Sunday, September 30, 2007

Carlos Guillen To Play 1B in '08


The Detroit Tigers and manager Jim Leyland have told the media that short-stop Carlos Guillen will indeed play 1B next season in order to keep his aging-lets healthy. After signing a 4-year $48M deal a few years ago, most believed it was quite a bargain for a hitter his caliber in the short-stop role. But now that he's moving to 1B, you gotta argue that he's getting paid exactly what he would be worth in an open market this season.

This also means that Sean Casey will not remain in Detroit and will have to sign with yet another team next season. The Tigers also don't have any good shortstop to put in Carlos' spot, so they might have to reach out to a Jack Wilson or Edgar Renteria possibility.

Chi-Sox Ink A.J.


The Chicago White Sox have extended catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a 2-year extension through the '09 and '10 seasons. The deal is set to pay A.J. $12.5MM throughout those two years, a $6.25M amount per year for an aging catcher on the downside. You can't expect too much out of a catcher offensively, however, so I guess the deal makes some sense for Kenny Williams' crew.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Sosa Would Like To Remain In Arlington


Sammy Sosa told the Dallas News Thursday that the 37-year old would like to come back to the Texas Rangers next year, pending what role they would like him to play. Quite a statement as Sosa has been playing the bench quite a bit lately, and still has the team lead with 92 RBI's.

I'm sure a team would love to pay Sammy $2-3M for next year if he can put up 92 RBI in 113 games and still love playing the bench role. Despite the tremendously low average, Sosa's RBI total should get him into next season and maybe even '09.

Nathan's Price Steadily Rising


The Minnesota Twins will have until mid-November to pick up Joe Nathan's $6M option or pay a $1M buyout. Obviously, we all know that the option will be picked up, except Joe himself. "I don't think it's a given. I'm never going to assume anything," said Nathan, who will turn 33 in November (Pioneer Press).

After the '08 season though, it look like the stingy Twins will have to fork out at least 7-8M to keep their closer, who has saved less games than only Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman in the last 4 seasons.

Devil Rays To Up Payroll


Tampa Bay Devil-Rays owner Stuart Sternberg made it clear that the D-Rays will up their payroll by a good 20% this offseason, mainly meaning that they could sign a pretty good free-agent and reach out farther into the market. With the Carlos Pena raise coming, though, the D-Rays would only spend about $6-7M on a free-agent(s).

Sternberg also made it clear that if the price is right, Tampa will be willing to lock up both Scott Kazmir and James Shields to multi-year deals. Sure would look nice to see Kaz in the D-Ray's new blue uni's for the next 7 years eh?

Big Deal Intact for Johan?


Talk has speculated around the league about a deal for Twin's ace Johan Santana by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The only problem on LA's part would be handing over both Matt Kemp and Clayton Krenshaw to Minnesota's side. Both Kemp and Krenshaw are two star studded youngsters and would be very cheap for another 3-4 years for the Dodgers.

Johan, on the other hand, is going to reach free agency in the '09 season and will most likely get upwards of $20M per year anywhere he goes. The Dodgers would sure look amazing with a healthy Jason Schmidt and Johan Santana leading off the rotation of Penny, Lowe, and Billingsley.

Astros Name Cecil Cooper Manager


The Houston Astros have chosen to replace Phil Gardner with a former player and bench coach Cecil Cooper.

Cooper had been the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers' AAA-team and has been around the game of baseball for quite some time. During his playing time, he hit .298 with 241 HR's for both the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers. Hopefully he can do a much better job with the club than Gardner did with the '07 group.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Clemens Shut Down For Season


The New York Yankees have announced that $26M investment Roger Clemens will not pitch again this season, but will attempt to pitch for the Yankees in the postseason. Wouldn't it be something if Clemens ends up ruining the Yanks playoff run? I'm sure Yankee fans would love that investment.

Roger ended the season 6-6 with a 4.18, definantly not the Rocket of old. He's at best a number 2 on most teams this season, meaning the Yankees made one of the worst gross payments in the history of baseball.

Bonds In KC?


Barry Bonds has made it clear that he wants to win a World Series before his career is over, ruling out the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Although, most believe all the contenders have no need for a DH and might shift his views in the other direction.

A team like the Royals could use Bonds' OBP, as their team OBP is among the worst in the league. It would also bring more fans into Kansas City. Would definantly make sense for the Royals to spend $7-8M on Bonds, especially with $30M+ coming off the books.

