Unsound Options

After a one day hiatus to discuss that quarterback who I shall never mention again, you know the one who has retired about 13 times over the past two years only to return to action, let’s get back to what I know best, and that is the game that is played on the diamond.

Johnny Cueto will be placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation. I wonder what genius it took to figure out that he wasn’t physically “right” as his ERA has gone from 2.69 on July 1st to 4.61. That’s right, over his last nine appearances he has gone 1-6 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP. Unless he suddenly morphed into a 66 year old version of Jamie Moyer, it’s pretty flipping clear he just hasn’t been right.

Zack Greinke lost his eighth game of the year on Wednesday after allowing four runs over seven innings. Greinke has been great this season with a 2.44 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 25 starts, but the man has only one victory in his last nine times on the hill while he has accrued five loses in that time. If you ask me, his shot at the Cy Young Award is pretty much non-existent at this point as I think he is no better than third on the list behind Roy Halladay (13-5, 2.65 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) and Felix Hernandez (12-4, 2.66 ERA, 167 Ks, 1.18 WHIP). You could also make a valid argument for Justin Verlander (13-6, 3.28 ERA, 194 Ks, 1.16 WHIP) or even C.C. Sabathia (14-7, 3.58 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) could have moved ahead of the Royals’ hurler, so maybe Greinke is on danger of not only falling out of the top-3, but possibly the top-5.

Mets Injury Update
* David Wright (concussion) – Hopes to be cleared for action on Thursday and is eyeing a return near the end of August.

* Carlos Beltran – Running in the outfield and also took batting practice on Wednesday. Hopes to return sometime in September.

* Oliver Perez – May not make his next start as his knee is still bothering him. Maybe his sore knee threw him off balance in his last start leading to just a single walk. Hey, what else explains a measly walk for a guy who has averaged 4.31 walks per start? Maybe he should pitch hurt more often.

* Billy Wagner – Should be activated by the weekend after proving that his elbow is sound. Could be valuable down the stretch in NL-only leagues.

There are of course more Mets options I could discuss here, but I’m falling asleep typing name after name from this club so I’m gonna just leave it where it is and move on.

Jake Peavy likely won’t make that start on August 28th as the White Sox hoped – what a shock. The best case scenario is that he will return on September 2nd, or possibly in the following series against the Red Sox. This guy could turn out to be a difference maker for the Sox, but I gotta tell ya he hasn’t sold me on the idea that he will be able to contribute this season.

Willy Taveras was placed on the DL today with a strained left quadriceps muscle, and while this is bad news personally, and for those of you counting on his speed in NL-only leagues, it is likely great news for the Reds. Why do I say that? Let me count the ways. First, the man is hitting .238 with one home run, and those numbers are only acceptable if you take the hill once every five days. Second, though he has 25 steals and was on pace for a fifth straight season of 33 steals, he has seen his steal total drastically reduced from his career best total of 68 from last season disappointing all involved. Third, the man owns a .273 OBP this season. Since the league average is .334 Taveras can be said to be only 82 percent of “average” in this respect, and that is flat out awful for a man who has spent 390 of his 395 at-bats in the first or second hole in the order. I wouldn’t be worried about how Dusty Baker uses pitchers as much as I would question how the man puts together his batting order. Clearly Taveras has world class speed, but with a complete inability to get on base this season he should have been holding down court in the eighth slot all season.

By Ray Flowers

Trade Deadline Diary

I’m toast, and no I didn’t spend all day on the beach or at the local tanning salon. From the moment I woke up this morning it’s been all baseball. First I did the Fanball Podcast with Kyle Elrink which you can listen to every Monday-Friday from 8-9 AM, and after that I did my yearly deadline day dairy detailing all the trades of the day.

To read the entirety of my commentary on every move of the day you can visit my Trade Day Dairy. Here are some of the noteworthy highlights of that piece.

PEAVY TO WHITE SOX

White Sox Receive: Jake Peavy
Padres Receive: Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter

“A Cy Young award winner was moved today, but it wasn’t the one everyone expected it would be (Roy Halladay appears to have made it through the deadline without being moved). Jake Peavy is now a White Sox… At this point it would seem like a fair bet that we won’t see him on the hill for the club until at least September.”

MARTINEZ TO RED SOX

Red Sox Receive: Victor Martinez
Indians Receive: Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price

“Does this deal increase Martinez’s value? Do you go to a bar on Friday night hoping to find a warm body to spend some time with? Of course it helps V-Mart’s value. A switch hitter, Martinez will likely smack balls of the Green Monster with great frequency (he has hit .313 with a .913 OPS in 67 career at-bats at Fenway).”

WASHBURN TO TIGERS

Tigers Receive: Jarrod Washburn
Mariners Receive: Luke French and Mauricio Robles

“The Tigers receive the man with the third best ERA in the AL at 2.64 and the second best WHIP in the junior circuit at 1.07… Dating back to the start of June, Washburn is only 5-3, but his ERA is 2.02 and his WHIP has been 0.98. Yeah, he has been damn good. Still, the free agent to be has a few concerns.”

