Last week, at the Rangers Fan Fest, I interviewed Rangers pitcher Doug Mathis. Doug was nice enough to sit with me for about half an hour after he finished signing autographs.
Me: Why didn’t you sign with the Dodgers when they drafted you in 2002 out of high school?
Doug: They wanted me to do a draft-and-follow, which they no longer do. I went to Central Arizona to do a draft-and-follow at the junior college there. I was originally going to go to the University of Arizona but I ended up going to Central Arizona and playing there for two years.
Me: Can you explain how the draft-and-follow process worked?
Doug: You had a team draft you and then you would go to junior college, usually for a year, and the team would have rights to sign you at the end of that year. So if you do well that year and they want to sign you, that’s when they can make an offer to you. I ended up not signing with them after my first year and I ended up going back there for another year.
Me: Why didn’t you sign with the Mariners when they drafted you in 2003 out of Central Arizona Junior College?
Doug: I had a scholarship to the University of Missouri and that opportunity was going to be better than the opportunity with the Mariners at that time. So I decided to go there and I was drafted by the Rangers after my one year there. So it kind of worked out for me.
Me: What was the key to your High-A rebound in 2006 when you had an 8.48 ERA through your first six Bakersfield appearances and then a 2.12 ERA in your next five and when you averaged 4.9 strikeouts per nine innings in your first 11 appearances and 7.7 in your next 15?
Doug: I’d say I made a little bit of a mechanical adjustment with Rick Adair and then I just kind of got in a good groove. I started throwing more strikes and had better stuff, for whatever reason. I don’t know if that was from the mechanical thing or mental. It might have been my overall approach. I kind of understood what kind of pitcher I was and maybe I was trying to do too much at first. I think I started slowing things down and going up there and not trying to do too much.
Me: Can you tell how you adjusted in 2007, when you struggled in triple-A (0-3, 10.66 ERA) before dominating the Texas League in double-A for the rest of the season?
Doug: That was probably more mental than anything because my stuff wasn’t any different in triple-A than it was when I got to Frisco. I think for me that year, I was kind of caught off-guard going to triple-A to start the year, so I was kind of pressing a little bit trying to impress people. I was one of the younger guys on the team up there, so I didn’t really feel like I fit in that much. But once I got to Frisco, I felt like I was kind of where I belonged in my mind. I kind of was more at ease. I think a key to me pitching well down there is that I was comfortable and I was OK being there. That’s the biggest thing for any player – you have to be comfortable where you’re at.
Me: How much has the mechanical adjustment of lengthening your arm motion helped you?
Doug: It’s helped me out a lot. I used to have a real short arm action. It’s a little longer now. That’s what we fixed three years ago and I’ve been doing it ever since. So that’s been a big adjustment to what I’m doing now. So I’m staying with that. It’s pretty much the basis of what I do out there.
Me: What was your first thought when you were called up to the Rangers last year?
Doug: My first thought was that I thought they were joking when they called me. I didn’t really believe them at first but after that I was kind of starstruck, kind of in awe, didn’t know what to think. I called my parents and called my brother to let them know. They didn’t believe me at first either. It was a kind of a shocking, life-changing moment. So it’s definitely something I’ll never forget.
Me: Who was the first person you called?
Doug: My parents, right away. As soon as I got off the phone with the Rangers, I called them. They both started crying.
Me: Where were you when you found that out?
Doug: I was in Oklahoma City. I was just getting back to my apartment after a game one night. I got the phone call and had to turn around and go back to the stadium and get my stuff.
Me: What is the biggest adjustment you had to make when you started facing major-league hitting?
Doug: The biggest adjustment for me was being aggressive and not really worrying about getting hit. I think a lot of times when you get called up or get in a new situation or get promoted somewhere, you try to do too much and you don’t really trust yourself or trust your stuff. The biggest thing is that you need to do is trust that you’re here for a reason and you got called up for a reason and you’re good enough to get guys out. I think that’s the biggest thing. Yeah, your stuff is going to help you but you’ve got to be able trust that stuff and believe that you’re going to be able to get guys like Ichiro and Alex Rodriguez out. I’m not an overpowering pitcher so I have to do different things to get guys out. I can’t go out there and throw 95 so I’ve got to go out there and pitch my game and believe that’s going to get everybody out.
Me: How big is the difference in talent once you get to the majors?
Doug: Well, it’s not called the big leagues for nothing. The hitters are good hitters 1 through 9. A guy hitting 9th in the majors would be hitting in the middle of the order in triple-A or double-A. It’s quite a jump. It’s still baseball though so you can’t get all starstruck when facing those big names.
Me: What are three major differences between major league and minor league spring training camps?
Doug: Number one, the meal money is a lot better in big league camp. The media attention is another difference. And then the games you play in the minor leagues are on the backfields, while the major league games are in the main stadium, so there’s definitely more of a microscope on you on the big league side.
Me: You had a really unique experience last year because it’s not very often that someone starts in minor league camp and then gets added to major league camp roster.
Doug: Yeah, that morning when I got moved over, I thought I was in trouble. I got called into the office and they told me they were going to move me over to the big league side. I was only over there for about a week but it was still a great experience. I learned a lot from it so that will help me out this year when I go to my first full big league camp.
Me: Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
Doug: I’m pretty good friends with Kea Kometani. He was in triple-A last year at Oklahoma City. I’ve played with him my whole career. It’s hard to single them out. I’d say guys like Chris Davis and Taylor Teagarden. I’ve been playing with those guys a while. German Duran. Luis Mendoza. I wouldn’t be able to single three guys out but I’m pretty close with all those guys. I’m pretty good friends with most of my teammates anyway because I’m pretty laid back, so I’m pretty easy to get along with.
Me: Can you please rate each of the ballparks in the Rangers organization that you’ve played in from 1 to 10 (10 being the best) and explain your ratings?
Doug: I don’t know about Hickory. That’s the new one so I don’t know about that. Bakersfield’s probably the worst out of all of them. That’s probably about a 3 or 4. Frisco’s one of the best ballpark’s out there. That’s got to be a 9 or 10. Oklahoma City’s nice. So that’s right up there – 9 or 10. Spokane’s really nice. They do a good job there. It’s an older park but they maintain it really well. I’d rate that about an 8.
Me: Who are the three toughest hitters you’ve faced and why?
Doug: Evan Longoria is a pretty tough out for me. I faced him in the minor leagues one year and then up here. For some season, he takes good swings against me. He must see the ball well out of hand or something. But he’s a tough guy for me to get out, for whatever reason. I don’t know what it is. A tough guy I faced in double-A was Chase Headley of the Padres. He was a tough out. He’s a left fielder now but he was a third baseman when he was with San Antonio the year I was in the Texas League. He was a tough out for me that year. He’s a good hitter. I don’t know, it’s tough. There are a lot of good hitters. It’s hard to pinpoint one guy that sticks out. I faced Ichiro only one time but I’m sure if I face him more, I’ll find that he’s tough to get out on a consistent basis.
Me: What is your best pitch and how was it developed?
Doug: My best pitch is between my sinker and my slider, depending on what I’m feeling like doing that day. It’s probably going to be my sinker because that’s what’s going to keep the ball on the ground for me. I’ve got to be able to throw that down in the zone consistently. I’ve got to be able to consistently pound the bottom of the strike zone with that. If I’m not throwing that well, I’m probably not going to do very well that day.
Me: Does your sinker go down and in or down and out?
Doug: For me, the sinker will be breaking down and in to a right-handed hitter, down and away to a left-handed hitter. But I’ll throw it to both sides of the plate, so it depends on where I start it at. But it will be moving in that direction, sort of towards the third base dugout.
Me: What’s been the best game so far of your professional career and why?
Doug: I’d have to say when I was in Frisco in ’07. I threw a complete game shutout against Midland towards the end of the year. I had 10 strikeouts and didn’t walk anybody. That’s probably one that stands out. I was really on my game that night. Games like that are fun. You don’t really forget those games. You try to forget the bad ones. You always remember the good ones. That was probably the best statistical game for me. I also like the games where I struggle early or give up a couple of runs early and I figure it out and end up going deep in the game. Those are games that I actually enjoy more than just going out there and cruising. I learn more from them and I feel like I accomplished something that day if I face a little adversity and come back from it. I like those games too.
Me: What was your favorite team growing up?
Doug: I was a Cubs fan when I was real young because they were always on TV. Being from Arizona, we didn’t have a team until 1998. Obviously once the Diamondbacks came, I became a Diamondbacks fan right away. I converted over from the Cubs. It wasn’t that hard. I’m not really a Cubs fan anymore. I actually still kind of follow the Diamondbacks every now and then. It’s kind of weird since I’m playing but I still try to follow them when I get the chance, and see if they win or not.
Me: What’s it like having your team win the World Series?
Doug: It was awesome. I remember that. It was a great feeling. Whenever your team is the best out there for a given year, that’s all you can ask for as a fan. That’s what we’re trying to do here.
My Dad: I want Grant to be able to experience that feeling.
Doug: I think everyone here wants to experience it for themselves and the fans. The fans are great here. That’s why we’re out here – for the fans. If the fans didn’t show up for the games, we would have different jobs.
Me: What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Doug: I obviously played baseball. I played basketball all the way through high school too. I was pretty decent at basketball. I played football for a couple of years but I broke my ankle my freshman year so I gave that up and started focusing on baseball, playing baseball on the weekends down in Phoenix. I just played basketball to stay in shape but I ended up being a pretty good shooter.
Me: What are your hobbies?
Doug: I like golf. That’s kind of a hobby of mine. I listen to a lot of music. I’m kind of a music buff. I’m really not very exciting. I just kind of hang out and play a lot of xBox when I have some downtime. I go mountain-biking every now and then. Just stuff like that. I like to be active but I also just like to kind of hang out.
Me: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had to deal with?
Doug: Well, I’ve had two injuries my whole career. I had a little back issue two years ago and had to miss a couple of starts. I had to get an injection in my back. That wasn’t really that big a deal. I’d never really been injured until this last year when I got hurt in July and had to go on the DL, having minor surgery in September. That’s definitely my most serious injury. Coming back from that’s going to be a process.
Me: What was that recovery process like?
Doug: The rehab went slow at first, just getting my motion back for probably the first six weeks, not really doing much. Just icing it and getting the swelling down, getting the motion back, and getting used to using it again. After about six weeks, I started doing some strengthening and stabilization, getting everything around it strong. I’m about 15 weeks out of surgery. I’ve been throwing for about 5 weeks now. That was kind of slow at first. I wasn’t really sure how my arm was going to react, first of all from not throwing for a while and then, second of all, coming off an injury. I’m getting on the mound Monday or Tuesday and we’ll go from there and see how it feels. Hopefully it will go well. I think it will. My arm feels find so I’m ready to go.
Me: Thanks for doing the interview.
I would like to thank Doug for doing the interview with me. It was very nice of him to do that for me. He is a very good guy, who almost always comes over to say hi to me when he sees me.
Results of last week’s poll:
What do you think are the Rangers chances of signing Ben Sheets?
50-60% - 35%
70-80% - 32%
90-100% - 12%
30-40% - 11%
10-20% - 4%
0% - 3%
Come back next week for the beginning of my analysis of the Spring Training roster, with my predictions for who will make the team.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Fan Fest Review
This week I will give a recap of what my dad and I did at the Fan Fest and a short summary of the Awards Banquet.
The Awards Banquet (at Eddie Deen’s Ranch):
Friday night, we went to the annual Winter Awards Banquet. This was the 4th year that it’s been at Eddie Deen’s ranch in downtown Dallas, which is a really cool place. Even though we’ve been going for years, this year was my first year to have a player sit at my table. Minor league pitcher Tim Murphy sat with us. Tim is very nice and a very good guy. He was one of the Rangers’ draft picks last year and was in town for their pitching mini-camp. I enjoyed getting to know him. Before the ceremony, I got to give Eric Nadel his Broadcaster of the Year trophy. Thanks again to everyone who voted (I had 117 votes). I also got to meet and talk to Ted Price before it started and he’s very nice. You can hear his podcasts at http://rangerspodcast.blogspot.com/. I also got to talk with Jon Daniels, Evan Grant, TR Sullivan, Tom Grieve, Josh Lewin, and my friend Brad the photographer before the ceremony. Besides Tim Murphy, I sat with my dad, my granddad, Eleanor Czajka, Bettye Pullen from my church and some of Bettye’s friends. Like usual, the food was great and Chuck Morgan put on a great program.
Fan Fest (Saturday):
9:00 AM
My dad and I got to Fan Fest at about 8:45 for the 9:00 AM opening and there was already a line of hundreds of people wrapping around the ballpark. It was cold, at about 33 degrees in the middle of the day. But once they opened, the line moved really quickly. They did a good job of processing people and getting them inside this year (solving some of the issues they’ve had the last couple of years). We went straight up to the Newberg booth when we got there and I hung out there and talked to Eleanor Czajka and Jamey Newberg for a while. Dale Petroskey (Executive Vice President of Marketing) and Chuck Morgan came up while I was there and I got to talk to them. I knew Chuck already but this was my first time to meet Dale. They are both very nice guys. Dale used to run the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and also worked with Ronald Reagan. We saw him a few more times during the day and he always stopped to say hello and remembered our names. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram also came by the Newberg booth to say hi, so I got to meet him too.
10:00 AM
When Michael Young got to the Newberg table, I got his autograph. He was very nice and he remembered me from the Newberg Book Release Party. After I got his autograph, my dad and I went to the booths and talked to TR Sullivan, the mlb.com Rangers beat writer. We also bumped into my music teacher, John McKellar. After that we went to the Jon Daniels and Ron Washington Q&A in the Legends of the Game Museum. We sat with one of my dad’s friends, the one who helped him write his book on IT Auditing (http://www.amazon.com/Auditing-Controls-Protect-Information-Assets/dp/0072263431/sr=8-1/qid=1172194214/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4803264-7671968?ie=UTF8&s=books) and who taught a class at SMU with my dad last fall. His name is Chris Davis (no, not the Rangers’ Chris Davis). I got to ask one question during the Q&A: Can you name three non-roster invitees who might have an impact this year? Jon Daniels mentioned Omar Vizquel and Derrick Turnbow from the veterans and Elvis Andrus and Derek Holland of the young prospects.
11:00 AM
We went back to the Newberg Table to get autographs from Kasey Kiker, Derek Holland, and Michael Ballard. Like usual, the line-up at Jamey’s table was the best. It was my first time to meet Kasey so getting his autograph was a high priority for the day (he was one of two players appearing that I needed). He was very nice, but the line was huge, much different than a couple of years ago. The last two years, the attendance at the Fan Fest and especially at the Newberg table has really increased. It used to be that you could pretty much walk up to Jamey’s table and get autographs with almost no wait. Now, the lines are about as long as for the major league players. While we were waiting in line, we saw John Siburt (our preacher at church) and his two kids, Katie and David, and talked with them for a while. Katie and David (especially Katie) are big Rangers fans.
After that, I went back to the Legends of the Game Museum to see my friend Brad the photographer do an improv comedy act with some other people. I see them every year and they’re always really funny. They did something called Storytime, where someone from the audience gives them a story title and they have to make a story out of it. Brad has a pointer and, when he points it at a member of his comedy team, that person has to start talking and telling the story. Then he points it at someone else and then that person has to continue the story where the last person left off (sometimes in mid-sentence). Somebody in the audience made up the title “Shoeless Joe Finds His Shoe” and Brad’s team did a very good job of making up a story for it. They brought Chuck Morgan in to join them in the story telling, which made it funnier. After that, they did a song where people in the audience would call out a line about various baseball subjects and these four guys would sing that line during the first round of the song and then make funny lyrics mixing up all the lines for all the other rounds. I got to choose the line for something strange that could happen at a baseball game and I said “batter throws shoe at pitcher”. After the improv, we ate lunch.
12:00 PM
All we did for this hour was stand in line outside for Guillermo Moscoso and Scott Feldman. Moscoso was one of the two people signing autographs during the day that I needed, so I didn’t want to take the chance of missing him. We got in line at 12:15 for the 1:00 autograph session. It was very cold waiting outside. We walked past Ron, our usher at the Rangers games, on our way to the line and talked with him for a little while. And there was a very nice lady and her son in front of us who kept us entertained during the wait.
1:00 PM
I got Guillermo Moscoso and Scott Feldman at the beginning of the hour. I’ve known Scott for a long time so it’s always good to talk with him. We then went to the Cuervo Club to check out the merchandise sale and stay warm. After that, I went over to the Newberg table and got autographs from Michael Main, Neftali Feliz, and Kevin Richardson while my dad talked to Grant (no, it’s not me), an artist who makes baseball paintings. I got to talk to Scott Lucas for a while after I got the autographs.
2:00 PM
I just hung out at the Newberg Booth until the autographs finished. After that, Jamey introduced me to Ben Rogers, a really nice guy who does the Ben & Skin show on 105.3 The Fan (the new all-sports radio station). If you haven’t listened to The Fan yet, you should. Ben introduced me to two others from his station, one of which was Kurt Johnson, VP of Programming for the station. One of them talked to Mike Ogulnick and his partner, Richie Whitt, and got me on the radio with them at 2:45 PM. They asked me questions about the Rangers for one segment of the show. It was a lot of fun and I would like to thank them for putting me on air. Ben said that he was going to try to get me an audio link to my segment. If I get it, I’ll link it from here so that you can hear it. After my segment on the air, I got to talk with Ian Kinsler, Taylor Teagarden, and Chris Davis (yes, this is the Rangers’ Chris Davis) as they walked by.
3:00 PM
The last thing I did was interview Doug Mathis. He had agreed to meet with me for an interview after his autograph session. We found a quiet place in the Diamond Club and talked for about 20 minutes. He was very nice and gave some very good answers. I should have that posted next week. After that, we had to leave because I had a 5pm basketball game. It was an amazing day and I would like to thank everyone with the Rangers who was involved with putting it on.
Come back next week for the Doug Mathis Interview.
The Awards Banquet (at Eddie Deen’s Ranch):
Friday night, we went to the annual Winter Awards Banquet. This was the 4th year that it’s been at Eddie Deen’s ranch in downtown Dallas, which is a really cool place. Even though we’ve been going for years, this year was my first year to have a player sit at my table. Minor league pitcher Tim Murphy sat with us. Tim is very nice and a very good guy. He was one of the Rangers’ draft picks last year and was in town for their pitching mini-camp. I enjoyed getting to know him. Before the ceremony, I got to give Eric Nadel his Broadcaster of the Year trophy. Thanks again to everyone who voted (I had 117 votes). I also got to meet and talk to Ted Price before it started and he’s very nice. You can hear his podcasts at http://rangerspodcast.blogspot.com/. I also got to talk with Jon Daniels, Evan Grant, TR Sullivan, Tom Grieve, Josh Lewin, and my friend Brad the photographer before the ceremony. Besides Tim Murphy, I sat with my dad, my granddad, Eleanor Czajka, Bettye Pullen from my church and some of Bettye’s friends. Like usual, the food was great and Chuck Morgan put on a great program.
Fan Fest (Saturday):
9:00 AM
My dad and I got to Fan Fest at about 8:45 for the 9:00 AM opening and there was already a line of hundreds of people wrapping around the ballpark. It was cold, at about 33 degrees in the middle of the day. But once they opened, the line moved really quickly. They did a good job of processing people and getting them inside this year (solving some of the issues they’ve had the last couple of years). We went straight up to the Newberg booth when we got there and I hung out there and talked to Eleanor Czajka and Jamey Newberg for a while. Dale Petroskey (Executive Vice President of Marketing) and Chuck Morgan came up while I was there and I got to talk to them. I knew Chuck already but this was my first time to meet Dale. They are both very nice guys. Dale used to run the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and also worked with Ronald Reagan. We saw him a few more times during the day and he always stopped to say hello and remembered our names. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram also came by the Newberg booth to say hi, so I got to meet him too.
