SB Nation - Emil Brown

The Mets Acquire Chip Ambres, Citizens Of Buffalo Cheer

Sam Page — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:00:20 -0000

According to Hubbuch, The Mets got OF Chip Ambres from the Red Sox today. You may remember Ambres for his .376 wOBA with New Orleans in 2007. Total Zone had him at 17 runs above average that season. Ambres also had a three game stay with the Mets that year, in which he hit a GWRBI. He's probably an upgrade over Cory Sullivan or whoever else he'll take playing time from in Buffalo. If nothing else, he's a reminder of how uncreative Minaya is and how bad the Mets leftfield situation was in 2007. I suppose he's Emil Brown's replacement, and he's another player I don't want to see on the Mets or batting second this season.

John Lannan Throws First Complete Game In Front Of 31,456 In Nationals Park. 7-1 Nationals Over The Mets.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:22:50 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

6 months ago: Washington Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty, left, reacts with pitcher Johnn Lannan after a baseball game with the New York Mets at Nationals Park in Washington, Saturday, June 6, 2009. Nationals won 7-1. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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John Lannan needed just 96 pitches (and 5 double plays) to get through nine innings for his first complete game in the majors in a 7-1 win over New York tonight in front of 31,456 in DC's Nationals Park. Lannan gets four double plays in the first four innings to erase two leadoff walks, a one-out walk and a leadoff single, (not in that order) and he holds the Mets to just 4 hits, retiring NY in order in the 5th, 6th and 7th, before back-to-back singles and an error by Elijah Dukes allow the one unearned run the Mets scored to cross. 7-1 DC. Lannan thrills the DC Faithful when he picks up a bat and hits with two down in the eighth, and only a two-out Mets' single in the ninth gets in the way of his first complete game, as the Nationals win their 15th of '09!!! A perfect night...If only Lannan hadn't gotten thrown out on a play at the plate in the sixth!! J/K. The only thing Lannan didn't have tonight was speed! Nationals win, Lannan now (W, 3-5, 3.68 ERA). Cool Hand Stops The Losing!!

HEADLINES...(Coverage Continues After The Jump...)

• SHAKE N BAKE!!! SHAKE N BAKE!!!

• Two-Spot Cleans Up!!!

• Elijah Dukes, The Missed Fly, And The Oddest Double Play I've Ever Seen...

• Who Needs The New Closer...

• E: 53.

Nationals win, 7-1 final.

Miss The Game, The DC Faithful Were Watching!!

So Were The Amazin' Avenue Fans, Check Out Their GameThread.

For The Completists, Complete Game Report After The Jump...

Nationals now 15-39.

SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!!!

Nick Johnson hits a one-out double in the bottom of the first, and Ryan Zimmerman follows with an RBI line drive to center to get the Nationals off to a rare 1-0 lead. First pitch fastball to Adam Dun--SHAKE N BAKE!!! SHAKE N BAKE!! Adam Dunn destroys it, off the facade of the second-deck in right! Dunn's 17th dinger gives the Nationals a 3-0 lead in the first and provides John Lannan with all the support he would need for the win. Dunn hits his first HR and collects his first RBI since the last time he faced New York on May 27, and hit one off Johan Santana, over the Citi Field fence, and onto the Bridge in the outfield!! Dunn hits HR's in three straight games against NY, and he's now hitting .258 with 17 HR's and 44 RBI's in 55 games, .391 OBP, .557 SLG, .947 OPS.

Two-Spot Cleans Up...

Nick "Two-Spot" Johnson ends the night 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, a HR, 2 runs scored, 3 RBI's and a .332 AVG, .434 OBP, .469 SLG, .903 OPS. Johnson hits his 5th HR of the season off Maine in the fifth, and collects his 30th RBI on the 3-run blast. "Two-Spot" hits a one-out double in the first, and a two-out double in the sixth that would have driven in his 31st RBI if anyone other than John Lannan was trying to score from first.

• Elijah Dukes, The Missed Fly, And The Oddest Double Play I've Ever Seen...

I'll just let you read it from the Game Report:

Lannan gives up a leadoff walk to Luis Castillo. Emil Brown hits a long fly ball to right, and Elijah Dukes reaches back after he overruns it, just missing it or did he?...the ball hit the ground according to the Ump...and the Mets base runners get mixed up and doubled up...Castillo crosses back toward first, thinking Dukes caught it, as Brown heads to second...Brown out for passing the runner, then Castillo breaks from first as Dukes fires in from his back, Nick Johnson picks it up and shuffles to Guzman at second to get Castillo. PHEW!! (Go ahead and read that again, I'll wait...)

Here's how they scored it...

OFFICIAL SCORING: Brown out, 3 unassisted, 9-3-6 on Castillo...Double play, Dukes to Johnson to Guzman? (ed. note - "You really have to give it to Dukes here, sure he overran the fly, but he did actually catch it upon further review, and when they didn't call it a catch, he threw in from his back and allowed Nick Johnson to toss to second to double up Castillo...That's right Dukes threw the ball from the track to the infield from his BACK!! SSSSSSUPER DUKESSSS!!!

Who Needs The New Closer?

Washington Post writer Chico Harlan reported, in a pregame Nationals Journal post entitled, "More On Hanrahan, MacDougal (And Other Notes)", that the Washington Nationals had decided to remove "Wild" Joel Hanrahan, "...their on-again, off-again closer from the ninth-inning role -- perhaps this time for good." Mike MacDougal, whose three-pitch strikeout of Gary Sheffield impressed everyone who saw it, will take over for Hanrahan for as long as he can hold onto the job. Tonight, however, neither one of the two relievers were needed as John Lannan went the distance, throwing 96 pitches, 61 for strikes and as MASN Announcer Rob Dibble** pointed out in his post game Twitter message, Lannan threw "21 1st pitch strikes" to the 30 batters he faced in the complete game win. It'll be interesting to see what MacDougal, who had 48 saves in his two best seasons with the Royals in '03 and '05 does with the closer's role, which has made it's way around to just about everyone in the bullpen but Pitching Coach Randy Knorr.

(ed. note - " ** What? You Don't Get Rob Dibble's Tweets? Why the heck not???")

