Nyjer Morgan Will Practice With the San Jose Sharks
Tony Plush is about to become Tony Pucks.
Everyone's favorite lunatic outfielder, Nyjer Morgan, is about to hit the ice with his hometown San Jose Sharks. The man they call Tony Plush will be practicing with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. And really, after getting the NLDS-winning hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks and establishing himself as one of baseball's greatest personalities, this is more the next logical step in the order of progression than it is a publicity stunt.
no commentsThe Astros Shall Henceforth Be Known As...the Astros.
Change is scary. It takes us out of our comfort zones, forcing us to conform to a whole new set of societal norms and accept things that are both foreign and unnerving.
It doesn't matter if this change is for the better. The end of a toxic relationship, the big move to a big city, starting a new job with new challenges and a bigger paycheck. And of course, the renaming of our favorite sports teams.
Fortunately for Houston Astros fans, while certain things about the organization -- namely, the league they're in and the laundry the everchanging roster of players are sporting on the field -- will be changing, one thing about the organization won't.
no commentsLate January Power Rankings
 |
 1 |
1. New York Yankees Why they deserve it: Their biggest weakness outside of a lack of organizational depth was a subpar pitching staff. By trading their young DH labeled a catcher they managed to acquire a solid young starter in Michael Pineda and signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one year deal. Why they don’t deserve it: Not much help on the way from the minors and they have an aging team whose best years are well behind them. - They may be a little long in the tooth, but the Yanks should still be able to hit their way to victory this season. Pineda had a poor second half and Kuroda won’t be as a good as he moves into an extreme hitters park but they are still considerably deeper than they were before. |
 |
 1 |
2. Texas Rangers Why they deserve it: They have the best offense in baseball and play in one of the friendliest hitter parks in baseball. Their pitching staff should be improved and they’ve been to the World Series two years in a row. Why they don’t deserve it: Their pitching is still suspect. Will Yu Darvish be as good outside a pitchers park and facing the best hitters in the world? Can Neftali Feliz successfully make the transition to the rotation? If both answers are no (and they might be) the Rangers will be in trouble with the improving climate in the AL West. - There’s no reason to doubt the Rangers right now, they look better than they were last year and they were the best team in the AL. |
 |
1 |
3. Los Angeles Angels Why they deserve it: The Angels have arguably the best rotation in baseball. There’s no weakness 1-5 and they have very good depth in AAA. Their offense will add the greatest hitter in baseball in Pujols, plus Kendrys Morales to the lineup. Mike Trout looms large in AAA and there’s no way the Angels will put up with another Vernon Wells letdown. Why they don’t deserve it: They’ve missed the playoffs the last two seasons in a row and have a shaky bullpen. They also have a questionable depth problem. Vernon Wells is blocking Mike Trout and Kendrys Morales is blocking Mark Trumbo. A trade is needed because their offense isn’t good enough to have hitters like that on the bench. - The Angels will combine a good offense with great pitching. Their bullpen isn’t proven, but the system is stacked with bullpen arms, so these troubles could pass as early as 2012. |
 |
2 |
4. Tampa Bay Rays Why they deserve it: A full year of Matt Moore, Jeremy Hellickson, David Price and James Shields is dangerous. Desmond Jennings can be one of the most dangerous players in baseball and they’ve reacquired 1B Carlos Pena, who should add another 30 HR’s to their lineup. Why they don’t deserve it: The Rays have one of the best minor league systems in baseball, more pitching depth than they know what to do with and an incredible number of young talented contibutors. What they don’t have is an easy division or large payroll. At the end of the day it’s faster to buy a Carl Crawford than it is to develop one, the Yankees and Red Sox know this. - The Rays have no weakness, they are a well-rounded team, and still they may not make the playoffs. |
 |
2 |
5. Philadelphia Phillies Why they deserve it: Halladay, Lee and Hamels are as good of a 1,2,3 as there is. They should get Utely back healthy and have added Hunter Pence to an already strong lineup. Papelbon in the 9th inning is a relatively sure thing as well. Why they don’t deserve it: The back end of the rotation is terrible and they have literally no help on the way in their minors as the cupboard is bare not only in AA/AAA but in the lower levels as well. They’ll also have to go without slugger Ryan Howard for a large chunk of the year. - The Phils have some fierce competition for the next few years, but their combination of pitching, offense and money will make them formidable in 2012. |
