SB Nation - Sean Gallagher

NL West Report: Hispanic Nicknames

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:00:39 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Article-subject language disagreement

Earlier this season Giants, who played with a uniform featuring "Gigantes" across the front for Hispanic Heritage Night. The Diamonbacks utilized a similar tactic this weekend, taking the field with "Los D-Backs" emblazened across the front of their alternate black uniforms.

Unfortunately for Arizona, the Hispanic mojo didn't help them on the field, as they appear more like Los Lonely Boys in the NL West cellar after two terrible weeks. Or, as Jim McLennan from the Pit notes, the uniforms would be more apt had a "t" been added after the "Los."

The use of Spanish on uniforms got me thinking...what if the Rockies put on their uniforms and follow the lead of their divisional foes? There may be less of a Hispanic population in Colorado than Arizona or California, but it is certainly a noteworthy presence all the same. In addition, the Rockies payroll is increasing dramatically in the Hispanic sector. Tell me what you think in the poll.

NL West Report

Arizona (62-82, t5th, L3, 23 GB)

Last Week: 1-5. 1-2 vs Dodgers. 0-3 vs Brewers. Arizona was swept for the second straight weekend, sending them to three games below fourth-place San Diego after going 2-11 the last two weeks. The loss yesterday guaranteed the Diamondbacks of a losing season, quite the disappointment after being a popular 1st or 2nd place team in preseason predictions.

Pace: 70-92 (-2 from last week)

Divisional Change: Lost 3.0 games on LAD.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Padres, 3 game home series vs Rockies. The schedule doesn't get any easier for Arizona, who has to go to Petco to play a team riding a 6-series win streak before hosting all the awesomeness that is the Colorado Rockies.

News: Inside the D-backs: Decision on coaching staff to come later

Ken Rosenthal suggests Arizona third base coach Chip Hale or former manager Bob Melvin as a fit for the Nationals managerial position next year, though interim manager Jim Riggelman has a legitimate shot to retain his post.

Top prospect Jarrod Parker will begin a throwing program tomorrow. Arizona's 2007 first-round pick was shut down in July after feeling discomfort in his elbow. After reassessing him in coming weeks, the Diamondbacks will decide whether he requires surgery or not. Says Josh Byrnes:

"Anytime an injury doesn't respond, I think you have to consider surgery...But again there's reason to believe the conservative course will get him back to where he was." - Steve Gilbert, MLB.com

Jarrod Parker

#77 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 180

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Nov 24, 1988

Kevin Mulvey, a waiver trade pickup from Minnesota, made his first career start Saturday. He struggled mightily in a 9-2 loss to the Brewers.

Transactions: Recalled OF Trent Oeltjen and C Luke Carlin.

Injuries: Activated LHP Scott Schoeneweis (depression) from the 15-day DL. Nothing new was found in recent bloodwork for Conor Jackson, but he's likely to miss the rest of the season, making it difficult for last year's cleanup man to earn his roster spot back for 2010.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chris Snyder	lower-back	08/23/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chad Qualls	knee	08/31/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (85-59, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Diamondbacks. 2-1 @ Giants. Los Angeles failed to complete the sweep in both series after winning the first two games both times. It was a strong turnaround after failing to win either series the previous week agains the division's worst teams.

Pace: 97-65. (+2)

Divisional Change: Lost 0.5 game lead on COL.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Pirates, 3 game home series vs Giants. While the Rockies try to win a game at AT&T Park, the Dodgers can force the Rockies to be focusing on the wild card by sweeping the Pirates. It is the first time the Dodgers and Pirates have played this season.

News: Ronnie Belliard is providing an excuse for the Dodgers not to pay Orlando Hudson. In starting in place of Hudson 5 of the last 13 games, Belliard is robbing Hudson of the $10K/PA the starting second-sacker is due to receive per his contract.

Orlando Hudson

#13 / Second Base / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Dec 12, 1977

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Orlando Hudson	135	514	70	147	31	4	9	58	53	92	8	1	.286	.354	.414

Say what you will about a collapse - holding a divisional lead for practically the entirety of a season is something to be commended, and only a team with several strong contributors are capable of such a feat. So who is the MVP of the team? The answer from a few players may surprise you.

Brad Penny and Larry Bowa made amends in a private meeting this past weekend. The two were at ugly odds over several issues after Penny's departure from Los Angeles.

Ken Rosenthal also suggests the Dodgers may be interested in Dan Uggla.

Transactions: Called up IFs Chin-Lung Hu and Blake DeWitt.

