SB Nation - Mark Worrell

Trader Mo Redux

the red baron — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:59:51 -0000

Yep, that's right. Jeff Fucking Weaver. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

The worst part was I really believed in this team.

I'm actually of two minds, really; the analyst side of me, the part that studies the game and writes about it for a living, never honestly thought this team a legitimate title contender. I always said the offense was undependable and the bullpen just didn't have the kind of shutdown arms that lead to postseason success. You can go back and read the published record, too; I always thought the Cards had a chance, yes, but I never bought into them as a juggernaut in the 2004 mold.

The problem comes when you consider the other side, the fan side, of the equation. The fan in me didn't see those things, didn't fear the bullpen. In my heart, I thought the Cards could would most definitely absolutely will turn it on come playoff time. Tony La Russa teams don't get knocked out in the divisional series, after all; La Russa's overall postseason record may not be the stuff of legend, but his record in the NLDS certainly is. In my mind, the Cards' offense was wildly inconsistent and capable of being shut down at any moment; in my heart, the holy trinity of PujolsHollidayLudwick would crush the spirits and WPAs of any and all opponents. In my mind, Ryan Franklin had saved only a single game in the final month of the season and was looking more and more like fodder for the glue factory; in my heart he was ready to etch his name indelibly into Cardinal lore with a strikeout and a photograph as teammates leapt and capered on their way toward the victory pile on the mound.

So when I say I believed in this team, understand I mean it halfway, and somehow that's worse than all the way. If I had thought this team the greatest of all time and then watched the collapse, perhaps I could mourn properly; begin with shock and disbelief, then move right on through anger at the shoddy play and the zombified end to depression for the end of the season and finally to acceptance of our fate as a team not quite as good as it looked. But this halfway belief is awful; I know I should have known better because I did know better, yet I was still just as shocked and horrified when I turned out to be right. I'm left feeling vindicated and miserable in vindication.

But any way you wish to slice things, the season is now over. The time has now come to look ahead, not back, to move forward, not sideways, and always whirling, whirling toward the future. But before we can look forward, we have to do just a bit more hindsighting.

The 2009 season will be forever defined, for better or for worse, by the trades that were made. The Cards went all in this season, only to see it all fall apart when the playoffs arrived. That's the problem with going all in, of course, and the reason so many of us (myself included), weren't huge fans of the Matt Holliday deal long before he became Public Enemy #1 in Cardinal Nation for trying to catch a humpback liner with his genitals; going all in is great if you win, because flags do in fact fly forever, but if you come up a little short, there is no Plan B.

So what, exactly, did the Cardinals gain, and what did they lose? Let's do us a little redux here of the deals made and see where we stand at the end of this ultimately frustrating 2009 season, shall we?

The Khalil Greene Trade

I'll be the first to admit it: I was a huge fan of this deal at the time. I was. I thought Greene to be a significantly undervalued player whose numbers were being artificially suppressed by his home ballpark. Add in a truly brutal 2008 campaign that no ballpark could have made look any better, and you had a player ripe for a renaissance. I felt like the inclusion of a player to be named later in the deal made the price a bit on the high side, considering just how awful Greene's numbers were, but I was still quite excited about the Cardinals' new shortstop.

Well, see, there's a little problem with that.

We were all, of course, unaware at the time Khalil's problems went a little deeper than a declining slugging percentage. For the life of me, I still can't quite figure out if I should blame Johnny Mo and Co. for not being more aware of Khalil's penchant for long sleeves and Bauhaus records or not. On the one hand, you want to be pissed they didn't do their due diligence and somehow missed the thing, but on the other, psychological problems aren't like a frayed rotator cuff. There's no magical scan that reveals when someone is hurting on the inside, and it isn't as if his teammates were jumping at the chance to talk about how messed up Khalil is.

What Was Given Up: Luke Gregerson, RHP Mark Worrell, RHP

Okay, so we can put this one solidly in the loss column. Worrell clearly had no place in the organisation after he aired his dirty laundry publicly last offseason, a factor which helped make me even more positive on the deal when it was made. Unfortunately, the player to be named later turned out to be Gregerson, a guy plenty of prospect-watchers really liked, and he turned out to be pretty damned good.

In 75 inning this season, Gregerson was absolutely brilliant, posting a 2.50 FIP for the Padres. He is pitching in a park which heavily suppresses home runs, so he does get a bit of a boost there, but he also struck out over eleven batters per nine innings, which so far as I know is at least fairly okay. What hurts worse is the fact the Cardinals biggest weakness by the end of the season, right-handed relief, just happens to be the exact demographic Gregerson belongs to. (You're going to notice a pattern here.) Any and all contributions the Padres receive from Mark Worrell are secondary at this point; San Diego already received a full season of essentially closer-level production for free in exchange for the Marquis de SAD.

The Future: The Cardinals get nothing when Khalil walks. Not so good, Mo.

The Mark DeRosa Trade

This one I had mixed feelings on from the very start. I felt the Cardinals did a fine job of identifying an area of weakness and acting to bring a player in to address that weakness, but I also felt they gave up far too much in return for said player. (Again, you may notice a theme in this vein.) DeRosa seemed like such an ideal fit, though, that I mostly kept such concerns to myself. The Cards needed someone better than Thursty Joe at third base, and Mark DeRosa plays third base, among other things. The Cards needed help hitting left-handed pitching, and Mark DeRosa has typically murdered lefties. On top of that, he had a reputation as an outstanding clubhouse guy, and his interviews are pure gold.

Sadly, DeRosa simply wasn't very good for the Cardinals. His OBP was atrocious, he struggled to do anything but hit home runs the first month or so, then went whole hog and struggled to do that, too. His defense wasn't bad, but it wasn't really all that good, either. Bottom line, Mark DeRosa in a Cardinal uniform just wasn't as cool as a lot of people thought it was going to be.

What Was Given Up: Chris Perez, RHP Jess Todd, RHP

Oy. This one really hurts. The Cards sent Chris Perez and Jess Todd to the Indians in exchange for Mr. Of the Rose, and once again, those two players fall squarely into that category of "Guys the Cards Sure Could Use More Of Now." Both are right-handed relievers, and both are solid bets to be very good pitchers going forward, I do believe.

Perez in particular is a painful loss, as he has better stuff than anyone in the Cardinal bullpen as it stands right now, and showed plenty of signs of putting it all together for the Indians. He had a truly remarkable run for almost two months, as he didn't surrender a single run from the 8th of July through the 5th of September. Perez appeared in 20 games during that time frame, covering 20.2 innings, and walked only 5 hitters. He didn't issue a free pass for almost a month, from the 9th of August to the 5th of September. Unfortunately, Perez did have a rough September overall, particularly in the middle of the month, but that doesn't change the fact he was essentially untouchable for the two months prior. We could debate why Perez didn't have more success here until the cows come home, but the fact remains he was an extremely valuable reliever for Cleveland, and I expect big things from Perez as soon as 2010.

