Sweeping Up the Dregs

Dave Paisley

Pressed peanut sweepings may a vital ingredient of one of Homer Simpson's favorite snacks, but that doesn't hold true for most of us. Unfortunately, in the grand baseball off-season free agency sweepstakes, that's about all that's left. Juan Gonzalez isn't exactly Manny Ramirez, but he was the nearest thing to a star left in the pool.

Then there are those players who weren't free agents but soon will be. Like Johnny Damon. Now, I'm an admirer of Billy Beane in many respects, but trading Ben Grieve and a promising shortstop for one year of Johnny Damon seems a bit steep. Grieve is a better hitter than Damon was at the same age (he's two and a half years younger) and neither of them is much defensively. Sure, Damon is fast, but he's got a weak arm and poor judgment, which makes him just about as useful in the field as the slow-footed, medium-armed Grieve. I thought there must be something in the numbers that would tell me why this was such a great move for Oakland, but I don't see it. Let's see, speedy center fielder turned left fielder with bad judgement and a weak arm. Aha! Oakland finally has that Rickey Henderson clone they've always coveted!

Here are Damon and Grieve's year by year numbers:

Grieve (25)	Avg	OBP	SLG	OPS	OBP-Avg
97	.312	.402	.473	.875	.090
98	.288	.386	.458	.844	.098
99	.265	.358	.481	.839	.093
00	.279	.359	.487	.846	.080

Damon (27)	Avg	OBP	SLG	OPS	OBP-Avg
95	.282	.324	.441	.765	.042
96	.271	.313	.368	.681	.042
97	.275	.338	.386	.724	.063
98	.277	.339	.439	.778	.062
99	.307	.379	.477	.856	.072
00	.327	.382	.495	.877	.055

Given the typical late twenties power spurt, Grieve definitely has the potential to add a hundred points of OPS, whereas I think we've seen the best of Johnny Damon. He's added his fifty to a hundred points of slugging the last couple of years and he's probably maxed out. Not that he's bad - just not worth trading for if you're Oakland, I believe. And speedy leadoff guys are vastly overrated in my opinion (see Henderson, Rickey.)

So if the gene pool is being stirred up by trades, what's left swimming over in free agency? Here's a list of position players remaining, by position, and with my admittedly arbitrary grade on their desirability.

Starting off at the top with catchers, I'm wondering why I made Jim Leyritz a B. probably because he's in the company of Matt Walbeck and Benito Santiago. That's a pretty sorry bunch of backup catchers right there. Too bad if you're still in the market for one.

Player	Position	Grade
Jim Leyritz	C	B
Matt Walbeck	C	C
Jeff Reed	C	C
Scott Servais	C	C
Benito Santiago	C	D
Lenny Webster	C	D
Rick Wilkins	C	D

As for first basemen... an aging Mike Stanley might not be a bad bench addition somewhere, but maybe Wally and Hal should finally hang em up.

Player	Position	Grade
Mike Stanley	1B	C
Wally Joyner	1B	D
Hal Morris	1B	D

Over at second, I'm surprised nobody has snapped up Luis Alicea yet. It's not like he's another Roberto Alomar, but he's better than many who have jobs already. But wait! Jeff Huson is still available. Don't all jump at once.

Player	Position	Grade
Luis Alicea	2B	B
Jeff Reboulet	2B	C
Craig Grebeck	2B	C
Jeff Huson	2B	D

At 3B we have Mark Lewis. Who can resist a broken down journeyman SS/2B/3B who hits like an old time shortstop? Hopefully the Mariners can.

Player	Position	Grade
Mark Lewis	3B	C

Turning to more full-time shortstops, the store is all out of Alex Rodriguez's. But you can have Kevin Stocker if you like. Or how about Walt Weiss? I guess we'll pass on this crop.

Player	Position	Grade
Tim Bogar	SS	C
Kevin Stocker	SS	D
Manny Alexander	SS	D
Walt Weiss	SS	D

In the outfield, maybe Oakland would like to go get the real Rickey Henderson, too? I'm not sure why I rated Rich Becker so high, unless it's because he's so versatile.

Player	Position	Grade
Rich Becker	OF	B
Henry Rodriguez	OF	B
Roberto Kelly	OF	C
Mike Simms	OF	C
Thomas Howard	OF	C
Luis Polonia	OF	D
Rickey Henderson	OF	D
Matt Mieske	OF	D
Deion Sanders	OF	D

In the DH category we have two Yankee cast-offs. Somebody somewhere will sign Canseco when they lose a slugger in spring training. Until then, nobody will bite, I'm sure. However, it appears that Darryl has resigned himself to life (such as it has become for him) after baseball. I was going to write some cheap-shot comment here, but can't quite bring myself to do it. I can't kick a man when he's down, especially when he's kicking himself even harder...

Player	Position	Grade
Jose Canseco	DH	C
Darryl Strawberry	DH	F

In the starting pitching ranks, there sits Bobby Jones, all atop the heap on his own. He certainly wouldn't rate an A in the company of Hampton and Mussina, but in this company he shines pretty brightly. Martinez and Kamieniecki will probably be worth a whirl, as will David Cone, but they're all total crapshoots. And I'd recommend passing right by Willie Blair...

Pitcher	Position	Grade
Bobby J. Jones	SP	A
Ramon Martinez	SP	B
Scott Kamieniecki	SP	B
Willie Blair	SP	C
David Cone	SP	C

Finally, in the bullpen, we have a few bargain basement opportunities. Jones and Wetteland may be old, but they may be worth a shot for some team that doesn't care. Oh, but the Royals just got Roberto Hernandez. Never mind. After that, take your pick from washed up ex-closers. Orosco, Aguilera, McMichael, Myers...

Pitcher	Position	Grade
Doug Jones	RP	B
John Wetteland	RP	B
Greg McMichael	RP	C
Rudy Seanez	RP	C
Rick Aguilera	RP	C
Jeff Brantley	RP	C
Jesse Orosco	RP	C
Scott Radinsky	RP	C
Hector Carrasco	RP	C
Randy Myers	RP	D

So there you have it. All that's fit to print and some that's not. Better go now - clean up on aisle 6...

Dave Paisley has heard all kinds of rumors that Bud Selig has been waiting until now to corner the market on third tier free agents. Why not tell him that Selig already has a team just like it already in Milwaukee by emailing him at drdjp@strikethree.com.