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| Friday, February 16, 2007 |
A radio report out of Cleveland gives no reason why Foulke is deciding to retire and abandon a $5 million salary.
Pitchers and catchers reported to Winter Haven today, all but one of them that is. Keith Foulke will announce his retirement, ending the closer competition before the first practice session even took place. Joe Borowski will be the Tribe 9th inning man after Foulke decided to call it quits. Even though it was called a competition, Foulke was the guy most expected to win the job and be the team’s stopper, the role he had with the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2004.
Foulke had three rocky years in Boston, highlighted by his remarkable playoff performance in the 2004 ALCS and World Series. As powerful as Manny Ramirez’ bat was, Foulke’s gutty performances were truly the most valuable for the Red Sox as they won that season’s World Series. The following two injury riddled seasons seemed to deflate Keith Foulke, and some quarters of Red Sox fandom soured on the one time hero of the team.
In ten major league seasons Foulke had a 41-34 record with 190 saves and a ERA of 3.30. He didn’t do it with power, instead relying on a deceptive change up to fool batters.
On Valentine’s Day, the love comes out for the greatest game in the world -
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter: “I think because everybody can relate. You don’t have to be seven feet tall; you don’t have to be a certain size to play. Baseball is up and down. I think life’s like that sometimes, you know. Back and forth, up and down, you’re going through this grind. I think people like watching it. Baseball’s like a soap opera every day.”
Ernie Banks, Cubs legend and Hall of Famer: “It’s just life. When I think about baseball, it’s just life. It’s really the way life is. It requires a lot of mental capacity to be involved in it. It creates a lot of joy for people and memories for people who follow it. It’s a family. You like it because it’s a family. You started with it and know all these people — it’s family, it’s friends, it’s fun, it’s a beautiful game. All in all, baseball is amazing.
Joel Kweskin, 56, White Sox fan based in Charlotte, N.C.: “It’s unique unto itself. Football, basketball and hockey are variations of the same concept — back and forth in a linear progression to score a goal. Baseball, however, is mapped out on the field unlike any other sport. A running back or return specialist can run 100 yards, tops; a baserunner legging out an inside-the-park homer runs 20 yards farther. Baseball is the most democratic of sports — any size can play, and because the ball is not controlled by the offense but rather the defense, every player at any given time is involved in a play. Along with the anecdotally accepted premise that hitting a pitched baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in sports, so might be fielding a 175-mph line drive or grounder down the line. I love baseball because it is the greatest game ever invented.”
Former Royals star Willie Wilson: “The first thing is, I don’t think there’s any criteria for size, so anybody can play. I think people can relate. A lot of people never played football; basketball, you’ve gotta be tall and be able to jump. But baseball is a game where you pick up a bat and a ball, and you catch it, you swing the bat and you hit the ball. Most people have played softball or some kind of baseball, so they can relate to the sport. For me, that’s why I think America just embraces baseball, man.”
Baseball Blogger Travis G.: Where to start? I think better when I make a list.
1. Players. The requirements to be a good baseball player are very undefined. You can be short, tall, thin, chunky, anything really. You name the greats and you get tall and chunky (Ruth, Ortiz), short and chunky (Yogi, Gwynn), tall and thin (Sizemore, Jeter), short and thin (Reyes, Ichiro). They may not be the best athletes (e.g. David Wells), but when they’re playing the best game in the world, who cares?
2. The Mentality. Baseball requires more intelligence than any other sport (save for NFL QB). Simply put, every hitter that steps to the plate is trying to out-think the pitcher, and vice versa. 4-5 times a game, focus has to be completely on the man in front of him. Will he throw a fastball, curve, change? If you take an at-bat (or even a pitch) off, you’re toast. Same thing with the pitcher. The only other sport that comes close is football, but mainly just for the QB. Baseball requires every single player to have good mental capacity.
