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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dodgers, Nationals, Rasmus

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On this date back in 1988, a hobbling Kirk Gibson pinch hit for reliever Alejandro Pena with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Dodgers down by one to the Athletics in Game One of the World Series. Dennis Eckersley, who finished second in the Cy Young voting that year, recorded two quick outs before walking the light hitting Mike Davis (.196/.260/.270 that year) in front of Gibson. You all know what happened next. Gibson battled Eck for six pitches before the Oakland reliever finally hung a slider, a pitch that resulted in one of the most famous home runs in World Series history.

Injuries limited Gibson to just that one plate appearance in the Fall Classic, which the Dodgers went on to win four games to one. Joe Posnanski ranked Jack Buck's and Vin Scully's call of the play the fifth greatest in sports history. These links might not be all-time greats, but they're still the best from the past week of the internet…

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Odds & Ends: Choo, Nationals, Lee, Pujols

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Links for Tuesday night, as Cliff Lee and the Rangers look to advance to the ALCS….

Nationals Face Decision On Chien-Ming Wang

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Chien-Ming Wang pitched again in the instructional league today, and Bob Klapisch tweets word from a scout that he looked "filthy."  Wang hit 89 mph and got four groundballs in 17 pitches, reports MASN's Ben Goessling.

If the Nationals want to retain Wang, they could simply tender him a contract for no less than $1.6MM, or work out a new agreement before the non-tender deadline. If the Nats non-tendered Wang and still wanted to bring him back, they'd have to either wait until May to sign him to a major league deal or sign him to a minor league contract and keep him in the minors until May 1st.

On October 6th, Goessling wrote that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo expects to work out a new deal with Wang before the December 2nd non-tender deadline; Wang's agent Alan Nero also told Goessling he expects to reach some kind of agreement with the team. The Nationals signed Wang in February to a $2MM deal with $3MM in performance bonuses, but his recovery from July '09 shoulder surgery became drawn out and prevented him from facing hitters until recently.

Odds & Ends: Rothschild, Listach, Wallach, Alderson

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Some links to check out as the Reds try to extend their season…

  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune reminds us that Cubs' pitching coach Larry Rothschild has until tomorrow to pick up his option for 2011. Rothschild has worked closely with Carlos Zambrano over the last several years, watching over him like a "substitute teacher," to use Sullivan's words.
  • Meanwhile, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that Nationals third base coach Pat Listach is no longer a candidate to manage the Cubs. 
  • Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that Tim Wallach will serve as either the Dodgers bench or third base coach next season unless another team hires him to be their manager.
  • Sandy Alderson asked and received permission from Bud Selig to interview with the Mets for the GM vacancy next Thursday or Friday, and The New York Post's Joel Sherman says that's an indication that Alderson wants the job badly.
  • Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer ranks everyone on the Indians 40-man roster based on what they did in 2010 and what they're expected to contribute in 2011.
  • In a mailbag piece, Hoynes says that insurance would cover some of the $28.75MM left on Travis Hafner's contract if he lands on the disabled list with a right shoulder issue. Pronk has been battling injuries to the shoulder since 2008.
  • John Tomase of The Boston Herald looks at all of the non-closer relievers who signed a multi-year deal worth at least $5MM over the last four seasons. In summary, it's not pretty. Not at all.

Manager & Coaching Rumors: Heyman’s Picks, Nats, Mets

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Not a lot of player news happening right now in the midst of the playoffs, but there's plenty of speculation going on about the guys who call the shots. We already heard about Ron Gardenhire's inevitable extension today, but let's take a look at some more links from the baseball universe:

  • In these two tweets, Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman makes his picks for some open managerial positions: Eric Wedge in Pittsburgh, Bob Melvin in Milwaukee, Bobby Valentine in Seattle, Mike Quade in Chicago, and Fredi Gonzalez in Atlanta.
  • We heard earlier this year that Jim Riggleman will manage the Nationals again next season. MLB.com's Bill Ladson tells us that the Nats' entire coaching staff will be returning for the 2011 season as well. The Nationals recorded 10 more wins in 2010 than in 2009 under the current regime.
  • Adam Rubin from ESPN New York gives us some insight into the Mets' managerial situation; potential general manager Sandy Alderson has believed it's misusing your resources to hire an expensive manager, while Mets owner Fred Wilpon would prefer a manager with previous ties to the Mets.

Odds & Ends: Blake, Kemp, Hendrickson, Matias, Hill

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If there were any doubts about how much trade deadline acquisitions can affect the postseason, last night's Giants/Braves contest silenced them. A pair of former Royals, Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth, helped lead Atlanta to victory, while ex-Red Sox Ramon Ramirez gave up Ankiel's game-winning blast. As we prepare for another round of playoff baseball tonight, let's check out a few links….

Nationals Have Interest In Matt Kemp

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If Matt Kemp becomes available this winter, the Nationals would be interested in targeting him in a trade, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said a week ago that he wasn't shopping or looking to move Kemp, but that he'd listen to any trade offers that came his way.

