Millwood traded; Floyd, McGriff agree to deals

[nyy26wc]

1) The Braves traded P Kevin Millwood to Phillies for C Johnny Estrada.

After a dominant 2.68 ERA/40 RSAA season in 1999, Millwood fell to 4.66 ERA/0 RSAA and 4.31 ERA/1 RSAA seasons, before having a 3.24 ERA/22 RSAA in 34 starts (plus 1 relief appearance) in 2002. He has a 3.73 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.39, and 66 RSAA in 168 games. While Millwood had a couple of down years in between his two very good ones, it's a definitely a positive sign that his down years were still league average performances, rather than falling into the world of negativity in off years.

After starting his career with -23 RCAA/.632 OPS in 89 games in 2001, Estrada hit .176 SLG, .211 OBA, .387 OPS, -2 RCAA in 10 games (19 PA) in 2002. He has a .619 career OPS, compared to his league average of .779, and -25 RCAA in 99 games.

While his .270 major league OBA is based on the small sample size of 99 games, he has a solid minor league record that shows he's got the potential to make outs with the best of them. His primary purpose in the batting order would be to enable WTBS to get to commercial time as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, according to Braves crybaby GM John Schuerholz, "The economics in baseball stink. The economics stink, and if this isn't a clear enough signal to the doubters and naysayers, to be forced to trade an 18-game winner to your arch enemy ... The economics stink."

No, John. Whether or not the system stinks isn't the question here. What's relevant is your moves recently stink. You may have downgraded your rotation by trading Damian Moss for Russ Ortiz, or maybe one similar softtossing bad control pitcher for another, without a noticeable talent difference. (Ortiz is only a couple of years removed from proving that he's capable of dropping into the world of -17 RSAA performance, while Moss hasn't proved yet that he can maintain major league success over more than a single season.) But, what is clear about that trade was you added a chunk of salary, without sufficient evidence that you added a corresponding increase in performance. Later that day, you decided to be the one to overpay for a pitcher whose track record screams career year for his 2002 performance.

You got what you deserved here. You made some bad moves, so now price for it. If losing a good pitcher is the price of stupidity, good. I applaud this deal, from that point of view.

Then, John, not only do you make those moves, but you make things even worse by trading Millwood to a division rival. Why not just nontender him? At least then, you have a chance that he lands outside the division. Or, even better--why not throw call up teams outside of the division and offer them Millwood for anything. Tell them you're willing to even accept an ice cream sandwich in return, just as long as the other team agrees not to nontender him and make him eligible to sign with a division rival. Who cares if that side agreement is probably illegal. This is MLB we're talking about--the world of selective enforcement. Just mention to czar bud that if you didn't have that agreement, the dreaded nightmare scenario of the Yankees adding another big contract to the payroll would have occurred, and you've got him looking the other way. And doing that would only necessary if you got in the first place, and how's that going to happen?

2) The Mets signed free agent OF Cliff Floyd to a 4 year, $26 million contract.

After 29 RCAA/.906 OPS and 53 RCAA/.968 OPS seasons, Floyd hit .533 SLG, .388 OBA, .920 OPS, 42 RCAA in 146 games (first 84 with the Marlins, next 15 with the Expos, last 47 with the Redsox). He has a .855 career OPS, compared to his league average of .773, and 132 RCAA in 955 games.

3) The Dodgers agreed to a 1 year contract, $3.75 million contract with Fred McGriff, with the contract being finalized when he passes his physical next week.

After 9 RCAA/.826 OPS and 34 RCAA/.930 OPS seasons, McGriff hit .505 SLG, .353 OBA, .858 OPS, 18 RCAA in 146 games. He's on his way to Baseball Immortals and has a .893 career OPS, compared to his league average of .751, and 487 RCAA in 2347 games.

4) The Whitesox signed free agent C Sandy Alomar Jr. to a 1 year, $700,000 contract.

