MLB Reports

Sunday May 27th, 2012

Jonathan Hacohen: Posted every Weekend: Your top baseball questions from the past week are answered. E-mail all questions to mlbreports@me.com, message us on Twitter, post on our Facebook Wall and leave comments on our website! There are many ways to reach us and we will get to your questions from all social media outlets!

Let’s get to your top questions of the week:

Q: What do you think about Honolulu (for MLB expansion)? They would get so many people during the summer for vacation. Robert

JH: Robert! I don’t think a week goes by where I don’t receive a question from you on MLB expansion. You know that it is one of my favorite topics- so inevitably, we end up discussing it seemingly at least once on ATR every week. Honolulu now…that is interesting. As we discussed in previous expansion talks, Major League Baseball will consider many factors in its next round of expansion. Population base and the availability of fans for games will be one key factor. Honolulu has apparently 337,000 residents while Hawaii itself is closing in on 1,000,000. Not bad. Not bad at all. But even with a strong population base, we would have to be realistic on the area. Travel will be a killer. Which division would we even consider putting them in? The climate would be perfect though. Nice and dry in the summer, warm but not overbearing. A very population destination for tourists, but with most trying to enjoy sun and beaches, I am not sure how baseball would go over as a tourist attraction.

Ultimately, distance will be the killer. Also, taxes I understand may be an issue as well. Les Murakami Stadium in Honalulu is home to the University of Hawaii baseball team. The stadium holds 4,312 and has turf. Guess what? A new stadium will need to be built to accommodate MLB. Will that happen? Many of the other candidates for MLB expansion will need to build a stadium as well. But at least those areas have a decent shot at a team. To get a good stadium, you need a rich owner with a supportive community willing to subsidize the venture. Hawaii folded its winter league in 2008, but I have read reports it could return. If the area could not keep the winter league, I think MLB expansion would be a tough sell. But if nothing else, distance is the killer. You can have one team in Hawaii and expect all the other teams in the league (especially in the division) to travel such a distance. Ten hours from Hawaii to NYC? No thanks. We need to be creative in thinking MLB expansion, but Honolulu is reaching a little too far. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: anaheim, ask the reports, atr, baseball, baseball questions, bullpen, cooperstown, dwight evans, el duque, expansion, hall of fame, hawaii, honolulu, houston astros, interleague play, jordan walden, los angeles angels, mlb, mlb expansion, orlando hernandez, quality start, red sox, scott downs

Jesus Montero: Mariners Franchise Player of the Future?

May 24

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

Thursday May 24, 2012

Ryan Ritchey (Baseball Writer): Jesus Montero is not a guy that gets a lot of attention because he plays for Seattle, but he did get my attention. Montero is one of the better players in the American League and he is going to continue to show his excellence throughout the rest of this season. Montero came to Seattle from the Yankees in exchange for Michael Pineda, who is done for the year…and maybe longer. The big question is whether the Mariners got the better part of the deal. No one will know the answer to this question for at least another couple of years. But as of right now, I believe they did. This is why.

Montero, who should be moved from the catcher position in the next couple of seasons to either first base or DH, will be more durable than Pineda, who is coming off surgery. As long as Montero stays relatively healthy, he will be the kind of player who can hit 25 homers every season. We are just a month and a half into the season and the young slugger already has 6. Not putting too much pressure on him but he is on my fantasy team. So he better produce! His RBI numbers will be down though as he plays on a team with terrible overall offensive production, including an inability to score runs.

The other big question that comes along with Montero is his strikeout to walk ratio. With 38 strikeouts to only 9 walks so far this season, the Mariners should be a little alarmed. With that many strikeouts he is not helping out the team very much as far as getting on base consistently. You can be a 25 homer guy but if your average is around .24o for the season with an OBP under .300, that isn’t a very good overall season. Any general manager is going to want a guy that can hit for average, power and take the occasional walk. A player that does day-in and day-out is Joey Votto and he just got a great contract from the Reds. Production pays off for everyone in the long run.

For Montero to get that big contract one day and to get Seattle into the playoffs as soon as possible, he is going to need to produce and show he can put the ball in play consistently. Nothing against the Mariners, but reality is that this not the team a big time hitter normally chooses to play on from his initiative. Montero if he evolves as a player, could one day end up in Boston to replace Ortiz when he retires. But that is just my opinion. For now, Montero is a player to watch out for. He could do very big things in the near future. The Mariners are counting on Montero to fill the shoes of their current franchise player, Ichiro Suzuki as he prepares for retirement likely one day soon. Until then, Montero will need to grow and develop into the player that the Mariners and the rest of the baseball world think that he can be.

Ryan Ritchey is a Baseball Writer for MLB reports. I am a high school senior, play second base and plan on studying sports journalism in college. I am a huge fan of Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips. Have been a baseball fan my whole life and have been writing about baseball since freshman year. You can reach me on Twitter(@Ryan13Ritchey)

Please e-mail us at: mlbreports@me.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitterand become a fan on Facebook. To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

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Tags: baseball, boston, catcher, david ortiz, ichiro suzuki, jesus montero, michael pineda, mlb, new york yankees, ortiz, red sox, seattle mariners

The Boston Red Sox Are Falling Apart

May 8

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

theFollow @mlbreports

Tuesday May 8, 2012

Ryan Ritchey: The Boston Red Sox since last September have been a team that has been falling apart. Ever since the report that pitchers were drinking in the clubhouse (and eating fried chicken), the team hasn’t been the same. After the season, Theo Epstein decided not to bring back Terry Francona… and then left the Red Sox himself. With this being said, the Sox had several holes to fill. First the general manager. This hole was filled by none other than Ben Cherington. Cherington had a lot of pressure placed on him to perform and to win. His first big job was to hire a manager to get the job done. He went and got Bobby Valentine. Bobby Valentine in my opinion was not a good hire for the Red Sox and judging by the Red Sox current record, most would agree.

You can put the blame on many people for the Red Sox woes this early in the season. Not only is it the fault of the manager, but it also goes on the players as they are the ones that play the game. Dustin Pedroia is one of the hardest working players in the league and doesn’t take a day off so it can’t fall on his shoulders (or Big Papi’s). But many of the Red Sox hitters need to be accountable. Mostly though, you could blame the pitching. In my opinion it is the pitching that is causing this down fall for Boston.

Josh Beckett has the best ERA from any starter in the rotation and he is 30th in the American League with a 4.45 ERA. With that number alone, you aren’t going to win many games. The Red Sox have a great offense but giving up that many runs per start you aren’t going to get many wins. Even when the starters throw a decent game, the bullpen usually ends up giving up runs on many nights and losing the game. If the Red Sox are going to do anything this season, Cherington better go find some pitching or it is going to be a long season for Red Sox Nation.

Another big reason the Red Sox are playing like they are is Adrian Gonzalez. Epstein went out and got Gonzalez from San Diego thinking he would be the best hitter in the American League. He was that player for one season but that is no longer the case. We are a little over a month into the season and Gonzalez only has 2 home runs and 16 RBI. For a power guy like Gonzalez, those numbers are subpar to say the least. His power numbers are down and he hasn’t been showing up in big games against the Rays and Yankees as he did last year. Not only are his power numbers down, his average is a “whopping” .270. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: adrian gonzalez, AL East, baseball, ben cherington, bobby valentine, boston red sox, clay buchholz, josh beckett, mlb, offense, pitching, red sox, theo epstein

The Latest on the 2012 Red Sox Bullpen

Apr 15

Posted by samevans87

Sunday April 15th, 2012

Sam Evans: The Boston Red Sox are in trouble. The A.L. East looks as strong as ever with four out of the five teams talented enough to make the playoffs. The Red Sox will have problems keeping up with the rest of the East due to some crucial injuries that they’ve suffered. First, the Red Sox just lost their best outfielder, Jacoby Ellsbury, for who knows how long. Also, Carl Crawford might be out until May. Maybe longer. A shaky bullpen is suffering from the loss of Jonathan Papelbon (free agency), Daniel Bard (moved to the rotation), and Andrew Bailey (injury), which does not help the Red Sox stay in contention. Some of their relief pitchers as a result need to step it up.

Other than the abysmal Orioles, the Red Sox have the worst bullpen in the A.L. East. The majority of their relief pitchers are unproven pitchers who don’t belong in a top-tier bullpen. Currently, the Red Sox plan to have Alfredo Aceves closing out games. Aceves has been considered a long reliever for most of his career and this past offseason, the Red Sox even contemplated trying Aceves out in the rotation. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: adrian gonzalez, alfredo aceves, andrew bailey, baseball, bobby valentine, bullpen, carl crawford, closer, daniel bard, david ortiz, jacoby ellsbury, mark melancon, mlb, red sox, vincente padilla

Daniel Bard: Future Red Sox Ace?

Thursday March 15, 2012

Rob Bland (Baseball Writer): With most of Red Sox Nation knowing that big time closer Jonathan Papelbon would be leaving the team via free agency after the 2011 season, many thought that it would be a seamless transition to throw Daniel Bard into the mix as the closer for the foreseeable future. However, new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington surprised many when he announced that Bard would be stretched out as a starter in the spring.

Now, it’s not the first time a good reliever has been turned into a starter, and many of them have turned into useful starters. C.J. Wilson is just one of these successful conversions, having been the Texas Rangers’ closer from 2007-2009, then shifting into the rotation for 2010 and 2011. Wilson earned 46 saves in those 3 seasons, and after his move to the rotation, he went 31-15 and accumulated 10.5 WAR, putting him in the upper echelon of starters.

This year, another closer for the Rangers will be shifting to the rotation in Neftali Feliz. Many believe that he will struggle. But if C.J. Wilson, who was a decent reliever can do it, why not Feliz? Why not Bard?

Bard has an electric fastball, averaging over 97 mph over his MLB career. He also has a solid slider that sits around 84 mph. Bard has induced ground balls at an extremely high rate; 48.6% over 197 IP. Bard has lowered his walk rate, as well as HR/FB while maintaining an extremely low BABIP over the last two seasons, .215 and .224, respectively.

Bard hasn’t started a game since 2007 when he was in single-A ball. He threw 75 innings of 7.08 ERA, striking out 47 and walking 78. Obviously a lot of those control issues are behind him, as evidenced by his shrinking BB/9; 4.01, 3.62, and 2.96 in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. Bard has been able to get guys out with a fastball that touches 100 mph, and a plus slider. The problem here is that he only ever threw one inning at a time, and thus rarely needed a third pitch. According to brooksbaseball.net, in 2011, Bard threw his change-up 83 times, which is only 7.5% of all his pitches, in contrast to 64% on his fastball, and 25% on his slider. He also threw 46 sinkers, around 4.1%.

In such a small sample size of changeups, one should definitely not get too excited over the results. However, in 2011, Bard fared pretty well with his change-up. He was able to induce swings on 48.19% of his changeups, and 25% of those were swing-and-misses. His changeup was put in play 23% of the time, and had a ground ball rate of 63%.

In no way does this mean it is a good changeup. However, it does seem promising. It is also possible that Bard just throws them at the most opportune time, and delivers when necessary. It could also mean that he is incredibly lucky.

With Bard having to throw 6+ innings every 5^th day, how will his arm hold up moving to the rotation? Most relievers have a limit in their first years starting as to how many innings they will throw.

Brandon Morrow was moved to the rotation full time when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, and was shut down after 146 innings in 2010, and threw only 179 innings in 2011. This year, there will be no limitations on the hard throwing righty, whose profile closely fits that of Bard. Morrow can get his fastball in the upper 90s as well as having a devastating slider. His success has been only moderate due to mediocre offerings in his curve ball and changeup.

Bard’s development as a starter rests mostly on the development of his changeup. If he is able to use it more often and maintain success with it, he could be a solid starter this year and going forward. The other extremely important thing to look at is whether new manager Bobby Valentine will limit his innings, or let him go for the full season, as the Rangers did with Wilson in 2010 (204 IP).

I see Bard throwing somewhere around 170 innings this year, and performing fairly well, getting acclimated to throwing every 5^th day. His changeup is developing, and if he harnesses it, he could be a deadly addition to a rotation that includes Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholz.

***Today’s feature was prepared by Baseball Writer, Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***

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Posted on March 15, 2012 | Image

Ask the Reports: Your Baseball Questions Answered – Sunday January 22nd, 2012

Jan 22

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Sunday January 22nd, 2012

Jonathan Hacohen: Posted every Weekend: Your top baseball questions from the past week are answered. E-mail all questions to mlbreports@gmail.com, message us on Twitter and post on our Facebook Wall!

