The smell of baseball is not yet in the air, but there was a scent of relief in Boston last Friday - the new owners of the Boston Red Sox fired unpopular general manager Dan Duquette. Just one day after buying the team for a record $660 million, John Henry and company ousted Duquette, and promoted former assistant Mike Port to the head GM role. In an interview with ESPN on Thursday, Duquette said that he would be "shocked" if he was not with the Sox for the 2002 season. It was this very sense of oblivion that characterized the ex-GM's eight-year tenure in Boston, and made his departure this season so probable.
Throughout his stay in Beantown, the Dalton, MA, native made a number of decisions that showed he was aloof and detached from the clubhouse. After the 1996 season, Duquette believed that Roger Clemens was in the "twilight" of his career and chose not to re-sign him - 88 wins, three Cy Young Awards, and two World Series rings later, the "Rocket" is still throwing in the upper 90s.
While giving up on Clemens, Duquette chose not to abandon Carl Everett, a player whose temper tantrums, clubhouse antics, and selfish attitude outweighed his statistical accomplishments and wreaked havoc with the team's chemistry. In addition, last season Duquette fired Jimy Williams, an accomplished manager well-liked by most of his players, and replaced him with inexperienced pitching coach Joe Kerrigan. A 17-26 record ensued. The drafting of Nomar Garciaparra and the acquisition of Pedro Martinez do not compensate for these incidences of administrative ineptitude.
Will the new management prevent Boston's late-season flops and playoff failures, and bring a championship to this desperate city? It is uncertain. But any change is favorable for a team whose aspirations rely on an 80-year old imaginary curse.
While Boston's "curse" is almost as aged as the team itself, the "curse" in Cincinnati just celebrated its second birthday - the anniversary of Ken Griffey, Jr. coming to the Cincinnati Reds from the Seattle Mariners. After celebrating a successful 1999 campaign without Junior, the Reds failed to make the playoffs in 2000 and crawled to a miserable 66-96 record last season. Three offseason developments have Reds fans questioning Griffey's presence in the Queen City.
First of all, it was recently discovered that Cincinnati is not actually a northern suburb of Orlando, a fact that weakens the sluggers' claim that he wanted to live close to his Florida home. Secondly, Griffey Senior abruptly abdicated his coaching position with the team last week, although the resignation had "been on his mind for a year and a half." So much for Junior's desire to play alongside his father. Third, in recent weeks, longtime Red Ron Oester and ex-Reds Pokey Reese and Dmitri Young have harshly criticized Griffey for demanding special treatment and not acting as a leader for the club's many young players. While the 10-time All Star claims that he just "wanted to fit in," turmoil and discontent are obviously plaguing the clubhouse - and do not portend a healthy team chemistry for the upcoming season. Only time will tell if this "curse of Junior" reaches Bambino proportions.
In other National League news, San Francisco Giants' second baseman Jeff Kent will miss the next 4-6 weeks after an unlikely mishap on Friday evening. The 2000 NL MVP broke the vancular bone in his left wrist while washing his truck at a self-serve car wash in Scottsdale, Arizona. After slipping from the back of his white pick-up, Kent tried to break his fall, fracturing the end of the bone in the process. Manager Dusty Baker is optimistic that Kent, who has five consecutive 100 RBI seasons as a Giant, will be able to make a full recovery before opening day on April 2. Newly acquired third baseman David Bell will be able to fill Kent's spot at second if the injury takes longer than expected to heal.
Serious injuries may be disrupting some clubs this spring, but the New York Yankees are not among them. The most notable ailments in Yankees' camp in Tampa are Mike Mussina's devastating middle-ear infection and Jorge Posada's terrifying rolled fingernail. While newcomer Jason Giambi did miss the Yanks' first two spring-training contests with slight tightness in his left hamstring, he made his pinstripes debut on Sunday and immediately began earning his $17.4 million yearly salary. Giambi homered in his first plate appearance and added another dinger later in the game, finishing the afternoon with three RBIs and two runs.
Acquired to replace St. Louis-bound Tino Martinez, the first baseman has averaged 38 HRs, 127 RBIs, and a .330 average over the past three seasons. After falling in game seven of the World Series last year, the Yanks signed Giambi to a seven year, $120 million deal this past offseason.
