Trade Me, Will Ya?!?

• Reds 3-Diamondbacks 2:

You can pretty much stick a fork in the Diamondbacks playoff hopes now. 4 1/2 games out

with fifteen games to go doesn't bode well for a team that pulled out all reasonable stops to try and win this season and is going to fall far short. I know there are those that are going to continually reference the Phillies and Rockies comebacks last season, but those situations were so far different than what's going on now that there's no point in even mentioning them.
The 2007 Phillies had three games remaining with the Mets and were surging even when they were in a worse position of seven games out; and with that, there was a fog of impending doom surrounding the Mets from June of last year all the way through to the last game of the season, so it wasn't a surprise that they got caught and passed.
As for what happened with the Rockies last season, that's something that I doubt we'll see again in the next thirty years. For a team that was so far out of contention to win almost every game they played for a month was a freak occurrence that isn't going to happen again for a looooong time, if ever.
The Dodgers have gotten their house in order while the Diamondbacks are switching closers in desperation to try and save their season and playing a brand of baseball that is conducive to losing like they're waiting for it to happen. Call it the Torre-magic or whatever you want, it's real and it's happening right before our eyes. When bizarre decisions are made and players who were just officially traded come back to haunt their former teams when they're not even in their normal roles, you know things are going to end badly.
Would someone please tell me the point of manager Bob Melvin naming Chad Qualls the closer, but then using Tony Pena to close a game that the Diamondbacks had to win because Qualls had worked in four of the previous six games? It's like saying, "he's the closer, but he needs the night off; so he'll start as the closer tomorrow." And this is no criticism of Pena because he has wicked stuff and the potential to dominate because he throws some pitches that are literally unhittable, but he is not the designated closer of the moment and he did blow the game.
How sweet must it have been for Micah Owings, days after what was unofficial but known

(that Owings was the player to be named later in the Adam Dunn deal), became official that he not only beat his former team in the Diamondbacks, but beat them with his bat because he's unable to pitch for the rest of the season. Here's an interesting question about Owings: in five years, will he be a pitcher or will he be an outfielder/first baseman? I happen to think that Owings could be a consistent 12-15 game winner, but he could also be a 20-homer guy with his bat. Teams are reluctant to have a player/pitcher doing both jobs, but Owings is a prime candidate to do it. Perhaps if he were in the American League, where he could DH on the days he wasn't pitching, it would be more palatable, but the guy is not just a good hitting or a good hitter, he's a good, clutch hitter and a decision has to be made to not just to play it safe and look good in public and make him a hitter or pitcher and stay there without deviation, but to take advantage of his unique skills.

• Braves 3-Mets 2 (Game One); Mets 5-Braves 0 (Game Two):

In a story of two rookies in important games, the Mets decried farm system was bolstered by the brilliant, high-pressure perforance of Jonathon Niese almost a year after another rookie

thrust into the spotlight, Philip Humber, failed miserably in another game the Mets had to win. Interestingly, both wore uniform number 49.
With so many fans still watching the Mets with heads tilted, breath short and lips pursed wondering if there's going to be a repeat of last season's suffocation and keeping a surreptitious eye on the Wild Card standings, the first game of yesterday's doubleheader didn't assuage anyone's feelings of dread. Johan Santana battled his way through 7+ innings clinging to a 2-0 lead and trying to navigate his way through eight innings only to see a series of seeing eye hits doom the Mets bullpen to another blown game. The Braves, in the midst of a dreadful season of rebuilding, would like nothing more than to play a large role in keeping the Mets out of the playoffs again; and after the disheartening loss in the first game, coupled with the Phillies continued brutalizing of the spiraling Brewers and that Niese was pitching the second game made the situation appear even more bleak. That was until Niese used a sneaky-fast high fastball, wicked slow curve and solid changeup to handcuff the Braves and pitch eight shutout innings. Most importantly, he threw strikes, challenged the hitters and overcame the nervousness that sabotaged his first start in

Milwaukee.
Fans were probably remembering Humber last season on September 26th, forced into a start that the Mets needed to get the five solid innings they were hoping for from Niese last night, and that the former first round pick allowed five runs in four innings as the Mets blew leads of 5-0 and 6-2 to the Nationals. If Niese kept the game close, everyone would've breathed a sigh of relief; instead he was brilliant and just as last week, a doubleheader spared the Mets from having to answer repeated questions about whether they were going to blow another playoff spot.

• Precisely why is Luis Ayala not a long-term solution as closer?

