World Baseball Classic Update

Just a quick run-down of what's happened so far...

China lost to Japan 4-0.

Taiwan lost to Korea, 9-0.

Then, China beat Taiwan 4-1, eliminating Taiwan.

Japan beat Korea 14-2, and they only played 7 innings.

The Netherlands pulled an upset over the Dominican team, 3-2. Basically a team who's best player is Sidney Ponson, beat a team that has Edinson Volquez, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Marmol, Robinson Cano, Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Jose Reyes. Anything can happen in baseball.

As I am writing, the Americans are losing 2-1 to Canada in the fourth.

I say that Korea and Japan will come out of Pool A, Cuba and Mexico from Pool B, The US and Venezuela from Pool C, and the Netherlands and Puerto Rico from Pool D. Then Cuba and Japan from Pool 1, and the US and Venezuela from Pool 2. Then a Japan vs. the US final, with the US winning.

God, I wish this were true...

Impacto Deportivo reports that the Yanks are trading Alex Rodriguez to Seattle for Adrian Beltre. THe aricle says the trade is "grande y complicado" (big and complicated). I am about 99.9% sure this isn't true, but if it were....I'd be stoked. I'm not a big Beltre fan, but I want A-Rod out of New York. Imagine if we made a Ichiro-Beltre for A-Rod swap, God that would be great. Anyways, Impacto Deportivo is known for just making stuff up(Like when they said the Yanks were going to sign Manny...), so don't read too much into this. It's just funny entertainment. By the way, the link is in Spanish.

Yikes Joba

Joba didn't have the best day, he couldn't even finish the first inning. He walked 4 and was charged with 5 earned runs. It's still early, but this wasn't good. Joba's still the man, he'll figure stuff out and be ready when the season starts. Don't worry.

ARod Update

A-Rod won't have surgery. His cyst was drained, but he has a torn hip labrum. Supposedly they're going to try "rest and rehab." Surgery would keep him off the field for 4 months, which is why they would rather see if it could be fixed just by rest and rehab. Cashman said that surgery will be needed at some point, since the tear won't heal on its own. Whether he'd have surgery now, or after the season is unknown. Either way, its not good. All this info from PeteAbe's blog. If A-Rod is out for the year, I would love to see Chone Figgins man third base for the Yanks. He's awesome.

A-Rod could be out for 10 weeks.

Alex Rodriguez is going to have surgery on Monday to remove a cyst from his hip. He could be out 10 weeks, as a best case scenario. Remember how all off-season I said we needed a better backup infielder. Well, I bet the team regrets not pursuing one now. We could possibly try to make a trade. Peter Gammons suggests trading for Garrett Atkins or Chad Tracy. As Peter Gammons said, 10 weeks is a long time, and we need someone better than Cody Ransom or Angel Berroa manning third. I wonder if Ray Durham would play 3rd base if we signed him, same with Mark Grudzielanek. I could also see names like Jack Wilson, Chone Figgins, Troy Glaus, and David Eckstein being mentioned as trade candidates, as they are all free agents after the season. Gammons suggested that the Yanks would have to give up some good young starting pitching for someone like Atkins, perhaps Hughes or Brackman, which I can't see Cashman doing. There's a chance we see Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher trying to man third base, or we could see one of those two traded for a third baseman. I hate injuries.

Manny's in LA

This is a little late as reports have been being confirmed and denied for a day or two. Now, it seems like Manny has signed a 2 year $45mm with the Dodgers. I'm just glad he's not in the Bronx(I'm scared of his attitude) and not anywhere else in the AL (I'm scared of his bat).

Top 5 Starting Rotations in the MLB

With the season not too far away, we thought it would be nice to preview the 5 best rotations in baseball.

 

1. Tampa Bay Rays 

2. New York Yankees

3. San Francisco Giants

4. Chicago Cubs

5. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 

 

