A Wacky Monday

photo © 2010 Brian Garrett | more info (via: Wylio)

There’s no rhythm or reason at all with my report today – I’m completely flying by the seat of my pants. That’s what happens when you are up late with a special lady. You just say forget it when it comes to your work and daydream about spending all your time with her.

Mitchell Boggs, the one-time closer for the Cardinals, appears likely to be demoted when the club brings Skip Schumaker back off the DL. Boggs has had a few rough spots this year no doubt, but his ratios are all still pretty darn good (3.66 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 8.69 K/9, 4.75 K/BB). Trust me, I get why the club would send Boggs to Triple-A while holding on to Ryan Franklin – he’s a vet with a ton of end of the game experience – but if this was purely a baseball decision how in the world would Franklin remain on the roster with a 9.20 ERA, 1.98 WHIP, 3.07 K/9 and 1.00 K/BB over the younger, harder throwing, and more productive Boggs? Since we’re talking about the Cardinals’ bullpen, you saw that they’ve likely found their 9th inning man after Fernando Salas had a week for the ages with four saves and a win in five appearances, right? Beat that for fantasy value in a H2H setup. Through 20.2 innings he has 20 Ks, has only issued five free passes, and is sporting a 1.87 ERA. If you grabbed him off waivers you might have hit the jackpot after a month of trying to read the tea leaves in St. Louis.

Kevin Gregg has a loss, two blown saves and an ERA of nearly 8.50 over his last six outings. Meanwhile, Koji Uehara continues to hum along with vastly superior numbers including a 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.35 K/9 and a 4.60 K/BB ratio. Honestly, it’s pretty shocking that the Orioles haven’t made the move to Koji. Perhaps they just aren’t convinced that he can pitch on back-to-back days, but at this point I’m finding it nearly impossible to work up an argument that would favor Gregg working the ninth over Uehara.

Adam LaRoche is likely to be placed on the DL because of his injured shoulder. He can’t drive the ball a lick, his current SLG is .258, and he just isn’t right. If the club follows through with their plan that would put Mike Morse back into a prominent role since he would likely see most of the starts at first. Morse was everyone’s darling after a massive spring, but he failed to capitalize on his chance early in the year. He’s still only gone deep twice and scored five runs, horrible marks, but he does have 12 hits in his last 30 at-bats (.400) so he might be worth an add as a corner infield option for those of you looking for a bat.

Joe Mauer hopes to return to play in an extended spring training game on Tuesday. He’ll likely play in a few of those games before heading out on a minor league rehab assignment. There is no set date for a return, but 10-14 days seems reasonable at this point. We all knew he would be out two months, right? In case you forgot he was last seen on a big league diamond on April 12th.

Jered Weaver was 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA in April. May has completely flipped his performance on its ear as he is 0-4 with a 5.25 ERA. Here is a wonderful diddy from Elias. Weaver is the first pitcher since 1884 to win his first six decisions and then lose his next four. The last guy to do it was Jumbo McGinnis for the St. Louis Browns of the American Association. In case you were wondering, Jumbo posted a 2.95 ERA on his way to winning 102 games in his career.

Finally, if you’re sending in any questions, let me know which superhero movie you are mostly looking forward to this year:

Captain America
Green Lantern
Thor
X-Men: First Class

Around the Horn: May 19, 2011

(1) Jake Peavy twirls masterpiece. Should you be buying?

(2) Colby Rasmus, Matt Holiday and Lance Berkman hurt.

(3) Fernando Salas the Cards’ closer? Not so fast.

(4) Adam LaRoche = abysmal. Is a turn around coming?

(5) Injured players update – Joe Mauer, Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton.

By Ray Flowers

Hot Stove: Lee Isn't Only Newsmaker

All anyone will be talking about today is the Cliff Lee signing, and while I too will lead off with his improbable deal with the Phillies, there are some other moves that are worthy of at least throwing a paragraph at.