Jess Todd, formerly slated to become Destroyer of Worlds for St. Louis, had a bit of a rough go in his first couple tastes of the major leagues. We all saw what happened to him when he made his major league debut with the Cardinals, and it didn't get appreciably better for Todd with the Indians, as he posted a 7.40 ERA in 20.2 innings with them. That does come with a 4.31 FIP and a BABIP of .431 (Huh. What an odd coincidence.), so improvement should come even if Todd does the exact same thing next year he did this season. Of course, I personally don't expect him to do the exact same thing next season, I expect him to adjust to the big leagues and take off as an excellent setup reliever. He doesn't have the stuff of Perez, nor is he going to post the gaudy strikeout totals of Gregerson, but I see Todd in an eighth inning role sometime in the near future, and I see him doing a hell of a job at it.

The Future: This is actually the best part of the deal, as DeRosa is a Type B free agent. The Cards offer him arbitration and he signs somewhere else, they receive a supplemental round draft pick, which, incidentally, is the round in which Chris Perez was selected to begin with. So there is some value at least coming there. (Of course, DeRo could screw the pooch on that one by accepting arbitration, but hey, you pay your money and you take your chances.)

The Matt Holliday Trade

Ah, and now we come to the big one. (Did I hear a That's What She Said in the back? I believe I did! Hallelujah!) The deal for Matt Holliday is, so far, the defining moment of Mozeliak's tenure as GM; the moment in which Mr. Mo made his mark. What that mark may be exactly is still to be determined, but for those who complained all through Mo's first year-plus of stewardship that he hadn't really done anything, here you go. He certainly did something this time.

I won't lie; I didn't really like the Holliday deal when it was made, and I don't like it all that well now. I know I was in the definite minority back in July, but I thought the Cardinals massively overpaid for Holliday's services. That being said, the man is still the best left fielder in the game and represents a potent complement to Albert Pujols in the middle of the lineup.

What Was Given Up: Brett Wallace, 3B Shane Peterson, OF Clayton Mortensen, RHP

Let's start with the biggest component, both literally and figuratively: Brett Wallace. There's been an extraordinary amount of ink and bandwidth both used already to discuss the Walrus, and the song remains the same: at the plate, he's a hell of a hitter. As a third baseman, he's a hell of a hitter.

The thing about Wallace is this: we always knew he was drafted to be traded at some point in time. Even the few scouts who liked his chances of sticking at third were careful to specify only in the short term; the man was moving across the diamond eventually. Even so, if he had managed to play third at anything less than a Bruanian pace, Wallace's bat would make him a very, very valuable player.

And for what it's worth, Total Zone Rating (the only defensive metric we really have for minor league guys), had Wallace as almost exactly an average defender at the hot corner this season. I know, I know, that can't possibly be right, because I saw him play there one day and he didn't get to a ball to his left he should have, and my brother said he misses those all the time and his best friend Todd said he talked to Wallace one time and he said he hated third base so much because he was so bad at it he was considering retiring rather than continue to embarrass himself on a nightly basis. Regardless of what we might think anecdotally, the numbers have Wallace as something less than a total disaster, and when it comes to defense, I trust the numbers more than my own eyes. Defense is just too hard to judge. So what we have is a player who has a bat that should carry him wherever he wants to go, and who should be able to play third base for at least a couple years at a level far short of that Braunian pace I was speaking of earlier. Sounds about right, doesn't it?

Add to Wallace Clay Mortensen and Shane Peterson, and you begin to have a pretty remarkable haul of talent going out for Matt Holliday. Mortensen himself will likely never be anything more than a #5 starter (though I still think there's a chance he could be better), but a #5 starter for free is still all kinds of valuable. As long as he can keep himself out of trouble with Johnny Law I think Mort should be fine.

More interesting to me, honestly, is Shane Peterson. I was never much of a fan of Peterson, to be honest (I never really likedhis swing; funny hand load and all), but since the trade I've gone and taken a closer look, and I think I may have missed the boat here. Peterson began the year in High-A Palm Beach, and posted an OPS near .800, no mean feat in that ballpark and that league. He moved up to Springfield and did alright in limited time there before he was traded. He went to Midland, the A's Double-A affiliate, and hit fairly well, with an OPS of .727. Certainly not a world-beating performance, by any means, but also not bad for a 21 year old playing in Double A for the first time.

Peterson is a guy who isn't going to hit for a ton of power, particularly of the over-the-fence variety, but he should hit plenty of doubles. He isn't a burner by any means, but he's got the wheels he could probably play center if necessary. He has just enough arm to play right field, though he' s played mostly left in his pro career. His walk rate is decent but not great, but you would think a coaching staff who stressed a good approach at the plate could be helpful with that. In short, Peterson doesn't do anything outstanding, but he does most things pretty well. He's literally almost the perfect Oakland player. I fully expect him to do very well in the A's organisation, where the value of getting on base will be heavily stressed.

The Future: When (or if, I suppose), Holliday heads out for the territories, he will do so as a Type A free agent. The Cards will receive the first round pick of whatever team signs him, unless said team picks in the first fifteen. Then it becomes their second round pick, and the whole thing just takes even one more step downward. Still, the fact Holliday could potentially bring back a first round pick and one in the supplemental goes a long way toward removing some of the sting of the package given up for him. Well, maybe not a long way, but some ways, anyway.

I'm just going to skip over the trade involving Chris Duncan and Deathgaze. The Cards got a free infielder with a decent bat and bad range, and the Red Sox got the chance to ensure Dave Duncan will never try to force his way into their organisation. Win all around.

So to sum up, the Cardinals this year gave up four right-handed relievers, two of whom could be real impact guys int he near future I think. Todd may be an impact guy too, but I think it might be another year or two before he gets there. We look at the big club's bullpen for 2010, and I have to say I'm a little concerned you might be able to build a better 'pen from guys the Cards traded away this year than what they still have.

The Cards also gave up their number one prospect, and the player most likely to make an impact playing at third base in 2010. David Freese is now the likely front-runner for the job, assuming both Troy Glaus and Mark DeRosa are gone, and while Freese is severely underrated by many, I think, he's no Brett Wallace.

So once again I'll say it: this is the problem with going all in. The Cards went all in this season trying to take advantage of the fact Chris Carpenter was fully healthy after two seasons on the shelf and Adam Wainwright was pitching at a Cy Young level, and I can't really blame them. The farm system was in plenty good shape to absorb the hit, and the big club looked ever so close to being a real contender. Now we have most of October left to consider how much talent left the organisation this year in return for the chance to pay free agents to do the same job in 2010 the kids we traded away could have done for free.

In the end, I said I can't blame them, and that's exactly what I mean. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing (except I wouldn't have; in fact, i would always err on the side of holding on to my prospects, and would probably be a terrible GM who could never quite get over the hump), but the reality is this: the bullpen is an areaof huge concern for the Cardinals, and they trade three players who could help with that next year. Third base is a less pressing concern, but of no less import; the lineup needs production, and if Holliday walks I'm a little unsure where it's going to come from.