10:00 AM
When Michael Young got to the Newberg table, I got his autograph. He was very nice and he remembered me from the Newberg Book Release Party. After I got his autograph, my dad and I went to the booths and talked to TR Sullivan, the mlb.com Rangers beat writer. We also bumped into my music teacher, John McKellar. After that we went to the Jon Daniels and Ron Washington Q&A in the Legends of the Game Museum. We sat with one of my dad’s friends, the one who helped him write his book on IT Auditing (http://www.amazon.com/Auditing-Controls-Protect-Information-Assets/dp/0072263431/sr=8-1/qid=1172194214/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4803264-7671968?ie=UTF8&s=books) and who taught a class at SMU with my dad last fall. His name is Chris Davis (no, not the Rangers’ Chris Davis). I got to ask one question during the Q&A: Can you name three non-roster invitees who might have an impact this year? Jon Daniels mentioned Omar Vizquel and Derrick Turnbow from the veterans and Elvis Andrus and Derek Holland of the young prospects.
11:00 AM
We went back to the Newberg Table to get autographs from Kasey Kiker, Derek Holland, and Michael Ballard. Like usual, the line-up at Jamey’s table was the best. It was my first time to meet Kasey so getting his autograph was a high priority for the day (he was one of two players appearing that I needed). He was very nice, but the line was huge, much different than a couple of years ago. The last two years, the attendance at the Fan Fest and especially at the Newberg table has really increased. It used to be that you could pretty much walk up to Jamey’s table and get autographs with almost no wait. Now, the lines are about as long as for the major league players. While we were waiting in line, we saw John Siburt (our preacher at church) and his two kids, Katie and David, and talked with them for a while. Katie and David (especially Katie) are big Rangers fans.
After that, I went back to the Legends of the Game Museum to see my friend Brad the photographer do an improv comedy act with some other people. I see them every year and they’re always really funny. They did something called Storytime, where someone from the audience gives them a story title and they have to make a story out of it. Brad has a pointer and, when he points it at a member of his comedy team, that person has to start talking and telling the story. Then he points it at someone else and then that person has to continue the story where the last person left off (sometimes in mid-sentence). Somebody in the audience made up the title “Shoeless Joe Finds His Shoe” and Brad’s team did a very good job of making up a story for it. They brought Chuck Morgan in to join them in the story telling, which made it funnier. After that, they did a song where people in the audience would call out a line about various baseball subjects and these four guys would sing that line during the first round of the song and then make funny lyrics mixing up all the lines for all the other rounds. I got to choose the line for something strange that could happen at a baseball game and I said “batter throws shoe at pitcher”. After the improv, we ate lunch.
12:00 PM
All we did for this hour was stand in line outside for Guillermo Moscoso and Scott Feldman. Moscoso was one of the two people signing autographs during the day that I needed, so I didn’t want to take the chance of missing him. We got in line at 12:15 for the 1:00 autograph session. It was very cold waiting outside. We walked past Ron, our usher at the Rangers games, on our way to the line and talked with him for a little while. And there was a very nice lady and her son in front of us who kept us entertained during the wait.
1:00 PM
I got Guillermo Moscoso and Scott Feldman at the beginning of the hour. I’ve known Scott for a long time so it’s always good to talk with him. We then went to the Cuervo Club to check out the merchandise sale and stay warm. After that, I went over to the Newberg table and got autographs from Michael Main, Neftali Feliz, and Kevin Richardson while my dad talked to Grant (no, it’s not me), an artist who makes baseball paintings. I got to talk to Scott Lucas for a while after I got the autographs.
2:00 PM
I just hung out at the Newberg Booth until the autographs finished. After that, Jamey introduced me to Ben Rogers, a really nice guy who does the Ben & Skin show on 105.3 The Fan (the new all-sports radio station). If you haven’t listened to The Fan yet, you should. Ben introduced me to two others from his station, one of which was Kurt Johnson, VP of Programming for the station. One of them talked to Mike Ogulnick and his partner, Richie Whitt, and got me on the radio with them at 2:45 PM. They asked me questions about the Rangers for one segment of the show. It was a lot of fun and I would like to thank them for putting me on air. Ben said that he was going to try to get me an audio link to my segment. If I get it, I’ll link it from here so that you can hear it. After my segment on the air, I got to talk with Ian Kinsler, Taylor Teagarden, and Chris Davis (yes, this is the Rangers’ Chris Davis) as they walked by.
3:00 PM
The last thing I did was interview Doug Mathis. He had agreed to meet with me for an interview after his autograph session. We found a quiet place in the Diamond Club and talked for about 20 minutes. He was very nice and gave some very good answers. I should have that posted next week. After that, we had to leave because I had a 5pm basketball game. It was an amazing day and I would like to thank everyone with the Rangers who was involved with putting it on.
Come back next week for the Doug Mathis Interview.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Derek Holland Interview
This week I interviewed Derek Holland, the 2nd best Rangers prospect according to Baseball America.
1. In 2007, your first year in the minors when you were in Spokane, were you disappointed when you had a 3.22 ERA, but still only went 4-5?
Well, honestly I can’t say I was disappointed. It was my first season with the Rangers and basically that season I was changing all kinds of mechanics and grips to pitch and arm slots for the slider. I was working on a good bit of things, such as making my delivery a little faster and more under control. Also I was developing the slider and, yes, I’m still not satisfied and working hard to continue to get better with all of my pitches. To me, a 3.22 ERA is pretty good and, as for record, well, I was also working on trying to throw less pitches, so I was throwing too much and didn’t get to last long, so I couldn’t stay in the game. But as for my first year in the minors, I felt I did a good job and credit it to my teammates as well because, trust me, everyone knows it takes 9 to win a game. And I needed all the guys to back me up defensively and offensively, and those guys definitely helped with that. So I credit them for a good year for a first season.
2. What is the key for your WHIP going down every time you go up a level?
Well, I’d have to say not paying attention to it is the best way, so you’re not so focused on your number. I feel if I start worrying about my WHIP or any other stats, it will get in my head and make me want to focus more on that than to worry about how I’m performing.
3. When you went through the draft-and-follow process, how sure were you that you would sign?
The draft-and-follow process was a pretty neat thing to experience. Well, I wasn’t too sure that I would sign but at the same time, the more I talked with my agent and my college coaches… they helped, as well as my parents, with my decision. The more I talked with the area scout, Jeff Wood, also helped with my decision, and I could tell this was definitely the right place for me to go. I do not regret my decision at all and am happy with this organization and all the players I have been able to play with.
4. In 2008, you were named to the Midwest League All-Star team (mid-season), were a Baseball America Minor League All-Star (end-of-season), and were a Baseball America Low Class-A All-Star (end-of-season). Which one of those meant the most and why?
(Laughs) Wow, this is tough. Well, I’d probably go ahead and say the Midwest League All-Star team. They all mean a lot to me but it was an honor to get to play with all those guys and, also, half of the Clinton team was there as well to share the great time. I also got to meet all the guys from the Midwest League and met a lot of new guys. It was an awesome experience and also, if it wasn’t for my Clinton teammates, I wouldn’t have been on this team, so they contributed to me being an All-Star and my success for the year. So I’d go ahead and say that means the most because I was with all of my teammates and showed that Clinton was a strong team in the Midwest League
5. Which one means more to you: being 10th in the minors in strikeouts (157), 3rd in the minors among lefties in strikeouts, 10th in ERA in all full-season minor leagues (2.27), 10th in opponentsʼ batting average, or 2nd in opponentsʼ batting average among lefties?
(Laughs) Well, another tough question. This is hard to answer. Well I guess I’d have to pick 10th in ERA as a good one to me because I want to be able to go out and pitch and show people that it’s going to be tough to get a hit off of me and my defense. My defense is a big contribution to this. If it wasn’t for them making plays and being very supportive of me, I wouldn’t have had that ERA. So I credit them as well.
6. Could you tell a difference with the mound last year between when you were throwing 98MPH and when you were throwing 95MPH, or did it seem the same to you?
Well, the way I look at it, even if the mound is bad, no matter what, you still have to pitch off of it and so does the opponent. Now as for a difference, there were slight differences from Clinton to Bakersfield. The mounds were a bit different in height and, just the way it was made, it was a lot softer and a little lower than Clinton. Clinton’s mound was a high raised up mound, so it made me feel like I was right on top of you. Bakersfield felt as if I was throwing a mile away. It was lower and seemed farther away. Now as for Frisco, it’s probably one of my favorite mounds to throw off of. The way I see it though, the mound is always the same distance no matter where you go and it felt different each time I moved up, but I got used to it also.
7. You’ve been named to a lot of ʽTop Prospectsʼ lists recently. What does that mean to you? Do you pay attention to those lists or do you try to ignore them?
Yes, I do pay attention to those but also, last time I checked, it is not a free ticket to the major leagues. I use this stuff as more of an inspiration and feel that, just because I am number one or two or whatever, I still have to prove I belong there and can stay there. So I don’t ignore them - I just read all that stuff and use it as inspiration.
8. What do you think has been your best professional game and why?
Wow a good and tough question. I’d probably go with my debut in Frisco. I felt it was probably my best game, though it’s tough because I also liked the game against Arkansas in the championship (game 4). It was to me one of my best games also after just facing them a couple of days before. I’m going to pick my debut (in Frisco) because I had command of all 3 pitches and stayed ahead of all the hitters. I had probably my best day of commanding the zone with all the pitches and also my offense was just on top of it, as well as the defense. I had great plays and great offensive support. It also meant a lot to me because my parents were there for my debut.
9. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
(Laughs) I don’t know if I can answer this because this could get bad. But since you asked I will answer and, to play it safe, next time you ask I'll be sure to find another three to mention so I don’t get yelled at. I’d go with only the guys who I have been able to play with, so it would be Tim Smith, Mitch Moreland, and Neftali Feliz. I get along with those guys pretty well and hopefully none of this will be used against me.
10. Can you please rate the ballparks in the Rangers organization that youʼve played in from 1 to 10 (10 being the best) and explain your ratings?
(Laughs) This could be bad but I’d have to rank them like this. Spokane is an 8 – it’s an awesome place to play, great atmosphere, and fans are really into the games. I really felt good being out there and was very happy with the stadium and the people there. Next comes Clinton and I would give Clinton a 6. Yeah, it may be high but it’s also an old school park and that’s what I liked about it. They may not have had that many fans but the ones who were there did get into the game. My favorite fan of all time from there is going to be "Big Guy", one of the best fans. He is right there on the 3rd base side and he will get on you if you’re disappointing him or getting too lazy and that’s a good thing to have right there. He’s like a 10th man. Now for Bakersfield. I’d give Bakersfield a 3. There were way less fans and it didn’t seem like they were getting enough attention out there. The environment was just like dead. A lot of the minor leaguers really aren’t so interested in going to that place, but at the same time it’s an OLD school park and I did like that. It just needed a little more maintenance but the dugouts were like a mile away from home plate. Now for Frisco. Wow, Frisco was amazing. I give it a 9. Great atmosphere and an awesome place to be. The fans were incredible and were always into the game. The fireworks after the game were amazing. It was like nothing I’ve ever played in. All the games were awesome to play there and I enjoyed every bit of it. I’d say it’s my favorite place I’ve played at so far.
11. What is the toughest thing about minor league life and why?
The toughest thing about minor league life was managing money and getting comfortable with places to stay. Also making sure to stay eating healthy and keeping your weight. One thing I really wanted to do was maintain my weight and get stronger. I plan to figure a new way and manage to get that all taken care of in the future.
12. Who are the three toughest hitters youʼve faced and why?
Well I could name a couple. I will go with Kyle Blanks from the San Antonio Missions. He was a tough out and had a lot of power. He could hit the ball a mile away and could turn on a fastball so I had to make sure to mix up speeds and just go right after him. Next is going to be Mark Trumbo from the Arkansas Travelers. He was a tough out, was a lefty and could flat out hit. Great hitter with good command and good power. He knew the zone and was also an aggressive hitter. Now the toughest guy I had to face, who seemed to hit really well, was Hank Conger, also from the Arkansas Travelers. He was just flat out a good hitter. He knew the zone as well and was a tough out. He battled and just put the ball in play. He was a great guy to face. It’s still very tough to decide who were the toughest hitters to face, but that’s the best list I could come up with.
13. What was your favorite team growing up?
My favorite team growing up was the Atlanta Braves. I idolized Chipper Jones and wanted to be just like him (well, hitting-wise). Pitcher was Greg Maddux because I knew being left handed I couldn’t play third base. So I became a switch hitter like Chipper and I worked and still am working on my control so I could be like Maddux. I used to play back yard baseball with my brother. He would always pretend to be the Cubs while I was the Braves. I would go out and imitate the whole line up from Mark Lemke to Greg Maddux all the way down.
14. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Well, I played all typical sports. I played football and basketball but I quit football and basketball. I quit right before my freshman year in high school. I was an average player. It’s funny, still today I throw the football and, you will like this, I go and kick some field goals every once in a while just for fun. I would say I was OK at basketball - tried to shoot (laughs) - but I mainly just stuck to baseball and played golf, which I’m now trying to get better at.
15. What is the worst injury you’ve had to deal with?
The worst injury I had to deal with was when I broke my collar bone. I was like probably around 10 and was playing football and got tackled and broke my left collar bone. I had to use my right arm for everything and it was really hard to do all that, from writing papers to sleeping. I’m all dominant with my left side and it just seemed very weird. It was hard to do everything not being able to use my left arm. I couldn’t raise up or anything, so it was different. And I also hated it when I had an itch inside the cast because I couldn’t reach it, even with a pencil (laughs).
16. What are your hobbies?
My hobbies now consist of golfing (well, learning how to golf that is) and hopefully soon I will get to go hunting. It’s something I haven’t done and would like to go out and try. So I’ve talked to a couple of the guys and hopefully they will take me out. I also guess you could say, yeah, I play a little Xbox as well when I have some time to just sit and relax. It’s what I do. And I read some books during baseball season.
I would like to thank Derek for doing this interview. He gave up a lot of his time for this and gave really good answers. It was very nice of him to do this and I appreciate it very much. Derek is a really nice guy and should be in Arlington before long.
Results of the Broadcaster of the Year poll:
Eric Nadel – 48% (57)
Tom Grieve – 26% (31)
Josh Lewin – 11% (14)
Victor Rojas – 7% (9)
Eleno Ornelas – 4% (5)
Jose Guzman – 0% (1)
Congratulations to Eric Nadel for winning the 2008 Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award. I will be presenting him with the award next weekend at the Awards Banquet (no, it will not be on stage). Thanks to everyone who voted.
Come back next week for a summary of the Rangers Fan Fest.
1. In 2007, your first year in the minors when you were in Spokane, were you disappointed when you had a 3.22 ERA, but still only went 4-5?
Well, honestly I can’t say I was disappointed. It was my first season with the Rangers and basically that season I was changing all kinds of mechanics and grips to pitch and arm slots for the slider. I was working on a good bit of things, such as making my delivery a little faster and more under control. Also I was developing the slider and, yes, I’m still not satisfied and working hard to continue to get better with all of my pitches. To me, a 3.22 ERA is pretty good and, as for record, well, I was also working on trying to throw less pitches, so I was throwing too much and didn’t get to last long, so I couldn’t stay in the game. But as for my first year in the minors, I felt I did a good job and credit it to my teammates as well because, trust me, everyone knows it takes 9 to win a game. And I needed all the guys to back me up defensively and offensively, and those guys definitely helped with that. So I credit them for a good year for a first season.
2. What is the key for your WHIP going down every time you go up a level?
Well, I’d have to say not paying attention to it is the best way, so you’re not so focused on your number. I feel if I start worrying about my WHIP or any other stats, it will get in my head and make me want to focus more on that than to worry about how I’m performing.
3. When you went through the draft-and-follow process, how sure were you that you would sign?
The draft-and-follow process was a pretty neat thing to experience. Well, I wasn’t too sure that I would sign but at the same time, the more I talked with my agent and my college coaches… they helped, as well as my parents, with my decision. The more I talked with the area scout, Jeff Wood, also helped with my decision, and I could tell this was definitely the right place for me to go. I do not regret my decision at all and am happy with this organization and all the players I have been able to play with.
4. In 2008, you were named to the Midwest League All-Star team (mid-season), were a Baseball America Minor League All-Star (end-of-season), and were a Baseball America Low Class-A All-Star (end-of-season). Which one of those meant the most and why?
(Laughs) Wow, this is tough. Well, I’d probably go ahead and say the Midwest League All-Star team. They all mean a lot to me but it was an honor to get to play with all those guys and, also, half of the Clinton team was there as well to share the great time. I also got to meet all the guys from the Midwest League and met a lot of new guys. It was an awesome experience and also, if it wasn’t for my Clinton teammates, I wouldn’t have been on this team, so they contributed to me being an All-Star and my success for the year. So I’d go ahead and say that means the most because I was with all of my teammates and showed that Clinton was a strong team in the Midwest League
5. Which one means more to you: being 10th in the minors in strikeouts (157), 3rd in the minors among lefties in strikeouts, 10th in ERA in all full-season minor leagues (2.27), 10th in opponentsʼ batting average, or 2nd in opponentsʼ batting average among lefties?
(Laughs) Well, another tough question. This is hard to answer. Well I guess I’d have to pick 10th in ERA as a good one to me because I want to be able to go out and pitch and show people that it’s going to be tough to get a hit off of me and my defense. My defense is a big contribution to this. If it wasn’t for them making plays and being very supportive of me, I wouldn’t have had that ERA. So I credit them as well.
6. Could you tell a difference with the mound last year between when you were throwing 98MPH and when you were throwing 95MPH, or did it seem the same to you?
Well, the way I look at it, even if the mound is bad, no matter what, you still have to pitch off of it and so does the opponent. Now as for a difference, there were slight differences from Clinton to Bakersfield. The mounds were a bit different in height and, just the way it was made, it was a lot softer and a little lower than Clinton. Clinton’s mound was a high raised up mound, so it made me feel like I was right on top of you. Bakersfield felt as if I was throwing a mile away. It was lower and seemed farther away. Now as for Frisco, it’s probably one of my favorite mounds to throw off of. The way I see it though, the mound is always the same distance no matter where you go and it felt different each time I moved up, but I got used to it also.
7. You’ve been named to a lot of ʽTop Prospectsʼ lists recently. What does that mean to you? Do you pay attention to those lists or do you try to ignore them?
Yes, I do pay attention to those but also, last time I checked, it is not a free ticket to the major leagues. I use this stuff as more of an inspiration and feel that, just because I am number one or two or whatever, I still have to prove I belong there and can stay there. So I don’t ignore them - I just read all that stuff and use it as inspiration.
8. What do you think has been your best professional game and why?
Wow a good and tough question. I’d probably go with my debut in Frisco. I felt it was probably my best game, though it’s tough because I also liked the game against Arkansas in the championship (game 4). It was to me one of my best games also after just facing them a couple of days before. I’m going to pick my debut (in Frisco) because I had command of all 3 pitches and stayed ahead of all the hitters. I had probably my best day of commanding the zone with all the pitches and also my offense was just on top of it, as well as the defense. I had great plays and great offensive support. It also meant a lot to me because my parents were there for my debut.
9. Who are your three favorite teammates since you joined the Rangers organization and why?
(Laughs) I don’t know if I can answer this because this could get bad. But since you asked I will answer and, to play it safe, next time you ask I'll be sure to find another three to mention so I don’t get yelled at. I’d go with only the guys who I have been able to play with, so it would be Tim Smith, Mitch Moreland, and Neftali Feliz. I get along with those guys pretty well and hopefully none of this will be used against me.
10. Can you please rate the ballparks in the Rangers organization that youʼve played in from 1 to 10 (10 being the best) and explain your ratings?
(Laughs) This could be bad but I’d have to rank them like this. Spokane is an 8 – it’s an awesome place to play, great atmosphere, and fans are really into the games. I really felt good being out there and was very happy with the stadium and the people there. Next comes Clinton and I would give Clinton a 6. Yeah, it may be high but it’s also an old school park and that’s what I liked about it. They may not have had that many fans but the ones who were there did get into the game. My favorite fan of all time from there is going to be "Big Guy", one of the best fans. He is right there on the 3rd base side and he will get on you if you’re disappointing him or getting too lazy and that’s a good thing to have right there. He’s like a 10th man. Now for Bakersfield. I’d give Bakersfield a 3. There were way less fans and it didn’t seem like they were getting enough attention out there. The environment was just like dead. A lot of the minor leaguers really aren’t so interested in going to that place, but at the same time it’s an OLD school park and I did like that. It just needed a little more maintenance but the dugouts were like a mile away from home plate. Now for Frisco. Wow, Frisco was amazing. I give it a 9. Great atmosphere and an awesome place to be. The fans were incredible and were always into the game. The fireworks after the game were amazing. It was like nothing I’ve ever played in. All the games were awesome to play there and I enjoyed every bit of it. I’d say it’s my favorite place I’ve played at so far.
