Links for Tuesday, as Scott Rolen's big season continues…
- The Orioles should put manager Dave Trembley "gently out of his misery" and fire him, if you ask Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the D'Backs were smart to acquire Dontrelle Willis.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs says Oliver Perez and Jeff Suppan have "parasitic" contracts.
- Paul Konerko told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that speculation linking him to the Angels is none of his business and a "non-issue" for him.
- If you're on your cell phone, consider checking out our mobile site at mlbtraderumors.mobi. It's a stripped-down version of the site that just shows headlines on the front page.
- The Cardinals could use a starting pitcher, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch runs through some options. One official told AOL FanHouse's Ed Price about a rumor that Roy Oswalt would only accept a trade to the Phillies, Cardinals, or Yankees.
- Josh Willingham, Corey Hart, Jose Guillen, Luke Scott, and Garrett Jones are a few speculative names tossed out by FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi as offensive additions for the Athletics. Keep in mind, though, that Willingham is not known to be available and Jones is slugging .415.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if the Pirates will release Akinori Iwamura, though he admits it'd be "an especially bitter pill for management."
- It's too early for the Rangers to think about trading Vladimir Guerrero, opines ESPN's Richard Durrett. They're only one game out!
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe looks at Theo Epstein's midseason work from years past. This year, Massarotti feels that adding a late-inning reliever is a priority.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues hopes Kanekoa Texeira clears waivers and is offered back to the Yankees. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that he thinks the Yanks would take him back if given the chance.
If the Athletics were thinking about any of those names then Corey Hart seems like the ‘Boy in a Box’. I write this because the Brewers seem to need bullpen help and that’s one of the few areas where the Athletics can afford to ‘…Surrender’.
Man, STLToday.com reporting that Adam Wainwright has a looming 21m option? I now get that it was a typo, but I was definitely reeling from that one till I looked up the contract itself to verify why he was reporting 21m for the Wainster.
If Garrett Jones gets traded, I’m done.
dude, jones was awesome last year. but everyone knew that he couldn’t repeat it this year. my man was a groundball machine in May. we can’t rely on him as an everyday guy, he’d be great off the bench, has some pop and a nice glove. but garrett’s starting days (as short as they were), SHOULD be over soon.
What outfielders do we have, or first basemen for that matter, that would be better than Jones? He is at least hitting for some power and gets on base, unlike Milledge who has no home runs and commits endless mistakes all over the place. Clement will hit 20 HR’s and probably have a .250 OBP, awesome. Pearce will have a few good games, but I don’t think he has a first baseman’s bat. Tabata and Cutch are set in the outfield, hopefully, and Garrett can play the other spot or first, this team is not overflowing with offensive talent that we can afford to get rid of Garrett.
Really?
Is Garrett Jones going to be part of a winning Pirates team? IF they could get something decent for him, he should be dealt.
Only Pirates I don’t consider dealing are McCutchen, Alvarez, and probably Tony Sanchez.
I’m sick of hearing about whether or not so and so will be part of the next winning Pirates team. Nobody knows when the next winning Pirates team will be, it might not be for another 10 years so we might as well trade everyone I guess.
The Nats and Blue Jays are winning this year and they didn’t trade everyone because “they wouldn’t be part of a winning team”. I’m sick of the excuses for this team, and I’m getting tired of seeing guys like Milledge and LaRoche who were supposed to be good prospects do nothing at the major league level. We need to hold onto the players that are performing if we’re ever going to get better.
Also, I’m not a fan of John Russell at all, but I don’t think it’s very fair that our best players are in the minors and he’s stuck playing mix and match with a weak lineup. They keep saying that Alvarez can’t hit lefties, but I’ll bet he can outhit anyone on the roster not named McCutchen. What is the harm in bringing him up and giving the team a spark???
Even though the Astros might not want to trade Oswalt to the Cardinals, Oswalt could pull a King Griffey Jr and first, DEMAND a trade and THEN say he would ONLY accept a trade to the Cardinals. It worked for KGJ back in 1999 and I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for Oswalt in 2010. So, Oswalt could go to a contender and stay in the NL Central (which he knows the most about) and then come back to the Astros in five years (when they could be good again) and close out his career on a love fest (just like KGJ SHOULD have done last year).
Oswalt i dont think will do that, and Ken was traded from the Al to Nl not to a inter league rival the astros dont have to trade him even if he demands a trade
What would you expect for Corey hart?
Mazzaro?
Ross?
Hrod/Demel 2 reliever dominating AAA?
What would you expect for Corey hart?
Mazzaro?
Ross?
Hrod/Demel 2 reliever dominating AAA?
