Links for Saturday…
- Pirates' GM Neal Huntington said that Pedro Alvarez will remain in the minors so he can get more at-bats against lefthanded pitchers, though Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentions that it could have to do with pushing his service time clock back.
- ESPN's Keith Law broke down Stephen Strasburg's demotion to the minors, and says that "what he does need to improve is only going to improve in the big leagues."
- Ryan Church spoke to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo about his opportunity with the Pirates, saying that "It's either reestablish yourself and be one of the main guys or just be a fourth outfielder from here on out."
- Rays Executive VP Andrew Friedman says the club will explore internal and external options to replace J.P. Howell, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Tampa Bay hopes to have the lefty back by May.
- Most players never shed the dreaded "4A" label, but the Pirates' Garrett Jones did, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
- Tom Tango will be a big part of the Blue Jays' front office, writes Robert Cribb of The Toronto Star.
- Indians closer Kerry Wood could miss up to two months with a strained back muscle. Brady Gardiner of SIRIUS XM tweets that this is a blessing for the Tribe as Wood's option for 2011 likely will not vest. The 32-year-old would make $11MM in '11 with 55 games finished in 2010.
- Dodgers manager Joe Torre has confidence in Ronnie Belliard's ability to play first base, writes Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com. This will likely leave first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz on the outside looking in as he jostles with Garrett Anderson for the club's left-handed pinch hitting spot. However, Belliard still must weigh in at 209 pounds or less at some point during Spring Training to guarantee his deal.
- At the age of 47, Jamie Moyer has no interest in retiring, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN. Moyer is entering the final season of a two-year, $13MM deal.
We’d love to have you back in the Burgh Doug!
Dodgers need to keep Doug! we have too many SS and 2ND basemen. Dewitt should play second and have Berrora play against lefties.
The Phillies actually owe Moyer 8 million due to incentives he hit last season for starts and innings pitched. He got bonuses last year and an increase in salary as a result. Talk about a sunk cost. That was why Moyer complained so vehemently when they removed him from the rotation. He could have ended up with much more owed. Way to go, Amaro.
Even if Kerry Wood was 100% healthy he still would get his option vested.
What exactly are the terms to his option? Did he have to finish 55 games, or just appear in 55? Because if that’s the case, the option is already picked up.
It was 55 games finished but injured or not the Indians weren’t going to let him finish 55 games.
How did Jones shed the 4A label after 314 ABs? Lets give him a full season or two and see how he adjusts to pitchers adjusting to him.
Jumping to conclusions after a SSS, what else is new.
He shed it because after hitting all of those home runs, even if he tanks this year, someone will give him another chance.
Kerry Wood is a merck. Talk about stealing money.
If you really want to see a player stealing money you should see Vernon Wells
Not so fast. He’s only been paid 1.5 million over the past two seasons. He still has a chance to live up to that contract. Is he going to? Not a chance. But he hasn’t completely “stole money” yet.
Oliver Perez on the other hand has not lived up to his contract at all.
“$25.5M signing bonus ($8.5M payment each March 1, 2008-10)”
I think you missed that part in Vernon’s contract.
Oh. Well then I guess I did.
I really like Jones. I didn’t think the Twins gave him a fair shake while he was here. Obviously he wasn’t going to get first base, but I was hoping he could stick in LF. 2006 was mostly Lew Ford. Stewart didn’t play much due to injury, I believe. In 2007, I think we had Lew Ford, Jason Tyner and Kubel manning LF. I would have prefered Jones in LF and Kubel as DH. I don’t think we had a primary DH then, still a rotation of guys. Kubel wasn’t his normal self yet, but Jones/Kubel is better than Ford/Tyner/Kubel easily.
It’s a bad sign when guys like Lew Ford and Jason Tyner get more time than you and you sit in the minors though you’re clearly an upgrade over both. In four years, he only got 31 games in the majors. Shannon Stewart was there for half the time, but why not give him his chance for the other half? That’s why I don’t think he got a fair shake.
That being said, I think Jones is playing over his head so far. I don’t think he can keep that up for a full season. Unless, he’s just one of those guys that eventually emerges, it just takes awhile. Maybe he’s better in the NL too. I hope the best for him though, I do like him.
Neal Huntington knows himself it’s to push his service time clock back. Pedro Alvarez can hit lefties pretty well.
Not really…
Last year in Double-A:
.267/.320/.394 vs. LHP
.303/.408/.620 vs. RHP
Plenty of room for improvement vs. same-side pitching.
This may be a dumb question, but what does games finished actually mean? Does it mean saves, because there’s no way Wood gets 55 saves. Does it just mean how many games he pitches in the 9th inning?
I think it just means that he’s the last pitcher to pitch for the team. It doesn’t have to be a save situation.
That is what the Rays get for not signing a guy like Kiko Calero. He is an efficient reliever that gets runners out. He signed for nothing with the Mets. Now, JP Howell’s injury comes back to hunt them if they falter early in the season.
That is what the Rays get for not signing a guy like Kiko Calero. He is an efficient reliever that gets runners out. He signed for nothing with the Mets. Now, JP Howell’s injury comes back to hunt them if they falter early in the season.
I love Dirty Doug – He plays with great intensity & love of the game, his big problem is that he can’t stay healthy – he doesn’t have great luck making it through a whole season without any time on the DL