Let’s get to your top questions of the week:

Q: Pirates chances in the semi-weakened NL Central this year? John

MLB reports: Great question John. Many Pirates fans are very hopeful this year. But in the opening may not be as clear as some would think. Houston we have to figure is in rebuilding mode and heading to the AL West in 2013. That leaves the Cardinals, Reds, Brewers and Cubs as the main competitors. The Cubs are going to be better, but still have ways away. New management needs time to rebuild the farm and create a lineup in the image that they foresee. That leaves the Reds, Cardinals and Brewers. Even assuming that Prince Fielder is gone and Ryan Braun is lost to suspension, the Brewers are incredibly strong. Gallardo and Greinke to head up the rotation, Axford and Rodriguez at the back of the pen. The Brewers are unlikely to make the playoffs, but will still be in the race. Same goes with the Cardinals, sans Pujols and La Russa. They still have an offense led by Holliday, Berkman and Beltran, with one of the best rotations heads in Carpenter and Wainwright. They will be finding their way this year, but the Cardinals are still the defending champs. Lastly, the Reds will be the team to beat. Latos will now be their ace and Ryan Madson the closer. In between, this team is fairly stacked and can hurt you in so many ways, led by Votto and Phillips. The best that I can see the Pirates finish is 3rd…and that is a long-shot. To me, I see 4th place as being the likely scenario with anything higher being gravy. As far as anything higher? Wait 2 years or so until their farm starts harvesting some really key prospects to the majors.

Q: Question on ’13 HoF vote. Do most of the voters believe Barry Bonds was a HoF’er before using (clear/cream) possible PEDs? Old Man Mack

MLB reports: There is no doubt in most “experts” minds that Barry Bonds was going to Cooperstown before the whole performance enhancing drugs issue arose. Before bulking up in San Francisco and reinventing himself as the home run champion, Barry Bonds was one of the best players in the game. He could do it all and was one of the best 5-tool players the game ever saw. But the reality is that most voters will not look or think in that manner. All they will remember is Balco and the question marks that surround Bonds. Looking at the McGwire and Juan Gonzalez vote totals, I am seeing writers that are not prepared to vote in certified or even heavily suspected PED users. The vote on Bonds, like Roger Clemens, will be very interesting. Without clear criteria and guidelines, voters won’t know which way to go. Some will vote Bonds in, by consideration that he was a worthy candidate even before the Balco mess. Others will consider that he did use PEDs and as a result, should not go to Cooperstown. If Bonds gets 50% of the vote based on what I’m hearing, I will consider that a high total. The 2013 Hall of Fame ballot will be one of the most difficult ones in history. We all look forward to seeing what will transpire.

Q: Are the Red Sox in a rebuilding year or waiting on a certain sign from the Baseball Gods to replenish the rotation and the B-pen? Nick

MLB reports: LOL. The Red Sox are never rebuilding. They may have a new manager and GM, but they are still the Red Sox. Adrian Gonzalez. Jacoby Ellsbury. Dustin Pedroia. Josh Beckett. Kevin Youkilis. This team still has the horses to make a run for a playoff berth. Yes, they just traded away Marco Scutaro, in a rumored attempt to make a run at Roy Oswalt. So no, the Red Sox are not waiting for any signs. They are just staying in a budget and putting the best team that they can put together within their means. Their bullpen is still loaded to the max. Andrew Bailey, Mark Melancon and Daniel Bard (if he doesn’t win a rotation spot). These Red Sox are maybe one starting pitcher away. Some tweaking may still be ahead…but rebuilding, no no no. Far from it.

Q: Do you think Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander Deserved to win the AL MVP Award last Season? Pitchers don’t win MVP Awards often! Marty

MLB reports: Another great question Marty. You always ask the right questions! Let’s take it another way: if I had a vote, would I have given Justin Verlander the MVP award. Absolutely- yes. I have heard all the arguments why pitchers should not win the MVP award. They have their own award- it’s called the CY Young award. They don’t play everyday and thus are not as valuable as top hitters. It goes on and on. I get it. In 2011, the fact remains that Verlander was the most valuable player on his team. Look at the stats- they are mind boggling. 24 wins in 34 starts. 2.40 ERA. 251 innings pitched. 250 strikeouts and only 57 walks allowed. A 0.920 WHIP. The man won the pitching triple crown and dominated hitters consistently all year long. If you take Verlander off the team, they do not make the playoffs. There were many great players in the American League last year. Jose Bautista. Adrian Gonzalez. Jacoby Ellsbury. Curtis Granderson. But until they make a hitters-only award, the Most Valuable Player award means any player. That player was Justin Verlander in 2011 and yes, he definitely deserved his award.

Final Question: I hope the A’s make Playoffs this year! That would be Something special! Eric

MLB reports: Eric. Eric. Eric. I love your passion and commitment to your team. But I am sorry to be the one to tell you this- ain’t happening. The A’s are in yet another rebuilding mode. The team was destined for 3rd or 4th place before trading Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey. Not to mention the losses of Josh Willingham and Hideki Matsui. The return of Coco Crisp just won’t cut it. While the Mariners should be an improved squad, the A’s have a ton of young talent that will come together in 3-4 years. I’m sure all A’s fans would love a pennant. For now, they will need to settle for last place and a chance at a high draft pick. Until the stadium issue is resolved and the team can figure out a permanent and financially viable stadium option, winning Oakland baseball will continue to be a rarity for the foreseeable future.

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Jonathan Hacohen is the Lead Baseball Columnist & Editor for MLB reports: You can follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JHacohen) Follow @mlbreports

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Tags: barry bonds, baseball, cooperstown, hall of fame, justin verlander, mlb, oakland athletics, peds, pirates, red sox, steroids, tigers

Ask the Reports: Your Baseball Questions Answered – Monday January 9th, 2012

Jan 9

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Monday January 9th, 2012

Let’s get to your top questions of the week:

Q: With Prince probably going to the Nats, where do you think it places them in the NL East? Are they ready to compete for a playoff spot? Wade

MLB reports: Great question Wade. Despite the reports (and there are plenty), Prince Fielder to Washington is far from a done deal. In the world of Scott Boras, a mystery team could appear at any time. That being said, let’s assume for this exercise that Prince becomes a National in 2012. Given the strength of the Phillies rotation, the improved Marlins and always steady Braves squads, the Nationals would still be in tough. The Nationals could hit .500, but would not yet be ready for a playoff run. Once they have Strasburg firing on all cylinders and Bryce Harper integrated fully into the majors, the story could change. The Nationals are sitting on one of the best farm systems in all of baseball. Adding Prince Fielder makes them a serious playoff contender by 2014 at the latest. They will go from a good team to a possibly a great one. Prince has done it in Milwaukee with the right squad and could replicate his success in Washington soon.

Q: Does Beltran even come close to filling the void that Pujols left? Kevin

MLB reports: No. No. And no. Did I say no? Because I meant no. Carlos Beltran is a good player. But let’s face facts. Aside from his magical playoff run in Houston, he has never been a top player in baseball. He has shown superstar numbers, but given his age and declining health, the Cardinals would simply be happy if he can stay healthy. At best, the Cardinals would get another Berkman type season out of Beltran in 2012. Albert Pujols is one of a kind. A Babe Ruth type slugger. Carlos Beltran is simply a good player that will provide steady production for a lineup that needs to fill a big void. The bigger question is whether the rest of the lineup will pick up the slack. Can Freese continue his breakout? Will Furcal stay healthy? Can Matt Holliday be the main producer in St. Louis? Can Lance Berkman duplicate his 2011 season? Many ifs…too many for my liking. Carlos Beltran helps part of the issue, but is far from the answer in how the Cardinals will play in the post-Pujols era.

Q: Any chance Madson will return to his 8th inning role for the Phillies? Sam

MLB reports: I can’t see this happening. Ryan Madson is not likely to return to Philadelphia. With Jonathan Papelbon entrenched with his old job, Madson will at least need to take a job where he has a chance to win the closer role. Not to mention that Madson’s wife had certain choice words a year ago about playing in Philadelphia. At the time I felt that the Madsons had burned their bridge with the team and I have not changed my opinion since. Madson will need to move on and possibly take a set-up role somewhere. But one where the closer is more volatile and an opening is likely to open up. After the contract fiasco in Philadelphia, a return to the Phillies would be like him coming with his tail between his legs. Pride alone will lead to a new team for Madson in 2012.

Q: Any thoughts on tolleson being the closer for the dodgers by 2013? And when do you see Hutchinson joining the jays (ceiling)? Justin

MLB reports: Considering he was drafted in the 30th round of the 2010 draft, Shawn Tolleson is looking like an absolute steal for the Dodgers. After passing through 3 levels last season, ending in AA, Tolleson is certainly knocking on the door. I can’t see why he doesn’t make the big leagues at some point next season. If he can continue his superior numbers, we could be seeing a set-up man in 2013 and possible closer. I would say 2014 is a more realistic timeline for a full-time closing position, but it will depend on how he pitches at higher levels. Based on the body of work so far, the sky is the limit on this kid. In Toronto, Drew Hutchinson is another kid on the fast-track. A 15th round pick in 2009, Hutchinson has been a dominant starter from day one. At age 21 and finishing last season in AA, I would say 2013 is a realistic timeline for Drew. He clearly has the stuff to succeed. But he is very young and the Jays will not want to risk burning him out by rushing him too soon. Ceiling? From everything he has done so far, I see a solid #3 starter on a contending squad. Good strikeouts and low walk rates are always a recipe for success.

Q: What’s your favorite baseball movie of all time? Lindsay

MLB reports: I love almost every baseball movie that I have seen. Not a big fan of Mr. 3000 and even Mr. Baseball was so-so. There are too many good ones in my opinion. But if I had to pick one, I would go with For Love of the Game. There was something very special and real about that movie that really brought out a great deal of emotion out of me. For a recent film, Moneyball was fantastic. I can’t wait to own it on DVD (in stores Tuesday January 10th, 2012). After I watch it a dozen times or so, we will see where it ranks on my list. It is top-five for sure and could rise even higher. Major League for sure makes the list as well, as does Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and The Rookie. But give me For Love of the Game anytime and I will be a happy camper.

Q: Who do you have starting opening day for the Royals? Jonathan Sanchez? Michael

MLB reports: Good question from one of our top KC readers. My answer will surprise you. The Royals have Luke Hochevar listed at the top spot right now. Sanchez is seen by many as the likely ace for 2012. I think spring training will answer best which arm is in the best shape and looks the strongest to lead the team. If I had to be a dollar right now, my money is on Bruce Chen. I see the Royals leaning on the veteran to guide their young up-and-coming rotation going into the season. I am a Hochevar supporter, but I am not seeing a big upside as of right now. Chen has been very good since joining the Royals and I see him getting the nod in April for opening day.

Q: Any idea what’s going on with Pudge Rodriguez? Nick

MLB reports: Pudge will be back in 2012. I was told that he has been working hard in winter ball and is in great game shape. Speaking to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (a neighbor of Ivan Rodriguez in Florida), Pudge is in training and gearing up for the season. I don’t see Pudge starting, but he will be a veteran backup on a squad. The list of available jobs is dwindling, but a team will take a flier on him soon. Perhaps a return to the Nationals. Tigers? Angels? Otherwise, if a catcher goes down, Pudge will be one of the first free agent catchers to get the call. The career is definitely winding down for the future hall-of-famer. I can definitely see him getting a contract in place before the start of spring training.

Q: Why does the winning team only give high 5s to each other and not the other team after the game? Javaman

MLB reports: This is one tradition that I still enjoy in baseball. Teams are supposed to go into battle. Players are supposed to go onto the field looking to win, not make friends. Heck, it bothers me when a baserunner and a first baseman get chatty after a base hit. When a baseball team wins, they will rejoice and celebrate as a squad. The losing team wants to get off the field and into the clubhouse as soon as possible. When a team loses, the last thing they want to do is shake hands and socialize with the team that just beat them. They want to recoup and prepare for the next game. Old time mentality and I like it.

Q: Who is the next big star (besides Prince) to get a $200 mil+ contract? Martin

MLB reports: I don’t even see Prince getting $200 million at this point to be honest. There are very few guys that I could see getting a contract of that magnitude. Going to the list, I am drawing blanks. Josh Hamilton is too injured to get there. Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw might, but teams are generally not interested in handing out unlimited years and money to pitchers. Perhaps Joey Votto will have a chance. Otherwise, we will literally have to wait until the Stephen Strasburgs and Bryce Harpers of this world are eligible for free agency. If I had to throw out one another name, maybe Mike Stanton one day. To reach the $200 million club, you need to be one of the best, if not THE best in the game. Quite frankly, there is just too much risk in handing out deals of that size. Show me the next Babe Ruth and maybe I will change my mind. Until then, expect more $100+ million deals, but not $200 million.