E: 53, E. Dukes...

Yes, Elijah Dukes finished the night 3 for 4, and he did hit his 5th HR and collect his 26th RBI in the process, but Elijah Dukes also overran the fly ball that led to the ridiculous DP, and he also dropped a line drive in right that allowed the Mets' only run to cross in the eighth. Omir Santos drilled a 2-0 fastball to right with David Wright on third and Elijah Dukes was thinking about the throw home before he secured the liner, which bounced off his glove and fell to the grass as he frantically searched for the ball, which should have been in his glove. The error is Dukes' 2nd of the season, and the Nationals' 53rd, tonight it didn't make a difference.

FULL GAME REPORT:

New York Mets At Washington Nationals. Game 53 or 54 of 162.

DC lefty John Lannan gets a called strike on a 3-1 pitch, but the full-count offering is outside, leadoff walk to Luis Castillo. Cristian Guzman gets a ground ball from Emil Brown and throws to Anderson Hernandez, to Nick Johnson at first, double play. Carlos Beltran K’s on a curve that bounces in the dirt, and Wil Nieves has to throw him out to end the top of the first...Cristian Guzman rips the first pitch from John Maine right into Fernando Tatis’ glove. Nick Johnson lines a double off the base of the wall in right center. Ryan Zimmerman lines a single over short to score Johnson for a 1-0 DC lead. Adam Dunn gets a first pitch fastball out over the plate and he deposits it up in the second deck in right for his 17th HR of the season. 3-0 DC in a hurry. Elijah Dukes fights off a fastball inside and gets around in time to line it to left. Willie Harris flies out to Beltran in center. Anderson Hernandez grounds out to Wilson Valdez at short to end the first.

Gary Sheffield grounds out to Zimmerman at third to start the second. John Lannan walks David Wright on four straight pitches to bring up Fernando Tatis with a runner at first. Tatis grounds to second, Hernandez to Guzman to Johnson, double play...Wil Nieves reaches out and rolls a groundout to second. Wilson Valdez throws Lannan out from behind second. Cristian Guzman flies out to center, 3-0 DC after two.

Omir Santos hits a leadoff line drive to right, Elijah Dukes fires back in to hold the runner at first. Wilson Valdez grounds to into the third double play in three innings to help Lannan out. Nick Johnson provides further support, diving toward second to snag a grounder from Maine, Johnson tosses to Lannan covering...Nick Johnson gets called out looking at a two-strike change outside and sinking. Wilson Valdez loads up and fires to first to get Zimmerman. Adam Dunn grounds into the dramatic shift to end the third.

Leadoff walk to Luis Castillo. Emil Brown hits a long fly ball to right, and Elijah Dukes reaches back after he overruns it, just missing it or did he...the ball hit the ground according to the Ump...and the Mets base runners get mixed up and doubled up...Castillo crosses back toward first as Brown heads to second, Brown out for passing the runner, then Castillo breaks from first as Dukes fires in from his back, Nick Johnson picks it up and shuffles to second to get Castillo. PHEW!! (Go ahead and read that again, I'll wait...).Ryan Zimmerman stabs a sharp grounder from Beltran, spins and fires to first in time to get the runner...DUKES gets a hanging slider from Maine and launches it to left and GONE!! HR!! 4-0 DC. Luis Castillo robs Willie Harris of a single, taking a knee and spinning on it after fielding to fire to first. Anderson Hernandez flies out to Sheffield in left. David Wright fields a routine grounder and throws out Nieves.

Gary Sheffield pops up the catcher for the first out of the fifth. Elijah Dukes backs up a few steps to catch David Wright’s fly ball out. Fernando Tatis hits a weak blooper to first, Nick Johnson has it...John Lannan walks to start the Nationals’ fifth. Cristian Guzman walks for the fourth time this season. Nick Johnson goes deeep to left and GONE!! 3-run blast for "Two-Spot" Johnson!!! 7-0 Nationals. Ken Takahashi replaces Maine on the mound. Ryan Zimmerman walks. Dunn K’s swinging through a fastball. Elijah Dukes grounds out to Wilson Valdez at short.

Omir Santos vs Lannan to start the sixth. Ryan Zimmerman throws Santos out on a weak grounder. Wilson Valdez grounds out to Anderson Hernandez. Ken Takahashi stays into bat, and swings through a fastball, for Lannan’s sixth scoreless frame...Wil Nieves grounds out to short for the first out of the Nationals’ sixth. John Lannan slices a single just over Wright’s outstretched glove. Cristian Guzman flies out to Beltran in front of the track in center. Nick Johnson doubles off the wall in left, Lannan runs reeeaally sloooooowly around third and gets nailed at the plate.

Luis Castillo grounds out to short to start the seventh. Emil Brown grounds out to second. Willie Harris roams back to catch Carlos Beltran’s fly ball out...Fernando Nieve takes over on the mound for the Mets. Ryan Zimmerman K’s swinging through a 95 mph fastball inside. Dunn flies out to Beltran in short center. Elijah Dukes blasts a two-out single back up the middle. Willie Harris flies out to Beltran to end the seventh.

Gary Sheffield hits a fly ball to center for Willie Harris to handle. David Wright sneaks a sliced single through second with one down. Fernando Tatis hits the second-straight single off Lannan. Omir Santos lines to right, Dukes comes in and looks to thro...Dukes drops it...Wright scores, 7-1 DC. (ed. note - E: 53). Wilson Valdez grounds to short, Guzman to Hernandez to Johnson, double play #5!!! Lannan through eight...Anderson Hernandez grounds out to Castillo at second. Wil Nieves vs Nieve, Nieves flies out Beltran in right center. John Lannan picks up a bat!!! and promptly K’s swinging.

John Lannan’s back out for the ninth. Daniel Murphy grounds to Johnson, who tosses to Lannan covering. Luis Castillo grounds out to Anderson "Elvis" Hernandez at second. Emil Brown goes back up the middle for a two-out single. Carlos Beltran grounds to second, Anderson Hernandez throws him out!!! Nationals win. Theeeee NATIONALS WIN!!! 7-1 final. Sorry, getting ready for the other NY team!!!