ROLEN TO REDS

Reds Receive: Scott Rolen
Blue Jays Receive: Edwin Encarnacion, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke

“Rolen will be 35 years old next season and one with an $11 million price tag, but after watching the Reds’ third baseman hit .213 this season apparently the Reds felt it was worth it to add the gamer to their club. Time will tell…Rolen has been able to provide a lot of value at the dish this season, though all those shoulder injuries have pretty much robbed him of the ability to drive the ball deep.”

Edwin Encarnacion was once thought of as a potential all-star with 30 homer power…This might be an example of a change of scenery really helping to boost a player’s value.”

JOHNSON TO MARLINS

Marlins Receive: Nick Johnson and $1.8 million (to pay his salary)
Nationals Receive: Aaron Thompson

“The Marlins added a plus defender and a solid hitter to take over at first base which should allow them to move Jorge Cantu back to third forcing Emilio Bonifacio to a reserve role where he belongs…This is another professional bat for the Marlins who are only six games behind the Phillies and three games out of the Wild Card.”

CABRERA TO TWINS

Twins Receive: Orlando Cabrera
A’s Receive: Tyler Ladendorf

“Cabrera has been on fire hitting .373 with nine steals in July helping to erase a putrid start to the season. An established veteran who brings a nice skill set as a middle infield option in mixed leagues.”

LAROCHE TO BRAVES

Braves Receive: Adam LaRoche
Red Sox Receive: Casey Kotchman

“LaRoche returns to ATL where he enjoyed a nice start to his career. In his last two seasons with the club (2005 and 2006) he hit .259 with 20 homers and .285 with 32 bombs, solid numbers without setting the world on fire…No reason to think that with everyday work that LaRoche won’t be able to be what he has always been – a fine corner infield option in mixed leagues.”

To read the entirety of my thoughts on every more of the day, hopefully they are coherent, feel free to give my Trade Day Dairy a thorough read.

By Ray Flowers

The Major League Infirmary

There continue to be a bevy of news stories each day pertaining to a host of injured players on the diamond. Today, I’ll deal with a few of the more intriguing issues that were in the news on Monday.

Carlos Beltran is visiting the same clinic that A-Rod used for his hip surgery. The problem for Beltran is his knee, obviously nothing to do with his hip, but the doctor that he is seeing is a micro-fracture surgery specialist. Still, the Mets are downplaying the visit saying that Dr. Richard Steadman is merely going to review Beltran’s test to make sure everything is progressing as it should. I don’t know about you, but this injury has me mighty nervous. First it was nothing. Then something minor. Then something he could play through. Then it was something that sent him to the DL. And now he is visiting specialists? I get the sneaking feeling that someone isn’t being honest here, and that would make me ready to hit the bottle if I was a Beltran owner.

Raul Ibanez, currently on the DL with a groin injury, was said to be on track to return as soon as his 15 day stint on the sidelines was up. Oh well, that’s apparently out the window now. Ibanez will most likely not be ready to go on Friday despite the fact that the groin has improved. “One day he can be doing great, and another day not as great,” GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “We have to keep our minds open there. We’ll reevaluate him and see whether he’s physically able to start some type of rehab.” Given his time on the shelf he will likely need at least a couple of games in the minors to get his timing back, so don’t plan on seeing him in a Phillies uni until at least next week (that last part was Ray Flowers talking, not anyone with the Phillies organization). To read just how effective Ibanez has been this year when compared to every other major league player, make sure you give the MLB Player Rater a read.

Mike Lowell is another case of a mysterious injury situation. We know that it’s his surgically repaired hip that was giving him problems, but as in the case of Beltran, the condition has seemingly grown worse as the days have passed. First Lowell just needed some time off after playing virtually every game in the early going. Then it was noted that he has some pain, so the club was going to give him some time off in interleague play with Kevin Youkilis sliding over to third with David Ortiz playing first. Now we get word that Lowell might end on up on the DL if he doesn’t respond to some Dr. Frankenstein type of injection he just received in his hip. OK, that might not quite be were we are at, but the injection of Synvisc sure seems pretty out there to me. Apparently the material is meant to lube up the joint, kind of like oil for your car, though even Lowell seems a bit mystified at the procedure. “They took the bad stuff out and put the good stuff in. I’m a little bruised from the injection itself but I do feel I have a lot more mobility. I think I’ll be able to tell more tomorrow when I get stretched out and stuff.” The best case scenario at this point appears to be a mid-week return, though as I mentioned a DL stint is still a possibility. Too bad to since Lowell was humming along pretty well with 41 RBI and 10 home runs in just 68 games to make him one of just seven third baseman to reach both of those levels in the early going.

Jake Peavy says that he will be ready to return to the hill in three weeks as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. You can read more about Peavy, and what the rest of the Padres are up to in my most recent National League Review.

By Ray Flowers