Transaction Analysis, March 6-13, 2002
by Chris Kahrl
Optioned CF-L Nathan Haynes to Salt Lake. [3/8]
Remember him? Nathan Haynes has had surgery on both of his knees, and at worst
he might only turn out to be a valuable player the same way Orlando Palmeiro is
a valuable player. His latest injury in a long litany of injuries is to his
thumb, and it should keep out for a couple of months. Nevertheless, he's still
just 22, and he's a pretty good centerfielder. Haynes isn't a great prospect,
but he's young enough to become useful, so it isn't like he's Norm Hutchins.
He'll probably get a cuppajoe in September.
Named Grady Little manager. [3/11]
Grady Little has deserved a break for awhile, and it's nice to see that the
Indians and Charlie Manuel (another guy who deserved the break he finally got
for quite some time) were willing to give it to him. What's interesting about
the situation is that Little was effectively the only candidate. This was
because the Indians decided to not let their victimization through MLB's
mismanagement of the Tom Hicks front office smash-and-grab scandal stand in
the way of their decision to let Little talk to the Red Sox. The other
burgled organization, the Athletics, kept the most plausible alternative to
Little, bench coach Ken Macha, out of the running. (Don't weep for Macha;
the odds seem pretty good that he will be managing somewhere in baseball
by 2003.)
These responses to yet another incidence of baseball not taking its own
administration particularly seriously reflect that while systemic mismanagement
is an issue for the industry, in a specific situation like this, it doesn't add
up to a crippling problem... yet. But organizations--at least the good ones--are
in the business of developing talent off of the diamond as well as on it, and if
the eventual diaspora of the brighter bulbs throughout the game is going to
actually take place and create a stronger brand of baseball nationwide, there's
going to have be a more practical approach to how organizations can expect
compensation, and some punishments with stronger teeth than another weak, gummy
fine from Czar Bud and his minions.
All that ranting aside, congratulations to Little and to the Red Sox, and shame
again on both John Harrington and the new bunch for not making this happen sooner.
Optioned RHP John Stephens to Rochester; optioned RHPs Steve Bechler
and Mike Paradis, LHP Matt Riley, and CF-B Tim Raines Jr. to
Bowie (Double-A); assigned RHPs Juan Rosario and Jay Spurgeon,
LHP Eric DuBose, C-Rs Mike Hubbard and Eli Whiteside,
1B-R Domingo Martinez, OF-R Darryl Brinkley and 2B/SS-B Manny
Del Rosario to minor league camp. [3/12]
John Stephens didn't get much of a look, giving up six baserunners and four runs
in five innings. It says a wee bit too much about the Orioles that there's a real
chance that nice aspiring fifth starter journeymen like either Chris Brock or
Calvin Maduro, who can be fifth starters if everything breaks their way, and
fifth starters if they don't, will wind up in their rotation, but Stephens
somehow doesn't merit a serious look. The Orioles are the way they are because
they want to be.
There's some entertaining dross in the cutdowns, which portends more bad news
for the relationship between the Orioles and Rochester. Red Wings management is
already rightfully cranky about the sorry state of affairs where the organization
doesn't merely draw poor free agents at the major league level, but also manages
to miss out on minor league free agents to build something that at least may draw
fans for a long-loyal affiliate. Domingo Martinez is 34, which actually seems
pretty young for a guy who spent three straight years in Knoxville, the three
subsequent years in Syracuse, and then three years on the International League's
celebrity tour, and that only gets you up to his whereabouts through 1996. Eric
DuBose, unretired? Matt Whiteside? Mike Hubbard? Rochester can't become a free
agent fast enough at this rate.
Assigned RHP Gary Majewski to their minor league camp; optioned SS-R/RHP?
