(AP) WASHINGTON--In a wholly expected move, the Washington Sea Dogs dealt
for another hitter yesterday. The surprise was not who they dealt.
Washington sent starting first baseman Matt Stairs, defensive wizard
Charles Johnson, top starting pitching prospect Jack Whitehurst and AAA
reliever Joe Richardson to the Tampa Bay Mets for veteran outfielder
Harold Baines and starting pitcher John Burkett.
Washington General Manager Aaron Weiner was ecstatic today.
"Well, Baines is almost twice my age," Weiner said, "but the man is a
hitter, something we desperately needed. This is a huge deal for us."
Baines, who hit over .300 with 30 homers last year, has been struggling
this season, hitting only .247 so far in over 300 at bats, but claims his
struggles have been due to the lack of protection in the Tampa lineup.
Banjo-hitter Walt Weiss has been batting fifth behind Baines.
"When you're on a team with no protection," Baines said, "you press a lot
harder. Being on the Sea Dogs should really help my stroke."
Baines will join a lineup that already includes Gary Sheffield, Barry
Larkin and Chuck Knoblauch. He is expected to bat fifth in the order.
"We feel that having a veteran bat like Baines batting in the #5 hole will
greatly increase our offensive production," manager Aaron Weiner said.
John Burkett, who was also in the deal, says that being on the Sea Dogs
should also help him.
"Well, having that lineup behind me should really help my pitching,"
Burkett said. "It'll be nice not to have to try to carry the team every
time out."
Burkett and Baines join two more former Tampa veterans on the Sea Dogs,
setup man Delino Wilson and middle reliever Paul Kilgus.
"Tampa's going through some changes right now," said GM Weiner, "and
they're trying to move towards a younger mode. We, on the other hand, are
involved in a major wild-card race, and the addition of two more veteran
leaders should raise our game to a new level."
The manager also was pleased because Baines was a lefthander.
"We've been looking for a good lefty bat since spring training," Weiner
said. "We had asked about Baines earlier, but since Tampa looked to be
fielding a pretty good squad this year, we were told he wasn't available.
However, the Mets haven't caught a lot of breaks this year."
While Washington has been getting older this season, even the casual
observer has to agree that with names like Sheffield, Larkin, Duncan and
Baines being added to the Sea Dogs' youth, they have a mix that could
potentially make some noise.
"We feel like we're the best non-division leader in the pack," Weiner
said. "Getting a guy like Baines only clinches that opinion."
