Notes From The Nat

It’s the time of year when nobody has anything to write about, and thus we’re treated to endless lists. Here’s Baseball Prospectus’ addition to the lexicon of prospect 1-10.

Excellent Prospects
None

Very Good Prospects
1. Daric Barton, 1b
2. Travis Buck, lf

Good Prospects
3. Kurt Suzuki, c
4. Javier Herrera, cf
5. Jermaine Mitchell, cf

Average Prospects
6. Matt Sulentic, lf
7. Marcus McBeth, rhp
8. Jason Windsor, rhp
9. Kevin Melillo, 2b
10. Henry Rodriguez, rhp

Good times. Not much different from most other lists of the same ilk, with the exception of one entry towards the bottom. If you said to yourself "who the hell is Henry Rodriguez?", you should know you’re not alone in your confusion. 

No, Oakland didn’t go out and sign the former Dodger/Expo/Cub/Yankee/Marlin (seen left) - this is a new Henry Rodriguez. A Henry Alberto Rodriguez, to be exact. He’s a Rodriguez that pitches… Hard.

Here’s what BP had to say about Hen-Rod:

The Good: The best raw arm in the organization, Rodriguez sat at 92-96 mph in 2006, touched 98, and has been clocked as high as 100 mph in the past. His curveball projects as a plus pitch and he shows excellent feel for a changeup, especially for a pitcher so inexperienced.

The Bad: Raw is the understatement of the century, as Rodriguez has little clue as to what he’s doing out there. Complicating matters even more are issues revolving around Rodriguez’s maturity and willingness to work with coaches.

The Irrelevant: When the A’s finally stretched out his arm at the end of the year, pitching him for a season-high five innings in each of his last three outings, Rodriguez allowed just six hits over those 15 frames, walking eight and striking out 21.

In a Perfect World, He Becomes: A pitcher who misses bats? It’s hard to really project anything more.

Gap Between What He Is Now, And What He Can Be: Crazy High - Rodriguez has one of the most intriguing skill sets in the organization, and despite his struggles, he caught the attention of numerous other teams for his arm strength alone. He’s not ready for a full-season either mentally or physically, and will begin the year in spring training before spending the second half of the season in Vancouver.

Uh-huh. That’s right, we get to see the crazy arm in V-Town this season. Sounds like a bit of a Nuke Laloosh, and we all remember how much fun it was the last time Vancouver had one of those (Jason ‘Death" Ray), don’t we?

Incidentally, the original Henry Rodriguez is still playing - for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks - along with such ex-major leaguers as Nelson Figueroa, Pat Mahomes, and Bill Pulsipher.

Thanks to HawkerRob for sending through the full details of Lyndon Little’s write-up in the Vancouver Sun yesterday, and thereby allowing us share the details with the world - here’s a few snippets of what you can expect in the years ahead:

- Moving in the outfield fences by approximately 15 feet. This has long been a request of the parent Oakland A’s and the new owners also believe it will help enhance the fan experience at The Nat.

- The tearing up and replacing of the infield playing surface.

- Some initial updates to the concession and washroom areas.

"Some of the early improvements may not be overly apparent to the fans, but we feel it’s important to do something right away in our first year," Mooney says.

Trust me on this - the longer term renovations are WAY more impressive, but I won’t spoilt them if the new owners don’t yet want to trumpet them.

One thing I won’t be too happy about is the replacing of the infield grass. As club historian Bud Kerr will tell you, in amongst that grass is Babe Ruth’s chewing tobacco spit, deposited when he came to Vancouver with an all-star team on his way to Japan. The legend has it that the rain was bucketing down, and The Babe looked at the 3000 fans and said something akin to "if they can come out for the game, we can put one on for them."It’s also the infield grass that Satchel Paige prowled as a 50-something pitcher trying to get back to the big leagues.

Of course, realistically, it’s no such thing. Grass doesn’t last 90 years, especially when it’s been moved from two other ballparks previously, and a film crew did a great job of chopping the crap out of it a few years back - something it hasn’t yet recovered from. But still, it’ll be a damn shame to lose one historic piece of Vancouver baseball, even if it is entirely in people’s heads.

