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With every bad start or blown save by a pitcher, fans and media start looking to play general manager. As a former GM, I understand. The truth is we don’t really like when you all play GM, but we understand it is the nature of the beast.

There are just a lot of contingencies we have to deal with that fans don’t consider: development of prospects, salaries, injuries and long-term health of players, options remaining for players, character and personality, chemistry, scouting reports, budgets, opinions of owners, etc. 

The answer for most of the Blue Jays apparent pitching needs is Drew Hutchison. At least internally he is the answer. If the starter gets rocked, maybe Hutchison is better. If the bullpen gives up a lead, why not give Hutchison a shot? He can’t be worse.

It’s about priorities. The priority right now for the Jays is to protect Aaron Sanchez. The next issue of importance is to replace Sanchez in the rotation with a quality starter. The next most critical priority is to improve the bullpen. But the answer to that is Sanchez.

The Jays have a plan for Hutchison to address their priorities. He is the most likely replacement for Sanchez in the rotation when the youngster hits his innings limit. That means the Jays have to keep Hutchison in a starting role at Triple-A so he is prepared to succeed as a starter. Moving Hutchison to the bullpen now in the big leagues isn’t setting him up to succeed in the area the team need him most. 

If I were running the Jays, I would have an overriding priority to improve the pitching in the organization by adding from outside. The Sanchez/Hutchison plan can be set in motion, but in no way would it limit my pursuit of upgrades. 

 

Consistency the key for Cleveland

Speaking of making pitching a priority, the Cleveland Indians have the best pitching in the American League by far. It’s not really a surprise because we knew the talent was there. The consistency they are getting this year is what is so impressive. They are the New York Mets of the AL. 

The Indians have a 3.45 team ERA. The second best staff is Seattle with a 3.90 ERA. Their starting rotation is 36-19 with a 3.54 ERA. The Mets showed us last year what a deep, young, powerful rotation does for a club. Cleveland’s starting pitching gives them a chance to win every day, and the Indians are taking advantage of those opportunities with regularity. They have won 13 straight games and lead the AL Central by six games. They are the hottest team in baseball, but they are more than just a hot team —they are a good team that believes in itself. 

The Indians have gotten off to horrific starts the last several years, then come charging back late in the season only to fall a bit short in their pursuit of a playoff spot. They have lacked a big presence in the middle of the order, even when they had Michael Brantley in the lineup.

They are missing the injured Brantley terribly, plus they need another big bat. They do have a pesky lineup that finds ways to score. Jose Ramirez, Rajai Davis and Francisco Lindor all slap the ball around the park and are electric on the bases. Jason Kipnis is a solid, consistent offensive performer. Mike Napoli has some pop, but boy can he swing and miss (104 strikeouts in 272 at bats). Carlos Santana, the DH, is more of an on-base percentage guy than he is a slugger (.237/.336/.459). 

The Indians are absolutely for real — their pitching ensures that — but they have a lineup of blenders. What they need is an aircraft carrier in their lineup. Lindor is an impact player, as is Brantley, but they need a guy who can win a game by himself when the starters have one of those rare bad games. They need a slugger who can carry a team for a week if their pitching slumps. 

If the Indians add a big bat like a Ryan Braun or Jay Bruce it may put them over the top, especially when Brantley returns to the lineup. A guy like Carlos Gonzalez or Nelson Cruz would be even better. Remember what Yoenis Cespedes did for the Mets last year? The Indians need that kind of guy.

By the way, there is no doubt that Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro are smiling when no one is watching. They still have a vested interest in the Indians. Of course, they would love to beat their old friends in the playoffs come October, but they must feel some satisfaction. I know I felt that way about the Mets in 2006 when they made the playoffs and were led by “my guys” David Wright and Jose Reyes.

 

The Orioles are fool’s gold

There is a lot of pride in Baltimore these days as the Orioles have started to separate themselves from the rest of the division.

The O’s went 19-9 in the month of June. At the end of May, Baltimore was 28-22, three games behind the Red Sox and two ahead of the Jays. Now they have a five-game advantage over Boston and five-and-a-half game lead over Toronto. They set a record for the month with 56 home runs, passing the 1996 Oakland A’s.  They outscored everyone in the AL as well with 177 runs (Jays were second in runs and homers with 158 and 47). That is overwhelming evidence that they are a formidable team, maybe even the team to beat.

But the Orioles are fool’s gold. They are not real. Their record looks great and they have an impact, explosive offence, but they went 19-9 in June with a 4.85 ERA. On the season, their starters are 27-24 with a 4.95 ERA. Chris Tillman, their best starter, has 10 of the 27 wins. He is all they have. Their bullpen is 20-7 with a 3.11 ERA. Those numbers rank them as the 12th best starting rotation and the second best bullpen. This is not a formula for success. 

It’s kind of what the Kansas City Royals did the past couple of years, but the Orioles starters and bullpen each give up a half run more per game than the Royals did. The Orioles offence is powerful but more than a bit homer-centric.  The Royals could find multiple ways to manufacture runs, where the Orioles are always hoping for a three-run homer.

