Miscellany

The Nats are staying put in Washington. The current brouhaha is over money, what else?! The public trough may run deep in the District, as insiders love to call their converted swamp, but some folks want to make sure the people who own the franchise actually spend some of their own money to build a new stadium. Seems fair enough. So what’s in it for the politicians on the City Council who have taken this stand? Well, there’s political capital for one thing. And then there is construction capital, real estate capital and licensing and inspection capital. Late noises out of Las Vegas are nothing more than that. Suspension by the Nats of marketing and promotion efforts are also just ploys. Rumors that the Orioles’ Peter Angelos has somehow infiltrated the City Council should also be dismissed. MLB let alone the Expos/Nets’ players can ill afford another year or two in limbo.

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Ed Wade may have convinced himself a starting rotation of Wolfe, Lieber, Myers, Padilla and Lidle can carry the Phils to a divisional title in the weakened NL East, but that quintet isn’t likely to advance the cause beyond the first round. The Phils still need a frontline starter and, as luck would have it, a few are still on the market. Is help on the way? Not unless Wade is willing to part with some youngsters including Ryan Howard and at least one pitcher from among Wolfe, Myers or Ryan Madson. Even then, he may have to sweeten the pot further if he is to entice Oakland’s Billy Beane to part with Tim Hudson. From Oakland’s standpoint, the Phillies’ youngsters represent the sort of money ball philosophy that has driven their franchise under Beane. None, except Wolfe, would cost him much money nor be near free agency, which makes the likelihood that the hurler would be either Myers or Madson that much stronger. The one sticking point, and it is a huge one, would be signing Hudson to a minimum of two to three years. No more one-year rentals.

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Boston improved themselves significantly with the signing of Edgar Renteria. If they manage to sign Placido Polanco to play second base they will be extraordinarily strong up the middle. The biggest question mark at this stage is their starting rotation, which figures to lose Pedro Martinez pending his physical with the Mets and Derek Lowe, whose post-season heroics won’t redeem his otherwise mediocre season. The acquisition of old, fat, out-of-shape and ornery David Wells doesn’t impress this observer.

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The Yankees have improved their starting rotation as long as Jaret Wright holds up, but there are still question marks. What are they going to do with Kevin Brown and El Duque? How much does Mike Mussina have left? They also have a number of holes in the rest of their lineup. Centerfield and first base are two spots that remain question marks and right field will be one if Gary Sheffield doesn’t fully recover from his surgery. The Yankees middle relief isn’t particularly impressive either. They are far from being a dominating lineup at this juncture.