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By Tim Dierkes [July 14, 2008 at 9:26am CST]
Ken Rosenthal's Full Count video Saturday covered many interesting topics; yesterday he put the info into column form and added even more.
- Same old story with Adam Dunn - he's just not drawing much interest. Even with the whiffs and ugly defense, this is surprising to me. Rosenthal says the Reds "will take a considerable risk" if they offer Dunn arbitration after the season and he accepts. Would having Dunn on a one-year deal at market price really be so bad?
- Rosenthal says "it remains to be seen whether Jim Bowden's authority will be compromised" in the wake of his involvement in the FBI's bonus-skimming investigation. The Nationals have a couple of mildly interesting starters to shop in Tim Redding and Odalis Perez, plus perhaps the top righty reliever in Jon Rauch. Maybe Rauch will be packaged with a starter.
- The Angels will try to retain Francisco Rodriguez after the season.
- The Blue Jays started A.J. Burnett on three days rest in an attempt to maximize his starts before the trade deadline, though the J.P. denies it. Burnett responded well against the Yankees. Rosenthal wonders whether he would abandon his opt-out clause if his contract was extended through 2011 upon a trade. A dissenting opinion - Jon Heyman talked to one GM who does not expect Burnett to opt out.
- The D'Backs apparently do not see Raul Ibanez as much of an upgrade over Chad Tracy. However, Jack Magruder wrote Saturday that the Mariners and D'Backs had discussions on Ibanez.
- The Dodgers are still interested in Jack Wilson.
- Rosenthal says some teams are skeptical that the Pirates would offer Damaso Marte arbitration after this season. Why wouldn't they? The Red Sox are interested in the lefty.
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Is there any way the Tigers would be able to get Burnett or Marte? Either one would help considerably.
Posted by: Calriver | July 14, 2008 at 09:41 AM
If trying to retain means a 4/50 deal then super. If its 5/65 then let the man walk.
Save record aside, I get extremely nervous every time he steps on the mound. Getting out of bases loaded jams only works so often before you get burned.
Posted by: bjsguess | July 14, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Marte's probably not in the cards. The Pirates want two good prospects for him because he's basically worth two 1st round draft picks if he leaves as a FA this winter.
I don't know your farm system but I understand it's been basically cleaned out in the Atlanta and Miami trades.
Posted by: cactusbix | July 14, 2008 at 10:54 AM
"Save record aside, I get extremely nervous every time he steps on the mound. Getting out of bases loaded jams only works so often before you get burned."
I don't know why you get nervous. The guy has been lights out for years, and this year has put an exclamation point on it. Another amazing thing about this whole saves record thing is that you never hear about Frankie being "unavailable" after getting saves 2-3 straight days like you hear with other closers. He has a rubber arm and has only gotten better with age, as he has learned to pitch to contact, control his fastball and has added the circle change, which he now throws to both left and right handed batters. He is, quite frankly, the best closer in baseball. He has never shut down mentally like Lidge did, doesn't talk down to his teammates like Wagner, etc.
All that, and he is one of the most popular players on that team, a team which relies heavily on attendance to make money.
Re-sign him and pay him what he wants.
Posted by: AA | July 14, 2008 at 12:13 PM