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2010 Season Preview: American League Central

2010-03-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

Final 2009 American League Central Standings:
1. Minnesota Twins (87-76)
2. Detroit Tigers (86-77)
3. Chicago White Sox (79-83)
4. Cleveland Indians (65-97)
5. Kansas City Royals (65-97)

Predicted 2010 American League Central Standings:
1. Chicago White Sox
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Kansas City Royals

Chicago White Sox

Key Losses:
2B Chris Getz (Trade- Kansas City Royals)
OF Jermaine Dye (Free Agency)
MR Octavio Dotel (Free Agency- Pittsburgh Pirates)

Key Gains:
OF Mark Teahen (Trade- Kansas City Royals)
MR Tony Pena (Free Agency)
OF Andruw Jones (Free Agency)

Projeced Lineup:
C- A.J. Pierzynski
1B- Paul Konerko
2B- Gordon Beckham
3B- Mark Teahen
SS- Alexei Ramirez
LF- Juan Pierre
CF- Alex Rios
RF- Carlos Quentin
DH- Andruw Jones

Projected Rotation:
1. Mark Buehrle
2. Jake Peavy
3. Gavin Floyd
4. John Danks
5. Freddy Garcia

The Chicago White Sox followed up a division crown in 2008 with a disappointing 2009 season where they finished with their second losing record in three seasons. Alexei Ramirez followed up his stellar rookie season with what could be categorized as a sophomore slump, despite showing much improved plate discipline, one of his weaknesses in 2008.

The White Sox had some turn over this past offseason, as they let 2005 World Series MVP Jermaine Dye (.250-27-81) go to free agency as well as veteran reliever Octavio Dotel (62 appearances, 3.32 ERA in 2009). They signed Tony Pena and Andruw Jones to replace those two players and traded infielder Chris Getz and former top prospect third baseman Josh Fields to the Kansas city Royals for Mark Teahen, who offers versatility to the White Sox. Teahen came up as a third baseman, but has also played outfield and even played some second base last year. It is not certain who will play third base, whether it is Gordon Beckham or Mark Teahen, but that battle should be figured out during spring training.

The White Sox acquired former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres at the deadline last year and he pitched well for the White Sox in September. Peavy was out with injury issues for most of the 2009 season, but a healthy Jake Peavy makes the White Sox top three of Mark Buehrle, Peavy, and John Danks one of the most formidable top three’s in baseball.

Cleveland Indians

Key Losses:
C Kelly Shoppach (Trade- Tampa Bay Rays)

Key Gains:
3B/OF Russell Branyan (Free Agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- Carlos Santana
1B- Russell Branyan
2B- Luis Valbuena
3B- Jhonny Peralta
SS- Asdrubal Cabrera
LF- Matt Laporta
CF- Grady Sizemore
RF- Shin-Soo Choo
DH- Travis Hafner

Projected Rotation:
1. Jake Westbrook
2. Fausto Carmona
3. Justin Masterson
4. David Huff
5. Aaron Laffey

It’s hard to believe that this franchise was one win from the World Series back in 2007. Now, heading into 2010, the Cleveland Indians look nothing like that team that won 96 games. They have traded away marquee players such as 2007 AL Cy Young award winner C.C. Sabathia, 2008 AL Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee, and three time all-star catcher Victor Martinez. One of the big differences with the Cleveland Indians team of 2007 and the last two has been the bullpen. In 2007, Cleveland’s team ERA out of the bullpen was 3.75, ranking 6th in baseball. However, in 2008 they ranked 29th with a 5.13 ERA, and in 2009 they ranked 27th with a 4.66 ERA. In 2007, the Indians got dominant years from Rafael Betancourt (1.47 ERA), Rafael Perez (1.78 ERA), and Aaron Fultz (2.92 ERA). Betancourt was traded away in 2009, Perez had a decent season in 2008 before falling apart in 2009, and Aaron Fultz hasn’t appeared in the majors since.

The Cleveland Indians had a quiet offseason, only making one minor deal by trading Shoppach to Tampa Bay to make room for top catching prospect Carlos Santana. They also signed Austin Kearns , Mark Grudzienalek, and Shelley Duncan to minor league deals and Branyan to a one year major league deal. They enter the 2010 season with some positions seemingly set in stone (Peralta, Cabrera, Sizemore, Choo, Hafner), while others remain open, especially on the pitching end. The Indians rotation had a 5.30 ERA in 2009, meaning there is a lot of room for improvement from the starters and nobody should really feel safe at Cleveland’s camp.

Detroit Tigers

Key Losses:
OF Curtis Granderson (Trade- New York Yankees)
SP Edwin Jackson (Trade- Arizona Diamondbacks)
2B Placido Polanco (Free Agency- Philadelphia Phillies)
MR Fernando Rodney (Free Agency- Los Angeles Angels)
MR Brandon Lyon (Free Agency- Houston Astros)

Key Gains:
OF Austin Jackson (trade- New York Yankees)
SP Max Scherzer (trade- Arizona Diamondbacks)
MR Daniel Schlereth (trade- Arizona Diamondbacks)
SS Adam Everett (Free Agency)
CL Jose Valverde (Free Agency)
OF Johnny Damon (Free Agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- Gerald Laird
1B- Miguel Cabrera
2B- Scott Sizemore
3B- Brandon Inge
SS- Adam Everett
LF- Johnny Damon
CF- Austin Jackson
RF- Magglio Ordonez
DH- Carlos Guillen

Projected Rotation:
1. Justin Verlander
2. Rick Porcello
3. Jeremy Bonderman
4. Max Scherzer
5. Nate Robertson

The Detroit Tigers entered this offseason coming off a season where they held a 3 game lead with 4 games to go and ended up costing themselves a playoff bid thanks in part to Minnesota’s great play at the end. The one game playoff was a game to watch as Minnesota won 6-5 in a wild 12 inning one game playoff. Detroit entered the offseason with financial struggles and holes to fill. From what I see, the Detroit Tigers did a great job to try to fill the holes that were expected to leave despite the financial issues. They dealt away fan favorite and star centerfielder Curtis Granderson and starting pitcher Edwin Jackson in a three way deal that netted the Tigers top prospect Austin Jackson from the Yankees and fireballer Max Scherzer and young reliever Daniel Schlereth from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Tigers used the money saved from Granderson to sign closer Jose Valverde to a two year deal and signed Damon late in free agency to a one year deal.

One of the wildcards for the Detroit Tigers playoff chances in 2010 could be the health of starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman. It seems as though he’s been around for an eternity, but Bonderman is still just 27 years. If Bonderman is fully recovered from the blood clot injury that has sidelined him since June of 2008, than he could be the make or break piece for the Tigers. Max Scherzer came up with a lot of potential for the Arizona Diamondbacks and by most standards, his first full season in 2009 was pretty solid. In 30 starts, Scherzer went 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA and struck out 174 batters in 170 1/3 innings. Endurance is still an issue for Scherzer, who some believe would be better served in the bullpen. Control is also still an issue as Scherzer had a walk rate of 3.3 BB/9. Scherzer gave up 15 of his 20 homeruns at home in Arizona, which is another interesting thing to watch in Detroit in 2010.

Overall, the Detroit Tigers should once again be a strong team, as they were able to replace departing players about as well as one could expect. Their team may even be a bit stronger if Jose Valverde can repeat his 2009 season, if Bonderman returns to form, and if the young players make strides forward.

Kansas City Royals

Key Losses:
OF Coco Crisp (Free Agency- Oakland Athletics)
1B Mike Jacobs (Released- New York Mets)
3B Mark Teahen (Trade- Chicago White Sox)

Key Gains:
OF Rick Ankiel (Free Agency)
C Jason Kendall (Free Agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- Jason Kendall
1B- Billy Butler
2B- Alberto Callaspo
3B- Alex Gordon
SS- Yuniesky Betancourt
LF- Scott Podsednik
CF- Rick Ankiel
RF- David DeJesus
DH- Jose Guillen

Projected Rotation:
1. Zack Greinke
2. Gil Meche
3. Luke Hochevar
4. Kyle Davies
5. Brian Bannister

Once the model franchise of the American League in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Kansas City Royals have become the definition of dreadful in the American League over the last 15 years. The Royals have one winning season since 1995 and haven’t won a division title since 1985. They have gone through three General Managers since John Schuerholz left Kansas City for Atlanta and have gone through four times that many managers (12) since 1985. Needless to say, stability has not been existent in the dugout. When Dayton Moore came over to the Royals from the Braves there was hope that Moore could turn Kansas City around. He was touted at the time as one of the best general manager prospects in the game, afterall he had learned from the best, John Schuerholz. Moore hasn’t been what Kansas City hoped for, however, as since becoming the GM, the Royals have gone 209-277 in the three full years he’s been their GM. Now, some might see his affect as a positive because the Royals haven’t lost 100 games since 2007, while they lost 100 or more games in four of the previous five years.

Kansas City enters 2010 with the defending AL Cy Young award winner in Zack Greinke and a player in Billy Butler that some expect to have a big year in 2010. Zack Greinke finished 16-8 with a major league low 2.16 ERA in 2009 and had a season that many thought he was capable of for years. At just 26 years old, however, Greinke is just now entering the prime of his career, so more seasons like 2009 are to be expected. Billy Butler climbed up the minor league ladder quite quickly after being drafted in the first round out of high school. He drew comparisons to a right handed Jim Thome in the minors and some believe he has the potential to win a batting title and homerun title someday. After hitting well, but not great his first couple years in the majors, Butler followed a solid first half of 2009 with an outstanding, breakout second half. Batting .314 with a .925 OPS in the second half, Butler finished the year with a .301 average and an .854 OPS, hitting 21 homeruns, while driving in 93 runs.

Still, Kansas City doesn’t have a lot of great depth beyond their two young stars, so look for another year near the cellar unless players like former #2 overall pick Alex Gordon and Rick Ankiel can have big years.

Minnesota Twins

Key Losses:
3B Joe Crede (Free Agency)
OF Carlos Gomez (trade- Milwaukee)
SS Orlando Cabrera (Free Agency- Cincinnati Reds)

Key Gains:
SS J.J. Hardy (Trade- Milwaukee)
2B Orlando Hudson (Free Agency)
1B/DH Jim Thome (Free Agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- Joe Mauer
1B- Justin Morneau
2B- Orlando Hudson
3B- Nick Punto
SS- J.J. Hardy
LF- Jason Kubel
CF- Denard Span
RF- Michael Cuddyer
DH- Jim Thome

Projected Rotation:
1. Scott Baker
2. Kevin Slowey
3. Carl Pavano
4. Nick Blackburn
5. Francisco Liriano

The American League Central champs from 2009 returned to spring training with an improved roster, trading glorified pinch runner and defensive replacement Carlos Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop J.J. Hardy, who is coming off a career worst season, but is also a hitter that hit 50 homeruns in 2007 and 2008 combined.

The Twins also managed to add second baseman Orlando Hudson, a two time all-star and four time gold glove winner. Those two players should give the Twins a boost up the middle, which is an area that the twins sorely lacked offensive threats from in 2009.

The Twins figured to enter spring training as favorites to repeat again in 2010 because they have most of the same faces returning and even improved on offense. However, an injury that will likely sideline Joe Nathan, a four time all-star closer, for the year could prove costly for the Twins playoff chances. Regarded as one of the best closers in the game, Joe Nathan has a miniscule 1.73 ERA over the last four seasons combined with 159 saves and a 0.91 WHIP over the time frame. That kind of a loss is huge for a team who’s pitching staff is not top tier to begin with. With Nathan probably out for the season, there will be a lot of pressure riding on the arms of Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, and Jose Mijares. Mijares and Guerrier both had very good 2009 seasons while Rauch really turned it on after the Twins acquired him, so those arms will need repeat seasons in 2010, a tough task.

The offense will be returning defending AL MVP Joe Mauer, however, and the Twins can hope for a healthier year from 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, who missed most of September and the playoffs last year. Up and comers Jason Kubel and Denard Span also return and you can be sure that Minnesota would love a breakout year from Delmon Young. Minnesota’s offense should be very good again in 2010, but the starting pitching could use a step up with the loss of the shutdown closer.

Minnesota will once again be in the hunt in a tight AL Central, as there are three teams that look like they could contend with the right breaks in 2010.

2010 Season Preview: American League East

2010-02-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

2009 Final Standings
1. New York Yankees (103-59)
2.*Boston Red Sox (95-67)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (84-78)
4. Toronto Blue Jays (75-87)
5. Baltimore Orioles (64-98)

2010 Predicted Standings:
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays

Baltimore Orioles

Key Losses:
3B Melvin Mora (Free agency-Colorado Rockies)
MR Chris Ray (Trade- Texas Rangers)

Key Gains:
SP Kevin Millwood (Trade- Texas Rangers)
MR Mike Gonzalez (Free agency)
3B Garrett Atkins (Free agency)
SS Miguel Tejada (Free agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- Matt Wieters
1B- Garrett Atkins
2B- Brian Roberts
3B- Miguel Tejada
SS- Cesar Izturis
LF- Nolan Reimold
CF- Adam Jones
RF- Nick Markakis
DH-Luke Scott

Projected Rotation:
1. Kevin Millwood
2. Jeremy Guthrie
3. Brian Matusz
4. Brad Bergesen
5. David Hernandez

With the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American League East, the Baltimore Orioles will always be an afterthought. However, this team should not be an afterthought because the offense has the potential to be every bit as good as any team out there. With one of the most underrated leadoff hitters in the game in Brian Roberts and great young hitters like Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters on the roster, the Orioles offense should be able to put up the runs to win games. A breakout year from Matt Wieters, who batted .362 in September, should go a long way to solidify this offense as one of the best. Two overlooked players in Luke Scott and Nolan Reimold had solid offensive years in 2009, putting up OPS’s of .828 and .831. Offensively, the Orioles look strong.

Baltimore made efforts to restore pitching in 2010 by trading reliever Chris Ray, who has been recovering from Tommy John Surgery for the last couple years, for veteran starter Kevin Millwood. The move gives Baltimore a starter to help mentor the younger pitchers while also giving them a solid innings eater. Jeremy Guthrie is coming off a down year where he went 10-17 with a 5.04 ERA, but he had two solid years in 2007 and 2008 where he put up ERA’s of 3.70 and 3.64. With a declining strikeout rate, elevating walk , hits, and homerun rates, as well as a FIP that has increased each year, it’s hard to imagine Guthrie turning it around. Former 3rd overall pick, Brian Matusz gives the Orioles a young arm with potential, and Bergesen is a sleeper in the rotation as he is recovering from an injury that he suffered in the middle of what looked like a solid rookie year. David Hernandez, their #5 starter rounds out a rotation that has many question marks with answers needed. Hernandez, 24 years old, has put up impressive numbers in the minor leagues, but will need to show more consistency in the big leagues.

The Orioles bullpen got a boost when they signed veteran reliever Mike Gonzalez to a two year deal. Gonzalez came up with Pittsburgh and is one of the best power lefties in baseball when healthy. Gonzalez went through a couple injury plagued seasons in Atlanta in 2007 and 2008, but stayed healthy enough in 2009 to make 80 appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 2.42 ERA, while striking out 90 batters in 74 1/3 innings. Left handed hitters managed to hit .194 off of Gonzalez, who was nearly unhittable to any hitter after the all-star break, as he posted a 1.11 ERA and held hitters to a .183 average. Gonzalez should be the Orioles closer and brings great veteran presence to a bullpen in need of experience and production.

Boston Red Sox

Key Losses:
LF Jason Bay (Free agency- New York Mets)
MR Takashi Saito (Free agency- Atlanta Braves)

Key Gains:
OF Jeremy Hermida (Trade- Florida Marlins)
SS Marco Scutaro (Free agency)
SP John Lackey (Free agency)
OF Mike Cameron (Free agency)
3B Adrian Beltre (Free agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- Victor Martinez
1B- Kevin Youkilis
2B- Dustin Pedroia
3B- Adrian Beltre
SS- Marco Scutaro
LF- Mike Cameron
CF- Jacoby Ellsbury
RF- J.D. Drew
DH- David Ortiz

Projected Rotation:
1. Josh Beckett
2. Jon Lester
3. John Lackey
4. Daisuke Matsuzaka
5. Clay Buchholz

The 2009 season ended in an awful way for the Boston Red Sox, who were swept by the Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS. With Jason Bay a free agent to be, Boston wasn’t sure they would be able to have him back in the lineup. After trading for underachieving outfielder Jeremy Hermida and signing the top free agent shortstop on the market, Marco Scutaro, the Red Sox made their big splash by signing the best free agent starting pitcher on the market, John Lackey, to a 5 year deal worth $82.5 million. The deal gives the Red Sox arguably the best rotation in baseball and gives them a top three that holds a career record of 250-155.

Still, the offense for the Boston Red Sox could very well take a hit in 2010 as the loss of Jason Bay is a big loss. Bay hit .267 with 36 homeruns, 119 RBIs, and posted a .921 OPS. The Red Sox hope that quantity can replace Bay as they’ve gone out on the market and traded for Jeremy Hermida, while signing Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, and Mike Cameron. They could platoon Hermida (.282/.368/.418/.786 vs. RHP in 2009) and Mike Cameron (.271/.420/.534/.954 vs. LHP in 2009) in an attempt to make up for the loss of Jason Bay. Hermida could also enjoy hitting in boston where down the lines it is much shorter than it is in Florida. Adrian Beltre had an awful 2009 season, but from 2006-2008 he had an OPS over .800 on the road each year, so there is some optimism there, although he has historically struggled at Fenway.

One of the weaknesses on the Red Sox team the last couple years has been the shortstop position and with Marco Scutaro, the Red Sox hope they have filled a weakness. Scutaro had the best season of his career in 2009 for the Toronto Blue Jays, batting .282 with 35 doubles, 12 homeruns, 60 RBIs, and a .788 OPS. All either tied or set career highs. That said, the question is did he just have his career year and the Red Sox are paying for it, or can Scutaro repeat the success he had at 33 years old (now 34 years old)? Scutaro’s three year batting line is .272/.355/.379/.734, which is solid, but not spectacular. It would be a drastic improvement over the Red Sox shortstop production in 2009, however.

New York Yankees

Key Losses:
OF Austin Jackson (trade- Detroit)
OF Melky Cabrera (trade- Atlanta)
OF Johnny Damon (Free agency)
OF Hideki Matsui (Free agency- Los Angeles Angels)

Key Gains:
DH Nick Johnson (Free agency)
OF Curtis Granderson (trade- Detroit)
SP Javier Vazquez (trade- Atlanta)
MR Boone Logan (trade- Atlanta)
OF Randy Winn (Free agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- Jorge Posada
1B- Mark Teixeira
2B- Robinson Cano
3B- Alex Rodriguez
SS- Derek Jeter
LF- Brett Gardner
CF- Curtis Granderson
RF- Nick Swisher
DH- Nick Johnson

Projected Rotation:
1. C.C. Sabathia
2. A.J. Burnett
3. Javier Vazquez
4. Joba Chamberlain
5. Andy Pettitte

The New York Yankees spent major money in the offseason before 2009 by signing Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett to big contracts, but it paid off big time for the Yankees as they won the World Series in the first year of the new Yankee Stadium. This past offseason was another good one for the New York Yankees, but this time they focused on the trade market by making deals for Detroit Tigers star centerfielder Curtis Granderson and Atlanta starting pitcher Javier Vazquez, who finished 4th in the NL Cy Young voting in 2009.

Vazquez is a familiar face in the Bronx, as he was a New York Yankee in 2004 before being dealt to Arizona. New York Yankees fans hope that this go around with Vazquez is better than the last. Vazquez, a flyball pitcher, may run into some trouble in New York with the way balls were flying out of the park in 2009. Still, Vazquez has always been a talented starter and being the 3rd starter in New York behind Sabathia and Burnett should help take pressure off of him. The Yankees top three are very solid with all three having the talent to be a #1 at times, while Joba and Pettite fill out a rotation that is good enough to win with the offense behind them.

Offensively, few teams can match up against the Yankees up and down the order. The addition of Granderson and on base machine Nick Johnson should make an already deep offense even deeper. The big question with Nick Johnson will be if he can stay healthy, as Johnson has never played in 140 or more games, although three of the last four years he’s played in 130 or more. Still, Johnson holds a career .402 on base percentage, so when he is healthy he gets on base at a great clip. Curtis Granderson seemed like a great fit for the Yankees as Granderson can cover ground in centerfield and his hitting ability is very good for the centerfield position. Last year for the Tigers he hit 30 homeruns and he has hit 20 or more for three straight years. He will now play half his games in a ballpark that saw baseballs flying out of the park at a ridiculous rate, so 40 homeruns may be within reach.

Tampa Bay Rays

Key Losses:
2B Akinori Iwamura (Trade- Pittsburgh Pirates)

Key Gains:
CL Rafael Soriano (Trade- Atlanta Braves)
C Kelly Shoppach (Trade- Cleveland Indians)

Projected Lineup:
C- Dioner Navarro
1B- Carlos Pena
2B- Ben Zobrist
3B- Evan Longoria
SS- Jason Bartlett
LF- Carl Crawford
CF- B.J. Upton
RF- Gabe Kapler
DH- Pat Burrell

Projected Rotation:
1. James Shields
2. Matt Garza
3. Jeff Niemann
4. David Price
5. Wade Davis

This time last year the Rays were coming off their first winning season and pennant in franchise history. The loss to the Phillies was disappointing, but the season itself was still a big stepping stone towards sustained success. The Rays didn’t do quite as well in 2009, however, as the Yankees spent money that Tampa Bay can’t even imagine and the Red Sox remain a high spender and quality organization. Tampa Bay finished with an 84-78 record and 19 games behind the eventual World Champion New York Yankees.

The Rays offseason has been rather quiet, but they depend a lot of their success on the development and comebacks of players, as well as one key move by trading for closer Rafael Soriano from the Braves. They traded Iwamura to open up a spot for an everyday spot for 2009 all-star Ben Zobrist and their rotation is expected to add top pitching prospect Wade Davis in 2010 for the full season. Davis started 6 games in late 2009 and pitched well enough to probably secure a spot with a good spring training.

Tampa Bay could use a comeback year from centerfielder B.J. Upton and either catcher Dioner Navarro or Kelly Shoppach, both of whom had down years in 2009 following very solid 2008 campaigns.

The addition of Rafael Soriano from the Braves, who put up 27 saves, a 2.97 ERA, and struck out 102 batters in 75 2/3 innings in 2009, should help a bullpen that had trouble closing out ballgames in 2009. Grant Balfour has been from two different worlds the last couple seasons, as he put up a dominant 1.54 ERA in 2008 in 51 appearances and then put up a 4.81 ERA in 73 appearances in 2009. If he can find middle ground, then that should help the bullpen as well.

The Rays may be overlooked in 2010 because of the down year and because they are the third wheel in a powerhouse division, but a few buttons pushed right could have the Rays right back in the playoff hunt.

Toronto Blue Jays

Key Losses:
SS Marco Scutaro (Free Agency- Boston Red Sox)
C Rod Barajas (Free agency)
SP Roy Halladay (trade- Philadelphia Phillies)
MR Brandon League (trade- Seattle Mariners)

Key Gains:
SS Alex Gonzalez (Free agency)
SP Kyle Drabek (trade- Philadelphia Phillies)
3B/1B/DH Brett Wallace (trade- Oakland Athletics)
SP Brandon Morrow (trade- Seattle Mariners)
MR Kevin Gregg (Free agency)

Projected Lineup:
C- John Buck
1B- Lyle Overbay
2B- Aaron Hill
3B- Edwin Encarnacion
SS- Alex Gonzalez
LF- Adam Lind
CF- Vernon Wells
RF- Travis Snider
DH- Randy Ruiz

Projected Rotation:
1. Ricky Romero
2. Shaun Marcum
3. Brandon Morrow
4. Brett Cecil
5. Scott Richmond

The Toronto Blue Jays began the 2009 season very hot going 15-9 in April and standing a season high 13 games over .500 on May 10th when they were 27-14 after sweeping the Chicago White Sox in a four game set. However, a nine game losing streak followed that sweep and the Blue Jays finished the rest of the season 48-64, finishing with a 75-87 record and in fourth place in the AL East. Changes followed the season as they fired General Manager J.P. Ricciardi, who had been the Blue Jays GM for eight seasons. Under Ricciardi, the Blue Jays were never a perennial losing team, but they also were pretty mediocre throughout his tenure. The Toronto Blue Jays hired 32 year old Alex Anthopoulos to replace Ricciardi as their general manager.

Since taking over the Blue Jays, Anthopoulos has made several decisions and moves that will affect the future of the franchise. They let shortstop Marco Scutaro go after the best season of his career in 2009 and then made the blockbuster deal by trading face of the franchise Roy Halladay in a three way deal, landing top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, top outfield prospect Michael Taylor, and catching prospect Travis D’Arnaud from the Phillies. Taylor was then flipped to Oakland for prospect Brett Wallace, who Toronto has long coveted. Losing Roy Halladay will likely hurt Toronto significantly right now, but with Drabek, Wallace, and D’Arnaud, Toronto hopes to have at least two pieces to add to a core that already includes Adam Lind, Aaron Hill, and Travis Snider.

The Blue Jays also made a move for Seattle Mariners pitcher Brandon Morrow by dealing reliever Brandon League and a good prospect in Johermyn Chavez. The Blue Jays hope a change of scenery for Brandon Morrow will help him reach his potential. Toronto has also made minor, possibly under the radar moves such as adding pitchers Dana Eveland, Merkin Valdez, and Shawn Hill as well as second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir.

Position Players Who Need a Breakout Year

2010-02-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

In baseball there are the players who produce consistently throughout their careers and then there are players who take a few years to have a big year, or have up and down years. Every year these types of players can play big roles on determining whether a team has a big year or not. I’ve put together a team of position players that I believe need to have a breakthrough season or a big year.

Catcher Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs

Few players have had as interesting of a career both at the minor league and major league career as Geovany Soto. For the first six years of minor league baseball Soto was really nothing to write home about. He had hit a grand total of 25 homeruns in the 6 years in the minors and his highest average in a season was .273 with an OPS high of .756. Then in the offseason before 2007, which would be his third year in AAA, he dropped 20 pounds from 240 to 220. The weight loss contributed to a breakout year for Soto who hit .353 with a 1.076 OPS and 26 homeruns in 110 games. He carried the success to the majors where he batted .389 in 18 games, hitting 3 homeruns. In 2008, Soto was named an all-star, rookie of the year, and finished 13^th in MVP voting after batting .285 with an .868 OPS, blasting 23 homeruns and 35 doubles. He helped the Cubs win their 2^nd straight division title. Then he got caught with marijuana during the WBC before the 2009 season and things started going downhill. Soto hit just .109 in April, and it didn’t get a whole lot better. Soto finished the year with a .218 average, hit just 11 homeruns, and put up a .702 OPS. He has reportedly dropped 40 pounds this offseason in order to get back to the form that helped him win a rookie of the year and make him look like a franchise catcher.

But which Soto will truly show up in 2010? That is the question.

First Baseman Chris Davis, Texas Rangers

When Chris Davis skyrocketed through the Texas Rangers minor league system putting together a 36 homerun and .945 OPS in 2007 between high-A and AA, the team had high hopes for the young first baseman. He did nothing to diminish that hope in 2008 when he slugged 23 homeruns in 297 at bats in the minors, en route to a successful major league callup. He hit .285 with 17 homeruns in 295 at bats for Texas after getting the call on June 26^th. After hitting so successfully in the minors and majors, it was hard to see Davis’s 2009 season beginning the way it did. Davis was batting just .200 after April and batted only .189 in May, while striking out 77 times in the first two months. June didn’t get much better as he batted just .220 with 3 homeruns, while striking out 33 times. Davis was on pace to shatter the strikeout record if not for the Rangers deciding to send Davis back down to AAA in early July to improve his confidence at the plate. Davis spent 44 games with the Rangers AAA club, Oklahoma, and batted .327 with a .939 OPS. He came back up in late August, and hit .308 with an .834 OPS the rest of the way. His strikeout totals were still high, piling up 36 strikeouts in 36 games, but it was still an improvement.

So was 2009 a sophomore jinx for Davis and can he put behind the 2009 season and improve for the future? Or are his high strikeout totals in the minors, a sign of a player who’s ceiling may be limited, despite good minor league production?

Second Baseman Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers

Selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 2^nd overall pick of the 2003 draft, just behind Delmon Young, Weeks came up with the Brewers as a potential star second baseman. Weeks made his major league debut the same year he was drafted, but spent all of 2004 in the minors hitting .259 with a .773 OPS in AA. After a hot start hitting .320 through 55 games in AAA in 2005, the Brewers called Weeks up for good and he hit 13 homeruns and put up a .727 OPS the rest of 2005 in the majors. Weeks continued to tease Brewers fans with flashes of brilliance over the next three full seasons, including an .807 OPS in 2007 and a second half .827 OPS in 2008. 2009 seemed like finally Weeks was going to have that breakout year that so many people had been believing he could have. He was hitting .272/.340/.517/.857 when he injured his wrist while striking out on May 17^th against the St. Louis Cardinals. He tore a tendon in his left wrist, which required season ending surgery and ended what could have been his big breakout year. Weeks is supposed to be healthy for the start of the 2010 season and the Brewers didn’t re-sign Felipe Lopez so that Weeks could fill the hole.

