SB Nation - Tony Pena

D.J. Carrasco: Nay

larry — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:51:50 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Goodbye, everybody.

D.J. Carrasco, arguably the White Sox' second most valuable reliever last season, is rumored to be a non-tender candidate. With a bullpen that already appears to be getting full with Bobby Jenks, Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz, Scott Linebrink, Tony Pena and a LOOGY to be named later (currently Raaaaaaaaaandy Williams), the team could decide that the $500K or so raise Carrasco is likely to seek in arbitration could be better spent elsewhere. Daniel Hudson in particular is a candidate for a multi-inning role, or perhaps a Clevelan Santeliz or Jhonny Nunez - all at half the cost. Then again, it's only $500K and, if the White Sox decide to go in a different direction in Spring Training or before, they may only owe Carrasco 30-45 days of termination pay instead of the entire contract.

What say you?

Edit: Of course, the only vote that counts is KW, and he voted 'Nay'.

Carrasco was kind enough to address the 88% of White Sox fans who wanted him to return: "One of the reasons I'm going to miss Chicago is the passion and knowledge of the White Sox fans," said Carrasco, when asked if he had heard of fans' disappointment over his departure. "It holds a special place in my heart that they wanted me back."

Poll

Offer Carrasco arbitration?

Yea

319 votes

Nay

43 votes

362 votes | Poll has closed

The 2009 Diamondbacks Season, Part IV: The Eighth-inning Retch

Jim McLennan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:22 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Jon Rauch waits for the bases to clear after giving up a a three run homer to Travis Ishikawa during the eighth on August 25 in San Francisco. Or "business as usual," as we called the eighth inning in Arizona.

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Arizona fans will have nightmares about the eighth inning for most of the winter. The team allowed 120 runs there, 15 more than the next worst frame. Two particularly savage meltdowns come to mind. On June 2nd in Los Angeles, seven stellar innings of one-run ball by Dan Haren and a 5-1 lead were undone in the space of three outs from Tony Peña and Daniel Schlereth, as the Dodgers scored five times. And then, on July 9th at Chase, the Marlins inflicted the first ten-spot on us since August 2005, sending fourteen men to the plate as the Diamondbacks blew a seven-run lead for the first time in franchise history.

While perhaps the worst incidents, those were far from the only times the eighth inning proved troublesome. On no less than eighteen occasions, Arizona's opposition scored three times or more: no team in the majors had a worse inning this year. After the jump, we'll break down the numbers, see what kind of impact it had on our W-L record, and who were the guilty men in the bullpen.

To some extent, the reputation of the eighth inning exceeds the reality. While I know it probably didn't feel that way, the vast majority of the time (in 106 games), our pitching staff posted a mundane, competent zero. And despite the high number of runs allowed, the team wasn't actually all that much worse at blowing late-inning leads than average. The graph below shows our win percentage (the lower line) when ahead at the end of an inning, compared to MLB average (the upper line).

If there's a problem here, it seems to have been our issue keeping first-inning leads, not going into the eighth. The 2009 Diamondbacks actually had a losing record there, going 16-20 when they ended the opening frame up. In comparison, MLB teams won better than two of three overall. Of course, this doesn't say, when the leads were lost. However, after shrinking then remain constant from the second through the fifth, the gap gradually narrows. In the eighth inning, we won when ahead 86.2% of the time, compared to MLB average 90.6%. That translates only to about 2.6 less victories than expected.

Looking closer, there's no denying the eighth inning sucked for our pitchers, but it didn't often cost us the lead. We were ahead 58 times going into the eighth - in 53 of those games, we still had the lead leaving it. It may have been a smaller lead, certainly, but that's still a better 'save percentage' than any other frame bar the ninth. However, when you include tied games in the equation, the balance shifts dramatically. Of the nineteen times Arizona were tied at the start of the dreaded eighth, they led after it only twice - they were still tied eight times, and were behind nine. Given our record when trailing at that point was 2-85, those deficits almost certainly became losses.

The numbers in the eighth were startling, especially when compared to the seventh: batting average increased from .254 to .295, though this may largely be explained by an increase in BABIP from a reasonable .302 to .335. Equally as responsible for the spike in opposition scoring are the 19 home-runs allowed. While far from the most given up by our pitchers (that'd be the 32 during the fourth), 47.4% of the eighth-inning blasts came with men on base - including the only grand-slam we allowed in 2009, off Clay Zavada by Angel Pagan, in Citi Field on August 1st. That compares to 38.7% of our homers overall. The same goes for hits with men in scoring position: the opposition batted .267 there overall, but in the eighth, the figure increased to .338.

So, the numbers there were a combination of factors: bad luck in BABIP, inability to keep the ball in the park, especially with runners on base, and clutch hitting by the opposition. Let's now break it down and see which of our pitchers were most often used in the eighth inning, and then take a look and see how they did. Put another way: "Hooray! I get to use another diagram!" And here it is:

Jon Rauch, Juan Gutierrez and Peña were the main workhorses, combining for 38.2% of the plate-appearances. Rauch was substantially the least effective of the trio, with an .820 OPS against, compared to .744 for Gutierrez and a very-impressive line from Vasquez, .181/ .298/.236. That's a .534 OPS, with no home-runs and three extra-base hits in 72 at-bats. At the other end of the spectrum, two whose numbers stood out in a bad way: Blaine Boyer and Scott Schoeneweis. The former was hit at a .396 clip in the eighth, but in mitigation, this was with a ..438 BABIP, and he allowed only four extra-bases and no homers. Not so Schoeneweis: his performance was 19-for-50 with four home-runs, for an OPS of 1.076.

The good news is, I am disinclined to expect a re-occurrence in 2010. To start with, there'll be no Schoeneweis, Rauch and Peña, and with regard to the eighth, the first two in particular were more problem than solution. A return of BABIP and opposition clutch towards more normal levels is also likely. However, avoiding multi-run homers and sound defensive baseball would also be helpful - not that there is anything particular different about the eighth inning, compared to any other. That said, I think I won't be alone in feeling pangs of concern until Gutierrez, Vasquez, Zavada or whoever gets to work the inning next year, shows that it's just a number between seven and nine.

