The Giants who have become famous for neglecting their farm system and ignoring minor leaguers have signed a 16 years old Dominican Third Baseman. The Giants outbid the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets and Mariners to get him. I've gotta believe the Giants think he's the second coming of ...some really good third baseman.
Check out the story:
"Everybody's excited," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "It's the first time in a while we were at the right place at the right time, because there was a lot of action on him. ... We just have to pick our spots because we don't spend like big-money clubs do in that area. He's a big-money club type of acquisition.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Another Fantasy Sports Outlet
Join in! Everybody's doing it!
Check out this story:
NBC is launching an online fantasy football game tied to its much-hyped return to broadcasting the NFL this season. Fans will be able to sign up for the upcoming weekly game, Sunday Night Fantasy Football, starting on Aug. 18 at NBCSports.com or immediately at Rotoworld.com.
Unlike traditional fantasy football games, which incorporate real-life player and team performance statistics from an entire week's worth of NFL games, the new NBC-game will draw exclusively from the games featured on the new NBC Sunday Night Football broadcasts. Among the prizes available through the game, which will be free to all fans, is an all-expense paid trip to New York which will include a visit to NBC's Football Night in America studio show.
2007 Sleeper Candidate
Norfolk closer Heath Bell pumps his fist after striking out the last three batters to end the game against Columbus. Bell’s finished all 25 games in which he’s appeared for the Tides. VICKI CRONIS/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Heath Bell is the closer of the Norfolk Tides. The Mets should be using him as a key part of their bullpen judging by his Triple-A numbers. Given an extended chance as the Red Sox have with Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen I could see Bell being every bit as successful and more.
2006 Norfolk Tides 26.2IP 19H 4R 2ER 4BB 40K 4WP 2wins 2loses 9saves 0.67era 0.86whip as of 08/08/06
From the Virginian Pilot:
As he has become accustomed to doing, Heath Bell struck out the side in the ninth inning, and he's finished all 25 games in which he's appeared for the Tides. Bell, who picked up the win in Saturday's game, struck out Stotts, Danny Garcia and Kevin Thompson. All three went down swinging. It was Bell's 10th save and he has 47 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. Bell hit 96 mph on four of the 14 pitches he threw.
Background:
He was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 69th round of the 1997 amateur draft but did not begin his professional career until 1998 when he signed with the Mets as an undrafted free agent.
Bell has spent his entire career in the Mets organization. He made is major league debut on August 24, 2004 pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against the San Diego Padres. He is currently on the Mets' 40 man roster.
Generally a power pitcher, Bell has averaged nearly a full strikeout per inning but also proved to be hittable in his 2005 sophomore season allowing 10.8 hits per nine innings and a very high 5.59 earned run average.
Bell is married with three children and resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida
Heath Bell is the closer of the Norfolk Tides. The Mets should be using him as a key part of their bullpen judging by his Triple-A numbers. Given an extended chance as the Red Sox have with Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen I could see Bell being every bit as successful and more.
2006 Norfolk Tides 26.2IP 19H 4R 2ER 4BB 40K 4WP 2wins 2loses 9saves 0.67era 0.86whip as of 08/08/06
From the Virginian Pilot:
As he has become accustomed to doing, Heath Bell struck out the side in the ninth inning, and he's finished all 25 games in which he's appeared for the Tides. Bell, who picked up the win in Saturday's game, struck out Stotts, Danny Garcia and Kevin Thompson. All three went down swinging. It was Bell's 10th save and he has 47 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. Bell hit 96 mph on four of the 14 pitches he threw.
Background:
He was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 69th round of the 1997 amateur draft but did not begin his professional career until 1998 when he signed with the Mets as an undrafted free agent.
Bell has spent his entire career in the Mets organization. He made is major league debut on August 24, 2004 pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against the San Diego Padres. He is currently on the Mets' 40 man roster.
Generally a power pitcher, Bell has averaged nearly a full strikeout per inning but also proved to be hittable in his 2005 sophomore season allowing 10.8 hits per nine innings and a very high 5.59 earned run average.
