Who says you can't change your team even as you're going to spring training?
Clearly not the Orioles and manager Buck Showalter.
They announced a 3-year, $5.75-million contract with RHP Suk-min Yoon, and apparently are within a passed physical of adding RHP Ubaldo Jimenez for four years and $50 million.
Yoon most likely would pitch out of the bullpen, where he would be one bad game removed from a "Suck-min" headline. I'm wary of Jimenez because his pitching motion has so many ways to get out of whack and also possibly hurt his arm.
-- With money that might have gone to Jimenez, the Indians avoided
arbitration with RHP Justin Masterson by signing him to a contract for
this season at $9.7625 million. What? They couldn't afford another measly $237,500 to bring him up to $10 million?
-- The Rangers apparently have gone into camp with a three-way battle among RHPs Neftali Feliz, Tanner Scheppers and Joakim Soria. I was encouraged about Soria last season until a couple of really bad September outings. Texas must not be too excited about Scheppers, because he was the headliner among a group of nine mostly marginal major leaguers signed for a year at or slightly above the $500,000 minimum. Scheppers will receive $515,000. If he does become the Rangers' closer, let's hope he doesn't spend too much of his money in The Flats in Cleveland.
-- Additional second base battles.
In Washington, it's shaping up as 2012 discovery Danny Espinosa and 2013 find Anthony Rendon. If neither matches his breakout season, it could be a long year for the Nationals and their pitchers.
The Yankees' front-runner is Brian "Can't Avoid Injury" Roberts. Other options could be Kelly "Can't Field" Johnson, Brendan "Can't Hit" Ryan and Eduardo "Can't Play Third or Short" Nunez. If a team has four second basemen, it really has no second baseman.
The spaghetti method -- take a bunch of players at one position to spring training, throw them at the all and hope one of them sticks -- really works only with pitchers. Among a group of five or six pitchers, one of them will get lucky enough to get some batters out -- at least through spring training, and even then he could become a liability during the regular season.
-- With New Age manager Brad Ausmus, the Tigers will join the growing trend of major league teams using analytics and probability to align fielders and improve their defense. Ausmus and analytics both begin with A. The new skipper's staff includes a guy named Matt Martin as defensive coordinator. Detroit also will be emphasizing speed more this season, with 2B Ian Kinsler and OF Rajai Davis (on a platoon basis) in their starting lineup. Prediction: Kinsler will steal more bases this season than Prince Fielder will.
-- It will be a surprise if the Tigers don't run away with the AL Central this year. Division rivals are making defensive changes by moving catchers to first base (Twins' Joe Mauer) and third base (Indians' Carlos Santana). Santana might be more agile than catcher-turned-third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
-- Looking ahead six weeks, the Blue Jays named RHP R.A. Dickey as their Opening Day starter.
* * *
Basketball. The NBA started up tonight, and I learned that I didn't win Week 16 by an 8-0 margin. Apparently, Week 16 is continuing from the short last week through the short this week -- even though this is a short week loaded with games. And my lead for the week now is down to 7-1; I've fallen behind in free throw percentage.
There were good performances from my roster tonight. The Suns' Gerald Green poured in 36 points, including six 3s. Carmelo Anthony had another (yawn!) double double with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Showing posts with label Brian Roberts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Roberts. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Monday, March 22, 2010
Strasburg, Storen sent down by Nationals
The Nationals’ future will remain in the future. They have sent their 2009 first-round-draft-pick right-handers, Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen, to their minor league camp. The expectation is that Strasburg would be in Washington by June and Storen at least by September.
The Dodgers demoted RHP James McDonald a day after he gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
After saying the switch of 3B Chone Figgins to second base and 2B Jose Lopez to third was just an experiment, the Mariners played them both consistently at the new positions. Now the word is that the team will use Figgins at third and Lopez at second on occasion during the remaining exhibitions, but Seattle will almost certainly have Figgins in the middle of the infield and Lopez on the hot corner on Opening Day.
A bigger problem for the Mariners could be OF Milton Bradley. He has been ejected from his last two exhibition games for seemingly minor infractions. The question is whether his reputation has preceded him and put him on a short leash, or that there was more to the ejections than meets the eye and they’re a bad sign for the volatile player.
