Northern California Baseball Blog and Q&A

Paul Gutierrez
Raised in Barstow, Calif., where he played community college baseball for two years, Paul Gutierrez has worked at Sports Illustrated and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he covered his alma mater's Runnin' Rebels at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During a six-year stint at the Los Angeles Times, he co-authored Tommy Davis' "Tales from the Dodgers Dugout." He came to The Bee in October 2005 and is now a Bay Area sports features writer who concentrates on baseball during the spring and summer.

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« November 2007 | Northern California Baseball Blog and Q&A front page | February 2008 »

January 30, 2008

Is Billy Beane serious?

Question: I have been an A's fan for 30+ years. Your article in Sundays paper really irked me. Billy Beane's attitude towards the fans was unreal. As a fan, I am tired of just getting to the playoffs being thought of as "success" in Oakland. Is that what Beane and his "genius" aspires to? Even when, or if the club gets to Fremont, do you see them doing what it takes to win another World Series title? Does Lewis Wolfe want to win or make money? I don't remember Walter Haas pinching pennies and that "small market" team got a ring.

-Ted Lorz, Sacramento

Answer: Hey, Ted, as I've written before, I thank my lucky white cleats I did not grow up an A's fan, otherwise these constant roster overhauls would be too much to bear. But as I wrote in Sunday's column (), when I asked Billy point blank why fans should be excited about this coming season, he said he's hoping to get fans excited about the team five to six years down the road. Meaning, the new revenue source of the new ballpark in Fremont would then enable them to re-sign and keep all of this young talent they just hauled in this winter. It's a pretty big gamble on his part, hoping fans stay tuned in while the A's go through so many growing pains. Are you willing to stick around?

And you're right about those A's teams that won three straight pennants and a World Series from 1988 to '90. The economic climate certainly has shifted and the market was decidedly different then, but who can forget the A's going out and adding a Rickey Henderson and a Harold Baines in midstream? Different times, indeed.

-Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 05:31 PM | Comments

Two months later, and Yankee fans are still upset

It seems as though not all Yankee fans are as tech savvy as I gave them credit for, or, news simply travels at a slower speed throughout the Evil Empire. Because while I did receive plenty of "hate" e-mail back in November when my column comparing Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds ran in The Bee (), a few more trickled in this week.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll post them here, as they arrived, with no corrections to their grammar or spelling. Hey, it makes for a more interactive experience, methinks. What do you think?

Question: CONGRATS !! YOU MADE A TOTAL FOOL OF YOURSELF WITH THIS AROD ARTICLE. MOST WRITERS ONLY MAKE FOOLS OF THEMSELVES, BUT YOU MADE A TOTAL FOOL OF YOURSELF. CONGRATS ONCE AGAIN.

-ROLAND

Answer: Thanks, Roland, for screaming at me with all caps. But while wondering what took you so long to reply to a column that initially ran Nov. 17, I have to paraphrase that great Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi: Who is more foolish, the fool, or the one who reads the fool and then sends a nasty email to him? And yes, may the Force be with you.

-Paul Gutierrez

Question: Well done Paul! You've managed to make my 5 year old, yes 5 year old look more mature than you. I had to laugh (at you not with you) regarding your article about Bond and Alex. I don't know much about Bonds so I won't discuss him. But admit it you really want C-Rod and you're jealous that A-Rod got her instead right? I mean what other reason could there be for writing a trashy article about Alex like the one you did? The name calling and extra detail to his salary just screams I'm jealous inmature adult whose bitter and angry with the world. You mentioned how Alex (by the way that's his name) said he took the high road but that's cleary not something you are familiar with or this article wouldn't have been written (glass houses and stones don't mix). So Alex makes the most money in baseball so what? Someone had to be in that spot, why not make it the best player currently in the game? That makes sense to me. So why are you whinning again? Also when are the articles on Oprah and Mr. Gates coming out? They are tops in their respective careers and I don't see them turning the money away, nor do I see people like you writing childish articles about them. Just grow up man.....just grow up.

-Jerry Atkins

Answer: Glad to be of service, Jerry. Not so sure making your kindergartner look more mature than me is that great of a feat, though, as my wife often tells me our 3-year-old son acts more mature than me as well. Oh well. But to get to the heart of the matter, the column was of the opinion that Alex Rodriguez showed so much heart in opting out of his deal to make his mark elsewhere but then disappointed us by slinking back to the Bombers with his tail between his legs. Would have been nice to see him stick to his original guns is all. And thanks for saying I showed "extra detail" in regards to his salary. That's a huge compliment in this business, to pay attention to detail.

-Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 05:28 PM | Comments

January 28, 2008

Where do Bonds, his recliner and big screen TV end up?

Question: What's the deal with Barry Bonds? Will he play this year? If so, what teams might have interest in him? The legal issues shouldn't keep him from playing one more year, should they? I'd like to see him get to 3K hits and another 25 HRs.

-Bruce Baltzley, Sacramento

Answer: Well, Bruce, the short answer is that Barry definitely WANTS to play ... AT LEAST one more season. He's made that point painfully clear since the Giants announced in September they were divorcing themselves from the Home Run King after 15 star-crossed seasons. Problem is, he still is toxic as the fallout from the Mitchell Report still flitters to the ground, making him untouchable less than three weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Still, it's just got to warm his heart to see the likes of Roger Clemens joining him in the Steroid Patrol's crosshairs (even the Grinch had a heart, right?). The fact that Bonds indeed already has been indicted on perjury charges will scare off most teams, though there were some definite dark horses that might have had interest in him, baggage and headaches notwithstanding. Of course, they were American League clubs so he could make the transition to D.H. Among them - the Detroit Tigers, whose manager, Jim Leyland, was Bonds' first big-league skipper with the Pittsburgh Pirates; the Texas Rangers, whose owner, Tom Hicks, is as seemingly unstable and free spending as Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton on a group bender; the Seattle Mariners, which would allow Bonds to stay on the West Coast; and the weak sisters of the poor, the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays. And, my, what a sad ending to a glorious, if checkered, career that would be.

Of course, Bonds, who turns 44 in July, would have to be willing to take a massive pay cut from the nearly $20 million he earned for batting .276 with 28 home runs, 66 RBI, a 1.045 OPS and drawing a majors-best 132 walks in 126 games.

My Spidey-senses have long told me his most obvious destination would be Oakland, what with the A's still residing in his protective cocoon of the Bay Area, where he is as revered as he is reviled elsewhere.

But A's fans booed loudly at the notion of Bonds sporting white cleats and sharing time with The Great Jack Cust during the club's Fanfest celebration on Saturday and general manager Billy Beane all but quashed the idea of enabling Bonds by moving his circus across the Bay.

Beane, who does not comment on free agents, told the crowd as much while adding that he thought this offseason's moves - his gutting of the team in an effort to start a youth movement and rebuilding project - pretty much showed the A's thinking. Meaning, why in the world would the A's add such a high-profile veteran to a young, nondescript club?

Besides, it's not as if Bonds ever has really played the role of elder statesman to the hilt, helping youngsters find their way.

But there is this: With the freakshow factor Bonds would bring to the A's decrepit McAfee Coliseum, he would draw fans. Oh, he would draw fans.

The A's announced a crowd of 12,488 for Fanfest but it seemed less than that - and to be fair, the threat of rain might have kept away some fans - but crowds in excess of 20,000 reportedly had taken in the festivities since 2002.

How many would have shown up had Bonds been introduced to A's Nation on Saturday? And how many would show up on a Tuesday night in August with the A's already an afterthought in the pennant race if Bonds is chasing 3,000 hits and 800 homers? FYI, he needs 65 hits and 38 homers to tap those milestone numbers.

So yes, it made sense for the A's to chase Bonds had they retained Dan Haren, Nick Swisher, Mark Kotsay and Marco Scutaro, because he could have been the one player to take them over the top, as Frank Thomas did in 2006.

Now? Sad to say it makes dollars and cents to think about bringing him on since the A's on-field expectations are low anyways.

-Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 03:51 PM | Comments

January 24, 2008

Paging Beantown for a friendly e-mail battle

There's nothing like hanging with your friends and shooting the breeze about sports, even if logistics force you to do it in cyberspace, right? So it's always a good time when a random e-mail battle breaks out and the bar-room-style facts and insults fly like so many Mitch Williams wild pitches.

Recently, our friend Jay, who grew up in Philadelphia and in college was justifiably insufferable as a fan of anything remotely associated with the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers but since has moved to the Boston area, was prattling on about the greatness of New England sports teams - the Red Sox and Patriots, specifically - and their fans. "The best in sports," I believe is how he described Beantown's denizens.

