6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

Baseball Prospectus also has a few things to say about these guys.

// posted by Rob @ 9:55 PM link  //  0 comments

Postseason Shares Announced

No word on rumors George Steinbrenner received a lump of coal in his stocking, regardless.

Angels, Meet Sawbones

KCAL 9 New Home Of The Dodgers Through 2013

Meltin' Milton

Giants Sign Armando Benitez

Contract guru Ned Colletti's creativity -- and Benitez's willingness to negotiation freely -- made the deal work. Colletti said the contract is spread out over five years, with the lowest salary in 2005. It increases every year thereafter and includes yearly portions of a signing bonus that runs two years after the pact is over.

Not Even Wal-Mart Is That Cost-Conscious

There isn't much else on the free agent market at first base beyond Martinez. After Richie Sexson and Carlos Delgado, both of whom are way out of the Bucs' price range, Brad Fullmer, Tony Clark, Travis Lee and John Olerud are the top first sackers available on the market at the time of this writing.

// posted by Rob @ 7:53 PM link  //  0 comments

The Astros have been told that the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes are "yours to lose." ...

New York newspapers have reported that the Yankees will offer $13 million a year. The Cubs will also be serious players, but the Angels, who are believed to be Beltran's first choice, may not be interested.

In that same story: the Astros are considering signing former Angel and Houston native Ben Weber?

[Weber] was one of the American League's best relievers between 2001 and 2003, but pitched just 18 games last season because of carpal tunnel syndrome. He was a key member of the bullpen that helped the Angels win the 2002 World Series. He's also a Houston native. If Weber is healthy, he could help filling those innings between the starter and closer Brad Lidge.

// posted by Rob @ 11:40 AM link  //  4 comments

OT: Matt Welch Slays Dan Rather

The first, cheapest, and arguably best reason to despise someone is because he is rich, famous, and powerful. Bonus points if he works in your profession and carries on like a self-important jackass. Schadenfreude is a dish best served daily, and if America is rich enough to give around $7 million a year to not one but three different humans who have a job the Brits accurately call "newsreader," then certainly we have more than paid for the right to laugh like pitiless hyenas at the sight of the great Dan Rather slinking away from his enviable post in half-shame, like an armadillo leaving an ant nest after mistakenly pissing on it.

OT: SOMA Dis, SOMA Dat

Do Not Let Us Speak Of Darker Days, But ... Sterner Days

What will happen to Scott Spiezio if the Mariners are to sign Glaus and Delgado? Thank you. -- Stephen K. Beaverton, Ore.

He would have to fight for a spot on the 25-man roster or he could be made available as trade bait. However, coming off poor season in 2004, his trade value is low. He still has two years remaining on a three-year, $9 million contract.

The Empire Of Dumb Plays Its Game

Dellucci Said To Have Dodger Offer

Where Have I Heard That Before?

General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. and scouting director Mike Rizzo plan to meet with agent Scott Boras, who is serving an advisory role to Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew, at the upcoming owner's meetings in Anaheim. Negotiations with the 15th overall choice in June's amateur draft have been at an impasse for weeks.

Another C Bites The Dust

// posted by Rob @ 12:44 AM link  //  0 comments

No.

The matter's resolution may be found in Philadelphia, where they now have the curse of Billy Penn to explain the idiocies of Larry Bowa and Ed Wade:

Perched atop the City Hall building at Broad and Market Streets in Center City, Philadelphia is a statue of William Penn, universally regarded as both the founder (and namer) of the city, and the founder of the then-British colony of Pennsylvania, the name of the latter itself meaning "Penn's Woods." By tradition — although not by law — no building in the city could ever rise above this statue; however, in March of 1987, a glass skyscraper, known as One Liberty Place, was opened for business approximately three blocks away. It dwarfed the City Hall building, exceeding its height by a whopping 397 feet (121m), reaching 945 feet (288m) compared with the latter's 548 feet (167m).

Meanwhile, the city's sports teams had, up until then, enjoyed an admirable run of recent success, as in 1980 Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies had won their first World Series title ever....

Following the opening of One Liberty Place, Philadelphia's sports teams commenced a pattern of narrow failures to win a championship: The Flyers have lost in the Stanley Cup finals twice since the skyscraper's construction (in 1987 — a mere two months after One Liberty Place opened — and again in 1997), the Phillies lost the 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays, and the 76ers lost the 2001 NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. But perhaps the most excruciating near-misses of all have been contributed by the Eagles, who lost the NFC Championship Game (the winner of which meets the winner of the corresponding game played in the AFC in the Super Bowl) three years in a row starting in 2001....