11. What is the toughest thing about minor league life and why?
The toughest thing about minor league life was managing money and getting comfortable with places to stay. Also making sure to stay eating healthy and keeping your weight. One thing I really wanted to do was maintain my weight and get stronger. I plan to figure a new way and manage to get that all taken care of in the future.
12. Who are the three toughest hitters youʼve faced and why?
Well I could name a couple. I will go with Kyle Blanks from the San Antonio Missions. He was a tough out and had a lot of power. He could hit the ball a mile away and could turn on a fastball so I had to make sure to mix up speeds and just go right after him. Next is going to be Mark Trumbo from the Arkansas Travelers. He was a tough out, was a lefty and could flat out hit. Great hitter with good command and good power. He knew the zone and was also an aggressive hitter. Now the toughest guy I had to face, who seemed to hit really well, was Hank Conger, also from the Arkansas Travelers. He was just flat out a good hitter. He knew the zone as well and was a tough out. He battled and just put the ball in play. He was a great guy to face. It’s still very tough to decide who were the toughest hitters to face, but that’s the best list I could come up with.
13. What was your favorite team growing up?
My favorite team growing up was the Atlanta Braves. I idolized Chipper Jones and wanted to be just like him (well, hitting-wise). Pitcher was Greg Maddux because I knew being left handed I couldn’t play third base. So I became a switch hitter like Chipper and I worked and still am working on my control so I could be like Maddux. I used to play back yard baseball with my brother. He would always pretend to be the Cubs while I was the Braves. I would go out and imitate the whole line up from Mark Lemke to Greg Maddux all the way down.
14. What sports did you play growing up and which were you best at?
Well, I played all typical sports. I played football and basketball but I quit football and basketball. I quit right before my freshman year in high school. I was an average player. It’s funny, still today I throw the football and, you will like this, I go and kick some field goals every once in a while just for fun. I would say I was OK at basketball - tried to shoot (laughs) - but I mainly just stuck to baseball and played golf, which I’m now trying to get better at.
15. What is the worst injury you’ve had to deal with?
The worst injury I had to deal with was when I broke my collar bone. I was like probably around 10 and was playing football and got tackled and broke my left collar bone. I had to use my right arm for everything and it was really hard to do all that, from writing papers to sleeping. I’m all dominant with my left side and it just seemed very weird. It was hard to do everything not being able to use my left arm. I couldn’t raise up or anything, so it was different. And I also hated it when I had an itch inside the cast because I couldn’t reach it, even with a pencil (laughs).
16. What are your hobbies?
My hobbies now consist of golfing (well, learning how to golf that is) and hopefully soon I will get to go hunting. It’s something I haven’t done and would like to go out and try. So I’ve talked to a couple of the guys and hopefully they will take me out. I also guess you could say, yeah, I play a little Xbox as well when I have some time to just sit and relax. It’s what I do. And I read some books during baseball season.
I would like to thank Derek for doing this interview. He gave up a lot of his time for this and gave really good answers. It was very nice of him to do this and I appreciate it very much. Derek is a really nice guy and should be in Arlington before long.
Results of the Broadcaster of the Year poll:
Eric Nadel – 48% (57)
Tom Grieve – 26% (31)
Josh Lewin – 11% (14)
Victor Rojas – 7% (9)
Eleno Ornelas – 4% (5)
Jose Guzman – 0% (1)
Congratulations to Eric Nadel for winning the 2008 Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award. I will be presenting him with the award next weekend at the Awards Banquet (no, it will not be on stage). Thanks to everyone who voted.
Come back next week for a summary of the Rangers Fan Fest.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
#41-45 All-Time Rangers List
This week I will give numbers 41-45 on my All-Time Rangers list.
Also, this week I am continuing the poll for the second annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award (on the left-hand sidebar). The winner will get an award, so if you haven’t already, please vote to make it more meaningful.
45. Tom Henke: 58 saves, 11-12, 3.55 ERA, 169 K, 172.1 IP
Tom is the 45th best player in Rangers history, in my opinion. He is 4th in saves for the Rangers all-time. He played five years for the Rangers in two different stints, three years at the very beginning of his career and two at almost the very end of his career. He had 40 saves in 1993, when the Rangers challenged the White Sox for the division until almost the end of the season. He has a pretty good ERA and a very good number of strikeouts for the number of innings he pitched. He would strike out a lot of batters, get you plenty of saves, but usually not get you too many innings. His saves are what got him #45 on my list.
44. Jeff Zimmerman:32 saves, 17-12, 3.27 ERA, 228.2 IP, 213 K, All-Star (99)
Jeff is 10th on the Rangers all-time saves list, despite only being a closer for one season. Jeff only played three years in the majors before a career-ending injury, but all three years were for the Rangers. He made the All-Star Game in his rookie year and pitched one scoreless inning in the game. He went 9-3 with a 2.36 ERA that year. In 2000, he had a more average year, though, with a 5.30 ERA and a 4-5 record. In his last year in the majors and his only year as a closer, he pitched very well again, with 28 saves and a 2.40 ERA. That got him his only big contract right before his injury. He is a pitcher who would pitch about 65 games a year, would normally be a very, very solid pitcher and had a good K/per 9 stat. All those reasons are why Jeff is #44 on my list. In addition, Jeff is one of the all-time nicest guys to ever wear a Ranger uniform.
43. Jim Kern:37 saves, 17-18, 2.59 ERA, 236.1 IP, 196 K, Rolaids Fireman of Year (79), All-Star (79), MLB Save-Leader (79)
Jim led the league in saves in 1979, was an All-Star in 1979 and won the Rolaids Fireman of the Year Award in 1979. He is 6th in saves on the Rangers all-time list, and has a very good ERA at 2.59. He has a losing record, though. He has a good amount of strikeouts for his number of innings. He definitely deserves to be on this list with his All-Star appearance, Relief Pitcher of the Year Award and saves lead, even without the other things that he has done. He was only here three years, and only two of those were good years. He is a guy that could have an excellent season (1979), but would have some mediocre years (1980, when he went 3-11 with a 4.83 ERA). That is why he is #43 on my list.
42. Gary Ward: .293 AVG, 41 HR, 200 RBI, All-Star (85)
Gary Ward is the 42nd best player in Rangers history because of his solid batting average and All-Star appearance. He is 9th in batting average for 1250 AB’s or more and 38th in homers. He is also 31st in RBI’s and had 45 stolen bases. He hit for a solid batting average and had a decent amount of home runs and RBI’s. He was also an All-Star in 1985, when he hit .287, with 15 HR’s and 70 RBI’s. If he had been a Ranger for more than three seasons he would be plenty higher on this list.
41. Dean Palmer: 154 HR, .247 AVG, 451 RBI
Dean Palmer is the 41st best player in Rangers history, in my opinion. Dean is 6th in home runs, and 14th in RBI’s, but has a below average batting average. He is 13th in at-bats, but only has a .320 OBP. He had plenty of power, but did not hit for average or get a lot of walks to make up for that fact. He was a very streaky hitter. He would go through periods where he seemed to hit everything but then longer periods where it seemed he could hit nothing. His average and OBP are the only reasons he is not higher on this list.
Come back next week for numbers 36-40 on my All-Time List.
Also, this week I am continuing the poll for the second annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award (on the left-hand sidebar). The winner will get an award, so if you haven’t already, please vote to make it more meaningful.
45. Tom Henke: 58 saves, 11-12, 3.55 ERA, 169 K, 172.1 IP
Tom is the 45th best player in Rangers history, in my opinion. He is 4th in saves for the Rangers all-time. He played five years for the Rangers in two different stints, three years at the very beginning of his career and two at almost the very end of his career. He had 40 saves in 1993, when the Rangers challenged the White Sox for the division until almost the end of the season. He has a pretty good ERA and a very good number of strikeouts for the number of innings he pitched. He would strike out a lot of batters, get you plenty of saves, but usually not get you too many innings. His saves are what got him #45 on my list.
44. Jeff Zimmerman:32 saves, 17-12, 3.27 ERA, 228.2 IP, 213 K, All-Star (99)
Jeff is 10th on the Rangers all-time saves list, despite only being a closer for one season. Jeff only played three years in the majors before a career-ending injury, but all three years were for the Rangers. He made the All-Star Game in his rookie year and pitched one scoreless inning in the game. He went 9-3 with a 2.36 ERA that year. In 2000, he had a more average year, though, with a 5.30 ERA and a 4-5 record. In his last year in the majors and his only year as a closer, he pitched very well again, with 28 saves and a 2.40 ERA. That got him his only big contract right before his injury. He is a pitcher who would pitch about 65 games a year, would normally be a very, very solid pitcher and had a good K/per 9 stat. All those reasons are why Jeff is #44 on my list. In addition, Jeff is one of the all-time nicest guys to ever wear a Ranger uniform.
43. Jim Kern:37 saves, 17-18, 2.59 ERA, 236.1 IP, 196 K, Rolaids Fireman of Year (79), All-Star (79), MLB Save-Leader (79)
Jim led the league in saves in 1979, was an All-Star in 1979 and won the Rolaids Fireman of the Year Award in 1979. He is 6th in saves on the Rangers all-time list, and has a very good ERA at 2.59. He has a losing record, though. He has a good amount of strikeouts for his number of innings. He definitely deserves to be on this list with his All-Star appearance, Relief Pitcher of the Year Award and saves lead, even without the other things that he has done. He was only here three years, and only two of those were good years. He is a guy that could have an excellent season (1979), but would have some mediocre years (1980, when he went 3-11 with a 4.83 ERA). That is why he is #43 on my list.
42. Gary Ward: .293 AVG, 41 HR, 200 RBI, All-Star (85)
Gary Ward is the 42nd best player in Rangers history because of his solid batting average and All-Star appearance. He is 9th in batting average for 1250 AB’s or more and 38th in homers. He is also 31st in RBI’s and had 45 stolen bases. He hit for a solid batting average and had a decent amount of home runs and RBI’s. He was also an All-Star in 1985, when he hit .287, with 15 HR’s and 70 RBI’s. If he had been a Ranger for more than three seasons he would be plenty higher on this list.
41. Dean Palmer: 154 HR, .247 AVG, 451 RBI
Dean Palmer is the 41st best player in Rangers history, in my opinion. Dean is 6th in home runs, and 14th in RBI’s, but has a below average batting average. He is 13th in at-bats, but only has a .320 OBP. He had plenty of power, but did not hit for average or get a lot of walks to make up for that fact. He was a very streaky hitter. He would go through periods where he seemed to hit everything but then longer periods where it seemed he could hit nothing. His average and OBP are the only reasons he is not higher on this list.
Come back next week for numbers 36-40 on my All-Time List.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
#46-50 All-Time Rangers List
This week I will start a series of my top 50 Rangers players of all-time. I will do it in groups of five, starting at 46-50.
Also, this week I am continuing the poll for the second annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award (on the left-hand sidebar). The winner will get an award, so please vote to make it more meaningful.
50. Kevin Mench: .274 AVG, 80 HR, 265 RBI
Kevin has the 32nd most at-bats in Rangers history, along with the 18th most home runs and the 23rd most RBI’s. That should be enough to get you at least the #50 spot in an all-time Rangers list. His batting average isn’t too bad either, as he is tied for 21st in that category. He struck out much more often than he walked, though as he struck out 273 times and walked only 147 times. He was not speedy either, as he was only 7-of-12 on attempted steals. Kevin did have a pretty good fielding percentage and was a better fielder than his reputation. Kevin was a streaky player who could hit for power, was pretty good in the field, and had a decent batting average, but who didn’t have much speed and struck out more than he should.
49. Roger Pavlik: .547 W%, 47-39, 4.58 ERA, 743 IP, 526 K
Roger is 13th in Rangers history in wins and has a very good win percentage. That should be enough to get you onto this list. His ERA was shaky though, as it is over 4.50. He has the 15th most innings pitched in Rangers history and the 12th most strikeouts in Rangers history. He had a good record with a fair amount of strikeouts but was not a shut-down pitcher and benefited greatly from excellent offensive support. Roger was an All-Star in 1996 and, despite his flaws, deserves to be on this list.
48. Frank Catalanotto: .290 AVG, 37 HR, 184 RBI
Frank Catalanotto is the 48th best player in Rangers history because he is 36th in RBI and 39th in home runs. Also, he is tied for 13th in Rangers batting average for players with at least 1250 at-bats and is 8th in OBP in Rangers history. Also, he is 19th in slugging percentage and 35th in walks with 145. He doesn’t strike out very often with only 184 strikeouts. 37th in at-bats, he has been with the club 5 years. He is speedy, used to hit for a high average, and does not have much power. He is good in the field. He is a solid player and deserves to be in the top 50 Rangers of all time.
47. Steve Buechele: .240 AVG, 94 HR, 338 RBI,
Steve is 16th in Rangers history in home runs, and 19th in RBI’s. But his batting average is only .240 and his OBP is only .308. He had plenty of power, but did not have a good batting average and was not particularly strong at defense. In my opinion, he is the 5th best 3rd baseman in Ranger history.
46. Ian Kinsler: .290 AVG, 52 HR, 187 RBI, 60 SB
Ian Kinsler is the 46th best player in Rangers history, in my opinion. He is 39th in Ranger history in at-bats, 28th in Rangers history in home runs, along with 36th in RBI and tied for 13th in batting average for Rangers players with at least 1250 at-bats. He’s also 10th in OBP for players with at least 1250 at-bats. He is already 16th in stolen bases in only his 3rd year. His fielding percentage is only .975 and he has 53 errors, though. He has only had one year when he has not hit 15 home runs and he hit 14 in that year. His OBP is .360 and his slugging percentage is .473 (10th in Rangers history). He has been in the majors for three years and is already towards the top of most of the important stats for a hitter. He is also speedy, stealing 60 bases out of 68 attempts (88.2%). He has speed with plenty of power and has a good batting average. He was an All-Star in 2008 and deserved to be one. I think Ian is the 4th best second baseman in Rangers history behind Julio Franco, Bump Wills, and Michael Young. He has an .832 OPS and definitely deserves to be in the top 50 all-time Rangers.
Come back next week for numbers 41-45 in the All-Time Rangers List.
Also, this week I am continuing the poll for the second annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award (on the left-hand sidebar). The winner will get an award, so please vote to make it more meaningful.
50. Kevin Mench: .274 AVG, 80 HR, 265 RBI
Kevin has the 32nd most at-bats in Rangers history, along with the 18th most home runs and the 23rd most RBI’s. That should be enough to get you at least the #50 spot in an all-time Rangers list. His batting average isn’t too bad either, as he is tied for 21st in that category. He struck out much more often than he walked, though as he struck out 273 times and walked only 147 times. He was not speedy either, as he was only 7-of-12 on attempted steals. Kevin did have a pretty good fielding percentage and was a better fielder than his reputation. Kevin was a streaky player who could hit for power, was pretty good in the field, and had a decent batting average, but who didn’t have much speed and struck out more than he should.
49. Roger Pavlik: .547 W%, 47-39, 4.58 ERA, 743 IP, 526 K
Roger is 13th in Rangers history in wins and has a very good win percentage. That should be enough to get you onto this list. His ERA was shaky though, as it is over 4.50. He has the 15th most innings pitched in Rangers history and the 12th most strikeouts in Rangers history. He had a good record with a fair amount of strikeouts but was not a shut-down pitcher and benefited greatly from excellent offensive support. Roger was an All-Star in 1996 and, despite his flaws, deserves to be on this list.
48. Frank Catalanotto: .290 AVG, 37 HR, 184 RBI
Frank Catalanotto is the 48th best player in Rangers history because he is 36th in RBI and 39th in home runs. Also, he is tied for 13th in Rangers batting average for players with at least 1250 at-bats and is 8th in OBP in Rangers history. Also, he is 19th in slugging percentage and 35th in walks with 145. He doesn’t strike out very often with only 184 strikeouts. 37th in at-bats, he has been with the club 5 years. He is speedy, used to hit for a high average, and does not have much power. He is good in the field. He is a solid player and deserves to be in the top 50 Rangers of all time.
47. Steve Buechele: .240 AVG, 94 HR, 338 RBI,
Steve is 16th in Rangers history in home runs, and 19th in RBI’s. But his batting average is only .240 and his OBP is only .308. He had plenty of power, but did not have a good batting average and was not particularly strong at defense. In my opinion, he is the 5th best 3rd baseman in Ranger history.
46. Ian Kinsler: .290 AVG, 52 HR, 187 RBI, 60 SB
Ian Kinsler is the 46th best player in Rangers history, in my opinion. He is 39th in Ranger history in at-bats, 28th in Rangers history in home runs, along with 36th in RBI and tied for 13th in batting average for Rangers players with at least 1250 at-bats. He’s also 10th in OBP for players with at least 1250 at-bats. He is already 16th in stolen bases in only his 3rd year. His fielding percentage is only .975 and he has 53 errors, though. He has only had one year when he has not hit 15 home runs and he hit 14 in that year. His OBP is .360 and his slugging percentage is .473 (10th in Rangers history). He has been in the majors for three years and is already towards the top of most of the important stats for a hitter. He is also speedy, stealing 60 bases out of 68 attempts (88.2%). He has speed with plenty of power and has a good batting average. He was an All-Star in 2008 and deserved to be one. I think Ian is the 4th best second baseman in Rangers history behind Julio Franco, Bump Wills, and Michael Young. He has an .832 OPS and definitely deserves to be in the top 50 all-time Rangers.
Come back next week for numbers 41-45 in the All-Time Rangers List.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Eric Nadel Interview
TR Sullivan came to my house earlier this week to do an article on my autograph collection for the Rangers website. It was very nice of him and I would like to thank him for doing it. The article is at http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081223&content_id=3727322&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex. TR is the Rangers’ beat writer for mlb.com and also has a great blog at http://trsullivan.mlblogs.com/.
This week I am beginning voting for the second annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award on the poll (on the left-hand sidebar). The winner will get an award, so please vote to make it more meaningful.
This week I did an interview with Rangers radio broadcaster Eric Nadel. He is a great guy and has always been very nice to me. He took a lot of time answering these questions and I would like to thank him for doing this interview.
1. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
I rooted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, because I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. But they moved to LA in 1958 when I was 7. I continued rooting for them from long distance. But when the N Y Mets came into existence in 1962, I became a Mets fan and went to a lot of their games. I also went to Yankee games, but rooted against them.
2. Did you play baseball growing up? If so, for how long and at what position?
Yes, I played baseball from a very early age, even sneaked into Little League one year early by writing a fake birthdate on my application. I was a first baseman and catcher, mostly. I played until freshman year in college.
3. How did you prepare yourself to be a broadcaster? What education did you have?
I first attended a broadcast summer program for high school students at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois after my junior year in high school. In college, at Brown University, I learned to be a broadcaster at the college radio station, where you learned from the upper classmen. We did not have any broadcasting courses, but I did take Voice & Diction, and lots of English classes to learn how to use the language. I learned on-the-air skills by working on the radio station, doing play-by-play of hockey and football, along with shifts as a disc jockey, newscaster and sportscaster. You can really learn to be an announcer only by doing it. I spent a lot of hours practicing play-by-play into a tape recorder at hockey practice while the team scrimmaged.
4. What are the three best things about your job?
The best thing is that my job is fun. Let's face it, I get paid to go to a ballpark and watch major league baseball games. I also love being the person who informs people about interesting events. And the job is never boring, as every game is different.
5. What are the three toughest things about your job?
The grind of 162 games in six months is difficult, physically and mentally. It is tough sometimes to make a game seem worth listening to if the Rangers are bad, or the game itself is one-sided. And finally, the travel, while fun and interesting, presents various challenges, most notably in getting enough sleep.
6. What is the most fun season you’ve announced and why?
The best by far was 1996, when the Rangers won the West and made the playoffs for the first time. It seemed truly magical, as the Rangers almost blew the lead with a week to go, but rallied again to win the title. The players on that team had a wonderful sense of togetherness and I felt personally close to many of them.