I'll hold over a more general analysis of our bullpen numbers this year until next time. :-)

The 2009 Diamondbacks: what the heck happened?

Jim McLennan — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:00:17 -0000

Worst Case Scenario… Arizona battles with Colorado for third place.
-- Baseball Digest Daily Team Preview, March 15, 2009

The above is a measure of how badly things went for our team this year: the "worst case scenario" suggested, would be something for which we would now be more than happy to settle. It's comforting to realize that I am far from the only person to have seen their high expectation for the 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks mercilessly dashed. Virtually every pundit I could locate online predicted us to have a winning record - the respected Baseball Prospectus PECOTA projections had the team all the way up at 88 wins, and they weren't alone.

Other sites predicted 86 wins; 85 wins, 84 wins, 88 wins, 83 wins for Arizona, and even CHONE, the most pessimistic I could find at 79 wins, had us finishing only three games back of the Dodgers. From a more fan-based perspective, in our pre-season poll, of approaching three hundred participants, only 12% predicted the Diamondbacks would have less than eighty victories, never mind struggling to reach seventy. Not quite the same realm as the chairman of DEC saying "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home," but why were so many people - neutral observers, with no vested interests or rose-colored fandom glasses - so completely wrong? Why was there such a gulf between expectations and reality? After the jump, we'll break down some numbers - here are Josh Byrnes and AJ Hinch talking about the season that's just finished.

Audio courtesy of KTAR 620

Injuries
Let's not kid ourselves. The loss of Brandon Webb was a devastating blow to the Diamondbacks in 2009, as much because it was completely unexpected to us. After all, over the previous five season, he had never made less than 33 starts per year. To be reduced from that, at an ERA+ of 140 to a single, ineffective outing was clearly a huge factor in the team's underperformance. How much?

Let's look at Webb's record in 2005, 2006 and 2008, when the total number of runs scored by the team (696, 712 and 720) were close to this year, when it's exactly the same as 2008, at 720. In those three years, Webb's collective ERA was 3.31 - one tick above the number posted last season - and his average W/L record was 17-9, with the team going 19-14 in his starts This seems a reasonable estimate for what we "should" have got from Webb this year, assuming run support approximately matching those hundred starts, and an ERA consistent with last year.

Instead of him, there was the Quadruple-headed Beast of Webb-Replacement Suck: Bryan Augenstein, Yusmeiro Petit, Billy Buckner and Kevin Mulvey. While Buckner has, of late, looked a semi-credible back-end candidate for 2010, this has been the exception, rather than the rule. In their first 33 starts, that quartet had an ERA of 6.24, went 5-18 and the team posted a record of 9-24 - ten games worse than that we could realistically have expected from 33 Webb starts. Even using a more conservative estimate - Fangraph.com's Wins Above Replacement (WAR) - we find that Webb in 2008 was worth six wins to Arizona - the four-pack of replacements plus Webb in 2009 rated only 0.3 wins in 33 starts, 5.7 less. I'd split the difference between the two methods and say Webb's injury cost us eight wins

We should also consider the unfortunate loss of Conor Jackson to valley fever, which basically meant he had the entire season written off. No real way to measure his input except by using WAR. This tells us there's a difference of 4.5 wins between what we got from the SnakePit MVP in 2008 and his sub-replacement output for the team this season. So, between the loss of him and Webb, we're probably looking at a cost to the team around twelve games. That's a massive difference by itself, almost enough to have put the team into contention for the wild-card, and is not including anyone else - I believe Arizona's players missed a total of almost 800 player-games on the DL. But wait! There's more...

Trades
After it became apparent that this team was not going to be in the post-season hunt, several deals were made, sending useful pieces to other teams, generally in exchange for players who might help the team in 2010 or beyond. The players we lost would likely have helped the Diamondbacks to several more victories - albeit meaningless ones - had we retained their services for the rest of the season. From WAR, we can see what the ex-Diamondbacks did for their new teams - production which could have been in Arizona.

Of course, we need to balance against this, the production provided to Arizona this season, by what we received in return. The chart below shows the four main trades, with the WAR values given to their new teams after the trade, on both sides of the deal:

Left Arizona	WAR	To Arizona	WAR
Jon Garland	0.6	PTBNL	0.0
Felipe Lopez	2.6	Cole Gillespie Roque Mercedes	0.0
Tony Peña	0.5	Brandon Allen	-0.6
Jon Rauch	0.3	Kevin Mulvey	-0.1
TOTAL	4.0	TOTAL	-0.7

Ugh. I hope those trades work out better for us in the long-term than they did this season, because they provided absolutely nothing of value to the 2009 team. While it would be simple just to say that we would have approached five wins better, simply by hanging on to the players with whom we started the season, it probably isn't as simple as that, because of the positional changes. The replacement at second for Lopez was mostly Rusty Ryal, who was a credible +0.6 WAR in his time here. While still well short of F-Lo, who hit .320 for the Brewers over 66 games, it's enough to make me reduce the overall impact to four wins.

Almost as significant a weakening were the Peña and Rauch deals, not just for what they would have done in the 'pen but the negative impact of the players received in return. After the way Allen tore up AAA pitching, an OPS+ of 70 in more than thirty games was still disappointing. I think we'll be taking Reno numbers with a larger pinch of salt next season. Mulvey lacked control, issuing 14 free passes (a dozen walks and two hit batters) and five home-runs in only 23 innings. He'll need to do better than that, if he wants even to be our sixth starter next year - a spot at which, as noted above, Arizona blew chunks. We'll discuss the moves more in due course, I think; both Mulvey and Allen will only be 24 on Opening Day 2010, so that's in their favor.

