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JIM LEYLAND Talent is there |
Baseball Notes
He hasn't quite reached the over-the-top passion of Jim Mora's infamous "playoffs?" rant, but Jim Leyland has heard just about enough of the "favorites" adulation regarding his team. As he puffed on a Marlboro and sat back in his chair at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla., last week, Leyland noted, "On Opening Day at Fenway Park, we'll be watching the Red Sox getting their rings. We're not the favorites. The Red Sox are the favorites. The Indians are the favorites. The Angels are the favorites."
Nobody likes to be the favorites. Everyone would rather be the team lying in the weeds, sneaking up on people. The White Sox were that team in 2005. The Cardinals were that team in 2006, as were the Tigers. The Indians appeared to be that team last year.
The Tigers will have no such chance to sneak up on anyone this time. They have a Murderers Row lineup and the potential for a staggering starting rotation, but Leyland, considered by many the best manager in the game, knows there are obstacles in the AL Central. The Indians have players reaching their prime years, plus C.C. Sabathia, the American League Cy Young Award winner, who is in his free agent year and playing for a contract. There are also the Twins, always better than everyone thinks they'll be. And the unpredictable White Sox.
Leyland knows all too well that it's also about his team's ability to beat Boston, New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, and perhaps Seattle.
"I think we have very good players," said Leyland. "If our good players play the way they're supposed to, we'll have a very good team."
His lineup is anchored by Magglio Ordonez, last year's AL MVP runner-up to Alex Rodriguez, who on this day against the Reds took a beautiful swing and landed an outside fastball over the right-center-field fence. Leyland has Miguel Cabrera, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen, Pudge Rodriguez, Edgar Renteria, Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco ("He can hit in December"), Jacque Jones, and Marcus Thames.
One of the biggest stories of camp is Brandon Inge, who was supplanted by Cabrera at third and is now being groomed as a super-sub, apt to play every position if he's not traded.
"With all the players on this team, I'm the story?" Inge said.
Inge can even catch, and last week Leyland played him in center field on the recommendation of Al Kaline. The Red Sox looked into acquiring Inge at the winter meetings but were scared off by the three years and $19.2 million on his contract.
"I heard the Red Sox possibility," said Inge, whose wife worked at the State House on Beacon Hill for two years. "I've also heard about my contract."
If there are questions with the Tigers, they start with a rotation in which 41-year-old Kenny Rogers has to bounce back from his arm miseries of last season; lefty Nate Robertson has to regain his 2006 form; Jeremy Bonderman has to shake off a subpar year; and Dontrelle Willis has to prove he can pitch effectively again and adjust to the AL.
"I'm just trying to cut down the walks," said Willis. "I'm willing to give up a few hits because I know my defense will do the job and come up with some ground balls. Other than that, I just want to make the hitter earn everything he gets.
"It's a different style of baseball, but if I pitch the way I can, I'll do the job. I've had a chance to pitch interleague a bunch of times, so I kind of have an idea."
The Tigers may have an Achilles' heel with their bullpen, as they're trying to get another year out of closer Todd Jones and are depending on Fernando Rodney to take up the slack left by the injured Joel Zumaya. They could use a lefty in the bullpen and will likely shop for another reliever before the season starts.
Though the Tigers seemed to empty their farm system in the Renteria deal with the Braves and the Cabrera-Willis deal with the Marlins, Leyland believes there are still prospects.
"I've seen five or six guys, young players that I would define as prospects," said Leyland. "Now, we're thin in that area in pitching, but positional players, we have them."
This is a team that could score well more than 900 runs. It's a team that could have one of the best pitching staffs in the league, if not all of baseball. That's what the thinking is in March, but Leyland is trying to make sure his players know that March is a lot different from October.
Dealer Options
Spring training trade winds:
The Yankees are looking far and wide for a lefthanded reliever. According to scouts, they have their eyes on Pittsburgh's Damaso Marte and Colorado's Brian Fuentes.