After -12 RCAA/.728 OPS and -13 RCAA/.634 OPS seasons, Alomar hit .410 SLG, .302 OBA, .712 OPS, -12 RCAA in 89 games (51 with the Whitesox, 38 with the Rockies). He only managed a .292 OBA during his time in Coors. Alomar has a .727 career OPS, compared to his league average of .761, and -91 RCAA in 1152 games.

5) The BlueJays signed free agent SS Mike Bordick to a 1 year, $1 million contract.

After -3 RCAA/.783 OPS and -3 RCAA/.711 OPS seasons, Bordick hit .365 SLG, .302 OBA, .667 OPS, -14 RCAA in 117 games with the Orioles. He has a .683 career OPS, compared to his league average of .767, and -164 RCAA in 1618 games.

According to BlueJays GM J.P. Ricciardi, Bordick will be a backup to Chris Woodward.

6) The Cubs signed free agent P Shawn Estes to a 1 year, $3 million contract.

After 4.26 ERA/0 RSAA and 4.02 ERA/-1 RSAA seasons with the Giants, Estes had a 5.10 ERA/-20 RSAA in starts (first 23 with the Mets, last 6 with the Reds). He has a 4.37 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.36, and -36 RSAA in 189 games.

7) The Expos traded P Matt Herges to the Pirates for minor league Ps Chris Young and Jon Searles. To make room for Herges on the 40 man roster, the Pirates designated P Jim Mann for assignment.

After 3.17 ERA/13 RSAA and 3.44 ERA/5 RSAA seasons with the Dodgers, Herges had a 4.04 ERA/1 RSAA in 62 games. He has a 3.52 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.43, and 20 RSAA in 213 games.

With both pitchers being in A ball, Young had a 3.11 ERA in 2002, while Searles had a 5.81 ERA.

8) The Cardinals signed INF Miguel Cairo to a 1 year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.

After 3 consecutive double digit negative RCAAs, from 1998-2000, with 2 of them -20 or lower, Cairo improved to .782 OPS/1 RCAA in 2001, before dropping down to a .353 SLG, .307 OBA, .660 OPS, -8 RCAA mark in 108 games. Only keeping Cairo down to 208 PA (his 2nd lowest figure in the 5 years) prevented this from being another double digit negative RCAA season. Cairo has a .681 career OPS, compared to his league average of .781, and -68 RCAA in 615 games.

9) The Redsox designated P Rolando Arroyo for assignment earlier in the week.

After 5.63 ERA/0 RSAA and 3.48 ERA/12 RSAA seasons, Arrojo had a 4.98 ERA/-5 RSAA in 29 games (8 starts). He has a has a 4.55 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.68, and 31 RSAA in 158 games.

10) The Expos hired Brad Mills as bench coach.

11) Instead of signing with the Mets, Japanese 3B Norihiro Nakamura decided to stay in Japan.

12) The Braves re-signed free agents 1B Julio Franco and OF Darren Bragg to minor league contracts and invited them to spring training.

After a .821 OPS/1 RCAA in 25 games in 2001 (with 1 G with the 1999 Devil Rays being his only other major league appearance since 1997), Franco hit .382 SLG, .357 OBA, .739 OPS, -4 RCAA in 125 games. He has a .782 career OPS, compared to his league average of .739, and 131 RCAA in 2041 games.

After -18 RCAA/.638 OPS and -2 RCAA/.695 OPS seasons, Bragg hit .401 SLG, .347 OBA, .748 OPS, -0 RCAA in 109 games. He has a .735 career OPS, compared to his league average of .780, and -52 RCAA in 765 games.

13) The Giants re-signed P Scott Eyre to a 1 year, $725,000 contract, which avoided salary arbitration.

After 6.63 ERA/-3 RSAA and 3.45 ERA/2 RSAA seasons, Eyre had a 4.46 ERA/-1 RSAA in 70 games (first 49 G/3 GS with the BlueJays, last 21 G/0 GS with the Giants). He has a 5.25 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.61, and -23 RSAA in 165 games.

