SB Nation - Ryan Freel

Who Was Your Least Favorite Royal of 2009?

royalsreview — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:37:10 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

7 months ago: Kansas City Royals right fielder Jose Guillen can't catch the ball as Los Angeles Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick (47) hits an inside-the-park home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Friday, May 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

Browse more photos »

Despite Zack Greinke's greatness, nobody really liked the 2009 Royals. Dayton made a number of bizarre signings during the off-season, then responded with even stranger ones in-season.

So who was your least favorite Royal of 2009?

The Nominees:

Kyle Farnsworth: A brilliant symbol of both Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman's weaknesses. Signed to a 2 year/$9 million dollar contract in the off-season that everyone hated. Was inexplicably named the setup-man/8th inning guy on Opening Day Eve by Hillman. Everyone thought this was insane. Farnsy gave up game-losing bomb the next day. Hey continued to fail until he was demoted, then he went on a long scoreless innings streak. Farnsworth ended up posting his lowest HR/9 numbers in ages, and still was below average.

Mike Jacobs: Jacobs didn't replicate his career year, another stroke of terrible luck to befall Dayton Moore. Gloriously managed a sub-.300 OBP. Could not handle the easiest position on the field. Frequently swung hard. Chewed gigantic amounts of tobacco while at the plate.

Jose Guillen: Ended the debate about his suckitude by achieving near perfect negative value. Hit .242/.314/.367 with absolutely horrific defense. Showed tremendous ability to turn fly ball outs into home runs for the other team. Has potential to unknowingly play a key role in the next game-fixing scandal. Hated by half the teams in the game. Contract is among worst in professional sports. Bonus status as the captain of Dayton's Awful Ex-Mariners Team.

Josh Anderson: Acquired by Dayton Moore in July for no apparent reason. Anderson had not hit before and he did not hit as a Royal, posting a .237/.268/.288. (Let's be fair, he has the ability to post a .280 OBP in full-time action.) Was a favorite late-game toy of Hillman. Does not appear to have blood.

Yuniesky Betancourt: Mysteriously picked up by Dayton Moore mid-season. Has no apparent strengths as a player. Has bizarre name. Costs much more than the minimum salary. Played key role in letting fans know that team is run by people who are ... ah, what's the point?

Willie Bloomquist: St. Willie turned in the greatest .265/.308/.355 season by a guy without a position in history. This was the Dayton Moore move that "worked" and .308 OBP, in Royalsville, is nothing to sneeze at.

Ryan Freel: Owning a .140/.275/.140 line with the Orioles & Cubs, Freel was acquired by Moore leading up to the trade deadline. Absolutely tore the cover off the ball as a Royal (.244/.306/.289) and told many fantastic stories about how he avoided the Vietnam War.

Jamey Wright: Could not sustain 0.00 ERA through first five minutes as a Royal, in more bad luck. Although quickly earning trusted status in Hillman's bullpen, posted a 4.90 ERA in next 57 games. Appeared in tie games constantly (13). Actually, he just appeared constantly.

Tony Pena Jr: Took epic failure of 2008 to a new level in 2009, posting an incredible .098/.132/.118 line. Played crucial role in delivering the Yuni-Bomb to Kansas City. Amazing shift to a pitching career, a move straight out of a message board if there ever was one, hurts his hate-ability however.

Sidney Ponson: Provided Royals with valuable depth in 2009: you can never have enough bad pitchers. Poison pill contract and fate led to him starting the 2009 Home Opener, the opening of the newly renovated K. Against the Yankees. Surprised fans with better than expected 7.36 ERA.

Horacio Ramirez: Ho-Ram's ex-Brave, ex-Mariner, ex-mildly surprising 2008 move that sorta worked out status, earned him another contract and $1.8 million from Dayton Moore. Sucked from the beginning and was gone by early June. He'll be back.

