SB Nation - Adam Russell

Padres beat the Rockies, continue bid for 2010 winning season

Dex — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:16:55 -0000

about 1 month ago: San Diego Padres' Adrian Gonzalez, bottom, slides into third base with a triple in front of Colorado Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins, right, as third base coach Glenn Hoffman, left, signals to slide during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in San Diego. The Padres won 7-3. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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Next year will be a much better year. I can already feel it.

The Padres have *yawn* won yet another series against a team who's contending for a playoff spot. It's really no big deal for the team to do this. It's like second nature.

In other news, Adrian Gonzalez hit a triple, which just goes to show that even if speed cannot be taught, you can still pass the test if you make a series of educated guesses.

Final - 9.13.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Colorado Rockies	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	0
San Diego Padres	0	1	0	0	1	3	1	1	X	7	13	0
WP: Adam Russell (2 - 0) LP: Jason Marquis (15 - 11)

Complete Coverage >

Padres Anagrams

jbox — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:29:12 -0000

Dex was just showing me this website that figures out an anagram for your name. I decided to do it for each of the Padres. Surprisingly in some cases the anagram actually describes the person. It's remarkable!

NAME	ANAGRAM
Jeff Moorad	MAJOR OF FED
Tom Garfinkel	GNATLIKE FORM
Kevin Towers	I'VE NETWORKS
Paul DePodesta	UP PLEASED TOAD
Grady Fuson	FURY GONADS
Bud Black	BALD BUCK
Heath Bell	HELL! BATHE
Greg Burke	KRUGER BEG
Kevin Correia	CROAKIER VEIN
Sean Gallagher	HAS LARGE ANGEL
Luke Gregerson	OK GREENER SLUG
Mat Latos	AM TOTALS
Wade LeBlanc	CLEAN BAWLED
Edward Mujica	DRAW MAD JUICE
Luis Perdomo	I'M PROUD LOSE
Aaron Poreda	POOR AND AREA
Cesar Ramos	OR MASSACRE
Clayton Richard	A CONTRARY CHILD
Adam Russell	SMALL AS RUDE
Tim Stauffer	MATURE STIFF
Joe Thatcher	HA! REJECT HOT
Ryan Webb	BRAWN BYE
Eliezer Alfonzo	RAZZLE OF ONE LIE
Henry Blanco	LYNCH ON BEAR
Nick Hundley	UNKINDLY CHE
Everth Cabrera	BRAVER CHEATER
David Eckstein	KINDEST ADVICE
Adrian Gonzalez	DAZZLING ON AREA
Edgar Gonzalez	NAG DAZZLE OGRE
Kevin Kouzmanoff	KNAVE FUNK IF ZOOM
Luis Rodriguez	GURU IDOLIZERS
Oscar Salazar	ALAS! CZAR OR AS
Anthony Gwynn Junior	JOY! NOW HURTING NANNY
Chase Headley	ELSE HEADACHY
Drew Macias	A WEIRD SCAM
Will Venable	WELL! EVIL BAN
Gaslamp Ball	SMALL BAG PAL

The Future Of Alex Rios [Rios Acquired by White Sox]

Jack Moore — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:42:20 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

7 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays' Alex Rios singles to drive in two runs in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, April 10, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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UPDATE: THE WHITE SOX HAVE ACQUIRED ALEX RIOS FROM THE BLUE JAYS FOR NOTHING IN RETURN. In the wake of this news I've decided to bump this analysis to the top.

Buster Olney today has reported that 28 year old Blue Jays OF Alex Rios has been claimed on waivers. As Olney states in the article, this leaves the Blue Jays with three options.

• They could work out a trade with the team that claimed Rios.
• They could pull him back from waivers, and keep him for themselves the rest of this season.
• They could simply allow the team that claimed him to take him, at no cost.

The obvious question then remains. What should the Blue Jays do with Rios?