Injuries: Activated RHP Hiroki Kuroda from the 15-day DL. Clayton Kershaw missed his Friday start with a bruised shoulder. He won't be on the DL and should return soon. Jim Thome is day-to-day with a right heel issue, and Randy Wolf is day-to-day with left elbow stiffness. He is scheduled to make his start tomorrow against Pittsburgh. Will Ohman is still attempting to return to the Dodgers this month after being on the DL since May 28 with a left shoulder injury.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Wolf	elbow	09/13/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Clayton Kershaw	shoulder	09/13/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Guillermo Mota	other-excused	08/30/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	08/06/2009

San Diego (60-78, 5th, L2, 22.5 GB)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Giants, 2-1 vs Rockies. The Padres have become the ultimate spoilers. They have now won six straight series, five against the top seven playoff contending teams. Despite winning the series against Colorado, however, the Rockies mathematically eliminated San Diego from the division title Friday.

Pace: 70-94 (+1).

Divisonal change: No change.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Diamondbacks, First 3 games of a 4 game road series @ Pirates. Will there be a letdown now that they will be playing two of the three teams that are more than a game worse than them?

News: The Padres are out to thwart contending teams, and that is no joke. The only consolation for playoff teams is that they have been a thorn in every team's side, defeating every playoff contender they have faced in the last seven series two games to one.

Nick Hundley drove in a run in walk-off fashion, in his first career pinch-hit AB. And he didn't even have to make contact.

An AL Scout says Kevin Towers fleeced Billy Beane with the Scott Hairston deal, the trade in which he recieved RHPs Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano. That's hard to argue against when Hairston has a worse OBP than any Rockie position player, including Omar Quintanilla.

Scott Hairston

#12 / Left Field / Oakland Athletics

Height: 6-0

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 25, 1980

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Scott Hairston	52	205	21	49	10	1	7	32	8	32	3	2	.239	.269	.400

Ken Rosenthal says the Padres' payroll could be as low as being in the neighborhood of $25million next year. For that to happen, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell would have to be moved, along with Brian Giles leaving the payroll. Those three moves have a decent chance of happening.

Baltimore is averse to trading their top prospects, so they are out of the running for A-Gone, not that I saw much of a fit there to begin with.

Transactions: Recalled RHP Sean Gallagher and LHPs Aaron Poreda and Cesar Ramos from AAA Portland.

Injuries: Rookie OF Kyle Blanks will likely miss the rest of the season with a partial tear in his right plantar fascia (part of the foot). Kevin Kouzmanoff is still day to day with a strained calf.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Kyle Blanks	foot	08/29/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	08/22/2009

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

San Francisco (77-66, 3rd, W1, 7.5 GB in Div, 4.5 GB in WC)

Last Week: 2-4. 1-2 vs Padres. 1-2 vs Dodgers. I would consider it a failure of a week to lose two games in the wild card standings in which you lose a home series against the Padres then fail to capitalize when the Padres swiped a series from Colorado.

Pace: 87-75 (-2).

Divisional Change: Lost 2.0 games in NL West (LAD), lost 2 games in WC (COL).

This Week: 3 game home series vs Rockies, 3 game road series @ Dodgers. If the Giants don't take advantage of their mound triumverate and at least win the series against Colorado, it will be hard to continue considering them in contention for the wild card, as they would be 5.5 games back at best with 16 games left.

News: Timcecum missed his last start but should be back tonight. He'll face Jason Hammel, who quite literally is the best fifth starter in MLB.

Several Giants are nearing career numbers, not greatly surprising given their youth. However, one player worth highlighing is Jeremy Affeldt, who raised eyebrows by signing a quick lucrative deal in the offseason. He has already shown why he deserved that contract. He leads the league in holds, for what you will make of that.

Jeremy Affeldt

#41 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-4

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jun 06, 1979

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jeremy Affeldt	1-2	65	0	0	0	0	0	53.0	40	13	11	2	28	45	1.87	1.28

I hate to point this out - I really do - but after beating the Dodgers last night, Brad Penny is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in three starts since joining the Giants' rotation. That's good for a 0.4 WAR, giving him a strong shot to pass Randy Johnson's three month body of work (0.5 WAR) in just a month. It is worth noting he won the Giants' only game against the Padres as well as defeating two strong offenses and two of the best teams in the National League.