Can Rickie Weeks finally have the breakout year that he seemed to be on in 2009? Or will the wrist injury delay a breakout year that never comes?

Third Baseman Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals

Like Rickie Weeks, Alex Gordon is a former 2^nd overall pick who has yet to live to his full potential. Gordon was taken by the Royals in the 2005 draft after a highly decorated college career at the University of Nebraska. Gordon hit .353 in his college career, including .372 as a junior. He was a two time First Team All-American, two time Big 12 Player of the Year, winner of the 2005 Brooks Wallace Award, and was the Baseball America and ABCA Player of the Year in 2005. After being drafted by Kansas City, Gordon spent one year in the minors where he hit .325 with 39 doubles, 29 homeruns, drove in 101 runs, stole 22 bases, and put up a .427 OBP and 1.016 OPS in AA. The Royals had him skip AAA by calling him up to the big leagues for the 2007 season, a decision that may have affected his development in the long run. Gordon hit just .247 with a .725 OPS as a rookie, hitting 36 doubles, 15 homeruns, stole 14 bases, and drove in 60 runs. Gordon got off to a little better start in 2008 by hitting .253 with a .741 OPS at the break. He was batting .268 with an .877 OPS in August when he got hurt and missed close to a month with a quadriceps injury. He came back, though, and continued to rake in September, finishing with a .277 average and an .888 OPS in the second half of 2008, leading some to believe 2009 was going to be a breakthrough season for Gordon who was on the upswing. However, 2009 wouldn’t be the breakout year for the left handed hitting third baseman, as Gordon went on the DL early in the season with a hip injury. He missed 79 games due to the injury and was never the same when he returned. On August 18^th, the Royals optioned Gordon to AAA where he put up a .928 OPS in 18 games. Once he returned in September to the Royals, Gordon hit .279 with an .830 OPS, leading an optimistic view to be maybe 2010 will be his big breakout year.

So will Alex Gordon show that September of 2009 is a sign of things to come? Or will he continue to disappoint everyone who thought he was a “can’t miss” prospect?

Shortstop J.J. Hardy, Minnesota Twins

With a glaring weakness at shortstop and an extra outfielder, the Minnesota Twins traded speedy centerfielder Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for shortstop J.J. Hardy. While the former Brewers second round pick is coming off a disastrous season, there is still hope for a bounce back year, which would do wonders for the Twins offense. The previous two seasons, Hardy hit 61 doubles and 50 homeruns at ages 24 and 25. An all-star shortstop in 2007, Hardy has been an up and coming player for the last couple seasons before a strange 2009 season that saw him demoted to AAA at one point. Viewed as a power hitting shortstop, Hardy’s OPS had improved three straight seasons, as he became a more disciplined shortstop and hit for more pop each year. But in 2009, despite a career high walk rate, he statistically regressed a lot. His ISO went down, his wOBA went down, his strikeouts% went up a bit, but not dramatically. While his BABIP in 2008 was .308, his BABIP in 2009 was just .264, the lowest it’d been since 2006. Perhaps part of the problem was that his LD% was the lowest it’s been in his career at 13.9%, but that also has been decreasing every year since he’s entered the league. So if Hardy can improve that, he could bounce back in 2010 for the Twins, who’s lineup could be very good with a 2007 or 2008 Hardy season, as opposed to a 2009 season version.

Will Hardy bounce back to the player that had improved three straight years in production? Or will he revert back to the 2005, 2006, and 2009 version of J.J. Hardy?

Outfielder Delmon Young, Minnesota Twins

The second Minnesota Twins player to make this list, Delmon Young is in need of a big season in 2010. The first overall pick of the 2003 draft, taken just ahead of Rickie Weeks who also made this list, Young has yet to live to the expectations that surrounded him when the Rays took him with that first overall choice. Yes, Delmon Young is still just 24 years old and still has time to breakout, even if he doesn’t in 2010, but for a player that some saw as having 40 homerun potential, Delmon has certainly not come close to living to the expectations. Young has had an interesting career, as he came up in Tampa Bay’s farm system and hit 25 homeruns as an 18 year old in A ball in his first pro season in 2004, an impressive feat. Delmon then had a big 2005 season by hitting .315 with 26 doubles, 7 triples, 26 homeruns, and stole 32 bases as a 19 year old in AA and AAA, a very impressive feat. The Tampa Bay Rays, however, did not call up Young that year, which got him upset with the organization a bit.

Things began to go downhill, however, in 2006 when Delmon Young got suspended for 50 games after throwing a bat at an umpire on April 26^th, a now infamous incident that has stuck with Young’s name throughout his career so far. His 2006 season did not go as planned, but he still was called up to the big leagues in September and batted .317 with an .812 OPS in 30 games. Delmon Young’s rookie season was not awful, but also not as good as many thought he could do. He batted .288, but hit for little power (13 homeruns) and his OPS was .723. He did drive in 93 runs and hit 38 doubles, though, which showed gap power. The offseason after his first full season, the Rays traded Young to the Minnesota Twins for Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza. Delmon Young, a player with great power potential, has not developed the power like people thought he would, in fact he has regressed the last two years in Minnesota, dropping to 42 extra base hits in 2008 and then even further to just 30 in 2009.

Delmon Young will see a little more playing time in 2010 with Carlos Gomez out of the picture, but the question of whether Young’s power can develop is something that needs an answer. If he can maintain his ability to hit for average and add power into the mix, then Delmon Young has the makings of an all-star outfielder. But if he continues to hit less than 15 homeruns, and get on base at a less than .340 clip, then Delmon Young is a very replaceable player, especially given his subpar defense.

Outfielder BJ Upton, Tampa Bay Rays

When the Tampa Bay Rays took B.J. Upton with the 2^nd overall pick of the 2002 draft, they believed they were getting a potential franchise changing player. He had a bat that could make him one of the top players in baseball and if his defense hadn’t been so bad in the infield and if Tampa’s outfield hadn’t been so deep with talented prospects such as Josh Hamilton, Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, and Rocco Baldelli, then Upton may have been able to make a real impact a year or two earlier then he did. But, that wasn’t the case, and Upton’s defense kept his major league ready bat out of Tampa Bay for a year or two longer then it was ready for. Upton hit .297 with 30 doubles, 6 triples, and 8 homeruns between A ball and AA in 2003 as an 18 year old. He had a .390 OBP and .821 OPS that year, impressive for his age at those levels. Upton then handled AA and AAA in 2004 at 19 years old to the tune of a .315/.410/.505/.915 batting line. He hit 24 doubles, 2 triples, 14 homeruns, and stole 20 bases in 98 games. He made his debut in 2004 at the age of 19, and hit .258 with a .733 OPS in 45 games. Upton needed work on his defense, however, so he spent all of 2005 in the minors, hitting .303 with 36 doubles, 6 triples, 18 homeruns, stole 44 bases, and had an .882 OPS in AAA, but also made 53 errors at third base. The writing was on the wall, Upton needed the outfield. He got his chance in 2007 with Rocco Baldelli hurt, and Upton had a huge year batting .300/.386/.508/.894 in 129 games, blasting 24 homeruns and stole 22 bases. In the two years since, however, Upton has declined in production each year. In 2008, he hit .273/.383/.401/.784, while helping the Rays get to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and in 2009 battling a wrist injury, Upton hit just .241/.313/.373/.686. Upton is still a very talented player, but the Rays need a healthy B.J. Upton and one that is closer to the 2007 version to help their team get past the Yankees and Red Sox.

Can B.J. Upton bounce back and have a breakout year like 2007 and help the Rays get back to the playoffs? Or will Upton’s injury continue to make his production decline like it has three straight years?

Outfielder Elijah Dukes, Washington Nationals

The Nationals corner outfielder, the third former Rays outfielder, may be a key player on a team that I think could surprise some people in 2010. Elijah Dukes is better known to fans that follow baseball for his antics and off the field baggage that has come with him in his past then he is on the field. And that says a lot, because on the field he’s always been seen as a very talented player who can do most things well. Even though it seems like Dukes has been on the prospect and baseball radar for years, he is still just 25 years old and has the potential to breakout any year. It seemed like 2009 was going to be a big season for Dukes after he hit .264/.386/.478/.864 with the Nationals in 334 plate appearances in 2008. He hit 16 doubles, 13 homeruns, drove in 44 runs, and walked 50 times to 79 strikeouts that year at age 24 putting up a 127 OPS+. Dukes didn’t hit as well in 2009, however, as the power he showed in 2008 was not there and fundamentally, Dukes struggled greatly. He batted .250/.337/.393/.729 with 20 doubles, 8 homers, drove in 50 runs, and walked 46 times to 74 strikeouts in 416 plate appearances. Now, his BABIP was more on the “luckier” end in 2008 (.326) than it was in 2009 (.294), so those hits that got through in 2008 may not have in 2009. Still, if Dukes can put up a batting line in between 2008 and 2009 or perhaps closer to 2008 than 2009, and get playing time/stay healthy, then Dukes will remain an asset in the Washington nationals lineup and really help what could be a very underrated lineup, especially if they can land Orlando Hudson in free agency.

Designated Hitter David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

The oldest player on this list, the Boston Red Sox need David Ortiz to get off to a faster start in 2010 than he did in 2009, when it seemed like we may be seeing the beginning of a big decline for Big Papi. Ortiz rebounded, however, putting up a .258/.350/.516/.866 batting line in the second half with 16 of his 28 homeruns. With Jason Bay now a New York Met, however, the importance of a big season from David Ortiz hasn’t been higher in years. The Red Sox also do have Victor Martinez for a full season, something they did not have in 2009, so Ortiz will still have support. There is also still Youkilis and there is the possibility that the Red Sox trade for Adrian Gonzalez, a player they’ve tried to get since the deadline in 2009. If they could acquire Adrian Gonzalez, the pressure may be off of Ortiz to have a big year to keep up with the Yankees. But until then, Boston needs a big year from Big Papi, who will be 34 on Opening Day.

Can Ortiz keep up the momentum that he gained in the second half and bring it into 2010? Or is the five time all-star beginning a decline as seen by his OPS declining three straight years?

A Look Back at a Decade of Excellence in St. Louis

2010-01-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

It was one of the most successful decades in a storied franchise history. Seven playoff appearances in ten seasons, five NLCS appearances, two World Series appearances, and a World Series title. In all thirty three playoff victories spanning the seven playoff appearances, and numerous individual player achievements. The 2000s for the St. Louis Cardinals will forever be remembered for the success of the franchise, but perhaps just as importantly, the decade will be remembered for the images it gave.

When the page turned over from the 1990s to the 2000s, the St. louis Cardinals had a team that was coming off three straight years where they finished 3rd or 4th in the National League Central. They were now entering their fourth year since being a win from the World Series in 1996 and were a far cry from their last World Series appearance (1987) and victory (1982).

The team, however, was itching to be good and had two reasons to be optimistic about their chances in the 2000s: J.D. Drew and Rick Ankiel. In 1999 they became the first and only team in Baseball America history to have the #1 (Drew) and #2 (Ankiel) prospects on their top 100 prospect lists.

J.D. Drew made his debut in 1998, but played in 100 games for the first time in 1999. When Drew made his debut he was viewed as a future superstar, even getting comparisons drawn to a young Mickey Mantle. Heading into the 2000s, people expected Drew to be the cornerstone of the Cardinals, something that would never come to be.

Rick Ankiel, like Drew, was an extremely talented baseball player, and was viewed as a future ace of the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his debut in 1999 as a pitcher, but would make his mark as a pitcher in 2000 when he went 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA and struck out 194 batters in 175 innings as a 20 year old rookie. His future, however, would be defined by the playoffs when he threw 5 wild pitches and walked 6 batters in 2 2/3 innings pitched in the NLDS, and followed it with 4 wild pitches and 5 walks in 1 1/3 innings in the NLCS. To this day, nobody including Rick Ankiel can figure out what happened. Ankiel would only pitch 34 major league innings the rest of his career, before making his miraculous comeback as a hitter. What might sum up the career of Rick Ankiel best is that Rick Ankiel began the decade a future star pitcher of the St. Louis Cardinals and will begin the next decade a free agent outfielder looking for a team to give him a chance after a tough season marred by injuries in 2009.

The St. Louis Cardinals began the decade as a team looking to win, and in 2000, they did so. The 2000s wouldn't have been the same, however, without one key trade made just before the start of the 2000 season. Looking for a bat, the St. Louis Cardinals traded Kent Bottenfield (18-7 in 1999) and Adam Kennedy (made debut in 1999) to the Anaheim Angels for their talented, but unhappy centerfielder Jim Edmonds. The trade may be the epitome of what made Walt Jocketty so successful as the General Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, as he turned a one year wonder and solid young player into a star looking for a change of scenery, who was also a free agent at the end of the year.

Jim Edmonds became a part of a talented core in St. Louis, and it all began that year when Edmonds hit .295 with 42 homeruns, drove in 108 runs, and put up .994 OPS while being selected to the all-star game, earning a Gold Glove award, and finished 4th in the MVP voting. From 2000-2004, Edmonds hit 181 homeruns, drive in 511 runs, walk 460 times, and would put up at least a 146 OPS+ and .974 OPS in each season, while winning a gold glove each season and being selected to the all-star game twice. He became a bonafide superstar at the centerfield position.

The 2000 St. Louis Cardinals won 95 games and finished first in the NL Central with help from Edmonds, an up and coming Edgar Renteria, veterans Ray Lankford and Fernando Vina, and a semi healthy J.D. Drew and Mark Mcgwire. The offense scored 887 runs that year, which was the most by a Cardinals team since the 1930 St. Louis Cardinals scored 1,004 runs.

The Cardinals success in 2000, however, wouldn't have come without the help of Daryl Kile, who was acquired in the offseason before 2000 from the Colorado Rockies. Daryl Kile came up with Houston and put together some good years with them including an outstanding 1997 season when he won 19 games and put up a 2.57 ERA. He did not have the same success in hitters haven Coors field, however, and was traded with Dave Veres to the Cardinals. Kile went 20-9 with a 3.91 ERA in 2000 and put up another outstanding year in 2001 going 16-11 with a 3.09 ERA. A great pitcher, Kile got off to a solid start in 2002 before his sudden death at a hotel in Chicago shocked Cardinals Nation. The loss of a great pitcher and great clubhouse guy, left St. Louis in tears, especially given the timing of the death.

Dave Veres, the other part of the deal, put together a solid 2000 campaign when he got 29 saves with a 2.89 ERA. He put together a couple more solid years of relief in 2001 and 2002 before becoming a free agent.

In 2000, the St. Louis Cardinals swept the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, but fell apart in the NLCS losing in five games to the New York Mets, who lost to the New York Yankees in the Subway Series.

While the St.Louis Cardinals were having a fantastic year in the majors in 2000, something was happening in Peoria, the St. Louis Cardinals low-A ball affiliate. Something special that would impact the rest of the decade in St. Louis.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted a stocky high school kid named Albert Pujols who most didn't think had a position, in the thirteenth round of the 1999 draft. He could swing the bat, but without a position and seen as overweight, teams passed on Pujols enough to see him fall to the 13th round. In 2000, Pujols was assigned to low A Peoria, where he hit .314/.378/.543/.920 with 41 doubles and 19 homeruns in 133 games. Perhaps most impressive, though, was his 46 to 47 walk to strikeout ratio as a 20 year old. Only 47 strikeouts in 544 plate appearances. Late in the year, St. Louis thought so highly of Pujols that they called him up to AAA Memphis for the Redbirds playoffs. He was named the MVP of the Pacific Coast League championship.

Albert Pujols went to Spring training the next year with a chance to make the club, which he did thanks in part to Bobby Bonilla's injury late in the spring. By the end of May, Pujols was batting .351 as a 21 year old rookie with 16 homeruns. Another good June where he hit .330 with a .969 OPS was followed by a typical rookie July of .241 with a measly .793 OPS. Upset with pitchers, Pujols would hit .375 with a 1.137 OPS in August and finish with a solid September to bring his rookie year batting stats to: .329/.403/.610/1.013 with 37 homeruns, 130 RBIs, 47 doubles, 69 walks to 93 strikeouts.

Yea, just a typical rookie year.

Of course everyone knows who Albert Pujols is now, almost unanimously considered the best player in the game and definitely the most consistent player in the game. He is the only player in baseball history to begin his career with 9 straight .300 average, 30 homerun, 100 RBI seasons and has three NL MVP's in 9 seasons. Even more amazing is that Pujols could have even more MVP's in his career if not for a man named Barry Bonds. Pujols has as many second place finishes in the MVP balloting (3) as he does MVP awards, two of which he finished second to Bonds. Pujols got his first homerun title this past season, and got a batting title in 2003, when he batted .359, just ahead of Todd Helton.

As baseball enters another decade, Pujols turns the page on the twenties and will now be entering the thirties as of this past Saturday, his 30th birthday. He is a St. Louis Cardinal for a guaranteed two more years, and everybody in St. Louis prays every night that it will be longer than that. Pujols, known as "El Hombre", has similarities to another St. Louis legend, Stan "The Man" Musial, like his involvement in the community, his meaning to St. Louis, and how the fans look to him.

In 2001, the St. Louis Cardinals finished 93-65 and claimed the National League Wild Card. The team featured talented players on offense such as Pujols, Edmonds (.304-30-110), Drew (.323-27-73), a fading McGwire (.187-29-64), and Craig Paquette (.282-15-64). The pitching staff was led by Daryl Kile and a healthy Matt Morris (22-8 3.16 ERA).

The trade that proved big before 2001 was a deal that sent third baseman Fernando Tatis to Montreal for Dustin Hermanson (14-13 with a 4.45 ERA in 2001) and left handed reliever Steve Kline. Steve Kline was considered one of the best left handed relievers in the game and would prove that in St. Louis where he made 89 appearances in 2001 and posted a miniscule 1.80 ERA. He pitched in St. Louis from 2001 to 2004 and gave the Cardinals two dominant years and two solid ones.

In 2001, St. Louis had a tough task of going up against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round, a team led by twin aces Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. St. Louis took Arizona to five games, but lost the series as Arizona went on to win a thrilling seven game World Series over the New York Yankees.

2002 marked a tough year for the city of St. Louis as the city lost legendary radio broadcaster Jack Buck on June 18th and then four days later lost ace pitcher Darryl Kile to coronary disease.

In spite of the losses of the two well liked people in the St. Louis community, the 2002 St. Louis Cardinals found ways to win games led once again on offense by Albert Pujols (.314-34-127) and Jim Edmonds (.311-28-83). Edgar Renteria had a breakout year hitting .305 with 83 RBIs and an .803 OPS. Matt Morris gave the Cardinals quality pitching again going 17-9 with a 3.42 ERA and journeyman Jason Simontacchi became a Dave Duncan specialty surprise by going 11-5 with a 4.02 ERA out of nowhere. Rookie Mike Crudale gave the Cardinals another quality rookie season by posting a team low 1.88 ERA out of the bullpen in 49 appearances at 25 years old. Crudale only spent another partial season in the majors the rest of his career in 2003.

The Cardinals front office, however, made key moves in the 2002 season which boosted the teams playoff hopes. Dealing for Chuck Finley (7-4 3.80 ERA in 14 starts) and Woody Williams (9-4 2.53 ERA in 17 starts). The two veteran pitchers gave the Cardinals a chance even after the sudden and tragic death of Darryl "DK57" Kile. Then the final deal, the blockbuster deal made at the deadline, sent Placido Polanco, Mike Timlin, and Bud Smith to the Philadelphia Phillies for star third baseman Scott Rolen. Rolen, a free agent to be, had rejected the Phillies extension offers and wanted out of there, so St. Louis saw it as an opportunity to add a star hitter to the core. Rolen signed an 8 year, $90 million deal later in the 2002 season, to stay in St. Louis long term.

Rolen, hit .278 with 14 homeruns and 44 RBIs in 55 games for St. Louis and help the Cardinals make the playoffs. He provided impact offense and phenomenal defense at third base for St. Louis over basically five seasons. In 2004 he formed with Edmonds and Pujols what would be nicknamed the "MV3" as all three players had elite offensive seasons and all three played gold glove caliber defense at their respective positions. Rolen hit 111 homeruns, drove in 453 runs, and batted .286 with an .879 OPS in his career as a St. Louis Cardinal. Unfortunately, bad luck and injury may have cost Scott Rolen a shot at the hall of fame and would eventually lead to the Cardinals trade him before the 2008 season after a public spat with manager Tony Larussa.

Before the 2002 season, the Cardinals made their first big free agent signing of the decade by signing star closer Jason "Izzy" Isringhausen. The Brighton, Illinois native became the St. Louis Cardinals franchise saves leader later on in the decade. Somewhat known for making games more interesting then they should be, Isringhausen was a very good closer for St. Louis over the longhaul posting sub 3 ERA's for St. Louis in 2002 (2.48), 2003 (2.36), 2004 (2.87), 2005 (2.14), and 2007 (2.48). In 2004, Isringhausen compiled a league high 47 saves and surpassed 30 saves five times as a Cardinal. Unfortunately for Isringhausen, he was not able to be effective enough in 2008 to get his 300th save as a Cardinal and to this day he is stuck on 293.

An interesting thing about the 2002 St. Louis cardinals is the way that manager Tony Larussa and the players handled the death of Darryl Kile. The ability to handle the death as a sad and tragic loss, but then to also move on and continue to play well like Kile would have wanted them to. In fact, the St. Louis Cardinals would win 57 games after the death of Kile, an interesting tidbit seeing how his number was 57. The 97 win 2002 St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Central by 13 games over the Houston Astros and made a third straight trip to the playoffs.

The Cardinals played Arizona again in 2002 in the first round, but this time St. Louis would get revenge as they swept the Diamondbacks. However, a Barry Bonds led San Francisco Giants team would handle a Scott Rolen-less St. Louis Cardinals team well by beating them in 5 games in the NLCS. Scott Rolen missed the NLCS after getting run into by Arizona's Alex Cintron.

After three years of making the postseason, the St. Louis Cardinals came into 2003 with optimism, and why not? They had a talented offense led by Pujols (.359-43-124), Rolen (.286-28-104), and Edmonds (.275-39-89), and Edgar renteria (.330-13-100) was coming off an .800+ OPS season at shortstop. This all without mentioning, they still had hopes for a breakout season from the man that was supposed to be a star in J.D. Drew.

However, an early season injury to closer Jason Isringhausen saw the Cardinals bullpen go through revolving doors to try to find someone to save games more than they would blow them. And a pitcher in Chicago named Mark Prior (18-6 2.43 ERA) caused problems as well in his one healthy season.

Still Isringhausen returned in 2003 and pitched effectively posting a 2.36 ERA in 40 appearances and the Cardinals came into September with a one game lead over the Chicago Cubs. An unusual five game series against the Cubs in the first days of September, however, would watch their lead go from a game to down by a game and they wouldn't see first place the rest of the season, finishing in 3rd place and three games behind the Chicago Cubs.

In the end, it was a disappointing 85 win season, but if the Cardinals had won that year, one would have to wonder if they would have made the sweeping changes before 2004 that would bring prosperity back to St. Louis and teams that were better then ever.

The offseason before 2004 saw a lot of action in St. Louis as the Cardinals traded often injured outfielder J.D. Drew and utility player Eli Marrero to the Atlanta Braves for starting pitcher Jason Marquis, left handed reliever Ray King, and top pitching prospect Adam Wainwright. The move could not have worked out better for St. Louis.

Jason Marquis was a talented pitcher who never lived to his abilities in Atlanta. In 2004 he would go 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA and would be a part of the Cardinals rotation for thre years winning 42 games in all, but also losing 37 games. Known to be somewhat of a headcase, Marquis left St. Louis with a bitter taste in cardinals fans mouths. However, one thing that has been interesting about Marquis is every year that he has been a professional baseball player, the organization he is in has made the playoffs. That run of 14 straight years will be put to the test in 2010 as he signed with the Washington Nationals.

Ray King had proven in Atlanta to be a quality durable left handed reliever, and his time in St. Louis would only strengthen that as he would spend two quality seasons in St. Louis putting up a 2.61 ERA in 86 appearances in 2004. With King and Steve Kline, Tony Larussa was given two left handers who he could call on at any time to get a left handed batter out. Left handed batters hit just .150 against King in 2004 and had just two extra base hits, both doubles, off of him in 127 plate appearances.

The trade would have worked out alright with just those two, but the best part of the deal, Adam Wainwright, was still to come.

The St. Louis Cardinals also signed recovering starter Chris Carpenter. Viewed as the future of the Blue Jays along with Roy Halladay, Carpenter never quite lived to his talent in Toronto and then went through Tommy John Surgery there and ultimately was released by the Blue Jays. St. Louis signed the right hander before the 2003 season while he was recovering from the surgery, and in 2004 brought him back again. The move has paid off big dividends for the Cardinals.

Chris Carpenter went 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA for St. Louis in 2004, making 28 starts and was part of a much improved rotation. The best was yet to come for Carpenter though, who currently holds the best winning % of any pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals history with a .739 winning%.

Coming into the 2004 season, most viewed the Chicago Cubs as being the best team in the division with their duo of young flame throwing starters Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. But, the St. Louis Cardinals with a surprise rotation led by Carpenter's comeback year, Jason Marquis, and veterans Matt Morris (15-10 4.72 ERA), Woody Williams (11-4 4.18 ERA), and free agent acquisition Jeff Suppan (16-9 4.16 ERA), the Cardinals not only won the division, but held the best record in baseball with a 105-57 record.

While the rotation surprised many people, it was the offense which also helped the team get to the elite level. The 2004 season was the year of the MV3 in St. Louis, when a deadly middle of the order in Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds took their game to historic levels.

All three hitters finished the season with a 1.000+ OPS and all three hit at least .300 with 30 doubles, 30 homeruns, 110 RBIs, walked 70 times, and scored 100 runs. They finished 3rd (Pujols), 4th (Rolen), and 5th (Edmonds) in the MVP voting, likely because they took away votes from each other. The season also marked the last time that all three would play in 140+ games in the same season together.

The Cardinals got even more offense later in the year, when they made a trade for former superstar outfielder Larry Walker. Walker made the offense even more dangerous and provided a .280 average and .953 OPS in 44 games for St. Louis down the stretch.

Holding the best record in baseball, the expectations were high in St. Louis for the Cardinals to get to the World Series, afterall this is still considered one of the most talented teams in St. Louis Cardinals history. The Cardinals got dealt another tough playoff break, however, as ace Chris Carpenter missed the entire postseason with an injury. Still, St. Louis handled Los Angeles, defeating them in four games in the first round, setting up a matchup with the division rival Houston Astros, who had claimed the NL wild card in 2004.

While Boston and New York went through an extraordinary ALCS, the Cardinals/Astros went through one about as compelling.

With homefield advantage, St. Louis took a quick 2-0 series lead over the Astros, despite Houston's deadline acquisition, Carlos Beltran, hitting a homerun in each of the first two games.

Houston, however, took game three, then won a close game in game four to even the series. In game five in Houston, the game went through 8 innings of a 0-0 score, before the Jeff Kent of the Astros hit a walkoff 3-run homerun in the bottom of the 9th to give the Astros a 3-2 lead heading to St. Louis for game six. St. Louis managed only 1 hit in game five, while Houston had just 3.

St. Louis took an early 4-3 lead after four innings, but Houston scored a run in the 9th inning to tie the game at 4-4. With all the drama setting up in St. Louis, Jim Edmonds hit a walkoff 2-run homerun in the bottom of the 12th that will be remembered by many St. Louis fans for years to come.

Jeff Suppan, a pitcher who would prove huge in the playoffs for St. Louis over his three years there, faced a tough task in game seven: He had to beat Roger Clemens. A first inning Craig biggio homerun didn't help the issues, but a defining moment of the game came in the second inning. With runners on first and second and only one out for the Astros, Brad Ausmus hit a ball that looked like it would bring at least one run home and maybe two, but Jim Edmonds, the star of game six, dove for the ball and made one of his greatest catches in a career full of them. The Astros didn't score that inning, but would score one run in the third. A Cardinals run in their third inning, cut the lead to 2-1. Pujols doubled home Roger Cedeno in the 6th to tie the game at 2, setting up Scott Rolen's two run homerun off Roger Clemens to give St. Louis a 4-2 lead. St. Louis scored another run in the eighth and won 5-2, making the World Series for the first time since 1987.

While the celebrations were great, the 2004 season was all about the Boston Red Sox who made quick work of St. Louis, sweeping them in four games.

After the 2004 season, Edgar Renteria left as a free agent for the Boston Red Sox who signed him to a 4 year, $40 million deal. With a void to fill at shortstop, the Cardinals signed the Los Angeles Angels free agent shortstop David Eckstein, who some said was the "worst signing of the offseason", to a three year deal.

