RSSRoster Cuts and Injuries the Real Results of Spring Training
Mar 29
It is injuries, demotions to the minors, and roster cuts that are the real noteworthy events of spring training. There is a reason why nearly every established player says that the main goal of spring is, to paraphrase, “just to make it out of Florida alive and in one piece.” Yes, Kerry Wood’s season has been impacted for the 9th year in a row, and so has Chien Ming Wang’s and Mike Timlin’s. Anyone starting the season with an injury has a genuine result from March. Unfortunately, it’s not the desired result.
Everyone else, they really might as well forget their spring statistics as fast as possible. For a game so intertwined with repetition and consistency, it’s remarkable that the calendar flip from March 31st over to April changes everything. Guys that were struggling start off the season hot, and the spring’s hottest stars often can’t hit their weight in April. And there’s no predicting any of it from the passionless games played over the previous month.
Each season, the baseball gurus pick the new season’s breakout performers based on how they looked in spring. So often these scouting reports look like pure comedy six months later. Some players just can’t perform their best when it doesn’t matter and others can only get it done when the pressure is off. But, if March were really indicative of April through September, Placido Polanco of Detroit, Willie Bloomquist of Seattle, and Ian Kinsler of Texas would be superstars in the making in 2007. And the Red Sox would be on their way to finishing near the bottom in runs scored. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez would be heading into a season where they’d hit a combined 20 home runs. So, I think I’ll go out on a limb and guess that much of that isn’t going to happen. To go one further, I might even suggest that former steroid legend and current egomaniac, Sammy Sosa, will not hit .400 in his comeback, though he’s above that mark for this month.
It’s our nature as fans to get excited about these early great performances and get exceedingly nervous about the terrible ones. But, it’s part of baseball’s mystical allure that a game so reliant on statistics teases us with worthless springtime numbers. In baseball, statistics don’t lie. Except the ones before April Fool’s Day. In 2004, the legendary Keith Foulke struggled mightily in his first spring as a highly anticipated free agent signing for the Red Sox. But then the calendar flipped and he went on to a masterful season and one of the most important post-seasons in team history. And then after he dominated during spring training in 2005? Well, in Boston we know the story. He got booed off the mound all season long.
So, now we all need to resist the urge to look at win-loss records, team ERA or batting average for the month of March. There is a reason why those statistics don’t count. I mean, I like Derrek Lee of the Cubs, but how many of those spring-leading 28 hits came off of pitchers who will be taking busses to their games in less than a week? I’m glad he’s healthy, but that’s about all his .500 batting average is worth, making it out in one piece. The same goes for us. We’re so close, so for the next few days, just look away, forget the numbers, and we can all starting counting again next week.
More Notes from the Cheap Seats
Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs is the leading hitter in spring training, with a .500 batting average coming into this week. After an injury-shortened season in 2006, the slugger is looking to help a newly revamped Cubs lineup do some damage in a wide open National League Central. After more than $300 million of new spending, they better win at least 20 games more than last year.
On the mound for the final out of the 2006 World Series, former closer Adam Wainwright is transitioning to the St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation for 2007. He has done well in the spring, winning 3 games and posting a minuscule 0.98 ERA. While these numbers don’t matter, getting the innings under his belt is what’s important and he has logged the most among National Leaguers.
After a couple seasons battling injuries, it appears that Rich Harden of the Oakland A’s will emerge unscathed and healthy from spring training. Harden has the ability to be the next big Oakland ace and hasn’t yet been able to live up to the hype. If he can stay healthy in 2007, odds are that this year, at age 25, he’ll rise to the expectations and fill the hole created by Barry Zito’s departure.