Top prospect Madison Bumgarner made his MLB debut Tuesday. The promotion was a surprise but oddly mirrors the Rockies move to try out Esmil Rogers against the Padres in an effort to delay their hobbled ace for the Rockies series. Bumgarner San earned a no-decision, allowing two runs in 5.1 IP including five hits, two of them home runs.

Transactions: Called up LHPs Madison Bumgarner and Alex Hinshaw, RHP Joe Martinez and 2b Kevin Frandsen. Outrighted RHP Ryan Sadowski to AAA Fresno and DFA'd RHP Osiris Matos. The Washington Nationals claimed P Jesse English from the Giants on waivers.

Injuries: Activated Freddy Sanchez from the 15-day DL, finally. Tim Lincecum missed his last start with back spasms but is expected to take the mound tonight against Jason Hammel and the Rockies. Randy Johnson has seen no setbacks of yet in his attempt to return to action with the Giants in their bullpen.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tim Lincecum	lower-back	09/12/2009

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
Emmanuel Burriss	foot	09/01/2009
Henry Sosa	shoulder	08/05/2009

Poll

If the Rockies were to have a Hispanic Heritage Night, what would they put on their uniforms?

Las Montañas

51 votes

Los Rockies

28 votes

Las Montañas Rocosas

26 votes

Rockies

28 votes

Red

10 votes

Other/Tell me in the comments

4 votes

147 votes | Poll has closed

Padres Anagrams

jbox — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:29:12 -0000

Dex was just showing me this website that figures out an anagram for your name. I decided to do it for each of the Padres. Surprisingly in some cases the anagram actually describes the person. It's remarkable!

NAME	ANAGRAM
Jeff Moorad	MAJOR OF FED
Tom Garfinkel	GNATLIKE FORM
Kevin Towers	I'VE NETWORKS
Paul DePodesta	UP PLEASED TOAD
Grady Fuson	FURY GONADS
Bud Black	BALD BUCK
Heath Bell	HELL! BATHE
Greg Burke	KRUGER BEG
Kevin Correia	CROAKIER VEIN
Sean Gallagher	HAS LARGE ANGEL
Luke Gregerson	OK GREENER SLUG
Mat Latos	AM TOTALS
Wade LeBlanc	CLEAN BAWLED
Edward Mujica	DRAW MAD JUICE
Luis Perdomo	I'M PROUD LOSE
Aaron Poreda	POOR AND AREA
Cesar Ramos	OR MASSACRE
Clayton Richard	A CONTRARY CHILD
Adam Russell	SMALL AS RUDE
Tim Stauffer	MATURE STIFF
Joe Thatcher	HA! REJECT HOT
Ryan Webb	BRAWN BYE
Eliezer Alfonzo	RAZZLE OF ONE LIE
Henry Blanco	LYNCH ON BEAR
Nick Hundley	UNKINDLY CHE
Everth Cabrera	BRAVER CHEATER
David Eckstein	KINDEST ADVICE
Adrian Gonzalez	DAZZLING ON AREA
Edgar Gonzalez	NAG DAZZLE OGRE
Kevin Kouzmanoff	KNAVE FUNK IF ZOOM
Luis Rodriguez	GURU IDOLIZERS
Oscar Salazar	ALAS! CZAR OR AS
Anthony Gwynn Junior	JOY! NOW HURTING NANNY
Chase Headley	ELSE HEADACHY
Drew Macias	A WEIRD SCAM
Will Venable	WELL! EVIL BAN
Gaslamp Ball	SMALL BAG PAL

GM Towers: "I think he'd [Kyle Blanks] be pretty good behind the plate too."

jbox — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:31:18 -0000

XX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers interview (MP3) with Darren Smith

Kevin Towers is a huge University of Oregon fan. He couldn't go to the game because he was in a meeting with Moorad and Garfinkel.
Towers thinks that you can add 3/4's of a run onto a pitcher's ERA when they go from the NL to the AL.
Towers would like for the AL to do away with the Designated Hitter.
He would rather put money into pitching than to sink it into a DH.
Towers likes the Padres game time changes. He needs to find another pitcher with a split finger like to Sterling Hitchcock to pitch in the shadows.
Edward Mujica, Josh Banks or Cesar Ramos will take Mat Latos' spot in the rotation. They'll use September to look at pitchers.
We will see Sean Gallagher in the bullpen before the end of the season. He could be a back end starter in 2010.
The Padres are going to be cautious over the next 4 weeks with Kyle Blanks foot injury. He'll be in the middle of the line up next year. He'll be out of the cast in the next 10 days. He doesn't think it's serious enough to be a career ending injury.
Towers thinks Blanks would make a good catcher. He'd be a nice big target to throw to and no runners would take him out like they did Wiki Gonzalez.

