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Baseball Brunch: Joe, Albert and the Rest Of the Award Winners

Ed Price — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Angels, Cardinals, Nationals, Phillies, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins, MLB Awards, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Ron Gardenhire was asked how teams try to pitch Joe Mauer.

"I can't give you all that information," Gardenhire, the Twins manager, said of his No. 3 hitter. "You'll write it and then other people might figure it out."

So you know, Ron, how to get him out?

"Hell, no, I don't! That's why I don't want to say anything.

"You just better have your defense standing in the right place, and that's where he's going to hit the ball hard -- that normally works. Catch the rocket that he's going to hit somewhere."

It's awards time here at Baseball Brunch, and we're casting our lot in the AL MVP race with Mr. Mauer.

Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis, Miguel Cabrera, Kendry Morales -- nice years, guys. Very nice.

But come on.

Mauer leads the American League in batting, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. And he's a catcher. Maybe as not as good a catcher as Teixeira is a first baseman, but at least as good a catcher as Jeter is a shortstop.

And better offensively, this year, than both of them.

If Mauer was playing in New York, teammate Michael Cuddyer said, "It would be ridiculous. He'd be everywhere. He would be on every billboard, every magazine cover.

"He's having arguably the best year in the history of the position. Not even arguably, really. It's pretty much the best year in the history of the position."

And that's a pretty good MVP argument.

With one caveat. We had some hesitation on Mauer because he missed the first month because of an inflamed joint in his lower back. So he has fewer total bases than Teixeira and fewer hits than Jeter. And playing time is an explicit criterion for picking the MVP.

But Mauer will end up playing in 137 or 138 games, only eight or nine fewer than last year, and with about 600 plate appearances. That's about 100 fewer than Jeter or Teixeira, but more than Youkilis. He will have been the DH more, with nearly 300 fewer innings caught than in 2008 -- but still sixth- or seventh-most innings caught in the league.

Our conclusion: his overwhelming production, and his near constant playing since returning, make up for the missed month.

Just for icing, Mauer leads the AL in batting average at home, on the road, against right-handers and in night games. He is second in average with runners in scoring position, third in average in day games and fourth in average vs. lefties.

o. NL MVP: Even an easier pick than in the AL. St. Louis' Albert Pujols also leads his league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage -- plus homers, runs scored, total bases, grand slams and extra-base hits. Like Mauer, he's second in batting average with men in scoring position.

Also worthy of being on the ballot: Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley, Prince Fielder, Derrek Lee, Troy Tulowitzki, Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier and Ryan Howard.

o. AL Cy Young Award: There should not be a debate. The MVP award should -- in our opinion, because that is what it has come to represent -- contain an element of contributing to a contender. But not the Cy Young.

And Kansas City's Zack Greinke is the best pitcher in the AL. Period. Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia are great. And if Greinke wasn't around, it would be a tasty three-way debate.

But this year, that debate is about second place.

o. NL Cy Young Award: A similar three-way choice between San Francisco's Tim Lincecum and St. Louis teammates Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. They're 1-2-3 in ERA and 1-2-4 in wins.

Carpenter has been the most brilliant and dominant, but he's not in the top 10 in the NL in innings pitched because of early-season health issues. Lincecum has the lowest OPS allowed, but he plays in a great pitcher's park. And while we don't want to give wins too much weight, they are significant, and Wainwright leads the league.

So Wainwright, by a hair.

o. AL Rookie of the Year: What a great season for rookie talent, in both leagues. The White Sox are pushing third baseman Gordon Beckham, who has hit well (he has a ways to go defensively) but wasn't called up until June. And if Beckham is a candidate, Baltimore outfielder Nolan Reimold should be as well. Reimold leads Beckham in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and homers.

Texas' Elvis Andrus, meanwhile, has played all season -- excelling at shortstop with acceptable production at the plate for a 20-year-old.

And here we have to compare apples and oranges. How do we judge these position players against a closer (Oakland's Andrew Bailey with his .168 opponents' average) and starters (Detroit's Rick Porcello, Toronto's Ricky Romero, Tampa Bay's Jeff Niemann and Oakland's Brett Anderson)?

Tough call, but we go with Porcello. He's 20, he made 30 starts while pitching in a pennant race to the finish and he went 14-9 with a 4.04 ERA.

o. NL Rookie of the Year: Just as loaded, with Philadelphia's J.A. Happ, Atlanta's Tommy Hanson, Randy Wells of the Cubs, Milwaukee's Casey McGehee, Florida's Chris Coghlan, Colorado's Dexter Fowler and Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen.

If we whittle it down to one position player and one pitcher, we get Coghlan (229 total bases, 82 runs scored and .319 average) over McCutchen and Jones and a very close call between Happ (12-4, 2.85 ERA) vs. Hanson (11-4, 2.89 ERA).

The cop-out would be to go with Coghlan to avoid the choice between the pitchers. But while Hanson is a terrific prospect, Happ threw 164 innings and the Phillies would have been in big trouble without him.

o. AL Manager of the Year: Great job by Ron Washington to help make the Rangers relevant. Jim Leyland may take the Tigers from worst to first -- their first division title since 1987!

But Mike Scioscia didn't just guide the Angels to another division title. He kept the team from falling apart through a rough first few months, not only because of a rash of pitching injuries but also because of the death of Nick Adenhart. Managing a team is about managing people, and Scioscia did a great job this year.

(Amazingly, Joe Girardi will manage his team to 102 or 103 wins and not get a sniff of this award.)

o. NL Manager of the Year: We have a vote on this award this year, so due to BBWAA rules, we can't reveal our vote before the award is announced in November.

But there are good candidates. Fredi Gonzalez kept the Marlins in contention for 25 weeks. Tony La Russa had little in his lineup other than Pujols for the first three months. Charlie Manuel got the Phillies back on top, as did Joe Torre with the Dodgers. And Colorado has gone 74-41 since Jim Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle -- the equivalent of a 104-win season.

Overheard and Understood

o. The Angels could look a bit different in 2010. Unless owner Arte Moreno puts his foot down, they seem likely to not pick up the option on Vladimir Guerrero. Then, if Bobby Abreu comes back -- no slam dunk -- he could be the DH. Otherwise, it could rotate among a few players. Ace John Lackey is bound to go elsewhere, as mentioned last week in this space, meaning the Angels will probably try to add a mid-rotation pitcher.

Chart of the Week
No team has ever been more efficient at stealing bases than the recent vintage Phillies -- who have three of the seven best seasons ever in stolen-base percentage:
Team	SB%
2007 Phillies	87.9
2008 Phillies	84.5
1994 Orioles	84.1
1995 Blue Jays	82.4
1975 Reds	82.4
2004 Mets	82.3
2009 Phillies	82.3
2007 Diamondbacks	82.0
STATS LLC

The potential free agent the Angels feel the best about keeping, although it isn't a sure thing, is leadoff man Chone Figgins. And if he comes back, he'd likely move to left field, with Juan Rivera going from left to right and Brandon Wood taking over at third.

o. The Reds, whose attendance will drop about 15 percent from 2008, have to cut payroll for 2010. Which could make some pitching available on the trade market.

o. By going 57-24 at home, the Yankees tied the record for most wins in the first year at a new park. The Red Sox went 57-20 at Fenway Park in 1912.

o. We have gone six years without a World Series going to a deciding game, the longest such stretch since 1913-23. In fact, there hasn't been more than one winner-takes-all postseason game in any year since 2004 (the two LCS).

o. Through June 14, Washington had 16 losses in its opponent's final at-bat and just three wins in its final at-bat. But since then, the Nats have 12 last-at-bat wins and eight last-at-bat losses.

o. Jason Bartlett is likely to be the second Tampa Bay player ever to finish in the top 10 in the AL in batting average. The other? Aubrey Huff, when he hit .311 in 2003 to finish ninth in the league.

o. The Rockies are the second team since the 1989 Blue Jays to reach the playoffs after being 12 games under .500 at some point. The other was the 2005 Astros.

o. Pujols has an NL-record 184 assists from first base. He also the big-league record of 184, set by Bill Buckner in 1985. In other words, don't leave Pujols in for the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 2010 World Series.

Baseball Brunch: Joe, Albert and the Rest Of the Award Winners originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Bizarre, Rich Legacy at Metrodome as Twins Depart

Ed Price — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Angels, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Nationals, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Johan Santana had never seen the Metrodome before the Twins took him from Single-A in the Rule 5 draft.

"When I first got there," Santana told FanHouse, "my first impression was, 'How can you play baseball in a place like this?'

"I came from Single-A and from Venezuela, and we don't have any of that stuff. ... I couldn't figure it out. How could this thing [the roof] be up in the air? And then it feels like you're in a bubble. And then you play baseball."

Yes they did. The Twins won two World Series in that bubble, but unless they rally to make the playoffs, they will say goodbye to the Metrodome this week.

Open-air Target Field opens next April.

The Twins say about all they'll miss about the Metrodome is the guarantee of no rainouts (or snowouts).

Kent Hrbek -- who grew up in Bloomington and attended games outdoors at old Metropolitan Stadium -- went 2-for-4 in the April 6, 1982, regular season opener at the dome.

He said he has "so many good memories" there. But, "after playing the game there and becoming a fan again," he said, "it's a horrible place to see a baseball game."

It's not just the artificial turf. Or the noise level. And the seats that don't point the right way for baseball.

"Playing inside is not fun," former Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said. "It's not baseball."

In Minnesota, summer doesn't last very long -- and it's gorgeous. Who wants to spend it indoors?

"I just came back from five days in Canada," Jack Morris, who grew up across the river in St. Paul and pitched one of the most memorable games in Metrodome history (Game 7 of the 1991 World Series), said earlier this month. "I saw over 200 bald eagles. Believe me, what God creates is so much better than anything man can create, it's unbelievable."

Said closer Joe Nathan: "When you walk through the doors when it's a nice day out, it kind of deflates you.

"You get nice days, you see this place like half-empty and you wonder why. It's because it's nice out. People are outside."

But the Twins might lose their home-field advantage when they go outdoors.

Visiting teams, especially those in the AL Central, hated coming to the Metrodome so much they sometimes seemed psyched out.

"This ballpark is an advantage," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, "just because people hate coming in here so much that maybe it intimidates them a little bit.

"But there's been an advantage in here. I guarantee it. We've had teams that can play on this [turf] and play in here and irritate the crap out of people, so that's been kind of fun."

Plus fly balls lost in the those 10 acres of Teflon-coated fiberglass overhead and the strange bounces off the turf and speakers hanging overhead and the "baggie" in right field.

In 1984, Dave Kingman hit a fly ball so high it went into one of the holes in the roof and stayed there.

Double.

"Especially during day games," said Aaron Rowand, who visited often with the White Sox in 2001-05, "if you try to go back on the ball and take your eye off it to run to a spot, and try to look back up and find it, it's real tough.

"I remember once somebody hit [a fly], it was going foul, it bounced off [a speaker], came back in and one of the infielders caught it."

There have been other subtle advantages. Some accused the Twins of manipulating the air conditioning, but Hunter said that once fans started leaving in the seventh inning, the opening of doors created a swirling wind current that carried balls out to right-center field. A "napkin" -- makeshift weather vane -- near the home on-deck circle would let the Twins know when to hit to right.

In the 1987 and '91 World Series, the Metrodome's advantage was mostly fans, packed houses making noise intensified by the roof.

"It's the most intimidating home field of any team, any sport that I've ever seen or been around," Oakland general manager Billy Beane, who played for the Twins and had A's teams lose in Minneapolis in the playoffs, told FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher. "As a player, as a GM, as a fan of other sports, from what I hear Saturday night in Baton Rouge is supposed to be pretty tough, but I'd put the Metrodome up there. If you had one of those tournaments for most intimidating it would be LSU and the Metrodome in the final, and I'm going with the Metrodome.

"There is nothing like the Metrodome. There is nothing that is even close."

The Twins' winning percentage since 1982 is 100 points higher at home than on the road. Of the teams that have been in existence since 1982, only Houston and Texas have had a larger advantage at home.

Metrodome Mosts
Stat	Twins	Visitors
Hits	K. Puckett (1,269)	C. Ripken (123)
HR	K. Hrbek (138)	J. Thome (28)
Wins	B. Radke (85)	Mussina/Clemens (10)
Saves	J. Nathan (123)	Montgomery/Jones (18)

Even so, the Metrodome won't be missed by the Twins.

"It wasn't really a baseball stadium," said Hrbek, who played more games at the Metrodome than anyone but the late Kirby Puckett. "It was a football stadium, and they decided to put a baseball park in there."

Said Gardenhire: "We can't wait to get outside and have our own field and not share it with anybody."

Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who grew up in St. Paul, played his first football game in the Metrodome, as a fifth-grader, and never saw an outdoor big-league baseball game until he played in one.

"I think it's more a football stadium than anything," he said. "I have a lot of great memories here ... but I'm really looking forward to getting outside and playing outside."

Target Field, not far from the Metrodome in the Warehouse District, will seat 40,000 and cost $412 million (about six times what the Metrodome cost).

"It's typical Minnesota," said Mariners infielder Jack Hannahan, who grew up across the river in St. Paul, attended the University of Minnesota (which plays its home baseball games in the Metrodome) and still has a "Homer Hanky" from the 1991 World Series.

"It took them forever to do it, and once they finally did it, they didn't do it right. If it would have had a retractable dome, like what Safeco [Field in Seattle] has, it would have been perfect. It didn't work out, it didn't work out. But anything they'll build will be successful in Minnestota because the fans are so good."

"It's the most intimidating home field of any team, any sport that I've ever seen or been around. ... There is nothing like the Metrodome"
-- Billy Beane University of Minnesota baseball and the Vikings will continue to play in the Metrodome; Gophers football opened its new on-campus stadium this year.

A large numeral beyond left field in the Metrodome indicates how many Twins games are left there. Then a series of banners reads, "Countdown to outdoor baseball," "Countdown to farmer-tanned vendors," "Countdown to mustard-flavored lip balm," "Countdown to ch-ch-ch-chhhhh (the sound of sprinklers on natural grass), "Countdown to skyline sunsets," "Countdown to real grass stains," "Countdown to starry nights."

The team itself is counting down to when it has a decent-sized clubhouse, it doesn't have to store equipment in the hallway and it won't have to share a weight room and batting cage that are on the other side of the stadium.

"If I play next year," Seattle's Mike Sweeney said, "and it's April and I go to Minnesota and its 25 degrees, I'll miss the Metrodome big time.

"But the stadium is outdated and it's cool to move on to a new place. We just might need to pack some more [long] sleeves."

Overheard and Understood

o. Angels ace John Lackey, an impending free agent, has told people he is seeking a $100 million contract. And a major league source said the Angels have no intention of meeting that demand. Who would -- even despite Lackey's dependability over the years? There have been five nine-figure deals for pitchers; Kevin Brown and Mike Hampton didn't produce over the entire lengths of their deals, Barry Zito looks similar and the jury is still out on CC Sabathia and Santana.

Chart of the Week
Colorado's Seth Smith is 17-for-35 as a pinch hitter. In the past 35 years, just four players have batted .500 in the pinch (minimum 20 at-bats):
Player	Team	Average
Bruce Boisclair	'76 Mets	.571 (12-21)
Kevin Seitzer	'91 Royals	.550 (11-20)
Alex Arias	'99 Phillies	.545 (12-22)
Willie McGee	'92 Giants	.524 (11-21)
Seth Smith	'09 Rockies	.486 (17-35)
Source: STATS LLC

o. Washington plans to talk with Bob Melvin about its managerial position soon after the season ends. Melvin and general manager Mike Rizzo worked together in Arizona. Bobby Valentine's name has also come up as a Nationals candidate, and there is talk that those interviewed for the Washington GM job were asked directly about Valentine, an indication that he has been in the team's sights for a while.

o. Are we in a golden age of second basemen? For the first time ever, five second basemen -- Dan Uggla, Aaron Hill, Chase Utley, Jose Lopez and Ian Kinsler -- have 25-homer seasons in the same year. Then there's Brian Roberts (55 doubles), Robinson Cano ( .321 average and .519 slugging percentage,), Dustin Pedroia (110 runs scored and .297 average) and Brandon Phillips (20 homers, 95 RBI). Only Roberts and Utley are in their 30s.

o. A scout who has examined the Diamondbacks system said it is severely lacking in top prospects, and he cited three factors: some of the top young players in the organization are already in the majors; Arizona gave up prospects in the deal for Dan Haren; and a couple of bad drafts in a row. In contrasting the depth of two systems, the scout said the Giants "have 20 guys like" Diamondbacks lefty Daniel Schlereth.

o. Texas' Elvis Andrus is the fourth-youngest player to steal 30 bases in a season after Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb and Claudell Washington.

o. The Red Sox face a tough decision on how much to play catcher Jason Varitek in the postseason. He looks terrible at the plate (.167 with 20 RBI in 156 at-bats since June 30) and in the field. About all manager Terry Francona can cite is intangibles: "There was a reason they put that 'C' (for captain) on his chest. And even through disappointment and a little bit of a reduced role, he still exhibits a lot of leadership."

o. With the Angels, Phillies and Cardinals having closer issues, we wondered: how much does a closer matter in the postseason. Conventional wisdom says a lot, since the competition is better, the games are closer, and each loss is so significant. Well, according to STATS LLC, since the three-tiered playoffs began in 1995, there has been an average of one save opportunity every 2.89 postseason games. Over the same span, save opportunities have been MORE frequent in the regular season -- an average of one save opportunity every 2.68 regular-season games. And the save percentage is about the same, 67.0 in the regular season and 67.2 in the postseason.

Still, we suspect that closers do matter, because of the importance of every game and the psychological effect of a blown save.

o. Seattle could be the second team ever to win 85 games the year after losing 100. The 1989 Orioles were 87-75 after going 54-107 the previous season.

o. Arizona vice president for player personnel Jerry DiPoto didn't get the Washington GM job, but if San Diego decides to promote long-time general manager Kevin Towers to a position such as team president, DiPoto would have a shot at becoming Padres GM.

o. The possible Game 1 matchup in one American League Division Series is Sabathia and Justin Verlander. They have faced off six times, their teams splitting the games (two this year between the Yankees and Tigers and the other four between Cleveland and Detroit). In the six games, Sabathia has gone 3-3 with a 5.13 ERA while Verlander has gone 3-2 with a 3.26 ERA.

o. An AL executive who recently saw St. Louis' John Smoltz in person said, "His stuff is really, really good. I guess Boston must be really good not to need that guy." The minuses, according to the executive: Smoltz's "command is not what it used to be" and he "labors," throwing a lot of sliders.

o. Some suspect Chad Billingsley's struggles for the Dodgers -- 3-6 with a 5.40 ERA since the All-Star break -- come from not getting along with catcher Russell Martin.

o. Derek Jeter, 35, is the oldest regular shortstop with a 200-hit season.

o. They aren't the most indicative statistics, but the Dodgers could become the first team since the 1946 Cardinals to lead the NL in club batting average, ERA and fielding percentage.

Baseball Brunch: Bizarre, Rich Legacy at Metrodome as Twins Depart originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Angels Become Patients For Dr. Abreu's Lessons

Ed Price — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Angels, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Rays, Red Sox, Reds, Twins, Yankees, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Bobby Abreu's influence has its limitations.

Vladimir Guerrero is still going to swing at everything.

But besides his fine season -- 89 runs scored, 96 RBI, .823 OPS -- Abreu seems to have passed on his patience at the plate to the rest of his Angels teammates.

"He's got the younger players understanding patience isn't a bad thing," Chone Figgins told FanHouse. "It's not about not being aggressive, but being patient, getting a pitch to hit. There's nothing wrong with being 1-1 and hitting, or 1-2, or 2-2.

"It's not something simple to do, but I think we did a good job of it in spring training and have tried to bring it into the season and have so far done a good job."

