Results tagged ‘ Indians ’
7-15, & the numbers that come with it …
Hint: They’re not pretty.
The Angels (and their $155 million payroll) head into the opener of a seven-game homestand, the first of a three-game series against the Twins and the finale of an ugly April with the fourth-worst record in the Major Leagues and a nine-game deficit of the Rangers in the American League West, where they also trail the Mariners and Athletics each by 5 1/2 games — two teams whose combined payrolls are $137 million.
They went 1-5 in their recent road trip through St. Petersburg, Fla., and Cleveland, have dropped six of their last seven overall, have tied the worst record in franchise history to start a season (also in 1976) and will finish April having won back-to-back games only once. They haven’t done that in any single month since July 1998, and only three other times in their history, according to Stats LLC. They dropped six of their first seven series, with four of those losses coming against teams that finished no better than 15 games out of first place last season (the Royals, Twins, Athletics and Indians).
The rotation, at least, has begun to improve the way we would’ve all expected, posting a 2.62 ERA in the club’s last 13 games while going at least six innings in 12 of those. But the bullpen can’t hold any leads and the offense can’t score any numbers. Yeah, it’s still only April (barely), but the Angels have the look of a team that isn’t taking these early struggles lightly. They’ve released Bobby Abreu, called up Mike Trout, designated Rich Thompson for assignment, called up David Carpenter and replaced (at least temporarily) Jordan Walden with Scott Downs in the ninth inning.
The numbers (warning: some of this material may not be suitable for younger readers) …
- 0: That, of course, is the amount of home runs Albert Pujols has hit through his first 88 at-bats of the season, by far his longest stretch to start any campaign. He averaged 14.2 at-bats per home runs through his 11 seasons in St. Louis, and his career-high at-bat streak in one season is 105, done April 24 to May 22 of last year.
- 0: That’s the amount of multi-hit games Pujols has had since his three-double game of April 19. That’s a stretch of nine games, which saw him post a career-high streak of five consecutive starts without a hit and see his slash line drop from .296/.333/.426 to, now, .216/.266/.295.
- 10: The combined number of walks and RBIs for Pujols through his first 22 games (four RBIs, six walks), which is three less than the amount of strikeouts (13).
- 40.3: The percentage of pitches out of the strike zone that Pujols has swung at so far, which would easily represent a career high, according to FanGraphs.com. Prior to last year (31.8 percent), Pujols had never swung at more than 30 percent of pitches out of the zone in any given season. He’s batting .204 with two strikes and, perhaps more worrisome, 21 of his 94 plate appearances (or, 22.3 percent) have begun with an 0-2 count — perhaps a sign that he’s still feeling out all the new pitchers he’s facing, which brings us to …
- 14: The amount of starting pitchers Pujols faced for the first time this season (out of 22). Not an excuse, but probably part of the reason for his struggles — and those of the offense in general.
- 9: That’s the amount of runs the Angels scored in their just-completed road trip, which saw them average just over five hits per game and go a combined 4-for-30 with runners in scoring position.
4: The amount of times the Angels have been shutout.- 1-12: The Angels’ record when scoring three runs or less.
- 23: The exact number of teams that are ahead of the Angels in terms of: runs per game (3.45), OPS (.642), slugging percentage (.352) and stolen bases (10).
- .230: The Angels’ batting average with runners in scoring position, good for 12th in the AL — ahead of only the division-rival A’s and Mariners.
- 6: The amount of losses the relievers have compiled, which is tied with the last-place Royals for first in the Majors. (What? You thought the bullpen was safe from this?)
- 1: The amount of save chances Walden had (within five appearances) before serving up the two-run, walk-off homer that stripped him of his job on Thursday — game No. 19.
- 1.49: The bullpen’s WHIP, which ranks 23rd in the Majors.
- 1.52: The bullpen’s strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is tied for second-to-last in the Majors (with a Marlins team of similar preseason hype).
