SB Nation - Michael Tucker

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:51:04 -0000

by Keith Birmingham - AP

Another day, another picture of Randy Wolf.

Some things to read while making your pitch to Gatorade.

It's been roughly 24 hours since we were told the Brewers were "very close" to a deal with Randy Wolf, but said deal has yet to materialize. Both Tom H. and Buster Olney are saying the Brewers are expecting a response today, now that Arn Tellem has had a day to shop the offer around, but reportedly hasn't found anyone willing to match it. Other notes on Wolf:

Tom H. says he "gets the feeling that the Brewers are suprised that Randy Wolf hasn't accepted their three-year offer yet."
Jayson Stark heard that the Brewers' offer to Wolf was bigger than the three year, $28 million deal the Braves recently gave Tim Hudson.
Jon Heyman tweeted that the Mets don't appear likely to land Wolf, and while MLB Trade Rumors lists them as showing interest in five other pitchers, Heyman says the price of mid-level pitching might drive them to spend a little more in pursuit of John Lackey.
The Junkball Blues has a look at the average return teams get on three year contracts to starting pitchers. There are some good ones (Greg Maddux, Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett), but also some disasters (Adam Eaton, Jason Schmidt, Carl Pavano).
Jorge Says No! wonders about the wisdom of offering Wolf a third year, but says the Brewers' willingness to do it implies they don't think they can sign Prince Fielder to a long term deal.

By the way, over two months ago Jorge Says No! predicted Wolf would get three years, $31 million on the open market. Impressive.

I feel the need to clarify my position on the Wolf rumor a bit, because I feel I was a little hard on the front office in this one act play last night. I still don't think Wolf wants to play in Milwaukee, which is why Arn Tellem has spent the last 24 hours searching for anyone on a coast willing to match the Brewers' offer. With that said, I'll give credit where credit is due to the front office for finding the guy they wanted and being aggressive in an attempt to get him here. If it turns out that the scenario I laid out is true and Tellem was just using the Brewers to raise the price for someone else, so be it. At least we're talking about the Brewers making an effort, and not hearing the reasons why they can't.

Meanwhile, the Brewers are close to a deal to bring Claudio Vargas back for another season, and are just waiting for formal acceptance from Vargas and his agent (FanShot). Conversation on the deal is probably complicated a bit by the fact that Vargas is currently in the Dominican Republic pitching in winter ball.

They're also expecting an answer sometime today from Craig Counsell, who may or may not be seeking a two year deal for next season. It sounds like Counsell and his agent spent the day yesterday checking out other options. Don't be surprised if a deal gets done relatively quickly.

Ken Macha told reporters yesterday that Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra are the only pitchers guaranteed a spot in the Brewer rotation next season, implying that Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan will have to compete to earn an opportunity (FanShot). Open competition should be good for all involved, especially if the Crew manages to bring in some high-upside pitchers to compete.

Tom H. has all of those notes (and a terrible headline) in his roundup piece today, along with this note: The 40 man roster is starting to fill up, so don't be surprised if the Brewers decide not to take a chance on a Rule 5 pick in tomorrow's draft. I think that's a poor decision. Among others, Tim Dillard and Luis Cruz could probably pass through waivers without much notice. Passing on a cheap lottery ticket to protect one of those guys doesn't seem to make sense.

In the minors:

Project Prospect has a look at the speed of several Brewers who recently performed in the Arizona Fall League. Jonathan Lucroy appears to be in about the middle of the pack, while Taylor Green rated out way on the low end. They mustn't have had enough data to publish a ranking for Lorenzo Cain.
Angel Salome will be the next Brewer prospect to head out for winter ball: He's reportedly leaving at the end of the week to play for Este in the Dominican League. You can keep up with him and all the Brewer winter leaguers in our Winter League Updates.

We're continuing the effort to put together a BCB All Decade Team, and if you haven't cast your first votes yet, there's still time. Voting at first base will remain open until 4 pm today, and voting at second base runs until 4 pm tomorrow. Check back later today to vote for a shortstop.

Around baseball:

Braves: Designated outfielder Ryan Church for assignment.
D-Backs: Acquired pitchers Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy in a three way deal that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees and outfielder Austin Jackson and pitchers Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth and Phil Coke to the Tigers.
Mets: Signed 1B/3B Mike Hessman to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Signed outfielder Jerry Owens to a minor league deal.
Phillies: Signed Ross Gload to a two year deal.
Pirates: Are expected to sign Bobby Crosby to a one year deal.
Tigers: Signed catcher Robinzon Diaz, who was recently released by the Pirates.
Twins: Designated Boof Bonser for assignment.
White Sox: Signed Mark Teahen to a three year, $14 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
Yankees: Will receive the #1 pick in tomorrow's Rule 5 Draft as the PTBNL in the Brian Bruney trade.

