Below are the 11 most recent journal entries recorded in angelswashburn's LiveJournal:

Monday, January 29th, 2007
6:46 pm	Today's fuckstick There are times in my life when I think to myself, “Diesel, it’s time to scrap the bitterness. Maybe you need to find your spirit.” Those are the times I spend a couple of days doing my best to smile at every old lady I see, refrain from rape jokes and not gun the GTI when there’s a pigeon in the road. For a short time, this makes me feel better. Then, out of nowhere, a horrible piece of sports writing will appear on my computer monitor while I’m putting a hurting on some chicken lo mien, and I immediately go back to being an asshole. I wish I could say this stuff was cathartic, but the truth is I just fucking hate Phil Rogers so much, I wish I could sodomize him with a dirty toilet brush. And not gently, like that usually implies.Here is the latest justification for his impending, unsanitary colonoscopy:Gentlemen, start your checkbooks.You’re a funny man, Phil. Heh. It’s funny, because it’s like “start your engines,” only with checkbooks instead, since owners are going to be using checkbooks to pay for free agent contracts. Heh.There's only one problem with the gaudy numbers that Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Lee traditionally put up: They are guaranteed to lead to big contracts but do not necessarily translate into victories.Along with Alfonso Soriano, these are the biggest bats on the market, and it figures someone will pay them accordingly (Lee appears headed to the Houston Astros; Ramirez possibly to the Los Angeles Angels). But for all their thunder, Lee and Ramirez have combined for only 55 at-bats in the playoffs (and a .218 average), generally playing on also-ran teams. Their teams were a combined 147-176 last year. Lee did not deliver when he was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Texas Rangers at the July deadline, and Ramirez disappeared when the Chicago Cubs needed him to step up while Derrek Lee was sidelined. One scout says the saying about lies, damn lies and statistics applies to free agency. "You can take any stat, I believe, and damn near make any point you choose with it," he said. We’ll ignore the dangling participle in the second graph, and get right to the stupid, unfounded meat of Rogers’ argument. According to idiots like Rogers and his scout friend, who I really think is either the equally-offensive Jerry Crasnick or simply Rogers himself pantomiming Jerry Lewis in his head, individual numbers are useless unless those numbers came while a player was in the midst of a pennant race. This is dumb.Here is what Rogers could say if he was interested in being right: Lee, Soriano, and Ramirez are all good hitters. But none of them are great hitters, because they don’t get on base enough. Ramirez’s 2006 OBP: .352 (50 BB in 660 PA)League average at 3B: .354Lee’s 2006 OBP: .355 (58 BB in 695 PA)Soriano’s 2006 OBP: .351 (67 BB in 728 PA)League average in LF: .359 (AL was .347, for those who are curious)So, while all will put up gaudy power numbers, on the whole they actually cost your team outs against the league average. Is that what you want to be paying north of $10 million a year for? Maybe not. But, of course, the real problem with all three is that their teams didn’t win enough. But, I promise, if any of them had been Eckstein, the Cubs, Brewers, Rangers and Nationals would have all won the World Series at the same time.Jeff Suppan deserves a big contract. After all, he's the poor man's Greg Maddux, making 30-plus starts eight years in a row, and he's never been compensated accordingly. He earned a total of only $9 million from the St. Louis Cardinals while going 47-29 the last three years, including three wins in the playoffs. But there's nothing special about his stuff, and he's coming off a season when his ERA jumped from 3.57 to 4.12.Huh? Since when did making more than 30 starts become the baseline for Greg Maddux comparisons? Did Jeff fucking Suppan just get compared to a guy who is considered by some to be one of the 10 best pitchers of all-time? Greg Maddux career ERA: 3.07Jeff Suppan career ERA (I shit you not): 4.60Daniel Cabrera compares more favorably to Sandy Koufax than Suppan does to Maddux. I think Phil Rogers is sleeping with Jeff Suppan.Roger Clemens, who says he hasn't even thought about whether he wants to pitch in 2007 -- yeah, right -- took home $664,858 per start for