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

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

GM Towers: "Hate to lose, hate to lose the way that we do"

jbox — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:07:35 -0000

XX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith

Padres been getting decent pitching but have had problems scoring. It will be nice to have David Eckstein and Henry Blanco back.
At the end of the year hopefully the Padres will get Young and Peavy back.
"Hate to lose, hate to lose the way that we do". If the Padres weren't suffering from injuries than they would be performing better than they are. "I'm sure it's not fun for the fans". The Padres are going through the growing pains.
"Hopefully we can find something positive here in the upcoming months to give of us a little bit of momentum going into the off season, because this feels a lot like Groundhog Day and a lot like last year.
Towers says the injuries are a result of "Two years of bad luck", it's not the fault of trainers or team doctors. It's nothing they could have prevented.
Addressing his quotes in the UT, Towers thinks Adrian Gonzalez is at the point where he is frustrated as well. He's at the stage where he wants to win. Adrian looks at the young players and talk of Peavy moving and realizing that there isn't a chance of winning in the foreseeable future.
It's highly unlikely anything will happen before the deadline in terms of trading Adrian. At the end of the season Towers will sit down with Moorad, Garfinkel and Black to see what they need to do to turn the team around. They might talk about locking him up in a long term deal, but they'll discuss that at the end of the season.
Even if Adrian Gonzalez thinks it's best to move him, he'd have to realize the backlash the Padres would face moving such a popular player.
To convince Adrian to stay in a long term deal, they'd have to show him the talent of the young players. In the next two months those guys will have to start producing. It will give the fans and Towers some hope.
Kyle Blanks will probably start playing a lot more. Towers talked to Black about it after the game. They will make a move in the next couple days when Eckstein comes back. More than likely it will be an outfielder and you'll see Blanks out there more often. The move will more than likely be a younger player with options.
The PTBNL in the Scott Hairston trade will be named the last week in July. There were two players they identified that they would choose from. The one they are leaning towards has been mentioned (Sean Gallagher).
Cla Meredith was passed up by other guys in the bullpen (Mojica, Gregerson and Adams). He wasn't pitching in a significant role. His velocity dropped from 90mph to 84mph. He didn't have the sink he once had. Lefties were hitting .300 against him. He was arbitration eligible next year and he'd still probably be a 11th or 12th pitcher. With Edgar Gonzalez going down they thought Oscar Salazar would give them a right handed bat off the bench and be more valuable for the team.
Towers responds to Krasovic's assertion that players had tuned out the hitting coach. "Being named a hitting coach for the San Diego Padres in Petco Park is literally a death sentence. It has not worked out for many that have been here." There is a huge age difference between Jimmy Lefebvre and the players. The players need to look in the mirror. "If they tune him out than they are evidently not tuning in the right person right now because it's not working either."
Towers says that Moorad and Garfinkel are evaluating all the Padres employees.
Tony Gwynn and Everth Cabrera are two of the better players and they didn't come from the Padres system.
On Mat Latos: "Liked it, liked the stuff, nice to see 98 pop up there on the scoreboard the first pitch of the game." He probably could have gotten out of the game with just the solo home run. The first start was a good one. He thinks he'll be better against the Nationals. He'll have a pitch count of 75 to 90. He has the ability to throw 90 pitches in 7 innings. Keeping a player from doubling their innings from one year to the next makes sense to Towers.
The bullpen has been the best part of the club this year. They just need to figure out how to score some runs. "We're not doing it now, so we're going to have to find a way."
Things are moving slow with Donovan Tate. His agent is working to sign other players first. The local area scout is keeping in contact with Tate.
Towers isn't getting many calls because they don't have many active players that are playing well.

Sean Gallagher to San Diego in the Scott Hairston trade

Adam J. Morris — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:00:28 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

San Diego Padres' Scott Hairston celebrates being traded out of San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Browse more photos »

So, as suspected, Sean Gallagher is the PTBNL going to San Diego in the Scott Hairston trade. This makes this roughly the equivalent of the Rangers giving up Matt Harrison, Tommy Hunter, and Michael Schlacht...raise your hand if you think that would have been a good deal for the Rangers.

There was some praise for Billy Beane on getting Hairston, but he seems like a nice but somewhat fungible bat, a guy you can plug in as a role player on a good team, but also someone who, at age 29, isn't getting any better and is just getting more expensive. And with a team that can't find regular playing time for Travis Buck and Aaron Cunningham, you kind of have to wonder what the point is.

