RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Expect Expos to factor in deadline deals
By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 7/25/2002
How the Montreal Expos fare over the next six days may have a big impact on what the Red Sox do before the July 31 trading deadline, as the Sox have not abandoned hopes of making a run at pitcher Bartolo Colon and slugging outfielder Cliff Floyd.
The Sox brass have identified pitching as the team's No. 1 need. They had talked with the Mets about a deal for lefthander Al Leiter, a major league source with knowledge of those talks said last night, but with the Mets suddenly back in the wild-card race, they re-signed Leiter to a two-year extension yesterday.
The Sox also remain focused on a deal for Indians first baseman Jim Thome, hoping that Indians general manager Mark Shapiro moves off his publicly stated position of intending to keep the lefthanded slugger.
But the Expos scenario has emerged as potentially the most intriguing of this trading season.
The Expos, one of the surprise teams in the first half of the season, are a game under .500, 151/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, and 61/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the wild-card standings. The Expos had made deals for Colon and Floyd in hopes of mounting a playoff bid, but they are closer to last place in the NL East (31/2 games) than to a postseason berth.
One major league scout said yesterday the word around baseball is if the Expos are 10 or more games out of contention at the trading deadline, Major League Baseball, which is overseeing the operation of the club, will order GM Omar Minaya to dump salary. That could lead to a run on a number of Expos players, including Floyd and Colon.
A ruling also is expected Aug. 1 from an arbitrator on contraction, and if MLB receives a favorable ruling, which would give the owners the right to contract the Expos, that could also hasten the breakup of the ball club before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline.
According to one major league source, Minaya said yesterday he has fielded calls from all the contenders regarding Colon and Floyd, including the Red Sox, who continue to pursue other avenues, as well, as they look for pitching and hitting help.
Minaya told one source yesterday he has no interest in moving either Floyd or Colon; in what was thought to be merely a caretaker role, Minaya and manager Frank Robinson have done a masterful job of making the Expos a competitive team, but the team's unique status as a ward of MLB suggests the commissioner's office may signal a fire sale if the Expos drop further out of contention.
What makes the situation especially intriguing to the Red Sox, according to one source, is this: It may not matter whether the Sox are able to put together a package of prospects that would normally be required to make such a deal. If the Expos are going out of business, the source said, a straight cash deal may be all that is required. No one knows for certain what will take place, but the Sox are monitoring the situation closely and at least one club intends to have scouts with the Expos for the next five days.
The Sox will be in Anaheim next Wednesday, the trading deadline. Clubs will have until 4 p.m. Eastern time (1 o'clock on the West Coast) to make a deal. The Sox are looking this week at Royals pitchers Jeff Suppan and Paul Byrd, and possibly closer Roberto Hernandez. They can be expected to make inquiries regarding pitcher Todd Ritchie and first baseman Frank Thomas of the White Sox and Derrek Lee and Kevin Millar of the Marlins.
But their fervent hope is to get something done for Colon and Floyd, who was the first major acquisition made by Sox owner John W. Henry when he purchased the Florida Marlins.
Hermanson on DL
Pitcher Dustin Hermanson went on the disabled list, a casualty of the perils of washing dishes, with lefthander Casey Fossum called up to take his place on the roster. The return of infielder Carlos Baerga from the DL was pushed back to today, because of the Sox' unsettled pitching situation.
Team doctor Bill Morgan said yesterday that Hermanson has septic olecranon bursitis. He said the pitcher told him he slipped in his kitchen while washing dishes and hit his left elbow on the corner of the countertop, causing a very small puncture wound. That wound became infected, causing considerable swelling, and Hermanson was hospitalized Tuesday and had the wound drained yesterday. A 1-inch incision was made, and after the insertion of a drain, a couple of stitches were required.
Morgan said bacterial tests are likely to show the presence of a staph infection, similar to what put first baseman Brian Daubach on the DL last season.
Hermanson was placed on the DL retroactive to last Saturday, when he pitched one inning in New York, his only official work of the season. He pitched an inning April 3 in a game that was rained out, then went on the DL with a strained groin that kept him out more than three months.
Hermanson was scheduled to be kept overnight last night in St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton. Morgan said Hermanson will need antibiotics to be administered intravenously for 10-14 days, but that he may be able to resume some activity after the weekend.
Out for a drive
The 11th annual Red Sox wives' food drive to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank is scheduled for this weekend's games at Fenway Park. Wives of Sox personnel will be at the gates 90 minutes before games Saturday and Sunday to collect cans of nonperishable food and will also accept monetary donations ... Jason Varitek's second-inning single extended his hitting streak to 10 games, a career high. Trot Nixon's first-inning single extended his hitting streak to nine games, also a career high ... Rickey Henderson made his third start of the season in center field, as manager Grady Little gave Johnny Damon the night off. Damon, who has a bruised right knee, played both ends of Tuesday's doubleheader and Little said he was making the move as a precaution
Expect Expos to factor in deadline deals
By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 7/25/2002
How the Montreal Expos fare over the next six days may have a big impact on what the Red Sox do before the July 31 trading deadline, as the Sox have not abandoned hopes of making a run at pitcher Bartolo Colon and slugging outfielder Cliff Floyd.
