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Archives for March 2009

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Manny Ramirez

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On this date 36 years ago, Yankee teammates Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich made it known that they had traded their families. Seriously. Their entire families including wives, kids and dogs. Kekick and his new "wife" broke up shortly thereafter while Peterson and his new wife may still be together and may have four kids of their own. You can’t make it up. In more recent relationship news, the Dodgers finally signed Manny Ramirez. Let’s take a look at what is being written about Manny and the Dodgers in the Blogosphere…

  • The Biz of Baseball takes a look at the Manny deal and the negotiations that led up to it and can describe the entire process with one word: Lunacy.
  • Feeling Dodger Blue says the Manny signing takes the Dodgers from an average offense to one of the best offenses in the NL.
  • Josh Q. Public says Manny is worth every penny no matter how he left Boston.
  • The Ghost of Moonlight Graham offers their feelings on the Manny signing from their perspective as a Red Sox fan.
  • Mets Geek says the Manny signing was a sad day for many Mets fans, while the rest can finally get on with their lives.
  • Jorge Says No! examines why Manny is the most polarizing presence in baseball right now.
  • The Sons of Steve Garvey predict that with the opt-out clause, Dodgers fans will be angry again  before the year is done.

On a quick side note…It has been a little while since I have updated my blogroll. While I do receive numerous suggestions from bloggers each week, I would love to hear from you guys. So let’s have it in the comments: Which blogs do you prefer for your favorite team?

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Rosenthal On Manny, Anderson, Kasten

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Rosenthal wonders if Manny Ramirez could get a multiyear deal following a big/well-behaved ’09, in the vein of other Boras clients such as Kevin Millwood and Kyle Lohse (Ivan Rodriguez, too).  Of course, Manny is a lot older than those guys were.
  • Rather than money, Garret Anderson wants the 632 hits he needs to reach 3,000.  If he gets there, he’ll make for some interesting Hall of Fame debates.
  • Rosenthal spoke to an executive who knows Stan Kasten.  This exec expects Kasten to surprise with his GM choice, and doesn’t see him hiring a "young up-and-comer" or Chuck LaMar.
  • The Cubs are said to be "content with their bench players."  Cubs manager Lou Piniella has talked a bit about wanting an "extra infielder who can play first and third."  Rosenthal adds that the team’s new ownership "might not be willing to assume the remaining $63 million on Jake Peavy’s contract in a reeling economy."

Cardinals, Dennys Reyes Agree To Deal

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8:50pm: Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the signing of Reyes was a really big piece for the Cards and GM John Mozeliak came up huge again with a March deal.  It reminds Gordon of the Kyle Lohse signing a year ago.

4:21pm: According to the AP, Reyes gets a two-year deal worth $3MM.

3:12pm: According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, the Cardinals have agreed to a deal with lefty reliever Dennys Reyes.  Reyes, 32 in April, held lefties to a .202/.250/.287 line last year in 101 plate appearances.

Since Reyes was a Type B free agent offered arbitration, the Twins will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss (#46 overall).

Manny Meets With Media

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8:05pm: Some more on Manny and Boras…Gwen Knapp of CBS Sports says Boras is not to blame and that he just takes what the teams give him. Knapp added that the Dodgers played right into Boras’ hands because they did not have a fallback plan and needed the megastar that all teams crave…Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com takes a closer look at how much the Dodgers’ lineup has improved in the last two weeks.

5:21pm: Manny Ramirez met with the media today in Arizona. Steve Silva of The Boston Globe provides some quotes in which Manny takes some parting shots at the Red Sox.

"I was looking for this place for eight years," Ramirez said. "Now I’m here and I’m just gonna go give it all I got…[On whether the scene in Boston last season hurt his contract] “I don’t think so," Manny replied. "I’m 37 years old. I got two more years. What happened in Boston, that’s in the past. I think it didn’t hurt me. It was a bad economy. I got a great contract. And, hey, I made my money already. I’m in a happy place, where I wanted to be, so . . . I don’t think . . . actually, I won. I won getting out of there [Boston] because I’m in a great place. I’m in a place that I want to play. I’m in a place that I’m gonna be happy.

Bob McManaman of the The Arizona Republic has a few more quotes from the press conference, in which Ramirez makes it a point to thank Scott Boras.

"First, I want to thank the McCourt family for doing this good investment. Second, I want to thank Scott (Boras, his agent) for making the deal happen – good job. I’m happy to be back and like I told (manager) Joe (Torre), I think we have some unfinished business to take care of."

Also, it is worth noting that Manny has until November to decide whether to void the second year of the contract.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

WBC May Be Showcase For Future Major Leaguers

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Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune notes that the ’06 World Baseball Classic was the coming out party for Kosuke Fukudome and Alexei Ramirez, and gives us a list of players that could be playing for big league contracts in this year’s WBC.

Rogers lists Yu Darvish (Japan), Hyun-jin Ryu and  Suk Min Yoon (Korea) along with Albertin Chapman, Yuniesky Maya and Yuliesky Gourriel (Cuba) as the players that could be playing for future millions.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

A-Rod Has Torn Labrum In Hip

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7:12pm: All A-Rod, All the time…Tom Verducci notes that the A-Rod injury is a sign of a bigger problem, that the Yankees are getting old. Verducci also notes that Mark Teixeira is the player that will be most impacted without A-Rod’s protection and the pressure to live up to the new contract…The New York Post has another comprehensive list of possible A-Rod replacements. The two intradivisional options at the top of their list seem like a long-shot…Ken Davidoff wonders if some time away will help Yankees fans appreciate what they have with A-Rod…Rob Neyer can’t help but wonder if the Yankees are going to have to eat a good chunk of the $178MM they still owe A-Rod.