Let's take a look at what we know about Alex Rios. From Cot's Contracts:

Alex Rios of
7 years/$69.835M (2008-14), plus 2015 club option

7 years/$69.835M (2008-14), plus 2015 club option

signed extension with Toronto 4/4/08, re-working 2008 deal signed 2/5/08 ($3.5M signing bonus remains, 2008 salary reduced from $1.335M to $0.735M)

08:$0.735M, 09:$5.9M, 10:$9.7M, 11:$12M, 12:$12M, 13:$12.5M, 14:$12.5M, 15:$13.5M club option ($1M buyout)

full no-trade clause, 2009-10

limited no-trade clause, 2011 - end of deal (may block trades to 6 clubs)

Especially in this economy, the $62MM in guaranteed money remaining on Rios's contract would deter many teams from acquiring any player, much less one struggling like Rios this year (.261/.315/.413 line and exactly average UZR this year vs. a career line of .285/.335/.449 and +14 UZR/150). Still, Rios has shown the ability to play at a high level, as his career line would indicate. From 2006-2008, Rios steadily ascended from a good player (3.3 wins in 2006) to an elite one (5.5 wins in 2008). Rios's decent hitting numbers (wOBAs ranging from .350-.370) and excellent fielding numbers (+42 UZR in RF over the three year span) had many people predicting him to be an incredible asset going forward, making this contract a bargain. So, then, what should we expect out of Rios going forward? Did our mystery team claim the 5.5 win player of last year, the roughly 1.5 win player of this year, or something inbetween?

Anybody familiar with the concept of regression will know that the answer is "something inbetween." Let's try and pinpoint some sort of range. ZiPS projects Rios for a .347 wOBA going forward, 22 points higher than his current 2009 line and very much in line with his performance in 2008 (.350), but a solid amount lower than his 2006-2007 performance (.365 and .368 respectively). Over 200 PAs in the rest of 2009, that would put Rios at +3.3 bRAA, and +10 over a 600 PA season. Most importantly, however, is the big difference we've seen in Rios's fielding this year. So far, Rios is rated at exactly 0 runs above average by UZR. Certainly, UZR has been known to be wrong in the past, and in some cases, we would not be surprised with a great fielder over a few years to have been rated incorrectly. In order to say if this is the case with Rios, let's look at his whole career by UZR. For now, let's just look at Rios's primary position, right field, although he has played 106 career games in CF.

Even without using any math, it's pretty plainly obvious that Rios is a much better defender than the -0.8 UZR he's put up this year. CHONE projected Rios at +5 in a corner spot this year (TotalZone doesn't like Rios as much as UZR). A Marcel-type weighting of 2008, 2007, and 2006 including two full seasons of average fielding would expect Rios to be at +5 UZR as well. With 5 seasons of at least a +8 UZR, it's obvious that his true fielding talent is far above the -0.8 he's at this year. I think in Rios's case, we can give far more weight to his previous fielding data (specifically the 2004 season that isn't included) than the Marcel projection does, and call him a +10 UZR going forward.

Now, with this information, we can make some sort of projection of Rios's value going forward. We have a wOBA projection of +10 bRAA and a UZR projection of +10 fRAA. Given roughly 5 runs of uncertainty each way on both measures, we can project Rios as a +2.25-+4.25 win player going forward. Let's use a middling (yet volatile) projection and take a look at it in the Trade Value Calculator.

This projection (assuming his 2015 option is bought out) includes what some may consider a high projection for next year, but it also declines at a pretty quick rate for the next few years. Personally, I think Rios could still be a 4-5 win player for a couple years to come. Still, with his huge contract, i see two types of teams that could (and should) go after Rios.

Large market teams with any sort of need at OF. He's clearly not a bust like Vernon Wells, and even if he's only a two win player, a large market team can sustain that sort of risk.
Any team with a championship window closing soon. Rios probably has 2 or 3 years of plus production remaining after this year, but small market teams would have to be prepared for the last few years to be disappointing.

In the end, Ricciardi is making a huge mistake if he doesn't get anything in return for Rios. If Jake Peavy can fetch a package of Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell, and Dexter Carter, there's no way the Jays should just let Rios go for nothing.

