A quick check on the latest from the NL West…
- Dodgers rookie right-hander Kenta Maeda turned in his fourth straight excellent performance Saturday night, throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings at Colorado’s hitter-friendly Coors Field in a 4-1 victory. Maeda, who surrendered three hits and a walk while striking out eight, became the first pitcher since at least 1913 to begin his major league career by allowing only one total run in his first four starts, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. He’s also one of just 76 pitchers during that time frame to record four consecutive quality starts at the onset of his career. So far, the Japan native and offseason free agent signing has posted a videogamelike, NL-best .36 ERA in 25 1/3 innings and piled up 23 strikeouts against five walks.
- Padres bench coach Mark McGwire, one of the most prolific sluggers in baseball history, could be working his way up to a managerial job, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. McGwire started down this road seven years ago when then-Cardinals manager Tony La Russa lured him out of retirement to serve as the team’s hitting coach, a role he eventually had with the Dodgers before joining the Padres this season. La Russa, who’s now the Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer, talked to McGwire in the offseason about bringing him aboard Arizona’s staff as its hitting coach. McGwire wanted to remain closer to his California home, though, so he chose the Padres and is now first-year manager Andy Green’s “eyes and ears.” On whether he’d be open to managing, McGwire told Goold, “I have never ruled it out. I’ve got so much to learn. Who knows where this is going, really?”
- Green offered some insight to Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune on how the Padres deploy the shift and discourage opposing hitters from trying to bunt for an easy single. “We give (the shift) to them with a strike most of the time,” Green said. “The type of guys that you’re handing it to with a strike, it’s probably going to put them in two-strike situations a lot more frequently than it is they’re going to get bunts down.” Green added, “We’re aware of where these guys got their bunt hits, when they got their bunt hits, if there was a strike on them and how long we need to play them in.”
Not to be too cynical, but there’s very little doubt in my mind that MLB is clearly developing an informal policy of distinguishing between some prior PED users, sufficiently enough in the past, and players who fail now. I’m glad to see McGwire back–he’s done his time and he certainly seems to be contributing. The reports on Bonds are also positive. Whatever the motive for this (perhaps MLB realizes it can’t just pretend an entire generation of players didn’t exist, particularly because they at least turned a blind eye to the usage) it’s probably a smart thing to do. I don’t think it’s going to apply to everyone.
MLB has nothing to do with it. Teams hire these guys. Bonds and McGuire may have used PED’s (or may not have…what did they use that was banned vs. not banned, and/or illegal vs. not illegal), but at the end of the day they could flat out hit. Stories about Bonds being a jerk or arrogant kind of surprises me that he’s a coach, but I suppose 1) those story’s weren’t entirely true, or 2) he’s matured.
If they want to teach younger hitters good for them.
IMHO, teams wouldn’t be hiring these guys without at least a unspoken ok from MLB–which wasn’t there for several years after they retired.
Lol what exactly is an “unspoken ok”?
The same “unspoken OK” that allowed steroid use to go on in the 90’s because fannies were being put in seats? That type of “unspoken OK”. The “good for business” unspoken OK
Why does any team need an ok from MLB baseball as to whom they hire as a coach let alone the alleged “unspoken” ok? Haha what the heck is an “unspoken” ok? Haha how do you get that “unspoken” ok from MLB and again why is any ok needed? Wow the crap people think up.
You could learn some manners. The fact that you disagree with something I wrote is not an excuse for how you expressed it,
Moderator, I would appreciate it if you would delete the entire conversation–starting with my original post.
Sorry if I offended you
McGwire, Bonds and all the other juicers aren’t banned from the game—unlike Pete Rose or the Black Soxers back in their day. If they could still hit…they would still be in the game as active players, much like ARod is right now. Yes, they juiced—but they were great hitters to begin with and if they know how to use their knowledge to help others active today, no problem.
In 2007, Barry Bonds hit 28 homers while putting up a .276/.480/.565 triple-slash adding up to an obscene 1.045 OPS. In 2008, he couldn’t get a job. It certainly wasn’t because the bat suddenly stopped working. Any AL team would back up a Brinks truck for that kind of production, so there are other reasons why he couldn’t find work.
I have no problem with Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, Palmeiro, Sosa, etc. working in baseball. Unless the MLB levies a Pete Rose-style judgment, they’re as employable as anyone else.
You pretty much nailed it.
Bonds, McGwire, Sosa etc have one thing over Pete Rose – they didn’t break the rules.