Weaver Joins Brewers

According to SI.com, the Brewers and Jeff Weaver have agreed to a minor league deal. However, if he is not called up by June 1st, he can declare for free agency. Weaver pitched for the Mariners in 2007, going 7-13 with a 6.20 ERA. The Brewers have had interest in Weaver for awhile, and this signing, assuming he can make a successful comeback, could lead to a Dave Bush trade. He has been the subject of several trade over the past couple of weeks and if struggles tonight, they could ship him off to make room for Weaver. Weaves is 93-114 with a 4.72 ERA in nine major league seasons. His best year came in 2005 when he won 14 games for the Dodgers.

Tigers Will Breakout Eventually, But…

The Tigers intense, but quiet manager finally lost his cool last night, ripping his team apart behind close doors. This was after they were shutout by the White Sox, who hit two grand slams off them in the same game. No one would be saying anything right now if we were in May and the Tigers had twenty-five wins. People would be calling it a rough patch. However, we are just twelve games into the season and the Tigers have just won two games. Their bullpen is worse than everyone expected, and their two biggest additions are vastly under producing.

The Tigers have already been shut out more than they were last season, and are averaging two less runs than last season. Not only that, but their pitching is giving up an average 6.5 runs a game, leading the league by a point and a half. An interesting fact from John Donovan: “Since their 0-7 start the Tigers (2-10) actually have lost a half-game in the standings. If they are to win 92 games they have to go 90-60 the rest of the way. That’s a .600 clip. By the way, it has taken an average of 97 wins over the last three seasons to win the vastly improved AL Central.” Are you changing your projections yet?

One possibility is that the Tigers hitters are feeling the pressure of being the team that breaks the hitting records, and are swinging at the wrong pitches. Another possibility is that the seven starters 32 years or older are starting to wear down and the others, Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson, cannot pick it up. MagglioOrdonez, who is a career .311 hitter, is hitting just .234 while he is nearly two full points under his career OPS average. Placido Polanco, who hit .341 last season, is hitting just .154 while his career OBP is down a little over a point. His OPS is also down three points from his career average as well.

What can the Tigers do? One option would be to allow time for Gary Sheffield to heal and sign Barry Bonds. He might be willing to take a low base salary contract, and he could turn out to actually help the Tigers. Although Dave Dombrowski said he would not sign him, he might consider if the losing continues. I am really surprised the Tigers did not snatch up either Bryan Corey or Kyle Snyder, but I am even more surprised they have not made a move for their bullpen. Last season, Lou Piniella went off on an umpire to move the attention away from his players and onto him. The team went 63-46 from that point and won the division by two games. Maybe Jim Leyland should do something to take the attention off his players for a couple games, I’m sure an experienced manager like him could handle the heat.

The main point here is that the Tigers are not out of it, but they have a long way to go if they want to win the division this season. As of right now, it looks like the Indians and White Sox will be battling it out for the division, not like the Tigers and the Indians like everyone thought.

Braves Looking For A Pitcher

With Tom Glavine possibly heading to the DL for the first time in his career and the fifth starter spot open, the Braves are short on pitching. Tim Hudson and John Smoltz have stepped up, but that really is not a surprise. Jair Jurrjens is off to a good start for a fourth starter, but he cannot make a significant impact on the rotation to justify giving the spot to Jeff Bennett or Jo-Jo Reyes.

If they are looking on the market for a pitcher, there are several potential number five starters. Horacio Ramirez, Jeff Weaver, David Wells, to name a few. However, they have not been the most effective pitchers and they are probably better off sacrificing a low level prospect for someone like Dave Bush, who was recently pushed into the bullpen. Bush would make for a solid number five starter and would not cost much for them to bring him in. Other options include Robinson Tejada, Vicente Padilla, Matt Belisle, or maybe Matt Morris, but it looks like he might be traded to New York or Detroit by the trade deadline.

