SB Nation - Mark Grudzielanek

Manny Ramirez / Casey Blake Golden Sombrero edition

Phil Gurnee — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:42:40 -0000

Manny has lost his luster with four more strikeouts tonight and six in a row. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

While watching the fireworks light up the sky at Chavez Ravine it is a sad ending to a night I'd hoped to be a once in a lifetime event for me. This will probably be the only chance I would have had to witness a post season celebration but the Dodgers were unable to provide their own fireworks so they will have another go at it tomorrow with the TrueBlue crew in the house to cheer them on.

If the Dodger were powered by wind their power would be in surplus after Manny and Blake swung through enough pitches to power the lights until Christmas. For the sixth time in his career Manny struck out four times, leaving six runners on base, killing rally after rally. With each at bat the crowd would rise and greet him with cheers only to boo him as they sat down after each strikeout. By the last strikeout the boos were as loud as Manny may have ever heard in his career when playing in front of a home crowd. Wasn't it only 12 months ago that Manny could do no wrong?

Casey Blake was none the better but all of his four whiffs came with no one on base courtesy of Manny, Kemp, and Loney going 0/12. In fact the four of them combined to go 0/16 and left 11 base runners twiddling their thumbs. Six for Manny and five for Kemp. A massive failure on the part of the heart of the order.

Manny and Blake were the first Dodgers to both strike out four times in a game since Mark Grudzielanek and Angel Pena did it way back on July 25th, 1999.

Randy Wolf once again did his job, giving up all his runs as usual in one inning and then shutting down the Rockies until he was lifted after only five innings. Troncoso pitched a scoreless sixth but the 7th is when the real damage was done. Elbert came in to get Todd Helton and failed as Helton went against the shift hitting a double down the right field line. Elbert was removed for Belisario who tried to throw a high fastball past MVP candidate Tulowitzki and he drove it deep into the left field pavilion giving the Rockies a formidable 4 - 1 lead.

Given the Dodger offense that appeared to be a Mount Whitney lead but they started to climb that mountain when Russell Martin slugged a rare home run into the right field bleachers cutting the lead from 4 - 1 to 4 - 2. They quickly followed with another run on a bloop single by Andre to cut the lead to one run. Manny stepped up and for the fourth time struck out and for all intents and purposes that was the ball game.

The Dodgers needed just one win or one loss by the Rockies to clinch the Western Division starting last Sunday, and as we approach the True Blue game tomorrow they still need that one win or loss by the Rockies.

Small solace that the Cardinals and Phillies also lost putting the Dodgers home field advantage at one game. So with one win the Dodgers can win the Division and home field advantage.

Can they do it? Tomorrow will be the best chance with Clayton Kershaw going for the Dodgers. Can Manny bounce back after a miserable week which has seen him go 0/10 with 8 strikeouts including his last six time at bat.

Wolf has now thrown a career high 214 innings surpassing the 210 inning he threw seven years ago in 2002. Quite an accomplishment for the man who will be taking the mound in our first playoff game no matter who we face or when.

The five game losing streak is the longest of the year for the Dodgers and for the 3rd time they struck out 13 times. Not the greatest time to have your longest losing streak but just one win will change the smell coming from the team right now. It is strange to know that you could lose out and still be playing in the postseason. I wonder who was the last team to lose their last seven games and still make the playoffs?

Joe Torre on Manny:

It's definitely a concern. He just doesn't look comfortable up there, we obviously need him, we keep supporting him and keep expecting him to do good things and that day will come for us. He's been down this road before; slumps are part of the game. The only thing I can do is write his in there, pat him on the back and expect better things to happen.

Manny had this to say:

My confidence is always up. I'm one of best hitters. All you have to do is check my police reportand see that I'm still a good hitter.
Baseball is like that. The only thing we know in life is that we die.

We don't think about the championship. We're thinking about tomorrow and De La Rosa

I don't control the (the boos)

Ten Lessons Jim Hendry Needs To Learn From The 2009 Season

Al — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Example of a player Jim Hendry should not sign to an overpriced, multiyear contract.

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I suppose this post could have waited till next week, but once again we are faced with more than 48 hours between games -- for the last time in 2009 -- and so I thought I'd start some discussion this morning with these things that I think were done poorly by Cubs GM Jim Hendry since the end of the 2008 season.

Hendry got a three-year contract extension (through the 2012 season) after last year's successful regular season, with the hope that 2009 would be even better. It didn't work out that way; Hendry had about as bad an offseason last year as any GM in recent memory, but with new ownership poised to take over, it isn't the right time to blow everything up and start over. Hendry will be given at least one more year to get things back on the track we thought the Cubs were on during their two-year run as NL Central champions in 2007 and 2008.

Some of the problems with the 2009 Cubs were not Hendry's fault and many of them were beyond his control. It's not Hendry's fault that Aramis Ramirez dislocated his shoulder four weeks into the season and missed a total of 75 games (through yesterday). A-Ram produced above his usual level (.906 OPS, compared to his career level of .847) and I think we all agree that the Cubs missed his production in the two months he was out from mid-May to mid-July, not to mention that he wasn't at full strength on his return. To have produced the way he did after the All-Star break -- without complaining -- is a credit to Ramirez's work ethic and ability. It's not Hendry's fault that Alfonso Soriano played most of the year injured, though he perhaps could have insisted harder that Soriano have arthroscopic surgery in June, and maybe he'd have been ready in September. It's not Hendry's fault that all the Opening Day rotation starters spent time on the disabled list, forcing the Cubs to have 21 starts made by guys (Sean Marshall, Kevin Hart, Tom Gorzelanny and Jeff Samardzija) whose performance can best be called "uneven". (The Cubs were 9-12 in those 21 games.)

