Blog Archives
D’Backs Pitching Staff In 2014: The Roster Tree Shows Now Ex – GM Towers Fault(y) On Assembly
Kevin Towers had been at the GM helm since Sept.22, 2010 before having his duties relinquished today. He authored some of the worst trades in club history, and has seen his team pay the price for it the most this year, with a 59 – 81 record, after back to back 81 seasons in 2012 and 2013, and a NL West Title in his 1st year on the job in 2011. Towers traded away Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, Chris Young, Tyler Skaggs, Adam Eaton, Matt Davidson and Martin Prado – all without much of talent brought back to the fold in return. It was time to go.
How All Of The D’Backs Pitchers Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It has not been a banner year for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I don’t need to beleaguer that point out to much to the common fan of the franchise.
What I found most disturbing out of the Roster Tree, is the team’s brass continued reliance and insistence on Relief arms.
But before we divulge into that, the name Dan Haren is still haunting this franchise. (Not Towers fault, but still an important trade historically) Read the rest of this entry
How All Of The A’s Pitchers Were Acquired: Lots Of Depth Even For 2015 Without Breaking The Bank!
Part of the lure in acquiring Samardzija was that he had 1 year left of Arbitration. He will likely cost in the $12 – 15 MIL range for 2015. He tops the list of several A’s players that will be ARB eligible in 2015 like Moss, Donaldson, Cook, Parker, Jaso, Reddick and Gentry. While the club is going for it in 2014, their unloading of Cespdes’s $10.5 MIL 2015 salary will be used to pay these guys raises for next year, which should ensure them of another chance to compete for it all.. The Pitching Staff will remain almost intact, with losing just Lester, Hammel and Gregerson, while 12 guys are still under Team control, and 3 more guys with lots of MLB experience are in Sacramento waiting for a callup.
How All Of The A’s Pitchers Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Billy Beane has assembled quite the Pitching Staff for his 2014 final playoff push despite having both Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin out for the year with Tommy John Surgery.
Sonny Gray, A.J. Griffin and Sean Doolittle (although he was drafted as a hitter) are the only active pitchers on their staff that are homegrown products.
Jon Lester was acquired with Yoenis Cespedes (who signed as an International Free Agent.
Much like the hitters, the ‘Moneyball GM’ has wheeled and dealt until he put together one of the best run prevention teams in the game baseball.
Bringing in Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel cost the team 2 young prospects and Dan Straily, all of whom were team draft picks. Read the rest of this entry
How All Of The Diamondbacks Hitters Were Acquired (2014 Roster Tree)
How All Of The D’Backs Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Diamondbacks are having a brutal season at 30 – 44 thus far, and are now under the microscope of Tony La Russa.
This has to be done for good reason. The club’s transaction record recently is highly suspect even though they are being led by veteran GM Kevin Towers.
When covering this Roster Tree (just for the hitters) I have found a disturbing trend of 2 team and 3 way trades that may not be beneficial to the long term success for the snakes.
The 1st one coming to mind is shipping out Trevor Bauer, Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers for a fringe 1B prospect in Lars Anderson, Reliever Tony Sipp and shortstop Didi Gregorius (even though Chris Owings was already in the system). Read the rest of this entry
Oakland Athletics Roster In 2014: How All Of The Pitchers Were Acquired
Jarrod Parker is out for the year with Tommy John Surgery. You are talking about a guy that was 25 – 16 with a 3.68 ERA over the last 2 years combined. He has top of the rotation stuff and will be greatly missed. The A’s also had a TJ scare with A.J. Griffin, but it has been downgraded to an elbow strain for now. Parker was traded for by the Athletics in a major package sent to Oakland with Collin Cowgill and Ryan Cook for Starter Trevor Cahill. The club still has Parker and Cahill. While it is bad Parker is out in 2014, he will be back. Cahill has been ineffective for the D’backs in 2014 – with a 9.17 ERA and an MLB leading 4 losses.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I just finished writing an article about how Billy Beane was smart not to have signed Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson to extensions here.
You really wont find him do this anytime soon with any of his chuckers.
The Scott Kazmir deal is the one he likes to do. It is simple as to why the man operates like this. He doesn’t have to give up any assets in the process.
Beane is a “Baseball Rounder”.
It is not unlike him to do manage 50 – 60 transactions per year. He was won more than he has lost – whether it is Free Agency or trades. His ballclub has the best record in the Majors since the start of play in 2012 – at 200 – 144 (.581 baseball).
