Some links pertaining to baseball's two central divisions, as the White Sox and Tigers square off in the first game of a pivotal four-game series…
- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters, including B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com and Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that Lance Berkman will have season-ending surgery on his knee tomorrow. As Strauss points out, the procedure puts Big Puma's career in serious jeopardy (Twitter links).
- Reds minor leaguers Ernest (Niko) Vasquez and Jamie Walczak both tested positive for amphetamines and received 50-game suspensions, according to this Associated Press report (hat tip: Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News). Vasquez, a third baseman, and Walczak, a right-handed pitcher, will begin their suspensions next season.
- The Twins' lineup should be able to produce in 2013 even if they bolster their pitching staff by trading Denard Span this coming offseason, Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com writes. Mackey notes that the move would give Chris Parmelee a spot in the lineup by letting him play right field. He also notes that the Twins have a surplus of outfielders with both Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks having turned in strong Double-A seasons.
That’s a shame about Berkman. I will always have “Sir Lancelot rides to the rescue! C’est lui! C’est lui!” from the 2010 ALDS…
Not surprised that Lance Berkman would have surgery now while still an active player (I personally think he’s done and we’ll next hear about him taking classes at Rice in the spring 2013 semester)—he still has the rest of his life to look forward to. Knee pain and discomfort is not fun and robs you of enjoyment.
Span to the Braves for Hanson sounds like the easiest deal to make, though that’s dependent on the Braves not resigning Bourn and what the Twins would want. (my guess is they’d try to get Delgado instead)
The Twins have had a lot of players in their top twenty that played extremely well this year. Arcia, Hicks, Sano, Rosario, and Kepler all had real nice years. Hicks, Arcia, and Rosario should all see some time next year depending on how they handle the jump to AAA. I think moving Span for good Sp+ Rp prospects would really help the team now and into the future. Rivere can go the year in center without embarrassing anyone. They have got to do something about that rotation. Diamond is the only guy I have any faith running out there, and he is really a 4-5 type guy. Duensing needs to move back into the bullpen. They need to move Perkins and move Burton into the closer role. Perkins is a very good pitcher on a not too shabby contract. They might just be able to get something really valuable for him. I say start digging around for a couple 4-5 type guys like Mortensen, and make a play for McCarthy if he heals up. Atlanta will not resign Bourne. Call them and ask for Delgado+ Avilan for Span. Look for someone like Julio Borbon to fill in in the outfield. Get Parmelee at bats! This guy has nothing left to prove, he needs his reps. See what you have then evaluate for the future. If this organization can get some rotation help, then they can be right back in the thick of things by 2014.
Calm down on Rosario. He was at low A this year so I would highly doubt he makes the jump to AAA next season and especially not the majors.
Hicks has been up before and you still have Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham in OF.
Hicks has never been past AA, but the Twins do need to unload an OFer this offseason.
Why would Span be worth anything? An aging no power OF. I do not expect the phones to be ringing off the hook for him.
It is amazing how every year he gets one year older, but he isn’t old at 28. He is a lead-off hitter that plays solid defense and gets on base. I am sure a couple teams would be happy to have him.
agreed..the Reds have some up and coming pitching depth, and Drew Stubbs just isnt getting any better….Span could fill the gap in center/leadoff for a couple of years until Hamilton is ready
Interesting about the Reds players because the 60-70s era you had many HOFs as admitted users and claimed that it helped their performance. Granted it wasn’t banned until 2006!
Players up until that year were able to use ‘greenies’ But it still is considered a performance enhancer and gives an perceived edge to player over other players who are not users.
Yet HOF players who used amphetamines throughout history were voted in. According to the HOF voters it was a totally different era and it was legal back then. See where I’m going with this.
There is too much grey area in the mindset of HOF voters. Its sad that someone who has lived with his punishment everyday like Pete Rose is unable to get in because many others feel he disrespected the game and totally ignore the fact many others have done equally wrong things and still got in.
Personally I suspect that Mike Trout is on something. It’s just not normal for a rookie, let alone a 21 year old rookie, to be putting up those kinds of numbers. It’s pretty surreal and I wouldn’t be surpsrised if he fails something