Some items from around the majors…
- The Angels aren't one of the teams reportedly still interested in Rafael Soriano, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. The Yankees are "still trying," in spite of their earlier statements to the contrary.
- Charlie Manuel's agent tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that Manuel and the Phillies have a mutual interest in working out a contract extension before Opening Day. Manuel has one year left on his current deal, and Salisbury speculates that he's looking for a two-year extension worth roughly $4MM per season.
- Armando Galarraga is out of options, eligible for arbitration and has probably been squeezed out of the Detroit rotation by Brad Penny, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. If Galarraga gets too large of a salary bump in arbitration, the Tigers could choose to trade or just release him before Opening Day.
- The Angels' quiet offseason has been heavily criticized, but Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reminds us that the Halos still have a very solid team.
- If the Twins don't re-sign Jim Thome, Kelly Thesier of MLB.com says the team could return to what it was looking for last winter: a right-handed hitting backup option in the outfield or at first base. Thesier cites Jorge Cantu and Troy Glaus as possibilities, and we've heard the Padres were considering the same two players. The Twins could also dip into the rest of the DH market, or look to upgrade their bullpen.
- There isn't much historial evidence to suggest that Josh Beckett will return to his ace form over the long run, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.
John ‘All-Things-Red-Sox-Negative’ Tomase still finding something negative to write about the Sox in this kind of offseason.
Beckett has a career ERA of 3.96. The league average last year was 4.14. Here’s a curve for you AJ Burnett’s career ERA is 3.99 in 11 seasons, Beckett in 9.
Your first mistake was in using ERA to evaluate how good a pitcher is, your second was suggesting that a pitcher’s entire career tells you how good that pitcher is now. But if you insist on using entire careers I have a comparison for you:
Beckett: ERA-3.96 FIP-3.69 xFIP-3.62 WHIP-1.24 AVG-.249 K/BB-3.07 tERA-3.94
Verlander: ERA-3.81 FIP-3.61 xFIP-4.04 WHIP-1.26 AVG-.247 K/BB-2.73 tERA-3.83
So if you are suggesting that Beckett ≈ Verlander then I can’t wait to watch him pitch next year.
Mets and yankees should
Be all over this galaraga business
I like Armando. he’s a good guy, I was there when he pitched the perfect game. but what you should realize is it wasn’t the norm for him, very out of character. He’s ok, not great. I am hoping Detroit keeps him in the bull pen, he would be decent for long relief.
Wouldn’t he probably benefit from a change of scenery? It seems like the Tigers kind of jerk him around a little bit
They do jerk him around a bit, he gets sent to the minors a lot, and he occasionally gets thrown into the bullpen for long relief when he’s really struggling, but to be fair, the guy isn’t that good, and that’s why he gets jerked around.
That said, he may benefit from a change of scenery, but I agree with the guy above me, having him as insurance for long relief/spot starting would be my ideal choice if I were DD.
They do jerk him around a bit, he gets sent to the minors a lot, and he occasionally gets thrown into the bullpen for long relief when he’s really struggling, but to be fair, the guy isn’t that good, and that’s why he gets jerked around.
That said, he may benefit from a change of scenery, but I agree with the guy above me, having him as insurance for long relief/spot starting would be my ideal choice if I were DD.
are you freaking kidding me? He is TERRIBLE. He struck out less than 5 per 9 innings and walked over 3. His xFIP was 5.44. He’s been helped a lot by that ballpark and is an extreme fly ball pitcher and still was about replacement level last year.
If Galarraga benefited froma big ballpark in Detroit then a change to the NL and the Mets big park should benefit him as well.
FOr the Yanks, I guess he would be no less than the other starting options available in FA. I know pitching a no hitter is an indication of future success but who knows, maybe he’s got some moxie in him?
I’ve watched just about every one of his starts since his MLB debut in 2008 against Cleveland, and I can tell you one thing, he doesn’t have much moxie. He nibbles at the corners instead of going right after guys, and when he tries to go after hitters when he’s already behind in the count he leaves balls hanging so badly they end up getting absolutely crushed. The guy has little to no moxie. He would probably do okay in a Mets uniform though.
