Clearing The Bases

Clearing The Bases                                                                                                                                          April 13, 2011

By George Kurtz

Now that we have finished with all of our rankings and predictions, we can get back to our usual weekly column which will include news and notes throughout Major League Baseball that a fan may want to know.

Manny Ramirez abruptly retired from the Tampa Bay Rays last week after once again failing a drug test.  This is Manny’s second failed test and possibly third if he was one of the 100 or so players that were on the Mitchell Report.  Perhaps it’s finally time to admit that Manny being Manny just isn’t so cute anymore.  Pretty arrogant to think that after you got caught once you wouldn’t get caught again, and he can forget about the Hall of Fame as players who have been caught only once aren’t going to get in.  There is even some speculation as to whether or not Manny will get the 5% required to stay on the ballot when his name comes up in five years.  His retirement also leaves the Rays in a bind as they were hoping his presence in the lineup would give Evan Longoria some much needed protection.  Teams can now be very careful and pitch around Longoria when he returns to the lineup.  The players that seem to benefit the most from Manny’s retirement, Sam Fuld and Johnny Damon.  Fuld could be a fixture in the lineup as long as he remains productive, he’s already a fixture on Web Gems, and Damon can now DH more than play the outfield where he is sort of a grenade waiting to go off in left field.  Desmond Jennings is still on the radar, but you have to think the Rays want to keep him in AAA as long as possible to delay his arbitration eligibility.

There are quite a few closing situation in baseball that are causing baseball managers and fantasy managers big headaches.  The biggest problem seems to be for Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox.  Matt Thornton was named the closer coming into the season but has blow four saves and has an ERA of 7.71 and a WHIP over 3.  If those numbers don’t come down dramatically not only will Thornton not be closing any games, but he will find himself in long relief.  As bad as Thornton’s numbers are, he hasn’t gotten any defensive help either as errors by Juan Pierre and Alexei Ramirez have killed any chance he did have to pick up a save.  One would think the beneficiary to Thornton’s problems would be Chris Sale, but he hasn’t looked much better as his ERA is also over 7 with a 1.636 WHIP.  Right now Ozzie Guillen has no idea who is going to close the games but you may want to keep an eye on Sergio Santos.  Sure he is young, but he is throwing the best in the bullpen as he has yet to allow a run in a little over seven innings.  Santos is a hard thrower with a fastball in the mid to high 90s, eventually Ozzie may have no choice but to give him the ball in the ninth.

The Rays don’t have the same problems as the White Sox, they are not blowing saves, they just aren’t getting many opportunities early this season.  What is even more shocking is that Kyle Farnsworth is closing games right now and doing a good job.  Most think Farnsworth is just a place holder for Jake McGee, but even if Farnsworth eventually falters, Joel Peralta may be next in line, not McGee.

There have been quite a few injuries to big name players in the early going this season.  Josh Hamilton of Texas broke his humorous bone attempting to tag up on a foul pop up near the dugout on Monday.  Hamilton slid into home plate head first and although he didn’t have a collision with the catcher still managed to break a bone.  Hamilton is a great player, but seems to be the definition of “fine China”.  The Nationals Ryan Zimmerman has an abdominal strain and will miss at least three weeks.  Abdominal strains can be testy for a batter as they constantly have to torque their abdomen to swing the bat.  Easy to re-injure that part of the body if you aren’t fully recovered.  Rafael Furcal broke his thumb this week, and he may be out until June.  Not what the Dodgers wanted to see from their leadoff man, but Jimmy Carroll is not a bad replacement.  On Thursday the Twins Joe Mauer was placed on the DL with bilateral leg weakness.  That monster contract Mauer signed before the beginning of last season may end up being a big mistake for the Twins if Mauer’s body is already breaking down.  He is still a top notch hitter, but not worth anywhere near $23 million a year if he can’t catch on a regular basis, not to mention the Twins would  like to see his power return.

The Giants are thinking about swapping Brandon Belt and Aubrey Huff in the field.  Huff has been dreadful in the outfield and neither player has hit so far.  The problem could also be solved if the Giants decide to send Belt back to AAA once Cody Ross returns, which could be as soon as this weekend.

Grady Sizemore continues to rehab in the minors, advancing to AAA Thursday.  He has played well and more importantly, has not suffered any setbacks.  Late April is still his timetable to return to the Indians, but we are starting to hear rumors that he could return as early as next week.

Barry Bonds was found guilty on only one of the four counts charged against him.  Does anyone really care?  Yeah he took steroids, but we already knew that.  Seems the government might have better things to spend their time on.  With the admitted steroid users not having a chance to get into the Hall of Fame, Cooperstown will be without one of the best players of all-time, Bonds, and one of the best pitchers of all-time, Roger Clemens.  Not to mention the player with the most hits, Pete Rose, won’t get in because he bet on the game, sort of dilutes the hall a bit, but then again with some of the players that have been elected over the past few seasons, it has been diluted already.