Seriously, if there is anyone reading this who actually knows Eric Byrnes, please send him a copy.

Byrnesie,

The Diamondbacks won their game against the Dodgers on July 19, 2006 and I saw most of it. I should be thrilled with what I saw. Miguel Batista pitched a complete game shutout. With all the emphasis on pitch counts, closers, etc., we don’t see many of those anymore. But Batista is a pitcher of the old school, who goes out each time with the intent to pitch a complete game, and sometimes, like tonight, he does it. I love complete games.

Gonzo passed Willie Mays on the all-time doubles list. Greenie homered. Stephen Drew had THREE extra-base hits. The D’Backs blew out the Dodgers 8-0.

And with you hitting two singles and scoring a run, I should have been happy with your performance. But instead, I am furious and hoping that Bob Melvin, Mike Aldrete, Chad Tracy and Luis Gonzalez at minimum are furious too. Most of all, I hope you are furious with yourself for your at-bat in the 6th inning, and I hope that you learned a valuable lesson from it.

Stephen Drew was on third with one out. Joe Beimel was on the mound. You and Beimel both knew that any type of hit or a deep enough fly ball would drive in Drew. You and Beimel both remembered what happened the last time you met; you hit the first pitch he threw you into an Angelino’s beer in left-center field. So this time he was determined not to give you anything good to hit. But you were determined to get a hit anyway. You swung at two balls way outside the zone and eventually hit a weak 4-3 that left Drew on third. He later scored on a balk, and the run wasn’t needed for the victory anyway. But while you did not cost your team a victory, you did a lot of damage to yourself with your stubbornness.

By refusing Beimel’s invitation to take first base, 1) you handed the Dodgers an out they weren’t even looking for at the moment, 2) you lowered your batting average, and 3) you looked incompetent.

The really great hitters know that there are times when they are the ones to drive in the runs, like the other night when you hit the 3-run homer, and then there are other times when they need to be willing to walk and let the guys behind them drive in the runs.  That’s why hitters like Moises Alou, Manny Ramirez and Scott Rolen are so important to their teams. They drive in the runs when the guys ahead of them get walked intentionally or semi-intentionally. Beimel knew you could be trouble for him. You needed to let him give you first base and let Tracy and Gonzo do what they could do.

Taking a walk would have 1) not cost your team an out, 2) not driven your batting average down, 3) upped your OBP, and 4) put you in a position to possibly score another run if one of your teammates could deliver.  And this turned out to be the kind of night where a lot of your guys were delivering.   

More than anything, it would have shown that you understood the situation. Beimel remembered what you had done the last time he faced you, so he made an adjustment by making sure he didn’t give you anything too good to hit. You, however, did not make the corresponding adjustment of taking his wide ones. You tried to force the situation, having made up your mind that you were going to swing at what he threw, in an effort to repeat what happened a couple of nights ago, i.e. that  you were the guy who broke the game open. You should have known better than that. You know the strike zone. I have seen you take pitches much closer than the ones you swung at tonight. This wasn’t an instance of being fooled by the pitches, this was an instance of you being stubborn and impatient and refusing to understand the value of taking a walk in this situation.

You usually bat 2nd or leadoff, the table-setting positions, not the typical lineup holes for someone who shares the team lead in homers, leads the team in slugging percentage, gets an extra base hit over 45% of the time he gets a hit, and is second on the team in doubles. I keep stats on your day-to-day performance, so I understand and share your frustration. I would like to see you batting fifth. But you are not there, probably because of the fact that, for someone with your slugger stats, you’re a little light in the RBI department.

In a sense, that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. As a lead-off or two hitter, you often come up with no one on base. But you are also not as "clutch" as others with comparable slugging stats are. Trouble is that trying to force the situation is not the way to up your RBI totals. It’s like when you get it into your head that you have pull everything, even though you have the skill to hit to the opposite field. When you get into that level of stubbornness, your batting average goes down because the pitchers, counting on that stubbornness, throw outside pitches that when pulled, end up as grounders to third and short.

