As the White Sox gain steam heading into the All-Star break, the Texas Rangers–their mirror image–are quietly unraveling. The defending champions of the American League West soon may be forced to choose between a fire sale or a game of chicken with a group of free agents that includes all-world catcher Ivan Rodriguez, third baseman Dean Palmer and starters Ken Hill and Bobby Witt.
Like the White Sox, the once budget-conscious Rangers loaded up this year in an attempt to reach the World Series. Undeterred by the new luxury tax, they boosted their payroll to a record level ($50.2 million).
Executives with other teams were stunned when Texas handed Rodriguez ($6.65 million), Palmer ($4.8 million) and fifth starter Roger Pavlik ($2.85 million) huge contracts rather than go through the arbitration process. They have 12 million-dollar players on the team, including closer John Wetteland, last year’s Series most valuable player with the New York Yankees.
But manager Johnny Oates and General Manager Doug Melvin have been unable to find the smooth seas they navigated throughout a 90-72 season last year. The Rangers have used the disabled list 10 times, including stints for five position-player regulars (right-fielder Juan Gonzalez, first baseman Will Clark, designated hitter Mickey Tettleton, second baseman Mark McLemore and shortstop Billy Ripken) and two starting pitchers (Hill and Pavlik).
Palmer has wilted under the pressure of his “walk” year–he went into the weekend hitting .238 with seven homers and 38 RBIs–while the infield has missed the steadying presence of veteran shortstop Kevin Elster. Oates, who had replaced Benji Gil with Ripken before Ripken went on the DL with a herniated disc, is starting former Sox reserve Domingo Cedeno at short.
Oates did a great job to get his team to play through injuries early–it was 26-19 May 24–but it has gone into rapid rewind. A seven-game losing streak that ended Wednesday cost it five games in the standings. It entered the weekend seven games behind Seattle and 2 1/2 behind surprising Anaheim.
The outlook for recovery is poor. Hill, a cornerstone last year, is still feeling the effects of the strained shoulder that put him on the DL. He’s 0-3 with a 5.46 ERA in his last five starts. After opening the season 7-0, Witt is 1-4 with a 5.32 ERA in his last seven starts. And Julio Santana is 3-3 with a 6.23 ERA since replacing Pavlik as the fifth starter.
It won’t take long for Texas to know if it can regroup. The Rangers open the second half with four games at Seattle. They’re 1-4 against the Mariners this year and 7-24 against them since Melvin and Oates arrived from Baltimore.
Count on Melvin to be a busy man at the All-Star Game. He and club President Tom Schieffer tried hard to sign Rodriguez to a long-term deal in spring training but face losing him for next to nothing–the same way the Rangers lost Rafael Palmeiro, Kevin Brown and Kenny Rogers. They privately believe it will take a five-year, $50 million deal to lock him up and won’t be surprised if he surpasses the $55 million Albert Belle contract.
Melvin doesn’t lack nerve. His first move in Texas was trading Jose Canseco for Otis Nixon–a move that changed the personality of the organization. If he can trade Canseco, can’t he trade Rodriguez?
There’s no one on the market that could make more of a difference than the cannon-armed Rodriguez, who is hitting .350. He would be a huge pickup for Baltimore, the Yankees or about half a dozen other teams.
The Wright stuff: With Chad Ogea on the DL, 21-year-old Jaret Wright has moved into the Cleveland Indians’ rotation. He is the son of former big league left-hander Clyde Wright, who won 22 games for the Angels in 1970.
Wright, who started the season at Double-A Akron, won his major-league debut Tuesday against Minnesota.
“I was very impressed with the way Jaret was able to keep his focus,” manager Mike Hargrove said. “The pitches he throws, the idea he has, he has a chance to be very special.”
Heading for the door: Cito Gaston was booed unmercifully Wednesday night at SkyDome. He left Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen in for eight innings and 11 earned runs in a 13-12 loss to Boston, causing his ERA to climb from 2.61 to 3.18.
Gaston has long been criticized for the wear he puts on his starting pitchers. The Blue Jays have 20 starts of at least 120 pitches this year, including nine by Hentgen and eight by Roger Clemens. The White Sox (15) and Seattle (11) are the only other teams that have allowed their starters to make more than 10 120-pitch starts.
With longtime supporter Paul Beeston on his way out, Gaston appears in his final days with the team he guided to world championships in 1992 and 1993.
“A lot of people around here are probably more worried than I am,” Gaston said. “I’d like to stay in the game two more years. If (that’s) not here, well, I think I can get another job.”
Touching the bases: At 38, Nixon entered the weekend second in the league with 33 stolen bases. He could become the oldest player to lead the AL in that category, supplanting Eddie Collins. He was 37 when he stole 42 bases for the White Sox in 1924. . . . The Randy Johnson pitch that Mark McGwire hit an estimated 538 feet Tuesday was clocked at 97 m.p.h. coming in and 105 going out. . . . Former Ohio State defensive back Craig Griffey, Ken Griffey Jr.’s younger brother, has retired after seven years in the Seattle farm system. . . . Darryl Strawberry hopes to be back with the Yankees in mid-August after knee surgery. . . . With 50 RBIs already, Jay Bell needs only 10 more to equal the most by a Kansas City shortstop. Fred Patek and U.L. Washington drove in 60 in their most productive years. . . . The Orioles continue to search for some left-handed hitting and a catcher. They were close to a deal for Montreal’s David Segui last week and have approached the Royals about catcher Mike Macfarlane.