Nationals now 15-39.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:27:26 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

6 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun, Mike Cameron and Corey Hart celebrate the Brewers 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds after their baseball game on Sunday, May 31, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

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Some things to read while rocking out to the Ultimate Warrior's theme. (h/t FanShot)

By completing a three-game sweep of the Reds yesterday, the 2009 Brewers won their 30th game, making them the quickest team to 30 wins in franchise history. They also won 18 games in May, meaning loge seats for the June 9-11 series against the Rockies are now just $10. Those tickets became available about half an hour ago.

Here are some tidbits on the Reds series:

Brandon Phillips still thinks the Reds are the better team.
Aaron Harang said he was having a hard time locating everything but his fastball on Saturday.
Friday's 3-2 win was the Brewers' third win this season when collecting three or fewer hits. No other team has more than one such win.

As it turns out, the Reds may have caught Yovani Gallardo at the worst possible time. Joe Posnanski noted that Gallardo has allowed just one earned run in four day starts this season, but posted a 5.26 ERA at night. Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases ranked Gallardo #9 on his list of 50 pitchers to build a team around. Gallardo was the only Brewer listed.

Dave Bush missed the cut, but you can help him make another one: He's an eight seed, up against Aaron Rodgers in the first round of Sconnie Sports' tournament to determine Wisconsin's most popular athlete.

There's plenty of credit to go around when you're winning:

The Wisconsin State Journal has a profile of Brewer third base coach and Madison resident Brad Fischer.
The JS has a profile of pitching coach Bill Castro.
And while Greg Giesen of the Racine Journal Times says the Brewers aren't playing enough small ball, Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal says Ken Macha has stats arguing against it.

Macha also ranked 13th in Nick Cafardo's rankings of all 30 managers. He came in behind Dusty Baker (10th), Lou Pinella (9th) and Tony LaRussa (1st), among others. (h/t Reid Laymance)

The Brewers open a series with the Marlins today. Here's something you may not have known about Trevor Hoffman: He's the only original Florida Marlin still active in the major leagues.

Hopefully Mike Cameron is getting hot again. Cameron has home runs in back-to-back games and leads the team in doubles (12) and slugging percentage (.550). Baseball Musings says the Brewers should be happy they held on to him this offseason.

Turns out, the Brewers are above average against above average teams. Baseball Reference says the Brewers went 20-29 against teams with winning percentages over .600 from 2004-2008, the eleventh best record in baseball.

In the minors:

Alcides Escobar's second base experiment appears to be over. Apparently the adjustment is more difficult than expected.
Joshua Butler, acquired when Gabe Gross was sent to the Rays, was 6-0 in Brevard County before getting called up to start for Nashville on Saturday, and allowing two earned runs in six innings of work. Maybe the Brewers will get something out of Butler after all.
If you'd like to go out and see a Timber Rattler game this week or next and sit in great (free) seats, you should check Rattler Radio's giveaways.

Just one draft note to pass along today: MLB Outsider has the Brewers drafting high school pitcher Matt Hobgood with their first round pick.

Around the league:

Astros: Roy Oswalt has reportedly informed the team that he will not accept a trade to the White Sox.
A's: Placed Travis Buck on the DL with an oblique strain.
Dodgers: Placed pitcher Eric Stults on the DL.
Indians: Placed Grady Sizemore (elbow) and Rafael Betancourt (groin) on the DL and designated David Dellucci for assignment.
Mets: Acquired OF Emil Brown from the Padres.
Orioles: Designated Chad Moeller for assignment.
Pirates: Placed reliever Donnie Veal on the DL with a groin pull.
Rangers: Placed starter Matt Harrison on the DL with a strained shoulder.
Rockies: Fired manager Clint Hurdle and replaced him with Jim Tracy.
Royals: Placed John Buck on the DL with a slight herniation in his back.
Twins: Placed Nick Punto on the DL with a strained groin.
White Sox: Placed Carlos Quentin on the DL with plantar fasciitis, acquired catcher Ramon Castro from the Mets and designated Corky Miller for assignment.

The Cardinals also placed Khalil Greene on the DL over the weekend with a social anxiety issue. No one seems certain on a course of action or a timeframe for his return but, for the first time, retirement has been brought up as a possibility.

Baseball is an incredible game sometimes. When last I mentioned Randy Choate, it was to point out that he had not retired a major league batter since 2006, despite appearing in games in 2007 and 2009. Now, he has two saves for the Rays.

Economic times remain tough for many, and the Pirates are cutting staff midseason on their business side. Today I also have reports that a deal to buy the AA Connecticut Defenders and move them to Richmond has fallen through and the Memphis Redbirds are in default with their stadium financing plan.

Finally, as noted in a FanShot over the weekend, Austin Wood, a reliever for the University of Texas, was allowed to throw 13 innings (169 pitches) in a marathon extra inning game over the weekend, despite the fact that he'd thrown 30 pitches the previous day. The Grand National Championship hopes prospective recruits were paying attention.

Oh, and throwing 13 innings in relief is pretty impressive, but it's nowhere near as hilarious as this rain delay dance off.

Drink up.

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.

Know Your Foe: Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:15:08 -0000

Arizona Diamondbacks

There are not many teams that are this close to solidifying their 25-man roster for the 2009 season. That is largely due to the small turnover the roster felt over the off-season. Gone are Orlando Hudson, Randy Johnson, Adam Dunn, Brandon Lyon and Juan Cruz but they were replaced aptly with Felipe Lopez, Tom Gordon, Scott Schoeneweis and Jon Garland as well as internal options.

via www.baseball-reference.com

Lineup:

All eight starters are already locked up for Arizona, and only Felipe Lopez differs from last year's line-up. The Diamondbacks hope the continuity and growth of their young hitters is enough to build a strong lineup. Even the line-up order is fairly set...Stephen Drew and Chris Young might swap positions against LHP.

