Category Archives: MLB

Random Semi-Humorous Post: And they say American fans don’t care about the WBC…

Posted on by
Reply

The WBC is an afterthought for most Americans, aside from freaks like me. But let it not be said that everyone has that opinion. Rest assured, the WBC is a big deal for some people. Just look at what I found while looking on Twitter for WBC news:

 

Yes, a yogurt place in Orem, Utah is offering Bryce Harper free yogurt for life if he changes his mind about the World Baseball Classic. Harper is from Nevada and has family in Utah (his girlfriend is a star soccer player for BYU), so he presumably would be able to stop in Orem to collect it. But will the power of yogurt be enough? Time will tell…

Winter Meetings Actions and Reactions: Part 5 (Ben Revere-is-traded edition)

Posted on by
Reply

Action:

Reaction: The Twins had two good center-fielders. Now they have none. However, they also had very little pitching. For the two CFs they have traded, they have acquired three pitchers: Vance Worley, Alex Meyer and Trevor May. Worley, who did admittedly miss the end of last season with some injury problems, instantly becomes the top starter for the Twins. He’s gone 18-13 with a 3.50 ERA during parts of three MLB seasons, has good upside and won’t be hitting free agency until after the 2017 season.

Meyer (who they got for Span) and May are more of gambles- every pitching prospect is, to the extent that somebody once said that “there is no such thing as a pitching prospect”. However, May is by all accounts a good power-pitching guy who can strike people out and could become a front-line starter if he gets his mechanics under control, and Meyer also is a well-regarded prospect.

While it is likely sad for Twins fans to see Revere go, it probably won’t hurt the team in the long-term. Aaron Hicks, one of the top prospects for the Twins, hit .286 for AA New Britain last season and is a CF. He probably will be up with Minnesota by the end of the 2013 season, and could be the CF for years to come. And although Revere was great fun to watch in the field and on the basepaths, he was more of a slap-hitter at the plate and his arm was… lacking.

So while it is probably sad for Twins fans to see him go, the return in this case- as well as the Twins’ minor league depth in the outfield- make this trade look like a winner for Minnesota, and a good step on the path back to competing in the AL Central.

Still, one last time:

2013 WBC Team USA projections Version 2.1

Posted on by
7

THE LATEST PROJECTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

Well, with some players beginning to confirm their inclusion or non-participation in the WBC, here are my latest projections. While Team USA is hurt by the fact that Bryce Harper (who likely wants to spend the spring preparing for what will be just his third year as a professional) and David Price are apparently not going to take part, it is bolstered by the fact that Joe Mauer and David Wright have confirmed that they are in. Starting with this set of projections, players who have confirmed that they are participating will be italicized.

A refresher on my selection rules/assumptions:

  • Any player coming off a major injury or who has a history of injuries is unlikely to participate. This is especially true for the pitchers.
  • Players that will be on new teams are less likely to participate, but shouldn’t be completely ignored, with the exception of pitchers.
  • Teams are made up of 28 players, of which 13 of them must be pitchers and two of them catchers.
  • The pitch count rules make relievers extremely important.

Now, go after the jump for the full look:

Continue reading →

Winter Meetings Actions and Reactions: Part 4

Posted on by
Reply

Action:

Reaction: It is true. The Yankees apparently were in on Jeff Keppinger and Eric Chavez, looking to get them to fill the black hole that has now emerged at 3B now that Alex Rodriguez is hurt. Neither of them signed: Keppinger went to the White Sox, and Chavez went to the Diamondbacks. And, let’s face it, even if you are a true seamhead, you may have trouble remembered who Jeff Keppinger even is.

So, the third choice (assuming that they even went after Keppinger and Chavez, as some say they never even made an offer to them) is… Kevin Youkilis.

How the mighty have fallen. How the mighty have fallen.

Action:

Reaction: Jason Bay isn’t what he used to be back during his days as the Pirates’ designated All-Star, having been worn down by age and injury, but really, the Mariners need all the help they can get and it’s just a one-year deal. Maybe if he shows flashes of his old self the Mariners will be able to flip him at the deadline for some prospects.

Action:

 

Reaction: In other words, if you are breathing and can throw a baseball with anything resembling Major League ability, the Twins might offer you a contract. And can you blame them? The Twins had a 4.77 ERA last season, only two starters had winning records, and that was in a cavernous pitcher’s park. They need one or two starters to eat innings, protect the young arms, and possibly act as trade-bait if the Twins are out of it mid-year.

 

As of 10:03 PM of December 4, 2012, here’s who is IN and OUT of the 2013 WBC

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s an update of yesterday’s post. To save space, go after the jump to see the list.

Continue reading →

Winter Meetings Action and Reactions: Part 3

Posted on by
Reply

Action:

Reaction: Dan Haren could very well end up being the fifth starter for Washington. Fifth. This is a three-time All-Star who until recently didn’t have many injury concerns and who doesn’t walk many people. A nice deal for both parties, barring an injury.

Action:

Reaction: I think Yankees Pacific Rim scout “David P.” sums it up nicely-

Action:

Reaction: The Angels’ road to getting Greinke may be easier since the Nationals have now gotten a pitcher, but the fact is is that for the most part the entire pitching market seems to be in a stand-still as everyone waits for Greinke to sign. A similar thing is happening, to a lesser degree, with Hamilton and the hitters. Action:

 

Reaction: Called it.

2013 WBC Provisional Roster Analysis: Japan

Posted on by
20

While most of the western WBC teams aren’t going to reveal their full rosters until January, Japan has already come up with a provisional roster of 34 players. Eventually, they will cut it down to 28 players, but for now, here’s an analysis of their provisional roster. As expected, they have no MLB players, due to the fact they all bailed out. Ichiro, for example, may be with a new team and apparently said after the ’09 Classic that he was unlikely to play in it again because he wants to have gone out on top. Yu Darvish is worried about how his body will be after throwing so much last season. Hiroki Kuroda is old.

