Game of the Day(s)

I've just recently decided I want to update more than just the trades, everything that goes around on the league - I want to give opinions what the best games are, who the best players are. So, once a day, I will be posting a game, the lineup, and give my reaction on the matchup. I will always try to get the best game.

Mike Mussina retires

Not much of a surprise here, but Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina retired today. While it has not been officially announced by Moose or his agent yet, it seems the announcement could become very soon. Moose retired coming off the first 20 win season of his career at the age of 40. He threw 200 IP this season with a 3.37 ERA and finished 2nd in the Comeback player of the year award.

Is Moose a HOFer? No. It is close, but Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat should be in ahead Moose. Of course, there is the argument that Blyleven and Kaat played in pitching dominant eras, while Mussina pitched in what will forever be known as the steroid era, pitching his entire career in what is widely regarded as the toughest division in baseball, the AL East.

Offseason Trade Reaction - Crisp to Royals

This afternoon, the Red Sox sent gold glove caliber center fielder Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals for still young relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez.

The Royals get ::: Coco Crisp (OF)
The Marlins get ::: Ramon Ramirez (RHP)

My thoughts: The Red Sox win this trade because they fill their needs, not because the two players are uneven. Ramon Ramirez was durable last season, throwing over 70 IP and helps fix what was a mediocre bullpen for the Red Sox. The move allows Boston to move Justin Masterson into the rotation, saving money and a draft pick by not signing Derek Lowe. Ramirez also had a 2.64 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP, striking out 70 during the season.

Coco Crisp, who still has 11 mil. on his contract until 2010, hit .283 this year in 409 PA with 20 stolen bases. Crisp has gold glove defense in center field, but only adds to a logjam in the outfield that already had Guillen, Teahan, Gathright and Dejesus in it. I don't understand why the Royals would add an aging outfielder, unless they plan to compete this season - they won't.

Cubbies resign Dempster

The Cubs resigned Ryan Dempster today. Dempster, last season, posted a 2.96 ERA with a 17-5 record. Ryan had a fantastic season and pretty much signed for market value at 4 years, 52 mil. He was a starting pitcher from 1999 to 2003, topping 200 IP in three of those seasons, but only having an ERA below four once. He broke out this year and no surprise, in his contract season.

He won't put up the stats he did in '08, but is good for 200 IP and a mid-3 ERA. Could this move indicate the Cubs are out on Peavy?

Dustin Pedroia Wins AL MVP

24 year old second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia, was announced AL MVP today. Pedroia hit .326 with 17 HRs and a .493 SLG% on the season, and carried the team when Drew and Papi were out of the lineup.

Justin Morneau finished second in the voting, ahead of Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis and teammate Joe Mauer.

Interesting note - Jason Bartlett won a 5th place vote....why? How? This is the LEAGUE MVP. Not the RAYS MVP.

Pujols wins the NL MVP award

Albert Pujols was announced the NL-MVP today. He earned 18 first place votes.

Pujols hit 37 HRs this season with 116 RBIs and a .357 AVG despite playing with a sore elbow all season long. He really did carry a mediocre Cardinals team to an 86 win season, keeping them in the playoff race in every part of the season but the last month.

Ryan Howard finished 2nd with 12 fist place votes. Howard hit 48 HRs, including a monster September, driving the Phillies to the playoffs with 11 HRs and 32 RBIs on a 1.308 OPS in the month.

Interesting note - Brad Lidge earned two first place votes, finishing 41/41 in saves on the season. I think a relief pitcher should never earn first place votes for the MVP award.

Offseason Trade Reaction - Gregg to Cubbies

I missed this one earlier - rookie mistake. Getting on track; The Gregg for Ceda straight up trade is one of the worst in recent history, and no, I'm not overstating it. Unlike many other trades, it was a one for one swap.

The Cubs get ::: Kevin Gregg (RHP)
The Marlins get ::: Jose Ceda (RHP)

My thoughts: This trade should be considered illegal. The Cubs picked up a guy who walks over 4.00 BB/9 and was tied for blown saves this year with 9. He had 8 losses as a reliever, also among tops in the league. If the Cubs think Kevin Gregg will be able to take over the setup role, they are in for a serious disappointment and troublesome bullpen in the season. At most he will replace Bob Howry, who wasn't very good this year.

