Jake Peavy on the move? Colletti says Padres wanted to charge Dodgers extra

Though it hasn’t been confirmed on the record, numerous sources are reporting that San Diego ace Jake Peavy will go out of the National League to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for two major-leaguers and two low-level minor-leaguers -- if Peavy gives his approval. As of 9 a.m., Padres beat writer Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune was betting against the trade being completed.

According to radio host Dan Patrick, Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti said his team has “tried to get in on the Jake Peavy trade possibility before, but Padres GM Kevin Towers told the Dodgers that they'd have to pay extra since they were divisional rivals." Patrick added that "Colletti said San Diego wanted three players and a top prospect, and [Coletti] couldn't do that.”

There is no assurance that the deal will be done, reiterated Peavy agent Barry Axelrod, though privately it could be that Peavy is simply holding out for a financial sweetener. From ESPN.com:

... "If I had to make a bet on it, I would guess that Jake would say he's not ready to take that step today,'' Axelrod said. "But he wouldn't necessarily preclude it at any time in the future.

"We aren't hiding anything from anybody. Jake has a strong preference to stay in the National League. He has a comfort zone there, he's been successful, and he's won a Cy Young Award. I don't know that on May 21, that preference has eroded very much. From our point of view we may say, 'Let's give [the Padres] more time and see if a National League team might step up over the next six weeks.'

''If this were any one of three or four other teams and they called about him, Jake would jump at it. He would be willing. They know who they are. They know that certain places are more enticing to him." ...

White Sox pitcher Scott Linebrink, a former Peavy teammate, has been talking to Peavy, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune:

... "I answered all of his questions, but when it comes down to it, it’s his decision," Linebrink said. "I don’t think anything I said is going to sway him one way or another. He’s going to make the decision that’s best for him and his career and his family." ...

"I think he will fit in well here," Linebrink said. "Of course, his stuff speaks for itself. He’s a Cy Young winner. He has the ability to go out and dominate the game and be a solid No. 1 guy. I would put his stuff up there with anyone. He’s a bulldog. He goes out there and he wants the ball. He’ll pitch late into the game and give you a chance to win."

Linebrink said Peavy has been dealing with trade rumors for several years but that he's "not looking to go anywhere else and he's kind of looking at this as his last move.

"He wants to be in a place where he has a chance to win and a place he's going to like for the remainder of his contract."

Linebrink said that staying in the National League "didn't really express that as a big concern" for Peavy. ...

***

• Sons of Steve Garvey reports Joe Torre's comments on Brent Leach: "I had no problem bringing him in today. We've tested him a few times and he's able to throw strikes, he's able to throw his off-speed pitches. I really wasn't concerned about bringing him in. I continue to really enjoy watching this kid grow."
• The future of the San Francisco Giants gets scoped out by Marc Hulet for Baseball Analysts.
• Heartbreaking news from Arizona: The wife of Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis and mother of their four children passed away suddenly at age 39 Wednesday. An autopsy is pending. All my best thoughts to his family and friends.

Photo: Jake Peavy pitching against the Giants for the Dodgers last month. Credit: Denis Poroy / Associated Press

Comments

[GScott]

So Brent Leach is the new flavor of the week for Joe. Mr. Leach should probably start scheduling that appointment with Dr. Andrews now.

[Eric Stephen]

I know Scott Proctor is the go to funny reference for Torre's bullpen "abuse," but has there ever been another reliever injured under Torre, especially one that was "overused?"

I haven't looked it up or anything; I'm just wondering.

[Phenomenal Smith]

Ramiro Mendoza perhaps?

[blue22]

I think Joe rode Paul Quantrill pretty hard awhile back, but I don't think the overuse of bullpen arms is exclusively Mr Torre's domain.

[regfairfield]

He abused Tom Gordon one year, but any reliever throwing 110 innings this day and age is enough to make it a good joke.

[underdog]

Somewhere I read an argument that he was (ages ago) partially responsible for Steve Bedrosian's falling off... but couldn't find a lot of evidence for that per se. That'd be one. As b22 notes, if you really scrutinized many long term ML managers over the years you'd find similar cases and "evidence".

I guess it helps if someone's had an injury history beforehand; Torre was awful careful with Kuo (who is now disabled anyway, alas). And seems to be mixing his use of various relievers so far this year more equally, maybe partially because no one's been consistently reliable enough to be overused.

