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2016 MLB thread. THE CUBS HAVE BROKEN THE CURSE! Chicago Cubs are your 2016 World Series champions
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
- Status
- 3,953
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- Jan 7, 2004
Padres, Maybin both win with five year extension.
The team has since announced the deal. The contract buys out Maybin’s final season as a pre-arbitration player, all three years of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year. The option covers a second free agent year and could potential keep him in San Diego through age 30.
The deal is very similar to the one signed by Chris Young (five years, $25.5 million), and it’s probably not a coincidence that Josh Byrnes was the GM for both deals. Although both players signed their five-year contracts one year prior to becoming eligible for arbitration, Young’s didn’t kick in until the following year. The Diamondbacks will have him under contract for one season longer than the Padres will have Maybin, but the framework is very similar. Curtis Granderson (five years, $30.25 million) and Franklin Gutierrez (four years, $20.25 million) also signed extensions at similar points of their careers.
Agent Brian Goldberg appears to have gotten his client a nice guarantee especially compared to Young and Granderson, who had significant power advantages over Maybin at the time of their contracts. Power pays in arbitration and in deals like this, not defense. One full season worth of UZR (+9.5) and DRS (+11) doesn’t tell us much, but the scouting reports and reputation certainly back up Maybin’s work in the field. Offensively he performed considerably better away from Petco Park (.357 wOBA) than he did at home last season (.297), which isn’t a surprise at all.
Goldberg did well for Maybin, but the Padres got themselves a nice bargain even if he settles in as a four-win player going forward. His salary would have been depressed during his team control years, but the club will get plenty of surplus value barring injury or sudden collapse. There is risk as always, but Maybin’s skill set is well-suited for his home park and the team secured the prime years of a guy playing a premium up the middle position. Everyone should be happy.
The Sizemore effect.
Spoiler [+]
The Padres made one of the best moves of the offseason a year ago, acquiring Cameron Maybin from the Marlins for two middle relievers (Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica). The 24-year-old center fielder rewarded them with a 4.7 WAR season, and now they’ve rewarded him with a five-year contract extension. Dan Hayes of The North County Times first reported that a deal was imminent, and has since added details via Twitter…
The team has since announced the deal. The contract buys out Maybin’s final season as a pre-arbitration player, all three years of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year. The option covers a second free agent year and could potential keep him in San Diego through age 30.
The deal is very similar to the one signed by Chris Young (five years, $25.5 million), and it’s probably not a coincidence that Josh Byrnes was the GM for both deals. Although both players signed their five-year contracts one year prior to becoming eligible for arbitration, Young’s didn’t kick in until the following year. The Diamondbacks will have him under contract for one season longer than the Padres will have Maybin, but the framework is very similar. Curtis Granderson (five years, $30.25 million) and Franklin Gutierrez (four years, $20.25 million) also signed extensions at similar points of their careers.
Agent Brian Goldberg appears to have gotten his client a nice guarantee especially compared to Young and Granderson, who had significant power advantages over Maybin at the time of their contracts. Power pays in arbitration and in deals like this, not defense. One full season worth of UZR (+9.5) and DRS (+11) doesn’t tell us much, but the scouting reports and reputation certainly back up Maybin’s work in the field. Offensively he performed considerably better away from Petco Park (.357 wOBA) than he did at home last season (.297), which isn’t a surprise at all.
Goldberg did well for Maybin, but the Padres got themselves a nice bargain even if he settles in as a four-win player going forward. His salary would have been depressed during his team control years, but the club will get plenty of surplus value barring injury or sudden collapse. There is risk as always, but Maybin’s skill set is well-suited for his home park and the team secured the prime years of a guy playing a premium up the middle position. Everyone should be happy.
The Sizemore effect.
Spoiler [+]
As Aaron Gleeman noted yesterday, it has been a rough week for Sizemores. Oakland third baseman Scott Sizemore tore his ACL, and much less surprisingly, yesterday it was reported that Cleveland center fielder Grady Sizemore will be out 8-12 weeks after a procedure on his back. Grady Sizemore’s story is probably well-known to most FanGraphs readers: from 2005 to 2008, he was one of best players in baseball.
Since then, he has been hampered by injuries and increasing ineffectiveness when he was able to take the field. It was not as if Cleveland was expecting a return to super-stardom for Sizemore when the team declined his 2012 option and then re-signed him for 2012 ($5 million deal with incentives). The team simply needed another outfielder as they try to make a run at the playoffs. But Sizemore is out for at least a couple of months, and probably at least half of the season. No player stands out as the obvious replacement. Let’s take a look at a few options, and what Cleveland stands to lose.
Part of the difficulty with this sort of analysis is getting accurate read on just how good Sizemore is at this point. Over the last two seasons, he has fewer than 450 plate appearances in the majors, with an absolutely abysmal .254 wOBA in 2010 that only served to make his .302 wOBA in 2011 look slightly less horrible. How much of that was injury, random variation, or simply decline in skills is difficult to answer. ZiPS and Steamer projections both see Sizemore as about a .330 wOBA hitter in 2012, but the error bars have to be pretty big on that.
Fielding is difficult to evaluate in the best of situations, and the lack of recent data for Sizemore makes it even worse. At his best, Sizemore was seen as an outfielder with good range and a bad arm, and the range has probably suffered. Optimistically with above-average offense and average fielding, Sizemore probably projected at between two and three wins above replacement if he did manage to play something like a full season.
Sizemore’s direct replacement is not much of a mystery. Due to Sizemore’s injuries, left fielder Michael Brantley has started 127 games in center over the last three season. Offensively, Steamer projects Brantley for a .316 wOBA, ZiPS for .313. That was around league average in 2011 — not starter-worthy in left field without great defense, but it might play in center.
It is difficult to evaluate how good or bad Brantley is in the field. Both UZR and DRS see him as slightly above-average in left, and horrible in center. However, the sample size is small even for those most confident in the measurements given by those metrics: less than 1200 innings over three full seasons. Brantley had a reputation as a good outfielder in the minors. If he is about an average center fielder, then he is about a two-win player over a full season given the hitting projections — almost as good as Sizemore was projected. If one thinks Brantley is a really bad center fielder (say, -10 runs), then he is between a win and two wins worse than Sizemore over a full season.
Along with Shin-Soo Choo, Brantley was going to start in the outfield even with Sizemore healthy, so whether he plays left or center, that will not change. What are some options for the now-open third spot? Apparently there are about ten players who might have a chance. Let`s briefly look at a few.
Russ Canzler and Matt LaPorta`s names will come up, but both have questions about their alleged Quad-A-ness, so we will leave them aside for now. Thomas Neal and Trevor Crowe are also mentioned, but at this point, they seem to be marginal players even as bench fodder. Ryan Spilborghs is finally out of Colorado, and, well, he would make a heck of a corner outfielder for a AAA team. Nick Weglarz is in camp, but did not hit in the minors when healthy in 2011, and he was a bat-first prospect. I was a Felix Pie advocate for years, but while he showed real promise in 2009, things just kept getting worse — he is even borderline as a bench player at this point.
I may have missed something, and I`m sure some will disagree with me, I think there should be four players in the mix for Cleveland`s remaining outfield spot to start the season. None of them are especially appealing, but all could be helpful if utilized properly.
One somewhat “safe
Since then, he has been hampered by injuries and increasing ineffectiveness when he was able to take the field. It was not as if Cleveland was expecting a return to super-stardom for Sizemore when the team declined his 2012 option and then re-signed him for 2012 ($5 million deal with incentives). The team simply needed another outfielder as they try to make a run at the playoffs. But Sizemore is out for at least a couple of months, and probably at least half of the season. No player stands out as the obvious replacement. Let’s take a look at a few options, and what Cleveland stands to lose.
Part of the difficulty with this sort of analysis is getting accurate read on just how good Sizemore is at this point. Over the last two seasons, he has fewer than 450 plate appearances in the majors, with an absolutely abysmal .254 wOBA in 2010 that only served to make his .302 wOBA in 2011 look slightly less horrible. How much of that was injury, random variation, or simply decline in skills is difficult to answer. ZiPS and Steamer projections both see Sizemore as about a .330 wOBA hitter in 2012, but the error bars have to be pretty big on that.
Fielding is difficult to evaluate in the best of situations, and the lack of recent data for Sizemore makes it even worse. At his best, Sizemore was seen as an outfielder with good range and a bad arm, and the range has probably suffered. Optimistically with above-average offense and average fielding, Sizemore probably projected at between two and three wins above replacement if he did manage to play something like a full season.
Sizemore’s direct replacement is not much of a mystery. Due to Sizemore’s injuries, left fielder Michael Brantley has started 127 games in center over the last three season. Offensively, Steamer projects Brantley for a .316 wOBA, ZiPS for .313. That was around league average in 2011 — not starter-worthy in left field without great defense, but it might play in center.
It is difficult to evaluate how good or bad Brantley is in the field. Both UZR and DRS see him as slightly above-average in left, and horrible in center. However, the sample size is small even for those most confident in the measurements given by those metrics: less than 1200 innings over three full seasons. Brantley had a reputation as a good outfielder in the minors. If he is about an average center fielder, then he is about a two-win player over a full season given the hitting projections — almost as good as Sizemore was projected. If one thinks Brantley is a really bad center fielder (say, -10 runs), then he is between a win and two wins worse than Sizemore over a full season.
Along with Shin-Soo Choo, Brantley was going to start in the outfield even with Sizemore healthy, so whether he plays left or center, that will not change. What are some options for the now-open third spot? Apparently there are about ten players who might have a chance. Let`s briefly look at a few.
Russ Canzler and Matt LaPorta`s names will come up, but both have questions about their alleged Quad-A-ness, so we will leave them aside for now. Thomas Neal and Trevor Crowe are also mentioned, but at this point, they seem to be marginal players even as bench fodder. Ryan Spilborghs is finally out of Colorado, and, well, he would make a heck of a corner outfielder for a AAA team. Nick Weglarz is in camp, but did not hit in the minors when healthy in 2011, and he was a bat-first prospect. I was a Felix Pie advocate for years, but while he showed real promise in 2009, things just kept getting worse — he is even borderline as a bench player at this point.
I may have missed something, and I`m sure some will disagree with me, I think there should be four players in the mix for Cleveland`s remaining outfield spot to start the season. None of them are especially appealing, but all could be helpful if utilized properly.
One somewhat “safe
Padres, Maybin both win with five year extension.
The team has since announced the deal. The contract buys out Maybin’s final season as a pre-arbitration player, all three years of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year. The option covers a second free agent year and could potential keep him in San Diego through age 30.
The deal is very similar to the one signed by Chris Young (five years, $25.5 million), and it’s probably not a coincidence that Josh Byrnes was the GM for both deals. Although both players signed their five-year contracts one year prior to becoming eligible for arbitration, Young’s didn’t kick in until the following year. The Diamondbacks will have him under contract for one season longer than the Padres will have Maybin, but the framework is very similar. Curtis Granderson (five years, $30.25 million) and Franklin Gutierrez (four years, $20.25 million) also signed extensions at similar points of their careers.
Agent Brian Goldberg appears to have gotten his client a nice guarantee especially compared to Young and Granderson, who had significant power advantages over Maybin at the time of their contracts. Power pays in arbitration and in deals like this, not defense. One full season worth of UZR (+9.5) and DRS (+11) doesn’t tell us much, but the scouting reports and reputation certainly back up Maybin’s work in the field. Offensively he performed considerably better away from Petco Park (.357 wOBA) than he did at home last season (.297), which isn’t a surprise at all.
Goldberg did well for Maybin, but the Padres got themselves a nice bargain even if he settles in as a four-win player going forward. His salary would have been depressed during his team control years, but the club will get plenty of surplus value barring injury or sudden collapse. There is risk as always, but Maybin’s skill set is well-suited for his home park and the team secured the prime years of a guy playing a premium up the middle position. Everyone should be happy.
The Sizemore effect.
Spoiler [+]
The Padres made one of the best moves of the offseason a year ago, acquiring Cameron Maybin from the Marlins for two middle relievers (Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica). The 24-year-old center fielder rewarded them with a 4.7 WAR season, and now they’ve rewarded him with a five-year contract extension. Dan Hayes of The North County Times first reported that a deal was imminent, and has since added details via Twitter…
The team has since announced the deal. The contract buys out Maybin’s final season as a pre-arbitration player, all three years of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year. The option covers a second free agent year and could potential keep him in San Diego through age 30.
The deal is very similar to the one signed by Chris Young (five years, $25.5 million), and it’s probably not a coincidence that Josh Byrnes was the GM for both deals. Although both players signed their five-year contracts one year prior to becoming eligible for arbitration, Young’s didn’t kick in until the following year. The Diamondbacks will have him under contract for one season longer than the Padres will have Maybin, but the framework is very similar. Curtis Granderson (five years, $30.25 million) and Franklin Gutierrez (four years, $20.25 million) also signed extensions at similar points of their careers.
Agent Brian Goldberg appears to have gotten his client a nice guarantee especially compared to Young and Granderson, who had significant power advantages over Maybin at the time of their contracts. Power pays in arbitration and in deals like this, not defense. One full season worth of UZR (+9.5) and DRS (+11) doesn’t tell us much, but the scouting reports and reputation certainly back up Maybin’s work in the field. Offensively he performed considerably better away from Petco Park (.357 wOBA) than he did at home last season (.297), which isn’t a surprise at all.
Goldberg did well for Maybin, but the Padres got themselves a nice bargain even if he settles in as a four-win player going forward. His salary would have been depressed during his team control years, but the club will get plenty of surplus value barring injury or sudden collapse. There is risk as always, but Maybin’s skill set is well-suited for his home park and the team secured the prime years of a guy playing a premium up the middle position. Everyone should be happy.
The Sizemore effect.
Spoiler [+]
As Aaron Gleeman noted yesterday, it has been a rough week for Sizemores. Oakland third baseman Scott Sizemore tore his ACL, and much less surprisingly, yesterday it was reported that Cleveland center fielder Grady Sizemore will be out 8-12 weeks after a procedure on his back. Grady Sizemore’s story is probably well-known to most FanGraphs readers: from 2005 to 2008, he was one of best players in baseball.
Since then, he has been hampered by injuries and increasing ineffectiveness when he was able to take the field. It was not as if Cleveland was expecting a return to super-stardom for Sizemore when the team declined his 2012 option and then re-signed him for 2012 ($5 million deal with incentives). The team simply needed another outfielder as they try to make a run at the playoffs. But Sizemore is out for at least a couple of months, and probably at least half of the season. No player stands out as the obvious replacement. Let’s take a look at a few options, and what Cleveland stands to lose.
Part of the difficulty with this sort of analysis is getting accurate read on just how good Sizemore is at this point. Over the last two seasons, he has fewer than 450 plate appearances in the majors, with an absolutely abysmal .254 wOBA in 2010 that only served to make his .302 wOBA in 2011 look slightly less horrible. How much of that was injury, random variation, or simply decline in skills is difficult to answer. ZiPS and Steamer projections both see Sizemore as about a .330 wOBA hitter in 2012, but the error bars have to be pretty big on that.
Fielding is difficult to evaluate in the best of situations, and the lack of recent data for Sizemore makes it even worse. At his best, Sizemore was seen as an outfielder with good range and a bad arm, and the range has probably suffered. Optimistically with above-average offense and average fielding, Sizemore probably projected at between two and three wins above replacement if he did manage to play something like a full season.
Sizemore’s direct replacement is not much of a mystery. Due to Sizemore’s injuries, left fielder Michael Brantley has started 127 games in center over the last three season. Offensively, Steamer projects Brantley for a .316 wOBA, ZiPS for .313. That was around league average in 2011 — not starter-worthy in left field without great defense, but it might play in center.
It is difficult to evaluate how good or bad Brantley is in the field. Both UZR and DRS see him as slightly above-average in left, and horrible in center. However, the sample size is small even for those most confident in the measurements given by those metrics: less than 1200 innings over three full seasons. Brantley had a reputation as a good outfielder in the minors. If he is about an average center fielder, then he is about a two-win player over a full season given the hitting projections — almost as good as Sizemore was projected. If one thinks Brantley is a really bad center fielder (say, -10 runs), then he is between a win and two wins worse than Sizemore over a full season.
Along with Shin-Soo Choo, Brantley was going to start in the outfield even with Sizemore healthy, so whether he plays left or center, that will not change. What are some options for the now-open third spot? Apparently there are about ten players who might have a chance. Let`s briefly look at a few.
Russ Canzler and Matt LaPorta`s names will come up, but both have questions about their alleged Quad-A-ness, so we will leave them aside for now. Thomas Neal and Trevor Crowe are also mentioned, but at this point, they seem to be marginal players even as bench fodder. Ryan Spilborghs is finally out of Colorado, and, well, he would make a heck of a corner outfielder for a AAA team. Nick Weglarz is in camp, but did not hit in the minors when healthy in 2011, and he was a bat-first prospect. I was a Felix Pie advocate for years, but while he showed real promise in 2009, things just kept getting worse — he is even borderline as a bench player at this point.
I may have missed something, and I`m sure some will disagree with me, I think there should be four players in the mix for Cleveland`s remaining outfield spot to start the season. None of them are especially appealing, but all could be helpful if utilized properly.
One somewhat “safe
Since then, he has been hampered by injuries and increasing ineffectiveness when he was able to take the field. It was not as if Cleveland was expecting a return to super-stardom for Sizemore when the team declined his 2012 option and then re-signed him for 2012 ($5 million deal with incentives). The team simply needed another outfielder as they try to make a run at the playoffs. But Sizemore is out for at least a couple of months, and probably at least half of the season. No player stands out as the obvious replacement. Let’s take a look at a few options, and what Cleveland stands to lose.
Part of the difficulty with this sort of analysis is getting accurate read on just how good Sizemore is at this point. Over the last two seasons, he has fewer than 450 plate appearances in the majors, with an absolutely abysmal .254 wOBA in 2010 that only served to make his .302 wOBA in 2011 look slightly less horrible. How much of that was injury, random variation, or simply decline in skills is difficult to answer. ZiPS and Steamer projections both see Sizemore as about a .330 wOBA hitter in 2012, but the error bars have to be pretty big on that.
Fielding is difficult to evaluate in the best of situations, and the lack of recent data for Sizemore makes it even worse. At his best, Sizemore was seen as an outfielder with good range and a bad arm, and the range has probably suffered. Optimistically with above-average offense and average fielding, Sizemore probably projected at between two and three wins above replacement if he did manage to play something like a full season.
