Nov 19th 2008 11:15AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
The crazy word on the street (and by street, I mean MLB.com) is that the Washington Nationals, underlords of futility, are going to be a major factor in the offseason free agent market. Yeah. Sure they are. (But, no, seriously, there’s talk of them going after Mark Teixeira and Orlando Hudson).
The Nationals still are players in the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, according to a baseball source, and free-agent second baseman Orlando Hudson has interest in playing in Washington.

The Nationals are looking for a first baseman, and Teixeira is one of the players the team has targeted to replace Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young. Of course, no one actually believes the rumors, including Nats Prez Stan Kasten, who said that, “You’re way ahead of us here,” when the inquired about the possibility of trying to land Teixeira.

Hudson is an entirely different ballgame though — he’s not Scott Boras’ number one super mega offseason client this year, and he’s not expected to be looking for $100 million. Also, he’s apparently interested in playing in D.C., at least to the extent that he said: “I have interest in any Major League team that has interest in me,” before discussing the fact that the Nats have lots of young talent.

I, for one, will believe this kooky talk about the Nats being free spenders as soon as I see it — there is, in my mind, about a one percent chance they land Tex. Hudson is certainly a more viable option (and for the money, probably smarter) because he would actually serve to shore up their defense and isn’t a liability at the plate at all. But yeah, baited breath and whatnot.

Nov 19th 2008 2:00PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

Free agency has been open for nearly a week, but save the odd signing of Jeremy Affeldt and the expected re-signing of Ryan Dempster, it’s gotten off to a relatively quiet start. That’s to be expected. The Hot Stove won’t get truly scalding until next month when the Winter Meetings convene in Las Vegas.

In the meantime, I’ve put together a Top 50 list of the best players on the market. There are three Japanese players, three White Sox, five Dodgers, five Diamondbacks and even two Nationals on the list.Continue Reading

Nov 19th 2008 3:30PM by Jacob Wheatley-Schaller (author feed)
Dayton Moore’s busy offseason continued on Wednesday as he made another trade, acquiring outfielder Coco Crisp from the Red Sox in exchange for reliever Ramon Ramirez.

Crisp had been on the trading block for awhile, ever since the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury in the Boston outfield. He’s a career .280 hitter, who draws a decent amount of walks, doesn’t have much power, and is a threat to run, with 20 or more stolen bases in each of the last three seasons. He had a brilliant year defensively in 2007, but was just in the years before and after; overall, it looks like he’s a slightly above average center fielder.

Crisp goes from one crowded outfield to another, as the Royals already have Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, and Jose Guillen. This move, which comes three weeks after Kansas City picked up Mike Jacobs from the Marlins, suggests that Moore has yet another transaction in mind, and that Teahen, or even DeJesus, could be traded to free up an outfield spot.

The Red Sox dealt from a strength — they still have an excellent starting outfield of Jason Bay, Jacoby Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew — and received an asset you can really never have enough of, in a quality bullpen arm. The 28-year old Ramirez has an excellent season in 2008, with a 2.84 ERA in 71.2 innings. Some of that success won’t continue though, as he allowed just two home runs despite allowing an average number of fly balls.

He was very good in other areas, notching 70 strikeouts, a rate of 8.8 per nine innings. Ramirez joins an increasingly strong Boston bullpen; Jonathan Papelbon is one of the best closers in baseball, and they now have four above average relievers to bridge the gap to him, with Ramirez, Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, and Justin Masterson.

Nov 19th 2008 4:00PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Anytime a powerhouse regular season team (I’m looking at you, Cubbies) gets knocked out in the baseball playoffs, you’ll hear someone say “Anything can happen in a short series!” It’s true. A bad start from your ace, a mis-timed error and, whoosh, you’re playing golf before the next Frank TV commercial. And that’s when you’ve got to lose three of five games.

Imagine if it were just one game? If Lew Wolff, owner of the Oakland A’s, had Bud Selig’s job, we might find out just how harsh that feeling would be.
“I’d make it one-game-and-you’re-out for the first series. It would be exciting. It would be great.”
Why bother with a whole game? Whoever scores first wins. And use that Olympic rule where the players start on first and second and you can start your lineup wherever you want. That’s excitement, buster!

Look, I get the A’s have had a hard time over the years once playoff series move past the first game but this is a real stinker of an idea. No team in baseball history has ever won more than 116 games in a season, which means every now and then you lose to the Royals. That’s baseball and that’s why, imperfect as they are, five and seven game series are the way to determine the champion.

Not much chance of it happening, though. Wolff says he hasn’t said anything to Selig because he’s afraid of him. On that, Lew, we are agreed.

Nov 19th 2008 11:45PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
The Moose has vamoosed. Mike Mussina told the Yankees today that he will retire rather than return for the 2009 season. It’s not a shocker, the pitcher had been openly contemplating hanging up the spikes since the season ended, but it will impact the way the Yankees handle their offseason moves.

Mussina is the rare athlete who walks away while still having a lot to offer the game. He had his first 20 win season in 2008, rebounding from a miserable 2007 by altering his pitching style to one based on beguiling hitters instead of blowing them away. He’s the first pitcher since Sandy Koufax to walk away from baseball after winning 20 games.

