Transaction Analysis: June 4-June 7

Placed RHP Mike Fetters on the 15-day DL; recalled RHP Scott
Kamieniecki from Rochester. [6/7]

Nothing really important to note here; neither Fetters nor Kamieniecki will
ever again be significant parts of any team, even one as bad as the Orioles.

Activated RHP Juan Pena from the DL, and optioned him to Pawtucket.
[6/6]

Well, if they were hoping Mark Portugal was really going to retire, they
didn’t get their wish. Gross has all the makings of a fine Pawsock: he was
a prospect at some point since Gorbymania, he has the cachet of mystery
that comes with being a Japanese Leagues vet, and he can always thank his
folks for naming him Kip.

Pena will inherit a rotation spot in the near future, when the organization
decides to cut its losses on Pat Rapp, or if Tim Wakefield doesn’t come
around, or if Bret Saberhagen blows a sprocket refilling his bleach gun. Or
all of the above. That’s part of the fun of the Red Sox: infinite
possibilities for almost-infinite interchangeability.

Jerry Manuel’s been kvetching about getting a second utility infielder for
months now. It’s somewhat baffling, in that he pretty much refuses to use
the one he already has (Craig Wilson). Part of Manuel’s reluctance to use
Wilson may be his trying to avoid getting caught short-handed in case
someone gets injured, which is also the big reason managers avoid using all
their catchers in a game. I’ve never been a big fan of a "save the
last bullet" managing style, but I’m not sure if that’s what’s
happening here. If Wilson gets used more as a defensive replacement for
Greg Norton now, then we’ll know.

In the meantime, Rodriguez is sort of wasted on the bench. He’s mostly a
second baseman, so he isn’t a true utility infielder, and he has solid
on-base skills and enough speed to be handy as a pinch-runner. The
best-case scenario for him is a Joey Cora career, but even that’s a longshot.

Purchased the contract of UT Terry Shumpert from Colorado Springs;
optioned INF Chris Petersen to Colorado Springs. [6/5]

Activated UT Kurt Abbott from the DL; optioned UT Chris
Sexton to Colorado Springs. [6/7]

What’s a managerial genius to do? Second base is becomingan oozing sore for
the organization. To make matters worse, they’re carrying three catchers
because they’ve already made the mistake of keeping Kirt Manwaring around
after wasting the chance to let him walk away last winter. So now some
extra-zesty combo of Kurt Abbott, Terry Shumpert and maybe even old, mostly
harmless Lenny Harris will log more valuable service time.

Hey, at least Leyland gets to give his old buddy the Cangy-man a cozy
sinecure after mean old Jerry Manuel cut everyone’s favorite sixth
outfielder in camp.

Cruz is being called up for an emergency start, with Justin Thompson unable
to go. He’s a changeup artist of no great note, so he’s not going to turn
into Jose Lima anytime soon. Demoting Anderson may make sense on one level,
letting him get straightened out in the minors (or "work on his
breaking stuff," as Tigers management claims).

The Tigers BS’d their way through the off-season and spring talking about
how competitive it was going to be, only to predictably fall on its face.
Given that bravado, it seems strange that the Tigers are calling up minor
league veterans and demoting people with talent, while entertaining their
fans with contests like "Which Mlicki have we got?" or slogans
like "More souvenirs when you fly Air Blair!" In light of that
morass, I can understand why the Hammer decided to hang ’em up. Who’d want
to be associated with this organization?

For those of you keeping score at home, this means the Astros now
officially have more than half of their Opening Day lineup available to
them. Despite the injuries, they’re still three games up on everyone else
in the division. The only disappointment here is this sort of nips Russ
Johnson’s opportunity in the bud.

Tony Muser can huff and puff about the importance of getting good glovework
at first base, but the Royals aren’t going to win the World Series, or even
get to second place in the AL Central, goofing around with Larry Sutton at
first base. No other goal, no matter how far off late-October baseball
might seem now, is worthwhile. So as long as you’re breaking in Los Dos
Carlitos, you may as well play Giambi the Lesser until you have enough
information to make an informed decision about whether he’s going to be
part of the next good Royals team.

No word on whether Vina hurt his quad running around the clubhouse during
another one of his disagreements with Phil Garner. The more playing time
the Brewers can get for Ronnie Belliard, the better off they are–as long
as Vina demonstrates his health before the July 31 trade deadline.

