The GM's Almanac...Joe DiMaggio's birthday
Shannon Stewart is an interesting name.
Stewart is a 32-year-old outfielder who played in just 44 games for the Minnesota Twins last year, hitting .293 with a .347 on-base percentage. Most of the time he was on the disabled list with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.
His best years were with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999-2002 when he was one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. He averaged 602 at-bats a season along with 103 runs scored, 38 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 24 stolen bases. He hit .311 with a .369 on-base percentage and a .458 slugging percentage.
Since then he has been banged up with a variety of injuries, including plantar fascia in both feet. He'll be 33 in February.
He might be a good fit for the Rangers as a fourth outfielder, a right-handed, top-of-the-order hitter who could be matched with the two left-handed hitters, Frank Catalanotto and Brad Wilkerson. He also hits right-handers as well as left-handers through his career so he could offer some protection for Nelson Cruz, who also hits right-handed.
Two questions: Can he stay healthy and is he looking for a full-time job again? One drawback. He has played almost exclusively in left field in his entire career. He played 14 games in right field in 2003 and hasn't played center since 2000.
Left field is both Catalanotto and Wilkerson's best position. The Rangers probably prefer somebody who can play all three outfield positions. Of course, there's no apparent reason why Stewart can't do that and probably will have to at some point to keep himself in the game.
Just a thought but the Rangers could use another right-handed hitting outfielder who hits at the top of the lineup.
I wouldn't be opposed to giving Stewart a shot...It seems to me that he would have the speed to play CF. Am I wrong?
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Little Jon is an IDIOT!
IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!
Let's review (and just recent history will do, we don't even need to go past July to prove the case).
Mid-season last year, with the division still up for grabs, the Rangers clearly needed, as usual, STARTING PITCHING. Mathews Jr. and DeRosa were having career years - and commensurate significant trade value.
But instead of using that value to get, oh heck, I don't know... maybe Jeff Weaver, Elmer Dessens, Corey Lidle, Oliver Perez and/or Greg Maddux and/or one of the many others who were on the block but didn't get moved (such as Scmidt or Willis), Little Jon depletes the organization of 4 arms and two fan-loved major-league outfielders for Carlos Lee, Kip Wells and two other outfielders.
SUMMARY
Gives:
RHP Francisco Cordero
OF Kevin Mench
OF Laynce Nix
LHP Julian Cordero
RHP Joselo Diaz
RHP Jesse Chavez
Gets:
OF Carlos Lee
OF Nelson Cruz
OF Matt Stairs
RHP Kip Wells
As expected, while 2005 staff ace Kenny Rogers - who was allowed to walk for nothing when he should have been traded for something - lead the Tigers to the Series, the ‘06 Rangers, without a boost to their rotation, continued stumbling along, playing below .500 ball while the A's "ran off" with the division at the "blistering pace" of a .574 season.
Despite the need for pitching, I thought the Carlos Lee trade made sense. Cruz has more upside than Nix and Mench, and assumed that after giving so much for him, Daniels would resign Lee.
OOPS. You know what they say about the word "***-u-me".
I should have known. This is from the same brain that morphed Alex Rodriguez into Alfonso Soriano into Brad Wilkerson (and a lot of wasted salary room). That takes near super-power ability!
Maybe Daniels and his talent-pool draining ability are destined for a key role on the new hit show "Heroes"... the plot: just as the bad guys get a lot of talented mutants on their side, they hire to lead them and he falters, flushing all the bad side’s talent away. Except, I've been rooting for the mind-reader cop, Hiro and the cheerleader, so Daniels would probably somehow drain them of their talents. Poof. My team loses again.
So now, Lee, Mathews and DeRosa have walked - adding their names to the list of talents who the Rangers have let go nothing or far too little (an amazing Rangers’ tradition that’s just getting better and better). And by the way, that group would cream the current team 9 times out of 10! (In fact, that group could give an All-Star team a run for it’s money with the likes of Rogers, Pudge, A-Rod, Soriano, Lee, Mathews, DeRosa, C Young, A Gonzalez, Loaiza, F.Cordero, Mench, Nix, Lamb, D. Davis, etc., etc.)
But Little Jon did bring Catalanotto back, who we should have never let go. Just hope he didn't pick up SARS in Toronto.
And, while Padilla, Eaton and Wells sit unsigned, we're still waiting for arms to give us a competitive rotation. Note the plural form of the word "arm." To win in 2007, we currently need a true #1 ahead of Millwood and a #3 & #4 ahead of whoever wins the 5th spot - Tejeda, Koronka, Volquez and Rheinecker.
Looks to me like Daniels has the Rangers on track for another “rebuilding” year. The problem is… his expertise is in demolition.
IDIOT!
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I don't know "D" you might be right...there sure is a lot to think about in your note. I wish we had some of those people back...esp. Mathews and DeRosa. But I still don't think the problem is "little Jon" I think it's "cheap tom." The first thing he did as free agents started to be signed was whine about how expensive everyone was...all the way to his bank for more deposits.
In a change of topicss..how about converting someone already in our system to Center...here's an idea...Arias or maybe Diaz...I really like those two.
