Of the 18 games scheduled, just half were played to a nine-inning conclusion. Five games in Florida were rained out, the Astros’ 10-7 victory over the Red Sox was called after 7 ½ innings because of rain and three games in Arizona ended in ties.
Houston beat up on Boston RHP Jonathan Papelbon. He said he lacked energy after taking medication for a migraine, and that could have contributed to a line of 1/3 56510 (plus plunking a guy) that increased his ERA to 7.11.
Also in Florida, Twins RHP Scott Baker sparkled with a line of 510013 in a 12-3 victory over the Rays. Minnesota mauled Tampa Bay RHP Wade Davis, whose line was 297511. OF Matt Joyce hit his first homer against struggling Twins RHP Clay Condrey, and raised Joyce’s average to .375. LHP Jesse English, claimed on waivers from the Giants last September, picked up his second save in the Nationals’ 9-7 win over the Marlins. English entered the game with one out and a runner on base in the ninth, and pitched out of trouble. He hasn’t yet pitched above Double-A during the regular season.
Some teams made contingency plans to keep their pitchers on schedule despite being postponed. Tigers RHP Justin Verlander threw after busing back to Lakeland, Fla., from their rainout against the Yankees. New York added an intrasquad game Monday morning, with today’s scheduled pitchers, LHP Andy Pettitte and RHP Joba Chamberlain, opposing each other. RHPs A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes would pitch in the scheduled game. The Braves and Cardinals started their game, but without Atlanta’s scheduled starter, RHP Jair Jurrjens. The Braves held him back to pitch in a minor league game Monday. In his place, RHP Peter Moylan pitched in the game that didn’t make it through two innings. He excited Atlanta’s management by striking out St. Louis OF Colby Rasmus and 1B Albert Pujols.
In Arizona, Reds OF Jonny Gomes clubbed his fourth homer in a 4-3 victory over the Athletics.
The Indians routed the Dodgers 12-5, with OF Austin Kearns hitting his first two homers, against LA LHPs Eric Stults and rookie Aaron Miller. Dodgers OF Garret Anderson had three hits, including a triple that resulted when CF Grady Sizemore missed a diving catch and LF Jose Constanza fell down on the warning track.
On my TV were the Rangers, who scored five runs in the third inning, and the Padres who overcame the five-run deficit with six in the fourth and eight in the eighth to win 14-5. Texas RHP Rich Harden couldn’t get out of that fourth inning. He walked three consecutive batters, and gave up a three-run homer to San Diego SS/OF Jerry Hairston. Harden’s ERA rose to 11.25. Three errors contributed to the Padres’ big eighth inning. Having a big day was San Diego SS prospect Lance Zawadzki – who went 2-for-3, scored two runs and raised his average to .412. Rangers C Jarrod Saltalamacchia couldn’t play because of a stiff neck, which is expected to keep him out 7-10 days.
Giants RHP Kevin Pucetas struggled to an 8.04 ERA in four starts last spring, but reduced this year’s mark to 0.64 in three starts with a line of 531120 in a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. On the other hand, Arizona RHP Edwin Jackson continued to struggle this spring. His line of 4 2/3 54440 include a home run by OF John Bowker.
Two of the tie games went 10 innings. OF Laynce Nix’s homer was the Reds’ only run in their 1-1 tie with the Cubs. LF Ryan Braun hit his third homer for the Brewers as they deadlocked the White Sox 4-4. The Rockies and Royals just quit playing after nine innings of their 11-11 tie.
The Mets picked up a Big 10 victory, 8-1 over the University of Michigan. RHP Nelson Figueroa was the winning pitcher, and OF/1B Chris Carter went 3-for-3 for New York.
The Twins pleased their fans by extending the contract of C Joe Mauer, a hometown favorite, for eight years through 2018, paying $184 million and including a full no-trade clause.
The Cardinals optioned struggling RHP Josh Kinney to Triple-A Memphis, creating an opening for RHPs Adam Ottavino or Fernando Salas to earn a spot in their bullpen. Other possibilities are the losers of the battle for the fifth starter’s role among RHP Kyle McClellan and LHPs Rich Hill and Jaime Garcia.
Inside the injuries:
The Indians’ closer, RHP Kerry Wood, will be out 6-8 weeks because of what the team called a “moderate” strained latissimus muscle behind his shoulder. RHP Chris Perez will get the first shot at Cleveland’s saves until Wood returns.
Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka retired seven of eight batters in a minor league intrasquad game. He’s scheduled to make his first exhibition appearance Thursday against the Marlins, but it’s almost certain he will begin the regular season on the disabled list.
Cubs RHP Carlos Silva left their game after two innings because of a tight right quadriceps.
Rays C Dioner Navarro is on crutches because of an injured left shin suffered in a collision at home plate Saturday, but he insisted he would be ready to play by Opening Day. LHP J.P. Howell now is expected to miss a month of the season because of a weak shoulder. That means RHPs Wade Davis and Andy Sonnanstine both could begin the season in Tampa Bay’s rotation.
Indians OF Michael Brantley rolled an ankle and left their game in the fourth inning. That could ensure that he’s optioned to Triple-A Columbus or perhaps begins the season on the DL.
Beginning the road back from Tommy John surgery last August, Reds RHP Edinson Volquez threw 25 pitches off a mound Thursday and 30 more today.
Sample Scouting Report:
RHP Kevin Pucetas, Giants
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 225 T: R Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Last season, Pucetas jumped past Double-A to Triple-A Fresno. He started out as if he could duplicate his 10-2 record as the high Class A California League’s Pitcher of the Year for San Jose in 2008, but tired to finish 10-6 with a 5.04 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in the Pacific Coast League. Pucetas doesn’t throw hard for a guy his size. He doesn’t strike out batters, but he throws strikes and knows how to win. His career won-lost record in the minors is 42-13. Pucetas has the misfortune of being in an organization with a surplus of pitchers. If he’s traded, consider taking a chance on him. Born: Nov. 27, 1984, Spartanburg, S.C.
Projection
IP: 65 W: 3 ERA: 4.57 WHIP: 1.35 S: 0 SO: 35 Value: $0
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
Santana, Buckner, Tazawa take their lumps
The Yankees won 6-2 in a pitching battle between their left-hander C.C. Sabathia and Tigers RHP Rick Porcello. It was a game Sabathia might have needed; his pitching line of 5 1/3 42228 brought his ERA down to 6.43. Porcello’s ERA went up a tick to 0.75. Three of the runs against him were unearned; his line was 344113. New York 3B Alex Rodriguez hit a home run.
The Twins defeated the Mets 7-3 in another good pitching matchup, which didn’t go the way most people would have expected. Minnesota RHP Kevin Slowey had a line of 331122, giving up a homer to New York C Omir Santos. The Twins battered LHP Johan Santana for a line of 3 1/3 95513. Rookie 3B Danny Valencia, who could take the starting job away from Brendan Harris and Nick Punto, homered against Santana.
Four days after leaving 16 runners on base, the Royals stranded 11. They also scored 24 times in a 24-9 rout of the Diamondbacks. Kansas City built an early 21-0 lead – battering Arizona’s starter, RHP Billy Buckner, for a line of 298813. KC OF Brian Anderson was like one of those old Army ads – “We get more done by 9 a.m. than most people do in a day.” He went 5-for-5, hit for the cycle, drove in seven runs and scored three – and left the game in the fifth inning. The winning pitcher, RHP Brian Bannister, kept his concentration to post a line of 420013. The Royals’ scoring onslaught didn’t stop until the D-backs’ pitching stiffened when RHP Abe Woody pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Pirates defeated the Red Sox 9-7 with OF/2B Delwyn Young hitting his fifth home run this spring, against Boston RHP Josh Beckett. OF John Raynor, a Rule 5 draft pick, also homered against RHP Junichi Tazawa, who apparently will be battered this spring all the way to Triple-A Pawtucket.
The Orioles held the Phillies to one hit, OF John Mayberry’s eighth-inning single against RHP Dennis Sarfate, to win 2-0. Baltimore’s starter, LHP Brian Matusz, was sensational. His line was 500026. He could be a reasonable third or fourth fantasy starting pitcher.
The Cubs treated White Sox LHP John Danks badly, handing him an 8-4 loss. He allowed homers to 1B Derrek Lee and OF Marlon Byrd as part of a line of 565514.
RHP Stephen Strasburg was the Nationals’ winning pitcher in their 13-5 victory over the Cardinals. He gave up solo homers to 3B/1B Allen Craig and SS Tyler Greene in his line of 442208. RHP Kyle McClellan took a step backward in his quest for a starting role. He was the losing pitcher with a line of 453242.
Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols hit his first homer, against Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez, but St. Louis lost 7-6 in another split-squad game. That was because Florida lit up Cards RHP Chris Carpenter for a line of 4 10 7705. RHP Scott Strickland earned a save for the Marlins, who might need help closing games.
Teams are beginning to get serious about using closers in their regular-season role. The Giants had RHP Brian Wilson pitch the ninth inning in their 7-6 victory over the Indians. He struck out the side to pick up a save. LHP Tony Sipp, who could save some games for Cleveland, pitched the eighth and was the losing pitcher. A passed ball led to an unearned winning run; Sipp’s line was 111011. Giants OF/2B Eugenio Velez went 3-for-3 at bat and 2-for-3 stealing bases.
Because the Astros’ scheduled starter, RHP Bud Norris, had the flu, RHP Josh Banks made an emergency start and posted a line of 320012. He was the winner in a 2-0 win over the Blue Jays. The save went to RHP Roy Corcoran, who could have some regular-season saves.
An Indians split squad pounded the Rangers 12-2. Cleveland had a good start, with 1B/3B Andy Marte hitting a grand slam against RHP Brandon McCarthy. His line was 455534. OF Shin-soo Choo also homered against RHP Luis Mendoza.
Athletics 1B Daric Barton hit a home run and went 2-for-3 to raise his average to .440, but the Rockies won 10-4.
The Padres assaulted Dodgers RHP James McDonald for a line of 1 1/3 66621 in relief to take a 9-4 victory. C Dusty Ryan’s three-run homer contributed to raising McDonald’s ERA to 20.25.
The day’s tie game was the Tigers 4, Braves 4, in 10 innings.
Major league leaders:
HR – Rays 2B Sean Rodriguez and Pirates OF/2B Delwyn Young, 5
RBI – Rays SS Reid Brignac and Young, 14
BA (30-plus at-bats) – Mets OF Fernando Martinez, .500, and Cubs OF Tyler Colvin, .486 (at the other end is Braves OF Nate McLouth, .032, 1-for-31)
SB – Brewers OF Carlos Gomez, 8
R – Rangers OFs Julio Borbon and Nelson Cruz, Brewers OF Lorenzo Cain and Rodriguez, 11
W – Blue Jays LHP Ricky Romero, 3
ERA (10-plus innings pitched) – Marlins RHP Clay Hensley, 0.00
WHIP – Twins RHP Kevin Slowey, 0.82
S – Seven with 2 – including Giants RH Sergio Gomez and Astros LHP Wesley Wright, who might have some chances to save games in the majors this season
SO – Orioles LHP Brian Matusz, 18
A Derek Jeter Rule?:
Is Bud Selig running the NFL now too? That’s the only reason I could think of that would make the football league propose a ridiculous idea like the “Brett Favre Rule” that would change its overtime procedure in the playoffs. Of course, if that rule is enacted, expect Selig to decide that if the Yankees in Derek Jeter’s final year (or the Brewers in any year) lose the seventh game of the World Series, it would be extended to best-of-nine.
Sample Scouting Report:
Shin-soo Choo, OF, Indians
Ht.: 5-11 Wt.: 200 B: L Age: 27*
{2010} Choo began last season with a sore elbow that bothered him with South Korea’s entry in the World Baseball Classic. For the rest of the year, he was a pain to American League pitchers. He batted .275 against left-handers, allowing him to avoid being platooned. Choo strikes out a lot, but he also has walked enough to produce on-base percentages of .397 and .394 during the past two seasons. Batting third in Cleveland’s lineup, he should both drive in and score plenty of runs. Born: July 13, 1982, South Korea*. 2009: 583 AB, .300 BA, 20 HR, 86 RBI, 21 SB, 87 R.
Projection
AB: 556 BA: .302 HR: 21 RBI: 92 SB: 17 R: 93 Value: $17
The Twins defeated the Mets 7-3 in another good pitching matchup, which didn’t go the way most people would have expected. Minnesota RHP Kevin Slowey had a line of 331122, giving up a homer to New York C Omir Santos. The Twins battered LHP Johan Santana for a line of 3 1/3 95513. Rookie 3B Danny Valencia, who could take the starting job away from Brendan Harris and Nick Punto, homered against Santana.
Four days after leaving 16 runners on base, the Royals stranded 11. They also scored 24 times in a 24-9 rout of the Diamondbacks. Kansas City built an early 21-0 lead – battering Arizona’s starter, RHP Billy Buckner, for a line of 298813. KC OF Brian Anderson was like one of those old Army ads – “We get more done by 9 a.m. than most people do in a day.” He went 5-for-5, hit for the cycle, drove in seven runs and scored three – and left the game in the fifth inning. The winning pitcher, RHP Brian Bannister, kept his concentration to post a line of 420013. The Royals’ scoring onslaught didn’t stop until the D-backs’ pitching stiffened when RHP Abe Woody pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Pirates defeated the Red Sox 9-7 with OF/2B Delwyn Young hitting his fifth home run this spring, against Boston RHP Josh Beckett. OF John Raynor, a Rule 5 draft pick, also homered against RHP Junichi Tazawa, who apparently will be battered this spring all the way to Triple-A Pawtucket.
The Orioles held the Phillies to one hit, OF John Mayberry’s eighth-inning single against RHP Dennis Sarfate, to win 2-0. Baltimore’s starter, LHP Brian Matusz, was sensational. His line was 500026. He could be a reasonable third or fourth fantasy starting pitcher.
The Cubs treated White Sox LHP John Danks badly, handing him an 8-4 loss. He allowed homers to 1B Derrek Lee and OF Marlon Byrd as part of a line of 565514.
RHP Stephen Strasburg was the Nationals’ winning pitcher in their 13-5 victory over the Cardinals. He gave up solo homers to 3B/1B Allen Craig and SS Tyler Greene in his line of 442208. RHP Kyle McClellan took a step backward in his quest for a starting role. He was the losing pitcher with a line of 453242.
Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols hit his first homer, against Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez, but St. Louis lost 7-6 in another split-squad game. That was because Florida lit up Cards RHP Chris Carpenter for a line of 4 10 7705. RHP Scott Strickland earned a save for the Marlins, who might need help closing games.
Teams are beginning to get serious about using closers in their regular-season role. The Giants had RHP Brian Wilson pitch the ninth inning in their 7-6 victory over the Indians. He struck out the side to pick up a save. LHP Tony Sipp, who could save some games for Cleveland, pitched the eighth and was the losing pitcher. A passed ball led to an unearned winning run; Sipp’s line was 111011. Giants OF/2B Eugenio Velez went 3-for-3 at bat and 2-for-3 stealing bases.
Because the Astros’ scheduled starter, RHP Bud Norris, had the flu, RHP Josh Banks made an emergency start and posted a line of 320012. He was the winner in a 2-0 win over the Blue Jays. The save went to RHP Roy Corcoran, who could have some regular-season saves.
An Indians split squad pounded the Rangers 12-2. Cleveland had a good start, with 1B/3B Andy Marte hitting a grand slam against RHP Brandon McCarthy. His line was 455534. OF Shin-soo Choo also homered against RHP Luis Mendoza.
Athletics 1B Daric Barton hit a home run and went 2-for-3 to raise his average to .440, but the Rockies won 10-4.
The Padres assaulted Dodgers RHP James McDonald for a line of 1 1/3 66621 in relief to take a 9-4 victory. C Dusty Ryan’s three-run homer contributed to raising McDonald’s ERA to 20.25.
The day’s tie game was the Tigers 4, Braves 4, in 10 innings.
Major league leaders:
HR – Rays 2B Sean Rodriguez and Pirates OF/2B Delwyn Young, 5
RBI – Rays SS Reid Brignac and Young, 14
BA (30-plus at-bats) – Mets OF Fernando Martinez, .500, and Cubs OF Tyler Colvin, .486 (at the other end is Braves OF Nate McLouth, .032, 1-for-31)
SB – Brewers OF Carlos Gomez, 8
R – Rangers OFs Julio Borbon and Nelson Cruz, Brewers OF Lorenzo Cain and Rodriguez, 11
W – Blue Jays LHP Ricky Romero, 3
ERA (10-plus innings pitched) – Marlins RHP Clay Hensley, 0.00
WHIP – Twins RHP Kevin Slowey, 0.82
S – Seven with 2 – including Giants RH Sergio Gomez and Astros LHP Wesley Wright, who might have some chances to save games in the majors this season
SO – Orioles LHP Brian Matusz, 18
A Derek Jeter Rule?:
Is Bud Selig running the NFL now too? That’s the only reason I could think of that would make the football league propose a ridiculous idea like the “Brett Favre Rule” that would change its overtime procedure in the playoffs. Of course, if that rule is enacted, expect Selig to decide that if the Yankees in Derek Jeter’s final year (or the Brewers in any year) lose the seventh game of the World Series, it would be extended to best-of-nine.
Sample Scouting Report:
Shin-soo Choo, OF, Indians
Ht.: 5-11 Wt.: 200 B: L Age: 27*
{2010} Choo began last season with a sore elbow that bothered him with South Korea’s entry in the World Baseball Classic. For the rest of the year, he was a pain to American League pitchers. He batted .275 against left-handers, allowing him to avoid being platooned. Choo strikes out a lot, but he also has walked enough to produce on-base percentages of .397 and .394 during the past two seasons. Batting third in Cleveland’s lineup, he should both drive in and score plenty of runs. Born: July 13, 1982, South Korea*. 2009: 583 AB, .300 BA, 20 HR, 86 RBI, 21 SB, 87 R.
Projection
AB: 556 BA: .302 HR: 21 RBI: 92 SB: 17 R: 93 Value: $17
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Romero, Willis continue strong pitching
Blue Jays LHP Ricky Romero became the first pitcher to record three wins this spring, with a pitching line of 552225 in a 13-3 victory over the Orioles. Baltimore CF Adam Jones hit a home run against Romero, who has a 1.93 spring ERA. Orioles RHP Jeremy Guthrie continued to struggle. He gave up two home runs to Toronto OF Travis Snider and one of the two homers C John Buck hit. Buck’s other tater was against RHP Frank Mata. Jays OF/3B Jose Bautista cooled off, with an 0-for-4 game dropping his average to .524.
In the Dodgers’ 7-3 win over the Cubs, LF Manny Ramirez hit his first homer, a two-run blast against RHP Ryan Dempster.
Tigers LHP Dontrelle Willis continued his comeback with a line of 300012 in their 5-4 victory over the Astros. OF Brennan Boesch drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning against journeyman RHP Gary Majewski. Don’t get too excited about Boesch. He led the Double-A Eastern League in home runs last season, but he’ll be 25 in April.
OF Jonny Gomes, who had to sweat out most of the off-season before the Reds re-signed the free agent, hit his third homer. The shot against LHP Jeremy Sowers provided the only runs in Cincinnati’s 6-2 loss to the Indians. File this away: Indians C prospect Jesus Montero played left field in the game as the Tribe look for a position to get his bat into the lineup.
The Twins scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on 3B prospect Luke Hughes’ double against their former teammate, RHP Brian Bass. That gave Minnesota a 5-4 victory over the Pirates. Pittsburgh OF/2B Delwyn Young slugged his fourth homer – against RHP Clay Condrey, whose chances to play a significant role in the Twinkies’ bullpen took a hit from a line of 133300 that inflated Condrey’s ERA to 10.80.
The Mets continued to hit with more power than they showed at just about any time last season. LF Jason Bay homered against Marlins LHP Renyel Pinto, and RF Jeff Francoeur connected against RHP Ricky Nolasco as New York won 5-2. LHP Hisanori Takahashi – not Ken Takahashi, who pitched some for the Mets last year – earned an extended save with a line of 2 1/3 20011. Don’t count on a lot from this Takahashi, who will be 35 (at least) when the season begins.
