The MLB Offseason Rolls On, Not Too Many Big Splashes Just Yet Though

To keep you up to date I’m going to quickly run you by some news in the MLB of late. Veteran 36 year old defensive stud Jose Molina signs a 1 year deal worth $1.5 million to play for the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays didn’t bring back Shoppach and traded Jaso, so this fills a need for them, Molina is not a great offensive player but will be a good fit for an always young Rays team who could use leaders like Molina, I think it’s a great fit. It’s been reported that the Phillies reached out to retired closer Billy Wagner to see if he had any interest in coming back and joining their bullpen. He said no, and they moved on signing Jonathan Papelbon. They could still probably use another solid veteran arm in their bullpen, but Madson could come back to them in arbitration, or they could add someone with free agency, there is still a lot of good value arms out there. They say it is not a necessity to bring in another vet to the pen, but I think if they don’t now it will continue to eat away their farm system because they almost certainly would need one or more at the trade deadline. Miami Marlins continue to make people believe they will spend money on some big name free agent this offseason as they had CJ Wilson visit today. Wilson one of the top, if not the top starting pitcher available in this year’s free agency is among good company in sparking the interest of the Marlins. The Marlins have been said to be interested in pretty much everyone on the market from Pujols to Buehrle to Reyes, and now Wilson. A lot of experts are saying they like Miami to land Reyes, which I can’t argue with the fact that it is a strong possibility. This would most likely end with Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez moving to 3B. Finally Johnny Narron was named Brewers hitting coach to replace Dale Sveum who recently became manager of the Chicago Cubs. Narron was a big part of Josh Hamilton’s reemergence to baseball relevancy when he came back with the Cincinnati Reds and when he was traded to the Texas Rangers. Let’s see what he does with what should be a very good Milwaukee lineup next season.

Houston, We Had A Problem

Houston Astros fire GM Ed Wade and President Tal Smith, not too surprising considering new owner Jim Crane promised changes and the team is clearly not in any shape to compete in any division. This is probably something to do with roster moves made in the recent past. Wade traded Lance Berkman, Michael Bourn, Roy Oswalt, and most recently Hunter Pence. That is a lot of good players to trade away and not have rebuilt anything. The Astros do have some solid prospects, but is it worth being a non-factor in baseball for the past few years. The Pence trade brought in some very good young talent and the other trades helped bolster the organization’s prospect strength as well, but how do you trade away Oswalt and Pence to the Phillies without getting top prospect Domonic Brown in return. Brown is a 24 year old outfielder that is just about ready to make major contributions to a big league team, someone that could have been a major piece to the Astros future, but Wade whiffed on acquiring him. Not to say the Phillies and other teams have dominated the Astros in trades recently, but the Astros sure haven’t dominated anyone in that regard either. If you give up top players to a team looking to contend, you should be in the driver’s seat and get top prospects. The Astros need to find a GM who wants to win, and wants to win soon. They need a guy who is going to make moves, develop these prospects they have, or ship them off for ready talent. But they are moving to the AL West in 2013 and it should be a fresh start for them to compete again. They should not have to be sellers at every trade deadline, I welcome the day they will be buyers.

Valbuena Heads North Of The Border

Toronto received Luis Valbuena in exchange for cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians. Low risk, possibly a good return. Valbuena has always showed promise, especially at AAA where in 2011 he hit .302 had a .372 OBP and had 17 homers with 75 RBI’s in 113 games. He’s played 229 games in the majors but the 25 year old hasn’t really put it together up there. He’s a very good fielding 2B, and can be used as a utility player due to his versatility. The offense though, he shows promise but Cleveland didn’t think that was enough to keep him on the 40 man roster so they moved him down to make room on it, and Toronto snatched him up to put him on their 40. I like the move by Toronto, he’s still young and has potential, and at very worst I think he could at least be a productive bench player. At this point he seems to be in a battle with Mike McCoy for the 2B job, with Kelly Johnson likely to decline arbitration, unless the Jays go out and sign or trade for someone else. In that case Valbuena and McCoy would likely be battling for a utility man spot off the bench. The Blue Jays have made moves like this before that worked out well. Jose Bautista was acquired from the Pirates in 2008 for a player to be named later. Bautista started out showing promise even with the pirates but never really put it all together consistently until the end of the ’09 season with the Jays. Could this be a case like Bautista, probably not quite as big of a steal, but Valbuena definitely has the potential to be a good starter if he can translate his 2011 season in AAA into the big leagues. This is an under the radar move that could help Toronto now and in the future as Valbuena is still young and could be a permanent fixture in their lineup if he can harness all the potential and produce. Alex Anthopoulos is a guy who has my trust, he’s made some good moves, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jays seriously contend in the near future even with a stacked division. They still have work to do but this is a good move.

My Scouting Video

Well what to do in New England on a nice day at the end of November. Play baseball!!!! This is me getting back on the field after a 3 month hiatus. Far too long off if you ask me. I miss the game too much. Me my brother and a few friends balling. Check it. (Video Cred to Kyle Holland, world class video maker).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keux_s2m8IQ Sorry I couldn't get the video on, but that is the youtube link.