Order	Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
1	Felipe Lopez	2B	552	.274	11	56	.349	.400	.335
2	Chris B. Young	CF	527	.260	25	77	.336	.482	.358
3	Stephen Drew	SS	532	.276	16	66	.340	.451	.346
4	Conor Jackson	LF	469	.296	14	75	.384	.465	.375
5	Justin Upton	RF	435	.257	16	60	.349	.444	.348
6	Chad Tracy	1B	445	.276	16	60	.339	.452	.346
7	Mark Reynolds	3B	468	.254	22	81	.333	.462	.347
8	Chris Snyder	C	332	.241	13	51	.344	.419	.340

Looking at wOBA, we can conclude the D-Backs line-up features zero elite hitters, one very good hitter (Jackson), five above average hitters (Young, Drew, Upton, Tracy and Reynolds) and two average hitters (Lopez, Snyder). That's a decent distribution, especially considering the relative youth of the line-up.

Arizona's line-up projects to score 4.924 runs/game (peaking at 4.959 arranged differently). That's the same as 797.7 total runs, which ranks them right in the middle of the NL West.

Bench:

The Diamondbacks bench is also very set. Eric Byrnes will remain an overpaid fourth outfielder, and pinch-hitter Tony Clark returns to continue blocking Minor League Player of the Year Josh Whitesell. Augie Ojeda fills in as the primary utility infielder, and Miguel Montero is an above average offensive back-up catcher.

Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Miguel Montero	C	178	.256	12	54	.329	.419	.330
Eric Byrnes	OF	495	.259	17	60	.322	.428	.333
Tony Clark	1B/PH	206	.238	11	37	.326	.437	.336
Augie Ojeda	IF	274	.245	2	27	.334	.321	.303
James Skelton	IF/C	370	.246	5	40	.351	.346	.320

The final spot on the bench is between James Skelton and Ryan Roberts. Both can play catcher, so Montero could be utilized frequently as a pinch hitter. Skelton is a Rule 5 draft pick from the Tigers, so that gives him a slight edge over Roberts, who has had a very strong spring.

Rotation:

The theme continues, as all five starting pitchers are set in the rotation. Brandon Webb and Dan Haren return as the best 1-2 punch in the NL West. Doug Davis is an average #3 starter at best, but I like recently signed Jon Garland in the #4 starter slot. Youngster Max Scherzer will be the fifth starter to start the year. Given worries about his arm following a winter injury, manager Bob Melvin will take great care with the young gun.

Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K
Brandon Webb	209	13	10	3.34	1.33	166
Dan Haren	203	12	10	3.41	1.23	190
Doug Davis	154	7	10	4.54	1.62	114
Jon Garland	187	9	12	4.48	1.50	102
Max Scherzer	83	5	4	3.84	1.29	94

The Diamondbacks' rotation is clearly a top two rotation in the division. If Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain falter after getting abused last season by Bruce Bochy, Arizona's rotation will easily pass the Giants as the class of the NL West.

Bullpen:

Chad Qualls assumes the closer role he probably should have had going into 2008 as Brandon Lyon left for Detroit. Tony Pena moves up to the set-up role, and former Washington closer Jon Rauch comes in as a solid 7th inning man. Scott Schoeneweis came over from New York to be Bob Melvin's LOOGY.

Role	Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K/9
Closer	Chad Qualls	70	4	3	3.50	1.29	7.97
Set-up	Tony Pena	75	4	4	3.85	1.23	6.72
7th inn.	Jon Rauch	69	4	4	3.84	1.28	7.70
LOOGY	Scott Schoeneweis	48	2	3	4.71	1.60	6.00
Long Relief	Yusmeiro Petit	117	6	7	4.74	1.32	7.15
Relief	Billy Buckner	77	3	5	4.71	1.42	6.70
Relief	Doug Slaten	47	2	3	4.44	1.42	6.60

Yusmeiro Petit, today's starter is the favorite for the long relief role, though Juan Gutierrez still has a longshot chance for the role. Billy Buckner will probably be the mop-up reliever, and Doug Slaten is battling with Travis Blackley for the last spot. Once Tom Gordon returns from injury, he'll take that spot. That's a pretty solid bullpen.

Why the Diamondbacks will win the NL West:

This is the most balanced team in the division. Their entire pitching staff just might be the best in the division, and their offense is competitive if not spectacular. For a team with very few question marks, a step forward for some of their young hitters could be enough to push them to the top.

Why the Diamondbacks will NOT win the NL West:

They might be balanced, but the line-up will still rank near the top of the league in strikeouts and is still relatively weak. To wit: Arizona's #3 hitter, Stephen Drew has a lower projected wOBA than EVERY projected Rockies starter except Clint Barmes. Then consider their cleanup hitter (and best hitter overall)) failed to hit a home run in his last 201 at-bats last year. Not a misprint - his last one was July 27. The offense will be improved as a whole but it still won't be enough to compete with other NL West teams with more flash.

San Diego Padres

The Padres are absolutely the antithesis to Arizona. San Diego has more question marks in the last week of the spring than I've seen from any team in a long time. They are going to be bad. Very very bad.

via upload.wikimedia.org

Lineup:

The core of the lineup is set with Giles, Gonzalez, Kouzmanoff, Headley and Hundley down the middle.

Order	Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
1	Jody Gerut	CF	381	.278	13	45	.348	.449	.350
2	David Eckstein	2B	461	.269	4	32	.337	.347	.310
3	Brian Giles	RF	512	.266	12	60	.371	.398	.346
4	Adrian Gonzalez	1B	554	.283	28	91	.359	.500	.373
5	Kevin Kouzmanoff	3B	487	.273	20	76	.324	.458	.341
6	Chase Headley	LF	488	.258	14	61	.342	.410	.335
7	Nick Hundley	C	416	.224	14	61	.284	.375	.292
8	Luis Rodriguez	SS	291	.261	3	24	.332	.351	.309

The unproven Luis Rodriguez could get bumped in favor of Adrian Gonzalez' brother Edgar. If so, David Eckstein would slide over to shortstop. Jody Gerut's sole competition is the man that almost prevented Rocktober: Scott Hairston.

This line-up would be expected to produce 4.443 runs/game as constructed (or a max of 4.543 with optimal orientation). This equates to 719.8 total runs during the season. That means the Padres have the worst line-up in the division, although they trail San Francisco by just .005 runs/game.