Credit where credit is due: give Jim credit for recognizing that Randy Wells could help the team as a starter, though I don't think anyone could have guessed he'd be as good as he has been. Credit for giving Koyie Hill the backup catcher job; he's been very good in that role. And credit for getting John Grabow and Gorzelanny for, essentially, nothing; Grabow will likely be retained as a key part of the 2010 bullpen and Gorzelanny, though his performance has been up and down, does have talent and will be in the mix for the 2010 rotation.

With that in mind, below the fold you'll find ten ideas Hendry must internalize and go by as he builds a roster for 2010. (Not necessarily in priority order.)

1. Stop fixing "problems" that do not exist. I think this is one we can all agree on; the troubles with the 2009 Cubs began with the decision made at the organizational meetings last fall that "we're not lefthanded enough", a mantra particularly of Lou Piniella's, due to the Dodgers' RHP-centric pitching staff in the 2008 NLDS. The Cubs didn't lose that series because of a lack of LH batters, but since Lou (and the rest of the staff) thought that was the reason, they went out of their way to identify a "lefthanded, middle-of-the-order bat" that they could insert behind Derrek Lee and ahead of Ramirez. We are all familiar with the expensive disaster that produced so I won't rehash it here. I caution Hendry about this because they are about to do the same thing -- fix a nonexistent problem. "We need a speedy leadoff man", goes the managerial mantra. Well, no, Lou, you don't. A leadoff man's primary job is to get on base. You already have someone who can lead off and do that -- Kosuke Fukudome, who ranks 8th in the NL in walks, despite having almost 100 fewer plate appearances than the leader (Albert Pujols). The Cubs are 22-13 with Fukudome leading off this year (that's a 101-win pace for a full season). The last time Hendry went after this type of player, he traded three useful minor leaguers for Juan Pierre. Jim -- do not get sucked into this trap again.

2. Stop bidding against yourself for players. The first argument against this, you might think, is "Jason Marquis", but Marquis did what he was asked to do -- if the Cubs had kept him this year and he had produced the way he did in Colorado, the Cubs would have gotten fine 4th or 5th starter value for the $7 million a year average per year over the life of Marquis' contract. True, Hendry could have likely had Marquis for less, since no one else had expressed interest at the time. And you can't make the argument "Alfonso Soriano" about this, either, because Soriano had been offered six-plus years by the Phillies and seven by the Angels; the Cubs were determined at the time to make a statement in the free agent market. Soriano was the top free agent after 2006, and yes, the Cubs overpaid to get him. He may still be healthy and productive enough to be worth the deal, at least for the next 2-3 years. (Heaven help the Cubs in years 7 and 8, though.) No, what I'm talking about is paying $30 million for three years' worth of the iffy Milton Bradley when absolutely no other team was even after Bradley, much less offering three years. Or giving a two-year contract to Aaron Miles for any amount of money, when we now know there was at least one option (Andres Blanco) right in the Cubs' own farm system who could have done a better job for the league minimum. Advice to Jim: when you're thinking about doing this, don't. Just don't.

3. Stop giving out contracts that are longer than they need to be. Related to the last point, there was no need to give Marquis a three-year deal; two plus a mutual option would have likely done it, and then if the Cubs really did want to deal him last year, they could have arranged for the other team to pick up the option (if that team wanted him badly enough) or simply decline the option and let him go to free agency. This is particularly true in the case of Marquis; the return for him (Luis Vizcaino) was worthless, because the Cubs wound up dumping him and eating the contract. The same thing applies to the Miles and Bradley deals.

4. Stop trading for guys you think are good because you liked them five years ago, or are fond of their college coach. You don't have to guess who I'm talking about here; his name is Aaron Heilman. (And several years ago, his name was Michael Barrett.) It's great for a GM to be loyal to his players, and Hendry is someone a lot of MLB players want to play for, for this very reason. But any Mets fan could have told Hendry that Heilman had lost whatever command he had last year -- you should have heard the booing for Heilman when he came in at Citi Field, louder than I think I've ever heard for any returning former player -- and though Heilman has been better the last six weeks, he still was not worth losing Felix Pie (Pie, though he went to Baltimore, essentially was part of this deal because Garrett Olson, who was acquired for Pie, was part of the deal to the Mariners for Heilman). And really, Jim, isn't it time to stop the Notre Dame-Wrigley Express? As far as I can tell, there are four active major leaguers who went to ND: Heilman, Samardzija, Craig Counsell and Brad Lidge. All of those guys have issues. Enough already.