Bell is married with three children and resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida
Baseball appealing fantasy legal victory
Major League Baseball says it will appeal a federal court ruling allowing an online fantasy baseball business to use names and statistics without paying for a licensing agreement.
MLB and its players' union also said Wednesday they expect to win back the right to demand money from fantasy sites like St. Louis-based CBC Distribution and Marketing Inc., which prevailed in its lawsuit in a federal court's summary judgment issued Tuesday.
CBC, which runs CDM Fantasy Sports, sued MLB Advanced Media last year, claiming the statistics and names used in fantasy baseball should be free.
The Stock Exchange written for Sportsblurb.com
The Stock Exchange
By Jon Williams, Pinch-Hitting For Christopher Meyer
06/24/06
Words and Actions
 |
| In baseball, his words are considered worse than others' actions... |
Ozzie Guillen has a big mouth.
It takes very little prodding to get him to rant about whatever it is that might be on his mind. Obviously this week it was his hatred – I don’t think you can call it anything else – for Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti. You only have to read Mariotti’s latest column to discover the genesis of this feud. Mariotti considers it his responsibility to publicly call Guillen on his every indiscretion. Guillen will tell you and anyone else who cares to listen that he does not actually have a problem with this. The problem in Guillen’s mind is that Mariotti refuses to come to the ballpark and face him as all the beat writers do.
Guillen might have a point if Mariotti was a beat writer, but he is not. Mariotti is a columnist that has the job we all wish we did. He goes to the NBA finals and flies from there to the next big event and from there to the next. Mariotti, in a rather wussy fashion, claims that the Chicago White Sox clubhouse is too dangerous a place for him to risk showing up. Of course, I am sure if reporters were being beat up after games we would have heard about it by now.
Many people will tell you that his feud with Mariotti is not the story. Instead they point to Ozzie Guillen’s use of the word “fag” in his tirade against Mariotti as the more serious problem. Read just about any article about Guillen from last week and you’ll see it suggested that Guillen be suspended for various lengths of time – Mariotti thinks two weeks – lose his job, be fined significantly, and on and on. Why? Because Guillen used what is considered a homophobic slur.
The problem with such thinking is that Guillen was not trying to call Jay Mariotti gay or imply that anything is wrong with being gay. It’s a stupid thing to say but it doesn’t make him a homophobe.
Bud Selig gave Guillen a stern talking to and has ordered him into sensitivity training. It can’t hurt, but I do not think sensitivity training is going to get at Guillen’s real problem. Guillen has a couple of problems I see as far more serious. First, his aggressive attitude that considers beaning players during a game the right thing to do and can get you thrown off the team if you don’t share it is a major one. And, secondly, his obvious inability to think before saying something stupid or to simply shut up when he does not have anything good to say is a problem. I won’t hold my breath waiting for baseball to address these issues.
Guillen’s lack of control is nothing compared to the lack displayed by Phillies starter Brett Myers. The young Philadelphia pitcher allegedly punched his wife in the face on Friday just outside of Fenway Park in front of multiple witnesses. Boston Police responded to a 911 call and found Myers’ wife, Kim Wickman, to have signs of abuse on the left side of her face. Myers was found nearby and was arrested and charged with domestic abuse. Myers was then bailed out by his wife but ordered not to have any contact with her unless at her suggesting. Myers at the time of this writing was still scheduled to make his Saturday start against the Red Sox. If only a man hitting his wife could summon the same media outrage that using bad language does, the world would be a better place.
On the lighter side of this week’s baseball news we were blessed by the return of several players to active duty. The return of Roger Clemens as a starter for the Houston Astros was the biggest story. ESPN was kind enough to broadcast the game so we could all get a glimpse of one of the greatest and most popular pitchers of all time. Clemens was not spectacular in his return but he was solid. His control obviously wasn’t what he would have liked, but he allowed just two runs in five innings and lately the Astros would kill for such quality. They did not have to kill though; they just forked over a prorated $22 million dollars.