Arbitration: 2011 Edition

I just wanted to take some time to talk about players offered arbitration in 2011. I’ll just focus on the ones I find interesting, but feel free to ask about other one’s as well, which can easily be looked up online at a site like MLB.com. First case I’d like to bring up as interesting. Francisco Rodriguez of the Milwaukee Brewers. Rodriguez, if he accepts, would be due a one year raise from the 13.5 million dollars he made last season. Certainly the Brewers are hoping he declines in search of a longer deal (arbitration only being for one year) and a chance to be a closer for a team again. (Axford is the Brewers closer and Rodriguez was mainly a setup man). However, if Rodriguez accepts, this will certainly hinder the Brewers in the free agent market if they want to resign Prince Fielder, or sign Jimmy Rollins, whom they have a significant interest in. As a type A free agent (while the term lasts) the Brewers are hoping this lands them compensation picks, which would make this move good, but if Rodriguez likes the money then they are more or less screwed. David Ortiz, who made $12.5 million last year, was offered salary arbitration by the Red Sox. That’s an awful lot of money for a player seemingly without anywhere else to go. There isn’t a huge market of the aging 35 year old DH who is in search of a multi-year deal. The likelihood in my mind that he ends up in a uniform that doesn’t say “Boston” on the front of it are slim to none. That was my view before arbitration as well, but I have to feel like he will accept as this is a lot of money and a guarantee that he gets to play next season. I feel like Boston would have been better to not offer him arbitration and sign him for less. I doubt he declines and signs somewhere else, but in that case the Sox would pick up compensation making this a good move. Maybe these two teams are banking on the fact that only 2 of 27 players offered arbitration last year accepted. I’d like to say that offering Josh Willingham, Michael Cuddyer, Kelly Johnson, Ryan Madson, Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, and obviously Fielder, Pujols, Reyes, Rollins, and Wilson were all good moves. On a final note, interesting to me, Carlos Beltran could not be offered arbitration due to a provision in his contract which leaves the question of where he will land still very much up in the air. Arbitration day is a gamble, we’ll see who appear to be the winners and loser on December 7^th, the deadline to accept, which a bunch of players will probably wait for to make their decision.

Comeback For Sizemore?

Grady Sizemore, 29 year old centerfielder, re-signs with the Cleveland Indians. It is a 1 year deal worth $5 million and a $4 million incentive based on plate appearance and another $0.5 million if he’s named comeback player of the year. The last 3 seasons for Sizemore have been derailed by injury, multiple knee surgeries, which have limited the productiveness of the former all-star. The club had declined a $9 million option for this season, but Sizemore could still earn that much, as long as he stays healthy. It really is a deal that is good for both sides. The incentive nature of the contract, and the fact that it’s only one year in length, protects the Indians if Sizemore continues on his injury hindered ways. But he was a very good player and if you can get Sizemore prior to his string of injuries at nine mil, then that’s a bargain. What this deal does for Sizemore is allow him to prove himself. He can almost double the value of his contract if he plays well and plays a full season, and if that happens, next year he will be much more likely to get a big deal when hitting the free agent market.  Sizemore was happy to stay in Cleveland as he has a great respect for the franchise sticking by him through the last few years. There were other offers on the table from other clubs, but Grady was pretty much going back to Cleveland if he could help it. I think this is a good move for the Indians who were a serious contender for much of the season last year, giving them back a guy of Sizemore’s caliber, should help them make a run at the AL Central this season, and Grady deserves a chance like this from some team. If I had to pick who I thought would be comeback player of the year in 2012 today, I would probably have to say Sizemore would be my favorite at this point. We’ll see if he can stay healthy.

Lifting For Baseball

I always hear pitchers wondering if traditional lifting is alright for them and if stuff like bench pressing will hurt their shoulders. With a pitcher he relies on the health of his arm and without it, he has nothing. So I’m going to shed some light on getting bigger and stronger as a pitcher, and keeping your body healthy while doing it. (Position players should also read, it will still help) Tim Collins, who made his big league debut at the beginning of the 2011 season at just 21 years of age with the Kansas City Royals as a pitcher is exactly the kind of guy you want to look up to while training. He went from 5’5” 131 pound high school senior to now 5’7” 171 pound major league pitcher. He went from a fastball in the low 80’s to one in the low 90’s currently. He worked hard with his strength coach Eric Cressey and it paid off. Now what he did was a lot of basic strength training at first consisting of deadlifts, lunges, pull-ups and chin-ups, rows, pushups, some squats, and dumbbell chest presses. Cressey doesn’t let him do any barbell presses, which I agree from experience put far more stress on your shoulders than dumbbell presses, and Cressey prefers unilateral (working one at a time) movements for the legs. So lunges are much more effective than squats, as they put less stress on your spine/lower back. From my personal knowledge of lifting, closed chain exercises (performed where the hand (for arm movement) or foot (for leg movement) is fixed and cannot move) are much better for your joints, and Open chain exercises (When your hands or feet are able to move) are much more strenuous on the joints. Not to mention the fact that closed chain movements work more muscles. So don’t worry about being the best bench press in the gym, worry about getting into the right shape and condition. Collins needed to add this 40 pounds to his frame to handle the rigors of a long baseball season, it keeps him healthy and his body from breaking down and becoming injured. However, this is muscle he gained, adding muscle even for pitchers can be a good thing, it is necessary to be strong enough and well-conditioned enough to stay healthy for a full season. As far as arm speed I also have learned that your arm will only travel as fast as it can safely slow it back down, so to increase velocity on your throws, strengthening the muscles that slow your arm down will help a lot. I personally like to use resistance bands and simulate throwing, but have it so the resistance band is trying to pull me through my motion, and I must resist, and only let it pull my arm forward very slowly. Great exercises for pitchers, and baseball players in general (Everyone can use to stay healthy) are lunges, sprints, one leg piston squats (with body weight or dumbbells) and hill runs, for the legs. For the upper body, I would do some dumbbell presses for the chest, especially incline presses along with pushups, I would definitely focus on pull-ups and chin-ups for the back along with rows. Also some curls of any kind (I’m a big fan of zottman curls) and some triceps work (I like dips) should be thrown in. Make sure you do some cardio with the lifting and plyometrics are always good to add explosiveness. Core work is always good (although your core works no matter what you do) but to do some leg lifts, which are most effective ab exercise, is ok. But to avoid back pain that often comes with it, decompress your spine with back bridges, this will undo the compressing that bending over while doing any ab exercise does. Also strengthen the rotator cuff with some resistance band movements; I posted a video the rotator cuff moves below. Train hard and train safe.