The armchair experts keep saying that the Mets are going to have to find a closer next season because Luis Ayala is not the long-term answer. May I ask why? How many teams have found a guy who didn't have the "stuff" or mental makeup to be a closer, installed him in

the role and found a hidden gem? Ayala's appearances have been far cleaner than Billy Wagner's ever were in his three years with the team; Ayala throws strikes, trusts his fielders; hasn't let the pressure of the situation bother him; and he's got great stuff. What's the problem with using him to close?
Look at the last five teams that have won the World Series. The 2007 Red Sox had a truly dominating closer in Jonathan Papelbon; the 2006 Cardinals had a converted starter with three career saves in Adam Wainwright; the 2005 White Sox had a guy with a bad reputation who'd been released and

didn't become the closer until September in Bobby Jenks; the 2004 Red Sox won with a junkballer in Keith Foulke; and the 2003 Marlins won with a journeyman in Ugeth Urbina.
With all the talk about Mariano Rivera's greatness and importance in the Yankees World Series titles, four of the past five teams won the World Series with a closer who wouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Rivera. The job isn't one in which teams have to spend the money that the likes of Francisco Rodriguez is going to demand this winter. I would be perfectly comfortable with Ayala, Al Reyes or Todd Jones as a stopgap and trying to convert the likes of John Maine into the job if necessary and spend the money to bolster the starting rotation because it's a lot of money at the roulette wheel spending money on a closer for a historically iffy result.

• Brian Cashman's return may not be as assured as everyone thinks:

It seems to be automatically assumed that Yankees GM Brian Cashman is going to re-up and remain with the Yankees after the season, but with each passing day and the Yankees

soon to be eliminated from playoff contention, along with the ambiguity, silence and repeated statements to the tune of "we'll deal with it after the season" make the odds around 50-50 (in my mind) that Cashman returns. With the East Coast jobs that will and might be available in Philadelphia and Washington is another possibility as a landing spot and that's the Seattle Mariners.
Given his choice, I'd guess that Cashman would prefer to stay with the Yankees first and foremost----and this is imperative----as long as he's allowed to run the team the way he wants. With the new statements of Hank Steinbrenner implying an "advisory board" would be utilized----ESPN Story----making it a question of whether or not that's going to happen, Cashman seems to be deliberating of what to do and reconciling the possibility of leaving the Yankees in his mind and preparing for it. The longer this vacillation goes on, the less likely it is that he'll return.
If he leaves, I'm sure Cashman would prefer to stay on the East Coast, but it also has to be remembered how conscious Cashman is to his legacy and reputation. The Phillies GM Pat Gillick has gutted their farm system trying to win right now and they're in for a rough couple of years if they don't spend a lot of money to fill their holes. The Nationals are a massive project in which it would take about three years before they're even a .500 team; and I doubt that Cashman is going to willingly want to deal with Elijah Dukes and the other juvenile delinquents that permeate the Nationals roster. That leaves the Mariners.
The Mariners are the best bet to improve next year to perhaps a win total in the mid-80s.

Their pitching staff, with Felix Hernandez; impending free agent, Les Miserables Erik Bedard who's going to have an A.J. Burnett-type season; Carlos Silva; and Brandon Morrow is enough to assure a drastic improvement and if they make a smart player move or two to improve their offense and bring in a smart manager like Bobby Valentine, how is that going to make Cashman look if he turns around a team that is set to lose close to 100 games from one season to the next?
If Cashman does leave, where does that put Joe Girardi? If there were a big name GM available to replace Cashman, I'd say that the Steinbrenners, as part of the interview and hiring process, would tell the new GM, "you do what you need to do" with Girardi and he might be replaced with someone to the new GM's choosing. Since there's no big name available, it's likely that Damon Oppenheimer would replace Cashman and keep

Girardi, but that being said, it's very possible that Girardi could be fired (especially if the Yankees end up in fourth place) and end another job after one season of work with questions about his suitability to be a manager despite his impressive interview skills, obvious intelligence and likability. I don't see this as remote a likelihood as everyone else and if Cashman's out, there may be an entirely new regime in the Yankees new stadium by 2009.

Braves Should've Taken The Diamondbacks Deal For Teixeira

• Braves trade Mark Teixeira to Angels for Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek:
  

It's hard to criticize an aging, fading, injury-riddled team for getting some good return on a player that they weren't going to have past this season anyway, but if the choice for the Braves was between the deals offered by the Diamondbacks and the Angels, then they picked the wrong one.
The rumored Diamondbacks deal----Chad Tracy and Micah Owings for Mark Teixeira----is superior to what they got from the Angels in Casey Kotchman and minor league RHP Stephen Marek. Tracy has had injuries over the past two seasons that have curtailed his production, but he's been healthy since being activated in late May and his production should return to what he showed in 2005 and 2006 in which he hit 20+ homers and had solid batting averages and on base percentages; he can also play first and third base and the outfield. Owings has been terrible since his 4-0 start, but at the very least, he can be a middle-to-back of the rotation innings-eater assuming he's healthy. After his start on Monday in which he got pounded by the offensively-challenged Padres, Owings was sent to Triple A.