Valuing the Jake Peavy Trade, Again

Mike Rogers — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:00:15 -0000

Please welcome Mike Rogers to the BtB family. Mike's been around in the comments sections a lot recently, and writes for two other blogs, Fire Jim Leyland and Friar Forecast. I'm a big fan of Mike's ability to talk baseball from a smart angle without making the smart angle the subject of his writing. He'll be tackling current events, with the occasional unique research piece tossed in for good measure. Say hi, readers...

The San Diego Padres managed to get Jake Peavy to OK a deal sending him to the Chicago White Sox minutes before the trade deadline expired at 4 p.m. EST last Friday. Peavy nixed virtually the same deal back in May. Sky valued him at about 3.8 Wins Above Replacement with some generous assumptions going in Peavy's favor two months ago.

Then Peavy tore the posterior tibialis tendon in his right ankle, and is on the shelf until the end of August at the earliest. But that doesn't stop the unpredictable Kenny Williams from doing, well, the unpredictable. What's the verdict, monetarily, on this deal? Win or loss for the White Sox?

Well, Jake Peavy will get about six starts the rest of the way after he returns, providing around 0.75 WAR. Due to winning of the Cy Young in 2007, Peavy's 2009 salary ballooned from an $8 million option to $11 million. He'll be on the White Sox for the last, roughly, 35% of the season, so I'm comfortable saying they'll be paying him ~$3.85 for the remainder of 2009.

Using Sky's Trade Value Calculator, that 0.75 WAR would be worth $3.6 million on the open market. The White Sox are "overpaying" by about $300K, or essentially paying him market value.

But after 2009 he gets more expensive.

For 2009, pre-season FIP predictions put him on pace for about a 4.5 WAR season. Declining by half a win per year for the remainder of the deal means Peavy's WAR would be:

So, the White Sox would, by these projections, be losing about $1.2 million in the value of just Jake Peavy. That doesn't include the value of the pitchers going the Padres way.

But, how valuable were those four pitching prospects?

Well, Clayton Richard is a massive left-hander with a sinking fastball that works in the 88-92 MPH and decent change-up. John Sickels' website rated Richard as a C+. Thanks to Victor Wang's research and Erik's application of that, a C+ prospect over the age of 23 is worth about $1.5 million. Richard's got a 4.32 FIP in 142.1 innings pitched in his Major League career, so I can see him being, in retrospect, better than that C+ rating -- ground ball pitchers tend to be underrated at times, but I'll stick with that $1.5 million.

The big gun in the deal is Aaron Poreda. Sickels rated Poreda as a B+ pitcher. A pitcher rated as a B by John Sickels and being 22-years-old or younger is worth about $6.5 million. I feel comfortable moving a B+ pitcher to around $7 million.

Dexter Carter is a big, power arm with upside. He's dominated Low-A ball thus far and Sickels rated him as a C prospect. At 22-years-old that puts him at $2.1 million in value.

Adam Russell was unranked by Sickels.

So, these four prospects bring in a total of $10.6 million in surplus value. Given that the White Sox pick up the 2013 option year for Peavy, they lose about $1.2 million on the deal. In giving away $10.6 million in value, plus what they lose on just Peavy's deal alone, they're on the hook for about $11.8 million in total value. Without the Peavy option year, the White Sox still come out on the negative side at $-6.6 million.

Looks like a check in the W column on this deal for the Padres.

NL West Report: Talent in, Talent out at the trade deadline.

Rox Girl — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:30:57 -0000

The good news for competitors in the NL West this week is that none of their rivals added what we would consider a major impact talent at the trade deadline along the lines of a Cliff Lee, Matt Holliday or Victor Martinez, the bad news is that this means that neither did they, leaving the division in pretty much the same state it was last week save for the one team at the very bottom, who did wind up making a very interesting move on Friday. The overall talent flow still seems to be flowing into the division rather than out, however, and the division as a whole still seems to be on the ascent.

