MLB FanHouse

Footprints in the Snow: Royals

Tom Fornelli — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

Over the last few years there has been a familiar refrain coming out of the City of Fountains: this is the year that the Kansas City Royals will finally be competitive. Yet it just hasn't happened. In fact, since the team won it's lone World Series back in 1985, they've finished over .500 only six times, and only once since the strike season of 1994.

So if general manager Dayton Moore is going to put together a winning ballclub, it's obvious he has quite a bit of work to do. Still, there is talent on this Royals roster, so Moore might not have to make as many moves this winter as you would think.

More Footprints in the Snow

Who Might Leave

Miguel Olivo, C; Coco Crisp, OF; Sidney Ponson, SP; Bruce Chen, RP; Ron Mahay, RP; Jamey Wright, RP; Lenny DiNardo, RP; Yasuhiko Yabuta, RP

Shopping List

Both Dayton Moore and team owner David Glass have both gone on record saying that the team is looking to make more trades this winter in lieu of shopping in free agency, which is somewhat odd seeing as how they already made the first free-agent signing of the winter when the picked up reliever Brad Thompson on Thursday afternoon. That move aside, expect a lot more deals like the one the team made when they sent Mark Teahen to the White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh Fields.

As for what the team needs to add this winter, there aren't many areas where they don't need some help. Cy Young winner Zack Greinke, Billy Butler, Joakim Soria and Alex Gordon aside, there really isn't anyone on the roster the team couldn't live without or upgrade over. Now that they've added Getz, expect the Royals to continue pursuing a deal with the Dodgers for A.J. Ellis, with Alberto Callaspo possibly heading out west in exchange.

The two biggest trade chips the team has are probably Gil Meche and David DeJesus. They would no doubt love to move Jose Guillen in a trade but aren't likely to find a dance partner. The Royals could use Meche and DeJesus much the same way they used Teahen, though,, dumping a couple larger salaries to acquire younger, cheaper talent.

Money Matters

The Royals have never been big spenders but in the years since Dayton Moore took over, the payroll has increased. It went from $47 million in 2006 to $67 million, $58 million and $70 million in the successive seasons. Considering the moves we've already seen the team make this winter, however, don't expect to see a number higher than last year's $70 million in 2010.

We can't know for sure if the Royals are one of the teams that Bud Selig was talking about when he admitted some teams lost money in 2009, but it's possible they may have when factoring the cost of renovating Kauffman Stadium. Whether or not the additional revenue created from those changes will go to the payroll remains to be seen.

As mentioned earlier, if they could find a taker for Jose Guillen and $12 million he's owed for 2010, they'll jump at the chance. They may try and move the $24 million they still owe Meche but it's more likely they'd prefer to keep him around as he provides some depth to the starting rotation.

Offseason Goals

The Royals have a lot of free agents in their bullpen who aren't likely to be in Kansas City next season, so finding arms to help bridge the gap from the starters to Soria should be a priority. In a division as tight as the AL Central is just about every season, a solid bullpen can take you a long way. Other than that, the team needs to get stronger in the outfield and maybe find a power bat to add to the middle of the lineup so Butler has protection.

Footprints in the Snow: Royals originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BaseCast: Heavy on the Cys

Andrew Johnson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cardinals, Giants, Royals, MLB Awards, BaseCast

It's a baseball podcast. The math is easy, right? BaseCast. Let's rock.

The American League Cy Young Award winner, Zack Greinke, was announced Tuesday and the National League Cy Young winner will be announced Thursday, so what better time for the MLB FanHouse crew to discuss both pieces of hardware.

In this edition of BaseCast, Jeff Fletcher, Ed Price and I discuss the implications of Greinke capturing the award, both for the voting body and for the team he plays for, before trying to wrap our head around the intriguing NL race, which features three excellent pitchers (Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Tim Lincecum), but no clear favorite.

Listen in after the jump.

Listen to the podcast above, or click here to download the file.

BaseCast: Heavy on the Cys originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AL Cy Young Award: Kansas City Royals' Zack Greinke

Ed Price — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Royals, MLB Awards

With his American League-best 2.16 ERA, Royals right-hander Zack Greinke became the first starter to win the AL Cy Young Award with fewer than 18 wins.

In results announced Tuesday, Greinke received 25 of 28 first-place votes. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez got two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting, and Detroit's Justin Verlander received one first-place vote and finished third, one point ahead of Yankees lefty CC Sabathia.

Greinke was 16-8, and his relatively low win total was due to a poor Kansas City offense. The Royals averaged 3.8 runs scored in his starts, tied for the worst run support in the AL. Greinke had six starts in which he allowed fewer than two runs but did not get a win.

But his ERA was best for an AL qualifier since Pedro Martinez in 2000, and Greinke led the league in opponents' on-base percentage (.276), baserunners allowed per nine innings (9.81) and fewest home runs per nine innings (0.43). He was second in complete games (six), shutouts (four), strikeouts (242), opponents' average (.230) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.75).

How They Voted
Voting for 2009 AL Cy Young Award (5 points for a first-place vote, 3 for second, 1 for third):
Player, Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
Greinke, Royals	25	3		134
F.Hernandez, M's	2	23	1	80
Verlander, Tigers	1		9	14
Sabathia, Yankees		2	7	13
Halladay, Blue Jays			11	11

It was a remarkable year, even more so because Greinke missed almost half the 2006 season with an anxiety disorder.

So the hardest part of his season might have been the media attention.

"It's not so much it takes away so much time that you can't [keep to a routine]," Greinke said in July. "My mind, I can't get back to the right mindset after I leave the right mindset. It takes a while to get back to it sometimes."

He began this season with a 0.00 ERA in his first four starts and became the third big-leaguer to have an ERA better than 1.00 over his first 10 starts. Greinke also finished strong, setting a team record with 15 strikeouts on Aug. 25 against Cleveland, following that up with a one-hitter against Seattle and going 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his final eight starts.