Cliff Lee: Ted Carlson already covered the Phillies swopping in a and nabbing the top pitcher on the market out from under the Yankees and Rangers in Phil-Lee Surprise. Here is my favorite line from the piece. “That’s the best quartet that Philly has seen since Boyz II Men.” Classic. Debate will rage about if this is the best foursome of pitchers since the Braves’ in the 1990, the Orioles in the early 70′s or the Indians in 50′s, but let’s just say Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt is a flat out amazing group of arms. As pointed out by ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the top-4 now sports the 2010 major league leader in Wins Above Replacement (Lee), the NL leader in WHIP (Oswalt at 1.03), the NL Cy Young winner (Halladay), and the best left-handed pitcher in the Senior Circuit after 7/1 (Hamels posted a 2.28 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 9.4 K/9 and a 4.24 K/BB mark over his final 118.1 IP). As was also pointed out by @ggiants on Twitter, the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants beat all four of those pitchers in the 2010 playoffs, so don’t go coronating the Phillies as the 2011 champs just yet.

Adam LaRoche/Derrek Lee: It would appear that the Nationals, Orioles and D’backs all need a starting first baseman, and these two are obviously the top-2 options on the free agent market. Both hitters bring solid bats and can be expected to hit 20 homers with at least 80 RBI, and while that isn’t overly exciting by any means, there is nary a team in the game that wouldn’t take that kind of production if the price was right. Lee is likely to command bigger dollars even though he is coming off a slightly depressed season (.260-19-80) and despite the fact that he is four years old at 35. Either one would be a nice pickup at this point with all the big names flying off the free agent board, and neither is going to be poor with teams throwing around money like a drunken frat boy at a gentleman’s club.

Russell Martin: It appears a near certainty that Martin will join the Yankees which sends the wheels moving (he’ll need to pass a physical to make it official). (1) Martin will sign a one year deal with the club, though it’s really a 2-year deal since Martin will be arbitration eligible for the 2012 season, so the Yankees can choose to keep him for one more season if they so desire. (2) It appears that despite coming back off hip surgery, the Yankees are confident that Martin will be able to catch the majority of the time. (3) His signing means that Jesus Montero will likely get some more time to work on his glove in the minors. The dude is ready to hit big league pitching, but many “in the know” worry if he will ever be able to handle the rigors of catching everyday in the big leagues. (4) The real question at this point is what does Martin have left? The hip issue is a huge concern in it’s own right given that a catcher sometimes has to squat and all, but as concerning is the lack of any type of production from his bat. From 2006-08 Martin’s average season was .285-14-74-80-16 as he was a fantasy darling. Since then he has produced an average yearly outing of .249-6-40-54-9, which hardly the stuff of legend. Hitting in a loaded lineup in New York, in a great hitter’s park will help, but I would like his outlook a lot better if he wasn’t being counted on to catch four or five days a week. Don’t be swayed by the love of all things Yankees when considering Martin on draft day, 2011.

Hideki Matsui: The Athletics will announce that they have signed Hideki Matsui after he completes his physical (reports are the deal will be for about $4.25 million for one year). It would appear that Godzilla will be asked to take over as the primary DH in Oakland now that Jack Cust has signed with the Mariners (you can read about that move in Hot Stove: December 8, 2010). Matsui finished 2010 well, and that is putting it mildly, as he batted .309 with 11 homers and 37 RBI, not to mention a .955 OPS, over his last 60 games. The end result was a .274-21-84 line that gave at least those three numbers in each of his last five seasons of 450 at-bats (he hit “only” 16 homers in 2003 when he batted .287 with 106 RBI). Oakland isn’t a great place to hit, and it’s not like their lineup is overflowing with talent, but with Matsui you know what you are going to get.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: July 21, 2010

(1) Clayton Kershaw suspended, then appeals suspension.

(2) Brett Myers, 20 starts, 20 outings of at least six innings.

(3) Jose Bautista, David DeJesus, Jayson Werth, Prince Fielder, Jorge Cantu, Adam LaRoche rumors heating up.

(4) Mets looking to bolster bullpen.

(5) Pedro Martinez will not pitch in 2010.

(6) Scott Sizemore to play third base for Tigers.

(7) Carl Crawford doesn’t wear a cup.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: June 16, 2010

(1) Jake Peavy has an arm issue. Does that mean Daniel Hudson is close to be recalled?

(2) Tim Lincecum takes a liner off his shoulder – appears to be OK.

