SB Nation - Chris Denorfia

Could it be...? No, it can't be... OMG it really is! It's a Minor League Update!!!

grover — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:00:25 -0000

Hello again.

Work called me away for a while and it’s been tough getting back into the groove of things. For those who don’t know, I’m a wildland fire fighter and August got a little busy for those in my career field. So when I disappear again for a couple weeks just remember… I envy your access to in-door plumbing.

Anyways, I want to focus this week’s minor league update on the 40 man roster and the options that are going to have to be decided upon in the coming months. Why do this now instead of waiting until September 1st? The topic tickles my fancy, that’s why. As I seem to have (once again) misplaced my Cap o’ Omnipotence I’m forced to resort to basic logic and common sense reckoning to try and deduce the future roster.

That’s right… none of what I’m about to tell you is guaranteed!

The way I see it, there are 28-29 spots on the future 40 man roster all but guaranteed. On the pitching side, Brett Anderson, Andrew Bailey, Jerry Blevins, Dallas Braden, Craig Breslow, Trevor Cahill, Joey Devine, Gio Gonzalez, Jeff Gray, Jay Marshall, Vin Mazzaro, Clayton Mortensen, Josh Outman, Henry Rodriguez, Michael Wuertz and Brad Ziegler all seem certain to have jobs in the Oakland organization next year. That’s 16 pitchers of varying combinations of success/cheapness/options that aren’t going to be released just to make room on the roster. (There’s a pretty good chance that Outman will open next season on the 60-day DL, opening up an additional spot on the 40 man.) Santiago Casilla and Edgar Gonzalez are both arbitration eligible next season but neither pitched so well that the A’s are going to be eager to give them big pay raises, which could mean either or both players could end up as trade fodder or possibly even released. Dana Eveland is still on the 40 man roster as well, but his poor performance led to a demotion that will keep him from seeing any arby money next season. Unfortunately, Mr. Eveland’s suckitude forced the A’s to use his last option this season; meaning he can’t be stashed on Sacramento’s roster next season without first passing through waivers. Chances are Eveland isn’t going to be one of the 5 best SP candidates for the A’s come Opening Day 2010 and as a lefty with a pulse he’d probably get snapped up by some other team desperate for pitching. Therefore, I think this is good-bye to Mr. Eveland.

As it just so happens, it looks as if the A’s are going to need maybe 3 openings on the 40 man roster just to protect some arms that should attract a lot of interest in the Rule 5 draft. Pedro Figueroa hasn’t advanced past High-A ball but he’s a lefty with a low-90’s fastball. Brad Kilby is another lefty who’s put up back-to-back quality campaigns in Sacramento’s bullpen. Fautino De Los Santos is still trying to bounce back from 2008 TJ surgery but he wouldn’t last long if the A’s made him available for the Rule 5 draft. Jason Ray is in the same boat but I don’t think there’s much risk of someone grabbing him and keeping him on a 25 man roster all season.

There’s also a chance the A’s might be interested in bringing back Brett Tomko or Justin Duchscherer next season. Dan Giese should be fully recovered in time for next season; maybe the A’s are still interested in him as a swing man type. Plus, guys like Sam Demel and James Simmons could be knocking on the door next season and they’d need a spot on the 40 man to do so. Like I said, I could see 3-4 spots going to the guys I just listed and we haven’t even looked outside the organization to find help.

The hitting side of things is even more in flux.

Kurt Suzuki, Landon Powell, Eric Chavez (who?) Mark Ellis, Daric Barton, Travis Buck, Aaron Cunningham, Rajai Davis, Scott Hairston, Ryan Sweeney, Jack Cust, Tommy Everidge, Cliff Pennington and Gregorio Petit have spots on the 40 man roster. (Although I’m not sure if Petit has another minor league option available to him in 2010… if someone has a conclusive answer I’d appreciate hearing it.) C Anthony Recker is the most prominent bat in the A’s system that would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter and I’m not sure if the A’s would consider his departure to be a great loss. So any Recker fans out there can protect him on their 40 man lists, but I’m thinking the A’s leave him off the protected roster. Chris Denorfia and Eric Patterson are both out of options, so if they aren’t in Oakland come Opening Day there’s a good chance they’ll be playing for another organization in 2010. I can maybe see Patterson as a back-up at 2B and in the outfield but I’ve got to squint and angle my head to one side to see it. I think it’s more likely that the A’s will try to bring back Adam Kennedy to serve as a deluxe back-up option/veteran mentor type.

