Say what you will about Billy Beane. Sure, the Oakland Athletics’ general manager has received a ton of credit that should have gone to the departed Grady Fuson and the scouts he directed, but Beane sure can do spin.
Consider his recent explanation about how Oakland did not downgrade behind the plate with the addition of Damian Miller and the departure of All-Star Ramon Hernandez, who was traded to San Diego.
“Take a look at the OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) between Miller and Hernandez,” Beane told USA Today Sports Weekly. “Miller has a .751 OPS, and Hernandez has a .722. And Miller has thrown out 38 percent of the runners while Hernandez [was at 26 percent last year].”
Nice try, Billy.
What this half-full assessment doesn’t tell you is that those OPS totals are career numbers. The more pertinent ones, it would seem, are 2003’s. Hernandez was at .789; Miller was at .679. Their ages are also worth noting. Miller is 34, and showing some age; Hernandez is 28.
But that’s Beane, trying to sell his constant shuffling of players–a financial necessity given Oakland’s ownership–as recurring strokes of brilliance. We’ll see how smart he is this year when Arthur Rhodes (17-for-44 lifetime in save situations) takes over as their fourth closer in the last four years.
Still, there’s no doubting that Oakland’s third baseman, Eric Chavez, is one of the best in the game. Beane did well when he locked him up with a six-year contract believed to be worth $66 million. That signing was welcomed by the Big Three pitchers (Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson), who had seen Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada leave as free agents.
Fuson, the former Oakland scouting director who was portrayed as a buffoon in Michael Lewis’ bestseller, “Moneyball,” finally has tired of keeping a stiff upper lip. He suggested Beane accepts a wee bit more responsibility for the Athletics’ success than he deserves.
In the book, Fuson was criticized for drafting high school pitcher Jeremy Bonderman, which reportedly prompted Beane to throw a chair. At 20, Bonderman spent last season in Detroit’s rotation and is considered one of the American League’s best young pitchers.
“And Billy didn’t want me to take Bobby Crosby either,” said Fuson, who is in line to succeed John Hart as Texas’ GM after this season. “I guess he doesn’t mind now.”
Crosby is replacing the departed Tejada as Oakland’s shortstop.
Fuson admitted he’s still bothered by the book.
“Billy and I have talked about it, and we’ve moved on,” he said. “But it was really unfair to a lot of people, not just me. We were doing a lot of those things, like drafting a lot of college players, before Billy even got to Oakland. But that didn’t come out in the book.”
Out of the shadows: Remember Ken Caminiti? The 1996 MVP whose 2002 revelation to Sports Illustrated brought baseball’s steroids problem into the daylight is in camp with San Diego as a spring training coach.
He regrets being so open in the SI interview.
“I thought I stepped on a lot of players, which I never intended to do,” Caminiti said.
After being found in a Houston hotel room with cocaine and drug paraphernalia in November 2001, Caminiti pleaded guilty and was given a three-year community service agreement. He has been attending counseling three times a week, regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and submitting to random testing.
“It has been a good cleanup period,” he said.
Padres owner John Moores has remained supportive of his former player.
“Ken is a good friend whom I admire enormously . . . and he knows it,” Moores said. “Nobody was more intense on the field than he was. I love the guy. Ken is a warrior who is, I believe, putting his life back in good shape. He will always be welcome with the Padres.”
In his corner: Not everyone is shunning Barry Bonds. He spent part of last Tuesday morning filming a promotional commercial for All-Star Game voting, produced by Fox Sports for MLB.
“He’s one of the best players in the game right now, and he’s certain to be an All-Star again. He certainly deserves to be one of the players promoting the All-Star Game,” said Dan Bell, vice president of communications for Fox Sports.
Bell reads newspapers but insisted “nobody at Fox hesitated for a moment” to use Bonds to promote the All-Star Game.
“There was not even a second thought,” he said. “I think we’ve used him in the past in Saturday game-of-the-week promotions. There’s no question in our minds he should be part of this campaign.”
Worried about Shooter: One of the most popular players around the league, Rod Beck, has a lot of people worrying about him. He has left the San Diego Padres to deal with a situation GM Kevin Towers calls “confidential.”
Towers hinted Beck’s absence “might be” health-related.
“I’m concerned about Rod,” Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. “Any time there’s a personal matter, we have concern. It’s like a family here, and he’s part of it. We’re all hoping for the best for him.”
After beginning the 2003 season living in a trailer next to Sec Taylor Stadium in Des Moines, Beck re-established himself by going 20-for-20 in save situations with San Diego. He is penciled in as a setup man for Trevor Hoffman but isn’t likely to be in uniform when the season begins.
Love of the game: It’s a shame Terry Mulholland is closing in on retirement. No player has ever treated those around the game–especially ushers, security guards and parking-lot attendants–better. Nor has any player ever respected the chance to earn a living playing a game more than Mulholland.
This spring, the 41-year-old lefty is conspicuously present on the Seattle Mariners’ bench. He lingers in spring training dugouts long after his fellow pitchers, who are allowed to go home after three innings in games they’re not scheduled to work.
Mulholland, a valuable reliever on the Cubs’ team that went to the playoffs in 1998, is with his sixth team in the last six years. He knows he’s on his last legs but doesn’t want to say goodbye.
“When you run things through your mind, you may think of not playing, but then where would you be if you found you missed it?” Mulholland says.
“The game keeps you going. Everyone has choices, and our choice is to endure workouts and early-morning drills, sweat and aches and blisters. Some will tell you they don’t miss that. Other guys will tell you they leave the game and do miss it, and I think that would be me.
“This is the best game ever invented. I want to play it as long as I can.”
Whispers: Aaron Miles, whom the White Sox traded to Colorado for Juan Uribe, appears to have won the starting second base job in Colorado. He would be a good late pick in a fantasy draft because he could score 100 runs as the Rockies’ leadoff man. . . . Former Cub Bobby Hill could get a starting job by default in Pittsburgh with Freddy Sanchez out until May after ankle surgery. His competition is coming from Rob Mackowiak, Abraham Nunez and rookie Jose Castillo. . . . The Phillies are cutting it close with the completion of Citizens Bank Park. They might have to close parts of the stadium for the exhibition games on April 3-4 that open the park. . . . Jason Kendall and Ellis Burks are the latest names being mentioned as trade targets for Seattle. . . . Alfonso Soriano remains a problem for the Rangers. He won’t even take ground balls anywhere but second base. Don’t be surprised if Texas loses more games than Detroit this season. . . . The Dodgers are talking to the Orioles about Larry Bigbie or Jay Gibbons. Baltimore is expecting a big season from Bigbie, a native of Hobart, Ind., who hit .303 in 83 games last year. . . . Fred McGriff is having a decent spring with Tampa Bay but is expected to get released soon, making it problematic whether he’ll get the nine homers he needs to reach 500.
The last word: “This club has more wins in a week than I got in 2 1/2 years as manager.”–Mariners coach Rene Lachemann after a six-game spring winning streak.