his abbreviated season with the Astros this season, and he's not getting younger. The plan was for him to be fresh for the postseason, but Houston finished 1½ games behind St. Louis in the woeful NL Central. Houston was 9-10 in Clemens' starts, a quirky fact that belies his 2.30 ERA.Quirky? Gilbert Arenas is quirky. That statistic is absolute proof that wins and losses are a completely meaningless statistic. Or, did Roger Clemens “just pitch well enough to lose?” Because, I swear, if you had said that, I would have switched out the toiled brush for a spiked bat.Kip Wells, the quintessential 30-start guy when he's healthy, was shut down for foot surgery shortly after being traded from Pittsburgh to Texas last season.This is probably my favorite part of the whole article. You know how many pitchers started 30 or more games last season? Roughly 70 (sorry, can’t find the exact stat, but this is pretty close). So, Kip Well’s claim to fame is that – when healthy! – he will be able to do something that only 70 or so other pitchers in the major leagues can do. Rogers makes no mention of whether or not you’d really want Wells starting 30 games for your team, because that would require actual qualitative analysis. Also, because I can’t resist: John F. Kennedy is the quintessential two-term president when his head isn’t getting blown off. Kirstie Alley is the quintessential supermodel when she’s not laying waste to a Chinese Buffet. Patrick Roy is the quintessential family man when he’s not beating his wife to within an inch of her life. Bill McCartney is the quintessential role model when his daughter isn’t sucking down chocolate like Daddy-O’s. Colorado is the quintessential intercollegiate model when its coaches aren’t implicitly endorsing rape. Loren Wade is the quintessential college running back when he’s not capping teammates. I could go on like this forever.There’s more, but I really do need to work sometime today. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 26th, 2006
5:36 pm	Fools and Their Money The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are about to sign Gary Mathews, Jr. to a five-year, $50 million deal. All for a 31 year-old player who had a career batting average of .249 going into last season and had a career year during a contract year. What are they going to do next, offer Eric Milton $25 million for 3 years (oops, the Reds did that a few years ago)? Seriously, there is so much salary inflation among free-agent outfielders that you wonder whether the academics at Harvard (where grade inflation is the norm) are running the show in Major League Baseball. Good thing for Mathews, Jr. to take his act to the left coast, where the teams out there get precious little coverage back East. Had he signed back east and gone for an oh for April, he'd be booed louder than President Bush at a meeting of Manhattan Democrats. What are the Angels thinking? My hometown Phillies are looking for a good bat to follow MVP (boy does that sound nice) Ryan Howard in the lineup. They might have whiffed on Moises Alou, who still has something left in the tank, but they were wise not to get caught up in the Alfonso Soriano feeding frenzy or this one. True, Mathews, Jr.'s father, Gary "Sarge" Mathews, was instrumental in the Phillies' run to the World Series in '83 and the Cubs playoff run in '84, but that doesn't mean that Jr. has the same talents that senior did. The salary inflation makes for hard choices in front offices. The Phillies had a choice of overpaying for Soriano and Mathews, Jr. Now they have to figure out whether they can peddle Pat Burrell, whether they should trade for Manny Ramirez or even dally with Barry Bonds (don't laugh -- I suggested this several months ago) or settle with a combination of Jeff Conine and someone else batting behind Howard. Give Pat Gillick credit for being clever -- he'll figure something out. It's just that he and other general managers are not willing to give the agents blank checks to name their price. Not for "B" list players. (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
