For some teams Pitchers and Catchers report in just two days and yet we have a former MVP, a former CY Young winner, and numerous All-Stars still looking for work. Take a look at our top 10 list of players who are still free agents:
Barry Bonds:
The Greatest hitter of all time, period. Last year, Bonds posted a 170 OPS+ at the age of 42. Alex Rodriguez had a monster year last year, arguably his best, and he posted a 177 OPS+. His "off the field" problems are keeping him "off the field" more than his play.
Kyle Lohse:
I think Lohse probably had a deal on the table earlier but gambled for a bigger payday and lost. His best hope is to sign a 1 yr deal and hope to put up good numbers and try again next year.
Bartolo Colon:
Damaged goods, coming off back to back injury plagued seasons. May sign a deal to rehab with a team and come back mid-season or next year.
Shannon Stewart:
Posted some good numbers last year .290/.345/.394 with an OPS+ of 101. Not bad for a 33 year old. Should get a job sometime in the spring as a 4th OF'er.
Kenny Lofton:
Same as Stewart, put up good numbers at a more impressive age, 40. Should catch on during ST.
Livan Hernandez:
Big surprise nobody has taken a harder look at the innings eater. Livan will probably sign on as a back end starter for a team that has injury concerns or is looking for a veteran to anchor their rotation.
EDIT:Talk about working quickly, It seems Twins GM Bill Smith is a big TSP fan. Since this post Hernandez has signed a 1 year deal between $5 and 6 Million dollars with the twins. Thats one down...
Josh Fogg:
Much like Livan, I'm surprised someone hasn't signed Fogg to a 1 or 2 yr deal yet. Not that he's any good, but still surprising someone hasn't over paid for him. Maybe teams are getting smarter.
Jeff Weaver:
Similar to Fogg, it looks like teams have finally realized what you see is what you get. An average ERA+ of 74 the past two years shouldn't get you a $8-10 million dollar contract.
Reggie Sanders:
Coming off an injury plagued season. Still can be a valuable bat off the bench and mentor to young players. Just a matter of time before he signs with his ninth big league team.
Armando Benitez:
Not worth much more than a minor league deal at this point.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Will work for your team: A look a the remaining 2008 Free Agents.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Top 100 Prospects of 2008 from Scouts Inc. & Baseball Prospectus analyzed
As promised, here is a more in depth look at the Top 100 Lists of ESPN/Scouts Inc. and Baseball Prospectus. Of course I will start off with the Rays list. Nine Rays made the Top 100 on Scouts Inc. highlighted by: Evan Longoria(1), Desmond Jennings(11), Wade Davis(15), David Price(16) and Jake McGee(26), giving the Rays five out of the top 26 prospects. Rounding out the nine Rays were Reid Brignac (49), Fernando Perez (72), Jeremy Hellickson (75), and John Jaso (78). Not too much to argue with here besides maybe Reid Brignac. Last year's consensus best SS in the minor leagues takes a bit of a hit this year, falling behind Carlos Triunfel (18, Mariners), Elvis Andrus(31, Rangers), and Mike Moustakas (47, Royals). Brignac did take a step back last year offensively, .260/.328/.433, but from most accounts made strides defensively towards becoming a Major League defender as SS. This season will no doubt be a huge year for Brignac, not only to prove his '07 season was a one year slide, but also the addition of Jason Barlett means the Rays now have a legit option at SS for the future besides Brignac. With the lack of a RF prospect one interesting idea would be, if his defense regresses, to move Brignac to Right, where the Rays plan to platoon players this year. Other than that I really don't have many Rays related gripes with Scouts Inc.'s list.
Now on to Baseball Prospectus list of Rays. Again the Rays had a heavy presence at the top, with five of the top 25 prospects headlined by: Evan Longoria (3), David Price (6), Wade Davis (15), Desmond Jennings (18), and Reid Brignac (25). The only other Ray on the top 100 was Jake McGee (40). Obviously there are some discrepancies between the two lists. The most prevalent, in my opinion, is the number of Rays. Scouts Inc. lists nine, but Baseball Prospectus only lists six. Baseball Prospectus completely left off Jeremy Hellickson, Fernando Perez, and John Jaso. I can't understand why. Perez & Jaso should see a lot of action at AAA Durham this year and maybe even get a taste of the big leagues come September. In our recent interview Jim Callis , he said that John Jaso has a chance to be the everyday catcher for the Rays if he can stay healthy. Fernando Perez has an outside chance to crack the Majors this year as the fourth outfielder. If something should happen to Baldelli or Floyd, or most likely both, he could see significant time in a talented Rays outfield. Jeremy Hellickson is still probably two years away and most likely will spend the bulk of his season at High Class A Vero Beach, but he is leader of the next group of arms behind the more advanced Price, McGee, Davis, Niemann, and Talbot.