"Bad luck"
Yeah, this may sound like a Cubs-esque cop-out, but there's some evidence to suggest the team was unlucky, and I don't just mean the lodging of fungal sports in the lungs of one of our best 2008 hitters. Baseball is a chaotic, in mathematical terms, game - in the sense that a tiny change in circumstances can have a massive effect on results. For example, a couple of millimeters difference on where the ball hits the bat, far beyond what any hitter can control consciously, may be the difference between a grand-slam and an inning-ending can of corn to the outfield. However, that requires a good deal more space, and this piece has already gone on long enough, so I'll carry any detailed analysis there forward for another day... But it's probably worth at least another three wins.

Conclusions
That brings us to a total of 19 wins lost to the Diamondbacks by factors more or less outside their control - the trades would likely not have happened had the team still been in contention, which in turn was the result of a combination of factors, including injuries and the whims of the baseball gods. It's enough to explain the entire gulf between performance and expectations, and then some.

This does not absolve the front-office from responsibility for their part in the disappointing season. Given the known issue with Webb's shoulder - which was apparently a big enough concern to stop the two sides from agreeing on a contract extension - it was particularly reckless to have no credible backup available in our pitching rotation. First-base continues to be a major black-hole of offensive production, and with the honorable exception of Dan Haren, the contract extensions awarded over the past few years have yet to bear fruit (and that's putting it mildly). Those outside the lines certainly have their share of blame.

However, even with all the self-inflicted wounds, the Diamondbacks as formulated on Opening Day 2009 would, if fully healthy and getting anything approaching normal luck, have been over .500, at the very least. Indeed, thanks to a number of everyday players surpassing expectations (Montero, Upton, Reynolds), 90 wins could conceivably have been achieved had the breaks gone minorly our way. Again, I'll analyze our actual performances more in the coming weeks, but you might find some surprises there too [here's a tidbit - the 2009 bullpen was, by at least one advanced measure, better than in 2008].

White Hot White Sox Streaking Back To .500

The Cheat — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:43:34 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

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Hold onto your hats White Sox fans, the Chisox are not done yet. With an exciting extra-innings victory over the Athletics Wednesday, the Sox, winners of 7 of their last 9, pull withing 6.5 games of the lackluster Detroit Tigers. And just wait until Jake Peavy joins the rotation...

HAHAHA

I couldn't even make it to a second paragraph. The Sox are still relatively talented team stringing together a season full of ugly performances even in victory. Wednesday's win over the Athletics was another prime example. The Sox had a number of standout performances erased by newly acquired, yet already considered chronic underachievers. To the bullet points.

The Good

Freddy Garcia used his varying assortment of slop to frustrate the anemic Athletics lineup.
Scott Podsednik extended his hit-streak to 10 games with a 4-hit night
Ozzie Guillen turning to Bobby Jenks in the 9th inning of a tie game, then running him back out there for a second inning of work (even though things got a little bit scary).
Chris Getz made a great deke on Scott Hairston in the 13th, then got back to cover first to turn the foul-pop-into-DP
AJ Pierzynski looked like a real catcher shutting down the running game in the late innings
Oh and he had the game winning double off the wall in the 13th

The Bad

Podsednik has undoubtedly been the Sox most valuable outfielder this season, which means he's coming back next year... when he is much more likely to be '06-08 version of himself, which, as we all remember, is exponentially more frustrating than the good '05 and '09 versions.
Tony Pena may have earned himself a new nickname of simply "Mahoney," the fat pitcher from the Buffalo Wild Wings commercial, though Not Brandon Allen works for me too.

The Ugly

Alex Rios lost his last remaining supporter -- I'm not sure who it was -- with his 13th inning error on a routine flyball. I'm sure e-gus would be capping it for us were he not busy getting his fill from the free night in the Jim Beam Club.

I'll have much more on Rios at some point here down the stretch. I've had the same thought I've seen OM express in the comments over the past week about his batting stance ever since about Rios' 3rd game in a Sox uniform. But that really brings up a bigger issue, and I'm waiting for all the juicy quotes to roll in.

In any case, Rios looks like complete garbage in almost every phase of the game. They asked him to bunt -- the $60M extra-inning bunter -- in the bottom of the 12th(?) and even though he got the job done, it was one ugly effort. And that was before his gaffe in the 13th. He's just a complete mess right now, and the Sox don't have anyone who's qualified to fix him.

The Meta

SB*Nation has launched a brand new sbnation.com. The old sbnation site was simply a directory of all the blogs in the network with a few (like 3) story links tossed at the top. The revamped sbnation.com will seek to do on a national level what each SB Nation network blog already does for its team or sport: provide the most timely, engaging and highest quality fan perspective information and conversation on the web.

I'm not entirely sure how it's going to work, since I didn't get to participate in any of the testing. What I can tell you is there is a dedicated team of editors working on providing quality national coverage which includes links to traditional media as well SB*Nation blogs and non-network blogs alike. The left-hand column appears to be some quick-hitting commentary from the editors, while the middle column, the one with all the pretty pictures, is SB*Nation's take on the constantly updating nature of sports news. We're calling them StoryStreams, and they are constantly updated stories that will feature plenty of linking to SB*N and non-SB*N source. Best of all, you can add to stream with links to breaking news or relevant commentary, just click the "promote your post" link in any stream.

NL West Report: Home of MLB's best pitching

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:53:20 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Clayton Kershaw is one of many pitchers who have emerged this season to make the NL West a force once again.

Browse more photos »

Pitching wins championships.

At least that's what they say. If that's the case, pitching wins games too. It should be no surprise then that the rise of the NL Worst to the NL Best has centered around strong pitching. We'll just take a simple look at Wins Over Replacement, taking a look at the top 8 in MLB. Choosing the top 8 is partially a novelty for the number of playoff teams and partially a good cleavage point for the argument.

Here's the deal: The NL West has 4 of the top 5 pitching staffs in the National League in WAR, as well as 4 of the top 8 in MLB.

Team	Pitching WAR
Red Sox	19.6
Rockies	19.0
Braves	18.6
White Sox	18.6
Giants	18.2
Blue Jays	15.8
Diamondbacks	14.9
Dodgers	14.7

Of the other five divisions, the NL Central has zero, the NL East has one, the AL West has zero, the AL Central has one and the AL East has two. Only Arizona and Toronto are out of contention for the playoffs.