Greinke, who turned 26 on Oct. 21, is the third Royals pitcher to win a Cy Young Award, after Bret Saberhagen (1985 and 1989) and David Cone (1994).

Hernandez (19-5 with a 2.49 ERA) tied for the league lead in wins and was second in ERA. Verlander was 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA and led the AL with 269 strikeouts. Sabathia was 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA.

AL Cy Young Award: Kansas City Royals' Zack Greinke originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark Teahen Traded to Chicago

Tom Fornelli — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:58:00 EST

Filed under: Royals, White Sox, AL Central, MLB Transactions

The rumors started early on Thursday morning that the Kansas City Royals had agreed to trade Mark Teahen to the Chicago White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Neither team would confirm the deal throughout the day, but 24 hours later it has become official.

Teahen and cash will be heading to Chicago for Getz and Fields. While it can't be known for sure, odds are the amount of cash the White Sox will receive from the Royals for the arbitration eligible Teahen is what kept the trade from being completed for 24 hours.

Teahen could be a useful player for the White Sox as he gives them a couple of options. He can play right field and replace Jermaine Dye who became a free agent on Friday, but he can also play in the infield as well. White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said during a conference call with reporters on Friday morning that the team's plan is to use Teahen at third base and move Gordon Beckham to second base.

He'll also provide a left-handed bat in a lineup that is somewhat righty-dominant in the wake of trading Jim Thome to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Royals will be getting two players that they can use to play all the positions they had Teahen try over the last few years, and they will do so at a much cheaper price. Fields was originally supposed to be Chicago's replacement for Joe Crede after he hit 23 homers and drove in 67 runs in 2007. Since then he hasn't been nearly as productive, and it was obvious that his time in Chicago was going to come to an end at some point this offseason.

Getz will be a useful player for the Royals, though their immediate plans for him aren't clear. The 26-year-old second baseman hit .261 for Chicago in 107 games and also stole 25 bases in 27 attempts. Getz is also a solid defender at second base, so it's possible the team is planning on having him play second, with Alberto Callaspo moving to shortstop.

Mark Teahen Traded to Chicago originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coco Crisp Unlikely to Remain in K.C.

Matt Snyder — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:13:00 EST

Filed under: Royals, AL Central, MLB Rumors

After one pretty lackluster season in Kansas City, it's likely Coco Crisp is going to be playing elsewhere next season. The Royals, who clearly need to avoid wasting money, would owe Crisp $8 million should they decide to retain his services. It would cost them just $500,000 to buy him out.

Crisp, who turns 30 this coming Sunday, batted just .228 with a .714 OPS in 49 games last season for the Royals. He also had surgery on both of his shoulders. Considering all that, there's no realistic reason for the Royals to not buy him out.

There would be a market for Crisp to find work elsewhere, even if it's not as an everyday starter from the get-go. He's not old by any stretch, and he has good speed. Of course, the last time he was an above average hitter was 2005, for the Indians. He's certainly going to have to take a pay cut.

Coco Crisp Unlikely to Remain in K.C. originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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Starting Five: Greinke's Cy Case Grows

Andrew Johnson — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Marlins, Red Sox, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Zack Greinke is doing everything in his power to win the American League Cy Young Award.

The Royals ace will not get anywhere close to 20 wins, but he did pick up his 16th of the year with seven innings of one-run ball against the Twins. He's now won five straight decisions dating back to Aug. 25 and his ERA is down to 2.06. As pointed out by FanHouse's Jacob Wheatley-Schaller, if Greinke pitches seven shutout innings in his final start of the year next Saturday in Minnesota, he'll finish the year with his ERA under 2.00.

Only one AL pitcher in the last 15 years -- Pedro Martinez in 2000 -- has thrown more than 200 innings in a season and finished with a sub-2.00 ERA

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Greinke departed the mound at Kauffmann Stadium to a loud ovation, a reaction that made him very uncomfortable.

"It's pretty annoying, actually," Greinke said of the cheers about the Cy Young Award. "I don't like it at all. I guess it's nice that they'll do that, but it's annoying to me."

No matter how much the right-hander wants to stay out of the spotlight, his performance has made him impossible to ignore.

"We knew he'd be good," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "We felt like he would be durable. But I don't think anybody could've predicted the impact of his statistics here before his final start."

From the Trainer's Room ...
Marlins ace Josh Johnson was scratched from his Sunday start with flu-like symptoms. The flu bug has been making its way around Florida's clubhouse, affecting a number of players over the last several days. Chris Volstad started in Johnson's place, and the Marlins fell 4-0 to the Mets, officially eliminating them from the NL East race.

Numbers Game ...
In losing to the Yankees, the Red Sox became the first team to start a season 8-0 against another team and then wind up not winning the season series. New York's sweep of Boston over the weekend leveled the season series at 9-all, not that the sudden turn in fortune in the rivalry has the Sox concerned.

"I think they have the best team in the American League East," closer Jonathan Papelbon said. "Sure. Facts are facts. I think there's a little sense of pride in trying to win the division every year. But realistically, the point is getting in and getting hot."

"As of right now, obviously they're the better team," left fielder Jason Bay said. "Once the postseason starts, everything else is kind of thrown out the window."

In Their Own Words ...
"There's been pitches of the year, innings of the year -- that's the defensive play of the year." -- Rockies manager Jim Tracy on Clint Barmes' diving catch that resulted in the game-ending double play of a 4-3 win over the Cardinals. The grab left the second baseman with a welt on his head, a sacrifice he was all too happy to make since it helped Colorado win a three-game series against St. Louis and kept its wild-card lead at 2 1/2 games over the surging Braves, who won in Washington.

Advance Scouting ...
Separated by two games in the AL Central, the Tigers host the Twins in the opener of a four-game set (7:05 PM ET) that will likely determine the division. Detroit, which carries the edge in the standings into this series, will send Rick Porcello to the mound against Minnesota's Nick Blackburn. The Tigers are 48-26 at Comerica Park this year, the third best home mark in the American League, but just 5-9 against the Twins.