Even the Expos get frustrated, and Vazquez has proven to be a big
disappointment. Smith isn’t a prospect, but neither is Mike Thurman and the
Expos are still running him out there. Although I think a lot of us tend to
wish Felipe Alou and his crew the best, sometimes you have to wonder how
much thought is going into decisions like trotting out Thurman or Miguel
Batista or Shawn Boskie or Mike Johnson. Do they recognize the differences
among the group, or are they just throwing things at the wall in the hope
that something sticks?

Fired pitching coach Bob Apodaca, bullpen coach Randy Niemann
and hitting coach Tom Robson; named Dave Wallace pitching
coach, Al Jackson bullpen coach, and Mickey Brantley hitting
coach. [6/5]

Purchased the contract of RHP Tim Hudson from Vancouver; designated
RHP Tom Candiotti for assignment. [6/7]

Hudson makes his major league debut tonight. He’s an interesting story,
falling to the fifth round because he lacks a classic power pitcher’s
build, since he’s considered thin and a bit short at 6′. Having mastered
his new delivery, he’s shown improved control of his fastball/splitter
combo. Billy Beane’s been singing his praises for several weeks, so with
that kind of buildup and the A’s offensive struggles, he’ll have his work
cut out for him.

As for Candiotti, you might think he’s almost certainly old enough to pitch
for Lou Piniella, except Lou was the man who cut Phil Niekro a year or two
too soon. I won’t be surprised at all if Candiotti clears waivers and winds
up a Brewer, so that he can finish where he started back in 1983.

Signed INF Carlos Baerga and OF Wayne Kirby to minor-league
contracts and assigned them to Las Vegas; recalled RHP Will Cunnane
from Las Vegas; placed LHP Ed Vosberg on unconditional waivers. [6/5]

Randy Myers is done for the year, making the decision to trade for him look
even worse in retrospect than it did at the time, especially since it was
pretty clear that nobody else wanted to play "hot potato" with
Kevin Towers.

In Gomez’s absence, the Pad people will have to survive with Damian Jackson
getting a clean shot at lots of playing time at short. Gary Matthews, Jr.
may also have the opportunity to push his way past Ruben Rivera for the
still-available center field job. That’s about as positive as I can get
about what’s looking like a miserable situation for the Pads. Newhan can’t
really play second base, and doesn’t hit well enough to man an outfield
corner, which means he has a lot in common with Eric Owens. That isn’t
meant to put them down; players like that have value, as long as they’re
spare parts. But with so many Padre starters down, these guys are the heart
of the lineup. That’s simply grim.

Some things can renew your faith that there is justice in the universe.
Lowery’s a better prospect than Clyburn ever was; he can actually hurt
left-handed pitching, run a bit and play a nifty center field, while
Clyburn does a third-rate impression of Glenn Braggs. This isn’t going to
make the D-Rays significantly better, but every little bit helps: there’s
nothing worse than a wasted roster spot on a bad team.

Purchased the contracts of 3B Willie Greene and SS Chris
Woodward from Syracuse. [6/7]

So why was it a good idea to send Greene down in the first place? Because
you needed to blow major-league PAs on Dave Hollins? I’d almost write off
any positives that come from bringing Greene back as the lucky benefit of a
random move; if the Jays keep demoting and promoting people willy-nilly,
the chances are somebody will do something well. But what’s the point of
complimenting them on it when they had to send the player down just to call
him up?

If this team can’t tell the difference between Willie Greene and Willis
Otanez when it comes to fixing their problem at third base or DH, that’s a
lack of direction. Not that we should be so surprised: Tom Evans should be
around, after all, except that Gord Ash lost him on waivers already.

At least an organizational soldier like Woodward is getting his big break.
He’s not a great glove at shortstop, and he won’t be an important offensive
contributor, but unlike Homer Bush he is familiar with the basics of
playing the position. What’s sad is that Bush has been outplayed by Pat
Kelly as well as by Craig Grebeck, and the Jays’ response is to get
everyone’s favorite 25th man more playing time while moving the productive
players aside.

To reiterate, Bush is not going to be part of the Jays’ future any more
than Grebeck or Kelly, so why give him the playing time? It isn’t like any
of them are prospects with great futures ahead of them. While Bush may not
be in the twilight of his career, the career he’s in the prime of isn’t
going to be a great one. If the Jays want to take the time to prove it to
themselves, I guess we can say, "hey, it’s their team," except
that this team should be contending, and guys like Gord Ash and Jim Fregosi
seem to have found ways to keep it from happening.