Originally Published: June 25, 2003

Players finally get a say in All-Star voting

For the first time in decades, players will have an opportunity to vote on who belongs in the All-Star Game.

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Stark By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
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It won't be just little Johnny and his dad, over in section 638, who will be punching out All-Star ballots this week. For the first time in decades, baseball will let players, managers and coaches hang some chads, too.

Over the next few days, real live humans in uniform will finally get to do some All-Star voting. And this will be a more significant part of the process than most people realize.

Fans still elect the starters. But players and coaching staffs will have a major impact on the rest of the roster, in all these ways:

500-500 Rumblings
Bonds
Bonds

Think about this question: Why was a bigger deal made over Roger Clemens' entrance into the 300 Win-4,000 Strikeout Club than over Barry Bonds' founding of the 500 Homer-500 Steal Club?

"Those are two diverse skills," says Giants assistant GM Ned Colletti. "If you hit 500 homers and steal 500 bases, you're almost like two different players. With most guys, you're a player who relied on speed to make your career happen. Or you're a player who relied on power to make your career happen. The amazing thing is that this guy did both."

Clemens has company (Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton) in the 300-4,000 Club. And those two feats at least work in the same direction. But not only is there nobody else in the 500-500 Club, there's nobody else in the 400-400 Club. And no other active player is even in the Halfway to 500-500 Club (i.e., 250 steals and 250 homers). So this is just one more giant shadow Bonds has cast over his sport.

"When Clemens won his 300th, everybody asked: Who's got a chance to be next?" Colletti says. "And there are a handful of guys. But nobody even asks who's got a chance at 500-500, because the game has been played for more than 100 years and nobody else is even at 400-400."

The best part about Bonds' 500th steal Monday is that it came in extra innings, after the Giants had blown a ninth-inning lead, with their hold on first place in danger and with the heretofore-unbeatable Eric Gagne on the mound. So Bonds simply manufactured the winning run with a seven-pitch walk, his historic steal and a game-winning single by Benito Santiago.

So he didn't just steal that base, Colletti says. "He stole the game."

  • Less politicking: The days of Joe Torre taking eight Yankees are history, friends. Mike Scioscia may be able to get, say, Brendan Donnelly onto his team this year -- but not his entire bullpen and outfield. That's because players and coaching staffs will be electing reserves at every position, plus five starters and three relievers from each league. So that will leave only a dozen slots left (seven on the NL team, five on the AL team) -- which will be used mostly to make sure every team is represented.

  • Updated ballots: If you peruse your 2003 fans' ballot, you find Aaron Boone at second base (instead of third), Ricky Gutierrez (out all year until this week) at third base, Brandon Inge (now in the minors) at catcher and no Eric Byrnes or Melvin Mora anywhere. But because the players and coaching staffs' ballots were distributed so late, their ballots reflect all the developments nobody foresaw in March, when the fan ballots were put together. So they can correct injustices by voting for the right people without having to remember to write them in.

  • More complete pitching staffs: Until now, there was never any standard for how an All-Star pitching staff had to be put together. So last year, the NL staff was made up of Curt Schilling, Odalis Perez, Vicente Padilla and seven relief pitchers. That meant there was no one except Padilla to eat up innings at the end of the game, when it became obvious this was heading for extra innings. And when Padilla came up sore, disaster ensued. But with five starters and three relievers elected by the players and coaching staffs, that should never happen again.

    Pick-your-closer Rumblings
    John Smoltz or Eric Gagne? If you had one big game to save tonight, which closer would you pick?

    Gagne has reeled off 37 straight saves since last August. Hitters are batting .141 against him. And he's headed for the greatest strikeout season of all time (15.8 whiffs per nine innings). But Smoltz has a 0.88 ERA, a Cy Young trophy in his den and 69 saves in his last 72 chances.

    So we asked three scouts and two club executives that question this week. And it's so impossible to answer that one of them refused to cast a vote.

    "I can't think of a tougher question," he said. "I'd wave to the bullpen and not care which one emerged. Either way, we're going to win."

    Only on a question this tough would that kind of wimpiness be excused. So here is how the other four voted:

    NL scout: "You're not going to go wrong with either one, but I'll take Smoltz, because he has three quality, top-of-the-scale pitches, a little more command and a little more poise in certain situations. You know you're going to get beat either way. I guess I'm just more comfortable with the guy who does it a little cleaner. The other guy has that goatee, his uniform is all bloused out and he's a little heavier than he should be. Smoltz has that clean-cut image, and he gets it done with such precision."