The Lineup would look pretty sharp at:
1. David DeJesus CF
2. Mark Grudzielanek 2B
3. Barry Bonds DH
4. Billy Butler 1B
5. Alex Gordon 3B
6. Mark Teahen RF
7. John Buck C
8. Joey Gathright LF
9. Tony Pena Jr. SS

Monday, September 24, 2007

Padres Acquire Lane


Finally a trade to be announced: The Houston Astros moved 30-year old outfielder Jason Lane to San Diego in return for a PTBNL and cash considerations. Lane was only batting .178 with 8 HR and 27 RBI in Houston, so a move made sense from Houston's standpoint.

The Padres made the move after realizing that outfielder Milton Bradley will miss the remainder of the season after injuring his hamstring after being thrown to the ground by manager Bud Black.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Angels Clinch AL West


The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim clinched the AL West division today defeating the Seattle Mariners for their 92nd win on the year. Looks like they will face off with the mighty Yankees in the playoffs, but thats not necessarily bad news as they are the only team with a winning record against the Yankees in the Joe Torre era (1996-present).

Congratulations to both the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on their playoff berths!

Indians Clinch AL Central


The first team to clinch a playoff berth came this afternoon as the Cleveland Indians, behind Jake Westbrook and Grady Sizemore, defeated the Oakland Athletics 6-2 and won the division for the first time since 2001.

Later today, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim also look like they will close up the AL West as they are currently leading the Seattle Mariners 3-0.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Escobar Scratched From Today's Start


Angels' starter Kelvim Escobar will miss this afternoon's start due to shoulder inflammation. The good news is they found the spot that was hurting Kelvim, as he hasn't pitched well lately. There's always bad news however, and if the shoulder continues to be inflammed, the Angels chances of escaping the first round go down considerably.

Veteran starter Bartolo Colon will start in place of Escobar, and will try to prove why he should be the number 4 starter for the Angels in the postseason. Behind Lackey, Escobar, and Weaver, Colon will battle against front-runner Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana.

Bonds To Stay In Bay?


Even though Giants left-fielder Barry Bonds will not play in a Giant's uniform next year, most believe that he will stay in the Bay. Billy Beane has always been a fan of OBP and theres no doubt the Oakland A's are gonna put extreme interest in Barry Bonds. My gut feeling is Barry will indeed sign with Oakland for a 1-2 year deal worth anywhere from $8-12M per year.

As for San Francisco, most newspapers are putting in the thought of signing Alex Rodriguez in the offseason if he opts-out. It would make sense, as they can put Barry's $16M into A-Rod's deal and hopefully see the next HR king.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Josh Beckett Wins Number 20


Boston Red Sox hurler Josh Beckett is the first player to win the 20-win plateu this season. Josh went 6 strong innings tonight only giving up 1 earned-run and lowering his season ERA to 3.14. Beckett is the front-runner for the Cy Young award, despite the amazing season from Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Astros Hire Wade


The Houston Astros announced their new GM tonight, Ed Wade. Wade was the Phillies GM from 1998-2005 and drafted Pat Burrell, Brett Myers, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard in that span. Looks like Ed likes making lots of moves, which is great for the aging Astros.

Houston's season has been nothing less than disappointing, as their weighing down near the bottom of the NL Central.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Brewers Look To Lock Up Closer


Earlier in the day, both closer Francisco Cordero and Brewer's GM Doug Melvin were talking about returning to the old Brew Crew for next year. Most scouts believe that the closer will command anywhere from $10-11M for 3 to 4 years. He's definantly been worth it this season, throwing out a 2.78 ERA and a major-league leading 42 saves.

If the small market Brewers find a way to overthrow Chicago in the division and make the playoffs, they should shed a little extra cash to keep Francisco in Milwaukee. If they don't however, it might be hard for them to ante up double-digit millions.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Cuban Slugger To Make Splash In '08


Agent Jaime Torres has told ESPN that one of his clients, Alexei Ramirez, has indeed defected from Cuba and is filing for residency in the Dominican Republic. Ramirez led the Cuban league in home-runs this season and played in the Pan American games. He plays both SS and CF and is only 26 years old.

