Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[killeverything]

Bob Melvin was fired as the Dbacks manager.

PHOENIX (AP)—Bob Melvin’s stock rose when he guided the youthful but talented Arizona Diamondbacks to the NL West title two years ago.

He was dismissed on Thursday because many of those same players have failed to live up to expectations based on that season, when the Diamondbacks were an NL-best 90-72 despite being outscored by 20 runs across the season.

“This is a difficult decision, but I feel that our organization needs to move forward with a new voice,” general manager Josh Byrnes said in a statement.

The Diamondbacks will name A.J. Hinch, their vice president for player development, as Melvin’s replacement on Friday, according to a person familiar with the move who requested anonymity because the announcement had not been made.

I've been surprised at how Arizona has played lately. They were a team I was kinda expecting to fight for the Division, especially one so weak. They have Webb and some young guys that people have been expecting to step up.

So with LA losing Manny for 50 games. I guess if you're gonna make a move, now is the time to do it. Do you think it will be enough to make a surge or shake things up a bit?

[Machado]

Yankees DFA's Steven Jackson(reliever). Berroa
remains on the team. Has to be for insurance reasons.
Once Alex proves he can stay healthy and take the field, either
Berroa or Pena will be sent down.
Could be a week. Could be 10 days. Not sure.

Ian Kennedy received some bad news regarding the numbness in his fingers.
The aneurysm is under his armpit and it’s what was causing the numbness in his fingers. He’ll be operated on at Roosevelt Hospital on Tuesday.
It’s a real shame for Ian, who pitched so well in winter ball and was off to a great start for Scranton.

[killeverything]

Erwin Santana starts tommorrow for LAAAA. He faces Wakefield. This will be his first start of the season. He kicked ass in AAA.

[UtahRatt]

So with LA losing Manny for 50 games. I guess if you're gonna make a move, now is the time to do it. Do you think it will be enough to make a surge or shake things up a bit?

The west always seems up for grabs, not sure just a manager move is gonna do it tho they need to make some player moves after the break.

[killeverything]

Holy shit. Here's an ugly stat.

The Mighty Red Sox lead the majors with 43 GDP. The league average right now is 28 ( AL average is 30 ).

They hit into 147 last year and are on pace to hit into 183 this year.

Mike Lowell has hit into 11 so far, after 14 last season. I guess this is the drawback to having high OBP guys, without a lot of speed. I've seen Lowell jog to first too many times.

In other news there were rumours going around about a trade with the Indians earlier. Potentially involving a combination of Martinez, Lee, Bard, Buchholz, Anderson, + 1 star player. The star player was rumored to be Ellsbury.

I hope to fucking God it's Ellsbury. I am so fucking sick of that over-rated streaky piece of shit. He can run really fast.....and that's about it. 2007 that guy was golden they shoulda traded him then.

[killeverything]

I have some bad news.

Dominic Dimaggio passed away this morning at 1am.





"The Little Professor" played his entire 11-year career with the Sox, making his debut on opening day in 1940 and earning selection to the AL All-Star Team in 1941 and 1942. Like many players of his era, he lost what might have been his career peak seasons to World War II, serving in the US Coast Guard for three years (ages 26-27-28). While serving in the Pacific, he played on several U.S. Navy All-Star teams, and appeared in the same outfield with older brothers Joe and Vince on three occasions.

Upon his return, he reclamed the center field job with the Red Sox for the next seven seasons from 1946 through 1952, and was named an All-Star again in five of those years. He lost his starting role to 23-year-old Jimmy Piersall in 1953, and appeared in just three games as a pinch-hitter that season before retiring in May at age 36. He remains one of the most successful lead-off hitters in Red Sox history, and finished his career with a .298 BA, .383 OBP, 100 SB and 1,046 runs scored. His 34-game hitting streak in 1949 remains a team record, and he also fashioned a 27-game streak in 1951. Dom scored 100 or more runs 7 times, leading the league twice. He also finished in the Top 10 in the AL batting race three times, including a third-place finish in 1950 with a career-high .328 average.

Dom's exit from the game coincided with his soaring fortunes as a businessman. With two partners, he bought American Latex in Lawrence MA, eventually becoming the sole proprietor. He later acquired Delaware Valley Corporation, turning it into one of the nation's leading manufacturers of synthetic fabrics. He also invested in and developed commercial real estate across the country, including DiMaggio's Restaurant on Fisherman's Wharf in his hometown of San Francisco. Dom further cemented his sports legacy in New England by co-founding the Boston Patriots of the American Football League.