We will go through the Pitching First, and then the hitting by the weekend. Read the rest of this entry
The Boston Red Sox State Of The Union Part 2 – The Pitchers: 2014 Preview
This is a not a slight on the Red Sox at all, but they should not be favored to win the American League right now. Detroit should be that placeholder. I am not sure the Red Sox will even win the AL East. I would go with the Rays or Yankees before them right now. The Rays had one of the best second half records in 2013, and the Yankees are a lot better as well. I am also not sure of the team losing Ellsbury, Drew, Dempster and Saltalamacchia has improved itself with Capuano, Middlebrooks, Pierzynski and the tandem of Sizemore and Bradley JR.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
For added depth in the Bullpen, the franchise added Edward Mujica, amply giving the team multiple options at Closer should Koji Uehara not duplicate his 2013 success in 2014.
The management did a great job in peacemealing this Pitching Rotation in 2014.
Big injuries, 3 different Closers, and finally won the hottest Closers to end a year in Uehara pitching for the clubs final outs to win the Fall Classic.
The latest addition as of now for the 2014 season, are Chris Capuano for the Starting staff and also Bullpen arm Burke Badenhop, who came over from a nice year in the pen for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The club will sees Ryan Dempster take the year off for injury, but are stoked about saving his $14 MIL pricetag that he is forfeiting this season.
The Bullpen features Koji Uehara, Craig Breslow, Edward Mujica, Brandon Workman, Burke Badenhop, Andrew Miller, Junichi Tazawa and Alex Wilson round out the potential Relief Core.
The Starting Rotation was also held together with duct tape and barbed wire in 2013, but it was enough to aid the awesome offense, and the team will sporting championship rings because of it.
For Those Thinking The Yankees Are So Much Older Than The Red Sox, Think Again
With spending $503 MIL on contracts this winter, however they are not as old of a club as they were last year. That doesn’t mean the problem won’t come back in future years, it just means this is their best year to compete for some time.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I am not a Yankees fan, and am definitely not a Red Sox fan either, however it is funny how this rivalry has captivated most baseball followers.
After this winter signings have occurred, I finally decided to do some investigating, because of all the venom fired towards the Bronx Bombers.
Immediately after Carlos Beltran signed, you saw, ‘hey, the Yankees are signing old fogies again.’
I also watched as Boston Red Sox Nation piled on the New York franchise for this.
So after reviewing both rosters, guess what….Both teams have similarly aged players. It is almost dead on. Read the rest of this entry
The Boston Red Sox Payroll In 2014 + Contracts Going Forward
Dustin Pedroia is an example of how to handle your own talent as far as payment. He was signed from 2009 – 2015 , which is 7 YRs/$55 MIL, and then they extended him from 2016 – 2021 (6 YRs/$85 MIL). Being a bit of a bargain on a yearly basis, this natural leader – and former MVP, has given the franchise money flexibility for every year during the duration of his deal. The now 30 Year Old, has a Career 3 Slash of .302/.370/.823. His numbers are great for his 162 game average, with 104 Runs Scored and 194 Hits. Pedroia is pesky with his 46 Doubles, 16 HRs per year.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 & Jeff Kleiner (Org. Depth Chart Expert) Follow @prosportsroster
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Boston Red Sox pulled of a major “Hoodini Act” by freeing themselves of the long term contracts of Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Beckett in an Aug, 2012 trade.
The club used the dollars saved to reel in Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes in 2013. All of these guys were massive contributors to the 2013 World Series team.
The Beantowners still live and die by their Starting Pitching. Jon Lester and unpredicted Jon Lackey had renaissance campaigns – while Clay Buchholz cobbled enough health together for a 12 – 1, 1.74 ERA season.
Replicating their championship season will be tougher in 2014.
David Ortiz Highlights
The Boston Red Sox Players In All Organizational Affiliates, Prospects + Depth Charts (MLB + MiLB)
Jackie Bradley can go a long way to help BoSox fans forget about the departure of Jacoby Ellsbury. Known as a patient batter with tonnes of speed, and exceptional fielding, Bradley taking the next leap up to the MLB on a permanent basis would do wonder for the Red Sox in 2014. At 23, he has a Career Minor League 3 Slash of .297/.404/.876
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 & Jeff Kleiner (Org. Depth Chart Expert) Follow @prosportsroster
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It has come time for us to flip the calendar at the MLB Reports and shift gears into all of our 2014 season previews.
Each of the 30 MLB teams will have a organizational depth chart blog, a payroll blog, and 1 or 2 State of the Union Pieces from this day – all the way until the 1st day of MLB play this campaign.
