Tag Archives: Arizona Diamondbacks

Offseason so far: NL West

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We complete our round-up of the offseason so far in the National League West division, home of the big-spending L.A. Dodgers.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers pushed past the Yankees last season with the highest payroll in the Majors. Their big spending this offseason has largely been based around keeping hold of their Cy Young-winning ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who earned himself a seven-year, $215m contract extension.

Despite the investment in Kershaw, they still pushed hard to sign Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, only for the Yankees to show they’re still the Yankees and to beat them to the punch on Wednesday.

The Dodgers had already added a pitcher to their starting rotation in the shape of Dan Haren who will take over the spot vacated by Ricky Nolasco after he left as a free agent to join the Twins. In the infield, Mark Ellis and Nick Punto have moved on and been replaced by Cuban free agent second baseman Alexander Guerrero.

The pursuit of Tanaka may well have been a case of the Dodgers looking at any opportunity to add a top talent, so they’re not guaranteed to jump back into the market to spend some of that money on someone else. Don’t rule it out completely though.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The D-Backs were another finalist in the Tanaka talks and they are much more likely to get straight back out there to try and add a starting pitcher. They have some good pitchers on the staff, yet it’s certainly an area that they would want to strengthen if they are to make a strong challenge for a Wild Card, let alone keeping up with the Dodgers.

Their main moves so far this offseason have concentrated on the trade market. Mark Trumbo was acquired from the Angels and will take over in left field and Addison Reed was obtained from the White Sox to take on the closer role, with Heath Bell being traded away to the Rays.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants recent form has been to win a World Series, then have a disappointing season, then win a World Series and then, last year, have a disappointing season. Giants fans will be quite happy to have gone through the sub-.500 season of 2013 if that trend continues, although they haven’t made too many significant changes to the roster to bring that about.

Tim Hudson has been added to the starting rotation on a two-year, $23m contract which could turn out to be one of the best value deals of the offseason. ‘Best value’ isn’t something you’d associate with the seven-year, $126m contract the Giants signed with Barry Zito back in December 2006, but mercifully that has now come to an end and Zito’s still looking to catch on with a new team.

They’ll hope for better luck with their decision to keep hold of Tim Lincecum. The fan favourite has been patchy in recent seasons and it looked like his time with the Giants might be up, but they were able to come to an agreement on a two-year, $35m contract.

San Diego Padres

The Padres may have made one of the better one-year deals of the offseason in tempting Josh Johnson to Petco Park. The pitcher had another injury-hit season in 2013, his one year with the Blue Jays before becoming a free agent, and that made it likely he’d be available on a short-term deal. Johnson gets a chance to get his career back on track in a good pitcher’s ballpark, whilst the Padres could get an impressive return on an $8m investment.

San Diego have also added Joaquin Benoit on a two-year deal to serve as set-up man for closer Huston Street. He’ll take over from Luke Gregerson who was traded to the A’s for outfielder Seth Smith.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies have been quite busy over the offseason, although they haven’t looked like they’ve had much of a plan in recent years to make their fans feel confident that the team is going in a defined direction.

Their pitching additions include Franklin Morales and Brett Anderson slotting into the rotation, whilst LaTroy Hawkins and Boone Logan will join the bullpen. Dexter Fowler has been traded to the Astros, with Drew Stubbs being acquired from the Indians to take his place in the outfield mix. The biggest change will be at first base as Todd Helton decided to retire after playing his entire 17-year career with the team. Justin Morneau will take his place on the roster.

Rounding the Bases: More deals

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The week of the MLB Winter Meetings had a lot to live up to after the transaction bonanza of the preceding week.

Consequently it was a slightly underwhelming few days relative to what had come before, but there was still a series of signings worth catching up on.

Hello Cano

The major event of the week came in Seattle where second baseman Robinson Cano was officially unveiled as a Mariner, having agreed a staggering 10-year, $240m contract with the AL West team.

Such monumental investments carry a significant amount of risk, as discussed a week ago, but any concerns can be pushed to one side right now for Mariners fans as the revel in the excitement of their team acquiring one of the very best players in the Majors.

It is great to see a team like Seattle making a bold signing and further shows how competitive MLB is.

Every year, the vast majority of teams will start the season with genuine reason for optimism that they could be in the running for a playoff place, with the main exceptions being teams, such as the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins, who have deliberately chosen to take steps backwards to reload for better days in years to come.

Only ten teams can make it to the postseason in a given season, so those hopes will not be realised for many, but it is hope that keeps fans going and MLB has done a great job in creating an environment where most teams can offer this.