Jose Ceda, 21, is the Cubs 3rd ranked prospect according to Baseball America. He can hit 98 MPH and easily throws in the mid-90s with his fastball. He was picked out of the Dominican in '05, where he threw 60 IP with 83 K's and a 1.50 ERA. Location being his only problem, he still struck out more than a batter per inning in AA in 2008. Even more impressive in 2007, he allowed only 16 hits in 50 IP at A ball, striking out 69. If the Cubs wanted someone with poor control but will keep the ball in the park, they were better off keeping the 21 year old Ceda.

Jim Hendry made a great trade mid-season acquiring Rich Harden. This is one of the worst trades in Hendry's history, if not the worst.

Where does the record holder land?

In a historic 2008 season, Francisco Rodriguez, or "K-Rod" broke the save record with 62 saves. If you don't follow baseball very closely, you would say "Shell out Mariano money, he's the best!" But let's take a look see at the stats this season.

Saves
1) K-Rod - 62
2) Valverde - 44
3) Soria - 42
T-4) Lidge - 41
T-4) Papelbon - 41
T-4) Wilson - 41

Good for him. You know what that means? He got the most save chances. If we are going by saves, Brian Wilson is one of the best closers in the league. Yea, the guy with the 4.62 ERA who squeaked out his saves all season.

Here is the freaky stat: K-Rod blew 7 saves this season. He could have had 69 saves if he had a season to Lidge, or even 67-68 if he could have had a season like Soria or Rivera, who are clearly better than them.

K-Rod also had one of the highest WHIPs among closers this season at 1.29. He saw his fastball drop from 97 MPH to 92 MPH, insane for a player who is only 26, and who has that violent of a delivery, it may be catching up to him. His agent, Paul Kinzer, said that K-Rod dropped his velocity to improve his control - so how does that explain his BB/9 ONLY dropping from 4.54 to 4.48, still an outrageous number for a closer. It does explain his K/9 dropping by nearly 2 full points. K-Rod is in a fast decline, and his numbers are getting worse every year. The guy still has greet stuff, but is an injury waiting to happen, and has never walked less than 3.5 BB/9 in a season - a number that is only going up.

Whatever team signs K-Rod will regret even the 4 year deal they give him. He will never be the kind of player he was when he came up to the bigs in '02.

I cannot emphsize this enough - K-Rod is not a bad closer. He simply is not worth, or even close to worth the 10 mil. he is going to get.

Oh, and I say the Mets - 4 yrs. 44 mil.

Giants sign Jeremy Affeldt

The San Francisco Giants signed left handed relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt to a 2 yr. deal worth $8 mil. Affeldt certainley could have done better from a team like the Tigers, whom are desperate for a closer. It is suprsing to see a pitcher with his stuff and his recent stats to take only 4 mil a year. It is hard to get a pitcher into that deal in today's market. Affeldt posted a 3.33 ERA last season with 80 K's in 78 IP. He will probably be setting up for closer Brian Wilson.

Astros sign LaTroy Hawkins

The Astros signed LaTroy Hawkins to a one year deal following his fantastic half-season with Houston. He signed for $3.5 mil + incentives. The 36 yr. old posted had a .43 ERA in 21 IP with the 'Stros, and while he is unlikely to post anything like that again, Hawkins is good for 65 IP with a 3.50 ERA. Good signing for the 'Stros who should put out a fairly competitive team this season.

