P-U-D-G-E

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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