SB Nation User Blog: stuart dean

Imaginary FO Conversation

stuart dean — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:41:22 -0000

Intern answers Colletti’s call

Intern: “Marc, remember when Colletti called the other day asking about Casey Blake?”

Shapiro: “Of course I do, I told you to tell him that we would take either Meloan or Santana”.

Intern: “Well, I have some good news and I have some bad news."

Shapiro: "Whats the bad news?"

Intern: "The bad news is that I mistakenly said Meloan and Santana"

Shapiro: "That is bad, was he angry?"

Intern: "Well, actually no".

Shapiro: "Whats the good news?"

Intern: "He said yes"

Indians game re-runs

stuart dean — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:17:59 -0000

Is there something wrong with me?

Is anybody else out there taking occasional looks at some of STO's game re-runs? I was watching last night and my wife asked me if I thought more than one hundred people might be watching. It was quite clear by her air of resignation that the word "losers" could easily be substituted for "people". I kind of enjoy watching it when I'm freed of the angst-shackles of wondering how the game is going to turn out. Watching Fausto go against Beckett last night was pure theater and I could just enjoy it without wondering where I left the Maalox. Are there any other folks out there who feel the same way or do I need to let my wife affix a big "L" to my forehead?

Three thoughts

stuart dean — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:57:54 -0000

Two things that bode well and Jeter

There were 2 things that occurred last night that didn't necessarily affect the outcome but made me more sanguine about the post season.

Hafner hit a one-iron that had it been any lower would have gone through the wall. I don't think that it is any surprise to readers here that we need at least an 80% version of his Pronkness.

The bullpen, especially Rafael left and JLewis, got their feet wet in non-pressure situations. These guys are huge and I'm happy that they may have gotten some jitters out in this fashion.

Regarding Jeter, I lived in NYC and had endless debates that went like this:

Me: "I love Derek Jeter and would kill to have him be my shortstop but he is not a plus defender because he can't go to his left"

Them: "Yeah but how many rings does he have!"

Last night there were three singles through the middle of which a "gold glover" gets to at least one if not two. Jeter has no first step to his left and his cross-over footwork can be best described as an awkward skipping. Go look at the highlights - this is especially clear on one of Lofton's singles.

On Defense

stuart dean — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:17:04 -0000

Things not in the box score and Kenny

Two things that are astounding to me converged yesterday when I was at the Jake. The first is mainstream media's reliance on errors, or their lack, as a yardstick for measuring defense and that Indians' fans still think that Lofton was and is a good defensive outfielder. After having a friendly discussion with a friend Friday night who couldn't fathom why I would take Gutz, Sizemore or even Grissom's defense over the perpetually wrong-route running Lofton, we lost the game yesterday due to shoddy defense that started with Kenny.

In the second inning with no outs and a man on, the box score tells you that Alex Gordon doubled to left center and came around to score. What actually happened is Gordon hit a very catchable fly ball to left that, had Kenny ran the long leg of a right triangle instead of both of the other two legs, he would have easily had. This baserunner proved to be the difference in the game as Gordon came around to score.

In the third, German was credited with a hit when Laffey was slow to cover and slipped on the way to first. This was a hit but it should have been an out.

In the sixth, the box score tells you that Alex Gordon walked and then Gordon took second and German third on a wild pitch. The wild pitch was ball four allowing German to third but Gordon took second because VMart took a Sunday stroll in retrieving Laffey's errant missile. Not an error...

In the seventh, Pena scored and DeJesus went to third on a single to right. Either Gutz overthrew Garko or Laffey was out of position because Laffey cut the throw too close to home to stop Teahen from taking second. No error but bad "D".

Although only one of these non-error gaffes cost us a run, it is amazing to me that there was absolutely no mention (that I saw) in the PD this morning. If Cabrera's extra range had allowed him to get to a ball that nobody else could've gotten close to but he threw it away, we would have heard plenty.

There! Thank you for letting me get that off my chest...

