Around the Horn: September 28, 2010

(1) Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Zimmerman likely done for the year. You can read more about those tow in MLB Player Rater.

(2) Justin Upton likely done with shoulder issue.

(3) Joe Mauer still out (knee). Likely back on Thursday.

(4) Josh Hamilton still out but he hit on Tuesday.

(5) Miguel Cabrera out with ankle issue.

(6) Daniel Hudson done for the year.

(7) Jimmy Rollins returns for Phillies.

(8) Giants juggle rotation to set up Tim Lincecum.

By Ray Flowers

Let Tuesday Roll

I’m all over the place today (seems like I’ve written that before). So I thought what better way to lead off my grab bag o’ thoughts than to just put it – so there it is.

For all the posturing and good news about the health of Carlos Beltran’s knee, word from the Mets is that he will not start his minor league rehab assignment this week. In fact, some reports seem to suggest that he is still running with a limp at times. I’m still not counting on him being back until the All-Star break, so even if he does somehow return before that point I won’t be counting on much production.

Ryan Braun has an OPS of .865 which is, remarkably, less than guys like Austin Kearns (.877), David DeJesus (.871) and Luke Scott (.868). Come on Mr. Braun, get her in gear buddy. Speaking of getting it in gear, how wretched has Prince Fielder been this year? Fielder has 24 RBI, the same total as Eric Hinske who has 120 fewer at-bats, and his .447 SLG is lower than Gaby Sanchez (.452) who has all of seven homers. All told, Fielder is on pace for 30 homers and 61 RBI. That’s the kind of production you were hoping for when you spent your second round pick on Fielder this season, isn’t it? I know it’s really close to the 46 homers and 141 RBI he had last season. Goodness.

If you spent all day watching True Blood’s season three opener over and over again, you might have missed the fact that the Athletics traded for Conor Jackson. If you did, or if you simply are curious, you can find my thoughts about the deal at Around the Horn – Bay Area Style.

Aaron Heilman has been named the closer for the D’backs ending the nightmare that has been the closing run of Chad Qualls. At the same time, manager A.J. Hinch indicated that he will use Heilman when he is needed most based on the game situation, so he could still pitch in the 7th or 8th innings. With as bad as that pen has been, they might see if they can find a way to get Heilman to pitch the 7th, 8th and 9th innings each night.

Am I the only one out there fellas that hates shaving everyday? Wait, I don’t have to do that because I have one of the coolest jobs in the world. Don’t spread this around either, but I also wear slippers to work on some days. How bad do you want to be me right now?

Never known as a power bat, Howie Kendrick has 18 RBI in his last 14 games for the Angels. Kendrick knocked in 61 runs last season, a career best, and is currently on pace for 101 this season. Of course, you know these things have a way of evening out which is why it’s hardly surprising to see that he is batting only .273 this season (career .297).

People always wonder what my thoughts are on players – at least that’s what I tell myself even if there are only three of you out there who continue to submit questions from various email addresses. For those of you that do care about my thoughts, or simply would like to see some analysis of pitchers Derek Lowe, Ricky Nolasco, James Shields, Matt Talbot and C.J. Wilson, the link to The Chopping Block is one that you’ll want to click on.

I’m sitting here staring out the window thinking about my plans for Wednesday night. Since my life is always private – when have I ever written or talked about it (wink, wink) – I’ll simply state I’m looking forward to it about as much as Matt Holliday is looking forward to hitting second in front of Albert Pujols, the best hitter in baseball, and that’s a lot.

Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick have been flipped in the Phillies rotation meaning Moyer will pitch Wednesday and Kendrick Thursday. Since both will face the Yankees you shouldn’t have either active regardless of when they are on the bump.

Speaking of the Phillies, the latest report seems to suggest that Jimmy Rollins (calf) might still be a year, I mean a week, away from returning. I got confused there and thought we were talking about Brian Roberts.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: May17, 2010

(1) Edwin Encarnacion activated off DL as Travis Snider is placed on it.

