Transaction Analysis: May 25-27

Kim blew threw Double-A and Triple-A, leading to talk that he, like Billy
Koch, will soon be installed as the major-league closer. Kim did pitch well
in the PCL, but in one of the league’s better pitchers’ parks (Tucson).
Also, he worked as a starter, so it’s unclear how he’d respond to the
bizarre work patterns of closing.

Hard to see how the O’s will be able to get anything for Otanez if Willie
Greene passed through waivers unclaimed, but Luis Polonia is back in the
majors, so stranger things have happened.

Gubanich will be Jason Varitek’s caddy for the bulk of the season with
Hatteberg out, although Gubanich is clearly the better hitter and arguably
the better defensive player. Saberhagen looked sharp–sorry, "shaahp"–in
his first rehab outing last night, and could be back in the rotation next
week.

First he wasn’t good enough to be in the majors; now he might supplant
Lewis as the starter? Either way, the Reds lose: Boone’s lack of offense or
Lewis’ putrid defense. Jack McKeon is proving to be about 20% better than
Ray Knight, much in the way that Jerry Manuel is 20% better than Terry
Bevington. Slight improvements like that do nothing to help a ballclub
complete a rebuilding process.

Agreed to terms on a contract extension with pitcher Ricky Rincon through
the 2001 season with club options for 2002 and 2003. [5/26]

This begs one really important question: when the hell did he become
"Ricky?" Is some overeager sportswriter in Cleveland an "I Love Lucy" fan?
He was Ricardo the whole time he was in Pittsburgh, although I can
understand why he might want to put the whole Pittsburgh thing behind him.
Anyway, Rincon’s extension is another in a series of extensions given to
injured players, which seems both rash–can’t it wait until he gets
healthy?–and a sign that some GMs have more money than they know how to
spend.

Polonia’s 5-for-5 outing on Thursday may entrench him in the leadoff spot
for some time, which is absolutely terrifying, since he might be the one
man on earth less suited to the leadoff slot than Brian Hunter. Heck, at
least Hunter knew a stop sign when he saw one.

For all the talk about how certain teams (e.g., the Devil Rays) are
"jinxed" this year by injuries, let’s talk about the Astros. They lost
their starting left fielder for most of the season, starting shortstop for
half the season, probable starting catcher for the whole season, and now
the starting and backup third basemen are on the DL. Oh, by the way, the
Astros are in first place and running away with the division. I wonder how
this team will do when they’re almost whole in September.

Hernandez is a semi-prospect with a good glove but a very questionable bat
(.255/.337/.294 at Triple-A this year) who could see some late-inning d-rep
time until either Howell or Caminiti returns.

We let most coaching moves go by, but this was a disgrace and deserves
comment. The pitching staff isn’t really the problem in Los Angeles; the
Dodgers are 10th in the league in runs scored and 11th in slugging, but
sixth in ERA despite a thin bullpen and a damaged Carlos Perez. If Malone
wanted to fire someone, he should have fired the twit who told him Todd
Hundley was healthy.

Of greater concern is that the firing was apparently a surprise to Davey
Johnson. I’m sure he’s already suffering bad flashbacks to his days in
Baltimore, where front-office types would pull rank on him and undermine
his ability to run the team.

With Vina back, the Brewers will send Ron Belliard back to Louisville on
Saturday when they recall Rafael Roque. Belliard did get the chance to show
the Brewers why they should move Vina, hitting over .300 with a .400+ OBP,
with solid defense. Of course, they could just bench Mark Loretta and
suffer a slight defensive hit to get a big boost in offense, but that would
only make sense.

Thus bringing the ridiculous saga of Mike Figga to an end. At least it
exposed Don Zimmer’s pettiness and hastened Joe Torre’s return. Recalling
the talented enigma Tarasco is baffling in that Ricky Ledee was already on
the 40-man roster and is more a part of this team’s future than Tarasco.
That said, Tarasco has some speed, some pop, and once upon a time knew how
to draw a walk, but hasn’t had a consistent opportunity since his first
extended slump with Montreal in June ’95.

This should stop Huckabay’s one-man "Bring Back Jarvis!" picket line
outside the A’s front offices.

Talk about your knee-jerk reactions: The guy picks up eight saves, and
suddenly he’s worthy of a two-year deal? Does Cam Bonifay not remember that
he plucked Williams out of the trash heap just 18 months ago? The lesson
here isn’t that you should lock up every reliever on a hot streak to a
long-term contract; it’s that good relievers–like good hitters–are free
talent, and should be treated as such.

Signed infielder Ricky Magdaleno and assigned him to Lancaster of the
California League (A). [5/27]

The right move by the wrong team. Rodriguez is a project, to be sure, but I
wouldn’t call him a lost cause just yet. The Reds, Expos or even the Red
Sox would be good bets to salvage something here. Unfortunately, Saint Lou
Piniella isn’t exactly the handler of young pitchers that Felipe Alou is,
in the same way that Keanu Reeves isn’t exactly the Shakespearean actor
that Sir Laurence Olivier was.

Desperate? Perhaps, although Slocumb didn’t get a fair shake in Baltimore,
and is a better bet in a bigger stadium in front of a good defensive
infield with a pitching coach who fares well with veterans. And he didn’t
walk a batter in two Triple-A innings, although he did hit one. I’m not
rushing to claim him for any rotisserie teams, but Slocumb could quietly
put together 30 or so decent relief innings if used patiently.

Placed pitcher Rolando Arrojo on the 15-day disabled list with right
shoulder inflammation; recalled pitcher Mike Duvall from Durham of the
International League (AAA). [5/26]

Signed pitcher Aaron Small and assigned him to Durham of the International
League (AAA). [5/27]

All these injuries will provide convenient cover for the Rays when they 1)
miss the playoffs and 2) fail to draw two million fans this year. McCracken
is probably done for the year, which brings Randy Winn back a little sooner
than the Rays would have liked; the tradeoff will only exacerbate the Rays’
problems in putting men on base for Canseco and McGriff. The Rays blew a
potential silver lining to the injury by recalling the speedy Winn instead
of someone familiar with walks, such as Terrell Lowery (.307/.404/.493 at
Durham) or Rich Butler (.263/.370/.424 at Durham).

Meanwhile, Arrojo and Saunders have vacated 2/5 of the rotation, with
fragile Wilson Alvarez in another slot and the always-exciting Bobby Witt
in another. Julio Santana and Bryan Rekar are probably the two most likely
fill-ins, with Esteban Yan getting some consideration if the Rays can
stabilize their bullpen. In other words, beyond Ryan Rupe, this staff is
looking like an 11-jetski accident on the Intracoastal.

As an aside, we send our best wishes to Mr. Veeck and his daughter, who is
suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, the same disease that robbed San Jose
Sharks’ owner George Gund of his sight.