{"id":6869,"date":"2010-02-28T13:00:48","date_gmt":"2010-02-28T13:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=6869"},"modified":"2010-04-02T15:32:16","modified_gmt":"2010-04-02T14:32:16","slug":"rounding-the-bases-american-league-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=6869","title":{"rendered":"Rounding the Bases: American League review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MlbHlSq\"There are three main countdowns to the MLB season.\u00c2\u00a0 The first is the date that pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, which has already passed.\u00c2\u00a0 The second is the date on which Spring Training games begin and that will turn to zero on Tuesday.\u00c2\u00a0 That just leaves us with the countdown to opening night, when the Yankees and Red Sox get the 2010 season underway on Sunday 4 April.\u00c2\u00a0 The end to this long winter (and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly seemed like a long winter) is in sight.<\/p>\n

Teams are still trying to improve their rosters and Johnny Damon (Tigers), Jonny Gomes (Reds), Rod Barajas (Mets), Russell Branyan (Indians) and Felipe Lopez (Cardinals) all finally found jobs this week.\u00c2\u00a0 A couple of those moves will be taken into account as we follow up last week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s review<\/a> of National League moves by looking at the key addition and key departure for each team in the American League.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Baltimore Orioles<\/h3>\n

Kevin Millwood<\/strong> was acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers to give Baltimore a veteran presence at the top of their rotation.\u00c2\u00a0 Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen all made their Major League debuts last year and they have just 39 MLB starts worth of experience between them.\u00c2\u00a0 Adding in a 13-year veteran should give the Orioles the double boost of a decent workhorse starter (he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s averaged 31 starts per season over the last 5 years) and a guy who can help the youngsters along in their development.<\/p>\n

The Orioles didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lose anyone particularly significant over the winter.\u00c2\u00a0 Chris Ray<\/strong> might once have been seen as a notable player for them when he spent time as their closer in 2006 and 2007, but he missed all of 2008 with an injury and then struggled on his return last year.\u00c2\u00a0 He went to the Rangers in the deal that brought Millwood to Baltimore and the Orioles are unlikely to end up unhappy with the swap (mainly a case of shifting money for Texas).<\/p>\n

Boston Red Sox<\/h3>\n

At the start of the offseason, the Red Sox Front Office was suggesting that 2010 would be a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbridge\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 year for the organization.\u00c2\u00a0 That didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go down too well with some of the writers in Boston and there still seems to be some unease with how the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s offseason has gone.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a feeling that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to explain when you size up the additions they have made to their roster over the last few months.\u00c2\u00a0 No addition has been more valuable than that of starting pitcher John Lackey<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 Pitching wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly a weakness for the Red Sox, but you can never have enough quality starters and Lackey will bring his bulldog mentality and strong track record to Fenway as part of a top-notch rotation.<\/p>\n

Jason Bay<\/strong> lead the Red Sox in homers (36) last year and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the potential lack of bombing power without him that has some in Boston piling on the pessimism.\u00c2\u00a0 While he struggled in front of the Green Monster with his glove, Bay consistently had quality at-bats and it looked like the Red Sox would re-sign him as a free agent.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, Bay made off for the Mets with more than a hint of acrimony lingering between the left fielder and his former team, who didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust his body\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s capability of consistently keeping him on the field over the next four or five years.<\/p>\n

Chicago White Sox<\/h3>\n

I could stretch the definition of a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcnew addition\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 here and go for Jake Peavy.\u00c2\u00a0 The 2007 NL Cy Young winner joined the White Sox at the trade deadline (31 July) last year, but he was recovering from an ankle injury at the time and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make his debut for the Pale Hose until 19 September.\u00c2\u00a0 He was impressive in his three starts (3-0, 1.35 ERA, 18 K\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in 20 innings pitched) and his presence in the rotation from the start of the season could make a huge difference in the tightly-contest AL Central.\u00c2\u00a0 If Peavy doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count, Mark Teahen<\/strong> gets my vote.\u00c2\u00a0 Acquired in a trade with the Royals, he will take over at third base and allow potential superstar Gordon Beckham to move over to second.<\/p>\n

