SB Nation - Lance Broadway

BS Applesauce - Reyes setback, Mets blow another, Castillo vs. the dugout, Yusmeiro Petit

Joe Budd — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:51:24 -0000

Not too much encouraging news after last night's debacle. The new and improved bullpen looks a lot like the 2008 bullpen for Santana. If I wasn't able to laugh about this season, I definitely would cry myself to sleep every night.

Meet the Mets

Jose Reyes was sent back to New York for further examination after he felt discomfort from running. Adam Rubin, who apparently played a mean shortstop back in Babe Ruth league, says he may be done for the season. At this point, what difference does it make if he plays in 2009?

Not only did Reyes suffer a setback, Luis Castillo fell down the dugout steps last night, spraining an ankle. It looks like we are going to have a double play combination of Angel Berroa and Alex Cora. Wow. Castillo can't wait for Florida.

Greg Prince lists the things that the 1914 Boston Braves did not do to complete their miracle season.

Metstradamus pictures a new Subway commercial.

The Mets horrible season has a trickle down effect on their farm system, as well.

Carlos Delgado is running, kind of.

Matt Cerrone talks to Josh Thole. No word yet if he means business too.

Centerfield Maz highlights one of my favorites, John Olerud.

Wilmer Flores went 3-for-4 and Lance Broadway is not good.

Around the NL East

The Marlins blew a 4-0 lead to the Nationals, losing 6-4. Is it just me or are the Mets clearly the worst team in the division right now?

The Phillies lose to the Rockies and the fans left early. Wow, spoiled already.

JA Happ was moved to the Philadelphia bullpen.

The Braves showed signs of life last night, beating up on the Padres.

Around MLB

Yusmeiro Petit (remember him?) took a no-hitter into the 8th inning for Arizona.

Met fans aren't the only ones mad at Guillermo Mota. Prince Fielder was stopped at the Dodger clubhouse door by security after Mota hit him with a retaliation pitch.

Mark Prior's career rehabilitation with the Padres took a step back yesterday as he was released.

Joe Posnanski is getting a senior writers job at Sports Illustrated.

Keep an eye on Neftali Perez.

Swept Applesauce - Healthy Perez, Hurting Maine, Mark Teahen to Mets?, Adam Dunn can hit it out of anywhere

Joe Budd — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:30:19 -0000

Meet the Mets

Let's look at the good news: Oliver Perez walked only 1 batter in 5 innings in Brooklyn and striking out 6. As for our other projected starting pitcher, John Maine was shut down again after a setback in his rehab.

Ralph Kiner was quite the player. Oh, and bring back Kiner's Korner in reruns.

The Mets have now walked the opposing pitcher 13 times this season. Thank you Francisco. Metsradamus's predictions are suddenly looking less awful.

"Barack Obama" threw out the first pitch at the Baracklyn Cyclones game.

Lance Broadway gave up 7 runs in 5 innings last night. Brad Holt went 1/3 of an inning and gave up 5 runs.

The Met lineup gets embarrassed by a below average pitching staff, let's fire the hitting coach. Or get Mark Teahen.

Jose Reyes is jogging, but warns he's not close to a return. Met games just haven't been the same without him.

Keith Law throws some water on Fernando-mania and Jenrry Mejia.

Some big names have garnered Met attention: Cliff Lee and Garret Atkins.

Around the NL East

Check out the bomb from Adam Dunn.

Upon a suggestion from a fan online, the Mariners acquired Ryan Langerhans from the Nationals. Washington is still considering a trade of Lastings Milledge.

Ken Rosenthal's report of Manny Acta's demise may have come a little prematurely.

Charlie Manuel will most likely return Jimmy Rollins to the lineup and the leadoff spot tomorrow.

If you couldn't get enough of Casey from KC & The Sunshine Band on American Idol, he will be performing at the Landshark Stadium after the Marlin game on the 4th of July.

Cole Hamels got shelled and ejected over the weekend. Philadelphia still managed to take two games from Toronto behind JA Happ and Jamie Moyer.

The Braves continue to leave Javier Vazquez out to dry.

Young Brave pitcher Tommy Hanson continues to impress.