Kemp, 26, is coming off a disappointing 2010 campaign in which he hit just .249/.310/.450 and was publicly questioned by a few members of the Dodgers organization. While he didn't formally ask for a trade, agent Dave Stewart told Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times in August, "I'm almost to the point — and maybe so are the Dodgers — where I'm thinking that this just isn't going to work."

In addition to seeing his offensive production decline, Kemp also took a step backward defensively, registering a -24.3 UZR, worst among outfielders. Still, he's just a year removed from a 2009 season that earned him a Gold Glove and MVP votes. As Kilgore notes, Washington's .720 outfield OPS was 25th in the league in 2010, so Kemp would be an especially attractive option for the Nats.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, V-Mart, Buck, Nationals

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We at MLBTR send our best wishes to Ernie Tyler, the Orioles' 86-year-old umpires attendant who has worked every Opening Day in Baltimore for the last 51 years.  Tyler underwent brain surgery earlier this week to remove a benign tumor, and The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly reports that Tyler is progressing well in the early stages of his recovery.  We look forward to seeing Tyler at Camden Yards in April to extend his streak to 52 years.

Let's check out some news items from around the majors…

  • Speaking of Dan Connolly, he thinks Baltimore "will go hard after Victor Martinez and/or Derrek Lee," with Lee being the likelier candidate to sign with the Orioles.
  • ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes thinks the possibility of Martinez re-signing with the Red Sox "looks iffy at best," though three other ESPNBoston contributors predict the free agent will return to the Sox. 
  • Edes also notes that another free agent catcher, John Buck, has a big supporter in Boston assistant GM Allard Baird.
  • If the Nationals don't re-sign Adam Dunn, MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that Carlos Pena "is at the top of their list" of potential replacements.  Ladson also notes that Washington will "go after [James Loney] hard" if the Dodgers put him on the trade market, and that the Nats could also pursue an outfielder like Jayson Werth and fill their first-base opening from within with Josh Willingham.
  • Arizona assistant general manager Peter Woodfork and the D'Backs have reached a "mutual decision" to part ways, tweets FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi.  It's not an unexpected move since, as Morosi noted in a follow-up tweet, Woodfork has long-term ties to former Arizona GM Josh Byrnes and new D'Backs GM Kevin Towers probably wants to hire his own assistant.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a recall-filled edition of the week's minor league transactions.
  • With Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia all anchoring the staffs of World Series contenders this postseason, Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times bemoans how the Dodgers missed out on acquiring any of the three "true aces" over the last two seasons.
  • Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covered a number of Brewers topics in a chat with readers.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Theriot, Padres, Reds, Harper

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Some links on the eve of playoff baseball..

  • The Dodgers have asked Rick Honeycutt to return next season but the pitching coach is weighing his options, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
  • Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner takes a look at potential second base candidates for the M's in 2011.  Ryan Theriot, who was less-than-stellar for the Cubs and Dodgers this season, is among the players listed.
  • Jerry Hairston Jr. told Jim Bowden of XM Radio (via Twitter) that he wants to return to the Padres in 2011.
  • The Reds could be in position to contend for years to come if they keep their key pieces, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • While the O's projected rotation for 2011 is young, GM Andy MacPhail hasn't ruled out the possibility of bringing a veteran aboard to fill the place of pending free agent Kevin Millwood.
  • The Nats probably won't have Bryce Harper play in the Arizona Fall League this year, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
  • You can expect a busy winter in San Diego, writes Bill Center of the Union-Tribune.
  • Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and GM Jack Zduriencik sent a letter to fans promising better times ahead.  Larry Stone of The Seattle Times notes that Josh Lueke was omitted from a list of the system's "hard-throwing pitchers".
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) believes that the Mets should hire Logan White as their next GM.
  • The Pirates have interviewed Eric Wedge for their vacant managerial opening, tweets Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gives his thoughts on John Russell's tenure as Pirates skipper.

Adam Dunn: Type B Free Agent?

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As I mentioned earlier, Eddie Bajek's reverse-engineered Elias rankings are subject to change if we find errors.  However, the current end-of-season iteration presents an interesting possibility: Adam Dunn may be a Type B free agent.

We have Dunn at 74.166 points in the NL 1B/OF group, tied with Derrek Lee and just shy of Angel Pagan's 74.353 Type A status.  If Dunn is a Type B, here are the implications:

  • The Nationals would only be able to receive one compensation pick for losing Dunn, not two.  This would make the decision not to trade Dunn in July look worse, and could serve as extra motivation to extend him.
  • The Nationals might be more inclined to offer Dunn arbitration if he's a Type B rather than A.  Dunn's agent at Legacy Sports knows that his client's market will improve if he's a Type B, since the signing team would not have to surrender a draft pick.  An increase in Dunn's free agent stock makes him more likely to decline an arbitration offer from the Nationals in search of a multiyear deal.  The Nationals, knowing Dunn is less likely to accept as a B, might be more likely to offer him arbitration.
  • The market for Dunn will improve.  For example: at #19, the Tigers have the best unprotected draft pick for 2011.  If Dunn is a Type B who turned down an arbitration offer, they can sign him without giving up that prized pick or any others.
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