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Archives for March 2012

Poll: Which Team Will End Its Playoff Drought First?

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In the past decade, 80% of baseball’s 30 teams have made it to the playoffs at least once. That leaves six franchises that haven’t appeared in a postseason game in the last ten years: the Mariners, Orioles, Blue Jays, Pirates, Royals and Nationals/Expos. 

It’d be a surprise if the Mariners, Orioles, Pirates or Royals made a postseason appearance this year, but the Nationals and Blue Jays could contend, especially now that there’s a second Wild Card berth in each league. That said, the NL East and AL East project as tough divisions, so you could make a case for a number of teams (most recent postseason appearance in parentheses).

Which of the six clubs below will end its playoff drought first?

  • Nationals (1981 NLCS as Expos) 49% (8,471)
  • Blue Jays (1993 World Series) 26% (4,479)
  • Royals (1985 World Series) 11% (1,893)
  • Pirates (1992 NLCS) 7% (1,202)
  • Mariners (2001 ALCS) 5% (818)
  • Orioles (1997 ALCS) 2% (384)

Total votes: 17,247

NL West Notes: Dodgers, Padres, D’Backs, Montero

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Earlier this evening, Jeff Moorad stepped down as the CEO of the Padres.  Here's more on the situation in San Diego and other notes from the National League West..

Quick Hits: Braves, Red Sox, Francona, Ortiz

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On this day twelve years ago, the Expos traded players to be named later and Jake Westbrook to the Yankees for pitcher Hideki Irabu.  One of those Bronx-bound PTBNLs wound up right-hander Ted Lilly.   The Bombers would deal Lilly to the A's a little more than two years later in a massive three-team trade.  Here's a look at what's happening today..

  • The Braves hold a $12MM option on Brian McCann for 2013 and veteran Chipper Jones would be sad to see him go elsewhere, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  Jones, who will retire after this season, believes that McCann is the type of player that "you want to build a ballclub around," tweets Crasnick.
  • Working as an analyst for ESPN, former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona got the chance to reconnect with his former team earlier today.  Francona just got around to speaking with owner John Henry last month and Tito says that the conversation should have happened sooner, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
  • If David Ortiz wound up going to arbitration with the Red Sox, players' union chief Michael Weiner says that it would have been a case for the ages, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.  The two parties settled at $14.575MM, the midpoint between $12.65MM and $16.5MM.

Heyman On Lannan, Rangers, Pirates, Padres

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Here’s a look at the latest from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com..

  • The Tigers are still showing interest in Nationals left-hander John Lannan, Heyman writes.  Tigers people believe that they can find a solid fifth starter from the young pitchers that are competing for the spot, but owner Mike Ilitch’s win-now attitude could lead the team to deal for the Nats hurler.  Washington might be less eager to deal Lannan in the wake of Chien-Ming Wang’s hamstring injury but they could move Lannan and plug Ross Detwiler in the No. 5 slot.
  • The Rangers are in the market for a righty hitting outfielder, Heyman tweets.  Texas has plenty of pitching depth to dangle in front of teams but might prefer to hold on to their surplus.
  • The Pirates would like to shore up their catching situation and also add a lefty reliever to the mix, according to Heyman (via Twitter).  
  • Padres’ CEO Jeff Moorad stepped down from his role because he realized that he wouldn’t have enough votes to back him, tweets Heyman.  Padres president and COO Tom Garfinkel is now set to assume CEO duties on an interim basis.

Dodgers Designate Ramon Troncoso For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that they designated right-hander Ramon Troncoso for assignment.  The move was made in order to reinstate Ronald Belisario from the restricted list.

Troncoso, 29, spent most of 2011 with the club's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5.05 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 35 appearances.  Over the last four seasons, Troncoso has a 3.92 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 175 games for the Dodgers' varsity squad.

Jeff Moorad Steps Down As Padres CEO

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Jeff Moorad has stepped down as the Padres' CEO, the team announced. President and COO Tom Garfinkel will assume CEO duties on an interim basis, while Moorad will stay on as vice chairman and oversee the Padres' relationship with FOX Sports San Diego.

Moorad recently dropped his application to become the controlling partner of the Padres. He had two years remaining to complete his purchase of the team, but he appeared to be having trouble winning over MLB owners and obtaining their support. In the meantime, John Moores still owns the club.

One club source told Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter) that Garfinkel has been running club all along and the move doesn't hurt the club in terms of stability or strength.

Quick Hits: Wuertz, Oswalt, Jimenez, Matsuzaka

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Earlier today Chipper Jones announced he’ll retire following the 2012 season. Here are some other updates from around the Major Leagues…

  • Michael Wuertz threw for 15 teams today, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Roy Oswalt doesn’t expect to pitch in the Major Leagues before June, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The Cardinals have uncertainty atop their rotation and other openings could emerge around the league, but the free agent right-hander seems content to wait for now.
  • Ubaldo Jimenez explained to Yahoo's Jeff Passan that the disappointing ending to his tenure in Colorado wasn't related to money. “It’s not about the contract,” Jimenez said. “People are going to say that. They know what it is.” The Indians are optimistic that Jimenez will put together a healthy season reminiscent of his breakout 2010 campaign.
  • Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Daisuke Matsuzaka could join the rotation by early June, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne. The right-hander is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

DePaula Obtains Visa; Yankees Deal Still In Place

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Rafael DePaula is finally on the verge of beginning his professional baseball career. The pitching prospect agreed to sign with the Yankees for $500K in November, 2010, but hasn’t had a visa until now, so the deal hasn’t been completed. Agent Charisse Espinosa-Dash told MLBTR today that DePaula has his visa and that the original deal is expected to go through once the Dominican right-hander passes a physical.

MLB suspended DePaula in 2009 and he later confessed to using a false identity. The 6'2" right-hander had a sharp breaking ball and a plus fastball that touched the mid-90s at the time that he signed, according to Baseball America. DePaula, who turns 21 this month, had been working out at the Yankees' Dominican academy.

NL East Notes: Chipper, Blanton, Utley

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Baseball America recently ranked all 30 organizations based on how much talent has passed through their systems since the end of the 2008 season and the Nationals and Braves place third and sixth, respectively. The Marlins (11th) and Phillies (12th) were also better than average, but the Mets were 28th. Here are today's NL East-related links…

  • The Phillies are less motivated to trade Joe Blanton than they were earlier in the spring, when Joel Pineiro was around, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links).
  • The Phillies are cautiously optimistic about Chase Utley and hopeful that Ryan Howard will play in early May, Knobler writes.
  • Braves third baseman Chipper Jones told reporters that his upcoming retirement will be final, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes (Twitter link). "I'm very comfortable with this decision and I'm ready to stick to it," Jones said this morning while discussing his decision.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Sonnanstine, Jimenez

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Keeping track of the latest outright assignments…

  • The Cubs announced that they outrighted right-hander Andy Sonnanstine to Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs now have 39 players on their 40-man roster. Sonnanstine signed with the Cubs in December after posting a 5.55 ERA with as many walks as strikeouts (12) in 35 2/3 innings for the Rays in 2011.
  • The Mariners announced that they outrighted left-hander Cesar Jimenez to Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners, who had placed the reliever on waivers earlier this week, now have three open spots on their 40-man roster. Jimenez, 27, pitched briefly with the Mariners last year and spent most of the season in the bullpen at Tacoma. He has missed considerable time with injuries in recent years.

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