Figgins has crushed his career high in walks, previously 65, and leads the AL with 95. He is fourth in the league in pitches seen per plate appearance, at 4.23.

And he's not alone.

The Angels last year were last in the league in running up the count, with 3.65 pitches per plate appearance. In fact, they ranked in the AL's bottom three very year from 2002 through 2008.

Now they're fourth in the league, at 3.88.

And, by the way, are second in the AL in runs.

As the Yankees and Red Sox have shown in recent years, working the count forces starting pitchers out of the game and allows the lineup to attack the soft underbelly of middle relief. And patience also leads to walks, which leads to men on base, which lead to runs.

The ability to work the count seems more a skill than a learned behavior -- either you have it or you don't, like a strong arm or speed.

But maybe the Angels are proving otherwise.

"You have to just look for a pitch," Abreu said. "They're going to throw a pitch to you [some] time. Just be patient. You don't have to rush yourself. And have a plan whenever you go to the plate. You have to have a plan. If you have a plan, you just go up there and execute, that's all."

In spring training, hitting coach Mickey Hatcher asked Abreu to specifically tutor Kendry Morales and Erick Aybar in that philosophy.

Well, Morales' pitches per plate appearance is up 14 percent from last year and Aybar is up 7 percent. Howie Kendrick has gone up 10 percent and Juan Rivera 8 percent.

And even veteran Torii Hunter is at a career-high 3.77, 7 percent higher than his career mark coming into the season (3.52).

"Bobby Abreu has brought something different," Hunter said. "A lot more patience. Get a pitch around the plate, that's something he's been preaching to me from day one."

It's all part of a subtle strategy.

"The most important thing that Bobby does," Hatcher said, "is the fact that when the game starts, he might be willing to give an out but he wants to see every pitch that pitcher throws. He's not just taking. If that pitcher's got three pitches, he wants to see them all.

"That's what we talked about with our guys: You don't know what his pitches are, you're just swinging. So you're really not seeing what he has. And I think it's paid off for a lot of these guys. You might get a walk out of it, but the more pitches you see from a guy, you come to understand what he's trying to do to you. I think that's what Bobby does."

The key, Abreu said, is having no fear of hitting while behind in the count.

"They've been doing great," he said of his teammates. "They're not afraid, which is good. ... They've started to feel comfortable. They don't worry about it."

No player is less afraid of a two-strike count than Abreu. He'll "spit on" borderline strikes, as players say, until he gets one he's looking for or until he has to swing.

Abreu leads the majors with 484 two-strike hits since 2004, including a remarkable 90 in 2007. He has also had 137 more at-bats with two strikes than any other player in that time.

"Bobby has fit right in to give some of the balance [to] a team that was maybe lacking the ability to work counts as well as Bobby does," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's been an important piece to that puzzle.

"But I think Bobby's biggest impact is just the production that he's brought. He's set the table for the middle of our lineup as well as anybody could possibly imagine."

It shouldn't be a surprise, really, but Abreu's remarkable consistency is rivaled only by his ability to go unnoticed.

With four more RBI, Abreu can join Albert Pujols as the only players to drive in 100 runs every season since 2003. He has 11 straight years with 20 or more steals (29 this year, his most since 2005). And he has a chance to play in 150 games for the 12th consecutive season, something done only by Pete Rose, Cal Ripken Jr., Billy Williams and Willie Mays.

(This is a guy who was left unprotected by Houston in the 1997 expansion draft. He wound up in Philadelphia because Tampa Bay wanted shortstop Kevin Stocker and gave the Phillies a choice: the Devil Rays would take either Abreu or Quinton McCracken in the draft and trade him for Stocker. Philadelphia wisely chose Abreu.)

The Angels took advantage of last winter's slow free-agent market to swoop in and sign Abreu, 35, for just $5 million (plus a potential $1 million in playing-time bonuses).

"I couldn't believe we got him," Hunter said. "What a discount, man. That's what we call in the hood, 'The hookup.'"

Yes, it has turned out to be a great bargain, and there are indications both sides may have even had preliminary discussions on an extension.

Like some actors, Abreu functions best as part of an ensemble. He didn't thrive as the highest-paid player on the Phillies, when he expected to be the centerpiece of the team. But as a piece with the Yankees and Angels, he is comfortable.

"Pretty much the same, third hitter, set up the table for the guys behind me," Abreu said.

And teach some of them the art of patience.

Overheard and Understood

o. There has been speculation on whether the Diamondbacks will pick up the 2010 option on ace Brandon Webb, who underwent shoulder surgery last month. Our guess is Arizona makes a low-base, incentive-laden offer to keep Webb; But since he didn't need major repairs in the shoulder and could be ready for the start of the season, he might be able to find a two-year deal in the Ryan Dempster ($9 million per) range.

Chart of the Week
Three players have hit 20 or more home runs every year since 2000, making the 2000s the decade with the most players to have 20 homers every year. And three more players could join the group: Manny Ramirez (has 19 this year), Chipper Jones (16) and Vladimir Guerrero (15).
Decade	20-HR Player(s)
1920s	Babe Ruth
1930s	Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx
1940s	None
1950s	Gil Hodges
1960s	Hank Aaron
1970s	Reggie Jackson
1980s	None
1990s	Barry Bonds, Matt Williams
2000s	Carlos Lee, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Berkman
Source: Astros

o. One rumor around front offices is that Pat Gillick is going to come out of retirement to return as general manager of the Blue Jays, whom he ran from 1978 to 1994 as they won two World Series. The rumor also has Gillick bringing back Tim Wilken, who was Toronto scouting director (1996-2000) and is now the Cubs' scouting director.

o. How important will home-field advantage be in the playoffs? It looks like six of the eight teams in the field will have a home winning percentage better than .600. And home teams overall this year have a .551 winning percentage, the sixth-highest mark ever, according to STATS LLC. Last year's home winning percentage was .556 -- but the team with home-field advantage won just four of the seven series.

o. When the Rays traded Scott Kazmir to the Angels, they were 69-58 and 4 1/2 games out in the wild-card race. While the idea behind the Kazmir trade made some sense -- with some pitching depth, save the money remaining on his contract to help keep the rest of the club together -- the timing seems to have sent the wrong message in the clubhouse. One friend of some Rays said the players wondered if the front office had given up on a playoff push this year. And since the trade, Tampa Bay has gone 7-15 and fallen out of contention while looking lethargic for long stretches.

o. When Adam Moore caught all 14 innings of the Mariners' Thursday win over the White Sox, it marked the most innings caught in a big-league debut in at least 55 years.

o. Cincinnati's recent success is meaningless, and doesn't necessarily presage a playoff run in 2010, but it does seem to affirm that for all the criticism leveled at Dusty Baker, he has a knack for getting his team to play hard. And that's no small thing.

o. What does good play in September mean the next year? The best record in last year's final month belonged to Kansas City. The best teams in September 2007 were the Yankees, Indians and Rockies; both missed the playoffs in 2008.

o. Only once since 1900 has a shortstop batted .325 with 15 homers and 25 stolen bases -- Hanley Ramirez two seasons ago. But Ramirez, Jason Bartlett and Derek Jeter could all do it this year.

o. Quotes from Twins manager Ron Gardenhire on Carl Pavano that Yankees fans will find hard to believe: "I like the way he goes about his business. ... Plus, he's very competitive. ... Since he's come here, he's been really good for our ballclub. A real bonus."

o. Red Sox manager Terry Francona was asked about how teams position their left fielder at Fenway Park. "When Manny [Ramirez] was here," Francona cracked, "we didn't know what our philosophy was. We tried to have one, but we didn't always know what it was."

Baseball Brunch: Angels Become Patients For Dr. Abreu's Lessons originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Meet the Rarest Breed

Ed Price — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Angels, Athletics, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Rays, Royals, Tigers, Twins, Yankees, MLB Awards, MLB Biz, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Cody Ross blames his mom.

"My dad was a really good athlete (Kenny Ross, who played safety at New Mexico in the late 1960s)," said Ross, the Marlins' right fielder. "My dad was all right[-handed]. My mom's a lefty, so maybe I got that gene from her."

Ross and St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick are the only two active position players who throw left and bat right. Just 14 such players in baseball history have gotten as many as 1,000 at-bats -- and that list now includes a Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson.

"He kind of put us on the map," Ross said.

Some of the other names are recognizable -- early 20th-century Yankees star Hal Chase, Mets outfielder Cleon Jones, and more recent players Mark Carreon, Brian Hunter and David McCarty.

Some aren't -- Rube Bressler, Johnny Cooney, Al Nixon and Delos Drake.

"I think it's something that's kind of cool, something to be proud of," Ludwick said. "It's kind of an honor to be able to be in such little company."

Why so rare? There have certainly been plenty of players who throw right and bat left (582 with 1,000 or more at-bats), so it can't be that it's hard to be opposite-handed for hitting and throwing.

The simplest explanation is that a left-handed thrower can really play only four of the eight positions -- outfield and first base -- and is even less valuable if he bats right-handed, since lefties are less common and have the advantage against right-handed pitching.

"I think being a left-handed hitter is viewed as having an advantage," Ludwick said, "so you see a lot more people who throw right and are taught to hit left because it's an advantage."

Nether Ross nor Ludwick could explain how they ended up batting right and throwing left.

"It just happened," said Ludwick, who last year joined Henderson and Jones as the only bat-right/throw-left players to make an All-Star Game. "Natural."

Said Ross: "I have no reason why I do it. Nobody ever taught me to do it."

Both tried switch-hitting as kids -- "for a minute," Ludwick said, "but I was so much better right-handed."

Said Ross, "My dad tried to get me to switch-hit when I was younger. I did for a little while. But I realized really quickly that I had a lot more power from the right side and I didn't want to waste an at-bat [left-handed]."

It's not like Ross and Ludwick can't play. Ross, 28, is third on the Marlins with 22 homers and 83 RBI. Ludwick, 31, has 20 home runs and has driven in 87 runs, both second on the Cardinals.

"I feel like you see a lot of left-handed hitters that are right-handed throwers that have a lot of pop because they're right-hand-dominant, so they can really pull that bat through the zone," Ludwick said. "So I feel like being left-hand-dominant, I can [do the same]."

The bottom hand provides the power in a swing, and some recent boppers who throw right and bat left include Jim Thome, Prince Fielder, Larry Walker, Tino Martinez, Carlos Delgado, Adam Dunn, Jason Giambi and Mo Vaughn.

But those guys who throw left and bat right -- they don't get the love.

Ludwick was a second-round draft pick out of UNLV in 1999, so he never felt a bias because of his bat/throw combination. But Ross, a fourth-rounder in the same draft out of high school in New Mexico, said it worked against him. (Louie Medina, who played 51 games in the majors while throwing left and batting right, scouted both players for that '99 draft. Medina, now a special assistant to the GM in Kansas City, was then a scout for Arizona.)

"You have scouts come to watch you," Ross said, "and I was already challenged because of my height and I wasn't your prototypical baseball player, pushing 5-10. And also throwing left and hitting right, that's a lot against you going into pro ball. Or even college. So I think it affected me a little bit when it came to drafting and stuff like that.

"It's one of those things I knew I had to overcome, and I just did. A little bump in the road."

Both Ludwick and Ross didn't get a chance to become regulars in the majors until they had gone through multiple organizations. Ludwick was traded from Oakland to Texas to Cleveland and then had to sign on with Detroit and St. Louis as a minor-league free agent.

Ross was traded from the Tigers to the Dodgers to the Reds to the Marlins, including being traded twice in 33 days in 2006.

But he didn't blame that bouncing around on throwing left-handed and batting right-handed.

"I think once I got into pro ball, I think all of that kind of goes out the window," he said. "If you can play, you can play, and they'll find a spot for you."

Overheard and Understood

-- If you think Derek Jeter's pursuit of the Yankees' franchise hits record was overblown, wait until next spring training. Because the Yankees seem intent on letting Jeter go into 2010 without a contract beyond this year, and it will be a season-long storyline next year: Is this the Captain's last year in pinstripes?

Chart of the Week
Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria became the ninth player to have 40 doubles, 30 homers and 100 RBI in a season before the age of 24:
Player	Year
Hal Trosky	1934/36
Ted Williams	1939
Alex Rodriguez	1996
Scott Rolen	1998
Eric Chavez	2001
Aramis Ramirez	2001
Albert Pujols	2001-03
Miguel Cabrera	2005
Evan Longoria	2009
Source: Rays

While it might seem good public relations and, emotionally, a no-brainer to try to lock up Jeter long-term this winter, that wouldn't be good business for the Yankees. Not that they don't want him, but Jeter will be coming off his best season in at least three years, maybe 10. So in any contract negotiations this winter, Jeter would have the upper hand. The Yankees couldn't tell Jeter they have an alternative in mind, since both sides know he'll be the team's shortstop in 2010.

And it's not like the Yankees have ever gotten any kind of hometown discount from Jeter; the sides went to arbitration in 1999, avoided arbitration in 2000 with a $10 million salary and then worked out his current 10-year, $189 million deal in February 2001. Considering what he means to the franchise -- and its fans -- Jeter now could have every right to ask for more than Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia.

The only way an extension would get done before Jeter's contract is up (or close to up) is if ownership -- the Steinbrenner brothers -- steps in. They did in the fall of 2007, after the Joe Torre fiasco, to bring back Rodriguez (after his ugly opt-out), and with Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera on above-market deals. But the Steinbrenners may realize now they overpaid then and hold firm on Jeter.

Which will make for a fascinating winter of 2010-11, because the next negotiations will determine how much Jeter makes compared to A-Rod, whether he will be signed for the same length of time (through 2017!) and -- as part of the whole equation -- whether he ever moves from shortstop, and when, and where.

-- With a new ballpark opening next year, the Twins plan to spend more this winter than in any recent offseason. They "won't be picking up the scraps" of free agency, as one person put it.

-- Washington (including its Montreal years) is the only franchise never to have had two teammates with 100 RBI in the same season, but that could be corrected this year as Adam Dunn has 99 RBI and Ryan Zimmerman has 94. Tampa Bay got its first 100-RBI duo this year, with Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena.

-- The Angels could be the first team since the 2005 Cardinals to make it through the season without a four-game losing streak.

-- Figure this: Seven of the Dodgers' final 18 games are against the Pirates. Three others are against the Nationals.

-- Arizona's Chris Young last Sunday became the first player to go into a game batting less than .200 and then hit three homers.

-- The Cubs did not gain ground on the Cardinals in any day from Aug. 3 through Thursday.

-- If the A's, who have 85 errors, can finish with fewer than 100, they will set an all-time record by doing that for the sixth straight year. The Phillies had double-digit errors from 2001 to 2005.

-- Attendance at the Mets' new Citi Field on Thursday, for a game against the Marlins, was 37,620. But the Mets estimated 20,000 no-shows and about 17,000 in the stands.

-- The Rays are promoting right-hander Jeff Niemann (12-5, 3.57 ERA) for AL Rookie of the Year. They cite that he is in the top 10 all-time for winning percentage by an AL rookie starter; the first rookie to beat Roy Halladay twice; the first rookie in 55 years to lead the defending AL champs in wins and ERA; and that he could have three more wins but for two blown two-run leads and a blown three-run lead by his bullpen.

-- Since the start of last year, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, just two AL teams have swept four series from the same opponent (three or more games). It figures that the Yankees swept the Orioles five times, but not that the Royals have swept the Tigers four times.

-- Detroit's Brent Dlugach, called up Sept. 1, is the first big-leaguer ever whose name begins with "DL." Unless you count Mike Hampton.

Baseball Brunch: Meet the Rarest Breed originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Senior Circuit Resembles Rest Home for Pitchers

Ed Price — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Angels, Athletics, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.

Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.

Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.

"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.

At least he admits it.

Others asked about the difference between leagues tried to downplay it.

"If you make pitches, you're going to get outs," Penny told FanHouse a few days after joining the Giants. "When I got hit in the American League, it was because I didn't make pitches.

"Obviously the American League's a little harder, but it's not as big of a gap as everyone would think."

As Red Sox this year, Penny and Smoltz combined to go 9-13 with a 6.24 ERA and a .310 opponents' average.

Thus far, back in the comfy NL, they are 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA and .205 opponents' average.

Then -- in perhaps the ultimate indignity -- Jose Contreras, who went 5-13 with a 5.42 ERA this year for the White Sox, held the Diamondbacks to one run in 6 2/3 innings in his NL debut for Colorado.

Sounds like a pretty big gap.

"I don't see how it could be," Cubs GM Jim Hendry said. "How many American League lineups are better than the Phillies?"

Point taken, and for Penny to shut down the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park was pretty impressive.

Ted Lilly, who went from the Blue Jays to the Cubs two years ago, would admit to only noticing "a little bit" of a difference between leagues.

Penny said Smoltz wasn't bothered by the AL as much as he wasn't fully recovered from shoulder surgery.

"He was trying to rush things," Penny said, "and got back out there probably a little too soon."

Phillies right-hander Joe Blanton also claimed to notice no drop in class when he switched leagues.

"Hitters are hitters," said Blanton, who was 47-46 with Oakland and has gone 13-6 with Philadelphia. "I mean, other than facing the pitcher, hitters are hitters."

It's not just the presence of the DH that makes the AL harder on pitchers. Lineups are deeper, ballparks are smaller and the style of play different.

For example, through Friday's games, according to STATS LLC, American League No. 8 hitters had combined for a .400 slugging percentage and a homer every 33.4 at-bats. In the NL, No. 8 hitters had a .374 slugging percentage and a home run every 52.4 at-bats.

The National League has pitcher-friendly parks in San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Florida and Los Angeles. The AL has Seattle and Oakland -- and hitter's havens in New York, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago and Texas.

"I think the teams are put together a little differently," Piniella said. "The [AL] teams are put together with a little more offense in mind."

More AL teams, notably in Boston and New York, seem to emphasize patience at the plate and building opposing pitchers' pitch counts.

"I think that the lineups in the American League are more powerful," said Johan Santana, in his second year with the Mets after winning two Cy Young Awards for the Twins. "You see more guys with longer swings than you see here in the National League. ... You don't see that many bunt plays, you don't see that many hit-and-runs in the American League.

"What I found out here, is that here they make a lot of contact and they put the ball in play. In the American League, there are more swing-and-misses."

In any case, it seems not to bode well for Jake Peavy, who (eventually) will make the reverse trip, from a team that plays in one of the NL's top pitchers' parks to an AL team that plays in a home-run den.

Maybe, for Smoltz and Penny, it was just getting out of the AL East. Scott Kazmir stayed in the league but left the division when he went from the Rays to the Angels, and he allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings in his first start after having a 5.92 ERA in Tampa Bay.

Or maybe Smoltz and Penny will eventually revert to their Boston form.

"Well, let's wait and see how it goes," Lilly said. "Four games, that doesn't give you much to go on."

Overheard and Understood

o. The early AL MVP talk -- and it's early, since September performance can swing the race -- has focused on Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Yankees teammates Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter. But I see drawbacks with all three.

Mauer (back) and Teixeira (.200 average, 10 RBI) took April off. Jeter recently bunted against Contreras with two men on, a 2-0 lead in the second inning with Sergio Mitre pitching for his team. Jeter is a great player having a great year, but that's not an MVP play.