(2) Orioles get good news with Brian Roberts and Mike Gonzalez.

(3) Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury still working way back.

(4) Nick Johnson has wrist surgery – out 4-6 weeks.

(5) Jimmy Rollins back from DL.

(6) Mark DeRosa hopes to return next week and be effective.

(7) Doug Davis to DL giving Manny Parra a chance to start.

By Ray Flowers

My Tooth Hurts

I wanted to do a video today but I couldn’t. Did my camera break or did I suffer a rash-like outbreak on my face? The answer is no. I couldn’t do a video today because I can’t talk. I had a tooth worked on at the dentist, complete with Novocain shots, and I’m doing my best right now just to avoid drooling all over myself. OK, it isn’t that bad, but why not try and drum up some sympathy in case a lady or two is reading this, right?

Its gone underreported, but Andrew Bailey of the Athletics has converted 26-straight save chances. As if that wasn’t great enough, he’s also gone 20.2 innings without allowing a run. For those that though the second year hurler would fail either because of concerns with his knee or because they didn’t buy his work last season, seems like those questions have been answered – Bailey will be fine.

Milton Bradley is behaving badly? I’m stupefied as to how that has happened.

Brandon Morrow is one of those late round gambles that was well worth taking this season and, as expected, the results have been mixed. Morrow has a wonderfully impressive 42 strikeouts in just 33.1 innings leading to a whopping 11.34 K/9 mark – a level of titans. On the other hand, his ERA is 5.40 and his WHIP is over 1.50 so it’s not like he has even been passable in the ratio categories. Morrow has the talent to flat out dominate hitters, but he also has bouts with his control that can make him look like a right-handed version of Oliver Perez. Give the youngster time, I still think he can be special, but it’s likely to be a bumpy road.

Andy Pettitte moved to 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.21 WHIP through six outings in a spectacular start to the season for the 15 year vet. Alas, those good feelings have come to a screeching halt given the news that he was removed from the game after just 77 pitches because of some concern with his elbow. An MRI showed “mild inflammation” and the club will take is slow with the veteran. No word yet on if he will need a DL stint, but the team has reported that they will treat the issue conservatively which means he will almost certainly miss at least a start or two.

Jimmy Rollins (calf) will head out to the Phillies extended spring training complex on Monday to see if he can get his body right for a projected mid May return. Keep an eye on how he is moving as a lot of his value is obviously predicated on his legs.

Denard Span stunk it up in April, at least from a batting average perspective as he hit .211. Well, seems like the calendar flipping to May has changed everything for the leadoff hitters as he has gone nuts hitting .500 in May through 22 at-bats. Make no mistake Span is a heck of a hitter and one that it might behoove you to still try to purchase at a discounted rate if his owner isn’t paying attention.

Drew Stubbs isn’t going in the right direction. He had another 0-for on Wednesday to drop his average down to .174 on the season. Stubbs also struck out three times giving him 30 punchouts in 92 at-bats (32.6 percent K-rate). What’s wrong with him? Can I be truthful with you all? He isn’t as good as you thought he was if you looked only at his 42 game cup of coffee last year. Stubbs isn’t a 30/30 option, heck he probably isn’t even a 15/30 option, and this season he is proving that. Still, in 267 career at-bats, roughly half a season, he has 10 homers, 43 runs scored and 17 steals, so don’t panic simply on the basis of his slow start this season. He isn’t this bad, and he wasn’t that good, but if the middle ground seems him double those stated totals, at least in the runs scored and steals categories, he will have had a strong season for the Reds.D

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: April14, 2010

(1) Is Jonathan Sanchez more valuable than Clayton Kershaw?

(2) Closer mayhem – what about SOLDS?

(3) Denard Span struggling, still walking.

(4) B.J. Upton showing life.

(5) Jason Kendall and Ryan Sweeney have hitting streaks.

(6) Jorge Cantu making history.

