{"id":6499,"date":"2010-01-17T07:01:49","date_gmt":"2010-01-17T07:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=6499"},"modified":"2010-04-02T15:32:45","modified_gmt":"2010-04-02T14:32:45","slug":"rounding-the-bases-reds-marlins-and-mcgwire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=6499","title":{"rendered":"Rounding the Bases: Reds, Marlins and McGwire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-6025\" title=\"MlbHlSq\" src=\"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/wp-content\/MlbHlSq.jpg\" alt=\"MlbHlSq\" width=\"201\" height=\"225\" \/>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 41 days until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training and 78 days until Opening day.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure you are counting them down just like I am, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not as though we are suffering from a lack of baseball news in the meantime.\u00c2\u00a0 Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>A week after Jason Bay and Matt Holliday came off the free agent market, Aroldis Chapman joined them by signing for a team that were seen as a real outsider for his services.\u00c2\u00a0 The Astros, Diamondbacks, Giants, Pirates, Rangers and Tigers all spent some money on free agents, while the Marlins had their spending publicly questioned by MLB and the Players Union.\u00c2\u00a0 The A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Padres agreed to a trade and former Oakland star slugger Mark McGwire found himself firmly back in the news.\u00c2\u00a0 <!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Cincinnati signs Cuban star<\/h3>\n<p>Everyone knew that Cuban free agent pitcher <strong>Aroldis Chapman<\/strong> was wanted by all thirty Major League teams.\u00c2\u00a0 It was therefore no great surprise that the Cincinnati Reds were in on the bidding, but few would have predicted that they would be the ones to <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100110&amp;content_id=7896508&amp;vkey=news_cin&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=cin\" target=\"_blank\">land the big prize<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<div style=\"float:left;margin-right:5px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/default.aspx?term=aroldis chapman&amp;iid=4216480\" target=\"_blank\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/5\/9\/e\/2\/World_Baseball_Classic_8732.jpg?adImageId=9102259&amp;imageId=4216480\" border=\"0\" alt=\"World Baseball Classic- Mexico City Day 3\" width=\"234\" height=\"298\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"http:\/\/cdn.pis.picapp.com\/IamProd\/PicAppPIS\/JavaScript\/PisV4.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>The Reds agreed a Major League deal with Chapman on Monday worth $30.25m (\u00c2\u00a318.6m): a staggering sum for a 21 year old who has a fairly limited track record of success pitching against quality batters.\u00c2\u00a0 What he does have is youth on his side, a great pitching frame, a live left arm and at least two excellent pitches: a fastball that has been clocked at a shade over 100 MPH and a potentially devastating slider.\u00c2\u00a0 He is certainly not yet the finished article, indeed he may not even pitch in the Majors until the latter part of the season after developing his craft in the Minors, but his talent and sky-high potential is unquestioned.<\/p>\n<p>Cuban defectors always carry with them a large amount of intrigue and interest.\u00c2\u00a0 Compared to players in the Minor League system and in North American colleges\/high schools, relatively little reliable information is known about many Cuban players.\u00c2\u00a0 Mythical tales of mile-long home runs, fastballs too quick for the naked eye and spellbinding glovework pass among the baseball community like Chinese whispers.\u00c2\u00a0 We know to treat such tales with caution, but at the same time there is always hope that a potential superstar is just around the corner, waiting for their chance to break free and show what they can do in the Majors.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Chapman has been talked about in hushed but excited tones for a while and his defection in July last year set in motion an exciting sequence in which we would finally see him turn from a Cuban wonder to a Major League prospect.\u00c2\u00a0 That sequence was made all the more interesting for me, and other European baseball fans, because it started in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p>Chapman was in Rotterdam for the World Port Tournament in July last year when he walked out of the entrance to the Domina Hotel, hopped into a car and sped away from the control of the Communist Cuban regime on a journey to the competition and cash point of the Major Leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 For Chapman and many baseball fans, that was great news.\u00c2\u00a0 For Joe and I, about to hop on a plane to the Netherlands and greatly looking forward to seeing him pitch live at the <a href=\"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=3416\" target=\"_blank\">Neptunus Stadium<\/a>, his defection came a few days earlier than we would have liked.