A Different Kind of Rifle-armed

The Common Man was surprised to find out, when he got home last night, that his Tivo has been making some strange suggestions. For instance, The Common Man has little use for telenovelas like El Corazon Prohibido, or for something called Degrassi: The Next Generation. However, Tivo was right in its guess that its owner would appreciate a look at the iconic Western The Rifleman. The Rifleman, which aired on ABC from 1958 to 1963, ran for 168 episodes and starred Chuck Connors. It was the story of Lucas McCain, a widower who moves with his son to New Mexico, and uses his modified Winchester rifle (which allows him to fire a bullet in .3 seconds) to help the local Marshall.

The Common Man was excited because Connors, who got his big break playing the original owner of Old Yeller in the Disney classic and led to his role in The Rifleman, also was a bit of ballplayer. Connors was originally signed by his hometown Dodgers in 1940, but enrolled in Holy Cross soon after. After being drafted by the Yankees in 1942, he was drafted by the Army and served as a tank maintenance instructor until 1945. In 1946, he convinced Branch Rickey to sign him again to a minor league contract, and played four years in the Dodgers’ minor league system (and playing in the NBA during the offseason before getting a one at-bat tryout in 1949 (he grounded into a double play).


While Connors had significant success for the Dodgers’ farm clubs through 1949, he took a significant step backward in 1950. In 1951, Connors was shipped with Dee Fondy to the Cubs, where he was assigned to the Los Angeles Angels of the PCL. Connors had great success in LA in the spring of ’51 and was called up by the Cubs to take over for a faltering Fondy at 1B. He was given a disastrous extended trial as a 30 year old rookie, hitting .239/.282/.303 and 2 HR in 215 plate appearances. The next year, Connors was sent back to LA, where he struggled with injuries and eventually retired.

Before he did, Connors’ square jaw, on-field antics, and wavy hair were noticed by a fan in the entertainment industry. The unnamed fan inspired Connors to try acting after his baseball career was over. His success in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, however, dried up as the public moved on from straight-laced, earnest John Wayne-types and embraced the darker, more rebellious, anti-establishment heroes played by Eastwood, Newman, Beatty, and Redford. Connors retreated to occasional movie roles (as the father in Flipper, and the heavy in Soylent Green, and The Sarge in Airplane II) and guest spots on Spencer: For Hire, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Murder, She Wrote.

The life of Chuck Connors, despite reaching the pinnacle of both of his chosen professions, is something of a disappointment. Connors clearly had the talent to play major league ball; his minor league stats are Andre Ethier-like (low .300s BA, 15-25 HR/year power), particularly impressive given the developmental time he missed in college and in the Army. By the time he got back to playing ball full time, Connors was 25, and only got a real shot at 30. And while his good looks made him a terrific hero for early-TV Western morality plays, his limited range and lack of emotion left him unable to adjust to the changing needs of Hollywood following his short peak. If Connors had debuted in the early ‘40s, in either field, he might have truly become a legend and a household name.

Connors died in 1992 from pneumonia related to lung cancer. He was 71.

The Fork

The Common Man wishes the Twins would just go ahead and make up their freaking minds already. On Saturday night, with the Twins a game under .500 and seemingly inventing new ways to lose against the A's and Angels, The Common Man was all set to trade Michael Cuddyer, the Twins lone tradeable commodity likely to bring back real talent (Mauer and Morneau are fixtures whose trade would timewarp the Twins fanbase back to 2000, and the rotation is doing poorly enough (and has enough health concerns) that dealing a starter is unlikely to get good value back, and most of the bullpen has negligible trade value). With the team floundering, and little on the farm likely to bring back the kind of middle infield upgrade the Twins desperately need (Ben Revere's lack of power makes him less than an ideal chip and he seems to be regarded as the future in Minny, last year's #1 pick, Aaron Hicks, has struggled in A-ball (though he's just 19), and 21-year old Wilson Ramos left his plate discipline in Fort Myers (138 PA for AA New Britain, 3 BB). Shooter Hunt looks lost, Carlos Gutierrez is still learning to be a starter, and Deolis Guerra is suddenly on fire in AA after disappointing for the last year and a half). The Twins have a bunch of flawed prospects, none of whom figure to be centerpiece quality for a blockbuster deal that will help Minnesota leapfrog both Detroit and Chicago.

