Playing Fact or Fiction with All of MLB's Hottest Week 21 Buzz, Rumors
Aside from the Kansas City Royals winning the American League Central, we're left with more questions than answers when it comes to baseball's division races and playoff picture as the regular season roars toward its final full month of action.
For teams that are still in the hunt for a spot in the postseason, those questions are all about the immediate future. Do they have enough in-house to make a successful playoff push, or do they need help from outside the organization? For those out of the hunt, the time has come to start answering questions for 2016.
Speaking of questions...will rest cure what ails a prominent starter? Has a close friendship ruined a team's chances of adding the general manager it needs? Is another position switch what Hanley Ramirez needs to get back on track?
We'll tackle all of that and more in this week's edition of "Fact or Fiction."
Fact: Milwaukee Is a More Attractive Destination for GMs Than Los Angeles
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Let's do a little role-playing.
Imagine, if you will, that you're the hottest up-and-coming front office executive in baseball. Or maybe you're a seasoned veteran; having previously served as a team's general manager, you're itching for a chance to show what you learned from your first go-around in the big chair.
Either role works.
Now imagine that, after weeks of fielding calls from multiple teams, you've narrowed your choices down to two potential landing spots.
On one hand is California—Anaheim, to be exact—where the temperature never drops too far below 70, you'd inherit a roster featuring the best all-around player in baseball in Mike Trout and work for an owner who has never been afraid to spend big in free agency.
On the other hand is Wisconsin—Milwaukee—where finances are limited, the weather can get incredibly nasty (and bitterly cold) in the winter and your best player, Ryan Braun, is past his prime and forever haunted by his past involvement with performance-enhancing drugs.
Which gig are you taking?
While there's not necessarily a wrong answer—if either team called me tomorrow and asked me to be its general manager, it's adios Bleacher Report and hello Anaheim or Milwaukee—those in a position to accept or decline these opportunities are far more likely to choose the Brewers over the Angels.
To be sure, the job that former GM Doug Melvin did in restocking the team's farm system before stepping down plays a part, as both teams head into 2016 with multiple needs around the diamond. But the issues in Anaheim run a bit deeper, as Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal recently wrote:
"Things will not necessarily get better next season -- the Angels must address second base, third, catcher and left field. Oh, and in case you've forgotten, they need to find a permanent GM who can work for a strong-willed owner, Arte Moreno, and with a strong-willed manager, Mike Scioscia.
As one rival GM put it, "You take all of the beatings (from Moreno) and you've got no power (due to Scioscia)."
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It's that last part that's the most damning, and it reminds me of growing up in the 1980s. If you, like me, grew up during that time—or were a parent who watched television with your kids back then—chances are you remember the haunting brilliance of the "My Buddy" commercials.
For that's the kind of relationship that Moreno and Scioscia seem to have, and no self-respecting executive is going to willingly take a job where the manager has the owner on speed dial—ready, willing and able to call their boss the first time you do or say something that he disagrees with.
Those issues simply don't exist in Milwaukee, which outside of Boston, has the most desirable general manager opening in baseball.
Fiction: Rest Will Cure What Ails CC Sabathia
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The worst-case scenario—that CC Sabathia's surgically repaired right knee, which flared up this past Sunday, would end his season—has been avoided.
"It went good—no surgery," Sabathia, who hopes rest will allow him to return to the Yankees this season, told the New York Post's George A. King III about his diagnosis. "I will start the rehab process, and I feel like if I get enough rest I can come back and be healthy enough to pitch."
To be sure, Sabathia had been pitching better of late, posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.34 WHIP while flashing improved velocity over his three August starts before this latest setback, per Brooks Baseball. And Sabathia believes he can pick up where he left off when he returns.
"I feel like maybe after the 15 days, as long as I keep my arm sharp throwing in the chair like I did last year. We will wait and see what the Yankees have planned," he told King.
But the ugly truth is that he's more often than not been a major liability for the Yankees for nearly two years. A short spurt of success and a spike in velocity aren't nearly enough to convince anyone that he's turned a corner.
In fact, that bump in velocity—that Sabathia has been going harder as we got deeper into the season—may be the reason why his knee flared up after remaining relatively issue-free for much of the year. But don't expect Sabathia to tone it down upon his return.
"I am not going to back off or anything, it’s not that time for that," Sabathia told King, adding that he'd be open to a bullpen role if that's what manager Joe Girardi and the team felt was best.
Whether in the rotation or the bullpen, Sabathia's arthritic, balky knee is always going to be an issue, especially with the amount of weight he's carrying around. That he's hellbent on going all-out upon his return is only asking for more trouble.
