July 13, 2006

The Rumor Mill

Let’s call it the wild rumor of the week. I’m hesitant to give it any credence, but it’s certainly worth noting at the least—and worth discussing at the most. According to an internet report, the Cubs and Yankees have talked about a blockbuster centered on Alex Rodriguez. In exchange for A-Rod, who just can’t seem to do enough to please the New York faithful, the Yankees would receive a package that includes unhappy third baseman Aramis Ramirez and left-handed hitting outfielder Jacque Jones. Now that might be just a Windy City starting point, but the Cubs would probably have to surrender Carlos Zambrano in order for the Yankees to even consider trading Rodriguez. And on a team where the pitching futures of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are exceedingly murky, that’s just not going to happen…

On a more realistic front, the Yankees have begun to shop 2006 disappointment Shawn Chacon. If Chacon were merely struggling on the mound, the Yankees might be willing to exhibit more patience, but the right-hander’s continuing complaints about the way he’s been handled by Joe Torre have him on the road to a Ruben Sierra-like parting of the ways. The Yankees have…

June 30, 2006

The Old Trading Deadline

June 15 used to be a particularly important day in baseball. The date once marked the old trading deadline, a date that remained in effect for several decades until the current deadline for making trades (July 31) became standard operating procedure. As a young fan in the 1970s and eighties, I used to wait anxiously on this day, wondering whether one of my favorite teams—the Yankees, Pirates, or A’s—would do something to strengthen themselves for the second-half pennant run. I remember how disappointed I was one year when all the Yankees could do was trade power-hitting catcher Cliff Johnson to the Indians for a middling left-handed reliever named Don Hood. “Heathcliff” was one of my favorite Yankees, despite having injured Rich “Goose” Gossage with an ill-advised punch in the shower room of the New York clubhouse.

Thirty years ago, the most memorable trading deadline of my lifetime took place, consuming the back pages of newspapers for days. Ever controversial in the ways that he ran a ballclub, Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley sold off three star players as part of a blockbuster housecleaning. Finley sent Gold Glove left fielder Joe Rudi and ace reliever Rollie Fingers to…

June 14, 2006

The Rumor Mill

Now that the Yankees know with some certainty that Gary Sheffield will be sidelined until at least September, they’ll have to trade for a veteran corner outfielder with some power. They’ve been able to ride out Hideki Matsui’s injury because of Melky Cabrera’s patience at the plate and strong throwing arm in the field, but they can’t push their luck with another minor league replacement. Kevin Thompson is an excellent defensive outfielder, but he projects as a platoon or part-time player and simply doesn’t have the power ideally needed from a corner outfielder. The Yankees don’t have a veteran answer either, since Bernie Williams can’t be relied upon as an everyday player between now and September. Or at least he shouldn’t be…

There have been all sorts of rumors about players the Yankees will pursue, but let’s begin with the false candidates that have been championed in some corners of the mass media… Ken Griffey, Jr. makes little sense; he’s aging and injury prone, two qualities the Yankees already have in overstock. Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu will cost two much in terms of prospects, specifically Philip Hughes, who has been placed in an untouchable container by the…

May 18, 2006

The Rumor Mill

Outfielders and pitchers have moved to the head of the line on contending teams’ want lists, especially for two National League divisional favorites and one American League East co-favorite…

Shannon Stewart and Reggie Sanders are just two of the left fielders the Yankees will explore in the trade market now that Hideki Matsui is slated to miss at least three months of action with a fractured wrist. Other trade candidates for the Yankees include Oakland’s Jay Payton, Aubrey Huff of the Devil Rays, Alfonso Soriano of the Nationals, and Philadelphia’s David Dellucci. But the Yankees will first give an extended look to Melky Cabrera, whose minor league resume indicates that he could be a productive line-drive hitter in the major leagues. His defensive ability, well, that remains another story…

Of the six mentioned trade candidates for the Yankees, Soriano’s name carries the most luster—but would also require the most in terms of trade compensation. At the other end of the scale, Payton and Dellucci can probably be had at the cheapest cost. Dellucci makes the most sense since he hits left-handed (a commodity that is currently in short supply for New York, given Matsui’s prolonged absence) and can…