The real twist comes when you consider the minor league bats that the A’s have in AA or higher that aren’t yet on the 40 man roster. Sean Doolittle, Adrian Cardenas, Josh Donaldson, Corey Brown, Chris Carter and Brett Wallace highlight the next wave of Oakland offense… which could be much more refreshing than the current ripple in the still waters we’ve experienced as of late. Yet again we haven’t looked outside the current organization to determine if maybe there’s another bat to be had.

So bring back Kennedy, add the newbies and you’re looking at 38-39 players on the 40 man roster before the Rule 5 draft. Does anyone see any glaring omissions?

Until the next time...

Twins kick A's

cmathewson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:04:33 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

6 months ago: Minnesota Twins' Jason Kubel watches the flight of his three-run home run hit off Oakland Athletics' Santiago Casilla in the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 9, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Browse more photos »

The Twins had a 10-0 lead going into the ninth inning and turned the game into a save situation before squeaking out a 10-5 win.

Scott Baker had a shutout going into the ninth before running out of gas and handing the game over to the bullpen afer three men reached in the ninth. Jesse Crain and Jose Mijares combined to give half the lead away (with two assists by Alexi Casilla's erratic glove). But Joe Nathan came in with the bases loaded and one out to strike out Jack Hannahan and Rajai Davis and save it for the Twins.

The ugly ninth overshadowed what should have been a comfortable 10-0 win. The heart of the order led the offense, combining for eight hits, two homers and five RBI. Justin Morneau went 4-5 with a homer and 2 RBI. Jason Kubel hit a 3-run homer and every regular in the line-up got on base for the Twins.

Baker pitched to just one man over the minimum through eight innings. He entered in the ninth with just 96 pitches after four straight 1-2-3 innings, eight strikeouts and no walks. But he seemed to tire in the ninth. He left with the bases loaded and turned the game over to Crain with Adam Kennedy and Jack Cust coming to the plate. Why Ron Gardenhire didn't bring in the left hander Mijares to face the two lefties is a mystery. But Crain predictably allowed all three inherited runs to score and reloaded the bases without retiring a batter before Gardenhire brought in Mijares. Mijares struck out Jason Giambi but walked the next two batters with the bases loaded, creating a save situation for Nathan. Nathan needed just seven pitches (all strikes) to put out the fire and get the Twins into the clubhouse with a rare road win.

Nathan can thank Alexi Casilla for his 12th save. Casilla got a glove on two grounders in the ninth that should have led to at least two outs, but didn't come up with either ball cleanly. With Baker pitching and runners on first and second, pinch hitter Bobby Crosby hit a grounder up the middle and Casilla tried to catch it and flip it to Brendan Harris covering second with his glove. Instead the ball trickled away for an infield hit to load the bases. Later in the inning, Chris Denorfia hit a grounder off Crain right to Casilla, who tried to catch it and wheel around to throw to second to start a double play all in one motion, again letting the ball trickle away for an error. Casilla didn't start this game, but entered after Joe Crede was hit on the hand by a pitch.

All that bush-league pitching and fielding in the ninth stained what should have been a pristine win. Joe Mauer reached base three times in five plate appearances, scoring twice and gunning down Kennedy on s steal attempt with a perfect throw. Morneau and Kubel crushed pitches through the cool night air for long homers. Harris hit four liners, three for hits. Michael Cuddyer got the scoring going with a single and a aggerssive base running paly. And even Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez got into the act, hitting back-to-back RBI doubles down opposite lines in the fifth inning to knock out A's starter Brett Anderson.