You know the drill. Let's look at wOBA. From that we can conclude that the starting lineup features zero elite hitters, one very good hitter (Gonzalez), two above average hitters (Giles, Gerut), two average hitters (Kouzmanoff, Headley), two below average hitters (Rodriquez, Eckstein) and one terrible hitter (Hundley). Their line-up has a wider variety of hitters than the Giants' line-up, but it is still just as bad. They'll need some surprises up the middle to be a threat.

Bench:

Former Rockie Henry Blanco was signed to back up the young Nick Hundley. Edgar Gonzalez and Scott Hairston are guaranteed bench spots if they don't crack the line-up. San Diego also signed Cliff Floyd, who has switched from being the DH for the AL champion Rays to being stuck on the bench for likely the league's worst team.

Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Henry Blanco	C	193	.223	4	22	.275	.321	.268
Everth Cabrera	IF	195	.205	2	10	.260	.259	.247
Edgar Gonzalez	IF	300	.266	5	33	.325	.381	.314
Scott Hairston	OF	333	.249	16	45	.322	.453	.338
Cliff Floyd	OF/1B	244	.246	9	36	.333	.407	.330

Of interest to Rockies fans, Everth Cabrera indeed looks to have a roster spot lined up after the Padres traded Chris Burke yesterday. Matt Antonelli, Emil Brown and Will Venable will see playing time throughout the season as well.

Rotation:

Jake Peavy will be the Opening Day starter for the fourth straight year. Chris Young tries to return to 2007 form after an injury-riddled 2008, but CHONE is buying none of that. Cha Seung Baek, average at best, was supposed to be the #3 starter, though he is injured and may start the season on the DL.

Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K
Jake Peavy	177	12	8	3.40	1.19	175
Chris R. Young	114	6	6	4.45	1.32	95
Cha Seung Baek	98	5	5	4.17	1.30	67
Kevin Correia	100	6	5	3.61	1.30	81
Walter Silva	No	pr	oje	ction	s avai	lable

Nothing is guaranteed past that. Kevin Correia is the favorite to be the fourth starter based on his experience, even though he's mostly been a bullpen arm in his career. The fifth starter job is absolutely wide open. Walter Silva, a 32-yo RHP San Diego purchased from the Mexican League, is the favorite currently for the #5 spot. Josh Geer, who had a five-start cameo last year, might fill that role eventually, although he was cut last Monday. Cesar Ramos might even get the nod despite posting an abysmal 1.60 WHIP and 5.29 ERA in his first year at AAA in 2008. The Padres did sign Shawn Hill, though it remains to be seen what his role will be. He might slip into the rotation while Baek is out.

Read between the lines...this is the worst rotation Petco Park has seen, and it won't get any better if/when Peavy is traded.

Bullpen:

If the rotation is a bad traffic collision, the bullpen is the Hindenburg. Now that Hell's Bells will no longer ring at Petco, the closer position will be filled by Trevor's most recent set-up man, Heath Bell, who figures to be solid in that role. Cla Meredith slides up to the set-up man, and the former Met and Dodger Duaner Sanchez is in line for late inning work. The Mets let Sanchez go; he hasn't been the same since a 2006 taxicab accident.

Role	Player	IP	W	L	FIP	WHIP	K/9
Closer	Heath Bell	75	5	3	3.21	1.21	8.76
Set-up	Cla Meredith	74	5	3	3.48	1.26	6.57
7th inn.	Duaner Sanchez	42	4	2	3.77	1.36	7.13
LH Relief	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Relief	Mike Adams	65	4	3	3.33	1.23	9.00
Relief	Shawn Hill	76	4	5	4.13	1.41	5.53
Relief	Cesar Ramos	141	7	9	5.12	1.52	4.59

After that, your guess is as good as anyone's. Some have reported as many as four bullpen spots will be filled through waivers. Mike Adams may find himself a bullpen spot. Former Rockie Justin Hampson and Rule 5 pick from the Yankees Ivan Nova were placed on waivers last week, as was Jae Kuk Ryu, claimed by the Indians. Joe Thatcher was also cut, so two LHP from the bullpen last year won't be there to start. The Padres acquired RHP Luke Gregorson to complete Khalil Greene trade and Eulogio de la Cruz, who was bought from the Marlins last week could find a bullpen or rotation spot. UPDATE: Ivan Nova was returned to the Yankees.

Getting the picture? It's true...one week until Opening Day, and the Padres bullpen is not even half resolved. What a disaster. Keep an eye on the waiver wire - many pitchers ousted at the end of Spring Training could find a home in San Diego, including Juan Morillo or Baltimore RHP Hayden Penn, if the O's are careless.

Why the Padres will win the NL West:

via farm3.static.flickr.com

Why the Padres will NOT win the NL West:

Going into 2008, the Giants were nearly the unanimous choice to finish last in the NL West. But given their solid rotation, it was easy to imagine a scenario where they would surprise. That is NOT the case with the Padres.

They have the division's worst lineup, a suspect bench, their worst rotation this decade, and an abominable bullpen. Not only do they have no chance of winning the division, but you have to wonder if there's a chance they could avoid 100 losses.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:08:21 -0000

Some things to read while finding the motivation to exercise.

We should have word soon on the injury status of both Braden Looper and Tony Gwynn. Both were examined yesterday but the results were not immediately available.

On the subject of injuries, Yovani Gallardo leads The Disabled List Informer's list of players who should bounce back from injury in 2009.

On the field, Chris Narveson threw three scoreless innings yesterday in a B game against the Dodgers that included several Dodger regulars. Unfortunately, Dodger prospect Ivan DeJesus, Jr. broke his tibia in the game and may miss all of 2009. If you really must see it, True Blue LA has a link to the video.

Cody Scarpetta also appeared in that game, but got roughed up a bit. The Official Site has a profile of Scarpetta, the youngest player in Brewer camp, and a look at the circumstances that brought him here. (Also noted in FanShots)

In Peoria, Jeff Suppan was the Jeff Suppan we all remember, walking two batters and giving up a three run home run in the first inning. Anthony Witrado says Suppan is not worried about spring training results.