Sizemore’s direct replacement is not much of a mystery. Due to Sizemore’s injuries, left fielder Michael Brantley has started 127 games in center over the last three season. Offensively, Steamer projects Brantley for a .316 wOBA, ZiPS for .313. That was around league average in 2011 — not starter-worthy in left field without great defense, but it might play in center.
It is difficult to evaluate how good or bad Brantley is in the field. Both UZR and DRS see him as slightly above-average in left, and horrible in center. However, the sample size is small even for those most confident in the measurements given by those metrics: less than 1200 innings over three full seasons. Brantley had a reputation as a good outfielder in the minors. If he is about an average center fielder, then he is about a two-win player over a full season given the hitting projections — almost as good as Sizemore was projected. If one thinks Brantley is a really bad center fielder (say, -10 runs), then he is between a win and two wins worse than Sizemore over a full season.
Along with Shin-Soo Choo, Brantley was going to start in the outfield even with Sizemore healthy, so whether he plays left or center, that will not change. What are some options for the now-open third spot? Apparently there are about ten players who might have a chance. Let`s briefly look at a few.
Russ Canzler and Matt LaPorta`s names will come up, but both have questions about their alleged Quad-A-ness, so we will leave them aside for now. Thomas Neal and Trevor Crowe are also mentioned, but at this point, they seem to be marginal players even as bench fodder. Ryan Spilborghs is finally out of Colorado, and, well, he would make a heck of a corner outfielder for a AAA team. Nick Weglarz is in camp, but did not hit in the minors when healthy in 2011, and he was a bat-first prospect. I was a Felix Pie advocate for years, but while he showed real promise in 2009, things just kept getting worse — he is even borderline as a bench player at this point.
I may have missed something, and I`m sure some will disagree with me, I think there should be four players in the mix for Cleveland`s remaining outfield spot to start the season. None of them are especially appealing, but all could be helpful if utilized properly.
One somewhat “safe
- 8,139
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Maybin's career arch has been interesting to say the least.
jumpmanfromdabay
Banned
- 25,730
- 2,900
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- Jan 25, 2008
Baseball to tell Oakland ... no way, San Jose
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.co...-1.1032531#ixzz1o756SKXv
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.co...-1.1032531#ixzz1o756SKXv
jumpmanfromdabay
Banned
- 25,730
- 2,900
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2008
Baseball to tell Oakland ... no way, San Jose
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.co...-1.1032531#ixzz1o756SKXv
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.co...-1.1032531#ixzz1o756SKXv
- 27,981
- 9,063
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- Nov 18, 2007
- 27,981
- 9,063
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- Nov 18, 2007
- 21,784
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- Feb 17, 2007
The article cites no sources, and doesn't seem to mention that Bud doesn't NEED the votes from MLB to decide that it's in the best interest of baseball to have the A's move to San Jose, which other owners (White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf publically) have noted needs to happen. Further, the article claims that contraction is on the table as a realistic option now. Really? MLB is going to fight the player's union, invite San Jose to take MLB's anti-trust exemption to court and destroy the jobs of dozens of players to preserve the Giants' territory rights? That isn't in the best interest of baseball, which Selig loves to proclaim.
I bet my account that the A's will get the right to move to San Jose. If anyone is interested in challenging, let's make it official here.
EDIT: Here it is, word directly from Selig's office:
http://blog.sfgate.com/gi...jected-as-san-jose-move/
I bet my account that the A's will get the right to move to San Jose. If anyone is interested in challenging, let's make it official here.
EDIT: Here it is, word directly from Selig's office:
http://blog.sfgate.com/gi...jected-as-san-jose-move/
- 21,784
- 2,957
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2007
The article cites no sources, and doesn't seem to mention that Bud doesn't NEED the votes from MLB to decide that it's in the best interest of baseball to have the A's move to San Jose, which other owners (White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf publically) have noted needs to happen. Further, the article claims that contraction is on the table as a realistic option now. Really? MLB is going to fight the player's union, invite San Jose to take MLB's anti-trust exemption to court and destroy the jobs of dozens of players to preserve the Giants' territory rights? That isn't in the best interest of baseball, which Selig loves to proclaim.
I bet my account that the A's will get the right to move to San Jose. If anyone is interested in challenging, let's make it official here.
EDIT: Here it is, word directly from Selig's office:
http://blog.sfgate.com/gi...jected-as-san-jose-move/
I bet my account that the A's will get the right to move to San Jose. If anyone is interested in challenging, let's make it official here.
EDIT: Here it is, word directly from Selig's office:
http://blog.sfgate.com/gi...jected-as-san-jose-move/
- 6,376
- 433
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2007
Win your division then.
This now places more importance on winning the division instead of settling for a WC spot, which cant be viewed as a bad thing.
- 6,376
- 433
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2007
Win your division then.
This now places more importance on winning the division instead of settling for a WC spot, which cant be viewed as a bad thing.
- 8,956
- 39
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
Does anyone have a good site with in depth previews for every team?
- 8,956
- 39
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
Does anyone have a good site with in depth previews for every team?
- 8,139
- 88
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- Aug 21, 2005
I use MLBdepthcharts. Google it
- 8,139
- 88
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- Aug 21, 2005
I use MLBdepthcharts. Google it
jpzx
Supporter
- 55,727
- 25,290
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- Feb 7, 2008
jpzx
Supporter
- 55,727
- 25,290
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2008
- 20,620
- 1,615
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- Sep 27, 2007
happy for McCutchen, by the time that contract is done he'll be vastly underpaid. Loyalty on both parts is nice to see
- 20,620
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- Sep 27, 2007
happy for McCutchen, by the time that contract is done he'll be vastly underpaid. Loyalty on both parts is nice to see
- 10,371
- 653
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- Jan 3, 2011
Huntington did that deal with a ski mask on.
Good for my guy, though. He wants to be there.
Good for my guy, though. He wants to be there.
- 10,371
- 653
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2011
Huntington did that deal with a ski mask on.
Good for my guy, though. He wants to be there.
Good for my guy, though. He wants to be there.
McCutchen sets the table for Hosmer.
Royals will contend, but not now.
Expectations high for Price.
Twins are cautiously optimistic.
Trevor Bauer in midseason form.
Spoiler [+]
This would be the 27th consecutive season the Kansas City Royals would not be part of the postseason, if they don't make it. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, this would be the 20th consecutive year without being part of baseball's October.
So for the fans of these two teams, progress is measured in other ways, and this morning's news that the Pirates and Andrew McCutchen have agreed to a six-year deal is maybe the best thing to happen to the team since before Sid Bream slid home. Fairly or not, the question of whether the Pirates would be able to keep McCutchen and build around him -- as the Colorado Rockies have with Troy Tulowitzki and the Milwaukee Brewers with Ryan Braun -- has been a Pittsburgh referendum on whether the team is serious about winning.
The Pirates have a foundation piece in place now. The Kansas City Royals are trying to do the same thing, with the wave of young talent it has drafted and developed. Last week, catcher Salvador Perez -- who the Royals hope will follow in the path of Yadier Molina and eventually become a productive hitter -- agreed to a five-year, $7 million deal. Kansas City is in negotiations with Alex Gordon, who is coming off the best season of his career, and whether or not they can get something done with him, there figure to be talks with shortstop Alcides Escobar, who is already regarded by some scouts as baseball's most talented defensive shortstop.
These conversations are a prelude to the team's most significant target: first baseman Eric Hosmer, who is the Royals' version of McCutchen, as a superstar-level talent.
"It's important for us to sign as many of our good young players as we can, long-term," Royals GM Dayton Moore said Sunday. "We need as much flexibility as we can get the next three to four years ... obviously, there is risk involved with it, but there's cost certainty.
"And you're going to have a comfort level with your own players, the guys who are homegrown, because you know them and know their families."
The risk for the Royals, of course, is if the players don't turn out to be as good as expected or if they get hurt. The Cleveland Indians were the pioneers of this kind of long-term thinking in the '90s, and with their best young players locked up, the Indians were able to build and plan and add.
A foundation of Hosmer, Gordon, Escobar and Perez not only would give the Royals a chance to win, but also would frame a structure well into the next decade, because salaries would be locked in place and budget space would be defined.
If the Royals cannot sign Hosmer, they will be in the same position as where the Brewers were with Prince Fielder the last couple of years. Because Milwaukee couldn't sign him to a long-term deal, it had to decide whether to trade him for less than equal value on the market or keep him and try to win as long as possible, knowing that he'd eventually walk away as a free agent. The Brewers kept him, and fans filled their ballpark in 2011 as Milwaukee made the playoffs, a last hurrah with Fielder before he signed with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason.
The Cincinnati Reds are now facing this situation with Joey Votto, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
Fielder is represented by agent Scott Boras, whose clients typically go into free agency rather than signing a long-term deal in the way that Tulowitzki and Braun did.
Hosmer is a Boras client.
There are agents and general managers who believe, however, that it is extremely difficult for any young player to turn down a massive offer with a big, crooked number. "If you're 23 years old," said one agent, "are you going to turn down tens of millions of dollars?"
McCutchen did not, an enormous moment of progress for the Pirates. How will Hosmer react? We may well find out sometime in the weeks and months ahead.
If the Royals are to sign Hosmer to a Tulowitzki-like deal, a leap of faith will be required from Kansas City's ownership. But keep in mind that every time Moore's front office has asked for an extraordinary expenditure -- whether it was a free-agent signing of Gil Meche or Jose Guillen, or an investment in a draft pick -- the Glass family has responded. If there is a Hosmer deal that can be made, it's hard to imagine it won't get done.
The Royals had a good first day.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• Corey Hart will miss the start of the Brewers' season.
• Bees delayed a game 41 minutes, as Nick Piecoro writes.
• Rockies prospect Alex White was arrested on the suspicion of DUI, writes Patrick Saunders. From the story:
• As Juan Rodriguez writes, the Miami Marlins are part of a sweeping hand-gesture craze: Lo viste?
• Joel Zumaya will try again. He has decided to have elbow reconstruction surgery. Talked to Minnesota Twins GM Terry Ryan about him the other day, and Ryan said Zumaya was throwing so well that there had been a real sense that he could help Minnesota this year. If Zumaya was that good this time around, there's really no reason to think he can't be throwing well again a year from now -- if healthy.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Bobby Valentine doesn't like to use a set lineup, which sets him apart, as Nick Cafardo writes. His messages are heartfelt, writes Ron Borges.
2. Buck Showalter is looking for a leadoff hitter.
3. Starlin Castro is embracing the opportunity to hit third, writes Paul Sullivan.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Josh Johnson is all systems go, as Tom D'Angelo writes.
2. Evan Longoria is good to go for Tuesday, as Marc Topkin writes here.
3. Tommy Hanson faced hitters for the first time this spring.
4. Brian Wilson is making progress.
5. Ike Davis says he feels great despite his diagnosis.
6. With a number of guys coming back from injury, the Los Angeles Angels have bigger concerns than Albert Pujols' transition.
7. Rafael Furcal's goal is to stay healthy.
8. Chris Perez figures he'll be playing catch this week.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Oakland's Brandon Allen drove in seven runs.
2. Mike Carp hopes to thrive as Seattle's left fielder, writes Steve Kelley.
3. There is a suggestion in this George King story that Michael Pineda does not have a job locked up in the Yankees' rotation. There is no question that in person, Pineda looks heavy.
4. The Chicago White Sox have some bullpen jobs up for grabs.
[h3]Sunday's games[/h3]
1. I can't remember many spring days here in Florida when there was as much wind as there was on Sunday, so all the results from yesterday should be taken with a major dose of perspective. Especially if your name is Julio Teheran.
2. Ryan Raburn and the rest of the Tigers put on a show, as Tom Gage writes.
3. Josh Beckett was The Man for the Boston Red Sox. Andrew Miller also impressed, as Michael Silverman writes.
4. Stephen Strasburg returned to the mound and had a nice debut. Tom Gorzelanny had a really rough outing.
5. Roy Halladay was pleased with his first spring work, writes Jim Salisbury.
6. Travis Snyder is swinging a hot bat.
7. Alex Rodriguez showed some power, writes David Waldstein.
8. Clayton Kershaw did what Clayton Kershaw does.
9. Homer Bailey was so-so.
10. Ryan Braun heard a mixed reaction.
11. Ubaldo Jimenez had a rocky first outing.
12. There was some good, bad and ugly for the Chicago Cubs.
So for the fans of these two teams, progress is measured in other ways, and this morning's news that the Pirates and Andrew McCutchen have agreed to a six-year deal is maybe the best thing to happen to the team since before Sid Bream slid home. Fairly or not, the question of whether the Pirates would be able to keep McCutchen and build around him -- as the Colorado Rockies have with Troy Tulowitzki and the Milwaukee Brewers with Ryan Braun -- has been a Pittsburgh referendum on whether the team is serious about winning.
The Pirates have a foundation piece in place now. The Kansas City Royals are trying to do the same thing, with the wave of young talent it has drafted and developed. Last week, catcher Salvador Perez -- who the Royals hope will follow in the path of Yadier Molina and eventually become a productive hitter -- agreed to a five-year, $7 million deal. Kansas City is in negotiations with Alex Gordon, who is coming off the best season of his career, and whether or not they can get something done with him, there figure to be talks with shortstop Alcides Escobar, who is already regarded by some scouts as baseball's most talented defensive shortstop.
These conversations are a prelude to the team's most significant target: first baseman Eric Hosmer, who is the Royals' version of McCutchen, as a superstar-level talent.
"It's important for us to sign as many of our good young players as we can, long-term," Royals GM Dayton Moore said Sunday. "We need as much flexibility as we can get the next three to four years ... obviously, there is risk involved with it, but there's cost certainty.
"And you're going to have a comfort level with your own players, the guys who are homegrown, because you know them and know their families."
The risk for the Royals, of course, is if the players don't turn out to be as good as expected or if they get hurt. The Cleveland Indians were the pioneers of this kind of long-term thinking in the '90s, and with their best young players locked up, the Indians were able to build and plan and add.
A foundation of Hosmer, Gordon, Escobar and Perez not only would give the Royals a chance to win, but also would frame a structure well into the next decade, because salaries would be locked in place and budget space would be defined.
If the Royals cannot sign Hosmer, they will be in the same position as where the Brewers were with Prince Fielder the last couple of years. Because Milwaukee couldn't sign him to a long-term deal, it had to decide whether to trade him for less than equal value on the market or keep him and try to win as long as possible, knowing that he'd eventually walk away as a free agent. The Brewers kept him, and fans filled their ballpark in 2011 as Milwaukee made the playoffs, a last hurrah with Fielder before he signed with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason.
The Cincinnati Reds are now facing this situation with Joey Votto, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
Fielder is represented by agent Scott Boras, whose clients typically go into free agency rather than signing a long-term deal in the way that Tulowitzki and Braun did.
Hosmer is a Boras client.
There are agents and general managers who believe, however, that it is extremely difficult for any young player to turn down a massive offer with a big, crooked number. "If you're 23 years old," said one agent, "are you going to turn down tens of millions of dollars?"
McCutchen did not, an enormous moment of progress for the Pirates. How will Hosmer react? We may well find out sometime in the weeks and months ahead.
If the Royals are to sign Hosmer to a Tulowitzki-like deal, a leap of faith will be required from Kansas City's ownership. But keep in mind that every time Moore's front office has asked for an extraordinary expenditure -- whether it was a free-agent signing of Gil Meche or Jose Guillen, or an investment in a draft pick -- the Glass family has responded. If there is a Hosmer deal that can be made, it's hard to imagine it won't get done.
The Royals had a good first day.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• Corey Hart will miss the start of the Brewers' season.
• Bees delayed a game 41 minutes, as Nick Piecoro writes.
• Rockies prospect Alex White was arrested on the suspicion of DUI, writes Patrick Saunders. From the story:
- The Rockies have a program in which a player can call the team and arrange for transportation if the player believes he has had too much to drink.
- "We sat down with these guys and explained to them that in this area in Scottsdale, they have to be really careful," [General Manager Dan] O'Dowd said.
- O'Dowd said he was glad that White was upfront about the incident.
- "We'd be much more upset if the kid didn't handle it," O'Dowd said. "He walked right into (manager Jim Tracy's office) this morning and said, 'Here's what took place.' Then he asked Jim if he could talk to the team, went into the theater room and got up in front of everybody and said, 'Here's a stupid decision I made last night and here's what happened, and I'm sorry to all you guys.'"
• As Juan Rodriguez writes, the Miami Marlins are part of a sweeping hand-gesture craze: Lo viste?
• Joel Zumaya will try again. He has decided to have elbow reconstruction surgery. Talked to Minnesota Twins GM Terry Ryan about him the other day, and Ryan said Zumaya was throwing so well that there had been a real sense that he could help Minnesota this year. If Zumaya was that good this time around, there's really no reason to think he can't be throwing well again a year from now -- if healthy.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Bobby Valentine doesn't like to use a set lineup, which sets him apart, as Nick Cafardo writes. His messages are heartfelt, writes Ron Borges.
2. Buck Showalter is looking for a leadoff hitter.
3. Starlin Castro is embracing the opportunity to hit third, writes Paul Sullivan.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Josh Johnson is all systems go, as Tom D'Angelo writes.
2. Evan Longoria is good to go for Tuesday, as Marc Topkin writes here.
3. Tommy Hanson faced hitters for the first time this spring.
4. Brian Wilson is making progress.
5. Ike Davis says he feels great despite his diagnosis.
6. With a number of guys coming back from injury, the Los Angeles Angels have bigger concerns than Albert Pujols' transition.
7. Rafael Furcal's goal is to stay healthy.
8. Chris Perez figures he'll be playing catch this week.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Oakland's Brandon Allen drove in seven runs.
2. Mike Carp hopes to thrive as Seattle's left fielder, writes Steve Kelley.
3. There is a suggestion in this George King story that Michael Pineda does not have a job locked up in the Yankees' rotation. There is no question that in person, Pineda looks heavy.
4. The Chicago White Sox have some bullpen jobs up for grabs.
[h3]Sunday's games[/h3]
1. I can't remember many spring days here in Florida when there was as much wind as there was on Sunday, so all the results from yesterday should be taken with a major dose of perspective. Especially if your name is Julio Teheran.
