Flashing the Leather

Back for a Rant

2009-02-03T19:49:00.006-05:00

Hey all you ex-Leatherheads, I know Flashing the Leather folded but I had to rant somewhere about Joe Torre's book and this is as good a medium as any (particularly now that no one will read it since the blog has been inactive for months).

As everyone knows, Tom Verducci and Joe Torre recently wrote a book, which I have -- admittedly -- not yet read. I have read excerpts, though, and this posting is not so much about the book as it is about the drivel that other folks are writing about it.

So, please read David L. Ulin's piece on it. Or just read what I wrote, I'll boil it down to its most infuriating and barest bones for you.

"Last week, as the controversy over Joe Torre and Tom Verducci's "The Yankee Years" was ratcheting up, I got an e-mail from my brother, who, like me, is a lifelong New York Yankees fan."
. . . okay, he's fessing up. I'm willing to allow for a little bit of homerism, but try not to take it overboard. Is it a deal, Dave? Oh, and please don't tell me that A-Rod isn't clutch. I'll give you my overtime pay from last week if you don't say something about A-Rod not being clutch.

"On the surface, none of this [steroids scandal, the rise of "moneyball"] appears to have much to do with the Yankees: Although Clemens and others on the 2000 team have been embroiled in the steroids scandal, the team never had an ingrown culture of cheating, while the new age, numbers-crunching style of management demands a patience Steinbrenner lacks."
. . . apparently it does not matter how many of your players cheat if it is not your team's "culture." Anyone who watches baseball knows that the rise of Moneyball has a lot to do with the Yankees as they have played the Athletics, Twins and Red Sox (among others) in the postseason several times under Joe Torre.

"Torre's reaction to the steroids question is the one instance in which he pulls his punches; otherwise, he comes off as reflective and forthright. He's terrific on the day-to-day dynamics of the Yankees, the way the selfless, win-at-all-costs culture of the championship teams dissipated with the departure of Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius and Tino Martinez after the 2001 season, leaving a void filled by selfish superstars."
. . . shockingly, Torre doesn't say anything about steroids. He extols the virtues of his Championship winning teams and throws the "selfish superstars" under the bus. I'm really glad he's going out on a limb here.

"Such a trend began with the 2001 signing of Jason Giambi -- a move Torre opposed in writing, so he couldn't be held responsible if it didn't work out -- and it's personified by the contradictory figure of Rodriguez, perhaps the most talented and least endearing superstar in American sports, an insecure stat machine utterly unable to hit when it counts."
. . . that bit about A-Rod is just wrong. Forget about the clutch thing, if you buy that you're not worth speaking to anyway. The thing that bothers me is A-Rod being the "least endearing superstar in American sports." Terrell Owens? Ray Lewis? Roger Clemens? Barry Bonds? Should we keep going here? These aren't guys who are equally endearing to A-Rod, these are Grade-A bad dudes. Criminals, in many cases. We can go for more, if you'd like.

"Much of the media buzz around "The Yankee Years" has involved reports that Yankee players called Rodriguez "A-Fraud" or that the player was so obsessed with shortstop Derek Jeter that it "recalled the 1992 film 'Single White Female.'"
. . . don't remember this movie. Stupid nickname, by the way.

"In the context of the book, however, these lines are throwaways, not even written in Torre's voice. Far more interesting is the manager's assessment that Rodriguez could not succeed as a team player because he is unwilling to fail."
. . . unlike Paul O'Neill? Oh, I'm sorry, Paul O'Neill just wants to punch people in the face. A-Rod gets sad. What an asshole.

"That's the key to Jeter, who has always done anything to help the team. As for Rodriguez, Torre notes, 'When it comes to a key situation, . . . he can't get himself to concern himself with getting the job done, instead of how it looks.'">
. . . yep, A-Rod moved to Third Base because the Yankees infield would have LOOKED weird. Not to, you know, get the third base "job done."

"That's a pretty damning statement, but there's nothing personal about it; it's observable, quantifiable, as any Yankee fan knows.

"'Rodriguez,' the authors write, 'was conspicuous by the awesome disparity between his skills and his ability to use them in the clutch. Rodriguez hit .245 in the postseason as a Yankee, or 61 points worse than his career average. From the fifth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 [American League Championship Series] -- the onset of the dynasty's demise -- through 2008, Rodriguez hit .136 in 59 postseason at-bats.'"
. . . awesome, not just using small sample sizes as a Yankee in the playoffs (disregarding his play as a Mariner) but CHERRY-PICKING around his successes. This is a real job well-done. Also, the fact that A-Rod basically single-handedly got Joe Torre into his last postseason, which Yankees fans will always remember as being thanks to Joe, is ignored. Awesome.

Then he talks about how Paul O'Neill had the loudest walk you've ever experienced. It's too long of a paragraph to quote for how inane and ridiculous it is. Paul O'Neill walked more than 80 times once in his career. Alex Rodriguez has done it seven times. I admit that I just cherry-picked 80, sorry. The point is that if walking is underrated A-Rod is more underrated than Paul O'Neill. But I don't think he's talking about walks, I think he's talking about LOUD walks. Which are really the only important ones. It sticks out in Joe Torre's mind because it was before he was senile and forgot that you don't bat one of the top 8 hitters in MLB eighth in your lineup in the biggest game of the year. See, this paragraph is long enough as it is.

"This, of course, is part of the appeal of "The Yankee Years," the nostalgia factor, the trip down memory lane. It was great to be a Yankee fan from 1996 until Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, when Mariano Rivera walked Kevin Millar leading off the ninth inning and the collapse against Boston began."
. . . 2005, 2006, 2007, making the playoffs. What a tough time to be a Yankees fan.

"The Yankees have yet to recover from that loss, but the measure of Torre and Verducci is that they situate this within a larger framework, highlighting the emergence of the Red Sox as a counterpoint to the Yankees' decline. More than that, they trace the arc of the dynasty as a kind of epic narrative, involving an inevitable rise and fall."
. . . true, Joe Torre took over in 1996, but the team was getting better in 1994 and 1995 under Gene Michael and Buck Showalter. In fact, some folks think the Yankees would have been a favorite if there had been a 1994 World Series. Gene Michael deserves about 100x more credit for the 1996 World Series than Joe Torre. That's not mathematically-derived, just a ballpark estimate. They also imply that the decline was not Torre's fault . . . "In that sense, it's fitting that Torre left the Yankees after the 2007 season; it was time to make a change." Now that the Yankees are no longer good, Joe Torre can't have anything to do with the team.

By the way, David Ulin, you just lost my overtime pay.

Thank you for Everything Leatherheads

2008-11-05T19:01:00.002-05:00

Hello,

I regret you inform all of you that Flashing the Leather is no more. Jesse and myself were the only ones posting consistently. We could not carry this on our own. But from all of us at Flashing the Leather we appreciate all the support and it was fun while it lasted. Keep looking around the blogosphere though, my name might just pop up on another baseball blog!

The Hot Stove has just been lit everyone so it should be a fun winter.

Thanks again for all of those who participated.

A Quick Look at the League Championship Series

2008-10-25T01:15:00.010-04:00

Hey Leatherheads, how are things? What an exciting ALCS! I was waiting for some exciting developments to occur in the playoffs and up until Game 5, nothing was really happening. After trailing 7-0, down three games to one, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz led a comeback for the ages propelling the Sox to a 8-7 victory. Then after winning Game 6, the Red Sox seemed poised to make it back to the World Series. But Matt Garza shut down the Red Sox once again and last year's top draft pick David Price shut down the Sox in the ninth, propelling the Tampa Bay Rays to their first World Series birth. The Boston Red Sox still have the pieces to be a dynasty but watch out now, the sky is the limit for the Rays. This will not be the last time the Red Sox and the Rays meet in the ALCs.

Since the NLCs wasn't close to being as exciting, let's start there:

The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one.

The Phillies are off to their first World Series since 1993,
only their third series appearance in the team's 125-year history

In Game 1, a Rafael Furcal error in the sixth helped erase an early 2-0 lead for the Dodgers. After Furcal's error allowing Shane Victorino to reach, the next batter Chase Utley launched a line drive to right that just cleared the short fence at Citizens Bank Ballpark. The next batter, Pat Burrell, then hit a homer into the left field seats making the score 3-2. That would end up being the final score as Cole Hamels cruised. In Game 2, the Phils took an 8-2 lead early with Shane Victorino and Brett Myers (interestingly enough) driving in seven of those eight runs. The Dodgers tacked on three runs in the fourth but that was all they could muster as the Phillies were victorious 8-5. Myers ended the night pitching five satisfactory innings and going 3-3 with three RBIs at the plate. In Game 3, Hiroki Kuroda came up big for the Dodgers going six strong innings letting up only two runs. The Dodger's five run first inning was capped off by Blake DeWitt's bases-loaded triple that drove in three of the five runs. Jamie Moyer got shelled, letting up six runs in only one and one third innings. The benches cleared in the top of the third when Kuroda threw over the head of Shane Victorino, but no one was ejected and the complexion of the game had already been set. The Dodgers took this one 7-2. In Game 4, the Dodgers took a 5-3 lead into the eighth when pinch-hitter Shane Victorino launched a game-tying home run off of Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton. Two batters after that, pinch-hitter Matt Stairs hit a towering home run that left Dodger Stadium. This was the turning point of the series, the Dodgers lost most of their life after that moment. The Phils took this one, 7-5. In Game 5, Cole Hamels went seven strong never giving the Dodgers a chance and taking the series MVP award. This game was over when Jimmy Rollins launched the eighth pitch of the game off of Chad Billingsley, who had a terrible series, ending it with an 18.00 ERA. The Phils cruised, taking the game 5-1 and the series four games to one.

The Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Boston Red Sox four games to three.

After finishing with the league's worst record last season,
the Tampa Bay Rays find themselves competing in the World Series

Now this is where the fun begins. In Game 1, Daisuke Matsuzaka and James Shields were lights out each going seven strong innings. Jed Lowrie had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Kevin Youkilis had a run scoring double in the eighth counting for the only two runs of the game. The Red Sox won the pitcher's duel 2-0. In Game 2, the game couldn't have been more of the opposite of Game 1. Both starters Josh Beckett and Scott Kazmir were hit hard each only going four and a third innings and letting up eight and five runs respectively. Dustin Pedroia and Jason Bay homered twice each for the Boston Red Sox while Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, and Cliff Floyd homered for the Rays. In the eighth, down 8-7, Pedroia scored on a Dan Wheeler wild pitch. In the 11th, speedy pinch runner Fernando Perez scored on a shallow fly ball by Upton, making the Rays victorious 9-8. In Game 3, Matt Garza set the tone early going six strong while Upton and Rocco Baldelli each hit three-run homers. Longoria tied the rookie record with his fourth homerun this postseason. Jon Lester and Paul Byrd each let up four runs, as the Rays cruised 9-1. In Game 4, the Rays tore apart Tim Wakefield and Manny Delcarmen. Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, and Wily Aybar homered for the Rays, Aybar also finished with five RBIs and Longoria's homer set a postseason rookie record. Carl Crawford led the Rays with five hits. The Red Sox lost their third straight to the Rays 13-4. In Game 5, the Rays got off to an early lead with homeruns by Pena, Upton and Longoria. After a top-notch six inning outing by Rays starter Scott Kazmir, the Red Sox found themselves down 7-0 entering the seventh inning. After a Pedroia RBI single, David Ortiz launched a two-run homer deep into the right field stands off of Grant Balfour. Now 7-4 in the eighth, J.D. Drew hit a two run shot to get the Red Sox within one. Then after Mark Kotsay's double Coco Crisp, who hit over .400 in the series, knocked him home with a game-tying RBI single. In the ninth, after a Evan Longoria throwing error allowing Kevin Youkilis to get to second, J.D. Drew launched a sharp double over the head of Gabe Gross in right to end the game. This was the first time since the 1929 Philadelphia A's, that a team has come back from a seven-run deficit in the postseason. In Game 6, the Sox got a decent five inning outing from starter Josh Beckett and solo homers from Youkilis and Jason Varitek. Both bullpens were lights out and the 4-2 lead the Sox picked up in the sixth held as the final score. B.J. Upton hit his ALCS record-tying seventh homerun in this one, he had nine in the entire regular season. In Game 7, ALCS MVP Matt Garza struck out nine in seven innings only yielding one run. Wily Aybar hit a solo shot in the seventh giving the Rays a two run cushion. That was when David Price came in and dominated the final one and a third innings. Aknori Iwamora fielded a sharp grounder to second and took it to the bag himself for the final out. Iwamora and catcher Dioneer Navarro mobbed Price and the celebration was on as the Rays took the final game 3-1.

Well that's all for now Leatherheads. I hope you've been watching the World Series. It's been a good series, tied at one so far. But I hope you all noticed that Jason Bartlett stole a base in Game 1. Which means, FREE TACOS! I'll be there Tuesday, October 28th between 2 and 6 PM will you?! I'll be at a few locations, maybe you'll see me! Haha.

But I digress, this will be a hard fought World Series and I would be surprised if it didn't go at least six games. It will come down to the bullpens, who will be able to outlast? We shall see.

Good night, and oh don't forget your free Dr. Peppers on November 23rd, with the apparent release of Guns and Rose's Chinese Democracy. Free stuff, that's what it's all about.

He rolls down his window and he started to say / It's all about makin' that GTA

2008-10-23T17:22:00.014-04:00

Jeremy Brown was on Team B

First off, special thanks to Eazy E and NWA for today's title post.

Now, then, hey all you Leatherheads out there! I know there's a small matter like the World Series going on, but I just thought it would be wise to take a minute to let you all know that it seems like Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is being made into a movie, starring Brad Pitt as Billy Beane.

For those of you who do not know, Moneyball is a book written by Billy Bean simulating what would happen if there were only three teams in a league. Team A, composed entirely of computers, and Team B, composed entirely of fat, slow, ugly men who nonetheless enjoyed walking, would tie for the pennant. Team C, full of physically gifted, fast and good fielding ballplayers would come in last place. Because the book showed that computers and fat men actually played baseball better than athletically gifted men with far superior jawbones, it angered many baseball traditionalists. Also, it did not have its intended effect of selling jeans.

For more information, visit http://www.themovieinsider.com/m1763/moneyball/.

1-http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0305/mlb_a_brown_200.jpg

A Quick Look at the Division Series

2008-10-12T02:54:00.004-04:00

Hello Leatherheads. Much to talk about with the wrapping up of each league's division series. In the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays won their first postseason series over the Chicago White Sox three games to one. The Boston Red Sox came up big once again in the postseason, downing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who held the best record in baseball in the regular season, three games to one. Over in the National League, The Philadelphia Phillies overtook the silent bats of the Milwaukee Brewers three games to one. The Los Angeles Dodgers handily swept the Chicago Cubs, who held the best record in the National League this season, three games to zero. Now for a quick wrap-up:

Jason Varitek tags out Reggie Willits in the ninth inning of Game 4.
When Varitek's glove hit the ground the ball came out of this glove.
Willits was ruled out on the play.

American League:

Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim defeat Boston Red Sox, three games to one:

In Game 1, Jon Lester pitched seven strong innings, letting up only one unearned run, leading the Red Sox to the victory. Jason Bay put the Red Sox ahead in the sixth when he launched a two-run home run off of starter John Lackey giving them a two-run lead. The Red Sox didn't look back from there, taking the game 4-1. In Game 2, Jason Bay hit his second home run in two games in the first inning with a three run shot off starter Ervin Santana giving them a 4-1, first inning lead. The Angels chipped away with one run in fourth, fifth, and seventh inning drawing them within a run. Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly in the eighth tied the game at five. But in the top of the ninth, J.D. Drew launched a two-run home run off of closer Francisco Rodriguez who broke the major league single-season saves record in the regular season with 62. That was enough for Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon who closed the Angels out in the bottom of the inning to win the game 7-5. In Game 3, both starters Joe Saunders and Josh Beckett were chased after five innings after they both let up four runs. Both bullpens were rock solid from the 6th inning on, until the 12th when Erick Aybar drove in Mike Napoli for the game winner for the Angels, 5-4 was the final. Napoli was the star hitting two home runs in this one. In Game 4, John Lackey pitched a solid seven innings letting up only one run. But Red Sox starter Jon Lester was a shade better not letting up a run in his 7 solid innings. In 14 innings pitched this series, Lester did not let up a run and struck out 11. The Red Sox took an early lead with 2 runs in the fifth but the Halos tied the game late on Torii Hunter's two run single. In the top of the 9th, the Angels had pinch-runner Reggie Willits on third base and just one out. Angels manager Mike Scioscia called for a squeeze bunt, but Erick Aybar missed the bunt and Jason Varitek aggressively chased Willits down the line. He tagged Willits just before he could retreat to third base. After the pursuit, Varitek fell down and the ball kicked away just as his arm hit the ground. Third-base umpire Tim Welke ruled that the ball came ajar only after the tag had been applied. This changed the complexion of the game. In the bottom of the 9th, rookie Jed Lowrie hit a walk-off single of set-up man Scot Shields, ending the game, and the series three games to one.

The Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Chicago White Sox three games to one:

In Game 1, Dewayne Wise homered in the third for the White Sox giving them an early lead. But Evan Longoria stole the show for the Rays hitting a home run in his first two postseason at-bats. The Rays never looked back after Longoria's second home run off of White Sox starter Javier Vazquez, winning the game 6-4. In Game 2, the White Sox scored two runs early off Rays starter Scott Kazmir with Jim Thome's RBI single and Alexi Ramirez's sacrifice fly. After stranding the bases loaded, Kazmir settled down and the Rays bullpen held the White Sox to only those two runs. Aknori Iwamora hit the go-ahead two run home run in the fifth, and the Rays won the game 6-2. In Game 3, John Danks pitched a strong 6 2/3 innings before giving way to the bullpen which didn't let up a run. Dewayne Wise hit a two-run double in the fourth off of Rays starter Matt Garza, setting the tone for the rest of the game. The White Sox took the game 5-3. In Game 4, B.J. Upton set the tone early for the Rays with a home run in the first. The Rays then chipped away all game with Carlos Pena going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases. The Rays cruised all game, winning 6-2, and taking their first postseason series three games to one.

National League:

The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Milwaukee Brewers three games to one.

In Game 1, Phillies starter Cole Hamels dominated pitching eight shutout innings. The Phillies tacked on three runs in the third after Bill Hall bobbled a sacrifice attempt by Hamels, ruining the chance for a double play, then had his throw to first dropped by Rickie Weeks who was running to cover. It was extended further when Mike Cameron took a bad route on Chase Utley's two-out fly ball to center field. That was all the Phillies needed, taking the game 3-1. In Game 2, Shane Victorino set the tone in the second with his first career grand slam. Phillies starter Brett Myers struggled in the first but settled down to go seven innings. Brewers starter CC Sabathia struggled all game letting up five runs in 3 2/3 and walking four. The Phillies were victorious, 5-2. In Game 3, Phillies starter Jamie Moyer never recovered from a wild first inning. Brewers starter Dave Bush and four relievers combined to only let up one run. J.J. Hardy had three hits, including an RBI single in the two-run first inning. The Brewers never trailed after that and won 4-1. In Game 4, Phillies starter Joe Blanton when six strong letting up only one run and striking out seven. Brewers starter Jeff Suppan let up three home runs including Jimmy Rollins' lead off homer. After Pat Burrell and Jason Werth went back-to-back off Suppan in the third, the Phils never looked back winning the game 6-2 and taking the series three games to one.

The Los Angeles Dodgers sweep the Chicago Cubs three games to zero.

In Game 1, Derek Lowe went six strong innings for the Dodgers letting up two runs and striking out six. Mark DeRosa got things started for the Cubs with a two run homer in the second but James Loney quickly rivaled that for the Dodgers in the fifth with a grand slam. After that the Dodgers cruised, taking the game easily, 7-2. In Game 2, the Dodgers jumped all over Carlos Zambrano with five runs in the second inning, including Russel Martin's three-run double. Zambrano let up seven runs in all, only three earned. But the game was over after the second inning, the Dodgers took the game, 10-3. In Game 3, Hiroki Kuroda went six shutout innings for the Dodgers who set the tone early with James Loney's two-run double in the first. The Cubs were not able to get their bats alive in this one, as the case was all series. Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Geovanny Soto, Jim Edmonds, and Kosuke Fukudome all hit less than .200 versus the Dodgers who had no problem putting the Cubbies away 3-1 and sweeping the series three games to zero.

So that's all she wrote so far, I hope you were able to catch a few of the games. The ALCS is shaping up to be a great one and has not dissappointed thus far with the Rays and the Red Sox tied at one going to Fenway Park. Keep an eye on Evan Longoria, he'll be key for the Rays in Boston. Philly seems to be handling the Dodgers pretty well as the team rides their lights-out bullpen who has not let up a run thus far in the NLCS. As it stands, the Phils are up two games to none on the Dodgers. If the Dodgers hope to come back, the key factor will be the on-base production of Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin who have gone a combined 3-for-16 in the series.

Take care Leatherheads, and write back!

Somewhere, Ned Yost is Laughing

2008-10-03T13:56:00.007-04:00

Dale Sveum is not very bright. That is the only explanation I can think of for intentionally walking Shane Victorino last night in the fourth inning. So Sabathia could face Chase Utley and subsequently Ryan Howard. I understand that the Flyin' Hawaiian is a switch hitter and Utley is a left-handed batter, but this move is nonetheless idiotic. As you can see in the above photograph, he doesn't even know how to run the bases*. How is this guy in charge of the on-field operations for a baseball team?

As it is, of course, Ryan Howard struck out with the bases loaded and Sveum doesn't look like a dumbass. If the sun shines on every dog's ass once in a while, then I guess that it'll shine on a horse's ass sometimes, too.

*this is a joke.
1 - http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/2746749312_bcd7b5e630.jpg?v=0

And Down the Stretch They Come...

2008-09-22T00:00:00.002-04:00

Hey Leatherheads, it seems like the only thing you can count on these days are triple-digit moves in the stock market. With the exception of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels, most teams in playoff races have been very inconsistent.

Manny being Manny has helped the Dodgers take control of the NL West

In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquisition of Manny Ramirez has dramatically changed the division. Before the season, it appeared the Arizona Diamondbacks would win the division in a tight race. But with how weak the NL West was, all it took was one move to change the team attitude. So much so, that not many people realize the Dodger record at the time of the trade (54-53) is not much worse then where the team is at now (81-75). But that modest improvement has been enough to stake themselves to a two-and-a-half game lead over the D-Backs. The strong backend of the bullpen along with the team's above average bats should keep them on top to finish out the year.

In the AL Central, the Chicago Cubs have maintained the second best record in baseball and yesterday were able to clinch the division for the second consecutive season. This is the first time for the Cubbies since 1907 that they have finished consecutive seasons in first place. Manager Lou Pinella owes the team success to what he likes to call "Cubby occurances."

This year those "Cubby Occurances" have included Geovanny Soto's amazing year, contributions from castoffs Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson, and Kerry Wood being able to successfully trade places with Ryan Dempster. A far cry from the "Cubby Occurances" of yesteryear, like the "Bartman Incident" or maybe Ronny Cedeno getting thrown out stealing second on a walk. There was also that game in 2006 when Andrew Jones tagged up to score, from 2nd base. There was also that time in 2004 when the Chicago Cubs almost weren't able to sign Greg Maddux, that is because GM Jim Hendry tripped on a dustpan while carrying his son's birthday present down the stairs, requiring immediate reconstructive knee surgery.

My personal favorite was how the Chicago Cubs made it a point to monitor Glenallen Hill's severe arachnaphobia. This was because back in 1990 Hill ended up on the 15-day DL as a result of a violent nightmare about spiders. He popped out of his bed, bumped into a glass table, and plunged down a staircase all happening while he was asleep.

But I digress, I do actually like the Cubs chances this year. The Milwaukee Brewers looked, for a little while, like they might give the Cubs a run for their money. After the Brewers acquired CC Sabathia at the trading deadline they were on fire. But they have severely fallen off and have fallen one-and-a-half games back of the New York Mets for the NL wildcard.

In the NL East the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies are in a two team battle for first place. As it stands the Phillies are one-and-a-half games ahead of the Mets after their win and the Mets loss today. Like Casey Stengel used to say, the Mets continue to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory and it seems this may ultimately cost them the division. But I do believe they'll take the NL wildcard.

In the AL West, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have long run away with the division. With the best record in baseball and the Texas Rangers twenty-one-and-a-half games back, the Angels wrapped this up a long time ago.

In the AL Central the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins fight it out atop the division. As it stands the Sox are two and a half games up with six left to play. The Twins have stayed
competitive throughout the year and have outplayed everyone's expectations. They have a great core of young players, but they will eventually lose the Central to the White Sox.

Then you have the AL East where the Tampa Bay Rays have shockingly locked up the division. The Boston Red Sox are one game from locking up the wildcard. It was always in the back of every baseball fan's mind watching all the great players come up with the Tampa Bay Rays that you just knew their time was coming. For the first time since 1993, the Yankees will be missing the playoffs but it's about time another franchise got it's chance to shine.

That's it for now Leatherheads. Stay tuned for the playoffs!

Cy Young Had the Most Wins by Any Pitcher / Cy Young Had the Most Losses by Any Pitcher

2008-09-19T08:49:00.005-04:00

Hey Leatherheads,

Just calling out to everyone for what their picks (not predictions for the Baseball Writers Association of America . . . screw anyone who says that Jimmy Rollins was MVP last year!) for some of the major awards for this year are.

There's always a ton written about the MVP and Cy Young awards, and we can cover those, for sure (and sort of did a couple weeks ago), but how about the less talked-about awards like Manager of the Year (my guess: Willie Randolph!) and Comeback Player of the Year. While we're at it, why not pick the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards as well? If you'd like to take this opportunity to combine the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards to create All-Star Teams at the end of the season, then that's cool, too. Up to y'all.

I'll wait on you all to see what you've got to say, but it's probably pretty obvious (based on my last post) who I'd pick for AL Comeback.

Here's your chance to be heard (at least by us)!

Finally, post title brought to us by the Dan Bern song "Cy Young" -- a great folk tune.

Rocco's Modern Life

2008-09-10T17:51:00.005-04:00

Okay, you all may have already heard about this, but Rocco Baldelli is back in the majors after a pretty serious scare with Mitochondrial myopathy, a condition that causes extreme muscular fatigue with normal or light exercise. Baldelli, who was a budding superstar just a few years ago, has battled injuries since then until finally being diagnosed (sort of) with the mitochondrial disorder. The condition is life-altering and in many cases is even life-threatening.

Now, I am really happy for Josh Hamilton, battling addiction is a tough thing and hopefully something none of us Leatherheads ever have to deal with. However, I am kind of curious about why the same people who make Hamilton out to be a hero have made Baldelli seem like some kind of wuss. To be sure, it is difficult to battle addiction, but Hamilton brought his condition upon himself, while no one really knows what caused Baldelli's.

In ranking shortstops historically based on worth, Bill James brought up an interesting point. People make Buck Weaver out to be some sort of screwed-over victim of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, but no one seems to care about Ray Chapman, who was not only killed, but was also clearly the superior player.

I think the same argument can be made here for Baldelli. People just don't really care. And that's really too bad because as a rookie, Baldelli was an all-around player, but he was best known for his speed and his fielding. Times change, and in his modern life, he can barely run enough to start at designated hitter. Well, this is probably the only time you'll ever hear me say anything good about the DH, but for Rocco, I'm glad that it's there. Hopefully he can help the Rays in October.

Closers

2008-09-04T22:30:00.002-04:00

Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Tonight I shall be writing about closers. I was going to write about the AL West or NL Central (until I saw that Anthony wrote a post about it) but then I just suddenly thought about this topic, and it's something I've always been wondering about. A few times I've heard Anthony say that Mariano Rivera is the best closer to ever play the game, and of course millions of other people share that same opinion. I don't disagree, but I don't know if I agree either.

I'm not really sure how you can ever say that so and so is the best closer ever, I just don't get it. Mariano is the best closer ever, but Trevor Hoffman has over 500 saves, by far the most saves ever. Then you've got Francisco Rodriguez who may set a new major league record for most saves in a season. How can we say one is better than the other? The way I see it, it all depends on the team you're on. I think Rodriguez will be considered the best closer of the 2008 season when it ends, but why? Because he saved 60 games or whatever? I think its great he might break the record, but it's not like he's saving so many games because he's so great, but because he gets a lot more opportunities than others. Of course that means he's reliable, but I feel there are other closers that could do what he's doing if they had the chances.

Rivera isn't going to be doing that as long as he's on the Yankees, since they mostly win with a score 17-5 and ridiculous stuff like that. If you're on a team with great pitching and a great offense, then you most likely aren't going to get as many chances to save a game as other closers may get on a team with great defense and pitching with no offense, or great offense with ok/bad pitching. I feel like there are too many factors to determine who is a better closer, when it comes to the really good ones. It's kinda like saying Robin Ventura is better than David Wright because he has more grandslams; that all depends on a specific situation and how often you're placed in that spot. Just like saves, you have to have a team that can reach the (potential) last inning of play with the right conditions for a save, which doesn't happen all the time.

Those camo Padres uniforms are butt ugly!

Second Half Keys for Success- NL Central

2008-09-03T22:20:00.003-04:00

Hello Leatherheads! How are things? It's been a good time to be a baseball fan (well unless your a Yankee fan). But we do have our first confirmed use of instant replay. Alex Rodriguez hit a drive deep down the left field line in the 9th inning off of Tampa Bay Rays closer Troy Percival. The initial call was home run. If you looked quick it did seem possible that the ball could have careened off of the second deck in foul territory, when the ball clearly hit that deck causing it to change direction. Rays manager Joe Maddon argued that he thought the play should be reviewed, umpiring crew leader Charlie Relaford agreed. Upon taking a two minutes and twenty second look at a monitor in the third-base dugout, the original call was confirmed. It's better to get the call right then not, especially when there are playoff implications on the line. A good first for Major League Baseball, the first use of instant replay a success.

So let's get to the best division in all of baseball, the NL Central

Aramis Ramirez is a big reason why the Chicago Cubs are
the best team in the major leagues

Milwaukee Brewers: Here's a team that historically has been either terrible or mediocre. Even heading towards the trading deadline, this team didn't seem all that great. But the acquisition of CC Sabathia gave the Brewers a spark that set them on fire. In his first game he pitched a complete game and hit a home run. That was followed by two more complete games. Since the deal, Sabathia is 9-0 with a 1.43 ERA with a total of an astounding six complete games (nine in total, five shutouts). Only Roy Halladay comes close with eight complete games, but only two shutouts.

Hitting and on the field, the Brewers look pretty good. Ryan Braun is a masher but has his adventures in left. Mike Cameron is an above average center fielder, always keeps a .250 AVG but shows power at the plate. Corey Hart is having a nice year both offensively and defensively in right. Prince Fielder is having a nice power year and better than you would expect at first base. Rickie Weeks has been below average at the plate and average at second. J.J. Hardy is one of the streakiest players in baseball but is having a very nice year for himself. Jason Kendall is a shell of what he used to be behind the plate.

