| | They may not win the Manager of the Year award in Major League Baseball this season, but Boston's Jimy Williams and Detroit's Phil Garner deserve serious recognition for the job they have done, says Rob Neyer.
ESPN.com's baseball columnist talked about the Red Sox pitching staff and the Tigers turnaround during his latest chat and said both managers have solidified themselves as two of the leagues top skippers. Neyer also talked about what constitutes a .400 hitter, money issues and where Alex Rodriguez might end up next season.
If you missed Neyer's Aug. 23 chat, an edited transcript follows:
| |  | | Neyer applauds the job Phil Garner has done in Detroit. |
Al Czervik: George Steinbrenner's argument against revenue sharing is that clubs will not necessarily invest such
dollars into player development and salaries. So, in addition to a salary cap, wouldn't a salary
"floor" be the answer? Also, what do you think fair amounts for both?
Rob Neyer: A salary floor certainly makes sense, and is advocated by Bob Costas in his book. But a salary
floor wouldn't make Steinbrenner all warm and fuzzy about revenue sharing; there's nothing that
can do that.
Bjflyers: In your article (Wednesday), you said that if Todd Helton hits .3996 that you won't consider this hitting
.400. When have we ever not rounded something for statistical purposes? How can this one
mark be an exception to the rule?
Rob Neyer:
I'll probably get into this at greater length in (Thursday's) column, but what you're missing is that
it usually doesn't matter if we round up or not. Do we really care whether a guy hits .316 or
.317? Nope. So if he hits .3167, then we go ahead and round up, because three digits are more
convenient than four. But we do care about .400, just as we care about who wins batting titles.
If two players both hit ".375," but one of them's actually .3748 and the other's at .3752, do we
give both of them the title? No, instead we look at that fourth digit.
'Nuff said on this subject for now.
ChrisDC: Is Mike Piazza really THAT bad at defense? It seems like he calls a game pretty well, and he's
OK at blocking the plate.
Rob Neyer:
All I know is, for a guy who's supposed to be such a lousy catcher, Piazza's been the regular
for some damn fine pitching staffs. Draw your own conclusions.
Andrew Dignan: Do you think Major League Baseball will be able to survive the surging salary amounts? I don't
see how it can, just as in everything else in life, there is a limit to how much something can
handle.
Rob Neyer:
Perhaps. It's funny, though, people have been saying the exact same things since the early
1990s, and last I checked not a single team had expired or even moved. So I'm taking a
"wait-and-see" attitude.
Eric Wehger: When you are in chat, do you type out your answers to the questions or do you have someone
there helping you? Can you go into detail about it because I have always wondered how
something like that works.
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NEYER'S FILE
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ESPN.com's Rob Neyer writes a daily baseball column from March through October. His book "Baseball Dynasties," co-authored with Eddie Epstein, has just been published, and can be ordered from Amazon.com. |
Rob Neyer: I doubt if many of you are interested, but I do get questions like this every chat, so I'll answer
just this once. Most of our chat guests give their answers over the phone to an ESPN.com
employee. But since I play with my computer all day long and can type quickly, I select the
questions myself, and type in the answers, too. And I know it would be nice if everything
happened faster, but I'm doing the best I can. If you really don't like to wait, you should just
wait for the transcript that generally appears within an hour of the chat's conclusion. Now, back
to baseball ....
Matt Fisher: Who is the most underrated player in the game?
Rob Neyer:
Gosh, there are so many candidates ... Bobby Abreu comes to mind. The most underrated
players tend to be players like Abreu, who do everything well but nothing magnificently. Dwight
Evans was a guy like that.
Jeff Taylor: Jeff D'Amico is having a great season this year and will most likely win the Comeback Player of
the Year after having injury problems the last few years. I was wondering if you think he's a
fluke or is he the real deal?
Rob Neyer:
D'Amico was a first-round draft pick back in 1993, and has rarely been healthy since then. But
if he can stay in the rotation, I don't know why he can't be a solid pitcher for the next decade.
He won't stay healthy, though.
