SB Nation - Jake Peavy

Mike Gonzalez an option for White Sox?

Eli Greenspan — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:52:20 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

INDIANAPOLIS- The White Sox need a reliever.

Bobby Jenks was a solid closer last season, but was not the dominant closer the White Sox had hoped for. Adding a top reliever would give the back-end of the bullpen some much needed relief and give Ozzie Guillen the option of moving Bobby Jenks out of the closer spot if necessary.

Free agent Mike Gonzalez is drawing considerable interest, but the soon-to-be 32 year old would be in a similar role in Chicago, rotation between the 8th and 9th inning. Gonzalez dominated lefties, holding hitters to a career .201 average.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Mike Gonzalez	5-4	80	0	0	0	10	7	74.1	56	28	20	7	33	90	2.42	1.20

The White Sox are also looking to add a leadoff hitter and designated hitter, but are keeping a tight lip on who that may be. After adding Jake Peavy, how much money they have available is in question.

Vladimir Guerrero is an option, who is reportedly looking at a one year deal worth 7-9 million dollars. For the outfielder, Coco Crisp is an option and sources say Scott Podsednik could be had if all else fails. They are reportedly also looking at Johnny Damon.

Padres Award Celebration Auction Items

jbox — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:20:00 -0000

Friar John's Blog: Padres Award Celebration Special Auction

The Padres Award Celebration is today at the Hall of Champions you could have bought a ticket to the lunch for $75 dollars or 10 tickets for $750. Wow, nice of the Padres to give a group discount. In case you were wondering you could also have bought a special 2 ticket combo for $150 or the third wheel ticket package for $225.

Here's some of the auction items available for fans to bid on:

Dinner with Jed Hoyer: Hoyer may be engaged but you can play the part of Robert Redford and Jed Hoyer can be your Demi Moore in this Indecent Proposal.
One-on-One Pitching Lessons with Heath Bell: Learn how to over eat, feud with ESPN and promote Wii Fit while playing catch in the Padres bullpen.
Hitting Lessons with Kevin Kouzmanoff: Bahahahah! That's rich. I'd bid on this if they were "Hitting Lessons FOR Kevin Kouzmanoff"
General Manger for the Day: Three innings in the booth with Hoyer. Since when is three innings a day?
Lunch with Bud Black: If this was "Bud Black reads you a bedtime story and tucks you in" then I know insomniacs the world over would bid.
Honorary Groundskeeper: Isn't this a job they should be paying you for? The Padres should have fans bid on Honorary Bathroom Cleaner while they are at it.
Little Star Experience: This could be your child's big break, but not really.
Salute to the Champions: No Padres will be in attendance.
A Game-Used Base from the 2006 NLDS: Good chance Albert Pujols stepped on it... Even better chance no Padres stepped on it.
Jake Peavy's Clubhouse Chair: Perfect for sniffing.
Taylor Guitar Signed by 2008 Padres: Now you can strum along with the non-stop Gary Glitter songs at Petco Park.

Rosterbation-Mania!

U-God — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:18:10 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

Raise your hand if you want to play for the White Sox next year. Esteban, please put your hand down. Seriously though, Esteban, you aren't welcome. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Browse more photos »

Over the past couple days, and inspired by the infamous U.S.S. Mariner post and the on-going reader input over at Sox Machine, I've been putting together my off-season plan. I tried to keep it as realistic as possible (no video game trades), especially in terms of payroll. Feel encouraged to leave your own roster plans in the comments section. U-God's 2010 plan lies after the jump.

Free Agent Acquistions:

DH- Nick Johnson, 1 year/5.5 mil

I love Jim Thome and always will. He is my back-up plan. With that being said, I would be thrilled if KW went out and got Nick Johnson. The 31 year old lefty has a career .849 OPS fueled largely by his .402 career OBP. Johnson also allows us to rotate Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin in at DH as well. He does come with injury-risks, but using him mainly as a DH in combination with one of the premier medical staffs in baseball should counteract that. The injury risk combined with the down market should allow the Sox to grab him at a reasonable price for a year.