3. The Field. Football, hockey, basketball and soccer all use essentially the same type of field/playing surface: a rectangle. Baseball uses a diamond. It’s not only unique in that aspect, but every single ballpark is unique amongst the sport. Each park has its own quirks and intricacies that make it special. Not a single other sport can say that. Yankee Stadium has Death Valley, the short RF porch, and the facade. Fenway has the Monster. Shea has the apple. Wrigley has the ivy-covered brick. Pac Bell (or whatever it’s called now) has the bay in RF. Houston has the hill in center. Imagine if the RCA Dome’s field was only 95 yards; that’s the equivalent of Death Valley or the Green Monster.
4. One on One. Basically the speech DeNiro makes in The Untouchables. Baseball is a team game: 25 men. But each of them takes one turn – by themself – to help the whole team. Then the next batter gets a chance. Because of the batting order, a team can’t simply send its best hitter up every at-bat. You can’t just give the ball to Jordan or Shaq (Pujols or Ortiz) every time. A team’s best hitter will get 4-5 chances a game to help his team. That’s it. You need a complete team to win.
5. Substitutions. Once a player is removed, he’s done. You can’t just sub in the best defenders when you have a lead. You can’t take out Santana for an inning because he’s tired, then re-insert him. Could you imagine the way baseball would be played if there were no substitution restrictions? It would be bedlam. Players don’t get any breaks (outside of the DH) during the game. Even late inning defensive replacements are a gamble if the trailing team comes back. And substitutions play an ever bigger role in the NL.
6. No Clock. No running out the clock. It doesn’t matter what inning and what score it is, you still need 27 outs to complete the game. There’s no easy way to ‘seal’ a win. You still have to face every batter, and record every out.
7. History. When Japanese kamikaze pilots flew their planes into American ships, they would often yell ‘Fuck Babe Ruth!’ No other American sport has the history baseball does. Some of the most iconic figures in our culture are Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Ripken, McGwire, Bonds, Aaron, Clemens, Jeter. It’s goes all the way back to the 1830′s. The ‘Junior Circuit’ (AL) had been going strong for over 45 years before the NBA ever started. The Yankees had already won 20 World Series before the first Super Bowl was ever played. I just love that feeling of history when I watch a game.
8. Summer. What better sport to exemplify the feeling of summer than baseball. The only summer sport we have. Warm weather, kids are out of school; remember the day games with your dad, drinking a soda, eating a hot dog? No other sport lets you enjoy the weather. Hockey and basketball are indoors. And the football season lasts from September to February, nuff said.
9. Connection. This ain’t football where the most ardent fans get to see a maximum of just 24 games (including the pre and post-season). Baseball is 3 hours a day, 6 days a week for 6 months. You get a minimum of 162 games. That’s double basketball and hockey, and 10 times that of football. Not only do you get to see your ‘guys’ 162 times a season, but you actually feel close to them. They’re not wearing masks to cover their faces (football, hockey), so you see (and often share) their reactions and emotions. You don’t get that feeling of ‘closeness’ from other sports. And then when you add the fact that baseball plays 162 games, it’s easy to understand where the connection comes from. When the season is over, it’s like you not seeing your family for 5 months.
10. Home-field Advantage. Having the home team hit in the bottom of each inning assures that every team, every season (even Kansas City) will have its share of thrilling, bottom of the whatever, walk-off wins. It’s nothing like football where you squib kick it or have the QB kneel down, or in basketball where you dribble out the clock or foul the opponent 10 times.
Your thoughts?
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — David Wells is all but penciled in as the No. 5 starter for his hometown San Diego Padres.
The Padres and Wells’ agent agreed in principle Friday to a $3 million, one-year deal that gives the 43-year-old left-hander the chance to make another $4 million in incentives.
Padres general manager Kevin Towers said the two sides need to finalize some contract language and Wells must pass a physical. He expects the deal to be finalized by Monday or Tuesday.