The two biggest contributors of previous seasons that have left the team are Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 Dye had a horrible second half to 2009 and still hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t found a new team, while Thome has landed with division rivals the Minnesota Twins.\u00c2\u00a0 Thome finished the 2009 season with the Dodgers so technically he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t an offseason departure; however he was only in L.A. temporarily and many expected that he would re-sign with the White Sox.\u00c2\u00a0 They decided against it in favour of allowing manager Ozzie Guillen to use the DH spot in a more flexible way.\u00c2\u00a0 Most teams use a regular DH, but it is counterproductive unless that player is a big offensive weapon (such as David Oritz in his prime) because there is value in being able to switch regular players into the DH spot to give them a bit of rest here and there over the course of the season.\u00c2\u00a0 With that being said, you still need to get a good contribution from the DH spot and pitting that against the work Thome does for the Twins will make for an interesting subplot this season.<\/p>\n

Cleveland Indians<\/h3>\n

The Indians are a classic example of the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwin cycle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 that many teams live within.\u00c2\u00a0 They had a window of opportunity and came within a whisker of making the World Series in 2007, yet that window has now shut.\u00c2\u00a0 The likes of CC Sabathia, Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee have been traded away over the last year and a half to try and set up another postseason challenge a few years down the line.\u00c2\u00a0 The Tribe are rebuilding and, with virtually no money to spend, General Manager Mark Shapiro made few additions to boost his team for 2010.\u00c2\u00a0 Their most significant addition therefore has to be manager Manny Acta<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 His record with the Washington Nationals was not good, yet the roster he had to work with left him on a hiding to nothing.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still highly thought of and his enthusiasm, possibly also his ability to work with the Indians\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Latin American players and prospects, should help this young team lay foundations for future success, even if the win-loss record might not be impressive in 2010.<\/p>\n

After previously trading Sabathia, Martinez, Lee, Casey Blake and Mark DeRosa, to name just a few, they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a lot of Major League regulars to lose over this offseason.\u00c2\u00a0 Catcher Kelly Shoppach<\/strong> was traded to the Rays, although his previous contribution to the Tribe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cause was lessened by the presence of Martinez and they have two catching prospects (Lou Marson and Carlos Santana) who would have pushed him out of the way over the next few years as well (both are expected to make their MLB debuts this year).\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Detroit Tigers<\/h3>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m tempted to give the nod to Max Scherzer, who was acquired from the Diamondbacks.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a young starter with plenty of upside and could help form an exceptional 1-2-3 at the top of their rotation for several years to come alongside staff ace Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello.\u00c2\u00a0 However, Johnny Damon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/strong> offseason was such a big story that I guess I have to go for him, if only because all of the fuss makes it imperative that he comes good for the Tigers.\u00c2\u00a0 He benefitted greatly from pulling balls into the right-field porch at the new Yankee Stadium last year and Comerica Park will not be anywhere near as inviting.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Tigers need Damon to put up good numbers because the loss of Curtis Granderson<\/strong> to the Yankees could hit them hard.\u00c2\u00a0 Granderson launched thirty homers last season and was a real crowd favourite in Detroit; seemingly setting the tone for the organization as a whole.\u00c2\u00a0 You can argue how much those intangibles matter to winning ballgames, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no doubt that they will matter in Detroit if the team doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t perform well over the first couple of months and their former favourite is lording it up in pinstripes.\u00c2\u00a0 Opinion is divided on what sort of player Austin Jackson, the main prospect received from the Yankees in the trade, will become.\u00c2\u00a0 There will be some growing pains at the very least for the young centre fielder.<\/p>\n

Kansas City Royals<\/h3>\n

Far from being indicative of the insurmountable financial disadvantage some teams are under, the Royals\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 continuing futility is because they are a badly-run organization.\u00c2\u00a0 Unsurprisingly, General Manager Dayton Moore hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly covered himself in glory this offseason.\u00c2\u00a0 Picking up free agent outfielder Rick Ankiel<\/strong> is the one move that might work out quite well.\u00c2\u00a0 His 2009 season was blighted by a shoulder injury picked up early in the year and if he can put those troubles behind him to repeat or surpass his 2008 season, then that would be some sort of an improvement to the Royals batting lineup. However, his .315 OBP since becoming a Major League position player in 2007 will do little to improve the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suicidal reliance on hitters who make lots of outs.<\/p>\n

