[h=1]To-do list for new MLB commish
By [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Buster Olney[/FONT] | ESPN INSIDER
[/h]
Major League Baseball's owners may have had more unanimous votes under commissioner Bud Selig in the past 20 years than the Politburo had under Nikita Khrushchev, which says a lot about Selig's unique ability to wrangle and cajole and convince. MLB isn't structured in a way that makes for strong central authority, and yet Selig built consensus.
If the vote for the next commissioner, scheduled to take place next Thursday, is closer to 23-7 than 30-0, that will be the first sign of the significant challenges that face Selig's successor, who will almost certainly be Rob Manfred. Selig probably wouldn't have allowed a vote to happen if Manfred didn't have enough votes.
But unless something changes dramatically over the next six days, Manfred probably will take over without the support of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, the Angels' Arte Moreno and Boston's John Henry, among others. If you think presidents have a difficult time governing without the backing of the House or Senate, you have an idea of what Manfred will face as Major League Baseball moves toward the expiration of its current labor agreement at the end of the 2016 season. Manfred -- or somebody else if Reinsdorf's insurrection is a complete success -- will have to try to forge a new labor agreement while also dealing with in-fighting between owners. Incidentally, this was the recipe that led to the players' strike of 1994.
And beyond that, the to-do list seems to grow by the day for Selig's successor. Here are four issues that should be on the front burner:
<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.6200008392334px; background: transparent;">1. Pace of play: The world is getting faster, attention spans are shortening, and yet MLB games continue to get longer. It's a cancerous trend that must be reversed as MLB works to appeal to younger fans, which is why the next commissioner must sit down with union chief Tony Clark and identify solutions. The most obvious -- and probably inevitable – solution is a pitch clock.
Time and again, MLB has asked players to voluntarily aid in the effort to speed up games by staying in the batter's box or remaining on the pitching rubber between pitches, and that approach has simply not worked. The umpires have not aggressively enforced rules that are on the books.
A tonic is needed, and a pitch clock would move the games along, giving fans something to watch rather than another mound conference between a pitcher and catcher or a hitter adjusting his batting gloves after not swinging at the previous pitch.
2. The future of the Rays and Athletics: In many respects, the Rays and Athletics have been model franchises in terms of how they've been operated. But they continue to fall behind, while inhabiting ballparks that are below the MLB standard. Permanent solutions are needed.
3. Taking instant replay to the next level: Here's the bottom line: The sport is better than it was a year ago, with more calls being properly judged and fewer mistakes made. But there have been a surprising number of mistakes made in the first year of the process, some that never could have been anticipated and some that absolutely could have been avoided. Selig's successor must push for refinements.
4. Alter the risk-reward equation for PEDs: The union and MLB deserve a ton of credit for how far they've come in the past decade in terms of leveling the playing field for players who want a level playing field. Nobody knows this better than Manfred, who worked closely with the late Michael Weiner to make this happen. But the actions of Manny Ramirez,Bartolo Colon and Ryan Braun have made it absolutely clear that there is more ground to be covered, that players will continue to cheat because the incentives to use PEDs can still far outweigh the penalties. A player who uses PEDs to get a massive contract can still keep the bulk of his money, like a bank robber who gets to keep the majority of his take. It will be up to Selig's successor to keep the pressure on the union to toughen the penalties even more.
As for Reinsdorf, Mike Lupica writes that the White Sox owner is wrong for working to block Manfred as the next commissioner.
Around the league
• On Thursday's podcast, Cubs prospect Kris Bryant told stories about what Manny Ramirez brings to the table as a mentor and coach. He talked about Javier Baez, who put on a showin his debut.
• There was a scary moment for Marlins pitcher Dan Jennings, writes John Perotto.
• The Cubs have claimed Cole Hamels off waivers, but the odds that they and the Phillies will finish a deal by Friday's deadline to decide are probably the same as Pete Rose becoming the next commissioner.
• During new Padres GM A.J. Preller's time with the Rangers, he was suspended by Major League Baseball for what it deemed to be a violation during his work in Latin America. The Rangers also were disciplined. Those are simple facts from the past; Preller's suspension is common knowledge.
So it was odd to see Preller's response when he was asked about what occurred, a response which simply does not square away what actually happened. From our story on Preller's hiring:
So on Wednesday, I emailed Ron Fowler, the chairman of the Padres, and he acknowledged the suspension -- and rightly so -- in his answer: "We discussed this in detail with A.J. and with senior management at MLB. We were assured by MLB that the suspension was not a problem in hiring A.J. to be our GM."
Here's what probably should have been the more appropriate response by the Padres' new general manager, who is now the face and voice of the franchise and is in the early days of building credibility in this role: "Mistakes were made and lessons were learned that will help going forward."