Jason Dellaero to Charlotte. [3/6]
Optioned RHPs Edwin Almonte and Ryan Kohlmeier and LHP Thomas
Jacquez to Charlotte; re-assigned C-R Mark Dalesandro and C-B Lee
Evans, 2B-R Justin Baughman, LHPs Corwin Malone, Arnaldo
Munoz and Dennis Ulacia, RHP Brian West and OF-R Mario
Valenzuela to minor league camp; released CF-R Julio Ramirez. [3/11]
Released LHP Onan Masaoka. [3/13]
No real stories here from among the demotions. The closest thing resembling a
surprise might be that Brian West didn't get a longer look, especially with a
rotation spot or two still up in the air, but he's one of the Sox cornucopia of
pitching prospects, and he does only have high A-ball experience. Corwin Malone's
future looks bright, but he got spanked in camp, and that's not indicative of
anything beyond the obvious, which is that he has work to do. Ryan Kohlmeier
had a bad camp, but a good year between the minors and majors could still turn
him into the next Wohlers/Weathers/Karchner-style discard to pick up the next
Jon Garland or similar goodies. He's a low-risk option to swindle the easily
gulled or relief-desperate. Mario Valenzuela excites some people, and he had
a good camp; he's also older than Aaron Rowand, a similar hitter, and somebody
who won't be playing center field. In an organization already loaded with
right-handed power, that makes him a great piece of trade bait, and he could
turn into a moderately useful corner outfielder if everything broke his way.
Optioned INF-L Ivanon Coffie to Iowa; optioned RHPs Jose Cueto
and Francis Beltran, Nominal Human Being Ben Christensen and
LHP Steve Smyth to West Tenn (Double-A); re-assigned C-Rs Ryan
Jorgensen and Yoon-Min Kweon to minor league camp. [3/11]
Ivanon Coffie's relatively quick demotion bodes well for Mark Bellhorn, but
Bellhorn's a better player in every phase of the game, so this really shouldn't
be shocking on any level. Augie Ojeda should make the team as the spare infield
glove on the bench, but with Bellhorn hitting well and Chris Stynes not, the
more interesting problem is whether or not Bellhorn wins the third base job
with Bill Mueller headed for the DL. Because of his slow recovery from shoulder
surgery, Steve Smyth was sent away, but he's a subsequent, and not current,
candidate for the last slot in the rotation. Meanwhile, none of the
veteran candidates for fifth starter are pitching at all well: Donovan Osborne
is giving up two baserunners per inning, and six runs in seven pitched; he's
the "leader" of a pack that also features Julian Tavarez and Jesus
Sanchez. All the more reason to take a long look at Mark Prior, even if it
means foregoing breaking Prior with some bullpen work.
The only way these two elements (Bellhorn vs. Stynes, the old stiffs vs.
Prior) intertwine is that Don Baylor's contributions to the selection process
should be a source for discouragement. Stynes and one of the two lefties will
win the jobs, they won't contribute much to the Cubs' push to keep up with the
Astros, and Baylor and most commentators will gladly blame the players and not
the decisions to go with them. Well, that sounds grumpy, and here it is spring;
maybe good things will happen despite these expectations.
Ben Christensen? The news item here is that a self-pitying scumbag gets sent
away, but to Tennessee instead of east of Eden. Watch as he publicly jabbers
about his spirituality in a pathetic quest to resemble a member of the human
race, even going so far as to apparently lie about trying to mend fences
with his victim. No film at eleven; this thing has gotten too much air
time already.
Optioned RHP Luke Hudson to Louisville; optioned OF-R Jackson Melian
and C-R Dane Sardinha to Chattanooga (Double-A); assigned SS-L Mike
Caruso, 3B-R Brandon Larson, UT-R Chris Sexton, 1B-L Alex
Hernandez, OF-R Jermaine Allensworth, RHP Brandon Kolb, and
LHPs Brian Bohanon, Trever Miller and Pedro Feliciano to
their minor league camp. [3/10]
Optioned OF-R Austin Kearns, 1B-L Ben Broussard and RHP Brian
Reith to Louisville; re-assigned LHP Ty Howington and RHP Jared
Fernandez to their minor league camp. [3/11]
Outrighted RHP Chris Booker to Chattanooga (Double-A). [3/13]
Most of this is part and parcel of putting your 2002 Louisville RiverBats in
their places, but I am surprised by the speed with which Jared Fernandez, Brian
Reith and Ty Howington were demoted. Brian Bohanon is understandable,
considering he's injured, and Luke Hudson had a terrible spring. But with Lance
Davis's shoulder aching, the fifth slot of the rotation is almost being handed
to Jimmy Haynes by default, and as much as I'd be willing to take my chances with
him, that's not a good thing as long as he isn't pitching well. For the moment,
the rotation's front four seem to be Chris Reitsma, Elmer Dessens, Joey Hamilton
and Jose Acevedo. Demoting Reith and Howington is defensible on the level of
accepting that the organization wants them to start off in the minors; Reith
has last year's big league debut to live down, and Howington has only made
seven starts above A-ball. But if Jared Fernandez isn't going to get a look
with Davis hurt and Jimmy Haynes the main candidate, especially after having
a good couple of weeks, then he'll probably never get a real shot with the Reds.