Studs:

1. Justin Morneau: Justin was on the ball tonight, going 4-5 with a homer, two RBI and 2 runs scored.

2. Scott Baker: Baker didn't deserve those earned runs. If Casilla makes that play, it could have easliy been a double play, and he's one out away form three-hit shutout. Instead his night is done and all the runners on the bases score without him on the mound. The way Bert Blyleven was talking, Baker had pitched poorly with a two-hit shutout going into the ninth, and he blamed the whole ninth inning collapse on Baker. That's just Bert being a jerk. Baker pitched great.

3. Jason Kubel: Kubel seems to pick his spots for homers, hitting a three-run bomb to really break the game open.

4. Brendan Harris: Harris is hitting everything on a line into the right-center gap. He's fun to watch when he's hot like this.

Duds:

1. Jesse Crain: I'm starting to think his days are numbered in a Twins uniform. After serving up a two-run single on the first pitch to Kennedy, He very nearly gave up a three-run homer to Cust, who's ball hooked just foul. He walked him instead. Then he very nearly gave up a three-run double to Denorfia. (That ball landed foul by inches.) Instead, he induced the grounder that Casilla booted. 0.0 IP 1H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 0 SO 3 inherited runners scored.

2. Alexi Casilla: This might be the last game he plays for the Twins for a while, as Nick Punto is two days from being activated from the DL and Gardenhire has indicated that Punto will likely play second base when he returns, with Harris playing well at short. A week ago, the plan was to send Matt Tolbert down when Punto returns. But Tolbert is much more versatile and fundamentally sound than Casilla.

3. Jose Mijares: After striking out Giambi, he walks in two runs, forcing the Twins to use their closer. Not good.

Oakland A's 7, Colorado Rockies 6

Jabberwocky — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:58:36 -0000

While in the books this might go down as a Spring Training loss for the Rockies (12-16), thanks to a two-run shot by Oakland's (13-17) Chris Denorfia in the bottom of the ninth, this game should be remembered for the stellar work of Franklin Morales. Morales shut down Matt Holliday and the A's for five shutout, one-hit innings in relief, only to be tagged for two hits and two runs in the ninth.

Franklin Morales

#56 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-0

Weight: 170

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jan 24, 1986

Greg Smith started for Colorado, but struggled mightily with control (giving up five runs in 1.2 innings) and reportedly a dead arm that effectively gives the fifth starter position to Morales. Smith was hovering around 78-81 mph on his fastball (Jamie Moyer numbers) and wasn't locating it well. It's a major step back for Greg, who will doubtless be headed to AAA as soon as he gets his arm issues resolved--which could be a very long time from now.

Lines of the Game:

Franklin Morales: 5 IP, 3H, 2R, 0BB

Dexter Fowler: 2-4, 2 2B, R, RBI, SB

Brad Hawpe: 2-2, 2B, R, RBI

Garrett Atkins: 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI

Ian Stewart: 1-4, 2-run HR (4), R, 2 RBI

Matt Holliday: 2-4, R

Wrap Rating: Bubble Wrap. Fun to look at and play with, actual function/result doesn't really matter due to a fun process.

via getmovedgb.co.uk

Rowbot Roll Call: Thanks to WolfMarauder, jrockies, Hizilla, oo_nrb, DBacksSkins, Fiftytwoeighty, MohrPlease, PioneerSkies, djmbluemoon, smokinRox, Rockie4Ever, FlyAway, mkorpal, pierzynski rules, Poseidon's Fist, and Rox Girl for contributing to the game thread.

Score One For Italy! Denorfia's Walk-Off HR Saves A's

Nico — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:59:53 -0000

Final Score: A's 7, Rockies 6

With Oakland trailing 6-5 in the 9th and an 11th straight loss staring the A's in the face, Kurt Suzuki led off with a single and then ba-da-BOOM!!! : Chris Denorfia launched a walk-off 2-run HR to put the A's in the win column for the first time in 13 days. The HR capped a perfect day for the Italian Stallion, who finished 2 for 2 with a pair of walks.

Greg Smith started against his former team and didn't make it out of the 2nd inning. Going through a "dead arm" period according to the Rockies' clubhouse, Smith was not throwing hard, nor was he throwing a lot of strikes, and after a 1-2-3 1st inning Smith was rocked for 5 runs in the 2nd, two coming on a Rajai Davis ground-rule double, the last two courtesy of an E-5.

