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Reds Unlikely To Trade For Leadoff Hitter

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Reds' leadoff hitters have a league worst .237 OBP, but John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that any help is going to have to come from within for the time being.

“I don’t think we have anyone in the minors capable of the filling that role,” said GM Walt Jocketty. “And, frankly,  there’s no one available in trade right now. I think we’re going to try to fix it internally. We may be able to do something in trade later.

Drew Stubbs has served as the primary leadoff hitter this year, but his batting line sits at just .174/.267/.283, though he has stolen seven bases in eight tries. Chris Dickerson has also spent some time hitting leadoff, but he's been even worse with the stick: .205/.222/.273.

The Reds are set all around the infield, so if they did pursue a trade for leadoff type down the road, they would have to look at an outfielder. Scott Podsednik could make some sense if the Royals are willing to move him, ditto Coco Crisp and the A's (when he gets healthy). That's just me speculating, though.

Japanese Pitchers To Watch: Kobayashi & Sawamura

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In his latest post at NPB Tracker, Patrick Newman fills us in on two Japanese pitchers who could find their way into MLB before long. 

Hiroyuki Kobayashi, the soon-to-be 32-year-old closer for the Chiba Lotte Marines, has already qualified for international free agency, and is reportedly ready to jump across the pond. Newman says that this isn't the first time Kobayashi has hinted at making the move either, and speculates that the Giants could be a fit. In 12 innings this year, he's struck out 16 and allowed just five hits and three walks. 

The 20-year-old Hirokazu Sawamura is the better prospect of the two, reportedly hitting 97 with his fastball. The Giants and Mets have had scouts in attendance during his recent starts for Chuo University, and one opined that it would "be a waste for him to stay in Japan." A quote from February suggests that Sawamura is leaning towards staying in Japan, but the lure of a payday similar to Junichi Tazawa's could be tough to pass up. 

Are Lackey, Bay Cause For Worry?

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Leave it to some who follow the Red Sox and Mets to worry prematurely about their big acquisitions, John Lackey and Jason Bay.

In the case of Lackey, he probably quieted some of the criticism with his seven innings against the Angels Wednesday night, allowing just one run. Meanwhile, Bay's struggles haven't yet abated.  Should either fan base be worried? Did the Red Sox waste $82.5MM on Lackey, and the Mets blow $66MM on Bay?  There's certainly not enough evidence to think so, and the guess here is that in the short-term, neither team will be sorry.

Let's start with Lackey. In his first 37 innings, he's pitched to a decent 3.89 ERA, and really, that reflects one poor start. Take that start out, and he has five quality starts in five outings, with a 2.14 ERA. He's gone seven innings in each of his last three starts.  The only thing that could cause concern is that he's struck out just 21 in those 37 innings. That is a rate of just 5.1 per nine innings, well off of his pace from last season, when he fanned 7.1 per nine.  But take a look at Lackey's first six starts from 2009. He posted a 6.61 ERA, and even his strikeout rate was just 5.2 per nine. It then jumped to a robust 7.5 per nine over his final 21 starts, along with a 3.23 ERA in those contests.

So it is entirely too soon to worry about Lackey. But what about Bay?

The numbers have been pretty ugly so far. Bay is hitting just .238/.345/.376 in his first 119 plate appearances as a Met. And it isn't like he's been particularly hit-unlucky, with a .338 batting average on balls in play in 2010, above his career BABIP of .327.  He's walking and striking out about as much as he did in 2009, and is actually hitting more line drives this year than last year.  So is it simply that Bay lost all of his power? Unlikely. It simply appears this streaky hitter is in a slump.

It went less noticed last year because of his strong start, but Bay had a remarkably similar period in his 2009 season. From June 3 to July 31, 2009, Bay hit .214/.349/.341, with just four home runs in 212 plate appearances over that time.  However, he balanced that out with 222 plate appearances from the start of the season to June 2 hitting .286/.410/.632, and finished the season from August 1 on with 204 plate appearances of .301/.392/.631 hitting.

Most likely, Mets fans will feel awfully silly about Bay fretting once he goes on this type of extended tear. And fortunately for the Mets, the concerns about his defense have largely proven to be unfounded so far, with Bay hovering right around average in left field.

In short, there are things for both the Red Sox and Mets to worry about. But John Lackey and Jason Bay aren't it.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rays, Lackey, Peavy, Cano

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On this date 11 years ago, Hideki Irabu of the Yankees and Mac Suzuki of the Mariners faced off in the first match up of Japanese starting pitchers in Major League history. Irabu allowed one run over seven innings as the Yanks defeated Seattle by the score of 10-1.