Rangers LF Josh Hamilton homered for the second consecutive day. His third of the spring was against Brewers LHP Manny Parra, who struggled to a line of 565505. With Texas RHP Tommy Hunter unable to go, RHP Guillermo Moscoso filled in as the starter, with a line of 2 1/3 32204. The Rangers’ pitching star was LHP Matt Harrison, with eight strikeouts in four innings. In Texas’ 6-4 victory, its pitchers struck out 16 Milwaukee batters. Included were three each by 2B Rickie Weeks and RF Corey Hart.
Rays 1B Carlos Pena hit a solo homer, his first this spring, but that wasn’t enough as the Yankees defeated Tampa Bay 6-4.
Sample Scouting Report:
Ricky Romero, LHP, Blue Jays
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 210 T: L Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Romero can strike out major league batters, but his success comes mostly from retiring them on ground balls. He has had a very good exhibition season, in part because of a cut fastball he worked on during the off-season. There’s cause for concern that he might not be able to do as well as he did last season. Romero, whose best minor league ERA was 4.42, slumped to 6-6 with a 5.54 ERA during the second half of his rookie major league season. He might not be able to reach higher expectations this season because he could be making nearly half of his starts against the superior competition of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays in the American League East. Don’t confuse him with Davis Romero, another recent Toronto left-handed pitching prospect. Born: Nov. 6, 1984, Los Angeles, Calif. 2009: Blue Jays, 178 IP, 13 W, 4.30 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 0 S, 141 SO.
Projection
IP: 180 W: 11 ERA: 4.15 WHIP: 1.40 S: 0 SO: 138 Value: $2
In the Dodgers’ 7-3 win over the Cubs, LF Manny Ramirez hit his first homer, a two-run blast against RHP Ryan Dempster.
Tigers LHP Dontrelle Willis continued his comeback with a line of 300012 in their 5-4 victory over the Astros. OF Brennan Boesch drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning against journeyman RHP Gary Majewski. Don’t get too excited about Boesch. He led the Double-A Eastern League in home runs last season, but he’ll be 25 in April.
OF Jonny Gomes, who had to sweat out most of the off-season before the Reds re-signed the free agent, hit his third homer. The shot against LHP Jeremy Sowers provided the only runs in Cincinnati’s 6-2 loss to the Indians. File this away: Indians C prospect Jesus Montero played left field in the game as the Tribe look for a position to get his bat into the lineup.
The Twins scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on 3B prospect Luke Hughes’ double against their former teammate, RHP Brian Bass. That gave Minnesota a 5-4 victory over the Pirates. Pittsburgh OF/2B Delwyn Young slugged his fourth homer – against RHP Clay Condrey, whose chances to play a significant role in the Twinkies’ bullpen took a hit from a line of 133300 that inflated Condrey’s ERA to 10.80.
The Mets continued to hit with more power than they showed at just about any time last season. LF Jason Bay homered against Marlins LHP Renyel Pinto, and RF Jeff Francoeur connected against RHP Ricky Nolasco as New York won 5-2. LHP Hisanori Takahashi – not Ken Takahashi, who pitched some for the Mets last year – earned an extended save with a line of 2 1/3 20011. Don’t count on a lot from this Takahashi, who will be 35 (at least) when the season begins.
Rangers LF Josh Hamilton homered for the second consecutive day. His third of the spring was against Brewers LHP Manny Parra, who struggled to a line of 565505. With Texas RHP Tommy Hunter unable to go, RHP Guillermo Moscoso filled in as the starter, with a line of 2 1/3 32204. The Rangers’ pitching star was LHP Matt Harrison, with eight strikeouts in four innings. In Texas’ 6-4 victory, its pitchers struck out 16 Milwaukee batters. Included were three each by 2B Rickie Weeks and RF Corey Hart.
Rays 1B Carlos Pena hit a solo homer, his first this spring, but that wasn’t enough as the Yankees defeated Tampa Bay 6-4.
Sample Scouting Report:
Ricky Romero, LHP, Blue Jays
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 210 T: L Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Romero can strike out major league batters, but his success comes mostly from retiring them on ground balls. He has had a very good exhibition season, in part because of a cut fastball he worked on during the off-season. There’s cause for concern that he might not be able to do as well as he did last season. Romero, whose best minor league ERA was 4.42, slumped to 6-6 with a 5.54 ERA during the second half of his rookie major league season. He might not be able to reach higher expectations this season because he could be making nearly half of his starts against the superior competition of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays in the American League East. Don’t confuse him with Davis Romero, another recent Toronto left-handed pitching prospect. Born: Nov. 6, 1984, Los Angeles, Calif. 2009: Blue Jays, 178 IP, 13 W, 4.30 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 0 S, 141 SO.
Projection
IP: 180 W: 11 ERA: 4.15 WHIP: 1.40 S: 0 SO: 138 Value: $2
Comebacks: Russ Ortiz si, Payton no
We just know some team, or maybe lots of teams, wore green hats for St. Patrick’s Day. We just didn’t care to look to see which ones they were. Nor did we go to Ebay to buy any pieces of “alternative” green uniforms.
The Braves beat the Marlins and LHP Andrew Miller 4-2. All four Atlanta runs were unearned – but don’t fret about more defense, Florida fans, whoever you are. The Marlins’ three errors were all by guys who might not play anywhere in Florida this season. Their hitters suffered at the arm of Braves RHP Tommy Hanson, whose pitching line was 561104. We thought he was the real deal last year; we’re sure of that now.
Not to be outdone, at least not by much, by a namesake to whom he has become inextricably linked, RHP Russ Ortiz made an audition for a spot in the Dodgers’ rotation but lost to the White Sox 5-1. Ortiz’s line was 462223, but his ERA still is just 2.00. For Chicago, RHP Jake Peavy pitched the way the Sox have hoped he would, with a line of 531126 (and ERA of 1.13).
Making his 2010 debut and pitching like a relief version of Athletics RHP Ben Sheets, Yankees LHP Damaso Marte entered their game against the Phillies in the bottom of the fifth inning with the score tied 2-2. Four batters later, the score was 5-2. Phillies OF Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer against Marte, whose line was 043301. In fairness to Marte, in a regular-season game he probably wouldn’t be facing the righthanded-batting Werth with two runners on base. But, come on! Isn’t his job to get someone out?
In the Mets’ 4-2 win over the suddenly slumping Red Sox, red-hot New York OF Fernando Martinez hit his third homer this spring. The three-run shot came against RHP Ramon S. Ramirez – the Ramon Ramirez who was with Boston last year and not his namesake/new teammate who pitched for the Reds in 2009. For the Mets, overly hyped RHP prospect Jenrry Mejia lowered his ERA to 1.08 with a line of 100000.
The Blue Jays may not be able to get LHP Brian Tallet out of their rotation. That’s good for him, but maybe not so for Toronto. Anyway, his line was 410003 in a 4-2 victory over the Orioles.
In the Rockies’ 6-3 win over the Indians, Speier – that’s RHP Justin Speier, most recently with the Angels – had a line of 100001. OF Jay Payton’s comeback attempt with Colorado seems ill-fated. He’s batting just .185 and he was both thrown out stealing and picked off first base, the kind of rookie mistakes a grizzled veteran shouldn’t make. The flukiest line of the day was the 400013 by Indians RHP Carlos Carrasco. We defy him to do that well even once during the regular season.
In the aftermath of manager Ron Washington’s admission that he used cocaine during last season, the Rangers’ 8-1 victory over the Mariners was an anticlimax. Texas pounded the ball as if its big hitters were auditioning for the All-Arizona team. RF Nelson Cruz was 3-for-3 with three RBI to raise his average to .448, with homers against RHPs Ian Snell and David Aardsma. 1B Chris Davis improved to .500 with a homer against RHP Brandon League, and LF Josh Hamilton (.429) returned to the lineup with a four-bagger against Snell. Closer Aardsma was hit particularly hard, with a line of 2/3 34410.
Sample Scouting Report:
Jenrry Mejia, RHP, Mets
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 165 T: R Age: Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP, RP
{2010} Mejia has generated a lot of buzz with some early success in exhibition games. He throws a mid-90s fastball with sinking action that allows him to get plenty of ground-ball outs. That helped him strike out 91 in 94 2/3 innings last year. Mejia started the season 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA in nine starts at high Class A Port St. Lucie, and finished it 0-5 at Double-A Binghamton, where his ERA more than doubled and he averaged just 4 1/3 innings per start. That resulted in part from a strained middle finger that kept Mejia out seven weeks. He needs to develop his low-80s changeup and possibly another breaking ball to complement the cut fastball he throws at times. It seems likely that he would return to Binghamton to begin the season, but with the New York media machine having little good to say about the Mets, they might be tempted to rush him. Don’t bite on Mejia – not this year, at least. Born: Oct. 11, 1989, Dominican Republic.
Projection
IP: 15 W: 1 ERA: 4.80 WHIP: 1.53 S: 1 SO: 11 Value: $0
The Braves beat the Marlins and LHP Andrew Miller 4-2. All four Atlanta runs were unearned – but don’t fret about more defense, Florida fans, whoever you are. The Marlins’ three errors were all by guys who might not play anywhere in Florida this season. Their hitters suffered at the arm of Braves RHP Tommy Hanson, whose pitching line was 561104. We thought he was the real deal last year; we’re sure of that now.
Not to be outdone, at least not by much, by a namesake to whom he has become inextricably linked, RHP Russ Ortiz made an audition for a spot in the Dodgers’ rotation but lost to the White Sox 5-1. Ortiz’s line was 462223, but his ERA still is just 2.00. For Chicago, RHP Jake Peavy pitched the way the Sox have hoped he would, with a line of 531126 (and ERA of 1.13).
Making his 2010 debut and pitching like a relief version of Athletics RHP Ben Sheets, Yankees LHP Damaso Marte entered their game against the Phillies in the bottom of the fifth inning with the score tied 2-2. Four batters later, the score was 5-2. Phillies OF Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer against Marte, whose line was 043301. In fairness to Marte, in a regular-season game he probably wouldn’t be facing the righthanded-batting Werth with two runners on base. But, come on! Isn’t his job to get someone out?
In the Mets’ 4-2 win over the suddenly slumping Red Sox, red-hot New York OF Fernando Martinez hit his third homer this spring. The three-run shot came against RHP Ramon S. Ramirez – the Ramon Ramirez who was with Boston last year and not his namesake/new teammate who pitched for the Reds in 2009. For the Mets, overly hyped RHP prospect Jenrry Mejia lowered his ERA to 1.08 with a line of 100000.
The Blue Jays may not be able to get LHP Brian Tallet out of their rotation. That’s good for him, but maybe not so for Toronto. Anyway, his line was 410003 in a 4-2 victory over the Orioles.
In the Rockies’ 6-3 win over the Indians, Speier – that’s RHP Justin Speier, most recently with the Angels – had a line of 100001. OF Jay Payton’s comeback attempt with Colorado seems ill-fated. He’s batting just .185 and he was both thrown out stealing and picked off first base, the kind of rookie mistakes a grizzled veteran shouldn’t make. The flukiest line of the day was the 400013 by Indians RHP Carlos Carrasco. We defy him to do that well even once during the regular season.
In the aftermath of manager Ron Washington’s admission that he used cocaine during last season, the Rangers’ 8-1 victory over the Mariners was an anticlimax. Texas pounded the ball as if its big hitters were auditioning for the All-Arizona team. RF Nelson Cruz was 3-for-3 with three RBI to raise his average to .448, with homers against RHPs Ian Snell and David Aardsma. 1B Chris Davis improved to .500 with a homer against RHP Brandon League, and LF Josh Hamilton (.429) returned to the lineup with a four-bagger against Snell. Closer Aardsma was hit particularly hard, with a line of 2/3 34410.
Sample Scouting Report:
Jenrry Mejia, RHP, Mets
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 165 T: R Age: Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP, RP
{2010} Mejia has generated a lot of buzz with some early success in exhibition games. He throws a mid-90s fastball with sinking action that allows him to get plenty of ground-ball outs. That helped him strike out 91 in 94 2/3 innings last year. Mejia started the season 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA in nine starts at high Class A Port St. Lucie, and finished it 0-5 at Double-A Binghamton, where his ERA more than doubled and he averaged just 4 1/3 innings per start. That resulted in part from a strained middle finger that kept Mejia out seven weeks. He needs to develop his low-80s changeup and possibly another breaking ball to complement the cut fastball he throws at times. It seems likely that he would return to Binghamton to begin the season, but with the New York media machine having little good to say about the Mets, they might be tempted to rush him. Don’t bite on Mejia – not this year, at least. Born: Oct. 11, 1989, Dominican Republic.
Projection
IP: 15 W: 1 ERA: 4.80 WHIP: 1.53 S: 1 SO: 11 Value: $0
Bizarro baseball: Nats win twice, Sox blanked twice
After we wrote about how the Astros still pretty much suck, one of the connections to better days came up with a big game. RHP Roy Oswalt had a pitching line of 420011 in a 3-0 shutout of the Red Sox. LHP Wesley Wright came up with his second save, but his ERA still looks like the number of one of those barely paved, two-lane state highways out in the sticks. For Houston, Koby Clemens, the son of a former major league pitcher and a performance-enhanced mother, played first base.
Another Red Sox split squad also was shut out, 7-0 by the Rays. RHP Wade Davis lowered his ERA to 7.04 with a pitching line of 430015, and 2B Sean Rodriguez hit his fifth home run against RHP Junichi Tazawa. He knew he was no longer pitching in a Japanese industrial league; Tampa Bay’s three runs in his one inning were the first clue.
A second group of Astros weren’t as fortunate in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees. The game’s highlight was New York RHP Phil Hughes’ lengthy save, with a line of 430012.
Some bad pitchers changed hands in the ballyhooed Yankees-Tigers-Diamondbacks trade during the off-season. Arizona was left holding the bag with RHP Edwin Jackson, whose line in a 13-7 loss to the Reds was 2 1/3 67720. Jackson gave up a home run to OF Jay Bruce. He and 2B Brandon Phillips came in with averages under .200.
The Phillies used the work of LHP Cole Hamels (line: 521004) and rookie OF Domonic Brown (his first two homers this spring) in a 6-1 victory over the Tigers. One of Brown’s homers was against the losing pitcher, RHP Justin Verlander (3 1/3 34415). The other came against LHP Phil Coke, another in the aforementioned trade.
The Nationals came into the day with an 0-11 record – and left with not one, but two, wins. One split squad defeated the Marlins 12-3 behind RHP Craig Stammen (432014) and a grand slam by OF/2B Willie Harris against LHP Taylor Tankersley. For the other squad, LHP John Lannan’s pitching (421002) C Ivan Rodriguez’s three runs batted in added up to a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals.
In the Indians-Giants game, San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum had the winning poker hand (444444) but Cleveland won 7-1 behind RHP Jake Westbrook’s pitching (421101) and OF Shin-soo Choo’s homer. We’re touting Choo this spring.
Sample Scouting Report:
Wade Davis, RHP, Rays
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 220 T: R Age: 24 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Davis throws a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a hard curve. How far he ultimately advances in the majors could be determined by how well he can develop a third pitch. For now, his status as a prospect is behind LHP David Price and RHP Jeremy Hellickson in the Rays’ organization. Last season, in Davis’ second shot at Triple-A Durham, he was 10-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 158 2/3 innings. That performance earned him a spot in Tampa Bay’s rotation after the Rays traded LHP Scott Kazmir. Davis could maintain his starting role by beating out RHP Andy Sonnanstine or become a vital cog in the bullpen this year. Born: Sept. 7, 1985, Lake Wales, Fla. 2009: Rays, 36 IP, 2 W, 3.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 0 S, 36 SO.
Projection
IP: 109 W: 8 ERA: 3.88 WHIP: 1.34 S: 2 SO: 102 Value: $4
Another Red Sox split squad also was shut out, 7-0 by the Rays. RHP Wade Davis lowered his ERA to 7.04 with a pitching line of 430015, and 2B Sean Rodriguez hit his fifth home run against RHP Junichi Tazawa. He knew he was no longer pitching in a Japanese industrial league; Tampa Bay’s three runs in his one inning were the first clue.
A second group of Astros weren’t as fortunate in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees. The game’s highlight was New York RHP Phil Hughes’ lengthy save, with a line of 430012.
Some bad pitchers changed hands in the ballyhooed Yankees-Tigers-Diamondbacks trade during the off-season. Arizona was left holding the bag with RHP Edwin Jackson, whose line in a 13-7 loss to the Reds was 2 1/3 67720. Jackson gave up a home run to OF Jay Bruce. He and 2B Brandon Phillips came in with averages under .200.
The Phillies used the work of LHP Cole Hamels (line: 521004) and rookie OF Domonic Brown (his first two homers this spring) in a 6-1 victory over the Tigers. One of Brown’s homers was against the losing pitcher, RHP Justin Verlander (3 1/3 34415). The other came against LHP Phil Coke, another in the aforementioned trade.
The Nationals came into the day with an 0-11 record – and left with not one, but two, wins. One split squad defeated the Marlins 12-3 behind RHP Craig Stammen (432014) and a grand slam by OF/2B Willie Harris against LHP Taylor Tankersley. For the other squad, LHP John Lannan’s pitching (421002) C Ivan Rodriguez’s three runs batted in added up to a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals.
In the Indians-Giants game, San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum had the winning poker hand (444444) but Cleveland won 7-1 behind RHP Jake Westbrook’s pitching (421101) and OF Shin-soo Choo’s homer. We’re touting Choo this spring.
Sample Scouting Report:
Wade Davis, RHP, Rays
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 220 T: R Age: 24 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Davis throws a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a hard curve. How far he ultimately advances in the majors could be determined by how well he can develop a third pitch. For now, his status as a prospect is behind LHP David Price and RHP Jeremy Hellickson in the Rays’ organization. Last season, in Davis’ second shot at Triple-A Durham, he was 10-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 158 2/3 innings. That performance earned him a spot in Tampa Bay’s rotation after the Rays traded LHP Scott Kazmir. Davis could maintain his starting role by beating out RHP Andy Sonnanstine or become a vital cog in the bullpen this year. Born: Sept. 7, 1985, Lake Wales, Fla. 2009: Rays, 36 IP, 2 W, 3.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 0 S, 36 SO.
Projection
IP: 109 W: 8 ERA: 3.88 WHIP: 1.34 S: 2 SO: 102 Value: $4
Halladay, Greinke, Ramon Ortiz shine on mound
The headline for this installment reads like one of Sesame Street’s “One of these things is not like the others.”
Nevertheless, RHP Ramon Ortiz made a strong pitch to return to the majors in the Dodgers’ rotation, putting together a pitching line of 420005 in a 4-0 victory over the Angels. OF prospect Angelo Songco, pretty far down the Bums’ organizational depth chart, hit surprisingly well during their China trip and hit a home run against LA/Anaheim. Put him on your list for the future, probably 2012.
After 2 ½ weeks of exhibition games, statistics are beginning to have some meaning. It doesn’t take stats to know that Phillies RHP Roy Halladay is good, but he lowered his ERA to 0.90 with a line of 531126 in a 5-1 victory over the Pirates. Normally, we’d wonder whether pitching against the Bucs should be included in major league stats, but they have been hitting surprisingly well this spring.
See the above comments and insert “Royals RHP Zack Greinke” for “Phillies RHP Roy Halladay.” Greinke also has an 0.90 ERA after also giving up a run, with a line of 421103 in a 9-1 victory over the White Sox. Chicago LHP Mark Buehrle’s line was a miserable 493312. It could have been worse for the Sox; all Kansas City could muster from 17 hits and seven walks was nine runs and 16 left on base.
OK, Athletics, it’s time to admit it: There’s something seriously wrong with RHP Ben Sheets. Their 13-5 loss to the Reds would still be going if Oakland hadn’t lifted him after 10 batters. His line was virtually impossible to surpass in futility: 0 8 10 910. That’s right; he faced 10 batters and all 10 scored.
In another 13-5 game, with the Diamondbacks defeating the Mariners, Seattle LHP Cliff Lee struggled for 2 2/3 innings, then his game ended when he was ejected for throwing at Arizona C Chris Snyder. Before that, Lee’s line was 2 2/3 64411.