On the pitching front, CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets are the best 1, 2 combination in the major leagues. The rest of the rotation is average at best. The bullpen has been shaky. Eric Gagne has been awful and has been pitching middle relief of late. But Solomon Torres has stepped up as closer and Ben Shouse as the set-up man. They have really anchored the back-end of the bullpen.

Chicago Cubs: As what seems to happen every year, baseball fans are looking for something to go wrong to throw a wrench in what has been a great season for the Cubbies. Alfonso Soriano has been having an above-average year, but has been hot of late. Jim Edmonds and Kosuke Fukudome are having rather pedestrian years in center and right. Aramis Ramirez has been having a great year, like he always does. Ryan Theriot has been a good leadoff hitter and played a good shortstop, providing nice speed and contact hitting atop the lineup. Mark DeRosa has been having a very good year at second base. Derrek Lee's been having a nice year, showing flashes of 2005 when he hit .335 with 22 home runs and 82 RBIs. Geovany Soto is the undisputed NL Rookie of the Year (.294 AVG, 21 HRs, 80 RBIs) behind the plate.

The Cubs have been led by their outstanding rotation. Their top four of Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, and Ted Lilly is the best in the majors. No one in their rotation has less than nine wins. Ryan Dempster has been a big part of the rotation's success, his 15-6 record and 2.99 ERA with 167 strikeouts has him in CY Young consideration (he doesn't hold a candle to CC Sabathia or Tim Lincecum though). In the bullpen Kerry Wood was shaky early but rebounded nicely to have 28 saves and a 2.81 ERA on the season. Carlos Marmol has been lights out at his set-up man. The rest of the bullpen has been below average, but the back-end is one of the best in baseball.

At this point, you can count out the St. Louis Cardinals. They kept it close but have really fallen off of late, they are not catching either of these two teams. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, and Cincinnati Reds have long been out of contention.

Analysis: I'm surprised the Brewers have kept it as close as they have. They have been losing steam of late, the recent sweep by the New York Mets hasn't helped. The Brewers have remained resilient all season and I expect that to continue though I do not expect them to catch the Cubs. Though the Cubs have also been slipping of late, they will win the NL Central. The Brewers will take the Wild Card. Nothing could possibly happen to keep the Cubbies from the NLCs, but then again they still are the Cubs.

Take care all and as always.....Comment!!!!

Two Guitars, Bass and Drums / Yeah, Our Lineup Was the Same Then

2008-09-03T17:58:00.008-04:00

Greetings, Leatherheads!

I had a visitor from the Left Coast last week, which was an enjoyable time, as we drank a few Siberian Nights. He also smuggled several Oregonian, Washingtonian and Californian beers onto the plane, which were all quite excellent. We also got to watch one of the worst baseball games I've ever seen, where a fan was ejected for trying to use the restroom during "God Bless America".

Anyway, more to the point, he also alerted me to a recently released album, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails by a group called The Baseball Project. As this is supposedly a baseball blog, I think it is probably appropriate to do a quick review.

The album runs the gamut from sad melodies like "Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays" to basic grooves like "Gratitude (For Curt Flood)" to the Latin "Fernando." Aside from its obvious appeal to baseball fans, this album stands on its own as a great rock record. For baseball fans, especially fans of baseball history, the album is a must-listen, with tracks about Ed Delahanty, Harvey Haddix, Curt Flood, Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson, amongst many others.

The album begins with "Past Time," sort of an introduction to baseball and the importance of its interweaving with America history. The next song is "Ted Fucking Williams," which takes a potshot at the great slugger's well-known arrogance. "Gratitude (For Curt Flood)" is all about the plight of the gold glove centerfielder. "Broken Man" is sort of a jangly song, which belies its cynical, biting lyric.

"Satchel Paige Said" is probably the best crossover-type song on the album, as it is simply a great song about a famous American hero that isn't just about baseball. "Fernando" is a sad Latin tune (sung in Spanish) about Fernando Valenzuela. "Long Before My Time" is another nice crossover-type song, that really isn't exactly about baseball so much as it is about aging, but I don't like it as much as "Satchel Paige Said."

"Jackie's Lament" is spun from Jackie Robinson's point-of-view. Most people think of Jackie as more being in the right place at the right time, but that's not how it was, and this song does a good job of telling, at least what I think, was going through his head as he broke the color barrier. "Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays" is about watching your heroes grow old, but remembering them in their prime. "The Death of Big Ed Delahanty" is an ode to a great, but often forgotten, Hall of Famer, who lived hard and died young.

"Harvey Haddix" is a great song that pays tribute to one of the most impressive pitching performances of all time, but the only problem is that more people probably know about Haddix's than half of the others mentioned. It's also a great testament to those of us who've come up just short, through no fault of our own -- as they say, "A perfect game, if nothing else, 'cause perfection's always flawed."

"The Yankee Flipper" is about a pitcher I haven't thought about in years, Jack McDowell, who I didn't realize was also a big rock music fan (apparently, he loved the Replacements). Unfortunately, his career went downhill pretty quickly, but at least he lives on in song. The album ends with the appropriately titled "The Closer," a song about the mentality of relief pitchers (as I write this, the Arizona Diamondbacks just tied the score in the bottom of the ninth . . . let's see what Adam Dunn does . . . he doubled, game over D'backs win. Also, I was just informed that Adam Dunn was traded for "some jackass [my aforementioned visitor] went to high school with"). I'm not a big fan of closers in general and this is probably my least favorite song on the album, though it really may be more of tongue-in-cheek look at them and how they're probably taken way too seriously.

Anyway, if you got through this, you might as well check out the album. If you're a fan of baseball (and you probably are if you're reading this) and rock music (and if you're not, you should be!), it's really kind of essential.

Rank: A-

I Stepped Outside to Smoke Myself a Jay

2008-08-30T13:02:00.003-04:00

Although this is not necessarily baseball-related, it's just too funny to pass up.

DeadSpin covers it here:

http://deadspin.com/5043228/roger-ebert-gives-jay-mariotti-a-strategically-placed-thumb-on-his-way-out-the-door

-wal

Fourth Quarter Keys to Success - American League West

2008-08-23T19:59:00.003-04:00

Angels -- Just show up.

Rangers -- Keep on hitting, maybe you can get this franchise up to respectability with a .500 season. Kind of sad about Ian Kinsler.

Athletics -- Gave up trying to win when they traded Rich Harden and Joe Blanton. Not that Joe Blanton's all that great. We'll probably see them in 2009.

Mariners -- On the bright side, you've still got Felix Hernandez and Ichiro. On the less bright side, you've got a $118 M payroll and you're 47-81 and thirty games out of first place.

What Made Milwaukee Famous / Made a Loser Out of Me

2008-08-23T14:22:00.004-04:00

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Miller Park opened a couple years ago in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and it seems like the Brewers want to thank the fans for it. What used to be one of the saddest franchises in all of baseball (what kind of team can switch leagues and no one even cares?) has rebounded to become one of the best teams in the National League. And I'm happy for them. As Paul notes, the Brewers are another team who actually seems to treat their fans in a respectful manner.

Beers were so affordable that I even bought one ($5.25 for a pint of Miller High Life and $4 for a pint of Sharp's; I went for the High Life), and although I didn't try the food, I've heard that it's pretty good. In any event, High Life on draft is delicious.

Because it is a retractable dome, the stadium is very different from the others that we've seen on the trip (and that I've ever seen except Skydome in Toronto, Ontario), but it definitely had charm in its own way. Although it did not have the same view of the cityscape that many of the other stadiums have had, the view that it did have was framed very nicely by the sides of the dome. I've heard that the roof only takes a few minutes to close (when I went to a game in Toronto as a kid, it started raining and took quite some time to close the roof). But I cannot verify this, because the night was clear, so the roof stayed open all game.

The scoreboard was very nice (although there was no clock) and the out-of-town scoreboard was adequate (though it did not declare pitchers). No $5 hats outside, but decent $12 hats (ball and glove logo) inside, though I did not buy one. Unforunately, we didn't get to see Ben Sheets or Cubic Centimeter Sabathia, but Dave Bush pitched pretty well and Jimmy Jazz Hardy and Mike Cameron each homered. Unforunately Cameron's homerun (which was directly down the rightfield line) occurred just after we left a great view directly at the rightfield foul pole (if you go, definitely check out this vantage point, it is a unique -- and exceptional -- one I've never seen at another stadium). This is another stadium, by the way, where you can walk all the way around the stadium and the ushers let you walk around as you please.

We spent the afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin, home of the University of Wisconsin Badgers. This is a great city, if you are in the area, it is definitely worth checking out. Madison is characterized by a very nice landscape and a nice downtown with plenty of bars and a great university district. Plus, you can buy beer at the University of Wisconsin Student Center (supposedly the only public university in the country where this is the case. I'm not completely convinced. I went to a public university, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and they gave away free beer once a month). We even got to go for a swim in the lake adjoining the university grounds.

Miller Park Grades:

Biggest Advantages: Good and inexpensive beers, Good team, Interesting design
Biggest Drawbacks: Did not feel as close and intimate as PNC or Wrigley
Overall: B+

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Hey, Chicago, What Do You Say? / The Cubs Are Gonna Win Today

2008-08-23T14:17:00.004-04:00

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Okay, I could write for a day about Wrigley Field, but there really isn't any point. Anything that I could say has already been said. Just go.

I will say that, although Chicago is expensive, Wrigley is actually quite affordable. I was shocked that the Cubs actually treat their fans with respect. It's kind of amazing, but I guess that's how you keep a fanbase after 100 years of futility.

Wrigley Field Grades:

Biggest Advantages: History, Ivy, Closeness
Biggest Drawbacks: The Cubs still have never won a World Series since it was built in 1914

Overall: A+

Up Next: Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Ding, Ding, Ding Goes the Trolley . . .

2008-08-21T11:33:00.002-04:00

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The new Busch Stadium opened up in 2006 and . . . so here's the review.

Another city, another new stadium, another great view of a downtown. In this case, the view is of the Gateway Arch on the Mighty Mississippi and the city courthouse. Unfortunately, as I said, I think I'm becoming desensitized to this.

Superficially, the stadium reminded me of Great American Ballpark, though that may be in large part because all of the seats were red. The stadium itself is deceptively big, it actually seemed smaller from the Upper Deck than from the Field Level standing room. Along with Detroit, these have been the only stadiums where ushers have been less than polite. Worse than Detroit, the ushers really do move you along here and don't exactly let you stand around and watch the game from different vantage points (aside from the dedicated standing room). A good out-of-town scoreboard and a very nice scoreboard overall (though make sure you bring your glasses, as the statistics show up a little small). Outside the stadium, there were statues of past Cardinal greats and a very impressive one dedicated to the great Stan Musial. Plus, there's The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame.

An interesting factoid is that St. Louis, in my opinion has had, by far, the most attractive fanbase of any stadium we've yet seen. We'll see how Cubs fans do, but as of right now, the Cards take the cake. They also score major points for putting the kibosh on "The Wave."

No opportunities for street meat outside, but a decent watering hole just a block or two away with $6 tall boys (24 oz beers). We couldn't find any $5 hats, either.

Andrew and I stayed with an old college buddy of mine in Maplewood, Missouri, a few minutes outside the downtown and ate lunch at Schlafly's and toured their brewery. As an experienced brewery tourer, I can say that this was a pretty good one. The food was good (and quite filling). The beer, aside from the Raspberry Hefeweizen, was also quite good. On Monday night, we found our freedom at Blueberry Hill and, following that, Cicero's. We finally ended the night at Saratoga Lanes, a bowling alley I'd highly recommend for its $2.50 beers and (most of all) its manual scoring.

The other folks stayed downtown and seemed to enjoy it. They toured the Anheiseur-Busch brewery and said that it was a good tour. We considered touring Anheiseur-Busch but, ultimately, figured that it unfortunately must end with drinking beers brewed by Anheiseur-Busch (or InBev, or whatever).

Before the game, we briefly walked around the park with the Gateway Arch and, if you've got the time, it's a nice park to see, very clean and the arch is pretty impressive in person.

Mike also claimed that he liked the old Busch Stadium moreso than the new one, so that's something to keep in mind, as well.

Busch Grades:

Biggest Advantages: View of the Arch, Scoreboard, Proximity to the Bowling Hall of Fame (?)
Biggest Drawbacks: Impolite ushers

Overall Grade: C+ (still above average, but not that much)

Up Next: Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois

. . . Finally, just want to give a special thanks to Mike Reuther for putting us up for the two nights and Kevin Brown for meeting us out (neither of you will probably read this)

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Second Half Keys to Success- NL East

2008-08-21T02:56:00.003-04:00

Hello everybody, this will be my first article for this site so I'd like to just give you a little information about myself. I was born and raised in Philly, but currently I live in Jersey. Two lessons that I was taught growing up were: 1) Philadelphia's got more than cheesesteaks 2) Love the Phightins'
The NL East race won't be decided until the final week of the regular season. The metropolitans, fish, and phils are all talented teams and legitimate contenders. However, in the end, only one of these teams is going to make the playoffs.

Phillies-
If the season were to end right now the Phillies would finish 1 and a half games out of the NL East and 4 games out of the wild card. With only 68 wins at this point of the season Jimmy Rollin's prediction of 100 wins seems a bit out of reach. Unless the Phils can win 32 of their last 36 it looks like the 2007 MVP and the rest of the team will fall short of the shortstop's 100 win prophecy.
Luckily for the team, it won't take 100 wins for them to win the NL East. It will take something that they have been lacking since June 13th where they embarrassed the cardinals 20-2. Bat stability. The offense has not been consistent enough for the team to have success, and the numbers show as the team is only 27-30 after that game. Where they were 41-28 prior. On June 13th, where every St. Louis Cardinal (except Aaron Miles [STL 2nd baseman] who pitched the only scoreless inning in that game) was wishing their was a forfeit rule in baseball, and everyone somewhat related to the Phillies organization (fans, players, coaches, front office members, etc.) had thought the Phillies were about to run away with the NL East race, the hitting started to go downhill. They lost the remaining two games of the series and still haven't gone above .500 baseball since that point.
If the Phillies are going to turn this race around, they are going to need to play "Angels' Baseball". Where they "Get em' on, get em' over, and get em' in." If the pitching stays solid, and if Utley, Howard, or Burrell gets hot they'll be able to win the few remaining crucial games against their division rivals.

Marlins-
During an interview with an ESPN reporter in Spring training Hanley Ramirez asked why they [ESPN] didn't follow them around all the time. He also stated "When we're one game out of 1st place with a week to go they'll be reporters all over the place." I don't think anyone thought Ham-Ram's statement might become a reality come September.
If the Rays weren't having the season they're having the Marlins would be getting a lot more media attention. They're competing against two of the most stacked teams in baseball for a division title with a team that's total payroll is less than that of three players on the Yankees. (A-Rod, Jeter, and Giambi) They may be 5 games out of first at the moment, but don't count the fish out yet. They are a power-packed line-up and the key to their season has been to out slug their opponents. They currently rank 4th in the Majors in round trippers with 167 of them, 53 by the 2B/SS.
The key for this team is to win the important games. They don't have solid pitching (4.45 ERA 20th) and they're second in the league in errors with 95 of them. If the Marlins can use their power in the clutch they could get hot and make a run for the NL East.

Mets-
The Mets are the current leaders of the NL East. The mixture of young superstars (Jose Reyes, Johan Santana and David Wright) and older veterans (Carlos Delgado) creates a very balanced team featuring above average pitching, good power, and speed. After last years September collapse they are looking to redeem themselves by winning the division.
Injuries are keeping the Mets from reaching their full potential. Ryan Church, Luis Castillo, Moses Alou, and Billy Wagner are all important pieces to the New York puzzle that are currently on the Disabled List. The closer situation is also not looking so good. Billy Wagner has not been the same lights out lefty this year as we've seen him be throughout his career. He's battled injuries in his elbow as well as other places in his arm.
If the Mets want to hold on to their slim lead over the other NL East contenders two things are going to need to happen. The back-up players that are starting now because of the injuries such as Fernando Tatis are going to have to keep playing like they have been and really make a positive impact on the team. Also, the late inning guys such as Aaron Heilman who has been thrust into the closer's role due to Wagner's injury are going to need to step up and shut the door at the end of games. The Mets have failed at doing this all year. For example Johan Santana has left the game with the lead numerous times and on many occasions the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning guys have failed to keep the lead in tact and get him the victory.

Analysis-
Barring some amazing streak put together by the Marlins, the NL East is going to come down to the Phillies and the Mets, just like it did in 2007. Contrasting to 2007, in 2008 the Mets are on the better side of the head to head record with their division rivals. The upcoming series between the two teams could decide the race. Don't get distracted by the media controversies, injuries, awards, boos, and cheers because in the end there can only be one NL East Champion.

Second Half Keys to Success- AL Central

2008-08-21T02:02:00.007-04:00

Hey Leatherheads, how are things? I hope you've been reading Jesse's articles about his recent stadium visits, if not, you've been missing out.

As we watch the summer wind down the races are becoming more clear. Up next is the two team race that is the AL Central:

In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Minnesota Twins
find themselves only one game behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

At the beginning of these season I thought that the White Sox and the Twins would be where the Tigers and Indians are respectively and vice versa. Baseball can be a funny sport, as you see how that prediction has turned out.

Minnesota Twins: Here's a team that lost one of their best hitters and their best pitcher in the offseason but are still eighteen games over .500 and are one of the most exciting teams to watch in baseball. Led by their three stars, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Joe Nathan, the Twins find themselves fighting for the AL wildcard spot with the Boston Red Sox. All three have had great years thus far but this team's story has been some of the lesser known players stepping up, bringing consistency to their respective positions. Mauer has been solid at catcher and Morneau very solid at first. Nick Punto has been a pleasant surprise at second base by hitting .280 with 2 HRs and 23 RBIs in the absence of the injured Alexi Casilla. Casilla comes back this week which will once again make Punto a utility player, but this time he'll be the first bat off the bench. In what was supposed to be a platoon situation between Brandan Harris and Adam Everett at shortstop is slowing becoming a full-time position for Everett. Before Everett's recent hand injury that has left him day-to-day, Harris had been relegated to more of a utility infield position. Also, with the offensive emergence of Brian Buscher at third base, the Twins haven't minded using the light hitting, but gold-glove caliber Everett at shortstop. Buscher recently took the third base job from Mike Lamb who has been slumping all year, hitting .236 with 1 HR and 32 RBIs. Delmon Young has been average, .286 AVG with 7 HRs and 53 RBIs. Carlos Gomez has been very good in centerfield, using his speed much to his advantage tracking down fly balls. But his .251 AVG, 6 HRs, and 37 RBIs show that his still getting used to the major leagues. He was leading off but his abysmal .286 OBP has left Ron Gardenhire to go with right fielder Denard Span atop the lineup. He became a major part of the Twins plans when Michael Cuddyer was reinjured during a rehab stint and looks like will be out for the year. Span has gotten everyone's attention because of how he has stepped up over the past few months. On the year, he's hitting .314 with 2 HRs and 21 RBIs with a .396 OBP.

The Twins' starting rotation is not much different from the season's beginning with the exception of Livan Hernandez being released. Francisco Liriano, who recently got recalled from the minor leagues, has solidified himself as being the staff ace in only four starts. This is because the Twins four other starters have ERAs between 3.50 and 4.20. But each also have win totals between 7 and 10. They don't have even a number two starter, but when a team has four number 3 starters, it almost makes up for it. In the bullpen, you know Joe Nathan. But it's really been Jesse Crain and Dennys Reyes that have solidified the bullpen. When Pat Neshek went down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in May, the bridge to Nathan looked iffy. But Reyes and Crain have done respectable jobs in the 7th and 8th innings respectively.

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox have gotten by much of the same way the Twins have with a good degree of consistency throughout the year. AJ Pierzynski has had a good year behind the plate, putting up around the same numbers he always does each year by hitting .294 with 12 HRs, and 53 RBIs. Paul Konerko has been putting up the same power numbers he usually does but with a significantly lower average, .228. Orlando Cabrera has also been hitting consistently with his career numbers. Alexei Ramirez has been a nice surprise at second base, giving the bottom of the line up some pop with his 14 HRs thus far this season while hitting .309. Joe Crede has been on the DL since June 22 with a back lumbar inflammation, but wasn't having too great of a year before his DL stint, hitting .254 with 17 HRs and 54 RBIs. Uribe has been playing 3rd in his absence but hasn't been doing too much out of the 9 hole in the lineup. Much of the White Sox's offense comes out of the outfield. Carlos Quentin (35 HRs and 97 RBIs), Nick Swisher (20 HRs and 61 RBIs), and Jermaine Dye (29 HRs and 79 RBIs) are having great power years. If you throw in designated hitter Jim Thome's 26 HRs and 73 RBIs, along with newly acquired Ken Griffey Jr.'s 16 HRs and 60 RBIs, the Sox's 3 to 6 six hitters can drive in a great deal of runs. But Cabrera and Pierzynski at the top of the lineup have produced OBPs of only .324 and .321 respectively, otherwise their RBI numbers would be even higher than they already are.

When it comes to pitching, the White Sox remain inconsistent as they have throughout the season. All four starters in the rotation (the fifth has been a merry-go-round the past month or so) have all posted at least 10 wins. But the top two, Mark Buerhle and Javier Vazquez have also posted 10 losses. John Danks and Gavin Floyd have been good especially Danks who has a 3.11 ERA. Bobby Jenks has been almost lights out in the bullpen. Octavio Dotel and Matt Thornton have done a good job with getting the game to Jenks. Dotel has struggled a bit of late, but should come around in a few more appearances.

Analysis: At the beginning of the season, no one would have thought the Twins would be where they're at right now. It is going to be a lot of fun to watch the Twins and the Chicago White Sox fight it out down the stretch. I'd love to see them make the playoffs but it remains to be seen if they can keep the pace while the White Sox have been here plenty of times before. I'd say unfortunately the Twins lose the division by 2 to 3 games or so and the Boston Red Sox take the Wildcard.

Shockingly, the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians remain 11.5 and 14.5 games back respectively. I never thought I'd be counting them out early but injury and ineffectiveness have ravaged both teams. They still have the pieces to contend next season, but lets see if that actually happens. And the Kansas City Royals, well, let's just say some predictions you can always count on.

All is good Leatherheads. Comment! Show us your out there!

Check it out

2008-08-18T16:38:00.002-04:00

Since Jesse is motoring across the country checking out a bunch of stadiums and giving us the scoop on the stadiums themselves and the immediate surrounding areas, I read this article today and figured it relates somewhat. It focuses on every team and examines exactly how much they try to screw (or in a few rare cases, not-screw) us dear loyal fans. It's located at The Hardball Times which is in my opinion one of the best baseball sites around. At any rate, here is a link to the aforementioned article. It's really an interesting read on something I never thought much about. I encourage everyone to read it and if nothing else understand how the Mariners manage to suck off the field as well. Alrighty, that's all. Keep up the good work Jesse, I'm digging it.

Going Down to Cincinnati, Ohio . . .

2008-08-18T10:48:00.005-04:00

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Hey Leatherheads, still at the hotel in Florence, Kentucky, a touching suburb a short ride across the river from Cincinnati. Post title comes from the song "Cincinnati, OH" by the Morris/Sussex County, New Jersey-based band Annoying Customer. So here's the review of Great American Ballpark.

The stadium scores major points because, like PNC Park and the new Nationals Stadium, it's on the banks of a river (the Ohio), with a beautiful panoramic view of the river as it passes by. I'd also like to stress that this is a corporate-sponsored stadium. I really wish more teams tried to work in at least a decent sounding name to their corporate-sponsored parks, for example, when the San Francisco Giants approached Ralph Lauren about sponsoring "The Polo Grounds." I completely understand why it's good to have a corporate sponsor (it basically pays for a superstar every year), but it would be nice if the names weren't quite as contrived as U.S. Cellular Field.

Great American is another open-space walk-around stadium. They shoot off something or other (cannons?) when homeruns are hit (Brandon Phillips hit one), which is pretty sweet. Edinson Volquez managed to pitch through quite a bit of trouble and it was a pretty exciting game (though that should not necessarily be included in the review).

As far as grabbing a bite before or after the game, we went to some restaurant/bar called "In Betweens," not a great place, but the waitress was nice enough. They also charged for water. We were hoping to just grab a slice, but no such luck. Also, no street meat outside, but there were quite a few people selling $1 bottles of Ice Mountain Water ("pure as the driven snow") and $3 bags of peanuts.

Similar to the rest of the stadiums we've been to, no one ushered you along if you stopped somewhere to take in a bit of the game. I feel like this freedom to wander around the parks at your leisure is so amazing, and yet it is present everywhere we go. It really drives home how crappy Shea is, and especially how crappy the people who run it treat us fans.

All in all, Great American Ball Park was simply a good experience. I feel, unfortunately, like I'm becoming desensitized to how great these new parks are (this year was also the first time I've seen games at the new Nationals and Phillies arenas) and I'm going to want to electrocute myself when I get back to New Jersey. I should have realized I'd feel this way because it's how my roommate, Shaun, felt when he came back from a vacation in Michigan a month ago.

It probably hurt the experience that we didn't get to see Adam Dunn or Joey Votto (though he did pinch hit). Newport on the Levee was a decent enough place to go out, kind of reminded me and Andrew of Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, for those of you who've been there. $1 Miller Lites is always nice. We ate at Montgomery Inn, a very nice place with good ribs, but post-date your check for your next paycheck.

Great American Ball Park Grades:

Biggest Advantages: Walking around, Friendly service,
Biggest Drawbacks: Nothing special in comparison to the other stadiums we've been to
Overall Grade: B/B+

Up Next: Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri

In Detroit 442 / Maybe, Baby, I Could Ride With You

2008-08-17T17:40:00.007-04:00

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What's up, Leatherheads? No time for an update this morning, as we were on road early in the a.m. to get to Cincinnati in time for today's 1:15 start. More on Cincinnati a little later, as this review is for Comerica Park in Detroit.

By the way, as a quick aside, I'd just like to update it that we attended Cleveland's Feast of the Assumption, which was a good time. Much lower key than New York's San Gennaro Festival, if any of you have been there. Additionally, Cleveland's West Side Market was a pretty fun place, kind of similar to Pike Place in Seattle, but different in many ways as well. Maybe Ichiro should check it out the next time he's in town.

So Comerica Park is another new stadium in the Jacobs Field mold. Like PNC Park and "The Jake," it was not designed to give a feel for the old-time ballparks, but instead to give a more modern sense. Another similarity to Jacobs Field is its openness and view of the city nearby, as well as the entrance being in the outfield.

Speaking of the city nearby, we arrived in Detroit with just enough time to take a little walk around and see some of the city. There was a park just a few blocks away (Mauritius Something or other Park) that wasn't too bad, but seemed kind of small. Additionally, a five- or ten-minute walk can take you to "GreekTown," which is a little neighborhood with a bunch of Greek restaurants where you can grab a gyro before the game (although we did not). GreekTown is pretty small, but if you have the time, it's kind of cool to see how close it is to the stadium. I feel like areas like that really suffer when parks come in and the corporate world takes over, but I guess that's not necessarily true (Little Italy and Camden Yards in Baltimore, for example).

Comerica is also another park where you can walk around the whole stadium to get different vantage points, which -- as I pointed out before -- is a really nice feature. We had standing room only tickets for the outfield balcony (a great view), which placed us in the vicinity of statues of past Tigers greats (and there have been a bunch). The only time we were asked to move on was when we accidentally stumbled into what I guess was a private event. The usher was less than polite, but then again, we were in Detroit.

Another great feature of Comerica was that they played pretty good music throughout. Even Curtis Granderson bats to Bell Biv Devoe. Oh yeah, and it was pretty cool to see the American League's Speed King, Justin Verlander.

Comerica Grades:

Biggest Advantages: Tigers statues, Great views of the game from almost every section, GreekTown
Biggest Drawbacks: No one sells $5 hats outside the stadium
Overall Grade: B+

Up Next: Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio

1-http://sylviagarza.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/2003-comerica-park.jpg

If I ever saw myself saying I'm excited going to Cleveland, I'd punch myself in the face, because I'm lying.

2008-08-16T08:29:00.006-04:00

Today's title comes, of course, from Ichiro's famous lambasting of Cleveland, Ohio, home of Progressive (formerly Jacobs, named after the current Marlins first baseman, perhaps?) Field and the second stop on my stadium tour. I'm transmitting my thoughts via World Wide Web from Lakewood, just outside of Cleveland.

In order to fulfill the conditions of my parole, as well as my love of public service, I'll review the ballpark. But I'm going to call it Jacobs Field. So, without further ado, let's get to the nasty.

Jacobs Field opened in the early 90's, a few years after Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore (as long as I can remember). I'm not 100% sure why, but I feel very much like Camden started the idea of getting ballparks away from boring, drab, cookie-cutter stadiums and going back to the olden times or forward to the 21st Century. Any look is better than the Shea Stadium/Philadelphia Veterans Stadium look of the 60's/70's.

While Camden Yards sought progress through embracing the looks of the old-time ballparks, Jacobs Field sought progess through a new look, which has now become relatively commonplace. Like Camden Yards, PNC, Citizen's Bank and many others, visitors to Jacobs Field are treated to a view of the city's skyline. This is a great feature and one that I know my friend Craig favors.

There is a nice little Indians Hall of Fame section near the entrance to the park (which is in the outfield, kind of like the new Nationals Park). One thing I will complain about is that we came into the Stadium while the first inning was just beginning and as we were walking to our seats (watching Vlad Guerrero bat) an usher told us we had to walk to our seats from the inside, where we couldn't actually watch the game.

Cleveland was an okay city, probably not quite as bad as Ichiro would have you believe, but there also wasn't an incredible amount going on for a Friday night. $4 32 oz. Labatt Blues at the Winking Lizard is a nice touch. Oddly, it seems like no one in Cleveland knows how to cross the street, because there seem to be cops on every corner. It's sort of like being in elementary school.

Jacobs Grades:

Biggest advantages: Nice park, Good area nearby to hang out, Cheap parking
Biggest drawbacks: Not quite as nice as some of the other new stadiums (still very nice)
Overall mark: B+

Up Next: Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan

Come Put Me Out of My Misery / 'Cause I'm Not Dead (I'm in Pittsburgh)

2008-08-15T10:41:00.005-04:00

Greetings, y'all, I am communicating with you via world wide web from beautiful Harmarville, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. Today's title comes from Frank Black's song which you can listen to at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDLqJndTdQY -- a chill, laid-back song which makes me wonder where in tarnation Debaser came from.

Anyway, a quick review of PNC Park for all the Leatherheads that haven't had the good fortune to visit it. If you're in the area, definitely stop by. The stadium is situated in such a way as to overlook a couple of really sweet bridges. The seats were incredible (just a few rows off the field down the rightfield line) and were so affordable (just 20 bucks) that being a Mets fan makes me want to cry. Another great feature of the arena (and this is beginning to be customary for all the new ballparks) is that you can walk around the whole stadium. Citizens Bank Park (the new Phillies stadium) was constructed likewise.