The AL Champion Rays’ rotation can be described in one word, Beast. Last season, they boasted a team ERA (bullpen included) of 3.82, which is pretty remarkable. The only loss from their rotation this offseason was Edwin Jackson who gave them a solid 14 wins and 183.3 innings; this "hole" should be more than filled with the fantastic David Price. The rotation starts off with James Shields, who will be 27 this coming season.. Last season he pitched an impressive 215 innings, with a 3.56 ERA, 1.153 WHIP, and a 4:1 K:BB ratio. Interestingly enough, he pitched the same number of innings the year before, with a 3.85 ERA a ridiculous 1.107 WHIP, and a 5.11:1 K:BB ratio. This young guy has been consistently effective over the last couple of years, and should only continue to put up impressive stats this season. Scott Kazmir, still only 24, is another one of the great pitchers in the Rays’ rotation. He has had his fair share of injury troubles, but when healthy he is dominant. Last season, he had an ERA of 3.49, 166 Ks, a WHIP of 1.267, and threw 152.3 innings. He tends to walk a few more guys than he should. He has shown great potential when he has been healthy, leading the AL in Ks in 2007 (239), and being voted onto the All-Star team in both 2005 and 2007. With his young age, he will only continue to get better and grow as a pitcher for the Rays. Matt Garza, their #3, is another young guy (24) who had an effective season for the Rays. He was brought over to the Rays along with Team MVP Jason Bartlett in the Delmon Young deal last offseason. In his first season with the Rays he had an ERA of 3.70, a WHIP of 1.240, and a K:BB ratio of 2.2, which could certainly be improved upon. Again remember, he is very young and will only continue to improve. Sonnanstine, the Rays #4, will be 26 next season and had a season very similar to Andy Pettitte. He had an ERA of 4.38, a WHIP of 1.288, and a 3.1 K:BB ratio. He picked up a good amount of innings in ‘08, throwing 193.3 in total. David Price is the only Rays’ starter who scares me. The 22 year old had great composure in the Playoffs last season and just made people look stupid. He did the best he could to justify the # 1 prospect tag he has been given. The Rays have the best rotation in major league baseball. Statistically they fare well in the ERA and WHIP categories, and with not one of their starters being older than 27, they have a promising future.

 

Next up, is our own New York Yankees. The Yankees made some serious improvements to their rotation this season, adding the best lefty in baseball,CC Sabathia, and the 08 strikeout leader, AJ Burnett. In doing so, they made their rotation younger (Sabathia is 27, Burnett is 32) and more effective. They lost Mike Mussina, who at 38 was coming off of a stellar 20-win season. Their rotation is clearly formidable. CC Sabathia is the team’s ace signing on with a 7 year $161mm contract. His ’08 season was spectacular, as he carried the Brewers into the playoffs. He was quite the workhorse, throwing 253 innings between the Indians and the Brewers. He sported a cool 2.70 ERA, with an insane 1.65 ERA in his 17 games with the Brewers (7 of which were complete games). His 251 Ks, 4.25 K:BB, and 1.115 WHIP made me water at the mouth. Hopefully, his workload over the past couple years won't hurt him this year or in the future. Burnett, another big free agent signing, had a very solid season for the Jays in ‘08. He hurled 221.3 innings with a 4.07 ERA (a little bit higher than we’d like). He had 231 Ks and a WHIP of 1.342. He is obviously a huge injury risk, but hopefully he can stay healthy in his first year in pinstripes. Burnett’s biggest strength is his electric stuff, as he pitches for power as well as movement. He could be the ace on almost any other team, but instead he’ll take the role of the #2 in the Bronx. Chien Ming Wang has been incredibly consistent in his time with the Yankees. In both 06 and 07, his ERA was under 4.00 and he totaled 19 wins both years. He was off to a great start last year as well before his season was cut short by a foot injury running the bases in Houston. He has been criticized for his lack of Ks, but Wang’s whole approach is to pitch to contact, as he is one of the best in the league at making batters hit the ball into the dirt. His consistency and nasty sinker will lead to another great year for the Yankees. Andy Pettitte sits at #4. He came up with the Yankees and has been a fan favorite for a long time. He is another workhorse, throwing 204 innings last season despite being hurt as the year wound down. He had a high ERA (4.54), but don’t fret, as that was the result of a weak second half while he was battling soreness in his shoulder. His WHIP was a bit high as well (1.412), and he had a 2.87 K:BB. Andy isn’t what he used to be, but he’s guy you still count on to take the ball every 5^th day and pitch quality innings. The Lord Our Savior Joba Chamberlain will be the 5th starter for the Yanks. The 22 year old made the transition to starter for a limited time last season, before hamstring problem landed him on the DL, and pushed him to the ‘pen upon his return. His 2.60 ERA, 1.256 WHIP, and 3.02 K:BB impressed everyone. I'm very excited to see how he'll do in his first full season as starter. Another great thing about this Yankee rotation is the great depth we have. If a starter goes down, we won’t have to worry about sending Sidney Ponson or Darrell Rasner to the mound, instead we’ll see Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, or Alfredo Aceves. Beyond that, the Yanks’ have veteran insurance with Sergio Mitre (after he serves his 50 game suspension), Brett Tomko, and Dan Giese. The Yanks could easily be the best rotation in the league, but there is too much uncertainty with Sabathia’s workload the past two years, Burnett’s injury history, Wang coming off an injury and a half season, Pettitte’s age, and Joba’s lack of experience as a full time big league starter.

