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Astros Shake Things Up
The Houston Astros are in the midst of a very disappointing year. After signing Carlos Lee and trading for Jason Jennings they thought that they would be a better team in 2007, but they are now in fifth place and sliding in the division. Owner Drayton McLane decided it was time to shake things up. Out are GM Tim Purpura and Manager Phil Garner.
Purpura seems to be the biggest surprise as he didn’t seem to have enough time in the position to make a difference.
But Tim’s biggest trade was his worst trade though and it was probably what did him in the most. In the off-season he traded for starter Jason Jennings to match up with Roy Oswalt and possibly Roger Clemens again. The thought of those three along with the development of some of their younger pitchers looked very good for the Astros.
But Jennings didn’t go long until he landed on the DL and spent most of the season there. Meanwhile, the players that went to the Rockies seem to be doing better. Willy Taveras is hitting for a good average and could steal 35+ bases after a rough 2006. Taylor Buchholz seems to be settling into a reliever spot and improving as the season continues. And the jewel of the trade, Jason Hirsh, has given up less hits than innings pitched and should be better than Jennings down the road.
Purpura will probably take an assistant job under some GM with the hope of landing another GM position down the road. But that trade will probably always stick with him.
Trade Bait: Bowden gets his man…Again
The Boston Red Sox have been rumored to be getting rid of Wily Mo Pena for some time now. Their signing of Bobby Kielty sealed Pena’s fate with the team. This past week he was finally traded to the Washington Nationals in a three-team trade. Jim Bowden finally got his man….again.
Wily Mo originally came to the majors with the Reds organization after visiting a couple other organizations while in the minors. Bowden has always been big on hitters and Wily Mo made him salivate every time he saw him. Early on, Wily had been compared to Sammy Sosa in his prime and Bowden could see him being at the heart of his Reds lineup for a decade or more. But Bowden’s time with the Reds fell short as he never acquired enough pitching to make the team competitive. Now with the Nationals, Bowden set out to get Pena whichever way he could.
After presumably long conversations that almost always have to happen when considering a three-way trade. The Red Sox settled on getting the Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Chris Carter in exchange for Pena. Bowden would then send the pitcher acquired in the Jose Vidro deal, Emiliano Fruto, to Arizona. Pena was immediately inserted into the Nationals’ lineup and started paying dividends immediately. Although he may be platooned some, Wily Mo Pena should be at the heart of the Nationals’ lineup for the next few years. He has 40+ home run power, but the Nationals will have to live with his lofty strikeout rates and a batting average that will probably hover around .250-.270.
With talk hovering around the Red Sox that the team will not resign Mike Lowell in the off-season, the trade for Chris Carter is interesting. The Red Sox’ current first baseman, Kevin Youkilis, came up playing at the hot corner and could move over to the spot if Lowell were to move on. The Red Sox could then let Chris Carter play the position vacated by Youkilis. The problem with that line of thought is that Chris Carter is a painfully bad defensive first baseman. He can sure hit though, Carter’s line this season has him hitting .324 with a .904 OPS with 18 home runs and 39 doubles.
Fruto has always had potential. The right-hander has a low-90s fastball, a plus curveball, and a plus changeup. But he has a severe problem with control (59 walks in 87 innings) and has problems with keeping his composure on the mound. If the Diamondbacks can rework Fruto, he could be a useful reliever down the road.
In the end, it looks as if the Nationals will get the biggest immediate boost out of this trade as their anemic offense will improve with Pena’s bat in the lineup. If the Red Sox can somehow improve Carter’s defense enough that he can be a viable first baseman, the Red Sox may come out better in the end. Although Emiliano Fruto has a good arm, it is doubtful that he will amount to much in the majors, making this trade somewhat of a bust for the D-backs.
30 Runs?!?!
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, now this. The Rangers beat the Orioles Wednesday night with a score of 30 to 3. Yes, 30 runs were scored by one team. It is the most runs scored in 110 years.
What makes this more amazing is who drove in many of those runs and who didn’t.