Starting Five: Greinke's Cy Case Grows originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From the Windup: The Greinke All-Stars

Matt Snyder — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Royals

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.

Zack Greinke has been the best pitcher in the majors this season.

That statement wouldn't be disputed by anyone other than people who look only at won-loss record and nothing more. I'm not suggesting you throw that stat out the window, but you can take Greinke's 15-8 record, combine it with everything else, and still come to the conclusion that the best pitcher in 2009 plays for the Kansas City Royals.

With that in mind, I wanted to create a starting rotation from the past decade of pitchers who were similarly plagued by a less-than-stellar record, while also sporting filthy numbers elsewhere. It's the Zack Greinke Tribute Team.

[Note: We only used guys who finished in the top 10 in ERA and made at least 30 starts -- this group comprises the best five resumes from 2000-2008 with 15 wins or less and 7 losses or more who finished outside the top three in Cy Young voting]

Cole Hamels, Phillies (2008): He ranked in the top 10 among NL pitchers in ERA (3.09, sixth), strikeouts (196, sixth), shutouts (two, tied for third), complete games (two, tied for sixth), quality starts (23, tied for fourth), K/BB (3.70, fifth among full-time starters) and WHIP (first among qualified starters at 1.08). Hamels even played for a division and World Series champion, winning MVP of the Fall Classic. Consider all this, and then consider that he didn't net a single vote for the Cy Young. The culprit? Probably Hamels' unlucky 14-10 record.

Roy Oswalt, Astros (2006): Oswalt ranked in the top 10 among NL pitchers in ERA (2.95, first), innings pitched (219 2/3, eighth), K/BB (4.34, third among full-time starters) and WHIP (1.17, fifth among full-time starters). He walked only 38 batters, which translated to a career-low 1.5 per nine innings. Oswalt did finish fourth in Cy Young voting, likely due to the fact that his 15-8 record was among the best in the league that season.

Jake Peavy, Padres (2005): Peavy got only 30 starts in '05, but he made them count. He -- again, despite making just 30 starts -- led the NL in strikeouts with 216. He also finished top 10 in the league in ERA (2.88, fifth), complete games (three, tied for sixth), shutouts (three, third), K/BB (4.32, fourth), K/9 (9.58, second among full-time starters ... to Mark Prior?!) and WHIP (1.04, third among full-time starters). Peavy's 13-7 record didn't do him any favors as he failed to collect a single Cy Young vote (in fairness, it was a stacked year -- though I would have at least thrown him a vote before Chad Cordero).

Ben Sheets, Brewers (2004): First things first, let's commend the voters who had enough vision to throw Sheets enough votes to finish eighth in Cy Young voting. He had a losing record (12-14), so there were probably many who automatically eliminated him because of that. But look at the rest, and tell me why he should be penalized for how bad his team was. He finished top 10 in the NL in ERA (2.70), strikeouts (264, second only to the Big Unit), innings pitched (237, third), walks allowed (just 32, first among qualified pitchers and one fewer than Greg Maddux), complete games (five, second), K/BB (first with an obscene 8.25), K/9 (10.03, fifth) and WHIP (0.98, second). This was actually one of the best pitching seasons of the decade, and he was stuck with a losing record on a team that went 67-94.

Kerry Wood, Cubs (2003): The Cubs had a Cy Young candidate in 2003 as Mark Prior finished third. He (rightfully) overshadowed a stellar season from Wood. Kid K finished in the top 10 in the NL in ERA (3.20, sixth), strikeouts (266, first), complete games (four, tied for fourth), shutouts (two, tied for third) and K/9 (11.35, first among full-time starters). Opponents hit just .203 against Wood. Yet, he was cursed with bad fortune in the win-loss column. He went just 14-11, compared to Prior who went 18-6. Thus, no Cy votes.

When compiling this list, two things jumped out at me. First of all, everyone on the Tribute Team played in the National League. We're all aware the NL is the much more pitcher-friendly league -- routinely sporting a lower average ERA -- so this makes sense.

It also makes what Greinke is doing in 2009 that much more impressive.

The numbers from everyone on the Tribute Team absolutely pale in comparison to Greinke's '09 line. It's just not even remotely close (yeah, that's redundant, but Greinke's line is so ridiculous it causes me to go a bit haywire). In fact, I'm going to list his stats relative to the entire major leagues, just to show how excellent he's been.

He leads the majors with a 2.08 ERA. His 229 strikeouts trail only Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander for the lead. Only Roy Halladay has more complete games and Greinke's three shutouts lead the majors. Only Felix Hernandez has made more quality starts. Greinke's 4.87 K/BB rate is exceptional and his 1.06 WHIP places him first in the American League (in fact, he's one of only two American Leaguers in the top 10 in all of baseball in WHIP). If you want to get into sabermetrics, only Lincecum has a better DIPS (defense-independent pitching) among full-time starters. His ERA+ is 210, which is the third highest this decade (behind only Pedro Martinez in 2000 and Roger Clemens in 2005). His opponents are slugging just .336 and getting on base at a .272 clip.

Put simply, we are witnessing one of the most dominant pitching seasons in recent memory -- if not baseball history. If Greinke pitched for a large-market team, you'd already be sick of hearing about his greatness.

In fact, Hall of Famer Jim Rice recently said Greinke reminded him of a right-handed Roger Moret. Rice played with Moret in 1973 when he went 13-2 and again in 1975 when Moret compiled a 14-3 record.

Of course, Rice meant it as an insult (and it really was, if you've seen Moret's stats other than his record in those two seasons), saying Greinke "didn't really impress" him. It's even more of an insult when you consider the sad end to Moret's career.