5. Stop handing out one-year renewal deals to players like candy. Chad Gaudin didn't throw very well and had a noted off-field incident in 2008. He didn't figure to play a major role in the 2009 rotation or bullpen, yet the Cubs signed him to a $2 million deal in December to avoid arbitration. Then he stunk it up in spring training, forcing the Cubs to simply release him and eat the contract; the Padres and Yankees later got replacement-level production for the league minimum. The Cubs could have gotten this sort of production out of Justin Berg or Esmailin Caridad, as it turned out. Gaudin should have been non-tendered in December.

6. Don't waste half a year's roster spot on a Rule 5 pick that your manager isn't going to use. Maybe David Patton would have pitched better if Lou Piniella had actually used him more than once every five games. We'll never know, obviously, but Lou essentially wasted a roster spot by relegating Patton to pitching in blowouts or in long extra-inning games. The Cubs could have used an extra bench player -- since Aaron Miles was useless -- because Lou was working with what was for all practical purposes an 11-man pitching staff. Lou and Jim deserve equal blame for this one -- and I hate to say it, but BCB poster BLou was right about this one. At this point, maybe it's best for the Cubs to stay out of the Rule 5 draft for a while.

7. Do more careful evaluations of your prospects and young players to maximize their value, whether it be in the major league lineup or in trades. It's clear now that the entire organization was split on Felix Pie's progress. Two years ago, his trade value would have been a lot higher than "Garrett Olson", and of course, now it's probably far higher than that again. Hendry sold on Pie at the lowest possible point, and he and Lou together dragged down a former top prospect's trade value (they did the same with Rich Hill, who could have been dealt after the 2007 season for a pretty good return, although few would have suggested it after Hill put together such a good season). This is another reason why it's silly to have played Bobby Scales in left field for even one game. Scales is a great story and maybe he's a 25th guy on someone's roster next year -- but his trade value is close to zero. Jake Fox, on the other hand, might either be a useful spare part for the 2010 Cubs or might have some trade value, but scouts aren't going to see it if he sits on the bench, Lou. This is where a GM has to have some input with his manager, not simply let the manager dictate the roster. In general, GM's shouldn't be making out lineups -- but Hendry, in this case, could have let Lou know that Fox should have been playing (and Fox should have also been playing 3B from the day after A-Ram went down, too).

8. Don't automatically think that you have to sign expensive free agents to get better. Last offseason, rather than sign Milton Bradley, the Cubs could have approached the White Sox for Jermaine Dye. Dye could have been available by trade; at the time it appeared the White Sox were trying to dump contracts. In fact, I wrote about this possibility last November. Dye didn't have a great year, but he was at least as good as Bradley without the baggage, and with Dye having a $12 million mutual option that will almost certainly be declined by the White Sox, he might be available for not too much money and years (see points 2 and 3). There may be other players available like this -- and, in fact, Hendry almost has to use this route to be able to move Bradley's contract. Magglio Ordonez is almost certain to be on the block, and though he had a terrible season, it's possible he could rebound and he's a lifetime .308/.389/.513 hitter in Wrigley Field (relatively small sample size of 90 PA). NOTE! Do not assume that because I mentioned Ordonez, he is the ONLY player I'd go after for such a deal. He's only one example. Another such player is Luke Scott, who would have looked pretty good in a Cubs uniform in 2009, and who is likely headed for a hefty raise in arbitration. Maybe the Cubs can do that if they can trade Bradley elsewhere. The point of all this to Jim Hendry is: get creative, the way you did when you pulled off the Nomar Garciaparra deal in 2004.

9. Get "good clubhouse guys". I mean, this should be a no-brainer. Any Cubs fan who's been around even for ten years knows that the 2003 Cubs, managed by a player's manager, Dusty Baker, succeeded in part because they had strong clubhouse leaders, Eric Karros and Damian Miller. Miller and Karros were sent packing before 2004, and the 2004 Cubs, despite having more talent and ability than the 2003 version, collapsed in the final week. The acrimony there was visible in public, with players calling the press box to bitch, along with some high-profile public trouble between the team and its broadcasters. I'm not saying those were the only reasons for the success or failure of those two teams, but they clearly did have some impact, particularly with a players' manager like Baker who pretty much lets the clubhouse run itself. If there are no strong player-leaders, such a clubhouse is an "inmates running the asylum" situation and the results are predictable. Similarly, the Cubs lost strong player-leaders Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood after 2008 and added one player who reportedly was not a good clubhouse presence. NOTE! I am NOT saying that the Cubs must go out and reacquire DeRosa and Wood. However, I am saying that I believe all successful teams have players like this in their clubhouse. Hendry needs to identify some such players who can both do this and be productive in the lineup, and acquire a couple of them. Without trying to ignite the stats debate again, I believe having guys like this does matter. (Of course, they should also be good players -- that goes without saying.)

10. Think outside the box. Jim Hendry did this when he managed to dump an unproductive Todd Hundley on the Dodgers and get back two useful players in Mark Grudzielanek and Karros, without whom the Cubs might not have won the division in 2003. He did it again in 2004 when he engineered the four-team trade that got Nomar to the North Side. He needs to be creative in his thinking again this year. Don't fall prey to the "this is what's wrong with us and we are going to go fix that no matter what it costs" thinking that helped ruin the 2009 Cubs. Be ahead of the curve; that's what helped the Cardinals do so well this year. Also, this could apply to the idea that Hendry might be able to find solutions just by looking in his own system for next year (say, Andres Blanco, Justin Berg, Esmailin Caridad) rather than scouring the waiver wire for someone else's discards (as he did this year with the Aaron's).

