SB Nation - Robby Hammock

The Battle for 25th Man

SC — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:32:13 -0000

One of the first things I ever did on this site was give way too much of a crap about the Chris Gomez v. Enrique Wilson utility infielder battle of Spring Training 2005. Gomez won. All was right with the world. Gomez then hit .279/.359/.342 in 2005 and poked even more singles around in spot duty the next two seasons, and now he's back in camp, but he's really too old now and his numbers in '08 with the Pirates (.273/.322/.333) show his usefulness fading.

Still, Enrique Wilson got 22 ABs with the Cubs in 2005 and never played again.

This spring it's not really a battle. There's a super sub role open with the team, and though the O's traded for Ryan Freel who fills the role nicely, there's also Jolbert Cabrera -- who was once shot in the buttocks -- and I think he deserves a long look.

Numbers this spring:

Player	AB	AVG	OBP	SLG	BB/K	SB/CS
Ryan Freel	35	.257	.366	.314	2/11	6/0
Jolbert Cabrera	24	.417	.400	.542	0/3	1/0

Freel's going to play a lot if they can help it. He adds plenty to the team in theory. He's got plate discipline, which makes him a viable pinch-hitter even if his contact abilities have slipped and his power has become basically negligible. He runs really well. He can handle center if he has to, plus the corner OF spots and second base. He's probably a lesser shortstop than Cabrera, who's probably not as good a CF as Freel, although we also have Pie if Jones goes down or whatever, and Pie might be the best center fielder on the team. Freel is also injury-prone and has played in 77 and 48 games the last two years.

Cabrera isn't as good a base-stealer as Freel, but he's not a slow runner and can be used just for extra wheels in a tight situation, same as Freel likely will be at several times this year should he stay healthy.

I know Freel came over in trade for Fat Ramon Hernandez and Cabrera is just a spring training scrub for all intents and purposes. If Freel is healthy, he's the guy. But here's what I'm actually more intrigued by: Does Jolbert Cabrera have a place on this team sometime in 2009?

Assume the Birds go north with 13 pitchers and 12 position players. We know we'll have:

C: ZAUN + one, probably Robby Hammock, who can play other positions

1B: Huff

2B: Roberts

3B: Mora

SS: Izturis

OF: Markakis, Jones, Pie, Scott

1B/3B/2B/DH: Wigginton

That would leave one open spot. It'll be Freel. But should he come up lame, Cabrera seems like a guy that would fit in. He can play a lot of positions, including a better short than Freel, and Izturis is going to have days he has to sit, or he's going to have times where he'll need to be hit for late in a tight game.

I'd rather have Freel, with Wigginton also offering some level of positional flexibility (as well as Hammock) than see Cabrera over Freel right off, and with the way Gomez is hitting (.095/.269/.143) he's well out, too. Donnie Murphy isn't doing anything, either.

It's simply food for thought with little going on. The battle isn't much since Freel is all but guaranteed, but if (when?) Freel goes down, who comes up?

Spring Training: LIVE -Game 9 Game Thread: Washington Nationals at Baltimore Orioles.

Ed Chigliak — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:44:53 -0000

(ed. note: "MLB.tv viewers, the game is being broadcast on the internets today, so everyone can watch the Nationals and Orioles...Who's Watching The Watc...Nationals?")

We're gonna try something new today...Doghouse, leader of the federalbaseball.com W.A.R. Effort, is on his way to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida's cleverly-named Fort Lauderdale Stadium, the Spring home of the Washington Nationals' Mid-Atlantic rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, and he'll be reporting live via iPhone this afternoon...I'll add updates throughout the game, so if you're watching(It's on MASN!! and MLB.tv!!) or listening or following along, check back for some updates or stay with us for the first attempt at a live game thread this season...

Back with more soon...

Here's the Nationals' starting lineup courtesy of the Washington Post's Tracee Hamilton:

Cristian Guzman - SS

Alex Cintron - DH

Kory Casto - 3B

Brad Eldred - 1B

Corey Patterson - CF

Jose Castillo - 2B

Roger Bernadina - LF

Justin Maxwell - RF

Wil Nieves - C

DC's Own DC, Daniel Cabrera throwing strikes...(or at least fastballs)...check out the box score for the O's lineup...