Two Padres prospects, RHP Mat Latos and LHP Wade LeBlanc, combined to give up just five hits and one run in eight innings of a 7-1 victory over the Giants. That’s pitching in the hitter-friendly atmosphere of Arizona. Just imagine what that would translate into in San Diego. Another player to add to your future list: Giants RF prospect Roger Kieschnick. He has played in the minors only at high Class A San Jose, but the last two springs in major league exhibitions he has gone 6-for-12 with six RBI.
RHP Pete Parise was trying for his third save with the Cardinals, but failed when he gave up a game-winning two-run homer to Mets OF Angel Pagan in a 6-5 loss. That ballooned Parise’s ERA to 13.50.
In the Rockies’ 5-2 victory over the Cardinals, Colorado received good relief pitching from RHP Jhoulys Chacin (210012) and LHP Franklin Morales (100001). Chacin is likely to be a starter at Triple-A Colorado Springs, but seems likely to join the major league pitching staff during the season or even to begin the year in the Rockies’ bullpen. Morales and RHP Manuel Corpas could earn some regular-season saves because the closer, RHP Huston Street, is hurting.
The Nationals fell to 0-11 with a 5-2 loss to the Braves. Atlanta RHP Derek Lowe was dominant, with a pitching line of 400006. Or perhaps the meat of Washington’s batting order was submissive. The first five batters in the starting lineup – OF Justin Maxwell, SS Ian Desmond, 3B Ryan Zimmerman, 1B Adam Dunn and OF Elijah Dukes – were a combined 0-for-17.
Marlins OF prospect Michael Stanton hit his third homer this spring, this time against Twins LHP Francisco Liriano. Perhaps Liriano was building a case to pitch out of the bullpen as Minnesota’s closer because he wasn’t effective as the starter in the Twinkies’ 5-4 loss. His pitching line was 343306.
I caught some of the Rangers’ game against the Giants, enough to come up with several observations. Texas C Jarrod Saltalamacchia was back in the lineup after missing time because of a buildup of scar tissue in the area under his right armpit where he underwent surgery. The Rangers talk about Salty’s prospects for this season with smiley faces, but in the background they have to be looking for catching help just in case. 2B Ian Kinsler didn’t play, and will be out about a week, because of an ankle injury. LF Josh Hamilton’s in-and-out spring continued when he left the game after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from San Francisco LHP Madison Bumgarner. Also, Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-4, but one of the outs was on a diving catch by Rangers CF Julio Borbon. That event said that Sandoval’s still hitting line drives and that Texas might not have to worry much about Borbon’s defense.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mike Stanton, OF, Marlins
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 205 B: R Age: 20
{2010} Stanton is considered one of baseball’s best power prospects. Between high Class A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville last year, he hit 28 home runs and drove in 92 runs. His batting average dropped 61 points at the higher level, and his strikeout/walk ratio grew from less than 2:1 to slightly above 3:1. For that reason, you should expect him to begin this season back in Double-A with a likely in-season promotion to Triple-A and a possible major league debut in September. Stanton has played some center field, but was exclusively a right fielder at Jacksonville. He has the arm to play that position in the majors. Born: Nov. 8, 1989, Los Angeles, Calif.
Projection
AB: 110 BA: .245 HR: 6 RBI: 19 SB: 1 R: 13 Value: $2
Nevertheless, RHP Ramon Ortiz made a strong pitch to return to the majors in the Dodgers’ rotation, putting together a pitching line of 420005 in a 4-0 victory over the Angels. OF prospect Angelo Songco, pretty far down the Bums’ organizational depth chart, hit surprisingly well during their China trip and hit a home run against LA/Anaheim. Put him on your list for the future, probably 2012.
After 2 ½ weeks of exhibition games, statistics are beginning to have some meaning. It doesn’t take stats to know that Phillies RHP Roy Halladay is good, but he lowered his ERA to 0.90 with a line of 531126 in a 5-1 victory over the Pirates. Normally, we’d wonder whether pitching against the Bucs should be included in major league stats, but they have been hitting surprisingly well this spring.
See the above comments and insert “Royals RHP Zack Greinke” for “Phillies RHP Roy Halladay.” Greinke also has an 0.90 ERA after also giving up a run, with a line of 421103 in a 9-1 victory over the White Sox. Chicago LHP Mark Buehrle’s line was a miserable 493312. It could have been worse for the Sox; all Kansas City could muster from 17 hits and seven walks was nine runs and 16 left on base.
OK, Athletics, it’s time to admit it: There’s something seriously wrong with RHP Ben Sheets. Their 13-5 loss to the Reds would still be going if Oakland hadn’t lifted him after 10 batters. His line was virtually impossible to surpass in futility: 0 8 10 910. That’s right; he faced 10 batters and all 10 scored.
In another 13-5 game, with the Diamondbacks defeating the Mariners, Seattle LHP Cliff Lee struggled for 2 2/3 innings, then his game ended when he was ejected for throwing at Arizona C Chris Snyder. Before that, Lee’s line was 2 2/3 64411.
Two Padres prospects, RHP Mat Latos and LHP Wade LeBlanc, combined to give up just five hits and one run in eight innings of a 7-1 victory over the Giants. That’s pitching in the hitter-friendly atmosphere of Arizona. Just imagine what that would translate into in San Diego. Another player to add to your future list: Giants RF prospect Roger Kieschnick. He has played in the minors only at high Class A San Jose, but the last two springs in major league exhibitions he has gone 6-for-12 with six RBI.
RHP Pete Parise was trying for his third save with the Cardinals, but failed when he gave up a game-winning two-run homer to Mets OF Angel Pagan in a 6-5 loss. That ballooned Parise’s ERA to 13.50.
In the Rockies’ 5-2 victory over the Cardinals, Colorado received good relief pitching from RHP Jhoulys Chacin (210012) and LHP Franklin Morales (100001). Chacin is likely to be a starter at Triple-A Colorado Springs, but seems likely to join the major league pitching staff during the season or even to begin the year in the Rockies’ bullpen. Morales and RHP Manuel Corpas could earn some regular-season saves because the closer, RHP Huston Street, is hurting.
The Nationals fell to 0-11 with a 5-2 loss to the Braves. Atlanta RHP Derek Lowe was dominant, with a pitching line of 400006. Or perhaps the meat of Washington’s batting order was submissive. The first five batters in the starting lineup – OF Justin Maxwell, SS Ian Desmond, 3B Ryan Zimmerman, 1B Adam Dunn and OF Elijah Dukes – were a combined 0-for-17.
Marlins OF prospect Michael Stanton hit his third homer this spring, this time against Twins LHP Francisco Liriano. Perhaps Liriano was building a case to pitch out of the bullpen as Minnesota’s closer because he wasn’t effective as the starter in the Twinkies’ 5-4 loss. His pitching line was 343306.
I caught some of the Rangers’ game against the Giants, enough to come up with several observations. Texas C Jarrod Saltalamacchia was back in the lineup after missing time because of a buildup of scar tissue in the area under his right armpit where he underwent surgery. The Rangers talk about Salty’s prospects for this season with smiley faces, but in the background they have to be looking for catching help just in case. 2B Ian Kinsler didn’t play, and will be out about a week, because of an ankle injury. LF Josh Hamilton’s in-and-out spring continued when he left the game after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from San Francisco LHP Madison Bumgarner. Also, Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-4, but one of the outs was on a diving catch by Rangers CF Julio Borbon. That event said that Sandoval’s still hitting line drives and that Texas might not have to worry much about Borbon’s defense.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mike Stanton, OF, Marlins
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 205 B: R Age: 20
{2010} Stanton is considered one of baseball’s best power prospects. Between high Class A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville last year, he hit 28 home runs and drove in 92 runs. His batting average dropped 61 points at the higher level, and his strikeout/walk ratio grew from less than 2:1 to slightly above 3:1. For that reason, you should expect him to begin this season back in Double-A with a likely in-season promotion to Triple-A and a possible major league debut in September. Stanton has played some center field, but was exclusively a right fielder at Jacksonville. He has the arm to play that position in the majors. Born: Nov. 8, 1989, Los Angeles, Calif.
Projection
AB: 110 BA: .245 HR: 6 RBI: 19 SB: 1 R: 13 Value: $2
Friday, March 19, 2010
Oh, Brian, can you see?
Off-season Lasik eye surgery could be beginning to take effect for Braves C Brian McCann. He hit his first two home runs this spring, against RHP Brett Myers and journeyman LHP Tim Byrdak, as Atlanta lost to the Astros 8-5. RF Hunter Pence slugged his third homer for Houston.
Speaking of eyes, in the Stephen Strasburg watch, the Nationals right-hander pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two in a 7-3 loss to the Cardinals. The winning pitcher was RHP Adam Ottavino, who to date has been overhyped as a prospect. He had a pitching line of 200001 after relieving RHP Adam Wainwright in the fifth inning.
In the Diamondbacks’ 9-3 victory over the Rangers, RF Justin Upton blasted his third homer. Texas LF Josh Hamilton, struggling to avoid injuries this spring, hit his first. Thus far, the second coming of RHP Colby Lewis with the Rangers doesn’t seem much better than the first. They re-signed him after he’d had some success pitching in Japan. However, his spring ERA is 9.95.
You know it’s spring training when the Pirates club the Yankees 10-5. And when 1B/SS Bobby Crosby hits two homers and 2B/OF Delwyn Young hits another, giving each three already this spring. It didn’t hurt for the Bucs that RHP Jonathan Abominablesnowman was pitching in the game. He gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning, giving him 10 earned runs allowed in two innings, a 45.00 ERA.
The Marlins defeated the Mets 5-1, with RHP John Maine giving up all five of the runs in two-thirds of an inning. That’s a 67.50 ERA.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 8-7 in Hermosillo, Mexico. RHP Leo Rosales made up for some shaky pitching earlier this spring by recording a save. In his one inning, he gave up a solo homer to 1B Brad Eldred.
In the Cubs’ 8-7 victory over the Angels, RHP Thomas Diamond earned a save. He entered the game with the bases loaded and a two-run lead with two out in the eighth inning. Diamond allowed one runner to score, but held LA/Anaheim scoreless in the ninth. Could closer be his future role?
The Athletics’ corner infielders made news in their 10-3 victory over the Royals. 3B Eric Chavez, now playing first base, went 0-for-3 but the news was that he played on back-to-back days for the first time since last year’s back surgery. Meanwhile, new 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in three runs.
Still hitting home runs for the Rays were 2B Sean Rodriguez, his fourth, and OF Justin Ruggiero, his third. Tampa Bay still lost to the Tigers 9-6.
The Giants pounded four home runs – by 1B Aubrey Huff and OFs Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz – but still lost to the Brewers 10-8.
The scoring in the Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Mariners all came after the starting pitchers left the game. For Colorado, RHP Ubaldo Jimenez pitched four scoreless innings, giving him a string of seven shutout innings. In RHP Felix Hernandez’s first appearance this spring, he went 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run for Seattle.
In the Dodgers’ 6-4 victory over the Rangers, Matt Kemp hit his second homer this spring and OF Garret Anderson went 1-for-3, a single against LHP Derek Holland, in his first game as LA’s DH since signing a minor league contract.
The rest of the Dodgers won their final exhibition game in China, 11-1 over the CPBL All-Stars. OF prospect Trayvon Robinson hit a two-run homer, and LF Manny Ramirez and 1B James Loney had three hits apiece. The winning pitcher, RHP Josh Towers, had a pitching line of 341102.
Inside the injuries:
While Mets SS Jose Reyes recovers from a thyroid disorder, which is expected to take 2-8 weeks, they will have rookie Ruben Tejada share time with 2B/SS Alex Cora in Reyes’ place. The timetable on CF Carlos Beltran’s return now has been pushed back as far as Memorial Day.
The Angels were set to go with their regular lineup against the Cubs until SS Erick Aybar reported a stiff arm and RF Bobby Abreu tightness in his side. Both sat out the game.
Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez went out Saturday because of a sore triceps muscle, and isn’t expected to throw for a couple of more days.
The Red Sox scratched RHP Josh Beckett from his start because he was sick. Instead of disrupting other pitchers’ schedules by moving him back to Monday, the Sox said Beckett wouldn’t pitch in a game until his next scheduled start Friday against the Pirates.
The Royals said CF Rick Ankiel, pulled from Friday’s game because of a sore right ankle (ankiel?), could be out a week. In his absence, they will take an extended look at OF Jason Dyson, who stole 46 bases in 80 games last season between low Class A and Double-A ball.
Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal is trying to prove that he’s 100 per cent ready to play this year. He has played in eight of their last nine games. He said that when he played last season he was leery of reinjuring his back.
Sample Scouting Report:
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, Rockies
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 200 T: R Age: 26* Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} If there is such a thing as a perfect pitcher for Coors Field, Jimenez could be it. He throws a high-90s fastball and mixes in good off-speed pitches, which generates plenty of strikeouts and reduces the number of balls put in play. During the last two seasons, more than 60 per cent of his outs have come on ground balls. Those don’t ever go out of the park the way even a wind-blown fly ball can. Almost any kind of start could be an improvement over last year, when his April ERA was 7.58. Just think how good he could be if he went to a team playing in a pitchers’ park. Born: Jan. 22, 1984, Dominican Republic*. 2009: Rockies, 218 IP, 15 W, 0 S, 3.47 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 198 SO.
Projection
IP: 208 W: 15 ERA: 3.62 WHIP: 1.29 S: 0 SO: 187 Value: $14
Speaking of eyes, in the Stephen Strasburg watch, the Nationals right-hander pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two in a 7-3 loss to the Cardinals. The winning pitcher was RHP Adam Ottavino, who to date has been overhyped as a prospect. He had a pitching line of 200001 after relieving RHP Adam Wainwright in the fifth inning.
In the Diamondbacks’ 9-3 victory over the Rangers, RF Justin Upton blasted his third homer. Texas LF Josh Hamilton, struggling to avoid injuries this spring, hit his first. Thus far, the second coming of RHP Colby Lewis with the Rangers doesn’t seem much better than the first. They re-signed him after he’d had some success pitching in Japan. However, his spring ERA is 9.95.
You know it’s spring training when the Pirates club the Yankees 10-5. And when 1B/SS Bobby Crosby hits two homers and 2B/OF Delwyn Young hits another, giving each three already this spring. It didn’t hurt for the Bucs that RHP Jonathan Abominablesnowman was pitching in the game. He gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning, giving him 10 earned runs allowed in two innings, a 45.00 ERA.
The Marlins defeated the Mets 5-1, with RHP John Maine giving up all five of the runs in two-thirds of an inning. That’s a 67.50 ERA.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 8-7 in Hermosillo, Mexico. RHP Leo Rosales made up for some shaky pitching earlier this spring by recording a save. In his one inning, he gave up a solo homer to 1B Brad Eldred.
In the Cubs’ 8-7 victory over the Angels, RHP Thomas Diamond earned a save. He entered the game with the bases loaded and a two-run lead with two out in the eighth inning. Diamond allowed one runner to score, but held LA/Anaheim scoreless in the ninth. Could closer be his future role?
The Athletics’ corner infielders made news in their 10-3 victory over the Royals. 3B Eric Chavez, now playing first base, went 0-for-3 but the news was that he played on back-to-back days for the first time since last year’s back surgery. Meanwhile, new 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in three runs.
Still hitting home runs for the Rays were 2B Sean Rodriguez, his fourth, and OF Justin Ruggiero, his third. Tampa Bay still lost to the Tigers 9-6.
The Giants pounded four home runs – by 1B Aubrey Huff and OFs Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz – but still lost to the Brewers 10-8.
The scoring in the Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Mariners all came after the starting pitchers left the game. For Colorado, RHP Ubaldo Jimenez pitched four scoreless innings, giving him a string of seven shutout innings. In RHP Felix Hernandez’s first appearance this spring, he went 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run for Seattle.
In the Dodgers’ 6-4 victory over the Rangers, Matt Kemp hit his second homer this spring and OF Garret Anderson went 1-for-3, a single against LHP Derek Holland, in his first game as LA’s DH since signing a minor league contract.
The rest of the Dodgers won their final exhibition game in China, 11-1 over the CPBL All-Stars. OF prospect Trayvon Robinson hit a two-run homer, and LF Manny Ramirez and 1B James Loney had three hits apiece. The winning pitcher, RHP Josh Towers, had a pitching line of 341102.
Inside the injuries:
While Mets SS Jose Reyes recovers from a thyroid disorder, which is expected to take 2-8 weeks, they will have rookie Ruben Tejada share time with 2B/SS Alex Cora in Reyes’ place. The timetable on CF Carlos Beltran’s return now has been pushed back as far as Memorial Day.
The Angels were set to go with their regular lineup against the Cubs until SS Erick Aybar reported a stiff arm and RF Bobby Abreu tightness in his side. Both sat out the game.
Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez went out Saturday because of a sore triceps muscle, and isn’t expected to throw for a couple of more days.
The Red Sox scratched RHP Josh Beckett from his start because he was sick. Instead of disrupting other pitchers’ schedules by moving him back to Monday, the Sox said Beckett wouldn’t pitch in a game until his next scheduled start Friday against the Pirates.
The Royals said CF Rick Ankiel, pulled from Friday’s game because of a sore right ankle (ankiel?), could be out a week. In his absence, they will take an extended look at OF Jason Dyson, who stole 46 bases in 80 games last season between low Class A and Double-A ball.
Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal is trying to prove that he’s 100 per cent ready to play this year. He has played in eight of their last nine games. He said that when he played last season he was leery of reinjuring his back.
Sample Scouting Report:
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, Rockies
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 200 T: R Age: 26* Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} If there is such a thing as a perfect pitcher for Coors Field, Jimenez could be it. He throws a high-90s fastball and mixes in good off-speed pitches, which generates plenty of strikeouts and reduces the number of balls put in play. During the last two seasons, more than 60 per cent of his outs have come on ground balls. Those don’t ever go out of the park the way even a wind-blown fly ball can. Almost any kind of start could be an improvement over last year, when his April ERA was 7.58. Just think how good he could be if he went to a team playing in a pitchers’ park. Born: Jan. 22, 1984, Dominican Republic*. 2009: Rockies, 218 IP, 15 W, 0 S, 3.47 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 198 SO.
Projection
IP: 208 W: 15 ERA: 3.62 WHIP: 1.29 S: 0 SO: 187 Value: $14
Mets break loose with four-homer inning
The offensively challenged Mets hit four home runs and scored nine runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Tigers 9-1. 3B David Wright hit his third this spring, OF Gary Matthews powered his second and OF Jason Bay and 1B Daniel Murphy connected for the first time in 2010.
For another Tigers split squad, OF Johnny Damon hit his first homer in a 6-2 victory over his previous team, the Yankees. Even better news for Detroit was that a fifth-starter candidate, LHP Dontrelle Willis, was the winning pitcher. His pitching line of 341110 indicates he might have to succeed more with finesse than power.
The Yanks’ other split squad won over the Orioles 5-3. RHP David Robertson received a save. Baltimore RHP Jeremy Guthrie gave up three runs in the first inning.
We’ve been telling you that Phillies RHP Danys Baez could be a good sleeper candidate this year, when expectations for him are few and he still has some talent if he’s physically OK. Baez picked up a save in Philadelphia’s 5-4 victory over the Twins.
3B prospect Juan Francisco hammered his first two homers of the spring, but the Reds lost 11-4 to the Cubs.
Marlins OF Brett Carroll hit his third homer of the spring in an 8-5 victory over the Rays. CF B.J. Upton homered for the first time for Tampa Bay.
Also hitting his first homer was Royals 2B Chris Getz, who connected in a 12-3 rout of the Angels. He might not hit many more than that all season.
Two teams won in the bottom of the last inning – including the Athletics, who actually went to 10 innings in a 10-9 victory over the Padres decided when CF Eric Patterson drove in the winning run. 3B Dallas McPherson had tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer against San Diego RHP Kevin Correia. The Astros defeated the winless Nationals 8-7 on a single by rookie CF Jack Shuck. No, you won’t hear about him in the major leagues any more this year.