In fact, PNC very much reminded me of CBP, except everything was so much lower, so much closer to the field. At the risk of alienating all the Phillies fans who read this, I have to give credit where it is due. PNC Park came first -- and it's better.

The seats were not situated perfectly for sight-lines, which was kind of annoying because you were sort of craning your neck the whole game to see the pitches, but other than that I really don't have any complaints.

Plus, there was a fireworks show with REO Speedwagon performing following the game (if that's what you're into. For me, it's not. No offense to all you REO Speedwagon Leatherheads out there).

Since this is a baseball site, I'm not going to review the city, and I really didn't have enough time to get to know it well, but the folks that I did meet (everyone from the ushers at the stadium to the bartender after the game) were all very nice. The title of this post is not indicative of the experience I've had here whatsoever.

PNC Grades:
Biggest advantages: Beautiful park, very affordable
Biggest drawbacks: Having to watch the Pirates play
Overall mark: A-

Four Kids on Tour, Three Thousand Miles

2008-08-13T16:46:00.010-04:00

Hey . . . Leatherheads . . .

Just wanted to let you all know that a few high school friends and I are about to head out on a baseball stadium road trip. We'll be catching games in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago (Wrigley) and Milwaukee. Since I just got this laptop (big shout out to the good people at Wal Mart (is that an oxymoron?)!) and I (supposedly) blog about baseball, I think I ought to bring it along and do an update in each city.

So keep checking, as I'll be submitting entries almost every day for the next two weeks.

First up, Pittsburgh!

By the way, Flashing the Trivia: What song did this post come from? Follow-up: Whose story does the song tell?

Second Half Keys for Success- NL West

2008-08-06T20:51:00.006-04:00

Hello Leatherheads, the trade deadline has came and passed so I'm here to give you the second half keys for success. In this post, I'll be doing the teams in the running for the National League West division.

Eric Gagne, the prize of last year's trade deadline acquisitions

So I present to you, the NL West:

Arizona Diamondbacks: The D'Backs have been playing better ball of late winning seven out of their last ten, but overall, they've just been a mediocre team. Left Fielder Connor Jackson has been the brightest spot of the offense hitting .321 with 12 home runs, 56 RBIs and a .404 OBP. At second base Orlando Hudson does what he always does, hit slightly above .300 with little power and an average OBP. Over at third base, Mark Reynolds is all or nothing, hitting .246 with 21 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .330 OBP. At first base Chad Tracy is a decent contact hitter, not much more than that. I could picture him being more in a platoon at first. In center, Chris Young covers a lot of ground out there but hasn't been doing much at the plate, hitting .236 this season. In right, Chris Burke has been a terrible option as Justin Upton remains on the DL. In their rotation, Brandon Webb and Dan Haren have been their usual great selves as Webb has 14 wins while Haren has so far posted a 2.36 ERA. In the bullpen, Brandon Lyon hasn't done a great job holding games down blowing five saves thus far this season. Middle relief hasn't been good either but Jon Rauch (4-2, 2.84 ERA, 46Ks in 50 innings) show be great in the 8th and maybe even the 9th inning down the stretch.

Analysis: The D'Backs mediocrity sadly makes them just good enough to win the division. The team has a lot of needs. They missed out on the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, he would have fit well at first base once again making Chad Tracy a right fielder. They still need another bat to help protect Connor Jackson in the lineup, Reynolds does not cut it. Hopefully Chad Qualls will step up becoming the 7th inning guy. One more pitcher in the rotation would help too because Doug Davis will not hold up in the playoffs. Maybe Micah Owings will find himself again after being optioned to AAA. Or maybe he'll go all the way back to A to become an outfielder. Any one of these scenarios will ice the division for the D'Backs, but will they make a move?

Los Angeles Dodgers: For teams in the NL, especially in the West, all it may take is a move or two to push your team out of the chasm of mediocrity. The Dodgers have done just that, effectively assuring they will be battling for the NL West crown as opposed to falling apart like they did last year. They still won't overtake the Diamondbacks, but they should keep it interesting. First, the acquisition of Casey Blake for two minor leaguers. GM Ned Colletti wanted to acquire a shortstop, as he pushed hard for Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson, Toronto's David Eckstein, and Washington's Cristian Guzman. But when talks deteriorated, Colletti acquired Blake who was having a decent year in Cleveland (.296 AVG, 12 HRs, 60 RBIS). They hope Nomar Garciaparra can come back and play a respectable shortstop, but that will be a stretch, and it's also at least a month away from happening. Colletti also found away to erase the gamble they took on Andruw Jones who's career has crashed and burned over the past two seasons. They acquired the embattled, but overpowering offensive force that is Manny Ramirez. With the team hoping Matt Kemp can cover massive amounts of ground in center, the team is currently sending out Ramirez in left, Kemp in center, and Andre Ethier in right. The team also got an unexpected boost from set-up man Jonathan Broxton when closer Takashi Saito went on the DL with a elbow sprain. He has been five for five in save opportunities and only letting up one run since taking over as closer on July 18th.

Analysis: I do praise these moves that Colletti made. After a few seasons of having mediocre to just outright terrible seasons, he saw that this would be the best time to take a shot at the division. It also appears that though Manny will still be Manny, he does seem to have great respect for Joe Torre and has repeatedly said he will do anything Torre wants him to do for the best interest of the team. Though it remains to be seen if these recent comments are just Manny being Manny (aka bullshit). While I like the back-end of their bullpen with Saito (when he comes back) Broxton and Joe Beimel, I do not like their rotation at all. It's pretty much the veteran Derek Lowe and four unproven pitchers. That will not get you to the postseason.

Colorado Rockies: Normally I wouldn't even mention a team that is eight games out of a terrible division but in lieu of what the Rockies did last year, you can't count them out. Even though they didn't make a significant move at the deadline, they didn't last year either. But until they can get hot, injuries and inconsistencies are plaguing this sub-.500 team. Wily Taveras is not having a good year at the plate, Brad Hawpe is solid in right but I know the team had to have been expecting better than the .282 AVG, 17 HRs, and 56 RBIs he has this season(decent OBP at .383 though). Matt Holliday remains the only positive consistent element of this squad, doing his MVP thing he does every year (.346 AVG, 21 HRs, and 67 RBIs). In case your wondering he is hitting .317 on the road so there isn't much of a Coors Field effect. Garrett Atkins has been playing a serviceable first base and hitting like he always does (.294 AVG, 15 HRs, and 68 RBIs), filling in for the injured Todd Helton who is suffering from a "degenerative back condition." Ian Stewart is doing okay, but not providing much pop at the hot corner (.297 AVG, 5 HRs, 22 RBIs). He has also been tearing lefties up to the tune of a .526 AVG. Troy Tulowitzki is still trying to find himself after being injured most of last season. The bullpen is very streaky. Brian Fuentes is closer once again after faltering in the position last year and has been very good (2.86 ERA, 49 SO, 20 saves, in 44 IP). Manny Corpas is back to his set-up role again after serving as closer from the end of last season through the first few months of this season. In terms of middle relief Luis Vizcaino and Matt Herges have decent stuff but have not shown it this season. The starting rotation is unproven after Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook. Those two are always good but Ubaldo Jimenez, Glendon Rusch, and Jorge De La Rosa will not get you very far.

Analysis: I've learned to never count out the Rockies but I'm not sure how they will come back this year, especially with how strong the NL Central has turned out to be. I see the Cubs or Cards taking the wildcard, whoever doesn't win the division. Unless their pitching goes on a ridiculous run like they did last year the Rockies don't have a shot at the postseason.

Obviously, at this point, you can count out the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres.

Thanks for reading Leatherheads!! Up next for me, the AL Central.

P-U-D-G-E

2008-07-30T18:38:00.007-04:00

In today's blockbuster deal, the New York Yankees traded RHP Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for C Ivan Rodriguez. If you're a Yankee fan, this is probably the best thing you've felt since October 2000. Farnsworth and his mastery of the 2-run homer will head to Detroit in exchange for Pudge Rodriguez. With Posada out, this move makes sense and Pudge, even though he doesn't walk much and is like 37 is still as quality a backstop as there is although (like most catchers) he's prone to a second half fall-off. Maybe getting rid of Farnsworth will open up a spot in the bullpen for my personal favorite Yankee, Chris Britton. Anyway, here are some pictures (courtesy of typing in names on Google Image Search):

Ivan Rodriguez with ladyfriend

Kyle "Blown Lead" Farnsworth

Chris "Copkiller" Britton

(yea I made that nickname up but w/e)

Oh, somewhere along the way, I found this pic of Jorge Posada's wife. You know, for a guy who's generally not considered anywhere close to attractive, he's done alright for himself.

And lastly, in huge Yankees news, my second favorite Yankee, Carl Pavano, made a rehab start yesterday - he gave up a hit in two innings. Hurry back C. Piddy, the Yankees could use your 130mph fastball and your arrogance.

Casey Jones, You'd Better Watch Your Speed

2008-07-29T22:46:00.005-04:00

The Atlanta Braves finally moved 1B Mark Teixeira in exchange for 1B Casey Kotchman and righthanded pitching prospect Stephen Marek.

Teixeira, everyone knows, is a stud with the bat, career OPS+ 132 (139 in 2008: .283/.390/.512, 20 HR) and is also very accomplished in the field. We also know that he's a rent-a-player who is going to command somewhere in the $20M range for his contract this offseason.

Kotchman, career OPS+ 101 is an okay hitter, but very slick defender in the Lyle Overbay mold, but with a bit more power and not quite as good at getting on base (2008: .287/.327/.448, 12 HR). At 25, he still has some time to develop more power, and a 6'3", 210 lb frame suggests that it is a possibility.

Marek seems to be a bit of a throw-in. At 24 years old and still at AA, he is striking out a ton (about 11K/9IP), but also walking a bunch (4BB/9IP). If they can straighten out his control issues, he could become a decent relief pitcher. I don't really know anything about his stuff (though his high dominance and low control rates indicate that he is likely a power pitcher), so I do not want to comment too much on him right now.

Basically, this trade gives the Angels (65-40, 11.5 games ahead of 2nd Place Texas) a much needed offensive boost (they are currently 9th in the AL with 4.51 Runs/Game and just a 93 team OPS+). Thus far, they have outplayed their Pythagorean Record by eight games. Obviously, this trade was executed with an eye to the postseason, as they have a comfortable lead in the division. If Teixeira does not deliver this October, the deal should be deemed a failure.

They Called Him "X" Because He Was a Fuckin' Badass

2008-07-26T16:20:00.003-04:00

The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt 1B-OF Xavier Nady and LH RP Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees in exchange for RH SP Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen, RH RP Ross Ohlendorf and OF Jose Tabata.

The deal will certainly benefit the Yankees short-term, as they are adding a proven righthanded bat (.281/.337/.456, 108 OPS+ career) who has absolutely torn up the National League this year to the tune of .280/.383/.535 142 OPS+, as well as a very good lefty in the bullpen (something they've lacked all year) with a 1.25 career WHIP and 142 career ERA+. Marte's year has been typical, in 46 2/3 IP, he's stuck out 47, walked 16 and yielded 38 H for a 1.157 WHIP and 3.47 ERA. We'll see if it will be enough to get them into the playoffs this year.

YEAAAAAAAAAAA

2008-07-17T17:16:00.002-04:00

Richie Sexson has signed with the Yankees. For more information, click here. In all actuality, this is probably a dumb signing, but I'm completely excited by it. Keep in mind I'm not much of a Yankees fan otherwise I'd more than likely be annoyed. But they did sign him for some power against lefties, are not paying him much at all (the aforementioned link says 150k and I've also read 390k but either way its barely anything for the Yankees) and the man did have ridiculous post Allstar break numbers just two years ago in 2006 (.322 BA, 1.012 OPS with 18 home runs).

Welcome to New York Richie.

MLB Memorable Moments of the First Half

2008-07-13T19:30:00.003-04:00

Hey Leatherheads, how was your fourth of July? It's amazing to thing that we are just about halfway through the season. Even though the season is nearly six months long, 162 games a year is never nearly enough. I was going to write an article about All-Star snubs but I decided it would be more fun to reflect on the first-half that was. Instead of writing this myself, Sports Illustrated has a great photo gallery with accompanying captions wonderfully chronicling the first half thus far. Here are SI's top 17 moments of the first half, with the latest first:

On June 28th, Angels starter Jered Weaver threw six no-hit innings but yielded a run in the fifth when Matt Kemp reached on Weaver's questionable error as he failed to come up with a squibber past the mound. A stolen base, another error and a sacrifice fly later, the Dodgers had the only run they'd need. Weaver was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh and reliever Jose Arredondo (inset) added two more no-hit innings, but the Angels didn't score and the Dodgers became the fifth major-league team to win without a hit.

Atlanta Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira hits the majors' second three-homer game of the season. The switch hitter blasted the first two while batting lefty against Mariners starter Carlos Silva and nailed batting righty against reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith in an 8-3 Braves win. Joey Votto of the Reds had the first three-HR game, on May 7.

On June llth, after striking out in his first three at bats, Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla replaced a possible golden sombrero for a victory crown by hitting a fastball from Phillies reliever Tom Gordon for a walk-off grand slam. Uggla, who is averaging a home run every 12.5 at bats (best in the NL), is tied with the Phillies' Chase Utley for the major-league lead with 23 home runs.

On June 7th, Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon went 6-for-6 and became only the second player with six hits in a game at Yankee Stadium (joining Omar Vizquel who went 6-for-7 in a 22-0 Indians victory on Aug. 31, 2004). Most importantly for Yankee fans, his last hit was an RBI single to right off Royals closer Joakim Soria to complete New York's 12-11 comeback victory.

On June 5ht and 6th, Atlanta's Chipper Jones went 4-for-5 and 2-for-3 in back-to-back games against the Marlins and Phillies to raise his average to .421 through his first 57 games and 216 at bats. He has since cooled off, comparatively speaking, to .394 (batting .237 in his last 14 games) and has been bothered by a lingering thigh injury.

On June 5th, after Rays starter James Shields pelted Red Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp in the thigh -- which followed Crisp's hard slide into second base the previous night -- Crisp charged the mound and needed a Matrix-like maneuver to avoid Shields' fist. The benches cleared and eight players were ultimately suspended. Later in the game Manny Ramirez, who paced Boston's offense with a homer and five RBIs, got into a shouting match with teammate Kevin Youkilis in the dugout, and the two had to be separated.

Ten days apart, Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez and Reds rightfielder Ken Griffey Jr. joined exclusive home-run company. In Baltimore on May 31 Ramirez hit a 410-foot home run to right-center field off Orioles reliever Chad Bradford for his 500th to become the 12th-youngest member of the fraternity, reaching the milestone in 2,004 games and 7,263 at bats. In Miami on June 9, Griffey launched a 413-foot homer to rightfield off Marlins starter Mark Hendrickson to become the sixth player with 600 home runs. It took Griffey 2,439 games and 9,042 at bats.

On May 26th, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has three hits, including his then major league-leading 16th home run, and has six RBIs as the Phillies rout the Rockies 20-5, a day after blasting the Astros 15-6. Utley's homer was part of an eight-game stretch in which he homered in seven.

On May 19th, it took 130 pitches, but Red Sox lefty Jon Lester threw the 18th no-hitter in club history, blanking the Royals 7-0 in what was also his first career complete game. Lester struck out nine and walked two in his 22nd start since returning from cancer last season. Jason Varitek also entered the history books, catching his major-league record fourth no-hitter.

On May 16th, the comeback story of Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton keeps getting better and better: against the Astros he went 5-for-5 with a triple and two home runs -- 13 total bases -- and five RBIs in a 16-8 win. Through June 30, he remained a Triple Crown contender. He led the American League in RBIs (80), tied for the lead in home runs (19) and was tenth in average (.312).

On May 14th, with Orioles on first and second and one out in the fourth inning of a game at Camden Yards, Kevin Millar laced a line-drive to deep leftfield where Manny Ramirez -- Manny?!?! -- raced back and stretched for a great catch a step shy of the warning track. His momentum kept carrying him, so Manny leapt into the wall to brace for the impact, noticed a Red Sox fan in the first row, gave the fan a high five, then turned around and relayed the ball to Dustin Pedroia, who doubled off the runner at first. Say it with me now: That's just Manny Being Manny.

On May 10th, Padres starter Greg Maddux threw six innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run to the Rockies to win his 350th career game. He is the ninth pitcher to reach that mark, doing so against 217 losses in 23 seasons. On the opposite end of the spectrum his catcher, Luke Carlin, made his major-league debut and caught his first win.

On May 7th, a day after the Twins were one-hit, centerfielder Carlos Gomez provided one of each hit, completing the cycle in reverse: leading off the game with a home run, then tripling in the fifth, doubling in the sixth and singling in the ninth during a 13-1 Minnesota victory over the White Sox. Gomez was a key acquisition in the preseason trade that sent ace Johan Santana to the Mets.

On May 6th, White Sox starter Gavin Floyd flirted with a no-hitter for a second time, pitching 8 1/3 no-hit innings against the Twins before Joe Mauer hit a fly ball that Chicago centerfielder Nick Swisher couldn't track down. In his second start of the year, on April 12, Floyd threw 7 1/3 no-hit innings in a victory over Detroit. He is 9-4 with a 3.45 ERA.

April 20th, With the Astros leading 7-5, Arizona pitcher Micah Owings pinch hit for reliever Brandon Medders and delivered a two-run, game-tying homer en route to an 8-7 Diamondbacks win. In 108 career at bats Owings has five home runs and an .873 OPS.

On April 24th, new Cubs rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome, making both his major-league debut, went 3-for-3 with a walk and hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth off Brewers closer Eric Gagne. Fukudome is hitting .296 with a .404 on-base percentage to help the Cubs to the National League's best record (50-33).

On March 31st, Indians lefthanded starter Cliff Lee, who had been a mainstay of Cleveland's rotation for three seasons until a horrific '07 led to a demotion to the minors, began '08 pitching the best of his career. He threw a complete-game, three-hit, no-walk, nine-strikeout shutout of the Royals to improve to 4-0--the third of his first four starts in which he didn't allow an earned run. He won his first six starts of the year and is now 11-1 with a 2.34 ERA.

Have a good week, Leatherheads and make sure to comment and vote on our polls!!!

Brandon Webb to the rest of the pitchers in the NL West: "Tell me how my ass taste"

2008-07-09T21:20:00.004-04:00

Brandon Webb was recently announced as the starting pitcher for the National League team at this year's All-Star game. He'll be facing off against Cliff Lee and the American League. Webb started this season by winning his first 9 starts, not decisions, starts. He then lost a few but recovered and was 11-2. Lately he's been shakey at best and has had flashes of brilliance mixed in with ineffectiveness. I'll be the first to tell you no one is worried about Brandon Webb at all. His current pitching line is 13-4, 3.27 ERA, 1.17 WHIP with 106 k's vs. 33 walks through 124 innings and has about a million Pure Quality Starts mixed in there...or something, I don't know, Jesse can tell you more about that. It's also worth mentioning (particularly to Diamondback fans and Webb owners in fantasy that he had a rather fantastic second half last year). At any rate, Brandon Webb so far has been the crown jewel of the NL West, and in compliance with league rules: every team must have a representative at the All-Star game (Mark Redman, an all-star in 2006 is now on the Rockies but unfortunately was not selected to the All-Star game). Without further ado, here are the teams of the NL West and their respective members scheduled to appear at this year's All-Star game:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Dan Haren, Brandon Webb

Colorado Rockies: Aaron Cook, Matt Holliday

Los Angeles Dodgers: Russell Martin

San Diego Padres: Adrian Gonzalez

San Francisco Giants: Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson

It's also worth noting that aside from Webb, no one in the NL West is going to be a starter (but Kosuke Fukudome will be a starter, lame), and so far no one has agreed to participate in the HR Derby, although the only logical people would be Holliday and Gonzalez.

So there you have it folks, tune in to (most likely) the FOX Network on July 15th at 8pm EST to see the Red Sox face the Cubs under the guise of the All-Star Game. Is anyone else really unhappy that this game determines World Series home field advantage?

Always Split Aces

2008-07-05T08:57:00.005-04:00

The prevailing logic is that you always split aces, but even though Mike Peters (as portrayed by Jon Favreau) splits them, Cito Gaston and Mike Scioscia will not tonight. This is just a quick heads-up for all the Leatherheads out there with nothing to do on a Saturday night that two of my favorite pitchers (and, indeed, two of the best the American League has to offer) square off tonight at 9:05 EDT in Los Angeles of Anaheim (or wherever the hell the Angels play) when the big Coloradan, Roy Halladay, faces the big Texan, John Lackey, a great pitcher with a ridiculous name.

Halladay (9-6; 2.90 ERA; 1.04 WHIP) has already authored six complete games this year (including his last start, where he shut out the Mariners) and has been even better than his 9-6 record and 2.90 ERA suggest in striking out 106 and walking just 19 on the season in 130 1/3 IP (leading the league in IP, K/BB and BB/IP ratio). According to my calculations, the Doc's average PQS this season has been 3.88 and he's had a Dominance/Disaster Rate of 41% - 0% (this is amazing compared to anyone but John Lackey) over his 17 starts. He has not faced the Angels this year.

Lackey (6-1; 1.44 ERA; 0.89 WHIP) has been completely absurd since returning from the disabled list. I posted about him a few weeks ago (like I said, he is one of my personal favorites) and he hasn't missed a step since then. Over 68 2/3 IP, Lackey has struck out 54 and walked 13 for a 4.15 K/BB ratio, which would be good for 5th in the AL if he qualified for IP. He'd also be leading the league in both ERA and WHIP. He averages a completely ridiculous PQS of 4.667 per start, with a Dominance/Disaster Rate of 88.9% - 0%. The dude has literally PQSed a 5 in 7 of his 9 starts, with a 4 and 3 in his other two. Unreal. He is also 2-0 against the Blue Jays this year, yielding 3 Runs (2 ER) over 13 IP and 13/4 K/BB.

If you pitching fans out there are not already salivating, consider this: the Angels are 11th in the American League in Runs/Game and the Jays are 13th.

Photo: http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/magazine/new/swingers_blackjack.jpg
All statistics courtesy of http://baseball-reference.com/
All errors in statistics are the result of sloppy arithmetic on my part

The Coaching Merry-Go-Round Continues

2008-07-01T15:21:00.004-04:00

It's 3AM, do you know where your team's manager is?

Within the span of four days three weeks ago, the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays each fired their managers amidst disappointing seasons.

This is the first time there were three managerial changes in a four-day span within a season since May 1991, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Back then, Jim Essian replaced the Chicago Cubs' Don Zimmer, Johnny Oates took over from Baltimore's Frank Robinson, and Hal McRae succeeded the Kansas City Royals' John Wathan.

The Mets let manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson, and first-base coach Tom Nieto go after a sub-.500 start this season and the team’s poor play. Though 70 games into the season, the firings are widely thought of to be a result of last season in which the Mets suffered the worst collapse in baseball history. The team lost the NL East to the Philadelphia Phillies despite being ahead a full seven games with 17 left to play and failing to make the postseason.

The Mariners let General Manager Bill Bavasi, manager John McLaren, and hitting coach Jeff Pentland go last week as a result of the teams dismal 25-47 start to the season; 17 and a half games out of first place. Before the season, the team was believed to compete with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the AL West crown but bad pitching and inconsistent hitting has led to the team having the worst record in baseball.

The Toronto Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons, hitting coach Gary Denbo, first-base coach Ernie Whitt, and third-base coach Marty Pevey after a 35-39 record and increasing pressure to compete in the tough AL East. The team went into last weekend with a .258 batting average and next to last with 49 homers in 74 games.

These firings all were not only different in nature and execution, but have all resulted in new hirings that bring back some old faces.

The Mets promoted bench coach Jerry Manuel to replace Randolph on an interm level. Manuel had previously coached the Chicago White Sox from 1997 to 2003 before being replaced by current manager Ozzie Guillen. In the year 2000, following 95 wins and a division title, Manuel was named as the American League Coach of the Year. Manuel also served as Jim Leyland’s bench coach for the Florida Marlins in 1997 en route to the team’s first World Series title.

To fill the other coaching spots, former third base coach Sandy Alomar Sr. was moved to bench coach while former New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA) manager Ken Oberkfell and pitching coach Dan Warthen were promoted to first base coach and pitching coach respectively. Former Mets outfield instructor Luis Aguayo was moved to third base coach, while Howard Johnson maintained his position as hitting coach.

Manuel’s coaching style is just as laid back as Randolph’s but he seems to be more firry when it comes to standing up for his players. He’s already been ejected twice this year; once as manager, once as bench coach.

He also takes a more hands-on and relatable approach with his players. For example, the clean-cut rule is no more (I kind of like Mike Pelfrey’s new beard). Also, whenever a pitcher is removed from the game, Manuel instructs the pitcher who is being removed to wait on the mound and hand the ball off to the new pitcher from the bullpen. He also can be satirical when it comes to disciplining his players, which make both players and fans pay attention. Like what he said when he went to remove Jose Reyes from the first inning of his first game managing the Mets after Reyes made a scene about it:

"I told him the next time he does that I’m going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field."

But instead of the focus being on what Manuel can bring to the table, it was more about what had gone on over the past month leading up to Randolph’s firing.

His status had been in limbo over the past few months even though General Manager Omar Minaya maintained that “Willie is our manager,” multiple times since his initial meeting with owner Fred Wilpon on May 26^th.

Even on June 13^th, five days before Willie Randolph was let go, Minaya was quoted as saying, “It's resolved; it's resolved that he's our manager.”

But there were so many reported leaks about Minaya’s words weren’t entirely true, that the media was always there questioning and left Randolph constantly in the hot seat. It wasn’t until their victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at approximately 12 AM Pacific Time (3 AM Eastern Standard Time) on June 18^th, that Randolph, Peterson, and Nieto were relieved of their duties.

The timing was questionable at best, especially considering the Mets were just leaving for a road trip, but I think the problem lies more with the Met organization than Minaya. Clearly, Minaya’s words were more said in regards to defusing the media hype around Randolph. If the New York media can in essence cause the firing of a manager, there is a problem.

Minaya better watch himself too. On June 21^st, the Mets hired former Cincinnati Reds GM Wayne Krivsky as a Special Assistant to Omar Minaya. His responsibilities mainly concern professional scouting. Well, until the media pushes Minaya out anyway.

The rest of the hirings and firings weren’t quite as dramatic.

The Seattle Mariners bench coach and former Chicago Cubs manager Jim Riggleman replaces McLaren as the coach of the team on an interim basis. Riggleman, 55, managed the San Diego Padres from 1992-94 and the Chicago Cubs from 1995-99.

Interestingly enough, interim General Manager Lee Pelekoudas was the one who made the call. He was only hired a few days earlier, replacing Bill Bavasi.

"On a personal level, this was a very difficult decision to make," Pelekoudas said. "John McLaren and I, and many of us in the organization, go back a long way. But from a strictly professional level, I felt this was the right thing to do for the ballclub and for the further advancement of the organization and for our efforts to try to get better this year."

McLaren’s firing was notably different from Willie Randolph’s firing though. McLaren was axed hours before the team left for a three-city interleague road trip.

Riggleman was known as a bold manager in the National League, a fan of the home run who aggressively used pinch hitters and changed pitchers.

"Jim is a serious man," Pelekoudas said. "He's not a guy looking to have fun. He thinks fun's going to happen if you do the right things. If you play hard, play the game right and win, you're going to have fun.”

Another familiar face is Cito Gaston, rehired by the Toronto Blue Jays after manager John Gibbons was fired. Gaston is remembered for leading the Blue Jays to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.

The 64-year-old Gaston becomes the Blue Jays' first two-time manager and the fourth-oldest manager in the majors. He previously managed the team from 1989 to 1997, going 681-635 following seven seasons as the hitting coach. He returned as the hitting coach in 2000 but was not retained after the 2001 season.

These were the first major firings of the 2008 season, with probably more to come. Inevitable, yes, but necessary? Usually not. Someone has to be the fall guy (or guys). It doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad coaches, most are usually hired later in the year or before the next season. Then again for every Randolph there is an Art Howe. But I’m pretty confident Randolph, McLaren, and Gibbons will land on their feet.

So who’s next? In these days of media speculation, you really never know.

Sources: seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/367645_mclaren20.html, news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080621/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bba_blue_jays_gibbons_fired, http://www.nypost.com/seven/05262008/sports/mets/willies_meeting_with_wilpons_scheduled_f_112612.htm, http://www.nypost.com/seven/06132008/sports/mets/minaya__willie_has_full_support_115387.htm, http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/06/21/2008-06-21_exreds_general_manager_wayne_krivsky_joi.html, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2008007773_riggleman20.html, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/367774_riggleman20.html

NL West Update

2008-06-20T14:01:00.006-04:00

Takashi Saito (#08) celebrates after getting the save against the Cincinnati Reds, June 19th.

Hey everyone, it's been relatively slow in the NL West lately so I will use this post to recap what has gone down.

The Dodgers have been unable to gain any ground on the D-Backs who still seem to be riding out their tremendous April. The Dodgers called up their much-hyped (and deservedly so) prospect Clayton Kershaw a month ago. Kershaw is winless through his first 5 starts and has delivered a mixed performance. On the one hand his ERA is at a respectable 3.75 but his WHIP is currently at a rather ugly 1.58. He has also reached the 6th inning once (his first start). He's averaging about 3 walks per start which is why his WHIP is rather high and his innings are rather low. He'll be decent for the Dodgers as a #4 or #5 going forward but you should avoid him for fantasy purposes. Another reason he'll be decent for the Dodgers is because their rotation is running on fumes. Brad Penny has been pretty terrible all year and now finds himself on the DL after admitting he shouldn't have even made his last start. Poor Jason Schmidt is still recovering and doesn't really look like he'd be able to contribute until maybe mid-August. Recently Hiroki Kuroda injured his right shoulder and has landed on the DL. On the plus side, Chad Billingsly looked really good in his last start!

This pic basically sums up the NL West. Diamondback's first basemen Connor Jackson naps on the field because no one in the West is really interested in challenging the Diamondbacks for the division (Shane Victorino of the mighty Phillies can be seen crying wishing his division was more like the NL West - cheer up Shane, it basically is).

The Diamondbacks sent down prospect Max Scherzer after a cup of coffee in the bigs where he displayed the potential that warranted the hype surrounding his callup. He was sent down to get regular work as a starter. He probably won't be down for long with Micah Owings not looking so hot lately and Randy Johnson still maintaining his status as an injury risk. Everyone's favorite gritty player Eric Byrnes is expected back by Monday. Fantastic.