Other news relating to the new ownership:

* The owners have been in operational control of the franchise since November, despite the fact that the change has yet to be ratified by Major League Baseball.

* Dan Kilgras and Delany Dunn (President and GM respectively) will return for the 2007 season.

* The 25-year lease includes four 5-year renewable options, so should the new owners decide to split for better digs, they can.

* Because the new owners are spending considerable amounts of money on the ballpark upgrades, the first five years of the agreement will be RENT-FREE. Thereafter, they’ll pay either $100,000 per year, or 4% of the audited gross revenues - whichever is larger.

* The final sale price for the team was $7m, which sees a nice fat profit for ex-owner, Fred Hermann.

Another interesting side note - in fact, a historic one: the Parks Board will actually be SPENDING MONEY contributing to the upgrade on the stadium! 

Under the terms of the lease, the city will contribute an immediate $500,000
towards ballpark improvements, a figure that will be matched by the new
owners. The Park Board will also submit a request for an additional $2 million
in 2008 to be included in the city’s next capital plan. The C’s owners have
pledged to match that amount as well, bringing to $ 5 million the total
investment into fixing up the picturesque city-owned facility at the foot of
Queen Elizabeth Park. 

Hot diggity dawg. So let’s summarize.

The new ownership got a 25-year lease that they can get out of every five years. They got cheap rent, and no rent for the next five years. They got money from the Parks Board, with the promise of more if they can get it out of the city government… Now we know why Jake Kerr is a millionaire.

Remember, baseball fans, this deal happened once Spencer Herbert took over as Parks Board Commissioner. He told Notes From The Nat he’d do what he could to help keep the stadium open, saved, and upgraded, and he has delivered in spades. Added to that, he’s been front and center in the fight to save and restore Stanley Park after it was decimated by high winds last month.

So remember to say thank you next time there’s an election for the Parks Board, okay?

According to the Vancouver Sun, that’s the figure that will be spent by the new ownership group on upgrading our ballpark over the next few years.

Part of that will get chewed up with seismic retrofitting of the stadium roof and improvements to the players’ clubhouse facilities, and there’s still talk of moving in the outfield fences, but what’s left after those changes will be some sweet upgrades indeed.

You can read more at the Vancouver Sun’s website… but sadly, only if you’re a subscriber.

I’ll discuss specifics more as soon as I get my hands on a password/copy of the paper.
 

It’s been the worst kept secret in Vancouver sports, but tonight it became official - the Vancouver Canadians have been sold to local ownership, who have confirmed a 25-year lease has been agreed to on historic Nat Bailey Stadium.

Shout it from the rooftops: the C’s are local again, and The Nat has been saved. 

Here’s the official press release:

Play Ball! Parks Board grants new 25-year lease forNat Bailey Stadium

New owners of VancouverCanadians plan revitalization of baseball in Vancouver

Vancouver, BC? The long-term future of baseball in Vancouvermoved a step closer to fruition last night when the Vancouver Board of Parksand Recreation approved the terms of a new 25-year lease for baseball at NatBailey Stadium, with local ownership.

The lease was approved for the Vancouver Professional BaseballPartnership (VPBP), the new owners of the Vancouver Canadians. The partners areVancouverresidents, Lignum Investments Chairman Jake Kerr and A&W Canada ChairmanJeff Mooney.

?It is an honour and a privilege for Jake and I to be entrusted withthe care of a Vancouvertreasure, Nat Bailey Stadium,? said Mooney.

VPBP has a keen interest in keeping professional baseball in Vancouver, retaining and enhancinga local landmark in Nat Bailey Stadium, and expanding the promotion of baseballin the community.

?I?m alifelong baseball fanatic and first went to Nat Bailey Stadium when I was eightyears old ? it?s a classic old stadium, but it needs some care,? said Kerr. ?Withsome revitalizing, coming to a ballgame at the Nat will once again be thenumber one affordable summer sports entertainment choice in Vancouver.?

?It wasa summer tradition in our family to take our children to Nat Bailey Stadium andmy colleague Jake now takes his grandchildren,? said Mooney. ?We are committedto continuously caring for and enhancing the Nat and the enjoyment of our fans,so that the Vancouver Canadians are recognised as the finest Minor LeagueBaseball franchise in North America.?

