SB Nation - Dewayne Wise

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:16:37 -0000

If you only read roughly a dozen blog posts about the Brewers today, make sure one of them is Miller Park Drunk's argument that the pitching staff wasn't as bad as you think, and Dave Bush might have been the key to the season.

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Some things to read while reconsidering your tuna melt strategies.

The Journal-Sentinel released their final grades for 2009's team and individual performances over the weekend, and as Miller Park Drunk predicted, they're a joke. Seth McClung also responded to his grade.

I'm not going to bother responding to any of the respective grades, because it's not worth the time. Instead, I'll point you to Wezen-ball's grades, which are both funnier and every bit as relevant.

Meanwhile, the Brewers could be close to announcing a deal with a new pitching coach, as Rick Peterson confirmed interest in the job over the weekend. (FanShot) He's been out of coaching for a year while he's worked with Dr. James Andrews, Al Leiter and Tom Glavine to develop a company devoted to assessing the biomechanics of little leaguers to prevent injury. This quote says volumes about what he might be looking to do in Milwaukee:

"I'm looking for a home that embraces this philosophy and wants to implement it throughout the organization," Peterson said.

Maybe I'm wrong and that's exactly what needs to be done. Certainly, if anyone is qualified to evaluate and adjust the mechanics of young pitchers, it's probably Peterson. With that said, the Brewers have a somewhat shaky track record of "adjusting" pitcher deliveries that ends with the opposite of the desired result: ineffectiveness and injury. So, Peterson's quote raised a red flag for me.

By the way, pitching is what doomed the 2009 Brewers, but Miller Park Drunk makes the argument that it wasn't the foregone conclusion that many argue it was.

Mark Attanasio issued an open letter to the fans over the weekend, reviewing the high points of 2009 and promising not to settle for the status quo in 2010. Regardless of how you feel about the 2009 Brewers and the effort that went into putting them together, I think this reminder of how far the Brewers have come is very important:

Only a few years ago, achieving a .500 record would have been acceptable, but posting 80 wins this year satisfied neither you nor the organization. This higher standard demonstrates how far we have come in raising our expectations and how much our performance has improved.

Casa de Machado has an open letter of their own regarding possible responses if the Brewers decide to trade Ryan Braun.

In the minors and winter leagues:

The list won't be available online until Wednesday, but Tom H. is reporting that Alcides Escobar will be sixth in Baseball America's rankings of the top 20 prospects in the Pacific Coast League this season. Mat Gamel will be 13th and Angel Salome will be 18th.
If you didn't stop by over the weekend, you might have missed my post sorting Brewer minor leaguers by position and MLE.
The Venezuelan Winter League opened play on Friday, and while MLB.com's stats page is still displaying last year's stats and the scoreboards also don't appear to work, I do have some box scores from yesterday. Adam Heether went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in Caracas' 8-6 win over Aragua, and Hernan Iribarren batted leadoff and went 1-for-5 with a run scored in Lara's 7-5 loss to Magallanes. Iribarren also hit a home run over the weekend.

The Arizona Fall League opens this week, and I'm hoping there will be better stat tracking systems in place by then.

There's a strange symmetry in lumping a power ranking together with a tournament to determine who sucks the most:

Beyond the Box Score ranked the Brewers 21st in their final power rankings.
Brew City Sports has moved on to the second round in their tournament to determine 2009's worst Brewer.

Around baseball:

D-Backs: Acquired Tony Abreu from the Dodgers as the PTBNL in the Jon Garland trade, and designated pitcher Bobby Korecky for assignment.
Marlins: Released pitchers Scott Proctor and Dave Davidson.
White Sox: Outfielder Dewayne Wise declined an outright assignment to AAA and is now a free agent.

A quick side note on the Abreu deal mentioned above: The Dodgers and D-Backs have had an agreement regarding Abreu for some time now, but the deal had to wait until this weekend because of a grievance Abreu had filed against the Dodgers regarding some service time lost while on the DL in 2007. If/when the Brewers decide to deal J.J. Hardy this offseason, they could run into a similar problem.