The Orioles' fans are watching too, check out the SBN's Baltimore Orioles blog:

Camden Chat

...to see what O's fans are thinking.

DOGHOUSE -

"It's a cavalcade of scrubs except for Guz at short and Cabrera pitching..."

DOGHOUSE -

"Away, there goes my scoops (ed. note - "?"), Hmmmm, a few drops of rain. Eldred(Who?) with a perfect bloop single to short...after Cintron and Casto flied to OF...Cabrera looks VERY TALL..."

DOGHOUSE -

"He's got a good build," says Mrs. Doghouse of Daniel Cabrera, despite the fact that he's quickly in a two-on, 0 out jam..." (ed. note - "O's score on a Nick Markakis' groundout. 1-0 Baltimore.")

DOGHOUSE -

"For a guy who practically hands the ball to (catcher Wil) Nieves, he's having trouble finding the zone...and Cabrera walks Huff...Nats are looking very much little league right now...'This feels too familiar,' Mrs. D mutters as Cabrera issues another free pass...(ed. note - "But Roger Bernadina saves the day with a diving catch to rob Felix Pie on a bases loaded liner...1-0 O's after one...")

DOGHOUSE -

"Awesome! After a diving catch worth of TAWH, Bernadina knocks in J.Castillo with a beautiful broken bat double that bounces exactly over first, and hooks away. I almost see JimBo's love of toolsy OFers with no power..."

DOGHOUSE -

"TARB - The Amazing Roger Bernadina!!!" TARB can't get them all...(single by Brian Roberts falls in short left...)

DOGHOUSE -

"As a humiliating double steal goes down, the O's fan next to use shakes his head with a rueful and sympathetic grin..."

DOGHOUSE -

"(Ross) Detwiler to the rescue!"

DOGHOUSE -

"Detwiler pitches with a real easy-looking motion, 'He looks like the ball can hurt him," notes Mr. Doghouse, 'He's got an O'Connor build. Despite a free pass, Ross Detwiler gets a DP ball, prompting an eyeroll from out neighbor, 'He's (Wiggington) beyond slow."

DOGHOUSE -

"This inning, Casto doesn't quite have Zimmy's range. 'I think we're gonna say goodbye to Detwiler,' sighs Mrs. Doghouse, 'Although I would like to see the Human Rain Delay...."(ed. note - Human Rain Delay = Jesus Colome?")

DOGHOUSE -

"(New DC Pitcher Preston) Larrison throws as hard as Cabrera with just as much control...(another double steal follows a walk and a HBP)...and he gives up the double steals, like Cabrera...Mmmm, soft serve! Larrison has a walk, HBP, double steal, no coffee for you, sir!"

DOGHOUSE -

"Hard to tell with my non-zooming phone cam, but I think you can see the red socks, (Mike Hinckley) plays w/ his pants up like a real ballplayer."

DOGHOUSE -

"'It's OK, Wil,' encourages Mrs. Doghouse as Wil Nieves K's, 'You're still a pretty man." (ed. note - "Did she just call Nieves 'pretty'?)...'Hey, I'm sitting right, here', Doghouse responds...the inning ends quickly for the Nats, and it feels like we've been here a lot longer than 4.5 hours...in spite of the nice weather (70's and breezy)."

DOGHOUSE -

"Hinckley is throwing hard and changing speeds -- like a real pitcher almost! Two groundouts to 3rd so far, and Casto only made me slightly nervois on the plays. An easy popup to Bernadina? to end the inning, and I think we're down to no starters in for DC..."

DOGHOUSE -

"(Steven) Shell in to pitch. Promptly gives up a single up the middle...TARB now in center robs a bloop single...(Ian) Desmond goes back on a fly ball, frantically waving off everyone else...(Jorge) Padilla, who clearly has a bead on it, yells, 'I GOT IT!!' loud enough to hear it in the stands and makes the play...J-Max with a booming triple off the wall in RF. Let's see what this Herrera can do..."

DOGHOUSE -

"WOW! 18yr-old Destin Hood waits out a full-count walk! (ed. note - "And then takes second on a ball in the dirt.")...TARB smacks a double into the RF corner...(moving Jorge Padilla around, he stops at third) I never thought I'd miss Tim 'Send'em' Tolman, even though it was probably the right call..2 down for J. Maxwell, who grounds to second to end the DC 8th.)