We start of with the defending World Series Champions, the Boston Red Sox.
Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts Are Future Superstars
Who Owns October? (WOO) Tally Updated for October 8, 2013
Each winning team for every post season game gets a pitcher and a hitter who earn a full WOO.
And at my discretion, I award a 1/2 WOO to a worthy player on the losing team.
For a full explanation, click HERE.
From today’s games:
Receiving 1 WOO
Craig Breslow pitched 1 2/3 solid innings of relief, striking out 4 and getting the decision as the Red Sox eliminated the Rays 3-1.
Jacoby Ellsbury got on base twice, stole a base, possibly helped cause Tampa’s catcher to miss a wild pitch and scored the go ahead run in the Red Sox 3-1 clinching victory.
Doug Fister may not have been dominant, but his 6 innings prevented the A’s from pulling away and helped set up the Tigers come from behind 8-6 win.
Jhonny Peralta clubbed a 3 run homer in the 5th that tied the game helped turn a potential elimination game for the Tigers into a wild 8-6 victory against Oakland.
Receiving 1/2 WOO:
Coco Crisp collected 4 hits, scored 3 times and drove in a run, doing everything he could to lead the A’s to victory as they fell short to Detroit, 8-6.
Yunel Escobar got 3 hits and scored the Rays lone run in their 3-1 loss to the Red Sox.
Matt Moore came out of the bullpen and prevented the Red Sox from putting up much of a fight over two scoreless innings in the Rays 3-1 defeat by Boston.
Dan Straily was brilliant the first four innings and solid through 6, letting up only 4 hits, striking out 8 and walking none. It wasn’t enough as the Tigers came back to win, 8-6.
To view the Playoff Leaders for ‘Who Owned October Standings’ – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON
OR SCROLL DOWN.
Red Sox Mid-Season Update: (Pitching)
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Thursday. July.11/2013
I think it’s safe to say that Clay Buchholz is the best pitcher on the Red Sox staff. He was looking like a strong candidate for the 2013 AL Cy Young Award until he was injured. Now he is on the road back as he threw his 1st bullpen Wednesday, and his 2nd is scheduled for Friday. Then he is set to start a rehab assignment if all goes well. I’m fine with him taking his time though. He NEEDS to be healthy for the playoffs.
By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Red Sox Correspondent): Follow @ryandana1
The MLB All-Star game is nearly upon us, and technically we are already passed the halfway point in the season, so it seems like a good time to do an update on where the Red Sox stand at this point.
The Boston Red Sox currently hold a record of 56-37. They still sit in 1st place in the AL East, 3.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox have led the division for most of the season and continue to exceed all preseason expectations.
In the early part of the season, the Red Sox were winning with pitching and hitting that was statistically at the top of the MLB. That is no longer the case. Their offense is still near the top, but their pitching has fallen off.
The Red Sox currently lead the MLB in Runs (484) and OPS (.802) showing their offensive prowess. However, their pitching staff currently sits in 17th in the Majors with an ERA of (3.96), 17th in K/BB ratio (2.43), 24th in WHIP (1.35), and have the 6th most Blown Saves (14).
Boston Red Sox Organization: 2013 Team Payroll, Depth Charts + Rosters, (MLB + MiLB)
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Follow @mlbreportsThursday, June.27/2013
The Boston Red Sox started out the season 21 – 8 after their 1st 29 games, they have since gone 26 – 25, can they rectify their recent pedestrian play and hold off their 4 Division Counterparts to make the playoffs?
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website here Follow @prosportsroster
You guys are all in for a treat. Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website. He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs. We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective. If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job. So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!
Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis. After you click on it….Bookmark it. There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page. Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!
For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Red Sox Organization click here.
Buyer’s Remorse: The Failed Joel Hanrahan Experiment
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Thursday May.16/2013
It seemed like everyone was so much more excited about Hanrahan joining the Red Sox this off-season than any of their other acquisitions. Turns out his time in Boston was not only short, but memorable for all the wrong reasons. Where is Mark Melancon when you need him…Oh wait.
By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Red Sox Correspondent): Follow @ryandana1
While some people in Red Sox Nation have had concerns about the team’s offense recently, it is clear that the major worry at the moment is the bullpen.
Their starting rotation is no longer at the top of the league statistically, but it has still been good, and the offense is still at the top of the league in most categories. The Sox are 4th in the MLB in Runs Scored, and 2nd in Doubles, AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS. They’re also 1st in Triples.