Photo evidence of yesterday's game:

Corey Hart tentatively raising the roof after yesterday's two-run shot.
Casey McGehee attempting (and failing) to break up the double play.
Emil Brown admiring his handiwork.

Sometimes life is just about getting an opportunity and taking advantage. Brad Nelson played in the outfield yesterday and is quickly becoming the story of camp. With Ryan Braun gone for the WBC and Tony Gwynn and Jason Bourgeois injured, Nelson could get a fair amount of time in the outfield, and if he proves he can play there he has a good shot to make the team.

Elsewhere on the farm, Alcides Escobar (34), Mat Gamel (54), Jeremy Jeffress (64), Brett Lawrie (86) and Angel Salome (94) all appear in Victor Wang's compilation of the top 100 prospects for the Hardball Times. Wang is also ranking farm systems, but only got through the bottom 15 in part 1 of the series, and the Brewers did not appear.

Some Brewers also appear on a list you don't want to be on. Via View From Bernie's Chalet, Bill Hall and Jeff Suppan appear on this list of baseball's 45 worst contracts.

Even with Suppan, though, Crawfish Boxes ranked the Brewer starting rotation third in the NL Central, as part of their position-by-position preseason rankings.

What do you expect from Prince Fielder in 2009? Could he have a successful season while only hitting 28 home runs? The Junkball Blues thinks so, and projects Prince to hit .267/.386/.494 in 2009.

Fielder has already been walked intentionally 45 times in his career, the sixth most in Brewer history. That fact and 24 more can be found in Drew Olson's 25 random facts about the Brewers.

Ryan Braun's 2007 OPS+ of 153 was the highest ever for a rookie third baseman, but was it the best rookie season ever at the position? DRaysBay factors in defense and ranks Evan Longoria's 2008 ahead of Braun's 2007. Meanwhile, Beyond the Box Score has a graph comparing 2007 Braun to Troy Tulowitzki, Alex Gordon, and 2008 Ryan Braun.

Speaking of Beyond the Box Score, stop by today at 1 for a live chat about the NL Central with myself and five others who write about the division. Should be a good time, but you may want to get your questions in early.

Only one note from other camps today: the A's signed Orlando Cabrera to a one year deal worth $4 million.

While they look to hire a new GM, Team President Stan Kasten has taken over day to day operations in the Nationals front office. In a rare moment of good news for the Nats, they have the #1 pick in the June draft and likely pick Stephen Strasburg hit 102 on the gun seven times in a recent San Diego State game.

It's a bizarre media market at the moment, but it's nice to see the Wall Street Journal noting the growth of SB Nation.

Oh, and baseball could use more ambassadors like Curtis Granderson.

Drink up.

Know Your Foe: Who is Pablo Sandoval?

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:30:06 -0000

There is absolutely nothing about Pablo Sandoval that is ordinary.

After all, when was the last time a 22-year-old 5'11" 245-pound switch-hitting catcher made the jump from A-ball to the middle of the batting order for a major league team in one year? If you're leafing through your Baseball Almanac, I'll save you the time. The answer is never. The closest comparison you will find is 2008 NL MVP Albert Pujols, who made a similar rapid rise in 2000, but who has a different physical build.

The 22-year old Venezuelan, who is one day older than I, was signed and groomed by San Francisco in 2002 at the age of 16. Sandoval wasn't even on the Giants' top 30 prospect list by Baseball America at this time last year. Yet Giants fans are already touting him as being the first homegrown position player All-Star since 1996.

Pablo Sandoval

#48 / Catcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 5-11

Weight: 245

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Aug 11, 1986

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Pablo Sandoval	.345	.357	.490

Few players have generated as much buzz with under 150 major league at-bats as Sandoval has. He has torn up every league he's played in the last two years with the bat and has proved capable at multiple defensive positions. He has accumulated 35 home runs in the last three seasons and can put on an impressive power display as seen in this home run derby video from two months ago.

pablo sandoval campeon derby jonrrones 2008 (via victoralfonzo87)

Scouting Report

But what should we expect from the youngster in 2009? Grant, the manager over at McCovey Chronicles offers his insight:

If Sandoval is healthy, he'll get 500 at-bats, easy. I'm a little worried that he'll follow a Jeff Francouer career path, though: No walks, high average, and medium power before the league figures him out...Pitchers will get Sandoval to swing at a slider one foot off the plate, and he'll hit it for a double.

That last comment sounds a bit like another former MVP. He's racking up the comparisons, isn't he? Andrew Baggarly at the San Jose Mercury News reports that Sandoval will hit fifth in the order to start and likely bat fourth when the usual clean-up hitter, Bengie Molina, gets the night off.

Sandoval achieved an astronomical BABIP of .367 with Frisco in his 145 at-bats. Most assuredly, that will come down. But maybe not as much as you might think. As Grant puts it, "the dude hits *everything* hard."

Statistic to know: In 2008, Sandoval hit line drives on 25.9% of his batted balls, which would rank 3rd in the major leagues.

Or note his .387 BABIP in High-A and .347 in AA in 2008. When you are smoking line drives, you are going to have a high BABIP.

Still, Sandoval is not going to hit .345 at the end of 2009. Sandoval's weakness, one he shares with many young sluggers, is plate discipline. Note that he swung at more than half of the pitches outside the strike zone. Pablo earned walks in less than 3% of his plate appearances in 2008, a trend not far removed from his minor league numbers. This is something that can and will be taken advantage of by major league pitchers. He may not go Francouer on Frisco as Grant fears, but the league will catch up to him and drop his numbers a bit. But how much?

Join me after the jump for projections and NL West news.

Projections

Below are projections from CHONE, Bill James and Grant from McCovey Chronicles. Marcel was intentionally left out due to its unrealistically low projection of at-bats.

2009	AB	HR	Avg	OBP	SLG
Bill James	540	17	.320	.346	.500
CHONE	477	11	.283	.315	.426
Grant	520	13	.287	.309	.439

Or for the hometown view, check out the McCovey Chronicles community projections.

Where Will He Play?

