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Not yet Cubs staff is loaded with potential, but still isn't the bestPosted: Wednesday March 05, 2003 4:07 PM
Click here to send a question to Jeff Pearlman's mailbag. Anchored by Kerry Wood and Matt Clement, the Cubs led the major leagues in strikeouts last year. With Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano on the team for full a season, and the additions of Mike Remlinger, Mark Guthrie and Dave Veres, do the Cubs now have the best staff in the bigs?
That would be a biiiiiiig ... no. The Cubs do not have the best staff in the bigs. They don't have the best staff in the National League. They don't even have the best staff in the NL Central. Consider: Oakland: The only staff with three Cy Young candidates. That alone makes the A's incredibly daunting. New York Yankees: Jeff Weaver is the probable No. 5 starter. Juan Acevedo, who saved 28 games for the Tigers last year, is just one of many above-average relievers. Steve Karsay closes for any other club in the division. Chris Hammond was unhittable in 2002. Tampa Bay: Just kidding. Houston: Shane Reynolds is back to full health, and Wade Miller and Roy Oswalt are absolutely awesome. And the late-inning combo of Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner is baseball's best. The Cubs staff is young and full of fire, and in a couple of years it might be up there. But when we're citing Mark Guthrie as proof of excellence, there's still a ways to go. I'm tired of reading about all the jerks in baseball. Last spring training, you revealed your All-Nice Guy Team. Can I get an update?
No problem: 1B: Sean Casey, Cincinnati
After missing most of last season because of injuries, can Ben Sheets return to his previous form? What numbers should we expect from the Brewers right-hander this year if he's healthy, and do you expect him to return to the All-Star Game?
Jake, where have you been? Sheets pitched in 34 games last season and -- save for a cruddy stretch in June and July -- he was pretty good. His 11-16 record might not smell of roses, but remember what team he's playing for. With Ronnie Belliard as his third baseman, Randy Johnson wouldn't be so hot, either. Sheets offers batters two dynamite pitches -- a biting overhand curveball and a mid-90s fastball. He's still learning how to be consistent late in the game, but that's because of youth (he's only 24) more than a character flaw. Will he return to the All-Star Game? Maybe, maybe not. Among the sad-sack Brewers, there won't be too many other options.
Hey, Jeff, enough about the Yankees and Braves. How do you think the Devil Rays and Sweet Lou will do in the wonderful Tropicana Dome? Let's see: The Devil Rays lost their best player (Randy Winn), their two highest-paid players (Ben Grieve and Greg Vaughn) were awful last year, they have zero pitching, their stadium is an enlarged tuna fish can and their GM, Chuck LaMar, has surrendered more talent than Death Row Records. And yet ... I think Tampa Bay will improve. Not a ton. Seventy wins, perhaps. Dewon Brazelton is an impressive young pitcher, and Joe Kennedy is OK. Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli give the outfield new life. At least the Devil Rays will be energetic, a quality the team has lacked since its inception. Jeff, do you really think Brad Penny (who pitched significantly worse than Casey Fossum last year) and journeyman Paul Byrd (aka John Burkett) are better pitchers than Tim Wakefield? The only one who should pinch himself is you, so you can wake yourself from this silly dream. The Red Sox didn't obtain starting pitching because they don't need it. And trading Fossum isn't a way to improve their staff.
Patrick, take offense. I am sick and tired of Red Sox fans clinging to the impossible hope of a championship. It ain't happening. Not this year. Not next year. Not in 3458. Never, never, never. Why? Because you'd rather have Fossum than Bartolo Colon! Great -- Fossum's yours. Enjoy those eight wins. Wakefield is better than Penny!? OK. May his knuckleballs hover their way to your heart. As I said last week, the Sox are improved. But until guys like Patrick snap out of this Butch Hobson nightmare and accept the fact that the Yankees are better and richer, misery is your fate. Last week you were asked a multiple-choice question about who would be considered the greatest former USC pitcher come the year 2050. You chose Randy Johnson over Mark Prior and Barry Zito. This just in: left out of the mix was another candidate -- Tom Seaver. Care to reconsider, or would you take the Big Unit over Tom Terrific?
Harry, good point. It's hard to argue against Seaver. However, my primary memories of Tom Terrific are from his days with the Reds, White Sox and Red Sox. So Johnson is still my pick. But I imagine he's not yours.
Who are some of your "sleepers" who will hit for power and put up unexpected numbers this year? What are you hearing about David Cone's comeback? Does he have the inside track on the Mets fifth starter's job? What does it say about the team's farm system that it has to rely on a old-timer who didn't even play last year to fill a spot in the rotation?
As it stands now, the inside track to the fifth starter's gig belongs to two youngsters, Mike Bacsik and Jason Middlebrook. Bacsik is an imposing lefty who was picked up in the Roberto Alomar deal, and his knuckle-curve is especially tough to hit. However, he was rocked in his first spring start. Middlebrook, a righty, is 27 and injury-plagued. Cone has started out slowly this spring, but the Mets are pleased with his recent progress. If he continues to pitch well, he'll at least earn a spot in the bullpen. Were Cone fighting to be New York's ace, his presence on the roster would be more of an indictment. But there are 29 other fifth starters in the league, and most of them are pretty bad. It sorta fits with the job description. Believe it or not, Cool As Ice was in theaters. It just didn't last. Drop the zero and get with the hero.
Jeff, you are a loser. In parting, here are some burning questions (followed by my answers) for you to ponder silently until next week: QUESTIONS A. If a player tests positive for steroids, should his career statistics be erased from the record books? B. Does each team that wins the World Series actually "make history"? C. Why won't anyone pay Kenny Rogers $3 million to win 12-15 games? D. Is it a conflict of interest for Rick Sutcliffe to work as a spring training instructor for the San Diego Padres and also be a baseball analyst for ESPN? E. Is Ryan Klesko the most underrated player in the NL? ANSWERS A. Yes. Why should a Hank Aaron or Ted Williams or Bob Gibson slip into memory's abyss because some Joe NoNeck juices up and shatters records. B. History is not history if happens every year. C. The Rangers will, come May. D. Yes. If Sutcliffe is instructing players, you'd expect he'd be shy about bashing them on TV. E. No. Bobby Abreu is. Klesko is second. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jeff Pearlman is a regular contributor to SI.com. Click here to send Jeff a question.
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