What's this? Life? A glimmer of life in the desolation? Could it be possible?
Yes!! You really had almost given up hope this time, hadn't you? After all, it's been -- what? -- more than 2 months since the end of the most monumental baseball season of our lives (I didn't say "best"), and more than three months since the dramatic and thrilling finale of a truly exceptional Good IV League pennant race. And not a word from Fearsome Leader?
Let me count the excuses. I come up with at least 10 of them, which is the number of countries I've been in since the beginning of October. You want the list? Bolivia, Tanzania (2), Uganda, Botswana, Kenya, Philippines, Switzerland, South Africa (2). The latter is where began writing this report as well, and where I also listened to Game 3 of the World Series, on the San Diego radio station, over the Internet. I might point out, by the way, that it was sunny and 75 degrees there last week.
But does that mean I've forgotten you, my suffering sports compadres? Not at all! With Mo Vaughn now a distant blustery echo, and the Red Sox' playoff chances gone with him; with the Patriots' limping and wimpy exit down I-91 to Hartford; with the Celtics and their brethren only just now preparing for a farce of a basketball season; and with ice and soon snow whipping at your windows, I have arrived, as you knew in your heart I would, to give you some good ol' Hot Stove Baseball to chew on!
We start here, with a tantalizing taste of Rotisserie in January, a look back and a peak forward. Then move on to the newest Hall of Fame Watch, one that hits quite close to home. This is soon (I promise) to be followed by a standard pre-season Baseball Journal, where I'll confess my sins and accept my triumphs for last year's predictions, and assess the woeful state of our Red Sox.
Mud Heaven at last. Just as this year's NBA winner will feel a little like Lite Beer, the noble Mud Hens couldn't fully celebrate their 1994 Good IV League championship, even if their name did go on the trophy. When the strike wiped out the end of the season, they were never truly tested during Crunch Time, when the competition strikes dumping deals left and right, and playing time and pitching matchups and rookie callups all play havoc with strategies. Well, no longer do the MHs need to ask themselves "what if?"
In a season dominated nearly from Day One by a Kings team that had probably the best draft in GIV League history, and where the Eagles mounted a ferocious late season surge to challenge for the title, the Mud Hens were tenacious, resilient, and sneaky, and pulled out every stop down the stretch for a convincing victory. In case you've forgotten, they won it with Wins, traditionally the Mud Hens' strong suit. In the last couple of weeks they threw away all caution, even waived Bernie Williams, to acquire every starting pitcher still breathing. The result was a victory that wasn't even that close at the end, and a brilliant end-game strategy to solidify the Hens' reputation as truly astute baseball minds.
In the fray, there were some other notable performances. The aforementioned Kings barely made a transaction all year after alertly acquiring Dave Burba at the opening bell, and who could have blamed them when they were riding 70+ points for half the season? But at the wire, perhaps their rustiness with fine-tuning their roster made them unprepared for the Mud Hen onslaught. The Eagles did plenty of maneuvering to get into contention, somehow ending up with a lineup that included Belle, Gonzalez, Edgar Martinez, Giambi, Canseco, and Brosius, having waived David Justice to make room.
In the middle, the Cities played their hand from afar as best we could, but 4th place is little consolation for trading away Shannon Stewart and Jorge Posada at a combined 4 bucks. The Mountain Men also challenged for much of the season, but were frustrated by kids who weren't quite ready and deals that went sour (Pat Hentgen, anyone?). The Jay Jays waited a long time to throw in the towel, preventing the salivating contenders from grabbing Juan Gonzalez for a cheap rookie; lapping the field in Saves was once again not enough. The Hammerin' Eggerts faded at the end, but made some noise, as well as proving that Mike's a lot smarter than Dan Duquette, since he signed Vaughn before the season for a bargain price of $34.
Down in the vicinity of the basement, the Skid Rowes actually proved my pre-season analysis to be mildly correct for once. They just didn't have the pitching from the get-go, and were able to go get any during the season. The Pets sufferred from the opposite problem: no hitting, relying on studs like Cecil Fielder, Mike Stanley, and Ron Coomer most of the way. Finally, the Boomers must be more itchy than all of us to get to Spring. They threw in the towel about June 1, and could do nothing but sit try to pick some rookie plums the rest of the way.
Next? With virtually nothing of local sports interest on the horizon for a long time ahead, is it too early to start peaking ahead to the final Good IV League season of the '90s, and of the 1900s? Of course not! Now I know most of you have no idea who is even on your roster, let alone those of the major league teams. So I'll be specific and concise. Here are the main cheap-keepers for each franchise, and a hint of where they may stand entering Spring Training:
Cities: The nucleus is as good as anyone's, but small: A-Rod ($17), Erstad ($6), Shawn Green ($14), and Colon ($2). Where oh where are Stewart and Posada?
Mountain Men: All those kids from last year are around, and a year better, but still, are they keepers? Hinch ($5), Tejada ($6), Glaus ($6), Giambi ($5), Sexson ($5). Also, David Wells is only 9 bucks.
Pets: Not much cheap meat to show for a 9th place season: maybe Todd Greene ($5), Speizio ($6), Deivi Cruz ($1), Caruso ($5), plus Damon, long-termed at $15. Wetteland is a keeper at $27. Woody Williams would be nice at $2, if he hadn't been traded to the NL.