Chart of the Week
Seattle's David Aardsma has 34 saves -- sixth-most all-time for a pitcher who had zero career saves coming into that season:
Pitcher	Team/Year	S
Eric Gagne	'02 Dodgers	52
Derrick Turnbow	'05 Brewers	39
Kaz Sasaki*	'00 Mariners	37
Shawn Chacon	'04 Rockies	35
J. Papelbon	'06 Red Sox	35
Kerry Wood	'08 Cubs	34
David Aardsma	'09 Mariners	34
Chris Ray	'06 Orioles	33
Billy Koch*	'99 Blue Jays	31
* - First year in majors Source: Mariners

So let's expand the discussion. Detroit's Miguel Cabrera is in the top five in slugging and on-base percentage for a first-place team. And as the Angels went on a 44-16 tear from June 12 to Aug. 19, Kendry Morales led the league with a 1.083 OPS over that span (.345, 18 homers, 47 RBI).

o. A friend of Bobby Abreu's said Abreu would be open to remaining with the Angels, but if there have been talks about extending him past his current one-year deal, they have not progressed significantly.

o. Interesting managerial matchup last week when the Diamondbacks played the Dodgers. Arizona manager A.J. Hinch was born on May 15, 1974 -- at which point counterpart Joe Torre already had won an MVP, been an All-Star nine times, and accumulated 2,035 hits. Torre managed his first game, as player/manager for the Mets, 16 days after Hinch's third birthday.

o. The Giants have that rare combination of neither power nor speed. San Francisco is on pace for 118 homers and 78 stolen bases. But give the Giants credit for somehow being in contention anyway. Since the three-tiered playoffs began in 1995, four teams have failed to have either 80 stolen bases or 120 home runs -- the 1995 Phillies and Cardinals, the 2005 Nationals and the '07 Royals -- and none had a winning record or finished higher than third place.

o. One scout, using the 20-80 scouting scale, rated San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera, 22, an 80 on range and a 75 on arm. A year ago, Cabrera was with Asheville, N.C., in the lower-level Single-A South Atlantic League. Then the Padres took him from the Rockies in the Rule 5 draft. "Within a year or two," the scout said, "he's going to be the best defensive shortstop in the National League."

o. Oakland has used a starting pitcher age 23 or younger 85 times this year and could wind up with the most such starts since the woeful 1998 Marlins had 135. (Livan Hernandez and Ryan Dempster turned out OK; Brian Meadows, Jesus Sanchez, Rafael Medina and Joe Fontenot are not as easily remembered.)

o. The Rangers have clinched home field for a playoff tiebreaker game against the Red Sox or Rays and need one more win over the Angels to have an AL West playoff, if needed, at home.

o. The Division Series with an extra day off -- the one that allows teams to use a three-man rotation without anyone going on short rest -- is in the American League this year. The AL team the finishes with the best record has the choice of whether to play in the seven-day series or the eight-day series.

Baseball Brunch: Senior Circuit Resembles Rest Home for Pitchers originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: 40 Time -- Game's Rules About to Undergo Annual Change

Ed Price — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

In two days, major league teams will begin playing with different rules than they did for the first five months of the season.

Some clubs will have 25-man rosters. Some will have 28-man rosters. Some will have 32-man rosters.

Some will have extra relievers if the game goes to extra innings. Some won't.

Some will have a pinch-running specialist. Some won't.

That's what we get with expanded September rosters.

Limited to 25-man rosters since Opening Day, teams on Sept. 1 can begin calling up anyone on their 40-man roster -- up to 40.

"Now, all of a sudden, a lot of horse[manure] players are getting called up in September," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "They're hitting .220, they're still called up. I remember in my time, you don't perform, you're not coming up.

"Before it was like a prize. 'Wow, I got called up in September.' Now I see a lot of really bad players called up in September, just because."

Texas manager Ron Washington said teams need the extra players.

"Most of the time you bring up pitching," he said. "You need that."

Teams can use a September call-up to reward a minor-leaguer for a good season. Or to give its top prospects a chance to get their feet wet in the majors. And some draft picks have it written into their contract that they get called up that September.

Contenders are more likely to go for needs: a third catcher, so the manager can pinch hit for the starter and still have one in reserve; more arms in the bullpen; another infielder or outfielder for depth.

"You can make a few more moves," Giants manager Bruce Bochy told FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher. "It gives you that flexibility, but at the same time you don't want it too crowded where guys lose their focus or don't get the work they need. But the game is a little different. You can make pitching changes earlier. You have more pinch-hitters, more pinch-runners."

Detroit manager Jim Leyland said "the less the better" in September.

"I don't like a bunch of people hanging around you're not going to use," Leyland said. "I think the best way to handle your September call-ups is if you know that there's a legitimate shot that there's a purpose for them. If you have that, you bring them up. If you don't, you don't.

"I used to think a little bit different. I used to think, well, if a guy went down, busted his [butt], had a good year, you kind of call him back up out of respect for what he's done ... But to bring him up here just to sit doesn't make sense."

Besides Leyland's reasoning (and the cramped visitors' clubhouses at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park that can hardly accommodate 25 players, nevermind 40), there are other reasons to not call up players.

If the Triple-A affiliate is in the playoffs, key members might stay there to help instead of being recalled. If players aren't already on the 40-man roster, teams may not want to make room for them. And once players begin accumulating service time, they have a chance to hit arbitration or free agency even earlier.

"We can't afford rewarding people," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "My philosophy is I'll bring who we believe can help us and we'll bring those who we think will benefit from this experience."

But Rangers GM Jon Daniels said, "We don't spend too much time being worried about 30 days service time. If a player's good enough where you're going to be concerned about those 30 days, he's probably already here."

Players who have been September call-ups said the experience helped them get a jump start on acclimating to the majors.

"I always thought in September the more the merrier," said Rangers third baseman Michael Young, who was called up Sept. 27, 2000, and got in two games, one as a pinch runner. "The more you can get guys acclimated to the big leagues, the better.

"When I got to spring training [the next year], even though I was only with the big-league club for a week, I had already felt like the acclimation process had already started. All the shock was kind of out of my system."

Said White Sox DH Jim Thome (September 1991 Indians): "I cherished every moment. I tried to take all of it in. And I was humbled. To be honest, I was humbled. It helped me realize that there is a difference between the minor leagues and the big leagues -- what you have to work for, what you have to look forward to and what you have to strive to get to."

San Francisco's Rich Aurilia said he "didn't care" that he got in only nine games in September 1995.

"It was, 'Wow, I finally made the big leagues,' " he said. " 'I'll do whatever you guys ask and try to contribute any way I can.' The best part is it was a learning experience for me. I got to learn from the guys. If I wasn't going to play I wanted to learn something and make myself better."

White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, a September call-up with the 1997 Dodgers, admitted "it's kind of weird when you think about" how roster expansion affects the game.

"I don't think anybody even thinks twice about it," he said. "It's just part of the game."

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin has thought about it. Melvin been the most outspoken voice for changing the rule to address the inequities between teams in September and (as Bochy pointed out) the difference in how a game can be managed over the final month.

Melvin, who did not return messages seeking comment, has proposed allowing call-ups but limiting the players eligible to play in each game, creating a sort of taxi squad. Relievers used the night before or players with bumps and bruises could be left off the active roster submitted with the nightly lineup card and others rotated in.

For now, baseball is the only sport that changes the size of its roster -- or allows competing teams to have different size rosters -- for its most crucial games.

"It's unusual," Daniels said, "but listen, it's kind of one of the nuances that makes baseball what it is."

Overheard and Understood

o. Could Phil Hughes be the next Zack Greinke? One scout said the 23-year-old Hughes, who was tentative as a starter (0-4, 6.62 ERA last year) is one of the top two or three setup men in the AL. Another wondered if the time in relief will help Hughes -- still considered a starter in the future by the Yankees -- discover he can have success by being aggressive.

Chart of the Week
Milwaukee's Ryan Braun has hit 99 homers in his first three big-league seasons, sixth-most all-time:
Player	Years	HR
Albert Pujols	2001-03	114
Ralph Kiner	1946-48	114
Eddie Mathews	1952-54	112
Joe DiMaggio	1936-38	107
Mark Teixeira	2003-05	107
Ryan Braun	2007-09	99
Frank Robinson	1956-58	98
Source: Brewers

The Royals moved Greinke to relief early in the 2007 season, and the second scout said that bullpen stint convinced Greinke he had the stuff to go right after hitters. Perhaps Hughes will find that out as well.

o. The Cubs' now-slim playoff hopes rest mainly with their schedule. After finishing a series with the Mets Sunday, they play the White Sox once, the Giants four times, the Cardinals three times and have 26 games against the Astros, Mets, Pirates, Reds, Brewers and Diamondbacks.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, has a killer schedule left, with 16 more games against NL playoff contenders San Francisco, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Colorado.

o. Guillen on what he expects from Jake Peavy once Peavy comes off the DL for his Chicago debut: "What do I expect? I don't know because I don't know him ... That's a big trade for us. That's a former Cy Young Award winner, making a lot of cake, making a lot of money. You make more than $2 million, you should be out there for nine innings."

o. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Tony La Russa has now managed 10 Cy Young Award winners (either the year they won or after they had won it) -- John Smoltz, Chris Carpenter, Pat Hentgen, Fernando Valenzuela, Dennis Eckersley, Bob Welch, LaMarr Hoyt, Tom Seaver and Sparky Lyle. La Russa had been tied with Joe Torre (Seaver, Randy Jones, Mike Marshall, Rick Sutcliffe, Roger Clemens, David Cone, Dwight Gooden, Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux).

o. Washington is 14-13 in August, with a shot at its first winning month since going 15-12 in Sepetmber 2007. Over the last 10 full months, the Nationals averaged a 9-17 record.

On the other coast, Oakland is 13-14 in August and trying to avoid its eighth straight month without a winning record.

o. A six-inning no-decision Thursday left Houston's Brian Moehler still 5-0 in his career against St. Louis (67 innings pitched). Only two pitchers have thrown more innings against the Cardinals without a loss: Al Downing (7-0 in 88 2/3 innings) and Tom Underwood (5-0 in 71 1/3 innings).

o. The Royals had light-hitting, slick-fielding shortstop Tony Pena Jr. (career .548 OPS) convert to pitching, and he has a 4.15 ERA through five appearances in the Single-A Midwest League. But Pena figures to be a minor-league free agent after the season and intends to go back to being a position player.

o. If Joe Mauer can get 52 more hits for the Twins in the final 33 games, he would end Minnesota's 12-year run without a 200-hit season. The only teams with longer current such droughts are Milwaukee (1991), Cincinnati (1977) and Tampa Bay (none since coming into existence in 1998). Paul Molitor had the most recent 200-hit season for both the Twins and Brewers.

o. Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones reached 15 homers in his 48th game since being called up, making him the fastest rookie to 15 home runs since Russell Branyan for the 2000 Indians.

o. Baseball fever in Colorado? Tuesday's Rockies-Dodgers game was the most-watched baseball telecast in the history of FSN Rocky Mountain, with a 9.7 rating.

Baseball Brunch: 40 Time -- Game's Rules About to Undergo Annual Change originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Time for Draft Reform?

Ed Price — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers, Rays, Rockies, MLB Biz, MLB Draft, Prospects, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

As the No. 1 overall pick in 1990, Chipper Jones signed with the Braves for $275,000.

Even in today's dollars, that's about $450,000 -- or about 3 percent of Stephen Strasburg was guaranteed as this year's No. 1 pick.

And Jones agreed to his deal the night before the draft, while Strasburg came within two minutes of missing last Monday's deadline to sign.

"I think the only way that you're going to get kids signed and get them into the various camps is to put some kind of cap on it," Jones said. "I was always of the belief that you make your money at the big-league level."

That's how the teams want it too. When the current collective bargaining agreement is up in two years, Major League Baseball may pursue an NBA-style slotting system -- with signing bonuses locked in depending on how high a player is picked, as opposed to the current non-binding slot recommendations.

Commissioner Bud Selig last week told The Washington Post, "There's no question in my mind, in 2011, certainly a [hard] slotting system and a worldwide draft are things we will be very aggressive in talking about."

Which would lead to an interesting tug-of-war between owners, the players' union and agents.

With the alliances not as clear as it might seem.

"I think it's something we can seriously talk about," Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur told FanHouse. "I don't think the guys mind [slotting] very much.

"A guy like Strasburg, he deserves it. But something to stop it [escalating bonuses], I agree."

MLB might feel that it can get the players on its side as they see the signing bonuses explode -- especially this year, just a few months after the free-agent market went soft.

As Francoeur, who signed for $2.2 million as the 23rd overall pick in 2002, said, "Now, it's crazy. Guys are wanting $7-8 million and have never stepped on the [big-league] field."

But resistance to strict slotting could come from agents (who stand to lose their commissions) and union leadership (on principle).

"I think it goes against what we've fought for in the past, the free market," said Milwaukee infielder Craig Counsell, a member of the union's executive board.

"I know it sounds like something ownership is going to want. They've wanted it before. All you can go by is the past, and in the past it hasn't happened. ... I know in the past we've decided we're not going to restrict what players are going to make."

Through a spokesman, incoming union head Michael Weiner declined comment.

Another person with ties to the union pointed out that if teams save money on signing bonuses, they may not necessarily use it on payroll instead -- so why should current players go for the strict slotting system?

"I don't want to get into what may or may not be proposals," said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president for labor relations and human resources. "It's early, but this whole player talent-acquisition area -- by that I mean the draft, international signings, acquiring professional players from other countries -- that whole group of issues, clubs are talking about.

"The draft system is less than optimal from the perspective of the 30 clubs."

It isn't just Strasburg. According to Baseball America, this year's draft set records for highest bonus to a high school player (San Diego's Donovan Tate), biggest bonus to a high school pitcher (Detroit's Jacob Turner) as well as Strasburg's overall marks for biggest bonus and largest guarantee.

"I think the amount of money we spend at the top end of the draft is now too much for what I like to label unproven talent," said Logan White, the Dodgers' assistant general manager for scouting.

"When you draft a player and sign a player -- that's supposed to be when they're a bargain."

Chart of the Week
When San Diego's Kyle Blanks -- listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds -- hit an inside-the-park home run last Tuesday, he tied for the tallest player ever to do so. Players 6-foot-6 to hit inside-the-park homers:
Player	Vs.	Year
Corey Hart (MIL)	ARI	2008
Darryl Strawberry (NYM)	CIN	1989
Darryl Strawberry (NYM)	STL	1984
Dave Kingman (NYM)	STL	1982
Dave Winfield (NYY)	CHW	1981
Source: David Vincent, SABR

White said about 150 big-leaguers, 35 of whom become regulars, come out of each draft, with the numbers fairly consistent.

"No matter how much money you throw into the draft," he said, "that's not going to make it [produce] 300 major-leaguers and 75 every-day players."

And while the Aug. 15 deadline to sign (Aug. 17 this year because Aug. 15 fell on a weekend) is an improvement on the old deadline of when a player first attended college classes -- imagine a scout trying to intercept a freshman on campus with one final offer before his first class -- there is a whole other set of headaches.

Along with the recommended bonuses, MLB pressures teams that intend to go over slot to hold off on announcing deals so as not to drive up the price for other draft picks. And some agents wait to see what everyone else gets. Which leads to the last-minute deals -- or, last year, two that went past the deadline but were still approved.

Also, teams that ignore the slot recommendations can be rewarded over teams that obey. The classic case in point is Detroit's Rick Porcello, who wanted a $7 million deal out of high school. He should have been a top-10 pick in 2007 but fell to 27th before the Tigers were willing to bust slot.

And their decision paid off. Porcello is a winning pitcher in the majors at age 20 -- exactly what many of the teams that drafted 1-26 could have used.

"We do have [a situation] whereby economics ... undermines the purpose of the draft," Manfred said.

Manfred said such scenarios are on the decline.

"We have really worked with the clubs and, I think, convinced them letting players slip is bad for everybody," he said.

Agent Scott Boras, who represents Strasburg and Porcello, agreed.

"In prior drafts the No. 1 draft pick was not always the best player," Boras said. "Now, because of revenue-sharing, in the draft the best player is No. 1. For maybe 15 years, the best players in the draft were rarely No. 1 because of signability issues."

White said he thinks the current slotting system works in "90 percent of the cases, probably.

"... it's usually fair for whenever we pick the player."

According to Manfred, 75 percent of the drafted players signed, and 75 percent of those signed for within 5 percent of the slot recommendation.

Still ...

"We spend nearly $200 million on players, a very, very small percentage of whom make it to the major leagues," Manfred said.

But from the union point of view, that the teams are willing to make such investments proves they shouldn't cry poverty.

As Counsell put it, "It's easy to say when you see a kid sign for $16 million that's never played a day in the big leagues, 'Oh, that's not fair. There's some guys that have 10-year careers that don't make that much.' But there's market for his services, that's why he's getting that much."

When a new CBA is negotiated, as one high-ranking union person said, "It always comes down to tradeoffs." If the players want something else more, they may give in on a slot system.

One team official theorized that the top agents, such as Boras, would go for a strict slotting system, because it would result in fewer high school players passing up college scholarships to turn pro, and it's easier for the agents to identify and pursue potential clients once they're in college.

But the general perception is that Major League Baseball's pursuit of drastic signing-bonus reform would be determined by whether players or the agents call the shots.

"I would be open to listening to something," Jones said, "but the fact of the matter is, there were people here before me that allowed me to do the things that I've done. Who am I to say that there needs to be a cap or some kind of different system that regulates what kids make out of college or high school?"

Overheard and Understood

o. Before next Saturday's game in Seattle, Jim Bouton will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to catcher Gerry McNertney to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Seattle Pilots, an expansion team that lasted one season before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers.

o. Matt Holliday is batting .404 since the All-Star break. According to STATS LLC, since expansion in 1961, only five players have batted .400 or better after the break (200 or more plate appearances): Ichiro Suzuki in 2004, George Brett in 1980, Barry Bonds in 2002, Larry Walker in 1998 and Tony Gwynn in 1993.

o. Pick your poison in the Cubs bullpen -- if you're manager Lou Piniella, that is. Kevin Gregg is second among NL relievers for most home runs allowed per nine innings, while Carlos Marmol has given up the fourth-fewest. But Marmol has averaged the most bases on balls per nine innings (8.2), while Gregg averages 3.6. So you want the guy who gives up walks or the one who surrenders home runs?

o. Kenshin Kawakami opened the season as the Braves' No. 4 starter, but he has faced a Cy Young Award winner five times (Barry Zito, Roy Halladay, Randy Johnson and Johan Santana twice); Opening-Day starters John Lannan and Brett Myers; aces Cole Hamels and Jonathan Johnson; and Clayton Kershaw, eighth in the NL in ERA. No wonder Kawakami is 6-9.

o. San Francisco's Jeremy Affeldt has induced 16 groundball double plays, most among big-league relievers, and has a chance to be the first reliever since Doug Sisk in 1988 to get 21 DP balls.

o. Since opening the season by winning their first 13 home games, the Dodgers are 27-24 at Chavez Ravine.

o. Baltimore's Brian Roberts (46) and Nick Markakis (39) have combined for 85 doubles and could threaten the teammate record of 116, set by George Burns and Tris Speaker of the 1926 Indians.

o. When Ivan Rodriguez rejoined the Rangers, it meant three teams had their all-time franchise hits leader on the current roster, along with Colorado's Todd Helton and Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford.

o. Rockies manager Jim Tracy also ranks fifth all-time in managerial wins against Colorado, with 60.

o. In the Little League World Series 15 years ago, Maracaibo, Venezuela, defeated Northridge, Calif., in the championship game. Current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel played for Northridge, while Maracaibo featured Diamondbacks pitcher Yusmeiro Petit and Mariners catcher Guillermo Quiroz.

Baseball Brunch: Time for Draft Reform? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: With Rare High Expectations, Cubs Have Disappointed

Ed Price — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Tossing an $8 beer on the head of an opposing outfielder, as happened at Wrigley Field last Wednesday -- that's a waste.

Spending $28 on a Jeff Samardzija t-shirt, which is what it still cost Thursday after Samardzija was sent back to Triple-A -- that's a waste.

Now Cubs fans have to hope the entire 2009 season isn't a waste.