Similar to the demotions of Howington and Reith, in that they'll be back this
summer, are the demotions of Austin Kearns and Ben Broussard. Broussard's role
may be as trade bait now that
Sean Casey has been handed a Lindner Special,
but he's coming off of an outstanding season in Double-A and seems fully recovered
from the wrist problems that hampered him in 2000. Kearns is the team's right fielder
of the future, where the timetable for when the future
arrives depending entirely on what Kearns does in Louisville, and very little on
whatever happens with Ruben Mateo or Juan Encarnacion.
Optioned RHPs Sean DePaula, Chad Paronto and Jason Phillips
to Buffalo; re-assigned LHPs Jason Stanford, Billy Traber and
Dave Maurer and RHPs Jason Beverlin and J.D. Brammer to
minor league camp. [3/11]
No surprises here, except the semi-grim news that none of this group will help
patch the Indians' rotation. With Jaret Wright and Charles Nagy both looking
done (still, making this the third year of a waiting process that might inspire
a Neil Allen comeback), the Tribe is essentially left with Omar Olivares and
Jose Mercedes for veteran options, and Ryan Drese and Tim Drew for the homegrown
ones. Drese and Drew aren't pitching well, and Olivares and Mercedes are, but
Drese just had a good outing, and a couple of those in a row will probably be
enough to win the job at this rate.
Placed RHP Scott Elarton on the 60-day DL; assigned RHPs Aaron Cook,
Ryan Kibler, Carlos Almanzar, Cam Esslinger, Matt
Whiteside and Jason Young, LHPs Todd Belitz, Josh
Kalinowski and Colin Young, C-B J.D. Closser, C-R Dan Conway,
OF-Rs Matt Holliday and Cliff Brumbaugh, 1B/OF-L Ross Gload
and OF-B Rene Reyes to their minor league camp. [3/13]
The demotions of Cliff Brumbaugh and Ross Gload pretty much clear the decks for the
fight over backup outfield slots. With Benny Agbayani outplaying Todd Hollandsworth
and left-handed hitters in center and right already, if Hollandsworth was on the
bench he'd give Buddy Bell two good lefties on the bench (along with switch-hitter
Greg Norton). From a roster makeup point of view, that boils down to a question of
which right-handed hitting outfielders have a shot at the fifth outfielder's slot.
So far, Mark Little seems to have a slight lead on John Barnes and Mario Encarnacion.
Of course, all of this pretty much blocks Jack Cust from making the team as a left
fielder, but Cust isn't exactly playing often enough for Dan O'Dowd's threats on
this front to be taken very seriously.
Assigned RHPs Tim Adkins, Kenny Baugh, Jared Camp, Seth
Greisinger, Shane Heams, Kris Keller, Shane Loux and
Fernando Rodney, and LHPs Tim Kalita, Mike Maroth, Jared
Rivera and Andy Van Hekken to their minor league camp. [3/10]
Anyone remember how long ago Jared Camp was the Rule 5 godling one fine December?
Okay, I suppose most of you have lives, so never mind. The Tigers can afford to
send down this bundle of talent, as they have to sort through Adams Pettyjohn and
Bernero and NRIs like Matt Perisho, Julio Santana, Oscar Henriquez and Bill Simas
to see who's going to fill out the bullpen.
Optioned 1B-L Nate Rolison and LHP Geoff Goetz to Calgary;
released RHP Brian Edmondson. [3/8]
The Marlins have too many spare outfielders in camp, so pinch-hitting and bench
jobs were already at a premium, pretty much crowding out Nate Rolison even before
he could show whether or not he was fully recovered from the hamate injury that
derailed his 2001 season. Geoff Goetz is similarly out of the picture in a bullpen
that already features two useful left-handed relievers in Armando Almaza and Vic
Darensbourg, and the Fish still have to make some tough choices between Nate Teut
and Mike Tejera if they even want to try and carry a third lefty.