Now, if you’ve ever seen a baseball team change owners before, you’ll recognize a lot of the platitudes there - "we want to make this the best team in the minors", "we’ve been coming here since we were kids," etc etc, but there’s a major difference between the usual PR blah blah and what you read above - that is, these guys are legit.

Jake Kerr is big local money. He’s a self-made success story, and he has a long track record of investing time, money and effort into Vancouver community projects. He’s on every board, committee and community leadership organization from Kitsilano to Maple Ridge, he made his cash here and spends his cash here, and having sat behind him several times over the second half of the 2006 season (I’m sneaky like that), I can tell you he lives and dies on every pitch, just like previous owner Fred Hermann used to.

As for Jeff Mooney, you have to love the irony that, as the White Spot corporation sucks dry the name and reputation of former fast food chain owner Nat Bailey without ever actually giving anything back for his baseball legacy in Vancouver, it’s actually White Spot’s competitor, A&W, that has stepped up to the plate and preserved what Bailey spent so much of his life building.

I’ve seen some of the plans these guys have for Nat Bailey Stadium, and I have to say, I’m pumped for what’s coming. We’re not just talking scoreboard upgrade and new shirts - we’re talking major freaking architectural work that will make a day at The Nat more fun than it has ever been before.

One other person deserves a little credit for this - you might recall about a year ago we tried to interview each of the candidates running for the Vancouver Parks Board, and only one bothered to reply - Spencer Herbert. At the time, he was a young guy making his first stab at the political game. Barely a year later, he’s the Parks Board Commissioner, and he made good on his pledge to this very blog that he woud do what he could to save The Nat from the demolition ball.

Thanks, Spencer. We appreciated your thoughts way back when, but your actions as Commissioner are the stuff of legend. We won’t be forgetting come next election, that’s for sure.

I guess it must be hard for ESPN to keep their standards high, especially now, when there’s not a lot happening in the ‘Hot Stove’ that is baseball’s off-season. But honestly, surely the guys in suits in Connecticut have a lazy $30k lying around to throw at someone who actually understands baseball and is prepared to vet their content before it’s posted, thus saving the cable sports giant from looking foolish on a daily basis?

Today’s episode in the annals of "Why ESPN needs to be burned" is Keith Law’s look at the state of each major league baseball team’s farm system.

Oh joy - a guy with the claim to fame that he was JP Ricciardi’s ’special assistant’ back in the day when their fortunes hung on Luke Prokopec’s gammy arm is going to tell us how worthy our farm system is? Isn’t that kind of like having Brian Sabean writing an article on how to start a youth movement? Or maybe having Bill Bavasi write about how to make that ‘killer deal’ that turns your season around?

Anyway, so Law says the A’s have the #21 ranked farm system, which in and of itself I wouldn’t argue too hard about (the upper end of the system is still hurting, but only because so many rookies have zipped up to the majors in the last few seasons), but his theory that:

"Their 2003 class was a huge bust, and their first three picks in 2004 are all probably washouts as well, with the fourth pick in that draft, Huston Street, already comfortably ensconced in the majors…"

…is just horsepucky.

First of all, who the hell judges a draft class on their ability to get to the majors in just two seasons?! And assuming you do, did he miss the impact Huston Street (who was the A’s third pick, not their fourth) made in just ONE SEASON? Did he not see #7 pick Jason Windsor hit the bigs last year, just three seasons after being drafted? Has he not noticed Kurt Suzuki, or Grapes Putnam, or Diamond Dallas Braden, or Richie ‘Robo’ Robnett looming on the horizon?

Let’s be honest - if the 2004 draft class ONLY brings the A’s Street and Windsor, that’s a huge success in itself.

In fact, look, I saw every single game that the 2004 draft class played in Vancouver - and I mean EVERY game - so I reckon I have a pretty good handle on who has talent, who was a bust, and who is headed up or out. In addition, as part of my research for this blog, I watch what those players have done since - I can tell you what Myron Leslie’s batting average was for every season since he debuted in the professional game - so here’s my educated one-line assessment: The 2004 draft class was a HUMUNGOUS success.

Check it, in the full version linked below.