There may be more lessons than just these ten, but going by these simple precepts might help Jim Hendry build a 2010 Cubs team that will once again be the favorite to win the NL Central -- and this time, actually do it.

Did I Hear A 'Niner' In There?

Eric Stephen — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:28 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

Today is all about the number nine.

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Its only fitting that on 9/9/09, the number nine is prominently featured. Nine is...

The number of Dodgers with 50 runs scored this season. Only four teams in baseball history have had more players score 50 runs
The number of home runs hit by second baseman Orlando Hudson this season. Other Dodger second baseman to hit exactly nine homers were Mark Grudzielanek (2002), Pete Coscarart (1940), and Tony Cuccinello (1933)
The number of extra-base hits by Dodger pitchers this season (seven doubles, and two home runs), including five by Randy Wolf
The number of runs scored by Brad Ausmus this season, the most by a Dodger backup catcher since Dioner Navarro scored 21 runs in ~~1995~~ 2005
The number of wins this season by tonight's Dodger starter, Jon Garland
The number of home games remaining for the Dodgers...in the regular season

Here is how the Dodgers have fared on other recent numerological dates:

August 8, 2008: Dodgers 6, Giants 2
July 7, 2007: Marlins 7, Dodgers 2
June 6, 2006: Dodgers 8, Mets 5
September 9, 1999: Mets 3, Dodgers 1
August 8, 1988: Houston 10, Dodgers 0
July 7, 1977: Dodgers 7, Astros 4
May 5, 1955: Dodgers 4, Cardinals 3
September 9, 1909: Giants 6, Dodgers 5
August 8, 1908: split a doubleheader with the Reds; 8-6 loss & 3-2 win
June 6, 1906: Dodgers 5, Cardinals 0
May 5, 1905: Dodgers 7, Phillies 4
September 9, 1899: Dodgers 4, Beaneaters (now Braves) 0
August 8, 1888: Dodgers 5, Louisville Colonels 1

The Dodgers were off on a few of these days. How will the Dodgers do on 9/9/09? We'll find out in about nine hours.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:58:38 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Alcides Escobar talks with Willie Randolph during the first inning Wednesday.

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Some things to read while searching for a signature sign-off.

So, yesterday morning I skipped out early for an appointment, got back home, ate some breakfast, mowed the lawn, then sat down at my coffee table to check the comments on the Mug and discovered what might have been the biggest news day of the season, as the Brewers demoted J.J. Hardy to AAA, promoted Alcides Escobar, fired Billy Castro, designated Bill Hall for assignment and called up Jason Bourgeois. Adam McCalvy has reactions from the clubhouse, and here are several more reactions from around the web:

J.J. Hardy has until Friday to join the Sounds, and says he's looking forward to a few days off.
Brewed Sports was not pleased with that response.
Brewer Paradise Lost is one of many who suspects this move might have been made to prevent Hardy from becoming a free agent following the 2010 season. Hardy would have to remain in the minors past September 1 for the demotion to count against his service time, and it seems unlikely the Brewers will leave him there once rosters expand.
R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs isn't sure the Escobar-for-Hardy swap helps the Brewers this season, or helps Hardy's trade value down the road.
Meanwhile, Cash Kruth caught up with Bill Hall, who seemed upbeat about his situation and expects to be on a team again soon. With that said, this is the same guy who still thought he was the best third baseman in baseball a few weeks ago.
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that at least one NL team is interested in trading for Hall.
Cincinnati Reds Blog sees the Hall situation as "a big opportunity for the Reds to pick up a talented player."
Billy Castro, who had been with the Brewers as a coach for nearly 18 years, left with no regrets. He may not get another chance to be a pitching coach, but it sounds like he'll always have a spot in the Brewer organization, if he wants it.
A Girl's View of the Brewers wonders if these moves will be enough to get the Brewers back on track.
Big League Stew accused the Brewers of waving the white flag on the 2009 season.
PocketDoppler says the Brewers are pushing the panic button.
Aaron Gleeman of Circling the Bases says the move likely came too late for the Brewers' playoff hopes.
Keep Turning Up the Heat says "these are some dark times in the Brewers organization," and doesn't agree with the decision to call up Escobar or fire Castro.
Quevedo at the Buffet doesn't get the timing or the logic behind the moves.
The Bucky Channel wonders why Alcides Escobar was only used sparingly and Jason Bourgeois wasn't used at all last night.

Meanwhile, the Brewers did actually play a game last night, and lost their second straight to the Padres, dropping their playoff chances to 2.9%, the first time all season they've fallen below 3%.

Things could get worse today, as they play a day game against the Padres, who are sending Cesar Carrillo to the mound to make his major league debut today. The Brewers are 0-4 this season in games where the opposing pitcher is making his debut. And, of course, they haven't been good in day games either, or in games played in June, July or August.

Doug Melvin may not be done dealing. The Brewers claimed Doug Davis off waivers from the D-Backs (h/t FanShot), giving the two teams 48 hours to work out a deal to bring him back to Milwaukee. Davis says it would be fun to return to Milwaukee, but Tom H. says it's unlikely to happen.

