[Westheim]

Tasks for the last week of October:
• Extend Brad Tamburrino (offer is made)
• Extend Scott Wade
• Avoid arbitration with Jose Rivera (1-year deal)
• Release scrubs with major league deals

The last point is important. With 43 players sucking money from our budget, there has to be dead meat somewhere. This was about identifying said dead beat, then see if they have *any* trade value whatsoever, and if not, release them outright. It should be easy to free up more than half a million bucks by binning five scrubs, and this may include players on the arbitration list.

Let’s be honest. Between Ricardo Castillo, Ron McDonald, Jai Utting, Liam Wedemeyer, Luke Newton, and Jorge Villegas we had six players that combined for 1,163 AB last year, while batting a combined .197! That’s WAY too many at-bats for slackers, and that doesn’t even include the other fails we had up like Jason Kent and Mario Guerrero. It also doesn’t include Brent McLaughlin and Steve Caddock, who while batting .211 and .232 respectively, occasionally had a nice moment. I can’t remember any nice moments of those six above. Someone hit a game winning grand slam in late August or so, but I can’t remember …. Or so I thought, I can’t find any box score for that anyway though.

The mind. I’m old. And I’m talking a lot.

The following players have been earmarked for termination (1998 work):
• SP Bryce Hildred (1-3, 3.98 ERA in 4 G @ AA; 6-12, 5.93 ERA in 22 G @ AAA)
• SP Anthony Mosher (3-14, 6.18 ERA in 24 G @ AAA)
• MR Day Grandridge (6-1, 7 SV, 4.38 ERA @ AAA; 0-0, 3.52 ERA in 5 G @ ML)
• MR Fred Carlton (1-0, 2.35 ERA in 16 G @ AAA; 0-0, 14.40 ERA in 9 G @ ML)
• MR Travis Dean (1-0, 2 SV, 3.09 ERA in 18 G @ AAA)
• MR Manuel Diaz (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 G @ AA; 1-1, 6.86 ERA in 14 G @ AAA)
• MR Pancho Padilla (1-4, 15 SV, 4.35 ERA in 39 G @ AAA; 0-0, 11.37 ERA in 8 G @ ML)
• C Ron McDonald (.297/.340/.455, 4 HR, 25 RBI in 145 AB @ AAA; .157/.196/.176, 0 HR, 5 RBI in 51 AB @ ML)
• OF Jason Kent (.296/.358/.481, 7 HR, 30 RBI in 206 AB @ AAA; .154/.237/.173, 0 HR, 3 RBI in 52 AB @ ML)
• OF Kenny Crockett (.370/.471/.741, 3 HR, 7 RBI in 27 AB @ AA; .185/.205/.333, 1 HR, 8 RBI in 81 AB @ AAA; .167/.167/.167, 0 HR, 0 RBI in 1 G @ ML)
• OF Roberto Miranda (.205/.318/.288, 2 HR, 13 RBI in 219 AB @ AAA)

This does not include other players on the arbitration list that were highly toxic this season but have shown flashes of ability in the past – even if elsewhere.

Mosher and Diaz from the above list are still on the DL, the only players in the organization lingering there at this point. I tend to give both of them a pass and one more chance.

Hildred was a scrap heap pickup last winter before we got Movonda. He was at one point penciled in as the fifth starter in Portland. He sucked. He goes. Crockett and Miranda both provided minor sparks for the big league club in 1997. Miranda’s career numbers anywhere show that he won’t cut it in the majors. Crockett is 30, and maybe 1997 was his moment in the sun. Both go. Jason Kent is 24, and he will get a final pass.

Day Grandridge has annoyed me for a long time now. He might be tradable, though. He goes, but not for free. Padilla is in the same spot. We might grab something for him. Right-handed relief will soon be added to the Bigs in form of Dan Nordahl, too, so we don’t need these suckers anymore. Dean is another right-hander with no ceiling. He may not even be tradable, but it won’t hurt to try. Carlton is the only left-hander in the list, and he sucks. Left-handed relief is a big pain in the behind for us for a few years now, but Carlton ain’t the answer.

So: Hildred, McDonald, Crockett, Miranda, Grandridge, Padilla, and Dean are going to get booted. Carlton is useless, but for one reason will not be terminated right now: he’s gonna be our injury backup, and he has another option left for 1999. If I can count correctly, that’s $846k saved for 1999. That’s a new quality player right there.

