SB Nation - Jason Jennings

Are Ed Wade and Brian Cashman on the same page?

DyingQuail — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:48:00 -0000

More photos » by Billy Smith II - AP

This is the face of a man who knows he still has two more years to phone it in.

A lot has been made today of the importance of Javier Vazquez's contract. Vazquez comes to the Yanks at one year and $11.5 million dollars. Thus, many have speculated that all signs point to the fact that Yankees' GM, Brian Cashman, is setting himself up to shed payroll at a time when a bountiful crop of FA talent opens up on the market and Cashman can open up the Steinbrener's coffers. Think Joe Mauer catching Sabathia and Burnett, while batting in front of, behind—or whatever—of A-Rod and Teixeria. And that just would be the tip of the iceberg.

A lot has been said of the saviness of the Vazquez trade for Cashman precisely because of this (also because: how in the hell do you trade away the league leader in xFIP, who only makes $11.5 million, for Melky Cabrera?). Savvy moves by a GM. That's really not something I have heard said of a Houston GM in a long time.

Seriously, think about our signings.

Even the ones that turned out well were ridiculued at the time. Arbtration decisions? Caustic reactions. Last offseason? Splash signings of Jason Michaels, Ivan Rodriguez, and a trade that saw Drew Sutton depart for Jeff Keppinger. The year before? Kaz Matsui at three years and $16.5 million dollars. Don't forget the Miguel Tejada trade on the eve of the Mitchell report, or how much the Brad Lidge for Michael Bourn swap made your head explode throughout 2008. Even if the Valverde trade wasn't bad, by the time all was said and done, our farm system was pretty much desolate and people hated it. 2007? You have to love an offseason that sees Drayton McLane run Andy Pettitte out of town and bring in Carlos Lee and trade for Jason Jennings and sign Woody Williams to a two year deal on the basis of his ballpark enabled late-career-peak-season at Petco. 2006? Preston...ok, I'll stop.

The point is there hasn't been an offseason move, in awhile, in Houston that had a majority of pundits, fans, etc. all agreeing that a Houston Astros GM did something pretty savvy. This offseason has been no different. Painfully so, at times, actually.

But then, in the wake of the Vazquez for Cabrera hubub, it dawned on me: Ed Wade is stacking his chips up for 2013, just like Cashman is for 2011. The following players are off the books, if we want them to be, after 2012: everyone making anything meaningful in the way of salary. Carlos Lee, Brandon Lyon, Kaz Matsui, Roy Oswalt (could take a reduced buyout and walk away after 2011), Lance Berkman (technically his contract is out in 2011). Left on the books (hopefully, due to some "the time is ripe" extensions): Wandy Rodriguez, Hunter Pence, Jason Castro, Bud Norris, Feliepe Paulino, Wesley Wright, Sammy Gervacio, Chia Jen-Lo? Jordan Lyles? Jiovanni Meyer?! That entire combination costs what? $20-25 million to field? Throw in the likelihood of new ownership and there could easily be a $90 million pot of gold at the end of the hot stove rainbow.

I'm not trying to suggest that Wade should let Oswalt and Berkman walk away. In fact, he shouldn't. The point is, Wade came into Houston two years ago with no payroll flexibility and no farm system. In two years, Ed Wade could have an absurd about of payroll flexibility thanks to Bobby Heck, and co.'s farm system. All of this because Ed Wade hasn't signed anyone to a contract that impinges on the magical offseason of 2012.

That's right, there's method to the maddness...possibily.

Does that excuse the iffy of signings, or moves, that Wade has made? No. But Ed Wade won't be searching for guys on the fringe at that point. He'll targeting the top tier free agents. Whatever kind of analysis he's using at that point, it's hard to botch those (unless we through Prince Fielder a Carlos Lee type deal*). Depending on what happens in the next CBA, he probably won't even have to worry all the much about losing a ton of draft picks.

It's like a perfect storm. Ed Wade will get to put the garnishes on a team that he'll have worked for four years to make salvagable. The meat and potatoes will be the guys he's hung onto and the guys he's drafted. I'm almost ready to purchase my 2013 playoff tickets.

Of course, the problem with thesis that Ed Wade has been patiently playing the fool and/or just kind of screwing around for four years to set up a blockbust 2012 offseason has one flaw: it could be what the Mayan's were predicting would bring on the apocalypse. Can you imagine an entire slew of FanGraphs articles praising Ed Wade? Thinking about that possibility has more more convinced that the Mayans might have it right.

*I have no idea who exactly will and won't be in the 2012 Free Agent class, but Prince Fielder just fit the range and weight of the analogy I needed to make.

The Astros most impressive performances in 2009: The relievers

DyingQuail — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:39:23 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

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Why are we fretting so much about Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins? I mean aside from the fact that they're talented pitchers with above average ability. Closers, and the set-up men whose shoulders they stand on, enter games in situations where we as fans have our stomach in knots. In someone like Valverde's case, he toes the rubber and pumps 97 MPH fastballs while mixing in, most of the time, a devastating split-finger pitch.

With starters, each at bat doesn't have the feeling of importance that a closer's does. A starter always has another inning or two to work with, and there are still plenty outs for the offense to work with, too. But relievers are leveraged.

Why the waxing sentimental? Because that's how I arrived at today's post. Instead of combining starters and relievers into one mess of who had the best WPA added in a single game, I decided to isolate which relievers had the best WPA added in a single PA.

No. 1 - LaTroy Hawkins on June 13th

This was an awkward day of Hawkins. Valverde was working himself back into the job that Hawkins had dutifully filled for him in his extended DL stay. So, I guess it's understandable that Hawkins starts on of his final 9th inning save opportunities a little shaky.

via www.fangraphs.com

With the Astros leading 6-4, Hakwins quickly found himself with runners on first and second and none out. Hawkins rebounded with a GIDP on Justin Upton that netted him an astounding .293 WPA on a single PA due to a leverage index of 5.91 (a run at that point would have been like Jon Garland giving up 5.91 runs to start the top of the first, or half a Jason Jennings here or here).

No. 2 - Jelf Fulchino on June 7th

Cecil Cooper trots out Tim Brydak to start the bottom of the seventh. Two batters latter, Cecil Cooper brings in Jeff Fulchino to clean up a bases loaded, no outs jam. Yes, Fulchino gives up two runs, but the situation had an RE of 2.30, so technically Fulchino saves our butts, because the third run puts the Pirates in the drivers seat.

via www.fangraphs.com

Finally, though, Fulchino is on the receiving end of an Adam LaRoche double play and the inning is over. For his trouble, Fulchino is credited with .245 WPA, and has the satisfaction of knowing that he had the second most leveraged out of the year.

No. 3 Jose Valverde on September 29th

Some of us may not remember this one because, well, the Astros were depressing to watch at this point. However, there was still some excitement to experience.

via www.fangraphs.com

The story is pretty similar to the above. Valverde got himself in trouble to start the inning, but rallied to get out.Yet again, another double play ball, netting him .236 WPA on the GIDP of Laynce Nix. This begs the question, do the pitchers get the credit or does the defense? Or does it matter because all we're looking for are spectacular moments in relief pitching?

