Delgado Could Have a Busy Off-Season

The international phone rates did not stop Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado from burning up the long distance lines this season. The former Toronto Blue Jay teammates and best friends were in frequent contact, with Green leaning on Delgado for support as he struggled through a long summer with the Dodgers, putting pressure on himself as he adjusted to a new league and the often humorless atmosphere of the Dodger clubhouse.

Nothing would be better for Green than to be reunited with Delgado, and he suggested to the Toronto first baseman more than once that he look for ways to make it happen, a friend of the Green family said.

So much for wishful thinking.

The Dodgers, of course, already have a payroll at $98 million and counting, are committed to Eric Karros for four more years at first base and are possibly focused on Seattle Mariner shortstop Alex Rodriguez, if they decide to pursue an extravagant position player.

Delgado, having a sensational year at 28 and a most valuable player candidate as he began the weekend with a ..358 average, 54 doubles, 41 homers and 137 runs batted in, wouldn’t seem to be a fit--which doesn’t mean that he may not be leaving Toronto.

Although he has two years left on a three-year contract he signed after last season and is guaranteed $12.65 million in 2001 and $14.75 million in 2002, he has the right to demand a trade when this season ends and can become a free agent if the Blue Jays do not respond by Feb. 15. The clause provides Delgado with the leverage to negotiate a record contract extension with the new Blue Jay owner or to seek a trade. He also can reject proposed trades to six teams, providing the Blue Jays with that list after the season.

The Dodgers, of course, may not have the resources to trade for Delgado or sign him as a free agent, but one thing seems certain: Green would be happy to provide the Dodgers with a loan if it helped land his buddy.

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The Cleveland Indians have set a major league record by employing 31 pitchers this season and tied a club record by using 54 players overall. Neither of those figures compares to the traffic at their triple-A Buffalo affiliate.

The Bisons used 68 players, including 40 pitchers, and Manager Joel Skinner, now helping out with the major league team, laughed and said: “There was this one game where we signed this pitcher named Carl Dale. He walked into the dugout in the fourth inning on the day he arrived and we immediately sent him to the bullpen. By the eighth inning we had to put him in the game, and when he started to struggle, I told our pitching coach, Ken Rowe, to go out and talk to him. Kenny shook his head and said, ‘I’ll have to introduce myself first because I can’t very well talk to him when I don’t even know him.’ ”

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The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will be embarking on their fourth season in 2001, but it is as if they have gone nowhere, Fred McGriff said. In the final week of a season expected to lead to Larry Rothschild’s firing as manager, McGriff said: “We’ve played bad all year. We’re going backward instead of forward. We have a lot of questions, a lot of questions, and it’s not just one area where you can say, ‘OK, let’s fix it.’ We’ve got to start from ground zero and go from there.”

Added Greg Vaughn, on the negative attitudes and atmosphere: “I can handle losing because I’ve lost before. I can’t handle people who are content with losing. I feel like I need Prozac or something when I walk through that [clubhouse] door.”