Last Q: With a lack of spending this offseason are the Yankees getting ready to buck up for Hamels/Cain next offseason? Chris

MLB reports:That certainly seems like the plan. But it is a risky plan. A very risky plan that could backfire. Sure, C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira found their way to New York. But remember Cliff Lee? He certainly did not work out well for the Yankees. Holding back for such a contingency plan is risky on many fronts. Perhaps the desired player gets injured. Or signs a long-term deal with their current squad. Better yet, the player hits free agency and joins a different team all-together. So while I could see the Yankees waiting for a better group of free agents to be available, there is no guarantees that those players will ultimately land in New York. The decision to hold off on spending this offseason is more based on the overall talent level and asking prices. If there was the right player at the right price on the market currently, the Yankees would grab him. The team would rather go with what they have then take on a bad contract with little return. Next year could find a better talent level available to the Yankees in the form of Cole Hamels and Matt Cain. But as the old saying goes: you have to play for today, because tomorrow might never come. If any of the future free agents do end up signing with the Yankees, it will be a bonus for the team. But to count on it is a pathway to disappointment. The offseason is not over yet, another free agent signing or trade could be in the works. Until opening day is upon us, a lot can still happen. Thank you for reading MLB reports and we appreciate your question.

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Jonathan Hacohen is the Lead Baseball Columnist & Editor for MLB reports: You can follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JHacohen) Follow @mlbreports

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Tags: baseball, carlos beltran, cole hamels, for love of the game, ivan rodriguez, jonathan sanchez, kansas city royals, matt cain, mlb, moneyball, new york yankees, philadelphia phillies, prince fielder, red sox, ryan madson, washington nationals

What to do with the Red Sox Bullpen?

Jan 4

Posted by samevans87

Wednesday January 4th, 2012

Sam Evans: The Red Sox new management has already made a lot of moves to bolster their pitching staff this offseason. The one main idea that new General Manager Ben Cherington has brought to the Sox this year is competition. The Red Sox are looking for as many players to compete not only for a rotation spot, but for a chance to be the Red Sox closer in 2012.

My first reaction to hearing that Boston wanted to move Alfredo Aceves to the rotation was very negative. Aceves is a 29 year-old reliever who throws a fastball in the low nineties. Last year, Aceves threw 114 innings and had a 2.61 ERA. Going into Spring Training, the Red Sox are going to try out Aceves in the rotation. There is no way to know whether or not this move is going to work, but it’s a risky move for sure. Nonetheless, if the Red Sox only have Aceves throw one hundred and fifty innings this season, his workload would not be dramatically increased from 2011.

This past Wednesday, the Red Sox and A’s confirmed a five player trade which sent 2009 AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey to Boston. The Red Sox made it clear that they acquired Bailey to be their closer, and only that. Bailey has a lengthy injury history which is not good for a 27-year-old. He made the 2009 and 2010 All-Star teams but in 2011, he struggled due to his injuries. The Red Sox can always move Bard back to the closer spot if needbe, but for the time being it’s Bailey’s job to lose.

Daniel Bard was always waiting to take Jonathan Papelbon‘s closer role. Now, with Papelbon signing a 4- year, $50 million deal with the Phillies, one would think that Bard would slide into the back-end of the bullpen. With the Bailey acquisition, the Red Sox have made it crystal clear that Bard is heading to the rotation. In my opinion, this is not a great idea because Bard always struggled as a starter and doesn’t appear able to handle the workload. If everything goes wrong for Bard as a starter during Spring Training, he will take to becoming the Sox setup man. However, if Bard’s nasty slider can propel him to a successful spring, then he will replace the injured John Lackey and take over as Boston’s fifth starter.

The Red Sox haven’t improved much, if any at any other position other than their bullpen this offseason. I don’t like the trade that the Red Sox made, trading Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland for Mark Melancon. But Melancon is a nice piece to have in your bullpen. The former Yankee took advantage of Houston’s sparse bullpen last year, collecting twenty saves with a 2.78 ERA. If Bard stays in the rotation, Melancon will be the setup man. Otherwise, he will probably slide into the 7th inning role. Keep in mind that GM Ben Cherington and new manager Bobby Valentine have not ruled out the possibility that Melancon could close in 2012.

The Red Sox have other options in their bullpen, but none as strong as the previous four. Franklin Morales is a young one-time Baseball America top-ten prospect that has never had success with any breaking pitches. Bobby Jenks is due to make six million dollars in 2012, but he’s fallen off a cliff since 2009. Maybe the Sox saw the Yankees looking victorious with their big man, (C.C. Sabathia) and they took a chance on Jenks. Matt Albers, Scott Atchison, and Alex Wilson could all see time in the bullpen this year, but none pose a serious threat to take over the closer job.

Overall, the Red Sox have shown great effort this offseason to improve their bullpen. Despite losing their most valuable relief arm, the Sox have improved the quality of their bullpen across the board. The Red Sox have a big year coming in 2012, and with the recent additions to the their bullpen, it’s starting to look like they’ll be back in the playoffs once again.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter***

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

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Tags: bailey, bard, baseball, bullpen, closer, jenks, lackey, lowrie, melancon, mlb, morales, papelbon, red sox, sabathia

A Tribute to Jamie Moyer: Life Begins After 30

Dec 10

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Saturday December 10, 2011

Doug Booth- Guest Baseball Writer: In May of 1993, Jamie Moyer had spent the previous year entirely in the Minor Leagues with the Detroit Tigers and wondered if his signing with Baltimore Orioles in the offseason was a mistake. At that point in his career Moyer had posted a career won-loss record of 34-54 (.405) with the Cubs, Rangers and Cardinals. He was a soft-tossing Left Handed Pitcher who struggled with giving up home runs. Jamie was called up May.30/1993 by the O’s and began to pitch himself into respectability the next 3 seasons with Baltimore-achieving a 25-22 record. Baltimore was a contending team in the American League and thought Moyer was not going to help them with a championship bid the following year so they released him after the 1995 season. Boston signed him for the 1996 season. Moyer started out in the bullpen 7-1 that year and was later traded to the Mariners for Darren Bragg. It would be a trade that would give Jamie a new lease on life.

The Seattle Mariners were a powerhouse team back then with the likes of Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and a young phenom SS in Alex Rodriguez. The team had plenty of offense and just enough defense to help Moyer go 6-2 the rest of the 1996 season-to help his record to 13-3 overall that year which led the Major Leagues for winning percentage (.813). Moyer was a perfect complimentary pitcher to Randy Johnson went it came to style contrast. Johnson threw in the mid-nineties and buttered up the opposition-and Moyer was the perfect change of pace with crafty off-speed tossing. In 1997, Jamie Moyer went 17-5 with a respectable 3.86 ERA, that was not bad considering the Mariners played at an offence friendly Kingdome for half of the time. The next three years Jamie still went 42-27, but his ERA had crept up to 5.49 in 2000, which was more than a run and a half higher during his Mariners career. Jamie Moyer had still proved his critics wrong with his career renaissance. He was turning 38 in that offseason. The Mariners had moved into Safeco Field despite losing star players of Ken Griffey, Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez in consecutive years. The team looked to be in transition. Jamie still wanted to pitch and began training harder than ever.

The 2001 season was historical for the Mariners from start to finish. Playing in front of capacity crowds at Safeco Field the Mariners played inspired baseball. Right in the middle of the team’s incredible year was Rookie of the Year and MVP Ichiro Suzuki. His injection of youth and helped the Mariners finish the season with a record tying 116 wins. In those wins, Jamie finished the year 20-6. It was Jamie’s first 20 win season. Jamie lowered his ERA all the way down to 3.43 that year-which was one of his best ERA’s of his career. The Mariners lost out in the ALCS to the Yankees but Jamie Moyer had pitched the best year of his career. Jamie finished 4^th in Cy Young voting. Despite lowering his ERA to a career best 3.32 at that time, Jamie finished 14-8 in 2002. In 2003, and at the incredible age of 40, Jamie went 21-7 with a career single season best 3.27 ERA. Jamie was named to his only ALL-STAR appearance and finished in the top five of Cy Young voting once again.

In 2004, the Mariners had replaced Lou Piniella and had begun the downward spiral to the bottom of the AL WEST. Jamie was a gamer but sported a 7-13 record with an ERA of over 5 again. It looked like he was hanging on to his career by a thread again. Not even the comforts of Safeco Field were providing enough shelter for his game. Jamie had given up 44 home runs in 2004 which had led the American League. The team was not competitive in 2005 but Jamie bounced back with a 13-7 record and a 4.28 ERA. Jamie had worked several games with Catcher Pat Borders (1992 World Series MVP.) Each time the two 42 year olds would be the pitcher catcher tandem they set a record for the oldest pair. This exact tandem was the pitcher and catcher when I attended my first game in the United States at Safeco Field in June of 2005. In 2006, Jamie started the year 6-12 despite pitching well, (His ERA was back down to 4.39,) that is when the Philadelphia Phillies picked him up for the playoffs that year. Jamie left the Mariners as the franchise’s all-time winner at 145-87 (.625)

Over the next five years, Jamie continued to amaze the doubters by posting a 56-40 record (.583). At the age of 45, Jamie Moyer played the most pivotal of roles-with series saving performances in the 2008 playoffs en-route to the Phillies winning the World Series. It was a culmination of a career for the man. Jamie pitched okay in 2009, and saved some of his better performances for later in the season coming out of the bullpen-before suffering some torn muscles in his left arm that ended his season. 2010 saw Jamie post a respectable record of 9-9 before he was injured for the rest of the year just after the All-Star Break. Jamie tried to pitch in the Dominican Winter Leagues that fall but he tore up some more pitching muscles. Jamie Moyer needed Tommy John surgery at the age of 48. Jamie still plans on making a comeback in 2012 at the age of 49. Even if he doesn’t catch on with a team-his longevity and record is quite remarkable.

Jamie Moyer Key Stats

Started his career 34-54 before age 30 (.405) and then went 233-150 for the remainder of his career for a .608 winning percentage. His career record is currently 267-204 is still at a .567 winning percentage. His 233 wins after the age of 30 trail only #1 Phil Niekro (297 wins) and #2 Warren Spahn (273 wins) all time in MLB history but Jamie had a better winning percentage than both of them after age 30 at .608-to Spahn’s .594 and Niekro’s .540. Jamie was one of the top 2 winning pitchers from 2001-2010 decade with a record of 140-94 (.594), only Randy Johnson with 143 wins in the decade had more…rounding out that top 5 were: Roy Halladay with 139. Andy Pettitte had 138, Roy Oswalt and Tim Hudson had 138. Jamie also compiled a record of 103-70 (.595) after the age of 40. Jamie Moyer has thrown 4020 innings and struck out 2405 batters despite a fastball that ranged from 82-89 MPH in his career.

Will Jamie Moyer receive Baseball Hall of Fame consideration? He will garner some votes as his career is very similar to Tommy John. It is unfortunate the man could not achieve 300 wins in his career with such a slow start-but there is no denying that he should receive “The Most Unlikely to Have Such a Great Career Award.” He is a classy professional and is an even better human off the field, with running his Moyer Foundations all across the country. Jamie has touched countless people and is a great role model for all of those athletes who might feel like giving up. Kudos for having a great second half to your career Jamie Moyer!!

*** Thank you to our Guest Baseball Writer- Doug Booth for joining us today on MLB reports. To learn more about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” and Doug Booth, you can follow Doug on Twitter (@ChuckBooth3024) and click here for Doug’s website, fastestthirtyballgames.com***

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

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Tags: alex rodriguez, baseball, darren bragg, edgar martinez, ichiro suzuki, jamie moyer, jay buhner, ken griffey jr, lou piniella, mlb, orioles, phil niekro, randy johnson, red sox, tigers, warren spahn

Ryan Madson: A Free Agent Closer with no Job?

Dec 8

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Thursday December 8, 2011

MLB reports – Jonathan Hacohen: With the Winter Meetings at an end, players/teams/agents are left standing to look over the game of musical chairs and who is left standing. A particularly interesting position was closer- with more eligible players than open positions. In the past few weeks, we have seen many signings and trades in this area. Jonathan Papelbon to the Phillies. Sergio Santos to the Blue Jays. Huston Street to the Padres. Francisco Rodriguez accepted arbitration from the Brewers. Heath Bell to the Marlins. Joe Nathan to the Rangers. Andrew Bailey is openly being discussed in the trade market as leaving the A’s. Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch joined the Mets. As a result, one big name is left standing with no dance partner. Ryan Madson is still on the open market with few promising prospects ahead.

As the story goes, Madson was supposed to re-sign with the Phillies. A reported 4-year, estimated $44 million contract was put on the table by the Phillies early in free agency. Player and agent (Scott Boras) happily accepted and a Philadelphia return was in order. Not so fast. There are conflicting stories on what transpired. Needless to say, there was never a firm deal in place and the Phillies moved quickly to sign the top closer on the free agent market, Jonathan Papelbon. Since then, there has been little discussion on Madson. There have been reports throughout the process linking him to the Jays, Marlins and Red Sox. Well…the first 2 teams have filled their vacancies. The Red Sox have Daniel Bard as the incumbent set-up man who could get a look at the closing position- although he may end up in the rotation. Other than that, there seems to be little hope for Madson.