A bunch of news got lost in the shuffle with everything else that happened yesterday. Here are the important notes that got buried in today's game preview:

Both Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan are expected back before September 1.
Jesus Colome was available to pitch last night despite his bruised pinky finger.
Nick Green cleared waivers after being DFA'd and will remain in Huntsville.

One other minor league note to pass along today: Matt Hagen of The Hardball Times nominated Jeremy Jeffress for most disappointing minor leaguer in 2009.

On power rankings:

The Brewers jumped from 23rd to 20th in WhatifSports' rankings.
MLB FanHouse has the Brewers holding steady at 19.

Around baseball:

Angels: Released reliever Justin Speier.
Cardinals: Placed Todd Wellemeyer on the DL with elbow inflammation.
D-Backs: Placed Scott Schoeneweis on the DL with depression and released Tom Gordon.
Giants: Placed Rich Aurilia on the DL with ankle tendinitis.
Indians: Claimed R.J. Swindle off waivers from the Rays.
Mariners: Erik Bedard is expected to undergo shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
Marlins: Signed Esteban Yan to a minor league deal.
Pirates: Placed reliever Evan Meek on the DL with an oblique strain and claimed reliever John Meloan off waivers from the Rays.
Reds: Placed Scott Rolen on the DL with a concussion.
Royals: Acquired pitcher John Bannister from the Rangers.
Twins: Placed Glen Perkins on the DL with shoulder trouble and released Mark Grudzielanek.

By shuffling the deck in the bullpen a little bit this offseason the Brewers created some new problems, but at least they're done with this one: Reflections of Blue has had it with Guillermo Mota, who posted a 0.26 ERA over one 35.1 inning stretch and a 10.32 ERA since.

Here's something to ponder for all of you who want to make the case that J.J. Hardy should be moved to second or third base, Rickie Weeks should be moved to center field and Mat Gamel should play first base or right field: Will Carroll says a player playing out of position has a 30 percent greater chance of getting injured, based on unfamiliarity with the position.

Brian Anderson wants your help to raise money for the I Back Jack Foundation. Follow the link for more info on how you can help Jack Bartosz, a young man fighting neuroblastoma.

Speaking of causes that could use your money, UW-La Crosse, alma mater of former Brewers Jerry Augustine and Vinny Rottino, has raised enough money to keep the program alive for one more season, but is still on the chopping block.

On this day in 1987, Paul Molitor homered in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to 28 games, but the Brewers still lost to the Orioles, 5-4.

Happy birthday today to Corey Patterson, who turns 30, and former Milwaukee Brave Tony Cloninger, who turns 69.

Drink up.

All Part of the Process: Miguel Olivo Beginning to Reach Playing-Time Bonuses

royalsreview — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:39:17 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

John Buck's exile has been a boon for Miguel Olivo's petty cash fund. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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And now, your Miguel Olivo playing time bonuses update. As per Cot's, Olivo's current contract with the Royals includes a number of playing time bonuses. Since John Buck was injured & exiled earlier this season, it looks like Olivo's off-season demand/complaint to be the starting catcher has been fully satisfied.

performance bonuses based on games, plate appearances:

$25,000 each for 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100 games

$50,000 each for 105, 110, 115, 120 games

$25,000 each for 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400 PAs

$50,000 each for 425, 450, 475, 500 PAs

Olivo's contract history with the Royals is really fascinating, as it's a chronicle representative of a number of moves Dayton Moore has made. For no real reason, as he did with Ross Gload and Mark Grudzielanek, the Royals keep tearing up old contracts, renegotiating, adding option years, etc. It's almost as if Dayton thinks he's running an NFL team. At the moment, Olivo is set to earn a base salary (again, NFLism) of $2.7 million, with a $3.3 million mutual option for 2010.

As you can see from the data above, Miguel can also earn an additional $700,000 -- 26% of his base pay -- if he hits all of his playing time bonuses. (The CBA between MLB and the MLBPA does not allow performance clauses, per se, although awards based on playing time, playoff appearances, attendance, and, get ready to laugh, tie-ins with awards like the Gold Glove and the other major BBWAA awards are allowed. )

I don't necessarily have a huge problem with all these minutely laid out bonuses, there's just something a bit amateurish about the whole thing. For one, why does Olivo need a $25,000 bonus for all those five game increments that begin after 80 games played? Why do bonuses need to be given for games and plate appearances, which over the course of a 162 game season, are basically reached at the same pace, once you factor in the math. Why can't Olivo just have a $50,000 bonus at 80 games played and then, say, a $75,000 bonus at $100,000, and so on? When you add up all the bonuses, yes, the figure is actually sorta impressive, but the smallness of the figures themselves... I dunno, boys... it just looks out of place in 2009.

Now, Moore has done contracts like this in the past, most recently with the Ross Gload extension (though Gload's was only in plate appearances, which seems somehow more professional), but it could very well be Olivo's camp that pushed for these escalators. Or maybe they wanted $3.0 million, and Moore offered $2.7 with a chance at $3.4 as a compromise. I don't know.

In any case, Miguel hit his first thresholds very recently. He played in his 75th game of the season last week against Baltimore, then reached game number 80 today in Tampa. Likewise, during his 80th game, he also hit PA #275. To date, he's earned an extra $75,000 in bonuses on the current road trip.