In 2005, David Eckstein batted .294 with a .363 OBP as the Cardinals leadoff hitter. He is well known throughout baseball for his pesky ability to fight off pitches and make pitchers work, and he displayed that throughout his three years in St. Louis.

Another new part of the Cardinals in 2005 was rookie Yadier Molina, one of three Molina brothers that catch in the major leagues. He made his debut in 2004, but got his first year of catching in 2005 as the replacement for Mike Matheny, a well liked great defensive catcher. Molina has become a core piece in St. Louis since getting the call up and has become well known for having one of the best arms of any catcher in baseball. His specialty as a defensive catcher is an uncanny ability to pickoff baserunners off of first base, easily ahead of any other catcher in baseball in that department. He has gotten such a reputation around baseball for having a great arm that it's a rarity for teams to run on him anymore, and those that do are thrown out nearly half the time.

Before the 2005 season, however, St. Louis made a blockbuster trade that might go down as one of the worst in St. Louis Cardinals history. Needing a top of the line starter, Walt Jocketty and the Cardinals traded a young starter in Dan Haren who had yet to make a real impact in St. Louis, along with top prospect Daric Barton and reliever Kiko Calero to the Oakland Athletics for left handed starter Mark Mulder. At the time, Mulder was one of the best left handed starters in the game and had compiled 72 wins over the previous four seasons for the Oakland Athletics. The Cardinals believed that this gave them a big advantage with Carpenter and Mulder at the top of the rotation. In the end, Mark Mulder had major red flags before coming to St. Louis as his 2004 season was a mixed bag.

First Half: 18 starts, 131 2/3 IP 116 H 92 K 41 BB 6.3 K/9 IP 2.24 K/BB, 3.21 ERA
Second Half: 15 starts, 94 IP 107 H 48 K 42 BB 4.6 K/9 IP 1.14 K/BB, 6.13 ERA

His strikeout to walk ratio decreased dramatically, his strikeout ratio went down, his ERA ballooned, he became much more hittable. And in the end, Mark Mulder had one solid year in St. Louis in 2005 when he went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA, but would make only 21 more ineffective starts over the final three seasons of his Cardinals career.

Dan Haren, on the other hand, became an ace in Oakland before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks where he has become one of the best pitchers in the National League. At the time, Tony LaRussa wanted Mark Mulder, while Dave Duncan wanted to keep Haren, and they have said it was one of the few times in their career together that they have come close to splitting.

Despite an unfortunate injury to Scott Rolen in 2005, the St. Louis Cardinals managed to win 100 games again in 2005 finishing in first place in the NL Central with a 100-62 record, once again the best record in baseball.

Much of the success was due to Albert Pujols getting his first MVP award with a .330 average, 41 homeruns, and 117 RBIs, as well as a Cy Young winning season from ace Chris Carpenter who went 21-5 with a 2.83 ERA in 33 starts.

The St. Louis Cardinals were back in the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons and for a second year in a row they handled an NL West team fairly well, sweeping the San Diego Padres. And for a second straight year, the first round win set up a rematch with the division rival Houston Astros for the chance to go to the World Series. Only difference was this time, the Astros didn't have Carlos Beltran. The Cardinals, however, didn't have Scott Rolen either.

This year, the Cardinals did have Chris Carpenter though, and St. Louis took game one winning 5-3. Behind Roy Oswalt, the Astros took game two, however, to split the games heading to Houston. A heated game three saw Jim Edmonds get thrown out of the game while still at the plate, and a late rally in the 9th couldn't keep the Astros from winning 4-3. The Astros then took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a 2-1 win in game four.

One of the most defining swings of the decade, not only for the Cardinals, but also in baseball in general, occurred in game five of the 2005 NLCS. With the Cardinals winning 2-1, Lance Berkman hit a 3-run homerun in the 7th inning to put the Astros on top 4-2, which would stay the score heading into the 9th inning. With seemingly all hope lost, St. Louis was three outs from another year without the ring. And two strikeouts later, the Cardinals last hope was in movie ending form, the pesky David Eckstein, who fought to stay alive and then singled. A Jim Edmonds walk setup the defining moment, which came off the bat of Albert Pujols. A 3-run moonshot off Brad Lidge gave St. Louis a 5-4 lead and eventually won by the same score.

Of course, for St. Louis, the postseason ended poorly as the Cardinals lost 5-1 in game six, but for one last time they got the chance to play in Busch Stadium.

2006 brought new hope, however, as the Cardinals were still the team that held the best record in baseball over the last two seasons.

The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals had to go through a lot of adversity, however, as players missed time to injuries (David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, Mark Mulder, Scott Rolen, and Albert Pujols at times), or ineffectiveness (Jason Marquis).

Albert Pujols got off to a flying start in 2006, however, as he hit 25 homeruns in the first two months of the season and looked to be heading towards 50 homeruns easy. An injury in early June, however, shelved Pujols on the Disabled List and cost him a run at 50 homeruns. When he returned, he picked up right where he left off, and finished with a career high 49 homeruns and 137 RBIs, but it still was a season that could have been better. At the time, it was his best season of an already great career. Of the 49 homeruns Pujols hit the season, 20 of them were for game winning RBIs, which broke Willie May's single season record.

It was a rookie reliever who would play a key role for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006, a pitcher named Adam Wainwright. As talked about earlier, he was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the trade that dealt Drew and Marrero to Atlanta. Wainwright was at the time the key to the deal, as he was the Atlanta Braves top prospect. A Georgia native, Wainwright made his way through the minors in Atlanta and then St. Louis as well. He struggled in AAA in 2004 and 2005, but made the big league club out of spring training in 2006 nonetheless after two September outings in 2005. A starter in the minors and viewed as a starter of the future for St. Louis, Wainwright made his debut in the bullpen where he stayed all year. Wainwright proved to be big for St. Louis all year, appearing in 61 games, pitching 75 innings, and posting a 3.12 ERA. He struck out 72 batters, walked 22, and gave up 6 homeruns. By any standard, Wainwright had a very solid rookie year. The best was yet to come, however.

The big in season additions for St. Louis in 2006 were second baseman Ronnie Belliard and Jeff Weaver. Neither was a blockbuster move, both were pretty shocking that the two were supposed to help a playoff caliber team. In the end, both proved huge for the Cardinals in the postseason.

When St. Louis acquired Jeff Weaver from the Angels, he was a veteran pitcher who had bounced his way around to clubs spending time in Detroit, New York (A), and both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels. The Cardinals gave up a minor league outfielder Terry Evans to get Weaver, who was at the time one of the worst pitchers in baseball. For the Angels in 2006, he was 3-10 with a 6.29 ERA in 16 starts when he was traded to St. Louis. He didn't pitch a whole lot better in St. Louis, but did show improvement as time went on, and finished 5-4 with a 5.18 ERA in 15 starts for St. Louis in the regular season. He had always had good ability, but never pitched to it.

Ronnie Belliard had a solid year for Cleveland when the Cardinals traded for him. He was batting .291 with a .757 OPS. He didn't hit very well for the Cardinals the rest of the way, batting .237 with a .666 OPS, but he made some good defensive plays in the postseason for St. Louis, including one great diving stop in game one of the NLDS.

While Pujols was having a career year, Jim Edmonds was not having a good year. He missed time with post concussion syndrome after crashing into a wall on June 21st and also went through shoulder and foot injuries during what was at the time his worst season as a cardinal. Edmonds finished with a .257 average, hit 19 homeruns, drove in 70 runs, and posted an .822 OPS in 110 games played.

The cardinals got a needed boost, however, in Scott Rolen. Rolen played in just 56 games in 2005, but stayed much healthier in 2006 as he played in 142 games. His power wasn't the same as it used to be, however, after missing time in 2005, as he hit 22 homeruns in 2006, while driving in 95 runs, and posted an .887 OPS. He did hit 48 doubles, however, which were one shy of a career high.

The Cardinals signed Scott Spiezio in the offseason to provide a veteran bat for the bench and in return they got a very good year out of Spiezio. He batted .272 and hit 13 homeruns in 321 plate appearances, while he drove in 53 runs. He would come up huge late in the year as well.

A rookie outfielder named Chris Duncan would make a big impact for the Cardinals in 2006 as well. The son of pitching coach Dave Duncan, Chris was a power hitting outfielder who made his name against right handed pitchers. In 2006, Duncan hit .293, blasting 22 homeruns in just 280 at bats, and posted a .952 OPS. He batted .318 with a 1.034 OPS against right handed pitching. While in recent time, Duncan got a lot of heat from Cardinals fans, there is no doubting that when healthy Chris was a very talented hitter. Unfortunately, Duncan spent two healthy seasons for the Cardinals, but groin injuries hampered his power, which brought his value skyrocketing down.

The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals were in first place by 5 games heading into September and held the 2nd best record in the National league at the time. But St. Louis had an awful September, where they went just 12-17 and almost didn't even make the playoffs. With a division on the line and St. Louis enduring 7 game losing streak, it was a 3-run homerun in the 8th inning against the San Diego Padres on September 27th by Albert Pujols that might have saved the season and the playoff dreams. It took a Houston Astros loss on the last day of the season for St. Louis to make the playoffs without playing game #162.

After finishing with just 83 wins, however, the cardinals didn't get much respect from the media. And really why not? The team was struggling, they didn't have a high win total, but they did deal with injuries throughout the season, and at game one, they were finally healthy.

With the help of Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols, the Cardinals took game one against the San Diego Padres in the first round of the NLDS. They defeated the Padres, who won 88 games, in four games and moved on to face the 97 win New York Mets team, who now had Carlos Beltran.

Behind Tom Glavine, the Mets took game one by a 2-0 score. Tony Larussa tinkered the lineup in game two by playing Scott Spiezio over Scott Rolen at third base and the move paid off big time. With the Cardinals down 6-4 in the 7th, Spiezio came up with Pujols on 2nd and Edmonds on first against Guillermo Mota. Spiezio hit a flyball down the right field line that hit off the wall and Spiezio got a triple out of it scoring the tying runs. Then in the 9th inning with a tie game at 6-6, So Taguchi surprised everybody by hitting a homerun off of Mets closer Billy Wagner. The Cardinals scored two more runs that inning and won 9-6 to tie the series heading to St. Louis.

Jeff Suppan, a proven playoff pitcher, who beat Roger Clemens in game seven of the NLCS in 2004, pitched outstandingly in game three, by 8 innings of shutout ball while allowing just 3 hits. He even hit a homerun in the game as well, single handedly beating the Mets.

After a crushing defeat in game four where the Mets won 12-5, Jeff Weaver took the mound after pitching well in a losing effort in game one. This time, the Cardinals Jeff Weaver would beat the Mets Tom Glavine, as the Cardinals won 4-2, taking a 3-2 lead in the series. The Mets took game six at home beating ace Chris Carpenter to win 4-2, and it came down to game seven for the chance to go to the World Series.

Jeff Suppan, the game three magician, started for St. Louis against New York's Oliver Perez. Both teams scored a run early, and through five innings the score was 1-1. An Edmonds walk, set up perhaps one of the greatest catches in playoff history when Scott Rolen hit a flyball to left field that looked to be a sure 2-run homerun to give St. Louis a lead, when New York's Endy Chavez leaped and made an amazing, acrobatic catch to rob Rolen and then maybe even more impressively, and forgotten, double up Jim Edmonds off of first base. It was truly an incredible catch, especially given the circumstances.

The next half inning, the Mets threatened Jeff Suppan for the first time all night as they loaded the bases with 1 out. A strikeout of Jose Valentin brought up Endy Chavez, the same player that had just made a terrific catch. On the first pitch, however, Chavez popped out to centerfield ending the threat and leaving the game tied at 1. Jeff Suppan finished after giving up 1 run and 2 hits in 7 innings, but neither team threatened in the 7th or 8th innings, which brought the game to the 9th inning. After a strikeout of Edmonds and a single by Rolen, the Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina came to the plate with a surprisingly hot bat in the playoffs given his bad regular season performance at the plate. And with the 1 out and 1 runner on, Molina hit the biggest homerun of his career, a 2-run homerun to left field off of Aaron Heilman which silenced a loud New York Mets crowd.

The drama wasn't over, however, as the Mets threatened in the 9th inning, putting the first two men on, and then loading the bases with two outs. With rookie closer Adam Wainwright on the mound and Cardinals killer Carlos Beltran at the plate, the ending set up for a Hollywood finish. And with an 0-2 count, Adam Wainwright froze Carlos Beltran on probably the nastiest curveball he's ever thrown.

St. Louis made the World series after a terrific upset of the heavily favored New York Mets. The Cardinals were a team that was supposed to lose, afterall they only won 83 games, and the New York Mets team seemed destined to go to the World Series after a terrific regular season. Perhaps, it was the baseball god's way of making up for two St. Louis cardinals teams that should have done more then they did in the previous two years, though.

St. Louis came into the World Series against an even more heavily favored Detroit Tigers team. The AL had won three of the last four World Series, and this Tigers team was a very good one with good pitching. There was even one USA Today writer who said "Detroit Tigers in three" displaying how heavily favored the Tigers were, given it was best of seven, not five.

But St. Louis played the way they had in the playoffs, and took game one 7-2 behind a great performance by rookie starter Anthony Reyes, who went up against the Tigers rookie starter Justin verlander. Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen both homered off of Verlander giving support to Reyes who at one point retired 17 consecutive batters.

A game two gem by Kenny Rogers of the Tigers tied the series up at 1-1 heading back to St. Louis for game three after a 3-1 win.

With the chance for a big momentum switcher, St. Louis called upon ace Chris Carpenter, who wasn't able to pitch in the World Series (or playoffs) in 2004. Carpenter didn't give this chance away and pitched probably one of the best games of his life, throwing 8 shutout innings while allowing just 3 hits and throwing a remarkable 80 pitches. An Edmonds 2 RBI double in the 4th gave carpenter all of the support he needed, as the Cardinals won 5-0.

It was pesky shortstop David Eckstein who would come up big throughout the series, but especially in game four. He went 4 for 5 in game four including a double in the 7th to set up the tying run at 3-3. The Cardinals took a 4-3 lead later that inning thanks to a Detroit Tigers pitching error (a common theme in the World Series), which extended the inning. After the Tigers tied the game in the 8th at 4-4, Eckstein came up in the 8th inning with Aaron Miles on second and doubled to centerfield scoring Miles to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead, which Wainwright preserved for the win and a 3-1 series lead.

With game five in St. Louis, the cardinals sent Jeff Weaver to the mound to bring home their first World Series victory since 1982. When the playoffs began, nobody in St. Louis and nobody nationally could have thought that the Cardinals would be in the situation they were in. But, it happened and the Cardinals beat teams that they were big underdogs against.

Game five was all about Jeff Weaver, a pitcher who had gone through so much and never really pitched to his talent. He had bounced from team to team and earlier in the year was one of the worst in baseball. But in game five, he was pitching the biggest game of his life and except for one glitch he was outstanding. Weaver gave up a 2-run homerun to Sean Casey in the 4th which at the time gave up an early 1-0 lead. But a Justin Verlander throwing error in the 4th inning with Jeff Weaver at the plate, helped St. Louis to rally for two runs and gave them a 3-2 lead. St. Louis never looked back.

Jeff Weaver went 8 innings, gave up 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), walked 1 batter, and struck out 9 batters. In all, he threw 99 pitches-- of which 69 were strikes. The 9 strikeouts tied a season high, as he also struck out 9 batters on June 15th against the Padres while on the Angels. Weaver finished the postseason with a 2.43 ERA, the lowest of any Cardinals starter.

Detroit threatened in the 9th inning against Adam Wainwright, but the rookie closer proved tough as nails. With the go ahead run at the plate, Wainwright got third baseman Brandon Inge to swing through a curveball to end the game with a 4-2 score. The win marked the Cardinals first World Series victory since 1982 and shortstop David Eckstein became the fourth shortstop to be named the World Series MVP, and the first to do so in the National League.

While the celebrations began after the World Series victory in 2006, the season also marked the end of an era in St. Louis, as the Cardinals lost pitchers Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver to free agency.

2007 began with optimism again, as the Cardinals still had ace Chris Carpenter and were still hoping for big things from World Series game one winner Anthony Reyes, who struggled in his rookie year, but did show occasional signs of promise. The Cardinals also planned on World Series closer Adam Wainwright to be one of their starters in 2007 and he had front of the line potential.

Looking for insurance at starting position, the Cardinals signed Kip Wells during the offseason hoping that Duncan could do with the talented, but underachieving starter what he did with Jeff Weaver. In the end, the project proved to be a disaster as Wells went 7-17 with a 5.70 ERA for the Cardinals and was taken out of the rotation late in the year.

The 2007 season in general was a disaster for the St. Louis Cardinals who had decreased three straight years in wins, but hoped to change that in 2007. On the first game of the season, the Cardinals lost ace starter Chris Carpenter to an injury. The loss proved more devestating then originally expected as the 2005 NL Cy Young and 2006 NL Cy Young runner up, only pitched in 21 1/3 innings over 2007 and 2008. With the loss of ace Carpenter, who in essence defined the Cardinals playoff chances, St. Louis was forced to patchwork a rotation in hopes of coming up with some magic.

The magic was dead, however, as the 2007 rotation finished as one of the worst in franchise history. If not for a bullpen that was pretty spectacular, the Cardinals playoff chances would have been over much earlier then they were.

Despite the general rotation, Adam Wainwright proved to be a good first year starter going 14-12 with a 3.70 ERA in 32 starts. He pitched 202 innings, allowed 212 hits, 13 homeruns, walked 70 batters, and struck out 136. All in all, it wasn't what St. Louis believed he could do, but it was a solid start. The best was still yet to come from Adam.

Albert Pujols had his worst power year of his career, as he hit only 32 homeruns and 103 RBIs in 158 games, which was the closest he's come to not making the .300/30/100 in his career. The team didn't get support from Eckstein, Rolen, and Edmonds who all failed to play in 120 games, showing that their ages (32, 32, and 37) may finally have been catching up to them.

One of the scariest incidents, happened on August 31st, when outfielder Juan Encarnacion was hit in the eye by a foul ball off the bat of Aaron Miles while standing in the on deck circle. The freak accident ended Juan Encarnacion's professional baseball career.

Even with the difficult 2007 season, the Cardinals did manage to find some bright spots in it. Once the future of the Cardinals, Rick Ankiel returned in 2007 as a hitter to the big leagues. Playing in 47 games and getting 172 at bats, Ankiel managed to hit .285 with 11 homeruns. Perhaps the best moment of the season came when ankiel homered in his first game back against the Padres. Aside from the World Series, that may have been the happiest I have seen Tony Larussa, who has always been a huge supporter of Ankiel.

The 2007 St. Louis Cardinals finished with the team's lowest win total (78) since the 1999 Cardinals won 75 games.

With the disastrous 2007 season, and a team seemingly on the decline, the St. Louis Cardinals fired/let go long time general manager Walt Jocketty. Jocketty had been the Cardinals GM since 1995 and had made many great trades and signings as GM of the Cardinals. He was responsible for bringing in players like Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Daryl Kile, Edgar Renteria, Larry Walker, etc. via trade. As GM of the Cardinals, the team made the playoffs 7 times, made 6 trips to the NLCS, made 2 World Series trips, and had one World Series title. His time in St. Louis was very successful, and he left the organization as one of the best GM's in baseball.

Needless to say, the man the Cardinals hired to replace Jocketty, John Mozeliak, had tough shoes to fill, especially given the Cardinals fans really had admiration for Jocketty. Mozeliak has proven that he is good enough to fill the shoes of Jocketty, however, as he did a fantastic job of righting a sinking ship.

His first moves when he took over for St. Louis were trading veterans Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. The Cardinals traded Edmonds to the Padres for minor league third baseman David Freese and traded Scott Rolen to the Blue Jays for another veteran third baseman in Troy Glaus. The move of Edmonds was meant to open up a spot for Ankiel and save the team cash. While Glaus when healthy, was also a great offensive player.

Rick Ankiel getting playing time in 2008 proved big, as he batted .264 with 25 homeruns and put up an .843 OPS in 120 games. His OPS was among the best of National league centerfielders.

Troy Glaus got off to a slow start in St. Louis, and didn't hit a homerun until April 27th, but he finished with a very productive year, hitting .270 with 27 homeruns, 99 RBIs, and an .856 OPS. He also played very good defense at third, which hasn't been his forte. Unfortunately, Glaus would not be healthy in 2009, leaving a big void in the Cardinals lineup.

The biggest surprise in 2008 and maybe in all of baseball, though, was the play of outfielder Ryan Ludwick. An injury prone outfielder in the minors, Ludwick signed with the Cardinals during the 2007 season and in his time in the majors there, hit well (.267/.339/.479/.818 with 14 homeruns in 303 at bats). But nobody could have seen his 2008 season coming, as Ludwick would finish the 2008 season with an all-star appearance and join Pujols as the Cardinals two silver slugger award winners. Ludwick batted .299 with 37 homeruns, 40 doubles, 113 RBIs, and a .966 OPS. Those were numbers the Cardinals hadn't seen out of an outfielder since 2004. Ludwick's .591 slugging% was 2nd in the league behind teammate Albert Pujols, and his OPS and homerun totals ranked 4th.

Pujols put together another steady season batting .357 with 37 homeruns, 116 RBIs, and put up a career high 1.114 OPS. He won his second MVP award with the out of the world season.

With no Chris Carpenter again in 2008, St. Louis had to rely on a rotation made up of Wainwright, Braden Looper, 2007 pickups Todd Wellemeyer, Joel Pineiro, and a late free agent signing in Kyle Lohse. Together, the rotation put together a solid year, and much improved from the 2007 St. Louis Cardinals rotation.

Lohse put together a career year with the help of Dave Duncan, as he went 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA in 33 starts. Looper put together his best year going 12-14 with a 4.16 ERA in 33 starts, and Todd Wellemeyer put together the team low ERA of starters with at least 150 innings, with a 3.71 ERA in 32 starts. Joel Pineiro, re-signed to a 2 year deal after a solid showing in late 2007, was not the same effective starter in his first full season with the Cardinals. He went 7-7 with a 5.15 ERA in 26 games/25 starts.

Wainwright was in the midst of a breakout year before a freak finger injury sidelined him for over two and a half months. Wainwright finished the year 11-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 20 starts.

With an 86-76 record, the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals were better and on the upswing, but they finished 4th in the NL Central and 11.5 games behind the Cubs, so there was still room for improvement.

The 2009 St. Louis Cardinals would close the decade along the same lines they opened it, with a wining successful season after a couple average years.

The Cardinals expected ace Chris Carpenter to be back healthy again in 2009, which was a huge lift for a team that had dealt with injuries all over the field the last few years. Chris Carpenter had been with the team since 2003 and in the years he was hurt, the cardinals didn't make the playoffs, while in the years he was healthy, they did. So, Carpenter being back, was an important attribute.

St. Louis began 2009 as the underdogs, the team nobody was really talking about. The Cubs had won the NL Central the last two years and looked to remain on top for a third year. St. Louis made a few signings in the offseason, but nothing major. And on top of Carpenter returning, the Cardinals also dealt with a blow as Glaus had offseason surgery and was expected to miss a month or two. The month or two ended up being most of the season and then when he returned, he wasn't close to his old self.

The Cardinals also had a major hole at second base and with the team wanting to make room for top prospect Colby Rasmus, they asked Skip Schumaker, a career outfielder, to make the switch from outfield to second base. Skip Schumaker made the switch without complaining, worked hard, and made improvements throughout the year at second. He led off for the Cardinals and finished by hitting .303 with a .364 on base percentage.

With the All-star game in St. Louis in 2009, the hope was that the club would have a successful season and superstar Albert Pujols could happily be the unofficial host of the All-star game. They did and he was.

Chris Carpenter looked like his old self on his first start of the season as he allowed just 1 hit to the Pirates in 7 innings in a win. But, an oblique strain took him out of his second start of the year and put him on the DL for a month. Carpenter came back, however, and never looked back, pitching the rest of the season healthy and as good as ever. He finished the season with a 17-4 record and a league low 2.24 ERA. In 192 2/3 innings, he allowed just 156 hits, struck out 144 batters, allowed 38 walks, and just 7 homeruns. His 1.01 WHIP was 2nd best in the league behind Dan Haren.

Adam Wainwright, who looked to be having a breakout season in 2008, got off to a slow start in 2009. His production was not bad, but he didn't look all that dominant. While on the DL, Chris Carpenter spotted something in Wainwright's delivery in a May 10th start against Cincinnati and they looked at game tape on it. After working on it, Adam Wainwright was one of the best pitchers in baseball, joining Carpenter to give St. Louis arguably the best duo in baseball in 2009. Wainwright finished the year with a 19-8 record, a 2.63 ERA, and 212 strikeouts. He led the league in wins and innings pitched and was nearly unhittable after the all-star break (9-3 2.10 ERA in 15 starts). At one point, it seemed as though the duo of Carpenter and Wainwright could not be beat.

Like the MV3 in 2004, it was a trio of Cardinals pitchers that made them so successful in 2009, as with Carpenter and Wainwright, came Joel Pineiro. Pineiro was a total opposite of his 2008 form, as he went to a sinker pitch much more often in 2009. It helped him 7-9 record and a 3.20 ERA at the all-star break, and he finished 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA for the season. In 214 innings, he walked just 27 batters, much lower then his 35 in 148 2/3 in 2008 and a far cry from his 64 in 165 2/3 innings in 2007.

The St. Louis Cardinals 2009 was all about pitching, despite having the best player in the game.

Albert Pujols got off to a great start and was on pace to have a career year as he entered the all-star break with 32 homeruns, 87 RBIs, a .332 average, and a 1.179 OPS. At one point there was talk of a triple crown in store for Pujols in 2009. A worse second half where he hit 15 homeruns, drove in 48 runs, batted .322, and put up a 1.009 OPS calmed the Triple Crown talk down, but was still good enough to get Pujols his third MVP of the decade. Pujols still finished with 47 homeruns and 135 RBIs, which ranked 1st and 3rd in the league. His homerun title was the first of his illustrious career.

St. Louis GM John Mozeliak made key deals this season which helped St. Louis to their first division title since 2006. The first move was one that sent young relievers Chris Perez and Jess Todd to Cleveland for veteran utility man Mark DeRosa. At the time, DeRosa was hitting .270 with 13 homeruns and 50 RBIs for Cleveland in 71 games. He was on pace to go far beyond his career high in homeruns and RBIs. An injury shortly after he got to St. Louis landed DeRosa on the DL and meant his impact was going to be less than expected. He finished hitting just .228 with a .696 OPS in 68 games for St. Louis. He had a stretch where he hit 7 homeruns in 2 weeks, but other then that stretch did not prove to be as valuable as expected, until the playoffs where he was one of the Cardinals few bright spots.

The second move was when the Cardinals traded struggling outfielder Chris Duncan to Boston for veteran infielder Julio Lugo. Boston also agreed to pay the rest of Lugo's contract, which ends after 2010. Lugo provided an instant impact for the Cardinals as he batted .277 with a .784 OPS in 51 games for the Cardinals. He also provided some surprising pop by hitting 15 extra base hits in 148 at bats.

The third move, but the biggest impact of all, was the blockbuster that sent top prospect Brett Wallace, minor league pitcher Clayton Mortensen, and minor league outfielder Shane Peterson to the Oakland Athletics for outfielder Matt Holliday. The Cardinals had long wanted Holliday as the cleanup hitter to protect Albert Pujols, who was getting intentionally walked at career high levels. St. Louis attempted to trade for Holliday when he was a Rockie, but reports said they wanted Ryan Ludwick, Skip Schumaker, and a prospect for Holliday. Turns out, the Cardinals got their guy in the end, and he helped St. Louis tremendously.

After putting on a Cardinals uniform, Holliday's bat became a run producing machine, as he hit .353, blasted 13 homeruns, drove in 55 runs, and put up a 1.023 OPS in 63 games. The production out of the 4th spot went from below average to great with the deal for Holliday and the Cardinals went from a possible playoff trip to a legitimate World Series contender, boasting arguably the best 1-2 combination both from the mound and in the lineup of any playoff team.

The final move was when the Cardinals picked up an aging hall of fame caliber pitcher in John Smoltz. Smoltz had a tough 2009 with Boston and was looking to go somewhere where he could help a team in the playoffs after being released by the Red Sox. Smoltz found that in St. Louis where he became a starter for the Cardinals and pitched well in 7 starts down the stretch.

When the Cardinals let Edgar Renteria go to free agency, much was made about letting such a talented player go, and then to replace him with Eckstein. Of course Eckstein went onto be the Cardinals World Series MVP in 2006 and Edgar Renteria netted a first round pick from Boston. That pick was used on a player that for the previous three seasons was the Cardinals top prospect and coming into 2009, he was considered a top five prospect in the game. That player, Colby Rasmus, made his debut in 2009, and while it wasn't an Albert Pujols (how many of those are there? Not many) rookie year, Rasmus still had a promising rookie season. For the first half of the season, Rasmus was producing impressively for a rookie that had gone through injury in 2008. At the all-star break, he was batting .278 with 11 homeruns, 19 doubles, 34 RBIs, had put up an .807 OPS, and was playing some of the best defense of any centerfielder in the game. He was a legit rookie of the year contender and had displayed most of why so many scouts believed so highly of him. He even had a youtube video made for him that was well known in St. Louis.