At one point it looked as though Dinger (the Purple Triceratops who is the official mascot of the Rockies - that's what happens when your team name is tough to personify, I personally would have liked to see Geodude as the official mascot), anyway, it looked as though Dinger was going to have to pick up a glove and play the field for the much maligned Rockies. For the first time, I'm forced to use a list to display the various injuries:

Matt Holliday
Brad Hawpe
Troy Tulowitzki
Clint Barmes
Kip Wells
Luis Vizcaino

along with Jason Hirsh who was recently activated and then optioned to Triple A fills out the list of concurrently injured Rockies. The Rockies as a benefit got to check out their minor leaguers in a major league setting. Ian Stewart has been up and playing (although irregularly) and the Rockies also called up their 2006 first round pick (#2 overall) Greg Reynolds. I've been following his starts and they seem to follow the same pattern where he's pretty effective until one inning where he gives up 3 or 4 runs. At any rate, Troy Tulowitzki is expected back for today's game and Clint Barmes is expected back shortly. The Rockies have been on a roll lately as they've slowly convalesced and have actually escaped last place in the NL West.

More interesting is as the summer trading scene develops, talks of shipping Holliday emerge. As a Rockies fan I can honestly say I don't know what to do and am glad I'm not Dan O'Dowd (their general manager). The Billy Beane in me says deal him, get a bunch of prospects and let Ian Stewart (who really has nothing left to prove in the minors) or Seth Smith man left. However, Holliday is such a valuable piece of their offense and I really feel that next season will be a good one for the Rockies in terms of having their hitting and pitching come together. Also, if anyone wants to get a Brian Fuentes jersey, do it now because he's probably not going to stick around in Colorado much longer.

Next up are the Giants. There hasn't been much to say about them. They were never mentioned in contention for the West and they've surprised everyone this year by not being dead last. Barry Zito is back in the rotation and is working on a 20 loss season. Tim Lincecum is nothing short of an absolute beast and Bengie Molina is a secret good catcher to own in fantasy leagues. Other than that there isn't much going for them and maybe 3 or 4 years from now they'll be competitive again.

Thats a picture of Chris Young, not of the San Diego Padres but of country music fame. He's presumably not on the disabled list with a broken face. The Padres regained their turf at the bottom of the NL West last night and have various problems. As alluded to, Chris Young is on the DL for who knows how long after Albert Pujols ruined him with a shot back to the face. Jake Peavy was shelved but recently came back and is looking healthy and should return to his old dominant self soon. But right before they got Peavy back, first round pick (in 1991...and by the Mariners) Shawn Estes went down with a broken thumb. Sigh.

The biggest Padres news comes from their callup of top prospect Chase Headley. After putting up some solid numbers in the minors, Padres GM Kevin Towers realized that his offense, aside from Adrian Gonzalez (and maybe Kevin Kouzmanoff) pretty much sucks. Through his first three games Chase Headley is batting .333 with a homer. He should finish the season with decent numbers but don't expect anything amazing as he strikes out a lot and is only 24.

In conclusion, look for the NL West to be present in baseball for the 2009 season.

Randolph Sent Off

2008-06-17T19:15:00.003-04:00

Oi! I am back, after a 5 thousand year absence (or what seems to be that long). Sorry, I am not writing about the NL Central in my triumphant return. No, instead, I am writing about my favorite team, which I hate with a passion at the moment. It sucks that the Mets keep losing but I could sort of handle that since, historically, the Mets suck. But honestly, do they really think that firing Willie Randolph is going to help?

First of all, that's a horrible way to handle business; firing the guy a little after midnight, when he's hundreds of miles away from home (I'm assuming he lives in NY; makes sense, right?) And they won the game too! At least fire him after a loss if you're gonna do it at midnight on the west coast! And not only that, but like 2 or 3 weeks ago when Randolph sat down with Minaya and whoever else, Minaya said that Randolph's job was secure. I find it hard to believe that it went from secure to nonexistent in just a few weeks time; what a liar! And they also fired Rick Peterson!! Why!? I think Peterson is an excellent pitching coach. He's done a pretty good job with John Maine, and just look at how far Oliver Perez has come since that abysmal season in Pittsburgh when he was 3-13.

So I really don't think Willie deserved to get fired. Yeah, that collapse at the end of last season sucked major ass, but can you place the blame squarely on him? The Mets were in first for pretty much the entire season and then they fall apart at the last minute; to me obviously it's not something that the manager is doing wrong, otherwise they'd been losing from the start. And now you have this season and the team isn't performing up to expectations but they're only 1 game under .500; it's not like a team can't come back from that. Even if they don't, I'd have liked to see him have the opportunity to finish out the season and then get fired if thats what they want to do.

I guess living in NY I should come to expect things like this, since you're supposed to be amazing all the time, just like last season when the yankees were sucking everyone was talking about firing Torre. I'll leave you guys with just one name to say.....Bobby Valentine!

Man Crush Time!

2008-06-13T20:21:00.002-04:00

Lance Berkman, how do i love thee? Let me count the ways:

Projected 2008 stats:
in 66 games, the big puma has batted .366 with 19 home runs and 57 rbi's, so to put that in perspective his projected stats read something along this line.
~ 50 HR 150 rbis and a .366 BA
that doesnt even count in the 10 steals and 62 runs hes scored up to this point.

Berkman is notorious for his every other year dominance:(2007 stats

2006 stats
)
and you would be right to think that this year can be historic, and is a Chipper Jones quad tear away from being a legit candidate for the triple crown.
Of course it cant hurt that i own him in my big money yahoo league this year, right?

Recommendation:
TRADE HIM! If your a puma owner like myself, there is no reason to not pursue a deal. During the height of his power streak i was offered berkman and dice k for james shields tim hudson carlos lee and derrek lee.

the only reason why the deal didnt go thru was because the other owner took back the offer for fear of giving me too much value.

If your one of the owners who decides to keep the number one player in the game, enjoy the ride because this will be a magical ride.

look out for the flashing the leather midseason invitational. details coming soon!

Focker out

Griffey Launches Number 600

2008-06-09T22:17:00.009-04:00

Ken Griffey Jr. hits number 600 in the first inning
against the Florida Marlins in the first inning yesterday.

Ken Griffey Jr. ended the nine days of waiting and hit career home run number 600 off of Florida Marlins pitcher Mark Hendrickson today as Junior's Cincinnati Reds defeated the Marlins 9-4. He joins only Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds as the only players to ever reach the 600 home run plateau.

It's hard to wonder where Griffey, 39, would have ended up had his career not been deterred by injuries. It also makes you wonder that around now maybe Griffey would be challenging Barry Bonds' record and maybe steroids wouldn't be such a prevalent topic knowing that the player holding the record had done it legitimately.

Until Alex Rodriguez hit his prime, Griffey was the most complete baseball player I ever saw and probably ever will. In 1999, many fans thought so too as he was voted to the MasterCard Major League Baseball All-Century Team. At 29-years-old he was the youngest player on that list, today he remains the list's only active player.

How can I be so sure he was clean? Well I don't know about you but I'll always remember Griffey being that lanky kid on the Seattle Mariners with that effortless stride, perfect swing and keen baseball sense (and Junior's baseball game for the Nintendo 64, it wasn't great, but it wasn't "Mike Piazza's Strike Zone" either). He'll always be that 25-year-old kid with a smile on his face, his cap backward, and that awkward yet strangely smooth batting stance. He's a little heavier now but nothing questionable and still has that beautiful swing.

As a Met fan, I'll remember Edgar Martinez's double in the 9th inning against the Yankees in the 1995 ALDs when Griffey slid into home to score the winning run and completed the 0-2 series comeback. The Mariners were bounced in the ALCs that year and the Atlanta Braves won the World Series, but I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. Forget that Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire home run race of 1998, it was the complete talent of Griffey and the dominance of teammate Randy Johnson that revived the game from 1995-1998 after the strike.

Now why do most people not remember it this way? Outside of the commercials and the video games, he never desired the attention. In fact back in January of 1988 , only a few months after the Mariners took in in the first pick of the 1987 amateur draft, he attempted suicide by swallowing 277 aspirin. He struggled to cope with the overwhelming media attention, he was only 19 when he found himself on the 1989 Mariners opening day roster.

It would of been a great thing had the Mariners actually been a decent team this year as Junior had suggested finishing his career in Seattle. But the Mariners aren't close to making a run and remain one of the worst teams in baseball. But it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him to rejoin the team as a first baseman with both his and Richie Sexson's contract ending.

Go on Griffey, enjoy the attention you deserve.

"Fly, Fly Away!"

Statistics and courtesy of baseball-reference.com, picture and other information courtesy of mlb.com

I went to sleep in Shreveport, Woke up in Abilene

2008-06-07T18:09:00.010-04:00

1

Just a quick AL West update to note a couple of great games last night. This will also be a good time for me to bring up the idea of Pure Quality Starts (PQS for short). PQS is a system of scoring a pitcher's starts, based on a number of factors (longevity, hit and homerun prevention and dominance of the strike zone) and is quantitatively scored between 0 and 5 for all starts. A score of 4 or 5 indicates a "dominance" start, whereas a score of 0 or 1 indicates a "disaster" start. For more information on how to score PQS, please go to http://baseballhq.com/tour/pqs.shtml.In my opinion, it is a much better way of looking at a pitcher's performance than the more traditional Quality Start stat (which measures simply how long he pitches and how many runs he has yielded).

In a marquee (sort of) matchup (first and second place teams with their #1 starters), John Lackey and the California Angels took on Joe Blanton and Connie Mack's Kansas City Athletics. Personally, I am not a huge fan of Blanton, but I do love Lackey, who has been brilliant since returning from the disabled list (1.70 ERA, 0.946 WHIP over 5 starts). The Angels took this one 3-1 in just over two hours.

Lackey (2-1) PQSed a 5 with a 7 inning gem (7 IP; 4 H; 5 K; 0 BB; 1 ER), yielding a homerun to Jack Cust and not much else.

Blanton (3-8) also pitched very well through 7 innings (7 IP; 7 H; 1 BB; 3 K; 3 R - 2 ER), PQSing 4, but took a hard-luck loss.

K-Rod also notched his 25th save.

2

Felix Hernandez (4-5) PQSed a 4 with a 6 inning performance (6 IP; 6 H; 3 BB; 5 K; 0 R) and Sean Green and Ryan Rowland-Smith relieved him to finish the shutout of the Red Sox 8-0.

Finally, Scott Kazmir (6-1) dominated the Rangers for 8 innings (8 IP; 6 H; 0 BB; 6 K; 2 R), PQSing a 5 in the process as well. He's been brilliant since beginning the season on the disabled list as well (7 starts, 1.40 ERA, 0.911 WHIP).

All in all, a pretty exciting night for pitching fans in the AL West.

On another note, what are anyone else's thoughts on the Quality Start vs. Pure Quality Start topic?

1-http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/03KN64GaYN8Oc/610x.jpg
2-http://blogs.dailyillini.com/justbaseball/files/2007/04/felix.jpg

The Book of Joba

2008-06-02T15:48:00.014-04:00

1

AL East Update:

If you've been in a cave for the last two weeks or so, you might not know that Yankees phenom (and True Yankee?) Joba Chamberlain is finally scheduled to start a game tomorrow at Yankee Stadium against Roy Halladay the Toronto Blue Jays.

Chamberlain (1-2; 2.28 ERA; 1.14 WHIP), who I dislike enough to mispronounce his name "Joe Ba" or call simply "#62," has dazzled opponents so far this season over 23 2/3 innings and 20 appearances. His K-rate (11.4/9-IP) is roughly the same as last season (12.75), but his BB rate, (4.2/9-IP), is much higher than last year's (2.25). Even still, at just 22 years old, his 30/11 K/BB ratio suggest that he'll be a top-flight pitcher for years to come.

Halladay (6-5), for his part, is relatively quietly putting together what should be considered a Cy Young Award candidate type of year (2.93 ERA; 0.99 WHIP; 89 IP; 5 CG; 71/11 K/BB).

On a related note, I'll be in attendance at this one.

1-http://www.beatricebaseball.com/Pages/Pictures_2005_files/Chamberlain_cropped.JPG

Former Big Leaguer Geremi Gonzalez Killed by Lightning Strike

2008-05-29T16:01:00.007-04:00

Former Major League Geremi Gonzalez passed away last Sunday when the boat he was sailing in his native Zulia, Venezuela, was tragically struck by lightning.

Gonzalez, 33, began his career with the Chicago Cubs (2007-2008) and has also had stints with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003-2004), Boston Red Sox (2005), New York Mets (2006) and Milwaukee Brewers (2006). In 2007, he was signed to play for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League.

His best year was his rookie season with the Cubs when he went 11-9 with a 4.25 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 144 innings pitched. That year he finished ninth in the Rookie of the Year voting. For Geremi's career he is 30-35 with a 4.93 ERA and 354 strikeouts in 573.1 innings pitched.

I know him best as being one of the Met's circle of fifth starters in 2006, a group that included Oliver Perez, John Maine, Gonzalez, Brian Bannister, and Jose Lima. He never pitched that well for the Mets but he wasn't Jose Lima so that gets some points in my book.

Gonzalez went by the spelling of his first name as "Jeremi" early in his career as a more Americanized spelling. He decided to go by the traditional "Geremi" starting in 2006.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry expressed his sadness in an article for espn.com:

"The Chicago Cubs are very saddened today to learn of Geremi Gonzalez's sudden passing. Geremi began his career as a Cub, leading our pitching staff with 11 wins as a rookie in 1997 and, despite an arm injury, helping the club early in the season a year later to an eventual postseason appearance. The organization sends its heartfelt condolences to his family."

"He was so much fun to be around. He was always happy, always smiling," Brewers manager Ned Yost said, in an article for The Capital Times based out of Madison, Wisconsin. "He was a guy that could scare real easy and then horse laugh. He was just one of those guys that when he saw you, he always had a smile on his face."

Rest in Peace.

Statistics and information courtesy of espn.com, wikipedia.com, and madison.com. Picture courtesy of graphics.jsonline.com.

Mike Piazza Retires after 19 Seasons

2008-05-22T00:35:00.007-04:00

Statement courtesy of Adam Rubin and the Daily News

Mike Piazza officially retired from baseball today. Here’s a statement, released through his agent Dan Lozano:

After 19 wonderful years, I have come to the decision to officially retire from Major League Baseball. At this point in my career and after discussing my options with my wife, family and agent, I felt it is time to start a new chapter in my life. It has been an amazing journey and everything I have, I owe to God, for without His help, none of this would be possible. He blessed me with the ability to play the greatest game in the world and it has been a dream come true.

In June of this year, it will be 20 years ago when the Los Angeles Dodgers organization selected me in the 62nd round of the amateur draft and I’m sure neither of us saw this coming.

I would like to start off by thanking Peter O’Malley and the Dodger organization for giving me the opportunity 20 years ago…you gave me birth to a life that never in my wildest dreams did I think was possible.

I’d like to thank Fred Wilpon, Nelson Doubleday and the New York Mets organization for giving me an opportunity to fulfill yet another dream, playing in a World Series. Steve Phillips, for not just bringing me to New York, but for having the confidence and vision to keep me in a Met uniform long-term. Within the eight years I spent in New York, I was able to take a different look at the game of baseball…I wasn’t just a young kid that was wet behind the ears anymore - I was learning from other veteran guys like Johnny Franco, who taught me how to deal with the pressures of playing in New York and Al Leiter who knew what it took to win a World Championship. That knowledge is what helped me play for as long as I have and enjoy the career that I had. I’d like to thank New York Mets clubhouse manager, Charlie Samuels for always being on the same page and one step ahead of me.

Kevin Towers and Mr. Wolff are two gentlemen that I wish to thank for allowing me to keep the sun from setting just a little while longer. To all of my teammates with whom I shared the field of battle, thanks for the countless memories.

To the managers along the way that brought out the best in me - Tommy Lasorda, Bobby Valentine, Art Howe…and in limited time together, Jim Leyland, Willie Randolph, Bruce Bochy and Bob Geren - it was a pleasure playing for all of you. I’d also like to thank all of the major and minor league staffs that played a part in the development of my career - I couldn’t have done it without all of you.

To the media - I thank you for the overall fairness of your reporting throughout my career, although erroneous at times, I think we had a pretty good relationship over the years and some of you I’ll never forget.

I’d like to thank my agent, Dan Lozano and everyone else behind the scenes at the Beverly Hills Sports Council for taking care of me my entire career. Danny is like a brother to me and without his guidance and patience, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

To my family who I love so much…mom and dad, you always believed in me, sometimes more than I believed in myself…you were always there with love and support. To my brothers, for always being in my corner, no matter what. Being able to share the joys of being a big leaguer with you guys over all of these years made my career, our career…and I don’t think it would have been the same any other way.

My beautiful wife Alicia. These last few years were as new for you as they were for me. Through the different cities and the birth of our amazing daughter, Nicoletta, I am eternally grateful to have you by my side. The thought of what the future has in store for us, brings a smile to my face because I can’t wait to start the newest chapter of both our lives, together. You truly are an angel and I am blessed to have you as my wife. I love you.

Last but certainly not least, I can’t say goodbye without thanking the fans. I can’t recall a time in my career where I didn’t feel embraced by all of you. Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and Miami - whether it was at home or on the road, you were all so supportive over the years. But I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn’t have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful.

So today, I walk away with no regrets. I knew this day was coming and over the last two years, I started to make my peace with it. For 19 years, I gave it my all and left everything on the field.

God bless and thanks for a wonderful ride.

Here's a fan-recorded view of the video tribute to Mike Piazza at Shea, his final day as a Met:

Will Brian Bannister Lead the Royals to the Promised Land?

2008-05-22T00:06:00.010-04:00

Flashing the Trivia: Which player in Kansas City Royals history has had the most expensive baseball card?

Hello Leatherheads, it's been awhile. Sorry about the delay I've been aiding my girlfriend with car shopping of late. My dad is going to check out one of the cars I found today, so we will see what happens.

Ha, when a car salesman walks away from you because you prove him wrong that the price is terrible and find things wrong with the car that he was concealing, (Five Star Auto Sales, you remember that place Jesse?, haha) you know your in good shape. I'm sure he wasn't too happy when I said, "I'll be back in two weeks to take this car once you lower your price because no one will buy it." But it was fun.

So for the Kansas City Royals preview. Ehh, I guess early season analysis. In the early goings, the biggest story this season has been the success of many of the small market teams. Tampa Bay, Florida, and Minnesota all lead their divisions and Oakland is only half a game back in the AL West. So where are the Royals in all of this? Fourth place in the Central. Oh well, they are one and a half games up on the Detroit Tigers.

Makes you wonder if Ambiorix Burgos will ever leave the minors.

Let's quickly go to the lineup from top-to-bottom:

David DeJesus has done well this season hitting .311 with 3 HRs and 16 RBIs, in only 90 at-bats. He's been in a platoon with Joey Gathright out in centerfield, though Gathright hasn't been as successful (.250 AVG, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs in 92 at-bats). But whenever Gathright can get on base (with an .278 OBP, it doesn't happen too often) he's a huge threat, leading the team with 10 steals this season. DeJesus should hit .280 with 8 HRs and 60 RBIs. Gathright should keep that .250 AVG, hit three home runs, and end up with around 20 RBIs. That's if he makes in through the season. He would be the perfect pinch runner or fourth outfielder for a contender in the playoffs, especially with his above average defense.

Mark Grudzielanek is a very consistent player, you know exactly what you will get out of him. He will hit for a decent average and get on base quite a bit. A good contact hitter, but carries very little power. In other words, he's Luis Castillo but can't steal bases. His veteran leadership is misplaced on a team full of players that are either mediocre or young and looking to make an impact. He's another player that would work well on a team during a playoff push. Look for him to move in return for prospects close to the trade deadline. He should hit .280 with 5 HRS and 55 RBIS, keeping pace with his career numbers.

Billy Butler hit the baseball radar two seasons ago when he hit .331 and had 96 RBIs for the Double-A Wichita Wranglers. Last year he hit .292 with 8 HRs and 52 RBIs for the Royals in 329 at-bats. He's also been stellar at first base committing only 2 errors there last year and zero this year (he had one error in left field last year). Many baseball analysts think he will break out this year, I think he has another year or two before he truly breaks out. But .285 with 15 HRs and 70 RBIs doesn't seem out of reach.

Jose Guillen carries a past riddled with attitude and steroid issues but continues to hit well year after year. He continues to split time in left field and at DH as the Royals try to get Gathright in left as much as they can. Gathright is speedy but doesn't have the range and arm Guillen has. He is coming off the best year of any Royal, hitting .290 with 20 HRs and 99 RBIs. This year he's off to his usual slow start (.245 with 5 HRs and 30 RBIs in 159 at-bats) but he should bounce back. He's already showing the signs as he was just named American League Player of the Week by hitting .458 with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs. Pending injury or suspension, I see no reason why Guillen can't come close to duplicating his numbers from last season. Perhaps .285 with 20 HRs and 90 RBIs.

Alex Gordon is having a great year thus far after hitting only .245 with 15 HRs and 60 RBIs last season. So far he is having the best year of any Royal this year hitting .286 with 5 HRs and 20 RBIs. He's been an above average fielder at third and even first base when need be. He'll be a great player but his baseball card will never be worth more than it was in 2006. Topps made his rookie card when he was not even a rookie yet, nor on the 25 man roster, thus making his card over $2000 at face value. Look for Gordon to hit .285 with 20 HRs and 75 RBIs, and him breaking out next season.

Mark Teahen came over from the Athletics a few years back and was suppose to become a very good player. Well, I guess there's a reason why Billy Beane let him go. He hasn't been bad, just, below average. Last year he hit .285 with 7 HRs and 60 RBIs. With similar numbers the year before, this is what has become expected of him. Personally, I think the Royals really hope Gathright can come around so they can move Guillen to Teahen's spot in right. I don't think he would be starting on any other team, let's see if he gets moved before the deadline...

John Buck would usually be in this spot but he's been on a leave of absence to attend to his wife and his new twin boys, born last Thursday. Buck remains a big question mark, he's almost 28 years old and has never finished a year hitting over .250. This lack of faith is a big reason why the Royals went out and got former Marlins starting catcher Miguel Olivo to back him up. Buck's leash is getting shorter, if he hits under .275 for the next few seasons, that will be it for him. I'd say he hits .265 with 15 HRs and 55 RBIs.

Tony Pena is well, terrible. There's no reason why he belongs in any teams bench, let alone starting lineup. Last season, when he literally wasn't seeing the ball (wrong contact prescription) he hit .267 with 2 HRs and 47 RBIs. This season, wearing true prescription glasses, he is hitting .167 with 0 HRs and 7 RBIs in 126 at-bats. In an article about Pena's vision issues from Tuesday, May 13th, Dick Kaegel wrote that Pena's numbers from 2007 were "better than expected." That can't be good. Being that inept at the plate would mean he must be Ozzie Smith in the field, not exactly. He has a .959 fielding percentage with 6 errors in only 105 attempts, barely average. So, .250 with 2 HRs and 40 RBIs, might even be a stretch, but I'll give it to him.

Now to the Rotation (2007 stats):

1. Gil Meche (9-13, 3.67 ERA, 156 SO in 186.2 IP)
2. Brian Bannister (12-9, 3.87 ERA, 77 SO in 165 IP)
3. Zack Greinke (7-7, 3.69 ERA, 106 SO, in 122 IP)
4. Luke Hochevar (0-1, 2.13 ERA, 5 SO, in 12.2 IP)
5. Brett Tomko (4-12, 4.75 ERA, 105 SO, in 27.1 IP)

The Royals have a surprisingly decent rotation. Meche shook off a bad rap and a large contract to finish with a career-best ERA and universal acceptance as the staff ace. Brian Bannister had a great rookie year last season after coming over from the Mets for Ambiorix Burgos (ugghh). Greinke had a good year last year and has been great so far this year. (5-1, 2.18 ERA, 43 SO, in 62 IP). Obviously he won't keep that up, but his ERA might just end up around 3.50. Hochevar had a great start to his major league career last year. The Royals first ever number 1 pick back in 2006 is off to a good start this year (3-3, 4.29 ERA, 26 SO, in 35.2 IP). He'll be fine but I don't think will ever be more than a number 3 starter. Brett Tomko is the only major weak spot. He probably won't last long in the rotation, I'm sure they'll bring a young kid up from AAA once they fall out of contention to take his spot.

The Back end of the bullpen (2007 numbers):

RH set-up man: Leo Nunez (2-4, 3.92 ERA, 37 SO, in 43.2 IP)
LH set-up man: Jimmy Gobble (4-1, 3.02 ERA, 50 SO in 53.2 IP)
Closer: Joakim Soria (2-3, 2.48 ERA, 75 SO in 69 IP)

Soria is a soon-to-be All-Star closer who has been lights-out this season (0-0, .98 ERA, 22 SO in 18.1 IP). Nunez has been great this year as well (3-0, 1.53 ERA, 13 SO in 17.2 IP) and with Soria will finally solidify the back-end of the Royals bullpen. Gobble has been pretty decent this year (0-0, 3.48 ERA, 13 SO in 10.1 IP). The best part, all three are 25-years-old and younger. The bad part, these three are by far the bright spots of the bullpen. The Royals middle relief is not good to say the least.

Final Point
The Royals, for once, have a bright future but have to wait while some of their younger players evolve. Their pitching is at least above average but they need some offensive weapons to emerge before they at least make a push at the wild card spot.

Well Christina finally found a car so I'll be posting more, sorry for the delays. Now hopefully she nails her interview that I'm driving her to in the morning. Thanks everyone, and keep reading!!!

Flashing the Trivia: Alex Gordon's 2006 Topps Rookie Card. This card was worth over $2500 after it was printed when Gordon was still in AAA. In order for a rookie card to be created that player must be on the 40-man roster, in 2006, Gordon was not.

Sources: mlb.com, baseball-reference.com, http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/9044/bannisteret5.jpg

Dunn and Dunn!

2008-05-18T12:34:00.008-04:00

1

Okay, so Dusty Baker is no longer just the worst manager in Major League Baseball. I am relatively convinced that a random person (not even a baseball fan!) could do a better job.

Yesterday, trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning but with runners on first and second, Adam Dunn stepped up to the plate. The last four years, Adam Dunn's HR totals: 46, 40, 40, 40. His BB totals: 108, 114, 112, 101. He is the author of a career .380 OBP.

WWDD (What would Dusty do?) . . .

2

. . . sacrifice bunt.

It was hilarious when it happened with Edwin Encarnacion. But this is just ridiculous.

Quoth Dusty Baker: "That's baseball. In that situation you couldn't afford a double play and you don't want a strikeout."

I don't know what Baker's talking about here. This is the perfect situation for a strikeout. The only thing that would have helped the Reds more than Adam Dunn swinging and missing at a slider on the outside corner at the knees would be him taking it and striking out looking. Or hitting a 449-foot dinger, I suppose.

By the way, if Dunn had managed to get the bunt down, Paul Bako (lifetime OPS+ of 65) was waiting for the chance to drive 'em in. Bako is best known for playing for 10 different teams over his 11-year MLB career, actually being named Gabor (henceforth GPB), and finally, for being the "Default" pick in a Fantasy Baseball league draft I once participated in if you did not make your pick within the specified time limit. Relief Pitcher Bill Bray was in the hole so a pinch hitter would likely have followed GPB.

1 - http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/gallery/image.php?image=screenshots/lists/news_100a.jpg
2 - http://thenastyboys.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/baker1109.jpg

Pair of SS Injured

2008-05-08T08:14:00.003-04:00

In consecutive innings on Tuesday night, en route to a 1-run loss, the Toronto Blue Jays lost starting SS David Eckstein for a few days and backup SS John McDonald to an ankle injury. Eckstein is day-to-day and should be back to full fitness in a few days. McDonald could be another story, as he turned his ankle pretty horrifically on what would have been a nice sliding play and had to be carried off the field. He has not yet been placed on the DL, though, and was walking and swinging from a tee yesterday.

It is kind of sad for McDonald, known to Jays fans as "The Prime Minister of Defense" for his incredible glove and fantastic arm. Last year's Fielding Bible placed J-Mac second in MLB Shortstops behind Troy Tulowitzki in Plus/Minus, despite having played only 123 games.

Eckstein was signed as a free agent this year to a 1-year, $4.5M USD contract
McDonald was signed this past offseason to a 2-year, $3.8M USD contract

Fantasy Spin: You may have David Eckstein for his decent OBP and R at a Middle Infielder position. Hold him, he'll be back in the lineup in a few days. It's extremely unlikely that you'd have McDonald, unless you're in a Roto league that counts Zone Rating or a counting league that counts Out of Zone plays. Even still, since he's a backup, it's unlikely you'd have him. If you have him in any other league, you should drop him (but not because of his injury). Get well soon to both of you!

NL West Update

2008-04-28T22:47:00.005-04:00

Barry Zito failing to cover first on a routine grounder

The Giants have officially demoted Barry Zito to the bullpen.

Zito currently has an ERA of 7.53, a BAA of .336, a WHIP of 1.95 and 11 ks to 15 walks in 28.2 innings. He's currently on pace to go 0-33 and perhaps if the Giants had left him in the rotation, we could have witnessed an "un-perfect" season. I honestly don't know what's wrong with him. His velocity has been down, his curveball hasn't been fooling anyone and he's just been doing a solid Daniel Cabrera impression by walking way too many people. As a fellow lefty, I feel for the guy and would like to see him return to at least a level of mediocrity. The Giants were going to be a bad team regardless this season but until now they've essentially payed 126 million dollars to put up a loss every fifth day. Oh well.

Also around the NL West

Troy Tulowitzki has been dropped to the 6th spot in the Rockies batting order for the forseeable future and everyone behind him (Helton, Holliday, Atkins and Hawpe) has just moved up one spot. He's slumping very hard despite putting up similar rates to last year. His BABIP however remains somewhere sub-.200 so perhaps a turn around is in the near future. Also recently, the Rockies assigned opening day second baseman Jayson Nix to the minors. He wasn't a very good hitter in the minors and for a few games this April showed he's not a very good hitter in the majors. The second base job is now a platoon between Clint Barmes and Jeff Baker with Barmes, who's off to a solid start, getting the majority of the platoon time.

Max Scherzer

The Arizona Diamondbacks called up top prospect Max Scherzer. The former University of Missouri player had his first season in the minors last year and put up a very solid line (2.88 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 131 k's in 106 innings). He did this across 3 levels of the minors (although only 16 innings were pitched in AAA - they also happened to be 16 very good innings). His immediate role for the club isn't exactly clear. He'll be working out of the bullpen somewhere (not accumulating saves or being a primary holds guy either) but it is possible he fills in for Micah Owings should he miss his next start or for Edgar Gonzalez should he continue to suck. If Scherzer translates his success in the minors even modestly in the majors, expect the Diamondbacks to run away with the NL West.

Pictures courtesy of the internet

Bleeding Dodger Blue

2008-04-23T14:14:00.005-04:00

Hang tight Ms. Winehouse, we're close to curing the T-Virus

I'm back from the dead like a (expletive) Zombie (see above). I've been busy with many things not pertaining to blogging baseball (one of the things has been fantasy baseball though so I've been in the neighborhood).

