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

Per ESPN, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza were the only players voted into the Hall of Fame. Griffey, who is by no means an inner-circle Hall of Famer, garnered a 99% vote, which I presume is mostly a protest at the steroid era. Piazza is the lowest draftee ever to go to Cooperstown, and Griffey the highest (first overall):

While Griffey was selected first in the 1987 amateur draft and became the first No. 1 pick to make the Hall, Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 1,390th pick on the 62nd round in 1998. Since the draft started in 1965, the lowest draft pick elected to the Hall was John Smoltz, taken with the No. 574 pick in the 22nd round in 1985.

Update: I should explain a bit on my remarks about Griffey. There's a 30-point JAWS dropoff between Mickey Mantle and Junior, the largest between any two players above the mean. Partly that was from memory, so if you want to disagree based on the fact that he's well above the mean of 70.4 JAWS, feel free to do so.

Labels: dodgers, ex-dodgers, hall of fame, mariners, reds

Congratulations to Ron Santo's family, and to Barry Larkin, both of whom were inducted into Cooperstown today. Two years ago, I posted Bill James' concise argument for Santo's inclusion. In Santo's case, an overdue bill gets paid. Here's Al Yellon's thoughts on the matter. I certainly hope that, if the general decline of daily newspapers has had any upside, it is that the sophists who kept Santo out of the Hall are now on the streets looking for jobs (and are without BBWAA credentials).

Labels: cubs, hall of fame, reds

It is the received wisdom about market bubbles that you know you are in one when all the bears vanish; the apocryphal story is that family scion Joe Kennedy knew Black Tuesday was in the offing when the cab drivers were giving him stock tips. With that in mind, I pass on a Yahoo Sports article from the normally astute Jeff Passan, who unapologetically writes (emphasis mine):

Baseball is changing, evolving into a massively moneyed game in which a group spends $2.15 billion for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Or the Cincinnati Reds, the team with the smallest television market in MLB, guarantees Joey Votto $251.5 million for the next 12 years. Or Matt Cain, he of the career 69-73 record, nets the biggest deal ever for a right-handed pitcher with $127.5 million over six seasons.

The economy stopped growing. Baseball’s never did. And it won’t anytime soon.

Wait a minute. The Reds' TV deal is currently among the worst in the business at $10M/year through 2016, barely enough to pay for a free agent reliever and the signing bonus for a first-round draft pick. The Josh Bethel article above says the Reds have the smallest TV market in MLB, but some of the highest viewership, with 7.2% of the audience watching on average. Ratings from the first half of 2011 showed the team with a 7.82 share representing 71,800 households. That's about two-thirds the Dodgers' figure from 2009, when the team was drawing well. Assuming the same insane figure of $750/household*year I calculated for the Dodgers floated deal, and rounding up to 100,000 viewers, that amounts to $75M/year — or a more than seven times increase. (If you just use the numbers directly, it's only $54M/year.) But ... really? It's hard for me to imagine those viewers are worth as much as (say) Angels or Dodgers viewers. A large piece of this is a function of what Fox can sell advertisements for. Teams with proven track records will get better deals. And at the moment, the Reds have spent a long time not winning.

Labels: angels, dodgers, reds, tv

Somebody had to deliver that awful pun about Loek van Mil's throwing a meatball to Ryan Ludwick, who then sent the ball sailing over the left field fence, sealing the game for the home Reds. Ludwick had only entered the game in the seventh, beset previously with some sort of flu bug lately, but proved his mettle at the end. Van Mil, on the other hand ended the day with one of the team's worst ERAs, at 9.53. Not that he was likely to make the team; he'll probably start back in AA or AAA.

Dan Haren and Bronson Arroyo both pitched reasonably well, though you have to be concerned about the shockingly large number of hits Haren surrendered (nine in all). The Angels got a home run out of Vernon Wells, a rope that stayed up in the left field corner. The team's experiment with Peter Bourjos at leadoff did not go so well, as he struck out twice and only reached base once, on a walk. That's not part of the new, Jerry Dipoto Angels plan that emphasizes OBP.

Kevin Jepsen continued to disappoint, giving up a leadoff home run to Paul Janish in the eighth. Janish hit .214/.259/.262 in limited service last year, which is to say, the league pretty much showed he has nothing to make most competent pitchers fear for their paychecks. However, that adjective does not describe Jepsen, whom I view lately as release-bait. If he makes the team, it will be only as a short-term stopgap until some other roster move eventually forces his expulsion.