Rice did us the justice of copping to the fact that "maybe" he caught Greinke on a "bad night." Thanks, Jim. It was a rough one for Greinke -- throwing six shutout innings of two-hit baseball against a Red Sox team that has scored the third most runs in the majors this season and had won 10 of 12 entering the game. I mean, what's so impressive about that?

Digression/sarcasm aside, another difference between the ZGTT (how ya like that acronym?) and its namesake is that Greinke will be finishing in the top three of Cy Young voting. It seems the voters are collectively turning themselves around on the whole win-loss thing, otherwise CC Sabathia would take home the brass.

Fortunately, not many (any?) members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, the body that votes on postseason awards, have been writing compelling arguments for anyone else to win the Cy Young. Let's hope that means they are collectively ready to pull the trigger on a Greinke vote.

I believe that's exactly what is going to happen. Greinke's season deserves the proper documentation and the award would be the icing on that proverbial cake.

From the Windup: The Greinke All-Stars originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Washington Won't Be Only Century City

Ed Price — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Braves, Indians, Mariners, Nationals, Orioles, Pirates, Red Sox, Rockies, Royals, MLB Injuries, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
One team has 100 defeats, two more could follow -- and there could even be a record-tying four 100-loss teams.

The Nationals on Thursday fell to 52-100 with their 7-6 loss to the Dodgers. And the Pirates are 56-95 after a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Reds.

Anyone want to bet Pittsburgh -- 3-23 since Aug. 28 -- goes better than 6-5 in its final three series against Los Angeles, Chicago and Cincinnati?

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

The other two candidates to hit the century mark are Baltimore (60-92) and Cleveland (61-91). The Orioles have lost seven straight while the Indians have dropped 11 in a row, one off the team-record skid set in 1931.

We'd bet on both teams to reach 100 losses but for one small detail: They play each other this weekend.

Which means someone's losing streak ends tonight. And the only way for both teams to lose 100 is if Baltimore wins two of three this weekend and both teams then drop their final seven games.

Which, considering how these teams are going, isn't out of the realm of possibility.

The only time four teams lost 100 games in the same season was 2002 -- Detroit, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. There have been seven other seasons with three 100-loss teams, but only once (1985) since it happened four times in five years after the 1961 expansion.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez -- who has hit .297 with a .601 slugging percentage since Aug. 7 -- has missed two straight games with a tight left hamstring.

"We are backing off," [manager Jim] Tracy said. "He will be available to hit. But I wouldn't put him out there where he has to run. The injury is near the bottom of the hamstring so we have to be very careful."

Numbers Game ...
Boston's Clay Buchholz allowed fewer than two runs for the fourth straight start, pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a win at Kansas City. Since Sept. 8, Buchholz is 3-0 with a 0.70 ERA, 18 hits allowed (one homer) and 19 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings.

In Their Own Words ...
"I'd vote for Greinke, he's doing a great job. He's tough, he's nasty." -- Seattle ace Felix Hernandez (who improved to 17-5 Thursday with a win in Toronto) on the debate over whether he or Kansas City's Zack Greinke should win the AL Cy Young Award

Advance Scouting ...
If the Braves are going to make a dramatic charge to the playoffs, this is the weekend to gain major ground. Atlanta -- 3 1/2 games behind Colorado -- opens a three-game series in Washington Friday night (7:05 PM ET), while the Rockies host the NL Central-leading Cardinals for three (8:10 PM ET). The Braves passed the Giants, who stayed four back of the Rockies with Thursday's loss to the Cubs.

Starting Five: Washington Won't Be Only Century City originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Dugout: Detroit Ink

B. Thompson Stroud — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:20:00 EST

Filed under: Royals, Tigers, AL Central, The Dugout

When asked to name the Major League Baseball player who most resembles Allen Iverson, Detroit Tiger and fellow Lynchburg, Va. alumni Brandon Inge wouldn't be at the top of the list. But here we are in September and those forearm tattoos he got back in August still haven't worn off. If the Tiger manage to make the playoffs, he should compete in a retro headband and a big arm-sized glove that makes him look like Sally Jupiter.

As the race for the AL Central heads into the home stretch, it is important to analyze these tattoos and see how they match up with the rest of the division. Tonight's Dugout is after the jump.