Last night, Madson chose not to the K-Rod route and accept salary arbitration. As a result, he remains out in the market waiting for his next contract offer. Francisco Cordero is in the same boat, although he is still likely to go back to the Reds on a 1-2 year contract from the whispers around the league. But even if the Reds do not retain Cordero, it is unlikely that they will sign Madson- especially given the young players they still need to lock-up to extensions. So what other options exist for Madson? Perhaps the Orioles. Maybe the Rays. The options are getting bleak.

This is one of the few times that you will see Scott Boras caught “with his pants down” so to speak. For an agent that is well known to be able to create and stimulate markets and demands for his clients, Boras has come up short for Madson. The perception is that the Phillies did what was best for them in signing Papelbon, which left Boras outraged and in a bind. With little to no teams looking for closers, Boras essentially only has the Red Sox to work with. At this point, he may need to take a 1-2 year deal for Madson, in the $7-10 million range to rebuild his value and try again on the open market in the future. A risky proposition, but with few options- Madson may have no other choice.

I was actually quite surprised that Madson didn’t take the Phillies offer of arbitration. Based on his stellar 2011 numbers, he could have expected a strong 1-year contract at least. Now Boras and Madson are left to take their chances on the open market. For a closer with only 1 full year on the job, time is not on Madson’s side. A proven closer like Francisco Cordero knows that he find a contract soon. Heck, even K-Rod knows that he just needs another solid season under his belt and his next deal will follow shortly after. Madson was in line for his first and only big payday this offseason. If he gets hurt or becomes ineffective in 2012, that dream vanishes. Scott Boras better work overtime to get the Red Sox biting on his closer client. Otherwise, it may not turn out to be a very Merry Christmas in the Madson household this year.

Jonathan Hacohen is the Lead Baseball Columnist & Editor for MLB reports: You can follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JHacohen)

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

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Tags: andrew bailey, baseball, closer, francisco cordero, free agent, heath bell, huston street, joe nathan, jonathan papelbon, mlb, phillies, red sox, reds, ryan madson, scott boras, sergio santos

Adam Dunn: 2012 Trade Bargain of the Year

Dec 7

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Wednesday December 7, 2011

MLB reports – Jonathan Hacohen: Tonight has been an exciting circus of winter meetings trades and free agent signings. With all the names thrown around this week, one that has not come up enough has been that of Adam Dunn. Whenever he has been mentioned, it has usually been in a negative context. But the time has come to consider a Dunn acquisition in a positive light. We could be looking at the 2012 Trade Bargain of the Year.

The value of Adam Dunn has been discussed in previous editions of the Reports. The debate on Dunn has fallen essentially into two categories. Whether 2011 represents an outlier in his career…or the beginning of the end. I argue the former rather than the latter. At age 32, I do not believe that Dunn all of a sudden lost his skills overnight. His decline in Chicago can be traced to many possible factors. First year in the American League, new city, new position, Ozzie as a manager, etc. Whatever the reason, the fit for Dunn did not exist with the White Sox in 2011. There could be a rebound if he stays put, but my instinct is that the White Sox would move Dunn in the right deal. With the team apparently in sell-mode and rebuilding, given the trade of Sergio Santos to the Jays yesterday, impending loss of Mark Buehrle and other key veterans on the trade block, teams would be wise to jump on Dunn immediately.

So how do we fix Adam Dunn? Simple. Get him into a new environment, DH him for the majority of the time with an occasional start in the OF and 1B and he will rebound to his previous slugging ways. Teams like the Orioles, Red Sox, Jays, Yankees, Angels, Athletics and Mariners would all be well served to give GM Kenny Williams a call. Dunn is owed a whopping $44 million over the next 3 years. If the right deal is presented (top prospect in return), the White Sox could perhaps be sold into eating half of the contract. At $22 million, approximately $7 million per season for the next 3 seasons, I would happily take 40 home runs, 100 RBIs, .400 OBP and .500 SLG. The Adam Dunn I watched last year looked very similar to the Nick Swisher on the White Sox in 2008. Things ended up rebounding for Swisher in New York and the same could happen for Dunn on a new squad.

In the age of $100 million contracts being discussed for C.J. Wilson and $200 million deals for Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, $20-$30 million for a proven slugger like Dunn is a bargain. Building a baseball team, is like building a stock portfolio. Buy low and sell high. Buying C.J. Wilson now is buying high. Good luck on moving that contract in a year (see Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford from a year ago). There is no evidence that Adam Dunn is indeed on the trade market. But if he is (with Kenny Williams, everyone is expandable), teams should be targeting Dunn. He is a definite buy low candidate. With many teams looking for a proven bat in their lineup, there were fewer sure things in baseball going into this year than Adam Dunn. The White Sox thought so when they signed him to a 4-year contract. Clearly there was not a fit for Dunn in Chicago. But again, that does not mean that the player is finished. Dunn is young enough to rebound. Grab him while you can, as the price will be going up in 2013 after he is named Comeback Player of the Year.

Jonathan Hacohen is the Lead Baseball Columnist & Editor for MLB reports: You can follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JHacohen)

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

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Tags: adam dunn, angels, athletics, baseball, chicago white sox, mariners, mlb, orioles, red sox, toronto blue jays, yankees

Will Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek Retire?

Dec 4

Posted by samevans87

Sunday December 4th, 2011

Sam Evans: Between these two catchers, they have six World Series rings, eight All-Star selections, and nearly five hundred home runs. There is no question that Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek were two of the best catchers in the last ten years, if not major league history. Unfortunately, the last two years everything has changed for both of them. Now, with the organizations they both have spent their whole respective careers nudging them out the door, one has to wonder what will be the next chapter for these two superstars.

Jason Varitek: Tek has always been a step below Jorge Posada. He is recognized as a great game caller, but he is not an especially strong offensive catcher. At Varitek’s peak in 2004, he batted .296 with 18 home runs and a .390 OBP. He helped lead the Red Sox to their first World Series in eighty-six years.

In 2008, Varitek really fell off a cliff in terms of offensive production. In the following years, he wouldn’t be able to get back to what he once was. I think the Red Sox have only kept him around the last three years because he is a great veteran in the clubhouse and out of loyalty and respect.

Varitek is now 39 years old, and without a contract. In 2010, Varitek was signed by the Red Sox for one year at $2 million. This offseason, he should be looking for a similar contract where he can mentor and back up a young catcher. I think the perfect team for Varitek is the Houston Astros. Houston has no catchers over twenty-five, with none of the catchers on their roster being highly rated. If Varitek could just come to Houston on a one-year deal and call two to three games a week, I think that would be the best scenario for both sides.

There is always the chance that Varitek will want to retire as a Red Sox and as a result, he could retire this offseason. As for Varitek’s chance at the Hall of Fame, I don’t really think he has a strong enough case. He never dominated the field, and he was never the best player at his position. He will be remembered for helping Boston reverse the curse but not as a Hall-of-Famer.

Jorge Posada: Posada certainly had a more successful career than Varitek. He won four World Series, and helped define Yankees baseball over the last decade.

Posada has 275 career home runs, but he has never hit more than thirty in one season. His career batting average, .246, is not very impressive. Posada has always had the power, he is just missing a lot of other skills. He is not known as a great defensive catcher, as was shown when the Yankees decided to move Posada to being their everyday DH for the 2011 season.

2011 turned out to be a pretty rough season for Posada. In May, Posada asked for a day off against the Red Sox. In any normal baseball city, this wouldn’t be a big deal. However, in New York, things are different. Posada ended up apologizing and GM Brian Cashman had to write a press release. Posada finished 2011 with a .235 BA, .309 wOBA, and 14 home runs.The highlight of his year was in the ALDS where Posada was 6 for 14 with a .579 OBP.

I would be surprised if the Yankees plan on having Posada back as their starting DH for next year. They can’t risk weakening their team just to make sure a player’s feelings don’t get hurt. Every member of the Yankees core-four are seeing their career come to a slow end. I am curious to see if Posada does decide to keep playing baseball in 2012, whether he chooses to market himself as a DH or a catcher.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated wrote that Posada will play baseball next year if he finds the right opportunity and the Marlins are a possible suitor. I don’t see Posada providing much on-field value, but if the Marlins are looking for a veteran who knows how to win, Posada would be a perfect match.

Similar to Varitek, Posada just didn’t have a strong enough career to make the Hall of Fame. He will be remembered as a great person, and one of the Core Four that defined this new age of Yankee baseball. I just don’t see Posada getting enough support from BBWAA members who will focus more on stats, rather than intangibles.

Neither of these players are going to have an easy end to their careers. Both are in the last days of professional baseball and have some important decisions to make. Neither Varitek nor Posada will ever be forgotten for their character and contributions to their franchises. Regardless of whether either one makes the hall of fame, both have enjoyed careers to be proud of and that few other players could ever imagine possible.

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

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Tags: boston red sox, hall of fame, jason varitek, jorge posada, new york yankees, offseason, red sox, yankees

Is Ryne Sandberg the Next Cubs Manager?

Oct 18

Posted by samevans87

Tuesday October 18, 2011

MLB reports – Sam Evans: Before we even begin to speculate on who will be the next Cubs manager, there is something baseball fans have to realize. The most important move made by the Cubs this offseason will be naming their General Manager. It looks like Theo Epstein will be taking over duties as the GM, if everything goes according as planned. One of Theo’s first moves will be to decide whether to keep Mike Quade and his coaching staff for next year. I think there is little to no chance that this happens considering the Cubs on-field product from the last year. My guess is that Epstein would be looking for a very intelligent manager that is behind the recent sabermetrical discoveries but at the same time, has a lot of experience in the game of baseball. Someone similar to Joe Maddon of the Rays.

One of the top managerial candidates for the Cubs position, and for other open coaching spots around the league, is Hall of Fame Second Basemen Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg was born in 1959 in Spokane,WA. He was drafted in the 20th round of the 1978 Rule 4 MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, and he shot through the minors and made his major league debut in 1981. After the 1981 season, Sandberg was shipped along with Larry Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus. This turned out to be one of the best trades in the history of the Chicago Cubs organization. The Phillies made this trade due to a middle infield logjam, and it will forever haunt Phillies fans.

In his career, Ryne Sandberg hit .285 with 282 home runs and 344 stolen bases. From 1989 to 1992, Sandberg hit 122 home runs. He was MVP in 1984, he was named to ten all-star teams and was a nine-time gold glove award recipient. Cubs fans will remember “Ryno” for his amazing defensive plays and his ability to hit home runs. Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Once the 2006 season had come to a close, Ryne Sandberg met with Cubs GM Jim Hendry and told him that he was wanted to manage the team. Smartly, Hendry decided that Sandberg needed experience managing so he gave him a job managing way down the Cubs depth charts. In 2007, Sandberg began his managing career with the Class-A Peoria Chiefs, and he led the Chiefs to 71-68 finish. With the Chiefs again in 2008, the Chiefs went 60-78. In 2009, the Sandberg was promoted to manager of the Cubs AA team, where in one year he went 71-69. In 2010, he was the Cubs AAA manager and he finished 82-62, and earned the honor of being named Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year. As you may remember, in 2010 Lou Piniella stepped down from his position as interim Cubs manager. Mike Quade was the interim manager and he led the team to a 24-13 record for the rest of the season. However, after the season, the Cubs organization didn’t make it clear that Quade was their man until October 19. Most baseball people thought that Ryne Sandberg would be named manager and that he deserved to be the Cubs manager. The Cubs decided to remove the interim tag from Quade’s position and promote him to the full-time manager. Unfortunately, Quade and the Cubs had a rough year, finishing 2011 with a 71-91 record.

I almost feel sorry for Sandberg. He worked so hard managing in the minors and when his opportunity finally arose when Piniella retired, Jim Hendry turned him down. I definitely think he deserves a chance at managing the Cubs. He not only has playing experience but successful managing experience in the minors.

After an awkward offseason for Sandberg, he took up an offer to manage the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A team, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He was also, according to sources, offered by Theo Epstein to be the manager for the Pawtucket Red Sox. Despite a very minor league baseball-esque name, the Iron Pigs are actually considered to be in the upper echelon of the minors. They average a higher attendance (over 10,000 per game) than any other MiLB team. Ryne Sandberg put together another winning season leading the Iron Pigs to an 80-64 record. His career managerial record is 364-341, which is good for a .556 winning percentage.

Who knows what the Cubs relationship is like with Sandberg? Their relationship appeared to be very stalwart but after the Cubs denied Sandberg the chance to manage at the major league level last year, you have to wonder why they would want him this year. Even if Theo Epstein does end up getting the job, just because he wanted Sandberg to manage the PawSox, there is no guarantee that he would want to work with Sandberg at the major league level.

The X-factor in this situation is Terry Francona. Epstein and Francona got along beautifully in Boston, and maybe Theo wants to keep Terry as his manager. This would not surprise me because the two are so comfortable with each other, and they have proven that their methods work with two World Series rings. Although their relations were apparently strained at times, the bottom line is that they were able to get the job done together.

