The Tigers released Carlos Pena on this date in 2006. The first baseman spent most of the year in the minors with the Yankees and Red Sox then broke out with a 46-homer season for the Rays the following season. Here are today's AL East-related links…
- Gustavo Cabrera worked out for the Rays recently, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports. The 16-year-old Dominican outfielder is one of this summer's top eligible amateurs and could command a bonus in the $1.5-2.5MM range, Mayo writes.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Daniel Bard can successfully transition to Boston's rotation this year and explains that in a perfect world he wouldn't have to become a starter. A number of baseball people are skeptical that the Red Sox right-hander will succeed in the rotation, Rosenthal writes.
- Executives monitoring the outfield market say the Blue Jays are inclined to keep Travis Snider, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The Blue Jays optioned the left-handed hitting 24-year-old to Triple-A over the weekend.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he's optimistic Joba Chamberlain will pitch in the Major Leagues this year, Jeff Bradley of the Star-Ledger reports. The right-hander dislocated his right ankle last week and will likely wear a cast for six weeks.
- It doesn't appear that the Yankees have any intention of releasing Chamberlain in an attempt to save money, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes.
His bone went through his skin, I bet we never see him pitch again in the Majors.
He should be back, there have been many players with much worse injuries that have come back. An ankle injury would seem to be much less minor to a pitcher than a serious shoulder or elbow injury. Think about tj surgery the tendon is replaced from elsewhere. Sounds rough, but many players come back.
Roberto Alomar’s bone break was similar….I remember watching the game live…..You could see bone sticking up but not sure if it broke the skin. He came back eventually….
Poor Lunchbox… hits .400 (not literally) in AAA and can’t hit his weight in the bigs.
Prince Fielder can’t even hit his weight
rimshot
Am getting a bit worried on Bard. Sure it’s ST but they do have other choices in the rotation not involving Aceves, who would be a disaster.. Cook and Doubront if they are going to use Padilla as a long man or send to Pawtucket.
bard is just too valuable as a shut down 8th inning man to take chance on ruining and yes.. He looked bad again. Maybe he has not gotten his arm strength up, but his velocity at the 50 pitch mark even in early March WAS at 95 and now it has dropped 2-3mph and that should not be happening.
It would lead to a BP with Bard, Bailey, melencon, Aceves as middle to late people nobody could match.. something they could use with 2 5-6IP people at the back end of the rotation.
Have to feel bad any time a young person, with a chance to make a $ 1 million or more but loses out because of an off-the-field injury or error, it is a tragedy. Chamberlin may indeed not be back but he certainly could have been more careful. Hopefully, he finds a path back to his job with the Yankees, wiser, and willing to serve as an example of “what not to do to protect one’s career” for other players.
As for Daniel Bard, he should be used in a manner that best capitalizes on his enormous talent to benefit his team, rather than to benefit his ego. He has, and continues to be, a two pitch hurler, who is most effective as a pitcher who never goes through a batting order more than once in a game. Bobby V. would be smart to put him back into his old set up role, to shore up the Red Sox’ late inning capabilities.
Q. How many MLB starters last year had a plus fastball and two plus
secondary pitches? (“Plus” based on results, linear weights per pitch,
and defined as more than 1/2 standard deviation above average.)
A. 18. (Verlander, Weaver, Hudson and Beckett had 3, Cueto, Sabathia,
Cain, Price, Pineda, Latos, Hamels, Lee, Romero, Fister, Kershaw,
Wilson, Kennedy, McCarthy had 2.)
The evidence is very clear: starters don’t need three good pitches. They
need two that are good and one that they can show for variety and not
get killed with, which describes Bard’s changeup. Guys with 3 or 4 plus
pitches are almost all aces and #2’s.
J J throws as hard as Verlander, but you probably forgot about him since he is always hurt.