MLB Prospect Report

– BATTERS –
TEAM		CLASS		PLAYER, POS		AB		R		H		BI		AVG
SF		LoA		Villalona, Angel 1B		4		1		2		5		.310
ATL		LoA		Heyward, Jason RF		5		0		1		0		.293
CHC		AA		Colvin, Tyler CF		6		1		3		0		.231
CIN		LoA		Waring, Brandon 3B		4		0		2		0		.472
COL		AA		Young Jr., Eric 2B		2		3		1		2		.350
FLA		AA		Coghlan, Chris 2B		5		2		2		1		.342
HOU		AA		Iorg, Eli CF		3		0		1		0		.289
LAA		AAA		Rodriguez, Sean 2B		4		2		2		1		.343
LAA		AA		Statia, Hainley SS		3		0		1		0		.176
LAA		LoA		Moore, Jeremy LF		4		2		4		1		.250
LAD		AA		May, Lucas C		6		2		4		1		.310
MIL		AA		Escobar, Alcides SS		4		0		2		0		.158
MIN		LoA		Parmelee, Chris 1B		3		2		2		3		.345
PHI		AA		Golson, Greg CF		5		2		2		1		.350
PIT		AAA		Walker, Neil 3B		4		1		1		1		.211
SD		AAA		Antonelli, Matt 2B		5		1		1		2		.219
SD		HiA		Hunter, Cedric CF		5		1		2		0		.383
SEA		AAA		Clement, Jeff DH		2		1		1		1		.364
SEA		AAA		LaHair, Bryan 1B		3		2		2		3		.300
SEA		AA		Moore, Adam C		4		2		2		1		.296
SF		AAA		Schierholtz, Nate RF		4		2		3		4		.286
SF		HiA		D’Alessio, Andy DH		5		1		2		2		.267
STL		AAA		Rasmus, Colby CF		4		1		0		0		.200
STL		AA		Martinez, Jose 2B		5		0		2		2		.220
TB		AAA		Perez, Fernando CF		3		0		1		2		.273
TEX		AA		Ramirez, Max DH		5		1		2		0		.242
TEX		LoA		Beltre, Engel CF		4		2		1		1		.241
TEX		LoA		Gac, Ian 1B		4		2		2		3		.393
TOR		HiA		Arencibia, J.P. C		4		1		1		3		.257
TOR		HiA		Snider, Travis DH		5		2		3		0		.293
WAS		AA		Maxwell, Justin RF		3		1		1		1		.241
WAS		HiA		Marrero, Chris 1B		4		2		2		0		.278
– PITCHERS –
TEAM		CLASS		PITCHER		IP		H		R		ER		BB		K		ERA
ARI		LoA		Collmenter, Josh		5.0		2		1		1		1		4		10.38
ARI		HiA		Enright, Barry		5.0		5		3		3		0		5		9.75
ATL		AAA		Reyes, Jo-Jo		4.0		3		0		0		1		8		0.00
ATL		AA		Medlen, Kris		2.2		2		1		1		0		3		1.23
BAL		AAA		Penn, Hayden		7.0		3		1		1		1		2		5.82
BOS		AA		Richardson, Dustin		6		1		1		1		3		4		1.64
COL		AAA		Capellan, Jose		6.0		1		1		1		2		2		3.27
COL		AAA		Reynolds, Greg		5.1		11		7		5		0		1		8.79
COL		AA		Strop, Pedro		1		0		0		0		1		1		3.60
COL		AA		Weathers, Casey		1		0		0		0		1		0		0.00
DET		HiA		Porcello, Rick		4.0		4		2		1		2		5		0.64
FLA		AA		Sinkbeil, Brett		6		6		2		2		1		2		3.27
KC		AA		Johnson, Blake		6		5		0		0		0		5		5.23
LAA		AAA		Green, Nick		7.0		12		3		3		1		6		3.71
LAA		HiA		O’Sullivan, Sean		5.0		0		1		0		2		4		2.81
NYY		AAA		Igawa, Kei		5.2		5		2		2		3		4		1.72
NYY		HiA		Melancon, Mark		2.0		1		0		0		0		0		8.10
NYY		LoA		Betances, Dellin		5.0		6		2		2		2		7		3.52
OAK		AAA		Braden, Dallas		6.0		4		1		1		2		5		0.73
OAK		AA		Simmons, James		3		5		1		1		1		3		1.50
OAK		HiA		De Los Santos, Fautino		5.0		7		2		2		3		7		3.94
OAK		LoA		Keough, Shane		1.0		0		0		0		2		0		0.00
PHI		AAA		Happ, J.A.		5.0		1		2		2		5		9		5.27
PHI		AA		Carrasco, Carlos		6		5		2		2		2		7		2.45
PHI		HiA		Savery, Joe W (1-1)		8.0		5		0		0		1		4		0.90
PIT		AAA		Bullington		7.0		6		1		1		0		4		3.71
PIT		HiA		Moskos, Daniel		5.0		5		2		2		1		4		3.60
TEX		AAA		Hurley, Eric		4.2		10		6		4		2		6		7.07
TOR		AAA		Purcey, David		7.0		4		2		2		2		7		1.89
TOR		HiA		Cecil, Brett		3.0		3		2		2		0		2		3.86
WAS		HiA		Zimmermann, Jordan		5.2		1		2		1		2		6		0.93

Would The Rockies Pursue Harden?