Skid Rowes: You knew he'd build a new core, and here it is: Posada ($3), Ortiz ($8), Cora ($7), Enrique Wilson ($1), Eric Chavez ($5), Grieve ($7), Febles ($5), Arrojo ($5), Carpenter ($1), Howry ($5). The team to beat? We'll see.
Kings: Plenty of mid- to high-priced keepers, but not many real bargains. Lawton ($3), O'Leary ($3), Belcher ($1), Gordon ($9), Orlando Hernandez ($1). This will be Belcher's 5th straight year at $1 in this league, for some inexplicable reason.
Hammerin' Eggerts: Aside from Vaughn's "cheap" $34 price tag, they've got some guys who stayed with the Red Sox -- Hatteberg ($5), Trot Nixon ($5), Sadler ($5), Lowe ($1), plus nice prices on former Sox Sele ($3), and A's Kenny Rogers ($5) and Billy Taylor ($2). Throw in Percival ($27), Todd Walker ($12), maybe Chad Curtis ($2), and this is one quality Spring lineup.
Jay Jays: Pretty slim pickin's, especially in the hitting department: the gift of Shannon Stewart at $1 from the Cities leads the pack. They have the usual closers in Aguilera ($10) and Rivera ($10), plus starters Escobar ($6), Helling (20 wins for $2), and Moehler ($2).
Mud Hens: The champs lost some of their core performers in the off-season: Ivan Rodriguez, Tino Martinez, Jose Offerman, plus in the last week they dumped perennial contributors Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton, waived Mike Jackson and Bernie Williams, and earlier traded Pedro Maritinez. But they retain a pretty solid group from their draft and also certain shrewd trades, worthy enough for another title challenge: Disarcina ($1), Tony Clark ($13), Vizquel ($15), Goodwin ($9), Darren Lewis ($3), Delgado ($15), Saberhagen ($6), Wakefield ($8).
Alberta Lippers: Is Albert Belle a keeper at $37? How about Jason Giambi at $29, or Dean Palmer at $22? These are the types of question to ponder during cold winter nights. The formidable 1998 Lippers will bring back a strong group, with several borderline calls: Fletcher ($7), Tony Fernandez ($5), Brosius ($8), Bobby Smith ($5), Canseco ($15), Hal Morris ($3), Matt Anderson ($6), Cone ($18), Montgomery ($14), Wright ($5).
Baby Boomers: The year-long rebuilding process has not exactly yielded a Bumper Boomer crop. But they’re not all Bums, either. Losing Robin Ventura to the NL hurts after they traded Bernie Williams to get him. They get to keep other trade products, however, such as Easley at $1 and Cruz, Jr. at $4. They’ve also got some decent keepers in Lenny Webster ($1), Stairs ($6), Hunter ($13), McCracken ($13). Not much pitching, however, unless they want to hold onto Irabu ($6) or Brian Rose again ($5).
So, are we excited yet? Here’s a few other helpful hints going into Spring Training:
Schedule. This is the most important information, which is why it’s buried here at the end of the Report. When and where will we hold the 1999 Good IV League draft? Dave Lipshutz has offered his Brookline home, to get us out of Swampscott for a change. He also points out that once again those inconsiderate religious holidays are intruding on our baseball, as both Passover and Easter are the weekend of April 3-4. The previous weekend, however, March 27-28, he seemed to imply that the Lippers and Eggerts will be on a ski vacation. That's probably earlier than we'd like to have our Draft, anyway, since the season starts on April 5, and all sorts of Spring Training moves will happen in the last week.
PROPOSAL: Can we have the draft on a weeknight this year? Are we all grownup and senior enough to handle that?. How does Wednesday night, March 31, at 6:00 PM sound? That's the night before Passover begins, I think, so maybe some of us will have the day off from work, anyway. We can negotiate whether we go to Brookline or Swampscott, based upon who's going to be the most inconvenienced. If you have other suggestions, misgivings, or needs, please convey them to me as soon as possible, and we’ll try to nail this date down.
Also, while we’re marking our calendars, please block out Sunday, August 8, 1999, for the Second Annual Good IV League Cookout Or At Least Pizza Delivery And Family Softball Game. This time, no excuses, let’s all show up.
So happy winter, everyone, maybe we'll even get a little snow before it's over. But the new season is on the horizon, so start preparing.
DT
Anyone (in the Good IV League, preferably) interested in contributing to this Site should send your comments, reactions, challenges, and assorted drivel to me at DNT@DNTownsend.com. I'll reprint just about everything, if it's remotely comprehensible (and doesn't take up too much space), and I'll probably add my own responses, which is the privilege of the Editor.
Be sure to visit The Good IV League Archives! Selected excerpts from previous League Reports, all the way back to the Beginning, including the Origin of the League, past Winners and Losers, and lots of trivia of value only to hopeless obsessives like ourselves.
(If anybody has any more favorite sites they'd like to have listed here for easy linking, let me know.)
AllStar Stats: THE GOOD IV LEAGUE Home Page
The Baseball Server Instant Baseball FANLINK - Minor Leagues
If this isn't enough of a fix for you guys, also check out:
DT's Baseball Journal
(lots of other baseball stuff, past and present)
and
(c) 1997-98 David N. Townsend