When most people think of the Orioles pitching staff, the names Rogers, Eckersly and Sutter usually come to mind. Looking back at the teams success over the last four seasons, there was no Orioles pitcher more valuable than setup man Scipio Spinks.
After leading the league with 45 saves in 1976, Spinks was asked to change his role with the arrival of rookie closer Bruce Sutter. Many veterans would have had problems with the move, but Spinks took it in stride. "My job is to get outs when I'm on the mound... whether it is closing out a game or in the middle innings is irrelevant." explained Spinks.
The last four seasons have produced three AL Championships and two World Series titles for the Orioles. During that time frame, Spinks was 39-8 with 8 saves and a 2.74 era. "In my mind, he has been the best setup man in baseball." says Orioles GM Steve Brisbois. "and he's not done just yet..."
Volume 3 of the ATR reports is jam packed with trades made this offseason. This issue will bring the ATR reports up to date on all the offseason happenings, which means the ATR’s season preview is just around the corner. Will your team be predicted to win it all? Anyway, on to the trades.
Oakland receives SP Mike Scott, 3B Ken Oberkfell and CF Jerry Hairston
Houston receives Oakland’s first round Amateur draft choices in 1983 and 1984.
Scott was once a high first round draft choice and has been a solid pitcher, but nowhere near the future Ace the Astros thought they were drafting. Oberkfell looks like he should be a good third baseman, but will most likely play second base for the Athletics. His bat has yet to come close to panning out, but perhaps a change of scenery is what he needs. Jerry Hairston is a fine outfielder and perhaps the best outfielder now in Oakland. On the other hand, he lacks power and relies too much on walks to be a consistent offensive player. The Astros receive at least one and most likely two top draft choices. While the 1983 draft looks thin, the 1984 draft may be one of the best in history and a high draft choice could guarantee a legitimate number one starter like Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens or Bret Saberhagen. If one looks at the last ATR, they will know what I think of the Athletics giving up draft choices, considering they are entering Year 15 of their rebuilding. Trades like this will only prolong the agony for the Oakland faithful (though to be honest, are there any Oakland fans left with the fantastically successful Giants across the bay.)
Winner: Houston
New York (A) receives C Jody Davis and RF Rowland Office
Oakland receives C Butch Wynegar, LF Jerry Mumphery and New York’s third round Amateur draft choice in 1983.
Years of slowly building a great nucleus of young talent has been blown apart by one continuous trading frenzy. The kids who were going to make the Athletics the favorite to win the AL West in 1984 have been scattered to the four corners of the CDL for a variety of veterans who are most likely not enough to get the Athletics over the proverbial hump. This is another deal in this vain. Jody Davis is a fine catcher, who is only 26 and cheap. These are the kinds of players that teams, especially cash poor ones like Oakland need to compete. Trading Davis and Office, a recently signed free agent and solid outfielder for Butch Wynegar, who is the same age as Jody Davis, but makes $2,650,000 more a season and is not a better hitter than Davis and Jerry Mumphery, who is at best a league average outfielder that will most likely hit leadoff and run the Athletics out of a number of innings. The draft pick doesn’t do much to change my opinion of the deal, but the fact that Office was not really talent that cost anything other than money does. Still, I’d rather have Davis, Office and $2,000,000 than Wynegar and Mumphery.
Winner: New York (A) (But not by as much as I make it seem in my analysis.)
San Francisco receives 1B Greg Walker
Seattle receives SP John Vuckovich
This is a deal on paper that makes sense for both teams. Walker never had a shot to be anything more than a DH for the Mariners with Eddie Murray entrenched at 1B for another five seasons. And Vuckovich, while a solid pitcher, has yet to prove he can push the Giants to another championship, is expendable to the Giants. The Cecil Cooper trade set this deal into motion, since Walker is viewed as Cooper’s replacement, perhaps as soon as 1984. Vuckovich, while he has yet to post an ERA below 4, is a better pitcher than at least one of the arms in the Seattle rotation. Also remember that only three seasons ago, the Mariners nearly captured the AL West and perhaps if Vuckovich figures out how to post an ERA of 3.50, the Mariners could get over the hurdle.
Philadelphia receives SP Bart Johnson
Minnesota receives LF Casey Parsons, Philadelphia’s first round Amateur draft choice in 1984 and second round Amateur draft choice in 1983.