So I ask you all, without going down the road of how much we all hate Matt Holliday for making an error and having the temerity to take bad at-bats for three whole games, was it worth it? Was the remarkable run the Cardinals went on in August worth seeing Brett Wallace knock around AL West pitching for the next couple years? Was ruining the Cubs' good time at the top of the division worth seeing Ryan Franklin try to close out games a month past his expiration date, all the while knowing he was the Cardinals' best option still in a Cardinal uniform? Does the promise of extra draft picks take the sting out for you, or do you wish for a 'Bird, maybe not in the hand, but at least near enough to reach out and grab if necessary?

Was it worth it?

Oops, and I forgot a playlist.

The Baron's Playlist for the 14th of October, 2009

"The Ghost" - Deer Tick

"Actor Out of Work" - St. Vincent

"It Just Is" - Rilo Kiley

"My Funny Valentine" - Gerry Mulligan Quartet w/ Chet Baker

NL West Report: Divisional headway from Rockune, Peavy might be out for the year

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:00:12 -0000

The Rockies have been blasting through opponents like a Tornado (or a Tornadough?) the last 11 games, outscoring their foes 73-28 in that span. It's a bit unfortunate that none of those games were intradivisional, but if there's any way to guarantee you'll make up some ground, it's to win every game.

Here's the standings as of Monday morning, before San Francisco plays the Angels tonight at 8:15 MDT:

NL West Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Los Angeles	42	22	.656	0	Won 2
San Francisco	34	28	.548	7	Won 3
Colorado	31	32	.492	10.5	Won 11
San Diego	28	34	.451	13	Lost 3
Arizona	27	37	.421	15	Lost 2

(updated 6.15.2009 at 3:25 PM MDT)

We're still a ways back, but an 11-game streak will put a dent in any deficit. Here are the standings from June 3, immediately prior to the streak.

So in 11 games, we've made up the following on the divisional teams:

Los Angeles (5 games)
San Francisco (2.5 games)
San Diego (7 games)
Arizona (6.5 games)

If the teams continue as they have the last 11 games, even if we win another 11 straight, we'll still be in 3rd place. This is why April and May do matter. And that's why we have a 3.30% chance of winning the NL West. I'd talk about the Wild Card, but well, this is the divisional report.

NL West Report

Arizona (27-37, 5th, L2, 15 GB)

Last Week: 0-1 @ Padres, 1-2 vs Giants, 1-2 vs Astros. A bad week makes the bad season worse. Funny thing is, they're only 8 games off their Pythagorean pace for 2007.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Royals, 3 game road series @ Mariners

News: Chris Young is having a horrible Atkins-like season. AZSnakepit discusses what should be done with their CF.

Chris Young

#24 / Center Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 05, 1983

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Chris Young	.189	.248	.354

Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com reported recently that the Diamondbacks are destined to be sellers at the trade deadline, with only Justin Upton, Max Scherzer and Dan Haren being untouchable.

Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com, who is closer to the team, refuted that proclamation last night, stating that we should not expect a trade and that Josh Byrnes may even add a player at the deadline.

Scott Bordow at the East Valley Tribune believes it's time to trade Felipe Lopez, Jon Garland and Doug Davis, but Arizona may becontent to let them leave as free agents and just take the compensatory picks.

The D-Backs claimed relief pitcher Blaine Boyer off waivers from the Cardinals and optioned Daniel Schlereth to AA..

Mark Reynolds earned co-NL Player of the Week honors for last week, sharing it with our very own Huston Street.

Arizona had 7 picks in the top 64 in last week's draft, most in the majors. Check out their top picks. They bucked the trend and selected only 2 pitchers with their top 8 picks, the first coming at pick #45.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	hamstring	05/04/2009
Yusmeiro Petit	shoulder	05/09/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Chad Tracy	oblique	05/30/2009
Tony Clark	other-excused	05/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

More on the rest of the division after the fold.

Los Angeles (42-22, 1st, W2)

Last Week: 1-1 vs Padres, 2-1 @ Rangers. In case you are wondering, the Dodgers have lost just two series since Manny Ramirez was suspended, and one of them was their first series following the announcement.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Athletics, 3 game road series @ Angels.

News: Everyone knows all about TIm Lincecum and Dan Haren, but maybe Chad Billingsley is the best ace in the West. Eric Stephen at TrueBlueLA looks at his stats over the last claendar year. They are elite.

Chad Billingsley

#58 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 245

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 29, 1984

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Chad Billingsley	9-3	2.72	1.23	93	39

Despite convincingly being the best team in MLB and having the 3rd best NL offense, the Dodgers have zero position players projected to start the All-Star Game via fan voting. Orlando Hudson is the only player even in the top 5 at his position; he's 2nd behind Chase Utley. East Coast bias apparently also means no love for LA.

Popular owner Frank McCourt wasn't so popular with Andruw Jones, even though McCourt okayed the ludicrous contract Jones signed with the Dodgers. Apparently, McCourt was the reason Jones wanted out.

Jayson Stark suggests the Dodgers may try to trade Juan Pierre when Manny Ramirez returns from is suspension. It's unclear how much of Pierre's contract LA might have to eat.

LA didn't pick until #36, two picks after the Rockies selected their third player. Their picks.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Milton	back	06/06/2009
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Eric Stults	thumb	05/31/2009
Hong-Chih Kuo	elbow	04/30/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Xavier Paul	knee	05/21/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009

San Diego (28-34, 4th, L3, 13 GB)

Last Week: 1-0 vs Diamondbacks, 1-1 @ Dodgers, 0-3 @ Angels. The Padres have failed to string together consecutive wins since May 27. They are 5-12 in that span.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Mariners, 3 game home series vs Athletics.

News: Hold your trade talk. Another NL West ace is hurt and probably won't be going anywhere at the deadline. Jake Peavy landed on the 15-day DL Friday due to an ankle injury and will be out a month, perhaps the rest of the season.

Jake Peavy

#44 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 31, 1981

Hindsight being 20/20, CBSSports' Scott Miller says the Padres screwed up by not accepting the Braves' offer in November.

The Padres' front office is looking to add a "big-name" international player once the international signing period starts July 2.

San Diego released IF Chris Burke this week.

The Pads selected Donavan Tate with the third pick in the draft Tuesday. GM Kevin Towers talks about the draft. I'd give you a list of their picks, but I'll just say that GasLampBall doesn't have one instead.

San Diego Padres Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nick Hundley	wrist	06/15/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jake Peavy	ankle	06/09/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Scott Hairston	biceps	06/03/2009
Luis Perdomo	knee	06/08/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Everth Cabrera	hand	04/20/2009

San Francisco (34-28, 2nd, W3, 7 GB)

Last Week: 0-1 @ Marlins, 2-1 @ Diamondbacks, 3-0 vs Athletics. Bruce Bochy's staff allowed just 17 runs in the 7 games last week.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Angels, 3 game home series vs Rangers

News: Henry Schulman at SFGate states the most obvious headline of the year: The Giants need a power bat to contend.