\u00c2\u00a0 Just one chance to watch him on the mound would have been a real treat, but it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t to be.\u00c2\u00a0 Reading that the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s narrowly missed out to the Reds in signing Chapman has made it a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcso near, yet so far\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 double-whammy for me.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I guess I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have to accept that we just weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t meant to be together.<\/p>\n<h3>Marlins under the microscope<\/h3>\n<p>While I would have much preferred to see him end up in Oakland, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still great to see such an exciting young talent join a team other than the usual big-spending suspects (Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Angels etc).\u00c2\u00a0 It goes to show that all Major League teams do have the funds to compete for players in certain circumstances.\u00c2\u00a0 The big market teams will always have an advantage, as is the case in all types of business, but the shared revenues in MLB mean that no team can honestly cry \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpoverty\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and claim that they have no hope of competing.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That was recognised in another <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100112&amp;content_id=7907054&amp;vkey=news_fla&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=fla\" target=\"_blank\">news story<\/a> this week when the Florida Marlins became the first team to be picked up publicly for their spending of the shared revenue they receive. The whole justification for the revenue-sharing system, introduced in 1997, is that it is for the good of MLB as a whole to have 30 competitive teams and a certain amount of money should be shared between them so that this can be the case.\u00c2\u00a0 Consequently, it is a requirement under the Common Agreement, which itself amounts to the legal framework within which MLB operates, that every team uses the money to improve their performance on the field.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 If the owners of the small-market teams simply pocket that money (most likely to pay off debts) rather than put it into the on-the-field \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcproduct\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, the system breaks down.<\/p>\n<p>And the Players Union gets very unhappy.<\/p>\n<p>The Marlins\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 payrolls have consistently been far below the assumed level of revenue received over the last few years, although they are adamant that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153there had been no violation of the Basic Agreement at any time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Certainly their performances on the field have been more than creditable during the last few seasons and Major League payroll is only one part of an organization\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expenditure on its playing staff (amateur draft signing bonuses, international signing bonuses etc).\u00c2\u00a0 However, the unprecedented step of issuing a joint statement between a club, MLB and the Players Union on this topic tells its own story.\u00c2\u00a0 We can assume that the Marlins\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 lawyers could potentially present a successful case that showed they had not technically breached the Agreement, but that MLB and the Players Union could also present a case that showed they were sailing very close to the wind.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Marlins therefore reaffirmed their commitment to invest in their playing staff and this was followed, coincidentally or not, by them <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100114&amp;content_id=7916172&amp;vkey=news_fla&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=fla\" target=\"_blank\">signing<\/a> star pitcher <strong>Josh Johnson<\/strong> to a four-year contract extension worth $39m (\u00c2\u00a324m).\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Other deals this week<\/h3>\n<div style=\"float:right;margin-left:5px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/default.aspx?term=vladimir guerrero&amp;iid=3125516\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/2\/2\/4\/f\/d3.JPG?adImageId=9102567&amp;imageId=3125516\" border=\"0\" alt=\"MLB: Angels v Rangers September 26, 2007\" width=\"234\" height=\"351\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"http:\/\/cdn.pis.picapp.com\/IamProd\/PicAppPIS\/JavaScript\/PisV4.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>Both teams in the Lone Star state made a free agent signing this week.\u00c2\u00a0 The Texas Rangers <a href=\"http:\/\/texas.rangers.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100111&amp;content_id=7898670&amp;vkey=news_tex&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=tex\" target=\"_blank\">signed<\/a> <strong>Vladimir Guerrero<\/strong> to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $6.5m (\u00c2\u00a34m), with an option for 2011.