1:12 pm	MLB team names (the best) Yesterday we looked at the worst MLB team names. Today we continue up that list, to get to the best #14 Milwaukee BREWERS – Let me put this in terms you can understand: they make beer #13 New York YANKEES – For many years I thought the Broadway Musical “Damn Yankees” was anti-Steinbrenner screed. Yankees is a fairly cool name, though, uniquely American and thumbing the nose at Brits and Southerners at the same time. That’s quite the accomplishment. #12 Arizona DIAMONDBACKS – They are named after a venomous snake, which is good. (By the way, snakes are venomous, not poisonous). And, you play baseball on what is known as a “diamond,” so double points. There is a small part of me, though, that feels like they could have done more. #11 Seattle MARINERS – Not quite as cool as swashbucklers, but Mariner does have a certain hoary dignity to it, as well as evoking the Hemmingway aesthetic. #10 Minnesota TWINS – For the Twin cities, but I prefer to think of different kinds of twins, if you know what I mean. #9 Kansas City ROYALS – For one, it’s always good to be the King. Also, it simply cracks me up that Kansas City is not in Kansas, so I give them a few more points for this. #8 Oakland ATHLETICS – Athletics just sounds so…genteel, and there are great jokes to be made about team boosters, you know: Athletic Supporters? #7 Texas RANGERS – Be honest: who wouldn’t support them even more if they were Walker, Texas Rangers? #6 Los Angeles ANGELS – I’m more than a little contemptuous of the place (they went from California to Anaheim to the Los Angeles Dodgers of Anaheim), but “Angels” is a pretty good team name. Maybe I’ll buy them when my Angel movie comes out. #5 New York METROPOLITANS – How can you not love a team that is named after an opera house? Or possible a museum, which gives me hope that one day there might be the London Tates or the Paris Louvres. Who wouldn’t pay to see Frenchies play baseball? Nobody; that’s who! #4 Philadelphia PHILLIES – Part of me wants to dislike them; after all, how creative do you have to be to use your city name as your team name? Part of me is hopeful that this refers to Philly Cheese steaks, which would well be worth naming a team after. But mostly I just like how it opens up possibilities. The San Diego Sandies, the Pittsburgh Pitties, the Chicago Chickies! #3 San Francisco GIANTS – It’s quite simple: Hyperion was a Titan in Greek mythology, and Titans were giants. Beyond that, though, do you really want to root for the San Francisco Midgets? (Maybe if they were the San Francisco River Midgets….) #2 Pittsburg PIRATES – C’mon: this is a no-brainer. Pirates! Argggggggh! #1 Detroit TIGERS – How did a team that happened to be the first one I loved get ranked so high? Total coincidence. Actually, it’s entirely possible that my original love of the Tigers was partly due to the fact that tigers are just about the coolest animal ever. Did I ever tell you that when I rule the world I’m going to have giant all-black tiger, with matte-black skin and shiny black stripes? There pretty much is no animal cooler than tigers, and very few as cool. ‘Nuff said. (Comment on this)
Friday, September 29th, 2006
7:43 am	MLB Power Rankings 1. Detroit Tigers (Last week: 1) This past week ... MLB Power Rankings 1. Detroit Tigers (Last week: 1) This past week was a scare for Tigers' fans and finally for all the critics, it appears the Tigers have hit a slide, losing 5 in a row and three to the White Sox. It does not get any easier as they face the Red Sox for three in Boston and that could decide if they are seriously in trouble. 2. Chicago White Sox (Last week: 5) After a sweep of the Tigers, the White Sox took over control of the wild card and showed that they are still one of the best in the league. They know seem to own the tigers going 9-3 this season. 3. New York Mets (Last week: 3) The Mets are holding strong in the National League. They continue to play well and continue to be the class of the NL. With a 15 game lead in the NL east its only a matter of time before they clinch the division. 4. New York Yankees (Last week: 2) The Yankees lost two straight series to the White Sox and Angels but due to the Red Sox slide they remain in control of the AL east with a 1 game lead and two games in hand. 5. Minnesota Twins (Last week: 6) The Twins are hurting with losing Liriano and losing two of three to the Jays with the bottom of their rotation. They are going to need someone to step up to Liriano's place. On the plus side, Justin Morneau is looking more and more like an MVP candidate. 