Apparently all managerial searches this offseason must include at least one bad candidate. Last week I mentioned that Ned Yost was being reported as a candidate in both Cleveland and Houston, and this week we have news that Bob Brenly might be a candidate in Washington.

Speaking of Houston, they're once again going to use an open interview process to select their next manager. This seems like a great PR move and I don't know why more teams don't do it this way.

Thanks to Beyond the Box Score for directing my attention to both of the following links:

The Biz of Baseball has an in-depth look at the financial windfall involved in making the playoffs, both short and long term.
3-D Baseball has an exhaustive look at FIP, and its uses and misuses.

The Twins and Cardinals have both been sent home from the postseason, but at least we still know they have a great personality.

On this day in 1982, Paul Molitor set a new World Series record by picking up five hits in Game 1 as the Brewers beat the Cardinals 10-0.

Happy birthday today to Casey McGehee, who turns 27, Jose Valentin, who turns 40, and Garth Iorg, the roving instructor who briefly served as the third base coach of the 2008 Brewers, who turns 55.

Oh, and maybe it's worked in the past, but when you're trying to fend off elimination, starting off the day with 12 strips of bacon and a Red Bull seems like a bad idea.

Drink up.

Introducing Your September White Sox Call-Ups

The Cheat — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:34:14 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Remember me?

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This post was written by larry, but apparently he broke the site. I'm leaving his post below so the tech guys can figure out what went wrong, and reposting it again so you can comment and such.

Or, in most cases, re-introducing.

Tyler Flowers: The White Sox' top prospect receives a deserving call-up to serve as the 3rd catcher. One suspects, however, that he will see a bit more playing time than his predecessor ceremonial 3rd catchers have in the past. Jim Thome's departure may mean he will also see significant time at DH, although the team still has a logjam of hitters vying for plate appearances. Flowers is a hitter in the three true outcomes vein. His blended line between Birmingham and Charlotte was .297/.423/.516. I expect him to struggle initially with major league pitching but his addition certainly adds a bit of excitement to what will undoubtedly be a rather mundane run-in for the club. This stint should allow him to get familiar with many of the pitchers he'll be handling regularly, presumably beginning sometime next season.

Chris Getz: Chris has shown himself this season to be a fragile little egg. His absences have permitted Jayson Nix to solidify himself and you can probably expect a lefty-righty platoon next season at 2B. That certainly works to hide Nix' major shortcoming - an utter inability to hit right-handed pitching - and also may help to keep Getz healthy. Getz' .267/.325/.367 has been about as advertised although his glove has disappointed me so far.

Dewayne Wise: He stinks at most aspects of major league baseball. He does play good defense and he has some utility as a baserunner. However, he should not face live pitching. This year, he's batting .200/.240/.348. In other words, essentially his career line. Here's hoping this will be the last we see of him.

Carlos Torres: He relies on hitters being undisciplined at the plate. Unfortunately, most major leaguers are better than that. His future is probably in the bullpen and that's where I'd expect him next season. This month, however, he will pick up starts, particularly if Peavy does not return or return quickly.

Josh Fields: Well, unlike his boy BA, Fields didn't get the trade he requested. That's what happens when you are essentially an AAAA slugger without a defensive position. While he's not arbitration eligible next season, he will be without options. He also was not on the original list of September 1 call-ups but the Thome trade made another bat necessary. All of that adds up to us probably watching the end of Fields as a member of the organization.

Further call-ups will probably be arriving over the next week as the minor league season winds-down and I'll cover those as they happen. Considering the White Sox are in a cost-saving mode, however, not paying the approximately $66,000 major league salary each call-up will make over the rest of the season may serve to limit the total number of call-ups compared to prior years - not to mention the generally uninspiring nature of the remaining candidates. And, since I know this will come up, as I've said before, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to add Daniel Hudson to the 40 man roster and, therefore, compel the club to use an option on him in 2010 when there's no urgency to do so. Of course, the White Sox rarely take my unsolicited advice. At any rate, he'll certainly be making two final starts in AAA before any decision is made. [Oops]

