BD Hot Stove: The Not So Wild West | Baseball Digest

BD Hot Stove: The Not So Wild West | Baseball Digest

The American League western division was for the taking when camps broke out of Arizona and Florida in 2010 and the regular season began. But soon teams fell by the wayside. The Angels were riddled with injuries and players that couldn’t fill the shoes of those who had departed (John Lackey, Chone Figgins), and the Mariners were a woeful excuse of a baseball team. Texas emerged on top, but with Cliff Lee’s departure this off-season, the division is certainly up for grabs again in 2011.

Not as deep in the heart of Texas: Lee was the key to the Rangers sealing up the AL West and their run to the World Series. But with Lee gone, the Rangers don’t have a true number one in their rotation. They did make a low risk/high reward signing Sunday when they came to terms with former Diamondback, Brandon Webb ($3M base). It remains to be seen whether or not Webb will be able to regain his form. The Rangers signed Yorvit Torrealba to shore up the leaky boat situation they had at catcher and kept Matt Treanor to back him up. Jeff Francoeur (KC), Rich Harden (Oak), and Brandon McCarthy (Oak) all signed elsewhere.

In the arms of the Angels: With ace John Lackey’s departure prior to the 2010 season and Nick Adenhart’s tragic death in 2009, the Angels were lacking in quality starters last season. The Halos picked up Dan Haren at the trade deadline and hope someone else will emerge this year in the back end of the rotation. One player who might fit that bill is Hisanori Takahashi, the 35-yr old left-hander LA signed away from the Mets. The Angels did give themselves a shot in the arm, the left one to be exact, by signing stand out set up man/part-time closer Scott Downs to a three year deal. The team also parted company with long time reliever Scot Shields. The Angels will be employing a new DH as well after letting Hideki Matsui walk (to Oakland).

An A for Effort: Oakland hung tough for quite a while in the west last year and has been very busy this off-season. In addition to signing Matsui, Harden, and McCarthy, the A’s also dealt for outfielders David DeJesus (KC) and Josh Willingham (FLA), brought back 2nd baseman Mark Ellis, and signed reliever Fernando Cabrera to a minor league deal. Gone are Jack Cust, Vin Mazzaro, Edwin Encarncion, Eric Chavez, and Ben Sheets.

The Rhyme of the Mediocre Mariner: Seattle has had high expectations the last couple of years and very poor results. Outside of Felix Hernandez, Ichiro, and Franklin Gutierrez, there aren’t many holdovers on the roster to get excited about. Bringing in Jack Cust as the new bat isn’t going to change that. Seattle is reportedly shopping closer David Aardsma and already dealt away infielder Jose Lopez. Starter Ryan Rowland-Smith (Hou), like much of the team, had a disappointing 2010 and left via free agency. The only other notable signing for Seattle was the retention of Erik Bedard. Yes, it will be another rough year to be a Mariners fan.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

The Blue Jays are reportedly close to inking reliever Octavio Dotel to a one year deal. Dotel could either serve as a set up man or closer.

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo hears that Carl Pavano is holding out for a three year deal.

The Phillies re-upped with reliever J.C. Romero; terms are reportedly one year at $1.1M.

The Brewers have come to terms with reliever Takashi Saito on a one year, $3M deal.

Yankes Polish Off A's Again

Here's my recap from game I covered for BaseballDigest.com.

A.J. Burnett may not have been pitching for his rotation spot, as Joe Girardi stated during his pre-game press conference, but a winless August had to have the tall right-hander concerned. Wednesday night he gave his manager six solid innings as the Yankees won their fifth straight, 4-3 over the Oakland A’s.

People talk about the great A.J., the good A.J., and the bad A.J.; tonight each made an appearance. But unlike that winless August, Burnett hung tough, finishing strong in his final inning and, in the process, gave the Yankees some length from their starter. Had it not been for a rested bullpen, Girardi said he most likely would have sent Burnett out for the 7th inning. Burnett said afterwards he can’t worry about “What the manager is saying/doing concerning the rotation. I just need to go out and do my job.”

Click here to read the rest of this always free story.

A's Give Yankees Razzberries

Darrell Rasner must have figured the Yankees don't give me run support any way, so I might as well go out and get clobbered. Okay, we're sure he really didn't feel that way, but he did get clobbered in the A's 8-4 win over the Yankees.