Here is more on the Padres' new leader.
• Kelvin Herrera has become a seventh-inning force for the Royals. Only three other teams have fewer bullpen innings, and among the 73 relievers with the most appearances, Kansas City has just one. Down the stretch this could be to their advantage, as Royals relievers should be well-rested.
• Jeremy Guthrie had a strong outing Thursday and the Royals swept their way into the lead for the second wild-card spot, as Andy McCullough writes.
• The Blue Jays have fallen back into a pack of wild-card contenders after their latest loss. For the Jays, injuries continue to mount.
• The Mariners had a big day.
• The Reds drew a line in the sand this week and kept themselves in the NL playoff race.Brandon Phillips is getting close to returning, but not Joey Votto, writes Hal McCoy.
• Caleb Joseph has been on a nice roll as the Orioles continue to roll through their second-half schedule.
• The Angels and Dodgers played a series worthy of the world's attention, writes Bill Plaschke.
• The Dodgers traded for starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez, who joins L.A. -- presumably -- as Giant-approved. San Francisco sits right in front of the Dodgers in the waiver process, and therefore gets the first shot at every pitcher who comes through.
• The Yankees took three of four from the Tigers, as their pitching excellence continued.Francisco Cervelli made plays that preserved the lead for New York.
• Miguel Cabrera didn't start Thursday, but he did pinch hit.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Angels traded for reliever Vinnie Pestano.
Dings and dents
1. Neil Walker's back trouble has popped up.
2. Brandon Phillips has been cleared to swing a bat.
3. Brett Lawrie has an oblique issue.
4. George Springer tweaked a quad muscle.
5. Willie Bloomquist needed knee surgery.
Thursday's games
1. Jacob deGrom pitched effectively, but the Mets lost.
2. Bryce Harper hit a walk-off homer.
3. Ryan Howard and the Phillies swept the Astros.
4. Edinson Volquez pitched great for the Pirates, at a time they needed it.
5. Adam Wainwright had a strong outing.
6. The White Sox suffered another ugly loss.
7. Jon Lester thoroughly dominated the Twins. From ESPN Stats & Information on how he won:
A. He had an 0-1 count on 65 percent of the opposing hitters; his season average entering the game was 49 percent.
B. He did not allow a fly ball or line drive against his cutter for the second time this season (five ground balls, five strikeouts).
C. He induced a season-high 23 chases by right-handed hitters.
8. Angel Pagan was back in the lineup, but the Giants still lost.
AL East
• Boston's also-ran status is tough on David Ortiz. But Red Sox GM Ben Cherington isn't worried about labels, only that the Red Sox improve, as Michael Silverman writes.
• Nelson Cruz feels he's close to breaking out of his slump.
• Stephen Drew has not thought about being Derek Jeter's heir apparent.
• Clay Buchholz's issues are mind-boggling.
• The Rays are headed to Wrigley Field this weekend.
• In David Price's absence, the other Rays pitchers are holding each other accountable.
AL Central
• The Tigers need to hit better than they did against the Yankees this week, writes Shawn Windsor.
AL West
• From ESPN Stats & Info on Mike Trout being on the path to become a legend of the game:
Most WAR (wins above replacement) through age-22 season, MLB history
Mike Trout* 26.5
Ty Cobb 25.5
Ted Williams 23.6
* Trout turned 23 on Thursday
• Sam Fuld is fired up to be back with Oakland.
• The Rangers should explore their options with Elvis Andrus.
• The Rangers' front office must expand its circle of trust, writes Evan Grant.
• The Astros took steps toward fixing their TV situation.
NL East
• Mike Vaccaro wonders whether Terry Collins will go down with the ship.
• Domonic Brown should be in the Phillies' lineup, writes David Murphy.
• For the Braves, it'll be an alumni weekend, and Atlanta needs all the help it can get.
NL Central
• Pittsburgh isn't going to change its approach to pitching inside.
• Wily Peralta leads MLB pitchers in victories.
NL West
• Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery has found a calling.
• The Rockies' front office feels Troy Tulowitzki's frustration.
Lastly
• The A's have approached an architect about an Oakland ballpark.
• Charlie Manuel deserved more respect, writes John Smallwood.
• Tim McCarver has elevated the Cardinals' broadcasts, writes Dan Caesar.
• A Crosley Field historic site has been announced, Mike Dyer writes.
• The Indians revealed renovation plans for Progressive Field.
• A sexual assault case involving the Tigers' Evan Reed was delayed.
And today will be better than yesterday. </b>
By [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Buster Olney[/FONT] | ESPN INSIDER
Major League Baseball's owners may have had more unanimous votes under commissioner Bud Selig in the past 20 years than the Politburo had under Nikita Khrushchev, which says a lot about Selig's unique ability to wrangle and cajole and convince. MLB isn't structured in a way that makes for strong central authority, and yet Selig built consensus.