Bart Johnson is one of the best pitchers in CDL history. Part of the reason for this is that he is 33 years old. This deal has a great deal of downside potential for the Phillies. First, they are $11,000,000 over budget to this point. This means that the Phillies will be unable to resign any of their free agents this season. Second, the Phillies traded away a couple of similar pitchers last season for RF Tim Raines. Now, Raines should be a fine outfielder, but trading a front of the rotation starter and a couple of draft picks and a couple of years of the shelf life of a front of the rotation starter for Raines and Johnson is not what this team really needed. There are a number of untradable contracts in that rotation, which coupled with an offense that really needs a boost beyond Darryl Strawberry, make this another rebuilding without your draft picks deal. The Twins have placed themselves in an excellent position to start rebuilding from, since they have gained a couple of fine draft choices, which are essential to any rebuilding.
Winner: Minnesota
Cleveland receives MR Lou Marone and MR Dyer Miller
Minnesota receives Cleveland’s first round Amateur draft choice in 1983.
When rebuilding, dealing away anything that is remotely veteran is the key to success. Minnesota wasted no time in sending away two older middle relievers for another first round draft choice. These decisions will return the Twins (the team with the largest revenue stream in the CDL) to the head of the AL Central in a hurry, perhaps as soon as 1985, if the Twins draft smart (which is a given). Because of this and the weaker than usual draft, this deal makes sense for the Indians. The Wild Card allows them to make a playoff run, which is helped by the Twins, a perennial playoff team, deciding to rebuild their foundation before the team lies in ruin. One less contender opens up the race for the Wild Card quite a bit, with as many as seven legitimate contenders, which includes Cleveland.
Winner: Minnesota (though Cleveland made the right deal for the Indians)
Oakland receives SS Rick Burleson, SP Charlie Lea and Minnesota’s third round Amateur draft choice in 1983
Minnesota receives 2B Wally Backman, DH Randy Johnson and MR Juan Agosto
Rick Burleson garnered quite the haul for the Minnesota Twins rebuilding efforts. He’s a first rate defender, but has always had problems putting it all together offensively. He has the skills to be the best shortstop in the American League, but has yet to do so and at 31, the window for doing so gets smaller and smaller. Charlie Lea has been atrocious in the Major Leagues so far and what is the value of a late third round draft choice, not much if you ask me. As for the prospects the Twins received, all of them should be Major League contributors. Wally Backman was not ready for the Big Leagues last season, but in a season or two, once he grows into his skills, could be one of the better second baseman in the league, leading to speculation that Paul Molitor may be headed for Third Base in a few years. Randy Johnson is perhaps the worst defensive player you will ever meet, but he is ready to be an everyday DH and that has value to an American League team. Juan Agosto should be a league average or slightly better reliever and one can never have enough of those.
Winner: Minnesota
As the "new and improved" CDL Divisional Alignments come to play this season, the toughest division has to be the newly created NL Central. The new division features both teams who were in the NLCS last season in the same division. As GM Chris Hansen (Cubs) and GM Bob Miller (Reds) would agree, Geography is a bitch.
The New NL Central consists of the above mentioned Cubs and Reds, along with one time NL East powerhouse, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and hibitually rebuilding St.Louis Cardinals. Had the alignment taken place last season, the final standings would have been as follows :
W L .PCT GB
CIN 100 62 .617 --
CHN 92 70 .568 8
PIT 72 90 .444 28
STL 68 94 .420 32
Welcome to Issue 2 of the ATR Report. With all of the exciting trades that have gone on and the rumors that keep swirling around, these reports should be very frequent, just to catch up on the backlog of completed deals. Anyway, on with the next five.
San Francisco receives – CF Ron LeFlore
Philadelphia receives – MR Steve Crawford and San Francisco’s second round Amateur draft choice in 1983.
The draft pick is only of marginal value. The Phillies might get a decent reliever that late, or perhaps a player who grows up out of nowhere to be an everyday regular. Crawford has the potential to be a league average middle reliever with a nice strikeout rate, though at 24, the potential may end up being more than the actual value of Crawford. LeFlore, on the other hand, is a one-trick outfielder. He has great speed and the ability to steal bases. His defense isn’t bad, but unless he hits at the high end of his batting average ability, LeFlore is useless at the plate. This is one of those deals where there is a winner, only because someone must win. A minor deal that will not affect any pennant races, unless Leflore starts everyday.