Atkins Q&A with Stephanie Storm

stuart dean — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 13:44:45 -0000

Free Stephanie Storm!

Stephanie has a nice little interview with Atkins over at the Beacon Journal here. It has an interesting juxtaposition to Ocker's latest blustering "letters" rant that again manages to make dumb questions appear dumber. Now that the ABJ is losing Pluto, isn't it high time they jettisoned Shelly and replaced him with Stephanie?

Akron 07.26.07

stuart dean — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:46:12 -0000

I counted 12 scouts in the stands.

Fairly boring game but here's some observations.

Nottingham did a very good Cliff Lee imitation throwing only high-80's fastballs with predictable results. He seemed to be throwing harder than that but a scout told me he "topped out at 89".

Barton seems like an ungodly athlete. Very lanky with a good arm. He swung at the first pitch twice though and I did not get to see him run.

Goleski just LOOKS like a rf; big guy with a strong arm. With the disappointing years by RG, BB and "Trammel" Crowe, how tenuous is Lee May Jr's position in the organization?

"Trammel" had a few good ab's and made a Grady like catch - diving away from the plate in the RCF gap.

JBrown and Aubrey did not play.

AstroCab has a pretty swing but didn't do too much. It is weird seeing another Tribe ss wearing 13...

The guy who impressed me was Gimenez even though I left before he went yard. He had been described to me by a scout as another Garko: good bat & no position. He seems a lot more athletic than Garko making a few nice plays at 3b and moving pretty well. I think Casey Blake is a better comp.

It is a good squad but seem lethargic especially compared to the 03-04 squads but that could be the result of being down 8-0 after 1 at bat...

When I Knew I Belonged Part II

stuart dean — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:28:34 -0000

Ron Swoboda

"The truth is, I didn't belong, my being there was purely a fluke".

Outfielder Ron Swoboda played 10 years in Major League baseball, six of them for the New York Mets. Over the course of his career he maintained a batting average of .242 and hit 73 home runs. Signed off the University of Maryland campus in the Fall of 1963 by scout Pete Gebrian, he first played professionally in 1965 when he broke camp with the Mets. During that rookie year, he earned a spot in the lineup with a torrid first half "hitting fifteen homers, if I remember correctly" on his way to arguably his best year attaining season totals of 19 HRs and 50 RBI. He was an integral member of the Amazin' Mets of 1969 collecting half of his 52 RBI's in the last five weeks of the season and hitting .400 in the World Series where the Mets went on to be crowned the most unlikely of World Champions over the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles. He even spoiled Steve Carlton's 19 strikeout performance on September 15 with 2 home runs including the game winner. It was with his glove, however, that he attained permanent deity status among the Met faithful. It was Ron's diving, sliding catch of Brooks Robinson's sinking liner in game 4 that saved the day for the New Yorkers en-route to a 10 inning 2-1 victory. The ever approachable and entertaining Ron is now a broadcaster with the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs and greatly enjoys his spring training stints with the Mets in his dual roles as both celebrity and coach.

Ron did not feel like he should have made the team at the end of Spring Training in 1965 because he shouldn't have been with the team. He made the trip north with the parent club only due to a long-since discarded major league roster rule. "Back then there was in effect a clause that was similar to the Rule #5 of today and was known as the `First Year Rule'." After a certain amount of service time, teams had to keep you with the big league club or risk other teams drafting you off of the roster. The Mets had lost Paul Blair to the Orioles this way the year before and were so upset about it that they kept four of us: myself, Danny Napolean, Jim Bethke and this little lefty name of Tug McGraw. So if it hadn't been for that silly quirk, I wouldn't have been there at all!"