6. Boston Red Sox (Last week: 4) Another team that did not have a great week. They are 4-6 in their last ten after sweeping the hapless Orioles. They have the Tigers and Yankees this week and it will be interesting to see how they play. 7. Los Angeles Dodgers (Last week: 10) The Dodgers are on fire. They finally had their winning streak snapped but then reeled off four straight wins. 15-1 in their last 16 and now have a 1.5 game lead over the Padres. They are pitching amazing. 8. Oakland A's (Last week: 7) The A's continue to play solid ball and increased their lead over the Angels in the West this week. With a 20-9 record since the all-star break, this team is really clicking heading into the end of August and September. 9. Toronto Blue Jays (Last week: NR) The Jays took two of three from the Twins and after their skid seemed to have righted the ship. Burnett has two wins in a row and if he, along with Halladay and Lilly continue to pitch well enough so the middle relievers don't get into the game, they might make this close. 10. St. Louis Cardinals (Last week: 9) The Cards are holding onto the central despite being swept by the Pirates. The Reds are right on their heels and they need to pick it up. Just Missed: Los Angeles Angels, Cincinatti Reds Dropped out: Los Angels Angels (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 29th, 2006
6:36 pm	Trades That Should be Considered Obviously, I'm a bit biased towards the Pirates. Even then, I think that these trades would help both teams. In most cases, I use rumors to figure out who's available and what teams want. For example, rumors are that the Pirates are scouting the Tigers minor league prospect, P Humberto Sanchez. So I try to find who the Tigers would want in return. (um... more on this later.) So, possible trades are a-coming... Trade Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim get SP Kip Wells, SP Oliver Perez and 1/OF Craig Wilson Pittsburgh Pirates get SP Ervin Santana, 3 Dallas McPherson and either OF Nick Gorneault or SS Adam Pavkovich Reasoning The Angels are rumored to be searching for a bat (interest in Miguel Tejada, Alfonso Soriano and Bobby Abreu), and could also use an experienced SP due to injuries and youth. Wilson, while not on par with the others rumored, is a good power hitter. He would give them a guy that can DH, play first, or play in the outfield. It would allow someone like Garret Anderson to take a day off, and Wilson is an upgrade over Robb Quinlan and Tim Salmon. Wells would be a starter behind Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, John Lackey and maybe even Jered Weaver. With the Angels also having many youngsters down in AAA Salt Lake, they could use Wells this year and let him walk after. He gives them more experience as they enter the playoff run. Perez is a youngster who needs a change of scenery. The Angels could leave him in Salt Lake for a while, and help him work on his control and mechanics. If he can put it back together, he could give the Angels a dangerous young pitcher to go with the slew they have. Ervin Santana is a good young pitcher who is the odd-man out in Los Angeles. It has been rumored for some time that he could be moved. He comes to a team in the Pirates that need some stability in the rotation. He'd join a young rotation that includes Zach Duke, Paul Maholm and Tom Gorzelanny. McPherson has fallen completely out of favor in Los Angeles, and is on the block. The Pirates can risk it with him, and if it works, they are set in the left side of the infield with McPherson at 3rd, Freddy Sanchez at short and Jose Castillo at 2nd. And with nothing to play for this season, the Pirates have plenty of time for McPherson to try to get back on track. Pavkovich and Gorneault are both currently in AAA Salt Lake. Pavkovich has no spot in Los Angeles. He is sitting behind Orlando Cabrera, Erick Aybar and Brendan Wood. If the Pirates would rather have an outfielder, there is Nick Gorneault. He's a bit older, at 27, but with the Pirates, there is enough of a chance for him to try to breakout. Final Thoughts Truthfully, if I was the Pirates, I would first try to get them to include Erick Aybar in the deal. He sits behind Wood and Howie Kendrick and might not get much action in Los Angeles. Only if that failed (very likely) would I ask for Pavkovich or Gorneault. The Angels would get to veterans to help the team chase the A's this year (and in Wilson someone who can fill a variety of roles for the next few years), while the Pirates would a get a couple of youngsters to build around. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 18th, 2006