The Mariners’ next big task is to make further improvements to supplement the addition of Cano, particularly in the batting lineup. Former Milwaukee Brewer Corey Hart has been signed on a one-year deal after he missed all of the 2013 season due to knee surgery. If he’s healthy, Hart should add some much-need power to the lineup, and he’ll be joined by Logan Morrison, who was acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins.

Seattle are unlikely to end their recruitment drive there and they continue to be linked with outfielder free agent Nelson Cruz, although his price tag may prove to be too rich following their spending so far this offseason.

Yankees still shopping

The sight of Robinson Cano smiling in a Mariners uniform didn’t just drive home the impact of his signing for Seattle, but also for his former team in the Bronx.

The Yankees have a Cano-shaped hole to fill at second base and that hasn’t started very well, with one potential target slipping away from them this week.

Omar Infante has reportedly agreed a four-year, $30.25m contract with the Kansas City Royals after the Yankees refused to increase their offer of a three-year deal worth $24m. The 32-year-old isn’t a superstar and holding firm at three years isn’t an overly questionable decision, but solid second baseman aren’t easy to find and there’s no doubt that the Yankees have a pressing need for such a player.  There were rumours of a potential trade with the Cincinnati Reds for Brandon Phillips early last week, but no deal was agreed and apparently talks have ceased for now, with New York turning their attention to Darwin Barney of the Chicago Cubs.

The Royals presumably will take a modicum of satisfaction from outbidding the Yankees for Infante after the Bronx Bombers did the same thing to them with Carlos Beltran.

Three teams, six players

We did get one Winter Meeting specialty last week: the three-team trade. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels combined in a deal including six players.

The best-known name of the bunch was Mark Trumbo. He will take his homer-hitting skills (although arguably supplemented with little else) from the Angels to the D-Backs, whilst Adam Eaton moves from Arizona to Chicago. The Angels are reunited with young pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who they drafted in the first round of the 2009 amateur draft but then traded to Arizona in August 2010 as part of a deal to acquire Dan Haren, and received another starting pitcher in the form of Hector Santiago from the White Sox.

Back to where they were

Several teams and players have decided to stage a reunion.

Juan Uribe has agreed a two-year, $15m deal to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Uribe struggled badly with the Dodgers in 2011 and 2012 and his hack-happy approach at the plate has never endeared him to connoisseurs of the science of hitting. However, he did a good job for the Dodgers in 2013 and, with limited options available, a reunion was always a decent possibility.

Former Dodger James Loney has also rejoined his 2013 team, agreeing a three-year, $21m contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. Loney doesn’t offer much power for a first baseman, yet he’s a good hitter and he enjoyed a comeback in 2013 with the Rays as a change of scenery from L.A., where he looked a little weighed down by not meeting the lofty expectations placed on him, worked out well.

That could have proved a problem for the Rays as good players tend to end up moving out of their price range (David Price being a prime example, although at time of writing his expected trade away from the Rays hasn’t materialized), yet in this case they’ve been able to come to an agreement to keep hold of one of their free agents.

Elsewhere, Clint Barmes has returned to Pittsburgh, whilst Mike Pelfrey has decided to stay in Minnesota. The Twins have now added three pitchers to their rotation, Pelfrey being joined by Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes, and they may still be in the conversation to sign former Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo too. None of these hurlers are aces, but they all have their plus points and if they can find some form at Target Field then the Twins may be able to reverse their recent run of disappointing seasons and at least get back on the right path.

Pitchers changing places

Pelfrey wasn’t the only pitcher agreeing terms on a new contract this past week.

Bartolo Colon will try to continue to defy the ageing process after signing a two-year, $20m contract with the New York Mets. Colon performed brilliantly for the Oakland A’s over the last two seasons and a move to another pitcher-friendly home ballpark should increase the odds that he can keep that run going, although moving to the non-DH league where he may have to find his way around the basepads may be a problem for the Mets, and a source of laughter for the rest of us.

The A’s have continued their recent activity by trading away Brett Anderson to the Colorado Rockies and Jerry Blevins to the Washington Nationals. Anderson has been beset by injuries in recent seasons and Coors Field isn’t the first place a pitcher would pick to get their career back on track, but A’s fans will wish him well whilst hoping that former top prospect Drew Pomeranz (selected fifth overall by the Cleveland Indians in the 2010 draft) is a gamble that pays off in return. Blevins should usefully fill a hole in the Nats’ bullpen as a reliable lefty, with the A’s receiving speedy outfield prospect Billy Burns in return.

Another reliever changing teams this week was Joba Chamberlain. Much-hyped as a New York Yankee prospect, Chamberlain never quite lived up to his billing in the Bronx and a move to the Detroit Tigers as a free agent could be just what he needs to get his career going again.