A Gone, But Look Who's Here

Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, and Reymond Fuentes all headed west while Adrian Gonzalez was shipping up to Boston last offseason. Adrian had a very good season with the Red Sox, hitting stats of .338/.410/.548 are great, but more or less what was expected. Everyone was talking about Gonzalez and the impact he would make on Boston and the void San Diego would feel without him. The Padres didn’t walk away empty handed. 3 top prospects in return, and I’m writing this because I think that they will pay dividends sooner rather than later. Maybe as soon as 2012 in some cases. Kelly ranks 14^th and Rizzo as the 18^th overall prospects in MLB.com’s top 50 prospects. Kelly, Rizzo, and Fuentes are 1^st 2^nd and 8^th ranked prospects in the Padres system respectively. Rizzo had already seen major league time with the Padres playing in 49 games, he had his struggles at the plate, but his AAA numbers were outstanding and with a little adjusting time he will be the 1^st baseman of the future. It appears for now he will compete with Guzman, but I like Rizzo to take control of the position during the 2012 season and be a major factor for the Padres by the end of the year. Kelly, a starting pitcher with great stuff, played in AA last season and will no doubt be looking to earn a spot in AAA this season, and who knows he could definitely be a September call up if he has success there. The Padres could look to give him a taste of the big leagues so he is ready by the start of the 2013 season which would be ideal, but hey maybe he surprises everyone and earns a spot with the big club this season permanently, it could happen. Fuentes played well in A+ so I would look to see him in AA in 2012. Kelly and Rizzo are both 22 years old, Fuentes still only 20 so it would seem fit he may take a little longer to get to the majors, but I eye the 2014 season for him and this guy is going to be GOOD. I think he is underrated for sure, an all-around good outfielder, speed, glove, gets on base, he’s the real deal. When he arrives to play CF for the Padres, everyone will know it. When all 3 of these guys arrive at the big club, the Padres will be back in contention, and ready to make a serious run at a championship. Gonzalez is great, but the Padres got a lot of talent in the deal. Don’t sleep on the Padres, they are a couple years away from doing it BIG!!!

Nathan and Feliz, Rangers Priming for another WS appearance

Neftali Feliz is being moved from the Texas Ranger’s closer role, to the starting rotation. To fill the hole left at closer the Rangers signed Joe Nathan whom turns 37 today. Happy birthday! Nathan signed for 2 years and a contract value of 14.5 million, with an option for a third year. From 2004-2009 Nathan was a premiere closer for the Minnesota Twins, in 2010 though he missed the season due to Tommy John Surgery. He came back in 2011, far less dominant than previous to the surgery, but the Rangers will look for him to improve from last year’s mediocre season. In my mind Nathan should be able to get the job done at closer for the Rangers this year, but even if he doesn’t the Rangers have a strong bullpen with other options. I’d throw Mike Adams or Koji Uehara in at closer any day. Perhaps just as interesting as Nathan’s season will be, Feliz who is now in the starting rotation and will certainly be in critics eyes if he doesn’t perfom well. A lot of people are saying that it’s hard to find high level closers, and that Feliz should stay there, but why have a pitcher with so much talent throw 70 innings or less, when he could be throwing 200+. If Feliz can handle the rotation, that is where he will make a bigger impact, if you don’t already know, I think closers are overrated. I want my best players on the field the most innings possible. For all you who say don’t move him to the rotation, are you still mad that CJ Wilson was moved from closer to the rotation for the Rangers not too long ago? Didn’t think so, that worked out quite well. Good move/moves, by the Rangers. They are getting ready for another AL title and are looking like a favorite already. If they re-sign Wilson then they will be my favorite for sure, if not they are still amongst the elite, and this move is only helping them. Nathan’s deal was of good value for the closers market, and I’m sure Feliz will do fine in the rotation; this is why the Rangers win, moves like this.