The Bullpen was supposed to be a strength for the Red Sox entering the 2013 season, but it has been in shambles recently. At the forefront of the mess is Joel Hanrahan who I will talk about in-depth in a moment. First let me run through some of the other pitchers.
The Red Sox are 26th in the Majors with a 4.47 ERA from their relievers. Their BAA is .250 which is 23rd in the Majors, and they have 6 blown saves which is tied for 6th most in the MLB.
MLB Reports ‘Junior Reporter’ Haley Smilow Interviews Boston Red Sox Reliever Craig Breslow
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Follow @mlbreportsSaturday May 11th, 2013
Craig Breslow is one of the better LHP specialists in the whole game of baseball. He has appeared in 361 Games and has lugged 344.1 IP – yielding a 3.01 ERA in his Career spanning 8 seasons. With Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey hurt for the Boston Red Sox, his role in the present future will be vital. He just returned to the lineup from an inflamed shoulder. So Far the 32 Year Old from New Haven CT has a 4.50 ERA in 3 Appearances in 2013. The LHP was signed to a 2 YR Contract worth $6.25 MIL – with a Team Option for 2015 before the season began.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Haley Smilow was a busy reporter last year. So much so, that we probably wont be able to keep up with her to post them in time. In her latest interview – Haley talked to Craig Breslow (of the Boston Red Sox)… She asked him about being a Yale Grad.. Also, who is the biggest prankster he has ever encountered.
Haley pulls no punches in asking the Relief Pitcher about his life in this candid interview. Amongst other topics discussed were: What Breslow does for charity work and what advice he might have for young people.
Yale Grad Craig Breslow:
Boston Red Sox Payroll In 2013 + Contracts Going Forward
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Tuesday April.30/2013
The Red Sox dumped about $250 Million in player salaries during the 2012 campaign and have put it to good use. The remarkable thing is, not only did they dump all that salary on the Dodgers, but they also acquired some solid arms that are now honing their skills in Pawtucket. The Red Sox payroll looks much better than it did a year ago.
By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Red Sox Correspondent): Follow @ryandana1
As it stands now, the Red Sox payroll is at about $157 Million. Below I will show a list of player salaries which comprise most of the budget.
We must also remember that last summer’s blockbuster deal/salary dump on the Dodgers holds Boston responsible for $3.9 Million of the salaries in 2013 of players they traded away.
On top of that there is about $10 Million that must be figured in for benefits/incentive purposes. This list will be in descending order of salary (average annual salary to be more specific) among players on the Red Sox payroll.
David Ortiz: This Is Our —— city – Mature dialogue so Parental Guidance is a must.
Athletics 8 Game Win Streak Is Nothing New To Pattern Formed Since Last Year
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Follow @mlbreportsFriday, Apr.12/2013
Oakland Athletics’ Jed Lowrie has made Billy Beane look like a genius once again – with clubbing 16 hits, (8 of the Extra Base Variety), Scoring 10 Runs and Walking 6 times so far in the teams 8 – 2 start. He has an OPS of 1.258. He was acquired from the Houston Astros in a February trade which sent Chris Carter the other way. The man can play several defensive positions well. He is due for Arbitration at the end of this season, before becoming a Free Agent in 2015. Beane doesn’t seem to make a bad move these days.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Hands up.. How many people would have thought that the Oakland Athletics would start the 2013 season with the best record in the Major Leagues so far?
Of course this website is not surprised at all. Jonathan Hacohen (Website Founder and current Oakland A’s Correspondent) wrote a brilliant piece in the 1st week of July/2012 – breaking down Billy Beane‘s new MoneyBall Philosophy here.
I have to admit something right now.. I had not seen the movie “MoneyBall” even by this time. Yes…brutal and I was kicking myself for not seeing it before hand.
After the movie, I did some digging and was extremely flabbergasted with what I found about Beane’s magic. I wrote a Roster Tree for the Hitters and Pitchers in the organization. I studied every single transaction to back track how each of the current member of the team had arrived in an Oakland uniform. You can find that 2 part series here.
Can the Oakland A’s Do it Again in 2013 Preview:
Oakland A’s Player Roster in 2013: State Of The Union Part 2: The Pitchers
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Follow @mlbreportsSunday, Mar.24/2013
A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look for the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013. The former University of San Diego Pitcher yielded a 1.13 WHIP during his time last year. As the teams #4 Starting Pitcher on the depth chart, Griffin should be able to see some favorable matchups in 2013. If he throws like 2012 again in 2013, he might very pole vault to being the ace of the rotation. We may have another 3 – 4 staff that contend for the AL Cy Young like the days of Hudson, Mulder and Zito.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Billy Beane has always recycled his great starting pitchers once they hit the experience level that he could not pay them for. His new crop of pitchers include Jarrod Parker, Brett Anderson, Tommy Milone and new Starter A.J. Griffin.