We also witnessed the return of Albert Pujols to active duty this. ESPN was nice enough to show us Pujols’ first at-bat, which resulted in a long fly-ball. Joe Morgan accurately pointed out that Pujols’ form did not seem quite right. Pujols seemed to swing with his arms rather than put any torque on his newly recovered oblique muscles. Any doubts raised by his lack of hits on Thursday were erased though by his 4-for-4 performance with a home run on Friday night; so maybe it is only a matter of time before he finds his form again.
As if those were not enough, Thursday also featured the return of A.J. Burnett to active duty. Burnett looked effective and relaxed in his return. Burnett went six innings on just 91 pitches. He allowed just two runs on five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. With time, he should build his endurance back up and be the fine addition the Blue Jays thought they signed in December.
Feedback can be sent to jonwilliams@sportsblurb.com.
The Numbers Game written for Sportsblurb.com
The Cincinnati Reds were just 1.5 games out of the wild card position when they made the following trade with the Washington Nationals:
OF Austin Kearns
SS Felipe Lopez
RHP Ryan Wagner
For
RHP Gary Majewski
LHP Bill Bray
SS Royce Clayton
INF Brendan Harris
RHP Daryl Thompson
The first reaction of almost every baseball fan on the planet was to ask if Alfonso Soriano was missing from the list of players that the Nationals were sending over. I was flipping to ESPN2 between innings of the Red Sox/ Athletics game and I swear I thought I wasn’t seeing the whole trade on the bottom line. The Reds should have gotten a lot more for their starting right fielder and their starting shortstop. That they threw in a former top closer prospect in Ryan Wagner is just plain ridiculous. The problem is the Reds didn’t accurately read the market value for the players they traded. But as bad as this trade is rightfully considered by most it doesn’t really hurt the playoff chances of the Reds. Seriously, for what they sent to the Nationals they could have had Alfonso Soriano in my opinion. But despite their bad judgment the Reds may have accomplished their goal of improving and preparing for the playoffs.
Austin Kearns is easily replaced by either Ryan Freel or Chris Denorfia. Kearns is still just 26 years old and having his first healthy season in a decade but it doesn’t appear that his bat will ever again be considered the equal of Adam Dunn’s as so many projected years ago. But he was having a solid season for the Reds. Thus far Kearns has been hitting a respectable .272/.352/.489 and fielding his position well. The plan for now seems to be Denorfia in right and Freel continuing as the utility guy. Denorfia has been back and forth between Cincy and AAA Louisville which is never good for the numbers. Denorfia hits for a good average and knows how to get on base. He has a career line of .263 .364/.421in the majors through 2005 and a line of .286/.371/.432 in the minors. He’ll never match the power potential Kearns has displayed but his hustling scrappy style will probably go over well with Reds fans. If Denorfia gets 250 at-bats in the second half of the season I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit close to .300 with 8-10 homers and 8-10 stolen bases. The Reds think of Denorfia as a leadoff hitter and he could score a lot of runs in front of Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr.
Felipe Lopez has a superior bat to Royce Clayton but Clayton is a far more consistent defender. Clayton hasn’t been a total void with the bat this year and a small jump might be possible in the more hitter friendly GABP. But is the difference in defense worth the exchange of bats? Maybe. Lopez has a .959 FPCT, an RF of 3.98 and a ZR of .785 which compared to Clayton’s .970 FPCT, 4.37 RF and .829 ZR make him look pretty bad. Lopez has a hitting line of .268/.355/.394 and Clayton a line of .269/.315/.348. That isn’t a difference that’ll make you forget the defensive gap. Clayton will play everyday as long as he fields his position and doesn’t completely embarass himself at the plate. But my new favorite mid-season fantasy sleeper may put Clayton on the bench eventually. William Bergolla was one of the Reds top ten prospects in 2005 according to Baseball America. Go ahead and make your favorite joke about the Cincinnati farm system, I’ll wait... Done? Bergolla isn’t any thing amazing with the bat but he is an excellent fielder whose only real flaw in the field is an inability to stay healthy. His bat is probably only slightly better than Clayton’s at best but he makes up for it with vastly better speed. Bergolla led the Reds system three years in a row in stolen bases. He stole 52 bases in 2003 and was caught 18 times. The Reds have wanted to move him to shortstop in the past but his poor health got in the way. If the Brandon Phillips trade hadn’t worked out so well he’d probably be the second baseman right now. If you can stash him away for a buck or two you might find yourself in possession of a cheap source of stolen bases. Bergolla has a career minor league line of .289/.343/.377.