Winner: Philadelphia (The pick, as an unknown, may have the most value of all.)
Montreal receives – 1B Keith Hernandez, SP Steve Baker and Oakland’s second round Amateur Draft choice in 1983
Oakland receives – MR Gary Lucas and RF Gary Mathews
The unforeseen consequence of acquiring Brett, is that is runs Hernandez out of town. Hernandez does have a good sized contract, but is an offensive threat that is likely to have a season better than almost any hitter in Oakland. Baker is an average pitcher that will head for the scrap heap in three seasons when his $100,000 contract expires. The draft pick is a fine one though, since there is a good deal of different between the beginning of the second round and the end of the second round. Lucas is a solid reliever who has found more than his fair share of success and Mathews, is a solid outfielder, the bat that Hernandez brings would have been far more potent as the DH, than Mathews is in the outfield. This deal, like many of the Oakland deals, appears to focus solely on the weakness of last year’s club, the bullpen. The problem is that the cost of fixing the hole, with more relievers than anyone could use, has left the club with an expended farm system and a moth-eaten rotation. Sometimes, the cure is worse than the disease.
Winner: Montreal
Oakland receives – SP Vern Ruhle and MR Dave Rucker
Milwaukee receives – CL Doug Jones and Oakland’s third round Amateur draft choice in 1984.
At one point in time, Vern Ruhle was one of the best starters in the CDL (1975-76). It’s 1983 and Vern Ruhle looks pretty much done. On the other hand, he might be the fourth starter for the Athletics, despite an ERA closing in on 5.00 last season. Rucker is young and could be a decent reliever someday, but most likely won’t be. The draft pick going to Milwaukee balances his addition to the deal. (Actually, the pick is a little more valuable, since there is an almost certainty that it will be before 21st in the third round, which is where Rucker was selected. Doug Jones is an interesting closer prospect. He’s 25, so his time to develop is short. He is not nearly ready to be in anyone’s bullpen. But, if he turns the corner, he could be a very good short reliever. He also doesn’t make $2,500,000 this season, which is money the Brewers can use to get a legitimate fourth starter in the free agent market.
Winner: Milwaukee
Boston receives – LF Bob Watson
New York (N) receives – RF Bobby Valentine and 3B Bernie Carbo
This is a great deal for the New York Mets. The odds on favorites to win the new NL East have shored up one of their weakest spots on the diamond, third base with Bernie Carbo. And in doing so, avoided losing any offense in the outfield as Valentine and Watson are similar players in terms of levels of talent. Boston was motivated by the fact that Tim Wallach is one of the premier players in the American League and is quite possibly the best Third Baseman in the American League (Better than any of the gaggle the Oakland Athletics have and Eric Solderholm of the Milwaukee Brewers. Boggs could change my opinion, but at the moment, I would rather have Wallach.) Nonetheless, the Red Sox could have done better than the 36 year old Bob Watson for Bernie Carbo had they shopped around.
Winner: New York (N)
San Diego receives – C Don Slaught
Milwaukee receives – San Diego’s first round Amateur draft choice in 1984.
A kneejerk reaction to a player leaving via free agency. Slaught appears to be a fine catcher, one who will propel his team towards a championship. Nonetheless, trading the biggest asset any rebuilding team has (Yes, San Diego finished with the third best record last season, therefore they must be rebuilding) first round Amateur draft choices is the biggest recipe for disaster. Slaught was a late first round selection himself, to think that the Padres wouldn’t get a better pick at, let’s be conservative and say 8th overall next season is silly. This also removes any leverage the Padres have in trading away John Ellis, since other teams know they plan on replacing him. A double whammy like this is what a rebuilding franchise can least afford.
Winner: Milwaukee
Trade Analysis
With so many trades this offseason, including surprising firesales, a brand new Oakland roster and salary dumps, the Anonymous Trade Reporter has decided to break up these trade reports into series of five deals for easier reading. Starting from the first deal of the offseason, to the last, the Anonymous Trade Reporter will tell you everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask about these deals.