Meanwhile, ~~Gritty von Canthitalick~~ Jason Kendall continues to search for work, but there's more suitors than you might think: The Rangers are reportedly strongly considering Kendall, now that Jarrod Saltalamacchia injured his shoulder playing winter ball. The Royals have also expressed interest.

From surprising news to what might possibly be the week's least surprising news: John Lackey is having a hard time finding a team willing to offer him a six year deal.

Actually, this might be the most surprising news: Kudos to the BBWAA for their decision to allow Sean Forman of Baseball Reference to join their organization.

We could have used this days ago, but Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has a guide to deciphering sources in Winter Meeting rumors. Again today, the meetings provide us with some things you might never have known without the internet, and wouldn't have missed:

Michael Tucker, who hasn't played in the majors since 2006, is in Indianapolis and wants to play next season.
Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson heard about a trade offer the Diamondbacks made for him and was offended by it.
C. Trent Rosecrans gave the Meetings' Best Hat Award to Manny Acta.
Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian gives us a look at the hotel lobby, complete with Christmas tree.
Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com had to step away from the meetings for a moment to help his mom figure out the TV.

On this day in 1977, the Brewers traded pitchers Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers to the Tigers for Ben Oglivie. The 29 year old Panama native would spend the last nine years of his career as a Brewer, hitting .277/.345/.461, leading the AL with 41 home runs in 1980, and appearing in three All Star games.

Happy birthday today to:

Doc Medich, who made the final ten starts of his major league career for the 1982 Brewers, and turns 61.
Ed Romero, who spent parts of eight seasons as a Brewer in the late 70's and 80's and later served as a minor league infield coordinator and manager. He turns 52.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some snowblowing to do.

Drink up.

Remembering Chan Perry

royalsreview — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:00:15 -0000

With the Royals and Indians set to clash for the next three days at the K, let us take a moment to remember Chan Perry, who briefly played for both teams in the early days of this decade. Only five players in Major League history have only played for the Indians and Royals and no one else: Billy Harris, Mike Hedlund (the 88th Greatest Royal of All-Time), Steve Mingori (the 62nd Greatest Royal of All-Time), Jason Rakers and Chan Perry.

Chan Everett Perry was born in Live Oak, Florida in 1972. Thirty years later, he would go down in history as one of the proud men who guided the 2002 Royals to a 62-100 record and made a region proud.

Perry was drafted by Cleveland late in the 1994 draft (44th round) and spent six minor league seasons in the Cleveland system, culminating in a two year run at AAA Buffalo.Technically, Chan was a utility man, but the type of utility guy who can't really play an infield position other than first. I'm sure Chan was happy to be part of any organization coming out of Florida, but in retrospect the Indians were a really bad fit for him. Cleveland was absolutely stocked with hitters at the corners, and although Chan was a fairly polished college prospect, it had to have been clear early on that he wasn't going to be a better hitter than Jim Thome or Manny Ramirez, to say nothing of the various free agent bats the Tribe was bringing in in the 1990s (Paul Sorrento, Ellis Burks, Matt Williams, David Justice, etc.). Thus, Perry's best minor league season, a .315/.355/.521 season at AA in 1997 did little for him professionally.

In 2000, as a 27 year old, he hit .296/.336/.434 in AAA and with the clock ticking on his time under the Tribe's control, he was briefly called up in August of that year. Chan appeared in thirteen games, mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement for guys like Manny Ramirez and Chris Selby. In those thirteen games, Chan got fourteen PAs, and hit .071/.071/.071.

Needless to say, Chan's days as an Indian were over. As a minor league free agent he signed on with the Braves -- scouted by Dayton Moore we can only dream -- where he hit .274/.316/.403 at AAA Richmond. It was an uneventful sojourn.

The next off-season however, Chan entered into the storied pages of Royals history, signing with the club as a free agent. According to this obscure Geocities page from seven years ago, dude was raking in Spring Training. Chan hit better in Wichita than he had in Richmond -- .316/.359/.481 -- and put himself on the team's radar thanks to his OK hitting at AA.

Mike Sweeney missed a month in the middle of the 2002 season, which created an opportunity for Perry of sorts. While the Royals used Ibanez at first quite a lot in 2002, Perry, in late July and early August of 2002 snagged three starts at first, and appeared in two other games as a defensive replacement.

