Links for Friday night, as Barack Obama takes in a Nationals/White Sox game….
- Nolan Ryan confirms rumblings we've been hearing for a few weeks now, telling Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that the Rangers are interested in Roy Oswalt.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that his club is considering available pitching options, but that he doesn't know "how many bullets we're going to have, so we'll have to be careful how we use them."
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports clarifies (via Twitter) that the Red Sox are willing to pay all of Mike Lowell's salary in a potential trade, but would like a better prospect in return in that case. The Twins and Rangers aren't budging so far.
- FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi tweets that, unsurprisingly, there isn't much trade interest in Jose Lopez.
- Jamie Moyer's son Dillon Moyer doesn't know whether or not he'll sign with Minnesota after the Twins drafted him in the 22nd round last week, according to Zach Schonbrun of MLB.com.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer thinks that whatever offense the Angels gain by playing Mike Napoli at first base is negated by playing Jeff Mathis behind the plate every day. The Angels are playing Napoli at first for now, rather than acquiring another impact bat.
Dillon Moyer was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, not the Brewers.
My bad, thanks for the catch.
As a commenter on the Neyer post points out, Scioscia has given the vast bulk of the playing time behind the plate to Mathis at each and every point when he was healthy enough to take the field. Mike barely played if Jeff could, instead. As such, the Halos aren’t losing a thing by moving Napoli from permanent backup-catcher status to provisional first-baseman-ship, except a rare pinch-hitting appearance here and there. (Unless he proves he can’t handle it defensively, something no one will know until they give him a try.)
At the very least, Mike could be the 21st Century Mickey Tettleton…
Right, so the key point is that the Angels have ALWAYS been costing themselves by playing Mathis.
Mathis didn’t cost them a thing during the Playoffs last year. Also, he hasn’t gone hitless this season so a lot of people are hoping that he has finally found his stroke. Of course, that’s only like a dozen games this season because of his injury, but it is potential upside that you have to explore now when you have a chance to let him play it out.
Mathis’ career OPS+ in the majors is 59. His career OPS is 608. At best, he’s qualified to be a backup. A dozen games do not suggest that he’s magically going to start hitting. He hinders the team in extended play.
I’m not arguing that he has struggled to hit in his previous 3 years. I’m only pointing out that he has been seeing the ball better lately (being the playoffs, spring training, and the dozen games he has been in this season) so to say ALWAYS in all caps is inaccurate and there is possible upside.
Fine. Other than ELEVEN games this year, he’s ALWAYS hindered the major league lineup. Given more than a dozen games, he hasn’t hit over any extended stretch at any level since he was at Salt Lake City, which is a hitters haven.
There isn’t upside here. Guys don’t magically start hitting when they’ve been that profoundly bad at the plate for so long.
Jeff Mathis piled up 16 HR and 90 RBI in his first 600 career AB’s. His BA was only .200, but how do you get 90 RBI when you’re only hitting at the Mendoza Line? Something tells me that extended play is EXACTLY what Mathis needs to show MLB what he can do. I bet you anything that if Tim Salmon were merely a platoon player in his first 5 years, his numbers wouldn’t look that much better than Mathis’. The only way anyone can tell is by putting the guy out there everyday for at least one or two seasons.
RBI are not a useful stat for exactly this reason. If he drove in that many runs while hitting so plainly little, it means he was lucky enough to have men on base when he did get his hits. In over 900 major league plate appearances, the man is slugging under .330. That’s not just low. That’s cartoonishly low. You can’t make a reasonable argument for him based on power potential. And I have no idea what Tim Salmon could possibly have to do with this discussion. He was an excellent prospect who developed his bat steadily through the minors, earned his way to the majors where he struggled in a first cup of coffee, then immediately hit upon his well earned full-time play.
Greg Vaughn last played seven years ago, and I find it weird that his son is already being drafted.
Jamie Moyer is still playing and he seems a little OLD to have a kid in the draft.