On October 24, 2004, he joined his former teammates Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky to throw out the ceremonial first pitches prior to Game 2 of the World Series.



RIP

In some ways this guy is fascinating. He was an excellent ballplayer, who stood in the shadow of not only his brother, but Ted Williams who he shared the outfield with.

BUt I think that most people would say that he was in life, he was overall the happiest and most successful of the three.

You know what's interesting? They've said later in life, Joe Dimaggio kinda resented his brother. Dominic was always intelligent, and made a lot of money after his big league career ended. Since ballplayers weren't paid like they are now back then. The great Joe Dimaggio had to have help from his brother later in life.

They talk about it in the book "The Teamates" and also mention it in "Summer Of '49." Dom and Ted would send money to all the ex-teamates they played with. Pesky, Doer, etc.

It's funny in a way. The guy became rich after MLB. Not before or during, all the while being one of the greatest players to ever play the game's little brother.

[killeverything]

Carlos Delgado is out for the season.

Richie Weeks is out for the season.

I think that there's going to be a lot of buyers for a big bat, come the trade deadline. Aside from financial considerations, I don't think the Mets have a lot of offering points in a trade.

Yesterday I posted Cleveland/Boston trade rumours. ( Please trade Ellsbury. Please, please, please ) so there's already talk going on.

If Milwaukee falls out of contention early, do any of you think Fielder could be dangled?

[JakeYonkel]

Carlos Delgado is out for the season.

Everything I've read said he could be back after the All Star break. I guess the Mets will now decide whether or not to pursue a replacement or go in-house for the next 2 months, if that's the case. Heard them linked to Aubrey Huff, and Victor Martinez would actually make a ton of sense, if they were interested, since he could shift over and catch once Delgado got back.

If Milwaukee falls out of contention early, do any of you think Fielder could be dangled?

Since Mat Gamel's D sucks at 3B, I imagine they'd happily move Prince and shift Gamel over to 1B where they could hide him a little better.

Prince is a Boras guy and not open to an extension anyway, so I'm sure he'd be available...

[killeverything]

Carlos Delgado is out for the season.

Everything I've read said he could be back after the All Star break. I guess the Mets will now decide whether or not to pursue a replacement or go in-house for the next 2 months, if that's the case. Heard them linked to Aubrey Huff, and Victor Martinez would actually make a ton of sense, if they were interested, since he could shift over and catch once Delgado got back.

Really. I've only seen it on Sportscenter and MLBN yesterday. They were saying he's out for the season.

Still with the disappointment the last two seasons, revamped BP, new Stadium, etc. I could see Minyana gettting impatient and trying to pick someone up somehow.

Are there any Dominicans out there availible though?

If Milwaukee falls out of contention early, do any of you think Fielder could be dangled?

Since Mat Gamel's D sucks at 3B, I imagine they'd happily move Prince and shift Gamel over to 1B where they could hide him a little better.

Prince is a Boras guy and not open to an extension anyway, so I'm sure he'd be available...

That's the big piece it wouldn't surprise me to see moved at the deadline. A lot of sportwriters ( I know, I know ) have been speculating about it too. With Manny's suspension, and some team's being one BIG bat away.........

[Facedown]

Papi finally goes deep.

[JakeYonkel]

Figured he had to run into one sooner or later.

Scouts say he's cheating on the fastball big time, lost all his bat speed.

I wonder why.

[ultraphobic71]

GO ASTROS!!

[killeverything]

Figured he had to run into one sooner or later.

Scouts say he's cheating on the fastball big time, lost all his bat speed.

I wonder why.

I was hoping he wasn't hiding an injury ( he still might be ). After his 2B off Ryan ( who has punished him lately, especially last nite ), both Magadan and Tito comented on how he looks relaxed. Plus Ortiz said to Heidi "he got the monkey off his back." I think it was a confidence issue. If he feels confident, all is well ( remember 2004 ).

In BP prior to the game he hit a few out, plus if you remember the Seattle series. He hit a few out in BP too, in what is a pitcher's park. So it's not like he just didn't have the power anymore. If you look even Overatedby Ellsbury has a HR, so that throws the whole power issue out.