NL West Report

San Francisco (58-47, t-2nd, W2, 7.0 GB)

Last Week: 6-1. 3-0 vs. Pirates, 3-1 vs Phillies. At some point you've just got to forget the projections and say a team is what it is. The Giants really seem to be that team this year, similar to the 2007 Diamondbacks, where they are combining some excellence in pitching with a favorable circumstance or two (in this case a deadly home field advantage) to mask over their flaws. While sweeping a rebuilding Pirates team isn't a huge accomplishment, taking three of four against the defending world champions is. The Giants are a very real threat, but an up and down one.

Pace: 86-76.

Divisional Change: Gained 3.0 games.

This Week:

News: The Giants were the most active NL West squad at the deadline, acquiring Ryan Garko from the Indians in exchange for Scott Barnes and Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates in exchange for Tim Alderson. Both prospects were immediately downgraded by pundits from potential aces to potential fifth starters after the transactions.

Ryan Garko

#23 / First Base / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 02, 1981

Freddy Sanchez

#21 / Second Base / San Francisco Giants

Height: 5-10

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 21, 1977

Kidding about that last part, sort of. Barnes wouldn't have been a name most Giants fans would recognize, but he's a decent LHP prospect a bit beyond the Keith Weiser level but quite a bit below the Bumgarner level. With Barnes and Connor Graham added to their pitching depth the last couple of weeks, the Indians have put quite a dent on the starting talent in the Cal League's North division. I was curious about the amount of articles downplaying Alderson that came after the trade compared to the hype he was getting before it.

Grant's reactions to both trades at McCovey Chronicles were suspiciously understated:

Sanchez

Garko

Clearly something's up with these players that they're not telling us about, like how they wouldn't tell us that Fred Lewis will eat the children of Rockies fans if we let them stay out to late or how Pedro Feliz was able to control the forces of nature of his mind as long as he wore a Giants uniform and the Giants were playing the Rockies. You're not fooling me this time Grant, word to Rockies pitchers: approach these two players like you would Babe Ruth. If Babe Ruth was alive. And not really old.

Players Gained:

Freddy Sanchez
Ryan Garko

Players Lost:

Tim Alderson (AA)
Scott Barnes (A+)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS INJURIES

15-DAY

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Rich Aurilia	toe	07/21/2009
Nate Schierholtz	hip	07/27/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	07/31/2009

60 DAY DL / OUT FOR THE SEASON

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Randy Johnson	trapezius	07/06/2009
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Arizona (46-59, 4th, W1, 19.0 GB)

Last Week: 3-3. 1-2 vs Phillies, 2-1 @ Mets.

Pace:

Divisional Change: Gained 0.5 games.

This Week: The Snakes wrap up a long road trip with three game series @ Pittsburgh and @ Washington

News: The Diamondbacks had a quiet week leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, but general manager Josh Byrnes expects August's waiver trade market to be active.

Brandon Webb finally decided to undergo the knife to fix his ailing shoulder, but no timetable has been established for when he is expected to return to the mound. Will the Diamondbacks pick up his $8.5 million option for 2010? Byrnes is taking a wait and see approach.

Brandon Webb

#17 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height:6-2

Weight:230

Bats:R

Throws:R

Born:May 09, 1979

Steve Gilbert writes that Byrnes' faith in his core is a large part of the reason why the trade deadline was so quiet for Arizona:

"There are a lot of components there that we think are real positives," Byrnes said. "I think a lot of the pieces to get back to winning are already in place."

Certainly Justin Upton has to be a major component that Byrnes is thinking of, AZ Snakepit's Jim McClennan took a look at the elite club the phenom's track thus far puts him in.

