New Boots and Contracts

VirtualGammons

New rookies get much attention and they are certainly exciting. Don't overlook veterans. In Baltimore, veteran first baseman Rafael Palmiero has been key to the 11-8 start of the Orioles. He's only batting .224 but leads the team in RBIs with 12. That's clutch hitting.

Cal Ripken is off to a great start with 10 RBIs. Mike Bordick is 5 for 3 but his sparkling defense has helped out. Joe Carter is also a contributor. Manager Ray Miller is playing fundamental baseball: defense, moving the runner, and driving him in. This works well with the experience and skill of his veteran team. Too many teams concentrate on walking and hitting home runs. The Orioles have 8 stolen bases and have been caught 11 times. There is a direct connection between paying veterans well and winning.

In Colorado Todd Helton is an early pick for Rookie of the Year with his strong hitting, but his team is 6-11. In Florida, Derrek Lee, Mark Kotsay, and Craig Counsell are all playing well but the Marlins keep losing. Their record is 4-13. While cutting payroll and playing young players may seem attractive, it obviously has a cost.

The best free-agent investment this year appears to be Pedro Martinez. The young Dominican appears to be even happier and more competitive with the Red Sox. There was no league adjustment to the American League. This could be due to respect.

The Diamondbacks have a plan to acquire soon to be free agents from teams like the Dodgers and Mariners if those teams drop out of contention. They already offered relief propects to the Mariners when they lost seven straight, but were asking for second baseman Joey Cora. They should consider changing their name to the Arizona Vultures.

The Padres have made now-or-never trades to be competitive this year in order to win support for a new stadium. It worked. Whether they will be able to get themselves a stadium is uncertain, but this is a winning team.

Mo Vaughn and Mike Piazza have both ended contract negotiations with their teams. Many Cuban players have uncertain ages but they have shown their winning ways. George Steinbrenner has already said he doesn't like Arizona's owner. This may turn into a bitter rivalry, as Arizona plans to enter the bidding for free agents Piazza, Johnson, Brown, Bernie Williams, and Roberto Alomar at once. If prospect Travis Lee fails to develop, Arizona may move him for the angry Mo Vaughn. Arizona officals have said they're willing to hold a payroll level of 75 million to win. Unlike the doomed Florida Marlins, though, they can sustain that kind of spending.

Part of the Mariners problem is too many left-handers starting. The Mets have found a winner in Masato Yoshii. Without the reputation of import Hideki Irabu, Yoshii has good control and changes speeds. The Yankees also play in Shea Stadium and are anxious to have premiere closer Mariano Rivera back from his groin injury.

The San Francisco Giants will either sign Jeff Kent in the coming week or let him go at the end of the year, seeking a minor-league swap for a prospect in the meantime. Barry Bonds is struggling again. The team isn't concerned as they have managed to generate wins in other ways. Manager Dusty Baker is an expert at creating runs. The team is 9-8, five games back of San Diego, but look for them to compete for the wild card. The Giants are much like the Orioles with veteran players and management. When Bonds starts to hit and pitchers Gardner and Estes start to pitch like they did last year, look for them to go on an Orioles-like winning streak. They're one of only a few teams that don't have to wait on struggling rookies.

We had to remove words from VirtualGammons' vocabulary disk for the first time this week, because he was sounding too real and not enough like the human baseball commentators he's based on. If you'd like to have a stab at having a question answered by our silicon-based analyst, write in at vgammons@strikethree.com, but don't say we didn't warn you if he replies in uncompiled C++.

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