This Week in White Sox Minor League Baseball

larry — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:42:18 -0000

Cole Armstrong asks his manager whether he'll be the ceremonial third catcher next month. (via Sox Machine)

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This week:

Daniel Hudson looks like he won't be making the majors this season, which is the correct move. He certainly does not look out of place in AAA, though: 4 GS, 21 IP, 21 H, 8 BB, 19 K. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more meteoric single season rise, particularly from a non-highly-touted prospect.
Rosters for the Arizona Fall League were announced. This year, White Sox prospects will be playing for the Peoria Javelinas. The pitchers are uninspiring - Henry Mabee, Jacob Rasner, Justin Cassel and Johnnie Lowe. The position players, however, include two of the system's best, Dayan Viciedo and Jordan Danks, and Hawk's (and larry's) favorite C.J. Retherford. The AFL begins play on October 13.
Danks returned to game action this week and went 5-20 with 5 BB. In addition to the K rate concerns which never left, the concerns about his power have returned. .249/.347/.358 for Birmingham.
Kannapolis roundup: Jared Mitchell: .296/.417/.435; Jon Gilmore: .270/.314/.343 (and finally hitting this month); Josh Phegley: .222/.278/.432; Nevin Griffith: 54.2 IP, 62 H, 23 BB, 29 K; Dan Remenowsky: 57.1 IP, 35 H, 13 BB, 100 K; Charlie Leesman: 149 IP, 150 H, 57 BB, 111 K; Stephen Sauer: 129 IP, 153 H, 19 BB, 112 K, 2.77 GO/AO.
On September 1, major league active rosters can expand to any player on the 40-man roster. While this usually brings to mind teams calling up prospects to make debuts, for the White Sox, the most prominent players will be guys coming off the disabled list: Chris Getz, Dewayne Wise and, most notably, Jake Peavy. Because the minor league season does not end on September 1, players will trickle in over the next week or so. However, a few others who may make an immediate appearance upon eligibility are Josh Fields, Wes Whisler (Ozzie can't have enough lefties), Carlos Torres and Cole Armstrong.
The Charlotte Rehabilitation Group last week: Getz 0-7, BB; Wise 5-10, 2B, 3B, BB; Peavy 5 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K. Peavy gets the start tonight in what will likely be his final rehab appearance.
Viciedo: .278/.313/.383. He's cooled off significantly after a very good July.
Winston-Salem reliever Nathan Jones received some favorable press this week. Jones has always had nice stuff (especially his mid-90s fastball) but - you guessed it - control was a problem. This season, though, he's limited the walks while keeping the strikeout rate high, which is the surest way to be successful. Jones is still a reliever in A ball so there's a long way to go but the progress he's made this season makes him one to watch.
Playoff Update: Kannapolis have a 5 game lead with 10 games remaining and look certain to join Birmingham, Winston-Salem and Great Falls as a playoff team.
Tyler Flowers: .277/.360/.426 for the Knights; full season blended line of .295/.422/.513.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:32:35 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Ken Macha talks with Willie Randolph during a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday. If the Brewers don't improve soon, Macha and Randolph may have something else in common.

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Some things to read while your arteries are clogging.

So, the Brewers have lost back to back games to the Pirates, who were 4-18 since taking two of three from the Brewers in their last meeting. The Grand National Championship says the Brewers are done and should look to sell off spare parts. Casa de Machado has a similar sentiment with significantly more NSFW language.

The Brewers allowed two more home runs last night to raise their NL leading total to 161, 17 more than the second place Reds. They're now on pace to allow 219 on the season, up from 175 a year ago. The Reds (201) were the only NL team to allow more than 200 last season. Ken Macha called the situation out of control.

So, it seems logical that the Brewers are still looking for answers to their pitching woes. Perhaps one of the answers will come from Dave Bush, who pitched three hitless innings last night on 37 pitches in front of a sold out crowd in Appleton. Cody Scarpetta relieved him and pitched six more shutout innings as the Rattlers beat Beloit, 1-0. Bush is expected to make one more rehab start in Huntsville before returning to the big leagues.