Ryan Wagner has been pretty terrible at AAA this year. There is the very real possibility that he isn’t yet recovered from shoulder surgery. If Wagner was the reliever the Reds were hoping they had two years back they may not have felt pressure to make a trade like this. Gary Majewski is probably an average major league reliever but he has a rubber arm and will take the ball everyday of the week if asked. Majewski will become a key set-up man for the new Reds closer Eddie Guardado. But the key acquisition for the Reds is Bill Bray. Bray was the 13th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He is a for real prospect. He throws a mid 90’s fastball and a low 80’s slider and can get outs effectively with either pitch. After signing he was sent to the Arizona Fall league where he pitched 16 innings and struck out 16 batters. Bray has been projected as a future major league closer and could potentially fill that role this year if Guardado’s injury problems prevent him from pitching effectively. By adding Bray, Majewski and Guardado the Reds bullpen is already leaps and bounds better than what they suffered through in the first half of the season.
In my opinion Wayne Krivsky is attempting to duplicate his success with Brandon Phillips by acquiring Brendan Harris. It isn’t a bad gamble to make. Harris hasn’t really been given the shot he probably deserved. When Harris was with the Cubs I heard him compared to Albert Pujols. Yeah, that’s ridiculous but Harris could still become a decent infielder with some pop in his bat. Picking up guys like Harris is exactly what a team with a thin farm system should do. Hell, they should make a collection of failed, stalled and ignored prospects in AAA. I don’t really expect he’ll play much more for the Reds than he did with the Nationals this year but 2007 is always a possibility. Rich Aurillia can’t hang around forever can he? Daryl Thompson is another shot in the dark. Thompson is a 20-year old pitching prospect that has drawn comparisons to Oil Can Boyd. While he has talent he is presently recovering from a shoulder injury. He also hasn’t advanced past A-ball which makes him hard to project.
The Reds are going to need all of these guys to work out as planned to have any hope of winning the public perception of this trade. That probably won’t happen. But if the Reds make the playoffs and players like Bray, Majewski and Denorfia play key roles then they might be forgiven.
Treasure Hunting written for Sportsblurb.com
Have you ever been broke? Have you ever been so broke that you go searching through the pockets of clothing you haven’t worn in months for forgotten dollar bills? Ever tip over the sofa hoping some loose change might fall out. Ever hit the jackpot doing so? I’ve done all of the above at one time or another. When you desperately need to find a player on the waiver wire, when you pull out your 1993 Baseball America Prospect Guide you’re doing the fantasy equivalent of digging in the cushions. Hey, there’s no shame in it. Finding hidden gold is what treasure hunting is all about isn’t it? This is the nothing to lose version of treasure hunting. These guys are gold for 2007 but passing the canary test in 2006 will require you have patience and nothing to lose.
Rich Hill SP Cubs
Rich Hill has not been impressive in his major league stints thus far. Believe it or not this may be to his benefit. Young pitchers in Chicago tend to get hurt. Yeah, I’m blaming it on Dusty Baker. Here’s the Jon Williams Guarantee, Dusty Baker will not be manager of the Cubs in 2007. If he is I’ll eat Trot Nixon’s nasty old baseball cap. Jim Hendry has announced that Baker will finish the 2006 season. GMs don’t make announcements like that unless the manager is in trouble. Dusty Baker is in trouble. Dusty Baker ruined Kerry Wood and Mark Prior; he deserves to be in trouble. Here’s the advice Baker has for Rich Hill according to mlb.com:
"He just has to pretend he's in the Minor Leagues," Baker said. "Sometimes you have to trick yourself. Just tell yourself it's the same game. You've got better hitters, quality hitters, but it's basically the same."
