The Baseball Barometer
Moss, Renteria and Salmon are on the rise
Baseball Perspectives
Ian Browne
May 13, 2003
Each week, MLB.com's Ian Browne takes a look around the league to provide a cheat sheet of who's up and who's down in the world of baseball.
PLAYERS RISING
Damian Moss, San Francisco Giants: It isn't that Russ Ortiz isn't doing well for the Braves. His 4-2 record and 3.60 ERA aren't far behind what GM John Schuerholz expected when he dealt Moss and minor leaguer Merkin Valdez to the Giants in exchange for Ortiz. But Moss is clearly justifying the deal from the San Francisco end. He won his first five decisions before finally losing to the Expos Monday night. The 26-year-old right-hander from Australia is 5-1 with a 2.37 ERA. He's yet to give up more than three earned runs in a start. The one area that could use improvement is his strikeouts (26) to walks (27) ratio.
Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves: With immense skills in every facet of the game, Jones appears to be putting it together for a proverbial breakout season. He has been an RBI machine for the Braves, driving in 37 runs in his first 38 games. The center fielder also has 22 runs, nine homers and a .301 average. As long as Jones has been around, you'd think he was pushing 30. Instead, he's a mere 26 years old. Few players have ever excelled quite as smoothly as Jones, who is regarded by many as the finest defensive center fielder in the game.
Edgar Renteria, St. Louis Cardinals: With little fanfare, Renteria simply produces year after year. Renteria is hitting .419 in May heading into Tuesday action. Though not in the elite class of shortstops Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter and Miguel Tejada, Renteria is Mr. Consistency. Only in 2000 did he hit below .275 in a season. Renteria has been a clutch player his entire career, a reputation started when he delivered the game-winning hit for the Marlins in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. He is hitting .360 with 30 RBIs heading into Tuesday's contest with the Reds.
Jacque Jones, Minnesota Twins: At 28 years old, Jones looks like a man ready to have his finest season. Not that he was any slouch a year ago, when he hit 27 homers and drove in 85 runs to help fuel the Twins to the AL Central title. But lately, he's been dominant. From May 6-11, Jones went 14-for-25. His average for the season stands at .343 entering Tuesday action. He is one of the league's overlooked leadoff hitters.
Tim Salmon, Anaheim Angels: The only thing missing from what has sure seemed an All-Star career is an actual All-Star appearance. Perhaps this is the year for the venerable Tim Salmon. The 34-year-old outfielder is still going strong. Through his first 35 games of the season, Salmon hit .328 with seven homers and 22 RBIs. A couple of years ago, it looked as if injuries had taken an irreversible toll on Salmon. But as it turns out, he simply wouldn't let them.
PLAYERS FALLING
Ryan Klesko, San Diego Padres: The Padres don't have enough offense to be any kind of factor when Klesko isn't performing up to par. Especially when you consider the mammoth loss of Phil Nevin, who is out for the season. The left-handed hitting Klesko has been unable to get in a sustained groove. He only has one multi-hit game this month heading into the week. His average is .252. Klesko hit .300 last season. The Padres slipped to 12-26 following Monday night's loss.
Tino Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals: Simply not the same player since he unwillingly shed his Yankee pinstripes. Last year, you could say Martinez was still getting adjusted to a new league when he hit .262 and drove in just 75 runs. But year two isn't looking much better. The average (.283) is nothing to complain about. But what happened to the production so prevalent during the Yankee years? Martinez didn't drive in a run in his first 27 at-bats of May. His last multi-RBI game was Opening Day.
Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox: It's almost inconceivable for Konerko to be performing so far below his norm. He was a rock of consistency for the White Sox the last four seasons. In 2003, the only thing consistent has been his slump. Konerko hit .230 in April with two homers and eight RBIs. In his first 37 at-bats of May, he hit .206 with no homers and three RBIs. Despite their inconsistent start, the White Sox are just 6 1/2 games back in the AL Central. But that gap won't start closing until Konerko starts finding gaps with his swing.
Glendon Rusch, Milwaukee Brewers: Back in 2000, when Rusch played a supplementary role in the Mets' run to the World Series, there was reason to think the lefty would break out one day. But Rusch has never been able to translate his good stuff into good results. He has never struggled as much as he has in recent weeks. Rusch is 1-7 with a 7.36 ERA. He's given up 10 hits or more in five of his nine starts. Rusch was shellacked for 13 hits and eight earned runs by the Cubs over just 3 1/3 innings on Monday.
Joe Kennedy, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: The Devil Rays thought Kennedy -- who turns 24 later this month -- was the most polished of their young pitchers. However, he hasn't pitched like it. The left-hander is 2-3 with a 5.79 ERA entering his start Tuesday night against the Blue Jays. Kennedy was walloped for 10 earned runs in his most recent start against the Twins. And to demonstrate his inconsistency, consider in the start before that, Kennedy fired a one-hit shutout against the Tigers.
TEAM RISING
Not sure what happened to them in April. It is becoming a moot point, as the Twins are starting to play Twins baseball again. The type that got them to the ALCS in 2002. The Twins have won 10 of their past 13 games heading into Tuesday night's game with the Royals. The Twins, who lost the opener of a four-game series to the surprising Royals Monday, have a good opportunity to trim that 3 1/2 game deficit down over the next three days. One clear reason for optimism in Minnesota is that the Twins are in striking distance despite Torii Hunter not getting hot yet.
TEAM FALLING
Jeff Torborg paid the ultimate price for the slow start of the Marlins, losing his job on Saturday. But it's hard to believe the switch to 72-year-old Jack McKeon is going to vault the Marlins into NL East contention. The bigger problem is the rash of injuries to the pitching staff. The season-ending loss of talented right-hander A.J. Burnett is the most devastating. But in the short term, left-hander Mark Redman (broken thumb) and righty Josh Beckett (sprained elbow) also are disabled.
PLAYER ON THE REBOUND
Last year, Mike Lieberthal, coming off knee surgery, was named the Comeback Player of the Year by the Sporting News. But he has come back even stronger in 2003, and now appears to be completely over his past injuries. The dependable Phillies' catcher has a .357 average with four homers and 18 RBIs. Nobody appreciates the success the Phils are having this season more than Lieberthal, who has been with the team since 1994.
SIZZLING STAT
The wind hasn't even started blowing out at Fenway Park yet, and Bill Mueller has already established himself as a doubles machine. The switch-hitting third baseman -- in his first season in Boston -- has 13 doubles in just 86 at-bats. For perspective, consider that Mueller is fifth in the AL in doubles and 108th in at-bats.
TROUBLING TREND
The Rangers are in last place in the AL West because of -- you guessed it -- pitching problems. The 160 walks issued by the Rangers are the most in the American League. The 5.90 ERA by the Rangers is the highest in baseball. Rafael Palmeiro's pursuit of No. 500 was a nice diversion from those problems, but now it is back to reality for Buck Showalter's team. The Rangers will be hard-pressed to get their pitching back on track this week, as their next six games are at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.
BIG SERIES ON THE HORIZON
The Cubs and Cardinals -- long-standing rivals -- figure to be in the mix for the NL Central all season. The first-place Cubs, who are two games ahead of the Cardinals entering Tuesday, travel to St. Louis for a four-game series that begins on Friday. Phenom Mark Prior will pitch Saturday's game. Superstar Sammy Sosa (disabled list) won't play.
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