Dan Szymborski goes so far as to suggest that the A's may need to move on without Beane:

Still, you get the sense that the front office the last 18 months or so has been reduced to making decisions merely on the tactical level, a la Dan O'Dowd. A lot of the moves the A's have made have been positive in a completely isolated sense, such as the Holliday trade, but don't seem to fit into a long-term strategic framework. As I suggest in the title, maybe it's time the A's move another direction in regards to team management. I think Beane's been a great GM for the team overall, but after an extremely long stint, one has to wonder if the A's wouldn't be better off if they had someone making personnel decisions that had a few more big ideas that they're just itching to implement. Creative energy can become stagnant, no matter how talented the individual in question is.

Beane has been so good, so long, that there seems to be a willingness in some quarters to give him a pass on deals like this. If Beane is letting Gallagher et al go, then they must not be very good (never mind that Gallagher was, along with Matt Murton, one of the key pieces to the Rich Harden trade last season). And Hairston...well, he's got value, he gets on base, he's not TOO expensive, clearly the Padres must have screwed up.

But for a team that isn't going anywhere this season, you have to wonder what the point of dealing three decent (if low-ceiling) pitching prospects for someone like Hairston is.

NL West exceeds expectations as a whole in 2009's first half

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:00:14 -0000

So we have reached the All-Star Break. The mid-way point. I guess it's a good time to reflect on how the season has played out in the NL West. The Rockies have the most wins in franchise history by the All-Star Break and are the most games over .500 since 1995. So how does this bipolar Rockies season stack up in the NL West?

NL West Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Los Angeles	56	32	.636	0	Won 1
San Francisco	49	39	.556	7	Lost 1
Colorado	47	41	.534	9	Won 1
Arizona	38	51	.426	18.5	Lost 1
San Diego	36	52	.409	20	Won 1

(updated 7.12.2009 at 6:49 PM MDT)

Of course, those standings hardly surprise you I'm sure, given you probably keep good track of this daily. Besides, the order of the teams placed in the division are pretty well in line with popular opinion prior to Opening Day. In fact, they fall perfectly in line with Baseball Prospectus' pre-season projections. Yawn. We knew the Dodgers would be good and that the Padres would be terrible.

What might be more interesting is measuring the teams' record against what was expected. Which team is overachieving their expectations? Which team is performing far worse than anyone thought? And how has that changed over the course of the season?

This is why graphs are cool. I put together the graph below that depicts the number of games over (or under) the projected win percentage for each NL West team, after every game of the season. Each individual team's graph will mirror their win percentage graph, but this is normalized to each team's expected playing level. So any team above zero is exceeding projections - any team below is disappointing.

Blue denotes the Dodgers, green the Padres, orange the Giants, purple the Rockies, and red the Diamondbacks. Click wide view to see the graph in all its primitive glory.

A couple things to take from this, most of which you already know:

The Dodgers have been playing at a high level since mid-April, lost very little during Manny Ramirez' suspension, and are currently outperforming projections more than any current team. In fact, this is their best record at the All-Star Break since 1977.
The Padres have spent less than five days in the black. Despite their abysmal record, they've been above BP's expectations practically the entire year. That means two things: 1) We all knew the Friars would be terrible, and 2) Bud Black has done a fantastic job despite losing 60% of his games. In fact, if this was your criteria, Black could be Jim Tracy's best competition for Manager of the Division.
The Rockies' start to the season was BAAAAD, but winning streaks do serious damage in the standings no matter how you look at it.
The Diamondbacks have underperformed the entire season, but the Rockies were the team to hit rock bottom, a full seven games below their expected record, six games after Jim Tracy took over.
AJ Hinch initially recovered after a lull, but Arizona is worse off now than they ever were with Bob Melvin.
Other than the Diamondbacks, the NL West has been surprisingly successful to date. The other four divisional teams sit at least a win better than their expected record at the All-Star Break.

So we've covered the present and the past. Might as well complete the trifecta by looking at the future. How about Baseball Prospectus' projected final standings, which takes the first half's games into account.

NL West PROJECTED Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	PLAYOFF ODDS
Los Angeles	100	62	.617	0	98.94%
Colorado	87	75	.537	13	42.60%
San Francisco	86	76	.531	14	35.43%
Arizona	73	89	.451	27	0.34%
San Diego	67	95	.414	33	0.01%

(updated 7.12.2009 at 6:49 PM MDT)

So there you go. The Giants and Rockies are given 32.34% and 39.04% chances of winning the wild card, while no other NL team has more than a 3.65% chance. Compare that to the Rockies' 3.56% chance of winning the NL West. Mr. Kruk, BP says the Rockies have twice the chance to win the NL West than the Mets making the playoffs...Hmm...