With four appearances in championship finals since 1987, the theoretical odds against the Philadelphia team losing all four were 15 to 1 — yet this is precisely what happened, and this does not even factor in the numerous semifinal-round losses the city's teams have suffered over this period.

// posted by Rob @ 7:18 PM link  //  5 comments

• Adrian Beltre: $6,255,481 This one strikes me as being a really good deal. I wouldn't mind Belly being signed even up to $8M/year.
• Troy Glaus: $9,632,943 Yes, but who's dumb enough to give that kind of money to him?

Basically, these are two right-handed hitters who play a pretty good right field, so I wouldn't exactly call Rivera a prospect. The man's already shown he can play. But the two of them are also not separated by all that much age: Rivera was born in July of '78, Jose Guillen in May of '76. Even if you give credit to Rivera for his being buried in a Yankees system that wasn't going to give him many chances, he's not that young, he's in the middle of his career. Angels fans might take particular pleasure in knowing that Rivera busted out in the last two months of the season after finally being entrusted with a full-time job, hitting .370 and slugging .549. Will that good stuff continue next year? To an extent, but not really any more than what the Angels could have reasonably expected from Guillen if his issues with management weren't in play.

So they really haven't changed what they can expect offensively, with the added benefits of cutting payroll (since losing Guillen gives them almost $4 million extra to kick into the pile they're offering to whatever shortstop is on their must-have list) and they get Izturis. Picking up Izturis is handy on a couple of levels: even if Adam Kennedy's injury encourages the Angels to bump David Eckstein across the keystone to second base, somebody needs to be the utility infielder. Alfredo Amezaga certainly didn't stake any claims, but admittedly, having Izturis is more insurance than anything else.

Of course, there's also Chone Figgins, but he can probably bet on a continued multi-task job on the roster, where he moves among third base, second base and the outfield; Izturis should spare him from any work at short. But now that they have Izturis, they don't have to rush Alberto Callaspo or rely on Amezaga, while also having the freedom to deal Eckstein once Kennedy's healthy, if not before.

All in all, a nifty bit of clubhouse politics, payroll savings, depth acquisition, and all while giving up very little to achieve it. Hats off to Bill Stoneman, even if it's understood he's exploiting an industry-wide understanding of Jim Bowden's sense of taste.

// posted by Rob @ 1:04 PM link  //  1 comments

Player      VORPr  VORP
=======================
Sosa         .227  27.9
Encarnacion  .043   1.9
Castillo     .218  33.5

Yellon claims one of the motivations for the trade is "the Cubs have no interest in retaining Todd Walker". Essentially it's a trade of players in positions of need for each club, with each side getting something bad out of the deal. It's fairly even-up, provided Sosa can return to health next year; it might even make a winner out of the Cubs if Encarnacion can become an actual baseball player. Given he's never had an OBP over .330, that's unlikely.

// posted by Rob @ 9:46 PM link  //  0 comments

Baltimore's Free Agency Tango

Tom Haller Dies

Tigers On The Block?

Seattle Notes

Seattle is also looking to sign Corey Koskie for third base, add one or two starting pitchers and bring back catcher Dan Wilson and left-handed pitcher Ron Villone. But hitting the daily double on Delgado and Sexson would likely tap out the Mariners' $16 million available for free agents and cause them to stop shopping, with the exception of bringing back Wilson as a backup catcher.

How Will RFK Play?

BTF Wiki!

// posted by Rob @ 6:25 AM link  //  0 comments

What's A Birthday If You're Immortal?

BP PTP Notes

On the Cubs side, Sammy Sosa isn't a lock to come back, but BP labels a trade for Cliff Floyd and his gimpy back plus cash as "a push, unless rumors that Mike Piazza could be included prove true." Considering talks have supposedly all but collapsed between the Mets and the Cubs, this is unlikely... BP likes Nomar to come back, declaring him the best shortstop of a not-particularly-inspiring bunch (the other two are Renteria and Cabrera). Even though minor deity Mark Prior is reportedly healthy, "Dusty Baker again must get a long look" at the insane pitch counts to which he repeatedly subjects his young staff... The Northsiders must find themselves a closer, having let Percival get signed to an admittedly ridiculous contract in Detroit. None of the alternatives look especially compelling, though Hendry supposedly has a man-crush on Danny Kolb, he of the 5.57 K/9, 1.33 K/BB, but 3.49 G/F... better hope Nomar resigns and comes back healthy, Jim, you'll need all the infield help you can get.