Offseason Trade Reaction - Swisher to Yanks

One of the more suprising trades this offseason, the Yankees acquired 1B/OF Nick Swisher for a pile a garbage. Summing it up:

The Yankees got ::: Nick Swisher (OF/1B) - Kanekoa Texeira (RHP)
The White Sox got ::: Wilson Betemit (INF) - Jeff Marquez (RHP) - Jhonny Nunez (RHP)

My Thoughts: The Yankees won this deal by a long shot. Wilson Betemit will never be anything but a pinch hitter with decent power and a horrid eye. The worst part is, he will be competing for a starting job - obviously the Sox did not do their homework on the stone glove "infielder". However, if they want someone who can give them 15 HRs and a .235 AVG in a full season, Betemit is the guy. Jeff Marquez was a sandwich pick a while back, and throws a low 90's fastball with a decent sinker. Marquez could be a back end starter, especially if the White Sox go through with teaching him a cutter. He gave up in his best season at AAA 166 hits in 155 IP, although did post a 3.65 ERA and only allowed 11 HRs. Marquez will never be much though, if anything at all. Jhonny Nunez was acquired mid-season by the Yanks for .260 career AAA hitter Alberto Gonzalez. Nunez posted a 1.86 ERA in 20 IP in AA for the Yanks, but before coming over, he had posted a 5.22 ERA in A+ ball for the Nats minor league affiliate.

Nick Swisher, 28, was shuffled around from CF to 1B to the corner outfield spots all season long. He bat in every spot in the order but the 3rd hole, getting at leas 25 ABs. Swisher, unhappy with the way he was being used put up a .219 AVG but still drew 82 BBs with 24 HRs with over 502 PAs. He gains 5.3 mil in '09, 10 mil in '10, 11 mil in '11 before his contract expires. I think Swisher will return to a 25 HR / .250 / .370 / .470 bat with better D at 1B than Giambi could ever give. Sorry to upset you Yankee fans, but this move shows we won't be getting Tex. The Yanks are not paying good money to see the guy sit on the bench. Kanekoa Texeira, 22, can't be overlooked in this deal either - Last season in 38 IP at A+ ball, Kanekoa posted a .93 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP with 36 K's. He went up to AA to post 22 IP of 2.01 ERA ball. In 144 career minor league IP, he has 149 K's.

Cashman started off what should be an exciting offseason by making an excellent trade. He gave up nothing, a great buy low deal. Kenny Williams will be taking a lot of heat for this trade if Swisher puts up some of the production he had in previous years.

Offseason Trade Reaction - Holliday to A's

Happening on the same day as the Olsen/Willingham deal, I don't think anyone expected this blockbuster. S.I.'s Jon Heyman first reported that the A's had traded for Matt Holliday. Let's sum it up:

The A's got ::: Matt Holliday (OF)
The Rockies got ::: Carlos Gonzalez (OF) - Greg Smith (LHP) - Huston Street (RHP)

My Thoughts: The Rockies just barely come out on top here. Probably looking to rebuild now, the key prospect Carlos Gonzalez has been compared to Carlos Beltran. From watching him this year, I think he could be a .290 / .330 / .500 guy, and those will only go up playing in Coors. As a 22 year old this year, he hit .242 / .273 / .361 in 302 ABs. Pitcher Greg Smith is a finesse lefty who is still only 24. He had a 7-16 record this year (which really is irrelevant, considering how bad the A's offense was this year) who posted a 4.16 ERA this year in 190 IP. The most impressive part - he allowed only 169 hits. Greg Smith could become a #2 starter, of course in Coors, he might just become another Jeff Francis - which isn't bad, but not his potential. Huston Street was also acquired by the Rockies. Street, 24, won the ROY as a 21 year old closer racking up 43 saves in 2005. Guys with his stuff don't just fall apart as easily as he did. Street will be come another 30 save closer, but will he just be dealt again? The Rockies have Manny Corpas and Taylor Bucholz who could also take over the closing duty. I don't think so - I think Street earns his closer role back in Colorado and becomes an all-star again. Look for him to become a serious comeback player.

Now to the big part of the deal - Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday. Holliday is in the last year of his contract, so it seems the A's gave up a bit much to get Matt. A Boras client and only 29, you gotta figure Hollidays asking price will be nearly 18 mil a year, even if he has a down year. Holliday won't be re-signed by the A's in the offseason, they don't have the money to do that. It seems Holliday is here to try and bring playoff hope to the A's, but if they are out of it by mid-season, he will be dealt. Of course, if Holliday is stinking up the joint in McAfee, a hitter killer park, that could become a problem, and this trade would be looked upon as horrid for the A's. I think Holliday will post a .300/.370/.490 line in Oakland. That is what his splits suggested, anyways.