The Dodgers still can't seem to play right. Even though we're not completely through the first month of the season and it's way way too premature to write them off, the Dodgers are floundering around somewhere near the bottom of the NL West, in fact they've won the same amount of games as the Giants and have lost one game less than the Giants. Any team that sees themselves close to the Giants should know they're in trouble (I realize that there are a few teams off to slow starts and are underperforming, but I just feel it necessary to pick on the Giants).

I do not believe in Brad Penny at all. Dodgers fans think he's a legit ace and someone to structure a rotation around. Delusion. History has taught us by now that Brad Penny is a beast for half a season. In fact, he's not even off to such a great start this year. His ERA is pretty but his WHIP is 1.42, his BAA (Batting Average Against) is .297 and he's gotten 17k's in 30 innings. He could prove me wrong and I hope he does but I'm not sold on him being a legit ace (I'd try to trade him for Oswalt, Verlander or Sabathia right now if I had him). A lot of people are high on the Dodgers and I too thought they were going to be a solid team this year but a few weeks in and I'm having my doubts. Billingsly is too young and unrefined and will probably be better next year. Hiroki Kuroda has been off to a strong start and it will be interesting to see how batters handle him once he's been through the league a bit. Esteban Loaiza isn't anything to brag about and Derek Lowe is a baller. I like him (though for fantasy no so much). Maybe next year the Dodgers will have Lowe, Penny, Billingsly and Clayton Kershaw (who's a beast) and they'll be ready to compete in the NL West.

Their offense is somewhat sloppy. James Loney and Russell Martin are still developing and will encounter a few bumps. Also, Loney never displayed much power in the minors but the fact that he's a big guy and is young leads some to believe he'll develop it as time goes on. Also their 3b spot is just a mess. They have Nomar and Andy LaRoche who's currently injured. Bummer.
Their biggest problem is their carousel outfield. In terms of hitting, Andruw Jones is still acting like he's closer to Bobby Jones instead of Chipper Jones on the Jones hitting spectrum. Fortunately he's better than both in terms of defense. The rest of their OF is Juan Pierre, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. Kemp needs to improve his walks but is looking like an all-star. Maybe because of the uncertainty in the outfield, all 4 players are off to sluggish starts.

Joe Torre has his work cut out for him especially since right now the Diamondbacks have a "We're going to go undefeated for the rest of the season" swagger.

PS - Jason Schmidt, baseball misses you and the Dodgers need you. Get well soon.

Frank Thomas Released

2008-04-21T15:44:00.005-04:00

A day after being benched, Frank Thomas has been released by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays have struggled a bit thus far (10-10 after today's loss to Detroit) and the Big Hurt is off to a slow start (he is hitting .167/.306/.333) with three homers to date. That being said, Thomas is a notoriously slow starter, so this may just be par for the course with him. Many think that the Jays cut him in order to avoid having to paying out his $10 million option next year and this is theoretically possible, but is such a bad PR-move that it's sort of mind-boggling if that is the only reason. Additionally, they are still on the hook for Thomas's $8 million salary for the 2008 season.

Personally, I'd be shocked if no one throws a little bit of money at the Hurt and I'd also be surprised if he doesn't hit well later on this year. Toronto General Manager J.P. Ricciardi says that Thomas has not been getting around on the fastball like he should be, but I'm not really quite so sure. Thomas famously resurrected his career with the Oakland Athletics in 2006 to the tune of being voted 4th in AL MVP voting with a .270/.381/.545 line with 39 homeruns. His 2006 salary? $500,000. Last year he batted .277/.377/.480 with 26 dingers and, although he isn't getting any younger, the two-time MVP wants to play and will get a shot somewhere.

On the Fantasy side, this is going to create some AB opportunities for Adam Lind, so you might want to snatch him up if there's a weak crop of OF in your league. The 24-year old could end up being a pretty good lefty bat in a decent lineup, hitting behind high OBP players like Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Matt Stairs and Lyle Overbay.

BABIP: Luck? Skill? Both?

2008-04-20T16:11:00.034-04:00

Flashing the Trivia: What former Seattle Mariner stand-out, despite never being a strikeout pitcher, has one of the top-5 lowest active BABIP? Hint: He is over forty years old.

Hey everyone, how's it going? A lot of good baseball this week, especially that 22-inning Rockies-Padres marathon. I wish i would have stayed up for that but I stopped after the Mets and Nationals went 15 innings the same night. It's also been a lot of fun to watch the second-year players.

I've noticed that the second-year players that had below-average years last year (Alex Gordon, Justin Upton, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Lastings Milledge, Tim Lincecum, Carlos Gomez, Adam Wainwright, Franklin Guiterrez, Matt Cain, Mark Reynolds), are off to great starts this year. But star rookies (Jacoby Ellsbury, Troy Tulowitzski, Ryan Braun, Hunter Pence, Phil Hughes, and others) are slumping, some mightily. It's give and take, for second-year players, usually it's that third year you see the true player. So who's for real? That's a story for another day.

So for the basis of this article, most of you are probably wondering what the hell I am talking about. Well, for years, many sabermatricians have argued the viability of many statistics in general because of how luck factors into them. There is one statistic that is arguably considered the best way to measure luck: BABIP.

David Ortiz has a .063 BABIP, is that the reason for his bad start?

"Better lucky then good?" Is it that simple?

BABIP is short for Batting Average on Balls in Play and was developed by statistician Voros McCracken.

The issue is, in 2001, McCracken wrote a very controversial article describing how pitchers have no control over balls in play. Here's a quote from that article:

The critical thing to understand is that major-league pitchers don't appear to have the ability to prevent hits on balls in play. There are many possible reasons why this is the case, and I don't really have a concrete idea as to why it is.

But the one thing I do know is that it is the case.

Many articles have spurred from that statement; most against this assertion. I mean, don't pitchers have some degree of control?

Well let's start with what exactly defines BABIP. It is (courtesy of Wikipedia):

According to Wikipedia:

BABIP is commonly used as a red flag in sabermetric analysis, as a consistently high or low BABIP is hard to maintain - much more so for pitchers than hitters. Therefore, BABIP can be used to spot fluky seasons by pitchers, as those whose BABIPs are extremely high can often be expected to improve in the following season, and those pitchers whose BABIPs are extremely low can often be expected to regress in the following season.

An average BABIP is approximately .290, with it being higher for a good hitter and lower for a new pitcher.

It was clear that whoever submitted this definition, took it from McCracken's point of view.

McCracken argues that BABIP has been a good indicator about how a pitcher might perform in the future. Not because it identifies effectiveness, but because it identifies how lucky or unlucky a pitcher was over that particular season.

Sabermatricians have been in an uproar. Tom Tippett wrote in an article for Diamond Mind Baseball his thoughts against the idea. Tippett summarizes McCracken's argument in a few points:

there are "massive differences in the ability of pitchers" even before considering balls in play. To put it another way, a lot of a pitcher's ERA is explained by his walk rate, strikeout rate, and ability to prevent homers.
the correlation between a pitcher's IPAvg one year and the next is low, suggesting that pitching ability might not have a major impact on IPAvg, as compared to other factors such as defense and luck
some of the best pitchers in the game, such as Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez, have gone from the top to the bottom and back to the top in IPAvg in subsequent seasons, again suggesting that these results are largely out of their control
the variations in IPAvg decrease when you add park effects and the quality of the defense to the analysis
projections of next-year pitching stats are more accurate if you use a team's collective IPAvg than if you use each pitcher's personal IPAvg from the year before

For my purposes here, when you click that article, skip all the way down to the bar charts because that's pretty much the whole basis of the article. Tippett's argument is that the success can be tied to BABIP with respect to the length of the pitcher's career and the era they pitched in (with respect to the type of pitcher they are). Here's a quote from the article:

We've seen that there's more than one way to succeed as a big-league pitcher. Robin Roberts walked 772 fewer batters than his peers. Roger Clemens struck out 1355 more batters than average. Greg Maddux yielded 147 fewer homeruns. And Charlie Hough prevented somewhere between 299 and 371 hits on balls in play.

The bottom line, though, is that I am convinced that pitchers do influence in-play outcomes to a significant degree. There's a reason why Charlie Hough and Jamie Moyer and Phil Niekro and Tom Glavine and Bud Black have had successful careers despite mediocre strikeout rates. There's a reason why the top strikeout pitchers have also suppressed in-play hits at a good rate. Using power or control or deception or a knuckleball, pitchers can keep hitters off balance and induce more than their share of routine grounders, popups, and lazy fly balls.

How do I see it? Well I believe it's a degree of both.

It's luck in the fact that line-drives (more importantly the ones that result in outs) are generally not recorded statistically. This "hitting them where they ain't" addage, has been used to explain David Ortiz, Miguel Cabrera, Gary Sheffield, and Jason Giambi's slow start this season (as explained in Sarah Green’s article for the Metro Boston News )

But there is a degree of skill in causing more pop-ups and grounders as a result of keeping a player off-balance.

I believe look for consistency in BABIP to see how effective a pitcher is over about a five to seven year period. Therein lies another question: Do we include minor league statistics? I don't think so, there's a big mental part of the game and being in the majors is a big part of it.

In short, BABIP is good to analyze a veteran pitcher. Good for getting bargain, rather lesser-hyped, players off the waiver wire in your fantasy league.

This is an issue that is a sabermetrical work in progress. But it's a good start.

Flashing the Trivia: Jamie Moyer

The First Annual MR. IMPACT

2008-04-09T19:04:00.003-04:00

MARK REYNOLDS 3B ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Ok, so I know that this is the trendy pick of the week, but can anyone honestly put this down? I was originally going to name Chase Utley my pick for the First Annual MR. IMPACT, but Mark's line was too much to ignore:

2008 ARI 8 32 9 11 1 0 5 12 3 9 0 0 .344 .400 .844 1.244

If you need an interpretation, let me make this as simple as possible for you. THAT STATLINE IS RIDICULOUS!

Reynolds second year could not have started any better. Playing on a 7-2 division leading team and carrying the offense with the other Chris Young, this guy couldn't have gotten off to a hotter start. Hes leading the league in HR and RBIs while batting .344 with an OPS of 1.244. Now I know that there is a distinct possibility that Reynolds will not be able to keep this 200+ RBI rate, but let us give credit to where credit is due. He has been the hottest pickup in fantasy, and if you had the Nostradamus like telepathy to draft him as a late steal you look like a freakin genius. As always, the fantasy gods will dictate that guys like A-Rod and Hanley will be at the top of this board for the duration of the season, but I could not deny this man his rightful spot for the time being.

Contenders for this episode's MR. IMPACT included:

Torii Hunter, OF, LAA
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI
Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI

Questions? Comments? Please feel free to reply to this post or you can always email me at Christopher.Young61@gmail.com

Focker out.

Record Crowd of 115,300 Watch Red Sox Beat Dodgers

2008-04-07T18:28:00.010-04:00

115,300 strong watch the Red Sox and Dodgers at Los Angeles Coliseum

I know this is old news, but it more than deserves to be mentioned. On March 29th, a record crowd showed up to watch the Boston Red Sox defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 in an exhibition game.

That score is actually quite remarkable considering it was only 251 feet down the left field line. It is a stadium traditionally made for football (the USC Trojans currently play there). But what was clearly more remarkable was the fact that 115,300 paid fans came and watched. Thats twice as many people that Shea Stadium holds. This game didn't even count.

It's very refreshing to see that even though there's that steroid cloud hanging over the game (especially with Jose Canseco's book "Vindicated" pending release), people still love baseball.

I'm personally going to Met games all summer, let me know if you want to come along.

Take care all, oh and fellow bloggers, get some more posts out there!

Is This the Year the "Other" Chicago Team Becomes the Toast of the Town? Umm, Not Quite...

2008-04-05T18:52:00.009-04:00

Flashing the Trivia: Last season, on April 18th, Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers defeating them 6-0. Which former White Sox player drew the only walk Buehrle let up, putting the only blemish on his day? (answer at bottom)

The true start to the baseball season with the series in

Japan

finishing up a few days ago. I ended up catching bits and pieces of the two games but both games were very fun to watch. A series split, with the first game going into extras. Whether or not you agree with the season starting in

Japan

(a discussion I'll probably bring to the message board), it's a lot of fun to finally have baseball back.

Well the season previews continue with the Chicago White Sox. A team that strives each year to be something more than the "other" team in Chicago.

After a few moves, the team has definitely improved themselves from last season. But unfortunately they are still not the Cubs, and even more unfortunate is that they remain in a division with the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers. They'll be lucky to finish near the .500 mark.

Can Jermaine Dye and the White Sox Turn
Things Around?

Let's go from top to bottom:

Jerry Owens (x) is suffering from a sore right groin but projects to be the starting left fielder and leadoff man when he comes back in a few weeks. Owens hit .268 with a .324 OBP for the Sox in 93 games last season, stealing 33 bases in his first sizable time on the big league roster. He was hitting .361 with a .378 OBP in 10 Cactus League games, but the nagging groin injury limited the speed element of his game, keeping him to one stolen base. He tends to hit for average but hits for close to no power. He declared that this season, with enough playing time, he should be able to steal 60-plus bases. Owens may move to center when he comes back (Nick Swisher to left) but that remains to be seen. The speedster should hit .290 with 7 homers and 45 RBIs this season along with 50 stolen bases.

Orlando Cabrera has always been an overrated player. He's not a bad player, just overrated. He has very little power (10 homers would be a stretch this year) and usually hits in the ball park of a .270 AVG with a .321 OBP. His fielding has been steady over the years as he has won two gold gloves including one last season. He's the White Sox's second best stolen base threat with at least 20 stolen bases over the past few seasons. Nothing spectacular here: .270 AVG, 7 homers, 82 RBIs, .350 OBP.

Nick Swisher will be the team's leadoff man and left fielder while Owens is on the 15-day DL. It's hard to call if Swisher will move to the number 2 hole or number 5 hole, but I believe he belongs here (Ozzie Guillen really likes Orlando Cabrera at 2 because of his propensity to hit-and-run, yeah I don't get it either). Swisher should be a decent number 2, every year he's steadily raised his on-base percentage to last year's peak of .381. If he can cut down on the strikeouts (131 last season, 152 in 2006) and keep increasing the walks (100 last season after 55 and 97 in '05 and '06 respectively) he should crack the .400 mark. Batting in the leadoff spot should do wonders for Swisher's patience, which was already pretty good to begin with. The power has always been there for Swish, maybe with a higher OBP can come a higher average. Look for him to hit .270 with 30 homers and 80 RBIs (hitting out of the two hole, hits RBIs will take a hit).

Jim Thome has been around for awhile and just when you thought he was washed up, he still hangs around with respectable numbers. But still, he's always the guy that one fantasy player drafts only because he either feels he must (in the 14th round) or if he happens to not be there (in the 8th round, ouch). Thome is still a utility-only player as he DHs while spelling Paul Konerko once in every long while (yet David Ortiz remains a first baseman). He should put up numbers similar to last season: .275 AVG, 35 HRS, 96 RBIs, and a .410 OBP.

Paul Konerko follows in the clean-up spot. Each year the power and production are always there, the only thing that drops off every once in awhile is his average. Starting in 2003 he hit .234, .277, .283, .313 and .259 in consecutive years. Despite hitting .406 with 13 hits in 32 at-bats, Konerko has been nursing a toe injury but it shouldn't keep him out of the opening day lineup. He's had his injuries over the years but nothing serious, and I expect the same this season. Something to the tune of a .270 AVG, 30 HRS, and 100 RBIs.

Jermaine Dye is not the best number 5 hitter to have but it is rather difficult when a team has three clean-up hitters, you have to find somewhere to put them. Dye has had numbers similar to Konerko over the years with a fluke 2006 where he hit .315 with 44 homers and 120 RBIs. His numbers tend to be a shade better than the .254 AVG, 28 HRs, and 78 RBIs, that he put up last season. Dye's OBP has been average to below average and his walks are not bad (45 last season) but nothing impressive. His power numbers have kept him high in the lineup, but look for similar numbers to what Dye put up last season with at last one trip to the 15-day DL.

A.J. Pierzynski is batting sixth, for some apparent reason, I believe Joe Crede should be in this spot. Pierzynski is an average catcher, only two years removed from being an All-Star. But he'll always be remembered as the guy on the wrong end of one of the worst deals in Major League history when in 2004 he was sent to the San Francisco Giants for Boof Bonser, Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano. Pierzynski does play with fire and his propensity to be a jackass sometimes makes him fun to watch. I'd expect much the same of what he put up last year: .263 AVG, 14 HRs, and 50 RBIs. His best days are behind him.

Alexei Ramirez was a long-shot to not only start, but even make the big league team. After trying to make the team as a back-up second baseman, he won a starting job, but in center field over Carlos Quentin. Ramirez only recently came over from Cuba, so when he signed a four-year deal with the White Sox, never spent any time in the minors. Ramirez was 6-for-16 while playing center field for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic in 2006. He was also part of the 2004 Cuban national team that won a gold medal in the Athens summer Olympics and possesses a .335 career average in Cuba (Wikipedia is a great thing sometimes). I don't know much about him, he appears to be a poor man's Placido Polanco with more power, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I'd expect him to have numbers close to .275 AVG, 15 homers, and 65 RBIs.

Joe Crede has been one of the more overrated third basemen of the past few years, especially in fantasy baseball. He is slightly above average but got a huge boost from a lot of people after his 2006 season in which he hit .283 with 30 homers and 94 RBIs. After an injury-ravaged 2007 campaign and Josh Fields coming on strong, I expect the 30-year-old to have a bit of an off-year as he gets moved at the trading deadline: .270 AVG, 23 homers, 60 RBIs.

Juan Uribe, I'm not really sure why he's in the starting lineup at all. Ramirez should have gotten the second base job while Carlos Quentin got the start in center. Uribe is not that great of a fielder, nor is he too great of a hitter either. Look for no more than .230 AVG, 15 homers, 70 RBIS.

*x- injured.

Now for the rotation (with 2007 stats)

1. Mark Buehrle: 10-9, 3.63 ERA, 115 Ks, 201 IP
2. Javier Vazquez: 15-8, 3.74 ERA, 213 Ks, 216.2 IP
3. John Danks: 6-13, 5.50 ERA, 109 Ks, 139 IP
4. Jose Contreras: 10-17, 5.57 ERA, 113 Ks, 189 IP
5. Gavin Floyd: 1-5, 5.27 ERA, 49 Ks, 70 IP

Mark Buehrle has been the ace for a few years now and has been great at times, like his no hitter last season. But he's been mostly average and has never really been a true ace. Javier Vazquez really isn't a number 2 starter either, he's also been mostly average over the years as well. Danks is largely unproven and his numbers in minors don't exactly scream phenom (4.17 ERA in 69 IP at AA and 4.31 ERA in AAA in 2006 before being brought up). Contreras falls into the same mold as Vazquez, nothing but average. Floyd struggled for three years with the Phillies before being sent to the White Sox in the deal that sent Freddy Garcia the other way.

As you may have noticed, I am not too high on their rotation to say the least. This is what will make them finish a distant third in their division. I'm not too high on their bullpen either:

Closer: Bobby Jenks, 3-5, 2.77 ERA, 56 Ks, 65 IP
RH Set-up: Scott Linebrink, 3-3, 3.80 ERA, 25 SO, 45 IP
LH Set-up: (None) Boone Logan, 2-1, 4.97 ERA, 35 SO, 50.2 IP

The White Sox bullpen was in such a state of flux last season that they severely overpaid to bring in both Linebrink and Octavio Dotel. Linebrink should do well this season as the set-up man, finally creating a bridge to Bobby Jenks. The only problem is the rest of the bullpen. Dotel has been prone to injuries over the years and has historically not done well right away bouncing back from them. Middle relief may be messy once again for the franchise.

Many argue that it isn't too big of a deal if you don't have a prominent lefty-righty combination in the bullpen. I agree with that, but it's hard to argue when you have only one lefty in the bullpen, and that player only has one full year of experience under his belt.

This team is a slightly below average franchise. They're in a bad place right now: not good, but not bad enough to throw in the towel and acquire prospects. But I really think they should at this point, and the Swisher deal in the end I believe will be more hurtful (Gio Gonzalez will rise with the Athletics) than helpful. After another sub-.500 finish this season, hopefully they do throw in the towel and trade their high priced talent before they get too old and lose their value and get some quality prospects.

Okay everyone, that's it for now. I hope everyone enjoyed the first week of the season as much as I did. Make sure you create your fantasy team now, your not going to remake your team using the waiver wire (which I find out the hard way each year). Also, if anyone of you readers out there would like to contribute, let me know. We are always looking for writers.

Take care everyone, and enjoy spring baseball.

Flashing the Trivia answer: Sammy Sosa.

Statistical information courtesy of mlb.com and baseball-reference.com. Picture courtesy of espn.com.

Dame with A Rod

2008-03-26T14:47:00.003-04:00

Hey all, just a quick post to respond to the Daily News article on A-Rod's regret for signing a 10-year, $252M contract with the Texas Rangers instead of choosing to play for less with the New York Mets.

First of all, despite what my boss thinks, I have always thought A-Rod was good at skating the line between being a complete douche and an okay guy for a ballplayer, which is better than many elite athletes.

The reigning American League MVP was famously lampooned for being classless back in October when it was announced that he'd chosen to opt out of his contract during the final game of the World Series. His agent, Scott Boras, later took full responsibility for the poor timing of the announcement and the distraction it caused. As a quick aside, what exactly did the announcement distract us from? I seem to remember being more interested in the game of pool I was shooting than the game I was sort of watching on television. I don't even remember his opting out being announced.

In the Daily News article, A-Rod explains that he made a mistake in signing his contract with Texas for the money and that he did not want to repeat that mistake, which is why he flamed Boras and chose instead to negotiate his new contract with the Yankees on his own.

In my opinion, Rodriguez has, once again, said all the right things. The article is a puff-piece, but that's okay. A-Rod deserves something for ditching Boras. The season hasn't even started yet; there's still plenty of time for the media to get on his back for no apparent reason.

Mess with Texas

2008-03-23T12:09:00.003-04:00

Your favorite NL Central preview is back after an extended break! On the menu today are the Houston Astros, and why not start off with pitching?

Their Ace, of course, is Roy Oswalt. Just about seven years after his MLB Debut he has a career ERA of 3.07 with 112 wins and 54 losses. He's coming off a year true to his average numbers winning 14 games with half the losses and a 3.18 ERA. So I think it's safe to say that Oswalt is the focal point of this Houston pitching staff; it just goes way downhill after him (which is pretty much the trend in the NL Central). Their number two starter is Wandy Rodriguez. That's pretty terrible. Last season he was pushing nearly a 4.60 ERA with only 9 wins, and thats typical of him. Don't expect him to all of a sudden become a true #2 starter (but since I said that he will do amazing to spite me, because Wandy and I talk all the time and he likes to spite me). Following Wandy is a mediocre Brandon Backe, the old geezer Woody Williams, and Chris Sampson. Not impressive at all.

Meanwhile in the bullpen the Astros acquired closer Jose Valverde, who had 47 saves last season with a 2.66 ERA. So if the Astros manage to make it to the 9th inning with a slim lead, then I'd feel pretty confident in them getting the win with him on the mound.

On to offense, I must start with Kazuo Matsui! He had his best year in the majors last season with the Rockies, batting .288 with 32 stolen bases and, 4 homers and 37 RBI. Not that great for that being his best season. But then again, he's always getting injured; For instance, he is already slated to be on the DL at the start of this season!
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7250/news
Our fellow blogger, Jesse, brought this article to our attention. How silly! Only Kaz. I remember hearing about how he was sleeping and somehow one of his contacts cut his eye or something like that and he ended up on the DL (I think) for that. I don't wear contacts, but isn't it common sense not to wear them while you're sleeping anyway?

Now to real offensive players, the Astros aquired Miguel Tejada in the offseason to play short stop. Tejeada Will definitely provide a good bat for the Astros, but as you all know, I'm sure, he was involved with the whole Mitchell Report nonsense. I haven't been keeping up with it lately so I don't know whats going on with him, but I feel like he somehow won't be able to play a full season because of that. He shouldn't anyway if he's a cheater, but I guess if any division needs to cheat its definitely the NL Central, thats for sure! Too bad the Astros don't have Pettitte and Clemens anymore.

Out in Left Field is Carlos Lee, who had a fantastic season last year, driving in 119 runs with an average slightly above .300 and 43 doubles. To me he is pretty much like Miguel Tejada, except, hopefully, not a cheater. So in other words, he's a reliable bat in this lineup. I'm looking for him to have a similar season as last year. Another player similar to Lee and Tejada is Lance Berkman, who plays first base and is hitting .300 in his career with 855 RBI, last season hitting .278 with 102 RBI and 34 home runs. In Center Field is Michael Bourn. I don't know why, but for some reason I like him. Maybe its his name, Bourn is a cool last name (Paul knows all about my cool name draft policy from 2006). He's young though and this will be his first season as a starter; I think he may be exciting to watch. Last season in 119 at bats he hit 3 doubles and 3 triples with 18 stolen bases; he's got some speed obviously.

Now on to my favorite player on this team, Hunter Pence. Like Bourn, this will also be his first full season as a starter. Last season he was called up to fill in for an injury (I believe) and he tore it up! He hit .322 with 17 home runs, 69 RBI, 30 doubles and 9 triples in 108 games. I think he will do just as well this season (and he better since he's on one of my fantasy teams!) and if not, he's young so look to him to shape up to be one of the best, consistent hitters in the majors in a few years.

So the Astros have a decent offensive lineup with Tejada, Lee, Berkman and Pence, but I'm not so sure thats enough to make up for their horrible starting pitching staff. They should find a way to clone Oswalt 4 times, and then I'd put my money on them making it to the World Series.

Monthly Maintenance Update

2008-03-22T20:04:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone,

Figured I'd give all our loyal readers out there an update on whats going on at Flashing the Leather. Paul has created a message board for everyone. You can discuss anything you want as it is separated by divisions and some topics that will change from time to time.

You also don't have to sign up, I REPEAT, NO SIGNING UP FOR ANYTHING! to leave comments.

Also, with a simple setting switch apparently, to leave a comment on a blog post now, YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO SIGN UP EITHER! Anonymous comments are better then no comments, I know you guys are out there.

Our original plan was to get the team previews out just in time for the season. It is looking like we are not gonna make it. But not to worry, we're going to finish them up anyway. It maybe by late April but we will get you those previews.

Fellow bloggers, until we finish these previews to save some time, I will also encourage link posting to other articles you find interesting. So with your preview, a non-related (still in beat) link post to another article. Maybe 100 or so words about it, I think that would work. Of course you can simply just write about what ever you want with that too but I know we are all pressed for time. All I ask for is an additional link and maybe a few opinionated sentences about it.

Questions, Comments, Cheppelle Show rants, anything. Everyone (visitors too) can email me at abrancato85@hotmail.com.

Take care all and have a very Happy Easter!

Ooh, the People Be Bumpin' (at Bump City)

2008-03-17T14:52:00.012-04:00

http://daboogiedownbronx.mlblogs.com/da_bronx_bombers/images/da_reg_1.jpg

For those of you who don't listen to horn-based soul music, today's post title comes from a Tower of Power song. "Bump City" is slang, of course, for Oakland, home to Tower of Power and Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics.

Flashing the Trivia! Which former Tower of Power bass player is now considered to be a father of one of the worst scandals in Major League Baseball history?

The Athletics have qualified for the playoffs five times since 2000 (reaching 100 wins twice, in 2001 and 2002) and have posted at least 87 wins eight of the last nine seasons. Unfortunately, the one season where they didn't manage 87 wins was last year (76-86). Last year it all seemed to fall apart for the A's, who had been considered a top-flite club for years. Whether people have caught on to Billy Beane's highly statistical sabermetic approach or it was just a combination of bad luck and injuries is up to speculation.

The focus of this article is not to discuss sabermetrics, so I will not do so, but I would like to point out that my opinion is that there will always be inefficiencies in the market for ballplayers (and anything else) and so sabermetrics will never truly be outgrown. Some argue that walks, for example, were underappreciated (players with high BB/PA were not rewarded enough in their salaries) five years ago, but that the current market has adjusted to value them properly. While this may be the case, the point of Moneyball was not that walks are underappreciated, but that something was underappreciated. The key to winning an unfair game is to exploit whatever is undervalued at the time and I firmly believe that, although it is cyclical as to what will be undervalued, there will always be something, whether it is speed, fielding ability, power, reliability or any other player attribute.

Anyway, I apologize for that tangent, but I do think it is relatively necessary to discuss sabermetrics, at least a bit, in any, even relatively accurate, analysis of the Athletics as long as Billy Beane is still General Manager there. So, the A's seem to have lost some of their flair last year and traded away the ace of last year's staff, Danny Haren, to Houston for six prospects this past offseason. They also swapped one of their best hitters, Nick Swisher, to the Chicago White Sox for three prospects. This year's team does not look competitive and, indeed, it does not look much like Beane is trying to be. Sometimes you are better off rebuilding and it looks like that is what the A's will be doing this season. Although PECOTA projects Oakland to finish 2nd and Seattle to finish last, look for the Athletics to finish third or fourth again, 10+ games behind Anaheim and Seattle.

Team Projections

Lineup (2007 OBP, SLG, AB, HR, SB)
OF Travis Buck (.377, .474, 285, 7, 4)
1B Daric Barton (.429, .639, 72, 4, 1)
3B Eric Chavez (.306, .446, 341, 15, 4)
DH Jack Cust (.408, .504, 395, 26, 0)
2B Mark Ellis (.336, .441, 583, 19, 9)
OF Emil Brown (.300, .347, 366, 6, 12)
SS Bobby Crosby (.278, .341, 349, 8, 10)
OF Chris Denorfia* (.356, .368, 106, 1, 1)
C Kurt Suzuki (.327, .408, 213, 7, 0)
*Denorfia's stats are from 2006, he spent 2007 recovering from Tommy John surgery

Starting Rotation (2007 Record, ERA, IP, K/BB)
Joe Blanton (14-10, 3.95, 230.0, 140/40 )
Rich Harden ( 1-2, 2.45, 25.2, 27/11 )
Chad Gaudin (11-13, 4.42, 199.1, 154/100)
Justin Duchsherer ( 3-3, 4.96, 16.1, 13/8 )
Lenny DiNardo ( 8-10, 4.11, 131.2, 59/50 )

Bullpen (2007 Record, ERA, IP, SV, K/BB)
CL Huston Street ( 5-2, 2.88, 50.0, 16, 63/12)
RHP Santiago Casilla ( 3-1, 4.44, 50.2, 2, 52/23)
LHP Alan Embree ( 1-2, 3.97, 68.0, 17, 51/19)
RHP Kiko Calero ( 1-5, 5.75, 40.2, 1, 31/21)

Manager
Bob Geren

Why They're Good

Travis Buck is a good, patient leadoff hitter who will likely improve upon his performance last year. His .851 OPS last year was good, especially when it is OBP-heavy as a leadoff-hitter. We'll see what he can do if he gets 500 AB. Although he doesn't have much major league experience, Daric Barton projects to become a beast and is the A's top prospect at 22 years old. While Eric Chavez's career appears to be on the decline, look for at least a bit of a rebound from his dismal season last year. Jack Cust looks sort of like a late-blooming Adam Dunn (though without as much power) and should post similar numbers to last year's. Mark Ellis is adequate at second.