Like yesterday, what are the moments I missed because I did this by the numbers? Only, no poll because having to actually read the article to vote didn't mesh well with getting a lot of responses.

WAR Lords of the Diamond: Greatest. Rockies. Ever.

Jabberwocky — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:30:19 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Todd Helton features prominently in any conversation about the greatest Rockies ever.

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF I CF I RF I RP I SP

Now that I've discussed the greatest Rockies ever by position according to WAR, I'll summarize my data and reveal my All-Time Rockies squad. In all, 224 Rockies have been weighed, measured, and (mostly) been found wanting in this quest, yet some have clearly risen above the rest.

Of course, due to the fact that the Rockies' history is only 17 years old, there isn't exactly a deep pool of players to choose from in this study. Therefore, I will be ranking all players who produced a career WAR of over 3 wins at a position for the Rockies or was a significant player for the team.

Here was my methodology:

1. I only used stats accumulated when they played for the Rockies.

2. The categories used were: career with Rockies, best three consecutive years with Rockies (establishes average production), and best single year with the Rockies (establishes peak production).

3. If the players spent less than three years with the Rockies, their career total was used in the other metrics as well. If the player was at different positions for different years, the player would be considered for the position in which he had the most starts (or greatest impact, at my discretion) for the Rockies.

4. The players were ranked in each category. Those ranks were added and averaged out--the lowest average rank was the most valuable Rockie.

5. The data used was only for seasons that were completed (e.g. not 2009).

Remember, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database (not Fangraphs) to compile these numbers (with a big assist to the fantastic Baseball Reference; here is the glossary of the terms Smith uses and an explanation of WAR's calculation for position players and pitchers. Note: the calculation that Smith uses is different than the one used in my article, so the numbers at Fangraphs will be slightly different than the ones I present in these articles.

After the jump I'll outline the greatest (and worst) Rockies squad as found using my methodology, as well as the best single year performances.

The All-Time Greats

Remember, this ranking takes into account best career WAR, best consecutive 3-year WAR period, and best single WAR year to accurately capture a player's greatness and to mitigate somewhat the fact that WAR is a counting stat and is heavily influenced by longevity. Slash stats are (Career WAR / 3 Year WAR / 1 Year WAR).

Starting Lineup

C: Jeff Reed (1996-1999) (4.3 / 4.6 / 1.8)
1B: Todd Helton (1997-2008) (53.9 / 21.7 / 8.8)
2B: Eric Young (1993-1997) (9.5 / 7.3 / 3.8)
3B: Garrett Atkins (2003-2008) (11.1 / 10.8 / 6.4)
SS: Troy Tulowitzki (2006-2008) (6.2 / 6.2 / 5.6)
LF: Matt Holliday (2004-2008) (16.9 / 15.9 / 7.3)
CF: Juan Pierre (2000-2002) (3.0 / 3.0 / 2.4)
RF: Larry Walker (1995-2004) (44.1 / 18.3 / 9.0)

Bench

Vinny Castilla (1993-1999, 2004, 2006) (15.1 / 10.1 / 4.5)
Ellis Burks (1994-1998) (10.8 / 10 / 7.6)
Andres Galarraga (1993-1997) (11.3 / 6.3 / 3.6)
Jamey Carroll (2006-2007) (5.1 / 5.1 / 4.3)
Chris Iannetta (2006-2008) (3.2 / 3.2 / 2.7)

Batting Order

1. Eric Young
2. Troy Tulowitzki
3. Larry Walker
4. Todd Helton
5. Matt Holliday
6. Garrett Atkins
7. Juan Pierre
8. Jeff Reed

Starting Rotation:

SP1: Pedro Astacio (1997-2001) (9.9 / 9.3 / 5.3)
SP2: Aaron Cook (2002-2008) (10.3 / 7.3 / 3.4)
SP3: Jason Jennings (2001-2006) (9.1 / 6.6 / 4.2)
SP4: Kevin Ritz (1994-1998) (6.6 / 6.5 / 3.9)
SP5: Armando Reynoso (1993-1996) (7.6 / 5.0 / 3.1)

Bullpen (in order of importance):

Steve Reed (1993-1997, 2003-2004) (9.2 / 5.6 / 3.1)
Brian Fuentes (2002-2008) (8.8 / 5.2 / 2.7)
Curtis Leskanic (1993-1999) (5.2 / 3.2 / 3.1)
Bruce Ruffin (1993-1997) (5.7 / 4.6 / 1.9)
Jerry Dipoto (1997-2000) (4.7 / 4.4 / 2.1)
Jose Jimenez (2000-2003) (4.2 / 4.2 / 2.3)
Darren Holmes (1993-1997) ( (3.8 / 3.6 / 2.3)

Analysis

The construction of this team historically tells us that in the last few years the Rockies have played several of the best position players in team history (three of them are on this squad). After 2009 is completed Chris Iannetta will supplant Jeff Reed at starting catcher while several other players shoot up the leader boards.

From a pitching standpoint, the bullpen is heavily comprised of guys that were in the 1997 bullpen (five of them!). After this year not much will change as far as relievers go, but Ubaldo Jimenez's stellar 2009 will place him in the rotation as the second-ranked starting pitcher. It should be noted that Ellis Burks would probably supplant Juan Pierre in center field.

The team that is best by my metrics is by and large the best team by Career and 3 Year WAR totals too, but there are definitely some interesting outlier seasons by others that shake up the best single year roster.

The Greatest Single Season Performances

Collected below is an unholy amalgamation of the best individual seasons by position in Rockies history. If these players had all produced at this level in the same year, they would have produced 67.2 batting WAR (20.4 off the bench), 19.2 relief WAR, and 22.1 starting pitching WAR for a total of 88.1 WAR. This team should statistically win 136.7 games out of 162 (a replacement level team would win 48.6, or 30% of its games).

Starting Lineup

C: Chris Iannetta (2008) 2.7
1B: Todd Helton (2000) 8.8
2B: Jamey Carroll (2006) 4.3
3B: Garrett Atkins (2006) 6.4
SS: Troy Tulowitzki (2007) 5.6
LF: Ellis Burks (1996) 7.6
CF: Juan Pierre (2001) 2.4
RF: Larry Walker (1997) 9.0

Bench

Matt Holliday (2007) 7.3
Vinny Castilla (1998) 4.5
Kazuo Matsui (2007) 4.1
Eric Young (1996) 2.7
Jeff Reed (1998) 1.8

Batting Order

1. Jamey Carroll
2. Ellis Burks
3. Larry Walker
4. Todd Helton
5. Garrett Atkins
6. Troy Tulowitzki
7. Chris Iannetta
8. Juan Pierre

Starting Rotation:

SP1: Pedro Astacio (1999) 5.3
SP2: Joe Kennedy (2004) 4.7
SP3: Jason Jennings (2006) 4.2
SP4: Marvin Freeman (1994) 4.0
SP5: Kevin Ritz (1995) 3.9

Bullpen (in order of importance):

Gabe White (2000) 3.3
Steve Reed (1997) 3.1
Curtis Leskanic (1995) 3.1
Brian Fuentes (2005) 2.7
Manuel Corpas (2007) 2.4
Jose Jimenez (2000) 2.3
Darren Holmes (1995) 2.3

Analysis

Obviously I'd play Holliday in left field and shift Burks to center, improving the lineup (and overall WAR) immensely, but those were the best players by WAR at their position in one season. From this year's team, Carlos Gonzalez is close to surpassing Juan Pierre, while Ubaldo Jimenez will jump atop the starting rotation, where he will perhaps be joined by Jason Marquis (depending on how his last start turns out). I'll talk more about this next week.