[johnniebbaker]

cory wade

[Hollywood Joew]

I think three major themes that come from a surprising number of posters

1. Joe will overuse X
2. Ned values PVL over youth
3. Frank McCourt is either broke or cheap

Funny thing is, I think you can find as many, if not more, examples that refute these arguments than support them.

I don't always agree with any of those three guys, and Colletti has certainly gotten the worst of my vitriol of the 3 (Hey Ned, I was wrong about Ausmus (so far), but you were way wrong about Mota, and we both liked Hudson) , but these blanket statements that we use as kind of shorthand for unproven and largely unfounded accusations really should stop.

I think we are a smarter and more interesting bunch...

[GoBears]

Back to the brief mention of Loney at the end of the last thread. Forgive me if this was discussed in a game thread (I always watch the games on DVR, and sometimes don't have time to go back through the game threads), but...

There was some discussion a week or so ago about Loney's number of IF popups skyrocketing. Someone (regff?) suggested that this was an artifact of a re-definition of "popup" and was common to many (most?) players.

But since that mention, I've been paying more attention to Loney's ABs, particularly his outs, and, well, he hits a ton of IF popups. I think it's his inside-out swing - when he tries to push inside pitches to LF, he pops them up. Really, he has become the new Slappy McPopup. While Pierre has temporarily figured out how to drive the ball, Loney is keeping opposing SSs and 3Bmen busy all game long.

I know that Mattingly said he wasn't worried about this - that it's easier to teach a guy with a natural opposite-field stroke to pull inside pitches than to teach a dead pull hitter to use the whole field, but I think maybe he should be worried. Loney's a big boy - he needs to start turning on those inside fastballs.

[Eric Stephen]

Hollywood Joe is awesome.

[D4P]

***Hollywood Joe is awesome***

What about Hollywood Joe-Dubya...?

[blue22]

HJoe - Don't tell me what I can't do!

(Sorry, watching an obscene amount of Lost these days as I try to catch up on the series).

[Hollywood Joe]

This series of photos found via Diamond's blog

http://tinyurl.com/qk9ejg

Let's just say that you the choice of being a semi-famous, heart-throbishly good looking, still young and very rich, C-list actor (who undoubtedly dates better looking women than every girl you ever met except the one girl you were lucky enough to marry) or you can be say a regular midlife hardworking adult with an office job but you do happen to know how to throw a baseball...

Well I am not ashamed to say I will take the latter over the former every single time.

What is with these hollywood guys? For every Costner, Sheen, or Cusack we get 20 guys who look like they played twiddly winks.

Sheesh, didn't any of them group up normal?

[bhsportsguy]

Hollywood Joe, are you going to any games this weekend at the stadium, would be great to meet you at the Stadium.

[Hollywood Joe]

*grow up normal* - I have no idea how I was able to type "group" instead of "grow" - must stop posting when talking to clients on speaker - undoubtly bad for both

Now I am scared that in my conversation I said the word "grow" for "group" somewhere to complete the Freaky Friday switch of words, and came off like I was speaking gibberish, and the client was too polite to mock me.

[Xeifrank]

Peavy going from Petco to the bandbox that the White Sox play in would be interesting.
vr, Xei

[Kevin Lewis]

I need to have a beer with HJ at a game one of these days.

In fact, we need another DT gathering, preferably in a cheaper section :)

[regfairfield]

From the it really has gotten this bad file: If Andy LaRoche has a good game tonight, he will be out VORPing Ethier.

[Hollywood Joe]

BH would be fun!

I am not sure yet - some plans up in the air at home.

Jon has my email address, send me a note and will let you know how the plans work out

[Mafioso420]

Just broke on ESPN 710 radio. Jake Peavy rejected the deal.

[cargill06]

"Who need Peavy when we got Weavy?"

You sir, are the winner of the day.

[DL]

You'd think Towers would have the sense of mind to get Jake's approval on the deal while he's negotiating it, not after he strikes the deal.

Yet another example of why teams should absolutely never include no-trade clauses in a contract. Peavy's no-trade is going to cost the Padres millions.

[KG16]

how'd Peavy end up with a no trade clause? he's not a 10/5 guy, right?

also, i'm not surprised Towers told Ned they'd need more. Old rule in sports is never trade within the division. Especially in baseball with the unbalanced schedule.