The rest of the BP Rays list is interesting. Evan Longoria is ranked 3rd behind Jay Bruce (1) and Clay Buchholz (2). I have no problem with Bruce being first. Most people have Bruce and Longoria 1st and 2nd in either order. However, I think this is the first time I've seen Buchholz ranked not only over Longoria, but also Joba Chamberlain who checked in the list at four. I think of it this way, who would I rather have to start a franchise Buchholz or Longoria? I'm taking Longoria all day. I believe the comparisons to David Wright are not only flattering, but very true. If the comparison does pan out then Longoria will be a perennial All Star and MVP candidate. I can't really argue with Desmond Jennings at 18 or Davis at 15. I believe Desmond Jennings is a potential impact player, but I'll see how he does at High A or Double A first before arguing for him to be higher on the list. Davis at 15 is fine and I expect him to be Top 5 or 10 at the least next year. I was very surprised to see Price ranked as high as 6 since he hasn't thrown a professional pitch yet. I've heard all types of projections on Price. One projection early on had him coming in this spring with a chance at the Majors, but most expect him to start at AA Montgomery and quickly rise to the Majors as soon as late August or early September.
The final two on the Baseball Prospectus list are Reid Brignac and Jake McGee. At number 25, Reid Brignac is the second SS on the list behind Moustakas, who most believe is likely not going to be a SS long. The other two SS that were in front of Reid on the Scouts Inc. list, Triunfel and Andrus, check in considerably lower on this list at 55 and 58 respectively. I guess it’s who you ask about Reid Brignac, as there seems to be no consensus to where he belongs. The final Ray on the list is Jake McGee, checking in at 40. The knock on McGee is his lack of a secondary out pitch behind his fastball. I'm interested to see how he progresses this year, where he likely will spend a lot of time at AA Montgomery. If he can develop another one or two above average pitches to round out his arsenal he should be a serious candidate for the top 10 next year. If not, all is not lost with McGee as the Rays maybe able to convert him into a dominate late inning reliever.
That's it for the Rays portion of the lists. I have just a few tidbits on the other names on the two lists. First, Lars Anderson 1B for the Red Sox. Scouts Inc. has him solidly in the top half of their list at 28, while he barely made the Baseball Prospectus list coming in at 100. Again, referring back to our interview with Baseball America's Jim Callis he says, "I think Red Sox first baseman Lars Anderson is going to make a leap forward this year and become recognized as one of the very best hitters in the minors." Like Reid Brignac, I guess it's all about who you ask with Anderson.
Two other names I wanted to look at because of the recent Johan Santana trade were OF's Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez. Gomez is the center piece of the deal and is regarded as the Twins CF of the future if the deal is completed. On Scouts Inc, Gomez checks in at 35, but on BP he's in the lower half at 65. Either way, I feel that Gomez as the center piece is way too low for the greatest pitcher on the face of the planet. The other player in the talks surrounding the trade was Fernando Martinez. Martinez is regarded by most, if not all, as the #1 prospect in the Mets system. The big gripe from the Twins supporters was they traded Santana without getting the Mets crown jewel in return. Scouts Inc. has Martinez at 10 while Baseball Prospectus has him just in the lower half at 51. That’s a pretty big difference. Is he a top 10 player or a barely a top 50 player? Martinez has huge power potential and is an above average defender in CF. He started last season at AA Binghamton at age 18....yes I said 18. An injury cut his season short, but even at age 19 in AA he is on the fact track to the Majors, and a big kudos to Omar Minaya for being able to land Santana (potentially) without giving up his blue chipper.
Ok my fingers have officially cramped up and my eyes are bleeding, but there you have our recap of the Top 100 list of Scouts Inc. and Baseball Prospectus. Of course, each writer and analyst has their own criteria and their own judgments, so no list is perfect. Remember, the Rays own Edwin Jackson was once one of the top prospects in baseball and we're still waiting on him to show that he's even an average starter. We respect Keith Law(Scouts Inc.) and Kevin Goldstein(Baseball Prospectus) tremendously and it will be fun to check up on this list in the next few years to see who's made it, who was a bust and who came out of nowhere to became a star. We expect to have another list from Baseball America soon, so I need to recover so we can do this all over again soon.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sports world recap: Pete Carroll to Atlanta? Lynching Tiger? NFL Divisonal Playoffs, Josh Brown Aka Hot Pants and Steroids, Congress and Clemens
Welcome to the "incase you've been living under a rock post." Sorry We've been slacking lately...blame in on Jessica Simpson or Kim Kardashian, either one will do fine.