Rockies fans have been privileged enough to witness in the last couple of years some of the greatest seasons ever--Smith's WAR calculations are park-adjusted, so when Coors Field changed due to the humidor's implementation so did the formula for calculating WAR. As a result, early pitchers get a large boost (and hitters a large detraction) relative to today's players because of the pitcher's hell that was early Coors Field/Mile High.

And finally...

Single Season Goats

This would be the worst single-season lineup the Rockies could put on the field (worst players starting). The sad thing is that many of them did play a large role for the Rockies. The damage: -15.9 hitting WAR (-11.2 from the starting lineup), -7.5 relief WAR, and -8.5 SP WAR for a total of -31.9 wins above replacement. This team should statistically win 16.7 games out of 162.

Starting Lineup

C: Kirt Manwaring (1997) -2.1
1B: John Vander Wal (1997) -0.7
2B: Luis A. Gonzalez (2006) -1.0
3B: Vinny Castilla (1993) -0.5 [soon to be supplanted by Garrett Atkins, 2009 (-0.9)]
SS: Neifi Perez (1998) -1.2 (and yes, he played all 162 games)
LF: Dante Bichette (1999) -2.8
CF: Choo Freeman (2004) -1.2
RF: Brad Hawpe (2008) -1.7

Bench

Cory Sullivan (2006) -1.1
Steve Finley (2007) -1.1
Jason Bates (1996) -0.9
Jeff Baker (2007) -0.7
Gary Bennett (2002) -0.9

Batting Order

1. Neifi Perez
2. Choo Freeman
3. Vinny Castilla
4. Dante Bichette
5. Brad Hawpe
6. John Vander Wal
7. Kirt Manwaring
8. Luis A. Gonzalez

Starting Rotation:

SP1: Dennis Stark (2004) -1.9
SP2: Joe Kennedy (2005) -1.9
SP3: Brian Rekar (1996) -1.6
SP4: Andy Ashby (1993) -1.6
SP5: Mike Hampton (2002) -1.5

Bullpen (in order of suckitude):

Shawn Chacon (2004) -1.7
Todd Jones (2003) -1.4
Mike Dejean (1999) -1
Darren Holmes (1994) -0.9
Jose Acevedo (2005) -0.9
Jeremy Affeldt (2006) -0.8
Javier Lopez (2004) -0.8

Analysis

This team is horrible, but some of the names on the list were just having a statistical anomaly of a bad season or were getting their first look at major league hitting/pitching. In fact, several went on to have nice careers. Several of them did not, and for good reason.

Next week, I'll look at how the 2009 Rockies performed individually and as a team from a value standpoint.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Starting Pitchers)

Jabberwocky — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

Where does Aaron Cook rank among Colorado's starting pitchers?

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF I CF I RF I RP

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at starting pitcher (through the 2008 season).

Obviously this is not a comprehensive list of all starting pitchers, but all the pitchers who have made a large contribution to the Rockies as starters were weighed, measured, and (often) found wanting. All in all, 54 players were ranked.

Once again, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database (not Fangraphs) to compile these numbers (with a big assist to the fabulous Baseball Reference; here is the glossary of the terms Smith uses and an explanation of how pitching WAR is calculated. Note: the calculation that Smith uses is different than the one used in my article, so the numbers at Fangraphs will be slightly different than the ones I present in these articles.

As I explained last week, starting pitchers are MUCH more valuable than relief pitchers when one is measuring WAR, by and large, due to the fact that WAR is a counting stat. Starting pitchers throw more innings and therefore have a greater influence on the game than do relievers, which stands to reason. This is also the reason why a pitcher like Franklin Morales, who could develop into a dominant closer, would be better off just remaining a starter.

Remember, relief pitchers are often failed starting pitchers who are given an easier task that their skillset will allow them to handle. Nearly every starting pitcher in baseball could be a useful relief pitcher. Very few relief pitchers could be useful starting pitchers. Replacement-level starters can be useful relievers; Juan Rincon is neither.

In any case, what both Smith and the fine folks at Fangraphs have shown is that star starting pitchers are just as valuable if not more so than star position players (and their contracts often bear this point out). Even though a dominant starting pitcher will only play once every five games, they have such a huge influence on whether their team wins the game that it mitigates the difference in playing time between the position player and, say, Troy Tulowitzki.

For instance, this season Ubaldo Jimenez (Colorado's top pitcher) has been worth 5.5 WAR while Tulowitzki (the top position player) has accumulated 4.7 WAR. On a macro scale, the Rockies' pitching staff has actually contributed more WAR to the team (23.3, 2nd in MLB) than have the position players (16.5, 17th in MLB).

But I digress.

Like the denizens of the bullpen, a club's starting rotation is often in a constant state of flux due to injuries and inconsistent performance. The fact that the Rockies have only had five pitchers start more than two games this year is quite frankly amazing--the MLB average for this is closer to eight starters. I would say, though, that starting pitching performance is by and large more predictive overall than relief pitching performance due to the larger sample sizes involved in any one year's stats. A reliever can be unduly harmed or helped by luck when used less often--a trend that can see an unpleasant (or pleasant) change the subsequent year.

In order to qualify for consideration for this list the pitchers had to be one of the top five or six starters in innings pitched in a given year or throw over 50 innings for the team in a mostly starting role. It's a relatively deep group, with 14 starting pitchers having delivered at least one league average season (2 WAR) as a starter for the Rockies.

Starting Pitchers

Note: some of these pitchers were both starters and relievers for the Rockies. I have placed these players in this category subjectively on the basis of where I believe they provided the greatest impact to the Rockies. In case of an average rank tie, career WAR is the tiebreaker. I'm ranking eight players to reflect the fact that the modern starting rotation generally uses eight pitchers in any given year.

Keep in mind when reading this list that WAR is a counting stat and therefore longevity counts for quite a bit, especially in this category. Also, Smith's numbers seem to be park-adjusted, therefore pre-humidor pitchers are given a nice park-factor boost to their less-than inspiring numbers (small consolation for having to pitch in an offensive haven.

1. Pedro Astacio

Career WAR: 9.9 (2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 9.3, 1999-2001 (1st)
Top Season: 5.3, 1999 (1st)
Average Rank: 1.33

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic as an 18 year old by the Dodgers, Pedro Astacio came over to the Rockies as a 27 year old before the waiver trade deadline in 1997 in exchange for Eric Young. Needless to say, trading EY was not originally a popular move with fans, but Astacio soon won over Colorado partisans with his sublime pitching even at Coors Field.

Astacio's third season with the Rockies, 1999, was the greatest pitching season in franchise history (though it will soon likely be surpassed by Jimenez this year) with 5.3 WAR. The 29 year-old righty threw 232 innings, managing a 17-11 record and 210 strikeouts (a club record to this day) despite a 5.04 ERA. Considering that Coors Field in 1999 had a Park Factor of 127 (this year = 107), it was pretty tough to succeed using conventional pitching stats. Astacio's 4.56 FIP and 8.15 K/9 (2.91 K/BB) hold up pretty well in such a poor pitching environment.