 |
1 |
6. Boston Red Sox Why they deserve it: They have one of the best offenses in baseball and will be getting Pedroia and Youkilis back. Crawford will almost certainly be better than he was in 2010. Getting Buchholz back could be the difference between October baseball and a disappointing September. Why they don’t deserve it: This is largely the same team that completely collapsed to end 2010 except this time around they have no Theo Epstein, Terry Francona or Jon Papelbon and are depending on Daniel Bard to become a starting pitcher. - The more you look at it, the more it seems the Red Sox could struggle in 2012 despite having an immensely talented team. By struggle, I mean only with 85 – 90 games. |
 |
2 |
7. Detroit Tigers Why they deserve it: They have two of the Top 10 hitters in the game in Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Watching those two in the same lineup will be a treat for every fan. They also have possibly the best pitcher in baseball right now with Justin Verlander. Why they don’t deserve it: The offense really isn’t great outside of Fielder and Cabrera. They’ve got enough depth and talent to win the weak AL Central, but their pitching simply can’t match up with the beasts in the East or the best in the West. Also the idea of Miguel Cabrera as an everyday 3B is being force-fed down everyone's throat as if it's an actual possibility. - The Tigers are playoff team. Their minor league system isn’t great, but their team is built to be a contender for the foreseeable future and if they get hot at the right time they can be a threat to the Yanks, Rays, Rangers or Angels in the playoffs. |
 |
-- |
8. Arizona Diamondbacks Why they deserve it: They already had a good rotation, but bringing back Joe Saunders for another year only makes them that much better. There’s also the possibility of Tyler Skaggs, Pat Corbin or Trevor Bauer working their ways into the rotation in 2012. When this occurs they will overtake the Phillies/Rays/Angels for the best rotation in baseball. Why they don’t deserve it: They’re young and were lucky the Giants lost Buster Posey. Outside of Upton, there isn’t much game changing talent in the field. Jason Kubel can hit but he hasn’t proven that he’s healthy or consistent enough to power the middle of a lineup as he’s being paid to do. - The D-Backs are a well built team. Decent enough offense, good starting pitching, and stronger bullpen and TONS of depth in the minor leagues. They’re a Top 10 team right now, but in 3 or 4 years they could be a Top 5 team. At the same time, they could have a hard time holding off the Giants in he NL West. |
 |
2 |
9. St. Louis Cardinals Why they deserve it: They just won the World Series and have added Carlos Beltran to an already solid offense. Adam Wainwright will give them as much pitching depth as anyone in their division and they boast a core of strong middle relievers that can shorten a game. If they add Roy Oswalt as is rumored then they should jump up a couple spots in the rankings. Why they don’t deserve it: They’ve lost that one player that made their offense special in Albert Pujols. Holliday and Berkman simply won’t have the same protection. After their first three starters, there’s no starting pitching to speak of. They’ve also lost Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa and will go without the best pitching coach in baseball Dave Duncan for a significant amount of time. - Can the Cards win without Duncan, LaRussa and Pujols? I’m not so sure they can. I’d have a lot more confidence in their ability to win if Dave Duncan could return soon or if they signed Roy Oswalt. |
 |
-- |
10. Atlanta Braves Why they deserve it: Like any dangerous team, their strength begins and ends on the mound. They have good starting pitching right now, but have the minor league depth to sustain a solid rotation for the next decade. Their 7th, 8th and 9th inning relievers may be the best in the game. I’m expecting Freeman and Heyward to progress and having Bourn a full season should help. Why they don’t deserve it: There’s no game-changing talent on the offense. They’re decent enough but unless Chipper Jones goes back in time 5 years and Freeman and Heyward go forward in time 5 years, they may not score enough to win. - This is a good team, but too much can go wrong for the Braves. Their offense wasn’t great to begin with, but they’re only one injury away from mediocrity. The pitching staff is still good enough to make them an 85-win team at minimum. |
You May Say I'm A Dreamer: Houston Astros
What else can baseball fans do in January but dream of October? In You May Say I'm a Dreamer, the Outside Corner staff will imagine the route to a World Series in 2012 title for all 30 teams.
