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Hart's desire Indians GM focused on Cleveland, not vacancy in L.A.
Updated: Thursday May 10, 2001 3:13 AM
While the Dodgers are not rushing to find a replacement for general manager Kevin Malone, acting GM Dave Wallace said the team would prefer to have someone in place by the All-Star break, a timetable that seems to rule out the hiring of Indians GM John Hart. Two baseball sources said Hart fully intends to serve out the entire season in Cleveland, his last as GM there. Hart announced in early April that he will move into a front-office advisory role with the club after this year, though he has left open the door to taking another GM job after the season. "They've got a chance to win it all this season, and John's not going to walk out on that, not after everything he's done there," one NL executive said. Said an AL source close to Hart, "This [year] was set up for John to begin to sit back and enjoy it. He knows there will be other jobs." Hart said last week, "I don't know why I wouldn't be here through the end of this year and for the next five years of my extension. I don't pay attention to all that speculation. That's all it is, speculation. You seldom see a GM let go in the middle of the season. If Kevin Malone hadn't been let go by the Dodgers, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. I'm not paying any attention to those rumors. I'm focused on what's going on here. End of story." Meanwhile, Wallace said the team has received many calls of interest and recommendations on candidates to fill the job, though he added, "We have no short list, really no list at all. What we're trying to do now is let things settle down and put the focus back on the field and how the team is playing. So far we've been fairly successful doing that. Let's just let this play out." Asked about the timing of the search, Wallace said, "There is no deadline. I think we'd like to have something done by the All-Star break -- that would probably be ideal -- but it's not as if we're operating as if we must do it by then. We would prefer to have someone in place so they go into the offseason with first hand knowledge of the ballclub." To find a GM by midseason likely rules out getting a one from another club, especially one who is with a contender, such as the Athletics' Billy Beane or the Yankees' Brian Cashman . That would seem to indicate the Dodgers will look closely at assistant GMs and other executives on the way up. Mets assistant GM Jim Duquette, a friend of Wallace's, has been mentioned among baseball people as likely to get on the Dodgers' interview list. Another bright assistant likely to get a look is San Francisco's Ned Colletti. No organization in baseball has consistently signed more good players to below-market contracts than the Giants, and Colletti, the right-hand man to Brian Sabean, deserves much of the credit. Sabean has given Colletti wide responsibilities in trade discussions, player evaluation, arbitration and media relations. Other assistant GMs whose names have surfaced as possibilities include the Brewers' David Wilder, the Mets' Omar Minaya, the Marlins' Dave Littlefield, former White Sox assistant GM Dan Evans, and the Blue Jays' Dave Stewart. What a difference a year makesPhiladelphia left-hander Omar Daal no-hit the Rockies for six innings on May 1 while throwing all his pitches between 77 mph and 87 mph. That's not typically the sort of stuff to make a player gush "He's our ace," but that's exactly what catcher Mike Lieberthal said after the outing. (Daal wound up allowing one run on four hits over eight innings). But after losing 19 games last year, Daal has won his first four decisions this season thanks to rediscovering the inside corner, even if he doesn't throw all that hard. Daal is a master at changing speeds, though the velocity of his pitches stays within a relatively narrow range. He also has a deceptive delivery that makes it difficult for hitters to pick up the ball. If Daal keeps this up, he'll post a remarkable turnaround. He could become the first starting pitcher since Rick Wise in 1979 to post a winning record after losing 19 or more games in the previous season. Most big losers aren't flukes. They remain losers. Daal's 4-19 season last year marked the 10th time a pitcher lost 19 or 20 games since Wise went 9-19 in 1978. In none of the previous nine occasions did the pitcher keep his turn in the rotation and post a winning record. Seattle's Matt Young is the only one in the bunch to win more than he lost after his 19 losses, but he did so out of the bullpen. Here are all the pitchers who lost 19 or more games in a single season since 1978 and how they fared in the year after their disaster:
On the Wright trackRemember Jaret Wright? The pitcher who at age 21 nearly won Game 7 of the 1997 World Series? The pitcher the Indians refused to trade that winter to get a guy named Pedro Martinez? Beset since his breakout rookie season by arm and maturity problems and a fundamentally flawed delivery, Wright appears to be on his way back, and perhaps to being better than ever. Last Monday night he threw seven strong innings in a minor-league rehabilitation start in Buffalo. Wright topped out at 96 mph among his 108 pitches, and averaged 93 mph on his fastball. That's down from the consistent 99-mph heater he featured in 1997. But Cleveland believes he's a better pitcher for it. No longer just a thrower, Wright, now 25, is employing an above-average changeup with confidence and an improved delivery that allows him to keep his mechanics consistent -- the key to control. "He's a more complete pitcher now and he's more mature to go with it," said assistant GM Mark Shapiro. Amazingly, the Indians have flourished this season with two rookies in their rotation, C.C. Sabathia, 20, and Tim Drew, 22. One of those pitchers will likely go back to Class AAA Buffalo next week if Wright stays on course to join the big club. No wonder Cleveland feels it has the most pitching depth it's had in years and is well fortified for now and the future. Stopped shortIt is hardly possible that any regular player could have had a worse start to his season than Felix Martinez. The Tampa Bay shortstop hasn't hit much. He had no home runs in his first 100 at-bats while scoring only eight runs. He hasn't walked much, getting only three bases on balls. He hasn't run the bases well, getting thrown out four times in his six tries at stealing a base. You would think such a poor offensive player would at least excel defensively. Not so. His defense has been awful. Martinez was charged with 10 errors in his first 30 games. If he continues like this, he's sure to become the first shortstop with 40 errors since Jose Offerman made 42 in 1992. Tampa Bay has had a devil of a time coming up with decent shortstop play. Call it the Curse of Kevin Stocker. The team selected outfielder Bobby Abreu in the 1997 expansion draft, but immediately and inexplicably shipped him to Philadelphia for Stocker. With team records for home runs and RBIs in a season at his position, Stocker may well be the greatest shortstop in Devil Rays' history, but that's like claiming to be the greatest golfer to come out of Iceland. His record numbers? Six homers and 27 RBIs. Those are decent monthly, not seasonal, totals. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers baseball for the
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