Fun, right? …
– Alden
6 Divisions in 6 Days, Day 4 …
Leading up to Opening Day, I’ll roll out an All-Star team for each of the six divisions in baseball — that includes a manager, a starting nine (with a DH also for the National League), three starters and two relievers. One catch: Each team must have at least one representative, and the skipper doesn’t count. Feel free to submit your own lineups below. I’d love to see how yours differ.
Day 4: AL Central
Plenty of great first-base talent here. So great that Eric Hosmer is out and another first baseman (Miggy) is at third.
Manager: Jim Leyland, DET
Lineup
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B (CLE)
Alex Gordon, LF (KCR)
Miguel Cabrera, 3B (DET)
Prince Fielder, DH (DET)
Paul Konerko, 1B (CWS)
Joe Mauer, C (MIN)
Alexei Ramirez, SS (CWS)
Shin-Soo Choo, RF (CLE)
Austin Jackson, CF (DET)
Rotation
Justin Verlander, DET
Doug Fister, DET
Justin Masterson, CLE
Bullpen
Jose Valverde, DET
Chris Perez, CLE
– Alden
Abreu to the Indians? …
The Angels were in talks with the Indians about a deal to send disgruntled outfielder Bobby Abreu to Cleveland, but as of late Thursday night, nothing had been finalized.
Industry sources told MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez the two sides were working on the parameters of a deal earlier in the afternoon, but CBSSports.com and FOXSports.com reported that the amount of money the Indians would absorb was holding up a trade.
Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto could not be reached for comment, and Abreu’s agent, Peter Greenberg, wrote in a text message that he had not been told about a potential trade for his client. A team spokesman said no announcement was imminent.
The Angels have long been trying to move Abreu, the 38-year-old slugger who has been left without a role now that Albert Pujols is on board, Kendrys Morales looks healthy and Mark Trumbo is an option in the corner outfield.
But Abreu’s $9 million salary has been a major obstacle, and his lackluster spring performance – he’s batting just .087 (4-for-46) and has gone hitless in his last five games – has only made it more difficult.
On Thursday, manager Mike Scioscia gave Abreu a mental day off.
The Angels are willing to – and would have to – absorb the vast majority of Abreu’s remaining $9 million in a potential deal. Major League Baseball’s pending approval of the amount of money the Angels would send to the Indians could be keeping the trade from being finalized.
Switch-hitting Indians outfielder Trevor Crowe was removed from a Minor League game on Thursday, which is usually a sign that a player is part of a potential deal.
If the trade falls through, it would mark at least the second failed attempt to move the veteran slugger. Back in February, the parameters were in place for a deal that would’ve sent Abreu to the Yankees in exchange for starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, but Burnett – who eventually went to the Pirates – used his limited no-trade clause to veto a move to the West coast.
Abreu – 16 homers away from 300, 116 hits away from 2,500, seven steals away from 400 and 81 walks away from 1,500 – recently told MLB.com he’d like to play three more years, and previously voiced frustrations about his current role to a couple of Spanish-language publications.
“I’m fine,” Abreu, who has had a couple of closed-door meetings with Dipoto and Scioscia this spring, said Thursday morning. “I don’t have any problems. That’s been talked about. There’s no problems. For me, the most important thing is to finish getting ready for the season, so that whenever they need me, I’m ready.”
Abreu was as consistent and well-rounded a player as there was from 1998-2009, batting .301 with a .406 on-base percentage while averaging 21 homers, 28 stolen bases and 156 games during that stretch.
Over the last two years, though, his batting average has dipped to .254. And though he posted the second-highest on-base percentage on the Angels in 2011, Abreu mustered just eight home runs all season and put up a .668 OPS in the final two months.
– Alden
LAA 6, MIL 3; LAA 4, CLE 1 …
Recap
In Phoenix, Dan Haren was solid against the Brewers, Mark Trumbo homered and the Angels scored late for the victory.
In Goodyear, Kendrys Morales homered, Matt Shoemaker gave up just one run through five innings and Maicer Izturis paced the offense from the top of the order for another win.