So, instead, Japan will be sending an NPB all-star team. Many of these guys could play in MLB if they wanted to and some of them still may. One of them- Kazuo Matsui– was once an MLB player. And, of course, they will have been preparing for a month or more for the tournament, as opposed to the week or so that most of the western teams will.

Don’t underestimate them. Instead, go after the jump for my analysis.

Continue reading →

Winter Meetings Action and Reaction: Part 2

Posted on by
1

Part of a feature in which I react to the news coming from the Winter Meetings.

Action:

Reaction: An umpire, an owner and a player. The biggest surprise though is that more than one person was elected by the Veterans Committee- previously they haven’t put in this many.

Action:

Reaction: Well, I guess the Red Sox are back to their old ways. The large amounts of salary they dumped on the Dodgers earlier this year means that they they once again will be able to spend. Mike Napoli has long been a good hitter, and although he likely is now on the downward part of his career, he should be a good fit in Fenway.

 

More actions and reactions will come semi-regularly throughout the Winter Meetings.

Action and Reaction, Winter Meetings, Part 1

Posted on by
Reply

Throughout the Winter Meetings, I’ll react to the acts that are going on in Baseball.

Action:

Reaction: I saw Lidge pitch once when he was with Houston. It was the year after he’d had his soul eaten by Albert Pujols, who sent a go-ahead home run in the NLCS so far into the night that I believe one of the Mars rovers recently discovered it. He got the save, if memory serves, but it was during one of the down points of his career. You see, Lidge was a player who was either lights-out or a heart attack waiting to happen, great one year but not-so-great the next, and injury-prone often (he mentioned on MLB Network this morning that he’s had 9 surgeries over his career). Overall, however, he had a good career, and as he retires he goes out with 225 saves, two All-Star Games, he played a role in a combined no-hitter against the Yankees,  a World Series ring and appearances in two other World Series.

Action:

Reaction: Oh, Alex Rodriguez. It never seems to end for him. With every successive year, his contract with the Yankees becomes even more of a albatross, and as his body breaks down and production decreases, it’s also becoming clear that the one saving grace the Yankees might have had- the attention that would come when Rodriguez could break Bonds’ HR record- is highly unlikely.

Action:

Reaction: And so it begins for the Tampa Rays, who many- including me- think will be a big mover-and-shaker at the Winter Meetings.They have an excess amount of good pitchers. Everybody wants good pitchers. And the Rays aren’t the market where they are able to sign lots of guys to long-term deals once they get expensive (with the exception of Evan Longoria, of course). To flip a pitcher could be a prudent move, for the right prospects. James Shields is the most likely to be dealt, but there have been on-and-off rumblings about David Price for about a year and a half. James Loney, meanwhile, seems like the type of guy who could turn out to be a shrewd move for the Rays. He had an off-year in 2012, but a rebound could give a good new cog to the Rays’ lineup.

Non-Baseball Action:

Reaction: Others might have been more deserving, but it is hard to argue with a MVP, a league title and an Olympic Gold medal.

Keep an eye open for more Action and Reaction throughout the Winter Meetings.

Q and A: The Winter Meetings

Posted on by
Reply

Baseball’s “Winter Meetings” are about to get going in Nashville. You may be wondering why this is happening, and what it is. So, here’s a little question and answer for those of you wondering about it.

What are baseball’s Winter Meetings?

Meetings by baseball people. In the winter.

Very funny, mind going a bit more in-depth?

Okay, technically, the Winter Meetings is a trade-show and convention. Baseball people- from the highest owners, GMs, agents and superstars to the lowest of job-seekers, salesmen and tourists confused as to why their hotel is so full- come to the meetings to discuss business, network, sell their wares, buy stuff, and honor some people over dinners. It’s usually held in a tourist mecca with big nice hotels, like San Diego, Orlando, or, this year, Nashville’s Opryland resort. Technically, the Winter Meetings are run by Minor League Baseball and it’s where many people try to get jobs with minor league front offices, but it’s the MLB parts of the meetings that get all the attention.

That’s it?

More or less. But, guess what? When people in Major League Baseball “discuss business, network, sell their wares, buy stuff and honor some people over dinners”, it’s far different than if, say, paper salesmen were doing that. No offense to paper salesmen. You see, the fact that almost every major baseball mover-and-shaker is in such a small place means that it’s a place where deals and negotiations can happen quickly. Instead of playing phone-tag or flying around in private jets to do negotiations, agents and GMs only have to go between hotel rooms.

Because of this, a ton of deals get made during the winter meetings, far more than the average day of the off-season.

Anything else?

Several announcements will be made during the Winter Meetings.

The Veterans Committee, for example, will be voting for the Hall of Famers on their ballot during the Meetings. Notable names include Bill Dahlen, Jacob Ruppert, Marty Marion and Wes Ferrell. Well, they are notable to seamheads like me, at least.

There will also be announcements about the World Baseball Classic, including a schedule and probably provisional rosters.

And maybe, just maybe, somebody will fall into a fountain and get caught doing it by a MLB Network camera.

How can I follow these… winter meetings?

Well, I’m going to be there, of course, so I’ll… I’m sorry, that’s not true. I’m not going to be there. I’d entered a contest to try and win a trip there, but I lost. Which is a bummer.

So instead, I suggest you follow baseball people on Twitter and watch MLB Network, and perhaps ESPN as well.

Okay, thanks.

You’re welcome.