NL West Report

Arizona (55-70, 4th, W1, 19 GB)

Last Week: 1-6. 0-1 @ Braves. 0-3 @ Phillies. 1-2 @ Astros. Yesterday's win in Houston broke a season-long 7 game losing streak.

Pace: 71-91.

Divisional Change: Lost 3.0 games.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Giants, 3 game home series vs. Astros.

News: The biggest question this offseason for Arizona will be whether Brandon Webb's extension will be picked up. Via Steve Gilbert's twitter, Josh Byrnes says:

"If [his recovery is] close, he'll probably get the benefit of the doubt."

Other than Arizona's season-long losing streak, the storyline of the week was whether Jerry Dipoto would be fleeced from their front office to be the Nationals' new GM. Yahoo! Sports and CBSSports.com both reported that DiPoto got the job, but their reports proved premature. Washington turned down the opportunity to hand over their front office reins to the former Rockies closer, instead naming interim GM Mike Rizzo the full-time general manager.

P Jon Garland cleared waivers. He's not a good value, but he might be the most effective starting pitcher available through waiver trade.

Jon Garland

#52 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-6

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 27, 1979

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jon Garland	7-11	4.48	1.46	78	51

Jon Heyman at SI.com wrote that Doug Davis remains in Arizona because Milwaukee offered nothing more than salary relief after claiming him on waivers.

Transactions: RHP Daniel Cabrera assigned to AAA Reno. Called up 1B Brandon Allen from AAA. Allen was the prospect Arizona received in the trade for Tony Pena. Optioned 1B Josh Whitesell to AAA.

Injuries: Conor Jackson saw a disease specialist Aug 19. He might miss the rest of the season. Justin Upton will start a rehab stint in Single-A tonight in an attempt to return in a couple weeks.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Stephen Drew	other-excused	08/24/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	08/10/2009
Justin Upton	oblique	08/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

News on the other three divisional teams after the jump.

Los Angeles (74-51, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 4-3. 1-2 vs Cardinals. 3-1 vs Cubs.

Pace: 96-66.

Divisional Change: Lost 1.5 game lead to COL.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Rockies, 3 game road series @ Reds.

News: As we all know by know, the slim division margin doesn't faze LA. If the Rockies can manage a sweep in the series, they will be tied in the loss column with the Dodgers. Losing a series to Colorado at Dodger Stadium would make it impossible for Los Angeles to maintain their confident mantra.

Also, as we all know, Joe Torre finally got that starting pitcher addition. The Dodgers signed Vicente Padilla, who will start Thursday against the Rockies. True Blue LA reaction.

Vicente Padilla

#0 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 27, 1977

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Vicente Padilla	8-6	18	18	0	0	0	0	108.0	120	61	59	12	42	59	4.92	1.50

CBSSports' Scott Miller notes that Padilla is a "proven starter but also a combustible clubhouse presence."

Drew Silva at MLBTradeRumors poses the question: "What is the future for Orlando Hudson?" One place he suggests is Washington, where there has been a revolving door of second sackers all season. True Blue LA weighs in again.

In another TJ Simers piece for the LA Times, apparently Manny Ramirez shouted in the clubhouse "Hey, I'm going to be here next year!" Ramirez has struggled notably since he returned from his suspension.

Eric Stephen's Week in Review (True Blue LA)

Transactions: Placed Hiroki Kuroda on 15-day DL on Aug 19 retroactive to Aug 16. Called up Vicente Padilla Saturday. Recalled IF Tony Abreu.

Injuries: Jamey Loney is day-to-day with the flu, but may be available to start the series against the Rox tomorrow. Hiroki Kuroda threw 60 pitches from 60 feet with no issues Aug 20 in an attempt to come back in early September from that concussion.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
James Loney	flu	08/24/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	08/06/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	concussion	08/16/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009
Eric Milton	lower-back	06/28/2009

San Diego (52-74, 5th, L2, 22.5 GB)

Last Week: 2-4. 2-1 vs Cubs, 1-3 vs Cardinals. That's a perfect inversion of how LA fared against the two NL Central foes.

Pace: 67-95.

Divisonal change: Lost 1.0 game.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Braves, 3 game road series @ Marlins. It's time to be a fan of the Padres.

News: San Diego extended David Eckstein through 2010 with a $1million deal.

Backup catcher Henry Blanco wants to return also.

San Diego is certainly showing earmarks of a rebuilding team. Instead of taking the originally reported PTBNL for Chad Gaudin, the Padres took $100k. They also traded AAA reliever Scott Patterson to Oakland for cash. What to do with the cash? Apparently, the Padres have invested $10million in amateur talent this season.

Rebuilding teams also build through the Rule 5 Draft. RJ Anderson at FanGraphs highlights the Padres Rule 5 Success, notably former Rockie farmhand Everth Cabrera.

Everth Cabrera

#1 / Short Stop / San Diego Padres

Height: 5-9

Weight: 170

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Nov 17, 1986

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Everth Cabrera	67	232	37	63	12	7	2	23	29	51	18	3	.272	.360	.409

Jayson Stark notes that Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell were withdrawn off waivers after several teams tried to claim them.

Top pick Donavan Tate made a very good impression when visited PetCo Park.

San Diego honored long-time announcer Ted Leitner.

Transactions: None.

Injuries: P Sean Gallagher threw a bullpen session Thursday and could return in early September. Kyle Blanks injured his heel Saturday and is day-to-day. Chris Young underwent successful surgery last Monday, and Edgar Gonzalez had a couple of hits in a Class A rehab start Saturday. He is attempting to return from the concussion Jason Hammel gave him.

San Diego Padres Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kyle Blanks	heel	08/24/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Cliff Floyd	shoulder	06/18/2009

San Francisco (67-57, 3rd, L2, 6.5 GB)

Last Week: 4-3. 1-0 @ Mets. 2-1 @ Reds. 1-2 @ Rockies.

