Odds & Ends: Crow, Matsuzaka, Harrington
Links for Monday…
- I hosted a fantasy baseball roundtable question: what is your single biggest regret so far?
- Talking real baseball, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his list of possible offseason-related regrets.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America says Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will make their independent league debuts today. MLB.com's Bill Ladson says the Jim Bowden-less Nationals haven't ruled out taking Crow at #10, and they'll scout him today.
- Kirk Kenney wrote about the possibility of Stephen Strasburg skipping the minors.
- David Waldstein of the New York Times discovers how the Seibu Lions spent the $51.1MM posting fee from Daisuke Matsuzaka.
- Sadly, Tony Jackson was let go by the L.A. Daily News. Diamond Leung talks about Jackson, while Jon Weisman notes that the Dodgers are now down to two full-time beat writers.
- Weisman also writes about the Saturday night gathering involving Kim Ng and others.
- ESPN's Amy K. Nelson has an excellent story on Matt Harrington, who is out of baseball now.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at a bunch of young players who were locked up through their arbitration years.
Heyman On Strasburg, Pedro, Byrd
Let's take a look at the latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman.
- Heyman's on Twitter!
- Heyman runs through the surprise contenders and decides which teams are the real deal.
- The Nationals, as you know, have decided to draft Stephen Strasburg.
- Heyman learned from Yankees GM Brian Cashman that "the Yankees can't seriously consider Pedro Martinez or Paul Byrd until they're pitching somewhere." Heyman talked to another GM who estimated each player would need a month to get ready. Byrd told Yahoo's Tim Brown he needs just two weeks in the minors.
Nats, MacDougal Agree To Minor League Deal
According to the Associated Press, via the Miami Herald, the Nationals have agreed to terms on a non-guaranteed minor league contract with right-hander Mike MacDougal.
He was immediately assigned to Triple-A Syracuse. MacDougal, 32, was designated for assignment by the White Sox on April 21, after racking up a 12.46 ERA in five games. The Nationals will have the chance to retain MacDougal for 2010 as an arbitration-eligible player, if they choose.
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has more.
Olney On Strasburg
ESPN.com's Buster Olney heard that the Nationals "fully intend to draft and sign" Stephen Strasburg. Former Nats GM Jim Bowden made similar comments earlier in the week. Some rival talent evaluators expect the Nationals would shut Strasburg down if they can't sign him early. He has pitched 78.1 innings so far this year and no team would want to risk overusing an arm that valuable.
Strasburg is 10-0 with 147 strikeouts and 15 walks on the season and, as Laurence Miedema of the San Jose Mercury News reports, he hit 100 mph in his start last night.
Heyman On Nationals, Lee, A-Rod
SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column up; here are some highlights:
- Heyman spoke with a Nats person who described college pitcher Stephen Strasburg's curve as a "legit hammer." The Nats will have the chance to draft him with their first overall pick this June.
- The Nats could have a solid young rotation soon if they add Strasburg to go along with Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann, both 22. John Lannan and Scott Olsen are only 24 and 25, respectively.
- There has been contact between the Nats and Pedro Martinez, though Heyman writes that Pedro makes more sense for a team trying to win now.
- Speculation that Cliff Lee could be dealt is "not crazy at all," especially considering that last year's C.C. Sabathia deal worked well for both the Indians and Brewers.
- Heyman also weighs in on the latest Alex Rodriguez controversy.
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Teixeira, Ligtenberg
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority looks at the April offensive stat leaders.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America discussed Jim Bowden's Stephen Strasburg comments. Bowden says the Nationals' decision to draft Strasburg has been made, and predicts they'll sign him for around $15MM minutes before the deadline.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. talked to Nats interim GM Mike Rizzo about their revamped Latin American plan.
- Mark Teixeira talked to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times about his decision to sign with the Yankees.
- Brian Stensaas of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes about Kerry Ligtenberg, who is attempting a comeback with the St. Paul Saints.
- SI.com's Tom Verducci spoke with one GM who points to struggling older teams and says "it's better to be young these days."
- Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Tigers are being patient with pitchers Ryan Perry and Rick Porcello.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock doesn't expect GM Kevin Towers to sit back and watch if the Padres continues to struggle.
- Here's Baseball America's list of the hottest prospects in the minors right now.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law scouts a pair of college players who could turn up on BA's list next year: Tim Wheeler and Drew Storen.
- Twins reliever Juan Morillo cleared waivers, so he'll head to Triple A according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Odds & Ends: Bowden, Owens, Flores
Links for Thursday…
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and ESPN's Jason Churchill say high school catcher Luke Bailey is having Tommy John surgery. He might fall out of the top 20 in the draft, says Churchill.
- Thom Loverro of The Washington Times transcribes all kinds of amusing comments made by former Nationals GM Jim Bowden earlier this month. Bowden touched upon Stephen Strasburg, Mark Teixeira, and Aaron Crow.
- Alex Speier of WEEI notes that free agency hasn't done much for the Red Sox recently, outside of the Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz bargain signings.
- ESPN's Jim Caple talked to pitcher Jeff Zimmerman, who is on the comeback trail with the Mariners.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that White Sox outfielder Jerry Owens may be on the way out. It sounds like Scott Podsednik is coming up, but there will be no roster move today.
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Rockies reliever Randy Flores, currently in Triple A, is debating whether to opt out of his contract.
- Zach Berman of the Washington Post gathered quotes on new Nationals pitcher Logan Kensing.
- Tonight at 10pm CST, Seth Stohs and Twins pitcher Glen Perkins will co-host the MN GameNight radio show.
Nationals Acquire Logan Kensing
According to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, the Nationals acquired recently-designated reliever Logan Kensing from the Marlins for minor league reliever Kyle Gunderson. Gunderson was drafted out of Rice in '07.
Kensing, 26, was designated for assignment by Florida after just 7.3 innings this year. Last year, he logged 55.3 innings with a 4.23 ERA, struggling with his control. He had Tommy John surgery in August of 2006.
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Garcia, Bonds
Links for Wednesday…
- Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com grilled various Nationals about the possibility of the team signing Stephen Strasburg for big bucks.
- Righty Steven Shell elected free agency, while Nats reliever Wil Ledezma accepted a Triple A assignment according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Chico Harlan of the Washington Post discusses the Nationals' bullpen construction in this post.
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes chatted with Evan Longoria as part of his article about David Price and Matt Wieters starting the season in Triple A.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen commented about free agent Freddy Garcia, talking to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star thinks the Royals should sign Barry Bonds, and current team members seem receptive to the idea. In separate columns, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News try to figure out why Bonds hasn't retired.
Rosenthal On Yankees, Acta, Pedro
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Yankees' bullpen ranks 12th in the AL with a 6.47 ERA in 64 innings. Rosenthal learned that GM Brian Cashman isn't interested in any of the available relievers, and the plan seems to be to let them pitch their way out of the funk. Early offenders include Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and Damaso Marte. Plus, Brian Bruney is out with an elbow injury.
- Rosenthal explains some of the criticisms of Nationals manager Manny Acta. He does not think a firing is imminent, but Acta may not make it through the year.
- David Ortiz on Pedro Martinez: "When I saw him pitch, I had hot flashes of when he was here."
- Rosenthal notes the team-friendly nature of Albert Pujols' current seven-year, $100MM contract.