He never played for our Vancouver Canadians, being as he was a 3rd round pick by the Astros before he was traded for Chad Harville, but Oakland A’s reliever/swingman ‘Captain’ Kirk Saarloos has been traded to the Cincinnati Reds, just one day after agreeing to a one-year arbitration-avoiding contract extension.

Saarloos, packing a 7-7 record and a 4.75 ERA last season for the pale jumbos, was only the second Athletics pitcher since 1985 to make 15 starts and 15 relief appearances in the same season (Doug Johns was the other, back in 1996).  That said, he was also pretty ordinary, and with A’s needing to make some roster room, Captain Kirk was always looking like fair game coming into season 2007.

Coming the other way is AA right-handed reliever David Shafer and a player to be named later.

According to the official A’s press release:

Shafer, 25, was 1-2 with a 2.36 ERA (13er in 49.2ip) with 26 saves in 44 appearances for Double-A Chattanooga last season. He struck out 52 batters in his 49.2 innings of work, issued just 16 walks, allowed just two home runs and limited hitters to a .204 batting average. His 26 saves were tied for second in the Southern League.

So, yeah, it had to happen, and the A’s are at least getting someone with potential out of the deal. But as someone who once had to live in Cincinnati, all I can say to Kirk Saarloos is this:

I’m really, really sorry.

Nothing much to report on the Vancouver Canadians front this time of year, and nary a scrap on the A’s front either. But in the interest of keeping the site looking like it’s still populated, here’s a few scraps that may or may not be of interest.

Francisco Liriano - dead until 2008
Young Twins phenom pitcher and recent surgery recipient Liriano (seen left, demonstrating his famous Pretzel Pitch) has told the AP, "I won’t start to throw until two months from nowand I’ll do my first bullpen work six months later," effectively takingone of the best pitchers in the game and sticking him right back intothe middle of the pack, killing a year of his development, removing ayear from what could have been Hall of Fame career, and leaving fansshort one GPTWEOSET (that’s ‘great player to watch even on someoneelse’s team’, if you’re not down with blog lingo).

According tothe article, Liriano said he started five times while feeling pain,which could have aggravated the injury. Gee, ya think?

"I decided to tough it out, even though now I know I shouldn’t have," Liriano said.

No, Francisco, it isn’t YOU that knows you shouldn’t have. It’s theTwins management that knows you shouldn’t have. It’s the guys that putthe first round of the playoffs ahead of your career, and their playoffchances in 2007.

Competing against Roger Clemens, a childhood idol, was onethe highlights last season for Liriano. "That was one of the mostemotional games, especially because I was able to win thanks to God."

Presumably God wasn’t that interested in the kid’s health as he wasengineering his victory over Clemens, or he might have parted theclouds, reached down from up high, and spanked Minnesota pitching coachRick Anderson’s ass.

Gregorio Petit - utilityman?
Baseball America has hinted that 2004 Vancouver infield maestro (and wannabe powerlord) Gregorio Petit may move to third base this season in AA Midland, and could even find himself playing outfield. The BA folk are saying that Oakland thinks the kid might have his best shot at the majors as being a jack of all trades, rather than a middle infield specialist, but I personally think they’re missing his best shot of all - learning that he doesn’t have to hit a home run every time at the plate.

A .300-hitting Petit, with his defensive genius and above average speed, should be enough to push a Bobby Crosby or Mark Ellis in a couple of seasons, without needing him to fill time in the outfield. Teach the kid to flash the leather, not the power, and he’d be a diamond. But as an outfielder? Not to much…

Oakland prospects dominate the also-rans
BA recently put out their top-10 prospects lists for each team, and now they’ve filled some gaps by putting out a list of the players who just missed out on making their annual prospects handbook - the 31st team, as it were. Oakland has strong representation on the list, with 5 out of the 54. They include:

• Santiago "Old Man" Casilla (Vancouver 2002)
  
• Toddric "Hot Toddy" Johnson (Vancouver 2006)
  
• "Ouchy" Donnie Murphy (recent pickup from Kansas City)
  
• Luis "Pitcher Killer" Perez (Vancouver 2003)
  
• Gregorio "Pirouette" Petit (Vancouver 2004)
  

Interesting tidbits provided by BA include that Casilla has lost velocity on his fastball of late, Murphy played most of 2005 and 2006 with a broken hand (!), and Luis Perez has got his groove back in AA ball.