Sent LHPs Greg Miller, Wilfredo Rodriguez, Wayne Franklin
and Jason Jacome and RHPs Jamie Arnold and Mark Guerra to
their minor league camp. [3/9]
Released LHP Chuck McElroy; acquired UT-B Geoff Blum from the
Expos for 3B-R Chris Truby. [3/12]
Hallelu... oh, wait a minute, even with Chris Truby traded, it's no sure thing
that Morgan Ensberg will get the starting job at third for the Astros. Ensberg
isn't having a great spring, while Keith Ginter is. Worse yet, there's the
unsettling suggestion that Geoff Blum could play a lot of third base, and if
Adam Everett wins the job at short (and with Jose Vizcaino guaranteed to make
the roster), Julio Lugo has to get a roster spot (and playing time) somewhere,
all of which could crowd Ensberg out of the lineup, off of the roster, and,
as Doctor John would say, back to New Orleans.
If, on the other hand, Ensberg wins the job, that creates for a strange and
crowded bench, with Blum, Lugo and Vizcaino giving Jimy Williams a fistful of
experienced guys to mix and match behind the Double-E rookie left side of the
infield. It also doesn't leave any room on the roster for Ginter or a real
fourth outfielder. That isn't that much of a problem; Blum and Orlando Merced
both have outfield experience and Lugo has been experimented with as an
outfielder, so the Astros are exploring their alternatives to Brian Hunter
behind their starting three.
Assigned C-R Mike Tonis, LHP Mike Stodolka and RHP Shawn
Sonnier to their minor league camp. [3/6]
Assigned RHPs Mac Suzuki, Brad Voyles and Orber Moreno
to their minor league camp. [3/9]
Granted LHP Jose Rosado his outright release. [3/10]
Assigned OF-L Aaron Guiel, 1B-R Ken Harvey and RHPs Brett
Laxton and Kyle Snyder to their minor league camp. [3/11]
Rany
Jazayerli has already dealt with Jose Rosado's release better than I could
in this space, so let's restrict this to the interesting news that Mac
Suzuki, Brett Laxton, Brad Voyles and Orber Moreno did not get many looks
in camp. The reason that's interesting is because of who is having good
camps: homegrown talent like Dan Reichert, Jeremy Affeldt and even Wichita's
closer, Nate Field, as well as journeymen Darrell May (from Japan) and
Bryan Rekar (from even further from the majors, Tampa Bay). It's also nice
to see that Allard Baird isn't holding himself too closely to that old
"rule" that if you traded a major leaguer for a minor leaguer,
that minor leaguer has to make the team if he's at all close because it
reflects on management. At this point, Brett Laxton looks like he's never
going to live up to the promise he had as a freshman at LSU, while Brad
Voyles seemed like he was going to be a lock for the big league pen coming
into camp.
Optioned SS-R Billy Hall to Indianapolis; optioned RHPs Jose
Mieses and Matt Childers, LHP Luis Martinez and OF-Rs
Jeff Deardorff and Cristian Guerrero to Huntsville (AA);
optioned RHP J.M. Gold to High Desert (A); re-assigned RHPs
Jayson Durocher and Robert Marquez, LHP Jimmy
Osting and OF-R Robert Perez to minor league camp. [3/11]
Optioned OF-R Mike Restovich and RHP Grant Balfour to Edmonton;
assigned LHP Ryan Mills to New Britain (Double-A); assigned C-L Joe
Mauer to their minor league camp. [3/10]
I'm a little sad to see Grant Balfour not get a longer look, but fourteen
baserunners in less than four innings is a good way to get yourself
reassigned in short order. Plus, the Twins have a wealth of young pitching
to sort through. Brad Thomas, J.C. Romero and Matt Kinney are all pitching
well enough to merit consideration in long relief roles if none of them
push past Kyle Lohse for the fifth starter's job, which gives Ron Gardenhire
a lot to think about during the next two weeks beyond settling on who his
starting right fielder is going to be.
Signed RHP Alan Mills to a minor league contract; signed 1B-R Andres
Galarraga to a one-year contract. [3/7]
Acquired 3B-R Chris Truby from the Astros for UT-B Geoff Blum. [3/12]
Kudos to Omar Minaya for getting Chris Truby, because Truby does give the Expos
a right-handed power source for the bottom of the lineup to adequately patch
over the ongoing absence of Fernando Tatis. He can also pick it well enough at
third, so as Plan B goes, this isn't too shabby. Geoff Blum will be missed,
insofar as the Expos options among their utility infielders run from Mike Mordecai
to Tomas de la Rosa to Andy Tracy, and de la Rosa and Tracy are busy playing their
way off of Ottawa, let alone Montreal. But bench strength isn't going to be one of
the features of your 2002 Expos.
The danger lies in other areas. By bringing in the Big Cat, the Expos are opening
themselves up to the possibility of giving Lee Stevens some playing time in left
field once in awhile, his first action there since 1998. Doing that on top of
having Jose Canseco around, you can pretty much consider any shot of Brad
Wilkerson's ever getting taken seriously by his new GM to be bleeding badly if
not DOA. Considering the Expos need a little bit of everything, and since
Minaya seems to favor Latin players, the odds are good that some GM is going to
pilfer Wilkerson by offering a tan and rested Miguel Dilone (or worse). Laugh
now, but this team has Sandy Martinez and Alan Mills in uniform, and those two
would have trouble making a Northern League team these days.
Released CF-R Ruben Rivera. [3/12]
Okay, so Ruben Rivera is monumentally stupid. But keep in mind what this probably
means for the Yankees: Ice Williams is on the team, not because he belongs in the
major league any more, but because he is not monumentally stupid. It worked for
Clay Bellinger for years, and the Yankees have been able to forego having an
actual backup to Bernie Williams in center for years, so unless this is the year
Bernie gets hurt, it won't have any practical implications beyond another Yankee
bench peopled by veteran dross waving towels, slapping butts, and wondering how
they lucked into this gig.
Released OF-L Mark Sweeney and 1B-R Danny Peoples. [3/13]
Mark Sweeney had a bad camp, while Mark Johnson is slugging nearly .800, so I
can't blame the Mets for making this choice. Both are patient hitters, but
Johnson has always had more power, while Sweeney used to be better at making
contact. The Mets have to make room on the 40-man roster for Johnson and
Johnny Valentin anyway, and Sweeney may well elect to accept a few months in
Norfolk for the shot at being a bench player down the stretch on a team
expected to be in contention.
But so far, the Mets look like they'll have an interesting bench, even absent
Sweeney. They'll have Johnson for the role of pinch-hit bopper, and Lou Collier
to smack lefties, and Joe McEwing as mid-innings spare part, and Gary Matthews
Jr. for double-switches involving Jay Payton. Valentin might be useful if he's
healthy, but that's a huge if.
Released 2B-L Warren Morris and RHP Gregg Olson. [3/13]
No reason to blame them for these moves, because they're totally defensible
and not particularly expensive. At his best, Warren Morris was a solid
placeholder, and now he's not. Given the Pirates' instructional problems,
it will be mildly interesting to see what Morris might do with an another
organization, but this isn't the Frank Catalanotto story we're retelling
here.
The real story is whether or not Dave Littlefield can make cuts that would make
the beancounters squawk, like Pat Meares and Derek Bell, since neither is giving
any indication that they can be useful ever again. Well, that's not true; Derek
Bell can say something inspirational about people learning to accept their role,
like that pesky old John VanderWal for having the gall to outhit the great Derek
Bell. At this point, perhaps Bell needs to take advice of Chuck Noll and move on
to his life's work, whether that's unmotivational speaking or selling insurance
or whatever.
Assigned SS-B Wilson Delgado and RHP Rich Loiselle to their minor
league camp. [3/7]
Optioned 1B-L Luis Garcia to New Haven (Double-A); assigned RHP Jimmy
Journell to their minor league camp. [3/13]
Extended the contract of general manager Kevin Towers through 2007,
with an option for 2008. [3/7]
Purchased the contract of RHP Steve Reed. [3/8]
Optioned SS-R Donaldo Mendez, RHPs Andy Shibilo and Ben Howard,
and LHPs Cliff Bartosh, Mike Bynum and Eric Cyr to Mobile
(Double-A); optioned Hitter-R Xavier Nady to Lake Elsinore (A); assigned
C-R Dusty Wathan and RHPs Brandon Villafuerte, Jake Peavy
and J.J. Trujillo to their minor league camp. [3/11]
Purchased the contract of LF-R Ron Gant; outrighted OF-R Todd
Donovan to Mobile (Double-A). [3/12]
Anybody want to take odds on the Padres winning a couple of division titles
before that contract runs out? What's the over-under? Three seems about
right, through 2008, three in seven years, considering the shape of things
to come in Los Angeles and San Francisco in particular, and the absence of
a long-term plan in Colorado. At any rate, Towers should be around to enjoy
the fruits of his success, and then some, as well as the new ballpark. Which
makes me wonder: if the Padres win divisions, and have a new ballpark, did
they win because of the revenue stream of the ballpark, or because of the
work Kevin Towers and company have already done? And will they be big-market,
while the Giants decline into small-marketdom because Barry Bonds gets old
between now and 2008? Gee, Budnomics gets so tricky sometimes, I'm not sure
if it makes sense.