Who said anything about trading Vlad?
Mazzaro would be a huge overpay.
Ross is legit, I’d personally keep him, but he could be expendable.
For a couple relievers like Kilby/Rodriguez plus a C+ prospect? I’m all for it. Not sure if Milwaukee would be though.
Bitter Pill for Pirates Management?!
Try Bitter Pill for The biggest cheapskate in the history of Baseball, Pirates owner Bob Nutting.
You must realize if they release Iwamura, Nutting will probably cancel all bonus’s and everyone will end up getting for Christmas a membership into the jelly-of-the-month club instead.
lol. nutting needs to give Cutch a big contract this winter. that would be a great step in changing the perception everyone has of him. but until that happens, i’m with you burt. just call me ernie.
Henry Rodriguez and Tyson Ross would be seemingly available. Trevor Cahill might be too. The A’s have been burned pretty badly on hitters trying the NL->AL switch in recent years so I think an player from the AL will be the one coming over. Depends on if Oakland wants to de-value Cust by playing him in LF, that way DH would be opened up and therefore almost any hitter would fit. Here’s a list of guys I wouldnt be surprised to see Beane pursuing:
-Ty Wiggington looks like a sure bet to be moved somewhere, why not?
-Magglio Ordonez if the Tigers fall out of contention
-Andruw Jones looks healthy again and is hitting well
-Prince Fielder to DH for this year, but then trade in the offseason?
Its very difficult to try and figure out what Beane is going to do, he basically said at the start of the year “defense & pitching are all I care about” hence the signings of Crisp & Gross to add to Sweeney & Davis. When Crisp is healthy (lol) the team is pretty set as of now. Runs are hard to come by, but when the A’s score 4 or more they have some obscene record, like 25-1 or something, so thats clearly their magic number. You would like to see a genuine HR threat in there, but the defense and pitching is what is winning them games right now, regardless, it’s a near-certainty that a guy with 15+ HR will be joining the team via trade come the deadline. Who will it be? The team with a GM that wants to trade with Beane.
Oliver Perez has a bad contract? This is news to me…
You know Burt (Clark), that’s the gift that keeps on giving all year round!
(Kudos to my favorite Christmas movie of all-time, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation)
LOL. Bob Nutting is a cheapo alright, no argument here. Lowest payroll in baseball and he still makes money (regardless if the team hasn’t had a winning season in what, 18 years?)… Why should he ever invest a dime into the team? No wonder he wouldn’t sell to Lemieux. Poor Pittsburgh fans, you’ll never see a winning team. With the payroll that low, it wouldn’t matter who was GM or manager. You simply cannot field a winning team with a payroll that low.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I saw the Pirates play at Wrigley a few weeks ago and they don’t seem that far away from having a decent team. They have better pieces in place and on the way than teams in a comparible situation…….Royals etc. Not saying they are a .500 team this year, but next year would not surprise me…..unless the front office implodes on itself.
Agreed on Trembley. He’s at the point where he’s starting to use his players as excuses for the team’s performance. Is it really appropriate to call out one of your young, talented pitchers to the press like he did with Tillman?
the front office can pin this season on Trembley if the want, but if the really want to find out whom to blame, they need to look in a mirror. Lasorda or Torre or a combination of the two couldnt get that team to win because of a complete lack of prospect sense and funding, so they can make Dave a scapegoat if they want, but they will be firing managers left and right every year until the fans finally snap
Man, I would have liked to see D-Train in a St. Louis uni. Duncan could have turned him back into an ace and make the redbirds rotation EVEN BETTER!!!!!
impossible. 2 aces, 2 other guys pitching like aces, and a decent #5 starter. how much more can it improve
That “decent” #5 starter has got to be Lohse, since he’s not pitching like an ace at all… And he’s not been decent, especially considering how much he’s getting paid, and looks like he’ll be on the DL for a while (think about every other Cardinals pitching surgery recovery, they last sooooo long).
While seeing a exceptional coach like Duncan work with someone who’s had success like Willis would be fun, I don’t think it’s “impossible”, but far fetched… But what do they do now with Lohse out for a while? Stick with Ottavino? I’m not sure…
That “decent” #5 starter has got to be Lohse, since he’s not pitching like an ace at all… And he’s not been decent, especially considering how much he’s getting paid, and looks like he’ll be on the DL for a while (think about every other Cardinals pitching surgery recovery, they last sooooo long).
While seeing a exceptional coach like Duncan work with someone who’s had success like Willis would be fun, I don’t think it’s “impossible”, but far fetched… But what do they do now with Lohse out for a while? Stick with Ottavino? I’m not sure…