Perry's first game as a Royal came on July 25, 2002, against Detroit. Starting at first and hitting sixth, Perry went 0-3, but drove in a run in the sixth with a groundout, scoring Joe Randa. In the bottom of the sixth Perry was lifted for Michael Tucker, who finished the game. The Royals would lose the game 5-2. Five days later, Perry played an inning at first in a blowout loss to the Blue Jays for no apparent reason.

Perry's second start came later in the Toronto series, where he again hit sixth and played at first. Facing Roy Halladay, Perry grounded into a double play in the first inning, but in the second, after Michael Tucker had stolen third (Penaball!) Perry picked up another clutch RBI groundout. Two starts, two RsBI as a Royal. Perry grounded out again the fourth and the sixth, and was lifted for Joe Randa in the eighth inning.

Chan would appear in two more games as a Royal. His final start came on August 4, 2002 against the Twins. Chan went 1-5 with a single, and snagged yet another RBI. It was probably his greatest game as a Royal. No, not probably, definitely. It was not Corey Koskie's favorite Chan Perry game however. In the 10th inning, with Torii Hunter on third, Koskie grounded to Perry at first. When Perry threw home, he nailed Koskie in the chest, send Koskie to the ground in agony as Torriiiiiiiii scored the winning run.

"If the run scores, the game is over, so I had to take a shot.''

In his final game as a Royal, Chan finally got to be part of a Major League victory subbing for Chuckie Knoblauch late in a glorious 10-0 rout of the Devil Yars at the K.

The next day, Mike Sweeney was back, and Chan Perry was gone.

As a Royal, Perry hit .091/.091/.091 in eleven PAs spread out over five games.

Perry was not a part of the 2003 Believe Royals, signing with the Pirates as a minor league free agent in the off-season. Between AA and AAA in 2003, at the age of thirty, Chan hit .282/.327/.398 in what would be his final season in baseball. Though he never returned to the Majors, he played in the 2003 Eastern League All-Star game alongside: Grady Sizemore and Mike Fontenot.

His Major League career amounted to .080/.080/.080 in 18 games and 25 plate appearances. In 4009 Minor League appearances, Chan hit .292/.345/.454.

Chan's older brother Herbert also played at Florida and was also drafted by the Indians. Herbert however, was a second round pick, and eventually played in over 500 Big League games. The Perry brothers were rather lovingly portrayed in George Castle's book Throwbacks: Old-School Baseball Players in Today's Game, which informs that Chan was named after Chan Gailey. He is, most likely, the most accomplished individual in human history to be named after Chan Gailey.

His five games played as a Royal is good for 523rd most in team history, tied with Craig Brazell, Adrian Brown, Enrique Burgos, Alan Hargesheimer and others too grand to mention.

Every year, Jason Rakers and Chan pick one Royals-Tribe series and attend it in person, making a mini-vacaction of it with their familes. They spend the series meeting old friends, telling baseball tales and lies, and dressing their wives in complicated, homemade jerseys that are half Cleveland, half KC. Rakers is more of a Royals fan at this point, while Perry is reportedly still loyal to the Tribe. As mentioned in the third appendix to Joe Posnanski's The Soul of Baseball, they play up their little rivalry just to make things fun, but really, they both just love the game. They see in Royals-Indians baseball a metaphor for how life should be lived; in every Rafael Betancourt appearance, a reaffirmation of man's fallen nature, but also the signs of a loving God and his forgiveness as they take pictures of their kids standing outside Michael Tucker's plaque in the Royals Hall of Fame. Twice, since retiring, Perry has served as Slider, the Indians mascot at children's hospitals in the Cleveland area, each time, with Mike Hedlund's baseball card, bought from a blind man at a garage sale in Overland Park in 2002, tucked inside his shirt pocket.

Actually, none of that last paragraph is true. I made it up. Chan Perry has disapeared into complete obscurity.

2004 Royals Draft Review

nwroyal — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:48:50 -0000

The Royals had 3 compensation picks in the 2004 draft and the opportunity to rebuild their farm system. Unfortunately, the 2004 draft was not a very good one (as opposed to the 2005 draft which was incredible how much talent came out that year).

1^st Round (14^th Overall)

The Royals held the 14^th pick in the 2004. That hadn't picked lower than 14^th since 1995 (also knows as the "Juan Lebron Draft"). The 2004 draft was sparce on talent. The Commissioner was putting lots of pressure on teams to keep bonuses down. The two best talents were Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver-both Boras clients who would slip to the middle of the first round. The Padres went the cheap route and pick Matt Bush-perhaps the worst overall #1 ever. The Royals were linked in the weeks leading up to the draft to such illustrious names at Chris Lambert (college right-hander) and Matt Ferris (college power hitter) neither of whom looks to contribute at the big league level.