Brew Crew GM Time

A lot of people are asking what their favorite teams should do, or saying what their favorite teams should do this offseason. I’m going to play a little General Manager here, and try and make some moves for a team. Note I don’t have inside information only what’s provided online and what I can assume so I don’t know exactly how much they are willing to spend or anything like that, but this is what I would do, or something like it for the Brewers. Braun Morgan and Hart from left to right is a solid outfield, no need to do anything there. Weeks at 2B is good and I’d be content with Lucroy behind the dish. Axford closing, and Gallardo, Greinke, and Marcum as my 1-2-3 starters is also fine by me, this is a good framework the Brewers have. Major needs at SS, 1B, 3B, bullpen depth, and maybe starting pitching depth. I don’t really trust Gamel at 1B, and Wolf and Narveson are ok options at the end of the rotation but they could do better. So first of all the Brewers actually have a lot of young arms in the minors that should be ready in the upcoming few seasons. They may be able to give bullpen help this year if needed, so the bullpen isn’t vital to make moves for. At SS I’m looking at Reyes, Rollins, Alex Gonzalez, Betancourt and Furcal. At 1B I’m looking at Fielder, Pujols, Overbay, Pena, Kotchman, and Conor Jackson.  In my opinion they don’t have any key needs in their lineup say leadoff cleanup or whatever, they have some good hitters who can be moved around without too much hassle. So I’d guys I think have the best value not someone to necessarily fit a lineup. Tough decision but I like Reyes (as I cringe with the fear of injury) so I would make him a priority If I don’t get Fielder back. I don’t overpay for any of these guys though so I may have to move down the line. Rollins is not my first choice, he will probably be vastly overpaid, but who knows, so I’d say I’m looking at Furcal. Either way I’m going to get one of these guys. At first I try and Get Fielder, there is more 1B’s I like on the market but he makes my lineup the most dynamic so he’s still priority #1 overall. Now if I miss out on Fielder I’m probably going hard to get Reyes. If that happens I look to Pena at 1B, he gets on base, he has power, he is my second rate Prince Fielder. Pena would command a lot less money, but if I missed on him I would probably go Kotchman. Conor Jackson I think I would sign no matter what. I feel a lot more comfortable with Casey McGehee at 3B if I can put Jackson there if he falters, not to mention Jackson can play 1B, RF, LF too. So here are my two paths. 1. I sign Fielder, then I get Furcal hopefully. I still sign Conor Jackson because he has good value for my team in any case. 2. I sign Reyes, I sign either Pena or Kotchman to play 1B (with Gamel seeing a little time too) and I sign Jackson to give me depth everywhere. 3B I keep my eyes out for trades, I have solid backups everywhere in each situation, so I look to the bullpen if I have more money left. Finally, last concerns, I could use a utility guy, and or setup help, which I do not add in these scenarios but I could. (I would send some bullpen guy down or trade him if I signed setup help, if I add utility guy Gamel probably gets the boot to AAA or trade.) Sample lineups

1.       Furcal, Weeks, Braun, Fielder, Hart, Jackson, Lucroy, Morgan, P

2.       Reyes, Weeks, Braun, Hart, Pena, Jackson, Lucroy, Morgan, P

Bench in either case: McGehee, C. Gomez, Farris, Gamel, Kottaras

Rotation: Gallardo, Greinke, Marcum, Wolfe, Narveson

Bullpen: K. Loe, M. Estrada, B. Kintzler, M. Parra, T. Dillard, J. Axford, Pinero*

*I add Pinero for SP and RP depth, I put him in the bullpen.

The Art Of Changing Up

My first article dedicated to a single pitch. Probably the single most effective pitch in baseball when used well, and the most detrimental when muffed. The changeup, some guys have one that the bottom will fall out on you faster than you can blink. Some have some crazy screwball like action to theirs. The one common theme between all the good ones though, they make a hitter look silly from being too early. Who hasn’t had that feeling of being early on a changeup, I have. If you’re looking for a fastball and you get the changeup and the pitcher has a good one, then you’re not going to realize that it’s a changeup until it’s too late much of the time. It’s almost unfair when a guy has a fastball changeup combo where there is a good speed differential and such a similar release point, spin and sameness to each ball. Timing is the most important part of hitting and if a pitcher is to mess with that, he will succeed a lot more. Not that pitchers don’t succeed enough, sometimes getting hitters out more than 2/3 of the time. This pitch though, the changeup, if the hitter knows it’s coming, and has timed it correctly, well you better hope it’s not over the plate, because he should be taking a 360 foot trip around the bases. How do you have success with the changeup? Like I previously mentioned, you want the release point and mechanics to be the same as the fastball as to not alert the hitter to the fact that you are trying to make him look a fool. You want to use the same grip as your fastball, that is, if you throw primarily a 4 seam fastball, throw a 4 seam changeup. The same applies to a 2 seam fastball changeup combo as well. You want the hitter to think it’s a fastball as to mess up his timing. If you want to see this done right, go look up some videos of Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, Shawn Marcum, Dallas Braden, or John Danks. All possess terrific changeups. They pull strings like Gepetto. And if you watch closely they all have different changeups, that are successful for different reasons. Either the velocity differential between their fastball, their superb movement, or their ability to throw it with the same exact motion as their fastball, or a combination of these. Go learn the changeup today; it is useful to say the least. Now watch vintage Pedro dominate guys. Not all but a bunch of changeups in this clip. Check it.

AL MVP?

Well I have to give my two cents on the AL MVP award in 2011. Detroit’s, Justin Verlander takes home the award, followed in voting by Ellsbury, Bautista, Granderson, and Cabrera. I was not in the category of people, who thought Justin Verlander should have won, but I am happy for him, he had a tremendous season by any standards. A no hitter, the AL pitching Triple Crown, leading his team to the ALCS. He was a true ace, definitely the best pitcher in the AL (proven by his unanimous AL Cy Young award victory). Why do I think he won MVP? I think it was because of many factors. He led his team to an ALCS, he had great statistics, and when you watched him pitch this year, it was utter domination in almost all cases. Now we can prepare to listen to the naysayers who think a pitcher shouldn’t win the award, and we can listen to all the people who jump on the bandwagon and say they agree completely, he deserves the MVP. I won’t really be either as I don’t feel awards are that big of a deal, although I do partake in discussions about them frequently, as it’s something to talk about, especially in the offseason. Who wins or loses is not particularly of importance to me, I don’t judge players off awards.  A lot of people like to turn to WAR (Wins Above Replacement), a sabermetric calculation, to determine the value of a player. If we were to use this, then the order would now be Ellsbury, Bautista, Cabrera, and Granderson/Verlander in a tie for 4^th. Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, and CC Sabathia all also had a higher WAR than Verlander. For anyone wondering Verlander had a WAR of 7. Ellsbury (9.4) was the highest in the MLB. I don’t think WAR is a perfect representation of value as I would have had Verlander only behind Ellsbury, Cabrera, and Bautista in my voting (in no particular order). Either way, I say great that he won it, it shows that he had a truly great season, but don’t think that he ran away with this one. The vote was fairly close, and the AL witnessed some fantastic seasons by a bunch of players. I am curious though, who do you think should have won the award?

