Seven great players, all but forgotten
Rough free agent market may force Griffey, Pedro, others into retirement
Eliot J. Schechter / Getty ImagesKen Griffey Jr. wants to keep playing as he seeks an elusive championship ring. But will he find a deal to his liking?
Q: Which small-market teams will benefit the most over the winter?
— Franklin Hawkins, Lawrence, Kan.
A: I like what the Indians have done, Franklin. Kerry Wood always is a health risk, but I have a feeling he’s going to put together a few years of consistent health and production with the reduced innings load of a closer.
But GM Mark Shapiro didn’t stop there, as he added sidearmer Joe Smith, who’s very tough on right-handed hitters. If top pitching prospect Adam Miller emerges, and Rafael Betancourt bounces back from an off year to join Rafael Perez and Jensen Lewis as setup men, this could be a very good bullpen — and a big change from last season, when Indians relievers posted a 5.13 ERA.
They also have added valuable and versatile Mark DeRosa, a nice fit no matter where he ends up playing. For now, that appears to be third base, but that could change, as the Indians were contemplating moving Asdrubal Cabrera to shortstop and Jhonny Peralta to third.
Several other signs are pointing to an Indians’ return to power in the AL Central: They finished very strongly last season — 40-28 after the All-Star break. They will have Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner back from injuries from the get-go, and Jake Westbrook likely for the second half.
Look for the Indians to be a potential 90-win team again in 2009.
Q: Do you know anything about Cuban defectors Yadel Marti and Yasser Gomez? Are they thought to be major-league ready?
— Jeff, Stockton, Calif.
A: Put the phrase ‘Cuban defector’ in front of somebody’s name, and interest sure heightens, doesn’t it? And in most cases, rightfully so, as there is plenty of big-league-caliber talent unjustly being forced to stay in the island nation under the horrible Castro regime.
The defector pipeline has been productive for years — from Orlando ‘El Duque’ Hernandez to 2008 AL Rookie of the Year runnerup Alexei Ramirez. And Marti could have an impact as soon as this season.
He’s listed at 29 (who knows for sure?), but we do know that he was Cuba’s top pitcher in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Marti, a right-hander, pitched 12 2/3 scoreless innings in the event, allowing only six hits and four walks. He won a game and saved two others in four appearances, including a start in the semifinal game against the Dominican Republic.
Gomez, 28, was not part of that WBC team, and reportedly is a speedy outfielder with little power but a .331 career average for the Industriales de la Havana, the same team for which Marti played.
Q: Is there a chance that Peter Angelos might sell the Orioles? I’m old enough to remember the glory days in Baltimore, and it pains me to see what has happened to this once-great franchise under his watch. Is there light at the end of this very dark tunnel?
— Joe Senft
A: I understand the frustration, Joe. You and countless others have been venting about the Angelos-led O’s for quite awhile now. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that he is about to throw in the towel after 15 years.
Eleven consecutive losing seasons is likely to extend to 12 in 2009, and Andy MacPhail’s rebuilding effort is going to take awhile, especially now that the hope once attached to Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and other young arms is long gone.
I might be in the minority, but I think the O’s not getting Mark Teixeira was a good thing for their longer-term outlook.
While it’s great to have a cornerstone player to help lead you out of the wilderness, it’s wrong to think one player can turn around a franchise.
Just ask the Rockies, who have had one winning season since Todd Helton’s $140-million extension kicked in. And as in that case, the money the O’s would have spent to get Teixeira would have been detrimental to efforts to improve other positions.
The solution will have to come from within the O’s system, and then with some solid free-agent additions once a core group is in place.
You can include Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Jeremy Guthrie, Matt Wieters and maybe a couple of others in that core group, but so much pitching is needed that the thought of spending big money on free agents just doesn’t make much sense.
Whether Angelos is patient enough to follow such a course remains to be seen.
Tony DeMarco is a contributor to NBCSports.com and a freelance writer based in Denver.
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