Chipper hopes that his home run on Sunday will help him break out of a 10 for 60 slump.

An unidentified Philadelphia player was involved in a confrontation with a Tampa Ray fan.

Talking Chop pleads with the Braves to fire hitting coach Terry Pendleton.

Around MLB

The Yankees have promoted ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte to Class A.

Darren Dreifort looks back on his disappointing major league career on his induction to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Lou Piniella patched things up with Milton Bradley, put him back in the lineup.

Greg Hanlon writes about the camera angles used by Major League Baseball television productions in Slate.

The Royals called up Bruce Chen to make a start on Saturday and he wasn't awful.

The Tampa Bay Rays are the fastest team ever to hit 100 home runs and steal 100 bases.

A Seattle judge has OK'd a plan to put a strip club near Safeco Field. It's still probably better than chop shops...

Matt Wieters Applesauce: First Major League homer against the Mets, Carp is in the bigs, Wagner back in a month

Joe Budd — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:08:06 -0000

On the event of Matt Wieters' first major league home run, here is a little known fact about Wieters: his eyesight is so good that he CAN see Russia from his house.

Meet the Mets

Johan Santana had a good bullpen session yesterday and is all set to make his next scheduled start.

Ramon Castro trade bait Lance Broadway had his first good outing in the Met farm system, allowing only 3 hits over 6+ innings.

Wilmer Flores also hit his second home run of the season.

Marlon Anderson has found a home with the Newark Bears. That's quite a stable of former Mets they've got there: Alberto Castillo, Carl Everett, Tike Redman, and Armando Benitez (by my count).

Billy Wagner says that he will be able to return to the Mets in 30 days. Wagner would be a welcome help to Pedro Feliciano.

Around the NL East

Shockingly, Charlie Manuel did not select Jerry Manuel as a coach to join him at the All-Star Game.

The Red Sox smacked the Marlins, 6-1, to help Brad Penny to his 100th win. Dustin Pedroia had 3 RBI.

Marlin infielder Wes Helms goes on the record as saying that the Hall of Fame should ban steroid users.

The Blue Jays help the Mets again, thumping the Phillies 7-1. Jamie Moyer was not good again, allowing 6 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings. Despite the Met loss, they remain 3 games behind Philadelphia.

The Nationals, behind New York native John Lannan, beat the Yankees 3-2.

Javier Vazquez went the distance for the Braves, but still lost to the Reds 4-3 in Cincinnati. Jay Bruce hit his 16th and pitcher Micah Owings his 2nd for the Reds.

Around MLB

Congratulations Mike Carp. With the injury to Erik Bedard, the Mariners have called up Carp from triple-A where he was hitting .299. He will get the start today at first base.

Also, congratulations to Ivan Rodriguez, who has now caught more games than anyone in baseball history.

The Blue Jays have put Roy Halladay and closer Scott Downs on the DL. Ouch.

Speaking of DL, Mike Hampton is hurt again.

The US House of Representatives will investigate whether Sammy Sosa lied under oath at infamous steroid hearing.

19-9 Applesauce

Joe Budd — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:52:48 -0000

The Mets were 19-9 in May with their DL clogged with their starting first baseman/cleanup hitter, their shortstop/leadoff hitter, their right fielder, their projected #4 starter/$12 million man, and their star third baseman has only hit 3 home runs. Not too bad.

Meet the Mets

The big news over the weekend was the trade that sent backup catcher Ramon Castro to the White Sox for pitching prospect Lance Broadway. James takes a look at Castro's greatest moments. Meanwhile, NY Sports Dog says to hell with numbers.

Oliver Perez's crappy year continues. He now has tendinitis. Well, his year can't be that crappy, he has managed the biggest heist in Met history so far.

Good news for Jose Reyes. He is expecting to return to action on Friday.

The Mets have acquired outfielder Emil Brown from the Padres for a player to be named later.

The Mets Police continues their outstanding work on the new Citi Field. This time they may have discovered that the Mets have screwed up the placement of their Shea "monuments."

How does Santana's bad luck stack up in baseball history?

Metsradamus has an amusing suggestion for a new uniform.

Pedro Feliciano has been pretty good this year. Again.