For a smaller timescale, check the week in review of the NL West after the jump.

NL West Report

Arizona (38-51, 4th, L1, 18.5 GB)

Last Week: 5-2. 3-0 vs Padres, 2-2 vs Marlins. In spite of a strong 5-2 week, Arizona gained just a half game on Los Angeles and gained no ground on Colorado or San Francisco.

This Week: ASB, 3 game road series @ Cardinals.

News: Arizona finally cut the cord and released the ineffective Tony Clark. The big pinch-hitter has looked completely overmatched this season, except for Opening Day of course. AZ SnakePit reacts.

Tony Clark

#31 / First Base / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-7

Weight: 245

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Jun 15, 1972

	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Tony Clark	.182	.295	.424

(Note: As bad as that stat line is, it's still better than Chris Young)

Jon Heyman of SI says offers for Chad Qualls may be "too tempting to ignore." However, Arizona might lean towards keeping Doug Davis, as they won't get the 1st to 2nd round talent they desire in a trade and would gain from a compensatory pick should Davis leave in free agency.

The Diamondbacks traded reliever Tony Pena to the White Sox for power hitting first baseman Brandon Allen. Allen will DH or play 1B in AAA, especially now that Josh Whitesell can play with the big club with the Clark transaction.

There is no new injury news to report. Arizona did option Ryan Roberts to AAA and recall Leo Rosales

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009
Chris Snyder	lower-back	06/21/2009

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 (56-32, 1st, W2)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Mets, 2-1 @ Brewers. An impressive road trip helped close out the Dodgers' best start in 32 years.

This Week: ASB. 4 game home series vs Astros. Houston has quietly climbed to .500 and sits just one game below .500 on the road, so this series isn't necessarily as cupcakey as one might think.

News: All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton will miss the All-Star Game with a toe injury. There's no word on how long he'll be out, but with Ronald Belisario injured as well, two of the Dodgers' top three relievers are on the shelf with injuries.

Jonathan Broxton

#51 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-4

Weight: 290

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jun 16, 1984

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jonathan Broxton	6-0	3.10	0.93	65	17

Bill Shaikin of the LA Times suggests a package of Russell Martin, Josh Lindblom and Devaris Gordon to land Roy Halladay, then suggests LA wouldn't even do that deal because Gordon is "untouchable" and "the coaching staff would be reluctant to lose Martin." Yeah okay.

Apparently, there were two LA scouts at a Toronto game, but not for Halladay. For Scott Rolen.

LA is still interested in Mark Mulder.

Manny Ramirez tied Mickey Mantle for 15th on the career HR list with 536 Friday.

Brendan Scolari at TrueBlueLA has exceprts from a Ned Colletti radio interview regarding the Dodgers and the trade market.

TrueBlueLA's Week in Review.

Eric Milton's 15-day DL stint will expire over the All-Star Break, but the Dodgers have yet to make a roster move accordingly that I can see. Integral rookie reliever Ronald Belisario landed on the 15-day DL with an elbow injury last Monday. Cory Wade was called up to replace him in the bullpen, and has since thrown 1.2 scoreless innings. Scott Elbert also joined the pen.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	03/30/2009
Xavier Paul	knee	05/21/2009
Ronald Belisario	elbow	07/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Hong-Chih Kuo	elbow	04/30/2009

San Diego (36-52, 5th, W1, 20 GB)

Last Week: 1-6. 0-3 @ Diamondbacks. 1-3 @ Giants. San Diego has won just 3 of their last 14 and is falling fast in the division, as no other NL West team won less than 4 games last week. They now have the worst run differential in MLB.

This Week: ASB, 4 game home series vs Rockies.

News: Susan Slusser of SFGate reports that the PTBNL in the Scott Hairston deal is Sean Gallagher, the same pitcher that was regarded as the centerpiece of the Rich Harden trade last year. Gallagher has upside but his stock has fallen due to injury. He will switch to San Diego's disabled list with a knee injury. Reaction from A's fans, and the reaction from Padres fans.

Sean Gallagher

#39 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-2

Weight: 235

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 30, 1985

Former 2002 Blue Jay first round pick Russ Adams has signed a minor league deal with the Padres. The infielder was DFA'd July 3rd by Toronto and has reported to San Diego's AAA affiliate. Also signed and assigned to AAA was catcher Yamid Haad.

