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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Joe Blanton

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A few notes on the Joe Blanton trade from around the Blogosphere…

  • The Fightins wonder if acquiring Blanton was a good move and feel that J.A. Happ deserved another shot to grab a spot in the rotation.
  • The 700 Level says that Blanton is not the #2 starter that the Phils needed, but he does add depth to the rotation.
  • Phillies Nation wonders if the Phils could now flip Brett Myers (and change) to the Rockies for Matt Holliday.
  • Philliesflow feels that trading for Blanton was a move that needed to be made, but wonder if the Phillies overpaid for a starter who was struggling in a pitcher’s park.
  • Beerleaguer feels that at worst Blanton is a Jon Lieber-type, but could be a strong starter for the rest of ’08. However, they are worried about Blanton beyond this season.
  • Athletic Supporters feels that the Blanton deal will have little impact on the ’08 A’s but could put the team in a better position to dip their feet into the free agency waters after the season.
  • Catfish Stew is surprised at the quality of the prospects that the A’s were able to land for Blanton.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Brewers, White Sox, Astros, Harden

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A few minor notes from around the MLBiverse…

  • Jon Heyman came up with a list of 19 pitchers that could be made available prior to the trade deadline. He also presents a list of 12 candidates that the Mariners may consider for their vacant GM position.
  • The Brewers’ assistant GM indicated the team would like to add a starting pitcher to give the pitching staff more depth.
  • Ken Williams says that he is happy with the White Sox’ roster and has not assigned scouts to specific players on other teams that could be available.
  • Richard Justice says that the Astros will not ship off veterans before the trade deadline, but also notes that they might not be able to even if they wanted to be active sellers.
  • Rich Harden struck out 11 in eight shutout innings in front of a number of scouts two nights ago.  Also at this link, Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin have heard trade rumors about themselves.  Gaudin is "convinced that he’s going to be traded."
  • Derek Jeter vouched for Shawn Chacon’s character.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here.  Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.

Schilling Could Return In ’09

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Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald is reporting that Curt Schilling’s shoulder surgery went well and he could pitch again in ’09.

“If I want to pitch again, I have a chance to. That’s the bottom line,” Schilling told WEEI yesterday morning. “I’m trying to assess if I’m going to be able to make the commitment for this to happen.”

While a return to the Red Sox may seem like the most obvious destination for Schilling, it will be interesting to see if Theo Epstein is willing to throw good money after bad money. The Red Sox gave Schilling a 1-year/$8MM deal before learning that he would not pitch at all this season.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here.

Billy Beane To Step Down In ’09?

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According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News, the A’s assistant general manager David Forst has turned down all interview requests. The feeling is that Forst is expected to take over for Billy Beane as Oakland GM as early as next season.

It has been reported previously that Beane would like to test his Moneyball strategies in soccer. A’s owner Lewis Wolff also owns the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS and Beane may decide to focus his attention on the soccer franchise in ’09. It is unclear whether Beane will remain involved with the baseball operations.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here .

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Sabathia

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A few notes on recent rumors involving C.C. Sabathia from the Blogosphere…

  • At the time of the Johan Santana deal with the Mets, many thought the contract would raise the price for Sabathia. The Tribe Time Report wonders if the Santana deal, as well as the Barry Zito deal might actually have been a good thing for the Indians as other teams are more likely to balk at Sabathia’s demands.
  • Tribal Pursuit feels many Indians fans will be unhappy with the package of players the team receives for Sabathia, if dealt.
  • Waiting For Next Year does not believe the Indians have any leverage in their attempt to sign Sabathia to an extension before the trading deadline.
  • Outs Per Swing does not see the Rays mortgaging their future for a rental player like Sabathia.
  • Knuckle Curve sees four teams as the most likely destinations for Sabathia, including the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers.
  • Bugs and Cranks has an image of what Sabathia might look like if traded to the Brewers.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Beckham, Rangers, Peterson, Drew

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A few more minor notes from the MLBiverse…

  • Marc Lancaster is reporting that Tim Beckham, the top pick of the Rule 4 draft, will be visiting Tropicana Field at the end of the week and his father believes that a deal will be in place by the end of the weekend.  The rest of the first rounders could sign quickly once Beckham and the Rays set the benchmark.
  • Jamey Newberg wonders if the Rangers will have a hard time making trades because their farm system is so deep.  The Rays might have the same problem.
  • Jeff Passan names his All-Overpaid and All-Underpaid teams.
  • Could Rick Peterson reunite with Barry Zito in San Francisco?
  • Dave Cameron says J.D. Drew was worth the money.
  • A reader emailed in saying he saw Mets scout Jerry Krause at the White Sox-Pirates game.  Krause might be the game’s most publicly recognizable scout.