In any case, Astacio was traded by Colorado to Houston for homegrown pitcher Scott Elarton at the 2001 trading deadline as he approached free agency. Oddly enough, Astacio's performance never was even replacement level for the rest of his career even when pitching in better environs.

TOGB celebrated Astacio in an edition of Rockies Retro.

2a. Aaron Cook

Career WAR: 10.3 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 7.3, 2006-2008 (2nd)
Top Season: 3.4, 2008 (6th)
Average Rank: 3

You might not have realized it, but Aaron Cook has been pitching for the Rockies since 2002 (and he's signed through 2011 with a mutual option for 2012). His longevity and consistency (he's been over 1 WAR his last five seasons) are what puts the Rockies' 2nd round pick in 1997 near the top of this leaderboard and to the summit of the Rockies' career WAR leaderboard.

Cook's best year was his All-Star season last year, when in the awful beginning of the year he was the only thing keeping the season from becoming a complete disaster. His 16-9 record and 3.96 ERA in 211.1 IP got him on the All-Star team and his 3.76 FIP garnered him 3.4 WAR. His 4.37 career ERA is tops in Rockies history.

Going forward, Cook is a solid middle rotation starter that is locked into the Rockies for a couple of more years. He is already the longest-tenured Rockies starter, and could be one of the few players in today's game to pitch a long career with one club.

2b. Jason Jennings

Career WAR: 9.1 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 6.6, 2004-2006 (3rd)
Top Season: 4.2, 2006 (3rd)
Average Rank: 3

Talk about selling an asset high. Jason Jennings, the jewel of the Rockies' player development system, Rookie of the Year in 2002, coming off of his best season, was traded to the Houston Astros after the 2006 season (and before his third year of arbitration) for Willy Taveras, Taylor Buchholz, and Jason Hirsh. Dan O'Dowd was lambasted for this trade by most, yet in hindsight this move looks like an absolute steal.

Why? Because Jennings fell off a cliff once leaving the Rockies, sustaining arm injuries and pitching poorly enough that he's now the Rangers' mop-up man. Despite the hard times that have befallen JJ, let us remember his glory.

The 16th overall pick of the 1999 draft out of Baylor, JJ rocketed through the Rockies' system and made his big league debut in 2001, going 4-1 and having a rather memorable debut, pitching a five pitch shutout and hitting a home run. Jennings only got better in 2002, going 16-8 and winning the ROY. However, it was JJ's 2006 that cemented his status as a front line pitcher (or so thought poor Ed Wade).

In 2006 Jennings compiled a 9-13 record but had a 3.78 ERA (4.09 FIP) with 206 Ks (1.67 K/BB) in 212 IP, good enough for 4.2 WAR. And then O'Dowd sold high. What a move that was. His WAR since 2006: -1.1, -0.8. While I appreciate what JJ did for the Rockies, I'm glad O'Dowd let go when he did.

4. Kevin Ritz

Career WAR: 6.6 (6th)
Top Three Seasons: 6.5, 1995-1997 (4th)
Top Season: 3.9, 1995 (5th)
Average Rank: 5

Kevin Ritz, a 4th round pick of Detroit in 1985, was picked as the 46th pick of the 1992 expansion draft by the Rockies. Ritz was a rotation regular by 1994 and had a nice two season stretch in 1995 and 1996. Ritz went 11-11 with a 4.21 ERA (4.15 FIP) with 120 Ks (1.85 K/BB) in 173.1 IP for the Wild Card-winning Rockies in 1995 (3.9 WAR). He followed it up with a 2 WAR 1996, going 17-11.

Ritz's career ended when he was released by the Rockies during the 1998 season after he was unable to overcome arm injuries.

TOGB wrote a nice profile on Ritz in Rockies Retro.

5. Armando Reynoso

Career WAR: 7.6 (4th)
Top Three Seasons: 5.0, 1993-1995 (6th)
Top Season: 3.1, 1993 (8th)
Average Rank: 6

Armando Reynoso, originally purchased by the Braves from his Mexican professional team, was selected by the Rockies with the 58th pick in the expansion draft. Reynoso quickly became Colorado's best pitcher, posting a 3.1 WAR in the team's inaugural season. However, his career was quickly detoured by chronic arm injuries, otherwise he'd be higher on this list. The righty, who possessed an awesome pick-off move, did manage to put up 1.1 and 2.6 WAR seasons in 1995 (half year) and 1996.

The Rockies traded the plucky finesse pitcher to the Mets after the 1996 season for Jerry DiPoto as he became more expensive given his injury risk. Reynoso won a World Series ring with the Diamondbacks despite performing poorly in 2001, his last real MLB season.

TOGB wrote a profile on Reynoso in Rockies Retro.

6. Marvin Freeman

Career WAR: 4.6 (8th)
Top Three Seasons: 4.6, 1994-1996 (T-8th)
Top Season: 4.0, 1994 (4th)
Average Rank: 6.67

Ladies and Gentleman, the single season ERA record holder for the Colorado Rockies! A 31 year-old Marvin Freeman was picked up off the scrap heap by the Rockies after the 1993 season, and though he only had one good season with the team, what a blaze of glory it was!

The imposing (6'7") righty was, quite frankly, amazing in 1994 for the Rockies. In only 112 innings (18 starts), Freeman went 10-2 with 67 Ks (2.91 K/BB) and a 2.80 ERA (3.84 FIP), worth 4.0 WAR!

Of course, in 1995 and 1996 everyone was reminded that Freeman wasn't actually this good (0.9 and -0.3 WAR) and he went away quietly--he was released at the waiver deadline in 1996.

7. John Thomson

Career WAR: 7.2 (5th)
Top Three Seasons: 4.8, 1997-1999 (7th)
Top Season: 2.7, 1997 (10th)
Average Rank: 7.33

Drafted by the Rockies in the 7th round in 1993, Thomson exceeded the production of 1992 2nd round draft pick Mark Thompson, who I often confuse him for. Thomson reached the big leagues in 1997 as a 23 year old and had immediate success, posting 2.7 WAR (7-9, 4.71 ERA) and following that up with another 2.7 WAR (8-11, 4.81) season in 1998.

Unfortunately, the injury bug bit Thomson hard after 1998, and he managed only half seasons in 1999 and 2001 with no season at all in 2000. Finally healthy in 2002, Thomson was traded at the July deadline with Mark Little to the Mets for a package that included Jay Payton. After the trade Thomson had a few injury-free years and performed well for the Rangers and the Braves, then was ultimately undone by more injuries.

8. Jeff Francis

Career WAR: 6.2 (7th)
Top Three Seasons: 5.7, 2006-2008 (5th)
Top Season: 2.5, 2006 (13th)
Average Rank: 8.33

The 9th overall pick in the 2002 draft out of Canada, Jeff Francis moved rapidly through the Rockies' system and was with the big club by 2004 as a 23 year old. Francis finished sixth in the ROY voting in 2005, his first full season, then enjoyed two very nice years in 2006 and 2007.