    AL scout: "Give me Smoltz, because he's done it over the long term and he's got those three great pitches. Until Gagne has done it down the stretch and in October, I'll take Smoltz. But to be honest, I'd take either one. Those two are way ahead of everybody else."

    AL executive: "Obviously, this is one of the most difficult calls among players at the same position in the game. I lean towards Gagne due to the variety of speeds with which he can throw his three 'out' pitches -- versus Smoltz, where his stuff is all hard in a similar velocity range. Smoltz gets the edge in athleticsm and fielding his position -- but I'll pick Gagne No. 1 and Smoltz No. 1-A."

    NL executive: "If this was just for this year, I might take Smoltz, only because he's done so many things in the game and Gagne has never been to the postseason. But for the next five or six years, I'd take Gagne, because you're talking about somebody who has a chance to be the most dominant closer of all time. Most of the great closers have one or two pitches. This guy (Gagne) has three, and sometimes four. The fastball is 98 (mph). The slider is 88. The split is 78. And the curve or knuckle-curve is 68. So what do you look for? If you have a four-pitch at-bat against him, you will see three pitches. And he throws them all for strikes, with great movement."

    So there you have it. Give us Smoltz, with an asterisk. But get Gagne warmed up, just in case we change our mind.

    Expos Rumblings

  • That Juan Gonzalez trade has been portrayed as a simple swap of Gonzalez, plus cash, for prospects Seung Song and Josh McKinley. But it might not have been that simple. Sources say there were variations on the deal that would have sent another player (most likely Michael Barrett and his $2.6-million salary) to Texas if the Rangers paid a different percentage of Gonzalez's remaining paychecks. And even if that option hadn't happened, the Expos still might have had to move a veteran player to avoid taking on even minimal extra payroll.

  • Meanwhile, don't take that trade as anything more basic than the Rangers' desire to get Gonzalez out of town ASAP. McKinley may have been a first-round pick, but he was a pure signability selection who was described by one scout as a future "utility guy, at best."

    Millwood takes charge
    Millwood
    Millwood

  • Only a few days after Kevin Millwood's agent, Scott Boras, said Millwood wouldn't talk contract until after the season, a fascinating thing happened: Millwood personally approached the Phillies to suggest talking about a long-term deal during the All-Star break.

    "What this tells me," says one friend of Millwood on the Phillies, "is that Scott isn't driving the train. Kevin is going to make this decision, not Scott."

    It's almost always Boras' recommendation to have his clients play out their free-agent year and test the market. So if Millwood is initiating any sort of negotations during the season, it's an indication he isn't hell-bent on having his fate decided by a November bidding war. And that's a positive sign for the Phillies.

    The only bad news is that Millwood just lost three straight starts for the first time in his career, and Tuesday made his first start ever in which he lasted longer than three innings and didn't rack up a strikeout.

    • Song, on the other hand, is a legitimate prospect, but not the next Byung-Hyun Kim. One club's scouting report on Song: "Fourth or fifth starter on a good club. No real plus-plus stuff, but a lot of hitters will chase his high fastball. Good split. Funky Asian delivery that works. Good competitor. But not a top-of-the-rotation guy."

  • Members of baseball's relocation committee told groups from Washington, Northern Virginia and Portland last week that they think they can make "a recommendation" to Bud Selig about what to do with the Expos by the All-Star break. Unfortunately, "a recommendation" isn't the same as a decision.

    While sources say the committee was asking more detailed logistical questions in these sessions than in the past, there are still considerable doubts about whether any of these groups have enough firm pieces in place to satisfy baseball's conditions to move the club for next year. But if baseball opts for another year of limbo, it could actually find itself in a worse negotiating position a year from now.

    In fact, the chairman of the D.C. Council finance committee, Jack Evans, drew an ominous line in Selig's sandbox this week. Evans told the Washington Times that A) he wouldn't give a final go-ahead on ballpark financing until the city was awarded a team, and B) with an election year coming up next year, this year is baseball's "only opportunity" to get a ballpark built in the district.

    If that's true, the Expos' status could be an even bigger mess next summer than it is today. And that once seemed impossible.

    Miscellaneous Rumblings

  • Mike Schmidt, who has been lobbying in Pete Rose's behalf with Bud Selig, said last weekend that Rose's representatives will be meeting with the commissioner's people over the next two weeks about his reinstatement. But a source in the commissioner's office says no firm date has been set.