Sources say there is mutual interest between USC Coach Pete Carroll and the Atlanta Falcons. Every year Pete Carroll's name is thrown around for an NFL job, he entertains the idea for a few days and then realizes he has it made in L.A. Seriously, even if the Falcons gave him full control of the team, why would he take it? He would be fired in 3 years and have to take a job at the University of Idaho and build his way back up. At USC, he is at the top of the college football world and can contend for a national title every year.
Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman has been suspended two weeks for her comments about Tiger Woods. While discussing Tiger Woods' dominance, She said that young players on the PGA Tour should "lynch him in a back alley." Even in 2008, where alot of things are tolerated, you have to know better than to use the word "lynch" in the same sentence where you talk about an African American. She deserves to be fired not for her comments, but lack of common sense.
On to the topic I've been trying so hard to avoid this week, ESPN's playoff coverage. ESPN.com's NFL page would like you to believe the sky is falling on the Patriots and Cowboys. Two quick notes, The Patriots are UNDEFEATED, as in they haven't lost a game this year. The Cowboys, all of a sudden the worst 13-3 team ever, have the same record as the red hot NY Giants in the last four games 2-2. Just for the record the Colts were 2-3 headed into the Playoffs last year and they did pretty well.
Seattle Kicker Josh Brown has rigged his pants to include a heater for the other NFC showdown in Green Bay. Brown told KIRO Radio that no matter how low the temperature drops, his legs will be 75 degrees. In other news, thanks to Jessica Simpson, Tony Romo's pants are a blistering 98 degrees...yes the pun was intended.
Congress pushed back its' steriod investigation of Roger Clemens and others. Does congress have nothing better to do? Isn't there a war going on somewhere?
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Stat Pack 20 plus: Exclusive interview with Jim Callis
We here at TheStatPack were lucky enough to have the Executive Editor of Baseball America, Jim Callis, answer a few questions for us. If you want to know anything about drafts, farm systems, prospects or the minor league in general, Jim's the foremost authority. If you want to read more of Jim's work you can check out BaseballAmerica, or you can order the 2008 Baseball America Prospect Handbook here.
TSP:Have you ever been approached by a major league team to work in their personnel department?
JC:Not directly. I've had a couple of teams ask, more in conversation, if I could ever see my self scouting. It would be fun to work for a team, but it also would be tough right now because the hours involved would take me away from my family (four young kids, ages 6 to 12).
TSP:The Rays farm system has been rated at or near the top of baseball for 2-3 years now. What makes it so good?
JC:They have a tremendous combination of blue-chip prospects and depth. They've had a bunch of very high first-round picks because of their poor major league performance, and they've made good use of them (Evan Longoria, David Price). They've also done a nice job with later-round choices such as Jake McGee, Wade Davis, Reid Brignac and Desmond Jennings, to name just a few.
TSP:Do you think the McGee/Davis tandem is as good as advertised?
JC:I do. When we did our personal overall Top 50 Prospects list for the 2008 Prospect Handbook, I had McGee at No. 17 and Davis at No. 18. They're two of the very best pitching prospects in baseball.
TSP:Heath Rollins just put up one of the best seasons in the history of the entire Rays organization. How come his name isn't mentioned in the top group of Rays pitching?
JC:His stuff isn't good enough to rank with that top group. His slider is a legitimate pitch, but the rest of his stuff is fringy. And while his season was impressive, he was 22 and spent the whole year in low Class A, which was not. Let's see him succeed in high Class A and Double-A. Until then, he's more of a "keep an eye on" type than a true prospect.
TSP:Same question just with Chris Mason?
JC:I honestly don't think that's the case with Mason. He's right at the head of the class of Tampa Bay's second tier of pitching prospects. He's not a big velocity guy either, but he did have more fastball in college and may get some more velo back. He has a chance to have three average or better pitches.
TSP:How do you see Jeremy Hellickson progressing through the minors? Is it a stretch to see him at AA next year and in the Bigs by '09 or 2010?
JC:The Rays are very cautious with high school pitching prospects--just look at how carefully they've handled Davis and McGee. Hellickson will definitely start 2008 in high Class A and I wouldn't be surprised if he spent the whole year there. I see more of a 2010 ETA, because of how the Rays handle young arms and also because they'll be breaking guys like Price, McGee and Davis into the majors soon and the pitching staff won't have as many holes as Hellickson gets closer.