RF- Marlon Byrd, 1 year/4.5 mil

Byrd would be a very refreshing change of pace out in rightfield. He has posted an OPS above .800 each year since joining the American League and has been an above-average defender in right as well. His career high 20 homers last year will guarentee him a raise, though probably a modest one. Byrd also provides a nice stop-gap for our outfield prospects.

C- Brian Schneider, 1 year/1.5 mil

Schneider's days as a starter are over. He's a lefty-catcher who has had good success stopping opponent's run games (38 CS%). Being a backup drops his price tag and lowers his risk of getting hurt again.

1B/OF- Mark Kotsay, 1 year/1.5 mil

Bring him back. He was good after we traded for him and gives Ozzie more flexibility with his bench and lineups.

Contract Extension:

Offer John Danks the Jon Lester deal (5 years/30 mil). It's a back-loaded contract that buys out John's arbitration years and allows him to hit free agency at age 31. It may take more money to lock him up, but for simplicity's sake, I'm just going to use the Lester deal.

Batting Order:

DH- Nick Johnson, 3B- Gordon Beckham, LF- Carlos Quentin, 1B- Paul Konerko, C- A.J. Pierzynski, CF- Alex Rios, RF- Marlon Byrd, SS- Alexei Ramirez, 2B- Chris Getz.

That OBP in front of Beckham gives me dirty thoughts.

Bench:

C- Brian Schneider, 1B/OF- Mark Kotsay, UTIL- Jayson Nix, OF- Alejandro De Aza

Nix gives pop off the bench and De Aza gives Ozzie a speedy pinch-runner for late in the game.

Starting Rotation:

Jake Peavy-RHP, Mark Buehrle-LHP, Gavin Floyd-RHP, John Danks-LHP, Freddy Garcia-RHP

I like the idea of having Peavy and Garcia pitch back to back.

Bullpen:

Bobby Jenks-CL, Matt Thornton-LHP, Scott Linebrink-RHP, DJ Carrasco-RHP, Tony Peña-RHP, Jhonny Nuñez-RHP, Randy Williams-LHP

I wanted to trade Jenks, but his value is too low right now and I don't want a repeat of the Nick Swisher trade.

Other Costs:

$1 mil buy-out for Jermaine Dye

$.35 mil for Mike MacDougal, damn him

Team Payroll:

$96.65 mil, only .55 higher than last season's opening salary. All figures (except my FAs and arbitration guesstimates) taken from Cot's Baseball Contracts.

Fantasy Baseball: It's Time For You to Love Ubaldo Jimenez

Ian, yo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:24:56 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Browse more photos »

If there's one starting pitcher I'm comfortable reaching for in next year's drafts, that guy is Ubaldo Jimenez. People hear/see Ubaldo's name and probably think...Coors...hitter's park...walks a lot of guys...I see Ubaldo Jimenez and I see a number two fantasy starter with number one upside and a K/9 that'll likely be in the 7-8 range with a whip of around 1.20.

Jimenez's FIP suggested he was slightly better than his actual ERA and I fully expect that ERA to drop even more as he progresses in the major leagues. Ubaldo won't necessarily become a 2.80 ERA guy, but he could give you 200+ innings with an ERA hovering in the low 3.00.

Getting into the deeper stats for Ubaldo show nothing but good things. If he continues the stats he's had over the last two years, we'll see a GB% in the top ten in starters for the major leagues at above 50% and an average fastball of 96 MPH. Not only does he throw the hardest fastball on average (for starters) but he throws all of his other pitches for an average speed ranking in or near the top ten for each one.

Looking at three sets of early rankings for 2010, I see Ubaldo hovering near the 20-25 range for starting pitchers with guys like Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy and Cole Hamels and if I'm drafting one of those four players, I'm sticking with the less injury-prone twenty-five year old fireballer, who has one of the highest GB% in the majors and plays for an offense that scored the sixth most runs in 2009.

