Surprises remain in AL playoff race
Rays staying in contention while Yankees struggle, and Tigers drop again
Ronald Martinez / Getty ImagesDerek Jeter and the Yankees face a tough road to the playoffs, with 28 of their final 44 games on the road.
Q. Do you think the Prince Fielder-Manny Parra incident in the dugout is a big deal? The Brewers already are struggling — this couldn't make them any worse, could it?
— John Warner, Milwaukee
A. The only way this could make it worse is if it was the result of a divided clubhouse, or of certain players on the team not getting along. And since everything I've read and seen indicates that this was nothing more than an isolated heat-of-the-moment incident, I don't expect there to be any long-term ramifications.
Fielder has apologized for the incident — although not for the passion that brought it on, as he is an intense player who doesn’t want to see the Brewers fade down the stretch, as they did last season. These things do happen from time to time; tempers do run hot, especially when a team is in the midst of a stretch of poor play, as the Brewers are experiencing of late. But if something else happens down the road, I’ll be more alarmed.
Q. What are the Rockies going to do with their roster now that they didn't trade Matt Holliday or Brian Fuentes?
—Bob, Denver
A. Their idea of roster improvement for the stretch run is bringing Jeff Francis off the disabled list and picking up Livan Hernandez on waivers from the Minnesota Twins. Both will be improvements over what the Rockies have been running out there as No. 4 and No. 5 starters recently, but that's not saying much.
Whether the Rockies held onto Fuentes because they mistakenly felt they were still in the NL West race, or because they didn't get their rather high asking price (two prospects or a big-league-ready starting pitcher) isn't absolutely certain. But they likely will end up regretting not dealing him before the deadline, as they now are looking at receiving only two compensatory draft picks when he leaves as a free agent this winter (unless, of course, they can deal him in the next month or so if he can clear waivers).
Holliday is a different matter. Trading him before the deadline would have had a disastrous affect in the clubhouse and among the fan base, which has soured on the Rockies' inability to maintain last year’s surprising success.
The ideal scenario, of course, is for Holliday to sign a long-term deal to stay in Colorado rather than enter free agency next winter, but that appears highly unlikely. So I look for him to be dealt this off-season, as a major deal of that sort is easier to get done in the winter than around the trade deadline.
Q. Has there been any interest expressed in signing Craig Monroe?
—Earl McDowell, Minneapolis
A. I have to say I was a bit surprised when the Twins designated Monroe (and Livan Hernandez) for assignment last week, as Monroe can be a source of power on a team that needs it.
But I never question decisions the Twins make, as they always seem to know what is best for their club, and with Denard Span playing so well, they felt that was the best way to go. And in fact, with Michael Cuddyer close to coming off the disabled list, they are facing yet another decision on demoting a position player.
As for interest in Monroe, I haven't heard of any yet. Since the Twins weren't able to trade Monroe before the deadline, I don't see them getting much of anything in return for Monroe now.
Q. In the August waiver period, if a player is claimed by more than one team, is he eligible to be traded?
—Larry, Simi Valley, Calif.
A. Livan Hernandez provides an example here, Larry. He was claimed by the Rockies and reportedly at least one other team (clubs aren’t allowed to discuss waiver claims, but these things leak out through club sources).
In the case of multiple claims, the team with the worst record is awarded the claim, so we know that whoever else claimed Hernandez had a better record than the Rockies (not that hard this season).
Then it was up to the Rockies and Twins to work out a deal. The result was the Rockies absorbing Hernandez’s remaining financial obligations, but no player going back to the Twins, so the transaction simply was Hernandez being claimed on waivers by the Rockies.
You also see this scenario employed between two teams competing for a playoff spot. The team with the worse record will claim a player on waivers, ‘blocking’ him from their competitor with a better record.
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