So, next, Movonda. We have not talked to him yet about an extension. He is 35, came off an uber season in 1998, and is gonna demand another metric butt ton of money. Without him, our rotation projects to contain Saito, Lopez, Farley, and Rivera in whatever order, plus Joly or Fairchild in the #5 hole. If we manage to extend Movonda, it would give us the option to trade either him or Miguel Lopez for that slugger we so direly need. On the other hand, we could just take the draft picks and move on, then sign the slugger off the free agent market (not that that would come any cheaper)

Potential positions for said slugger are right field and first base, or catcher. Maybe we should think about what we already have before we add stuff we can’t find a use for.

So the Coons are pretty much set up the middle with Guerin and Ingall in the infield and Reece in center. Ingall could play either corner on the infield, but why move him there when he fits second base so perfectly? Crowe has been a capable third baseman, but not overwhelming. In the outfield, I think Clyde Brady should be a starter next season. He played right field for most of last season, but can also play left. However, in left we have Stephen Buell (who went to the DL FOUR FRICKIN’ TIMES LAST YEAR), and Chris Parker also wants to, but won’t get to, start there. And Buell can do damage if he’s not HURT ALL THE TIME. So, Brady should start in right. That leaves first and catcher open.

Which is a shame, since the #1 slugger on the market is going to be RF Corey Patel, now still with the Buffaloes. At 27, he has 127 dingers, and he should like it in Portland. Patel is also left-hander, and left-handed power is something that eluded us all of 1998. (Not that Brady was bad, he hit ten homers in half a season, but I’d like more). Of course we could add Patel and platoon Brady with Buell, although that’s not the perfect constellation. Luke Newton could be the backup for that outfield.

Then VAN 1B Bill Mosley will be a free agent. However he’s 34 and already a defensive liability. Salem was two free agents lined up that are interesting for us in OF Will Jackson, who is 33 already, and who is at the moment still nursing an ankle injury, but who’s pushing 20 homers every year. Don’t expect a high average, though. He’s a left-hander, while their C Miguel Castillo is a right-hander. He’s not a power guy, hitting at most two home runs a year, but he’s consistently batting .320-ish. He’s also very good on defense and calling the game, and at 30 won’t drop like a rock for another few years.

I’m still looking at Patel, though. We could probably plug first base with a few first basemen we have stocked in AAA. Well, first there is Samy Michel, but we have more:
• Samy Michel (.321/.415/.513, 8 HR, 32 RBI in 234 AB @ AAA; .230/.302/.385, 4 HR, 14 RBI in 135 AB @ ML)
• Harry Jackson (.333/.379/.481, 6 HR, 27 RBI in 210 AB @ AAA)
• Albert Martin (.341/.471/.598, 5 HR, 17 RBI in 82 AB @ AA; .325/.398/.610, 32 HR, 90 RBI in 449 AB @ AAA)

You know, why not Martin? He’s only 21. Defensively he’s not adept, but if that bat could live up to its reputation in Portland, that could be big for us. We could start 1999 with Michel and replace him with Martin if things aren’t kicking for Michel. One knack is that Martin is not rule 5 draft eligible just yet, so we could conveniently park him another year, but let’s be honest, the Coons will not compete next year, so why not try stuff?

One more word on our top picks from 1997, who have been projected to be the next big things. Dan Nordahl has performed competently between AA and AAA in 1998, with a 2.84 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 52.2 IP. He walked 4.5 BB/9, and that’s the main issue here. Opposing players have a terrible time getting contact against him. He will NOT be on the Opening Day roster in 1999, it would be too early for him.

News are less rosy for catcher Julio Mata. He struggled badly all year, bouncing between AA and AAA. While he slugged 22 dingers between the leagues, he also whiffed 128 times in 463 AB, against only 32 walks. He is hacking at EVERYTHING in the same zip code. Lots of work to be done there. Neither is rule 5 draft eligible this year, and both will start ’99 in St. Pete.

That’s a lot of information, just reflecting players (mostly losers), and not getting anything done.

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Btw, the grand slam I was talking about was Caddock’s, but it was not a game-winner. It came on September 11 in the ninth in Boston. I remember the game though, because it was Bob Joly’s second start and he tossed that 3-hit shutout. Final score was 7-0.