The soft-tossing lefty equaled Ritz's and Astacio's franchise wins mark with his 17-9 record in 2007 (he had 2.2 WAR) and finished 9th in the Cy Young Award voting. However, he suffered a torn labrum after a tough 2008 and has been rehabbing the injury since then.

The Physicist has one year left on his contract ($5.75 million) with a $7 million club option for 2010. It will be interesting to see if Francis can ever return to his early form and make it worthwhile for the Rockies to exercise that option. I've taken a pretty pessimistic view on this injury from the start, so my money is that Francis will never contribute significantly to the team again. I would love to be proved wrong though.

Other great single seasons include Joe Kennedy's 2004 (4.7 WAR) and Roger Bailey's 1997 (3.2).

Career Underachievers: Mike Hampton (-1, though he was worth 2 WAR batting), Denny Neagle (1.1), Scott Elarton (-2.9), and Livan Hernandez (-1.2).

Others of note: Jimenez (3.4 and on his way to a place high on this list very soon), Darryl Kile (4.1), Jamey Wright (4.6), Shawn Chacon (2.2, but 3.9 as a starter), Josh Fogg (-0.6) Greg Reynolds (-1.5).

Next week I'll reveal the unholy amalgamation that is the Colorado Rockies All-WAR team.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Center Field)

Jabberwocky — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:04:49 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Spilly makes the cut....find out who joins him below the fold.

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at the center field position.

Center Field, according to Tom Tango's positional adjustment scale, is given a rank of +2.5, ranking center field as the most difficult outfield position to play defensively--which makes sense given the extra amount of territory they are expected to cover.

Center fielders are expected to not only to catch fly balls but also to deny baserunners advancing to an extra base. Particularly desired traits for center fielders include speed, instincts (depth perception and tracking skills), and quickness to react to the ball--not to mention the best combination of any outfielder of speed and arm strength/accuracy. The center fielder is also the captain of the outfield, orchestrating the action to avoid imminent collisions.

Due to these defensive requirements, center fielders usually possess great speed and a strong arm, but also often hit less for power at the plate. As a result, these speedy players are often thrust into the leadoff role regardless of their ability to work counts or hit the ball due to their speed.

The defensive capabilities of a center fielder are especially important--and are especially taxed--in the cavernous outfield of Coors Field. As such, most of the players that the Rockies have trotted out to center have fit into this defense-first, speedy mold.

As for the Rockies, center field is one of the weaker positions that I've measured in this series. It has a high turnover (I ranked 22 players and none of them played longer than four years with the club) and therefore a low production rate--similar to but slightly better than Colorado's catchers. A potential reason for this low production rate might be that defensive metrics haven't quite solved the Coors Field center field conundrum--Rockies centerfielders consistently post horrible defensive rankings on advanced defensive metrics.

Interestingly, only one of the five players that lead the franchise in games played at the position even makes the top five here (largely because Ellis Burks was categorized as a left fielder). This list will probably surprise you.

Center Fielders

Note: most if not all of these players played multiple outfield positions with the Rockies. I have placed these players in this category subjectively on the basis of where I believe they provided the greatest impact to the Rockies. In case of an average rank tie, career WAR is the tiebreaker.

1. Juan Pierre

Career WAR: 3.0 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 3.0, 2000-2002 (1st)
Top Season: 2.4, 2001 (1st)
Average Rank: 1

Juan Pierre tops the list of Colorado centerfielders, largely on the strength of a fine 2001 season. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 1998 draft out of South Alabama and he moved quickly through the minor leagues, making his major league debut in August 2000.

In 2001, his first full season, a 23 year-old Pierre batted .327/.378/.415/.353 with 46 SBs. Pierre's MO with the Rockies was his low walk and strikeout rates (41 & 29 respectively in 683 PAs in 2001) as well as his good range on defense (TZ of 9 in Coors). If it weren't for his famously poor arm (-5 OArm), he'd fit the Coors CF mold to a T. In all, Pierre produced 2.4 WAR in 2001, one of just two above league-average seasons by a Rockies center fielder.

After a disappointing 2002 campaign (0.4 WAR), the 24 year-old Pierre was the currency necessary for the Rockies to rid themselves of Mike Hampton and His Contract for a trade package from the Florida Marlins, including Charles Johnson and Preston Wilson, which wasn't a bad deal when one considers the salary relief Colorado got.

Since then, Pierre earned a World Series ring with the Marlins in 2003 and cashed in on a 3.3 WAR 2006 with the Cubs to receive a 5 year, $44 million contract from the Dodgers to be their fourth outfielder. Let's be happy that the Rockies never overpaid for Pierre's services.

2. Willy Taveras

Career WAR: 2.8 (2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 2.8, 2007-2008 (2nd)
Top Season: 1.9, 2007 (3rd)
Average Rank: 2.33

Well, this ranking certainly surprised me. For as much deserved crap as Willy T has gotten on this site over the last two years, he remains a phenomenal defensive player with elite speed--traits that were perfect for Coors Field. Unfortunately, Taveras doesn't really possess the patience and hitting gene to go with his prodigious athletic gifts. The upside of this equation is that with even offense that approaches a mediocre level a player with Taveras' skill set becomes a valuable one.

The Rockies acquired the 25 year old Taveras after the 2006 season in the famous Jason Jennings trade and he responded with an excellent 2007. Willy T hit .320/.367/.382/.344 with 33 SBs (worth 1.8 WAR) and helped to propel the Rockies to the World Series with a fantastic diving catch in the NLCS.

Unfortunately, Taveras could not sustain this offensive success (he benefitted from a .371 BABIP in 2007) in 2008, producing one of the worst-ever offensive seasons by a full-time Rockie starter (-30 batting runs), but his excellent baserunning (68 steals leading to 12 runs above average) and defense (TZ of 5) actually balanced out his poor batting line in the end (0.9 WAR). This wasn't enough to save Taveras from being non-tendered after 2008--but he suckered in the Cincinnati Reds into taking him for 2 years and $6.25 million.

3. Ryan Spilborghs

Career WAR: 1.7 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 1.7, 2006-2008 (3rd)
Top Season: 2.1, 2007 (2nd)
Average Rank: 2.67

While his function with the team has varied often throughout his four year career and he is now mostly a corner outfielder, Spilly has started more games in center field than anywhere else. Spilborghs was drafted by the Rockies in the 7th round of the 2002 draft out of UCSB and made his debut in July 2005 (the only game he played in 2005).

Spilly's 2006 and 2008 campaigns were actually found by Smith to have negative value due to poor performances in defensive metrics, but his 2007 season was good for second-best in franchise history by a CF. In 300 PA, Spilborghs hit .299/.363/.485/.366 with 11 homers and a good fielding season (TZ of 8).

Deciding what to do with Spilborghs will be an interesting topic of discussion for the Rockies' front office after this season. The 30 year old Spilborghs will be entering just his first year of arbitration eligibility, so he has some value to opposing teams, but the Rockies could opt to trade the more pricey (and less productive, but that's another article) Brad Hawpe and keep the cheaper outfield.

