Four teams have at least a 98% chance of reaching the postseason this year, according to Baseball Prospectus' Playoff Odds Report. The Yankees, Rangers, Nationals and Reds look like playoff teams now, but they all saw what happened to the Braves and Red Sox last year, so I doubt any contending teams intend on coasting from this point on. Here are today’s links…
- The chances that Melky Cabrera will appear in a potential postseason game or re-sign with the Giants this offseason are "close to nil," according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, that the team wouldn't attempt to retain Juan Cruz if he clears waivers (Twitter link). The Bucs have younger players who have passed Cruz, according to Hurdle. Cruz was designated for assignment earlier today.
- The Red Sox "weren't trying very hard" to trade Josh Beckett before the non-waiver trade deadline, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Rangers and Braves are believed to be among the teams that spoke to Boston's executives about Beckett, Heyman writes. One unnamed GM said "Boston's first priority has to be to trade Josh Beckett'' this August. Another executive suggested the Rangers could make sense for Beckett, who would have to be placed on waivers to be traded this month.
- The Cardinals signed 16-year-old right-hander Ronald Medrano, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Medrano has touched 90-91 mph with his fastball and has shown good feel for his secondary pitches. He had been considered one of the top Nicaraguan prospects available, according to Badler.
- Nationals first rounder Lucas Giolito re-injured his pitching elbow and will be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum, ESPN.com's Keith Law reports. Giolito, who was at one point a candidate to be selected first overall, signed for $2.925MM after the Nationals drafted him 16th overall in June.
As far as I am concerned Josh Beckett can still pitch.
I don’t know what pitch he threw, but a Yankees left handed hitter was at bat last night.
It was a 3-2 count, the pitch originally faded toward the batter, then broke over the plate, right at the knees. Umpire fouled up though and called it a ball. Prettiest pitch I have seen in awhile. I thought it was a strike, ESPN pitch trax thought it was a strike. By the look Beckett had, he thought it was a strike as well. Alas, though the Red Sox fell behind 3 to 0 because of that missed call.
Let Me Recap: Beckett can still pitch.
I don’t know if he’s always motivated.
If he needs a change of scenery.
However, that cat can still pitch, not sure what the Red Sox offense was doing last night, but that’s another story.
I didn’t see the pitch in question but it sounds like a two-seamer. Greg Maddux made a living with that pitch. It was HILARIOUS to see left-handed batters jump out of the way just to see the pitch called a strike.
two-seam fastball maybe? that is, if Lavarnway was set up right. The rookie had some troubles with Josh last night, and how about Lavarnway airmailing it around the horn? How embarrassing to do in New York.
According to MLB play by play it was a two seam.
Jeter scored later to make it 2 nothing.
I had to look it up and read it for awhile, because I thought my memory was going fuzzy or something.
It must have been Swisher that walked.
The bottom line is the guy can still pitch, he just might need a change of scenery or something.
Generally, decline works that way. Most of the time you pitch poorly, and occasionally you show flashes of your old self. Saying he can ‘still pitch’ because he threw one beautiful pitch last night is a bit much, yeah? I would hope most starting pitchers would at throw one AT LEAST one great pitch a night. The good ones throw about 2/3 of ’em that way.
Beckett looks like a guy who isn’t going to recover this season – he just can’t put clean innings together and throw quality ball games right now, and that’s what being a good pitcher is – not having the ‘potential’ to still pitch well, or sometimes throwing one good pitch. He’s not being dinked around with either – these aren’t infield hits, bloops, broken bats, etc. Beckett is getting hit hard.
Definitely a two-seamer; when Beckett’s got his two-seam working he’ll do that all night long.
Agreed. He lives by his 2 seamer now and it has to be working now that his FB has gone over the years from mid 90’s to 91mph
As far as I’m concerned, Josh Beckett is still a grade A prima donna. Maybe a change of scenery would do him good. As talented as he may be, I don’t want him anywhere near my home team’s clubhouse.
The Josh Beckett I saw last night was not the Beckett of old. He seems to have lost that confidence / in your face, I’m going to come right after you, swagger that he once prided himself on. Beckett was still his usual self in terms of working slowly and mixing in his offspeed 12-6 curve with his fastball & other stuff, but in terms of demeanor on the mound he just seemed different. I know for a fact he misses pitching to Jason Varitek’s floppy catcher mitt. He always did better it seems when throwing the ball toward the captain.
There was no retaliation from Josh after the 2 out RBI’s and no emotion besides disappointment shown after Ichiro hit his homers. Fans from Boston needs to understand that Beckett regardless of his name brand, and past with the team is likely a goner in the coming days. Especially with Crawford likely to get his surgery. The 2012 Red Sox are done and it’s time to shed the final excess piece in Josh Beckett. Truth be told, firesales are ok.
For a fact, eh? Who’s your source on your fact?
Yeah, this isn’t the Josh Beckett who got into Kenny Lofton’s face during the 2007 ALCS. The desire to kick *** and take names doesn’t seem in him right now. Whether it’s his annoyance with the media, him missing Tek, or whatever I’m not sure it matters any more. The only problem is if the Sox trade him they’ll be paying most of his salary and they won’t get anything great back for him.
easier to be (and to seem like) a bulldog when your fastball sits at 94 instead of 91
beckett still has all the tools to be a top-shelf starter – including the intensity (ask will middlebrooks). what he sorely needs and has yet to develop is schilling-style focus and dedication. i don’t mean less golf and more workouts; that has nothing to do with it. i mean approaching every game and every at-bat like it was game 7
for all schilling’s faults, his greatest strength might have been how seriously he took his job and how hard he worked at it mentally in addition to physically. josh has the stuff to be as good as schilling was at the end of his career, but without the commitment it just won’t happen. the margin for error at 91 MPH is a lot smaller than at 94
I agree Beckett needs to move on but that’s hardly a fire sale. More like trimming the fat.
I thought Juan Cruz did a good job for Pittsburgh this year. I can think of a dozen or more teams that could use him tonight, plus the Angels who are off tonight.
I agree. A high WHIP and older age was enough I guess. I thought it strange to let loose a servicable veteran in a penant race. Especially with Sept. around the corner. They did not think twice either. Who are the kids who have ‘passed him by’?
Justin Wilson, Kyle McPherson, Bryan Morris, Jeff Locke, Rick VandenHurk, Tim Wood, Chris Leroux, Daniel McCutchen, Doug Slaten, Duke Welker…
…pretty much everybody in the system not named Evan Meek.
Cruz was useful in April/May. Since then not so much. Never a clean inning and maddening to watch. You’d think with a supposed arsenal of 9 different pitches he can throw for strikes, he’d pick the right one more often. But yeah, even with his deficiencies, he’s probably a middle relief upgrade for a couple of contenders so he’ll have a job by Monday. The Pirates are crazy flush with bullpen options.
A’s just traded for Stephen Drew
Since my pipe dream of the Mets signing Upton is long gone, I hope they take a risk and grab Melky. It probably won’t work out, but something is better than nothing.
@diehardmets
Come Spring Training, Melky is going to have all kind of marks on his body from teams having touched him with 10 FT poles. That’s how close the Mets should come to him.
While I disagree with your opinion, funny post.
Earlier this season, the Pirates Juan Cruz and they got em. Now that they have him, they no Juan him anymore. Does anybody Juan Cruz?
Beckett goes to the NL and becomes next seasons AJ Burnett. Guaranteed.