Given a 5-1 lead, however, Sean Gallagher was not impressive, pounded for 9 hits and 6 runs (5 earned) in his 5 innings and giving 3 runs right back in the top of the 3rd in a "shutdown inning...not" that culminated with Garrett Atkins' 2-run HR.

Other highlights for the A's: Matt Holliday smoked two hits, Andrew Bailey, despite allowing a leadoff double, turned in another 1.1 IP of scoreless ball, Brad Ziegler had an easy 1-2-3 inning in his first Cactus League appearance, and Jerry Blevins worked a perfect 9th for his second smooth outing in a row.

Tomorrow, Brett Anderson. Tuesday, Josh Outman. Down to the wire it goes!

The 2009 A's Are In A Great Position To Platoon

Nico — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:30:54 -0000

With Orlando Cabrera on the way and Nomar Garciaparra on the way to being on the way, the A's roster for position players is coming together. It's still unclear whether Chris Denorfia or Rajai Davis might win the 4th OF spot, but Davis may have the edge because of the two only Denorfia can be stashed in AAA. For a moment, though, consider the scenario where Denorfia gets the nod due to his ability to hit LHP well enough to platoon as a starter. The A's could actually use platooning to turn their offense into one that is more potent than meets the eye.

This is because Eric Chavez and Ryan Sweeney have historically struggled against LHP but could put up very good numbers if they mostly face RHP. In Garciaparra and Denorfia, the A's have an available Garth Iorg to Chavez' Rance Mulliniks, and an available Gary Roenicke to Sweeney's John Lowenstein, if you will (will you? please?).

Nobody expects Chavez to produce an .882 OPS this season, or for Sweeney to bat .307 while playing half his games at the Coliseum. Yet those numbers represent Chavez' career OPS, and Sweeney's 2008 batting average, when facing RHP.

What I want to present is a lineup, with projected stats that are realistic if the A's decide to platoon Chavez and Nomar at 3B, Sweeney and Denorfia in CF. Do these numbers (all projections rounded to the nearest tenth) seem reasonable when accounting for these four players enjoying a platoon advantage the vast majority of the time?

Buck - RF (.260/.350/.450, 15 HR, 15 SB)
Cust - DH (.240/.360/.500, 32 HR)
Holliday - LF (.300/.400/.500, 26 HR, 18 SB)
Giambi - 1B (.240/.360/.460, 25 HR)
Chavez/Nomar - 3B (.270/.350/.450, 20 HR)
Suzuki - C (.260/.340/.370, 12 HR)
Sweeney/Denorfia - CF (.300/.360/.370, 10 HR)
Ellis - 2B (.250/.330/.380, 12 HR)
Cabrera - SS (.270/.320/.360, 3 HR, 20 SB)

And it's a pretty solid defensive team overall. Not bad?

1 Is Enough: A's Blank Indians 1-0 For First Win

Nico — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:22:17 -0000

Last season, 1/4 of the time the A's impotent offense managed one run or none at all, prompting Billy Beane to go out and improve Oakland's lineup so that young pitchers - guys like Dallas Braden and Trevor Cahill, for example, would have a margin for error as they got their feet wet in the big leagues.

The A's managed only three hits today, none until the 7th inning, but parlayed back-to-back leadoff doubles, by Ryan Sweeney and Chris Denorfia, into the game's only run. Meanwhile, Braden was 6 up 6 down perfect, as was Cahill, who did not allow a ball out of the infield (4 ground balls, 2 Ks). Tyson Ross worked a perfect 9th to save what turned out to be a combined 3-hit shutout by a bevy of young pitchers: Braden, Cahill, Jeff Gray, Andrew Bailey, Chris Schroeder, Jared Lansford, and Ross.

Oakland pitchers walked only one batter all game, issued by Bailey in the 6th inning when a bloop single and infield hit combined with the walk to load the bases with two out. Bailey ran the count full to Kelly Shoppach but fanned Shoppach to turn back the Indians' biggest threat by far.