 

The Giants boast the 3^rd best rotation in baseball. Their ace, Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, is dirty, unbelievable, and has already proved himself to be a superstar. The 24 year old had a 2.62 ERA, a 1.172 WHIP, 265 Ks (led league), in his Cy Young campaign. Not bad for a 24 year old. Matt Cain, their #2, had a 3.76 ERA, had 186 Ks, and a 1.364 WHIP. He is another guy that will give you a bunch of innings, with an average of 202 innings over the last 3 seasons. Future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, signed with San Fran this offseason, and will be 45 this year. Sure, he's old, but his stats were still impressive last season, with a 3.91 ERA, and 1.239 WHIP, and 173 Ks. His age could catch up with him though, and his constant back issues could pose a problem as well.. Barry Zito, who has done nothing but disappoint for the Giants, is the #4. He has struggled immensely in SF, posting a 5.15 ERA, 1.600 WHIP, and an abysmal 1.17 K:BB ratio last season. He was a fine pitcher across the bay in Oakland, even picking up a Cy Young in ’01, so he could still have a comeback in him. The #5 spot will go to Jonathan Sanchez, but Noah Lowry could still fight him for it. Sanchez, 25, throws a ton of Ks, with 157 in 158 innings last season. His ERA was high at 5.01, a result of a weak second half. He hasn’t been in the big leagues for long, so he could still break out. Lowry had a 3.92 ERA and a 1.551 WHIP in 07, but missed last season with an injury. He walked loads of batter in ’07, with just as many walks as K’s. That’s not a good sign. San Fran certainly has some question marks in Johnson, Zito, Sanchez, and Lowry, but with such a strong 1-2 combo, and tremendous potential from the others’ this rotation can destroy the NL West. When it comes down to it, it’s nice to have a rotation with 3 Cy Young winners.

 

 

The Chicago Cubs come in at #4. The Big Z (Carlos Zambrano), is their ace. He had a decent season last year with a WHIP of 1.293 and 3.91 ERA. His strikeout rates were down from previous seasons, as he only punched out 130 in ‘08. The highlight of his season was his impressive no-hitter. He has proven himself to be a force, and will certainly give the Cubbies lots of quality innings.He pitched over 200 innings each year from 03-07. His biggest flaw is his excessive number of walks. Ex-Yankee Ted Lilly is the #2. The lefty had an ERA of 4.09, 184 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.226. He had a bit of a down season, compared to his "usual stats", so it wouldn't be improbable to see a jump in his stats. Ryan Dempster, #3, had a great season for the Cubs last year. Until last season, he was used primarily as a reliever, but he showed that he can be a very successful starter. He threw 206.66 innings last year with an ERA of 2.96, a WHIP of 1.210, and 187 Ks. He signed a new four year deal with the Cubs this offseason. Typically, relievers-turned-starters have a tougher time their second year, as they fatigue earlier in the season.. Rich Harden, the #4, can be ridiculously dominant when healthy. He showed that last season with a 2.07 ERA and a filthy 1.061 WHIP while pitching for the A’s and Cubs. If he can stay healthy, a big IF, he will be a force in this tremendous Chicago rotation. Rounding out the rotation is Sean Marshall. The converted reliever had a 3.86 ERA and a 1.270 WHIP. He is still young, so there may be serious improvements ahead of him. This rotation will be dominant, but if they somehow manage to reignite talks for Padres’ ace Jake Peavy, and land him, I wouldn’t be surprised to see their first World Series Championship since 1908.

 

The Angels have the 5^th best rotation in the league. Their #1, John Lackey, has shown dominancy for years and is entering his contract year. He had a 3..75 ERA, a 1.231 WHIP, and 3.25 K:BB last season. He was sidelined for a considerable amount of time with a strained tricep. Expect to see him continue to put up strong stats, and bring home some W’s. The youngErvin Santana (#2) had a breakout season for the Angels last year. His 3.49 ERA 214 Ks, and 1.119 WHIP impressed all of baseball. He has shown strengths before, so expect him to keep pitching well this season. #3 Joe Saunders had a great year in ‘08 with a 3.41 ERA, 1.212 WHIP, and a 17-7 record. We’ll see if Saunders can repeat what was the best season of his career so far. Jered Weaver had a less than stellar season for the Angels last year. At 25, he posted a 4.33 ERA, a 1.285 WHIP, and 2.8 K:BB ratio. Look for him to improve this year, now that he has some more big league experience. Rounding out their rotation should be Dustin Moseley who only started 10 games last season. He has great potential, and we’ll see if he can live up to it. This is clearly a talented rotation, but the Angels are relying heavily on repeat seasons from Santana and Saunders, and a bounce-back season for Weaver.