Joe Blanton is a pretty good starter, though I would not say that I'd want him as my ace. He does not really overpower anyone, but his stuff is decent enough and he is very durable. He's not terribly different from Barry Zito, except he's younger, right-handed and probably not quite as good. Rich Harden is like A.J. Burnett, only less durable (if you can believe it); he could be an ace on most staffs, if he could manage stay even relatively healthy through a whole season. The rest of the rotation, in my opinion is well-balanced enough. I think Duchscherer will be decent enough and Gauden and DiNardo should eat some innings.

No one in their bullpen is Mariano Rivera, but Street is good and Embree can fit more tobacco in his mouth than you'd find in a Gurkha Beast.

Why They're Not

Well, first of all, they're not really trying to be good this year. You can't take a shower while you're installing a new bathtub and you can't win a World Series while you're rebuilding your baseball club. And that's okay, provided that the Athletics are able to hold on to some of their good players as they reach their peak phases (like Buck and Blanton) and their prospects (like Barton and Brett Anderson) are as good as they hope they'll be.

The numbers that their pitchers will put up will look better than they are in pitcher-friendly Oakland Colisseum. The back end of the lineup is not particularly threatening and, although I hope Chavez is able to rebound, he might not, though it's hard to think he'll have a worse season than last year. Behind Blanton and Harden, their rotation is nothing really special, and Blanton doesn't dazzle you and Harden probably won't make more than 20 starts. Although it's fine to have a fifth starter be an innings-eater, it's not particularly attractive to look at more than one guy in the rotation like that.

Their bullpen should be fine, but don't expect it to make the difference between a moderately bad team and an average team.

Wildcards

Since they aren't really trying to be competitive, there aren't many wildcards, but I guess Harden's health could be considered one, though I don't think anyone expects him to stay healthy. I suppose you could call him making 25+ starts a dark horse. Look for Street to develop as a closer and Buck and Barton to continue their development as good, young hitters. Let's hope, for his sake, that Eric Chavez is able to bounce back and earn his salary, since it's more than 15% of their total payroll.

Fantasy Spin

There's a good chance that you will be able to start Justin Duchscherer in the relief pitcher slot. If you are playing in a deep league, can make daily changes or are not trying to win Saves, he's probably worth a look.

Overall Offseason

None of the moves the A's made can really be evaluated before the prospects they received in return develop into major leaguers, so I'm not going to grade them.

Offseason Grade: Incomplete
Overall 2008 Grade: C-

Devils and Dusty Baker

2008-03-14T17:09:00.011-04:00

Once in a Blue Moon, someone writes an absolutely essential piece. Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy. Then Giovanni Boccaccio wrote The Decameron. William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. Thomas Jefferson wrote "The Declaration of Independence." Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick, or The Whale. Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

Since Darwin's publication in 1859, there really have not been any seminal works. However, on 10 March 2008, less than a week ago, Paul Daugherty changed that and drew the United States up ahead of those wankers in England and the caffoni in Italy.

His recent article, [Cincinnati Reds Manager Dusty] Baker judges by his senses just may change how people see, not only baseball, but the world.

Before reading Daugherty's article, I thought that batters wanted to walk. Now I realize that "walks aren't what you want from players hitting third through sixth." He also continues to advocate the Reds trading Joey Votto and Homer Bailey for Joe Blanton.

Before reading this jewel, my problem was not so much with Blanton (although I thought this would be a terrible trade for the Reds to make) as it was with Daugherty's argument for him and arguments against statistics in general. Now I have been made to understand that the only pitching statistic that matters is "Games Won."

He has also made me realize that stats like Flyball/Groundball Ratio are unnecessarily complex and Home and Road ERA Splits are too arbitrary and confusing to have any utility when assessing players' strong and weak points.

He goes on to break down statistical analysis the way it should be done: A way that average scientists like me can understand. Who knew that at the end of the season, when all is said and done, each time a batter walks, he has wasted an opportunity to bat in one half of a run? If I had only known that taking fewer first-pitch strikes would improve run production, I could have imparted that wisdom to Tim Raines. If only he'd realized that those 1330 plate appearances where he'd walked could have been changed into 665 RBI, maybe he could have been a first ballot Hall-of-Famer.

Finally, Daugherty ties up the article in the clearest, simplest manner, by listing the Managerial Win tallies of Dusty Baker and Bill James. 1162 - 0.

Just to put Daugherty's numbers in a bit more perspective here, a little further research shows that Baker also lost 1041 games (for a Winning Rate of .527). Never mind the fact that he has managed the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs who have consistently had two of the highest payrolls in the NL in recent years.

In 2002, Baker's final year in SF, the Giants finished in second place, with 95 Wins and a $78 M payroll, but the only teams with higher payrolls and fewer wins were the NY Mets (75 Wins, $95 M) and the LA Dodgers (92 W, $95 M). In 2006, Baker's final year in Chicago, the Cubs finished with 66 Wins, least in the National League, 17 1/2 games out of first. Please also note that the Cubs had the highest payroll in their division and 3rd highest in the National League.

But, then again, at least Baker knows his scotch.

We Don't Need Johan, We've Got......Scott Baker!

2008-03-12T23:17:00.006-04:00

Flashing the Trivia: In the 2006 season, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen nicknamed some of the Twins players "piranhas," because of them being pesky players. Which players specifically did Guillen label piranhas?

Just a little bit of dialogue from the Mets 1-1 tie in 10 innings two days ago against the Boston Red Sox:

Gary Cohen: So, well that's it, Francona gives the signal its over, Willie concurs and that's the game. So what's that addage Keith, it's like kissing your sister right?

Keith Hernandez: I don't have any sisters so I don't know what it's like.

Cohen: Well you know how it is.

Hernandez: I wish I had a sister though, I really do.

Hey everyone, I'm finally feeling a bit better, though my cough is still lingering. But it won't linger quite as long as the losses of Torii Hunter and Johan Santana for the Twins. Though it is quite nice when a team knows when to pack it in and rebuild, its both logical for the organization (especially a small-market organization) and fun for the fans to see the kids rise through the rankings. Kids indeed, this year's team only has one player, Adam Everett (31), over 30 in the starting lineup. I'll break it down by projected starting line-up and rotation.

Can Carlos Gomez fill Torii Hunter's shoes in center?

Assuming Carlos Gomez doesn't totally fall apart in spring training (2 hits in 13 at-bats isn't so great but no one else has stepped up), the center field position is his to lose. Gomez looks to fill Torii Hunter's shoes in center, but plays a much different offensive game. Defensively, Gomez shouldn't have too much trouble tracking down balls in center at the spacious Metrodome (as you all know Gomez was believed to have been faster than Jose Reyes). Offensively, Gomez will take full advantage of the very quick turf and if he becomes a slap hitter (a la Luis Castillo), he should be just fine. He's not a power hitter and never will be, but there's nothing stopping him from becoming an above-average center fielder both offensively and defensively. Look for Gomez to put up numbers something like this: .265 avg, 8 homers, 45 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases.

Joe Mauer is looking to bounce back from a hernia, quad, and hamstring injury that plagued him for most of last season. Despite the injuries, Mauer had a very good season by hitting .293 with 7 homers and 60 RBIs in 406 at-bats. He was also very solid behind the plate, with 1 error, 35 assists and 598 putouts in 91 games. He will be asked to help anchor a rotation with 4 out of 5 members having only a full year of experience or less behind them. He has also never struck out more than 64 times in a season, making him a great number 2 hitter as he often puts the ball in play. Mauer, should post numbers similar to last season except with an average more around .320.

Delmon Young is hoping this is the fresh start he needs to take his baseball career to the next level. Young, 22, maybe hitting over-his-head as the number 3 this season, but there's no question that in 2009, he'll be truly ready to be a major part of this lineup. Young had a great year last season, his first full one in the majors by hitting .288 with 13 homers and 93 RBIs. This should be the perfect situation for Young, he shouldn't run into any distractions this season and should become the player everyone thinks he can be. He also looks to improve on his fielding in left but that adjustment should be close to seemless with Gomez out there in center. This season he should hit about .280, with 25 homers and 100 RBIs.

Justin Morneau has been a staple in this lineup for the past three seasons, but has not been counted on as much has he will be this season. In 2007 he had a great year by hitting .271 with 31 homers and 111 RBIs. After signing a six-year $80 million contract (the largest in franchise history), he will be the cornerstone the Twins will build around for years to come. It should be an interesting year for Morneau, 28, to see if he crumbles under the pressure or rises to the occasion. I thought after 2004 and 2005 (hitting .271 and .235 respectively) that he would be nothing more than an average first baseman, but I was wrong. Morneau should rise to the occasion as the Twins try to keep themselves from finishing 4th in the AL Central. Expect Morneau to put up numbers simlar to 2006: .321 AVG, 34 homers and 130 RBIs.

Michael Cuddyer had a breakout year in 2006: .284 AVG with 24 homers and 109 RBIs. While Cuddyer is a steady hitter he is nothing spectacular. What he hit in 2007, I'd expect to be his averages for the rest of his career: .276 AVG, 16 homers and 81 RBIs. His .356 OBP and 107 strikeouts last season are good for a five hitter. Cuddyer has been just about average in right field. But should Cuddyer slip this season, look for the Twins to be in trouble as Morneau will walk much more than last season's career high of 64. So far so good right? After Cuddyer, there is a huge dropoff.

Jason Kubel and Craig Monroe will be splitting time at the DH spot. Kubel, 25, has never made much of a splash in the majors, he hit .273 with 13 homers and 65 RBIs last season. Monroe is a bit more seasoned having played five full seasons in the majors and hitting .219 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs in only 392 at-bats. Monroe has always been quite the decent outfielder so I would envision Monroe being used more to spell Young, Gomez and Cuddyer in the outfield. But overall, because neither of these players are all that great, this platoon will extend into the outfield constantly. Thus giving Gomez and Young the time they need to adjust. Kubel and Monroe will probably post the same as their 2007 numbers, with Monroe posting closer to a .250 AVG.

Brendan Harris came over to the Twins with Delmon Young in the deal that sent Matt Garza to the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. Harris, 27, never got constant playing time until last season with the Devil Rays when he hit .286 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs. Harris will have to adjust being a second baseman after playing shortstop for most of 2007. But he will have a lot of help with Adam Everett at short who is a stellar fielder. We'll see this year if last season was a fluke for Harris. I'd say his numbers drop a little bit: .270 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs.

Mike Lamb spent his four seasons in Houston stuck behind third baseman Morgan Ensberg. Lamb's chance to be an everyday player never really arose, even after Ensberg was traded last August. With some labeling his defense as "suspect," Lamb instead spent the rest of the '07 season playing behind Ty Wigginton in a year in which he hit .289 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 124 games. After signing a two-year $6.6 million deal in the offseason, Lamb finally has his shot. Lamb should have a below average season as he adjusts to the American League: .270 with 15 homers and 60 RBIs.

Adam Everett, like Lamb, decided to sign with Minnesota in the offseason. He saw the writing on the wall after the Astros dealt for Miguel Tejada. Everett has always been an astute fielder and usually makes the infield around him better. With Harris at a new position and Lamb's first as a full-time starter, Everett will be a definite asset defensively. But offensively, he'll really be a liability, he hit .232 with 2 homers and 15 RBIs in 220 at-bats last year. Look for Everett to hit around .250 with possibly 10 homers and 50 RBIs.

The Twins rotation right now is as follows (with 2007 stats)

1. Scott Baker, 9-9, 4.26 ERA
2. Boof Bonser, 8-12, 5.01 ERA
3. Livan Hernandez, 11-11, 4.93 ERA
4. Franciso Liriano, 12-3, 2.16 ERA (2006, DNP in 2007)
5. Kevin Slowey, 4-1, 4.73 ERA

The strength of this rotation lies on whether or not Liriano can bounce back from Tommy John surgery in November 2006. Of all these players, Liriano and Baker are the only ones who could become an ace of this staff.

Baker, 26, has fallen into the ace role by default but has the potential to truly fill his role. He struggled mightily in 2006 (3-3, 6.37 ERA in 83.1 IP) and was forced down to the minors after winning the number 5 slot in the rotation. After a great bounce back year in 2007, he finds himself atop the Twins rotation. He should build on last season's success (and near perfect game against the Kansas City Royals on August 31st).

Bonser is dangerous as a number 2 (Liriano should be the number 2 in no time though) I see Bonser more as a 3rd or 4th starter. His game is more offspeed and has struggled to make it past the 5th and 6th innings in his career. But he has lost 20 pounds in the offseason so we will see if that makes a difference.

Livan Hernandez is your prototypical number 4 starter as an innings eater. That's really all he is at this point in his career, look for Nick Blackburn to push him out of the rotation for 2009.

Slowey has been noticeably struggling in the spring thus far, the right-hander struggled in his first Grapefruit League start on Wednesday, giving up three runs on five hits over his two innings against the Yankees. It was the second disappointing outing in a row for the right-hander. Slowey allowed three runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings in his first spring appearance, facing the Red Sox. It's not what the Twins expected to see from Slowey, who after being recalled on Sept. 3 from Triple-A Rochester, the right-hander went 1-1 with a 3.34 ERA in six outings last year.

The back-end of the Twins bullpen shapes up to look like this:

Closer: Joe Nathan, 37/41 saves, 1.88 ERA
Right-handed set-up man: Pat Neshek, 2.94 ERA
Left-handed set-up man: Dennys Reyes, 3.99 ERA

Nathan is always steady. In the final year of his contract look for the 33-year-old to keep his number around the same, maybe a few less saves, just because there will be less opportunities. Neshek emerged on the scene in 2006 and became an immediate fantasy darling for leagues that count holds as a stat. In 2007, his numbers took a slight hit after pitching 27 more innings than the previous season. Look for Neshek to usually be the eighth-inning bridge regardless of how many righties the opposition has to bat. Dennys Reyes, was a below average pitcher until his ridiculous 2006 season where he went 5-0 with a .89 ERA in 50.2 innings. Last season he did come back down to earth but which season was a fluke? I'd guess Reyes's ERA will be a little lower this season but float around 3.50.

The Minnesota Twins will struggle this year because they are an extremely young team, but they have made some shrewd moves in order to better themselves for the future. The big holes lie past Cuddyer in the lineup, once those are patched with prospects, the team will be in very good shape for 2009 and beyond.

On a side note, woo hoo! I finally got my diploma from Stony Brook, I was seriously starting to doubt whether or not I had missed a class or something. Make sure if you ever go to Stony Brook University you take Hong Kong Martial Arts Cinema, a class that exemplifies the standard of education that Stony Brook has to offer. Thats right!

Statistics courtesy of twincitylongball.com, picture courtesy of mlb.com

Flashing the Trivia answer: Nick Punto, Jason Tyner, Luis Castillo, and Jason Bartlett

New Message Board!

2008-03-10T18:38:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that I have created a new message board if you would like to argue about stuff there as opposed to commenting on our articles. It appears just above our newsreel on the right side of the page. Come on people, I know you are out there, the blog counter jumped from 540 to 560 in the past two days since our most recent posts, LET US KNOW YOUR READING, WRITE ON THE BOARD! It only takes a second...

Come on Leatherheads, we love baseball and we know you do too, let's us know your opinions!!

They got it wrong, for I am client 9, muhahaha.

"He Didn't Touch Home Plate!!!"

2008-03-09T11:09:00.005-04:00

The San Diego Padres have adopted a new philosophy this season: If their pitchers beat up the opposing team’s offense, their weak offense seems better by comparison.

Alright I made that up but the truth is that San Diego’s offense is not as weak as it seems. They have a handful of good hitters who are victimized by Petco park. Their biggest bat is Adrian Gonzalez who had 10 homers at Petco and 20 homers on the road last year while batting 30 points higher on the road. The rest of the middle of the lineup will include Jim Edmonds, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Khalil Greene. Khalil Greene is one of the few people who’s home runs were comparable at home and on the road (12 to 15). However he batted .216 at home and .288 on the road. Kevin Kouzmanoff had about the same batting average both at home and away but of his 18 home runs, 13 came on the road. The best example is Brian Giles who hit 13 home runs all season only one of which came at home, but if you’re drafting Brian Giles you probably don’t have “winning” as part of your fantasy plans this season. Jim Edmonds moves to San Diego to get a change of scenery and to revive his career. Being 38, injury prone and moving to the least hitter-friendly park in baseball means Jim Edmonds is just another cog to San Diego’s mediocre OF. He might be worth a look in NL only leagues or on big road trips, but I’d ignore San Diego’s OF for fantasy purposes.

The part of the Padres we can’t ignore is the pitching. Jake Peavy won the NL Cy Young award last year and it wasn’t even close. There’s really nothing to say about him that hasn’t already been said at this point. More interesting to me is Chris Young. He’s a complete mystery. They say tall pitchers are more durable than short ones yet Chris Young and his 6’10” frame can’t seem to reach 200 innings. In 2006 he was dominant on the road but sucked at home, which is hard to do at Petco, then in 2007, he sucked on the road but was lights out at home. Two seasons in a row he’s been the hardest starting pitcher to hit (with about a .199 batting average against), yet he only had 9 wins last year. I think it’s a safe bet that he’ll be a good pitcher this season but I really can’t forecast anything with him. Maybe he’ll hit 200 innings, maybe he’ll get better run support and get more wins but unless your league counts BAA against, he’s pretty much a riddle. The rest of the Padres rotation is the almighty Greg Maddux, Randy Wolf and Mark Prior.

Yup, it’s that time of year again, that preseason baseball ritual where we all sit around and say “hey, maybe this is the year Prior stays healthy and dominates.” This year has a new twist though as he’s no longer wearing a Cubs uniform. I’ve joked around a few times and have said I bet Mark Prior has an amazing season because all of his various ailments were just a product of the Chicago Cubs and their terrible luck. Maybe he’ll last a whole year and I’ll look somewhat prophetic. He is an interesting pitcher this year though; he’ll be only 27 for the bulk of next season and will probably be helped out by Petco. If he can stay healthy and regain a form that resembles his form of 2003, he’ll be the best buy-low candidate around. The Padres return a very good bullpen featuring Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell and Cla Meredith among others. Hoffman is getting old and hopefully won’t have any lingering mental effects from basically costing the Padres their season last year. I think he’s been around long enough to shake it off and will probably be his usual self. But the concerns are legit.

Over the offseason the Padres acquired Tadahito Igughi. He was a decent second basemen in 2005 and 2006 playing for the White Sox. He probably won’t be worth owning in leagues this year playing in Petco. He signed a 1-year contract with the Padres and is seemingly just keeping second base warm for Matt Antonelli. Chase Headley (yea, there’s another Chase in baseball other than Utley [sorry Chase Wright, you don’t count]) is a natural third basemen but is blocked by Kouzmanoff. However, the Padres and their uninspired offense could use his bat and have had Headley playing outfield in winter ball. Headley played at AA last year and hit 20 homers in 433 at bats along with a .330 batting average and a .437 OBP. He’ll be just 24 this year. Since Edmonds and Giles are injury prone and Scott Hairston just kind of sucks (although his stint with the Padres last season went pretty well) it’s not unlikely that Headley gets a good amount of playing time.

The Padres will once again be a strong and competitive team in baseball’s most competitive division and just like everyone else, will need a few things to go their way to win. If Randy Wolf and Mark Prior are healthy and useful, they probably have the best rotation in baseball. They need Jim Edmonds to remind us that he’s Jim Edmonds. Also worthy of note is that after having a terrible April, Kevin Kouzmanoff rebounded and even batted .317 after the all-star break *cough cough sleeper cough cough*. I think because of the Diamondbacks and Rockies along with the improvements of the Dodgers, this probably isn’t the Padres’ year. In 2009 they’ll have Kouzmanoff, Adrian, Greene, Headley, Antonelli and Josh Bard as a young, strong core of hitters to compliment their strong pitching.

We Will Cross the Mighty Ocean and the Charleston Bay / Sail Away

2008-02-27T17:05:00.006-05:00

http://huskycomics.com/images/ichiro1.jpg

As far as I can tell, the Seattle Mariners play in the city of Seattle in Canada’s farthest southwest province, Washington. After a few abominable years, the Mariners started to show some signs of life last year, climbing into second place with their first winning season (88 Wins) since 2003. This year, they are looking to build on that success and challenge the Angels for the National League West title.

Team Projections (credit: Jim Street, Mariners.MLB.com)

Lineup
OF Ichiro Suzuki
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
OF Raul Ibanez
3B Adrian Beltre
1B Richie Sexson
C Kenji Johjima
OF Brad Wilkerson
DH Jose Vidro
2B Jose Lopez.

Starting Rotation
SP Felix Hernandez
SP Erik Bedard
SP Miguel Batista
SP Carlos Silva
SP Jarrod Washburn

Bullpen
RHP J.J. Putz
RHP Brendan Morrow
LHP Eric O’Flaherty
RHP Sean Green
LHP Arthur Rhodes

Manager
John McLaren

Why they’re good
All things considered, Ichiro is the best leadoff hitter in the American League and just may be the best leadoff player in the game. While the 2001 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP* does not have the power of Hanley Ramirez or the sheer speed of Jose Reyes, he has both extraordinary range in CF and a cannon arm (although the Gold Glove Award is all but meaningless, his seven gold gloves in seven seasons does not hurt my argument, especially considering how difficult it is to get one in RF, where he played his first six MLB seasons). And he shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s even been hitting for a bit more power the last few seasons, averaging 21 2B, 9 3B and 10 HR per year, while still averaging a .325 BA with 38 SB over that span. Last year was, arguably, his best yet, with a .396 OBP and .431 SLG.

There is not quite as much to say about the rest of the lineup, though Betancourt is developing into an above-average shortstop, Ibanez is still chugging away and Johjima is solid behind the plate. I have never been a huge fan of Beltre, but he seems to be getting a bit more used to Safeco and the American League after signing a huge contract following his (possibly) steroids-fueled run to 48 HR in cavernous Dodger Stadium. At 23 and entering his third full season, Jose Lopez still has some time to blossom.

They already had King Felix and then added Erik Bedard. Both of these guys are capable to shutting any opponent out on any given day and they will make the Mariners tough in a short series, provided they can make it to one. Neither has yet managed 200 IP in a season, (though Bedard made 33 starts in ’06 and Hernandez made 31 in ’06 and 30 in ’07). Barring injury, and if the Mariners stay in the race, both should be able to crack 200 this year. As a side note, I do not know much about Hernandez’s personal life, but Bedard, the son and brother of elevator mechanics, seems like a really down-to-Earth guy. As an added bonus, he’s Canadian, which will help since he is playing half of his games there.

Finally, J.J. Putz is awesome. Over 71 2/3 innings, The Michiganian posted an unreal 0.70 WHIP last season, striking out 82, while walking only 13. To put this in perspective, Goldenboy Jonathan Papelbon, over 58 1/3, posted a 0.77 WHIP, struck out 84 and walked 15. Not only is Putz in good company, he’s better than it.

Why they’re not

First, they didn’t get A-Rod back. Additionally, although he is a capable player, Jose Vidro is not who you want to see as your Designated Hitter. I hate the DH and, even moreso, hate the idea of encouraging teams to get big, fat loads like David Ortiz, but it just seems like a waste to use a second baseman there. I love Brad Wilkerson, and he’s still got some power, but he’s a liability in the OF now and just doesn’t play well enough to justify starting at first base. Richie Sexson is coming off an abysmal year (less than .700 OPS). I mean, these are Rob Deer-type numbers. But, who knows, maybe he’ll bounce back. Infield depth could be an issue, especially if it leads to us seeing Miguel Cairo or Willie Bloomquist.

The rest of the pitching staff is pretty average. Batista has been lucky to keep his ERA at the league average the past four years, with WHIPs of 1.52, 1.43, 1.53 and 1.52 from 2004-2007 (though he pitched in relief in ’05). Silva is not striking anyone out, but if he can limit his walks and the long ball like he did in 2005 (9 BB and 25 HR in 188 IP) you cannot be too displeased. On the other hand, if he starts serving them up, we could see another season like he had in 2006, where he lost his spot in the rotation en route to posting a 1.54 WHIP and 5.94 ERA. Washburn has had flashes of brilliance in his career, but has not been more than an average pitcher of late.

Wildcards
This team needs Bedard and Hernandez not only to stay healthy, but to pitch deep into ballgames as well. Although Washburn and Silva will eat innings, Batista is not a sure bet to do so, and McLaren will probably have to lean heavily on his bullpen in close games with those 3, 4 and 5 starters.

The Mariners will also need more production from Beltre and Sexson this year if they want to make a push for the division title.

Overall Offseason
Although all the signs point to Adam Jones being a stud, I like the move for Bedard. As general manager Bill Bavasi said, “To go from a 60-win team, a lousy team, to 88 wins, that’s not tough. But going from 88 on, that’s a little tougher to do . . . if you don’t make a bold move, you have a real good chance of going back to 80 . . . it’s time to go out and try to win.”

I’m not in love with the idea of a 4-year, $46M (this is USD!) deal for Carlos Silva, because it just seems like you’re not getting all you could be for that kind of money. They did not have Bedard, who has two years left until free agency, when they signed Silva, but if they had, perhaps they could have included some of this money into a long-term deal.

Offseason Grade: B+
Overall Grade: B

*only persons affiliated with the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative should be eligible for the Most Valuable Player award

The Rays' New Stadium

2008-02-21T19:34:00.003-05:00

Since I know everyone who reads this (does anyone read this?) cares so much about the [Formerly Devil] Rays, I figured I'd post a link showcasing their new planned stadium. The Mets and the Yankees are each getting new stadiums in 2009, which we all should know by now. While both new facilities appear beautiful and luxurious (Yankee stadium is even planning to have a martini bar, mmm hedonism), I thought it was odd that both stadiums are designed to pay some sort of homage to older stadiums. This new Rays stadium is probably one of the coolest looking stadiums I've ever seen and could open as soon as 2012. It goes in the exact opposite direction of the two NY stadiums and has a rather futuristic design. The stadium is an open air stadium and even when the roof is closed it will still be open (don't make me explain, just click the link). It has a retractable transparent roof that will still let the sunlight in when it's closed. It's also right by the bay. I've heard some concerns with since it's always open, how will it deal with heavy rainstorms indigenous to the Tampa summers, but I'll just give the architects the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully it's not just all aesthetic flare and an inherently non-pragmatic design. Anyway, here is this link to it, judge for yourself

New Tampa Bay Rays stadium

And just in case you're interested, here are links to the new Mets and Yankees stadiums

Citi Field (is that David Wright on the scoreboard?)

New Yankee Stadium (there's a link on there with a slideshow of pictures, otherwise that page is useless)

Can the Tribe Stay Alive in the Central?

2008-02-18T22:48:00.005-05:00

Flashing the Trivia: Former Cleveland Indians pitcher Jason Grimsley might now be well-known as a self-proclaimed steroid user, but what did he do in the mid-90's that apparently set the tone for the rest of his career as a cheater?

Maybe it was Victor Martinez who helped Bill Belichick
film pregame warmups.

Last season, the Cleveland Indians were able to scrape together their first AL Central division title since 2001. Not bad for a team that finished 18 games out of first place in 2006. What was the difference? Pitching. Especially the bullpen. Their bullpen finished with an ERA of 3.75, fourth best in the American League as opposed to the atrocious 5.00+ ERA from the year before. Going into this season, the bullpen appears even more stable than last with the addition of Masahide Kobayashi who had 227 career saves in Japan (and in my opinion, should be closer by mid-season). Kobayashi was the only splash the Indians made in the off-season, bringing back mostly the same squad.

Behind the plate is the always solid Victor Martinez. He hit .301 with 25 homers and 114 RBIs in 562 at-bats last season. Martinez also played 30 games at first base last season, giving Ryan Garko the occasional rest. Travis Hafner is still a better fielding 1st baseman than Martinez but Hafner slumped last season (.266 AVG, 24 homers and 100 RBIS), it was necessary to keep Martinez in the lineup whenever possible. Hafner should bounce back, giving Martinez more of an opportunity to rest.

Garko had a solid season, his first as a full-time starter by hitting .289 with 21 homers and 61 RBIs. The 26-year-old has immense potential and as long as he hits 5th or higher in the lineup, there's no reason why he can't top 100 RBIs.

At second base lies the 22-year-old Asdrubal Cabrera who emerged as the starter towards the end of the year. Before his promotion in August, Cabrera hit .310 with 78 runs scored 23 doubles, three triples, eight homers, and 54 RBIs in 96 games at Double-A Akron. He only spent nine games in Triple-A Buffalo before being sent to the majors. He replaced the season-long-slumping Josh Barfield who looks like will begin the season in Buffalo. But don't write him off just yet, if Cabrera goes through a similar sophomore slump, look for Barfield to be back.

Jhonny Peralta enters his 3rd season at shortstop for the Indians. After a disasterous 2006 campaign where he hit .256, he came back last season by hitting .270 with 21 homers and 72 RBIs. He's a below-average fielder but Cabrera makes up for it presenting an above-average double-play combination. Peralta provides the power at the 6th spot in the lineup and should display consistency by matching his 2007 numbers.

Casey Blake is a player that the Indians have used at first base, third base, and right field to mentor young players at each respective position. He started in right field (where Franklin Gutierrez eventually took over), then to first (where Ryan Garko, a former catching prospect, took over) and now at third (where former Atlanta Braves prospect Andy Marte was supposed to emerge but after a very weak hitting last two years, Blake has remained). Blake has been a bit below-average at the plate, hitting .270 with 18 homers and 70 RBIs. Blake should remain, Marte is not the answer. The most optimal infield for the Indians would be Peralta at third, Cabrera at shortstop (his natural position) and Barfield at second. Of course this is a long-shot, but we will see.

I'm not sure what's going on in left-field for the Indians (Jason Michaels and David Dellucci platoon?) I doubt that will last too long. The 25-year-old Ben Francisco will be given every opportunity to seize the position. Kenny Lofton's name continues to be tossed around but I believe Francisco should be given a shot at the full-time position. Francisco hit .310 with 12 homers and 51 RBIS in Triple-A Buffalo last season and hit .274 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs in 62 at-bats with the Indians last season.

Grady Sizemore is the total package in center. He really came into his own last year by hitting .277 with 24 homers, 78 RBIs and 33 stolen bases in 628 at-bats. There are many, including myself, that think Sizemore is much better than that. There's much to improve on his 155 strikeouts last season (obscenely high for a leadoff man). But unless Sizemore is dropped in the batting order (I don't see that happening, the Indians just don't have a better leadoff option) his numbers should be around the same with perhaps a better average.