There is one thing that I am sure of from this Sandberg debacle. Ryan Sandberg will have a major-league coaching job come April. The Phillies might have an assistant coaching position open, or the Red Sox could be interested in Sandberg as their manager. Options will be available to him. The most likely option is that Sandberg will return to where he already spent fifteen years of his baesball life: Wrigley Field.

Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter.

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

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Tags: baseball, bowa, chicago, cubs, epstein, hendry, Jim Hendry, maddon, manager, mlb, phillies, quade, red sox, Ryne Sandberg, sandberg, theo epstein

Theo Epstein Heads to the Windy City to Lead the Cubs

Oct 13

Posted by blandy12

Thursday October 13, 2011

Rob Bland (Baseball Writer – MLB reports): On October 12, 2011, Theo Epstein, former GM of the Boston Red Sox agreed to a 5 year deal worth more than $15M. With the Chicago Cubs. This all comes as no real surprise to anyone, as it had been speculated since the Cubs fired GM Jim Hendry in August that Epstein was their top target. The real surprise is that Epstein and the Boston Red Sox’s falling out happened so swiftly. Within two weeks of the Red Sox collapse, which has been widely discussed by everyone in baseball circles, manager Terry Francona and the team parted ways, as well as, now, their general manager Theo Epstein.

It has been well-documented that Epstein was able to overcome the “Curse of the Bambino” by employing a bunch of “idiots” in the locker room that went on to win a World Series in 2004. This mentality has been a similar mantra of the Red Sox throughout his tenure. Because they won in 2004, and also in 2007, it was completely acceptable for players to do what they pleased in the locker room. Now that the epic collapse took place, the organization needed a change, and true accountability never took place for the Red Sox.

Epstein is a GM of great stature. He is trusted and many people believe in his abilities. He employs a “Moneyball” type strategy, which is also aided by having a large payroll, something he will also have the ability to create in Chicago. Ownership of the Cubs have not been afraid to spend money, and most of the time have put themselves in unfortunate situations.

Two contracts come to mind when I think of the Cubs. Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano. Prior to the 2007 season, Soriano inked a contract worth $136M over 8 years. In 2007, Zambrano signed an extension for the 2008-2012 seasons, with a vesting option for 2013 worth $91.5M. Epstein has a lot of work cut out for him with an aging, mediocre core, but finding a suitor for these two players, or finding a way for them to produce and not be distractions in the clubhouse is paramount.

Another major task for him is to figure out what he wants to do with incumbent manager, Mike Quade. Quade was hired as the Cubs’ interim manager on August 22, 2010, and in October, the interim title was stripped. Quade led the Cubs to a 71-91 record and a 5^th place finish in the NL Central, only ahead of the lowly Houston Astros. This record was tied for the 5^th worst in all of baseball. When Quade was hired, much to the dismay of Cubs fans, who wanted Ryne Sandberg to take the helm, he was highly regarded as a smart, methodical baseball thinker. Was the year and month enough of a trial, or will Epstein want to bring in his own talent to manage this struggling franchise?

Epstein will also consider bringing in his own front office, using members from his group with the Red Sox. With news breaking that Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager Ben Cherington will take over as GM in Boston, Epstein will be fighting to bring his favorite guys over with him.

The last thing holding up this deal is compensation for the Red Sox. Since Epstein had one year remaining on his contract with Boston, the Cubs had to ask permission to even speak with him. Epstein had made it known to the organization that he would be leaving after 2012, so the Red Sox allowed talks to run smoothly, as they would have owed him $3M for the season, and a contract bonus of $4M. Cash and/or prospects will easily get the job done.

The deal has not yet been completed due to some of these complications, but should be done by the beginning of next week. Epstein will have a major challenge in Chicago, as they are not even close to competing. Major decisions need to be made, and even with his high level of competency, it will take up to five years for the Cubs to be a major contender in the NL Central.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***

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Tags: 2004, 2007, astros, bambino, baseball, boston, cherington, chicago, cubs, curse, francona, free agent, general manager, idiot, legacy, mlb, moneyball, postseason, quade, red sox, soriano, theo epstein, trade, world series, zambrano

Game 162 and Beyond – Can MLB Top That?

Sep 29

Posted by blandy12

September 29, 2011

Rob Bland (Baseball Writer – MLB reports): In order to write all of this, I needed to step away from my TV and computer, take a deep breath, and sleep for a while. The excitement of last night was almost too much for my fragile heart to bear, so the time away to clear my head was necessary.

I find myself repeating, “What just happened??” in my head. What happened last night was unfathomable. Not only were there two teams in each league tied for the Wild Card, but both teams that had been leading, suffered epic failures along the way. Go back to September 1, and the Boston Red Sox held a 9 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Atlanta Braves held an 8.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. Both teams chances of reaching the postseason were over 99%. Nobody could have actually predicted seriously at that time, that both the Cards and Rays would win the Wild Card on the final day of the regular season. Especially not the way that the AL Wild Card was eventually decided.

The Rays started David Price against the Yankees. Sounded promising enough, until Price gave up 6 runs in 4 innings. The game was pretty much over with the score at 7-0 in the Rays’ half of the 8^th inning. 3 runs plated in the bottom of the 8th, then Evan Longoria took over the game. A 3-run home run put them within one run, and Tropicana Field exploded. Then with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9^th, Rays manager Joe Maddon made one of the gutsiest calls I have ever seen: pinch hit with Dan Johnson. Johnson was 9 for 90 this season. He hadn’t gotten a hit since April. He had 36 hits since 2008. With one swing of the bat, the pandemonium levels in Florida had never been so high. Then, as if he hadn’t done enough already, Longoria blasted another home run, this one of the walk-off variety that would vault the Rays to the postseason.

What hasn’t been said about Boston and their collapse? It has been covered by so many people from so many angles. You could blame the whole organization from top to bottom, and you wouldn’t be wrong. What happened was an epic collapse, capped off by a 2 out rally by the Baltimore Orioles of all teams in the bottom of the 9^th inning of game 162. The Orioles had nothing to play for but pride, and the love of the game. Robert Andino’s walk-off single to win the ball game will be remembered by Boston fans for years to come.

Hunter Pence hit a bloop-ish 120 ft infield single to win it for the Phillies over the Braves. In the 13^th inning. After Craig Kimbrel, the super rookie, blew a lead in the 9^th inning. The game saw the Phillies march out nine pitchers and the Braves used 8, including Scott Linebrink, who eventually gave up the winning run in the 13^th.

Chris Carpenter twirled a gem for the Cardinals, a 2 hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and 1 walk against the Astros. This performance sealed at the very least a one-game playoff game against the Braves had they won.

Wow what a night.

Now onto LDS matchups:

Rays vs. Rangers

The Rays come in with unlimited momentum, and a pitching staff that is so deep, that manager Joe Maddon is having a difficult time naming the starter for game 1. While Matt Moore seems to be the obvious choice to me, Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis could be viable options as well.** James Shields would have to go on short rest, and Price pitched last night, so one of the other three will be chosen to go against C.J. Wilson and a Rangers offense that is ready to take on all comers. Shields will go game 2 and Price go the 3^rd. Beyond that is a toss-up. For the Rangers, Wilson will go Game 1, Derek Holland game 2, and still undetermined the rest of the way.

Adrian Beltre had a phenomenal September, earning AL Player of the month, and Mike Napoli has been dominant all year, bashing home runs all over the field. Michael Young worked his way into the MVP race after a tumultuous offseason that saw him switch positions yet again. Josh Hamilton is as dangerous as ever, and Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler are still hitting home runs at a high rate. Kinsler actually became only the third 2^nd baseman to join the 30-30 club, with 32 HR and 30 SB. The Rays may not have the prodigious bombers that the Rangers have, but they have athletic, smart ballplayers that never say die. They ultimately seem like a team of destiny, and I will not discount the fact that they may have the best manager in all of baseball at the helm.

** Note: Matt Moore has been named the starter for game 1.

Rays in 4

Yankees vs. Tigers

So the Yankees have the highest payroll in baseball, and the Tigers have the 10^th, about $100,000 between them. Should be easy, right? Yankees should take this series in 3 games. Wrong. Detroit has one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball in 2011 in Justin Verlander, who should win the Cy Young vote unanimously. He should also garner serious MVP interest. Against him will be CC Sabathia, who has been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball the last 7 or 8 years. Doug Fister was brought in to shore up a shaky Tigers rotation, and with Max Scherzer, the Tigers look like they have a pretty decent chance. Behind Sabathia will be rookie Ivan Nova, who I am not sold on, and after him is Freddy Garcia, who is having a fine year, but is nowhere near the pitcher he used to be.

Robinson Cano has been his usual stellar self playing 2^nd base for the Yankees, but there were a lot of subpar seasons by other Yankees. Derek Jeter was better than last year, A-Rod was almost nonexistent for a lot of the season, and aside from Curtis Granderson, the lineup struggled to find consistency. The Posada soap opera continues, but giving Jesus Montero more at bats needs to happen. The kid can swing it. The Tigers have another MVP candidate in Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez has been stellar, and they have a young kid behind the plate named Alex Avila who could be in line for a Silver Slugger award. The Tigers are younger, and hungrier to win, but the Yankees have more overall talent. Even if their roster is aging, and this one should go down to the final out.

Tigers in 5

Diamondbacks vs. Brewers

The two best managers in the NL this year; Kirk Gibson of the DBacks and Ron Roenicke of the Brewers square off in this ultimately tight series. Arizona did it this year with a cast of relative nobodies and no real superstar other than Justin Upton. The Brewers have Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Zack Greinke, John Axford and Francisco Rodriguez. They have star power up and down the lineup and rotation, and they have a great fan base.

Ian Kennedy may be a Cy Young candidate, but the Brewers have more depth in their rotation. Yovani Gallardo will oppose him in game 1, followed by Shaun Marcum and Greinke, who will be opposed by Josh Collmenter and Daniel Hudson. The Brewers also have the dominant back-end of the bullpen in K-Rod and John Axford, who was 46 for 48 in save opportunities.

Brewers in 5

Cardinals vs. Phillies

Prince Fielder just missed his 11^th straight season of .300/ 30 HR/ 100RBI. He hit .299 with 37 home runs and 99 RBI. The cards are not just a one trick pony, however, as Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, and Yadier Molina have been stellar all season long. If they can get solid contributions from their secondary players they could make the series interesting. The Phillies, like the Brewers, have tremendous star power in Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Not to mention one of the best deals of the year in Hunter Pence. They have a veteran presence filled with guys who have been to the postseason five years in a row, and have the ability to hit any team’s pitching.

If you ask anyone who knows anything about baseball what team has the best pitching, the unanimous decision would go to the Phillies. The 4 Aces look to lock up Philly’s second World Series in the last 4 seasons. Led by Roy Halladay, or Cliff Lee, or Cole Hamels, every team in the postseason should be scared. It is not very often that a team could have 3 pitchers in the top 5 for the Cy Young Award, but it could happen this year. Roy Oswalt will pitch game 4 if necessary. Tony La Russa has decided to open the series with veteran Kyle Lohse, which seems asinine. Edwin Jackson will go Game 2 and Chris Carpenter game 3. Jaime Garcia, who could be their most talented pitcher, will throw game 4 if necessary.

Phillies in 4

All 4 series should play pretty close, and the series I am most excited to watch is Arizona vs. Milwaukee. If Game 162 was any indication of what is to come of the postseason this year, then everyone needs to grab their popcorn and beverages, get bunkered down, and get ready for a long, gruelling, exciting month of baseball.

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The Curious Case of Carl Crawford

Sep 22

Posted by blandy12

Thursday September 23, 2011

Rob Bland (Baseball Writer – MLB reports): When the 2010 season concluded, many people looked at the trio of Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth as easily the most sought after players. Lee has not disappointed in Philadelphia, where he will garner serious attention for the NL Cy Young Award. Werth and Crawford, however, have been pretty big disappointments after signing extremely lucrative contracts over 7 years. Werth received $126M, while Crawford made the biggest splash, inking a deal worth $142M. While Werth has been lucky to play in front of smaller crowds playing in Washington DC, Crawford has had to endure the masses of critics in Boston. This is on top of playing in the AL East, battling for the division title, while the team is in a free-fall where the Tampa Bay Rays are gaining ground in the AL Wild Card race.

Crawford came to the Red Sox with HUGE expectations. Fans of the Red Sox expected him to not only repeat his career season from 2010, but exceed his statistics. In 2010 with the Rays, Crawford surpassed most of his best seasons in almost every statistical category. He hit .307 with 19 home runs and 90 RBI, while scoring 110 runs and stealing 47 bases. His on-base percentage was .356 and he slugged at a .495 clip, giving him an OPS of .851. In 2011, surrounded by all-star and MVP caliber players, he has struggled to gain any kind of consistency. He has limped into the end of September with a .255/.292/.401 slash line.

Crawford has only been able to steal 18 bases, which is by far his worst full season total in the MLB. On June 17th, Crawford sustained a grade 1 strain of his hamstring, and did not return to the lineup until July 18^th. At the time, Crawford’s OBP of .275 and slugging percentage of .384 were near the bottom of the league. If Crawford had been hot until the injury, and simply fizzled out after he came back, we would have a simple answer.