Doc calls it a day

Finally, Roy Halladay announced his retirement this week, signing a one-day deal so that he could retire as a Toronto Blue Jay. His dominating run of seasons from 2002 to 2011 were the equal of some of the very greatest the game has seen and although he doesn’t have all of the impressive counting stats that you’d normally associate with a Hall of Fame player (‘only’ 203 career wins, for example) he was an exceptional pitcher for a significant period of time and should receive serious consideration for a place in Cooperstown.

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Off to Aus

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Major League Baseball’s efforts to increase the popularity of the sport worldwide will take another significant step forward in March 2014.

It was announced last week that the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers will play two regular season games in Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

MLB has staged season-openers in Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico in recent years but the trip to Australia will be the first time that they have ventured into a country where baseball isn’t already a major sport.

It could be considered to be the start of the second phase of MLB’s globalization and is a great boost for baseball fans around the world, hopefully setting the stage for MLB games to be played in Europe in the near future.

Australia is a natural fit to be the latest country to welcome Big League baseball to its shores.

MLB has backed the resurrection of the Australian Baseball League since 2009 and taking two Major League games to Sydney should have the effect of not only promoting MLB, but also the ABL. That gives MLB the chance to do more than just build a bit of interest and good will with the visit by having a competition and some infrastructure in place to capitalise on the sport’s exposure.

Twenty-eight Aussies have made it to the Major Leagues so far including current Oakland A’s closer Grant Balfour, who is one of seven Sydney-born players to make it all the way to The Show. With a further 60 players currently under contract with MLB organizations, there’s a healthy crop of Aussies plying their trade in North America and you can be sure that MLB will use this as a way to drum up interest in the games and to encourage even more youngsters to take up the sport.

Here’s hoping that two more demoralizing Ashes series defeats between now and next March will also help to make the next Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Glen McGrath decide to take up a different bat-and-ball game too. The Fifth Test in the Ashes series in Australia will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground in early January 2014 and that should be a great launching pad from which to sell the MLB experience, focusing on how the iconic cricketing venue will be transformed into a ballpark in just a couple of months’ time.

Just a few weeks ago, I considered the potential of MLB coming to the U.K. as part of Manchester City’s tie-up with the New York Yankees. My mocked-up picture of the Etihad Stadium with a diamond at one corner suggested one – probably imperfect – way of putting baseball into a sporting venue here, but a cricket ground arguably offers a more suitable playing field on which to build a temporary Field of Dreams.

The Oval in London would be the most obvious choice of venue and it has hosted baseball before. Back in 1993, 5,190 spectators went to the Oval to watch a game played by minor leaguers from the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. In his book ‘British Baseball and the West Ham Club’, Josh Chetwynd notes that the game created some enthusiasm, quoting reporter Richard Weeks’ view that “but for the gasholders and the spires of Parliament, the 5,190 gathered here yesterday might have thought they had parachuted into downtown Cincinnati or St. Louis”.

More recently, Somerset County Cricket Club transformed their County Ground into a ballfield to stage a game in October 2008 between Great Britain and Marcus Trescothick’s ‘Bangers’ as part of the former England international’s testimonial festivities.

If MLB can create good quality playing conditions in Sydney then that would show something similar could be created at the Oval. Unfortunately the problem would still remain that MLB would ideally want to bring games over in the second half of March, so that the two teams can travel back to the States in time with no ill effects before the full regular season begins at the start of April.

Holiday-weather.com introduces its summary of March in Sydney as follows:

“March is the beginning of Autumn in Sydney and the lovely weather means it is one of the best times of year to visit the city.

Many tourists find the weather in Autumn in Sydney is the most pleasant and therefore choose this time of year to come to the city”.

As for London:

“March sees temperatures in London become slightly more mild than previous months, but it can still be fairly wet and chilly.

Daytime temperatures now reach a high of 10°C (50°F) but can fall to around 3°C (37°F) in the evenings. There are five hours of sunshine each day.

You are likely to experience rain during your stay, with the average this month being 15 days’ worth. So warm clothing would be essential, with hats, gloves and scarves, as well as a waterproof jacket and an umbrella.”

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Australia is the more enticing target for MLB, then.

It must have been slightly embarrassing for MLB that just a couple of days before the official ‘Aussie Opener’ announcement, the two teams picked to be ambassadors for the sport had an almighty bust-up with beanings and two bench-clearing brawls. If MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was worried about any negative publicity, he need not have been.

At least one former England cricketer would likely suggest the aggro would actually be a selling point to the Aussies. And a current England cricketer would no doubt agree.

Whether the benches clear or the two teams are on their best behaviour, the sports-mad Aussies are sure to make it a great event and that can only be good news for the growth of the game.