I've never understood the "lost his batspeed" statement. It's very Joe Morgan-esque. What the fuck does it mean anyway? Batspeed is one of the most misleading statements in assessing a hitter. So if his batspeed is fast, he's going to be a great powerhitter? Ruth's was around 75mph, Pujol's is said to be around 85mph ( one of the said slower swings in MLB ). So with that ( debateable ) info., what about pitch recognition and keeping the barrel in the zone longer?

Batspeed is something scouts' throw around to sound like they know what the fuck is going on with established hitters. Next time your in a baseball related arguement, and want to win....bring up "batspeed" works every Goddamn time

*edit*

According to Hittracker, tonite's Papi HR ( under normalized conditions ) wouldn't have been out at any other ballpark. There was a strong wind blowing straight through CF. We'll see in the coming weeks if it was all psychological. Kinda makes ya feel warm inside right now though.

[nycyankee]

Yankees are playing well right now. Hopefully they don't offset it with an 8 game losing streak. They always fuck things up so I am not expecting much this yr no matter how good they may look right now.


Ortiz finally hits a homerun. Perhaps he'll hit his next one before the all star break.

[UtahRatt]

2009 Power Rankings: May 18

#1 Los Angeles Dodgers - Without Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers have won two road series in a row and four of their past five games.

#2 Toronto Blue Jays - Roy Halladay (8-1, 2.78 ERA in nine outings) went 3-4, 4.77 in his first nine games of 2003, when he won 22 games and the AL Cy Young Award.

#3 Texas Rangers - Texas is the hottest club in MLB with 13 wins in 15 games.

#4 Milwaukee Brewers - Trevor Hoffman (9-for-9 in save opportunities) has not allowed a run in 10 innings.

#5 Boston Red Sox - The slump of David Ortiz is not the only concern for the Red Sox, whose starting pitching ERA is a whopping 5.76.

#6 New York Mets - In 13 games at first base, Fernando Tatis has hit .310 (13-for-42) with two home runs and seven RBIs.

#7 New York Yankees - New York is 7-2 with Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.

#8 Chicago Cubs - Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg, the Cubs' set-up man and closer, have combined to allow 31 hits and 27 walks in 34 2/3 innings.

#9 Philadelphia Phillies - Brad Lidge (8.31 ERA) earned saves on Saturday and Sunday without allowing a run after six straight appearances in which he gave up earned runs.

#10 Detroit Tigers - In 54 at-bats, Ramon Santiago has 19 RBIs, one more than his total in 2008.

#11 St. Louis Cardinals - Albert Pujols has dropped his average from .364 to .328, and the Cardinals are 4-6 in their past 10 games.

#12 Cincinnati Reds - Only Washington (37) and Seattle (32) have more errors than Cincinnati (29).

#13 Kansas City Royals - Zack Greinke leads MLB in ERA (0.88), complete games (four) and shutouts (two).

#14 Los Angeles Angels - Darren Oliver (1.10 ERA) has been the exception in the Angels' terrible bullpen (3-10, 6.35).

#15 Tampa Bay Rays - Surprisingly, SS Jason Bartlett leads the Rays in hitting with a .370 batting average.

#16 Atlanta Braves - Atlanta has the fewest wins at home (six) among the clubs that are .500 or better.

#17 San Francisco Giants - Randy Johnson has allowed 23 extra-base hits (13 doubles, 10 home runs) in 40 2/3 innings.

#18 Minnesota Twins - Minnesota is 3-11 against AL East clubs and 15-9 against the rest of the AL.

#19 Florida Marlins - SS Hanley Ramirez has hit .414 (24-of-58) and reached base 43 times in May.

#20 Seattle Mariners - SS Yuniesky Betancourt walked three times in the past three games after walking only twice in the first 33.

#21 Houston Astros - After hitting .162 in April, Lance Berkman is hitting .333 in May, raising his average to .230.

#22 Baltimore Orioles - Baltimore pitchers have the third-worst ERA (5.49) in baseball.

#23 Chicago White Sox - Chicago has lost 11 of its past 14 games.

#24 Pittsburgh Pirates - The Pirates scored 10 runs in the seventh inning on Sunday, their last home game before leaving on a 10-game away tour.

#25 Colorado Rockies - Todd Helton is only one hit away from becoming the 255th player in MLB history to reach the 2,000-hit mark.

#26 Oakland Athletics - The A's were outscored 34-9 this past weekend and have a minus-21 run differential.