 

Honorable Mention- 

Boston Red Sox- The Sox have Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, John Smoltz, Clay Bucholz, and Brad Penny as viable candidates for the rotation. This could be a great rotation, but Dice-K is overrated, Wakefield is old, Bucholz is a question, and Smoltz and Penny are injury prone.

Florida Marlins- A strong young core could turn heads, but without being “proven” you can’t be sure of how effective they will be.

 

What do you guys think? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.

The Best and the Worst

Just thinking about how great Brett Gardner is got me thinking about my favorite, whether justifiably or not, and least favorite players of the past 10 or 15 years. So here's a list in no particular order:

Favorites:
JD Closser
Yorvit Torrealba
Ryan Spilborghs
Melky Cabrera
Our Lord The Savior Joba Chamberlain
Clint Barmes
Brett Gardner
Bubba Crosby
Ricky Ledee
Aaron Rowand
Orlando Hudson
Hanley Ramirez
Carl Crawford
Francisco Liriano
Aaron Small
Chone Figgins
Chuck Knoblauch
Alfonso Soriano
Ian Kinsler
Miguel Cairo
Brian McCann
Paul O'Neill
Joakim Soria
JJ Hardy
Kelley Shoppach
Troy Tulowitzki
Joey Votto

The Hated:
Manny Ramirez
Pedro Martinez
John Rocker
Eric Byrnes
Jason Varitek
Jonathan Papelbon
Curt Schilling
Carl Pavano
AJ Burnett(I'm trying to change...)
Denny Neagle
Trot Nixon
Francisco Rodriguez
Barry Bonds
Brett Myers
Brian Giles
Chipper Jones
Jose Canseco
Sammy Sosa


Thoughts? Additions? Subtractions? Reasons? Questions? Let's hear em in the comments.

Joba the Genius

Great Picture at PeteAbe's blog. Here it is above. Wang is throwing souvenirs into the crowd, but look at Joba on the left. You have to love the glasses and the sweater. Classy JChamb, classy.

Some other things of note.

Derek Jeter is the Captain of team USA. In the words of Ricky Bobby, "Hey, it's me, America!" The USA team played the Yanks today. Winning 6-5. Roy Oswalt picked up the win, Phil Hughes got the loss, despite pitching well.

PeteAbe talks about Hughes' newer, tighter curveball. I hope we can get Hughes to the Bronx somehow this year. He'll almost definitely be the first call-up when someone gets injured, and even with a healthy rotation he could come up and displace Andy Pettitte by the end of the season.

A-Rod is coming out to my home state of Colorado tomorrow to have his hip examined in Vail.This could hold A-Rod out of the WBC. If anyone knows A-Rod, tell him he should find me when he leaves Vail and I'll take him out to a nice fancy meal. I'm still debating whether to get him a Juicy burger at Wendy's, or some Jamba Juice. Okay, bad joke, I know, but I couldn't help myself. In all honesty though, he should go to Elway's in Denver. Every superstar should be like John Elway, who's the subject of this touching story by Rick Reilly.


In other news, Brett Gardner is my boy. He's just the man. Through 10 spring at bats BGard has a batting average of .500, and OBP of .545, and is slugging 1.300. He's hit two solo homeruns (one on the first Yankee at bat of the year), hit two doubles, and stolen 2 bases. He's got 13 total bases already and I honestly can't help but cheer for this guy.

NL Playoff Predictions

NL East: Florida Marlins
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: San Francisco Giants
NL Wildcard: New York Mets

I doubt many predictions have these four teams, but here's my reasoning.

The Marlins will win the East simply because they are the best team in the division. Do they have power, you ask? Yes. See Hanley Ramirez (33 HR), Dan Uggla (32 HR), Jorge Cantu (29 HR), Cody Ross (22 HR), and Jeremy Hermida (17 HR). Do they have speed? Yes. See Hanley Ramirez (35 SB), and Cameron Maybin (21 SB in double A). Do they have a starting rotation? Yes. See Ricky Nolasco (3.52 ERA, 186 K's), Josh Johnson (3.61 ERA), Chris Volstad (2.88 ERA), and Anibal Sanchez (5.57 ERA through to starts in 08, but a career 3.86 ERA). Do they have a bullpen? Yes. See Matt Lindstrom (3.14 ERA), Leo Nunez (2.98 ERA), Logan Kensing (4.23 ERA, but struck out 55 in 55.1 innings) and prospect Jose Ceda (2.08 ERA in 30.1 innings at the double A level last year. Add in the fact that the Marlins won't have to deal with aging players, and they seem like a clear choice for the Division Champs.