RHP Brandon McCarthy’s good start helped the Rangers to a 5-0 victory over the Indians. He is battling LHPs Matt Harrison and C.J. Wilson and others for a job as Texas’ fifth starter.
In Las Vegas, the Cubs took an early victory in their city series with the White Sox, 8-7.
Sample Scouting Report:
Brett Carroll, OF, Marlins
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 190 B: R Age: 27
{2010} Carroll’s stats lines conjure up a vision of a lumbering 6-4, 240-pound type who is a defensive liability. In reality, he’s a pretty good defender with enough arm to play right field. Limiting his playing time have been strikeout/walk ratios pretty consistently in the 3:1 range. In addition to showing power, Carroll hit for good averages in Triple-A until last season. That drop-off most likely resulted from having his routine disrupted by shuttling between Miami and Albuquerque. If he can keep his strikeouts under control, Carroll could stick in the majors as a fourth or fifth outfielder and platoon pinch hitter. His best chance for success would come if he could show enough that another team would take an interest in him once OF Michael Stanton is ready for the Marlins’ outfield. Born: Oct. 3, 1982, Knoxville, Tenn. 2009: 141 AB, .234 BA, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, 18 R.
Projection
AB: 182 BA: .249 HR: 5 RBI: 25 SB: 1 R: 25 Value: $1
For another Tigers split squad, OF Johnny Damon hit his first homer in a 6-2 victory over his previous team, the Yankees. Even better news for Detroit was that a fifth-starter candidate, LHP Dontrelle Willis, was the winning pitcher. His pitching line of 341110 indicates he might have to succeed more with finesse than power.
The Yanks’ other split squad won over the Orioles 5-3. RHP David Robertson received a save. Baltimore RHP Jeremy Guthrie gave up three runs in the first inning.
We’ve been telling you that Phillies RHP Danys Baez could be a good sleeper candidate this year, when expectations for him are few and he still has some talent if he’s physically OK. Baez picked up a save in Philadelphia’s 5-4 victory over the Twins.
3B prospect Juan Francisco hammered his first two homers of the spring, but the Reds lost 11-4 to the Cubs.
Marlins OF Brett Carroll hit his third homer of the spring in an 8-5 victory over the Rays. CF B.J. Upton homered for the first time for Tampa Bay.
Also hitting his first homer was Royals 2B Chris Getz, who connected in a 12-3 rout of the Angels. He might not hit many more than that all season.
Two teams won in the bottom of the last inning – including the Athletics, who actually went to 10 innings in a 10-9 victory over the Padres decided when CF Eric Patterson drove in the winning run. 3B Dallas McPherson had tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer against San Diego RHP Kevin Correia. The Astros defeated the winless Nationals 8-7 on a single by rookie CF Jack Shuck. No, you won’t hear about him in the major leagues any more this year.
RHP Brandon McCarthy’s good start helped the Rangers to a 5-0 victory over the Indians. He is battling LHPs Matt Harrison and C.J. Wilson and others for a job as Texas’ fifth starter.
In Las Vegas, the Cubs took an early victory in their city series with the White Sox, 8-7.
Sample Scouting Report:
Brett Carroll, OF, Marlins
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 190 B: R Age: 27
{2010} Carroll’s stats lines conjure up a vision of a lumbering 6-4, 240-pound type who is a defensive liability. In reality, he’s a pretty good defender with enough arm to play right field. Limiting his playing time have been strikeout/walk ratios pretty consistently in the 3:1 range. In addition to showing power, Carroll hit for good averages in Triple-A until last season. That drop-off most likely resulted from having his routine disrupted by shuttling between Miami and Albuquerque. If he can keep his strikeouts under control, Carroll could stick in the majors as a fourth or fifth outfielder and platoon pinch hitter. His best chance for success would come if he could show enough that another team would take an interest in him once OF Michael Stanton is ready for the Marlins’ outfield. Born: Oct. 3, 1982, Knoxville, Tenn. 2009: 141 AB, .234 BA, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, 18 R.
Projection
AB: 182 BA: .249 HR: 5 RBI: 25 SB: 1 R: 25 Value: $1
Napoli could take a step forward
Rain wiped out eight games scheduled in Florida, including LHP Andy Pettitte’s scheduled 2010 debut for the Yankees.
Teams are at the point where they don’t even make a pretense of trying to get a decision in games. The two ties both ended after nine innings: the Angels and Indians 7-7 and the Royals and Mariners 6-6. In the LA/Anaheim-Cleveland game, Angels C Mike Napoli hit his fourth homer this spring. We considered Napoli for last year’s Derrek Lee Award, and we still feel he could do some breaking out. When Kansas City and Seattle played, Royals 1B prospect Kila Ka’aihue hit his second HR.
In the Rangers’ 6-2 victory over the Padres, Texas 1B Chris Davis followed Thursday’s 4-for-4 effort with three hits. Slimmed-down LHP Matt Harrison pitched three scoreless innings. RHP prospect Tanner Scheppers – who has been the talk of the back fields in Surprise, Ariz. – didn’t allow a run in his inning for the Rangers even though he gave up three hits.
The Cubs and White Sox met on neutral ground in Las Vegas, with the Cubs winning 6-5. Danger: Will Robinson! With an umpire named Will Robinson behind the plate, each team’s pitchers walked seven batters. Looking for speed? Cubs SS Ryan Theriot stole two bases, giving him four this spring. He stole one each against rookie Cs Tyler Flowers and Donny Lucy.
Another group of White Sox defeated an Angels split squad 10-7. Chicago supported RHP Jake Peavy’s three scoreless innings of pitching by taking a 7-0 lead against LA/Anaheim LHP Joe Saunders and RHP Travis Chick. The bad news for the Sox was that RHP Bobby Jenks didn’t get through the fourth inning, giving up five runs.
The Reds defeated a Dodgers split squad 3-2. Rookie Jordan Smith saved the game by retiring SS Argenis Reyes after LA had scored two runs and had another runner on base in the bottom of the ninth. The starting pitchers, Cincinnati RHP Bronson Arroyo and Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw each allowed two hits in three scoreless innings. A warning sign for Cincy was 1B Joey Votto’s 0-for-5 game, leaving five runners on base, dropping his average to .067.
A team of ersatz Dodgers lost its first exhibition game in China, 5-2 to the CPBL All-Stars.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mike Napoli, C, Angels
{2010} There isn’t much doubt about Napoli’s power and overall offensive ability, which put him almost into an elite status among fantasy catchers. And that’s the rub. He’s not a very good defensive catcher, and LA/Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia was a standout backstop and is an exacting mentor. That means that Napoli loses playing time to C Jeff Mathis, a better defender. The hope for fantasy owners is that Napoli would hit well enough to stay in the lineup as the DH when he isn’t catching. Born Oct. 31, 1981, Hollywood, Fla. 2009: 382 AB, .272 BA, 20 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB, 60 R.
Projection
AB: 367 BA: .267 HR: 22 RBI: 62 SB: 5 R: 59 Value: $8
Teams are at the point where they don’t even make a pretense of trying to get a decision in games. The two ties both ended after nine innings: the Angels and Indians 7-7 and the Royals and Mariners 6-6. In the LA/Anaheim-Cleveland game, Angels C Mike Napoli hit his fourth homer this spring. We considered Napoli for last year’s Derrek Lee Award, and we still feel he could do some breaking out. When Kansas City and Seattle played, Royals 1B prospect Kila Ka’aihue hit his second HR.
In the Rangers’ 6-2 victory over the Padres, Texas 1B Chris Davis followed Thursday’s 4-for-4 effort with three hits. Slimmed-down LHP Matt Harrison pitched three scoreless innings. RHP prospect Tanner Scheppers – who has been the talk of the back fields in Surprise, Ariz. – didn’t allow a run in his inning for the Rangers even though he gave up three hits.
The Cubs and White Sox met on neutral ground in Las Vegas, with the Cubs winning 6-5. Danger: Will Robinson! With an umpire named Will Robinson behind the plate, each team’s pitchers walked seven batters. Looking for speed? Cubs SS Ryan Theriot stole two bases, giving him four this spring. He stole one each against rookie Cs Tyler Flowers and Donny Lucy.
Another group of White Sox defeated an Angels split squad 10-7. Chicago supported RHP Jake Peavy’s three scoreless innings of pitching by taking a 7-0 lead against LA/Anaheim LHP Joe Saunders and RHP Travis Chick. The bad news for the Sox was that RHP Bobby Jenks didn’t get through the fourth inning, giving up five runs.
The Reds defeated a Dodgers split squad 3-2. Rookie Jordan Smith saved the game by retiring SS Argenis Reyes after LA had scored two runs and had another runner on base in the bottom of the ninth. The starting pitchers, Cincinnati RHP Bronson Arroyo and Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw each allowed two hits in three scoreless innings. A warning sign for Cincy was 1B Joey Votto’s 0-for-5 game, leaving five runners on base, dropping his average to .067.
A team of ersatz Dodgers lost its first exhibition game in China, 5-2 to the CPBL All-Stars.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mike Napoli, C, Angels
{2010} There isn’t much doubt about Napoli’s power and overall offensive ability, which put him almost into an elite status among fantasy catchers. And that’s the rub. He’s not a very good defensive catcher, and LA/Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia was a standout backstop and is an exacting mentor. That means that Napoli loses playing time to C Jeff Mathis, a better defender. The hope for fantasy owners is that Napoli would hit well enough to stay in the lineup as the DH when he isn’t catching. Born Oct. 31, 1981, Hollywood, Fla. 2009: 382 AB, .272 BA, 20 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB, 60 R.
Projection
AB: 367 BA: .267 HR: 22 RBI: 62 SB: 5 R: 59 Value: $8
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Twins will find a closer, maybe Liriano
It just occurred to me that we haven’t told you much about the Twins’ closer situation with RHP Joe Nathan likely to miss this season because of a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.
I don’t run the Minnesota organization; the Twins’ executives do a very good job without my help. Terry Ryan isn’t the GM anymore, but the team should assign him the task of sifting through the closer candidates, internal and external. After all, he’s the one who saw Nathan’s potential back when he was a setup man and stole him from the Giants in the notorious A.J. Pierzynski trade.
The Twinkies have plenty of in-house candidates, even though they’ll no doubt be looking elsewhere as well. They are the defending American League Central champions, after all, and a strong contender again this year, so there’s a lot at stake in a division where one blown save could make the difference in going to the playoffs or staying home.
Thus, we present the pitchers who could receive a promotion from the back to the front of the bullpen. RHP Jon Rauch has been a closer in the majors with mixed results. Of his 26 career saves, 17 came in 22 attempts with the 2008 Nationals. RHP Matt Guerrier has been a reliable setup man, but hasn’t been called on for many saves (one in each of the last four seasons, with a career record of 4 in 14 attempts). RHP Jesse Crain at times was an overpowering closer as high as Triple-A, but his skill set and some arm problems have kept him from being a major factor in the majors (2-for-12 in career saves). LHP Jose Mijares was a minor league closer, but has even less big-league track record (one unsuccessful save attempt in 81 games) than Crain. RHP Clay Condrey: 4-for-6 in his career. RHP Pat Neshek: 0-for-7. The most intriguing candidate is LHP Francisco Liriano. He would have an exceptional repertoire for a closer – fastball, slider, devastating changeup. For Minnesota even to try him as a closer would mean both that the twins are satisfied with five other starters and that they’d trust Liriano to be what could be an overwhelming closer.
In the Phillies’ 4-0 victory over the Tigers, RHP Joe Blanton continued a good spring by outdueling RHP Justin Verlander. Blanton’s pitching line was 430000, compared to Verlander’s 462202. We can only imagine that Blanton’s pitches were moving down and out of the strike zone, which they do when he’s at his best. Philadelphia’s bullpen held Detroit hitless for the final five innings.
The Marlins’ closer, RHP Leo Nunez, had a chance for an easy save, entering their game against the Cardinals to start the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead. Instead, he imploded. His pitching line was 2/3 45311 as he turned the lead into a 5-3 loss. Included were doubles by young 3B David Freese and OF Joe Mather.
Rays LHP Jacob McGee did get a save in a 4-1 victory of the Blue Jays. His pitching line was 210002. They played in St. Petersburg, but the Braves-Yankees game next door in Tampa was rained out.
In a game reduced to eight innings because of rain, the Twins defeated the Orioles 8-3. Baltimore RHP Kevin Millwood again struggled. He’s 0-2 this spring with a 29.70 ERA, including a pitching line of 2 2/3 95512. Minnesota OF/1B Michael Cuddyer hit a home run against Millwood.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Angels 4-1, with LA/Anaheim’s only run coming on C Mike Napoli’s third homer this spring against Arizona RHP Leo Rosales.
The Dodgers defeated the Royals 6-4, with most of the damage against RHP Gil Meche. His line of 274410 included a homer by LA OF Andre Ethier.
The Rangers had one of their occasional offensive explosions, pounding 23 hits in a 16-5 victory over the Rockies. The winning pitcher, RHP Scott Feldman, had a shaky line of 2 1/3 53323, but it was a case of “You should see the other guy.” Colorado RHP Aaron Cook’s line was 2 2/3 99513. Rangers 1B Chris Davis, who seems on track to have a bounce-back season, hit a two-run homer against Cook during a 4-for-4 day with three RBI.
Mets SS Jose Reyes has been diagnosed with a thyroid disorder. He has been prescribed rest, and seems unlikely to be ready for Opening Day.
Sample Scouting Report:
Chris Davis, 1B, Rangers
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 235 B: L Age: 24
{2010} In half a season as a rookie in 2008, Davis hit 17 home runs and drove in 55 runs. Last season, he was striking out nearly once every two at-bats when he was returned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He had been missing fastballs, swinging at balls and taking strikes, but altered his approach and became more patient in the minors. Davis batted .202 before the demotion, but improved to .308 in 36 games after his return to the Rangers. He can’t help but be somewhere between those averages this season, but he had a good start in exhibition games and should be a good power source making more consistent contact. If he doesn’t, he wouldn’t play much because 1B prospects Justin Smoak and Mitch Moreland are coming up behind him. Born: March 17, 1986, Longview, Texas. 2009: 391 AB, .238 BA, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 0 SB, 48 R.
Projection
AB: 482 BA: .258 HR: 26 RBI: 78 SB: 1 R: 67, Value: $7.
I don’t run the Minnesota organization; the Twins’ executives do a very good job without my help. Terry Ryan isn’t the GM anymore, but the team should assign him the task of sifting through the closer candidates, internal and external. After all, he’s the one who saw Nathan’s potential back when he was a setup man and stole him from the Giants in the notorious A.J. Pierzynski trade.
The Twinkies have plenty of in-house candidates, even though they’ll no doubt be looking elsewhere as well. They are the defending American League Central champions, after all, and a strong contender again this year, so there’s a lot at stake in a division where one blown save could make the difference in going to the playoffs or staying home.
Thus, we present the pitchers who could receive a promotion from the back to the front of the bullpen. RHP Jon Rauch has been a closer in the majors with mixed results. Of his 26 career saves, 17 came in 22 attempts with the 2008 Nationals. RHP Matt Guerrier has been a reliable setup man, but hasn’t been called on for many saves (one in each of the last four seasons, with a career record of 4 in 14 attempts). RHP Jesse Crain at times was an overpowering closer as high as Triple-A, but his skill set and some arm problems have kept him from being a major factor in the majors (2-for-12 in career saves). LHP Jose Mijares was a minor league closer, but has even less big-league track record (one unsuccessful save attempt in 81 games) than Crain. RHP Clay Condrey: 4-for-6 in his career. RHP Pat Neshek: 0-for-7. The most intriguing candidate is LHP Francisco Liriano. He would have an exceptional repertoire for a closer – fastball, slider, devastating changeup. For Minnesota even to try him as a closer would mean both that the twins are satisfied with five other starters and that they’d trust Liriano to be what could be an overwhelming closer.
In the Phillies’ 4-0 victory over the Tigers, RHP Joe Blanton continued a good spring by outdueling RHP Justin Verlander. Blanton’s pitching line was 430000, compared to Verlander’s 462202. We can only imagine that Blanton’s pitches were moving down and out of the strike zone, which they do when he’s at his best. Philadelphia’s bullpen held Detroit hitless for the final five innings.
The Marlins’ closer, RHP Leo Nunez, had a chance for an easy save, entering their game against the Cardinals to start the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead. Instead, he imploded. His pitching line was 2/3 45311 as he turned the lead into a 5-3 loss. Included were doubles by young 3B David Freese and OF Joe Mather.
Rays LHP Jacob McGee did get a save in a 4-1 victory of the Blue Jays. His pitching line was 210002. They played in St. Petersburg, but the Braves-Yankees game next door in Tampa was rained out.
In a game reduced to eight innings because of rain, the Twins defeated the Orioles 8-3. Baltimore RHP Kevin Millwood again struggled. He’s 0-2 this spring with a 29.70 ERA, including a pitching line of 2 2/3 95512. Minnesota OF/1B Michael Cuddyer hit a home run against Millwood.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Angels 4-1, with LA/Anaheim’s only run coming on C Mike Napoli’s third homer this spring against Arizona RHP Leo Rosales.
The Dodgers defeated the Royals 6-4, with most of the damage against RHP Gil Meche. His line of 274410 included a homer by LA OF Andre Ethier.
The Rangers had one of their occasional offensive explosions, pounding 23 hits in a 16-5 victory over the Rockies. The winning pitcher, RHP Scott Feldman, had a shaky line of 2 1/3 53323, but it was a case of “You should see the other guy.” Colorado RHP Aaron Cook’s line was 2 2/3 99513. Rangers 1B Chris Davis, who seems on track to have a bounce-back season, hit a two-run homer against Cook during a 4-for-4 day with three RBI.
Mets SS Jose Reyes has been diagnosed with a thyroid disorder. He has been prescribed rest, and seems unlikely to be ready for Opening Day.
Sample Scouting Report:
Chris Davis, 1B, Rangers
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 235 B: L Age: 24
{2010} In half a season as a rookie in 2008, Davis hit 17 home runs and drove in 55 runs. Last season, he was striking out nearly once every two at-bats when he was returned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He had been missing fastballs, swinging at balls and taking strikes, but altered his approach and became more patient in the minors. Davis batted .202 before the demotion, but improved to .308 in 36 games after his return to the Rangers. He can’t help but be somewhere between those averages this season, but he had a good start in exhibition games and should be a good power source making more consistent contact. If he doesn’t, he wouldn’t play much because 1B prospects Justin Smoak and Mitch Moreland are coming up behind him. Born: March 17, 1986, Longview, Texas. 2009: 391 AB, .238 BA, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 0 SB, 48 R.
Projection
AB: 482 BA: .258 HR: 26 RBI: 78 SB: 1 R: 67, Value: $7.
Astros are happier, but don't seem any better
You might have heard about how there’s a much better atmosphere around the Astros this year with Brad Mills as manager. He might be the freshest breath of air in Florida this spring, or it could just be that anyone might have been an improvement over Cecil Cooper’s negativity.
One thing Mills can’t do is play for Houston. Not many others in Kissimmee, Fla., are much help either. If LHP Wandy Rodriguez’s performance (pitching line of 366401) in a 16-4 loss to the Marlins is any indication, it will be a long year for the Astros.
Florida 2B Dan Uggla and OF prospect Michael Stanton hit home runs against Rodriguez. LF Chris Coghlan had a double against not-so-magic Wandy and a triple against RHP Gary Majewski in a 2-for-3 day with four RBI. OF Brett Carroll, having a good spring, homered against LHP Wesley Wright and added two doubles.
The bad news for the Athletics in a 9-5 loss to the White Sox was RHP Ben Sheets’ pitching line: 2 2/3 56510. The better news was 3B Eric Chavez’s two home runs, against RHP hopefuls Dan Hudson and Jeff Marquez.
The Yankees beat the Tigers 9-8 on a home run by OF Greg Golson against LHP Phil Dumatrait. The next time we see that matchup, they’ll probably be playing for Scranton and Toledo in the Triple-A International League.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ struggles continued in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves. A bright spot is OF Chris Carter, whose third home run this spring was against a legitimate major leaguer, RHP Derek Lowe. Carter drove in four runs, and power-poor New York might have no choice but to take him north for Opening Day.