I don't usually want to question Billy Beane. The guy is one of the best GMs in baseball, and seems to always make the right move - but he doesn't fit in with moneyball (Power, Walks). This really is a close trade though, at least until we see what the A's do this year.

Offseason Trade Reaction - Olsen, Willingham to Nats

The Marlins and Nationals had a trade 7 days ago. Summing it up;

The Nats got ::: Scott Olsen (LHP) - Josh Willingham (OF)
The Fish got ::: Emilio Bonifacio (2B) - P.J. Dean (RHP) - Jake Smolinski (SS)

My Thoughts: The Nats came out on the better end. Scott Olsen threw 201 IP this year, and even with a declining strikeout rate, posted a 4.20 ERA. Lefties that are durable at a young age really don't come around too often. Olsen fits into the rotation nicely with John Lannan, another young lefty. Josh Willingham is a 30 year old outfielder who has had injury problems but if healthy could probably produce a line of 20 HR / 80 RBI / .265 / .330 / .460, which might be able to be shipped off mid-season for decent prospects.

On the other end, the Marlins recieved 3 prospects, all of whom have a pretty decent shot at making the MLB, but none will be difference makers. Emilio Bonifacio, 23, could at best become a .290 hitter with decent D and little power at second base - but then what happens to Dan Uggla? His value may not be any higher than it is now (30 HR 2B, 28 years old could net a few good prospects). Although the Marlins have said they do not plan to trade Dan, this year at least. P.J. Dean could become a mid-rotation starter according to Baseball America, but I don't buy it. He has never played above A- ball, where he only struck out 34 in 46 IP. He was ranked 30th among Nationals prospects. Jake Smolinski was ranked 11th among National prospects, yet has never played above A ball and in A ball, hit only .261 with a .402 SLG in 184 ABs. Plus, Hanley Ramirez is clogging that hole right now - He is pretty good, right?

Nats win the deal. I never thought I'd say this, but Jim Bowden pulled off a steal.

First time starting a Blog.

Hi everyone,

I will start out by saying a little about myself and my love of the game. My name is Ryan. Currently, I am 18 years old living in the tri-state area. I am a senior in high school and absolutley love the game of baseball. I have lived in New York, Hong Kong and Sydney, Australia.

My love of the game started when I was 11, going to see my very first baseball game on June 9th, 2000 - it was a subway series game, the New York Mets vs. the New York Yankees. At the time, I knew very little about baseball. I was hardly into it at the game, but I did cry when I people started calling my favorite player at the time, Mike Piazza, Mike "Pizza". He did hit a grandslam in a 12-2 Mets' win.

I did not even follow baseball or really check in on it again until the next year, during the playoffs. I was in Australia when the Trade Centers collapsed, and with my Dad representing New York for that reason, I chose to as well. The New York Yankees rode through an incredible playoff run, as I watched the games around 16 hours after they had appeared live in the United Stats, usually having my mom tape it for me. I fell in love with the players such as Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and the other Yankee greats who were in the series. I cried at the end of game 7, not knowing my now favorite team, the Yankees, were a powerhouse in the MLB, and had been for a few years now.

I moved back to the United Stats in June of 2004. I quickly fell in love with the game, becoming a passionate Yankee fan during their '04 season. When they went up 3-0, I was one of the ones who thought they had it locked up. Looking back on it now, I can only congratulate the Red Sox team for accomplishing that great, historical moment. I was at game 7 for the 2004 ALCS, and today, my greatest baseball moment is still chanting "Who's your Daddy?" *Clap clap clap clap clap* when Pedro Martinez came into the game. The Yankees proceeded to score two runs in the inning, making the score 10-3, Red Sox. I was very upset afterward, but that moment has stuck with me ever since.

Ever since, I have been watching nearly every Yankee game of the season on the YES network. I hate Michael Kay, the Yankees lead play-by-play announcer, but love the work Ken Singleton and David Cone do.

Basically, all I am going to do on the blog is comment or give my opinion on my the news I get from all the different websites, such as mlbtraderumors.com and yankees.lhblogs.com.

Hope you enjoy my posts, check in often!

-Ryan-