14) The Padres signed free agent P Charles Nagy to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

After 8.21 ERA/-20 RSAA and 6.40 ERA/-15 RSAA seasons, Nagy had a 8.88 ERA/-23 RSAA in 19 games (7 starts). He's managed to have 3 consecutive years with a double digit negative RSAA, despite pitching in just a total of 45 games during that time. Nagy has a 4.51 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.55, and 11 RSAA in 313 games, all with the Indians.

15) The Marlins re-signed 2B Luis Castillo (1 year, $4.85 million), SS Alex Gonzalez (1 year, $1.7 million) and P Carl Pavano (1 year), avoided salary arbitration with each of them.

After 16 RCAA/.806 OPS and -13 RCAA/.685 OPS seasons, Castillo hit .361 SLG, .364 OBA, .726 OPS, 5 RCAA in 146 games. He has a .710 career OPS, compared to his league average of .779, and -15 RCAA in 704 games.

After -37 RCAA/.548 OPS and -20 RCAA/.680 OPS seasons, Gonzalez hit .325 SLG, .296 OBA, .620 OPS, -8 RCAA in 42 games. He was headed towards his 4th consecutive double digit negative RCAA before going on the DL on May 19 and he missed the rest of the season. Gonzalez has a .656 career OPS, compared to his league average of .786, and -87 RCAA in 457 games.

After 3.06 ERA/17 RSAA and 6.33 ERA/-8 RSAA seasons, Pavano had a 5.16 ERA/-17 RSAA in 37 games (first 15 G/14 GS with the Expos, last 22 G/8 GS with the Marlins). He has a 4.71 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.36, and -24 RSAA in 103 games.

[nyy26wc]

16) The following players became free agents when they weren't offered contracts--

Angels--DH Brad Fullmer, P Al Levine
Orioles--CF Chris Singleton
Redsox--1B Brian Daubach
Whitesox--Ps Jim Parque, Todd Ritchie
Indians--OF Chris Magruder
Tigers--RF Robert Fick, P Julio Santana
Royals--Ps Jeff Suppan, Chad Durbin
Yankees--P Christian Parker, OF Shane Spencer
A's--1B Olmedo Saenz, P Mike Venafro
Mariners--INF Desi Relaford, P John Halama, OF Charles Gipson
Devil Rays--Ps Tanyon Sturtze, Paul Wilson, Esteban Yan
Rangers--2B Frank Catalanotto, Ps Jovanny Cedeno, Dennys Reyes
BlueJays--OF Jose Cruz Jr
Braves--P Kerry Ligtenberg, INF Jesse Garcia
Cubs--C Mike Mahoney, Ps Will Cunnane, Courtney Duncan
Rockies--P Scott Elarton, C Gary Bennett
Diamondbacks--OF Mark Little
Marlins--OF Eric Owens
Brewers--2B Ron Belliard, P Jose Cabrera, OF Jim Rushford
Mets--Ps John Thomson, Doug Nickle
Phillies--1B Travis Lee, 2B Marlon Anderson
Giants--Ps Manny Aybar, Aaron Fultz, Jay Witasick, INF Ramon Martinez, SS Neifi Perez

17) The Rangers outrighted P Ryan Dittfurth to the minors, which removed him from the 40 man roster.

18) Giants C Benito Santiago was questioned by police in Puerto Rico after drug agents at an airport intercepted a 2 ounce package of marijuana that was mailed to him. In Puerto Rico, possession of marijuana, even that small of an amount and even for personal use, has a minimum prison sentence of 10 years, but prison terms typically only apply to poor people.

19) The Yankees are reportedly close to a deal with Roger Clemens.

20) According to WFAN's Mike Francesa, the holdup in the potential Bartolo Colon to the Yankees trade is the Yankees refusal to include Juan Rivera in the package. According to Francesa, the Yankees are just a phone call away from getting a Nick Johnson, Rivera and Orlando Hernandez for Colon deal done, but they are insisting on not dealing Rivera. However, Francesa concedes that this could become a moot point now that Hideki Matsui was signed, so the Yankees reluctance to deal Rivera could be disappearing.

21) The Royals re-signed 2B Carlos Febles to a 1 year, $775,000 contract and OF Mark Quinn to a 1 year, $500,000 contract.

