Short Hops: There's value in call-ups, but better way to do it
Short hops, quick pops and backhand stops:
• Like waistlines at the holidays, baseball rosters expand annually come Sept. 1. Question is, does the game need to be put on a strict no-fudge diet?
From April through August, clubs push ahead with 25-man rosters. Managers spend more time sweating over matchups than your local dating service. Hard-earned positions are won for the playoff push.
Then, rosters expand on Sept. 1 and it becomes a free-for-all. At its most crucial time of year, the game changes. Some kid who spent the summer swinging for the Mud Hens spends the late summer shooting Cardinals.
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| Joe Girardi on call-ups: 'I think that teams that are most uncomfortable are teams that are fighting for playoffs.' (Getty Images) |
It also was before the advent of the Arizona Fall League. And, most importantly, before the wild-card playoff era meant more teams were playing more meaningful games in September.
Now, things just get loony.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland has never liked it. Dodgers manager Joe Torre contends that it's unfair.
Contenders can't get matchups they want. The best managers are penalized because non-contenders with extra men can create matchups that they never would have been able to before Sept. 1.
Most certainly, there is value in bringing up young players for a late-season test run. But the answer to the question is, yes, baseball does need to go on a strict no-fudge diet in September.
The best option is this: Continue to allow September call-ups. But have each club designate a 25-man roster for that night's game. Those who are not on it are not eligible. Maybe tomorrow, kid.
Joe Girardi has seen both ends of the September spectrum from managing the small-market Marlins to the large-market Yankees. He is among those who likes this idea -- though he stops short of endorsing it.
"I heard somebody talk about how you should have to designate so many players per game, and not have 35 guys, and that seems to make a lot of sense to me," Girardi says. "But I also understand the importance of getting young kids up here and getting experience.
"I think that teams that are most uncomfortable are teams that are fighting for playoffs, because you're seeing a lot of guys you haven't seen, and they can do things to you during the course of the game. If you're two clubs that probably aren't going to be in the playoffs, it's probably great."
• Another suggestion: While implementing a rule whereby clubs would have to name which 25 players are eligible nightly in September, you could even go a step further and designate a three- to five-man "taxi" squad of players who would be eligible if that night's game goes into extra innings.
• Seared into Bud Black's brain on this subject is the memory from a September game in 2007, his first year as Padres manager. Fighting for a playoff spot on a Friday evening, two games behind first-place Arizona, the Padres lost a 10-7 game in Colorado as then-Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, like a man grinning from ear to ear at an all-you-can-eat buffet, used a record-matching 10 pitchers in a nine-inning game. Six right-handers and four lefties worked that night in what was a crucial win for the Rockies during their 20-8 September sprint to the finish.
• Presumably, Commissioner Bud Selig is working behind the scenes to put into place a person or persons who will give the Dodgers a soft landing when the McCourts -- Frank and Jamie McCourt? -- are forced to sell. Biggest early impression to emerge from the opening of their divorce trial this week: Frank is every bit the small-time huckster he appeared when he entered the scene as Dodgers owner, in debt like a drowning man and leveraged eight ways to Sunday.
• Part of the Dodgers' operating budget under the McCourts was built on the assumption of 3.8 million tickets sold each season. They've sold that many exactly once in six seasons and are projected to come in at 3.6 million tickets in 2010. If you were that consistently off in your household budget, creditors long ago would have been by to repossess your PT Cruiser.
• By the time the McCourts stop shooting poison arrows at each other, this is expected to be the costliest divorce in California history.
• Well, the Dodgers did save about $4 million in dumping Manny Ramirez on the White Sox. Kenny Williams, White Sox general manager, on Manny and his personality this week: "What's wrong with a little flair? What's wrong with a little character and having a little fun in the process? As long as Manny plays hard and goes out there and goes about his business as a pro, there will be no issues here."
• Look for good-guy Alan Trammell, who stayed on as bench coach to interim Cubs skipper Mike Quade after Lou Piniella stepped down, to wind up on Kirk Gibson's coaching staff if Gibson is named Arizona's permanent manager.
• The Giants have done exactly what they've needed to do so far in chopping San Diego's NL West lead to a manageable three games with seven head-to-head games left beginning Thursday in San Diego. But as one scout who has watched the Giants play a lot since the All-Star break says, they're not a perfect team. "There are a lot of holes in that infield," the scout says.
• There also are holes elsewhere on the diamond for San Francisco. Jose Guillen may have a cannon arm in right field, but he's got legs of cement. "His legs are shot, man," the scout says. "He can't run. I saw a ball that Bengie Molina would hit for a triple [in San Francisco] and Guillen got thrown out at third."
• The Tigers could not be happier with starter Max Scherzer, whom they obtained from Arizona in the Edwin Jackson trade earlier this summer.
• The Yankees may be having serious problems with A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez, but with CC Sabathia at 19-5 and Phil Hughes at 16-6, they produced two starting pitchers with 16 or more wins before Sept. 1 for the first time since 1998, when David Cone and David Wells did it.
• It might have sounded funny a week ago when the Reds were getting blistered for 38 runs and 53 hits over three games in San Francisco, but Hall of Fame Cincinnati radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman told me last week that this is the best Reds pitching he's seen in 37 years in the booth. And that was before they recalled Aroldis Chapman this week.
• One scout on Reds manager Dusty Baker: "I don't think Dusty and his staff get enough credit. They didn't make any big trades, yet look at them. Dusty really has them playing." It's only fair: All of the Sabermeticians who delight in ripping Dusty for his "handling" of pitchers really should give him some credit for this season.
• Reaction to the Nationals canning the abrasive Rob Dibble as a broadcaster: Their first mistake was in hiring him.
• You win with consistency: Until the Padres lost their fourth in a row on Monday, they and the Yankees were the only two teams in baseball that had not lost more than three consecutive games all season. Now, the Yankees stand alone. And even with the struggles of Burnett and Vazquez, even with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira (and others) being nicked up, there's your answer as to why the Yanks are leading Tampa Bay in the AL East.
• Cliff Lee's back may be in bad shape and he may be 0-3 with an 8.28 ERA over his past five starts, but he's still produced one of the season's most remarkable stats: 161 strikeouts against only 12 walks over 184 1/3 innings pitched. You throw strikes, you give yourself a chance. Of course, if you throw nothing but strikes and your stuff isn't very good, you're back working at UPS and playing in weekend rec leagues.
• No small reason why Boston has hung in there for so long despite devastating injuries to Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and others: When you keep opponents from hitting the ball, it significantly increases your odds of winning. Through midweek, Boston pitchers had combined for 81 strikeouts over their previous nine games. And through Sept. 1, Boston ranked third in the majors in strikeouts (230), third in the majors behind Philadelphia (242) and San Diego (237).
• Which contender is currently the closest thing to a lock to playing in October? Why, the Yankees, who, according to the cool website www.coolstandings.com, stood a 98.1 percent chance of making the playoffs at midweek. Texas was next at 96.1 percent, followed by Cincinnati (96 percent), Atlanta (95 percent) and Minnesota (84.4 percent). The website, which factors in things like runs scored, runs allowed and the Bill James Pythagorean Theorem when calculating the odds, makes San Diego a 78.8 percent favorite to win the NL West despite the Padres' seven-game losing streak, while giving the Giants an 18.4 percent chance.
• Ozzie Guillen Tweet of the Week (Aug. 17): In Minnesota Southwest Airlines and Midway staff are great!
