The Ghost of Moonlight Graham

Padres Make Puzzling Move, Acquire Miguel Tejada From Orioles

July 30th, 2010

There are moves I understand, like the Jorge Cantu trade we discussed earlier. But then are trades I really don’t understand like the one that happened between the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles.

Tejada doesnt improve the Padres at all

The San Diego Padres acquired 3B Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer (What an awesome name). The Orioles and Padres will split the remaining $2.2 million remaining on Tejada’s one-year deal.

I obviously get why the Orioles made the trade, but the Padres? Not so much.

I have Tejada on my fantasy team this year, so I know how useless he has been offensively. Tejada was hitting .269/.308/.362 with seven HR’s and 16 doubles in 401 AB’s for the Orioles. And those numbers were in a hitter’s ballpark.

How is Tejada going to fare playing in Petco Park, which is the death blow for mortal hitters? Not only is Tejada’s offensive most likely to suffer playing in San Diego, but he makes the Padres’ defense worse.

It’s expected that the Padres will move current 3B Chase Headley back to the outfield where he played in 2008 and 2009 and keep Tejada at third. Headley in the outfield is not very good. Headley at third on the other hand, is very good.

Headley ranks third amongst all third basemen with a 7.9 UZR. Tejada is near the bottom with a -4.6 mark. Even if the Padres kept Headley at third and moved Tejada to short, I still don’t get the move.

Tejada is not even having a better year than current shortstop Jerry Hairston Jr. Hariston Jr. is hitting .252/.308/.354 with seven HR’s. Sound familiar?

Why give up your seventh best prospect for a guy who can’t help your team at all? I don’t get it. Pelzer throws in the mid-90’s and could be the Orioles closer of the future.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Stephen Strasburg Scratched From Start

July 30th, 2010

Update: The Nationals have placed Strasburg on the 15-day DL with right shoulder stiffness. The move is retroactive to July 22nd.

This is a smart move by the Nationals just because they have so much invested in Strasburg. It wouldn’t shock me if Strasburg didn’t pitch again this season.

Original Post: July 28, 2010

The much anticipated matchup between Stephen Strasburg and Jason Heyward is going to have to wait. Strasburg was scratched 20 minutes before his start against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

Strasburg was scratched because he couldn’t get loose warming up before the game. The move was said to be precautionary, but Strasburg will undergo an MRI just to make sure everything is Kosher in his arm.

This is the second time that the Strasburg-Heyward matchup was prevented due to an injury. Heyward was out of the Braves’ lineup with a thumb injury when Strasburg faced Atlanta on June 28th.

I’ll update this story when the results of Strasburg’s MRI are reported.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Marlins Send Jorge Cantu To The Rangers

July 30th, 2010

Here is what I wrote about the Texas Rangers back in June during my “Trade Deadline Needs” series:”

“Acquiring Lee solves the Rangers biggest need, so what else can the Rangers use? I feel they could still use a veteran backup corner or middle infielder. Getting someone who is capable of filling in for Ian Kinsler or Michael Young would allow Ron Washington to keep those guys fresh and more importantly, healthy.”

A little over a month later, the Rangers heeded my advice and acquired exactly what I thought they needed.

Cantu is a good pickup by the Rangers

The Rangers acquired infielder Jorge Cantu from the Florida Marlins for minor league pitchers Evan Reed and Omar Poveda. The Marlins will also pay $600,000 of the remaining $2.2 million left on Cantu’s salary.

Cantu fills two needs for the Rangers.

1. He gives them infield depth. In his career, Cantu has played 328 games at third, 238 games at first, and 218 games at second. Granted he plays none of them particularly well, but the Rangers didn’t acquire him for his defense.

With 2B Ian Kinsler going on the DL (There’s a shocker), Cantu should find himself playing second base at the beginning of his Rangers career.