For your enjoyment: Fernando Tatis jimmy tapping Pelfrey and Perez.

Larry Brooks continues to jump the shark.

Around the NL East

The Phillies don't have the money for mid-level pitchers, so they want to acquire an ace to replace Brett Myers. Oliver Perez's contract makes that sentence actually make sense. Antonio Bastardo will make the initial start in Myers' absence.

UVA struck out 15 times against San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg, but still beat the future #1 pick, 5-1. Be sure to pay attention to the contract talks between Strasburg and the Nationals. They are sure to be entertaining.

Chipper Jones is still struggling with a bum toe.

Tom Glavine will make one more rehab start on Tuesday before likely joining the Braves rotation during their current homestand.

Jamie Moyer finally got his 250th career win.

Around MLB

Remember when the Mets could have signed Joe Torre as manager again? He also thinks Manny as an All-Star is bad.

The Colorado Rockies have fired Clint Hurdle.

The White Sox are having a hard time finding an ace pitcher who wants to come to them. Being 24th in MLB in runs scored isn't helping. They did put up a few yesterday against Zack Greinke.

Someone has stolen Ted Williams' fishing paraphenalia in New Hampshire.

Joe Mauer is good.

The Reds have placed 1B Joey Votto on the 15-day DL for problems relating to his ear infection.

The Brewers are staying mum on a possible repeat of a trading deadline ace pitcher.

More On The Castro/Broadway Trade

Sam Page — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:25:20 -0000

Like with correctness, there are sliding scales of wrong. The Mets got it absolutely wrong. But I'll get to Omir later.

First, consider this trade in the most abstract way possible: the Mets trade oft-injured, average catcher for former top pitching prospect, who has fallen out of favor. Reminiscent of John Maine, eh? Sounds kind of like the Oliver Perez thrown-in, doesn't it? Except, when considered in context, these realities make it suddenly less appealing:

The Mets need an average catcher. Most teams do, and The Mets especially.
Lance Broadway is not good. He was a former first round pick, but he mostly kept his "top prospect" status because the White Sox have sported some pretty terrible farm systems this decade. He doesn't get enough strikeouts and issues too many walks. The silver-lining in his career stats is his solid GB%, but that in itself won't make a good pitcher. Optimism says he's been good so far this year, and could be a useful bullpen arm, but he looks more like a bizzaro-world bust-version of Mike Pelfrey than John Maine.
The Mets are paying the White Sox to make this trade. That's backwards.

Now I'll say something nice about Omir Santos. He makes contact. Santos has swung at everything and has made an astonishing 64% contact rate on balls outside of the zone, which has allowed him to keep a good 85% contact rate. The walk-off hit was a good example of said phenomenon. Still, Omir Santos will probably drop-off in a big way, and soon. Whether you think Omir Santos is really this good or not, you have to accept that it's not a good sign when people are debating whether a player with a .300 OBP is "for real".

Minaya's comments about Santos were also a little disturbing because it indicates he both likes Santos enough to start, possibly over Schneider, and thinks ~30 games of totally bizarre data is an adequate sample size to evaluate a player.

Farewell, Blastro, you were too good for this team. Good luck, Schneider.

White Sox Roster Move Mania

larry — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:42:21 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

Ramon Castro

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The White Sox traded Lance Broadway to the New York Mets for catcher Ramon Castro and cash. Corky Miller will be designated for assignment. Wes Whisler is being called up to take Broadway's place in the bullpen.

Quick thoughts:

Castro is an improvement over Miller offensively and while he's not nearly as good as Corky defensively, his offense more than makes up for that (career .237/.311/.417). He's hit slightly better against lefties but doesn't have much of a platoon split over his career. Castro has thrown out 31% of runners over his career. In 2007 and 2008 his CS% was quite poor but he's rebounded this year to throw out 7 of 15. He's making $2.5 million this year and I'd expect the Mets will be paying a good chunk of that.

Broadway simply isn't that good and he's pretty much redundant on this team. I expected him to be gone prior to Opening Day. Clayton Richard's performance has sewn up the 5th starter role and, with Jose Contreras waiting in the wings, Broadway had no place. And it gives New York City headline writers some pre-written work.