Really, you have to know the ins and outs of the contract negotiations to understand what's really going on with these bonuses. I think most of us tend to think of bonuses as just that, borderline acts of corporate largess, though in many fields, from banking to baseball, it's an accepted, and expected part of how you're compensated. Obviously, in the baseball sphere, they're nice bits of quick and dirty injury insurance, which is nice. However, it's also a chance to add acrimony to the clubhouse for no real reason.

I'll throw one more, semi-silly, thing out there: maybe this is all to sooth ownership. The Royals have long underreported what their salary actually is, as NY Royal, has pointed out multiple times on this site. For awhile there, everytime we saw a story discussing the size of the Royal payroll, the stated number was $5-10 million dollars lower than what was actually being paid. Is it possible Dayton has some number he's supposed to remain under, and these contracts are a way to ostensibly do so? In both the case of Gload and Olivo, everyone with the Royals quickly fell in love with both players, and these bonuses were laid out with a more than reasonable expectation that they would easily be met.

Finally however, there is one last bit of evidence suggesting this is more of a "Dayton thing". Would you be stunned if I told ya that St. Willie Bloomquist also has similar bonuses built into his contract? Would you be stunned

Do you want to look it up, or should I?

Reassessment: What Is the Twins Biggest Need?

Jesse — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:00:10 -0000

With less than 24 hours to the trade deadline, it's a good time to see if you think the organization's priorities have changed.

Last week we asked this same question, with middle infield taking 45 percent of the vote. Bullpen followed with 30, rotation 18 and bench depth just four percent.

Middle Infield - Still no moves outside of Mark Grudzielanek, although both Orlando Cabrera and Marco Scutaro have been tied to the Twins.

Bullpen - Joe Nathan, Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier and fine, and Jesse Crain has been better his last couple times out. Bobby Keppel has been a bit more vulnerable and R.A. Dickey's fastball is simply R.A. Dickey's fastball. Is this still one of Minnesota's biggest red flags?

Rotation - Kevin Slowey is down for the season, but Anthony Swarzak has been reliable in his absence so far. Scott Baker's season is starting to come under control, and outside of his last couple of starts Nick Blackburn has been a god-send. But if you can get a starter, whether it's just a reliable innings eater with whom you know what you're getting, or something a bit better, is this the move you make?

Bench Depth - When all of your middle infielders are hitting around the Mendoza line, you can't hide them on the bench. They have to start, and they hurt your offensive production. Even if it's just a hitter you can keep on the bench to step in and take a couple of plate appearances a week away from these guys later in the game, it'd be an asset this team doesn't have and one this team could use.

Poll

One more time: What's the Twins' biggest need?

Middle Infield

184 votes

Bullpen

67 votes

Rotation

120 votes

Bench Depth

9 votes

380 votes | Poll has closed

Reviewing Dayton Moore at the Deadline: 2007

royalsreview — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:51:04 -0000

Continuing our look back at Dayton Moore's performance at the trade deadline. For 2006, click here.

The 2007 Royals were the first Royals team since 2003 that did not lose at least 100 games, though at 69-93 they were hardly a factor in the AL Central. They reached the level of "not laughably bad", which is more or less where the Royals have stayed. In 2009, through 99 games, the Royals were 40-59. In 2007, they were 43-56. In a way, it should come as too much of a shock that this stagnation has occurred: after a very busy first year on the job, Dayton Moore has stopped aggressively shopping players.

The 2007 trade deadline was the beginning of this new phase, a phase that apparently will continue through 2009. Although the 2007 deadline did produce one of the better trades of Dayton's tenure, his inability or reluctance to do more makes the 2007 deadline an incomplete success

July 13, 2007: Dan Christensen traded to Tigers for Roman Colon. Christensen was one of the many Baird Era guys who found new addresses in 2006-7. A pitcher drafted in the fourth round of the 2002 draft, Christensen is now in the Seattle system. Considering the long odds that Christensen will ever contribute at the Major League level, snagging Roman Colon -- yes, a former Brave -- was not a bad move. Colon is no great shakes, but after spending 2008 in Omaha, he's appeared in 22 games with the Royals this season. He has a live arm, but little control (11 walks in 24 IP) and is your standard issue mediocre to poor bullpen arm. Then again, the Colon trade was less a case of Dayton's great scouting abilities than a case of the Tigers needing to part way with Colon. The Tigers likely gave Colon away for so little because he had punched Jason Kamuth -- who was trying to break up a fight between Colon and another pitcher -- so severly that Kamuth needed plastic surgery on his face. Cool!

July 25, 2007: Royals release Scott Elarton. Hours after a horrible Elarton start against the Yankees that had me questioning the meaning of life, Dayton parts ways with one of Allard's worst signings. Elarton was signed to a two year, eight million dollar deal for 2006-7. He was terrible. Moore showed a willingness to move on... from somebody else's mistake.

