Five still free agents that could make 2010 better
Five still free agents that could make 2010 better
Hey gang!
There are not a lot of free agents still out there, but there are a few that could make a difference if, and that two letter word is huge, Neal Huntington could get them to sign with the Pirates.
I’ll start by saying we can eliminate obvious people. We can scratch off Pedro and Smoltz. Those guys are only coming to Pittsburgh with big money or if we are in the pennant race in late July. While the latter is possible, it’s not likely in 2010.
So I put a short list together of five guys that I could see coming here, if the opportunity was right.
1. Garret Anderson-Yes, this isn’t the guy that hit 30 homers several times for the Angels of Anaheim. He is a shell of that player as we found out in Atlanta last year. But his numbers were still pretty decent. Garret still had 13 homers, 61 RBI and he hit .264 in 124 games. This is a guy that could become your fourth outfielder. He’s still being mentioned for that role in Dodgertown. He would also be a big hitter off the bench. He is not the defensive guy he used to be, but that is normal with age and will be true of all four offensive players I’ll throw up here.
2. Hank Blalock-Hank hit 25 bombs last year and is still looking for work. The two knocks on Blalock are simple. First, he is a porcelain doll injury wise. However, he played 123 games last year, which is his best total since 2006. But he K’s a lot and hit a terrible .234 in 462 at bats. He could be a good platoon still at either corner position. Again, resting and coming off the bench might be good for Hank in the beginning. Up until the Indians re-signed Russell Branyan, he looked like their man. Before that, the Pirates, Braves and Orioles have all tinkered with the idea of bringing Blalock aboard.
3. Carlos Delgado-I would’ve put Carlos in the same category with Pedro and Smoltz, but Delgado may not be worried about a half season paycheck. He’ll be looking for a team to give him a chance to make the payola for his next contract. Keep in mind, before his hip injury last year, he hit 38 homers and drove in 115 and played every game but three in 2008. His agent said last week that he will need four months to recover after the surgery. That means again if the Pirates are close this is worth a gamble. Pay him the money and take your chances that this bat might take you over the top.
4. Braden Looper-Money is this guy’s best friend because his agent is Scott Boras. Those two words leave a bad taste in your mouth from the get-go. However, this is a guy that would fit in your rotation and probably would not be as horrible as the Matt Morris move was a few years back. He won 14 games despite a 5.22 ERA in 194 2/3 innings. He will eat innings. He may not strike everyone out, but he started 34 games last year for the Brewers and that consistency of knowing he’ll take the ball every five days might be worth a few extra bucks.
5. Dmitri Young-Don’t laugh at me for this one. Yes, he has been hurt almost all of 2009 and we’ve heard nada on the radar for this guy in 2010 and he played in Washington. However, Young might not be looking at a starting gig. Having his bat off the bench plus the in-house influence he could be make him worth looking at, if healthy. Granted, there are some who argue about his past. But remember, Young was a model citizen once the Nationals gave him a chance.
So are there any other guys you’d like to see the Pirates give a shot to that are available?
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All on you, fish catchers…
So with spring training in full swing and the first exhibition games almost upon us, one would be forgiven if they were excited over how even the Nationals have everlasting hope for the new year…
And with the offseason in the rearview mirror, its now time to look at what each team did and judge if theyre gonna be a force to be reconed with this season. Opinions vary as always, but one thing 99% of the baseball population agree on is that the Mariners are gonna show up to the pennant race this time.
…The AL west might actually *gasp* be up for grabs this year.
Seriously, the ALw has a history of being decided by opening day. The other 5 races are always interesting: The Yankees and Red Sox fight over the top…the Twins, Tigers, Indians and White Sox seem to take turns every year…The Phillies usually duke it out with either the Mets or Marlins for a while…The NLcentral tends to be a fight between the Cards, Cubs and until recently the Brewers…while the NLwest is so bad it usually spits out whoever can break .500, which means all 5 teams always have a shot…but the ALwest, until last year its been almost exclusive to the Angels. Last year the Rangers suprised everyone but ultimatly faded. This time however, it seems there is a legit contender to the ALwest crown not from the state of California.
Its not suprising. Every spring the baseball gods look for one team to go from the basement to the brink of the playoffs. Last year the Rangers were that team and this year it seems to be the Mariners. Theyre in a great position to do it as well: the Angels lost a lot of their key players, the A’s suck (again) and the Rangers didnt drastically improve like Seattle did…actually, Seattle this year will probably look like the Angels had changed uniforms and added Suzuki.
As for the rest of baseball, its still up in the air, though dont act suprised if the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies run away with the divisions and Wild Card. as we get closer to opening day, I might give actual predictions. The only one I’ll say now is what I said back in November: the White Sox will show up this year.