2. Ryan Raburn and the rest of the Tigers put on a show, as Tom Gage writes.
3. Josh Beckett was The Man for the Boston Red Sox. Andrew Miller also impressed, as Michael Silverman writes.
4. Stephen Strasburg returned to the mound and had a nice debut. Tom Gorzelanny had a really rough outing.
5. Roy Halladay was pleased with his first spring work, writes Jim Salisbury.
6. Travis Snyder is swinging a hot bat.
7. Alex Rodriguez showed some power, writes David Waldstein.
8. Clayton Kershaw did what Clayton Kershaw does.
9. Homer Bailey was so-so.
10. Ryan Braun heard a mixed reaction.
11. Ubaldo Jimenez had a rocky first outing.
12. There was some good, bad and ugly for the Chicago Cubs.
Royals will contend, but not now.
Spoiler [+]
The Kansas City Royals have an awful lot of young talent. Even after graduating top prospects Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Danny Duffy to the majors last year, they still placed five players on Keith Law's list of the 100 best prospects in baseball, and he rated their farm system as the fifth-best in the game right now. Their oldest projected position player is Alex Gordon, who just turned 28 on Feb. 10, and besides Bruce Chen, their entire pitching staff is a bunch of 20-somethings.
The Royals will almost certainly be one of the youngest teams in Major League Baseball this year, and with all the highly touted young talent they've developed internally during the last few seasons, comparisons to the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays are inevitable. However, a closer inspection of what we should actually expect from the Royals' young talents this year suggests that this team just isn't ready to win yet.
Let's start with the lineup, which is where a good amount of the optimism around the Royals is based. With Gordon coming off a breakout season, continued improvement from 26-year-old DH Billy Butler, and the potential for full years from Hosmer and Moustakas, the Royals have a core group of talented young hitters to build around. However, the Royals shouldn't expect to get that much more from that quarter than they got from those same positions one year ago.
If the Royals offense fails to improve much over its 2011 performance, regression from Gordon may well be one of the reasons why. He was one of the best hitters in baseball last year, putting up a .303/.376/.502 line that was good for a 141 wRC+ -- that tied him for 17th-best in all of baseball. Unfortunately for the Royals, a large part of Gordon's surge was a massive increase in batting average on balls in play. His BABIP jumped from .254 in 2010 to .358 last year, and he'd never posted a mark better than .309 in any season prior.
Put simply, it's highly unlikely that Gordon will have as many balls fall in for hits this year, and his overall offensive line is in for a significant step back if he doesn't offset it with a massive gain in contact rate or power. Given his underlying skills, a 120 wRC+ is more realistic, and the difference between 2011 Gordon and what the Royals should expect from him at the plate in 2012 could cost them as many as 15 runs.
Can Hosmer, Moustakas and Butler not only offset that loss but create a substantially improved offense as well? It's unlikely. The ZIPS projections suggest that Hosmer will see just a modest gain this year (improving by the equivalent of approximately seven runs), while Moustakas is projected to hit about as well as the departed Wilson Betemit did for the Royals last year.
They should expect a 3-5 run improvement due to Moustakas' own struggles being replaced by an average bat in 2012, but it's more a minor upgrade than any large step forward. As for Butler, ZIPS expects him to have nearly the same offensive performance, and with 159 games played last year, he has nowhere to go but down in terms of playing time.
Realistically, those four hitters will do well to simply match what the Royals got from left field, first base, third base and designated hitter in 2011. If the offense is going to dramatically improve, the upgrades would have to come from other positions on the field, but the Royals are already trying to replace Melky Cabrera's 118 wRC+ in center field with rookie Lorenzo Cain, who will likely be a big step backward at the plate.
Having a full season of Salvador Perez will help, but again, he's replacing a pretty decent performance from the departed Matt Treanor, so the upgrade might not be as large as you might expect. Improvements from guys like Alcides Escobar or Johnny Giavotella will likely be counteracted by some regression from Jeff Francoeur.
Overall, there just aren't a lot of reasons to expect the Royals to score much more than the 730 runs they managed as a team a year ago. If they're going to have a breakthrough season, the improvements are going to have to mostly come from the pitching staff. And, unfortunately, that isn't where most of the talent in the organization currently lies.
There are legitimate reasons to expect better performances from both Luke Hochevar (4.68 ERA, 4.05 xFIP) and Felipe Paulino (4.46 ERA, 3.73 xFIP), but neither project as more than middle-of-the-rotation starters at this point. Jonathan Sanchez was imported to provide another rotation arm with upside, but his severe command problems have shown no signs of improvement, and in more than 700 career big league innings, he's essentially been a league-average starting pitcher.
Toss in Chen (3.77 ERA, 4.68 xFIP) and either Duffy or Aaron Crow at the end of the rotation, and the team essentially has a collection of starters who each could be OK if everything breaks in their favor. There isn't an ace anywhere to be found, and the rotation lacks pitchers with the ability to work deep into games and reduce the strain on the bullpen.
That issue raised its head last year, when the Royals had to ask their relievers to throw 508 innings -- among AL teams, only the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox got more work from their bullpen. With that many early calls to the bullpen, the team can't help but go to mediocre middle relievers in critical situations, and the result is too many blown leads due to handing the ball to guys who don't belong on the mound in close and late situations.
Rather than upgrading the rotation with a durable innings-eater, the only rotation upgrade the Royals made was Sanchez, whose high pitch counts often force him out of the game in the fifth or sixth inning. As such, the Royals will again have to lean on their bullpen very heavily, and they don't have enough good young arms to make that strategy really pay off.
There just aren't that many areas where the Royals should expect to be that much better in 2012 than they were in 2011. With some further maturation from the likes of Hosmer and Moustakas, the team could take a big step forward in 2013, but if they can finish the year at .500, they should consider 2012 a success. There are too many holes to fill in one season, and this roster just isn't quite good enough to contend yet.
The Royals will almost certainly be one of the youngest teams in Major League Baseball this year, and with all the highly touted young talent they've developed internally during the last few seasons, comparisons to the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays are inevitable. However, a closer inspection of what we should actually expect from the Royals' young talents this year suggests that this team just isn't ready to win yet.
Let's start with the lineup, which is where a good amount of the optimism around the Royals is based. With Gordon coming off a breakout season, continued improvement from 26-year-old DH Billy Butler, and the potential for full years from Hosmer and Moustakas, the Royals have a core group of talented young hitters to build around. However, the Royals shouldn't expect to get that much more from that quarter than they got from those same positions one year ago.
If the Royals offense fails to improve much over its 2011 performance, regression from Gordon may well be one of the reasons why. He was one of the best hitters in baseball last year, putting up a .303/.376/.502 line that was good for a 141 wRC+ -- that tied him for 17th-best in all of baseball. Unfortunately for the Royals, a large part of Gordon's surge was a massive increase in batting average on balls in play. His BABIP jumped from .254 in 2010 to .358 last year, and he'd never posted a mark better than .309 in any season prior.
Put simply, it's highly unlikely that Gordon will have as many balls fall in for hits this year, and his overall offensive line is in for a significant step back if he doesn't offset it with a massive gain in contact rate or power. Given his underlying skills, a 120 wRC+ is more realistic, and the difference between 2011 Gordon and what the Royals should expect from him at the plate in 2012 could cost them as many as 15 runs.
Can Hosmer, Moustakas and Butler not only offset that loss but create a substantially improved offense as well? It's unlikely. The ZIPS projections suggest that Hosmer will see just a modest gain this year (improving by the equivalent of approximately seven runs), while Moustakas is projected to hit about as well as the departed Wilson Betemit did for the Royals last year.
They should expect a 3-5 run improvement due to Moustakas' own struggles being replaced by an average bat in 2012, but it's more a minor upgrade than any large step forward. As for Butler, ZIPS expects him to have nearly the same offensive performance, and with 159 games played last year, he has nowhere to go but down in terms of playing time.
Realistically, those four hitters will do well to simply match what the Royals got from left field, first base, third base and designated hitter in 2011. If the offense is going to dramatically improve, the upgrades would have to come from other positions on the field, but the Royals are already trying to replace Melky Cabrera's 118 wRC+ in center field with rookie Lorenzo Cain, who will likely be a big step backward at the plate.
Having a full season of Salvador Perez will help, but again, he's replacing a pretty decent performance from the departed Matt Treanor, so the upgrade might not be as large as you might expect. Improvements from guys like Alcides Escobar or Johnny Giavotella will likely be counteracted by some regression from Jeff Francoeur.
Overall, there just aren't a lot of reasons to expect the Royals to score much more than the 730 runs they managed as a team a year ago. If they're going to have a breakthrough season, the improvements are going to have to mostly come from the pitching staff. And, unfortunately, that isn't where most of the talent in the organization currently lies.
There are legitimate reasons to expect better performances from both Luke Hochevar (4.68 ERA, 4.05 xFIP) and Felipe Paulino (4.46 ERA, 3.73 xFIP), but neither project as more than middle-of-the-rotation starters at this point. Jonathan Sanchez was imported to provide another rotation arm with upside, but his severe command problems have shown no signs of improvement, and in more than 700 career big league innings, he's essentially been a league-average starting pitcher.
Toss in Chen (3.77 ERA, 4.68 xFIP) and either Duffy or Aaron Crow at the end of the rotation, and the team essentially has a collection of starters who each could be OK if everything breaks in their favor. There isn't an ace anywhere to be found, and the rotation lacks pitchers with the ability to work deep into games and reduce the strain on the bullpen.
That issue raised its head last year, when the Royals had to ask their relievers to throw 508 innings -- among AL teams, only the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox got more work from their bullpen. With that many early calls to the bullpen, the team can't help but go to mediocre middle relievers in critical situations, and the result is too many blown leads due to handing the ball to guys who don't belong on the mound in close and late situations.
Rather than upgrading the rotation with a durable innings-eater, the only rotation upgrade the Royals made was Sanchez, whose high pitch counts often force him out of the game in the fifth or sixth inning. As such, the Royals will again have to lean on their bullpen very heavily, and they don't have enough good young arms to make that strategy really pay off.
There just aren't that many areas where the Royals should expect to be that much better in 2012 than they were in 2011. With some further maturation from the likes of Hosmer and Moustakas, the team could take a big step forward in 2013, but if they can finish the year at .500, they should consider 2012 a success. There are too many holes to fill in one season, and this roster just isn't quite good enough to contend yet.
Expectations high for Price.
Spoiler [+]
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The base hit lashed by Joe Mauer in his second at-bat -- a ball hit so hard that it raised a cloud of dust as it skipped into center field -- was Saturday's headline event, along with the crooked box score numbers posted by Justin Morneau. The Twin stars have said they are OK, and there was tangible proof on Saturday.
Both were overpowered in their first at-bats, however, and there was no shame in that.
The Rays' David Price blistered fastballs past them to finish off strikeouts. Mauer and then Morneau looked back at home plate umpire Brian O'Nora after taking the fastballs, maybe to question the calls, but maybe in reaction to how unfair this time of spring training can be, when the pitchers are so far ahead of the hitters. Ninety-five mph fastballs on the black on March 3? That's just not right.
There aren't many lefties who throw fastballs in the mid-90s consistently, and the Rays have two, in Matt Moore and Price.
The Rays want Price to be more efficient with his fastball this year, to better choose those moments when he uses it. They thought there were situations last year when Price would work to mix in his secondary pitches (his slider, changeup) against lesser hitters, rather than just burying those guys with the fastball that they couldn't handle.
[h4]David Price, 2011 stats[/h4][table][tr][th=""]Lineup spot[/th][th=""]OPS[/th][/tr][tr][td]No. 1.[/td][td]735[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 2.[/td][td]761[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 3.[/td][td]801[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 4.[/td][td]562[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 5.[/td][td]861[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 6.[/td][td]468[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 7.[/td][td]573[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 8.[/td][td]539[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 9.[/td][td]574[/td][/tr][/table]
Price didn't contend for the Cy Young Award last season, with his ERA rising to 3.49. But he still had a good year, averaging almost seven innings per outing and walking just 63 batters in 224 innings. The hitters in the No. 5 spot in the lineup did an inordinate amount of damage against him last year.
It would not be a shock to anyone if Price, now 26 years old, challenges for the Cy Young Award this year.
Some more Rays notes: At the time that Tim Beckham was drafted No. 1 overall by Tampa Bay in 2008, ahead of Buster Posey, there was a debate among scouts about whether Beckham would ultimately be a shortstop or have to move to another position. Beckham is now 22 years old, there are extraordinary reviews in the organization of his work ethic and the Rays think he's made himself into a good shortstop -- and he's getting better and more consistent. After making 43 errors in 2009, he made 25 in 2010 and 22 last year.
Desmond Jennings faded at the end of last season, and the perception in the organization is that he simply tired. But he's viewed as someone with great instincts, as someone who'll figure it out and keep getting better.
• A story that's bound to get a lot of attention: The Cubs want their players to get sleep, rather than keeping late hours.
Anybody who has seen "Bull Durham" knows that a long-standing part of the ballplayer culture is the expectation that they could play a game, party late and get up and do it all over again the next day. The Cubs have always had a unique challenge in coping with this, because of all the day games they play.
[h4]Cameron Maybin, MLB Career[/h4][table][tr][th=""][/th][th=""]2007-10[/th][th=""]2011<<[/th][/tr][tr][td]Plate app[/td][td]610[/td][td]568[/td][/tr][tr][td]BA[/td][td].246[/td][td].264[/td][/tr][tr][td]OPS[/td][td].692[/td][td].716[/td][/tr][tr][td]HR[/td][td]13[/td][td]9[/td][/tr][tr][td]SB[/td][td]19[/td][td]40[/td][/tr][tr][td]>>1st season with Padres[/td][/tr][/table]
But what Epstein is saying here is logical, when you get right down to it. In most other lines of work, there would be an expectation that employees not allow their off-hours play to affect how they do their jobs the next day. It'll be interesting to see how Epstein and the Cubs work to effect change to this culture.
• What a crazy journey Cameron Maybin has had. He was the centerpiece in a trade for a future Hall of Famer, Miguel Cabrera, then he was regarded as a bust and essentially dumped by the Marlins and now he is locked into a long-term deal worth $25 million.
Maybin is taking this to mean the Padres want him to be the face of the franchise.
The Padres' ownership situation could be settled soon, writes Tim Sullivan.
• Our colleague Charlie Moynihan sat down with Ned Yost, who told an interesting story about why he wears No. 3 -- to honor the late Dale Earnhardt. Yost was the hydration engineer on pit road during the last nine races of the '94 NASCAR season, when MLB players were on strike. His job was to place the stick with the Gatorade bottle at the end inside Earnhardt's window once he stopped on pit road. When Yost interviewed for the Brewers' job, he was asked by GM Doug Melvin who were the three people who shaped his ideals. Yost said Bobby Cox, Ted Simmons and Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Yost is not ready to announce his lineup.
• Marlins fans got a first look at their new ballpark, Manny Navarro writes. They built it perfectly, writes Dave Hyde, and now the question is: Will they come?
Kansas City RoyalsNed Yost wears No. 3 to honor the late Dale Earnhardt.
There were about 25 fish in the aquarium behind home plate, writes Joe Capozzi, and there will be 100 by Opening Day. I can't wait to see it.
• Daniel Bard feels like his changeup is crucial to his transition from the bullpen to the rotation, but he doesn't feel like he has to have a great changeup right away. "I need to have something I can show," Bard said, "so that it gets put into the scouting reports." His other stuff is so good that even if he just plants a seed that he has a changeup, the mere suggestion will serve as a complement to his other pitches.
• Count David Ortiz among those who believe that Brennan Boesch is poised for a big season. "He'll have a monster year," Ortiz said the other day. "I think Prince [Fielder] will take a lot of pressure off of him." And Ortiz believes that because Boesch will hit in the same group as Cabrera and Fielder in batting practice, he will learn -- as Ortiz feels he learned from working daily alongside Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra.
• Yoenis Cespedes has arrived, and will play when he's ready, writes Susan Slusser. The fact that he played in winter ball will presumably speed up his timetable.
• Heard this: Jarrod Parker, the centerpiece for Oakland in the Trevor Cahill trade, looks excellent.
• Boston's new spring ballpark is a replica of Fenway Park, generally, and some of their players mentioned in conversation the other day that they're having an opportunity in spring training to get accustomed to the dimensions. One difference: The Green Monster in Florida is 3 feet higher than the actual Green Monster.
• Lew Wolff dismissed a report that the Giants' territorial rights will be upheld. A lot of baseball officials have expressed concern about the possibility that the Giants would challenge any proposed move of the Athletics to San Jose. You wonder if Wolff will ever get to the point where the city of San Jose and Wolff would start a legal challenge. Not many cities have been in the position that San Jose is in right now: The city apparently wants a big league team, it apparently has the wherewithal to house a big league team, and it's being told now that it cannot ever have a big league team.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. The Mets are concerned that Ike Davis has contracted valley fever, writes Adam Rubin. Not good. Mets fans have learned to not trust an initial diagnosis, writes Bill Madden.
2. Meanwhile, David Wright has a rib cage strain. Not good.
3. Franklin Gutierrez is in a sling.
4. Ryan Vogelsong hopes to throw off a mound this week, Henry Schulman writes.
5. Pedro Alvarez is training to prevent injuries, writes Bill Brink.
6. Anibal Sanchez has a sore shoulder.
7. Jason Bartlett is dinged up.
8. Carl Crawford had a minor setback, and figures it was the bunting drills that put him over the edge physically, Tim Britton writes.
9. There has been progress for Freddie Freeman and Tommy Hanson, writes David O'Brien.
10. Jamey Carroll had a scare, John Shipley writes.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Joel Peralta has no regrets about lying about his age, writes Marc Topkin.
2. The Angels sold a bunch of tickets on Saturday.
3. Citi Field revenue has dropped by about 30 percent.
4. Rickie Weeks was in the leadoff spot in the first lineup posted by Ron Roenicke this spring.
Corey Hart needs to hit fifth in the lineup this year.
The Brewers' lineup has been a topic of conversation among pitchers and scouts since Fielder departed, and it's evident that this year will be a different kind of challenge for Braun. Without Fielder behind him, they say, Braun will be pitched inside a lot more. "It's the best place to pitch him," said one scout. "You've got to move him off the plate."
Said a longtime pitcher: "When Prince was there, you worried about putting someone on base in front of him if you walked Braun or hit him pitching inside. You're not going to worry about that anymore."