The designated hitter position is manned by Travis Hafner (Ryan Garko and Victor Martinez switch too occasionally). From 2004-06 he was solid, hitting at least .305 with at least 28 homers and at least 108 RBIs. But in 2007 he slipped a bit by hitting a weak .266 (.222 with runners in scoring position) with 24 homers and 100 RBIs. He also had a terrible ALCS by hitting 4-for-27 (.148) with one home run and two RBIs. Hafner also set an ALCS record by striking out 12 times. Barring injury, Pronk should bounce back without issue.

The rotation remains very adequate and definitely above average. C.C. Sabathia anchors the rotation as he went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA last season. Fausto Carmona, after a disasterous 1-10, 5.42 ERA rookie season, came into his own by going 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA. Jake Westbrook was his typical mediocre self, going 6-9 with a 4.32 ERA. Paul Byrd, usually mediocre as well had the second-highest win total of his career going 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA. Aaron Laffey, who took over mid-season for the injured Cliff Lee, went 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA.

Laffey will be very interesting to watch, as he did win the Bob Feller award as the Indian's top minor league pitcher (13-4, 2.75 ERA in 131 innings pitched with both Double-A Buffalo and Triple-A Akron last season). Laffey should at least top 10 wins in the back end of the rotation.

The Indians bullpen carried them all year last season. RHP set-up man Rafael Betancourt went 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA last year. He was brilliantly complimented by 25-year-old LHP Rafael Perez who went 1-2 with a 1.78 ERA last season. The only question mark once again is closer Joe Borowski. He did lead the American League with 45 saves last season but also carried a 5.07 ERA. But if consistency is an issue again this season, look for Eric Wedge to pull the plug, giving either Perez or newcomer Kobayashi a shot.

While the Indians have a solid team once again this year, alas, they are not the Detroit Tigers. But I do believe the Indians should be able to capture the wild card (over the Yankees). This season will ride on C.C. (and his expiring contract) Carmona (was last year a fluke?) and the back-end of their bullpen (will this be it for Borowski?).

I expect at least 94 wins in this team's future and a wild card birth.

Flashing the Trivia answer: In 1994, while the Cleveland Indians were playing the Chicago White Sox at Comisky Park, Albert Belle's bat was confiscated by umpires during the first inning. White Sox manager Gene Lamont was tipped off that Belle had a corked bat (which was indeed true). Here's the rest of the story from an SI article:

The New York Times reported that he took a cork-free bat belonging to Paul Sorrento, because all of Belle's bats were corked. Jason Grimsley said he knew there was an escape hatch in the ceiling in the clubhouse and figured there was one as well in the umpires' dressing room.

With the help of an unidentified Indians' employee, he navigated his way to the spot. Crawling on his belly, a flashlight in his mouth, he finally found it, dropped down on a refrigerator and swiped the bat from Phillips' locker.

"My heart was going 1,000 miles a second," Grimsley told the Times. "I just rolled the dice, a crapshoot."

After the game, the umpires immediately suspected foul play -- the bat, after all, bore Sorrento's name. The American League even spoke of bringing in the FBI.

Finally, the Indians were told that if they supplied Belle's bat there would be no punishment for the switch. Belle received a 10-game suspension that was reduced to seven games on appeal.

Hey everyone!

2008-02-18T22:44:00.005-05:00

I've been watching the blog counter for the past few weeks and have noticed that there are quite a few people that look at this page. Every time a new post goes up, there are at least 20 hits of people who come to the page.

Whoever you are, please comment! We take time out of our lives to keep the posts coming every few days and would really like your feedback. It's free to create a hotmail/gmail email address. Let us know your out there!

Hopefully you can help us become a dot-com website next year.

We also now sponsor Matt Garza on baseball-reference.com!

Thanks again, and on behalf of all of us at Flashing the Leather, we appreciate your support!

Stick to Brewing Because Baseball Isn't Your Thing

2008-02-16T15:01:00.003-05:00

I'm glad I don't live in any of the surrounding areas encompassed by baseballs central division. This division is so mediocre! So lets start with the Milwaukee Brewers. Francisco Cordero is gone, and they came up with a wonderful replacement in Eric Gagne. Wonderfully bad, that is. Yeah, Gagne was good with Texas, but he's not anymore. He couldn't even pitch a good inning on a World Series winning team. Maybe Milwaukee will turn out to be just the right place for him, but I'm certainly not counting on it. If I join any fantasy leagues where you get points for the most blown saves, then Eric Gagne will be on my draft list.

Gagne pumping his fist in excitement because he can't believe he
still has a job in the Majors.

Ok now that I have my hatred for Gagne out of the way, lets get to the rest of the team. I see they have Guillermo Mota. Now there is a name I'm familiar with, being a mets fan. He was pretty good in 2006 with the Mets, when he was taking steroids. Or HGH. Whichever one it was made him a decent relief guy. But then in 2007 when he came back after his suspension, and presumably not taking any illegal performance enhancers, he sucked big time. Besides that though, how can you want someone on your team who has listed in their biography on brewers.com that he is an experienced dominoes player!? Yeah, I'm sure thats gonna help the Brewers create a huge gap in the NL Central this year. What were the Mets thinking when they let this expert dominoes player go!!!?!? Thats more valuable than acquiring some scrubby pitcher like Johan Santana.

More pitching woes for them Brew Crew. Ben Sheets, when hes healthy hes good. But he is not healthy a lot of the time, which isn't very good. And then their #2 starter, Jeff Suppan, whose career ERA of 4.61 doesn't look too great to me. I remember him last year being the Best Starter in Baseball for a part of the beginning of the season. How the hell did that happen? And foolish little me, I picked him up in one of my fantasy leagues from the waiver wire. Of course when I did that he reverted to the real Jeff Suppan and started being mediocre, like the team he plays for. So in other words, the Brewers pitching staff isn't great.

Now for offense. Look for Prince Fielder to tear it up again; How could he not with a name like Prince? Last year he improved his batting average over the previous year by 16 points (.288), and I think he has a shot at batting .300 this coming season. He will definitely be in the top in Home Runs again as well I think. Maybe we'll even see another inside the park HR from him! My next favorite offensive player is definitely Ryan Braun, the Rookie of the Year in the NL for the 2007 season (He did win that, right?). He had an awesome rookie year batting over .300 and hitting 34 home runs. He supposedly wasn't a great fielder, I wouldn't really know since I haven't ever really watched a Brewers game, but last season he was at third base. This coming season he has been shifted to left field, so defense shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as he doesn't have a Johnny Damon arm. I look for him to produce a similar season as he did last year.

The Brewers have also added Mike Cameron to be their new center fielder. Hes got some good defense and speed, but he is atrocious at the plate, and with their crappy pitching, Mr. Cameron won't really be helping the team much no matter how many good plays in the outfield he makes. But of course, him being an ex-Met, I have a special place in my heart for him. J.J. Hardy was a fluke last year in the first half of the season, hitting like a million home runs everyday.

Overall I've never liked the Brewers, and this season they're still not giving me a reason to like them , but they still have a shot at winning the division since the rest of the division sucks as well. Hopefully they won't though.

Peace out Cub Scouts,
Mike

Statistical info courtesy brewers.com Pictures courtesy random websites I found on Google

Purple Mountain Madness

2008-02-16T12:25:00.004-05:00

The next team up in the NL West are the Colorado Rockies. If any team can compete with the Arizona Diamondbacks Cinderella-esque story of last year, it's the Colorado Rockies. Many preseason predictions had the Rockies pinned as the best 4th place team in the division (possibly 5th). Despite showing flashes of competitiveness and legitimacy in 2006, the Rockies still did not look like they could compete against the rest of the NL West. But then Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt and Randy Johnson all flopped for their respective teams, the Dodgers collapsed and the Rockies as a team matured all at once to finish with the second best record in the National League (and only by half a game). Amazing? Yes. Lucky? Sure. But a complete surprise? Ehh maybe it was just me who thought it wasn't too surprising, but the Rockies had very quietly established a solid foundation and a fundamentally sound team.

It all began when the Rockies dealt Jason Jennings and Miguel Asencio (yea, I don't know him either) for Willy Taveras, Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz. Some questioned the move at first, Jason Jennings was ROY for the Rockies back in 2002 and was their best starting pitcher. However, Jennings was a year away from free agency, the Rockies needed a center fielder and Jason Hirsh lit up the minors (Buccholz isn't so bad either). In 20/20 hindsight, the trade looks absolutely genius. Another big component to last season was the emergence of Troy Tulowitzki (he was the NL ROY in my mind). Tulowitzki, after a slow start, adjusted to the majors and aside from having one of the best defensive seasons for a shortstop, put up some pretty solid offensive numbers (.291, 24 hrs, 99 rbi, 104 runs, 7 sbs) and stepped up as a leader. His attitude on and off the field suggested he is wise/mature beyond his years. Along the way, the Rockies suffered their share of injuries, Taveras and Matsui missed clumps of time with various injuries and the starting rotation was basically decimated. Aside from Francis and Fogg, everyone else in the rotation suffered injuries (in 2006 Rockies starters suffered the least injuries of any starting staff). Aaron Cook, Jason Hirsh and Rodrigo Lopez all went down and (with the exception of Cook who only did in the postseason) didn't resurface the rest of the year. However, these injuries appeared to be more of a blessing than a curse. The Rockies got to see Ubaldo Jimenez and then Franklin Morales rise from the minors and pitch better than most could have predicted. Some more stuff happened too but aside from Manny Corpas emerging as a reliable closer not much of it is worth mentioning.

The Rockies this year are generally regarded as being a team that can go either way. Some expect them to continue growing and become even better, but most tend to think that they got hot at the right time and were a flash in the pan and that they can't compete with the Dbacks, Padres and Dodgers (sound familiar?). Their biggest question going into next year is who will replace Kaz Matsui (gone to Houston) and play second base? They have practically a baseball team-worth of players competing for this spot. Jasyon Nix is going into spring training as the favorite due to his superior defense and his fine offensive performance at AAA. But in the mix are Omar Quintanilla, Clint Barmes, Marcus Giles, Jeff Baker and Ian Stewart. Its an interesting mix of candidates; veterans trying to reclaim lost glory, utility men hoping to be more than just utility men or prospects trying to get their chance at full time play. I personally would like to see Stewart prove he's a deft second baseman and get the gig. His offensive potential is great and I'm not sure how much more he can get from the minors. But this is a competition I'll let spring training and the Rockies decide. The bullpen is also a little questionable. After Brian Fuentes, the 'pen lacks lefties. This is where Franklin Morales could shine if he doesn't make the rotation (although I'd like him to have a little more seasoning in AAA). Also, Chris Iannetta is a big question mark in my opinion. He was a ROY candidate last year but struggled Andruw Jones-style for most of the season. He was then sent back down and when he came up (albeit a small sample), all he did was hit. If he can regain and maintain whatever he was doing at the end of last season, he could add another strong bat to the NL West's strongest lineup. Also in the mix are Greg Reynolds and Casey Weathers. Both are former first round picks and both can have an impact on the club this year. Reynolds showed he had talent (1.42 era in 50.2 innings with 9bb and 35k's at AA), but suffered an injury and needed exploratory surgery (he's back to 100%, or so they say). Casey Weathers was their first round pick from last year and is a right-handed relief pitcher from Vanderbuilt. He's expected to have a relatively quick ascent through the minors and could provide solid bullpen help down the stretch.

Since we all know the Rockies have a sick lineup with Taveras, Tulo, Holliday, Helton, Atkins and Hawpe, what it all comes down to next year for the Rox is pitching. If Aaron Cook and his mighty sinker can reach potential, and if Jason Hirsh, Ubaldo Jimenez and someone out of the Franklin Morales/Josh Towers/Victor Zambrano/Kip Wells/Mark Redman debacle can rise up, the Rockies will be nothing short of a National League juggernaut.

Peace, Paul.

(image provided courtesy of USAtoday)

Off-season, Hot Stove Recap

2008-02-08T21:05:00.017-05:00

Okay, now that the Bedard deal is official I am posting this. All writers for this blog, it is now your responsibility (if it is within your beat) to post all major transactions that occur. Thanks for your participation and continued support.

Hey everyone, this is going to be a long post so I am going to omit the "Flashing the Trivia" and quote from this post. I would first like to thank our four new bloggers for signing up because this was getting impossible to do myself. But now, I'm very confident we can get more readers because of the time each of us have to not only post, but even promote a little bit. Let's see if we can get to a dot-com goal by our-year anniversary in February 2009. I think we can do it.

On Baseball-Reference.com we are currently sponsoring:

Joe Mauer Huston Street Jeremy Accardo Joel Zumaya

I will now update every major transaction since Thanksgiving, so here we go:

RHP Kerry Wood resigns with the Chicago Cubs for one-year and $4.2 million.

This deal carries $3.45 million in incentives based on games finished if he eventually does end up as the team's closer. As Ryan Dempster enters the rotation, the Cubs are left with a closer-by-committee into Spring Training with Wood, Bob Howry, and Carlos Marmol. Marmol is the clear-cut favorite going in as he had a breakout year last season and posted a 1.43 era in 69.1 innings and 96 strikeouts. Howry has had experience as a closer as he was for a brief time in in Pedroia in the Rookie of the Year voting last season, hit .288 with 13 homers and 93 RBIs in his first full major league season. Though expected to cover the an is one of the top bullpen prospects in baseball; a power pitcher that was a closer in Class A Fort Myers before he was bought up to Class AA New Britain. Morlan went 5-3 with a 3.11 ERA, 18 saves, and 99 strikeouts in 69.2 innings last season for both squads. Jason Pridie is more known for his defensive prowless as he as only committed 18 errors in 538 games in the minors. But he is solid offensively as well, hitting around .300, bouncing between AA Montgomery and AAA Durham. All and all this trade should work out rather well for both teams.

LHP Doug Brocail signs one-year $2.5 million deal with the Houston Astros.

Brocail was signed to stablize a bullpen back-end that was stablized last year with the emergence of set-up man Heath Bell. Brocail will probably take the ball in the seventh inning as the 40-year-old looks to mentor a young bullpen with only two pitchers 3o years or older (Dave Borkowski and Geoff Geary are both 31).

The Minnesota Twins trade RHP Matt Garza, SS Jason Bartlett, and minor league pitcher Eduardo Morlan to the Tampa Bay Rays for OF Delmon Young, 2B Brendan Harris, and minor league outfielder Jason Pridie.

In lieu of Torii Hunter signing with the Texas Rangers, the Twins got who they hope will be a long-term replacement in Delmon Young. Young, who finished runner-up to Dustin Pedroia in the Rookie of the Year voting last season, hit .288 with 13 homers and 93 RBIs in his first full major league season. Though expected to cover the bat of Hunter by hitting third in Twins order, he comes with an infamously colorful history. Two years ago he got suspended for 50 games while in Triple-A for violently flipping his bat into the chest of an umpire. In 2005 he got suspended three games for bumping an umpire. Some of his coaches also questioned his hustle during a few games late last season. He displayed durability last season when at 22 year of age, he played in all 162 games last season. He also displayed quite the arm in right field (and some center) by getting 16 assists, good for 3rd in the American League amongst outfielders. As long as Young stays out of trouble, he will more than fill Torii Hunter's shoes for years to come.

Matt Garza should fill the number three slot in the Rays rotaion behind Scott Kazmir and James Shields. Last season, Garza went 5-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 16 appearances after being called up in July. Garza has great stuff but needs to develop his breaking pitches for him to be successful. The 28-year-old Harris just completed his first full season as a starter by hitting .286 with 12 homers and 59 RBIs in 521 at-bats. Harris solidifies second base for the Twins who never really found a replacement for Luis Castillo who was traded right before the deadline to the New York Mets. Jason Bartlett is average both offensively and defensively, though he does bring some more speed to the lineup as he stole 23 bases last season. But still, he's a significant step up from Ben Zobrist and Josh Wilson. Morlan is one of the top bullpen prospects in baseball; a power pitcher that was a closer in Class A Fort Myers before he was bought up to Class AA New Britain. Morlan went 5-3 with a 3.11 ERA, 18 saves, and 99 strikeouts in 69.2 innings last season for both squads. Jason Pridie is more known for his defensive prowless as he as only committed 18 errors in 538 games in the minors. But he is solid offensively as well, hitting around .300, bouncing between AA Montgomery and AAA Durham. All and all this trade should work out rather well for both teams.

The Cincinnati Reds sign RHP Francisco Cordero to a four-year deal worth $46 million with a $12 million club option for 2012.

Cordero will be closing for the Reds whose bullpen posted a 23-31 record, with a league-high 5.13 ERA, and only converting on 34 of 61 saves. David Weathers, who had 33 of those saves with a 3.59 ERA, will move into the set-up role. The deal helps solidify the back-end of the bullpen, but the team still has a long way to go in solidifying it's middle relief. Last season, Cordero was one of the best closers in baseball by posting a 2.98 ERA with 44 saves and 86 strikeouts in 63.3 innings. Because of how bad the Reds will be once again this year, consider Cordero almost a non-factor (though he will be stellar).

The Colorado Rockies re-sign catcher Yorvit Torrealba to a two-year, $7.25 million deal.

The deal also comes with a $500,000 signing bonus. Torrealba came close to signing a three-year deal with the Mets and the deal looked all but done until the Mets acquired catcher Johnny Estrada (who they have since non-tendered). The Mets and Torrealba then ceased all contact causing rumors that Torrealba had failed his physical which was untrue (Torrealba played with a strained shoulder last season). His shoulder plagued him last year defensively as he only threw out 15 of 76 baserunners (20%). Healthy, in 2006, Torrealba threw out 21 of 52 baserunners (40%). Offensively, he is nothing great (.255, 8 homers, and 47 RBIS) though he was a big contributor against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS (.500, 3 RBIS, 3 runs scored). As long as he is healthy and still calling a good game, he'll be an average catcher.

The New York Yankees re-sign catcher Jorge Posada to a four-year, $52.4 million deal.

Posada had a career year last season, hitting .338 (4th in the AL) with 20 homers and 90 RBIs, all that while playing in 144 of 162 regular season games. With three young pitchers entering their first full season in the majors (Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy), it was very important for the Yankees to maintain productive veteran leadership behind the plate.

The New York Mets trade outfielder Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals for right fielder Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider.

This move, at the time, gave the Mets three catchers with signficant major league experience, causing them to non-tender Johnny Estrada. Thus, trading Guillermo Mota remains nothing more than a salary dump. The Nationals recieve the 22-year-old Milledge who they intend to be their opening day center fielder. Milledge hit .272 with 7 homers and 29 RBIs in 184 at-bats last season. While a good fielder with above-average speed, Milledge has had issues with both management and teammates over the years. In 2006, he was criticized for slapping high fives with fans down the right field line after hitting his first career home run (a home run that had tied the game in the tenth inning). Also that year, Milledge's complaining got him in the doghouse with his teammates, to the point where Billy Wagner placed a sign on his locker that said, "Know Your Place, Rook!" Last May, Milledge appeared in a rap song called "Bend Ya Knees" prompting the Mets organization to denounce the song repeatedly because of the sexist nature and explicit language of the song. Milledge's natural position remains center field, which showed often the past two years as his corner outfield play was awkward at best, prompting the Mets to trade the controversial outfielder. If he can get his act together, Milledge has the potential to be a great player, possibly even an all-star.

Ryan Church is an above average fielder with an average bat. Though most importantly for the Mets, he's left handed and experienced playing right field. He hit .272 with 15 homers and 70 RBI, similar numbers to what Milledge is projected to put up next season. Brian Schneider is a superior defensive catcher, their first since Charlie O'Brien back in 1990. He is also 5 and a half years younger than their former catcher (and Washington's new catcher) Paul LoDuca (who's name surfaced on the Mitchell Report). Last season, Schneider hit .235 with 6 homers and 54 RBIs in 129 games behind the plate. This move gives the Mets the chance to give both Schneider and backup catcher Ramon Castro the time behind the plate (probably 70/30, advantage to Schenider), as Castro is much stronger offensively. This also opens up the catching spot in Washington for Rule 5 draftee Jesus Flores in a few years (from the Mets of all teams). This move is great short-term for the Mets though so far they have lacked the big move this offseason to justify this small one (Johan Santana anyone?). But whether or not Milledge (and Flores) reaches his potential will justify whether this move works out or not in the end.

Update: The Mets recent trade for Johan Santana now justifies this move.

The Houston Astros sign second baseman Kazuo Matsui to a three-year, $16.5 million contract.

Matsui hit .288 with four homers and 37 RBIs with 32 stolen bases for the Colorado Rockies last season and also played a big part in the team's postseason run. Matsui brings both speed and solid contact to the top of the Astro's line-up. He'll be hitting second in the lineup behind the Astros new centerfielder Michael Bourn. Both players (well the jury's still out on Bourn, but from what I have seen from him in Philly) are slap hitters and should set the table well for Hunter Pence, Lance Berkman, and Carlos Lee. Matsui fits well into this lineup, look for him to at least maintain the numbers he put up last year.

The Arizona Diamondbacks trade left-fielder Carlos Quentin to the Chicago White Sox for single-A infielder Chris Carter.

Barring a spring training breakout from Jerry Owens, Carlos Quentin should be the White Sox starting left fielder. Quentin was plagued by injuries once again last season only hitting .214 with five homers and 31 RBIs in only 229 at-bats for the D-Backs. The injuries started when he first injured his shoulder by swinging a bat during spring training. In August, he was fully displaced by Justin Upton once Quentin's hamstring started acting up. I think he'll end up a fourth outfielder once again this year, Owens is too talented to be sitting on the bench (once Quentin suffers the inevitable hamstring injury of course).

The Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays trade Elijah Dukes to the Washington Nationals for Class-A LHP Glenn Gibson.

Having the chance at some point to watch the trio of Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge, and Wily Mo Pena man the outfield at Nationals Park will be an unforgettable experience (especially if this happens during interleague play). Throw in the ' ~~roid raging~~ passionate Paul LoDuca, the ~~wifebeating~~ comeback player of the year Dmitri Young, and the always lovable Jon Rauch, there's no reason why this can't be baseball's model franchise. GM Jim Bowden is taking some interesting risks but understandably when you only have so much money to work with, you don't have a choice. At the least, the Nationals should be a fun team to watch (not necessarily for the right reasons).

The 23-year-old Dukes was drafted in the third-round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and became a top prospect in their system, but his off the field issues and weak bat in 2007, gave the Rays enough reason to give up on him. Earlier in the season, The St. Petersburg Times reported that ~~a la Dmitri Young~~ Dukes' estranged wife filed a restraining order against him. He's also been suspended numerous times in the minors for bad behavior. The Nationals hope that Dukes can live up to his potential and possibly be a middle-of-the-order, 25-40 home run bat of the future. I don't think that Dukes will be that dynamic at the plate but .275, 20 homers, 20 stolen bases, 70 RBIs I don't believe is out of reach.

A fourth-round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, Glenn Gibson, 20, went 4-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 12 starts for Class A Vermont.

The Florida Marlins send third baseman Miguel Cabrera and LHP Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers for prospects: outfielder Cameron Maybin, LHP Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabello, pitcher Eulogio De La Cruz, pitcher Dallas Trahern and pitcher Burke Badenhop.

Here are the Marlins doing what they do best, trading big pieces of their past (the last two members of their 2003 championship) to help develop their future. Though because the expectations of these teams are so different, it should work very well for both sides in the end. At only 24 years old, Cabrera is a four-time all-star coming off a season in which he batted .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs. He made $7.4 million this past season and will earn more than $10 million in 2008. Willis, a two-time all-star, is coming off his worst season going 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA. He is Florida's all-time leader in victories and is the Marlin's only 20-game winner with his 22-10 mark in 2005. Cabrera should fit well into the heart of the order, probably hitting third, right in front of Magglio Ordonez. Willis will take over Andrew Millers former rotation spot, fourth, behind Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers, and Jeremy Bonderman. This is a good rotation spot for the lefty, it will help take the pressure off knowing he no longer has to carry a franchise. He will feel growing pains this season though after spending so much time in the National League. Fantasy-wise, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. Cabrera, on the other hand, shouldn't have much problem adjusting. He should put up around the same numbers he put up last year hitting behind the on-base machines Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco.

Now the Marlins will be a very fun team to watch for all the right reasons (then again, they always are). The anchors of this deal, Maybin and Miller were two of the top prospects in baseball last season. Offensively, Maybin has been scouted to be extremely similar to Hanley Ramirez, someone who you have to bat lead-off because of speed and OBP, but really should bat third because of solid power. Maybin's downfall is his inexperience, at only 20 years of age, he was the youngest player to crack the majors last season (though standing at 6 foot 4, 205, you would never guess he's 20). He also has only 91 games and 323 at-bats under his belt in the minors (2 games A ball, 83 games AA ball, 6 games AAA ball). As of right now, he's the favorite to be NL Rookie of the Year. Unless he strikes out an obscene number of times, he should attain the award. Miller, 22, is a top-of-the rotation prospect who went 5-5 with a 5.63 ERA. In 78 Minor League innings in 2007, he allowed 71 hits and struck out 61 batters. There's no question he'll crack the rotation in spring training, the only question is where he will land. Scott Olsen has been so inconsistent over the past few years, with a stellar spring, Miller might just open as the number two (soon to be ace over Olsen). Mike Rabelo is the favorite to take over at catcher for the departed Miguel Olivo. There's not much written up on the 28-year-old Rabelo, who hit .256 with 1 homer and 18 RBIs in 168 at-bats backing up Ivan Rodriguez for the Tigers last season. The 23-year-old De La Cruz went 5-6 with a 3.43 ERA with the AA Erie Seawolves and 0-0 in 2.1 innings with an 11.57 ERA with the AAA Toledo Mud Hens. Apparently he possesses an 100 MPH fastball, then again so do Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Zumaya. De La Cruz should crack the bullpen this season though so we shall see.

As a result of this deal, both teams will be very dynamic and fun to watch next season, for two totally different reasons. Any less than reaching the ALCs will be an ultimate failure for the Tigers while a wild-card run would be quite the miracle for the Marlins.

The Kansas City Royals sign outfielder Jose Guillen to a three-year deal worth $36 million.

Guillen will help stablize a very average outfield that also includes David DeJesus and Mark Teahen. He'll fit well by hitting between Alex Gordon (3rd) and Mark Teahen (5th), taking the pressure off of Gordon will be very important as this could be his breakout season. Guillen hit .290 with 23 homers and 99 RBIs in 593 at-bats for the Seattle Mariners last season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates trade RHP Salomon Torres to the Milwaukee Brewers for relief prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts.

In this deal the Brewers acquire insurance if Eric Gagne happens to falter in his return to the closer's role. Torres ended 2006 and began 2007 as the Pirates closer, but lost the job last June after suffering his fourth blown save in 16 chances. He then missed parts of two months with inflammation of his right elbow and finished the year 2-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 56 games.

Salas, 26, is considered a potential future closer and split last season between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville, posting a combined 2.77 ERA and 17 saves in 51 games. The Brewers plucked him off waivers from the Orioles last year. Roberts is 23 and went 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 45 relief appearances for Class A Brevard County in 2007, then pitched 15 games in Hawaii Winter Baseball and posted a 4.82 ERA. He was the Brewers' fifth-round Draft pick in 2005.

The Boston Red Sox re-sign Mike Timlin to a one-year, $3 million deal.

Timlin had a great year after coming back from an injury plagued 2006 campaign by going 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA with one save over 50 appearances. Timlin, 41, got a couple of critical strikeouts in the clinching Game 4 of the World Series at Colorado. During the 2007 postseason, Timlin registered a 3.18 ERA over six outings, walking none and striking out seven. He will once again be an important component in the seventh-inning, setting up both Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon. Timlin has pitched in 1,011 regular-season games during his career, going 71-69 with a 3.55 ERA while posting 140 saves.

The New York Yankees avoid arbitration and agree with LHP Andy Pettitte to his one-year option worth $16 million.

Pettitte was 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA in 34 starts for New York this season, serving as a main veteran presence on a roster that was forced to rely on the contributions of rookies early. Having put off similar thoughts of retirement, Pettitte ranked ninth in the American League with 215 1/3 innings pitched and turned in the team's most dominant performance in October, pitching 6 1/3 strong innings against the Cleveland Indians in Game 2 of the AL Division Series. Pettitte will remain the number two starter behind Chien-Ming Wang.

The New York Yankees sign reliever LaTroy Hawkins to a one-year, $3.75 million deal.

Hawkins comes to the Bronx after making 62 relief appearances for the Colorado Rockies in 2007, going 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA. He is projected to fill a middle innings and setup role vacated by reliever Luis Vizcaino, who coincidentally left to sign a two-year contract with the Rockies as a free agent. The Yankees envision using right-hander Kyle Farnsworth as a setup man for closer Mariano Rivera, who agreed to a new three-year contract in December. I don't envision this lasting too long, look for Hawkins or Joba Chamberlain to be the set-up man by mid-season. Look for Hawkins to be very mediocre, like he was when he pitched for the Twins. Still a solid pickup for the Yankees.

The Milwaukee Brewers sign RHP Eric Gagne to a one-year, $10 million deal.

In losing Fransciso Cordero, the Brewers found themselves a void a closer. For their sake, they better not just hand the closer's role to Gagne in the spring. Gagne, 31, posted seasons of 52, 55 and 45 saves for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002-04, but injuries to his elbow and back limited him to 15 innings over 16 games the next two seasons. Last year, he was a combined 4-2 with 16 saves in 20 opportunities and a 3.81 ERA with Texas and Boston. Boston got him at the deadline hoping for a solid compliment in the eighth inning to Hideki Okajima but to no avail, he went 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched. He was also deligated to mop-up duty in the playoffs by going 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 4.1 innings. Despite past struggles, I think Gagne will rediscover himself in the National League where he strived with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a weak NL, I expect him to be at least an above-average closer.

The Baltimore Orioles trade shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros for Luke Scott, third baseman Michael Costanzo, LHP Troy Patton, RHP Matt Albers and RHP Dennis Sarfate.

Miguel Tejada is the 14th new player that the Houston Astros have added to their squad this offseason leaving only Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee from last year's opening day lineup. Tejada, 31, hit .311 during his four years with Baltimore. He has 252 career home runs, a 2006 average of .303 with runners in scoring position and a .382 average with runners in scoring position and two outs. The only downside for the Astros is that he's very far from Adam Everett defensively, though not quite a liability, just a slightly below average fielding shortstop. Oh and not too mention those pesky steroids questions (he allegedly gave Rafael Palmiero a tainted shot of vitamin B-12 two years ago). But he couldn't have roided himself up too many times, his durability has never been a question as he hit in 1,152 consecutive games played before being hurt this year. Offensively, the Astros now become the NL powerhouse, with an also extremely balanced lineup: Michael Bourn, Kaz Matsui, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada, Hunter Pence, Ty Wiggington, and J.R. Towles (watch this guy). This gives them a legitimate shot at the wildcard, but no more than that, their starting pitching remains too weak (though I do like their bullpen).