Poll

Which young ace would you rather have in 2010?

Ubaldo Jimenez

32 votes

Yovani Gallardo

35 votes

Cole Hamels

11 votes

78 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 Do-It-Yourself Offseason Trade/Free Agent Post

Al — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:01:23 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

Some guy named Brian Roberts. Ever heard of him? Me, either.

Browse more photos »

This morning, wrote that the Cubs are interested in acquiring . Cubs GM Jim Hendry . Meanwhile, Hendry said that Milton Bradley would be traded to the . Hendry also said that Rich Harden , and that Carlos Zambrano . Former Cub Mark DeRosa while Bradley was offered to the . The Cubs tried to get the to take Aaron Miles' contract, but they refused because . In the upcoming Rule 5 draft, the Cubs are going to select . The Cubs' plans for Sam Fuld in 2010 include Brian Roberts was located and had this comment on his possible trade to the Cubs: Finally, manager Lou Piniella's comments about the rumors included:

Larry Jansen (7/16/20 to 10/10/09) - What to Learn from His Brief Career

Jeff Zimmerman (TucsonRoyal) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:33:55 -0000

Larry Jansen passed away this last Saturday in his sleep (great article from his local newspaper on his life). He is most remembered for the being the winning pitcher when Bobby Thompson "hit the shot heard around the world". Larry played for nine seasons and had a nice career cut short by arm trouble. He was averaging 4.4 WAR per season for his first four seasons and then his production dropped off as seen from this graph (data from Rally's WAR databas e):

Even though I could not find any reference to Larry having arm problems before 1954, his production dropped off significantly in 1952 (less SO/9 and more BB/9). He almost for sure was injured in beginning in 1952.

Season	Team	G	IP	W	L	ERA	FIP	K/9	BB/9
1947	Giants	42	248	21	5	3.16	3.56	3.77	2.07
1948	Giants	42	277	18	12	3.61	3.54	4.09	1.75
1949	Giants	37	259.2	15	16	3.85	4.18	3.92	2.15
1950	Giants	40	275	19	13	3.01	3.49	5.27	1.80
1951	Giants	39	278.2	23	11	3.04	3.29	4.68	1.81
1952	Giants	34	167.1	11	11	4.09	3.70	3.98	2.53
1953	Giants	36	184.2	11	16	4.14	4.25	4.29	2.68
1954	Giants	13	40.2	2	2	5.98	4.44	3.32	3.32
1956	Redlegs	8	34.2	2	3	5.19	4.19	4.15	2.34

Larry career was similar to many pitchers because they have a few good years, become injured and never pitch to the high standard again. Looking at Rally's ranking of 500 top pitchers of all time, Larry comes in at #350. They are several current injury prone pitchers around him such as Kerry Wood (#352), Jake Peavy (#343) and Ben Sheets (#333) that could have similar careers to Larry. I am not saying these three pitcher's careers are done, but you never know with any given player. For 5 seasons, Larry was on top of the world and it pretty much came to an end within a couple of years. Larry career should be a reminder for us to enjoy the players now because we will never know if we will see them play the same, or if at all, again.

Kevin Towers: The End Of An Era

Jack Moore — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:00:34 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2008, file photo, San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers talks about the possibilities of trading star pitcher Jake Peavy and shortstop Khalil Greene, at a meeting of baseball GMs in Dana Point, Calif. Towers, the longest-tenured general manager in the major leagues, is being fired by the San Diego Padres after 14 seasons. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

Browse more photos »

Floating around the rumor mill lately are reports that San Diego Padres GM will be fired after the season is over. Towers spent the last 14 seasons as the GM of the Padres, and over that span San Diego has made the playoffs 4 times, including their only World Series appearance in 1998. Assuming Towers will indeed lose his job, the Padres record over his Tenure will be 1107-1159, for a .478 winning percentage.