11:40 am	Stupid! We’ll eventually rip all the players who contributed to ... Stupid! We’ll eventually rip all the players who contributed to last night’s inexcusable loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but we need to start off by addressing Joe Torre’s horrible managerial performance. First of all, he puts together a junior-varsity lineup in the first game of a four-game series against a team that historically beats the daylights out of the Yankees and has done so since Torre took over in 1996. No Robinson Cano. No Jorge Posada. Instead, we’re treated to Nick Green and Sal Fasano. Afterward, Torre explained his decision by saying, “You want to win games, but you want to win the pennant more.” What? You don’t win the pennant unless you win games, you clueless moron, and last I checked, you entered the night with a slim three-game lead in the AL East. Stop managing like you have a 13 ½-game lead with 15 games to go. You play to win the game. Stop resting people. Of course, it gets better. Torre decides Cano and Posada can pinch-hit, so you figure he’d put them in during a key spot with men on base, right? Nope. Down 6-1 in the seventh, Fasano hit a two-run double to cut the deficit to three runs and give the Yankees a man on second with no outs against Joe Saunders, a rookie who’d dominated the lineup up until that point. Green was due up, so you’d figure Cano would pinch-hit in this spot, right? Nope. Not only does Torre let Green hit, he orders him to bunt. Green pops up to the pitcher’s mound, Fasano gets doubled off second on a horrible display of baserunning and the rally ends. Torre must’ve forgot he trailed by three runs, not one, because sacrificing an out with a three-run deficit makes no sense whatsoever. It makes even less sense to keep Cano on the bench. To top it off, he pinch-hits Posada and Cano with no men on base in the ninth down by three runs. Are they supposed to hit three-run bombs with the bases empty? Does Torre even have a brain? If you want to rest people, don’t play them at all, but if you plan on using them off the bench, pick your spot. Saunders was clearly rattled in the seventh and Torre took him off the hook by giving up an out. This time, it became two outs when Fasano wandered too far off second base. This is why the Yankees are losers. They don’t know how to deliver the knockout punch against struggling. Usually, it’s because Alex Rodriguez strands a runner at third with less than two outs. Last night, Torre single-handedly allowed Saunders to regain his composure and killed what might’ve been a promising rally. By the way, Corey Lidle started last night’s game despite having a stomach flu and lasted only four innings. Torre could’ve easily given Lidle an extra day of rest and used today’s starter, Jaret Wright, who hadn’t pitched since Sunday. Wright would’ve been working on four days’ rest and Lidle would’ve had an extra night to recuperate in time for today’s game. Why didn’t this happen? Because Torre is the dumbest manager in professional baseball. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 11th, 2006
10:59 am	Win Some, Lose Some Now that the trade deadline has passed, we get to that beautiful little period where we put on our “experts” caps and evaluate which teams committed highway robbery and which teams got hosed on July 31st. Of course, the real answers won’t be known for at least three months, and in some cases much longer. But really, who wants to wait three years for a “winner/loser” column on this deadline? In any case, my thoughts are as follows. Feel free to disagree with them as you see fit. Oh and you can find links to my indepth evaluations of the trades at the bottom. Give em the Win: New York Yankees: They bolstered their offense and rotation at the cost of money, which is actually meaningless to them. It’s true. The Yankees use 1000 dollar bills as toilet paper, and a 100 dollar bills as dog toilet paper. (AKA A-Rod TP) Anyway, they got a very good corner outfielder and a solid innings eater for kids who probably will never contribute. Oh yeah, and they turned Shawn Chacon into a good player. That alone makes me wonder if Brian Cashman has some sort of mind control device. Seattle Mariners: Outside of the Yankees, the Mariners were probably the second biggest winners at this deadline. Why? The AL West essentially stood pat, outside of some Rangers moves, meaning the Mariners have to feel they have a chance to win the division. When I said I didn’t feel they’d make