Torres makes it clear that Alexei is major league ready and will make a team out of Spring Training. Looks like thats a lot of power coming over where teams like the Royals or Minnesota could use quite nicely.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Mets Fading Fast


The New York Mets lost again today to the Washington Nationals and lost yet another game in the National League East standings. New York is now only 2.5 games ahead of Philadelphia for the Eastern crown and have been playing bad baseball lately. Commiting 4 errors tonight, and 6 yesterday, the Metropolitans are playing bad ball all around.

Jose Reyes went 0-4 yet again and every pitcher put in the game, 6 in all, gave up at least 1 earned-run. They are sitting at 83-66 and on the verge of a 4-game losing streak.

Morneau Afraid of Future


Minnesota Twins star first-baseman Justin Morneau is dissapointed with the Twins on and off the field. On the field, the Twins are a mere 72-77 coming off a playoff berth in '06. Shortly after Minnesota was defeated in the playoffs, Justin was quick to contact the Twins about a contract extension. He loved the city and the team and was willing to sign for cheap to keep the core together. Now, it looks like he believes likewise.

"But who knows? If we don't sign Torii [Hunter] back, and it doesn't look like Johan [Santana] is coming back -- obviously, I want to be here, but it's a question of how much is in the budget." (Star Tribune). It looks clear that Torii wont be coming back, and Morneau has made it clear that if Johan is leaving so is the 26-year old.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Morris Pitching Patheticly


Many eyebrows were raised when the struggling Pirates traded young outfielder Rajai Davis to San Francisco in return for a $11M pitcher who is on the downfall. Now, we all have reasoning to haggle the Pirates for making this deal, as Morris has been absolutely horrid.

Matt has started 9 games for Pittsburgh, going 2-3 with a 6.18 ERA. His K/BB ratio is an even 22/22 and his WHIP is off the charts at 1.68. As for Davis, he's been playing a cool centerfield for the San Francisco Padres and becoming a Web-Gem regular.

Hopefully for the Pirates, Morris will get his act together next season with a fresh start, but as for now Pittsburgh looks absolutely idiotic.

Sox Attempting To Move Some Coco?


Ken Rosenthal of FoxSportsNet.com believes that the emergence of rookie Jacoby Ellsbury will prompt the Red Sox to trade center-fielder Coco Crisp. Crisp is signed at a great deal, only making $4.75M next year, and plays exceptional defense as well.

As for the playoffs, Terry Francona will give the veteran some lee-way and start Coco Crisp out in center before the rookie.

Game of the Day: CIN @ MIL


To throw something new in here at Major League Ramblings, tonight's game of the day was the Cincinatti Reds taking on the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee's first-baseman Prince Fielder broke the Brewers record with his 46th HR on the season as he led the Brew Crew past Kirk Saarloos and inched closer to the Cubs in the National League Central. The Cubs are now only 1 game ahead of Milwaukee and can definantly feel them breathing down their necks.

Short-stop J.J. Hardy also had a nice day going 2-4 with an RBI and a R. Starter Jeff Suppan went 6 1/3 giving up only 3 while striking out 2.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Old Fashioned Zito


Slowly but surely, Giants lefty Barry Zito is getting back to what he was in 2003 when he won the Cy Young. Barry is now 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA in his last 6 starts and has been getting more comfortable wearing San Francisco's orange and black.

People were bagging on Zito all year because of the hype that was put in his 7-year $121MM contract. He struggled trying to be the $18MM man, but now looks like he feels much more comfortable playing the role. Look for him to be much stronger next year and ace the staff consisting of young studs Matt Cain and Noah Lowry.

Cliff Considers Retiring


Chicago Cubs outfielder Cliff Floyd, only 34 years of age, has had a rough physical season. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Floyd would retire if the Chicago Cubs do the unthinkable and win the World Series, but is not ruling out retiring either way.

Cliff is currently hitting .290 with 7HR and 42RBI in an all-around good performance for the NL-Central leading Cubs.

Yanks Almost Guaranteed To Exercise Abreu


Multiple reports have came in that believe the most likely case for both right-fielder Bobby Abreu and the New York Yankees is that Brian Cashman and company will exercise Abreu's $16MM option for next season.

The 6'1" Abreu is hitting .287 with 16HR, 94 RBI, and a .367 OBP. I'm sure many teams would sign Bobby to a 1-year $14M deal if he entered the market, but its very doubtful that it will occur.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Mussina Shows Heart


Ahhh Finally.....Yankees 40-year old starter Mike Mussina pitched well enough for Yankee fans to breathe again. The Moose went 5 2/3 scoreless innings en-route to a Yankees victory. They will stay 5 games back of Boston however, as David Ortiz hit HR's number 30 and 31 to lift the Red Sox to a walk-off win in Fenway.