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Upton away

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Every football fan knows the feeling of foreboding created by an ex-striker of your team coming back home to face you for the first time since their departure.

Whether you try to put him off through jeers or try to win him over with cheers, you know he’s going to score against you. Returning strikers always do.

Fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks must have had that exact same feeling last Monday when Justin Upton returned to Chase Field for the first time since being traded to the Atlanta Braves over the off-season.

A ground-out and a single in his first two at-bats suggested his first game back wouldn’t be too explosive. Then in the sixth inning Wade Miley hit B.J. Upton with a pitch as brother Justin waited in the on-deck circle.

That was Miley’s first mistake. The second came on a 2-0 change-up that Miley left up in the zone.

Justin Upton absolutely hammered it over the high wall in centre field for a two-run bomb; a swinging statement if ever there was one.

The D-Backs’ determination to trade away the gifted younger Upton brother remains one of the most perplexing roster decisions of recent times. It’s the sort of move that you would expect to be shrouded in rumours of the player being a ‘clubhouse cancer’, but reported comments from former teammates show that couldn’t be further from the truth. Arizona’s Front Office simply decided the organization was better off trading Upton for other pieces.

The team has had a promising start to the season, with Paul Goldschmidt really coming into his own as a leading hitter in the National League and Gerardo Parra reveling in a starting role manning the spot in right field that had previously been Upton’s. Martin Prado, the main established Brave that came Arizona’s way in the trade, has struggled so far and we’ll have to wait several years before finding out if the Minor League prospects they obtained will come good.

Whatever the thought process was behind the trade, the early returns from Arizona’s perspective have been decent and the Braves are certainly not complaining either. Upton has been everything they’d hoped he would be, leading the Majors in homers with 14, whilst Chris Johnson has been a more-than-useful contributor so far too, including whacking a two-run longball of his own against his former team on Monday.

Maybe it will turn out to be a trade in which both teams ‘win’. Still, I’d sooner have Justin Upton in my team for the next few years and his home run on Monday may well not be the last time he makes Arizona regret their decision to part with him.

One brother to another

Justin Upton’s blistering form has been a big help to his older brother. B.J.’s early days with his new team have been distinctly underwhelming. Signed to a five-year, $75.25m contract over the offseason, B.J. Upton was ‘hitting’ just .145/.237/.239 heading into the Braves’ game on Sunday,

His struggles have shown that spending money on a leading free agent doesn’t guarantee you instant returns. If you’re going to spend money to improve your roster, it has to be done as part of a wider plan to make sure that an injury or loss of form for your new recruit doesn’t completely scupper a season.

The Yankees’ fountain of youth

The Toronto Blue Jays thought they had followed that line of thinking to the letter when they brought in a whole host of new players over the offseason. Unfortunately for them, even the best laid plans can unravel.

Despite a four-game winning streak at the start of the last week, the Blue Jays sit dead last in the AL East. They lost the first two games of their series in New York before Sunday’s game was rained out, putting them ten games behind their opponents in the standings and 1-7 against the Yankees so far this season.

What is it about those magical pinstripes that brings the best out of players? Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay and Travis Hafner are the latest three discarded veterans to have found a new lease of life in the Bronx.  The Yankees haven’t yet found a lucky charm to turn around their Disabled List misfortunes, Andy Pettitte being the latest addition to the crowded treatment room, but Curtis Granderson made his season debut last week and both Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis shouldn’t be too far behind in returning to the field.

If Wells and co can continue to keep this team firmly in contention, the Yankees could really come on strong in the second half. My prediction that the Yankees will win the AL East might not turn out to be such a reach after all.

Harvey backs up the hype

The Yankees’ surprisingly strong start to the season isn’t quite the biggest baseball story in New York. That award has to go to the New York Mets’ young phenom Matt Harvey.

A day-game against the Chicago Cubs on Friday provided the perfect opportunity to watch Harvey at work and, after a slightly wayward first inning, he settled in and showed exactly why everyone is talking about him. Harvey even showed a flair for the dramatic by breaking a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning when he singled home the go-ahead run that decided the game and improved his win-loss record to 5-0.

ESPN America took the SNY feed for the game and co-commentator Keith Hernandez provided an insight into what Harvey is like as a character. Hernandez noted that whilst the young pitcher is keeping his head down among more experienced team mates, inside there is a steely confidence that drives his determination to not simply be a quality Major League starter, but to be the very best.

He’s got a long way to go to get there, but the early signs are that he has all the tools necessary to give it a good shot.

Reward for Rizzo

Finally, the only Cubs batter to get an extra-base hit against Harvey was Anthony Rizzo. He had an excellent week off-the-field too as the Cubs announced he had signed a seven-year contract with the team worth at least $41m (£26.6m).

