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| Tuesday, July 25 | |||||
| Ramirez's future in Hart's hands Special to ESPN.com | |||||
| All eyes on John Hart.
This is the week that the Cleveland Indians general manager must decide if it's time to do something he may have forgotten how to do -- fold. It's either that or risk playing a weak hand that could leave him looking at nothing but draft picks for Manny Ramirez.
The Indians, of course, have won five consecutive American League Central titles, advancing as far as the World Series in 1995 and '97. The Indians were within one out of a Series parade three years ago, but Jose Mesa couldn't nail it down.
Many of the principles from Game 7 are long gone, the most notable being manager Mike Hargrove and Mesa. Guys like Jim Thome, Charles Nagy, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Ramirez have made it their mission to get back in that position again, but it doesn't look like this will be the year.
Riddled by injuries, Cleveland has made pitching moves practically on a daily basis since the start of June. It trails the surprising Chicago White Sox by 10½ games with the July 31 trade deadline approaching, but is still in the running for the wild card.
The decision Hart must make is this: Is it wise to hang on to the suddenly hot Ramirez in the hopes of getting into the playoffs as the wild card? The Indians entered this week only 3½ games behind Oakland in the wild-card race.
That would seem to indicate that Ramirez is staying, even though agent Jeff Moorad has given Hart no reason to think he can keep him off the free-agent market. "If we're in it, I'm not trading Manny," Hart said last week. "If we're out of it, anything can happen."
But it's not as simple as that. While the Indians are only 3½ games behind Oakland, are they really strong contenders in the wild-card derby?
They were only two games above .500 through Sunday, which left them in fifth place in the wild-card pack. In addition to the Athletics, the Indians trailed the Red Sox, Angels and Blue Jays.
You tell us. Are they in it?
New owner Larry Dolan risks a Jacobs Field rebellion if he waves a white flag while the Indians still have a shot at a sixth consecutive trip to the postseason. But the smart play might be to take the best of the many good offers that will be made for Ramirez -- the biggest impact player without a no-trade clause -- and reload for a run at the giddy White Sox in 2001, possibly with Alex Rodriguez along for the ride.
Here's an idea. Why not offer to send Ramirez and shortstop Omar Vizquel (signed through 2002) to Seattle for A-Rod? Then the Indians could spend the next two months trying both to win and to sell Rodriguez on the idea of signing a long-term deal.
The only real risk is losing Vizquel. It would be worth it to get the inside track with Rodriguez. The Indians can afford to pay him. They can clear $20.5 million off their payroll by following the David Justice trade by also severing ties with Kenny Lofton, Ramirez and Vizquel.
During the All-Star break, Dolan said the onus was on Ramirez to "show he can help us the rest of this year and make us think about re-signing him." All Ramirez has done is hit .400 with seven homers and 17 RBI in 11 games since returning from the disabled list.
This is called a dilemma. And it's not one of those good ones, either.
Spotlight: Stanford QB Joe Borchard When the White Sox selected Joe Borchard with the 12th pick in this year's draft, they did so hoping to convince him to walk away from a chance to start at quarterback for Stanford. This could be the week that determines if they succeed, and some surprising people are rooting for them. "I really hope they sign him," said another club's scouting director. "Borchard is the kind of player we need in baseball. We considered him the most talented player in the draft. We weren't the only team, either." Borchard is a switch-hitting right fielder with power and a strong arm. He has put up impressive baseball totals despite never commiting himself fully to baseball. He played several games this year immediately after workouts with the football team. He says he's tired of the two-sport grind, but thus far hasn't been willing to put a possible NFL future on the shelf. It is expected to cost more than $3 million to sign Borchard, and the asking price could be as high as $5 million. "Wide receivers are coming in on July 27th, so the 28th is the date we have to be concerned with," White Sox GM Ron Schueler said. "It's not a deadline, but that's the time where you see him going in and lifting weights and starting to throw. We'd probably do something by the end of the month." New face: Angels right-hander Seth Etherton Talk about quick learners. A little more than two years after leaving the University of Southern California, Seth Etherton is helping keep Anaheim in playoff contention. The Angels' No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft has won his last five starts, including a victory over Texas on Thursday. He's gone at least five innings in all eight starts this year. "He's shown he's for real," manager Mike Scioscia says. Now what about his team? Team to watch: Cubs Don't look now, but the Cubs have a chance to record their first winning month since the start of the Great Cubs' Collapse of 1999. They were 11-8 in July after a weekend sweep of the Brewers at Wrigley Field, and were 8-3 since the All-Star break. Of course, the Cubs' headlines seldom come from on-the-field stories. Their hot weekend against Milwaukee followed the resignation of GM Ed Lynch last Wednesday and the trade of popular left fielder Glenallen Hill to the Yankees on Friday. It didn't hurt Don Baylor any that his team missed Brewers righthander Jeff D'Amico, who has won all four starts since rejoining the starting rotation. Things are going so well for the Cubs right now that they even got a victory from Ismael Valdes on Sunday. It remains to be seen if this will help them move the fragile veteran to a contender before next Monday's trading deadline, but count on Andy MacPhail giving it his best shot. He would also like to find new homes for several other players, including left fielder Henry Rodriguez and left-hander Felix Heredia. Sammy Sosa's 15-game hitting streak ended Sunday, but who cares? Kerry Wood has won both of his starts since the All-Star break -- and only one of those was against the Brewers. Series to watch: Oakland at Seattle (Monday-Wednesday) The top two teams in the AL West meet again after splitting two games at Oakland last week. Oakland holds a 4-2 edge in the season series, but in a scheduling quirk hasn't yet gone to Safeco Field this year. The A's will play four games at Safeco Sept. 21-24, but they are going to have to pick it up if those games are going to have much meaning. They've gone 8-14 since June 27, falling from first place to four games behind Seattle. There's no one great pitching matchup in the series, but the A's may be getting a break by missing Freddy Garcia. Kevin Appier faces Jamie Moyer on Monday, with Gil Heredia meeting All-Star Aaron Sele on Tuesday and Tim Hudson going against Paul Abbott, the M's fifth starter, Wednesday. Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a Web site at www.chicagosports.com. | ALSO SEE Ramirez's agent less confident slugger will remain with Indians | ||||