When we said we were going to dream of a championship for all 30 teams, we weren't messing around. Let there be no greater proof of that than this article. Yes, that's right, I'm going to tell you how it is the team that won 56 games in 2011 will bounce all the way back to their first ever World Series championship. All I ask from you, dear reader, is to suspend your sense of disbelief and dream a little dream with me.
Imagine if you will a 2012 season that would go down as one of the most memorable ever. It would be a season known by many names. For some, it would be known as The Year Nobody Wanted to Win the NL Central. While the NL Central may be home to the defending champions, it will be a very rough season for most everyone in the division. Already having been abandoned by superstar Albert Pujols, the Cardinals will suffer further losses from all sides. First, a setback in Adam Wainwright's recovery from Tommy John surgery. Next, Matt Holliday was felled after blowing out his knee in Spring Training. But the ultimate blow was Chris Carpenter, Rafael Furcal, Carlos Beltan and Lance Berkman suddenly all feeling their age almost overnight. For the Cardinals 2012 would be The Year Everyone Got Hurt.
no commentsIs Moving Miguel Cabrera to Third Secretly A Weight Loss Plan?
Depending on your way of thinking, the Detroit Tigers' decision to make room for Prince Fielder by moving Miguel Cabrera to third base ranges from being a questionable decision to a catastrophically stupid one.
Miggy is a fantastic hitter but, even at first base, he is a miserable defender. At third... gentlemen, start your blooper reels. As you've know doubt read countless times over, Cabrera was a defensive disaster at third base the last time he played there full-time back in 2007 (-16 Defense Runs Saved). That was five years and probably thirty pounds ago. How can Detroit possibly expect him to be any better as a hot corner defender than he was before they were compelled to move him across the diamond now that he is older and heavier?
Well, the Tigers can't turn back time to make Miguel younger, but they can make his waistline slimmer and therein might lie Detroit's secret motivation for this seemingly inferior defensive alignment.
no commentsAnd So Ends The Saga Of The Lake County Fielders...
Last night, I received an e-mail from a gentleman named Clay in regards to our series of posts about the Lake County Fielders, partially owned by actor Kevin Costner. When we last heard from the Fielders, they were booted out of the North American Baseball League, and reportedly owing a vendor thousands of dollars. Well now, the story is pretty much over with this image that Clay sent me yesterday evening.
This is an eviction notice, posted outside of the Fielders' main office at the Gurnee Mills Mall in Gurnee, Illinois. The Fielders apparently owe $3,750 in back rent, and have been given five days (as of the 25th, which was last Wednesday) to either pay the rent in full, or to vacate the property. Without offices, this sad, pathetic saga that started off on the bizarre route will finally end, unless of course, the Fielders want to run their operations out of someone's house.
 |
Like TOC on Facebook |  |
Follow TOC on Twitter |
Ten Pitchers Who Deserve Long-Term Extensions
The new trend in Major League Baseball is to lock up your young, cost-controlled talent to long-term deals. In the past, teams seemed hesitant to do that with pitchers, but they're starting to become a little more loose with that idea. In recent years, guys like Felix Hernandez, CC Sabathia, Jered Weaver, and CJ Wilson have all gotten long-term deals as starters, be it from their current team, or another team. Right now, I'm going to present to you a list of ten players who their current teams should seriously consider locking up long-term.