The Rockies goal this past offseason was to lock up their young players, and then land a big name starter. They failed to land a big name starter and are reportedly still looking to accomplish that goal. The Athletics love minor league depth and could turn to the Rockies in July to see if they are interested in parting with a few of their prospects for Joe Blanton or Rich Harden. If Jayson Nix continues to struggle though, they could go after Mark Ellis, who is set to be a free agent. Although he is getting older, he would probably do very well in Colorado. Harden has been hit with injuries, but no one is denying that he could be the best pitcher in the game if he was healthy: “I mean, he could be that guy who, honestly, could pitch 200 innings and give up 100 hits. It’s that kind of silly stat that you could see out of this guy,” Mark Mulder said. Harden is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA this season, but is currently on the DL. If he can come off the DL before mid-May and pitch strong till the All-Star break, his trade value should still be high. Other teams that are known to be interested in the twenty-six year old include the Yankees, Cubs, and Indians, among others.

Fantasy: Stock Rising or Falling

The second addition of Stock Rising or Falling:

Nate McLouth, Pirates
- McLouth really broke out versus the Cubs last week and it has been all up hill from there. He was being snatched up in fantasy leagues that missed, and his teammates recently voted him most likely to breakout this season.

Mike Jacobs, Marlins
- Jacobs has struggled thus far in his Marlins career, but is finally showing signs of power. He has got five homeruns so far, and he would really help the Marlins if he can stay hot.

Gavin Floyd, White Sox
- Had a one hitter going into the eighth inning, but was still able to get the win. Gavin Floyd is available in most leagues, and if he continues to pitch well and the White Sox remain hot, he should easily get double-digit wins.

Honorable Mention: Evan Longoria, Rays

Rich Harden, Athletics
- After everyone thought he was going to be okay, he lands on the DL. No one is sure when he will be back, but I would expect the A’s to take their time with him.

Rich Hill, Cubs
- After failing to find the strike zone in two starts, Lou Piniella moved him to the bullpen.

Roy Oswalt, Astros
- His fastball has slowed down, but he refuses to adjust. It could be a long year for Oswalt.

Honorable Mention: Felix Pie, Cubs and Andruw Jones, Dodgers.

Workers Find Buried Red Sox Jersey

After a report last week came out that a worker laid a Red Sox jersey in the concrete under the Yankees clubhouse. Two workers approached the construction manager with what they thought was the location of the jersey, and were exactly right. The jersey was removed and felt like a dirty rag, but the “Red” on the front of the jersey could easily be seen. Hal Steinbrenner, one of the new Bosses, couldn’t help but comment on the situation: “I hope his co-workers kick the [expletive] out of him,” Yankees co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner said of the man who planted the jersey.

Danger averted.

Roberts to Rockies?

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Rockies may approach the Orioles about Brian Roberts if Jayson Nix continues to struggle offensively. Nix, who is hitting .143 with 0 HR and 1 RBI, is a top prospect in the Rockies organization. He is a career .256 hitter with 78 homeruns in seven minor league seasons, but many scouts believe his average will come up playing in Colorado. Matt Holliday was a .275 hitter in the minors and is now a .319 career hitter, so it is possible. Many believe the Orioles will go through with their fire sale in July, trading Brian Roberts, Ramon Hernandez, and possibly Melvin Mora. The Cubs remain interested in trading for Brian Roberts, as do the Indians. However, the Indians may not want to move Jhonny Peralta to third if he continues to swing a hot bat in June or July.

The Rockies have much to offer the Orioles in a trade. They could easily pry Ian Stewart from the Rockies, as well as two or three other prospects. Chris Nelson is a shortstop down in Double-A who hit 19 homeruns last season. Brandon Hynick won sixteen games last season and has a solid changeup. Hector Gomez is also a shortstop, but he is still in Single-A and no one is sure if he can play second base just yet. The Rockies are known to build their team from the ground up, so I doubt they would make a trade. My money is on the Cubs, who remain willing to part with several pitchers, maybe even Rich Hill now that he is off to a slow start.