With Mussina back to his usual self, the Yankees have a full rotation again and will go into the weekend determined to sweep Boston.

Injuries Aplenty During Crunch Time


A day after signing short-stop John McDonald to a multi-year deal, the Toronto Blue Jays lost the other piece of their infield as third-baseman Troy Glaus will undergo foot surgery sometime next week and will "hopefully" be ready for Spring Training '08. Troy finished the season amidst steroid-allegations and hit a mere .262 sending 20 HR and driving in 62.

Over in Atlanta, Braves 3B'man Chipper Jones is having more problems with his hand and has made it unknown if he will be ready by season's end, likely ending the switch-hitter's season.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Extensions Aplenty


In this wonderful Tuesday afternoon, two American League teams, the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, handed out multi-year extensions to key pieces of their respective team.

First, the Toronto Blue Jays gave 32-year old shortstop John McDonald a 2-year extension worth $3.8M overall. McDonald has been playing stellar defense each and everyday, but isn't doing very good with the bat. Coming into today, McDonald was hitting .252 with a career-high 28 RBI and 7 SB. Still a good deal for the Jays as they are only paying him bench player money and he can sure pick it at short.

The Chicago White Sox also re-signed manager Ozzie Guillen to an extension that will keep him in the black and white thru 2012. Wierd move especially because the White Sox are doing so horrible, coming into today trailing the Kansas City Royals by 3 games.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

What's Carlos Pena Gonna Receive?


Hot topic thats been coming up in the inbox is Devil-Rays first-baseman Carlos Pena and what he will receive in the offseason after blowing up for a .274 37HR 101RBI season. Carlos' agent is the dreadful Scott Boras, so it might get tight, especially for a team of TBD's caliber, to sign Pena to a multi-year deal. On the bright side, it's Pena's first arbitration year, therefore there won't be any Gary Matthews Jr. deals being thrown out there. You can expect the D-Rays to ante up anywhere from $5-6MM for a one-year arbitration deal.

Once again, if theres any questions that you would like me to post on the site, please send them in an e-mail to JJLEE08@aol.com.

Could White Sox Want Fuentes?


Back in July, the Colorado Rockies pursued Jon Garland, but talks stalled when Chicago wanted either Franklin Morales or Ian Stewart. Now The Denver Post is reporting that Kenny Williams has been searching for 2 relievers for Garland, and a combination of Brian Fuentes and farm-hand Juan Morillo would do the trick. The move would save the White Sox money, but would force them to attempt to fill in yet another hole in their rotation.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Maddon To Get Extension


Numerous papers around the St.Petersburg area believe that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will pick up the 2-year option on manager Joe Maddon's contract, extending the 53-year old through '09.

The D-Rays are happy with how Joe is developing the young players and getting adequate playing time to all the great prospects that are in the system.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Glaus Took Steroids?


Both MLBTradeRumors.com and SI.com have reported that Blue Jay's third-baseman Troy Glaus received steroids prior to the '03-'04 season. This would make some sense, as even though Glaus lost weight that offseason, he came out firing and hit 7 HR's in the first month coming off a blown rotator cuff.

This also puts speculation on the Angels and if they knew anything when they decided to let Troy walk and give the job to Dallas McPherson.

D-Backs Sign Wickman


The Arizona Diamondbacks added a set-up guy today, signing 38-year old reliever Bob Wickman. Bob must of got over his "i want to save" idea, as theres no way the D-Backs would put him in over Jose Valverde, who's going strong with 42 saves.

The move comes after both Tony Pena and Brandon Lyon have dropped off big time at the end of the pen. Both had exceptional first halfs, but have did terrible thus far in the second half.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Mirabelli Gingerly Enjoys Debut


Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli had a short-lived comeback from his strained right calf. After singling a pitch in his first at-bat, Doug was removed from the game because of a new injury, a strained left hamstring. Bad luck for Doug, as now it looks like his Red Sox days are extremely limited.

Pinch-running for Mirabelli was short-stop Royce Clayton, making his Red Sox debut in this same afternoon.