Game time:
The Padres again had RHP Mat Latos and LHP Wade LeBlanc starting in separate split-squad exhibition games. Again, they both pitched very well, almost identically. In a 4-1 victory over the White Sox, Latos lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 521105. The run came on a home run by OF/1B Andruw Jones. In a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers, LeBlanc lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 511113. The run came on a home run by 2B Ron Belliard after LeBlanc had thrown 4 2/3 hitless innings. San Diego will separate their days to pitch because it’s pretty clear that they’ll both make the season-opening rotation.
The day was full of outstanding pitching performances, with seven shutouts. Our Cy Young Award for the Day goes to Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano, whose line was 530024 in a 4-0 win over the Royals.
In the other shutouts, RHP Felix Hernandez’s line was 520012 as the Mariners defeated the Diamondbacks 4-0 using home runs by OFs Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Langerhans against RHP Dan Haren; RHP Tim Wakefield was in mid-season form with a line of 520023 in a 6-0 victory over the Orioles; RHP Todd Wellemeyer’s line of 540023 was plenty good enough in the Giants’ 6-0 win over the Reds that included 1B Aubrey Huff’s third homer; Twins LHP Francisco Liriano had a line of 330004 in a 6-0 victory over the Rays that could have been worse except for five Tampa Bay double plays including three involving 2B Sean Rodriguez and SS Reid Brignac; the pitcher who says, “Ni,” Tigers LHP Fu-Te Ni, used a line of 320001 to outpitch RHP Roy Halladay to help defeat the Phillies 3-0, and Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo not only had a line of 540023, but also hit a homer for the only run in their 1-0 win over the Royals.
Athletics Ben Sheets lowered his ERA to 17.28 with a line of 431134 in a 7-4 victory over the Cubs.
The Indians used an eight-run second inning against RHP Jason Jennings to defeat another team of Athletics 12-4. Included was Cleveland DH Travis Hafner’s three-run homer, his second. He won’t be playing regular-season games in Arizona, but if he can have some offensive success that could make the Tribe’s offense pretty potent.
OF Cameron Maybin hit his first two homers, against Nationals RHPs Garrett Mock and Shairon Martis, and RHP Chris Volstad had a line of 561122 in the Marlins’ 5-3 win.
In the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the Rangers, RHP Ramon Ortiz’s ERA increased to 1.38 on a line of 452226. He was the winning pitcher in relief of RHP Josh Towers, over Rangers LHP Derek Holland.
The Rockies overcame the Angels 11-10 with five runs in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Juan Mateo and Nick Pugliese. Colorado 2B Eric Young cleared the bases with a triple. In a sloppy game, 2B Clint Barmes had three of the Rockies’ five errors.
The Cardinals defeated the Mets 6-5 on 2B Ruben Gotay’s homer in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Kiko Calero. St. Louis OF Colby Rasmus hit his third homer, a two-run shot against New York RHP John Maine, and Mets rookie 1B Ike Davis also had his third, against RHP Jason Motte.
The Blue Jays’ 7-6 win over the Braves had a last-inning rally typical of what we see in spring training. Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Michael McDade hitting a game-winning double against RHP Jon Huber. Neither will have an impact in the majors or in fantasy baseball this season.
Injuries:
Mariners LHP Cliff Lee could begin the season on the disabled list because of a lower abdominal strain. Whenever he is ready to pitch, he’s subject to a five-game suspension for throwing at Diamondbacks C Chris Snyder. Lee is appealing the suspension. If he isn’t in the rotation the first time around, LHP Jason Vargas and RHP Doug Fister both are expected to make the rotation. They have been fighting for the fifth starter’s job. Fister left today’s game after Reds 1B Joey Votto hit a line drive off the pitcher’s forearm. The injury has been diagnosed as a bruise.
The Rockies said RHP Huston Street has no structural damage in his sore shoulder. However, he is likely to begin the season on the disabled list, possibly on an injury-rehab assignment. In his absence, LHP Franklin Morales and RHP Manuel Corpas could be Colorado’s closers.
Orioles 2B Brian Roberts (herniated disk) has resumed baseball-related activities.
Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval is expected to be out two days after having five stitches in his right shin to close a cut resulting from a collision at home plate. 3B Ryan Rohlinger will fill in for Sandoval. The news isn’t as good for 2B Freddy Sanchez, recovering from shoulder surgery. He won’t play until late April or early May. Jose Uribe is likely to get most of the playing time at second, but San Francisco also will use LF Mark DeRosa in the infield while Sanchez is out.