A few days ago, we mentioned Blue Jays OF/3B Jose Bautista as a sleeper candidate for fifth outfielder/corner infielder. In a 4-2 loss to the Phillies, he hit his third homer, against LHP Cole Hamels. Bautista also had a double and raised his spring average to .643.
The Devil Rays defeated the Red Sox 8-6, with RHP Dale Thayer’s line of 100000 earning a save. It’s possible he could have some saves for Tampa Bay this season. He has been a minor league closer. The downside is that he might not have enough power to get needed strikeouts in tight situations. Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury hit two home runs, but those were against two middle relievers at best, RHPs Joe Bateman and Joaquin Benoit.
In the Mariners’ 6-3 victory over the Rangers, LHP Cliff Lee was the winning pitcher. That wasn’t unexpected, so the eyebrow-raiser might have been LHP Garret Olson’s relief pitching. He entered with a three-run lead, the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning and finished with the same lead, a save and a line of 1 1/3 10010.
For the Cardinals, RHP Brad Penny had a line of 410002 and rookie 3B/OF Allen Craig hit a two-run homer against RHP Garrett Mock in a 6-4 victory over the Nationals. Craig could be in line for a utility/pinch hitter role in the majors, possibly after succeeding for a time in Triple-A this season.
3B Pablo Sandoval’s grand slam against RHP Carlos Zambrano provided most of the offense as the Giants defeated the Cubs 5-1. Holding down Chicago was San Francisco LHP Jonathan Sanchez, with a line of 330005. Should be an interesting National League West race this year among the Giants, Rockies, Dodgers and possibly Diamondbacks.
The Orioles probably took note of RHP Matt Albers’ save (pitching line: 110000) in their 3-2 win over the Pirates. Baltimore scored all of its runs in the first inning against Pittsburgh LHP Zach Duke, who’s either wishing he was traded last season or thinking about suing for non-support.
Sample Scouting Reports:
W. Chris Carter, OF, Mets
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 230 B: L Age: 27
{2010} New York acquired him from the Red Sox in the Billy Wagner trade. Carter has batted .324, .300 and .294 in Triple-A the last three seasons, mostly as a left fielder and first baseman. He has a good batting eye and little speed. With the Mets, he could be a DH for just a few games a year. Still, they need any power they can find, so Carter could end up as a platoon option with a few dollars of fantasy value. He doesn’t have the upside of Athletics 1B prospect Chris Carter, but should have more value this season. Born: Sept. 16, 1982, Fremont, Calif. 2009: Red Sox, 6 AB, .000 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 R.
Projection
AB: 255 BA: .255 HR: 9 RBI: 36 SB: 1 R: 30
Chris C. Carter, 1B, Athletics
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 210 B: R Age: 23
{2010} After a monster season as the Texas League MVP at Double-A Midland – 24 homers, 100 RBI, 108 runs, 13 stolen bases, .337 average, Carter hit four homers and batted .259 in 54 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. With Eric Chavez and Daric Barton already in Oakland, and with Carter batting just .212 in the Mexican Pacific League, there wouldn’t seem to be room for him with the parent club this season, which he’d most likely begin back in Sacramento. There he could work on reducing his strikeouts (401 over the last three years). His physique reminds me of Enos Cabell with power. Even though Carter has 92 homers the last three years in the minors, we can’t be sure how many of those were the result of playing in hitter-friendly parks. He is a prospect, but probably not until September in the majors. Born: Dec. 18, 1986, Redwood City, Calif.
Projection
AB: 148 BA: .257 HR: 7 RBI: 24 SB: 1 R: 23
One thing Mills can’t do is play for Houston. Not many others in Kissimmee, Fla., are much help either. If LHP Wandy Rodriguez’s performance (pitching line of 366401) in a 16-4 loss to the Marlins is any indication, it will be a long year for the Astros.
Florida 2B Dan Uggla and OF prospect Michael Stanton hit home runs against Rodriguez. LF Chris Coghlan had a double against not-so-magic Wandy and a triple against RHP Gary Majewski in a 2-for-3 day with four RBI. OF Brett Carroll, having a good spring, homered against LHP Wesley Wright and added two doubles.
The bad news for the Athletics in a 9-5 loss to the White Sox was RHP Ben Sheets’ pitching line: 2 2/3 56510. The better news was 3B Eric Chavez’s two home runs, against RHP hopefuls Dan Hudson and Jeff Marquez.
The Yankees beat the Tigers 9-8 on a home run by OF Greg Golson against LHP Phil Dumatrait. The next time we see that matchup, they’ll probably be playing for Scranton and Toledo in the Triple-A International League.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ struggles continued in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves. A bright spot is OF Chris Carter, whose third home run this spring was against a legitimate major leaguer, RHP Derek Lowe. Carter drove in four runs, and power-poor New York might have no choice but to take him north for Opening Day.
A few days ago, we mentioned Blue Jays OF/3B Jose Bautista as a sleeper candidate for fifth outfielder/corner infielder. In a 4-2 loss to the Phillies, he hit his third homer, against LHP Cole Hamels. Bautista also had a double and raised his spring average to .643.
The Devil Rays defeated the Red Sox 8-6, with RHP Dale Thayer’s line of 100000 earning a save. It’s possible he could have some saves for Tampa Bay this season. He has been a minor league closer. The downside is that he might not have enough power to get needed strikeouts in tight situations. Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury hit two home runs, but those were against two middle relievers at best, RHPs Joe Bateman and Joaquin Benoit.
In the Mariners’ 6-3 victory over the Rangers, LHP Cliff Lee was the winning pitcher. That wasn’t unexpected, so the eyebrow-raiser might have been LHP Garret Olson’s relief pitching. He entered with a three-run lead, the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning and finished with the same lead, a save and a line of 1 1/3 10010.
For the Cardinals, RHP Brad Penny had a line of 410002 and rookie 3B/OF Allen Craig hit a two-run homer against RHP Garrett Mock in a 6-4 victory over the Nationals. Craig could be in line for a utility/pinch hitter role in the majors, possibly after succeeding for a time in Triple-A this season.
3B Pablo Sandoval’s grand slam against RHP Carlos Zambrano provided most of the offense as the Giants defeated the Cubs 5-1. Holding down Chicago was San Francisco LHP Jonathan Sanchez, with a line of 330005. Should be an interesting National League West race this year among the Giants, Rockies, Dodgers and possibly Diamondbacks.
The Orioles probably took note of RHP Matt Albers’ save (pitching line: 110000) in their 3-2 win over the Pirates. Baltimore scored all of its runs in the first inning against Pittsburgh LHP Zach Duke, who’s either wishing he was traded last season or thinking about suing for non-support.
Sample Scouting Reports:
W. Chris Carter, OF, Mets
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 230 B: L Age: 27
{2010} New York acquired him from the Red Sox in the Billy Wagner trade. Carter has batted .324, .300 and .294 in Triple-A the last three seasons, mostly as a left fielder and first baseman. He has a good batting eye and little speed. With the Mets, he could be a DH for just a few games a year. Still, they need any power they can find, so Carter could end up as a platoon option with a few dollars of fantasy value. He doesn’t have the upside of Athletics 1B prospect Chris Carter, but should have more value this season. Born: Sept. 16, 1982, Fremont, Calif. 2009: Red Sox, 6 AB, .000 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 R.
Projection
AB: 255 BA: .255 HR: 9 RBI: 36 SB: 1 R: 30
Chris C. Carter, 1B, Athletics
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 210 B: R Age: 23
{2010} After a monster season as the Texas League MVP at Double-A Midland – 24 homers, 100 RBI, 108 runs, 13 stolen bases, .337 average, Carter hit four homers and batted .259 in 54 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. With Eric Chavez and Daric Barton already in Oakland, and with Carter batting just .212 in the Mexican Pacific League, there wouldn’t seem to be room for him with the parent club this season, which he’d most likely begin back in Sacramento. There he could work on reducing his strikeouts (401 over the last three years). His physique reminds me of Enos Cabell with power. Even though Carter has 92 homers the last three years in the minors, we can’t be sure how many of those were the result of playing in hitter-friendly parks. He is a prospect, but probably not until September in the majors. Born: Dec. 18, 1986, Redwood City, Calif.
Projection
AB: 148 BA: .257 HR: 7 RBI: 24 SB: 1 R: 23
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Strasburg's debut offers some hope for Nats
The much awaited debut of Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg went off pretty much without a hitch for him. In two innings, he gave up just two hits and struck out two batters.
An even better performance was by his starting opponent, Tigers RHP Rick Porcello, himself a highly touted prospect not long ago. His pitching line in Detroit’s 9-4 victory was 320001.
That line was the same as that of Red Sox RHP Tim Wakefield, who wasn’t even a prospect 20 years ago. Boston shut out the Marlins 9-0.
Another up-and-coming pitcher having a good day was Rockies RHP Ubaldo Jimenez. His control wasn’t sharp, but his overall line was 310032 in a 12-0 whitewash of the Dodgers.
When will the Mets get some good news? They lost to the Astros 8-4, with Houston scoring three times in the first inning against LHP Johan Santana.
Phillies RHP Roy Halladay showed some power pitching with a line of 330005. Other notes from that game: 1. OF Jayson Werth hit a home run against Braves RHP Kenshin Kawakami. 2. The winning pitcher in Philadelphia’s 7-4 victory was RHP Danys Baez, who pitched a scoreless inning. He hasn’t been a fantasy factor in years, which just makes him all the more attractive as a sleeper. Keep your eye on him. On the other hand, we think Werth will be overvalued in the wake of his 36 homers during a career season when he turned 30.
More home run news: In the Pirates’ 12-7 victory over the Yankees, DH Nick Johnson hit his first two homers this spring for New York and RF Garrett Jones hit his second for the Bucs. 1B Derrek Lee hit his second, but the Cubs still lost to the Brewers 6-3. Kevin Kouzmanoff hit his first for the Athletics in a cursed 8-8, nine-inning tie. Oakland plans to use Kouzmanoff as its regular third baseman, with 3B Eric Chavez moving to first base. That raises two questions: 1. Can Chavez avoid injury enough to play regularly? and 2. What does that mean for 1B Daric Barton? Our thinking is that Barton could be a productive fantasy player if he’s traded to a team in a hitters’ park.
Sample Scouting Report:
Jayson Werth
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 225 B: R Age: 30
{2010} Werth had a breakthrough season in 2009, but it’s likely to be his career year. So if fantasy owners value him based on ’09, they almost certainly will be disappointed. For a reason why, look to OF Ryan Ludwick. His breakthrough 2008 season was even better than Werth’s except for the stolen bases; .299, 37 homers, 113 RBI, 104 runs, four steals. And he was nearly eight weeks younger then than Werth was last year. Ludwick’s ’09: .265, 22 HR, 97 RBI, 63 runs, four steals. Still good – and Werth still could be good if he avoids the injuries that have plagued him; last year was the first when he wasn’t on the disabled list – but just not 36 homers, 99 RBI and 20 steals good. You’ll see Werth overrated in most projections, auctions and drafts. Born May 20, 1979. 2009: Phillies, 571 AB, .268 BA, 36 HR, 99 RBI, 20 SB, 98 R.
Projection
AB: 482 BA: .269 HR: 27 RBI: 81 SB: 16 R: 77
An even better performance was by his starting opponent, Tigers RHP Rick Porcello, himself a highly touted prospect not long ago. His pitching line in Detroit’s 9-4 victory was 320001.
That line was the same as that of Red Sox RHP Tim Wakefield, who wasn’t even a prospect 20 years ago. Boston shut out the Marlins 9-0.
Another up-and-coming pitcher having a good day was Rockies RHP Ubaldo Jimenez. His control wasn’t sharp, but his overall line was 310032 in a 12-0 whitewash of the Dodgers.
When will the Mets get some good news? They lost to the Astros 8-4, with Houston scoring three times in the first inning against LHP Johan Santana.
Phillies RHP Roy Halladay showed some power pitching with a line of 330005. Other notes from that game: 1. OF Jayson Werth hit a home run against Braves RHP Kenshin Kawakami. 2. The winning pitcher in Philadelphia’s 7-4 victory was RHP Danys Baez, who pitched a scoreless inning. He hasn’t been a fantasy factor in years, which just makes him all the more attractive as a sleeper. Keep your eye on him. On the other hand, we think Werth will be overvalued in the wake of his 36 homers during a career season when he turned 30.
More home run news: In the Pirates’ 12-7 victory over the Yankees, DH Nick Johnson hit his first two homers this spring for New York and RF Garrett Jones hit his second for the Bucs. 1B Derrek Lee hit his second, but the Cubs still lost to the Brewers 6-3. Kevin Kouzmanoff hit his first for the Athletics in a cursed 8-8, nine-inning tie. Oakland plans to use Kouzmanoff as its regular third baseman, with 3B Eric Chavez moving to first base. That raises two questions: 1. Can Chavez avoid injury enough to play regularly? and 2. What does that mean for 1B Daric Barton? Our thinking is that Barton could be a productive fantasy player if he’s traded to a team in a hitters’ park.
Sample Scouting Report:
Jayson Werth
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 225 B: R Age: 30
{2010} Werth had a breakthrough season in 2009, but it’s likely to be his career year. So if fantasy owners value him based on ’09, they almost certainly will be disappointed. For a reason why, look to OF Ryan Ludwick. His breakthrough 2008 season was even better than Werth’s except for the stolen bases; .299, 37 homers, 113 RBI, 104 runs, four steals. And he was nearly eight weeks younger then than Werth was last year. Ludwick’s ’09: .265, 22 HR, 97 RBI, 63 runs, four steals. Still good – and Werth still could be good if he avoids the injuries that have plagued him; last year was the first when he wasn’t on the disabled list – but just not 36 homers, 99 RBI and 20 steals good. You’ll see Werth overrated in most projections, auctions and drafts. Born May 20, 1979. 2009: Phillies, 571 AB, .268 BA, 36 HR, 99 RBI, 20 SB, 98 R.
Projection
AB: 482 BA: .269 HR: 27 RBI: 81 SB: 16 R: 77
Heyward hammers first homer
After pounding baseballs into a parking lot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for a couple of weeks, Braves RF prospect Jason Heyward hit his first exhibition homer in a 12-4 victory over the Tigers. The blast came against RHP Max Scherzer, from whom Detroit is expecting big things. Tigers manager compared Heyward to a young Albert Pujols. Expect the rookie to arrive in Atlanta amid even more hype on Opening Day. And expect whoever gets him in your fantasy league to overpay for Heyward.
Speaking of hype, the legend of Reds rookie LHP Aroldis Chapman continued with two scoreless innings in his first exhibition game, or any game on U.S. soil. His fastball was clocked at 99 and 100 mph on different radar guns. That was in a 14-5 win over the Royals. Possible good news for Kansas City was that 3B Josh Fields, filling in for injured 3B/1B Alex Gordon, hit a home run against Cincinnati RHP Nick Masset.
Other home runs of note included Blue Jays C J.P. Arencibia’s third this spring. Don’t get too excited about this one; it was against marginal Astros RHP Bud Norris in Toronto’s 4-1victory. In the Brewers’ 6-2 win over the Mariners, RF Corey Hart hit his second. That could be a good sign that he won’t cut down his effort after signing a multiyear contract.
It could have been a typical high-scoring Arizona game when C Mike Napoli hit his second spring homer in the Angels’ 13-9 victory over the Rangers. Or it could be that Napoli is continuing to develop, and is a good candidate to spend the All-Star break at home in Anaheim to play in the game.
In the Twins’ 5-0 victory over the Orioles, RHP Kevin Slowey had a pitching line of 310012. You might recall that he was one of our Jarrod Washburn Award winners before last season, and won 10 games before going on the disabled list for most of the season’s second half. It’s entirely possible that we’d name him the Washburn Award winner (for an inexpensive pitcher who will rack up the wins) again this year.
The Yankees and Pirates both were in mid-season form as New York won 6-0. RHP Alfredo Aceves pitched four hitless innings. Pittsburgh’s only hit in the game was 1B/OF Steven Pearce’s single against RHP Ivan Nova, who is more likely to pitch at Triple-A Scranton than in Yankee Stadium this year. The Yanks’ closer, RHP Mariano Rivera, hasn’t even pitched yet this spring and isn’t scheduled to until March 16. He said, “When the time comes, I will be ready.” We have no reason to doubt him.
Mets OF Chris Carter, late of the Red Sox, became the second player this spring to homer twice in the same inning – New York’s eight-run ninth in an 11-2 victory over the Marlins. The game’s biggest news, however, might have been RHP prospect Jennry Mejia’s three scoreless innings. Manager Jerry Manuel compared Mejia’s moving cut fastball to Rivera’s. My own comparison to Rivera is Rangers RHP Neftali Feliz, because from the time I first saw each of them in the minors I felt they have almost impossible-to-hit stuff but not enough stamina to withstand high pitch counts as a starter. Ergo, each would be best as a reliever. I haven’t seen Mejia yet, so I’m not sure about his optimum role.
Three games ended as one-run decisions on last-inning runs. The Rays beat the Pirates 4-3 on OF Fernando Perez’s 10th-inning single. In another 10-inning game, the Giants defeated the Dodgers 3-2 with strong-armed rookie RF Roger Kieschnick preventing what would have been the tying run by throwing out 2B Ron Belliard at home plate. The Red Sox edged the Cardinals 7-6, with rookie 1B Che-Hsuan Lin driving in the winning run. Boston RHP Josh Beckett pitched three perfect innings.
Injuries:
Rangers LF Josh Hamilton (bruised left shoulder) was supposed to return to the field Sunday, but the scheduled “B” game was rained out. Instead, he came back today and went 2-for-3 against the Angels.
Mets RHP Francisco Rodriguez (pinkeye) was expected to come back to throw Tuesday or Wednesday, and to pitch in a game over the weekend. However, New York NL has shut down RHP Kelvim Escobar (weak shoulder), who is expected to begin the season on the disabled list.
Astros RHP Brandon Lyon (cyst in his shoulder) threw 30 pitches in the bullpen, and could face batters by the weekend.
Dodgers 3B Casey Blake is out because of a strained rib cage muscle. RHP Cory Wade (tender shoulder) will be out two weeks.
Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan (wrist surgery) hit soft toss, and could take batting practice for the first time Friday.
Phillies LHP J.C. Romero (elbow surgery) is scheduled to throw in the bullpen Tuesday. He expects to be ready by the home opener in Philadelphia April 12.
Dodgers RHP Ronald Belisario isn’t injured, but he hasn’t been able to pitch because he’s still home in Venezuela. He has had difficulty obtaining a visa because of a DUI arrest last summer.
The PED News:
Dr. Anthony Galea, the Canadian physician under fire for allegedly arranging to smuggle performance-enhancing drugs into the U.S., said he had provided anti-inflammatory drugs to Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez. Mets SS Jose Reyes said Dr. Galea used with him a “blood spinning” technique that kind of sounds like the blood doping banned by the Olympics decades ago.
Sample Scouting Report:
Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Reds
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 180 T: L Age: 22* Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos: SP
{2010} Chapman was considered such a good pitcher in Cuba that president Raul Castro forgave him for an attempt to defect in 2008, and allowed him to travel with the national team the next year. He then defected in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Chapman’s fastball reportedly has been clocked at 102 mph; he has flirted with triple figures this spring. At least some of the hype around him is justified. There is a lot of interest in Cincinnati about having him in the rotation this season. How well he does will depend on how he can control his slider and continue to develop a changeup. Without those, he’d be best in Triple-A or even Double-A this season. Born: Feb. 28, 1988, Cuba*.
Projection
IP: 81 W: 6 ERA: 4.00 WHIP: 1.33 S: 0 SO: 73 $3
Speaking of hype, the legend of Reds rookie LHP Aroldis Chapman continued with two scoreless innings in his first exhibition game, or any game on U.S. soil. His fastball was clocked at 99 and 100 mph on different radar guns. That was in a 14-5 win over the Royals. Possible good news for Kansas City was that 3B Josh Fields, filling in for injured 3B/1B Alex Gordon, hit a home run against Cincinnati RHP Nick Masset.