Goofy Baseball

This made me laugh, just a cool little baseball video. Enjoy 8 minutes of your Monday and watch it. This proves that everyone really does like baseball, even fictional characters!

Greg Halman: RIP

Greg Halman, 24 year old Seattle Mariners prospect found stabbed to death in his homeland, the Netherlands. This is an extremely sad story. He has just made it to the big leagues with the Mariners where he played 35 games this past season, and 44 in his big league career. Apparently his younger brother is a suspect in this murder, and has been taken into custody. Really sad to see such a bright young man lose his life. He hadn’t played terrific in the big leagues yet, but he was really making a name for himself as high as AAA, and was surely a big piece of the Mariners future plans. He was the only player currently in the MLB from the Netherlands and along with making his family and friends proud, I’m sure his country was really excited for him. RIP Greg, sending some prayers your way.

$$Money$$Ball$$

I just wanted to do a quick post on my view of the Moneyball, movie and book. First of all I like the book better, for a baseball nut like me there’s more detail, I love that! Also, as good as the movie was, I feel there were some things that you probably don’t see in the right light. First of all I don’t think Art Howe is the bad guy they made him out to be in the movie, but then again it makes the movie a lot funnier when Billy Beane trades Giambi and Pena, forcing Howe to play Hatteberg. Also on a side note, Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt were great in this movie. Back to what you miss out on, the whole Jeremy Brown scene at the end is kind of out of the blue without mentioning him for the whole movie. He had a lot of mention in the book, and the chapters on the draft, which weren’t in the movie, were actually my favorite ones. I think the book is just more complete, and the movie is adapted for entertainment purposes, which I understand. I’m just saying, if you haven’t read the book, go take a peek, it’s my favorite book and really just a great read. Great concept, exciting as far as a baseball book goes, and is very well written. I did enjoy the movie as well, so seeing that should also be on your to do list. To anyone who has read the book and seen the movie, what do you think?

Get Wiggy With It

34 year old utility man Ty Wigginton has been traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later or cash. Great move for the Phillies, adding versatile depth to their bench or possibly even starting lineup. Ryan Howard’s injury will leave a question mark at 1^st base, Mabry should take that spot, but Wigginton could certainly take over if Mabry slips up. Wigginton is also a good insurance policy for Chase Utley and Placido Polanco who have both experienced some injuries recently. Not to mention he plays the corner outfield spots, and can even catch a little. He will see a lot of action in various spots in all likelihood. He is a solid fielder and solid offensive player as well. In his 10 big league seasons his hitting numbers are .265/.325/.443. Not bad, he shows some power, and has been a useful player wherever he has played. The Phillies aren’t really giving up much, and Ty is going to cost them $4 million this year, so not too expensive for a guy that could be playing a major role. With Jim Thome essentially taking up a roster spot to be a pinch hitter, it’s nice to have a guy with some versatility. The Phillies are priming themselves for a run at next year’s World Series. I say this moves helps a lot, and they have a decent shot at it. Let’s see what transpires with Cole Hamels.

Ryan Westmoreland: Resiliency

Going from one of the top prospects in a deep Red Sox farm system, to the hospital, not exactly a step in the right direction for Ryan Westmoreland. Local 21 year old product from Portsmouth, Rhode Island had a cell mass on his brain stem that was bleeding onto his brain. This caused Ryan to lose nearly all his vision and go deaf in one ear. He describes it a little in the video posted below. So he had surgery to correct the problem, a surgery, like a lot of surgeries, that had no guarantees he would even survive. He did survive, and after the surgery started to regain his senses, and his motor skills. Obviously the first thing on he and his families minds were getting him healthy and living a normal life again, but when they realized that was going to happen, it turned to baseball once again. This man is the definition of resilient. If a lot of people were to have brain surgery and have trouble with the things Ryan struggled with at first, they may have given up on baseball. Not this guy, even when he struggled at the game he was once a can’t miss prospect in, he still has hope he’s going to make it to the big leagues, and he is still working hard to make that happen. He is currently in the Red Sox minor league system, but I hope to see him at Fenway real soon. You have to root for a guy like this. Keep an eye on him, he’s got what it takes, I believe in him.

The Pen

The bullpen of a baseball team is fascinating to me. It’s always a deadline need for contending teams, and it seems like a cool place to spend your time. Have you ever seen videos of these guys messing around, you spend all game every game with these guys with nothing to do but wait for your name to be called. A lot of times there isn’t a great view of the game, so you have to amuse yourself somehow. I feel like in the dugout goofing off should be kept to a minimum, but the bullpen is like its own world with its own rules, I mean they really have nothing to do until mid-way through the game when they might warm up. First of all, I believe the bullpen is always a need at the deadline for contenders because for one, it is a cheap thing to acquire (relatively speaking). Starting pitching as well as any position players with the ability to start for a contending team are going to be much more expensive because they play a lot more, and have more value to teams. Bullpen help is sort of a cheap way to make your team better. Also I feel there is a lack of depth in relief arms, the better pitchers are starters, or high leverage situation guys out of the bullpens, like closers. Middle relief is filled with guys who can pitch, but a lot of those guys are mediocre and can falter at any time leaving them as undesirable options. Financial commitments to these players aren’t too high, and they are a dime a dozen, so getting a guy who is a step above the rest is going to really help your team in the middle innings. Bullpens seem to change an awful lot, and that’s the way baseball works. Adapt of die I guess. Improve the weak links or lose in this case. Now to the fun stuff. Watching a lot of Red Sox games, I’ve seen the guys in the bullpen making music with assorted items they can find in the bullpen. Seems fun, but I’ve posted a couple videos of the “pen” having a good old time.