They say that early in the Cactus League, the pitchers are generally ahead of the hitters, and today hardly offered a compelling rebuttal.

Time to Get Your A's...or Not

Tyler Bleszinski — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:13:32 -0000

Yes, folks, it's that time of year again. Time for me to hand out my half year grades for our Oakland Athletics. I'm going to do it a little differently this year. In past seasons, I'd give it out to individuals, but I'm going to give it to the different portions of the team. I'm going to break it out into starting pitching, relief pitching, offense, managing and front office. I'll give my grade and my thinking as to why that grade applies and then standouts and disappointments.

As always, this is not scientific by any means. Much of it has to do with the expectations that I had for that aspect of the A's I mentioned.

Starting pitching - A: The A's started the season with a lot of question marks in their rotation. I honestly thought that the rotation would include Lenny DiNardo and Kirk Saarloos right about now. I figured Harden and Duchscherer would not have lasted and the emergency plan of DiNardo and Saarloos would be in full motion while we were waiting for Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill to make it to the pros. Granted, both have missed time with injuries in the first half, but they've also pitched a lot more than I thought they were. As a matter of fact, the A's starting pitching team ERA is 3.48, the best in the entire majors. The starting pitching has been absolutely, positively stellar and probably the biggest reason the A's are still within shouting distance of the division-leading Angels. They've also been able to do it with two rookies in Greg Smith and Dana Eveland. It'll be interesting to see how those two guys hold up over the second half. The irony of all this is that the pitcher who the A's tagged with the "ace" tag before the season started happens to be their worst starter statistically right now.

Starting pitching standouts: Rich Harden, Justin Duchscherer, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith

Starting pitching disappointments: Joe Blanton

Relief pitching - A- : If the major reason the A's have been winning is their starters, the relief pitching is the minor reason. The A's have the sixth best ERA out of their relievers in all of baseball. They've also done it with a cast of largely no names and folks that people didn't expect to be as good as they have been. Santiago Casilla had a Dennis Eckersley-like start to his year. Andrew Brown was fantastic. Joey Devine was spectacular. Brad Ziegler came from Sacramento to become integral. The known quantities like Embree, Foulke and Street suddenly seemed to be the ones that made me more nervous than the less proven guys. Still, the pen has been relatively solid. Huston Street hasn't been as good as I'd like but I do suspect that he's been pitching through various injuries this year.

Relief pitching standouts: Joey Devine, Brad Ziegler, Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla, Chad Gaudin (he also could've made the starting pitcher portion too), Keith Foulke (yes, he's been good even though he scares me to death at times),

Relief pitching disappointments: Huston Street

Offense - D+ : The A's have the 25th best batting average in all of baseball. A team that prides itself on having patience at the plate is 16th in all of baseball in on-base percentage. And let's not talk about power. The team is 26th in all of baseball in slugging percentage. Not surprisingly, the team is 10th in the AL in runs scored. If this team had just average hitting and the starting pitching continues to prove its might, the A's could truly be a contending team this year. Now I suspected we'd have this issue, especially with a lot of very young guys getting their first true extended major league experience. Carlos Gonzalez, Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki and Travis Buck were all likely going to be a foundation of the A's offense. I expected them to have ups and downs, but for Barton and Buck, it's mostly been downs. Jack Hannahan was getting his first extended experience. Jack Cust really only had last season in the pros. So a lot of the offense was built on wild cards. One major known entity was Frank Thomas who the A's picked up for a piece of Hubba Bubba and a used Hyundai when the Blue Jays dumped him. Not surprisingly, the Blue Jays are one of the teams who has scored fewer runs than the A's in the AL. Still, I suspected the A's hitting was going to be mediocre, but it's been downright bad at points. There are a few guys who've been right about where I expected them to be, such as Mark Ellis and even Bobby Crosby (although he has been a bit better than I expected).