When the time came the Royals took Billy Butler-HS "3B" from Florida. Butler was considered a 2^nd round talent and many considered the pick a dreaded, cheap "signability" pick. Butler's glove has been the subject of many jokes and he has gone from 3B to OF to 1B to DH and now maybe will get another shot at 1B.

Butler signed quickly and got 260 ABs at Idaho Falls where he destroyed the pitching to the tune of a 1084 OPS. In 2005, the Royals bumped him up to High Desert (skipping Low-A Burligton) where his OPS dropped to 1055. He got a little over 100 at bats in Wichita at the end of 2005. In 2006, he went to back to AA where his OPS stayed around 880. In 2007 he went to Omaha and had an OPS of 954 in 200 abs. He then got his ticket punched to KC where he posted a respectable 794 OPS as a 21 year old. Last year, he began the season as a starter but really struggled and there were different reports about his lack of maturity. There were rumblings that Jose Guillen's infamous "Babies" rant was directed Butlers way. Billy soon found himself back at Omaha, presumably for an attitude adjustment and he responded with a 981 OPS at AAA. He was called back up and Butler was much better in the 2^nd half of the year with an OPS over 800.

It would have been really interesting to see what Butler would have done if he had been sent to Burlington in 2005-I'm guessing his offensive numbers would have dropped a fair amount-Burlington-even though lower on the ladder is a far more difficult hitting environment. I can't help but think that it would have done Billy some good to struggle a little in the minors. As it is, he hit like crazy at every stop and when he struggled in the big leagues, we heard about maturity issues that perhaps would have been more easily addressed in the middle of Iowa.

I'm still quite bullish on Butler and think it is only a matter of time before he starts posting some very good offensive seasons. He is in better shape this year I look for him to become an offensive force this year.

Here's how I would rank Butler against the 9 guys taken after him:

Stephen Drew-D-Backs #15 overall
Billy Butler-Royals #14
Philip Huges-Yankees #23
Josh Fields-White Sox #18
David Purcey-Blue Jays #16
Glen Perkins-Twins #22
Greg Golson-Phillies #21
Scott Elbert-Dodgers #17
Chris Lambert-Cardinals #19
Trevor Plouffe-Twins #21

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Billy-Butler.shtml

1^st Round pick (29^th overall for Michael Tucker)

The Royals were not going to offer Michael Tucker arbitration. The Giants actually wanted to get rid of the burden of a 1^st round pick so they signed Tucker before we could refuse and thus, the Royals were gifted with this pick which they used on University of South Carolina left-hander Matt Campbell. Campbell had had a good 3 seasons for USC culminating with a junior year where he posted a 2.90 ERA in 118 IP with 138 K/36BB. But his stuff was said to be a little short. The Royals took him and he battle arm problems almost from the start. In 2005 and 2006 he pitched at Burlington posting ERAs in the 4's while pitching around 60 innings. He got 7 innings at Wilmington at the end of 06 and that was it. He blew out his arm and last I heard quit baseball.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/C/Matt-Campbell.shtml

1^st Round pick (31^st overall for Raul Ibanez)

I must admit, I thought the Mariners were fools for the contract they gave Ibanez and I happily accepted the compensation pick. The Royals made good use of it. This was one of those happy occasions where the Royals actually took who I was hoping they would pick. Howell had a great Junior year for the Texas Longhorns going 15-2 with a 2.13 ERA and 166k/53bb in 135ip. He signed pretty quick and post 26ip with a 2.77 era at Idaho Falls. He moved all the way to the big leagues in 2005 pitching well in the minors but struggling in 72 rushed innings at the majors (6.19 ERA). He struggled some at Omaha in 06 (but his peripherals were good) and then became Dayton Moore's first trade for the Great Car Jumper. Howell posted a 5.10 ERA in 8 starts for the Devil Rays. In 2007 he pitched well in AAA but got lit up in 10 starts with the big club (7.59 era). Of course, last year, the Rays moved Howell to the pen where he flourished posting a 2.22 ERA in 89ip with 92k. One of the upsides to the Royals drafting poorly for a long time is that we haven't often had to endure the pain of a former Royals farmhand becoming a good player on another team. (normally they leave as free agents).

