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Nationals want Nyjer Morgan?
There have been rumors flying around recently that the Washington Nationals have expressed interest in Pirates outfielder Nyjer Morgan. Although there’s much speculation as to who he’d be traded for, you also have to wonder why the Nationals would be so interested in trading for him.
Going into the 2009 season, the Washington Nationals had a few candidates that they were considering (hoping) would fill the centerfield void. A few candidates have turned into seven different players getting time in center. None of them have hit that well this season. Here’s what FanGraphs has for these outfielder while they were playing center:
| Name | AB | R | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | BB% | K% | OBP |
| Austin Kearns | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.429 | 12.50% | 42.90% | 0.500% |
| Willie Harris | 95 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0.242 | 12.80% | 18.90% | 0.360% |
| Elijah Dukes | 130 | 12 | 14 | 34 | 2 | 6 | 0.231 | 9.70% | 26.20% | 0.306% |
| Lastings Milledge | 22 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0.136 | 16.00% | 42.90% | 0.240% |
| Corey Patterson | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.125 | 4.30% | 40.90% | 0.208% |
| Justin Maxwell | 21 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0.095 | 0.00% | 0.625% | 0.125% |
| Roger Bernadina | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.00% | 33.30% | 0.000% |
Their many tries to fill the void have not been very successful. Although Morgan has played mostly left field with the Pirates, he’d be a welcome addition to the Nationals outfield. Not just because his mediocre bat is a somewhat better option than current centerfielder Willy Harris (.233/.348/.406), but because his defense will be a solid presence in center. Whygavs.com has recently discussed his defene at length.
Although Morgan currently has his lowest batting average since 2005 when he was in A-ball, a rebound is possible, making him a viable everyday option in center (expecially in Washington). But many believe that his best role is a fourth outfielder type that shouldn’t get over-exposed with everday play. Regardless the Nationals need something better than what they have been trotting out there this season.
Most of the rumor that have swirled about include the problematic Lastings Milledge in the deal. If the Pirates can move his lackluster centerfield defense to a corner and he actually appreciates getting another chance at the majors, the Pirates might make out well if the trade takes place. But the Bucs should hopefully get a mediocre minor league prospect to make this potential trade look a little better as the chances of Milledge actually playing a decent amount of time in the majors are dwindling fast.
Trade Bait: DeRo going to St.Lo
Mark DeRosa‘s name has been thrown about in trade rumors heavily over the past couple months. The Indians have been a disappointment this season and the Indians have been interested in moving Jhonny Peralta to third for some time. With shortstop-to-be Asdrubal Cabrera coming back off the disabled list, the time was appropriate to deal him. Several teams had apparently voice interest in the super-utility player, but the St. Louis Cardinals offered the right package in reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later.
DeRosa will immediately improve the team’s offense at the hot corner. With Troy Glaus unable to play the position the rest of the season, the team can no longer rely on fill-in help at a position known for offensive output. The fill-in help hasn’t been all that good while manning 3rd base this year. The following statistics from FanGraphs show how well the players that have played the hot corner in St. Louis have fared with the bat while playing the position:
| Name | G | AB | HR | R | RBI | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Brian Barden | 45 | 91 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 4.50% | 14.30% | 0.238 | 0.304 | 0.714 | 1.019 |
| Khalil Greene | 7 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6.20% | 19.80% | 0.253 | 0.310 | 0.418 | 0.728 |
| Tyler Greene | 9 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11.70% | 17.50% | 0.217 | 0.313 | 0.322 | 0.635 |
| Joe Thurston | 45 | 143 | 1 | 20 | 15 | 0.00% | 28.10% | 0.219 | 0.219 | 0.281 | 0.500 |
| David Freese | 5 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.70% | 21.40% | 0.143 | 0.188 | 0.214 | 0.402 |
In 278 at bats with the Indians this season, Mark has 13 home runs. The players at third base in St. Louis…8. Tyler Green and his 9 games played at the position has the closest OBP to DeRosa’s, but his .310 mark is 32 points lower than Mark’s. Other than Brian Barden, his OPS is also besting the group by a wide margin. Barden’s 1.019 OPS while at the hot corner is somewhat of a fluke as he is hitting .238 while there and overall, he has a .677 OPS on the season.
Chris Perez has electric stuff with a mid-90s fastball and a hard biting slider. He profiles as a future closer if he can keep his control in check. Major League hitters have hit just .195 off of him and he’s posted 30 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. But his control issues are evident as he has walked 15 over those 23.2 innings for an ugly 5.7o BB/9. With
We’ll have more on the PTBNL when he is announced.
This looks like a good trade for both sides right now. DeRosa makes a good improvement in the team’s lineup and his ability to play multiple positions helps Tony LaRussa as well. The Cardinals have other possible future closer prospects in Jason Motte and Jess Todd to groom while current closer, Ryan Franklin, provides a solid presence right now.
Mark Shapiro and the Indians may have finally found their future closer that they’ve been needing and were going to loose DeRosa to free agency this coming off-season anyway. But the bigger question we are all dealing with is, with Shapiro pulling the plug on the season, who else will be traded away from Cleveland?
Pinella fed up with Bradley’s Blow Ups
After yet another blow up by Milton Bradley, Chicago Cubs manger Lou Pinella got fed up with his childish tantrums. After sending him to the showers, Pinella confronted him and they got into a verbal confrontation in the clubhouse.
According to sources noted by the Chicago Sun-Times, Piniella shouted at Bradley, ”You’re not a player! You’re a piece of sh–!”
Who didn’t see this coming when Bradley signed his contract with the Cubs? I specifically wrote to this aspect when he signed the contract.
The real question is, “Can Lou control him from here on out?” I’m guessing Bradley is like a teenager, the more you try to control him, the more he’ll fight it. Will we see another rumble in the locker room like Lou had with Pinella? Doubtful, but Bradley definitely isn’t winning any brownie points with his teammates.
Save the Catchers….Again!
It has happened again. Something must be done to stop this and save the catchers! Earlier this season Jason LaRue was nearly trampledto death in a sausage stampede in Milwaukee. This time it was Bengie Molina of the San Francisco Giants.
Bengie and other catchers who wonder onto the ball field in the midst of a sausage race, there needs to be quick, concise action taken. It it the belief of The Baseball Opinion that following sign should be posted outside of major league dugouts during sausage races and other possible tramplings by league mascots.
LSU Tigers are National Champions
A hearty congratulations goes out to the LSU Tigers for winning the College World Series. They are a very deserving team for the title.
Of the several impressive things about the Tigers, one notable aspect was the defense on the left side of the infield. Third baseman Derek Helenihi and shortstop Austin Nola both made impressive plays throughout the series. Leon Landry, who often came off the bench as a defensive replacement in left field, made a great diving catch on Tuesday night and has shown his defensive prowess in throughout the series as well.
Right fielder Jared Mitchell won CWS Most Outstanding Player. But this award would’ve been a tough one to hand out. There were a few different players with notable performances in the CWS. Texas outfielder Russell Moldenhauer tied a CWS record with four home runs during the series. Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann tied a CWS record with three wins and held a 0.59 ERA during the series. One could even point to LSU second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who was a great presence at the top of the lineup and seemed to be in on every pivotal scoring play as a hitter or as a runner. But Mitchell was also in on many plays and his three-run homer sparked the LSU offense early in the final game. Mitchell has great speed, great bat speed, and just a great overall presence.
CWSOmaha.com had quotes from several players about the game. Here’s one from Jared Mitchell: (about if there was a better way to finish his career): “If there is a better way, write the story for me. It’s been so much fun … to accomplish something like this with these players.” Throughout the series we had interviews and soundbites fed to us from Jared. He seems well-rounded, well-spoken, and it seems like he definitely has fun.
Congrats Tigers!
Jungmann is a Stud Mann
After Augie Garrido used five pitchers in the first game of the championship series, he obviously needed the game 2 starter to pitch longer into the game. Taylor Jungmann stepped up to the task Tuesday night. The tall right-hander pitched a masterful complete game, giving up only one unearned run on five hits. Jungmann also struck out eight on the night as he baffled hitters.
Although Taylor doesn’t have mid-90s heat regularly on his fastball, his two-seamer sat at just under 90mph all night long. Once in a while, he did dial it up higher with his 4-seam fastball though. Jungmann also has good movement on his breaking pitches and kept them in or near the strike-zone all night long. While in Omaha, Jungmann is 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA, pretty dominating against the top teams in the country.
Outfielder/DH Russ Moldenhauer has also stepped up. As noted by many, he now has tied the College World Series record of four home runs, after not having hit a home run all season long.
But the defensive play of Texas Michael Torres 3B should definitely be noted as well. On top of a few good plays during the game, he made a play on a tough soft grounder in 9th to keep Jared Mitchell off the base paths.
LSU Leads Series Heading into Game 2 of CWS Championship
If the first game of the National Championship series of the College World Series is any indication of how good this series will be, you can bet I’ll be on the edge of my seat the entire time.
Just as Texas looked as if they were striding towards a win with a 6-4 lead with two outs in the ninth inning, LSU kicked into gear and tied up the game. LSU second baseman DJ LeMahieu (2nd round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs) ripped a two-out RBI double down the leftfield line.
