In the News: Rumors

I finally bit the bullet and entered the Twitter world this week as BaseballGuys is now Twitter friendly. If you go to the page you can read all my brilliant one liners for the day. Here are two of my favorites from day one – one sports related, the other not so much.

“Who thought of calling dentists doctors? I can get my jaw jacked up by hitting on a gal at a bar who is there with her b/f for free.”
– I wrote that after having two fillings in my lower right jaw replaced (the old ones cracked). The good news is that I swapped out the silver for some gold. It’s not a platinum grill or anything, but way in the back there I got me some bling.

“Kung Fu Panda a workout fiend. Love the headband.”
– There is a link on the page so you can read the story about how Pablo Sandoval has dedicated himself to getting into a bit better physical shape. Here is a quote from the Panda. “The fans, I love them and want them to know I’ll always be the guy who’s working hard. I know I have to lose weight so I can play this game for a long time.”. It’s pretty crazy to think how good he could be considering (a) he was grossly out of shape last season, and (b) he really has no clue of what he is doing at the dish. After all, Pablo was second in the NL with a .330 batting average and seventh with his .943 OPS despite the issues.

THE RUMOR MILL

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman reported that the Giants might be in the mix for Johnny Damon since the club doesn’t have enough dough to target high end offensive weapons such as Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Seems to make sense to me. After all, Damon is 36 years old, just the perfect age for a Giants organization that just can’t seem to figure out how to construct an offense.

The Mariners reportedly have some interest in uber-talented yet continually injured Rich Harden. If healthy he could be a top-10 pitcher, but we all know there is no way that happens right? He sure would form a potentially lethal 1-2 punch with Felix Hernandez though.

The rumors are true with Tim Hudson – he did sign a 3-year deal to remain with the Braves. I broke down the deal and his 2010 outlook in Around the Horn. As an aside, you can read the same piece for my thoughts on what will happen to Milton Bradley.

The Royals are looking to move Mike Jacobs. Apparently, when you hit .228 with a .297 OBP teams sour on you pretty quickly. The Royals may also try and move Alberto Callaspo, potentially to the Dodgers for catcher A.J. Ellis. The Royals really don’t have a catcher with both John Buck and Miguel Olivo near certainties to move on (Olivo already had his option declined). In addition the Royals picked up Chris Getz to play second in the recent mark Teahen deal. All of this seems a bit odd though considering that Callaspo hit .300 with 73 RBI last season while not being eligible for arbitration until after next season.

Jason Schmidt will reportedly call it a career. His shoulder just never rebounded to the point where he was able to do anything on the hill. I’ll never forget his two year run in San Fran in 2003 (17-5, 2.34 ERA, 208 K, 0.95 WHIP) and 2004 (18-7, 3.20 ERA, 251 K, 1.08 WHIP). Until I saw Tim Lincecum pitch, I had never witnessed a Giants’ hurler who was as filthy or as potentially lethal as Schmidt.

By Ray Flowers

What is My Value? – Pt.II

I’m always fascinated by how people evaluate player worth on a weekly basis. Therefore, I’m always interested to see the weekly recaps of free agent bidding in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, or the NFBC. These leagues are made up of 15 teams with 30 person rosters, so there is always a lot of prospecting going on each week as people are basically forced to pick up players, in most cases, that they hope will be able to help them in the future because very, very few full time players are on waivers at one time (therefore, anytime someone has a big week, you can almost be certain they will be a hot property). Here is a review of some of the players that were rostered off waivers this past weekend. Listed are the range of dollar figures for each guy based on a season long budget of $1000.

Note: I did this same thing about a month ago, and you can give that review a look by clicking on the link to What is My Value?

John Bowker – $1 to $54
People are hoping that Bowker continues to hit like he was in Triple-A (.347-17-63 in 285 ABs). That work hasn’t remotely carried over as he is hitting just .190 with seven Ks in 21 ABs with the G-men. Could be some wasted dollars here.

Mike Fontenot – $7 to $35
Qualifies at second and third, and he has been hot in July hitting .333 with a .837 OPS in 45 ABs. Still hitting only .239 overall and he has seen his BB/K mark has dipped from 0.67 last year down to 0.44 this season.

Ben Francisco – $1 To $42
Though he is hitting .302 the past three weeks, he is just 4-for-27 of late (.148) making me questions the logic of those that picked him up.

Ryan Hanigan – $1 To $67
Ramon Hernandez will miss at least four weeks with knee surgery, so Hanigan should be in the lineup pretty much every day. In his 251 at-bat career Ryan has hit .303 with a strong .395 OBP along with a 0.83 BB/K mark. Still he has no pop with only three home runs and has just 19 RBI.

Troy Glaus – $1 to $22
Shoulder may not allow him to play third, so the club has been working him out in the outfield. If he shows he can make the throws, he could be activated next week and be in the lineup on a semi-regular basis with the way that Tony La Russa manages his club.

Jonny Gomes – $$12 to $42
Hitting .304 with six home runs in 102 at-bats. Since playing more regularly of late he is just seven for 32 (.219).

Gio Gonzalez – $1 to $25
I pray that those that picked up Gio didn’t have him active for his start as he was bombed, and that is being kind, as he was flambéed for 10 hits, three walks and 11 runs while recording just eight outs.

Jim Johnson – $1 to $15
Save speculation. With George Sherrill possibly on his way out of town and Chris Ray still working his way back from injury, Johnson would likely become the ninth inning ace thanks to his 3.05 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Danys Baez could also be in the mix if he isn’t traded.

Mat Latos – $11 to $179
Decent first appearance allowing two runs in four innings as he walked one and struck out four. Padres will likely be very careful with his innings pitched count so even if successful he may not pitch deep into September.

Jason Schmidt – $1 to $105
One his first start since 2007. Schmidt struggled to hit 87 mph with his fastball, certainly not a positive sign pointing toward future success.

Seth Smith – $17 to $91
Rockies say they won’t trade him because of his locker room presence. He has 12 hits in his last 30 ABs (.400) but likely will not get enough playing time to be of much use in mixed leagues.

Tim Stauffer – $5 to $49
Continually injured, he is healthy now and has been quite effective in his two starts posting a 2.08 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP with 11 Ks and only two walks. The quintessential “flier” pickup.

By Ray Flowers