The good
Morales homered in just his second Spring Training game — and for the first time since that fateful May 29, 2010, walk-off — and also singled to improve to 4-for-6 in Cactus League play.
Trumbo had a couple of hits and made a very nice defensive play at third base.
Izturis went 3-for-4 with a triple as a leadoff hitter.
Haren wasn’t as great as he had been, but gave up just two runs in five innings and — perhaps most important — worked his first game with new catcher Chris Iannetta.
Jordan Walden bounced back from an ugly outing, with a scoreless, two-strikeout inning.
The bad
Bobby Abreu went 0-for-4 and is now batting .121 this spring.
Vernon Wells went 0-for-4 and is now at .275 this spring.
Daily Albert Pujols update: 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the night cap.
Best quote
Kendrys, in Spanish on his first homer: “It’s been almost two years since connecting on one. I felt pretty good mentally. I feel like it lifted my spirits a little bit.”
Best play (that I saw)
In the fifth inning against the Brew Crew, Trumbo made a diving stop to his left on a hard-hit ball by Rickie Weeks while playing third base, then recovered and got the force out at second base.
– Alden
Game 19: Royals-Angels (and Kendrys) …
Yeah, it’s only Spring Training, but make no mistake — today is a big day for recovering slugger Kendrys Morales, as Thursday’s lineups show …
Royals (11-7)
Alex Gordon, LF
Johnny Giavotella, 2B
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Max Ramirez, DH
Mitch Maier, RF
Yuniesky Betancourt, 3B
Lorenzo Cain, CF
Brayan Pena, C
Alcides Escobar, SS
SP: LH Danny Duffy
Also pitching: Blaine Hardy, Ethan Hollingsworth, Tommy Hottovy, Zach Miner, Sean O’Sullivan
Angels (9-8-1)
Erick Aybar, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Albert Pujols, 1B
Torii Hunter, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Morales, DH
Bobby Abreu, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Chris Iannetta, C
SP: RH Jered Weaver
Also pitching: Scott Downs, Hisanori Takahashi, Jason Isringhausen
Some notes from this morning …
- While manager Mike Scioscia admitted it’s “nice” to finally be able to write Morales’ name in a lineup again, he was quick to point out that he still has some hurdles to clear. Such as … “It’s not going to help us doing it twice a week, it’s going to help us doing it six days a week. So there’s some hurdles that he needs to clear. As far as getting to this point, where we can see him again and be able to evaluate him, I think we’ were very, very confident it was going to happen at some point. Now, how the stamina aspect and how he responds after – he responded well going first-to-home the other day. How he responds to that is going to be something we’re going to have to feel for.”
- Jerome Williams (left hamstring) has enough time to make it back to be the fifth starter by April 15, but he can’t have a single hiccup. He’s going to get the start on Monday — yes, the start, not come in relief behind Garrett Richards — and that would line him up to have exactly four spring starts before the game at Yankee Stadium, which is what Scioscia previously said is the minimum he needs this spring.
- The Angels, don’t forget, have a doubleheader tomorrow, with a day game at the Brewers’ facility and a night game at the Indians’ complex. Dan Haren will pitch the day game vs Zack Greinke.
- Scioscia hasn’t made a final decision yet, but it looks very likely that C.J. Wilson will not start against the Rangers on Sunday, instead pitching in a Minor League game to get his innings in. Yu Darvish will also not pitch against the Angels this weekend. A little gamesmanship? Scioscia downplayed that. “It’s not who we play. We’re getting our own team ready, and if it’s going to help our pitcher get ready to pitch in a Major League game because of things he needs to do with the infield or the catcher or the pitcher-catcher relationship. There’s a lot that goes into where a guy pitches.”
- No final decision yet from Jeremy Moore, but hip surgery still seems likely.
Some links from Wednesday …
- The first Spring Training version of the Inbox, on Mark Trumbo, Bobby Abreu, Aybar, etc.