Rasmus, however, dealt with nagging heel issues in the second half and weight loss as well, and struggled mightily to the tune of .216/.278/.314/.592 in the second half. Still, Rasmus appeared to be the best hitter on the team in the playoffs, showing promise for a breakthrough 2010 perhaps. Compared to players like Edmonds and Steve Finley coming up in the minors, Rasmus looks to be a very good player in the future, especially if he displays the patience in the majors that he did in the minors.

The 2009 St. Louis Cardinals struggled in September, and a power slump for Pujols drew questions of whether he was hurt. The team in general slumped, and it went right through the end of the regular season as they finished with 91 wins, still first place in the NL Central and still well up on the second place Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals didn't show up for the postseason, however, as they struggled with the bat. A drop flyball in the 9th inning of game two by Matt Holliday didn't help the cause, but neither did Ryan Franklin who couldn't get anyone out. In the end, the Dodgers outplayed the Cardinals and swept them in three games.

The end of the decade didn't finish like it could have, but the decade still represents one of the most successful in franchise history. The Cardinals in all, garnered 3 MVP awards, 1 Cy Young award, 31 all-stars, 1 Rookie of the Year award, 12 Silver Slugger awards, 21 Gold Glove awards, and twice Jocketty was named Executive of the Year in the decade.

Few franchises in sports are as storied as the St. Louis Cardinals, and only one in baseball is more storied.

With the help of the player of the decade, Albert Pujols, they performed as the best National League team in the decade.

Here's hoping the next decade will bring the same kind of prosperity as the one we just finished with did.

Once the future in Atlanta, Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche Invade Arizona

2010-01-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

When Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche played along side each other in Atlanta in 2005, they probably thought that it was going to be like that for years to come and in the process a winning combination. Afterall, they were part of an organization that would extend their streak of consecutive division titles to 14 years in non-strike seasons that season. Winning was all the Atlanta Braves knew at that time. Little did they know, however, that Kelly Johnson would miss most of the 2006 season with injuries and Adam LaRoche would be traded before the 2007 season to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had spent the previous 14 seasons searching for a season above .500.

Johnson and LaRoche have started alongside each other just nine games since the 2005 season, all of which came in 2009 after the Braves re-acquired LaRoche from the Boston Red Sox at the July 31st trade deadline.

With the Arizona Diamondbacks signing Adam LaRoche today to a one year deal, both Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche find themselves in similar situations. Both are signed on one year deals with an Arizona Diamondbacks team that is coming off a very disappointing season, hoping to let their production on the field set themselves up for a bigger, more long term deal next offseason.

Kelly Johnson is coming off a 2009 season that he'd probably like to forget. After two very above average offensive years in 2007 and 2008, Kelly Johnson started off slow in 2009 hitting just .203 with a .686 OPS in April. He rebounded with a better May hitting .297 with an .828 OPS, which shouldn't have come as much of a surprise given Johnson is known to be a streaky hitter. A beyond awful June (.125/.229/.167/.396), however, landed Johnson on the DL with a wrist injury. After working his way to health, Kelly Johnson returned to Atlanta without a starting job as Martin Prado's play had won him the starting second base job. Johnson still hit .261/.358/.493/.851 the rest of the way, though, which showed that he was healthy again.

Looking to save some cash, the Atlanta Braves non-tendered Kelly Johnson on December 12th and on December 29th the Arizona Diamondbacks and Johnson agreed to a one year deal worth $2.35 million.

While Johnson's 2009 season was filled with injury and disappointment, Adam LaRoche's 2009 was a typical Adam LaRoche season. He began 2009 as the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman for a third straight year, and got off to a typically slower start, hitting .250/.336/.447/.784 in the first half. LaRoche was traded from Pittsburgh to Boston on July 22nd, however, where he would only play in six games. On July 31st, LaRoche was traded back to the place where his career and promise all began, Atlanta. LaRoche hit .325/.401/.557/.958 for the Atlanta Braves, slamming 12 homeruns in 57 games while driving in 40 runs.

Like Johnson, LaRoche is known as a streaky hitter. Throughout his career he's normally either been great or bad in months by themselves. He also is a slow starter, holding a career .252/.326/.447/.773 batting line in the first half, while boasting a career .300/.363/.546/.909 batting line in the second half. That will make him likely an ultimate buy low option for a contending team every season, knowing that LaRoche is likely to heat up near the deadline. At the same time, it also makes him a bad option for trade bait.

Adam LaRoche has been consistently inconsistent though, and at the end of the day he has been a very productive hitter. He's had an OPS+ of 120 or higher in three of the last four years, an OPS of .840 or higher in three of the last four years, and has hit 25 or more homeruns while driving in 80 or more runs in three of the last four years as well. And maybe more impressively, he's done this while playing in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform for 375 of the 587 games.

Johnson and LaRoche are now back in Arizona, though, playing alongside consistently for the first time since 2005. Perhaps they can bring winning ways back to Arizona, a team that hopes to have a healthy Brandon Webb and with ace Dan Haren, will always be a team to watch out for.

With a bounce back year from Johnson and another productive year from Adam LaRoche, the Arizona Diamondbacks offense could give their pitching enough support to contend in a NL West that looks to be very competitive as usual.

I Forgive You Mark McGwire, Even if Some Won't.

2010-01-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

Five years after most people's suspicions seemed real, Mark McGwire came out Monday admitting to taking steroids during his playing career. For most this wasn't really "breaking news", but it was definitely news worthy because Mark McGwire is the first of the big pillars of the "steroid era" to admit to taking steroids. Those pillars of course are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, and Sammy Sosa, among others.

Some have said that as many as 75% of the players in baseball were taking steroids at one time or another, so the story has certainly been a headliner for the last few years or longer. Stars today like Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettite, among others have been said to have taken steroids at one time or another.

When Mark McGwire admitted to taking steroids on Monday, the news hit a particular soft spot for myself, being a St. Louis Cardinals fan and growing up in St. Louis while McGwire was the star there. I have always been a fan of his back to his days in Oakland, when I would look up the newspaper to see how he did everyday... when he was healthy of course. I remember the day he was traded to St. Louis pretty vividly and remember being very excited to see him as a Cardinal. I also clearly remember the year of 1998 when all the faces across the United States tuned in on a nightly basis to see both Mark McGwire and Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa battle it out.

While the race is long gone from most minds and now seems almost surreal given the news about both them taking steroids, I still remember that year as the year I truly became a baseball fan. I grew up a hockey and baseball fan, but until 1998 I really wasn't into baseball outside of St. Louis. But, that year, I noticed baseball on a grander scale and much in part because of that summer race of 1998. I remember being at Busch stadium with tickets down the first base side the day that Big Mac hit #61 to tie Roger Maris. I remember how electrifying the crowd in St. Louis was when the ball struck his bat and his arms went up into the air as he trotted down the first base side. Seeing highlites and pictures of that homerun still gives me chills, no matter the circumstances. I remember being at my sister's volleyball practice the following night when McGwire hit #62 to pass Roger Maris. My mom was her coach and I helped out with the practice, but I brought a radio that night because I knew that it could happen that night. The practice was just finishing up as he came up and we raced home to see #62. He hit it while we were in the car racing home, but I did see the replay of it as I got into our house.

Mark McGwire will always be known for being a steroid user, it's the legacy he set when he made the decision to cheat and use steroids with the risk that he could get caught. But I truly believe that if it wasn't for that race of 1998, the race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, the race between the quiet star and the outgoing star, the race between two players playing for heated rivals, that baseball would not be like it is today.

So, Mark McGwire made what seemed like a genuine apology, even using words such as "I wish I had never played in the steroid era." And for some that will never be enough. For me, his apology is enough, and quite frankly I really never even needed an apology, because like some I don't think I'm entitled to it given I'm not a part of his family or a friend. I will forgive him for the bad decision he made (people make mistakes), I am happy for him that he can hopefully get back to more of a normal life, and I hope that he can make a positive impact on the St. Louis Cardinals hitters in 2010 and beyond.

Because, afterall, life is about learning from mistakes made and moving on.

At least now, Big Mac Land will have some significance again.

Non-Tendered Players Offer Versatility to Plans

2009-12-14T14:58:00.000-08:00

While most of the focus this offseason has been on names such as Matt Holliday (free agent), Jason Bay (free agent), and Roy Halladay (on trade block), the non-tender deadline on Saturday brought some names onto the free agent market that could reap high rewards for teams at close to bargain prices. A few of the names have already signed back with the teams that non-tendered them such as RHP Anthony Reyes (Cleveland), RHP Adam Miller (Cleveland), and LHP Scott Olsen (Washington), but that still leaves some intriguing names on the market.

2B Kelly Johnson

I wrote about him back in early November as a potential sleeper for a team to acquire. Now, Kelly Johnson is a free agent, he can sign with any team that wants him. Atlanta non-tendered him with the rise of young middle infielder Martin Prado (hit .307/.358/.464/.822 this past season). Kelly Johnson suffered in 2009 from a much lower BABIP (.247) than his career BABIP (.311). Johnson's 2009 started off slow in April with a .203/.295/.391/.686 line after the first month of play. He had a bounce back May, though, hitting .297/.333/.495/.828. After an extremely bad June (.125/.229/.167/.396), Johnson was placed on the DL with a wrist injury. By the time Johnson came back, he had lost his starting job at second base and was mainly used as a pinch hitter/sub in the 2nd half when he batted .261/.358/.493/.851.

It's not certain that Kelly Johnson will get an offer from a team to start for them, but he should be able to get a super utility role where he could play both second base and outfield, and possibly even some shortstop or third base. In return, he should get an incentive laden deal. When healthy, Kelly Johnson was an above average run producer at second base with average defense. If he's healthy and recovered from the wrist injury, it wouldn't surprise me to se Kelly Johnson be a regular starter by mid season, even if he signs on with a team in a super utility role.

MR Matt Capps

Perhaps the most surprising name on the non-tender list, the Pittsburgh Pirates let the 26 year old hard throwing right hander go after an abysmal 2009 season. Pirates GM Neal Huntington said they tried to trade him at the winter meetings, but after a report came out by a Pittsburgh newspaper that they would non-tender him if they couldn't trade him, Capp's trade value dropped. So now Matt Capps could be a sought after reliever as teams have already been showing interest in him. Matt's problems in 2009, like Kelly Johnson's, may have resulted from bad luck. Capp's BABIP in 2009 was .364, which was much higher than his career BABIP of .296. Overall, Capps posted a 5.80 ERA in 57 appearances (54 1/3 innings). He allowed 73 hits, 10 homeruns (8 of which were to left handed hitters), and struck out 46 batters to 17 walks. Throughout his career, Capps has been known for having very good command, as he has an outstanding 1.7 BB/9 for his career and a career 4.16 K/BB ratio.

With his track record and not many concerns about velocity plus his age, Matt Capps should find himself in an envious situation where many teams are interested in him and he just has to choose which place to go to.

RHP Chien-Ming Wang

The New York Yankees non-tendered two time 19 game winner, who hasn't been fully healthy since 2007. Wang isn't expected to be healthy until at least May, but he is certain to draw interest based off former success. Chien-Ming, who will be 30 in late March, has a track record of being a groundball machine when healthy. Over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Chien-Ming Wang went 38-13 with a 3.67 ERA and posted ground ball percentages of 58.4 and 62.8. The injury is certain to draw skepticism, but when healthy, Chien-Ming Wang is a very good starter and would be some club's #1 starters, while being a good #2 or #3 on a playoff rotation.

Wang has already drawn some interest from the St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan according to Derrick Goold's twitter page, who's pitch to contact strategy would likely be perfect for Wang. Others also expect the Dodgers to be interested given that Chien-Ming Wang was a favorite of Joe Torre's from his Yankee days.

While some may consider the non-tender players to be risky, they also offer upside sometimes, as in these three players instances. Other interesting names were MR Jose Arredondo (former Los Angeles Angel), 3B Garrett Atkins (former Colorado Rockie), and OF Ryan Church (former Atlanta Brave).

Saturday's non-tender deadline may not make the same news a Holliday signing does, or a Halladay trade will, but it is certain to give teams opportunities to sign upside players at more of a bargain price.

Rangers Bullpen Beware: Moves offer intrigue, risk

2009-12-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

As Nolan Ryan has made his impact on the Texas Rangers ball club, one of the things he has really emphasized is for the pitchers to pitch more pitches and pitch more innings. So with that in mind, the moves over the past few days in Texas have been quite baffling as the Texas Rangers have made a risky move by trading workhorse and veteran leader Kevin Millwood for essentially Chris Ray, Ben Snyder (the Orioles rule V pick), and the money available to sign former Chicago Cub and Oakland Athletic right hander Rich Harden.

While the move gives the Rangers three pitchers that could possibly play a role on the 2009 Texas Rangers, it also offers a lot of risk.

Kevin Millwood was a very important starter to the Texas Rangers success in 2009. He led the team in innings, pitching 198 2/3 innings, which were the most innings by a Rangers starter since he threw 215 innings in 2006. Millwood also gave the Rangers durability, making 125 starts since joining Texas in 2006. He led the Rangers in innings pitched and starts in three of the four seasons he played with them. To put it simply, the Rangers expected Millwood out there more than any other starter on the Rangers over the last four years. He wasn't alway the most effective, but he was out there on the mound the majority of the time and out there saving the bullpen more than any other Ranger over the last four years.

Now, the leadership and expectations will switch to Rich Harden, a 28 year old starter with all the talent in the world. A healthy Rich Harden is one of the most talented starters in baseball and a very, very tough pitcher to hit on.

But, with that talent, comes risk.

Rich Harden has made a mind numbing 64 starts over the last four seasons, and has made 127 starts in 7 seasons. While he has been healthier over the last two seasons (51 starts), he still is an injury waiting to happen at any time. Yes, any player can get hurt at any time, but Harden has a proven history of getting hurt, basically every season.

Now, if health was the only risk, it may not be such a bad deal, but you look further into Rich Harden's story and you see that even when healthy he comes with risk and reward.

The Reward of Rich Harden pitching is that he can strikeout anyone at any time and can dominate when he's on the mound.

The Risk of Rich Harden pitching is that even when healthy he doesn't last deep into games, which will in the long run hurt the bullpen more then someone who goes deep into games more often.

If Rich Harden is your #1 or #2, you're already going to be playing a losing game when it comes to bullpen rest. In 2009, Rich Harden lasted 7 or more innings in just 5 of his 26 starts (19%). By comparison, Kevin Millwood lasted 7 or more innings in 15 of his 31 starts (48%). Harden lasted 6 or more innings in 15 of the 26 (58%), while Millwood lasted 6 or more in 23 of his 31 (74%). That leaves 42% of Harden's starts where he went less than 6 innings, and if that's a #1's total, then either the bullpen is going to be more tired for what is expected to be your "worse" starters, or those worse starters will have to take beatings on occasion because the #1 didn't last long enough.

Statistically, Rich Harden's career 3.39 ERA and 9.4 K/9 ratio look outstanding. Over the long run of a season though, if Rich Harden averages his career average of 5 2/3 innings a start, then the bullpen is going to be at a disadvantage in innings pitched compared to other teams.

Chris Ray, the player the Rangers traded Kevin Millwood for, is a reliever who underwent Tommy John Surgery late in the 2007 season. Ray was a promising reliever for the Baltimore Orioles who posted outstanding numbers in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, appearing in 102 games with a 2.70 ERA, while striking out 94 batters and walking 45. He came back in 2009 after surgery and posted a 7.27 ERA in 46 appearances, although he showed slight improvement from the 1st half to the 2nd half.

The Texas Rangers were able to get three pitchers and still save a little cash, and they've at least shown effort to improve the team. The moves they've made are the types of moves that could put them over the top, but they also come with risk like any other move. It will be intriguing to see how the moves shake out in the long run.

Mauer was Best Player, but was he More Valuable than Miguel Cabrera?

2009-11-23T15:18:00.001-08:00

There may not be a sweeter swing in baseball than Joe Mauer's and there was not a better hitter in the American League in 2009 than Joe Mauer. A career .327 hitter, Joe Mauer took the power part of his game to a next level in 2009 by swatting 28 of his 72 career homeruns this year. He owned the best batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and On base plus slugging percentage in the American League in 2009. Despite missing all of April, Mauer took home his first career MVP award in his best overall season of his career thus far. At just 26 years old, the former #1 overall pick has the talent to win more MVP awards before his career is over.

But, in this year's award, once again controversy has stirred with Mauer being one first place vote shy of winning the award unanimously, which is rarely done. So, the question remains, why would a voter select someone other than Joe Mauer? I don't have the first clue to the reasoning of why Keizo Konishi of the Kyodo News, a Seattle based writer, would select Miguel Cabrera over Joe Mauer. However, I do have my own reasoning of why a voter may select a player like Miguel Cabrera over Joe Mauer.

Ken Rosenthal wrote a piece of "Mauer was so dominant, the real race was for 2nd place", and I agree with much of his analysis. Mauer had a great season and was the most dominant player in the American League in 2009, no question about it. He also mentions how he had Miguel Cabrera 10th on his list, much in part to the incident at the end of the season, when Miguel Cabrera came home drunk and got in a fight with his wife. That was an awful incident and surely played a role in some voters, or could have anyways. It was an awful way for Cabrera to end a terrific season.

But, putting aside an off the field incident, which did end up hurting the Detroit Tigers, Miguel Cabrera had a terrific MVP worthy season and certainly a season that shouldn't get the controversy it is bound to get for a voter taking him ahead of Joe Mauer.

Let's put the facts out there. Here are Miguel Cabrera's ranks in some important categories in the American League.

Batting Average: .324 (4th)
On Base %: .396 (6th)
Slugging %: .547 (6th)
OBP+SLG: .942 (5th)
Hits: 198 (4th)
Total Bases: 334 (3rd)
Homeruns: 34 (6th)
RBIs: 103 (8th)
OPS+: 142 (7th)
Runs Created: 127 (3rd)
Times On Base: 271 (3rd)

Consistently, Miguel Cabrera ranks in the top 10 in important stats, and in 6 of those 11 stats, he ranks in the top 5 in the American League.

Now factor in the value to his team. Miguel Cabrera played on a team that finished in the bottom of the American League Central in 2008 with a 74-88 record, yes even below the Kansas City Royals. The Detroit Tigers made a 12 game turnaround, which was the third best turnaround among American League teams behind the Seattle Mariners (+24) and New York Yankees (+14). The turnaround wouldn't have happened if Miguel Cabrera wasn't as productive as he was, in being the only Detroit Tiger with an OPS over .800 in 2008 to not drop in 2009.

The Minnesota Twins offense had four players with 25 or more homeruns. They had two players with 100 RBIs, neither of which was Joe Mauer, and they had four players with 90 or more RBIs. They had three players with 70 walks and four with 60 or more walks. They had five players with 500 or more at bats, all five of which ended with an .800 or higher OPS for the season. The Twins team featured three players with a batting average above .300. They had two players with a .390 or higher OBP and four players with an OBP above .360. Four of the five players with 500 or more at bats had a .500+ SLG%. Mauer was the best of the Twins overall, but he was also productive because those around him were very productive too, and they stayed healthy for most of the season.

The Detroit Tigers, meanwhile, had an offense that did not have the same offensive support. The Tigers had three players with 25 or more homeruns, but only one had 100 RBIs, Miguel Cabrera. Only two Tigers had 80 or more RBIs, and only four with 70 or more RBIs. They had one player with 70 walks (Curtis Granderson) and two with over 60 (Cabrera with Granderson). They had four players with 500 or more at bats, only one of which had an .800 or higher OPS (Cabrera) and only two of which had an OPS above .730. While the Twins had three players with an average above .300, the Tigers had two, one of which didn't have 500 at bats. Only one player, Cabrera, had an OBP above .390, and he was the only player with an OBP above .340 that had 500 at bats. Just one player, again Miguel Cabrera, had a SLG% over .500 with at least 500 at bats, and only two of the 500 at bats players had a SLG% above .410.

Miguel Cabrera was clearly the Detroit Tigers best hitter, and it wasn't even close. He was the most productive all the way around and if it wasn't for Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers may have been out of the race before September began. He may not have had the chance to get drunk and in a fight with his wife before the biggest weekend of his career, which he thus slumped in.

If it wasn't for Miguel Cabrera, the Detroit Tigers don't play in the classic one game playoff, one of the best games I've watched.

Joe Mauer was the best player in the American League no doubt, but there should be no controversy over taking Miguel Cabrera over him.

Tim Lincecum a Deserving Cy Young Winner

2009-11-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

Everybody expected the 2009 National League Cy Young race to be extremely close and in the end the votes proved that. The race was so close that the winner, San Francisco Giant's ace Tim Lincecum, did not even win the most first place votes. In fact, it was St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, who had the most first place votes (12) and still finished third with 90 points. Lincecum finished with 100 points, while Wainwright's teammate Chris Carpenter finished second with 94 points.

Tim lincecum had a fabulous year from start to finished and is being recognized as the face of the National League pitching with a second consecutive Cy Young award. Not always getting the best run support, Lincecum man handled opponents to a 15-7 season with the league's 2nd best ERA of 2.48. Lincecum's area of expertise was the strikeout, where he sent 261 batters back to the dugout, good for the best in the National League, 23 strikeouts ahead of second place Javier Vazquez's 238.

It was Lincecum's body of work that made him a well deserving Cy Young award winner in a season where there were three bonafide Cy Young candidates. By outdueling Dan Haren on Lincecum's final start of the season, he won his 15th game, which made a big difference to me in his status as a potential Cy Young winner. Instead of being tied for 11th in wins in the NL with only 14, he was tied for 4th with 15 wins, which made him and Wainwright as the only two starters in the National League in the top 4 in strikeouts, wins, ERA, and innings pitched.

Chris Carpenter, the runner up, also had a very, very stellar year. His only hindrance in the end was the lack of innings pitched/missing five starts in May. Still, Carpenter finished second in wins, led in ERA, finished second in WHIP, and was the most dominant starter in the 2nd half going 10-1 with a 2.06 ERA.

Adam Wainwright finished third in the Cy Young vote behind Lincecum and Carpenter. As said, he led in first place votes despite finishing in third place. Wainwright has a very good breakout season going 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA. He ranked in the top 4 in strikeouts, ERA, wins, and innings pitched while also winning his first gold glove. His run towards the Cy Young effectively began on May 10th when Carpenter had spotted a flaw in Wainwright's delivery and so began a stretch where Wainwright's ERA would drop from 4.36 on May 10th to 2.47 on August 30th, before settling in at 2.63 at seasons end. Wainwright's 2.10 ERA in the 2nd half was the second best in the National League behind Carpenter's 2.06.

This year, there wasn't a "wrong" Cy Young award winner, but simply what of three starters would win the award and deservingly win it. With close races, however, there will always be controversy, or questioning around it, and this year is no different as ESPN's Keith Law and Baseball Prospectus's Will Carroll have already begun defending their choices of leaving Chris Carpenter off the ballots in place of Javier Vazquez and Dan Haren.

With the 2009 Cy Young, Tim Lincecum became the first back to back winner since Randy Johnson won four in a row from 1999-2002.

St. Louis teammates make history in the next week?

2009-11-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

It was five seasons ago that St. Louis Cardinals star first baseman Albert Pujols and star pitcher Chris Carpenter entered history by joining eleven other pairs of teammates that took home the league's MVP and Cy Young awards.

Five years later, and Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter have an opportunity to make history by becoming the first teammates to win the MVP and Cy Young in the same season, twice.

Widely considered the best player in the game, Albert Pujols is pretty much a shoe-in to win the MVP award in 2009, the only question really is by how much? Will it be unanimous? The two time MVP award winner, hit .327 with 47 homeruns and 135 RBIs. Pujols got on base at a .443 clip, slugged .658, and combined that for a 1.101 OPS, all three ranking tops in the league. His 188 OPS+ was the second highest of his illustrious career. Already Pujols has been named the NL's Outstanding Player by Players Choice, the Player of the Year by Players Choice, the Hank Aaron Award, as well as another Silver Slugger, the fifth of his career. Another MVP award seems to be in line when the award is announced on Tuesday November 24th.

Chris Carpenter, on the other hand, is anything but a shoe-in for the Cy Young award. Not because he didn't have a good year, but because he was one of three pitchers that had great years. Carpenter, teammate Adam Wainwright, and San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum are among the favorites for the NL Cy Young award which is going to be announced tomorrow (Thursday November 19th). Chris Carpenter, the 2005 NL Cy Young winner, had a miraculous comeback year en route to the NL Comeback player of the year award. Despite enduring two lost years due to injuries where he pitched a combined 21 1/3 innings in 2007 and 2008, Carpenter came back as good as ever, and some would even say better if that was possible. Considered one of the best in the business when healthy, Carpenter went 17-4 with a league leading 2.24 ERA. His .810 winning% was also the best in the league.

Carpenter's 2009 season didn't go without injury though, as he lost a month due to an oblique injury he sustained while batting. Still, Carpenter dominated from the moment he took the mound in 2009 (7 innings of 1 hit ball in his first start) and he never let go from there. A lot of the efforts from Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are why the cardinals did well and took control of the NL Central, as the duo combined to go 19-4 in the 2nd half. Chris Carpenter's 2.06 ERA in the 2nd half was the best in the NL while his 10 wins were tied with Colorado Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa for the most in the 2nd half. Carpenter's 109 innings in the 2nd half were also the most in the game.

Still, with a tight race such as the NL Cy Young, nothing is a given. But if the award is announced and Chris carpenter is the winner on Thursday, then there is a very good chance that the duo of Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols will become the first teammates to win the Cy Young and MVP in the same season, twice.

Sleeper Watch: Kelly Johnson

2009-11-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

Known far more for his ability to hit than his ability to field, Kelly Johnson has seen his stock take a hit over the last year. A year ago at this time, his name continued to appear on rumor mills, but not because he had struggled that much. The Atlanta Braves were coming off a season where their outfield had struggled mightily and they had a young up and coming infielder in Martin Prado who was looking for time to shine and Kelly Johnson was the odd man out despite hitting well. Now, a year later, and once again Kelly Johnson, still with the Braves, is the odd man out. He's also the higher paid player, which means more likelyhood for an Atlanta Braves team that has holes to fill.

Despite the facts, this may not be a great market for the Braves to be looking to get rid of Kelly Johnson in. There could be second basemen like Felipe Lopez (.310/.383/.427/.810 season), Placido Polanco (.285/.331/.396/.727 season; a season removed from batting .307), and Orlando Hudson (.283/.357/.417/.774 season) on the free agent market. Not to mention a player like Dan Uggla (.243/.354/.459/.813 season) could very well be available through trade. Simply put, there are other options out there than to take a chance on Kelly Johnson, coming off a down year affected by a wrist problem.

That said, that is a reason I believe that if a team will take him and give up even a small piece, Kelly Johnson could become the steal of the offseason at the second base position.

If I had this blog last offseason, this spot would have been taken by Robinson Cano, of the New York Yankees. He was "rumored" to be on the block, albeit I'm not sure how available he really was, but he was coming off a somewhat disappointing season. Still, the numbers didn't add up, as his BABIP was extremely low compared to normal years, which made me believe he was in for a rebound year (that and the fact that he did hit .307/.337/.482/.815 in the 2nd half).

Let's just say, I believe Kelly Johnson is my 2009-2010 version of Robinson Cano, but in this case he is likely readily available given depth of the position and the fact that well these aren't the New York Yankees we're talking about money wise.

So, beginning with the obvious, Kelly Johnson suffered through a 2009 season where he went from struggling starter to a wrist injury to a backup when he returned. One of the better second basemen in the game in 2007 and 2008, Kelly Johnson had a very disappointing season. That said, not all is lost.

In the first half, Kelly Johnson hit just .214/.286/.359/.645, but his very unlucky .237 BABIP might have had something to do with that, given his career BABIP is .311. And looking further into it, Johnson had a solid May hitting .297/.333/.495/.828 because of a .338 BABIP. The other two months (April and June) in the first half were tough with BABIP's of .204 and .148 leading to OPS's of .686 and .396. With the wrist injury coming in July, it's quite obvious that his wrist had to have had an impact on his power in June which was seemingly snatched out of mid air. Johnson, a player who had 109 extra base hits in 2007 and 2008 combined, had just 3 extra base hits in the month of June in 2009, after having 6 in less games in April and 13 in May. Returning from the injury, Kelly Johnson hit 5 extra base hits in 67 plate appearances.

So, the wrist problem may be the biggest hindrince on why a team might not go after a player that had 109 extra base hits over two years from the second base position while also walking 131 times over the two seasons. Kelly Johnson's consistency vs. both left handed pitchers (.299/.360/.448/.808) and right handed pitchers (.251/.341/.424/.765) over his career should be another plus, as he's not really a player that needs to platoon.