The Mets need a power hitter, with Moises Alou's hernia surgery likely to keep him out midway through May. They may match up with Detroit, which also needs lefty pitching (Scott Schoeneweis) and has Marcus Thames available. Tigers manager Jim Leyland likes Thames, however. The Mets could even be tempted by Coco Crisp but would be concerned about his arm in left field. So far, general manager Omar Minaya is saying no to Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and Pirates outfielder Xavier Nady.
With three second basemen (including the comebacking Bret Boone), Nationals GM Jim Bowden is making sure everyone knows one will be available.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams has Joe Crede to use as a chip and hopes to deal him to the Giants, but with Noah Lowry having left forearm surgery, that might be tougher. Giants GM Brian Sabean told me that, in a perfect world, he'd obtain a third baseman who can hit in the middle of the order. That would appear to be Crede, but, said Sabean, "This offseason we got a good gauge of what value our young pitching had. With Lowry gone, we have to find a replacement, so it probably sets us back."
With Andy LaRoche out until June (after thumb surgery) and Nomar Garciaparra injuring his wrist (day-to-day), the Dodgers, who had peripheral interest in Brandon Inge and Crede, are looking into both more seriously, according to a major league source.
Other GMs have said that Oakland's Billy Beane is shopping first baseman Dan Johnson.
With Lowry down, the Giants could be the team that takes the plunge on free agent Kyle Lohse.
One of the most annoying rumors: Brian Roberts to the Cubs. Enough already.
Gardenhire's Twins won't be identical to last year's
A few questions for Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.
Is Carlos Gomez the real deal?
RG: "So far, he's come as advertised. He's got tremendous athletic ability and we'll see how it all falls once we get to the end of spring training. Great speed, great arm, great makeup. Hard worker. Brings a lot to the table. When he starts running, he's very exciting to watch. When there's a ball hit toward him and he starts, that's very exciting to watch, and when he throws in from the outfield, that's pretty impressive. He likes to show off his arm and he has a really good one."
If Gomez hits, might you eventually benefit even more than if you had Torii Hunter?
RG: "In Torii, you had a veteran player who was getting better and better. That's not easy to replace. We have young hitters, but very talented young hitters. What we think is that with what we've got here, we could have a little more depth if everything goes our way. We could have more versatility and more depth on our bench. And that's exciting.
How tough is it without Hunter and Johan Santana?
RG: "Those guys were here a long, long time. They were leaders. You knew Torii was going to take care of the hitters and Johan the pitchers. They led by example and they thought along with us. We're looking for a different leadership now."
Your organization doesn't seem to be awed about rebuilding but you seem to do it successfully every time. What's the secret?
RG: "Baseball doesn't allow any time to think about that. It happens and you deal with it. We're just fortunate that we have a great minor league system. We sign guys and we develop them and they're ready to play. We lost some free agents but we were able to sign a few others."
You always seem to be better than the experts think you're going to be. You sensing that again?
RG: "We hope so. You can say whatever you can say. We just tell everybody, you have to go out and do it on the baseball field. There are reasons why Detroit and Cleveland are considered the best teams, and I don't argue with that, but I think our challenge is to go out and try to figure out a way to beat them. We have to figure out what makes our own team click between now and April and go from there."
Etc.
Touching the bases
Apropos of nothing: 1. Former Red Sox No. 1 pick (1999) Rick Asadoorian, drafted as an outfielder but now a pitcher, won the Dodgers' "American Idol" competition last week; 2. Johnny Damon says his wife Michelle's souped-up 1969 Camaro is faster than his 2007 Ferrari; 3. Met 88-year-old Mickey Carroll, an original Munchkin in "The Wizard of Oz" (second fiddler) in Astros camp. He's a big Roger Clemens fan, and his real-life godfather was Al Capone; 4. Denny McLain's wife is Lou Boudreau's daughter; 5. Asked Yankee coach Tony Peña if Ian Kennedy reminded him of anyone. "Mike Boddicker," said Peña. "Good stuff, smart."