Other home runs of note included Blue Jays C J.P. Arencibia’s third this spring. Don’t get too excited about this one; it was against marginal Astros RHP Bud Norris in Toronto’s 4-1victory. In the Brewers’ 6-2 win over the Mariners, RF Corey Hart hit his second. That could be a good sign that he won’t cut down his effort after signing a multiyear contract.
It could have been a typical high-scoring Arizona game when C Mike Napoli hit his second spring homer in the Angels’ 13-9 victory over the Rangers. Or it could be that Napoli is continuing to develop, and is a good candidate to spend the All-Star break at home in Anaheim to play in the game.
In the Twins’ 5-0 victory over the Orioles, RHP Kevin Slowey had a pitching line of 310012. You might recall that he was one of our Jarrod Washburn Award winners before last season, and won 10 games before going on the disabled list for most of the season’s second half. It’s entirely possible that we’d name him the Washburn Award winner (for an inexpensive pitcher who will rack up the wins) again this year.
The Yankees and Pirates both were in mid-season form as New York won 6-0. RHP Alfredo Aceves pitched four hitless innings. Pittsburgh’s only hit in the game was 1B/OF Steven Pearce’s single against RHP Ivan Nova, who is more likely to pitch at Triple-A Scranton than in Yankee Stadium this year. The Yanks’ closer, RHP Mariano Rivera, hasn’t even pitched yet this spring and isn’t scheduled to until March 16. He said, “When the time comes, I will be ready.” We have no reason to doubt him.
Mets OF Chris Carter, late of the Red Sox, became the second player this spring to homer twice in the same inning – New York’s eight-run ninth in an 11-2 victory over the Marlins. The game’s biggest news, however, might have been RHP prospect Jennry Mejia’s three scoreless innings. Manager Jerry Manuel compared Mejia’s moving cut fastball to Rivera’s. My own comparison to Rivera is Rangers RHP Neftali Feliz, because from the time I first saw each of them in the minors I felt they have almost impossible-to-hit stuff but not enough stamina to withstand high pitch counts as a starter. Ergo, each would be best as a reliever. I haven’t seen Mejia yet, so I’m not sure about his optimum role.
Three games ended as one-run decisions on last-inning runs. The Rays beat the Pirates 4-3 on OF Fernando Perez’s 10th-inning single. In another 10-inning game, the Giants defeated the Dodgers 3-2 with strong-armed rookie RF Roger Kieschnick preventing what would have been the tying run by throwing out 2B Ron Belliard at home plate. The Red Sox edged the Cardinals 7-6, with rookie 1B Che-Hsuan Lin driving in the winning run. Boston RHP Josh Beckett pitched three perfect innings.
Injuries:
Rangers LF Josh Hamilton (bruised left shoulder) was supposed to return to the field Sunday, but the scheduled “B” game was rained out. Instead, he came back today and went 2-for-3 against the Angels.
Mets RHP Francisco Rodriguez (pinkeye) was expected to come back to throw Tuesday or Wednesday, and to pitch in a game over the weekend. However, New York NL has shut down RHP Kelvim Escobar (weak shoulder), who is expected to begin the season on the disabled list.
Astros RHP Brandon Lyon (cyst in his shoulder) threw 30 pitches in the bullpen, and could face batters by the weekend.
Dodgers 3B Casey Blake is out because of a strained rib cage muscle. RHP Cory Wade (tender shoulder) will be out two weeks.
Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan (wrist surgery) hit soft toss, and could take batting practice for the first time Friday.
Phillies LHP J.C. Romero (elbow surgery) is scheduled to throw in the bullpen Tuesday. He expects to be ready by the home opener in Philadelphia April 12.
Dodgers RHP Ronald Belisario isn’t injured, but he hasn’t been able to pitch because he’s still home in Venezuela. He has had difficulty obtaining a visa because of a DUI arrest last summer.
The PED News:
Dr. Anthony Galea, the Canadian physician under fire for allegedly arranging to smuggle performance-enhancing drugs into the U.S., said he had provided anti-inflammatory drugs to Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez. Mets SS Jose Reyes said Dr. Galea used with him a “blood spinning” technique that kind of sounds like the blood doping banned by the Olympics decades ago.
Sample Scouting Report:
Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Reds
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 180 T: L Age: 22* Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos: SP
{2010} Chapman was considered such a good pitcher in Cuba that president Raul Castro forgave him for an attempt to defect in 2008, and allowed him to travel with the national team the next year. He then defected in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Chapman’s fastball reportedly has been clocked at 102 mph; he has flirted with triple figures this spring. At least some of the hype around him is justified. There is a lot of interest in Cincinnati about having him in the rotation this season. How well he does will depend on how he can control his slider and continue to develop a changeup. Without those, he’d be best in Triple-A or even Double-A this season. Born: Feb. 28, 1988, Cuba*.
Projection
IP: 81 W: 6 ERA: 4.00 WHIP: 1.33 S: 0 SO: 73 $3
Saturday, March 13, 2010
More patience would help Ellsbury as leadoff batter
Today’s TV viewing included Boston’s 5-4 victory over the Orioles. Starting for the Red Sox, RHP Clay Buchholz gave up three runs in two innings. Baltimore’s starter, RHP Jeremy Guthrie had similar problems, primarily because he couldn’t put away batters. Two marginal major leaguers, 2B Tug Hulett and 1B Aaron Bates, worked Guthrie for walks. In what had to be disappointing to the Sox, CF Jacoby Ellsbury wasn’t as patient. The leadoff batter instead popped out to end the threat.
Rain wiped out all of the games in the Phoenix area, meaning that the only games in Arizona were two between split squads of Diamondbacks and Rockies in Tucson. Even those games were shortened because of wet weather. Arizona won one game 9-3 in six innings, with much of the time being eaten up while the D-backs were scoring eight runs against LHP Franklin Morales in 1 2/3 innings. Without such a struggling pitcher, the other game made it through seven innings with the Rockies winning 4-1.
Despite their rainout, the Angels kept LHP Joe Saunders on schedule for his first regular-season start by having him throw batting practice in a bullpen. The White Sox did the same thing with RHP Jake Peavy, who pitched a simulated game
Scoring the most runs in the eight games in Florida were the Pirates, in a 15-5 victory over the Twins. RF Garrett Jones hit a home run against his former team, and 1B/SS Bobby Crosby also went deep for Pittsburgh. RHP Ronald Uviedo added a win to the save he recorded Friday. That spring production doesn’t necessarily make him a worthwhile fantasy pick but it could land him a spot in the Bucs’ bullpen.
The Twins’ good split squad apparently was playing against the Yankees, and recording an 11-0 shutout. It was the second scoreless effort in two days by Minnesota’s staff.
The Mets may have clinched fourth place in the National League East almost a month before the season begins. The defeated the Nationals again, 6-5. In his first game for Washington, RHP Jason Marquis gave up five runs in two innings. C Omir Santos helped New York’s cause with an inside-the-park grand slam courtesy of Nationals LF Willy Taveras’ indecision about grabbing the ball from under the fence down the left field line.
Instead of going home after nine innings, the Rays and Phillies stayed for Tampa Bay’s 5-3 victory in 10 innings. That gives the Rays the early lead in games between the last two losing World Series teams.
RHP Kyle McClellan, fighting LHPs Rich Hill and possibly Jaime Garcia for the job as the Cardinals’ fifth starter, needed just 39 pitches to get through three innings of a 7-4 victory over the Marlins. OF Brett Carroll hit a home run for Florida.
Even before the Blue Jays have made it through the first week of exhibition games, injury problems are limiting their pitching rotation. That could keep LHP Brian Tallet in a starting role. However, he gave up four runs in two innings, including homers by RF Magglio Ordonez and 1B Ryan Strieby. Toronto’s rotation is unsettled, with RHPs Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Brandon Morrow and LHPs Ricky Romero, Marc Rzepczynski and Brett Cecil also fighting for spots. Marcum, McGowan and Cecil are coming back from injuries.
Injuries – current, not Prior:
Dodgers C Russell Martin will be out 4-6 weeks because of a pulled groin muscle. While he’s out, LA said it would go with rookie A.J. Ellis and old-timer Brad Ausmus. Ellis batted .314 last season at Triple-A Albuquerque, but is just 1-for-13 in the majors. Despite the Dodgers’ cheery words about Ellis, expect them to shop for a catcher if Martin would miss more than a couple of weeks to begin the season.
Royals 3B Alex Gordon suffered a broken right thumb when he slid headfirst trying to steal second base in Saturday’s game. He could be back by Opening Day, but at least until then 2B Alberto Callaspo and 3B Josh Fields are expected to share time at third base. Callaspo has lost his second base job to 2B Chris Getz, who went to Kansas City from the White Sox in a trade for OF/3B Mark Teahen.
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Webb threw soft toss, and is considered day to day. He might not be able to pitch in a game by mid-March.
Giants 3B/OF Mark DeRosa, expected to be their left fielder this season, took his first batting practice following off-season surgery. OF/2B Emmanuel Burriss has been wearing a walking boot to protect his fractured left foot. He could be out two months. Even then there would be a question about how well Burriss, whose game is predicated almost entirely on his speed, could run.
Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 65 pitches on the side.
What they’re working on:
Phillies RHP prospect Phillippe Aumont turned around his poor exhibition debut by pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rays. As part of Philadelphia’s switching him from a reliever to a starter, he has lowered his arm angle from over the top to three-quarters. That has improved his slider, making it a second out pitch to go with his fastball. His work on that most likely will continue in the high minors this season.
Sample Scouting Report:
Kyle McClellan, RHP, Cardinals
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 205 T: R Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10
{2010} McClellan could be a hometown favorite; his family has had Cardinals season tickets for years. He has been mostly a setup man since jumping from Double-A to the majors to open the 2008 season with St. Louis. The Cardinals are giving him a shot as a starter this spring, which seems surprising because he has seemed to lack stamina in slumping during the second half of each of his two seasons as a big leaguer. It’s also possible that he could grow into a closer’s job. The key for McClellan will be improving the control that slipped last year. 2009: 67 IP, 4-4 W-L, 3.37 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 3 S, 51 SO. Born: June 12, 1984, Florissant, Mo.
Projection
IP: 66 W: 3 ERA: 3.56 WHIP: 1.35 S: 3 SO: 48
Rain wiped out all of the games in the Phoenix area, meaning that the only games in Arizona were two between split squads of Diamondbacks and Rockies in Tucson. Even those games were shortened because of wet weather. Arizona won one game 9-3 in six innings, with much of the time being eaten up while the D-backs were scoring eight runs against LHP Franklin Morales in 1 2/3 innings. Without such a struggling pitcher, the other game made it through seven innings with the Rockies winning 4-1.
Despite their rainout, the Angels kept LHP Joe Saunders on schedule for his first regular-season start by having him throw batting practice in a bullpen. The White Sox did the same thing with RHP Jake Peavy, who pitched a simulated game
Scoring the most runs in the eight games in Florida were the Pirates, in a 15-5 victory over the Twins. RF Garrett Jones hit a home run against his former team, and 1B/SS Bobby Crosby also went deep for Pittsburgh. RHP Ronald Uviedo added a win to the save he recorded Friday. That spring production doesn’t necessarily make him a worthwhile fantasy pick but it could land him a spot in the Bucs’ bullpen.
The Twins’ good split squad apparently was playing against the Yankees, and recording an 11-0 shutout. It was the second scoreless effort in two days by Minnesota’s staff.
The Mets may have clinched fourth place in the National League East almost a month before the season begins. The defeated the Nationals again, 6-5. In his first game for Washington, RHP Jason Marquis gave up five runs in two innings. C Omir Santos helped New York’s cause with an inside-the-park grand slam courtesy of Nationals LF Willy Taveras’ indecision about grabbing the ball from under the fence down the left field line.
Instead of going home after nine innings, the Rays and Phillies stayed for Tampa Bay’s 5-3 victory in 10 innings. That gives the Rays the early lead in games between the last two losing World Series teams.
RHP Kyle McClellan, fighting LHPs Rich Hill and possibly Jaime Garcia for the job as the Cardinals’ fifth starter, needed just 39 pitches to get through three innings of a 7-4 victory over the Marlins. OF Brett Carroll hit a home run for Florida.
Even before the Blue Jays have made it through the first week of exhibition games, injury problems are limiting their pitching rotation. That could keep LHP Brian Tallet in a starting role. However, he gave up four runs in two innings, including homers by RF Magglio Ordonez and 1B Ryan Strieby. Toronto’s rotation is unsettled, with RHPs Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Brandon Morrow and LHPs Ricky Romero, Marc Rzepczynski and Brett Cecil also fighting for spots. Marcum, McGowan and Cecil are coming back from injuries.
Injuries – current, not Prior:
Dodgers C Russell Martin will be out 4-6 weeks because of a pulled groin muscle. While he’s out, LA said it would go with rookie A.J. Ellis and old-timer Brad Ausmus. Ellis batted .314 last season at Triple-A Albuquerque, but is just 1-for-13 in the majors. Despite the Dodgers’ cheery words about Ellis, expect them to shop for a catcher if Martin would miss more than a couple of weeks to begin the season.
Royals 3B Alex Gordon suffered a broken right thumb when he slid headfirst trying to steal second base in Saturday’s game. He could be back by Opening Day, but at least until then 2B Alberto Callaspo and 3B Josh Fields are expected to share time at third base. Callaspo has lost his second base job to 2B Chris Getz, who went to Kansas City from the White Sox in a trade for OF/3B Mark Teahen.
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Webb threw soft toss, and is considered day to day. He might not be able to pitch in a game by mid-March.
Giants 3B/OF Mark DeRosa, expected to be their left fielder this season, took his first batting practice following off-season surgery. OF/2B Emmanuel Burriss has been wearing a walking boot to protect his fractured left foot. He could be out two months. Even then there would be a question about how well Burriss, whose game is predicated almost entirely on his speed, could run.
Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 65 pitches on the side.
What they’re working on:
Phillies RHP prospect Phillippe Aumont turned around his poor exhibition debut by pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rays. As part of Philadelphia’s switching him from a reliever to a starter, he has lowered his arm angle from over the top to three-quarters. That has improved his slider, making it a second out pitch to go with his fastball. His work on that most likely will continue in the high minors this season.
Sample Scouting Report:
Kyle McClellan, RHP, Cardinals
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 205 T: R Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10
{2010} McClellan could be a hometown favorite; his family has had Cardinals season tickets for years. He has been mostly a setup man since jumping from Double-A to the majors to open the 2008 season with St. Louis. The Cardinals are giving him a shot as a starter this spring, which seems surprising because he has seemed to lack stamina in slumping during the second half of each of his two seasons as a big leaguer. It’s also possible that he could grow into a closer’s job. The key for McClellan will be improving the control that slipped last year. 2009: 67 IP, 4-4 W-L, 3.37 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 3 S, 51 SO. Born: June 12, 1984, Florissant, Mo.
Projection
IP: 66 W: 3 ERA: 3.56 WHIP: 1.35 S: 3 SO: 48
Coming back: Quentin, Marcum
A couple of players we’ve been touting hit home runs.
In fact, White Sox LF Carlos Quentin slammed two in their 15-3 rout of the Cubs, which put flags at half staff all over Chicago’s north side. Unless he’s hurt again, Quentin appears to be a slam-dunk American League Comeback Player of the Year.
Also, Blue Jays C prospect J.P. Arencibia hit his second home run this spring. We’re not making too much of that hit because it was against Yankees RHP Andrew Brackman, their most overhyped draft pick since Brien Taylor. OF Adam Lind, who could be one of a handful of the AL’s best offensive players this season, homered against New York RHP Jonathan Abominablesnowman. However, the best news for Toronto is that RHP Shaun Marcus (speaking of Comeback of the Year candidates) pitched two scoreless innings in his 2010 debut.
Two years ago, the Rays indicated that they had arrived by playing aggressively and not blinking in spring training against their chief AL East competition, the Red Sox and Yankees. Tampa Bay beat Boston 6-4 on OF Justin Ruggiano’s two-run homer in the ninth inning. Don’t make too much of it because it came against LHP Kris Johnson, who isn’t likely to get any closer to Boston than Pawtucket this summer.
The Marlins defeated the Cardinals 6-5 in 10 innings on a single by 3B Hector Luna against RHP Oneli Perez. Both are likely to be non-factors in fantasy baseball this season.
This just in: The Nationals still suck. They lost to the Mets (insert team name in previous sentence) 14-6.
The Giants’ split squads both were in games where the winning team scored 12 runs. They defeated the Diamondbacks 12-6 and lost to the Brewers 12-1.
Played today’s cursed tie were the Phillies and Pirates, who each scored three runs in 10 innings in a Battle of Pennsylvania in Florida.
Sample Scouting Report:
Carlos Quentin, OF, White Sox
Ht.: 6-2 Wt.: 220 B: R Age: 27 Inj. Risk: 10
{2010} Quentin has been hurt in each of the last two seasons, reducing his desirability in many fantasy leagues. Hand, heel and knee injuries sidelined him for two months last season, but in 2008 Quentin had 36 homers and 100 RBI despite missing the final month. He’s not an all-or-nothing slugger who’ll strike out whenever he doesn’t rattle a wall with the ball, but a thoughtful batter who will take or foul off marginal pitches and draw walks. One thing to watch for in spring telecasts or reports is Quentin’s weight. If he’s slim and trim that could mean a win for you in your draft or an auction bargain. 2009: 351 AB, .236 BA, 21 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB, 47 R. Born Aug. 28, 1982, Bellflower, Calif.
Projection
AB: 508 BA: .278 HR: 30 RBI: 90 SB: 4 R: 81 Value: $12
In fact, White Sox LF Carlos Quentin slammed two in their 15-3 rout of the Cubs, which put flags at half staff all over Chicago’s north side. Unless he’s hurt again, Quentin appears to be a slam-dunk American League Comeback Player of the Year.
Also, Blue Jays C prospect J.P. Arencibia hit his second home run this spring. We’re not making too much of that hit because it was against Yankees RHP Andrew Brackman, their most overhyped draft pick since Brien Taylor. OF Adam Lind, who could be one of a handful of the AL’s best offensive players this season, homered against New York RHP Jonathan Abominablesnowman. However, the best news for Toronto is that RHP Shaun Marcus (speaking of Comeback of the Year candidates) pitched two scoreless innings in his 2010 debut.
Two years ago, the Rays indicated that they had arrived by playing aggressively and not blinking in spring training against their chief AL East competition, the Red Sox and Yankees. Tampa Bay beat Boston 6-4 on OF Justin Ruggiano’s two-run homer in the ninth inning. Don’t make too much of it because it came against LHP Kris Johnson, who isn’t likely to get any closer to Boston than Pawtucket this summer.
The Marlins defeated the Cardinals 6-5 in 10 innings on a single by 3B Hector Luna against RHP Oneli Perez. Both are likely to be non-factors in fantasy baseball this season.
This just in: The Nationals still suck. They lost to the Mets (insert team name in previous sentence) 14-6.
The Giants’ split squads both were in games where the winning team scored 12 runs. They defeated the Diamondbacks 12-6 and lost to the Brewers 12-1.
Played today’s cursed tie were the Phillies and Pirates, who each scored three runs in 10 innings in a Battle of Pennsylvania in Florida.
Sample Scouting Report:
Carlos Quentin, OF, White Sox
Ht.: 6-2 Wt.: 220 B: R Age: 27 Inj. Risk: 10
{2010} Quentin has been hurt in each of the last two seasons, reducing his desirability in many fantasy leagues. Hand, heel and knee injuries sidelined him for two months last season, but in 2008 Quentin had 36 homers and 100 RBI despite missing the final month. He’s not an all-or-nothing slugger who’ll strike out whenever he doesn’t rattle a wall with the ball, but a thoughtful batter who will take or foul off marginal pitches and draw walks. One thing to watch for in spring telecasts or reports is Quentin’s weight. If he’s slim and trim that could mean a win for you in your draft or an auction bargain. 2009: 351 AB, .236 BA, 21 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB, 47 R. Born Aug. 28, 1982, Bellflower, Calif.