Jason Isringhausen posted a zero frame while failing to impress (i.e., I saw few if any swing-and-misses). It's the sort of meretricious thing you expect could land him a spot on the team, especially if the word "veteran" features as a net positive in the eye of the man doing the choosing. I hope and trust that after Vernon Wells, this is no longer the case in the Angels front office.

Finally, a few words about the new(ish) Goodyear ballpark:

• Appearance: spartan almost to the point of indifference (I felt like the game was played inside a newish warehouse); not one of the league's prettier ballparks, it reminded me of a less glamorous version of the soon-to-be-abandoned Phoenix Muni. Grade: D.
• Fan comfort: A large awning over the third base seats and a conventional (northeast) orientation means the park has a goodly amount of shelter from the afternoon sun, always an important consideration for fan comfort. Grade: A- (could be improved with more shade).
• Food choices/quality: Slightly better than some of the other parks (it seemed from memory that Scottsdale has lost some recently, as has the Angels). Both grade as B-.
• Parking: Despite a sparse crowd (well less than capacity, with the outfield sections along the baselines all but completely empty), parking took quite a while to clear out anyway. It seems as though the same morons who designed Camelback Ranch were at work here. This was compounded by the operations staff coning off lanes that didn't need to be coned off. Grade: C-.

Overall I give this a B-. Don't hate it, don't love it, but I would take it in a heartbeat over Camelback, which I loathe.

MLB Box • Angels recap

Labels: angels, recaps, reds, spring training

In no special order:

• I was disappointed but not entirely surprised by the sort of year the Angels posted. The problems with the bullpen showed up early, from players who were expected to be and in fact were regulars. The real sad surprises of 2010 were Kendry Morales' broken leg that sidelined him for the balance of the season, ineffective offense from Bobby Abreu, the collapses of Erick Aybar and Jeff Mathis, the failure to transition effectively to the majors by Brandon Wood (who is on his way to being one of the worst offensive position players in history), the long-predicted decline by Joe Saunders, and a dreadful year by Scott Kazmir. That the Angels did not elect to return Eddie Bane to his head of scouting role is not too surprising, since some of these failings can be laid squarely at the feet of the man now occupying the GM's chair, the former head of player development, Tony Reagins. The team's 80-82 finish means they get a protected draft pick in 2011, which they will need.
• The Dodgers' 2010 was in many ways more baffling to me. If there is a reason to think that Matt Kemp should have so thoroughly regressed, I would like to know what it was. He ended the season with more strikeouts than hits, posted the lowest OBP of his career, and posted the worst full-season UZR/150 of his career. Of course, he wasn't the Dodgers' only problem; the rotation was a patchwork quilt outside of Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, whose improvements (though somewhat uneven in Bills' case — he had a poor April and June) amounted to its only bright spots. Hiroki Kuroda — whom I falsely remembered as being injured much of the year — managed to pitch nearly 200 innings while keeping his ERA to an entirely respectable 3.39. The rest of the rotation was a mess, with Vicente Padilla actually spending scads of time on the DL, the Dodgers picking up Ted Lilly for no discernible reason, and John Ely up and down to prove why he doesn't belong in the majors (just yet?) after a very promising start. With the McCourt divorce case 90 days (at least) from its first resolution, the team's ability to manage its payroll is seriously in question for the first time since McCourt ownership started.
• The NL West and Wild Card races went down to the final day, and were both exciting. The Braves beat the Phillies 8-7 in a game that at first looked like a blowout after Atlanta's offense made it an 8-2 lead after six. The Phils treated it as a spring training game, trotting out a sequence of relievers in unaccustomed order, but it became a nail-biter late as Tim Hudson faded in the seventh, and the bullpen leaked runs, though not so many that the team lost.

  That set up the prospect of David Pinto's massive tie scenario, wherein Atlanta, San Francisco, and the Padres all end the season with 91-71 records. This would have meant a game 163 between the Giants and Padres in San Diego to determine the NL West winner, and the winner from that would have to fly to Atlanta to determine the Wild Card. But as the Giants blanked San Diego 3-0 behind Jonathan Sanchez and four innings' worth of relievers, the Giants took the NL West flag, and the next games start on Wednesday with the Braves as the NL Wild card.

  Similarly, even though the Yankees made it to the postseason, their 8-4 loss to Boston combined with a 3-2 Rays victory over the Royals (in 12 innings) means the Bronx Bombers won't take home a division flag this year. Small victories, right?