it, it was because I figured the Angels would get a bat. But with deals for Alfonso Soriano and Miguel Tejada falling through, they’re the same pitching heavy, offensively lite team as before. If the Mariners can figure out how to get something out of Moyer/Piniero/Washburn, they could be dangerous. New York Mets: They lost Duaner Sanchez which hurts but they didn’t give up anything great for Roberto Hernandez. It also forced them to hold onto Aaron Heilman and Lastings Milledge, which will bolster the team’s future. Oliver Perez is a project, but years from now people will look back and laugh how the Mets were able to get such a talented guy for Xavier Nady. Colorado Rockies: They’re contenders in a weak division but a contender nonetheless. They were looking for bullpen help and got it in Jeremy Affeldt. It also frees them up to make a waiver wire deal using someone from their pen as bait, supposing someone they’re interested in clears. Kansas City Royals: In their state, they’re much better off with Ryan Shealy than either Affeldt or Denny Bautista. Best of all they placed Doug Mientkiewicz on the DL today, meaning this move is now Buddy Bell proof! He can’t keep Minky in for that important “veteran leadership”. You know, the same type which has the Royals the laughing stock of the American League, if not baseball. Well they’re a winner today, so that’s a start. Oakland A’s: They didn’t deal Zito, which will suggest to some that they’re losers. But Billy Beane has shown the ability to replace players even if they leave via free agency, so I see no big loss here. Meanwhile they still can make the playoffs in the AL West. Who knows? Maybe this will be the year they actually take a series. Texas Rangers: Carlos Lee will improve a mediocre offense, meaning they made the biggest impact move of the AL West teams. Their other trades leave much to be desired however, and as a result, did not make themselves the class of the division. Kip Wells will be disastrous and could well cost them the division if they give him any more than a few starts from here on out. Hopefully for their fans sake, they don’t let him lose more than two games for them. Washington Nationals: They got a decent prospect back for a useless Mike Stanton. They stole three players from the Reds earlier this month. Sure they didn’t deal Soriano, but if they were getting low balled, then they shouldn’t have. Plus we’ll see what happens this offseason, if they can resign him. The Soriano thing alone would get them a no decision, but with the other deals it’s hard not to like what Jim Bowden’s done this month. I know, I had to re-read that last sentence a few times because it still doesn’t seem right to me. Taking the Loss Pittsburgh Pirates: Fire Dave Littlefield now. Craig Wilson for Shawn Chacon? Oliver Perez AND Roberto Hernandez for Xavier Nady (and his .813 OPS)? What is there to be optimistic for as a Pirates’ fan now? The countdown until they trade Zach Duke next year for the decaying remains of Darren Erstad? I guess Dave Littlefield deserves some credit for turning Kip Wells into something that could eventually have value and getting a marginal relief prospect for Sean Casey. Not enough credit where he deserves to hold onto his job though. Atlanta Braves: Did John Schuerholz not watch his team recently? Their pen isn’t good, but their starters are even worse. Yet he trades a solid player in Wilson Betemit for bullpen help… why? Case and point. New acquisition Danys Baez came in and pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday against the Mets. What did it do? Nothing, because Chuck James gave up seven runs in one+ inning of work to start the game. Braves lost 10-6 and got swept. It’s over Atlanta. Time to retool. Too bad you dealt away one of your most useful chips in this pathetic last ditch attempt to make a run at a team that can’t even see you in the standings. (Yes, this was some seven years worth of aggravation boiling over) Los Angeles Dodgers: I don’t love the Maddux trade, but Izturis isn’t very good. But then they go and make a trade for a guy in Lugo they likely won’t sign and gave up two good prospects for him in the process. Mistake Betemit was a solid trade yet indicated they were sellers. Then they do this two days later? What changed in that time exactly? Seriously, if Paul DePodesta had done this, the Bill Platskes of the world would have killed him for “lacking direction.” Well I’ll say