One player didn't hesitate to use the term "underachieving" to describe the team's year, but others stop short of that.

"I'd like to save that for later on, if we don't get in [the postseason]," general manager Jim Hendry told FanHouse. "I'd like to think we've got a good run in us [and] we still get in."

Just three weeks ago, the Cubs were in the middle of winning 11 of 13 to take a 1/2-game lead in the NL Central. But before Friday's pounding of the Pirates, they had lost five straight to fall 4 1/2 games behind the Cardinals.

"We're looking for somebody to step up and really kind of carry us," shortstop Ryan Theriot said after Wednesday's loss.

In Cubsland, where the citizens live in perpetual anticipation of the next crisis (last week it was walk-prone set-up man Carlos Marmol), this recent stretch is seen as irrefutable proof that a total collapse is imminent.

The Cubs themselves know they're lucky that the Cardinals have not run away with the NL Central.

"I think we've hung in there," first baseman Derrek Lee said. "We haven't played great baseball all the time, but we've hung in there and we've given ourselves a chance."

The Cubs could get a lift within then next 10 days, as left-hander Ted Lilly (shoulder) is scheduled to come off the disabled list Monday and ace Carlos Zambrano (back) could return by the Aug. 25-27 series against Washington.

But, as Lilly said, "I'll tell you this: I don't think that just because Carlos and I get back in the rotation, St. Louis is going to lie down and say, 'Well, now that they're back, we're in trouble.' "

In fact, pitching isn't the Cubs' problem. Last year, when they won 97 games, they ranked third in the NL with a 3.87 ERA. So far this year, they rank fifth with a 3.92 ERA, and the pitching has been consistent enough that when the Cubs score three or more runs, they are 57-19, the best such mark in baseball.

But the offense -- ugh. Chicago is on pace to score 727 runs after scoring 855 in 2008.

Hendry said he left spring training thinking this year's lineup was better than last year's.

"We just haven't hit in the clutch like we did all last year," Hendry said, "and so many of the same guys that have hit all their lives. I don't know whether they're pressing or trying too hard or guys are trying to live up to expectations.

"We've just had a lot of disheartening losses by one or two runs where we get 12 hits and two runs or eight hits and one run. We just haven't been able to put it together. And last year offensively we were really, really good at that."

The Cubs -- who in June replaced Gerald Perry as hitting coach with Von Joshua -- have hit .241 with men in scoring position, down from .278 last season. Among the culprits: Milton Bradley (.278 with Texas to .257 this year), Mike Fontenot (.323 to .178), Alfonso Soriano (.276 to .213) and Geovany Soto (.264 to .200).

(Bradley somehow has just 30 RBI in 293 at-bats, putting him on pace to become the first regular corner outfielder with fewer than 45 RBI and fewer than 63 runs scored since Jim Wohlford of the 1974 Royals.)

"Last year everyone had great years," Lee said. "That's not typical, you know? And then this year everyone seems like they're kind of having an 'under' year, and that's really not typical."

The Cubs seems to really miss third baseman Aramis Ramirez when he doesn't play. He sat out nearly two months with a dislocated left shoulder and then couldn't play last week when the shoulder acted up. In the 29 games in between in which he played, the Cubs were 18-11 and scored 5.0 runs per game.

"You hate to think one guy made that much difference," Hendry said, "but even when he wasn't at 100 percent when he came back everybody else seemed to play better too."

Besides Ramirez, Lilly and Zambrano, Bradley, Soto, right-hander Rich Harden and outfielder Reed Johnson have also missed significant time.

"The injuries are part of it," Hendry said, "but certainly not what I would consider a giant excuse not to be doing somewhat better."

(It certainly doesn't explain the putrid outfield defense, with Soriano and Bradley in the corners.)

The Cubs are 8-18 against the four division leaders they have played -- the three from the NL and Detroit.

"I don't like that," Lilly said. "We haven't by any means handed it to the toughest clubs in this division. I think that's an important thing to do. I would like to do that. It sends a good message.

"It's something that we're going to need to do, I believe, to win the division is to win some of those series against clubs that are over .500."

In the meantime, Cubs fans should drink their beers, not throw them.

Overheard and Understood

o. The immediate implication of the Blue Jays' allowing outfielder Alex Rios to go to the White Sox on waivers without compensation is that Toronto essentially admitted Rios' seven-year, nearly $70 million contract was a mistake. The Jays let the Sox take Rios' contract, it seems, because they felt he would not be worth $59.7 million over the next five years.

Chart of the Week
The Angels have a 4.84 ERA, third-worst in the American League, which makes their 69-45 record quite remarkable. They can join the 1950 Red Sox as the second team in modern baseball history with a .600 winning percentage and an ERA greater than 4.70. Only seven teams have ever won 90 games with an ERA greater than 4.70:
Team	ERA	Rec.
2005 Red Sox	4.74	95-67
2000 Indians	4.84	90-72
1999 Rangers	5.07	95-67
1999 Indians	4.90	97-65
1997 Mariners	4.78	90-72
1950 Red Sox	4.88	94-60
1930 Cubs	4.80	90-64
Source: STATS LLC

But there's a larger picture, too. Toronto said it was willing to keep ace Roy Halladay if it didn't get an overwhelming offer by the trade deadline because it felt it could contend in 2010. Purging Rios, even given his contract, contradicts that -- he still could have helped the team compete next year. So now the real issue is ownership: conglomerate Rogers Communications. The company seems content to field a middle-of-the-pack team that provides programming for its cable sports network and break even on the bottom line. To contend in the AL East means either setting a payroll with the big boys in New York and Boston or tearing down, spending on player development and building from within (and having almost everything go right) as Tampa Bay did. A mid-range payroll won't cut it, as Baltimore showed for years.

The upshot? We predict that general manager J.P. Ricciardi -- who spent on Rios, Vernon Wells, A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan, to no avail -- gets bought out of the final year of his contract, and the new GM's first task is to deal Halladay.

o. John Smoltz apparently is not willing to give up the ghost despite his awful performance with the Red Sox, and some NL team may pick him up. Why does Smoltz want to keep pitching? He has told people that he wants to protect his all-time record of 15 postseason wins. The Yankees' Andy Pettitte is tied with Tom Glavine for second, with 14, and it looks like Pettitte will get a chance to catch Smoltz if Smoltz doesn't add to his total.

o. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt had a .128 on-base percentage, no walks and one extra-base hit through his first 13 games after being traded from Seattle to Kansas City, at which point Royals manager Trey Hillman and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer sat him down to explain the importance of walks and on-base percentage -- encouraging Betancourt to get to hitters' counts and take advantage of them. In 15 games since that day, July 31, Betancourt has hit .280 with four walks, seven extra-base hits and a .345 on-base percentage. His pitches seen per plate appearance have gone from 3.04 to 3.95.

"He has taken to that plan very well," Hillman said. "We started it all off by saying, 'Hey, look, we're not trying to turn you into something that you're not. But the by-product of this approach will turn you into walking more and being more selective with pitches you're unloading on.

"He's got very, very good aptitude. ... It's just a matter of when to unload. He gets very good pitch recognition."

o. Detroit ace Justin Verlander threw 85 fastballs Thursday at Boston and they averaged 97 mph. "That's unheard of," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. Six of Verlander's pitches hit 100 mph and 14 were at 99 mph. "This year, his mechanics are much better," Leyland said. "He throws 100 in the strike zone. Last year, 100 was about a foot high."

o. Tim Lincecum has 205 strikeouts, and with nine or so more starts, he needs another 63 to have the most by a Giants pitcher since Amos Rusie in 1892.

o. An indication that Cleveland intended to deal Victor Martinez all along: when the Indians were talking to the Dodgers about Cliff Lee, they were asking for first baseman James Loney as part of the return package.

o. The Dodgers' Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are on their way to 100-RBI seasons, and Loney is on pace for 96. The franchise hasn't had three 100-RBI players in the same year since 1955, when it was in Brooklyn (Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella).

o. Baltimore's Brian Roberts now has five 40-double seasons. The only second basemen with more were Hall of Famers Charlie Gehringer and Rogers Horsnby.

o. With last Thursday's win at Minnesota, Kansas City won it first series since June 23-25 and also snapped a nine-game losing streak in rubber games. Of the Royals' final 46 games, 37 are against contenders (Twins nine, Tigers seven, White Sox six, Mariners four, Angels four, Red Sox four, Yankees three).

o. Texas has pitched eight shutouts, second in the AL to Detroit's nine. The Rangers haven't led the league in that category over a full season since 1977, when they had 17 (five by Bert Blyleven and four by Gaylord Perry).

o. Orlando Cabrera's 22-game hitting streak, which ended Friday, included 11 games for Oakland and 11 with Minnesota. It was the longest single-season hitting streak while changing teams since 1930, when Heinie Manush hit in 18 straight for the St. Louis Browns and the nine for the Washington Senators. Manush was traded during the streak for Goose Goslin; both are in the Hall of Fame.

Baseball Brunch: With Rare High Expectations, Cubs Have Disappointed originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Under-the-Radar Jackson Deal Pays Huge Dividends

Ed Price — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Diamondbacks, Indians, Marlins, Mets, Orioles, Phillies, Rangers, Rays, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, AL Central, MLB Media Watch, MLB Milestones, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

The most significant trade of last winter barely caused a ripple at the time.

The same day the Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez and traded for J.J. Putz, and the day after the Yankees came to terms with C.C. Sabathia, the Tigers sent outfielder Matt Joyce to the Rays for right-hander Edwin Jackson.

Or don't you remember?

Eight months later, Jackson is second in the AL with a 2.62 ERA and leads the league with a .217 opponents' average. Ignore his 8-5 record; Detroit has scored three runs or fewer in 10 of his 22 starts, and more than five runs just twice.

"We liked him," Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski told FanHouse. "We thought he'd be one of our starters. But to say we thought we'd be trading for an All-Star starter, I would not ever have projected that."

While it may seem that Jackson is one of those pitchers who had plodded along forever, doing nothing special, and has put together a fluke year, it should be noted that he is just 25.

Jackson's unusual career is the result of getting to the big leagues too soon. He made his debut with the Dodgers on Sept. 9, 2003 -- his 20th birthday -- winning against 40-year-old Randy Johnson.

But Jackson then bounced back and forth between the minors and majors, understandable since he was still in his early 20s. He was traded to the Rays in January 2006 and by 2007 he was out of minor-league options despite being only 23. He went into that season with an 11-19 career record and a 5.64 ERA.

In other words, much of his development took place in the majors.

"When I did struggle it was in the limelight," Jackson said. "It wasn't like I was in the minor leagues and had a chance to struggle under the radar.

"I think it all just worked out to make me a stronger person at the end."

And Detroit caught him on the upswing.

"He's been tremendous for us," Dombrowski said. "I don't think anybody could anticipate he'd be good to this extent. I think everybody in the game has been aware of his ability. That goes back for a long time. He's always had great stuff. It was just one of those things where sometimes you get a guy at the right time."

It's not like Dombrowski set out to steal Jackson from Tampa Bay.

Jackson went into last winter eligible for arbitration, meaning he was in line for a big raise from his $412,700 salary (it wound up being $2.2 million this year). With top prospect David Price and others, the low-payroll Rays had some pitching depth, so trading Jackson was a way to save some money that could be spent elsewhere.

It was Tampa Bay that approached Detroit first, Dombrowski said.

"They liked Matt Joyce a lot," Dombrowski said. "And we liked Matt Joyce a lot. I still think Matt Joyce is going to be a good player."

And Jackson didn't take it personally.

"A trade is a trade," he said. "That's the business aspect of it. ... As long as a team wants me, I don't have a problem.

"Without the opportunity [the Rays] gave me, I wouldn't be [an All-Star]. But at the end of the day you can only do so much with a player. You have to kind of let them go out and find themselves. That's what I went through when I had my struggles."

Jackson has thrown more strikes, going from 4.9 walks per nine innings in 2007 to 3.8 last year to 2.9 this year, and success has followed.

"I was just trying to continue to do the same thing I did last year," he said. "I just wanted cut down on my walks, attack the strike zone more. You make the hitters put the ball in play, good things happen for you."

Another reason Jackson took time, as former Rays teammate Carl Crawford noted, is that when the Dodgers signed Jackson out of Columbus, Ga., he was a pitcher and outfielder.

"So he's still learning," Crawford said. "He's not gonna do nothing but get better. He's going to be a dangerous guy for a long time."

But Jackson said he won't mind if, like when he was traded to Detroit, not too many people notice.

"It's not a bad thing to fly under the radar," he said. "It makes life a little easier."

Overheard and Understood

o. Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said ace Dan Haren excels at, as Hinch put it, breaking a game down into 110 one-pitch games -- i.e., focusing on one pitch at a time. But Hinch is also monitoring the mental and physical strain from putting so much effort into every delivery. Including Saturday at Washington, Haren has failed to get into the seventh inning in four of his past seven starts. "He executes that one pitch at a time," Hinch said, "and he exhausts about every bit of energy that he has on every one of his pitches."

o. The Twins' best chance to win the AL Central lies in their schedule. Of their 52 remaining games, 35 are within the division -- including 12 against Kansas City, nine against Cleveland and eight against Detroit (which is 3-7 against Minnesota).

o. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles are the first team in 121 years to have five pitchers (Brian Matusz, David Hernandez, Jason Berken, Brad Bergesen, Koji Uehara) start and win in their major league debut. The only other team to accomplish that was the 1888 Chicago White Stockings.

Chart of the Week
The Mariners are 27-14 in one-run games, putting them on pace for 40 one-run victories this season. That would rank tied for fourth all-time and the most since 1978:
Team	Record
1978 Giants	42-26
1969 Mets	41-23
1940 Reds	41-17
1974 Orioles	40-21
1970 Orioles	40-15
1979 Astros	39-27
1985 Reds	39-18
Source: Mariners, baseball-reference.com

o. The trade of Carl Pavano to Minnesota left Cleveland with just 11 players on its 25-man roster who were on the Opening Day roster or disabled list. Only four players have made it all season on the Indians' active roster: Kerry Wood, Kelly Shoppach, Jhonny Peralta and Shin-Soo Choo.

o. Colorado's Todd Helton reached 500 doubles in 1,749 career games -- third fastest all-time after Joe Medwick and Nap Lajoie.

o. Since Luis Castillo's game-losing dropped popup against the Yankees on June 12, Rodriguez has a 7.71 ERA, four blown saves in 12 chances, and 17 walks and four homers allowed in 18 2/3 innings.

o. Because Dallas Braden is out with a foot infection, Oakland has started a rookie in eight straight games, with Brett Anderson scheduled to make it nine Sunday. The last team to use a rookie starter in nine straight games was the 1997 Cardinals, who used rookies Manny Aybar, Rigo Beltran, Matt Morris, Sean Lowe, Mike Busby and Brady Raggio over their final 19 games.

o. Darren O'Day retired 18 straight batters before walking the first man he faced Friday and has a 1.91 ERA for the Rangers. The Mets took him in last winter's Rule 5 draft but, shortsightedly, opted to cut him in April when they called up Nelson Figueroa for a spot start.

o. Bruce Chen's win Thursday for Kansas City was his first since Oct. 2, 2005, for Baltimore against Tampa Bay. In between Chen's wins, Roy Halladay and C.C. Sabathia each won 63 games.

o. Florida's Dan Uggla joined Joe Gordon as the only second basemen ever to begin their careers with four 20-homer seasons.

o. The Phillies broadcasters have created a sports-broadcasting scholarship for Philadelphia-area college students, called the Kalas Award, in memory of their late colleague Harry Kalas. Scholarship applications and the eligibility requirements are available at www.phillybroadcasters.org.

Baseball Brunch: Under-the-Radar Jackson Deal Pays Huge Dividends originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Off to the Races

Ed Price — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Angels, Athletics, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Marlins, Mets, Padres, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, MLB Playoffs, Minor Leagues, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch, MLB Trade Deadline

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Now that the hands are dealt -- expect for one or two more this month -- we can examine the pennant races to come.

There wasn't much point in assessing the races until after Friday's non-waiver trade deadline, when we know what we're dealing with. Some important pieces will change hands after they clear waivers this month, but they probably won't be difference-makers.

Before we get to the predictions, though, let's talk about one trade that didn't happen.

Toronto held on to Roy Halladay. The Blue Jays had every right to ask for a boatload of prospects for him, as Halladay may be the most reliable pitcher in the game.

The strategy was to either use Halladay for a quick rebuild or keep him and make a run in 2010. An official from another team told FanHouse that strategy comes "right out of the Oakland playbook: load up for a year, take your shot. If it doesn't work, start over."

Remember, Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi came from the A's.

There's one problem, and that's Halladay himself. He was said to be quite motivated to move on, because his goal -- stated publicly -- is to get a chance to pitch in the playoffs.

That won't happen this year. And now that he's been teased with the proposition of moving to a contender, he may itch even more to get out of Toronto. He may be more vocal about what he really wants, which is a shot at October.

One person familiar with the situation assured FanHouse that trading Halladay will get revisited over the winter. He won't be worth quite as much then as he was last week, since the acquiring team gets him for just one season rather than one plus part of a second, but there may be more clubs involved in the bidding.

Halladay and Ricciardi have a good relationship. If Halladay makes it known he's unhappy, Ricciardi may accommodate him.

Until then, though, we have to play two months plus the postseason.

The most compelling race should be in the division that was most active in July trading. And while Cleveland was trying to re-stock its farm system, contenders Detroit, Chicago and Minnesota were all making a move for this year.

Edge to the Tigers.

At least for this year. They figure to get about 12 starts from Jarrod Washburn, which gives them the best one-through-four starting pitchers in the AL. Meanwhile, Jake Peavy figures to make seven starts max for the White Sox because he has to work back from an ankle tendon problem.

That five-start gap is enough for Detroit to hold onto its division lead.

The other three AL playoff teams should be the Red Sox, Angels and Yankees -- even though the latter two didn't make a significant move.

Boston recognized its offensive deficiencies and addressed them with the addition of Victor Martinez. The Angels should hold on because the Rangers seemed to be fading and couldn't pull off a booster deal.

The Yankees have an issue in rotation depth, and maybe some back-end starter will pass through waivers. They need to do something, because if they don't, then if Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlain or Sergio Mitre has any kind of issue the rest of the way, the Yankees will have to subtract from their bullpen to fill the hole.

In the NL, the race for two spots between the Rockies, Giants, Cubs, Cardinals, Marlins, Braves and (perhaps) the Mets should be fun.

All but the Mets made some kind of move. The suspicion here is that San Francisco grabs the wild card because all it needed was a little more offense to supplement its pitching. Since the All-Star break, the Giants have lost eight games, and five of those were by the scores of 2-1, 2-0, 4-2, 4-2 and 5-1.

The Phillies will hold on in the East and the Dodgers in the West, leaving the jumbled Central. Like with San Francisco, St. Louis addressed its offensive need and seems OK in the pitching department, so that's the pick.

That gives us a postseason first round of Philadelphia vs. San Francisco and Los Angeles vs. St. Louis. We'll go with a Phils-Cards NLCS and the Phillies back in the World Series.

In the AL, the Angels would play the AL East runner-up (we'll say the Yankees) and the Tigers the AL East winners. We know the Yankees can't beat the Angels, and we'll take Boston over Detroit.

But the Angels aren't quite that good, so they fall to the Red Sox -- meaning a Boston-Philadelphia World Series.

Who wins? Get back to us in October if these predictions are correct.