I’ve watched just about every one of his starts since his MLB debut in 2008 against Cleveland, and I can tell you one thing, he doesn’t have much moxie. He nibbles at the corners instead of going right after guys, and when he tries to go after hitters when he’s already behind in the count he leaves balls hanging so badly they end up getting absolutely crushed. The guy has little to no moxie. He would probably do okay in a Mets uniform though.
We don’t need Jose
Disregard this sorry.
The Yanks can shorten the game by picking up Soriano. This will help eleviate their lack of experience in the starting pitching. The Yankee offense never has a problem scoring runs so they will be ahead in many games with Soriano and Rivera they will win 90% of those games.
good bullpens don’t make up for a bad rotation. And you’re saying even with their bad starting pitching you think they’ll be leading a lot of games in the 8th inning. If that was the case, giving away a 1st rounder plus a huge contract to a huge injury concern is an even worse idea than usual.
I don’t think it’s as much about making up for a bad rotation as much as it is having a lot of games where your number #4 or #5 goes 6 innings and hand over a 6-4 lead to protect. If the Yanks can average 6 IP and 4 runs allowed from their #5 then I’m sure they would be somewhat happy as long as the offense can score and the bullpen can hold the lead.
Hey you never know just because they will have 2 young guys in the 4 and 5 spot doesn’t mean it can’t work out. They need a big year from Burnett and Hughes should only improve and CC is if healthy is nasty. I really like Nova he just needs to not let that bad inning snowball just like Burnett did. He was great with nobody on base he just needs to learn to be effective with runners on and maybe they’ll sign Duscherer or Bonderman, Francis etc. for their other starter and if an ace pitcher becomes available during the season they have the pieces to get something done but if you’re gonna make a trade it should be for a young cheaper top of the line pitcher. Its a bummer King Felix signed that extension lol. I think they’re in better shape now then they were going into 2008. Thats why you play 162 games. As for Pettitte thanks for being a great Yankee he should just say hes retired I don’t get this whole story that Cashman gave hes not going to pitch but hes not retiring?
Jon Heyman is a Boras flunky. Nothing he says about Boras clients is even remotely true. Cashman specifically said the Yanks were only prepared to give up their 1st round pick for Cliff Lee and Cliff Lee only. Soriano will absolutely 100% not be in a Yankee uniform next year. Heyman is a clown and should be ignored at all costs.
Heyman is a clown but to believe what Cashman says about that draft pick is dumb! (he also said he had no interest in Damon after 05 with Melky in cf and that Teixeira was out of their price range after signing Swisher to play 1b!) Cashmans word isnt worth anything and as a gm, it shouldnt. Why lay your cards out for every other gm to see?
the yankees traded for swisher (wilson betemit + Texeria)
I should have worded it better but I meant they traded for him!
Wow, Heyman still trying to connect the yankees to a Boras client, who could have possibly predicted that one. Does anyone take this guy seriously anymore?
Tigers need to keep Galarraga just incase the whole “Coke” experiment doesn’t work. Besides Detroit doesn’t know if Penny can last an entire season and providing Penny a break from a start here and there from Galarraga would be a solid option.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Coke does as a starter. It seemed he turned the corner in 2008 as a starter and then was brought up as a reliever.
The Yanks would not be in this situation if they didn’t make the Granderson trade. They would have been much better off with Jackson in CF, Coke in the pen, and Kennedy as #5.
I think Grandy’s poor/slow 2010 start and Jackson’swuick start has soured you. I expect Grandy to justify the trade in 2011 and while I think Jackson is going to be a goodmajor lge player he MUST cut down on those strikeouts. IPK is going to be agood mlb pitcher but I don’t know if the Yankees would’ve been the best place for him to start his career. There simply wasn’t any room for Coke in the rotation in 2009 as we had CC, AJ, Hughes, Petttitte, Vazquez and a host of pitchers with more upside than COke. Coke CAN be a goodmlb starter but the he would’ve been option 5or 6th in the depth charts. If that trade wasn’t made he would still be the lefty out the pen in place of Logan. Hindsight is nice but GM’s don’t have that luxury. Going forward I have no problem with Grandy in CF.
Just know that granderson will never bat over .200 against lefties and will strike out at about the same rate as jackson.
You could be right if you were not completely and blatantly wrong.
First, let me state than I am an unabashed fan of Austin Jackson and I think a lot of ppl sold him short and that he will, in time, learn to drive the ball and cut down on his ko’s and become a better hitter.