1) Matt Cain, Giants. Cain, who will turn 28 as soon as the season ends, finally blossomed into the pitcher that many thought he would in 2012. The major change in Cain's game in 2011 was cutting his home run rate in half, from a career average of 0.74 per nine innings to a career-low 0.37 per nine innings. He also increased his groundball rate to a career-best 41.7%, while his strikeout and walk rates remained consistent. What that led to was a career low 2.88 ERA, with matching career-lows of a 2.91 FIP and 3.78 xFIP, and a career-high 5.2 fWAR. Despite all that, he won just 12 games thanks to San Francisco's anemic offense. Cain is in the final year of a three year deal that will pay him $15.3 million this season. He'll be getting a raise when he's eligible for free agency this offseason.
Does Roy Oswalt Make Sense For The Cardinals?
Rumors are flying around that free agent starting pitcher Roy Oswalt is close to choosing his 2012 team, and that the top suitor right now is the reigning World Champion St Louis Cardinals, who are ahead of the Tigers, Red Sox, and Astros in the race for Oswalt. But does the starter make sense for St Louis?
Honestly, it seems like Oswalt would be a better match for the Red Sox, who are spending their offseason signing retreads to minor league deals and hoping one catches on (the latest in the bunch? Former Met John Maine. Yeah). Oswalt has a desire to be close to his home in Mississippi, which is why Detroit has fallen back in the running (they apparently offered him a one year, $10 million deal that he shot down. I wonder if that's still on the table in the aftermath of the Prince Fielder signing). I don't see why Oswalt would be considering Boston, which is pretty damn far from Mississippi, if that's a major concern. But I think Boston would be the best fit overall, and could probably offer him more than the $5 million that St Louis is reportedly offering.
Anyway, back to his fit with the Cardinals. St Louis already has a five man rotation set for 2012 (and that excludes free agent Edwin Jackson), but there are plenty of caveats with their staff. Ace Adam Wainwright missed all of last season with Tommy John surgery, and his innings will probably be limited after not throwing a pitch in 2011. Fifth starter Jake Westbrook had an ERA of 4.66 (with peripherals putting his FIP above 4.00 as well), and struck out a pathetic 5.11 batters per nine innings. Jaime Garcia increased his innings by 30 from 2010 to 2011 (though he stayed within the recommended 20% rise), and durability could be a question for him. There's nothing to worry about with Chris Carpenter or Kyle Lohse, both of whom had great seasons.
Signing Oswalt would really mean one thing for the Cardinals: insurance. Just in case Wainwright wasn't ready for Opening Day, just in case Garcia's performance dropped off after the innings increase, they'd have a solid veteran in the rotation ready to plug a hole. Now admittedly, Oswalt isn't the same pitcher he once was, throwing just 139 innings last season. But in those 139 innings, he did manage to accrue 2.5 fWAR, and over 200 innings, that season would be worth in the neighborhood of 3.5 fWAR, which would have been third on St Louis's staff last season behind Carpenter and Garcia. Now, imagine those two, plus a healthy Oswalt and a healthy Wainwright. It absolutely wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for those four to put up 17 or so fWAR, with Lohse possibly putting the total to 20. That is, if everyone is healthy.
The Cardinals already have one of the best rotations in the league, even with Westbrook in it. Adding Oswalt would simply make them elite. I'd put Philadelphia and San Francisco above them, but that's probably it for the NL. If Oswalt does sign with the Cardinals, they really will have done a fantastic job at remaking their team after losing Albert Pujols and Edwin Jackson to free agency.
|
Like TOC on Facebook | |
Follow TOC on Twitter |
You May Say I'm A Dreamer: Chicago Cubs
What else can baseball fans do in January but dream of October? In You May Say I'm a Dreamer, the Outside Corner staff will imagine the route to a World Series in 2012 title for all 30 teams.
"Wait 'til next year..."
It's a refrain that's beaten into your soul as a Cubs fan. Growing up in Chicago's northwest suburbs, it's one that I uttered many times as a child as I watched Kevin Orie boot ground balls, Mel Rojas blow saves, and the likes of Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith never reach their full potential. If you don't know any of those names, I envy you.