Kelly Johnson, a .282/.362/.451/.813 hitter in 2007 and 2008 combined, may not have had the best 2009 season on the market, but going forward, he may be the best value for what a team has to give up or pay.

Why No National League Team Can Compete With Philadelphia

2009-10-25T11:25:00.001-07:00

Seemingly every decade there is a team that just cannot be beaten by a team in their own league. In the 1970s it was the Cincinnati Reds with the "Big Red Machine". The Reds won six division titles in the 70s and won 100 games three times and 95 or more six times in a seven year span. The Reds would win two World Series titles and make four appearances in the World Series. The 1980s featured the Kansas City Royals to begin with and the Oakland Athletics to end with. The Mets were also there in the middle with a couple 100 win teams. Then the 1990s featured the dominant New York Yankees teams and the Atlanta Braves that won 14 consecutive full season division titles. The 2000s have featured great teams from the Yankees as well and the Boston Red Sox who won two World Series titles.

Now, welcome the Philadelphia Phillies to the stage.

It's only been three division titles in a row, but the Philadelphia Phillies are making back to back World Series appearances and they have the offense that can dominate the National League for the next 3-5 years if everybody is still on the Phillies.

The reason this Phillies team is so special is quite simple, they've got an offense that can compete with anybody, including the top AL offenses.

The Philadelphia Phillies offense is stacked from 2-6 with players that produced an OPS over .800 in the 2009 season. Their leadoff hitter, Jimmy Rollins, is a former NL MVP. Their 7th hitter, Carlos Ruiz, is a catcher who had a .780 OPS, including an .862 OPS in the 2nd half.

The Phillies didn't go any month without having less than 4 players with an .800 or higher OPS for the month. They had two months (April and July) where they had 6 players with an .800 or higher OPS.

In the center of the Phillies "Murderers row", sits the 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard and four time All-star and three time Silver Slugger Chase Utley. Surrounding them is a supporting cast that could make up most other team's middle of the order.

Shane Victorino is the spark plug that makes a lot of the production go. He batted .292 this season with a .358 OBP% and .445 SLG%. He hit 39 doubles, 13 triples, and 10 homeruns while stealing 25 bases and walking 60 times to just 71 strikeouts.

Jayson Werth may be the most underrated player on the Phillies team. Signed as a free agent by the Phillies before the 2007 season, Werth has gone from a 4th outfielder to a 2009 All-star. This season he hit a career high 36 homeruns, batted .268 and had an .879 OPS. Werth strikesout a lot, having struck out 156 times in 2009, but he also walked 91 times and stole 20 bases in 23 attempts. His OPS+ has increased from 119 in 2007 to 121 in 2008 to 127 in 2009.

The Phillies signed Raul Ibanez this offseason to replace Pat Burrell and for much of the early part of the season, Ibanez was helping carry the Phillies. While he struggled in the 2nd half hitting only .232 with a .774 OPS, Ibanez still did his part early on to prove how great the Phillies depth is, especially power wise. Ibanez finished with a .272 batting average, .899 OPS, and a career high 34 homeruns. His 130 OPS+ is also a career high.

All of this is before mentioning the key cogs in the middle of the order in Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the two faces of the Philadelphia Phillies franchise. Together, the combo of Utley and Howard has combined for 316 homeruns, 974 RBIs, and 868 runs the last four seasons.

The Phillies have few weaknesses on offense and they are far between. Their team ranked 2nd in the National League in OPS against left handers (.787) and ranked 2nd in the NL in OPS against right handers as well (.779). They have ranked in the top two in OPS against right handers three of the last four years and have ranked in the top four in OPS against left handers three of the last four years as well.

Overall, the Phillies offense, which has been 1st in the NL in runs three of the last four years, has no match in the National League.

Pitching wise, the Phillies are much more imposing now that they added Cliff Lee to go along with J.A. Happ. With Pedro's resurgence, Joe Blanton's innings, and J.A. Happ's emergence as a good young starter, the Phillies rotation can match most teams and that's before figuring that they still were able to keep Kyle Drabek, their #1 pitching prospect, at the deadline despite adding an ace starter.

The defending champs will certainly get a lot of credit if they win another World Series title this season, especially since they would come back to back against AL East teams and this time against the favored New York Yankees.

But, make no mistake about it, the Phillies are even better than all of the hoop la that they will get.

They simply cannot be equaled in the National League. Not now, not next year, and possibly not for the next few years.

Jeremy Hermida: A Steal Going Unnoticed?

2009-10-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia during a time when the Atlanta Braves dominated the National League East and made the playoffs year after year. Since becoming a major league player in 2005, Florida Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida has yet to make the playoffs with the Marlins. The closest he has come to making the playoffs was 2009 when they finished 87-75 and in second place in the National League East.

When Hermida entered the league in 2005 he was considered one of the most talented minor leaguers in all of baseball. Baseball America rated him as high as the #4 prospect in baseball in their 2006 pre-season edition. Three years in a row he was the Florida Marlins #1 prospect according to Baseball America.

In the minor leagues, Jeremy Hermida put up some staggering numbers at the plate. In 2005, Jeremy Hermida walked 111 times in 118 games in AA, an incredible amount for a minor league player that at the time was only 21 years old. Much more then power, Hermida flashed discipline (.398 career minor league OBP) and speed (67 steals in 77 attempts). Twice he stole 20 or more bases in a season. His raw tools all showed in the minors and early on in the major leagues.

In his first real taste of the major leagues in 2006, Jeremy Hermida hit .251 with only 25 extra base hits in 99 games. His .700 OPS wasn't what many expected him to be. Worse yet, Hermida's seemingly fantastic tool (discipline) had disappeared as he walked just 33 times in the 99 games. In 2007, though, Jeremy Hermida showed more power, hitting 18 homeruns in 123 games. He batted .296 in more or less his second season in the big leagues and had an .870 OPS (125 OPS+), displaying why he was rated so high by Baseball America.

The two seasons since what looked like a breakout year in 2007, however, have led to many questions over his future and whether he will live up to the hype that surrounded him when he first came up. People, especially Marlins fans, have questioned his desire to play the game.

Whether those are true or not, I am still a believer that Hermida could still be a quality hitter, and one big reason why is the ballpark he plays in.

The Florida Marlins are known to play in a park that routinely favors pitchers. Their park factor according to baseball-reference.com:

2009:
Batting- 97
Pitching- 97
Jeremy Hermida- .259/.348/.392/.740

2008:
Batting- 97
Pitching- 97
Jeremy Hermida- .249/.323/.406/.729

2007:
Batting- 100
Pitching- 101
Jeremy Hermida- .296/.369/.501/.870

2006:
Batting-94
Pitching- 94
Jeremy Hermida- .251/.332/.368/.700

In "Park Factor", anything over 100 favors hitters, while anything under 100 favors pitchers.

Notice how the years that Jeremy Hermida has put up sub-par OPS's, are the years that the park factor in Florida has been under 100, while the year it was pretty fair, Hermida put up an .870 OPS for the season.

Could it be a coincidence? Possibly, he could just be struggling since then. Or maybe Jeremy Hermida is a fairly above average hitter playing in a park that hurts him. So, let's take a look at the home/road splits, which make it even more obvious that he's been hurt by being in Florida.

2009:
Home- .267/.349/.364/.713
Road- .250/.347/.422/.769

2008:
Home- .203/.273/.312/.585
Road- .288/.364/.487/.851

2007:
Home- .267/.333/.452/.785
Road- .324/.401/.548/.949

2006:
Home- .259/.335/.380/.715
Road- .242/.329/.356/.685

So, seeing these, other then 2006, Jeremy Hermida has hit better on the road in three of his four seasons, while hitting much better on the road in 2007 and 2008 than at home. Jeremy Hermida hasn't helped himself all the time by being much less disciplined around the plate now than he was in the minors, and no I'm not going to say that getting out of Florida would all of the sudden make him a star. However, I will say that I believe if the Florida Marlins trade (give away) Jeremy Hermida or possibly even non-tender him like has been talked about, then a team that plays in more of a neutral or hitters park could very well get the steal of this offseason and a player who could put them over the top.

For St. Louis, Finding Bright Spots in the Playoffs is Tough to Do

2009-10-11T00:04:00.001-07:00

Albert Pujols. Chris Carpenter. Matt Holliday. Adam Wainwright. This was supposed to be a year where the Cardinals made a deep playoff run. The names were there to make a World Series run. The manager was there to lead them, a manager who had lost one NLDS as the Cardinals manager in seven previous tries, and that was in five games to the eventual World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.

But, the Cardinals did not show up to play. Not only did they not show up to play in the NLDS, but they didn't show up to play over the final three to four weeks.

The season that looked so promising in late July and August, ended far too early in October.

Rather then the St. Louis Cardinals that dominated the NLDS under Tony Larussa, they looked more like the Chicago Cubs that had gotten swept out of the NLDS the last two years. All in all, the NL Central is 1-12 the last three years in the postseason... not good.

Now, the Cardinals embark on an offseason filled with questions following the postseason disaster.

Will Matt Holliday return to St. Louis in 2010 and beyond? And if he doesn't, who will be replacing Holliday in 2010?

Will Tony Larussa and Dave Duncan be returning to St. Louis for at least one more season?

Will Mark DeRosa and Joel Pineiro return in 2010? Or will they go with younger guys such as David Freese and Jaime Garcia?

What happened to Albert Pujols the final month? Can they sign him to an extension that keeps him in St. Louis far beyond 2011?

Who will be the closer in 2010? When will Eduardo Sanchez's big league debut come for St. Louis?

Will John Smoltz return to St. Louis in 2010?

Can Kyle Lohse recover, and put the lost 2009 season behind him and return to the 2008 form in 2010?

Many questions will need to be answered over the next four to five months before spring training begins and definitely before the 2010 season begins.

And yet with all these questions to be answered and a postseason that left much, much more to be desired, there are still a few positives to come through.

Adam Wainwright proved dominant in his start on Thursday. The now veteran starting pitcher, has had a tremendous breakout season in 2009 and has burst onto the scene as a true #1 giving St. Louis two true #1's when healthy. Wainwright had few bumps in the road in 2009 and pitched well enough to win his final five starts, despite taking the loss in one of the starts and no decisions in three of the others. He allowed 2 earned runs or less in 18 of his final 20 starts giving his team a chance to win everytime he went out on the mound.

While Wainwright wasn't so much of an October surprise, rookie outfielder Colby Rasmus was definitely a surprise on the playoff stage. The time was too short, because it would have been something to see what kind of a name Rasmus could have made for himself. Three games, nine at bats, and four hits for Colby Rasmus in the playoffs. Three of his four hits were doubles, including what could have very easily been the game winning double in game 2. He was without much doubt the best hitter in the playoffs for the Cardinals, which was surprising given his struggles at the plate against lefties all year. Two of the three pitchers the Cardinals faced were lefties, including one very tough lefty in Clayton Kershaw.

Game three may have been over by the point he came in, but it was fun seeing John Smoltz mow down hitters as if he was making some sort of statement whether that be to return in 2010 or whether that statement was showing why he should have started in the postseason. At one point, Smoltz struck out five Dodger hitters in a row, and even though he did give up a run, John Smoltz gave the Cardinals fans something to cheer about when the offense gave them nothing to cheer about.

Even if you look hard, there are very few other things that were positive on the field. The hitting of Mark DeRosa and Dennys Reyes's work in game three may be a couple others, but other then that there really is nothing else from the NLDS to talk about positively.

Overall, it was a poor effort by the St. Louis Cardinals in a postseason where they should have been able to make a run. The lack of production from the heart of the order from September 9th onwards made for a miserable last 24 games of the 2009 season. For St. Louis's sake, let's hope the cardinals management and organization can answer some of the big questions this offseason, because if they do and the team stays healthy, they have good enough talent to return to the postseason in 2010.

The Transformation of Adam Wainwright

2009-09-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Bring up the name Walt Jocketty when talking among St. Louis fans and you'll hear many, many great things. How he brought in stars like Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Daryl Kile, etc. etc. How he was the architect of seven St. Louis Cardinals playoff appearances, six of which played in at least the NLCS, two of which played in the World Series, and one World Series champion. How he brought the team from a rather gloomy era into one of the most dominant in franchise history.

But, bring up the name Mark Mulder, and you'll hear many different stories of Walt Jocketty. It was seen as his biggest mistake, and one that probably unfairly put Cardinals fans on edge about his status as General Manager, because they gave away Dan Haren, now one of the best starting pitchers in the National League.

However, for every Dan Haren, there is an Adam Wainwright. And for a GM who gets a lot of heat about the Mark Mulder move, he has gotten a lot less credit, in my opinion, for the trade that brought Adam Wainwright to St. Louis.

Adam Wainwright was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2000 as the 29th overall selection of the draft. He would spend the next three and a half years making his way up the ranks in Atlanta's minor league system. He was ranked inside the Braves top 10 prospects three different years, including being the #1 Atlanta Braves prospect according to Baseball America in 2003, as well as the #18 prospect overall in all of baseball that year. In 2003, he spent the year playing for the Braves AA team, going 10-8 with a 3.37 ERA in 27 starts.

It was during the offseason following the 2003 season, that the St. Louis Cardinals traded talented, but often injured outfielder J.D. Drew with utility player Eli Marrero to the Atlanta Braves for starting pitcher Jason Marquis, left handed reliever Ray King, and Wainwright. The key to the deal has always been said to be Adam Wainwright, who was as said the Braves top prospect at the time.

Wainwright pitched for the Cardinals AAA ballclub, the Memphis Redbirds, for the next two seasons. In those two seasons he went 14-15 with a 4.76 ERA. He struck out 214 batters in 249 1/3 innings pitched, but also allowed 280 hits.

He made the Cardinals big league club in 2006 as a middle reliever and was very successful in that role for that season, but his biggest moment of that year has always been in October when he was forced into being the closer for the Cardinals as the usual closer Jason Isringhausen battled injuries and ineffectiveness. Adam Wainwright did a marvelous job as closer for the eventual World Series champion, closing out the NLCS by striking out Carlos Beltran looking with the bases loaded in game seven and closing out the World Series by striking out Brandon Inge swinging in game five. The strikeouts will go down as some of the most memorable in franchise history, especially given the circumstances.

While many people who don't follow the Cardinals may still think of Adam Wainwright as a closer because of the World Series, he went back to starting again in 2007. Always used as a starter in the minors, it is interesting to me that he's still thought of as a closer occasionally. I am sure though that closing in the World Series still has an impact on Wainwright to this day. The guts that a closer has to have to get the final three outs still shows in his normal starts, especially when he gets into jams.

Adam Wainwright may be one of the most underrated starting pitchers in the game though, because many don't realize just how good he is. You don't realize it really until you fully look at the statistics.

Over the Last Three Seasons, Adam Wainwright's Rankings in the National League are:
Wins: 44 (T-2nd)
ERA: 3.12 (4th)
Strikeouts: 432 (14th)
Innings: 562 (16th)
Walks: 169 (16th lowest)
K/9: 6.92 (14th)
BB/9: 2.71 (14th lowest)
K/BB: 2.56 (11th)
WHIP: 1.27 (8th)
FIP: 3.51 (4th)
WAR: 11.3 (8th)

He trails only Tim Lincecum (the reigning NL Cy Young winner), Johan Santana (two time Cy Young winner), and Jake Peavy (2007 NL Cy Young winner) in ERA over the three years. Soon, Adam Wainwright could be able to say he is a Cy Young winner.

The transformation of Adam Wainwright from #1 prospect to a top clutch performer in the 2006 postseason and finally to become an ace starter has been completed.

Along the way, Adam has had some experiences, such as a dominating second half in 2007, as well as a finger injury that cost him two months in 2008, and now onto his breakout year of 2009 where he will be the only pitcher in the National League in the top four in wins, ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched. Once considered to have more of a #2/3 type of ceiling, Adam Wainwright's 2009 campaign has proved he is much more then that.

He is a bonafide Ace.

What's the next stop for Milton "Meltdown" Bradley?

2009-09-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

The winding road of the baseball career of Milton Bradley may get a little more interesting in the coming months.

On Monday, the Chicago Cubs suspended outfielder Milton Bradley for criticizing the team in the Daily Herald of Illinois.

Some are speculating whether the Cubs will trade Bradley just one year after signing him to a 3 year,$30 million free agent deal. Signed to be one of the final puzzle pieces for a team that has struggled mightily against right handed pitching in postseason play the last two years, Milton Bradley has been anything but the answer to the Chicago Cubs World Series hopes.

Now, a situation that has gotten more tricky by the day will become more tricky should the Cubs attempt to trade Bradley.

Coming up with the Montreal Expos originally, the Chicago Cubs were Milton Bradley's seventh team in ten seasons and his fifth since 2005.

For all of the talent that Milton Bradley has, which is a lot, he has been controversial off the field and injury prone on it. A bad combination and the lead cause in why Bradley has hit over 15 homeruns just twice and over 20 homeruns just once. He has yet to drive in more then 80 runs in a season and has driven in more than 60 just twice.

This season for the Chicago Cubs, Bradley has played in 124 games, been to the plate 473 times, and hit just 12 homeruns with 40 RBIs. He has walked more (66) then he has driven in runs (40). That is a bad combination for a player that signed a contract paying an average of $10 million a year over three seasons.

Is he the reason that the Cubs have gone from 97 wins to a second place finish and 10+ back from one year to the next? No, the Cubs should also thank Geovany Soto, Ryan Dempster, a rotation that has had injury problems all year, and a closer position that has turned a 180 from 2008 to 2009. But, Milton Bradley certainly didn't help their cause and hasn't produced like a player getting paid $10 million should produce.

So where to from here? Will Milton Bradley be back in Chicago? Or who could we expect to see him playing for next year? Well here are some possibilities...

Kansas City- A low pressure environment, a team that is looking for offense, and a team that can offer him a DH spot more often then the Chicago Cubs can. Seems like a pretty good fit to me, although he may not fit any better then Jose Guillen did.

Cincinnati- Another team that needs offense help and a team that could use a left handed bat (Bradley is switch handed). I'm not sure whether Walt Jocketty would take a chance on him however, as his teams seem to normally target players who are good in the clubhouse. Still, he can't be any worse then Willy Taveras right?

Seattle- Low pressure environment, who could use a left fielder (Seattle LF's have hit .222 with a .616 OPS in 2009).

Detroit- Contender, they took a chance on Gary Sheffield at one time and could use an OF or a DH. Their offense is one of the worst in the AL, so they could use his ability. Can they afford him?
Pittsburgh- Always must keep the Cubs AAA team in mind when considering potential Chicago Cubs trades.

Obviously after seven teams, you figure the options get smaller and smaller. He's paid an awful lot of money, so anywhere he goes Chicago will likely have to pay for most of his salary. Will they be willing to do that? At what point does Milton Bradley run out of teams willing to take chances on him?

NL Cy Young Race Heats Up

2009-09-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago it looked like it was Chris Carpenter's or Adam Wainwright's to lose. Tim Lincecum had gotten hurt and Carpenter and Wainwright each shutout the Brewers over a complete game and 7 innings. Then Chris Carpenter had his worst start of the season against the Braves and Wainwright got a tough loss to the Florida Marlins. And Tim Lincecum came back with a dominating start against the Colorado Rockies. It seemed that it was Tim Lincecum's to lose.

Now, it's back up in the air.

Tim Lincecum had one of his worst outings of the year against the Dodgers lasting only 4 innings and Chris Carpenter dominated the Chicago Cubs on Saturday only to miss out on his 17th win, while Wainwright held the Chicago Cubs in check and ended with another no decision. Still, Tim Lincecum's start against the Dodgers seemingly let the race back on.

With two weeks to play in the regular season, this race is going to come down to the final two starts for each of the three starters. Here is how they stack up for the final three weeks.

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

Basic Stats:

30 starts, 211 1/3 innings, 14-6 record, 2.46 ERA, 247 strikeouts, 1.06 WHIP, .208 batting average against, 3.92 K/BB ratio

Post All-star Break:

12 starts, 83 2/3 innings, 4-4 record, 2.69 ERA, 98 strikeouts, .199 average against
vs. Colorado- 3 starts, 2-1 record, 1.64 ERA

Interesting starts stats:

12 starts with 1 or fewer runs given up
26 starts with 6 innings or more pitched
21 starts with a gamescore of 60 or higher

Notes:

Since May 21st, Tim Lincecum is 11-5 with a 2.07 ERA in 161 innings pitched with 181 strikeouts to 47 walks during that same time frame...Four times Lincecum has gotten a no decision or a loss when going 7 or more innings, giving up 2 or less earned runs, and striking out 10 or more in the game...Five times Lincecum has taken a no decision or a loss in a game where his gamescore was 70 or higher...Lincecum is 5-4 in starts against teams on pace to make the playoffs in 11 starts...

Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

Basic Stats:

26 starts, 180 2/3 innings, 16-4 record, 2.34 ERA, 136 strikeouts, 1.01 WHIP, .227 batting average against, 4.00 K/BB ratio

Post All-star Break:
13 starts, 97 innings, 9-1 record, 2.23 ERA, 72 strikeouts, .250 average against

Interesting start stats:
12 starts with 1 or fewer runs given up
23 starts with 6 or more innings pitched
15 starts with a gamescore of 60 or higher

Notes:
Three times this season Carpenter has gone at least 7 innings, given up 2 or less runs, walked none, and struck out 10 or more batters...Since coming back from the DL on May 20th, Carpenter is 15-4 with a 2.48 ERA... Since reaching a season high 2.47 ERA on July 10th, Carpenter is 9-1 with a 2.23 ERA....In 13 of his 26 starts, Carpenter has walked 1 or less batters...In 7 of his 26 starts, Chris Carpenter has allowed 3 or less hits...

Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

Basic Stats:

32 starts, 219 innings, 18-8 record, 2.59 ERA, 193 strikeouts, 1.21 WHIP, .243 batting average against, 3.06 K/B ratio

Post All-star Break:

13 starts, 88 2/3 innings, 8-3 record, 1.93 ERA, 78 strikeouts, .238 average against

Interesting Start stats:

14 starts with 1 or fewer runs given up
29 starts with 6 or more innings pitched
20 starts with a gamescore of 60 or higher

Notes:
Since May 15th, Adam Wainwright is 15-7 with a 2.18 ERA, with 160 strikeouts to 42 walks, with a gamescore of 60 or higher in 18 of the 25 starts... Six of the seven losses in this time have come in starts where he's gone at least 6 innings and given up 2 or fewer earned runs... Five of the seven losses have come in starts where he has gone at least 7 innings and given up 3 or fewer runs...In three consecutive starts, Adam Wainwright won games 3-2, 1-0, and 2-1...

Rematch of the 1964 World Series Brewing?

2009-09-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

Forty Five years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals were headed by big name players before they even knew they were big name players, such as Tim McCarver, Lou Brock, a still moderately young Bob Gibson, and were helped by a 37 year old closer Barney Schultz who led the team in saves.

The New York Yankees were headed by superstar Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Joe Pepitone, and the pitching of Whitey Ford, Jim Bouton, and to an extent a young Mel Stottlemyre.

Years later, and it seems as though the baseball world may be headed for a clash of the Titans, as the American League and baseball's most successful franchisc, the New York Yankees look like the dominating force once again in the AL. While, the National League's most successful franchise, has been the hottest team in the National League over the last month and a half.

I have a feeling like the two teams could be those in the World Series, because they are the two most well rounded teams in their leagues.

New York hasn't been to the World Series since 2003, and while for most teams that may be little reason to panic, for New York, it is well within reason to panic. When you have a payroll like the Yankees do, it is certainly reason to expect them to be in the postseason every year.

This year the Yankees front office made the signings of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett to help shore up a rotation that was not good last year and Mark Teixeira to give their offense a boost. C.C. Sabathia cost a lot of money, but he's been everything the Yankees expected and more. He currently leads the American League in wins despite a moderate 3.40 ERA. His durability is what New York needed though after going through injuries and ineffectiveness in 2008 to Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, etc.

A.J. Burnett has given the Yankees another dependable starter, who's gone out there for 28 starts and given them an 11-8 record, 4.19 ERA, and struck out 163 batters in 176 innings. His WHIP is a bit frustrating though, as he has one of the highest WHIP's of his career at 1.40.

Still, when you think of the Yankees, you think of the offense that can score at will.

Seven of their position players have 20 or more homeruns, and Derek Jeter is sitting at 17 right now, with a chance to top 20 by the end of the year.

Seven position players are hitting .280 or better, with two over .300.

Seven position players have driven in 70 or more runs, with Jeter and Melky cabrera sitting at 62 and 58 respectively.

Eight position players have an On-base plus Slugging Percentage (OPS) over .800.

That ability to put a lineup 9 deep that can hit and hit at will, is what makes the New York Yankees the best team in the American League right now. They have an 89-50 record, and haven't had a winning % under .577 in a single month since April, when they went 12-10 (.545).
Since July 1st, the Yankees are 45-18 (.714%). The consistency is what will cause trouble for opposing teams. New York hasn't just been good, they've been consistently good.

On the other end, St. Louis really hadn't been an imposing threat for the first half of the year. They were a solid team, with a pretty good chance to make a run into September for the postseason, but difficulty to hit behind #3 hitter Albert Pujols and to protect him, was keeping the Cardinals from being a dominant force.

All season, the Cardinals had been led by very good starting pitching and the good 9th inning work from 36 year old Ryan Franklin. The Cardinals had an ace finally healthy in Chris Carpenter, and they had a pitcher with potential in Adam Wainwright, who saw the light turn on about May 16th and since then he's been as good as any pitcher in baseball. Still, without a third quality starter in Joel Pineiro, I have no doubt that the Cardinals wouldn't be where they are now. The worst starter in the Cardinals rotation last year, Joel Pineiro has done a total 180, going 14-9 with a 3.28 ERA so far in 27 starts, lowering his ERA by almost 2 full runs from last year.

With three starters that could pitch with anyone, the Cardinals front office made their moves for the divine intervention pickups of Matthew (Holliday), Mark (DeRosa), Luke (Lugo, Julio) and John (Smoltz), and St. Louis has gone 30-11 (.732%) since the Holliday pickup, going from .5 game up on Chicago to 11.5 games up on the Cubs, the second place team in the NL Central.

On July 24th, the St. Louis Cardinals were 53-46, a mere 1.5 games up on the Cubs in the NL Central, and 9.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for best record in the National League. On September 8th, St. Louis is 82-57, 11.5 games up on the Chicago Cubs, and tied with the Dodgers for the best record in the NL, including having taken 5 of 7 against the Dodgers in head to head play.

Like the Yankees, the Cardinals have been consistently good, at least after having acquired the cavalry. They haven't lost two in a row since July 25th and 26th to the Phillies. The Cardinals trio has been almost automatic in games since July 1st, with St. Louis going 33-5 in their starts since July 1st. And since the pickup of John Smoltz, the Cardinals are 2-1 in his three starts. If St. Louis stays completely healthy, there are few teams that can match up well with them offensively and pitching wise.

And if St. Louis and New York are healthy, there is a good chance that we could see a rematch of 1964...

St. Louis vs. New York

10 vs. 26

2nd vs. 1st

Does it get any better?

2009 Award Predictions

2009-09-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

The baseball world has now entered upon September and that spurs the annual discussion of who is the most valuable player in each league, who should win the Cy young, and who are this year's rookie of the years. So, with that in mind, here is who I believe should take home the hardware this year...

American League Most Valuable Player (MVP):

C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

I don't believe there really should be much question with this award. Joe Mauer has been on a tear all year long. He is one of the best defensive catchers in the league and his offense has elevated him from a "very good" player to an "elite" player. I'm not sure how many people predicted him to hit 20+ homeruns this year, let alone possibly 30. Given he never had hit more then 13 in a season, I'm guessing not many. The stats though go forever. Mauer is the batting leader right now with a .367 batting average, ranks 1st in on base percentage with a .434 OBP, 1st in slugging percentage with a .611 SLG%, and of course ranks 1st with a 1.045 OPS, which is 65 points higher then the next highest, Kevin Youkilis's .980 OPS. Mauer is hitting .358 since the all-star break, he's hitting an astounding .400 with RISP and 2 outs, hitting .354 with RISP, and .373 with runners on. To show his value even more, he's hitting a collective .369 against the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Los Angeles Angels... the three division leaders. Of his 26 homeruns, 9 of them have come against those three teams. Simply put, Joe Mauer is in another world compared to the other American League hitters this season.