San Francisco receives – MR Steve Howe, C Terry Kennedy and 2B/3B Gary Sutherland
Houston receives – SP Frank Tanana and C John Stearns
A classic challenge trade, between division rivals nonetheless. The key component of this deal is Terry Kennedy. He is a fine young catcher, who has shown nothing at the plate for a man of his offensive talent. If Kennedy puts his power together in San Francisco, this deal could be a disaster for the Astros. Tanana and Howe are both excellent lefthanders who have lost a little something since throwing their last pitch of 1982. Tanana is an excellent number 1 or 2 starter and fills a major void for the Astros at the front of the rotation. His downside is that he carries one of the most expensive contracts in the CDL and trading him away allowed the Giants to make a number of moves, while the payroll strapped Astros were forced to look to cheaper deals. Steve Howe has been one of the best relievers in the CDL these last few seasons, but the large amount of work that has been placed on his left arm appears to be catching up to him. Of course, this isn’t Houston or even San Francisco’s problem, as Howe is now a member of the Oakland Athletics. Stearns is an acceptable catcher whose primary skill is that he can hit doubles. Not a useless player, but not a deal maker either. Sutherland had a decent career and will finish it with the Kane Bennels.
Winner: San Francisco
San Francisco receives – SP John Fulgham, 3B Bill Madlock, CF Chili Davis and SP Bill Gullickson
Oakland receives – 3B George Brett, MR Steve Howe, CL Mark Clear and LF Juan Beniquez
Normally, if you want a shorthand statement for a trade, you choose the best player in the deal. Most people skim this deal and go, oh, the Brett trade. Personally, I think the proper name for this deal is the Fulgham deal. Brett is a fine 3B, perhaps even the best in the CDL, though he doesn’t walk much and his power is not first rate. Fulgham on the other hand, was probably the best pitcher in the American League not named Steve Busby (an argument could be made for Steve Rogers and Eric Rasmussen, but not really the point). A young team, nearing contention, trades their best player, who is only 26, with their best prospect, Chili Davis, a good 3B and a quality SP prospect for Brett, two solid, but not spectacular relievers and Juan Beniquez. To further the insult, last season, Bill Madlock was nearly as good as George Brett AND the best offensive player on the Athletics is Wade Boggs, a third baseman. The Giants made out like bandits getting two great young players for swapping Brett for Madlock, who is 90% the player Brett is and two relievers, one of who has never been very good and one of whom suffered a loss in talent this offseason. That doesn’t even include Bill Gullickson. The stranglehold over the NL West that was once the San Francisco Giants will most likely be returned to them this season.
Winner: San Francisco
Pittsburgh receives – SP Atlee Hammaker and DH Pete Mackanin
Oakland receives – MR Juan Agosto and CF Brian Bosclair
The questions of the offseasons are how many players will get traded more than once and does Oakland plan on putting together a rotation? This trade features both as Trader Chris has sent Agosto on to Minnesota and Atlee Hammaker, another fine SP, to Pittsburgh, leaving a lot of question marks behind the Candyman and Danny Darwin. Hammaker looks like he could be a number 2 or 3 starter as soon as 1984 and should be a good deal better than the 6.00 ERA he posted in 1982. Mackanin is a utility infielder wearing a very odd label. Agosto was a second round pick and looks like he could be a serviceable middle reliever with a good defense. Bosclair has the tools to be an average outfielder, but has only had one good season in his nine year career, but has had quite a few bad ones. Pittsburgh should be a team to reckon with in the NL Central, which is perhaps the toughest division, post-realignment, by 1984 if trades like this keep falling into their lap.
Winner: Pittsburgh
New York (A) receives – SP Dennis Martinez and SP Rudy Law
Atlanta receives – SP Jim Clancy, SP Andy Hawkins, 3B Brook Jacoby and San Francisco’s first round Amateur Draft choice in 1983
Realignment has changed the way many teams think. A number of teams that were once perceived to be out of contention, due to teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers looming at the top of their divisions, now feel that they too can contend, either in a division that is lacks one of these titanesque teams or for the elusive Wild Card. The Yankees might be one of those teams that are most helped by realignment. Realizing that they don’t have to beat out Baltimore to make the playoffs, but rather just regular good teams like the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers or Kansas City Royals (watch out CDL fans, the Royals are the team to beat for the wild card if Rasmussen stays), adding a legitimate ace and an older lower rotation starter for some of the future makes a good deal of sense. In order to acquire their new ace, the Yankees lost a good deal of depth. Jacoby is a fine 3B, but the Yankees currently have a good amount of depth there, Hawkins is a solid SP prospect and Clancy is the kind of pitcher who might turn it around in a new environment. The first round pick will help the Braves rebuild their farm system, though the 1983 draft class appears to be one of the weakest in recent memory (at least since I’ve joined the CDL). All in all, the Yankees do get the better end of the deal, but the Braves did very good for themselves, as they were faced with a tough situation that required them to move some high salaried players.