Year in, year out, the Friendly Confines turn into a house of horrors more often than not once summer rolls around. Hot prospects like Corey Patterson and Hee Seop Choi wilt in the summer sun, inspiring more groans than cheers as they provide an unpleasant distraction at the world's largest singles' bar. 2011 was no different. Under Mike Quade's direction, a team of overpriced veterans and underperforming prospects flopped and flailed their way to a 71-91 record. The fans booed, Ronnie Woo wooed, and come August there were nearly as many empty seats as filled ones.
Don't believe me? Here's exhibit A from a game I was at. Keep in mind, this photo was taken in the second inning of said game.
Fans began to tune out when it became clear that 2011 was a lost cause, and I wasn't the only one taking note of all the empty seats or the losses piling up. Ownership cleaned house, firing GM Jim Hendry and then Quade not long after. Hendry of course was replaced with the dream team of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, who have brought more excitement to the Chicago's North side than we've seen since Alex Gonzalez booted that ground ball in the 2003 NLCS. Quade was replaced with Dale Sveum, who...well, he's not as much a cause celebre as Theo but he did manage the Brewers in the 2008 NLCS after Ned Yost was fired late in the season.
Of course, the front office wasn't the only place the organization saw change in. Gone are once-hot prospects Tyler Colvin and Andrew Cashner, overpriced 1B Carlos Pena, slugger Aramis Ramirez, who had been their only real consistent offensive force over the years, and . In their place are...well a bunch of no-names. to say it would take a miracle for this year's Cubs team to compete would be an understatement.
The good news -- back is most of last year's rotation, which wasn't altogether awful. Lead by Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza, the Cubs have a strong core of starters at the front of the rotation. The question is at the back of the rotation. Is this the year that Jeff Samardzija finally gets his shot as a starter, or is he doomed to be an overpriced setup guy for the rest of his career? Can Randy Wells and Casey Coleman rebound from what can charitably be described as a mediocre 2011? Will Garza still be a Cub once the season starts? Chris Volstad should provide some degree of stability to help balance out the back end of the rotation. If nothing
The bad news -- the bullpen is back nearly intact and the offense is lead by Alfonso Soriano, followed by a parade of unproven youngsters. Carlos Marmol and his 22 career blown saves (10 in 2011) anchor a bullpen featuring an aging Kerry Wood and a slew of unknowns. It's enough to make even the most optimistic Cubs fan's knees quake with anxiety. If guys like James Russell, Scott Maine and non-roster invitee Manny Corpas can keep games close, this team might have a chance in a watered-down NL Central.
That is, of course, if a very young offense lives up to the hype. Soriano's been around the block a couple of times, as have Marlon Byrd and Jeff Baker. But, aside from Soriano, that trio isn't going to be what counts in 2012. Top prospect Anthony Rizzo is going to have to live up to the hype if there's going to be any merriment on the field in Wrigleyville this year. Darwin Barney, while solid defensively, will need to do more at the plate as will the newly-acquired David DeJesus.
A 2012 World Series champion at the corner of Clark and Addison? Well...I suppose stranger things HAVE happened...
|
Like TOC on Facebook | |
Follow TOC on Twitter |
2012 All Prospect Team: Pitchers
We took a look at the hitters earlier this week, now it's time to look at the all-prospect team pitchers.
Rotation
1. Matt Moore (Tampa Bay Rays)
Is there anyone out there that doubts Moore is the best pitching prospect in baseball? Some dreamers might say Yu Darvish, but he’s not a rookie. Not only is Moore an incredible pitcher, but I don’t think I’ve witnessed one coming out of the minors that was as good as Moore since Stephen Strasburg. That’s pretty serious considering in the last few years alone, his own teammates David Price and Jeremy Hellickson came in and were effective immediately. I expect Moore to compete for the Cy Young award and the Rays pitching staff to be rivaled only by the Angels in the AL.
no comments