Braun is similar to Alex Rodriguez earlier in his career: The perception of pitchers is that you have to keep him from leaning over the plate, and that pitching inside bothers him -- although his past numbers indicate pitchers have never pounded him inside in the way that they pitch inside to Justin Upton, who was hit 19 times last year. We'll see.
5. The Tigers could use their pitching surplus to good use come trade time, writes Lynn Henning.
[h3]The fight for jobs[/h3]
1. Jamie Moyer is trying to work his way back into the big leagues.
2. Trayvon Robinson is trying to show he can be more than what he was last year, Larry Stone writes.
3. Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour are competing for the closer's job in Oakland.
4. The Indians have a tough decision at third base, writes Sheldon Ocker.
[h3]Saturday's games[/h3]
1. Bryce Harper went 1-for-3.
2. Yankees fans cheered Cole Hamels, and you know why.
3. Brandon Belt had a really good day. Tim Lincecum got the jitters out.
4. Brett Lawrie had a big day, Ken Fidlin writes.
5. Some of the Yankees' young arms looked good Saturday, writes Mark Feinsand.
6. Dylan Bundy struck out some teammates.
7. Cody Ross hit a couple of bombs over Boston's replica wall.
8. Jon Lester looked good, Michael Silverman writes.
9. B.J. Upton had a good first day at the plate.
10. It was a good start for the Twins, but issues remain, writes Jim Souhan.
Both were overpowered in their first at-bats, however, and there was no shame in that.
The Rays' David Price blistered fastballs past them to finish off strikeouts. Mauer and then Morneau looked back at home plate umpire Brian O'Nora after taking the fastballs, maybe to question the calls, but maybe in reaction to how unfair this time of spring training can be, when the pitchers are so far ahead of the hitters. Ninety-five mph fastballs on the black on March 3? That's just not right.
There aren't many lefties who throw fastballs in the mid-90s consistently, and the Rays have two, in Matt Moore and Price.
The Rays want Price to be more efficient with his fastball this year, to better choose those moments when he uses it. They thought there were situations last year when Price would work to mix in his secondary pitches (his slider, changeup) against lesser hitters, rather than just burying those guys with the fastball that they couldn't handle.
[h4]David Price, 2011 stats[/h4][table][tr][th=""]Lineup spot[/th][th=""]OPS[/th][/tr][tr][td]No. 1.[/td][td]735[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 2.[/td][td]761[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 3.[/td][td]801[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 4.[/td][td]562[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 5.[/td][td]861[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 6.[/td][td]468[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 7.[/td][td]573[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 8.[/td][td]539[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 9.[/td][td]574[/td][/tr][/table]
Price didn't contend for the Cy Young Award last season, with his ERA rising to 3.49. But he still had a good year, averaging almost seven innings per outing and walking just 63 batters in 224 innings. The hitters in the No. 5 spot in the lineup did an inordinate amount of damage against him last year.
It would not be a shock to anyone if Price, now 26 years old, challenges for the Cy Young Award this year.
Some more Rays notes: At the time that Tim Beckham was drafted No. 1 overall by Tampa Bay in 2008, ahead of Buster Posey, there was a debate among scouts about whether Beckham would ultimately be a shortstop or have to move to another position. Beckham is now 22 years old, there are extraordinary reviews in the organization of his work ethic and the Rays think he's made himself into a good shortstop -- and he's getting better and more consistent. After making 43 errors in 2009, he made 25 in 2010 and 22 last year.
Desmond Jennings faded at the end of last season, and the perception in the organization is that he simply tired. But he's viewed as someone with great instincts, as someone who'll figure it out and keep getting better.
• A story that's bound to get a lot of attention: The Cubs want their players to get sleep, rather than keeping late hours.
Anybody who has seen "Bull Durham" knows that a long-standing part of the ballplayer culture is the expectation that they could play a game, party late and get up and do it all over again the next day. The Cubs have always had a unique challenge in coping with this, because of all the day games they play.
[h4]Cameron Maybin, MLB Career[/h4][table][tr][th=""][/th][th=""]2007-10[/th][th=""]2011<<[/th][/tr][tr][td]Plate app[/td][td]610[/td][td]568[/td][/tr][tr][td]BA[/td][td].246[/td][td].264[/td][/tr][tr][td]OPS[/td][td].692[/td][td].716[/td][/tr][tr][td]HR[/td][td]13[/td][td]9[/td][/tr][tr][td]SB[/td][td]19[/td][td]40[/td][/tr][tr][td]>>1st season with Padres[/td][/tr][/table]
But what Epstein is saying here is logical, when you get right down to it. In most other lines of work, there would be an expectation that employees not allow their off-hours play to affect how they do their jobs the next day. It'll be interesting to see how Epstein and the Cubs work to effect change to this culture.
• What a crazy journey Cameron Maybin has had. He was the centerpiece in a trade for a future Hall of Famer, Miguel Cabrera, then he was regarded as a bust and essentially dumped by the Marlins and now he is locked into a long-term deal worth $25 million.
Maybin is taking this to mean the Padres want him to be the face of the franchise.
The Padres' ownership situation could be settled soon, writes Tim Sullivan.
• Our colleague Charlie Moynihan sat down with Ned Yost, who told an interesting story about why he wears No. 3 -- to honor the late Dale Earnhardt. Yost was the hydration engineer on pit road during the last nine races of the '94 NASCAR season, when MLB players were on strike. His job was to place the stick with the Gatorade bottle at the end inside Earnhardt's window once he stopped on pit road. When Yost interviewed for the Brewers' job, he was asked by GM Doug Melvin who were the three people who shaped his ideals. Yost said Bobby Cox, Ted Simmons and Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Yost is not ready to announce his lineup.
• Marlins fans got a first look at their new ballpark, Manny Navarro writes. They built it perfectly, writes Dave Hyde, and now the question is: Will they come?
There were about 25 fish in the aquarium behind home plate, writes Joe Capozzi, and there will be 100 by Opening Day. I can't wait to see it.
• Daniel Bard feels like his changeup is crucial to his transition from the bullpen to the rotation, but he doesn't feel like he has to have a great changeup right away. "I need to have something I can show," Bard said, "so that it gets put into the scouting reports." His other stuff is so good that even if he just plants a seed that he has a changeup, the mere suggestion will serve as a complement to his other pitches.
• Count David Ortiz among those who believe that Brennan Boesch is poised for a big season. "He'll have a monster year," Ortiz said the other day. "I think Prince [Fielder] will take a lot of pressure off of him." And Ortiz believes that because Boesch will hit in the same group as Cabrera and Fielder in batting practice, he will learn -- as Ortiz feels he learned from working daily alongside Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra.
• Yoenis Cespedes has arrived, and will play when he's ready, writes Susan Slusser. The fact that he played in winter ball will presumably speed up his timetable.
• Heard this: Jarrod Parker, the centerpiece for Oakland in the Trevor Cahill trade, looks excellent.
• Boston's new spring ballpark is a replica of Fenway Park, generally, and some of their players mentioned in conversation the other day that they're having an opportunity in spring training to get accustomed to the dimensions. One difference: The Green Monster in Florida is 3 feet higher than the actual Green Monster.
• Lew Wolff dismissed a report that the Giants' territorial rights will be upheld. A lot of baseball officials have expressed concern about the possibility that the Giants would challenge any proposed move of the Athletics to San Jose. You wonder if Wolff will ever get to the point where the city of San Jose and Wolff would start a legal challenge. Not many cities have been in the position that San Jose is in right now: The city apparently wants a big league team, it apparently has the wherewithal to house a big league team, and it's being told now that it cannot ever have a big league team.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. The Mets are concerned that Ike Davis has contracted valley fever, writes Adam Rubin. Not good. Mets fans have learned to not trust an initial diagnosis, writes Bill Madden.
2. Meanwhile, David Wright has a rib cage strain. Not good.
3. Franklin Gutierrez is in a sling.
4. Ryan Vogelsong hopes to throw off a mound this week, Henry Schulman writes.
5. Pedro Alvarez is training to prevent injuries, writes Bill Brink.
6. Anibal Sanchez has a sore shoulder.
7. Jason Bartlett is dinged up.
8. Carl Crawford had a minor setback, and figures it was the bunting drills that put him over the edge physically, Tim Britton writes.
9. There has been progress for Freddie Freeman and Tommy Hanson, writes David O'Brien.
10. Jamey Carroll had a scare, John Shipley writes.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Joel Peralta has no regrets about lying about his age, writes Marc Topkin.
2. The Angels sold a bunch of tickets on Saturday.
3. Citi Field revenue has dropped by about 30 percent.
4. Rickie Weeks was in the leadoff spot in the first lineup posted by Ron Roenicke this spring.
Corey Hart needs to hit fifth in the lineup this year.
The Brewers' lineup has been a topic of conversation among pitchers and scouts since Fielder departed, and it's evident that this year will be a different kind of challenge for Braun. Without Fielder behind him, they say, Braun will be pitched inside a lot more. "It's the best place to pitch him," said one scout. "You've got to move him off the plate."
Said a longtime pitcher: "When Prince was there, you worried about putting someone on base in front of him if you walked Braun or hit him pitching inside. You're not going to worry about that anymore."
Braun is similar to Alex Rodriguez earlier in his career: The perception of pitchers is that you have to keep him from leaning over the plate, and that pitching inside bothers him -- although his past numbers indicate pitchers have never pounded him inside in the way that they pitch inside to Justin Upton, who was hit 19 times last year. We'll see.
5. The Tigers could use their pitching surplus to good use come trade time, writes Lynn Henning.
[h3]The fight for jobs[/h3]
1. Jamie Moyer is trying to work his way back into the big leagues.
2. Trayvon Robinson is trying to show he can be more than what he was last year, Larry Stone writes.
3. Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour are competing for the closer's job in Oakland.
4. The Indians have a tough decision at third base, writes Sheldon Ocker.
[h3]Saturday's games[/h3]
1. Bryce Harper went 1-for-3.
2. Yankees fans cheered Cole Hamels, and you know why.
3. Brandon Belt had a really good day. Tim Lincecum got the jitters out.
4. Brett Lawrie had a big day, Ken Fidlin writes.
5. Some of the Yankees' young arms looked good Saturday, writes Mark Feinsand.
6. Dylan Bundy struck out some teammates.
7. Cody Ross hit a couple of bombs over Boston's replica wall.
8. Jon Lester looked good, Michael Silverman writes.
9. B.J. Upton had a good first day at the plate.
10. It was a good start for the Twins, but issues remain, writes Jim Souhan.
Twins are cautiously optimistic.
Spoiler [+]
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Twins were in the midst of a simulated game on Thursday, so in other words, nothing counted, as Jason Marquis pitched from behind a screen. But when a fly ball went in the air toward center field, the competitive instinct overwhelmed Denard Span, and he sprinted in full pursuit.
The ball carried over the chain-link fence, and Span's face hit the railing with him running close to full speed. With a few hundred fans in attendance, there was collective response to the collision of Ooooh. Span immediately reached up to his mouth, and if you had watched the Twins play last year, you might've assumed that Span was hurt, because that's just the way their 2011 season went.
"I've never seen anything like what we had last year," manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Span kept his hand at his mouth as the other outfielders gathered to check on him. From the infield, Gardenhire yelled, "He's OK."
Maybe it was more wishful thinking than an actual diagnosis, but Gardenhire was right. Span walked off the field and said he was OK, and later, @thisisdspan tweeted:
Chain link fence - 1 @thisisdspan - 0 I'll figure it sooner or later. The score will be in my favor by seasons end
So far, so good in 2012. But last year, when the Twins opened spring training with major questions about Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, there was a major ripple effect from all the injuries they suffered. The Twins, with so many regulars down, didn't catch the ball or make plays behind a starting rotation that generally pitches to contact and needs defensive help.
As a result, there was more pressure on the starters, who wound up being ranked 26th in ERA in the majors. Because the Minnesota starters labored, the situation placed enormous stress on the Twins' bullpen, which finished the year last in the AL in ERA. There were days, Gardenhire recalls, when he and pitching coach Rick Anderson turned into mimes on the bench, trying to communicate their concern to each other about the outs needed from the bullpen without letting the players on the field know.
The Twins' hope this spring is that those dominoes that crushed them last year don't fall again, and already, there is measurable progress. Mauer wasn't able to catch in a bullpen session last spring until the middle of March, and this spring, he's been doing that for weeks; he reiterated on Thursday that he's feeling much better now than he was a year ago. Morneau came into spring training last year unsure of how his recovery from concussion symptoms would progress, and he had trouble. No one really knows whether he'll have a setback this year -- and he has acknowledged that if this happens, his career would be in jeopardy -- but he said again Thursday that he feels good.
Mauer and Morneau took batting practice in the same group and did what they used to do before their injuries, clubbing long drives in batting practice far over the same fencing that Span had run into. There was an older gentleman standing beyond the fence, and as he pursued a ball hit by Mauer, Morneau stepped into the box and mashed another homer. "Look out!" one of the others in the hitting group yelled.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the Twins will essentially be adding to their lineup two MVP-type players who weren't available for them most of last season. This would push ripple effects the other way. Josh Willingham, new to the Twins, will hit in the middle of the order with Mauer and Morneau, and the team is hopeful that Trevor Plouffe and newly signed Ryan Doumit can build more depth in their lineup.
New shortstop Jamey Carroll is wearing No. 8, which is fitting, because the Twins essentially want him to be the same type of player that another No. 8, Nick Punto, had been for them. They expect that Carroll will catch the ball and make plays and that he and Morneau will help steady an infield that must be more efficient if contact pitchers like Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker are to be effective.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the major question will be about the Twins' bullpen. Between Matt Capps, Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing, Gardenhire needs some structure at the back end of the game to emerge.
But those answers will come later. The good thing today is that Span is OK, and Mauer and Morneau are OK, and the Twins have the kind of hope that evaporated quickly last year.
[h3]New playoff thoughts[/h3]
• Michael Young and Ron Washington like the idea of an extra wild-card team. The Blue Jays also like the proposed playoff expansion, Ken Fidlin writes, and why wouldn't they? Time and again in the past decade, the Blue Jays have fielded a top-10 team in the majors and haven't sniffed the playoffs because of how strong and deep the AL East is.
There were some interesting responses from the Rays, in this Marc Topkin piece.
The Nationals are all for it, writes Tyler Kepner.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Jim Leyland says that Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Delmon Young will all get a chance to DH, John Lowe writes.
Young is not interested in the DH spot, writes Lynn Henning.
2. The Yankees will continue to pare their payroll, Hal Steinbrenner says.
3. Yadier Molina's contract is done. Derrick Goold addresses the ripple effects of this deal.
4. The Phillies are prepared for Ryan Howard's absence.
5. Shane Victorino wants a five-year deal, Jim Salisbury writes.
6. Johnny Damon is taking the patient approach, Scott Boras says.
7. Dusty Baker gave some clues about what his rotation will be, John Fay writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Shaun Marcum has some soreness in his shoulder.
2. Evan Longoria suffered a bruised hand.
3. Franklin Gutierrez's injury timetable will depend on the degree of his injury, Geoff Baker writes.
4. Buster Posey will miss some exhibitions.
5. Johan Santana continues to look good, writes Peter Botte.
6. The Orioles' Tommy Hunter has a sore back.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Brandon Inge will start at second base in the Tigers' exhibition opener. Is it so that the Tigers can get an early read on whether this is viable? Is it a situation where Inge is being thrown into the deep end of the pool quickly, so he can sink or swim? Are they showcasing him a little? We'll see.
2. Ryan Roberts is preparing to be the everyday third baseman for the D-backs.
3. Josh Donaldson was a hit in Thursday's exhibition, as he started the process of trying to be Oakland's primary third baseman, Susan Slusser writes.
4. Adam Kennedy is living his dream.
5. The Nationals are looking for a center-field solution.
6. Bryce Harper will start the first two games for Washington.
[h3]Thursday's games[/h3]
1. Tim Collins threw well in the Royals' intrasquad game.
2. A former Ray hit a grand slam in an Indians intrasquad game.
3. A Phillies pitcher was impressive.
The ball carried over the chain-link fence, and Span's face hit the railing with him running close to full speed. With a few hundred fans in attendance, there was collective response to the collision of Ooooh. Span immediately reached up to his mouth, and if you had watched the Twins play last year, you might've assumed that Span was hurt, because that's just the way their 2011 season went.
"I've never seen anything like what we had last year," manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Span kept his hand at his mouth as the other outfielders gathered to check on him. From the infield, Gardenhire yelled, "He's OK."
Maybe it was more wishful thinking than an actual diagnosis, but Gardenhire was right. Span walked off the field and said he was OK, and later, @thisisdspan tweeted:
Chain link fence - 1 @thisisdspan - 0 I'll figure it sooner or later. The score will be in my favor by seasons end
So far, so good in 2012. But last year, when the Twins opened spring training with major questions about Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, there was a major ripple effect from all the injuries they suffered. The Twins, with so many regulars down, didn't catch the ball or make plays behind a starting rotation that generally pitches to contact and needs defensive help.
As a result, there was more pressure on the starters, who wound up being ranked 26th in ERA in the majors. Because the Minnesota starters labored, the situation placed enormous stress on the Twins' bullpen, which finished the year last in the AL in ERA. There were days, Gardenhire recalls, when he and pitching coach Rick Anderson turned into mimes on the bench, trying to communicate their concern to each other about the outs needed from the bullpen without letting the players on the field know.
The Twins' hope this spring is that those dominoes that crushed them last year don't fall again, and already, there is measurable progress. Mauer wasn't able to catch in a bullpen session last spring until the middle of March, and this spring, he's been doing that for weeks; he reiterated on Thursday that he's feeling much better now than he was a year ago. Morneau came into spring training last year unsure of how his recovery from concussion symptoms would progress, and he had trouble. No one really knows whether he'll have a setback this year -- and he has acknowledged that if this happens, his career would be in jeopardy -- but he said again Thursday that he feels good.
Mauer and Morneau took batting practice in the same group and did what they used to do before their injuries, clubbing long drives in batting practice far over the same fencing that Span had run into. There was an older gentleman standing beyond the fence, and as he pursued a ball hit by Mauer, Morneau stepped into the box and mashed another homer. "Look out!" one of the others in the hitting group yelled.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the Twins will essentially be adding to their lineup two MVP-type players who weren't available for them most of last season. This would push ripple effects the other way. Josh Willingham, new to the Twins, will hit in the middle of the order with Mauer and Morneau, and the team is hopeful that Trevor Plouffe and newly signed Ryan Doumit can build more depth in their lineup.