I'm admittedly not a fan of Kotchman. He doesn't have enough power for a first baseman or a player of his size (6'3", 215) and he's moving from one pitcher's park in Angels Stadium to another one in Turner Field. Eventually he'll perhaps develop into a consistent 20 homer guy or thereabouts. Minor league pitcher Marek is going to be 25 next month and was moved to the bullpen in Double A; his control has been good enough and he racks up the strikeouts. Keith Law writes on ESPN that Marek has a "bad body" and a delivery that isn't smooth. Unless Owings is hurt, the assessment of Marek and that he's still in Double A at age 25 as he's making the transition to the bullpen makes the decision to choose the Angels deal all the worse for Braves GM Frank Wren.
Teixeira fills a massive void in the Angels lineup and makes them genuine championship contenders instead of a team that wins their division then runs into the Red Sox in the playoffs and loses because of their lack of power. As good a player as Torii Hunter is, he wasn't the sufficient lineup bodyguard for Vladimir Guerrero that Teixeira is. The ballparks are similar enough that Teixeira's production for the Angels should be close to or better than it was with the Braves; he's a Gold Glove first baseman which also fits into the pitching and defense philosophy that permeates the Angels organization. It's not going to hurt that he's entering a situation where the team has needed a basher for years and he's well-suited to be the missing piece to lead them to a championship; this should also appeal to Teixeira's desire to get paid after the season when he enters free agency.
Considering Teixeira's free agent status after the season is a major factor as well.
Teixeira's agent is Scott Boras and there's never been any pretense with the player regarding where he wants to play and whether or not he'd be willing to take a "hometown discount" to go anywhere. He wants his money and in an era where the players who feel the same way are using a public relations spiel to justify where they end up (it's usually with the team that offers the most money), Teixeira has never implied any intention of signing with a team that doesn't offer him the best deal and that's refreshing.

The problem he's going to have is that there are only a very limited number of teams that have the ability to pay him what he's going to want; and even fewer teams that are willing to pay him the money he's going to want. Jayson Stark is reporting on ESPN.com that Boras's initial demand is going to be for an ARod-like (of 2000 anyway) $230 million over ten years. The teams that could meet the asking price are as follows: the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, White Sox, Tigers, Angels, Rangers, Mariners, Mets, Phillies, Cubs and Dodgers. Going one-by-one, how many would be willing to meet that asking price?
The Yankees are a possibility considering the money that's coming off the books after this season, but it's hightly unlikely if Brian Cashman is still the team's GM. In looking at the way the team has functioned since Hank Steinbrenner took over, Cashman has had his judgment usurped several times in the off-season, specifically with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada and it looks like Cashman was right about not committing four years to Posada. Other than that, despite Hank's bluster, he hasn't really interfered with the running of the team; there was the move of Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation, but they were going to do that with or without Hank demanding it. If Cashman is still the Yankees GM, he won't want to have another $200 million player especially as he's trying to pare down salary.

The Red Sox aren't going to go that high either, but they're a workable option if they do finally move on from Manny Ramirez; Kevin Youkilis could play left field just as adequately as Manny does. Teixeira's from Maryland, but as said before, he's not giving the Orioles a discount and baseball boss Andy MacPhail seems to break out in hives at the mere suggestion of committing so much money to one player; plus the Orioles are about three years from contention, so what do they need Teixeira for?
The Tigers have some money coming off the books and a spot open at first base since they've moved Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen all over the chess board this season, they could move him to the outfield next year; they're a possibility. The White Sox aren't going to go as high as Boras wants, but if they can unload Paul Konerko and decline Jim Thome's option, they've got the holes and the money available if the price comes down. The Angels aren't going to meet Boras's asking price either and whether or not Teixeira likes playing in Anaheim won't enter into the equation (he liked Atlanta as well), but he might end up staying there. Forget the Rangers and if the Mariners are starting a rebuilding project, they don't need Teixeira. The Mets are starting to look likely to pick up Carlos Delgado's contract option and aren't paying an outsider $200 million to anger David Wright and Jose Reyes; they also just gave Johan Santana $137 million and the vault for those massive long-term deals is closing for the Mets. The Phillies and Cubs don't need him; and the Dodgers aren't going to pay another player that amount of money after the Andruw Jones disaster.
Teixeira's problem with seeking such a monster contract isn't only the limited number of teams that can pay it, but that some of those teams might pull themselves out of the bidding because they already have a first baseman or they might look at how the Braves didn't contend with Teixeira, so why would he be worth that kind of money to begin with? Winning a title will only help his cause though and for a team like the Angels, he's exactly what they needed to protect their big hitter and supplement that great pitching staff by adding a proven run producer and they didn't give up all that much to get him.

