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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.  Tower traded away Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, Chris Young, Tyler Skaggs, Adam Eaton, Matt Davidson, Martin Prado all without much of talent brought back to the fold in return.  It was time to go.

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):

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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 Diamondbacks Hitters Were Acquired (2014 Roster Tree)

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How All Of The D’Backs Hitters Were Acquired:

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

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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

Houston Astros State Of The Union Address: Fall 2013

From 1992 - 2006, Houston was one of the best franchises in the games of baseball, not having one losing season in that time span.  They won 4 Division Titles, 8 2nd place finishes, and appeared in 6 playoffs.  After being swept in the 2005 World Series, the core got old, and the team waited too long to rebuild.  Once it was time, the management actually did a smart thing in totally gutting the entire franchise, in order to restock the Minor League System.

From 1992 – 2006, Houston was one of the best franchises in the games of baseball, not having one losing season in that time span. They won 4 Division Titles, 8 – 2nd place finishes, and appeared in 6 playoffs. After being swept in the 2005 World Series, the core got old, and the team waited too long to rebuild. Once it was time, the management actually did a smart thing in totally gutting the entire franchise, in order to restock the Minor League System.  Now with 3 105+ Loss seasons, and back to back 1st overall picks, the team has begun the process.  An ownership changed mirrored the last transference of all the remaining Veterans from the previous regime.  How long will it take for the Astros to compete again?

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

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The Astros had one of the easiest years to peg down in the game of baseball for 2013.

They were horrible early, traded away every possible Veteran that were making any kind of cash on the Major League Level, and then proceeded to be even worse after the ALL – Star Game.

The worst part of the campaign was left for the end, where they promptly lost their last 15 games – to finish with a record of 51 – 111.

It was their 3rd straight 100+ Loss season.  But overlooking the obvious is that they actual drew a few more fans in 2013 – compared to 2012.

That was more a symptom of the club moving to the American League.  At least they were not last in the league for Attendance, like payroll.

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The Houston Astros Payroll in 2014 + Organization: Affiliates, Prospects + Depth Charts (MLB + MiLB)

The Astros have scaled their Payroll to miniscule proportions.  As of this minute, the players they have signed - that aren't on entry level deals, equals $4.37 MIL, and that is if the club picks up their Team Option on Philip Humber for 2014.  The only other player that makes more than an entry level is Jose Altuve at $1.37 MIL in 2014.  The club is paying more in dead money to Wandy Rodriguez ($5.5 MIL in 2014) as part of the 2012 Trade worked out between clubs.

The Astros have scaled their Payroll to miniscule proportions. As of this minute, the players they have signed – that aren’t on entry level deals, equals $4.37 MIL, and that is if the club picks up their Team Option on Philip Humber for 2014. The only other player that makes more than an entry level is Jose Altuve at $1.37 MIL in 2014. The club is paying more in dead money to Wandy Rodriguez ($5.5 MIL in 2014) as part of the 2012 Trade worked out between clubs.  It has been bantered about that the ownership and management are willing to spend some money in Free Agency for 2014.  MLB currently does not have a floor for Team Salary in the current CBA, so why would the club do that until they are ready to compete?

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): and Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website  here  

A 3rd straight season with 105+ Losses, and 15 straight losses to finish the 2013 campaign does not give the fans very much to look forward to in 2014.

I am here to tell you that the MLB should be ashamed of letting the Houston Astros field such an incompetent team.

Having said this, I don’t personally blame them for tanking it over the last 3 years.  They are the other ‘extreme’ – of what the New York Yankees and LA Dodgers have done payroll wise.

Last season at the end of the year, their highest paid player for the Active Roster was Erik Bedard, making $1.1 MIL.

If they keep picking 1st overall, it is only a matter of time before the team becomes very good, just like the Rays, Nationals, Twins and Pirates have all done in recent times.

For the Up to Date Roster for the Astros all year around, please visit Jeff’s Website right here

For the Entire Page of teams links we have dedicated to Payroll, Rosters, Depth Chart, State Of the Unions and Roster Trees, please click right here. Please bookmark this page and check back, as we are busy on the analysis at MLB Reports always.

Jose Altuve Highlights

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2012 Trade Deadline Update #6 7/29: Lirano to the White Sox, Johnson to D-Backs, and More

Sunday July 29th, 2012

Bernie Olshansky: Here are some of the latest key baseball trades that have taken place over the last 24 hours:

Francisco Liriano to the White Sox

After losing out on Greinke, the White Sox needed to make a move. Their pitching needed an extra boost. Chris Sale hasn’t been himself his last two starts, giving up five earned runs in each, and Jake Peavy has been on and off lately, going 1-2 in his past three starts. Although Liriano has for the most part had a terrible year, holding a 3-10 record with an atrocious 5.31 ERA, he hasn’t been all that bad in his last few starts (excluding his last start against Chicago—2.2 innings, seven earned runs),striking out 10 and 15 in the two starts before facing Chicago. The White Sox are hoping that Liriano will continue his turnaround and help them reach the playoffs. This could be tough for the White Sox though; the Tigers seem to have the makings of a playoff team to not make the playoffs, and the AL West looks like it could produce three playoff teams as of now. But, with all this, Chicago does look promising after the acquisition of Kevin Youkilis earlier in the year. Adam Dunn has returned to form, hitting more home runs and striking out just as much. It looks like the White Sox will have a good shot to play in October. Read the rest of this entry

Interview with Arizona Diamondbacks Outfield Prospect Marc Krauss

Friday July 27th, 2012

Codey Harrison: Arizona Diamondbacks AA outfielder Marc Krauss joined us recently to talk some baseball. Krauss was Arizona’s second round pick of the 2009 first year player draft from the University of Ohio. Since being drafted, Krauss has played at various minor league levels: Low A South Bend, High-A Visalia, and 2 seasons at AA Mobile. For the last 3 seasons, Krauss has been ranked as one of the Diamondbacks top prospects by most baseball analysts. Marc Krauss is a corner outfielder/ first baseman, who brings big time power, as well as very good plate discipline to the plate. In 2012 with the AA BayBears, Krauss is posting solid offensive numbers: .289/.420/.521, 15 HRs, 61 RBIs.

Get to know baseball prospect Marc Krauss, as we proudly feature our interview with the rising star in the Arizona Diamondbacks system:

Codey – With some pro athletes you hear about them being multiple sport stars in high school, did you play any other sports in high school? If so how do you feel that they helped you with baseball?

Marc Krauss – “Yes I played football and basketball in high school along with baseball, so I was pretty busy in high school. I loved it though, being able to compete in all the sports. I grew up in a small town and there were not enough athletes to really specialize in one or two sports, so everyone pretty much played something year round. I definitely think it made me a better baseball player because it kept me active and I became a better overall athlete. And also when you’re in tough situations in any sport and can learn how to handle success or failure and pressure, it only benefits you in the other sports.” Read the rest of this entry

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