And, while he may not have Koufax’s credentials, he may be joining the lefty in Cooperstown someday. He finishes his career with a 270-153 record and a 3.68 ERA. Mussina is 19th all-time in strikeouts and 13th in strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s also one of only 21 pitchers in history that is more than 100 games over .500. 16 of the others are in the Hall and the other four — Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine — are certainly deserving of enshrinement. He fell short of 300 wins, though, and falls behind those four and some other contemporaries in the baseball firmament.Continue Reading

Nov 18th 2008 1:03PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
The Tampa Bay Rays rose to prominence this past baseball season and reached the World Series before their year ended on a sour note by losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, but as it turns out, it won’t be just Rays players and fans who finish the year with a bitter taste in their mouths. For poor Kelly Frank, the end of the World Series wasn’t just the end of her dream of seeing the Rays win the World Series, it was also the end of her being able to call herself employed.

Now the name Kelly Frank probably doesn’t ring a bell for you, but that’s because you know her better by her stage name. She goes by the name Raymond, and she really knows how to shake her moneymaker, though the Rays recently told her she won’t be shaking it for them again anytime soon.
Performer Kelly Frank, the woman who perfected Raymond’s trademark butt shimmy, said she does not know why she was fired Monday after five seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I’m just as confused as everyone else,” she said. “I really didn’t get an explanation.”Not only did Kelly not get an explanation for her dismissal, but she’s more confused than ever after being told by the organization that she “out-enthused” the Phillie Phanatic during the World Series. Fear not for Ms. Frank, though, as she’ll continue to create mascot costumes for other teams like the Florida Gators and Denver Nuggets.

If there’s any good news to come out of this, it’s that all those male Rays fans who secretly found themselves turned on by Raymond’s Butt Shimmy can take comfort knowing that it was a woman inside that costume.

Nov 18th 2008 1:28PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
While these days the only thing the Cubs and Padres are talking about is a possible trade for Jake Peavy, earlier this summer the two teams spent their time talking about how much they hated playing in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown. You may or may not remember, but after dealing with too many complaints from organizations and the players, both the player’s union and the owners decided that 2008 contest between the Cubs and Padres would be the last time the exhibition game would be played with Major League teams. Then, as a final kick to the junk, the game was rained out.

Now while my initial suggestion of just moving the game to the end of spring training made a lot of sense in my mind, the Hall of Fame has decided it wants to do something different. I mean, they are the Hall of Fame right? Why not make the Hall of Fame game an event featuring actual Hall of Famers?Baseball’s legends and old-timers will play in a new Hall of Fame Classic, a creation deemed insufficient by the group opposed to the elimination of the annual exhibition between major league teams.

“We’re honored to be a part of this,” said Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, president of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, which is working with the Hall of Fame to put on the Hall of Fame Classic.Continue Reading

Nov 18th 2008 1:44PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry has stated in this offseason that one of his top priorities would be to retain Ryan Dempster. Apparently, four years and $50 million are going to do that trick, and the Cubs are expected to announce the deal today. In fact, radio reports are surfacing in Chicago that the deal is finalized and will be announced any minute.

This is really a mutually beneficial signing. Dempster is coming off a career year in which he reinvented himself as a starting pitcher, and he’s right in the middle of his prime. Personally, Dempster loves being in Chicago: “I remember telling Hendry 3-4 years ago I wanted to play for the Cubs. It was one of those things — they were interested and I’d made up my mind this where I wanted to come.” He lives in Wrigleyville and walks to work. Like I said, this is a mutual partnership.

For Hendry, the chore now turns to finding a left-hander hitter to play right field (Bobby Abreu, please) and possibly selling the farm for Jake Peavy. While acquiring Peavy is from a sure thing, Cubs fans can only dream of this rotation:

Peavy, Carlos Zambrano, Dempster, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden.

Now, if only they could win a playoff game …

Deal finalized at 4 years and $52 million.

Nov 18th 2008 2:20PM by Jacob Wheatley-Schaller (author feed)
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced its final 2008 award on Tuesday, as Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia emerged from a wide open field to edge out Minnesota’s Justin Morneau.

Pedroia had a breakout season in 2007, taking AL Rookie of the Year honors, and he improved this year, with a .326 batting average, .376 on-base percentage, and 54 doubles while playing an above average second base. He received 16 first place votes, and was in the top four on every ballot except one, which strangely left him off entirely.

The top four finishers all came from the Red Sox and Twins, as Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis finished third, and Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer came in fourth. Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez finished sixth, receiving a single first place vote.

Though it wasn’t always pretty, the BBWAA ended up with entirely reasonable selections for each of the eight awards it hands out. Pedroia wasn’t head and shoulders above the competition like Albert Pujols, who won the NL MVP on Monday, but he was a deserving candidate. It’s very rare to find a second baseman who hits for a high average, draws some walks, steals bases at a high clip (20/21 on the year), and even displays some power.

Nov 18th 2008 4:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Young third-baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff underwent a shoulder scope this past weekend and will likely be ready to return full-strength for spring training. The procedure was done to clean up some damage in the shoulder which had caused Kouzmanoff a great deal of pain in the later months of the 2008 season. It could have been much worse, according to Padres’ general manager Kevin Towers: “The rotator cuff and labrum looked fine,” Towers said. “If they would have found damage to the rotator cuff, he could have been out four or five months and missed the first two or three months of the season. But he should be able to go full bore in spring training.” The real fallout of this situation is the affect on Kouzmanoff’s trade value. It’s no secret the Padres are pretty willing to blow up and start over with just a few remaining holdovers (Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez, Brian Giles), and Kouzmanoff is one of the few Padres who holds trade value across the league.Continue Reading