- Richards continues to make case for rotation
- Mike Trout, Iannetta see action in Minors game
- Angels reassign Kole Calhoun, Ryan Brasier and Efren Navarro
- Arte Moreno interviewed by GQ
Some AL West links …
- Neftali Feliz isn’t concerned about his shoulder
- Yes, the A’s have already departed to Japan to start their season
- The Mariners have set their rotation, and Hisashi Iwakuma won’t be part of it
And the Miami Heat added some much-needed size and toughness with the signing of Ronny Turiaf.
– Alden
Angels 6, Indians 5 …
Recap
Another day, another Angels starter with a scoreless spring debut. This time it was Dan Haren, who joined Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson by throwing two shutout innings. Sparked mainly by Alexi Amarista and Bobby Wilson, the Angels scored two in the first, three in the fourth and one in the fifth. In the last three frames, Ariel Pena (two innings) and Ryan Brasier preserved a one-run game.
The good
Haren looked good, giving up no hits, walking just one batter and striking out three while throwing only fastballs and cutters. He’ll work his splitter and curveball in later.
Lefty reliever Hisanori Takahashi looked sharp in his spring debut, working two perfect innings and striking out two. With lefty Scott Downs higher on the depth chart, look for Takahashi to be more than a one-inning guy this year.
Wilson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double.
Amarista had two hits, including a triple.
The bad
Bobby Abreu went 0-for-3 and is 0-for-4 with a walk so far this spring. #SmallSampleSize
Bullpen hopeful Rich Thompson surrendered a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Daily Albert Pujols update: 0-for-2 with a walk, bringing his Cactus League batting average to .429 through three games.
Best quote
Scioscia, on whether it means anything that his front three starters have thrown two scoreless innings: “It means something when they’re making pitches like they were, and I think that’s what’s exciting. Sometimes these games are making pitches. You can never tell in Arizona what balls are going to find holes and sun and things like that, but Dan Haren had the ball down all day.”
Best play (that I saw)
Young shortstop Jean Segura made another nifty play, picking a ball to his right-hand side in the outfield grass and getting the out at first base.
– Alden
Now for those UNpleasant surprises …
Earlier this week, I wrote about baseball’s most pleasant surprises of the season. Now I thought I should take a look at the other end of that spectrum; the guys we didn’t expect to have down seasons. Take a step back, and you’ll find there’s a lot of star (or star-ish) players that are having bad years.
Here’s a look at the five of the best (or, worst) …
Not-so-great signings: Jayson Werth — $126 million; .230 batting average, .713 OPS. Adam Dunn — $56 million; .165 batting average, 11 homers. Carl Crawford — $142 million; .290 on-base percentage. All were signed in order to get their respective teams over the hump, all have been nothing besides a hindrance so far. If not for a 33-game, season-saving hitting streak, Dan Uggla would’ve been a part of this group, too. Regardless, the cases of Werth (pictured right by The Associated Press), Dunn and Crawford are all head-scratching, and the most troubling is perhaps the situation of Dunn (an unfathomable 3-for-81 versus lefties).
Still not ready?: That’s probably what we can say about Kyle Drabek and Zach Britton, two young guns we thought would compete for the American League Cy Young Award but have struggled this year. Drabek posted a 5.70 ERA through his first 14 starts, prompting a demotion to the Minor Leagues. Now, he has a 6.51 ERA in 13 Triple-A starts. Britton is 7-9 with a 4.54 ERA, was demoted once and missed about two weeks with a shoulder injury recently.
We thought they were on the rise: But Jason Heyward, Carlos Santana, Pedro Alvarez and Brett Wallace only took steps back this year. Heyward, we thought, was a can’t-miss prospect, and he can of course still be a star. But right now, he’s the definition of “sophomore slump.” He’s been mired by injuries, he’s hitting only .220 with 13 homers, and now he’s been supplanted by a man named Costanza (no, not this one). Wallace won the Astros’ starting first base job with a great spring, but hit just .268 with four homers in 101 games before being sent down. He’s 25 now, and has played for four organizations. Will he ever produce like a first baseman should? Santana, one of baseball’s best young catchers before missing the final two months of last year with a concussion, has 19 homers but is only hitting .241 and can’t even be considered the AL’s best catcher in a year when Joe Mauer is struggling (that title belongs to Alex Avila). And Alvarez not only doesn’t look too adept defensively at the hot corner, but he’s hitting .196 with three homers in 56 games in a struggle- and injury-filled second year.
