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Something's fishy Pitching woes could be Torborg's downfall with the MarlinsPosted: Wednesday April 16, 2003 5:21 PMUpdated: Tuesday May 06, 2003 12:56 PM
Click here to send a question to Tom Verducci's Mailbag. How much longer can the Marlins ride the reputation of their starting pitchers having "good stuff"? If you're Jeff Torborg, the Florida manager, the answer is: not long at all. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria rightly expects his team's pitching staff to be better. Last year, it finished 13th in the National League in ERA and walked more batters than any NL team but Milwaukee. So far this season the staff has been only marginally better. Torborg and his pitching coach, Brad Arnsberg, are under pressure to get W's out of these pitchers, not just fancy numbers on the radar gun. Do you think Jeff Torborg is the right man to lead the Marlins? It seems that by now Florida should have made bigger strides than it has. Torborg was a good guy to guide the youngsters, but do you think another manager needs to take them to the next level?
I'm not sure Torborg was ever the right guy for Florida. For instance, he ran up large pitch counts with A.J. Burnett last year, then said in spring training that doing so made no sense and he wouldn't do it again. If it was illogical, why did he do it last year? His pitchers walked way too many guys in 2002 and are doing so again this year. It's going to be tough for both Torborg and/or Arnsberg to survive this season if the Marlins don't hit president David Samson's prediction of 91 wins. Great column about the NL East. My question for you is this: Which team in that division has the best starting pitching? Montreal, Florida and Philly all have great young starters. Which club's rotation would you want this season? Which club's would you want five years down the road?
I'd play this season with the Expos' starting rotation (assuming Orlando Hernandez is healthy) and take Philadelphia's for the future (with a big emphasis on Brett Myers becoming a solid 15-game winner). It is too early to be concerned about Mark Bellhorn's play? Could he be one of those guys who's better off as a role player than as an everyday player?
Yes, it is too early, because it's typically a tough time of year to judge hitters -- especially in Wrigley Field. (The wind blowing out on Tuesday was an April anomaly.) Let's put it this way: I don't regard Shea Hillenbrand, a third baseman rumored to be on the block, as a big enough upgrade to turn Bellhorn into a role player. Tom, I'm a little concerned about my Twins. We have several injuries and our starting pitching has not performed well at all. Should Minnesota be concerned? How badly do the Twins miss Eric Milton?
Actually, I think the hitting just hasn't been good enough yet. Specifically, Torii Hunter looks as if he's only now getting started. I'm still puzzled as to why Christian Guzman isn't a better offensive player. But the starting pitching is fine without Milton. Kyle Lohse has been terrific so far, one of the real underrated starters in the league. What are your early impressions of the following players: Hideki Matsui, Mark Teixeira and Miguel Asencio?
Matsui is better defensively than I expected and looks to be just what I thought he would be as a hitter: .300, 25 HR, 90 RBIs. Teixeira suffers from a lack of regular playing time. The pop in his bat is obvious, but he needs to play, either in Class AAA or the majors. I think he'll be the Rangers' first baseman next year, so there's no need to trade Hank Blalock -- however, getting Teixeira enough ABs this year will be dicey. Asencio looks to be a solid No. 3 starter for years to come. Do you think the Royals will still go through with their plans to trade Joe Randa and possibly Carlos Beltran? What does it say when a team can get off to a 10-1 start and we fans still have to worry about them dealing players instead of adding players?
As you know, they've been hot without Beltran. I'd still trade him only because there is no way they'll re-sign him. I'd go for a package built around a premium young position player. Randa obviously doesn't have as much trade value, so, unless somebody overwhelmed me, I'd be tempted to keep him most of the year.
Tom, baseball seems to have a serious issue that I don't hear being discussed enough. Over the last decade, a new ballpark meant sellouts for at least a couple of years. However, already the Reds' attendance has been mediocre at best. Shouldn't this cause great alarm for the sport? It seems that teams considered "small-market" have no chance of turning things around like Cleveland did when Jacobs Field opened, for example. Your thoughts? Great observation. I agree that the ballpark itself is not going to be the magic bullet. Let's face it, this is a tough economic and geo-political time to open a fancy new ballpark, especially when you're asking people to watch a mediocre team play in it. The Indians were a great young team when Jacobs Field opened. New ballparks are necessary for the survival of small- and middle-market teams, but those clubs still need to be competitive. I think, for instance, the Phillies' new park will be a Camden Yards-like success when it opens next year, assuming the team is a contender this year. And I think you'll see the Padres spend big money to put an attractive team in their new stadium. We hear a lot about Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, and rightfully so, but what do you think of Carlos Zambrano and Juan Cruz? Don't you think Cruz should be in the rotation instead of Shawn Estes? How scary could this Cubs staff be?
It could be the greatest strikeout-producing rotation of all time. The problem with Estes is that every five starts or so he's lights out -- as he was against the Reds this week -- and everybody thinks he's going to go off and win 19 games again. But then he falls back into that maddening inconsistency. I like Cruz in the 'pen for now. In the old days, guys broke into rotations with a gradual increase in their workload. The Cubs should boost Cruz's innings again this year -- using him as a spot starter when needed -- and he'll be on course for the rotation next year. That's what the Orioles did back when they had Curt Schilling, and it's what the Mariners did recently with Joel Pineiro. I like that plan What is Steve Phillips' fascination with Roger Cedeno? Anyone who has watched the Mets knows Cedeno cannot play the outfield. Do you see Art Howe setting up a center field platoon with Timo Perez and Tsuyoshi Shinjo? Wouldn't the Mets be better off going that way?
I agree completely. I have no idea why the Mets would think Cedeno could suddenly play the position when he has already failed at it with four organizations. The platoon you mentioned would give the Mets better defense, and probably better offense. It seems like a no-brainer. Keep Cedeno around to fill in when Cliff Floyd gets hurt. At some point, though, the Mets may have to pull a Damion Easley or Derek Bell and say, "You know what? Your salary doesn't justify your playing time" and move on. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers baseball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Click here to send a question to his Mailbag.
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