The Dugout

	Online Host Welcome to the AL Central Chatroom!
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: an then joker gets pumped full a titan so he can battel you, an he looks like this neo-carnie steampunk wwe bend-em
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: you know the game by stabben joker in his back with your gun that shoots ropes an batman finally gets revenge the only way he knows how: murders
	LawnMauer: I really don't care about any of this.
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: the enden is that you go in toward the castle an toad says "thank you batman but the ice princess is in another castle"
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: the xbox says i got 91% complete but i think 91 is the most you can have, i don't know why they do it like that
	LawnMauer: that's great... hey, I'm gonna go stand over here and, uh, wait for my MVP award. By myself.
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: no problem man do you want to know the entire history of dcau harley quinn
	Online Host TheAngryInge has entered the chatroom.
	LawnMauer: Hey Kyle, check it out, Brandon got new tattoos on his forearms
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: whatttttt
	TheAngryInge: aw come on man you promised me you weren't going to do that
	LawnMauer: heh heh, mvp baby
	Online Host LawnMauer has left the chatroom.
	TheAngryInge: sigh
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: give it up bro raise them dux an lets see some a that sweet central virginia flesh art
	TheAngryInge: /turns around
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: holy f*amole that sh is tighter than jamie moyers heart valves, it looks like you are wearing ed hardy on your farms at all times
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: tell me you have gotten a murderous lion tatooed on your bosom
	TheAngryInge: The stereotype about tattoos drives me nuts, but don't judge me by this. These are very special to me.
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: what does that one say
	TheAngryInge: /holds up forearm
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: read it to me your arm looks like the delcaration of indapendents, s'like francis lightfoot lee quilled the sh** outta you're arm, i get that close to school an my brain shuts down
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: also i cant read cursive
	TheAngryInge: This arm says "Chase"
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: because that is your favirote charles sheen vehicle
	TheAngryInge: No, because that's my son's name. Both of my tattoos are for my sons.
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: the one where he makes like the mobile chris dollanganger an deflowers kristy swanson in her autmobile
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: that is a good ass movie you sure your tattoo isnt about that
	TheAngryInge: No, pretty sure it's about my son.
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: what does that one say
	TheAngryInge: "Tyler."
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: in honor of the tyler parry film franchise
	TheAngryInge: No, Tyler is my other son. Chase and Tyler.
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: you were such a fan of dairy of a mad black woman that you stain'd your body for a ternity... pretty progressive there jack robinson
	TheAngryInge: I didn't get a tattoo about that movie!
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: if it wasent for dairy of a bad black woman was it for meet the brown family, or perhaps "i can do things badly by myself"
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: madea goes to camp
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: the family that beats kathy bates in her white ass any of these
	TheAngryInge: I don't think those are the correct names for any of those things
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: what about that tyler perry movie where the poster is all artsy, but it is still just a two hour episode of good times
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: which one was that, was it "all of them"
	TheAngryInge: No, my tattoos are about my family. I'm from Lynchburg, the only things I can get tattoos of are my family, Jesus, or Wards road
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: that would be cool you could get the hollywood video on your shoulder an the best buy on your wrist
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: google earth bitch thats how i know
	TheAngryInge: hey look I need to ... stand over here, the playoffs are about to start and I need to be ready just in case we don't completely blow it
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: dont worry you got time to summon conversation an shoot the shoat with kyle farnsworth
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: here lemme show you my tatz /clenches fist, whips up sleeve
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: on this arm is a tribal christmas tree that probably wraps all the way up my arm an around my chiselt body, i dont know for sure my underarmor is too tight to be removed
	TheAngryInge: Why do you have a Christmas tattoo?
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: because i like christmas you asshole
	TheAngryInge: Well I like my kids!
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: also i pattern my life after the teachings of ultramantis black
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: at least 10 years from now christmas will still be celebrated unlike your imbred hillcat offspring, who even celebrates them now
	TheAngryInge: What's on your other arm? Is that the zodiac sign for Cancer?
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: no
	TheAngryInge: I think that's what that is, actually.
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: its not a cancer who would want cancer on there body, it is a 69 obvs
	TheAngryInge: /tilts head Why is it on its side like that?
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: you expect me to have 69 standen up, do you even understand how gravity works how many people am i gonna have to explane this to
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: i surrounded it in tribal because i like haven sex with indigenous womens
	TheAngryInge: heh, you know, I was thinking of getting a Christian Aduigier backpiece, just crowns and fleur-de-lis randomly over my entire body
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: do it dude that would be wolfpac levels of sweet
	Online Host The Minnesota Twins have come from behind to win the AL Central!
	TheAngryInge: wait, hold on, WHAT? AW COME ON, I didn't... I mean, I was...
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: sweet, now you have more time to chat
	pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth: so you ever play arkham asylum

Photos link to player info. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) WordUpThome.com

Photo of Brandon Inge's tattoos comes courtesy of Allison Hagen. See a bigger image here.

The Dugout: Detroit Ink originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Minnesota Moves On, Up

Andrew Johnson — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cubs, Red Sox, Royals, Tigers, Twins, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Twins are still surging.

Minnesota shook off a loss to the Tigers Sunday that pushed it three games back in the AL Central and routed the White Sox 7-0 to cut Detroit's edge in the division to 2 1/2 games.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn pitched one of his best games of the season, tossing seven shutout innings and striking out six to pick up his first road win since the end of May.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

"Being in a race like this makes it even more exciting," Blackburn said. "There's more pressure, but it makes us enjoy the wins even more."

From the Trainer's Room ...
Cubs wins leader Ted Lilly will miss his next scheduled start on Wednesday with tendinitis in his left shoulder. Jeff Samardzija will start in his place. Out of contention and closing in on mathematical elimination from the race, the team is being cautious with the left-hander, who has the lowest ERA of any Chicago starter at 3.02.

"If we needed him to pitch Wednesday, he would've pitched," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

Numbers Game ...
The Red Sox blew a chance to close to within four games of the Yankees in the AL East, and they did so in the ugliest fashion possible in a 12-9 loss to the Royals. Boston pitchers surrendered 11 walks in the defeat, the most the team has allowed in a game since giving up 13 in a 13-5 loss to the Yankees on Aug. 19, 2006 (during the infamous second Boston Massacre series that effectively knocked the Red Sox out of contention that year).

Kansas City hurlers allowed seven walks of their own, but their offense turned a 9-5 deficit into an 11-9 lead with a six-run sixth inning, the first time they have scored that many runs in a frame since Sept. 24, 2008. The Royals have won 11 of their last 14.

In Their Own Words ...
"Thank goodness for speed. That's a pretty routine double play ball for anyone else." -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy on pinch-hitter Fred Lewis, who beat out a potential double play at first with the bases loaded to help bring in the decisive run in San Francisco's 5-4 win over Arizona. The Giants are now four games back of the Rockies in the NL wild-card race.

Advance Scouting ...
With their showdown series with the Twins less than a week away, the Tigers will try to maintain their shrinking lead in the AL Central. Detroit sends the slumping Edwin Jackson to the mound against the Indians (7:05 PM ET) in Cleveland. Jackson, presumably the Tigers' No. 2 starter in the postseason should they qualify, is 2-2 over his last five starts, but he's posted a 6.03 ERA in that span.

Starting Five: Minnesota Moves On, Up originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Honoring Those Who Brought the Game to the Fans

Ed Price — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Phillies, Rangers, Reds, Royals, Tigers, Yankees, MLB Injuries, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
The names Hal McCoy and Ernie Harwell.

Both were honored at ballparks on Wednesday, and their absence from the game will be felt by fans in Cincinnati and Detroit.

