I amaze even myself with my inability to demonstrate willpower in the face of baseball. I guess that makes me the Jake Gyllenhaal to baseball’s Heath Ledger. Without further ado, and before I nauseate myself, here are my latest baseball-related thoughts:
1. Sweet Lou Chicago. Fortunately, the Yanks didn’t fire Joe Torre in favor of Lou Piniella. Without rehashing my feelings on Piniella, who I thought would wallow in, and contribute to, the negativity surrounding baseball coverage in New York, I can say that I think the Cubs made an intriguing managerial choice.
In Piniella, the Cubs got the requisite butt-kicker they need after spending three years in Dusty Baker’s accountability-free zone. For PR purposes, they also got a “championship” manager, although I’d argue that the 1990 Reds World Series victory says less about Piniella’s managerial skills in the face of his Seattle teams’ bad playoff defeats in 2000 and especially in 2001.
For now, Cubs fans should consider taking out insurance policies on the shoulders of Carlos Zambrano and anyone else left among the scraps of a once-solid pitching rotation. Unless the Cubs find a way to improve the caliber of their rotation, bullpen, middle infield, and outfield, there’s nothing Lou can realistically do to change the reality that the Astros, Cardinals, and perhaps Reds and Brewers have more on-field talent. That being said, Lou has a special way of getting some of his players to overachieve through intimidation and fear. In my opinion, Piniella is baseball’s version of Bill Parcells. And while this approach yields results in the short-term, a scorched-earth policy always ends badly for the team after this kind of manager moves on.
I think the Cubs will be better than expected in 2007 but beyond that, this relationship could end up in divorce court shortly thereafter.
2. Alex Wrigley-Bound? That will certainly be the talk of this off-season. With Lou Piniella being the only manager to not only coax performance but comfort and serenity out of Alex Rodriguez’s body, all signs would seem to point that Lou will lobby Cubs management to bring ARod to Chicago as the team’s cleanup hitter. Quite honestly, the Cubs simply don’t have the assets the Yanks would need to make such a deal possible. Chicago is short on top-flight minor league prospects above the Single-A level and, with the exception of the aforementioned Zambrano, has nothing resembling league-average starting pitching (2006 Cubs ERA+ 98).
The Yanks, unlike the 2003 Rangers, are in the enviable position of having the luxury of choosing whether or not to trade ARod at all. Certainly the Yankees might entertain offers but it’ll be a seller’s market this time around and there are other teams – the Angels, Astros, Padres, Dodgers, and White Sox – that match up better with what the Yankees are after.
One interesting note: there is a rumor that the Yankees would move ARod in a three-team deal where the Royals would send uber-prospect Alex Gordon to New York. That’s the one I’m rooting for.
3. Possible Historic Rematch? With one more victory, the Cardinals can clinch their second National League Pennant in three seasons and, in so doing, would set up a historic rubber-game rematch of two of the most famous World Series ever played. The first, played in 1934, featured the “Gashouse Gang” Cardinals beating the Tigers in seven games and featured 11 future Hall of Fame inductees between the two teams. The second, played in 1968, was memorialized in an exceptional HBO Sports documentary about how the Tigers’ seven-game victory over the Bob Gibson/Lou Brock-led Cardinals saved the riot-weary city of Detroit from a winter of further angst and isolation.
Hopefully Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals are in the mood to make some history tonight. Giving the Tigers and Cardinals a chance to match up in the World Series would be great for baseball historians and mid-market fans alike.
1. Sweet Lou Chicago. Fortunately, the Yanks didn’t fire Joe Torre in favor of Lou Piniella. Without rehashing my feelings on Piniella, who I thought would wallow in, and contribute to, the negativity surrounding baseball coverage in New York, I can say that I think the Cubs made an intriguing managerial choice.
In Piniella, the Cubs got the requisite butt-kicker they need after spending three years in Dusty Baker’s accountability-free zone. For PR purposes, they also got a “championship” manager, although I’d argue that the 1990 Reds World Series victory says less about Piniella’s managerial skills in the face of his Seattle teams’ bad playoff defeats in 2000 and especially in 2001.
For now, Cubs fans should consider taking out insurance policies on the shoulders of Carlos Zambrano and anyone else left among the scraps of a once-solid pitching rotation. Unless the Cubs find a way to improve the caliber of their rotation, bullpen, middle infield, and outfield, there’s nothing Lou can realistically do to change the reality that the Astros, Cardinals, and perhaps Reds and Brewers have more on-field talent. That being said, Lou has a special way of getting some of his players to overachieve through intimidation and fear. In my opinion, Piniella is baseball’s version of Bill Parcells. And while this approach yields results in the short-term, a scorched-earth policy always ends badly for the team after this kind of manager moves on.
I think the Cubs will be better than expected in 2007 but beyond that, this relationship could end up in divorce court shortly thereafter.
2. Alex Wrigley-Bound? That will certainly be the talk of this off-season. With Lou Piniella being the only manager to not only coax performance but comfort and serenity out of Alex Rodriguez’s body, all signs would seem to point that Lou will lobby Cubs management to bring ARod to Chicago as the team’s cleanup hitter. Quite honestly, the Cubs simply don’t have the assets the Yanks would need to make such a deal possible. Chicago is short on top-flight minor league prospects above the Single-A level and, with the exception of the aforementioned Zambrano, has nothing resembling league-average starting pitching (2006 Cubs ERA+ 98).
The Yanks, unlike the 2003 Rangers, are in the enviable position of having the luxury of choosing whether or not to trade ARod at all. Certainly the Yankees might entertain offers but it’ll be a seller’s market this time around and there are other teams – the Angels, Astros, Padres, Dodgers, and White Sox – that match up better with what the Yankees are after.
One interesting note: there is a rumor that the Yankees would move ARod in a three-team deal where the Royals would send uber-prospect Alex Gordon to New York. That’s the one I’m rooting for.
3. Possible Historic Rematch? With one more victory, the Cardinals can clinch their second National League Pennant in three seasons and, in so doing, would set up a historic rubber-game rematch of two of the most famous World Series ever played. The first, played in 1934, featured the “Gashouse Gang” Cardinals beating the Tigers in seven games and featured 11 future Hall of Fame inductees between the two teams. The second, played in 1968, was memorialized in an exceptional HBO Sports documentary about how the Tigers’ seven-game victory over the Bob Gibson/Lou Brock-led Cardinals saved the riot-weary city of Detroit from a winter of further angst and isolation.
Hopefully Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals are in the mood to make some history tonight. Giving the Tigers and Cardinals a chance to match up in the World Series would be great for baseball historians and mid-market fans alike.
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