Pace: 88-74.

Divisional Change: No change in NL West. Lost 1.5 games in Wild Card for the second straight week.

This Week: Final game of a four game set @ Rockies. 3 game home series vs Diamondbacks. 3 game home series vs. Rockies.

News: The Giants signed 1st-rounder Zach Wheeler for $3.3 Million last Monday

Bengie Molina wants to return to the Giants with a 2-year deal. This is in spite of him threatening to be one of the worst cleanup hitters in the last half century with prized prospect Buster Posey ripping up AAA.

Buster Posey

#28 / Catcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 27, 1987

*AAA Stats	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Buster Posey	.294	.373	.500

Despite having a very successful season since being promoted to AAA, Posey won't be called up this season. He will instead be a possibility for next year's Opening Day roster. Molina believes there is enough room for them both on the MLB roster next year if he can be retained to mentor Posey.

Tom Verducci goes into Tim Lincecum's potentially unprecedented contract.

The Giants claimed Gary Shieffield off waivers, but the Mets pulled him back.

Transactions: None.

Injuries: Freddy Sanchez is still listed as day-yo-day after missing six straight starts.

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Freddy Sanchez	shoulder	08/24/2009

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Rich Aurilia	ankle	08/12/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	07/31/2009

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Doubtful

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Freddy Sanchez shoulder 08/24/2009

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Rich Aurilia ankle 08/12/2009

Andres Torres hamstring 07/31/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Randy Johnson trapezius 07/06/2009

Noah Lowry ribs 03/27/2009

Kelvin Pichardo shoulder 06/28/2009

Henry Sosa shoulder 08/05/2009

Poll

Do you buy that the Rockies have the second best pitching staff in MLB?

Yes. You just gave me proof by WAR. They have great traditional numbers as a team, and then there's the park effects.

57 votes

Not really. I think we've been good, but I don't trust WAR if it says we're THAT good.

76 votes

Not at all. WAR and SABR stats are bull. There's no way the Rockies one of the top pitching staffs in MLB.

12 votes

HAHA. Coors Field is a Little League park. It inflates numbers. You can't believe any stats. The pitching staff gets the benefit of Coors Field.

6 votes

I usually don't buy into mystical stats like WAR, but I'm going to tell all my friends we have the 2nd best pitching staff anyway.

27 votes

178 votes | Poll has closed

The Raucherrection of Jon

Jim McLennan — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:15:08 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Jon Rauch: a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma

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When Jon Rauch came over for the Washington Nationals in July last season, expectations were high that he would prove a crucial component in a strong bullpen down the stretch. Those hopes were cruelly dashed, as Rauch imploded. He not only posted a 6.56 ERA, he gave up runs in crucial situations - the result was six losses for the reliever in barely a month, defeats which basically holed the Diamondbacks' play-off chances below the waterline.

It was a shock when the team chose to exercise its 2010 team option, and the qualms seems justified as Rauch's wretched performances continued in 2009. In his first eleven innings of work, he allowed eleven earned runs, on 17 hits and six walks, and became the most-hated man on the roster. His appearance in a game was basically Bob Melvin waving the white flag, and you need only scan the gameday threads to see the reactions his arrival on the mound provoked. It's hard to think of a player in franchise history who was so universally distrusted and disliked.

Then something weird happened. Rauch got...well, good. After the jump, we'll take a look at the change, and see if we can figure out what might have happened.

If there's one player who seems to have benefited from the dugout change, it's Rauch. Whether the cause is a new manager, a new pitching coach, something else - or merely random chance - the difference in his performance has been massive. Here's the splits for Rauch, under Melvin and Hinch:
Melvin: 34.1 IP, 44 H, 15 BB, 29 K, 28 ER, 7.34 ERA, 0-6 record
Hinch: 39.1 IP, 37 H, 9 BB, 24 K, 11 ER, 2.52 ERA, 2-1 record
The strikeouts are down, but the walks have dropped even more dramatically, from 3.93/9 IP to 2.06, and the hits are also lower. The net result is a 30% reduction in WHIP post-Melvin, from 1.72 to 1.17. That's back-of-the-bus bad to front-of-the-line effective. While it didn't happen overnight, the feelings of dread that used to accompany the sight of his heavily-tattooed largeness taking the mound, were replaced first by neutrality and then a sense of reliability. Even including Thursday, he's been unscored upon in 26 of his past 31 outings.

And what impressed me even about Thursday, was that it was clear Rauch cared - enough to get himself thrown out of the game, though only after he'd done his job and completed the inning. Far worse performances had come and gone in his Diamondbacks' career without a whimper from Jon, but he took his part in this loss very seriously, even on a team ten games below .500 and out of contention. It's in sharp contrast to mid-September last year, where he took the loss three times in eight days, and did nothing more than sit miserably on the bench.

There were reports that Rauch, coming from the closer's role in Washington, wanted to be given the chance to pitch high-leverage innings in Arizona too, and was upset to find himself behind Brandon Lyon, Chad Qualls and Tony Peña. Rumbling were heard that he was not exactly a popular guy in the clubhouse, seen as someone whose opinion of himself was greater than it should be. I recall suggestions that Rauch was one of the areas of disagreement between Melvin and Josh Byrnes, with the ex-manager wanting to drop the player. Some evidence for this can be found in Rauch's usage patterns. In all 14 appearances under Melvin this year, he only appeared when the Diamondbacks were losing - and an average of three runs behind at that.

That may help explain why the new brooms apparently re-invigorated Rauch, but if there was a single game which perhaps changed Rauch's career with the Diamondbacks, it was the 18-inning marathon against the Padres on June 7. Rauch and the B-relievers pitched nine innings of no-hit ball, after the A-bullpen had coughed up a five-run lead in the ninth. After the game, a clearly-delighted Rauch heaped praise on his colleagues, an attitude adjustment which has continued since - he seems intent on deflecting the topic of conversation away from himself to his team-mates. Up until Thursday, he'd almost become invisible. Or at least, as invisible as a 6'11" human canvas can ever hope to be...