Projection
AB: 508 BA: .278 HR: 30 RBI: 90 SB: 4 R: 81 Value: $12
Pavano outpitches Lester
The starting pitchers were RHP Carl Pavano and LHP Jon Lester, so the 5-0 final score was no surprise. It was surprising, however, that Pavano’s Twins were the winners over Lester’s Red Sox.
Updating Thursday’s Email, Rays 2B Sean Rodriguez hit his third home run in three games in a 12-7 victory over the Yankees. This one was against New York RHP Phil Hughes. Even so, we’re still not convinced that Rodriguez is the man for an everyday role in Tampa Bay’s lineup. Keep a watch on the competition between him and RF Matt Joyce, one of whom will be a starter with Ben Zobrist playing either second or right field.
The Astros’ offensive output fell from 21 hits Thursday to 14. And those weren’t nearly enough in a 17-7 loss to the Tigers, who pounded the ball for 16 hits.
The Blue Jays treated Phillies LHP Cole Hamels rudely, scoring three runs in three innings against him. Toronto won 14-9, with 3B/OF Jose Bautista hitting a home run. He could be a sleeper candidate. The statistics to look for with him are walks and on-base percentage. Bautista has some power but needs to improve his selectivity at the plate.
Sample Scouting Report:
Jose Bautista, OF, Blue Jays
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 195 B: R Age: 29* Alt. Pos.: 3B
{2010} Those who put stock in second-half statistics no doubt have Bautista on their list for 2010. Ten of his home runs last season came after August. Those who downgrade performances in September against a lot of minor league pitchers won’t care about him. There is good reason to keep him in mind as a fifth outfielder/corner infielder/DH. Bautista won’t help your average, but he has shown that the more he plays, the more patient he is, allowing him to draw walks. Those lead to more runs and greater value in 5X5 leagues. He also crushes left-handed pitching (.293 last season), giving him a greater opportunity to play at least a platoon role with a young Toronto outfielder such as Travis Snider. Bautista’s eligibility at third base also gives him greater relative value at that position. 2009: .235 BA, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 4 SB, 54 R. Born Oct. 19, 1980, Dominican Republic*.
Projection
AB: 376 HR: 13 RBI: 43 SB: 3 R: 54 Value: $4
Updating Thursday’s Email, Rays 2B Sean Rodriguez hit his third home run in three games in a 12-7 victory over the Yankees. This one was against New York RHP Phil Hughes. Even so, we’re still not convinced that Rodriguez is the man for an everyday role in Tampa Bay’s lineup. Keep a watch on the competition between him and RF Matt Joyce, one of whom will be a starter with Ben Zobrist playing either second or right field.
The Astros’ offensive output fell from 21 hits Thursday to 14. And those weren’t nearly enough in a 17-7 loss to the Tigers, who pounded the ball for 16 hits.
The Blue Jays treated Phillies LHP Cole Hamels rudely, scoring three runs in three innings against him. Toronto won 14-9, with 3B/OF Jose Bautista hitting a home run. He could be a sleeper candidate. The statistics to look for with him are walks and on-base percentage. Bautista has some power but needs to improve his selectivity at the plate.
Sample Scouting Report:
Jose Bautista, OF, Blue Jays
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 195 B: R Age: 29* Alt. Pos.: 3B
{2010} Those who put stock in second-half statistics no doubt have Bautista on their list for 2010. Ten of his home runs last season came after August. Those who downgrade performances in September against a lot of minor league pitchers won’t care about him. There is good reason to keep him in mind as a fifth outfielder/corner infielder/DH. Bautista won’t help your average, but he has shown that the more he plays, the more patient he is, allowing him to draw walks. Those lead to more runs and greater value in 5X5 leagues. He also crushes left-handed pitching (.293 last season), giving him a greater opportunity to play at least a platoon role with a young Toronto outfielder such as Travis Snider. Bautista’s eligibility at third base also gives him greater relative value at that position. 2009: .235 BA, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 4 SB, 54 R. Born Oct. 19, 1980, Dominican Republic*.
Projection
AB: 376 HR: 13 RBI: 43 SB: 3 R: 54 Value: $4
Rodriguez hits to make his pitch
Spring training moved into high gear with 27 major league teams playing in 14 games. The Nationals lost two split-squad games.
Sean Rodriguez continued his hot start toward winning the Rays’ second base job by hitting his second home run in two games. It was the only hit against Orioles LHP Brian Matusz in 1 1/3 innings of their 6-5 defeat.
Blue Jays C prospect J.P. Arencibia won their game over the Tigers 9-7 with a two-run homer in the ninth inning against Tigers RHP Zach Miner. Our thinking is that Arencibia is a much better prospect than Detroit SS Brent Dlugach, who hit his second homer this spring.
Listened to part of the Rangers-Royals spring opener. Texas was one of the big-hitting teams – in fact, each major league team from the Lone Star State banged out 21 hits. The Rangers defeated Kansas City 13-3, and the Astros clobbered the Nationals 15-5. For Houston, RF Hunter Pence hammered two homers – in the fourth inning. Those were against marginal RHPs Shairon Martis and Joel Peralta, but Pence’s 3-for-3 day with four RBI might have signaled the beginning of what we think could be a big year for him.
The Rockies had a mere 17 hits in their 11-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.
The teams walked to runs in the Mets’ 17-11 victory over the Cardinals. There were 18 bases on balls. A name to file away: St. Louis 2B Daniel Descalso. He might not be in the majors until 2011, but he was 2-for-2 in the game.
Mets SS Jose Reyes missed the game to undergo a blood test. There apparently was an abnormality in an earlier test during his physical exam.
LHP Johan Santana threw off a mound for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last September. He made 40 pitches in batting practice to Rod Barajas and rookie Josh Thole, who are expected to be New York’s catchers this season.
Almost all of the scoring – two runs apiece – was against the bullpen in the Phillies’ 3-2 win over the Yankees. The starters, RHP Roy Halladay and LHP C.C. Sabathia, each pitched two scoreless innings.
The dishonor of playing the spring’s first tie game, 4-4 in 10 innings, went to the White Sox and Angels. They couldn’t possibly have played any longer – not with approximately 7,000 pitchers and a couple of hundred position players available in their spring training camp.
It wasn’t long ago that RHP Radhames Liz was a fraudulent prospect with the Orioles. He’s now with the Padres, and he gave up six runs in the eighth inning of their 9-3 loss to the Mariners. Included was 1B Tommy Everidge’s grand slam. It was a good day for Seattle first basemen; Ryan Garko also hit a solo homer.
The Nationals were hoping to improve their bullpen by trading for RHP Brian Bruney, but he was the losing pitcher in their 10-4 loss to the Marlins.
A guy we’ve touted as a potential closer somewhere is RHP Joe Nelson. He saved Boston’s 2-1 victory over the Twins.
What they’re working on:
Red Sox RHP Jonathan Papelbon, who has no reason to feel that Nelson is a threat to the closer’s job, is trying to regain his split-finger pitch. He threw four of them among his 13 pitches against the Twins.
Worth noting:
The Cubs’ closer of record, RHP Carlos Marmol, was 11-for-11 in save opportunities after taking over the job last season. A word of caution: His 161 appearances during the past two seasons were the majors’ second-highest total, so he could feel the pressures of being overworked. Or he might be one of those pitchers who haven’t always babied their arm so that the workload wouldn’t bother him.
The White Sox have used 3B Gordon Beckham, fueling speculation that he could be used in a trade with the Padres for 1B Adrian Gonzalez.
The Angels credit RF Bobby Abreu, who has a long-established and well deserved reputation as a selective batter, with helping SS Erick Aybar exceed his career on-base percentage by 55 points last season and 3B Chone Figgins and CF Torii Hunter improve theirs by 40 points.
Sample Scouting Report:
J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 215 Age: 24 B: R
{2010}Arencibia hasn’t yet lived up to the potential that Toronto saw when it made him a supplemental first-round draft pick in 2007. The former Tennessee Volunteer’s average has dropped at each of his last two stops, and he has struck out at least four times for every walk in each of his four minor league stops. You should look past his .236 average at Triple-A Las Vegas last year to consider it a negative but not something that would keep him from having fantasy value. That would come from his 21 homers and 75 RBI, which would give him more value than most catchers. A year earlier, he totaled 27 dingers and 105 RBI in high Class A and Double-A. J.P. also needs to work on his throwing. He has a strong arm, but threw out just 25 per cent of potential base stealers in 2009. The Jays need a catcher; by mid-season Arencibia could have that job.
Projection
AB: 385 BA: .264 HR: 17 RBI: 62 SB: 0 R: 50 Value: $5
Sean Rodriguez continued his hot start toward winning the Rays’ second base job by hitting his second home run in two games. It was the only hit against Orioles LHP Brian Matusz in 1 1/3 innings of their 6-5 defeat.
Blue Jays C prospect J.P. Arencibia won their game over the Tigers 9-7 with a two-run homer in the ninth inning against Tigers RHP Zach Miner. Our thinking is that Arencibia is a much better prospect than Detroit SS Brent Dlugach, who hit his second homer this spring.
Listened to part of the Rangers-Royals spring opener. Texas was one of the big-hitting teams – in fact, each major league team from the Lone Star State banged out 21 hits. The Rangers defeated Kansas City 13-3, and the Astros clobbered the Nationals 15-5. For Houston, RF Hunter Pence hammered two homers – in the fourth inning. Those were against marginal RHPs Shairon Martis and Joel Peralta, but Pence’s 3-for-3 day with four RBI might have signaled the beginning of what we think could be a big year for him.
The Rockies had a mere 17 hits in their 11-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.
The teams walked to runs in the Mets’ 17-11 victory over the Cardinals. There were 18 bases on balls. A name to file away: St. Louis 2B Daniel Descalso. He might not be in the majors until 2011, but he was 2-for-2 in the game.
Mets SS Jose Reyes missed the game to undergo a blood test. There apparently was an abnormality in an earlier test during his physical exam.
LHP Johan Santana threw off a mound for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last September. He made 40 pitches in batting practice to Rod Barajas and rookie Josh Thole, who are expected to be New York’s catchers this season.
Almost all of the scoring – two runs apiece – was against the bullpen in the Phillies’ 3-2 win over the Yankees. The starters, RHP Roy Halladay and LHP C.C. Sabathia, each pitched two scoreless innings.
The dishonor of playing the spring’s first tie game, 4-4 in 10 innings, went to the White Sox and Angels. They couldn’t possibly have played any longer – not with approximately 7,000 pitchers and a couple of hundred position players available in their spring training camp.
It wasn’t long ago that RHP Radhames Liz was a fraudulent prospect with the Orioles. He’s now with the Padres, and he gave up six runs in the eighth inning of their 9-3 loss to the Mariners. Included was 1B Tommy Everidge’s grand slam. It was a good day for Seattle first basemen; Ryan Garko also hit a solo homer.
The Nationals were hoping to improve their bullpen by trading for RHP Brian Bruney, but he was the losing pitcher in their 10-4 loss to the Marlins.
A guy we’ve touted as a potential closer somewhere is RHP Joe Nelson. He saved Boston’s 2-1 victory over the Twins.
What they’re working on:
Red Sox RHP Jonathan Papelbon, who has no reason to feel that Nelson is a threat to the closer’s job, is trying to regain his split-finger pitch. He threw four of them among his 13 pitches against the Twins.
Worth noting:
The Cubs’ closer of record, RHP Carlos Marmol, was 11-for-11 in save opportunities after taking over the job last season. A word of caution: His 161 appearances during the past two seasons were the majors’ second-highest total, so he could feel the pressures of being overworked. Or he might be one of those pitchers who haven’t always babied their arm so that the workload wouldn’t bother him.
The White Sox have used 3B Gordon Beckham, fueling speculation that he could be used in a trade with the Padres for 1B Adrian Gonzalez.
The Angels credit RF Bobby Abreu, who has a long-established and well deserved reputation as a selective batter, with helping SS Erick Aybar exceed his career on-base percentage by 55 points last season and 3B Chone Figgins and CF Torii Hunter improve theirs by 40 points.
Sample Scouting Report:
J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 215 Age: 24 B: R
{2010}Arencibia hasn’t yet lived up to the potential that Toronto saw when it made him a supplemental first-round draft pick in 2007. The former Tennessee Volunteer’s average has dropped at each of his last two stops, and he has struck out at least four times for every walk in each of his four minor league stops. You should look past his .236 average at Triple-A Las Vegas last year to consider it a negative but not something that would keep him from having fantasy value. That would come from his 21 homers and 75 RBI, which would give him more value than most catchers. A year earlier, he totaled 27 dingers and 105 RBI in high Class A and Double-A. J.P. also needs to work on his throwing. He has a strong arm, but threw out just 25 per cent of potential base stealers in 2009. The Jays need a catcher; by mid-season Arencibia could have that job.
Projection
AB: 385 BA: .264 HR: 17 RBI: 62 SB: 0 R: 50 Value: $5
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Not much relief from bullpens
Here’s what happened today, when the schedule of exhibition games expanded to nine, with five of those between teams that both ostensibly were made up of major league players.
A trend was terrible relief pitching, which is understandable because especially this early in the spring, a number of even the late-inning relievers are pitchers who won’t even get a sniff of the majors in 2010.
The Tigers had some encouraging developments. RHP Jeremy Bonderman started and pitched two scoreless innings. OF Casper Wells, whom we introduced to you Tuesday, drove in a run with a triple to tie the game in the ninth inning, then scored the winning run in a 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays. However, LHP Daniel Schlereth, part of Detroit’s big trade with the Diamondbacks and Yankees, blew a lead by giving up four runs in the bottom of the eighth – with three of those on a home run by minor league journeyman Chris Lubanski.
There was similar bullpen failure in the Giants’ 8-7 victory in 10 innings over the Mariners. San Francisco allowed two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. 1B Aubrey Huff homered for the Giants. RHP Tim Lincecum gave up three runs in just one inning. He noted that his violent motion has “a lot of moving parts” and that he has to refine each one of those to get his delivery working right. There’s no need to panic now, but remember that there’s a possibility he might not be able to put everything back together just right.
The Orioles hit six home runs in a 12-2 rout of the Rays, but the most interesting homer in that game might have been by 2B Sean Rodriguez. He’s fighting for the starting job in Tampa Bay. If he wins that, Ben Zobrist could start in right field. I predict that if Zobrist plays regularly at second base, the Rays have a good chance to make the playoffs, but if Rodriguez or Reid Brignac is in the usual starting lineup, TB will be a weaker, non-playoff team.
Anyway, today Baltimore got two home runs apiece from DH Josh Bell and 1B Rhyne Hughes. Don’t go putting them on your draft or auction list. Bell hit a homer against RHP Matt Garza, a legitimate major leaguer, but the other was against LHP Heath Phillips. Hughes, who already is 26 years old, hit his blasts against journeyman Phillips and 29-year-old Jason Cromer. You might see similar performances by these players this season – if you’re at a Triple-A game.
Here’s an idea for the majors. Take a page from the NBA’s book and have a few teams that are hopelessly overmatched in a major professional league.
In spring training, baseball pretty much does that by scheduling exhibitions against college teams. The major league teams won all four games against collegians today, by a composite score of 53-10. That’s 6-0 in favor of a handful of major leaguers and the professional minor leaguers representing MLB cities.
The Red Sox swept Northeastern 15-0 and Boston College 6-1 in a pair of seven-inning games. The Marlins played all nine against the University of Miami for a 19-3 victory. In an eight-inning contest, the Phillies overcame Florida State’s 6-4 lead to win 13-6. Seminoles pitchers walked 16 batters. Bad news for Philadelphia was that RHP prospect Phillippe Aumont lasted just two-thirds of an inning and allowed five runs.
The Yankees didn’t play a college team, but they did find a willing opponent in the Pirates. New York didn’t win until OF Colin Curtis hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against Pittsburgh RHP Virgil Vasquez for a 6-3 victory.
Position changes:
SS Miguel Tejada opened the exhibition season with the Orioles at his new position, third base.
White Sox 3B prospect Dayan Viciedo will start at first base in their opening exhibition.
Failed SS prospect Sergio Santos is now with the White Sox trying to make it as a righthanded pitcher.
Injuries:
White Sox CF Alex Rios is out because of a sore right shoulder. He seems to be becoming somewhat brittle. Expect him to miss 30-40 games this season.
Astros 1B Lance Berkman (bruised left knee) will miss Thursday’s game. If he plays Friday, that would be as a DH.
Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan seems impatient to get back as he recovers from surgery on his right wrist. Beware his trying to come back too soon and missing a significant part of this season as well.
Indians DH Travis Hafner has missed much of the past two seasons, and still has to prove he has regained his former strength and form 17 months after arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
News and notes:
The Diamondbacks and RF Justin Upton have officially agreed on a six-year, $51.25-million contract.
Padres RHP Heath Bell is working to add a changeup to the fastball and curve he already was throwing. You might not realize this, but even with just two pitches he led the National League with 42 saves in 2009.
A trend was terrible relief pitching, which is understandable because especially this early in the spring, a number of even the late-inning relievers are pitchers who won’t even get a sniff of the majors in 2010.
The Tigers had some encouraging developments. RHP Jeremy Bonderman started and pitched two scoreless innings. OF Casper Wells, whom we introduced to you Tuesday, drove in a run with a triple to tie the game in the ninth inning, then scored the winning run in a 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays. However, LHP Daniel Schlereth, part of Detroit’s big trade with the Diamondbacks and Yankees, blew a lead by giving up four runs in the bottom of the eighth – with three of those on a home run by minor league journeyman Chris Lubanski.
There was similar bullpen failure in the Giants’ 8-7 victory in 10 innings over the Mariners. San Francisco allowed two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. 1B Aubrey Huff homered for the Giants. RHP Tim Lincecum gave up three runs in just one inning. He noted that his violent motion has “a lot of moving parts” and that he has to refine each one of those to get his delivery working right. There’s no need to panic now, but remember that there’s a possibility he might not be able to put everything back together just right.
The Orioles hit six home runs in a 12-2 rout of the Rays, but the most interesting homer in that game might have been by 2B Sean Rodriguez. He’s fighting for the starting job in Tampa Bay. If he wins that, Ben Zobrist could start in right field. I predict that if Zobrist plays regularly at second base, the Rays have a good chance to make the playoffs, but if Rodriguez or Reid Brignac is in the usual starting lineup, TB will be a weaker, non-playoff team.
Anyway, today Baltimore got two home runs apiece from DH Josh Bell and 1B Rhyne Hughes. Don’t go putting them on your draft or auction list. Bell hit a homer against RHP Matt Garza, a legitimate major leaguer, but the other was against LHP Heath Phillips. Hughes, who already is 26 years old, hit his blasts against journeyman Phillips and 29-year-old Jason Cromer. You might see similar performances by these players this season – if you’re at a Triple-A game.
Here’s an idea for the majors. Take a page from the NBA’s book and have a few teams that are hopelessly overmatched in a major professional league.
In spring training, baseball pretty much does that by scheduling exhibitions against college teams. The major league teams won all four games against collegians today, by a composite score of 53-10. That’s 6-0 in favor of a handful of major leaguers and the professional minor leaguers representing MLB cities.
The Red Sox swept Northeastern 15-0 and Boston College 6-1 in a pair of seven-inning games. The Marlins played all nine against the University of Miami for a 19-3 victory. In an eight-inning contest, the Phillies overcame Florida State’s 6-4 lead to win 13-6. Seminoles pitchers walked 16 batters. Bad news for Philadelphia was that RHP prospect Phillippe Aumont lasted just two-thirds of an inning and allowed five runs.
The Yankees didn’t play a college team, but they did find a willing opponent in the Pirates. New York didn’t win until OF Colin Curtis hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against Pittsburgh RHP Virgil Vasquez for a 6-3 victory.
Position changes:
SS Miguel Tejada opened the exhibition season with the Orioles at his new position, third base.
White Sox 3B prospect Dayan Viciedo will start at first base in their opening exhibition.
Failed SS prospect Sergio Santos is now with the White Sox trying to make it as a righthanded pitcher.
Injuries:
White Sox CF Alex Rios is out because of a sore right shoulder. He seems to be becoming somewhat brittle. Expect him to miss 30-40 games this season.