Harwell, the long-time Tigers radio announcer, has inoperable, terminal cancer. So the team chose Wednesday night to honor him at Comerica Park, and after a video tribute in the third inning, he thanked the fans:

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

"In my almost 92 years on this earth, the good Lord has blessed me with a great journey, and the blessed part of that journey is it's going to end here in the great state of Michigan.

"I deeply appreciate the great people of Michigan. I love their grit. I love the way they face life. I love the family values they have. And you Tiger fans are the greatest fans of all. No question about that.

"And I certainly want to thank you from the depth of my heart, for your devotion, your support, your loyalty and your love. Thank you very much and God bless you."

About 250 miles southwest, at Great American Ball Park, it was Hal McCoy Night.

Like Harwell, McCoy is in a wing of the Hall of Fame -- writers' instead of broadcasters'. McCoy has been the Reds beat writer for the Dayton Daily News for 37 years, but he is retiring after the season, another victim of the newspaper industry's short-sighted cutbacks.

In a nice touch, the Reds arranged for the Astros' Aaron Boone to catch McCoy's ceremonial first pitch. It was Boone, who when he was with the Reds, talked McCoy out of retiring after a stroke in his left eye damaged his vision.

McCoy stuck with it, and his writing and reporting didn't miss a beat.

There are no men in baseball classier than Hal McCoy and Ernie Harwell. So they will be missed.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Chan Ho Park, who has a 2.52 ERA in his 38 relief appearances for the Phillies, might be out for a while. Park left Wednesday's game with a strained left hamstring and said afterward he felt it "pop." It's another blow to the scrambled Philadelphia bullpen.

Numbers Game ...
The Rangers, who got just one hit Wednesday, have been shut out in three of their past four games -- scoring a grand total of one run. That's the franchise's worst four-game output since it moved from Washington to Texas. The last time any team scored one run over four games was in June 2007, when the Braves were shut in out three straight games, managed a run and then got shut out again.

In Their Own Words ...
"There's that feeling you can always do it because we've done it so many times. When guys have confidence, they are different players. When you have success in situations, you learn how to relax in those situations." -- Yankees manager Joe Girardi, whose team got its 14th walk-off win of the year, the franchise's most since 1943

Advance Scouting ...
Zack Greinke could use a win for his Cy Young Award campaign (not that wins are the be-all and end-all, but they certainly help). Edwin Jackson needs to get on track by the time the playoffs start. The two right-handers square off today in Detroit (1:05 PM ET). Greinke leads the AL in ERA, WHIP, shutouts and fewest homers per nine innings, but in three of his past six starts he has allowed zero or one earned run and gotten a no decision. Jackson, meanwhile, has a 5.31 ERA over his past seven starts after starting out 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA.

Starting Five: Honoring Those Who Brought the Game to the Fans originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: AL East Wasn't Much of a Fight, So Yankees Find One

Ed Price — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Blue Jays, Giants, Padres, Rangers, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Yankees, MLB Injuries, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Yankees are still fired up despite their large lead in the AL East.

After two Yankees pitchers hit Blue Jays batters in Tuesday's game, Toronto's Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada in the bottom of the eighth.

Posada glared, benches briefly emptied, but there were no punches. Yet.

Instead of letting it end there, or charging the mound, Posada waited until he walked and then scored a run to give Carlson a shove after he crossed home plate.

And then it was on.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Posada ended up on the bottom of the pile in the ensuing melee -- and the Yankees can't afford to have him hurt. (Posada missed most of last year, and the Yankees missed the playoffs.)

"He was just right there on the line to the dugout. We got carried away and hopefully that's the end of it," the 38-year-old Posada said. "I don't want my kids to see that. ... Fight in the middle of the field, benches clearing -- that's a bad example."

A suspension seems likely.

"As he ran past Carlson, he gave him a little shove with his elbow. It was very unsportsmanlike," [home plate umpire Jim] Joyce told a pool reporter. "It was a cheap shot."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi met with his team after the game to ask them to chill.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Jarrod Washburn, Detroit's big trade deadline pickup, had to come out after an inning against Kansas City because of a bad left knee.

"Shortly after the strikeout [to start the game], we could tell he was in pain," [manager Jim] Leyland said. "We'll see what happens, but it seems pretty obvious to me that, at this point, he's unpitchable."

The Tigers went on to lose for the sixth time in eight games, four of those losses have come to the last-place Royals.

Numbers Game ...
Heath Bell's ERA has gone up almost a full run in less than a week. On Tuesday he gave up the winning runs after blowing two straight saves. In those three games, he has given up seven hits and seven runs in three innings, so his ERA has gone from 1.98 to 2.90. If Bell blows his next save chance, he will be the first Padres closer to fail in three straight save opportunities since Craig Lefferts in 1990; Trevor Hoffman has never blown three straight.

In Their Own Words ...
"I felt great in batting practice, ran around great, and then the second pitch he threw me, I got off balance, landed on my front side a little too hard and it just grabbed,. I didn't want to make it worse. I've been making too much progress." -- Texas' Michael Young, who tried to return from a strained left hamstring but came out of the game against Oakland after one plate appearance

Advance Scouting ...
With a 2 1/2-game lead in the wild-card race, Colorado will try to avoid its sixth straight loss to San Francisco in the teams' final regular-season meeting (10:15 PM ET). Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa is 2-0 against the Giants this year, but in those two starts he has a 5.40 ERA. He faces Matt Cain, who in 17 career starts against Colorado has allowed opposing hitters to bat just .212.

Starting Five: AL East Wasn't Much of a Fight, So Yankees Find One originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:00:00 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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Gil Meche Likely Done for Rest of 2009

Matt Snyder — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Royals, AL Central, MLB Injuries

Not that it has any impact atop the standings for 2009, but Gil Meche -- No. 2 starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals -- will likely be shut down for the rest of the season with shoulder inflammation. He hadn't made a start since Aug. 29, when he was abused by the Mariners to the tune of eight hits and seven earned runs in just four innings.