Then the Twins go off and win 3 straight, including two against the White Sox, and now sit just 2 games back of Detroit. Mark Grudzielanek is hitting .333 in Rookie Ball (just 2 games, of course, but it sounds impressive). Jesse Crain has pitched well since coming back to the majors, lending some stability to the Twins pen. And now The Common Man has visions of October again (they're horrifying visions of being swept out of the playoffs by the Yankees, but still).

This is an exceedingly frustrating and confusing team...and the interwebz bear this out. Gleeman is seemingly waving a white flag (or at least a caution flag), and arguing against giving up farmhands for help. Neyer says it's too early to give up. Bill, from The Daily Something, or somebody really needs to step in here and break the tie. Because The Common Man is paralyzed by his own frustration and fervent fandom here. He wants to see this team win, but this club has angered The Common Man far more than any Twins squad in recent memory (grr...Gomez at the plate, Casilla, Punto, Young everywhere, all the injuries, Luis Ayala before he was jettisoned, Bill Smith's refusal to upgrade the bullpen). What say you, readers? Do the Twins go for broke or sell anything that isn't locked down or has sideburns? This team needs a direction.

Karma Police Strike Again

Karma sucks sometimes (though, by its very nature, The Common Man supposes it's a good thing just as often).

Last night, The Common Man was merrily watching the Twins beat the Oakland A's on his birthday. But because of the game's late start and the fact that The Common Man was bound and determined to spend a few hours of quality time with The Uncommon Wife, a totally hot scientist who has a grant due this week and so is mostly unavailable, The Common Man forsook his Twinkies after the 5th and headed upstairs to the boudoir. After all, how likely was it that the Twins would let an 11 run lead get away?


Huh? Oh.

The good news, I suppose, is that The Common Man didn't find out about it until this morning, when it was already too late to ruin his birthday. But still, The Common Man considers it a karmic bitch slap for embracing his inner Dodger fan and leaving early, and for making fun of Alexi Casilla's miserable birthday (Casilla's horrible day continued, as he and Nick Punto were the only Twins starters not to get a hit yesterday, combining to go 0-for-8 with a walk). Yuck.

Lost in all the talk about the A's comeback (it was epic) and the boning of the Twins by umpire Mike Muchlinski (which, after giving up an 11-run lead, let's face it, they kind of deserved), The Common Man wants to extend a hearty congratulations to the A's bullpen, who held Minnesota to just two runs (one earned) over 6.1 innings (and no runs over the last 4.2). Craig Breslow got some karmic love himself, getting a win in relief over the team that mistakenly cast him aside earlier this year.

And while Breslow and the A's pen deserve credit for silencing the Twins, perhaps their success had less to do with their awesomeness and more to do with them not being Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez again showed he's not ready for the big time, giving up 10 hits, 4 homers, and 11 runs in just 2.2 innings. In 61 career innings, Gio's got an 8.41 ERA, largely due to 16 homers and 42 walks. At just 23, he's still got time to adjust, but for now it's clear that Gonzalez is not good enough to pitch to hitters like Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, and Michael Cuddyer. So while all the offense was nice, The Common Man is skeptical given virtually all of it came off a guy who throws beachballs.

Tonight, The Common Man is going to try to get some karma back, watching the contest on Gameday in bed instead of on the big screen in the basement, with The Boy beside him because he doesn't want to sleep in his big boy bed. Stay tuned to see if his good deed goes unpunished.

