Tony Phillips 1995

In 1994, Bill Bavasi's Anaheim Angels were -21 below .500 ... in a strike-shortened season. For 1995, he brought in the scary-tempered, controversial Tony Phillips -- and the Angels ran away with the division (until the M's miracle). Mariners Wheelhouse points out the parallel to Carl Everett at the usual hangout (SportSpot): Da Spot Bavasi comments on Phillips: Q: So was his intensity somewhat contagious? He is THE single most influential and best player I’ve been around... What put getting Phillips over the edge for us was Matt Keough who played with him said, “I guarantee he will made Jim Edmonds and J.T. Snow and other guys better players. He will absolutely influence them and drive them hard”. That put it over the edge for me. There was a time during that year Tony had something like seven cortisone shots in his hamstring just to stay on the field. And he was driving Edmonds…you can look at Edmonds’ career, that was the big jump. J.T. Snow didn’t always over-perform that year but Tony would go into the training room and flush any player out, get them out on the field, and say, "what are you doing in here"…we’re playing today, you are playing. That was the big jump (for the team). Tony has had his struggles in different parts of his life, but this guy made me think I could be a GM because of the way we played that year. That was our first significant trade…more nerve wracking than a free agent signing. Tony absolutely made that deal work. I’d give a bunch of players for one of those guys. . Don' Mess Wif MY Money, Bro', Dept. The 2004-2005 Sonics improved by 89 games, or something, based on exactly two significant additions: 1) They added a backup point guard. 2) They added a big inner-city guy with a scary temper who didn't like playing with pantywaists. ========== What Were You THINKING, Bill?, Dept. Bill told us what he was thinking, but we waved him off, because he didn't tell us what we were thinking. He told us that Carl Everett would be a credible threat from the left side (which he will), and that he would make the players around him better (which he will). We have proceeded to analyze eighty-five kinds of statisticial trees, and lost sight of two simple forests: 1) Carl Everett will hit 25+ homers at Safeco, and 2) Carl Everett will restore a Lou Piniella presence to the dugout. . Eight Key Decisions Dept. Bill James stated that Theo Epstein's year would turn out well based on a critical 8-to-10 decisions each year. This year, for Bavasi, those included: 1. Johjima 2. Easy Eddie 3. The #2 SP 4. The #3 SP 5. The LF 6. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE WUSSY TEAM PERSONALITY Amigos asked Dr. D all the time: "If we get Millwood and Burnett, does that make us a 90-win team?" I said, all the time, "on paper, yes, but with this team you never know. There is a huge, overarching negative: the team plays gutless. It underperforms. It is always -6 under Pythag and that is no accident." The Mariners could have made EVERY roster move perfectly, and been torpedoed by the overarching negative that they are not in it to win it -- that they play soft. Bavasi's decision about what to do about the team character, sez Padna and I, matter more than every other offseason decision put together. . Everett Is The Hammer To That Nail Most saberdweebs believe in leadership like they believe in Santa Claus. But most saberdweebs watch sports from behind computer monitors and horn-rimmed glasses. (We mean that in a good way). Most saberdweebs have never been in an important sports tournament. Most saberdweebs have never had a very large inner-city brother go haywire and get in their face, on the bench, after they have screwed up. Most saberdweebs are blind to the fact that a Danny Fortson / Carl Everett type can, and does, scare his teammates into having an idea out there. Bill James said, after 2004, that if it had not been for the Red Sox' team leadership, that there would have been no title run -- that it was absolutely the difference-maker in their coolness and focus under fire. The 2003-04 Sonics, without Fortson, played as soft as a jelly roll. The 04-05 Sonics, with Fortson, played like lions. The 2004 and 2005 Mariners played so soft it made you nauseous. The 2006 Mariners will not. . Won't Be the First Time, Dept. Does Carl Everett's "ability to make his teammates better" show up at all in the win column? In 1994, the New York Mets won 55 games. In 1995, Carl Everett was traded to the Mets and they won 69 ... an improvement of +14 games. In 1997, the Houston Astros had won 84 games. In 1998, Carl Everett joined them and they won 102 ... that's +18 games. In 2000, Everett was traded to Boston... although Everett hit .300/.373/.587 in CF, their rotation went up like a mushroom cloud, and the team lost 9 more games, finishing 2nd again. ...we're not saying that Carl Everett is more important than all the other 24 players, or that he is the only factor in a won-lost record. We're saying that he can help a non-focused team focus. That seemed to be the case in Houston and New York, but in Boston he made no difference despite his MVP season. In 2002, Everett joined an old Texas team (Pudge, Raffy, Juan Gone) that was bickering about ARod's contract, and made no difference (they won the same number of games). In 2003, he was traded in July to the White Sox, who were below .500 at the time. They immediately went 17-9 in July and were much better in the 2nd half than in the 1st. In 2004, he signed with the Expos, who got much worse (for many reasons). In 2004, the White Sox traded for him again -- very significantly -- and in the big picture, Carl Everett helped them win a World Series the next year. . In Which Category Are The Mariners?, Dept. Danny Fortson did not turn around every team he ever joined. To exploit Fortson's leadership ability, you need the right match, that being an unfocused team in search of some toughness. The Pudge-Raffy-JuanGone-ARod Rangers weren't going to respond to ANYbody's leadership. Neither were the castaway-on-a-raft Montreal Expos. But who WOULD be a good match for Carl Everett's leadership? I dunno. You might start with his Astro teams, or with his White Sox team. Or if you can see him as a 3-D human being for one second, with both strengths AND weaknesses, it might occur to you that the 2005 Mariners needed PRECISELY the kind of Lou Piniella injection that you can find in Carl Everett. . Hit 'Em Here, Dept. Everett hit 23 homers last year, and I count 7 more of his Chicago doubles that were out of Safeco. He will hit big homers in Safeco and he will yell at his teammates to get their heads in the cotton-pickin' game. He does not add runs compared to a Winn or a Jones -- he's a sideways move offensively -- But he adds some Fortson. The runs will have to come from someplace else. Like, maybe from the other 24 guys when Everett marches up and down the dugout all year. LOL. Cheers, Jeff