7. What is the most fun game you’ve announced and why?
I would say that the first Rangers' playoff game, a win at Yankee Stadium, was the most fun. It was an incredible feeling to beat the Yankees in their park. I had gone to many games at Yankee Stadium while growing up, so broadcasting a post-season game there was quite a thrill. Nolan's two no-hitters with the Rangers weren't bad either.
8. What is the best play you’ve announced and why?
I think the single most exciting play was David Delucci's walk-off triple against Oakland late in the pennant race in the 2004 season. The most exciting defensive play was Ken Griffey smashing face first into the wall to rob Juan Gonzalez of an extra base hit at the Kingdome in Seattle, in a game that had no bearing on the pennant race. Josh Hamilton made a very similar play last year in Oakland. And of course, there was Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strikeout, which was probably the most significant call that I have had historically. One more worth mentioning was Ramon Vazquez' 3-run homer that pushed the Rangers' run total to an all-time record 30 in August, 2007 at Baltimore.
9. Who have been the best and most fun players to interview and why?
Charlie Hough always had funny things to say, and was a pleasure to talk to. Interviewing Nolan Ryan after his 6th and 7th no-hitters, 5,000th strikeout, and 300th win, was a lot of fun. Of opposing players, Dan Quisenberry of the Royals was always clever and funny. Many opposing stars were both intelligent and friendly. Among those who stand out are Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, and Kirby Puckett.
10. What is a typical day like in your job?
I usually wake up between 9 and 10am, spend a couple of hours on the Internet reviewing what went on in baseball the previous night. I then work out, eat lunch, relax or walk or surf the web until about 3pm, then go to the ballpark. When I get there, I spend an hour or two talking to our manager, players, and also to players, coaches, and media members from the other team. I go up to the booth around 5:30, prepare my scorebook for the game by writing in the lineups and some notes, read the press notes, have a quick dinner around 6:15, then I'm ready to go on the air live at 7pm. (By then, I have already recorded the manager's show, and recorded a broadcast "open" from the booth that comes on the air at 6:30pm.) After the game it takes me a couple of hours to wind down, and I usually go to sleep between 1-2am.
11. What are some of the differences between broadcasting college hockey, college baseball, college football, major league baseball, and women’s basketball?
Baseball is different from all the other sports because of all the "dead time" when the ball is not in play. It is the most conversational sport and requires that you use much more of your personality and background materials in order to be an entertaining broadcaster. In all the other sports, there is not much dead time to fill, so your ability to do play-by-play is by far the most important part of the job.
12. What are some major changes in broadcasting since when you started broadcasting the Rangers in 1979?
The advent of the Internet changed completely the way we prepare for games. So much information is available online that it's much easier to know a lot before I even show up at the ballpark. Another major change is that the players used to hang out socially with the broadcasters and sportswriters. That is not the case anymore.
13. What is the experience of being in a movie like?
In my case, only my voice was used. I flew to Austin for the day and spent a few hours in a sound studio recording my lines. As it turned out, the script for The Rookie was poorly written when it came to the play-by-play re-creation, so the director encouraged me to re-write the lines to fit my own style, which made it a lot easier. The director did not claim to know more than me about my job, and since I was basically re-creating my job, he gave me tremendous freedom in the way I did it. The weird part was not knowing how the movie was going to turn out, until actually going to the theatre to see it when it opened.
14. What is the experience of calling games in Latin America like?
The passion of the fans in Latin America is very different than it is here, much more intense. And the ballparks are much smaller than major league stadiums, in most cases. At times, you can actually feel the ballpark moving when the fans start going crazy. The games themselves are much less disciplined, and the strategy is much less predictable.
15. Will you be putting out a new edition of your 1997 book ‘The Texas Rangers: The Authorized History’? Why or why not?
I originally planned to put out a new edition if and when the Rangers win the World Series. Now I am not sure if I will do it, even if the Rangers win the World Series. It took an entire off-season to do the book, and I don't know if I am willing to give up that much time to do another book.
16. What adjustments do you have to make when you change broadcast partners? How do you feel about Victor Rojas’ move to the MLB Network?
I am very happy for Victor as it is a great career move for him. Adjusting to a new partner is always fascinating. The main thing is getting the timing down, so that you don't talk over each other. It sometimes takes a little while for the two personalities to blend. That's why it really helps to do some spring training games with a new partner.
17. What do you think are the keys to the Rangers’ success in 2009?
I have heard that pitching might be the key. Seriously, since it appears the Rangers probably will not sign any major free agents, the development of young pitchers like Harrison, Hurley, Feldman, McCarthy, etc., will determine if the Rangers have a chance to seriously contend. I think that Nelson Cruz will be a huge factor offensively. If he can offset the loss of Milton Bradley, the Rangers will be able to contend if their pitching staff can rank around the middle of the league in ERA.
18. I’ve heard that you prefer broadcasting on radio over TV. Why is that?
The beauty of the radio job is that you get to describe everything for the audience, something that the TV announcer does not need to do. It's the most satisfying part of the job, for me. Also, on radio, there is no director telling you what to do. You have the freedom to talk about whatever you want, without paying attention to a TV monitor. And of course there is no dress code on radio, and no need to wear make-up or make sure your hair (if you have any) is combed.
I would like to thank Eric again for allowing me to interview him and for the great answers to my questions.
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think the way Rafael Furcal handled himself (using the agreement with the Braves to up the Dodgers’ price and then signing with the Dodgers) was wrong or okay?
Wrong – 80%
Okay – 20%
Come back next week for the beginning of my list of the top 50 Rangers of all time.
This week I am beginning voting for the second annual Texas Rangers Trades Broadcaster of the Year Award on the poll (on the left-hand sidebar). The winner will get an award, so please vote to make it more meaningful.
This week I did an interview with Rangers radio broadcaster Eric Nadel. He is a great guy and has always been very nice to me. He took a lot of time answering these questions and I would like to thank him for doing this interview.
1. What was your favorite team growing up and why?
I rooted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, because I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. But they moved to LA in 1958 when I was 7. I continued rooting for them from long distance. But when the N Y Mets came into existence in 1962, I became a Mets fan and went to a lot of their games. I also went to Yankee games, but rooted against them.
2. Did you play baseball growing up? If so, for how long and at what position?
Yes, I played baseball from a very early age, even sneaked into Little League one year early by writing a fake birthdate on my application. I was a first baseman and catcher, mostly. I played until freshman year in college.
3. How did you prepare yourself to be a broadcaster? What education did you have?
I first attended a broadcast summer program for high school students at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois after my junior year in high school. In college, at Brown University, I learned to be a broadcaster at the college radio station, where you learned from the upper classmen. We did not have any broadcasting courses, but I did take Voice & Diction, and lots of English classes to learn how to use the language. I learned on-the-air skills by working on the radio station, doing play-by-play of hockey and football, along with shifts as a disc jockey, newscaster and sportscaster. You can really learn to be an announcer only by doing it. I spent a lot of hours practicing play-by-play into a tape recorder at hockey practice while the team scrimmaged.
4. What are the three best things about your job?
The best thing is that my job is fun. Let's face it, I get paid to go to a ballpark and watch major league baseball games. I also love being the person who informs people about interesting events. And the job is never boring, as every game is different.
5. What are the three toughest things about your job?
The grind of 162 games in six months is difficult, physically and mentally. It is tough sometimes to make a game seem worth listening to if the Rangers are bad, or the game itself is one-sided. And finally, the travel, while fun and interesting, presents various challenges, most notably in getting enough sleep.
6. What is the most fun season you’ve announced and why?
The best by far was 1996, when the Rangers won the West and made the playoffs for the first time. It seemed truly magical, as the Rangers almost blew the lead with a week to go, but rallied again to win the title. The players on that team had a wonderful sense of togetherness and I felt personally close to many of them.
7. What is the most fun game you’ve announced and why?
I would say that the first Rangers' playoff game, a win at Yankee Stadium, was the most fun. It was an incredible feeling to beat the Yankees in their park. I had gone to many games at Yankee Stadium while growing up, so broadcasting a post-season game there was quite a thrill. Nolan's two no-hitters with the Rangers weren't bad either.
8. What is the best play you’ve announced and why?
I think the single most exciting play was David Delucci's walk-off triple against Oakland late in the pennant race in the 2004 season. The most exciting defensive play was Ken Griffey smashing face first into the wall to rob Juan Gonzalez of an extra base hit at the Kingdome in Seattle, in a game that had no bearing on the pennant race. Josh Hamilton made a very similar play last year in Oakland. And of course, there was Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strikeout, which was probably the most significant call that I have had historically. One more worth mentioning was Ramon Vazquez' 3-run homer that pushed the Rangers' run total to an all-time record 30 in August, 2007 at Baltimore.
9. Who have been the best and most fun players to interview and why?
Charlie Hough always had funny things to say, and was a pleasure to talk to. Interviewing Nolan Ryan after his 6th and 7th no-hitters, 5,000th strikeout, and 300th win, was a lot of fun. Of opposing players, Dan Quisenberry of the Royals was always clever and funny. Many opposing stars were both intelligent and friendly. Among those who stand out are Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, and Kirby Puckett.
10. What is a typical day like in your job?
I usually wake up between 9 and 10am, spend a couple of hours on the Internet reviewing what went on in baseball the previous night. I then work out, eat lunch, relax or walk or surf the web until about 3pm, then go to the ballpark. When I get there, I spend an hour or two talking to our manager, players, and also to players, coaches, and media members from the other team. I go up to the booth around 5:30, prepare my scorebook for the game by writing in the lineups and some notes, read the press notes, have a quick dinner around 6:15, then I'm ready to go on the air live at 7pm. (By then, I have already recorded the manager's show, and recorded a broadcast "open" from the booth that comes on the air at 6:30pm.) After the game it takes me a couple of hours to wind down, and I usually go to sleep between 1-2am.
11. What are some of the differences between broadcasting college hockey, college baseball, college football, major league baseball, and women’s basketball?
Baseball is different from all the other sports because of all the "dead time" when the ball is not in play. It is the most conversational sport and requires that you use much more of your personality and background materials in order to be an entertaining broadcaster. In all the other sports, there is not much dead time to fill, so your ability to do play-by-play is by far the most important part of the job.
12. What are some major changes in broadcasting since when you started broadcasting the Rangers in 1979?
The advent of the Internet changed completely the way we prepare for games. So much information is available online that it's much easier to know a lot before I even show up at the ballpark. Another major change is that the players used to hang out socially with the broadcasters and sportswriters. That is not the case anymore.
13. What is the experience of being in a movie like?
In my case, only my voice was used. I flew to Austin for the day and spent a few hours in a sound studio recording my lines. As it turned out, the script for The Rookie was poorly written when it came to the play-by-play re-creation, so the director encouraged me to re-write the lines to fit my own style, which made it a lot easier. The director did not claim to know more than me about my job, and since I was basically re-creating my job, he gave me tremendous freedom in the way I did it. The weird part was not knowing how the movie was going to turn out, until actually going to the theatre to see it when it opened.
14. What is the experience of calling games in Latin America like?
The passion of the fans in Latin America is very different than it is here, much more intense. And the ballparks are much smaller than major league stadiums, in most cases. At times, you can actually feel the ballpark moving when the fans start going crazy. The games themselves are much less disciplined, and the strategy is much less predictable.
15. Will you be putting out a new edition of your 1997 book ‘The Texas Rangers: The Authorized History’? Why or why not?
I originally planned to put out a new edition if and when the Rangers win the World Series. Now I am not sure if I will do it, even if the Rangers win the World Series. It took an entire off-season to do the book, and I don't know if I am willing to give up that much time to do another book.
16. What adjustments do you have to make when you change broadcast partners? How do you feel about Victor Rojas’ move to the MLB Network?
I am very happy for Victor as it is a great career move for him. Adjusting to a new partner is always fascinating. The main thing is getting the timing down, so that you don't talk over each other. It sometimes takes a little while for the two personalities to blend. That's why it really helps to do some spring training games with a new partner.
17. What do you think are the keys to the Rangers’ success in 2009?
I have heard that pitching might be the key. Seriously, since it appears the Rangers probably will not sign any major free agents, the development of young pitchers like Harrison, Hurley, Feldman, McCarthy, etc., will determine if the Rangers have a chance to seriously contend. I think that Nelson Cruz will be a huge factor offensively. If he can offset the loss of Milton Bradley, the Rangers will be able to contend if their pitching staff can rank around the middle of the league in ERA.
18. I’ve heard that you prefer broadcasting on radio over TV. Why is that?
The beauty of the radio job is that you get to describe everything for the audience, something that the TV announcer does not need to do. It's the most satisfying part of the job, for me. Also, on radio, there is no director telling you what to do. You have the freedom to talk about whatever you want, without paying attention to a TV monitor. And of course there is no dress code on radio, and no need to wear make-up or make sure your hair (if you have any) is combed.
I would like to thank Eric again for allowing me to interview him and for the great answers to my questions.
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think the way Rafael Furcal handled himself (using the agreement with the Braves to up the Dodgers’ price and then signing with the Dodgers) was wrong or okay?
Wrong – 80%
Okay – 20%
Come back next week for the beginning of my list of the top 50 Rangers of all time.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Trade Analyses
This week I’m going to catch up on analyzing recent Rangers trades.
The Rangers traded Gerald Laird to the Tigers for Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo on December 7th.
Guillermo Moscoso: Guillermo went 8-2 with a 2.18 ERA throughout Oneonta, West Michigan (Low-A), and Lakeland (High-A). He only pitched 90.2 innings that year, though, with 79 strikeouts and 16 walks. He had shoulder surgery in 2005 and that explains the low number of innings because they wanted to bring him back slowly. In 2008, Moscoso pitched 86.2 innings between Lakeland and Erie (AA). He struck out 122 batters and walked only 21. He was named the #10 prospect in the Detroit minor league system by Baseball America. Moscoso had a 3.72 ERA out of the bullpen and a 1.65 ERA as a starter. He has more strikeouts than innings and five times more strikeouts than walks in his career. The only downside is that he’s a fly ball pitcher, but seems like a pretty good prospect.
Carlos Melo: In 2007, the Tigers signed Carlos out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old. He didn’t pitch that year. In 2008, he had a 5.14 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 20 walks in only 49 innings. He’s only 17 years old, but reportedly is already throwing 93-96 miles an hour.
Trade Evaluation:
Laird wasn’t going to be our best catcher or our catcher of the future. If I was going to trade one of our catchers it would have been Laird. Fortunately it was him (and not more). Guillermo Moscoso seems like a very good prospect who isn’t all that far away from the majors, and can both be a relief pitcher and a starter. Carlos Melo seems to have a great upside, but is far from the majors and will need a lot of attention to speed up his process and to become a successful major league pitcher. This seems like a pretty return for Laird.
Grade: A-
The Red Sox sent Beau Vaughn over to the Rangers to complete the Wes Littleton trade on December 11th.
Beau Vaughn: In 2008, Beau went 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA and 17 saves between Portland (AA) and Pawtucket (AAA). He pitched 58 innings and struck out 69, walking 24, and giving up an opponent’s batting average of .233. He is 27 years old.
Trade Evaluation:
Wes Littleton had a good year in 2006 with a 1.73 ERA in 36.1 innings. But in 2007 he had a 4.31 ERA and in 2008 he had a 6.00 ERA. I think that he could still pitch in the major leagues and that Beau Vaughn is more of a minor-leaguer-to-back-part-of-the-bullpen type guy, so I think that this trade wasn’t necessary, except to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Grade: B-
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Manny Ramirez will go?
Yankees – 62%
Dodgers – 25%
Other – 12%
Come back next week for an interview with Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel.
Merry Christmas!
The Rangers traded Gerald Laird to the Tigers for Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo on December 7th.
Guillermo Moscoso: Guillermo went 8-2 with a 2.18 ERA throughout Oneonta, West Michigan (Low-A), and Lakeland (High-A). He only pitched 90.2 innings that year, though, with 79 strikeouts and 16 walks. He had shoulder surgery in 2005 and that explains the low number of innings because they wanted to bring him back slowly. In 2008, Moscoso pitched 86.2 innings between Lakeland and Erie (AA). He struck out 122 batters and walked only 21. He was named the #10 prospect in the Detroit minor league system by Baseball America. Moscoso had a 3.72 ERA out of the bullpen and a 1.65 ERA as a starter. He has more strikeouts than innings and five times more strikeouts than walks in his career. The only downside is that he’s a fly ball pitcher, but seems like a pretty good prospect.
Carlos Melo: In 2007, the Tigers signed Carlos out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old. He didn’t pitch that year. In 2008, he had a 5.14 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 20 walks in only 49 innings. He’s only 17 years old, but reportedly is already throwing 93-96 miles an hour.
Trade Evaluation:
Laird wasn’t going to be our best catcher or our catcher of the future. If I was going to trade one of our catchers it would have been Laird. Fortunately it was him (and not more). Guillermo Moscoso seems like a very good prospect who isn’t all that far away from the majors, and can both be a relief pitcher and a starter. Carlos Melo seems to have a great upside, but is far from the majors and will need a lot of attention to speed up his process and to become a successful major league pitcher. This seems like a pretty return for Laird.
Grade: A-
The Red Sox sent Beau Vaughn over to the Rangers to complete the Wes Littleton trade on December 11th.
Beau Vaughn: In 2008, Beau went 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA and 17 saves between Portland (AA) and Pawtucket (AAA). He pitched 58 innings and struck out 69, walking 24, and giving up an opponent’s batting average of .233. He is 27 years old.
Trade Evaluation:
Wes Littleton had a good year in 2006 with a 1.73 ERA in 36.1 innings. But in 2007 he had a 4.31 ERA and in 2008 he had a 6.00 ERA. I think that he could still pitch in the major leagues and that Beau Vaughn is more of a minor-leaguer-to-back-part-of-the-bullpen type guy, so I think that this trade wasn’t necessary, except to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Grade: B-
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Manny Ramirez will go?
Yankees – 62%
Dodgers – 25%
Other – 12%
Come back next week for an interview with Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Newberg Report Bound Edition Release Party
On Wednesday night Jamey Newberg held his annual Newberg Book Release Party. It started at six and ended at nine and was a blast. It was held at Sherlock’s Pub & Grill in Arlington. The crowd was the biggest yet and the players there were Michael Young, Taylor Teagarden, Chris Davis, Derek Holland, and Jeff Zimmerman. They signed autographs and did a Q&A session. They were all very nice and it was very kind of them to be there.
Eleanor Czajka, her mom, and her sister were selling the books at the party. My dad and I got to hang out with them and talk to them a lot. Eleanor is one of my friends and I always enjoy seeing her. Jamey, his wife Ginger, and his two kids Max and Erica were all at the party. Max and Erica wrote the section ‘About My Dad’ and were signing autographs at the party with Jamey and all the players. I got my first Max Newberg autograph and my second Erica Newberg autograph (she wrote it last year, too). Max is four years old, a huge baseball fan, and has a great arm. I played catch with him at Spring Training. Erica is eight years old, is very smart and has pretty eyes. Devin Pike was also there. He works for the new sports radio station 105.3 The Fan and runs the website (http://www.1053thefan.com). Devin ran the Q&A session and let me ask four questions.
Jamey’s book is terrific as always. The forewords this year are by Nolan Ryan and Jeff Zimmerman. Jamey included his prospect rankings (top 72, plus breakdowns of the players in each position that are on those lists), his breakdown of down 2008, what to look forward to in 2009, his 20 players who could break out in 2009, all his reports for the season, the final 2008 statistics, the 2008 draft, all the transactions from November 2007 to October 2008, and the portion that Max and Erica wrote. It is well worth the $25.
My dad and I got there at about 5:30. The autograph session started at about 6:30 and went until around 8:30. After that, the Q&A session started. Below is a recap of the session.
Q&A Session:
Q: Who are the three toughest pitchers (or toughest hitters) you’ve faced and why? (This was one of my questions.)
Chris Davis:
Jon Lester – lefty on lefty – he’s got dirty stuff
Scott Shields – I remember facing Shields and walking back to the dugout several times. He has a good slider and it seems like he knew what I was thinking the whole time. It was pretty frustrating.
Dice-K: It seems like I could never really get it on the barrel with that guy. It seemed like everything he threw, I thought I was going to crush it but it just disappeared.
Those were probably my top three. I didn’t get to face Sabathia but maybe next year.
Derek Holland:
The toughest guy is probably myself.