One Great Birthday Ruins Another

The Common Man figured that there would be no better day for his grand re-blogging than the day of his birth, and this being that, he’s good to go. The Common Man hopes you’ll come back and enjoy the blog. The Common Man regrets his absence, generally caused by the crazy-high level of activity at work, the crazy-high level of activity of a two-and-a-half year old. Blogging, The Common Man is afraid, fell by the wayside. Totes The Common Man's bad, y'all.

Anyway, it's been a good birthday for The Common Man, who got up before The Boy and was able to make and eat his asiago-cheese bagel with no two-and-a-half year olds clamoring for a bite, little fingers stretched upwards, straining toward the grainy goodness, grasping at the air. Grainy Goodness.

The Common Man also had time to make The Uncommon Wife's coffee (The Common Man is not exempt from this sacred ritual, even on his birthday, despite the fact he hates coffee). Then he had some essential help from said Uncommon Wife getting The Boy ready for school and got out of the house relatively close to on time. Work, as The Common Man mentioned, has settled down for the near future to a manageable level. And dinner was enjoyed by all at a local establishment that serves Blatz in a can for $1.50/can. You can't go wrong with Blatz, people.

Blatz. You know you want it.

What made the day great (so fars), however, is the news that the Twins are finally, finally addressing their middle infield deficiency. Now, they're doing it by signing a 39-year old, oft-injured, definition of mediocre free agent who hasn't played since last season, but it's something. If he's capable of playing close to his level last year, Mark Gurdzielanek represents an upgrade. Now, it's not as good as if the Twins traded for the Pittsburgh Pirates' disgruntled duo, but it's a start.

Which one of us has to be Robin?

That said, what is a great birthday present for The Common Man, is the world's worst birthday present for The Common Man's fellow Cancer and July 20 birthday celebrant, Alexi Casilla. Casilla is, of course, the Twins' current second baseman, whose horrific and humiliating play at the plate and in the field has led the Twins to seek help from a creaky-kneed old-timer, who's going to be the singular cause of the team going over its names-on-the-backs-of-uniforms sewing budget.

See? That's a huge name!

Casilla, despite an acceptable performance last year (at least at the plate, where he had a 94 OPS+, in the field he was almost 12 runs below replacement level), has dropped into the abyss, "hitting" .176/.237/.216 (a 25 OPS+!) and managing to be almost 6 runs below replacement level despite playing in only 37 games.

Another bunt? You're not even trying anymore, are you?

Casilla has even received the kiss of death from the great Aaron Gleeman, who pointed out in early May that

"at this point waiting for that guy from early last season to return is wishful thinking. His production in the high minors was anything but impressive and he's basically been a replacement-level player through 187 games in the majors, posting a measly .619 OPS while playing mediocre, mistake-filled defense. Aside from those two months last season, nothing Casilla has done in the past three years predicts long-term success."

Whether it's because of basic crappiness or Casilla never really recovered from his thumb injury last year, it's clear Casilla isn't going to help the Twins soon.

Still, despite the undeniable truth that Casilla has earned being "fired" from the second base job, The Common Man can't imagine a crappier present on your birthday. Twins GM Bill Smith must've come around the corner this morning and smirked,

B.S.: "Congratulations, Alexi, on turning 25. Here's someone we just hired, who does the same exact job as you, but better. Let's see how this works out. Oh, here's a card."

A.C.: "Que? No hay pastel?"

mmmm...cake

Slotting Pujols

Way back in 2001, a plucky young writer named Bill James published his magnum opus, his 1,000 page classic New Historical Baseball Abstract. In it, he traipses across baseball history, providing vignettes and anecdotes about the players and events that tickle his fancy. He also spends a good two-thirds of the book explaining his new analytical tool (win shares) and using it to rank the best 100 players at each position.

The Common Man's buddy Bill brought this all up last week, in his examination of Jeff Bagwell (who comes in at #4 among 1B) and Frank Thomas (#10) and comes to the conclusion that Bagwell was the better all around player (which was James' conclusion as well).