Now then…leave me be, I have a fantesy team to create…
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Season preview los angeles angels of anaheim
Season Preview: Los Angeles Angels of
AnaheimYou say goodbye…
Jose Arredando (P), Matthew Brown (1B), Kelvim
Escobar (P), Chone Figgins (3B), Vlad Guerrero
(OF), John Lackey (P), Shane Loux (P), Gary
Matthews Jr. (OF), Justin Moseley (P), Darren
Oliver (P), Justin Speier (P)
I say hello…
Hideki
Matsui (OF), Joel Pineiro (P), Fernando Rodney
(P), Brian Stokes (P)
Projected Rotation
1) Jered
Weaver
2) Joe Saunders
3) Ervin
Santana
4) Joel Pineiro
5) Scott
Kazmir
Projected Starting
Line-up
C) Mike Napoli
1B)
Kendry Morales
2B) Howie Kendrick
3B)
Brandon Wood
SS) Erick Aybar
LF) Juan
Rivera
CF) Torii Hunter
RF) Bobby
Abreu
DH) Hideki Matsui
The Angels will be solid, and will contend for
the division title again, a big question mark is
Brandon Wood. Will he finally reach his potential?
The rotation is a little weaker than it has been,
but that’s because most of them had a bump
in the road last year, if they rebound, the Angels
could dominate.
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Jepsen, Shields make progress
Scot Shields and Kevin Jepsen, two valuable members of the Angels’ bullpen, stretched it out on Thursday in the warm sun of Tempe Diablo Stadium and came out of the session feeling ready for the next step toward the mound.
“Shiedsy and l got back for 10 minutes of long toss, and it felt great — for both of us,” Jepsen said. “I’m happy. The best part is I felt good after I’d stopped throwing for a while and went back out. No issues at all. This was a very good day.”
Shields, rebounding from left knee surgery, and Jepsen, who experienced some shoulder pain early in camp, have been delayed in throwing off the mound.
“I feel like I could throw right now,” Shields said, “but I understand them being cautious with me. You’ve got to look at the big picture.”
It was the first day of live batting practice, and starters Ervin Santana, Joel Pineiro and Joe Saunders all threw effectively.
“I was focused on fastball command,” Saunders said, “and it really felt good to be out there. The second pitch I threw was a line drive right back at me, but I got out of the way.”
First baseman Kendry Morales remained absent as he goes through the final stages of acquiring his work permit. The Cuba native established residency in the Dominican Republic after defecting in 2004. He is expected in camp any day.
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Great news. As Sparky Anderson said, the secret to a good life is good friends and a solid bullpen; not necessarily in that order. I’m trying not to get too excited about the upcoming season, but the little hairs on my forearms are standing up right now.
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Morales still waiting on work permit
Bobby Abreu strolled into camp on Wednesday in that elegant style of his, but the Angels are still waiting on Kendry Morales, their first baseman, to get green-card clearance to start work.
“I know he’s here in Arizona, so I know he’s getting his work in somewhere,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Morales, a sensation in 2009 in his first full Major League season. “He won’t be too far behind.”
Starter Scott Kazmir, who experienced right hamstring tightness about five weeks before Spring Training while working out at home in Houston, moved from five minutes of bullpen work to eight minutes on Wednesday, continuing his progress.
“It went well, extremely well,” Kazmir said. “I threw fastballs and some changeups, but the main idea was to getting extended with my landing leg. That felt good, so I like where I am right now.”
Kazmir’s landing leg is the one he tweaked in Houston, but he said he felt no pain in his session.
The Angels are proceeding with caution with relievers Fernando Rodney (shin), Kevin Jepsen (shoulder stiffness) and Scot Shields (recovering from knee surgery).
“He’s out of [fielding practice],” Scioscia said of Rodney. “He’s long tossing, and we’ll progress to a mound here probably close to what we’re talking about with Shieldsy. We said a couple days ago we’d be really shocked if Shieldsy was not [throwing] off the mound in 7-10 days.
“With Rodney, there’s probably no need to get him on the mound right now. We don’t need him irritating some things. In talking with Ned {Bergert, head certified athletic trainer) and Dr. [Lewis] Yocum, it’s preventative. He should be ready to get on the mound here shortly.”
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I think the whole team is Hungry for a rematch against yanks. It will be a dramatic one, Angels have unfinished buisness still with re s u x and yanks. Revenge will be had.
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Flip Flop Fly BallCraig Robinson’s Flip Flop Fly Ball site is my new favorite thing. As self-described:
A love of baseball plus a love of infographics equals Flip Flop Fly Ball.
