Hardball Hodgepodge

Jason Michael Barker

I've had a couple items have been on my mind this week, and since none of them is quite enough to fill out a column, I thought I'd just throw 'em all together and see what happens.

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When Jeff King retired last week, it appeared the Royals finally had the opening they needed to play Jeremy Giambi, who tore it up at AAA last season. He isn't much of a defensive player, so the assumption was that he could either play first base, or that designated hitter Mike Sweeney would move to first with Giambi taking over DH duties.

Instead of recalling Giambi, the Royals called pitcher Orber Moreno up from AAA Omaha. Moreno is a good relief prospect -- the Royals' "closer of the future" -- but it's a bit surprising that he was called up when Giambi is so obviously ready to hit major league pitching.

For one thing, he hasn't just hit well in the minors, he's dominated -- .469/.634 at Omaha last season and .478/.641 this season, with excellent plate discipline to boot. For another, it's not as if he's some 21-year old kid with only recent success. Giambi's been crushing minor-league pitching since he broke in at Spokane (low A-ball) in 1996.

Manager Tony Muser, who normally isn't afraid to play younger players (see Carlos Febles, Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon, Mike Sweeney...), has been playing Larry Sutton at first since King retired. Sutton isn't a bad player per se, sort of a late-blooming AAA slugger with good plate discipline, but he's no Jeremy Giambi. Sutton's hitting .314/.356 this season, so it's fair to say Giambi could out-produce him with little or no difficulty.

Giambi's already 24 years old, and he's not getting any younger. Perhaps he's been cursed with the stigma of a young player who can't play much in the field, or perhaps he has a bad attitude that we haven't heard about. It's too early to be certain, but unfortunately he seems well on his way to becoming the new Roberto Petagine -- a player who continually beats up AAA pitchers, but for whatever reason just can't get a break in the majors.

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I'll be the first to admit I wasn't expecting much from Hideo Nomo this season. After winning National League Rookie of the Year in 1995, his numbers had gotten worse each season, and it appeared his control, mechanics, and confidence were all screwed up.

You probably know the story -- after he was released by the Mets, Nomo signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs, and made three starts in the minors with mixed results. The Cubs said "thanks, but no thanks," and he was a free agent once again.

As such, I didn't think much of it when he inked a deal with the Brewers a month ago. This is, after all, the same organization so desperate for pitching that they've given Jim Abbott seven starts despite an ERA over 7.00.

On Monday Nomo scattered three hits and two runs over 6.1 innings to win his second game of the season in five starts. He's actually pitched quite well so far, as evidenced by his 2.41 ERA in 33.2 innings. Perhaps more telling are his 30 strikeouts and just nine walks over that same span, or that he's allowing opposing hitters just a .271 OBP. He's gone at least six innings in each of his starts, and has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any start.

In case you're wondering, yes, he has pitched against some good teams. Sure he's faced the Expos, Marlins and Padres, but he's also beaten the Giants and pitched very well against the Braves.

I was ready to write him off an the beginning of this season, but it appears Hideo Nomo is back pitching at the level that made him a baseball sensation four short years ago.

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In case you missed it, the Mariners hit four more home runs Monday night, giving them 58 for the month, which tied the Major League record for homers in May. They also hit 100 homers in their first 50 games, to make them the fastest team to the century mark in baseball history.

If they can keep up their current pace of two homers per game, the Mariners would shatter the Major League record for home runs in a season, 264, a mark they set in 1997. Perhaps "shatter" isn't a strong enough word -- their current pace would have them finish the season with 324 blasts, besting the old mark by 60, or roughly 23%. Even if they only average a homer and a half for the rest of the season, they'll still wind up with 268, narrowly breaking the record.

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Finally, much has been made of National League umpire Frank Pulli essentially using instant replay to correct an erroneous home run call on Monday. Tuesday, NL President Len Coleman called the use of replay "not an acceptable practice," saying that baseball was a game of human imperfection. Pulli's consulting the replay sets a dangerous precedent, and hopefully Coleman's comments ensure that this sort of thing won't happen again.

Umpires have been making incorrect calls for years, and to the best of my knowledge the use of instant replay has never been seriously considered. For all the flack they take from fans, players and media, umpires more often than not make the correct call.

Baseball doesn't need to sacrifice the simplicity of the game by adding something as complex and time consuming as instant replay, or as I've heard suggested, motion-detecting lasers to call balls and strikes.

Human imperfection, indeed.

about the author

Jason Michael Barker admits that he's an imperfect human, but he'd appreciate it if you didn't rub that fact in.