Of course, Jeff Moorad and the new Padres ownership group probably isn't terribly interested in the 1998 World Series run nor the back-to-back division titles in 2005 and 2006. As ESPN is wont to remind us, the world of professional sports is a "What have you done for me lately?" world. The Padres 74 win season this year certainly looks great compared to their 2008 win total of 63. However, their run differential suggests a talent level closer to 66 wins. Regardless, the talent on the field right now leaves something to be desired. The question must be asked, though - what did Towers do to deserve getting fired?

The Padres were a successful team by any rational measure from 2005-2007, averaging 86 wins and reaching the playoffs 2 times, narrowly missing a third in a legendary single-game playoff for the wild card. In 2008, the team won 63 games. What changes in on-field talent led to this massive drop-off? First, let's look at the major contributors from the 2007 team and their production in 2008.

Nearly every significant contributor from the 2007 team saw a significant drop in production or left the team through free agency. Jake Peavy couldn't follow up a tremendous 6 win 2007. Greg Maddux succumbed to age. Chris Young lost most of his 2008 to injury. Mike Cameron and Milton Bradley left to free agency. Old standby Trevor Hoffman slipped to nearly replacement level. Khalil Greene absolutely collapsed. Overall, the team lost over 16 wins of production from a core group of 13 players from the 89 win 2007 team.

Nobody stepped up to fill the gaps, either. The only position players not listed above to go above 1 WAR were Jody Gerut (3.2 WAR, no longer on the team) and Edgar Gonzalez (-0.4 WAR in 2009). Similarly, no pitchers stepped up to fill the gaps. Only Cha Seung Bak managed over 1 WAR in 2008, and he was injured through all of 2009. No team will be able to sustain a loss of 16 wins in production from their core and be able to compete without some contribution from new players. The Padres didn't bring in any big time free agents and weren't able to fill gaps with younger players.

This seems to suggest the Padres have not been able to infuse young talent into their team. There just haven't been players ready in AAA to come and fill in for aging or injured major leaguers. This isn't to say there's a lack of trying. Matt Antonelli, Nick Hundley, Paul McAnulty, Wade LeBlanc, Cla Meredith, Josh Banks, and Justin Germano saw significant time in 2008 and were all 25 or younger.

Unfortunately, the Padres did not get production out of this group of players. This inability to replace the lost production from 2007 led to the dismal 2008 season. Things are looking up this year, as they graduated Kyle Blanks and Everth Cabrera, who have combined for 1.8 wins in 2009 in under 600 PAs. They unloaded the expensive contract of Jake Peavy and picked up four decent prospects, giving a much needed boost to a 25th ranked farm system. They are a young team, with an average pitcher of 27 years old and average batter of 28, both below the league average.

However, no stars have been born out of these young players. The only truly elite player on the team is Adrian Gonzalez, as the only player with 3 or more wins above replacement this season. Also, the farm system doesn't have much in terms of elite prospects. With Kyle Blanks now in the majors, that leaves Mat Latos as their only top 100 prospect, and he ranks in the bottom half. They are deep, though, and they have one of the premier players in baseball to build around. They should have the money to rebuild with how low they've kept payroll.

Unfortunately for Kevin Towers, his farm system let him down in 2008 and 2009. It appears that the Padres are still a couple years away from making a run at the playoffs in a suddenly strong NL West. Without the elite chips to build with, Jeff Moorad isn't willing to wait around for a relic from the old ownership to win. Moorad could go in any number of directions, perhaps the most intriguing of which would be assistant GM Paul DePodesta of Moneyball fame. As for Towers, he has a solid reputation around baseball, and likely will not have to wait very long to find another job.

[Image: Justin Bopp. Data Sources: www.fangraphs.com, www.baseball-reference.com. Data Collection: Jack Moore]

Nowhere Near Good Enough: White Sox 8, Tigers 0

Ian Casselberry — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:20:20 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Nowhere Near Good Enough: White Sox 8, Tigers 0

Browse more photos »

If Jake Peavy was going to pitch against the Detroit Tigers the way he did last week, their chances of winning likely wouldn't have been that strong.