New shortstop Jamey Carroll is wearing No. 8, which is fitting, because the Twins essentially want him to be the same type of player that another No. 8, Nick Punto, had been for them. They expect that Carroll will catch the ball and make plays and that he and Morneau will help steady an infield that must be more efficient if contact pitchers like Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker are to be effective.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the major question will be about the Twins' bullpen. Between Matt Capps, Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing, Gardenhire needs some structure at the back end of the game to emerge.
But those answers will come later. The good thing today is that Span is OK, and Mauer and Morneau are OK, and the Twins have the kind of hope that evaporated quickly last year.
[h3]New playoff thoughts[/h3]
• Michael Young and Ron Washington like the idea of an extra wild-card team. The Blue Jays also like the proposed playoff expansion, Ken Fidlin writes, and why wouldn't they? Time and again in the past decade, the Blue Jays have fielded a top-10 team in the majors and haven't sniffed the playoffs because of how strong and deep the AL East is.
There were some interesting responses from the Rays, in this Marc Topkin piece.
The Nationals are all for it, writes Tyler Kepner.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Jim Leyland says that Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Delmon Young will all get a chance to DH, John Lowe writes.
Young is not interested in the DH spot, writes Lynn Henning.
2. The Yankees will continue to pare their payroll, Hal Steinbrenner says.
3. Yadier Molina's contract is done. Derrick Goold addresses the ripple effects of this deal.
4. The Phillies are prepared for Ryan Howard's absence.
5. Shane Victorino wants a five-year deal, Jim Salisbury writes.
6. Johnny Damon is taking the patient approach, Scott Boras says.
7. Dusty Baker gave some clues about what his rotation will be, John Fay writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Shaun Marcum has some soreness in his shoulder.
2. Evan Longoria suffered a bruised hand.
3. Franklin Gutierrez's injury timetable will depend on the degree of his injury, Geoff Baker writes.
4. Buster Posey will miss some exhibitions.
5. Johan Santana continues to look good, writes Peter Botte.
6. The Orioles' Tommy Hunter has a sore back.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Brandon Inge will start at second base in the Tigers' exhibition opener. Is it so that the Tigers can get an early read on whether this is viable? Is it a situation where Inge is being thrown into the deep end of the pool quickly, so he can sink or swim? Are they showcasing him a little? We'll see.
2. Ryan Roberts is preparing to be the everyday third baseman for the D-backs.
3. Josh Donaldson was a hit in Thursday's exhibition, as he started the process of trying to be Oakland's primary third baseman, Susan Slusser writes.
4. Adam Kennedy is living his dream.
5. The Nationals are looking for a center-field solution.
6. Bryce Harper will start the first two games for Washington.
[h3]Thursday's games[/h3]
1. Tim Collins threw well in the Royals' intrasquad game.
2. A former Ray hit a grand slam in an Indians intrasquad game.
3. A Phillies pitcher was impressive.
Trevor Bauer in midseason form.
Spoiler [+]
My first game of the spring was at the best spring training facility in either Arizona or Florida, Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. The stadium is home to both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, who played each other in their spring opener on Saturday, with a number of major prospects and young big leaguers appearing in the game.
One note on these early-spring blog posts: it's early spring. Players don't all arrive in camp in the same condition, and some players just take longer than others to get up to game speed. All that matters to the players is being ready for Opening Day, so a pitcher throwing a little less hard than he normally does or a hitter whose timing is a little bit off shouldn't be cause for panic. It's reasonable to worry about a pitcher who is missing 5 mph off his fastball, or whose once-loose delivery looks stiff and restricted. It's not reasonable to expect every player to be in midseason form right out of the chute.
• That being said, Trevor Bauer, the third overall pick last June, was in midseason form right out of the chute. Bauer threw two quick innings, sitting 92-95 with a plus curveball that he located much better than he did either time I saw him last spring, when he'd get college hitters to swing and miss at sharp breaking balls in the dirt. He also showed a hard changeup at 84-85 with some late tailing action and a slider that he threw down and away (primarily down) to right-handed batters. He's a quick worker on the mound, which might make it harder for hitters to get comfortable against him but definitely makes him more fun to watch from the stands. If Bauer's two innings are a harbinger of what he'll do across 180 innings this year, then he'd be the Diamondbacks' best starter this year; every outing they give Josh Collmenter or Joe Saunders over Bauer shaves a tiny but nonzero amount off their odds of winning the NL West.
• Lefty Drew Pomeranz, a top-five pick in the previous draft, started and threw two innings for Colorado, looking more like you'd expect a pitcher to look in his first game action of the spring. He was 90-92 with very good life at 90 but much less at 92, and used the fastball even in several obvious changeup counts. His curveball was a little inconsistent but mostly above-average, breaking a little early out of his hand but otherwise sharp and in or around the zone, anywhere from 75-80 mph, sharper in the first inning than the second. He did show a changeup but overthrew it. Based on this look and what I've seen from him in the past, he's pretty clearly the fourth-best rotation option for the Rockies this year, behind Jeremy Guthrie, Jhoulys Chacin, and a healthy Juan Nicasio, assuming the Rockies aren't concerned with Pomeranz's service time.
• Pomeranz was followed by lefty Josh Outman, acquired from Oakland in the Seth Smith trade. Outman missed the 2010 season after Tommy John surgery but threw nearly 140 innings as a starter last year for Oakland's Triple-A and big league clubs, but as a fly ball pitcher without an out pitch, I don't see him as a good fit in Colorado's rotation. On Saturday he was 91-93 with very little life on the pitch and had an inconsistent slider that he couldn't keep down in the zone. I like him better as an option out of the pen, where the velocity might tick up on both fastball and slider.
• Arizona lefty Pat Corbin is a strike-thrower and tremendous performer, but despite showing three pitches, he didn't show anything to miss big league bats, now or in the future. His fastball was 90-93 but was pretty true, and his best pitch was his 80-83 mph changeup, which he'll use in any count and on which he has good arm speed. He's the kind of pitcher who racks up strikeouts in the minors because he can locate well (although yesterday his command tailed off in his second inning -- again, not really a big deal) but who'll have a hard time keeping contact rates down against better hitters. He's a fifth/fourth starter type in a decent rotation, but someone who'd have value in trade once the Diamondbacks have Bauer and Tyler Skaggs (scratched yesterday with a mildly sore shoulder, but scheduled to throw on the side today) established in the majors.
• Right-hander Evan Marshall, Arizona's fourth-round pick last year, showed an above-average fastball and plus curveball yesterday from a max-effort delivery that seemed to hold back his command of both pitches. He'll go up with the fastball and down with the sharp breaking ball to miss bats, and he does get on top of the ball most of the time, but I could see the ball come out of his hand early on a few pitches, and he didn't seem to be putting the fastball where he wanted it. He has two pitches to get big league hitters out if he can get more consistency in his delivery over the next few weeks.
• The game also featured two of the best third base prospects in baseball in Colorado's Nolan Arenado (No. 26 on my ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball) and Arizona's Matt Davidson (No. 82). Both played particularly well on defense, with Arenado making the play of the game by diving to stop a hard grounder to his right and firing a strike to first to nail Gerardo Parra. Arenado is more advanced with the bat than Davidson, who is just three weeks older, but Davidson did have great at-bats yesterday with a better two-strike approach than I'd seen from him before -- and one deep fly ball that he just missed driving out in his first at bat. Both have faced questions about whether they'll stay at the hot corner, but I don't share those doubts on either player. I wouldn't put either guy in the majors right now, but could see Arenado as the starting third baseman for Colorado next April, with Davidson not far behind.
One note on these early-spring blog posts: it's early spring. Players don't all arrive in camp in the same condition, and some players just take longer than others to get up to game speed. All that matters to the players is being ready for Opening Day, so a pitcher throwing a little less hard than he normally does or a hitter whose timing is a little bit off shouldn't be cause for panic. It's reasonable to worry about a pitcher who is missing 5 mph off his fastball, or whose once-loose delivery looks stiff and restricted. It's not reasonable to expect every player to be in midseason form right out of the chute.
• That being said, Trevor Bauer, the third overall pick last June, was in midseason form right out of the chute. Bauer threw two quick innings, sitting 92-95 with a plus curveball that he located much better than he did either time I saw him last spring, when he'd get college hitters to swing and miss at sharp breaking balls in the dirt. He also showed a hard changeup at 84-85 with some late tailing action and a slider that he threw down and away (primarily down) to right-handed batters. He's a quick worker on the mound, which might make it harder for hitters to get comfortable against him but definitely makes him more fun to watch from the stands. If Bauer's two innings are a harbinger of what he'll do across 180 innings this year, then he'd be the Diamondbacks' best starter this year; every outing they give Josh Collmenter or Joe Saunders over Bauer shaves a tiny but nonzero amount off their odds of winning the NL West.
• Lefty Drew Pomeranz, a top-five pick in the previous draft, started and threw two innings for Colorado, looking more like you'd expect a pitcher to look in his first game action of the spring. He was 90-92 with very good life at 90 but much less at 92, and used the fastball even in several obvious changeup counts. His curveball was a little inconsistent but mostly above-average, breaking a little early out of his hand but otherwise sharp and in or around the zone, anywhere from 75-80 mph, sharper in the first inning than the second. He did show a changeup but overthrew it. Based on this look and what I've seen from him in the past, he's pretty clearly the fourth-best rotation option for the Rockies this year, behind Jeremy Guthrie, Jhoulys Chacin, and a healthy Juan Nicasio, assuming the Rockies aren't concerned with Pomeranz's service time.
• Pomeranz was followed by lefty Josh Outman, acquired from Oakland in the Seth Smith trade. Outman missed the 2010 season after Tommy John surgery but threw nearly 140 innings as a starter last year for Oakland's Triple-A and big league clubs, but as a fly ball pitcher without an out pitch, I don't see him as a good fit in Colorado's rotation. On Saturday he was 91-93 with very little life on the pitch and had an inconsistent slider that he couldn't keep down in the zone. I like him better as an option out of the pen, where the velocity might tick up on both fastball and slider.
• Arizona lefty Pat Corbin is a strike-thrower and tremendous performer, but despite showing three pitches, he didn't show anything to miss big league bats, now or in the future. His fastball was 90-93 but was pretty true, and his best pitch was his 80-83 mph changeup, which he'll use in any count and on which he has good arm speed. He's the kind of pitcher who racks up strikeouts in the minors because he can locate well (although yesterday his command tailed off in his second inning -- again, not really a big deal) but who'll have a hard time keeping contact rates down against better hitters. He's a fifth/fourth starter type in a decent rotation, but someone who'd have value in trade once the Diamondbacks have Bauer and Tyler Skaggs (scratched yesterday with a mildly sore shoulder, but scheduled to throw on the side today) established in the majors.
• Right-hander Evan Marshall, Arizona's fourth-round pick last year, showed an above-average fastball and plus curveball yesterday from a max-effort delivery that seemed to hold back his command of both pitches. He'll go up with the fastball and down with the sharp breaking ball to miss bats, and he does get on top of the ball most of the time, but I could see the ball come out of his hand early on a few pitches, and he didn't seem to be putting the fastball where he wanted it. He has two pitches to get big league hitters out if he can get more consistency in his delivery over the next few weeks.
• The game also featured two of the best third base prospects in baseball in Colorado's Nolan Arenado (No. 26 on my ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball) and Arizona's Matt Davidson (No. 82). Both played particularly well on defense, with Arenado making the play of the game by diving to stop a hard grounder to his right and firing a strike to first to nail Gerardo Parra. Arenado is more advanced with the bat than Davidson, who is just three weeks older, but Davidson did have great at-bats yesterday with a better two-strike approach than I'd seen from him before -- and one deep fly ball that he just missed driving out in his first at bat. Both have faced questions about whether they'll stay at the hot corner, but I don't share those doubts on either player. I wouldn't put either guy in the majors right now, but could see Arenado as the starting third baseman for Colorado next April, with Davidson not far behind.
McCutchen sets the table for Hosmer.
Royals will contend, but not now.
Expectations high for Price.
Twins are cautiously optimistic.
Trevor Bauer in midseason form.
Spoiler [+]
This would be the 27th consecutive season the Kansas City Royals would not be part of the postseason, if they don't make it. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, this would be the 20th consecutive year without being part of baseball's October.
So for the fans of these two teams, progress is measured in other ways, and this morning's news that the Pirates and Andrew McCutchen have agreed to a six-year deal is maybe the best thing to happen to the team since before Sid Bream slid home. Fairly or not, the question of whether the Pirates would be able to keep McCutchen and build around him -- as the Colorado Rockies have with Troy Tulowitzki and the Milwaukee Brewers with Ryan Braun -- has been a Pittsburgh referendum on whether the team is serious about winning.
The Pirates have a foundation piece in place now. The Kansas City Royals are trying to do the same thing, with the wave of young talent it has drafted and developed. Last week, catcher Salvador Perez -- who the Royals hope will follow in the path of Yadier Molina and eventually become a productive hitter -- agreed to a five-year, $7 million deal. Kansas City is in negotiations with Alex Gordon, who is coming off the best season of his career, and whether or not they can get something done with him, there figure to be talks with shortstop Alcides Escobar, who is already regarded by some scouts as baseball's most talented defensive shortstop.
These conversations are a prelude to the team's most significant target: first baseman Eric Hosmer, who is the Royals' version of McCutchen, as a superstar-level talent.
"It's important for us to sign as many of our good young players as we can, long-term," Royals GM Dayton Moore said Sunday. "We need as much flexibility as we can get the next three to four years ... obviously, there is risk involved with it, but there's cost certainty.
"And you're going to have a comfort level with your own players, the guys who are homegrown, because you know them and know their families."
The risk for the Royals, of course, is if the players don't turn out to be as good as expected or if they get hurt. The Cleveland Indians were the pioneers of this kind of long-term thinking in the '90s, and with their best young players locked up, the Indians were able to build and plan and add.
A foundation of Hosmer, Gordon, Escobar and Perez not only would give the Royals a chance to win, but also would frame a structure well into the next decade, because salaries would be locked in place and budget space would be defined.
If the Royals cannot sign Hosmer, they will be in the same position as where the Brewers were with Prince Fielder the last couple of years. Because Milwaukee couldn't sign him to a long-term deal, it had to decide whether to trade him for less than equal value on the market or keep him and try to win as long as possible, knowing that he'd eventually walk away as a free agent. The Brewers kept him, and fans filled their ballpark in 2011 as Milwaukee made the playoffs, a last hurrah with Fielder before he signed with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason.
The Cincinnati Reds are now facing this situation with Joey Votto, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
Fielder is represented by agent Scott Boras, whose clients typically go into free agency rather than signing a long-term deal in the way that Tulowitzki and Braun did.
Hosmer is a Boras client.
There are agents and general managers who believe, however, that it is extremely difficult for any young player to turn down a massive offer with a big, crooked number. "If you're 23 years old," said one agent, "are you going to turn down tens of millions of dollars?"
McCutchen did not, an enormous moment of progress for the Pirates. How will Hosmer react? We may well find out sometime in the weeks and months ahead.
If the Royals are to sign Hosmer to a Tulowitzki-like deal, a leap of faith will be required from Kansas City's ownership. But keep in mind that every time Moore's front office has asked for an extraordinary expenditure -- whether it was a free-agent signing of Gil Meche or Jose Guillen, or an investment in a draft pick -- the Glass family has responded. If there is a Hosmer deal that can be made, it's hard to imagine it won't get done.
The Royals had a good first day.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• Corey Hart will miss the start of the Brewers' season.
• Bees delayed a game 41 minutes, as Nick Piecoro writes.
• Rockies prospect Alex White was arrested on the suspicion of DUI, writes Patrick Saunders. From the story:
• As Juan Rodriguez writes, the Miami Marlins are part of a sweeping hand-gesture craze: Lo viste?
• Joel Zumaya will try again. He has decided to have elbow reconstruction surgery. Talked to Minnesota Twins GM Terry Ryan about him the other day, and Ryan said Zumaya was throwing so well that there had been a real sense that he could help Minnesota this year. If Zumaya was that good this time around, there's really no reason to think he can't be throwing well again a year from now -- if healthy.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Bobby Valentine doesn't like to use a set lineup, which sets him apart, as Nick Cafardo writes. His messages are heartfelt, writes Ron Borges.
2. Buck Showalter is looking for a leadoff hitter.
3. Starlin Castro is embracing the opportunity to hit third, writes Paul Sullivan.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Josh Johnson is all systems go, as Tom D'Angelo writes.
2. Evan Longoria is good to go for Tuesday, as Marc Topkin writes here.
3. Tommy Hanson faced hitters for the first time this spring.
4. Brian Wilson is making progress.
5. Ike Davis says he feels great despite his diagnosis.
6. With a number of guys coming back from injury, the Los Angeles Angels have bigger concerns than Albert Pujols' transition.
7. Rafael Furcal's goal is to stay healthy.
8. Chris Perez figures he'll be playing catch this week.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Oakland's Brandon Allen drove in seven runs.
2. Mike Carp hopes to thrive as Seattle's left fielder, writes Steve Kelley.
3. There is a suggestion in this George King story that Michael Pineda does not have a job locked up in the Yankees' rotation. There is no question that in person, Pineda looks heavy.
4. The Chicago White Sox have some bullpen jobs up for grabs.
[h3]Sunday's games[/h3]
1. I can't remember many spring days here in Florida when there was as much wind as there was on Sunday, so all the results from yesterday should be taken with a major dose of perspective. Especially if your name is Julio Teheran.