Astros CF Michael Bourn is out because of a strained right oblique muscle. Playing in his place, OF Jason Bourgeois stole his fourth base and improved his batting average to .286 in an 8-6 win over the Yankees.
NCAA news and blues:
No, I’m not just bitter because the teams I picked are dropping like flies in the NCAA basketball tournament. I am disappointed in the subjectivity and bias toward big conferences and big programs by the selection committee. If Kansas truly was the No. 1 overall seed, then why did Duke get a road to the Final Four only slightly tougher than Syracuse’s December schedule?
As short as I can make this discussion, the tournament should take one of two paths. 1. Become a tournament of champions, with each conference sending the regular-season champion and the survivor of a post-season tournament excluding the champ to the dance. Who really needs the ninth-place team with a losing record in a major conference to help decide the winner? 2. Let everyone in, using the conference tournaments as preliminary rounds. The tournament champs plus the remaining teams in the losers’ bracket of a double-elimination format would advance. The whole thing would be double-elimination, so the conference tournament champs would have to lose twice to be out. The conference tournaments still would have meaning and produce a champion. The regular season couldn’t be more meaningless than it is now, and it would lead to seedings for the conference tournament.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mat Latos, RHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 210 T: R Age: 22 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Latos so thoroughly dominated low Class A ball last season, that San Diego jumped him to Double-A San Antonio. After he went 5-1 and made the Texas League All-Star game, they only place for him was to go straight to the majors. Latos made another 10 starts for the Padres before they shut him down in September. He throws a mid-90s fastball complemented by both a slider and a curve. The hulking, multi-tattooed Latos has the potential to become a staff ace in time. He should do just fine this year as well. Born: Dec. 9, 1987, Alexandria, Va. 2009: Padres, 51 IP, 4 W, 4.62 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 0 S, 39 SO.
Projection
IP: 133 W: 11 ERA: 3.92 WHIP: 1.27 S: 0 SO: 105 Value: $5
Wade LeBlanc, LHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 200 T: L Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} LeBlanc completely turned around his 2008 season last year. At Triple-A Portland, he had poorer results (4-9) than in ’08, when he won 11 games, but pitched much better (3.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP). He was pitching well enough that the Padres called him up for nine starts, in which he turned around his 1-3 major league mark from 2008 by knocking more than four runs off his ERA and 89 points off his WHIP. He’s not likely to become an ace because his fastball barely reaches 90 mph. LeBlanc does have a sharp-breaking curve and a changeup not far on this side of Johan Santana’s. Born: Aug. 7, 1984, Lake Charles, La. 2009: Padres, 46 IP, 3 W, 3.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 0 S, 30 SO.
Projection
IP: 124 W: 8 ERA: 4.28 WHIP: 1.30 S: 0 SO: 88 Value: $2
The Dodgers demoted RHP James McDonald a day after he gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
After saying the switch of 3B Chone Figgins to second base and 2B Jose Lopez to third was just an experiment, the Mariners played them both consistently at the new positions. Now the word is that the team will use Figgins at third and Lopez at second on occasion during the remaining exhibitions, but Seattle will almost certainly have Figgins in the middle of the infield and Lopez on the hot corner on Opening Day.
A bigger problem for the Mariners could be OF Milton Bradley. He has been ejected from his last two exhibition games for seemingly minor infractions. The question is whether his reputation has preceded him and put him on a short leash, or that there was more to the ejections than meets the eye and they’re a bad sign for the volatile player.
Game time:
The Padres again had RHP Mat Latos and LHP Wade LeBlanc starting in separate split-squad exhibition games. Again, they both pitched very well, almost identically. In a 4-1 victory over the White Sox, Latos lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 521105. The run came on a home run by OF/1B Andruw Jones. In a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers, LeBlanc lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 511113. The run came on a home run by 2B Ron Belliard after LeBlanc had thrown 4 2/3 hitless innings. San Diego will separate their days to pitch because it’s pretty clear that they’ll both make the season-opening rotation.
The day was full of outstanding pitching performances, with seven shutouts. Our Cy Young Award for the Day goes to Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano, whose line was 530024 in a 4-0 win over the Royals.