Courtesy of Grant:

He will be the starter at third, and the Giants have almost completely ruled out any catching duties for him this year. He doesn't allow a lot of passed balls, and his arm rates as above-average, so the Giants would probably be best off trading Molina and starting Sandoval at catcher.

Despite being a catcher originally, Sandoval is blocked by the Giants' current cleanup hitter Bengie Molina. Thus, Sandoval is relegated to the hot corner in 2009, with recently signed Rich Aurilia Juan Uribe as the back-up plans. The Giants' could have signed Joe Crede, but aparently, Brain Sabean is sure Sandoval is ready for a full-time job.

Baseball America also muses over Sandoval behind the dish. After all, he was among the best at stopping base-stealers last year in all of minor league baseball. ---SIDE NOTE: Both the Rockies and Giants placed two catchers in the top seven in MiLB in 2008, with Michael McKenry first and Lars Davis 7th. --

Sandoval will hold his own defensively at third - at least no worse than Garrett Atkins. He posted a 2.57 Range Factor in A-ball in 2006 (which translates as average) and didn't commit an error in 12 starts at third with the Giants.

Verdict: I believe Bill James is too optimistic in his projection, although Sandoval has the talent to achieve those numbers in the near future. The Rockies' pitchers need to take advantage of his lack of discipline to avoid Sandoval from connecting with one of his big swings. Colorado did well against him in 08, holding him to just a .156 average, although two of his five hits were home runs. He won't hit as well in 09 as he did in 08 naturally, but the guy is only 22. I'm petrified of his potential.

Around the NL West

Arizona

Avoided arbitration with 1B/OF Conor Jackson last Monday. The two sides agreed at the midpoint of $3.05million.

Gained a #17 overall pick. Details below.

Eleven players and one coach fell ill to gastrointestinal issues Sunday. Among the victims were Chris Young, Daniel Schlereth, Justin Upton and Miguel Montero.

Verdict: I'm surprised by Arizona's move to settle at the mid-point with Jackson. I expected them to defeat him in the arbitration hearing. The Diamondbacks now have two draft picks in the top 20. Getting the #17 pick is quite a coup.

Los Angeles

Signed 2B Orlando Hudson to a 1-year $3.4million contract worth $4.6million with incentives in what Keith Law is calling "easily one of the biggest bargains of the offseason." The Royals offered $4.6million in base salary. Arizona will receive Los Angeles' 17th overall pick in the 2009 draft as compensation. Now LA's first pick is #36.

Orlando Hudson

#1 / Second Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Dec 12, 1977

Manager Joe Torre will retire after the 2010 season.

Verdict: To me, the benefit of having the declining Hudson at second isn't worth losing the draft pick. TrueBlueLA agrees. Poor Blake DeWitt. He sees Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent leave to open up playing time only to see Casey Blake and Orlando Hudson sign to start in front of him. Give the kid credit though. He's being professional.

San Diego

Signed RHP Walter Silva of the Mexican League to a $400k contract. Silva will be given a chance to make the rotation out of Spring Training.

Signed OF Emil Brown to a minor league contract. Brown earned 438 at-bats in Oakland last season, but may have difficulty securing the fifth OF spot.

jbox at GasLamp Ball thinks the Padres are overweight.

Verdict: Naturally, a professional athlete's muscle mass is greater than the average human being, so the BMI jbox uses to qualify obesity is the incorrect scale. But it's still worth a look if you want to laugh at the Padres. Especially David Eckstein....The fact that Walter Silva has a legitimate shot to open the season in the rotation might as well be a white flag that says "REBUILDING."

San Francisco

Lost out on FA 3B Joe Crede. Sandoval is slated for 3B, but the Giants could be interested in Cleveland 3B/1B Andy Marte.

Andy Marte

#15 / Third Base / Cleveland Indians

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 21, 1983

Contrary to recent reports, the Giants might start working on a multi-year contract for Tim Lincecum.

Verdict: The Giants could have had Crede if they wanted, and he wasn't expensive. Clearly, they have a lot of faith in Sandoval, but their first base situation is still unaddressed. Marte would be a low risk, high reward addition who could fill in at first base. Or Sandoval and Marte could switch positions. McCovey Chronicles explores the possibility...If I'm Tim Lincecum, I cash in on my Cy Young season right now. If I'm the Giants FO, I don't even listen to contract talks until after 2009. I need to see Lincecum can maintain his health and productivity after being heavily abused in 2008.

Time to Get Your A's...or Not

Tyler Bleszinski — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:13:32 -0000

Yes, folks, it's that time of year again. Time for me to hand out my half year grades for our Oakland Athletics. I'm going to do it a little differently this year. In past seasons, I'd give it out to individuals, but I'm going to give it to the different portions of the team. I'm going to break it out into starting pitching, relief pitching, offense, managing and front office. I'll give my grade and my thinking as to why that grade applies and then standouts and disappointments.

As always, this is not scientific by any means. Much of it has to do with the expectations that I had for that aspect of the A's I mentioned.

Starting pitching - A: The A's started the season with a lot of question marks in their rotation. I honestly thought that the rotation would include Lenny DiNardo and Kirk Saarloos right about now. I figured Harden and Duchscherer would not have lasted and the emergency plan of DiNardo and Saarloos would be in full motion while we were waiting for Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill to make it to the pros. Granted, both have missed time with injuries in the first half, but they've also pitched a lot more than I thought they were. As a matter of fact, the A's starting pitching team ERA is 3.48, the best in the entire majors. The starting pitching has been absolutely, positively stellar and probably the biggest reason the A's are still within shouting distance of the division-leading Angels. They've also been able to do it with two rookies in Greg Smith and Dana Eveland. It'll be interesting to see how those two guys hold up over the second half. The irony of all this is that the pitcher who the A's tagged with the "ace" tag before the season started happens to be their worst starter statistically right now.

