Thursday Morning Rangers Notes: Adventures In Absurdity
Joey Matschulat
Andruw Jones to Texas? Don't bet on it.In a Wednesday evening SI.com blog entry entitled "Rangers emerge as suitor for Andruw," hot stove rumor monger Jon Heyman wrote that Texas "could emerge" as a potential landing spot for unemployed outfielder Andruw Jones, citing an anonymous American League executive ("If someone wants to resurrect their career, Texas is the perfect place"), the presence of venerable Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, and the "just announced" move of Josh Hamilton from center field to right field as reasons why Texas could sign him -- operative word in that sentence being could.
Now, Rich Lederer of the Baseball Analysts already launched a scathing, all-out assault against Heyman's credibility as a baseball reporter three days ago (namely, for his reputed position as a "mouthpiece" for superagent Scott Boras, who indeed represents Andruw Jones), and it is not my intention to hop aboard the "Jon Heyman Doesn't Know What He's Talking About" bandwagon, regardless of how tempting it might actually be; that said, there are several conspicuous oddities here that stick out like a sore thumb:
● First of all, I was under the distinct impression that "emerge" and "could emerge" were mutually exclusive terms. The former implies definitive, independently confirmed interest in Jones on the part of the Rangers (which, as you can probably guess by now, I don't think actually exists), while the latter implies idle conjecture on the part of Heyman. Which one is it?
● Assuming that this is nothing more than Heyman-concocted speculation, what, exactly, is he predicating this Andruw-to-Texas notion on? Surely he's not basing this solely off of that incredibly vague and largely inconsequential remark from an AL executive -- the Rangers' possession of a good offense and an inviting haven for hitters is a compelling reason for Andruw to want to come to Texas, not for Texas to want to sign Andruw.
The same logic applies to Heyman's haphazard mention of Jaramillo. After hitting a mind-bogglingly horrific .158/.256/.249 in 238 plate appearances with the Dodgers last season, reportedly looking terrible during a brief stint in the Dominican Winter League and then being unconditionally released by the Dodgers on January 15th with an outstanding balance of $22 million on his two-year, $36 million contract, which side really stands to gain more from this hypothetical union: a presumably humiliated Andruw, who is drawing only modest interest despite being available for the league minimum ($400,000), is staring the unpleasant possibility of early retirement in the face and could benefit from the tutelage of baseball's preeminent hitting instructor, or a Rangers squad already struggling to find enough playing time for its deep stockpile of outfielders?
Andruw needs the Rangers far more than the Rangers need Andruw.
● General manager Jon Daniels has already downplayed the purported imminence of Hamilton's permanent move to right field, stating that "it isn't likely to happen this season" and further asserting that his 2009 usage pattern won't differ too dramatically from last year's, when he manned center field approximately 70 percent of the time and logged the remainder of his starts between right field and designated hitter.
For the sake of argument, however, let's pretend that Heyman is correct and that Hamilton is moving to right field full-time, which then begs the question: can Andruw still competently roam center field? Ultimate Zone Rating (3.7 runs above average in 2008) suggests that he can, while the plus/minus defensive rating system (four plays below average in 2008) is somewhat less optimistic, and both metrics concur that his range in center field is sliding, as do the scouts quoted in the above article from ESPN.com's Buster Olney:
Scouts believe his [Andruw's] defense is quickly regressing, largely because ... well, he's gotten large. "He's just too heavy to play at the level he used to play at in the outfield," one scout said Saturday.
"He's fat," said another.
If what these scouts profess is indeed accurate, then that remarkable string of consecutive seasons where his once-legitimate Gold Glove-caliber fielding ability bolstered his overall value by anywhere from 15 to 25 runs per year is no longer relevant to the discussion, because if his range has dramatically regressed and his arm is not what it used to be, then he's a run-of-the-mill defensive center fielder with a terrible bat, underwhelming athleticism and a questionable work ethic -- the epitome of a washed-up ex-star, barring one of the more unlikely career resuscitations in recent memory.
But, hey, at least Texas makes sense for him. Too bad for Andruw that interest doesn't appear to run both ways.
Quick Hits: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan does not get the sense that the Rangers will manage to reach an agreement with free-agent right-hander Ben Sheets, citing the considerable delay since the meeting two weeks ago involving Sheets, agent Casey Close and the Rangers' brain trust and the apparent lack of progress made since that meeting.
Reader Comments (13)
I usually try to avoid calling people I don't know names, but from all appearances, Heyman is a tool.
And Heyman is a featured rumor monger on MLB Network's Hot Stove. Sad.
I agree with T.R. When there is no interest in a #1 SP that was the NL starter in last year's all-star game, something is seriously wrong.
T.R. bases this solely on the fact that the Rangers haven't gotten anything done in 2 weeks? The Rangers hold all of the cards with Sheets since he is quickly finding himself without a roster spot on any team. If Sheets wants to play the whole season, he will sign with the Rangers soon. If he wants to take his chances and wait until June or July, the Rangers definitely won't be in the running.
Andruw Jones is no Milton Bradley. If I can see that I would be willing to bet the Rangers can as well.
It's kinda sad - every time I see Heyman talk on Hot Stove I think: "That's interesting. I wonder if it's true?"
Regarding Sheets, I don't think a veteran guy like Sheets needs a whole month of ST to get ready for the start of the season. My point is that I think Sheets is the kind of guy who can sign in late March and be ready in mid-April, if he really is healthy enough to pitch right now (and no one seems to be able to answer that question with any authority). So I don't think inactivity on the Sheets front in the next 2 weeks necessarily means he's going to pull a Clemens and shoot for a mid-season signing.
But I do agree with Sullivan that the Rangers don't appear to be doing anything that would lead anyone to believe that they are trying to sign Sheets for anything other than their terms.
There really wasn't any reason to legitimize Heyman's article with that excellent analysis. I was starting to lose hope in Sheets signing (and in the value of signing him) even before Sullivan's article appeared. Every day he's not signed, or rumored to be a target of ANY team, makes me lean more towards the opinion that his health is too risky. Too risky anyway, for more than a very heavily incentivized contract.
The Rangers did have Andruw in town for a workout so Heyman's reporting isn't completely without merit
"According to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy and T.R. Sullivan, Ben Sheets has a torn flexor tendon in his elbow that might require surgery. There is some debate as to whether the Brewers would have to pay for the procedure. The Rangers and Sheets agreed to a two-year deal last week, but the physical threw a wrench into it. GM Jon Daniels says he's not optimistic at this point." from Dierkes
Finally, some real news is leaked about what's going on with Sheets.
The Rangers might of taken a look at Jones simply to see if anything was their skill wise, or if they had something to work with, since Andruw would be a low-risk move, or in other words... CHEAP.
Heyman could gain credibility back from these attacks by naming that source, I see no harm in that, especially when the comment from that source is "If someone wants to resurrect their career, Texas is the perfect place." Thats not always the case but, someone so scrutinized still reporting isn't either.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel per discussions about Sheets, some fans there have questioned Sheets work ethic in preparation. It was stated that sheets begins throwing lightly in January, increasing his workout through February.
Heyman really amazed me with the audacity of that blog entry... he creates the illusion that he's reporting a rumor with that headline, and the proceeds to create his own rumor to "report". Just horrible, horrible journalism. It's things like this that make me miss the guys at Fire Joe Morgan.
"It's things like this that make me miss the guys at Fire Joe Morgan."
LOL!!! Jon Page!!!
Dave: Do you have a link for that?