Stars? Not this year: Hanley Ramirez, Ubaldo Jimenez, Chase Utley and Mauer have all had uncommon struggles. By his lofty standards, Hanley’s 2010 season — .300 batting average, 21 homers, 32 steals — was a down one. This one — .243 batting average, 10 homers and 20 steals through 92 games — is flat-out mystifying. He has caught flak from teammates — particularly Logan Morrison – and now, he’s in Class A Jupiter rehabbing. Mauer missed time with leg weakness, has just one home run in his 70 games this year and has been tried out first base and right field this year. The Twins must obviously consider moving Mauer to a different position so they can keep him on the field, but does his bat play elsewhere? For the last six years, Utley has been one of baseball’s most consistent players and arguably its best second baseman. But knee tendinitis put him on the shelf at the start, and now he sits with just a .278 batting average and nine homers in 78 games. And one year after placing third in National League Cy Young Award voting, Ubaldo has a 4.71 ERA in 26 starts this season. Many felt his head simply wasn’t in it in Colorado after frustrations over his contract situation, but he has a 5.79 ERA in his first five starts in Cleveland (though he did pitch seven innings of one-run ball on Friday night).
The lukewarm corner: So, who’s baseball’s best third baseman this year? Not Ryan Zimmerman; he has a .299 batting average but only nine homers and has been limited to 72 games. Not Alex Rodriguez; he has solid numbers for anyone else (.292 batting average and 14 homers) but was set back by a recent stint to the disabled list. Not David Wright; he missed almost 60 games with a back injury. Not Evan Longoria; he’s hitting just .237 after also missing time with injury. Nope, it’s none of those guys. Baseball’s best third baseman this year is … Aramis Ramirez, owner of a .311 batting average, 24 homers and 83 RBIs.
Honorable mentions: Ichiro Suzuki (.331 batting average and 224 hits per season in his first 10 years. This year? Career-low .273 batting average and .313 on-base percentage). … Rafael Soriano (Given $35 million to be a setup man; now has a 4.94 ERA as a middle reliever). … Shin-Soo Choo (One of baseball’s best-kept secrets while hitting .302 with 56 homers and 47 steals from 2008-10. This year, he’s hitting just .261 with eight homers in 83 games).
– Alden
* Also filed this week: Aces’ contract decisions deliver parity.
A week of moves — and non-moves
At 2 p.m. ET, as I sat in my seat just before a 2 1/2-hour flight from New York to Chicago (I’ll be covering the Yankees in the South Side this week), I shut off my phone and immediately started thinking about what would await me once I had service again. The non-waiver Trade Deadline was only two hours away. Where would Heath Bell go? What will the Yankees do? Who will land B.J. Upton? Then I touched down at O’Hare Airport, and realized all of that was a non-story.
Bell was the guy that was sure to be pitching elsewhere the rest of this season, the Yankees — as is their custom — were sure to make some sort of splash, and Upton was sure to be dealt after having his name in rumors for so many years. But none of that happened, Hiroki Kuroda didn’t waive his no-trade clause, James Shields stayed put in Tampa Bay, and the White Sox held on to Carlos Quentin.
That’s right, the biggest thing I’m taking away from the Deadline is what actually didn’t occur.
Now, on to the obligatory post-Deadline-winners-and-losers story. I know that in trades there really aren’t supposed to be any “winners” or “losers” (Neither side makes a deal if they don’t feel they’re “winning,” too, right?), but certain teams simply make out better than others.