But at least the Tigers could've looked competitive on Friday night. Losing 8-0 with a division championship at stake doesn't exactly give that impression.

Edwin Jackson fell behind three pitches into the game, teeing up a fastball to Scott Podsednik that he crushed down the right-field line for a home run. For the next two innings, Jackson looked as if he might have settled down and been ready for a toe-to-toe duel with Peavy.

But the White Sox pecked away with a RBI double by Jermaine Dye in the fourth and a solo homer by Carlos Quentin in the fifth. A 3-0 deficit was looking pretty formidable with the Tigers' bats looking helpless against Peavy.

Oh, if only the score had stayed at 3-0. Jackson couldn't quite find the strike zone in the sixth inning, and when he did, neither his slider nor fastball had much movement. Three of the first four White Sox batters drew walks, working the count and fouling off plenty of those sliders. Dye's walk brought in a run to make it 4-0, and that started the grease fire. Mark Kotsay followed up with a two-run double, and Jackson's night was over.

Jackson ended up with eight runs allowed (two of those runs were let in by Casey Fien, but charged to Jackson). That's the fourth time in his last five starts that he's given up at least five runs. For those who feel that the Tigers could take three strong starting pitchers into the playoffs, Jackson hasn't been doing much to warrant that kind of confidence lately.

But back to Peavy, who's looked dominant against Detroit in two starts. He gave up just two hits in eight innings tonight. Two hits. He's pitched 15 scoreless innings versus the Tigers, allowing eight hits with 13 strikeouts. Peavy might not have recovered in time to help the White Sox challenge for the AL Central title, but he's most certainly exerting his influence on the race.

Whimper:

With only two hits, there were plenty of oh-fers in the Tigers lineup tonight. But Miguel Cabrera had an 0-for-4 night to go with his 0-for-3 versus Peavy last week. He's now 2-for-23 (.087) facing Peavy over his career.

Comment of the Night:

900+ comments on the game threads.

And 90% of them can’t pass the Front Page Filter for COTN.

by NCDee

Ricky Nolasco in the history books

craig — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:11:56 -0000

As it turns out that, Ricky Nolasco did something very rare.

Eight swinging strikeouts and one looking as Nolasco came within one of the standard Tom Seaver set on April 22, 1970. According to Elias, Nolasco is the fourth pitcher in major league history to strike out nine in a row along with Seaver, Jake Peavy (April 25, 2007) and Mickey Welch(Aug. 18, 1884).

No American League pitcher has every accomplished that feat.

If you want to to learn more about Mickey Welch and him doing it from 50 feet away from the hitters, Clark Spencer has done the research.

Then there is this.

But Nolasco was the story. Demoted to the minors in May when he got off to a bad start, Nolasco capped off his turnaround with Wednesday's performance.

``My back was against the wall there for awhile,'' Nolasco said of his early-season struggles. ``I just told myself that no matter what was going to happen, I was going to finish strong. And that's something I'm proud of. And it's something that will make me hungry to do better next year.''

I really can't believe that anyone would think that Ricky wouldn't have an up and down season. The general rule of thumb is that if a pitcher is extended over 30 innings more than the previous season, he is a candidate for injury and also inconsistency the next season. Fortunately Nolasco didn't get hurt but he was inconsistent.

In 2007 he threw a whopping total of 55 innings between the minors and the majors before he was shutdown with elbow problems. In 2008 he threw 212.1 innings for the Marlins. Now, I am no math wiz but even I can figure out that 157.1 is a little higher than 30.

Which led to the unsurprising result that Nolasco was inconsistent in 2009. At times he was brilliant and at other times he couldn't find the plate with both hands and a flashlight. But even in the down starts he always battled through to try and keep the team in the game.

Ricky is a number one starter. The Marlins are fortunate to have two. Next year, expect Nolasco to be lights out most of the time.

And, oh, I almost forgot: Congratulations Ricky on the accomplishment!

