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Archives for September 2012

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

Huntington Talks Front Office Changes, Pirates’ Slump

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Before the Pirates broke their five-game losing streak in Houston this afternoon for only their eighth win in their previous 31 games, GM Neal Huntington sat down with reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

  • Amid a growing clamor that Huntington's job is no longer secure, news broke this week about the Pirates holding military drills for their prospects. Huntington, however, downplayed the need for Owner Bob Nutting and/or President Frank Coonelly to make any changes to the front office, "If Bob or Frank decide to make a change and bring in a new general manager, that's their call. I sure hope they don't. I believe in the people I'm working with, I believe in what we're doing and how we're doing it. I don't see making a change at any leadership position at this point in time. I believe in their leadership, character and ability. Winning masks a lot of not-so-good things. Losing masks a lot of very good things."
  • Assistant GM Kyle Stark, the architect of the military drill idea, was defended by Huntington. "Kyle Stark is a tremendous front-office executive — intelligence, character, abilities. When you're a leader and you're willing to have a tough conversation, you tend to have people who may not always like you. That's what we're dealing with right now."
  • Huntington also tried to put Stark's email (full text provided by Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) about the drills into context, "The impact Kyle has had on our overall development (of players) because of his desire to learn the whole person is remarkable. Out of context is a dangerously abused term in our industry. But when you take one email and try to paint the whole man or our development system, it's inaccurate. That terminology was used to connect with 18- to 25-year-olds. They don't want to hear about 'cohesiveness' or 'team-building' or 'preparation.' But when you use the terminology that grabs them … We're not trying to create Boy Scouts, native American warriors, Hell's Angels or hippies. We're trying to get (players) to think like that. We're using images and metaphors to connect a message." 
  • The Pirates are also dealing with their second consecutive second-half slump that has seen them win as many games as the the 50-win Astros since August 15. Huntington gave his theory for this year's collapse, "As we've tried to evaluate metrically how we've gotten here, you look at the numbers and we weren't supposed to be 16 games over .500. We should have been closer to eight (games), which is still progress. What's happened since Aug. 1, batting averages on balls in play have plummeted for our hitters and increased for our pitchers, especially with runners in scoring position. It doesn't mean it's bad luck, but … yes, it means it's bad luck. There is a double-edged sword in that we've done some things to not play well and we've had some things go against us. Is the last six weeks the way we envisioned our season? Absolutely not. Every team has tough stretches; ours, unfortunately, has been longer and late (in the season)."
  • Huntington also blamed the team's struggles on players trying to do too much, according to MLB.com's Tom Singer. Said Huntington, "We define players in one of three categories, and one of them is 'survivor.' A survivor is someone who cares about surviving, about staying in the big leagues. We've had some guys fall back into survivor mode these last two months. It isn't a selfish mindset, so to speak. But you see men on first-and-second and nobody out, and instead of making sure to get the runner over, you try to hit a three-run homer. It's well-intended, but when you get outside of your game and try to do too much — the age-old excuse — you start to get yourself in trouble." 

NL Notes: Cardinals, Davey Johnson, Giants

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Jimmy Dugan, Tom Hanks' character in A League of Their Own, memorably blurted, "There's no crying in baseball!" Now comes a mysterious member of the St. Louis Cardinals who offered this bit of sage advice, "No kissing teammates on the mouth." Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch chronicled this was the response, written on the team's marker board, to Adam Wainwright's comments that he kissed Carlos Beltran for hitting the game-tying 9th inning home run in the Cardinals' 5-4, 10-inning victory over the Cubs yesterday and that he wanted to kiss him on the mouth. Beltran is not in the lineup today because of an illness. Manager Mike Matheny, for one, is glad Wainwright reserved his kissing for the cheek.