Wells’ agent, Gregg Clifton, said the deal was 98-percent done, but that he needed to talk with his client one more time.
Wells’ return comes a little more than a month after the Padres signed 40-year-old Greg Maddux to a $10 million, one-year deal.
Wells will anchor a rotation that includes Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Clay Hensley and Maddux, a four-time Cy Young Award winner.
“I think it’ll give us one of our better pitching staffs probably since 1998, with a great blend of experience as well as young starters,” Towers said.
With Kevin Brown as their ace in 1998, the Padres reached the World Series before being swept by Wells’ New York Yankees. Wells won Game 1 at Yankee Stadium.
“It also gives us a left-hander, which we think was much-needed,” Towers said. “In talking to him last Thursday, I think this guy is dedicated and focused, somebody who can put together a good season for us.”
The Padres obtained Wells from Boston for the stretch run on Aug. 31. He went 1-2 with a 3.49 ERA in five starts for the two-time NL West champions before losing Game 2 of the division series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Wells said then he was leaning toward retirement, adding that it would take a “stupid” offer in terms of money for him to come back.
Besides his $3 million in base pay, Wells can earn $1 million in active roster bonuses, meaning he must avoid time on the disabled list, and another $3 million based on making starts 11 through 27.
When Wells pitched for the Padres in 2004, he earned $1.25 million in base pay plus $4.75 million in bonuses for making 31 starts.
Including his 2-0 loss to the Cardinals in October, Wells is 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA in 27 career postseason appearances, including 17 starts. He’s been to the World Series three times, winning it with Toronto in 1992 and the Yankees in 1998.
In a big league career dating to 1987, he is 230-148 with a 4.07 ERA with Toronto, Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, the Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Boston and San Diego.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
The San Diego Padres are going to boast one of the best rotations in the entire Majors next year. Wells will join a staff that was already a top 10 rotation going into the season. The Rotation will look something like this:
1. Jake Peavy RHP
2. Chris Young RHP
3. Greg Maddux RHP
4. David Wells LHP
5. Clay Hensley RHP
I believe the 1-3 spots will each win atleast 45 games combined and as many as 55 combined. Add Wells and Hensley to those and you could see a rotation with possibly 70-75 combined wins.
This deal is neither a big one or a small one. It’s a low risk-medium or higher reward. A win-win situation for the Padres as long as Wells stays healthy.
NEW YORK (Ticker) — Mark McGwire is gone, but Sammy Sosa is on his way back.
MLB.com reported Thursday that the Texas Rangers have reached an agreement in principle with Sosa, who is fifth on the all-time list with 588 home runs but did not play at all last season.
Sosa, 38, began his major league career as an outfielder with the Rangers, but played in just 25 games for them before being traded to the Chicago White Sox
“I’m all for it,” new Rangers manager Ron Washington told MLB.com. “Any time you can get a guy of his pedigree and background and attitude and (he) shows he still has his swing…I’m for it.”
A seven-time All-Star and a national hero in the Dominican Republic, Sosa is expected to receiver an incentive-laden $500,000 minor league contract.
Texas’ hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo was Sosa’s first manager back in 1986 with the Rangers’ Rookie League team in Sarasota, Florida.
“The main thing is his attitude and the kind of shape he is in,” Jaramillo told MLB.com. “He looked in really good shape. He has been swinging the bat and working out all winter.”
Sosa and McGwire will forever be connected for their joint assault on Roger Maris’ single-season home run in 1998. McGwire ended up on top with 70 home runs, but Sosa won the National League Most Valuable Player Award with 66 home runs and 158 RBI.
Between 1998-2001, Sosa compiled 243 home runs and became the first player in major league history to hit 60 or more homers in three consecutive seasons.
However, Sosa was suspended in 2004 for using a corked bat, but claimed he just used it during batting practice.
