Hard to believe that Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement will only be the second biggest story of the day. Here are some more links to check out…
- Speaking of Griffey, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says (via Twitter) that he will remain with the Mariners in a front office role.
- Big League Stew lists ten players who could be traded before the deadline, headlined by Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee.
- Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse grades the Padres' offseason pickups.
- The Red Sox almost drafted Kurt Suzuki instead of Dustin Pedroia in the second round of the 2004 draft, according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes did not deny that Dan Haren may be dealt this summer, according to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick presents the nine most-hyped draft picks of all time.
- Ben Goessling of MASN.com imagines what a Roy Oswalt-Nationals swap might look like, just as MLBTR's Howard Megdal did. Last night we heard that Oswalt would consider a deal to Washington.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that Randy Wells switched agents "a while ago," leaving the Beverly Hills Sports Council for ACES (Twitter link).
- Lynn Henning of the Detroit News believes Oswalt and Cliff Lee would cost more than the Tigers can afford to give up.
- Scott Boras told Scott Miller of CBS Sports that Tony Gwynn was an "extraordinary" coach for Stephen Strasburg at San Diego State University.
- Boras doesn't want Bryce Harper to catch, but ESPN.com's Keith Law points out that Harper's bat is worth much more behind the plate than anywhere else.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle predicts that Pat Burrell may make his Giants debut as soon as this weekend.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan describes the journey Colby Lewis took from the majors to Japan and back.
- The Rangers need a reliable catcher more than anything else, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Indians had no interest in Dontrelle Willis, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- But other teams are eyeing an Indians starter. One executive told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Jake Westbrook is "everything you look for if you want to add an arm down the stretch."
“One executive told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Jake Westbrook is ‘everything you look for if you want to add an arm down the stretch.'”
Was that exec Mark Shapiro, by chance?
Why are the Nationals so greedy? Their rotation at the end of this year could include 5 of the following: Livan Hernandez, Scott Olsen, Chieng Ming Wang, Jordan Zimmerman, Stephen Strausburg, Jason Marquis, and John Lannan. You didn’t sign Marquis and Wang for nothing. The easiest move would to be put Zimmerman in the minors, move Olsen to the bullpen and release Hernandez, but why? Livan has been great, and so was Olsen before the injury. And Zimmerman has proven he can win at the majors level, and just imagine the pontential with this new lineup the Nats have this year. I think it’d be crazy to acquire Oswalt, because of the talent they already have at a much cheaper cost.
Let’s be realistic here:-Livan Hernandez is going to sink. -Olsen is currently injured and isn’t the most dependable option career-wise. -Wang hasn’t pitched since July 2009 (and wasn’t effective at all in 2009). -Zimmermann is a promising youngster, but like Wang, hasn’t pitched since July 2009. -Marquis has been very crumby so far–which was pretty expected.
-Lannan can be solid, but he’s currently sporting a 5.01 ERA/1.63 WHIP. -Lastly, Strasberg has yet to pitch in the majors, so you can’t depend on him quite yet.If anything, the Nationals NEED Oswalt.
I don’t disagree with any of those points. But I cant believe that they would dump all those prospects and take on all that money while they have all those options right there. Especially seeing how much Marquis is making and Wangs cheap upside with control next year. Marquis ineffectiveness may have been due to injury, Wang could come back an be the 07 Wang, Olsen could keep up his good work, Zimmerman could prove to be solid, and Lannan could keep up his 4th starter status. I think the most reasonable option is to release Hernandez, but they won’t and can’t do that now given his numbers.
Maybe it means that they won’t need to rush Zimmermann back to the majors, and could even use Wang in the pen. Or maybe use Olsen to acquire a rightfielder.
Maybe it means that they won’t need to rush Zimmermann back to the majors, and could even use Wang in the pen. Or maybe use Olsen to acquire a rightfielder.
Who says anything about releasing? Adding him to a potential rotation with those guys would make theirs one of the best in baseball. Plus converting the extras to bullpen guys or using them as trade chips are always nice. If the Nats could get Oswalt by eating most of his salary, its a must.
Adding Oswalt still wouldn’t come close to giving the Nats one of the best rotations in baseball. They wouldn’t even have the best rotation in their division.
Oh it wouldn’t? Come August will you be saying this?Strasburg, Oswalt, Wang, Zimmermann, Lannan/Livan.I leave you with that.
Yeah, that’ll be the most feared rotation since the days of “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.”
I’ll take the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and even the Twins over the Nats rotation. Aside from Oswalt — and whatever Strasburg proves he can do — your lineup is old and/or hurt, plus a serviceable Lannan.
