Rockies' losses are Braves' big gains

Sporting News, The, Dec 1, 1997 by Jerry Crasnick

There was some notable fallout, National League-style, from expansion draft week--and key parts of it fell over Colorado and Atlanta.

When the dust settled, the Rockies had acquired Mike Lansing but lost free agents Walt Weiss and Andres Galarraga. And the Braves had traded first baseman Fred McGriff but signed Weiss and Galarraga.

The activity came after Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo made a splash in the desert--and stunned the league's general managers--by signing shortstop day Bell to a five-year, $34 minion contract. What Arizona gained in publicity, it lost in camaraderie.

It's hard to recall a transaction that has caused more consternation in baseball circles. One National League G.M. called the Bell contract "ridiculous." You would, too, if your team's owner kept hounding you to build a winner and keep a lid on costs.

It remains to be seen how deeply Bell's contract will resonate. In the short term, Arizona's largess couldn't prevent other general managers from acting. Once they picked their jaws off the floor and quit wringing their hands, they accomplished quite a bit:

* Colorado manager Don Baylor woke up Friday morning and discovered that half of his infield had fled to Georgia. The Braves spent $33.75 million to have first baseman Galarraga and shortstop Weiss, in their lineup through 2000.

After the Braves sent McGriff home to Tampa, manager Bobby Cox stated the obvious. "We have to get a bat," he said. Amid speculation that Brady Anderson was the Braves' prime target, G.M. John Schuerholz pulled off a surprise maneuver and landed Galarraga for three years and $24.75 million.

In Weiss and Galarraga, the Braves have two dependable defensive players and wonderful character guys. Unlike Kenny Lofton, they'll have no trouble fitting into Atlanta' clubhouse.

Galarraga, who turns 37 in June, has 88 home runs and 290 RBIs over the past two seasons. If he can hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs for the Braves, it will force Coors Field bashers to find something else to complain about

* While the Braves are improving--or at least maintaining--the rest of the N.L. East seems more concerned with warehousing pitching prospects.

The Marlins acquired Joe Fontenot, a former No. 1 draft pick, from the Giants in a trade for closer Robb Nen. Expos G.M. Jim Beattie picked up three hot pitching prospects--Carl Pavano, Jake Westbrook and John Nicholson--in trades involving Lansing and Pedro Martinez.

With the possible exception of the Diamondbacks' Joe Garagiola Jr. and the Devil Rays' Chuck LaMar, the Marlins' Dave Dombrowski granted more interview requests than any general manager in Phoenix. Dombrowski cited a curious double standard when asked if the uncertainty over Kevin Brown's contract is scaring away potential trade partners; Brown will be a free agent after the '98 season.

"If you have a guy in the last year of his contract, clubs say, 'Well, he's in the last year of his contract. We're not sure if we should give up as much,'" Dombrowski says. "If that player is signed for a few more years, clubs say, 'We're acquiring a lot of dollars, so we shouldn't give up as much.' "They'll try to use it to their benefit either way."

Fact I: The Cardinals wouldn't make a trade for Brown because they didn't want to give up pitching prospect Braden Looper as well as Manny Aybar, who made 12 starts in 1997.

Fact II: When Scott Boras, Brown's agent, says, "Kevin's not going to take any discounts, because that's not in his nature," it scares a lot of general managers out of their socks.

* Gebhard can't win either way. When he refused to trade Todd Helton or Neifi Perez for a front-line pitcher, he was criticized for being overly tenuous. After Gebhard gave up three minor leaguers for Lansing, a Denver columnist called Lansing a "journeyman second baseman."

Lansing is no journeyman. In Montreal, he has simply been overlooked. "He'll be a nice fit," Baylor says. "He's an impact type of guy. We'll feel the same about him as we do about Larry Walker. Now everybody's going to see how good a player this guy is."

The Rockies will try to shoehorn Lansing into the leadoff spot That's a slightly awkward fit But if they can take their Galarraga money and spend it on pitcher Darryl Kile, they might have to be considered the favorites in the West.

* Closer Rod Beck's long and fruitful association with the Giants didn't end on a very positive note. He wanted a four- or five-year contract, and management was thinking more along the lines of two. Thus the trade for Nen.

Nen will provide some heat, not to mention a little unpredictability, on those cold San Francisco nights. If San Diego can add a starter and Los Angeles finds the right player to fill its shortstop void, the N.L West will be a killer.

Jerry Crasnick is the national baseball writer for the Bloomberg News Service. E-mail him at crasnick@sportingnews at www.sportingnews.com and on our AOL site.