Sosa and McGwire were two of several prominent baseball players called to testify before Congress in March 2005 about steroids in baseball. While McGwire, who had retired by then, refused to talk about his past, while Sosa denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs.
After that congressional hearing, Sosa had an abysmal season with the Baltimore Orioles, hitting .221 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI in 102 games. His slugging percentage of .376 was 161 points lower than his career mark.
© 2007 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
Not sure what to think of this signing. I’m all for giving a guy a second chance but this could be a bad idea.
Sosa could cause some distractions to this team. With all the talks of steriods and Barry Bonds the Texas Rangers have put themselves in a situation that could turn ugly. On the flip side though Sosa is said to be in great shape and is not guaranteed a roster spot. If he turns out to be a 20 homer guy then the Rangers got a bargain and some extra tickets sold. I hesitate to call this deal anything close to good though. The Rangers could use the potential roster spot for someone better and cheap like Jason Botts. If Sosa makes the team then Botts loses at-bats, and Botts isn’t even considered a prospect anymore thanks to his age (26 going into the season, 27 in July). Botts needs those at-bats to prove he can hit and deserves those at-bats more than Sosa.
We’ll see how this turns out in spring training…
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| Friday, January 5, 2007 |
More than six million people packed the two baseball parks in the city of the big shoulders in 2006. Not bad for two teams that didn’t make the playoffs. But the rough and tumble Chicagoans will not tolerate lovable losers. The White Sox can bask in the glow of their first title in 88 years. The Cubs though are on notice – another Cubs season that goes south will mean more anger on the north side of Chicago. Nothing inspires spending like the sword of Damocles tottering above a GM’s head. And Jim Hendry has fired his only scapegoat, Dusty Baker. He’s on the line with this team, and the moves show it.
Meet Alfonso Soriano, savior of the Cubs. Hendry better hope Alfonso can walk on water, because it will take miracles to pull the Cubbies together into a world beating team in 2007. A quick analysis of the starters and backups for the Cubs points to a team that reasonably expects score 775 runs next year. That’s okay. Not bad, but not great. Last year’s Cub team scored 716 runs, so that is a decided improvement. Some of that improvement is the return of a full season of Derrek Lee. But it is still only good for 16th best in the big leagues. Pitching clearly matters, a lot to the Cubs.
And the staff should be pretty good. The regular breakdowns of Prior and Wood should both be expected and planned for as well as serve as an opportunity for the Cubs to promote the club.
Hey Cubs fans, come on out to Wrigley on Wednesday afternoon. It’s Kerry Wood sore shoulder day at the park. Fans complaining of aches and pains will receive a coupon for a discounted MRI from North Side Radiology, the official MRI providers to the Chicago Cubs. And one lucky fan will get his medical expenses paid for a year. Remember that’s next Wednesday afternoon when the Cubs host the Rockies at Wrigley.
The signings of Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis to eat innings are useful. They plus Rich Hill, who was alternately was frustratingly bad and brilliant last year, will give the Cubs three league average starters. If Prior and Wade Miller can stay healthy for a half season each, the Cubs have starting pitching. Huge if. That leaves the unresolved question of Carlos Zambrano’s impending foray into free agency. The Cubs priority between now and spring training is to get the big fella under contract for the foreseeable future. In addition to having electric stuff, Carlos Zambrano is just as durable as Barry Zito has been and is two years younger. The seven year deal that the Giants gave Zito is the low point that Zambrano will accept to remain in Wrigley. As heralded as Wood and Prior have been, Zambrano has gotten the job done year after year and is the key to future Cub success.
But the X-factor is Prior, again. Cubs fans know he is a special pitcher. He was terrible last season, save for one remarkable performance, five and two-thirds no hit ball against the Mets in July. He walked five and threw 103 pitches. Not an ideal performance. If Prior can harness his considerable talent, the Cubs could run away with the division. As Miracle Max might say, “It’d take a miracle.” As noted earlier, Jim Hendry brought Alfonso Soriano in for big money, and he better hope he can walk on water.