Jonathan Sanchez

#57 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 190

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Nov 19, 1982

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jonathan Sanchez	2-6	4.84	1.66	57	43

SI's Jon Heyman reports that Jonathan Sanchez is on the market, despite an apparent slip recently in his stuff. Tom Verducci suggests that the Giants try to use Sanchez to net that power bat. Maybe even Garrett Atkins.

Grant at McCoveyChronicles discusses the Giants' selection of Zach Wheeler over Tyler Matzek. Matzek was Grant's #1 choice, but the Giants passed on his top three to select Wheeler.

And just because, here's a big Pablo Sandoval home run.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

NL West Report: Randy Johnson wins 300, Dodgers Stadium gets its own zip code

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:09:01 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Randy Johnson holds his prized left arm high after recording his 300th career win

Browse more photos »

Due to some comments from last week's KYF, I have decided to commandeer the front page by separating the weekly NL West Report to a separate article so it doesn't get lost in the series previews.

300

The biggest news of the week is undoubtedly Randy Johnson reaching 300 wins. He was slated to go Wednesday night at Washington, but weather pushed his start to Thursday, in the first game of a double header. Fueled by the event, Johnson retired the first 10 Nationals he faced on his way to allowing just 2 hits and an unearned run in 6 innings of work. Jeremy Affeldt, Brandon Medders and Brian Wilson brought the win home for the Big Unit. Win 300 was one of his finest on the season.

Johnson has allowed only two runs in his last three starts, but make no mistake, that golden arm is starting to lose its luster. Randy has allowed seven runs three times this year and still sports an ERA over 5.00. Still, a very enthusiastic salute to RJ. He is easily the most doinant pitcher I have seen growing up and in person.

Jim McClennan at AZ Snakepit shares his thoughts on the next to 300. So does Tracy Ringolsby. They may disagree on who may be next to 300, but both agree it will probably be accomplished.

Padres play long again

San Diego went deep into a ball game again, this time losing to Arizona 9-6 yesterday at Petco. Some weird facts from the game:

Shortstop Josh Wilson gave up the winning 3-run HR to Mark Reynolds in the 18th. It was Wilson's third career appearance as a pitcher despite playing in only 140 big league games. Maybe Arizona had a scouting report on him. After all, he pitched a hitless inning for them earlier this season.
Reynolds had struck out with the go ahead run on second and two outs his previous two ABs before the HR. Special K indeed.
Bud Black had burned his bullpen so much he actually used starter Chad Gaudin before Wilson.
Backup catcher and former Rockie Henry Blanco played third base for the 18th inning.
Arizona actually no hit San Diego for the final nine innings.
The Padres have played five longer games in franchise history, losing all but one.
David Eckstein hit a dramatic 3-run HR with 2 outs in the ninth to send it to extras. Twilight zone...
Eighteen pitchers were used by both clubs.

NL West Report

Arizona (25-32, 4th, W1, 13 GB)

Last Week: 1-2 @ Padres, 2-1 @ Padres.

This Week: Finish off another of the stupid Fri-Mon four game series today at 8:05 MDT. Also, 3 game home series vs Astros, 3 game home series vs Giants

News: Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors interviewed Justin Upton. He hit .373 with 7 HR and 21 RBI in May. He injured his shoulder in yesterday's game and will sit tonight but doesn't figure to land on the DL.

Justin Upton

#10 / Right Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 25, 1987

Arizona has 7 of the first 64 picks in this year's draft, which starts tomorrow at 4MDT. Their first two picks are at 16 and 17. For comparison the Mets have zero picks in the first 64. All of these high picks have led the FO to increase their draft budget, perhaps spending eight digits.

Reliever Jon Rauch has struggled mightily this season to the tune of a 5.26 ERA. Rauch and AJ Hinch had a closed door meeting regarding his ineffectiveness. The former Nationals' closer was being counted on to stabilize an weakly projected bullpen.

Arizona will honor Randy Johnson for reaching 300 wins.

The always good-for-a-laugh Kenny Mayne interviewed Dan Haren Friday.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	hamstring	05/04/2009
Yusmeiro Petit	shoulder	05/09/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Chad Tracy	oblique	05/30/2009
Tony Clark	other-excused	05/06/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	05/29/2009
Justin Upton	shoulder	06/08/2009

More on Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco after the jump by noon.

Los Angeles (39-20, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 2-1 vs Diamondbacks, 2-2 @ Phillies

This Week: 2 game series vs Padres, 3 game series @ Rangers. Weird scheduling quirk again. After playing 17 consecutive days, Los Angeles gets two days off in a span of four days.

News: The headline is true. The United States Postal Service has awarded Dodgers Stadium and its associated properties its very own zip code. The area will be officially known as Dodgertown, California and has the zip code 90090.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Eric Stults	thumb	05/31/2009
Hong-Chih Kuo	elbow	04/30/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Xavier Paul	knee	05/21/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Claudio Vargas	elbow	04/05/2009

San Diego (26-30, 3rd, L1, 11.5 GB)

Last Week: 0-3 vs Phillies, 1-2 vs Diamondbacks. That's a really disappointing week for a team at home. Perhaps they are coming back to earth for real this time.

This Week: Finish off the series with the Diamondbacks tonight. 2 game series @ Dodgers, 3 game series @ Angels.

News:

San Diego Padres Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jake Peavy	infection	06/08/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Scott Hairston	biceps	06/03/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	03/27/2009
Everth Cabrera	hand	04/20/2009

San Francisco (25-24, 2nd, W1, 8.5 GB)

Last Week: 2-1 @ Nationals, 2-1@ Marlins. It's always impressive when you win consecutive road series. Except maybe when those teams are a combined 29 games under .500 and 15 games under .500 at home.

This Week: Finish the fourth game of the Marlins series tonight at 5:10 MDT. 3 game series @ Diamondbacks, 3 game series vs Athletics.

News:

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	shoulder	06/08/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Know Your Foe: Visiting Chase Field never looked so good

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:40:47 -0000

More photos » by Eric Risberg - AP

The frustrated Diamondbacks are there for the taking if Colorado hopes to turn their own frowns upside-down.

Browse more photos »

The Rockies have completed four series thus far, winning one, tying one, and losing two. After a sweep punctuated by an embarrassing loss Sunday, a return to play Arizona in the desert might be just what Colorado needs. Did I just say that? Forget the past - that's history. What matters is right now, and the Rockies will be playing the coldest team in the majors, and the one team they have beaten in a series this year to boot.

Arizona Diamondbacks (4-8, L1, t-4th in NL West)

Monday-Wednesday : 3-game series at Colorado

As bitter as it tastes to be a Rockies fan after this past week, it's far worse being a D-Backs fan right now. Check it out:

Arizona managed just TWO runs in their weekend set at AT&T.
Despite allowing just four runs in three starts, Dan Haren is 0-3 - one total run of support will do that to you.
At one point last week, not a single D-Back crossed home plate for 20 innings.
Their run differential is -22, dead last in the majors (even the 1-10 Nats)
Six losses in eight games.
Rankings at the bottom of the barrel all around:

Team Stat	MLB Rank	Amt
wOBA	28th	.293
OPS	26th	.680
Average	28th	.227
Runs For	27th	40
ERA	20th	5.18
Runs Against	20th	62
K's For	25th	70

For perspective, their team wOBA is worse than Willy Taveras was last season. And those pitching stats aren't even misleading - their staff has allowed the 7th lowest BABIP in the bigs. Quite frankly, Arizona is performing like everyone thought San Diego would. DbacksSkins has issued advice to himself and his brethren. Jim McLennan at the 'Pit has 10 reasons to be fearful for Arizona fans.