• Firings: It's that time of year, of course; the biggest news is that Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel are out in Flushing, with the team announcing a search for GM and manager, respectively.
• Pirates manager John Russell is out after three seasons; I had to scratch my head for a bit, because I didn't remember who got the job after Jim Tracy left.
• Ken Macha will not return to Milwaukee after two losing seasons. Word has it that he did not have a good relationship with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, but as always, those sorts of things can be overlooked if the team is winning. I wouldn't be surprised to see him land in Pittsburgh.
• Contrariwise, Kirk Gibson will retain the helm in Arizona for at least another year.
• Postseason predictions: My picks for the ALDS series are the Yankees and Rays, though I am rooting for Minnesota; however, the Twins will be without the services of first baseman Justin Morneau, recovering from the effects of a concussion incurred during a June game.

  In the NLDS, I like the Reds and Phillies to advance; despite the problems Ryan Howard has shown against lefties, Philadelphia is still the class of the NL, though the distinction isn't as great as it once was. The Giants should be grateful they made the postseason, and the same is true of the Braves. I wager both series should be over in four games.

Labels: angels, braves, dodgers, giants, pirates, postseason, rays, reds, yankees

This hit the AP news wires as speculation on Tuesday but was lately confirmed by the Reds' official blog an hour or two ago: Gary Matthews, Jr. was signed by Cincinnati after the Mets DFA'd him on June 12. The Angels owe him $17M, the Mets, $1.7M.

Labels: ex-angels, mets, reds, transactions

Unbelievable: the scuffling Cubs, up 3-2 in the 7th, find themselves with Reds on the corners, and starter Ryan Dempster running out of gas. Lou Piniella comes out to talk to him, with lefty Sean Marshall warmed up in the possibility — nay, likelihood — he would face lefty Cub-killer Joey Votto.

Piniella went back to the dugout without changing pitchers. One first-pitch hanging slider later, and the Cubs were down 5-3, which was the final score. Al Yellon has a lot more on this, but it seems to me this is a manager who needs to be fired, not as retribution but for cause; and a team that can't do what it needs to on the corners (Derrick Lee and Aramis Ramirez are both aging, and this year, inept at the plate).

The Cubs have lost six of their last ten games, and are 14-18, in fourth place in the NL Central, ahead of only the pathetic Astros. The 16-15 Reds are in second place in the Central, 3.5 games back of the Cardinals.

ESPN Box

Labels: cubs, ouch, recaps, reds

6-4-2 World Headquarters has been a rather dismal place lately, with all three teams this household cheers for having losing records. Shaking things up, Cubs GM Jim Hendry called up Cubs rookie Starlin Castro yesterday from AA Tennessee. What a first game in the Show did he have! He drove in six, getting a three-run jack in his first plate appearance, the third-youngest player to do so, and a bases-loaded triple. And did I mention the kid plays shortstop? Wow.

ESPN Box

Labels: cubs, recaps, reds, wow

The Dodgers lost a contest of crappy bullpens, which is to say, they won yesterday's game despite a really (so far) anomalous outing by Hiroki Kuroda. The story was mainly about the offense, with every position player getting at least one hit, and Rafael Furcal driving in four to pace the team. Reds starter Aaron Harang left the game with an 8.31 ERA, and ouch.

Ronald Belisario got into his first game since returning from the restricted list, and pitched as though nothing had happened between last year and this — something the Dodgers desperately need right now. (Jon Link was sent back down to make room.)

Dodgers recap • ESPN Box

Labels: dodgers, recaps, reds, transactions

Jose Arredondo, scheduled to undergo elbow surgery this month, has signed a minor-league deal with Cincinnati.

Labels: ex-angels, hot stove, reds, transactions

Catching up after some radio silence ...

Padres Fire Kevin Towers

Via David Pinto, the Padres have fired general manager Kevin Towers.

Moorad declined to discuss specific candidates, except to say that his search had not been internal. Arizona Vice President Jerry DiPoto, who joined the Diamondbacks during Moorad's tenure in Phoenix, is considered a leading contender. Pat Gillick, who built World Series champions in Toronto and Philadelphia, has said he might leave semi-retirement at age 72 for the right situation “on the West Coast.”

Weaver Picks Up Record Win: Angels 5, A's 2

After finding myself grateful for missing out on Thursday's execrable 11-3 loss to the Rangers, I missed this one, too, and lived to regret it, with Jered Weaver picking up a team-high 16th win. It's also a personal best, as he's never had more than 13 previously. I found it pretty ironic that, listening to today's pre-game show, one of the beat reporters (I want to say Mike DiGiovanna of the Times) said that Weaver shouldn't start first because he doesn't do well on the road, and this on the heels of a road win. On the other hand, 4.78 ERA on the road, 2.90 ERA at home.