The northside whirlwind has not the ChiSox who while not sitting idly by, have shown more of an eye to sustainable success, than instant gratification. Starting the offseason with a minor cross town deal that netted hard throwing but control challenged David Aardsma and hard throwing but control challenged Carlos Vasquez in exchange for Neal Cotts, you can get an idea of the direction the ChiSox are going. The offseason dealing continued with the trade of Freddy Garcia to the Phillies for pitchers Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez, who had been dealt by the White Sox to the Phillies last year in the Aaron Rowand trade. Floyd is an okay talent, but his mediocre fastball makes him a nibbler. And in Philadelphia’s bandbox, his every misplaced pitch was crushed. That kind of whiplash tends to make a pitcher more timid, and leads to more nibbling and ever expanding walk rates. Unfortunately, he is going to a league with a DH instead of a a weak hitting pitcher and a park where pitchers can watch balls fly over the wall in a hurry, too. The key to the deal had to be Gio Gonzalez, right? Absolutely. Gonzalez struggled at Reading, adjusting to a new league, a new organization and a higher level of competition. His walk and homerun rates jumped. Spending a year in Charlotte – a neutral park in terms of effects – will give him an opportunity to right the wobble of last season.
White Sox GM Ken Williams made another pair of deals. The first was a small one with Kansas City moving blocked 1B/RF/DH Ross Gload for Andrew “Sisquatch” Sisco. Sisquatch (so nicknamed because of his imposing 6-10 stature) mixes a nasty slider with serious heat. His problem has been, you guessed it control. Gload wasn’t going to beat out Dye, Konnerko or Thome, so getting an arm with serious talent for him is the smart move. Sico’s weaknesses might work out as he gets older. He is frequently compared to Randy Johnson whose control finally kicked in when he was with Seattle at age 29.
The stockpiling continued with the Brandon McCarthy deal. McCarthy had not found a way to displace any of the other starters in Chicago. He’ll start for sure in Texas. McCarthy goes from a bad homerun park to the worst, though. In exchange the White Sox acquired John Danks who would fit the Tom Glavine profile of a solid if not dominating lefty. In short, Chicago picked up three intriguing young arms who could all start in 2008. Plug Floyd into 2007 with Conteras, Buerhle, Garland and Vasquez and you still have a good rotation in ’07, while you wait for the kids to mature. A full season of Mike MacDougal setting up Bobby Jenks gives them an excellent late inning combo. The rest of the bullpen though has questions. But every bullpen ahs questions and if you can bring heat, then you can get out of trouble a lot quicker.
They have a strong rotation, questionable bullpen and solid lineup. They do not get on base as much as they should. That’s their organizational philosophy and it worked out well enough in 2005. They should win 90 games and contend for a playoff spot. But even better for the White Sox, they have a crop of young hitters either breaking in or that should be ready for the bigs in 2008 or 2009. Those talents include current starter CF Brian Anderson and projected reserve OF Ryan Sweeney, who did not hit a lot in a brief call up. In addition, 3B Josh Fields, and former bright stars CF Jerry Owens and SS Robert Valido are in the running for spots in ’08 or ’09. The White Sox have little organizational depth, but their moves this offseason maintain a competitive roster while re-arming at the highest organizational levels to extend that competitiveness until their Latin American scouting infrastructure improves.
A tale of two teams in one city; both hoping it will be the best of times.
Looks like the Randy Johnson-Arizona deal is a go. Here’s the article from ESPN.com and the Associated Press.
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks reached a tentative agreement Thursday on a trade that would send Randy Johnson to Arizona, a move that allows the Big Unit’s agents to get him a contract extension.