The Snakes are negotiating with Daniel Cabrera for added pitching depth

Added Comment: Arizona remains a flawed team for 2010 until it gets the pitching ironed out, but a very dangerous one for 2009. The fact that they didn't sell off at the deadline doesn't leave them nearly as weak as other non-contenders. I'm relieved that the Rockies only have six more games against this team compared to nine for the Giants and ten for the Dodgers, because it really looks like they've finally righted the ship in Phoenix. Over the last thirty games, the D-backs have scored the fourth most runs in the NL in going 16-14. Other key potential spoiler series for Arizona will be in Philadelphia at the end of August and at Chicago for the last series of the season in October.

Players Gained:

Brandon Allen (AAA)
Cole Gillespie (AAA)
Roque Mercedes (AA)

Players Lost:

Felipe Lopez
Tony Pena

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	hamstring	05/04/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (62-36, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 3-4. 1-3 vs Cardinals. 2-1 vs Braves. The Dodgers road trip started out poorly against Matt Holliday and the Cardinals, but much like the Rockies, the Dodgers finished well, going over the last four games of the trip, against much tougher competition than we had to face.

Pace:

Divisional Change: Lost 0.5 games to Colorado and 3.0 games to San Francisco

This Week: The Dodgers return home where they will face a Brewers team (3 games) that's been caught in a rut for much of the last two months and then get a four game set against the Braves who will want revenge for losing a series in Atlanta this weekend.

News: The Dodgers had been rumored for much of last week to be in on every prominent trade target supposedly available, and apparently came close to reeling in Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell in a mega deal with the Padres. Unwilling to part with prize major league talent such as Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw (wisely, I might add, Kershaw's change-up is starting to be as devastating as his fastball and curve) Los Angeles wound up making one major move, trading minor leaguers Josh Bell and Steve Johnson for Orioles closer George Sherrill.

George Sherrill

#0 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 230

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Apr 19, 1977

The Dodgers made one other minor depth move to clear a roster space for Sherrill, trading Claudio Vargas to Milwaukee for catcher Vinny Rottino. Rottino actually has an engaging baseball biography, as he was an undrafted free agent out of college and wound up getting signed out of a try-out camp. He caught for team Italy in the WBC this Spring. Still, not going to supplant team Canada's catcher anytime soon.

Even with the Sherrill addition, Los Angeles continues to wage a war against an unseen and unknown enemy as the workload for their young pitching continues to mount. Chad Billingsley seemed like he might be the latest to succumb when he was pulled from Sunday night's start with what turned out to be just a case of leg cramps. Rockies and Giants fans are all hoping this menace proves more real than it has, but that just might be wishful thinking on our parts. Sherrill hasn't been the only cavalry to arrive to rescue Los Angeles' young arms, as both Jason Schmidt and Hong Chi Kuo made returns from long injury absences this week.

Eric Stephen's monthly reviews are always worth reading to catch up on the rest of the Dodgers news.

Players Gained:

George Sherrill
Vinny Rottino (AA)

Players Lost:

Josh Bell
Steve Johnson
Claudio Vargas

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chad Billingsley	hamstring	08/03/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Casey Blake	wrist	08/03/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Ronald Belisario	elbow	07/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Milton	lower-back	06/28/2009
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009

San Diego (43-63, 5th, W2, 22.0 GB)

Last Week: 5-2. 3-1 @ Reds, 2-1 vs Brewers. Visiting Cincinnati has become a medicinal spa retreat for ailing NL West teams, as the Padres and Rockies combined to go 6-1 against the hapless Reds. San Diego carried their winning ways home with them against the Brewers.

Pace:

Divisional Change: Gained 2.0 games.

This Week: Braves (3 games) fans and Mets (4 games) fans will learn just how easy it is to go into PETCO Park and win series.

News: The Padres traded away their erstwhile ace Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox in the trade deadline's most surprising move. Peavy must have felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day in getting a chance to change a decision he made two months ago, for whatever reason, the White Sox held more appeal this time around.

Coming back from Chicago are four of the White Sox better prospects in Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell. This move was typical of other blockbusters in 2009, where the selling team generally walked away with the buying team's quality depth, but not their creme de la creme as far as talent is concerned.

jbox gets oddly, I don't know, pragmatic, in his review of the trade at Gaslamp Ball.