The Few... The Proud... The Dodgers

Finley, Dodgers Not Talking

Finley's agent, Tommy Tanzer, confirms a report by the Sporting News' Ken Rosenthal that the Tigers have been "extremely aggressive" in their efforts to entice Finley.

What's puzzling is that the Dodgers -- who traded for Finley in July and assured him at the time they didn't view him as a "rental" -- are the team that has "been the least aggressive," Tanzer said.

"Maybe the Dodgers are waiting to see where this goes," Tanzer said. "Maybe they think we'll come back to them. But if they're waiting, I doubt Steve will be around that long."

Tanzer said five teams have been actively pursuing Finley. They're believed to be the Tigers, Giants, Phillies, Orioles and Rangers. The Diamondbacks also remain interested. But with Randy Johnson about to head back to the trading auction, it's a stretch to envision Finley returning to Arizona.

Andy Sisco Exposed To Rule 5 Draft

// posted by Rob @ 10:58 PM link  //  0 comments

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Mariners have asked Delgado if he would be willing to bat third in a Seattle lineup that could also include Richie Sexson or Troy Glaus in 2005. Delgado has agreed to the switch after years of being the cleanup hitter inthe Blue Jays' lineup.

Delgado could still bat cleanup if the Mariners fail to land Sexson or Glaus.

The Mariners can add two first basemen if they so desire because the team needs both a first baseman and a designated hitter this off-season. The outgoing designated hitter, Edgar Martinez, is a close friend of Delgado's and has made it clear he'd be willing to lobby Delgado on the Mariners' behalf.

The Mariners are also looking at the addition of a less expensive alternative than Glaus at third base in free agent Corey Koskie.

A Toronto radio report suggested Delgado was likely to return to the Blue Jays because the Mariners were leery of his past knee troubles. However, the Mariners and most other clubs interested in Delgado are evidently in possession of a report by Florida specialist Dr. Dan Kanell, the father of the Denver Broncos quarterback, in which the Marlins' orthopedist gave his opinion that the knee is sound.

// posted by Rob @ 3:03 PM link  //  0 comments

OT, Kinda: Anaheim Picks Up Speed On NFL Bid

The city will pay two experienced sports consultants up to $125,000 to help them negotiate a deal with the National Football League that could bring pro football back to Orange County by 2008.

Anaheim will pay up to $75,000 to The Sports Business Group in Redondo Beach, a strategic marketing firm, and as much as $50,000 to MZ Sports, a financial-advisory firm based in Laurel, N.J., to advise the city on its plans for a football stadium next to Angel Stadium.

Ray Ratto: Scott Boras's Voicemail

If you must think of Boras this holiday season, just think of him sitting behind a bank of 30 phones, screening his calls and waiting for the gifts of the general managing magi to pile up in the service entrance.

"Hello, this is the office of Scott Boras, Emperor Of The Whole Damned Universe. Please deposit the $75,000 introductory conversation-starter fee, and listen to the following options:

"For Carlos Beltran, please press 1.

"For Adrian Beltre, please press 2.

"For Magglio Ordonez, please press 3, and have your medical plan information out and ready for the operator.

"For Jason Varitek, please press 4. If you're Theo Epstein, please bring proof of power of attorney.

"For Derek Lowe, please press 5.

"For Carl Pavano, please press 5 and ask for Derek Lowe instead.

"For J.D. Drew, please press 6.

"For Kevin Millwood, please press 5 and ask for Derek Lowe. If the line is busy, please press 7 and ask for Kevin Millwood."

"If you need further assistance, go to your bank, return, and press 1, followed by eight zeroes. This is the office of Scott Boras, and genuflect on your way out, baboons."

Tracy To Return, Signed To Two-Year Deal

Damian Miller A Brewer

Buddy Carlyle In The 2005 Rotation?

Carlyle hopes the Dodgers become the right spot for him. If early indications mean anything, Carlyle may have found the perfect situation.

"I got a call from (Dodgers General Manager) Paul DePodesta the very first day minor league players were able to sign contracts and he was one of about seven calls I got from teams that day," Carlyle said. "The fact that a GM is the one contacting you makes me believe I have a great chance.

// posted by Rob @ 1:09 PM link  //  0 comments

A Google search on "peak oil" yields a number of resources on this topic, some more optimistic than others, but the pessimistic ones are frightening in the extreme, to the point I would call them millennialist and write them off -- except that so much petroleum energy goes into food production, it's not entirely possible to do so. After all, one of the great causes of the Depression was mechanization of farms, which resulted in enormous gains in crop production -- driving prices down and farmers off their land. Take away oil from farming, and suddenly productivity goes down.