Thats fine that we see different. Thats what opinions are for. I just know this will be a solid rotation.
Adding Oswalt still wouldn’t come close to giving the Nats one of the best rotations in baseball. They wouldn’t even have the best rotation in their division.
Who says anything about releasing? Adding him to a potential rotation with those guys would make theirs one of the best in baseball. Plus converting the extras to bullpen guys or using them as trade chips are always nice. If the Nats could get Oswalt by eating most of his salary, its a must.
I don’t disagree with any of those points. But I cant believe that they would dump all those prospects and take on all that money while they have all those options right there. Especially seeing how much Marquis is making and Wangs cheap upside with control next year. Marquis ineffectiveness may have been due to injury, Wang could come back an be the 07 Wang, Olsen could keep up his good work, Zimmerman could prove to be solid, and Lannan could keep up his 4th starter status. I think the most reasonable option is to release Hernandez, but they won’t and can’t do that now given his numbers.
Let’s be realistic here:-Livan Hernandez is going to sink. -Olsen is currently injured and isn’t the most dependable option career-wise. -Wang hasn’t pitched since July 2009 (and wasn’t effective at all in 2009). -Zimmermann is a promising youngster, but like Wang, hasn’t pitched since July 2009. -Marquis has been very crumby so far–which was pretty expected.
-Lannan can be solid, but he’s currently sporting a 5.01 ERA/1.63 WHIP. -Lastly, Strasberg has yet to pitch in the majors, so you can’t depend on him quite yet.If anything, the Nationals NEED Oswalt.
Why would the Nationals want Oswalt when they have Wang and Marquis? That’s like asking your wife, “Why do you want a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes? You have two pairs of Converse All-Stars that have given you two combined productive footwear years out of the last five.”
…Good one man … good one. You are exactly right , why not take them all if you can afford them because one or two of them will go down one way or another. They have Storen and I hope he does good as a closer in a year or so, but that was a sweet comment.
So you’re telling me that the Nats are gonna get Oswalt and his $29 milllion and just bite the bullet and release Marquis and his $15 million and Wang and his $2 million and arbitration eligibility for next year?
Who says they have to ditch Marquis & Wang? ’11 rotation of Strasburg, Oswalt, Zimmermann, Wang & Marquis is reasonable. Detwiler, Lannan, Livo, Olsen, Stammen are all options to trade to get Oswalt, trade for a RF upgrade or on reserve for if/when any of the 5 above fail.
So you’re telling me that the Nats are gonna get Oswalt and his $29 milllion and just bite the bullet and release Marquis and his $15 million and Wang and his $2 million and arbitration eligibility for next year?
Now is probably not the best time to trade Haren.
Now is probably not the best time to trade Haren.
If the D’backs decides to trade haren, the mets should be all over him.
the mets should be all over any pitcher with a pulse.
If the D’backs decides to trade haren, the mets should be all over him.
If Haren is traded this deadline, Josh Byrnes should be fired immediately.
Sell-low to the fullest proportions, and Haren is controlled for many more years and in his prime. He has no history of injuries, and even if he is hurt, he is likely to rebound due to not having a comprehensive injury history.
Can the Cardinals trade McGwire to the DBacks for Haren? Zona might be able to get something from the A’s for McSteroid.
/jk
I remember the Washington senators having a strong 1/2 season in ’69 also.. They crashed and burned the 2nd half, finishing in 4th place. Not even Ted Williams could fix a pitching staff that kind of resembles this crew being currently touted, minus youngster Strassburg.
Moral? This crew of castoffs had better put together 162 games of decent baseball.
Wow if Haren is available this is going to be an interesting deadline w/ the amount of number one starters available
Not only was that fundamentally bad umpriring, but its the 27th out, throw the guy a bone. Halladay gets called strikes at the ankles but Armando dosen’t get an obvious call at first?
If the Mets got Haren that would practically give them 2 aces! Of course that also means the team would go ahead and give BOTH of them little or no run support whenever they pitched (or just go ahead and blow the lead)….
[sigh]
yea but the mets dont need another ace, they need a good offensive player and a decent pitcher. With Pelfrey how hes pitching they already have 2 aces…
There is a pattern with the Mets: when the pitching is decent, the hitting breaks down. When the bats are cranking the pitching falters. When things are rockin’ there’s always something sucky waiting to break out. So yeah they could use another ace, and another bat, and another RF, and hey…maybe even another bat boy too.
Oh, and they could use another GM too – but that’s a topic for another discussion. :-D