[Hollywood Joe]

Agreed Cargill - not sure how I missed that one

Clearly #2 all time in baseball pitching rhymes after "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain"

I wonder if this group could popularize the phrase like we so successfully did with The Bison.

We will know its really hit the bigtime when questionable looking gentlemen will be selling t-shirts with the phrase outside at the stadium the next time the Sox, er Padres, come to town

[Ken Noe]

From Diamond: "After talking with Padres GM Kevin Towers, it doesn’t appear the two teams are a match. “He told me that if we’re going to make a deal with the Dodgers, we’re going to make you guys pay like nobody else,” Colletti said."

http://tinyurl.com/ocx884

[Eric Stephen]

Peavy's no-trade clause was negotiated in his contract extension.

[GoBears]

Does anyone who knows more about hitting than I do have any thoughts about my Loney Hypothesis? I didn't mean to sound as though I was sure I was right about all the popups, and I'd welcome a correction.

Thanx

[Kevin Lewis]

Posted by: Ken Noe | May 21, 2009 at 11:41 AM

Which is basically saying they will not trade with the Dodgers, which seems silly if they are not getting any other offers that might work out for them and free up their payroll.

[Hollywood Joe]

GoBears - this got LAT'd in the last thread. I picked it up via ESPN insider BP daily...

"The James Loney we saw back in 2006 seems like a distant memory these days. The current version of the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman is hitting .275/.350/.366, continuing his trend of declining ISO numbers -- .275 to .206 to .145 to this season's middle infielder-like .092. This is odd, because Loney has improved his approach, adding more walks (up to 10.7 percent of his plate appearances) while also cutting down on strikeouts (now under 10 percent, at 8.5). He has cut down on the number of pitches he swings at outside of the strike zone and has increased his overall contact rate. So what's the problem, since all these core pieces of his approach seem to work well? Loney is a victim of bad luck, for the most part; he's hit liners at an extreme rate of 25 percent, yet managed a BABIP of just .289. Loney has been hitting everything into the gloves of the defense, and though that doesn't necessarily account for the missing homers, it certainly tells us where plenty of singles and doubles have gone. Given more time, his liner rate should even out, with many of those outs turning into the hits they ought to be."

Not sure that it explains everything, but does offer some good perspective and food for thought

[D4P]

I think the "don't trade with division rivals" thing is overblown and silly.

If you have a chance to trade with a division rival in a way that you think will help your team more than would be the case by trading outside the division, you should go for it. And there's no reason to sabotage yourself by making ridiculous demands from the other team simply because they're in your division.

[Jon Weisman]

D4P, that may be, but you can certainly factor facing Peavy four times a year vs. one time every three years into the cost of the trade.

[Vail Beach]

Towers is foolish to declare in advance that he's going to make the trading partner with the highest potential to help him achieve his goal "pay like nobody else."

I don't care what I'm in the market for, I would walk out if someone talked to me like that. Especially when Colletti has millions of fans looking over his shoulder, ready to accuse him of overpaying. Now Towers has set it up so that unless Colletti clearly underpays, he'll emerge from the deal embarrassed.

Towers could charge us more, but only if he uses a measure of subtlety. Now, with the Dodgers probably out of the running, and with Peavy rejecting the Chisox, Towers options are dwindling and as a result the price is probably dropping.

[Phenomenal Smith]

Judging by the reception Kevin Brown received in San Diego in his first game as a Dodger, I would think any Padre star traded to L.A. in midseason would fare worse.

Although I'm not sure what would be worse than having the Swinging Friar mascot walk around the stadium with a bat hitting an effigy of the player.

[underdog]

Apparently the Brewers are going to announce a trade shortly. (According to MLBTR and a few sources.)

Speculation runs all over the map, from Peavy, to Fielder, to much less exciting transactions.

[bhsportsguy]

Brewers trade -- probably for second base.

[Jon Weisman]

Although now that I think about it, since Peavy would face the Padres' division rivals as well, maybe it all pretty much cancels out.

[Kevin Lewis]

I'm with D4P on this one.

I am not saying that SD shouldn't charge us a bit more, but it should still be within the realm of reasonable.