The Sox brass have identified pitching as the team's No. 1 need. They had talked with the Mets about a deal for lefthander Al Leiter, a major league source with knowledge of those talks said last night, but with the Mets suddenly back in the wild-card race, they re-signed Leiter to a two-year extension yesterday.
The Sox also remain focused on a deal for Indians first baseman Jim Thome, hoping that Indians general manager Mark Shapiro moves off his publicly stated position of intending to keep the lefthanded slugger.
But the Expos scenario has emerged as potentially the most intriguing of this trading season.
The Expos, one of the surprise teams in the first half of the season, are a game under .500, 151/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, and 61/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the wild-card standings. The Expos had made deals for Colon and Floyd in hopes of mounting a playoff bid, but they are closer to last place in the NL East (31/2 games) than to a postseason berth.
One major league scout said yesterday the word around baseball is if the Expos are 10 or more games out of contention at the trading deadline, Major League Baseball, which is overseeing the operation of the club, will order GM Omar Minaya to dump salary. That could lead to a run on a number of Expos players, including Floyd and Colon.
A ruling also is expected Aug. 1 from an arbitrator on contraction, and if MLB receives a favorable ruling, which would give the owners the right to contract the Expos, that could also hasten the breakup of the ball club before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline.
According to one major league source, Minaya said yesterday he has fielded calls from all the contenders regarding Colon and Floyd, including the Red Sox, who continue to pursue other avenues, as well, as they look for pitching and hitting help.
Minaya told one source yesterday he has no interest in moving either Floyd or Colon; in what was thought to be merely a caretaker role, Minaya and manager Frank Robinson have done a masterful job of making the Expos a competitive team, but the team's unique status as a ward of MLB suggests the commissioner's office may signal a fire sale if the Expos drop further out of contention.
What makes the situation especially intriguing to the Red Sox, according to one source, is this: It may not matter whether the Sox are able to put together a package of prospects that would normally be required to make such a deal. If the Expos are going out of business, the source said, a straight cash deal may be all that is required. No one knows for certain what will take place, but the Sox are monitoring the situation closely and at least one club intends to have scouts with the Expos for the next five days.
The Sox will be in Anaheim next Wednesday, the trading deadline. Clubs will have until 4 p.m. Eastern time (1 o'clock on the West Coast) to make a deal. The Sox are looking this week at Royals pitchers Jeff Suppan and Paul Byrd, and possibly closer Roberto Hernandez. They can be expected to make inquiries regarding pitcher Todd Ritchie and first baseman Frank Thomas of the White Sox and Derrek Lee and Kevin Millar of the Marlins.
But their fervent hope is to get something done for Colon and Floyd, who was the first major acquisition made by Sox owner John W. Henry when he purchased the Florida Marlins.
Hermanson on DL
Pitcher Dustin Hermanson went on the disabled list, a casualty of the perils of washing dishes, with lefthander Casey Fossum called up to take his place on the roster. The return of infielder Carlos Baerga from the DL was pushed back to today, because of the Sox' unsettled pitching situation.
Team doctor Bill Morgan said yesterday that Hermanson has septic olecranon bursitis. He said the pitcher told him he slipped in his kitchen while washing dishes and hit his left elbow on the corner of the countertop, causing a very small puncture wound. That wound became infected, causing considerable swelling, and Hermanson was hospitalized Tuesday and had the wound drained yesterday. A 1-inch incision was made, and after the insertion of a drain, a couple of stitches were required.
Morgan said bacterial tests are likely to show the presence of a staph infection, similar to what put first baseman Brian Daubach on the DL last season.
Hermanson was placed on the DL retroactive to last Saturday, when he pitched one inning in New York, his only official work of the season. He pitched an inning April 3 in a game that was rained out, then went on the DL with a strained groin that kept him out more than three months.
Hermanson was scheduled to be kept overnight last night in St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton. Morgan said Hermanson will need antibiotics to be administered intravenously for 10-14 days, but that he may be able to resume some activity after the weekend.
Out for a drive
The 11th annual Red Sox wives' food drive to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank is scheduled for this weekend's games at Fenway Park. Wives of Sox personnel will be at the gates 90 minutes before games Saturday and Sunday to collect cans of nonperishable food and will also accept monetary donations ... Jason Varitek's second-inning single extended his hitting streak to 10 games, a career high. Trot Nixon's first-inning single extended his hitting streak to nine games, also a career high ... Rickey Henderson made his third start of the season in center field, as manager Grady Little gave Johnny Damon the night off. Damon, who has a bruised right knee, played both ends of Tuesday's doubleheader and Little said he was making the move as a precaution