TSP:Even after the recent moves, The Rays have a lot of OF talent in the Major Leagues. They also have Fernando Perez, Desmond Jennings, & Ryan Royster working through the minors. Out of that group, who do you see making the biggest impact in the Majors? How soon?
JC:You're right, they still have more outfielders than they know what to do with. I like Jennings. He's a toolsy athlete who seems to be adapting very quickly to pro ball. But because of Tampa Bay's outfield depth, I think he'll get some time to develop. I wouldn't expect him in the majors before 2010.
TSP:Is Evan Longoria the best overall player in the minor leagues?
JC:Close, but I'll go with Jay Bruce. Longoria was the second-rated position player on my Top 50 list in the Handbook, and I had him ranked No. 4 overall.
TSP:How does Evan Longoria compare to former stud 3B prospects Alex Gordon & Ryan Braun?
JC:His bat is in the same class--it's an all-star bat. Longoria is a former shortstop and I think he'll be a better defender at third base than the other two guys.
TSP:What do you expect from David Price this season? Do you think he will start his year at AA Montgomery? If so, does he make it to AAA at some point during the season?
JC:I don't think the Rays have made that decision yet. I do think he'll get to Double-A by June if he doesn't start the season there, and because he has a big league contract and already is on the 40-man roster, I bet he makes his major league debut by September at the latest.
TSP:Do you think John Jaso can be looked at as a future everyday catcher for the Rays?
JC:I do. He's a sleeper who can really hit and play decent to solid defense. The big question is whether he can stay healthy, as he has been bothered by persistent shoulder problems in pro ball.
TSP:Besides Niemann, McGee, Davis & Price the Rays have some other arms like Mitch Talbot, JP Howell & Calvin Medlock hanging around. Do you see any of those three making significant contributions to the Rays in the upcoming years?
JC:I like Talbot more than the other two guys. Howell really competes but has marginal stuff, and Medlock is more a middle reliever for me. I can see Talbot being a No. 4 or 5 starter for Tampa Bay, though the competition for rotation slots will be fierce.
TSP:Obviously there are only 5 spots in the Major League rotation, and a lot of the Rays pitching prospects, barring serious injury, should be ready by the 09 season. Pencil in Kazmir, Shields and Garza, how does the rest of the rotation shake out between Niemann, Talbot, McGee, Davis, Price, Jackson, Sonnanstine, Hammel...etc? Do you see any of those guys as serious candidates for bullpen/closer roles if they don't make it as starters?
JC:The potential depth there is just staggering, isn't it? Of course, injuries and attrition will thin this out a little bit. There has been a little mention of Jake McGee and Wade Davis as a possible closer down the line, and I could see Niemann possibly in that role. The frontline guys right now appear to be Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, David Price, Jake McGee, Wade Davis and James Shields, in some order.
TSP:Is it true that Reid Brignac's defense has improved, and defensively he maybe ready to make the jump? If he gets off to a hot start next season could we see him in the majors this year?
JC:I don't know if he improved in 2007 as much as he held ground. He can get the job done at shortstop and be fine there, but he won't be a Gold Glover. With Jason Bartlett coming aboard in the Delmon Young trade, I think Brignac will spend most of the year in Triple-A regardless of his start.
TSP:The Rays hold the #1 Pick in the draft. If the Draft was held tomorrow their pick would be _______?
JC:The top talent right now is Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez, but the Rays don't really need a third baseman. I think he's more suited to play left field or first base, but those aren't huge areas of need for Tampa Bay either. That said, you don't base the No. 1 overall pick on need. Other guys in the mix at this point would be Missouri righthander Aaron Crow, San Diego lefthander Brian Matusz, Missouri high school righthander Tim Melville and Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham.
TSP:Will we ever see international players incorporated in the Draft? Do you think we should?
JC:I don't think so. For one, it would be a logistical nightmare. And two, while it might save some money on the handful of elite international players because they wouldn't be free agents, it also might drive the cost up on the next tier of players. I would just leave it like it is. Teams that work hard and make the investment can find quality talent at a relatively reasonable price. No need to change that. Putting them in the draft would just gum up the works even further.
TSP:Who's the Rays most overrated prospect right now?
JC:Maybe Jeff Niemann. He's still a good prospect, but I'm becoming less convinced he'll become the frontline starter he looked like coming out of college. He still has a chance to be a No. 3 starter, though.
TSP:Who's the most underrated?
