BERARDINO: Shrewd Epstein foils Marlins

Published August 3, 2003

 

Pardon the Marlins if they don't call to congratulate Theo "Boy Wonder" Epstein on his trading brilliance. Nor should Epstein expect any fruit baskets or cheese wheels with a return address of 2267 Dan Marino Boulevard.

 

Epstein, general manager of the Boston Red Sox, put on a deadline exhibition last week that belied his status as the youngest GM in baseball history. Of course, he was getting plenty of sound advice from lieutenants such as Lee Thomas, Bill Lajoie, Craig Shipley and Louie Eljaua.

 

In the process, the Red Sox not only consistently thwarted the Evil Empire in the Bronx but the surprising upstarts in South Florida.

 

Reliever Scott Sauerbeck? The Yankees weren't the only ones after his services. The Marlins wanted him badly, industry sources say, so much that they were willing to part with a pair of solid prospects for the top lefty specialist over the past five years.

 

"[sauerbeck]was the key to their whole plan," said a major league source that had talked with Marlins people. "He was a big, big piece for them, and they didn't get him."

 

Instead, the Red Sox acquired Sauerbeck on July 22 for right-hander Brandon Lyon and an exchange of prospects. When Pirates doctors found fraying in Lyon's pitching elbow a few days later, the two teams spent the final week before the non-waiver deadline reworking the deal.

 

Guess how they managed to do that. By shipping Lyon back to the Red Sox along with red-hot starter Jeff Suppan in exchange for all-bat, no-glove infielder Freddy Sanchez.

 

That trade, consummated hours before Thursday's deadline, basically ended the Marlins' hopes of prying oufielder J.D. Drew out of St. Louis in a three-way deal with the Pirates and Cardinals, who would have added Suppan to their reeling rotation.

 

When those talks began, the ever-creative Marlins wanted to bring in Drew as a replacement for rookie left fielder Miguel Cabrera. By Tuesday night, the plan had shifted.

 

The Marlins still wanted Drew, an American League source said, but now they wanted to flip him to another team for two more usable pieces. The Yankees, who had just shipped Raul Mondesi to Arizona, may have been that team, although the source said the Red Sox were pushing hard for Drew at the end as well.

 

How much did the Marlins like this plan? They only tried to enlist the services of four teams (Pirates, Orioles, Expos and Tigers) that could funnel much-needed pitching to the Cardinals.

 

Alas, Suppan went to Boston, Sidney Ponson went to San Francisco, Livan Hernandez stayed in Montreal and the Tigers (Mike Maroth) and Cardinals were among the many teams that couldn't make a single deadline move. The Tigers were after Marlins third-string catcher Ramon Castro, while Triple-A right-hander Justin Wayne would have landed in St. Louis along with Maroth.

 

Oh, yeah, the Red Sox also nabbed closer Scott Williamson from the Cincinnati Reds Clearance Sale. The Marlins could have used him as well, although he wasn't one of Jack McKeon's favorites in Cincinnati.

 

Sanchez? The Marlins tried to get him as far back as last July, when the Red Sox first asked about Kevin Millar. Let's not even get into the whole Millar/Chunichi Dragons/waivers fiasco that eventually landed him in Boston for $1.5 million.

 

For once Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who authorized up to $1 million in additional payroll at the deadline, found himself on the same side of the aisle as King George Steinbrenner. Their respective team payrolls might be nearly $130 million apart, but both men must be gnashing their teeth at the thought of the Boy Wonder trumping them again and again.

 

"The guy just started," one rival baseball man said with obvious sarcasm, "and he's the king of baseball."

 

FAST START

 

Did the Marlins do the right thing sticking with Cabrera in left? Absolutely.

 

According to astute reader Howard Garson, with help from Lee Sinins' Sabermetric Baseball Encyclopedia, just nine players age 20 or younger have ever slugged for a higher percentage with at least 134 plate appearances (see chart).

 

Six of those players made the Hall of Fame, and Alex Rodriguez, the only active player in the group, is headed for Cooperstown. Bob Horner (1978) made a detour to Japan, and Tony Conigliaro (1964) had his career interrupted by a severe beaning.

 

Just 11 players in this age group have posted higher on-base plus slugging percentages (OPS) than Cabrera through 134 plate appearances. Besides A-Rod, only Whitey Lockman (1945), Conigliaro and Vada Pinson (1959) failed to make the Hall of Fame on that list.

 

Dealing for a supposed "upgrade" after a start like that wouldn't make much sense.

 

Meanwhile, the Marlins still could deal for Pirates veteran Matt Stairs, a perfect lefty complement against tough right-handers, if he gets to them on waivers. They nearly had a three-way deal in place on deadline day, said a source from one of those teams.

 

Switch-hitter Felix Jose, 38, also remains a very viable option as he goes through the Mexican League playoffs with the Mexico City Reds. Jose is on loan from the Arizona Diamondbacks, who recently told the outfielder he would be back in the big leagues soon.

 

Ex-Marlin Antonio Alfonseca (Cubs) and Brewers right-hander Mike DeJean figure to be top waiver targets as well after the Marlins tried unsuccessfully to land them last week. Don't look for Toronto's Kelvim Escobar, another late Marlins target, to move on waivers; the Blue Jays plan to re-sign him this winter.

 

AROUND THE HORN

 

Teams that talked with the Marlins said they declared just four prospects off limits: Double-A right-hander Denny Bautista, Class A Jupiter first baseman Jason Stokes, Class A Greensboro outfielder Jeremy Hermida and Class A Jupiter right-hander Don Levinski. You can technically add recently signed first-rounder Jeff Allison to that list; baseball rules prohibit them from trading the right-hander until the one-year anniversary of his July 22 signing. ...

 

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nice article

Wow,actually a good article from Berardino.