Whether performance bred confidence, or confidence bred performance, it's difficult to say - probably a bit of both. But that game was part of a run from late May to late June where Rauch allowed just nine hits in 16.1 innings of work, holding batters to a .164 average. His reward: getting to pitch in more important situations, and when Tony Peña was dealt to the White Sox on July 7th, Rauch became the set-up man. The results since have generally continued to be very good: a 2.31 ERA and only one walk in 11.2 innings.

While we don't have all the information we'd like, the metamorphosis of Rauch from...well, caterpillar to butterfly is as close as I can get [ok, not very], it seems like an interesting study in sports psychology. The effect of 'clubhouse chemistry' and/or 'intangibles' is often derided, yet this case would suggest it can have a powerful effect on performance. We perhaps also saw examples of that with Felipe Lopez in Washington, and even more starkly with Scott Schoeneweis here, where forces outside the lines appear to have impacted what goes on between them.

NL West Report: Talent in, Talent out at the trade deadline.

Rox Girl — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:30:57 -0000

The good news for competitors in the NL West this week is that none of their rivals added what we would consider a major impact talent at the trade deadline along the lines of a Cliff Lee, Matt Holliday or Victor Martinez, the bad news is that this means that neither did they, leaving the division in pretty much the same state it was last week save for the one team at the very bottom, who did wind up making a very interesting move on Friday. The overall talent flow still seems to be flowing into the division rather than out, however, and the division as a whole still seems to be on the ascent.

NL West Report

San Francisco (58-47, t-2nd, W2, 7.0 GB)

Last Week: 6-1. 3-0 vs. Pirates, 3-1 vs Phillies. At some point you've just got to forget the projections and say a team is what it is. The Giants really seem to be that team this year, similar to the 2007 Diamondbacks, where they are combining some excellence in pitching with a favorable circumstance or two (in this case a deadly home field advantage) to mask over their flaws. While sweeping a rebuilding Pirates team isn't a huge accomplishment, taking three of four against the defending world champions is. The Giants are a very real threat, but an up and down one.

Pace: 86-76.

Divisional Change: Gained 3.0 games.

This Week:

News: The Giants were the most active NL West squad at the deadline, acquiring Ryan Garko from the Indians in exchange for Scott Barnes and Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates in exchange for Tim Alderson. Both prospects were immediately downgraded by pundits from potential aces to potential fifth starters after the transactions.

Ryan Garko

#23 / First Base / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 02, 1981

Freddy Sanchez

#21 / Second Base / San Francisco Giants

Height: 5-10

Weight: 190

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 21, 1977

Kidding about that last part, sort of. Barnes wouldn't have been a name most Giants fans would recognize, but he's a decent LHP prospect a bit beyond the Keith Weiser level but quite a bit below the Bumgarner level. With Barnes and Connor Graham added to their pitching depth the last couple of weeks, the Indians have put quite a dent on the starting talent in the Cal League's North division. I was curious about the amount of articles downplaying Alderson that came after the trade compared to the hype he was getting before it.

Grant's reactions to both trades at McCovey Chronicles were suspiciously understated:

Sanchez

Garko

Clearly something's up with these players that they're not telling us about, like how they wouldn't tell us that Fred Lewis will eat the children of Rockies fans if we let them stay out to late or how Pedro Feliz was able to control the forces of nature of his mind as long as he wore a Giants uniform and the Giants were playing the Rockies. You're not fooling me this time Grant, word to Rockies pitchers: approach these two players like you would Babe Ruth. If Babe Ruth was alive. And not really old.

Players Gained:

Freddy Sanchez
Ryan Garko

Players Lost:

Tim Alderson (AA)
Scott Barnes (A+)

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS INJURIES

15-DAY

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Rich Aurilia	toe	07/21/2009
Nate Schierholtz	hip	07/27/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	07/31/2009

60 DAY DL / OUT FOR THE SEASON

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Randy Johnson	trapezius	07/06/2009
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Arizona (46-59, 4th, W1, 19.0 GB)

Last Week: 3-3. 1-2 vs Phillies, 2-1 @ Mets.

Pace:

Divisional Change: Gained 0.5 games.

This Week: The Snakes wrap up a long road trip with three game series @ Pittsburgh and @ Washington

News: The Diamondbacks had a quiet week leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, but general manager Josh Byrnes expects August's waiver trade market to be active.

Brandon Webb finally decided to undergo the knife to fix his ailing shoulder, but no timetable has been established for when he is expected to return to the mound. Will the Diamondbacks pick up his $8.5 million option for 2010? Byrnes is taking a wait and see approach.

Brandon Webb

#17 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height:6-2

Weight:230

Bats:R

Throws:R

Born:May 09, 1979

Steve Gilbert writes that Byrnes' faith in his core is a large part of the reason why the trade deadline was so quiet for Arizona:

"There are a lot of components there that we think are real positives," Byrnes said. "I think a lot of the pieces to get back to winning are already in place."

Certainly Justin Upton has to be a major component that Byrnes is thinking of, AZ Snakepit's Jim McClennan took a look at the elite club the phenom's track thus far puts him in.

The Snakes are negotiating with Daniel Cabrera for added pitching depth

Added Comment: Arizona remains a flawed team for 2010 until it gets the pitching ironed out, but a very dangerous one for 2009. The fact that they didn't sell off at the deadline doesn't leave them nearly as weak as other non-contenders. I'm relieved that the Rockies only have six more games against this team compared to nine for the Giants and ten for the Dodgers, because it really looks like they've finally righted the ship in Phoenix. Over the last thirty games, the D-backs have scored the fourth most runs in the NL in going 16-14. Other key potential spoiler series for Arizona will be in Philadelphia at the end of August and at Chicago for the last series of the season in October.