After going 23-24 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in his first two seasons for the Royals, Meche has taken a huge step back in 2009. He's 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.

Of course, Meche has battled injuries all season, including back troubles, so-called "dead arm" and now the ailing throwing shoulder. It's entirely possible the 30-year-old right-hander simply couldn't stay healthy and that's what most affected his craft on the hill.

He does have two years left on his contract, and it's very possible Meche can team with Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke and the still-developing Luke Hochevar to form a good trio in the Royals rotation next season.

In the meantime, the Royals hold a daunting seven-game lead on the Nationals for the 29th best record in the majors. The loser gets the No. 1 overall pick in next June's draft. Can the Royals' patchwork rotation (Brian Bannister is also injured) help them blow this lead and win the Bryce Harper in 2010 derby?

Gil Meche Likely Done for Rest of 2009 originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Halladay Cools Off Yanks

Jeff Fletcher — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Blue Jays, Cardinals, Indians, Phillies, Royals, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Roy Halladay stopped his his cold streak and the Yankees' hot streak in one night. The Blue Jays ace had not pitched well, losing three consecutive starts for only the third time in his career. On Friday night, though, he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished with the second one-hitter of his career.

"He's just a cut above a lot of other people," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said.

The Yankees came into the game having won seven in a row, but Halladay didn't give them much of a chance. Halladay improved to 17-6 against the Yankees. That is by far the most wins against the Yankees of any active pitcher. Pedro Martinez is next with 11.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

From the Trainers' Room...
Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore saw his season ended on Friday. Sizemore will be out until next year, recovering from a pair of surgeries. He'll first have an operation on his left elbow, followed by a procedure on his left abdominal wall. It is the end to an injury-marred season for Sizemore, who once played 382 consecutive games. With Sizemore out, it allowed top prospect Michael Brantley to get in the lineup to pick up his first big-league RBI.

By The Numbers...
The Phillies have scored just three runs in their past four games (winning two of them, remarkably). According to FanHouse's Ed Price, that's the Phillies' worst four-game offensive stretch since Sept. 1-4, 2000. Don't bet on the Phillies from Sept. 1-4, 2018.

In Their Own Words...
[Wainwright] is having a great, great year, nobody's getting anything off him and all of a sudden, there's the one big inning. He just looked like he ran out of gas ... But I liked it because sometimes he picks us up. It's a good team thing." -- Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, on Adam Wainwright's rare outing. Wainwright had gone 13 consecutive games without allowing more than two runs before the Pirates scored six runs against him in the fifth inning. The Cardinals rallied quickly from the 6-5 deficit to get Wainwright his major league-leading 17th victory.

Advance Scouting...
Zack Greinke gets another chance to convince Cy Young doubters that he's the guy for the award, even though his 13 victories rank eighth in the league. Greinke will pitch against the Angels (7:10 PM ET), who have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league. Unfortunately, the Angels will counter with John Lackey, so Greinke is likely to continue getting criminally poor support. Greinke has a had a one-hit shutout and a 15-strikeout game in his past two outings.

Starting Five: Halladay Cools Off Yanks originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: New Dodger Garland Garners Win Over Former Team

Ed Price — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Mets, Pirates, Rays, Rockies, Royals, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
Jon Garland couldn't beat them. So he joined them. And then he beat the old them.

Traded from the fourth-place Diamondbacks to the first-place Dodgers earlier in the week, Garland on Friday faced Arizona in his first start for Los Angeles.

"It was fun. I grew up coming to games here, and getting a chance to pitch for this team is definitely a dream come true," Garland said. "It's kind of awkward the way it happened -- but nevertheless, it did -- and I was able to throw a good one up. I didn't leave too many tickets. I cut the phone off and told people if they want to come, they can pay for it and support the team."

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Garland allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings, retiring the final 14 batters he faced, as the Dodgers won 4-2.

"I think it was more uncomfortable because I was in that other dugout the first game and then came over," Garland said. "I mean, if it would have been like a week or two weeks down the road, it would have been a little bit different. But the fact that it was in the same series, there was a little extra the first few innings."

... "Being able to go out there and give this team a good quality start, coming out of the game with the lead and ending up winning it, I couldn't have asked for much more," Garland said. "Once I finally calmed down and got my feet underneath me, the ball started moving a little bit more and I was getting more ground balls and we got off a nice little run."

The Dodgers expanded their lead in the NL West to 5 1/2 games; their magic numbers are 22 to eliminate the Giants and 23 to eliminate the Rockies.

Garland became the 12th different starter used this year by the Dodgers, one shy of the L.A. team record set in 1964. And the Dodgers have gotten a win from 21 different pitchers, most in the majors since the 2007 Rockies and Yankees had 22.

From the Trainer's Room ...
Not only did the Rays fall six games out in the wild-card race with 29 to play by losing 6-3 to the Red Sox, but center fielder B.J, Upton left the game with a sprained left ankle. Upton collided with left fielder Carl Crawford in the fifth inning and will miss at least two more games.

Numbers Game ...
Mets lefty Pat Misch, in the rotation because of injuries to Oliver Perez and Johan Santana, got his first big-league win in his 55th career appearance (13th start). Misch, who held the Rockies to two runs in seven innings, was the first southpaw to go winless in his first 12 starts since Mike Mohler of the 1993-97 A's.

In Their Own Words ...
"In our immediate-gratification society, everybody wants to point fingers. But from what I've seen from everything that goes on in this organization, Trey Hillman's leadership is one of the strengths of our organization. People can debate that, and I know they will, but it's one of the strengths of our organization because the guy is a winner and he works and he cares." -- Royals GM Dayton Moore, four-year extension in hand, saying that manager Trey Hillman will be back in 2010 as well.