Offensive standouts: Kurt Suzuki, Ryan Sweeney, Jack Cust (he does have an .823 OPS even if his BA isn't impressive), Frank Thomas

Offensive disappointments: Travis Buck (possibly my personal biggest disappointment), Daric Barton (yeah he's really young, but he raised hopes of something special at the end of the year last year), Emil Brown (I expected him to at least hit left-handed pitching), Chris Denorfia (I thought he was going to be the regular guy in center field)

Managing - B : I still hadn't made up my mind about Geren before this season started. He hasn't done anything patently stupid and he's more flexible with his lineup card than Macha could've ever dreamed of being. The problem is that when he's filling out that lineup card, he's often dealing with many of his best hitters not being there. Ryan Sweeney has been arguably the A's best hitter this year and yet, he's been in and out of the lineup due to injury issues. Mike Sweeney was hitting well and now he has injured knees. Frank Thomas was getting in a groove and then he went down. Eric Chavez has just recently become a regular in the A's lineup and he doesn't look 100 percent yet. Still the starting pitching has made Geren look good. He's made smart decisions for the most part with the bullpen. Although I would really like to see him start to trust some of the younger guys a little more. Foulke always looks like he's about to give up a bomb. And Embree is always all about the heat, it's just a matter of whether someone gets geared up enough for it. One thing that I'm sure is a popular topic of discussion these days among the A's front office and Geren is what to do about Joe Blanton. After yesterday's performance, I really think the A's have to think about replacing him as a starter, at least temporarily, with Chad Gaudin. Still, given what the A's have had to deal with this year in terms of the injection of youth, unexpectedly bad struggles of guys like Buck and Barton, the myriad of injuries in the bullpen and to key offensive pieces, Geren has done a nice job of keeping a team that wasn't expected to compete in the running. Much of that has to do with the starting pitching, mind you, but Geren has also done a pretty damn good job of handling the bullpen.

Front office - A- : I know a lot of folks are going to automatically charge me with just giving Beane some undeserved praise here, but I honestly think that this could be the best job Beane has done in his time with the A's. Yes, the team is still offensively deficient. But it also has the best starting pitching in baseball right now and that's WITH the "ace" being the worst statistically on staff. Danny Haren was awesome. No one can dispute that. But the A's have three significant chips already contributing at the major league level. They also have a ton of talent in their minor league system now. I'm not sure there are too many other front office groups in baseball who could simultaneously rebuild a farm system while keeping the major league team competitive for a division crown. The biggest thing Beane has done is to build a team with depth. So when an Eric Chavez can't play for months at a time, Jack Hannahan is waiting to take over. Earlier in the season when Barton was struggling at first, Mike Sweeney saw some time there. Greg Smith stepped into the rotation when Harden and Duchscherer went down. Gaudin would probably be a top three starter for most rotations. Yet he's sixth on the A's depth chart. Brad Ziegler is there when the A's have bullpen issues. Beane is nothing if not adaptive. Yes, Emil Brown is seeming like a mistake right now, but he also had a ton of key RBIs at the beginning of the season when seemingly no one was batting in runs. And Beane deserves a ton of credit for getting Frank Thomas for nothing. Is the offense still a gong show? Yes. But Beane has done enough to cover up for the shortcomings by building the best rotation in baseball and a very steady bullpen to back it up.

Overall - A- : Honestly I wrestled with this one for a while. I wavered between a B, B+, A- and an A. But ultimately for me it came down to expectations. I did not expect this team to be here halfway through the season. I expected them to be in a distant third or even last place in the division. But the starting pitching has kept this team afloat and right in the thick of the AL West despite low to no expectations from most folks. And my expectations were pretty low heading into 2008. I thought I'd just enjoy watching some young kids come into their own. Instead the team has fought and scrapped its way into second place in the division.

So there you have it. My first half grades for our Oakland Athletics in 2008. What grades would you give and why? Who has been a disppointment so far and who has been a standout?

Better yet, give me some predictions for the second half of 2008. Will the A's hang with the Angels or will they fade? Will Harden and/or Duchscherer be sent to a contender for a truckload of quality prospects? And maybe you even want to throw in the win total for 2008. If I had to guess, I think the A's wind up around 86 wins and I do think either Harden or Duke will be dealt.