Who Are You And What Have You Done With Wade Miller?
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Now what?
The Cubs beat the Giants for the second day in a row, 3-2, but the score wasn't the whole story. The story today was Wade Miller, who threw what was arguably the best outing by a Cubs starting pitcher this spring.
Five innings. Three singles. No walks. Five strikeouts, including two called K's on Barry Bonds, causing the significant minority of Cub fans in the sellout crowd of 11,995 to roar in approval.
Before I continue, I've got a complaint about the Giants' spring training jerseys -- see this example:

(Brian Dallimore, taken by Harry How/Getty, 2005 photo)
If you saw the game on TV today, you'll know what I'm talking about. They are black. With black numerals surrounded by an orange outline. Unless you are ten feet away from the player, you have absolutely no chance of reading these numbers. Given the fact that from the RF lawn, the PA system at Scottsdale is just as inaudible as the one in Mesa is from the LF lawn there, you have absolutely no chance of finding out who's coming in and out of the game.
Whoever came up with these shirts ought to be sent back to design school. The numbers need to be either orange -- the Giants' alternate color -- or white.
OK, now back to the recap. I don't think I've ever seen Scottsdale Stadium more crowded -- if the 11,995 wasn't a record, it had to be close. I wound up sitting again with BCB readers dfrancon and the SD Smooth Jazz Man, and we were "entertained" by a Giants fan who attempted, without success, to get Alfonso Soriano to turn around with some very weak (although loud) heckling. Fortunately, the weak performance of the Giants today, along with the Cubs scoring just enough runs to win, shut this guy up pretty well.
Miller was masterful -- only two outfield outs were recorded in his five innings, a fly to left in the 2nd, and a fly ball to Cliff Floyd in right field to end the fifth inning and Miller's appearance. I was pretty nervous to see that Floyd was starting in RF, given the fact that he can barely move. And that's pretty much what he did in catching that fly ball -- it was literally hit right to him, he took about two steps and caught it. This was right after Miller had speared a ground ball up the middle with a runner on first and turned it into a snazzy 1-6-3 double play. And for good measure, Miller smacked a double into the right-center field gap, right in front of us, in the fifth inning.
So, it appears that Miller has won the fifth starter job, barring any weird happenings in his next appearance, which should be Thursday in the final game at Mesa. This will leave more time for Mark Prior to get his act together; after starting next Wednesday against the Rockies, I'd expect Prior to be left at extended spring training (I'm not sure if he needs to officially be on the DL for that or not -- if so, they're going to have to finagle that, since he doesn't look injured).
Angel Guzman relieved Miller, and though his line (3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER) doesn't look all that good, he really threw only one bad pitch, a fastball that Mark Sweeney hit about 450 feet completely out of the ballpark onto 75th Street behind right field, for a 2-run HR which accounted for the Giants' only runs. Will Ohman came on in the ninth and recorded two outs for his first spring save.
Barry Zito threw a decent five innings for the Giants, allowing just one run, another Aramis Ramirez home run. In a smaller ballpark, the Cubs would have had a second HR -- Ryan Theriot led off the sixth off reliever David Cortes with a ball that went about 410 feet to left-center field, bouncing off the "Hotel Valley Ho" sign, a ball that would have been out of just about any of the other spring training parks in the Valley. Theriot also played a competent left field before being shifted to 2B in the sixth inning when lineup changes were made by Lou Piniella.
Derrek Lee played the entire game today, walked, had a sac fly and got a gift double (the ball was an easy fly ball, dropped by Giants CF Todd Linden, but ruled a two-base hit, after the scoreboard had initially indicated "error"). He's hitting .490 for the spring and looks more than ready to start the season.
Since the last time I sat on the lawn at Scottsdale Stadium, which was several years ago (maybe 2003), they have built a huge picnic area above the RF bullpen, which used to be all grass. The Giants also now have a practice field immediately adjacent to the main stadium; I saw people peering through windscreen-like fencing on the street before the game, but you can also stand on a walkway overlooking this field if there's anything going on there before or during the game -- which there wasn't. They also have one of the largest souvenir stores I have ever seen -- larger than those at many major league stadiums. And they were raking in the cash, too -- the lines to pay were nearly out the door.
I received an email recently from Chicago-based novelist Don Evans, who has written a new Cubs-centric novel titled "Good Money After Bad"; he stopped by on the lawn to give me a review copy of the book, and I'll be posting a review of it just as soon as I can find time to read it!