The present administration listens to an energy secretary from Michigan, and hears what it wants to hear about oil. If you believe the more conspiratorially-minded, we launched upon the Iraq war fully well knowing that country had some of the biggest undeveloped oil reserves in the world.

For balance -- that is, to provide the anti-peak point of view -- I provide this article by Leonardo Maugeri from Italy's Eni oil company. His argument is fairly typical; this is a dialogue split along the fault lines of discipline, that is, the geologists versus economists, and may briefly be summarized in this way:

Economists: Oil is a price-driven commodity, whose presence or absence is determined by that price.

Geologists: Okay, show me the reserves.

This is not pleasant stuff. It's very easy to see how this could turn into a full-scale depression, and much, much worse. The need to conserve is becoming increasingly obvious, as is the need to invest in research in renewables, and by this I mean any and all of them, up to and including fusion. Likewise, we need to start reinvigorating nuclear power by building breeder reactors and finding cleaner ways to burn coal. And we need to do all of this now before rising fossil fuel prices make it uneconomic to effect the changes we need.

// posted by Rob @ 8:41 AM link  //  8 comments

• LHP Ryan Ketchner
• C Russell Martin
• OF Brian Myrow
• RHP Franquelis Osoria
• OF Jason Repko
• LHP Derek Thompson
• 2B Delwyn Young

// posted by Rob @ 1:27 PM link  //  1 comments

• Brad Penny still hasn't thrown since his last outing.
• The Dodgers have a lease on Dodgertown through 2021.

• None of the trio of Ervin Santana, Bobby Jenks, and Chris Bootcheck are expected to contribute at the major league level in 2005.
• Don't expect Jered Weaver signed until January at the earliest.
• The Angels have subtracted nearly $47M from last year's $110M payroll thus far.

// posted by Rob @ 3:27 PM link  //  0 comments

1. Given two teams with identical OBP, the one with the higher batting average is going to score more runs. This was a point Pinto made earlier.
2. Lombardi's FSC stat isn't what he thinks it is. What he wants to measure is

           (H+SB+SH)
   FSC2 = -----------
              TPA
   

   but instead he has

   H * ((AB+BB+HBP+SH+SF)-SO-BB)
   -----------------------------
   AB * (AB+BB+HBP+SH+SF)
   

   The key is that he uses TPA as the denominator for his RC/G analysis of frequently-walking teams, but fails to do the same with high batting average teams. The second formula leaves him with an AB² term in the denominator, but this glosses over an even more important question: why do you care about the percentage of hits times the percentage of contact?
3. He doesn't actually do correlation analysis on the results. The point of the game is to score runs, period. The only way to know if a certain strategy works is to see whether it results in more runs scored. The first -- but far from necessary -- test is correlation. If you can't see correlation, you won't be able to prove causality. Lombardi just looks at a few select teams and observes that "teams who were good at frequent contact while hitting safely often are better at batting than teams who used the walking often approach". Taking a look at correlation for the two even limited to the 11-year period 1994 through 2004 gives us these results:

   Stat    r
   ===========
   OBP   .684
   AVG   .596
   FSC   .452
   FSC2  .439
   

   Once again, the connection to runs scored fails to materialize.

// posted by Rob @ 12:59 PM link  //  3 comments

More On Guillen Trade

"We know we're losing a 100-RBI guy," General Manager Bill Stoneman said of Guillen, who finished a breakout season batting .294 with 27 homers and 104 runs batted in. "... We'll fill those spots as the winter progresses. We'll have another move or two."

Rivera is expected to be a reserve, but the Angels might have found a starting shortstop in Izturis. Stoneman said Izturis, 24, the younger brother of Dodger shortstop Cesar Izturis, would be given the opportunity to win the job in spring training. David Eckstein is slated to move to second base until Adam Kennedy returns from a right knee injury that is expected to sideline him early in the season.

Morales Update

The Angels are one of five teams that have expressed interest in Cuban defector Kendry Morales, a switch-hitting first baseman and left fielder. Morales, 21, might be willing to sign an incentive-laden contract for the opportunity to play in the major leagues, his agent, David Valdes, said.

"This is a kid that hit cleanup on the Cuban national team at 19 years old," said Eddie Bane, the Angels' scouting director. "This isn't like anyone else who has come out of Cuba. He's legitimate."

Booth Moves

In somewhat older news, the Cubs have hired ex-Diamondback manager Bob Brenly as Steve Stone's replacement. Cub Reporter questions whether he can fit in Stone's "size 27 shoes". It's not quite the leap from Vinny to Rick Monday, but you get some idea of the chasm here.

