Joe Saunders may have a dead arm. The Angels should try pitching him in Phoenix instead of Mesa.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:42 pm | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Not So Devine
Brad Ziegler wins the Athletics closer job as Joey Devine is off to see Dr. James Andrews:
Joey Devine missed more than two months with a sore elbow last year. He missed more than two weeks with the injury this spring, despite spending the winter rehabbing.
So when the problem arose in his most recent two outings, [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:24 pm | Injuries | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
AL East Preview
The division preview series continues with what maybe the strongest division in baseball, the American League East. I’m rating the core of the team, the eight position players and designated hitter, five starters and closer by value wins or WAR.
Tampa Bay Rays
Position player WAR: 28.2
Starters WAR: 12.5
Closer WAR: -0.7
Total WAR: 40.0
The Rays return a [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:10 pm | Predictions, Team Evaluation | Permalink | 20 Comments
March 31, 2009
Jenkins Out, Park In
The Phillies released Geoff Jenkins and named Chan Ho Park their fifth starter. There’s some speculation that the Phillies might hire Gary Sheffield to fill Jenkins’s role.
I have a very bad feeling about Park pitching in Philadelphia. My guess is that Park’s numbers will be closer to his Texas averages than to his [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 5:52 pm | Transactions | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Up to Speed
People can stop worrying about Joba Chamberlain’s velocity. It appears he was saving his best for last:
If anybody is worried about Joba Chamberlain’s velocity, don’t be. He is out after 5 1/3 innings here in Sarasota against the Reds, and he looked terrific. A scout I just talked to said he clocked Chamberlain as [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:14 pm | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Afternoon Update
The Baseball Musings Pledge Drive is now up to $3450 as seven readers combined to donate $75 between noon and 4 PM EDT today. Won’t you join them to try to push Baseball Musings over the $4000 mark on this last day of the drive? Five dollars from 110 readers is all it [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:06 pm | Blogs | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Memoribila Mystery
Home Run Derby reports on the case of the stolen stolen base.
Posted by David Pinto at 3:23 pm | Mechandising | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
A Gem gets a Shine
While the Yankees and Mets are opening new stadiums this year, the Royals’ gem of a park received a face lift. You can see pictures of the polished Kauffman Stadium here.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:49 pm | Stadiums | Permalink | 1 Comment
March 31, 2009
DBacks in High Definition
The Arizona Diamondbacks plan to broadcast 142 games in high definition this season. Excellent news! That’s up from 84 games in 2008.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:44 pm | Broadcasts | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Frandsen Cut
It looks like Kevin Frandsen is just never going to catch on with the Giants. The post also has this priceless comment:
If Frandsen were 35+ yrs. old and past his prime he would have been on the roster… probably a starter.
Indeed. Frandsen accumulated the most at bats this spring for the Giants, and [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:23 pm | Transactions | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Defending Taveras
Redleg Nation defends the Reds signing of Willy Taveras. If Willy can return to the defensive glory of his Astros days, yes, he can contribute to the team. The Reds are likely to have better pitching than offense this year, so there’s no reason not to play to their strength.
Posted by David Pinto at 12:59 pm | Players | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Wise Move?
The White Sox need to play someone in centerfield, but why does Dewayne Wise need to lead off?
Posted by David Pinto at 12:52 pm | Strategy | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Noon Update
The Baseball Musings Pledge Drive is now up to $3375 as two readers combined to donate $35 between 10 AM EST and noon this today. Won’t you join them to try to push Baseball Musings over the $4000 mark on this last day of the drive? Five dollars from 125 readers is [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:10 pm | Blogs | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Closing the Jays
The Tao of Stieb notes that B.J. Ryan isn’t inspiring much confidence as a closer right now, but there the Blue Jays lack pitchers who might be able to replace him.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:40 am | Pitchers | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
NL Predictions
Replacement Level Yankees Weblog posted National League standings based on 6000 Diamond Mind simulations, 1000 for each of six projection systems. The most surprising thing to me is the Braves finishing second in the NL East with the Phillies third. Unlike the American League, it looks like the National League will have a [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:37 am | Predictions | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Sheffield Released
Via Big League Stew, the Tigers released Gary Sheffield:
The Tigers released designated hitter Gary Sheffield this morning, a startling development since the team had already guaranteed him $14 million this season. It’s the second-highest amount owed to a released player in club history, behind Damion Easley’s $14.3 million in 2003.