2. Ryan Raburn and the rest of the Tigers put on a show, as Tom Gage writes.
3. Josh Beckett was The Man for the Boston Red Sox. Andrew Miller also impressed, as Michael Silverman writes.
4. Stephen Strasburg returned to the mound and had a nice debut. Tom Gorzelanny had a really rough outing.
5. Roy Halladay was pleased with his first spring work, writes Jim Salisbury.
6. Travis Snyder is swinging a hot bat.
7. Alex Rodriguez showed some power, writes David Waldstein.
8. Clayton Kershaw did what Clayton Kershaw does.
9. Homer Bailey was so-so.
10. Ryan Braun heard a mixed reaction.
11. Ubaldo Jimenez had a rocky first outing.
12. There was some good, bad and ugly for the Chicago Cubs.
So for the fans of these two teams, progress is measured in other ways, and this morning's news that the Pirates and Andrew McCutchen have agreed to a six-year deal is maybe the best thing to happen to the team since before Sid Bream slid home. Fairly or not, the question of whether the Pirates would be able to keep McCutchen and build around him -- as the Colorado Rockies have with Troy Tulowitzki and the Milwaukee Brewers with Ryan Braun -- has been a Pittsburgh referendum on whether the team is serious about winning.
The Pirates have a foundation piece in place now. The Kansas City Royals are trying to do the same thing, with the wave of young talent it has drafted and developed. Last week, catcher Salvador Perez -- who the Royals hope will follow in the path of Yadier Molina and eventually become a productive hitter -- agreed to a five-year, $7 million deal. Kansas City is in negotiations with Alex Gordon, who is coming off the best season of his career, and whether or not they can get something done with him, there figure to be talks with shortstop Alcides Escobar, who is already regarded by some scouts as baseball's most talented defensive shortstop.
These conversations are a prelude to the team's most significant target: first baseman Eric Hosmer, who is the Royals' version of McCutchen, as a superstar-level talent.
"It's important for us to sign as many of our good young players as we can, long-term," Royals GM Dayton Moore said Sunday. "We need as much flexibility as we can get the next three to four years ... obviously, there is risk involved with it, but there's cost certainty.
"And you're going to have a comfort level with your own players, the guys who are homegrown, because you know them and know their families."
The risk for the Royals, of course, is if the players don't turn out to be as good as expected or if they get hurt. The Cleveland Indians were the pioneers of this kind of long-term thinking in the '90s, and with their best young players locked up, the Indians were able to build and plan and add.
A foundation of Hosmer, Gordon, Escobar and Perez not only would give the Royals a chance to win, but also would frame a structure well into the next decade, because salaries would be locked in place and budget space would be defined.
If the Royals cannot sign Hosmer, they will be in the same position as where the Brewers were with Prince Fielder the last couple of years. Because Milwaukee couldn't sign him to a long-term deal, it had to decide whether to trade him for less than equal value on the market or keep him and try to win as long as possible, knowing that he'd eventually walk away as a free agent. The Brewers kept him, and fans filled their ballpark in 2011 as Milwaukee made the playoffs, a last hurrah with Fielder before he signed with the Detroit Tigers in the offseason.
The Cincinnati Reds are now facing this situation with Joey Votto, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
Fielder is represented by agent Scott Boras, whose clients typically go into free agency rather than signing a long-term deal in the way that Tulowitzki and Braun did.
Hosmer is a Boras client.
There are agents and general managers who believe, however, that it is extremely difficult for any young player to turn down a massive offer with a big, crooked number. "If you're 23 years old," said one agent, "are you going to turn down tens of millions of dollars?"
McCutchen did not, an enormous moment of progress for the Pirates. How will Hosmer react? We may well find out sometime in the weeks and months ahead.
If the Royals are to sign Hosmer to a Tulowitzki-like deal, a leap of faith will be required from Kansas City's ownership. But keep in mind that every time Moore's front office has asked for an extraordinary expenditure -- whether it was a free-agent signing of Gil Meche or Jose Guillen, or an investment in a draft pick -- the Glass family has responded. If there is a Hosmer deal that can be made, it's hard to imagine it won't get done.
The Royals had a good first day.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• Corey Hart will miss the start of the Brewers' season.
• Bees delayed a game 41 minutes, as Nick Piecoro writes.
• Rockies prospect Alex White was arrested on the suspicion of DUI, writes Patrick Saunders. From the story:
- The Rockies have a program in which a player can call the team and arrange for transportation if the player believes he has had too much to drink.
- "We sat down with these guys and explained to them that in this area in Scottsdale, they have to be really careful," [General Manager Dan] O'Dowd said.
- O'Dowd said he was glad that White was upfront about the incident.
- "We'd be much more upset if the kid didn't handle it," O'Dowd said. "He walked right into (manager Jim Tracy's office) this morning and said, 'Here's what took place.' Then he asked Jim if he could talk to the team, went into the theater room and got up in front of everybody and said, 'Here's a stupid decision I made last night and here's what happened, and I'm sorry to all you guys.'"
• As Juan Rodriguez writes, the Miami Marlins are part of a sweeping hand-gesture craze: Lo viste?
• Joel Zumaya will try again. He has decided to have elbow reconstruction surgery. Talked to Minnesota Twins GM Terry Ryan about him the other day, and Ryan said Zumaya was throwing so well that there had been a real sense that he could help Minnesota this year. If Zumaya was that good this time around, there's really no reason to think he can't be throwing well again a year from now -- if healthy.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Bobby Valentine doesn't like to use a set lineup, which sets him apart, as Nick Cafardo writes. His messages are heartfelt, writes Ron Borges.
2. Buck Showalter is looking for a leadoff hitter.
3. Starlin Castro is embracing the opportunity to hit third, writes Paul Sullivan.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Josh Johnson is all systems go, as Tom D'Angelo writes.
2. Evan Longoria is good to go for Tuesday, as Marc Topkin writes here.
3. Tommy Hanson faced hitters for the first time this spring.
4. Brian Wilson is making progress.
5. Ike Davis says he feels great despite his diagnosis.
6. With a number of guys coming back from injury, the Los Angeles Angels have bigger concerns than Albert Pujols' transition.
7. Rafael Furcal's goal is to stay healthy.
8. Chris Perez figures he'll be playing catch this week.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Oakland's Brandon Allen drove in seven runs.
2. Mike Carp hopes to thrive as Seattle's left fielder, writes Steve Kelley.
3. There is a suggestion in this George King story that Michael Pineda does not have a job locked up in the Yankees' rotation. There is no question that in person, Pineda looks heavy.
4. The Chicago White Sox have some bullpen jobs up for grabs.
[h3]Sunday's games[/h3]
1. I can't remember many spring days here in Florida when there was as much wind as there was on Sunday, so all the results from yesterday should be taken with a major dose of perspective. Especially if your name is Julio Teheran.
2. Ryan Raburn and the rest of the Tigers put on a show, as Tom Gage writes.
3. Josh Beckett was The Man for the Boston Red Sox. Andrew Miller also impressed, as Michael Silverman writes.
4. Stephen Strasburg returned to the mound and had a nice debut. Tom Gorzelanny had a really rough outing.
5. Roy Halladay was pleased with his first spring work, writes Jim Salisbury.
6. Travis Snyder is swinging a hot bat.
7. Alex Rodriguez showed some power, writes David Waldstein.
8. Clayton Kershaw did what Clayton Kershaw does.
9. Homer Bailey was so-so.
10. Ryan Braun heard a mixed reaction.
11. Ubaldo Jimenez had a rocky first outing.
12. There was some good, bad and ugly for the Chicago Cubs.
Royals will contend, but not now.
Spoiler [+]
The Kansas City Royals have an awful lot of young talent. Even after graduating top prospects Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Danny Duffy to the majors last year, they still placed five players on Keith Law's list of the 100 best prospects in baseball, and he rated their farm system as the fifth-best in the game right now. Their oldest projected position player is Alex Gordon, who just turned 28 on Feb. 10, and besides Bruce Chen, their entire pitching staff is a bunch of 20-somethings.
The Royals will almost certainly be one of the youngest teams in Major League Baseball this year, and with all the highly touted young talent they've developed internally during the last few seasons, comparisons to the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays are inevitable. However, a closer inspection of what we should actually expect from the Royals' young talents this year suggests that this team just isn't ready to win yet.
Let's start with the lineup, which is where a good amount of the optimism around the Royals is based. With Gordon coming off a breakout season, continued improvement from 26-year-old DH Billy Butler, and the potential for full years from Hosmer and Moustakas, the Royals have a core group of talented young hitters to build around. However, the Royals shouldn't expect to get that much more from that quarter than they got from those same positions one year ago.
If the Royals offense fails to improve much over its 2011 performance, regression from Gordon may well be one of the reasons why. He was one of the best hitters in baseball last year, putting up a .303/.376/.502 line that was good for a 141 wRC+ -- that tied him for 17th-best in all of baseball. Unfortunately for the Royals, a large part of Gordon's surge was a massive increase in batting average on balls in play. His BABIP jumped from .254 in 2010 to .358 last year, and he'd never posted a mark better than .309 in any season prior.
Put simply, it's highly unlikely that Gordon will have as many balls fall in for hits this year, and his overall offensive line is in for a significant step back if he doesn't offset it with a massive gain in contact rate or power. Given his underlying skills, a 120 wRC+ is more realistic, and the difference between 2011 Gordon and what the Royals should expect from him at the plate in 2012 could cost them as many as 15 runs.
Can Hosmer, Moustakas and Butler not only offset that loss but create a substantially improved offense as well? It's unlikely. The ZIPS projections suggest that Hosmer will see just a modest gain this year (improving by the equivalent of approximately seven runs), while Moustakas is projected to hit about as well as the departed Wilson Betemit did for the Royals last year.
They should expect a 3-5 run improvement due to Moustakas' own struggles being replaced by an average bat in 2012, but it's more a minor upgrade than any large step forward. As for Butler, ZIPS expects him to have nearly the same offensive performance, and with 159 games played last year, he has nowhere to go but down in terms of playing time.
Realistically, those four hitters will do well to simply match what the Royals got from left field, first base, third base and designated hitter in 2011. If the offense is going to dramatically improve, the upgrades would have to come from other positions on the field, but the Royals are already trying to replace Melky Cabrera's 118 wRC+ in center field with rookie Lorenzo Cain, who will likely be a big step backward at the plate.
Having a full season of Salvador Perez will help, but again, he's replacing a pretty decent performance from the departed Matt Treanor, so the upgrade might not be as large as you might expect. Improvements from guys like Alcides Escobar or Johnny Giavotella will likely be counteracted by some regression from Jeff Francoeur.
Overall, there just aren't a lot of reasons to expect the Royals to score much more than the 730 runs they managed as a team a year ago. If they're going to have a breakthrough season, the improvements are going to have to mostly come from the pitching staff. And, unfortunately, that isn't where most of the talent in the organization currently lies.
There are legitimate reasons to expect better performances from both Luke Hochevar (4.68 ERA, 4.05 xFIP) and Felipe Paulino (4.46 ERA, 3.73 xFIP), but neither project as more than middle-of-the-rotation starters at this point. Jonathan Sanchez was imported to provide another rotation arm with upside, but his severe command problems have shown no signs of improvement, and in more than 700 career big league innings, he's essentially been a league-average starting pitcher.
Toss in Chen (3.77 ERA, 4.68 xFIP) and either Duffy or Aaron Crow at the end of the rotation, and the team essentially has a collection of starters who each could be OK if everything breaks in their favor. There isn't an ace anywhere to be found, and the rotation lacks pitchers with the ability to work deep into games and reduce the strain on the bullpen.
That issue raised its head last year, when the Royals had to ask their relievers to throw 508 innings -- among AL teams, only the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox got more work from their bullpen. With that many early calls to the bullpen, the team can't help but go to mediocre middle relievers in critical situations, and the result is too many blown leads due to handing the ball to guys who don't belong on the mound in close and late situations.
Rather than upgrading the rotation with a durable innings-eater, the only rotation upgrade the Royals made was Sanchez, whose high pitch counts often force him out of the game in the fifth or sixth inning. As such, the Royals will again have to lean on their bullpen very heavily, and they don't have enough good young arms to make that strategy really pay off.
There just aren't that many areas where the Royals should expect to be that much better in 2012 than they were in 2011. With some further maturation from the likes of Hosmer and Moustakas, the team could take a big step forward in 2013, but if they can finish the year at .500, they should consider 2012 a success. There are too many holes to fill in one season, and this roster just isn't quite good enough to contend yet.
The Royals will almost certainly be one of the youngest teams in Major League Baseball this year, and with all the highly touted young talent they've developed internally during the last few seasons, comparisons to the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays are inevitable. However, a closer inspection of what we should actually expect from the Royals' young talents this year suggests that this team just isn't ready to win yet.
Let's start with the lineup, which is where a good amount of the optimism around the Royals is based. With Gordon coming off a breakout season, continued improvement from 26-year-old DH Billy Butler, and the potential for full years from Hosmer and Moustakas, the Royals have a core group of talented young hitters to build around. However, the Royals shouldn't expect to get that much more from that quarter than they got from those same positions one year ago.
If the Royals offense fails to improve much over its 2011 performance, regression from Gordon may well be one of the reasons why. He was one of the best hitters in baseball last year, putting up a .303/.376/.502 line that was good for a 141 wRC+ -- that tied him for 17th-best in all of baseball. Unfortunately for the Royals, a large part of Gordon's surge was a massive increase in batting average on balls in play. His BABIP jumped from .254 in 2010 to .358 last year, and he'd never posted a mark better than .309 in any season prior.
Put simply, it's highly unlikely that Gordon will have as many balls fall in for hits this year, and his overall offensive line is in for a significant step back if he doesn't offset it with a massive gain in contact rate or power. Given his underlying skills, a 120 wRC+ is more realistic, and the difference between 2011 Gordon and what the Royals should expect from him at the plate in 2012 could cost them as many as 15 runs.
Can Hosmer, Moustakas and Butler not only offset that loss but create a substantially improved offense as well? It's unlikely. The ZIPS projections suggest that Hosmer will see just a modest gain this year (improving by the equivalent of approximately seven runs), while Moustakas is projected to hit about as well as the departed Wilson Betemit did for the Royals last year.
They should expect a 3-5 run improvement due to Moustakas' own struggles being replaced by an average bat in 2012, but it's more a minor upgrade than any large step forward. As for Butler, ZIPS expects him to have nearly the same offensive performance, and with 159 games played last year, he has nowhere to go but down in terms of playing time.
Realistically, those four hitters will do well to simply match what the Royals got from left field, first base, third base and designated hitter in 2011. If the offense is going to dramatically improve, the upgrades would have to come from other positions on the field, but the Royals are already trying to replace Melky Cabrera's 118 wRC+ in center field with rookie Lorenzo Cain, who will likely be a big step backward at the plate.
Having a full season of Salvador Perez will help, but again, he's replacing a pretty decent performance from the departed Matt Treanor, so the upgrade might not be as large as you might expect. Improvements from guys like Alcides Escobar or Johnny Giavotella will likely be counteracted by some regression from Jeff Francoeur.
Overall, there just aren't a lot of reasons to expect the Royals to score much more than the 730 runs they managed as a team a year ago. If they're going to have a breakthrough season, the improvements are going to have to mostly come from the pitching staff. And, unfortunately, that isn't where most of the talent in the organization currently lies.
There are legitimate reasons to expect better performances from both Luke Hochevar (4.68 ERA, 4.05 xFIP) and Felipe Paulino (4.46 ERA, 3.73 xFIP), but neither project as more than middle-of-the-rotation starters at this point. Jonathan Sanchez was imported to provide another rotation arm with upside, but his severe command problems have shown no signs of improvement, and in more than 700 career big league innings, he's essentially been a league-average starting pitcher.
Toss in Chen (3.77 ERA, 4.68 xFIP) and either Duffy or Aaron Crow at the end of the rotation, and the team essentially has a collection of starters who each could be OK if everything breaks in their favor. There isn't an ace anywhere to be found, and the rotation lacks pitchers with the ability to work deep into games and reduce the strain on the bullpen.
That issue raised its head last year, when the Royals had to ask their relievers to throw 508 innings -- among AL teams, only the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox got more work from their bullpen. With that many early calls to the bullpen, the team can't help but go to mediocre middle relievers in critical situations, and the result is too many blown leads due to handing the ball to guys who don't belong on the mound in close and late situations.
Rather than upgrading the rotation with a durable innings-eater, the only rotation upgrade the Royals made was Sanchez, whose high pitch counts often force him out of the game in the fifth or sixth inning. As such, the Royals will again have to lean on their bullpen very heavily, and they don't have enough good young arms to make that strategy really pay off.
There just aren't that many areas where the Royals should expect to be that much better in 2012 than they were in 2011. With some further maturation from the likes of Hosmer and Moustakas, the team could take a big step forward in 2013, but if they can finish the year at .500, they should consider 2012 a success. There are too many holes to fill in one season, and this roster just isn't quite good enough to contend yet.
Expectations high for Price.
Spoiler [+]
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The base hit lashed by Joe Mauer in his second at-bat -- a ball hit so hard that it raised a cloud of dust as it skipped into center field -- was Saturday's headline event, along with the crooked box score numbers posted by Justin Morneau. The Twin stars have said they are OK, and there was tangible proof on Saturday.
Both were overpowered in their first at-bats, however, and there was no shame in that.
The Rays' David Price blistered fastballs past them to finish off strikeouts. Mauer and then Morneau looked back at home plate umpire Brian O'Nora after taking the fastballs, maybe to question the calls, but maybe in reaction to how unfair this time of spring training can be, when the pitchers are so far ahead of the hitters. Ninety-five mph fastballs on the black on March 3? That's just not right.
There aren't many lefties who throw fastballs in the mid-90s consistently, and the Rays have two, in Matt Moore and Price.
The Rays want Price to be more efficient with his fastball this year, to better choose those moments when he uses it. They thought there were situations last year when Price would work to mix in his secondary pitches (his slider, changeup) against lesser hitters, rather than just burying those guys with the fastball that they couldn't handle.
[h4]David Price, 2011 stats[/h4][table][tr][th=""]Lineup spot[/th][th=""]OPS[/th][/tr][tr][td]No. 1.[/td][td]735[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 2.[/td][td]761[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 3.[/td][td]801[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 4.[/td][td]562[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 5.[/td][td]861[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 6.[/td][td]468[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 7.[/td][td]573[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 8.[/td][td]539[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 9.[/td][td]574[/td][/tr][/table]
Price didn't contend for the Cy Young Award last season, with his ERA rising to 3.49. But he still had a good year, averaging almost seven innings per outing and walking just 63 batters in 224 innings. The hitters in the No. 5 spot in the lineup did an inordinate amount of damage against him last year.
It would not be a shock to anyone if Price, now 26 years old, challenges for the Cy Young Award this year.