Astros 1B Lance Berkman (bruised left knee) will miss Thursday’s game. If he plays Friday, that would be as a DH.
Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan seems impatient to get back as he recovers from surgery on his right wrist. Beware his trying to come back too soon and missing a significant part of this season as well.
Indians DH Travis Hafner has missed much of the past two seasons, and still has to prove he has regained his former strength and form 17 months after arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
News and notes:
The Diamondbacks and RF Justin Upton have officially agreed on a six-year, $51.25-million contract.
Padres RHP Heath Bell is working to add a changeup to the fastball and curve he already was throwing. You might not realize this, but even with just two pitches he led the National League with 42 saves in 2009.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Guys in Mets uniforms win 1st exhibition
It was good to see some baseball on my laptop today, mlb.tv’s telecast of the Braves-Mets game in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Especially after New York manager Jerry Manuel took the starters out of the lineup because the field was wet, the players bore little resemblance to major league teams.
Just check out these Mets “stars” – the starting pitcher, RHP Nelson Figueroa; in relief, LHP Bobby Livingston, and with an eighth-inning solo homer cementing their 4-2 victory, Russ Adams. If those players are all with the Mets this season, they’ll be worse than they were in 2009.
Let’s go back to that thing about taking starters out because rain had soaked the field. The same teams that are so concerned about avoiding injury to their high-priced talent at a time of exhibition games think nothing about sending those same players out on the field to complete a regular-season delayed for hours. That’s just good business, because then they can collect the ticket money from people who long since went home and went to bed.
Anyway, the winners of today’s other two games were predictable.
The Tigers defeated Florida Southern 13-1. The only Detroit player worthy of note was OF Casper Wells, who hit a home run. He’s not worthy of note just for that homer, but because he might have a future in the majors. That future isn’t likely to be this season, but keep your eye on him.
Even the Pirates found a team they could beat: Manatee Community College-Sarasota, by a 6-1 count. Marginal major league OFs Brandon Moss and Steven Pearce hit home runs against teenaged pitchers.
Speaking of teams of imposters:
The Dodgers are sending 33 players to Taiwan for three games March 12-14. Two Taiwanese players, LHP Hong-chih Kuo and SS Chin-lung Hu, will make the trip. However, the only really recognizable regulars on the trip will be 1B James Loney, 2B Ron Belliard and LF Manny Ramirez.
For starters:
Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced that RHP Justin Verlander would be their Opening Day starter. Following him in the rotation would be RHP Max Scherzer. Detroit has a battle for a fifth starter among LHPs Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson and Phil Coke and RHPs Eddie Bonine and Armando Galarraga.
The need for speed:
In Monday’s intrasquad game, Rangers CF Julio Borbon stole two bases. He told the Dallas Morning News he expects to steal at least 50 bases as Texas’ leadoff batters. Borbon was on a pace that would have resulted in well over 50 last year after being promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Diamondbacks CF Chris B. Young hopes to steal more bases after his SB total dropped in each of the last two seasons. Here’s a bit of advice: Get on base once in a while.
Mets SS Jose Reyes hit the first pitch in their Monday intrasquad game for a triple. It wasn’t that he had an extra-base hit against rookie Tobi Stoner, who isn’t likely to see CitiField this season unless he buys a ticket. The interest was that Reyes ran swiftly and without pain in his oft-battered legs.
Enhancing performance:
We’re not saying the two paragraphs on either side of the line above are related, but Reyes is one of a number of athletes being questioned in a federal investigation of Canadian Dr. Anthony Galea, accused of arranging to smuggle human growth hormone into the United States.
Others who have testified or might have to talk to the FBI include Reyes and Mets teammates Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgaro, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez (hmm), Rockies RHP Huston Street, Tiger Woods, swimmer Dara Torres and NFL quarterback Chris Simms.
Injuries:
Mets RHP Elmer Dessens left today’s game after being hit on the right knee by Braves C Brian McCann’s line drive.
The Red Sox are playing a low-stress doubleheader Wednesday against Northeastern University and Boston College. They’ll do that without CF Mike Cameron, who has a left groin injury. I’ll set the over/under on how many games he’ll play this year at 110 – and take the under.
Astros 1B Lance Berkman will miss their opening exhibition Thursday because of a left knee injury suffered Sunday.
Marlins RHP Derrick Turnbow has been out because of an infected left big toe.
Rocco Baldelli has rejoined the Rays, but as a special assistant and not as a player. The former outfielder couldn’t sign with anyone as a free agent because of concerns about a shoulder injury.
Unheralded rookie:
The Tigers’ second base job is Scott Sizemore’s to lose. Detroit is likely to open the season with CF Austin Jackson and Sizemore as the all-rookie 1-2 combination at the top of the batting order.
What they’re working on:
Dodgers RHP Eric Gagne, recovering from a shoulder injury, has extended his delivery and is noticing greater velocity on his pitches.
Braves 3B Chipper Jones noted that batting lefthanded last season he was taking his top hand off the bat early, and lifting his head instead of keeping it down with his eyes trained on the ball. So he’s working to overcome both bad habits.
Especially after New York manager Jerry Manuel took the starters out of the lineup because the field was wet, the players bore little resemblance to major league teams.
Just check out these Mets “stars” – the starting pitcher, RHP Nelson Figueroa; in relief, LHP Bobby Livingston, and with an eighth-inning solo homer cementing their 4-2 victory, Russ Adams. If those players are all with the Mets this season, they’ll be worse than they were in 2009.
Let’s go back to that thing about taking starters out because rain had soaked the field. The same teams that are so concerned about avoiding injury to their high-priced talent at a time of exhibition games think nothing about sending those same players out on the field to complete a regular-season delayed for hours. That’s just good business, because then they can collect the ticket money from people who long since went home and went to bed.
Anyway, the winners of today’s other two games were predictable.
The Tigers defeated Florida Southern 13-1. The only Detroit player worthy of note was OF Casper Wells, who hit a home run. He’s not worthy of note just for that homer, but because he might have a future in the majors. That future isn’t likely to be this season, but keep your eye on him.
Even the Pirates found a team they could beat: Manatee Community College-Sarasota, by a 6-1 count. Marginal major league OFs Brandon Moss and Steven Pearce hit home runs against teenaged pitchers.
Speaking of teams of imposters:
The Dodgers are sending 33 players to Taiwan for three games March 12-14. Two Taiwanese players, LHP Hong-chih Kuo and SS Chin-lung Hu, will make the trip. However, the only really recognizable regulars on the trip will be 1B James Loney, 2B Ron Belliard and LF Manny Ramirez.
For starters:
Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced that RHP Justin Verlander would be their Opening Day starter. Following him in the rotation would be RHP Max Scherzer. Detroit has a battle for a fifth starter among LHPs Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson and Phil Coke and RHPs Eddie Bonine and Armando Galarraga.
The need for speed:
In Monday’s intrasquad game, Rangers CF Julio Borbon stole two bases. He told the Dallas Morning News he expects to steal at least 50 bases as Texas’ leadoff batters. Borbon was on a pace that would have resulted in well over 50 last year after being promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Diamondbacks CF Chris B. Young hopes to steal more bases after his SB total dropped in each of the last two seasons. Here’s a bit of advice: Get on base once in a while.
Mets SS Jose Reyes hit the first pitch in their Monday intrasquad game for a triple. It wasn’t that he had an extra-base hit against rookie Tobi Stoner, who isn’t likely to see CitiField this season unless he buys a ticket. The interest was that Reyes ran swiftly and without pain in his oft-battered legs.
Enhancing performance:
We’re not saying the two paragraphs on either side of the line above are related, but Reyes is one of a number of athletes being questioned in a federal investigation of Canadian Dr. Anthony Galea, accused of arranging to smuggle human growth hormone into the United States.
Others who have testified or might have to talk to the FBI include Reyes and Mets teammates Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgaro, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez (hmm), Rockies RHP Huston Street, Tiger Woods, swimmer Dara Torres and NFL quarterback Chris Simms.
Injuries:
Mets RHP Elmer Dessens left today’s game after being hit on the right knee by Braves C Brian McCann’s line drive.
The Red Sox are playing a low-stress doubleheader Wednesday against Northeastern University and Boston College. They’ll do that without CF Mike Cameron, who has a left groin injury. I’ll set the over/under on how many games he’ll play this year at 110 – and take the under.
Astros 1B Lance Berkman will miss their opening exhibition Thursday because of a left knee injury suffered Sunday.
Marlins RHP Derrick Turnbow has been out because of an infected left big toe.
Rocco Baldelli has rejoined the Rays, but as a special assistant and not as a player. The former outfielder couldn’t sign with anyone as a free agent because of concerns about a shoulder injury.
Unheralded rookie:
The Tigers’ second base job is Scott Sizemore’s to lose. Detroit is likely to open the season with CF Austin Jackson and Sizemore as the all-rookie 1-2 combination at the top of the batting order.
What they’re working on:
Dodgers RHP Eric Gagne, recovering from a shoulder injury, has extended his delivery and is noticing greater velocity on his pitches.
Braves 3B Chipper Jones noted that batting lefthanded last season he was taking his top hand off the bat early, and lifting his head instead of keeping it down with his eyes trained on the ball. So he’s working to overcome both bad habits.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Hanson starts for Braves vs. Mets Tuesday
First pitches are not far away this spring. The first actual exhibition games will be Tuesday. Other teams, including the Rangers, have scheduled intrasquad games today or Tuesday. For Texas, the intrasquad contests will be both today and Tuesday.
Managers and pitching coaches have spent a lot of time constructing rotations for the first few exhibitions. They have taken into account factors such as who is in or who is trying to be in the regular-season rotation, whose arms from shoulder to fingertip are physically capable of pitching and how the schedules will line up with the regular season for the winners in the spring-training pitching derby.
Here’s a look at some of the early March rotations.
Padres: These days, pitchers making their first exhibition start pitch just two innings. That leaves plenty of innings for the bullpen. In some cases, teams will use two or more starters in the same game. That’s was San Diego has planned Thursday for the first of four games against the Mariners. RHPs Chris Young and Kevin Correia both will pitch then. On Friday, the Padres will use multiple pitchers battling for the fifth starter’s job – RHP Mat Latos, LHP Wade LeBlanc and RHP Sean Gallagher. The Saturday pitchers will include RHPs Jon Garland and Tim Stauffer, and LHP Clayton Richard and RHP Cesar Carrillo will work Sunday. Over the course of the exhibition, that list would be whittled down to five starters.
Twins: Like the Padres and Seattle in Peoria, Ariz., Minnesota’s exhibition season will open with a series against a team training in the same town: the Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla. The Twinkies will visit the Sox for the first game Thursday, with RHP Nick Blackburn scheduled to start, with RHP Kevin Slowey also pitching. The Twins will be the home team Friday, with RHP Carl Pavano starting. Back at City of Palms Park Saturday, LHP Francisco Liriano will start for Minnesota. RHP Scott Baker and LHP Brian Duensing both will start Sunday in split-squad games against the Yankees and Pirates. On Monday, Blackburn and Slowey would pitch again against the Orioles in Sarasota. The Twins will open the regular season with a rotation of Baker, Pavano, Blackburn and Slowey.
Braves: Manager Bobby Cox named RHP Derek Lowe the starter for the regular-season opener, but RHP Tommy Hanson will start the year’s first exhibition between two major league teams – Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. EST against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The game will be on mlb.tv. Atlanta and the Mets will play Wednesday in Lake Buena Vista, with RHP Tim Hudson starting for the Braves. Against the Pirates Thursday, RHP Kenshin Kawakami will start. Lowe is scheduled against the Nationals Friday. RHP Jair Jurrjens threw 15 pitches off a mound today for the first time this spring, while he’s recovering from a sore shoulder. He’ll throw again in three side sessions before joining the exhibition rotation, so RHP Kris Medlen will fill in for Sunday’s game against the Astros in Kissimmee.
Other teams have named starters for their first exhibition. Among them are the Orioles (RHP Jeremy Guthrie Wednesday against the Rays), Cubs (RHP Randy Wells Thursday vs. the Athletics) and Reds (RHP Mike Lincoln Friday against the Indians). Lincoln, who has made almost all of his major league appearances in relief, is trying to win the fifth starter’s position in a competition with LHPs Aroldis Chapman and Matt Maloney and RHPs Micah Owings, Justin Lehr, Travis Wood and Kip Wells. Good luck, Mike Lincoln.
Playing ball:
The actual first pitch of spring training is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. EST Tuesday, when the Pirates host Manatee Community College-Sarasota. The day’s other game is the Tigers’ 1:05 date with Florida Southern College. Detroit apparently feels confident enough to take on a four-year college.
Injuries:
The Blue Jays were encouraged today when RHP Dustin McGowan pitched batting practice in his first appearance against batters since July 2008.
Rangers LF Josh Hamilton sat out today’s intrasquad game because of renewed pain in his left shoulder. Better news for Texas was that LHP Derek Holland, recovering from a sprained knee, pitched batting practice. RHP Warner Madrigal (tight forearm) isn’t expected to throw again until long toss Thursday.
Money, money, money, money:
Giants RHP Tim Lincecum, a two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, will be making $10 million this season, the first under his new two-year contract. To justify his $18.5-million salary, Lincecum’s teammate, LHP Barry Zito, would have to BE Cy Young about 110 years ago.
The Angels have money to spend, but they don’t treat their moolah lightly. They allowed free-agent 3B Chone Figgins to go to the Mariners, who will pay him about $9 million. LA/Anaheim has five infielders – 1B Kendry Morales, 2B Howie Kendrick, SS Erick Aybar, 3B Brandon Wood and 3B/SS Maicer Izturis – under contract for barely more than $8. They’re all signed through 2012, though it seems dicey to be paying Wood until 2014 until he shows something in the majors.
3B/1B Troy Glaus could be a bargain for the Braves. They signed the free agent to a one-year, $2-million contract. He has noted no limitations from the right shoulder that kept him out of the majors most of last season.
The Yankees signed RHP Chan Ho Park to a one-year deal for $1.2 million, plus $300,000 in incentives. He’s not being overpaid on the gross scale that he was by the Rangers, but his salary still seems high for a long reliever.
Speaking of the Yanks’ bullpen:
RHP Mariano Rivera and LHP Damaso Marte threw for the first time today. Rivera’s debut was good news for New York fans, Marte’s not so much.
A battle:
2B/RF Ben Zobrist has a place in the Rays’ batting order. What isn’t known is where he would play. The decision will come down to whether OF Matt Joyce can show more this spring than either SS Reid Brignac or 2B Sean Rodriguez. Two of the three are expected to be on the Opening Day roster. If Joyce makes the team out of spring training, Zobrist wouldn’t be needed in the outfield and would start at second base. If the two infielders make the roster, one would start at second base and Zobrist would go to right field. Our money is on Joyce and Rodriguez to be on the roster.
Managers and pitching coaches have spent a lot of time constructing rotations for the first few exhibitions. They have taken into account factors such as who is in or who is trying to be in the regular-season rotation, whose arms from shoulder to fingertip are physically capable of pitching and how the schedules will line up with the regular season for the winners in the spring-training pitching derby.
Here’s a look at some of the early March rotations.
Padres: These days, pitchers making their first exhibition start pitch just two innings. That leaves plenty of innings for the bullpen. In some cases, teams will use two or more starters in the same game. That’s was San Diego has planned Thursday for the first of four games against the Mariners. RHPs Chris Young and Kevin Correia both will pitch then. On Friday, the Padres will use multiple pitchers battling for the fifth starter’s job – RHP Mat Latos, LHP Wade LeBlanc and RHP Sean Gallagher. The Saturday pitchers will include RHPs Jon Garland and Tim Stauffer, and LHP Clayton Richard and RHP Cesar Carrillo will work Sunday. Over the course of the exhibition, that list would be whittled down to five starters.
Twins: Like the Padres and Seattle in Peoria, Ariz., Minnesota’s exhibition season will open with a series against a team training in the same town: the Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla. The Twinkies will visit the Sox for the first game Thursday, with RHP Nick Blackburn scheduled to start, with RHP Kevin Slowey also pitching. The Twins will be the home team Friday, with RHP Carl Pavano starting. Back at City of Palms Park Saturday, LHP Francisco Liriano will start for Minnesota. RHP Scott Baker and LHP Brian Duensing both will start Sunday in split-squad games against the Yankees and Pirates. On Monday, Blackburn and Slowey would pitch again against the Orioles in Sarasota. The Twins will open the regular season with a rotation of Baker, Pavano, Blackburn and Slowey.
Braves: Manager Bobby Cox named RHP Derek Lowe the starter for the regular-season opener, but RHP Tommy Hanson will start the year’s first exhibition between two major league teams – Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. EST against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The game will be on mlb.tv. Atlanta and the Mets will play Wednesday in Lake Buena Vista, with RHP Tim Hudson starting for the Braves. Against the Pirates Thursday, RHP Kenshin Kawakami will start. Lowe is scheduled against the Nationals Friday. RHP Jair Jurrjens threw 15 pitches off a mound today for the first time this spring, while he’s recovering from a sore shoulder. He’ll throw again in three side sessions before joining the exhibition rotation, so RHP Kris Medlen will fill in for Sunday’s game against the Astros in Kissimmee.
Other teams have named starters for their first exhibition. Among them are the Orioles (RHP Jeremy Guthrie Wednesday against the Rays), Cubs (RHP Randy Wells Thursday vs. the Athletics) and Reds (RHP Mike Lincoln Friday against the Indians). Lincoln, who has made almost all of his major league appearances in relief, is trying to win the fifth starter’s position in a competition with LHPs Aroldis Chapman and Matt Maloney and RHPs Micah Owings, Justin Lehr, Travis Wood and Kip Wells. Good luck, Mike Lincoln.
Playing ball:
The actual first pitch of spring training is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. EST Tuesday, when the Pirates host Manatee Community College-Sarasota. The day’s other game is the Tigers’ 1:05 date with Florida Southern College. Detroit apparently feels confident enough to take on a four-year college.
Injuries:
The Blue Jays were encouraged today when RHP Dustin McGowan pitched batting practice in his first appearance against batters since July 2008.
Rangers LF Josh Hamilton sat out today’s intrasquad game because of renewed pain in his left shoulder. Better news for Texas was that LHP Derek Holland, recovering from a sprained knee, pitched batting practice. RHP Warner Madrigal (tight forearm) isn’t expected to throw again until long toss Thursday.
Money, money, money, money:
Giants RHP Tim Lincecum, a two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, will be making $10 million this season, the first under his new two-year contract. To justify his $18.5-million salary, Lincecum’s teammate, LHP Barry Zito, would have to BE Cy Young about 110 years ago.
The Angels have money to spend, but they don’t treat their moolah lightly. They allowed free-agent 3B Chone Figgins to go to the Mariners, who will pay him about $9 million. LA/Anaheim has five infielders – 1B Kendry Morales, 2B Howie Kendrick, SS Erick Aybar, 3B Brandon Wood and 3B/SS Maicer Izturis – under contract for barely more than $8. They’re all signed through 2012, though it seems dicey to be paying Wood until 2014 until he shows something in the majors.
3B/1B Troy Glaus could be a bargain for the Braves. They signed the free agent to a one-year, $2-million contract. He has noted no limitations from the right shoulder that kept him out of the majors most of last season.
The Yankees signed RHP Chan Ho Park to a one-year deal for $1.2 million, plus $300,000 in incentives. He’s not being overpaid on the gross scale that he was by the Rangers, but his salary still seems high for a long reliever.
Speaking of the Yanks’ bullpen:
RHP Mariano Rivera and LHP Damaso Marte threw for the first time today. Rivera’s debut was good news for New York fans, Marte’s not so much.
A battle:
2B/RF Ben Zobrist has a place in the Rays’ batting order. What isn’t known is where he would play. The decision will come down to whether OF Matt Joyce can show more this spring than either SS Reid Brignac or 2B Sean Rodriguez. Two of the three are expected to be on the Opening Day roster. If Joyce makes the team out of spring training, Zobrist wouldn’t be needed in the outfield and would start at second base. If the two infielders make the roster, one would start at second base and Zobrist would go to right field. Our money is on Joyce and Rodriguez to be on the roster.
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