    Nevertheless, another source says that Rose's side has "stepped it up" recently in an attempt to get his reinstatement back on the fast track. With Hall of Fame induction weekend coming up in a month, would Selig try to time a reinstatement decision to avoid another swarm of boos in Cooperstown? Stranger things have happened.

  • People around Joe Torre continue to debate why he said what he said last week about George Steinbrenner. Was he just fed up? Was he trying to get fired? Or did he simply speak with the conviction of a man who is powerful enough and secure enough that he's the first Steinbrenner manager with the clout to talk back to his boss?

    One New York baseball man with long-time dealings with Torre says that "Joe just had had enough" and couldn't muster the energy to steer away from trouble, the way he has so many times in the past.

    Sources say that an accumulation of Steinbrenner-driven issues -- from Jose Contreras, to naming Derek Jeter captain without consulting Torre, to ignoring Torre's past problems with Ruben Sierra -- have simply worn Torre out.

    "He wasn't trying to get George to fire him," says one source. "He just wanted to back George off."

    But the likely result, if Steinbrenner's past history is an indication, will be just the opposite. What Torre's friends continue to fear is Steinbrenner turning up the heat on the coaches Torre is closest with -- Don Zimmer, Mel Stottlemyre, Lee Mazzilli or Willie Randolph. And that could place Torre in an uncomfortable, or even untenable, situation.

    On the other hand, the best thing that has happened on this front lately is Gene (Stick) Michael signing a new contract, which has led to Steinbrenner readmitting him to his inner circle.

    "Nobody is better at backing George off," says a source, "than Stick is."

  • The Cardinals are out there looking for starting pitchers, but have no money to spend. They scouted Ismael Valdes in Texas last weekend, but Valdes blew up in a 10-hit, eight-run nightmare. So the Cards continue to look, but they have limited chips to deal. Scouts checking out their farm system have found a bunch of six-year free agents at Double-A and Triple-A, but few real prospects.

    "They're in scramble mode down there," says one scout. "They have (right-hander) Dan Haren in Triple-A, and he's got a good arm. But he's not ready for the big leagues. Their system is so bare, you'd think they'd want to hold onto the prospects they've got, because if you keep trading them and get hit with injuries, it comes back to bite you. And they're finding that out now."

    The Cardinals did hit the jackpot with one-time 33rd-round pick Bo Hart, who came up after injuries to Miguel Cairo and Fernando Vina to become the first player to get 12 hits in his first five big-league games since Mike Lansing did it 10 years ago. But a scout who has covered the Cardinals' system says Hart is "just another guy for me. He's just a little grinder."

  • The Phillies are now finally getting concerned about Jose Mesa, as much over whether he's the guy they want closing next year as whether he's good enough this year. The big dilemma is that, if Mesa remains the closer all season, he'll finish 55 games -- and trigger a clause that guarantees his 2004 option at nearly $6 million. The Phillies no doubt would prefer to have the flexibility to make their own decision on whether to pick up that option.

    Injury of the month
    Baseball America reports that Jeff Baker, the third baseman for the new Northern League team in Kansas City, the T-Bones, was accidentally run over by the Jackhamerrmobile, a VW Rabbit driven by Joliet's team mascot. Baker missed five games with a bruised knee, then was traded shortly thereafter to the St. Paul Saints.

    Somebody send that team a crossing guard, will ya?

    Teams that have talked to the Phillies continue to report they're not looking for a closer, per se. But there appears to be a decent chance they will trade for a set-up man who could also close. They almost dealt for Pittsburgh closer Mike Williams at the deadline in 2001, so it wouldn't be surprising if they make a run at him -- or Tom Gordon -- again next month.

    And now that another leadoff experiment with Bobby Abreu has been pronounced dead, they might also be in the market for a true leadoff man, either in center field or at second base. Which would seem to translate to Kenny Lofton or Luis Castillo. There are no indications, though, that they've even inquired about Castillo.

  • So how good a leadoff man would Abreu be if he stopped complaining about being "uncomfortable" in that role? "The best in the world," says one scout. "That guy just amazes me. He reminds me a little of Paul O'Neill, just because of his ability to see so many pitches each at-bat. He's not afraid to hit with two strikes. He'll take the tough breaking ball the other way to deep left-center. This guy is a tough out. I can't believe he's only hitting .270. He should be hitting .300, at least."

  • Clubs that were pursusing Chuck Finley over the last few weeks now say they expect him to retire.

    "I'm not sure what happened there," says an executive of one of those teams. "All of a sudden, he just decided he didn't want to play. At least that's the impression we were given."

