Cleveland Sports Forum

Major League Baseball's stalling on replay makes it easy to get riled up: Paul Hoynes' Rant of the Week

Published: Sunday, July 01, 2012, 1:05 AM Updated: Sunday, July 01, 2012, 1:41 AM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer

It would be easy to rant about Major League Baseball's refusal to expand the use of instant replay, but when the decision makers keep ignoring it, while letting the game they supposedly love deteriorate and their umpires become objects of ridicule, it does little good.

The catch/no catch and fair/foul provisions that were agreed upon in the new basic agreement should be available right now, but a final OK could not be reached among the owners, players association and umpires. So let them boil in the same pot -- making sure there's room for Mike DiMuro, who was snookered by left fielder Dewayne Wise on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium in a game against the Indians -- because they deserve it.

But what of Yasiel Puig? Better yet, who is Yasiel Puig?

He's a 21-year-old Cuban defector, who became extremely rich last week when the Dodgers signed him to a seven-year $42 million deal. Oh, to be young and a Cuban defector who just happens to play baseball.

Puig's signing is part of the gold rush to acquire international free agents before July 2. After that, teams can spend only $2.9 million on such players. So the Dodgers gave Puig $42 million, the Cubs gave Jorge Soler $30 million for nine years and the A's signed Yoenis Cespedes to a $36 million four-year deal in February. Like Puig, Soler and Cespedes are Cuban, but this spending spree covers all players who are not subject to MLB's amateur draft.

Money is no object for the teams that can afford it. This is their last chance to dominate the international market. After July 2, by rules of the new basic agreement, spending is restricted. But when there is great haste, there is room for great waste. Remember the name Yasiel Puig.

Chris Sale will not be the American League's starting pitcher for this Tuesday night's All-Star Game in Kansas City.

That sentiment was expressed by White Sox manager Robin Ventura and the 23-year-old southpaw prior to Saturday afternoon's contest against the Blue Jays. Sale certainly has the credentials to be considered the AL starter, with a 10-2 record, 2.19 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a .198 average against. But the White Sox have made it clear to AL All-Star manager Ron Washington and his staff that they don't want Sale working more than one inning in the Midsummer Classic, as they try to give Sale an extended break after his final first-half start Tuesday in order to manage his innings total.

Gotta hand it to Kenny Williams...He's pulling all the right strings including the hire of Ventura as manager. Sale, Dunn, now Youkilis. I recently read that they have 10 rookies on the 25 man roster. If Sale can put up similar numbers in the second half as the first, he could be considered for the Cy Young Award. I see where Kenny is ready to deal for a right handed starter and some bullpen help.

No flies on Kenny Williams. Right or wrong, he pulls the trigger unlike a certain front office.

If Sale had started, that might have changed the whole game last night.

And if we had selected Sale instead of Pomeranz, we might be in first place

When's Hernandez supposed to get his visa?

joez wrote:And if we had selected Sale instead of Pomeranz, we might be in first place

Or we might have traded him for Ubaldo!

He might have advanced the Tribe's AAA club by now. No way the Tribe fast tracks him like the White Sox did.

Oviedo debuted and pitched for the Jupiter team, Class-A Advanced Florida League, retiring all three batters he faced in the only inning that he saw action, including a strikeout, serving as a starter.

"The Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place. Clearly, they intend to stay there. Major-league sources told FOXSports.com the Pirates have had preliminary trade discussions regarding two power-hitting outfielders, San Diego's Carlos Quentin and Arizona's Justin Upton. Talent evaluators from those two clubs have scouted Pittsburgh's minor-league affiliates in recent days, as the teams prepare preference lists of prospects they want in the potential deals. It seems unlikely the Pirates would acquire both Quentin and Upton, but they have a strong desire to upgrade their lineup by landing one of them.

White Sox expect to settle in for long haul

Surprising South Siders feel they can capture American League Central title

By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | 07/11/12 2:00 PM ET

CHICAGO --

List the biggest surprises for the first half of the 2012 Major League Baseball season and the White Sox would be found right near the top.

Even some White Sox players and coaches, the same ones who departed Arizona back in late March with the idea they could shock the world as a group, wouldn't have predicted leading the American League Central at the All-Star break.

"Yeah, it has surprised me a bit," said White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper of his team that leads the Indians by three games and the Tigers by 3 1/2 games. "A lot of the people we needed to come back and have good seasons are doing it. On top of it, what has surprised me is our rookies, our young guys. We got eight of them [pitching] and they are coming through for us."

"We had ifs, a lot of ifs," White Sox reliever Matt Thornton said. "For the most part, those ifs have been answered with 'Yes.'"

