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thehatfield · 10-29-2006, 01:36 PM

Saturday, December 5, 2020

Baseball fans, the media, everyone, they’re drawn to train wrecks.

The American League Champion White Sox amazingly grabbed another member of the team they lost to in the World Series, signing 33-year old five-time All Star starting pitcher Bowie van Ingen to a 4-year deal worth close to $30 million. Van Ingen was a 21-game winner the last two seasons running for the Mets and was a former 1st round draft choice of the Seattle Mariners back in 2009. In 356 career starts in the Majors he has a 151-110 record with a 3.79 ERA and nearly 2,000 strikeouts. Coupled with the signing of left fielder Brandt Wurz from the Mets a day earlier it’s absolutely the most wild raid on a reigning World Series champion by the team that finished runner-up in the history of the league. That wasn’t really the train wreck but the media had a field day that the Mets should be worried now for next year. The White Sox’ acquisitions has everyone chirping that they had probably made themselves the clear favorites to win the World Series next year.

The Padres’ brass was very proud of themselves when they announced the re-signing of 27-year old power-hitting center fielder Harlan “Harpo” Kinnard to a 4-year deal worth over $6 million per year. Kinnard blasted 50 home runs for the last-placed Padres last year and clearly this was a “cornerstone of the franchise” sort of contract extension. In the case of the Padres this was an instance of public relations train wreck narrowly averted.

A couple of other non-descript yet decent middle relievers switched clubs but aren’t really the sort of impact arms that warrant an in-depth analysis at this time.

But this was all prelude - the actual story was about to begin and we were being called the train wreck.

Late Saturday night I got a call from 33-year old starter J.D. Knisley who spent last year with the Chicago Cubs and who captured his first and only Cy Young Award in Los Angeles two years ago; he was the hardest throwing pitcher available on the free agent market. He said our offer of $7 million over four years was perfect for him and that he had “seriously hoped” to return to the west coast after spending two great years (the 2018 and 2019 seasons) with the Dodgers. With his experience and 97-miles-per-hour heater Knisley may well edge out Rowley Dickson as the ace of our staff to begin the 2021 season, even if only as a nod to Knisley’s longer career. This contract meant we would have to investigate other options to strengthen our bullpen but also that the top three pitchers in our rotation (Knisley, Dickson, and Neifi Villaluazo ) were as strong as they had been perhaps in Oakland’s 15-year history. There was a considerable drop-off after the #3 starter but three good starters were much better than what we went into last season with, that’s for sure. And 3 out of 5 starters being competent gave us, in theory, a good chance of finishing the 2021 season above the .500 win percentage mark.

The Knisley signing was the third of our “Big 4” targets to sign on the dotted line. Knisley, Dickson and Juan “Dome” Guevaro were already signed to the Athletics for next year. The last, and the move that prompted the wave of “train wreck” stories, was 3-time MVP Teodor Revelez who accepted a 3-year $12.5 million-per-year contract making him the highest paid player on the roster. Despite being closely linked with the Mets, Phillies and Marlins, Revelez wanted to stay in the American league and we offered comparable cash to the 29-year old left fielder. With Revelez and Dome we now had a fearsome heart of our batting order, the modern-day equivalent of the Bash Brothers back in the old MLB in the days of yesteryear.

The Oakland Tribune & Contra Costa Times couldn’t understand why we would tie up so much money on four players and try to go for “quick-fixing” rather than building a team that would be good for years to come. The A’s had just completed their 13th straight losing season in 2020, their 9th last-place finish and 3rd straight in the basement. They claimed, and logically so, that the team needed much more than two bats and two arms. The crux of the argument in the Times was that by the time the rest of the team was good enough to seriously compete these four players would be past their primes. The Trib just used it as a platform to resume the bashing they gave me when I traded Rich Harden.

But my thinking here is that they’ve been trying the “build a young winner” method for years now and not spending what was, until I got my hands on it, a healthy cash reserve and it had gotten them absolutely nowhere. As soon as a player seemed ready to breakthrough and become a young star at the Major League level previous regimes traded him away for a pitcher with bad control and an 85-miles-per-hour fastball or a middle-aged shortstop with no range and poor plate discipline. Fans had abandoned the team in droves and we needed to do whatever we could to bring them back. I tried to make it clear to the press that these were not gimmick signings and that we were actually going to try to be competitive next year but from the tone of the articles about our moves it was clear that I was unsuccessful getting the message across. I’m going to be on the Sports Leader KNBR sometime over the next couple of days on the highly rated Frank and the Water Buffalo Show so I suppose I’ll have a better forum to defend my choices than the off-the cuff comments I made to print reporters.