Here are some links from around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Santana, Red Sox, Lee, Saunders

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Thursday night linkage..

Berkman Willing To Waive No-Trade Clause

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7:59pm: Berkman shared his side of the conversation he had with GM Ed Wade, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com:

"I'm not demanding to be traded," the five-time All-Star said. "I'm perfectly content to be a Houston Astro. We were just talking hypothetical."

McTaggart also points out that Berkman has said several times in recent years that he would be willing to waive his full no-trade clause if the situation was right.

5:48pm: Some within the Astros believe that Berkman may be trying to employ reverse psychology in an effort to pressure the club into picking up his option, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Houston owner Drayton McLane is not a fan of giving up on seasons or trading away veteran players.

Meanwhile, GM Ed Wade doesn't seem terribly concerned about Berkman's comments.  He recounted the conversation he had with the outfielder last night:

"Don’t worry about it, players have every right to make whatever comments they want to the media. Focus on showing up and winning tomorrow."

The 34-year-old is hitting .213/.327/.404 with 2 HRs in 55 plate appearances this season.

10:28am: Lance Berkman would be willing to waive his no-trade clause if the Astros approach him with a deal to a contender later this season, reports Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle.  Berkman explained his feelings:

"If it was me and I was running the show here, if we didn't make a great comeback like we did in '05 and be sort of around .500 by the All-Star break, I'd try to trade every veteran I could to reload.  That's the quickest way you're going to be able to reload and get it going in the right direction.  As a player, if they came to me and said, 'Hey, we've got a deal to go to a contender,' I'd take it. Heck, it's only a three- or four-month deal. It's not like I'm signing on for 10 years with another team."

Berkman opined that the Astros should try to avoid what he calls "baseball purgatory — where you're not really getting young and you're not really (competing). Where you're in this deal where every year you're signing a marginal veteran and you just never get in the mix."

Berkman's "take one for the team" approach to his no-trade clause is an interesting position, as a few months ago he talked about taking his ball and going home if the Astros didn't exercise his $15MM club option for 2011 after the season.  He does still prefer to retire an Astro.

As I mentioned yesterday, quitting on a season is not the Astros' style.  But Berkman, even at age 34 and coming off knee surgery, could give a contender an offensive boost while saving the Astros over $5MM.  The Red Sox, A's, White Sox, and Mariners could be fits if Berkman is open to DHing, while it's more difficult to find an NL contender with a first base opening.  Perhaps the Braves, depending on how Troy Glaus is doing a month or two from now.

Dunn Doesn’t Think There Have Been Contract Talks

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Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn doesn't think that there have been discussions about a contract extension between his agent and the club, writes Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post.  Dunn explained that he cannot be certain as he does not concern himself with contract matters.

Earlier today, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com wrote that someone familiar with the Nationals' way of thinking expects Adam Dunn to return to Washington in 2011, though not necessarily via an in-season extension.

Kilgore points out that Dunn's defense has improved this season, as evidenced by his -5.7 UZR/150.  This is a marked improvement over his career average UZR/150 of -19.8 at first base.  Meanwhile, after a slow start at the plate this season, Dunn is now hitting .231/.386/.484 with 5 HRs in 114 plate appearances.

Dunn, 30, is set to earn $12MM this season on the back end of a two-year, $20MM pact.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Pena, Jeter, Angels, Prior

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Links for Thursday..

Bonser Could Take Schoeneweis’ Spot

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If the Red Sox promote Boof Bonser once he is healthy again, the former Twins hurler could take Scott Schoeneweis' spot in the bullpen, writes Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal.  Barbarisi points out the possibility that the BoSox may not want carry two lefties in the bullpen.

If Bonser does bump Schoeneweis from the roster, it is unlikely that he would accept a demotion to the minors.  When the 36-year-old was released by the Brewers in late March, he told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that if he was unable to find a big league job, he refused to "toil around in the Minor Leagues".  Milwaukee offered the veteran a spot in Triple-A Nashville, but he declined.

Schoeneweis has pitched just 10.2 innings for the BoSox this season.  Thus far he has registered 9 strikeouts, 7 walks, and allowed 8 runs.

Bonser is set to pitch his first game in a month this Friday in an outing for Triple-A Pawtucket.  Barbarisi writes that Bonser could also remain in the minors as a depth starter in case of injury.

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