In the other shutouts, RHP Felix Hernandez’s line was 520012 as the Mariners defeated the Diamondbacks 4-0 using home runs by OFs Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Langerhans against RHP Dan Haren; RHP Tim Wakefield was in mid-season form with a line of 520023 in a 6-0 victory over the Orioles; RHP Todd Wellemeyer’s line of 540023 was plenty good enough in the Giants’ 6-0 win over the Reds that included 1B Aubrey Huff’s third homer; Twins LHP Francisco Liriano had a line of 330004 in a 6-0 victory over the Rays that could have been worse except for five Tampa Bay double plays including three involving 2B Sean Rodriguez and SS Reid Brignac; the pitcher who says, “Ni,” Tigers LHP Fu-Te Ni, used a line of 320001 to outpitch RHP Roy Halladay to help defeat the Phillies 3-0, and Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo not only had a line of 540023, but also hit a homer for the only run in their 1-0 win over the Royals.
Athletics Ben Sheets lowered his ERA to 17.28 with a line of 431134 in a 7-4 victory over the Cubs.
The Indians used an eight-run second inning against RHP Jason Jennings to defeat another team of Athletics 12-4. Included was Cleveland DH Travis Hafner’s three-run homer, his second. He won’t be playing regular-season games in Arizona, but if he can have some offensive success that could make the Tribe’s offense pretty potent.
OF Cameron Maybin hit his first two homers, against Nationals RHPs Garrett Mock and Shairon Martis, and RHP Chris Volstad had a line of 561122 in the Marlins’ 5-3 win.
In the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the Rangers, RHP Ramon Ortiz’s ERA increased to 1.38 on a line of 452226. He was the winning pitcher in relief of RHP Josh Towers, over Rangers LHP Derek Holland.
The Rockies overcame the Angels 11-10 with five runs in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Juan Mateo and Nick Pugliese. Colorado 2B Eric Young cleared the bases with a triple. In a sloppy game, 2B Clint Barmes had three of the Rockies’ five errors.
The Cardinals defeated the Mets 6-5 on 2B Ruben Gotay’s homer in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Kiko Calero. St. Louis OF Colby Rasmus hit his third homer, a two-run shot against New York RHP John Maine, and Mets rookie 1B Ike Davis also had his third, against RHP Jason Motte.
The Blue Jays’ 7-6 win over the Braves had a last-inning rally typical of what we see in spring training. Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Michael McDade hitting a game-winning double against RHP Jon Huber. Neither will have an impact in the majors or in fantasy baseball this season.
Injuries:
Mariners LHP Cliff Lee could begin the season on the disabled list because of a lower abdominal strain. Whenever he is ready to pitch, he’s subject to a five-game suspension for throwing at Diamondbacks C Chris Snyder. Lee is appealing the suspension. If he isn’t in the rotation the first time around, LHP Jason Vargas and RHP Doug Fister both are expected to make the rotation. They have been fighting for the fifth starter’s job. Fister left today’s game after Reds 1B Joey Votto hit a line drive off the pitcher’s forearm. The injury has been diagnosed as a bruise.
The Rockies said RHP Huston Street has no structural damage in his sore shoulder. However, he is likely to begin the season on the disabled list, possibly on an injury-rehab assignment. In his absence, LHP Franklin Morales and RHP Manuel Corpas could be Colorado’s closers.
Orioles 2B Brian Roberts (herniated disk) has resumed baseball-related activities.
Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval is expected to be out two days after having five stitches in his right shin to close a cut resulting from a collision at home plate. 3B Ryan Rohlinger will fill in for Sandoval. The news isn’t as good for 2B Freddy Sanchez, recovering from shoulder surgery. He won’t play until late April or early May. Jose Uribe is likely to get most of the playing time at second, but San Francisco also will use LF Mark DeRosa in the infield while Sanchez is out.
Astros CF Michael Bourn is out because of a strained right oblique muscle. Playing in his place, OF Jason Bourgeois stole his fourth base and improved his batting average to .286 in an 8-6 win over the Yankees.
NCAA news and blues:
No, I’m not just bitter because the teams I picked are dropping like flies in the NCAA basketball tournament. I am disappointed in the subjectivity and bias toward big conferences and big programs by the selection committee. If Kansas truly was the No. 1 overall seed, then why did Duke get a road to the Final Four only slightly tougher than Syracuse’s December schedule?