The Greatest Reds: #7

riverfront76 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:00:15 -0000

7. Edd Roush

Played as Red	Primary Position	Career Rank	Peak Rank	Prime Rank
1916-26, 1931	CF	8	7	7
Percent Breakdown of Value			Best Season	Best player on Reds
Hit	Field	Pitch	1919	1919, 1920
82%	18%	0%	1919	1919, 1920
Awards/Honors as a Red	Leading the League		On the Reds Leaderboard
Inducted to Hall of Fame – 1962	Batting Average – 1917, 1919 Singles – 1917 OPS+ – 1918 OPS – 1918 Slugging Percentage – 1918 At Bat / Strikeout Ratio – 1918, 1921, 1931 Sacrifice Hits – 1918 Doubles – 1923 Triples – 1924		-2nd in career batting average -2nd in career triples -8th in career OPS+ -10th in career doubles -11th in career runs scored

via baseballchronicle.net

In July of 1916, the Reds traded Buck Herzog and Red Killefer, two players on the wrong side of 30 with limited future value, for three future hall-of-famers. One of the stars was just about done with his amazing career (Christy Mathewson), and one was a below-average player who would garner his fame as a manager (Bill McKechnie)—including two trips with the Reds to the World Series in 1939-40. The other future hall of famer was a 23 year old ballhawk named Edd Roush who had some success in a couple seasons in the Federal League, but in 71 National League plate appearances with the Giants had shown to be quite the bust.

Upon arriving in Cincinnati, however, Roush’s fortunes changed: his batting average rose 100 points and his slugging percentage 200 points over his New York line, and he was just getting started. His first full year in Cincy (1917) saw Roush lead the league with a .341 batting average, and what would be the highest OPS+ of his career (159). The next year he topped all Nationals in OPS/OPS+ (823/153), and the year after that, Roush continued using his incredibly heavy bat (48 oz.) to near-perfection, again pacing the league in hitting (.321 batting average). The 1919 season, in addition to being a banner year for the team, was where all of Roush’s skills harmonically aligned. The hitting excellence continued, per usual: along with the high average, Roush finished 2nd in RBI (71), 5th in runs (73), and posted a 3rd-best OPS+ of 146. In the field, Roush set himself apart. To that point in his career, Roush would generally commit 10-15 errors per season, in line with the average outfield percentages of the day. He was, nonetheless, considered a good fielder, due to his speed and what was considered the best outfield arm in the game. In 1919, the errors dried up, and he made 22 assists against just 4 errors. His fielding percentage was over 25 points higher than the average outfielder, all while making half a play more per game. In that year’s World Series Roush hit poorly (.214 average), a fact that perhaps contributed to his life-long insistence that the Reds would have beaten Chicago if the games were on the level.

In 1921, Roush kicked off a 3-year stretch of batting for at least a .350 average (and just missed a 4th year in 1924 by one hit). The middle of that stretch—1922—was marred by a contract dispute that caused Roush to play in just 49 of the team’s 156 games that year. Perhaps the time off was put to good use, though, since Roush came back in 1923 with a career-high 41 doubles (his prior high was just 27) and a 148 OPS+. By this point, Roush was 30 years old, and a slow fade commenced, although his last season with the Reds before being traded back to the Giants still produced a solid OPS+ of 123. After 3 years with the Giants, and then a lost season (1930) to another holdout, Roush came back for a last hurrah with the Reds, but his hitting skills had declined to the point where he was no longer a viable contributor, and he retired after the season.

The Top 15 Center Fielders in Reds history

1          Edd Roush
2          Vada Pinson
3          Eric Davis
4          Cy Seymour
5          Gus Bell
6          Bug Holliday
7          Ken Griffey, Jr
8          Bobby Tolan
9          Cesar Geronimo
10        Dummy Hoy
11        Eddie Milner
12        Harry Craft
13        Chick Hafey
14        Johnny Bates
15        Ryan Freel

Reds Re-sign Ramon Hernandez to a One-year Deal

Slyde — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:19:32 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

Ramon Hernandez is re-signed by the Reds. Will he be the everyday catcher?

Browse more photos »

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Reds have re-signed catcher Ramon Hernandez to a one year deal. Rosenthal says the deal has a vesting option for 2011 if Hernandez plays 120 games in 2010. He played in 81 games last season and has played in 120 or more games just twice in the last 6 seasons. No other details have been released on the terms yet.