Winner: New York (A)
San Francisco receives – SP Jim Wright and Chicago (N)’s first and second round Amateur Draft choices in 1983
Chicago (N) receives – 1B Cecil Cooper, 3B/OF Terry Puhl and LF Greg Gross
San Francisco does well for themselves once again. Cecil Cooper is a fine 1B, there is no doubt about that, but I think his reputation outpaces his actual skills. Cooper has had three great seasons (1976, 1978, 1981), a number of fine seasons and a rather poor 1982. Despite these facts and that Cooper doesn’t not handle left handers well anymore, he was able to net, an overpaid, front of the rotation starter, a first round draft choice and a second round draft choice. Still, if Cooper hits .290/.360/.400 next season and Gross, a solid OF, is useful to the Cubs, this deal won’t blow up in their faces and probably will push them towards the top of the NL Central/Wild Card Race. Wright teams with Fulgham to become one of the best 1-2 punches in the National League, though Wright is the type of pitcher who could lose a little of his stuff and become nearly ineffective. Still, a fine gamble for the Giants.
Winner: San Francisco
That's what CDL Minnesota Twins fans were saying last night after 3 of their top pitchers were dealt for draft picks. Bart Johnson, Lou Marone and Dyer Miller were mound fixtures for the perenial pennant challengers, but those days of the CDL Twins in the thick of October races might be over for a few years. Rumours from the clubs front office indicate that the Tuesday deals were the tip of the iceberg, and the franchises first full out firesale will apparently begin right after Christmas day. With the possibility of CDL stars like Jorge Orta, Rick Burleson, and Paul Molitor being offered to the highest bidders, Minnesota fans were clamoring for GM Paul Groening's resignation this morning. "Although it is true the '83 draft pool is not deep, it's a heckuva lot deeper than our current farm system" said a tired looking Groening at an afternoon press conference. "We wanted to hang in there for a few more years with the nucleus we had, but the well of Twins stars has slowly dried up for 10 years now. You can't expect to compete in today's CDL without at least one younger star coming up the pipeline."
When asked what stars the club would be able to pick with the later round picks they recieved in trade Groening was diplomatic: "There are never guarantees, but with several draft picks in '83 and '84 the chances of developing a Twins star of tomorrow should improve dramatically. We hope to improve our chances of [i]quality[/i] by getting more [i]quantity[/i]."
The Twins have earned 9 divisional pennants and 6 American League pennants in their 14 CDL seasons, but the last 2 consecutive seasons they have been swept in the ALCS.
Athletics owner Chris Daley has made headlines in Oakland with some big trades during the offseason. You cant turn on an Oakland talk radio station without the new owner being critized for some of his trades. It started with the trade of 2 key Oakland players SP John Fulgham and OF prospect Chilli Davis. A's fans arnt happy with losing one of the best picthers in baseball, but they did add to their roster last years NL batting champ George Brett, and 2 quality relievers in Mark Clear and Steve Howe. At the start of the season the A's biggest challenge was improving their bullpin. Howe and Clear are 2 additions to the A's that will most definatly have an impact.
The other highly critized trade involved Oakland trading away their 1st round draft picks in 83 and 84 to the Houston Astros for Pitching prospect Mike Scott, 2B Ken Oberkfell, and OF Jerry Hariston. "Adding Oberkfell to our offence has really boosted the moral of the players," says the A's GM. "He is a great player and will definately make an impact in the AL."
Other Players new to the A's include MR Gary Lucas and MR prospect Juan Agosto. Lucas has proved to be solid reliver with a carrer ERA of 3.14 and 18 wins with only 8 losses. Also new to the A's is OF Jerry Mumphrey. Mumphrey is a great addition to this relitively slow A's team. Mumphrey's 34 stolen bases last year is 7 more than the rest of the A's combined.
With some big names yet to be signed and a few trades still pending, the AL West might just be a little more interesting than normal. "We have great faith in our team this year," says Owner Chris Daley. "The fans are excited, mangement is excited, and the players are excited." "We are expecting Oakland to see their first over .500 season since the start of the leauge back in 1969."