Don't ask, don't tell
In his second tour of duty in the American League (with the Tigers), Edgar Renteria makes one thing clear about his first tour: "I don't want to talk about Boston. That's in the past. I don't want to remember that. I went to Atlanta and did a good job and had two good years there. I can come back to the American League with confidence. Baseball is baseball. I can play the game very well. I always have. I had one bad year and that was in Boston." Renteria made 30 errors in his one year with the Sox.
The scoop on Giambi
Doug Mientkiewicz might be the best defensive first baseman in baseball, but the Yankees opted not to re-sign him because they felt they needed a righthanded hitter. But Mientkiewicz thinks the Yankees will be just fine defensively with Jason Giambi. "People don't realize that Jason is probably one of the best first basemen in the league at scooping up balls in the dirt," said Mientkiewicz. "When he plays a lot, he's gets really good with it." Now with the Pirates, his sixth team, Mientkiewicz said about New York, "Of course I'll miss it. Who wouldn't want to wake up every morning and drive to Yankee Stadium?"
One that got away
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel really thought he had Mike Lowell in the offseason. Manuel felt Lowell's power in the middle of the order would have been huge, in a ballpark perfectly suited for him. "We kept in touch," said Manuel. "I remember talking to him on a Sunday after we had made our offer and he was really torn. He would have been an excellent player for us. I know we offered him more money and years, but he's a loyal guy and I have to respect that. He would have been perfect for our lineup." Manuel isn't displeased with the eventual choice for third base, former Giant Pedro Feliz, a super defender. "He's going to hit, too," Manuel said.
Listen up
Jim Leyland on Terry Francona: "When he got the new contract, I called him to congratulate him. Well-deserved. He's one of the classiest people in the game. He runs a good program. His teams are well-prepared and it's no secret why they are as good as they are. It starts with Terry. He gets the most out of his players. He understands his players about as well as any manager in the game." Leyland said he's seen a lot of growth in Francona. "If he's like me, the thing I did was I learned to listen," said Leyland. "If you just talk, talk, talk and don't listen, you're not going to hear the things that will make you better."
A Giant unknown
Giants GM Brian Sabean has no idea whether the commissioner's office will press for any punishment against him after the Mitchell Report suggested that he knew about steroid use on his team but took no action. Commissioner Bud Selig has met with Giants owner Peter Magowan, and Sabean said he's met with Selig's lawyers. "I have no idea what to expect," Sabean said. "I'm not worried about it one iota. I've met with them and spoken to them and I think that's all I can do."
Padres made a Prior commitment
Padres GM Kevin Towers explored most of the rehabilitating pitchers, including Bartolo Colon, but in the end he settled on Mark Prior. "Mark probably won't be ready to go until June," said Towers, "but for us, he was a local guy a year removed from surgery, and we felt if we could get him going that we had a chance to maybe keep him here for a while, given his age. Colon, from everything our scouts have told us, is throwing the ball well and should help the Red Sox."
Full disclosure
The Hall of Fame is considering an exhibit to acknowledge the Steroid Era, but when this reporter was asked his opinion on such a move by a Hall of Fame spokesman, my reaction was, "Why acknowledge it?" Having thought about it more, I've come around to the feeling that the era needs to be acknowledged because it presumably lasted for at least half a generation and prompted investigations by Major League Baseball and Congress. My only suggestion would be to wait a while, until we know the full scope of steroids in the era.
The rest of it
Bravo to Mike Mussina for his take on limiting the innings of young pitchers such as Kennedy, Philip Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Clay Buchholz, "I'm from the old school," said Mussina, who threw 241 innings as a rookie. "I'm one of the few guys left that pitched last century. My opinion of what wears your arm down isn't necessarily how many innings you throw in a starter situation. Wearing down happens when you're out there a lot and you don't get the proper rest in between those turns. That's what beats you up." . . . Happy 60th birthday, John Duffield Curtis.
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