Crawford has actually fared better since the injury, but I believe he has lost a step. Crawford relies on speed, and hamstrings often take a very long time to heal. His game is based on slapping balls through the infield and driving balls to the gaps, turning singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Many people thought that the Green Monster would be peppered with line drives off Crawford’s bat, as well as triples going into the deep right-center field gap. With Crawford’s hamstring issues, he doesn’t seem to be able to drive the ball as well as in recent years.

Another issue with Crawford seems to be that he has been slightly unlucky compared to other years. His BABIP over the course of his career is .329, while 2009 and 2010 it had been .342. This year, the stat sits at .300. Often, when seeing a dip in BABIP, you can look at a player’s line drive rate and see that the player is not hitting as many line drives. Crawford’s line drive rate is 17.8%, which is actually up from last year’s 16.5%. His fly ball and ground ball rates have also mostly gone unchanged. One thing I did notice was that his percentage of bunts for base hits is 0. Early in his career, Crawford would attempt to bunt upwards of 15 to 18 times per season. This year, Crawford has only attempted three bunts. This could be due to his hamstring not being 100% also.

Crawford’s dWAR, (or defensive Wins Above Replacement), which is a defensive stat that shows how a player is able to field balls inside and outside the zone of his position, has always been one of his strong points. For outfielders, he has been near the top of the league regularly over the last five years. This season, however, his dWAR is at -0.5, which negates entirely his limited offensive production.

With such close similarities in his batted ball rates, one would expect a slight drop in production due to his lower BABIP. However, with such a large gap in last year’s production to this year’s, despite a better overall line-up batting around him, one has to really think about what has happened to Crawford.

Crawford may be a multi, multi-millionaire that most of us would give up anything to be, but what most of us forget is that these MLB superstars are human. Hitting in front of 40,000 screaming, raving Red Sox lunatic fans surely cannot be an easy task. When playing in Tampa for the first 6 years of his career, he rarely faced hostility or scrutiny at home. The media has scrutinized every little move he has made this season, because he is under a microscope now. All this pressure and expectations after signing such a huge contract can take a toll on a player both psychologically and physically.

Here is a radical thought: Fenway’s odd dimensions have actually hurt Crawford offensively. Left fielders play shallower in Boston than in any other park, due to the Green Monster. This means that shallow flares, bloop pop ups and even live drive singles are taken out of the equation. While you can argue that this would then alter every other hitter’s stats, I think that the style of offense that Crawford plays, combined with bad luck, and a slight drop off in actual performance have been the main contributors to his poor statistics.

Look for Crawford to settle into the Boston atmosphere and return to his career averages in statistics in 2012. If he doesn’t, there will be many Sox fans clamouring to get rid of him at any cost.

***Today’s feature was prepared by Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

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Tags: babip, boston, bunts, carl crawford, dwar, fenway, green monster, hamstring, lee, left field, nationals, philadelphia, rays, red sox, washington, werth, wild card

MLB Draft Signing Deadline: Who Will Sign By August 15th

Aug 12

Posted by blandy12

Friday August 12, 2011

Rob Bland (Intern- MLB Reports): With the August 15 deadline for all 2011 MLB draftees to sign, players and teams are getting down to the wire with negotiations. Only two of the top ten picks have been signed, right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer, and second baseman Cory Spangenberg by the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, respectively. Of the 33 first round picks, 9 have signed, as well as 14 of the 27 picks in the supplemental first round. It is expected that most of the picks from the first round will go down to the last hour, if not minute. However, there is a lot of speculation about who will not sign, and the fans of each team are hoping and praying their team will get their guy. Some players come into the draft with lofty expectations and high estimates of signing bonus money. As a result, many of the lower budget franchises stay away from these players, and draft “safe” players, who will sign for a more reasonable price.

The Oakland Athletics’ GM Billy Beane was made famous through the book “Moneyball”, which portrayed the club as a bottom feeder organization financially. They had to pick lesser talents in order to sign all their draft picks. They shied away from the big “sexy” names on draft boards and targeted players with specific skill sets. Other teams who have done this in the past to varying degrees of success are the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. In the last couple of years, these organizations have turned their philosophies around, drafting tough to sign players with higher ceilings, and ending up signing most of them. Today will highlight a few of the players drafted who will be tougher than others to sign.

From this year’s draft, one of the players who was known to be extremely difficult to sign was Josh Bell. On talent alone, he was rated as an early first round pick, yet dropped to the second round to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had sent a letter to Major League Baseball advising teams not to draft him on account that he wanted to attend the University of Texas. Some have said this was just a bargaining tool to simply add more leverage to his situation, while others think he will not sign under any circumstances. It has been predicted that it will take a minimum of $10M and a Major League contract in order to sign him. I feel that the Pirates are an extreme long shot to sign Bell, and he will attend U of T and be a Longhorn for the next three years.

High school right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede could have been a top 10 pick, with his 95 mph fastball and devastating change-up. Beede was widely known to be seeking a bonus upwards of $3-4M. The Toronto Blue Jays and their new management have made it a point to take the best player available when they it is their turn to select a player in the draft. So, when it came to their turn as the 21^st selection, the Jays did not hesitate to choose Beede, who has said it will come down to money in the long run. I believe the Jays will sign him in the final minutes for close to $3M.

With the 5^th overall pick, the Kansas City Royals had a tough decision to make. Outfielder Bubba Starling, a hometown kid from Kansas, was widely considered the top prep offensive talent in the draft was still on the board. Starling has a scholarship to the University of Nebraska to play both football and baseball. It is very likely that a bonus upwards of $8M will be what it takes for Starling to sign with KC on August 15. Expect this deal to get done.

Gerrit Cole, the flame throwing right-handed pitcher from UCLA was taken by the Pirates first overall in the draft. Cole has reached 102 mph on radar guns and routinely hits triple digits. Cole has yet to sign, but is widely expected to join the Pirates. A Major League deal for 4 years and $8M or so is likely.

Rice University has been known to producing top talent, as witnessed by having eight first round picks in the last 11 years, most notably when Phil Humber and Jeff Niemann went 3^rd and 4^th overall in the 2004 draft. Another first rounder from Rice was Lance Berkman in 1997. So when one of the top three candidates for the first overall pick came down to an infielder from Rice, who just happened to win the Dick Howser Trophy, (essentially the Heisman Award for college baseball players), nobody was surprised. Anthony Rendon may not have above average speed or the best glove, but he has an above average arm and was considered by most to be the best hitter in the country. Rendon dropped to #6 to the Washington Nationals due to signability concerns but should sign for $4M plus.

Shortstops with ultra talent often get huge signing bonuses and Cleveland Indians’ first pick (8^th overall), Francisco Lindor will be no exception. Lindor has the talent to warrant a $3M bonus, but should hold out for more. The Indians tend to shy away from this kind of pick, but the talent speaks for itself and I believe the Indians will go as high as $3.5M to sign the talented shortstop.

There has arguably not been a better high school pitcher in the last decade than flame throwing Dylan Bundy. The right-hander has reached 100 mph and has 2 plus secondary pitches. His high school pitching numbers are straight out of a video game. 71 innings, 2 earned runs. TWO! He also had 158 strikeouts to 5 walks. FIVE WALKS! Good for a 31.6:1 K:BB ratio. Oh, and the fact that he can also hit, as evidenced by his 11 home runs and 54 RBI in only 105 at-bats doesn’t hurt. The University of Texas commit could command a Major League contract and $6-8M. He should sign; my guess is $6.5M.

Here is the breakdown of the entire 2011 first round of picks, with players in bold having already signed:

1 Gerrit Cole RHP Pittsburgh Pirates
2 Danny Hultzen LHP Seattle Mariners
3 Trevor Bauer RHP Arizona Diamondbacks – ML deal 4/$7M
4 Dylan Bundy RHP Baltimore Orioles
5 Bubba Starling OF Kansas City Royals
6 Anthony Rendon 3B Washington Nationals
7 Archie Bradley RHP Arizona Diamondbacks
8 Francisco Lindor SS Cleveland Indians
9 Javier Baez SS Chicago Cubs
10 Cory Spangenberg 2B San Diego Padres – $1.86M
11 George Springer OF Houston Astros
12 Taylor Jungmann RHP Milwaukee Brewers
13 Brandon Nimmo OF New York Mets
14 Jose Fernandez RHP Florida Marlins
15 Jed Bradley LHP Milwaukee Brewers
16 Chris Reed LHP LA Dodgers
17 C.J. Cron Jr. 1B LA Angels – $1.467M
18 Sonny Gray RHP Oakland Athletics – $1.54M
19 Matt Barnes RHP Boston Red Sox
20 Tyler Anderson LHP Colorado Rockies
21 Tyler Beede RHP Toronto Blue Jays
22 Kolten Wong 2B St. Louis Cardinals – $1.3M
23 Alex Meyer RHP Washington Nationals
24 Taylor Guerrieri RHP Tampa Bay Rays
25 Joe Ross RHP San Diego Padres
26 Blake Swihart C Boston Red Sox
27 Robert Stephenson RHP Cincinnati Reds
28 Sean Gilmartin LHP Atlanta Braves – $1.13M
29 Joe Panik SS San Francisco Giants – $1.116M
30 Levi Michael SS Minnesota Twins
31 Mikie Mahtook OF Tampa Bay Rays
32 Jake Hager SS Tampa Bay Rays – $963K
33 Kevin Matthews LHP Texas Rangers – $936K

I think that although you can’t be sure about these kinds of things, my gut feeling is that every first rounder this year will actually sign by August 15th. I also predict that at least one signing will come minutes after the deadline, probably a Scott Boras client, and the league will allow the deal to pass.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

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Boston Red Sox: Who is on Their Radar? Jimenez to Indians and Trade Deadline Summary

Jul 31

Posted by blandy12

Saturday July 30, 2011

Rob Bland (Intern- MLB Reports): With the deadline only a day away, I expect a flurry of moves in the next 24 hours, and the Boston Red Sox are sure to get involved. With injuries to Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka, combined with the inability of John Lackey to get outs, the BoSox have been in on every rumored starting pitcher being moved. Here’s a look at Boston’s targets, and who they would have to give up in order to consummate a deal.

Hiroki Kuroda

The Japanese import could bring a good haul for the LA Dodgers, and it is believed that they are looking for a young catcher or a starting pitcher in return. I don`t believe the Red Sox would give up Anthony Ranaudo for him, but it is the Red Sox, and their system is fairly stacked. Kuroda isn`t a top line starter, but could fit in nicely behind Josh Beckett and Jon Lester right now. In his last 10 starts, Kuroda is 1-8 with a 2.66 ERA, giving up more than three runs in a start only once. He is on pace to break the 200 inning mark for the first time in his MLB career.

Prospects

I could see the Dodgers wanted a package that could involve Kyle Weiland, who has been at AAA, including a couple of underwhelming starts for the Red Sox. He has been dominant in AAA, and while his ceiling might not be very high, Weiland could be a piece used to obtain Kuroda.

Former top pick Andrew Miller could be involved as well, as he has shown flashes of the potential that the Tigers saw to draft him 6^th overall in the 2006 draft.

Jason Vargas (SEA), Aaron Harang (SDP), Jeremy Guthrie (BAL), Erik Bedard (SEA)

Vargas is another pitcher who hasn’t had much luck this year, going 6-9 with a 4.09 ERA. He too is on pace to break the 200 inning plateau for the first time in his career. He gives up a lot of fly balls and home runs, so he might not be the best fit for Fenway Park.

Harang has made the most of his move to spacious Petco Park. In the pitcher’s haven, his ERA is 2.92, as opposed to 4.31 on road games. Harang in Boston might not be a good fit due to his propensity to give up the long ball, but, whether it is due to the park or not, he has only given up 9 homeruns so far this year.

Playing the last five years in Baltimore will never help your win-loss record, but Guthrie has been a reliable arm for the Orioles over that time. His career ERA of 4.16 while mostly pitching in the AL East proves that he could be a capable pitcher for the Red Sox. Although he is 5-14, he has pitched fairly well this year, and could be great addition to the back-end of the Red Sox rotation.

Bedard’s once promising career has been derailed by injury after injury. He has always possessed tremendous stuff, but hasn’t been able to stay healthy. In his last ten starts, he has thrown 58 2/3 innings, striking out 64. Bedard has never amassed 200 innings, and his career high is 196, in 2006.

All of these pitchers are available and the Red Sox are in talks with each of the respective teams. Many of the prospects mentioned in this article will be in play, as well as Bryce Brentz, a powerful outfielder in high-A. He needs to cut down on strikeouts but he is a solid right fielder for the future.

Reed Johnson

The Cubs` outfielder could bring a spark of energy to the club. J.D. Drew is on the DL, again, so they do need an outfielder if they want to upgrade over Josh Reddick or Darnell McDonald. Johnson plays great defense and is hitting the ball pretty well this year, so he could slot into right field well at Fenway.