Here are the three biggest winners and three biggest losers among the contending teams. And as always, we’ll get the bad news out of the way first …
Losers
Yankees: As MLBTradeRumors.com pointed out, this was the first time since 1999 that the Yankees went through an entire July without making a trade. And even though they’re 22 games above .500 and nurse a 6 1/2-game lead in the American League Wild Card race, they needed to add two pieces that they didn’t get: A starter and a lefty reliever.
Perhaps J.C. Romero, currently pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, will work out for them, and veteran relievers can usually be had in August. But I was in the minority in thinking they should’ve dealt their prospects for Ubaldo Jimenez, who they were reportedly in on. I would’ve given up two of either Ivan Nova, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, and one of either Jesus Montero and Austin Romine. Whether or not that would’ve been enough to get the deal done, I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem the Yankees were willing to come anywhere close to doing that.
The Yankees’ hope is that just one of those three arms becomes the quality of starter Ubaldo currently is, and if you have a chance to get an arm like that now — when he’s expandable, when he’s under club control for a while and when he’s extremely affordable — you do it. Right now, the Yankees have the great CC Sabathia, and then four guys they don’t know what they’ll get out of on a nightly basis. Not good enough.
Diamondbacks: The D-backs have a real shot at winning the National League West, but they didn’t do enough to get it done. Jason Marquis and Brad Ziegler were nice and necessary additions to their rotation and bullpen, respectively, but they needed to upgrade their offense to somehow shorten the gap separating them from the Giants. Instead, San Francisco added a bat, and Arizona didn’t.
I get that the D-backs didn’t expect to compete this year and they prefer to hold on to their top prospects. But had they gone after a big bat, they would’ve had a good shot at superseding the Giants. Now? I can’t see it happening.
Tigers: I understand their hesitancy to give up a prospect like Jacob Turner, but frankly, I would’ve liked to see the Tigers do more for their rotation than just Doug Fister. Maybe one more mid-level starter like that for a team that ranks 14th in the AL in starting-pitcher ERA.
Winners
Cardinals: Fans didn’t seem too happy that they dealt an asset like Colby Rasmus and didn’t really get any long-term pieces in return. And I get that. But I give general manager John Mozeliak a lot of credit for going all in on this season — a year that could be the final one with Albert Pujols at first base and Tony La Russa as manager.
They got a necessary arm in their rotation in Edwin Jackson, who’s an impending free agent who won’t clog up their payroll and, thus, hurt their chances of resigning Pujols; they got righty Octavio Dotel and lefty Marc Rzepczynski for a needy bullpen; and they were able to pluck away from a position where they have a suitable replacement in Jon Jay.
Perhaps they could’ve waited to deal Rasmus — a guy who definitely needed a change of scenery — when his stock rose again, but then they wouldn’t look this good right now. And right now, they look like the best team in the NL Central. The Rafael Furcal acquisition is fine; I’m just not sure how much he has left.
Phillies: There was no more perfect fit for the Phillies than Hunter Pence. With him, their offense now looks on par with that vaunted rotation because they have that right-handed bat that was so critical to their production in years past. This past offseason, the Phillies added Cliff Lee to give them a ridiculous starting staff, but they lost Jayson Werth to the Nationals and missed that right-handed bat to hit behind lefties Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.
Now, they have that right-handed bat again in Pence, and they have him in the books until 2013. Pence is having a fine season, and he came into Philadelphia with an .865 OPS. He’ll get plenty more chances with runners in scoring position now. And Phillies fans will love his energy. The Phils had to part ways with their two biggest prospects, but Domonic Brown and Vance Worley stayed put. That’s another positive.
Indians: Yeah, they did give up a big chunk of their farm system to get Ubaldo. But I just love the spirit of this trade, especially from a team that has so far only been known for parting with aces — from Lee to CC. This has been a magical season in Cleveland, and somehow they’re still in it despite a shaky rotation. It doesn’t look so shaky anymore.
The others
Braves: Michael Bourn is the perfect fit for that team; gives them their first leadoff hitter since Furcal.