#27 San Diego Padres - San Diego swept Cincinnati this past weekend after losing 19 of its previous 23 games.

#28 Cleveland Indians - Catcher Victor Martinez is hitting .401. In the history of the franchise, Joe Jackson (.408 in 1911) is the only hitter to finish a season with a .400 batting average.

#29 Arizona Diamondbacks - Despite the D-backs' losing record, Dan Haren (3-4) leads MLB with eight quality starts.

#30 Washington Nationals - The Nationals have allowed 225 runs and are tied with the Orioles and the Indians for the most allowed in baseball.

[Rainbow Bright]

True, but the M's are only 5 back. And they beat the Angels tonight.
I'll follow closer once the playoffs wrap up.

[killeverything]

Peavy is in trade talks to go to the White Sox.

Jake Peavy met with San Diego manager Bud Black after the Padres' game on Wednesday to discuss a possible deal with the White Sox, writes Tom Krasovic. The conversations make a whole lot of sense. Kenny Williams, the general manager for the White Sox, is always aggressive, never afraid of a bold move, and it is evident from the early part of the season that Chicago needs help in its rotation.

Jose Contreras has already lost a spot in the rotation and been sent to the minors, and Bartolo Colon represents a whole lot of risk. But of much greater concern are the early-season struggles of Gavin Floyd, whose performance last season was a pivotal piece for Chicago's division title: So far in 2009, Floyd is 2-4 with a 7.71 ERA, and he's allowed 60 hits and 23 walks in 44.1 innings -- frightening numbers. The White Sox currently rank 25th in starters' ERA, at 5.27, and while the AL Central doesn't seem to have a great team capable of running away with a 100-victory season, the White Sox might struggle to contend with their current rotation.

Peavy, of course, has a no-trade clause and must consent to any trade, and among rival executives, there have been questions lately about whether the Padres would be able to get the kind of return they had hoped for when they first started talking about a possible deal late last September. The Padres talked extensively with the Braves last fall, and after those discussions stalled, the Padres and Cubs moved so close to a deal that the two sides were working out the details of a possible salary deferral.

But ultimately, the Cubs' ownership situation, which remains in a state of flux, has been a roadblock to any Padres-Cubs deal.

Presumably, the Padres will want a high-end young position player to anchor the deal -- someone like young middle infielder Gordon Beckham, who nearly made the Opening Day roster as a rookie out of Georgia and is hitting .279 in Double-A.

I know that San Diego is wanting middle IF so maybe Alexie Ramirez is on his way. Chicago's package is said to include pitchers Clayton Richard and Aaron Poreda + 2 PTBNL ( Beckham? ), and the deal is still contingent upon Peavy waiving his no-trade clause.

3.73 K/BB at Petco
2.54 K/BB Away

HR every 56 PA at Petco
HR every 30 PA Away

Owed 57 M in the next 3.5 years
or
75 M if the option is picked up.

Line away from Petco
245/316/419

This is a salary dump. Nothing more. This is why you get a fucking pre-nup, kids. I don't see Peavy's #'s translating well to the AL. Going from a pitcher's park to HR derby. Jake meet Guillen. Your new manager.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

According to ESPN, Beckham isn't part of the deal.

[killeverything]

Nevermind.

The Peavy deal is dead. He nixed it.

A source close to the Jake Peavy camp said today that the ace pitcher has notified the San Diego Padres that he will not accept the trade to the South Side, apparently killing the deal that would have sent four players west and put Peavy in black and white.


Who saw that one coming?

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball ... 09.article

[JakeYonkel]

Haha, what a bitch. Enjoy losing 100 games.

But the weather is nice.

[killeverything]

Haha, what a bitch. Enjoy losing 100 games.

But the weather is nice.

This is all about his personal stats. Working for Guillen might have had a lot to do with it too. Peavy knows that no matter how good of a pitcher he is, I think he'll get eaten up in the AL. Plus with Guillen's track record, I wouldn't expect an already DL prone pitcher to work with someone of his managing style.

Players conform under Guillen when they play there, and seem to do better without ( ie. Swisher not having to swing at every pitch thrown ).

I can't say I blame Peavy at all.

[Facedown]

Sports Radio said today that the Sox have talked to the Nats about trading DelCarmen for Nick Johnson if Ortiz doesn't come around.

[JakeYonkel]

Sports Radio said today that the Sox have talked to the Nats about trading DelCarmen for Nick Johnson if Ortiz doesn't come around.