23-year-old catcher Ryan Lavarnway could be involved in a deal. He is a young catcher that isn`t too far away from the big leagues. Lavarnway has a lot of power as shown by his 27 home runs already this year. He is known as a good game caller and a smart catcher.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Ubaldo Jimenez has tremendous upside and is signed to a team-friendly contract through 2014. The Colorado Rockies are asking for a prospect haul that most teams can’t even match. At this point, only the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, together with the Red Sox are involved in talks with the Rockies. Although just 6-9 this year with a 4.20 ERA, he has made some great strides in the last couple of months. In his last 10 starts, he is 5-4 with 3.47 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings. Jimenez has lowered his ERA almost a full run during that time. Although some teams worry about his delivery, the big righty has been durable, throwing at least 198 innings in the last three years, and is on pace to break that mark again this year.

Prospects

Anthony Ranaudo, a supplemental 1^st round pick in 2010 started this season in A-ball, but could quickly shoot up the system in Colorado if moved. He possesses three above average pitcher and has front of the rotation stuff. He has good control and has great makeup and poise.

Will Middlebrooks is a prototypical third basemen with a good glove. He hits for average, and for power, evidenced by his 17 home runs so far this season. He also has 7 stolen bases. He possesses a good baseball IQ and he should have a long career in the big leagues.

Lars Anderson was once considered the top bat in the Red Sox system, and with Adrian Gonzalez in the mix, there doesn`t seem to be a spot for Anderson. He has good vision at the plate, sees a lot of pitches, and has gap power. As he continues to fill out, he will get stronger. I expect 20 home runs and 30 doubles a year out of Anderson when he finally does make it to the Show.

I think that the Red Sox win the Ubaldo Jimenez sweepstakes, sending uber-prospects Ranaudo, Middlebrooks, Anderson and maybe one or two players to be named later. This gives the Red Sox a fearsome top three starters in Beckett, Lester and Jimenez. If Buchholz comes back healthy, they have an incredible rotation for years to come. Reed Johnson is also a great fit for the team, and I see them making a move for him.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Rob Bland. Please feel free to leave comments and to welcome Rob aboard. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***

Editor’s Notes and Trade Deadline Summary:

A great article by our intern Rob Bland. As the trade deadline has shown already, as much as we think we can predict what will happen- surprises will always occur. Today was the last day before the non-waiver trade deadline, Sunday July 31st. Here is a rundown of all the trades that took place today in Major League Baseball:

Rich Harden (A’s) for Lars Anderson and Player to be Named Later (Red Sox): Yet to be announced. This deal has not yet been finalized and may fall through. Likely Billy Beane is pushing strong for this one. Boston gets Harden, a talented but very injury prone pitcher that cannot be counted on. Oakland would get a top young hitting prospect in Anderson and a PTBNL. Oakland wins if this one does happen, stay tuned.

Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies) for Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Joe Gardner and Matt McBride (Indians): What a difference a year makes. The Indians are going for it and have beefed up their rotation with the addition of Jimenez. When on his game, Ubaldo is one of the best in baseball. Further, Ubaldo continues to be under team control, so the Indians don’t simply acquire a summer rental here. The keys to this deal for the Rockies are Pomeranz and White. Considered to be the Indians two best pitching prospects, the Rockies add to their farm while losing their ace. While Pomeranz is considered highly in baseball circles, I would have expected to see the Rockies get more major league ready talent. Considering that they were supposed to get Jesus Montero and Ivan Nova from the Yankees or Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal and/or Homer Bailey from the Reds, I give the Indians the edge on this deal. Ace pitchers do not grow on trees and the Indians got one without giving up any of their major league talent or some of their other finer prospects, including Nick Weglarz. Competing with the big boys, the Indians get the prize of the trade deadline and likely a division title as well.

Derek Lee (Orioles) for Aaron Baker (Pirates): The Pirates are going for it and while Lee is an aging first baseman, he is an upgrade offensively over incumbent Lyle Overbay. Baker is a Class A first baseman that is not considered a top prospect. This trade is a draw, as the Pirates beef up for their playoff run and the Orioles auction off an impending free agent to stock their system.

Orlando Cabrera (Indians) for Thomas Neal (Giants): This deal came out of left field, as the Indians are still contending and were expected to hold onto Cabrera. With many young infielders on their roster, the Indians were prepared to sacrifice their utility man for one of the Giants higher rated prospect bats. Speaking to Neal on several occasions, he is one of the nicer young men you will ever want to meet in the game. Considered a great tools player, both offensively and defensively, the Indians have added another piece to their offensive puzzle while sacrificing a veteran that was expandable. The Giants, with injury and offensive woes, took a chance on Cabrera, a good luck charm for each of his respective teams in the postseason. While Neal was a big price to pay, the Giants are in win-now mode. A draw, as both teams will away happy from this exchange.

Koji Uehara (Orioles) for Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis (Rangers): This is a good old-fashioned baseball trade. The Rangers pick up a veteran reliever, who is enjoying his finest campaign in the big leagues and could be a setup man or closer. The Orioles continue to stockpile prospects and add a starter and first baseman to their mix. Davis has one of the most explosive bats in the game when he gets hot and the Orioles could have their cleanup hitter for the next 5-7 years. Hunter should be a good #3 or #4 starter for the team. A draw as both teams achieve their respective goals in this deal.

Jason Marquis (Nationals) for Zach Walters (Diamondbacks): I am a fan of what the Diamondbacks are doing in Arizona, but this trade doesn’t work for me. Marquis will pitch in Arizona, but I don’t see him being the effective starter the team needs to fight the Giants for a playoff berth. Walters is a prospect shortstop who could have been Stephen Drew‘s replacement one day when he left the team. Walters has a good offensive bat and was not worth the price of Marquis. Advantage Washington for adding another prospect to its growing farm while dumping a veteran pitcher that had no place on their roster.

Mike Aviles (Royals) for Yamaico Navarro and Kendal Volz (Red Sox): The Red Sox get some sort of infield insurance, which was unnecessary in my estimation with both Marco Scutaro and Jed Lowrie on the roster. If Lowrie is out beyond early August as projected, then this deal makes sense. Otherwise, to give up two decent prospects for a player who has struggled this season and is unlikely to hit much in Boston does not equate for me. Advantage Royals for dumping a player who did not fit on the team and continuing to stock their system.

Jerry Hairston Jr. (Nationals) for Erik Komatsu (Brewers): The Brewers get depth for their playoff run and the Nationals get a marginal prospect back. A draw.

Doug Fister and David Pauley (Mariners) for Francisco Martinez, Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush and a PTBNL (Tigers): For a Tigers team that was considered early in the day to be in the hunt for Ubaldo Jimenez, this one is a bit of a let down. Fister will be a #4 or #5 starter for the Tigers, good but not great. Pauley was having an incredible season for the Mariners in their pen and should do well in Comerica. Wells will likely slot immediately into the Mariners outfield and the rest of the players are prospects to their stock their farm. While I’m not excited about what Detroit received, I am equally not impressed by what they gave up. Call this one a draw. Middle of the road players for players at this point.

Denard Span (Twins) for Drew Storen and ? (Nationals): Yet to be announced. This one is a real head scratcher for me. I consider Span a good, but not great outfielder. This trade is not completed although many outlets are reporting that this deal will get done. The Nationals would give up their young closer if this deal happens and considerably weaken their bullpen. Span, while playing a strong centerfield is not the offensive bat the Nationals are looking for. After taking the Twins to the cleaners a year ago in trading Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos, this trade would be payback for the Twins. If Storen is part of this deal, advantage Twins. If the Nationals hang on to their closer, consider it a draw.

Rafael Furcal and cash (Dodgers) for an unknown player (Cardinals): Yet to be announced. With Dee Gordon in the minors and money woes being an issue, this trade for the Dodgers is about getting younger and saving money in the process. The Cardinals are pushing for a playoff spot and if healthy, Furcal should give the team a spark offensively. Personally, I would not trust Furcal based on his injury history. It also remains to be seen which player the Cardinals get back. But overall, without all the specifics, if the Dodgers can unload Furcal and have the Cardinals pick up most of his contract, I will label this trade a Dodgers win.

Ryan Ludwick (Padres) for an unknown player (Indians): Yet to be announced. The Indians are looking to make a strong playoff run and former Indian Luckwick would fit well in their offense this year. It remains to be seen what the Indians have to give up, but for a player in as strong demand as Ludwick, as long as it is not too much, give the edge to the Indians.

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Tags: anderson, baseball, boston, brentz, bucholz, colorado, detroit tigers, dl, dodgers, drew, gonzalez, jimenez, johnson, kuroda, lackey, lavarnaway, matsuzaka, middlebrooks, miller, mlb, new york yankees, prospects, ranaudo, red sox, reed, rockies, toronto blue jays, trade deadline, ubaldo, weiland

Jair Jurrjens: Braves Ace of the Future or Trade Candidate?

Jul 21

Posted by blandy12

Wednesday July 20, 2011

Rob Bland (Intern- MLB Reports): Now that the trade deadline is fast approaching, teams in contention are scrambling to find the pieces they desperately need to reach the playoffs. Teams that are out of contention are scouring other teams’ minor league affiliates in search of suitable trade partners. One man who is terribly busy fielding on calls on one of his biggest talents is the GM of the Atlanta Braves, Frank Wren. Opposing GMs have coveted his ace pitcher, Jair Jurrjens over the past few years. But now that Jurrjens has developed into a solid dependable pitcher who has exceeded his potential, Wren’s phone will be ringing right up until the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.

Why Atlanta should hold on to their ace

Jair Jurrjens is young and controllable with an inexpensive contract. He is an inning eater, and a dependable arm that will give 6+ innings per game. Jurrjens is in his fourth full season, with the key variable that many people forget is that he is only 25 years old. At the halfway mark of this season, Jurrjens has a 12-3 record with a sparkling 2.26 ERA. Jair also induces a ton of ground balls, with a GB% of 48.2. When a guy can throw strikes consistently, it makes it much easier to be successful. Three walks per nine innings is a pretty good career mark, and he has seemingly improved almost every year, as Jurrjens currently sits at a 2.10 BB/9 for 2011. A young, controllable ace that is continually improving might be something that the Braves want to hold onto. Further, the Braves should even consider giving a long-term extension to Jurrjens given what he means to the ballclub.

Why Atlanta should trade Jurrjens

Why would a contending team trade their ace, you might ask? Well, a guy like Jurrjens might be overachieving for a few reasons. First of all, the velocity on his fastball has dipped every season since his rookie campaign. His average fastball was once 93 mph, whereas it sits at 89 now. Now this could mean a couple of things, such as he has learned how to pitch and doesn’t need the velocity. However, his extra reliance on his change-up and slider; each of them up in usage about 3% over previous years, tells me that he knows his fastball isn’t quite as effective. Jurrjens doesn’t strike many guys out, and there is almost no way that he can maintain a 4.1% homerun per fly ball rate. His xFIP is exactly a run and a half higher than his ERA at 3.76, so a measure of his performance has been attributed to luck. Numbers can be sometimes be deceiving and in Jurrjens case, he might not be as good as his statistics appear to show. Sometimes its good to maximize a return when the market is at its peak and Jurjjens may very well be sitting at the top of his ceiling of potential. Otherwise, if Jurrjens does regress, he value will never be higher than it is at the moment.

Which teams could trade for Jurrjens

If the Detroit Tigers are willing to give up a ton of prospects for Ubaldo Jimenez, I believe they would do the same for Jurrjens. Same goes with the Red Sox and Yankees. Detroit has at least kicked the tires on many starting pitchers, including Derek Lowe, Aaron Harang, and Jeremy Guthrie. I see Jurrjens as an upgrade over those pitchers, so it would take a decent package to steal him away. The Rockies covet four top prospects for Jimenez, so I don’t see why the Braves wouldn’t try to get at least three top prospects for Jurrjens. He may not have the electric stuff that Ubaldo has, but he certainly has a track record of success.

Another fit to trade for Jurrjens that may fly under the radar could be the Indians. Mitch Talbot and Fausto Carmona have underperformed, and they desperately need an upgrade if they are to contend. This could cause a bidding war for Jurrjens. I can see righty Alex White, lefty Drew Pomeranz and outfielder Nick Weglarz being involved in such a deal. Prospects Jacob Turner (RHP), Andy Oliver (LHP) and Nick Castellanos (3B) may be included in a potential deal with Detroit.

In the NL, if the St. Louis Cardinals decide to make a push in the wide open Central Division, they may be looking at starting pitching help. Kyle McLellan and Jake Westbrook have both struggled, so it could be a possibility they get in the mix. Third baseman Zack Cox and starting pitcher Shelby Miller are possible candidates to be moved in such a scenario.

