SB Nation - Akinori Otsuka

Not Your Typical Rangers

Brendan Scolari — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:35:52 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

After decades of futility, the future is finally starting to look bright for the Texas Rangers.

The Texas Rangers franchise hasn't exactly been known for its success. The Rangers have never won a playoff series in their entire history, dating back to 1961 when they were the Washington Senators. In fact, the Rangers have only ever one one playoff game. However, things are starting to change in Arlington.

The general manager of the Rangers, Jon Daniels, took over for John Hart (who loved every pick of the draft this year) after the 2005 season. Daniels' early tenure was marred by failed trades, most notably when he traded away Alfonso Soriano, Adrian Gonzalez, and Chris Young in two seperate deals and only managed to get back Brad Wilkerson, Akinori Otsuka, and Adam Eaton. That's quite the downgrade.

However, the Rangers would turn the page and soon after began to build on what currently looks like a future powerhouse. After letting type-A free agents like Carlos Lee, Mark Derosa, and Gary Matthews Jr. leave to get extra draft picks, the Rangers made a new commitment to investing in the draft and scouring Latin America for young players. They also traded away their older and more expensive players for cheap young talent. This began with the massive haul they received for Mark Teixeira (Elvis Andrus, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Beau Jones) but they also received key players in the Kenny Lofton and Eric Gagne deals. Most people thought it would take another year or two for the Rangers to turn things around, but they've already shown that they can win their division this year.

Jamey Newberg of the Ranger's blog "The Newberg Report" chronicles what it takes to build a successful franchise and how the Rangers five step plan was put into action.

1. Divest at The Top: The Rangers traded away older players for young prospects under team control.

2. Reinvest at The Foundation: The Rangers let type A free agents leave, aggresively signed the top draftees like Justin Smoak, Derek Holland, and Taylor Teagarden (they also drafted Tanner Scheppers in the supplemental first round this year even though he will want top dollar), and invested in marquee Latin American talent.

3. Accelerate, challenge: Let the young players play and develop. The Rangers made the tough decision to move Michael Young to 3rd to make room for top prospect Elvis Andrus start at shortstop in 2009.

4. Lock in the core: They've locked up their young players like Ian Kinsler and Blalock and have had discussions about giving Josh Hamilton an extension.

5. Bang. This is the one step the Rangers have yet to address as of yet but they could start as soon as this year. They have lots of spare young players that can be used as trade chips if they feel they need to upgrade and should have payroll flexibility in the coming years to sign free agents.

Note the similiartities to the success the Dodgers are enjoying. A commitment was placed on developing young talent, and with the help of Logan White the Dodgers cultivated one of the best minor league systems in the game. While Ned Colletti was conservative with the young players, they were eventually put in positions where the team was dependant on their success. And as the young players started to grow, veteran talent was brought in from outside the organization to support the young core in the form of Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, Orlando Hudson, etc.

This plan is really the basis for all successful organization, and it is one the Dodgers must not abandon as they finally start to bear the fruits of it. They need to continue to emphasize obtaining young, talented players, locking them up to keep their salaries down (Billingsley, Kemp, Ethier, and Broxton should all be approached about extensions in the offseason), and filling in the weak spots through free agency. The Dodgers are blessed with being in the second biggest market in the country, but if they become overly reliant on spending money in free agency it will eventually negatively impact the team.

The Rangers are a dangerous looking team already, currently in first place with a 34-25 record. But this is just the beginning. They have a deep, talented young roster, a stacked farm system, and a front office committed to winning. With the way both franchises are looking, I wouldn't be shocked if the Dodgers and Rangers meet up in October some time in the not too distant future.

Series Preview: San Diego Padres

Eric Stephen — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:00:22 -0000

More photos » by Chris Park - AP

Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Hairston have been the two main cogs on offense for the Padres in 2009.

Browse more photos »

The Padres have been a very up-and-down team this season, alternating hot stretches and cold stretches:

April 6-18	9-3
April 19 - May 14	4-19
May 15 - May 25	10-0
May 26 - Sunday	3-8
Overall Record	26-30

Luckily for the Dodgers, the Padres come to town on one of those cold streaks, as they have lost eight of their last 11 games, through Sunday.