Jeff Zimmerman:
Michael Young, of course, Bengie Molina, and Cal Ripken.
Michael Young:
Pedro Martinez, Pedro Martinez, Pedro Martinez
Taylor Teagarden:
I would go with Jon Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Joe Nathan.
Q: For Michael: Can you describe the process of being traded, like how you found out, how you felt, and how quickly you had to get to your new city? (This was also one of my questions.)
Michael: I got traded when I was in the minor leagues so that’s, first of all, a lot easier than being in the major leagues. I was in Greenville, NC. My manager brought me in about a half-hour before the bus left and told me I had been traded to Texas. I called my agent, packed my stuff, got on a plane to Knoxville, packed my stuff, got on a plane to Tulsa, played, and went 0-for-4.
Q: What would you do if you weren’t playing baseball?
Michael: If I weren’t playing baseball, I think I’d just be a full-time dad.
Taylor: I think I would be a veterinarian or something.
Jeff: I’m trying to be a full-time dad but my wife’s going to kick me out of the house. So if anyone has any suggestions, just let me know.
Derek: I think I would be a firefighter.
Chris: If I wasn’t playing baseball… I really got nothin’. I’m not very good at anything else. I guess I could… no, I got nothin’.
Q: For Michael: What was it like being on the field at Yankee Stadium during Josh Hamilton’s home run derby clinic?
Michael: It was pretty incredible. The things he does in batting practice - he really does put on an absolute show. As far as pure power, Alex and Josh are kind of in a class by themselves. It was incredible to have a Yankee Stadium crowd cheering for a guy I play with. It was pretty fun. It seemed like Josh really fed off it. The crowd was going crazy and it was just a lot of fun.
Q: For Taylor: Now that Laird’s not here, are you preparing to be the catcher on opening day?
Taylor: I’m gonna approach camp like that. I’m going to do everything I know I can do and let upper management make the decision. In my mind, I’m going in there to crack the starting lineup. That’s my mindset.
Q: For Chris: With Justin Smoak’s arrival in the organization, do you think you’ll be moving back to third base? Do you have a preference?
Chris: I’m comfortable at either position. Right now I probably have more experience at first. I played there in college and in high school. I feel I can play any position. Justin’s a good player, a good prospect for us. If our names are in the lineup together at some point in the future, I imagine I’d probably be at third. But either first or third would be a good fit for me.
Q: For Jeff: What’s your favorite memory from the 1999 season?
Jeff: Signing my first big-league autograph. I signed an autograph for a guy and he looked down to read it and said ‘Whoa! You’re going to have a great year for me. I have you on my fantasy team.’ I said ‘There’s no way. No one even knows I exist.’ He said ‘Yeah – Todd Zeile, you’re the best third baseman!’ My favorite memory was around the Fourth of July. My brother and I pitched against each other in the same game. He was with the Mariners. I pitched the top of the ninth. He came in the bottom of the ninth and gave up a walk-off double to Rusty Greer. My dad was there. He passed away a year later. It was the first time he’d seen us both pitch in the same game.
Q: For Jeff: What are the three best things and the three worst things about playing in the independent league? (This was one of my questions.)
Jeff: Wow, that’s a very insightful question. Three best things: First, it’s all about winning. There are no organizational politics or depth charts or prospects. Second, the fans are rabid and know all of your stats. They adopt you and you’re allowed to go out and drink beer with the fans after the game. I can’t think of a third. The three worst things: First, the paychecks – you make less than A-ball players make. Second, the travel is really tough with the long bus rides. I can’t think of a third. Good question – you stumped me.
Q: For Michael: For the 2009 season, what’s the most important thing for the team to move forward?
Michael: It’s really difficult to single out one thing. You always have a number of priorities to address. For me, it’s about our young players getting a lot of experience last year. Next year, we’ll have the chance to build and grow more as a team. I think the biggest thing is making sure we have a little bit of continuity as a team, with our coaching staff and the players.
Q: For Derek: Can you describe the process of moving through three levels of baseball in one season, like what were some of the biggest challenges and some of the main differences between levels? (This was my last question.)
Derek: The jumps were tough because you tried to get settled at one spot and were moved to another spot. It was rough just trying to get comfortable. The toughest would probably be when I got to double-A – the hitters are a lot smarter than in single-A. They’re a lot more patient. That was one of the biggest challenges for me.
Q: For Michael: How are your injuries?
Michael: I’m doing fine. My first break has healed. The second break is slowly but surely getting better. I can make a fist and get my hand around a bat finally. That’s a definite positive for me. I’ll be going into spring training 100%.
The party was a lot of fun as always. I would like to thank Jamey and everyone else involved in putting it on.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will get Mark Teixeira?
Red Sox – 33%
Nationals – 26%
Yankees – 20%
Angels – 13%
Other – 6%
Orioles – 0%
Come back next week for an analysis of all the recent Rangers trades.
Eleanor Czajka, her mom, and her sister were selling the books at the party. My dad and I got to hang out with them and talk to them a lot. Eleanor is one of my friends and I always enjoy seeing her. Jamey, his wife Ginger, and his two kids Max and Erica were all at the party. Max and Erica wrote the section ‘About My Dad’ and were signing autographs at the party with Jamey and all the players. I got my first Max Newberg autograph and my second Erica Newberg autograph (she wrote it last year, too). Max is four years old, a huge baseball fan, and has a great arm. I played catch with him at Spring Training. Erica is eight years old, is very smart and has pretty eyes. Devin Pike was also there. He works for the new sports radio station 105.3 The Fan and runs the website (http://www.1053thefan.com). Devin ran the Q&A session and let me ask four questions.
Jamey’s book is terrific as always. The forewords this year are by Nolan Ryan and Jeff Zimmerman. Jamey included his prospect rankings (top 72, plus breakdowns of the players in each position that are on those lists), his breakdown of down 2008, what to look forward to in 2009, his 20 players who could break out in 2009, all his reports for the season, the final 2008 statistics, the 2008 draft, all the transactions from November 2007 to October 2008, and the portion that Max and Erica wrote. It is well worth the $25.
My dad and I got there at about 5:30. The autograph session started at about 6:30 and went until around 8:30. After that, the Q&A session started. Below is a recap of the session.
Q&A Session:
Q: Who are the three toughest pitchers (or toughest hitters) you’ve faced and why? (This was one of my questions.)
Chris Davis:
Jon Lester – lefty on lefty – he’s got dirty stuff
Scott Shields – I remember facing Shields and walking back to the dugout several times. He has a good slider and it seems like he knew what I was thinking the whole time. It was pretty frustrating.
Dice-K: It seems like I could never really get it on the barrel with that guy. It seemed like everything he threw, I thought I was going to crush it but it just disappeared.
Those were probably my top three. I didn’t get to face Sabathia but maybe next year.
Derek Holland:
The toughest guy is probably myself.
Jeff Zimmerman:
Michael Young, of course, Bengie Molina, and Cal Ripken.
Michael Young:
Pedro Martinez, Pedro Martinez, Pedro Martinez
Taylor Teagarden:
I would go with Jon Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Joe Nathan.
Q: For Michael: Can you describe the process of being traded, like how you found out, how you felt, and how quickly you had to get to your new city? (This was also one of my questions.)
Michael: I got traded when I was in the minor leagues so that’s, first of all, a lot easier than being in the major leagues. I was in Greenville, NC. My manager brought me in about a half-hour before the bus left and told me I had been traded to Texas. I called my agent, packed my stuff, got on a plane to Knoxville, packed my stuff, got on a plane to Tulsa, played, and went 0-for-4.
Q: What would you do if you weren’t playing baseball?
Michael: If I weren’t playing baseball, I think I’d just be a full-time dad.
Taylor: I think I would be a veterinarian or something.
Jeff: I’m trying to be a full-time dad but my wife’s going to kick me out of the house. So if anyone has any suggestions, just let me know.
Derek: I think I would be a firefighter.
Chris: If I wasn’t playing baseball… I really got nothin’. I’m not very good at anything else. I guess I could… no, I got nothin’.
Q: For Michael: What was it like being on the field at Yankee Stadium during Josh Hamilton’s home run derby clinic?
Michael: It was pretty incredible. The things he does in batting practice - he really does put on an absolute show. As far as pure power, Alex and Josh are kind of in a class by themselves. It was incredible to have a Yankee Stadium crowd cheering for a guy I play with. It was pretty fun. It seemed like Josh really fed off it. The crowd was going crazy and it was just a lot of fun.
Q: For Taylor: Now that Laird’s not here, are you preparing to be the catcher on opening day?
Taylor: I’m gonna approach camp like that. I’m going to do everything I know I can do and let upper management make the decision. In my mind, I’m going in there to crack the starting lineup. That’s my mindset.
Q: For Chris: With Justin Smoak’s arrival in the organization, do you think you’ll be moving back to third base? Do you have a preference?
Chris: I’m comfortable at either position. Right now I probably have more experience at first. I played there in college and in high school. I feel I can play any position. Justin’s a good player, a good prospect for us. If our names are in the lineup together at some point in the future, I imagine I’d probably be at third. But either first or third would be a good fit for me.
Q: For Jeff: What’s your favorite memory from the 1999 season?
Jeff: Signing my first big-league autograph. I signed an autograph for a guy and he looked down to read it and said ‘Whoa! You’re going to have a great year for me. I have you on my fantasy team.’ I said ‘There’s no way. No one even knows I exist.’ He said ‘Yeah – Todd Zeile, you’re the best third baseman!’ My favorite memory was around the Fourth of July. My brother and I pitched against each other in the same game. He was with the Mariners. I pitched the top of the ninth. He came in the bottom of the ninth and gave up a walk-off double to Rusty Greer. My dad was there. He passed away a year later. It was the first time he’d seen us both pitch in the same game.
Q: For Jeff: What are the three best things and the three worst things about playing in the independent league? (This was one of my questions.)
Jeff: Wow, that’s a very insightful question. Three best things: First, it’s all about winning. There are no organizational politics or depth charts or prospects. Second, the fans are rabid and know all of your stats. They adopt you and you’re allowed to go out and drink beer with the fans after the game. I can’t think of a third. The three worst things: First, the paychecks – you make less than A-ball players make. Second, the travel is really tough with the long bus rides. I can’t think of a third. Good question – you stumped me.
Q: For Michael: For the 2009 season, what’s the most important thing for the team to move forward?
Michael: It’s really difficult to single out one thing. You always have a number of priorities to address. For me, it’s about our young players getting a lot of experience last year. Next year, we’ll have the chance to build and grow more as a team. I think the biggest thing is making sure we have a little bit of continuity as a team, with our coaching staff and the players.
Q: For Derek: Can you describe the process of moving through three levels of baseball in one season, like what were some of the biggest challenges and some of the main differences between levels? (This was my last question.)
Derek: The jumps were tough because you tried to get settled at one spot and were moved to another spot. It was rough just trying to get comfortable. The toughest would probably be when I got to double-A – the hitters are a lot smarter than in single-A. They’re a lot more patient. That was one of the biggest challenges for me.
Q: For Michael: How are your injuries?
Michael: I’m doing fine. My first break has healed. The second break is slowly but surely getting better. I can make a fist and get my hand around a bat finally. That’s a definite positive for me. I’ll be going into spring training 100%.
The party was a lot of fun as always. I would like to thank Jamey and everyone else involved in putting it on.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will get Mark Teixeira?
Red Sox – 33%
Nationals – 26%
Yankees – 20%
Angels – 13%
Other – 6%
Orioles – 0%
Come back next week for an analysis of all the recent Rangers trades.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Winter Meetings Preview
This week I will analyze what the winter meetings will look like and what might go down.
Hot Stove Info:
Greg Maddux will retire on Monday after 355 career wins. The Braves signed catcher David Ross to be their back-up behind Brian McCann. The Giants signed SS Edgar Renteria. Rafael Furcal rejected the A’s four-year offer. The Cardinals traded for SS Khalil Greene. The Indians signed Tomo Ohka to a minor-league deal and the Rangers signed Joe Torres to a minor-league deal. The Rangers also re-signed Elizardo Ramirez to a minor league contract.
Winter Meetings:
K-ROD: K-ROD’s agent has said that the serious negotiations would start at the Winter Meetings. It seems that there is a pretty good chance of him signing with the Mets during the Winter Meetings or shortly thereafter.
Rafael Furcal: After the Giants signed Edgar Renteria to play shortstop, it seemed like he would be going to the A’s, but he turned down the A’s offer of a four-year deal. It seems at this point that he will start over from scratch at the Winter Meetings, and the market will be wide open again.
Kerry Wood: Both the Mets and the Tigers are interested in Kerry Wood, and the Rangers have shown some amount of interest also. The market will probably be larger since the Cubs offered him arbitration which takes away the draft pick the team that signs him would have to lose in the process. He will probably come close to making a decision at the Winter Meetings.
Adam Everett: The Tigers are going after Everett hard and have a good shot at signing him during the Winter Meetings.
Mark Teixeira: Mark is looking for at least $20 million dollars a year for multiple years. He is even hoping for a ten year contract. Because of this he probably will not sign at the Winter Meetings, but only start getting into serious negotiations.
Manny Ramirez: Manny is also looking for at least $20 million dollars a year for multiple years, but he probably has a better chance at getting it in offers from multiple teams than Teixeira does. He probably will not get signed at the Winter Meetings.
Adam Dunn: The Nationals, Mariners, Cubs, Rays, and Angels are all interested in Dunn. He probably will not sign at the Winter Meetings due to the number of teams that want him, but he should get it down to two or three teams.
Bobby Abreu: Bobby only has four teams interested in him right now ( the Cubs, Mets, Yankees, and Rays). He will not get all that much money (in baseball terms) but will get a pretty decent sized contract.
Raul Ibanez: Only the Cubs and Mets are interested in him now and since he’s 36, he’ll probably sign late, after all the big-name targets are gone and he’s the last solid outfielder available.
Pat Burrell: The Phillies seem to be letting him go without even really trying to keep him in Philly. He probably will come reasonably close to signing at the Winter Meetings, but probably will still be a free agent at the end of the meetings.
CC Sabathia: There is a good chance that CC will sign during the Winter Meetings. He has probably been waiting for these meetings to see if he can get even more than $140 million, which is unlikely. If there is not a higher offer, he will probably sign at the meetings; if there is, it will probably be a long process for him to sign.
Nationals: The Nationals are expected to attempt to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a multi-year contract at the Winter Meetings. They are also trying to convince both Teixeira and Dunn to sign with them, so this might be the time to get on their list of possible teams. The Nats are also interested in Milton Bradley.
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Rafael Furcal will go?
San Francisco Giants – 50%
Oakland Athletics – 37%
Other – 13%
Come back next week for a recap of the Newberg Bound Edition release party.
Hot Stove Info:
Greg Maddux will retire on Monday after 355 career wins. The Braves signed catcher David Ross to be their back-up behind Brian McCann. The Giants signed SS Edgar Renteria. Rafael Furcal rejected the A’s four-year offer. The Cardinals traded for SS Khalil Greene. The Indians signed Tomo Ohka to a minor-league deal and the Rangers signed Joe Torres to a minor-league deal. The Rangers also re-signed Elizardo Ramirez to a minor league contract.
Winter Meetings:
K-ROD: K-ROD’s agent has said that the serious negotiations would start at the Winter Meetings. It seems that there is a pretty good chance of him signing with the Mets during the Winter Meetings or shortly thereafter.
Rafael Furcal: After the Giants signed Edgar Renteria to play shortstop, it seemed like he would be going to the A’s, but he turned down the A’s offer of a four-year deal. It seems at this point that he will start over from scratch at the Winter Meetings, and the market will be wide open again.
Kerry Wood: Both the Mets and the Tigers are interested in Kerry Wood, and the Rangers have shown some amount of interest also. The market will probably be larger since the Cubs offered him arbitration which takes away the draft pick the team that signs him would have to lose in the process. He will probably come close to making a decision at the Winter Meetings.
Adam Everett: The Tigers are going after Everett hard and have a good shot at signing him during the Winter Meetings.
Mark Teixeira: Mark is looking for at least $20 million dollars a year for multiple years. He is even hoping for a ten year contract. Because of this he probably will not sign at the Winter Meetings, but only start getting into serious negotiations.
Manny Ramirez: Manny is also looking for at least $20 million dollars a year for multiple years, but he probably has a better chance at getting it in offers from multiple teams than Teixeira does. He probably will not get signed at the Winter Meetings.
Adam Dunn: The Nationals, Mariners, Cubs, Rays, and Angels are all interested in Dunn. He probably will not sign at the Winter Meetings due to the number of teams that want him, but he should get it down to two or three teams.
Bobby Abreu: Bobby only has four teams interested in him right now ( the Cubs, Mets, Yankees, and Rays). He will not get all that much money (in baseball terms) but will get a pretty decent sized contract.
Raul Ibanez: Only the Cubs and Mets are interested in him now and since he’s 36, he’ll probably sign late, after all the big-name targets are gone and he’s the last solid outfielder available.
Pat Burrell: The Phillies seem to be letting him go without even really trying to keep him in Philly. He probably will come reasonably close to signing at the Winter Meetings, but probably will still be a free agent at the end of the meetings.
CC Sabathia: There is a good chance that CC will sign during the Winter Meetings. He has probably been waiting for these meetings to see if he can get even more than $140 million, which is unlikely. If there is not a higher offer, he will probably sign at the meetings; if there is, it will probably be a long process for him to sign.
Nationals: The Nationals are expected to attempt to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a multi-year contract at the Winter Meetings. They are also trying to convince both Teixeira and Dunn to sign with them, so this might be the time to get on their list of possible teams. The Nats are also interested in Milton Bradley.
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Rafael Furcal will go?
San Francisco Giants – 50%
Oakland Athletics – 37%
Other – 13%
Come back next week for a recap of the Newberg Bound Edition release party.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tom Grieve Trade Analysis Part 8
The Texas Rangers traded Wes Littleton (who was DFA’d earlier) to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations. It’s obviously too early to judge this trade but Littleton was a very good guy and I’m sorry to see him go. I hope he makes the Boston team out of spring training both because it would be good for Wes and because we would get more in return from the trade.
Hot Stove Rumors and Info:
Francisco Rodriguez’s agent has said that he expects that the serious talks about a contract will start at the Winter Meetings. Rafael Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, said that Furcal will have it down to at least two teams on Monday or Tuesday. The A’s looked at Nick Johnson’s medical records. The Braves have increased their interest in AJ Burnett (I predicted that Burnett would go to the Braves).
This week I will complete the analysis of all the trades Tom Grieve made as the Rangers GM. I posted part 7 on August 24th of this year, if you want to see my last post of this. This time I will analyze all of the trades Tom Grieve made as GM in 1993 and 1994.
47. 7-17-93: The Florida Marlins traded Cris Carpenter to the Texas Rangers for Robb Nen and Kurt Miller.
Loss – Cris Carpenter only played one and a half seasons for us and he had a 4.22 ERA for us in his half season and a 5.03 ERA for us in his full season with the team. He had a 6-6 record with the Rangers. Robb Nen had 314 career saves and a 2.98 career ERA. He was a 3-time All-Star and led the league in saves in 2001 with 45. He also led the league in games finished in 1995, 1999, and 2001. He pitched 715 career innings while Cris Carpenter only pitched 91 innings with the Rangers. Kurt Miller really struggled, though, with a 7.48 career ERA.
Record – 10-12-25
48. 7-22-93: The Texas Rangers traded Todd Burns to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later. The St. Louis Cardinals sent Duff Brumley (July 30, 1993) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Tie - Burns only played another half-a-season in the majors and he had a 6.16 ERA in 30 and two-thirds innings, so he didn’t do much at all. Brumley only pitched 3 and a third innings in the majors and he allowed 6 runs, so he didn’t do much of anything either.
Record – 10-12-26
49. 1-13-94: The Milwaukee Brewers traded David Pike (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Jeff Bronkey.
Tie – David Pike never made it to the majors and Jeff Bronkey only pitched 33 innings after being traded.
Record – 10-12-27
50. 3-23-94: The Cleveland Indians traded Junior Ortiz to the Texas Rangers for players to be named later. The Texas Rangers sent Igor Oropeza (minors) (March 25, 1994) and Andreaus Lewis (minors) (May 9, 1994) to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade.