Finally, I promised this today, so here it is: my friend and BCB reader bison stopped by to say hi with his son Mikey. Mikey's six today. Happy Birthday!
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I watched the game on TV...
First post back from Mesa
But on to the competition for 5th starter.
What I think may happen is Prior will be held back in EST for a couple of weeks. If he and Miller both look good Miller will be dealt simply because they can get more for him at this point and I think Hendry sees more of a potential upside with Prior.
And Guzman has to give them more confidence in if something happened to Prior they have him in the wings.
by kerrysotherwife on Mar 24, 2007 7:09 PM CDT reply actions
Stay with me for a minute...
by Damen Jackson on Mar 24, 2007 7:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Ohh
by kerrysotherwife on Mar 24, 2007 7:19 PM CDT up reply actions
The Cubs extended Miller's contract...
DL and Prior
He said that they could declare it as continued recovery from last season as the injury which would seem completely legitimate.
They did do this in April 05 with Prior as well. If you remember he was skipped the first turn and DLed.
by kerrysotherwife on Mar 24, 2007 7:22 PM CDT reply actions
Well, either way..
by Damen Jackson on Mar 24, 2007 7:27 PM CDT up reply actions
The Cubs
The Cubs won't have any problems getting him on the DL. Anyone who has seen him pitch will easily allow Prior to be placed on the DL. And even if they had to get a doctor to say something was wrong with him, it's not difficult to come up with a reason to DL him.
Personally, I'd like to see him optioned to minor league camp because if he's placed on the 15-day DL, he still accrues MLB service time and after 42 more days will be able to decline an option to the minors.
How does he have options left?
The DL seems more likely.
And I've asked before...
Al,
After 4 years of service time a player is placed on revocable waivers, which they must clear before he could be optioned to the minors. After 5 years of service time, the player can refuse the option.
A revocable waiver is one in which the Cubs can place him on waivers and if some team claims him, revoke the waiver. As such, there would be little or no reason for any team to put in a claim for Mark Prior because the Cubs could AND would revoke the waiver and just DL him. It would be a waste of a general manager's time to even bother and it's highly unlikely they wouldn't. So no matter what, there's no risk in placing him on waivers to see if this is a legitimate option.
If they do this and he clears waivers (99.9% chance he would) the Cubs could option him to minor league camp and leave him at extended spring training. After that ends (sometime in June, I believe), they could then send him on assignment to Iowa if he isn't ready to pitch at the big league level yet.
Prior used one option in 2002, but has not used one since. He has two options left. If they did what I'm suggesting, he'd still have one left AND he'd still have 42 days of MLB service time before he could refuse that option AND he'd still have 1.42 (years.days) of service time before he becomes eligible for filing for free agency.
If he isn't ready at all this season and never makes it to Chicago, they can still option him to the minors in 2008. After that option, he would be out of options and have to remain on the 25-man roster or be placed on irrevocable waivers.
The thing to pay attention to here is specifically what the Cubs do with Prior. It will tell us exactly what Jim Hendry thinks of Mark Prior at this point in his career. If Hendry thinks there is even an unlikely chance that Prior will regain the form he once had, he will option him to the minors so to keep Prior under club control for as long as possible (all teams try to keep players under team control as long as possible)...potentially through the 2010 season. If Hendry believes there is little chance he'll ever regain that form that made him a dominant pitcher, he'll simply place him on the DL allowing him to reach his 5 years of service time and be that much closer to becoming a free agent no later than the end of the 2008 season.
What Jim Hendry chooses to do with Prior tells us exactly what Jim Hendry thinks Prior's chances of returning to form are. If Hendry thinks it's likely, he does whatever he possibly can to protect his future with this club for as long as possible (optioning him to the minor leagues). If he doesn't think it will happen he does nothing that could increase the length of which he Cubs have control over Mark Prior (placing him on the DL).
Whatever he chooses to do, the reasons for doing so are abundantly clear. In one week we'll have a better idea of what Hendry, the coaching staff, and MLB scouts think of Prior's future.
I think we've been through this before.
After three years as a pro, a player must be protected on a team's 40-man roster, or he is eligible for the Rule 5 draft (more on that later). Once he's served those three years, and assuming he is added to the 40-man roster, his club then has what are called "options" on him.
When a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the 25-man Major League roster, he is on "optional assignment." One common misconception about the rules is that a player may only be "optioned out" three times. Actually, each player has three option years, and he can be sent up and down as many times as the club chooses within those three seasons.