[D4P]

***D4P, that may be, but you can certainly factor facing Peavy four times a year vs. one time every three years into the cost of the trade***

But I think the fear of trading someone who will then make you pay for it is ultimately a bad rationale for not making the trade. If the guy is so good that he's likely to dominate you in the future, then you probably shouldn't be trading him in the first place. If he's not that good, than you really shouldn't be worried about him dominating you.

Not to mention the fact that, if you trade someone, there's no guarantee the team you trade him to will keep him for a long time anyway. Plus, is it really SO MUCH WORSE for former players of your team to do well against you than it is for non-former players to do well against you? And should these psychological costs really be enough to outweigh the on-paper benefits of trading to a division rival, if those benefits are large enough such that you would make the same trade with a non-division rival?

I say "No".

[berkowit28]

Perhaps D4P was being too subtle (cough, ahem): does Hollywood Joew (11:10 AM) have any relation to Hollywood Joe (seems sort of hard to account for as a typo since none of us bothers to re-type our names each time, I'm sure), or is it just someone trying to pose as the true HJ to borrow (steal) his luster and accumulated prestige on this blog?

[Hollywood Joe]

D4P - I think you are 100% right that you should trade the player for the best deal you can get for your team and I do think the adage about not trading within the division is silly

Why those trades don't happen, I think (really *hope*) is more about fearing the court of public opinion than actually fearing that the traded player will be so great against you.

I think GMs pay attention to public perception sometimes at the expense of the right decision. Since public perception can drive things like attendence and the GMs job security, this is not an entirely irrational thing for GMs to be aware of and manage to.

Unless Towers were to just blantantly rip the Dodgers off, he would get killed by the media and the fans, which might put him at personal risk.

No one like personal risk

[Jon Weisman]

"I am not saying that SD shouldn't charge us a bit more, but it should still be within the realm of reasonable."

I never said otherwise.

[Eric]

The Brewers acquired Jody Gerut from the Padres for Tony Gwynn Jr.

[Dave]

This makes a lot of sense for both teams...Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez for Loney, Either, 1 roster pictcher and 2 top prospects and the Dodgers are set for the next 8 - 10 years. The padres get their salary down below $40M and can start to rebuild right away

[Alex41592]

Padres trade for Tony Gwynn's son. That's a neat story.

[Eric]

Damn Dave, I want to kill myself for saying this... but i kind of like that trade

[Hollywood Joe]

same guy berk. I swear (who else would overwrite every single post)

I noticed that the w crept in there somehow (it was not a tribute to 43). I type fast and rarely proof so I can only imagine what spasmodic frenzy of my fingers led to that little lost w

[DL]

People are forgetting that there are PR considerations here that need to be taken into account, besides the baseball and payroll aspects of the deal. The Dodgers are the Padres' most hated rival. Sending their star pitcher to the big bad bullies in blue would result in a ton of blowback from the San Diego faithful. As a team with a soft fan base, they need every ounce of good will they can muster, so any deal sending Peavy to the Dodgers needs to be an overwhelming win (in terms of baseball talent) for the Padres.

[underdog]

Is Gerut able to play 2nd base? (which I'm unaware of.)

If not, I don't really get that trade for the Brewers. I like Gwynn playing for his dad's team, but it seems otherwise unexciting.

[Alex41592]

Gerut is a lefty so he'll probably replace Chris Duffy as the 4th outfielder.

[GoBears]

Re: Hollywood Joe | May 21, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Yeah, I saw that post - it's what inspired my own question, so it doesn't really answer it. I'm glad to know that he's swinging at fewer pitches outside the zone, and walking more. And I'm willing to believe he's had some bad luck too, but what I've seen over the last week or so is an inordinate number of IF popups, and while those lower your BABIP, it's not due to bad luck. Those aren't line drives that just happen to hit gloves. The pitches are likely strikes (inside corner) but my question is if his swing is all wrong for those sorts of pitches. So I'm hoping someone (you,maybe?) who understands the mechanics of hitting better than I do could comment on it. I remember when Ted Williams used to encourage Tony Gwynn to pull more inside pitches instead of aiming for the 5.5 hole all the time - that's what I have in mind. And if he can't inside-out an inside pitch, he should take it, right?