GasLampBall apparently has video of Matt Bush being arrested.

Adrian Gonzalez is a good dude. The Padres' 1B will be in the Home Run Derby tonight and will donate $200 to charity for ever home run hit. His NL compadres are all first basemen - Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols.

In a Ken Rosenthal piece, Kevin Towers compares Everth Cabrera to Rafael Furcal.

Cliff Floyd is still on the 60day DL - I'm not sure why the widget lost him. Luke Gregerson was activated from the 15day DL Tuesday setting off a flurry of other roster moves. San Diego recalled Mike Ekstrom, placed David Eckstein on the 15day DL with a hamstring injury, optioned Joe Thatcher to AAA, added Ryan Webb (he of the Hairston trade) to the roster, DFA'd Walter Silva and called up RH SP Tim Stauffer.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jake Peavy	ankle	06/09/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Nick Hundley	forearm	06/18/2009
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Henry Blanco	hamstring	07/05/2009
David Eckstein	hamstring	07/06/2009

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

San Francisco (49-39, 2nd, L1, 7 GB)

Last Week: 2-1 vs Marlins, 3-1 vs Padres. The only thing to complain about the Giants lately has been their inability to slam the door. They have lost the final game of their last four series.

This Week: ASB, 3 game road series @ Pirates. IT doesn't look like it, but this could be a good place to make up ground on SF. The Rockies draw the paltry Padres for four games while the Giants take their 18-24 road record to PNC Park, where the Pirates are 22-17.

News: You have surely heard it by now, but if not, Jonathan Sanchez threw a no-hitter Friday. If it hadn't been for an 8th inning error on Juan Uribe, it would have been a perfect game. It was just the 6th time in MLB history a pitcher got 11+ K's, zero walks and zero hits. Sanchez' start was the only non-perfect game of the bunch. Not bad for a guy who was 2-8 with a 5.30 ERA coming in. He had been banished to the bullpen and only got the start due to a Randy Johnson injury.

Jonathan Sanchez

#57 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 190

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Nov 19, 1982

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jonathan Sanchez	3-8	4.69	1.50	79	46

The no-hitter is a boon for Sanchez' trade value (maybe), and Henry Schuman at SFGate suggests he could be part of a trade bringing back Freddy Sanchez and perhaps All-Star Zach Duke.

Tim Lincecum will start the All-Star Game. He was the only NL All-Star not to appear in 2008 due to illness, so this is a nice way for the Cy Young winner to jump in.

Dave Allen at Fangraphs has a great read on former Rockie Jeremy Affeldt and his newfound propensity for getting ground balls with the best in the league.

Not enough people voted from the West coast. Shane Victorino beat out the Kung Fu Panda for the last slot on the All-Star Team. Jayson Werth replaced Carlos Beltran on the roster, so Philadelphia now has five of their eight hitters on the All-Star squad. That is disgusting. Only Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz were left out. Sick.

Two of the Giants top three starters in their rotation are injured. Randy Johnson's shoulder injury has landed him on the 15day DL, while Matt Cain is being monitored after taking a line drive off the elbow. X-rays are negative. He hasn't been put on the DL - watch this. Kevin Frandsen was called up. The Giants won't need a fifth starter until July 20, so they optioned Ryan Sadowski to Single-A and recalled John Bowker.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Matt Cain	elbow	07/12/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	shoulder	07/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Joe Martinez	concussion	04/10/2009

Astros 4, Pirates 1: Offense Vanishes Again

Charlie — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:02:03 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Garrett Jones misses a ball hit by Geoff Blum Monday.

Browse more photos »

Again, the Pirates just completely vanished in this one, and you could see from the beginning that the offense just wasn't going to hit. Mike Hampton allowed only three hits despite struggling with his command early and, you know, not being very good.

It was also clear from this game that the outfield has slowed down a lot in the past couple weeks. Delwyn Young took what seemed to be an eternity to get to a double hit to the left field corner--or maybe we've just been spoiled by Nyjer Morgan. And Garrett Jones narrowly avoided a Jose Canseco situation--Jones pulled back a Geoff Blum hit that would have been a homer, but it bounced off him and caromed way, and the Astros scored two runs as Blum cruised into third. It initially appeared that the ball had bounced off Jones' head and then just missed going over the wall, but it actually bounced off his arm. Keeping in mind that the Astros' right field wall isn't high at all, a lot of outfielders would have made the catch, in which case the game would have been much closer.