Overheard and Understood

o. Lost in the shuffle after the bungled news conference to announce the decision is the impact of the Mets' firing of Tony Bernazard, who was supposedly overseeing their farm system. Bernazard had detractors inside the organization as well as in the media, but sources said he had ingratiated himself with GM Omar Minaya and COO Jeff Wilpon. One source said Bernazard ran off a number of good minor-league instructors (which has manifested itself when the players have reached the majors) and Gary LaRocque, who at one point ran the scouting and player development departments. LaRocque, the source said, brought a sense of organization to the front office, making up for one of Minaya's weakness -- and that too has been exposed in recent years. "We do a number of things by the seat of the pants," the source said. [LaRocque] was a structure guy. [Minaya] knows he needs a structure guy." Now Minaya has a chance to correct that.

Chart of the Week
It's a lofty comparison, and not a prediction, but look at Mike Schmidt's statistics from his 23rd birthday (July 27, 1972) through his 26th birthday compared to Mark Reynolds' numbers since his 23rd birthday (Reynolds turns 26 on Monday):
Stat	Schmidt	Reynolds
G	404	365
AVG	.244	.262
OBP	.362	.342
SLG	.470	.503
OPS	.832	.845
HR	74	75
RBI	227	229
SO	401	476
BB	234	153
Source: Diamondbacks, STATS LLC

o. While getting Cliff Lee, the Phillies kept most of their top young players. "They don't want to give up [lefty J.A.] Happ, and I don't blame them," one scout said. "He's come up with a really good changeup. He throws across his body but is able to get the ball back inside. If you can do that, you're going to be successful." Another scout called outfielder Michael Taylor, now in Triple-A, "the best player in the [Double-A] Eastern League. Plus, plus power. For a big kid, he doesn't strike out a lot. Good pitch recognition. He has a chance to hit for average and power. He can run and throw."

o. Four rookies have nine wins: Rick Porcello, Ricky Romero, Jeff Niemann, Matt Palmer. There haven't been four rookie 13-game winners in the same season since 2002 (Ryan Jensen, Kaz Ishii, Rodrigo Lopez, Jason Jennings).

o. Philadelphia went 20-7 in July, its most wins in any month since going 20-8 in May 2001, and its winningest July since 1963.

o. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, when San Diego beat Cincinnati on Wednesday, it marked the first time since the rookie rule was established in 1957 that three rookies combined on a one-hitter (Mat Latos, Greg Burke and Mike Ekstrom).

o. Enough already of people ripping the Pirates or bemoaning the breakup of the team. This isn't the selloff of the 1997 Marlins. At least Pittsburgh is trying, by using what players had value to restock and start all over.

o. Colorado has rocketed into contention under interim manager Jim Tracy, but one NL scout said first baseman Todd Helton deserves a lot of the credit. "He's this decade's [Jeff] Bagwell," the scout said, "the star player in the clubhouse who puts the team on his back. He's part of the reason they've recovered."

o. Unless there's a rainout, Oakland will play a franchise-record 28 straight days after the All-Star break (July 16-Aug. 12). In fact, the A's have just five off days in the second half because of makeup games.

o. Toronto's Marco Scutaro is on pace to be just the fourth shortstop to field .993 or better and average more than three assists per nine innings, after Rey Sanchez in 2000, Mike Bordick in 2002 and Omar Vizquel in 1998.

o. When Kansas City got double-digit strikeouts games from starters two nights in a row last weekend (10 for Zack Greinke and 13 for Luke Hochevar) it marked the first time that happened for the Royals since Tom Gordon and Kevin Appier in 1993.

Baseball Brunch: Off to the Races originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Youth Served in L.A.

Ed Price — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Braves, Brewers, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, MLB Draft, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Yes, the Dodgers' solar system revolves around Manny Ramirez. He's their star on the field and their main attraction.

But they wouldn't have Ramirez, nor many of the players who carried the team in his absence, were it not for a farm system that has been remarkably productive.

"It's nice that management kept us all here," ace Chad Billingsley told FanHouse. "There's some teams that maybe just start trading guys away. And believing in us, that's a huge thing."

In the 2002-03 drafts, Los Angeles took Russell Martin, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp and Billingsley. Those five players made their big league debuts within an 11-month span, from July 2005 to June 2006.

And they aren't the only homegrown products on the roster. Clayton Kershaw came in the 2006 draft, James McDonald was part of that '02 draft crop and Ramon Troncoso was an international free agent.

"We've been fortunate to have great scouts," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "We have Logan White as scouting director and great scouts with him. They have an eye for talent and pick the right players. And player development people have taken it from there."

It's not just the guys in L.A. who have had an impact.

Catcher Carlos Santana, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2004, and Jonathan Meloan (2005 draft) were traded to the Indians for Casey Blake. And third baseman Andy LaRoche (2003 draft) and Bryan Morris (2006 first-rounder) went to the Pirates in the three-way deal that brought Ramirez to what is now Mannywood.

Still, the Dodgers kept together a pretty good group. Martin, Loney and Kemp account for 31 percent of the team's RBI. Kershaw and Billingsley have 18 of the team's 61 wins, and Broxton has 23 of the 29 saves.

"It shows a lot about the front office and the scouting," Kemp said, "how good they are and basically just having the faith in us and letting us come up here and show our abilities."

White shared credit with his scouts and the player-development people, but he has certainly had an impact since coming from the Orioles, where he had been the west-coast scouting supervisor.

"When we completed that (2002) draft," he said, "we had a feeling we had something special. Maybe because it was my first. We were surprised at the depth and players we were able to get."

The players say their path to the majors, and their adjustment to the big leagues, was made easier because they did it pretty much as a group.

Billingsley and Martin met a their first day together on a rookie-ball team in Ogden, Utah -- not long after Billingsley was drafted in 2003.

"We all kind of broke in at the same time," Billingsley said. "It's pretty much like a brother relationship. Being in minor-league ball, you get to know each other with 10-hour-plus bus trips, the hotel rooms, not a whole lot to do in some of the cities."

White said Kemp and Loney pushed and fed off each other on the way up in a friendly competition, as did Billingsley and Broxton, who began as a starter.

Then they arrived in the majors virtually together.

"I think usually when a rookie comes up," Kemp said, "he's the only rookie and you've got all the older guys picking on him. When I came up there I think there were eight rookies, and we all knew each other. So it kind of made it more comfortable in the transition."

Every team knows the value of young players, whose salary can be controlled for three years and can't be free agents for three more. The money saved there can be spent on free agents or players with big contracts, such as Ramirez.

"I think we've been patient, as patient as we can be," Colletti said. At times we've probably fast-tracked a few of them and went through some growing pains because of it. But here, 3-4 years later, they've been in the postseason two out of three years, most of them."

A productive farm system had been the staple of the Dodgers franchise going back to Brooklyn, and it seems to be back that way.

White said he had almost the same feeling about his 2008 draft as that '02 crop, with right-handers Ethan Martin, Josh Lindblom, Jon Michael Redding and Nate Eovaldi, power-hitting outfielder Kyle Russell and speedy shortstop Dee Gordon (son of Tom Gordon).

"We have some pretty good players in the system still," White said. "That's the thing I'm happy about."

Overheard and Understood

Chart of the Week
Just because the Rays were the victim of a perfect game Thursday doesn't mean they can't make the postseason. Two teams on the wrong end of perfect games -- both by lefties, as happened to Tampa Bay -- reached the playoffs. Here's how teams that were victims of a perfect game in the past 50 years ended up:
Team	Perfect Pitcher	Finish
'04 Braves	Randy Johnson	96-66, 1st
'99 Expos	David Cone	68-94, 5th
'98 Twins	David Wells	70-92, 4th
'94 Angels	Kenny Rogers	47-68, 4th
'91 Dodgers	Dennis Martinez	93-69, 2nd
'88 Dodgers	Tom Browning	94-67, 1st
'84 Rangers	Mike Witt	69-92, 7th
'81 Jays	Len Barker	37-69, 7th
'68 Twins	Catfish Hunter	79-83, 7th
'65 Cubs	Sandy Koufax	72-90, 8th
'64 Mets	Jim Bunning	53-109, 10th

o. The Mets' lineup is so filled with backups that before one recent game, as the batting order was being announced, an infielder from the other team turned to an umpire and said, "Did they clinch the division last night?"

o. Milwaukee believed as of late last week it was a player in the Roy Halladay drama. "Toronto likes our players," one Brewers person said. "It's just a matter of can we make it work. I don't think money's a problem. We don't have young pitching, that's the problem. I think we'll be in the mix." Milwaukee also has its "toes in the water" on Cliff Lee.

o. The Red Sox weren't looking into Halladay just to block the Yankees. In fact, the Sox felt they won a battle in the never-ending war over the winter when the Yanks doled out three free-agent contracts of five-plus years worth a combined $423.5 million. The Yankees aren't interested in giving up what the Jays want for Halladay, nor do they want to add to their luxury tax.

o. Scouts say Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn (recently scouting by Philadelphia) is a different pitcher this year. He has added a sinker and split-finger pitch to his repertoire. Before, he had trouble going anywhere but inside on right-handed hitters with his below-average fastball. Now he can work them away and work down. As a result, a career-low 5 percent of his fly balls are going for homers, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a career-best 2.6 and he has a 2.71 ERA.

o. If Tampa Bay is to make a charge in the AL East, it will have to earn it. The Rays have 63 games left, with 10 against the Yankees, eight against the Red Sox, and six each against the Rangers and Tigers.

o. Mark Buehrle's perfect game was his first, of course, but it was the third time in his career he pitched nine innings and faced the minimum 27 batters (a no-hitter with a walk and a pickoff and a two-hitter with two double plays). No other pitcher in the past 55 years has done that three times, according to baseball-reference.com, and the only pitcher with two such games in Sandy Koufax. The White Sox said the quick-working Buehrle spent just 32 minutes on the mound in his perfect game.

o. The Indians have averaged 3.5 runs a game when Lee starts and 5.5 runs per game for all their other starters.

o. Last week's series between the Mets and Nationals was the first in the majors since July 2004 in which all three games lasted 2 hours, 20 minutes or less (2:16, 2:09, 2:20).

o. Despite playing in Petco Park, the Padres have gone 531 games without a complete-game shutout (the last was by Chan Ho Park on June 2, 2006). That's the second-longest streak ever, behind the 2001-05 Rockies, 645.

o. The Athletics call the first three pitches of a plate appearance "conversion pitches" and consider them crucial for pitchers. That's because batters have a .832 OPS after getting ahead 2-1 but a .520 OPS after falling behind 1-2. So, according to Oakland manager Bob Geren, the goal is two-thirds strikes on those first three pitches. "We stress it here," he said, "from the minor leagues all the way up. We track it and we teach off of it."

o. No Brewer has ever had 100 walks in a season, but Prince Fielder has a shot, with 72 so far.

o. Eric Hinske joined Dave Kingman as the second player to hit four homers in his first five games as a Yankee. Kingman's streak started Sept. 17, 1977 -- 43 days after Hinske was born.

o. Where did the Braves spend the All-Star break? Atlanta hit 68 homers in 88 games before the break and have 15 in 10 games since (four by Yunel Escobar and three by Chipper Jones).

o. Dan Rohn of the Giants' Triple-A Fresno (Calif.) team earned his 1,000th win as a minor-league manager last week.

Baseball Brunch: Youth Served in L.A. originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Talent Hotbed in Tidewater Area

Ed Price — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Astros, Braves, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Phillies, Rays, Red Sox, Royals, MLB Injuries, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

About eight years ago, the hardest part of Lee Banks' job as coach of a youth travel team based in southeast Virginia was picking a shortstop.

"It was a lot of fun," Banks recalled to FanHouse last week. "You just sat back and let 'em play and try not to mess it up."

Back then, the team (now known as the Tidewater Orioles) had on its roster B.J. Upton, David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman and Mark Reynolds.

Heard of them?

"It was a pretty good group, I could tell," Banks said.

Yeah, pretty good.

Wright, Zimmerman and Upton's brother Justin -- who played for Banks a few years after the others -- were All-Stars this year. And Reynolds just missed.

(Banks went to the 2007 and '08 All-Star Games but missed seeing three of his former players at this year's contest because he had a tournament to coach in.)

But Zimmerman said back then the players themselves didn't realize how good they were.

"That's the thing -- I'm not sure if we know it now," he said. "That's the great thing about it. I think that's the great thing about where we grew up. We were so lucky to have good coaching and good parents and people that kind of keep us, I would say humble, but humble is such and overused word. A lot of people say they are and really aren't.

"I think we were lucky enough to have good people around us when we were growing up that made us not realize how good we were. And I think that was part of our success. We just enjoyed playing baseball."

The Tidewater area isn't know just for baseball. Among many sports stars native to the area, Allen Iverson and Ronald Curry are from Hampton and Bruce Smith is from Norfolk.

"It's traditionally an athletic-rich area," Wright said, "but now we're just starting to kind of break the seal on the baseball in the area."

Wright said it started with Michael Cuddyer, picked in the first round of the 1997 draft by the Twins.

"Everybody said they wanted to be the next Michael Cuddyer," Wright said.

By the time Justin Upton got to high school, he was aspiring to be the next B.J. Upton or David Wright.

"We had guys to play up to," Justin said. "Baseball's kind of at the head right now."

Why is that? It seems because of people like Banks and the Uptons' father, Manny, who is active in the local AAU programs.

"I think the AAU programs have been the foundation here," Banks said.

Said Wright: "I remember playing on traveling teams where we were [practicing] bunt defense and rundowns and things like that. So coming to spring training my first [pro] year, I knew all the stuff they were teaching me in professional ball -- that we were doing at 10, 11, 12 years old -- that other guys were learning for the first time."

Zimmerman said he has been asked "100 times" how one corner of one state could produce so much talented.

"If you're super-talented, it can take you a long way," he said. "But this game is so hard on people because it's such an up-and-down game, it's such a grind, that you have to be a good person. You have to be able to go through ups-and-downs. You have to learn what it's like to struggle. And I think you have to battle through that. And a lot of people don't play this game because when they struggle, they quit. And I think a lot of us growing up in that area were lucky to have people around us who taught us not just about baseball but about life, and I think that's a big part of the reason why we're so successful.

"Truly, to me, I think it's a testament [to] good youth sports. We get to play against great competition from such a young age and we learn things and we learn how to compete -- at 9, 10 years old what other people are learning at 14, 15. And that's the thing in sports: You can be the most talented person in the world, but if you've never been put in a position to be in that clutch situation or be in that pressure situation, you're going to be out of sorts. And I think we were lucky enough to have that at a young age. So now when you get 15, 16 and into college it's kind of second nature."

Reynolds (Virginia Beach First Colonial High Class of '01), Wright (Chesapeake Hickory High '01), Zimmerman (Virginia Beach Kellam High '02) and B.J. Upton (Chesapeake Greenbrier Christian Academy '02) were all teammates on Banks' team and all shortstops in high school.

On that team, Zimmerman said, "David actually played third. I remember at one point David was playing third, me and B.J. would kind of rotate at short, so when B.J. played short, I would play second. I was kind of smaller back then, so I kind of fit the mold for a second baseman. Mark was kind of everywhere, just hitting homers."

Said Banks, "They were all pretty good about that [sharing the position]."

Meanwhile, at that time, Justin Upton was "a little kid that would kind of come around and kind of hang out," as Zimmerman put it.

"He's bigger and stronger than all of us now," Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman followed Reynolds from the area to the University of Virginia.

"Mark's actually the reason I play third," Zimmerman said. "He was a year ahead of me, and I show up as a freshman, and they're like, 'Well, you're not going to play short.'

"They're like, 'Have you ever played third?' I'm like, I have never, ever played third, but if that [is what it] takes for me to play, 'Yeah, I've played third before.' It's kind of funny that we both end up playing third now."

As does Wright.

"We pushed each other, even when we were younger, to become better players," he said. "We wanted to out-do each other, one-up each other. I think that's still the case."

Overheard and Understood

o. One of the top prospects in the Dominican Republic, Miguel Angel Sano, could sign for a major bonus - now that Major League Baseball has reportedly determined his age is authentic. To avoid fraud, MLB has started requiring DNA tests from Dominican prospects and the people they claim to be their parents. As for Sano, one international scout seemed dubious, saying, "He's got the body of a 22-, 23-year-old with a young face. I haven't seen many 15-year-olds built like that."

o. While the Dodgers are well ahead in the race for the National League's best record, one scout says, "They're not set up well for the playoffs. They don't have a hammer ace that will carry you. I like [Chad Billingsley] but I've never [considered] him an ace." Dodger Opening Day starter Hiroki Kuroda "is a No. 4 and not trustworthy. He can flash brilliance but I don't trust him."

Chart of the Week
Which teams will come on strong in the second half? Here's what history says; the teams with the best winning percentages after the All-Star break, from 2005-08:
Team	WPCT
Yankees	.631
Phillies	.601
Angels	.599
Indians	.577
Astros	.557
Mets	.557
Source: Stats LLC

o. The Orioles have faced a left-handed starter in nine straight games -- Joe Saunders, Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard, Jason Vargas, Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero, Marc Rzepczynski, John Danks and Mark Buehrle -- which ties a major-league record. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it last happened to the 1980 Yankees.

o. Aaron Boone, who underwent heart surgery March 27, is scheduled to rejoin the Astros on Monday to begin working toward returning to play.

o. Trying to get more balanced, Kansas City is looking for a right-handed bat and would be willing to part with lefty swingers Mark Teahen, David DeJesus or Mike Jacobs.

o. Including Thursday's win, Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer is 8-0 with a 1.37 ERA in eight career starts at Florida.

o. The Brewers' next game against a team that currently has a winning record is Aug. 3, at the Dodgers. Three of Milwaukee's next four series are against the NL's last-place clubs.

o. Boston's Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett became the first AL teammates in 18 years to tie for the league lead in wins at the All-Star break -- since California's Chuck Finley and Mark Langston in 1991.

o. Drew Storen, the Nationals' other first-round draft pick (10th overall) has started his pro career by striking out 26 and walking none in 14 2/3 relief innings for Class A Hagerstown (Md.).

o. Last week's announcement that the Diamondbacks and Rockies will share a spring training facility near Scottsdale, Ariz., beginning in 2011 means the end of Cactus League baseball in Tucson, which has had a team train there since 1946. That means everyone can stop pretending that big-league ball competes with University of Arizona basketball for the town's attention.

o. The deal that sent Jeff Francoeur from the Braves to the Mets for Ryan Church was the first in-season trade between the franchises since 1991, when right-hander Alejandro Pena went from New York to Atlanta for lefty Tony Castillo. Back then, though, the teams were not in the same division.

o. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon's explanation, via Twitter (@RaysJoeMaddon), on why he wears No. 70: "When Don Sutton was aquired [sic] by the Angels my number went from 20 to 70 I vowed 2 keep it no one would want 70."

o. Hard-to-believe stat: Lance Berkman has the highest career slugging percentage for a switch-hitter (1,000 or more games played) - just ahead of Mickey Mantle, .558 to .557.

o. Advice to those asked to participate in the Home Run Derby: Don't ask Scott Pickens to throw for you. Pickens, the Tigers' bullpen catcher, "held" Magglio Ordonez to two homers in 2007 and shut out Brandon Inge this year.

Baseball Brunch: Talent Hotbed in Tidewater Area originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Halfway Home

Ed Price — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Blue Jays, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Indians, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Rays, Red Sox, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, NL East, MLB All-Star Game, MLB Awards, World Baseball Classic, MLB Satire, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch, MLB Trade Deadline

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.

It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.

The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.

Teams have been waiting for the contenders and pretenders to shake out and loosen up the trade market. But other than Philadelphia pulling away a bit the past few days, things just keep getting tighter instead of clearer.

While parity and more teams in the races might make Major League Baseball happy, the economy hasn't. And that too affects the trade market, as contracts will be hard to dump.

"Scary quiet," as an official from an AL team told FanHouse last week about trade buzz.

The official predicted that many of the trades that are consummated will be "money-for-money" deals - teams swapping contracts they'd like to move instead of someone taking on money.

