Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
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Paul Wilson to Cincinnati
Reportedly $4 million over 2 years, broken down at $500,000 in year one and $3.5 million in year two to "help the Reds with cash flow." Remember when Paul Wilson was gonna be great? Of course every baseball fan who was in New York in the mid-90s remembers the Mets' up-and-coming trio of Pulsipher, Wilson and Isringhausen, who were supposed to set the world on fire. That didn't exactly happen, and Wilson didn't pitch at all after his experience with the Mets in '96 for another 4 years. When he did pitch again, it looked like we could again project great things for him, as he had a very nice (albeit brief) stint with the Devil Rays in 2000. He's really not lived up to that promise, turning in two slightly below average seasons in Tampa over about 350 innings. He looks to finally have stabilized his health, and at age 30, doesn't seem likely to deviate too much from the work we've seen him do recently. At what is effectively $2 million a year, he'll likely be a decent fourth or fifth starter (currently slated to be #4) for both years of this contract at worst, and better than that if things break right for him. Pretty low risk signing for the Reds, who should still be looking to trade for Brad Penny (well, I would still be interested) if their budget will allow it. A rotation of Ryan Dempster, Jimmy Haynes, Danny Graves and Paul Wilson doesn't scare me just yet...Penny would help a lot.

Eddie and Gary go to Cooperstown
Both of these guys are clearly deserving, and their cases have been thoroughly documented by people who know a lot more than I do. Eddie Murray is as much of a shoo-in as there is…the fact that a guy like him doesn’t get 100% of the vote is a bit confusing to me. Do writers actually believe that he’s not a Hall-of-Famer? I guess I’m of the mindset that if a guy deserves it, he deserves it…and that doesn’t change over the course of the years he’s on the ballot. I can’t see how a writer could possibly look at the career Eddie Murray compiled and not deem him worthy of enshrinement. I realize some guys don’t think anyone should get in on their first shot, but I really think that’s ludicrous…why else would they be eligible? Whatever. Gary Carter is less of a slam dunk, but he’s also a clear cut Hall-of-Famer in my eyes. Simply put, if you have one of the ten greatest careers for any player at your position, you deserve to get in. Carter was a great catcher, the best in baseball, over a lengthy period of time. Very easy call. There’s been some talk in the wake of the announcements about what cap Carter will be wearing on his plaque, whether it’ll be the Expos or the Mets. I’ve seen Carter take some crap about coming out and saying he’d prefer a Mets cap, despite the fact that he played the bulk of his career in Montreal and would be the first guy with an Expo cap in the Hall. I’m not sure I understand why. He’s said that he’ll honor whatever request the Hall makes (not that he has a choice in the matter), and just got his opinion out there. It’s not like his tenure with the Mets was insignificant…he won a World Series in New York and currently works for the organization. If he feels more connected to the team, what’s the problem? If he wants to pass up the chance to be the first (only?) guy wearing an Expo hat in the Hall, who cares?

I support the candidacy of a few other guys (Bert Blyleven more than anyone else) who didn’t make it, but the real confusing one is Ryne Sandberg, who I really thought would get in on the first ballot. He wasn’t particularly close though, and I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m wrong about this, but as I grew up while Ryno was dominating the second base position, I always thought he was a Hall lock. While his first retirement certainly hurt his career totals a bit, I still look back on a great career and a guy who was one of the best players at his position in history. While I’m sure he’ll make it in the next few years, his lack of support this time around surprised me.

posted by VZW Watcher at 3:22 AM -