4. Mike Kingery

Career WAR: 1.6 (T-4th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.6, 1994-1995 (4th)
Top Season: 1.7, 1994 (5th)
Average Rank: 4.33

Ah, Mike Kingery, a man who I have irrationally fond baseball memories of.

I'm unsure of his relation to the Rockies' radio play-by-play man, but Mike played two seasons for the Rockies in the pre-humidor era after signing with them as a free agent as Ellis Burks insurance in the twilight of his career--one at Mile High Stadium and one at Coors. His 1994, in which he hit .349/.402/.532/.392 in 346 PA, was a career year offensively (14 BRAA) and led to 1.7 WAR. Kingery was worth -0.1 WAR in a poor 1995 and was not re-signed.

5. Tom Goodwin

Career WAR: 1.6 (T-4th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.6, 2000 (T-4th)
Top Season: 1.6, 2000 (6th)
Average Rank: 4.67

Tom Goodwin (not to be confused with Curtis Goodwin, who also played center field for the Rockies) only played 91 games in 2000 for the Rockies after signing as a free agent before being traded at the deadline to the Dodgers in exchange for a package headlined by Todd Hollandsworth. However, the 31 year-old Goodwin maximized his time with the Rockies (which made him a valuable enough trade asset for the Dodgers to want him).

He hit .271/.368/.394/.350 for the Rockies in what was one of the finer seasons in his 13 year career.

6. Preston Wilson

Career WAR: 1.4 (6th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.4, 2003-2004 (6th)
Top Season: 1.8, 2003 (4th)
Average Rank: 5.33

I made this list six names long to include Wilson, because not only did he play regularly for the Rockies for the equivalent of two seasons but also because there's a large dropoff in quality after him.

Wilson, acquired with Charles Johnson in the Juan Pierre-Mike Hampton trade, had his best Colorado year when he was healthy in 2000, hitting .282/.343/.537/.374 with 36 HRs, a league-leading 141 RBIs, and a place on the All-Star roster.

After an injury marred 2004, Wilson was losing steam in 2005 while making $12.5 million. This fact was astutely recognized by Dan O'Dowd, who traded Wilson to the Nationals for Zach Day, J.J. Davis, and cash (essentially a salary dump). Had Wilson kept up his 2003 pace and stayed healthy, he would probably have led this list.

Others of Note

These players started for the Rockies in center field for the majority of at least one year: Cory Sullivan (-1.4), Darryl Hamilton (0.5), Quinton McCracken (0.6), Alex Cole (-0.1)

Bottom of the barrel: Choo Freeman (-1.5), Steve Finley (-1.1)

Next week: Right Fielders

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:31:13 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Phelps - AP

Prince Fielder receives congratulations from Jody Gerut after hitting a home run Thursday, his tenth in August.

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Some things to read while making weekend plans.

So, team stretching didn't turn out to be the answer either, and the Brewers were swept at home for the first time since early June. Hal McCoy wonders if the Reds are that much better with Scott Rolen in the lineup, but doesn't rule out the possibility that the Brewers are just that terrible.

Trevor Hoffman has come to terms with the possibility that he'll be dealt in the next day or so. It's been a long time since Hoffman has had to face this situation: His 10+ seasons in the major leagues and more than five with the same team mean he's had the right to veto a trade from the Padres for the last six seasons. Jayson Stark says AL teams aren't expected to have much interest in him.

Meanwhile, Prince Fielder just keeps hitting. His home run yesterday was his 10th in August, his most in a month since hitting 11 in September of 2007. I have three unrelated notes on Fielder today:

Hardball Cooperative looks at Fielder and Hanley Ramirez as potential MVP candidates, but decided that Fielder doesn't have a chance to catch Albert Pujols.
The B-Ref Blog noted that Fielder is one of just 25 players with an OBP over 100 points higher than his batting average.
Hit Tracker Online has a cool scatter plot of the landing points of Fielder's home runs in 2009.

Fielder isn't really part of this problem, but Ken Macha said he wants the offense to be more consistent down the stretch. The Brewers rank fourth in the NL in runs scored, but a lot of those runs have been coming in bursts.

The Brewers won't be getting any help down the stretch from Rickie Weeks, who has abandoned any remaining hope of returning this season. Weeks was, at best, a long shot to return. Hopefully he can come to camp healthy next spring and pick up where he left off. Baseball by Paul is already projecting Weeks as the 12th best second baseman in baseball next season.

Where does the precipitous decline of J.J. Hardy's bat rank among disappointments? Dayn Perry listed Hardy among his most disappointing players this season.

Obviously, now that the Brewers have drifted out of contention it's become football season for a lot of fans, but if you're still here, Sconnie Sports has a list of ten reasons to watch this September.

In the minors, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are closing out their 15th season in the next couple of weeks. Rattler Radio has a nice video package their production crew put together to commemorate the milestone.

On Power Rankings and playoff odds:

Beyond the Box Score moved the Brewers up one spot to #22.
CoolStandings has the Brewer playoff odds holding steady at .3%.

It's a quiet day around baseball:

Nationals: Nyjer Morgan suffered a broken hand last night and is done for the season.
Rangers: Designated Jason Jennings for assignment.

How valuable is consistency? Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals probably won't win the NL Cy Young this season, but he's pitched at least six innings in 25 consecutive starts, dating back to April 16. For context, the longest streak by a Brewer this season is five starts, by Dave Bush in May.

On this day in 1992, the Brewers racked up 31 hits against six Blue Jay pitchers en route to a 22-2 victory. Nine Brewers had multi hit games (Kevin Seitzer and Scott Fletcher, who batted #8 and #9, combined to go 10-for-13), but Paul Molitor hit the only Brewer home run.

I wasn't able to find any Brewer birthdays today, so you'll have to settle for wishing a happy birthday to Lou Piniella, who turns 66. Lately, he gets a new present from Milton Bradley every day.

Drink up.

Big Z At Altitude: Cubs vs. Rockies Preview, Friday 8/7, 8:10 CT

Al — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:00:12 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Write your own caption.

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When the Cubs last saw the Rockies, it was a lot colder than it is today, the Rockies had a different manager, and the two teams split a brief two-game series at Wrigley Field in April. Since Clint Hurdle was fired and replaced by Jim Tracy on May 27, the Rockies are 41-21, best record in the NL since that date by a wide margin.

So it's a far different Rockies team the Cubs will see, and playing in Denver is always a challenge, though the Cubs are 8-7 there since 2004. Let's hope they can keep the game times straight -- this four-game, wraparound-till-Monday series has four different starting times (8:10 CT tonight, then 7:10 CT, 2:10 CT and 7:40 CT).

The Rockies have had, in their 16-year history, only four full qualifying seasons by a pitcher who had a season ERA under 4.00 -- Joe Kennedy in 2004, Jason Jennings in 2006, and Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez, tonight's starter, last year. Jimenez, currently with an ERA of 3.76, has a chance to be (along with Cook, who the Cubs won't see in this series) the first pitcher to accomplish that twice.