Well that got everyone in an e-mail lather, especially since the Red Sox somehow have become just as unlikable as the Evil Empire they claim to disdain in the Yankees and the Patriots, though they are 18-0 heading into the Super Bowl, are proven cheaters (Spygate, anyone?) and the legend of Tom Brady was borne out of the ridiculous "Tuck Rule Game," which hosed the Raiders, of course. If the Patriots lose that game, as they should have since Brady's fumble should NOT have been overturned because the replays were inconclusive, who's to say Drew Bledsoe, who gave way to Brady early in that 2001 season due to injury, does not regain his job as the starting QB and Brady goes back to being a cute sixth-round draft choice backup?

Alas, that's an entry for a different blog and since the main topic here is baseball, our other friend, Chris, put a quick and bloody end to Jay's ramblings with a poignant missive when it comes to our national pastime.

"Only someone who grew up watching games at Veterans Stadium (or Shea) would think Red Sox fans are great," Chris wrote. "All I see are drunken frat guys who think a great derisive chant is, 'You (stink), Jeter'; old nerds who want to write books about all they've suffered through at Fenway; and a sea of clowns who think Ortiz should win MVP every year for never picking up a glove and slicing balls over a 36-inch-tall right-field "wall" that's, what, 204 feet or so from home plate, maybe 205?

"Red Sox Nation is as phony as the ideals of those who think that franchise is any different than the Yankees' (mantra of), 'Let's buy another pennant this year with free agents other teams can't afford while (some reporters kiss) up about our 'home grown' talent that's obtained by spending more money on scouting than some teams have to pay their big-league players."

Couldn't have said, or written, it any better myself.

-Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 04:12 PM | Comments

An Amen on an A's analysis and a Mariners thought, or two

Question: You are right about the miserable A's. At 9 years old I saw my first pro sports game, A's vs. Blue Jays, Rickey Henderson's first game back in Oakland after being traded by the Yankees in 1989. I can still name 19 or 20 of the 25-man roster that won the Battle of the Bay World Series. I cried the next year when they lost to the Reds. I cried again when they started the rebuilding process. History shows that this is what they ALWAYS DO. Late '70s early '90s early AND mid 2000s. Only difference is, they used to win titles before rebuilding.

-Jason, Sacramento

Answer: And they used to get rid of their players AFTER they became too expensive to keep, not while they were still under contract, ala Dan Haren and Nick Swisher. But I digress.

Ah, yes, June 22, 1989, the day Rickey returned to his ancestral East Bay home and went 2 for 6 in a 4-2 loss in 13 innings, per retrosheet.org. Rickey was most definitely the piece missing from the year before when the Dodgers shocked the A's and the world in five games. I always wanted to see the A's and Mets, the two powerhouses of that era, meet up in the Fall Classic.

-Paul Gutierrez

Question: Why are the Mariners not going after what they need - pitching? It seems they let all the big-name free agents go and they sign someone subpar. Thanks.

-Jerry, Kelso, Washington

Answer: Nothing the Mariners do surprises me anymore, Jerry, and yet, everything they do still sorta shocks me. Yes, it's old news and tired news but why in the world did the Mariners let the likes of Randy Johnson go, and Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez and Tino Martinez? Seems as though the Emerald City could have won at least one if not multiple World Series had management ponied up to keep their stars in town. Of course, that was an ownership group or two ago but still, it must be tough being a Mariners fan.

But if the rumor mill is to be believed, help may be on the way. Gossip since the end of the winter meetings has Seattle dealing outfielder Adam "Don't Call Me Pac-Man" Jones, who has been penciled in to replace Jose Guillen in right field, as part of a package to the Baltimore Orioles for left-hander Erik Bedard (13-5, 3.16 ERA in 28 starts for the woeful O's).

Not exactly the second coming of the Big Unit, but hey, you already have one of the game's filthiest closers in J.J. Putz. Don't get greedy.

-Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 03:56 PM | Comments

January 15, 2008

What about 'Dutch' Blyleven and 'Hawk' Dawson?

Question: Do you vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame? If so, did you vote for Bert Blyleven and Andre Dawson?

- Jonathan Goldstein, San Jose

Answer: Unfortunately, I do not vote for Cooperstown ... yet. Only members of the Baseball Writers Association of America with at least 10 years of service time vote for the Hall and since I have been a card-carrying member of the BBWAA since 2000, my privileges do not kick in until after the 2009 season.

But as you know, neither Blyleven, who garnered 61.9 percent of the vote, nor Dawson, 65.9 percent, were voted in this time as nominees need at least 75 percent for enshrinement. Both, though, could very well still be on the ballot in two years. I expect Jim Rice, who got 72.2 percent and will be in his 15th and final year on the writers' ballot, and Rickey Henderson, who will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, to be in next year's class.