By then, the Brewers may also have worked out a trade. Doug Melvin says he's working on a deal involving Bill Hall, who needs to be traded or released by Friday. (Also noted in FanShot.) The Reds are rumored to be interested in Hall, and looking to deal one of two bad contracts they're stuck with: Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo. Scott Jensen of Dugout Central thinks a Hall-for-Arroyo swap makes sense for the Brewers, but Brewers Daily would rather have Harang.

Prince Fielder has a second post up on his blog with thoughts on roster moves, Alcides Escobar and Usain Bolt.

Brewer Paradise Lost is looking ahead to the center field situation in 2010. He doesn't expect the Brewers to offer arbitration to Mike Cameron, and thinks they should try a Jody Gerut/Jason Bourgeois platoon in center. I think the Brewers will offer Cam arbitration, but he'll likely reject it and head off to seek a multi-year deal in free agency. If that happens, the Brewers could do much worse than this platoon.

In the minors:

The Brewers promoted Brett Lawrie to Huntsville yesterday (FanShot), skipping over High-A entirely with last year's #1 pick. Doug Melvin told Tom H. that he expects Lawrie to DH in AA for ten days before leaving to play for Canada in the Baseball World Cup.
Jim Callis of Baseball America had some high praise for the Brewers' 2009 draft in his most recent chat, and especially seems to like Max Walla, Brooks Hall and 15th and 16th round picks Del Howell and Scooter Gennett. (FanShot)
For whatever it's worth, two Brewer draft picks (OF Scott Krieger and P Mike Fiers) appeared in John Sickels' shadow draft for the Twins.
The Brewers spent just over $6 million signing their 13 picks in the first ten rounds. That's the sixth highest total in baseball, but would rank much lower if the rankings were calculated by dollars per player.

At least this 2009 slide could net the Brewers a better player next June: Andy Seiler has updated his projected 2010 draft order, and has the Brewers picking 14th.

Could this slide cost Ken Macha his job? Ken Rosenthal lists Macha among 15 managers whose contracts expire by the end of the 2010 season, and notes that Mark Attanasio may not be patient with him.

On power rankings and playoff odds:

Inside the Majors moved the Brewers up one spot to 17th.
CoolStandings gives the Brewers a 1.3% shot at the playoffs.

Around baseball:

Astros: Placed Mike Hampton on the DL with a shoulder issue.
Cardinals: Are expected to sign John Smoltz when he becomes a free agent today.
Dodgers: Are expected to place Hiroki Kuroda on the DL with a concussion.
Rangers: Acquired Ivan Rodriguez from the Astros for two minor leaguers (three if the Rangers make the playoffs), and placed infielder Esteban German on the DL with a groin strain.
White Sox: Placed DeWayne Wise on the DL with a shoulder strain.

Felipe Lopez has been pretty good as a Brewer, but how much will the Crew miss Cole Gillespie? AZ Snakepit reports that the former Brewer farmhand is hitting .325/.448/.542 for AAA Reno, and could compete for a job with the D-Backs next spring.

A lot of money was handed out this week to draftees, but a fair amount is going overseas as well: The Twins signed German 16-year-old Max Kepler Rozycki this week, and his $800,000 bonus was the largest ever given to an amateur player outside of the US and Latin America.

On this day in 1985, Danny Darwin pitched a complete game one-hitter as the Brewers beat the Twins 4-1. And on this day in 1987, Rob Deer hit the first of his two grand slams in two days as the Brewers beat the Indians 13-2. Paul Molitor also picked up four hits in the game to extend his streak to 34 games.

Happy birthday today to J.J. Hardy, who turns 27, Chris Capuano, who turns 31, Ned Yost, who turns 54, and Paul Mitchell, who pitched in 35 games for the Brewers in 1979 and 1980 and turns 60.

Oh, and I know we've all spent a day inundated with news updates about a Wisconsin sports icon getting ready to return, but take a deep breath, everyone: Gorman Thomas isn't going to play for the Cubs.

Drink up.