The first half, though, made plenty of noise of its own. And we're ready to present our first-half award winners.

We could give you the MVPs and Rookies of the Year to this point, but the Baseball Writers' Association of America wisely waits until season's end, and so will we.

Instead, we'll hand out some different hardware:

o. Choo Choo Coleman Award: to the Nationals, who are making a run at the 1962 Mets for record atrociousness. With a green rotation and overripe bullpen, Washington has gone 10-12 when scoring six or more runs - and no team has ever finished with a losing record when scoring more than five.

o. We Aren't The World Award: to the pitchers who worked in the WBC and have struggled and/or been hurt in the major-league season - Daisuke Matsuzaka, Matt Lindstrom, Jesse Crain, Damaso Marte, Rafael Perez, Edinson Volquez, Luis Ayala, Oliver Perez, Joakim Soria, Jonathan Sanchez, Ian Snell, Armando Galarraga, Carlos Silva, Jeremy Guthrie, Joel Hanrahan, Roy Oswalt, Scot Shields and J.J. Putz. OK, could be coincidence. Or it could be a reason to wonder if the WBC is a good idea that just isn't feasible.

o. I'm Not Dead Yet Award: to Gary Sheffield, released late in spring training by the Tigers and now, improbably, leading the Mets in home runs.

o. Trap-Door Bullpen Award: to the Indians, who have used 20 relievers already. Not that it's helped. The record is 33 relievers, by the 2002 Padres, who went 66-96.

o. Deserted in the Desert Award: to Dan Haren, whose Arizona teammates won't score runs for him, leaving him just 8-5 despite a 2.16 ERA and 0.83 walks plus hits per inning - the latter of which would rank sixth-best in history.

o. Venus de Milo Award: to Cito Gaston, for managing Toronto to a decent record despite a lack of arms. The Blue Jays have put 10 different pitchers on the disabled list this season.

o. Over the Hill Gang Award: to the Athletics, who added veterans Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra and Orlando Cabrera in the offseason - and are in the bottom three in the AL in runs scored.

o. Triple Lindy Award: to Pirates rookie Andrew McCutchen, who hit five triples in his first 17 career games.

o. Mirage Award: to the three NL West teams that played past game No. 162 in 2007, Arizona, Colorado and San Diego. Two have already fired their manager from that season, and the Padres are dreadful. Maybe those teams were just above-average in a bad league two years ago and overestimated how good they were.

o. Road Sweet Road Award: to the Mets' David Wright, who has hit .304 with runners in scoring position at home (with more strikeouts than hits) and .382 with runners in scoring position on the road.

o. John Dillinger Award: to the Tigers, who stole Edwin Jackson from the Rays for Matt Joyce. Jackson is second in the AL in ERA and first in opponents' batting average.

o. The Time and a Half Award: to the Padres, who work overtime. San Diego has played an 18-inning game and a 16-inning game this year. Of course, the Padres have made up for all those extra innings pitched by going 12-31++ on the road, avoiding a lot of bottom of the ninths.

o. Bg Htter Award: to Pujols, who knocked the "I" out of the "Big Mac Land" sign at Busch Stadium with a homer on May 21. Pujols has four grand slams already; no one has ever had more than six in a season.

o. Breakthrough Player Awards: Joey Votto, Ben Zobrist, Adam Lind, Jason Bartlett, Casey McGehee, Jason Kubel, Shin-Soo Choo, Mark Reynolds, J.P. Howell, Matt Cain, Josh Johnson, Jair Jurrjens, Wandy Rodriguez, Nick Blackburn.

Overheard and Understood

o. The Red Sox's approach to the trade deadline will depend on third baseman Mike Lowell's progress in his recovery from a strained right hip. "I think we're just keeping an eye on Lowell, basically, which is a big question mark," one Boston official said. "We need to help our offense." The Sox looked at the Rockies' Garrett Atkins, but "the asking price is a bit too steep for him" and Colorado didn't like what it saw of Boston reliever Takashi Saito. Arizona is trying to shop Chad Tracy, but he hasn't looked good. So Boston's best option, if Lowell doesn't recover soon, could be to get a first baseman, which is "easier to do," and put Kevin Youkilis at third.

Chart of the Week
How do the NL East contenders match up? Well, the Phillies, Marlins, Braves and Mets are a combined 31-8 against the woeful Nationals. And when you measure those four against the other three, you see no team stands out - with Atlanta having played the best in the head-to-head-to-head-to-head matchups:
Team	Vs. Other Three
Braves	11-8
Marlins	10-10
Phillies	12-13
Mets	11-13

o. Baltimore is one of the few teams that knows it's in position to sell, with Aubrey Huff and reliever Danys Baez (Twins, perhaps?) good trade candidates because they are eligible for free agency after the season. But the Orioles aren't interested in a fire sale, according to a source familiar with their plan. Because the O's went 5-20 last September and 10-19 in September 2007, they want to avoid showing their fan base another flat finish.

"One of the [Baltimore] goals is to be competitive the latter half of the season," the source said. "That [coast to the finish] is the one thing [president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail] doesn't want to have happen again."

Consequently, Baltimore will need to be overwhelmed to deal closer George Sherrill, and while it might have listened on Guthrie, that won't happen now since Koji Uehara is out with a sore elbow.

Huff may wind up a target for Detroit, which could use some left-handed pop but the Tigers prefer someone more versatile or at least able to play the outfield (they inquired on Washington's Adam Dunn, but the finances didn't work). Detroit's concern would be getting Huff regular at-bats, since he's limited to first base and DH. The Orioles have been checking out some Tigers affiliates, and with not much there in the way of high-ceiling prospects, it could take a package of multiple minor-leaguers to get Huff.

o. According to a person familiar with the Indians' clubhouse, part of the problem in Cleveland has been the impatience of management. Players are looking over their shoulders, the person said, feeling that if they don't produce for a couple of games in a row, they will get benched. The Tribe has had a revolving door at second base, shortstop and left field.

o. Kansas City has not had a position player make the All-Star Game since Mike Sweeney in 2005.

o. Dodgers manager Joe Torre will serve as a coach at the All-Star Game. "Coaching is the easiest thing in the world to do at an All-Star Game," he said, "because you don't have to do anything. I just told Charlie [Manuel], I said, 'I'll keep track of the players for you.' "

o. The jersey of Dodgers catcher Russell Martin reads, "J. MARTIN." It's a tribute to his mother's side of his family, where the last name is Jeanson. Martin's full name is Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin Jr.

o. The Rockies do need relief help. They have been using Joel Peralta and Matt Daley to set up in front of closer Huston Street and those two "are not set-up guys," one scout said.

o. Rays phenom David Price was better Thursday, but his problem all year has been that he has become, as one scout put it, a "one-side-of-the-plate pitcher." Price has been able to locate pitches to his glove side - inside to right-handed hitters - but not to the other half of the plate.

o. Florida's Ricky Nolasco has averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings in seven starts since returning from a stint in the minors. Before getting sent down, he averaged 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings - which made him more vulnerable to the Marlins' defensive deficiencies. A scout who saw him recently said Nolasco had "more of a strikeout attitude, [as if he was thinking,] 'I'm not going to leave this to the guys behind me any more.' "

o. Boston's Tim Wakefield is the third pitcher 42 or older - second knuckleballer - to get 11 wins by the All-Star break. The others, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, were Warren Spahn for the 1963 Braves and Phil Niekro for the 1984 Yankees.

o. Talks to send Arizona lefty Doug Davis back to Milwaukee seem to have died down.

o. Elias says that this is the first season ever in which two third basemen - Washington's Ryan Zimmerman and Toronto's Scott Rolen - have had hitting streaks of at least 25 games.

o. Tampa Bay would like an upgrade in right field over its Gabe Gross/Gabe Kapler platoon.

o. Mets manager Jerry Manuel was asked what peers he might turn to for advice when going through tough times like he has recently. "I need Gandhi and King," he said. "They went through the same stuff. That's what I reach out to." (That's Martin Luther King Jr., not Ray King.)

Baseball Brunch: Halfway Home originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Sometimes Relief Solution Is Closer Than It Appears

Ed Price — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Astros, Braves, Cardinals, Mariners, Orioles, Padres, Phillies, Red Sox, White Sox, Yankees, MLB Injuries, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

A week ago Sunday night, Mariano Rivera earned his 500th save. Which should make us realize a few things about closers:

o. The truly great ones are the those who can sustain it for a long time. Getting 40 saves a year for 12 years would still leave one short of 500.

o. Even getting to the second tier isn't easy. Only 18 players have had as many as six 30-save seasons: Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, Billy Wagner, Troy Percival, John Wetteland, Dennis Eckersley, John Franco, Jason Isringhausen, Robb Nen, Jeff Reardon, Todd Jones, Jose Mesa, Roberto Hernandez, Randy Myers, Rick Aguilera, Tom Henke and Todd Worrell.

In other words, the shelf life for a typical closer is a short one. They can burst onto the scene - and flame out quickly (right, Mr. Gagne?)

o. But it also means that teams can find short-term solutions for the ninth inning any number of ways.

Take, for example, the Cardinals and the Mariners. They opened the season with hard-throwing youngsters as their closers: Jason Motte and Brandon Morrow, respectively. Meanwhile, they were also carrying in their bullpen a guy on his third or fourth organization.

And now those guys -- Ryan Franklin and David Aardsma -- have become closers.

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu remembered seeing Aardsma pitch for Boston last year and thinking to himself, "electric stuff."

A former No. 1 pick of the Giants out of Rice, Aardsma had bounced from San Francisco to both Chicago teams to Boston.

"He's got a big arm," Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said of Aardsma, whom he acquired in January for minor-league lefty Fabian Williamson. "And he had big-league experience. When we got him, we said, 'Hey, this is a power arm that could fit in the bullpen.' Would the guy emerge as a closer? Well he had all the qualities to do it.

"I didn't look at it and say this is our closer."

But when Wakamatsu saw Aardsma during spring training, working on drills alone in the bullpen at 8:30 in the morning, he realized Seattle might have latched onto something.

"It's all in there," Wakamatsu said. "How do you massage it? How do you get him to buy into ... that they're that good?

"So did I believe that this guy could close games? Absolutely, even in spring training. The rest was working him into that role."

What Aardsma, 27, didn't have when he got to spring training with the Mariners was a single big-league save. And a 6.59 ERA in the Cactus League was the result of trying to prove to his new team he could be their closer.

"I wanted it so badly, I was trying way too hard," Aardsma admitted. "I was way too focused on getting the closer's job instead of being focused on getting guys out and just doing my job."

Wakamatsu had noticed during a two-inning save in April that Aardsma didn't seem any different while pitching the ninth inning than he looked in the eighth. And when Morrow imploded on back-to-back days at Texas, May 13-14, Aardsma was handed the closer's role.

Since then, Aardsma is 14-for-15 in save chances, with 30 strikeouts, a .184 average allowed and a 1.25 ERA in 21 2/3 innings.

Morrow credits Wetteland (Seattle's bullpen coach), pitching coach Rick Adair and "performance coach" (aka, psychologist) Steve Hecht with helping him concentrate on process instead of results and not letting his last pitch - good or bad - affect the next one.

"You can put too much pressure on yourself," Aardsma said. "You can get too focused [and think] 'I just need one more out.'"

"That philosophy changed me: 'Who cares?' That's how I am able to be a closer, is that change."

In fact, Aardsma has gotten to the point where he insists closing is harder than setting up.

"Once I found the point where I didn't care any more, " he said, "I found the final out - you just don't realize it's the final out.

"I'm having the time of my life."

Franklin seems to be as well.

"I really wasn't waiting for this role," Franklin said. "This role just kind of came about. I've just kind of taken it in stride and continued to do what I've done the last couple of years."

Not having spent the money over the winter for an established Tony La Russa-type closer, the Cardinals went to spring training looking for one. And when the regular season opened, the first crack went to Motte.

But Motte blew a save chance Opening Day, and Chris Perez wasn't up to the task either. By the middle of April, La Russa turned to Franklin, 36.

"Opening Day we gave it to Motte and it didn't work out," said La Russa, the Cards' manager. "But all along we knew we had Franklin as one of the guys that we were going to work in. And he had the most experience. As it turns out, he's taken over."

Said Franklin, whose five-inch goatee fits in with the other wild facial hair on the team: "I knew there was a chance but I wasn't, you would say, fighting for it. I knew that if I came in and threw well, they knew what I could do from years past. I was coming in to be a set-up man, seventh or eighth inning. If something happened, I'd get to go in that [closer's] role, but it didn't matter to me."

The Cardinals signed Franklin in January 2007 as a free agent. At that point he had 106 starts, 141 relief appearances and a 41-57 record with a 4.35 ERA.

St. Louis put him in the bullpen that season, and last year, in the two periods Isringhausen was out - mid-May to mid-June and mid-August until the end of the season - Franklin replaced him as closer. In those stretches Franklin was a combined 10-for-12 in save chances.

"And there wasn't any difference with him pitching the ninth as opposed to the eighth or seventh," La Russa said, "which is a difference with some guys."

Now Franklin has 20 saves, more than doubling his career total, with a 0.84 ERA.

As La Russa said, the key has been to not change just because he's trying to get outs 25-27 instead of 22-25.

"It really is the same," La Russa said. "You get the first hitter, then the second hitter, then the third hitter. But some guys get spooked by it."

Said Franklin: "The last couple of years I've treated the eighth like it was the ninth, the last three outs of the game.

"[Some people think when you close] you've got to get hyped up. The only crazy thing I've done is grow this thing on my chin."

Overheard and Understood

o. One AL official's theory: Only small deals before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline but perhaps some major moves after. Because of the economy, the thinking goes, teams will be less willing to put waiver claims on players in August, so trades will be possible. And by then, there will be a clearer definition between contenders and non-contenders.

As for the current market, Cincinnati and Milwaukee are seeking bats (right-handed for the Reds, in left field or third base) and lots of teams are looking for bullpen help.

"If you have relief pitching," one team executive said, "you're getting calls."

That executive expects some teams on the fringes of contention to try to dump salary rather than take a shot at the pennant race - also because of the economy.

"Owners, if they can save couple million dollars, they're going to do it," he said.

Chart of the Week
Cleveland relievers have issued 145 walks in 82 games, putting them on a pace for 286 walks. That would be the eighth-highest total of all time:
Team	Relief BB
1996 Tigers	347
2000 Pirates	343
2004 Diamondbacks	295
1999 Mariners	295
2008 Orioles	292
1999 Devil Rays	287
2008 Rangers	287
Source: STATS LLC

o. La Russa has done one of his finest managing jobs - contending while using 15 rookies, nine of whom had never played before in the majors - but remains unsigned beyond this year. One friend of La Russa's expects him to stay on in St. Louis but said there remains tension between La Russa and team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., who has instituted a "Moneyball" style of management.

o. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, last week's Red Sox-Orioles series marked the first time a team led by four runs in the eighth or later, blew the win and then the next day made the same comeback against the other team.

o. Elias also reports that this is the first year since 1988 when two former MVPs had hitless streaks of 25 or more at-bats. That was Mike Schmidt and Cal Ripken in '88 and Jimmy Rollins and Dustin Pedroia this season.

o. One scout said David Ortiz is currently a "20-22 homer guy." That's a far cry from the 40-plus he averaged his first five years in Boston but also an improvement on the evaluations earlier this season. Now, the scout said, Ortiz is able to catch up to good fastballs on the inner portion of the plate, something he couldn't do in April and May.

o. Ichiro Suzuki had 44 hits in June, the 20th time in his career with 40 or more hits in a calendar month. The last AL player with 20 40-hit months was Lou Gehrig.

o. Houston must have a bunch of guys who don't like to go out on the road. The Astros went into Saturday's game at San Francisco with a 9-6 record in away day games.

o. The Yankees' Joba Chamberlain had 16 no-decisions in his first 25 career starts, a big-league record. Mac Suzuki had 15 no-decisions in his first 25 starts (for Seattle and Kansas City, 1998-2000).

o. The Padres' current rotation is Chad Gaudin, Josh Geer, Josh Banks, Walter Silva and Kevin Correia. Total big-league wins: 58, or 34 fewer than Jake Peavy. But San Diego has been playing the first-ever all-second-generation-major-league outfield of Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Will Venable.

o. Atlanta's Tim Hudson, working back from Tommy John surgery, is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment July 19.

o. White Sox lefty John Danks has a brother, Jordan, who is an outfielder in Double-A for the White Sox and a sister, Emily, who will be attending Ohio State on a volleyball scholarship. Their father, John, was a four-year basketball letterman at the University of Texas.

Baseball Brunch: Sometimes Relief Solution Is Closer Than It Appears originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Imbalance, Irregularities Abound in Interleague Play

Ed Price — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, Twins, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

"This concludes our test of the emergency attendance enhancement system. We now return to the regularly scheduled season."

Yes, the 13th season of interleague play wraps up Sunday, except for a Cubs-White Sox makeup game. We have survived six San Diego-Seattle games (that's more zeroes than an A-Rod paycheck).

We didn't learn much we didn't already know: the system has inherent flaws and the American League rules.

For the sixth straight year, the AL has had** the better record in interleague play - 129-108 going into today.

Take out Cleveland and Oakland, and the AL is 119-84.

"It probably is" as big a gap between leagues as in past years, one AL team official said, "until you get to the World Series. Then it doesn't matter."

Why is the AL better? Well, the four lowest payrolls in the majors are all in the NL: Washington, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Florida. And other than the Marlins, the franchises that have figured out how to compete on the cheap are all in the AL: Oakland, Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

So the American League has most of the money and most of the smarts.

As for interleague play itself, the biggest complaint is the inequity of the schedule. Major League Baseball tries to rotate the matchups while keeping two series between "natural rivalries" (Padres-Mariners and Blue Jays-Phillies, really?). But that combined with the differing numbers of teams in leagues and divisions creates havoc.

"Some years some teams play a harder schedule," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Definitely it affects the outcome of your division.

"When we first started interleague play, I thought it was going to be great, and I thought for a while it was. You saw different teams, and fans got to see different ballclubs. ... But then when I watch it now, and when we play it, and when I think about it, I think about the affects that it has on some teams winning the championship."

Interleague play most affects the wild-card race, since teams in different divisions play vastly different interleague schedules. But with the unbalanced intraleague schedule, the wild card was already based on differing strength of schedules (and the NFL wild card has the same issue).

But to have teams in the same division playing significantly different variations of the interleague schedule, that's an issue.

So how has it been unfair this year?

Check the NL Central. St. Louis got to play Kansas City twice, going 5-1, and missed the White Sox. Meanwhile, the Brewers and the Cubs didn't play the Royals at all, with the Cubs playing the White Sox twice and the Brewers getting a White Sox series and an extra Twins series.

As a result, the Cards are 9-5 in interleague to the Cubs' 6-7 and the Brewers' 5-10. Think that won't make a difference in such a tight division?

In the AL West, the Angels made hay. They were 29-29 and 4 1/2 games behind the Rangers when interleague play started back up June 12. Now the Angels are a half-game up, having gone 13-4 in interleague to Texas' 9-8.

Interestingly, though, the Rangers seemed to have the easier schedule, with two series against the Astros while the Angels played the Dodgers a second time and the surging Rockies.

There are other flaws too. As Manuel said, "It takes some of the glitter away from the World Series." And we haven't even gone into the DH problem, which Cito Gaston has already addressed.

But interleague play has become a fixture. Major League Baseball likes to trumpet the increased attendance, although it's imprecise to compare one weekend in May and a 2 1/2-week period in June that includes Father's Day and comes just as schools are letting out to the rest of the season.

Overheard and Understood

o. Seattle has been scouting Philadelphia's minor-league system and is said to have interest in right-hander Jason Knapp, a second-round pick in 2008. The Phillies need a starter; fly-ball pitcher Jarrod Washburn wouldn't be a good fit for Citizens Bank Park, so maybe the teams are laying the groundwork for talks when (if) Erik Bedard is healthy.

o.