2. He could be used in a platoon with Chris Davis. Davis is hitting just .148 against lefties this year. The Rangers could play Cantu at first against left-handed pitchers. Cantu is hitting .253 against lefties this year. Not great, but much better than Davis.

Also, if Davis continues to struggle, then Cantu could find himself full-time at first.

Cantu is hitting only .253/.308/.408 with 10 HR’s this year, but I have the same theory with hitters going to Texas that I do with pitchers going to the Dodgers — they will get better.

Put Cantu in a lineup with Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, and Vladimir Guerrero and I am confident his numbers will improve. Good pickup by the Rangers.

Now what do the Marlins get in this trade?

Meek is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher who has a 1.76 ERA in 41 relief innings for Double-A Frisco. He was the Rangers’ third round pick in the 2007 Draft.

Poveda is now on the disabled list, recovering from Tommy John surgery, but was was a top-20 prospect in the Rangers’ organization according to Baseball America. Before he was injured, Poveda had a career 4.25 ERA with a 7.9 K/9 rate in five minor league seasons.

By acquiring Lee and Cantu, you have to like what the Rangers have done at the trade deadline. They are a legit World Series contender come playoff time.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

With Victorino Headed To The DL, The Phillies Summon Domonic Brown

July 29th, 2010

The injuries keep piling up for the Philadelphia Phillies. Throughout the year they have seen Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Placido Polanco, Ryan Madson, JA Happ go down with injuries. Now they can add one more player to that list.

Starting center fielder Shane Victorino went down on Tuesday night with an abdominal strain and has been placed on the 15-day DL. In order to replace Victorino on the roster, the Phillies have called up perhaps the best hitter still left in the minor leagues, Domonic Brown.

Brown is the future in the OF for the Phillies

Brown was in the lineup last night against the Arizona Diamondbacks and he was roping the ball against Edwin Jackson. Brown is a tall, lanky left-handed hitter, who has one of the more unusual batting stances in the game.

He gets in a crouch and then holds the bat high above his head. His stance reminds me a little of a left-handed Matt Williams. It’s definitely not a stance a hitting coach would teach a young kid, but it obviously works for Brown.

Brown won’t replace Victorino in 2011, but there is a good chance he will replace Jayson Werth, who is most likely departing via free agency. Brown will be the early favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year in 2011.

Here are some other facts about Domonic Brown…

Age: 22

Bats: Left

Throws: Left

College: None

Drafted: 20th round of the 2006 June Draft out of Redan High School in Stone Mountain Georgia. I wonder if he knows Jake “The Snake” Roberts? He was from Stone Mountain too.

Minor League Stats:

2006 Rookie: .214/.292/.265 with one HR and 13 SB’s in 34 games

2007 Low Single A & High Single A: .299/.363/.415 with four HR’s and 14 SB’s in 77 games

2008 Single A: .291/.382/.417 with nine HR’s and 22 SB’s in 114 games

2009 High Single A & Double A: .299/.377/.504 with 14 HR’s and 23 SB’s in 106 games

2010 Double A & Triple A: .327/.391/.589 with 20 HR’s and 17 SB’s in 93 games

Keith Law Ranking and Analysis

Ranking: No. 14 out of 100 best prospects in baseball in 2010

Analysis: “It’s common in scouting circles to refer to an extremely athletic player as “a freak,” but in Brown’s case, his freakishness isn’t limited to his incredible athleticism but includes how well he has played in pro ball despite still being fairly crude as a baseball player. He’s long and wiry, listed as an inch taller than Heyward but 15 pounds lighter, built like a young, lean Dave Winfield.

As raw as Brown is, he does two things like a longtime veteran: He has a good swing path that should produce significant power as he fills out, and if he can keep his weight back a little better — he leaks slightly to his front side now — he has 30-plus homer potential. His biggest deficiency is in the outfield, where his reads are poor and he doesn’t set his feet to throw, but he has the speed and arm strength to become plus at the position and already runs down many balls he misreads.