Colorado faced the hottest team in the majors this weekend on the road, and now it's time to take on arguably the coldest. It will be a great opportunity to rebound while simultaneously returning the favor of sending Arizona spiralling downward in April.

Probable Pitchers:

Today, 7:40pm MDT

Battle of the new veterans:

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jon Garland	1-1	8.44	1.96	2	8

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Marquis	2-0	1.93	1.00	5	4

Jason Marquis looks like the better veteran rotation addition so far. Anything close to his two previous starts should be a streak-breaker. Jon Garland has never faced the Rockies in his career. Marquis is 2-3 with a 3.82 ERA vs Arizona since 2006.

Tuesday, April 21, 1:40pm MDT

Battle of the pseudo-5th starters:

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
009 - Franklin Morales	1-0	1.50	0.83	6	1

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Yusmeiro Petit	0-1	7.71	1.57	7	4

Yusmeiro Petit filled in the fifth spot in the rotation when Brandon Webb landed on the DL and struggled, while Franklin Morales returns to the fifth spot in the Rockies rotation after a scoreless outing in AAA. The Petit Unit has allowed two runs in seven innings in his career vs Colorado; Morales is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA vs Arizona in three career starts.

Wednesday, April 22, 1:40pm MDT

Battle of the unfairly winless:

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	0-1	4.50	1.70	8	6

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Dan Haren	0-3	1.89	0.79	17	3

Dan Haren leads MLB with three losses, but he has been the victim of historically minimal run support. Jorge de la Rosa allowed no runs in his last start, but a blown save foiled his chance for his first win. Haren is 3-2 with a 2.85 ERA vs. Colorado since 2006, and DLR is 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA vs the Snakes.

Lineup:

What follows is what was considered the best line-up Arizona had to start the season, but as is evident, the struggling offense will breed a lineup shuffle in order and personnel.

Player	Avg	HR	RBI
Lopez	.370	2	4
Young	.238	1	3
Drew	.222	1	5
Jackson	.200	1	7
Tracy	.290	1	6
Upton	.185	0	1
Reynolds	.257	2	5
Snyder	.100	0	1

It's a bad sign when your best player is 0-3. Dan Haren (0-3, 1.89 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 17 K) has allowed just four runs in his three starts but lost all three of them. Felipe Lopez stayed hot after his historic Opening Day. He hit .462 last week in 26 ABs.

How about the rest of the lineup? Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, Eric Byrnes, Chris Snyder and Chris Young all failed to record as many hits last week as Ian Kinsler did Wednesday alone. The entire offense frozen, especially with runners in scoring position.

Stephen Drew left Friday's game with a left hamstring injury. He is day to day but has not played since Friday. Augie Ojeda has taken his place in the line-up, hitting leadoff and pushing the hot-hitting Lopez to the three-hole.

NL West Report after the jump

NL West Report

Arizona (4-8, t-4th, L1)

Last Week: 1-2 vs Cardinals, 1-2 at Giants. Arizona has lost every series this season, three of them at home. Getting buried early while

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Rockies, 3 game home series vs Giants

News: Brandon Webb threw a flat-ground bullpen session yesterday, and will throw off the mound tomorrow. Jim McLennan says it "doesn't seem he'll be back soon." The course of action Arizona will take with Webb is entirely dependent on his performance tomorrow.

Stephen Drew

#6 / Short Stop / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Mar 16, 1983

Stephen Drew left Friday's game with a hamstring injury and has not played since, and Mark Reynolds missed Sunday's game with a left quadriceps strain.

D-Backs fans can at least take refuge in the fact that their AAA team is going strong. Until the Sky Sox won yesterday, the Visalia Rawhide were undefeated. 2008 Minor League Player of the Year Josh Whitesell is on fire, so perhaps he could see some playing time soon over struggling Tony Clark.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Stephen Drew	hamstring	04/20/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	elbow	03/27/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (10-3, 2nd, W8)

Last Week: 3-0 vs Giants, 3-0 vs Rockies. The Dodgers have the greatest run differential in the majors at +42. That eclipses 11-1 Florida by 11.

This Week: 3 game road series at Giants, 3 game road series at Rockies. Los Angeles owns MLB's longest win streak this season, though all but two of those games came at home. Los Angeles will hit the road for their next nine games, so hopefully they will slow down away from Chavez Ravine.

News: The Dodgers are one of three teams rumored to be interested in Mark Mulder. The former Athletic and Cardinal is still a few weeks away from being ready to pitch.

Mark Mulder

#30 / Pitcher / Free Agent

Height: 6-6

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Aug 05, 1977

Signed LHP Chuck Tiffany to a minor league contract and will be assigned to extended spring training. Tiffany was traded to Tampa Bay in the Danys Baez deal in 2006 and was released by the Rays last month.

The Dodgers traded OF Delwyn Young to the Pirates Wednesday for two PTBNL's. Young was out of options and injured.

Los Angeles is on a tear to start the season, but it can't last forever. Sky Kalkman ran the CHONE projections again Saturday for the remaining games, and the Dodgers finished just two games north of .500. If after the weekend sweep you want to see more bad press on the Dodgers, check out GM Ned Colletti's all-time team of players he gave up on.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	oblique	04/07/2009
Cory Wade	shoulder	04/12/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Claudio Vargas	elbow	04/05/2009

San Diego (9-4, 2nd, W4)

Last Week: 2-1 at Mets, 2-1 at Phillies. Despite facing the top two NL East favorites on the road, the Padres continue to roll. A blown save yesterday by Edwin Moreno prevented a 5-1 week. Heath Bell, who leads MLB with 7 saves (3 more than anyone else), was unavailable due to multiple recent appearances.

This Week: 1 game to finish 4 game series at Phillies, 2 game road series at Giants, 3 game home series vs Pirates.

News: 2B Trivis Denker was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox last Tuesday.

Travis Denker

San Diego Padres

Height: 5-9

Weight: 205

Born: Aug 05, 1985

Paul DePodesta answers questions regarding Denker, the sporadic use of Eulogio de la Cruz, and why the Friars carry 13 pitchers.

The Padres have surprised so far this season with their 9-4 record. If they remain in contention, they have the payroll flexibility to add a piece in a push for the playoffs.

Walter Silva strained his forearm and will head to the DL.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Everth Cabrera	other-excused	04/20/2009
Walter Silva	forearm	04/14/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	03/27/2009

San Francisco (4-8, t-4th, W1)

Last Week: 0-3 at Los Angeles, 2-1 vs Arizona. It is hard to gauge San Francisco, as they faced the division's hottest and coldest teams in the same week.