JC:I'll throw a few names at you . . . Glenn Gibson is probably getting overlooked because he only recently came over in the Elijah Dukes trade and hasn't pitched in full-season ball yet, but I like him. Also keep your eye on Jaso, whom we mentioned earlier, and righthanders Alex Cobb and Josh Butler.
TSP:Who's the Baseball's overall most overrated prospect right now?
JC:Two guys I don't like as much as my cohorts at BA are Mets outfielder Carlos Gomez and Marlins righthander Chris Volstad. They're both legit prospects, but I see more tools than skills with Gomez and I don't think Volstad misses nearly enough bats.
TSP:Who's the most underrated?
JC:Reds righthander Johnny Cueto has performed well in the minors and has good stuff, but people underrate him some because he's not very big. I think Red Sox first baseman Lars Anderson is going to make a leap forward this year and become recognized as one of the very best hitters in the minors.
TSP:You're driving the '10 Rays World Series Bandwagon; can you give me an early prediction on the Rays opponent and the World Series MVP?
JC:When I first made that prediction last spring, I had them beating the Dodgers. Let's go with B.J. Upton as World Series MVP.
TSP:"I make you commissioner for one day, what's the first thing you do?"
JC:I'd get rid of the slotting process with the draft. The draft is the easiest and best place for lower-revenue teams to compete with higher-revenue clubs for talent, yet MLB discourages that from happening and steers more talent to the higher-revenue teams.
The Stat Pack would like to thank Jim Callis again for sitting down with us. And remember to pick up a copy of the 2008 Baseball America Prospect Handbook here.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Nomo signs deal with Royals
The Kansas City Royals signed the Japanese and former Devil Ray great Hideo Nomo to a minor league deal. Why is anyone's guess. The former NL Rookie of the year hasn't appeared in a major league game since 2005, and made only seven starts in the Venezuelan winter league in 2006. "He's been a successful major league pitcher in the past, and we wanted to give him an opportunity to compete for a job," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said Friday. I like Dayton Moore, he seems like a nice enough guy, but I don't quite see this one working out consdiering in Nomo posted the two worst ERAs in the majors since 2004 at 8.25 and 7.24 respectively. "I want to hang in there no matter what, hoping that I won't get injured," Nomo said Friday on his official Web site. Way to have confidence and shoot for the stars Hideo.
Where's The Beef? Jorge Cantu signs with Marlins
Just to give you a brief glimpse of how bad the Marlins are looking for the '08 season, the Marlins reached agreement on Thursday with Cantu on a one-year contract worth $500,000, plus incentives that could tack on another $100,000 based on plate appearances. Cantu was unable to duplicate his 05 success in 06 & 07, probably having to do something with a serious lack of "mongolian beef." The Marlins are hoping Cantu, Alfredo Amezaga & Jose Castillo can fill Miguel Cabrera's shoes. Maybe all three could fit in a pair of his old baseball pants but I doubt any combination of the three will come near the production of Miggy Cabrera.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Mitchell Report & List of Names
The Mitchell Report
According to the investigation Roger Clemens started using steroids in 1997. The same year Boston thought he was in the "twilight of his career" and let him walk into free agency. In his 4 seasons before that (1993-1996) he won a combined 40 games. During the next 2 seasons, after his alleged steroid use began he won a combined 41 games for Toronto. From age 34-44 Clemens won an astounding 162 games. Assuming the playing careers of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are over they will both be eligble for the Hall of Fame at the same time. At that time if Barry Bonds is left out of the Hall of Fame and Roger Clemens gets accepted that will be the biggest travesty in the history of the MLB and maybe sports in general.
LIST OF NAMES:
Adam Piatt
Adam Riggs
Alex Cabrera
Andy Pettite
Andy Piatt
Armando Rios
Barry Bonds
Bart Miadich
Benito Santiago
Bobby Estalella
Brandon Donnelly
Brian Roberts
Chad Allen
Chris Donnels
Chuck Knoblauch
Cody McKay
Dan Naulty
Darren Holmes
David Bell
David Justice
David Segui
Denny Neagle
Eric Gagne
Exavier "Nook" Logan
F.P. Santangello
Fernando Vina
Gary Bennett Jr.
Gary Matthews, Jr.