If the vote for the next commissioner, scheduled to take place next Thursday, is closer to 23-7 than 30-0, that will be the first sign of the significant challenges that face Selig's successor, who will almost certainly be Rob Manfred. Selig probably wouldn't have allowed a vote to happen if Manfred didn't have enough votes.
But unless something changes dramatically over the next six days, Manfred probably will take over without the support of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, the Angels' Arte Moreno and Boston's John Henry, among others. If you think presidents have a difficult time governing without the backing of the House or Senate, you have an idea of what Manfred will face as Major League Baseball moves toward the expiration of its current labor agreement at the end of the 2016 season. Manfred -- or somebody else if Reinsdorf's insurrection is a complete success -- will have to try to forge a new labor agreement while also dealing with in-fighting between owners. Incidentally, this was the recipe that led to the players' strike of 1994.
And beyond that, the to-do list seems to grow by the day for Selig's successor. Here are four issues that should be on the front burner:
<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.6200008392334px; background: transparent;">1. Pace of play: The world is getting faster, attention spans are shortening, and yet MLB games continue to get longer. It's a cancerous trend that must be reversed as MLB works to appeal to younger fans, which is why the next commissioner must sit down with union chief Tony Clark and identify solutions. The most obvious -- and probably inevitable – solution is a pitch clock.
Time and again, MLB has asked players to voluntarily aid in the effort to speed up games by staying in the batter's box or remaining on the pitching rubber between pitches, and that approach has simply not worked. The umpires have not aggressively enforced rules that are on the books.
A tonic is needed, and a pitch clock would move the games along, giving fans something to watch rather than another mound conference between a pitcher and catcher or a hitter adjusting his batting gloves after not swinging at the previous pitch.
2. The future of the Rays and Athletics: In many respects, the Rays and Athletics have been model franchises in terms of how they've been operated. But they continue to fall behind, while inhabiting ballparks that are below the MLB standard. Permanent solutions are needed.
3. Taking instant replay to the next level: Here's the bottom line: The sport is better than it was a year ago, with more calls being properly judged and fewer mistakes made. But there have been a surprising number of mistakes made in the first year of the process, some that never could have been anticipated and some that absolutely could have been avoided. Selig's successor must push for refinements.
4. Alter the risk-reward equation for PEDs: The union and MLB deserve a ton of credit for how far they've come in the past decade in terms of leveling the playing field for players who want a level playing field. Nobody knows this better than Manfred, who worked closely with the late Michael Weiner to make this happen. But the actions of Manny Ramirez,Bartolo Colon and Ryan Braun have made it absolutely clear that there is more ground to be covered, that players will continue to cheat because the incentives to use PEDs can still far outweigh the penalties. A player who uses PEDs to get a massive contract can still keep the bulk of his money, like a bank robber who gets to keep the majority of his take. It will be up to Selig's successor to keep the pressure on the union to toughen the penalties even more.
As for Reinsdorf, Mike Lupica writes that the White Sox owner is wrong for working to block Manfred as the next commissioner.
Around the league
• On Thursday's podcast, Cubs prospect Kris Bryant told stories about what Manny Ramirez brings to the table as a mentor and coach. He talked about Javier Baez, who put on a showin his debut.
• There was a scary moment for Marlins pitcher Dan Jennings, writes John Perotto.
• The Cubs have claimed Cole Hamels off waivers, but the odds that they and the Phillies will finish a deal by Friday's deadline to decide are probably the same as Pete Rose becoming the next commissioner.
• During new Padres GM A.J. Preller's time with the Rangers, he was suspended by Major League Baseball for what it deemed to be a violation during his work in Latin America. The Rangers also were disciplined. Those are simple facts from the past; Preller's suspension is common knowledge.
So it was odd to see Preller's response when he was asked about what occurred, a response which simply does not square away what actually happened. From our story on Preller's hiring:
[Preller] didn't want to go into specifics but called it a "disagreement" between the Rangers and MLB and said he received what MLB termed "a slap on the wrist."
"Ultimately, MLB cleared us," he said. "They told me I didn't violate any rule or anything like that."
That's simply not accurate, according to many baseball folks. Preller served a suspension, and suspensions are not handed out for nothing. "Ultimately, MLB cleared us," he said. "They told me I didn't violate any rule or anything like that."
So on Wednesday, I emailed Ron Fowler, the chairman of the Padres, and he acknowledged the suspension -- and rightly so -- in his answer: "We discussed this in detail with A.J. and with senior management at MLB. We were assured by MLB that the suspension was not a problem in hiring A.J. to be our GM."