5:30pm: Even more from Abraham with special bonus audio of Brian Cashman: Abraham says surgery is necessary at some point, but that the Yankees are hoping that rest and rehab will be enough to hold off the surgery until after the season. Abraham notes that Mike Lowell tried the same tactic last season after his injury was discovered in June, but the injury got so bad he was held off the playoff roster.

3:27pm: More details from Abraham: A-Rod has a torn hip labrum that would take four months to repair surgically. He won’t play in the WBC and he’ll play less in Spring Training to try to return soon. Marc Craig of the Star-Ledger writes that A-Rod’s out indefinitely and could still need surgery.  The New York Daily News offers more, including analysis from various doctors.

2:40pm: Peter Abraham of The Journal News talked to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who said Rodriguez’s cyst was drained and they will attempt rest and rehab rather than surgery.

12:59pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post offers other ideas for third base if A-Rod is to be out for a considerable length of time: Scott Rolen, Melvin Mora, Brandon Inge, Hank Blalock, Chone Figgins, Adrian Beltre, Blake DeWitt, Martin Prado, and Mark Teahen.

12:17pm: ESPN’s Peter Gammons comments about the injury, wondering if mid-May is a best case scenario.  Gammons speculates that Garrett Atkins or Chad Tracy could be fits for the Yanks, but the price for Atkins could be high.  River Ave. Blues likes Mark Grudzielanek or possibly Bobby Crosby as other external options, while ESPN’s Buster Olney speculates on Bill Hall (who is recovering from a torn calf).  Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if Bobby Crosby could fit.

ESPN’s Stephania Bell suggests ten weeks could be a light estimate, if Rodriguez has a labral tear.

10:40am: ESPN’s Enrique Rojas talked to Alex Rodriguez’s brother, who says the Yankees third baseman will miss about ten weeks due to hip surgery to remove a cyst.  A ten week rehab would put A-Rod at a mid-May return, so he could miss a quarter of the season.  A-Rod’s brother told MLB.com the operation will be performed Monday.  The Yankees haven’t confirmed anything yet though.  It probably makes sense to hold off on replacement speculation until we get official word on the injury.

Check out my instant fantasy take on the situation over at RotoAuthority.

Giants Release Dave Roberts

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6:20pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke with Brian Sabean who said he tried to trade Roberts all winter. Sabean also emphasized that the Giants are "on a path to get younger and healthier. Right now that’s not on his resume. I think the longer we went not doing something would have been an injustice to trying to find out about our own kids and giving him a chance to go somewhere else."

Rob Neyer adds that the Roberts contract is "Brian Sabean’s recent performance in a nutshell."

A month ago El Lefty Malo predicted that if Roberts were a free agent this off-season, the current baseball economy would probably force Roberts to retire. Now we get to see if this was prophetic.

1:37pm: According to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, the Giants released outfielder Dave Roberts.  They’ll eat his $6.5MM salary for ’09, minus $400K if another team signs him.

Roberts was part of a string of bad signings by Giants GM Brian Sabean.  He signed a three-year, $18MM contract in December of ’06.

Offseason In Review: Washington Nationals

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Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Nationals.  Click here to read what I wrote about the team on September 10th.

Additions:  Adam Dunn, Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham, Daniel Cabrera, Javier Valentin, Alex Cintron, Wil Ledezma, Josh Towers, Freddie Bynum, Brad Eldred, Joel Guzman, Terrell Young, Gary Glover, Gustavo Chacin, Jorge Sosa, Jose Castillo, Corey Patterson

Subtractions: Jim Bowden, Tim Redding, Odalis Perez, Luis Ayala, Jon Rauch (midseason) Emilio Bonifacio, Felipe Lopez, Aaron Boone, Paul Lo Duca (midseason), Charlie Manning

Nationals starters tossed 880.6 innings last year, with Redding and Perez accounting for nearly 40% of that.  The Nats paid those veterans $1.85MM.  This year, they’ll spend $5.4MM on Olsen and Cabrera, younger hurlers with upside.  It’s a solid swap.  With the return of John Lannan and the emerging Jordan Zimmermann, it’s a younger, more interesting rotation.

I wrote in September:

Hopefully Jim Bowden won’t become too obsessed with Adam Dunn this winter (assuming Bowden keeps his job).  Dunn doesn’t fit on this team. They’re in the beginning of a long rebuilding process.

It turns out Bowden kept his job just long enough to sign Dunn, who probably won’t be a part of the next good Nationals team.  The money would’ve been better spent on the June draft – the Nats have the #1 and #10 picks.  The Nationals’ new GM will have to hit a home run with that draft, and may also be charged with trading Nick Johnson and signing Ryan Zimmerman long-term.

If a $20MM commitment to Dunn was Bowden’s worst winter move, though, that’s not too bad in the grand scheme of things.  And Bowden does deserve a parting gift for his acquisition of Olsen and Willingham.

Bottom line: Bowden’s out; 2009 is about finding the right GM and stocking the farm system.

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