 1. Angels still need an ace to guide them
2. Complete Rangers poised for playoff push
3. Gary Matthews Jr. Clogging Things Up
4. Cubs Showing “Heavy” interest in Another Cuban Prospect
5. 2010 Toronto Blue Jays Projection
1. Angels still need an ace to guide them
Si is reporting 1. This is a team without an ace
The last image that L.A. fans will have of John Lackey in an Angels uniform will be of him imploring manager Mike Scioscia to leave him in Game 5 of last October's ALCS. "I got this!" he barked, as the spittle flew. "This is mine!" Scioscia wasn't swayed; the Angels ended up winning the game, but lost the series; and less than two months later, Lackey, the Angels' second-round pick in 1999 and the winner of 102 games in eight seasons in Anaheim, signed a 5-year, $82.5 million contract with the Red Sox. "We made an evaluation on the player, and we put a dollar value on the player, and in terms of annual salary and years, and when his expectation exceeded what we felt, what we were comfortable with, we decided to go in a different direction, as did he," says GM Tony Reagins. "As far as John, there's a tremendous amount of respect for him, what he did for this organization, and there are no bitter feelings."
That's all very nice. But now the Angels will enter 2010 with five starters (Scott Kazmir, Joel Pineiro, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver) who have all had success -- four have won 16 or more games at least once, three have been All-Stars -- but none of whom have yet to show that they can be what Lackey was: a bellwether, a certain Game 1 playoff starter, a big-game pitcher. Each of them would make for a nice No. 3 starter, and the rotation is one of the game's deepest, but will any of them become the No. 1 that any real World Series contender requires? "I think we've got a solid five," says center fielder Torii Hunter. "If we had a five game series and had to pitch five pitchers, I'd definitely bet on my guys." This, of course, is not how baseball -- particularly playoff baseball -- is designed, nor works. And that could be a problem.
2. The loss of Chone Figgins might be even more painful
Not only because Figgins was the offense's lead-off-hitting sparkplug -- he ranked second in the AL in 2009 with 114 runs scored, first with 109 walks and third with 42 stolen bases -- but because he'll now be plying his trade with the arch-rival Mariners, whom the Angels will play 19 times. "You definitely have to keep your focus forward," says Scioscia, "and focus on filling the voids that are left when prominent guys leave your team." The Angels have successfully sustained free agent losses to their offense before -- Darrin Erstad, Troy Glaus, David Eckstein, Garret Anderson, to name a few -- but none of those had been as recently integral as was Figgins. Shortstop Erick Aybar will likely replace Figgins atop the lineup, and although he hit .312 last season, he drew only 30 walks in 556 plate appearances, and stole just 14 bases despite his considerable speed. The production of the Angels' middle-of-the-order hitters will likely suffer without Figgins dancing on base in front of them, and it's difficult to imagine the club will again rank second in the majors in runs scored, as they did last season.
3. Even so, never count the Angels out
"I'm going to tell you: the Angels, they will be good," said the Mariners' Milton Bradley, who has now been a member of every AL West club but the Angels, the other day. "They always are. That's the way it is. It's like the Utah Jazz in basketball -- no matter who they've got, they're going to be good." The Angels undoubtedly remain "good," but the problem for them is that each of the other teams in the AL West appear to have markedly improved from '09, the Angels, if anything, have gotten ever-so-slightly worse, due mainly to the departures of Lackey and Figgins. The Angels have won the division in five of the past six seasons, by an average of nine games, but it will be a tall task indeed to make it six of seven.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ben_reiter/03/04/angels.postcard/index.html#ixzz0hPMYQ2of
2. Complete Rangers poised for playoff push
SI is reporting 1. The offense should again be among baseball's elite
Rangers hitters were by no means impotent in 2009: their 784 runs scored ranked 10th in the major leagues. But that represented a significant decline from 2008, when Texas's 901 runs easily led the majors. The offense will receive a significant boost from a return to health by slugger Josh Hamilton, who was limited by an assortment of maladies last season to 89 games, 10 home runs and 54 RBI, after he hit 32 homers and drove in 132 runs in 156 games in 2008, his first as a Ranger. But it will also benefit from the development of fifth-year second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Kinsler, 27, hit 31 homers and stole 31 bases last season, but the fact that he became the 34th player in the 30/30 club obscured that in a number of ways he regressed as a hitter. His batting average plummeted from .319 to .253 and his OBP sank from .375 to .327. That decline was partly attributable to bad luck: he ranked last in the big leagues, by a good margin, in batting average on balls in play (BABIP) at .241, and that is a statistic that generally levels out year-to-year. His low BABIP, however, was in part due to the fact that he was hitting too many lazy fly balls. His fly ball rate of 54 percent was the majors' second highest, behind Carlos Pena's. (It's no coincidence that Pena's .250 BABIP was better than only Kinsler's).