Gary Sheffield
Glenallen Hill
Gregg Zaun
Hal Morris
Howie Clark
Ismael Valdez
Jack Cust
Jason Christiansen
Jason Giambi
Jason Grimsley
Jay Gibbons
Jeff Williams
Jeremy Giambi
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Jim Parque
John Rocker
Jose Canseco
Jose Guillen
Josias Manzanillo
Juan Gonzalez
Ken Caminiti
Kent Mercker
Kevin Brown
Kevin Young
Larry Bigbie
Lenny Dykstra
Luis Perez
Manny Alexander
Mark Carreon
Marvin Benard
Matt Franco
Matt Herges
Matt Williams
Miguel Tejada
Mike Bell
Mike Judd
Mike Lansing
Mike Stanton
Mo Vaughn
Paul Byrd
Paul Lo Duca
Paxton Crawford
Phil Hiatt
Rafael Palmeiro
Randy Velarde
Rick Ankiel
Ricky Bones
Ricky Stone
Roger Clemens
Ron Villone
Rondell White
Ryan Franklin
Scott Schoeneweis
Stephen Randolph
Steve Woodard
Tim Laker
Todd Hundley
Todd Pratt
Todd Williams
Troy Glaus
The Mitchell Investigation & Possible Names
Various sites and sources are reporting a few players who will be named in the Mitchell Investigation. Some of the bigger names are:
Barry Bonds***SHOCKER***
Roger Clemens
Miguel Tejada
Albert Pujols
Andy Pettitte
Ivan Rodriguez
Mark McGwire
Juan Gonzalez
No big shocks on this list. There are no A-rods or Jeters on this list which is very good for MLB. The interesting one is Roger Clemens. Clemens has been sort of linked in the past, but nobody has outright accused him of steroid use. The interesting thing from here on out is to see how different Clemens is treated than Bonds. Bonds is almost 100% surely not to be a first ballot Hall of Famer because of his alleged steriod use. I highly doubt the media, fans, and writers will have the same view of Clemens.
In addition, Miguel Tejada being on the list in intriguing since the O's basically dumped him to the Astros for what many believe to be less than he's worth. Did they know something before hand?
For more names
For more on Clemens
Monday, December 3, 2007
Odds & Ends from the Weekend in Sports BCS Bowls, NFL, NBA, MLB Hot Stove
My random thoughts for this past weekend in sports:
Hawaii should be playing for the National Title. I don’t care who the 2nd team is but Hawaii should be number one.
Mizzou being left out of the BCS Bowl games is a complete joke. Two of the teams they beat (Illinois and Kansas) received BCS bids, but they did not. Illinois lost three games, including one to Iowa(6-6), and they will get to play USC in the Rose Bowl. Talk about injustice.
Congrats to Sean Payton for the dumbest move of the week. Calling a reverse when you’re trying to run out the clock with a 3 point lead might not be the smoothest move. Better luck next time.
0-16 here they come. Many people thought this week’s game against the Jets was the Dolphins best chance of finally winnign. I guess not… the underdog Jets routed the favored Dolphins by 28 points.
The Magic are for real ladies and gentlemen, like for real for real. Dwight Howard is a monster, averaging almost 24 pts and 15 boards a game. For all those people who laughed at Rashard Lewis getting a max deal it looks like he’s the perfect Robin to Howard’s Batman. One question that I do have about the Magic is would they be this good with Billy Donovan as the head coach?
My adopted team, the Seattle Sonics, are 3-15 but there is so much potential on this team. I know the Sonics are looking for a new home. Tropicana Field will be empty soon. See where I’m going here.
What has happened to Omar Minaya? Is he a graduate of the Isiah Thomas School for ruining a New York franchise? Lastings Milledge has been brought up in almost every single trade the Mets have been rumored in for the past two years. Names like Zito, Haren, Blanton, Santana have all been mentioned with the Mets and Milledge. So who does Minaya get in return? Brian Schneider and Ryan Church, are you serious? Even if Milledge is a head case you don’t trade him for a 4th OF and a below average catcher, especially when you already have two average catchers on the roster. Oh and if that wasn’t enough, Minaya actually paid the Rays to take Brian Stokes off their hands. Talk about career suicide.
Looking at the Johan sweepstakes I think the Yankees have made a stronger offer than the Sox. There isn’t that big off a drop off between Ellsbury over Cabrera, however there is a huge drop off from Phil Hughes and the pitchers the Sox are willing to deal.
I am also expecting the Rays to make one or two semi-major deals during the winter meetings.
And finally be on the lookout for another Stat Pack exclusive interview this week.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Rays get Percival to close the door.
The Hot Stove is burning in Tampa Bay. The Rays will announce the signing of Troy Percival as the teams closer. Terms are 2 years for $8 million dollars with a possible $4 million more in incentives. Percival resurrected his career last year in St. Louis after missing the entire 2006 season.