V-Mart Grinding It Out

While I previously talked about getting the job done in the gym to be able to perform at a high level throughout a baseball season, sometimes you just can’t avoid the injury bug. One of my favorite players, Victor Martinez of the Detroit Tigers got a chance to play in the playoffs this past October. He even hit homerun, and on the swing, injured his side. He struggled to round the bases as he was clearly in some pain. Yet with the Tigers already down Delmon Young and Magglio Ordonez, and facing a very good team in the Rangers, they couldn’t afford to lose V-Mart. They ended up losing, but this quote is awesome, “The only way that I don’t play tomorrow is if I wake up and I’m dead. That’s going to be the only way that I don’t play tomorrow.” Victor Martinez said that when being asked if he was playing in game 4 the following day. That’s the type of warrior spirit I like to see. I know some injuries you simply can’t play through, but everyone should adopt this attitude. Martinez played through pain to help his team try and win, a very honorable thing to do. They may have lost the series, but that’s beside the point and not due to a lack of effort from Martinez that’s for sure. It really makes me lose respect for people who sit out a lot with minor injuries, I understand you don’t want to make it worse, but sometimes you just have to man up. I realize this was the playoffs and players are more likely to go all out in October, but I’d like to see more guys fighting to get back in the lineup. There are a lot of players who do, but not enough. I really just wanted to write an article about my boy V-Mart, but I felt this is a worthy topic. Just felt I’d let you all know that people need to stop being babies because it really grinds my gears. (Family Guy Reference)

Win In The Gym

While baseball players may not have a sport as physically demanding as say football, hockey, or even basketball, while playing their respective games, they need to train just as hard if they want to be the best. While the others are more physical games, baseball is a 162 game grind that will eat you up and spit you out if you aren’t ready for it. It’s becoming more and more apparent who is working hard throughout the year, when people are watching, and when no one is. There are guys like Paul Konerko who train hard and it shows. The 35 year old has been playing as good as ever, even while aging past what most people would have called his prime. The 2010 and ’11 seasons have treated him well as he has hit 30+ homeruns each season, the first time since ’07, and his OBP is the highest it’s ever been. He’s really just hitting amazingly well for what logic would tell you he should be doing. Konerko gets it done in the gym, he was a guy who lived in the weight room and Hit The Cage, all offseason. It paid off. "Physically, you have to work more. That's the number one thing in my mind. The older you get, the harder you have to work off the field to make sure you can still get out there every day and play 150 games a season, plus to have a chance to go out and have a good season. You can't do the same things - at least I can't - as when I was 25," says Konerko. Since ’01 he has never played less than 122 games, the past two years he played 149, he’s working hard, clearly. Another workout buff, Brian Wilson of the San Francisco Giants puts it down in the gym. Trevor Hoffman, a guy who knows a thing or two about being a "good" closer said this about Wilson, "I've had a chance to see him from the other side of the field and his workout regimen and how hard he prepares to be as good as he can be when he hits the mound. He's taken his craft seriously. I truly appreciate that.” The whole San Francisco team really got into shape before their championship in 2010. Dave Groeschner pushed them hard; he took over right before their world series victory and should be recognized as a great head athletic trainer in the game of baseball. He helped Sandoval drop weight, which Sandoval was very excited about, and wanted to lose more. He also wanted to steal more bases. That may not have happened yet, but who knows. Hard work pays off, and the Giants know that. I don’t want to bring it up, but the Boston Red Sox have been accused of not being in top notch shape and look where their season ended up. It crumbled down the stretch. I say if you want to be a serious threat in baseball, hit the weights, hit the cage, really just work hard. Baseball is no longer a sport where out of shape players can expect to get away with not working hard anymore, plain and simple.

Cuban Hitting Missiles: Yoenis Cespedes

The uber Cuban center fielding prospect Yoenis Cespedes, is the buzz of late in a lot of baseball circles. He is said to be a 5 tool player, possibly the best all-around player to come from his home country of Cuba in a generation. You guessed it, he wants to be paid like it too. People are projecting him to get Aroldis Chapman money, so $30 million plus, like the super Cuban defector prospect of the 2009-2010 offseason. Major difference besides position, Cespedes is 26 and considered by some to be in his prime (I believe he might need another year or two) and Chapman is still only 23 as of today, so he has needed a little more development than Cespedes should demand. Cespedes is said to have plus power and speed, which I’m buying, but the transition from playing in Cuba to playing in the MLB will not be seamless, so I think he’s going to take a year or two to reach his potential, yet I too have fallen for this prospect. It’s hard not to like the guy after watching his YouTube video. Sorry the original was taken down, so I could only get the edited version. In this video of roughly 18 minutes in length, Cespedes shows off his fielding skills (and I can’t lie his behind the back catches are just impressive), his power (he hits bombs), and his athleticism (he’s got speed, he’s got bounce, he’s got strength, he’s impressive). I wish he showed off his arm a bit more/at all, but I trust scouts who say it’s superb as they have been right about the rest of his abilities it appears. Now in case you haven’t seen the original version I’m here to say you are missing out. The edit cuts out the good music that was previously on the video, and my favorite scene. The scene at the end which is not shown on this version is of a pig roast (I know random, but it’s on there). In it Cespedes tends to the fire under where the pig is cooking, it was awesome like the rest of the showcase video. He’s going to be a big deal in the MLB soon, so remember the name, Yoenis Cespedes. And watch whatever amount of the showcase video you can handle, it’s actually a good view even though it’s somewhat lengthy. A lot of teams are interested, so he could be coming to a city near you very soon. I wish this man the best in the MLB because he seems like a standup guy, and he has a lot of talent that I’d hate to see go to waste. Good luck Yoenis.