The Reds traded Ryan Freel and prospects Justin Turner and Brandon Waring to the Orioles last season for Hernandez. He came to the Reds and batted .258/.336/.362 in 331 plate appearances last season, which is very similar to the .258/.319/.395 he posted in the previous two seasons combined with the Orioles. It shouldn't be a surprise then that his projections fall in a similar category. CHONE has Hernandez at .253/.322/.387 and ZiPS has him posting a .255/.324/.385 line. Neither line is all that impressive.

I'm optimistic that given the budget concerns, the Reds haven't overpaid on this deal. However, given the $8.5 million option that the Reds had to decline prior to signing Hernandez, I wouldn't be surprised if the dollar amount is more than any of us would have given to him.

The real key though is that Hernandez's playing time needs to be balanced with Ryan Hanigan. Neither probably deserves the title of everyday catcher, but I think together they could make a decent platoon. They're not going to hit a ton, but defensively they are solid and I think the Reds could do much worse at the catcher position.

UPDATE: Mark Sheldon has the details on Twitter:

Terms on R. Hernandez signing: $3M for 2010 and $3.250M for vesting option in 2011 that kicks in with 120 games played.

Adam Dunn = 40/100?

Ed Chigliak — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

Browse more photos »

Ever since Adam Dunn signed with DC, the fans of the Washington Nationals have been told, "40/100!" Yeah, he strikes out and he's a defensive liability in left, but, "40/100". Sure he's getting $10M a year on a team with a $60M+ payroll, but the team needs a big middle of the order bat...40/100! Q: But why have a 40 HR guy with 100 RBI's on a 100-loss team...A: 40/100. Dunn's just 1 RBI away from 100, but he's 3 HR's away from 40 dingers with 17 games left to play, and if he reaches 40 HR's he'll be one of only 4 people to have hit 40 or more in six-straight seasons, and if he does it again in 2010, he'll be one of only two, just Adam Troy "Big Donkey" (DCMD) Dunn and George Herman "Babe" Ruth, with 40 HR's in seven-straight...Here's how and when Dunn hit #40 in each of the last 5 seasons...

August 30, 2004: Houston Astros' right-hander Peter Munro gives up a two-run HR to Felipe Lopez after a Ryan Freel double opens the fifth inning, making it 3-2 Astros, and one out later it's 3-3 when Adam Dunn hits his 40th HR off the season, a solo shot in the 130th game of 2004. Dunn would go on to hit 6 more in September for his career high total of 46 HR's...

October 2, 2005: Game 162. Cincinnati at St. Louis. Adam Dunn hits a solo HR in the third inning of the last game on the Reds' schedule against the first-place Cardinals, who would end up losing the '05 NLCS to Houston in 6 games. Cards' right-hander Matt Morris surrenders his 22nd HR of '05, and Dunn, has two straight 40 HR seasons.

September 8, 2006: In the 141st game of the Cincinnati Reds' '06 season, Adam Dunn takes Pirates' right-hander Brian Rogers deep to right field in Great American Ballpark in the seventh inning of a 9-1 Reds' win. It's the second of only two HR's Dunn hits in September and the last he hits that year...

September 19, 2007: Adam Dunn needed 4 HR's in September 2007 to hit 40 and he got the fourth in Wrigley Field off Cubs' lefty Ted Lilly, who gave up the solo shot to right to give Adam Dunn four-straight seasons of 40 or more. Dunn's solo shot was good for one of the two runs the Reds scored that day in a 3-2 loss to the Cubs. It was the last HR Dunn hit that year in the 152nd game of the season.

September 27th, 2008: In the next-to-last game of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2008 season, Adam Dunn, who had been acquired by the D-Backs from the Reds on August 11th, hits hit 8th HR for Arizona and his 40th HR of 2008, a solo shot off Colorado left-hander Glendon Rusch in a 6-4 Arizona win over the Rockies. It's Dunn's 4th HR in 14 games to get him up to 40 for the fifth-straight season...

?'s For The DC Faithful...

• Will Adam Dunn reach 40 HR's for the sixth-straight season to tie Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa?

• Will it mean anything to you if he breaks the record next year as a National?

• Do you think he'll be traded before he hits #40 next season?

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:39:22 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Ryan Braun, Jody Gerut and Frank Catalanotto celebrate after completing a sweep of the Pirates Sunday.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while waiting for a bartender.