Yankees Sign Ponson

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The Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that the Yankees have signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract.

The Yankees just announced that they have signed right-handed pitcher Sidney Ponson to a Triple-A contract. Presumably, this means Ponson will report to Scranton, but it would seem likely that he’d get a shot in the Yankees’ major-league rotation soon.

Ponson was released by the Rangers on Monday, 10 days after being DFA’d for "disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations unbecoming of teammates." Ponson was 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA in 9 starts with the Rangers.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here.

Volquez For Hamilton Revisited

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Recently Bob Nightengale of USA Today revisited the off-season deal that sent Edinson Volquez from the Rangers to the Reds for Josh Hamilton. Nightengale noted that both teams have no regrets and that the deal "continues to reverberate around baseball".

Rarely does a deal work out so well for both teams, especially so soon. Volquez is one of the early candidates for the NL Cy Young and Hamilton is an early leader for the AL MVP. Both are expected to be All-Stars next month.

It is rare for two teams to swap young players of this caliber, although this was just one of two such deals this past winter. The Twins and Rays swapped Matt Garza and Delmon Young. Unlike the Volquez-Hamilton deal, the Garza-Young deal has been more beneficial for the Rays, at least early on.

This got me thinking…Has there ever been another deal in which two young major leaguers with this level of potential were swapped for each other and made such an immediate impact for their new clubs?

Let’s here your thoughts in the comments…

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here.

Possible Replacements For Bavasi In Seattle

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John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Mariners already have a list of names that they are considering to replace the fired Bill Bavasi.

Yesterday, we saw several sources that speculated on the next GM. Hickey spoke with a former GM who came up with a list of eight names that could possibly fill the post.

  • Kevin Towers, current San Diego Padres GM: Hickey notes that Towers has stuck with San Diego through a recent front office transition and may prefer to stay with the Pads.
  • Brian Cashman, current New York Yankees GM: The M’s wanted to talk to Cashman in ’03 but were rebuked. They may get a better chance this time to land a GM that once said "who wouldn’t want [The Mariners] job."
  • Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM: Was previously a candidate for the Dodgers job and is considered ready to be a GM.
  • Jerry DiPoto, Arizona Diamondbacks director of player personnel
  • Tony Bernazard, New York Mets vice president of player development: Previously a candidate for the Pirates job, Hickey wonders if Bernazard might want out with the Mets in flux.
  • Chris Antonetti, Cleveland Indians VP of baseball operations: Hickey notes that Antonetti may prefer to stay in Cleveland, having previously turned down an offer from the Pirates to interview for their GM post.
  • Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals assistant GM and VP of baseball operations
  • Dave Forst, Oakland Athletics assistant GM

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here.

Possible Destinations For Sabathia

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Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer weighs in on the different teams that could land CC Sabathia.

  • Yankees: Despite Ken Davidoff’s report yesterday that the Yankees would not land Sabathia, Hoynes notes that the Yankees are desperate for an ace but acknowledges that they may wait until the off-season.
  • Phillies: Hoynes points out that Sabathia’s first big league manager was Charlie Manuel, but the Phillies may not have enough in the system.
  • Cubs: Hoynes feels that Lou PIniella would trade for Sabathia right now if he could.
  • Red Sox: Hoynes feels the Sox are more likely to wait until the off-season.
  • Rays: Hoynes notes that the Rays have the pieces in the farm system to land Sabathia, but wonders if they are willing to rent a player for a playoff push.
  • Angels: Hoynes points out that Sabathia is from the west coast and the Angels may have a better chance of resigning him.

Hoynes also talked to scouts about what the Indians can expect to receive if they do decide to trade the free agent-to-be.

One scout said that "they could get two young players that were at or close to the big-league level that they could control for a while" while a second scout speculates the bounty could be " two and three prospects, depending on whether that team could sign Sabathia to an extension before he becomes a free agent this winter."

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex and can be reached here.

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