GaryMrMets
11-29-2004, 04:05 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/256887p-220040c.html
Time to talk turkeys
We saw plenty of gobbledy-gook in 2004 from these bird brains
Byhttp://www.nydailynews.com/images/columnists/madden_b.jpg
The holiday season is officially upon us - a time for reflection and turkey. So, as we reflect on the baseball season, here are our annual Daily News
Top 10 Turkeys for 2004:
1. NOMAR GARCIAPARRA - Beginning with an incredibly misguided financial decision - turning down the Red Sox's second offer of four years, $60 million in March (despite clear evidence of an adjusted market) - Garciaparra singlehandedly succeeded in breaking the 86-year "Curse of the Bambino" in Boston. Having essentially told the Sox he could still get better money elsewhere, he injured his right Achilles tendon in spring training and missed the first 37 games of the season. Playing intermittently afterward, he was traded to the Cubs on July 31. At the time of the deal, an openly sullen and angry Garciaparra had alienated himself from his teammates, who, thanks to a vastly improved defense and clubhouse chemistry, went on a second-half surge and won their first world championship since 1918. The Cubs, on the other hand, suffered a monumental collapse down the stretch with Garciaparra as their shortstop, and failed to make the playoffs.
2. SAMMY SOSA - The Cubs Incredible, Shrinking, Sultan of Sulk, managed to transform himself from a Chicago icon to a deservedly-dissed outcast diva in 2004. In addition to his third straight season of diminished performance (.253 average, .332 on-base percentage, .224 with runners in scoring position, 133 strikeouts, 56 walks in 478 at-bats), Sosa warred openly with manager Dusty Baker after being dropped from the cleanup spot to sixth in the lineup (this despite Baker asking - and getting - Sosa's initial blessing on the move). Then, to cap his off season, Sosa infuriated his teammates by arriving late, never putting on his uniform, and leaving early during their final game. His excuse: he was "tired of Dusty Baker blaming me" for the Cubs' failures. We can only hope "The Days of Sammy's Whine and Foibles" won't soon be coming to a Queens theater near us.
3. KEVIN BROWN - The everlasting symbol of the Yankees' colossal, history-making ALCS collapse. His reputation as a chronic wack-job preceded him, but it didn't begin to manifest itself until June when his performance began to fall off. First, he blamed it on a strained lower back and later a parasite. The bottom line was he missed 44 games. On Sept. 3, he fractured his left hand punching a clubhouse wall in frustration and missed another three weeks. His final act: a 21.60 ERA in two starts vs. the Red Sox in the ALCS, including a five-run kayo in just 1-1/3 innings of Game 7 that effectively took the Yankees out of the game and out of their season. And, to think, all of this for $15 million.
4. KEVIN MILLWOOD - On the bad advice of greed-driven agent Scott Boras, Millwood turned down a three-year, $30 million offer from the Phillies last winter, only to have to come back hat-in-hand (when no other offers even close to that were forthcoming) to accept a one-year, $11 million arbitration settlement. He then became a principal culprit in the NL East-favorite's failure to make the playoffs, logging the worst first-half ERA of his career (5.15), then missing seven weeks in August and September, with an elbow injury. Lefthanders hit .309 against him, but not to worry: Boras has assured him he'll get that $30 million and more this winter.
5. JERRY COLANGELO - The CEO and founding father of the Diamondbacks was ousted in a hostile takeover by his limited partners in August. As per his modus operandi, Colangelo departed one step ahead of the posse of bankers and creditors. For all their success - three division titles and one World Series championship in their first six years of existence - the D-Backs, thanks to Colangelo's reckless management, now teeter on the verge of bankruptcy and possible oblivion. With cash calls in each of their first two years for $53 million, a loan from MLB for another $20 million, plus another $260 million in commitments to cover losses, the D-Backs are the poster children for Bud Selig's newly enforced debt rule. And, lest we forget, there's the $175 million they owe in deferred money to players long gone from the desert. In his final year, Colangelo presided over the embarrassing and disastrous trades of Curt Schilling to the Red Sox for Casey Fossum, and the six players to the Brewers for Richie Sexson (who missd nearly the whole season with a shoulder injury). At least Colangelo wasn't around to take the blame for the Wally Backman fiasco.
6. JASON GIAMBI - Six months after begging out of Game 5 of the 2003 World Series, a noticeably shrunken Giambi showed up for spring training, following offseason knee surgery, smack dab in the middle of the burgeoning BALCO steroids scandal. Between hip bursitis, an upper back strain, a sprained right ankle, an intestinal parasite and finally a reported benign tumor on his pituitary gland, Giambi missed over half the season. He batted an abysmal .208 with 12 homers in 80 games, while pulling down $12.4 million. Until the tumor was diagnosed, Giambi tried to blame his physical and performance woes on MLB's banning of his personal trainer from the Yankees clubhouse. The worst, however, appears yet to come. The Yankees owe him $82 million over the next four years in what increasingly appears destined to go down as the most disastrous contract in baseball history.