This prompted some confusion for The Common Man, who couldn't mentally get past Jeff Bagwell as the 4th best 1B ever. In the comment section, he wrote, "I love me some Bill James, but we've got to be able to find four better 1B than Jeff Bagwell, can't we? I can't quite wrap my mind around him being an inner circle HOF guy." Bill responded and effectively challenged that, pointing out a lack of candidates to unseat Bags. Gehrig and Foxx are obvious. James puts McGwire at #3 (Bagwell probably moved past him with three good years after the publication of the book). After Bagwell, James has Eddie Murray at #5, Johnny Mize (6, much more reasonable than The Common Man figured, after looking back). Harmon Killebrew was #7, Hank Greenberg is 8, and Willie McCovey is 9. Nobody really stands out as better than Bagwell.

But before anybody on that list really settles down and gets too comfortable, let's talk about this Albert Pujols guy who was not yet a twinkle in Bill James' eye in 2000-2001. Indeed, in 2001, Pujols was unanimously voted the NL Rookie of the Year, and excelled as a four-corners super sub (though he played 161 games) for Tony LaRussa's Cardinals. Two MVPs, four silver sluggers, a gold glove and seven all star appearances later, Pujols is 29 and enjoying his best season yet. His OPS+ is a Bondsian 198. He's homering every 13.5 plate appearances (16 in 216). His defense seems to have taken a hit so far this year, but Albert hasn't ever given back runs in the field in his career and isn't likely to across a full season at age 29. His career hitting numbers .335/.427/.626, 351 2B, 335 HR, 1019 RBI, 989 R, and 1588 hits are incredible for just 8+ years in, not even accounting for his career 171 OPS+. Yesterday, Matt Waters and Rob Neyer ran through their All-'00s team, and Pujols was prominently displayed. Neyer wrote "Pujols has absolutely zero competition, and must be the easiest choice here." Indeed, if he had the requisite 10 years, Pujols would probably be a shoe-in for the Hall, despite playing in an extreme offensive era, particularly because the stain of PED use has yet to touch his golden reputation (though, admittedly, you never know).

So, at this point, the question for The Common Man becomes, where does Pujols belong on James' list? Assuming that no one else is added from this era (yet, though Morneau, Ortiz, Howard, Fielder, Helton, Giambi, Konerko, Thome, Delgado, and Teixeira may have something to say about it already), where can we safely slot Pujols among the greatest of all time?

It's pretty clear to The Common Man that Pujols should already be in the top 12. Given the troubles with assessing 19th century players (which The Common Man has gone into before, he would err on the side of caution with players like Cap Anson (who is #11 for James). And Don Mattingly (#12, James' worst choice in the book), with respect, is not fit to carry Albert's jock. Given the defensive upgrade, and the peak value, and the fact that Pujols has created about 65% of the runs in 55% of the plate appearances as Thomas has, Albert probably edges ahead of The Big Hurt at #10.

McCovey's three best seasons ('68-'71) stack up with the best of Pujols' work very nicely. That said, the body of Pujols' work outside of those years is far less impressive. Stretch has an OPS+ of 146 before those three years, and 126 after. Pujols' lowest single season OPS+ is 151. The sheer dominance of Albert is too much to ignore here (note, Thomas probably also shoots past McCovey).

Hank Greenberg, at #8, is a tougher case. His counting stats (1628 H, 331 HR, 379 2B, 1276 RBI, 1051 R) are remarkably similar to Pujols' (see above). And Greenberg suffers from losing four years in his early 30s to military service. Just because he's 29 though, and still going, and is already marginally ahead of Greenberg, The Common Man's gotta push Albert up past him.

It pains The Common Man to say this, but in terms of peak value (and not even thinking about defense), Albert Pujols is already light years ahead of Harmon Killebrew (James' #7). Partial though The Common Man is to Harmon's plight, and cognizant of his adventures at 3B and LF (which drag down his overall contribution to his team and for which he shouldn't be blamed (Harmon was about as good a LF as a post...or Delmon Young, but the Twins kept looking for ways to create at bats for Rich Reese, among others), Pujols has been a far more complete player, and elite player, than Harmon ever was (The Common Man will now go scourge his back with his Twins-flail).