I'll just re-post what I wrote about Whisler a couple weeks back:

This guy just doesn’t strike enough people out. While his ERA is often very nice – 3.81 last year and 2.12 so far this year – his peripherals scream "not a major leaguer." He’s averaged about 4.5 K/9 in the upper minors and that simply won’t do. While he does perform better against lefties, he hasn’t shut them down like a Gobble can. Also has little experience pitching in relief.

He does give Ozzie another lefty in the pen, which he of course loves. Whisler is expected to stay until Contreras is called up for the doubleheader on June 8.

Mets Trade Castro To White Sox

Eric Simon — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:06:07 -0000

The Mets have apparently traded Ramon Castro to the White Sox in exchange for RHP Lance Broadway. So, that just happened.

Broadway has a career minor league ERA of 4.10 and a WHIP of 1.43. He was the Sox's first round pick -- 15th overall -- in the 2005 draft. Omar Minaya mentioned on SNY that the Mets will send some cash to the White Sox.

Broadway has a solid 1.70 career GB/FB rate as a minor leaguer.

UPDATE: Broadway was John Sickels's #4 White Sox prospect for 2006 and 2007, He was #6 for 2008. He fell out of the Top 20 for 2009.

Jose Contreras Is (on his way to) History

The Cheat — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:22:16 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

When you can't get anyone out, you talk to the glove

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The White Sox have now lost their last 8 games started by Jose Contreras, a streak which started before the All-Star break last season with a 22-hit loss to the Matt Harrison-led Rangers.

It's the longest such streak since... the Sox lost 9 straight Contreras starts in '07.

But that streak probably doesn't count. Contreras was removed from the rotation in the middle of that streak and actually earned a victory pitching out of the bullpen in an extra innings game. So it's actually the longest streak for a guy who made only appearances in the rotation since '06 when the Sox lost a retrosheet-era team record 10 straight Javier Vazquez starts. But Vazquez pitched pretty well over those 10 starts, with an ERA of 4.22. He just happened to be the recipient of 1.8 runs of support over those games including a 1-0 complete game loss to Kason Gabbard and the Red Sox.

Contreras... hasn't.

The End of Jose Contreras

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009	0-5	6	6	0	0	0	0	29.2	40	30	27	4	16	17	8.19	1.89
Losing Streak	0-5	8	8	0	0	0	0	35.1	53	37	34	5	18	21	8.66	2.03

The beat writers have been asking about removing Contreras from the rotation since his third start of the season. Looking at those numbers above, with Contreras showing no signs of improvement, control that can only be described as deficient, no forkball and only an occasionally passable slider, there's not much argument for keeping him in the rotation. Ozzie Guillen agrees:

"We are going to start somebody elese (sic) against Cleveland. We've got give days to figure that out (who).

"Jose feels bad, disappointed like everybody else. It's not fair to the club -- or to him -- to keep sending him out there," Guillen said, indicating the team will make a decision in the coming days once everyone has had a chance to discuss what's best for Contreras. "He's not happy with himself. He feels like he let the team down.

"We need to figure out how to get him back on track."

But a quick look at the pitchers who would be called upon to replace him, and you can easily see why the Sox have given Contreras so much rope.

Personal favorite Jack Egbert hasn't even been able to get AAA hitters out this season.
Lance Broadway -- NO
Aaron Poreda might be the best option, but he's still learning how to throw off-speed pitches in Birmingham, which is a good reason to ignore his stats and trust the Sox scouts. He'll be up when they say he's ready, or when the Sox feel he can learn on the fly at the big league level.
Clayton Richard seems like the most likely candidate, as the only member of this list who was legitimately competing for a starting spot in spring training. But Ozzie only used him for an inning tonight and might not want to move him for fear of having on one lefty in the pen.
DJ Carrasco is a nice low-leverage swingman who might be able to give you a decent start in a doubleheader or suspension situation, but you don't want to turn to his two-pitch repertoire every 5 days.
Scott Gregor has floated the name Carlos Torres, who's a guy I've paid zero attention to over the years. He's having a nice season so far in Charlotte, but, but, just ask Larry. I'm not really qualified to lodge much of an opinion here.
Others have speculated that Wes Whisler could be a candidate, but he doesn't have the minor league track record to suggest his good start to the season is anything more than a fluke.