One constant for the Padres has been Adrian Gonzalez, who leads the majors with 22 home runs, including 15 away from the pitcher paradise that is Petco Park. Unfortunately for Gonzalez, he happens to play the same position as the only player better than him in the National League, Albert Pujols. Gonzalez is second in the league to Pujols in Equivalent Average, Adjusted Equivalent Runs, and Adjusted Runs Above Position.

The Padres top three players by VORP were all acquired in shrewd trades by GM Kevin Towers:

Gonzalez (25.7 VORP) -- is there a better trade in the last decade than Gonzalez and Chris Young (and Terrmel Sledge) for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka (and Billy Killian)?
Scott Hairston (19.4) -- cast aside by Arizona, then acquired for reliever Leo Rosales, all Hairston has done since coming to San Diego is hit (75 OPS+ with Arizona, 133 OPS+ with the Padres)
Heath Bell (10.8) -- the Padres got their replacement for closer Trevor Hoffman, along with Royce Ring, for minor league filler Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson (who has been out of baseball since 2007)

The Dodgers won't have to face Hairston, however, because he was placed on the disabled list last Wednesday, with a strained left biceps.

The Padres once again have a Tony Gwynn roaming their outfield, but this version is the son of the former Hall of Famer. Gwynn, Jr., who as a Brewer helped knock the Padres out of the playoffs in 2007, has showed an increase in patience since coming to San Diego last month, with eight walks in 55 plate appearances.

This series is a short one, the rare two-game series, and all four starting pitchers have first names that start with C:

Tuesday, 7:10pm: Tall Chris Young (4-4, 4.54 FIP) vs. Chad Billingsley (7-3, 2.79 FIP)

Wednesday, 7:10pm: Chad Gaudin (2-4, 3.95 FIP) vs. Clayton Kershaw (3-4, 3.97 FIP)

Billingsley is 6-3 with a 2.45 ERA in 11 career starts against the Padres, and has given up more than two runs against them in only two starts.

Nobody has given up more stolen bases from 2006-2009 than Young. He has allowed 119 steals in his last 91 starts, and only six would-be stealers have been caught, for an astonishing, dare I say Phillies-like 95.2% success rate. The Dodgers have won four of their last five games started by Young, although they only have five stolen bases in those five games.

Kershaw is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in five career starts against the Padres. He has given up a total of one run in two starts this season, yet doesn't have a win.

Gaudin is penciled in to start Wednesday, even though he turned in two innings of relief in the Padres' 18-inning marathon game Sunday against Arizona, a mere two days after his last start.

2009 Padres
Record	26-30, 3rd NL West
Runs Scored	3.95/gm (15th in NL)
wOBA	.311 (15th in NL)
Runs Allowed	4.84/gm (13th in NL)
FIP	4.30 (10th in NL)

The Dodgers have won four straight home games vs. San Diego, and nine of their last ten against the Padres at Dodger Stadium.

Season Series
April 6	Dodgers 4, Padres 1
April 7	Padres 4, Dodgers 2
April 8	Dodgers 5, Padres 2
April 9	Padres 4, Dodgers 3
April 30	Dodgers 8, Padres 5
May 1	Dodgers 1, Padres 0
May 2	Dodgers 2, Padres 1
May 3	Dodgers 7, Padres 3
Dodgers Lead 6-2

Without Hairston in the lineup, there is really nobody for the Dodgers to fear besides Adrian Gonzalez. Expect him to be walked often with men on base. The Dodgers miss Jake Peavy as well in this two-game set, and the Padres' bullpen has thrown 35.2 innings through their first six games of the June. I never like to predict a sweep, even of a two-game set, but this series is a golden opportunity for the Dodgers to feast on San Diego.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:15:04 -0000

Some things to read while looking for new things to graph.

I guess this says a lot about how this offseason has gone: I've got about 50 links today after a week off, but nothing I felt was worth listing as the top story. Goat Riders of the Apocalypse and Dugout Central are both down on the Brewers' chances in 2009.

There are a couple of minor league signings to report: RHPs Chris Smith and Ryan Houston have been added to the fold, although both sound more likely to contribute in Nashville than Milwaukee.

So, pending a move, the Brewers' 2009 rotation will include Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan and Seth McClung. The #6 option must be Chris Capuano, because Carlos Villanueva is reportedly not being considered. All of this gets a little easier if the Crew signs Braden Looper, of course.