Meanwhile, Geovany Soto will be reactivated for tonight's game; at this writing it's not clear who will return to Iowa, but my choice would be Micah Hoffpauir, who needs more AB's. Lou says that Koyie Hill, who has done an outstanding job in starting the last 26 games in a row, will now be getting anywhere from 30-40% of the starts the rest of the way:

"We know the record," Piniella said. "He's done a really, really nice job, and we're appreciative, but we have to get Soto ready to catch, too. It might be 60-40, two-thirds, one-third, I don't know exactly how [they'll share playing time]. Believe me, we're not going to go strictly one way."

Finally, Bruce Miles' column today has some notes about whether Andrew Cashner will get a September callup (he won't) and some other notes about rising stars in the system, as well as praise for Bob Brenly's criticisms on Wednesday's telecast:

When Milton Bradley pulled up short on Willy Taveras' pop foul fly in the first inning, Brenly said: "Milton Bradley takes two more steps, that's an easy play for him."

And when Alfonso Soriano got picked off base in the seventh to kill whatever chance the Cubs had to rally against Justin Lehr, Brenly noted not only the pickoff, but Soriano's nonchalant manner at first.

"Do you know what I said about having a feel for the game?" Brenly asked. "There you go."

That was it. He didn't harp or bring up either situation later.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Carlos Zambrano Cubs	vs.	Ubaldo Jimenez Rockies

7-6	W-L	8-9
3.35	ERA	3.76
101	SO	128
57	BB	54
8	HR	8
vs. Col	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Carlos Zambrano	7-4	27	20	0	0	0	0	123.2	110	52	46	8	57	101	3.35	1.35

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ubaldo Jimenez	8-9	22	22	1	0	0	0	143.2	126	61	60	8	54	128	3.76	1.25

Ubaldo Jimenez, despite his good record the last couple of years, has never defeated the Cubs: 0-3, 7.27 in four starts, and that's with three of them being in Wrigley Field. Most of that damage has been done by players other than those on the current roster; only Aramis Ramirez (3-for-5) has homered off him among players currently on the team. However, Alfonso Soriano, who is 1-for-6 vs. Jimenez, has 36 career AB in Coors Field, in which he has hit .472/.513/.944 with six doubles, a triple and three home runs. Coors Field seems the perfect place for a hitter like Soriano when he's hot.

Meanwhile, Z has never defeated the Rockies in Denver (0-2), though he is 2-4, 3.13 in eight overall starts vs. Colorado. He hasn't faced them in over two years, since June 27, 2007 at Wrigley Field, and not in Denver since August 4, 2004. (Amusement value: check out who led off for the Rockies that day.) Current Rockies are hitting .169 (10-for-59) against Z and none of them has homered off him.

TV tonight is once again cable-only, CSN Chicago and FSN Rocky Mountain. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Rockies site Purple Row.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 9:15 pm, 10:15 pm and 11 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Sunday morning Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:47:34 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

5 months ago: Texas Rangers starting pitcher Derek Holland exhales after giving up an RBI-double to San Diego Padres' David Eckstein in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, June 27, 2009. With the 7-3 loss to the Padres on Saturday night, the Rangers dropped out of the first place for the first time since May 5. They are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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So for the first time in almost two months, the Rangers aren't in first place. This day seemed inevitable, because...well, because, that's what happens in playoff races. Teams are in first place, then they often drop into second, and then they oftentimes go back into first. It happens.

There has seemed to be a mentality, though, among Rangers fans that once the Rangers fall out of first, that's it...it is over. Of course, among some, there has been a mentality that this day was inevitable, that this team just isn't good enough to stay in first and thus the Rangers were going to fall out of first before too long anyway. But beyond that, there seems to be almost an attitude that if the Rangers fell out of first place, that was it...the Angels are the better team, and if they could manage to pass the Rangers at some point this season, the Rangers weren't going to be able to get first place back.

I don't think that's a given, but obviously, this coming series against Anaheim is pretty big. If Texas loses today and gets swept by Anaheim, they could be 4.5 games back in the middle of next week. Taking two of three or sweeping Anaheim, though, should get the Rangers back in first. And this is a team that's gotten basically nothing from Josh Hamilton this season, or from Chris Davis, or from their catchers...this is not a team that is playing over its head so far, particularly offensively.

Anthony Andro writes that Derek Holland had a strange start, allowing 13 hits while striking out 8, only the third time this decade that a pitcher has allowed at least 13 hits while striking out at least 8.

Ron Washington says that his secondary stuff was better in San Francisco, and because he could throw his secondary pitches for strikes, the Giants couldn't sit on his fastball, like the Padres did.

Holland getting back on track is particularly key with Matt Harrison going on the disabled list. Tommy Hunter is making today's start in place of Harrison, and I'm guessing he'll be sent down after the game, with Greg Golson being called up to get the Rangers back to 13 position players. With an off-day on Thursday, the Rangers are skipping the 5th starter spot next time around, and then a decision will have to be made as to who is going to fill that role in Harrison's absence. My guess is that Jason Jennings will step into the rotation, although if Dustin Nippert continues to make progress in his rehab stints, he could possibly be an option.

Gil LeBreton says that the Rangers are leaking, and there's no easy solution for what is ailing them. LeBreton hits in particular on the offense, which has been bad all month, but also points out the main problem with any quick fix:

Trading for Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson — a bad idea, by the way — isn’t going to solve this.

Nor is any one move that Rangers general manager Jon Daniels or club president Nolan Ryan could be contemplating.

Jean-Jacques Taylor offers his baseball wisdom this morning, as well. He says there's no reason to worry about the offense. Why?

We can talk about the Rangers' pitiful offensive performance this month – they delivered another putrid effort against the Padres – but history says the Rangers will eventually hit and score runs.

So there you go. Taylor says that this team's problem is that the starting pitching isn't good enough.

Willie Eyre, recently activated from the disabled list, is hopeful he'll be able to stick in the majors the rest of the way.

Evan Grant has some notes up, which includes Hank Blalock saying he thinks he is still an everyday player, and updates on Josh Hamilton and German Duran. Duran, Grant says, had to be put on release waivers because a player cannot be outrighted if he's on the minor league disabled list.

Diamondbacks 8, Rangers 2: Max Power

DbacksSkins — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:07:28 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

"Lazy, eh? Lazy, am I?? I'LL SHOW YOU LAZY...."

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Is it just me, or does it seem like I'm always recapping Max Scherzer's games? Jim McLennan is on assignment, so I'm recapping tonight's game. To the other authors and editors, I have a small question -- can you think of a game you were assigned to recap where, frankly, the team's performance left you without much to say?

The Diamondbacks played a game like that tonight, but in the opposite fashion to the way this phenomenon usually happens. Max Scherzer pitched 6 innings of 2 run ball with just 1 walk and 7 Ks, Justin Upton had a 2 run homer in the bottom of the first, Upton and Felipe Lopez drove in 3 runs each, both Lopez and Stephen Drew had 3 hit games, and the bullpen pitched 3 shutout innings. Stephen Drew and Mark Reynolds, playing at first base tonight, had highlight-reel defensive plays, and the Dbacks may have even gotten a little bit of help from the umpires.

What more could we need? Well, perhaps slightly better baserunning, as Reynolds was caught stealing in the 1st and remains mired on his 13th stolen base. Yet, even in this aspect, the Diamondbacks found a way to impress: Flip Lopez stretched a line drive into a triple, and subsequently came home to score on a catching error by Jarrod Saltailgslsngiwon. Experience all the gory details after the jump.