(7) Jonny Gomes continues to pound the ball.

(8) Jimmy Rollins placed on DL.

For more about the numbers of the game make sure you give the following two articles a read:

By The Numbers – Hitters

By The Numbers – Pitchers

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: April12, 2010

What is the deal with the massive amount of injuries to all-star caliber players in the opening month of the season? Here is a list of the players I’ll touch on today.

C: Miguel Montero

1B: Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee

2B: Mark Ellis, Aaron Hill, Ian Kinsler, Brian Roberts

3B: Ryan Zimmerman, Chipper Jones

SS: Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins

OF: Jacoby Ellsbury, Grady Sizemore, Carlos Gonzalez

SP: Cliff Lee, Scott Kazmir, Chris Young

RP: Joe Nathan, Brad Lidge

Also —

(1) Jack Cust accepts minor league deal. Does he have any value?

(2) Nelson Cruz bashing. Already has five homers leading to 38 HR, 85 RBI and 20 SB in his last 134 games.

(3) And Prince Fielder who wants at least $180 million, maybe more than $200, to sign long-term.

By Ray Flowers

2010 Auction Results

By Ray Flowers

World Series Preview

Which team will emerge victorious in the 2009 World Series between the Phillies and the Yankees? In what follows I’ll give my thoughts on who it looks like will win this battle of two potent offenses.

OFFENSE

Phillies: The fourth highest scoring team in the regular season (820 runs), the Phils also hit 224 home runs, tied for second overall with the Rangers.

The Phils boast four 30-homer bats in Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley. Howard and Ibanez are traditional slugger types whereas Werth (20 steals) and Utley (23 steals) bring a 20/20 game to the party. The Phillies also boast two solid table setters in Jimmy Rollins (100 runs, 31 steals) and Shane Victorino (102 runs, 25 steals). There is no finer group of six offensive weapons in the game in one lineup.

Yankees: The highest scoring team in the regular season (915), the Yankees also led baseball with 244 home runs.

Like the Phillies, the Yankees boast a powerful lineup with two 30-100 guys in Mart Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Nick Swisher also went deep 29 times with 82 RBI while Hideki Matsui (28-90), Robinson Cano (25-85),Johnny Damon (24-82) and Jorge Posada (22-81) are all also members of the 20-HR, 80-RBI club. And to think, I didn’t even mention their most important player yet in Derek Jeter.

ADVANTAGE: Yankees
Both of these teams can bash, and both yards are clearly made for offensive explosions. Given the depth of both lineups this is almost a toss up, but I’ll go with the Yankees who figure to have an advantage when using the DH in the Yankees’ home park for up to four games.

PITCHING

Phillies: Finished eighth in ERA (4.16), 8th in WHIP (1.3520) and tied for 12th in K (1,153) during the regular season.

Cliff Lee is amazing, and Brad Lidge has apparently figured things out at the back end of games. Pedro Martinez has also dialed back the calendar some seven or eight years. Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ can start or relieve at this point, but the key to this unit is twofold. (1) Can Cole Hamels recapture last year’s success? (2) Will that bullpen be able to get leads from the starters into the hands of Mr. Lidge, and will he be able to convert if they do?

Yankees: Finished 12th in ERA (4.26), 7th in WHIP (1.3517) and 4th in K (1,260) during the regular season.

The Yankees didn’t give CC Sabathia the keys to Fort Knox to waste away on the bench, so it looks like he might be asked to go in Games 1, 4 and 7. Andy Pettitte continues to come through in big games, and A.J. Burnett might be erratic, but the man has no-hit stuff every time he takes the mound. There are no concerns here about the bullpen as Mariano Rivera is the all-time playoff reliever, and with Joba Chamberlain on hand to help Phil Hughes to get the ball to Mariano, things are looking pretty good.

ADVANTAGE: Yankees
The bullpen will likely be the difference here, and as long as the Yanks can get Hughes back on track, they have the advantage.