it; the Dodgers are a mess. San Francisco Giants: Two franchises invariably linked throughout their history, it’s only fair the Giants have joined the Dodgers in the muck. This team should be dismantling, instead is trading away chips for average players at best. Or in Mike Stanton’s case, below average. They will rue trading away Jeremy Accardo, as soon as next week, since it appears they’ve lost all faith in Armando Benitez. Sure they’ll get two first rounders for Jason Schmidt, but Brian Sabean hates first round picks, so he’ll probably give them away on the next Michael Tucker type fifth outfielder out there this winter. Things aren’t pretty on that side of the Bay. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: This team’s pitching has carried it, but eventually Jered Weaver will come back to Earth. Meanwhile the offense is anemic and while playing Howie Kedrick will help, they needed a big bat in the worse way. The AL West is a jumbled mess right now. The Angels had the pitching and just needed a bat, which shouldn’t have been hard to acquire. Apparently, it was. Philadelphia Phillies: One year of salary relief for nothing. What a joke. Maybe they can turn Jon Lieber into something in August, since his large contract will probably make it through waivers. Things don’t look pretty at Citizen’s Bank. But hey, at least they’re not that other team from Pennsylvania. Red Sox/Blue Jays: They didn’t make themselves better while the Yankees did, so this is a default loss. There is still time for both as there are back end rotation guys who could help them who also will pass through waivers. But the Blue Jays especially cannot wait around long since they’re 5.5 behind the Yankees. And the Red Sox should not expect their offense to bail them out every night. Everyone else gets a no decision; they neither significantly improved nor worsened their chances this year or the next at the deadline. At least it doesn’t seem that way. Time will tell if the small moves, or no moves was actually the right decision. After all, while it’s fun to look at the immediate future, three years from now will be here sooner than you like to think. Trade Analysis; July 26- 30 Abreu Trade Analysis July 31st Analysis (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 3rd, 2006
6:00 pm	Fantasy Roster Rundown -- Alberta Mariners, June 30th As promised earlier, here's the start of updated roster moves on the team. The Yahoo Public teams I leave fairly constant, so there won't be many ch-ch-ch-changes... those that are changes are highlighted in red. Batters:Catcher: Jason Varitek, Boston Red SoxFirst Base: Derek Lee, Chicago Cubs Justin Morneau, Minnesota TwinsSecond Base: Richie Weeks, Milwaukee BrewersThird Base: Rich Aurilia, Cincinatti Reds Garret Atkins, Colorado RockiesShortshop: Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles DodgersOutfield: Willy Taveras, Houston Astros Austin Kearns, Cincinatti Reds Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta Braves Jason Bay, Pittsburg Pirates Dmitri Young, Detroit Tigers Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia Phillies Pitchers:Starters: Brett Myers, Philadelphia Phillies† Jason Marquis, St. Louis Cardinals Felix Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners Bronson Arroyo, Cincinatti Reds Rich Harden, Oakland AthleticsRelievers: Fransisco Rodríguez, Los Angeles Angels Scot Sheilds, Los Angeles Angels Oscar Villarreal, Atlanta Braves Eric Gagne, Los Angeles Dodgers † This position is obviously going to be filled with a new pitcher, in light of the fact that Myers has been removed from professional baseball as a result of a minor wife-assaulting incident. A waiver request for Jamie Moyer is pending until July 3rd(!!!) (Comment on this)
Monday, July 31st, 2006
9:58 pm	And this is why I dislike traditional thinking Jim Leyland (and apparently Tom Gage as well), think on base percentage isn't that important of a stat for an offense. They note that it is something that can be overcome, like how the Tigs have overcome a middle of the road OBP to post a 30-14 record. Leyland loves slugging percentage. Well no shit. When you have the best pitching in the majors (by far), your team will overcome a lot of offensive shortcomings. That doesn't make the offense good, however. The best measure of a team's offense is how many runs they score. Want to know what one of the absolute best predictors of runs scored is? How about on base percentage. Here are the top 5 and bottom 5 teams in the majors in OBP right now along with number of runs scored: 1) New York Yankees, .371, 244 2) Cleveland Indians, .367, 255 3) Boston Red Sox, .364, 231 4) Los Angeles Dodgers, .357, 242 5) Toronto Blue Jays, .357, 244 ...... 