Although Ron may have benefited from the lack of expectations due to his quasi-interloper status on the roster, it took a strong first half for manager Casey Stengel - spending his last year on the dugout step, to decide he belonged in the lineup, it only took Ron a game or two to decide he was in the big leagues to stay. "I really felt like I belonged after my first game against the Dodgers. During my first (pinch-hit) at-bat against Don Drysdale, I stroked a slider of his pretty well." Unfortunately, "I hit it right at second baseman Jim Lefebvre who went on to be that season's Rookie of the Year;", but to Ron it felt good, it felt right. Confirmation of his new status had to wait only to the next at-bat in game two against the late Turk Farrell. "He threw me a fastball and I hit it out for my first hit - a home run. As I rounded the bases, I thought `Yep I can definitely do this'."

During the summer of 1965, Ron Swoboda shouldn't have been in the major leagues and although he proved to the world he belonged with a torrid first half, it was a loud out that he hit off of a Hall of Fame Pitcher right at a Rookie of the Year second baseman that was the moment "When I Knew I Belonged"

What I Did On My Spring Vacation

stuart dean — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 17:20:32 -0000

These are my untouched-since-then notes taken during Spring Training 2003. They are kinda fun to look back on...

What I Did On My Spring Vacation
I spent it watching the Cleveland Indians in beautiful Winter Haven Florida! Seeing the way that town folded up when the big club headed north, I have to wonder what the city leaders next job will be after they let their home become a ghost town by not having a team train there. They are walking into that uncertain void with all the confidence of David Caruso strutting off the NYPD Blue set.
Thoughts on the team:
Why doesn't the Cleveland media get what's going on here? Indian's GM Mark Shapiro has planted the seeds for the next generation of winning teams using the decaying hulk of the previous generation. He accomplished this, just before the 90's version hit the iceberg. Rather than focusing on this positive story, all they want to talk about is the tearing down of a team that had run its course anyway. Is the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes too embittered from covering years of lousy teams to get excited about what is germinating under Shapiro's stewardship? Does The Akron Beacon Journal's Sheldon Ocker think himself to be so all-knowing that he knows better than the Indians' brass as well as everyone else?