Clayton Richard

#41 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-5

Weight: 240

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Sep 12, 1983

The Heath Bell/Adrian Gonzalez trade to the Dodgers wasn't the only big deadline deal that San Diego was involved in that fell through, apparently there was also a blockbuster that could have send Gonzalez to Seattle, Felix Hernandez to the Red Sox, and a bushel of prospects to the Padres that got nixed by the Mariners. The day was so busy, that Kevin Towers told the LA Times Bill Shaiken:

"It's almost comical," he said. "I wish we had a video camera in there. You tend to worry about everything moving so fast."

Players Lost:

Players Gained:

Ryan Webb (AAA)
Craig Italiano (A+)
Sean Gallagher
Aaron Poreda
Clayton Richard
Dexter Carter
Adam Russell
Oscar Salazar

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Nick Hundley	forearm	06/18/2009
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Cliff Floyd	shoulder	06/18/2009

Poll

Which NL West team helped itself the most via non-waiver trades?

Arizona: The D-backs didn't sell low on their players and added a couple of key parts for 2010 and beyond.

3 votes

Colorado: The Rockies major weakness was the bullpen and they addressed it without giving up top ten prospects.

98 votes

Los Angeles: The Dodgers got the one elite reliever dealt this year.

22 votes

San Francisco: The Giants held onto most of their elite prospects, including their very best, and still added the bats they needed.

90 votes

San Diego: The Padres were in desperate need of restocking the system and added a boatload of talented young arms.

29 votes

242 votes | Poll has closed

Summary of Today's Big Moves

Eli Greenspan — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:59:07 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Today was pretty hectic trade day with trades being made right up to the deadline. We saw a lot of big names move, but we also saw a lot of big names stay put. Let's break down the biggest trades of the day.

White Sox get: Jake Peavy
Padres get: Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell

Breakdown: The White Sox land a front of the line starter in Peavy, but don't expect him to return until the end of August. The Padres, on the other hand, land the White Sox top pitching prospect in Poreda, who hasn't fallen short of expectations while working in the Sox bullpen. They also get Dexter Carter, who is 6-2 in 19 starts this season with a 3.13 ERA. Clayton Richard has pitched well in his last two starts, and is ready to go when the Padres need him this weekend.

Red Sox get: Victor Martinez
Indians get: Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price.

Breakdown: The Red Sox land the power hitter they need in Martinez, which suggests that Jason Varitek will not be back in Boston in 2010. With David Ortiz on the decline, Martinez will definitely help Kevin Youkilis in the middle of that order. Although the Indians land Masterson, they were not able to acquire Clay Buchholz, which was originally offered. Hagadone, 23, is 0-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 9 games this season while Price, who is 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. With Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez gone, the Indians are obviously stocking up for the future.

Reds get: Scott Rolen
Blue Jays get: Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke, and Zach Stewart.

Breakdown: The Reds land a proven third baseman with a great bat and knowledge of the division. On the other hand, the Blue Jays land an inconsistent third baseman who is hitting .206 on the year with 5 home runs. This deal is somewhat confusing for both sides, as the Reds don't seem ready to compete in the NL Central and gave up some valuable chips to acquire the 34 year old Rolen. While he is having a good season, he seemed like a better fit for a contender. The Jays, meanwhile, will hope a change of scenery can help get Encarnacion to fulfill his potential.

Marlins get: Nick Johnson
Nationals get: LHP Aaron Thompson

Breakdown: Johnson provides the big bat the Marlins were sorely lacking behind Hanley Ramirez. While his defense leaves something to be desired, adding his bat to that lineup is sure to provide a boost as we enter the home stretch of the season. Thompson, a lefty pitcher at the Double-A level, was a first round pick in 2005 and was 5-9 with a 4.11 ERA so far this year.