Some more Rays notes: At the time that Tim Beckham was drafted No. 1 overall by Tampa Bay in 2008, ahead of Buster Posey, there was a debate among scouts about whether Beckham would ultimately be a shortstop or have to move to another position. Beckham is now 22 years old, there are extraordinary reviews in the organization of his work ethic and the Rays think he's made himself into a good shortstop -- and he's getting better and more consistent. After making 43 errors in 2009, he made 25 in 2010 and 22 last year.
Desmond Jennings faded at the end of last season, and the perception in the organization is that he simply tired. But he's viewed as someone with great instincts, as someone who'll figure it out and keep getting better.
• A story that's bound to get a lot of attention: The Cubs want their players to get sleep, rather than keeping late hours.
Anybody who has seen "Bull Durham" knows that a long-standing part of the ballplayer culture is the expectation that they could play a game, party late and get up and do it all over again the next day. The Cubs have always had a unique challenge in coping with this, because of all the day games they play.
[h4]Cameron Maybin, MLB Career[/h4][table][tr][th=""][/th][th=""]2007-10[/th][th=""]2011<<[/th][/tr][tr][td]Plate app[/td][td]610[/td][td]568[/td][/tr][tr][td]BA[/td][td].246[/td][td].264[/td][/tr][tr][td]OPS[/td][td].692[/td][td].716[/td][/tr][tr][td]HR[/td][td]13[/td][td]9[/td][/tr][tr][td]SB[/td][td]19[/td][td]40[/td][/tr][tr][td]>>1st season with Padres[/td][/tr][/table]
But what Epstein is saying here is logical, when you get right down to it. In most other lines of work, there would be an expectation that employees not allow their off-hours play to affect how they do their jobs the next day. It'll be interesting to see how Epstein and the Cubs work to effect change to this culture.
• What a crazy journey Cameron Maybin has had. He was the centerpiece in a trade for a future Hall of Famer, Miguel Cabrera, then he was regarded as a bust and essentially dumped by the Marlins and now he is locked into a long-term deal worth $25 million.
Maybin is taking this to mean the Padres want him to be the face of the franchise.
The Padres' ownership situation could be settled soon, writes Tim Sullivan.
• Our colleague Charlie Moynihan sat down with Ned Yost, who told an interesting story about why he wears No. 3 -- to honor the late Dale Earnhardt. Yost was the hydration engineer on pit road during the last nine races of the '94 NASCAR season, when MLB players were on strike. His job was to place the stick with the Gatorade bottle at the end inside Earnhardt's window once he stopped on pit road. When Yost interviewed for the Brewers' job, he was asked by GM Doug Melvin who were the three people who shaped his ideals. Yost said Bobby Cox, Ted Simmons and Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Yost is not ready to announce his lineup.
• Marlins fans got a first look at their new ballpark, Manny Navarro writes. They built it perfectly, writes Dave Hyde, and now the question is: Will they come?
Kansas City RoyalsNed Yost wears No. 3 to honor the late Dale Earnhardt.
There were about 25 fish in the aquarium behind home plate, writes Joe Capozzi, and there will be 100 by Opening Day. I can't wait to see it.
• Daniel Bard feels like his changeup is crucial to his transition from the bullpen to the rotation, but he doesn't feel like he has to have a great changeup right away. "I need to have something I can show," Bard said, "so that it gets put into the scouting reports." His other stuff is so good that even if he just plants a seed that he has a changeup, the mere suggestion will serve as a complement to his other pitches.
• Count David Ortiz among those who believe that Brennan Boesch is poised for a big season. "He'll have a monster year," Ortiz said the other day. "I think Prince [Fielder] will take a lot of pressure off of him." And Ortiz believes that because Boesch will hit in the same group as Cabrera and Fielder in batting practice, he will learn -- as Ortiz feels he learned from working daily alongside Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra.
• Yoenis Cespedes has arrived, and will play when he's ready, writes Susan Slusser. The fact that he played in winter ball will presumably speed up his timetable.
• Heard this: Jarrod Parker, the centerpiece for Oakland in the Trevor Cahill trade, looks excellent.
• Boston's new spring ballpark is a replica of Fenway Park, generally, and some of their players mentioned in conversation the other day that they're having an opportunity in spring training to get accustomed to the dimensions. One difference: The Green Monster in Florida is 3 feet higher than the actual Green Monster.
• Lew Wolff dismissed a report that the Giants' territorial rights will be upheld. A lot of baseball officials have expressed concern about the possibility that the Giants would challenge any proposed move of the Athletics to San Jose. You wonder if Wolff will ever get to the point where the city of San Jose and Wolff would start a legal challenge. Not many cities have been in the position that San Jose is in right now: The city apparently wants a big league team, it apparently has the wherewithal to house a big league team, and it's being told now that it cannot ever have a big league team.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. The Mets are concerned that Ike Davis has contracted valley fever, writes Adam Rubin. Not good. Mets fans have learned to not trust an initial diagnosis, writes Bill Madden.
2. Meanwhile, David Wright has a rib cage strain. Not good.
3. Franklin Gutierrez is in a sling.
4. Ryan Vogelsong hopes to throw off a mound this week, Henry Schulman writes.
5. Pedro Alvarez is training to prevent injuries, writes Bill Brink.
6. Anibal Sanchez has a sore shoulder.
7. Jason Bartlett is dinged up.
8. Carl Crawford had a minor setback, and figures it was the bunting drills that put him over the edge physically, Tim Britton writes.
9. There has been progress for Freddie Freeman and Tommy Hanson, writes David O'Brien.
10. Jamey Carroll had a scare, John Shipley writes.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Joel Peralta has no regrets about lying about his age, writes Marc Topkin.
2. The Angels sold a bunch of tickets on Saturday.
3. Citi Field revenue has dropped by about 30 percent.
4. Rickie Weeks was in the leadoff spot in the first lineup posted by Ron Roenicke this spring.
Corey Hart needs to hit fifth in the lineup this year.
The Brewers' lineup has been a topic of conversation among pitchers and scouts since Fielder departed, and it's evident that this year will be a different kind of challenge for Braun. Without Fielder behind him, they say, Braun will be pitched inside a lot more. "It's the best place to pitch him," said one scout. "You've got to move him off the plate."
Said a longtime pitcher: "When Prince was there, you worried about putting someone on base in front of him if you walked Braun or hit him pitching inside. You're not going to worry about that anymore."
Braun is similar to Alex Rodriguez earlier in his career: The perception of pitchers is that you have to keep him from leaning over the plate, and that pitching inside bothers him -- although his past numbers indicate pitchers have never pounded him inside in the way that they pitch inside to Justin Upton, who was hit 19 times last year. We'll see.
5. The Tigers could use their pitching surplus to good use come trade time, writes Lynn Henning.
[h3]The fight for jobs[/h3]
1. Jamie Moyer is trying to work his way back into the big leagues.
2. Trayvon Robinson is trying to show he can be more than what he was last year, Larry Stone writes.
3. Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour are competing for the closer's job in Oakland.
4. The Indians have a tough decision at third base, writes Sheldon Ocker.
[h3]Saturday's games[/h3]
1. Bryce Harper went 1-for-3.
2. Yankees fans cheered Cole Hamels, and you know why.
3. Brandon Belt had a really good day. Tim Lincecum got the jitters out.
4. Brett Lawrie had a big day, Ken Fidlin writes.
5. Some of the Yankees' young arms looked good Saturday, writes Mark Feinsand.
6. Dylan Bundy struck out some teammates.
7. Cody Ross hit a couple of bombs over Boston's replica wall.
8. Jon Lester looked good, Michael Silverman writes.
9. B.J. Upton had a good first day at the plate.
10. It was a good start for the Twins, but issues remain, writes Jim Souhan.
Both were overpowered in their first at-bats, however, and there was no shame in that.
The Rays' David Price blistered fastballs past them to finish off strikeouts. Mauer and then Morneau looked back at home plate umpire Brian O'Nora after taking the fastballs, maybe to question the calls, but maybe in reaction to how unfair this time of spring training can be, when the pitchers are so far ahead of the hitters. Ninety-five mph fastballs on the black on March 3? That's just not right.
There aren't many lefties who throw fastballs in the mid-90s consistently, and the Rays have two, in Matt Moore and Price.
The Rays want Price to be more efficient with his fastball this year, to better choose those moments when he uses it. They thought there were situations last year when Price would work to mix in his secondary pitches (his slider, changeup) against lesser hitters, rather than just burying those guys with the fastball that they couldn't handle.
[h4]David Price, 2011 stats[/h4][table][tr][th=""]Lineup spot[/th][th=""]OPS[/th][/tr][tr][td]No. 1.[/td][td]735[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 2.[/td][td]761[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 3.[/td][td]801[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 4.[/td][td]562[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 5.[/td][td]861[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 6.[/td][td]468[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 7.[/td][td]573[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 8.[/td][td]539[/td][/tr][tr][td]No. 9.[/td][td]574[/td][/tr][/table]
Price didn't contend for the Cy Young Award last season, with his ERA rising to 3.49. But he still had a good year, averaging almost seven innings per outing and walking just 63 batters in 224 innings. The hitters in the No. 5 spot in the lineup did an inordinate amount of damage against him last year.
It would not be a shock to anyone if Price, now 26 years old, challenges for the Cy Young Award this year.
Some more Rays notes: At the time that Tim Beckham was drafted No. 1 overall by Tampa Bay in 2008, ahead of Buster Posey, there was a debate among scouts about whether Beckham would ultimately be a shortstop or have to move to another position. Beckham is now 22 years old, there are extraordinary reviews in the organization of his work ethic and the Rays think he's made himself into a good shortstop -- and he's getting better and more consistent. After making 43 errors in 2009, he made 25 in 2010 and 22 last year.
Desmond Jennings faded at the end of last season, and the perception in the organization is that he simply tired. But he's viewed as someone with great instincts, as someone who'll figure it out and keep getting better.
• A story that's bound to get a lot of attention: The Cubs want their players to get sleep, rather than keeping late hours.
Anybody who has seen "Bull Durham" knows that a long-standing part of the ballplayer culture is the expectation that they could play a game, party late and get up and do it all over again the next day. The Cubs have always had a unique challenge in coping with this, because of all the day games they play.
[h4]Cameron Maybin, MLB Career[/h4][table][tr][th=""][/th][th=""]2007-10[/th][th=""]2011<<[/th][/tr][tr][td]Plate app[/td][td]610[/td][td]568[/td][/tr][tr][td]BA[/td][td].246[/td][td].264[/td][/tr][tr][td]OPS[/td][td].692[/td][td].716[/td][/tr][tr][td]HR[/td][td]13[/td][td]9[/td][/tr][tr][td]SB[/td][td]19[/td][td]40[/td][/tr][tr][td]>>1st season with Padres[/td][/tr][/table]
But what Epstein is saying here is logical, when you get right down to it. In most other lines of work, there would be an expectation that employees not allow their off-hours play to affect how they do their jobs the next day. It'll be interesting to see how Epstein and the Cubs work to effect change to this culture.
• What a crazy journey Cameron Maybin has had. He was the centerpiece in a trade for a future Hall of Famer, Miguel Cabrera, then he was regarded as a bust and essentially dumped by the Marlins and now he is locked into a long-term deal worth $25 million.
Maybin is taking this to mean the Padres want him to be the face of the franchise.
The Padres' ownership situation could be settled soon, writes Tim Sullivan.
• Our colleague Charlie Moynihan sat down with Ned Yost, who told an interesting story about why he wears No. 3 -- to honor the late Dale Earnhardt. Yost was the hydration engineer on pit road during the last nine races of the '94 NASCAR season, when MLB players were on strike. His job was to place the stick with the Gatorade bottle at the end inside Earnhardt's window once he stopped on pit road. When Yost interviewed for the Brewers' job, he was asked by GM Doug Melvin who were the three people who shaped his ideals. Yost said Bobby Cox, Ted Simmons and Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Yost is not ready to announce his lineup.
• Marlins fans got a first look at their new ballpark, Manny Navarro writes. They built it perfectly, writes Dave Hyde, and now the question is: Will they come?
There were about 25 fish in the aquarium behind home plate, writes Joe Capozzi, and there will be 100 by Opening Day. I can't wait to see it.
• Daniel Bard feels like his changeup is crucial to his transition from the bullpen to the rotation, but he doesn't feel like he has to have a great changeup right away. "I need to have something I can show," Bard said, "so that it gets put into the scouting reports." His other stuff is so good that even if he just plants a seed that he has a changeup, the mere suggestion will serve as a complement to his other pitches.
• Count David Ortiz among those who believe that Brennan Boesch is poised for a big season. "He'll have a monster year," Ortiz said the other day. "I think Prince [Fielder] will take a lot of pressure off of him." And Ortiz believes that because Boesch will hit in the same group as Cabrera and Fielder in batting practice, he will learn -- as Ortiz feels he learned from working daily alongside Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra.
• Yoenis Cespedes has arrived, and will play when he's ready, writes Susan Slusser. The fact that he played in winter ball will presumably speed up his timetable.
• Heard this: Jarrod Parker, the centerpiece for Oakland in the Trevor Cahill trade, looks excellent.
• Boston's new spring ballpark is a replica of Fenway Park, generally, and some of their players mentioned in conversation the other day that they're having an opportunity in spring training to get accustomed to the dimensions. One difference: The Green Monster in Florida is 3 feet higher than the actual Green Monster.
• Lew Wolff dismissed a report that the Giants' territorial rights will be upheld. A lot of baseball officials have expressed concern about the possibility that the Giants would challenge any proposed move of the Athletics to San Jose. You wonder if Wolff will ever get to the point where the city of San Jose and Wolff would start a legal challenge. Not many cities have been in the position that San Jose is in right now: The city apparently wants a big league team, it apparently has the wherewithal to house a big league team, and it's being told now that it cannot ever have a big league team.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. The Mets are concerned that Ike Davis has contracted valley fever, writes Adam Rubin. Not good. Mets fans have learned to not trust an initial diagnosis, writes Bill Madden.
2. Meanwhile, David Wright has a rib cage strain. Not good.
3. Franklin Gutierrez is in a sling.
4. Ryan Vogelsong hopes to throw off a mound this week, Henry Schulman writes.
5. Pedro Alvarez is training to prevent injuries, writes Bill Brink.
6. Anibal Sanchez has a sore shoulder.
7. Jason Bartlett is dinged up.
8. Carl Crawford had a minor setback, and figures it was the bunting drills that put him over the edge physically, Tim Britton writes.
9. There has been progress for Freddie Freeman and Tommy Hanson, writes David O'Brien.
10. Jamey Carroll had a scare, John Shipley writes.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Joel Peralta has no regrets about lying about his age, writes Marc Topkin.
2. The Angels sold a bunch of tickets on Saturday.
3. Citi Field revenue has dropped by about 30 percent.
4. Rickie Weeks was in the leadoff spot in the first lineup posted by Ron Roenicke this spring.
Corey Hart needs to hit fifth in the lineup this year.
The Brewers' lineup has been a topic of conversation among pitchers and scouts since Fielder departed, and it's evident that this year will be a different kind of challenge for Braun. Without Fielder behind him, they say, Braun will be pitched inside a lot more. "It's the best place to pitch him," said one scout. "You've got to move him off the plate."
Said a longtime pitcher: "When Prince was there, you worried about putting someone on base in front of him if you walked Braun or hit him pitching inside. You're not going to worry about that anymore."
Braun is similar to Alex Rodriguez earlier in his career: The perception of pitchers is that you have to keep him from leaning over the plate, and that pitching inside bothers him -- although his past numbers indicate pitchers have never pounded him inside in the way that they pitch inside to Justin Upton, who was hit 19 times last year. We'll see.
5. The Tigers could use their pitching surplus to good use come trade time, writes Lynn Henning.
[h3]The fight for jobs[/h3]
1. Jamie Moyer is trying to work his way back into the big leagues.
2. Trayvon Robinson is trying to show he can be more than what he was last year, Larry Stone writes.
3. Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour are competing for the closer's job in Oakland.
4. The Indians have a tough decision at third base, writes Sheldon Ocker.
[h3]Saturday's games[/h3]
1. Bryce Harper went 1-for-3.
2. Yankees fans cheered Cole Hamels, and you know why.
3. Brandon Belt had a really good day. Tim Lincecum got the jitters out.
4. Brett Lawrie had a big day, Ken Fidlin writes.
5. Some of the Yankees' young arms looked good Saturday, writes Mark Feinsand.
6. Dylan Bundy struck out some teammates.
7. Cody Ross hit a couple of bombs over Boston's replica wall.
8. Jon Lester looked good, Michael Silverman writes.
9. B.J. Upton had a good first day at the plate.
10. It was a good start for the Twins, but issues remain, writes Jim Souhan.
Twins are cautiously optimistic.
Spoiler [+]
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Twins were in the midst of a simulated game on Thursday, so in other words, nothing counted, as Jason Marquis pitched from behind a screen. But when a fly ball went in the air toward center field, the competitive instinct overwhelmed Denard Span, and he sprinted in full pursuit.
The ball carried over the chain-link fence, and Span's face hit the railing with him running close to full speed. With a few hundred fans in attendance, there was collective response to the collision of Ooooh. Span immediately reached up to his mouth, and if you had watched the Twins play last year, you might've assumed that Span was hurt, because that's just the way their 2011 season went.
"I've never seen anything like what we had last year," manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Span kept his hand at his mouth as the other outfielders gathered to check on him. From the infield, Gardenhire yelled, "He's OK."
Maybe it was more wishful thinking than an actual diagnosis, but Gardenhire was right. Span walked off the field and said he was OK, and later, @thisisdspan tweeted:
Chain link fence - 1 @thisisdspan - 0 I'll figure it sooner or later. The score will be in my favor by seasons end
So far, so good in 2012. But last year, when the Twins opened spring training with major questions about Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, there was a major ripple effect from all the injuries they suffered. The Twins, with so many regulars down, didn't catch the ball or make plays behind a starting rotation that generally pitches to contact and needs defensive help.
As a result, there was more pressure on the starters, who wound up being ranked 26th in ERA in the majors. Because the Minnesota starters labored, the situation placed enormous stress on the Twins' bullpen, which finished the year last in the AL in ERA. There were days, Gardenhire recalls, when he and pitching coach Rick Anderson turned into mimes on the bench, trying to communicate their concern to each other about the outs needed from the bullpen without letting the players on the field know.