It’s a well-deserved deal that will provide financial security for the player who, after his enthusiastic play for Italy during the recent World Baseball Classic, can surely be claimed by us as an honorary European.

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Bonus breakfast baseball

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Several times over the course of a season, a game will go deep into extra innings and turn into a battle of the last man standing.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals produced such a marathon match on Wednesday night in only their third game of year.

If the contest is played in the evening Stateside, you’ll often find that the crowds thin out as the game heads beyond the tenth inning and the fans reluctantly decide that they have to head to bed to get up early the next morning.

Here in Britain, the morning has already arrived. Although the crowds in the ballpark diminish, fans in other parts of the world start to arrive virtually over the Internet. Little starts a week-day morning better than settling down with your cereal and cup of tea, logging on to MLB.com and finding out that there’s some live bonus breakfast baseball waiting to be watched.

It was Thursday morning for us in the U.K. as the D-Backs and Cards battled their way beyond the regulation nine innings. The Cardinals took a 9-8 lead in the top of the twelfth inning only for a sacrifice fly by Martin Prado to level the game once again in the bottom of the frame and move us on to the thirteenth.

In these situations, there’s always a sense that something is quickly running out. For the teams, it’s their pitching staffs that are being whittled down as the innings pile up and every available arm gets called into action. For fans in the U.K., it’s the relentless ticking of the clock on the wall and the hope that a dramatic end to the game will arrive before you have to head off to work.

On Thursday morning the climax came at approximately 8.15 a.m. when Cliff Pennington’s single into right-centre field brought home Jason Kubel for a hard-earned 10-9 walk-off win in sixteen innings.

It’s always tough to lose a game when you’ve put so much effort into it, but the Cardinals were down to their final available pitcher, Fernando Salas, and had it gone much further they would have needed to turn the ball over to a position player. That’s always fun for us fans, but not so much for the manager having to watch it from the dugout.

As it was, the game was brought to an end before a position player had to take to the mound and both managers headed to the clubhouse glad that their teams had an off-day on Thursday.

A fantasy failure

One of the benefits of fantasy baseball is that it gives you an emotional attachment to games played by teams other than those involving your chosen club. Even if it’s an early season game with little riding on it in the general scheme of things, the performances of player or two involved can grab your attention and give you a reason to watch intently.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles last Tuesday was one such game for me. David Price was my third round selection in this year’s BaseballGB Fantasy League draft and he was on the mound for the Rays.

After giving up a two-run homer to Matt Wieters in the first inning, Price settled in nicely and pitched a solid if unspectacular six innings. It looked like I was in line for a bonus ‘Win’ as two Rays runs in the bottom of the sixth inning turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead and put Price in line to be the winning pitcher.

But then manager Joe Maddon relieved Price and brought in Jake McGee for the seventh inning. McGee is also on my fantasy team and that just seemed like it was tempting fate. Sure enough, despite throwing a fastball in the upper nineties, McGee was jumped on by the Orioles and gave up five runs, three coming on a home run by Chris Davis.

As I watched my fantasy team’s ERA balloon whilst Price’s pitching ‘W’ vanished into thin air, I suddenly remembered that the benefit of fantasy baseball making other games seem important can also be a curse.

And I cursed quite a lot when Davis was circling the bases.

Incurring injuries

One week into the season and some players are already heading onto the Disabled List.

The Reds’ Ryan Ludwick lasted less than three full innings on Opening Day. He made a head-first slide into third base in Cincinnati’s game against the LA Angels and separated his right shoulder, putting him out of action for a good proportion of the rest of the season.

Jake McGee’s meltdown in the aforementioned Orioles-Rays game was a shock I didn’t need, but the game produced a welcome surprise of sorts in the sight of the O’s Brian Roberts taking the field and going 2-for-4. The second baseman has endured a miserable run of injuries over the last three years with a catalogue of ailments restricting him to just 115 appearances over that period. His Opening Day start gave rise to hopes that he might have put the bad luck behind him, yet sadly those hopes were dashed a couple of days later. Roberts suffered a ruptured tendon in his right knee and will miss the next three to four weeks.

It looks like Roberts should be fine to come back healthy after that rest period and hopefully the same can be said for the Red Sox’s pitcher John Lackey. After missing all of the 2012 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Lackey was doing a decent job against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday in his first game back when all of a sudden he grabbed hold of his right arm after letting go of a pitch in the fifth inning. It looked awful and everyone, Lackey included, probably thought the worst as soon as it happened. The initial diagnosis is that it’s a right biceps strain and not something structurally wrong with his repaired elbow, so it’s a case of crossing fingers that Lackey won’t have a long rehabilitation assignment to work through so soon after his last one.