[KG16]

D4P - I think the issue isn't so much psychological, it's a matter of standings. If you're the Padres and Peavy is racking up 20 wins (I know, bad stat, blah blah blah) for the Dodgers (or Giants, Rockies, or D'Backs) that makes it much harder to win the division. If he's racking up 20 wins for the Cubs or Mets or Rays, it doesn't really affect you're ability to win the division.

Or from another perspective, let's say that Peavy in the rotation is worth an additional five wins for the Dodgers (or whatever team he's going to), assuming he replaces an average pitcher and the rest of the ML roster stays the same. The Padres now must win 10 additional games to make up the difference.

I agree that if you get a good deal, you should probably take it. But the definition of a good deal varies based on the facts. If the Padres see themselves as being competitive within a certain time frame, and they expect Peavy to still be with the team they trade him to within that time frame, it makes little sense, to me, to trade him to a team within the division.

[D4P]

Regarding the notion that Loney's line drives being caught necessarily constitutes bad luck:

Is it at least theoretically possible that hit charts could be used to identify patterns in a player's batted balls such that defenders could be placed in places where hitters frequently hit the ball, thus increasing the probability that their batted balls would be caught?

[underdog]

Ah, I guess that sort of makes sense then, Alex.

Seems like one of those trades that benefits both teams and both players. Without being very season-changing...

[regfairfield]

Not that it's saying much, but the trade sounds a lot worse when you say the Padres traded their third best player for Tony Gwynn Jr.

[356man]

A tragedy about Scott Schoenweis' wife. Kind of puts a lot of things like wins/losses into perspective.

[berkowit28]

OK, Hollywood Joe - excess "w" accounted for. Thank you. So how come you don't check the "Remember personal info" box (just above text box)? That remembers and replicates your screen name and unpublished email address, so you don't have to type it every time. It doesn't remember genuinely *personal* info, if that's what you're worried about. I mean, how would it know my birth date or SSN anyway? Or are you typing on some public computer in an internet cafe or library, not your own computer?

[reddog]

Regarding that article about all the Giants' great young pitching prospects - how do our prospects stack up in comparison?

[D4P]

ESPN's Ja(y)son Stark speculating that A.J. Pierzynski might be on the market.

No word on whether the rumor I'm starting right now that the Giants have offered Lincecum and Cain in exchange for the White Sox catcher are true or not.

[DougS]

"If the guy is so good that he's likely to dominate you in the future, then you probably shouldn't be trading him in the first place."

Except that when a deal is a salary dump or a 'We won't be able to re-sign the guy' dump, it's impossible to assess it in that kind of vacuum. It's not just about the player and making a deal that helps or hurts you on the field; it's about making the best of a very bad business situation.

[blue22]

What does Tony Gwynn Jr bring you that Jody Gerut does not? Both are lefty-swinging OFers that can kinda play center.

Is this a contract/money thing? Or is Gwynn a more competent defensive CFer than Gerut?

[jackie]

Dave: how about this Ethier, Loney, JMac, Devaris Gordon and Josh Lindblom for Adrian Gonzalez and Jake Peavy

[regfairfield]

Blue, you got it, I'm pretty sure Gerut is arb eligible.

I think once you get to the point where your team would be worse if we let you have an expansion draft, it's time to get contracted.

[underdog]

I'm trying to figure out why on the one hand the White Sox were trying to acquire Peavy, and on the other hand "open for business" (as per Stark), open to trade a lot of key players. Guess the plan could be build for the future while also still contending now, but I don't always know if Ken Williams has a real "plan."

[Ken Noe]

According to DePo's blog, he's currently in Hoover, Alabama for the SEC tournament. Must be racking up the blackberry charges though.

[regfairfield]

Same thing the A's were thinking when they got Holliday. Take any opportunity you can to upgrade the amount of talent in your organization.

[Alex41592]

Twins are up 16-0 on the White Sox in the 6th inning after Mauer's grand slam.

[blue22]

Edwin Jackson improves to 4-2, scattering 12 baserunners in 8 innings (132 pitches!). A key DP grounder in the 9th preserved the victory.

[D4P]

Hard to believe Edwin's only 25. Seems like years and years ago that Ned gave up on him.

[Alex41592]

Yeah, but the Rays gave up on him after being successful.