The teams informed the commissioner’s office of the specifics of the trade, a baseball official told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Arizona would send pitcher Luis Vizcaino to the Yankees along with minor league pitcher Ross Ohlendorf and shortstop Alberto Gonzalez, another baseball official said, also on condition of anonymity. The Yankees also might receive another minor league pitcher, the official said, and would pay between $1.5 million and $2 million of Johnson’s $16 million salary this year.
A source told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark the unidentified minor league pitcher was Steven Jackson.
The Yankees also had discussed trading Johnson to San Diego.
Barry Meister, one of Johnson’s agents, told ESPN’s Steve Phillips that a 72-hour window has been granted by the commissioner’s office, and it began at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. Teams are granted the window to close tentative deals.
“When we have been granted that window, we would be willing to discuss everything with the Diamondbacks,” said Alan Nero, who represents Johnson along with Meister, before the window was granted. “Once that window is open, we will do our best to work out a deal.”
Newsday reported Thursday that Johnson had agreed in principle through “back-channel conversations” to a $10 million contract extension for 2008.
Arizona also might want to rework the slightly more than $44 million it must pay Johnson for 2007-12. Johnson pitched for the Diamondbacks from 1999-2004 and deferred parts of his salaries during those years.
In another move, first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and the Yankees reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year contract worth about $1.5 million. Mientkiewicz, who spent 2005 with the crosstown Mets, must take a physical for the deal to be finalized.
Vizcaino, a 32-year-old right-hander, was 4-6 last season with 3.58 ERA in 70 games. He has a 25-23 career record with a 4.24 ERA in eight seasons, playing for Oakland, Milwaukee, the Chicago White Sox and Arizona.
Ohlendorf, a 25-year-old who went to Princeton, was 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA at Double-A Tennessee last season and 0-0 with a 1.28 ERA at Tucson.
Gonzalez, a 24-year-old right-handed hitter, batted .290 in 129 games with Tennessee with six homers, 50 RBI and 20 doubles. He also hit .200 (3-for-15) in four games with Tucson.
Jackson, 24, was 8-11 with a 2.65 ERA in 24 starts at Tennessee.
Johnson was 17-11 with a 5.00 ERA last season, and the 43-year-old left-hander is coming off back surgery on Oct. 26. Although he has gone 34-19 during the regular season in two years with the Yankees, he is 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA in three postseason appearances.
New York’s projected rotation includes Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and Kei Igawa. The Yankees also have oft-injured right-hander Carl Pavano and hope Roger Clemens can be persuaded to follow Pettitte back to New York. Clemens hasn’t decided whether to pitch this year. If he does, the 44-year-old right-hander might follow his 2006 schedule and not start his major league season until mid-June.
Johnson, who lives in the Phoenix area, went 103-49 with the Diamondbacks and helped them beat the Yankees in the 2001 World Series, going 3-0 against New York.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report
The American League Central is overflowing with teams that all have playoff hopes for the 2007 season.
There is obviously the Detroit Tigers, who made it to the World Series. Then we have the Chicago White Sox, who won the World Series the year before. Let us not forget about the Minnesota Twins, they always seem to make it work. The Kansas City Royals aren’t that far behind with all their young players (Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, Luke Hochovar, Jeff Bianchi, Chris Lubanski…). Enter the Cleveland Indians.
Considered by most to be a bust last year after giving the White Sox a run for the Central title in 2005 all the way up to final series of the season, the Cleveland Indians are ready to take back the division the way they did in the mid-to-late 90′s when they had Belle-Alomar-Baerga-Thome-Ramirez and they were an offensive powerhouse.
With a rotation matched by few in the entire the Majors, the Indians know what it takes to win championships. Remember, the last two AL Champs (White Sox, Tigers) both lead the league in ERA.