Chart of the Week
Omar Vizquel last week became the all-time leader in hits by a player born in Venezuela. What about the rest of the world?
Nation	Player	Hits
U.S.	Pete Rose	4,256
Panama	Rod Carew	3,053
Cuba	Rafael Palmeiro	3,020
Puerto Rico	Robto. Clemente	3,000
Dom. Rep.	Julio Franco	2,586
Canada	Larry Walker	2,160
Mexico	Vinny Castilla	1,884
Australia	Joe Quinn	1,797
Source: baseball-reference.com

Ian Snell, the right-hander who requested a demotion last week, is proving a double-edged sword for the Pirates. They admire his talent, but fear he may need a change of scenery for it to come out, in which case Pittsburgh could look bad for trading him. But it may come down to that, and a team that can look past his performance the past season and a half might be willing to take a chance on Snell, especially considering his age (27) and his contract ($4.25 million next year and options 2011-12). And Pirates fans might not roast the team too bad for getting rid of Snell; when the team posted a message on the scoreboard Thursday that Snell had been sent down, the crowd cheered.

o. The Mets, Yankees, Padres and Red Sox have scouted Yusei Kikuchi, a high school left-hander in Japan. If Kikuchi does not declare for the Japanese draft this summer, he could sign with a major league organization in the fall - and he'd get quite a sum. One person who saw him compared him to a "mid-first-rounder" in the U.S. draft.

o. An executive from another team doesn't think Cleveland needs to fire manager Eric Wedge. "They're still playing hard, just not playing well," the executive said of the Indians. "I don't see that they've quit on him. ... I don't see a bad environment." Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro said Friday: "We all go through junctures where we're evaluated. To me now is not one of those junctures. ... The arrow shouldn't point at Eric. It should point toward a broad spectrum: the players, our staff, Eric, myself, the front office. There's shared responsibility."

The executive also suspects the Tribe will keep Victor Martinez and lefty Cliff Lee rather than dump the pair, since they are still under contract for 2010. That makes impending free agent Jamey Carroll a more likely trade candidate - like Mark DeRosa was when he was sent to St. Louis. "The problem with Cleveland," one AL team official said, "is they ask for so much."

o. Minnesota has been seeking a reliable setup reliever since spring training, with no luck yet. Maybe the solution is lefty Francisco Liriano; the Twins could conceivably move him to relief and call up Anthony Swarzak - who was 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA when called up for the injured Glen Perkins - to fill Liriano's spot in the rotation.

o. As first reported by FanHouse via twitter, Pittsburgh and Washington have been discussing a swap of outfielders Nyjer Morgan and Lastings Milledge, with the Pirates also seeking right-hander Craig Stammen as part of the deal.

o. Seattle's Franklin Gutierrez has seven homers - four against San Diego.

o. The Cubs are 35-35 all-time against the White Sox, 1,014-1,014 vs. the Dodgers, 7-7 against the Indians and 337-336 against the Mets.

o. With Mike Burns replacing Dave Bush (microtear of triceps) in the Brewers rotation, the Giants became the last team to use only their Opening Day five-man rotation all year, and their streak is expected to end today when Ryan Sadowski replaced Jonathan Sanchez. And while Milwaukee would like to trade for a starter and a left-handed reliever, the Brewers "aren't willing to dish off their better players," according to an official from another team.

o. The Dodgers last lost a series to an NL team May 8-10, against San Francisco.

o. When Bruce Chen got called up Saturday to start for Kansas City, it marked his 10th major league team (also: Braves, Phillies, Mets, Expos, Reds, Astros, Red Sox, Orioles and Rangers). Mike Morgan and Ron Villone share the record by playing for 12 different teams, but Chen is still only 32.

Baseball Brunch: Imbalance, Irregularities Abound in Interleague Play originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Unheralded Marlins Pitching Duo Among Game's Best

Ed Price — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners, Marlins, Nationals, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rays, Red Sox, Tigers, MLB Draft, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Best 1-2 punch in baseball? Maybe Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

Best young 1-2 combo? Probably Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.

Best young 1-2 starters you may not have heard of? Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad.

"If Volstad and Johnson pitched in a major media market - they're better prospects than Joba Chamberlain," one scout told FanHouse. "They're going to be around a long time."

They're on the Marlins, in case you were wondering.

"You've got young guys with great stuff, good command and exceptional mound presence," Florida catcher John Baker said. "And they're also very cool under pressure. Rarely do you see one guy that young that pitches that well under pressure, much less two."

Volstad is just 22 and, despite struggling lately, has a career 3.81 ERA. Johnson is 25 and 25-12 for his career - 13-2 with a 3.16 ERA since returning from Tommy John surgery (and entering his start Saturday night).

"They're capable of matching up with anybody in the league and winning the game," pitching coach Mark Wiley said. "They're big guys that have better than average command of their pitches. They're good athletes who maintain their delivery and they have enough weapons that they can throw to different parts of the strike zone with different pitches. Both of them can change speeds."

Johnson, in fact, is the most underrated starter in the game. Florida bench coach Carlos Tosca compares Johnson to Roy Halladay - whom Tosca managed in Toronto - in the way that he attacks hitters.

Elbow surgery in August 2007 kept Johnson out until last July 10. Since then he has a lower opponents' OPS than Johan Santana (whom he has faced twice this season, with Florida winning both games).

"He throws hard, has that good sinker, his slider's pretty devastating, and this year he's using his changeup a lot more too," Volstad said of Johnson, whose fastball can get up to 97 mph. "He can throw all three pitches for strikes whenever he wants to."

Wiley said Johnson's slider is better than a year ago and he has improved his command to the inside part of the plate.

And Johnson, whose 12 quality starts are tied for the major-league lead, sets the standard for Volstad the rest of the staff.

"He's the lead dog," manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Volstad came to the majors last July straight from Double-A. He didn't allow more than four earned runs in any of his first 26 career starts, tying Brandon Webb for the longest streak of its kind since Aaron Sele in 1993.

His fastball isn't as hard as Johnson's - usually around 91 mph - but Volstad uses his size to get great sink on his pitches.

It's not like the Marlins can hide these two, since Johnson is 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds and Volstad comes in at 6-8, 225.

"They're built like two basketball forwards," Baker said. "But they're good athletes, they swing the bat, they get bunts down, they do all the little things."

Still, Johnson and Volstad can probably walk down any street, even in south Florida, unrecognized.

"It doesn't matter at all," Johnson said. "We know that we can be pretty good. We don't get caught up in that, ever."

Overheard and Understood

o. At least one person in the Phillies organization has pushed for them to acquire Red Sox right-hander Brad Penny. And while the asking price was apparently reasonable at the time, Philadelphia passed. Now as Penny pitches better, the cost to get him will go up.

o. But for the most part, trade talks are still slow. Two general managers agreed that there are more buyers than sellers, with bunched divisional races, and teams looking to acquire players not offering much in return, saying that taking on payroll in this economy is enough without adding in prospects.

o. One GM predicts No. 2 overall pick Dustin Ackley will sign with Seattle for closer to "slot money" - the recommended bonus from the commissioner's office - than the $9.5 million Scott Boras seeks.

Chart of the Week
The Red Sox reached 500 consecutive sellouts at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. (It must be noted that only Tampa Bay and Oakland have a smaller listed home capacity.) Only three other North American pro franchises have sold out more consecutive home games:
G	Team	Years
744	Portland Trailblazers (NBA)	1977-95
567	Boston Celtics (NBA)	1980-95
515	Chicago Bulls (NBA)	1987-2000

o. While there are indications that the Nationals will eventually keep acting general manager Mike Rizzo on a permanent basis, and the team has allowed him to make decisions for the long term, Washington recently reached out to former Texas and Cleveland GM John Hart for input on GM candidates.

o. Those Baltimore team flights must be pretty quiet. The Orioles are 0-9 in road series finales.

o. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel believes that Jimmy Rollins, who went into Saturday's game hitting just .223, has a hot streak coming. "Once Jimmy really gets his swing down, he usually keeps it for quite a while," Manuel said. "He gets it, but he hasn't kept it like he usually has." And while Rollins, despite his speed, hits the ball in the air more than the league average, Manuel doesn't mind. "I'm sure that he thinks when he gets up in the count like 2-0, 3-1 stuff like that, he's thinking if I get a good fastball to hit, I'm going to hit it hard and see where it's going to go. And his swing gets a little long and he'll get underneath the ball. That's kind of natural. That's how he thinks at times. I'm not saying that's all wrong because he does have power. " Historically, Rollins' average gets better each month as the season goes along.

o. The Tigers moved toward the trade deadline with concerns about their offense, thanks to Carlos Guillen's shoulder injury and Magglio Ordoñez's power dropoff.

o. Ivan Rodriguez made his big-league debut on June 20, 1991, and the catcher on the other team was Carlton Fisk, whose record for games caught Rodriguez broke last week.

o. A's shortstop Orlando Cabrera went into Saturday's game with 11 errors, matching his 2007 total with the Angels. He made 16 last year wit h the White Sox.

o. Tampa Bay has a chance to join the 1996 Rockies as the only teams to hit 200 homers and steal 200 bases. Meanwhile, the Giants and Pirates are on pace to be the first teams since the 1992 Red Sox to have fewer than 100 of each in a full season.

o. Brad Mills became the 11th pitcher to start for the Blue Jays this year; the team record is 13, set in 1979 and tied in 2002.

o. Outfielder James McOwen of the Single-A High Desert Mavericks (a Mariners affiliate in Adelanto, Calif.) extended his hitting streak to 30 games on Friday.

Baseball Brunch: Unheralded Marlins Pitching Duo Among Game's Best originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: (St)Ranger Than Fiction, Texas Pitching Is Pretty Good

Ed Price — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Astros, Angels, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants, Indians, Mariners, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox, Yankees, MLB Draft, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

NEW YORK - Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.

In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.

Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.

"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'

"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."

The credit goes mainly to the pitchers, who like to share it with a solid defense.

And there are two other men involved. Team president Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Famer who pitched into his mid-40s, challenged Kevin Millwood late last season to get in better shape. And Ryan has preached the value of endurance and old-fashioned starters' working deep into games.

"He let it be known that he wants starters to throw more pitches, stay in games longer," said Millwood, who is second in the AL to CC Sabathia with an average of 110 pitches per start. "And that's what we've done. Maybe that gave us a little confidence to know that they want us out there longer."

But in order for pitchers to work deeper into games, they had to be more efficient with their pitches. And that's where new pitching coach Mike Maddux comes in. The Rangers hired Maddux, the older brother of 300-game winner Greg Maddux (and a former big-league pitcher himself) away from the Brewers, and he has had an immediate impact.

"He's a teacher," manager Ron Washington said. "He's been helping them to make adjustments through the course of the the ballgame. ... He's certainly built up their confidence. He has them pounding the strike zone. Those are the type of things you want your pitching staff to do.

"He deserves a lot of credit for building the trust that he has with those pitchers. They trust him and the results have shown."

Millwood praised Maddux for his preparation and gameplans, but Maddux's biggest point of emphasis has been eliminating timidity.

"Pitching's a mindset, man," Maddux said. "You've got to take the at-bats to them and be the aggressor."

McCarthy echoed the idea: "Just let them hit it, let our defense take care of what they're supposed to do and always be on the attack. Take the at-bats to the hitter instead of letting them take it to you. Kind of simple things, but you forget about them."

The defense is a major factor. The Rangers are second in the league in defensive efficiency - percentage of balls in play turned into outs - after moving Michael Young to third base to allow 20-year-old whiz Elvis Andrus to play shortstop and bringing in Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel (21 Gold Gloves between them) as reserves/mentors.

"It's as good as you can ask for," McCarthy said of the defense.

Said Millwood: "The defense has been a huge part of it. We're not a team that's going to strike out a ton of guys. We're going to pitch to contact. And that means we need our defense to play well. And they've been pretty outstanding so far."

Second baseman Ian Kinsler said it's a symbiotic relationship. The defenders are more into the games, and more on their toes, because the pitching staff is more aggressive and the games are closer.

"It's fun to play defense," he said. "[The pitchers] have confidence in their ability. They have confidence in the stuff that they're throwing to the plate."

Some of statistical change isn't radical: from 17.3 pitches per inning last year to 16.4 this year, a dropoff of only about 5 percent. But the staff has gone from 25th in the majors in walk percentage to 13th.

And the starters are averaging 6.1 innings per start, second in the AL to Toronto.

"We're aware of pitch counts," Maddux said. "But they're not limits. That's not a limit. That's not a ceiling - 'As soon as you get to this number right here, you're done.' The ninth inning is when you're done."

So after making 457 pitching changes in 2008, Washington this year has made the fewest in the league, on a pace for 393.

"You're only as good as your bullpen," Maddux said. "And the starting pitching have to protect the bullpen.

Most impressive of all are the results. Texas' 3.57 ERA for May led the American League.

Hard to believe that a team known for a lineup of thumpers might turn into a pitching-and-defense outfit.

"That's a manager's dream," Washington said, "to see balls put in play and constantly being caught."

Overheard and Understood

o. Final total on the draft: 1,521 players selected. The Angels' 40th-round draft pick, catcher/outfielder Assad Ali from Niles, Mich., is a son of Muhammad Ali. Patrick Schuster, the Florida high-schooler who threw four straight no-hitters this year, went to Arizona in the 13th round. And Texas' sixth-round pick was Ruben Sierra Jr., son of the former Rangers outfielder.

Chart of the Week
Gary Sheffield on Friday homered in his 42nd different ballpark - new Yankee Stadium - giving him the fourth-highest total in history:
Player	Parks	Most
Sammy Sosa	45	Wrigley, 293
Ken Griffey Jr.	43	Kingdome, 198
Fred McGriff	43	Atl.-Fulton, 58
Gary Sheffield	42	Land Shark, 68

o. Random draft factoid: The Yankees drafted Fred Lynn in the third round in 1970. He didn't sign, went to Southern Cal and got drafted three years later by the Red Sox.

o. Houston's Ivan Rodriguez on Saturday caught in his 2,224th game, leaving him two short of Carlton Fisk's major-league record.

o. The Marlins faced five former Cy Young Award winners in an eight-day span and went 3-2 in those games. Florida lost to Barry Zito on June 5 and Tim Lincecum on June 7 but beat Randy Johnson last Monday, won against Chris Carpenter on Tuesday and won a game started by Roy Halladay on Friday.

o. In the Giants' effort to add a hitter, "All they're doing is dangling [Jonathan] Sanchez out there," said an official from another team. "Nobody wants Sanchez, and if Sanchez was pitching the way he could, [San Francisco] wouldn't be talking about him either." Sanchez has 43 walks in 57 2/3 innings.

o. Could St. Louis and Arizona be a fit for a trade? The Cardinals seek a bat, the Diamondbacks have Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds capable of playing third, and Arizona is known to be enamored of St. Louis prospect Brett Wallace.

o. The small-market Indians are burdened with some rather bad contracts (of their own doing); Travis Hafner has $40.25 million and three years remaining after 2009, Jake Westbrook (Tommy John surgery) is on the hook for $11 million next year; Jhonny Peralta (now playing a lot of third base but with a .335 slugging percentage) makes $4.6 million next year, and Fausto Carmona, now in the minors, is signed for $11 million the next two years.

o. San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez walked at least once in 10 straight games (20 total) before not drawing one Friday, and it's about time. Why does he ever see a strike in that lineup? "They're starting not to [pitch to him]," one scout said. "I don't know why it took two months to figure that out." And an advance scout gave his report on how to pitch Gonzalez by drawing four fingers on a piece of paper - i.e., intentionally walk him every time.

o. The Astros have four walkoff wins this year. Three have come against the Cubs.

o. Seattle went 4-1 with a split in its first six series. Then the Mariners went 2-8 in the next 10 series. And they went into this weekend's set with Colorado having won four straight series.

Baseball Brunch: (St)Ranger Than Fiction, Texas Pitching Is Pretty Good originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: It's Strasburg, Then Anyone's Guess in Draft

Ed Price — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Astros, Angels, Athletics, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Giants, Indians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, White Sox, MLB Draft, MLB Injuries, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.

"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."

For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.

Brett Jackson, an outfielder from the University of California, could go as high as sixth to San Francisco - or drop to somewhere around 50th.

Or California high-school right-hander Matt Hobgood. He's on some teams' top 10 list; others peg him going later than the first round.

"The bottom line is there is a consensus," said an industry source who monitors the draft closely, "and that consensus is: There's no consensus after Strasburg."

The source said he has counted 63 players who could be taken in the 32 choices of the first round.

North Carolina's Dustin Ackley (like Strasburg, advised by agent Scott Boras) is generally considered the second best player in the draft. But, the executive said, "We don't even have a consensus on Ackley, really, in our room."

Said one scouting director, "I don't think anybody's 100 percent sold on what position he's going to play. I like him a lot. But he's talked about as a center fielder and plays first base for his college team."

In fact, the draft seems light on impact hitters.

The industry insider's educated guess on the top five: Strasburg to Washington, Ackley to Seattle, Vanderbilt lefty Mike Minor to San Diego, former Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow to Pittsburgh and Georgia high-school right-hander Zack Wheeler to Baltimore.

"And then it all comes apart," the insider said.

"[Even] if you just based it on talent, you'd have different opinions on how the top five would shake out," the scouting director said. "Usually if you just did it on talent, most people have a good feel for it.

"There's going to be real differences of opinion on how this thing falls out."

The first three rounds will be held Tuesday, with the first round live on the MLB Network. The 50-round draft then continues Wednesday and Thursday.

Because of free-agent compensation picks, and the rule that gives a team that fails to sign a high choice a corresponding pick the next year, a few teams could make hauls in this draft.

The White Sox have three of the first 61 picks. Arizona has seven of the top 64. Colorado makes three of the first 34 picks. And the Angels have five of the first 48 selections because they lost Francisco Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.

On the other hand, the Mets' first pick is No. 72 overall, thanks to the signing of Rodriguez, and the Phillies don't go until No. 75 because of Raul Ibañez.

One wild card in the draft is Georgia high-school outfielder Donovan Tate. He has Boras as an advisor and is expected to use the leverage of a North Carolina football scholarship to seek a $4 million bonus. The Padres, picking third, have been linked to Tate, but they've given out a bonus of more than $2.2 million just once, and that backfired (Matt Bush, No. 1 overall in 2004).

San Diego is also looking at Southern Cal shortstop Grant Green along with Minor, who would be the "safe" pick.

"Superstar?" the scouting director said of Tate. "I don't know about that."

In fact, the scouting director said, a lot of amateurs are seeking big dollars.

"I've never heard it this wild," he said. "The way they're talking now, there's going to be a lot of kids going to college [instead of signing]."

That could lead some teams to limit spending in the draft and save their money for the international-signing market.

Two high picks last year didn't get what they wanted and are back in the draft: Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers. The Nationals and Pirates, respectively, couldn't sign them, and instead of going back to college, both are playing independent minor-league ball and back in the draft.

Both should go in the first round, but Crow naturally seeks more than the reported $3.5 million he turned down a year ago.

The sticking point with Scheppers last year was a shoulder injury.

"Scheppers is throwing good," the scouting director said. "I think that one is going to come down to teams' doing medicals - is it healed up from what it was last year.

"Crow's been good. He probably hasn't been as good as Scheppers."

And if you doubt the importance of the draft, just look at some of the names picked just four years ago: Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, Mike Pelfrey, Cameron Maybin, Jay Bruce, Chris Volstad, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza, Joey Devine, Clay Buchholz, Jed Lowrie, Kevin Slowey, Chase Headley, Yunel Escobar, Nick Hundley, Micah Owings, Taylor Teagarden and Brett Gardner.