Percival brings instant credibility and leadership to a bullpen that was historically bad last season. He also brings a great clubhouse presence to a young team searching for leaders. Percival, Dan Wheeler and Al Reyes should give the Rays a solid 1,2,3 punch at the back end of the game.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
A Look at the Young for Garza Trade
There are mixed opinions on exactly how good Matt Garza will really be. Going into 2007, John Sickles had him ranked as the number 1 prospect in the Twins system and gave him an A- grade. In three minor league seasons he had a 2.88 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 10.04 K/9. He has dominated at every level in the minors and there is nothing to show that he won’t continue that trend in the future. He has not yet pitched a full year in the majors and was up and down when he did pitch, but you can see the talent is there. The Rays will also have control of Garza for the next five years. The addition of Garza to the rotation with Scott Kazmir and James Shields gives the Rays a great young starting rotation for years to come.
The Rays were originally supposed to get veteran Juan Rincon in the deal, but when injury concerns came up the Twins offered relief pitcher Eduardo Morlan instead. Morlan was the Twins number 4 rated prospect by John Sickles and has outstanding numbers in the minor leagues. In four seasons he has an ERA of 2.82 and 11.06 K/9. Some Twins fans have compared him to how Joba Chamberlin has played in his bullpen role. He will most likely start the season in AA this year, but could rise very fast as he has the tools. The Rays may have found a closer for the future or at the very least a great set-up man to bolster the pen.
Delmon is a talented player, but maybe not as talented as he was once thought to be. He was heralded as the number 1 prospect in all of baseball, but his lack of plate discipline has stifled his offensive numbers. If Young could ever learn to have more discipline at the plate he could be a Manny or Vlad type player, but right now a better offensive comparison maybe Jeff Francouer. Defensively no one can deny his great arm, but he does lack great range in the outfield and takes some awkward angles.
Part of the reason the Rays were willing to deal Young may be due to his attitude problem with the organization. We all remember the end of last season when he blew up against
The Rays dealt from a position of strength to address the major weaknesses on their team. They have a couple of different options on who to play in RF, and Rocco Baldelli is not one of them despite what many Rays’ fans think. The Rays have already said that they are “cautiously optimistic that he can be the DH,” which sounds like they have no intentions of him playing in the outfield and risking injury once again. If Elijah Dukes can stay clear of off the field issues he would most likely get the nod come opening day. He is a talented outfielder and given a full season I think he will out hit and out play Delmon Young in the outfield. Justin Ruggiano, who has been compared to
At the end of the day the Rays were able to address three areas of need with the trade and that fact made the deal to hard to pass up. Who won and lost this trade will depend on Delmon Young and that won’t be known until a couple years from now. Could the Rays have gotten more for Young? Maybe, but I do know that the overall team improved with this trade today.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
And the winner is…..Wrong. David is the Wright answer for MVP.
No doubt Jimmy Rollins is better than David Wright in some ways. He’s better defensively, he’s faster and he talks a better game. I just didn’t know that was the criteria for MVP of the National League. One argument of course will be the Phillies were better than the Mets and they won the NL East. Ok fine the Phillies won the NL East that’s why they are called the NL East Champions. That honor should be enough. The fact that Rollins team won ONE more game than Wright’s team should have no affect on an individual award. The next argument will be the Mets collapsed in September and they didn’t even make the playoffs. When did the MVP award become Most Valuable Playoff Team Player? The Mets collapse had much more to do with their bullpen and manager not David Wright. In the months of September & October Wright sported a .352 Avg. 6 Home Runs 20 RBI and an OPS of 1.034. Call me crazy but that doesn’t see like a player whose production fell off when his team needed him the most. Imagine how much faster the Mets would have fallen without Wright.
My next point is Jimmy Rollins isn’t even the MVP of his team. Chase Utley is a much better player at a position where offense comes at a premium. Rollins, the lead off hitter, also finished 8th on the team in OBP. Yes I said 8th behind Utley(who lead the team), Werth, Burrell, Howard, Rowand, Bourn, Victorino. It’s amazing that Ryan Howard almost struck out 200 times and his OBP was almost 50 points higher then Rollins. Utley also posted higher AVG ,OPS and RBIs numbers in 30 less games. He also almost put up the same amount of home runs.
Finally, Men lie, women lie numbers don’t.
Avg HR RBI SB OPS
.325 30 107 34 .962 Wright
.296 30 94 41 .875 Rollins
Oh wait I forgot. The biggest stat.