(3) Carlos Ruiz slumping, missing time with injury for the Phillies.

(4) Alex Rodriguez back from hip injury after missing about a week.

(5) Giants still hoping to get Pablo Sandoval to lose weight.

(6) Conor Jackson to play everyday in LF for the Athletics.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: Feb.4, 2010

(1) Orlando Hudson reportedly agreed to a 1-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. (2) Carlos Marmol agrees to 1-year deal to avoid arbitration with Cubs. (3) Nomar Garciaparra aims to keep on playing. (4) Russell Branyan still a free agent, wanted outlandish money at one point. (5) Erik Bedard looking more and more like he will return to the Mariners.

You can also read more of my thoughts on Carlos Marmol in my Breaking Down piece on him.

Oh, and that bikini picture below? There is no reason for it to be there other than I figured you might like to look at their fine feminine form more than my ugly mug.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: Jan. 15, 2010

In my look around baseball today I’ll discuss a myriad of topics that are in the news. (1) Who will Johnny Damon signs with? (2) Matt Kemp/Chad Billingsley agree to deals with Dodgers. (3) Adam LaRoche officially signs with D’backs at the expense of Eric Byrnes. (4) Orlando Hudson still teamless. (5) Ben Sheets and Derrick Turnbow try to convince teams they are worth signing. (6) Does Carlos Delgado have anything left? (7) Indians catching situation.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: Jan. 14, 2010

Today, I’ll take a look around MLB. (1) The latest on Carlos Beltran’s knee surgery. (2) Brad Lidge has second surgery this off-season. (3) Adam LaRoche signs with D’backs. (4) Josh Johnson wants 4 years. Will he get it? (5) Johnny Damon to Braves? (6) Joel Zumaya agrees to deal. (7) Jermaine Dye to Cubs? (8) Dodgers need starting pitching.

By Ray Flowers

Glaus Signs With Braves

Troy Glaus is the newest member of the Atlanta Braves after signing an incentive laden one year deal with the club ending his tenure with the Cardinals (early estimates place the deal at $2 million plus whatever incentives he reaches). Does the former slugger have any juice left?

A first round pick, third overall in 1997, Glaus broke in with the Angels and in his first full season he socked 29 long balls. Over the next three years (2000-02) he socked 47, 41 and 30 taters, each year also knocking in over 100-runs, before injuries began to strike. In 2003 he was limited to 91 games, and the following year things were even worse with a mere 58 games played. In 2005, his only year with the D’backs, he re-established himself as a power force with 37 HR and 97 RBI, totals just under what he produced in his first season in Toronto (38, 104). His second season in Toronto (’07) was once again filled with injury as he was limited to 115 games. He again rebounded in his first year in St. Louis hitting 27 homers with 99 RBI before a completely wasted 2009 season that saw him take the field only 14 times.

Why did he play a career-low 14 games? His shoulder, operated on in January, simply never came around to the point where he could make the throw across the diamond from third base. The Cards tried him in the outfield for a while thinking it would be less strenuous on his arm making the odd throw from the outfield, but that idea was eventually scrapped. Given the deterioration of his wing, Glaus has pretty much been pigeonholed as either a first baseman or a DH, and given that St. Louis has a pretty fair option at first in Albert Pujols, he really had no place in St. Louis. Hence the move to Atlanta makes sense as he will be asked to play first base after the Braves decided to let Adam LaRoche walk.

At this point what does Glaus have left? Honestly, that is anyone’s guess. A shoulder is so vital to a players swing that an issue in the joint could easily sap the power from a player’s swing by hindering his ability to whip the bat through the strike zone. Given my personal fondness for Glaus, unintentionally my swing was basically a mirror image of his (or was his a copy of mine, I mean I am three years older), I wish the man luck. However, this is a tenuous situation. The Braves reportedly went over every scrap of medical data they could get their hands on and they were apparently assured that Glaus would be able to physically hold up to the rigors of the season. While I have a hard time believing Glaus will be able to suit up for 140 games and match the production that LaRoche would have offered, the club did save millions of dollars that they can allocate for other needs. And heck, what if Glaus rebounds to the hitter he once was? After all, he has been pretty darn good in his career.

