"P" is for Podsednik

Jason Michael Barker

One of the great things about baseball, I always say, is that nearly every time you watch a game there's a good chance you're going to see something you've never seen before. At Sunday night's Mariners-Diamondbacks tilt (note the special 5:05 start time for an ESPN broadcast), Seattle outfielder Scott Podsednik got a hit in first major league at-bat.

Podsednik had been on the roster for roughly a week and a half, but before Sunday night he had appeared only as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. If he is to stick in the major leagues, that's the kind of role he'll have to get used to, because he doesn't hit enough to be a regular -- at best, he'll hang on as a fifth outfielder for a few years, occasionally spelling players much his superior. That's not the story, though.

With the bases loaded and left-hander Al Martin due to face left-hander Mike Mohler with Seattle leading 3-0 in the 7th, manager Lou Piniella summoned pinch-hitter Ed Sprague from the bench. The Diamondbacks had a righty in the pen, so it didn't take rocket science to see where this was going -- Bob Brenly left the thirdbase dugout and called for right-hander Erik Sabel. Once Sabel finished his warm-up tosses, Piniella went "by the book," calling Sprague back and sending up the left-handed Podsednik in his stead.

OK, so perhaps that isn't exactly by the book, giving a crucial at-bat to a player who has never hit in a major league game. But with a 19-game lead in the division, it's just the sort of luxury the Mariners have.

To say the crowd at SafeCo Field was skeptical would be an understatement. Although he had been on the roster since June 6th, not many people knew who Podsednik was, where he came from, or even that he was on the team at all. As Podsednik stepped into the batter's box, my friend asked me if I knew anything about the guy. "He's fast," was all I could muster as we watched ball one in the dirt.

Podsednik ripped the 1-0 pitch into the gap in left-center. It was the kind of ball you knew wasn't going to leave the yard, but at the same time you knew it was enough to get past the outfielders, who were (rightfully) playing the light-hitting Podsednik rather shallow. The ball bounced somewhere near the warning track, at which point there was some confusion between Steve Finley and Luis Gonzalez as to who should field the ball.

Finley finally did, though he bobbled it for a minute -- at this point I looked down and saw Podsednik already between second and third. For a split-second I thought he might have a shot at an inside-the-park homer, though a strong throw probably would have nailed him.

When the dust settled, he had a triple in his first major league at-bat. It's rare enough to get a hit in your first major league at-bat, let alone baseball's rarest hit. Podsednik got two standing ovations -- one after the triple and another as he took his place in left field the next inning. He even had enough sense of drama to tip his cap the crowd, throwing them into even more of a frenzy and establishing himself as a fan favorite. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to be in that situation, which as a viewer I can only describe as "really cool."

For one brief moment, Scott Podsednik was a baseball legend. Way to go, Scott.

Moving on, did anyone read with mild surprise that Roger Cedeno turned down a three-year, $13.5M contract offer from the Tigers? Perhaps he just doesn't want to play in Detroit, in which case I understand completely. If he's thinking that more money awaits him on the open market, however, he might be in for a rude awakening.

What we have here is a 26-year old outfielder with exactly one good season under his belt, his 1999 campaign in which he stole 66 bases and hit .313/.396/.408 for the Mets. He appeared in only 74 games with the Astros the following season due to injury, and this year he's hitting a paltry .279/.331/.351 and walking in less than 10% of his at-bats. Because he's never going to hit for power, Cedeno's value comes from his speed and ability to get on base, but this season the latter has left the building.

I think he's a better player than he's shown this season, and will likely be a nice free agent bargain this winter, but he hasn't done enough lately to warrant a bigger deal than what the Tigers are offering. By declining the contract offer he's put himself on the trading block and will likely find himself in the employ of another club this time next month, which might have been his plan all along since the Tigers are going nowhere fast.

Speaking of going nowhere fast, what's up with Fred McGriff? I'm all for the "wanting to spend more time with the family" argument, but why on earth would you turn down a shot to go from the worst franchise in baseball to a team with a legitimate shot at going to the World Series? (Before you jump on me for that comment, oh ye of little faith, keep in mind that every team that makes the post-season has a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing.)

Pack a few bags, tell the kids the family is moving to Chicago for the summer, and hit the road. As Don Baylor put it, the Cubs -- who rank ahead of only four NL teams in runs scored, and are just three games ahead of second-place Houston -- could certainly use his offense.

Finally, two quick tips to help brighten your day with baseball.

First, when you've got a free minute, check out http://www.candystand.com/Games/cs_shock_cshr.htm. It takes a little while to load, even with a fast connection, and also requires that you have Shockwave installed, but it's worth it.

Second, if you're just not getting enough baseball from this very site, send an email to buick8@aol.com asking to subscribe to the daily baseball previews. Each day, you'll get a look at the best and worst match-up in MLB, along with the biggest mismatch and the marquee game of the day. The mailer is sometimes statistical, sometimes philosophical, often humorous and always entertaining -- I don't think you'll be disappointed.

about the author

Ever wonder who puts the filling in all those Oreo cookies? That's our own Jason Michael Barker. He even invented the "double stuff" version, though that was more by accident than design. Ask for "quadruple stuff" if you dare when you write to jmb@strikethree.com.

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