So on the one hand, Brown’s game still needs a lot of refinement. On the other, if he does continue to develop, the sky is the limit; he could become a player who contributes in all areas offensively while providing plus defense in right and even adding something on the bases.”

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Royals Send Podsednik To The Dodgers

July 29th, 2010

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline just three days away, we are starting to see the trades pick up. Early last night we saw the Cleveland Indians trade Jhonny Peralta to the Detroit Tigers and later in the night, we had another trade.

Podsednik is going to Cali

The Kansas City Royals sent OF Scott Podsednik to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league catcher Lucas May and minor league pitcher Elisaul Pimentel. The Dodgers will also assume the remaining $650,000 left on Podsednik’s contract.

I like this trade for the Dodgers for two reasons:

1. Podsednik gives them outfield depth for the remainder of the season. Believe it or not, Podsednik was one of the best free agent acquisitions of the offseason.

Signed by the Royals for one-year and $1.75 million, Podsednik was hitting .309 with a .352 OBP and 30 steals in 42 attempts for KC in 2010. According to Fangraphs, Podsednik was worth $4.8 million in value to the Royals in 2010. That is a very good signing at the end of the day.

With Manny Ramirez and Reed Johnson currently on the DL, Podsednik can be a more than serviceable fill in for those two while they are out. When Ramirez comes back, Podsednik will be a valuable pinch-runner off the bench for Joe Torre’s club.

2. This trade keeps Podsednik away from the Dodgers’ rivals. The Dodgers really didn’t need to have Podsednik. But in getting him from the Royals, they keep him away from the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres who were both searching for outfield help.

I am not saying Podsednik is a HUGE difference maker, but any advantage the Dodgers can get over their division rivals certainly helps.

The Royals get in return two fringe prospects according to Baseball America’s Ben Badler (If you are not following him on Twitter, you most definitely should). May is a 25-year-old catcher, who is a career .260 minor league hitter. He does have some pop in his bat (25 HR’s in High Single A in 2007), but only projects as a decent at best backup catcher in the majors according to Badler.

Pimentel is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, who has a career 3.68 ERA and 8.1 K’s/9 in four minor league seasons. He is a fringe prospect that throws 89-93, but has an inconsistent slider and change according to Badler.

Podsednik should be in a Dodgers’ uniform tonight when they take on the first place Padres in San Diego.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Tigers Get Infield Help, Trade For Jhonny Peralta

July 29th, 2010

The other day I wrote that Detroit Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski had a tough job on his hands at the trade deadline because the Tigers need so many different things. They need a third baseman, a middle infielder, a starting pitcher, and a right-handed reliever out of the pen.

Peralta is headed to Motown

Dombrowski decided to fill one of those needs on Wednesday by getting a third baseman. The Tigers acquired 3B Jhonny Peralta from the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitcher Giovanni Soto. According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney via Twitter, the Indians will pick up most of the $1.8 million still owed to Peralta this season.

So what exactly are the Tigers getting here? With Peralta, the Tigers are getting a stop-gap third baseman, who they hope can get hot down the stretch. Peralta does have a club option for $7 million in 2011 with a $250,000 buyout and I will say there is a better chance of me playing third for the Tigers next year than Detroit picking that up.

Peralta was hitting just .246 with seven HR’s and a .308 in 334 AB’s with the Indians. At the age of 28, it appears Peralta’s best days are behind him. I don’t think we will see his 2008 season again when he hit .276 with 23 HR’s and had a .804 OPS.

Regardless of Peralta’s declining offensive skills, he should give the Tigers more then what Don Kelly or Scott Sizemore could give them.