* Glaus has won two Silver Slugger Awards.

* Glaus has made four All-Star teams.

* Glaus has four seasons of at least 37 homers. By the way, there are only two third basemen who have ever lived that have more 37 homer seasons (Mike Schmidt had seven, Eddie Matthews had six, and Harmon Killebrew also had four). Moreover, every season of his career in which he has accrued 500-ABs (there have been seven), Glaus has hit at least 27 bombs

* Glaus has six seasons of at least 97 RBI.

IF Glaus is healthy, and I put that “if” in caps for a reason, the Braves may have rostered a nice power bat on the cheap. However, if I was the Braves I’d have a Plan B at the ready because I’m far from convinced that Glaus will be able to return to the heights he has previously flashed.

A RECAP OF THE DEAL

By Ray Flowers

What a Great Monday

Normally on Monday I spend most of the day going over what just occurred on the football field on Sunday. I like football, but everyone knows my passion is baseball. To that end this was no mere Monday of twiddling my thumbs as it was the first day of the Winter Meetings, and with it a torrent of rumors were flying about all day about the men on the diamond (for updates on all that is baseball – including potential player movement – check in with the BaseballGuys Twitter Page). Here are some of my thoughts on the highlights of the day.

Either the Mets or Yankees have seemingly been involved in every rumor, though as of this writing the only official move either team has made is the Yankees decision to trade Brian Bruney to the Nationals for a player to be named later (you’ll be able to read my thoughts on the deal at Fanball.com on Tuesday, so look for the piece then)

The Denver Post is reporting that the Rockies have offered a multi-year deal to infielder Clint Barmes (they also offered long-term deals to Chris Iannetta and Huston Street). I guess the Rockies didn’t read my review of Barmes in a recent Five Questions piece.

Ryan Doumit has had his name in the news of late as a handful of teams are interested in trading for the catcher. Given that he is owned about $8.5 million the next two years it’s no surprise that team’s are interested in acquiring his services giving his ability to be a difference maker on offense.

Edwin Jackson continues to have his name bandied about as a potential mover at the meetings. By the time you read this he might already be on the move. The latest rumor has both the D’backs and the Mariners as his most ardent pursuers. You can my thoughts about the hurler in Breaking Down: Edwin Jackson.

This is one rumor that I haven’t seen floated, but it makes total sense to me. The Giants, in desperate need of some pop, could target Adam LaRoche who wasn’t offered arbitration by the Braves making him a free agent. LaRoche would be able to provide his 25-HR pop while playing strong defense at first which would allow Pablo Sandoval to shift back to third base, the clubs desired location for him. LaRoche could likely be had at a reasonable price, and he likely wouldn’t have much problem lofting balls into SF Bay – do you think?

Reports suggest that Rafael Soriano might accept the Braves offer of arbitration. First, I think this is complete malarkey. Why would Soriano want to go to arbitration and sign a one year deal with his history of arm troubles? He’d be wise to sign a multi-year deal. Personally, I think this is just a negotiating ploy to scare teams into offering him more money. Second, the Braves would be extremely unhappy if Soriano accepted arbitration because (1) they wouldn’t receive draft picks to replace those they lost when they signed Billy Wager and (2) they didn’t give Wagner $7 million to split the ninth inning with Soriano. For more on Wagner give Breaking Down: Billy Wagner a read.

In closing, I’d like to invite everyone to join my Twitter following (you can access it above). While I resisted the whole Twitter phenomena for a while, I’m now posting a plenty. However, this immediate gratification cycle we are all living on now has led to some problems in accuracy. As an example, Edwin Jackson was traded to the Mets midday on Monday, that is until the reports came out that the original report had no basis in reality. Technology is fantastic, and who doesn’t want to know about your teams latest move a minute after it’s done, but the environment today is one in which everyone is pushing to break the stories, and as such there are occasions when inaccurate information is promulgated across the web (a shock I know). Don’t believe everything you read the minute you read it, and in fact, you might take up the old adage of needing two sources before blindly accepting any reported deal. Either that or just grab on to a source you trust like BaseballGuys for your baseball information.

By Ray Flowers