Contenders: 1B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers; 1B Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees; 1B Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels

American League Cy Young:

SP Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals

Keeping with the AL Central theme, there has not been a better pitcher in the American League this year then Zack Greinke. Some voters will probably have C.C. Sabathia as their Cy Young winner because he leads in wins with 15, while other voters may have Justin Verlander as their Cy Young winner because he leads in strikeouts and also has 15 wins. In the end, to me, there is only one candidate, and that is Zack Greinke. Before this season he was one of the most talented pitchers that the average fan probably didn't know about. If they did know about him, the most likely reason is because of his troubles a couple years ago when he left camp to go home to Florida and a battle with bipolar disorder. Zack Greinke, however, is an elite pitcher if ever there was one. He currently ranks 1st in ERA with a miniscule 2.32 ERA. Sure, he "only" has 13 wins, but I have a hard time faulting him for only have 13 wins when he plays on the Kansas City Royals. When you rank 1st in ERA, WHIP (1.08), 2nd in strikeouts (202), 2nd in K/BB ratio (5.05), 1st in OPS against (.625), and three of your eight losses come when your team scored 0 runs combined, it's tough to not give him the Cy Young. In fact, two of the three losses were 1-0 games. In his last start, Zack Greinke made a statement by throwing a 1 hit shutout of the Seattle Mariners as Kansas City won 3-0. That was following a start where he struck out 15 Cleveland Indian batters in 8 innings. In 2009, Zack Greinke should be the American League Cy Young winner.

Candidates: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers; C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees; Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays; Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

AL Rookie of the Year: Blogger: The Unparalleled Baseball Blog - Create Post

3B Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox

This is a much closer race then the MVP and Cy Young awards were for me. There are a few candidates that could easily be considered for the Rookie of the Year. Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers, Nolan Reimold of the Baltimore Orioles, Jeff Niemann of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Andrew Bailey of the Oakland Athletics are all legit candidates. In the end, I chose Gordon Beckham because I think with the last month, he will improve his candidacy. Coming up in June he was already served a disadvantage for this award since he missed two months. But, in the three months since he's been called up, Beckham has hit 32 extra base hits, driven in an AL rookie leading 51 RBIs, put up a solid .795 OPS, walked 31 times to 51 strikeouts, and has the fourth most hits among rookies with 78. The three players ahead of him in hits all have at least 19 more plate appearances then Beckham.

Candidates: SS Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers; Nolan Reimold, Baltimore Orioles; Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays; Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics

National League Most Valuable Player (MVP):

1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

If there was any doubt that this may not be Albert's award with a slumping second half, he answered it last Friday night with a walkoff moonshot against the Washington Nationals. Albert Pujols has had his name on this trophy since the all-star break when he put up a career best 32 homeruns in the first half while hitting .332 with a 1.179 OPS. While he "struggled" a bit in July, at least to his standards, Pujols came back with a very good August hitting .319 with 7 homeruns and a 1.092 OPS. On the season he ranks 5th in batting average (.320), 1st in homeruns (42), 3rd in RBIs (111), 3rd in walks (99), 1st in OPS (1.117), 1st in intentional walks (40), 1st in extra base hits (77), and 1st in RC/27 (10.01). While talks of him achieving the triple crown may have dwindled with Hanley Ramirez running away with the batting title and Prince Fielder taking the lead in RBIs, Albert Pujols is still having one of his best seasons of his storied career. He carried a struggling offense on his back in the 1st half and kept a fairly talented St. Louis Cardinals team near the NL Central lead long enough for the Cardinals management to make moves for the "divine intervtion" of Matthew (Holliday), Mark (DeRosa), and Luke (Lugo, Julio).

Candidates: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins... if there are any.

National League Cy Young:

Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

This is probably the toughest major award this year to really get a feeling on. I predicted it before and it has not gotten any easier, but the award will come down to the duos of Tim Lincecum-Matt Cain and Chris Carpenter-Adam Wainwright. How September goes will determine the outcome of the race or could make it even more confusing. Tim Lincecum is probably the most well known pitcher of the group and it's hard to argue with his numbers. He leads in strikeouts, has 13 wins, and is 2nd in ERA. He also ranks 3rd in WHIP. However, in the awards since we're talking about how September will play out, I project that Adam Wainwright will be the winner in the end. Why? Because he has been flat out dominating lately. Since the all-star break, Adam Wainwright is 6-2 with a 1.29 ERA in 9 starts. He has struck out 49 batters in that time, but more importantly his control has improved dramatically. His biggest issue at the beginning of the season was control, but since the all-star break he has walked just 9 batters in 9 starts. Over his last 21 starts, Adam Wainwright has a ridiculous 1.95 ERA. There will be those who look at his major league leading 16 wins and say "well he just gets good run support", and those will be the voters who didn't do their research. Over his last 12 starts, the St. Louis Cardinals offense has scored 47 runs, and 19 of those came in two starts. Meaning they scored 28 in the other 10 starts. The last time Wainwright gave up more then 2 earned runs was June 21st, while the last time he gave up more then 2 runs period was June 26th. He has gone 6 or more innings in 26 straight starts, which is the longest active streak in baseball. Adam Wainwright brings durability (2nd in innings pitched), winning determination (1st in wins), a low ERA (3rd in ERA and going down), strikeouts (tied for 5th in strikeouts), and consistency (1.87 ERA in wins; 3.75 ERA in losses; 2.62 ERA in No decisions). It's a tough race and will come down to the wire.

Candidates: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants; Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals; Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

National League Rookie of the Year:

Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

A suddenly tight race, the National League rookie of the year should be an interesting one to watch. There are both offensive and pitching candidates up there for the award. J.A. Happ of the Philadelphia Phillies, Dexter Fowler of the Colorado Rockies, Randy Wells of the Chicago Cubs, and Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins look like legit contenders for the award. But one stands alone to me, and that is outfielder Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen has been a force for Pittsburgh since getting the call from AAA. One of the best minor league talents before this year, he has certainly lived up to the billing in the majors. Through his first 354 plate appearances, he has hit .288 with a .362 OBP, and an .857 OPS. He has hit 20 doubles, 6 triples, 11 homeruns, driven in 45 runs, stolen 15 bases, and walked 36 times to 58 strikeouts. Among rookies, he ranks 5th in hits, 4th in homeruns, tied for 2nd in RBIs, 3rd in steals, 3rd in OBP, 1st in OPS, and 2nd in extra base hits. His all-around ability is why I believe he should be this year's rookie of the year. He has shown the potential to one day be at least a 20-20 man if not potentially a 25-25 or even 30-30 man. He certainly has the ability to be a star in this league, something Pittsburgh has not had in a while.

Candidates: J.A. Happ, Philadelphia Phillies; Randy Wells, Chicago Cubs; Chris Coghlan, Florida Marlins; Dexter Fowler, Colorado Rockies

This baseball season has been a wild one and I believe that September and October will be even better. The awards will cap the year off by being very close races.

I look forward to seeing how the rest of the year goes.

With Division Races Not Close, Look to Wildcard Races for Excitement

2009-08-31T12:08:00.001-07:00

Where did the season go? It seems like just yesterday it was April 1st and there was the joy of opening day. We are now one day from having the "dog days of August" over with and September upon us. Yet, for a season that seemed to be exciting to begin with, the energy seems to be dwindling down.

Sure, the wild card races are still there, and they will be down to the wire finishes with Boston, Tampa Bay, and Texas competing in the AL wildcard chase, while Colorado, San Francisco, and Atlanta should fight it out in the NL wildcard race. But, as for the division races, well let's just say that barring a meltdown those seem pretty set in stone. For those believing a meltdown could happen, well the Mets aren't leading the NL East, so that seems unlikely.

This season will be the first year since major league baseball split into the three division leagues that no lead in the divisions will be of three games or less entering September 1st. The only division that comes close is the AL Central, which entering today was a 4.5 game lead for the Detroit Tigers. Only four teams in the National League are within single digit games of their division leaders entering today. Those teams, the San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, and Atlanta Braves should battle out the wild card race for the NL.

Exciting baseball does lie ahead of us, as there isn't much else that can top the atmosphere of baseball in September, October, and sometimes November. When you get the best teams going head to head with their season on the line, in front of sell out crowds, that is when you realize how amazing the sport of baseball is.

For the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants fans, they have been able to witness this sight as the two teams have already played playoff like baseball over the last couple weeks. Both teams are battling it out in the wild card race, with only one of them going. They all know what is at stake with every game. Yesterday it was Edgar Renteria who became the hero in San Francisco, by hitting a clutch go ahead grand slam. Renteria is no stranger to playoff baseball either as he was the hero in the 1997 World Series for the Florida Marlins.

Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox are set to play each other in a three game set starting Tuesday, and you can bet that there will be fireworks in that series. With Tampa Bay 5.5 back entering Monday, they will need a sweep of Boston to get back into the wildcard race as a legit contender. If they get swept, however, 8.5 back with just September to go is a tough task to handle and likely would mean their season is over.

So, while the division races may not have the stakes that they are used to, the wild card races should be an interesting spectacle to watch down the stretch.

Washington Nationals: Better Than Given Credit For

2009-08-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

There were times in the first half when people in baseball were wondering if the Nationals would lose 120 games.

Not anymore.

The question now, should be, will the Washington Nationals even have the #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft and the potential rights to Bryce Harper who is considered by some to be baseball's answer to Lebron James.

For a team that started off 1-10 and was a horrific 26-61 at the all-star break, the Washington Nationals have gone under the radar in the second half. Perhaps people just expect them to be bad or maybe the average fan just doesn't pay much attention to them period. But, in the second half, they have won series over teams like the Mets, Marlins, swept Arizona and Cincinnati, and most recently won 2 out of 3 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley.

Make no mistake about it, the Washington Nationals have been a much different team in the second half then the first half, and they have a 20-21 record in the second half to prove it.

Offense

Some consider the key for the turnaround to be the acquisition of Nyjer Morgan from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He solidified the Washington Nationals outfield and gave them a true leadoff hitter. What was already a solid offense in the first half, became a much better offense in the second half. Among National League teams in the second half, they rank 7th in batting average, 6th in on base percentage, 7th in on base plus slugging percentage (OPS), 1st in runs (although they've played tied for the most games in the NL in the 2nd half), 6th in homeruns, and tied for first in steals.

The impact of Nyjer Morgan is seen in the stolen base department, where they had only 36 in the first half in 87 games. In 41 games in the second half they have 27 already. While, they will not have him the rest of the year as he is expected to miss the season, the improvement can be seen with the impact of Nyjer Morgan.

Adam Dunn also has been huge as he had a good first half backed up with a tremendous second half so far. With Dunn hitting well in the second half (.326/.460/.659/1.119) and Ryan Zimmerman providing the rest (.340/.426/.695/1.121), the Nationals offense can be carried by a Ramirez-Ortiz type of duo.

Pitching

This side of the game is another story, however. Pitching has been a problem for the Nationals all year and hasn't gotten a whole lot better. They had the worst ERA in the National League in the first half with a 5.21 ERA, and have a 4.78 ERA so far in the second half which is again one of the worst in the National League (14th). Still, it's possible to find some bright spots.

A big problem with the Nationals pitching staff in the first half was control. They gave up an awful 4.19 BB/9 innings pitched. No team gave up more walks then the Nationals did with 355. In the second half, however, they have improved their walk rate to a much more reasonable 3.26 BB/9 innings pitched. At the same time, their strikeout rate has improved from 5.66 strikeouts per 9 in the 1st half to 6.9 strikeouts per 9 in the 2nd half.

The Nationals struggled mightily with their bullpen production in the first half as well. The closer spot was a black hole and has been since Chad Cordero got hurt and is no longer with the team. Washington blew 20 saves in the first half in 34 opportunities. The closest national league team to them in blown saves was Houston and the Los Angeles Dodgers with 17. A 40% save percentage is much less then you expect from a team's bullpen. In the second half, they have improved that save percentage with the emergence of Mike MacDougal who has resurrected his career with the Nationals. In 37 appearances with Washington, MacDougal has blown just 1 save with 14 saves. He has a 1.98 ERA with the Nationals. While control remains and issue with him and his strikeout rate has not been great this year, MacDougal has continued to get the job done thanks to a 1.79 G/F ratio.

Outlook

The Washington Nationals are not going to be world beaters probably next year or the year after. They will likely lose Adam Dunn down the road as he is a free agent after next season if he isn't traded before then. They do have some good younger players though and the latest addition of perhaps the most hyped up pitching prospect ever in Stephen Strasburg should help them. The Nationals can potentially be at least a mediocre team if they can add a couple more arms. If they could add one of the riskier free agents in this year's class (perhaps rich harden?), they might even have a chance to finish above .500 if everything fell in place.

They are no cake walk though, and are better then they are given credit for.

A Deadly Trio

2009-08-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Four years ago the St. Louis Cardinals had a trio of hitters that were nicknamed the "MV3". The trio of Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen would finish 3-4-5 in MVP balloting that year, likely taking away votes from each other. The three hitters, well known by the time as stars in their own right, helped St. Louis to a MLB best 105 wins and a World Series appearance after a NLCS appearance that should be known as a classic.

Flash forward four years later and the St. Louis Cardinals have another trio that is helping St. Louis to the postseason. This one though, is not talked about enough and not filled with the superstar names well known by fans nationally.

Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Joel Pineiro (yes the same one that was let go by Boston in 2007), has been as good as any trio in baseball this year. And as valuable as any trio, hitting or pitching, in the game.

Chris Carpenter has pitched his way into being the Cy Young favorite. ESPN and baseball experts will try to make Tim Lincecum sound like the favorite. But, as the season goes along, Chris Carpenter is making the case for him to be "the man". After tossing 7 shutout innings allowing 3 hits against the Padres on Saturday night, Carpenter has a 2.16 ERA, the best in the majors. He will have 14 wins, which ties him with Jason Marquis and Adam Wainwright for the most in the National League. He managed to lower his WHIP from a miniscule 0.97 to 0.96, which is 2nd in the majors behind only former Cardinal teammate Dan Haren, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The talk about Lincecum is his dominant strikeout totals, which are pretty amazing. If all Lincecum has to go on is the fact that he has more strikeouts then Carpenter and also has pitched in more innings, then he shouldn't be the Cy Young winner, while Carpenter has the lower ERA, more wins (in 5 less starts I might add), a lower WHIP, and more K/BB ratio (strikeouts aren't everything if you walk batters as well, while Carp walks hardly anyone).

Then there is Adam Wainwright, the emerging frontline starter in the St. Louis rotation. Just three years ago, Adam Wainwright was being used as a reliever before being placed in the emergency closer role for the playoffs. He froze Carlos Beltran with a curveball in the NLCS and got Brandon Inge to swing and miss in game five of the World Series. Three years later, Adam Wainwright is in the midst of a full blown breakout season at the age of 27. Few pitchers have been more consistent this year then Wainwright. Wins, losses, and no decisions, Wainwright has pitched well overall. He's tied for the league lead in wins with 14 and is 5th in the National League in ERA with a 2.61 ERA. Being in the top 5 in wins, ERA, and strikeouts garners attention no matter who you are, and Adam Wainwright certainly deserves the attention.

Finally, the special trio is rounded out by the groundball machine and the reclamation project that is Joel Pineiro. Last season, Joel Pineiro went 7-7 with a 5.15 ERA in 26 games/25 starts. A year later, and Joel Pineiro has gone 12-9 with a 3.15 ERA in 24 starts. His WHIP has dropped dramatically from 1.45 to 1.11. At one time Joel Pineiro was one of the bright young pitchers in the game, when he went 30-18 with Seattle in 2002 and 2003 at the ages of 23 and 24. He has not been the same since then until 2009. His control has become better then it ever was though, which may be the reason for the dramatic improvement. He has walked just 18 batters in 162 2/3 innings. Think about that, just how ridiculous that is. His BB/9 innings rate is just 1.0. Perhaps just as important is the fact that Joel Pineiro has gone from a flyball pitcher to a groundball machine. His G/F ratio in 2009 is 1.67, which is 0.70 higher then it was in 2008 and 0.91 higher then it was back in 2004. He currently ranks tied for 5th in wins in the National League, with the 14th best ERA, and tied for the 6th best WHIP. His G/F ratio of 1.67 is the best in the National League of those with at least 100 innings and his K/BB ratio of 4.39 is good for the 5th best in the National League.

Perhaps an even better way to show just how deadly this trio has become is this stat:

The St. Louis Cardinals are 26-3 since July 1st when Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Joel Pineiro start the game. Show me a trio that has been THAT good, and I'll tip my hat to you, but until then, I'll continue to believe that there is currently not a better trio at winning than the one the St. Louis Cardinals have. And believe me, it's not that the offense is averaging 10 runs a game, given the three starters rank 12th (Wainwright), 39th (Pineiro), and 51st (Carpenter) in run support of starters with at least 100 innings. There are 58 starters that match such criteria.

St. Louis had a MV3 trio four years ago.

Four years later, a new trio may be the most valuable trio of any team in the game.

He Has Arrived

2009-08-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, a baseball star named Kendry Morales defected to the United States in hopes of a better future in baseball. He would sign a 6 year deal worth $3 million up front with the Los Angeles Angels.

He was ranked the #76 best prospect in baseball in 2005 and the #78 best prospect in baseball in 2006.

Five years later, and Kendry Morales is making a name for himself as not only a legitimate star on a Los Angeles Angels team that has needed him more now then ever before, but also making a name for himself as a 2009 American League MVP candidate.

Never been given more then 215 plate appearances in a single season in the big leagues before this year, Morales is making everyone in Los Angeles forget about the "one that got away" in Mark Teixeira as well as the "one that should have been" in Casey Kotchman.

Through Friday, Kendry Morales was hitting .303 ( T-18th in AL), with 25 homeruns (T-6th in AL), 76 RBIs (10th in AL), and a .928 OPS (9th in AL). Since the all-star break, Morales has hit .362 (2nd in AL) with 10 homeruns (1st in AL), 27 RBIs (1st in AL), and a 1.122 OPS (1st in AL) leading the Angels to a 19-8 record in the 2nd half and separating them from the Rangers by 4.5 games.

The road to the big leagues hasn't been easy as Morales has spent the last three years shuttling between Salt Lake (AAA) and Los Angeles (MLB). He put up very good numbers in the minor leagues, but still was never given a full chance until this year. With Teixeira signing with the Yankees after spending the last half year last year in Los Angeles, the Angels decided to live and die on Morales. He's lived up to the challenge and posted numbers everybit as good as Teixeira, especially given the salary difference.

Mark Teixeira will get a lot of MVP publicity because he's on the Yankees and is having a very good year, but I'm not sure his value to the Yankees has been near that of Kendry Morales to the Angels, even in the 2nd half when Teixeira has been putting up great numbers.

Consider that three of the top 10 in the AL in the 2nd half in OPS are Yankees, while only one is an Angel.

Consider that there are eight players on the Yankees that have an OPS above .800 with at least 300 plate appearances for the season. The Angels have five.

Kendry Morales has overcome some hard times and he's taking advantage of playing time this year. Few players have been as balanced of a hitter as Morales has been.

No hitter has been as valuable to their team since the all-star break.

Alexis Rios: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2009-08-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

Once considered one of the bright young outfielders in the game, Alexis Rios was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday to the Chicago White Sox. Well, kind of. Techinically he was traded, but the Blue Jays received "nothing" in return. Literately... nothing. The Chicago White Sox was the secret team that had claimed Alexis Rios off of waivers after the Blue Jays placed him on the usual August waivers.

The Chicago White Sox didn't exactly give up "nothing" in return. They really gave up over $60 million over the next five years guaranteed, plus the month and a half that is left in 2009. Alexis Rios has an option for the 2015 season which is for $13.5 million or a $1 million buyout.

Taken with the 19th overall pick in the 1999 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, Rios was always considered a very talented "raw" player. It took him four to five years to reach the majors and took him another two seasons before he had his breakout season in 2006 at 25 years old. Rios hit .302 that year with 17 homeruns and put up an .865 OPS. The following season, Rios backed his breakout year by hitting .297 with 24 homeruns, 43 doubles, and a career high 85 RBIs.

While his last two seasons have not been as good as 2006 and 2007 were, Alexis Rios has always shown flashes of everything that he's capable of.

He's shown the ability to hit for average by hitting .302 in 2006, the .297 average in 2007, and the .291 average in 2008.

He's shown the ability to hit extra base hits, hitting 24 homeruns in 2007 and putting up 43 doubles in 2007 and 47 doubles in 2008.

He's shown the speed by stealing at least 14 bases every season, including a career high 32 in 2008.

So with that, you see the different tools that scouts talked about Rios having when he was a prospect in the minor leagues.

The biggest downside to Alexis Rios, and the skill that is going to keep him from being a star, is that Rios does not walk nearly enough to be a big time run producer. He is not a patient hitter, walking over 50 times just once in his career. He has struck out 100+ times in 3 of the last 4 years coming into this season as well. His plate discipline in the minors was an issue as well, so I don't see his discipline suddenly improving.

The Good

For the Toronto Blue Jays, this trade allows them to free up payroll to either resign their ace and team leader Roy Halladay, or to spend money in free agency at a wiser rate. Alexis Rios was due the $60 million+ over the next 5 years and for that money, he wasn't producing nearly enough to make that money worth it. When he signed that extension he was coming off his 24 homerun, 43 double, and .852 OPS season. Since, he has not been good enough to deserve those millions. As Ken Rosenthal noted, in the past offseason if the Jays didn't have Rios, they could have used that money to sign second baseman Orlando Hudson (.294 average, .365 OBP, all-star), first baseman Russell Branyan (.255 average, 27 homeruns, 67 RBIs), outfielder Bobby Abreu (.316 average, .411 OBP), and shortstop Adam Everett (.240 average, solid defense)... and still had money to spare. By getting rid of Alexis Rios without paying any salary, they open up many options for the upcoming offseason. Can J.P. Riccardi get creative? Toronto's fan base sure hopes so.

The Bad

Since Toronto was not able to deal Alexis Rios at the deadline and ended up giving him away for nothing, it shows two different scenarios. First, the Blue Jays must be overvaluing their talent. I think this is big, because it seemed that the Blue Jays were asking for a lot for Halladay, and since they weren't able to deal Rios, then gave him away, I think it shows that they clearly are asking for much more then the talent is. It also shows that the financial situation in Toronto is bad. Will Halladay want to stay there if they aren't going to be able to afford a competitive team? There is already the feeling that Halladay doesn't want to be back in Toronto, why would any star want to be somewhere where a team can't afford to put talent around you? Just jump ship to the division rival New York Yankees or to a bigger market in the United States. I still believe paying a little to get even a low-A prospect is worth more then just giving a contract away. At least you might get something out of it plus the salary relief.

The Ugly

Remember the rumors a couple years ago? Toronto was talking about sending Alexis Rios to the San Francisco Giants for Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum. During the offseason between 2007 and 2008, there was a lot of talk over this. It never happened. Partly because San Francisco wanted to keep Cain and Lincecum. Partly because Toronto wouldn't give any pitching with Alexis Rios and didn't want to part with A.J. Burnett.

Two years later, and they gave away Rios for nothing, A.J. Burnett is wearing pin stripes, and Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are the talk of the National League as both are in the race for the 2009 NL Cy Young award, which if Lincecum were to win would be his second in three seasons and second consecutive.

Toronto Blue Jays fans can only imagine what could have been.

Roy Halladay
Tim Lincecum/Matt Cain

You think Halladay would want to stay then?

Hindsight is 20/20.

NL Cy Young Race a Two Team Battle... Possibly

2009-08-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

If the saying "pitching wins championships" is correct, then the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals should like their chances this season. The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals rank 1st and 2nd in starting rotation ERA in the National League (NL). The San Francisco Giants team ERA is 1st in NL, while the St. Louis Cardinals are 5th in the NL in ERA.

Much of the credit to the teams having the great ERA's, however, should be given to the 1-2 punches at the top of the rotation, which should make for an enjoyable rest of the season.

As it looks right now, the race for the National League Cy Young winner in 2009 will come down to the four pitchers that lead the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals rotation.

The San Francisco Giant's duo led by last year's NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is without a doubt the best young pitching duo in baseball. With Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain the San Francisco Giants are currently leading the wild card race by a game over the Colorado Rockies.

Tim Lincecum this season has been downright filthy going 12-3 with a league leading 2.20 ERA so far. He has struck out 198 batters in 163 2/3 innings while allowing just 129 hits. If it seemed like he couldn't do much better then 2008, then he has proved that wrong because every almost every major stat has improved in 2009.

Stat 2009 (2008)
IP/G: 7.12 (6.88)
P/PA: 15.2 (16.2)
Opponents average: .214 (.221)
Opponents OBP: .267 (.297)
Opponents OPS: .557 (.609)
K/9 IP: 10.89 (10.51)
K/BB: 4.17 (3.16)
Winning%: .800 (.783)
Ground Ball/Fly Ball Ratio: 0.89 (0.80)

While Tim Lincecum is "The Freak", Matt Cain is the bulldog for the Giants rotation. Always seen as a frontline starter coming up in the minors and early in his career, Matt Cain has taken a big step forward in 2009. He's held opponent to just a .224 average (last year it was .251), which has helped his ERA decrease by a run and a half from 3.76 to 2.25.

Statisticians, though, will point to an extremely lucky Batting average on balls in play (BABIP) that Matt Cain has had thus far this season. His BABIP is .257, down from .304 in 2008. An average BABIP is normally somewhere around .300. It's possible that he could stabilize and thus see an increase in base hits allowed and his ERA could rise up some, but we'll see.

To show how valuable the duo has been to San Francisco, the Giants are 30-15 (.667 winning%) when Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain make a start this year. They are 21-34 (.381 winning%) when someone else makes a start.

For the St. Louis Cardinals, their duo is led by Chris Carpenter, the ace that they were missing in 2007 and 2008. Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright have formed as formidable a duo as there is in the game right now, well that isn't named Tim Lincecum-Matt Cain.

Chris Carpenter, the winner of the 2005 NL Cy Young award, is as talented a starter as there is in the National League when healthy. The helath has been the key for Carpenter, as he's missed both 2007 and 2008 with injury. From 2004 to 2006, though, Carpenter was arguably the best starter in the NL. In 2009, Carpenter has been able to stay mostly healthy aside from one stint on the DL due to an oblique issue which wasn't even a pitching injury.

Carpenter is currently 11-3 with a 2.26 ERA, good for third in the NL behind Lincecum and Cain. He has won 6 of his past 7 starts and has been able to minimize damage for the most part. While Chris Carpenter is not a "dominant strikeout" pitcher, he can get strikeouts when he needs to. Carpenter, however, has been a proven winner over his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, and to this point that has held true this season.

Adam Wainwright, the last pitcher standing in the 2006 World Series, has been coming into his own this season. Showing glimses of becoming one of the elite starters in both 2007 (2nd half) and 2008 (when healthy), Wainwright looks as if he is finally putting it altogether. One win shy of his career high of 14 wins already, Adam became the first pitcher in the National League to 13 wins on the season on Saturday, and is currently 6th in the NL in ERA with a 2.73 ERA.

Like Chris Carpenter, Wainwright is not going to be one of the pitchers you think of when trying to come up with strikeout pitchers, but like Carpenter, Wainwright can get them when he needs them, and this season has proved that as his K/9 ratio has gone up from 6.21 last year to 7.96 this year. Wainwright is 9-1 on the road this season, but his ERA is over a run lower at home (2.18) then on the road (3.41).

Like the San Franciso Giants, the value of the two pitchers is shown in their team's record when they start games. The St. Louis Cardinals are 27-15 (.643 winning%) when Carpenter and Wainwright start a game, and are 34-36 (.486 winning%) when they don't.

The Cardinals and San Francisco Giants may do something in 2009 that hasn't been done since 1998 which is have two teammates from two different teams finish in the top 4 in the Cy Young voting. The last time it happened was when Tom Glavine (1st/ATL), Trevor Hoffman (2nd/SD), Kevin Brown (3rd/SD), and Greg Maddux (4th/ATL) were the top 4.

Everything sets up for a great August and September run towards the playoffs.

The Trade That Never Was, But Should Have Been

2009-08-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

When Felix Hernandez came up from the minors, many called him the most hyped up prospect in the history of the game. The baseball world called him "King Felix" before he had even thrown a pitch in the major leagues. "Dominant" and "scary" were often used to describe him.

At a mere 18 years old, Felix Hernandez went 14-4 with a 2.95 ERA in high-A and AA combined. He struck out 172 batters in 149 1/3 innings pitched, walking 47, allowing just 8 homeruns, and allowing 132 hits. He was probably the most untouchable player in baseball at the time. Who would trade a kid with that kind of talent at that level? Afterall, he would then go 9-4 with a 2.25 ERA as a 19 year old in AAA in 2005, which was followed by a 4-4 record in the majors that same year in 12 starts, posting a 2.67 ERA. Again, think about that, a 2.67 ERA in the majors at 19 years old.

Three and a half seasons later and the man they nicknamed "King Felix" was discussed in a three way blockbuster deal at the deadline according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The proposed deal would have sent Felix Hernandez to the Boston Red Sox; 1B Adrian Gonzalez, SP Clay Buchholz, and "other prospects from Boston" to Seattle; And SP/MR Brandon Morrow, SP/MR Phillippe Aumont, SS Carlos Triunfel, and "other prospects from Boston" to San Diego.

Most would probably say it's obvious that Seattle is the team that nixed the deal, as obviously it would affect their future by losing Felix and the three prospects, all of whom are considered talented.

But, looking into the deal deeper, and I'm not so sure it was the best move.

