Spring Ups and Downs

The NL West-leading Padres and the NL East’s second place Nationals are two surprises that belong in this spring’s “Up” category.  Are they showing spring growth that is starting to take hold or will it whither in the summer heat? Conversely, the Mariners and Braves are “Down.”  Were expectations over blown or just yet to be realized?

The Padres were thought to be in another rebuilding mode, but Manager Bud Black has taken a “no-name” pitching aggregation and–along with pitching coach Darren Balsley–crafted the second best staff in the NL.  Dave Duncan owns the best pitching, but he would be hard-pressed to achieve makeovers to rival Black’s success with Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, and Clayton Richard.

Much like the Nationals, San Diego has an equally no-name bullpen that keeps them in close games and allows a less-than-league-average offense to win games.  Heath Bell has been almost as good as Matt Capps and setting him up have been Tim Staufferson and Luke Gregerson–near impossible to score upon.

Adrian Gonzalez was their biggest trade piece and the conventional wisdom had him going to a contender no later than late June.  Now, the gossip circuit is wondering what the Padres can do to strengthen their claim on the NL West lead. Are they willing to venture into the market to fill holes?  GM Jed Hoyer’s un-surprising answer to Jon Heyman of SI–“If we’re winning games, we’re going to try to win more games,” Hoyer said. “If we’re in the race, we’re going to look to add.”

At the other end of the spectrum, many analysts looked at Jason Heyward, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens and saw the makings of a contending team.  Yet the Braves are in the NL East cellar.  Heyward has lived up to the hype but has cooled and is now injured.  Jurrjens, like Heyward, has been laid up and missing work and Bobby Cox doesn’t seem to have AFLAC or much support from Chipper Jones or his minor league organization.

The Mariners loaded up in the off-season with Chone Figgins, Casey Kotchman and Cliff Lee.  Figgins and Kotchman are still below the Mendoza line and Lee has made only two starts and failed to win either of them–though no fault of his own.  Seattle has a long hole from which to dig out, but in the AL West it is still possible.

The common thread between all of these teams is chemistry, attitude, morale or whatever you wish to call it.  In Washington it has a single name–Pudge Rodriguez. Pudge is batting .393 and that is a big part of his contribution.  But there is also his effect on his team mates.

Everywhere he has played the team has won.  He has been an MVP, an All-Star and taken three teams to the playoffs, two to the World Series.  Jim Riggleman deserves credit  for creating a new atmosphere, but last night it was Pudge that fired up a team about to collapse to the Mets.

With the lead melting away in the ninth, he gathered the infielders at the mound for what looked like a football huddle.  They leaned in to listen to their catcher and then broke with the same fire that the Mad Hungarian used to have when he charged up the mound.  Thirty-nine year old Miguel Batista–throwing to 38 year old Pudge–proceeded to strike out Jason Bay with the tying run on second as the Nationals crept into second place over the Mets–and in New York.

Part of chemistry is chutzpah.  It is easy to spot the players who have it.  Zimmerman has always had it for the Nationals and now Rodriguez has helped him convince the rest of the Washington players that winning is possible.  Outspoken Adrian Gonzalez is making the issue of Hispanic ball players into a statement on leadership in San Diego, where the pitching staff is making the scarce runs stand up.

How long can these two “Up” teams stay afloat?  How real are these growth chutes that have lasted the spring?  John Updike called the hapless 1960 Red Sox, “a medley of incompetent youth and aging competence.”  Which of the four teams will most look like that Red Sox team at the end of September?  Time will tell and in baseball there is plenty of that.