// posted by Rob @ 8:28 AM link  //  3 comments

Hail Fellow, Bad Met

"Collusion"

... An' I Wan' A Pony, Too

// posted by Rob @ 9:10 PM link  //  1 comments

Update: More from Blez: it seems Beane's always had his panties in a bundle over Cust. Now he finally gets his man, though how useful he is is still open to question. As Blez put it, "at least they've added a something to a suddenly depleted Sacramento River Cats squad", a fact for which they have Paul DePodesta to thank.

// posted by Rob @ 4:35 PM link  //  0 comments

Update: now on MLB.com.

Brief analysis:

Izzy's little brother is a -1.9 VORP player, which is to say, bad hitting seems to run in the family to a degree. The fact that his PECOTA projection has a bunch of nondescript nobodies in it -- guys like Alfredo Amezega at worst, Chone Figgins and big brother Cesar at best -- is not encouraging, but the number of comparables is low (32, anything over 50 is considered typical in PECOTA). No data on his glove yet from BP, so that will have to wait until later.

As for Juan... well, his 22.3 VORP obviously represents a big step down from Jose Guillen's numbers, and his glovework is hardly above average at any position. PECOTA doesn't like him much, either, though he actually fell between the 75 and 90 percentile projection this year. The notes declare him tradebait, a barely-above-average player of the sort the Yankees love to flip for established veterans.

In short, the Angels took a slight hit on this trade, but the probabilities of either of these two players becoming anything other than useful spare parts on opening day are slim. If Izturis is a better-hitting version of Alfredo Amezega (hey, at least he can stay over the Mendoza line) and Jose replaces the substantially older (24 vs. 30) Jeff DaVanon as the Angels' fourth outfielder, the Angels effected an acceptable trade, provided they realize that they still need some more offense.

Update 4:25 pm: Chronicles has two pieces on this. He's much more positive on this, linking to the BTF analysis, which declares the trade a coup for Stoneman. I still see this as being pretty even considering the offense involved, but if Maicer develops to anywhere near the glove man his big brother is, David Eckstein needs to start looking for another line of work. That's the odd thing about this trade: considering all the talent in the Angels' minors up-the-middle, why pick up Izturis? Again, to me, this is all about the bench and not about starters.

Update, 8:30 pm-ish: Richard has a nice little summary of the reaction around the blogosphere, including David Cameron, who sneers that Bowden is "breaking the major league record for worst week ever." I just don't see it. Let's use WSAA as our metric, which is much more all-encompassing:

Player           WSAA
=====================
Jose Guillen      +6
Maicer Izturis    -2
Juan Rivera       +2

Transaction Guy thinks Bowden snookered the Angels. With reaction all over the map, it's pretty clear there's no concensus -- which means we'll know who won this at the end of the year.

// posted by Rob @ 1:53 PM link  //  5 comments

Percy's Signing Doesn't Signal The Close Of The Closer Market

Percy Gives A Shoutout To The Other Troy

OT: Auld Lang Syne, Polly

6. What purpose does writing the Rabbit Blog serve for you?

Well, as free as I am at Salon, I still find myself wanting to spiral off into an abyss of total idiocy, self-indulgent meandering, extreme self-deprecation, repugnant delusions of grandeur, pointless goofiness, spitty outbursts, and gratuitous maliciousness. I also like to hand out bad advice, and hurl bratty insults at our current president. Doesn't my blog sound enriching and informative?

Being Brian Sabean

Alert The Boys At Retrosheet

// posted by Rob @ 1:28 PM link  //  0 comments

Update: Cub Reporter is grateful he's not headed toward Wrigley (as he should be). Transaction Guy observes Percy's declining K rate and health problems and sees a Detroit team overspending on a name.

// posted by Rob @ 2:13 PM link  //  0 comments

"If we can find a center fielder we like even better than Figgy, we'll go that route. But we're not going to take just anybody," Stoneman said. "I think Figgy is a real good center fielder and that is a tough position to fill. It takes a particular skill set and he's got that skill set."

Now, I'm certainly willing to cut Figgy some slack here considering this year was his first playing center and he was learning on the job. Versatile he is, but a slick fielding centerfielder he is not. The Angels' best defensive option in center is actually Jeff DaVanon, believe it or not, but in a contest of the bats, it's not particularly close (33.7 VORP for Figgins vs 21.9 for DaVanon). The difference in fielding isn't nearly as great as the offensive difference; that's what the team's looking at, and why Figgins could be the team's starting centerfielder next year, assuming ESPN malarky about a Kotchman-for-Vernon Wells trade is just that.