Advance Scouting ...
Adam Wainwright can add to his case for the Cy Young Award -- he's right there, along with teammate Chris Carpenter and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum -- as St. Louis visits Pittsburgh (7:05 PM ET). Wainwright (16-7, 2.47 ERA) is tied for the major league lead in wins and is third in the NL in ERA. His streak of 12 starts going at least six innings while allowing no more than two runs is the longest since Greg Maddux had 13 such games in a row in 1995.

Starting Five: New Dodger Garland Garners Win Over Former Team originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As Expected, Dayton Moore's Contract With Royals Extended Through 2014

Tom Fornelli — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:09:00 EST

Filed under: Royals, AL Central, MLB Transactions

As was reported by FanHouse's Ed Price last week, the Kansas City Royals are set to announce a contract extension for general manager Dayton Moore, possibly as soon as Monday night. The tentative agreement would keep Moore in Kansas City through 2014.

The news of Moore's extension is bound to get mixed reviews from Royals fans who have watched the team suffer through another losing season, but it's apparent that team owner David Glass still believes that Moore is the right man to help turn the franchise around.

While Moore hasn't been perfect in his decisions for Kansas City, I think a lot of the ill will directed towards him by a portion of Royals fans is due to the higher expectations placed on the team this season -- raised expectations that are a direct result of the work Moore has done since taking over.

Some longtime Royals observers may feel that this is the worst Royals team they've ever seen, but Kansas City does have a solid foundation in their starting rotation featuring guys like Zack Greinke, Gil Meche and Luke Hochevar. They've also got a nice young hitter in Billy Butler who is starting to come into his own and looks like the kind of player that could anchor the lineup for years to come.

So while Moore has possibly made some ill-advised choices in the last year, he's also only a few good decisions away from getting this Royals team back on the winning path, and now he has the time and security to make those decisions.

As Expected, Dayton Moore's Contract With Royals Extended Through 2014 originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Royals Will Give Contract Extension to GM Dayton Moore

Ed Price — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:05:00 EST

Filed under: Royals, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Inside Scoop

A contract extension for Kansas City GM Dayton Moore is "done," according to a major-league source.

Moore's original contract ran through 2010, and the source did not know how many years the extension would cover.

This will create much anguish for those who focus on Moore's moves the past year and their horrendous performance the past 3 1/2 months (31-67 after an 18-11 start).

I still maintain it was not such a bad idea to trade middle relievers (Ramon Ramirez and Leo Nunez) for every-day players (Coco Crisp and Mike Jacobs). Signing Jose Guillen, Ron Mahay, Horacio Ramirez, Kyle Farnsworth and Willie Bloomquist were more predictably bad.

But the Royals believe they have the base of a decent rotation with Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, Luke Hochevar and Kyle Davies and some prospects in the low minors.

The crux of the matter is that Kansas City has not had a winning record since 2003 and hasn't won more than 83 games since 1993. And ownership pinched pennies in every part of baseball operations, severely handicapping Allard Baird as GM, until opening its Wal-Mart wallet once hiring Moore in June 2006.

So the team has been run with some degree of freedom from severe financial constraints for just three years. Maybe it isn't time to judge Moore just yet.

Royals Will Give Contract Extension to GM Dayton Moore originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting Five: Phillies' Lidge Falls Off Ledge Again

Ed Price — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox, Rockies, Royals, White Sox, NL West, MLB Injuries, MLB Milestones, MLB Transactions, Starting Five

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Phillies' weakest link is Brad Lidge.

Repeating as World Series champs is going to be near impossible without an effective closer. And Lidge, perfect last year in converting save opportunities, is a mess.

Asked to hold a one-run lead last night against the Pirates, Lidge gave up a single, a wild pitch, a single and Andrew McCutchen's walk-off homer.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Lidge had maintained through many bad outings that his pitches felt good, but tonight was different. "I didn't have anything on the ball tonight," he said.

Lidge has a 0-6 record, a 7.33 ERA and has blown three of his past seven save chances -- nine of 34 this season.

"He's our closer," [manager Charlie] Manuel said. "I've said it all over the place. That's the guy who we've got."

Lidge has surrendered 11 homers in just 46 2/3 innings, which would rank as the worst rate ever for a closer. (Rick Aguilera is the only pitcher to record 20 saves and allow more than 2.00 homers per nine innings; he did so for the 2000 Cubs and it was the last year of his career.)

From the Trainer's Room ...
For the ninth time in his career -- but the first time this year -- Nick Johnson is on the disabled list. Johnson, hitting .308 with a .962 OPS since being traded from Washington to Florida, has not played since Aug. 16 because of sore right hamstring.

Numbers Game ...
The Rockies have gained 13 1/2 games on the Dodgers in 83 days, climbing within two games of the NL West leaders with Tuesday's 10-inning, 5-4 victory. On the morning of June 4, L.A. was 37-18 and Colorado was 20-32 and in last place. Since then, the Dodgers have gone 37-34 while the Rockies have gone 52-22 to get 18 games over .500 for the first time in team history. Three weeks ago, Los Angeles had the largest lead of any first-place team; now the NL West is the tightest division.

In Their Own Words ...
"I don't know why, but I thought [Luke] Hochevar had 15 and no walks [on June 25, but it was actually 13]. So I couldn't figure out what was going on. I was wondering, 'Why are they cheering so much?' It didn't really make sense to me. I thought Hoch had 15. Obviously, I was wrong." -- Zack Greinke on the ovation he got from the Kansas City crowd when he got his 15th strikeout Tuesday night, breaking Mark Gubicza's team record

Advance Scouting ...
Tim Wakefield is scheduled to come off the disabled list tonight to start for the Red Sox against the White Sox (7:10 PM ET). Wakefield was 11-3 before going on the DL with back problems, and while his 4.31 ERA wasn't great, Boston sorely missed him in the rotation as it saw John Smoltz and Brad Penny struggle. Big question: Who catches the knuckleballs? Jason Varitek has worked with Wakefield once since 2005, but can Victor Martinez handle the floaters any better?

Starting Five: Phillies' Lidge Falls Off Ledge Again originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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