NEW VIDEO: Asheville Manager Ejected After Incredible Temper Tantrum

Thanks to Purple Row, I just saw this bit from last night’s Asheville Tourists game (The Tourists are the Rockies’ South Atlantic League Single-A affiliate). It all started when Asheville pitcher Brandon Durden tried to pickoff Lexington Legends player Koby Clemens (son of Roger) at second base during the fifth inning of the game. Clemens was called safe, and apparently Tourist’s manager Joe Mikulik was not happy with the call. Here’s the video of the pickoff move (in super-slow-mo!):

After that play, Mikulik came rushing out of the dugout and proceeded to re-enact the play with a slide into second base, pickup the base and throw it into the outfield, fling bats onto the field, cover home plate with dirt, poor water on said dirt, and probably exhaust his voicebox in the process. Here’s the complete video of his tirade, with the commentary from, I think it’s the Lexington play-by-play people. As an added bonus, you can clearly hear Abbot and Costello’s ‘Who’s On First’ before Mikulik gets ejected, and Ray Charles classic, ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ being played as he walks off the field. Take a look:

After the game, Mikulik had a few words for all of his new fans and admirers:

“I thought the strike was over. When will the real umpires show up? That’s what I want to know…I just wish the umpire’s association would train their young men to have a personality. I could get two mannequins at Sears and umpire better than what I saw this whole series.”
- Asheville Tourists Manager Joe Mikulik

ESPN has a fairly good article on the incident:
http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=2500470

They’re doing well, but the Rox could use a little extra help - somewhere…

I had an interesting discussion the other day with my father, of all people, on what exactly this team needs to be more competitive. As it stands today, the Rockies are doing quite well…for a team that finished last season in dead last, many many games below five hundred. At one over five hundred, and two games in back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the division lead, the Rockies are in a very good position. But this is exactly my point. The Colorado Rockies, even for their lack of Alou’s, Piazza’s, Garciaparra’s, and Finley’s, are over .500. And it’s almost July! I believe we could be doing a whole lot better - IF we could find that one missing piece, whatever it is, and fill it as the deadline approaches.

The point is not that the Rockies are playing well. They’re doing about as well as they did last year in the second half of the season. The point is that even though they have a tiny salary cap, routinely start a lineup made almost entirely of second-year players, and have only one proven veteran on the team, the Colorado Rockies are making a damn good show of it. The point is, while most of the other NL west teams seem maxed out with underachievers, the Rockies stand to gain a lot from a savvy deadline deal that brings in something - that special something - that they need to go from a .500 team to a team that runs away with this division. The problem is, what do they need?

Let’s forget for a moment that Charlie Monfort is the Owner and CEO of the Rockies, and say that he’s willing to bring in a big-budget guy if it’ll help this team go for the division. Who should we bring in? There are so many players playing really well for this team, that it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly we need help, much less figure out who we’d get and what we’d have to give up to get him.

So what do we need? With so many guys playing well for the Rox right now, it’s actually harder to tell than you might think. As far as position players go, I’d never give up a solid, scrappy fielder like Carrol, especially when he’s overachieving at the plate like right now, batting a ridiculous .343 and serving as a perfect leadoff guy with his .420 OBP. Not a knock on Gonzo, who I really like, but Carrol has proven that he deserves the spot at second every day you can possibly put him in. After that, Helton, Holliday, Atkins and Hawpe are all batting over .300, and playing solid to very good defensive ball, in no particular order. Yorvit Torrealba, after coming off the disabled list, has proven to be a very good addition to the team. He adds veteran experience, solid defense, and power to the catcher position that we were desperately missing. Surprisingly, JD Closser’s return to the club has been very successful, making the catcher position rock solid for now. The only weak spots in the field this year have been in center, and at short. The real question is, will it be worth our while to find someone to replace these positions?

Until recently, Cory Sullivan was the answer at center. He was playing fairly well, and keeping his average up, if not OBP. But a recent successful stint at the position by Choo Freeman has put everything in doubt. The question is, can either of these two guys be a consistent starter? Both are solid in the field, but neither has so far shown consistancy at the plate. Cory Sullivan (.261 AVG, .306 OBP, 14 BB to 57 SO) started off the year fairly well, keeping his average around .300, getting on base enough to justify putting him in the 2-spot or 7-spot, but probably not the leadoff spot, which is where he spent most of his time. Since the first few weeks of the season, his average has plumetted, as did his OBP. Choo Freeman has had almost the opposite year. In rare starts in center at the beginning of the year, he showed none of his supposed power, and barely got a bat on the ball. But recently, he’s played much better, boosting his average with a few multi-hit games, and adding a ton of speed to the outfield and the base paths, even more than an already fast Sullivan did. Plus, Choo actually has some real home run power, hitting his first out a few days ago, something Sullivan does not bring to the plate. Yet the knock on Choo has always been that he’s never been consistent at the big-league level, and we’ve seen much of the same from him this year.