The thing is loaded with fun statistics in graphics form, and while I haven’t perused them all yet with equal scrutiny, here’s my current favorite (so far):
CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
It’s crazy that the “best team” has only won the series three times since 1995, isn’t it? (Since the Wild Card system has been in effect.) I suppose that’s what playoffs are for, but so much for the reliability of stats, eh folks? Also specifically interesting to the theme of this blog, the last time the Giants made it to the series was the only time that that two Wild Card teams went head to head. (Giants lost of course - boo!)
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Wow, nice chart….but my poor A’s have gone down since that great 2006 season. Hopefully we can regroup this season.
And thanks for adding the link to my blog on
your site…much appreciative.
Thanks
- Opinion4Athletics
http://opinion4athletics.mlblogs.com/
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Hangin with hideki and friends
Hangin’ with Hideki and friends
The first workout of Spring Training never changes. You just want to get through it. You know you’re going to be a little sore the next day, and you’re just happy to get it out of the way. Every player can tell you that.
No matter how many sprints you do or how hard you work out in the gym in the offseason, baseball shape is totally different. Today felt like all first days do, like you didn’t do a thing in the offseason. And I really worked hard coming off my sports hernia surgery after Thanksgiving. After six to eight weeks, I didn’t feel it anymore and was able to go out, do sprints, do a lot of lifting. I started running hard on Jan. 5, so I’m in good shape. Even so, you still feel it on the first day.
All in all, it went well. I felt pretty good swinging the bat and moving around in the outfield. No problems at all with the groin. Didn’t even think about it, really.
It was good to be out there, in the Arizona sun, hanging out with the guys, taking some swings, getting the kinks out. I spent some time with Hideki Matsui, talking in the outfield, and that was fun. I’m really excited to be playing with a guy who’s a legend back home in Japan, Godzilla of the Yomiuri Giants. He’s an Angel now, and I think he’s going to like it here.
The Quiet Assassin, that’s what I think I’ll call Matsui.
I’ll miss Vladimir Guerrero, one of the greatest guys I’ve ever played with, but I think Matsui can really help us. He’s one of the quietest clutch hitters in the game. When I was with the Twins and he came to the Yankees in 2003, 2004, he came up with so many clutch hits against us. I got tired of chasing all those balls he hit.
He has great balance, a smooth, easy swing. You can see why he hits lefties so well with that balance. He stays in and stays on the ball. He’s going to be a good fit in our lineup. We’ve got some guys who can drive the ball, including Brandon Wood. I’m not worried about Brandon. He sits right next to me here, and he’s cool. He’s got some serious power and can handle the glove like a pro. This isn’t his first rodeo. He knows his way around.
Matsui hit one ball over the wall in right in batting practice, and I was kidding around with him, telling him not to hit my car. It was parked out that way. I might have to move it over a little.
I keep saying I’m going to be more conscious of running into walls after what happened last year, so there I was again, going after a ball against the wall. That’s just me, man. I guess it’s who I am. That’s why they call me Spiderman.
The Japanese media is here in big numbers for Matsui. They’re very polite, very kind and respectful. I appreciate that. They were asking me who’s nicer, Matsui or me. That’s easy, I told them. Matsui is nicer than me. He’s definitely a very good guy. He’s special.
Sometimes I get upset and I’m ready to fight, I told them. I’m a good guy, but when you push my button, I can get mad. Matsui, if you push his button, he still smiles. That’s why he’s nicer than me.
This is going to be very interesting with all these new people around us. They’re here to cover Matsui, but they’re also here to cover baseball. And we plan to put on a good show for our new friends.
6 Comments
WOW!! I’m so excited to get back to BASEBALL!! Well, Spiderman can’t wait to see the team this season. I know it will be a good year!! Good Luck with getting back the fight and the hunger. This will be my first spring training visit. Can’t wait to get back to BASEBALL.