In return, Baltimore recieves Luke Scott who will start for them in left field. Scott, 29, can help offset the loss of Tejada's offensive production by adding some pop to an outfield that lacked consistent punch last season. In his first season receiving regular playing time with the Astros, Scott hit .255 with 18 homers and 28 doubles, while logging time at every outfield position. The previous season, he hit .336 in limited playing time. But for the O's, this deal was centered around pitching. In Patton, 24, and Albers, 22, the Orioles acquired two arms with minimal Major League experience, but plenty of potential. Patton, a left-hander, went 0-2 with a 3.55 ERA in two starts and a relief appearance for the Astros last season, after beginning the season with Double-A Corpus Christi. The Orioles also received Sarfate, 26, a starting pitcher who's earned only brief bullpen cameos in parts of two seasons with the Astros and Brewers, and Costanzo, 24, a third-base prospect who came to Houston earlier this offseason in the deal that sent Brad Lidge to the Phillies. In retrospect, this deal should in the end work out for both teams. The O's received future help, let go questions about steroid allegations, and let go payroll. The Astros received a star shortstop who will not only give them production, but legitimacy, showing free agents that the Astros are looking to contend now.

The San Francisco Giants sign centerfielder Aaron Rowand to a five-year, $60 million deal.

Looking to free themselves from everything Barry Bonds was, the Giants sign the anti-Bonds in Aaron Rowand. Numbers aside, he has always played with passion and is a tremendous clubhouse leader. Rowand, 30, is above average at the plate and stellar defensively. As a reigning Gold Glove winner he will strengthen the outfield, thus underscoring the Giants' renewed emphasis on pitching and defense. Rowand, a career .286 hitter, recorded a .309 average last season with Philadelphia while reaching personal bests in hits (189), runs (105), doubles (45), RBIs (89), total bases (315) and games (161). As the roster currently stands, Randy Winn and Bengie Molina would bat third and fourth, respectively. This move was absolutely necessary for the team, though they clearly overpaid for him. Despite the move, I'm still not so sure that the Giants can overtake the Dodgers and not finish last in the division. But definitely a move in the right direction.

The Los Angeles Dodgers sign Andruw Jones to a two-year, $36.2 million contract.

This signing, is very similar to the signing of Aaron Rowand. The Dodgers want to shed a bad rap (their lack of team chemistry), get a team leader, and shore themselves up both offensively and defensively. And again this signing will have the same result of the last signing, nothing, other than that the Dodgers should place second-to-last in the NL West, just like last year. Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All Star, will take over center field, with Juan Pierre likely moving to left. The market for Jones had been underwhelming in the wake of the worst season of his career by having a .222 average, 26 homers, and 94 RBIs. The native of Curacao finished second in National League MVP voting in 2005 after leading the Majors with 51 homers and leading the NL with 128 RBIs. Over the past 10 seasons, in addition to earning a Gold Glove each year, Jones has averaged 35 home runs and 103 RBIs, and he has topped the 25-homer mark in each of those campaigns. In his 12 Major League seasons, Jones has appeared in the postseason 10 times, hitting .273 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs in 17 playoff series.

The New York Yankees re-sign Alex Rodriguez to a ten-year, $275 million deal.

Alex Rodriguez, trying to upstage the sport of baseball for the hundredth time in the past few months, decides to announce his all-important re-signing on the same day the Mitchell Report is released. This guy seriously thinks he is bigger than the sport, it pisses me off to no end. I've blogged too much about this guy already. I could mention how much he means to the team, even in the playoffs, how he's probably the best hitter of all-time, blah, blah, blah, but you all know all that already.

The Arizona Diamondbacks send RHP Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros for second baseman/outfielder Chris Burke, RHP Chad Qualls, and RHP Juan Guiterrez.

In Valverde, the Astros finally get some solidarity in the closer role after Brad Lidge's up and downs over the past few years. Valverde, 28, was 1-4 with a 2.66 ERA and a Major League-leading 47 saves for the Diamondbacks in 2007. His 47 saves also marked a career-high total, and he appeared on the National League All-Star team for the first time. The Arizona franchise-record 47 saves also ranked tied for 15th all-time in a single season, and Valverde also struck out 78 hitters in 64 1/3 innings while walking 26 and allowing 46 hits. The D-Backs receive who hit .229 with 6 homers and 28 RBIs, mostly as Craig Biggio's backup. Burke's future is more in a utility role and defensive replacement. I can't find too much about Qualls and Guiterrez. I'm not sure why the D-Backs made this deal, especially after acquiring Haren, I would guess a salary dump. But they might just get above average production out of Chad Qualls who was 6-5 with a 3.05 ERA, five saves, and 78 strikeouts in 82.7 innings pitched. Great trade for Houston, for Arizona, not so much.

The Oakland Athletics send RHP Dan Haren and pitcher Connor Robertson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for LHP Brett Anderson, LHP Greg Smith, LHP Dana Eveland, outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Aaron Cunningham, and infielder Chris Carter.

Well I guess this deal clearly explains the Valverde deal, a salary dump indeed in order to lock up Haren long-term. But I just have that feeling that this deal will end up being fatal for the D-Backs. Anytime Billy Beane receives two prospects let alone six in a deal, you know he has something up his sleeve. Clearly, Beane knows something we don't. In 2010 when these guys see the light of day, Beane will look like a genius once again. With the addition of Haren, the D-Backs have a very solid rotation of Brandon Webb, Haren, Randy Johnson, Doug Davis, and Micah Owings. Their lineup could be very dynamic as well if Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, Chris Young, and Conor Jackson come into their own this season. I fully expect them to win the NL West again. Haren, 27, has won at least 14 games in each of the past three seasons for Oakland. Last year, he was 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA, he was 14-13 in 2006 and 14-12 in 2005.

Connor Robertson appeared in three games for the A's last year, but had a good year at Triple-A Sacramento, where he was 4-1 with a 4.35 ERA in 31 relief appearances. Carlos Gonzalez was regarded as the club's best position player prospect, but he became expendable when Arizona signed Eric Byrnes to a three-year, $30 million deal last August. Greg Smith and Brett Anderson were both highly regarded pitching prospects in the organization. Smith, a sixth-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, had some injury issues last season, but pitched well in the Arizona Fall League and could have had a chance to pitch for the D-backs at some time during 2008. Aaron Cunningham, 21, was acquired last summer from the White Sox, and in 31 games for Double-A Mobile, he hit .288 with five homers and 20 RBIs while compiling an .898 OPS. Dana Eveland, 24, was acquired by the D-backs from the Brewers prior to last season. Scouts rave about the left-hander's stuff and he's always put up good numbers in the Minor Leagues, but he has yet to translate that success to the big league level. Chris Carter, who will be 21 next week, was picked up during the Winter Meetings from the White Sox in exchange for outfielder Carlos Quentin. Carter hit .291 with 25 homers and 93 RBIs for Class A Kannopolis.

The New York Yankees re-sign closer Mariano Rivera to a three-year, $45 million deal.

Rightfully so, this deal locks up that the 38-year-old Rivera will end his Hall of Fame career as a Yankee. Rivera made 67 relief appearances for the Yankees in 2007, compiling a 3-4 record with a 3.15 ERA. He was much stronger after a shaky beginning -- in Rivera's final 59 appearances of the season, he was 2-2 with a 2.23 ERA and converted 30 of 32 save opportunities. Rivera has pitched for the Yankees since 1995, compiling an AL-record 443 saves in the regular season. The most dominant postseason pitcher of his generation, Rivera owns a Major League-record 34 saves in the playoffs, where he has a 0.77 career ERA -- last updated when Rivera worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings in the ALDS against Cleveland.

The Chicago Cubs sign outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to a four-year, $48 million deal.

Fukudome has spent his entire nine-year pro career with the Chunichi Dragons, for whom he batted .305 with a .397 on-base percentage and a .543 slugging percentage in 1,074 career games. A two-time Central League batting champion, Fukudome led the league in on-base percentage three times and won a Gold Glove for defensive excellence four times. He was the league's MVP in 2006, when he hit .351 with 31 home runs and a career-high 104 RBIs. Fukudome, if all pans out, should help take the pressure off Derrick Lee and Aramis Ramirez. Fukudome is the first Japanese player ever signed by the Cubs. By not doing too much this move still keeps the Cubs an above average team, which is still probably good enough to win the NL Central again.

The Seattle Mariners sign Carlos Silva to a four-year, $46 million deal.

He was 47-45 in his four years with the Twins. Last season, he was 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA. He made 33 starts and pitched at least six innings in 24 of them, including a pair of complete games. Silva, who came up with the Phillies, has a 55-46 record in six big league seasons (125 starts). He has had three starts at Safeco Field, going 2-1 with a 3.98 ERA. He has a 16-8 record against the American League West with a 3.48 ERA. He has beaten the Angels three times in four career decisions. Silva fits well into the Mariners rotation behind ace Feliz Hernandez and Jarrod Washburn. His value lies as an innings-eater. Over the past four seasons, Silva has tossed 203 innings, 188, 180 and 202. The Mariners, already with a decent rotation, are looking to balance it out further by pursuing a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for lefty Eric Bedard (a deal believed to include top prospect and right fielder Adam Jones). Silva is a solid number 3, good pickup by the M's.

The Philadelphia Phillies sign outfielder Geoff Jenkins to a two-year, $13 million deal.

After Aaron Rowand departed for the Giants, the Phils didn't have too many options left. But in signing Jenkins, both the offensive numbers do not suffer too much of a drop-off (Jenkin's .255 AVG, 21 homers, and 64 RBIs to Rowand's .309 AVG, 27 homers, and 89 RBIs...the drop-off is not as big as it looks, Rowand had a career year in 2007.) The defense and durability is where the big difference is (Jenkin's 9 errors, .988 fielding percentage, and 7 assists in 121 games to Rowand's 2 errors, .995 fielding percentage, and 11 assists in 161 games). Though as much as they lose in defense, they save in cash (Rowand: five-years $60 million, Jenkins: two-years, $13 million). Rowand's desire on the field is priceless and will be hard to replace.

The Cincinnati Reds send outfielder Josh Hamilton to the Texas Rangers for RHP Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.

Hamilton, 26, had a wonderful 2007 campaign coming back from a history of drug problems to hit .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBIs in 298 at-bats. Picked up a year ago by the Reds in the Rule 5 Draft, he was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays with the first overall pick in the 1999 First-Year Player Draft but had to overcome a long history of personal issues and drug abuse before reaching the Major Leagues. Hamilton will be the Rangers' center fielder with Milton Bradley in right, Marlon Byrd in left and Frank Catalanotto as the primary designated hitter. David Murphy, Nelson Cruz and Jason Botts remain in the mix and a fourth outfielder will play an important role because both Bradley and Hamilton have a history of injuries. He should be solid, hitting either 6th or 7th in the lineup. Of course it's a risky move but acquiring an above-average player, getting paid $380,000, he's a bargain.

The Rangers had to give up one of their top five starters to get Hamilton. Volquez was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in six games in September and was penciled in as the Rangers' fifth starter going into Spring Training.

The San Diego Padres sign RHP Mark Prior to a one-year $1 million deal with $4.5 million in incentives.

Prior, 27, who is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA in 106 career starts, last pitched for the Chicago Cubs in 2006, going 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA in nine starts. Prior was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2001 Draft out of USC and two years later was named to the National League All-Star team, the same season he went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA. A San Diego native, Prior has tallied 21 double-digit strikeout games and 65 outings in which he has issued two or fewer walks. He is averaging 10.37 strikeouts per nine innings over his career. Not bad at all for a projected number 5 starter. Even if he busts, $1 million isn't such a bad gamble.

The Oakland Athletics send outfielder Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Ryan Sweeney, LHP Gio Gonzalez and right-handed starter Faustino De Los Santos.

Swisher, 27, who is signed through 2011 with an option for 2012, joins shortstop Orlando Cabrera, left fielder Carlos Quentin, right-handed reliever Scott Linebrink and utility infielder/outfielder Alexei Ramirez as the bulk of the White Sox's offseason pickups, following last year's dismal 72-90 showing. Swisher will be playing center field, where he previously has played 61 games in parts of four seasons. Last season, he batted .262 in 2007, with 22 home runs and 78 RBIs in 150 games. Adding Swisher puts a career .361 on-base percentage into a lineup that ranked last in all of baseball for this particular 2007 category. The switch-hitting Swisher provides another strong right-handed bat against the tough southpaws scattered throughout the American League Central, a group of pitchers who contributed to the White Sox 16-28 record against left-handed starters in 2007.

Gonzalez, 22, and De Los Santos, 21, were considered the top pitching prospects in the organization, and aside from Josh Fields, just might have been the White Sox prime prospects at any position. Sweeney, 22, had the only Major League experience of the trio, but the 2003 second-round draft pick never reached his full potential during his short big league stints. Gonzalez struck out 185 in 150 innings over 27 starts for Double-A Birmingham last year while De Los Santos posted a 10-5 record and 2.65 ERA in 26 games between Class A Kannapolis and Class A Winston-Salem.

Good trade for the Oakland Athletics once again. Gonzalez has had great numbers as he has risen through the minors, getting as far as AA last season. He was 9-7, 185 strikeouts, with only 10 home runs allowed in 150 innings pitched. He'll probably a mid-season call-up and it should be fun to watch. For a team that has holes beyond their first two starters and a plethora of outfield talent, this move is questionable at best for the White Sox. Swisher though, is signed through 2012, with his deal with the A's so we know it's cost effective. Swisher will be above average for the White Sox, but I don't know if dealing Gonzalez was such a great idea.

The Texas Rangers sign LHP Eddie Guardado to a one-year, $2 million deal, with $4 million in incentives.

Guardado, 37, is a two-time All-Star closer who had 140 saves from 2002-05 -- including a league-leading 45 in 2002 -- and 183 in his career. He prefers to close but knows he will be in a open competition for the job with left-hander C.J. Wilson (who the Rangers got from the Braves in last year's deal for Mark Teixeira). A quality pickup for the Rangers who's bullpen has a lot to prove. Whoever doesn't win the closer's role will be the set-up man, both guys are solid.

The Oakland Athletics send outfielder Mark Kotsay to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Joey Devine and minor leaguer Jamie Richmond.

This is a deal I believe should work out for both teams. Over the course of the past three seasons, he has hit .267 with a .388 slugging percentage and .321 on-base percentage. Entering the 2005 season, his career statistics included a .287 batting average, .425 slugging percentage and .343 on-base percentage. Kotsay, 32, who has batted .282 with .337 on-base percentage in his 11-season career, is looking for a new beginning. The .214 batting average he produced in limited and painful action this past season is just a tangible sign of the frustrations he felt over the course of the past year. Kotsay should give the Braves a little time to keep the centerfield spot warm for Jordan Schafer. The Braves will be responsible for just $2 million of his $7.325 million salary. A cost-effective pick-up for the Braves.

Devine never really caught on with Atlanta, only pitching in mop-up situations, and bouncing around for the past three years. The only time he got to pitch in a major situation, he surrendered Chris Burke's 18th-inning, walk-off homer that ended the 2005 National League Division Series against the Astros. Devine, though, has immense amounts of potential. Again, the Athletics should be a fun team to watch over the next few years.

The Chicago White Sox sign RHP Octavio Dotel to a two-year, $11 million deal.

Dotel, 26, posted a 2-1 record, 4.11 ERA and 11 saves between Kansas City and Atlanta in 2007. Since 1957, he ranks fifth among Major League relief pitchers with an average of 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Brad Lidge (12.6), Rob Dibble (12.17), Francisco Rodriguez (11.97) and Billy Wagner (11.84) are the only relievers who rank higher. He is coming off elbow surgery in 2005, but passed his physical with the team. As long as he's healthy (a big if) Dotel should help solidify the 7th inning for the White Sox.

The Minnesota Twins send LHP Johan Santana to the New York Mets for outfielder Carlos Gomez, RHP Kevin Mulvey, RHP Philip Humber, and RHP Deolis Guerra. The Mets sign Santana to a six-year, $137.5 million contract extension.

I'm not sure what the Twins were thinking exactly when this trade was done but perhaps it will unfold over the next few years. This deal, as believed by analysts, was the fourth-best one for Santana this offseason. As an immediate impact, only Gomez qualifies. Gomez is not near the talent level of Phillip Hughes, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, or Melky Cabrera (the components of other trades offered for Santana).

Gomez, 22, needs some time to grow and become more patient of a hitter, but he does pack some pop and could be a five-tool player one day. He hit .232 with 2 homers and 12 RBIs in 125 at-bats. Mulvey, 22, spent most of last season at AA Binghampton, going 11-10 with a 3.32 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 151.2 innings. Humber, 25, spent most of the season in AAA New Orleans but had a brief stint in the majors including his first major league start against the Washington Nationals on September 26th. At New Orleans, he went 11-9 with a 4.27 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 139 innings. Guerra, 19, spent the season in A-ball going 2-6 with a 4.01 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 89.2 innings. Of all the prospects, Guerra is said to have the most potential.

Santana won the AL Cy Young Award in 2004 and 2006, winning 20 and 19 games, respectively, in those seasons. His record last season, 15-13, included his lowest win total in four seasons and as many losses as he had suffered in the previous two seasons combined. He won eight of first 12 decisions and produced a 2.60 ERA in his first 13 starts last season. But he won merely four of his subsequent 14 starts, losing seven. His ERA in his final seven starts was 5.11.

This deal won't pan itself out until the 22-year-olds Gomez and Mulvey and the 19-year-old Guerra play consistently in the majors. Honestly, I don't see Humber doing much of anything, he'll be a middle-to-back of the rotation guy at best. But as it stands right now, none of the Mets prospects seem to be sure things while Santana is very much a sure thing, so advantage Mets. The Twins should have held out for Fernando Martinez (not that I'm complaining, obviously), or waited for the deadline so Santana would have even higher trade value (a run at the pennant for the Twins wouldn't have been out of the question either).

The Baltimore Orioles send LHP Eric Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Adam Jones, LHP George Sherrill, minor league RHP Chris Tillman, RHP Tony Butler, and RHP Kam Mickolio.

The Baltimore Orioles build for the future big-time in this deal, recieving three prospects in return. As of right now, Jones and Sherrill will be the quickest contributors at the major league level. Jones, who hit .314 with 25 home runs and 84 RBIs for Triple-A Tacoma, was named Seattle's Minor League Player of the Year last season. That was the second time he's earned that designation. Jones, a former shortstop and former first-round draft pick, made his big league debut before his 21st birthday and has hit .230 in 139 Major League at-bats. Tillman, Seattle's Minor League Pitcher of the Year, has averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings in the Minor Leagues. The former second-round draft pick made 20 starts in the offense-friendly California League last year, notching a 6-7 record and a 5.26 ERA. The 19-year-old rung up 105 strikeouts and walked 48 batters for Class A High Desert.

Bedard had his best season as a pro last year going 15-11 with 171 strikeouts and a 3.76 ERA in 196.1 innings pitched. He did this for a team who went only 69-93 and stood as the only pitcher on the squad with double-digit wins. The win leader after Bedard, was Daniel Cabrera who had nine wins, along with 18 losses. Bedard will seemingly fit into the rotation second behind 21-year-old phenom Felix Hernandez. It will also give them their second lefty (along with Jarrod Washburn) to compliment the right-handers Hernandez, Carlos Silva, and Miguel Batista. Perhaps the Mariners gave up too much for the injury-plagued Bedard, but only time will tell.

All statistical information and some hot stove information in this entry is courtesy of MLB.com, baseball-reference.com, and espn.com.

The Chris Young Invitational

2008-02-08T19:04:00.000-05:00

I will be inviting a few lucky readers/board members to participate in a yahoo league with yours truly

Here are the league settings

League ID#: 41175
League Name: The Chris Young Invitational
Password: email christopher.young61@gmail.com for password
Custom League URL: http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/thechrisyounginvitational
Season Type: Full
Draft Type: Live Draft
Draft Time: Sun Mar 2 6:00pm EST [ Add to My Calendar ]
Max Teams: 12
Scoring Type: Head-to-Head
Player Universe: All baseball
Max Moves: No maximum
Max Trades: No maximum
Trade Reject Time: 2
Trade End Date: August 17, 2008
Waiver Time: 2 days
Can't Cut List Provider: Yahoo! Sports
Trade Review: Commissioner
Post Draft Players: Follow Waiver Rules
Max Acquisitions per Week: No maximum
Min Innings Pitched: 7
Weekly Deadline: Daily - Tomorrow
Start Scoring on: Week 1
Roster Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
Stat Categories: R, HR, RBI, SB, BB, K, AVG, W, CG, SV, BB, K, ERA, WHIP

show me what you got men!

email me or leave your email in the comments section for the password if you would like to join

2008-02-06T19:29:00.000-05:00

The Fantasy Impact

Were in the middle of winter, and I am knee deep in a fantasy basketball team in need of salvaging, and I can only think of one thing. Setting my pre ranks for my time to shine, Fantasy Baseball ‘08 Last year was a disappointing end to a year of troubles that saw me barely able to compete with a team anchored by players like Ryan Braun, B.J. Upton, Carlos Lee and Ichiro on the offensive side and Johan Santana, Justin Verlander and Roy Oswalt, and the disgusting part of it all was I had to trade for or pick up all those players except for Santana and Lee. Fantasy owners, especially those in private leagues, are getting smarter by the minute and while I may have not been graced with one of the better teams in this respective league, it has become increasingly more difficult to win leagues nowadays. Knowing this may be a tad bit repetitive to some hardcore owners, I have compiled a list of the Top Ten at each position ( fully knowing that I only really needed to do research on about 5 players at the C spot ). Enjoy. Don’t forget to send emails with comments and concerns at christopher.young61@gmail.com or just leave a comment on this post. Next write up I will respond to what I can.

Catchers
1. Victor Martinez CLE
any catcher that can give you 500+ Ab’s with a .301 25 and 114 clip is more than enough to make him no.1
2. Russell Martin LAD
and any catcher who gives you 20/20 is more than welcome to slide into the #2 position
3. Jorge Posada NYY
OBP, HR’s, RBI’s and Walks are more than serviceable in this position
4. Brian McCann ATL
still has not reached full potential but still more than worthy (92 RBI’s 2nd amongst C)
5. Joe Mauer MIN
excellent hitter but must stay on the field to really show his true value
6. Bengie Molina SF
things get a little dicey after the top five but the Molina of the Bengie variety gives you some pop, if nothing more
7. Ivan Rodriguez DET
in the DET lineup, there is nowhere to hide, the artist formerly known as Pudge should benefit
8. Kinji Johjima SEA
225+ TB and a .280+ clip is acceptable to go with 500+ AB’s, at least getting good playing time
9. Ramon Hernandez BAL
needs to stay off the DL the regain any sort of value
10. Ronnie Paulino PIT
young catcher with average offensive game, production should increase this year

Bubble: Miguel Olivo FLA, John Buck KC

1st Basemen
1. Albert Pujols STL
I smell monster year for last years consensus No. 1 pick
2. Prince Fielder MIL
while some state their case for Howard at this spot, Fielders numbers better all around
3. Ryan Howard PHI
right behind Prince IMO, needs to lessen K’s and increase AVG
4. Mark Teixeria ATL
nasty numbers in the ATL, I would expect nothing more from him in ‘08
5. David Ortiz BOS
always a consistent bat although injuries hampered a great year from papi (.332, 35, 117, 116)
6. Travis Hafner CLE
Finally has 1st base eligibilty to create flexibility in lineups
7. Justin Morneau MIN
expect morneau to be back to his ‘06 form, probably dropping in drafts that he shouldnt be
8. Carlos Pena TB
ranked low here because I don’t expect his numbers to duplicate ‘07 and will go super high in drafts this year
9. Lance Berkman HOU
always a second half hero, expect him to do more of the same this year, still great value
10. Todd Helton COL
a return to form in ‘07 leads me to believe he will be a huge contributor in the middle of atkins and holliday

Bubble: Kevin Youkilis BOS, James Loney LAD, Adam LaRoche PIT, Adrian Gonzalez SD

2nd Basemen

1. Chase Utley PHI
one word: BEAST, expect nothing less than ‘07 production
2. Brandon Phillips CIN
contributor in every facet of the game, will only get better this year
3. Robinson Cano NYY
a little inconsistent, but still able to post a .300+ AVG and close enough to 20/100 for me
4. Dan Uggla FLA
his AVG is the only downfall, everything else is there for a solid 2B
5. Brian Roberts BAL
Roberts will guarantee you a victory in SB every week, a little concerned where the Mitchell Report will leave him
6. Placido Polanco DET
his avg makes owning guys like Adam Dunn less of a concern (.341)
7. Freddy Sanchez PIT
good avg and RBI’s for the former ‘06 Batting Champ
8. Orlando Hudson ARI
great consolation prize later on in rounds, a budding offense around him as well
9. Jeff Kent LAD
always consistent and always ‘stached
10. Aaron Hill TOR
still young enough to show more improvement, and is off to a great start with ‘07 campaign (17/78/.291)

Bubble, Dustin Pedroia BOS, Kelly Johnson ATL, Ian Kinsler TEX, Kaz Matsui HOU

3rd Basemen

1. Alex Rodriguez NYY
if you have the number one pick in your draft, and you don’t pick him, you’re an idiot. End of story
2. Ryan Braun MIL
only player who out preformed in on a game to game basis was A-rod, OF eligibility coming soon
3. Miguel Cabrera DET
the most feared bat in a lineup of potential all stars in DET, crazy potential for an MVP type year
4. David Wright NYM
struggled between him and lowell, but age and his ceiling is much higher
5. Mike Lowell BOS
a throwback to his FLA days, an absolute steal of the waiver wires last year
6. Garret Atkins COL
still young and streaky, many owners dropped him after his garbage start to ‘07, don’t do that in ‘08
7. Aramis Ramirez CHC
missed 30 games but still was a very solid hitter, must stay healthy
8. Chone Figgins LAA
gives you speed from the corner position if your in need
9. Chipper Jones ATL
youll need a backup option with jones because he will go on the DL at some point
10. Hank Blalock TEX
still a great hitter, needs to rebound big from the sidelines of ‘07

Bubble: Ryan Zimmerman WAS, Akinori Iwamura TB, Adrian Beltre SEA

SS
1. Hanley Ramirez FLA
the epiphany of the 5x5 roto player (29/81/.332/51/95)
2. Jimmy Rollins PHI
all around contributor and mvp candidate
3. Jose Reyes NYM
71 steals and look for more in ‘08
4. Troy Tulowitzki COL
amazing second half of a storybook rookie year projects to a special player
5. Michael Young TEX
power down slightly but should not deter fantasy owners
6. Derek Jeter NYY
consistency is the name of the game for the cap’n of NYY
7. Carlos Guillen DET
hard to put this low, but I expect numbers to drop following cabrera deal
8. Edgar Renteria DET
detroit cant possibly have two guys at SS can they? Edgars always on point
9. Miguel Tejada BAL
like Roberts, hard to tell where Mitchell Report lands him
10. J.J. Hardy
tailed off huge in second half, but still worthy of starting role

Bubble: Orlando Cabrera CHW, Jhonny Peralta CLE, Ryan Theriot CHC

Outfield
1. Matt Holliday COL
all around game makes his guy a coors field superhero
2. Magglio Ordonez DET
I expect to see him tail off as well, unless DET has a beast of an offensive year
3. Vlad Guerrero LAA
he doesnt have a strikezone, which is scary considering he only struck out 62 times in ‘07
4. Alfonso Soriano CHC
great tools and a 30/30 guy
5. Carlos Beltran NYM
will be lighting it up in Shea all summer
6. Carl Crawford TB
a perennial 30/50/.300 speed OF, and looking to increase his HR’s
7. Grady Sizemore CLE
five tooler with a little bit of a downer in ‘07, will fall and when he does, snatch him up like the 5 o’clock free crack giveaway
8. Ichiro SEA
in terms of speed categories, always consistent, and always on the field producing
9. Curtis Granderson DET
Mr. 20 can do it all
10. Carlos Lee HOU
write it down, 35 and 110, with atleast 10 HR’s hitting the train in Hou

Bubble: Adam Dunn CIN, B.J. Upton TB, Eric Byrnes ARI, Manny Ramirez BOS, Alex Rios TOR, Vernon Wells TOR, Torii Hunter LAA, Nick Markakis BAL, Jeff Francouer ATL, Hunter Pence, HOU, Jason Bay PIT

Starting Pitchers
1. Johan Santana NYM
now that hes got an offense... pencil in 21 wins
2. C.C. Sabathia CLE
big nasty will no doubt benefit from another full year with Fausto
3. Josh Beckett BOS
best pitcher in the game for a majority of ‘07
4. Jake Peavy SD
k king will no doubt be at it again in the 619
5. Dan Haren ARI
the all star starter for the AL should have a little more help on the offensive side and not have to worry about carrying the load because of
6. Brandon Webb ARI
nasty sinker and had three straight CG last year
7. Justin Verlander DET
18-6 last year and will have the run support to put up another campaign like so
8. John Lackey LAA
never flashy but always gets the job done on the west coast late nights
9. Carlos Zambrano CHC
came back in the second half last year like an angry monster, hopefully keeps the trend going in ‘08
10. Roy Halladay TOR
top flight starter that should be heavily discounted in drafts

Bubble: Fausto Carmona CLE, Aaron Harang CIN, John Maine NYM, Diasuke Matsuzaka BOS, Cole Hamels PHI, John Smoltz ATL, Roy Oswalt HOU, Eric Bedard BAL, Francisco Liriano MIN

Relief Pitchers
1. J.J Putz SEA
dazzled his way to a 1.68 era with 40 saves in 42 opportunities
2. Jose Valverde HOU
tendency to have on again off again years will be put to the test with the train tracks in the foreground in HOU
3. Francisco Cordero MIL
its always good when your closer has a 2:1 K to SV ratio and the saves are 45
4. Francisco Rodriguez LAA
see Cordero above (less saves, more k’s)
5. Joe Nathan MIN
may not have the opp’s that he did last year with santana out of the picture
6. Jonathan Papelbon BOS
always solid, and another year of having great save opp’s
7. Mariano Rivera NYY
down ‘07 and age taking a hold of the games greatest closer
8. Bobby Jenks CHW
only 2 HR’s given up is a great sign
9. Takashi Saito LAD
def a late round steal if hes there
10. Billy Wagner NYM
still able to get hitters out, but one dimensional fastball catches up with him from time to time

Bubble: Jason Isringhausen STL, Trevor Hoffman SD, Manny Corpas COL, Brian Fuentes COL, Chad Cordero WAS, Brad Lidge PHI

Hopefully in the next few posts ill be able to post the results from the expert league that I am currently taking part in. Post replies and any questions comments and disagreements as they are welcome. Good Luck to all in your upcoming drafts and I hope that I was of some help.

-The Chris Young