Being a contact hitter, and someone who is willing to walk if necessary, should not be at odds with being a slugger. You have the physical strength to hit hard, you have the knowledge of the game to understand what the pitcher is trying to do to you. What you need now is the emotional make up necessary to go with what the pitcher gives, being ready for him to make the mistake. Don’t give him another advantage by being desperate to prove you can drive in the runs that are expected of someone in the heart of the order, which is where your slugging stats suggest you should be. Goodness knows that pitchers have enough advantages as it is.

A BB always looks better in the box score, and on The Eric Byrnes Pitch Count Report, than a 4-3.

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA

Note to Chad: Consider this the long article on Byrnes for which you have been waiting.

[M]y concern here is whether [DTLFL] will still count as an Arizona blog come the trade deadline… –Jim McLennan, AZ Snakepit, July 11, 2006.

With the 2006 All Star Game now in the history books, the next red letter day on baseball’s calendar is July 31, the non-waiver trade deadline.

If the best trades make both teams better, there are several arguments to be made in favor of the San Francisco Giants trading starter Jason Schmidt to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Eric Byrnes. Whether two teams contending for the same playoff spot would trade with each other is another story.

Why the Giants need Byrnes: According to the mid-term report filed by mlb.com reporter Rich Draper, the Giants need a right-handed power hitter. Byrnesie is not a big homer hitter. But his current 12 would put him in a three-way tie for second on the Giants with Barry Bonds, a lefty, and Ray Durham, a switch-hitting infielder. Pedro Feliz, a right-handed infielder, leads the Giants with 15. (Byrnes is second on the D’Backs with 12 and has had 3 potential homers taken from him by fine outfield plays, two by Giants). Byrnes’ 23 doubles would lead the Giants. (Feliz has 21). Note that Feliz, as of this writing, has 350 ABs, while Byrnes has only 274.

Byrnes’ .522 SLG and .292 AVG would be second only to Moises Alou’s .567 SLG and .307 AVG. But Alou, one of the game’s great right-handed hitters, turned 40 on July 3 and he has been brittle this year, appearing in only 38 games and having only 140 ABs so far.

Byrnesie’s current XBH/H is .463, which means that 46% of the time he gets a hit, it’s an extra-base hit. The Giants could use that. Bonds’ XBH/H is .489, but he has only had 189 ABs. (And if he gets indicted for perjury he might not have many more ABs). Alou’s XBH/H is .372, but again, he’s been brittle. Winn’s XBH/H is .355 and Finley is right behind him at .354.

Age is definitely an issue in the Giants outfield. Byrnes is 30 and not brittle. He’s also not played as much as other guys approaching their sixth anniversary in MLB, so you can call him "well-preserved." By contrast, Barry Bonds turns 42 on July 24. He can’t run anymore. He has a sore back, an elbow full of bone chips and a .249 batting average. Steve Finley is in good shape, but he’s 41 and not the hitter he used to be. On 262 ABs, he’s batting .248, slugging .408 and his OBP is .317. Byrnes, with 274 ABs is batting .292, slugging .522 and his OBP is .352. Byrnes has only four fewer total bases (143 to 147) than the 32 year-old Randy Winn, (which means they’d be tied in TB if Winn hadn’t taken that homer from Byrnes on April 29. :- ) Hey Giants fans, picture Winn and Byrnes playing with each other rather than against each other. Byrnesie typically has done well in "Whatever They’re Calling It This Year" Park.

Getting Eric Byrnes would also be a great PR move for the Giants. They would be bringing home a popular local guy who rooted for the Giants as a kid. Byrnesie is established as a guest host with the local Giants sports-talk radio station KNBR. He’s articulate and not surrounded by scandal. Giants media relations should be salivating at the prospect of Eric Byrnes joining the Giants.

Why the Diamondbacks would let go of Byrnes: All they were really looking for when they signed him was someone who would be a high-energy presence in the clubhouse in 2006—Orlando Hudson also fills that function—who would not drop too many balls in CF while Chris Young got seasoned in Triple A. They were not expecting him to be one of the team’s leading hitters. Byrnes is one behind Chad Tracy for the team lead in homers, with nowhere near the number of K’s Tracy has. He’s one behind Luis Gonzalez for the team lead in doubles. Byrnes leads the Snakes in SLG and XBH/H and he’s third on the team in BA, all while being only sixth in ABs with 274. No. 5, SS Craig Counsell, has 304 ABs.