DOGHOUSE -

"Awww...Hood gets to bat again, but chops out weakly, Nats drop 6-2. It's spring, it means nothing...Except a nice day with baseball." (ed. note - "Thanks, Doghouse!!!")

(ed. note - "For the Completists...Full Game Report after the jump...though there were too many subs, so Full-Unedited Game Report is probably more like it...")

We’ve got baseball, and it’s on TV!!! Nationals vs Orioles. Cristian Guzman starts the day by poking a single through short off O’s starter David Pauley. Alex Cintron gets caught looking for heat when a change is coming, swinging strike three. Kory Casto skies one to left, former Cubs’ prospect Felix Pie closes his glove on it...(Pie, Adam Jones and Markakis? Nice outfield, O’s, seriously.) Brad Eldred finds some grass in short left, and Guzman speeds around to third. Corey Patterson gets caught looking, and it’s time for a first look at Daniel Cabrera...Adam Jones rips into a 1-2 pitch from Cabrera to move Brian Roberts to third. Nick Markakis grounds to second, Roberts scores, 1-0 Orioles. Aubrey Huff gets ahead in the count again and Adam Jones steals second. Huff walks. Huff steals second off Cabrera. Cabrera walks ??? to load the bases. Cabrera gets Luke Scott swinging at a ball out of the zone for the second out. Roger Bernadina saves the day with a diving catch in left to rob Felix Pie. 1-0 after one.

Jose Castillo grounds to short, and gets a free pass when Ryan Freel throws wide of first. Roger Bernadina rips a line driver over first and into right, Castillo scores, 1-1 ballgame. Justin Maxwell gets called out looking at a fastball low on the outside corner. Wil Nieves grounds sharply to short, Freel gets this one. Cristian Guzman grounds out to second, 1-1 after one and a half...Ryan Freel gets robbed by Roger Bernadina again!! Diving catch on what should’ve been extra bases!!! Brian Roberts finds some grass Bernadina can’t get to for a two-out single. Adam Jones rips a two-out double to right. Double steal off Cabrera puts both runners in scoring position. Cabrera busts Markakis low and inside for a swinging K to end the threat...

Jose Castillo grounds out to first. Kory Casto grounds back to the mound for the second out. Fly ball to left from Brad Eldred to end the top o’ the third...Ross Detwiler walks the first batter he faces, Aubrey Huff. Ty Wiggington grounds to Casto at third, Castillo at short, to Eldred, double play. Luke Scott gets one under Brad Eldred’s glove at first for a two-out double. Kory Casto makes a Zimmermanesque stab at Felix Pie’s grounder, but can’t beat the speedy Pie to first. Robby Hammock rips a grounder through short for the two-out RBI to give Baltimore back their lead. 2-1 O’s. Ryan Freel grounds to Casto at third, throw to first, 2-1 O’s after three.

George Sherrill takes over on the mound in the 4th. Corey Patterson chases a high heater from Sherrill. Jose Castillo finds the gap in right center for a double with one down. Bernadina grounds out to second, Patterson to third, two down for Justin Maxwell. Maxwell takes the first pitch to center, Adam Jones makes the grab...New Nationals’ pitcher, Preston Larrison, walks Brian Roberts to start the O’s fourth. Adam Jones gets hit by Larrison, two on, no outs. Double steal. Nick Markakis takes a high called strike three. Huff singles up the middle, two runs cross, 4-1 Orioles. Ty Wiggington flies out to Maxwell in right...Matt Wieters doubles to left and another run scores, 5-1 O’s. Larrison is done. Mike Hinckley comes on to face Felix Pie. Larrison is done. Pie grounds to second, and Jose Castillo throws it by first, 6-1 O’s on the error. Chad Moeller flies out to shallow left to end the fourth.