Tie - Junior Ortiz only played 29 games for the Rangers and he had a .276 batting average with 9 RBI’s and no HR’s. Neither Igor Oropeza nor Andreaus Lewis made it to the majors.
Record – 10-12-28
51. 3-28-94: The Chicago White Sox traded Esteban Beltre to the Texas Rangers for Scott Eyre.
Loss - Esteban Beltre only had 223 at-bats for the Rangers split between two seasons. In ’94 he hit .282 and in ’95 he hit .217. Scott Eyre is still playing and has played for 12 seasons now. He is Willie Eyre’s brother. He has a 4.36 career ERA and 619 and a third career innings. He is a solid relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has had 4 years with an ERA under four, one of those years being a 2.63 ERA.
Final Record – 10-13-28
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think the John Mayberry trade was a good or bad trade?
Good trade – 77%
Bad trade – 22%
Come back next week for a comparison of all the GM’s I’ve reviewed so far.
Hot Stove Rumors and Info:
Francisco Rodriguez’s agent has said that he expects that the serious talks about a contract will start at the Winter Meetings. Rafael Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer, said that Furcal will have it down to at least two teams on Monday or Tuesday. The A’s looked at Nick Johnson’s medical records. The Braves have increased their interest in AJ Burnett (I predicted that Burnett would go to the Braves).
This week I will complete the analysis of all the trades Tom Grieve made as the Rangers GM. I posted part 7 on August 24th of this year, if you want to see my last post of this. This time I will analyze all of the trades Tom Grieve made as GM in 1993 and 1994.
47. 7-17-93: The Florida Marlins traded Cris Carpenter to the Texas Rangers for Robb Nen and Kurt Miller.
Loss – Cris Carpenter only played one and a half seasons for us and he had a 4.22 ERA for us in his half season and a 5.03 ERA for us in his full season with the team. He had a 6-6 record with the Rangers. Robb Nen had 314 career saves and a 2.98 career ERA. He was a 3-time All-Star and led the league in saves in 2001 with 45. He also led the league in games finished in 1995, 1999, and 2001. He pitched 715 career innings while Cris Carpenter only pitched 91 innings with the Rangers. Kurt Miller really struggled, though, with a 7.48 career ERA.
Record – 10-12-25
48. 7-22-93: The Texas Rangers traded Todd Burns to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later. The St. Louis Cardinals sent Duff Brumley (July 30, 1993) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
Tie - Burns only played another half-a-season in the majors and he had a 6.16 ERA in 30 and two-thirds innings, so he didn’t do much at all. Brumley only pitched 3 and a third innings in the majors and he allowed 6 runs, so he didn’t do much of anything either.
Record – 10-12-26
49. 1-13-94: The Milwaukee Brewers traded David Pike (minors) to the Texas Rangers for Jeff Bronkey.
Tie – David Pike never made it to the majors and Jeff Bronkey only pitched 33 innings after being traded.
Record – 10-12-27
50. 3-23-94: The Cleveland Indians traded Junior Ortiz to the Texas Rangers for players to be named later. The Texas Rangers sent Igor Oropeza (minors) (March 25, 1994) and Andreaus Lewis (minors) (May 9, 1994) to the Cleveland Indians to complete the trade.
Tie - Junior Ortiz only played 29 games for the Rangers and he had a .276 batting average with 9 RBI’s and no HR’s. Neither Igor Oropeza nor Andreaus Lewis made it to the majors.
Record – 10-12-28
51. 3-28-94: The Chicago White Sox traded Esteban Beltre to the Texas Rangers for Scott Eyre.
Loss - Esteban Beltre only had 223 at-bats for the Rangers split between two seasons. In ’94 he hit .282 and in ’95 he hit .217. Scott Eyre is still playing and has played for 12 seasons now. He is Willie Eyre’s brother. He has a 4.36 career ERA and 619 and a third career innings. He is a solid relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has had 4 years with an ERA under four, one of those years being a 2.63 ERA.
Final Record – 10-13-28
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you think the John Mayberry trade was a good or bad trade?
Good trade – 77%
Bad trade – 22%
Come back next week for a comparison of all the GM’s I’ve reviewed so far.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Mayberry Trade Evaluation
This week, the Rangers traded OF John Mayberry Jr. to the Philadelphia Phillies for OF Greg Golson.
John Mayberry, Jr.: John was the Rangers 1st round pick in 2005. He has struggled very much in the minors, with just a .255 batting average in four years. He has 82 HR’s and 257 RBI’s spread throughout those years. John has struck out 243 more times than he has walked in his minor league career and his fielding percentage has had ups and downs, too. In 2006, he had a .979 fielding percentage in 114 games on the field at Clinton while in Frisco in ’08 he had a .964 fielding percentage in 20 games on the field.
Greg Golson: Greg was a first round pick out of high school in 2004. In the offseason before 2008 he was ranked the Phillies #7 prospect along with the Phillies best power hitter, fastest base runner, best athlete, best defensive outfielder and best defensive arm. Golson was playing very well at the beginning of the ’08 season as he hit .329 through May, but then it went downhill from there as he went through a major slump, got injured and then hit only .257 after the injury. He only had 13 HR’s and 60 RBI’s. In six major league at-bats in September he went 0-for-6, but stole a base and scored two runs. But after the Futures Game, Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan said that “You could actually see his trade value collapsing during the game. Golson has had the best season of his professional life, fooling some people into seeing him as a prospect. He’s not. He swings at everything, he’s an awkward outfielder and he doesn’t do anything else well enough to make up for those traits. The Phillies have about nine minutes to turn him into something of value, because by the end of the season, he’ll have been exposed again.” He is a risk.
Evaluation:
I don’t think that Mayberry was going anywhere, or if he was it was going to take years to develop. Golson seems like a guy who has talent and potential, but needs good coaching and probably a couple years to put it all together. He will probably be in major league camp and that should tell us a lot about him.
Grade: B- - it might turn out much better, though.
Roster Moves:
John Bannister, Omar Poveda, Willie Eyre, and Jose Vallejo were all placed on the 40-man roster. Wes Littleton and Kameron Loe were designated for assignment. Kameron Loe signed a 2-year, $2 million contract to go to Japan.
I think that Willie Eyre played well enough a couple years ago to get himself a spot, so I like him getting on. Jose Vallejo was a no-brainer, and I like that Poveda made it. I do wish someone other than Littleton was DFA’d, though. I still think that he should be able to fight for a job in Spring Training, though.
I’m very sorry to see Kameron Loe go. He is one of the nicest people on the team. He always took time for the fans. He let me interview him for my blog one time. He gave me his cell phone number and let me call him while the team was in Oakland. He talked to me for 30 minutes while riding on the subway to the game. If you want to read the interview, you can see the link to it on the left side of my blog. I hope Kameron does well in Japan.
Summary of MLB Awards – actual winners compared to who I picked at the end of the season:
AL MVP:
Actual: Dustin Pedroia, BOS
Mine: Kevin Youkilis, BOS
AL Cy Young:
Actual: Cliff Lee, CLE
Mine: Cliff Lee, CLE
AL Rookie of the Year:
Actual: Evan Longoria, TB
Mine: Evan Longoria, TB
AL Manager of the Year:
Actual: Joe Maddon, TB
Mine: Joe Maddon, TB
NL MVP:
Actual: Albert Pujols, STL
Mine: Ryan Braun, MIL (Pujols was my runner-up)
NL Cy Young:
Actual: Tim Lincecum, SF
Mine: Tim Lincecum, SF
NL Rookie of the Year:
Actual: Geovany Soto, CHC
Mine: Ricky Nolasco, FLA
NL Manager of the Year:
Actual: Lou Piniella, CHC
Mine: Charlie Manuel, PHI
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Derek Lowe will go?
Angels – 25%
Yankees – 25%
Other – 25%
Cubs – 12%
Red Sox – 12%
Come back next week for a continuation of the Tom Grieve trade analysis.
John Mayberry, Jr.: John was the Rangers 1st round pick in 2005. He has struggled very much in the minors, with just a .255 batting average in four years. He has 82 HR’s and 257 RBI’s spread throughout those years. John has struck out 243 more times than he has walked in his minor league career and his fielding percentage has had ups and downs, too. In 2006, he had a .979 fielding percentage in 114 games on the field at Clinton while in Frisco in ’08 he had a .964 fielding percentage in 20 games on the field.
Greg Golson: Greg was a first round pick out of high school in 2004. In the offseason before 2008 he was ranked the Phillies #7 prospect along with the Phillies best power hitter, fastest base runner, best athlete, best defensive outfielder and best defensive arm. Golson was playing very well at the beginning of the ’08 season as he hit .329 through May, but then it went downhill from there as he went through a major slump, got injured and then hit only .257 after the injury. He only had 13 HR’s and 60 RBI’s. In six major league at-bats in September he went 0-for-6, but stole a base and scored two runs. But after the Futures Game, Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan said that “You could actually see his trade value collapsing during the game. Golson has had the best season of his professional life, fooling some people into seeing him as a prospect. He’s not. He swings at everything, he’s an awkward outfielder and he doesn’t do anything else well enough to make up for those traits. The Phillies have about nine minutes to turn him into something of value, because by the end of the season, he’ll have been exposed again.” He is a risk.
Evaluation:
I don’t think that Mayberry was going anywhere, or if he was it was going to take years to develop. Golson seems like a guy who has talent and potential, but needs good coaching and probably a couple years to put it all together. He will probably be in major league camp and that should tell us a lot about him.
Grade: B- - it might turn out much better, though.
Roster Moves:
John Bannister, Omar Poveda, Willie Eyre, and Jose Vallejo were all placed on the 40-man roster. Wes Littleton and Kameron Loe were designated for assignment. Kameron Loe signed a 2-year, $2 million contract to go to Japan.
I think that Willie Eyre played well enough a couple years ago to get himself a spot, so I like him getting on. Jose Vallejo was a no-brainer, and I like that Poveda made it. I do wish someone other than Littleton was DFA’d, though. I still think that he should be able to fight for a job in Spring Training, though.
I’m very sorry to see Kameron Loe go. He is one of the nicest people on the team. He always took time for the fans. He let me interview him for my blog one time. He gave me his cell phone number and let me call him while the team was in Oakland. He talked to me for 30 minutes while riding on the subway to the game. If you want to read the interview, you can see the link to it on the left side of my blog. I hope Kameron does well in Japan.
Summary of MLB Awards – actual winners compared to who I picked at the end of the season:
AL MVP:
Actual: Dustin Pedroia, BOS
Mine: Kevin Youkilis, BOS
AL Cy Young:
Actual: Cliff Lee, CLE
Mine: Cliff Lee, CLE
AL Rookie of the Year:
Actual: Evan Longoria, TB
Mine: Evan Longoria, TB
AL Manager of the Year:
Actual: Joe Maddon, TB
Mine: Joe Maddon, TB
NL MVP:
Actual: Albert Pujols, STL
Mine: Ryan Braun, MIL (Pujols was my runner-up)
NL Cy Young:
Actual: Tim Lincecum, SF
Mine: Tim Lincecum, SF
NL Rookie of the Year:
Actual: Geovany Soto, CHC
Mine: Ricky Nolasco, FLA
NL Manager of the Year:
Actual: Lou Piniella, CHC
Mine: Charlie Manuel, PHI
Results of last week’s poll:
Where do you think Derek Lowe will go?
Angels – 25%
Yankees – 25%
Other – 25%
Cubs – 12%
Red Sox – 12%
Come back next week for a continuation of the Tom Grieve trade analysis.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Free Agent Special Cont.
This week I will continue my analysis of free agents.
1st Basemen:
Jason Giambi, NYY:
Jason will not go back to New York and will probably stay in the AL and be a DH somewhere.
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays - they would love to use him against the Yankees.
Kevin Millar, BAL:
Kevin will probably leave Baltimore and go to a better team.
Prediction: Florida Marlins - Jorge Cantu is now their starting 1st baseman since they traded Mike Jacobs.
Mark Teixeira, LAA:
Mark should get a huge contract and will probably be able to stay in the AL.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox - the Sox are worried about Mike Lowell’s recovery from his injury so may move Kevin Youkilis to third, creating an opening at first.
2nd Basemen:
Ray Durham, MIL:
Ray will probably just be a utility man somewhere instead of starting.
Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers - it shouldn’t cost much for them to bring him back.
Orlando Hudson, ARI:
Orlando will be the starting second baseman for a good team.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - they will not have Jeff Kent, so he can take that spot.
Catcher:
Pudge, NYY:
Pudge will not get a big contract this year.
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays – he would be an upgrade over Barajas.
Starting Pitcher:
AJ Burnett, TOR:
AJ opted out of his contract with the Blue Jays.
Prediction: Atlanta Braves - the Braves have been going hard after Peavy and have backed off there, so I think they’ll go hard after Burnett and end up getting him.
Bartolo Colon, BOS:
Bartolo is old and injury-prone, so he won’t get a major league deal, most likely.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox - I think he will stay in Boston because I think they’re going to be one of the only teams trying to sign him.
Ryan Dempster, CHC:
Dempster should get a big contract after the terrific year he had last season and I think that he will stay in the NL.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - he would be a great replacement for Derek Lowe.
Freddy Garcia, DET:
Freddy will get an opportunity to start this year.
Prediction: Chicago White Sox - he’s already had one good stint there and I would think that they would be the most willing to give him a good amount of money.
Jon Garland, LAA:
Jon should get a pretty decent contract from a winning team.
Prediction: Florida Marlins - they need starting pitching bad.
Tom Glavine, ATL:
Tom will probably go another season or two before retiring.
Prediction: Atlanta Braves - I think that they will keep him because they’ve already shown that they want pitching this offseason.
Derek Lowe, LAD:
Derek has said that he does not want to go back to the Dodgers.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they are going hard after pitching and are interested in Derek.
Jamie Moyer, PHI:
Jamie is old but he’s still a pretty good pitcher.
Prediction: Philadelphia Phillies - they need to keep him.
Brad Penny, LAD:
Brad will not go back to the Dodgers after they declined his option.
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels - they would love to have another good pitcher.
Oliver Perez, NYM:
Oliver will probably leave the Mets for another competitive team.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they aren’t going to get all the pitchers they want, so why not get him?
CC Sabathia, MIL:
He has already gotten a huge offer from the Yankees.
Prediction: New York Yankees - nobody can outpay the Yankees.
Ben Sheets, MIL:
He is very injury-prone and that will hurt his contract.
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels - they would love to have another stud pitcher.
Relief Pitchers:
Chad Cordero, WSH:
Chad is on a number of teams’ lists of players that they want and will be a closer, most likely in the AL West.
Prediction: Texas Rangers - the Rangers are said to be going after him.
Kyle Farnsworth, DET:
Kyle should get a decent-sized contract reliever-wise and should do pretty well.
Prediction: Chicago Cubs - since they aren’t getting Kerry Woods back, he would be a pretty good reliever to take his place.
Brian Fuentes, COL:
Brian will be a closer with a very good contract come next year and he will play for a winning team.
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels - they probably will not bring K-Rod back and will get Fuentes instead.
Eric Gagne, MIL:
Eric will probably only be a spring training invitee after his terrible 2008.
Prediction: Chicago Cubs - he can fight for both a roster spot and a closer role.
Eddie Gaurdado, MIN:
Eddie will get a decent contract after how well he played for the Rangers.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox - they need more relievers to help Papelbon and Okajima.
Trevor Hoffman, SD:
Trevor is going to be leaving San Diego.
Prediction: Chicago Cubs - he can be their closer.
Brandon Lyon, ARI:
Brandon is a good, young closer.
Prediction: Arizona D’Backs - Brandon is just too good a young arm to let slip away.
K-Rod, LAA:K-Rod set the single-season saves record last year and should get crazy money.
Prediction: Cleveland Indians - they’ll be trying to get back to the playoffs this year.
Kerry Wood, CHC:
Kerry is going to be leaving Chicago. The Cubs already announced that he wasn’t coming back.
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays - he can be the closer when BJ Ryan gets injured.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which team do you think Chad Cordero will go to?
Rangers – 67%
Other – 33%
Come back next week for a continuation of the Tom Grieve trade analysis.
1st Basemen:
Jason Giambi, NYY:
Jason will not go back to New York and will probably stay in the AL and be a DH somewhere.
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays - they would love to use him against the Yankees.
Kevin Millar, BAL:
Kevin will probably leave Baltimore and go to a better team.
Prediction: Florida Marlins - Jorge Cantu is now their starting 1st baseman since they traded Mike Jacobs.
Mark Teixeira, LAA:
Mark should get a huge contract and will probably be able to stay in the AL.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox - the Sox are worried about Mike Lowell’s recovery from his injury so may move Kevin Youkilis to third, creating an opening at first.
2nd Basemen:
Ray Durham, MIL:
Ray will probably just be a utility man somewhere instead of starting.
Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers - it shouldn’t cost much for them to bring him back.
Orlando Hudson, ARI:
Orlando will be the starting second baseman for a good team.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - they will not have Jeff Kent, so he can take that spot.
Catcher:
Pudge, NYY:
Pudge will not get a big contract this year.
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays – he would be an upgrade over Barajas.
Starting Pitcher:
AJ Burnett, TOR:
AJ opted out of his contract with the Blue Jays.
Prediction: Atlanta Braves - the Braves have been going hard after Peavy and have backed off there, so I think they’ll go hard after Burnett and end up getting him.
Bartolo Colon, BOS:
Bartolo is old and injury-prone, so he won’t get a major league deal, most likely.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox - I think he will stay in Boston because I think they’re going to be one of the only teams trying to sign him.
Ryan Dempster, CHC:
Dempster should get a big contract after the terrific year he had last season and I think that he will stay in the NL.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - he would be a great replacement for Derek Lowe.
Freddy Garcia, DET:
Freddy will get an opportunity to start this year.
Prediction: Chicago White Sox - he’s already had one good stint there and I would think that they would be the most willing to give him a good amount of money.
Jon Garland, LAA:
Jon should get a pretty decent contract from a winning team.
Prediction: Florida Marlins - they need starting pitching bad.
Tom Glavine, ATL:
Tom will probably go another season or two before retiring.
Prediction: Atlanta Braves - I think that they will keep him because they’ve already shown that they want pitching this offseason.
Derek Lowe, LAD:
Derek has said that he does not want to go back to the Dodgers.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they are going hard after pitching and are interested in Derek.
Jamie Moyer, PHI:
Jamie is old but he’s still a pretty good pitcher.
Prediction: Philadelphia Phillies - they need to keep him.
Brad Penny, LAD:
Brad will not go back to the Dodgers after they declined his option.
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels - they would love to have another good pitcher.
Oliver Perez, NYM:
Oliver will probably leave the Mets for another competitive team.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they aren’t going to get all the pitchers they want, so why not get him?
CC Sabathia, MIL:
He has already gotten a huge offer from the Yankees.
Prediction: New York Yankees - nobody can outpay the Yankees.
Ben Sheets, MIL:
He is very injury-prone and that will hurt his contract.
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels - they would love to have another stud pitcher.
Relief Pitchers:
Chad Cordero, WSH:
Chad is on a number of teams’ lists of players that they want and will be a closer, most likely in the AL West.
Prediction: Texas Rangers - the Rangers are said to be going after him.
Kyle Farnsworth, DET:
Kyle should get a decent-sized contract reliever-wise and should do pretty well.
Prediction: Chicago Cubs - since they aren’t getting Kerry Woods back, he would be a pretty good reliever to take his place.
Brian Fuentes, COL:
Brian will be a closer with a very good contract come next year and he will play for a winning team.
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels - they probably will not bring K-Rod back and will get Fuentes instead.
Eric Gagne, MIL:
Eric will probably only be a spring training invitee after his terrible 2008.
Prediction: Chicago Cubs - he can fight for both a roster spot and a closer role.
Eddie Gaurdado, MIN:
Eddie will get a decent contract after how well he played for the Rangers.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox - they need more relievers to help Papelbon and Okajima.
Trevor Hoffman, SD:
Trevor is going to be leaving San Diego.
Prediction: Chicago Cubs - he can be their closer.
Brandon Lyon, ARI:
Brandon is a good, young closer.
Prediction: Arizona D’Backs - Brandon is just too good a young arm to let slip away.
K-Rod, LAA:K-Rod set the single-season saves record last year and should get crazy money.