Here is what the Indians rotation will look like:
1. C.C. Sabathia
2. Jake Westbrook
3. Cliff Lee
4. Jeremy Sowers (Watch out for this kid!)
5. Paul Byrd
The Indians know that good pitching will beat good hitting most of the time, just look back to 1995 and 1997 when they were beat by the Braves and Marlins. But the 2007 Indians could look like the 1995 Indians, who lead the majors in Batting Average, won 100 games, and lead the AL in team ERA. I don’t think they will lead the majors in AVG, or even get 100 wins, but they have a legitimate shot at leading the AL, if not the Majors in ERA. But let’s not fool anyone, they can mash with the best of teams.
Their lineup could look a little like this:
1. Grady Sizemore CF
2. Casey Blake RF
3. Travis Hafner DH
4. Victor Martinez C
5. Ryan Garko 1B
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. David Delluci LF
8. Andy Marte 3B
9. Josh Barfield 2B
The Indians have also revamped a horrible bullpen. They added veteran Roberto Hernandez, closer Joe Borowski, lefty Aaron Fultz, and are giving former closer Keith Foulke his physical as I write this. Add those guys to some of the flame throwing young arms like Jason Davis, Fausto Carmona, Fernando Cabrera, and a personal favorite of mine Tom Mastny.
The Cleveland Indians are tired of losing, tired of not reaching the playoffs, and more importantly tired of not winning a World Series since 1948. And don’t bring up the curse of Rocky Colavito.
Travis Hafner will mash to the tune of .300-40-125, Grady Sizemore is my pick to win the AL MVP, and Josh Barfield adds a good bat at the bottom, speed, and good defense up the middle. Let’s not forget that Victor Martinez is a lock for .300-20-100 and the emergences of young players like Ryan Garko, Shin-Soo Choo, Franklin Gutierrez, and Andy Marte. Jeremy Sowers will finish 2nd behind Delmon Young in AL Rookie of the Year voting, and establish himself as one of the best young arms in the game. Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd are both pitching for huge contracts; they will both be free agents at the end of the season.
This may be a little pre-mature but I am predicting the Cleveland Indians to win the AL Central this season. Who knows, maybe they can be the third team in four years to end a ridiculous streak of championship less seasons.
Tribe fans have a real reason to believe this year is their year!
For the last two years at my regular blog, I’ve made predictions for the coming year. I thought I would do that here but concentrating on sports only.
Here we go-
1- The Miami Dolphins have a losing season
2- The Florida Marlins have a winning season
3- Tiger Woods wins at least one major on the way to being Player of the Year again.
4- Ernie Els returns to form.
5- Se Ri Pak completes the women’s Grand Slam by taking the Kraft Nabisco
6- Bobby Bowden retires.
7- Roger Clemens retires but this time for good.
8- Charges are totally dropped in the Duke Lacrosse case.
9- Nick Saban leaves the Miami Dolphins to be the head coach at Alabama.
10- The Miami Heat and Florida Panthers both miss the 06-07 season playoffs.
11- Chicago defeats New England in the Super Bowl.
12- Michelle Wie wins an LPGA tournament.
13- Mike Tyson gets arrested.
14- 2007 is Joe Torre’s last season as manager of the Yankees.
15- Bill Cowher quits coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers
16- The Buffalo Sabres win the Stanley Cup
17- Bill Parcells, Marty Schottenheimer and Joe Gibbs all retire or are fired from their present coaching jobs.
18- Bret Favre retires.
19- The Chicago White Sox win the World Series
20- More than half the above predictions are wrong.
We’ll check back at the end of 2007 and see how I did.
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Not optimistic about their pursuit of free agent Barry Zito, the Texas Rangers acquired right-hander Brandon McCarthy from the Chicago White Sox in a five-player deal on Saturday.
McCarthy
The Rangers gave up 2003 first-round pick John Danks, a 21-year left-hander who hasn’t yet pitched in the major leagues, and right-handers Nick Masset and Jacob Rasner in exchange for McCarthy and 18-year-old outfielder David Paisano.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels insisted the acquisition of McCarthy, a 23-year-old right-harder, wasn’t directly related to the team’s waning hopes of adding Zito.