The Twins' hope this spring is that those dominoes that crushed them last year don't fall again, and already, there is measurable progress. Mauer wasn't able to catch in a bullpen session last spring until the middle of March, and this spring, he's been doing that for weeks; he reiterated on Thursday that he's feeling much better now than he was a year ago. Morneau came into spring training last year unsure of how his recovery from concussion symptoms would progress, and he had trouble. No one really knows whether he'll have a setback this year -- and he has acknowledged that if this happens, his career would be in jeopardy -- but he said again Thursday that he feels good.
Mauer and Morneau took batting practice in the same group and did what they used to do before their injuries, clubbing long drives in batting practice far over the same fencing that Span had run into. There was an older gentleman standing beyond the fence, and as he pursued a ball hit by Mauer, Morneau stepped into the box and mashed another homer. "Look out!" one of the others in the hitting group yelled.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the Twins will essentially be adding to their lineup two MVP-type players who weren't available for them most of last season. This would push ripple effects the other way. Josh Willingham, new to the Twins, will hit in the middle of the order with Mauer and Morneau, and the team is hopeful that Trevor Plouffe and newly signed Ryan Doumit can build more depth in their lineup.
New shortstop Jamey Carroll is wearing No. 8, which is fitting, because the Twins essentially want him to be the same type of player that another No. 8, Nick Punto, had been for them. They expect that Carroll will catch the ball and make plays and that he and Morneau will help steady an infield that must be more efficient if contact pitchers like Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker are to be effective.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the major question will be about the Twins' bullpen. Between Matt Capps, Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing, Gardenhire needs some structure at the back end of the game to emerge.
But those answers will come later. The good thing today is that Span is OK, and Mauer and Morneau are OK, and the Twins have the kind of hope that evaporated quickly last year.
[h3]New playoff thoughts[/h3]
• Michael Young and Ron Washington like the idea of an extra wild-card team. The Blue Jays also like the proposed playoff expansion, Ken Fidlin writes, and why wouldn't they? Time and again in the past decade, the Blue Jays have fielded a top-10 team in the majors and haven't sniffed the playoffs because of how strong and deep the AL East is.
There were some interesting responses from the Rays, in this Marc Topkin piece.
The Nationals are all for it, writes Tyler Kepner.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Jim Leyland says that Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Delmon Young will all get a chance to DH, John Lowe writes.
Young is not interested in the DH spot, writes Lynn Henning.
2. The Yankees will continue to pare their payroll, Hal Steinbrenner says.
3. Yadier Molina's contract is done. Derrick Goold addresses the ripple effects of this deal.
4. The Phillies are prepared for Ryan Howard's absence.
5. Shane Victorino wants a five-year deal, Jim Salisbury writes.
6. Johnny Damon is taking the patient approach, Scott Boras says.
7. Dusty Baker gave some clues about what his rotation will be, John Fay writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Shaun Marcum has some soreness in his shoulder.
2. Evan Longoria suffered a bruised hand.
3. Franklin Gutierrez's injury timetable will depend on the degree of his injury, Geoff Baker writes.
4. Buster Posey will miss some exhibitions.
5. Johan Santana continues to look good, writes Peter Botte.
6. The Orioles' Tommy Hunter has a sore back.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Brandon Inge will start at second base in the Tigers' exhibition opener. Is it so that the Tigers can get an early read on whether this is viable? Is it a situation where Inge is being thrown into the deep end of the pool quickly, so he can sink or swim? Are they showcasing him a little? We'll see.
2. Ryan Roberts is preparing to be the everyday third baseman for the D-backs.
3. Josh Donaldson was a hit in Thursday's exhibition, as he started the process of trying to be Oakland's primary third baseman, Susan Slusser writes.
4. Adam Kennedy is living his dream.
5. The Nationals are looking for a center-field solution.
6. Bryce Harper will start the first two games for Washington.
[h3]Thursday's games[/h3]
1. Tim Collins threw well in the Royals' intrasquad game.
2. A former Ray hit a grand slam in an Indians intrasquad game.
3. A Phillies pitcher was impressive.
The ball carried over the chain-link fence, and Span's face hit the railing with him running close to full speed. With a few hundred fans in attendance, there was collective response to the collision of Ooooh. Span immediately reached up to his mouth, and if you had watched the Twins play last year, you might've assumed that Span was hurt, because that's just the way their 2011 season went.
"I've never seen anything like what we had last year," manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Span kept his hand at his mouth as the other outfielders gathered to check on him. From the infield, Gardenhire yelled, "He's OK."
Maybe it was more wishful thinking than an actual diagnosis, but Gardenhire was right. Span walked off the field and said he was OK, and later, @thisisdspan tweeted:
Chain link fence - 1 @thisisdspan - 0 I'll figure it sooner or later. The score will be in my favor by seasons end
So far, so good in 2012. But last year, when the Twins opened spring training with major questions about Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, there was a major ripple effect from all the injuries they suffered. The Twins, with so many regulars down, didn't catch the ball or make plays behind a starting rotation that generally pitches to contact and needs defensive help.
As a result, there was more pressure on the starters, who wound up being ranked 26th in ERA in the majors. Because the Minnesota starters labored, the situation placed enormous stress on the Twins' bullpen, which finished the year last in the AL in ERA. There were days, Gardenhire recalls, when he and pitching coach Rick Anderson turned into mimes on the bench, trying to communicate their concern to each other about the outs needed from the bullpen without letting the players on the field know.
The Twins' hope this spring is that those dominoes that crushed them last year don't fall again, and already, there is measurable progress. Mauer wasn't able to catch in a bullpen session last spring until the middle of March, and this spring, he's been doing that for weeks; he reiterated on Thursday that he's feeling much better now than he was a year ago. Morneau came into spring training last year unsure of how his recovery from concussion symptoms would progress, and he had trouble. No one really knows whether he'll have a setback this year -- and he has acknowledged that if this happens, his career would be in jeopardy -- but he said again Thursday that he feels good.
Mauer and Morneau took batting practice in the same group and did what they used to do before their injuries, clubbing long drives in batting practice far over the same fencing that Span had run into. There was an older gentleman standing beyond the fence, and as he pursued a ball hit by Mauer, Morneau stepped into the box and mashed another homer. "Look out!" one of the others in the hitting group yelled.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the Twins will essentially be adding to their lineup two MVP-type players who weren't available for them most of last season. This would push ripple effects the other way. Josh Willingham, new to the Twins, will hit in the middle of the order with Mauer and Morneau, and the team is hopeful that Trevor Plouffe and newly signed Ryan Doumit can build more depth in their lineup.
New shortstop Jamey Carroll is wearing No. 8, which is fitting, because the Twins essentially want him to be the same type of player that another No. 8, Nick Punto, had been for them. They expect that Carroll will catch the ball and make plays and that he and Morneau will help steady an infield that must be more efficient if contact pitchers like Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker are to be effective.
If Mauer and Morneau are healthy and productive, the major question will be about the Twins' bullpen. Between Matt Capps, Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing, Gardenhire needs some structure at the back end of the game to emerge.
But those answers will come later. The good thing today is that Span is OK, and Mauer and Morneau are OK, and the Twins have the kind of hope that evaporated quickly last year.
[h3]New playoff thoughts[/h3]
• Michael Young and Ron Washington like the idea of an extra wild-card team. The Blue Jays also like the proposed playoff expansion, Ken Fidlin writes, and why wouldn't they? Time and again in the past decade, the Blue Jays have fielded a top-10 team in the majors and haven't sniffed the playoffs because of how strong and deep the AL East is.
There were some interesting responses from the Rays, in this Marc Topkin piece.
The Nationals are all for it, writes Tyler Kepner.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. Jim Leyland says that Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Delmon Young will all get a chance to DH, John Lowe writes.
Young is not interested in the DH spot, writes Lynn Henning.
2. The Yankees will continue to pare their payroll, Hal Steinbrenner says.
3. Yadier Molina's contract is done. Derrick Goold addresses the ripple effects of this deal.
4. The Phillies are prepared for Ryan Howard's absence.
5. Shane Victorino wants a five-year deal, Jim Salisbury writes.
6. Johnny Damon is taking the patient approach, Scott Boras says.
7. Dusty Baker gave some clues about what his rotation will be, John Fay writes.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Shaun Marcum has some soreness in his shoulder.
2. Evan Longoria suffered a bruised hand.
3. Franklin Gutierrez's injury timetable will depend on the degree of his injury, Geoff Baker writes.
4. Buster Posey will miss some exhibitions.
5. Johan Santana continues to look good, writes Peter Botte.
6. The Orioles' Tommy Hunter has a sore back.
[h3]The battle for jobs[/h3]
1. Brandon Inge will start at second base in the Tigers' exhibition opener. Is it so that the Tigers can get an early read on whether this is viable? Is it a situation where Inge is being thrown into the deep end of the pool quickly, so he can sink or swim? Are they showcasing him a little? We'll see.
2. Ryan Roberts is preparing to be the everyday third baseman for the D-backs.
3. Josh Donaldson was a hit in Thursday's exhibition, as he started the process of trying to be Oakland's primary third baseman, Susan Slusser writes.
4. Adam Kennedy is living his dream.
5. The Nationals are looking for a center-field solution.
6. Bryce Harper will start the first two games for Washington.
[h3]Thursday's games[/h3]
1. Tim Collins threw well in the Royals' intrasquad game.
2. A former Ray hit a grand slam in an Indians intrasquad game.
3. A Phillies pitcher was impressive.
Trevor Bauer in midseason form.
Spoiler [+]
My first game of the spring was at the best spring training facility in either Arizona or Florida, Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. The stadium is home to both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, who played each other in their spring opener on Saturday, with a number of major prospects and young big leaguers appearing in the game.
One note on these early-spring blog posts: it's early spring. Players don't all arrive in camp in the same condition, and some players just take longer than others to get up to game speed. All that matters to the players is being ready for Opening Day, so a pitcher throwing a little less hard than he normally does or a hitter whose timing is a little bit off shouldn't be cause for panic. It's reasonable to worry about a pitcher who is missing 5 mph off his fastball, or whose once-loose delivery looks stiff and restricted. It's not reasonable to expect every player to be in midseason form right out of the chute.
• That being said, Trevor Bauer, the third overall pick last June, was in midseason form right out of the chute. Bauer threw two quick innings, sitting 92-95 with a plus curveball that he located much better than he did either time I saw him last spring, when he'd get college hitters to swing and miss at sharp breaking balls in the dirt. He also showed a hard changeup at 84-85 with some late tailing action and a slider that he threw down and away (primarily down) to right-handed batters. He's a quick worker on the mound, which might make it harder for hitters to get comfortable against him but definitely makes him more fun to watch from the stands. If Bauer's two innings are a harbinger of what he'll do across 180 innings this year, then he'd be the Diamondbacks' best starter this year; every outing they give Josh Collmenter or Joe Saunders over Bauer shaves a tiny but nonzero amount off their odds of winning the NL West.
• Lefty Drew Pomeranz, a top-five pick in the previous draft, started and threw two innings for Colorado, looking more like you'd expect a pitcher to look in his first game action of the spring. He was 90-92 with very good life at 90 but much less at 92, and used the fastball even in several obvious changeup counts. His curveball was a little inconsistent but mostly above-average, breaking a little early out of his hand but otherwise sharp and in or around the zone, anywhere from 75-80 mph, sharper in the first inning than the second. He did show a changeup but overthrew it. Based on this look and what I've seen from him in the past, he's pretty clearly the fourth-best rotation option for the Rockies this year, behind Jeremy Guthrie, Jhoulys Chacin, and a healthy Juan Nicasio, assuming the Rockies aren't concerned with Pomeranz's service time.
• Pomeranz was followed by lefty Josh Outman, acquired from Oakland in the Seth Smith trade. Outman missed the 2010 season after Tommy John surgery but threw nearly 140 innings as a starter last year for Oakland's Triple-A and big league clubs, but as a fly ball pitcher without an out pitch, I don't see him as a good fit in Colorado's rotation. On Saturday he was 91-93 with very little life on the pitch and had an inconsistent slider that he couldn't keep down in the zone. I like him better as an option out of the pen, where the velocity might tick up on both fastball and slider.
• Arizona lefty Pat Corbin is a strike-thrower and tremendous performer, but despite showing three pitches, he didn't show anything to miss big league bats, now or in the future. His fastball was 90-93 but was pretty true, and his best pitch was his 80-83 mph changeup, which he'll use in any count and on which he has good arm speed. He's the kind of pitcher who racks up strikeouts in the minors because he can locate well (although yesterday his command tailed off in his second inning -- again, not really a big deal) but who'll have a hard time keeping contact rates down against better hitters. He's a fifth/fourth starter type in a decent rotation, but someone who'd have value in trade once the Diamondbacks have Bauer and Tyler Skaggs (scratched yesterday with a mildly sore shoulder, but scheduled to throw on the side today) established in the majors.
• Right-hander Evan Marshall, Arizona's fourth-round pick last year, showed an above-average fastball and plus curveball yesterday from a max-effort delivery that seemed to hold back his command of both pitches. He'll go up with the fastball and down with the sharp breaking ball to miss bats, and he does get on top of the ball most of the time, but I could see the ball come out of his hand early on a few pitches, and he didn't seem to be putting the fastball where he wanted it. He has two pitches to get big league hitters out if he can get more consistency in his delivery over the next few weeks.
• The game also featured two of the best third base prospects in baseball in Colorado's Nolan Arenado (No. 26 on my ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball) and Arizona's Matt Davidson (No. 82). Both played particularly well on defense, with Arenado making the play of the game by diving to stop a hard grounder to his right and firing a strike to first to nail Gerardo Parra. Arenado is more advanced with the bat than Davidson, who is just three weeks older, but Davidson did have great at-bats yesterday with a better two-strike approach than I'd seen from him before -- and one deep fly ball that he just missed driving out in his first at bat. Both have faced questions about whether they'll stay at the hot corner, but I don't share those doubts on either player. I wouldn't put either guy in the majors right now, but could see Arenado as the starting third baseman for Colorado next April, with Davidson not far behind.
One note on these early-spring blog posts: it's early spring. Players don't all arrive in camp in the same condition, and some players just take longer than others to get up to game speed. All that matters to the players is being ready for Opening Day, so a pitcher throwing a little less hard than he normally does or a hitter whose timing is a little bit off shouldn't be cause for panic. It's reasonable to worry about a pitcher who is missing 5 mph off his fastball, or whose once-loose delivery looks stiff and restricted. It's not reasonable to expect every player to be in midseason form right out of the chute.
• That being said, Trevor Bauer, the third overall pick last June, was in midseason form right out of the chute. Bauer threw two quick innings, sitting 92-95 with a plus curveball that he located much better than he did either time I saw him last spring, when he'd get college hitters to swing and miss at sharp breaking balls in the dirt. He also showed a hard changeup at 84-85 with some late tailing action and a slider that he threw down and away (primarily down) to right-handed batters. He's a quick worker on the mound, which might make it harder for hitters to get comfortable against him but definitely makes him more fun to watch from the stands. If Bauer's two innings are a harbinger of what he'll do across 180 innings this year, then he'd be the Diamondbacks' best starter this year; every outing they give Josh Collmenter or Joe Saunders over Bauer shaves a tiny but nonzero amount off their odds of winning the NL West.
• Lefty Drew Pomeranz, a top-five pick in the previous draft, started and threw two innings for Colorado, looking more like you'd expect a pitcher to look in his first game action of the spring. He was 90-92 with very good life at 90 but much less at 92, and used the fastball even in several obvious changeup counts. His curveball was a little inconsistent but mostly above-average, breaking a little early out of his hand but otherwise sharp and in or around the zone, anywhere from 75-80 mph, sharper in the first inning than the second. He did show a changeup but overthrew it. Based on this look and what I've seen from him in the past, he's pretty clearly the fourth-best rotation option for the Rockies this year, behind Jeremy Guthrie, Jhoulys Chacin, and a healthy Juan Nicasio, assuming the Rockies aren't concerned with Pomeranz's service time.
• Pomeranz was followed by lefty Josh Outman, acquired from Oakland in the Seth Smith trade. Outman missed the 2010 season after Tommy John surgery but threw nearly 140 innings as a starter last year for Oakland's Triple-A and big league clubs, but as a fly ball pitcher without an out pitch, I don't see him as a good fit in Colorado's rotation. On Saturday he was 91-93 with very little life on the pitch and had an inconsistent slider that he couldn't keep down in the zone. I like him better as an option out of the pen, where the velocity might tick up on both fastball and slider.
• Arizona lefty Pat Corbin is a strike-thrower and tremendous performer, but despite showing three pitches, he didn't show anything to miss big league bats, now or in the future. His fastball was 90-93 but was pretty true, and his best pitch was his 80-83 mph changeup, which he'll use in any count and on which he has good arm speed. He's the kind of pitcher who racks up strikeouts in the minors because he can locate well (although yesterday his command tailed off in his second inning -- again, not really a big deal) but who'll have a hard time keeping contact rates down against better hitters. He's a fifth/fourth starter type in a decent rotation, but someone who'd have value in trade once the Diamondbacks have Bauer and Tyler Skaggs (scratched yesterday with a mildly sore shoulder, but scheduled to throw on the side today) established in the majors.
• Right-hander Evan Marshall, Arizona's fourth-round pick last year, showed an above-average fastball and plus curveball yesterday from a max-effort delivery that seemed to hold back his command of both pitches. He'll go up with the fastball and down with the sharp breaking ball to miss bats, and he does get on top of the ball most of the time, but I could see the ball come out of his hand early on a few pitches, and he didn't seem to be putting the fastball where he wanted it. He has two pitches to get big league hitters out if he can get more consistency in his delivery over the next few weeks.
• The game also featured two of the best third base prospects in baseball in Colorado's Nolan Arenado (No. 26 on my ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball) and Arizona's Matt Davidson (No. 82). Both played particularly well on defense, with Arenado making the play of the game by diving to stop a hard grounder to his right and firing a strike to first to nail Gerardo Parra. Arenado is more advanced with the bat than Davidson, who is just three weeks older, but Davidson did have great at-bats yesterday with a better two-strike approach than I'd seen from him before -- and one deep fly ball that he just missed driving out in his first at bat. Both have faced questions about whether they'll stay at the hot corner, but I don't share those doubts on either player. I wouldn't put either guy in the majors right now, but could see Arenado as the starting third baseman for Colorado next April, with Davidson not far behind.
- Status