"Of the 29 other second baseman, probably about 25 of them would love to have had his year," says GM Jon Daniels. "But he holds himself to a higher standard, and so do we, just because we've seen what he's capable of. And he's capable of being an MVP candidate. He and [new hitting coach] Clint Hurdle have clicked, and he's really working on driving the ball and staying on top of the ball." Kinsler, for his part, says that his goal is to "combine my last two seasons." It seems likely that he will, and that he will help Texas' offense to once again be not just very good, but exceptional.
2) It will be supported by a talented and deep pitching staff
Pitching and Texas have traditionally gone together about as well as Texas and tofu. Rangers' pitching bottomed out in 2007 and '08, when the Rangers' team ERA ranked 24th (4.75) and then dead last (5.37). Things started to turn around last season under new pitching coach Mike Maddux and an edict from team president Nolan Ryan that starters should be both physically and mentally prepared to work deeper into games. The Rangers' *****ulative ERA of 4.38 was a respectable eighth in the American League.
Now, the Rangers' staff seems primed to improve upon that, perhaps significantly. It features, for the first time in recent memory, a potential ace in former Cub Rich Harden, whom Daniels signed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal on Dec. 10, a signing encouraged by (among others) Kinsler, who played with Harden in 2001 at Central Arizona College. But it is also deeper than ever before. Projected fourth starter Tommy Hunter should improve upon his promising first full season (9-6, 4.10 ERA in '09), and the Rangers have two very good options vying to be their fifth starter in C.J. Wilson and Neftali Feliz.
Wilson, 29, had a 2.81 ERA as a reliever last season, and lobbied for the chance to start. If he wins the job, Daniels says he will be under no innings limit. "You look at guys like [Ryan] Dempster, guys like [Adam] Wainwright, that went from 65 appearance in the bullpen to 200 innings in the rotation, with no problems," says Daniels. Feliz, a 21 year-old fireballer who was simply dominant in two months in the majors after being called up last August -- he had a 1.74 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 30 innings out of the pen -- has a higher upside, but his innings will be limited to perhaps 160 or 170. The Rangers have still more options behind Wilson and Feliz, including Derek Holland, Brandon McCarthy and Matt Harrison, each of whom could bolster the bullpen if they don't start. In other words, the days in which the Rangers' hopes were consistently dashed by a poor and shallow pitching staff now seem to be behind them.
3) This is the AL West's most complete team
The Rangers, after years of building and re-building, finally appear to possess no glaring weakness. They will hit. They will pitch. And they will field, as their defense -- which ranked last in Ultimate Zone Rating (-51.7) in '08 but sixth (32.5) in '09 -- should only continue to improve. "I think our biggest weakness is probably just a lack of track record, and of consistency," says Daniels.
For a while last season, it appeared as if the Rangers might win the AL West for the first time since 1999 -- they led the division by 5.5 games on May 30th, and were in first as late of July 10th -- but injuries to Hamilton, Kinsler and Michael Young (who combined to miss 118 games) only hastened the falling back to earth of a club that wasn't quite ready to overtake the Angels. "[The Angels are] a great team," says manager Ron Washington. "It was just a matter of time before their talent took over. That's what happened. If we'd stayed healthy, I'd like to have seen what would've happened, but that's not an excuse."
Texas is now better-protected against injuries, due to their rotational depth and to a farm system that remains arguably the majors' best, even though it has recently graduated several key contributors, and features three of Baseball America's top 17 prospects (Feliz is No. 9, first baseman Justin Smoak is No. 13 and 18-year-old southpaw Martin Perez is No. 17). The Rangers are now well positioned to end L.A.'s run at the top of the AL West. In fact, they look like nothing less than the favorite within the division.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ben_reiter/03/02/rangers.postcard/index.html#ixzz0hPN3Cxn0
3. Gary Matthews Jr. Clogging Things Up
Nybaseballdigest is reporting Angel Pagan seemed poised to win the CF job for the Mets this spring. As a matter of fact, I could see him supplanting Jeff Francoeur, upon Beltran’s return, if Frenchy returns to his 2008 Atlanta levels of offense.