Not sure if too many throw as hard as Verlander….I remember watching some of his complete games last year and he was pumping 97 – 99 mph in the freaking 9th inning!!! Dude be sooo sick. As far as arm strength; IMO, Verlander is kind of in a league by himself.
In upper 90’s late, like have seen JJ 97-98 in the 7-8th whenever he is on the mound and not hurt.
Not many who can throw with that kind of gas long though.
But if you read the article: Players are feeling much more comfortable in their ab’s against bard when he is starting because his fb speed is diminished. At 97 he can get away with mediocre command, but when he is throwing 93-94 his command becomes much more important. As does having some extra pitches.
Except look at Bard’s FB command when he was throwing upper 90’s and it was excellent. He threw strikes when he was hitting 98+
But was he hitting the corners? If you are throwing 98+ you can get away with sending a few down the middle and/or aiming for the middle and having it still end up somewhere in the zone. If you are throwing down the middle but only hitting 93 you wont get away with nearly as many bad pitches. Also at 98 many more players will swing at pitches that are not in the zone because they dont fully see it.
i for one am amazed that he doesn’t have perfect command in march
Do you remember if he did the last couple of springs.. That is.. better command of his fb?
I admit and many here know always go back to being conservative over these things and stick with what worked for players. Converting relievers (short) to starters isn’t always a work out thing either.
I do hope it will end up well, just dangerous game. health, mental aspect if it failed etc..
No, if you read the article it was actually suggested by a rival official that they could experience more comfortable at bats, no where does it say that they are. And the official was talking about them being more comfortable because of his smooth delivery, which doesn’t even make sense.
Halladay doesn’t have a plus fastball and 2 plus secondary pitches!?
Jays should traded Snider…IMO is the best thing to do right now
He is still 24…why would they give up on someone with age still on their side? Like someone said, the futures for Thames and EE are bleak, therefore continue to impress down in AAA, and perhaps try working on reducing his strikeout rate.
My prediction: They let Thames play in the bigs to drive his value up, pawn him off mid-season for pitching or prospects, then bring up Snider.
I don’t think the organization is really too big on either Thames or Snider…
Remember: AA made a significant offer to Carlos Beltran, but he didn’t want to play on turf.
Plus Gose is waiting in the wings too and could be up as early as September this year. It all depends how well he improves his hitting and decreases his K rate.
I was waiting for somebody to make a Joba the Hurt joke.
In a perfect world Snider would get his 600 AB’s.. he still has far more potential than Thames, no one is disputing that, but he is going to have to really improved his approach & mechanics in order to get him here..
Reality is Thames didn’t earn a started job until 25, and Snider’s younger, so its not like a 22 y/o came and knocked him off.. Its easier for a player of Thames skillset to hit his peak than a player like Snider.
Thames is a 7-8-9 hitter in his peak, with average AT BEST defense.. Where as Snider could be a 3-4-5 hitter, with plus defense. but potential doesn’t earn you a spot, so as big as a fan of Snider as I am, I agree with the decision. He’ll be up this year, either with an injury or poor performance from Rasmus or Thames (or Lind?) and then it will be up to him to make the necessary adjustments to improve to keep his spot.
bingo.
i’m inclined to think this most recent demotion is about solidifying his swing changes. playing in AAA allows him to focus solely on that without having to worry about justifying his roster spot. i doubt the jays really planned on snider starting the year with the team even as far back as the fall. he had an awful time in the big leagues last year and also threw up some ho hum results in AAA (relative for his talent level and the PCL) amidst injury and mechanical changes. i think they probably know that thames is not the answer in LF long term (plus there’s too many younger OF prospects moving up the ladder). however, he is a decent option until snider gets himself together for another go at the MLB.
I keep thinking this is actually Snider’s account, but only because he has the same twitter account name… Is it?
In that case, it would make this very, very awkward.
lol I would hope Travis has better things to do with his time then be an armchair gm
Don’t worry, Snider is getting sent down with class.
Photoshop creds are my own.
well done! haha