Johnny Mize is a tough call too. His peak is comparable to Pujols, but it's shorter and not easily bunched together. That said, Mize missed his 30-32 seasons to WWII, which would have presumably extended that peak, helped his overall counting stats, and raised his OPS+. We don't have advanced defensive stats for Mize, but his reputation preceeds him, as one of the sweetest fielders ever around the bag. It's probably fitting that, until Pujols does more to assert himself, he stays right about here. Call him #6b, and Mize #6a.


There's little doubt that Pujols will move past The [Original] Big Cat soon, perhaps by the end of the year. And depending on how you feel about Mark McGwire, he could be sneaking up on #4 as well. Eddie Murray probably is safe for another season or two, which means that Bagwell's ok for now. But with, presumably, 5 more prime or just-off-prime seasons left to go, and maybe another 3-5 beyond that, it's likely that Pujols will move into the top 3 all time before he's done. Whether he's actually able to push aside the twin colossuses of Gehrig and Foxx will be fun to watch.

Random Thursday: Joe Smarza

So, this week, fate played a funny joke on The Common Man. When he spun up the randomizer, he found himself face to face with Joe Smaza, an outfielder who got a two-game cup of coffee with the White Sox in 1946. Smaza batted five times, getting a single hit and scoring two runs. Because there is no play-by-play or boxscore data available from Retrosheet, we don't know about either of his appearances. From his minor league record, Smarza looks like a slap-hitting outfielder in the Scott Podsednik mode, who might have been able to hold down a 5th outfield job if he had the chance.

The Sox in those years weren't all that exciting either. In 1947, Chicago was in the third year of a seven year run of finishing under .500. Jimmie Dykes, their long-time manager, was fired some time between the 20th and 22nd of May when the team was 10-20, and was replaced by former ace and future Hall-of-Famer Ted Lyons (for whom the team went 64-60), who became player-manager but only pitched 5 games that year (going 1-4 with 5 CG and a 2.32 ERA). Smarza's teammates, aside from Lyons, would have included SS Luke Appling (still going strong at age 40), 1B Joe Kuhel (who was about to hang it up at 40), OF Wally Moses (who, at 35, was settling into the decline phase of his career), 1B Hal Trosky (who made an abortive attempt to come back after WWII), Ed Lopat (who would become an ace of the Yankees staff during their five year championship run from 1949-1953), and Bill Dickey's little brother George (who pretty clearly didn't inheret the talent in that family).

And that's all we know about Joe Smarza's baseball career. Eventually, Joe hung it up and returned to his native Michigan. He died in 1979 at the age of 56. Presumably, he had people who loved him and whose lives he touched. But the trail is cold. Sometimes, randomness hits dead ends. Of the '46 Sox, only Ralph Hodgin, Dave Philley, and Tom Jordan are still alive.

Memory

Today, as you undoubtedly already know, has been Memorial Day, and if you have served or are serving as a soldier, sailor, marine, or...um...Air Force guy, The Common Man thanks you for your sacrifice. The following entry is offered in the spirit of the day, at the end of the day, because now The Boy is finally asleep.

Understandably, when Memorial Day rolls around every year, baseball fans think of the Ted Williamses, Cecil Travises, and Bob Fellers, stars who saw combat in World War II and risked their lives for the United States and their fellow soldiers. These men are genuine heroes, and any amount of praise and attention they get will not be enough. That said, their heroism and service tends to overshadow the contributions of other ballplayers in other wars both because of the epic nature of the larger struggle and their legendary status as players. Here are a few of those players:

John Titus (OF, 1903-1913, Spanish-American War)