Is this the end of Jose Contreras in White Sox uniform?

It would be foolhardy to give up on Contreras with nobody banging on the door screaming Look at me! I can get major league hitters out. And he can easily fill the Lance Broadway role of pitching only in blowouts (or the 11th inning of a tie game with a well-rested Bobby Jenks eating candy in the bullpen). So Contreras isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Personally, I feel bad for Contreras. He struggled with some nagging injuries last year that took a few MPH off his fastball. He took a little break, and when he finally came back and appeared to be throwing well he blew out his Achilles. So he worked his ass off in the off-season to get back into shape and beat everyone's expectations by legitimately making the opening day roster only to lay an egg in each of the season's first 6 starts and be removed from the rotation.

Maybe he pushed too hard to get back from the injury. Maybe he just needs to work every other day in the pen to get the feel for his forkball and remember how to throw a well-located fastball.

Maybe he's done for good.

Do White Sox Have Surprising Starter Depth?

The Cheat — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:37:27 -0000

A little over a month ago, things looked grim for the White Sox starting staff. Sure, they had a solid, young nucleus anchored by Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd, but who was going to fill the other two rotation spots?

Javier Vazquez had been traded to Atlanta for a package of prospects who don't figure to contribute in '09. Jose Contreras had ruptured his Achilles tendon late in '08, and given his age didn't seem like a good bet to pitch anytime before the All-Star break.

All references to the Sox rotation included words like "competition" followed by uninspiring names like Jeff Marquez and Lance Broadway. The Sox projected rotation, even with the solid front three, appeared to be that of a 4th or 5th place club.

Yet as we sit here 4 games into spring training, I'm surprisingly optimistic about the Sox rotation picture.

What's changed?

Sox sign Bartolo Colon -- Even though we all know he's going to get hurt at some point, even though he had his elbow "cleaned up" in the off-season, even though he has yet to throw live BP to hitters this spring, I have faith that Colon will contribute positively to the Sox rotation... for a limited time.
Contreras is a miraculous healer -- Nobody expected Contreras to contribute before the All-Star break, nobody but Contreras, that is. He "ate lots of fish" in the off-season and obviously trained hard, doing what he could, to drop a reported 30 pounds from last year, and now is tentatively scheduled for live action mid-March. There's a possibility he could open the season in the rotation.
It's Spring -- It's hard not to be optimistic at the beginning of spring. Anything's possible.

The addition of the two old guys coming off injuries suddenly gives the Sox some starting depth. Granted, they're adding a couple more question marks to a pile of candidates that already sound like a round of Jeopardy. Who is Jeff Marquez? But now it seems they'll only have to count on the young, unproven guys to provide 20-45 starts instead of the 60+ that would be required from filling the final two spots of the rotation.

Who's got the best shot?

Aaron Poreda -- The White Sox top pick of the '07 draft opened his spring by serving up a homer and a single to a pair of major leaguers, but retired the next 6 batters he faced in a "B" game. He has plus command of a plus sinking fastball that sits in the low 90's, but the rest of his pitches lag behind. He can probably succeed from the bullpen as a 1-pitch pitcher, but needs to refine his secondary offerings to claim a rotation spot.

Coming North: 55% chance (as a starter: 25%)
Clayton Richard -- Richard helped his chances a great deal late last season by putting up a solid start in Yankee stadium, and cleaning up Vazquez' final two messes. He's a lot like Poreda in that he throws from a lower 3/4 slot and relies on good sink from his fastball, which doesn't quite have the zip of Poreda's (sitting just below 90). Richard seems to have a knack for adding and subtracting off his fastball with good results, but also lacks consistency with his slider and change. He seemed to take a step forward with his slider against lefties down the stretch, making him the clubhouse favorite for LOOGY duties.