Some random player thoughts...
New First Baseman Travis Hafner really is a poor-man's Thome with walks and power. I'd be disappointed with less than .300/.400/.500. As to his fielding, like Michael Jackson, he wears a glove for no apparent reason...
Akron First Baseman Eric Crozier and Buffalo Outfielder Jody Gerut both made strong impressions. Crozier looks like an athlete in the same way Brandon Phillips does and the missing power part of his game is starting to show up with 6 dingers in the spring. He is also the best fielder at his position above low A. Gerut has spent some serious time in the weight room showing Rickey Henderson-like quads and is intentionally sacrificing batting average for power. He is showing signs of busting out of the 4th outfielder projection. A Stanford grad, he is to be congratulated on being the only pro athlete I've ever heard refer to the effect his possibly making the roster might have upon maxing out his 401k contribution...
Corey Smith has always been happy-go-lucky and sources tell me that he did not work hard this winter belying his "work ethic" propaganda. I believe, however, that somebody sat him down this spring and pointed out how pivotal this season is for him as he seemed oddly somber. He was drafted out of high school from the weather-affected short season New Jersey area which puts him behind developmentally. This is his third season, however, and it is time for him to close the gap between hype and performance. Keep an eye on his walks - his strikeout zone judgement has really been holding him back as well as whispers of "he can't hit the curve-ball".
I still don't know why they didn't give Akron manager Brad Komminsk the Buffalo job. Nothing against Marty Brown but Komminsk has won two consecutive Manager of the Year awards and unlike Brown, was from inside the organization.
Keep an eye on outfielder Eric Johnson - a 3rd round pick from 99 who pursued football for the last year. He is an ungodly athlete who if he hits will get moved along quickly.
Brandon Phillips range is obscene and he really should be at short with Omar put out to pasture somewhere. Was that lightning that just struck me?
I keep thinking that Grady Sizemore will be the best player of the big three prospects (Sizemore, Phillips & Cliff Lee) heisted from Montreal for Colon. He and Ryan Church will be sharing centerfield with Sizemore also playing left when Church isn't in center. Church seems to be having continued troubles with the strike zone that emerged at Akron last year.
Jeremy Guthrie is an impossibly good-looking guy with a wife who almost made me faint. Ah to be young, rich and handsome...
Zack Sorenson has to be making Bill Selby nervous as he is rapidly becoming a Selby clone and is younger
Kinston RHP Mariano Gomez is fun to watch - throws nice and easy.
Buffalo LHP Brian Tallet must have really ticked somebody off - he was shifted to Buffalo way quickly with no fanfare...
Josh Bard, who is starting to look like Einar Diaz without the silly contract might not be able to hit enough to hold the catching job, especially with mega-prospect Victor Martinez behind him. If Victor's arm gets away from the kryptonite, he'll soon be on his way to becoming the player Sandy Alomar was supposed to be ten years ago. I did see him throw out a couple of guys and he can't be worse than Mike Piazza who wags like to say "couldn't throw out the garbage...". I think Wedge likes Bard, however, as he may see something of himself in him and there are position-switch whispers going on with Victor.
If the parent club had kept Jose Santiago and lost Aaron Myette through waivers, I would've blown the same gasket that I had just finally reacquired after the keep Will Cordero/waive Karim Garcia decision of last spring.
I am very happy that Ricky Gutierrez is not with team even if the respite is temporary during his rehab stint. I truly don't understand why big, stupid contracts force teams to play losers. If I bought AOL at $100/share, does that mean I have to hang on to it at $50 or do I admit the mistake and sell it before it goes to $2? Being crazy enough to take Cordero off then Pittsburgh Pirate GM Cam Bonifay's hands lead to two mistakes: keeping Cordero and losing Karim Garcia. Keeping Gutierrez around is moronic. Admit that you were wrong and put him out in Terry Shumpert/Luis Alicea-land where he belongs!!! More on this at a later time.
I like that the front office is keeping prospect Jhonny Peralta at shortstop down in Buffalo. Why not leave him at the maximum defensive position until you have to move him to third or second? He hit at a very young age at Akron last year and his year becomes even more interesting when you isolate the second half where he amassed most of his offensive production.
Todd Pennington and Honeudis Pereyra are two low minor league high strikeout right-handers that I watched and was disappointed in. Righty Pereyra is listed at a 5'11" but I was looking down on him from my lofty 5'10" and Pennington does it with change-ups and has an odd motion that seems difficult to repeat. Confucious says to not get excited about short righthanders (unless he's an Astro) or about low minor league pitchers who feature a change-up as their out pitch.

Other than Travis Foley, they'll be lucky if the 2001 draft wasn't ill-spent on high school right-handers. JD Martin ain't projecting - his fastball hasn't "grown" yet, Dan Denham can't find the plate and Jake Dittler has done exactly nothing. Thank God Alan Horne went to Ole Miss! In return for the team's inability to sign Horne, they drafted and signed Lake County second baseman Micah Schilling in 2002.

When I Knew I Belonged

stuart dean — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:20:46 -0000

"The guy who I once stood in line to get his autograph was waiting to shake my hand". For notes - please see the bottom...

Outfielder Dave Gallagher played 9 years in Major League Baseball with seven different teams. Known primarily for his defense, Dave had a lifetime fielding percentage of .994 and managed eight assists for the 1991 Angels in only 87 games. His most productive season came in 1988 on the South side of Chicago when he recorded 228 putouts without a single error while hitting .303 with 15 doubles and scoring 59 runs in 347 at-bats for the White Sox. Before debuting with the Cleveland Indians in 1987, he spent nine long years in the minors awaiting his chance. Dave remains involved with the game to this day as he is the owner and operator of the "Dave Gallagher Baseball Academy" outside of Trenton New Jersey.