White Sox and Leadoff or "Why Podsednik Seems So Good"

shaftr — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:19:05 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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Finding a leadoff man is difficult. It's not a position, but it is a spot in the lineup that requires a certain set of skills. The ability to get on base and run are the two most important skills of a leadoff man. The 2009 Chicago White Sox have had an interesting group of guys try their hand at lead off.

Dewayne Wise

Origins: Before he was the man behind preserving a perfect game, Wise was the Opening Day leadoff hitter for the White Sox. That experiment lasted two games. Coming in to the season Wise was a 31 year old journeyman outfielder who played pretty well late last year for the White Sox. He didn't exactly earn the lead off position, but as you will see, there weren't that many other options.

Stats: .193 BA .235 OBP .312 SLUG 40 OPS+

Currently: Defensive replacement for White Sox.

Chris Getz

Origins: Getz won the starting 2nd baseman job out of Spring Training. He profiled as a light hitting 2nd baseman with a good eye. He primarily hit lead off for Chicago during April & May, but eventually was replaced by Scott Podsednik.

Stats: .266 BA .323 OBP .369 SLUG 79 OPS+

Currently:He lost his spot on top of the lineup, but has continued starting at 2nd as a Rookie.

Brent Lillibridge

Origins: Lillibridge joined the White Sox as part of the Javier Vazquez trade to Atlanta. He is a former top prospect that hasn't panned out due to his lack of hitting ability.

Stats: .162 BA .260 OBP .191 SLUG 20 OPS+

Currently: He was just called up to Chicago after Alexei Ramirez was hurt and the Peavy trade opened up a Roster spot. I don't believe he left the airport, since he was sent right back down before appearing in a game.

Jerry Owens

Origins: Jerry Owens was a former football player who has one skill: speed. The problem is you can't steal first base and he wasn't able to find other ways to get to first. He only lead off once.

Stats: .083 BA .267 OBP .083 SLUG -3 OPS+

Currently: He was out of Options so after being sent down, he was claimed by the Mariners. He is currently stealing bases in AAA.

Brian Anderson

Origins: Anderson is a former top prospect who has never lived up to his potential. He wasn't able to win the job in Spring Training over Dewayne Wise and wasn't able to produce after Wise lost the job in the regular season. He only hit lead off once, the game after the Owens attempt.

Stats: .238 BA .322 OBP .319 SLUG 67 OPS+

Currently: He is playing in the Boston Red Sox Organization on their AAA affiliate. He asked to be traded after he was sent down, so the White Sox traded him for Mark Kotsay.

Jayson Nix

Origins: The White Sox signed Nix in the Offseason. He was previously a former first round draft pick for Colorado. He's only lead off 5 times, in various spot starts during the season. He was in a competition with Getz for 2nd during Spring Training, but now he is a super-sub.

Stats: .225 BA .294 OBP .442 SLUG 87 OPS+

Currently: He is playing in the Infield during off days for the starters and has been a nice bench player. He has brought a solid glove and some good pop to the White Sox.

Scott Podsednik

Origins: A former World Series hero for the White Sox, Podsednik wasn't with an organization when the Season started. After trying out the above, Chicago signed him and he eventually became their leadoff man.

Stats: .298 BA .354 OBP .387 SLUG 92 OPS+

Currently: He continues to be productive in the leadoff spot for Chicago. He can still get infield hits, but he is a liability in the field.

Mark Kotsay

Origins: Former solid regular for the Oakland As, Kotsay bounced around to Atlanta and Boston. He started the season as a reserve for Boston but was demoted. He was acquired by Chicago for Brian Anderson.

Stats: .221 BA .253 OBP .279 SLUG 36 OPS+

Currently: He was just acquired but has started leadoff one time already. He'll likely be a bat off the bench and even though he doesn't have a hit for the White Sox yet, he has been making good contact.

That is quite a group of players listed above. If you gave me that list before the season started, I would have assumed Chicago was at the bottom of the AL Central. Podsednik's 92 OPS+ isn't amazing, but it is a lot better than any of the above could provide. It's also surprising of all the players listed above, it was a washed out veteran off the street that would be the most productive. If Chicago makes the playoffs this year, Podsednik might be more of a hero then he was in 2005.