Dodgers Hope For Success The Fourth Time Around

Eric Stephen — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:47:09 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

The O-Dog has welcomed himself back into the Dodger lineup with a flourish.

Browse more photos »

It was then that I got up to leave
But she said, "Don't forget,
Everybody must give something back
For something they get."

-Bob Dylan, 4th Time Around

After giving something back for three days, the Dodgers look to get something tonight. The Dodgers entered play Sunday with a magic number of one to clinch the National League West. Three days later, the magic number is still one. The Dodgers champagne and Visqueen party is tentatively scheduled again for tonight, as the Dodgers close out their road schedule with a final game in San Diego.

Jon Garland takes the hill tonight, making his sixth start as a Dodger. He has pitched well so far, with a 1.91 ERA, although his peripherals show a 3.55 FIP and 3.93 x-FIP since joining Los Angeles -- good, but not 1.91 ERA good. Part of the reason Garland has been so effective recently -- he has pitched six innings in 21 of 22 starts since the start of June -- is an increase in his strikeout rate. Before the All-Star break, Garland struck out a paltry 3.62 batters per nine innings, but since the midsummer classic he has upped that to 6.01 punchouts per nine. That is quite an increase for someone who hasn't struck out higher than 4.8 batters per nine innings since 2003.

Clayton Richard, a man who seems like he was named backwards, pitches for the Padres tonight. Richard, acquired from the White Sox in the Jake Peavy trade, is 4-2 with a 4.58 ERA, 4.77 FIP, and 4.60 x-FIP since joining the Padres. However, he has really taken a liking to his new home park. In five starts at Petco Park, Richard has a 2.48 ERA, and the Padres have won all five games.

With the left-handed Richard throwing tonight, it might not be a bad idea to sit Andre Ethier, who is in the midst of a one-for-28 slump. Ethier still has the weird split this season in that he has just seven singles in 81 at-bats against southpaws on the road, hitting .086/.196/.086 against them. Part of that is bad luck -- he has a ridiculously low .121 batting average on balls in play -- but a day off might serve him well.

Speaking a time off helping a player: Since rejoining the lineup on September 25, Orlando Hudson has played five complete games and is hitting .333/.556/.750 with six walks and two triples. Maybe that rest did him some good. He has triples in consecutive games for the second time this season. Since moving to Los Angeles, only Pedro Guerrero had a longer streak, with three straight in July 1983.

The Padres are 12 games over .500 since July 27, and their 35-23 record over that time is tied with the Rockies for tops in the division. Of course, they have also only outscored their opponents by 15 runs in that span, compared to the +63 run differential for the 31-28 Dodgers.

**********

Other games of Dodger interest:

The Phillies host the Astros, with a magic number of one to clinch the NL East over the Braves. Pedro Martinez opposes Brian Moehler in that game. The Dodgers hold a 1½-game lead over the Phillies in the race for home field advantage in the playoffs. The Dodgers magic number in this regard is three over the Phillies.

4:05pm - Astros at Phillies Gameday

The NL Central champion Cardinals are in Cincinnati to face the Reds, with John Smoltz facing the high straight leg kick of Bronson Arroyo. The Dodgers hold a 2½-game lead over the Cards in the race for home field advantage in the playoffs. The Dodgers magic number in this regard is also three over the Cardinals.

4:10pm - Cardinals at Reds Gameday

The Rockies host the Brewers at 5:40pm, a game that starts roughly 85 minutes before the Dodger game. Jason Hammel will face Milwaukee's Jeff Suppan. One Rockies loss or one Dodger win means a division crown for Los Angeles.

5:40pm - Brewers at Rockies Gameday

**********

Be sure to check out Xeifrank's simulation of tonight's game here.

Don't forget to RSVP for True Blue LA Day at Dodger Stadium, on the next-to-last day of the regular season, October 3 against the Rockies. There are three tickets left.

Get your guesses in for today's final "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out," here.

Game Time: 7:05pm

TV: Prime Ticket

Baseball Reference Preview