The Brewers have a day off today to prepare for what might be their last opportunity to prove themselves relevant in the NL Central in 2009: A nine game stretch against the Cardinals, Giants and Cardinals again. Ken Macha says the Brewers have to be realistic about their position in the standings (which is why he's passing on the opportunity to skip a spot in the rotation this week), but also acknowledges that things could change if the Brewers can get hot this week and next. The Brewers are 23-24 this season against teams they'll see in September.

With roster expansion on the horizon, J.J. Hardy is expected to rejoin the team tomorrow, and we'll see if the issue with him blows over or boils over. Mike Seal, Hardy's agent, obviously appears to disagree with the decision to demote Hardy, but also called it "a shrewd move" by the Crew to send Hardy down and delay his free agency. J.J. Hardy's Nashville bio picture says a lot about his thoughts on the situation.

As you may have noticed, Hardy is swinging and missing a lot this season. In fact, he's also consistently failing to make weak contact: Plunk Everyone noticed that Hardy has the eighth lowest foul ball percentage in baseball. Jody Gerut, by the way, was tenth.

The Brewers are only expected to call a handful of players up from AAA, and they're expected to stagger the callups over the next few days. With that said, the Brewers also have three players getting ready to return from injury, as Corey Hart is getting ready to go out on a rehab assignment and Seth McClung and Jesus Colome both threw off a mound this weekend. If the Brewers call up six players from the minors and these three all return, they'll have 34 players on the active roster.

The Cardinals have opened up a ten game lead on the Cubs, and it's hard to imagine a scenario where they don't win the NL Central at this point. Murray Chass has a look at what happened to what was one of baseball's closest divisions a few months ago.

This race might be closer: With one month left to play, the Brewers rank 24th in wins in the 2000's. They're four games behind the Reds for 23rd, and 13 games ahead of the 25th place Tigers.

As hopes of contending in 2009 drift away, Doug Melvin is continuing to take a fair amount of heat for not assembling his roster differently, fair or unfair. Melvin responded to critics over the weekend, asking what they would have done differently. He's right, to a point: There weren't really any quick fixes available to the Brewers this offseason that would have dramatically improved this team. With that said, as many commenters have previously noted, Melvin was also responsible for the drafting and developmental strategies that left the Brewers with this hole in the first place.

Felipe Lopez had a rough weekend at the plate (2-for-17) but is continuing to try to play through a sore tendon in his foot. The most recent Elias rankings are out, and they have Lopez as a Type A free agent for the first time. If Lopez continues to struggle and the Brewers aren't careful with him, they could cost themselves a compensation pick next year by allowing him to play his way back down to Type B status.

The Brewers got a pretty good outing out of Jeff Suppan yesterday, as he gave up just one earned run in six innings and lowered his 2009 ERA to 5.20. In a world where we make near daily jokes about Sidney Ponson and Livan Hernandez, mgl wonders if Jeff Suppan is the worst veteran pitcher you never hear about. Meanwhile, Rob Iracane of Walkoff Walk says the Pirates, who couldn't beat Jeff Suppan, Manny Parra or Braden Looper over the weekend, will win the NL Central in 2011.

How much impact will Chris Bosio have on the Brewer pitching staff? Casa de Machado was at Thursday's game and saw Bosio doing some things with pitchers he never saw Billy Castro doing. The results haven't necessarily shown up yet, but that doesn't mean they won't.

Coaches are also working with Manny Parra to develop a cut fastball. As TheJay noted in this Fanshot, that's a bit of a philosophical switch from the past coaching direction.

In the minors:

Chris Capuano is taking one small step back up the ladder to the major leagues. Now that the season has concluded for the Arizona League Brewers, Capuano is moving up to Helena to get a few more innings in before the minor league season concludes.
Several Brewer farmhands are getting ready for the Arizona Fall League. Prospects Paradise has an AFL preview, and lists Zach Braddock, Lorenzo Cain and Jonathan Lucroy among the top prospects on the Peoria Javelinas.

I mentioned The Book Blog's Fan Scouting Report once before as an opportunity for you to weigh in on the defensive abilities of individual Brewers. I'll mention it again, because so far only 35 Brewer fans have added their opinions. Take a moment to do so today, if you're so inclined.

