Dear Pat Gillick: Get Mark Teixeira

In 1982, the Phillies used Ryne Sandberg as a throw-in to deal with the Cubs. In 1964, they blew an enormous lead and lost the pennant. In 1993, the Phils left Mitch Williams out in the 9th inning to doom their only playoff team since Pete Rose and Steve Carlton donned the red pinstripes. Just this year, the Phillies lost their 10,000th game.

But the worst transgression happened in the 2001 amateur draft. After Joe Mauer and Mark Prior were taken, the Devil Rays did us a bigger favor than leaving Bobby Abreu unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft. The Rays took Dewon Brazelton, meaning that the Phillies were free to draft the player who would lead them to several championships. Mark Teixeira came to the Phillies on a silver platter, and has been nearly as-advertised with his powerful, switch-hitting stroke.

There is only one problem. The Phillies passed on Mark Teixeira and drafted Gavin Floyd instead. Actually, let me stress that entire sentence. The Phillies passed on Mark Teixeira and drafted Gavin Floyd instead.

Dear Pat Gillick,

Here is your chance to correct what is the single most egregious error in Philadelphia Phillies history. The Texas Rangers are desperate to trade Teixeira. In fact, they’re also looking to trade Eric Gagne, and you know our bullpen could use his arm.

For over twenty years, I have known the Phillies would choke. They always do. Either they’re really bad, or they’re just good enough for it to hurt that much more when they choke. This year, Pat Gillick, let’s shed the label. You even get to show initiative by putting Teixeira at third base, a position he has played in the Major Leagues and could easily play for us in 2007.

Here’s the trade. Rangers get:
Francisco Rosario
Kyle Drabek
Jose Mesa
Mike Zagurski
Kyle Kendrick

Phillies get:
Eric Gagne
Mark Teixeira

Come on Pat, let’s make this happen. Philadelphia needs a winner.

Is Luis Gonzalez a Hall of Famer?

Luis Gonzalez on baseball-reference.com

Luis Gonzalez has had a very interesting career, spanning 18 seasons, and including a walk-off hit in the World Series. Most importantly, Gonzalez is not yet finished, enjoying a renaissance at age 39. Is Gonzalez a Hall of Famer? Well, in addition to the famous hit, Gonzalez hit 57 home runs in 2001, one of the finest seasons by any player. He has longevity and great peak seasons, but not enough of either to reach the hallowed grounds.

Gonzalez has always been underrated, from his Astrodome-deflated stats in his 20s to his doubles-heavy record in his 30s. From 1990-97, except for a brief stint with the Cubs, Gonzalez played his home games in the Astrodome, the worst hitters’ park in baseball history. Gonzalez hit only 62 home runs for the Astros and his counting stats were severely hampered. Now, as Gonzalez approaches 350 home runs, his record would look much better if not for the numbers he lost to his home stadium.

Even as he became the face of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Gonzalez performed under the radar. While the 57 homer season stands out, Gonzalez has had four other seasons of 45 or more doubles since turning 30, leading to some very impressive slugging percentages. Even when he wasn’t knocking the ball of out the park, Gonzalez remained an important power hitter.

The most similar player to Gonzalez, statistically, is Dave Parker. Like Parker, Gonzalez has had a long career with some important highlights, but the overall package just isn’t enough. Gonzalez had some power, but not as much as most of his contemporaries. He was durable, but not as much as some other players. Gonzalez didn’t stand out as a fielder or baserunner and really didn’t have anything to overcome his low totals.

Gonzalez has always been considered one of the good guys in baseball, and even took a turn broadcasting while he was still an active player. But he falls well short of the Hall of Fame.

Vote for Rory… er, Pat

Pat Neshek, he of the most interesting delivery in baseball, has an All-Star Campaign in his honor, just like Rory Fitzpatrick did for NHL’s game earlier this year. Neshek is likely to be more successful, for these reasons:

1. He’s actually pretty good.
2. That funky delivery.
3. Neshek is already on the MLB “Final Vote” list, meaning he only has to beat out four players who were also not chosen as All-Stars.

I voted for Pat. Let’s hope he wins, and gets into the game. That would be exciting.