In Soto, the Indians are getting a 19-year-old, left-handed pitcher who has a 2.10 ERA in two minor league seasons between Rookie and Single-A ball. He was the Tigers’ 21st round pick in the 2009 Draft.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Rangers Should Use Harden In Bullpen Upon Return

July 28th, 2010

With Texas Rangers’ pitcher Rich Harden impressing in his last rehab start on Monday (10 K’s over six innings) in Triple-A, it has been speculated that Harden will take the struggling Scott Feldman’s spot in the rotation. It’s quite possible that Harden could start as early as this weekend for the Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Harden should be used in the bullpen

I think the Rangers are making a mistake. I think the Rangers should use Harden out of the bullpen upon his return. Here are the reasons for my thinking.

1. The Rangers don’t need Harden in the rotation. If and when the Rangers make the playoffs, in a five or seven game series they will most likely have the following rotation:

Cliff Lee

CJ Wilson

Tommy Hunter

Colby Lewis

There is no room for a No. 5 starter in the playoffs. Why not work Harden into a seventh inning guy, who can come into a game and blow hitters away now instead of in late-September? Feldman has no purpose on this team, so why not use him as the No. 5 starter to finish out the season. There’s a good chance Feldman won’t even make the post-season roster.

Harden on the other hand, has value coming out of the pen. October is all about power arms and Harden can be that power arm out of the pen in the sixth or seventh inning. That is not possible for Feldman.

2. Harden’s days as a starter are over. Let’s face reality; The days of Harden being a dominant starter are over. He can’t go deep into games (not that he ever did) and his stuff isn’t as sharp as it was even two years ago.

Harden at this point in his career is a pitcher that may give a team five innings, strike out five or six, walk three or four, and give up three or four runs.

I think without having to pace himself, Harden would fare much better out of the pen.

Of course, there are some negatives to this move as well.

1. Can his shoulder hold up pitching without a set schedule? It might be easier for Harden’s shoulder knowing that it’s going to pitch every fifth day rather than every other day.

If you listen to a lot of doctors, they will say it’s better for a pitcher to throw 100 pitches on one day with a set schedule than throwing 100 pitches over the course of 10 days with no schedule.

2. Harden would have to start the inning he comes in. In order to use Harden in relief, the Rangers would have to allow him to warm up at his own pace. With his achy shoulder, I doubt Harden could warm up in five minutes and then come into the game throwing beebe’s.

Looking at the positives and negatives of a Harden move to the bullpen, I think the positives outweigh the negatives and Harden would have the most value to the Rangers out of the bullpen.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Both Upton’s Leave Games With Injuries

July 28th, 2010

Remember back in the 80’s those weird L. Ron Hubbard commercials? You know, those commercials that would say a woman in Topeka, KS would have a sharp pain in her wrist and at the same time her sister in Sheboygan, WI would experience the same pain in her wrist.

BJ Upton, like his brother got hurt last night

Then you would hear some creepy music and then see a volcano explode and then you would hear “Read Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard.” Of course at the time, I didn’t realize that was my first exposure into the world of Scientology. Had I known that, I would have made my parents change the channel and put on something for sane human beings.

But I wonder if that commercial was still around would L. Ron Hubbard use the Upton brothers as an example for his book? In a span of about an hour on Tuesday night, both brothers went down with an injury.

BJ Upton hurt his ankle trying to field a ball in the top of the first inning in his game against the Detroit Tigers. He walked off the field on his own power, but it looked like he was in a world of hurt. He was diagnosed with a sprained ankle.

About an hour later, Justin Upton went down with an injury in Philadelphia. Upton exited his game in the fifth inning with tightness in his right hip.

Both injuries are day-to-day, but it’s a little creepy that the Upton’s went down on the same night.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Brad Lidge’s Struggles Continue

July 27th, 2010

Brad Lidge can turn the safest of leads these days into a full blown nail bitter. Going for their first ever four game sweep of the Colorado Rockies, the Philadelphia Phillies built a 5-2 lead headed to the ninth.

Lidge is a long way from 2008

Then they brought in Brad Lidge and as usual, things got interesting.

The first batter Lidge faced was Miguel Olivo and he smacked a double to right. After retiring Melvin Mora and Brad Hawpe, things seemed to unravel for Lidge.