That creamy goodness that was a 6 run Dbacks win all began in the 1st inning, which really set the tone for the entire contest. Max Scherzer (described, somewhat disturbingly as "winsome" on MLB.com, along with Lincecum and Greinke -- sounds like SOMEBODY's got a few mancrushes!) blew away the first two batters he faced on Ks, before giving up a 2 out triple to Michael Young. Scherzer responded, angrily, by plunking the next batter, Marlon Byrd, before getting Nelson Cruz to fly out in the pitcher-friendly cavernous Chase Field. ;-) The Diamondbacks, for their part, led off the bottom of the 1st with a Flip groundout, followed by a Drew single, and Justin Upton's 14th home run of the year. Reynolds followed with a single, but ended up getting caught stealing: clearly, he's trying to improve on his already league-best Power-Speed #, in order to make the ASG. The deuce would end up being enough runs to drive the game to extras, but fortunately, the offense didn't rest there.

Scherzer kept up the awesomeness in the 2nd, going K-K-groundout, and the offense kept its foot on the pedal. Eric Byrnes and Flip got singles, and Miguel Montero and Ryan Roberts got walks to make the score 4-0. It would end up being all the scoring we needed, but the hitters didn't rest yet.

Mad Max ran into a bit of trouble in the top of the 3rd, walking the opposing pitcher, Matt Harrison, to lead off the inning. David Murphy singled, and Marlon Byrd had a two out double to score Harrison. Nelson Cruz flied out to end the inning, and a leadoff walk by Reynolds in the bottom half was erased by a Parra GIDP as the Dbacks failed to score in the 3rd.

In the 4th, back to back leadoff singles by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and strikeout king Chris Davis put a runner in scoring position with nobody out, but a flyout and a failed foul bunt by Harrison, whom Matt Williams pointed out looked like a typical AL pitcher in having no idea how to bunt, meant that Ian Kinsler's single only scored 1 run to make it 4-2. It must have pissed off the Dbacks, because they broke open the game in the bottom.

Roberts got a 1 out walk, and Max's sacrifice was good. Now, we needed a two out RBI from the man who's been derided on this very site as the king of lazy, minimal-effort baseball: he must read the 'Pit, because he got the run in and went to 2nd on the throw home. Stephen Drew got a 2 out single of his own, and Flip raced to beat the throw home. Former Rockies ace Jason Jennings came in to make sure that all baserunners would be charged as runs to Harrison, as Upton smacked a line drive double up the middle to make it 7-2.

Both teams went down in order in the 5th, and Scherzer pitched around a leadoff Salty single in the 6th. Elvis Andrus whacked a sharp grounder that got by Roberts at 3rd but Stephen Drew made a Toolo-esque play and Reynolds a great scoop at 1st to get the very close out. Somewhere, Orlando Hudson is muttering "Phenom".

Everybody's favorite solar-powered flashlight, Tony Clark, pinch flied out for Scherzer in the bottom of the inning, but as if to belabor the point that he's not lazy, Flip stretched a hard-hit liner into a triple without a throw and subsequently scored on an odd sequence. Jennings threw a ball in the dirt, and Saltalamacchia asked for, and was granted, time from HP umpire Mike Everitt. However, Salty unexpectedly declined to switch to a new ball, and instead threw the used one back to Jennings.... well, threw it sorta, vaguely, TOWARDS Jennings, plus about 6 feet in altitude. Flip scored, Ron Washington came out to argue, unsuccessfully, (though Matty, on the AM, seemed to think the ump made a mistake) and that's it for scoring. Ultimately it was irrelevant to the outcome of the game, as the next batter, Stephen Drew, got a single, but it was certainly interesting to listen to. Esmerling Vasquez, Juan Gutierrez and Tony Peña combined for 3 heartburnless innings, pitching around a single and a walk, and Reynolds made a FANTASTIC play to rob David Murphy of probable extra bases and end the game. It's nice that SOME of our 1Bs can catch a ball. :-(

Since I'm always so fond to note when a team simply "gets lucky" with its hits in a game, I'm glad to report that Arizona's BABIP was a robust .393 -- slightly high, especially for our team, but not terribly unsustainably so. The team tonight only outhit Texas 11-8, but for once, clutch hits were a-plenty, with the Sedona Boys going 3-7 w/RISP and getting 3 2-out RBIs.

Bravo, Dbacks! Bravo! This was certainly more complete a game than any of the three "contests" in Seattle, as indicated by the FanGraph, and specifically the fact that the Dbacks' win probability never dipped any lower than it was during bottom of the 1st inning. It was a quick, 2 hr 38 minute game, and fun, too! Offense, pitching, and defense. Now THIS was the team we thought we had this year. It was a nice way to bounce back after being apparently Sleepless In Seattle, and I can't help but think there might be some satisfaction on the parts of ASU fans. Lower stakes this time, but at least Phoenix baseball beat Texas.

Badass of the Day: Justin Upton, +18.6%

Also mavericky: Flip Lopez, +14.3%; Max Scherzer, +10.1%

Boarding the bus to Reno: Gerardo Parra, -4.9%

As usually happens during easy wins, there was a lively Gameday Thread with over 550 comments. I led the pack with 177 comments in my first full-time GDT since returning to Arizona, followed by hotclaws and soco, and snakecharmer broke 50 in her first thread back as well. Present in the thread were hotclaws, TwinnerA, pygalgia, DbacksSkins, snakecharmer, Azreous, kishi, Zephon, Tim Weiss, DBacksCynthia(WELCOME!), emilylovesthedbacks, pepperdinedevil, 4 Corners Fan, unnamedDBacksfan, soco, J Up, and AJforAZ.

Incidentally, Baseball-Reference.com reports that the Dbacks' year-to-date attendance is 999,321. We all know the real figure is somewhat lower, but official attendance is what we go by. So, the Dbacks should "officially" get their 1 millionth 2009 attendee at today's game, where Danny Haren looks to keep up his streak of being totally awesome. The Rangers send former purple Dback Vicente Padilla to the mound. The Rockies finally lost again, to Arte's boys, and it would be nice to get a win today and see the Padres lose so we could pull within 1 game of.... OOH!! Not Last Place. (NLP)

Rockies 11, Angels, 1: On Brad Hawpe's birthday, Aaron Cook picks up 59th victory to become winningest Rockies pitcher

Russ Oates — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:11:55 -0000

More photos » by Jae C. Hong - AP

Brad Hawpe celebrates his three-run homer with Todd Helton and Dexter Fowler. Happy birthday, Brad!

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I'm going to sum this game and this team in one word: bliss. It's just pure enjoyment with this team and we're along for the ride with them.

Aaron Cook picked up his 59th win to move ahead of Jason Jennings for the franchise lead in wins. He allowed only three hits over seven innings and that unfortunate home run to Kendry Morales. Brad Hawpe celebrated his 30th birthday with a three-run homer. And let's not forget Seth Smith drove in four runs, one on his fifth homer of the season.

That 17 of the last 18.

Bliss, I tell you, bliss.

via www.fangraphs.com

37 - 33

Games Back: 9

Streak: Won 6

Games Left: 92

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