July 31, 2007: Octavio Dotel traded to Atlanta for Kyle Davies: An early high point of the Moore regime. Dotel had signed a one year, $5 million dollar deal, with a number of appearance escalators, in December. Everyone's assumption was that Moore had taken a chance on the oft-injured Dotel on the chance that, if healthy, he could be traded. Dotel made his first appearance with the Royals in late May, and eventually appeared in 24 games, notching 11 saves. On deadline day, this actually happened, with the Braves, yes the Braves, sending back the promising but inconsistent prospect Kyle Davies. Davies has started 46 games for the Royals since, but like JDLR and Odalis Perez, has turned in an ERA+ of 85. Davies has improved a little since his Braves days, though he hasn't made a great leap forward, and his numbers remain all over the place. His 1.8 WAR season in 2008 makes him one of Dayton's better pickups, especially considering the price paid was a partial season of Dotel.

That's it, two trades and a no-brainer DFAing.

The Colon trade was ok, but basically pointless. The Dotel-Davies trade was a very good deal however, probably the best trade of Dayton's career. (However, it's 2009 and Davies is in Omaha, so let's not go crazy.)

In spite of two ok-to-good trades, in retrospect, it is clear that a more aggressive approach would have better served the Royals long-term. The bottom line is that Dayton should have done more.

The biggest mistake was at second base. Not trading Mark Grudzielanek was an absolute mistake. It was a mistake at the time and it's a mistake now. Grudz was hitting .305/.346/.441 on July 30th, and was only owed ~2 million of his $4 million dollar salary. You have to find value for Grudz in that situation. And if you can't find the value you want, you settle for what you can get. Work with the salary and turn it to your advantage if you can in the form of another body. Whatever it takes. The Royals, of course, stuck with Grudz, and it worked out so well for them that they started 2009 with Mark Teahen playing second.

Dayton's second mistake at the 2007 deadline was holding onto David Riske. Riske had a 2.22 ERA with 11 holds at the deadline, and was only owed ~1 million in salary, with an affordable club option for 2008. Again, get something. Get a body. Take a bad contract from someone else, package it with Riske, and get two bodies. Now, of course, we know that Dayton loves collecting mid-tier veteran relievers.

Lastly, there's the possibility of buying at the deadline, as the Mariners just did. No, it wouldn't have been easy, but rebuilding the Royals was never going to be easy.

Supposedly, the Royals were going to rebuild around Dayton's scouting acumen. (Which frankly, should not be taken as a given anymore.) What better chance to display it than finding a 19 year old kid languishing in obscurity in some other system that turns into a useful player? Instead, Dayton quickly fell in love with his ability, real or otherwise, to scout 33 year old veterans, which is how we ended up with the Jose Guillen Generation.

Nearly all of Dayton's 2006 moves ended up being losing trades for the Royals, but most of them were chances worth taking. For whatever reason, after 2006, Dayton's mentality seems to have changed by 2007. Perhaps the success of the Meche signing convinced him he could win soon, especially with Greinke, Gordon and Butler lying around.

As it turned out, he was wrong then, and wrong now, and we're still paying for it.

Twins interested in A's Cabrera

Eli Greenspan — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:52:07 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Browse more photos »

The Twins appear willing to add payroll at the trade deadline to make a late season push, and are setting their sites on A's shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera has been tearing it up in July, hitting .380 with 2 home runs and 6 extra-base hits. Cabrera is a career .277 hitter in the second half of the season, but has a reputation around the league of being a player who lifts his teammates game to the next level.

The Twins also have some interest in Michael Wuertz, meaning the A's could host a mini fire sale and land a pair of above average prospects in return. The A's can afford to trade Cabrera with Crosby and Garciaparra ready to platoon at short, while Joey Devine and Justin Duchscherer will be ready to man the bullpen in 2010. If the Twins offer the right prospects, they could strike a deal.

However, the Tribune says that neither team is very aggressive, mostly because the Twins are still in talks with the Pirates over Freddy Sanchez and have veteran Mark Grudzielanek in the minors gearing up for the second half of the season. One team will have to pull the trigger.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Orlando Cabrera	94	383	37	105	21	0	4	39	23	35	8	4	.274	.312	.360

Poll

Who is more likely to be traded?

Orlando Cabrera

88 votes

Freddy Sanchez

80 votes

168 votes | Poll has closed

Wednesday Morning Poll: What Is the Twins Biggest Need?

Jesse — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:00:11 -0000

There are a couple of obvious answers.

Middle Infield - The signing of Mark Grudzielanek on Sunday wasn't a bad one, but I think it's fair to say that a lof of people were hoping for a bigger splash. In spite of the depth Grudz can provide, is this still the team's biggest weakness?

Bullpen - There have been some gutsy performances from some unlikely places this season; Jose Mijares and Bobby Keppel have been pleasant surprises, R.A. Dickey has played his role and Matt Guerrier has rebounded after a rough time last summer. But there's always room for one more firefighter. At this point would you rather have a guy like Scott Downs? (Downs, by the way, was dealt to the Twins by the Cubs in late '98; six months later he was shipped back with Rick Aguilera, while Chicago sent us Jason Ryan and somebody named Kyle Lohse.)

Rotation - No denying the talent available for the price they're being paid, but some stability and dependability would be great. This doesn't have to be Roy Halladay here, just a proven commodity, tha'ts all we're asking for.

Bench Depth - Mike Redmond, Brian Buscher, Brendan Harris and Delmon Young don't give this club enough offensive depth. Bringing in someone who can pinch hit just somewhere, anywhere in the bottom half of the order would provide an invaluable service to a team that struggles with production at the bottom.