However, while I don’t have a crystal ball, I think Grandy will far surpass what he did in 2010.
As for your statement, Grandy hit .234/.292/.354 vs lefties in 2010 and .215/.274/.346 in his career vs lefties. While that’s nothing to be proud about it contradicts your statement that “he will never hit above .200 vs lefties”. While I can’t find any info about his stats vs lefties after his sessions w/ Kevin Long in August there was a noticable improvement vs lefties afterwards. As for the Ko comparison of AJ vs Granderson and your statement that Grandy will equal AJ’s ko totals. AJ ko’d 170 x last year. Grandy has only ko’d more than 141 x once in his entire 6 year career and that was back in 2006 during his 1st full year in the majors.
So basically, while I have no crystal ball to look into, proof discredits everything you’ve said.
But still, my mind can’t help but imagine what an OF of Jackson/Gardner/Tabata might have been like. Certainly light in the HR department but a hell of a lot of speed,SB and dbls.
From the Star-Ledger “Girardi called Granderson a different hitter since working with hitting coach Kevin Long to take away the excess movement in his swing. Before the changes, Granderson hit .206 against lefties. After the changes, he hit lefties at a .286 clip.”
I’m not sure where they got the stats, or how much we can take from such a small sample, but there seems like there could be something to the changes they made to his swing. He wont likely keep hitting lefties better than righties but if they can get him to hit with a more normal split so that he can still be playable against lefties that would be a pretty major help. (last year ended up being his best showing against lefties since ’08 and the second best of his career)
I actually am too! I don’t know why some fans are complaining about Coke not being in the pen when he was actually overworked IMO as a reliever last year anyway. Why not give him the innings as a starter? I mean, the Tigers haven’t had a real left-handed starting pitcher since Kenny Rogers in 2006, so he would be a very very valuable left-handed pitcher if he could pull off starting. I don’t think the Tigers have much to lose in this experiment because Schlereth is pretty much MLB-ready in my eyes to be a lefty specialist, and Perry and Benoit should both be able to take over Coke’s role as a set-up guy pretty effectively.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is experimenting with Coke as a starter is win/win I think. If Coke does well in the rotation then they have a solid no. 4 starter who happens to throw left handed, thus giving their rotation some balance. If he can’t, he gets slid back into his old role in the bullpen, will do fine, and the bullpen is pretty deep at that point.
Yeah, he was a starter in the minors with the Yanks. Had his finest year in 2008 I think but was called up as a reliever because Marte was hurt and they needed a lefty out the pen. I think they had told him to come to ST in 2009 prepared to compete as a starter but squashed that idea when Hughes won the job. It’snot an unnatural role for him.
We don’t need Josh to be an ace anymore. We have Lester for that, we just need him to be a # 2-3 starter and that will be more than enough. I say Josh will have a 15-8 W-L 3.50 ERA 200 Ks year and that would be more than good.
what you’re asking is pretty much ace level. Not to mention asking that of him is RIDICULOUS. Have you ever looked at his numbers? That would be his second best ERA since joining the Red Sox and he has NEVER repeat never struck out 200 men in a season.
The numbers Cody put up are very much in line with what people should expect out of Beckett this year! the thing that worries me is his velocity taliling off lately. His first 3 years in Boston he consistently averaged 97 on his fb yet lately it hovers around 93 which has hurt him as a power pitcher! I still wonder if theres an underlying injury there and I wish he would take his offseason workouts seriously like youk and pedroia do cuz the talent he has is being wasted by his laziness!
That’s not true, in 2007 Beckett’s fastball averaged 94.4mph, last season it averaged 93.6mph and his career average is 94.0mph. So it looks to me like there really isn’t a significant change in his FB velocity at all.
Looking at his pitch f/x and pitch type data it looks like the real significant difference for him last year was the frequency with which he was throwing his pitches, none of them were really even near his norms. That along with how batters were reacting to him at the plate; both his O-Swing% and O-Contact% were the highest of his career by a good margin and his first pitch strikes were the lowest of his career by a good bit too. His velocity and movement on all of his pitches look in-line with his career averages, he was just throwing a lot less 4-seam fastballs and curve balls, and a lot more 2-seamers, cutters, and change-ups.