7. JOSE VALENTIN - His 30 homers notwithstanding, Valentin has to rate as the worst hitter in baseball. His .216 batting average was the lowest in the majors of all qualifiers and his 139 strikeouts in 450 at-bats gave him the third-worst strikeout ratio in baseball. He was also third-worst in baseball with his .287 on-base pct. A switch-hitter his whole career, Valentin abandoned hitting from the right side in '04. We suggest he give it up altogether and concentrate his efforts on the Puerto Rican winter ball team he recently purchased. Oh, he also made 20 errors at short.
8. BRIAN ANDERSON - What Valentin was to hitting, the Royals' lefty was to pitching. Alas, Anderson epitomized the disastrous offseason KC GM Allard Baird had (there was also, most notably, the wasted $4 million on Juan Gonzalez), finishing 6-12 with a 5.64 ERA. Opposing batters hit a major league-high .320 against Anderson, who had signed a two-year $6.5 million deal with the Royals, a small-market team that can't afford any free-agent mistakes.
9. JIMY WILLIAMS - His inherent lack of communication skills with players always made him ill-suited for managing, but in 2004 it caught up to him when the Astros, despite the presence of four NL All-Stars and the addition of Carlos Beltran on June 24, were floundering in fifth place, 10-1/2 games back in the NL Central when he was fired. Thrice-recycled Phil Garner took over and injected energy and enthusiasm into the listless Astros, guiding them to the wild card (92-70) and then past the Braves in the first round of the playoffs, before losing to the Cardinals in seven games in the NLCS.
10. ALEX GONZALEZ - The Marlins shortstop was the antithesis of the new GMs' darling "Moneyball" player, with the lowest on-base percentage (.270) in baseball. In 599 plate appearances, he walked just 27 times, none of them intentionally. But if that wasn't enough plate discipline ignominy, this Gobbling Gonzo also struck out 126 times, for a 4.6 strikeouts/walks ratio.
Originally published on November 28, 2004
http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/413-garciaparra_nomar.JPG
Nomar Garciaparra
Time to talk turkeys
We saw plenty of gobbledy-gook in 2004 from these bird brains
Byhttp://www.nydailynews.com/images/columnists/madden_b.jpg
The holiday season is officially upon us - a time for reflection and turkey. So, as we reflect on the baseball season, here are our annual Daily News
Top 10 Turkeys for 2004:
1. NOMAR GARCIAPARRA - Beginning with an incredibly misguided financial decision - turning down the Red Sox's second offer of four years, $60 million in March (despite clear evidence of an adjusted market) - Garciaparra singlehandedly succeeded in breaking the 86-year "Curse of the Bambino" in Boston. Having essentially told the Sox he could still get better money elsewhere, he injured his right Achilles tendon in spring training and missed the first 37 games of the season. Playing intermittently afterward, he was traded to the Cubs on July 31. At the time of the deal, an openly sullen and angry Garciaparra had alienated himself from his teammates, who, thanks to a vastly improved defense and clubhouse chemistry, went on a second-half surge and won their first world championship since 1918. The Cubs, on the other hand, suffered a monumental collapse down the stretch with Garciaparra as their shortstop, and failed to make the playoffs.
2. SAMMY SOSA - The Cubs Incredible, Shrinking, Sultan of Sulk, managed to transform himself from a Chicago icon to a deservedly-dissed outcast diva in 2004. In addition to his third straight season of diminished performance (.253 average, .332 on-base percentage, .224 with runners in scoring position, 133 strikeouts, 56 walks in 478 at-bats), Sosa warred openly with manager Dusty Baker after being dropped from the cleanup spot to sixth in the lineup (this despite Baker asking - and getting - Sosa's initial blessing on the move). Then, to cap his off season, Sosa infuriated his teammates by arriving late, never putting on his uniform, and leaving early during their final game. His excuse: he was "tired of Dusty Baker blaming me" for the Cubs' failures. We can only hope "The Days of Sammy's Whine and Foibles" won't soon be coming to a Queens theater near us.