Tiant Tanks For History

In 1973, the Yankees and Red Sox faced off in what was due to be the first game in history with a Designated Hitter. Ron Blomberg, batting sixth, was set to DH for the visiting Yankees while Orlando Cepeda, batting fifth, took the spot for the host Red Sox. In natural order, Tiant should have retired the Yankees in the first and allowed the powerful Red Sox lineup to get Cepeda to the plate as the first DH in history. But Tiant struggled in the first, giving up three runs, and allowing Blomberg to take the honors.

We had a discussion about this at the bar last night, and it was mentioned that Tiant complained about the cold early-season weather in Boston, leading to his bad performance in the first inning. But that can’t be right – Tiant pitched eight more innings that day and allowed only two runs. I speculate that he tanked – pitched poorly to become known as the pitcher who faced the first DH in history. Blomberg walked, by the way. In the first official at-bat as a DH, Cepeda struck out leading off the second.

At least he hits like a pitcher

After almost four years, the Padres’ Matt Bush, quite possibly the worst draft pick in all of human history, has has converted from a shortstop to a pitcher. Bush was a decent pitcher in high school, but it’s hard to imagine that this turns out well. I’d sooner see Rick Ankiel as a Major League outfielder.

It gets worse: just look at the 2004 MLB Draft…

1 Matt Bush SS Padres Mission Bay HS, El Cajon, CA
2 Justin Verlander RHP Tigers Old Dominion
3 Philip Humber RHP Mets Rice
4 Jeff Niemann RHP Devil Rays Rice
5 Mark Rogers RHP Brewers Mount Ararat HS, Orr’s Island, ME
6 Jeremy Sowers LHP Indians Vanderbilt
7 Homer Bailey RHP Reds La Grange (Texas) HS
8 Wade Townsend RHP Orioles Rice
9 Chris Nelson SS Rockies Redan HS, Decatur, GA
10 Thomas Diamond RHP Rangers New Orleans
11 Neil Walker C Pirates Pine Richland HS, Gibsonia, PA
12 Jered Weaver RHP Angels Long Beach State
13 Bill Bray LHP Expos William and Mary
14 Billy Butler 1B/3B Royals Wolfson HS, Jacksonville
15 Stephen Drew SS Diamondbacks Florida State

Verlander, Sowers, Weaver, Drew, and Bray are already established Major Leaguers, and Butler, Bailey, and Walker are big time prospects. This was a pretty deep draft, and the Padres couldn’t even get an organizational soldier out of it.

I am a baseball trivia expert

… and here is proof:
The Hardest Baseball Trivia Question Answered

Ever since I got the 1990 Official MLB Annual Baseball Preview (with Bo Jackson on the cover), I have made it a habit to remember minute baseball details. Glenn Davis was traded for Curt Schilling, Pete Harnisch, and Steve Finley. The AL Rookies of the Year from 1992-1995 were Pat Listach, Tim Salmon, Bob Hamelin, and Marty Cordova. Andy Hawkins pitched a no-hitter and lost 4-0.

Last night, it came in handy. I was at Professor Thom’s, and I was introduced to a serious baseball trivia guy named John. As he posted on his blog, I answered the hardest question he has ever asked: Who held the career home run record before Babe Ruth. In fact, I did him one better, listing both Roger Connor, the real record-holder, and Gavvy Cravath, who is the 20th century answer. I guess I’m just lucky that I knew the answer.

The best trivia player I have ever met is Curt Spear, who actually stumped The Schwab on ESPN. I met Curt at the 2006 MLB All-Star Game, and he blew me out of the water. He might know more sports information than anyone I have ever met.

Except for maybe my father…

MLB Draft: Anti-Boras bias

There are two new rules for the 2007 MLB Draft, which starts tomorrow, and both are probably good for baseball. At the very least, they will encourage low-budget teams to sign the best players, rather than look for signability.

First, MLB has set an August 15 deadline for players to sign, or else return to the draft pool for the following year. This effectively eliminates the draft-and-follow pattern, where teams draft a player one year, and then wait until his season concludes the following year to sign him in a lower draft slot. With the new deadline, there will be a lot of haggling in early August, but the player will not drive up his price by holding out longer.