\u00c2\u00a0 Guerrero isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite the fear-inducing force of old as injuries have taken their toll, but the Rangers can give him some rest as a DH and offer a great batting environment.\u00c2\u00a0 Those two factors helped the oft-injured Milton Bradley to have a career year with the Rangers back in 2008 and while Guerrero isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to return to his MVP form of 2004, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good bet to put up some strong numbers this year.\u00c2\u00a0 Meanwhile the Houston Astros <a href=\"http:\/\/houston.astros.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100112&amp;content_id=7905366&amp;vkey=news_hou&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=hou\" target=\"_blank\">added<\/a> former Philly <strong>Brett Myers<\/strong> on a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $5.1m (\u00c2\u00a33.13m)\u00c2\u00a0with a 2011 option.\u00c2\u00a0 Last season was a struggle for Myers after he had helped the Phillies win the World Series back in 2008.\u00c2\u00a0 He now gets a fresh start and gives the Astros a number three starter behind Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Several of the Astros\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 competitors in the National League made moves this week.\u00c2\u00a0 The San Francisco Giants <a href=\"http:\/\/sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100113&amp;content_id=7909122&amp;vkey=news_sf&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=sf\" target=\"_blank\">signed<\/a> first baseman <strong>Aubrey Huff<\/strong> to a one-year deal worth $3m (\u00c2\u00a31.85m).\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a confusing development for the Giants\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 offense.\u00c2\u00a0 The acquisition of Mark DeRosa seemed to make most sense if he was used at third, moving Pablo Sandoval to first and leading to an addition or two in the outfield.\u00c2\u00a0 However, now Huff has to play first, keeping Sandoval at third and probably moving DeRosa to the outfield where his bat is much less valuable. The Giants were discussing a two-year\/$14m (\u00c2\u00a38.6m) deal with <strong>Adam LaRoche<\/strong>, but he ultimately <a href=\"http:\/\/sports.espn.go.com\/mlb\/news\/story?id=4829638\" target=\"_blank\">decided<\/a> to take a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, guaranteeing him $6m (\u00c2\u00a33.69m) and giving him a much better opportunity to turn a productive year in hitter-friendly Chase Field (as opposed to the pitcher-friendly AT&amp;T Park) into a more lucrative multi-year deal over the next offseason. Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Pirates <a href=\"http:\/\/pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100111&amp;content_id=7898104&amp;vkey=news_pit&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=pit\" target=\"_blank\">added<\/a> to their outfield options by acquiring <strong>Ryan Church<\/strong>, LaRoche\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s former teammate in Atlanta, on a one-year deal worth $1.5m (\u00c2\u00a3922k).<\/p>\n<p>In the American League, the Detroit Tigers have agreed (but not yet officially confirmed) a contract with the final remaining Type A free agent on the market: <strong>Jose Valverde<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The former Astros closer has <a href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/mlb\/news?slug=ti-valverdetigers011410&amp;prov=yhoo&amp;type=lgns\" target=\"_blank\">reportedly<\/a> come to terms with Detroit on a two-year deal worth $14m, with a $9m (\u00c2\u00a35.53m) option for 2012. Valverde adds a dominating presence to the back of a bullpen that has lost Fernando Rodney (Angels) and Brandon Lyon (Astros) over the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Oakland and San Diego <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100115&amp;content_id=7925900&amp;vkey=news_mlb&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=mlb\" target=\"_blank\">agreed<\/a> to a trade on Friday that will see <strong>Scott Hairston<\/strong> return to the Padres after just six months.\u00c2\u00a0 Oddly enough, it is his best friend on the Padres team, <strong>Kevin Kouzmanoff<\/strong>, who will be heading in the opposite direction as part of the deal.\u00c2\u00a0 Kouzmanoff is a sure-handed third baseman with some power and he will be under contract for the next three years, giving the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some welcome stability at a position that has been manned by fourteen different players over the last three seasons.<\/p>\n<h3>Big Mac and Lies<\/h3>\n<p>Away from all of the player transactions, the big talking point of the week was Mark McGwire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100111&amp;content_id=7900244&amp;vkey=news_mlb&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=mlb\" target=\"_blank\">confession<\/a> that he used steroids during his playing career, including during his historic 1998 season.