// posted by Rob @ 9:19 AM link  //  0 comments

Stat      r
=============
OBP     .800
Avg     .735
TPA/R  -.115

Smith later brings up dat ol' debbil Productive Outs, introduced earlier this year in a Buster Olney ESPN column, to back up his claims. I won't bother flaying the value of this statistic, as it's already been ably done by Larry Mahnken at Hardball Times. Mahnken's comment about Productive Outs seems equally apropos of Smith's treatment of the subject, namely, that "making productive outs is not an important part of winning ballgames" and that nobody -- neither Olney nor Smith -- have shown otherwise. If indeed this is what the Angels are teaching their prospects in the minors, the club is systematically wrecking the careers of the "waves of talent" from a farm system David Cameron labeled "the best in the game".

Update: Apparently the boys over at Baseball Think Factory have glommed onto this. Some good reading there; one reader asserts Smith's strikeout calculations are wrong, and also notices that

Simply looking at who scored the most runs is misleading, because one team could have sent many more players to the plate than the other. So let's find a common denominator.

But's that's exactly it! High OBP teams strive to send more players to the plate because they makes outs at a slower rate! The ratio of runs to plate appearances is irrelevant.

Since he missed this obvious fact at the beginning, the rest of the column is dangles on a broken branch.

The point of Mr. Smith's article is one Bill James made 20 years ago. Given two teams with the same OBA, the team with the higher batting average will have the better offense. Hits are simply more valuable than walks in advancing baserunners.

// posted by Rob @ 8:00 AM link  //  3 comments

Update: interesting that that post no longer exists. From Google cache:

... There’s a number of offers on the table and through various sources, I’ve been able to put together a bunch of them. While these are believed to be accurate, remember a couple things:

a) We don’t have all the details. We know where the devil lives. Things like voidables, options, private jets, suites, and bonuses aren’t reflected here.

b) In only a few cases do I have rock solid info. All of it is “good” and I can’t differentiate the “great” from the “good” without putting some sources at risk.

c) Money isn’t the only factor. The interesting thing with the teams competing for Beltran is that all are teams that aren’t so much looking for a franchise player as much as they are an “over the top” player.

d) The market isn’t set. The Omar Vizquel signing certainly looks like something from 2001, but no one thinks this will be like that “bubble.” These offers certainly show there’s money out there and will likely set the market if this deal gets done quickly. (I don’t think this will get done quickly.)

e) These are just offers. If I know them, I’m certain that the other GMs know them and will adjust their offers, make counter-offers, fly Beltran in and try to go SMU on them, whatever. This isn’t final, to be sure.

Enough caveats. Here’s the list, in order of which I think is “best” or most likely to be acceptable -

Angels = 5x20 ($100m)
Phillies = 10x15.5 ($155m)
Yankees = 8x18.1 ($145m)
Orioles = 6x18.3 ($110m)
Red Sox = 7x17 ($119m)
Astros = 10x11 ($110m)
Dodgers = 5x18 ($90m)
Cubs = 7x16 ($112m)
Rangers = 7x15.7 ($110m)
White Sox = 6x15 ($90m)

So with the cards on the table, who’s in?

// posted by Rob @ 4:48 PM link  //  2 comments

Non-Story Stories: Beltre Considering His Options

"No doubt, the Dodgers are going to have the first option," Beltre said. "I don't know exactly what they're thinking about or what they're going to do. I'm happy with the organization. I couldn't ask for better treatment. Now is the time I have the choice to stay or go, but I'm not thinking about leaving yet; I'm thinking about my family and the chance to go to the World Series."

... "Just the way the season finished and the way the fans supported me all year, I couldn't have asked for more," he said. "I cannot point to one thing that changed for me, though. A lot of things came together early this year. Being almost seven years in the big leagues, and the fact I have a daughter, my life has changed."

Ultimately, he said, "I helped myself personally so I would get more attention from other teams. But I don't know how it's going to work out. When I pick the team, I know they want me and will have a chance to be in the playoffs. I'm just sitting back to see what my options are. But, until it happens, I don't know how it's going to end."

Bonds: Give Me My Precious

Meanwhile, Back In Boston

A's Shopping Zito

Yanks Persue Delgado

More On Ortiz, Erstad

Stoneman said he would not rule out a return to the rotation for Ortiz, who was 4-5 with a 5.47 ERA in 14 starts and 1-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 20 relief appearances.

"Command got him into trouble," Stoneman said. "If he can find the command we've seen from him in the past then, shoot, he can be a starter."

Percy To The Tigers?

