BDD Offers -
The Bloggers Roundtable - Atlanta Braves (Boston Red Sox are next!)
Baseball Bloggers vs Baseball Reporters, by Dave Rouleau
New Year's Resolution for the Baseball GM, by Gordon Berger
Fan Mania - The Tigers Go Wild, by Rob McQuown
Does Juan Piere Help a Team?, by Rob McQuown
Waiting For Their Pitches, by Jonathan Hale
San Diego Padres Starting Pitching Analysis
You can also hear the latest edition of the BDD Radio Show, with Jim Callis and a Phillies beat writer, Scott Lauber.
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All Baseball Transactions Monday
- The Philadelphia Phillies signed the other half (after signing Geoff Jenkins) of their planned platoon in RF, with a one-year, 1.7 M$ contract to Jayson Werth.
Werth had a good 2007 season while subbing for Shane Vistorino (who will be the new CF for the Phillies), posting this batting line: .298/.404/.459. He had a 20-game on-base streak where he batted .464/.543/.551. The right-handed batter is more comfortable against southpaws, but can definitely hold his own against right-handers.
If we go by their platoon numbers last year, the team hopes for an offense in RF that looks like this:
Geoff Jenkins (vs RHP): .262/.326/.482
Jayson Werth (vs LHP): .375/.467/.419 (the 106 PA sample is small)
Werth, career batting line against southpaws: .284/.378/.486
Defensively, the Fielding Bible gives Jenkins a +/- rating of +18 for 2007 in left field (good for second in the majors) and Werth posted a +7 rating in RF. Both offer average arms and won't be specially effective in preventing the opposition from taking an extra base.
- The Hall of Fame vote results will be made public this afternoon. You can see the presentation, live, on MLB.com or on the official HOB website at 2pm EST.
The Hardball Times had an interesting article where they predicted who would be inducted, with some data to back up their claims.
- The whole Clemens saga took another twist yesterday with the release of a call to McNamee taped by Clemens. The legality of it doesn't seem to be in question, since in Texas, only one of the party has to be noticed of the taping for it to be legal.
You can here the whole uncensored call.
McNamee gives an exclusive interview to Sports Illustrated. Excerpt:
"What McNamee says he did back then was to educate players in what he recognized to be a steroid epidemic. He says he didn't push players to performance-enhancing drugs, but only helped steer them to safer drugs if they were already so inclined. "I made a mistake [out of] loyalty to others,'' is how he puts it.
Safer performance-enhancing drugs, McNamee explains, is what drew him to Kirk Radomski, the former New York Mets' clubhouse attendant who has pleaded guilty to distributing steroids and money laundering. McNamee, then a Yankees strength and conditioning coach, became acquainted with Radomski, whom he learned through a mutual acquaintance might be able to get him a deal on a Lexus. Soon McNamee started buying steroids from Radomski, whom he saw as a trusted source of quality performance-enhancing drugs. McNamee sees himself as someone who only did what his big-name clients requested, faithfully carrying out orders."
The trainer's lawyer reacts to taped call: "This is War":
"He's angry that the information about his son was manipulated in that fashion," said Earl Ward, another McNamee attorney. "The original text message to Roger said, 'My son is sick, can you call him at home?' Brian was not even living there. He had no intention of talking to Clemens. (Clemens) never did call his son."
- Following the Mitchell Report's revelations, some clubhouse security upgrades have been imposed by Major League Baseball. Excertp:
"Among the changes: Teams will no longer be notified the night before drug testing personnel arrive, and all clubs must have a designated area in home and visiting clubhouses for tests to be collected. The collectors will be given permanent credentials to expedite their access.
Baseball also implemented background checks and random drug tests for all clubhouse employees, and teams now will be required to log all packages sent to clubhouses at major league ballparks."
- Ken Rosenthal reported late yesterday that the Seattle Mariners are still pushing hard for a trade that would bring Erik Bedard to the West Coast.The Indians, Mets and Cubs are also interested in either Bedard or second baseman Brian Roberts.
- The Jays added some pitching depth to their organization yesterday, signing RH reliever Shawn Camp to a minor-league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.
The Jays already had the third best relief support in the ERA (3.46) category in the majors last year (fourth best in WHIP - 1.26). Now they'll be adding to the mix: B.J. Ryan, Brandon League and possibly Davis Romero.
I really like to see the options they can deal with, because if Ryan is not 100% (after Tommy John surgery) when the season begins, Jeremy Accardo can still slip into the closer's role and do a lot of damage. Then when he comes back, you have your 7, 8 and 9th innings figured out:
7th - League vs RHP (career): .225/.328/.320
Scott Downs vs LHP (career): .238/.307/.353
8th - Accardo (2007): 2.14 ERA/1.11 WHIP, 67.1 IP, 24 BB, 57 K.
9th - Ryan (2005-06): 142.2 IP, 46 BB, 186 K
- Dugout Central asks: Who would you build a team with?
- A new baseball gadget to keep track of scores and standings is now on the market.
- Red Sox Nation...on Canadian soil!!
- Michael Lewis' Moneyball presented many players as the focus of the Billy Beane way. Bugs & Cranks looks at where these athletes are now.
Catcher Jeremy Brown had a cup of tea in the majors in 2006, where he performed well. He puts up good numbers in the minors, but they don't seem to have a place for him. He played at first and third base last season, but with mixed results. I can imagine him competing for a backup role in 2008 as a catcher. He is not a liability behind the plate, but not everyday starter material either. His overall approach at the plate would suit a pinch-hitting role very well.
- (Tip of the hat to Geoff Young for that one) 'An ex minor leaguer may sue MLB'. Excerpt:
""If everybody was playing on the same level playing field, Rich would say, 'OK, you beat me,'" says Hartmann's attorney Michael Salomon. "But this is not right."
Hartmann says several former teammates have agreed to join the lawsuit if it is filed, and Salomon says he is exploring legal theories that would serve as the basis of a lawsuit. But mostly, Hartmann says, he's looking for a platform to point out that the biggest losers of baseball's steroid era weren't the fans, they were minor leaguers who were cheated of their dreams because a rival for a major-league job got a boost from steroids."
Debate of the Day: Do you think the NY Mets have done enough this offseason to clinch the NL East?
You can reach me at drouleau@baseballdigestdaily.com