Fact: Hanley Ramirez Will Thrive at First Base
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Dave Dombrowski wasted little time making his presence felt in Boston, convincing everyone that moving Hanley Ramirez to first base was in the best interests of both player and team.
It's not as if Ramirez set out to be a terrible defensive left fielder, but he never looked comfortable at the position. That was especially true in Boston, where taming the Green Monster can be a daunting task for even the most experienced outfielder.
With Ramirez's offense suffering as well—his .724 OPS on the season is the second-lowest of his career—it's fair to say that he likely has been taking his frustrations from the field to the plate with him. It wouldn't be the first time that fielding woes have impacted a player's offense—and it won't be the last.
"The guy can be an offensive force. He's one of the purest hitters in the game," Dombrowski told ESPN.com's Gordon Edes. "And he said he wanted to be part of this team when it wins and would do what he could to help us get there."
Finding a spot on the field at which Ramirez is comfortable would go a long way toward accomplishing that.
"We know Hanley can handle ground balls," Dombrowski continued. "He was a shortstop. It will be a question of learning the footwork involved." While Ramirez's defense at shortstop was never stellar, playing first base is about more than footwork, and even though Ramirez is past his prime at 31 years old, he's still a tremendous athlete.
Ramirez has given every indication that he's ready, willing and able to put in the work necessary to make the switch work. "Hopefully, so you guys don't move me to pitch," Ramirez told Edes, laughing. "Like I say, I'm going to take my ground balls, do a lot of footwork. I think it'll save my body, too, so I can hit more home runs."
Nobody can be productive at his job if he's uncomfortable every time he heads to the office. A comfortable Ramirez will be a productive Ramirez. By this time next season, the four-year, $88 million deal that he signed before the 2015 season won't look nearly as bad as it does right now.
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Fiction: Chicago Will Trade for Another Outfielder
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With right fielder Jorge Soler on the disabled list with a strained right oblique—the sort of injury that follows no timetable in terms of healing and a potential return—speculation has swirled that the Chicago Cubs would look to add another outfielder before the waiver trade deadline arrives on August 31.
While there aren't a ton of quality options available, two veteran options who are believed to be available are Boston's Alejandro De Aza and Seattle's Austin Jackson, the latter of which has already cleared waivers, per Fox Sports' Jon Morosi.
But the Cubs don't necessarily need to add another outfielder to the mix.
Chris Coghlan is more than capable of holding things down in right field until Soler is able to return. Sure, his move back to the outfield creates a void at second base, but Tommy LaStella and Starlin Castro can handle the job until rosters expand on September 1 and Javier Baez returns to the majors.
Baez, who still has plenty of swing-and-miss in his game, looks like a different player than the one who was overmatched in his first taste of the big leagues last year. "He's working on trying to hit a ball 400 feet instead of hit it 700 feet," Iowa Cubs hitting coach Brian Harper told ESPN.com's Kevin Van Valkenburg.
That change has become evident in his recent play. Since returning from the disabled list with a broken finger in late July, Baez has hit .328 (44-for-134) with 15 extra-base hits (five home runs), 32 RBI and a reasonable 21.8 strikeout percentage (33 K's in 151 plate appearances).
And Baez has been on the team's 40-man roster all year long, making him eligible for the postseason. His arrival to plug the hole at the keystone will remove any need for Chicago to use some of its assets to add a short-term-rental outfielder to the mix.
Fact: Toronto Is Done Wheeling and Dealing
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Few teams were as active at the non-waiver trade deadline as the Toronto Blue Jays, who bolstered their rotation (David Price), infield (Troy Tulowitzki), outfield (Ben Revere) and bullpen (LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe) before the beginning of August.
With Toronto in a heated battle with New York for the AL East, it would stand to reason that the team might look to add another piece—perhaps a second baseman, with rookie Devon Travis unlikely to return from a shoulder injury this year—to try to gain even more of an advantage over their division rivals.
"I'd say (another trade is) unlikely at this point," GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm Wednesday. "We have five days left, anything can happen, but right now I wouldn't expect us to do anything."
The team's current second base platoon of Ryan Goins and Cliff Pennington has done a fine job in Travis' absence, and it's not as if the market is flush with quality options that would be an upgrade over the team's current two-headed monster at the position.
No, what you see in Toronto is what you'll get for the rest of the season, with reinforcements coming from within, from players down on the farm (Dalton Pompey) to those who are working their way back from injury (Marcus Stroman).
Unless otherwise noted, all MLB statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, all minor league statistics courtesy of MILB.com and are current through games of August 26. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR
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