So while I have two years to come to a final conclusion on "Dutch" and "Hawk," why not debate the merits of each now?

The right-handed Blyleven, whose curveball was as filthy as his beard was neatly trimmed, is a particularly interesting case as he finished his 22-year, five-team career with Hall-worthy numbers, though many critics say they are simply a product of said longevity.

Consider: With 287 career wins, including 60 shutouts, he has more victories than current Cooperstown enshrinees Bob Gibson, Jim Palmer, Catfish Hunter, Don Drysdale, Ferguson Jenkins, Jim Bunning and Robin Roberts. And with 3,701 strikeouts, Blyleven also has more K's than Gibson, Tom Seaver, Jenkins, Drysdale and Don Sutton.

Bleleven also was 5-1 in the postseason with a 2.47 ERA, winning World Series in both the National League, with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979, and the American League, with the Minnesota Twins, in 1987.

The knocks on him? Only a two-time All-Star, he never was a truly "dominant" pitcher; he never won a Cy Young Award, only finishing as high as third twice, and only once did he win 20 games in a season, going 20-17 for the 1973 Twins. And despite a lengthy career, he did not win 300 games, the magic number for Hall inclusion, and lost 250 times.

Give www.bertbelongs.com a look for poignant arguments for inclusion.

Dawson, however, probably has a stronger argument, as he was most definitely one of the most dominant players of his era. A five-tool stud, he won an MVP award for a last-place team with the 1987 Chicago Cubs, finished second two other times, was an eight-time All-Star, an eight-time Gold Glover and was the 1977 N.L. Rookie of the Year.

Playing in the pre-Steroid Era, Dawson also batted .279 in his career, hit 438 home runs, had 1,591 RBIs, stole 314 bases and had a .482 slugging percentage. Only Barry Bonds and Willie Mays have at least 400 homers and 300 steals.

Working against Dawson? His career on-base percentage was a pedestrian .323 and while many also see his numbers as the result of a long career, one that spanned 21 seasons, he also was stunted by injury.

If I had a vote today, it would probably be yea for the Hawk, nay for Dutch. But I have two years to think about things.

- Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 12:09 PM | Comments

January 10, 2008

How does it feel, A's fans?

A week has passed and the fallout from the stunning trade of Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox still is slowly floating to the ground at McAfee Coliseum, and all I can think is this: Thank my lucky white cleats I did not grow up a fan of the Oakland Athletics.

Otherwise, I'd be too upset to see straight.

So how does it feel, A's fans, to know that your beloved squad, one that last year at this time was coming off an appearance in the American League Championship Series, is being razed by your deified general manager, Billy Beane ... yet again?

You say you're used to losing good players whose earning abilities outgrow your resources at the end of their contract - while easily chirping off the names of Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada and Barry Zito - that's it's simply part of the A's fabric as a small market, low budget franchise?

Fair enough. But even Eric Byrnes, your one-time fan favorite for his "full-contact" style of play, basically told A's fans on his KNBR radio gig last week that enough was enough.

I half-expected A's fans to shut off their A's radio broadcast, if they could find it on the dial, throw open up their windows and scream at the top of their lungs that they were mad as heck, and they weren't going to take it anymore. And yes, Byrnes might have an ax to grind since he, too, was cast off by Beane not so long ago.

But the difference this time is that this winter's fire sale, which began with the trade of Senor Clutch, super utilityman Marco Scutaro, continued with the unloading of ace Dan Haren, who started last summer's All-Star Game for the A.L., and resumed with the Swisher swap, was done to rebuild the farm system as all three were locked into relatively cheap contracts.

Indeed, the three proven big leaguers netted Beane 11 minor leaguers, including the Chicago White Sox's two top prospects in pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Faustino De Los Santos.

"They weren't going to be any good this year anyway," was how one beat writer justified Beane's moves to me.

Maybe. Probably. OK, most likely. But why is that, exactly? Especially so soon after getting within a step of the World Series in 2006?

Beane, with his wildly successful business model, has earned the trust of his acolytes, who would NEVER, NO NOT EVER, question a personnel move made by Sir William Lamar Beane.

And that goes for some media types, too, who merely brush off the strange white-flag-raising moves, which began in earnest last season with the mind-boggling attempt to turn Mike Piazza back into a catcher and the head-scratching trades of Milton Bradley and Jason Kendall, as Beane simply knowing more than them, so he gets a pass.

Therein lies the problem. Why not question him on it?

Because if he does indeed need to restock a dry farm system, didn't it whither under his watch? And just how exactly did the A's fall from grace, being in the national pastime's Final Four, so to speak, to a club in need of an implosion worthy of a Las Vegas Strip hotel, happen so quickly?

