s, Raines and Rickey Henderson were baseball's two ultimate weapons. Raines could steal off any battery in the league, and he always seemed to come up with a big hit at the perfect time. Unfortunately, very few voters will agree with me. It all comes down to those stupid milestones, few of which Raines has reached. But check out the stat lines below, which offer the career numbers of Raines vs. Lou Brock, the first-ballot Cardinals' speedster. Who belongs?
Jeff, what will happen with the fifth spot in the Cubs' rotation? Will it go
to Julian Tavarez, or will Chicago trade him and let someone else like Jesus
Sanchez or Donovan Osborne hold down the fort until Mark Prior is ready? To me,
a trade sounds most beneficial, especially for a setup man or closer.
Josh, congratulations! For writing into this mailbag, you receive ... A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF MR. PIBB! TWO TICKETS TO THE NELSON REUNION SHOW! AND MATT CLEMENT! Yup, Clement is yours after Wednesday's Cubs-Marlins trade, and he's also your new No. 5 starter. Throughout spring, Marlins pitching coach Brad Arnsberg talked up Clement as a stud-in-waiting; a guy with great stuff who just needed some tinkering. Then, quicker than one can say Dane Iorg, the right-hander was shipped to Chicago. At his best, Clement throws 95 mph, with a Nightmare on Elm Street 3-slider and a plus changeup. But we've never really seen Clement at his best. You probably never will, either.
Jeff, are you sure you don't want to take a piece of cake home with
you?
Yes.
How could you leave Luis Gonzalez off your modern day
all-goodness
team? If anyone deserves to have that stature it's Gonzo. Also ... J.D Drew?
Wasn't he the spoiled brat who held the Phillies hostage during contract
negotiations and cried about wanting to be traded? Just my
thoughts.
Dennis, you're right about Gonzalez. A 100 percent class act who deserves the mention. So, for that matter, does Gerald Williams, Mike Fetters, Steve Kline, Moises Alou, Ellis Burks and a bunch of other truly kind fellows. Yeah, Drew held out many a year ago. But the guy is true to his Christian beliefs -- a kind soul with a big heart. Do yourself a favor and let it go.
Pokey Reese on the all-goodness team? He has fathered children by
different women and ripped an ex-teammate this spring. Do you want to
rethink this choice, Jeff?
Evan, you're the only guy who didn't rip Ken Griffey Jr. this spring. It's a club. And it's time you and your people start to realize that having many kids with many people does not always equal bad guy. Reese is funny and kind and the light of a clubhouse.
If an intern reads this first, please pass it along to Jeff. I can prove I
really know him: He's the tallish guy with goofy short hair. He thinks he can
play a little basketball, but that's only because Max and I both stink. He cried
when Hall and Oates went their separate ways. He once stole a sprinkled donut
from "The Scrounge" for a story. He once stated that the University of
Delaware men's basketball team had the best backcourt in the country. He will
finish the line if you say to him, "Stop, collaborate and
listen..."
1) Hall and Oates are back together and working on a new studio album. 2) I was hungry. 3) The guard combo of Brian Pearl and Rob Garner was da bomb. 4) Just because Vanilla Ice took a lickin' from Todd Bridges, doesn't mean he's not the man.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jeff Pearlman covers the baseball beat for
the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. This is his last Spring Training Mailbag. Come back next Friday
for the debut of his Pearls of Wisdom
column.
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