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The Jaime Navarro
Three-peat Report

1999 Season Final

Current Status:   Relegated to the bullpen.  Not considered a strong candidate for
                            next year's rotation.  What took them so long?
                           

Salary:                 Has one year left on a 4-year contract worth $20 million,
                            the team's fattest contract ever offered to a pitcher.
                           

Fast Facts:           Jaime has finally worn out his welcome with the Sox.  He says he
                            wants out, and Sox GM Ron Schueler wants him gone, too.
                             

Quotable:          "I'll show them during the whole season.  I'm going to let my
                            numbers speak for themselves."  - Jaime Navarro
                            (snicker, snicker)
                           

The ugly fact is Jaime Navarro has not been a major league caliber pitcher for three seasons.  His greatest and perhaps only qualification was the incredible salary the Sox signed him to before the 1997 season.  It's enough to drive a Sox fan insane to remember how GM Ron Schueler passed on signing free agent Roger Clemens and instead got Navarro for roughly the same salary.  Sure, Clemens health was questionable back then, but that didn't stop Toronto from passing over Navarro to get him.  Schueler also let Kevin Tapani leave through free agency supposedly because of his history of arm problems.  Even with periodic time spent on the DL, Tapani has still contributed more to his new club, the Cubs, than a healthy Jaime Navarro has ever contributed to our Pale Hose.  Gag!  Wretch!  The more you think about it, the worse this nightmare becomes! 

So Navarro was the undisputed worst pitcher in baseball back in 1997.  Mental Midget Terry Bevington probably had a lot to do with this.  Boomer made a shambles of his entire pitching staff, so why should Navarro have been any different?  Jerry Manuel was kinder to Jaime in 1998, but only by coming to get him before he embarassed himself too much.  Jaime's earned runs fell from 135 to 108, but his record and ERA were even worse than 1997. 

The Sox demoted Jaime to the #5 starter's role in 1999 but he never missed a start because Manuel went with a five-man rotation through the August call ups.  It was the same Jaime we Sox fans have come to know and loathe.  He would pitch well for one or two innings, then become completely unraveled by an umpire's call or a defensive miscue.  The slightest pressure was all it would take to break Jaime's balloon.  His performance became markedly worse after the July trading deadline passed.  By Labor Day Jaime was veering straight towards finishing a successful three-peat quest.  He shot his mouth off and suddenly found himself in the bullpen.  He did get one more start but the minor league call ups took away at least four others he would have gotten -- each critical to achieving his three-peat.

Jeff Fassero was unbelievably bad in 1999.  He did improve slightly once he got traded to Texas, but it's hard to argue he wasn't the worst pitcher this season.  You can view the 1999 final stats for Jaime, Jeff, and the other contenders for the Race to the Bottom by clicking here.  Jaime Navarro sucks, but Jeff Fassero sucks more.  See for yourself.

Had Jaime gotten those starts in September he might have won the title.  He simply didn't get enough opportunities to screw things up in relief appearances.  Fassero won practically by default.  Still Jaime will always be the champion in Sox Fans' hearts.  Nobody can touch Jaime's consistent sucking -- he's been at it for three years.  Like a true champ, Jaime saved something extra special to finish the season.  On September 22 in Yankee Stadium, in what proved to be his final appearance of the season, Jaime entered a tied game in the ninth inning and accomplished the following...

Walked the lead-off man.  Gave up an infield single.  Walked the third batter. With the bases loaded, walked the winning run across the plate.  Jaime's line:

4 batters faced, 0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 3 walks, 1 earned run, and the loss.

Now, what to do with Snyder? 
 
 

* Worst in the league

This is the game we Sox fans always knew Jaime Navarro was capable of.  Relegated to the bullpen and making his numbers look pretty in meaningless mop up appearances, Jaime reached back and accomplished something truly special in Yankee Stadium.  Entering a tied game in the ninth inning, this was the first time Navarro's pitches really counted in nearly three weeks.  So naturally he folded.

Walk the lead-off man.  Give up an infield single because Ray Durham is half asleep.  Walk the next guy, and then walk the guy after that -- forcing in the winning run.

4 batters faced, 0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 3 walks, 1 earned run, and the loss.

Shoot me now!

Next start:  I would rather contemplate a bullet between the eyes than consider Navarro ever starting another game for the Chicago White Sox.

September 18 at Toronto:  Win in two innings relief.
 

Another perfect two innings of relief for Jaime Navarro and this time he was in the right place at the right time to earn the win.  Two strike outs and no walks, not even a wild pitch or fielding error.  When the pressure is off, Jaime shines which probably explains why he was so good with the Cubs.  Carlos Lee's ninth inning homer lifts the Sox and Jaime to the win -- what a herculean effort that was.  If Jaime fails in his threepeat quest, you can look back to this game as the one that sealed his fate.  Jeff Fassero looks pretty unbeatable for this year's title.  Boy, does he SUCK!

Next start:  tbd, but very unlikely if he keeps pitching well in relief.

September 14 vs. Detroit:  Two Innings Relief
 

What the pressure is off, Jaime Navarro is fine.  For the second consecutive time, Navarro comes into a game already lost and pitches two solid innings in relief.  He faced just seven batters, allowed two hits and was unscored upon.  Okay, each of the lead off men reached base safely, but any Sox fan will tell you that those runners ALWAYS score when head-case Jaime is pitching.  These long relief appearances are an improvement.  Of course "improvement" is a relative term.

Next start:  tbd.

September 10 vs. Cleveland:  Two Innings Relief
 

Jaime was suppose to start this game but lost it when the Birmingham Barons got eliminated in the AA playoffs.  Kip Wells came north and got the nod from Sox manager Jerry Manuel over Navarro.  This is a good thing.  Next thing you know, Navarro's fate will be tied to whether or not the team's beer supplier needs an extra body to unload the kegs.