In addition, team that fails to sign a player by August 15 now receives same-slot compensation, which means that a team who misses out on pick #7 one year gets pick #7A the following year. This will give leverage to the team, since they will not feel as compelled to sign the player.

As you might have guessed, these changes are largely due to Scott Boras and his (generally sucessful) attempts to get as much money as possible from teams. While the teams do gain an advantage from this, you can bet that certain owners from certain midwest locations will do their best to keep the extra money rather than put it back into the team.

Dear Pat Gillick: Ensberg/Lidge

From all reports, Morgan Ensberg is on the trading block. Houston sure isn’t doing anything to increase his trade value, playing Mark Loretta and Mike Lamb with regularity. I, for one, would happy accept Ensberg on my favorite team. In fact, that’s what I am proposing:

Phillies get:
Morgan Ensberg, 3B
Brad Lidge, RP

Astros get:
Jon Lieber, SP
Francisco Rosario, RP

The Astros are in the mood for some pitching. Jon Lieber has been quite consistent in his career, walking few batters, and generally providing above-average innings. Meanwhile, Houston offers up two players who need a change of scenery. Lidge strikes people out but can’t seem to find his handle. Ensberg walks a ton, but doesn’t hit for average. Ensberg takes over at third for the Phillies for the Helms/Dobbs platoon. Lidge might even close in Philly, with Brett Myers and Tom Gordon out.

Please Mr. Gillick – make this deal happen.

Lazy day with NFL Draft and MLB.tv

I work with sports every day, but sometimes it’s nice to have a lazy Saturday, and spend some weekend time with sports. Today, the 2007 NFL Draft and a full slate of baseball games are doing the job.

The Eagles took Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb about a round too early, but they did well to move down from the 26th overall pick, even if it helped the Cowboys a bit. As the ESPN analysts noted, the Eagles don’t have many weaknesses, so anything that comes from today is gravy.

The Cleveland Browns were the day’s big winners, netting their quarterback of the future (Brady Quinn from Notre Dame), and an offensive lineman to protect him (Joe Thomas from Wisconsin). Personally, I think Charlie Frye will be fine, but you can’t complain about Quinn, especially as late as he went. It was interesting looking at teams picking after Miami (who passed on Quinn) and seeing already-set QB situations. Cleveland did well trading up, and did well choosing the spot to do it.

Meanwhile, there was a full slate of baseball today, which I watched on MLB.tv. The Yankees finally won a game (after having lost seven in a row), beating the Red Sox. My fantasy teams were all pretty lousy today, and Chris Burke didn’t even play, sitting for newly minted Hunter Pence. It’ll be a struggle to replace Burke, who has a low batting average, but his on-base percentage was 100 points higher and he’d stolen five bases. I’d think the occasionally-smart management in Houston will let Burke play often enough.

It’s time to go out for the night, and Matt Cain just gave up his first hit. It’s the fifth inning. Cain has been a great find for my fantasy team.

Is Mike Piazza a Hall of Famer?

About five years ago, Mike Piazza was firmly entrenched as the best hitting catcher of all-time. He was probably a Hall of Famer at that point, and now he is pretty much a lock.

Mike Piazza on Baseball Reference

Statistically, the most similar player to Mike Piazza is Alex Rodriguez. That bodes well for Piazza because it’s not park adjusted, and Rodriguez spent years in Seattle at the Kingdome and in Texas at the erstwhile Ballpark in Arlington, while Piazza toiled at spacious Dodger Stadium, and pitcher paradise Shea Stadium. Besides A-Rod, Piazza has a pretty notable comparables list: Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Duke Snider, and some current stars like Chipper Jones and Jeff Kent.

Piazza was a pretty terrible catcher, and teams often ran wild against him. Still, few players have had ability to be behind the plate for nine innings while still producing as a hitter. Piazza did so on historic levels, while playing in stadiums that certainly didn’t help his cause.

Four times, Piazza was in the top 4 of MVP voting, and he was in the top 10 seven times. His career OBP of .379 is fantastic for a catcher, and his career .550 slugging percentage is great for any player. Piazza has been the key player on many great-hitting teams.

As Piazza winds down his career, we are lucky to see him bat every day as a Designated Hitter. Piazza can still swing, but even if he never hits another home run, his Cooperstown legacy is already cemented.