Outrighted RHP Manny Aybar to Fresno, which he accepted, amiably enough. [3/12]
Assigned RHPs Carlos Chantres and Randy Galves and LHP
Stevenson Agosto to their minor league camp. [3/6]
Signed RHPs Reggie Harris, Rich Croushore and Marc Wilkins
to minor league contracts. [3/9]
Optioned SS-B Wilmy Caceres, UT-R Damian Rolls and RHPs Jason
Standridge and Matt White to Durham; optioned RHPs Brandon Backe,
Dewon Brazelton and Enger Veras and SS-B Ramon Soler to
Orlando (Double-A); optioned SS-R Jace Brewer to Bakersfield (A); assigned
OF-R Rocco Baldelli and OF-Ls Carl Crawford and Josh Hamilton,
LHP Jon Switzer, C-Rs Kevin Brown and Paul Hoover; INF-Rs
Jorge Cantu and Andy Sheets to their minor league camp. [3/13]
Well, with this new
Disney movie about phoney chances to be a phoney big leaguer, can you blame
everybody under the sun for wanting to be a Devil Ray? It's a little more genuine
than Pirates of the Caribbean, if only just barely. Nevertheless, a tip of the cap
to the organization, because who knew that wasting some playing time on a publicity
stunt could translate into all sorts of guys taking some final chances on getting
back to the Show with an otherwise hopeless franchise? Carlos Chantres has to be
pissed; this is the second year he has to regret not making the choice that Eric
Hiljus made after 2000, and it's Hiljus who's got experience as the #5 starter on
a playoff team, while Chantres has... well, whatever it is his agent told him about
how it made sense to be a Brewer in 2001.
The funny thing is, the bullpen is actually pretty full. Travis Phelps, Esteban Yan,
Victor Zambrano, Doug Creek, and a couple of bodies from among Tom Martin, Kevin
McGlinchy and Jesus Colome, plus a few leftover bodies from the fight for rotation
spots, gives you a pretty crowded picture. As much as I've always liked Reggie
Harris and Rich Croushore, they're probably doomed to a Durham summer.
Assigned RHP Jovanny Cedeno, Joaquin Benoit, Ryan Dittfurth,
Justin Duchscherer and Travis Hughes and LHP Andy Pratt to
their minor league camp. [3/11]
With the logjam of bodies crowding the Rangers' mounds and practice fields in
spring training, the Rangers had to ship off the kids at some point. Sending them
all away at once underscores a couple of points: first, if the cadre of Doug Davis
and Rob Bell and Aaron Myette doesn't work out, there's young pitching talent in
the organization beyond them. Jovanny Cedeno may not ever be healthy enough to
develop fully, but Benoit and Dittfurth and Hughes all pump gas and look good.
Duchscherer dominates with his command and should prove to be a ludicrous steal
from the Red Sox, while Pratt is your basic command lefty who has that shot at
Moyerdom if things break his way. But there's a difference between talent and
having the time and space to commit to it at the present. The Rangers have Colby
Lewis in camp as well as a stack of NRI journeymen to sort through, so they need
to give spring innings to those guys, mostly to see who's healthy, and then make
some tough calls. Given that most of the NRIs (or guys like Dave Burba or Jay
Powell) probably won't turn out too well, the organization is still well-positioned
for the long term. Not that 2003 is that far away, but that's when we can really
expect the Rangers to start scaring people with a strong crop of hitting and
pitching coming up from the farm.
Optioned 2B-B Orlando Hudson to Syracuse. [3/12]
Hudson came into camp with a real shot at winning the second base job, and
apparently he didn't take the opportunity as seriously as he should have. That
isn't to say he won't get other opportunities; Homer Bush is only a default
setting, sort of a latter-day Dave Cash Lite. That's not a bad thing, it's
just replaceable, and if Hudson takes this as a lesson that he has to earn
the job, that's all to the good.
Chris Kahrl is an author of Baseball Prospectus. You can contact him by
clicking here.
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