On Power Rankings, playoff odds and miscellany:

Baseball Digest Daily ranked the Brewers #17 in their ASTRO Rankings.
CoolStandings has the Brewers' playoff chances holding steady at .3%.
Justin Inaz of Beyond the Box Score ranked Jason Kendall as the 22nd best catcher of all time.

Last week I mentioned Trent Durrington's 34th birthday, but forgot to acknowledge that he was the last Brewer position player to pitch in a game, back in 2004. Recondite Baseball has updated the full list of the last position players to pitch for each team.

Around Baseball:

Angels: Acquired Scott Kazmir from the Rays for two minor leaguers and a PTBNL that could be Brandon Wood.
Astros: Placed reliever Alberto Arias on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Dodgers: Acquired Ronnie Belliard from the Nationals for a minor league reliever.
Indians: Acquired minor league pitcher Johan Pino as the PTBNL in the trade that sent Carl Pavano to the Twins.
Mariners: Placed Russell Branyan on the DL with a herniated disc.
Pirates: Signed Jorge Julio to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Signed Ryan Freel to a minor league deal.
Red Sox: Acquired Joey Gathright from the Orioles for a PTBNL or cash.
Twins: Claimed Ron Mahay off waivers from the Royals, acquired Jon Rauch from the D-Backs for a PTBNL and designated R.A. Dickey for assignment.

Today, they're reserved for making up rainouts, but at one point doubleheaders were a key part of the baseball schedule. Seamheads has a look back at September 7, 1903, when all 16 major league teams were scheduled to play two.

If you watched the Cubs play over the weekend, you might have seen Ryan Dempster trying on the new helmet MLB is promoting to help decrease head injuries suffered via HBP. Player reviews of the new helmets have been almost universally negative, but baseball is going to require all minor leaguers to wear them next season.

The Brewers had pretty good luck convincing draft picks to sign this season, including one player, fifth rounder D'Vontrey Richardson, who had to be convinced to give up football at Florida State. Jonathan Mayo has a look at the decision two sport athletes face.

Ever wonder what broadcasters do to prepare for games? Alyson Footer has the details and pictures.

Before you go any farther, take a moment today to be happy for what you have and to remember how quickly it can all go away: Jonah Keri has the story of a rollover car accident he somehow survived over the weekend. Keri is due to become the father of twins sometime in the coming weeks.

Apparently it's been a good week for harrowing experiences: Hal McCoy has the story of Aaron Harang and a Reds' equipment manager's drive from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati prior to Harang's appendectomy.

Hall of Very Good recently interviewed Jeff Cirillo, who spent many years as a Brewer position player and one day as an opposing pitcher. It's a good read.

Speaking of Jeffs, if you need a Jeff Sackmann fix, he's got three posts up on his personal blog previewing the US Open, which begins today.

On this day in 1996 the Brewers made a pretty good trade, sending Kevin Seitzer to the Indians for Jeromy Burnitz, who hit 165 home runs over six season as a Brewer. On this day in 2002, though, they made a pretty bad trade, sending Mark Loretta (who would go one to become a two time All Star) to the Astros for Wayne Franklin and Keith Ginter.

Happy birthday today to former Brewers Gabe Kapler (34), Hideo Nomo (41) and Tom Candiotti (52).

Oh, and with summer coming to a close, you're running out of opportunities to use your car as a dehyrdrator.

Drink up.

Erick Aybar Stays Hot As Angels Take Two

WiHaloFan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:11:05 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

5 months ago: Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar (2) holds the ball after forcing out Kansas City Royals' Billy Butler (16) at second on a ball hit by Mark Teahen during the seventh inning of the first game of baseball doubleheader Tuesday, July 21, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. Teahen was safe at first. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Browse more photos »

Final Score in Game Two: Angels 10, Royals 2

Angels shortstop Erick Aybar lit up the Kansas City pitching staff, going 4 for 5 with 3 RBI, Bobby Abreu added in three doubles while driving in 3 runs and Rob Quinlan muscled up with a homer in the 3rd inning as the Angels scored 18 runs in the twin-bill. For the day, Aybar was a blistering 7 for 9 with 4 RBI and 5 runs scored. On the pitching side, rookie Sean O'Sullivan went 5.1, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits to get his 3rd win.

