HAWT ROSTERBATION ACTION!

So I went to MLBTR and found a couple of pieces that intrigued me.

1. The list of guys who's could be had by merely assuming ownership of their contract.

 Ryan Dempster was an interesting inclusion on this list. I like his recent history and by that I don't mean his last three starts I mean his last three seasons. He has been getting BABIP'd this season and his xFIP is 3.37. He seems very much like a good buy low candidate. Obviously the our pitching is strong and there isn't a strong need for one. But there is a strong need for a bat and it would be great that bat came at SS.

That leads me to point of interest number 2. And granted I realize this is pure speculation by Tim Dierkes

All four NL Central contenders are weak at shortstop, so if one of the clubs acquires a prize like J.J. Hardy it also takes an option away from direct rivals.  The Orioles aim to talk extension with Hardy before the All-Star break.  If that possibility falls through with time to spare before the July 31st deadline, Hardy will be a hot commodity.

 Yeah, it's a longshot, but if Hardy does become available, I can't think of a better trade target.

So how do these things add up?

Well my thought was, if Dempster basically costs "zero" in prospects, and Hardy becomes available, we could send Sanchez and a non-Belt-Wheeler-Brown prospect (no I have not concluded who that might be) to Baltimore for Hardy, which I think is an enticing idea for both teams. Sanchez offers a not too expensive solution as a 2/3 starter in their rotation through the end of 2012--and if Hardy doesn't show a willingness to extend his tmie in Baltimore, Sanchez and a prospect is a lovely parting gift. We could also replace Sawnchez by acquiring Dempster who is also under contract through the end of 2012, however at a higher price of 14M next season.

Yes it would cost the team some money, the pro rated amount on about 15 million this year and the difference between Sanchez's arbitration award and 14 million for next season, which might be 6 million or so. Then more if they signed a long term deal with Hardy.

So, throwing the probability of all these chips falling into place out the window, what do you all think of this idea from a talent/value perspective in a fantasy baseball nerd sort of way?

So I was looking at my Pokemonz this morning and noticed that Jose Bautista is slugging 1.000 and has an OBP of .546 over the last 30 days. He has a 1.325 OPS for the season. Now granted SSS for the season data, but that is as about as good as anyone has ever hit for a two month span. Now I don't watch much TV but I do usually catch SportsCenter at the gym in the morning and I have not seen one mention of Jose Bautista's amazing season.


This is Jose Bautista's wOBA graph courtesy of fangraphs.

Here is Bautista compared to Bonds

This guy is putting up ridiculous numbers since last year and it's a bit surprising how little attention he gets. 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Barry Bonds helped the San Francisco Giants win the World Series last season. And he could help them win it again this season.

How? Because he's not a Giant anymore.

When Bonds and his toxic presence was finally removed by the hazmat people after the 2007 season, the Giants began to win more games. Not a lot at first, but enough to realize that Bonds' forced departure was like an emergency tracheotomy on the franchise's windpipe. The Giants could finally breathe again.

I'll have to ask Grant to look up Douchebag in his fancy picture dictionary for me because I am pretty sure the definition will look something like this:

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So the Giants are 14-4 in the Cactus League and have the best winning percentage in all of baseball. The starting pitching looks good, Wilson looks good, Panda looks good, Belt looks good, and Andres Torres is trying to show us that we should count on the new Andres Torres showing up ad infinitum.

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So a few thoughts on this whole Pujols media storm.

1. Why hasn't anyone referenced the Giants situation with Bonds. As far as I can see this situations are nearly identical. But I don't hear or read anyone looking to that as any kind of model. Both teams were generally succesful with their superstars guiding the offense. Both teams gutted anything of any value in their minor league system to keep veteran players around as a supporting cast to their star. Both teams neglected development for the most part. There is a lot that could be talked about and written about by comparing and contrasting these situations.
/Grant starts writing his next fan post

2. Really Jason Stark? Isn't that just a tad bit fatalist? Albert Pujols is now a free agent, and the Cardinals are screwed forever? Doesn't this just give them more time to decide if they want to commit 240 million for the next 8 years? How many offers are really going to come in much above that, now or next November?

3. Seriously people? Albert Pujols? Why do the Giants keep getting mentioned? Did they forget about Barry Zito? Do they realize that it will cost at least Pujols money to keep Timmy and Cain?

4. And finally, as means to capture an idea of value of some of our players, what would you give up for Pujols? I know it's never going to happen, and I know in point number 3 that I suggested that even the thought of it is ridiculous, I am still curious to here what the McCoven thinks about the value of Pujols in contrast to our players and how that might impact the teams immediate and future success.

Really, my first choice is to resign Juan Uribe for 2 years at 16-18 million. I have a feeling that he will get better offers. I hope that he will choose to stay in SF, but realizing he is the top FA SS I have to be prepared for alternatives. 

If Sabean is unable to retain Uribe, we will have a worse shortstop than we did last year and possibly much worse  which was mentioned here. So that means that if we are going to replace Uribe's production, it ain't hapenin' without a trade.

To be honest, over the past month between the Championship hangover and the Brandon Belt Show taking place in Scottsdale, I have felt no concern or urgency about this. However, the steady stream of shortstop rumors proliferating the interwebz and particularly the painful Emanuel Burris sighting on MLBTR have frightened me into analysis of trade opportunities. Apparently Stephen Drew isn't coming to San Francisco, but I am starting to become open to the idea of trading Sanchez for a shortstop--mostly because of Javier Vazquez.

I saw on MLBTR that he is seeking a one year deal and has turned down a 2/20 deal. I think he is a great candidate to rebound from an average year to a very good if not great performance in 2010. There is a alternating pattern over th past three years of mediocrity and success, and it's clear that he was effected by pitchin in the Band Box in the Bronx.

