|
|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Cheap veterans fuel pennant drive
Updated: Sunday August 19, 2001 10:14 AM
Check out the chase for the National League pennant and you'll find four refugees from two of the American League's worst teams playing significant roles in new situations. Fred McGriff, after some early reluctance, is playing first base for the Cubs. Vinny Castilla, his former Devil Rays teammate, has been a revelation in Houston since becoming the Astros' third baseman in mid-May. Andres Galarraga, after a brief and difficult tenure in Texas, breathed life into the Giants the minute he arrived in San Francisco. Galarraga's former Rangers teammate, Ken Caminiti, has brought much-needed intensity to Atlanta as the Braves' first baseman. All four are corner men. All four are veterans, ranging in age from 34 (Castilla) to 40 (Galarraga). Best of all, each of the four veterans came cheap. Total player cost for McGriff and Galarraga was Manny Aybar and four borderline prospects. Caminiti and Castilla, having been released, are drawing the pro-rated minimum from their new clubs. The bulk of their salaries are still being paid by the Rangers and Devil Rays, respectively. What does it say about this sport that four such pieces could be acquired for so little and have such an impact? "I certainly think there's something to be said for the change-of-scenery cliche," Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker said. "I've always believed that the mind controls the body, and this business is not just about assembling talent, it's creating an environment that motivates those players to play up to their ability levels. If a player's not focused and his head's not where it needs to be, then the ability isn't going to come through."
Vinny's resurgenceCastilla's resurgence has been particularly stunning. After the much-hyped Hit Show closed down in Tampa Bay, Castilla was forced out to make room for rookie Aubrey Huff.Castilla clashed with new Devil Rays manager Hal McRae and was cut loose after producing just 51 RBI in 109 games since Opening Day 2000. The whispers were out that Castilla was done, that he was another Coors Field creation who couldn't hit once he left the mile-high security blanket. "I kept hearing people say he'd lost bat speed, he just wasn't the same player," Hunsicker said. "Of course, he'd been in the National League, and I had watched him destroy the opposition for four years. I kept saying to myself, 'The odds are you just don't lose it that quick.' " Castilla did three stints on the disabled list last year with lower back trouble. Now healthy again, he was brought in to replace the struggling Chris Truby. The Cubs -- with former Colorado manager Don Baylor -- were after Castilla as well, but they couldn't guarantee him regular playing time. Chicago told him he would play some first, some third and start three or four times a week until injured starter Bill Mueller came back. Castilla chose the Astros, and that simple act could wind up swinging the NL Central in their favor. "I didn't bring Vinny over here to sit," Hunsicker said. "I brought him over here to see if he could get going and get back to where he was a couple years ago. It wouldn't have made any sense to bring him over here just to be a part-time player." Castilla has taken off with the Astros. Through Thursday he was batting .269 with 17 homers and 58 RBI in 82 games for Houston. Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell raves about Castilla's clubhouse presence, run production and, most surprisingly, his defense. "His defense is unbelievable," Bagwell said. "He's about as good at third base as I've ever seen. I knew he was a good third baseman. Now I see it every day. He's amazing. He really is. He's added such a dimension to our club."
History not on Kerrigan's sideIt will be interesting to see how the Red Sox finish the season under new manager Joe Kerrigan, named Thursday to replace the fired Jimy Williams.Few pitching coaches have ever been more organized or attentive to detail than Kerrigan. Pedro Martinez has flourished under his guidance, and Kerrigan's long list of reclamation projects includes David Cone, Bret Saberhagen, Hideo Nomo and Jeff Fassero. Along with contemporaries such as Dave Duncan (St. Louis) and Mark Wiley (Baltimore), Kerrigan has been at the forefront of the game's increasing reliance on video over the past decade. In a way, though, his devotion to pitching will be his biggest hurdle. Kerrigan has been so immersed in the day-to-day needs of his pitching staff, he admittedly has spent little time on the other two aspects of the game, hitting and defense. There have been some great pitching coaches through the years who have failed as managers, Larry Rothschild (in Tampa Bay) and Marcel Lachemann (Anaheim) being two recent examples. Rothschild, who was fired early this season, still hopes to get another chance to manage but recently signed on with the Marlins as a special pitching consultant. "I think Larry knows he's really a pitching coach and a great one," one club official said. "It's kind of like Marcel Lachemann. Given the opportunity to manage, you've got to take it, but it might not work out." Maybe Kerrigan will follow the Roger Craig/Larry Dierker model, two of the few pitching experts to make a successful transition to managing. Kerrigan, it should be noted, has never managed at any level. At Thursday's press conference announcing his hiring, he admitted the first time he noticed the lineup card each day came just before the first pitch, when he saw it on the dugout wall. Now he not only must fill in the names himself, but he must also defend his choices three hours before the first pitch. Mike Berardino covers the baseball beat for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
| |||||||||||||||||