I believe what your numbers say but I vividly remember watching all his starts on Tv and always seeing 96-98 regularly his first few years, not so much anymore! Probably has to do with the 2 seamer vs 4 seamer fastball! At least I hope it is!
I think it’s more a matter of health. A lot of his numbers have been steadily declining over the past 4 years and I’m inclined to think it’s more to do with health than not knowing how to pitch.
PS- No need to remind us of our pitching issues, just making an observation.
Disregard my first comment I hit save an accident sorry.
I think the Tigers are just setting themselves up for a mid season trade of Edwin Jackson if they are out of the playoffs, plus 6 starters gives you strength agains’t injury.
Edwin Jackson isn’t on the Tigers anymore dude
They could always trade for him again… he does have a tendency to be bounced around the league.
I don’t know, man…they don’t really need him, and Detroit traded him because they knew they weren’t going to be able to offer both Verlander and him contract extensions, he’s too expensive for Detroit IMO. And I also almost want to say I’d take any starter in Detroit’s rotation over Jackson right now, but I don’t know if I’d quite go that far…
you so funny!
But think about it, if they trade Edwin Jackson they will improve their team and weaken the White Sox, a division opponent. It’s a genius idea.
What are you people talking about!? Edwin Jackson is on the White Sox.
Apparently you had your sarcasm monitor turned off.
I screwed up on that one!
Yeah, this article on Beckett is no good. For one, ERA is probably not the correct statistic by which to make comparisons; ERA+ or something else that normalizes by year/era is more appropriate.
Second, and perhaps more significantly, this “study” does not control for talent — or level of prior success. Beckett is no Drysdale, but Jaime Navarro is no Josh Beckett. A player’s natural talent *and* his ability to adjust to declining skills are both important factors to consider in predicting his chances of rebounding after a down year. Navarro and Belcher are not comparables.
To throw out one name, Dennis Martinez had four consecutive years of ERA+ of 80 or less — during his 27-30 years — and bounced back to have quite a successful decade to follow.
Beckett IP 1528 3.96 ERA. All 9 years count.
I still fail to see your point. Are you trying to say Beckett is a bad pitcher because of a 3.96 ERA?
I’ll take that out of my number three starter and I will like it.
I’ll take that out of my number three starter and I will like it.
2006 he had a 5.01 ERA.
And in 2007 he was unhittable and led us to a world championship! whats your point?
Armando Galarraga seems like a guy that’s perfect for the Pirates.
At this point, anyone is good for the Pirates.
2010 5.78 ERA in 127 innings, if injured you don’t pitch.
curt schilling says hi
That was for all the marbles, and he pitched well and didn’t use it as an excuse for poor performance.
So let me get this straight. Even though the Yankees have basically said they’re out on Damon and have implicitly said they were never in on Soriano, MLBTR continues to post nonsense about them desperately trying to acquire Soriano? Despite the fact that no other, and I use this term loosely, “journalist” has said the Yankees are in on Soriano and the only one who claims they are is Heyman, the mouthpiece for Boras. I don’t know which part is more pathetic. MLBTR using it, or Heyman saying it. I’m almost leaning towards MLBTR. I expect better out of you. Heyman, I do not.
People still report what Sarah Palin says every single day despite her utter nonsense. I fail to see a difference, except that Heyman actually has the scoop when a Boras client actually signs somewhere
Talk about a bad analogy…..Because MLBTR is supposed to be a respectable honest sports journalistic site. A lot of people don’t read Heyman because he’s flatly a liar. If MLBTR posts lots of things that are blatant lies that most of us can see through, their brand could be hurt. And like I said I expect more from them and think they’re better than that. They should at least have a small disclaimer or explain the Heyman factor.
Blatant lies? I’d love to see your sources within the yanks organization. If we’re going to start ignoring bad sports writers then this site would mostly team press releases. And I’d rather listen to Heyman than that opportunistic fool from Alaska.
My source for the Yankees not being in on Soriano is Brian Cashman. Who said they were not pursuing Soriano. Publicly. For all to see. Yet Heyman the liar says they are because Boras needs to make that dough and needs teams to outbid themselves for Soriano. Its disgusting.
Because GMs never say one thing to the media and say another thing during a strategy session that might get leaked to a writer?