Nats want MDC from Boston or Bobby Parnell from the Mets.

Seems like an awful lot for a 3 month rental of a guy who can't stay healthy. I'd tell the Nats to suck a dick unless they wanna take Charlie Zink.

[TawnyVonJagger]

Goddamn, my Fishies suck! The wheels done came off, and the sky is lowering more and more every day. Can't fucking do anything right! WTF?

[bighairdiscs]

Sports Radio said today that the Sox have talked to the Nats about trading DelCarmen for Nick Johnson if Ortiz doesn't come around.

Nats want MDC from Boston or Bobby Parnell from the Mets.

Seems like an awful lot for a 3 month rental of a guy who can't stay healthy. I'd tell the Nats to suck a dick unless they wanna take Charlie Zink.

Amen, bro.

in my opinion, MDC is way too much to give up for a guy like Johnson.... he has no power, and he makes Ben Sheets look like an ironman. Personally, I hope the Sox stay the hell away from Nick Johnson completely.

[killeverything]

Sports Radio said today that the Sox have talked to the Nats about trading DelCarmen for Nick Johnson if Ortiz doesn't come around.

Nats want MDC from Boston or Bobby Parnell from the Mets.

Seems like an awful lot for a 3 month rental of a guy who can't stay healthy. I'd tell the Nats to suck a dick unless they wanna take Charlie Zink.

Amen, bro.

in my opinion, MDC is way too much to give up for a guy like Johnson.... he has no power, and he makes Ben Sheets look like an ironman. Personally, I hope the Sox stay the hell away from Nick Johnson completely.

What.

The.

Fuck?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!

No! Goddamnit. MDC was projected as #2 or #3 starter, got injured and TJ surgery. He moved to the pen. He has wicked stuff in a set-up role, the only issue with him WAS he didn't handle runners on base, or the pressure of tight game. He had a lot of inherited runners scored when he was a AAAA guy.

That's all changed now. He's been great for us out of the pen ( heh. "Us" ). He's been a big part of why the Mighty Red Sox BP is argueably the deepest in the majors, at least right now. Trading him for shit, would be very un-Theo.

Wait. No it wouldn't if you think about it.......Gagne'. I hope the sportswriter talk is a lot like listening to Gammo talk about trade scenarios. Was it Gammo who said it?

[Facedown]

Was it Gammo who said it?

Not sure. Wasn't really paying attention when it was said, but a couple of seconds later, it was literally "wait, what?!?"
ESPN said last night that the deal was initiated by the Nats and the Sox rejected it.

[bighairdiscs]

ESPN said last night that the deal was initiated by the Nats and the Sox rejected it.

[killeverything]

Was it Gammo who said it?

Not sure. Wasn't really paying attention when it was said, but a couple of seconds later, it was literally "wait, what?!?"
ESPN said last night that the deal was initiated by the Nats and the Sox rejected it.

Ohhhhhh okay.

Then it's nothing.

A couple months ago, ESPN reported that Theo contacted FLA about obtaining Hanley Ramirez. Now of course this story ran, "Sox and Marlins discuss another Hanley trade." When it reality all it was was Theo called. Said "would you be interested in trading Hanley in a package deal?" "Nope." "Okay, thanks...bye." "Bye." *click*

Cool. I've always been a fan of MDC and am stoked to see him get it together.

[killeverything]

Iwamura is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Akinori Iwamura has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, damage to the medial collateral ligament in his knee, and torn ligaments in his ankle, and will miss the rest of the season, executive vice president Andrew Friedman said this afternoon.

Man talk about a regression with the bullpen. Did you see that 8 run lead they blew....again? David Price went 3.1IP with 100 pitches.

Kazmir, Percival, Iwamura and Bartlett go on the DL. One of the four is done for the year ( Iwamura ) and one may be calling it quits ( Percival ). Tough week, although they did extend Maddon to 2012.

I was expecting a three team race in the AL East this season. Oh well I guess it's gonna be same old, same old.

Oh, and Clay Buchholz took a perfect game to the ninth. Only to give up a hit the other day. Olney's speculating that he's about to be called up, since he's been punishing AAA hitters. I kind of disagree. He's in Pawtucket to "work on everything," and since Penny has been good. Where do you place him unless Penny is traded? That's not even taking into account the inevitable return of Smoltz.