<\/p>\n<div style=\"float:left;margin-right:5px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/default.aspx?term=mark mcgwire&amp;iid=7522658\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/7\/5\/c\/4\/Mark_McGwire_admits_f6db.JPG?adImageId=9102373&amp;imageId=7522658\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Mark McGwire admits to using steroids\" width=\"234\" height=\"320\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"http:\/\/cdn.pis.picapp.com\/IamProd\/PicAppPIS\/JavaScript\/PisV4.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>It was not exactly \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcshock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 news.\u00c2\u00a0 Most people had their suspicions at the time, suspicions that were all but confirmed by McGwire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cringe-inducing performance in front of Congress back in 2005.\u00c2\u00a0 Just in case there was any doubt remaining, we now know that McGwire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reluctance to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153talk about the past\u00e2\u20ac\u009d under oath was because it would have involved him admitting to a systematic programme of drug use.<\/p>\n<p>McGwire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confession has been <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100111&amp;content_id=7903066&amp;vkey=perspectives&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=mlb\" target=\"_blank\">panned<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/sports.espn.go.com\/espn\/commentary\/news\/story?id=4818450\" target=\"_blank\">by<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20100112&amp;content_id=7906998&amp;vkey=perspectives&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=mlb\" target=\"_blank\">many<\/a>, not least due to his claims that he took steroids to aid his recovery from injuries and that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think they contributed to his home run-hitting stats.\u00c2\u00a0 The second claim goes back to the same old question: we all know drugs alone can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make you a top ballplayer, but can they turn a very good home run hitter into an excellent one?\u00c2\u00a0 It would make sense: the extra strength helps a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwarning-track\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 shot over the fence, not just adding one more home run to the tally but quickly ending an 0-for-12 slump and restoring confidence, leading to another burst of hits.\u00c2\u00a0 Definitely possible, but also definitely difficult to prove or quantify.<\/p>\n<p>The MLB-leading home run totals in the last two seasons (47 by Albert Pujols in 2009 and 48 by Ryan Howard in 2008) pale in comparison to McGwire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 70 and 65 of 1998 and 1999.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe those stats tell us something about the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsteroid era\u00e2\u20ac\u2122; but maybe what they tell us is that the ball was juiced as well as the players?\u00c2\u00a0 Then again Sammy Sosa led the Majors with \u00e2\u20ac\u02dconly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 50 longballs in 2000, right between McGwire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s two best years and Barry Bonds\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 all-time record of 73 in 2001.<\/p>\n<p>The situation calls to my mind something John Lennon once <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Qn85BeeiwZo\" target=\"_blank\">sang<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All I want is the truth<br \/>\nJust give me some truth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>That qualifying second line jumps out at me.\u00c2\u00a0 Ideally we all want <strong>the<\/strong> truth (did McGwire take drugs and what exact impact did it have on his performances?) but in the end most of us will, out of desperation, settle for <strong>some<\/strong> truth (that McGwire <strong>did<\/strong> take drugs).\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a shame that, once again, this is one of the few baseball-related stories that finds its way into British newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 41 days until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training and 78 days until Opening day.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure you are counting them down just like I am, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not as though we are suffering from a lack of baseball news in the meantime.\u00c2\u00a0 Quite the opposite. A week after Jason Bay and Matt [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[122,111,106,123,553,128,135,134,119,126],"class_list":["post-6499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb-2","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-florida-marlins","tag-houston-astros","tag-mlb-2","tag-oakland-as","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-st-louis-cardinals","tag-texas-rangers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6499"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7229,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6499\/revisions\/7229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}