Jason Pridie drove in four runs this week and we all know what Frank Catalanotto can do with respect to versatility. The Mets can afford to keep 6 bench players until Carlos Beltran returns in May. With Tatis, Blanco, Cora and Matthews Jr. locks that leaves four candidates (Carter, Jacobs, Catalanotto, Pridie) for two spots. It seems like GMJ’s presence makes for some roster inflexibility.
Buster Olney reported the Reds may be interested in Matthews Jr., but it was quickly shot down by Cincinnati management. If Gary Matthews Jr. is a lock (mostly due to salary) the odds of someone like Pridie sticking around are slim to none. Jerry Manuel seems to want a power bat off the bench (Jacobs?) so you are left with just one spot.
Matthews has hit very well these first few games, but Pridie seems to be a better version of GMJ and at a much cheaper price. Plus, the kid has options that can be exercised when Beltran returns. In the case of GMJ you have a million dollar salary to potentially move.
A good spring by Gary Matthews Jr. shouldn’t fool the Mets. If there is legitimate interest in him out there stick with a Pridie or Catalanotto and move GMJ. If you do move GMJ you can take both north and give it a few more weeks of evaluation.
TO read more..
http://nybaseballdigest.com/?p=21803
4. Cubs Showing “Heavy” interest in Another Cuban Prospect
Cubbiescrib is reporting According to a tweet from ESPN’s Jose Arangure the Cubs are showing “heavy” interest in prized cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who was unblocked by the office of Foreign Assets Control, which now allows him to sign anywhere. The Yankee were also the other team be described as having “heavy” interest in Hechavarria.
But, here are a few reasons why I don’t see the Cubs signing Hechavarria. For one, he is expected to get a deal worth more than what other Cuban short stop Jose Iglesias got from the Red Sox earlier this winter, which was $8.2 million dollars. And the Cubs are thought to be “maxed out” when it comes to adding free agents. Unless, they put it toward their minor league payroll, which would make sense.
Another reason I question the seriousness of the Cubs interest, is because where would they put him. They already have a prized and highly touted 19 year old shortstop in Starlin Castro, so he won’t be able to play short stop for the Cubs. They may want to move him to 2B, which would then make sense, and give the Cubs a very bright future between Castro at short, and Hechevarria at second.
TO read more..
http://cubbiescrib.com/2010/03/05/cubs-showing-heavy-interest-in-another-cuban-prospect/
5. 2010 Toronto Blue Jays Projection
Mlb Daily Dish is reporting DH Adam Lind
.282 AVG, 26 HR, 96 RBI
C John Buck
.226 AVG, 11 HR, 43 RBI
1B Lyle Overbay
.257 AVG, 16 HR, 65 RBI
2B Aaron Hill
.288 AVG, 23 HR, 77 RBI
3B Edwin Encarnacion
.254 AVG, 17 HR, 63 RBI
SS Alex Gonzalez
.242 AVG, 8 HR, 47 RBI
LF Travis Snider
.274 AVG, 28 HR, 92 RBI
CF Vernon Wells
.272 AVG, 18 HR, 74 RBI
RF Jose Bautista
.228 AVG, 12 HR, 57 RBI
SP Ricky Romero
8-13 W-L, 4.84 ERA, 152 K
SP Shaun Mar*****
9-8 W-L, 4.48 ERA, 74 K
SP Brandon Morrow*
10-8 W-L, 4.28 ERA, 77 K
SP Marc Rzepczynski
7-11 W-L, 4.58 ERA, 92 K
SP Brett Cecil
8-9 W-L, 4.86 ERA, 82 K
BEST 2009 PROJECTION: LYLE OVERBAY
Me: .264 AVG, 15 HR, 63 RBI
Actual: .265 AVG, 16 HR, 64 RBI
*full time starter
TO read more..
http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2010/3/5/1356872/2010-toronto-blue-jays-projection
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