Thornton and Cooper weren't joking when talking about the long line of White Sox ifs entering the 2012 campaign.

• If ... Adam Dunn could bounce back from a dismal 2011 campaign and return to his stellar career numbers.

• If ... the ultra-talented Alex Rios could improve from a severe drop-off last season.

• If ... a healthy Jake Peavy could return to the top of the White Sox rotation and pitch like a frontline hurler.

• If ... a relatively untested bullpen could consistently hold leads late.

• If ... Chris Sale could successfully make the transition from the back end of the bullpen to the front of the starting five.

• If ... Dayan Viciedo could effectively replace Carlos Quentin in the lineup and hit consistently.

Somehow, every one of those uncertainties has turned into a positive. As for one of the most important question marks -- whether or not first-year manager Robin Ventura and his talented staff could return the White Sox focus to the field -- it has been answered with a major affirmative. The South Siders are one of baseball's best defensive teams, consistently executing the game's fundamentals, and simply don't defeat themselves.

It's nothing more than keeping the focus on the game at hand under Ventura that has set the team up as an unexpected division front-runner.

"What we need to focus on, on a continuous basis, is winning the series, each and every series," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "It will all take care of itself at the end if we just do that and not take anything for granted."

"We've said it from the day that we left Spring Training," Peavy said. "We believe on any given day that we can play with any team in baseball. We showed that in Yankee Stadium. We showed that down in Texas to start the season. We believe we have enough here to get it done, and get in the playoffs and win 11 games. That's a great feeling to have."

Players to watch in second half:

JOHN DANKS

Adding the healthy southpaw from the disabled list could serve as the team's big second-half acquisition. But when will he return?

CHRIS SALE

He was first-half dominant, but also has never topped 140 innings in a single season. White Sox will watch him carefully.

KEVIN YOUKILIS

In just two weeks since coming over from Boston, Youkilis became a fan favorite. His presence over the final 77 games should be a major boost.

One good half does not a season make, though. Nobody knows that fact to be true better than the White Sox, who play 16 of their first 19 second-half games on the road.

As for those ifs, that long preseason list has been replaced by a more manageable but still significant group of lingering questions.

• If ... Danks (left shoulder), Philip Humber (right elbow) and Jesse Crain (right shoulder) can come back from prolonged injury absences to contribute as they have in the past.

• If ... major rookie producers such as Quintana, Reed, Nate Jones and Hector Santiago can hold up under the added strain and pressure of August and September.

• If ... the White Sox, as the hunted division leader, can handle a second-half run from consensus preseason division favorite Detroit.

Actually, Ventura's crew has been solely focused on their plight as opposed to any other team, so the Tigers don't belong on that list. If the rest of those questions are answered in their favor, then the White Sox will be playing in October.

And that first-half surprise status will be elevated to a full-season stunner.

"Something that Robin and [bench coach] Mark [Parent] and Coop and Kenny have kind of instilled in us a little bit, is the fact that it's a daily grind," Thornton said. "No matter what happened yesterday, come in and fight and battle.

"Play the game the right way, and that's what we are doing. When you truly commit to that and go out there and continue to get after it like that, yeah, we'll have more three-or-four-game losing streaks. But for the long haul, we expect to be in it to the end."

I thought that we would be playing even up baseball with the Sox and I thought both teams would be chasing the Tigers. Looks like the Sox are more of a threat than the Tigers. Eight rookie pitchers! Holding up down the stretch?!!? That's a lot to ask. Quentin would be a nice addition to counter Youkilis if we had some chips to deal with. I don't know what the status of Hernandez is, but he could be the last piece of the puzzle to get us over the top. The last I read, Hernandez would be receiving his visa by the middle of July. Well, its the middle of July and no Hernandez. Oviedo has started pitching in Florida and working out the kinks. With Lopez hopefully getting more playing time, acquiring Quentin, and adding Hernandez to the staff soon, we can get this thing done. My wish list for the second half, Quentin, Lopez, and Hernandez.

I posted several times that I would sacrifice 200 strikeouts for 40 homers, 100+ rbis, and the high OBP that Adam Dunn would provide. Still wish we could have signed him. He's on the road to his career averages. In fact, he may be over. If he can perform as well in the second half as the first, he could top 50 homers and 120 rbis. The down side is his .210 batting average. Maybe that will improve in the second half. Either way, I think the Sox would be delighted with his production to date. All the more reason for adding Quentin to the lineup.

Why were you not talking about Dunn last year ? That's right he sucked.

He was considered one of the worst FA signings last year. Most people would just forget about him until next year but not you.

Who is next ? Franklin Guttierez.