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/H/J.P.-Howell.shtml

Other players taken in the supplemental 1^st Round: Gio Gonzalez, Zach Jackson, Tyler Lumsden, Huston Street

2^nd Round

For better or worse, the Royals took someone else I was high on in the 2^nd round: Billy Buckner-another South Carolina guy. Buckner posted a 3.32 era in his junior season with a strike out to walk ratio of 105/23. He was known for having an excellent knuckle-curve. He posted a 3.30 era at Idaho Falls after signing in 04. In 2005, he went to Burlington where he a decent 3.88 era in 60 innings and was promoted to High Desert where his era was 5.36 in 90+ innings. But his strikeouts were there and he was fairly stingy with the longball. He went back to High Desert in 2006 and posted an excellent 3.90 era and was promoted to Wichita where his era was 4.64 in 75 innings. In 2007 he spent the bulk of time at Omaha where he posted a 3.78 era in just over 100 innings. But his strikeout rate was slowly dropping as he moved up the ladder. He got 34 innings with the big club and had an era of 5.29 but a K/BB ratio of 17/16. After 2007, he was traded to the Diamondbacks for Alberto Castillo. Last year, he had a 4.95 era at AAA Tuscon (which is a strong hitters park). He pitched 14 innings in the big leagues with an era of 3.21. He has made the D-Backs out of spring training and will pitch out the bullpen for

them this year.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Billy-Buckner.shtml

2nd Round (for Raul Ibanez)

The Royals took Wisconsin HS right-hander Eric Cordier in the 2^nd round. Cordier had a terrific arm with a very good fastball/curveball and a feel for a changeup. Coming for a cold-weather state, Cordier didn't get as much attention as some other players but it looked like the Royals may have gotten a steal. He struggled in rookie ball in 04 and then missed all of 2005 with a knee injury and came back looking good in limited action in 2006. But he got hurt again early in 07 and going to miss all of 2007 with injury (I think it was his arm). The Royals ended up sending Cordier to the Braves for Tony Pena. Cordier pitcher about 40 inning last year with a 5.18 ERA in A-ball. I'll be rooting for Cordier-his dad posted occasionally at the Royals Scout Forum and seemed like a genuinely nice family-but the odds are long that he will ever see the big leagues.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/C/Erik-Cordier.shtml

Other players taken in Round 2 (after our pick): Hunter Pence, Dustin Pedroia, Jason Vargas

3^rd Round

In the 3^rd Round, the Royals took HS SS Josh Johnson. Johnson has been a good OBP with no power infielder. Last year, he was 22 played mostly 3^rd base for Wilmington and hit 253/399/337. I'm guessing he'll got to Northwest Arkansas in 2009 and, in a year or two, he might end up being the player the Royals thought they were getting with Willie Bloomquist.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/J/Josh-Johnson-3.shtml

Other players taken in Round 3: Adam Lind, JA Happ, Jason Windsor

4^th Round

The Royals took college reliever Nate Moore in the 4^th Round. He pitched in 2005 and 2006 at Burlington and High Desert and was OK. He hasn't pitcher since 2006 and I'm not exactly sure why but assume he is out of baseball.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Nate-Moore.shtml

Other players taken in Round 4: Chris Iannetta, Collin Balester, Brandon Boggs (all taken before our pick), Ross Ohlendork, Casey Janssen, Rob Johnson,

5^th Round

The Royals took a raw HS arm in Round 5. Henry Barrera had great stuff but a questionable delivery. By questionable I mean there are still some questions as to whether his delivery is legal in the rules of baseball. I haven't seen it, I've only had it described-he apparently loses contact with the rubber before he releases the ball. According to Baseball American, its legality depends on the umpire on a given night. But he throws in the mid 90s with a slider and splitter. Last year in Wilmington, he had a 2.81 era in 58ip with a 78 k's and 24 walks. He should go to AA this year.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Henry-Barrera.shtml

Other players drafted in Round 5: Mark Lowe, Kevin Melillo

Later Rounds:

9^th Round

A HS SS from New Jersey, Chris McConnell is a no-hit, all-field infielder who could eventually make it to the big leagues simple because there is very little SS depth for the Royals.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Chris-McConnell.shtml

Others taken in Round 9: Troy Patton

15^th Round

Gilbert De La Vara was a JUCO pick who was returned this week from the Astros organization as a Rule V pick. He will probably be in Omaha this year.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/D/Gilbert-De-La-Vara.shtml

Recap:

The question is do you grade on the curve since the Royals had 3 extra early picks. Also, I grade the picks themselves, not what we did with them (JP Howell). I'd give the Royals a B+. Look at the 1^st Round and how many of those players (even the early ones) would you trade Butler for? Verlander, Drew and maybe Weaver? Add in a few useful relievers: Howell, Buckner and perhaps Barrera and it was a good draft-even if the Royals didn't fill a couple of slots in their rotation with their "safe" college arms.