And we really do need "starting ARMS"!!!!
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1. I'll take Cruz over Mench anyday but he better be really good.
2. The Soriano trade is a bust, complete bust, but I've heard Hicks say they couldn't sign Millwod without unloading Soriano's salary. Sounds cheap but...
3. The San Diego trade helped the Padres more than the Rangers but getting Otsuka was still big, even if we lost Young.
4. Getting Padilla for Ricky Rodriguez was a great deal but somehow it seems the Rangers lucked into that one. But Dellucci for Robinson Tejeda was just good. Rather have Tejeda than Dellucci.
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You've found our man! Shannon Stewart is the "Poor Man's Gary Matthews" of 2008. Or rather b/c last year's health led to his worst season in his contract year, he is in one sense our Anti-Matthews! Since he hits both RHP and LHP, can bat 1st or 2nd, and is athletic enough to play any OF position, and most importantly, since his salary won't undermine our quest for either FA starters this year or a CF (VWells or THunter) next... he's our man!
Good find.
If we're to write in NCruz full-time, and if SStewart would play full-time, could we assume one way or the other, they'd cover RF and CF, and we'd split RF between Botts (vs. Lefties) and Wilkerson (vs. Righties)? (I was wrong about Botts vs. lefties last week-- his minor league #'s are amazing!)
With Cat at DH vs. Righties, that still leaves a hole at DH vs.lefties...
....which leads us back to where you began the Hot Stove Season, T.R.: a 3rd Catcher as DH (but only vs. lefties since the Rangers took your Cat to heart). Now LET'S SIGN ZAUN! He's better than all of the above (better than Lee and De Rosa in some ways) vs. lefties!
Then all we need is a Utility IF to complete our defense. If we find one who can play 3rd well, and hit against lefties, we'd have filled (w/him, Botts, Stewart and Zaun) our gaping holes in offense against lefties).
Might that be Arias? Being in the majors would allow him to work w/ Rudy.
Simultaneously... about that pitching...
I'm for Wolf, then Kip Wells as insurance against the possibility of missing out on Padilla or APettitte, and, if we do miss, then Garland (but not Vazquez or Garcia) via trade.
Cheers from St. Helena
(p.s. What was your major at USF?)
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Corrections: "...Split LEFT field (between Wilkerson and Botts)";
and
"... since the Rangers took your Cat ARTICLE to heart".
My major was pre type-writer.
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Thanks for the dialogue, Fredr and panther.
Sorry, T.R., that I didn't address your post directly, but Stewart is a mute point if the Rangers don't get a rotation. And I just happened to catch the Lee, DeRosa and Mathews news yesterday (been focused elsewhere for a while).
Fredr... I don't think we'll miss DeRosa with Cat here. He hit well in this ballpark in is one full season here (.330 avg, .881 OPS), and wil probably hit very well here again (like .310+ with plenty of extra bases). I had the pleasure of meeting him circa 2000. Great guy. With Rudy, he'll perform ahead of his career averages in The Ballpark (I'll always call it that regardless who pays what otherwise). And, he was more than capable in the IF. I would be surprised if he doesn't become a super-utility man as well as a good lead-off man.
Matthews wasn't worth half of what he signed for... compare his career numbers to what he did last year. You'll see why IDIOT should have traded him last year. Imagine what we could have gotten in return in July. I can guarantee you it would have eclipsed what we got in letting him walk in free agency… which was nothing!
Finally, you make a decent point about Little Jon v Cheap Tom. The truth is, though, that Tom isn't cheap. Owners around the league are still cussing him for the ARod deal he inked. I'd call him Woody Tom... because he seems to have a fascination with wood - big bats. Maybe he's compensating for something there, but I'm no Freud or even Dr. Phil.
In the meantime, the facts show that the Rangers (especially under Woody Tom) can't develop and can't sign top starters. That means the only hope for us masochistic fans (why else do we keep rooting for this org,?) is for Little Jon to trade for great arms and start learning to sell high when guys are at their peak value and Woody likely won't resign them (see my previous list).
I focus on Little Jon because a BIG part of his job is to manage up. While I admire the genius and ambition that got him to his position at such a young age, I’m afraid he’s ill equipped to manage upwards and tell Woody Tom what’s what. That is THE value of a GM with an owner who is even slightly engaged. And so far, Little Jon hasn’t shown the ability to manage his owner. I honestly hate to be critical of others – Lord knows I’m far from perfect. But darn it, I’ve been rooting for this team for 25+ years with nothing to show for it, and if speaking out has even a slight impact… well that’s what engaged fans are for. And I’ll be happy to eat my hat if Little Jon and Woody Tom make major signings that elevate our rotation to a championship-competitive level.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Let’s pray the Rangers organization does something soon to give us more to be thankful for in return for our loyal support of the nation’s most futile organization.
(And T.R., given your Q&A answer to the market-size question, if you get the chance, please remind Woody Tom that this town demands and will then richly support a winner.)
Oh, and T.R., re: Shannon Stewart – big maybe in my humble opinion. He could be next year’s version of a rejuvenated Frank Thomas here. But that won’t matter if we don’t get some top armS.
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