Starting pitching standouts: Rich Harden, Justin Duchscherer, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith

Starting pitching disappointments: Joe Blanton

Relief pitching - A- : If the major reason the A's have been winning is their starters, the relief pitching is the minor reason. The A's have the sixth best ERA out of their relievers in all of baseball. They've also done it with a cast of largely no names and folks that people didn't expect to be as good as they have been. Santiago Casilla had a Dennis Eckersley-like start to his year. Andrew Brown was fantastic. Joey Devine was spectacular. Brad Ziegler came from Sacramento to become integral. The known quantities like Embree, Foulke and Street suddenly seemed to be the ones that made me more nervous than the less proven guys. Still, the pen has been relatively solid. Huston Street hasn't been as good as I'd like but I do suspect that he's been pitching through various injuries this year.

Relief pitching standouts: Joey Devine, Brad Ziegler, Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla, Chad Gaudin (he also could've made the starting pitcher portion too), Keith Foulke (yes, he's been good even though he scares me to death at times),

Relief pitching disappointments: Huston Street

Offense - D+ : The A's have the 25th best batting average in all of baseball. A team that prides itself on having patience at the plate is 16th in all of baseball in on-base percentage. And let's not talk about power. The team is 26th in all of baseball in slugging percentage. Not surprisingly, the team is 10th in the AL in runs scored. If this team had just average hitting and the starting pitching continues to prove its might, the A's could truly be a contending team this year. Now I suspected we'd have this issue, especially with a lot of very young guys getting their first true extended major league experience. Carlos Gonzalez, Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki and Travis Buck were all likely going to be a foundation of the A's offense. I expected them to have ups and downs, but for Barton and Buck, it's mostly been downs. Jack Hannahan was getting his first extended experience. Jack Cust really only had last season in the pros. So a lot of the offense was built on wild cards. One major known entity was Frank Thomas who the A's picked up for a piece of Hubba Bubba and a used Hyundai when the Blue Jays dumped him. Not surprisingly, the Blue Jays are one of the teams who has scored fewer runs than the A's in the AL. Still, I suspected the A's hitting was going to be mediocre, but it's been downright bad at points. There are a few guys who've been right about where I expected them to be, such as Mark Ellis and even Bobby Crosby (although he has been a bit better than I expected).

Offensive standouts: Kurt Suzuki, Ryan Sweeney, Jack Cust (he does have an .823 OPS even if his BA isn't impressive), Frank Thomas

Offensive disappointments: Travis Buck (possibly my personal biggest disappointment), Daric Barton (yeah he's really young, but he raised hopes of something special at the end of the year last year), Emil Brown (I expected him to at least hit left-handed pitching), Chris Denorfia (I thought he was going to be the regular guy in center field)

Managing - B : I still hadn't made up my mind about Geren before this season started. He hasn't done anything patently stupid and he's more flexible with his lineup card than Macha could've ever dreamed of being. The problem is that when he's filling out that lineup card, he's often dealing with many of his best hitters not being there. Ryan Sweeney has been arguably the A's best hitter this year and yet, he's been in and out of the lineup due to injury issues. Mike Sweeney was hitting well and now he has injured knees. Frank Thomas was getting in a groove and then he went down. Eric Chavez has just recently become a regular in the A's lineup and he doesn't look 100 percent yet. Still the starting pitching has made Geren look good. He's made smart decisions for the most part with the bullpen. Although I would really like to see him start to trust some of the younger guys a little more. Foulke always looks like he's about to give up a bomb. And Embree is always all about the heat, it's just a matter of whether someone gets geared up enough for it. One thing that I'm sure is a popular topic of discussion these days among the A's front office and Geren is what to do about Joe Blanton. After yesterday's performance, I really think the A's have to think about replacing him as a starter, at least temporarily, with Chad Gaudin. Still, given what the A's have had to deal with this year in terms of the injection of youth, unexpectedly bad struggles of guys like Buck and Barton, the myriad of injuries in the bullpen and to key offensive pieces, Geren has done a nice job of keeping a team that wasn't expected to compete in the running. Much of that has to do with the starting pitching, mind you, but Geren has also done a pretty damn good job of handling the bullpen.

Front office - A- : I know a lot of folks are going to automatically charge me with just giving Beane some undeserved praise here, but I honestly think that this could be the best job Beane has done in his time with the A's. Yes, the team is still offensively deficient. But it also has the best starting pitching in baseball right now and that's WITH the "ace" being the worst statistically on staff. Danny Haren was awesome. No one can dispute that. But the A's have three significant chips already contributing at the major league level. They also have a ton of talent in their minor league system now. I'm not sure there are too many other front office groups in baseball who could simultaneously rebuild a farm system while keeping the major league team competitive for a division crown. The biggest thing Beane has done is to build a team with depth. So when an Eric Chavez can't play for months at a time, Jack Hannahan is waiting to take over. Earlier in the season when Barton was struggling at first, Mike Sweeney saw some time there. Greg Smith stepped into the rotation when Harden and Duchscherer went down. Gaudin would probably be a top three starter for most rotations. Yet he's sixth on the A's depth chart. Brad Ziegler is there when the A's have bullpen issues. Beane is nothing if not adaptive. Yes, Emil Brown is seeming like a mistake right now, but he also had a ton of key RBIs at the beginning of the season when seemingly no one was batting in runs. And Beane deserves a ton of credit for getting Frank Thomas for nothing. Is the offense still a gong show? Yes. But Beane has done enough to cover up for the shortcomings by building the best rotation in baseball and a very steady bullpen to back it up.

Overall - A- : Honestly I wrestled with this one for a while. I wavered between a B, B+, A- and an A. But ultimately for me it came down to expectations. I did not expect this team to be here halfway through the season. I expected them to be in a distant third or even last place in the division. But the starting pitching has kept this team afloat and right in the thick of the AL West despite low to no expectations from most folks. And my expectations were pretty low heading into 2008. I thought I'd just enjoy watching some young kids come into their own. Instead the team has fought and scrapped its way into second place in the division.

So there you have it. My first half grades for our Oakland Athletics in 2008. What grades would you give and why? Who has been a disppointment so far and who has been a standout?

Better yet, give me some predictions for the second half of 2008. Will the A's hang with the Angels or will they fade? Will Harden and/or Duchscherer be sent to a contender for a truckload of quality prospects? And maybe you even want to throw in the win total for 2008. If I had to guess, I think the A's wind up around 86 wins and I do think either Harden or Duke will be dealt.