The Diamondbacks really don’t have any long-range plans for Byrnes. They signed Byrnesie to a one-year deal and retained the rights to 2007no doubt for just this contingency: that if he turned out better than they expected—he’s batting about 30 points above his career average–they could get some trade value for him. But while 30 is young for the Giants, it’s old for the D’Backs. They have a bunch of outfield prospects: Chris Young, Carlos Quentin, Scott Hairston, and eventually Justin Upton, who was moved from SS to CF, who are all waiting for the veterans to get out of the way.

D’Backs manager Bob Melvin, who just got a contract extension, doesn’t appreciate Byrnesie’s right-handedness. The Diamondbacks have the most left-handed-laden lineup in the majors. And four switch-hitters to boot. Supposedly, part of the reason Byrnesie was acquired was to balance that lineup. But Melvin is always looking for an excuse to start the switch-hitting Jeff DaVanon, who bats far better from the left side than from the right. Although DaVanon plays all three outfield positions, most of his starts have come at Byrnesie’s expense, even during times when corner outfielders Shawn Green and Luis Gonzalez have slumped. While it’s true that Byrnes’ batting average is significantly higher against southpaws, Melvin overlooks the fact that a lot of Byrnesie’s power-hitting (75% of his homers and 61% of his doubles) has come off right-handed pitching.

In the Diamondbacks Mid-term report, this was MLB.com reporter Steve Gilbert’s "Fearless second-half prediction": The D-Backs will call up some of their top prospects before September, and they will give the club an energy boost. In his MLBlog, The Tao of Steve, which has hosted answers to the "when should the D’Backs bring up the prospects" question, Gilbert also said: Couple of things to keep in mind… Gonzo is not going to be easy to trade. He’s got that no-trade protection and will likely want something in return (probably his $10 million option for next year picked up) in order to agree to a deal. Shawn Green is owed roughly a little over $11 million next year (I don’t have my contract figures with me here in Pittsburgh) and has a no-trade clause that basically allows him to be traded to three West Coast teams. So making room in the outfield this year is not going to be easy.

As I said in a comment on Steve’s blog, this tells me that Byrnesie is vulnerable either to be benched or traded if the D’Backs want to bring up their prospects. I would rather see him traded than benched.

The situation in the corner outfield positions might also appear to make fourth outfielder Jeff DaVanon vulnerable. But on April 14, Melvin made it clear in an online chat that he likes DaVanon for reasons that go beyond the hot spring training he had:

joe_Drake: Coach Melvin, I have noticed Jeff DaVanon getting some regular playing time. Is Eric Byrnes hurting or is DaVanon just doing the job?

Melvin: Coming into the season, we envisioned that DaVanon, being a switch-hitter, was a good fit in giving all of our guys days off in the outfield. He’s a very good on-base percentage guy, makes the pitchers work and was probably one of the biggest surprises for us. He definitely profiles to be the type of hitter that we’re looking for here.

That last sentence tells all. A profile goes beyond a hot streak. And though we kept hearing that DaVanon’s ability to play all three outfield positions would help keep all the outfielders fresh, he’s played little left or right, getting most of his chances at center. If the presence of the prospects makes a veteran outfielder redundant, as the Brits say, I have to figure Melvin would rather keep his switch-hitter (DaVanon), rather than his pure right-hander (Byrnes).

Why the Giants would trade Jason Schmidt: This is the head scratcher. He’s their Ace. Although Schmidt’s W-L record is a mediocre 6-5, his ERA is 2.78 and his WHIP is 1.11. But I didn’t name him just to be nice to Arizona; I’ve been hearing his name as trade bait for several months now, even though I don’t especially follow the Giants.