BENCH

Phillies: There is little depth here for the Phillies who were lucky enough to have pretty much every offensive weapon suit up for at least 130 games during the regular season. Matt Stairs will likely be called on to try and hit a ball to the moon, and Greg Dobbs and Ben Francisco are also on hand for some added depth.

Yankees: When the game moves to Philadelphia, the Yankees will have a huge advantage with Hideki Matsui, an everyday slugger, able to pinch hit at a moments notice. That gives them the advantage on the road, and at home they will also be in the same position rolling Matsui as DH with the Phillies likely using someone like Dobbs, Stairs or Francisco. That’s not a favorable matchup.

ADVANTAGE: Yankees

INTANGIBLES

Phillies: 5th in fielding percentage (.987).
Manager Charlie Manuel has a World Series Championship under his belt from last season, but the guy just scares the hell out of me with the use of his pitching staff.

Yankees: 16th in field percentage (.985).
Manager Joe Girardi will look to emulate his former manager, Joe Torre, and return the Yankees to the realm of World Champions.

ADVANTAGE: Yankees

RAY’s PICK: Yankees in Six
I almost want to puke. In fact, I might if I was picking the Dodgers here. Still, the Yankees are my second most hated club, cue the vomit bags, and given that their player’s salary is something like the GNP of a few countries in the world, it’s hard to like the Evil Empire. However, it looks like they will win their first World Series since 2000 and their 27th overall championship.

By Ray Flowers

Thursday Has a Feel

Thursday is an odd day. It’s the middle of the week and it certainly has a palpable feel to it as the anticipation of the potential fun of the weekend starts to seep into ones consciousness. Maybe that’s why I’m all over the map today.

NL Playoff Thoughts

So sad to see the Dodgers fail to advance to the World Series. Not. I said it all along – there was no way a team that was counting on guys like Randy Wolf and Vincente Padilla could make the World Series. For the sake of Philly fans hopefully my other prediction that they wouldn’t be able to win the World Series with Brad Lidge pitching the ninth won’t come true. We’ll certainly have a chance to find out.

That Shane Victorino kid is a player. Did you see that sweet stroke on that long home run he hit last night? Beautiful.

Thank goodness the offense for the Phillies is so strong, because for all his production, that Jimmy Rollins is an out making machine of epic proportions. I know he produces strong fantasy 5×5 numbers each year, but my goodness does he rack up the outs. He owns a .286 OBP in 120 plate appearances in his playoff career, and this season he posted a simply hideous .296 OBP. Since he was awarded a full-time job in 2001, Rollins leads baseball with 4,496 outs, 219 more than the next guy (Orlando Cabrera). Last time I checked getting on base and avoiding outs was the name of the game for a leadoff hitter. Averaging 109 runs per 162 games in his career, can you imagine how many runs Rollins would have scored if he merely gotten on base at a league average rate?

Random Baseball Thoughts

At least we know that The Sporting News isn’t populated by idiots as they awarded Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke their NL and AL Pitcher of the Year awards. I expressed the same views a while back in my NL Cy Young Race and AL Cy Young Race pieces. Now we’ll have to wait and see if those that vote for the Cy Young award are as smart as TSN and myself.

Steve Phillips of ESPN was recently outed in the press for having an affair. I know we are all about 24 hour news nowadays, but really, is that any of our business? I say we leave the guy and his poor family alone.

The Mets finally got some good news after a dreadful season where seemingly everyone on their roster spent at least a night in the hospital. It’s official, the Mets actually made money off the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, $48 million worth to be exact. Finally, some good news.

If Bobby Valentine ends up returning to the States to manage the Indians, will he bring with him his Super Mario Brothers’ disguise?

Brandon Inge, a tremendous human being who goes out of his way all the time to help pretty much any charity that contacts him, fell flat on his face in the second half this year because of a wonky knee as he hit just .186 after the All-Star game. Turns out things were worse than we thought. Both of his knees were hurt. In fact, Inge will have to undergo surgery on both knees this offseason, though he should be ready by the start of the season. This is one guy who is in your corner Mr. Inge, even if I would be extremely reluctant to place my faith in you in standard mixed leagues.