• A quote from The Sopranos that fits the Jarrod Washburn situation:

Buster Olney linked a Seattle writer, Larry LaRue, who suggests that the Mariners shouldn't give away a pitcher like Washburn who's, "a potential No. 3 or No. 4 starter next year". This assertion reminded me of the next-to-last episode of The Sopranos as the Lupertazzi crew plots the assassination of the Sopranos family's upper managment team:

Butch DeConcici: Tony Soprano, obviously. Plus Silvio Dante, and we think, Bobby

Baccilieri.
Ray Ray: That mortadell's number three? He used to be Junior Soprano's driver.

I couldn't help but think of this quote at the mere suggestion that Jarrod Washburn would be a number three starter considering his performance (the last two months notwithstanding) over his time with the Mariners. If they think he's going to be a number three starter for any team other than one that's going to win a max of 73 games, they're kidding themselves; if someone offers to take the contract, the Mariners should jump at the chance no matter what's coming back.

Pedro Looks Out Of Whack, But Healthy

• Mets 15-Yankees 6 (Game 1); Yankees 9-Mets 0 (Game 2):

Carlos Delgado has a massive, team-record breaking day with two homers and nine RBI

and instead of people giving the guy some credit when he's been ripped relentlessly going back to last year, we hear stuff to the tune of "he's hitting off of batting practice pitchers" as a form of caveat for some positive results. No, it wasn't Brandon Webb he was hitting against when he did his damage, but every hitter fattens up his batting average and power numbers against mediocre pitchers; why should Delgado apologize or have to hear negativity when he finally does something good?
The Yankees aren't going to be able to function for much longer with the likes of Dan Giese, Ross Ohlendorf, Kei Igawa, Edwar Ramirez and whatever other journeymen they come up with to eat some innings. They can't count on Ian Kennedy to provide a spark and no one seems to know when Phil Hughes is coming back. The Yankees have the prospects to get

Roy Oswalt without digging too deeply into their farm system and that may be what they're going to have to do because the Rays don't look like they're going away and what the Yankees are trotting out there now just isn't going to cut it.
Pedro Martinez's velocity and stamina were expected to be the issues when he returned from his injuries, but his velocity has been consistently in the upper-80s to low-90s; Pedro's problem has been his command and that his head occasionally doesn't appear to be on

what he's doing. There's no excuse for a pitcher the stature of Pedro Martinez to be walking five guys in 5 2/3 innings; and where was his mind on Johnny Damon's grounder to second in the fifth inning? The pitcher is supposed to automatically bolt to cover first base on any ball hit to the right side of the infield; it looked like Pedro was in his own little world and not paying attention to what he was doing. For a guy who tries to set an example for the other pitchers on the staff, it was a colossal gaffe even though it probably didn't affect the result.

• Cardinals activate Mark Mulder and put him in the bullpen:

After all the rehab starts, aches and pains, visits to more doctors with various ailments, even the Cardinals are unlikely to be expecting anything of consequence from Mark Mulder.

They've got him in the bullpen for now in what looks like a case of "we may as well just bring him up and use him rather than have him waste whatever he has left rehabbing in the minors." If I had to bet, I'd say he comes up with another injury before getting into a game and goes back on the disabled list, or pitches and gets pummeled because he has very little left in his tank.

• Marlins 3-Diamondbacks 1:

In what must be a far cry from the Babe Ruth references that Micah Owings heard after his

hot start on the mound and at the plate, he may end up back in the minors in the very near future. On the whole, the Diamondbacks are looking eerily similar to the Mets last year----a hot start and bulging lead in their division, followed by a drunken stumble into mediocrity. The question is whether they're going to ride it out as the Mets did or do something to try to shake things up.

• Rangers 8-Phillies 7:

There has to be concern in the Phillies front office that the desperation switch of Brett

Myers to the bullpen last season, followed by a switch back to the rotation, has damaged the pitcher. His fastball is noticeably decreased in velocity and, aside from a solid game sprinkled in here and there, he's gotten pounded all season. Other than asking him if he's feeling healthy and/or ordering him to the doctor and possibly fiddling with his mechanics, I don't know what they can do other than just keep putting him out there and hope he straightens out.