Like a few teams, the Royals had little of worth to lose.\u00c2\u00a0 Mark Teahen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/strong> departure will be the most noticeable one because he has moved to the White Sox.\u00c2\u00a0 More broadly, the decision to let go of catchers Miguel Olivo and John Buck in favour of paying Jason Kendall $6m over the next two years is another reason why the Royals are a bad team now and are not getting better any time soon.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Angels<\/h3>\n

Hideki Matsui<\/strong> signed as a free agent with the Angels after ending his career with the New York Yankees in the most memorable way imaginable: hitting two homers in the decisive Game Six of the World Series and winning the Series MVP in the process.\u00c2\u00a0 He was exclusively used as a DH to save his knees last year and he responded with a strong season (.274\/.367\/.509\u00c2\u00a0, with\u00c2\u00a028 homers in 526 PA).\u00c2\u00a0 Although Matsui would like to spend some time in\u00c2\u00a0the outfield, the Angels will gladly keep him in the DH spot if he can replicate his 2009 form.\u00c2\u00a0 He will take over from Vladimir Guerrero in the Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 batting lineup and he should be an effective replacement, particularly as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcVlad the Impaler\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 has become less destructive over the last three seasons (the sliding AVG, OBP, SLG and BB\/K rate shown most clearly on Fangraphs<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Guerrero will still be missed and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of three key players who have left the team as free agents over the offseason.\u00c2\u00a0 Guerrero signed with the Texas Rangers, while starting pitcher John Lackey left for the Red Sox.\u00c2\u00a0 However, the biggest loss could turn out to be Chone Figgins<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 He epitomized the Angel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brand of baseball over the last few years and was superb for them as a lead-off hitter and a good-fielding third baseman.\u00c2\u00a0 Division rivals the Seattle Mariners will benefit from Figgins\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 strong all-round game for the next four seasons.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Twins<\/h3>\n

The Twins have earned a reputation in recent years for ‘making do’ rather than going out and making upgrades.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ve changed tack this year, helped no doubt by the extra projected revenue that their new ballpark, Target Field, should provide.\u00c2\u00a0 Jim Thome was brought in to be an impact bat off the bench, and an occasional DH, while Orlando Hudson<\/strong> will take over at second base.\u00c2\u00a0 Hudson’s arrival should help in two main ways.\u00c2\u00a0 Firstly, he will form a bridge between lead-off hitter Dernard Span and the impressive heart of the Twins’ batting order.\u00c2\u00a0 Secondly, he’ll be an upgrade in the field at second base.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s certainly not a major offensive player and he is not quite the Gold-Glover of old either, but he’s good on both sides of the ball and adding a good everyday player rather than a mix of adequate players at the position makes for a decent gain on a team that should be in the thick of the battle in the AL Central.<\/p>\n

Minnesota haven’t yet agreed an extension with Joe Mauer, but they haven’t lost any significant players either.\u00c2\u00a0 Orlando Cabrera has been replaced with J.J. Hardy and the Twins have other relievers to take the place of Ron Mahay.\u00c2\u00a0 The one player they might regret losing is Carlos Gomez<\/strong>, traded to the Brewers in the deal to acquire Hardy.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s still young enough to turn into a good everyday player, but he’s been part of the Twins organization for two years now and hasn’t broken through so you can understand the decision to trade him for a player that they need now.<\/p>\n

New York Yankees<\/h3>\n

You didn’t expect the Yankees to stand still after winning a World Series, did you?\u00c2\u00a0 They might not have dished out mega-bucks contracts this year, but they’ve restocked their roster to give them a great chance of retaining their title.\u00c2\u00a0 If one move stands out the most, it was the trade to bring back starting pitcher Javier Vazquez<\/strong> via a trade with the Braves.\u00c2\u00a0 CC Sabathia was terrific as expected last season and is a good bet to be so again, but A.J. Burnett was inconsistent, Andy Pettitte is one year older and the Yanks seem to be doing all the can to make life difficult for Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes to establish themselves as starters in the Big Leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 This is all relative of course: a lot of teams would kill for a rotation of that quality.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, the Yanks are not designed to be very good, but to be the best and adding Vazquez to the mix is exactly the sort of move that can keep them ahead of their competitors.<\/p>\n