Wells started but Navarro got into the game, pitching the seventh and eighth inning.  The score was 13-4 when he entered so the innings were meaningless.  With the pressure off, Jaime pitched fine allowing three hits and no runs while striking out two.

Next start:  tbd.

September 4 at Texas:  No Decision.
 

Every Sox fan hopes the Sox' motives for leaving Navarro in the rotation is simply to permit Jaime the opportunity to screw up so bad, he never makes it out of spring training next season.  "Give him enough rope" certainly seems like an effective strategy if that's what Jerry Manuel has in mind.  This performance by Navarro in Texas might appear okay since he got off with just a no decision.  The ugly truth is Jaime Navarro pitched this game like nearly every other he's had this season.  The three earned runs he allowed match closely his season's ERA.  His walks outnumbered his strike outs which is a bit worse than his season's average.  He hit a batter which (along with wild pitches) is just about automatic everytime he takes the mound.  He fell behind, was given a lead, and blew it.  TYPICAL Navarro.

He is an absolute disgrace and nothing but his outrageous salary is keeping him in a major league uniform.  Let's hope every one of the young arms who come up from the minors pitches flawlessly this September.  Let's hope every one of them has a perfect record next spring, too.  Only then will Reinsdorf and Schueler terminate this blood sucking nightmare they have created.  Nothing but a wooden stake driven straight into the vampire's heart will free us from his reign of terror.  Otherwise we're stuck with him for another season.  That's a chilling thought!

Next Scheduled Start:  September 10 vs. Cleveland.  Manager Jerry Manuel announced Kip Wells will start in Jaime's place.  Might Jaime have started his last game as a Chicago White Sox?  Nahhh...

August 31 vs. Seattle:  Jaime shoots his mouth off -- and pays the price!
 

The Tribune quotes Jaime in the morning papers.  The key quotes from Jaime...
1.)  "I am not going anywhere."    (That should be obvious).
2.)  "I told them at the beginning of the year that the bullpen was not an option."
        (Not if you expect to collect the remaining $5 million on that fat contract of yours).
3.)  "They had a chance to trade me and they didn't.  Now they are stuck with me."
        (True -- but you're stuck with us, too).

A smoldering fire, here are a few more quotes from other key people in the Sox organization...
"That's not a good thing to say."  -- Sox GM Ron Schueler
"I'll keep that to myself."  -- Sox manager Jerry Manuel's response to the question of his feelings about Navarro.

It appears Jaime's gravy train in a White Sox uniform might be coming to a close.  On the very same day that these militant quotes appeared in print, the Sox's bullpen door opened and out popped Jaime Navarro!  Who's laughing now, kid?

Here's Jaime's line in long relief mop up duty:
2-1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR (solo shot by Arod).

This game was already lost by Snyder -- Navarro simply threw more dirt on the Sox's grave.  That's a far better outcome than we Sox fans have endured the past three years during Jaime's starts.

August 28:  Loss vs. Oakland.
 

What infuriates Sox fans about Jaime Navarro was precisely what occured at Comiskey versus Oakland.  This guy has benefitted like no other pitcher from early leads given him by Sox hitters.  But no lead is safe from this head case and there is at least a 50% chance tomorrow's sports page will include some foolish comment from the dope about the poor play of his teammates.  The guy is a cancer -- on the field and in the clubhouse.  Thank God it's late August and the roster will soon be expanded.  There is not one good reason for leaving Jaime Navarro in the rotation.  He should sit in the bullpen the entire month of September and watch as the innings he would waste are spent evaluating some of the young arms freshly called up from the minors.

Here are his latest set of pathetic numbers:
5 runs (all earned) , 6 hits including a two-run homer, 1 hit batsmen, 1 wild pitch, 1 lead-off walk (yes, he scored) plus two others against 3 strike outs.  Then there is the little matter of blowing the two-run lead the team gave him in the very first inning.  Jaime delivers all of this in just 5-1/3rd innings.  His earned run average is going up Up UP UP UP --- now at a lofty 6.27.

Jaime is poised to kick it into overdrive and complete his Three-peat quest.  Give me one good reason we should let him.

---

Read what other Sox fans have posted about
the Jaime Navarro Three-Peat Report.

Navarro.......in the bullpen......... no way....... now the bum will get his
chance to infiltrate the minds of the young pitchers in our bullpen!!! Don't
do it Jerry...... send him to never-never land, the land of make believe, the
only place that somebody might believe he really does belong in the
majors...... The desease is spreading, it's now in the bullpen. Get him out
of here NOW!

Mick Rybolt

I couldn't agree more.  Throw the bum out of town!

A QUALITY PITCHER :  Add up a pitcher's hits allowed and walks allowed and you should be "at or
slightly above" innings pitched.

JAIME NAVARRO :  181 hits allowed + 61 walks allowed = 242  which is 101 above his innings
pitched of 141.     Keep blaming the kids - you clubhouse cancer!!!

Brian
Indiana

What can I say about this slug.  He stinks so bad I can smell the stench
out here in Philly.  Maybe the Sox should give him a job sitting in one of
the chairs down the lines and give that kid a spot in the rotation.  I
don't see how the kid could do any worse.  Get the bum out of town if you
have to give him away and eat his salary.  He's a clubhouse cancer.

Later,
Black Hawk Bob

Very disappointed in your Jaime Navarro information.  You forgot to add
the fact that last season Navarro had the lowest K per 9 IP, highest BB
per 9 IP, worst K to BB ratio, and led the league in wild pitches.  In
addition, I believe that Navarro's ERA was the highest in the league
among all qualified pitchers last season.  Give Navarro some justice -
he REALLY SUCKS!

David Tybor
Somerville, MA