Verdict

Atlanta doesn’t appear to be actively shopping Jurrjens, but it would be in their best interest to at least gauge the interest of other teams. The Braves could get a return for Jurrjens that would be impossible to refuse. With some of the prospects named, the Braves could still contend, and restock their system for years to come. Until then, we expect Jurrjens to remain a Brave unless Frank Wren gets blown away a trade proposal. With the active trade winds blowing this year and numerous contending teams desperate for starting pitching help, anything is possible.

Editor’s Note: Today’s feature was prepared by our Intern, Rob Bland. Rob was selected from the many candidates who applied to write for MLB reports. Please feel free to leave comments and to welcome Rob aboard. You can also follow Rob on Twitter.***

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

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2011 MLB All-Star Game Recap: National League Defeats the American League for 2nd Year in a Row

Jul 13

Posted by blandy12

Wednesday July 13, 2011

Rob Bland (Intern Candidate for MLB Reports): This year’s edition of the Midsummer Classic, the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, had a record-setting vote-getter. Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays received over 7.4 million votes in fan voting. This game was said to have lost some of its lustre due to the amount of players who elected not to participate. A total of eight players that were voted in by fans or chosen by coaches dropped out due to injury, timing or just plain wanting to rest. For the American League, David Price (TB), Derek Jeter (NYY), Mariano Rivera (NYY), Alex Rodriguez (NYY) and Jon Lester (BOS) all withdrew due to various ailments and injuries. Chipper Jones (ATL), Jose Reyes (NYM), and Placido Polanco (PHI) were the players who bowed out in the National League. One of Major League Baseball’s rules pertaining to eligibility for pitchers is that they must not start on the Sunday prior to the game. Due to this rule, CC Sabathia (NYY), James Shields (TB), Justin Verlander (DET), Felix Hernandez (SEA), Cole Hamels (PHI), and Matt Cain (SF) were ruled ineligible and unable to participate in the game.

Surely not having Price, Sabathia, Shields, Verlander, Hernandez and Rivera hurt the AL. Although he has had an impressive start to the season, CJ Wilson (TEX) probably should not have been pitching when he gave up the 3-run home run to Prince Fielder (MIL). It easily could have been one of those more accomplished aces as mentioned. However, that is the way it turned out, as the National League took advantage early and defeated the American League by a score of 5-1. The MVP of the game was Fielder, because of his huge home run that put the NL on top early and as it turned out, for good.

My pick for MVP was Roy Halladay (PHI), as he started for the National League and was dominant as only the Doc can be. He faced the minimum six batters over two innings, including Curtis Granderson (NYY), Adrian Gonzalez (BOS) and Jose Bautista (TOR); all potential MVP candidates. Halladay managed to throw only 19 pitches as part of his historical pitching performance.

In the 2^nd inning, the defensive play of the game occurred when Brian McCann (ATL) hit a towering flyball in foul territory that Bautista caught as he slid into the wall. Aside from being one of the top home run hitters in baseall, Bautista is also an accomplished fielder who is capable of winning a gold glove at either third base or right field.

The scoring in the game started in the top of the 4^th inning, when Adrian Gonzalez blasted a Cliff Lee (PHI) cutter over the right center field wall for a solo blast. The AL followed with three straight singles, the last of which was off Tyler Clippard (WAS). Hunter Pence fielded the ball and threw a laser to the plate to catch Bautista who tried to score from second for the third out. In the bottom of the inning, Carlos Beltran (NYM) and Matt Kemp (LAD) hit singles to set up Fielder`s massive bomb.

Jordan Walden (LAA), another player who probably didn`t deserve to play as much as the other big name starters, began to light up the radar gun last night, hitting 100 mph on his first four fastballs. Starlin Castro (CHC) came in to pinch run at first base after Troy Tulowitzki (COL) hit a leadoff single. Castro proceeded to immediately steal second and third base. He then set up another play at the plate, where Walden bare handed a weak ground ball by Rickie Weeks (MIL) and threw Castro out. Weeks stole second and came around to score when Andre Ethier (LAD) hit a single to right field, making the score 4-1.

The scoring continued in the bottom of the seventh inning when Pablo Sandoval (SF) hit a ground rule double over the wall in the left field corner. This scored Hunter Pence (HOU) after his leadoff single and a passed ball that allowed him to move to second base, and eventually score.

Fan favorite Brian Wilson (SF) came in the top of the nineth inning with runners on second and third. A fly out and ground out later, and the game was in the books. Make the final score 5-1, as the National League wins for the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and secures home field advantage for its league in the up coming World Series in the fall.

This year`s All-Star Festivities were enjoyed by so many fans, and continually impressed me. I have had a great time covering the 2011 All-Star Game, everything from the Futures Game, Home Run Derby and of course, the All-Star Game itself. With Major League Baseball now entering the dog days of summer and the secon half of the season, it is time to speculate on trades and the calling up of prospects. Pure heaven for this baseball writer!

***EDITOR’S NOTE: With Chase Field still buzzing, the trade market has already begun. The Milwaukee Brewers announced right after the game taht they had acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez and cash considerations from the New York Mets for two players to be named later. With the Brewers acquiring Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum in the offseason, clearly Milwaukee is going for it. Will be interesting to see if Brewers allow K-Rod’s $17.5 million option to vest for 2012, which is based on number of games finished in 2011. If K-Rod finishes 55 games, the option will vest. As he has already finsihed 34 this season, so the option could vest depending on how the Brewers use K-Rod and how close they remain to a playoff berth. It will be interesting to see what prospects go from Milwaukee to New York. Long-term this deal could hurt Milwaukee depending on which top prospects they give up. But in the short-term, this deal will make the Brewers’ fanbase happy and their slugging free agent to be, Prince Fielder, may have more thinking to do before selecting his new team for 2012. The ground work has been set with respect to the trade market. Now we will see if the K-Rod deal has indeed open the trading floodgates for the rest of baseball. ***

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
American	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
National	0	0	0	3	1	0	1	0	–	5	9	2

W: T. Clippard

L: C. Wilson

S: B. Wilson

National All-Stars
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	#P	AVG	OBP	SLG
R Weeks 2B	3	1	0	0	0	1	12	.000	.000	.000
B Phillips 2B	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
C Beltran DH	2	1	1	0	0	1	7	.500	.500	.500
a-A Ethier PH-DH	1	0	1	1	0	0	8	1.000	1.000	1.000
b-G Sanchez PH-DH	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
M Kemp CF	2	1	1	0	1	0	15	.500	.667	.500
A McCutchen CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
P Fielder 1B	2	1	1	3	0	0	6	.500	.500	2.000
J Votto 1B	2	0	0	0	0	1	9	.000	.000	.000
B McCann C	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	.000	.000
Y Molina C	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	1.000	1.000	2.000
c-J Bruce PH-RF	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	.000	.000	.000
L Berkman RF	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	1.000	1.000	1.000
J Upton RF	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
M Montero C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
M Holliday LF	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	.000	.000	.000
H Pence LF	2	1	1	0	0	1	10	.500	.500	.500
T Tulowitzki SS	2	0	1	0	0	0	5	.500	.500	.500
S Castro PR-SS	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000	.000	.000
S Rolen 3B	2	0	0	0	0	2	8	.000	.000	.000
P Sandoval 3B	1	0	1	1	0	0	6	1.000	1.000	2.000
Totals	31	5	9	5	1	9	126
a-singled to right for C Beltran in the 5th b-popped out to second for A Ethier in the 7th c-struck out looking for Y Molina in the 8th
BATTING 2B: Y Molina (1, C Perez); P Sandoval (1, B League) HR: P Fielder (1, 4th inning off C Wilson 2 on, 0 Out) RBI: P Fielder 3 (3), A Ethier (1), P Sandoval (1) 2-out RBI: A Ethier All-Stars RISP: 3-8 (P Fielder 1-1, J Upton 0-1, S Rolen 0-1, B Phillips 0-1, R Weeks 0-1, A Ethier 1-1, G Sanchez 0-1, P Sandoval 1-1) Team LOB: 3
BASERUNNING SB: S Castro 2 (2, 2nd base off J Walden/A Avila, 3rd base off J Walden/A Avila); R Weeks (1, 2nd base off J Walden/A Avila) CS: L Berkman (1, 2nd base by D Robertson/A Avila)
FIELDING E: S Castro (1, throw); J Bruce (1, throw) Outfield Assist: H Pence (J Bautista at Home).

National All-Stars
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
R Halladay	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	19-14	0.00
C Lee	1.2	3	1	1	0	0	1	25-16	5.40
T Clippard	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3-3	0.00
C Kershaw (H)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	8-6	0.00
J Jurrjens (H)	1.2	1	0	0	0	1	0	23-15	0.00
C Kimbrel (H)	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	14-8	0.00
J Venters	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	4-4	0.00
H Bell	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5-2	0.00
J Hanrahan	0.1	1	0	0	0	1	0	14-9	0.00
B Wilson (S)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7-5	0.00
Totals	9.0	6	1	1	1	5	1	122-82
PITCHING First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: R Halladay 4/6; C Lee 4/8; T Clippard 1/1; C Kershaw 1/3; J Jurrjens 5/6; C Kimbrel 0/2; J Venters 2/2; H Bell 0/1; J Hanrahan 1/3; B Wilson 2/2 Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: R Halladay 4-3-2-5; C Lee 4-1-3-8; T Clippard 1-1-0-1; C Kershaw 1-1-2-2; J Jurrjens 3-5-3-4; C Kimbrel 1-2-4-1; J Venters 1-2-0-1; H Bell 1-0-0-1; J Hanrahan 1-2-4-2; B Wilson 1-1-1-2 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: R Halladay 3-2; C Lee 4-1; T Clippard 0-0; C Kershaw 2-0; J Jurrjens 2-2; C Kimbrel 1-0; J Venters 1-0; H Bell 0-1; J Hanrahan 0-0; B Wilson 1-1 Game Scores: R Halladay 57

American All-Stars
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	#P	AVG	OBP	SLG
C Granderson CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
J Ellsbury CF	2	0	0	0	0	2	8	.000	.000	.000
A Cabrera SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	6	.000	.000	.000
J Peralta SS	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	.000	.000
A Gonzalez 1B	2	1	1	1	0	0	6	.500	.500	2.000
M Cabrera 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	.000	.000	.000
M Young 3B	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	.000	.000	.000
J Bautista RF	2	0	1	0	0	0	5	.500	.500	.500
C Quentin RF	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	.000	.000
J Hamilton LF	2	0	1	0	0	0	4	.500	.500	.500
M Joyce LF	2	0	1	0	0	0	7	.500	.500	.500
A Beltre 3B	2	0	1	0	0	0	10	.500	.500	.500
K Youkilis 3B	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	1.000	1.000	1.000
M Cuddyer 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000
D Ortiz DH	2	0	0	0	0	1	10	.000	.000	.000
a-P Konerko PH-DH	1	0	0	0	1	0	13	.000	.500	.000
R Cano 2B	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000	.000	.000
H Kendrick 2B	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	.000	.000	.000
A Avila C	2	0	0	0	0	0	7	.000	.000	.000
M Wieters C	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000
Totals	33	1	6	1	1	5	122
a-walked for D Ortiz in the 7th
BATTING HR: A Gonzalez (1, 4th inning off C Lee 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: A Gonzalez (1) 2-out RBI: A Gonzalez All-Stars RISP: 2-5 (M Joyce 1-1, A Beltre 1-1, H Kendrick 0-1, M Cuddyer 0-1, P Konerko 0-1) Team LOB: 6
FIELDING DP: 1 (A Avila-R Cano). PB: M Wieters. Outfield Assist: J Bautista (A Ethier at 2nd base).

American All-Stars
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
J Weaver	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	14-8	0.00
D Robertson	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	14-7	0.00
M Pineda	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	10-8	0.00
C Wilson (L)	1.0	3	3	3	0	1	1	22-14	27.00
J Walden	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	20-13	9.00
C Perez	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	15-9	0.00
B League	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	19-13	9.00
A Ogando	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6-5	0.00
G Gonzalez	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	6-3	0.00
Totals	8.0	9	5	5	1	9	1	126-80
PITCHING First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: J Weaver 4/4; D Robertson 1/3; M Pineda 3/3; C Wilson 3/6; J Walden 2/4; C Perez 2/4; B League 3/5; A Ogando 2/2; G Gonzalez 1/1 Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: J Weaver 3-3-0-2; D Robertson 2-1-3-1; M Pineda 3-3-1-1; C Wilson 4-2-4-4; J Walden 2-3-5-3; C Perez 2-2-2-3; B League 1-4-4-4; A Ogando 2-0-1-2; G Gonzalez 2-1-0-0 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: J Weaver 1-1; D Robertson 0-1; M Pineda 0-1; C Wilson 0-2; J Walden 1-0; C Perez 0-2; B League 0-2; A Ogando 2-0; G Gonzalez 0-0 Game Scores: J Weaver 53

***Thank you to Rob Bland for preparing today’s article on the All-Star Game. You can follow Rob on Twitter.***

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