This Week: 2 game home series vs Padres, 3 game road series at Arizona.

News: GM Brian Sabean is reportedly back-tracking on another bad contract. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that the Giants are trying to unload Aaron Rowand, with the White Sox as a possibility.

Aaron Rowand

#33 / Center Field / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-0

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 29, 1977

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Aaron Rowand	.297	.350	.541

For any trade to take place, San Francisco would have to eat a large portion of his contract. Such a trade would hurt former Rockie Scott Podsednik's chance to make a contribution in Chicago.

El Lefty Malo notes that many fans are pointing to 2010 as the year the Giants will compete. He isn't so sure.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	shoulder	03/27/2009
Sergio Romo	elbow	03/27/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Poll

How many games will Colorado take from Arizona this series?

0 - This team is in such disarray, even another struggling team will sweep them

10 votes

1 - That's the most you can hope for with the bottom three of the rotation in the queue

27 votes

2 - Arizona has lost every series this season and is ice cold. The Rox are struggling too much to expect a sweep, but a series win is in the bag.

54 votes

3 - We might be struggling, but Arizona is worse off than when we took two in the desert two weeks ago. The Snakes are banished to the cellar

26 votes

117 votes | Poll has closed

Know Your Foe: Rockies face '07 Rocktober victims in season's first week

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:30:08 -0000

More photos » by Rick Scuteri - AP

Brandon Webb will be the first to take on the new-look Rockies line-up.

Browse more photos »

The regular season has arrived, and that means new things from Know Your Foe. I'll still profile what you need to know in the NL West, but this space will now also be used to look forward at who the Rockies will face in the upcoming week.

The Rockies epic Rocktober run in 2007 was truly reminiscent of a classic sports movie. If a writer was charged with the task of writing a sequel, an ideal start to the 2008 script would have been back-to-back series against the very teams the Rockies shockingly swept out of the playoffs on the way to the World Series.

The schedule-makers failed to provide that sequel last year, but the Rockies do open against Arizona and Philadelphia this season.

Arizona (82-80, no playoffs)

Monday-Wednesday : 3-game series at Arizona

After reaching the NLCS in 2007, the Diamondbacks failed to make the playoffs after fading to a disappointing 82-80 finish in 2008. Arizona is anchored by a strong rotation and hopes of success hinge on the growth of their young line-up.

However, if Spring Training is any indication, "success" won't be a word associated with the Diamondbacks this year. Our desert-dwelling division-rivals stumbled to MLB's worst Spring Training record at 11-23.

Probable Pitchers:

The marquee match-up of the series will no doubt be the earthworm genocide that will unfold this afternoon.

Monday, April 6:	Aaron Cook (2-2, 3.25)	vs.	Brandon Webb (1-2, 5.82)
Thursday, April 7:	Ubaldo Jimenez (1-0, 7.32)	vs.	Dan Haren (2-2, 4.40)
Wednesday, April 8:	Franklin Morales (3-3, 4.50)	vs.	Doug Davis (0-1, 6.23)

Lineup:

Nothing has changed in the past week. The Diamondbacks' starting lineup is worth about 4.924 runs. It's a solid lineup with some significant upside. The Rockies have had trouble handling Chad Tracy and Justin Upton in the past. Note that Bob Melvin altering the Opening Day lineup, replacing Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton with Eric Byrnes and Tony Clark just because Aaron Cook scares Melvin so much.

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

Chad Tracy (.367/.424/.567), Chris Snyder (.317/.417/.610) and Mark Reynolds (.323/.377/.516) didn't wait until April for their bats to heat up. Chad Qualls was one of the few Diamondbacks hurlers to have a thoroughly impressive spring - Qualls posted a 2.70 ERA through ten spring innings that included eight strikeouts and no walks.

Spring Training couldn't end fast enough for Justin Upton (.197/.333/.328) and Conor Jackson (.200/.280/.246), who had abysmal showings in Spring Training. Brandon Webb had a sub-par spring as well (5.82 ERA, 1.59 WHIP), as did two pivotal bullpen arms, Scott Schoeneweis (11.00, 2.44) and Tony Pena (9.00, 2.44)

Philadelphia (92-70, NL East and World Series champions)

Friday-Sunday : 3-game series at Colorado

Rockies fans don't have to wait long to see the World Series Champs at Coors Field. The Rockies' first home series will be against the Phils...and it will be the last time Philadeplhia will visit in 2009.

It won't be easy for the Phillies to repeat. Since the Yankees repeated in 2000, there have been eight different champions in nine seasons. The Red Sox have won twice but failed to repeat both times. Still, Philly Phans remain morbidly optimistic. Philadelphia returns virtually the same team, although Pat Burrell has been replaced by the underrated Raul Ibanez.

Probable Pitchers:

World Series MVP Cole Hamels missed Sunday's Season Opener due to an inflamed elbow. Hamels was pushed back and will be making his season debut at Coors Field for the Rockies home opener. Brett Myers, who got rocked on Opening Day Sunday, will pitch Saturday. Chan Ho Park beat out J.A. Happ for the #5 spot in the rotation and could pitch Sunday, but Charlie Manuel might go with Jamie Moyer, who will have had five days' rest.

Friday, April 10:	Cole Hamels (0-1, 9.39)	vs.	Jason Marquis (1-3, 10.08)
Saturday, April 11:	Brett Myers (2-2, 3.52)	vs.	Jorge de la Rosa (2-2, 6.86)
Sunday, April 12:	Chan Ho Park (2-0, 2.53)	vs.	Aaron Cook (2-2, 3.25)

Lineup:

The Phillies return their entire World Series-winning offense except for Pat Burrell. Chase Utley, who seems to have recovered from his offseason hip surgery, remains as the only head of the Rollins/Utley/Howard monster not to earn an MVP. The Philly starting line-up is indeed fierce, as it projects to score 5.202 runs/game.

But don't get too scared. That would only rank third in the "barren" NL West behind Los Angeles and Colorado.

Order	Player	Position	AB	BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
1	Jimmy Rollins	SS	633	.281	18	67	.342	.452	.356
2	Jayson Werth	RF	364	.264	15	57	.365	.445	.363
3	Chase Utley	2B	571	.296	27	96	.381	.513	.391
4	Ryan Howard	1B	547	.271	46	128	.379	.576	.409
5	Raul Ibanez	LF	557	.287	26	99	.359	.488	.368
6	Shane Victorino	CF	500	.288	13	56	.350	.444	.353
7	Pedro Feliz	3B	517	.257	21	78	.303	.441	.323
8	Carlos Ruiz	C	371	.256	9	48	.338	.396	.328

The bench is quite strong as well, and we'll likely see plenty of Chris Coste, Matt Stairs and Greg Dobbs.

In past years, it has been difficult for the big Ryan Howard to gain momentum at the beginning of the season, but in 2009, there's nobody who has had a better spring. The 2006 NL MVP blasted a ridiculous 10 home runs while posting impressive slash stats (.333/.420/.760). Jayson Werth (.333/.368/.696), Jimmy Rollins (.351/.415/.541) and Carlos Ruiz (.326/.380/.558) hope their Spring fever lasts a bit longer also, and Chan Ho Park (2.53 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 10.5 K9) ran away with the #5 SP slot.