Poll

Let's hear it: what's the Twins biggest need?

Middle Infield

258 votes

Bullpen

173 votes

Rotation

107 votes

Bench Depth

27 votes

565 votes | Poll has closed

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:01:50 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Jeff Karstens is stopped by umpire Chad Fairchild, right, and Jason Kendall from getting to Chris Smith after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning on Monday. No players were ejected, and the Pirates won 8-5. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while changing your misleading name.

Thanks to Tristarscoop for picking up the slack while I was away yesterday. Between getting married, honeymooning, buying a house, moving, being in another wedding and now a funeral, I feel like I've been away more than I've been home in the last two months, but (knock on wood) I should be back for the long haul now...at least through the end of the week.

Did you skip out early on last night's game? I almost went to bed in the seventh inning and would have missed the bench clearing incident involving Chris Smith and Jeff Karstens. Smith hit Karstens with a pitch in the eighth inning but later said the pitch wasn't intentional, which is probably the same thing Karstens said after hitting Ryan Braun in April. This HBP had some increased historical significance, being the 600th plunking at PNC Park.

Because the mess happened so late last night, possibly after many Brewer bloggers had gone to bed, there wasn't a lot of reaction to it on the web this morning. Don't be surprised, though, if Jason Kendall picks up a suspension of a game or two for his actions in the shoving match that followed. Kendall shoved Jeff Karstens down the first base line and was later involved in a shouting match with Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

The incident also overshadowed the Brewer debut of Felipe Lopez. Lopez missed an early flight because he was waiting for his bats and would not have been in the starting lineup if not for the rain delay, but went 4-for-4 with a triple and a walk, becoming the first Brewer to record four hits in their debut since Chuckie Carr in 1996. TheJay sent me that link, and also this note:

By the by, it took Jody Gerut only 20 games (5 starts) over six weeks to reach four hits.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic discussed the D-Backs' reasons for trading Lopez. He (Lopez, not Piecoro) stands a good chance of being a Type B free agent this offseason, but had also been vocal about enjoying playing in Arizona. The D-Backs would have had to offer him arbitration to receive any compensation if he left, but weren't willing to pay him the $5-6 million he would have received if he accepted the offer. They also seem to think Roque Mercedes is similar in value to the compensation pick they could have received.

Manny Parra has allowed just 12 baserunners in 13 innings since returning from AAA and lowered his ERA from 7.52 to 6.37 in the process. Has he figured it out? Zach Sanders of Baseball Digest Daily seems to think so.

In the minors:

Cody Adams, the Brewers' second round pick from 2008, has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for amphetamines. (Also noted in FanShot) Adams wasn't pitching well for the Timber Rattlers in the first place, but will now be set even farther back.
While the struggle to draw fans to games in Huntsville has drawn some negative attention this season, the Nashville Sounds are just happy the attention isn't on them. Despite making some improvements to Greer Stadium, the Sounds' attendance is down from last season, and ranks 15th in the 16-team PCL.
2009 draftee Josh Prince is the Prospect of the Week over at Between the Green Pillars. Battlekow interviewed Prince back on June 23.
The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers lost 15-1 to Lansing last night but still lead by two games in the Midwest League West Division Second Half Standings.
The Cub Reporter has a nice interview with Nashville hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, perhaps better known for being Prince Fielder's BP pitcher at the Home Run Derby.

Ever thought about attending a Brewer Fantasy Camp? Bill Schroeder has the sales pitch for you.

On rankings:

FanGraphs ranked Ryan Braun #8 in their Trade Value rankings, one spot ahead of Tim Lincecum. I love Braun, but if the Giants called and offered Lincecum I'd have a hard time turning it down.
The Brewers dropped four spots to 18th in WhatifSports' Power Rankings.

Around the majors:

Angels: Released reliever Rudy Seanez, who had been pitching in AAA. (h/t Diamond Notes)
A's: Placed Jason Giambi on the DL with a strained quad.
Mets: Placed starter Fernando Nieve on the DL with a leg injury.
Nationals: Placed Scott Olsen on the DL with a back injury and designated Julian Tavarez for assignment.
Orioles: Acquired reliever Cla Meredith from the Padres for infielder Oscar Salazar.
Padres: Placed catcher Edgar Gonzalez, who was hit in the head by a pitch over the weekend, on the DL.
Phillies: Designated reliever Tyler Walker for assignment.
Rangers: Placed Frank Francisco on the DL with a mild case of pneumonia.
Red Sox: Designated Julio Lugo for assignment.
Reds: Placed Ramon Hernandez on the DL with inflammation in his knee.
Tigers: Placed Joel Zumaya on the DL with a sore shoulder.
Twins: Signed Mark Grudzielanek to a minor league deal.

Last week I mentioned that I had participated in SBNation's NL Central Roundtable, and linked to part 1 of the conversation. Part 2 is up over at Viva El Birdos. It was written prior to the Lopez acquisition, but there's still some relevant stuff in there.

Happy birthday today to former Brewers Lance Painter (42), Geoff Jenkins (35) and CC Sabathia (29).

Oh, and I already knew Amy K. Nelson was a baseball writer, but discovering that she's also an old school video gamer made her infinitely cooler in my book.

Drink up.