Prediction: Cleveland Indians - they’ll be trying to get back to the playoffs this year.
Kerry Wood, CHC:
Kerry is going to be leaving Chicago. The Cubs already announced that he wasn’t coming back.
Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays - he can be the closer when BJ Ryan gets injured.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which team do you think Chad Cordero will go to?
Rangers – 67%
Other – 33%
Come back next week for a continuation of the Tom Grieve trade analysis.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Free Agent Special
This week I will list the big SS, 3B, and OF free agents and give my opinion on where they will go.
Shortstop:
Orlando Cabrera, CWS:
Orlando should stay in the AL and be a starting shortstop.
Prediction: Chicago White Sox - he’s their only good shortstop, so they need him.
Rafael Furcal, LAD:
Furcal is a terrific young player and should get a big contract no matter where he goes and would be a big plus anywhere.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers probably losing Manny they have to at least keep Furcal to have a chance.
Omar Vizquel, SF:
Omar should be a utility man somewhere and probably for a competitive team. I think that he will go to the AL just to open up one more position (DH) so that he can play a few more games.
Prediction: New York Yankees - he would fit right in there as a veteran utility man.
3rd Base:
Note: The Rangers picked up Hank Blalock’s option.
Casey Blake, LAD:
The Indians, Twins, and Dodgers are all looking at signing Blake and he would be the starting third baseman for every one of these teams, so it should come down to money.
Prediction: Minnesota Twins - after missing the playoffs in a tiebreaker they should be looking for players who will make that tiebreaker unnecessary.
Joe Crede, CWS:
Joe will be a starting first baseman somewhere this year.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - he will take Casey Blake’s spot.
Ramon Vazquez, TEX:
Ramon had a very good year and will probably get an opportunity to start, just like Mark DeRosa did. I think that he will go to the NL like Mark, too.
Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers - they need a good 3rd baseman.
Outfielders:
Note: San Diego exercised Brian Giles' option and the Angels picked up on Vladimir Guerrero’s option.
Bobby Abreu, NYY:
Bobby is getting older and that may hurt him, especially regarding the number of years on his contract. I predict that he will end up going to the NL.
Prediction: New York Mets
Garrett Anderson, LAA:Seeing that the Angels made a $3 million buyout to make Anderson a free agent, he probably won’t be going back. He most likely will end up being a DH-4th outfielder if he stays in the AL and a starting outfielder if he goes to the NL.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - I no longer think that the Dodgers will resign Manny and they need someone to at least attempt to somewhat take his spot.
Milton Bradley, TEX:
The Rangers are not going to re-sign Bradley and Bradley will have to stay in the AL so that he can DH. He had a very good year last year and should get a pretty good contract, but with lots of incentives to protect against his history of injuries.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they will be going hard after players after an extremely unsuccessful year (in Yankee terms).
Adam Dunn, ARI:
Adam strikes out all the time, but hits plenty of homers. He will probably leave the Diamondbacks for an American League team, so that he can play DH as well as play outfield.
Prediction: New York Yankees - with Bobby Abreu possibly leaving they will need an outfielder to take his place.
Luis Gonzalez, FLA:
Luis is getting old and this will probably be one of his last years to play.
Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays - with Cliff Floyd possibly leaving, he would be a terrific replacement.
Ken Griffey, CWS:
Ken is also getting old and will try to get on a team that has a possibility of winning the World Series so that he can get a ring. He will also probably stay in the AL so that he can be a DH.
Prediction: Chicago White Sox - there are no other teams that would make sense either for him or the team.
Raul Ibanez, SEA:
Raul will be leaving the Mariners and will really help a team make a playoff run. I think will have a big year.
Prediction: New York Mets - they were interested in July and I think they will be interested now, too.
Manny Ramirez, LAD:
Manny will probably leave the Dodgers to go to the team with the most money. I think he will get big money in the AL and not the NL.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they have the most money in baseball and that’s enough for Manny.
Shannon Stewart, TOR:
Shannon is getting older and will probably end up being a 4th outfielder/DH somewhere. I think that his best shot would be to stay in the AL.
Prediction: Minnesota Twins - he’s already had one stint there and I think that he’ll have another.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which team do you think Manny Ramirez will go to?
Dodgers – 50%
Angels – 25%
Yankees – 12%
Other – 0%
Come back next week for the first basemen, second basemen, pitchers, and catchers.
Shortstop:
Orlando Cabrera, CWS:
Orlando should stay in the AL and be a starting shortstop.
Prediction: Chicago White Sox - he’s their only good shortstop, so they need him.
Rafael Furcal, LAD:
Furcal is a terrific young player and should get a big contract no matter where he goes and would be a big plus anywhere.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers probably losing Manny they have to at least keep Furcal to have a chance.
Omar Vizquel, SF:
Omar should be a utility man somewhere and probably for a competitive team. I think that he will go to the AL just to open up one more position (DH) so that he can play a few more games.
Prediction: New York Yankees - he would fit right in there as a veteran utility man.
3rd Base:
Note: The Rangers picked up Hank Blalock’s option.
Casey Blake, LAD:
The Indians, Twins, and Dodgers are all looking at signing Blake and he would be the starting third baseman for every one of these teams, so it should come down to money.
Prediction: Minnesota Twins - after missing the playoffs in a tiebreaker they should be looking for players who will make that tiebreaker unnecessary.
Joe Crede, CWS:
Joe will be a starting first baseman somewhere this year.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - he will take Casey Blake’s spot.
Ramon Vazquez, TEX:
Ramon had a very good year and will probably get an opportunity to start, just like Mark DeRosa did. I think that he will go to the NL like Mark, too.
Prediction: Milwaukee Brewers - they need a good 3rd baseman.
Outfielders:
Note: San Diego exercised Brian Giles' option and the Angels picked up on Vladimir Guerrero’s option.
Bobby Abreu, NYY:
Bobby is getting older and that may hurt him, especially regarding the number of years on his contract. I predict that he will end up going to the NL.
Prediction: New York Mets
Garrett Anderson, LAA:Seeing that the Angels made a $3 million buyout to make Anderson a free agent, he probably won’t be going back. He most likely will end up being a DH-4th outfielder if he stays in the AL and a starting outfielder if he goes to the NL.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers - I no longer think that the Dodgers will resign Manny and they need someone to at least attempt to somewhat take his spot.
Milton Bradley, TEX:
The Rangers are not going to re-sign Bradley and Bradley will have to stay in the AL so that he can DH. He had a very good year last year and should get a pretty good contract, but with lots of incentives to protect against his history of injuries.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they will be going hard after players after an extremely unsuccessful year (in Yankee terms).
Adam Dunn, ARI:
Adam strikes out all the time, but hits plenty of homers. He will probably leave the Diamondbacks for an American League team, so that he can play DH as well as play outfield.
Prediction: New York Yankees - with Bobby Abreu possibly leaving they will need an outfielder to take his place.
Luis Gonzalez, FLA:
Luis is getting old and this will probably be one of his last years to play.
Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays - with Cliff Floyd possibly leaving, he would be a terrific replacement.
Ken Griffey, CWS:
Ken is also getting old and will try to get on a team that has a possibility of winning the World Series so that he can get a ring. He will also probably stay in the AL so that he can be a DH.
Prediction: Chicago White Sox - there are no other teams that would make sense either for him or the team.
Raul Ibanez, SEA:
Raul will be leaving the Mariners and will really help a team make a playoff run. I think will have a big year.
Prediction: New York Mets - they were interested in July and I think they will be interested now, too.
Manny Ramirez, LAD:
Manny will probably leave the Dodgers to go to the team with the most money. I think he will get big money in the AL and not the NL.
Prediction: New York Yankees - they have the most money in baseball and that’s enough for Manny.
Shannon Stewart, TOR:
Shannon is getting older and will probably end up being a 4th outfielder/DH somewhere. I think that his best shot would be to stay in the AL.
Prediction: Minnesota Twins - he’s already had one stint there and I think that he’ll have another.
Results of last week’s poll:
Which team do you think Manny Ramirez will go to?
Dodgers – 50%
Angels – 25%
Yankees – 12%
Other – 0%
Come back next week for the first basemen, second basemen, pitchers, and catchers.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
World Series Recap and Free Agent Report
This week I will give my World Series awards and give a free agency report.
Awards:
Game 1 MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: W, 7 IP, 2 ER
Runner-up: Chase Utley, PHI
Game 2 MVP: James Shields, TB: W, 5.2 IP, 0 ER
Runner-up: BJ Upton, TB
Game 3 MVP: Carlos Ruiz, PHI: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s, walk-off single
Runner-up: Jamie Moyer, PHI
Game 4 MVP: Ryan Howard, PHI: 3-for-5, 2 HR’s, 5 RBI’s
Runner-up: Joe Blanton, PHI
Game 5 MVP: Jason Werth, PHI: 2-for-3, 2 BB, 1 RBI
Runner-up: Cole Hamels, PHI
World Series MVP: Jason Werth, PHI: .444 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s, 6 BB: Jason had a .444 batting average and six walks on top of that. He played incredible and should have been the MVP.
Runner-up: Cole Hamels, PHI
Free Agent Report: Top 3 at each position (next week will be bigger)
* = option and will probably not go to free agency
1B:
* Carlos Delgado, NYM
* Jason Giambi, NYY
Mark Teixeira, LAA: I think that he will test the market, the Angels will outbid everyone else, and Teixeira will stay in Anaheim with a huge contract.
Kevin Millar, BAL: I think that Kevin will either start for a team that will have a really bad record, or be a back-up for a good or decent team.
Nomar Garciaparra, LAD: I think that Nomar will have a contract for very little money where he will have to earn his way onto the team with a minor league contract and a spring training invite.
2B:
Orlando Hudson, ARI: I think that Orlando will end up returning to Arizona, just because they need him so badly and should be willing to give him a lot of money.
Jeff Kent, LAD: I think that Kent will leave the Dodgers because he won’t be able to get the amount of playing time that he will want.
Marcus Giles, COL: I think that Marcus Giles will stay in the NL, but leave the Colorado Rockies and get a platoon/starting job somewhere else.
SS:
Rafael Furcal, LAD: I think that Furcal will return to the Dodgers because the Dodgers need him badly enough to give him the amount of money he asks for.
Orlando Cabrera, CWS: I think that the White Sox have the most legitimate starting job for him at the moment and that he will stay in Chicago.
Edgar Renteria, DET: Renteria sprobably won’t get too much money the way he played this year. He will almost certainly leave the Tigers.
3B:
* = Chipper Jones, ATL
* = Hank Blalock, TEX
Joe Crede, CWS: I think that Crede will stay with the White Sox because I don’t think that he will be able to get much money anywhere else.
Casey Blake, LAD: I think that Blake will go back to the AL because that’s where I think that he will be needed most.
Morgan Ensberg, NYY: I think that Ensberg will leave New York because he really isn’t needed there and will be needed more somewhere else.
OF:
* = Carl Crawford, TB
Manny Ramirez, LAD: I think that this will be a complete bidding contest and I also think that the Dodgers will eventually get Manny because he was their team the second half of the season and if it weren’t for him they would not have made the playoffs, much less the NLCS.
Pat Burrell, PHI: I think that Pat will end up staying in Philly because he was such a big part of the World Series team and a big reason why they got there.
Bobby Abreu, NYY: I think that Bobby will stay in New York because they will be willing to pay the money to keep him.
Adam Dunn, ARI: I think that he will stay in Arizona because the D’Backs will need to keep him if they’re going to outplay the Dodgers.
C:
Ivan Rodriguez, NYY: I think that Pudge won’t get too much of an opportunity and will in turn retire.
Jason Varitek, BOS: Jason had a poor year so I think that the only way Boston keeps him is out of respect. But I predict he will end up somewhere else.
SP:
* = Rich Harden, CHC
Derek Lowe, LAD: I think that Derek will go to the Yankees because that will be where he should get the most money.
Ryan Dempster, CHC: I think that he will stay in Chicago because they need him too badly to let him go.
Mike Mussina, NYY: I think that Mike will stay a Yankee for the rest of his career.
RP:
Brian Fuentes, COL: I think that he will go to the Yankees because I think that they will be desperate for pitching this offseason and will give Fuentes a lot of money.
Kerry Wood, CHC: I think that Wood will stay a Cub, but will have to earn the closer role.
K-ROD, LAA: I think that he will stay an Angel because the Angels can’t afford to lose the single-season saves record closer.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the World Series?
Phillies – 75%
Rays – 25%
Come back next week for a larger edition of the free agency special.
Awards:
Game 1 MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: W, 7 IP, 2 ER
Runner-up: Chase Utley, PHI
Game 2 MVP: James Shields, TB: W, 5.2 IP, 0 ER
Runner-up: BJ Upton, TB
Game 3 MVP: Carlos Ruiz, PHI: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s, walk-off single
Runner-up: Jamie Moyer, PHI
Game 4 MVP: Ryan Howard, PHI: 3-for-5, 2 HR’s, 5 RBI’s
Runner-up: Joe Blanton, PHI
Game 5 MVP: Jason Werth, PHI: 2-for-3, 2 BB, 1 RBI
Runner-up: Cole Hamels, PHI
World Series MVP: Jason Werth, PHI: .444 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s, 6 BB: Jason had a .444 batting average and six walks on top of that. He played incredible and should have been the MVP.
Runner-up: Cole Hamels, PHI
Free Agent Report: Top 3 at each position (next week will be bigger)
* = option and will probably not go to free agency
1B:
* Carlos Delgado, NYM
* Jason Giambi, NYY
Mark Teixeira, LAA: I think that he will test the market, the Angels will outbid everyone else, and Teixeira will stay in Anaheim with a huge contract.
Kevin Millar, BAL: I think that Kevin will either start for a team that will have a really bad record, or be a back-up for a good or decent team.
Nomar Garciaparra, LAD: I think that Nomar will have a contract for very little money where he will have to earn his way onto the team with a minor league contract and a spring training invite.
2B:
Orlando Hudson, ARI: I think that Orlando will end up returning to Arizona, just because they need him so badly and should be willing to give him a lot of money.
Jeff Kent, LAD: I think that Kent will leave the Dodgers because he won’t be able to get the amount of playing time that he will want.
Marcus Giles, COL: I think that Marcus Giles will stay in the NL, but leave the Colorado Rockies and get a platoon/starting job somewhere else.
SS:
Rafael Furcal, LAD: I think that Furcal will return to the Dodgers because the Dodgers need him badly enough to give him the amount of money he asks for.
Orlando Cabrera, CWS: I think that the White Sox have the most legitimate starting job for him at the moment and that he will stay in Chicago.
Edgar Renteria, DET: Renteria sprobably won’t get too much money the way he played this year. He will almost certainly leave the Tigers.
3B:
* = Chipper Jones, ATL
* = Hank Blalock, TEX
Joe Crede, CWS: I think that Crede will stay with the White Sox because I don’t think that he will be able to get much money anywhere else.
Casey Blake, LAD: I think that Blake will go back to the AL because that’s where I think that he will be needed most.
Morgan Ensberg, NYY: I think that Ensberg will leave New York because he really isn’t needed there and will be needed more somewhere else.
OF:
* = Carl Crawford, TB
Manny Ramirez, LAD: I think that this will be a complete bidding contest and I also think that the Dodgers will eventually get Manny because he was their team the second half of the season and if it weren’t for him they would not have made the playoffs, much less the NLCS.
Pat Burrell, PHI: I think that Pat will end up staying in Philly because he was such a big part of the World Series team and a big reason why they got there.
Bobby Abreu, NYY: I think that Bobby will stay in New York because they will be willing to pay the money to keep him.
Adam Dunn, ARI: I think that he will stay in Arizona because the D’Backs will need to keep him if they’re going to outplay the Dodgers.
C:
Ivan Rodriguez, NYY: I think that Pudge won’t get too much of an opportunity and will in turn retire.
Jason Varitek, BOS: Jason had a poor year so I think that the only way Boston keeps him is out of respect. But I predict he will end up somewhere else.
SP:
* = Rich Harden, CHC
Derek Lowe, LAD: I think that Derek will go to the Yankees because that will be where he should get the most money.
Ryan Dempster, CHC: I think that he will stay in Chicago because they need him too badly to let him go.
Mike Mussina, NYY: I think that Mike will stay a Yankee for the rest of his career.
RP:
Brian Fuentes, COL: I think that he will go to the Yankees because I think that they will be desperate for pitching this offseason and will give Fuentes a lot of money.
Kerry Wood, CHC: I think that Wood will stay a Cub, but will have to earn the closer role.
K-ROD, LAA: I think that he will stay an Angel because the Angels can’t afford to lose the single-season saves record closer.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the World Series?
Phillies – 75%
Rays – 25%
Come back next week for a larger edition of the free agency special.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
World Series Predictions
This week I will give my awards for World Series games 1-3, make my World Series predictions, and give my difference maker so far.
Last week I took a trip to Disney World with my dad. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it very much. My dad was there for a conference and he took me with him. We stayed at Disney’s Yacht Club hotel, which is very nice. I hung out in the room during the day and we went to Disney World at night. At MGM (now called Hollywood Studios) they have this new ride called Toy Story Mania that we had to wait for 70 minutes for before we could ride, but it was well worth it and is now my favorite ride at Disney World, closely followed by Splash Mountain. At Magic Kingdom they had a new show called the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and they had redone Haunted Mansion. The Laugh Floor was really good, and they did some nice clean-up work in Haunted Mansion and made it better. We stayed at Magic Kingdom till 1:00 AM on Sunday because we stayed at a Disney hotel and got to use the extra hours benefit. On Sunday morning we went to Animal Kingdom and had a blast. We did Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safari, and It’s Tough to be a Bug. They were all really good, but Dinosaur was my favorite. In the Kilimanjaro Safari you go around and see a bunch of real animals and learn facts about them. We were in our driver’s first safari. On Monday we went to MGM and the new ride was Toy Story Mania which I already mentioned. On Tuesday, we went to Epcot and the new rides there were The Seas (Finding Nemo ride), and they redid the Mexico ride and Spaceship Earth. They made Spaceship Earth much better and Mexico rideable, and The Seas was really good. On Wednesday I had to fly out and on Thursday I had to go back to school.
Awards:
Game 1 MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: W, 7 IP, 2 ER
Runner-up: Chase Utley, PHI
Game 2 MVP: James Shields, TB: W, 5.2 IP, 0 ER
Runner-up: BJ Upton, TB
Game 3 MVP: Carlos Ruiz, PHI: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s, walk-off single
Runner-up: Jamie Moyer, PHI
Difference Maker:
So far I think that Carlos Ruiz has been the major difference maker for this series because he’s won a game for them, and even if you take Game 3 out of stats, he’s still 2-for-5 with 4 walks and 1 RBI. He is hitting .500 and has a .667 OBP. When you can have those stats along with a walk-off, you’ve got to be the difference maker. Also, he has called three great games behind the plate, allowing 4 runs at most in a single game.
Predictions:
I think that the Phillies will win this series 4-3. I think it will come down to if Matt Garza’s inexperience will affect him in Game 7 (he will probably pitch game 7 against Jamie Moyer). I think that the pressure will be too large for Garza to handle and that he will allow 4 or 5 runs, which the way this series is going, will be all the runs that the Phillies will need. If the Phillies are able to hit the ball better, then they should be able to win this series easily, but if they don’t then they might lose this series. I could see either team winning the series, but I think that the Phillies will win just because of the Rays’ inexperience. But the Rays will be back sometime soon if they keep playing at this rate.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the World Series?
Phillies – 45%
Rays – 45%
Red Sox – 10%
Come back next week for more World Series coverage.
Last week I took a trip to Disney World with my dad. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it very much. My dad was there for a conference and he took me with him. We stayed at Disney’s Yacht Club hotel, which is very nice. I hung out in the room during the day and we went to Disney World at night. At MGM (now called Hollywood Studios) they have this new ride called Toy Story Mania that we had to wait for 70 minutes for before we could ride, but it was well worth it and is now my favorite ride at Disney World, closely followed by Splash Mountain. At Magic Kingdom they had a new show called the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, and they had redone Haunted Mansion. The Laugh Floor was really good, and they did some nice clean-up work in Haunted Mansion and made it better. We stayed at Magic Kingdom till 1:00 AM on Sunday because we stayed at a Disney hotel and got to use the extra hours benefit. On Sunday morning we went to Animal Kingdom and had a blast. We did Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safari, and It’s Tough to be a Bug. They were all really good, but Dinosaur was my favorite. In the Kilimanjaro Safari you go around and see a bunch of real animals and learn facts about them. We were in our driver’s first safari. On Monday we went to MGM and the new ride was Toy Story Mania which I already mentioned. On Tuesday, we went to Epcot and the new rides there were The Seas (Finding Nemo ride), and they redid the Mexico ride and Spaceship Earth. They made Spaceship Earth much better and Mexico rideable, and The Seas was really good. On Wednesday I had to fly out and on Thursday I had to go back to school.