On the plus side, Evan Meek looked filthy recording three strikeouts in the eighth.

A few notes:

A's add some pop in Hairston from Padres
The Padres have traded Scott Hairston to the A's for minor leaguers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano and a player to be named. This strikes me as reasonable. For a slightly above average hitter who's overachieving this year, the Padres get a fringy reliever (Webb), a very high-risk starting pitching prospect (Italiano, who's kind of like an older, lower-upside version of Jeff Locke in that he strikes out and walks a ton of guys, gets a fair number of grounders, and has an early-round draft pedigree) and a PTBNL, who's rumored to be Sean Gallagher, who Padres fans can hope will fit into the back end of the team's rotation. It's kind of a grab bag from the Padres' end, but Hairston isn't that good of a player, and pitching depth doesn't grow on trees.

Twitter / Jorge Arangure: Am convinced Sano will not ...
ESPN's Jorge Arangure says the Orioles don't see Miguel Sano as being worth more than $1.5 million or so. If true, this likely makes the Pirates the best candidate to sign him. I just noticed that Androgen Jar Jimmy put this in the fanshots as well, and he also has a pretty provocative fanpost on the subject.

Louisville 15, Indianapolis 1
Donnie Veal (and Jason Davis, Juan Mateo, and, to a lesser extent, Brad Lincoln) got knocked around by the Louisville Bats tonight. Veal allowed five runs and four walks in 1.3 innings, and now has a AAA ERA of 6.43.

West Virgnia 8, Lakewood 4
Tony Sanchez went 2-for-4 (raising his average at West Virginia to .368) and Quincy Latimore went 3-for-5, and Quinton Miller also pitched pretty well. Robbie Grossman, however, struck out four times.

GCL Yankees 6, GCL Pirates 3
2008 bonus baby Wesley Freeman is off to a great start for rookie-league Bradenton. Also, Rinku Singh pitched a scoreless inning tonight.

Scott Hairston Traded to Oakland A's for Two Minor League Pitchers and a PTBNL

Tyler Bleszinski — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:12:39 -0000

The A's always seem to try and get a jump on the trading deadline. Today is no different. The A's decided to acquire Scott Hairston from the San Diego Padres today for Ryan Webb, Craig Italiano and a PTBNL.

I like this deal a lot. It gives the A's a very good outfielder under control until 2011. It also affords the A's the flexibility to move Matt Holliday when the time and the right deal comes along. And if it doesn't come along, then the A's can take those draft picks and know that they have someone in the outfield to replace Holliday when he walks.

At the same time, there have already been quite a few who have speculated that the A's are trying to make a Holliday deal even more attractive for someone else by throwing in Hairston in a deal with Holliday. But Hairston seems like one of those guys who was probably on a Billy Beane most wanted list and that often means that he's going to keep you until he can't afford to anymore.

Hairston looks even better if he can play center field for the A's. Then again, the A's have put Ryan Sweeney out there a bunch this year and I could see Hairston actually being an upgrade over Sweeney at that position, both with the bat and the glove.

Paul DePodesta weighs in on the deal here. Here's an excerpt:

While trading Scott is difficult and not without risk, especially given his excellent production this season, this move provides us with some young power arms with big upside - a real need for us - while also allowing for other young players to continue to amass Major League at-bats in our outfield.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if that PTBNL is Sean Gallagher. And if it is, then I still think it's a good trade. Gallagher had a lot of potential, but the A's are chock full of young arms with a lot of potential. They need to get a right-handed stick that is under salary control for a while who can provide good defense. This finally plugs that hole and the A's clearly didn't have a lot of faith in Gallagher. We'll see though. It also wouldn't surprise me to see it be someone like Henry Rodriguez. But we'll just have to wait to find out.

Gas Lamp Ball doesn't like the move at all, calling it throwing in the towel on the season.

I understand the Padres have absolutely no chance of doing anything this year, hell everybody knows that except Heath Bell. The problem is that with Hairston gone, the chances of the Padres threatening to score has just been reduced.

The white flag of surrender is being flown above Petco Park. I see it now, the invitation for other teams to rape and pillage. Come one, come all.

I just think ultimately you can never predict what Beane and company are going to do. You expect them to be announcing deals where they're moving Holliday, Orlando Cabrera and Adam Kennedy and instead they come out and acquire someone who helps immediately but also will help for two more years down the road. Beane always talks about being both a buyer and a seller at the deadline with every move.

That's exactly what he was here.