// posted by Rob @ 8:29 AM link  //  2 comments

"I do not expect to sign any Scott Boras clients," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said Monday.

Why?

"Let's just say that we both respectfully agree to disagree on the value of his players," Williams replied.

Which means the White Sox will be somewhat limited in their examination of the free-agent market because Boras has 11 of the very best clients in what is considered to be a very good crop.

That, of course, includes Ordonez, whose days as a White Sox outfielder are all but officially over.

"I think that ship has sailed," Williams said.

Williams and Boras met at last week's GM meetings in Florida to discuss not only Ordonez but other White Sox holes that could be filled by outfielders such as Beltran and Drew, a catcher such as Varitek, a third baseman such as Beltre and pitchers such as Lowe and Millwood. Williams had particular interest in Beltran, the valedictorian of this off-season's class.

Williams is not alone in his assessment of Boras' estimated worth of his clients. Several teams have refused in the past to bid for high-profile Boras players for just that reason. Already this winter, the world champion Red Sox are balking at his demands for Varitek, whom they consider a "necessity" for repeating.

// posted by Rob @ 9:51 PM link  //  0 comments

Update: Why do people think Ortiz is going anywhere? He's still on the 40-man roster...

// posted by Rob @ 6:04 PM link  //  3 comments

Player             AVG   OPS   HR
=================================
Troy Glaus        .254	.884   39
Dallas McPherson  .293	.945   37

Player              AB  AVG   OBP   SLG   HR
============================================
Troy Glaus         391 .258  .368  .471   21
Dallas McPherson   501 .275  .341  .513   27

I'm much more pessimistic about McPherson's ability to contribute here -- if we get .258/.341/.471 (the lower of each number) I'd be thrilled. 2005 will be his rookie year. If he hits 27 homers, he'd be a serious RoY candidate.

A couple other points:

• Does anyone else think it's interesting that Gammons specifically mentions VORP -- possibly for the first time -- in this column?
• James also projects Vlad to have a 1.000 OPS season. Sweet.

// posted by Rob @ 1:28 PM link  //  2 comments

One reason this change is mildly important (okay, to me only, probably) is that the Google search doesn't necessarily keep everything searchable. One example is to search for "angels big johnson", which should turn up the article I wrote back on June 18th, titled "Why The Angels Don't Need A Big Johnson". Normally, Google is very sensitive to keywords that also appear in the URL and/or appear in <h2> tags, but in this case, it misses this article entirely (and no, it's not because of naughtiness filtering, either). Better here than nowhere.

In the future, look for this blog to move to monthly archives as the number of archive rows grows to infinity. This will break links that pointed to earlier articles; oh, well.

// posted by Rob @ 8:54 AM link  //  2 comments

More Speculation On Beltran To The Angels

But the Angels aren't done. They have also said that Garret Anderson will most likely return to left field next season after being out with injuries and arthritis a good part of this past year. That probably means that Jose Guillen, who was suspended in the final weeks of the 2004 season, will likely be released with the team absorbing the remainder of his contract. This also opens the door for a major offer to Carlos Beltran.

The team could be very appealing to Beltran with the Latin connection that begins with owner Arte Moreno. The opportunity to play center alongside Vladimir Guerrero may also be tempting for Beltran. He would be joining a club with a solid core group, a popular owner, and a manager, Mike Scioscia, who gets along with all his players. The Yanks better take notice. Getting Beltran may not be a slam dunk.

Percy Interested In Detroit, Too

A-Rod Haunted, Seeks Ghostbuster

"The fact that I got what I got, I deserved every bit of it because I was brought here to help win a championship and we didn't get that done," Rodriguez said. "Therefore, we failed. I don't think you can point your finger at any one guy because we win and lose as a team. But if you had to point a finger, I think you would point it right at me."

... "The fact that I haven't won a championship bothers me," Rodriguez said. "Until I do, I will not sleep or be comfortable with my career.

// posted by Rob @ 8:33 PM link  //  0 comments

The Florida Marlins have expressed considerable interest in troubled Angel outfielder Jose Guillen, but an inability to consummate a two-team trade has motivated executives to be more creative by formulating possible three-team deals, one of which could net the Angels pitcher Randy Johnson.

Talks are in the exploratory phase, but according to baseball sources, the Angels, Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks have discussed a trade that would send Guillen to the Marlins, Johnson to Anaheim and a package of prospects — and possibly a big league player or two — to Arizona from Anaheim and Florida.

Negotiations between the Angels and Marlins apparently stalled when Florida refused to part with speedy center fielder Juan Pierre. The Angels want to trade Guillen, who hit .294 with 27 home runs and 104 runs batted in last season but was suspended for the final eight games of the regular season and the playoffs because of insubordination, and move center fielder Garret Anderson back to left.

