 |
| |
|
 |
 |
Difference makers Complementary players will impact the stretch runPosted: Tuesday August 20, 2002 1:11 PM
The Los Angeles Dodgers are such an inferior offensive team that they began this week ranked near the bottom of the majors in on-base percentage and yet led the league in grounding into double plays. This team has relied on consistently good pitching, the remarkably successful transition of Eric Gagne from starter to closer and bursts of offense from Shawn Green to become a legitimate playoff contender. Whether the Dodgers are playing in October, however, might depend mostly on Adrian Beltre. The 23-year-old third baseman is the one player in the Dodgers lineup with enough thunder in his bat to protect Green, whether Beltre hits in front of Green or behind him. Problem is, Beltre, for much of his young career, has not provided the consistent run production Los Angeles had hoped for. That might have changed on July 23, the day the Dodgers acquired third baseman Tyler Houston from Milwaukee via trade. Houston was brought onboard primarily to improve the team's depth, but Beltre feared something else. "You should have seen his reaction," one Dodgers official said. "He thought he had lost his job. He's been a different player ever since. There's nothing like competition. The problem he's had is that he's young, we gave him a lot of money early and handed him the job without ever having him compete for it. He got lazy. It's not his fault. It's ours." Beltre is scheduled to earn $2.3 million this season, the last of a three-year, $5.05 million deal that takes him into arbitration. Since Houston arrived, Beltre had hit .360 with 21 RBIs in 23 games entering this week. (Pre-Houston, he was a career .266 hitter in 2,075 at-bats -- much more than a trial run.) This is exactly the kind of player the Dodgers have been waiting for Beltre to become. Now he needs to continue his pace for the next month to propel L.A. into the playoffs. Every team in contention has a Beltre -- a player who can make the difference down the stretch between contending and getting into the postseason. We'll skip the most obvious here. (Think Barry Bonds might have something to do with the Giants' chances?) Instead, let's focus on more complementary players who need to give their club a lift. Let's concede playoff spots to the Yankees, Twins, Braves and Diamondbacks, which fills half the tournament field. That leaves eight teams fighting for four spots. In addition to Beltre's Dodgers, here are the other seven teams and their MIP -- Most Important Player. BOSTON: Somebody needs to stabilize the rotation after Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe. John Burkett is the guy. He's 37 years old, and he fizzled down the stretch last year (1-3, 5.28 in September/October). Once again, his game is deteriorating late in the season. He is 0-4 with a 10.31 ERA in August. But Burkett is a competitor who likes the ball in big games. And once Boston gets by the Yankees Sept. 4, its schedule is filled with cupcakes (no more winning teams) that should be to Burkett's liking. SEATTLE: Manager Lou Piniella's handling of Joel Pineiro has been masterful. He eased the right-hander into the rotation after a stint in the bullpen to open the year, trying to keep him fresh for the stretch. Now the fearless Pineiro (13-4, 3.28) is exactly the kind of power pitcher Piniella wants in the rotation after seeing too much of John Halama, James Baldwin and, soon, Ismael Valdes. ANAHEIM: Kevin Appier and Aaron Sele don't exactly boast big-game resumes. They are a combined 0-7 in eight postseason starts. But the man who makes this team go is shortstop David Eckstein. Problem is, Eckstein's a 170-pound, hard-driving throwback who wilted at the end of last season -- he entered September hitting .298, but proceeded to bat .219 with five RBIs the rest of the way. Cut two years ago by Boston, Eckstein helps give the scrappy Angels their personality. Said Toronto manager Carlos Tosca of Eckstein, "He's the kind of guy who makes our game better. He plays the game like Pete Rose played the game -- the way the game's supposed to be played. Unfortunately, guys like that often go unappreciated. We'll get caught up in Barry Bonds and the 600 homers and, don't get me wrong, that's beautiful. But I think, for our game, the guys running everything out, going hard on everything, need to be appreciated just as much. He should be an inspiration for anyone lacking in -- I don't have the word here -- Bonds-type talent.'' OAKLAND: Eric Chavez is only 24 and yet he is a young veteran who carries a large burden of his team's offense. An aggressive hitter, Chavez hasn't fared well against lefties well this year (.187 entering this week) nor done much with runners in scoring position (.258). He needs to get big hits for Oakland to make the playoffs, but a poor August (.213) does not bode well. ST. LOUIS: The pitching staff needs innings and leadership -- but, more than anything, it needs wins -- from Woody Williams, who has missed two months with a strained muscle in his side. The veteran right-hander entered this year 50-55 in his career before September ... and 15-8 after. HOUSTON: Here is the scouting report on the Astros from one National League All-Star: "They're so tough because of their young pitching, but it comes down to [Jeff] Bagwell and [Craig] Biggio and whether they can hit in the clutch. I love those guys, but they try so hard to get it done because they know they haven't done it in the past. I think it starts to work against them. But the guy who it comes down to is [Lance] Berkman. When he's not hitting, they're an entirely different team." Berkman hit 29 home runs before the All-Star break but has hit only three since (in 132 at-bats). He may not exactly be thought of as a complementary player anymore, but Berkman is the choice here because he is too good of a hitter not to have another long hot streak this year. CINCINNATI: Give GM Jim Bowden credit for acquiring starting pitchers Ryan Dempster, Brian Moehler and Shawn Estes when he had very little payroll flexibility to work with. Now it's up to those pitchers to make Bowden look good. It begins with Dempster, a guy with No. 1 starter's stuff who is maddeningly inconsistent with his command. He has made six awful starts for Cincinnati and one good one. The Reds are 3-4 in those games. He needs to do much better. SAN FRANCISCO: Russ Ortiz, who won 49 games the previous three years, seems to finally have found his groove, though it hasn't been reflected in his won-lost record. In four August starts, Ortiz has a 2.17 ERA, but just one win. He doesn't allow many home runs but does tend to hurt himself with walks. His career record in September/October (11-4) suggests he's up to the task of leading the staff down the stretch. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Baseball Mailbag. |