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: From coast to coast

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The recent trade of Justin Upton from Arizona to Atlanta will impact the pennant races in the East and West divisions in the National League.

For Atlanta, the trade completes a wonderfully exciting outfield in which Justin Upton will join brother B.J. and Jason Heyward to form a dynamic trio that should delight the fans at Turner Field.

Centrefielder Michael Bourn led the Braves in 2012 with a brilliant season in his final year before free agency and his departure – destination still unknown – had the potential to leave a notable hole that Atlanta could ill afford considering the strength of division rivals, the Washington Nationals.

Losing Bourn could still have a negative effect on the team’s performance. He had a markedly better campaign than either of the Upton brothers in 2012, although Justin Upton was hampered by a thumb injury, while the retirement of Chipper Jones and the loss of Martin Prado – sent to Arizona as part of the Upton trade – could leave them light on leadership.

However the great potential of the Upton brothers is undoubted and the Braves will hope that pairing them together will bring out the very best in both. If so, there will be a fascinating sub-plot to the NL East division battle with the best of the Braves being compared to the nifty Nationals.

Washington will have new recruit Denard Span manning centrefield, with Bryce Harper following up on his excellent rookie season and Jayson Werth hoping to rebound from an injury riddled 2012.

Werth was signed to a seven-year contract in the 2010/11 offseason and whilst the deal always looked like an overpay, it was expected that the real cost would come near the end of the contract. Instead, Werth’s first two seasons in Washington have been a major disappointment. The 2013 season is the ideal time for him to provide the Nationals with the sort of performance that won him the multi-year deal.

Elsewhere in the NL East, the New York Mets are interested in signing Bourn but the prospect of losing their first-round draft pick currently appears to be a price too high when combined with the size of the contract Bourn is looking for and the fact that the Mets are very unlikely to be contenders in 2013 even with a new centrefielder.

As for the Phillies, their outfield looks distinctly underwhelming and General Manager Ruben Amaro – a man clearly not held in the highest of esteem by many on the web – has been ridiculed in some quarters for signing free agent Delmon Young to be the team’s right-fielder. The thought of the blundering Young regularly trotting out to right field will make you laugh or cry depending on whether you are a Phillies fan or not, although the meagre $750k investment in the former Detroit Tiger suggests that Amaro isn’t committed to Young being the answer all season either.

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ General Manager Kevin Towers will be all-too familiar with the dismissive comments flying Amaro’s way.

His decision to trade away a young star in Justin Upton has left many people scratching their heads. When combined with the decision to trade away pitcher Trevor Bauer, the explanation that Towers and manager Kirk Gibson are conducting a purge of players that don’t fit their favoured ‘gritty’ mould is too convenient to ignore, despite that protestations that this has been exaggerated (which may well be true to an extent).

Players that will scrap for every out are an important part of a winning clubhouse, but the best teams are those that can win games in different ways and that means possessing a roster containing players of different talents. Anyone can get their uniform dirty diving for lost causes and charging into the outfield fence. Few players, even among Major Leaguers, have the raw talent to make the game look effortlessly easy and to produce moments of magic.

What makes the Upton trade so baffling is that his ex-teammates are quick to point out that, whilst he may not outwardly show his passion, he is as hard-working and dedicated a professional as you could wish to meet.  For a team that wants to both win now and over the next few seasons, you’d be hard pushed to find a better player to have in your outfield.

It seems a strange move, but in fairness to Towers his busy offseason has still left the D-Backs with a competitive roster that has good pitching depth and some more-than-useful batting options. They don’t hold the honour of being the reigning World Series champions like the San Francisco Giants, nor do they have the media exposure of the free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers, but Arizona should not be overlooked as a genuine play-off contender this coming season.

Rounding the bases

Francisco Liriano went into the festive season with a two-year, $12.75m contract agreed with the Pittsburgh Pirates only to take a tumble and break his right arm. Thankfully for him, the Pirates did not walk away and instead agreed a restructured contract that takes into account him potentially missing part of the 2013 season. When healthy, Liriano figures to be in the rotation alongside A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, James McDonald and Jeff Karstens, with star pitching prospects Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon waiting in the wings.

Staying in the NL Central, the Milwaukee Brewers will have to make do without Corey Hart until the end of May at the earliest after he underwent knee surgery this past week.  Mat Gamel will get another chance to grab hold of the first-base job after his presumed succession to Prince Fielder fell apart last year due to his own knee injury.

Former Brewer Shaun Marcum has agreed a one-year contract with the New York Mets. Milwaukee acquired Marcum in a trade over the 2010/11 offseason along with Zack Greinke in an effort to finally provide some pitching to go alongside their talented batting lineup. The deals took them to the 2011 NLCS, however they are now back in the same situation they found themselves in at the end of the 2010 season, with a rotation of Yovani Gallardo followed by question marks.