Growing up in the 70's in Trenton, Dave was a Philadelphia Phillies fan, especially of their dominating pitcher Steve Carlton. In those years before Hall of Famer Carlton became surrounded by the other vital pieces of the perennially contending Philadelphia team of the late seventies and early eighties, he shined on some pretty lousy teams. In 1972 for example he won 27 games for a team that won only thirty-two more games without him. That season came in a career that included 329 victories and 4136 strikeouts. It was in that summer of 1972 that 12 year-old Dave Gallagher waited in line at Kenney's shoes to get an autographed ball from his favorite player.

Dave met Steve Carlton again at Spring Training in 1987 when both were invitees of the Cleveland Indians. Dave was competing with Otis Nixon for a fifth outfield spot and the 42 year old Carlton was hanging to his career quite literally by his fingernails as he had added a knuckleball to his repertoire. Unapologetic about his refusal to retire Steve had vowed to pitch until "they ripped the jersey off his back". Acutely aware of his waning physical tools, the normally stoic Steve`s remark to Dave when told of their meeting fifteen years before was "Thanks, now you've made me feel really old..."

Dave wasn't able to join Steve for the trip North but was soon summoned when starting centerfielder Brett Butler injured his hand. He made his major league debut on April 14 1987 in front of family and friends at frigid Yankee Stadium lining up in centerfield behind another future Hall of Famer Phil Niekro. "Because it was so numbingly cold and the pre-game included various Disney characters traipsing around the stands, there were no warm-ups. I had a horrible case of butterflies and couldn't get `em out of my system with a little batting practice." Possibly due to the weather, the 48 year-old Niekro didn't fare very well and with one out in the second inning the call went out to the bullpen for the more "youthful" Carlton. It was two innings later when Steve ran out of gas. After getting two quick outs, another future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield drew a walk. The next hitter Mike Pagliarulo promptly lashed a shot in to the gap - and Winfield was off on contact as he clearly had every intention of going first to home with those long strides of his. Although still shaking off butterflies, Gallagher had other ideas. "I remember running flat-out to try and cut the ball off in the gap and seeing Winfield heading to third with that helmet flying off - he used to wear a flapless helmet on the bases and it always flew off when he was running which was probably why he did it. I just reached the ball, spun and threw blind; a perfect throw and Winfield had to throw on the brakes and hot-foot back to third." When the inning ended, the surprised Gallagher looked up to see his boyhood idol, future hall of famer Steve Carlton waiting for him on the top step of the dugout. Although he gave him only a hand shake and a terse "nice play", the moment had a lasting effect on the no longer cold rookie outfielder. "The guy who I once stood in line to get his autograph was waiting to shake my hand". Even though the run that he "saved" eventually scored due to Yankee catcher Joel Skinner's only career grand slam, the classy Carlton wouldn't let Dave's effort go unrecognized.

Although Gallagher didn't play enough that year to lose his rookie status's, not playing a full season until the next year, a subtle gesture of appreciation for a fine play from an ageing star was the moment "When I Knew I Belonged"

Notes: I was very temporarily hired by the HOF web site back in 2003 until they found out they were prohibited from posting work(s) of non-employees. The idea for the series was to collect stories from ex-players on when they figured out that they really could be major leaguers. I had notes for many but only wound up completing two of them of them before I was fired-before-I-was-hired and when I moved back here, the Game Face people were not interested. Before I throw them out, I hope that you enjoy them.

[editor's note, by Ryan]: Promoted to the front page.

Sayonara Trot?

stuart dean — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:38:38 -0000

Is it time?

I used to love Trot as a player and in a previous life, he was a good customer of mine. I think, however, that it is time to cut him loose. All he brings is OBP, pie throwing and that ubiquitous grit. His power is totally gone, he can't run anymore and his D has slipped. As long as he was hitting .280, he was at least able to maintain the illusion of production. I find myself rooting for him to keep slumping. This would rip the veneer off of his hollow value so that the FO would be left with no choice. Choo is not a savior but I prefer his "tweener" package of range, arm, speed, some OBP and occasional pop. It was bad enough when Wedge was leaving Trot in to flail against LHP but against RHP, his OPS is still only .706 with a sub .400 slg(!) What does he bring to the table? Is it time?