They also are bringing back Bartolo Colon for the 2013 season, despite taking a 50 game suspension for PED use last year. Billy Beane is a master tactician on assessing a players worth and especially pitchers. Just like the hitters, the pitchers are all mostly in the 25-30 Age bracket. He has a quality set of controllable relief pitchers in the barn to close out games too.
A.J. Griffin at University of San Diego:
Pedro Martinez Rejoins The Red Sox Organization: Meets Up With Francona At Boston Book Signing
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Sunday, January.27, 2013
Tito autographs a copy of Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston’s Rise to Dominance – for his former ace pitcher.
By Saul Wisnia, Red Sox Correspondent (Read his blog ‘Fenway Reflections’ here): Follow @SaulWizz
What a roller-coaster week for Red Sox fans — enough to make you reach for the Rolaids. First came the early excerpts from former manager Terry Francona‘s book, revealing that during the 2010 offseason, Sox ownership took the advice of a media consultant to boost its sagging TV ratings by loading the team with “sexy” stars like Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. For those who looked forward to hearing Francona’s memories of the 2004 and 2007 World Series runs, this mudslinging was just another reminder of how dreadful life has been on Yawkey Way the last 15 months.
Then there were the reports that contract negotiations with free agent first baseman Mike Napoli had finally been settled — and that the early rumors of his injuries were even worse than expected. Napoli was found to have a more serious hip problem than originally thought, a development that whittled down Boston’s original three-year, $39 Million offer to one year at $5 Million – plus a ballbag full of incentives.
Terry Francona Interviews on Jan.22/2013:
Boston Red Sox Pitching Roster in 2013: State Of The Union Part 2
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Sunday, January.20, 2013
For the the Boston Red Sox State Of The Union Part 1: The Hitters blog, click here.
Clay and Jon Had Better Be On!
Lester had started his career 61-26 (.709) before he has pitched to a 24-22 record the last two seasons (.522). Lester still led the Active Pitchers in Winning Percentage before the 2012 year – but now has fallen to 7th with a Career Record of 85-48 (.639).
By Saul Wisnia, Red Sox Correspondent (Read his blog ‘Fenway Reflections’ here): Follow @SaulWizz
The fate of the 2013 Red Sox may very well lay in two sets of statistics:
Pitcher/Wins-Losses/WHIP/ERA
Jon Lester: 33-15, 1.19, 3.17
Clay Buchholz: 23-10, 1.233, 2.70
Lester: 9-14, 1.383, 4.82
Buchholz: 11-8, 1.326, 4.56
The first numbers cover the period from April 2010 through August 2011, when Lester and Buchholz were two of the best starting pitchers in the American League. “WHIP” — walks plus hits per innings pitched — has become a popular measuring stick for effectiveness.
Jon Lester Highlights:
The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 2: The Pitchers And Analyzing Mulder, Hudson and Zito Post Oakland
Sunday, Dec.02/2012
A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look to the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Yesterday we talked about the hitters of the Oakland Athletics current roster and today we will talk about their pitching. This has been an organization that has thrived on brilliant drafting of young arms. In the early 2000’s, the team featured three ace pitchers in Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder. Billy Beane had to let each of them leave Oakland because they couldn’t pay them the kind of dollars needed to secure them long term. With the exception of this year, Barry Zito has not lived up to his 7 Years and 126 Million Dollar contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants since leaving the Athletics. Despite a 15-8 year for the SF club this past year, he holds a 58-69 (.447) record for San Francisco lifetime with a 4.47 ERA. He was 102-63 (.618) and a 3.55 ERA with the A’s before leaving at the age of 29. The guy made 18.25 Million in his Oakland days and has already pocketed 99 Million with SF.
Mark Mulder never was the same pitcher in the NL and was out of baseball four years after being traded to St. Louis. His A’s career had netted him an 81-42 (.659) record with a 3.92 ERA. He was only 22-18 (.550) and a 5.04 ERA with the Cardinals before retiring. As you will read in this article below, the franchise made a worthy trade in returns for this man. Mulder made 25.3 Million in his contract with the Cardinals after making only 8.4 Million with the A’s.