In the 11th inning, center-fielder Mikie Mahtook pounded a two-out RBI single to give LSU a 7-6 victory over Texas. It wasn’t so much the hit itself that was interesting, it was the pitch selection. Texas pitcher Brandon Workman, who has a dominating mid-90s fastball, was clearly overmatching Mahtook in the at-bat. Every fastball that Mahtook hit in the at-bat was slapped foul, most of them ended in the stands as Mikie obviously couldn’t catch up to Workman’s fastball. But for some reason Workman threw a breaking ball as a gift offering that Mahtook could easily handle.
Freshman right-hander Matty Ott (4-2) earned the win for LSU. He three dominant shutout innings from the ninth to the end of the game, allowing no hits and striking out three. The Tigers’ closer, Ott showed why he excelled in that role this year.
Frustrating Friday
Last Friday night the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Texas Longhorns were entangled in a great duel at the College World Series that was one of the better games of the annual series. Opposing pitchers Mike Leake and Cole Green dueled through six good innings each.
With the score tied 2-2 in the 9th inning, ASU’s Jason Kipnis reached after hitting a single and moved to second base on a throwing error. Kipnis then watched catcher Carlos Ramirez line out and Kole Calhoun, possibly the CWS MVP, strikeout. But then DH Zach Wilson emerged as the possible game hero as he tripled, driving in Kipnis and putting the Sun Devils ahead going into the bottom of the ninth.
Yet, as the Longhorns had already done in previous tournament games, they fought back in the bottom of the ninth. After shortstop Brandon Loy struck out, catcher Cameron Rupe belted a shot over the left-center field wall to tie up the game. The re-energized Texas team then watched centerfielder Connor Rowe rip a home run to win the game.
It was an amazing finish to a hard-fought game on both sides…..too bad I missed it. I was out with a friend to watch the game, but he had to leave early and I rushed home to see if I could at least catch the bottom of the ninth. By the time I got home, the game had ended. I’m kicking myself now for not sticking around at the local Hooters establishment by myself to enjoy one more beer, the charismatic wait staff, and a terrific ending to pivotal a CWS game.
Izzy Out for Season
On the cusp of regaining a stake hold in the majors again as one of the better relievers, Jason Isringhausen is now going to spend the rest of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Jason had just recovered from an elbow surgery he had late last season to pitch eight innings for the Tampa Rays. In those eight innings Jason gave up only six hits and no walks while striking out six. He seemed to be on his way back after a disastrous 2008 season with the St. Louis Cardinals.
But now he’s going under the knife for a more serious surgery than what he had in 2008. Jason wants to pitch in the majors again, as a report by Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times states. But can the 36-year-old rebound in time for spring training 2010? It would be a hard task, even for a 27-year-old.
Can he rebound at all? At this point in a pitcher’s career to have an additional surgery, especially one of this size, usually ends a career. But Izzy has been one of the better relievers the past decade and spent much of that time under pitching coach Dave Duncan’s watchful eye. He’s been taught how to pitch, rather than to just throw, making it easier to come back with a little less stuff than he had before.
Good luck Izzy.
2009 Draft: Early Impressions – Part 2
Now that things have settled some from the draft, it seems like a good time for some comments about some of the selections. Not every pick is represented, but comments are provided on the ones that stick out to me. Here’s a few more to ponder.
Royals – Aaron Crow. Crow’s a polished pitcher who didn’t sign with the Nationals last season. The Royals needed an upper echelon former college pitcher in their system, he may move relatively fast.
Athletics – Grant Green. Green is a shortstop who dropped on some of the mock drafts before the draft. He’s a five-tool talent though. Hopefully he’ll pan out better than the A’s other recent first round shortstop picks Bobby Crosby and Cliff Pennington.
Cardinals – Shelby Miller. Good pick, thought the Rangers would take this good pitching prospect. Many articles are comparing him to other Texas high school fire ballers like Josh Beckett and Roger Clemens.
Blue Jays – Stephen Jenkins. I saw a video on this pitcher and immediately thought Joba Chamberlain. Looks like a linebacker with a baseball in his hand.
White Sox – Jared Mitchell. There are some that think he’ll be the next Carl Crawford. The centerfielder was a wide receiver for the LSU football team. Too bad that he’ll take a while to develop, the White Sox have needed a viable center fielder for a while now.
Angels – Mike Trout. Trout was the only one that came to the draft on MLB Network. He’s a power hitting outfielder with decent speed. But the commentators were kissing his rear too much in order to attract more players to come next year.
Yankees - Slade Heathcotte. This outfielder is a possible 5-tool star with a left-handed bat that should play well in the new Yankee Stadium. But he’s also a high-risk/high-reward pick. Numerous off-field issues raise questions about his ability to turn into a viable MLB star. Delmon Young‘s no clubhouse leader, but he’s doing well isn’t he?…..
Rays – Levon Washington. Levon is a speedster second baseman (he could be fastest runner in draft). They could turn him into a center fielder, but poor arm is doubtful to play well in center.