It might be too easy to paint Beane as Nero, fiddling while Athletics Nation burned, or simply falling asleep at the wheel while watching too much English Premier League Soccer when the A's were in need of a simple tune-up.

But it's ripe for the asking.

So how does it feel, A's fans?

-Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Ahmed Ortiz at 05:08 PM | Comments

Some Goose leftovers, courtesy of Steve Sax

In getting the thoughts Tuesday of West Sacramento native Steve Sax, the Dodgers’ 1982 National League Rookie of the Year, on Rich Gossage FINALLY being elected to the Hall of Fame (http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/620735.html), Sax had a few other noteworthy views on the Goose.

Sax, whose big league service time actually started on Aug. 18, 1981, was in the Dodgers dugout during Game 5 of the 1981 World Series between L.A. and the Yankees when a Gossage fastball got away from him and hit Ron Cey just above his ear, which was not covered by a helmet flap.

It was a sickening sight and sound that led Rick Monday to write, "We just hoped Ron wasn't dead," in his "Tales from the Dodgers Dugout" book.

Said Sax: "I was just glad it wasn't me.

"One time," Sax added, "I saw Nolan Ryan hit Pedro Guerrero in the head and it just exploded his helmet."

Which led me to ask Sax, just how intimidating was it to face the Goose, whose delivery was all flying arms and legs and Fu Manchu moustache before a ghastly heater emerged?

"You try not to let anyone get in your head," Sax said after a lengthy pause, "or they've already won the battle. You just knew you'd face that 100-mph fastball."

Sax faced Gossage many times in the N.L. West when Gossage played with the San Diego Padres from 1984 to 1987 (the Goose also played with the Giants for part of the 1989 season and with the A's in 1992 and 1993) but the two were teammates on the Yankees to close out 1989.

"He was just as honest as the day was long," Sax said of Gossage. "What he meant to his team was just as important. He was the kind of guy people looked up to on a team. He was a rock, a stabilizing force."

- Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Bill Bradley at 03:33 PM | Comments

Is Aaron Rowand the Giants' answer?

Question: Is it the offseason for reporters as well? If so, when do you report for spring training? BEFORE spring, I hope.

-Jason, Sacramento

Answer: Good one, Jason, and a Happy New Year to you and yours as well. It may seem as if I've been derelict in my duties of keeping the baseball blog current and for that, my apologies. Just been slammed with NFL stuff since the end of baseball season.

But let's get to it, shall we?

You wrote me a few weeks back ripping the Giants for being interested in trading Tim Lincecum for Alex Rios while Alex Rodriguez stayed in New York with the Yankees, Torii Hunter went to Anahem to join the Angels, Andruw Jones was signed by the new-look Dodgers of Joe Torre and the Detroit Tigers pulled a fast one on the rest of the American League by landing Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in a trade for "a bunch of no-name prospects" from the Florida Marlins. The object of your ire was, of course, the Giants' inability to pull off the same swap.

"Why couldn't we make (Lincecum) the centerpiece of a deal for Cabrera and Dontrelle?" you asked.

Maybe because the Giants had their sights set on someone else. Someone like free agent Aaron Rowand, who starred for the past two seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies.

With the Barry Bonds Era now officially over on the banks of McCovey Cove, a relatively young Gold Glove candidate in center field in Rowand is a good place to start the rebuilding, er, reloading project. The Giants NEVER use terms like "rebuilding."

I fear, though, that Giants fans may be setting themselves up for disappointment if they think Rowand is the answer in the middle of the lineup. As reader and long-suffering Giants fan Roberto Crespo observed, "It's a bad signing if the Giants are looking for offense.

"Rowand hit only 10 of his 27 home runs on the road last season. And Philly's Citizens Bank Park is a bandbox. Plus, he had MAJOR pop (to support him) in that lineup with Ryan Howard (47 HRs), Jimmy Rollins (30) Pat Burrell (30) and Chase Utley (22). Who has pop in the Giants' lineup? Ray Ray? Happy Pete? Oh well, at least we didn't give up a young pitcher."

To the unitiated, "Ray Ray" is Ray Durham, who hit 11 homers, and "Happy Pete" is Pedro Feliz, who went deep 20 times but is still unsigned. Hey, there's always plucky Bengie Molina, who hit 19 homers. Bonds led the team with 28 dingers.

-Paul Gutierrez

Posted by Bill Bradley at 11:13 AM | Comments

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