I was the third base usher for ten yrs. at the New Britain Rock Cats, where Torii played his AA minor league career. I will never forget his big smile, and those AMAZING CATCHES in center field, flying over the wall. He had star written all over him and I love watching him still. Fame hasnt seemed to change his personality, which is the best part. Still a sox fan, still a Twins fan-but I love my Rock Cat stars…
I was the third base usher for ten yrs. at the New Britain Rock Cats, where Torii played his AA minor league career. I will never forget his big smile, and those AMAZING CATCHES in center field, flying over the wall. He had star written all over him and I love watching him still. Fame hasnt seemed to change his personality, which is the best part. Still a sox fan, still a Twins fan-but I love my Rock Cat stars…
I was the third base usher for ten yrs. at the New Britain Rock Cats, where Torii played his AA minor league career. I will never forget his big smile, and those AMAZING CATCHES in center field, flying over the wall. He had star written all over him and I love watching him still. Fame hasnt seemed to change his personality, which is the best part. Still a sox fan, still a Twins fan-but I love my Rock Cat stars…
I was the third base usher for ten yrs. at the New Britain Rock Cats, where Torii played his AA minor league career. I will never forget his big smile, and those AMAZING CATCHES in center field, flying over the wall. He had star written all over him and I love watching him still. Fame hasnt seemed to change his personality, which is the best part. Still a sox fan, still a Twins fan-but I love my Rock Cat stars…
Sorry about the repeats, my first time on this. Wont happen again, I swear! Love ya Torii-keep flying Spidey!
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Glaus not mcpherson valid mode
Glaus, not McPherson, valid model for Wood
Why is it Dallas McPherson is the name fans and insiders always seem to summon with respect to Brandon Wood and his attempt to replace Chone Figgins? It seems clear to your faithful correspondent that Troy Glaus is a more valid precedent to cite, if you really give it some thought.
Glaus was a tall, rangy shortstop who was moved to third base. He was more mature when he came to the Angels than Wood, signing out of UCLA, not Scottsdale Horizon High School, but there are a number of parallels.
Glaus could drive a ball out of any park known to man and brought the athleticism of a natural shortstop to the hot corner. That sums up Wood fairly well, I’d say.
Mike Scioscia doesn’t always agree with me, but the Angels’ manager did second my motion when I presented it this morning in our daily media get-together.
“There are probably more similarities with Troy than McPherson with Brandon,” Scioscia said. “Brandon’s taken a little different path, but they’re similar in ages. Brandon’s got a lot of power. One thing Troy brought was the ability to walk a lot. Troy was a special player.”
And Wood can be a special player…in time.
Glaus, in his first exposure to Major League pitching in 1998, struck out 51 times in 165 at-bats, batting .218 with one homer, 23 RBIs.
Breaking in as the full-time third baseman in ‘99, Glaus hit .240 in 154 games with 29 homers, 79 RBIs. He struck out 143 times in 551 at-bats.
Those, it seems to me, are reasonably attainable numbers for Wood in what he plans to make his first full season in the big time.
Glaus, as we all know, went on to much bigger and better things, and McPherson, largely because of physical problems, fell short of fulfilling expectations as his replacement. Wood has no injury history to speak of, and appears to be in superb shape heading into camp.
The point is, this doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process. Wood, a very smart young man, understands. All he wants is a chance with the hope that there is some patience shown.
Mike Schmidt’s early-career numbers weren’t much better than Glaus’, and neither were Brooks Robinson’s. A case can be made that those are the two greatest third basemen in history.
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Wood is a smart guy and will do a good job this year. Just don’t put too much pressure on the young guy. Let’s give him a chance. It’s his turn and he’s earned it. Be patient Angel fans. Don’t expect too much from him right away. The other guys on the team will pick up the slack if he falters a little. Go Angels and go Brandon Wood!
I agree. Wood will develop in our colors over time. with Abreu, Hunter and Napoli helping add a little seasoning. i cant wait to watch him develop over the next few years. next year will be his biggest challenge to date. i think he will shine. Go Wood!!!!!
Brandon Wood will have a break out year just like Kendry Morales did because the Angels know when to hold them and know when to fold them.
A case in point is Mr. G. Anderson. Garrett had to go. I see aging teams trying to decide what to do with older players that have lost a step and although a few left early (Nolan Ryan), most others never realized a better year away the Angels unless injuries healed.
I think that Figgins, like Gary Matthews, had a career year and got a great contract out of it. I dount Figgins will ever put up the numbers he put up in 2009 with Seattle during the next 5 years.
I think Mr. Wood will surprise a lot of people in 2010 and form the nucleus of the strongest infield in baseball before 2013 with Aybar, Kendrick, Morales and Mathis or one of the other catchers coming up this year or next.
Mark my words, our infield will be around for years to come!
Honestly, Wood is unproven, but Soccia is one of the smartest guys in baseball and his word is pretty much gold. I have a bet with an Dangels fan of mine about taking series, $5 a series, go A’s, from this humble fan of the perennial underdogs of baseball.
on an unrelated note why is your site interfaced better than ours?
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10 Thoughts: Red Sox
Thought #1: I love the offense. It is so deep at the bottom of the order. When you have JD Drew batting eighth, you are in good shape.
Thought #2: The Red Sox signed a guy named Boof. That can’t be a good thing.