And what is a concerning about Lidge’s unraveling on Monday was that this was very similar to his meltdown in Cincinnati on June 29th. After getting two quick outs that night, Lidge couldn’t get anyone out and served up a bomb to Joey Votto.

On Thursday, Lidge got two quick outs and then served up a 402 ft. bomb to Seth Smith making the score 5-4 Phillies. While Philly fans thought the worst was over, things were just getting started.

Lidge walked Jonathan Herrera and then served up a single to Carlos Gonzalez. Then for extra measure, Lidge uncorked a wild pitch that put runners on second and third with two outs. I couldn’t imagine what the average Philly fan was thinking at this point.

If the average Philly fan was losing his mind, the insane Philly fan was probably acting like Patton Oswalt in Big Fan. Lidge then intentionally walked Jason Giambi to load the bases.

Lidge somehow got of the inning when he got Ryan Spilborghs to ground back to the pitcher’s mound. So just to recap; That was one inning, three hits, two runs, two walks (one intentional), and 34 pitches.

Philly fans should be used to this by now as Lidge has a 1.68 WHIP in 19.2 IP this season. 19 hits and 13 walks is a lot of base runners in 19 innings. It’s almost like the Phillies have to have a three run lead these days in order for Lidge to be able to close things out.

It’s pretty clear that Lidge will never be the same pitcher that he was in 2008 when he went 41-for-41 in save opportunities. But in order for the Phillies to overtake the Atlanta Braves and make a run at the Wild Card, they are going to need Lidge to be somewhat serviceable as a closer.

Any blown save could cost the Phillies a playoff spot.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Logan Morrison Moving To The Outfield?

July 27th, 2010

All signs point to the Florida Marlins trading 3B/1B Jorge Cantu relatively soon and the Marlins are doing all they can to prepare for the move. If and when Cantu gets traded, it looks like the Marlins will move Chris Coghlan from left to third and super-prospect Logan Morrison from first to left field.

Playing mostly left field in the majors, Coghlan did come up through the minors as a third baseman. He is considered a little better fielder than Cantu, which still makes him a below average defensive third baseman.

While Coghlan switching positions is a big move, the bigger move and bigger story would be Morrison moving over to left field.

For those of you not familiar with Morrison, he is one of the best hitting prospects in the game. He was a top-20 prospect prior to the start of the season by Baseball America and has done nothing to tarnish his ranking this season.

Morrison at Triple-A New Orleans is hitting .306 with six homers and 44 RBIs with 16 doubles, and a .424 on-base percentage. He projects as a left-handed, line drive hitter, who will hit .300 on a consistent basis.

What’s interesting about Morrison is that he is a first baseman. With Gaby Sanchez proving that he is an everyday first baseman in 2010, Morrison needs to find another position. That position appears to be left field.

Over the past nine games, including Monday’s game, Morrison has played left field. Morrison should get a solid teaching lesson from the Marlins as they are well versed in having players switch positions.

They moved Miguel Cabrera from third to first, Dan Uggla from third to second, Cantu from second to third to first, and Coghlan from second to left.

Now it looks like Morrison will be next in line of young players switching positions in a Marlins’ uniform.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostfomlg

The Ghost of Moonlight Graham

Padres Make Puzzling Move, Acquire Miguel Tejada From Orioles

Stephen Strasburg Scratched From Start

Marlins Send Jorge Cantu To The Rangers

With Victorino Headed To The DL, The Phillies Summon Domonic Brown

Royals Send Podsednik To The Dodgers

Tigers Get Infield Help, Trade For Jhonny Peralta

Rangers Should Use Harden In Bullpen Upon Return

Both Upton’s Leave Games With Injuries

Brad Lidge’s Struggles Continue

Logan Morrison Moving To The Outfield?

Categories

Archives

Most Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Baseball Resources

Blogroll