Jamie Walker, the veteran lefty starts the fifth...Wil Nieves swings over a slow bender for the first out of the fifth. Cristian Guzman lines out to Adam Jones in center. Alex Cintron pushes an outside fastball into right. Kory Casto grounds into a force at second to end the DC fifth...Ryan Freel grounds out to Casto at third on the first pitch of the O’s fifth. Brian Roberts grounds out to Casto. Adam Jones flies out to right, and Hinckley’s got a quick frame

Nationals sixth starts with Dennis Sarfate on the mound for the O’s, striking out Brad Eldred. Jorge Padilla K’s looking for the second out of the sixth. Jose Castillo reaches on a chopper to third that Wiggington can’t get to first in time. Roger Bernadina flies out to Felix Pie in left,, 6-1 after the DC fifth...Steven Shell takes over on the mound. Nick Markakis starts the frame with a single up the middle and then is replaced by Holbert Cabrera. Craig Brazel flies out to Bernadina in center. Shell gets a fly ball from Wiggington for the second out. Matt Wieters flies out to left, Shell gets through a scoreless frame.

...too many subs...

Justin Maxwell starts the seventh with a wind-aided triple off the outfield wall. O’s pitcher Chris Tillman gives up a grounder to short to Javy Herrera that brings Maxwell home. Ian Desmond flies to center for the 2nd out. Destin Hood patiently takes a two-out walk. Kory Casto up, Hood takes second on a pitch in the dirt...Casto goes down swining...Stand up and stretch...Steven Shell’s back out for the seventh. Nolan Reimhold? flies out to Jorge Padilla in left. Chad Moeller grounds to Kory “The Vaccuum” Casto at third. Justin Turner rips a two-out single to center. Donnie?Murphy grounds to third, and Casto fires to first...On to the eighth...

Chris Marrero leads off the eighth with a line drive single to left. Chris Tillman’s stll on for the O’s, Jorge Padilla grounds into a force at second cutting down Marrero. Jose Castillo goes down (somehow? Sorry.) Roger Bernadina doubles to right and moves Padilla to third. Justin Maxwell grounds out to second to end the DC eighth...Bobby Brownlie to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Justin Christian backs Justin Maxell up to the wall where he catches the first out. Jolbert Cabrera goes down chasing. Craig Brazell flies out to left...Three outs to get four runs...

Freddy Deza tries to end it for the O’s. Javier Herrera chases high heat for the first out. lines out to Donnie Murphy. Destin Hood grounds out to first to end it. 6-2 O’s win.

Schoeneweis to AZ, and the roster gets trimmed

Jim McLennan — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:04:31 -0000

Schoeneweis, Schoeneweis
Take your water and sun-block.
A Met no more, there's the door;
Welcome to Arizona.

Bullpen arm, may you pitch and throw,
Decently, not like some we know
Schoeneweis, Schoeneweis
You'll only get to face lefties...

The Diamondbacks got the left-handed bullpen arm they wanted, trading from our Con(n)or stockpile. We sent Connor Robertson to the Mets in exchange for Scott Schoeneweis, and also got $1.6 m in cash from the Mets to go towards the reliever's $3.6m salary for the upcoming season. Note the emphasis on the words in the next sentence. If properly used, Schoeneweis should be very effective. To be specific, he should never get to face a right-handed batter unless it's an emergency - and by that, all other relievers must be unavailable, due to a tragic mass accident at a band-saw factory. Here are Schoeneweis's career splits versus left-handed and right-handed batters:

	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. LHB	.224	.299	.295	.594
vs. RHB	.294	.367	.469	.835

I don't think any further explanation is really necessary, but it's clear that his reaction to right-handers is similar to Mrs. SnakePit's response to cats [albeit, presumably without all the puffiness and wheezing]. Somehow, the Mets do not seem to have understood this, and in his time there, he faced more RHB than LHB, which likely helps account for his 2-8 record in the past couple of seasons. In 2008, he faced 130 righties, and they hit .333 off Schoeneweis; the 113 lefties batted only .178. Should we ever see him on the mound with a right-hander at the plate, I expect 'Skins to have an appropriate diagram ready.