The Trib also somehow knew that Dome Guevaro wanted Jim “Catfish” Hunter’s un-retired #27 jersey. Since the restart of MLB all jersey numbers had become available (starting pitcher Ash Stapely for instance sports Reggie Jackson’s #9) but out of respect to those that came before them most current players didn’t take numbers that were previously retired. But the Trib was right, Dome had requested it, and they argued we should deny the newboy since Catfish Hunter was somehow a “more sacred Athletic in the history of the franchise” than was Jackson. This was a touchy argument and I didn’t want any part of it. What concerned me more is how they got the information that Dome wanted the #27. We had leaks in our organization that needed plugging.

To give the papers a little more to chew on I completed one trade just a week before the start of the Winter Meetings: 35-year old Stapely to the San Diego Padres for 25-year old reliever Terry Rogers. The Padres wanted an experienced arm for their rotation and since we signed two starters Stapely and his career record of 77-120 was more than free to go. Rogers can dial the ball up to 95-miles-per-hour and has the makeup to be a shutdown reliever with some hard work over the next couple of years. Rogers is a former 16th round pick of the Washington Nationals back in 2014 and didn’t become a regular part of a Major League bullpen until his trade to the Padres in 2019.

They Said It…

“Listen, we’ve been making so many changes around here how am I supposed to answer that question right now? For all I know we’ll have 10 more new guys tomorrow.” – new Oakland manager Jeff Hance’s animated response to a question about what the lineup might look like on Opening Day, 2021.

“Do I feel like Lou Brown from Major League? What are you, Groucho Marx or something?” – we think this is an attempt at a humorous comeback from Hance to a question from the media but since we don’t know him well enough yet it simply makes people groan.

“I’m really looking forward to moving my family to Oakland and helping turn around the fortunes of this franchise.” – three-time AL MVP Teodor Revelez makes a stock statement at his press conference to announce his 3-year, $12.5 million-per-year contract with the A’s.

“I’ve been told I’m going to be a member of the bullpen on Opening Day, yes.” – new A’s reliever Terry Rogers comments on his trade to Oakland.

“I have no idea what’s going on over there. Some of the younger kids might think it’s exciting but to a veteran like me it just seems like chaos and I’m just really glad that I got out of there and was able to stay in California. Best of luck to them, though.” – new Padres starter Ash Stapely offers back-handed best wishes to his former club the Oakland Athletics.