One of the marks of a winning organization is that they know when to say ‘thanks for all you’ve done’ and to let a player go.\u00c2\u00a0 They did that with Hideki Matsui, despite his World Series heroics, and also with Johnny Damon<\/strong> this offseason.\u00c2\u00a0 If they are going to miss one of them then it has to be Damon and that’s why they tried to keep hold of him.\u00c2\u00a0 Matsui is really limited to being a DH now, whereas Damon can play left field (not all that well, but he can play there) and seemed perfectly suited to the dimensions of the new Yankee Stadium.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t blame the Yanks for standing firm and offering no more than what they think Damon is now worth though.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently, even the Yanks have their limits.<\/p>\n

Oakland A’s<\/h3>\n

Although the A’s are a small-market team, they’re not averse to picking up a player on a short-term deal where they can.\u00c2\u00a0 Ben Sheets<\/strong> is a potential top-line starter and would be far out of the A’s financial league if there wasn’t something wrong with him.\u00c2\u00a0 What’s wrong with him is that he hasn’t been able to keep healthy and he missed all of 2009 due to an injury.\u00c2\u00a0 The A’s dived in and offered him $10m on a one-year deal.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s a pricey gamble, but it’s one worth taking for the A’s. They have a group of young starters who could form the basis of a division winner in a year or two.\u00c2\u00a0 Having Sheets around will take the pressure off them and give them a source of knowledge to tap into as well.<\/p>\n

Oakland had a tough year in 2009 as the team is firmly in rebuilding mode and that meant there were few established Major Leaguers to lose over the offseason.\u00c2\u00a0 In terms of their contribution to 2009, Adam Kennedy <\/strong>did the most of any player who has left the team over the winter, but he was a holding player at best.\u00c2\u00a0 He signed a deal with the Washington Nationals.<\/p>\n

Seattle Mariners<\/h3>\n

In a highly productive offseason, the Mariners have made a number of important additions to their roster.\u00c2\u00a0 The top two deals were the trade for Cliff Lee<\/strong> and the signing of free agent third baseman Chone Figgins.\u00c2\u00a0 Figgins will be a more than capable replacement for Adrian Beltre and his signing had the added benefit of taking away a crucial player from a division rival (the Angels).\u00c2\u00a0 However, Lee has to be considered their most important signing even if he is only on a one-year rental.\u00c2\u00a0 Lee and Felix Hernandez are as good a 1-2 punch as there is in the Majors, something that could be particularly important considering there is quite a substantial drop off to the rest of the projected rotation.\u00c2\u00a0 That may come back to bite them during the regular season, but if the M\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s can get into the playoffs then they will be a serious threat to anyone.<\/p>\n

Adrian Beltre is a quality player, but the Mariners have replaced him with Chone Figgins.\u00c2\u00a0 So, the Mariners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 main loss of the offseason has to be Russell Branyan<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 He gave the M\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s offense some much-needed power last year, swatting 31 homers in 505 plate appearances before ending the season on the DL due to a back injury.\u00c2\u00a0 That injury probably cost Branyan a few million dollars as he was left looking for a job until last week when he signed a one-year deal worth $2m with the Indians.\u00c2\u00a0 Seattle look to be going with a platoon at first consisting of Casey Kotchman and Ryan Garko.\u00c2\u00a0 The pair hit just 20 homers combined in 831 plate appearances and will cost the M\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a shade over $4m in 2010.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Rays<\/h3>\n