The shocker of the evening came in the 6th inning when Justin Speier entered the game with Jose Guillen representing the tying run on second base. Speier, who had retired just one batter out of the last 13 he faced, struck out John Buck and Ryan Freel to preserve the Halo lead.

The Halos broke open the game in the 7th when they scored seven times, highlighted by Aybar's bases loaded triple.

With Tuesday's losses, the Royals have lost 8 straight, while the Angels improved to 54-38 on the season and have won 8 of their last 10.

Poll

Panther of the Game

Erick Aybar

256 votes

Sean O'Sullivan

9 votes

Justin Speier

11 votes

Bobby Abreu

33 votes

309 votes | Poll has closed

Two Curious Acquisitions: Hairston to Oakland, Freel to Kansas City; or, the Real Deal with Ryan Freel

devil_fingers — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:02:21 -0000

[Note: I'm sure you're all thinking, "boy, that devil_fingers guy is really witty. But sometimes I wonder if there are thoughts he has that he isn't sharing on Driveline's website, or sometimes I just wonder what he ate during the day, or if the Royals are making so many great moves that d_f can't cover them all in two posting, or what his favorite Frank Zappa guitar solos are." Yup, that's what you're thinking. Well, think no longer, as I'm now on twtter: http://twitter.com/devil_fingers

Suicide now.]

I don't think we'll be covering every single trivial transaction, but when Ryan Freel is involved, you gotta comment. Oh, and the As acquired Scot Hairston.

Let's start with Freel.

Ryan Freel

#0 / Third Base / Kansas City Royals

Height: 5-9

Weight: 180

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 08, 1976

That picture makes him look 48 years old.

As a summary, here's a simple analogy by way of Grass Creek, Wyoming:

Russell Branyan:Mike Jacobs::
Ryan Langerhans:Ryan Freel

So... Ryan Freel. Freel was a pretty good player for the Reds a few years ago. Playing a mixture of outfield, 2B, and 3B, Freel put up 2.5 WAR in 2004, 2.2 WAR in 2006, and a very impressive 3.9 in 2006 according to FanGraphs (Rally's numbers are similar, if not as high on 2006). But, well, 2006 was a long time ago. At 33, and coming off of some injuries... An quick in-season Marcels pegs Freel for a .310 wOBA the rest of the season. In the current run environment, that makes him about a -12 hitter over 700 PAs.

As for his fielding, Freel's been a super-utility guyf or years, and it's not clear how the Royals will use him. With CoCo Crisp out, the Royals have been using the underwhelming Mitch Maier in CF. While Freel's career UZR/150 numbers in CF are pretty good, most of that data is from a few years ago. Rally's TotalZone projections for Freel are probably more helpful here: -7 in CF, +1 in the corners. Hs TotalZone numbers and UZR taken together indicate a guy who's probably about avereage at this point at 2B and 3B.

His value as an infielder over a full season: -12 batting + 0 fielding + 2.5 positoin +20 NL replacment level (projections are based on playing tim in the NL) = +10.5 * 85% playing time = ~0.9 WAR player. Over half a season, that's less than half a win. I guess that's worth it as long as the PTBNL never sees any significant time in the majors.

So it's not terrible or great... but what, really, is the point? If the Royals are getting ready to trade David DeJesus (the current LF) or Mark Teahen (playing 3B until Alex Gordon gets back), maybe they need a placefiller for the rest of the season, and with Freel's salary being picked up, that's okay. He might make sense as a utility player for free... hey, good thing they already have an even worse guy like that in Willie Bloomquist. With CoCo Crisp's injury, maybe they're sick of Mitch Maier in CF... yeah, he isn't great, but what's the point? Mitch is probably a 4th OF at best (projects for average defense in CF with a bat bat), but isn't that just a younger, cheaper version of Freel? Even if the Royals are dumb enough to think they still have a chance at the playoffs, Freel is at best barely better than Maier. If they're rebuilding, why not find out what you have in Maier? As a Royals fan, I'm glad the front office got a guy for (seemingly) nothing, but given that he essentially has no upside, the whole thing seems pointless at best.