Jason Giambi had given the Yankees a 1-0 lead with a solo home run off of A's starter Justin Ducscherer in the 2nd and Rasner had breezed through the first two innings. Giambi's throwing error allowed Travis Buck to reach 1st base to start the 3rd inning and it was all downhill for Rasner after that. He retired Kurt Suzuki on a foul out, but gave up consecutive hits to John Hannahan, Bobby Crosby, Jack Cust, Eric Chavez, and Carlos Gonzalez as the A's built a 6-1 lead. Cust's RBI single in the 4th finally knocked Rasner out of the game in favor of Ross Ohlendorf and his new bad mustache.

The Yankees meanwhile rolled over and played dead against Ducscherer coming up with just 5 hits over 7 innings. Their best chance came in the 3rd inning when they had runners on the corners with just 1 out, but Duscherer struck out both Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez to escape further trouble. The Yankees finally added 3 runs in the 9th, but the game was already over.



June 11, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3		4	7	1
Oakland	0	0	6	1	1	0	0	0	X		8	11	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.321
Jeter, SS	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	.272
Abreu, RF	4	1	2	0	0	1	2	.298
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	3	5	.314
Matsui, DH	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.323
Giambi, 1B	4	2	2	2	0	0	2	.263
Posada, C	4	0	1	1	0	0	2	.296
Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.224
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.266
Totals	32	4	7	3	3	5	12
BATTING 2B: Giambi (10, Duchscherer), Abreu (15, Calero). HR: Giambi (15, 2nd inning off Duchscherer, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Jeter; Abreu 3; Matsui; Giambi 6; Posada. RBI: Giambi 2 (37), Posada (14). 2-out RBI: Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez; Cano. GIDP: Posada. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING E: Giambi (3, throw). DP: (Cano-Jeter-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner (L, 3-4)	3.2	9	7	6	1	4	0	3.64
Ohlendorf	1.1	2	1	1	3	0	0	5.71
Hawkins	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5.86
Farnsworth	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.30
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2.50

Oakland	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Hannahan, DH	5	1	1	0	0	1	3	.235
Crosby, SS	4	1	1	1	1	1	3	.264
Cust, LF	2	1	2	3	2	0	0	.257
Davis, CF	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.188
Chavez, 3B	5	1	2	0	0	0	5	.300
Ellis, 2B	3	1	1	1	1	0	0	.245
Gonzalez, C, CF-RF	4	0	1	2	0	1	3	.262
Barton, 1B	4	1	1	0	0	2	1	.227
Buck, RF-LF	3	1	0	0	1	0	1	.160
Suzuki, C	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.256
Totals	35	8	11	8	5	6	18
BATTING 2B: Crosby (21, Rasner), Gonzalez, C (8, Rasner), Barton (9, Ohlendorf). TB: Hannahan; Crosby 2; Cust 2; Chavez 2; Ellis; Gonzalez, C 2; Barton 2; Suzuki 2. RBI: Crosby (33), Cust 3 (29), Ellis (24), Gonzalez, C 2 (8), Suzuki (16). 2-out RBI: Cust. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Buck; Gonzalez, C 2; Chavez 2. GIDP: Chavez. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Suzuki (2, 2nd base off Rasner/Posada). FIELDING E: Crosby (8, throw). DP: 2 (Barton-Crosby-Barton, Barton-Crosby).

Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Duchscherer (W, 6-4)	7.0	5	1	1	1	4	1	2.20
Brown, A	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.18
Calero	0.1	1	3	2	2	1	0	6.75
Embree	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.90

WP: Rasner, Ohlendorf.
Pitches-strikes: Rasner 85-53, Ohlendorf 28-12, Hawkins 10-7,
Farnsworth 8-6, Ramirez 15-7, Duchscherer 98-66, Brown, A 10-7,
Calero 15-6, Embree 8-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 3-4, Ohlendorf 2-2, Hawkins 0-2,
Farnsworth 1-2, Ramirez 2-0, Duchscherer 11-5, Brown, A 0-3,
Calero 0-0, Embree 2-0.
Batters faced: Rasner 22, Ohlendorf 9, Hawkins 3, Farnsworth 3,
Ramirez 3, Duchscherer 25, Brown, A 3, Calero 4, Embree 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Ohlendorf 2-0, Embree 3-3.
Umpires: HP: Brian O'Nora. 1B: Paul Nauert. 2B: D.J. Reyburn.
3B: Jerry Crawford.
Weather: 72 degrees, clear.
Wind: 7 mph, Out to RF.
T: 2:44.
Att: 27,292.
News and Notes

A's Give Yankees Razzberries

Darrell Rasner must have figured the Yankees don't give me run support any way, so I might as well go out and get clobbered. Okay, we're sure he really didn't feel that way, but he did get clobbered in the A's 8-4 win over the Yankees.