The headline gave a stark message: “Alex Rodriguez could miss the entire 2013 season”.  As soon as you got into the story, though, it was clear there was a very strong emphasis on the word “could”. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has noted that it’s a possibility they could be without their third baseman all season, but the expectation is still that Rodriguez will return sometime in July.  The real question for the Yankees is what level of performance they can expect from him once he does return? The one thing we do know is that it will not be worth anywhere remotely close to the $28m (£17.7m, or just under £341k per week) they will be paying him.

Teams on the brink on Tuesday

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MlbHlSqThe Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers will all have the chance to secure a spot in the Championship Series round of the 2011 MLB postseason today.

The Rangers and Tigers both won yesterday to lead their respective series 2-1, while the Brewers take a 2-0 lead to Arizona.  The Phillies and Cardinals are tied at 1-1 as they play Game Three of their series today.

Rangers-Rays (Rangers lead the series 2-1)

The Rangers get the first crack at making it through with an early start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.  Game Four of their series begins at 19.07 BST and will be broadcast live on ESPN America. 

Texas used a four-run seventh inning to win Game Three 4-3, leaving rookie Desmond Jennings’ two homers for the Rays counting for nothing.  The Rays will look to another rookie to help them stave off elimination in Game Four. 

Jeremy Hellickson is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honours following his impressive season in the Rays’ starting rotation and he will aim to continue that positive form in his first postseason start. The Rangers will counter with Matt Harrison, who made a brief appearance out of the bullpen in Game One.

If the Rangers are able to win tonight, they will be celebrating in a stadium that makes for an odd setting on TV. It always seems strange when the TV broadcast shows pictures of glorious sunny Florida weather, only to then cut to the dour in-door surroundings of the domed arena that is Tropicana Field. 

Normally I would be glad to miss the scenes of October sunshine that seem to poke fun at us Brits gathering in the impending gloom of nights drawing in and tumbling temperatures.  However, our recent glorious weather has meant jealousy could have been avoided this year. 

I’m sure the Rays’ players, fans and owners would love to be playing outdoors, but an open-air ballpark for the Rays doesn’t appear to be on the cards in the near future. Sadly it looks like they will be the ones suffering from the green-eyed monster as the Miami Marlins move into their new home next year.  Continue reading →

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: D-Backs proving the doubters wrong

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WHGB11This year marks the ten-year anniversary of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ World Series triumph in an epic Fall Classic victory over the New York Yankees. 

Few would have predicted a re-match heading into this season.  While the Yankees were always going to be a contender, the D-Backs looked like being anything but.  Indeed, I predicted they would finish last in the National League West division.

Not for the first time – and surely not for the last – my prediction has turned out to be completely wrong.  Arizona currently lead the San Francisco Giants in the NL West and an excellent August has set up what could be a successful September.

My prediction was based on sound evidence.  The D-Backs had propped up the rest in the West in the previous two seasons and the 2010 campaign was particularly miserable in the desert. 

Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Josh Byrnes both received their marching orders in July as their team sunk towards a 97-loss season.  The bullpen was historically terrible and the decision to trade ace starting pitcher Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels midway through the year didn’t exactly increase levels of optimism that the team would be competing for a playoff place any time soon.

Kirk Gibson and Kevin Towers filled the Manager and General Manager positions in what appeared to be the start of rebuilding process.  Veterans Mark Reynolds (traded to the Baltimore Orioles) and Adam LaRoche (departing as a free agent) left the team over the offseason and there were even rumours that their young star Justin Upton was being dangled as potential trade bait.  Continue reading →

2011 MLB Preview: National League West

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MlbHlSqHome to the reigning World Series champions, the NL West ended up being a two-horse race in 2010, with the Padres just missing out at the last.  The Giants’ subsequent postseason success should be a great incentive to their division rivals, both in terms of showing what is possible and in making the rest just that little more determined to knock the Giants back down.

2010 standings (Team, win-loss record)

1. San Francisco Giants. 92-70 * World Series champions
2. San Diego Padres. 90-72
3. Colorado Rockies. 83-79
4. Los Angeles Dodgers. 80-82
5. Arizona Diamondbacks. 65-97

The 2010/11 Offseason

The Giants inched past the Padres to set them on course to a World Series championship in 2010 and they look well-placed to get back to the postseason again in 2011.  They haven’t done a great deal over the offseason; their main efforts have involved keeping hitters Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell and Cody Ross.  However, their challengers have not taken significant strides forward to chase the Giants down.

