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Inside Baseball Posted: Wednesday August 06, 2003 9:47 AMAmid a flurry of deals, New York and Boston prepared for a pennant race By Albert Chen
For the season's first two months, the Boston bullpen was a glaring weakness. It's now a worthy complement to a murderous Red Sox lineup that Yankees manager Joe Torre calls "the best I've seen in my eight years." The acquisitions of relievers Scott Williamson (Reds) and Scott Sauerbeck (Pirates) allows Byung-Hyun Kim to remain the team's closer. In addition, the Red Sox improved their rotation by obtaining righthander Jeff Suppan from the Pirates for middle-infield prospect Freddy Sanchez. Though the Yankees acquired the only 2003 All-Star who changed uniforms last week -- Reds third baseman Aaron Boone, who hit 13 of his 18 homers (through Sunday) before June -- they did little to address their real needs: rightfield and middle relief. The Yankees did add reliever Gabe White, but the 31-year-old lefty has been on the DL for the last five weeks with a groin injury. In addition New York moved disgruntled outfielder Raul Mondesi to the Diamondbacks, leaving Ruben Sierra, David Dellucci and Karim Garcia to platoon in right. Though the gap between the Yankees and the Red Sox grew to 3 1/2 games at week's end, the difference in talent shrank. How did other teams fare? Here are the biggest winners and losers. WINNERS A's. Though Cincinnati outfielder Jose Guillen wasn't the player Oakland truly coveted -- it repeatedly tried to land Cardinals rightfielder J.D. Drew -- Guillen joined the A's last Friday as the team leader in average (.337) and home runs (23). Guillen adds muscle to the middle of a lineup that's finally heating up, with shortstop Miguel Tejada (.333 in his last 18 games) and third baseman Eric Chavez (.338 in 18), who are finally awakening from their seasonlong slumber. Giants. G.M. Brian Sabean landed the best pitcher available, Orioles ace Sidney Ponson (14-6, 3.77 ERA). LOSERS Dodgers. No contending team was more desperate for an impact hitter than Los Angeles. The Dodgers' big catch of the week? Yankees third baseman Robin Ventura, a .249 hitter who hasn't batted above .250 in a season since '99. L.A.'s offense, last in the NL, may be improved with Ventura and the mid-July additions of Jeromy Burnitz and Rickey Henderson, but not by much Astros and Cardinals. While the Cubs added firepower to their lineup with the recent additions of centerfielder Kenny Lofton and third baseman Aramis Ramirez in a trade with the Pirates earlier in the month, Houston and St. Louis failed to address their most pressing need: starting pitching. Even serviceable innings eaters would have been notable additions. Astros starters had lasted an NL-worst 5.4 innings per game through Sunday, and the Cardinals starters' 4.52 ERA was 11th in the league. Mariners. For the fourth straight season Seattle held a lead in the AL West at the All-Star break. And for the fourth straight season the Mariners, who badly need a third baseman and another lefthander in the bullpen, failed to acquire an impact player by the deadline. "The guys in this clubhouse are very disappointed," said reliever Jeff Nelson. Issue date: August 11, 2003
For more Inside Baseball see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, August 6. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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