Here's what probably should have been the more appropriate response by the Padres' new general manager, who is now the face and voice of the franchise and is in the early days of building credibility in this role: "Mistakes were made and lessons were learned that will help going forward."
Here is more on the Padres' new leader.
• Kelvin Herrera has become a seventh-inning force for the Royals. Only three other teams have fewer bullpen innings, and among the 73 relievers with the most appearances, Kansas City has just one. Down the stretch this could be to their advantage, as Royals relievers should be well-rested.
• Jeremy Guthrie had a strong outing Thursday and the Royals swept their way into the lead for the second wild-card spot, as Andy McCullough writes.
• The Blue Jays have fallen back into a pack of wild-card contenders after their latest loss. For the Jays, injuries continue to mount.
• The Mariners had a big day.
• The Reds drew a line in the sand this week and kept themselves in the NL playoff race.Brandon Phillips is getting close to returning, but not Joey Votto, writes Hal McCoy.
• Caleb Joseph has been on a nice roll as the Orioles continue to roll through their second-half schedule.
• The Angels and Dodgers played a series worthy of the world's attention, writes Bill Plaschke.
• The Dodgers traded for starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez, who joins L.A. -- presumably -- as Giant-approved. San Francisco sits right in front of the Dodgers in the waiver process, and therefore gets the first shot at every pitcher who comes through.
• The Yankees took three of four from the Tigers, as their pitching excellence continued.Francisco Cervelli made plays that preserved the lead for New York.
• Miguel Cabrera didn't start Thursday, but he did pinch hit.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Angels traded for reliever Vinnie Pestano.
Dings and dents
1. Neil Walker's back trouble has popped up.
2. Brandon Phillips has been cleared to swing a bat.
3. Brett Lawrie has an oblique issue.
4. George Springer tweaked a quad muscle.
5. Willie Bloomquist needed knee surgery.
Thursday's games
1. Jacob deGrom pitched effectively, but the Mets lost.
2. Bryce Harper hit a walk-off homer.
3. Ryan Howard and the Phillies swept the Astros.
4. Edinson Volquez pitched great for the Pirates, at a time they needed it.
5. Adam Wainwright had a strong outing.
6. The White Sox suffered another ugly loss.
7. Jon Lester thoroughly dominated the Twins. From ESPN Stats & Information on how he won:
A. He had an 0-1 count on 65 percent of the opposing hitters; his season average entering the game was 49 percent.
B. He did not allow a fly ball or line drive against his cutter for the second time this season (five ground balls, five strikeouts).
C. He induced a season-high 23 chases by right-handed hitters.
8. Angel Pagan was back in the lineup, but the Giants still lost.
AL East
• Boston's also-ran status is tough on David Ortiz. But Red Sox GM Ben Cherington isn't worried about labels, only that the Red Sox improve, as Michael Silverman writes.
• Nelson Cruz feels he's close to breaking out of his slump.
• Stephen Drew has not thought about being Derek Jeter's heir apparent.
• Clay Buchholz's issues are mind-boggling.
• The Rays are headed to Wrigley Field this weekend.
• In David Price's absence, the other Rays pitchers are holding each other accountable.
AL Central
• The Tigers need to hit better than they did against the Yankees this week, writes Shawn Windsor.
AL West
• From ESPN Stats & Info on Mike Trout being on the path to become a legend of the game:
Most WAR (wins above replacement) through age-22 season, MLB history
Mike Trout* 26.5
Ty Cobb 25.5
Ted Williams 23.6
* Trout turned 23 on Thursday
• Sam Fuld is fired up to be back with Oakland.
• The Rangers should explore their options with Elvis Andrus.
• The Rangers' front office must expand its circle of trust, writes Evan Grant.
• The Astros took steps toward fixing their TV situation.
NL East
• Mike Vaccaro wonders whether Terry Collins will go down with the ship.
• Domonic Brown should be in the Phillies' lineup, writes David Murphy.
• For the Braves, it'll be an alumni weekend, and Atlanta needs all the help it can get.
NL Central
• Pittsburgh isn't going to change its approach to pitching inside.
• Wily Peralta leads MLB pitchers in victories.
NL West
• Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery has found a calling.
• The Rockies' front office feels Troy Tulowitzki's frustration.
Lastly
• The A's have approached an architect about an Oakland ballpark.
• Charlie Manuel deserved more respect, writes John Smallwood.
• Tim McCarver has elevated the Cardinals' broadcasts, writes Dan Caesar.
• A Crosley Field historic site has been announced, Mike Dyer writes.
• The Indians revealed renovation plans for Progressive Field.
• A sexual assault case involving the Tigers' Evan Reed was delayed.
And today will be better than yesterday. </b>
