Hote Stove: Not Everyone is Greedy

Relievers continue to get paid, Adrian Beltre is the last big bat on the free agent market, and a handful of mid-level offensive players have found their homes for the 2011 season.

Adrian Beltre: He wants something like $80 million dollars. He shouldn’t get it. However, he might, as the Angels have been unable to attract any of the options they were hoping to land (Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Josh Willingham etc.), while losing Hideki Matsui to the Athletics (Hot Stove: Lee Isn’t Only Newsmaker). Will they capitulate to the demands of the incomparable super agent Scott Boras who has likely tried to convince them that Beltre is better than Mike Schmidt? The Angels would be wise to read The Curious Case of Adrian Beltre where I point out how Beltre had one other “special” season in his career which, by pure chance I’m sure, just so happened to come right as Beltre was heading into free agency.

Kevin Gregg: Will he and the Orioles ever get this thing figured out? The two sides have been linked for weeks now with an offer of $8-10 million over two years reportedly being floated his way. Why has Gregg balked at what seems like a reasonable deal? The recent contracts given to Scott Downs (3-years, $15 million), Matt Guerrier (3-years, $12 million), Jesse Crain (3-years, $12 million) and Bobby Jenks (2-years, $12) certainly aren’t helping the Orioles (for more on Jenks give Hot Stove: Signings Galore a read). “It’s fair to say that we’re still in discussions with a few teams and Baltimore is one of them,” said Danny Horwits, Kevin Gregg;’s agent. Say what you will about Gregg, but the fact remains that he is one of only seven relievers in baseball with at least 23 saves in each of the last four seasons. With middle relievers getting such huge deals, you can’t blame Gregg for holding out for more.

Orlando Hudson: Sorry David Eckstein, but with Padres pending addition of Jason Bartlett and today’s signing of O-Dog (2-years, $11.5 million), it might finally be the end of the road for you. I for one have no issue whatsoever in tipping my cap to you. The fact you were able to accomplish so much with so little is flat out amazing. As for Hudson, can we please, finally, put this guy to rest as a solid fantasy option? Every year he is over-drafted, but the simple fact of the matter is that he is nothing more than a replacement level fantasy option, if that. He does own a career .280 average, but he has averaged only eight steals the past eight seasons, hasn’t reached double-digits in homers since 2007, has never knocked in 70 runs, and only twice scored 80 runs. Great defender, great guy, and a wonderful role model, but in terms of his fantasy value he is middling at best, especially now that he will call Petco home.

Bill Hall: Let us all shed a tear for the end of the Jeff Keppinger / Tommy Manzella era in Houston. How could the club look to replace the best up the middle duo since Trammell and Whitaker? Obviously it’s because of the vast improvement they were able to make through the trade and free agent market (wink, wink). A month ago the club signed Clint Barmes to play shortstop, and I wrote about just how poor an idea that was in AL CY and Two Deals. Not content with that brilliant move, the Astros then went out and added Bill Hall off the free agent market on Friday signing him to a 1-year deal for around $3 million dollars to play second base. Hall has power, I won’t dispute that, but he has hit just .225 over the past three years while striking out 32 percent of the time. That’s ain’t good. I have little doubt that Barmes will go deep 15 times or that Hall could approach 25 homers playing everyday, but what are the Astros doing to their teams ability to score runs? As it stands today, if we assume the club will go with Carlos Lee at first base which seems like their current plan (sorry Brett Wallace), here is how their infield would shape up in terms of their 2010 OBPs.

C: Jason Castro (.286), Humberto Quintero (.262)
1B: Carlos Lee (.291)
2B: Bill Hall (.316)
3B: Chris Johnson (.337)
SS: Clint Barmes (.305)

To compare, the big league average in 2010 was .325. That’s right, only one of those players was even league average last year in his ability to get on base. Better get one of those disaster survival kits Astros’ fans, there could be some significant scoring droughts this season.

Xavier Nady: Signed to a 1-year deal for $1.75 million with the D’backs. Nady will likely be asked to play some first base and left field, and to add some pop to a team that has lost its two best power bats from 2010 (Adam LaRoche who is a free agent and Mark Reynolds who was dealt to the Orioles). Nady wasn’t at full strength last year after Tommy John surgery, so the Diamondbacks are willing to cut him some slack for his poor performance (.256-7-31 with a .660 OPS in 236 at-bats). Nady hit 25 homers while batting .305 as recently as 2008, but he has only one other 20 homer season on his resume. Still, this was a nice low cost addition by the D’backs, and he does makes a fine NL-only option.