  • Goold, in a separate article, explains the Cardinals' minor league philosophy is to groom contenders. They are succeeding with four affiliates making the playoffs this season including Double-A Springfield's Texas League championship. Goold's piece also features the standout and breakout player at each level.  
  • Davey Johnson, a leading candidate to win the NL Manager of the Year award, is not under contract to be the Nationals' manager next season. His 2013 deal only covers him being a team consultant. Does he want to manage next season? Johnson told reporters, including MLB.com's William Ladson, "I've had conversations with (GM Mike) Rizzo about that, and he had conversations with ownership. I feel good about my situation. I feel good about where we are at. Those things will be addressed after the season. I think Rizzo and ownership are perfectly comfortable when deciding to have me back after this season is over. Again, I'm comfortable with that, too. Let's see what happens."  
  • Giants' manager Bruce Bochy says all five starters will be on the team's post-season roster, writes Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. This would include Barry Zito, who was left off the roster for each round of the playoffs during the Giants' World Series title run in 2010.

Quick Hits: Marlins, Blue Jays, Phillies, Dodgers

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Sunday afternoon linkage..

  • Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is angry at manager Ozzie Guillen for comments the manager made that were critical of him, a person who spoke with team officials told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.  Guillen made a series of comments on Friday that touched on his own job security and Loria's relationship with previous managers.  Earlier today we ran down the latest news out of Miami.
  • Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos told reporters, including Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, that he believes the Orioles' success is due in large part to their strong bullpen.  Looking ahead, Anthopoulos says that he hopes to emulate that.
  • Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer previews what the 2013 Phillies might look like and sees a team with Chase Utley at third and a big ticket acquisition in centerfield.  The feeling around the club is that the high-priced pickup will be someone like B.J. Upton or Michael Bourn.
  • While some have posited that the Dodgers' woes are due to a lack of team chemistry, some club officials believe that the team is plagued by raised expectations, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Dodgers went from David to Goliath in the blink of an eye, which has led some to believe that a number of hitters are pressing.

Marlins Notes: Guillen, Loria, Beinfest

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Earlier this week, it was reported that the Marlins are thinking about firing manager Ozzie Guillen and have contacted at least one potential replacement for him.  There were also rumblings that owner Jeffrey Loria was ready to shake up the front office starting with a dismissal of president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest, but sources say that won't be taking place.  Here's the latest on the Marlins, courtesy of MLB.com's Joe Frisaro..

  • Loria made it clear to his front office that he would be keeping the status quo within 24 hours of the report that indicated Beinfest would be bumped in favor of assistant GM Dan Jennings.  When asked about the report, Loria told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he “never comments on any ridiculous and fabricated rumors", but stopped short of a full denial.
  • As the rumors about Guillen's status build, a source said that the owner has not reached a conclusion.  If Loria had decided to retain Guillen, then he most likely would have said something this weekend as he did with Beinfest and the rest of the front office.  Several sources have said that there is a "60 percent" chance that Guillen won't be back.
  • Guillen’s status also could be impacted by some other candidates.  For example, if the Marlins could convince Mike Lowell to take the job, then Guillen could be out.  However, sources told Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald yesterday that Lowell won't be considered for the job.

Cafardo On Angels, Ross, Loney, Carp, Scioscia

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that there could be a few interesting options for manager Terry Francona this offseason.  There could be two additional openings for the former Red Sox manager with reports indicating that the Angels' Mike Scioscia and Jim Leyland of the Tigers could be in danger of being dismissed this offseason.  Cafardo opines that either team would be ideal for Tito as both teams have the resources to improve and he would be inheriting the same kind of talent-rich team he had in Boston after the 2003 season.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • Outfielder Cody Ross has three major-market teams – the Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox – very interested in him.  Ross has made it clear that he would like to stay in Boston and Larry Lucchino said earlier this week that the club is beginning the process of keeping him for next season and beyond. 
  • The Red Sox are also thinking about re-signing James Loney and he is receptive to coming back, but he could pick up attention in a thin first base market.  The Rays can be expected to kick the tires on Loney as they are unlikely to re-sign Carlos Pena.
  • Mariners first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp could be expendable as the club is likely committed to Justin Smoak at first base.  Carp is starting to appear on a few teams’ wish lists and one NL scout is rather high on him.  “He’s an interesting name,” said the scout. “He’s been buried on that roster in a big ballpark, and if you take him out of there, he may break out. He’s someone you’d take a chance on.”
  • One Angels exec expects to see Scioscia back in the dugout for the Halos next season.  “It would be shocking for me,” said the executive. “I know there have been some issues, but Mike is one of the best, and that’s widely recognized. Guys like Sosh don’t come along very often, which is why he has the long-term contract that he does.“But I suppose crazier things have happened.”  Scioscia is signed to a lucrative contract through 2018.
  • The Red Sox could consider Ed Wade as they seek experienced front office help.  There has also been talk that the Sox would consider Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, but that would require LaCava being offered a bigger title.
  • Rays bench coach Dave Martinez may now be the front-runner for the Astros job because they are using Tampa Bay as their model.  Red Sox bench coach Tim Bogar also has the Rays background and is tight with former Astros second baseman Craig Biggio, who is on the panel that will pick the next manager.