Tim Hudson on the other hand, has been one of the better pitchers in the NL for the last decade, still towing the hill for the Braves at the age of 38. He was 92-39 (.702) with a 3.30 ERA for the A’s. He has since gone 105-65 with a 3.52 ERA for the Braves in in 8 years. He definitely has been worth the $ invested (84.5 Million plus another 9.0 Million in 2013.) He only made 4.5 Million in his 6 years with Oakland. The sandwich pick they landed for Hudson’s Free Agent signing was Travis Buck. Unfortunately Buck only played 170 games for the franchise, hitting .250 with 18 HRs and 71 RBI in 571 AB.
Total Record for 3 other teams is 185-152 (.549) and they have made 208.8 Million away from Oakland, whereas they were 275-144 (.656) and made a total 33.15 Million Dollars with the Athletics. I would say, Beane made the right decision in not signing them.
The Future of the Oakland A’s: The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers: Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan click here.
For The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters Click Here
The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters
Saturday, Dec.01/2012
How important was Cespedes to The A’s Lineup in 2012? They went 82-47 with him in the lineup and 12-21 without him. He was the biggest reason the team soared into the playoff race and won the AL East. Beane secured him in Free Agency before the start of last year. He is signed for 3 more years at 9 Million Dollars Per Year.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
A few months ago, our Lead Columnist/Website Founder (Jonathan Hacohen) wrote a brilliant piece about the assembly of the Oakland Athletics roster. He called it “MoneyBall 2.” Right after the piece, the A’s surged to the greatest record in the second half of the season and won the AL West. The team is now constructed of power hitters and power pitchers. The man behind it all is Billy Beane. I will not get into too much of this philosophy as you can read that piece here. What I intend to do is to show the roster of how it was comprised by Beane in the form of a roster tree. It is just like a family tree, however this shows trades dating back 2,3,4,5,6 fold etc.. in order to show you the mastery of the GM’s ability to field a roster on a limited budget.
The Future of the Oakland A’s: The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers: Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan click here.
The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 2: The Pitchers click here.
Top Ten Stat of The Week Special Trade Edition! Boston Red Sox: Payroll 2013
Thursday, Aug.30/2012
As the longest-serving Red Sox Offensive Player under contract, Dustin Pedroia needs to return to his MVP like form of a few years back for Boston to be in contention next year.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024– In one fell swoop, the Boston Red Sox went from a team with no payroll flexibility at all for years to come, to a team that only has 4 players under contract for 57.2 Million Dollars next year. It is actually around 43 Million Dollars for Dustin Pedroia (10 MIL), John Lackey ,(16 MIL) John Lester (11.6 MIL) and Clay Buchholz (5.8 MIL.) Now since they are paying about 15 Million to the Dodgers as part of the trade it takes the total up to about 57 Million. So how does the team look going forward? Not that bad actually. The have about 25 Pre-Arbitration to Arbitration Eligible Players to re-sign. A lot of them are under club control or will not fetch that much of a boost in pay. Jacoby Ellsbury will probably get a bump from the 8 Million he received this year and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will also be due a raise from the 2.5 Million in 2012 with his breakout power year. Daniel Bard is a “Super 2” Arb Eligible Player and should not be that hard to resign considering his ineffective year. The most pressing thing to do is to resolve the David Ortiz matter and then to grab a couple of free agent pitchers and a power hitting First baseman or an outfielder.
Judging from my best estimate, it looks like the Boston Red Sox will have about an 100-110 Million Dollars for all of their Arbitration players, plus the guys already signed. This leads me to David Ortiz. He should be given a 2 or 3 year contract as soon as humanly possible at 15-16 Million Dollars a Year. He was the only player in the AL to have an OPS over 1 still going into tonight. Yes he has been hurt, but ‘Big Papi’ is not finished in the MLB. Yes he will be 37 heading into next year but he has been the best DH in the AL over the last 3 years. Ortiz had said earlier this year-that he would be open to playing for other teams so the brass better make him feel wanted or he will walk! He genuinely likes Pedroia so I am sure Ortiz could be persuaded to come back. You have to at least find this out early as it will let you know how to proceed on the Free Agent Market.
Here are some David Ortiz highlights. THIS VIDEO CONTAINS CLIPS COPYRIGHTED FROM MLB ADVANCED MEDIA. MLB REPORTS DOES NOT OWN THESE CLIPS.
For Part 1 of the Trade Breakdown: The LA Dodgers 2013 Top Ten Payroll click here .
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