Ramon Vazquez is essentially Triple-A filler anymore and was hitting .229 on the season. He knocked in seven RBIs and raised his average to .240 in one game, out of the nine spot in the order no less. Jarrod Saltalamacchia has sunked it up since his trade from the Braves and raised his average from .179 to .219 in the game….40 points! He also knocked in seven runs as well. Fourteen runs were driven in from the 8-9 spots in the order.
Travis Metcalf even got in on the fun. Having not been in a game since July 29th, he came in, had one at-bat, and hit a grand slam. (A .230 hitter before the game)
Who didn’t drive in a run for the Rangers? Michael Young, All-Star Michael Young didn’t drive in a single run on a night when batters with batting averages near the “Mendoza Line” were driving seven runs.
As a commentator on ESPN noted, even if you have to add up Brandon Webb’s last 17 games, the number of earned runs he’s given up over that stretch don’t even add up to 30.
Now scratch your head to this one, think about who’s the Orioles pitching coach. Pitching guru Leo Mazzone must be sore tonight from all the rocking he did in the dugout.
Cubs call up Eric Patterson
The Chicago Cubs took a mighty blow today as they learned the Alfonso Soriano had a tear in his quad, knocking him out for 4-6 weeks. Soriano was the offensive catalyst of a team that was surging in the standings, dueling with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central.
To replace him while Soriano is on the DL, the Cubs called up prospect Eric Patterson. Patterson, a second baseman while coming through the system, will platoon with Matt Murton in left field. Eric has put up decent numbers in his first full Triple-A seaon, hitting .299 with 6 triples, 14 home runs, and 16 stolen bases.
But Patterson is bound to have some early rookie struggles. A lineup including an outfield of Murton/Patterson, Angel Pagan, and Jaque Jones doesn’t really frighten many opposing pitchers.
This begs the question, “Have the Cubs soured on Felix Pie?”
Although Pie has probably flown from Des Moines to Chicago and back enough times this year to know the flight staff’s names, he has still put up very good numbers in Triple-A. He’s currently batting .360 with a .964 OPS for the Iowa Cubs in 228 at-bats. Sure, he hasn’t hit well in Chicago, but Pie hasn’t been given much of a full chance to play regularly for the Cubs.
Then again this is the way that they treated Eric’s brother Corey Patterson. Patterson bounced to and from the majors so much that some believe it stunted his development. Sure, not all of Corey’s struggles can be blamed on his bouncing between teams, but he has improved since being traded to the Orioles.
The current arrangement of outfielders have a combined total of 11 home runs. That is just over half of Soriano’s output of 18. The Cubs are in a world of hurt. Giving Pie a full shot at starting regularly looks like it has more of a chance to help than hurt doesn’t it?
Bonds hits 756
It is finally over, Barry Bonds hit his 756th homer last night at AT&T Park. Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron as the Home Run King with a shot to center field in the fifth inning. Although Barry says that he will keep on playing, many analysts expect him to hold onto the record for only six or seven years, when Alex Rodriguez is expected to surpass him.
The usually grumpy Bonds was very thankful and appreciative to many people. He thanked the San Francisco fans repeatedly, the San Diego fans for how they reacted to 755, and the fans at various other stadiums. He also thanked various other certain people who expressed their appreciation to Barry about his milestone.
It was odd, very odd…………..
Although I do believe that Bonds did take some sort of performance enhancer, I believe that he would have still broken many records, maybe even this one, during his career if he hadn’t taken anything. Anyone that has seen his workout regimen has been astounded by how hard he works. He would have bulked up regardless of what he had taken. Also, many reports on the affects of steroids on hitting state that it only adds about 10 feet to the flight of a well hit ball. If you have watched many of Barry’s moon-shots that soar into McCovey Cove or the upper decks of other ballparks you could tell that they were going well beyond 10 feet past the outfield wall.
Bonds also has one of the sweetest swings in all of baseball. He rarely looks awkward or lost at the plate. Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. are a scout’s dream when you look at their smooth, powerful strokes. His strike zone judgment is also second to none. He carries a .444 career on-base percentage, hitting a high mark in 2004 with a .609 OBP. Over half of the time he was on base. Capping off his abilities, Bonds is also a Gold Glove recipient, hits for a high average, and early in his career he also had speed.