Philadelphia 89 73
New York 88 74
I guess Rollins is the MVP. His team got to lose an extra 3 games “when it counted.” Who knows maybe Wright would be MVP if the Mets had made the playoffs and got swept. Oh well maybe next year.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Perjury & Steroids, Barry Bonds should be the commissioner of baseball
Recently Bud Selig reported that baseball earned $6.075 Billion dollars in revenue this past year. Bud went on to say "We started at $1.2 billion, and I can remember waking up in '93 and '94 and '95 and thinking how are we ever going to get to $2 billion?" How about ignoring a huge drug problem, cashing in on it, then acting like the commissioner's office and the owners knew nothing about it. Oh, and don't forget persecuting the players... that's a must. It would work even more efficiently if you had one player nobody really liked and painted him as the villain.
Enter Barry Bonds, who fits that role perfectly. For those who think Barry Bonds took steroids and magically started hitting home runs you are wrong. Barry Bonds has averaged 34.64 homeruns a year for his career. The man he passed this year, Hank Aaron, averaged 32.83 homeruns. Very similar numbers yet nobody questions Hank Aaron. Looking a little more into it, in his 15 seasons before the 2001 73 homerun record breaking season, Barry averaged 33 homeruns per season. The past seven after the record he's averaged 38.29. So even if Barry started juicing like a mad man in 2001 it only gave him an average 5 extra home runs a year. What we cannot equate during that time is how many of the pitchers Bonds faced were juiced or how many were using "dirt" on their hands or "spilling" water on their shirts.
Do I think Barry is clean? Not at all, but I am saying if Bonds is going to take the fall for steroids he also needs to get the credit for leading Baseball into is most prosperous age. In the last decade of the "Steroid Era", baseball's attendance sky-rocketed from 62,899,062 in 1997 to 79,447,312 in 2007. That number is expected to exceed 80 Million in 2008. If you don't think the long ball had a big effect on attendance, then just look at the St. Louis Cardinals. The attendance at Busch Stadium experienced an 831,304 person growth in from 1997 to 1998 (McGwire's 70 homerun season). During those 2 seasons the Cards finished 4th and 3rd respectively, not exactly the kind of success that would generate almost a million more people attending games.
References:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3112210
http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/attendance.htm
Friday, October 26, 2007
New Lamar-Itis case found in Philadelphia
The Man, The Myth, The Legend Chuck LaMar has landed a job with the Phillies as a director of professional scouting. I guess Philly fans have someone new to blame losing on.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Mitchell Investigation to reveal names
According to sources Sen. Mitchell's Investigation on steriod use in baseball is expected to be released between sometime after Oct 31st.
Immediately I think of Jose Canseco's comments about A-Rod....Why? Game 7 of the World Series if necessary of course would be played Nov. 1st. A-Rod has to notify the Yankees if he's opting out his contract within 10 days of final World Series game. If A-Rod is diry as Canseco eluded to would he give up that guaranteed 81 Million and hit the open market knowing his name might be in the report? Pure speculation but something to think about
Monday, October 8, 2007
Torre
I wish I had an editor to makeup catchy headlines for my posts, but sadly I AM the editor for this site.
Joe Torre needs to come back from a 2-0 deficit in this series or he gets fired. The Boss is like Willy Wonka at this point, releasing a press statement from time to time. He says "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series." If he does fire Torre then who does he get to replace him that would make a significant difference? Joe Girardi? Donny Baseball? What if they make the playoffs then get bounced in the first round? Or what if they miss the playoffs all together? Do you fire them? The players on that team love Torre, and I don't think another manager could handle New York any better than Mr. Torre does. Until Torre punches an opposing player like Woody Hayes or decides to bat A-Rod 9th he should stay in New York as long as he wants. That was hard for me to write as a life long Yankee Hater.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
MLB Playoff Predictions
NLDS
Diamondback vs. Cubs
TV: Diamondbacks in 4
JW: Dbacks in 5
Rockies vs. Phillies
TV: Phillies in 3
JW: Phillies in 4
ALDS
Indians vs Yankees
TV: Yankees in 4
JW: Indians in 4
Angels vs Red Sox
TV: Angels in 5
JW: Sox in 4
NLCS
TV: Diamondbacks vs Phillies (Diamondbacks in 5)
JW: Dbacks vs Phillies (Phillies in 6)
ALCS
TV: Angels vs Yankees (Angels in 6)
JW: Sox vs Indians (Indians in 7)
World Series
TV: Diamondbacks vs Angels (Angels in 7)
JW: Indians vs Phillies (Indians in 6)