And finally, the strange case of Kerry Wood…

As I referenced above relievers, even middle relievers, have been getting ginormous deals this offseason. So what is your reaction when you hear that Wood signed a 1-year deal for $1.5 million to play for the Cubs? My reaction was utter shock – I couldn’t have been more caught off guard if a Playboy Playmate had shown up on my doorstep wearing a Santa suit and holding a bottle of champagne (sorry, that’s always been a fantasy of mine). Come on, honestly, isn’t a hottie on my doorstep a more reasonable expectation than Wood signing for a mere $1.5 million? Apparently he really missed Chicago, so I give him credit for leaving millions to return to Chicago (apparently he really wanted to pitch for the Cubs and not the White Sox who reportedly offered a 1-year deal for $3.5 million). Wood will serve as the primary setup man for Carlos Marmol in Chicago, and if he pitches anything like the hurler who had a 0.69 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 31 Ks in 26 innings with the Yankees this could turn out to be the best contract given by a club this offseason.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: Jan.29, 2010

Which baseball players are in the news as we head toward the weekend? Glad you asked.

(1) Mike Wuertz re-signs with A’s. (2) Jermaine Dye turns down Cubs. (3) Orlando Hudson still negotiating with the Nationals – still. (4) Orlando Cabrera likely to sign with Reds or Rockies. (5) Justin Verlander talking 5-years with Tigers. (6) Eric Byrnes signs with Mariners. (7) Dustin McGowan’s shoulder doing well. (8) Johnny Damon still homeless.

By Ray Flowers

You Make the Call

This title is though provoking (I hope), but the truth is I’m going to give you my calls on some of the biggest issues of the past couple of days. Hopefully you’ll agree with my thoughts. Everyone is entitled to their opinion – as long as it agrees with mine.

Moron of the Week?
Jeff Bennett wins the moron of the week honors, quite the accomplishment in this day and age of often lax behavior. The Braves reliever will have to undergo surgery on his hand after punching a door out of frustration after a poor outing on Wednesday. “I’m ashamed of myself. This is a professional sport; you handle yourself in a professional manner. I didn’t do that.” At least he was smart enough to punch the door with his non-pitching hand. Still, I think it would be more helpful to do what I do when I’m angry or frustrated – I head to my kitchen, crack open the rum bottle, add a dash of pineapple juice, and one of those little umbrella’s if I have one handy, and pull back on the hooch. Works for me.

Worst Timing of the Week?
Xavier Nady’s season is over after it was learned that he will need to undergo TJ surgery on his elbow. He tried valiantly to come back, but after his most recent set back in the minors the decision was made to go under the knife. This comes at a terrible time for Nady who is a free agent at the end of the season. As a result, Nady will be leaving untold millions on the field as he will be forced to sign a short-term deal to prove his worth hitting after .305-25-97 last season in a year split between the Pirates and the Yankees. TJ surgery usually takes about 12-18 months of recovery time for pitchers, but being an outfielder Nady might be able to shorten that time frame to the lower end of the estimate, especially if he can find a club that will let him DH. Still, we may not see him until the All-Start break of 2010.

Moron of the Week Number Two?
I wrote an IMPACT REPORT on Milton Bradley early Friday in which I pointed out that he really isn’t as good a player as most people think he is. I also mentioned his somewhat frequent tirades and suspensions. Well, turns out Bradley must have wanted us all to focus on his often asinine behavior as reports from the Cubs game on Friday say that the struggling outfielder threw his helmet and smashed a water cooler our of frustration in the dugout. As a result, he was removed from the game in the sixth inning. However, after the game manager Lou Pinella stated that he was planning on starting Bradley on Saturday. This brings up the following question – is Bradley or Pinella the moron here?

A Victory of Historic Proportions?

For those of you who think I’m not well-rounded, here is some news from “the pitch” – the fancy name given to the soccer field.

For those of you who missed it, Team USA just pulled of their greatest victory in the history of soccer in this country (some have compared it to the ice hockey victory of Team USA over Russia in the “Miracle on Ice” game in 1980). The club defeated the #1 team in the world, the squad from Spain, 2-0 to move into the 2009 FIFA Confederation Cup Finals against Brazil.

This is the first FIFA tournament finals that the Americans have ever reached. Play started in 1916.

This is the first loss for Spain in 35 games, a mark which tied the all-time record in international play held by Brazil.

Wave your flags folks- USA, USA, USA.

Moron of the Week Number Three?
Sidney Ponson was slated to start on Saturday for the Royals, but that won’t happen now as the club has decided to go with Bruce Chen instead. We don’t know what the reason for the switch is at the moment, but could it have something to do with the fact that Ponson has been banned for two years from international competition after testing positive for a stimulant while participating in the World Baseball Classic? Regardless, Ponson won’t have his ability to earn a living affected given that the suspension has no bearing on his major league status. “It was a prescribed medication, dietary supplement,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said. “He informed all interested parties that he was taking it and it still got flagged.” What happened to the good old days when if you wanted to lose weight you just exercised and ate better? Get it through your heads morons – STOP TAKING SUPPLEMENTS. Jeez. How many times does someone need to get popped before they take that simple statement to hear?

I’m still trying to figure out though if Ponson should have been the lead story in this section or not since Geovany Soto was also banned from international play for two years after testing positive for blazing up a blunt. For those of you who live as straight life and don’t get that reference Soto was suspended because he tested positive for marijuana. Could it be that Ponson needed the dietary supplement to keep his appetite down while he was under the influence of an herb? Of course that’s pure speculation on my part.

By Ray Flowers