 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|||||||||||
|
Everybody loves an underdog Despite plenty of support, Expos still longshot for wild cardPosted: Wednesday August 06, 2003 12:56 PMUpdated: Wednesday August 13, 2003 9:39 AM
Click here to send a question to Tom Verducci's Mailbag. It seems as if a lot of people want to see the Expos in the playoffs -- and many of them don't live in Montreal and aren't fans of the team. The hook, of course, is those folks want the Expos to embarrass Major League Baseball and Bud Selig by overcoming their lame-duck status. It's already embarrassing enough that baseball still hasn't resolved the Expos' future. Is it possible, though, that Montreal will be spraying champagne (or perhaps some cheap sparkling wine) in October? Don't count on it. Can the Expos win the wild card? I think they could be tough in a first-round series because of Javier Vazquez and postseason specialist Livan Hernandez. What would it say about the state of the game if a team run by Major League Baseball makes the playoffs? Do you think the league should let the Expos acquire a player to get them over the hump?
I think the Expos have a real uphill climb to the wild card. I don't think the owners have any obligation to spend more money on Montreal when most other teams are tapped out on their own payrolls. The Expos have to win with what they have. I think they're a little short on pitching, but I would have liked to have seen what would have happened if their staff had stayed healthy. There is talk that Major League Baseball wants Vladimir Guerrero to sign a one-year deal with the Expos so the team remains intact and is more attractive for potential buyers. He does appear to enjoy the quietness of Montreal. Does this scenario seem plausible to you?
I guess it's possible, but I think Guerrero would be risking millions by waiting another year to go on the market. There are many other quiet cities out there that would love to have him now. He doesn't owe anything to baseball or to the prospective owners of the franchise. The season is more than four months old and we still don't know where the Expos will play in 2004. Any thoughts?
The players' association seems very adamant that the Expos play 81 home games in the same city. In that case, San Juan seems to be a better draw than Montreal.
Is there any chance Seattle will move Freddy Garcia to another team in the offseason? He pitched well against the National League when the M's played interleague games. It seems that the Mariners and Garcia would be better off if he was dealt. I think there's a good chance Garcia will be traded in the offseason. With Jamie Moyer, Gil Meche and Joel Pineiro anchoring the rotation, should Seattle pay a No. 4 starter $8 million? I doubt it wants to. Remember, the M's and Garcia were at odds this year over the right-hander's arbitration case, and Garcia's inconsistency this season figures to give them more pause about how much they want to invest in him. I think the Mariners will actively shop him over the winter, barring a big turnaround in the last two months of the season.
Why did the Yankees dump Raul Mondesi? I say "dump" because they got nothing in return. Is Mondesi really that hard to get along with? Does Joe Torre think so highly of himself that he cannot take someone disagreeing with him? Mondesi busted his butt this season. The Yankees now have a hole in right field and a lineup that is not as formidable as it was before Mondesi was traded. Any input? You're right, Mondesi does play hard. But he's too selfish when it comes to where he bats in the lineup and whether he gets his hits, rather than focusing on what's good for the team. I think Mondesi has always been an underachiever and always will be. He still has little clue about plate discipline, still tries to pull way too many pitches and just doesn't have enough of a grinder's mentality to put two good halves together. I wouldn't want him on my team. By the way, the Yankees claim right-hander Bret Prinz, who was part of the package New York got from Arizona in exchange for Mondesi, is throwing in the mid-90s in Columbus. Is Michael Young of the Rangers the best all-around second baseman in the AL? His average is about 40 points higher than Alfonso Soriano's and Young has played Gold Glove defense throughout the year. He also has more hits than Bret Boone.
I still give the edge to Boone, but I think Young is very underrated. He's a Gold Glove-caliber second baseman and he's worked hard to become a real good hitter. Soriano is a dynamic player, but he's an outfielder waiting to happen and he's been awful at the plate for the last two months. Everyone seems to believe that the Red Sox are going to dethrone the Yankees this season. I don't see that happening because of the type of year both teams are having. Everything has gone right for the Red Sox. Everyone has been producing and they haven't had any significant injuries. The Yankees have had almost everything go wrong and they've still managed stay in first place. Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Steve Karsay and Mariano Rivera have all spent time on the DL. Now that the Yankees have almost everyone back, shouldn't they be able to extend their lead in the AL East?
I think the Red Sox and Yankees are extremely close and I don't see one team being more than four games better than the other at the end of the season. So, no, I don't expect the Yankees to just pull away. What has happened to the Toronto Blue Jays? A month ago we were talking about them challenging for the wild card, or maybe even the AL East title. Their hitting hasn't faltered, so do you think their bullpen finally caught up with them?
Yes, the bullpen and back of the rotation collapsed. You can't count on scoring seven runs every night. The Blue Jays didn't kid themselves when they were hot. They were realistic and remembered that their timetable has them contending next year. They knew three months into the season was too soon and didn't get caught up in thinking they were better than they really were. When determining the Cy Young, how much does a starting pitcher's won-loss record enter into the mix as opposed to his team's won-loss record? This is a roundabout way of asking if Tim Hudson stands a chance since he has 11 no-decisions?
History tells us that the number of wins and ERA are the most important stats to Cy Young voters, so I think Hudson has a long way to go to make up ground on other pitchers with more wins, including teammate Mark Mulder. I remember voting once for Nolan Ryan, though, when he had something like 10 wins and a losing record because I didn't think his numbers told the story of how dominant he really was. I can acknowledge the fact that Craig Biggio is a very good player whose ability to switch positions is admirable, but do you consider him a Hall of Famer? A friend of mine believes Biggio will get in on the first ballot.
If Ryne Sandberg isn't a first-ballot Hall of Famer, I don't think Biggio will be. I think he's a good candidate who eventually may get in, but his career doesn't have the postseason success or major awards that really grab voters' attention right off the bat. Biggio's greatness might take time to be appreciated. So, no, I don't think he gets in on the first crack. 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.
|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||
