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Snubbed Users take issue with lack of recognition for Alou, WebbPosted: Wednesday July 09, 2003 2:28 PMUpdated: Wednesday July 09, 2003 7:41 PM
Click here to send a question to Tom Verducci's Mailbag. The quickest way to fill up a mailbag is to riff about Hall of Fame candidacies. The next fastest way? Make your award picks. I found that out yet again with my midseason selections. Fans of Felipe Alou, Brandon Webb and Bill Mueller chased me down with the electronic versions of pitchforks and torches. And I have to admit, they all made very good points. With only half a season played, you don't get much separation among your candidates. Miguel Tejada, Barry Zito, Jason Jennings and Tony LaRussa, all postseason-award winners in 2002, weren't included anywhere on my ballot last midseason. All of them had a great second half. Time, the heat of August, and the pressure of September will take care of separating this year's candidates. In the meantime, I'll take my lumps from the electronic townsfolk. How can you place Bobby Cox ahead of Felipe Alou for NL Manager of the Year? While both have had to adjust to revamped pitching staffs, overall talent definitely favors Atlanta. The complete overhaul of the Giants' lineup and the way San Francisco has overachieved also makes the job Alou has done that much more amazing. In Atlanta, it's more the players -- not Bobby Cox -- who are driving the team's success. For Manager of the Year, I would place Alou behind Bob Brenly, but ahead of Dusty Baker.
I won't argue the fact that Felipe has done a great job this year. But it's a crowded field. I picked Cox because the Braves have changed their entire personality, lost nearly all of their bullpen and have the best record in baseball. I also think Cox has been underappreciated. The D'backs lost Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, something critics said would ruin the team, and the Cubs lost almost 100 games last year. How could you not name Felipe Alou as one of the NL candidates for Manager of the Year? Also, how can you not include Billy Mueller as one of your All-Star nominees? The guy is playing out-of-his-mind baseball these days, while batting anywhere from second to eighth in the lineup. With the recent struggles of Johnny Damon, Mueller has carried the Red Sox. Everyone gives credit to Pedro, Manny, and Nomar. What about Mueller?
Good point about Mueller. The guy's also a very good fielder. I gave Hank Blalock the edge, though, because of his run production. I was more than disappointed to see Brandon Webb left off your NL Rookie of the Year list. Are you aware that his stats are better than Dontrelle Willis' in nearly every pitching category?
I've been really impressed with Webb and I agree with your support for him (though you can choose the stats you like to make your argument, as I do below). Arizona's right-hander probably deserves an even better won-loss record based on the way he's pitched. The NL features a very good group of young starters. Jae Seo is not far behind Willis and Webb, as well. I am a little perplexed by your midseason picks for NL Rookie of the Year. I understand that Dontrelle Willis is a popular choice because he is exciting to watch, but Brandon Webb is quietly having just as good a rookie season, if not better. I could accept Willis No. 1 and Webb No. 2, but you left Webb out of your top three entirely. How is this possible?
Horacio Ramirez leads NL rookie pitchers in wins and innings pitched, and leads all NL pitchers in winning percentage. Willis (not yet a qualifier) has two more wins and a lower ERA than Webb. Scott Podsednik is an everyday player with a .400-plus OBP and a batting average well over .300. If I had picked Webb, I'd have heard from those who like Ramirez and Podsednik. Nothing against Webb at all -- the guy could very well wind up winning the award -- it's just that the race is close. I don't see much separation among the candidates. One of the stories in Moneyball reveals how Billy Beane tried to become involved in the trade that sent Cliff Floyd from the Expos to the Red Sox last year. The book insinuates that Montreal GM Omar Minaya communicated to Beane that he was feeling the heat from Bud Selig to unload Floyd. I know that Major League Baseball dictates the payroll of the Expos, but I did not realize how interventionist Selig is with the team. Why hasn't Selig's direct meddling been a topic addressed in the mainstream press? Didn't Selig vow to stay out of the day-to-day affairs of the team?
I don't believe he's running the Expos on a day-to-day basis, but he is in control of the money. So a Cliff Floyd deal would encourage, even require, his intervention. A Scott Strickland deal would not. Now that Corey Patterson is out for the year, will the Cubs shift their focus to acquiring an outfielder, or do you think Tom Goodwin can get the job done? Will Cubs fans ever see Mike Lowell in red, white and blue?
I've never been a Goodwin fan, not as an everyday player, anyway. I think he's useful off the bench. I do think the Cubs are looking at outfielders. So far the Marlins are resisting offers for Lowell, even with some noise that the Yankees are inquiring about him. Check back in two weeks to see if anything's changed, though. This may sound crazy but it seems that the year Barry Bonds is having is going unnoticed. Maybe it's because he's not on pace for 70 homers, but what Bonds continues to do at his age is amazing. Every person who watches baseball should be in awe of what he does on the field. Do you agree? How impressive is the season Barry is having?
I fear that Bonds has been so good in the back end of his career that if he's not pushing 70 homers we take his greatness for granted. I've never seen a player dominate games the way he does, at least offensively, or seen one player make such a difference in determining the outcome of his team's season. Would you consider the Houston Astros a huge disappointment? With their talent, they should be blowing the NL Central away. Their pitching is better than St. Louis', and their hitting is better than Chicago's. Why are the Astros not playing better?
I'd say they've been a slight disappointment, though I did pick the Cardinals to win the division. Jeff Bagwell obviously isn't the same player because of his arthritic shoulder and Craig Biggio no longer plays at an All-Star level. And I've never been a fan of how Jimy Williams runs a game. He makes too many pitching changes for my taste. Adrian Beltre, Aramis Ramirez, J.D. Drew -- will any of these players ever fulfill their potential? I'm hearing Drew's name a lot in trade talks and I think the Cards would be taking a risk if they dealt him. I know he's been a disappointment, but I think Drew could be a .320 hitter for many years. What do you think? Do you know which teams are in the running for Drew?
Drew is a very good player, but I don't see him reaching the level of greatness people predicted for him. He's had so many injuries and his desire to be great has been questioned. He probably will be an All-Star someday, but I don't see him as a franchise player. I am perplexed about Beltre, who's had way too many big league at-bats to be this bad and this clueless about command of the strike zone. In a way, he reminds me of Raul Mondesi, without the flashes of greatness we've seen in Mondesi from time to time. I think Ramirez still has a high ceiling and will get back to being a major run producer. How do you think the players did with their All-Star votes? Do you think they really care about the game? It's just hard to believe that some guy making $8 million a year is really going to give a lot of thought to his All-Star picks.
It's discouraging to hear how many guys didn't even bother voting, especially on the Yankees. I think most players do care about the game -- they should, it helped fund the players' pension program -- but way too many don't care. That said, overall, I think they did a pretty good job with their picks. Why are people surprised that Dontrelle Willis and Roger Clemens weren't chosen as All-Stars? Why would baseball ever do anything right? This has to be the greatest example of what a mess the sport is. Does Bud Selig have any power to step in and do something about Willis' and Clemens' omissions?
I agree completely. Baseball wouldn't know a public relations coup if it smacked it in the face. And why can't fans vote for a pitcher? Why can they vote on every other position but not pitcher? And why, when they're voting for the 32nd All-Star, are the 10 choices fans get all non-pitchers? I don't get it. If you put Willis and Clemens in that final vote, I think they'd have a good shot at being selected. 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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