Brewers: Francisco Rodriguez was a big pickup, and they got some insurance at second base. But they’re crossing their fingers that Rickie Weeks returns to full health soon.
Pirates: They got a couple of bats in Ryan Ludwick and Derrek Lee – two guys who know the NL Central well — and didn’t give up much.
Reds: Was surprised they were in on some of the big guys, but they have a rather large deficit, and that may have played a part in them standing pat.
Giants: Zack Wheeler is a good prospect, but Carlos Beltran is a good middle-of-the-order bat that should fit in perfectly in due time.
Red Sox: They got a nice rotation arm in Erik Bedard and a utility man in Mike Aviles; not flashy, but effective.
White Sox: I’m just glad they didn’t sell off all their pieces; they still have a shot.
Angels: Did nothing, which was pretty surprising.
Rangers: Got two big pieces for the back end of their bullpen in Koji Uehara and Mike Adams.
– Alden
** Filed this week: Pence trade fills Phils’ need for a righty slugger; Cards, Giants take on win-now modes with deals.
Too many All-Star no-shows? …
PHOENIX – All-Star Game managers Ron Washington and Bruce Bochy took on a tall order leading up to the Midsummer Classic, and it didn’t end when they submitted their roster selections more than a week ago.
The need for a wide array of substitutions has provided quite the juggling act.
In the week since Major League Baseball announced the players who would make up the National League and American League squads for Tuesday’s 82nd All-Star Game at Chase Field, 17 replacements have been named – 10 in the AL and seven in the NL – including five for the starting lineups.
A lot of those who bowed out of the All-Star Game did so because they pitched on Sunday and were thus ineligible (like Justin Verlander, James Shields, Felix Hernandez, Matt Cain and Cole Hamels); and others are either on the disabled list or sporting serious injuries that have kept them out (like Jose Reyes, Ryan Braun, Shane Victorino, Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez and Placido Polanco).
Then there are others like David Price, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter – nursing current or past ailments, but not the type that have necessarily put them on the shelf in recent days.
“It’s kind of sad, especially since over the last couple of years it’s been known that this game is going to dictate home-field advantage in the World Series,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, who was selected by Washington to be one of the AL’s coaches. “I can’t speak for people, only they know their own situations, but the fan voting and the player voting, I think it’s very important, and it’s kind of, in a way, disappointing not to see some of those guys. But, again, I can’t speak for those guys that are hurt.”
One of Acta’s players benefited from an absence, as Asdrubal Cabrera was able to get the start at shortstop with Jeter out. With the left side of both teams’ infield dropping out, Adrian Beltre, Scott Rolen and Troy Tulowitzki also got starting nods in place of players the fans voted in.
For the most part, players feel fans just need to accept the fact that last-minute things happen.
“The biggest responsibility for the player is to the teammate he’s playing for,” Rangers DH Michael Young said. “Obviously they have a great responsibility to the fans, but I’m sure they’re taking their fans and their cities under consideration when they make decisions.”
“There are factors right at the end that force them to not come,” White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko added. “People just have to understand that.”
Few players seem to soak in the spotlight of the All-Star Game more than David Ortiz, who will captain the AL squad in the State Farm Home Run Derby and is usually in a playful mood at this time of year. No matter how many times he takes part in this event, the All-Star Game never seems to get old for “Big Papi.”
With black sunglasses, a sharp-looking suit and what seemed like a permanent smile, Ortiz said he believes all his peers share those sentiments.
“Everybody likes to come to the All-Star Game,” he proclaimed. “There’s not one player who wouldn’t like to be here. This is something that every player is looking forward to do. So I’m pretty sure that those guys who have dropped out, they have a reason. It could be injuries, or personal problems. This is like a family thing right now. Everybody wants to bring their family around here, their kids to hang around the players, to put a good show for the fans because the fans spend tons of time voting for you.”
– Alden
* Filed this week: A look at who could be next to 3,000 hits; Thornburg aims to make impact on Brewers; Astros prospect Altuve not short on talent;
Alden Gonzalez
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