Brandon Morrow, a 25 year old right hander, has been going through a tough year. There was a lot of talk about moving him to the bullpen because he says he's more comfortable there. He struggled in the majors as a starter, and has been killed in three starts in AAA so far. I think it's safe to assume that his career should in fact remain in the bullpen until he can prove he can handle starting. At 25 years old, he still has plenty of time to figure everything out and there is no question he's got the stuff to succeed in the major leagues. He has struggled with command though over the years, which will have to be figured out for him to succeed.

Phillippe Aumont was a 1st round pick out of Canada in 2007. He was successful in 2008 and has been good again in 2009. But, he's also been moved to the bullpen full time in 2009, which is a curious move given he's one of the Mariners top arms in the minor leagues. So, as a relief prospect, his value is a lot less then say if he was putting the numbers up that he is as a starting pitcher.

Essentially, it's Felix Hernandez, two relief prospects, and Carlos Triunfel that Seattle would be trading, who hasn't played a game since April 10th and had surgery on April 15th, and was expected to miss 4 to 6 months before he could resume baseball activities, according to Ryan Divish of Mariners Insider.

Now, let's look at what Adrian Gonzalez brings to the table for the Mariners.

Adrian Gonzalez is a 27 year old gold glove winning first baseman. He's improved three straight years in On base plus Slugging Percentage (OPS). This year he's batting .250 with 28 homeruns, 61 RBIs, has a .391 On base percentage, and a .921 OPS overall. He has walked a league leading 83 times, while striking out 77 times. What you get in Adrian Gonzalez is a 30-40 homerun power hitter, a guy who will drive in 100 runs a year in a non San Diego Padres 2009 offense, and he gives gold glove defense at first base.

If it was Felix for Adrian, I wouldn't do it. Even though I consider position players more important then pitchers, Felix is a special pitcher and he's 4 years younger then Gonzalez.

But, Clay Buchholz is the kicker. Getting Buchholz could essentially ease the pain of dealing Felix Hernandez away. Gonzalez is worth more then Morrow, Aumont, and Triunfel in my opinion, but Felix's future value may not be a ton more then the future value of Buchholz. Mix in the fact that the Red Sox are dealing away "other prospects" to Seattle as well, and I'm not sure how this deal cannot be made by Seattle. Obviously Felix Hernandez is a great pitcher, and should be even better down the road. He's also obviously the face of the franchise, and maybe the Mariners consider that factor above all others.

This also, though, is the same organization that traded away Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, and 3 other minor league talents for an average at best shortstop in Jack Wilson and a headcase in Ian Snell. So, why would they use "the future" as an excuse for this deal?

Maybe that's a reason why the Seattle Mariners are who they are today.

Epic Battle Delivers Everything Except Homeruns

2009-08-02T13:01:00.001-07:00

Matching up the games this week, I believed the Dodgers and Cardinals had a chance to be a real playoff preview. Every pitching matchup seemed to hint towards a great battle between the team with the best record in baseball and a team fighting it out in the crazy National League Central.

On Wednesday, the two teams delivered a game for the ages.

If you wanted great starting pitching, Clayton Kershaw and Joel Pineiro both proved why they have sub 3 ERA's giving up a combined 1 run in 16 innings.

If you wanted timely hitting, look at James Loney's single to score the first run of the game. Look at Colby Rasmus's 2 out game tying single in the ninth.

If you wanted great defense look at Ryan Ludwick's throw to nail Manny at home in the 12th. Look at Furcal's throw to get Ryan at home in the bottom of the 15th.

If you wanted boneheaded plays, look at Manny being Manny in the first looking like he was going to run off the field after 1 out. Look at Joe Thurston missing 1st base on a 1 out double in the 12th.

And finally, if you wanted clutch pitching in relief look at the performance of Jeff Weaver and Blake Hawksworth.

No, I didn't forget, if you wanted to see a superstar step up look no further then Albert Pujols delivering the game winning RBI single to deep centerfield.

It was one of those games though, that felt it needed a walkoff homerun to really elevate it into as extraordinary of a game as a regular season game can be without it including a record or personal feat.

For a series as big as this one, the win for the Cardinals was a momentum turner. Pineiro had pitched very well and didn't deserve to lose the game, in fact neither starter deserved to lose the game. For St. Louis to comeback in the 9th against Jonathan Broxton to tie the game is something big as well. For most of the past few years, when St. Louis was losing in the 9th, you may as well have put a L on the game. St. Louis was guaranteed the series win over the Dodgers, who hadn't lost three straight all season coming in, let alone to one team.

St. Louis made it's statement and the Cardinals and Dodgers put on a battle for the ages.

Phillies Become Favorites With Lee Addition

2009-08-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

If there was any doubt who the favorite was to go to the World Series in the National League, the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies changed that on Wednesday.

Acquiring the 2008 American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians along with outfielder Ben Francisco, the Phillies answered the Holliday acquisition with a vengence. To get Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco, the Phillies gave up minor league pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp along with minro league catcher Lou Marson and minor league infielder Jason Donald.

In talks with the Blue Jays for the last few weeks, the Phillies were able to acquire Cliff Lee without surrendering any of the key players that the Blue Jays were interested in: pitchers Kyle Drabek and J.A. Happ and outfielders Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor.

Getting Cliff Lee will be a huge deal for the Philadelphia Phillies who rank 11th in the National League in ERA. With a duo of Lee and Cole Hamels at the top of the rotation, Philadelphia has positioned themselves to be able to go head to head with any pitching duo in at least the NL, if not baseball in general. Mix in a lineup that can score at will and Philadelphia should be a World Series favorite again in 2009.

Trading Cliff Lee will be a tough sell for the Cleveland Indians fans, but the talent they got in return should be able to help them in 2010 and beyond. The only player of the four that the Indians got in return that will not be in AAA is Jason Knapp. But the 18 year old is considered to be the best player in the deal. Currently in A ball, Knapp is 2-7 with a 4.01 ERA. He has struck out 111 batters in 85 1/3 innings, while allowing just 63 hits in 17 starts. He's been known to hit the uppers 90s on his fastball.

Carlos Carrasco was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003 as an undrafted free agent out of Venezuela. He was ranked by Baseball America as the Phillies #1 prospect in both 2007 and 2008. He was rated #2 in 2009. This season has been a struggle for the 22 year old righty who was 6-9 with a 5.18 ERA for Philadelphia's AAA team. Still, he had 112 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings allowing 118 hits, walking 38 batters, and allowing 14 homeruns. Carrasco once was thought of as a future top of the rotation starter, now he is probably more of a #3 or 4 starter at best in the future.

He did not put up outstanding stats in college, but Jason Donald has produced about the same in the minor leagues as he did in college, which is impressive. He got credit by Baseball America after a breakout season in 2008 by being ranked the #4 prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies system. Hitting .307 in AA, Donald hit 19 doubles, 14 homeruns, drove in 54 runs, and walked 47 times to 86 strikeouts in 92 games in AA. He posted a .391 on base percentage and an .888 OPS, which is very good coming from a middle infielder. Hurt earlier this year, 2009 has not gotten off the same type of way as 2008. Still, Donald has the potential to be a solid starting hitter, maybe a Mark Loretta type of player.

Catcher isn't a big need of the Cleveland Indians who's best prospect, Carlos Santana, is a catcher. But having two good catchers isn't exactly a terrible thing to have. Lou Marson is exactly that, a good catcher. Marson burst onto the scene in 2008 when he hit .314 in AA with almost as many walks (68) as strikeouts (70). Marson's plate discipline is definitely his strongest assett as a player. He has walked 240 times in 472 games in the minor leagues, while striking out 343 times. His career on base percentage in the minor leagues (.371) is almost 100 points over his batting average (.275). Lou Marson has also begun to hit for more power as his SLG% was over .400 in both 2007 and 2008. His improving power is a reason his value could stay higher.

When St. Louis made noise with the Matt Holliday deal last week, there became talk about an elite three in the NL. A week later and the Philadelphia Phillies left no doubt that there's one elite team.

St. Louis Makes a Timely Statement

2009-07-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

On Friday, St. Louis acquired Matt Holliday from the Oakland Athletics in a blockbuster deal that sent top prospect Brett Wallace to Oakland. The Cardinals proceeded to beat the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 that night. Then, St. Louis got pounded the next two games by the total score of 23-8.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

Well, a couple days later, and St. Louis has made a big statement to the rest of the National League.

Two games. St. Louis Cardinals 16. Los Angeles Dodgers 1.

They are good.

No, this isn't a knee jerk reaction like a writer of the Washington Nationals may be making after winning 4 in a row including two against the Brewers by the score of 22-9. The Los Angeles Dodgers series shows that the St. Louis Cardinals are a team to be reckoned with... when you face the top of their rotation.

Yes, the Phillies won by a margin of 23-8 in those two games. But realize that they were against Kyle Lohse, who is coming off an injury, and Todd Wellemeyer, who is finally being moved out of the rotation about a month later then he should have been.

St. Louis has improved their offense a lot. Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa have given Tony Larussa two impact everyday bats. One will go behind Pujols most times and the other could hit 2nd or 6th or 7th in the order.

Mark DeRosa's impact has been huge. The Cardinals traded for the veteran versatile player a month ago, but it was just a couple games after he was a Cardinal that he got a wrist injury and was placed on the DL. Since returning from the DL, Mark DeRosa is hitting 11 for 36 (.306) with 6 homeruns, 10 RBIs, and a 1.116 On Base plus Slugging percentage. That is the kind of impact that St. Louis expected when they traded for him, just it came a few weeks later then expected. Now, with two months to play, the ability for DeRosa to stay in the lineup and provide a boost is huge. His bat makes the lineup another impact bat further. You think pitchers will enjoy pitching to DeRosa, Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick, and Rasmus or Ankiel? I can tell you, this lineup should score runs in bunches, something St. Louis hasn't had since Edmonds and rolen were in their prime with Pujols.

Holliday, meanwhile, has been everything expected of him. Since joinging St. Louis for the last five games, he's hitting 9 for 17 with 5 doubles, 4 RBIs, and 4 walks to 3 strikeouts. For the month of July, Holliday is now hitting .378 with a .449 On base percentage and a .634 slugging percentage. Maybe even more amusing is the fact that since joining the Cardinals, he's been intentionally walked more then Pujols, one to zero. Matt Holliday's presence in the lineup, like DeRosa's, extends the lineup and makes it tough for pitchers on opposing teams to get easy innings. The less easy innings pitchers have, the more pitches they will pitch and thus the quicker they will eventually be pulled.

The offense has scored 32 runs in the 5 games since Matt Holliday made his Cardinals debut. That is the same run total it took the Matt Holliday-less Cardinals to score over the previous 9 games.

I am positive that the pitching staff of the Cardinals doesn't have any problems with the added bats. For much of the season the Cardinals have had one of the best ERA's in the NL, and at one point they had the best ERA in baseball.

St. Louis can match their 1-3 with anyone in the National League. Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright have proved that in this series with the Dodgers by going head to head with Randy Wolf and Chad Billingsley. Carpenter and Wainwright have combined to go 15 innings while allowing just one run. They both allowed quite a few hits, but neither was easy to score on.

After taking the first two in the series, St. Louis will send out Joel Pineiro for the third game of the four game set. Joel Pineiro currently ranks 9th in the NL in ERA, but has been especially tough of late. After posting a 2.65 ERA in 5 June starts, Joel Pineiro has a 1.24 ERA in 4 starts in July going 3-0 for the month. Much of the success is attributed to a sinker which Pineiro has begun throwing a lot more this season then ever before. In 128 1/3 innings this season, Joel has given up just 3 homeruns and has walked just 13 batters. Since May 1st, he has allowed more then 1 walk just once in a span of 15 starts. Don't be fooled by Joel Pineiro's 9-9 start as I'm not sure I've been more impressed with a pitcher on the Cardinals then Joel Pineiro.

A week ago, St. Louis looked to still be floundering, getting swept by Houston. A week later, and the Cardinals are making statements to the rest of the National League that this is a team to be reckoned with.

Once Albert Pujols gets back locked in, that statement could be even louder then ever before!

State of the Mets Franchise

2009-07-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

There may not be a more unstable and mess of an organization then the New York Mets right now. OK, maybe we'll let them be better then the Washington Nationals, but other then the Nationals it REALLY is hard to think of an organization that has been continually as underachieving, perhaps overrated, and somehow as bad as the New York Mets.

The Mets were supposed to walk away with a World Series appearance in 2006, but they lost to a team in the National League Championship Series that was considered one of the worst to make the playoffs and then the worst to make it to the World Series.

Then 2007 came and the Mets were still supposed to be good. And they were. On September 1st of that year, they were tied for the best record in the National League and had a 3 game lead on Philadelphia. On September 14th, they had the best record in the NL alone and a 5.5 game lead over Philadelphia. And yet, with everything going for them, the Mets found a way to lose. They found away to not only lose, but they missed the playoffs. The biggest choke job in the history of the game.

So, maybe that's what has haunted the core of this team, which hasn't changed much over the last few years. Maybe, that's why the New York Mets continue to be a mess. At the time, their faces of the franchise were Jose Reyes and David Wright, both a mere 24 years old.

Then the Mets, fresh off the choke job, traded for one of the best pitchers in the game in Johan Santana. And New York was believed to be the favorites. And yet again they did well in 2008. Not quite as well as expectations were from the baseball experts, but they were in line to make the playoffs again. September 1st and 14th rolled around again, and again the Mets were in first place in the NL East. But again, the season came to a close, and the Mets weren't playoff bound.

But keep hope alive New York, as the New York Mets once again got a big name player in the signing of Francisco Rodriguez. Here was the final piece, first a hitter (Beltran), then a starter (santana), and now a closer (K-Rod). The Mets were supposed to be the best team in the NL, right up there with Philadelphia.

So, yesterday General Manager Omar Minaya had a scene that was called by Bart Hubboch of the New York Post as an "epic meltdown". And to me, it is the final picture of what the state of the New York Mets really looks like. If a person was watching Omar for the first time, they'd see what the New York Mets organization looks like as a whole. An epic meltdown in and of itself.

The New York Mets have battled injuries, sure. They've had some bad luck this season, sure. They're also getting older though, and have not had the depth to overcome the injuries and the drama.

One of their executives in the Player Development department, Tony Bernazard got fired because he threatened to fight the Mets AA team. He's never been a well liked guy according to Omar Minaya either.

The New York Mets have the talent to be a great team, but their organization and the way it's been run has been an embarrassment to New York. They've choked once in October and twice in September. The good thing about 2009 is at least they won't have the chance to choke in September.

They've already choked as an Organization. And Omar Minaya may lose his job over it.

Trade Deadline Looms

2009-07-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

As we enter the final week before the unofficial official trade deadline, all eyes will be on what teams can make the move that puts them over the top or fills up that major hole. This trade deadline could be critical for National League teams as there are 6 teams within 5 games of the Wild Card race and 4 teams within 3.5 games.

The American League East is down to more then likely two teams, although Tampa Bay can't be counted out quite yet being 6.5 back. The Red Sox though, in second place, are in first in the AL Wild Card race, a race that probably only two other teams are realistic contenders in (Texas and Tampa Bay). The American League Central is a three team race with Detroit leading by 2 over the Chicago White Sox and 4 over the Minnesota Twins. The American League West has always been pretty much a two team race with the Los Angeles Angels leading by 2.5 over the Texas Rangers.

Philadelphia continues to run away with the NL East as their lead is up to 6.5 games now, and getting further and further away. Perhaps the most interesting race will be the National League Central where four teams are legitimate contenders. The Chicago Cubs just took a half game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals with the Houston Astros 2 back and the Milwaukee Brewers 3 back. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a runaway in the National League West, up 8 games over the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies and Giants are both fighting for the National League Wildcard lead though.

These divisional races should set up for an interesting trade deadline as teams look to add their missing piece to the puzzle in hopes of a playoff run. Let's take a look at the big names being talked about before the deadline:

RHP Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays- Might as well start with the biggest name on the block, and one that has been talked about going everywhere from the Angels to the Phillies to the Red Sox,etc. Roy Halladay is currently 11-3 with a 2.62 ERA. He missed some time on the DL earlier this year, but has comeback as good as he was before hand. In 141 innings he has allowed 128 hits, struck out 123 batters, and walked just 20 batters. He was the American League starter in the all-star game and his last 5 starts have come against Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees, and Boston. In those 5 starts he has gone 1-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 38 innings. He's allowed 33 hits, struck out 35 batters and walked 8. The Philadelphia Phillies have been the team linked most to Roy Halladay, but the most recent news was that their interest was dimming with the asking price of the Blue Jays being both Kyle Drabek and J.A. Happ being necessary in the deal along with two other hitting prospects. With the Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees among the other pursuers, it will be an interesting week this week for Halladay who is scheduled to make a start on Wednesday, though that is still up in the air.

Prediction- Roy Halladay lands in Philadelphia. I do believe that in the end, he'll be in Philly. I don't think Philly can afford to not get this deal done. Sure they've got a lead in the division, but Halladay makes the Phillies favorites in the playoffs. As is, their pitching is not great, but with Halladay, their rotation is very tough to beat with a Halladay-Hamels duo and Blanton as their #3.

LHP Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians- For the second straight year the Cleveland Indians have a top left handed starter on the block. The difference this year is that Cliff Lee is under contract for more then 2 months. That is the biggest reason for why Cliff Lee hasn't been in more trade talks. Cleveland has said he is available, but it would take an overwhelming offer to get him. They still believe that in 2010 they could be contenders. They were without a healthy Grady Sizemore for three weeks+ and Fausto Carmona is still going through his struggles as he is in the minors right now. If much of what has gone wrong this year went right in 2010 there is a chance that Cleveland could contend for a division title in 2010. The Indians offense could be good in 2010 especially if young outfielder Matt Laporta can emerge as a big bat in the Indian's offense and Carlos Santana could be a year closer to being major league ready. They also should get a full year from relievers Chris Perez and Jess Todd who were acquired in the Mark DeRosa deal. The teams believed to have interest in Cliff Lee are the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies (backup plan for Halladay), Los Angeles Dodgers, etc. Cliff Lee is currently 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA. He's pitched 152 innings allowing 165 hits, striking out 107 batters and walking 33.

Prediction: Cliff Lee stays with Cleveland this year, but is traded in the offseason.

1B Adrian Gonzalez- With Matt Holliday already traded, Adrian Gonzalez becomes the defacto best hitter on the trade market, even though I don't think there's a great chance he gets traded at the deadline. Adrian Gonzalez remains one of the few bright spots in San Diego right now and is pretty much the Padres entire offense. He's batting .246 on the year with a .390 on base percentage thanks to a league leading 78 walks. With 25 homeruns on the year, Gonzalez also has a .510 slugging percentage giving him a .900 On base plus Slugging percentage. He was one of four National league all-stars at the firstbase position and has improved as a player every year he's been in the league. Gonzalez has hit 30 or more homeruns for back to back years coming into 2009 and is only 5 short of the mark with two months to go. His discipline around the plate has improved greatly as his walk rate has increased dramatically. He still has struck out a lot, though he's cut back on the strikeouts this year. Still, with two months to go he's already set a career high in walks. Boston has been the most talked about team for Gonzalez, but I don't see A-Gon being traded this deadline.

Prediction: Stays with San Diego, traded in the offseason to make room for Kyle Blanks at first base

C/1B Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians- The second Cleveland Indian name on the block, Victor is also supposedly available, but like Cliff Lee, the deal would have to be "overwhelming". A veteran catcher, Martinez has played half his games at catcher and half at first base. The three time all-star is batting .287 on the year with 21 doubles and 14 homeruns in 96 games. He has walked 49 times to only 50 strikeouts. Victor has an on base percentage of .368 and a slugging percentage of .464. He has posted an On Base Plus Slugging percentage Adjusted (OPS+) of 116 in 5 of the last 6 years. Tampa Bay was rumored to have a lot of interest in him a week or so ago, but talks apparently died down. Still, the Boston Red Sox also have interest in getting Victor Martinez, even after they traded for Adam LaRoche and Chris Duncan last week. Victor Martinez turns 31 in December, but doesn't seem to be slowing down any as this year has proved that he's healthy and can hit with the best of them still.

Prediction- Victor Martinez remains in Cleveland for now.

2B Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates- The former batting champion is playing on a team currently that has traded away two of their top veterans this season and has basically said anyone on the current roster is available. Freddy Sanchez is currently hitting .296 with a .776 On base plus slugging percentage this season. For a team needing a second baseman and a top of the order guy, Sanchez would seem like an ideal fit. The Minnesota Twins have shown a lot of interest in him according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Merosi of Fox sports. I could see Sanchez being traded before the deadline. Seems like he is always on the block though and has never been traded by Pittsburgh.

Prediction- Traded to Minnesota Twins

The trade deadline is an active period for trading and there is always a lot of noise that happens around this time. Rumors are flying at an almost 24 hour a day clip and blockbuster deals are sporadically made at this time. For GM's this can be the make or break moment for whether your team can make that playoff push or fade into the distance. For others, this time of the year is what gets GM's fired. Whether it be a very bad move or no move at all.

Let those be aware, look at what happened to the Mark Teixeira deal for Atlanta!

Holliday Deal Gives Cardinals Potent Offense

2009-07-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

The last time St. louis acquired a hitter with as big of a name as Matt Holliday's, was in 2002 when the Cardinals acquired all-star third baseman Scott Rolen from the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals were in the midst of a playoff chase, held a record of 58-44 and were 5 games up on the Cincinnati Reds. They wound up going 39-21 the rest of the way and ran away with the NL Central winning the division by 13 games.

This morning, the Cardinals agreed to send top prospect third baseman Brett Wallace, AAA starter Clayton Mortensen, and AA outfielder Shane Peterson to the Oakland Athletics for the three time all-star outfielder Matt Holliday.

I'll admit, when I first saw the deal, I didn't like this deal. And I'm still not happy. I think we gave up too much for a player that is a free agent after 2009. However, there is no question that trading for Matt Holliday is a MAJOR addition to the 2009 lineup.

The Cardinals were in heated talks over the offseason for Holliday, but came up short as they didn't want to part with Ludwick, Schumaker, and Boggs for him. Half a year later, and the Cardinals did not have to give up any player on the major league roster. They did have to give up a hefty price though.

Brett Wallace, the clear centerpiece, is a player who was born to hit. The two time triple crown winner in the Pac-10 for Arizona State was taken 13th overall by St. Louis in the 2008 draft. He was widely regarded as one of the top hitters, if not the top hitter in that draft class. There were questions where he would play though, which led to Wallace falling to the 13th overall pick. In most organizations Wallace would have been groomed to play first base, but in the Cardinals organization they have a man named Albert Pujols playing first base, so everyone and their Grandma knew that Brett wouldn't be playing first for the St. Louis Cardinals anytime soon. Wallace has flown through the system though, reaching AA last year and currently in AAA right now. He has hit .306 collectively in the minor leagues posting an .855 OPS. He had probably one of the biggest slumps of his baseball career at any level in AAA, when he struggled to do much, but over the last 28 days he was hitting .360 and seemed to have figured out AAA pitching more. Ranked the 40th top prospect in the minor leagues by Baseball America prior to the 2009 season, he was a mid season top 25 rated prospect by Baseball America. Getting Wallace for Holliday would have been a coup for the Athletics, but he won't be the only one heading to Oakland.

Clayton Mortensen was taken in the supplemental round of the 2007 draft out of Gonzaga University. The 24 year old starter climbed rapidly through the Cardinals system reaching A ball in his first year and getting as high as AAA in his second season. He has spent most of 2009 in AAA, getting just a few days in the majors not too long ago. His feature pitch is a sinker that many have thought would work well with Duncan. Mortensen profiles as a #3 or 4 starter at best, but as we know in baseball, with prospects, putting ceilings on pitchers is tough to do given players can change. Currently in AAA he has a 4.37 ERA in 17 starts, striking out 82 batters, walking 34, allowing 103 hits in 105 innings.

Shane Peterson was the third piece sent to the Athletics, but certainly is no slouch. While some may think the 2008 2nd round pick out of Long Beach State is a "throw-in" in the deal, Peterson is liked by the Oakland Athletics according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Gate. At just 21 years old, Peterson has already reached AA showing that his bat is legit. He hit well in Palm Beach (high-A) batting .298/.367/.428/.795 with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homeruns in 285 at bats, this all coming in an extreme pitchers league. In Springfield he has hit .284/.338/.405/.743 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 homerun in 74 at bats. Peterson can certainly hit for average, but if his power doesn't develop he won't be much more then a 4th outfielder. But ruling out a 21 year old with a solid 6 foot, 195 pound frame, from developing any power would be silly. Slusser says that Oakland is almost as excited to get Peterson as they are to get Wallace and when Oakland thinks something like that, you've got to know he's got some talent. Few teams are as good as Oakland is at getting lesser prospects or at least prospects viewed as lesser, to produce at the mlb level.

For the Cardinals though, this deal makes a lot of sense, especially if the scouts believed that Wallace wasn't going to be able to stick at third base. The addition of Matt Holliday can't be overstated as how big of an addition it is. On the season Matt Holliday is hitting .286/.378/.454/.831 with 11 homeruns and 54 RBIs. He's walked (46) almost as much as he has struck out (58). Over the last 28 days, Matt Holliday is hitting .325/.396/.518/.914 and over the last 7 days he's hit .417/.462/.833/1.295 with 2 homeruns. Holliday's addition moves Ludwick likely into the 5 hole which makes the Cardinals 3-5 of Pujols, Holliday, and Ludwick as dangerous as any in the game. Put DeRosa and Colby Rasmus on either side of the middle of the order, and teams will have a tough time pitching to the Cardinals hitters.

There are reasons I see Holliday reverting to his pre-Athletics form.

A) Back in the NL: It can't be talked about enough as to how tough it must have been for Holliday to hit against pitchers he has never seen before. You can watch all the tape in the world, but unless you hit against those pitchers, you don't truly know what the pitchers are going to do. Looking at Holliday and the Athletics Schedule, we take a look at the first month when Holliday hit only .240 with a .648 OPS

First time through:
LAA- 2 for 6
SEA- 2 for 11
BOS- 5 for 14
TOR- 3 for 14
NYY- 3 for 10
TB- 1 for 11
TEX- 2 for 9
Total- 18 for 75 (.240)

Other Times Through:
LAA- 5 for 22
SEA- 6 for 24
BOS- 4 for 13
TOR- 2 for 12
NYY- 1 for 4
TB- 8 for 26
TEX- 5 for 19
Total- 31 for 120 (.258)

Now Holliday comes back to the National League, a league that he has hit well in for years.

B) Protection... Or Lack Thereof: Matt Holliday has not been helped much by Oakland. He's spent most of his years hitting in the same lineup as players such as Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe, and Garrett Atkins. He then went to an Oakland Athletics lineup where he was surrounded by Jason Giambi (.193/.332/.364/.696) or Jack Cust (.239/.334/.425/.759) for far too many games. Now he'll be in a Cardinals lineup where the guys in front of him and behind him should be Albert Pujols (.328/.450/.711/1.161) and Ryan Ludwick (.273/.340/.498/.838). Think he'll have better protection? I'd say no question about it.

C) The Ballpark Factor: The big question in Matt Holliday's career has been whether he was a product of Coors field or not. Coors field for those that aren't aware, is the ballpark in Colorado and is a hitters paradise. The trade from Colorado to Oakland sent him from an extreme hitters park to a good pitchers park. St. Louis plays in more of a neutral park. Will this play a factor? Not sure.

D) The Winning Factor: Holliday is also going from a team that is far out of contention and who's players are really not very happy to a team in St. Louis, who is in first place, in arguably the best baseball town in America. This is a highly speculative factor, but I have a feeling that Matt Holliday will be re-energized by this trade and the city he's been traded to and will continue to put up the numbers he's been putting up over the last 28 days for the rest of the year. If he does, then the Cardinals will be tough to beat.

St. Louis gave up a lot in trading for Holliday, but they answered the feeling I had for what St. Louis needed to do before.

Remember, St. Louis NEEDED a Holliday, not a Halladay!

Are we coming to the end of the Tony Larussa Era in St. Louis?

2009-07-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

Many have felt it was past his time for years now. I've always been inclined to defend Tony Larussa (or as some call him "LaGenius"), over the years. Despite his quirky looks at the game sometimes, lack of a personality during games, and overall an Ora that can come off as cocky, Tony Larussa is still a fantastic major league manager.

What Tony has been able to do for the Cardinals over the years, is simply amazing. Not always the most talented teams, Larussa has always managed to get the best out of his rosters. The manager since 1996, Larussa has taken the Cardinals to the postseason in 7 of the 13 full seasons and currently has the Cardinals in first place in the NL Central this year. He's taken the Cardinals to the NLCS in 6 of the 7 postseason trips, taken them to game 7 of the NLCS three times, two World Series trips, and one World Series ring. The ring in 2006 may have been LaRussa's finest moment with the Cardinals, because St. Louis won their first World Series ring since 1982, and that was always the downside on his St. Louis resume.