Quick Hits: Andrus, Blue Jays, Astros, Karstens

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Congratulations are in order for the Reds, who clinched their second NL Central title in the last three years with this afternoon's win over the Dodgers. Top offseason addition Mat Latos threw eight shutout innings in the win. Here's the latest from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…

  • The Rangers will not trade Elvis Andrus this winter, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). They haven't had any talks about moving him and don't plan to.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com Gregor Chisholm that Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow are the only starters guaranteed a rotation spot next year (Twitter link). Both pitchers are signed to guaranteed multiyear contract extensions.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle that he will meet with owner Jim Crane and other front office members on Monday to "gauge the pace" of their managerial search.
  • Jeff Karstens has not started a game for the Pirates since August, and Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says (on Sulia) that it could be because the front office wants to get a longer look at some other starters. Karstens will earn $3.1MM this year and is a non-tender candidate.
  • Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times looked back at all the prospects traded by Ned Colletti during his tenure as Dodgers GM. Only two — Edwin Jackson and Steve Johnson — are playing important roles for contenders this year.

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Greinke, Dodgers, Pirates

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Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, via his Full Count video…

  • The Dodgers did not try to acquire Zack Greinke before the trade deadline, but expect them to pursue him as a free agent this winter. They won't shy away from the best starter available despite concerns about his ability to pitch in a big market.
  • The Brewers spent roughly $180MM less on Aramis Ramirez than the Tigers spent on Prince Fielder, but Ramirez has provided similar production. The 34-year-old is hitting .299/.363/.536 with 25 homers and an NL-best 47 doubles.
  • Few in baseball will be surprised if changes are made to the Pirates front office given the club's second half slide and recent reports of Navy SEALS type training for their top prospects.
  • The Braves tried to acquire Greg Dobbs at the deadline, but the Marlins declined because they felt his presence was too important to the clubhouse. That was after the Hanley Ramirez trade, suggesting that other clubhouse issues exist.

Clemens Leaves Door Open For Pitching In 2013

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Speaking at today's Astros Legends Luncheon, Roger Clemens left the door open for pitching again next year according to Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Earlier this month we learned that the seven-time Cy Young Award winner would like to be with Houston in 2013.

Clemens, 50, has made two starts for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in recent weeks. He threw eight shutout innings total and ran his fastball up into the upper-80s. The Astros did scout his outings and team owner Jim Crane did confirm that he's open to signing the veteran right-hander. Clemens is scheduled to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time next year, but pitching in a big league game would rest his five-year waiting period.

Marlins Unlikely To Shake Up Front Office

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Despite rumors to the contrary, two sources say that owner Jeffrey Loria does not plan to make any changes to his front office staff, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.  President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest, under contract through 2015, would appear safe for at least another year.

While Beinfest may not have to worry about losing his job this winter, manager Ozzie Guillen's status is still very much in the year.  Sources say that Loria is still mulling a decision on whether to fire Guillen after meeting Friday with his front office contingent and club president David Samson in New York.  Mike Lowell has been among the names connected to the job, but sources say that he would not be among those considered.

Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the club has already contacted at least one potential managerial replacement and are likely to go with an inexpensive alternative if they move on from Guillen.

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