Rud Haar was eulogized in these pages a few weeks back, after succumbing to sickness at the end of a career in which he promoted and boosted and made baseball possible in Vancouver for decades. He was the groundskeeper at Nat Bailey Stadium for the AAA Vancouver Canadians, he started the Pacific Metro League, and he was one of the small but steady crew of local folks that were always there for the Stadium, whatever team was playing on it, and the kids, teens and adults that were drawn to it.

It should be no shock to Vancouver baseball nuts that club historian Bud Kerr (seen left, taking in a little batting practice) is at the forefront of a push to honor Rud at The Nat, as Bud is an utter keener - one who doesn’t forget his friends when they pass.

Bud decided it was apt to get a plaque honoring Haar affixed to a bench out front of the stadium, and he’s dragging the Vancouver Canadians Booster Club (and by virtue of that, the team itself) along for the journey. The Vancouver Sun announced this past weekend that the dedication will indeed go ahead, and though that’s to be lauded, it’s a shame to me that a bigger dedication can’t be made.

The Rud Haar memorial scoreboard perhaps?

Oh wait - that can’t happen. If we’re going to put anyone’s name on that scoreboard, it should be Bud Kerr himself.

And here’s hoping he doesn’t give us reason to for many decades to come.

Update: I’ve received word from someone connected with the team that Bud might have been speaking out of turn regarding this tribute, and that the team itself (and the Boosters) have been working on this from the outset. That’s the thing, when it comes to guys who have dedicated their lives to a ball team - sometimes their enthusiasm pushes past their judgment and they just can’t wait around for the story to come out properly.

My apologies to anyone who felt slighted/disregarded/offended by this post - for mine, it doesn’t really matter who set this tribute up, just that it’s happening, and that a great guy will be remembered.

About a month ago, I wrote a piece on NFTN that said, if Oakland signed Barry Bonds to a deal, it would be the last time I’d mention them on this site - ever. Some people took issue to that, writing me that Bonds had never tested positive, and that slurring his name and accusing him of drug use smacked of "jealousy".

Well, here’s a little "I told you the hell so."

NEW YORK — Barry Bonds failed a test for amphetamines last season and originally blamed it on a teammate, the Daily News reported Thursday.

When first informed of the positive test, Bonds attributed it to a substance he had taken from teammate Mark Sweeney’s locker, the New York City newspaper said, citing several unnamed sources.

"I have no comment on that," Bonds’ agent Jeff Borris told the Daily News on Wednesday night.

"Mark was made aware of the fact that his name had been brought up," Sweeney’s agent Barry Axelrod told the Daily News. "But he did not give Barry Bonds anything, and there was nothing he could have given Barry Bonds."

 Oh, SNAP!

What do you say about that, Giants fans? Not only is Bonds a despicable cheat, junkie and liar, but he’ll try to blame his teammates for it when caught?

What a disgrace. The Giants should do the right thing and refuse to sign his contract for 2007, so we can refuse him entry to the Hall of Fame a season earlier.

Big news for Benny ‘The Jet’ Winslow fans - the 2004 Vancouver Canadians fan favorite and 2006 C’s hitting coach has been kicked upstairs and will be occupying that position for the Kane County Cougars in 2007.

Congratulations, Benjamin (seen left, asleep on the job yet again) - we’ll be cheering from afar.

Oh, and call me next time you’re in town, Jet. You owe me a beer, you no-contact mofo.

So Vancouver loses Bouncing Benny, but fortunately for fans of the game in the Pacific Northwest, that’s all we’re going to lose out of the coaching ranks. Rick Magnante, who in my time watching the C’s at The Nat has proved himself the best manager I’ve seen up close, will return for another season, as will World Series bullpen hero Craig ‘Lefty’ Lefferts, who apparently sees coaching in Vancouver every summer as the perfect way to keep retirement interesting. 

Also worth noting is that Todd Steverson, who was Vancouver hitting coach in 2004, is continuing his rise through the system, securing the manager’s job at AA Midland, after two seasons in High-A Stockton.

Nice to see old C’s doing well, ain’t it?

The official release from the C’s follows: