How does a guy who throws 98 miles per hour blow five saves in a
row? We don't know. The Houston Astros don't know. And Billy Wagner would
sure like to know.
"It's hard to fathom," says Houston general manager Gerry Hunsicker.
"I know that."
|  | | Billy Wagner's struggles are baffling -- even to him. |
A team with Billy Wagner as its closer isn't supposed to blow two
seven-run leads in three days. But the Astros did last week.
A team with Billy Wagner as its closer isn't supposed to start the
season 0-12 in one-run games and 1-17 in one- or two-run games. But the
Astros did.
A team with Billy Wagner as its closer isn't supposed to have more
blown saves (six) than saves (five). But the Astros do.
So it shouldn't surprise anyone that people around baseball are
asking whether Wagner's elbow is OK, even though Wagner might be more
aggravated over hearing that question than he is over blowing all those
saves. And that's saying something.
"People have asked Billy that a lot, and he's ticked off about it,"
Hunsicker says. "But all I can tell you is that in that game (Wednesday),
half his pitches were clocked at 98. So it's not physical.
"But I also know it's hard to understand these things. I remember
when I was with the Mets, Doc Gooden started to lose it a little. And I
remember we kept saying, 'His velocity is still there, so what's going on?'
Ultimately, I think we said his fastball had lost its hop. But I'm not sure
that's true in Billy's case.
"Sometimes, when you have an extraordinary player, you come to expect
extraordinary things. So I think we're looking at it as just a slump."
Hunsicker says Wagner did have a similar period in 1997 -- when he
had a 9.72 ERA in August. But never in his career had he ever blown
more than three consecutive saves.
So when a guy blows five saves in a row -- after blowing five of his
previous 50 going into the season -- people will scratch their heads. And
people will ask questions. And they'll keep asking those questions until
Billy Wagner comes out of it.
"I know this," Hunsicker says. "If Billy hadn't blown, say, four of
those five saves, and Jose Lima was just keeping us in the ball game, we'd
probably be .500 now and about three games out of first. But that hasn't
happened. So what can you do?"
Also on the diamond
You can forget that talk about Larry Dierker getting
fired in Houston, too.
"It's not even an issue," Hunsicker says. "I know when teams underperform,
everyone's looking for a scapegoat. But I don't see that in the cards. Larry
just signed a three-year contract. He's one of the most popular people in
the city. The stuff you hear is inevitable when teams go through stretches
like this. I'm not sure I've ever been with a team where somebody's not
complaining about the manager. I think the fact that Larry's so easy-going
(is a reason) people might try to take advantage of him. But he's fine."
Frank Robinson's suspensions of everyone in L.A.
except Jay Leno may be etched in stone at Robinson's house. But Dodgers
players have been telling friends they're confident that at least some of
these suspensions will be overturned -- and that many others will be reduced
on appeal.
But at this point, it isn't even certain when those appeals will be heard.
The commissioner's office wanted Paul Beeston to hear them almost
immediately. The Players Association has balked, saying it needs more time.
And almost no matter what happens, there could be all kinds of ramifications
for player-management relations.
Most likely Dodgers to have their suspensions zapped: Shawn Green
and Gary Sheffield.
"If you watch the video," says Dodgers GM Kevin Malone, "Green and
Sheffield never went into the stands. Eric Karros just stepped in and
stepped out. There were a lot of peace-makers out there. So I hope Paul will
take a good look at what guys' motives were."
There have even been reports that some Wrigley Field security people
actually thanked Dodgers players for their help in trying to restore order.
But those people were never interviewed by Robinson before the decision was
handed down.
The other aspect of Robinson's decision that has
troubled some baseball people is that the Cubs, at least so far, haven't
been penalized in any way. The Cubs did take several security moves on their
own last week -- curtailing beer sales earlier in the game and beefing up
security. But that lack of adequate security clearly played a role in this
incident, and it seems curious there has been no formal ruling to that
effect.
"I don't know that everything's been resolved yet before I say anything
about that," Malone says. "I want to wait and see what happens in the end. I
think their situation is still being evaluated. There was nothing (said)
right away because it didn't involve players."
Had Robinson's penalties not been appealed, the
Dodgers reportedly would have had to play either two or three players short
for three full weeks -- a period extending from May 24 through June 14, with
coaches' suspensions lasting through a fourth week, until June 20.
Robinson ruled that the Dodgers would play with just 22 active players for
the first week and a half of the suspensions. They also would have been
without two players and a coach for a huge series against the Diamondbacks
next month. Sending a message is fine. But when you cross a line between
upholding the integrity of the game and compromising the integrity of the
season, it's time to rethink this ruling.
Charlie Manuel, manager of the depleted Indians, on
those Dodgers suspensions: "I wonder if they can send me a couple of those
players."
The Yankees have been prominently mentioned as being
interested in Matt Stairs. But they're not the only team in New York that
is. The Mets -- who are actively searching for a lefthanded bat -- are also
believed to have inquired about Stairs. But Oakland now says Stairs isn't
going anywhere.
The Cardinals are getting increasingly worried about
their bullpen. So it wouldn't be a shock to see them move one of their extra
outfielders -- Eric Davis, Ray Lankford and possibly even J.D. Drew -- for
significant bullpen help.