3. KEVIN BROWN - The everlasting symbol of the Yankees' colossal, history-making ALCS collapse. His reputation as a chronic wack-job preceded him, but it didn't begin to manifest itself until June when his performance began to fall off. First, he blamed it on a strained lower back and later a parasite. The bottom line was he missed 44 games. On Sept. 3, he fractured his left hand punching a clubhouse wall in frustration and missed another three weeks. His final act: a 21.60 ERA in two starts vs. the Red Sox in the ALCS, including a five-run kayo in just 1-1/3 innings of Game 7 that effectively took the Yankees out of the game and out of their season. And, to think, all of this for $15 million.
4. KEVIN MILLWOOD - On the bad advice of greed-driven agent Scott Boras, Millwood turned down a three-year, $30 million offer from the Phillies last winter, only to have to come back hat-in-hand (when no other offers even close to that were forthcoming) to accept a one-year, $11 million arbitration settlement. He then became a principal culprit in the NL East-favorite's failure to make the playoffs, logging the worst first-half ERA of his career (5.15), then missing seven weeks in August and September, with an elbow injury. Lefthanders hit .309 against him, but not to worry: Boras has assured him he'll get that $30 million and more this winter.
5. JERRY COLANGELO - The CEO and founding father of the Diamondbacks was ousted in a hostile takeover by his limited partners in August. As per his modus operandi, Colangelo departed one step ahead of the posse of bankers and creditors. For all their success - three division titles and one World Series championship in their first six years of existence - the D-Backs, thanks to Colangelo's reckless management, now teeter on the verge of bankruptcy and possible oblivion. With cash calls in each of their first two years for $53 million, a loan from MLB for another $20 million, plus another $260 million in commitments to cover losses, the D-Backs are the poster children for Bud Selig's newly enforced debt rule. And, lest we forget, there's the $175 million they owe in deferred money to players long gone from the desert. In his final year, Colangelo presided over the embarrassing and disastrous trades of Curt Schilling to the Red Sox for Casey Fossum, and the six players to the Brewers for Richie Sexson (who missd nearly the whole season with a shoulder injury). At least Colangelo wasn't around to take the blame for the Wally Backman fiasco.
6. JASON GIAMBI - Six months after begging out of Game 5 of the 2003 World Series, a noticeably shrunken Giambi showed up for spring training, following offseason knee surgery, smack dab in the middle of the burgeoning BALCO steroids scandal. Between hip bursitis, an upper back strain, a sprained right ankle, an intestinal parasite and finally a reported benign tumor on his pituitary gland, Giambi missed over half the season. He batted an abysmal .208 with 12 homers in 80 games, while pulling down $12.4 million. Until the tumor was diagnosed, Giambi tried to blame his physical and performance woes on MLB's banning of his personal trainer from the Yankees clubhouse. The worst, however, appears yet to come. The Yankees owe him $82 million over the next four years in what increasingly appears destined to go down as the most disastrous contract in baseball history.
7. JOSE VALENTIN - His 30 homers notwithstanding, Valentin has to rate as the worst hitter in baseball. His .216 batting average was the lowest in the majors of all qualifiers and his 139 strikeouts in 450 at-bats gave him the third-worst strikeout ratio in baseball. He was also third-worst in baseball with his .287 on-base pct. A switch-hitter his whole career, Valentin abandoned hitting from the right side in '04. We suggest he give it up altogether and concentrate his efforts on the Puerto Rican winter ball team he recently purchased. Oh, he also made 20 errors at short.
8. BRIAN ANDERSON - What Valentin was to hitting, the Royals' lefty was to pitching. Alas, Anderson epitomized the disastrous offseason KC GM Allard Baird had (there was also, most notably, the wasted $4 million on Juan Gonzalez), finishing 6-12 with a 5.64 ERA. Opposing batters hit a major league-high .320 against Anderson, who had signed a two-year $6.5 million deal with the Royals, a small-market team that can't afford any free-agent mistakes.
9. JIMY WILLIAMS - His inherent lack of communication skills with players always made him ill-suited for managing, but in 2004 it caught up to him when the Astros, despite the presence of four NL All-Stars and the addition of Carlos Beltran on June 24, were floundering in fifth place, 10-1/2 games back in the NL Central when he was fired. Thrice-recycled Phil Garner took over and injected energy and enthusiasm into the listless Astros, guiding them to the wild card (92-70) and then past the Braves in the first round of the playoffs, before losing to the Cardinals in seven games in the NLCS.
10. ALEX GONZALEZ - The Marlins shortstop was the antithesis of the new GMs' darling "Moneyball" player, with the lowest on-base percentage (.270) in baseball. In 599 plate appearances, he walked just 27 times, none of them intentionally. But if that wasn't enough plate discipline ignominy, this Gobbling Gonzo also struck out 126 times, for a 4.6 strikeouts/walks ratio.
Originally published on November 28, 2004
http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/413-garciaparra_nomar.JPG
Nomar Garciaparra