As short as I can make this discussion, the tournament should take one of two paths. 1. Become a tournament of champions, with each conference sending the regular-season champion and the survivor of a post-season tournament excluding the champ to the dance. Who really needs the ninth-place team with a losing record in a major conference to help decide the winner? 2. Let everyone in, using the conference tournaments as preliminary rounds. The tournament champs plus the remaining teams in the losers’ bracket of a double-elimination format would advance. The whole thing would be double-elimination, so the conference tournament champs would have to lose twice to be out. The conference tournaments still would have meaning and produce a champion. The regular season couldn’t be more meaningless than it is now, and it would lead to seedings for the conference tournament.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mat Latos, RHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 210 T: R Age: 22 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Latos so thoroughly dominated low Class A ball last season, that San Diego jumped him to Double-A San Antonio. After he went 5-1 and made the Texas League All-Star game, they only place for him was to go straight to the majors. Latos made another 10 starts for the Padres before they shut him down in September. He throws a mid-90s fastball complemented by both a slider and a curve. The hulking, multi-tattooed Latos has the potential to become a staff ace in time. He should do just fine this year as well. Born: Dec. 9, 1987, Alexandria, Va. 2009: Padres, 51 IP, 4 W, 4.62 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 0 S, 39 SO.
Projection
IP: 133 W: 11 ERA: 3.92 WHIP: 1.27 S: 0 SO: 105 Value: $5
Wade LeBlanc, LHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 200 T: L Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} LeBlanc completely turned around his 2008 season last year. At Triple-A Portland, he had poorer results (4-9) than in ’08, when he won 11 games, but pitched much better (3.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP). He was pitching well enough that the Padres called him up for nine starts, in which he turned around his 1-3 major league mark from 2008 by knocking more than four runs off his ERA and 89 points off his WHIP. He’s not likely to become an ace because his fastball barely reaches 90 mph. LeBlanc does have a sharp-breaking curve and a changeup not far on this side of Johan Santana’s. Born: Aug. 7, 1984, Lake Charles, La. 2009: Padres, 46 IP, 3 W, 3.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 0 S, 30 SO.
Projection
IP: 124 W: 8 ERA: 4.28 WHIP: 1.30 S: 0 SO: 88 Value: $2
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
More aches and pains
It can’t be good news for the Red Sox that RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka’s first scheduled throwing session has been pushed back a week. He’s sidelined by a back injury.
The Reds put RHP Edinson Volquez on the 60-day disabled list while he recovers from reconstructive elbow surgery. Meanwhile, 1B Joey Votto said he is making progress in overcoming anxiety and depression that put him on the disabled list last season.
Rangers LHP Derek Holland’s knee injury has been diagnosed as a mild sprain.
Orioles 2B Brian Roberts’ back injury has been diagnosed as a herniated disk.
Twins RHP Joe Nathan said he would be following his normal spring workout schedule even though he underwent off-season surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow.
Position battles:
The Yankees haven’t handed their left field job to Randy Winn. Brett Gardner and non-roster invitee Marcus Thames also are in the mix. Currently, the fifth starter’s job would come down to RHPs Philip Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. As well as Hughes pitched in relief last season, our money would have him in the rotation and the big guy in the bullpen.
The Phillies are good enough that their fifth starter could have some value. Going into the exhibition games, the competition is between LHP Jamie Moyer, who’s too old for you to count on him for your fantasy team, and RHP Kyle Kendrick, who hasn’t proved he could be successful in the majors. If Philadelphia makes a deal for even a journeyman veteran, expect that he could bring more value than a number three starter on a weak team.
The Athletics are hardly strong, but their pitchers have two benefits: 1. Working in a good pitchers’ park and 2. Being young enough to have an upside. That doesn’t mean their fifth starter could have great value, but there are many pitchers in the majors without the talent and potential of Oakland’s candidates: RHPs Trevor Cahill and Vin Mazzaro and LHP Gio Gonzalez. It’s quite possible that two or even all three of them could end up in the rotation, because RHPs Justin Duchscherer and Ben Sheets would have to show they could come back successfully from an injury-imposed year off.
Duchscherer underwent a manipulative procedure to relieve discomfort in his lower back. The A’s said Sheets is scheduled to make his exhibition debut March 5 against the Brewers.
It shouldn’t matter who will be the Pirates’ fifth starter between RHPs Kevin Hart and my homeboy Daniel McCutchen. Pittsburgh will need just four starters for much of April, and even after that the team is hardly good enough to win games behind its top-of-rotation starters. Hart seems likely to get the first shot at the job because the Pirates would like to prove that he is better than the 1-8 record he posted for the Bucs. That would reduce the embarrassment of the bad trade that brought Hart from the Cubs.