In the Padres’ case, they’ve gone the other way by losing their best player.  First baseman Adrian Gonzalez was traded to the Boston Red Sox for a host of prospects, which should be good news for the future but is liable to see the Padres drop back a bit in 2011.  The Rockies invested heavily in signing young stars Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez to multi-year contracts and brought back free-agent starting pitcher Jorge de la Rosa.  These are all good moves that will help to keep the team in contention for the foreseeable future, but they don’t obviously make the 2011 Rockies a tougher proposition compared to the 2010 team.

The Dodgers are still in limbo as a result of their owners’ bitter divorce proceedings and they had a quiet offseason as a result, although they retain enough talented players to potentially get into the division race if things fall right.  In contrast, the D-Backs continued down the rebuilding road by trading third baseman Mark Reynolds to the Baltimore Orioles and allowing Adam LaRoche and one-time ace Brandon Webb to depart as free agents. 

Returning stars

Without wishing to downplay their batting heroes, San Francisco’s World Series triumph lived up to the age-old theory that quality pitching often proves to be the difference-maker.  The Giants’ staff will once again catch the eye, led by two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and the extrovert closer Brian Wilson.  Catcher Buster Posey may be coming off his rookie year, but he already looks the type of talent who can lead a team, while the ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Pablo Sandoval has lost some weight over the offseason and will look to bounce back from what was personally a disappointing year in 2010.

The Rockies’ hopes, both now and in the future, revolve around their three young stars: starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, shortstop Troy Tulowizki and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.  The exciting young pitching talent in the NL West continues with the Padres’ Mat Latos, who was outstanding in his first full season last year.  Heath Bell is one of the best closers in the business and he plays an important role as a veteran of the Padres’ pitching staff, something that new recruits Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson will look to do on the postition-player side too.

In Los Angeles, their crop of young talent has reached the stage where they now need to turn promise and potential into a playoff run.  James Loney, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp all need to produce in 2011, with Kemp in particular coming off what was for him a below-par year.  Clayton Kershaw has established himself as one of the best young starters around alongside Chad Billingsley, while closer Jonathan Broxton needs to restore his confidence (and the Dodgers’ confidence in him) after a nervy second half to 2010.  Hard-throwing reliever Kenley Jansen is one to keep an eye on from a European perspective.  He was the Netherlands’ catcher in the 2009 World Baseball Classic before the Dodgers turned his rocket-arm over to pitching, to stunning immediate effect. 

As for the Diamondbacks, they are hoping that Ian Kennedy and Dan Hudson can build on their promising 2010 seasons in the rotation.  The team was let down badly by a historically terrible bullpen and closer J.J. Putz has been recruited as part of the process of building a group of relievers that provide relief rather than panic and misery.  Right-fielder Justin Upton has all of the tools to be a star and this might just be the year he takes a big step forward, while centre-fielder Chris Young and second baseman Kelly Johnson will provide plenty of power in the lineup

Managers

Kurt Gibson took over in Arizona on an interim basis midway through the 2010 season and he is now in charge on a full-time basis.  In L.A., Don Mattingly steps out from Joe Torre’s shadow following the latter’s retirement.  Bruce Bochy (Giants), Jim Tracy (Rockies) and Bud Black (Padres) all return for another season.

Contenders?

Should be: Giants, Rockies

Could be: Padres, Dodgers,

Won’t be: D-Backs

The Giants will be at the front of the battle. From there it’s a case of whether the Rockies can make up ground from 2010 and if the Padres can cover for the loss of Gonzalez.

2010 Season Review: NL West

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MlbHlSqWe’re going to look back at each of the six Major League divisions one-by-one over the next six weeks.  We start with the home of the 2010 World Series champions.

BaseballGB predictions

Joe Dodgers
Mark Rockies (WC: Dodgers)
Matt Rockies
Russ Rockies (WC: Giants)
Steve Rockies

 

San Francisco Giants (92-70)

The Giants’ World Series triumph was an incredible story.  Their pitching staff was certainly ‘World Series worthy’, yet the offence was patchy at best for much of the season and they were not your typical dominant force defeating all-comers on the road to glory.  They pushed past the Padres midway through September and almost came unstuck in the final series of the season, only securing their playoff place with a win over San Diego on the final day.

It was almost a case of their great pitching going to waste.  Instead, they snuck into the postseason and then rode the crest of a wave all the way to the big prize.  

The question then is can this relatively unfancied World Series-winning team retain their title in 2011?  The pitching staff is likely to be just as good, while Buster Posey is a fantastic young player to build an offence around.  Some would say that if this 2010 Giants team can win a World Series then there are plenty of others good enough to win it all in 2011.  That may be true, but it’s also true that the Giants will be one of those teams in the mix.   Continue reading →