In summary -- we don't have the whole picture yet of what this trade means. At best, it's a "meh." At worst, it's a sign that the Royals front office doesn't understand the point of scouring the waivers wires or getting undervalued players to build for the future, rather than scrambling for 75 wins again. In other words, the same-old stuff from Dayton Moore.

Wow, I can't believe I spent all that time on Ryan Freaking Freel.

Scott Hairston

#12 / Right Field / Oakland Athletics

Height: 6-0

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 25, 1980

Given that this is another deal where the PTBNL is supposed to be significant, and given that I don't know much about the prospects included in the trade by Oakland (RHPs Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano), I don't have a whole lot to say about this beyond what Jack Moore wrote at Beyond the Box Score and Dave Cameron wrote at FanGraphs. The Padres shed $1.25M salary for some relievers... I'm not sure what the point is, especially given Hairston's price and ability.

Offensively, the quick Marcels gives him a .346 wOBA (although that's probably a bit low given that he's been in Petco Park the last two season). That's about a +10/700 bat. Rally's preseason TotalZone projections have him as a -8 CF, although UZR sees him as above average. Let's call him average. So +10 offense + 2.5 position + 0 defense +20 NL replacement level =32.5 * 85% playing time = ~2.7 WAR player. Yikes... for $1.25M a season and club control. Not sure what the point is for San Diego (who also gave up on Jody Gerut way too quickly). That better be one heck of a PTBNL. For Oakland, they get a guy who helps them now, can fill the void when, I mean IF (ahem) Matt Holliday gets traded, or could is even an attractive trade piece himself. I'm not sure what this means for Ryan Sweeney when he gets back for for Aaron Cunningham down the road. Billy Beane's team may not be racking up the wins the season, but his moves are setting up stuff down the road.

Summing up: the Cubs dump a superfluous player, the Padres shed a tiny salary for no good reason, the As pick up a good player on the cheap, and the Royals make another seemingly pointless trade. These front offices are what we thought they were.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:31:06 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Doug Melvin, pictured here sitting behind Ken Macha in spring training, probably doesn't take fashion advice from Ryan Braun either.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while learning about the history of grit. (h/t Royals Review)

As you may have heard, the saga surrounding Ryan Braun's comments about Brewer pitching took a surprising turn yesterday when Doug Melvin fired back. (Also noted in FanShot.) There's a fair amount of reaction around the blogosphere today:

Doug Melvin's quote about making Braun his deputy was Circling the Bases' quote of the day.
The True Blue Brew Blog says Braun should shut up and play baseball.
Sheffield's House wants Braun to keep doing what he's doing.
Miller Park Drunk shows us what the world would be like if Ryan Braun were the Brewer GM.
Quevedo at the Buffet says Melvin should have known better than to go public with his remarks.
CZWief.com called Melvin's comments "a public slap on the wrist."

In case you've forgotten, the Brewers acquired C.C. Sabathia one year ago today. Meanwhile, if the Brewers do make a move, it could be for Javier Vazquez. The Brewers have reportedly placed a call to the Braves regarding Vazquez, although Melvin denied the report. Todd Welter of WTMJ wants the Brewers to steer clear of Vazquez, who has posted a 10+ ERA in 15.2 postseason innings. In other news, Todd Welter has never heard of sample size.

Everyone still loves Casey McGehee:

FanGraphs says McGehee has "perhaps the quietest .343/.396/.567 line in the land."
The Collective Troll named McGehee their NL Rookie of the Year for the first half of 2009.
McGehee also has four three-hit games, but that's no longer good enough to lead all rookies: D-Backs rookie Gerardo Parra picked up his fifth such game last night. (h/t TheJay)

McGehee was also one of several Brewers mentioned in Jon Heyman's midseason awards, appearing third on his ballot for NL Rookie of the Year. Also appearing: Prince Fielder (4th, NL MVP), Yovani Gallardo (4th, NL Cy Young) and Ken Macha (4th, NL Manager of the Year).

The Brewers open a key series with the Cardinals tonight, and Stan Musial's Stance has a preview of the three pitching matchups: Yovani Gallardo v. Adam Wainwright tonight, Jeff Suppan v. Todd Wellemeyer tomorrow, and Braden Looper v. Joel Piniero on Thursday.