The Rays have a difficult job competing against the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East, so they deserve a bit of luck every now and then.\u00c2\u00a0 They got some over the offseason thanks to the Atlanta Braves.\u00c2\u00a0 Atlanta went out and signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito to slot into the back of their bullpen and offered arbitration to free-agent-to-be Rafael Soriano<\/strong> fully expecting that he would decline the offer.\u00c2\u00a0 When he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, the Braves were left with one extra reliever that they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford.\u00c2\u00a0 The Rays gratefully stepped in and made a trade for Soriano, bagging themselves a premier closer on a one-year deal.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s payroll will be at least $70m this year and their owner Stuart Sternberg has already stated<\/a> that this will be cut to less than $60m in 2011, with the hoped-for boost in attendances following their 2008 World Series appearance sadly not materializing.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s likely that Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena will leave the Rays either as free agents at the end of this season or via a mid-season trade if they fall out of contention early.\u00c2\u00a0 There haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been any major departures over this off-season though.\u00c2\u00a0 Second baseman Akinori Iwamura<\/strong> was the main player to leave, being traded to the Pirates, although they have a ready-made replacement in Ben Zobrist if they choose to play him at second this year.<\/p>\n

Texas Rangers<\/h3>\n

The Rangers sense that this might be their year to win the AL West and as part of their postseason push they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve taken a calculated gamble by signing oft-injured free agent pitcher Rich Harden<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 Harden made 26 starts for the Cubs last year, the most in his career since starting 31 back in 2004 with the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.\u00c2\u00a0 If the Rangers can get 26+ starts from him then they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get a good return on their initial $7.5m investment because he still dominates lineups when he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to take the mound.\u00c2\u00a0 Where they would like him to improve is in making the most of each start by going deeper into games.\u00c2\u00a0 Regular short starts due to high pitch counts were a source of frustration for the Cubs in 2009. For example, he averaged 93.5 pitches per outing in his final 4 starts for the Cubs, but lasted just 5, 5, 4 and 3 innings respectively.\u00c2\u00a0 Respected pitching coach Mike Maddux may be able to devise an approach which keeps Harden in games for longer, although reducing strikeouts while pitching to contact more might be a risky strategy in the Texas bandbox.<\/p>\n

Texas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 decision to sign Harden was a clear statement of going in a different direction because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s replacing someone who has very different qualities. Kevin Millwood<\/strong> is Mr Dependable, someone you can rely on to take the ball every five days, even if he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to blow teams away like their new prospective ace can.\u00c2\u00a0 If Harden spends a significant time on the DL and the Rangers just miss out on the postseason, they might look back on the swap and regret it.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the gamble they are taking and it should be remembered that the $4.5m saving (the difference between the two players\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 salaries) helped them add Vladimir Guerrero to their lineup as well.<\/p>\n

Toronto Blue Jays<\/h3>\n

Another team in rebuilding mode, the Blue Jays have been involved in a host of transactions<\/a> over the offseason and they also have Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan coming back from long-term injuries.\u00c2\u00a0 They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve acquired several veterans (Alex Gonzalez, Kevin Gregg, Jose Molina), but the new player I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m picking out is Brandon Morrow<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 He was the main player the Blue Jays received from the Mariners as part of the three-way trade that saw Roy Halladay leave for the Phillies and Cliff Lee ending up in Seattle. The Mariners didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t commit Morrow to either a starting or relieving role for any great length of time and that may have hampered his development.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be 25 this year so there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still plenty of time for him to improve and the Blue Jays look like they will give him every opportunity to become a useful starter.<\/p>\n

As for the Blue Jays\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 biggest loss, Roy Halladay<\/strong> will be missed greatly by Toronto fans.\u00c2\u00a0 Even if they had tried to replace him, it would have been an almost impossible task.\u00c2\u00a0 They didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try to replace him because they are now focused on a rebuilding project and the likely effect that will have in their win-loss column will make Halladay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absence even harder to take.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After looking at the Senior Circuit last Sunday, we now turn to the key additions and departures from teams in the American League over the offseason<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[104,101,112,113,111,114,125,110,553,98,128,127,102,126,103],"class_list":["post-6869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb-2","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-cleveland-indians","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-minnesota-twins","tag-mlb-2","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-oakland-as","tag-seattle-mariners","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-texas-rangers","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6869"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7218,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6869\/revisions\/7218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}