The "Flying Hawaiian" has yet to get off the ground. Shane Victorino (.180/.226/.260) posted pitcher-like numbers in Spring Training. Fellow southpaw starters Jamie Moyer (8.27 ERA, 1.94 WHIP) and Cole Hamels (9.39, 1.17) have also had their struggles.

Other things to know: Prospect J.A. Happ lost the race to be the #5 starter but remains on the roster in the bullpen...Two big names are trying to return from injury. Chase Utley had hip surgery and Cole Hamels is recovering from a sore elbow. Both figure to be healthy enough to start Friday....LHP Cedrick Bowers is now on the Philly roster...Ryan Howard lost 25 pounds from last season. Judging by his Spring Training, it has helped him.

NL West Report after the jump.

NL West Report

Arizona (11-23)

Ryan Roberts won the race for the 25th spot on the roster over James Skelton, Josh Whitesell, and Josh Wilson. Skelton had been favored due to his status as a Rule 5 draft choice from Detroit. He was waived, but Arizona retained Skelton's services by trading pitcher Brooks Brown to Detroit. Or maybe he's going to be a Colorado State linebacker.

Ryan Roberts

#14 / Third Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 19, 1980

Otherwise, Arizona filled out their roster exactly as predicted last week. However, with Max Scherzer on the DL, Juan Gutierrez snuck into the bullpen.

Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors talked with Arizona GM Josh Byrnes, and asked about his K-happy hitters, to which Byrnes responded:

To some extent, strikeouts are like other outs.

Those are some nice sedona red shades you have there Josh. Strikeouts have been and could continue to be the Diamondbacks' undoing, but as he pointed out later in the quote "If enough walks and homers accompany the strikeouts, the tradeoff can work".

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Rockies, 3 game home series vs. Dodgers

Los Angeles (15-22)

Those sneaky Dodgers. The 25-man roster had to be set by noon Sunday, but Los Angeles still hadn't decided its final spots. They submitted a 24-man roster through a loophole and added Claudio Vargas and Delwyn Young to the roster. However, Young and Vargas will be going on the disabled list, so the Dodgers will be adding three more to the 25-man roster before their opening game at 5:05. Will Ohman and Doug Mientkiewicz are expected to be two, and two relievers will be chosen between Ramon Troncoso, Josh Lindblom, Eric Threets, and Ronald Belisario.

Will Ohman

#0 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 210

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Aug 13, 1977

The signing of Will Ohman meant Scott Elbert was not needed in the bullpen. Other changes from the forecast of a fortnight past include James McDonald becoming the fifth starter and Jeff Weaver being sent to AAA.

Ned Colletti shaved off 24% of his team's payroll in the offseason by remains the sexy pick to repeat as NL West Champions. Ramona Shelburne at the LA Daily News evaluates Colletti's offseason.

This Week: 4 game road series @ Padres, 3 game road series @ Diamonbacks

San Diego (10-21-3)

The Friars traded for Edward Mujica from the Indians and Eulogio de la Cruz to fill in the bullpen. Luke Gregorson and Edwin Moreno also won bullpen spots while Mark Worrell and Mike Adams were transferred to the 60-day disabled list. The bullpen was a mess a week ago, but a lot has changed in just a week. Shawn Hill will be the fifth starter, and their #3 starter, Walter Silva, is so obscure he does not have a picture or number in our system yet.

Walter Silva

#0 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 04, 1977

I fail to see how this pitching staff can compete with the Rockies', let alone the complete product. Another look at the bullpen plight.

Buster Olney reported that Jake Peavy was a lot closer to being a Cub than people realize. As Peavy said in a Corey Brock article:

"I prepared myself that I was going to be traded. Everyone in their right mind thought I would be somewhere else"

The former first overall pick by the Padres, Matt Bush, was released by Toronto. The details are sadly and absurdly comical.

This Week: 4 game home series vs. Dodgers, 3 game home series vs. Giants

San Francisco (21-19)

The Giants ended up with a different 25-man roster than it appeared two weeks ago as well. Eugenio Velez beat out Kevin Frandsen as a backup middle infielder, and the front office decided Pablo Sandoval would do fine as a back-up catcher, so Steve Holm was optioned in favor of Juan Uribe.

Juan Uribe

#0 / Third Base / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-0

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 22, 1979

Brandon Medders got the surprise nod over Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo. Rookie Joe Martinez came out of nowhere to win the long reliever gig. The full-break-down is here.

Jack Taschner was also traded to the Phillies for C Ronny Paulino, who was then flipped to Florida for RHP Hector Correa. The move opened up a spot for Alex Hinshaw to be the primary lefty out of the pen.

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Brewers, 3 game road series @ Padres

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:06:04 -0000

Some things to read while thinking about what could have been.

So, the bullpen situation is increasingly chaotic, with Trevor Hoffman now possibly opening the season on the DL. (Also noted in FanShot) The situation is exacerbated by the fact that David Riske and Carlos Villanueva aren't pitching well and Seth McClung, who isn't pitching exceptionally well either, may be needed to fill a spot in the starting rotation. Riske, for one, is taking his spring results pretty seriously, saying he's in shock after allowing an earned run in five straight outings.

We all respond to stress differently, I suppose: After getting shelled in two innings in his first spring start yesterday, Mark DiFelice was cutting hair in the Brewer clubhouse.

Also in that last link is a note mentioning that Sam Narron was sent down to minor league camp. Elsewhere in roster moves, the Brewers decided to let the Astros keep Rule 5 pick Lou Palmisano. (Also noted in FanShot)

The Brewers also made a minor trade over the weekend, acquiring minor league infielder Sergio Miranda from the White Sox for future considerations. The move was big enough to draw notice from Al and in Rumorville, but it slipped through the cracks over at the JS. There's some speculation that those "future considerations" might end up being Tony Gwynn Jr., but of course that's not confirmed.

Speaking of Gwynn, while he would appear to be behind Chris Duffy, Brad Nelson and Trot Nixon in the race for backup outfield spots, he thinks his history with the organization will get him a spot on the team this spring. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.

Casey McGehee also continues to make a solid case for making the team. View From Bernie's Chalet is going to be pretty upset if he doesn't make the roster.

Baseball Intellect has posted 6-15 in their rankings of Brewer prospects: Follow the link for scouting reports on Jonathan Lucroy, Lorenzo Cain, Jake Odorizzi, Taylor Green, Cutter Dykstra, Cody Scarpetta, Caleb Gindl, Cole Gillespie and Zach Braddock, and an invitation to follow another link for a scouting report on Efrain Nieves.

Crawfish Boxes finished up their position-by-position look at the NL Central this weekend, ranking Corey Hart fourth among right fielders and Jason Kendall dead last among catchers.

Would their projection have changed if they knew Mike Rivera is going to get more starts in 2009? Ken Macha is planning to pair Rivera with Dave Bush to get Jason Kendall more frequent rest.