Thought #3: I am exited about the personality on the team this year. Adding a guy like John Lackey is very helpfull for that. The team is too boring, with Ellsbury, Drew, Lester, etc. Now you have personalites like Pedroia, Ortiz, Papelbon, Lackey. They need that, I think.
Thought #4: The Washington Nationals will have a better record than the New York Mets. They have better pitching, other than Santana, but he’s injury prone anyways.
Thought #5: The Orioles will be out of the cellar this season. The Blue Jays will take their place.
Thought #6: Daniel Bard is changing his number from 60 to 51. I don’t get why. I can understand Ellsbury with 46 and 2, that is a drastic difference. But 51? Really? Is that any better than 60? Fun fact: The last Red Sox player to wear #51 was Enrique Gonzalez.
Thought #7: I like Tim Wakefield’s competitive attitude. He expects to start the season in the rotation, and we all know that’s not happening. But I love the competitvness.
Thought #8: I can not believe that Randy Winn is the starting LF for the Yankees.
Thought #9: It is kind of weird having Lackey, though. I always hated him when he was with the Angels. He was always an annoying loudmouth when it came to the Red Sox. And he nearly no-hit them, which is one of my worst fears. So it’s odd rooting for him, but I’m fine with it.
Thought #10: I can’t think of anything else, so go to BestBostonSports.com for Red Sox coverage all season! Spring Training game preveiws are already up!
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I think any team can have a better record than
the Mets at this point. They practically have
NOTHING!! As for uniform changes, that’s
nothing new. Ellsbury had to set the trend I
guess!! Looking forward to watching Boston beat
the Yankees this year!!
-Holly
http://irishsoxkid19.mlblogs.com
Yeah, I agree on the Mets. I just love bashing them! I heard Pedroia wanted to get #2 when it became available, but Ellsbury took it first.
dude. i do admire your optimism about this offense. problem is the only people i’ve heard that agree with you are theo and tito! seriously though. JD is an excellent 8th place hitter BUT let’s be realistic. he’s not ( if he in fact does ) hitting eighth due to the depth of the lineup. he’s hitting eighth because cameron, scutaro, and beltre historically don’t hit for much average and don’t draw a lot of walks. i.e. low OBP. if you batted those three consecutively turning the lineup over regularly would be really next to impossible. batting JD 8th simply improves that possibility and will limit the 3 ups and 3 downs from those spots. i do agree with ya on the O’s. the nat’s, i don’t know. should be a pretty good race with them and the mets. as i said before i like the lackey deal as long as it doesn’t prevent them from re-upping beckett. if they essentially chose lackey long term over beck then i will have lost all faith in this front office. i agree on wake as well. he’s a great guy and good to have available if you need him but barring injury he’s not in the opening day rotation. as for winn starting for the yankees. i’m glad they went that way is all i can say. i don’t get it. i thought they would cave for damon or maybe go after dye. at least there is one soft spot in that lineup now.
Funny, a guy named Winn has never played a postseason game. But yeah, I was very surprised to see the Yankees walk away from Damon like that. Knowing them, they are probably saving up for Crawford. I think Drew batting 8th does serve to the lineups depth. It’s good too have an OBP guy in the bottom of the lineup with Pedroia and Victor to drive them in later. I’m not saying that the Nats will be good, just better than the Mets.
If reliever Joe Nelson makes the team you will
hear a lot of talk about his “Vulcan”
pitch. Plus if Brian Shouse get a roster spot, the
Boston fans can redo the
www.brainshousefanclub.com website (lol).
As
for Boof, he is a St. Petersburg guy, and just had
a bad year in 2009. He could be a nice long
innings guy if he is healed.
And do not
discount Randy Winn. People forget he was traded
to Seattle so Tampa Bay could get a chance with
Lou Pineilla, and also he can still hit and run,
and is a huge upside to that Johnny guy that sat
there in 2009.
One last thing, do not
discount Toronto’s pitching. They got the
primo pitching prospect from Philly, and he is
ready. Plus they have two starters coming back
that were injured for the entire 2009
season…Baltimore and Toronto will fight it
out for the cellar, but I think Canada gets the
win this time.
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
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Spring Is HereMariner Fans it’s great to have Spring Training back. A new season begins with new expectations and the idea that the Mariners could win the AL West. With having Felix and Cliff Lee at the top of the rotation who knows maybe the Mariners can win even the American League and appear in the World Series. Don Wakamatsu will lead this club and the Mariners should get over the 90 win mark and win the west. The Angels lost too much to win the west. The Rangers have lost some key members of last season. The A’s have made some moves but can that young rotation continue to get better over the course of a 162 season.
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