ESPN Box • Angels recap

Dodgers Stumble Becomes A Pratfall As Hot Rocks Win Fifth Straight: Rockies 4, Dodgers 3

I have little to add to MSTI's piece about yesterday's unbelievable mess of a game — I was attending a prep football game at which my niece Emily was cheerleading. I can only say they really need to wake up. Manny with a golden sombrero? Come on, now.

ESPN Box • Dodgers recap

Another Dick Fired

Via David Pinto, the infinitely giggle-inducing (and possibly tautologically-named) Reds pitching coach Dick Pole has been fired.

Labels: angels, athletics, coaches, dodgers, firings, recaps, reds, rockies

On the strength of a single five-run inning in the third, the Rockies swept the Reds in Denver. Juan Rincon was the winning pitcher, Kip Wells took the loss. Starter Jose Contreras was lifted from the game early due to a leg injury; his status for the balance of the season is uncertain.

With the win, the Rocks narrow the Dodgers' division lead to two games, while increasing their Wild Card lead to 4.5 games over the fading Giants. Colorado is 9-1 to end their current home stand, setting a franchise mark for wins in a single 10-game home stand.

Yahoo box • Rockies recap

Labels: recaps, reds, rockies

An Embarrassing Loss: A's 4, Angels 3

Jered Weaver went six, almost looking like he'd recovered from his CG shutout two starts ago; it then fell on the bullpen, and in particular, Jose Arredondo, to blow up and tie the game in the seventh. Arredondo loaded the bases with nobody out, and then gave up a wild pitch and an RBI single to tie the game at 3-3. He struck out Adam Kennedy, but that was the last batter he faced.

In the eighth, Rafael Rodriguez gave up the go-ahead run to Daric Barton on an RBI groundout, and really, that was the game; the Angels offense consisted of Bobby Abreu's third inning sac fly and a rare Maicer Izturis home run, a two-run shot in the fourth. The Angels snuffed out their own ninth inning rally when Chone Figgins was doubled off first on Abreu's flyball out; it was just one of those games.

Yahoo box • Angels recap

Haeger Exits Early, Dodgers Maul Reds Anyway: Dodgers 11, Reds 4

Charlie Haeger cruised through the first couple of innings and then got pounded in the third, giving up four runs, three of them coming on homers. That opened the door for Jeff Weaver, who pitched a fine 3.1 innings and lasted long enough to get the win; it also provided entry to the rest of the Reds' afternoon, which didn't involve scoring at all.

Carlos Fisher came in to relieve Matt Maloney in the seventh, and facing pinch-hitter Andre Ethier, immediately surrendered a leadoff double. That was the first strike in a huge inning that saw six Dodgers cross the plate and the team bat around, and two home runs, one by Matt Kemp and another by Orlando Hudson. A great day for the offense.

Yahoo box • Dodgers recap

Labels: angels, athletics, dodgers, recaps, reds

It's been a busy day in the Pacific Northwest, as Lookout Landing relays a report that OF Wladimir Balentien was traded to Cincinnati for RHP Robert Manuel. Balentien had loads of power in the minors (only once in his minor league career did he ever post a SLG under .500 in a full season), but his at-times diffident OBPs led to questions about his ability to hit in the majors ... sound like anyone we know (*Cough*Howie Kendrick*cough)? Manuel, 25, has pitched 4.1 innings in the Show, all scoreless; he appears to have had some time as a closer for AAA Louisville, with 10 saves. His K/BB ratio there was an outstanding 3.80 while maintaining a 7.3 K/9. It's an odd deal for the perpetually pitching-starved Reds to be making, but maybe not, especially when you consider Dusty Baker is calling the shots (in part) over there; he thought Corey Patterson was a good player, too.

Labels: mariners, reds, trades, transactions

Sweeping Ugly: Angels 9, Royals 6

Joe Saunders has delivered quality starts in only 45% of his appearances this year, the second-worst figure of his career. The difference between this year and his 2007 season is that now he's been sucking in June and July instead of just September; he's turned in exactly two quality starts in those months.

Well, no matter, as the Angels' offense (and the Royals' godawful bullpen) rode to the rescue, pounding out five runs in the seventh, starting with Mike Napoli's game-tying two-run, opposite field shot. Comebacks are great, but the starting pitching has to be better. Has to.

Yahoo box • Angels recap

More Hollywood Than Hollywood: Dodgers 6, Reds 2

Manny Ramirez' first-pitch, pinch-hit grand slam on his bobblehead night? Oh, Plaschke will hate that.