Jason Giambi had given the Yankees a 1-0 lead with a solo home run off of A's starter Justin Ducscherer in the 2nd and Rasner had breezed through the first two innings. Giambi's throwing error allowed Travis Buck to reach 1st base to start the 3rd inning and it was all downhill for Rasner after that. He retired Kurt Suzuki on a foul out, but gave up consecutive hits to John Hannahan, Bobby Crosby, Jack Cust, Eric Chavez, and Carlos Gonzalez as the A's built a 6-1 lead. Cust's RBI single in the 4th finally knocked Rasner out of the game in favor of Ross Ohlendorf and his new bad mustache.

The Yankees meanwhile rolled over and played dead against Ducscherer coming up with just 5 hits over 7 innings. Their best chance came in the 3rd inning when they had runners on the corners with just 1 out, but Duscherer struck out both Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez to escape further trouble. The Yankees finally added 3 runs in the 9th, but the game was already over.



June 11, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3		4	7	1
Oakland	0	0	6	1	1	0	0	0	X		8	11	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.321
Jeter, SS	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	.272
Abreu, RF	4	1	2	0	0	1	2	.298
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	3	5	.314
Matsui, DH	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.323
Giambi, 1B	4	2	2	2	0	0	2	.263
Posada, C	4	0	1	1	0	0	2	.296
Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.224
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.266
Totals	32	4	7	3	3	5	12
BATTING 2B: Giambi (10, Duchscherer), Abreu (15, Calero). HR: Giambi (15, 2nd inning off Duchscherer, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Jeter; Abreu 3; Matsui; Giambi 6; Posada. RBI: Giambi 2 (37), Posada (14). 2-out RBI: Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez; Cano. GIDP: Posada. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING E: Giambi (3, throw). DP: (Cano-Jeter-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner (L, 3-4)	3.2	9	7	6	1	4	0	3.64
Ohlendorf	1.1	2	1	1	3	0	0	5.71
Hawkins	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5.86
Farnsworth	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.30
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2.50

Oakland	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Hannahan, DH	5	1	1	0	0	1	3	.235
Crosby, SS	4	1	1	1	1	1	3	.264
Cust, LF	2	1	2	3	2	0	0	.257
Davis, CF	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.188
Chavez, 3B	5	1	2	0	0	0	5	.300
Ellis, 2B	3	1	1	1	1	0	0	.245
Gonzalez, C, CF-RF	4	0	1	2	0	1	3	.262
Barton, 1B	4	1	1	0	0	2	1	.227
Buck, RF-LF	3	1	0	0	1	0	1	.160
Suzuki, C	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.256
Totals	35	8	11	8	5	6	18
BATTING 2B: Crosby (21, Rasner), Gonzalez, C (8, Rasner), Barton (9, Ohlendorf). TB: Hannahan; Crosby 2; Cust 2; Chavez 2; Ellis; Gonzalez, C 2; Barton 2; Suzuki 2. RBI: Crosby (33), Cust 3 (29), Ellis (24), Gonzalez, C 2 (8), Suzuki (16). 2-out RBI: Cust. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Buck; Gonzalez, C 2; Chavez 2. GIDP: Chavez. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Suzuki (2, 2nd base off Rasner/Posada). FIELDING E: Crosby (8, throw). DP: 2 (Barton-Crosby-Barton, Barton-Crosby).

Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Duchscherer (W, 6-4)	7.0	5	1	1	1	4	1	2.20
Brown, A	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.18
Calero	0.1	1	3	2	2	1	0	6.75
Embree	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.90

WP: Rasner, Ohlendorf.
Pitches-strikes: Rasner 85-53, Ohlendorf 28-12, Hawkins 10-7,
Farnsworth 8-6, Ramirez 15-7, Duchscherer 98-66, Brown, A 10-7,
Calero 15-6, Embree 8-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 3-4, Ohlendorf 2-2, Hawkins 0-2,
Farnsworth 1-2, Ramirez 2-0, Duchscherer 11-5, Brown, A 0-3,
Calero 0-0, Embree 2-0.
Batters faced: Rasner 22, Ohlendorf 9, Hawkins 3, Farnsworth 3,
Ramirez 3, Duchscherer 25, Brown, A 3, Calero 4, Embree 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Ohlendorf 2-0, Embree 3-3.
Umpires: HP: Brian O'Nora. 1B: Paul Nauert. 2B: D.J. Reyburn.
3B: Jerry Crawford.
Weather: 72 degrees, clear.
Wind: 7 mph, Out to RF.
T: 2:44.
Att: 27,292.
News and Notes

CLICK

That's the sound that followed the sound of a pitch thrown by Andy Pettitte making contact with the bat of Jack Cust. The result was a 3-run HR and a shut off television. Why get aggravated for 7 more innings.

The Yankees managed to score 5 runs this afternoon, but Pettitte (4-6) got rocked for 8 runs (7 earned) in just 1 2-3 innings and the A's took 2 of 3 in the series with an 11-5 win. Danny Haren (10-2) entered the game with a 1.91 ERA, but the Yankees roughed him up for 5 runs in 5 1-3 innings. It jumped Haren's ERA up 2.20.

Ron Villone threw 3 1-3 scoreless innings out of the pen, saving the bullpen and giving the Yankees the chance to chip away. Derek Jeter's 5th inning single cut the margin to 8-5, but the A's pushed 3 more across against Brian Bruney, Mike "I can't get anyone out" Myers, and Luis Vizcaino.

Already leading 1-0 entering the 2nd, the A's made it a short day for Pettitte. Bobby Crosby, Jason Kendall, Mark Kotsay, and Kurt Suzuki strung together 4 straight singles for a 2-0 lead. A Mark Ellis sac fly pushed across a 3rd run before Cust broke it open with his 14th home run of the season.

Joe Torre was hoping Pettitte could still give him some innings, but after an Eric Chavez double and 2-run HR by Dan Johnson (9th), Torre had no choice but to go to the pen.

After Haren exited, the trio of rookies Dallas Braden and Santiago Casilla, and veteran Alan Embree shut down the Yankees over the final 3 2-3 innings.

~~~

As a move to bolster his confidence, and yet continue to overwork him, Torre used Scott Proctor for an inning and a third. Thankfully, nothing was burned after the game.

CLICK

That's the sound that followed the sound of a pitch thrown by Andy Pettitte making contact with the bat of Jack Cust. The result was a 3-run HR and a shut off television. Why get aggravated for 7 more innings.

The Yankees managed to score 5 runs this afternoon, but Pettitte (4-6) got rocked for 8 runs (7 earned) in just 1 2-3 innings and the A's took 2 of 3 in the series with an 11-5 win. Danny Haren (10-2) entered the game with a 1.91 ERA, but the Yankees roughed him up for 5 runs in 5 1-3 innings. It jumped Haren's ERA up 2.20.

Ron Villone threw 3 1-3 scoreless innings out of the pen, saving the bullpen and giving the Yankees the chance to chip away. Derek Jeter's 5th inning single cut the margin to 8-5, but the A's pushed 3 more across against Brian Bruney, Mike "I can't get anyone out" Myers, and Luis Vizcaino.

Already leading 1-0 entering the 2nd, the A's made it a short day for Pettitte. Bobby Crosby, Jason Kendall, Mark Kotsay, and Kurt Suzuki strung together 4 straight singles for a 2-0 lead. A Mark Ellis sac fly pushed across a 3rd run before Cust broke it open with his 14th home run of the season.

Joe Torre was hoping Pettitte could still give him some innings, but after an Eric Chavez double and 2-run HR by Dan Johnson (9th), Torre had no choice but to go to the pen.

After Haren exited, the trio of rookies Dallas Braden and Santiago Casilla, and veteran Alan Embree shut down the Yankees over the final 3 2-3 innings.

~~~

As a move to bolster his confidence, and yet continue to overwork him, Torre used Scott Proctor for an inning and a third. Thankfully, nothing was burned after the game.