Elsewhere among predictions/projections/rankings:

FeinSports.com projects the Brewers for 79 wins and a third place finish.
Baseball Digest Daily doesn't have a prediction in their Brewer 2009 preview, but they do have some cool graphs and charts.
BareKnucks.com thinks the Brewers will win 72 games and finish fourth.
Not Today You Ain't picked the Brewers to finish fourth as well.

Do you like jokes involving Rickie Weeks? If so, you may enjoy his "interview" with Chatterbalks.

In other camps:

Dodgers: Released Shawn Estes.
Giants: Noah Lowry received a cortisone shot and will be unable to throw a baseball until April.
Mets: Released Tom Martin.
Nationals: Signed Josh Bard to a minor league deal.
Padres: Mark Worrell needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2009 season. He was acquired from the Cardinals for Khalil Greene.
Rangers: Signed Jimmy Gobble to a minor league deal.
Twins: Joe Mauer still has pain and inflammation in his back and is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day.
White Sox: Signed Gavin Floyd to a four year deal worth $15.5 million.

The Astros spring training has been pretty bad, but for one day the Tigers had it worse: they were no-hit by the Marlins yesterday with Ricky Nolasco and two relievers combining to accomplish the feat.

On Friday I mentioned the new Dodgers policy of putting a contribution to Dodger charities into all contracts. The MLBPA has filed a grievance that will likely end that practice in a hurry.

The Cubs sale is still on hold and will almost certainly not be done by Opening Day. Between the Green Pillars took a look at its implications for the Brewers.

Like one in four Americans, I'm left handed, so as a writer I'm encouraged by the fact that all the Reds beat writers are also lefties.

Think you know your stats? Got seven minutes to prove it? Take this quiz and see how many franchise win leaders you can name. I got 12, which is pretty good in the "taken before 7 am" division.

At the very least, those seven minutes will be a better investment than the $70,000 Torii Hunter invested in furniture rafts.

Baseball Reference is working on a new site design. As someone who uses the site countless times daily, I was concerned, but they've opened up the beta page and it looks pretty good. Here's Jeff Cirillo's page, if you're curious.

Over the weekend, BCB made a roster move of its own. Josh Kalk, aka Dixieflatline, is leaving the site to take a job with an AL team. Josh is a phenomenal talent and will be a tremendous asset to his new employers, but to the internet baseball community he's more than that.

There's a stereotype out there about bloggers and internet-based writers. There are people who label us as glorified loudmouths with too much time on their hands and a "home office" in mom's basement. As a medium, we owe a debt of gratitude to people like Josh, Jeff Sackmann, David Pinto, Tom Tango and a variety of others that have shown that, at times, the best baseball analysis being done today is happening here on the internet, and the work that we're producing here should not be universally ignored by teams and the media.

At any rate, congratulations and thank you to Josh for all he's done and continues to do.

Oh, and Peter Angelos may not be the best savior for horse racing.

Drink up.

Mark Worrell - Two Pitches, One Crazy Delivery

Harry Pavlidis — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:02:43 -0000

Buster Olney had this Mark Worrell video linked today.

You can read more about Mark Worrell from this recent article and this prospect profile from a couple years back from Future Redbirds. Looking at his PITCHf/x data from Worrell's June 2008 call-up, I can see he eliminated a 3/4 arm slot against lefties mentioned in FR.

Worrell throws a fastball (around 90) and what appears to be a slider (75). As you can see above, his delivery is very strange, and his flight paths are pretty wild too.

Worrell throws the ball up upon release, and really keeps the ball up in the zone - he almost never throws the ball down (see the zone plot below).

That fastball tails in on righties very nicely.

Keep an eye on Worrell during Spring Training. He got knocked around a bit during his cup of coffee, but he certainly is interesting.

Khalil

DanUpBaby — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:54:24 -0000

Count me extremely happy with this move, especially as the details continue to roll in; it is a good deal for the Cardinals, and a great deal for Mozeliak.

More important, perhaps, than anything else is that the Cardinals have acquired a creditable shortstop—filling their most gaping hole—without using the majority of their payroll or their top few trading chits. The player they traded, Mark Worrell, was one of my favorites, but he was about as far out of the Cardinals' plans as a guy who strikes out 80 people in 58 AAA innings has ever been and had, in a remarkably odd coincidence, that very day talked with Scout.com about how he wanted to be traded.

That's what makes it such a coup for Mozeliak, providing that none of their scarce starting depth is Named Later—not only did he deal from a positional surplus, he did it in such a way that it did not affect La Russa and Duncan's plans at all, even if it should have. It's the successful version of the Anthony Reyes trade, aided by the fact that the Padres are in severe Payroll Slashing Mode.

Greene, meanwhile, seems like as good a candidate as there is to bounce back after a miserable season. His miserable season wasn't borne of injury problems or age or other things that might recur season after season—it was just miserable, the kind of season that is not caused by a broken hand but is ended by one. I have no analytical heft behind this thought but he seems like the kind of player, as a hacker playing in the wrong ballpark, who might be more prone than the average hitter to completely fall apart over the course of a season and eventually get it back.

And it really was unprecedented; he's never been nearly as bad as he was in 2008. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's had some bad qualities in the past—I can't see his OBP going over .320 without a serious breakout season at this point—but the end result has always been an above-average player. From 2003-2006 his defense, per Ultimate Zone Rating, one of the few PBP defensive stats available that far back, was worth an average of 9 runs per 150 games. Combined with his hitting—according to Baseball Prospectus's PMLVr, which measures the number of runs per game that a player would add to a team compared to a league average player at the position, even at his hackiest he was a little better than the average shortstop—Greene was well above average as a shortstop in 2005 and 2006, and outstanding in 2004 and 2007. It's not often that you acquire a shortstop who was outstanding two seasons ago, did not tear his ACL or get busted for steroids in the meantime, and is now 29 for a relief pitcher who was not in your future plans.

That kind of value distribution, with the genuine potential for high reward and the looming concern of a continued breakdown, is admittedly worrisome on some level, but it's exactly what the Cardinals need at the position. Greene, by sheer virtue of his resume up to this point, seems pretty likely to at least match Cesar Izturis's overall value last year; to not do it would mean he's been the victim of a very rare, very vicious early decline phase or a lingering injury that no one has found. It would require him to bounce back on neither side of the ball. But I'll grant that the Cardinals probably could have found a player more likely to match his borderline-average stylings elsewhere on the market.

What they couldn't have found elsewhere, at least without guaranteeing two years to Edgar Renteria or four to Rafael Furcal, is the chance to add serious value to a team that's still only on the edge of contending. Greene, in a contract year, with a history of success, no longer playing at a historically terrible ballpark for his primary skillset, has the chance to give a team that has not added a lot of upside in the offseason a multi-win boost. He's not just treading water—he's a free shot at a serious positional upgrade. If the Cardinals can do that in the rotation and the bullpen like they've done it here I'll be a lot more optimistic about their chances, but this was an excellent start to their offseason and another bullet point on Mozeliak's budding reputation as a trader.