26) Pittsburgh Pirates, .316, 185 27) Kansas City Royals, .307, 154 28) Tampa Bay Devil Rays, .304, 186 29) Chicago Cubs, .301, 160 30) Los Angeles Angels, .300, 185 Yeah, notice a trend here? Let's try the same thing for slugging percentage. 1) Toronto Blue Jays, .480, 244 2) Milwaukee Brewers, .473, 228 3) Detroit Tigers, .472, 218 4) Chicago White Sox, .471, 248 5) Cleveland Indians, .475, 255 ...... 26) Minnesota Twins, .396, 211 27) San Diego Padres, .381, 209 28) Los Angeles Angels, .377, 185 29) Kansas City Royals, .375, 154 30) Chicago Cubs, .363, 160 Not quite as strong a predictor as OBP now is it? How about we look at the highest scoring teams in the majors and list their MLB rank in OBP and SLG (as well as OPS) and see what it looks like? 1) Cleveland Indians, #2 OBP, #5 SLG, #2 OPS 2) Chicago White Sox, #6 OBP, #4 SLG, #3 OPS 3) Toronto Blue Jays, #5 OBP, #1 SLG, #1 OPS 4) New York Yankees, #1 OBP, #10 SLG, #5 OPS 5) Los Angeles Dodgers, #4 OBP, #16 SLG, #11 6) Cincinnati Reds, #8 OBP, #8 SLG, #9 OPS 7) Atlanta Braves, #16 OBP, #15 SLG, #15 OPS 8) Arizona Diamondbacks, #7 OBP, #13 SLG, #10 OPS 9) Boston Red Sox, #3 OBP, #7 SLG,. #6 OPS 10) Milwaukee Brewers, #11 OBP, #2 SLG, #4 OPS As you can see, only 1 team from outside the top 11 of OBP manages to crack the top 10 in runs (Atlanta). The top 5 in runs scored all rank in the top 6 in OBP. The bottom line is that if you want to score runs, you need to have runners on the bases. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
4:51 pm	Cards trade for Weaver AP reports that the St. Louis Cardinals traded Terry Evans and cash conisderations to the Los Angeles Angels for Jeff Weaver.Weaver, 29, was designated for assignment by the Angels last Friday after going 6-10 with a 6.29 ERA in 16 starts this season. He signed an one-year, $8.3 million contract with Los Angeles as a free agent during the offseason.[...] He has a career record of 81-97 with an ERA of 4.55 in 225 starts. "We feel that Weaver is someone who can come in and lend immediate help and depth to our rotation," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said after St. Louis' 14-4 loss at Atlanta. Weaver allowed 114 hits, including 18 homers, while walking 21 and striking out 62 in 88 2-3 innings this season with the Angels. Opponents had a .309 average against him. Evans, 24, was hitting .311 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in 21 games with Double-A Springfield. He began this season with Class A Palm Beach, hitting .307 with 15 homers and 45 RBIs in 60 games. Evans was drafted in the 47th round by St. Louis in 2001.Somehow I think this trade is a mistake. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 27th, 2006
10:48 am	Fantasy Roster Rundown -- Alberta Mariners, June 30th As promised earlier, here's the start of updated roster moves on the team. The Yahoo Public teams I leave fairly constant, so there won't be many ch-ch-ch-changes... those that are changes are highlighted in red. Batters:Catcher: Jason Varitek, Boston Red SoxFirst Base: Derek Lee, Chicago Cubs Justin Morneau, Minnesota TwinsSecond Base: Richie Weeks, Milwaukee BrewersThird Base: Rich Aurilia, Cincinatti Reds Garret Atkins, Colorado RockiesShortshop: Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles DodgersOutfield: Willy Taveras, Houston Astros Austin Kearns, Cincinatti Reds Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta Braves Jason Bay, Pittsburg Pirates Dmitri Young, Detroit Tigers Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia Phillies Pitchers:Starters: Brett Myers, Philadelphia Phillies† Jason Marquis, St. Louis Cardinals Felix Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners Bronson Arroyo, Cincinatti Reds Rich Harden, Oakland AthleticsRelievers: Fransisco Rodríguez, Los Angeles Angels Scot Sheilds, Los Angeles Angels Oscar Villarreal, Atlanta Braves Eric Gagne, Los Angeles Dodgers † This position is obviously going to be filled with a new pitcher, in light of the fact that Myers has been removed from professional baseball as a result of a minor wife-assaulting incident. A waiver request for Jamie Moyer is pending until July 3rd(!!!) (Comment on this)