Browsing the Indy leagues, I found some interesting players:
Armando Benitez, Scott Spezio, and Daryle Ward of the Newark
Bears
Tim Hamulack and Macay McBride of Lancaster Barnstormers
Ryan Freel of Somerset Patriots
Denny Stark, Jorge Julio, Wily Mo Pena, Brian Barton, Hiram
Bocachica of the Bridgeport Bluefish
Chris Britton of Lincoln Saltdogs
Reggie Abercrombie of SiouxFalls Fighting Pheasants
Kevin Millar of St Paul Saints
Jordan Tata of Grand Prairie AirHogs (yes that is the spelling
with the capilization in the middle) Same team is managed by
Pete Incaviglia
Chuck Tiffany of Florence Freedom
Brad Halsey and Zach McClellan ofGary South Shore Rail Cats
Roy Oswalt Sweepstakes
May 23, 2010
Next to each team is a number of how likely out of 29 teams that it will land Roy.
Nationals(10): Oswalt would probably not approve a trade to them. They have the money though and Oswalt would help them in the Wild Card hunt.
Mets(12): they need him but they would be hesitant to pull the trigger on that contract. Mets fans would love the trade because it would mean Oliver Perez is on his way out.
Braves(21): Do they have the money for him? They could be a player if they could pull their finances together but a rotation of Hudson, Lowe, and Oswalt would be a huge financial burden.
Phillies(22): need money for Werth, not pitching.
Marlins(28): aren’t willing to pay for him so no go.
Dodgers (1): if their is a team that needs him, it is the Dodgers. They actually do have the money with Manny’s contract coming off the books.
Giants(13): do they really need another pitcher? Should probably use their money to find a power hitter.
Padres(20): probably don’t have the money but he would make them interesting
Rockies(25): Oswalt won’t approve a trade here.
Diamondbacks(26): Doubt Oswalt would approve a trade here either.
Cardinals(8): Are the only team in the division that I could see him getting moved to but here is the thing: they need money for Albert Pujols so this makes the Cards adding payroll a longshot.
Reds(9): What a lot of people fail to realize is that the Reds have a lot of money to spend and will have more to spend when Harrang’s contract comes off their books. Now do they want to spend 20 million on one Roy Oswalt when they can get 3 Randy Wolf’s? Will Oswalt even approve a trade to them? I doubt it on both accounts but I would not count them out of the Oswalt race.
Brewers(11): Need him but don’t have the resources available to get him.
Cubs(24): Have no room for him. Probably would do it if they could get out of the Zambrano contract in exchange.
Pirates(29): Oswalt would never approve a trade to them but don’t rule them out. They have been known the surprise people witht their money spending. Remember when they acquired Matt Morris?
Angels(3): Were on the first destinations that I thought of when Oswalt became available. They sorely miss Lackey and Oswalt could be the missing piece.
Oakland(14): Have tons of young pitchers to trade and Eric Chavez will retire soon meaning he is coming off their payroll.
Seattle(23): Clearly is in a win now mode. Might even be willing to take on Lance Berkman which would make for a huge blockbuster trade. Oswalt would only go to Seattle if Berkman goes and vice versa. Not realistic but still an interesting scenario.
Texas(27): Could use him but with the ownership change, it is very unlikely.
Cleveland Indians(2): They could trade Johnny Peralta in the deal and with Kerry Wood coming off their books, they would have the money to do the trade. It is a longshot but I could see it happening.
Detroit(7): Would Houston be willing to take on Jeremy Bonderman? If they would be, the pieces could fit for a deal.
Minnesota(15): very interesting destination. I am not sure if they have the 20 million dollars that are free but if they magically did then an interesting case could be made for them.
Kansas City(16): Oswalt has a no trade clause, he would never approve a trade to Kansas City. If he didn’t have a no trade clause, I could see him going to Kansas City
Chicago White Sox(19): Already have an overpaid top of the rotation starter and are better off using the money somewhere else
Boston(4): Would be a great fit in their rotation and they sure could use him now. But who would they move off their 25 an roster for him?
Baltimore(5): Almost pulled off a deal for him once before the Astros owner nixed it, I could definitly see it happening again. They certainly have the money to spend.
New York Yankees(6): they certainly would be considered a favorite and are always up to do a deal if they could block the Red Sox from getting the coveted player. The Yankees have a lot of high end prospects that would be perfect for the Astros but would they be willing to give them up for a pitcher that they really don’t need?