So...um...yeah, just looked at his fangraphs page, and here, the post takes a turn.

I was all about to post his BBR stats which I will here,

                                                                         
Year   Age  ERA  G    IP   H   R  ER HR BB ERA+  WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2007    31 3.74 32 216.2 197  95  90 29 50  126 1.140 8.2  1.2  2.1  8.8  4.26
2008    32 4.67 33 208.1 214 113 108 25 61   98 1.320 9.2  1.1  2.6  8.6  3.28
2009    33 2.87 32 219.1 181  75  70 20 44  143 1.026 7.4  0.8  1.8  9.8  5.41
2010    34 5.32 31 157.1 155  96  93 32 65   80 1.398 8.9  1.8  3.7  6.9  1.86

Then I had to reconsider what was going to be a loud cry of support for signing Vazquez and trading Sanchez for a SS.

The idea here was that his numbers (ERA, WHIP, ERA+, SO/BB) indicate this alternating success I mentioned. But then, I looked at his Fangraphs page. The fact that he had a career low BABIP of .276 was a conspicuous red flag. So I checked his xFIP--career low there too. Then I took a second look at SO/9, BB/9 and HR/9 and what I once wrote off to playing in a HR park now looked really uggly--especially when I saw that even in previous mediocre seasons, those numbers were pretty consistent. It's true that his K rate went down to a similar level in his last trip through the Bronx and he bounced back so I am really not sure what to think of him. At his age, with the dramatic decline in K-rate, HR rate and BB rate, from what was a pretty steady level the previous 5 seasons. I am skeptical that he can be as good as Jonathan Sanchez, or even close to it.

Still, the question is remains, do we risk going with an internal solution problem at SS, sign an inferior SS who just isn't as inferior as Emmanuel Burris, or do we trade someone like Sanchez for a comparable SS to Uribe--someone that might stand a chance of replacing his 3.2 WAR.

I'd REALLY like Alexei Ramirez if we are going to trade for a SS. I doubt that Chicago is interested in moving him he's a good hitting SS and a checks out with a 10 UZR and 12 FSR in 2010.

I'm not all that interested in other SS options and Ramirez would probably require more than his 1 year of remaining control is worth.

So yeah, let's just overpay for Uribe too.

due to no Minor league rundown as of 10:15 Pacific I am posting Belt's line from last night as it was rather impressive.

4/6 HR, 2B, SB, 1K

S(uper)SSS in Fresno is now   .217/.379/.522/.901    2 HR in 23 AB

AB 1 he hit a 2 run HR on a 2-1 count
AB 2 hit a double on the first pitch of the 3rd
AB 3 hit an RBI double to on the first pitch then stole second
AB 4 lined out on a 2-0 pitch
AB 5 RBI single on a 1-2 (1 swing through) count
AB 6 struck out on an 0-2 pitch. (1 swing through)

The 6th at bat came in the bottom of the 9th with bases loaded and 2 outs down by 4.

Maybe I have just missed it in my 30 years of baseball fandom but I don't think I have ever seen this very simple statistic used—Strikeouts:Base Runners. It would seem to be a very good and simple measurement of pitcher dominance, acoounting for strikeouts and baserunners allowed in one stat. My two favorite stats for pitchers are WHIP and K/9 and here they are wrapped into a nifty little package.

Here is a sample from the SO league leaders with Cain slipped in.

Johnson .993
Latos .967
Wainwright .896
Gallardo .882
Carpenter .872
Kershaw .847
J. Sanchez .824
Ubaldo .823
LIncecum .808
Cain .664

Pretty amazing that Johnson is one K away from having one K for every BR and Latos is two off if I remember right.

Anyway, thought this was interesting and I haven't seen it used before, although I might not be looking in the right places.

I would also wonder if FIPP might show a correlation with those on this list who have higer ERA than expected.

Dunn is viewed as the most likely to be moved from the aforementioned group.  The White Sox and Giants are pushing harder than the Yankees.

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B-Day wishes to the greatest baseball player I have ever seen. Of all the majestic shots and highlight moments, there are a few that really stick out in my mind. One was him PULLING a 103 MPH Gagne fastball foul into the View Deck at PBP. Both players were at the height of their powers, whether that was artificially enhanced, I didn't really care, it was a spectacular confrontation and what baseball is all about, my best against your best within a team environment. The at bat ended with a Bonds HR to straight away CF.

The other was when I was younger and a less discerning observer of the great sport. I remember seeing—and Bonds did this a few times—on a line drive off of the wall, he caught the ball off of the wall with his bare hand and threw it into second base to throw out the runner in one smooth crisp motion. I hadn't seen that before. He seemingly caught the ball with his back to the wall, arm already cocked and rocketed a sharp throw to get the runner.

Happy Birthday BLB, you were the best.

Not saying this is a great idea, considering the likely cost required to get him, but it is pretty to look at.

More and more I am beginning to think that the pieces to a league average offense are already on the roster, and that a marginal improvement in the lineup will not be worth the cost for the upgrade. On the other hand, sending Yeah Joey back to Fresno or putting him in a long relief role and replacing him with Lee, is a huge improvement.

What would it take? Could we hang on to MadBum and still acquire Lee? Could Bowkermania find a home in Seattle along with some other pieces?

via blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com

So, there's a poll attached to this post. Please use it to vote for your favorite option on the issue of what to nickname Aaron Rowand. Also, don't hesitate to click on the link to blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com, which has been provided for your convenience. I think that should just about finish up the filler requirement. Until next time: Bye, everyone. I will see you in the comments section.