Football Thoughts

Darrius Heyward-Bey is ninth in receptions — on the Raiders. He has two receptions on the season. Another stellar draft selection by the Raiders.

My over/under on Michael Crabtree this week, his first NFL game, is 27 yards. Any takers?

Am I the only one that found it laughable that during the Patriots annihilation of the Titans over the weekend that they actually put a “countdown to the Super Bowl” clock on the television screen? It was something like 111 days. How dumb is that?

Why is there a rule that NFL teams have to share injuries with the public/press, a rule they openly flaunt? Have the Patriots ever been truthful with their list? If you think they have, guess what, I got this new fangled elixir that helps to attract hot ladies to average looking guys. How many bottles you want?

By Ray Flowers

Down the Stretch: Shortstop

I was thinking about what to write about today, and a couple of stories revolving around shortstops caught my fancy so I just decided to make it a theme and stick with the position for all my comments today.

Jose Reyes took BP on Monday. Since he plays for the Mets that is about as exciting as it would be for you or I to walk out to pick the paper up in the morning to find that it was in the hand of Brooklyn Decker. I never really wanted to visit New York before.

Marco Scutaro may have played his last game because of a heel injury. There are two schools of thought as the club awaits the results of the MRI. Here is what his manager, Cito Gaston said. “I’m pretty sure that he’s probably not going to play the rest of the season.” Of course, that isn’t the way that Scutaro is looking at it. “As soon as I feel good, I’m going to play,” Scutaro said. “If it feels good, I just want to play.” The hope is that there was just scar tissue breaking loose in the heel. If that is the case, he could be back in a few days. If it’s more serious he could be looking at surgery or in the least a few weeks healing doing absolutely nothing. As a Scutaro owner, I certainly hope that he shocks everyone and returns to the field, and soon. Yes, I’m being greedy since he has set career-highs in just about every conceivable category including average (.282), homers (12), RBI (60 tied with 60 last year), runs (100), steals (14), OBP (.379) and OPS (.789). Yeah, that’s a career year folks. Think of this. Scutaro was my 30th round draft pick in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, literally the 436 player off the board and he, and as of this writing he has:

Hit for a higher average than Alexei Ramirez (.279).
Had more homers than Johnny Peralta (11).
Knocked in more runners than Stephen Drew.
Stole more bases than Orlando Cabrera (13)
Scored more runs than Jimmy Rollins (90).

Think about that the next time you throw out some inconsequently name at the end of your draft. Every pick counts, so make sure you view them that way (Scutaro was our target in the 29th round, but we figured, correctly, that he would fall back to us in round 30).

Here are the leaders at the shortstop position over the past 30 days.

AVG: Troy Tulowitzki turned around a horrible start to the season and has flashed a strong finishing kick with a .351 average over the past 30 days.
HR: Juan Uribe leads the position with seven home runs. He qualifies at second and third in most leagues and has been one hell of an option late in the year.

RBI: Uribe also leads the position with 19 RBI, in addition to pacing the position with a SLG (.652) and a OPS (1.044). Yeah, he has been scorching.

Runs: Derek Jeter scored 20 runs in his 27 games to lead the way. Rafael Furcal is second with 19 runs while Cliff Pennington has 18. By the way, Pennington is also hitting .306 with 11 RBI in his 28 games, so if he is still there on waivers, and you need some middle infield help, he is worth adding for the final two weeks.

SB: Everth Cabrera and Scutaro with six. That’s right, Scutaro produced 43 percent of his year steal total in the last 30 days.

So there it is. I’ll try to hit some of the other positions over the next couple of weeks as the season winds down because, you know me, I’ll do anything I can to avoid talking about football each day (j/k).

By Ray Flowers