Players Gained:

Brandon Allen (AAA)
Cole Gillespie (AAA)
Roque Mercedes (AA)

Players Lost:

Felipe Lopez
Tony Pena

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tom Gordon	hamstring	05/04/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (62-36, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 3-4. 1-3 vs Cardinals. 2-1 vs Braves. The Dodgers road trip started out poorly against Matt Holliday and the Cardinals, but much like the Rockies, the Dodgers finished well, going over the last four games of the trip, against much tougher competition than we had to face.

Pace:

Divisional Change: Lost 0.5 games to Colorado and 3.0 games to San Francisco

This Week: The Dodgers return home where they will face a Brewers team (3 games) that's been caught in a rut for much of the last two months and then get a four game set against the Braves who will want revenge for losing a series in Atlanta this weekend.

News: The Dodgers had been rumored for much of last week to be in on every prominent trade target supposedly available, and apparently came close to reeling in Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell in a mega deal with the Padres. Unwilling to part with prize major league talent such as Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw (wisely, I might add, Kershaw's change-up is starting to be as devastating as his fastball and curve) Los Angeles wound up making one major move, trading minor leaguers Josh Bell and Steve Johnson for Orioles closer George Sherrill.

George Sherrill

#0 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 230

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Apr 19, 1977

The Dodgers made one other minor depth move to clear a roster space for Sherrill, trading Claudio Vargas to Milwaukee for catcher Vinny Rottino. Rottino actually has an engaging baseball biography, as he was an undrafted free agent out of college and wound up getting signed out of a try-out camp. He caught for team Italy in the WBC this Spring. Still, not going to supplant team Canada's catcher anytime soon.

Even with the Sherrill addition, Los Angeles continues to wage a war against an unseen and unknown enemy as the workload for their young pitching continues to mount. Chad Billingsley seemed like he might be the latest to succumb when he was pulled from Sunday night's start with what turned out to be just a case of leg cramps. Rockies and Giants fans are all hoping this menace proves more real than it has, but that just might be wishful thinking on our parts. Sherrill hasn't been the only cavalry to arrive to rescue Los Angeles' young arms, as both Jason Schmidt and Hong Chi Kuo made returns from long injury absences this week.

Eric Stephen's monthly reviews are always worth reading to catch up on the rest of the Dodgers news.

Players Gained:

George Sherrill
Vinny Rottino (AA)

Players Lost:

Josh Bell
Steve Johnson
Claudio Vargas

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chad Billingsley	hamstring	08/03/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Casey Blake	wrist	08/03/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Ronald Belisario	elbow	07/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Milton	lower-back	06/28/2009
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009

San Diego (43-63, 5th, W2, 22.0 GB)

Last Week: 5-2. 3-1 @ Reds, 2-1 vs Brewers. Visiting Cincinnati has become a medicinal spa retreat for ailing NL West teams, as the Padres and Rockies combined to go 6-1 against the hapless Reds. San Diego carried their winning ways home with them against the Brewers.

Pace:

Divisional Change: Gained 2.0 games.

This Week: Braves (3 games) fans and Mets (4 games) fans will learn just how easy it is to go into PETCO Park and win series.

News: The Padres traded away their erstwhile ace Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox in the trade deadline's most surprising move. Peavy must have felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day in getting a chance to change a decision he made two months ago, for whatever reason, the White Sox held more appeal this time around.

Coming back from Chicago are four of the White Sox better prospects in Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell. This move was typical of other blockbusters in 2009, where the selling team generally walked away with the buying team's quality depth, but not their creme de la creme as far as talent is concerned.

jbox gets oddly, I don't know, pragmatic, in his review of the trade at Gaslamp Ball.

Clayton Richard

#41 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-5

Weight: 240

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Sep 12, 1983

The Heath Bell/Adrian Gonzalez trade to the Dodgers wasn't the only big deadline deal that San Diego was involved in that fell through, apparently there was also a blockbuster that could have send Gonzalez to Seattle, Felix Hernandez to the Red Sox, and a bushel of prospects to the Padres that got nixed by the Mariners. The day was so busy, that Kevin Towers told the LA Times Bill Shaiken:

"It's almost comical," he said. "I wish we had a video camera in there. You tend to worry about everything moving so fast."

Players Lost:

Players Gained:

Ryan Webb (AAA)
Craig Italiano (A+)
Sean Gallagher
Aaron Poreda
Clayton Richard
Dexter Carter
Adam Russell
Oscar Salazar

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Nick Hundley	forearm	06/18/2009
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Cliff Floyd	shoulder	06/18/2009

Poll

Which NL West team helped itself the most via non-waiver trades?

Arizona: The D-backs didn't sell low on their players and added a couple of key parts for 2010 and beyond.

3 votes

Colorado: The Rockies major weakness was the bullpen and they addressed it without giving up top ten prospects.

98 votes

Los Angeles: The Dodgers got the one elite reliever dealt this year.

22 votes

San Francisco: The Giants held onto most of their elite prospects, including their very best, and still added the bats they needed.

90 votes

San Diego: The Padres were in desperate need of restocking the system and added a boatload of talented young arms.

29 votes

242 votes | Poll has closed

White Sox Mum at Trade Deadline, Still a Factor in AL Central

The Cheat — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:20:42 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

No Pie for you!

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The Tigers added Jarrod Washburn. The Twins added Orlando Cabrera. The Indians have apparently added a bevy of young talent in the Cliff Lee and (rumored) Victor Martinez deals. Where are the White Sox moves?

Be careful what you wish for. The White Sox were the first of the AL Central teams to make an early deadline deal this year, sending Brandon Allen (a top 100 prospect) to the Diamondbacks for Tony Pena (a middle reliever). Given the price that the Sox have paid this year, if middle relievers cost a Top 100 prospect, then you'd expect the Sox to pay something like a Top 50 prospect (Tyler Flowers) for a position player, and more if that player was actually any good.

Take an honest assessment of the White Sox roster. What are their biggest weaknesses?