Don’t get me wrong, I have no clue what the yanks interest in Soriano is. But that’s part of my point, none of us really know what the yanks are planning.
So if the Yanks do sign Soriano, are you going to call Cashman a liar and shill for the Steinbrenner’s?
yes and yes!
Maybe it’s Boras who’s lying to Heyman or Cashman going back on his word. I’d rather a GM make the right move and not keep his word than the other way round.
Could the Nationals sign Galarraga?
They’d have to trade for him at this point, he’s still under team control of the Tigers through 2013 I believe.
2 year extension for Manuel, it’s great. but, what about Sandberg? I thought bringing him in this organization means that he’s the next skipper after Manuel, wasn’t it? and that’s why Sandberg left Cubs in the first place. Sandberg was supposed to be Cubs’ manager this year, but they hired somebody else instead of him. am I wrong?
Charlie Manuel is on the verge of becoming the greatest manager in Phillies’ history, if he isn’t already. (Needs 102 wins to be called the “greatest” hands down.) Why let a great manager, and a fan favorite, walk for Sandberg? More likely, I think Manuel signs an extension and Sandberg takes over as bench coach next off-season. It seems more like Pete Mackanin is moving closer to a managerial job with another team each off-season anyway.
I still don’t think Armando will be yanked from the rotation. Phil Coke is very likely to return to the bullpen.
I don’t get why no one thinks Phil Coke is capable of starting. The guy was pretty good as a starter in the minors and got overworked last year in the bullpen and was still pretty decent. I see him doing just fine in the rotation, granted he needs to have a good spring to solidify that, but Galarraga is notorious for having a terrible spring year-in and year-out. That’s why he hasn’t been on the opening day roster two out the three seasons he’s played in, one of them was last year. A lot of people forget that.
The rotation I think will ultimately be Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello, Coke, and Penny, with Armando in some long-relief/spot starting role.
Heyman was the ONLY one reporting that the Yanks were going after Teix two years ago and everybody then said “that guys a liar he loves Scott Borris and the Yanks” and then a month later he signed.. Give the guy some kind of credit he hasnt been wrong yet RS hasnt signed anywhere
What are the chances the Yanks make an offer for Galarraga? If so, what might the Tigers want in return?
The Yanks can make an offer but they most likely will hold on to him until at least mid season incase injury occurs. If I’m the Tigers, given Brad Pennys injury history I’m keeping him just in case.
Galarraga’s trade value is relatively low, so some low-level prospects would definitely do the trick if he were to be traded. That said, I don’t think he’s going anywhere.
Galarraga’s trade value is relatively low, so some low-level prospects would definitely do the trick if he were to be traded. That said, I don’t think he’s going anywhere.
Charlie Manuel has an agent?
I agree with what was said about Beckett. I don’t think he’ll return to ace form but I think he can bounce back and be a solid middle to back end of the rotation pitcher for the Sox if healthy.
I agree!
Agreed. I don’t think he’ll ever be an ace again, but if he can keep his ERA below 4.50 and go six innings most of his starts, that’s acceptable. It’s a failing of the offense if we can’t pull more than three runs in six innings to compensate for that.
I don’t think Galarraga will get so much in year 1 arbitration that the Tigers would have to move him. But if they want to, I’m sure there would be more than just the Yanks and Mets interested for a couple million. He wouldn’t get past the Royals or Pirates if they put him on waivers.
I don’t see him getting $2MM…somewhere just a little over $1MM seems to be about what he’s gonna sign for.
I don’t think Galarraga’s going anywhere this season. The pitching depth is nice to have. Next offseason though, when many are looking ahead at when Jacob Turner and Andy Oliver are going to be ready, I think we could see a non-tender or a trade arise, but I feel like the Tigers need Gally now more than any other team really needs him, and I think for about the $1MM he’s going to sign for, the Tigers can afford to hold onto him, even if he’s not in the rotation.
“If Galarraga gets too large of a salary bump in arbitration, the Tigers could choose to trade or just release him before Opening Day.”
If Galarraga were to go through the arbitration process and agree to a one year deal, I’m pretty sure they can’t release him before opening day without paying him the amount of the one year deal. I can see trading him, but releasing him AND paying the whole salary seems very unlikely. That seems to be what this implies…