Schoeneweis has an interesting background, and it's frankly a miracle he's in the majors at all. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of nineteen, but beat that [he can trade stories with DD!], only to blow out his elbow and need Tommy John surgery while still at college. He was mentioned in the Mitchell Report as receiving steroids, but his excuse was that this was tied to his post-cancer regimen - certainly a more credible explanation that most have managed. He was the losing pitcher in the last ever game at Shea, giving up a home-run in the eighth to Wes Helms [who is right-handed, naturally...]. He's also second on the all-time list for games thrown by a Jewish pitcher. I dunno if it matters to him, but Yom Kippur 2009 is September 28th. It's an off-day. :-)

Robertson came to Arizona along with Dan Haren, and appeared in six games for the Diamondbacks, with an ERA of 5.14. He spent most of the season down in Tucson, where he had a 5.02 ERA in 47 relief appearances. Now aged 27, it doesn't seem like he'll be much of a loss to the Diamondbacks, and the majority of Mets fans don't exactly seem exuberant at their new acquisition. Indeed, it's barely noticed in the man-love (understandably) being shown for F-Rod and JJ Putz; I suspect this move was as much a salary dump for New York as anything.

In other news, the team announced they won't offer contracts to four players who appeared with the team in 2008: Chris Burke, Robby Hammock, Wil Ledezma and Jeff Salazar. The loss of Burke will be mourned by no-one. I still expect to see Hammock on the major-league roster at some point this year, simply because we always do. I think he mugs a journalist, steals his pass to sneak into the locker-room, and everyone is so used to seeing him there, they don't notice when he puts his cleats on. Wil Ledezma likely merits an honorable mention in the Least Significant All-Time Diamondbacks for the four career innings he provided the team. Jeff Salazar's departure signals the team intends to use Conor Jackson as the main left-fielder, with Eric Byrnes getting a roving commission as backup at all three outfield spots.

All these moves are a significant step forward to solidifying the roster. Here's what I have at the time of writing.

Starters	Bench	Rotation	Bullpen
2B. Lopez CF. Young SS. Drew LF. Jackson RF. Upton 1B. Tracy 3B. Reynolds C. Snyder	C. Montero C. Skelton IF. Ojeda OF. Byrnes 1B. Clark	1. Webb 2. Haren 3. Davis 4. Scherzer 5. Petit	CL. Qualls SU. Pena 7th. Rauch LH. Schoeneweis LR. Gutierrez UT. Peguero UT. Rosales

The apparent uncertainties are in italics. It's only the back of the bullpen that really needs to be attended to, and the three names I've penciled in there are just the first ones that come to mind. There are a number of other players which could end up appearing instead: Coutlangus, Buckner, Medders...hey, what's Edgar Gonzalez doing these days? ;-) If you have any thoughts on that topic, feel free to chip in. The Tribune report a deal for Clark, around the $750K mark, appears to be being negotiated. It seems odd to have a left-hander to back up...a left-hander at first-base, but Bob Melvin's love for Tony knows no bounds. Just, please, don't use him as a pinch-runner for Upton again?

Nick Piecoro has extended quotes from Lopez on his blog, adding, "People familiar with Lopez say the key with him is to keep him motivated every day. He apparently had irked teammates in Washington by not always hustling. When he got to St. Louis, he said he just wanted to play for a contending team -- something he didn’t have in Washington -- and it was pretty clear that his motivation level changed pretty drastically, as did his production." Lopez himself added, "It was just not a good fit. They're still trying to figure things out and I was just not the right fit for that time." I think if Arizona stay in contention, he'll be fine; and if we're not, it's only a one-year deal, so it won't matter. Of course, either way, we could still be looking for another second-baseman in December 2009.

Nick is also the source for the potential batting lineup given above, which makes some sense. Lopez is a switch-hitter, while Drew and Tracy are lefties, so it does a nice job of breaking up the order. I'm not sure about Jackson in the clean-up spot. I think I'd perhaps prefer him higher up, with Upton batting at #4, and I don't like Young, with his low OBP, second. My personal choice would be:

Lopez (S)
Jackson
Drew (L)
Upton
Reynolds
Young
Tracy (L)
Snyder
Pitcher

CoJack isn't your typical top of the order guy, but he gets on base very well, and he showed decent wheels last season. The 6-8 spots are certainly open to discussion, but dropping Tracy to seven gives us a left-handed bat to break up the bottom of the order. Young's OBP probably doesn't even merit the six spot, but his power does. Looking at that starting line-up, it's not inconceivable all eight regular starters could reach double-figures in home-runs [Lopez being the least likely]. That's something few teams in National League history have managed: three in 2007 (the Brewers, Braves and Reds), but outside that, barely a handful (the 1952 Giants, 1965 Reds, 1995 Expos, 1999 Reds, 2000 Giants, 2003 Braves).