While some will call the 2006 World Series lucky, or undeserved, I call it kharma and payback from the baseball Gods. St. Louis had the best record in the majors in both the 2004 and 2005 seasons, losing in the World Series in 2004 to a team of Destiny, Boston, and losing in the NLCS in 2005 to the rival Houston Astros.

But, as we get past the records and all, it seems as if Tony LaRussa is getting more bitter by the day. There is an apparent rift in the St. Louis front office, of those who are wanting to build from within (Bill Dewitt and Jeff Luhnow) and those who want to win now (Tony Larussa/Dave Duncan). Somewhere in the middle lies General Manager John Mozeliak. Trying to keep both sides happy, Mozeliak has done a great job this offseason and season, signing Dennys reyes and Trevor Miller, while trading for Mark DeRosa. St. Louis has been busy over the last couple days while in the middle of rumors for the biggest names on the market like Starting pitcher Roy Halladay of Toronto, Outfielder Matt Holliday of Oakland, and outfielders Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham of Washington.

Still, the trade of Chris Duncan to the Boston Red Sox sent a very bad vibe across the board to Tony Larussa and Dave Duncan. With the deal, came quotes like I've never seen before from them.

While larussa was busy throwing the 2006 World Series team under the bus pretty much:

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

"The thing I think about it is I spoke in his defense before the move was made, and I had no idea this was going to happen," La Russa said. "It was just a coincidence. What surprises me is normally our fans have a good memory and they give credit where credit is due. Anybody who values that 2006 world championship, on the list of the top four or five guys who made that happen, Chris Duncan is one of those four or five."

Tony might want to watch that 2006 World Series video again, and while he's at it, he might want to check out what he said when Scott Rolen and Anthony Reyes were traded, because I'm 100% sure that he didn't have things like that to say about their contributions to the World Series team and their's were at least as big, if not bigger then Duncan's.

Dave Duncan was busy throwing the entire St. Louis Cardinals minor league system and Jeff Luhnow under the bus:

From the Same Article:
"The way I look at it is he was traded for a player who had very little (leverage) ... he was designated for assignment," Duncan said. "It's highly unusual for a major-league roster player to be traded for somebody like that. So somebody wanted to get him out of the organization, and they've accomplished what they wanted to accomplish.

"Either that or we don't have anybody in the minor leagues that they wanted for (Lugo). One or the other."

Nothing good can come from the words spoken by both Larussa and Duncan. And word has it that both were publically upset in the clubhouse. Whether, that is true or not, I'm not sure of. Either way, Larussa and Duncan should have handled the whole situation much more professionally and said the usual "baseball is a business" line. The way they handled it, showed a clear favoritism towards Chris and showed that they had let personal feelings get in front of business feelings.

Chris was not producing and Tony should have learned from his own words when he talked about the St. Louis fan base having a good memory. It doesn't take much of a memory though, to know that Duncan is not right. He doesn't have an extra base hit in the last 28 days, and has one more extra base hit since June 1st then Joel Pineiro. If Tony truly cares about winning, which I 100% believe he does, then he shouldn't have taken the move so personally.

I just get the feeling like this move could be one of those that breaks the camel's back and when the year ends, Tony Larussa may not be returning as St. Louis manager. Afterall, there was already the rumor that LaRussa and Duncan threatened to quit over the trade.

If it happens, St. Louis better hope this doesn't negatively affect Albert Pujols.

What Should San Diego Do?

2009-07-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

The San Diego Padres had a string of four consecutive seasons with a .500 or better record from 2004 to 2007. Yet, that seems like an eternity ago in San Diego, as the Padres are trying to avoid finishing in last place in the NL West for a second straight year while trying to rebuild a system that has gotten rather dry.

One of the problems/issues the Padres have to deal with, is that their #1 prospect Kyle Blanks, plays the same position as their best offensive player and one marquee position player, Adrian Gonzalez. So, that is where we begin our, what should they do series for the San Diego Padres.

Should San Diego trade the 27 year old Adrian Gonzalez, who's currently hitting .251 with 25 homeruns, 53 runs batted in, a .390 on base percentage, and .526 slugging percentage for a haul of prospects or players to build around to continue building within?

Or should the Padres keep A-Gon and trade the 22 year old Kyle Blanks who hit .283 with 12 homeruns, 38 runs batted in, a .393 on base percentage, and a .485 slugging percentage in AAA for a similar prospect who is blocked at another position or a pitching prospect?

I believe the Padres should trade Adrian Gonzalez and build their future around players like Chase Headley, Kyle Blanks, and Matt Latos. They have the top of the rotation talent already in Latos, and Headley/Blanks give them a headstart hitting wise. Trading players like Adrian Gonzalez, Heath Bell, and in the offseason Jake Peavy would go a ways to rebuilding a team that needs it. So, as with the Indians article, I'll give some of my ideas that I have thought about....

Trade #1: 1B Adrian Gonzalez to New York Mets for SS Jose Reyes, LHP Jon Niese, and RHP Bobby Parnell

Is this trade likely to happen? I'd say it's highly unlikely that the Mets would agree to trade Reyes, who is a face of the franchise player there, but to get a player like Adrian Gonzalez, I'd argue it'd be tough to do say no to. Gonzalez and Wright may become one of the best duo's in the game, even better then the current Reyes/Wright combo the Mets have when healthy. Reyes' game could become very useful in a ballpark like Petco where power is tough to comeby unless your name is Adrian Gonzalez. Jose Reyes had hit at least 30 doubles, 10 triples, and 10 homers in three straight years before 2009. He would be a great leadoff hitter and fill a shortstop position that San Diego has a need at. Niese profiles as likely a #3/4 starter at best in the big leagues, but would be helped by Petco Park. Parnell would give the Padres a replacement for Heath Bell.

Trade #2: MR Heath Bell to Los Angeles Angels for C Hank Conger and 2B Sean Rodriguez

This move would help the Angels bullpen a lot, as Bell is a very talented reliever. For the Padres, they get a future catcher and second baseman who are both improvements over their current talents in both the majors and minors.

2010 Depth Chart:
C- Nick Hundley/Hank Conger
1B- Kyle Blanks
2B- Sean Rodriguez
3B- Kevin Kouzmanoff
SS- Jose Reyes
LF- Chase Headley (would like to get him to 3B)
CF- Tony Gwynn Jr.
RF-

Rotation:
1. Jake Peavy
2. Chris Young
3. Mat Latos
4. Jon Niese
5. Kevin Correia/Chad Gaudin

Bullpen:
RHP Bobby Parnell
RHP Luke Gregerson
RHP Luis Perdomo
RHP Edward Mujica
RHP Greg Burke
LHP Joe Thatcher
LHP TBD

The Padres have a lot of good pieces, they have younger players in the minor leagues such as Jeff Dacker, Cedric Hunter, Luis Durango, Logan Forsythe, and others to come. They've got the elite talent to move to get others from outside of the organization which can help their future. If they were to somehow pull off a deal for a player like Reyes, they could have a very dangerous duo at the top of the order in the future with Luis Durango flashing plus plus speed in AA.

What Should Cleveland Do?

2009-07-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Just two seasons ago, the Indians were coming off a season in which they finished a game away from their first World Series appearance since 1997. They had a team filled with young talent that seemed to be coming into their own. They had one of, if not the best centerfielder in the game in Grady Sizemore, they had an ace starter in C.C. Sabathia, a young starter in Fausto Carmona who had a breakout year, and they had a veteran hitter combo of Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Everything seemed to be in place for the Cleveland Indians to make the postseason an annual trip.

But, two years later, a C.C. Sabathia trade later and the Cleveland Indians have pulled a 180. Now, between injuries and just lack of production, the Cleveland Indians are facing a difficult issue. Do you trade your ace Cliff Lee and top hitting Victor Martinez or do you hold out hope that everything can get together in 2010 for another playoff run?

Let's get one thing straight, if Fausto Carmona doesn't get back closer to his 2007 form, the Cleveland Indians really don't have the pitching to win as they are right now. They do have some pitching coming up like Hector Rondon in AAA, Alex Perez in Class A-Advanced, and T.J. House in Class A. But the latter two are a couple years away at the earliest. Rondon could force his way onto the MLB team by September or at least 2010 if he keeps pitching like he has. I'm sure Cleveland wouldn't mind that either.

So, should Cleveland trade Cliff Lee? Should they trade Victor Martinez? Should they keep both and hope everything works out in 2010?

I believe they should make everyone on their MLB roster available, including both Lee and Martinez, except Grady Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Shin-Soo Choo

Here are some proposals I've thought about:

#1 3B Andy Marte to Seattle for C Jeff Clement or LHP Garret Olson

Certainly would seem to be a deal that could help both sides. Both Clement and Marte came up as top prospects and neither has hit well in the majors, although to be fair Marte has had more of an opportunity to get playing time. Marte could replace Beltre after Beltre leaves for free agency, while Clement could compete for catcher, first base, or DH for the Indians. Both players are also playing well in AAA this year. Marte, may have a chance to play at third for the Indians though, given Jhonny Peralta isn't overwhelming at third right now. Olson on the other hand, is a solid pitching prospect who has pitched better in 2009 and seems to be progressing well. In the minor leagues, Olson had impressive numbers in the Orioles system. He put up a career 2.96 ERA in the minors with a 2.91 K/BB ratio. In 2007, Baseball America ranked Olson as having the best curveball, changeup, and control in the Orioles system.

#2 Cliff Lee to Texas for 1B Justin Smoak, RHP Blake Beavan/Omar Poveda, and RHP Pedro Strop

Cleveland gives up Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young winner, but gets in return Justin Smoak, who can be part of "the future", a young starter for the future, and a potential reliever. Texas gives up quite a bit in this deal, but gets a very talented starter in Lee without giving up Holland or Feliz. With that trio they can go places in 2010 and beyond.

#3 1B/C Victor Martinez to Boston for RHP Clay Buchholz

I'm not sure Boston would do this, but if they would, I would deal Victor straight up if I was Mark Shapiro for Cleveland. Buchholz is a young starter who could be in the Indians rotation for a while. Martinez will be replaced in the future by Santana at catcher and in these trade scenarios, he'd be replaced by Smoak at first base. Buchholz would give the Indians their next Lee and Sabathia in a line of aces.

2010 Defense:
C- Kelly Shoppach/Carlos Santana
1B- Justin Smoak
2B- Luis Valbuena
3B- Jhonny Peralta
SS- Asdrubal Cabrera
LF- Matt Laporta
CF- Grady Sizemore
RF- Shin-Soo Choo
DH- Travis Hafner

2010 Lineup:
1. CF Grady Sizemore
2. SS Asdrubal Cabrera
3. RF Shin Soo-Choo
4. DH Travis Hafner
5. LF Matt Laporta
6. 1B Justin Smoak
7. 3B Jhonny Peralta
8. C Kelly Shoppach/Carlos Santana
9. 2B Luis Valbuena

2010 Rotation:
1. Clay Buchholz
2. Hector Rondon
3. Fausto Carmona
4. Garrett Olson
5. Aaron Laffey

Bullpen:
RHP Kerry Wood
RHP Chris Perez
RHP Rafael Betancourt
RHP Joe Smith
RHP Jensen Lewis
LHP Rafael Perez
LHP Tony Sipp

Bench:
C Chris Gimenez/Kelly Shoppach
OF Ben Francisco
INF Jamey Carroll
1B Ryan Garko

Top Prospects for the Future:
LF Nick Weglarz
SP Alex Perez
SP T.J. House
SP Blake Beavan/Omar Poveda

Overall, the Cleveland Indians would lose two veteran pieces in Lee and Martinez, but get others that can play a role in what could be a dominant team in the future. With an offense that would include names like Sizemore, Laporta, Smoak, and Santana, the Indians would have a future offense that could hit any pitcher. Mix in very solid players like Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Nick Weglarz (future LF), and Jhonny Peralta, and you've got what could be an elite offense. The pitching would be better in the future with Buchholz, Perez, House, Beavan/Poveda etc. Until Carmona gets better anyways, the Indians will struggle to keep runs off the board. At least this way, the Indians would have depth.

Felipe Lopez traded to Milwaukee... More to Come?

2009-07-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after losing 2-1 to St. Louis, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded infielder Felipe Lopez to the Milwaukee Brewers for AAA outfielder Cole Gillespie and Class A reliever Roque Mercedes. Lopez will be with his fourth team in two seasons now, coming back to the NL Central, but this time in a Brewers uniform.

The first thought I had on the deal was basically "What are the Brewers doing?". For a team that has ranks 25th in ERA in baseball and 13th in runs scored, the move didn't make much sense. Middle infield, even with the injury to Rickie Weeks, should really not be a big priority for the Brewers. They have plenty of depth there, including top prospect SS/Second baseman Alcides Escobar sitting in the wings in AAA. So, if they needed a middle infielder, why not just call up Escobar from AAA? Afterall, he's hitting .295 there and shows promise with his bat and speed. He was ranked by milb.com as one of the best prospects in the minors and has impressed scouts all over the place.

So, again, why trade two minor leaguers for Felipe Lopez? Even if the minor leaguers aren't very good, which by all accounts probably isn't the case, why trade for Lopez when the top priority is pitching?

Then it hit me, and I started piecing together the pieces.

There have been stories written in the last couple weeks by experts about how the Brewers were interested in landing a star pitcher, and could make another C.C. Sabathia like deal again. On the block, currently, is Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, and one of the best pitchers in the game, if not THE best pitcher in the game. Unlike C.C. Sabathia last year, Halladay is signed for a year beyond this year.

The question, in this scenario, is will the Brewers be able to afford Halladay who is slotted to make $15 million in 2010 and also will Halladay approve of a deal to Milwaukee? It's not a clear yes on the latter.

So, what does acquiring Felipe Lopez possibly do? It could allow the Brewers to trade their prized prospect Alcides Escobar, who Toronto is said to love. Before, the Brewers considered both Escobar and Mat Gamel untouchable, but now with Felipe Lopez on their roster, they could have their replacement for either one.

I'm not sure if they have the pitching prospects to complete a deal for Halladay as Toronto's asking price has been pretty ridiculous. Who can blame them though? Roy Halladay is everything a team looking for the playoffs should want in a pitcher and as we all know, "pitching wins championships" (I still don't buy it).

So, fans of the Cardinals and Cubs may on the surface think the move is a stupid or bad move for Milwaukee and a good move for both the teams since it could affect their opponent, but under the surface, there may be more to come and could make the race down the stretch for the NL Central very intriguing.

Who wouldn't want to watch Chris Carpenter pitching against his good friend Roy Halladay on Sunday October 4th, in St. Louis, with the NL Central division title on the line? That would be a finish of epic proportions.

Welcome Back to St. Louis... Mr. Dan Haren

2009-07-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

The last time Dan Haren (9-5, 2.01 ERA) pitched in St. Louis in a regular season game in the regular season, he pitched 1 1/3 innings of shutout ball, striking out 2 and allowing 3 hits in relief against Milwaukee. That was on October 3rd, 2004.

Three months shy of Five years later, Dan Haren will be making his first start back in St. Louis since he was traded to the Oakland Athletics in a winter deal which sent lefty Mark Mulder to St. Louis. Few pitchers in baseball have been as good as Dan Haren this year. In fact, nobody has a lower ERA in the game, then Dan Haren's 2.01 ERA. His nine wins tie him with seven other starters for 15th best in the game. He is tied with Zack Greinke and Felix Hernnadez for fifth in strikeouts with 129 punch outs. Haren's K/BB ratio and quality start percentage are also league leading. In other words, Dan Haren, the name that haunts St. Louis fans, is doing pretty well for himself.

So, how ironic is it that on the day he pitches for the first time in St. Louis in the regular season (he just pitched there on Tuesday in the all-star game) since 2004, he will be facing a pitcher who has gone through a similar storyline.

Adam Wainwright(10-5, 3.04 ERA), takes the rubber for the St. Louis Cardinals, as they hope to extend their winning streak to three games and keep pace or extend a three game division lead that is held over the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and surging Houston Astros. Wainwright got his 10th win last Sunday in the night game of a day-night doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs. He went 8 innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 5 and walking 3 battters. He currently holds a 1.07 ERA in three starts in the month of July.

The Cardinals received some help from Albert Pujols in a 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks on Friday night. Pujols hit two solo homeruns, the eighth multi homerun game of his 2009 season, which was at one point, the only scoring of the game. A key two run single by Ryan Ludwick after the Diamondbacks intentionally walked Pujols broke the game open and Nick Stavinoha had a pinch hit 2-run homerun to cap off the Cardinals scoring.

Chris Carpenter (8-3) won his third straight decision and held the Diamondbacks to 7 singles in 8 innings, striking out 7, and did not allow a run.

Yadier Molina, fresh off his first all-star appearance, provided a boost with both his bat and his glove. He went 4 for 4 at the plate and picked off Mark Reynolds at first in what was at the time a key play, with St. Louis only up 1-0.

The Diamondbacks have lost six straight on the road now against the Cardinals. They hope that the streak can be stopped on Saturday.

Second Half Breakout Player Predictions

2009-07-16T11:55:00.001-07:00

The American League won the All-Star game again on Tuesday, for the 13th consecutive year in a row. Once again, the American League team will have homefield advantage in the World Series for the seventh straight season. But, now that the all-star break has come to a close, the second half is upon us. Perhaps the most interesting time of the season is nearing, in the trade deadline when some players will be switching clubhouses. Here are my predictions for breakout players in the second half...

1B Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals

Billy Butler has been on my radar since he was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round of the 2004 draft. He was considered one of the best high school bats in that draft class and one of the safer bets to hit. So far, he has not been able to put it altogether in the major leagues. Still, Billy Butler just turned 23 this past April and has time on his side. He has shown signs of breaking out this year at times, putting up a .327/.365/.531/.896 early on in the month of July. What will help him tremendously is the return of Alex Gordon, who has missed all but 7 games this season. With Alex Gordon healing in AA right now and scheduled to return sometime fairly soon after the all-star break, Butler should get some protection in a lineup that has struggled to score runs.

2B Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Call me crazy, but I think a trip down to AAA is going to propel a big second half from Kendrick, IF he gets called back up and gets playing time. Always a big time contact hitter in the minor leagues, Kendrick has failed to really live up to enormous expectations and stay healthy at the same time. Few players have his ability to make contact, but what has hindered Kendrick in the past and will continue to hinder him, is his discipline around the plate. In full seasons in the minor leagues, Howie Kendrick never hit lower then .360 at any level from 2003-2006. In the same time though, Kendrick never walked more then 24 times in a season at any level during those years. His career batting average in the minor leagues is actually .360 exactly, yet his career OBP% is "only" .403 due to the lack of walks. I think Kendrick will come up and provide a boost to a Los Angeles Angels team that is competing despite hurting all over the field. It simply is amazing that the Angels are not only in the race, but in FIRST place, despite the tragic death of Nick Adenhart, the injuries at various times to John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Vlad Guerrero, Torii Hunter, etc., and the continued disappointment of Brandon Wood failing to stick with the big club. Howie Kendrick, for a breakout second half though.

2B/3B Ian Stewart, Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are still well within reach of making the playoffs being only two games out of the wild card race. If the Rockies make the playoffs, I have a feeling Ian Stewart is going to play a big role in the team getting there. Finally getting a chance to every day, Stewart is showing why he has been on the prospect radar for years. In 34 less plate appearances this year then in 2008, Stewart already has hit 6 more homeruns. He's beginning to hit for power and also is finally starting to hit for at least a respectable average. Stewart hit .253/.301/.547/.848 in June and is hitting .273/.385/.576/.960 so far in July. If it weren't for a dysmal .141/.236/.359/.596 May, Stewart would actually have a good OPS so far, having put up at least an .835 OPS in the two and a half other months. One of the issues with Ian Stewart is he has proven to be prone to striking out with 64 strikeouts in 270 plate appearances, which would work out to around 142 in 600 plate appearances. In the age of strikeout machines though, it's not a HUGE issue.

SS Ryan Theriot, Chicago Cubs

At the all-star break, I'm not sure there is a more interesting, yet more Comedic division then the NL Central. Maybe that's where they got the nickname of the Comedy Central. One day, any of the contenders can look like they should be World Series bound. The next day, they look like the Washington Nationals could beat them. The Cubs getting Aramis Ramirez back should be an instant boost in a race that is very, very tight. But, Ryan Theriot looks like he is primed for a big second half, which pains for me to say. Over the last 28 days, Theriot is hitting .344 with an .809 OPS. Is he that good of a player? I'm not sure, but he's entering his prime, playing on a contender, and seems to be a spark plug. If the Cubs are to comeback and take over the St. Louis Cardinals, then their spark plug will likely be a big reason why.

RF Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals

Yes, we'll stick with the NL Central and go with the Cubs rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Last year Ryan Ludwick took the league by storm hitting .299 with 37 homeruns and 113 RBIs, en route to the first all-star appearance and silver slugger award of his career. This year, it's been a curious year for Ludwick. Coming into the season, I expected Ludwick to take a bit of a dip in production due to an unsustainable 30% LD percentage last year. Most of the quality players are around 20-22 % in that, so 30% is absolutely out of this world. Ludwick got off to a good start in April, but struggled in late April and early May, before getting hurt. When he came back, it seemed the Cardinals rushed him due to their other struggles, and he just didn't look the same. Over the last two weeks before the all-star break, though, Ludwick has been raking, batting .405 with a 1.303 OPS and helping the Cardinals to a very successful 6-4 road trip against division opponents. I look at Ludwick as the biggest key for the Cardinals in the second half because a healthy Ludwick will make pitchers pay for giving Albert Pujols the "four fingers".

CF Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

There may not be an easier choice then Josh Hamilton for a breakout second half. Mainly because his first half was sooooo awful. When he was healthy, Hamilton struggled to be productive. And most of the time he wasn't healthy. The Rangers sorely need Hamilton to come back and be a productive hitter in the second half and get closer to where he was a year ago. If he can, then the Rangers should be able to stay near or at the top for the rest of the way through. Hamilton changes the look of the Rangers lineup and with a healthy Ian Kinsler down the stretch this year, I look for Josh Hamilton to put up a .300 average and drive in 60-70 runs.

LF Matt Holliday, Oakland/Who Knows?

Matt Holliday's name is going to be tossed around every week I'm sure up until the deadline. At some point I believe he'll be moved to a team that is in the middle of a pennant race. He continues to be disappointing, but a lot of that has to do with the protection around him. He's routinely batting between Jack Cust (.232/.322/.411/.733) and Jason Giambi (.191/.331/.365/.696). Does that scream protection that a star hitter wants to hit between? Please, no. There is a fairly good chance that Holliday will end up in a uniform of the New York Mets (David Wright), St. Louis Cardinals (Albert Pujols), Boston Red Sox (Jason Bay/David Ortiz), or San Francisco (Pablo Sandoval). I'm not sure San Fran can afford him, but they need hitting and a Sandoval/Holliday combo would be pretty darn nice for a race towards the finish. Simply put, Holliday could very well end up in a uniform of a contender and be surrounded by much better talent then Oakland currently has.

Cardinals Need a Holliday, not a Halladay!

2009-07-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

As the trade deadline approaches this year, there have been two names linked to the St. Louis Cardinals over the last month or so. Not just two any names, but two of the biggest names on the market. Matt Holliday, the outfielder from the Oakland Athletics, and Roy Halladay, the starting pitcher from the Toronto Blue Jays. Both would help the Cardinals tremendously, both will come with risks, and both will come with at least a fairly high asking price, but only one of them should be the Cardinals top priority.

If the Cardinals were to trade for Roy Halladay, arguably the best starting pitcher in baseball, they would likely become World Series favorites for this year and next year pending health. They would gain a pitcher who has been very durable the last three straight years and is a proven winner (52-23 from 2006-2008). Halladay has a Cy Young on his resume and is good friends with Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter from their days as the future of the Toronto Blue Jays. To make it more intriguing, Roy Halladay is the AL starter in this year's all-star game in St. Louis. All of the storylines are there for what would look like a great pickup.

If the Cardinals picked up Halladay, the Cardinals trio of Roy Halladay, Chris Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright, may be one of the best trios since the Braves were throwing out Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. Mix in a healthy Kyle Lohse and Joel Pineiro and that rotation would rival the best of them, not only today, but possibly in history, down the stretch.

But, is it the most valuable? When a team is talking about giving up top prospects for Halladay, and as some have mentioned possibly three of an organization's top prospects, then a B level prospect, and a C level prospect, the talks of trading for a pitcher like Halladay, who has shown to be injury prone in the past, has already been injured this year, and is on the wrong side of 30, become awfully risky. The Cardinals have already been haunted of trading for a pitcher in his prime in Mark Mulder, only to watch Dan Haren become an all-star and Mulder to be on the current free agent market.

So, then we have Holliday, one of the more talked about names in the city of St. Louis since last summer. It has just seemed inevitable that Holliday would at some point be wearing the "birds on the bat". He's from Oklahoma, grew up a Cardinals fan, Tony Larussa has talked about wanting him. The Cardinals have been searching for a "big name" hitter to protect Albert Pujols. To make it more inevitable, the Cardinals left fielders in 2009 have hit a paltry .221 (last in MLB) with a .655 OPS (27th in MLB). The resurgence of Ryan Ludwick shouldn't alter the Cardinals plans, although the trade for Mark DeRosa may make a trade for Matt Holliday less likely, especially depending on who the PTBNL is.

The Cardinals were said to be wanting him before trading for DeRosa, but the Athletics demands of top prospect Brett Wallace being included in the deal became a deal breaker it seemed. As Holliday continues to slide due to lack of protection (Jack Cust? Jason Giambi? Come on..) though and the deadline approaches, one would assume the asking price may ease up at least somewhat.

Currently, it seems like the Cardinals are having black holes at left field and third base. Couple that with the pitchers spot and it's tough to put rallies together with three close to automatic outs in the starting lineup. At some point the Cardinals need to make some tough decisions. Whether that be calling up top prospect Brett Wallace (1.023 OPS last 28 days in AAA), trading for a hitter (Matt Holliday? Josh Willingham? Cody Ross? Another RH bat who can hit LH pitching?), or just getting healthy (Glaus on rehab, DeRosa from the DL).

The Cardinals are in first place at the all-star break and have had a good first half despite injuries at times to Carpenter, Glaus, Ludwick, Ankiel, DeRosa, etc. They've used 15 rookies in the first half and could very well add some more in the second half with Wallace and Jay at least deserving a September callup. The Cardinals have persevered more then some other teams have, and are led by "The Machine." It's time for St. Louis to rid themselves of having so many black holes in an everyday lineup. Enough with the starting of players with sub .500 OPS's over a month long period.

It's time for them to give Pujols a Holliday or at least bring the Walrus to the Park.

Pineiro's brilliant pitching, 8th inning rally lead to Cards win

2009-07-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

For much of the game, the story felt all too familiar to Joel Pineiro. An outstanding pitching effort, with little offensive support, and looking like an inevitable St. Louis Cardinals loss.

Then everything changed.

Schumaker leadoff base hit in the 8th inning, followed by a Brendan Ryan RBI triple began the rally. A walk later to Jason Larue, who was pinch hitting for hitless Colby Rasmus, and Albert Pujols was up with runners on the corners. Pujols, 1 for 10 in the series before the at bat, had the biggest swing of the game to that point with a run scoring double down the line giving St. Louis their first lead of the game at 2-1.

With the game looking up for the Cardinals, Ryan Ludwick added insurance with a three run blast to left centerfield, giving St. Louis a 4 run cushion. That was all Joel Pineiro needed to finish off the Milwaukee Brewers and help the St. Louis Cardinals back to a two game lead in the NL Central.

Going the distance in the Cardinals win, Joel Pineiro (7-9) allowed just three hits, walking nobody, allowing a run, and striking out 5 Brewers hitters.

After a Mike Cameron RBI single in the bottom of the 5th, Joel Pineiro retired 12 of the next 13 batters, with the only one that reached base being pitcher Manny Parra who reached base on a wild pitch after swinging and missing for strike three.

The complete game was Joel Pineiro's third on the season which ties him with five other pitchers for second most in baseball. Pineiro also used three double plays on Thursday to face just one over the minimum of 27 batters.

Milwaukee took the lead on a Mike Cameron RBI single with 1 out in the bottom of the 5th. Prince Fielder led off the 5th with a double to the gap in left-centerfield, and moved over to third base on a Casey McGehee groundout. Cameron stroked a ball into left field for a hit, scoring Fielder from third base.

With the Cardinals hitters being aggressive and swinging at anything within their reach from southpaw Manny Parra, the game looked like another one for the loss column.

Of course that was until the Brewers brought in Carlos Villanueva (2-5) to begin the 8th inning.

Manny Parra finished with a no decision, going a season high 7 innings, allowing just 3 hits, striking out 7 batters, and walking just 1 batter. Parra entered the game with a career 3.70 ERA versus the Cardinals. The seven inning outing was Parra's longest start since last season on August 10th when he went 7 against the Washington Nationals.

Manny Parra's game score of 77 is a career high. His previous high was 75, which he achieved on June 28th against the Minnesota Twins.