  • One rumor making the rounds last week had the Marlins making a renewed push to get Mike Lowell signed to a long-term contract. Sorry. Not happening. But the Marlins still find themselves in a more uncomfortable position, as they head toward the trading deadline, than any team currently trying to figure out whether it's in contention or not.

    The Marlins plan to wait until late July before they make that critical in-it-or-not decision, anyway. But if they drop too far back in the wild-card race, they have to consider all the scars in South Florida of the post-World Series fire sale in 1997 before they decide which players, or how many, to trade away.

    "If this were strictly a baseball decision," says one Marlins executive, "it would be easy. But we've got other things to factor in."

    Jeffrey Loria wasn't around when Wayne Huizenga ordered that fire sale. But his team continues to pay for it. So even if the Marlins decide to trade Lowell because Miguel Cabrera has arrived, or they deal Derrek Lee because Jason Stokes and Adrian Gonzalez are coming, they had better consider how those deals would be perceived by their already-skeptical public.

    It's interesting to note, by the way, that while the Marlins continue to insist they're not planning any big July selloffs and that their goal is to contend, they've been scouting a number of teams that have expressed interest in Lowell, Luis Castillo, Lee and Brad Penny.

  • The Giants keep saying they're not sure whether to deal for another starter or another reliever. But an official of one team that has been talking with them says they're actually looking for both. As happy as they are with their young starters, it's hard to imagine they would want to head down the stretch and into October with three starters (Jesse Foppert, Jerome Williams and Damian Moss) who have less than two years' experience.

  • The Astros have been telling other clubs they expect to be able to add $1 million to $1.5 million in payroll on one more veteran starting pitcher. But if Jose Vizcaino is out for the year and Jeff Kent's wrist problems don't improve, they may have to spend part of that on a middle infielder.

  • It seems as if ever since LaTroy Hawkins and Eddie Guardado started grumbling about their contract negotiations (or lack thereof) in Minnesota, the Twins have spun into a funk that made a five-game lead disappear. They'd lost eight of their last 10 games through Tuesday. But club officials think this has more to do with disappointing starting pitching and an overworked bullpen than it does with contract soap operas.

    Zambrano
    Zambrano

  • The Devil Rays haven't seen many uplifting glimpses into their future. But they've come up with a real find in Jeremi Gonzalez, who has allowed two hits -- or one -- in four of his last seven starts. And scouts love what they've seen lately from Victor Zambrano, who has given up a total of 15 hits in his last five starts (36 innings).

    "He struggled early," says one scout. "But now he's become much more aggressive with his fastball. He came right at the hitters against the Yankees (Monday). He just ate Derek Jeter up. And you don't see many guys eat Jeter up. I think this guy is for real."

  • Nobody is more tired of raindrops than people who live on the East Coast. But some of the baseball folks out west aren't too happy with it, either -- especially after the Yankees and Red Sox had games rained out last week that won't be replayed until September -- after rosters can expand to 40. At some point, baseball needs to address whether it's fair, or even logical, to change the rules that dramatically in the most important month of the year.

  • Watch out for Fernandomania II. In the first professional game of his life, Fernando Valenzuela Jr. hit two home runs and drove in six runs for the Eugene (Ore.) Emeralds last week. Fernando Jr. was a 10th-round pick of the Padres this month. Stay tuned.

  • Finally, all of us in the baseball-writing business owe a long, sincere thank you to the late, great Leonard Koppett, one of the pioneers of modern sportswriting, who passed away last weekend. People such as ourselves, Rob Neyer and anyone who aspires to make creative use of numbers to illuminate what we see on a baseball field couldn't do what we do if Koppett hadn't done it first -- 50 years ago. For his vision, his class, his kindness to young scribes everywhere and his never-ending love of his favorite sport, here's a heartfelt salute to one of the greats of this, or any, profession.

    Triviality
    Question: Bret Boone and Alfonso Soriano are both heading toward their second season of 30 or more home runs. That would make them the fifth and sixth active middle infielders with more than one 30-homer-plus season. Can you name the other four? Extra credit if you name the four other active players who had even one 30-homer season while playing either second base or shortstop.

    Answer: Alex Rodriguez (6), Jeff Kent (3), Miguel Tejada (3) and Nomar Garciaparra (2). The four other guys who hit 30 once: Barry Larkin (at short), Tony Batista (at short), Rich Aurilia (at short) and (surprise) Jay Bell (at short).

    Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

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