Awards:
Game 1 MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: W, 7 IP, 2 ER
Runner-up: Chase Utley, PHI
Game 2 MVP: James Shields, TB: W, 5.2 IP, 0 ER
Runner-up: BJ Upton, TB
Game 3 MVP: Carlos Ruiz, PHI: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s, walk-off single
Runner-up: Jamie Moyer, PHI
Difference Maker:
So far I think that Carlos Ruiz has been the major difference maker for this series because he’s won a game for them, and even if you take Game 3 out of stats, he’s still 2-for-5 with 4 walks and 1 RBI. He is hitting .500 and has a .667 OBP. When you can have those stats along with a walk-off, you’ve got to be the difference maker. Also, he has called three great games behind the plate, allowing 4 runs at most in a single game.
Predictions:
I think that the Phillies will win this series 4-3. I think it will come down to if Matt Garza’s inexperience will affect him in Game 7 (he will probably pitch game 7 against Jamie Moyer). I think that the pressure will be too large for Garza to handle and that he will allow 4 or 5 runs, which the way this series is going, will be all the runs that the Phillies will need. If the Phillies are able to hit the ball better, then they should be able to win this series easily, but if they don’t then they might lose this series. I could see either team winning the series, but I think that the Phillies will win just because of the Rays’ inexperience. But the Rays will be back sometime soon if they keep playing at this rate.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the World Series?
Phillies – 45%
Rays – 45%
Red Sox – 10%
Come back next week for more World Series coverage.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
LCS Awards and World Series Prediction
This week I will give my LCS Awards along with my World Series predictions.
NLCS Awards:
NLCS Game 1 MVP: Chase Utley, PHI: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s
Runner-up: Cole Hamels, PHI
NLCS Game 2 MVP: Brett Myers, PHI: 3-for-3, 3 RBI’s, 5 IP, 5 ER, 6 K
Runner-up: Shane Victorino, PHI
NLCS Game 3 MVP: Rafael Furcal, LAD: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Runner-up: Hiroki Kuroda, LAD
NLCS Game 4 MVP: Shane Victorino, PHI: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s
Runner-up: Matt Stairs, PHI
NLCS Game 5 MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 K
Runner-up: Ryan Howard, PHI
NLCS MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: 2-0, 1.93 ERA, 14 IP, 13 K: Cole won two out of four wins and definitely deserves the NLCS MVP, which he did actually get.
Runner-up: Shane Victorino, PHI
ALCS Awards (so far):
ALCS Game 1 MVP: Dice-K Matsuzaka, BOS: 1 W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 9 K
Runner-up: Kevin Youkilis, BOS
ALCS Game 2 MVP: Evan Longoria, TB: 3-for-5, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s
Runner-up: Carl Crawford, TB
ALCS Game 3 MVP: BJ Upton, TB: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s
Runner-up: Matt Garza, TB
ALCS Game 4 MVP: Erick Aybar, TB: 4-for-5, 1 HR, 5 RBI’s
Runner-up: Carl Crawford, TB
ALCS Game 5 MVP: JD Drew, BOS: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s
Runner-up: Scott Kazmir, TB
ALCS MVP (as of Game 5): BJ Upton, TB: .400 AVG, 3 HR’s, 10 RBI’s: BJ Upton is leading the team in ALCS RBI’s, and is second in both batting average and home runs.
Runner-up: Carl Crawford, TB
Rays/Red Sox Prediction:
I think that the Rays will win Game 6 because they will be facing Josh Beckett, who they scored 8 runs off of in Game 2, and the fact that the Rays will have James Shields on the mound. But I think that if the Rays lose Game 6, then they will lose the series because Jon Lester pitches Game 7.
World Series Prediction:
Phillies over Rays: 4-3
Both teams are hot right now, but the Phillies have more experience and will pull it off. I think Cole Hamels will have to pitch three times (Games 1, 4, and 7) and will have to win all three games for the Phils to win. And I think that this will happen. Even though the Rays have homefield advantage, I’m going with the Phillies.
Come back next week for World Series coverage.
NLCS Awards:
NLCS Game 1 MVP: Chase Utley, PHI: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s
Runner-up: Cole Hamels, PHI
NLCS Game 2 MVP: Brett Myers, PHI: 3-for-3, 3 RBI’s, 5 IP, 5 ER, 6 K
Runner-up: Shane Victorino, PHI
NLCS Game 3 MVP: Rafael Furcal, LAD: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Runner-up: Hiroki Kuroda, LAD
NLCS Game 4 MVP: Shane Victorino, PHI: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI’s
Runner-up: Matt Stairs, PHI
NLCS Game 5 MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 K
Runner-up: Ryan Howard, PHI
NLCS MVP: Cole Hamels, PHI: 2-0, 1.93 ERA, 14 IP, 13 K: Cole won two out of four wins and definitely deserves the NLCS MVP, which he did actually get.
Runner-up: Shane Victorino, PHI
ALCS Awards (so far):
ALCS Game 1 MVP: Dice-K Matsuzaka, BOS: 1 W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 9 K
Runner-up: Kevin Youkilis, BOS
ALCS Game 2 MVP: Evan Longoria, TB: 3-for-5, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s
Runner-up: Carl Crawford, TB
ALCS Game 3 MVP: BJ Upton, TB: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s
Runner-up: Matt Garza, TB
ALCS Game 4 MVP: Erick Aybar, TB: 4-for-5, 1 HR, 5 RBI’s
Runner-up: Carl Crawford, TB
ALCS Game 5 MVP: JD Drew, BOS: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s
Runner-up: Scott Kazmir, TB
ALCS MVP (as of Game 5): BJ Upton, TB: .400 AVG, 3 HR’s, 10 RBI’s: BJ Upton is leading the team in ALCS RBI’s, and is second in both batting average and home runs.
Runner-up: Carl Crawford, TB
Rays/Red Sox Prediction:
I think that the Rays will win Game 6 because they will be facing Josh Beckett, who they scored 8 runs off of in Game 2, and the fact that the Rays will have James Shields on the mound. But I think that if the Rays lose Game 6, then they will lose the series because Jon Lester pitches Game 7.
World Series Prediction:
Phillies over Rays: 4-3
Both teams are hot right now, but the Phillies have more experience and will pull it off. I think Cole Hamels will have to pitch three times (Games 1, 4, and 7) and will have to win all three games for the Phils to win. And I think that this will happen. Even though the Rays have homefield advantage, I’m going with the Phillies.
Come back next week for World Series coverage.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Championship Series Predictions
This week I will make my championship series predictions. The poll is not working so there will be none for this week.
Phillies vs. Dodgers: Phillies lead 2-0
Game 3: Jamie Moyer (PHI) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (LAD) in LAD
Game 4: Joe Blanton (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in LAD
*Game 5: Cole Hamels (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in LAD
*Game 6: Brett Myers (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in PHI
*Game 7: TBD (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in PHI
I think the Phillies will win this series 4-2. If the Phillies can just win one game at Dodger Stadium they should be able to wrap it up at home fairly easily. Game 3 is a must-win game for the Dodgers and Hiroki Kuroda isn’t the guy you’d want in that kind of game as he went 9-10 with a 3.73 ERA in the regular season and is going against Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard (who’s still a threat even though he’s cold), and a very hot Shane Victorino. If the Dodgers lose that game they will almost certainly lose the series, seeing that they will face Cole Hamels, if they get past game 4, and then if they beat Hamels then they will face Brett Myers in Philadelphia. That will be two very tough games for the Dodgers. Although Joe Blanton went 9-12 on the season, he can also throw a gem. The Dodgers really put themselves in a bad position and will really have to step it up to win the series. The Phillies are the overall better team, pitching-wise, because there is only one Dodger pitcher I would trust every time out and that’s Derek Lowe, who probably won’t pitch again until game 5. The only way I see the Phillies losing the series is if the passing of Charlie Manuel’s mother and Shane Victorino’s grandmother impact their focus.
Red Sox vs. Rays: Red Sox lead 1-0
Game 2: Josh Beckett (BOS) vs. Scott Kazmir (TB) in TB
Game 3: Jon Lester (BOS) vs. Matt Garza (TB) in BOS
Game 4: Tim Wakefield (BOS) vs. Andy Sonnanstine (TB) in BOS
*Game 5: Dice-K Matsuzaka (BOS) vs. James Shields (TB) in BOS
*Game 6: TBD (BOS) vs. TBD (TB) in TB
*Game 7: TBD (BOS) vs. TBD (TB) in TB
I think the Red Sox will win this series 4-1. I don’t see Jon Lester losing and I don’t see Andy Sonnanstine winning in BOS, and I think both Game 2 and Game 5 are up for grabs. The Rays really needed to win game one at home when you’ve then got to face Josh Beckett and Jon Lester and go to Fenway for three. Jon Lester will throw a gem again, Josh Beckett could throw a gem or could get destroyed, Tim Wakefield could throw a gem, and Dice-K Matsuzaka will probably throw a gem. The Rays could be shut out every single game with the Red Sox pitching and the Rays offense, even more specifically Evan Longoria, needs to step it up. In Game 1 Akinori Iwamura, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, and Cliff Floyd were the only ones to get hits and only got one hit each, all singles. Evan Longoria went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts and grounded into a key double play in a scoring situation. The Red Sox are just too good a team, both pitching wise and hitting wise for the Rays to catch up after losing their first home game. The only way I see the Rays winning is if BJ Upton hits more home runs and Evan Longoria gets more RBI’s and if Carlos Pena gets more hits.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think should be the AL MVP?
Kevin Youkilis – 40%
Justin Morneau – 40%
Other – 20%
Josh Hamilton – 0%
Come back next week for championship series recaps and World Series predictions.
Phillies vs. Dodgers: Phillies lead 2-0
Game 3: Jamie Moyer (PHI) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (LAD) in LAD
Game 4: Joe Blanton (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in LAD
*Game 5: Cole Hamels (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in LAD
*Game 6: Brett Myers (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in PHI
*Game 7: TBD (PHI) vs. TBD (LAD) in PHI
I think the Phillies will win this series 4-2. If the Phillies can just win one game at Dodger Stadium they should be able to wrap it up at home fairly easily. Game 3 is a must-win game for the Dodgers and Hiroki Kuroda isn’t the guy you’d want in that kind of game as he went 9-10 with a 3.73 ERA in the regular season and is going against Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard (who’s still a threat even though he’s cold), and a very hot Shane Victorino. If the Dodgers lose that game they will almost certainly lose the series, seeing that they will face Cole Hamels, if they get past game 4, and then if they beat Hamels then they will face Brett Myers in Philadelphia. That will be two very tough games for the Dodgers. Although Joe Blanton went 9-12 on the season, he can also throw a gem. The Dodgers really put themselves in a bad position and will really have to step it up to win the series. The Phillies are the overall better team, pitching-wise, because there is only one Dodger pitcher I would trust every time out and that’s Derek Lowe, who probably won’t pitch again until game 5. The only way I see the Phillies losing the series is if the passing of Charlie Manuel’s mother and Shane Victorino’s grandmother impact their focus.
Red Sox vs. Rays: Red Sox lead 1-0
Game 2: Josh Beckett (BOS) vs. Scott Kazmir (TB) in TB
Game 3: Jon Lester (BOS) vs. Matt Garza (TB) in BOS
Game 4: Tim Wakefield (BOS) vs. Andy Sonnanstine (TB) in BOS
*Game 5: Dice-K Matsuzaka (BOS) vs. James Shields (TB) in BOS
*Game 6: TBD (BOS) vs. TBD (TB) in TB
*Game 7: TBD (BOS) vs. TBD (TB) in TB
I think the Red Sox will win this series 4-1. I don’t see Jon Lester losing and I don’t see Andy Sonnanstine winning in BOS, and I think both Game 2 and Game 5 are up for grabs. The Rays really needed to win game one at home when you’ve then got to face Josh Beckett and Jon Lester and go to Fenway for three. Jon Lester will throw a gem again, Josh Beckett could throw a gem or could get destroyed, Tim Wakefield could throw a gem, and Dice-K Matsuzaka will probably throw a gem. The Rays could be shut out every single game with the Red Sox pitching and the Rays offense, even more specifically Evan Longoria, needs to step it up. In Game 1 Akinori Iwamura, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, and Cliff Floyd were the only ones to get hits and only got one hit each, all singles. Evan Longoria went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts and grounded into a key double play in a scoring situation. The Red Sox are just too good a team, both pitching wise and hitting wise for the Rays to catch up after losing their first home game. The only way I see the Rays winning is if BJ Upton hits more home runs and Evan Longoria gets more RBI’s and if Carlos Pena gets more hits.
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think should be the AL MVP?
Kevin Youkilis – 40%
Justin Morneau – 40%
Other – 20%
Josh Hamilton – 0%
Come back next week for championship series recaps and World Series predictions.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
End-of-Season Awards
This week I will give out my awards for the MLB 2008 regular season.
Rangers Awards:
Rangers MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX: .304 AVG, 32 HR, 130 RBI: Josh led all of the AL in RBI’s, had a batting average over .300, and had over 30 home runs. It’s pretty obvious that he should be the Rangers MVP for this season.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX
Cy Young: Vicente Padilla, TEX: 14-8 W-L, 4.74 ERA, 127 K: Vicente didn’t really have that great of a year at all. He just was the best Rangers pitcher due to a lack of competition.
Runner-up: Scott Feldman, TEX
Rookie of the Year: David Murphy, TEX: .275 AVG, 15 HR, 74 RBI: David Murphy only held on to the Rangers ROY Award because he has 19 more RBI’s than Chris Davis, even though Chris has two more home runs and a better batting average. David also has more at-bats, more total bases, and more doubles.
AL Awards:
AL MVP: Kevin Youkilis, BOS: .312 AVG, 29 HR, 115 RBI: To me it comes down to Josh Hamilton, Justin Morneau, and Kevin Youkilis. Josh leads the three in both home runs and RBI’s, and is second in batting average, although last in OBP. Youkilis is leading the three in both batting average and OBP, while second in home runs, but last in RBI’s. I think Kevin gets the edge only because his team made the playoffs.
Runner-up: Josh Hamilton, TEX
Cy Young: Cliff Lee, CLE: 22-3 W-L, 2.54 ERA, 170 K: Cliff Lee should obviously be Cy Young, as he leads the AL in both wins and ERA, and has only lost three games on a losing team.
Runner-up: Roy Halladay, TOR
Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, TB: .272 AVG, 27 HR, 87 RBI: It’s pretty clear that Evan Longoria should be rookie of the year, because he has great numbers, and the Rays probably wouldn’t have won the division without him, and might not have even made the playoffs.
Runner-up: Alexei Ramirez, CWS
Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, TB: Joe took a team that hadn’t had a winning record in franchise history and made them the AL East champs over the Red Sox.
Runner-up: Ron Gardenhire, MIN
NL Awards:
NL MVP: Ryan Braun, MIL: .285 AVG, 37 HR, 106 RBI: The Brewers wouldn’t have made it to the playoffs without CC Sabathia, nor Ryan Braun. Ryan put up huge power numbers for them, and had a very good batting average, not to mention his two key homers down the stretch, one a walk-off shot, and another a game-winning, playoff-clinching homer in the 8th inning in the last game of the year. Albert Pujols would be the Most Outstanding Player, but not the Most Valuable Player.
Runner-up: Albert Pujols, STL
Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, SF: 18-5 W-L, 2.62 ERA, 265 K: Tim won 18 games this year, while only dropping five on the Giants, has a 2.62 ERA, and has struck out 265 batters in just 227 innings. It’s hard to go against Webb and Santana, but Lincecum has had the better year.
Runner-up: Johan Santana, NYM
Rookie of the Year: Ricky Nolasco, FLA: 15-8 W-L, 3.52 ERA, 186 K: Ricky has been the Marlins only reliable pitcher that pitched throughout the whole year, and is probably one of the main reasons that they stayed in the playoff race so long into the year.
Runner-up: James Loney, LAD
Manager of the Year: Charlie Manuel, PHI: Charlie and the Phillies just had a great year and won the NL East.
Runner-up: Fredi Gonzalez, FLA
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the Dodgers/Cubs series?
Cubs – 55%
Dodgers – 45%
Come back next week for divisional series recaps as well as championship series predictions.
Rangers Awards:
Rangers MVP: Josh Hamilton, TEX: .304 AVG, 32 HR, 130 RBI: Josh led all of the AL in RBI’s, had a batting average over .300, and had over 30 home runs. It’s pretty obvious that he should be the Rangers MVP for this season.
Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, TEX
Cy Young: Vicente Padilla, TEX: 14-8 W-L, 4.74 ERA, 127 K: Vicente didn’t really have that great of a year at all. He just was the best Rangers pitcher due to a lack of competition.
Runner-up: Scott Feldman, TEX
Rookie of the Year: David Murphy, TEX: .275 AVG, 15 HR, 74 RBI: David Murphy only held on to the Rangers ROY Award because he has 19 more RBI’s than Chris Davis, even though Chris has two more home runs and a better batting average. David also has more at-bats, more total bases, and more doubles.
AL Awards:
AL MVP: Kevin Youkilis, BOS: .312 AVG, 29 HR, 115 RBI: To me it comes down to Josh Hamilton, Justin Morneau, and Kevin Youkilis. Josh leads the three in both home runs and RBI’s, and is second in batting average, although last in OBP. Youkilis is leading the three in both batting average and OBP, while second in home runs, but last in RBI’s. I think Kevin gets the edge only because his team made the playoffs.
Runner-up: Josh Hamilton, TEX
Cy Young: Cliff Lee, CLE: 22-3 W-L, 2.54 ERA, 170 K: Cliff Lee should obviously be Cy Young, as he leads the AL in both wins and ERA, and has only lost three games on a losing team.
Runner-up: Roy Halladay, TOR
Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, TB: .272 AVG, 27 HR, 87 RBI: It’s pretty clear that Evan Longoria should be rookie of the year, because he has great numbers, and the Rays probably wouldn’t have won the division without him, and might not have even made the playoffs.
Runner-up: Alexei Ramirez, CWS
Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, TB: Joe took a team that hadn’t had a winning record in franchise history and made them the AL East champs over the Red Sox.
Runner-up: Ron Gardenhire, MIN
NL Awards:
NL MVP: Ryan Braun, MIL: .285 AVG, 37 HR, 106 RBI: The Brewers wouldn’t have made it to the playoffs without CC Sabathia, nor Ryan Braun. Ryan put up huge power numbers for them, and had a very good batting average, not to mention his two key homers down the stretch, one a walk-off shot, and another a game-winning, playoff-clinching homer in the 8th inning in the last game of the year. Albert Pujols would be the Most Outstanding Player, but not the Most Valuable Player.
Runner-up: Albert Pujols, STL
Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, SF: 18-5 W-L, 2.62 ERA, 265 K: Tim won 18 games this year, while only dropping five on the Giants, has a 2.62 ERA, and has struck out 265 batters in just 227 innings. It’s hard to go against Webb and Santana, but Lincecum has had the better year.
Runner-up: Johan Santana, NYM
Rookie of the Year: Ricky Nolasco, FLA: 15-8 W-L, 3.52 ERA, 186 K: Ricky has been the Marlins only reliable pitcher that pitched throughout the whole year, and is probably one of the main reasons that they stayed in the playoff race so long into the year.
Runner-up: James Loney, LAD
Manager of the Year: Charlie Manuel, PHI: Charlie and the Phillies just had a great year and won the NL East.
Runner-up: Fredi Gonzalez, FLA
Results of last week’s poll:
Who do you think will win the Dodgers/Cubs series?
Cubs – 55%
Dodgers – 45%
Come back next week for divisional series recaps as well as championship series predictions.
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