May 2, 2006

The Rumor Mill
Putting up a brave public front, the Cubs have claimed that they can patch their newfound first base hole by using an amalgam of converted second baseman Todd Walker, backup John Mabry, and minor league recall Michael Restovich, but they have to know that they will need to make a move for a corner infielder with power. Even with Derrek Lee in the lineup, the Cubs had a questionable offense; without him, it becomes downright putrid. Unfortunately, Jim Hendry’s record in replacing injured players through trades is not very encouraging, but maybe he’ll surprise Cubs fans this time around. He needs to—what with the in-house choices not being very pretty. Triple-A first baseman Brandon Sing is not an option at this point; he’s off to a slow start in Iowa and would also require clearance on the 40-man roster. And as well as Todd Walker has hit in the early season, every game that he plays at first base will translate into too many at-bats for Neifi Perez at second base…
If nothing else, Hendry would like to add a right-handed hitter to the mix, which explains his interest in Jeff Conine. The Orioles’ first baseman-left fielder could…

April 6, 2006

Craig Wilson has become one of the favorite players of this column. Why? He’s always mentioned in trade rumors, but never…

March 22, 2006

The Most Important Transaction

Let me begin this week’s column by saying that I’m sorry about this being one of the slimmer editions of “Cooperstown Confidential.” But as I’m apt to say from time to time, I do have an excuse. On Friday, March 10, at 2:38 in the morning, Madeline Jan Markusen was born in Cooperstown’s Bassett Hospital. So you can see how my time has been taken up in recent days.

More importantly, here are Madeline’s key statistics:

*8 pounds, 14 ounces

*12 inches long

*Batting average: 1.000

Madeline’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage are not yet available. But give it time.

The Rumor Mill

Spring training is a hard time to make trades because a) most teams are looking to cut down their rosters rather than adding to them and b) everyone’s looking for pitching, but no one has any pitching—or at least quality pitching—to spare. In spite of these two golden rules of the spring, there are still conversations going on between general managers throughout Arizona and Florida. According to the hottest rumor of the spring, the Cubs are seriously weighing the possibility of trading Todd Walker to the Orioles for Luis Matos (who coincidentally has become…

March 8, 2006

The Backlash Against Buck—And Clarifying The Rules

In the days since we’ve learned that Buck O’Neil would not be included in this year’s Hall of Fame class, an emotional debate has raged over whether he merits membership in Cooperstown. It’s brought out some petty and fairly irrelevant arguments from some Sabermetrically inclined folks who can’t reconcile O’Neil’s candidacy with the lack of supporting statistical data from the Negro Leagues. As part of the backlash, others have tried to minimize O’Neil’s abilities as a player, calling him mediocre or only a little above average. There’s also been a significant hue and cry about creating a new Hall of Fame category for “contributors”—i.e, those who did not excel in any one category, but who contributed to baseball through a number of different avenues. Some have suggested that this category be created specifically to accommodate Buck O’Neil.

Well, there’s no reason to create such a category. It’s already included in the Hall’s current Rules of Election. While there aren’t formal publicized rules for the special Negro Leagues committee, there are very specific rules of election for the Veterans Committee. And since the Negro Leagues committee is a subset of the Veterans Committee—and the closest…

February 7, 2006

To Retire or Not To Retire

There is a developing controversy that involves two of baseball’s most royal families. Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, does not want to see Major League Baseball retire the uniform number of Roberto Clemente for all teams, as was done for her father. Members of the Clemente family, including his two oldest sons, see it differently. While they respect the views of Sharon Robinson, they feel that their father’s number should be retired universally as a tribute to the way he fought for the rights of Latino players during a humanitarian life that was cut short by tragedy. The controversy hasn’t become ugly yet, but has the potential to create resentment between African-American and Latino baseball fans.

Let’s hope that it doesn’t reach that stage. Other than the Clemente family itself, I’m probably as big a fan of Clemente as anybody; I’ve written a number of articles and a full-length book about Clemente, who was simply my favorite player growing up. Yet, I don’t think that Clemente’s number should be retired across the board. There is a fundamental difference in the cases between Clemente and Robinson. Clemente was not the first…