Coming North: 95% chance (as a starter: 35%)
Jeff Marquez -- Derisively called [Starter Candidate 5] during our depression regarding the Sox starter prospects, Marquez doesn't have the recent minor league track record to support his name being mentioned here. His name is here, however, based on a reported 94 MPH fastball with good sink. I'll allow that Marquez' strikeout rate was hurt last season by nagging injuries, that the Sox scouts see something that I don't, but until he starts to show some ability to miss minor league bats, he shouldn't be among the lead candidates for a rotation spot.

Coming North: 40% chance (as a starter: 15%)
Jack Egbert -- Slowed by elbow soreness last spring, Egbert seemingly missed out on his chance to break into a big league rotation. He shook off a slow start in AAA to post his usual excellent K/BB/IP numbers over the final three months, but saw a spike in his HR rate in Charlotte's small park. Egbert will not wow you with his stuff. He's fringe-average with everything but a plus changeup. But he's got a funky hitch in his delivery (think: Chris Young, the pitcher) and has never really had a problem missing bats or keeping the ball on the ground. In many ways he's the opposite of Marquez, a guy without the stuff to wow scouts, but a minor league record that screams Give Me A Shot, You Might Like The Results.

Coming North: 15% chance (as a starter: 5%)
Lance Broadway -- The Sox 2005 first rounder is a bit like Egbert in that he has underwhelming stuff and good "pitchability." Though unlike Egbert, Broadway hasn't been able to translate that into the type of minor league success that precedes a solid major league career. Sox fans have been treated to two successful major league starts from Broadway, but those seem like flukes given the ridiculously high hit-rate he's allowed in the high-minors.

Coming North: 7.5% chance (as a starter: 2.5%)
John Van Benschoten -- The Pirates' failed top pick (8th overall) in the 2001 draft has a career ERA of 9.20 over 19 starts. Only the Pirates could manage to give that many starts to a guy who proved to be so totally unprepared for the major leages. Van Benschoten's minor league record isn't terrible, which is probably why the Sox bothered to pick him up this winter. I suppose there is a chance, albeit a slim one, that Don Cooper can work a little magic and make him over into an effective pitcher.

Coming North: 2.5% chance (as a starter: 1%)

I may have talked myself back down to a more pessimistic (read: reasonable) position in writing those capsules, but I still feel pretty good about one of the unproven starter candidates being able to step up his game. The bigger questions for me are, Who will it be? And will more than one of them be needed?

Game 2 of White Sox Spring Training: Viciedo, Beckham Debut

larry — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:35:13 -0000

Viciedo, despite a defensive misstep, debuted to rave reviews:

Viciedo opened with a clean, first-inning single to left off an 0-1 pitch from Colorado starter Jason Hirsh. He grounded into a double play in the third and lined out to right fielder Daniel Ortmeier in the fifth before being replaced at third base by Javier Castillo in the sixth inning.

"I felt relaxed, no pressure at all," said Viciedo, through translator and White Sox bench coach Joey Cora. "I felt happy and very good to finally play a game in the big leagues."

"The kid can swing the bat. He really, really can swing the bat," Guillen said of Viciedo. "And he's not scared."

Beckham didn't get the start but came on as a sub. The White Sox' consensus top prospect was 0-1 but drew a walk and stole second base.

Lillibridge began his insurgent campaign for the second base job with a 2-4 performance and a stolen base. If Sox fans want to see a guy who actually could steal 50 or more bases, he's the one.

Corky Miller had two singles and a double. Also apparently showed off his glove and toughness with a block of the plate to complete a double play.

Floyd gave up a run over two innings and then Egbert, Carrasco, Broadway, and Nunez combined to pitch seven scoreless innings to close out the White Sox' first victory of the spring.

Box score

In other news, expect Contreras and Colon to be pitching in live games around mid-March. Their current schedule according to Coop:

The two will finish off their throwing programs Friday morning at the facility in Glendale, take two days off, and then take the mound to throw sideline sessions on Monday.
"Just fastballs, changeups, to build some arm strength,'' Cooper said.
If there are no setbacks, then they will throw sidelines on March 4 and again on the seventh. Cooper will then give them March 8 off, and bring them back the following day to face their first live hitting in a batting practice session.
"It's the same stuff we were doing with the guys that were here before and healthy, and ready to go,'' Cooper said of the process.