Mariners Release White


The Seattle Mariners released 38-year old reliever Rick White, only 2-weeks after signing the veteran. White went 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA, so bad that he decided to bleach his beard halfway through his Mariners stint.

White has played for 11 different teams, one behind the record of 12. A replacement will be announced before tommorrow's game.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Lieberthal Discusses Future


Back-up catcher Mike Lieberthal made it clear that if the Dodgers do not excersie his $1.4M option for next year, he will retire from baseball. Big news especially since the 34-year old catcher spent his entire career on the Phillies before finally changing scenery this year.

It's gotta be great to backup Dodger's catcher Russell Martin, as Russell leads the league in games and innings caught.

Pads Sign Tomko


The San Diego Padres have signed 34-year old rightie Brett Tomko. Tomko was a pathetic 2-11 this year for the Dodgers, showing an also-pathetic 5.80 ERA. Brett told the media that he would be fine coming out of the pen, and would do either or just to help the club get into the postseason.

The signing makes it look like the real deal here was actually David Wells for Brett Tomko. If that was the case, the Dodgers surely won getting the veteran Wells for the stretch run.

Nationals Send King to Milwaukee


The Washington Nationals sent long-relief man Ray King to the Milwaukee Brewers in return for a PTBNL. King has been the only reliever in the Nationals pen which didn't have a superb to at least decent ERA. Ray threw 33.2 innings this season, allowing a 4.54 ERA and 18/18 K/BB Ratio.

Milwaukee made this deal to shore up their pen for their division battle with the Chicago Cubs, and it could pay dividends as King gets lefties out pretty well.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Angels Welcome Old Face


The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim brought up outfielder Juan Rivera from his minor league rehab. Juan was a key piece of the Angels offense last year, hitting more than 20 HR's and 75 RBI's. He than broke his leg during winter-ball and needed until the All-Star break to get the leg ready again.

The Angels stared Rivera last night against the Texas Rangers, going 0-3 with a strikeout. "As of now, I feel 95 percent" Rivera said after the game.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Red Sox Interested in Kei


According to ProSportsDaily, the Boston Red Sox are interested in left-hander Kei Igawa. They feel fond of having three Japanese pitchers on their roster, and are going to attempt to acquire him from the rival Yankees.

Earlier in August, the San Diego Padres claimed Kei off waivers, but neither team was able to come up with a deal for the lefty. This shows that the Yankees still believe Igawa will turn things around.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Surging Phillies


The Philadelphia Phillies would of never dreamed of being only 2 back in the wild card as of September 1st but that is exactly the case. After starting the season as one of the worst teams by far, the Phillies have steadily put it on the opponents and have now won 6 in a row.

One of the reasons Philly has had so much recent success is the re-emergence of left-fielder Pat Burrell. "Pat The Bat" is now hitting .268 on the season with 24 HR and 79 RBI's. He also has a premier .405 OBP, making Pat one of the most sufficent outfielders in the league this year.

Rookie starter Kyle Kendrick has also carried the load since Cole Hamels has been on the DL, going 8-3 on the year with a 3.79 ERA in 15 starts.

After a sweep last week of the New York Mets, the Phillies playoff chances are getting higher and higher, we'll just have to wait to see if they can pull it off.

Chavy In LA?


Buster Olney mentioned in a previous article that the Oakland Athletics should start looking to trade third-basemen Eric Chavez. He brought up the thought that the Dodgers would be extremely interested and might even put up prize left-hander Clayton Krenshaw. Chavez is known for his amazing defense, but still does very well with the bat, hitting .240 with 15 HR and 46 RBI in 90 games before heading to the 15-day DL.

I'm not exactly sure the Dodgers would want Chavez so bad that putting Krenshaw in the deal would make any sense, as most scouts believe Clayton is one of the best pitching prospects left in the minor leagues.

Cardinals Acquire Branyan


It's been a well-traveled year for third-basemen Russell Branyan, and it got worse Friday as the Philadelphia Phillies sent 34-year old Branyan to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for a player to-be named later.

Russell hit .222 in 7 games for the Phils, hitting 2 HR's and 5 RBI. The move came directly after third-basemen Scott Rolen went to the DL, giving the Cards no third basemen on the roster.

About Me

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Fullerton, California, United States
Hey, this is Josh Jones, been an Angel fan for about all my life and love talking baseball with anyone. If you visit the site, I would greatly appreciate it if you could comment the blogs that I've made.Thanks in advance!!