Rich has been dominating in the minors for a couple of seasons now. Extremely dominate. He is 26 years old now so if he doesn’t dominate in the minors he gets released. But Hill hasn’t been just good enough to keep pitching, he’s been outstanding.
2006 AAA Iowa: 100IP/ 15GS/ 1.80era/ 1.03WHIP/ 1.94BB9/ 1.52HR9/ 12.74K9
2006 MLB CHC: 19.1IP/ 4GS/ 9.31era/ 1.97WHIP/ 6.46BB9/ 1.14HR9/ 7.99K9
He’s done this for two seasons now. His 135K are leading the Pacific Coast League. When Hill is in the majors for some reason he completely changes his attitude towards pitching. In the minors he dares guys to hit his best stuff. In the majors he becomes a nibbler trying to pitch on the edges of the plate. As soon as someone clues him in that it is okay to let it loose in the majors he’s going to have success.
Hill has an unhittable 12-to-6 curveball. That combined with a low 90's fastball that he's learned to control (he attributes it to greater mental focus, the coaches say he cleaned up his delivery - whatever, as long as he has, right?) His change-up is constantly improving. And he's a lefty, which guarantees the opportunity will be there. Like I said he's 26 so the time is now. The Cubs should give Hill the chance to finish the season in the majors. He has nothing left to prove in the minors and the Cubs stink and have nothing to lose. It may take him a few starts to find himself so be patient. I could make you a long list of starters that stunk in their first few outings in the majors.
Shin-SooChoo OF Indians
You can call him Big League Choo. Choo, whom the Indians acquired in the Ben Broussard trade, will start in right field against right-handers. Casey Blake will play first against right-handers. Choo doesn’t have amazing power but he seems to be developing adequate power. Adequate power with his ability to get on base, his good speed and very good base stealing ability should make him a very valuable fantasy player. If he’s available grab him. The Mariners only gave him 18 at-bats in the majors.
2006 AAA Tacoma: 375AB/ 70R/ 121H/ 21dbls/ 3tpls/ 13HR/ 48RBI/ 26SB/ 4CS/ .323/.393/.499
The only downside I can see is his lack of experience. The Indians are another team without much to lose. The team is hoping that Choo will allow them to move Grady Sizemore down a bit in the order. Sizemore owners will hate hearing that as it will likely cut into his stolen base totals. Jhonny Peralta owners can be happy that Mark Shapiro didn’t get his first choice for Broussard, SS Erick Aybar.
My bonus nugget for reading this far is Joe Inglett. The man has no real power or base stealing ability. He’s a destitute man’s version of Wade Boggs. He can hit for average and is pretty fair at getting on base. He has a minor league career line of .303/.379/.419.
2006 AA Akron: 64AB/ 20R/ 33H/ 9dbls/ 3HR/ 9RBI/ 7SB/ 3CS/ 11BB/ 4SO .516/.587/.767
2006 AAA Buffalo: 157AB/ 21R/ 47H/ 7dbls/ 2trpls/ 1HR/ 13RBI/ 3SB/ 2CS 13BB/ 24SO
.299/.358/.389
2006 MLB CLE: 46AB/ 8R/ 15H/ 2dbls/ 2trpls/ 1HR/ 6RBI/ 1SB/ 0CS/ 4BB/ 8SO .326/.380/.522
The Indians are looking for a spark and Inglett is providing it right now. The Indians see him as a future utility infielder but with Ronnie Belliard nursing his hamstring injury Inglett is getting an opportunity to prove he can handle full-time responsibility.
Last Week Revisited
Last week Mark looked at Stephen Drew and Jason Windsor. Jason Windsor blew his rotation opportunity by allowing 9 hits and 4 earned runs in just 2 innings. Windsor was sent back to the minors and replaced on the roster by LHP Randy Keisler. Windsor still has a future but the A’s are in a dog fight for the AL West and they can’t afford to develop pitchers right now.
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