So, due to the Elias rankings slotting Mark Teixiera ahead of CC Sabathia, the Brewers will now get the Yankees' second round pick, instead of the first rounder they should have received as compensation for the Yankees' signing Sabathia. As noted in the FanShots, Doug Melvin would like to see an update to the Elias formula that put Teix ahead of CC. Keith Law is with him.

Lost in all the debate about free agent rankings is this: The Yankees will give a first round pick to the Angels, a second round pick to the Brewers and a third round pick to the Blue Jays (for signing A.J. Burnett), but get to keep another first and third rounder they were given as compensation for failing to sign their top two picks in 2008. So the Brewers and Blue Jays would both be entitled to first round picks in a normal year, but instead the Yankees keep one. How is that fair?

Meanwhile, Mark Attanasio's comments about a salary cap have drawn a stern "Get off my lawn!" from Murray Chass.

The 2009 projections continue: jhmoore posted the Brewers' 2009 WAR projections in the FanShots.

I thought award season was over, but apparently it's not: Prince Fielder has been nominated for a Douchie. I'd go into more detail but I'd like to keep this blog somewhere in the PG range.

A few notes on former Brewers:

Salomon Torres is working to expand his network of training academies in the Dominican Republic.
Former Brewer manager Tom Trebelhorn will spend 2009 managing Salem-Keizer in the Northwest League (A).
Corey Koskie is hoping to play for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic.
Former Brewer hitting coach Jim Skaalen will fill the same role for the A's next season.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers remain interested but have not made an offer to Ben Sheets...which I guess makes them the frontrunner to sign him?

Could the Brewers still be active in the closer market? In polling over at Birdland, only about 1% of voters think the Brewers will sign Brian Fuentes, but 21% think the Brewers could sign Jason Isringhausen. Also, Akinori Otsuka will work out for all 30 teams in January.

Elsewhere on the hot stove:

Astros: Have signed Clay Hensley to a minor league deal, and now appear to be done unless a shortstop comes along.
A's: Are reportedly talking to Jason Giambi, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu.
Giants: Signed Randy Johnson to a deal worth between $8 and $10.5 million, depending on incentives. (noted in FanPosts) They may now be looking to deal Jonathan Sanchez.
Marlins: Are not interested in Sammy Sosa.
Mets: Could still be pursuing both Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe.
Orioles: Have signed Mark Hendrickson, meaning they'll definitely be taller in 2009. Better is still open for debate.
Phillies: Signed Gary Majewski to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Aren't interested in Sosa either.
Red Sox: Have signed Brad Penny to a one-year deal worth $5 million, with up to $3 million in incentives available. They also signed Josh Bard.
Reds: Signed Willy Taveras to a two-year deal. Transaction Oracle projects his OPS+ at 66.

How lucky are the Brewers to have Bob Uecker? Consider these comments made by Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman about Adam Dunn.

If you live in/near Milwaukee, you'll be able to get the MLB Network on Time Warner channel 122, and you'll be able to see Mitch Williams, Greg Amsinger, Jon Heyman and Barry Larkin. Still no word on whether or not I'll get it in Des Moines, but I'll likely be putting a dish on my roof soon if I can't.

Would baseball still be as popular if games weren't played on Sundays? Seamheads has the story about the debate on banning Sunday baseball in Milwaukee in 1898.

Oh, and you probably couldn't afford to buy the auctioned seat in the US Senate, but you might be able to afford the Senate seats in Peoria.

Drink up.

Akinori Otsuka?

Al — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:17:08 -0000

This Daily Yomiuri article (don't bother unless you can read Japanese) says that former Rangers reliever Akinori Otsuka, who had elbow surgery a year ago, is going to work out for all 30 teams in Arizona next month.

Here's a bit more detailed analysis, including suggestions that the Padres (for whom he pitched in 2004 and 2005) and the Mariners (he apparently has great respect for Don Wakamatsu, their new manager) might be front-runners for his services.

He's 37. He's been out of baseball for a year. But he was an effective reliever from 2004-2007. He was a teammate of Kosuke Fukudome's at Chunichi in 2003, so they have at least a professional relationship. Given his age and his injury history, he'd probably not be very expensive.

Worth a flyer if the Cubs could pry him away from San Diego or Seattle? I'd say yes.

What say the rest of you?

photo via www.chrisoleary.com