Ask Rotoman

ESPN.com – MLB – Recap – Indians at Tigers – 09/03/2002

I focussed mainly on hitting prospects who might impress this September in today’s mlb.com column, but I named some pitchers.

One of them wasn’t Andy Van Hekken, who notably grew up in a town named Holland, albeit in a state called Michigan.

The guy pitched the first debut shutout for the Tigers since Schoolboy Rowe in 1933, but only struck out one. It makes me think his name is a little Blair Witch, if you catch my drift.

Manager Luis Pujols says, “He only knows how to win,” which is code for “I doubt he has the stuff to win in the bigs, but if guts and guile count he has a chance.”

He threw the first debut shutout for the Tigers since Schoolboy Rowe in 1933. He had more than 100 Dutch relatives (Wondering: Do Dutch people always go Dutch?) at Comerica for his debut. By all accounts he has fantastic control.

I’m rooting for him.

A new Ask Rotoman was posted Tuesday at mlb.com. Robbie Alomar, Jason Jennings, Aaron Boone and a little bit of strike talk, along with some goofy handles and bad puns.

You’ll find it here.

ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score

Richard Hidalgo is suffering through one of the most horrendously bad streaks I’ve ever seen.

He hit .149 in July, with a .447 OPS.

In August he’s hit .120, with a .361 OPS

He’s killing me. He’s showing no signs of life. He’s suffering with injuries that might hurt him for the rest of the season.

If your team is doing well you dont have Hidalgo. If you need help, Hidalgo probably isn’t the guy to get, though if he gets healthy he’s going to be way better than any replacement you are currently considering.

ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score

Two impressive accomplishments that should pound home the concept of regeression (or in these cases, progression) to the mean:

Aaron Boone hitting better than .250.

Eric Young hitting better than .280.

MLB.com Fantasy

Yes, the new Ask Rotoman column, is online.

ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score

This has to be, for a Wickman owner at least, the most galling save ever.

What exactly did Wohlers do? Certainly the only reason our man Bob wasn’t in there was because it was too easy.

Okay, finally, the August prices are here. Let me know if any of the lines are incomplete. I’ve been using Yahoo’s fantasy stats as the foundation for this (a wonderful free resource) and they rather randomly seem to add middle initials to some players names each month. If you find one that look wrong you should be able to fill in the blanks by looking elsewhere in the listing.

The July2002prices.txt are here.

ESPN.com: MLB – Selig fines Bowden for ‘insensitive’ 9/11 remark

In my day I have seen a lot of things. I have been surprised by all manner of tawdryand insensitive actions. And I admit I have not prejudice favoring Major League Baseball.

But as stupid as Jim Bowden’s comments were, the idea that they should be fined is anethema to every value I hold to be true as an American. As stupid as Bowden’s comments were, the only possibly stupider thing would be for the Commissioner to fine someone for saying them.

Bud has already told baseball people who comment on the labor situation that they will be fined One Cool Million Dollars. I don’t have to be AJ Weberman to point out the egregiousnessness of the commissioner fining management who happens to say stupid things unrelated to the labor situation.

My love for baseball does not falter. Really. But this bullshit fills me with despair. I look forward to following the adventures of Jack Cust, just as I once followed the adventures of Ben Petrick. No, the weasly owners of MLB teams don’t owe me a game to watch (nor, as an mlb.com columnist, do they owe me a job beyond my current contract).

But the fact is that the game of baseball exists and will continue to exist, regardless of the interference of men named Selig, Steinbrenner, Wilpon, Loria, Henry, McGowen, and so on and so on and so on. The most endowed owners are free to negotiate with the most talented players, and one hopes they’ll come up with a league that we can trust features the best baseball players around.

But if the best players choose not to play because the owners won’t pay them, well, I will miss them. But I can wait. I’ll pay more to see Andruw Jones play center field, but I’ll gladly watch some local girl play center in the local Little League.

One of the beautiful things about this game is that it’s nearly as beautiful, warts and all, as it is played flawlessly.

P.

The Official Site of Major League Baseball

In these days of java beans and active server pages and whatever other server supplied madness you are delivered (and I know that almost all of these godforesaken innovations actually benefit the reader), I don’t know if this link will tell you that Cliff Floyd is now a Boston Red Sox.

But apparently he is, though the news right now is only posted at mlb.com and not at ESPN.com or Sporsline.

I will only say that the excitement with which I viewed the Expos trying to win the pennant is now dashed by their abandonment of the cause. Not because they have any realistic chance of competing, but because there is no longer any reason for them to protect any player they have.

Colon is as good as gone, but why not Vlad, Vidro and Cabrera, too. Heck, even Brad Wilkerson has to be coveted these days, as do Javier Vazquez, Tomo Ohka, Scott Stewart and TJ Tucker.

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, and I don’t mean Galarraga, why should this sad little franchise maintain any notion of self respect. In fact, management (AKA MLB) should auction off all valuable players now, when they are most valuable, in the midst of a pennant race.

Cynics may note that a potential strike undermines the value of these “free” agents, but don’t let those naysayers question the enthusiasm of the owners, who seem to mean it when they say that a solution is within site.

Not.

As Montreal sells off it’s future the game of baseball, MLB style, dies.

Amen.

Dear Rotoman–

I understand your dilema over a pay/free site and readers questions. Since you want to spend more time with your family (understandable), how about if your wife, daughter and you answer each question. Then it will be “quality family time” along with fantasy baseball. At the end of the season, we will see which one of you dispensed the best advice. We may all be surprised to see who is the real “fantasy” expert in your house. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the excellent suggestion. I know for a fact that my three-year-old daughter was not as high as I was on Todd Ritchie and Mark Little in the preseason, but my lovely wife was convinced Aramis Ramirez was ready to take another big step forward.