[Hollywood Joe]

Ok GoBears - I will take a crack and welcome anyone else to join in

"And if he can't inside-out an inside pitch, he should take it, right?"

yeah, pretty much - or skip the inside out on the inside pitches and turn on the pitch with the intention to drive it (more foul balls and more missed swings and more home runs)

Without looking at specific examples (and even if I could I am always a little hesistant to start breaking down a MLB swing - they are like aliens in terms of how good even the worst MLB'er is.) I would say that in my unquantified experience infield popups occur more when you are trying to go the other way than when you are swingly freely or looking to pull.

Interesting you bring up Ted W, I learned to hit to RF from his book (he couldn't hit the opposite way but he pretty much taught me to) and one of the warnings he gives is that the other way swing is prone to pop ups. Even to this day, I hit more lazy fly balls when I am going to right than when I am swinging freely (I really never try to pull - for my swing trying to pull is usually a ground ball to the shortstop waiting to happen)

Specific to inside pitches, in order to drive them you have to pull your hands through the zone well before the head of the bat - almost like a golf swing, not in terms of the swing plane, but in terms of hands coming through before clubhead. Sometimes in the cages I try to envision pointing at the pitch with the knob on the bat as I pull the hands through, others talk about "throwing" your hands at the ball as you start your swing. For me, this means keeping those hands very close to the body and clearing space with your hips. If you don't get the hands through, your hands go wide (inside out), and you are still able to hit it, you often get jammed which certainly could result in weak popups or groundballs (but not booming popups). If you are late getting your hands through and the bat head is lagging, that could also increase pop ups as the bat often times has not caught up square to the flight of the ball. Many times being late on outside pitch, with an inside out approach, results in a ball that is popped up foul. You will see MLB hitters protecting the plate with 2 strikes in this manner.

Another thing that could be happening is that he is trying to hit pitches deep in the zone. There is a huge advantage to the hitter who is able to start their swing late, with the ball deep into the hitting area, and still get their bat through the hitting area fast enough that even though the swing starts "late" they result is not being late.

This concept of how early you have to start your swing is really what the whole bat speed equation comes down to. How late can you start your swing and still not be late. By doing this, the hitter not only increases their chance of striking the ball, but also their bad pitch recognition increases. That is why aging sluggers often look so bad when they strike out, they have lost bad speed, so they make up for it by swinging earlier and earlier, which leads to them being fooled worse and worse over time.

How this could relate to Loney is that maybe while he works on this skill, if his hands aren't fast enough, or he is trying to figure out just how late he can start them and he is not able to get them through...he will lose almost certainly lose power and could increase his popups

Like I said, I am no expert, hesitated even writing this, and would not have volunteered this info unless asked. There are a lot of people who know much more than me who might have very different opinions.

I am just a guy who still likes to play. How any of this applies to James Loney, I really don't have any idea, but now I will watch really closely next few times he is up on the TV and tell you what I think.

[Hollywood Joe]

berk "So how come you don't check the "Remember personal info" box (just above text box)?"

I do!!! that is the really curious part about it. somehow I crammed a w in there even with the check box clicked.

like I said - spasmodic fingers must be to blame

[D4P]

Hmmm. We're supposed to be assuming that Hollywood Joew is actually the real Hollywood Joe. But how do we know that Hollywood Joe is not the real Hollywood Joew...?

[blue22]

Edwin, leading 3-1 after 7 but not exactly cruising, gave up the tying two runs in the 8th inning, but I'm amazed he was allowed to pitch through this mess. Count the number of "deep" hits in this inning, and note that he was well over 110 pitches throughout this mess:

Top 8th: Texas
- D. Murphy walked
- M. Young flied out to deep left center
- H. Blalock doubled to deep right, D. Murphy to third
- M. Byrd lined out to shortstop
- N. Cruz doubled to deep center, D. Murphy and H. Blalock scored
- N. Cruz stole third
- C. Davis walked
- J. Saltalamacchia struck out swinging

[kinbote]

"Same thing the A's were thinking when they got Holliday. Take any opportunity you can to upgrade the amount of talent in your organization."

Except that's not working real well for the A's.

I think it might be a simple matter of making the summer interesting for White Sox fans. Not sure it's a smart baseball decision.

[Alex41592]

Make that 20-0 Twins in Chicago.