In a cruel ironic twist, the Sox have capably filled their glaring holes this year to keep their ship afloat at a game above .500. Gordon Beckham has cemented 3rd base. Scott Podsednik, who's probably not a great bet to maintain his performance, has done more than any reasonable Sox fan could have hoped for. They've had about 4 different pitchers give them quality starts from the back-end of the rotation. Everytime there has been an "Oh, crap!" situation, someone has easily slid in to guard against any more Lillibridge/Betemit-like embarrassments.

Making that irony even more cruel, is the Sox glaring mediocrity. The Sox haven't had their entire club on the field and performing well at the same time. There has always been someone on the DL, underperforming, or just plain in need of replacement. KW has ably filled those holes in a giant game of Whack-A-Mole, but now the Sox are as healthy as they've been all year, and have trimmed most of the useless fat from their roster. It's time for the team to perform.

Sure they could have upgraded with a real center fielder like Alex Rios or found a more dependable back-end of the rotation arm like Jon Garland. But at what price?

I've been preaching taking the Stand Pat approach for a couple of months now. I'm not going to be a hypocrite and suddenly lament Kenny Williams' inability to make my Friday afternoon more exciting. The Sox can (and will) still compete for the AL Central title this year, regardless of their inactivity and the respective moves of their rivals.

[Update by The Cheat, 07/31/09 3:23 PM CDT ]: And maybe they just traded for Jake Peavy. Heyman tweets.

Larry: Word is Poreda, Russell, Richard and Dexter Carter

2009 Trade Deadline Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks

Brendan Scolari — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:50:50 -0000

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Buyers or sellers?

The Diamondbacks were considered contenders heading into 2009 butt they have fallen far short of expectations. The D-Backs are just 37-55 and are 21 games behind the division leading Dodgers. They are sellers, in fact they have already begun the selling process by trading away reliever Tony Pena and second baseman Felipe Lopez. With nothing to compete for it's very possible that the Diamondbacks trade away other veterans before the trading deadline.

Short-term need

The Diamondbacks biggest problem is their lack of offense. Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds are both very good hitters but there aren't many other threats in the lineup. Stephen Drew has been injured and unproductive for much of the year but he isn't going anywhere. The D-Backs don't have anyone to play second base at a high level now that they've traded Felipe Lopez for two minor leaguers. The first baseman of the future may be Brandon Allen, a 23 year-old slugging first baseman who was acquired for Tony Pena.

The outfield is also weak. Obviously Upton is going to be a fixture for awhile but Chris Young, Eric Byrnes, and Gerardo Parra haven't produced. The Diamondbacks have a lot of faith in their young players so they will probably rely on Young and Parra for 2010 as well.

The pitching has been pretty good even with Brandon Webb missing essentially the whole season. The bullpen could use some more depth especaiily after trading Pena, but young arms like Clay Zavada and Daniel Schlereth should help fill the void.

Long-term need

The pitching staff should remain strong for the long term but there are a few questions to be answered. Both Doug Davis and Jon Garland are pending free agents who may be traded before the deadline to try to bring the D-Backs some more young talent. If they stay the organization has to decide whether to bring them back for next year. Brandon Webb is also a huge question mark, his option for 2010 was once a lock to be exercised but it's possible the D-Backs will decline it and save the extra money. Even if he is brought back no one knows if he'll be able to re-gain his Cy Young caliber form.

The offense is stll riddled with holes and until the outfield gets more production outside of Upton it will be hard to score runs. Some better luck for the infielders would help as well, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, and Chad Tracy have all fallen way short of preseason expectations. Tracy will likely not return but Drew and Jackson will play key roles for the near future at least.

Big leaguers on the market?

Even though Pena and Lopez have already been traded, there should still be more trades for the Diamondbacks before the deadline. While Doug Davis would attract interest on the trade market, it has been suggested that the D-Backs would rather hang onto him. Jon Garland would be tougher to trade but he might be able to get the D-Backs a decent prospect to go along with salary relief. The team would like to unload Eric Byrnes' contract but that may only be possible if they take another bad contract in return, possibly the recently DFA'd Julio Lugo. Chad Qualls is the team's best reliever and could be dealt but the D-Backs would need to be bowled over because he is under contract for 2010 as well.

Minor league strength

The pitching depth supports a minor league system that is no longer what it used to be. Jarrod Parker could be an impact player as a starting pitcher and Daniel Schlereth could do the same out of the bullpen. Beyond that though there are a lot of low-upside pitchers who can reach the big leagues but are not expected to make a huge difference. With the talent already one the pitching staff, that won't be a problem for now.

The real problem is once again the hitting, where Arizona lacks any real impact prospects. The club tried to address this issue in the recent draft by using the first four selections on hitters. If those guys can develop then the D-Backs will finally have the bats to go along with their plethora of pitching.

Take on short-term money to win?

At this point the Diamondbacks are trying to get rid of expensive veterans, not add more of them.

For more coverage of the Diamondbacks, check out AZ Snakepit.

White Sox To Join The Roy Halladay Sweepstakes?

Matt Buggenhagen — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:26:21 -0000

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Rumor has it the White Sox may be making a push for Blue Jay ace Roy Halladay, this according to ESPN.com Jerry Crasnick.

Take a look at what one AL executive had to say about the White Sox landing Halladay.

"I definitely think Kenny is involved, Let's put it this way: I would be very surprised if he's not."

The problem for the White Sox, ultimately, might be if they have what the Blue Jays are looking for in terms of prospects. All indications from Chicago are that super stud Gordon Beckham is off limits, which ideally is where the Blue Jays would begin a deal for Halladay. They also just sent first base prospect Brandon Allen to Arizona for reliever Tony Pena. They might be able to start a package around LHP prospect Aaron Poreda, but somehow I find it unlikely the Blue Jays would be thrilled about Poreda as the centerpiece of any deal.

Another problem Crasnick notes is that the White Sox may have an issue adding on the additional payroll, due to a drop in attendance.

But regardless of all the hurdles, all indication is that the White Sox are throwing their name into the hat. Williams has always been a fairly aggressive GM, remember it wasn't too long ago he pulled off a deal to acquire the Padres Jake Peavy.