This is a repost from rmlumley.com. Follow shaftr on Twitter @rmlumley.

Yankee fortitude no match for Wise's penchant for heroics, in 3-2 loss

CrazyYankeeChick — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:29:04 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

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First, my sincerest apologies for delay. My to-do lists and OCD compulsions are rendered useless against that whole "circumstances beyond our control" phenomenon.

That said, I wasn't the only one who had to weather this denouement principle last night, as New York's characteristic late-inning valor was bested by the DeWayne Wise's nonpareil timed heroics. In their first game of the season against the White Sox, Rain Delay #9,027 perhaps set the tone for this dampening game, and after we finally got underway a little over an hour after the scheduled start, the Yankees looked like a claymation film. Stilted, awkward, devoid of agility, and essentially warped versions of their spirits.

It's hard to say how this game was won. Or lost. On the surface, neither team was outplaying the other, and an early RBI from Gordon Beckham in the third put the only run on the board until Johnny Damon tied it in the sixth with a laser to right that brought in Jose Molina.

Andy Pettitte and Gavin Floyd went pound for pound on this one, and once again, both pitchers handed in outstanding performances that were ultimately eclipsed. For Andy, his 8K game was wasted, as his games are want to do, and for Gavin, his 10K-er was just the opening act for someone else's day in the sun.

For about 20 minutes, Nick Swisher usurped this status. His 2-out 9th inning solo off Matt Thornton tied the game, and it looked as though Floyd's day would be the one exiled to irrelevancy, especially with Chicago's lineup having to fare in the bottom of the 9th against the invincible Phil Hughes.

It seemed like everything was strictly adhering to the requisite game elements for both teams. Rain delay, check. Yankee procrastination homerun to make things exciting, check. White Sox post-perfecto struggles, check. Hughes reliably slicing through the inning...

Didn't happen. Instead, New York fans were abruptly yanked out of their confident delirium when Wise wrecked Hughes' 16 game scoreless streak, with a single to center that brought in Scott Podsednik.

Didn't see that one coming. It was like seeing a ridiculous home-run robbing catch that almost guaranteed a momentum upswing in your favor, and then seeing your most trusted reliable go-to guy fail to get it done when the inning turned. (Cough...2007 NLCS...cough.)

As broached in the game thread, the seeming inevitability of a wasted outing from these pitchers came into the picture last night, when Andy once again couldn't taste a W. And yet despite its predictability, the Yanks never saw it coming. Sloppy fielding errors from Pettitte and Robinson Cano slowed things down a bit, but the game really can be encapsulated in Floyd's most potent weapon against the order:

A late-breaking curve ball.

Perfect Game Applesauce - Ramon Castro catches perfection, Reyes coming back, Maine probably isn't, robot baseball players

Joe Budd — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:40:38 -0000

Add yet another story to the New York Met near perfect game/no hitter lore. I've come to accept it as a law of nature that the New York Mets will be shut out in this department. It's only frustrating if you allow yourself to think that something is actually possible.

Meet the Mets

Of course, the big news in MLB is Mark Buehrle's perfect game and Dewayne Wise's amazing 9th inning catch. So, let's try and find something Met related in the news. Well, that's easy. Buehrle was throwing to former Met Ramon Castro. To make you feel better, Castro is hitting .156 as a White Sock. We all know how many Met pitchers have thrown no-hitters/perfect games in other uniforms, but Metswalkoffs has compiled a list of Met catchers who have participated in these feats. Remember when there was talk about landing Buehrle?

Jose Reyes is drinking the Omar Minaya-we-can-still-compete Kool-Aid and insists on rushing back. John Maine, on the other hand, is visiting Dr. Andrews and might miss the rest of the year.

Toby Hyde gets some face time on SNY and talks about Brad Holt. Some pitching video as well there. Holt gave up 5 runs in 6 innings in last night's Binghamton victory over Connecticut. Metsmerized begs Omar to keep Holt.