10-29-2006, 01:36 PM	#21
thehatfield All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: dirty jerz Posts: 1,339	Saturday, December 5, 2020 Baseball fans, the media, everyone, they’re drawn to train wrecks. The American League Champion White Sox amazingly grabbed another member of the team they lost to in the World Series, signing 33-year old five-time All Star starting pitcher Bowie van Ingen to a 4-year deal worth close to $30 million. Van Ingen was a 21-game winner the last two seasons running for the Mets and was a former 1st round draft choice of the Seattle Mariners back in 2009. In 356 career starts in the Majors he has a 151-110 record with a 3.79 ERA and nearly 2,000 strikeouts. Coupled with the signing of left fielder Brandt Wurz from the Mets a day earlier it’s absolutely the most wild raid on a reigning World Series champion by the team that finished runner-up in the history of the league. That wasn’t really the train wreck but the media had a field day that the Mets should be worried now for next year. The White Sox’ acquisitions has everyone chirping that they had probably made themselves the clear favorites to win the World Series next year. The Padres’ brass was very proud of themselves when they announced the re-signing of 27-year old power-hitting center fielder Harlan “Harpo” Kinnard to a 4-year deal worth over $6 million per year. Kinnard blasted 50 home runs for the last-placed Padres last year and clearly this was a “cornerstone of the franchise” sort of contract extension. In the case of the Padres this was an instance of public relations train wreck narrowly averted. A couple of other non-descript yet decent middle relievers switched clubs but aren’t really the sort of impact arms that warrant an in-depth analysis at this time. But this was all prelude - the actual story was about to begin and we were being called the train wreck. Late Saturday night I got a call from 33-year old starter J.D. Knisley who spent last year with the Chicago Cubs and who captured his first and only Cy Young Award in Los Angeles two years ago; he was the hardest throwing pitcher available on the free agent market. He said our offer of $7 million over four years was perfect for him and that he had “seriously hoped” to return to the west coast after spending two great years (the 2018 and 2019 seasons) with the Dodgers. With his experience and 97-miles-per-hour heater Knisley may well edge out Rowley Dickson as the ace of our staff to begin the 2021 season, even if only as a nod to Knisley’s longer career. This contract meant we would have to investigate other options to strengthen our bullpen but also that the top three pitchers in our rotation (Knisley, Dickson, and Neifi Villaluazo ) were as strong as they had been perhaps in Oakland’s 15-year history. There was a considerable drop-off after the #3 starter but three good starters were much better than what we went into last season with, that’s for sure. And 3 out of 5 starters being competent gave us, in theory, a good chance of finishing the 2021 season above the .500 win percentage mark. The Knisley signing was the third of our “Big 4” targets to sign on the dotted line. Knisley, Dickson and Juan “Dome” Guevaro were already signed to the Athletics for next year. The last, and the move that prompted the wave of “train wreck” stories, was 3-time MVP Teodor Revelez who accepted a 3-year $12.5 million-per-year contract making him the highest paid player on the roster. Despite being closely linked with the Mets, Phillies and Marlins, Revelez wanted to stay in the American league and we offered comparable cash to the 29-year old left fielder. With Revelez and Dome we now had a fearsome heart of our batting order, the modern-day equivalent of the Bash Brothers back in the old MLB in the days of yesteryear. The Oakland Tribune & Contra Costa Times couldn’t understand why we would tie up so much money on four players and try to go for “quick-fixing” rather than building a team that would be good for years to come. The A’s had just completed their 13th straight losing season in 2020, their 9th last-place finish and 3rd straight in the basement. They claimed, and logically so, that the team needed much more than two bats and two arms. The crux of the argument in the Times was that by the time the rest of the team was good enough to seriously compete these four players would be past their primes. The Trib just used it as a platform to resume the bashing they gave me when I traded Rich Harden. But my thinking here is that they’ve been trying the “build a young winner” method for years now and not spending what was, until I got my hands on it, a healthy cash reserve and it had gotten them absolutely nowhere. As soon as a player seemed ready to breakthrough and become a young star at the Major League level previous regimes traded him away for a pitcher with bad control and an 85-miles-per-hour fastball or a middle-aged shortstop with no range and poor plate discipline. Fans had abandoned the team in droves and we needed to do whatever we could to bring them back. I tried to make it clear to the press that these were not gimmick signings and that we were actually going to try to be competitive next year but from the tone of the articles about our moves it was clear that I was unsuccessful getting the message across. I’m going to be on the Sports Leader KNBR sometime over the next couple of days on the highly rated Frank and the Water Buffalo Show so I suppose I’ll have a better forum to defend my choices than the off-the cuff comments I made to print reporters. The Trib also somehow knew that Dome Guevaro wanted Jim “Catfish” Hunter’s un-retired #27 jersey. Since the restart of MLB all jersey numbers had become available (starting pitcher Ash Stapely for instance sports Reggie Jackson’s #9) but out of respect to those that came before them most current players didn’t take numbers that were previously retired. But the Trib was right, Dome had requested it, and they argued we should deny the newboy since Catfish Hunter was somehow a “more sacred Athletic in the history of the franchise” than was Jackson. This was a touchy argument and I didn’t want any part of it. What concerned me more is how they got the information that Dome wanted the #27. We had leaks in our organization that needed plugging. To give the papers a little more to chew on I completed one trade just a week before the start of the Winter Meetings: 35-year old Stapely to the San Diego Padres for 25-year old reliever Terry Rogers. The Padres wanted an experienced arm for their rotation and since we signed two starters Stapely and his career record of 77-120 was more than free to go. Rogers can dial the ball up to 95-miles-per-hour and has the makeup to be a shutdown reliever with some hard work over the next couple of years. Rogers is a former 16th round pick of the Washington Nationals back in 2014 and didn’t become a regular part of a Major League bullpen until his trade to the Padres in 2019. They Said It… “Listen, we’ve been making so many changes around here how am I supposed to answer that question right now? For all I know we’ll have 10 more new guys tomorrow.” – new Oakland manager Jeff Hance’s animated response to a question about what the lineup might look like on Opening Day, 2021. “Do I feel like Lou Brown from Major League? What are you, Groucho Marx or something?” – we think this is an attempt at a humorous comeback from Hance to a question from the media but since we don’t know him well enough yet it simply makes people groan. “I’m really looking forward to moving my family to Oakland and helping turn around the fortunes of this franchise.” – three-time AL MVP Teodor Revelez makes a stock statement at his press conference to announce his 3-year, $12.5 million-per-year contract with the A’s. “I’ve been told I’m going to be a member of the bullpen on Opening Day, yes.” – new A’s reliever Terry Rogers comments on his trade to Oakland. “I have no idea what’s going on over there. Some of the younger kids might think it’s exciting but to a veteran like me it just seems like chaos and I’m just really glad that I got out of there and was able to stay in California. Best of luck to them, though.” – new Padres starter Ash Stapely offers back-handed best wishes to his former club the Oakland Athletics. __________________ AFBL - Maryland Bridegrooms SBC - Western Suburbs Magpies no pressure no problem Last edited by thehatfield; 10-29-2006 at 02:05 PM.