What A Tool by John Kruk

Sorry for the terrible video quality, but this is the best I could find. Anyway, this is hilarious and I had to post it, even though I'm sure a lot of people have seen it. I had seen it before, but not with my boy John Kruk's superb commentary. He makes this vid great. He roasts this guy, as it should be. I mean who is scared enough of a baseball to bail on his girlfriend, well I'm assuming that's who she was. Then again that might not have been the case by the time the game was over. Well, John Kruk is the man, this girl needs to find a man, and this dude needs to grow a pair.

Changes

Dun nun nun, nun nun nun, nun nun nah, that’s just the way it is. Baseball’s making moves. If you live under a rock, here’s what’s been going on. Houston Astros are moving to the AL West, which will make all 6 divisions have 5 teams. I like it, it makes baseball slightly more balanced, and I’m for this change, because it’s creating balance without changing the game completely. The playoffs are now expanding to have 5 teams in each league get in, basically the top two wild card teams will have a play in game is how I understand it. Also they are allowing teams from the same division to meet in the division series of the playoffs. I’m not too big a fan of the new playoffs. Why allow the runner up in the playoff race to get a chance to get in, they are the RUNNER UP, for a reason. I say if you don’t get it done in the regular season you don’t make the post season. I actually really enjoyed the 2011 playoffs and its format. Allowing divisional opponents in the division series, in my eyes just lets the same matchup happen even more often than it already does. Why not keep it the way it is and have teams that don’t play each other as much get an opening round series, then if it becomes inevitable, with a spot for the World Series on the line, let divisional foes duke it out. Interleague play also will be extended from April into September, I don’t really detest this rule, but the one thing I have against it, is I want the world series to be fresh, two teams that haven’t played each other in a while, which this may (unlikely but still possible) do away with. Teams might meet a month prior and the element of surprise and having to really think about what might happen could be disbanded. I realize that this is kind of necessary due to the odd number of teams that will now be in each the AL and NL, due to the Astros move, so for that reason I am for it. I think the Astros moving and balancing the divisions outweighs the drawbacks to a full season interleague so long as a team still plays a considerable amount of games in their own league as opposed to playing a LOT more games vs. the other league. The Astros move is set to take place for the 2013 season, and the along with it the interleague play I could only assume, however, the 5 team playoff is likely to take place as early as this upcoming 2012 campaign. Overall I say these are some good changes, and appear to be very likely to occur, and be successful. I applaud Bud Selig and all the others who have made these changes, they may not be perfect, but as a whole, I think they improve the quality of the game.

The Curious Case Of Chone Figgins

Enter Chone Figgins, primarily a 3^rd baseman for the Seattle Mariners. Enter Chone Figgins prior to the 2011 season. They look the same, but that’s only off the field. When it comes to making plays, they are not the same. After the 2009 season Mr. Figgins made the journey from the Los Angeles Angels to the Seattle Mariners, a change in scenery from where he had spent all his previous major league time. Since 2003 Figgins has put up at the very least decent numbers. The move to Seattle also came with his lowest batting average and on base percentage since his 1^st full year in the big league. Really though batting average decreased by .041 and OBP by .055, but he was still alright, until…..2011. He might have had a down season in 2010 but in 2011 he had a DOWN season. That same batting average that dropped the previous season down to .259 dropped down below the Mendoza line (who curiously played for the Mariners in his day of glory/humiliation) all the way to .188 and the OBP that was .340, now .241. What happened Mr. Figgins? On top of that, he only stole 11 bases, first time he stole less than 34 since 2003, and really all his stats were just obliterated, they sank to submarine levels, possibly below.  All-star game appearance in ’09. Only thing he would have made in ’11 is a fallen star game, but this does not exist…yet. Why the sudden demise of a once good player’s career? An injured hip made him miss the slate of games from August 1^st onward, but for the Mariners that was probably for the best. I don’t believe the hip was the reason for his prior struggles, so what does Figgins really need to do in order to be a productive member of baseball again? My answer, somebody needs to, hit the cage!

Special Delivery: From Start To Finish

So there’s a lot of noise about the end of year awards in the MLB. One that I particularly like is the “Delivery Man of the Year Award.” Now who delivered this year, 2011 winner Jose Valverde takes home the award. This is an award voted on by the fans, but that definitely does not lessen the award at all in my eyes. Valverde had a fantastic season and didn’t get a lot of attention for it, which is why I really like this award, showing some love for the guys who shut it down from the pen. Valverde lead the AL with 49 saves, impressive! More impressive, 0, as in ZERO, blown saves. He my friends shut it down. He helped Detroit get into the playoffs, had a 2.24 ERA and had almost a strikeout per inning. He was well deserving, and I congratulate him for a great season. While I’m on the topic of post season awards, I’d like to enter one argument that seems to be had quite often when a guy like Valverde’s teammate Justin Verlander has a season like 2011. One for the ages that’s for sure, taking home the pitching Triple Crown in the AL, throwing a no-no, and almost getting a second one. He dominated the 2011 season simple as that, and was a unanimous Cy Young winner, but should a pitcher ever win MVP? I used to be opposed to the idea, but in thinking, I believe they should be able too. It’s not like he’d be stealing a position players award, they have silver sluggers and gold gloves, and each position gets their own. So if you field the best or hit the best for your position you get an award. Pitchers as a whole have to fight for the gold glove and Cy Young Award, so there are far less awards to go around, but let me not digress. I think the MVP should go to the player, any player, who has shown the most value that season. If I had to vote for MVP I would vote Matt Kemp in the NL hands down best player this year in the National League. AL is tougher, but I’d have Miguel Cabrera edging out Jacoby Ellsbury, edging out Jose Bautista and I would have Verlander 4^th, but this is definitely a tough call. I really would never even want a vote for MVP. It’s so tough to decide who is the best in a game with so many aspects to it. I will say pitchers should be considered, but it won’t be often they win as it’s tough to be more valuable than a guy who plays in roughly 5 times as many games as you. Maybe if they go back to 4 man rotations pitchers will have a realistic shot at competing for MVP. Once again, congrats to Valverde, and all the rest of the 2011 award recipients.