[DougS]

I have to admit that I'm leery of the siren song of Jake Peavy at this point. Not that it wouldn't be great to have him on the team, but there's no reason for Ned to trip over his shoelaces trying to get him.

With Kershaw coming along, the rotation looks all right at the top and should get better. Allowing for present and possible future injuries, Kuroda-Wolf (which sounds like a law firm or an animation studio) will combine to make a sound #3. Stults is fine for one of the bottom of the rotation slots. And as Jon has said, nobody looks good at the #5 slot, so Weaver or some other spare part or a revived MacDonald ought to do.

If I were Ned, I would put more effort into adding depth to the staff than in dealing for an ace. It wouldn't hurt to have another reliable second-line starter, or at least a reliever good enough to crowd Mota off of the active roster. That's a matter of bargain-hunting, not blockbusters.

[regfairfield]

Yeah, but that's just because Matt Holliday took whatever everyone else on the A's takes that makes them horrible baseball players. They aren't missing Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith. Yeah, I know Gonzalez has like a 1.000 OPS in Colorado Springs, but it's Colorado Springs, I could probably put up a solid .850.

[ucladodger]

Leyland royally misused Edwin today, and thats the second time he has done so this year. Edwin did not have his good stuff today, his control was as bad as its been all year (and having Angel hernandez behind the plate squeezing the zone didnt help either), but he got through 7 strong. There was no reason to push him out there at over 100 pitches in the 8th. If you do so, have it be contingent that the first baserunner you give up, you are out (he gave up a leadoff walk). 132 pitches is a ton, and 30 more than his average. Edwin has been fantastic this year, but his numbers could be even better if Leyland didnt send him out for the 8th today (2 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs) and for the 7th against the Twins a few weeks back (4 straight baserunners and runs without an out). More than 1/3 of his earned runs have come after he was stretched too far and should have been out of the game.

[cargill06]

I thought TB played indoors. Why is their game delayed?

[blue22]

Per DRaysBay commenter:

"Lights went out at the Trop"

[Phenomenal Smith]

There's a power failure in St. Pete.

[cargill06]

I guess Braden does have electric stuff.

I'll be here all week.

[fanerman]

I chuckled cargill.

[Ken Noe]

"Gwynn Jr. got the news of the trade in a call from his father, who played for the Padres for 20 seasons and is now San Diego State's baseball coach." On the one hand, touching. On the other hand, say what?

http://tinyurl.com/rxwcgy

[jpg]

Mauer now with 8 home runs in 72 at bats. Last year he hit 9 in over 500 at bats. His kidney problems must have been a good thing.

[underdog]

This is from a fantasy baseball perspective but from SI.com:

NL team-by-team best guesses for DH situation:
>>Dodgers: Joe Torre is well versed in DH usage and he'll turn to power-hitting youngster Xavier Paul and veteran infielder Mark Loretta more while resting his regulars. <<

http://tinyurl.com/pqxcz7

[GoBears]

Thanks, HJ. Your explanation matches what I think I've been seeing, but could not articulate. I never played above Little League (see ball, swing at ball), so everything I know about hitting is from watching and reading and listening.

As long as the team keeps winning, I'm not going to sweat it too much. And I have no reason not to trust Don Mattingly. I just don't think a guy that size should be Slappy McPopup II, and since it seems like a new phenomenon (maybe the pitchers have adjusted and he hasn't), I imagine it's fixable.

[jpg]

So Scott Hairston becomes the regular center fielder. He's been doing major damage this year against LHP, maybe he will become Werth like and hit just enough against RHP that he can garner 500 at bats. It has been a long road for him after failing as the Diamondback 2nd baseman.

[Jon Weisman]

New post up top.

[Jon Weisman]

New post up top.

[jpg]

This thread reminds me of an old old Mr. Ed episode where he gives advice to Willie Davis.

[EMDarrow]

"Power-hitting youngster Xavier Paul"? I guess his current .636 SLG is enough to overwhelm his career .437 in the minors.

[dalegribel]

Anyone have the true names that Towers was interested in?

Jackie, close, but that's too much for those two. I'd part with Loney, JMac, and Gordon. Ethier and Linbloom stay.

[dalegribel]

Anyone have the true names that Towers was interested in?

Jackie, close, but that's too much for those two. I'd part with Loney, JMac, and Gordon. Ethier and Linbloom stay.