The Royals say they're not shopping Johnny Damon,
but clubs that have spoken with Kansas City recently say they've been told
Damon is available for the right pitcher or pitchers. The Royals believe
phenom Dee Brown is ready right now.
With Benji Gil leading the league in errors (11) and
missing 33 percent of the pitches he swings at (third-highest percentage in
the league), the Angels almost have to make a move at shortstop now that
Gary Disarcina is out for the year. Kevin Stocker, just released by Tampa
Bay, is one possibility. And the Padres would love to dump Chris Gomez's
contract on Anaheim. But GM Bill Stoneman is expected to give Justin
Baughman -- just moved back to shortstop, his original position at Edmonton --
the first crack, possibly as soon as next weekend.
Dwight Gooden and Stocker won't be the last guys
departing Tampa Bay. Jose Canseco and Roberto Hernandez are eminently
available.
Juan Gonzalez caused another stir in Detroit last
week when he was quoted as saying the Tigers had told him they were moving
in the fences at Comerica National Park next year. That was news to club
president John McHale and GM Randy Smith. And Gonzalez now says he meant he
was told that by other players.
Incidentally, these are the teams Gonzalez's
contract stipulates he can't be traded to: Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Angels,
Orioles, Braves, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Expos and Phillies.
Useless information department
Randy Johnson might have had his most inexplicable
game ever last Sunday in New York. Ten straight outs were strikeouts. Eight
straight hits against him were extra-base hits. It's obviously a fine line
between hittable and unhittable.
The Unit had given up eight extra-base hits in his
previous 42 1/3 innings combined.
This was only the third week in the last two seasons
in which Johnson and Pedro Martinez lost in the same week. The last time was
last July 5 and 7. And they both somehow lost on the same day, on April 15,
1999.
Johnson now has had six "bad" starts (more than
three runs allowed) since he arrived in the National League 21 months ago.
You don't want to mess with him next time out. In the start following those
six starts, he has an ERA of 0.71 (51 innings, four earned runs).
They don't make big leads like they used to. There
now have been 20 leads of FIVE runs or more blown just in May. That's the
most of any month in baseball history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Break up the Cardinals. They hit 97 home runs in
their first 47 games. The fastest any National League team ever got to 100
was in 64 games -- and that was in 1956 (Reds). Amazing.
Nothing sums up the inability of current lefthanded
relief specialists to get lefthanded hitters out than this: Last Sunday in
Milwaukee, the Brewers brought lefthander Valerio De Los Santos in to face
J.T. Snow, who is hitting exclusively lefthanded this year. Snow singled.
The Brewers then batted around, and when Snow came up again, De Los Santos
was still in the game. He promptly gave up a grand slam to the same guy he
was brought in to get out 10 hitters earlier.
The Astros were 0-12 in one-run games this year --
and 0-14 dating to last September -- before they finally won a 5-4 game
Friday against the Braves. That tied the record for most consecutive one-run
losses since 1900 -- by the '23-24 Phillies, 1919 Cardinals and 1916-17
Pirates. Worst one-season winning percentage in one-run games, according to
the Elias Sports Bureau: 11-32, .256, by the '99 Royals. NL worst: 13-35,
.271, by the '52 Pirates.
The Dodgers hit two grand slams in one game last
Sunday -- and they're the ninth team to do that just since 1998, according to
the Sultan of Swat Stats, SABR's David Vincent. In the entire decade of the
'70s, only three teams did it.
It might seem amazing for Mark McGwire to go into
Memorial Day weekend with 20 homers. But it isn't even close to his own
personal Memorial Day record. He had 27 by Memorial Day in 1998, according to
Vincent. Most by a mere mortal: 24, by Junior Griffey, in 1997.
After Jason Kendall hit for the cycle last weekend
and became the first catcher to that since Rich Gedman in 1985, Pirates
manager Gene Lamont said: "Some centerfielder must have fallen down and
broken his leg for Gedman to get the triple."
The Diamondbacks and Mets had a 3-hour, 31-minute
rain delay at Shea Stadium last weekend. The East Valley Tribune's Ed Price
reports that the Diamondbacks' longest nine-inning game this season was only
3:19.
Gotta love that Orioles staff. They've blown eight
games this season they led by three runs or more.
In independent-league news, Derek Vaughn, of those
lovable Greenville Bluesmen in the Texas-Louisiana League, hit five doubles
in one game Monday in a 22-12 loss to San Angelo. It's believed, according
to Howe Sportsdata, that no one had hit five doubles in a professional game
since 1933, when Bucky Waters, of Mission (Pacific Coast League), did it..
Not to suggest it had been a while since Ramon
Martinez pitched into the eighth inning. But when he did it Friday against
the Yankees, it was the first time he'd gotten an out in the eighth since
May 23, 1998. How long ago was that? ESPN research whiz Jeff Bennett reports
that his little brother, Pedro, had 44 wins and 571 strikeouts in between.
Speaking of Pedros, the hottest Pedro in baseball
might not even be the one you think. Pedro Astacio has ripped off four
straight double-figure strikeout games. And according to the Elias Sports
Bureau, the only other pitchers who have done that in the last five seasons
are Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and that other Pedro. Nice group.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer at ESPN.com. Rumblings and Grumblings will appear each Saturday. | |
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Jayson Stark archive
Stark: Week in Review
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