“You’re going to pay him, one [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:08 am | Transactions, Uncategorized | Permalink | 2 Comments
March 31, 2009
Better All the Time
Two different groups will be recording hang time on fly balls. It’s another piece of the puzzle that will improve our defensive rankings.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:45 am | Defense | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
In Day Update
The Baseball Musings Pledge Drive is now up to $3340 as four readers combined to donate $50 before 10 AM EST this morning. Won’t you join them to try to push Baseball Musings over the $4000 mark on this last day of the drive? Five dollars from 132 readers is all it takes. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:18 am | Blogs | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Minor League Defense
Beyond the Boxscore takes a look at minor league defense, starting with shortstops.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:57 am | Defense | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Extension for Jones?
Via The Hardball Times, Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves are close to an extension through 2013:
It appears Chipper Jones may get his wish to remain with the Braves throughout his entire career.
While Craig Calcaterra likes this move, I’m not crazy about it. You don’t know when Chipper’s career will suddenly nosedive, and if [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:24 am | Transactions | Permalink | 4 Comments
March 31, 2009
Mets Bloggers in the Times
The Mets bloggers get their chance to answer questions about the 2009 team at the New York Times Bats blog.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:05 am | Team Evaluation | Permalink | No Comments
March 31, 2009
Pledge Drive Update
The Baseball Musings Pledge Drive enters its last day with $3290 donated so far. If you’ve been waiting to try to push the drive over the $4000 level, today’s the day to contribute!
Google Analytics reports over 40,000 unique visitors in March. Only a small fraction of those donated. Won’t you join the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:49 am | Blogs | Permalink | No Comments
March 30, 2009
The Name Spreads
Nice to see another blogger adopt the use of LAnaheim.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:56 pm | Blogs | Permalink | 3 Comments
March 30, 2009
Move to Texas?
Bud Selig formed a committee to study what can be done about getting the Athletics a new stadium. Why don’t they see if San Antonio is interested? They were willing to give the Marlins a deal, and they won’t be played for fools. Maybe the A’s should think about going to a [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:54 pm | Stadiums, Team Movements | Permalink | 6 Comments
March 30, 2009
NL Central Preview
The division preview series continues with the big one, the six team National League Central. I’m rating the core of the team, the eight position players, five starters and closer by value wins or WAR.
Chicago Cubs
Position player WAR: 28.0
Starters WAR: 15.7
Closer WAR: 0.6
Total WAR: 44.3
The Cubs are loaded. The only obvious weak links [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:39 pm | Predictions, Team Evaluation | Permalink | 7 Comments
March 30, 2009
Franks Passes
Former player and manager Herman Franks passed away today. Jason McAdams writers:
Wanted to give you a heads up that Herman Franks, former manager for the Cubs and Giants passed away at noon today. He was 96. I haven’t seen anything out on the wire yet but the news just came to me [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:21 pm | Deaths | Permalink | No Comments
March 30, 2009
Two Much Guitar?
It’s sad when an injury hurts both the things you love to do:
The Cincinnati Reds’ musically inclined pitcher is having a flare-up of the carpal tunnel syndrome that has bothered him from time to time over the last few years. This bout is especially nasty, along with the timing. The season starts in less than [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 4:14 pm | Injuries | Permalink | No Comments
March 30, 2009
Season Simulations
Replacement Level Yankees Weblog runs Diamond Mind simulations for six different prediction systems and averages them out for the American League. It looks like Tampa Bay may be the third best team in the AL, but it also may get shut out of the playoffs.
Posted by David Pinto at 3:50 pm | Predictions | Permalink | 2 Comments
March 30, 2009
Time to Predict
Jon Weisman is looking for you to predict the 2009 Dodgers season record and why they reached that win level.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:47 pm | Uncategorized | Permalink | 1 Comment
March 30, 2009
What Blood Test?
This article confirms a note left by a commenter yesterday, there is no blood test for anxiety.
Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers president and general manager, was careful about providing details of Willis’ health, citing confidentiality laws. But he said: “It’s something that our doctors have discovered, and we’ve been working on it for a while to [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:31 pm | Uncategorized | Permalink | 2 Comments
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