AZ would, no doubt, prefer a left-handed pitcher, they only have one currently, a reliever named Randy Choate. But they would, just as undoubtedly, take a starter of Schmidt’s caliber if he became available to them, even though he’s a right-hander. The question is why has All Star Schmidt’s name been in the rumor mill at all?

I have a two-word guess: SALARY DUMP. He gets 10.5 mil this year. (Which raises the question of whether AZ can even afford him). If the Giants are going to make a lot of changes to get younger for ’07, they need to clear some space on their ledgers.

Actually, I doubt a straight up Schmidt-for-Byrnes trade would be made at all. There would likely be some prospect/cash considerations on both sides. But Byrnes and Schmidt would be the two reasons the GMs would be on the phone.

Just a year ago now, Byrnesie was exiled from the S.F. Bay Area by the Oakland A’s. He ended up in Colorado for two weeks, Baltimore for just over two months and now Arizona for half a season. He likes Arizona. He’s willing to stay. He thinks the Diamondbacks can win. But he also knows they need pitching and they’ve got younger, cheaper outfielders waiting in the wings.

Fourteen games into the season, the San Jose Mercury News wrote: "Byrnes’ face appears on billboards throughout Phoenix with those of fellow first-year Diamondbacks Johnny Estrada and Orlando Hudson as part of the team’s “A New Brand of Baseball” advertising campaign. But Byrnes, playing for his fourth team in less than a year, won’t let himself believe that he’s a fixture with the team just because he’s helping promote it.

“I’m careful unpacking my bags,” said Byrnes…"

It’s high time he came full circle. Send Eric back home, Arizona. The Giants need him and he needs a team that values him as more than as a placeholder for a prospect. Send him back to the Bay for the pitcher you need now (and maybe one for the future). Then you can bring up the prospects you are anxious to look at again, without forcing Eric to ride the pine as you platoon your young’uns with the veteran switch-hitter who profiles to be the type you’re looking for.

Felipe Alou will know what to do with a speedy 30-year-old right-handed hitter who has been known to bang out a double or two.

Personal note: Byrnes to the Giants is no boon to me. Though it would move me from rooting for AZ to rooting for SF to take the NL West, going to the park more than once or twice a year is too expensive. So is purchasing a cable TV package. Due to local blackout rules, MLB.TV would blackout all the Giants games, and my TV is so old that I don’t get good reception on the free local Fox station that carries the Giants from time to time. So if Byrnesie were to be traded to the Giants, my opportunities to watch him live would be severely restricted by more than my temporary suspicion that he does better when I don’t watch him live. And there is part of me wondering if Byrnes wouldn’t end up on the bench in San Francisco this year unless Bonds were to get suspended and Alou were to get injured again. (And I NEVER wish injury on ANY player for ANY reason!) i.e. Would Byrnesie end up in an "out of the frying pan, into the fire" situation with respect to playing time, if he got traded to the Giants?

Eric Byrnes wants to play every day and he wants to win. So that’s what I want for him. And if that could happen in AZ, that would be fine with me. After all, I ordered my AZ cap the day after he signed with them. But I don’t think this AZ thing is working out. The Snakes have played 88 games and their "everyday" CF will have to play at least 5 or 6 more just to reach 300 ABs. And it’s not like he’s batting .210 with 1 HR, 7 RBI and 90 Ks. The beat reporter got questions before the All Star break as to when the prospects will be brought up. And he’s predicting "before September." The manager, who I don’t think much of, has gotten a contract extension. And the pitching has become so erratic it’s a crapshoot where somedays it’s sevens and other days it’s "snake eyes." (pun intended).

The Diamondbacks are only 5 games out of first in the NL West. Baseball history is full of way bigger deficits made up starting even a month later than this. Maybe there is still a chance. And if there is, that’s fine with me. But for there to be a chance, there have to be some changes made. One of them is that the Diamondbacks are going to have to go from a team that believes in Byrnes half as much as he believes in himself, to a team that believes in Byrnes as much as he believes in himself. If the powers that be in Phoenix can’t do that, then maybe he’s better off coming back to the Bay.

Kéllia Ramares
Oakland, CA