Lefty
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I hope we don't see Gonzo in a Diamondback uniform next year.
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
With his name not written into manager Bob Melvin's starting lineup Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, Diamondbacks left fielder Luis Gonzalez had some time to reflect.
But he's been doing that for weeks now, really, and he's been looking ahead just as much as he's looked back over this year with now, one major question mark hanging over his head as the 2005 season winds to a close:
Could this possibly be his last season in a Diamondbacks' uniform?
"I'm prepared for anything. I really am," Gonzalez said. "I've thought about everything and I've pretty much got to leave the door open for anything."
Gonzalez helped define the franchise and is its poster boy for success. But he has only one more year left on his contract, which is to pay him $11.5 million next season, his eighth in Arizona.
Now 38 and his power numbers not where they've been, he knows ownership will have to decide if it's best to keep him or try and trade him to free up some money and open a spot in left field for Chad Tracy or prospect Carlos Quentin.
"To me, age doesn't matter," Gonzalez said. "You can run a 40-year-old guy out there and if he's putting up numbers, it doesn't matter.
"You can run a 22-year-old kid out there with all the potential in the world, and it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to drive in 80 runs and hit .300.
"Sometimes people have to be careful for what they wish for because instead of getting consistency, you could be getting a guy that might be inconsistent and you really don't know what you have."
As a vested player with 10 years of major league experience and at least five years with the same team, Gonzalez can veto any trade the Diamondbacks may bring to him. But he expects the team to offer him in the off-season and see if there are any potential suitors.
At his salary, however, the takers may be few. And General Partner Jeff Moorad, Gonzalez's former agent, might find it very uneasy trying to unload one of his favorite ex-clients.
"We'll sit down after the season and discuss things, just like we do with all player evaluations," said Ken Kendrick, the Diamondbacks managing general partner, politely declining further comment. "Right now isn't the time."
But Gonzalez has been thinking about it. He has reshaped his career in the desert, crowned by 57 home runs in 2001 and his game-winning hit in Game 7 of the World Series. To start again elsewhere would be disappointing.
"Do I want to continue playing for the Diamondbacks and finish my career here? Of course I do. But you have to leave all the doors open because you never know what direction the front office is going, either."
Prior to last season, which can be virtually wiped out due to an ailing right elbow that required reconstructive surgery, Gonzalez averaged 34 homers, 115 RBIs and a .313 batting average.
This year, he's batting .268 with 22 homers and 71 RBIs. Not bad. But not Gonzo-like.
"I'm disappointed with where my numbers are," he said. "I'd like to have driven in more runs. . . . But last month being a full year since my surgery - and some people take a full year off - I guess they're not awful. But for the bar I've set here, it's kind of come to be expected from people and myself."
Is it time to lower the expectations? No, Gonzalez said. What if he wasn't batting in the No. 3 hole next season but lower down the batting order?
"No," he said. "Whatever Bob Melvin and those guys decide, that's fine. But I prefer to come back with a strong year next year.
"What I think all this does now for me is that it will motivate me to work harder in the off-season and try to get back to that level I was at."
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
With his name not written into manager Bob Melvin's starting lineup Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, Diamondbacks left fielder Luis Gonzalez had some time to reflect.
But he's been doing that for weeks now, really, and he's been looking ahead just as much as he's looked back over this year with now, one major question mark hanging over his head as the 2005 season winds to a close:
Could this possibly be his last season in a Diamondbacks' uniform?
"I'm prepared for anything. I really am," Gonzalez said. "I've thought about everything and I've pretty much got to leave the door open for anything."
Gonzalez helped define the franchise and is its poster boy for success. But he has only one more year left on his contract, which is to pay him $11.5 million next season, his eighth in Arizona.
Now 38 and his power numbers not where they've been, he knows ownership will have to decide if it's best to keep him or try and trade him to free up some money and open a spot in left field for Chad Tracy or prospect Carlos Quentin.
"To me, age doesn't matter," Gonzalez said. "You can run a 40-year-old guy out there and if he's putting up numbers, it doesn't matter.
"You can run a 22-year-old kid out there with all the potential in the world, and it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to drive in 80 runs and hit .300.
"Sometimes people have to be careful for what they wish for because instead of getting consistency, you could be getting a guy that might be inconsistent and you really don't know what you have."
As a vested player with 10 years of major league experience and at least five years with the same team, Gonzalez can veto any trade the Diamondbacks may bring to him. But he expects the team to offer him in the off-season and see if there are any potential suitors.
At his salary, however, the takers may be few. And General Partner Jeff Moorad, Gonzalez's former agent, might find it very uneasy trying to unload one of his favorite ex-clients.
"We'll sit down after the season and discuss things, just like we do with all player evaluations," said Ken Kendrick, the Diamondbacks managing general partner, politely declining further comment. "Right now isn't the time."
But Gonzalez has been thinking about it. He has reshaped his career in the desert, crowned by 57 home runs in 2001 and his game-winning hit in Game 7 of the World Series. To start again elsewhere would be disappointing.
"Do I want to continue playing for the Diamondbacks and finish my career here? Of course I do. But you have to leave all the doors open because you never know what direction the front office is going, either."
Prior to last season, which can be virtually wiped out due to an ailing right elbow that required reconstructive surgery, Gonzalez averaged 34 homers, 115 RBIs and a .313 batting average.
This year, he's batting .268 with 22 homers and 71 RBIs. Not bad. But not Gonzo-like.
"I'm disappointed with where my numbers are," he said. "I'd like to have driven in more runs. . . . But last month being a full year since my surgery - and some people take a full year off - I guess they're not awful. But for the bar I've set here, it's kind of come to be expected from people and myself."
Is it time to lower the expectations? No, Gonzalez said. What if he wasn't batting in the No. 3 hole next season but lower down the batting order?
"No," he said. "Whatever Bob Melvin and those guys decide, that's fine. But I prefer to come back with a strong year next year.
"What I think all this does now for me is that it will motivate me to work harder in the off-season and try to get back to that level I was at."