The Cubs will win the Central, because, well...how can they not? They have a rotation of Carlos Zambrano(3.91 ERA), Ted Lilly(4.09 ERA), Ryan Dempster(2.96 ERA), Rich Harden(2.07 ERA) and Sean Marshall(3.86 ERA). They also have Aaron Heilman as insurance. Not to mention, they could still possibly swing a trade for Padres' Ace Jake Peavy once ownership issues are settled on both sides. They have a ridiculous lineup with the likes of Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, and Ryan Theriot. If Milton Bradley stays healthy and performs like he did in 08, he could be another major threat in the lineup. They have some quality arms in the bullpen such as Carlos Marmol, Kevin Gregg, and Jeff Samardzija. The Cubbies' closes competitor in 08, the Brewers, lost their primary ace (CC Sabathia) as well as their secondary ace (Ben Sheets) to free agency. The Reds have a great young core of talent, but too many dominoes have to fall into place for them to beat out the Cubs. The Astros have a fine offense, but have way too many question marks in the rotation. After Roy Oswalt, you can't be sure of anything from the other starters. The Cardinals could be good, since Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse, and Todd Wellemeyer have all succeeded at the major league level, but their offense, particularly their infielders not named Albert Pujols, is incredibly weak. And the Pirates... I mean do you really expect them to do anything?

The NL West will be won by the team with the best pitching. Since the Rockies just lost their ace(Jeff Francis) for the year, the Padres have only two established starters, one of whom they may very well trade away, and the Dodgers have a very injury-prone rotation, I see the division title being fought for between the Giants and the DBacks.A San Francisco rotation of Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum(2.62 ERA), Matt Cain (3.76 ERA), future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson (3.91 ERA), former Cy Young winner Barry Zito (he's been terrible since arriving in San Fran, but a new year could mean new success...maybe), Noah Lowry (missed all of 08, but had a 3.92 ERA in 07), and youngster Jonathan Sanchez (showed promise until the all star break, before fading down the stretch) could be one of the best in the league. Arizona has Brandon Webb(3.30 ERA) and Dan Haren (3.33 ERA) leading their rotation. Then they trot out league average veterans Jon Garland(4.90) and Doug Davis(4.32 ERA) as their 3rd and fourth starters. In the 5th spot we could see top prospect Max Scherzer come in and make a big impact. Overall, it seems more likely that San Fran will have 3-5 successful starters than Arizona will, so I say San Fran will win the West

There are not teams in the Central or the West that are good enough to win the Wild Card, so I am almost certain it will come from the East. I don't think the Phillies can defend their title, not with the overrated Brett Myers (4.55 ERA), the 46 year old Jamie Moyer(3.71 ERA), and the mediocre Joe Blanton (4.69 ERA). Phillies slugger Ryan Howard has seen his batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and walk total decline each of the past two years. Third baseman Pedro Feliz had a .302 OBP in 08. And Catcher Carlos Ruiz had a .320 OBP and a .300 SLG in 08. This isn't a playoff team. So the Wild Card comes down to the Mets and the Braves. Lets do a quick comparison.

Rotations
Derek Lowe(3.24 ERA) Johan Santana(2.53 ERA)
Javier Vasquez (4.67 ERA) Mike Pelfrey (3.72 ERA)
Jair Jurrjens (3.68 ERA) Oliver Perez (4.22 ERA)
Kenshin Kawakami (Played in Japan) John Maine (4.18 ERA)

Both teams will have a fight for the 5th rotation spot. The Mets will let Livan Hernandez, Freddy Garcia, Tim Redding, and Jon Niese fight for the spot, while the Braves will let Jorge Campillo, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Tom Glavine hold down the spot until top prospect Tommy Hanson is ready to take over. The Mets have a stronger lineup with superstars Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Delgado. The Braves have a nice core of young talent, with guys like Brian McCann, Yunel Escobar, and Kelly Johnson, complemented by veterans Chipper Jones and Garrett Anderson. Then the Mets have a bullpen with JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez, as well as Duaner Sanchez and Pedro Feliciano. Meanwhile the Braves have Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano among others. The Mets seem to have the edge, and after two late season collapses they have everything to prove.