The only knock on Barry is his arm. He still can’t throw out Sid Bream at home.
Sure, Barry can be a jerk at times, but it is mainly to the media who have no respect for anyone anyway. So Barry, live it up! You are one of the best to play the game….EVER.
Sweeney wants to Stay
Dick Kaegel of MLB.com had a story out yesterday about Mike Sweeney and his desire to stay in a Royals uniform. The DH compared himself to a 1994 Ferrari, saying; “”I’ll probably be like a 1994 Ferrari that’s been in a couple of wrecks and has a new engine. It’s going to be rebuilt and it’s going to look good again. And it’ll be available for very cheap.”
The question is, do the Royals actually want a high maintenance vehicle?
Mike Sweeney is finishing up a five-year deal that paid him $55 million. A deal that didn’t really work out for the Royals as Sweeney spent significant time on the DL over those years. With chronic back problems and now knee issues, it is likely that the team will want to pay for the aging hitter. To his credit though, Mike said; “I’ll be lucky to get $1,100 over the minimum.”
Although Sweeney came up as a first baseman, the Royals have used him as a DH most of the time with the injury concerns they have about him playing defense. The problem is, the Royals have sweet hitting prospect Billy Butler filling that spot in the lineup. Although Butler was originally drafted as a third baseman and was moved to left field, he’s not exactly the ideal defensive fit for either position due to his hulking size.
This leaves first base as Sweeney’s best chance for a starting position in 2008. Last season Royals GM Dayton Moore traded for Ryan Shealy from the Rockies in one of his first moves. Shealy tore up the Rockies farm system and had a decent rookie debut with the Royals last season. But early injuries and inconsistency with the bat this year has pushed him back to the minors. But Ryan has recently gotten his stroke back and he has a .932 OPS for Triple-A Omaha. It looks as if Shealy is still in the Royals plans.
That leaves Mike Sweeney without a regular starting position. But according to the article, it sounds like Sweeney doesn’t mind coming off the bench, just as long as he gets to play. Mike could see around 400 at-bats next season though. He could play DH or first base if Butler or Shealy are injured or need a rest.
But something tells me that Dayton won’t be that reminiscent about how Mike used to hit or how he’s been the face of the Royals for the past few years. He may offer Sweeney up to $1 million to stay, but he probably has plans for the other $10 that will be coming off the books once Mike’s contract is over. Some other GM will likely look back at his 1999-2005 seasons though and pay Mike handsomely to play for his team.
Will Mike take less to leave the keys to the Ferrari in the Royals hands?
Trade Bait: Braves grab another Lefty
In their third move before the deadline, the Atlanta Braves traded for left-handed reliever Royce Ring. Ring was a former first round draft pick of the White Sox and has bounced around in a couple trades before the Braves took him. The southpaw has a mediocre fastball and slurve-ish breaking ball. Although he’s not a dominating reliever he gets left-handers out very well with a .135 Batting Average Against while at Triple-A this season.
Ring will probably be sent to Triple-A until they can’t tolerate Chad Paronto anymore. Eventually he’ll be on the Braves roster.
In return, the Padres took two lefties themselves off of the Braves hands. Wil Ledezma was acquired from the Tigers less than a month ago for Macay McBride. He has pretty decent stuff, throwing a low-to-mid 90s fastball and a curve. But he’s been very hittable as his 7.71 ERA with the Braves indicates. The Braves sent him through waivers saying that they were going to try to convert him back into a starter, thinking that was the best move for him. But it is doubtful that he would survive as a starter either as his two-pitch repertoire and his lack of control would restrict his effectiveness as a starter.
The second lefty the Padres got was Will Startup. Startup was a former closer for Georgia and shot up through the system over the past couple seasons. At Triple-A Richmond this season he posted a 2.19 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 49-1/3 innings. But he hasn’t been as effective against left-handed batters as Royce Ring, posting a .262 Batting Average Against.
Kevin Towers received two pitchers with decent upsides for a lefty specialist that was still in the minors. Not bad Kevin.
