The speculation is running hot that the Texas Rangers are kicking the tires on Roy Oswalt, who remains unsigned as a free agent. The beat writers are working it, and the Bleacher Report bloggers are jumping on the bandwagon.
It certainly sounds like Rangers manager Ron Washington would like to see it, especially now that Neftali Feliz is on the disabled list. Problem: The Rangers need a starter now, and Oswalt would at least need a minor-league rehab stint of a few weeks to be ready.
"Oswalt has to want to come to Texas and we have to get him ready. The guy is a quality pitcher," Washington said on an ESPN Dallas radio show.
Oswalt wanted to go to Texas in the offseason, so that shouldn't be a problem. But he'll probably want an assurance that he will be in the starting rotation for more than just the month or so before Feliz is ready to return. With a rotation of Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison, Colby Lewis and Derek Holland already in place, Washington doesn't much wiggle room. Feliz was a great relief pitcher the last two seasons, but would the Rangers want to move him back if Oswalt joins the team? That's the equation right now.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Guerrero is in the Blue Jays' extended spring training, and he could begin a minor-league stint soon. He's moving well in Florida, and is looking forward to playing in Canada again. He broke in with the Montreal Expos and played eight seasons there.
"Definitely going back to where it all started," Guerrero said to MLB.com. "I feel like this is where I started, it's not the same city, but it's Canada. I think going back [I feel] kind of like renewed. I feel like I'm going to be very, very comfortable.
The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, giving them a new title: The only team in the top five in payroll in Major League Baseball with a winning record as of today. And they're 22-21.
Aaron Gleeman of HardballTalk.com pointed that out in a post today. The five teams who pay out the most in player salaries (opening day) are:
1. New York Yankees ($200.2 million): 22-21, 4th in AL East
2. Philadelphia Phillies ($174 million): 21-23, last in NL East
3. Boston Red Sox ($173.2 million): 21-22, last in AL East
4. Los Angeles Angels ($154.9 million): 18-25, last in AL West
5. Detroit Tigers ($132.2 million): 20-22, third in AL Central
And on the other side:
30. Oakland A's ($52.9 million): 22-21, 2nd in AL West
29. San Diego Padres ($55.9 million): 16-28, fourth in NL West
28: Houston Astros ($60.7 million): 20-23, third in NL Central
27. Kansas City Royals ($62.6 million): 17-25, fourth in AL Central
26. Pittsburgh Pirates ($63.4 million): 20-23, fourth in NL Central
Guess the answer is to be somewhere in the middle. But I like the chances of the first five down the stretch.
In Cleveland, baseball is most certainly a summer sport. The weather -- perpetually mostly cloudy (take it from somebody who spent more than 30 years living there) -- dictates that the fair-weather fans stay away until the temperatures creep into the 70s consistently and the sun comes out a bit. When the kids get out of school, ticket sales perk up. The Indians -- who at one point set a record for consecutive sellouts a little more than a decade ago -- are dead last in attendance so far in 2012.
Indians closer Chris Perez was a little fed up this weekend when he blasted the hometown fans in the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram on Saturday night for not coming out to see a first-place team.
"Why doesn't Carlos Beltran want to come over here? Well, because of that. That's part of it. It doesn't go unnoticed -- trust us. That's definitely a huge reason. ... You had a choice of playing in St. Louis where you get 40,000 (fans) like Beltran chose to do, or you can come to Cleveland. ... That's just how it is."
He kept going on Sunday, too.
"It's just a slap in the face when you're in first place and last in attendance," he said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Last. It's not like we're 25th, 26th -- we're last. Oakland is outdrawing us. That's embarrassing."
Ouch. You can't blame Perez for vocalizing some frustration, but this is a team that really faded down the stretch last year. They're kind of a first-place-by-default team in the AL Central as the world waits for the Tigers to shake out of their funk. You can't blame Indians fans for not leaping onto the bandwagon quite yet.
Whose bandwagon should we be jumping on? Presenting this week's Monday Morning Manager:
WHO'S HOT
Aroldis Chapman, Reds: The Cuban lefty has always had the stuff to be the closer. Now he has the stats, and likely the job. His line this season: 18 games, 22.1 IP, 7 hits, 0 earned runs, 39 strikeouts. Yeah, I think he's ready.
Dayan Vicedo, White Sox: We'll keep the Cuban theme for the White Sox left fielder, who hit four homers this past week. He's just 23, too.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox: Perhaps he's turning into the big-league catcher everybody thought he'd be. He hit better than .500 last week and is on pace for 28 home runs.
WHO'S NOT
Tim Lincecum, Giants: The two-time Cy Young winner got plowed over on a play at the plate Sunday, and his fastball isn't nearly as fast as it was a few years ago. And when he gives up four or more runs, he's 0-28 in his career. That's a massive concern considering his ERA is 6.04 this season.
Matt Wieters, Orioles: In a big slump after a hot start, the catcher is 0 for his last 18, and was 0 for 7 in a 15-inning marathon last Wednesday.
Cliff Lee, Phillies: Still has no wins on the season, which is indicative of the run support he's getting from the Phillies. His ERA is 2.66. Had his worst outing of the season on Sunday against the Red Sox, giving up five runs in seven innings.
TOP 5
1.Texas Rangers (26-16, last week No. 1)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (28-13, last week No. 2)
3. Atlanta Braves (26-16, last week No. 3)
4. Baltimore Orioles (27-15, last week No. 4)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (25-17, last week NR)
BOTTOM 5
26. Kansas City Royals (16-24, last week No. 27)
27. Chicago Cubs (15-26, last week No. 26)
28. San Diego Padres (16-26, last week No. 29)
29. Colorado Rockies (15-25, last week No. 28)
30. Minnesota Twins (14-27, last week No. 30)
Kerry Wood came onto the scene in a unique way with the Chicago Cubs. He's going to leave in his own way as well.
Wood, according to reports, will pitch against the Chicago White Sox in his 446th game this weekend and then is expected to retire, ending a 13-year career that began with incredible promise, was derailed by injuries and was re-invented as a reliever.
At age 21 in 1998, Wood became the second pitcher to have 20 strikeouts in a game, joining Roger Clemens. Randy Johnson made it a trio in 2001.
Clemens and Johnson had won Cy Young Awards when they whiffed 20 in a game. Wood did it in his fifth big-league start.
Wood, who turns 35 next month, is 0-2 with n 8.64 ERA this season. He's pitched almost his entire career with the Cubs, aside from a season-and-a-half for the Cleveland Indians in 2009 and 2010 and a half-season with the Yankees in 2010.
Update: Wood pitched on Friday and, fittingly, struck out the last (and only) batter he faced before retiring. He said it became his favorite memory in baseball.
Saud Wood in an interview Saturday: "My favorite memory and probably the best memory in the 14 years was yesterday (Friday), walking off the field and having (son) Justin run out and meet me ... You can't beat that ... I knew maybe he might be in the dugout but I did not expect him to run out and hug me and he didn't want to let go. You can't put anything above that."