Daniel Murphy means business worst OPS for a first baseman in a while.

Around the NL East

The Nats showed that they really are bad again, losing to the Cardinals 4-1 in a rain-shortened game.

The Giants knock off the sloppy Braves, 5-1.

Brave pitcher Tim Hudson's progress took a step back after a bad rehab start.

Kelly Johnson has been recalled to Atlanta.

The Phillies got right back to their winning ways after having their 10 game winning streak snapped.

Around MLB

Former MLB pitcher Jim Parque has a great steroid confession article in the Sun-Times. This is one of the best counters to the normal media sanctimony I've seen yet.

The Carlos Voltron story might not be too far from the truth.

Brian Bannister for KC GM!

Beyond the Box Score takes a look at the Alou family dynasty.

Finally, Mad Dog Radio is looking for a sports talk radio host.

Phillies Breakfast Links, July 24, 2009: Mark Buehrle's Perfect Game, The Pursuit of Roy Halladay, Trusting Amaro

WholeCamels — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:14:39 -0000

Phillies continue hot pursuit of Halladay

Todd Zolecki speaks, you listen. This Roy Halladay affair is taking about a dozen years off my life.

Teams step up pursuit of Roy Halladay, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee - Jon Heyman

The Jays are said to be aiming for a package that includes one of two top young pitchers, Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ, plus one of two top outfielders, either Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown, plus a couple other highly regarded prospects. Shortstop Jason Donald and pitcher Carlos Carrasco are among other young prospects who are believed to have been discussed.

If they can get this done with Happ, Taylor, Donald, and Carrasco, I'd be very happy.

Phillies' Rollins and pals create major memories for kids

Jimmy Rollins, along with Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, and Milt Thompson, hold a clinic for kids at FDR Park.

crashburnalley.com - Why I Have Faith in Amaro

One blogger's look back at the Phillies recent trades.

The Complex 7: Jimmy Rollins | Complex Blog

#6: IF YOU HAD A WEEK HOLIDAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Jimmy Rollins says: I’ll probably go to the Caribbean somewhere. Jump on some jet skis, play some golf, make sure I line up some nice dinners, and have a couple Caribbean drinks…If I could go diving or swimming with some dolphins that’ll be cool. I’m a nature man myself.

Nature man? Dolphins?

Sam Donnellon: With Phillies, baseball sure is a hard game to figure
The Phillies have benefited from the ineptitude of their rivals, but they've played pretty good baseball regardless.

Bill Conlin: In baseball, I'll take a five-tooler over a Cy Young Award winner

As great as Roy Halladay may be, the righthander of our affection comes to work only 34 games a year. And with an inferior cast behind him, a Cy Young-caliber ace can lead the league in most of the major categories and still lose more games than he wins. Which is what happened to 16-game loser Nolan Ryan the season the closer for a fourth-place team won the Cy Young Award.

Not. mutually. exclusive.

Paul Hagen: Hall-or-nothing idea for Steroid Era stars
Again, this whole "sanctity of the Hall of Fame" thing really kills me. Just stop it.

PERFECT!
Mark Buehrle ought to buy DeWayne Wise a very expensive car.

The Fightins - The Phillies Clubhouse Reacts To Mark Buehrle’s Perfect Game
I think I loved John Mayberry, Jr.'s reaction the best. h/t The Fightins for the clip.

Perfecto (via TheFightins)

Buehrle = Perfect

0157H7 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:09:35 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

3 months ago: Chicago White Sox's Mark Buehrle reacts after tossing a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball game, Thursday, July 23, 2009, in Chicago. The White Sox won 5-0. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

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Other Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game today, marking the 18th time in over a century of professional baseball that this feat has occurred. Buehrle benefited from superb defense, especially a catch by Dewayne Wise that robbed old friend Gabe Kapler of a home run. Best of all, the ChiSox opponent was the Tampa Bay Rays, #1 threat to the Red Sox's Wild Card spot.

Two years ago Buehrle was a talked-about trade target for Boston at the midseason deadline. Of course it never happened, and we all know how that season ended up. It would have been cool if Buehrle had pitched his perfect game in a Red Sox uniform. Unfortunately, knowing our porous defense, it probably would've been a 10-run rout for Tampa.