JAKE PEAVY TRADED TO THE WHITE SOX!!!

jbox — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:31:24 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

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Jon Heyman has reported and XX Sports Radio has confirmed that Jake Peavy has been traded for 4 pitchers:

XX Sports Radio: Barry Axelrod (MP3) with Darren Smith

Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod has confirmed that Peavy has been traded. Peavy agreed to the trade.
Jake Peavy is leaving because the Padres were continually trying to trade him. Padres kept telling him he had to be more open minded. The Chicago White Sox pursued him.

XX Sports Radio: Jake Peavy Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith

Peavy's wife woke him up at 12:20 PST from a nap to talk to his agent and he approved the trade.
The Padres continually had meetings asking Peavy to be more open minded about leaving. The White Sox wanted him on their team and they continually pursued him. Padres told him that they had to trade him and it weighed on him. The White Sox wanted him three times more than the Padres and they wanted him even when he was hurt.
"I'm certainly not scared to pitch in the American League."
He's looking forward to pitching with Scott Linebrink and hopefully win a World Championship.
He doesn't want to sit through more seasons like the last two that the Padres.
Peavy is excited to be going to a team that is competing. The White Sox want to win.
Peavy didn't want to spend another Winter in limbo.
"Excited about the opportunity, love the city of Chicago"
He will be more excited later when he's on a plane after he says goodbye to his Padres teammates.
"The Padres organization gave me a chance as a 17 year old kid."
Peavy will keep his house in San Diego and his boys will be in school for the next year.
"I hope the fans understand."
"I never thought I'd see number 51 leave... It will be bitter sweet day for Padres fans. I'm sure some that will be upset about me leaving, but they've got the, in my mind, greatest Padre of all time, at least pitcher, coming back tonight and having a nice little tribute for him, so it should be awesome"
Was the decision to leave tought? "It's not tough, if I was a single man with no strings attached it would have been a lot easier"
"There are no hard feelings on my end. You sign up for one thing and obviously a lot changed from when I signed my deal."
"I've been so proud to be a Padre my whole life, but those days have come and gone now. You never know what will happen when, age 31, and I'm a free agent again and I can certainly see myself putting that uniform on again maybe one day down the road and maybe getting to finish my career the way I started it."
"I understand what had to be done from the Padres standpoint... I can promise my fans that it's not me choosing to leave, this was an inevitable day, whether it happened now or this winter... I knew I would not put on the uniform for the Padres next year and when you know that this decision today was easier because of that."
Peavy will pitch for the White Sox this season.
"I gave my heart and soul to this organization and I was so happy to do that. I belong elsewhere now."
It was made very clear to him that he had to be moved by the Padres Front Office. They moved him for financial reasons.
"It's a deal I'd like to think is going to benefit both teams"
"I'm not going to be shy in saying that it was made very clear to me that I had to be moved."
Peavy alludes to a deal where he could be with his family.
Peavy will probably cry in the Padres clubhouse, they are his family. "Life goes on. I'm a big boy about it."
Peavy told Phillip Rivers first about the trade.
He's excited about being able to compete again and have a chance to win and the White Sox have the ownership that can bring him a World Championship.

Poll

Do you think the Padres made a good trade, moving Jake Peavy to the White Sox for 4 pitchers?

Yes

306 votes

No

220 votes

526 votes | Poll has closed

Jake Peavy Traded To White Sox

Brendan Scolari — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:25:09 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - ASSOCIATED PRESS

4 months ago: San Diego Padres starter Jake Peavy pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs during their baseball game in San Diego, Friday, May 22, 2009. Peavy went six innings and allowed two hits, no runs and struck out 10. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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Jon Heyman tweets that Jake Peavy has been dealt to the White Sox again for minor leaguers. Peavy would need to approve of the trade.

Update 4:32 ET: Peavy has been traded for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell according to Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.

Update 4:47 ET: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com report that Peavy has approved the trade and will join the White Sox. Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod said:

"I think Jake just got to the breaking point. One team wanted him bad enough, and the other team wanted to get rid of him."