So what we’re ultimately left with at center is two guys who are inconsistent, but might be decent if we stick with them and give them a chance. So do we go shopping for a center fielder this year? I personally don’t think it’s time to give up on either Freeman or Sullivan yet, especially with Choo coming on strong of late. Even if no one’s producing by the deadline, think about what you’d have to trade to get someone you want. Shealy’s not worth anything but a superstar center fielder with some life left, and trading away prospects at catcher and short might not be a great idea. But it’s funny that we’re having this conversation, because looking back on it, don’t you wish we had someone rock solid at center? Someone producing? Someone like…this years’ .280+, 41 RBI Preston Wilson? Funny how those things go.

The only other really weak link in the field is at short. Clint Barmes, the ONLY one who’s starting there, isn’t exactly having a great season to back up last years’ achievements. At .206, there’s a lot to be desired in his batting average, even if his fielding is very good. Okay, I’m being way too nice. Barmes stops rallies dead in their tracks. Now I know the knock on Dan O’Dowd has always been giving up on players too early, players who develop into super-stars, like the two Juan’s (Pierre and Uribe). But meanwhile back on the ranch, Barmes is doing nothing, and I think it’s time to give someone, anyone else a try, even if we keep Barmes on the bench. The problem is, who is there? Jason Smith has hardly proven himself a viable candidate for a steady gig out there, and there’s really no one else in this lineup who can take a few days from Barmes, unless you think you can convert Kaz Matsui (who’s also been seriously underachieving, by the way) to short. Now, I know that most people just consider Barmes a stop-gap until Troy Tulowitzki is ready for the majors, but right now it looks like the position is going to fall apart on us. It would be nice to have someone else to at least split time with Barmes, and I think this is a place where we could really improve the team if we trade a few no-name prospects for even a mediocre shortstop who can play one day out of three. In fact, if I were to bet on any move being made, I’d bet on that one.

So that’s the position players. Let’s ignore the bullpen for the moment, which could be a little better, but not that much, and move right on to starting pitching. This is where it gets really interesting, and where I’m going to pull the Shealy card out of my wallet and casually slide it on the table. Right now, the Rockies are playing .500 ball with three very solid starters, who are probably all going to win 10 or 15 games, one interesting starter, and one complete “dogg”. Can you guess who I’m talking about? I think our front three are very adequate, especially Jennings, who has proven to be not just decent, but very, very good almost every start. But imagine if we had another JJ, or two JJ’s, to replace Fogg and possibly BK. Enter Ryan Shealy. A proven, gauranteed major-league star, Shealy could be our ticket to another good starter, and possibly more good starters down the road. Imagine a team with a good pitching system that’s having problems at first base, and needs someone who can step up now, and be good for the long haul. Think they’d be willing to give up a pitcher or two for a stud like Shealy? I’ll bet they would. We can’t hold Shealy and Helton forever, and while we do, we’re wasting a lot of potential value and wins we could generate in a good deal. And this is the perfect way to get a lot in return for Shealy. Imagine this trade scenario: Shealy for another Jason Jennings-type pitcher, plus two top pitching prospects. Not only would we really solidify our starting rotation for this year and finally dump Fogg, but we could probably get some good guys to mold for next year and beyond. I don’t think there’s a reason not to look for this type of trade, and if I’m Dan O’Dowd, I’m holding up that glossy game-tested Shealy card in front of every team that needs any kind of help at the 1B.

Okay, so it’s still pretty early in the year. We’re approaching the All-Star break, and the Rockies are, amazingly, playing .500 ball. But let’s assume for a moment that .500 ball isn’t good enough for the town, the team, or the management. Let’s assume winning the division is the only thing that makes the season complete. Let’s assume we’re the Atlanta Braves of the last billion years. Right now, with our current lineup, I believe we have a damn good shot at that division title - but imagine if we made a move and filled in one missing piece, a missing piece that made winning this division easy, and made winning a playoff series a reality. I don’t think we should have to imagine it.