Posted on Sat, Nov. 29, 2003
Colon may run out of options other than White Sox
BY PHIL ROGERS
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO - (KRT) - Some Chicago White Sox fans want to believe Ken Williams was using gamesmanship when he said a month ago that Bartolo Colon had moved beyond the team's limited means. These stubborn souls believe Colon could wind up back with the Sox, where he is comfortable.
There's a very slim chance they are right too.
Club sources indicate the Sox cling to a hope that the pitching dominos will fall in a way that leads Colon back to Chicago, provided Williams can trim a salary or two so he can afford a $20 million rotation.
Recent developments have encouraged those in the Keep Colon movement, most notably Boston surfacing as the surprise winner of the Curt Schilling sweepstakes and Anaheim settling for Kelvim Escobar. Now the attention shifts to a pair of squirming Texans, who find themselves involved in one of the strangest dances of the off-season.
Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane doesn't really want to sign Andy Pettitte, not to the tune of $30 million over three years. He has been losing money for years on a team that never has gotten past the first round of the playoffs.
Even after trading Billy Wagner, he's already on the hook for about $55 million in 2004 to eight players, including $36 million to Jeff Bagwell, Richard Hidalgo and Jeff Kent.
McLane wants another $10 million salary like he wants a dip in the price of Wal-Mart stock. But he engaged in a bit of face-saving posturing by meeting with Pettitte, who pitched for the Houston area's Deer Park High School and San Jacinto Junior College. He wanted to create the impression he was interested without following through.
McLane figured he could stick his toe in the water without getting wet because Pettitte is sure to get a better offer from the New York Yankees. The thing McLane didn't figure on is how badly Laura Pettitte wants to become a year-round resident of the Houston area.
According to some who know the Pettittes, the pitcher is getting pressure to try to hammer out a deal with the Astros, who have teased their fans with the possibility. Pettitte is comfortable in New York and doesn't have the kind of ego that returning as a hometown savior would feed. But he is a family man who could yield to pressure to stay home, no matter what the Yankees offer.
Those in the Keep Colon movement hope that George Steinbrenner finds a way to re-sign Pettitte. If Pettitte does stay in New York, the market for Colon seemingly would be reduced to Philadelphia, Baltimore and, if they can find a make the money work, the White Sox.
With Schilling gone the Phillies are making a push to re-sign Kevin Millwood. You would have to wonder how attractive either of those Eastern markets would be for Colon, who has spent most of his career in the Midwest.
But, then again, don't be sure the Yankees will be satisfied with just re-signing Pettitte. That only gives them Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Jeff Weaver, Jose Contreras and Jon Lieber under control.
Some believe Steinbrenner's appetite, and budget, would keep him interested in signing Colon and trading for Montreal's Javier Vazquez. It's also possible the Yankees will try to get David Wells to accept a minor-league contract loaded with incentives.
For the moment the Yankees appear to be preoccupied with completing a deal with Gary Sheffield to fill their hole in right field, where Karim Garcia played during the postseason.
Change of agents: Since Kerry Wood was a senior at Grand Prairie (Texas) High School, Alan and Randy Hendricks have represented him. But there will be new faces across the table when Cubs general manager Jim Hendry opens negotiations on a contract extension next month.
The Hendricks brothers recently left SFX, the mega-agent firm that had merged with them a few years ago. Wood opted to remain with SFX, who will have agents Greg Landry, Pat Rooney and Arn Tellem represent him.
Under the Hendricks' direction, Wood signed only one-year contracts with the Cubs. That puts him one year away from free agency. The club expects to sign him to an extension, but it will be a complicated negotiation. Wood has been an ace at times but never has won more than 14 games in a season.
The Cubs' pitching depth makes a trade conceivable, but it's hard to see how a top contender could let such a talent go. If Wood doesn't sign a multiyear contract, he could be headed for an ugly arbitration case and a year of questions about his status, which will a distraction for manager Dusty Baker's team.
Looking East: The Dodgers, who are sitting on a Paul Konerko offer from the White Sox, are considering signing South Korean slugger Seung-Yeop Lee to fill their hole at first base.
Lee, 27, is known as "the Lion King." He set an Asian record with 56 homers last season for the Samsung Lions but has not excited scouts during spring-training visits to the Cubs and Marlins camps.
"The Dodgers have always been pioneers internationally," GM Dan Evans said. "We're not afraid to take a risk. ... We're weighing the risk-reward factor."
The Dodgers also are kicking the tires on shortstop Kazuo Matsui but are unlikely to have the resources to win a major bidding war while their ownership transfer is pending approval. The Yankees, Seattle, Anaheim, Baltimore, San Francisco and the Mets are among those interested in Matsui, who has indicated he would move to second base to play alongside Derek Jeter.
He's a switch-hitting speedster who could help either Chicago team, but there have been no signs of interest.
Doing the math: For the second year in a row, Pythagorean standings (a Bill James tool that uses runs scored and runs allowed to figure expected victories and losses) show the White Sox, not the Twins, should have won the AL Central.
In 2002 and `03, the Sox outscored their opponents by 134 runs and were 10 games above .500; the Twins were 45 games above .500 while outscoring their opponents by 99 runs. No wonder Ron Gardenhire outlasted Jerry Manuel.
For what it's worth, the 2003 Pythagorean standings show the Cubs should have finished third in the NL Central, behind Houston and St. Louis. It suggests manager Jimy Williams cost the Astros eight victories and Tony La Russa cost St. Louis four while Baker was a plus-two.
It also shows Seattle would have won the AL West if Bob Melvin had not cost it six victories. The biggest gain was_surprise!_the plus-seven by Cincinnati managers Bob Boone and Dave Miley, who went 69-93 with a team that deserved to lose 100.
Whispers: Look for Miley to get the Reds' job on a permanent basis. Manuel is among the four finalists in that job search. ... Florida has only one more week to negotiate a new contract with Ivan Rodriguez because it agreed not to offer salary arbitration when it signed him to a one-year contract. He reportedly is looking for five years at $10 million a year but will wind up once again being a bargain for someone. ... The Derrek Lee trade makes it likely the Marlins will re-sign Luis Castillo and Mike Lowell, with Jeff Conine and Hee Seop Choi sharing first base and Miguel Cabrera remaining in right field. ... La Russa sees Albert Pujols as a full-time first baseman after trading Tino Martinez to Tampa Bay. The Cardinals are looking to sign a left fielder who can hit at the top of the order. They also would like to use the $1.5 million they saved in the Martinez deal to re-sign Mike DeJean as a setup man.
Tampa Bay is not done with significant moves. The Devil Rays have made a two-year offer to reliever Tom Gordon and want to sign one proven hitter from a group that includes Juan Gonzalez, Reggie Sanders, Jose Cruz Jr., Rondell White and Brad Fullmer. ... While the United States won't have a baseball team in the 2004 Olympics, some Americans will be playing for different countries. Among those is Chicago's Erik Pappas, a former Cubs and Cardinals catcher who will be on the Greek team put together by Orioles owner Peter Angelos. White Sox second baseman Aaron Miles is also a possibility for that team, which only requires that one of your grandparents was born in Greece. ... The Blue Jays have not begun talking about an extension with Carlos Delgado, who is eligible for free agency after 2004.