When you hear that a player is "out of options," that means he's been on the 40-man roster during three different seasons, beginning with his fourth as a pro, and to be sent down again he'll have to clear waivers.
Prior doesn't have "three options". There are three option years. Look at the last paragraph above -- it's not FIVE years on the 40-man roster, it's THREE years. Prior cannot be sent to Iowa without clearing waivers. I think I got that mixed up with the five-year rule -- after five years, he'd not only have to clear waivers but grant his permission.
The bottom line is -- Prior can't be sent to Iowa (except on a rehab assignment). Period. If they don't bring him north, he'll have to start the year on the DL, which ought to be easily done as a continuation of rehabbing his injury from last year.
Everyone agrees Prior would have to clear waivers.
Is that...
It's because
We had this same exact discussion about Corey Patterson in 2005, Al. YOu quoted the Transaction Primer and I assured you he could be optioned to the minors. He cleared waivers and was optioned. Why? Because there's no point for a gm to claim him and he still had options remaining despite having over 4 years of MLB service time (same as Prior).
You're arguing a losing battle here and it's one you've already lost.
Will the Cubs do it? I don't know. It comes down to whether or not they think he'll recover. If they do, they'll option him to the minors. If they don't (and they want him to become eligible for free agency as quickly as possible), they'll place him on the DL.
With all due respect, Al,
Al, I'm not 99% sure this is accurate. I'm 100% sure. You are confusing the working of that primer with the actual rules of accruing MLB service time. When a player is on the 60-day DL he is NOT accruing MLB service time. Prior has not accrued 5 years of MLB service time and cannot refuse an option to the minor leagues. This isn't arguable. It's a fact.
You can choose to believe the Transactions Primer as you did last time (and you were wrong as I told you) or you can trust that I know what the hell I'm talking about here. It's up to you. That Transactions Primer is basically worthless. Also, it's out of date as the new CBA changed all of that, but it doesn't affect Mark Prior.
I assure you that Mark Prior can be optioned to the minor leagues and all that must be done is the Cubs placing him on revocable waivers and Prior clearing them, which he most certainly would.
Carlos Zambrano cannot be optioned to the minor leagues without his approval. He has accrued more than 5 years of MLB service time and still has one remaining option. If he approved a minor league option and cleared revocable waivers (which he would) then he could be optioned to the minor leagues. But only if he approved it. If he didn't approve it, Carlos Zambrano could become a free agent.
Again, these circumstances aren't arguable. They are 100% accurate and you can choose to believe them or believe an out of date piece written to familiarize the basic fan with minor league transactions. It's entirely up to you.
I will believe you...
Thanks.
Al...
Here's
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4614
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4628
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4700
I think...
The BP article says there are three option years, and implicit in that statement is that they don't have to be consecutive. If this is true, then yes, I can see how Prior would have option years left.
As I've said before, if I'm wrong, I'll say so. I guess we'll find out soon enough, because it is very unlikely that Prior will start the year on the ML roster. My guess is that he'll be placed on the DL and left at extended spring training.
Yes...
I don't think what the Cubs do with Prior is going to prove that this correct or incorrect (I know it to be correct as it's happened to many, many players like Prior). I think if the Cubs DL him then they're biding their time until he can file for free agency. Personally, I think that period of his days as a Cub began last year. The Cubs could have placed him on the 60-day DL two different times last season and didn't. As a result, he continued to accrue service time. That was a sign to me that Jim Hendry just doesn't think he's going to return to form.
Good point...
We'll see within the next week what happens. It will indeed be interesting to see what they do, and yes, an indication of his future with the club.
On The Jerseys.....
Well...
If the Giants did change, they'd have another "game-worn" authentic jersey to sell. Maybe that's the way Krukow, Kuiper, Miller could sell this idea to them.
Happy Birthday, Mikey!
And no, I'm not changing my win-loss projection.
LRRF
by Littlerock Rynofan on Mar 24, 2007 8:10 PM CDT reply actions
Miller looked awesome today.
Guzman also pitched brilliantly. He missed his spots a few times, but, overall, his location was pretty good as well. He REALLY had his curve/slider working for him. That thing was flat nasty. There are some Giants hitters that are gonna have to rehab to get their knees unbuckled...lol.
by Mark H @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Mar 24, 2007 10:22 PM CDT reply actions

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