After -21 RCAA/.660 OPS and -18 RCAA/.654 OPS seasons, Febles hit .348 SLG, .336 OBA,. 683 OPS, -18 RCAA in 119 games. He has a .699 career OPS, compared to his league average of .777, and -63 RCAA in 432 games.

After 2 RCAA/.830 OPS and -17 RCAA/.757 OPS seasons, Quinn hit .368 SLG, .301 OBA, .670 OPS, -6 RCAA in 23 games in an injury plagued season. He has a .805 career OPS, compared to his league average of .778, and -12 RCAA in 293 games. (having an OPS 17 points under the league average helps account for that unusual OPS/RCAA combo).

22) The Brewers re-signed P Valerio De Los Santos to a 1 year, $925,000 contract.

After a 5.13 ERA/-6 RSAA in 66 games in 2000, De los Santos was limited to just 1 game in 2001 and then had a 3.12 ERA/5 RSAA in 51 games in 2002. He had a 4.21 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.39, and 0 RSAA in 138 games.

23) The Rangers re-signed C Todd Greene to a 1 year, $750,000 contract and P Danny Kolb to a 1 year, $450,000 contract.

After -5 RCAA/.713 OPS and -9 RCAA/.521 OPS seasons, with the BlueJays and Yankees, respectively, Greene hit .580 SLG, .282 OBA, .862 OPS, -2 RCAA in 42 games. He has a .710 career OPS, compared to his league average of .779, and -41 RCAA in 300 games.

After a 4.70 ERA/0 RSAA in 2001, Kolb had a 4.22 ERA/3 RSAA in 34 games in 2002. He has a 5.01 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.64, and -1 RSAA in 68 games.

24) The Astros signed INF Tripp Cromer, C Chris Tremie, C-INF Alan Zinter and P Jared Fernandez to minor league contracts and invited them to spring training.

Cromer has a .602 career OPS, compared to his league average of .766, and -41 RCAA in 193 games, from 1993-2000 (except 1996).

Tremie had a .393 OPS/-5 RCAA in 21 games in 1995 and 1998-99.

Zinter, a former 1st round pick who turned into a 34 year old career minor leaguer, hit .318 SLG, .136 OBA, .455 OPS, -5 RCAA in his first 39 major league games (44 PA).

After starting his career with a 4.38 ERA/0 RSAA in 5 games (2 starts) in 2001, Fernandez had a 4.44 ERA/0 RSAA in 14 games (8 starts) in 2002. He has a 4.43 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.16, and 0 RSAA in 19 games. The Reds released him last weekend.

25) The Cubs signed 3B Kevin Orie, C Paul Bako (1 year, $750,000) and P Alan Benes (1 year, $600,000), avoiding salary arbitration with them.

After being out in the majors in 2000-01, Orie hit .375 SLG, .306 OBA, .681 OPS, -1 RCAA in 13 games. He has a .709 career OPS, compared to his league average of .772, and -30 RCAA in 316 games.

After -14 RCAA/.620 OPS and -7 RCAA/.655 OPS seasons, Bako hit .329 SLG, .295 OBA, .624 OPS, -12 RCAA in 87 games with the Brewers, who traded him to the Cubs in November. Bako has a .652 career OPS, compared to his league average of .781, and -51 RCAA in 398 games. Bako's had a negative RCAA and an OPS at least 100 points under his league average in each of his 5 seasons.

After 5.67 ERA/-5 RSAA and 7.36 ERA/-5 RSAA seasons, in a total of just 39 games, Benes had a 4.35 ERA/-1 RSAA in 7 starts. He has a 4.42 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.25, and -12 RSAA in 108 games.

26) According to the Chicago Sun Times, the Whitesox are interested in free agent Ps Ismael Valdes and Omar Daal, but are only offering 1 year contracts, while they want mulityear ones.

27) The Rockies signed P Brad Clontz to a minor league contract.

Clontz has a 4.35 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.28, and -1 RSAA in 272 games, from 1995-2000.