The Orioles can be caught. The Blue Jays will still win the AL East. In fact, the Red Sox will likely finish ahead of Baltimore because they will make moves to improve their pitching. So, buyer beware with Baltimore. What looks like shiny gold may not be at all. 

 

Spitting Seeds

- The San Francisco Giants let their ace, Madison Bumgarner, hit versus Oakland instead of using a designated hitter. He went 1-4 with a strikeout. His one hit was a double, which sparked a six-run inning. If I were a Giants position player I would be offended. Bumgarner is a good hitting pitcher but he isn’t better than a DH candidate on their roster. This was merely the Giants throwing a bone to their ace because they nixed the idea of him participating in the home run derby. It made him feel better at the expense of insulting his teammates.

- The Marlins and Braves play at Fort Bragg Field on Sunday to honour the military. Baseball is the best at honouring those who defend our countries. I would have scheduled the Orioles and Blue Jays to play in the game because they definitely can provide the best fireworks.

- Earlier this week, a game at Yankee Stadium was stopped in the top of the ninth inning with the Yankees leading by one run with a Rangers’ runner on first base. Umpire crew chief, Paul Nauert, decided that the precipitation had become too much and ordered the tarp on the field. The delay started at 10:40 p.m. and lasted for three hours and 35 minutes. You do the math. The game was resumed at 2:15 a.m. The Rangers came back and scored four runs and won 9-6. 

The umpire followed the rules that baseball has in place to handle rain delays, but this situation proves the rule needs to be changed. Any game delayed after five innings and ultimately cancelled should be suspended versus an official game. The game would be completed before the next scheduled meeting between the two teams, regardless of the ballpark. This would allow umpires to make decisions in the best interest of everyone. It is risky to have millions of dollars of assets running on a rain-slickened field.  It is unfair to the stadium workers and fans as well to have them wait that long in the rain. Common sense needs to prevail. The good news is that Rob Manfred is a common-sense commissioner. I bet this rule gets changed.

- Clayton Kershaw had an epidural shot in his back to reduce the symptoms of a slightly herniated disc. Yikes. This does not bode well for the Dodgers’ chances of winning this year. Without Kershaw the Dodgers are a lot more like the Padres than the Giants. I guess carrying the team comes with a price — you get a sore back.

- The Dodgers traded for Bud Norris from the Braves this week. They also have reported interest in Erasmo Ramirez from the Tampa Bay Rays. It seems like they are trying to corner the market on mediocre pitchers. It’s a far cry from Johnny Cueto and Zach Greinke.

- A couple of U.S. Representatives submitted a bill last week called the “Save America’s Pastime Act.” It is a bill that amends some language in Section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to make it so minor-league players aren’t protected under a law that protects workers who are paid hourly. Effectively what they are trying to do is to maintain the ability of MLB to treat minor-league players as “salaried employees similar to artists, musicians and other creative professionals who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

If minor-league players were to unionize or get different status as employees, it would drastically change the entire player development process. Minor-league teams would fold. The talent level in the game would dramatically deteriorate.  Clubs would not take chances on high-ceiling players that need time to figure it out.  It could very easily wipe out half of the minor leagues.

Those who believe that minor leaguers should have a different status have no clue what they are trying to fix. It will cost jobs and dramatically reduce opportunities that now exist. It will have significant economic impact on many in order to benefit just a few. 

- The Fernando Rodney Experience is a well-travelled show. It is now showing in Miami as the veteran reliever was recently traded from the Padres to the Marlins.  This marks a milestone for Rodney as he has now played for a team in every division in baseball. He is having a remarkable year, converting 17 out of 17 saves with a 0.31 ERA.

- July 1 is the date that Bobby Bonilla gets his annual cheque for $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets. He will continue to get a cheque like this through 2035. It sounded like a good deal at the time. I swear it did.

Prior to the 2000 season, it became clear we needed to release Bonilla. He had underperformed in 1999 and had even declined to pinch-hit when called upon. I exhausted every trade possibility but there were no takers.

Ownership asked if we could defer the $5.9 million due to Bonilla so as not to impact cash flow for the 2000 season. So I went to the accounting department to have them crunch numbers. 

Does the name Bernie Madoff mean anything to you?  Well, he was a friend of the organization. Ownership figured we could invest the $5.9 million salary with Madoff and make money so that, even with this payout, the club would be way ahead of the game. It didn’t quite work out that way. 

But for all of you conspiracy theorists who think the Mets owners were in cahoots with Madoff, this is actually where I can prove it wasn’t the case. Fred Wilpon asked me to have the accounting department run some numbers on what would happen to the $5.9 million over the 35 years, based upon fluctuations in the market. The Mets owner had no idea what kind of return he would get. He knew Madoff had been the best investment vehicle available to him, but he knew there were no guarantees. 

I feel badly for the Wilpons that this is an annual reminder of painful days in the past. They are really decent people. In some way, I feel bad for myself too.  As for Bonilla…Can I borrow some money, please?

Steve Phillips was general manager of the New York Mets from 1997 through 2003, helping lead the club to a National League championship in 2000 and its first World Series appearance since 1986. His analysis appears each week on TSN.ca, TSN Radio and SportsCentre.