The Marlins, knowing Arizona's affection for their power-hitting first-base prospect, Jason Stokes, and the Angels' infatuation with Johnson, expanded talks to include the Diamondbacks. Arizona is in danger of losing free-agent first baseman Richie Sexson, who was reportedly not thrilled by the team's recent contract offer.

// posted by Rob @ 1:25 PM link  //  0 comments

The War Of The Rose

Also signed as free agents from Oakland's AAA River Cats were Mike Edwards (.287/.384/.432) and Jon Weber (.343/.381/.468). The article incorrectly says the Dodgers still control Todd Hundley, when in fact he is a free agent.

Frank Expands Home Turf

That's nice, but we'd better have Beltre signed by Spring Training or know the reason why.

Byline Bingo

The Free Agent Glass Yanked Half Empty

The Yanks will have a logjam at several positions, to say the least.

Still The Orioles

Q:	Ron from South Bend, IN asks: Where would have Townsend been in this list if he would have signed?
A:	Will Lingo: Ouch. That was a painful draft pick to not get anything out of. Considering the Orioles had no chance to sign him, I never really looked at Townsend in comparison to any of their other guys, but he has the stuff to be considered with Penn and Adam Loewen, who are the top two pitching prospects in the organization.

...

Q:	Toby Boyce from Delaware, Ohio asks: The O's Top 10 seems to be significantly older than what we are used to seeing in Baseball America. Is the system that thin? Or are these late bloomers that are just now asserting themselves?
A:	Will Lingo: The system is pretty thin.

...

Q:	Ulrath from Virginia.... asks: Is there any hope at all?
A:	Will Lingo: I think that's a good question to end on. Thanks for joining us and I hope Orioles fans get all the free agents they're hoping for this Christmas.

Labels: athletics, mccourts, orioles

// posted by Rob @ 11:26 AM link  //  2 comments

The meaning of religious freedom, I fear, is sometimes greatly misapprehended. It is taken to be a sort of immunity, not merely from governmental control but also from public opinion. A dunderhead gets himself a long-tailed coat, rises behind the sacred desk, and emits such bilge as would gag a Hottentot. Is it to pass unchallenged? If so, then what we have is not religious freedom at all, but the most intolerable and outrageous variety of religious despotism. Any fool, once he is admitted to holy orders, becomes infallible. Any half-wit, by the simple device of ascribing his delusions to revelation, takes on an authority that is denied to all the rest of us.

-- H. L. Mencken, "Aftermath" (of the Scopes trial)

Lo: gasp with delayed amazement at the discovery the Cubs had signed Neifi Perez (or at Cub Reporter, if you like). Think about it: what kind of insanity causes a team to spend a million dollars on a player who hasn't had a full-season OBP over .300 in three years, and that when he played in the Valhalla known as Coors Field! Months ago, Cubs fans supposed Hendry a smart man for nabbing Nomar. Wait Til Next Year even published a long article extolling how good Hendry has been (at the time of writing, about the time of the seemingly-miraculous Nomar acquisition, about 58 Win Shares). So why do you sign a Neifi Perez, who is a -5 WSAA/9.4 VORP player -- clearly fringe, by either metric -- to a contract that large?

No wonder Cub fans worry Hendry might make a trade with DePodesta:

For no reason in particular, I worry about the Cubs trading with a GM like DePodesta. I really shouldn’t feel this way, since even a smart GM can make a good trade that doesn’t work out: DePo was right, for example, to trade Lo Duca and Mota, but it didn’t work out in the end... at least for the 2004 season. That said, I just think the chance that the Cubs get the short end of the stick may be higher in dealing with a smarty-pants guy like DePodesta.

Player             VORP  WSAA
=============================
Ryan Bukvich        2.1    1
Darrell May        -1.2   -6
Dennis Tankersley  -2.6   -5
Terrence Long      12.3   -3

Veteran presence. Again.

But -- enough. It's time we all started up manufacturing our own trades, or at least, rumors of trades. Leone For Third shows us how, with a handy template; the example is this finished product:

In search of a new left fielder to replace free agent Moises Alou, the Cubs have inquired as to the availability of Anaheim outfielder Jose Guillen. The Angels – who could then move Darin Erstad back to the outfield to make room for hot prospect Casey Kotchman – are looking to address a weakness by adding some young pitching, and could ask for AA pitcher Bobby Brownlie in return.

// posted by Rob @ 9:23 PM link  //  0 comments