When it comes to this year's names, the NL executive said some picks may end up criticized as reaches or being based solely on signability when in fact the team was going strictly by its draft board and it just differed from everyone else's.

"There's going to be some picks," he said, "where people say, 'Wow, how'd they take that guy so early?' "

Overheard and Understood

o. The Indians went into their weekend series 10 games under .500 and seven games out in the AL Central, but an executive from another team said Cleveland is not ready to start selling players because it feels it can get back in the race. "They won't say it openly, but that division isn't very good," the executive said. While the loss of Grady Sizemore (elbow) is big, the executive said the Indians' fate rests on whether Fausto Carmona can get back to 2007 form. "I think a lot hinges on Carmona," he said. "If they can get Carmona right, they can extend this thing out [before waving the white flag]."

Chart of the Week
The White Sox have had trouble this season when facing a pitcher they haven't before seen. In the 10 games where a pitcher started and faced Chicago for the first time, including four straight last week by Oakland, those pitchers have gone 7-1 with a 1.52 ERA:
Player	Date	Dec./IP/ER
Bergesen (BAL)	4/21	W, 5.2/1
Jakubauskas (SEA)	4/28	L, 8/2
McCarthy (TEX)	5/2	W, 5/1
Cecil (TOR)	5/15	W, 6/3
Ray (TOR)	5/16	W, 8/0
Richmond (TOR)	5/18	ND, 7/0
Cahill (OAK)	6/1	ND, 5.2/2
Mazzaro (OAK)	6/2	W, 6.1/0
Outman (OAK)	6/3	W, 6.2/2
Anderson (OAK)	6/4	W, 7/0

o. Also not in dump mode: Houston. "I don't think they're going to sell," said a person familiar with owner Drayton McLane. The person pointed to last July's acquisiton of Randy Wolf, which was mocked before the Astros climbed within three games of a wild-card spot. "His track record is when everybody says you should dismantle [he doesn't]," the person said. "He's been so lucky."

o. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, last Tuesday marked the first time two pitchers made their big-league debut by facing a former Cy Young Award winner and getting the win. Oakland's Vin Mazzaro beat Bartolo Colon and Philadelphia's Antonio Bastardo beat Jake Peavy.

o. Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler on 20-year-old rookie Elvis Andrus, his double-play partner: "You could just tell that he's meant to play shortstop. It's just what he does. He's one of those special talents that come around every once in a while."

o. The Red Sox are in no rush to add a shortstop or a hitter to replace David Ortiz. Because Boston is winning, it can afford to wait for Jed Lowrie to get back from a wrist injury and to see if Ortiz improves.

o. The Angels - who in past years were able to lock down games late with a dominant bullpen - are 24-6 when leading after seven innings. That .800 percentage is well below the other 29 teams' combined .901 mark (638-70).

o. San Francisco is searching hard for a bat, but the Giants "are not going to give up premium young pitching," said someone who has spoken to them.

o. Ichiro Suzuki has three of the four longest hitting streaks in Mariners history. The other belongs to Joey Cora (24 games in 1997). Ichiro led the majors with 49 hits in May, the 12th time he was the hits leader in a calendar month. No other active player has done it more than twice.

o. A scout who follows the National League called Arizona's Dan Haren: "the best [pitcher] I've seen all year." Haren, scheduled to pitch Sunday, has walked just 10 batters in 78 innings with an opponents' on-base percentage of .230.

o. Thursday marked the first time a player had five hits (Toronto's Adam Lind) in the same game a teammate struck out five times (Alex Rios).

o. The Pirates felt Andrew McCutchen would be ready for the majors some time this year, but that wasn't the motivation behind the trade of Nate McLouth. "Do I think [McCutchen] still has some learning to go? Yeah," one Pirates person said. "But his tools can play. The thing is how consistent they're going to play right now. ... Our depth of players is not real great. So any chance we have to add depth, we almost have to." Pittsburgh can dream of an athletic outfield of McCutchen, Nyjer Morgan and Gorkys Hernandez, who was acquired from Atlanta in the McLouth deal.

o. Congratulations to Randy Johnson, but here's the weird thing about the 300-win milestone: the pitcher reaching it has to sit and watch to make sure his team hangs on and he gets the victory. The last pitcher to go the distance and clinch his 300th win himself was Don Sutton in 1986. Since then, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Johnson have hit 300 from the sideline.

Baseball Brunch: It's Strasburg, Then Anyone's Guess in Draft originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Upon Further Review ...

Ed Price — Sun, 31 May 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Angels, Blue Jays, Cubs, Dodgers, Indians, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Red Sox, Tigers, White Sox, Minor Leagues, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

When Willy Aybar's home run Thursday in Cleveland was upheld by a video review, it marked the sixth time in six days umpires made use of baseball's instant-replay rule.

So the natural question to ask Jimmie Lee Solomon, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball operations, is why the flurry of trips to the secret chamber to watch replays? Are the umps more willing to consult the tape than in the past?

"These things come in bunches," Solomon told FanHouse.

He added, "I think that the umpires are becoming much more comfortable with the technology.

"It's a new process. They had to learn a new protocol and for the first times in their careers avail themselves of technology that might overturn a call made in their best judgment on the field. The umpires have embraced it and seen the big picture."

That can't be disputed. Instant replay began last Aug. 28 for home run "boundary" calls, and there were seven uses in 434 games over the rest of the 2008 season - one every 62 games

This year, there have been 13 reviews in 737 games, one every 57 games, or nine percent more often.

Crews were not instructed by MLB to take advantage of replay more often, according to one veteran umpire. Nor did they need to be.

"We're not afraid of it," the umpire told FanHouse. "I think as a group, we want to make certain we get things as right as we can get them."

Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said that both times the Marlins were involved, the process went smoothly (managers are not only not allowed to demand replay, as NFL coaches can, but they can't even request it). He agreed the umpires do seem more willing to use replay,

"Why not?" Gonzalez said. "It's about getting it right."

Two of last week's reviews took place at the Mets' new stadium, and Citi Field seems ripe for replays with its overhang in right field and changing fence heights.

Add in that both new New York ballparks, and the renovation in Kansas City, allowing fans seated in the outfield to sit close enough to the fence to reach over and there are plenty of reasons for replays.

(By the way: It's been 13 years since Jeffrey Maier and we haven't learned to set back the first row of outfield seats?)

As for how it's working, Solomon called replay "a resounding success."

Manny Acta doesn't seem to agree. He had two calls go against his Nationals team in last week's series against the Mets and he didn't agree with either even after seeing the replays.

"Something has to be done," Acta said. "Because this was supposed to be to help make the right call, help the umpires. It's supposed to be a clear-cut home run. If it is so inconclusive like the last couple of days, then the call shouldn't be changed. They either need to get more, better feeds or something."

But Solomon said the umpires have executed their mandate: keep the call on the field unless they see "clear and conclusive" evidence it was wrong.

Solomon felt Acta was speaking out of frustration.

"You're out there playing, you're competing, the team might not be doing as well as you'd like," Solomon said. "You're looking for an avenue for your frustration. Replay is always going to be there to uphold or overturn a call that's going to be in favor of one team and against another."

Mets manager Jerry Manuel, who has had replay go 5-for-5 in his favor (two Mets homers upheld, two doubles changed to a homer, one opponent foul ball upheld), has little to complain about.

Except maybe his wait.

Last Monday's review took more than six minutes, checking to see where a fan who reached over the left-field wall at CitiField touched the ball.

Solomon said some reviews have taken less than two minutes and expressed great satisfaction with the procedure, where feeds from all broadcasts are monitored at MLB.com's New York office and queued up for the umps.

"Sometimes there are tough ones to view and you've got to look at many different angles," he said. "It sometimes can take a little longer than we'd like."

Acta said he had no problem with the length of the delay as long as the right call is made, and Manuel agreed.

"I'm a fan of getting it right," Manuel said. "And if they got it right, that's what's important. Especially home runs. That's a part of the growth of baseball. Baseball kind of doesn't like to institute different things and stuff like that."

In fact, it took two blown calls in a week at Yankee Stadium last summer to convince MLB - which seems more sensitive to matters when they happen in New York - to use replay on homers.

And if it has worked so well, will it be expanded?

Solomon pointed out that commissioner Bud Selig "had to really be convinced to go this far.

"Will we go further? I dare say I don't know. The technology is so fantastic today. It just might be our technology points us in that direction. But there are no thoughts at this time to expand replay."

The umpire said the "boundary" decisions are when replay is most useful.

"That's the only call," he said, "we have like the NBA, NHL, NFL guys - the only call where you're running and you're that far away from it."

Overheard and Understood

o. Toronto's recent slide doesn't have the Blue Jays inclined to either dump players nor add. "We're two games out [in late May]," general manager J.P. Ricciardi told FanHouse. "If you had told me that in spring training, I would have taken in. Fifty games into it, we're doing OK.

"I think June is really when you get to the point where you say, 'Do we do anything?' I think the next 30 games are indicative of where we are, where we're going, what we'll try to do."

The only hitch in that plan is Toronto's strange schedule makes it tough to evaluate where they stand in the AL East until late in the season. The Jays have played just 14 intradivision games (going 6-8) and after Sunday don't play another one until June 29. Of their final 84 games, 45 are against the Red Sox, Rays or Yankees (27 of the final 51).

Chart of the Week
What if Adrian Gonzalez didn't play in the home-run graveyard known as Petco Park? Gonzalez has 14 home runs in San Diego's 26 road games, a pace for 44 road homers. Only six players have hit as many as 30 road homers in a season:
Road HR	Player, Year
32	David Ortiz, 2006
32	Babe Ruth, 1927
31	Brady Anderson, 1996
31	Roger Maris, 1961
30	Jim Gentile, 1961
30	Mickey Mantle, 1961
Source: Red Sox

o. A scouting report on Cubs infielder Jake Fox, who was called up after hitting .423 in Triple-A, 17 homers, 50 RBI, 33 extra-base hits, an .886 slugging percentage and a .503 on-base percentage: "I don't think he's all that much, to be honest with you. Defensively, he's probably below awful. You can pound him in with fastballs all day and you can throw him breaking balls and he'll chase. Throw him a fastball middle [to] away or a strike breaking ball, and he'll put a charge into it."

o. Four Orioles pitchers this year have started and won in their big-league debut, the first time any team has had four such pitchers since the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenies (now Pirates). And the only other team in that category was the 1888 Chicago Black Stockings (now Cubs).

o. People expect the White Sox, who were unable to land Jake Peavy, to still make a move. "Kenny [Williams, Chicago's GM] will definitely do something," one executive said. "He won't sit still."

o. Eric Milton's win Tuesday for the Dodgers was his first since Aug. 8, 2006. In between Milton's two most recent wins, 710 other pitchers recorded at least one win - and Roy Halladay had 47.

o. Rick Porcello, 20, is 5-0 with a 1.50 ERA over his past five starts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only one younger pitcher had such a stretch (five straight wins, ERA of 1.50 or better): Dwight Gooden, in 1984.

o. The Angels' victory Wednesday against the White Sox kept alive their streak of not being swept in a home series since June 25-27, 2007 (against the Royals).

o. The Red Sox might move for a shortstop if one becomes available. "I don't think [Boston is] afraid to do it if [it has] to," said a person familiar with the organization.

o. Indians right-hander Carl Pavano won five times in May, more than his high for any season in his four years with the Yankees. The five wins also equaled his total for May 23, 2005, to April 30, 2009 - a span of 1,438 days.

o. After Stephen Strasburg goes first to Washington in next week's draft, it looks like Seattle will take with North Carolina hitter Dustin Ackley - but an executive from another team warned Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, formerly the Brewers' scouting director, is unpredictable and could change directions.

o. How good is Nationals rookie Justin Maxwell in center field? Washington reliever Ron Villone favorably compared Maxwell (who was sent back down Saturday) to "a young Junior" - meaning Ken Griffey Jr., who was a teammate of Villone's in 1995 and 2000.

o. Mets third baseman David Wright is on pace to become the first player ever with 150 strikeouts and 140 singles in the same season. Most high-strikeout batters hit for power, and most singles hitters are contact hitters.

Baseball Brunch: Upon Further Review ... originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 31 May 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baseball Brunch: Familiar Faces, Strange Places in Independent Minors

Ed Price — Sun, 24 May 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Athletics, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Tigers, Yankees, NL Central, Prospects, Minor Leagues, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - The cleanup hitters in Thursday's game were Preston Wilson and Carl Everett. They have combined to play in more than 2,500 major-league games, hit 391 homers and make more than $80 million.

Wilson and Everett were on opposite sides in the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago, but this night they were far, far away from U.S. Cellular Field. They were the DHs for the Long Island Ducks and Newark Bears of the Atlantic League, respectively.

And they weren't the only former big-leaguers on the field.

Starting Five: Swarzak's Dazzling Debut

Wilson's teammates on the Ducks include Lew Ford, Brad Halsey, Dan Miceli and Bill Simas. The Bears roster has Armando Benitez, Keith Foulke, Shawn Chacon, Aaron Fultz, Rob Mackowiak and Tike Redman.

Why, oh why, are these guys riding buses around the Northeast and staying in Holiday Inns?

Well, because they want to get back to the bigs.

But also because they can't let go.

"A lot of us, this is all we know, and we love this game," Redman said. "So if we know that we've still got a shot, start out here.

"You just want to be back in the big leagues, because we're so used to the big leagues. And that's what you want, and that's what we keep thinking about and that's what keeps you going."

Redman, 35, knows you can make it back via independent leagues, such as the Atlantic or the Northern League, the Can-Am League or the American Association.

A veteran of nearly 400 games with the Pirates, he signed two years ago with the Atlantic League's York Revolution. After just seven games there, the Orioles bought his contract for depth at Triple-A, and he was back in the majors by August.

The Atlantic League has sold more than 400 players back to major league organizations in its 11-plus years of existence.

And everyone in the league now feels he can join that list.

"I feel like I can still play in the big leagues," said Ford, who spent 2003-07 with the Twins and last year in Japan. "I want to get back there, and I still enjoy going out and playing baseball every day, or I wouldn't be doing this. And I think there's a chance I can get back."

Ford said he hasn't had a hard time adjusting back to minor-league life, with the bus rides and smaller parks. And he likes the fact that with no six-, seven- or eight-figure salaries, the clubhouse has an egalitarian feel.

"I feel like everybody's on the same level," Ford said. "We have a pretty close clubhouse here and all the guys get along really well. And that makes it pretty easy to come to the field every day."

Said Newark manager Tim Raines: "I don't see any of those guys who have more time (in the big leagues) than anyone else feeling like they're better."

Yes, the managers have familiar names, too. Raines, Gary Carter (Ducks), Tommy John (Bridgeport Bluefish), Von Hayes (Lancaster Barmstormers), Sparky Lyle (Somerset Patriots), Butch Hobson (Southern Maryland Blue Crabs).

Said Carter: "I think all of these guys feel that if you can still do it ... still play, why not fulfill that [until] you believe in your heart that you can't do it any more?

"I can't think of anything else that fulfills me more than being in uniform and on the field."

Carter, who managed two years in the Mets farm system and last year in the Golden Baseball League, is in a similar situation to his players. He wants a shot to run a big-league team.

Raines, who was a coach with the 2005-06 White Sox and spent 2007 coaching in Double-A for the Nationals, isn't quite as ambitious. He said he'd go back to the majors but prefers Newark to an affiliated minor-league team.

"I tell you what, I like it here better than I like it in affiliated ball, especially in the minor leagues," Raines said. "You can't ask for anything. You just take whatever they give you. Here is a totally different story. You have an opportunity to pick and choose who comes and who goes."

But like the players, the managers in this game - one Hall of Fame player and one who soon should be - need to be around the game.

"We've been doing it all our lives," Raines said. "My first time in the big leagues I was 19 years old. I've been around baseball since then. I've pretty much grown up in baseball. There's not too much other things that I even feel comfortable doing.

"Sure, I'm not in big cities. Sure, I'm not in nice hotels. But that was when I played. I don't feel bad about it."

Overheard and Understood

o. The Phillies pooh-pooh their interest in Jake Peavy, but they could get involved. Philadelphia admittedly is looking for starting pitching, and it's known the Phillies were in the hunt for Peavy when trade talks were hot over the winter.

o. It's a strange schedule this year. The Cubs this weekend are playing their eighth road series, but they have been to just five road parks. They have already made two trips each to Houston, Milwaukee and St. Louis before getting once to division cities Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

Chart of the Week
Oakland has just eight wins by a starter this season. Fewest wins from starting pitchers in the past 50 years (not counting strike-shortened seasons):
Team	Wins	Top Pitcher
'62 Mets	23	Al Jackson (8)
'96 Tigers	29	Omar Olivares (7)
'03 Tigers	29	Mike Maroth (9)
'97 A's	29	Ariel Prieto (6)
'88 Braves	31	Three tied (7)
Source: baseball-reference.com

o. While some in the Cardinals organization are pushing to acquire Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre, general manager John Mozeliak (for now) prefers to wait for Troy Glaus to recover from right shoulder problems.

o. When the Diamondbacks were looking for a manager after the 2004 season, Mark Grace got an interview and was pushed for by some in the organization. But managing general partner Ken Kendrick blocked it because he feared Grace's lack of experience. Now Arizona has moved A.J. Hinch from farm director to manager, even though he had the same lack of managerial and coaching experience - and less of a playing career.

o. Baltimore's Nolan Reimold on Wednesday became the first player ever to hit his first big-league homer off Mariano Rivera. And before giving up a home run to Cincinnati's Ryan Hanigan on Wednesday, Phillies lefty Jamie Moyer had allowed just two homers to rookies: to Barry Bonds in 1986 and Gary Sheffield in 1989.

o. If he is "posted" by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, outfielder Norichika Aoki could be the top import from Japan next winter. A scout described Aoki - 5-foot-9, 170 pounds and 27 years old - as a "Brian Giles who can run." A lefty hitter, Aoki has a .331 career average and two batting titles.

o. Vin Mazzaro, the third member of Oakland's touted trio of young pitchers, is expected to join Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson in the majors next week. The A's will need a sixth starter because of a doubleheader May 29 at Texas. A scout who recently saw Mazzaro at Triple-A said, "He's ready now."

o. Jamie Hoffman, called up Friday by the Dodgers, was an eighth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003 and nearly went to Colorado College to play hockey before signing with the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent.

o. The Tigers signed shortstop Adam Everett for his glove. But with Everett and Ramon Santiago hitting well, Detroit leads all teams with 30 RBI from its shortstops.

o. All teams will wear red caps for Memorial Day, with a stars-and-stripes pattern inside every team's logo.

o. When the Pirates claimed right-hander Steven Jackson on waivers from the Yankees, it left the Yankees without any of the players obtained 30 months ago from the Diamondbacks for Randy Johnson. Reliever Luis Vizcaino left as a free agent, infielder Alberto Gonzalez was traded to Washington and right-hander Ross Ohlendorf went to Pittsburgh in the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal.

o. Ryan Theriot of the Cubs has 12 career homers, all at Wrigley Field. Only five players in history started their careers with a longer streak of home runs at the same park, and all of those were at the old Polo Grounds: Johnny Vergez (27), Burgess Whitehead (17), Bill Rigney (16), Freddie Fitzsimmons (14) and Andy Cohen (13).

o. The Giants went into the weekend nine games out in the NL West - their largest deficit after 40 games since 1991.

o. Marcus Lemon, the 20-year-old son of former All-Star outfielder Chet Lemon, is hitting .297 for Texas' Double-A club. "He's going to be OK," a scout said. "He's a good-looking ballplayer. I think he's more of a second baseman than a shortstop."

Baseball Brunch: Familiar Faces, Strange Places in Independent Minors originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 24 May 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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