Cubs Crush Crosstown Club, Ozzie Picks a Fight, and More Saturday White Sox Tidbits

larry — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:16:11 -0000

The Cubs beat the Sox 13-0. Oh well. The Marquez Era began well, with a strikeout of Alfonso Soriano to lead off the game and then on through two scoreless innings. Though for a "groundball pitcher", didn't seem to get many of those.... Matt Thornton then pitched a scoreless inning before heading off to the WBC. After that, though, things fell apart for White Sox pitching as Wasserman and Dotel each gave up 3 hits and 2 runs over an inning pitched. Something named "Williams" provided a brief inning respite, before Adam Russell got absolutely crushed for 8 runs (6 earned) without retiring any of the eight Cubs he faced, though he was hurt by Lillibridge's inability to deal with a double play ball.

The offense didn't provide much to write about either. Lillibridge staked his claim to the leadoff position by striking out three times in four AB. Wise had a couple hits, including a double, while batting in the second leadoff position. Thome had a double. That's about it.

Box.

In other news, Ozzie is picking a fight (again) with Ted Lilly (again). The Blue Jays, owners of the 20th pick in the draft, are possibly renewing their interest in Orlando Cabrera. Tomorrow, the game against the Dodgers will be televised on CSN, MLBN, and KCAL at 2pm (CST) as the two clubs officially open Camelback Ranch.

White Sox' Pitching Holds Indians Under a Dozen

The Cheat — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 05:04:38 -0000

The scoreboard in right field read KC - 6, MIN - 0. John Danks was pitching well enough, and the Sox clung to a slim 4-3 lead. The door was open for the Sox to step right back into control of the AL Central race. But a tough start to the 5th inning for John Danks, and a bullpen that refuses to provide any relief slammed the door shut.

John Danks wasn't great Friday, but he wasn't nearly as bad as the box score makes him appear. His biggest crime was walking Ben Francisco in one of those How Was That A Walk at-bats immediately following a Don Cooper mound visit. Danks followed his no-out walk to load the bases with single to Shin-Soo Choo, finishing his night down 5-4.

Ozzie was forced to turn to the bullpen, which turned in a performance that would have to make even Jose Paniagua cringe. DJ Carrasco started the reliever roulette by throwing 5 straight pitches outside the strike zone to load the bases and put himself in a Here Comes A Grooved Fastball situation. Ryan Garko, homered off Danks in the 4th, welcomed Carrasco's center-cut fastball by sending it just over the outstretched glove of a wall-climbing Brian Anderson in center field.

Following the grand slam, Carrasco hit Franklin Gutierrez with a pitch. A clearly disgusted Guillen chased Carrasco from the mound and handed the ball to Mike MacDougal, of all people, in search of somebody, anybody, who could throw strikes and get a batter out. MacDougal promptly hit the first batter he saw, and fell behind the second 3-0.

Boos rained down from the crowd even before Carrasco allowed the grand slam, and though they had grown larger now that the Indians had sent 9 men to the plate and had yet to make an out, it was almost as if the sellout crowd was enjoying unloading their frustrations on the terrible display from the bullpen. Finally a strike. A huge Bronx cheer rolled through the crowd, thirsty for even the slightest display of competence.

MacDougal retired the next three batters in order to stop the bleeding, but walked the bases loaded in the next inning before being pulled. Ehren Wasserman added to the parade with a 4-pitch walk of his own to force in a run. And eventually Horacio Ramirez saw action, adding a run onto his historically bad record with the Sox.

If the Sox weren't essentially in a dead-heat in the Central with just 2+ games to play, it might be comical. But it's not. There's nothing funny about Octavio Dotel finding his dominant stuff when the game has been decided, but serving up longballs anytime the game is in doubt. There's nothing funny about a game which features double-barreled suck, while Nessie remains only a legend, an old wives tale you hear from section 160 season ticket holders. There's nothing funny about watching the season go down the tubes in the weakest AL Central division since 2000.

It says a lot about the game as a whole that when I go searching for something nice to say, I turn to a couple good effort, close but no cigar plays by Nick Swisher and Brian Anderson attempting to bring back homerun balls.