Update: Time-Warner dropped out during the Manny slam. Glad I had Verizon FiOS; I was in the garage listening to the game on radio, when I heard the slam, and went into the living room to see it. Fortunately, HD is on a roughly five second delay versus radio, and boom.

Yahoo box • Dodgers recap

Labels: angels, dodgers, recaps, reds, royals

The story with this game will naturally — and understandably — be Manny getting hit in the hand by a pitched ball from a developing Homer Bailey; it's hard to imagine it was intentional, though. Still, Manny had hit an RBI triple in his prior appearance, his first as a Dodger. Luckily, x-rays turned out negative, and all he's got is a bone bruise that will keep him out of the lineup for a few days. Given how well the Dodgers hit in his absence the first time, it's nothing to worry about.

Bailey really had nothing, and threw fastballs exclusively all night, which for him was brief, going only 2.2 innings. As Vinny said, you can't win that way, and maybe some day he'll be a good pitcher, but not last night. The Dodgers pretty much schooled him and the Reds, getting nine runs (six earned) off him, one off a wild pitch in the third; and after he left, even Randy Wolf contributed offensively with an RBI double in the fifth. It wasn't a good day for Reds pitching.

Yahoo box • Dodgers recap

Labels: dodgers, recaps, reds

Jason Schmidt And The Fork Test: Dodgers 7, Reds 5

Honestly, at this point I don't care whether Jason Schmidt gets a fair shake; his 87 MPH heater speaks for itself in ineffectiveness. He gave up three runs in the very shaky first, and managed to settle down thereafter for four scoreless innings thereafter, but watching him pitch was not a happy experience. You think that once the rest of the league catches up to his Jamie Moyer impersonation some time later this year, we'll be reading about how he's reinventing himself as a knuckleballer a la R.A. Dickey. Is Schmidt done? I'm not sure, but I'd be willing to say the answer is "yes". Maybe not today, maybe not his next start, but soon.

Yahoo box • Dodgers recap

Angels Rained Out In KC

Doubleheader starting at 2:10 today. Hopefully I don't forget, and am I evil for getting upset that I'm missing eartime with Pandora because of it?

Vlad's Clock Ticking Down

Captain Obvious Alert!

"I think it's important not just for the Angels but for Vlad to show he can get healthy," General Manager Tony Reagins said. "We like the player. We know he's a talented player. He just needs to get out and play — like any player, whether he's going into his free agent year or not."

Vlad's falling apart at a pretty fast pace. This could easily be his last productive season in the bigs.

Labels: angels, dodgers, injuries, recaps, reds, royals

In fact, it was a wholesale test for the new-look Mets bullpen, as Mariners transplants Sean Green and J.J. Putz, as well as Frankie, showed up to keep the Reds down in a game where both sides traded zeros for the first four frames. Daniel Murphy plated the winning run in the sixth on a sac fly, and drove in the Mets' other run on a solo homer.

Yahoo box

Labels: mets, recaps, reds

No surprise; the alleged trade partner was the Reds.

The impetus for the trade was "one-sided," another source said, saying the Angels were far more eager than the Reds to pursue further discussions.

The contracts actually match up well — Matthews is owed $33 million over the next three seasons, while Harang will earn $36.20 million and Arroyo $31.5 million over that period, respectively, including club options for 2011.

The Reds, however, have little interest in compromising their rotation depth to obtain Matthews. They are committed to Willy Taveras in center for the next two seasons and comfortable with Chris Dickerson getting most of the at-bats in left.

Labels: angels, reds, rumors

Astonishing ($):

No one broadcast Johnny Vander Meer’s second consecutive no-hitter in June 1938, but that did not deter fans from telling Red Barber years later how much they enjoyed his call.

Barber should have called it, at least for symmetry’s sake.

He was then in his final season with the Cincinnati Reds (his storied run with the Brooklyn Dodgers started the next season) and behind the Crosley Field radio microphone for Vander Meer’s first no-hitter on June 11 against the Boston Bees.

But because the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees were in the last season of a five-year ban on radio broadcasts from their stadiums, Vander Meer’s no-hitter at Ebbets Field on June 15 was a witness-only event, unheard on any airwave. So while Vander Meer was making history in Brooklyn, Barber was home in Cincinnati, being called by exhilarated fans who knew that his home number was listed under his wife’s name.

Forty-one years later, Barber came to the annual meeting of the Florida Association of Broadcasters. They presented him with their Gold Medal. He recalled a prayer about the “changes and chances of time,” then offered his listeners the gift of timepassed.

“Something no one has,” he said. He later added, “It’s going to be yours.”

Labels: dodgers, history, reds