Derek Webster: Do you think that there is any chance that Mike Mussina would sign with the Red Sox next
season?
Rob Neyer:
No way. The Sox are already strained, payroll-wise, so they're not going to add another $15
million per season, especially when you consider the new ballpark won't be ready until 2004 at
the earliest.
Mattyo: Likewise, do you ever fantasize over Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas or A-Rod playing for the
Rockies? Why don't more great hitters talk about Colorado as a place they'd like to play? Or
do they?
Rob Neyer:
I fantasize about such things all the time. The problem is that the Rockies don't want to pay
great hitters the going rate. They'd rather pay good hitters to pile up great stats.
Jeremy: Do you think the Indians will be doomed by their busy September schedule or do you
think they can battle through it?
Rob Neyer:
"Doomed" is a strong word, especially when you consider that the Red Sox will play a
similarly-busy schedule. All those games won't help, of course, but they probably won't make
the difference.
D-Man: What do you think of the Tigers' resurgence?
Rob Neyer:
It's a great story, and I've become something of a Phil Garner fan. I never thought much of him
in Milwaukee, but he's been saying nice things about plate discipline this season.
Aaron04: What was the point of the Angel protest "officially lost on you"? The umpire was clearly not in
position to make the correct call, which is grounds for protest.
Rob Neyer:
Hey, an Angels Fan sighting! The first of the year ... Anyway, my point is that protests are
virtually never upheld, and this one certainly won't be. That was a judgment call, and those are
simply not reversed. And perhaps I'm wrong, but I think you're wrong about what constitutes
grounds for protest.
Shea: Should Gary Carter be in the Hall of Fame?
Rob Neyer:
Yes, and I'm ashamed of my colleagues (though not my brethren) in the BBWAA for not giving
Carter anywhere near enough votes to make it yet.
LinusC: Who do you think is the winner on Survivor?
Rob Neyer:
I predict that the winner will be the self-absorbed pinhead. Hope that's specific enough.
Eric: Any thoughts on who will land A-Rod?
Rob Neyer:
Honestly, I have no idea, and I don't think anybody else does, either. Just in the last two
months, I've heard at least five different baseball writers offer at least five distinct outcomes, so
I've stopped worrying about it. That said, if the Mariners reach the World Series, I wouldn't
be shocked to see him stay in Seattle.
Gunther: Rob, in terms of pure enjoyment, who would you like to see match up in the World Series?
Rob Neyer:
1. Red Sox-Mets
2. Yankees-Mets
3. Mariners-Giants
Gregor: I don't think people realize how good the Red Sox pitching is beyond Pedro Martinez. Will you enlighten
us?
Rob Neyer:
Last time I checked, the Red Sox pitching staff led the American League in ERA, and they'd be
close to the top even if you remove Pedro's numbers from the equation. Most of that is the
bullpen, which has been fantastic for the second year in a row, and is a testament to Jimy
Williams' abilities.
Eric: The Angels are constantly written off by everyone, including ESPN (ironically, both owned by
Disney). Do you give them a chance?
Rob Neyer:
Of course they have a chance. The Angels are only 2.5 games behind the Indians, and 2.5
games ain't much to make up in 5.5 weeks. But they're probably not as good as the Indians or
the Red Sox or the Athletics, so the Angels probably have something like a 10 percent chance
of finishing on top.
Deivi Cruz Rules: Who is the best closer in the game? My choice (although biased) is Todd Jones. Even before
this year, his numbers were solid, and Rivera has been over-hyped because of New York bias
throughout his whole career.
Rob Neyer:
I don't have the stats handy, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Jones were the best closer in the
American League this year. But as for Rivera being over-hyped, I'm not buying it. He's had a
few rough patches this season, but you're talking about a guy who posted sub-2.00 ERAs in
each of the last three seasons.
Thanks for all the questions, I'll be back next week.
Oh, one more thing ... This Saturday at 2pm, I'll be signing copies of Baseball Dynasties at the
Borders Books in Lawrence, Kansas. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello. | |
ALSO SEE
Rob Neyer chat archive
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