RHP Chan Ho Park isn’t likely to be a starter in the majors this year. However, he told Korean media that he would sign a free-agent contract with the Yankees, but the team said a deal hadn’t been reached.
The crack of the bat:
Today, the last team (Cleveland) opened workouts for its pitchers and catchers. Some of those pitchers threw to real batters, because 12 teams brought their position players on to the field for their first workouts. Those teams were the Orioles, Tigers, Braves, Phillies, Pirates and Cardinals in Florida, and the Royals, Angels, Mariners, Cubs, Reds and Giants in Arizona.
One of the greatest:
Willie Mays has been showing up on various TV interview shows, because there’s a new Mays biography out. Two of the interviews were with Charlie Rose and Jon Stewart. Both very interesting, in part because Willie seemed more eloquent and thoughtful, and probably patient, than he was as a player. Made me want to get the book. I couldn’t find the Stewart interview at YouTube or the Comedy Central web site.
The Reds put RHP Edinson Volquez on the 60-day disabled list while he recovers from reconstructive elbow surgery. Meanwhile, 1B Joey Votto said he is making progress in overcoming anxiety and depression that put him on the disabled list last season.
Rangers LHP Derek Holland’s knee injury has been diagnosed as a mild sprain.
Orioles 2B Brian Roberts’ back injury has been diagnosed as a herniated disk.
Twins RHP Joe Nathan said he would be following his normal spring workout schedule even though he underwent off-season surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow.
Position battles:
The Yankees haven’t handed their left field job to Randy Winn. Brett Gardner and non-roster invitee Marcus Thames also are in the mix. Currently, the fifth starter’s job would come down to RHPs Philip Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. As well as Hughes pitched in relief last season, our money would have him in the rotation and the big guy in the bullpen.
The Phillies are good enough that their fifth starter could have some value. Going into the exhibition games, the competition is between LHP Jamie Moyer, who’s too old for you to count on him for your fantasy team, and RHP Kyle Kendrick, who hasn’t proved he could be successful in the majors. If Philadelphia makes a deal for even a journeyman veteran, expect that he could bring more value than a number three starter on a weak team.
The Athletics are hardly strong, but their pitchers have two benefits: 1. Working in a good pitchers’ park and 2. Being young enough to have an upside. That doesn’t mean their fifth starter could have great value, but there are many pitchers in the majors without the talent and potential of Oakland’s candidates: RHPs Trevor Cahill and Vin Mazzaro and LHP Gio Gonzalez. It’s quite possible that two or even all three of them could end up in the rotation, because RHPs Justin Duchscherer and Ben Sheets would have to show they could come back successfully from an injury-imposed year off.
Duchscherer underwent a manipulative procedure to relieve discomfort in his lower back. The A’s said Sheets is scheduled to make his exhibition debut March 5 against the Brewers.
It shouldn’t matter who will be the Pirates’ fifth starter between RHPs Kevin Hart and my homeboy Daniel McCutchen. Pittsburgh will need just four starters for much of April, and even after that the team is hardly good enough to win games behind its top-of-rotation starters. Hart seems likely to get the first shot at the job because the Pirates would like to prove that he is better than the 1-8 record he posted for the Bucs. That would reduce the embarrassment of the bad trade that brought Hart from the Cubs.
RHP Chan Ho Park isn’t likely to be a starter in the majors this year. However, he told Korean media that he would sign a free-agent contract with the Yankees, but the team said a deal hadn’t been reached.
The crack of the bat:
Today, the last team (Cleveland) opened workouts for its pitchers and catchers. Some of those pitchers threw to real batters, because 12 teams brought their position players on to the field for their first workouts. Those teams were the Orioles, Tigers, Braves, Phillies, Pirates and Cardinals in Florida, and the Royals, Angels, Mariners, Cubs, Reds and Giants in Arizona.
One of the greatest:
Willie Mays has been showing up on various TV interview shows, because there’s a new Mays biography out. Two of the interviews were with Charlie Rose and Jon Stewart. Both very interesting, in part because Willie seemed more eloquent and thoughtful, and probably patient, than he was as a player. Made me want to get the book. I couldn’t find the Stewart interview at YouTube or the Comedy Central web site.
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