Titus was one of the best hitters on a decent string of Philadelphia Phillies teams in the early 20th century. Playing the outfield corners, Titus hit .282/.373/.385 in the Deadball Era, good for a 127 OPS+. At the time, Titus was probably one of the 15 most valuable hitters in the league. His mustache (he was supposedly the last man in the league to sport a handlebar mustache) was in the top five all by itself. Titus was considered a veteran of the Spanish-American War in 1898, in which the United States gained control of Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

Gabby Street (C, 1904-1905, 1908-1912, 1931, Spanish-American War, World War I)

Street was Walter Johnson's personal catcher for four years in Washington. While doing little to distinguish himself as a player, he famously caught a ball dropped from the Washington Monument as a publicity stunt (people have always been easy to impress) and appeared as a pinch hitter at the ripe age of 48. Street also managed the Gas House Cardinals for three and two-thirds seasons from 1930-1933, finishing with two pennants and a World Championship and a .563 winning percentage in the National League.

Sammy Strang (IF, 1896, 1900-1908, Spanish-American War, World War I)

Strang was a minor star for the Giants and the Dodgers in the first decade of the 20th century. After a solid rookie year for the Giants in 1901, he jumped to the new Chicago White Sox, but jumped back to the National League before the end of the season. Released by the Chicago Orphans, he signed as a free agent with Brooklyn, before becoming John McGraw's supersub from 1905 through 1907. He led the National League with a .423 OBP in 1906 and managed a career OPS+ of 113. Bill James estimates that Strang was the smallest player of the 1900s, weighing in at around 120 pounds. Despite his leprechan-like size, Strang served as an infantry captain in World War I.

Eddie Grant (3B, 1905, 1907-1915, World War I)

Grant was a defense-first 3B for the Phillies, Reds, and Giants, back before 3B primarily became an offensive position. Grant was a relatively light hitter, posting an OBP above .300 in just four of his nine full seasons, and a SLG above .300 just three times.
(not to disparage our fine fighting men, but Grant could easily have been included in our discussion of ugly players a few weeks back)

Grant was Harvard-educated, and would go on to practice law after his playing career finished. Grant became the first former major leaguer to enlist in the Army after the war broke out in 1917 (though Hank Gowdy joined before the war started), became a Captain in the 307th infantry regiment, and was sent to France. During the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the last Allied push of the war, Grant's company was sent forward to help rescue a "lost" battalion behind German lines. Grant's commanding officer was killed and Grant became the new C.O. Soon thereafter, Grant was also struck by mortar shells and was killed instantly. He was the first former major leaguer killed in wartime action. The Giants memorialized Eddie with a monument in deep centerfield, and placed a wreath there every Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. Sadly, the Grant memorial was destroyed by careless fans who pillaged the Polo Grounds following New York's final home game in 1957.

Al Bumbry (CF, 1972-1985, Vietnam War)

Bumbry was drafted in the 11th round in the 1968 amateur draft. In 1973, he won the Rookie of the Year award when he hit .337/.398/.500 and led the American League in triples for the AL East champion Orioles. From 1969 through 1971, however, Bumbry was drafted and serving as a platoon leader in Vietnam, where he won a Bronze Star. Despite the late start to his career, Bumbry played 13 years for the Orioles and one for the Padres, and hit .281/.343/.378 for his career (104 OPS+), with 254 SB while playing a pretty decent centerfield. He never really approached the heights that that first season suggested, but Bumbry was a very good player for a long time, and a war hero to boot.

Garry Maddox (CF, 1972-1986, Vietnam War)

As good as Bumbry was, Maddox seemed to consistently do him one better. In '68, Maddox was drafted in the 2nd round by the Giants, but was drafted by Uncle Sam and sent to Vietnam from 1969-1970. While Maddox became known primarily for his exceptional defense, a close second was his excellent and bushy beard, which helped Philadelphia fans differentiate him from Greg Luzinski. Indeed, the beard was and is iconic, but also necessary. While in Vietnam, exposure to chemicals made his skin extremely sensitive, and he used the beard to protect himself. For his career, Maddox hit .285/.320/.413 (100 OPS+) for the Giants and Phillies while providing the best defense in the National League.