“I don’t want to get into specifics about our discussions other than to say that I’m not terribly encouraged about our chances,” Daniels said on a conference call. “Regardless of whether or not we felt we were going to be able to sign somebody like Barry, we would have made this deal. This is about the future with Brandon.”
McCarthy already has 65 major league appearances (12 starts), and is 7-9 with a 4.39 earned-run average. He has 117 career strikeouts while walking only 50 batters in 151 2/3 innings.
McCarthy worked primarily out of the bullpen for the first time last season, and was 10th in the AL with 75 1/3 innings worked in relief. The Rangers plan to use him as a starter.
“We’re thrilled to add Brandon McCarthy to our rotation and expect he’ll be there for many years to come,” Daniels said. “It’s never easy to deal young players you’re fond of, but Brandon’s age, makeup, and ability is a rare combination we could not pass on.”
McCarthy, whose rights will be held by the Rangers for at least five years, will join a rotation with 16-game winner Kevin Millwood and 15-game winner Vicente Padilla, a veteran duo both signed through at least 2009. Robinson Tejeda, a 24-year-old right-hander, went 5-5 with 4.28 ERA in 14 starts last season.
“This gives us four starters that we feel very comfortable going into next year with,” Daniels said.
While Daniels said there are internal candidates for the fifth spot, the Rangers are still interested in Zito, the 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner.
“It’s certainly not over,” Daniels said.
Daniels wouldn’t be specific about the Zito situation, but said “be careful believing the rumors out there” — including some that the Rangers have offered the left-hander more than $100 million. Rangers owner Tom Hicks has also said such reports were untrue.
Texas is also still talking to free agent left-hander Mark Mulder, who is coming off shoulder surgery in September and won’t be ready to pitch at the start of the 2007 season.
Both Zito and Mulder visited Rangers officials in Texas over the last month.
Danks split last season between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Oklahoma, where he combined to go 9-9 with a 4.24 ERA in 27 games (26 starts). He has a career minor league record of 21-30 with a 4.20 ERA in 92 games (82 starts).
Masset made his major league debut last year with Texas, with no record and a 4.15 ERA in eight relief appearances. Rasner spent the entire 2006 season at Class-A Clinton, going 6-16 with a 5.41 ERA in 27 starts.
The 18-year-old Paisano appeared in 52 games for the White Sox Venezuelan Summer League team in 2006 and batted .338 with no home runs and 17 RBI.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
The Royals added veteran set-up man David Riske to their bullpen today.
From the Kansas City Star:
Riske, 30, has made a name for himself as one of the better setup men in baseball. He is 18-14 with a 3.59 ERA in 328 appearances in a seven-year career with Cleveland, Boston, and the White Sox.
…
Riske appeared in a total of 140 games in 2003 and 2004, and since has seen his strikeout totals diminish. He struck out 76 batters in a combined 116 2/3 innings the last two seasons.
This makes six pitchers General Manager Dayton Moore has signed this off season who will likely make the opening day roster, completely overhauling what was the worst pitching staff in 2006, a season in which the Royals allowed seventy-two more runs than the second-worst team in the majors.
The Royals also signed Zach Day to a minor-league contract. Day fell of a cliff the last two seasons after showing promise early in his career, though part of that may have been due to a shoulder problem.
Day is 28 and missed the last half of 2006 after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. He went 2-5 with a 6.75 ERA in eight starts for Washington and Colorado and made $600,000. He is 21-27 with a 4.66 ERA in his career. His 2.25-to-1 ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio is baseball’s seventh highest since 2002.
Groundball pitchers tend to do well when they have good defenders playing behind them. Mark Grudzielanek may have won the Gold Glove last year, but Angel Berroa did not, so we’ll have to wait and see if this proves to be a steal for the Royals.
Of course, if Day’s shoulder is healed, then it certainly can’t hurt to have another pitcher with actual major-league experience on the team.
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