Astros Oswalt In For Change

Since making his major league debut in 2001, Oswalt has compiled a 112-56 record, making him the winningest pitcher of the 21st century. Not only that, but he has pitched on three All Star teams, and has pitched in the World Series. At one point, there was not another pitcher you would want on Fantasy team than him. Oswalt is known as a power pitcher, with a devastating curveball and pretty nasty changeup. However, Oswalt’s first three outings along with looking at his previous stats show that he is starting to slow down. Oswalt has barely touched 90 mph on the radar gun with his fastball and has failed to find his release point with his curveball. This has caused increased hits and less strikeouts. Gennaro Filice of SI.com breaks down his stats since 2001 basically since his career has begun:

Roy’s Recession

Year K/9 AVG SLG 2001 9.15 .235 .361 2002 8.03 .247 .369 2003 7.63 .246 .375 2004 7.82 .260 .385 2005 6.85 .262 .389 2006 6.77 .263 .403 2007 6.54 .265 .389 2008* 6.75 .400 .720

*Through Oswalt’s first two starts of the season

Slowly but surely, his K/9 has gone down and the average and slugging percentage of batters has gone up. Oswalt won fourteen games last year, but did not fair in several decisions because of his bullpen. He could probably put up fourteen wins again this season, but expect a higher ERA and more losses. This is probably the last year for Oswalt as the dominating pitcher he has been, unless this season and over the next off season he can learn to become a finesse pitcher.

Just because he cannot overpower his opponent, doesn’t mean he cannot be a successful pitcher. Several pitchers have made a successful transition from power pitcher to finesse, and there is no reason that Oswalt should not be able to as well. Because the Astros rotation heavily relies on Oswalt, it is very important that they help him move away from power and move towards finesse. If he continues to try and overpower hitters and rack up pitch counts and innings, it could lead to nagging arm problems.

News and Notes: MLB Improves Drug Agreement

Baseball players and owners agreed to a new deal calling for more frequent test of players over the next three seasons. The terms of the deal also give amnesty to all the players implicated in the Mitchell Report, so Jose Guillen’s suspension has been eliminated. “We are gratified that commissioner Selig chose to accept Sen. Mitchell’s recommendation that no further punishment of players is warranted,” union head Donald Fehr said. “In many instances the naming of players was punishment enough; in others it may have been unfair.” The deal has several other perks, but here are the major parts of it:

- Annual tests will rise by 600 to 3,600, an average of three per player.

– As many as 375 offseason tests can be conducted over the next three years, up from the current limit of 60 per offseason.

– Testing will include the top 200 prospects for each year’s annual draft.

– The IPA will issue an annual report detailing what substances resulted in positive tests, the number of tests given and therapeutic use exemptions by category of ailment.

– Additional substances were added to the banned list, among them: insulin-like growth factor, gonadotropins, aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators, and clomid and other antiestrogens.

– An automatic stay for an initial suspension will be expanded to players disciplined for conduct unrelated to a positive test.

I look forward to this years draft now that they will test the draftees, I wonder if it will change anything. Otherwise, we will have to wait and see to learn the effects of the deal.

Rich Hill to bullpen: The Cubs will likely move Rich Hill to the bullpen to work on his control problems and move Jon Lieber into the rotation. However, it is possible they keep Lieber where he is because he is doing well and move Sean Marshall into the bullpen.

Snyder drawing interest: Kyle Snyder is drawing trade interest from the Rays, Tigers, and Phillies. He will likely be traded by the end of next week. Mike Timlin is set to come off the DL and the Red Sox will likely trade Bryan Corey as well. Maybe one of those teams will be interested as well.

Clement coming up?: Mariners prospect Jeff Clement could be called up soon if Kenji Johjima continues to struggle.

Sosa considering retirement: Sammy Sosa is holding out for a job, but if none comes, then he will retire. Japan was interested, but I doubt Sosa would go over there.

Nats prospect goes down: Nationals prospect Kory Castro suffered a broken hamate bone and will likely miss two months.

Samardzija tops Kershaw: Cubs prospect Jeff Samardzija topped Dodgers prospect Clayton Kershaw in his best performance in his professional career. Former number one pick Ryan Harvey collected three hits off Kershaw, a sign that maybe he is coming around.

Poreda has promising start: Poreda pitched five solid innings in Single-A before the game was called. Poreda skipped Low-A, so to see a good start come in your pro debut is promising.