Prince Fielder was confirmed yesterday as a participant in next week's Home Run Derby. (Also noted in FanShot) Fielder's first-half mashing in 2009 earned him the DH spot on The Collective Troll's NL All Troll Team. Unfortunately, this year's All Stars won't actually have a DH.

In the minors:

John Sickels of Minor League Ball is watching the Timber Rattlers play in Burlington this week and has been impressed by Brett Lawrie's bat speed. Lawrie is also Between the Green Pillars' Prospect of the Week.
Lawrie may be among the last generation of Brewer prospects to play AA games in Huntsville. The Stars are last in the Southern League in attendance, and while attending Sunday's sparsely attended contest, Gord Ash was quoted as saying, "They're going to be sorry in a couple of years when they don't have baseball." (h/t BrewerFan.net)

The Brewers moved up one spot from eleventh to tenth in Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star's Power Rankings.

Around the league:

Blue Jays: Russ Adams, designated for assignment over the weekend, has cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.
Cubs: Traded Ryan Freel to the Royals for a PTBNL and placed David Patton on the DL with a right groin strain.
Giants: Placed Randy Johnson on the DL with a shoulder strain.
Nationals: Kip Wells, who had been designated for assignment, has cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.
Orioles: Placed reliever Chris Ray on the DL with biceps tendinitis.
Padres: Placed David Eckstein on the DL with a hamstring strain.

Via the Baseball America Minor League Transaction Report, I learned that former Brewer Gary Glover is on the move again: this time he was released by the Marlins.

Happy birthdays today to R.J. Swindle who turns 26, and Dave Burba, who appeared in 62 games for the 2003 and 2004 Brewers and turns 43. Today is also the 35th anniversary of the 1974 game where Don Money set the major league record for most consecutive errorless games by a third baseman.

Oh, and now I know what to eat at midnight between Mac & Cheese Tuesday and Pizza Wednesday.

Drink up.

Cubs Trade Ryan Freel To Royals For PTBNL

Al — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:39:04 -0000

The Cubs are making all kinds of news today. Well, this return on Freel is better than an outright release, I guess. From the press release:

The Chicago Cubs today traded infielder Ryan Freel to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named.

Freel was designated for assignment by the Cubs on July 2. In 14 games with Chicago, Freel batted .143 (4-for-28) with one run scored and one RBI.

Yeah, I know. Not much. But then, neither was his Cubs career. That one run scored was a mad dash home in the eighth inning on June 27 vs. the White Sox after a groundout to first. Bye-bye, Ryan. We hardly knew 'ye.

Royals Acquire Ryan Freel For Some Reason

royalsreview — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:23:17 -0000

The Royals have acquired Ryan Freel for a player to be named later. Or a player to be revealed later today, I'm not sure.

ed. update: The AP is reporting that the Royals will also receive cash to offset a portion of Freel's salary.

Um, ok.

Ryan Freel

#4 / Third Base / Chicago Cubs

Height: 5-9

Weight: 180

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 08, 1976

There's a school of thought that all out of nowhere trades such as this should be first taken as a sign of future moves. Given Freel's gritty gamer utilityman soul of baseball made of winning reputation however, can you really be so sure?

Freel, who signed a two-year deal with the Reds in 2008, was traded to Baltimore this off-season. Freel was praised up and down as a great character guy, glue guy, etc. Two months later he was unhappy with his lack of playing time in Maryland and was traded to the Cubs for next to nothing.

Ryan Freel is not a bad player, but he is not exactly good either. He has, or had, a reputation as a good hitter, which doesn't quite hold up. He can play a variety of positions and has a career OPS+ (JoePo's trendy new stat!) of 89. He has been an above average hitter once: in 2003 when he was, 27. Funny how that works

His defensive stats, however, have not been terribly impressive since 2006. The defensive stats for Freel are hazy, since he's played so many positions so irregularly for so many years. In general, I would say that he's probably still good at second base, and varying shades of non-horrible bad everywhere else.

He was a decent OBP-based guy until sometime around 2005. In 2009, I'm not sure he's a real asset, especially given his recent health problems, for an American League team.

So here we are.

Soon, Trey will have the opportunity to gaze into these eyes.