Tampa Bay(17): Have bigger priorities to use their money on like resigning their own guys.
Toronto(18): they may be off to a hot start but I just can’t see them adding a veteran pitcher right now. It would be essentially saying we fucked up by trading Halladay so here is Halladay light.
Keep the All Star Game in Arizona
May 1, 2010
Arizona’s immigration law may be morally wrong but I think that it would be a bigger crime to take away this years Major League Baseball All Star Game away from the state. I am so sick of everyone saying that it needs to be done. I agree to an extent but what I don’t agree with is punishing the Arizona Diamondbacks organization; which is exactly what would be happening if the All Star game was taken away. The state would barely suffer. Taking away the All Star game would take away the opportunity for a great organization to showcase themselves. The people that work there can’t help if the state legislators are fucked in the head so please don’t punish them; it is bad enough that it appears most Latin players will pull out of the all star game.
1. Athletics
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. Rangers
1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. Twins
4. White Sox
5. Indians
1. Rays
2. Yankees Wild Card
3. Red Sox
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays
There are simple rules in the American League. You can never bet against a handful of teams; those teams are the Twins, Athletics, Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees. In the National League the rule is to never bet against the Braves or Cardinals.
1. Giants
2. Rockies
3. Diamondbacks
4. Dodgers
5. Padres
1. Brewers
2. Cardinals
3. Astros
4. Cubs
5. Pirates
6. Reds
1. Phillies
2. Mets Wild Card
3. Braves
4. Marlins
5. Nationals
World Series: Phillies over Rays
Teams that no-one would want to face: Royals and Giants
Contenders that will probably go to shit: Angels, Dodgers, and Red Sox Worst teams in baseball: Nationals
Player who’s name will come up at the trade deadline: Brandon Webb, Travis Hafner, Miguel Tejada, Adam Dunn, Jon Garland
Things are lagging for a good reason. I will finish the “coaching cameron rose” story. The rough draft has been written since January. Changes are coming.
Fox Sports’ J Morosi enlightens us that MLB teams still serve alcohol after games. This was something that I assumed was banned but is not.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/morosi-baseball-should-ban-booze-012810
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/the-new-inefficiency
Great article about how veterans are the new moneyball guys. It used to be on base guys, then recently was defensive guys, and now a theory about how it would be wise to stock up on veterans because they are cheap. I completely agree.
Speaking of veterans, Jim Thome is a great player on paper but if I was a GM, I would never in a million years sign him. He can’t play defense, in fact he doesn’t. He agreed to waive his no trade clause last year to go to LA on the condition that they understand he can’t play first base.
I would much rather take a lesser hitter if he could play a few positions
I thought that Jose Offerman already took an anger management class. Guess not: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4834335
Brandon Morrow was traded today. He was a top prospect for the Mariners. Most people don’t get why the Mariners would trade their top pitching prospect. I do, and it is because they don’t like him and knew theycould get value for him. So there you have it. When Morrow falters with the Blue Jays, you can laugh because the Mariners knew it.
Some random hot stove items, none are boiling
November 10, 2009
Not sure if its good news the Dodgers will bring back their whole coaching staff…If I am a team that needs a first basement, I check in on Lyle Overbay and see if Toronto is willing to pay a chunk of his salary…Some outrageous type b free agents will be available: Vladimir Guerrero, Adrian Beltre, Mark Derosa, Jason Marquis. And those with no compensation include a really stellar: Hideki Matsui, Pedro Feliz, Aubrey Huff, and Jarrod Washburn. Oh and so is Brad Penny who made 2 all star games. Wow, I would love to see who is a type A free agent. These ratings are flawed…Can you believe that Carl Pavano, Brad Penny, Vincente Padilla, and Pedro Martinez will be the most sought after free agents? Neither can I? Ask anyone last year if those guys would be on your list of best available and they would laugh in your face. To me, that is why scouts are unnecessary…It is nice to see that star of the movie “A Player to be Named Later” Marco Scutaro, is a type A free agent and will get paid like one hopefully. Search Amazon for the movie, it covers journeyman minor leaguers…Rich Harden or Erik Bedard, which potential ace without injuries do you want on your team? Neither, I would take Justin Duchsherer…And in bigger news: Steven Tyler quit Aerosmith. Wow!