Under The Rader Free Agents

Alright, so I’ve compiled a list of unsigned free agents in 2011 as of 11-18, that are not type A or B, so they won’t cost a team any draft picks, and not ranked in the ESPN top 50 free agents. I believe they are under the radar yet worth a look and I’ll explain what I like about each of them. Jonathan Broxton, Casey Kotchman, Chris Capuano, Rich Harden, Conor Jackson, Joel Zumaya, Chris Young, Jack Wilson, Dontrelle Willis, and Brandon Webb. Jonathan Broxton, not a good or healthy 2011 but still young (27) and was once a very effective reliever, if healthy could go close games for any team. I think he’ll definitely bounce back and be a productive bullpen arm. Casey Kotchman, signed a minor league free agent deal with Tampa last year and all he did was hit .306/.378/.422. On top of that, he’s a pretty good defensive first baseman. I’m taking a chance on him no doubt. Chris Capuano, probably better suited for the NL, still a solid #3-5 starter depending on where he lands, very dependable in my book. Rich Harden, will definitely give you headaches, but might be good valued depth for starting pitching. Yes, he is an injury waiting to happen, but he has #2-3 stuff when healthy in my opinion, but do you want to count on him being healthy? Conor Jackson, if given the chance can play some ball. A career .271/.351/.407 hitter, isn’t too shabby. Can play pretty much any corner position, and will most likely be pretty inexpensive. He’s a good value for sure. Joel Zumaya, I pretty much just like his upside as a reliever. Throws hard, has good stuff, has had some success with Detroit. He could be considered risky due to injuries and the fact he hasn’t really put it all together and been dominant to this point, but a high upside guy who’s young and might be worth a look. Chris Young, like Capuano he’s reliable and a solid #3-5 in my eyes. He was pretty much injured all of 2011 (I know real reliable) but his career numbers are solid, and I’m under the impression he will be healthy and ready to bounce back and perform in 2012. Jack Wilson, solid middle infielder, I really like him defensively, and think he’s a good end of the lineup hitter if you need someone. Probably more suited to be a backup infielder, but he’s solid. Dontrelle Willis, well I’d sign him and pray he is a resemblance of that which he once was. Probably won’t get back to his ace status, but if you can sign him cheap might be worth a shot. Brandon Webb, also some injury problems recently like many of the guys on this list, but he was one of the best pitchers in baseball for a while, why not give him a shot? I guess you’d have to take a look at what he’s got at this point, but a guy who was once that good, could be that good again, right? Comment and add anyone you like that you think is under the radar. Tell me what you think of the guys I mentioned.

Jonathan Papelbon Closing The Deal

Jonathan Papelbon, a 30 year old Louisiana native signs a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies for 4 years and $50 million with a vesting option for another year which could bring the total contract value to $63 million. Being realistic, this is the largest contract a closer is going to receive this offseason. Now K-Rod received a 3 year $37 million deal not too long ago, how did that work out for the Mets? Closers are like any other player a risk to sign, an overpriced risk at that. There are plenty of other closers available in free agency this year and a lot of good options out there, Heath Bell, Joe Nathan, Francisco Cordero, Frank Francisco, Ryan Madsen, K-Rod, and the list goes on. I believe that a guy who pitches roughly 60 innings a year should not be making over $10 million a season. I also believe closers are easier to find than one thinks.  A lot of closers come out of nowhere and perform well in this “pressure” situation. Look at Mariano Rivera’s illustrious career that started no better than any scrub that didn’t make it. Now how’s he doing? Pressure in the 9^th inning? As if any other part of the game there is a lack of it. Personally I believe you should put your best pitcher in when you need to shut down a team, whether it is the start of the 9^th inning or the middle of the 7^th with the bases loaded and one out, I mean this could be a make or break at bat for the ball game. The Red Sox were smart to let Pap go. They can now spend the money elsewhere, possibly in RF, DH, or for starting or relief pitching. Also Papelbon was a type A free agent which gives the Sox more picks in Junes rule 4 draft, which will help them restock their farm system a little. They also have a perfectly viable option in Daniel Bard who since 2009 has pitched nearly the same amount of inning, had nearly the same ERA, homeruns allowed, and K’s as Pap. If you check it out, it really is nearly identical. So my view on closers and the Papelbon situation; The Phillies overpaid, no one should be surprised about that, and the Red Sox did well to let him go. Jonathan Papelbon is a great pitcher, but he isn’t worth overpaying for. He will have a good career with the Phillies, I’m sure, and I wish him the best.  Now everybody should go read “Moneyball,” and learn how to value players correctly.