White Sox Acquire RP Tony Pena from Diamondbacks

Jack Moore — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:59:35 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

5 months ago: Arizona Diamondbacks' Tony Pena, of the Dominican Republic, throws against the Atlanta Braves in the 11th inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 30, 2009, in Phoenix. Pena pitched two scoreless innings and the Diamondbacks defeated the Braves 3-2 in 11 innings. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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On Tuesday night, the White Sox and Diamondbacks agreed to swap Arizona RP Tony Pena for Chicago White Sox 1B prospect Brandon Allen. The Diamondbacks, at 35-49 and a .04% chance to make the playoffs (as of Tuesday), are firmly entrenched as sellers in this year's trade market. This deal seems to show that the Chicago White Sox, on the other hand, are poised to buy, at 42-40 and with roughly 30% playoff odds. Pena has had a slightly rough year by traditional standards for the D-Backs, with a 4.24 ERA in 34 innings as setup man for Chad Qualls. Still, Pena's relatively high ERA did not dissuade White Sox GM Kenny Williams from pulling the trigger on this move. Digging deeper, Pena's 2.36 K/BB and 0.79 HR/9 have resulted in a solid 3.72 FIP, between his career average of 4.01 and last year's 3.42. Pena's good pitching in high leverage innings combined with the ability to shoulder a relatively heavy load (157 IP between 2007-2008) have made Pena worth 2.2 wins since 2007 (including 2009 so far).

Pena will replace Jimmy Gobble in the White Sox bullpen. Gobble's 7.50 ERA was supported by an equally (for all intents and purposes) bad 6.87 FIP. Gobble never was a stud pitcher by any means and has always been susceptible to the home run, with no full season HR/9 below 1.00. Finally, in 2008 and 2009, the other shoe dropped, and Gobble's walk rate rose to a point at which he is no longer a major league pitcher. If Pena either keeps pitching at his current pace or hits his ZiPS projection of a 3.53 FIP, Pena figures to be a .4 to .5 win upgrade this year. Pena has still not yet entered arbitration, and will be a cheap asset for the next 3 years. Although relievers are volatile, Pena seems to be a safe bet for anywhere in the 0.5 to 1.0 WAR range, with the potential for more if he eventually moves to a closer role. As long as his contract is in the 1.5-2.5 million dollar range, Pena is a decent, albeit not great, asset to a major league club.

Brandon Allen was the 4th rated prospect by John Sickels in the White Sox minor league system entering the year, behind Gordon Beckham, Aaron Poreda, and Tyler Flowers. Both Beckham and Poreda have already seen significant time with the Major League club. Allen has struggled in a very short stint at AAA, but not much can be learned from that. In roughly 275 AA PAs this year, Allen showed decent power with a .182 ISO and good on-base ability, with a .369 OBP supported by a .083 IsoD (Isolated Discipline, OBA - BA). Allen's .332 BABIP is supported by a very good 21% LD rate. Allen's defensive value is likely to be slim. Minor League Splits TotalZone has him as a roughly average defender for his career, although his value has been higher in his most recent stints. Still, sample size on these seasons is too small to make too sweeping of a judgment, and as a first baseman, the -12.5 run positional adjustment means that Allen will have to hit and hit well to be a valuable player at the ML level. If his 12.4% AA walk rate translates to the majors, Allen's raw power could make him an everyday player for at least a few years with Arizona.

Personally, I like the trade for Arizona. With the team going nowhere this year, any loss from Pena's production will be minimal. The trade is by no means a total waste for Chicago, as Pena is team controlled and talented. Still, although Pena will certainly help the White Sox bullpen, there were and still are much more glaring areas of concern. Specifically, either a replacement at 3B so Gordon Beckham (0.3 WAR so far) can continue developing at the minor league level, or a CF to replace the black hole that is Dewayne Wise and Brian Anderson (0.2 WAR so far combined) would've been a much more prudent use of Allen's pull than a reliever.