Past the halfway point in the MLB season

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

If anything, the Mets desperately need to fix up their bullpen because if they try to go with what they have now, it's bound to fall apart once they get down the stretch. Mota hasn't looked good all year since he got off the roids. Heilman is good for giving up at least two runs every time he gets in the game. Schoeneweis has almost become as talented at blowing a game as Heilman has. And Joe Smith, Aaron Sele, and Mike Pelfrey aren't going to be enough to keep the pen going. They need to get one or two strong bullpen arms, if not more.

 

The Mets have the third best reliever ERA in the NL. I could see them trying to acquire one more arm, but the combination of Heilman and Wagner at the end of the game is about as good as you can get. I think they need another starter before they start worrying about the bullpen.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Another bat. Preferably a third basemen.

[tominator89 0]

Phillies need pitching.

The Phillies lead the league in runs scored and are last in runs allowed, so that's certainly a fair assessment. The rotation at this point is Hamels, Moyer, Eaton, Kendrick and Durbin. Kendrick can not maintain his success with his peripherals. Durbin's control is awful. The Phils really need another starter to compete this year. Given the market, I doubt they can do it unless they deal Aaron Rowand.

 

What are the chances that Rowand will re-sign with the Phils? If he's looking to test free agency, then why not get something in return for him now? He's an All-Star so his value may not be higher than it is now.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Phillies need pitching.

The Phillies lead the league in runs scored and are last in runs allowed, so that's certainly a fair assessment. The rotation at this point is Hamels, Moyer, Eaton, Kendrick and Durbin. Kendrick can not maintain his success with his peripherals. Durbin's control is awful. The Phils really need another starter to compete this year. Given the market, I doubt they can do it unless they deal Aaron Rowand.

 

What are the chances that Rowand will re-sign with the Phils? If he's looking to test free agency, then why not get something in return for him now? He's an All-Star so his value may not be higher than it is now.

I'm a fan of the trade high theory but I'm not sure how the general fanbase will react. Personally, I feel Victorino is a better defensive outfielder in the first place and heir apparent at center field.

[Bored 0]

My favorite team needs to build a time machine, go back to the 2005-06 offseason, and trade Bobby Crosby and Rich Harden for an ass load of prospects.

[Dandy 0]

Danville_Wrestling---That's David Ross for the Reds, not Darren. You are third Reds fan on the board, please try to keep up.

 

I think the following should be traded from the club: Scott Hatteberg, Jeff Conine, Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Dunn, and Matt Belisle. We need relievers of all kinds, and perhaps a starter. Call up Joey Votto for the rest of the season to get him some experience at 1B. Jay Bruce should be in AAA next year and ready for a Sept. call up.

 

This leaves a lineup of:

1B---Joey Votto

2B---Brandon Phillips

SS---Alex Gonzalez

3B---Ryan Freel

LF---Norris Hopper

CF---Josh Hamilton

RF---Ken Griffey, Jr.

 

SP---Aaron Harang

SP---Bronson Arroyo

SP---Kyle Lohse

SP---Homer Bailey

SP---Bobby Livingston

 

You can put Jeff Keppinger at 3B and keep Freel in the outfield, on any given day. The bench has Javier Valentin, Keppinger, and not much else. Players need to be signed, traded, or brought up over the offseason. The Bullpen needs a complete overhaul.

[Hawk 34 0]

Lohse is gone, possibly by the end of the month but especially the end of the year. Dunn, Conine, Hatteberg and Loshe, I believe are the most likely to be dealt. Edwin isn't getting shipped, yet. I'll add Stanton to that likely list. A great deal of attention needs to be done with the bullpen and adding a better quality starter. That isn't going to be done at the deadline.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I think the following should be traded from the club: Scott Hatteberg, Jeff Conine, Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Dunn, and Matt Belisle. We need relievers of all kinds, and perhaps a starter.

 

 

I didn't know Wayne Krivsky posted on this board.

[Guest •]

The White Sox need to cut payroll, that's what they need. They're paying over $100 million for fourth place in the Central, which is unacceptable; as my team paid about $95MM for dead last in the NL, take it from me. Get what you can for Uribe, Dye, Iguchi, two of Garland/Vasquez/Contreras, and Thome. (They really assfucked themselves on Joe Crede, huh.) The bullpen is shit save Jenks, so there's nothing to sell there. That gives them a rotation of Buehrle, Danks, Masset, Haeger, whichever other guy, plus Gio Gonzalez in the pipeline, which will let them limp to the finish line while building up the youngsters.

 

The Cubs need Jason Kendall to not be the second-worst player in baseball. The rotation is a little suspect for me, since Marshall is young, Hill is streaky, Marquis is bad, and Lilly is a career .500 pitcher. I don't know what they could conceivably get, though. Matt Morris?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

The White Sox need to cut payroll, that's what they need. They're paying over $100 million for fourth place in the Central, which is unacceptable; as my team paid about $95MM for dead last in the NL, take it from me. Get what you can for Uribe, Dye, Iguchi, two of Garland/Vasquez/Contreras, and Thome. (They really assfucked themselves on Joe Crede, huh.) The bullpen is shit save Jenks, so there's nothing to sell there. That gives them a rotation of Buehrle, Danks, Masset, Haeger, whichever other guy, plus Gio Gonzalez in the pipeline, which will let them limp to the finish line while building up the youngsters.

 

Wow. That's pretty dead on. Kudos. Oh and a new manager. Ozzie's too much of a distraction at this point and just begging to get sacked.

[vivalaultra 0]

The Cubs need Jason Kendall to not be the second-worst player in baseball. The rotation is a little suspect for me, since Marshall is young, Hill is streaky, Marquis is bad, and Lilly is a career .500 pitcher. I don't know what they could conceivably get, though. Matt Morris?

 

Jason Jennings for Felix Pie. Do it, Rock-a-pella!

[Guest •]

How about Harold Baines? Everyone likes him, he's already on the coaching staff, and he seems to be more of the soft-spoken, "leadership by example" type. That's strictly hypothetical, though; Ozzie's not getting fired or non-renewed any time soon because he seems to be very well-liked by his players (that aren't asked to throw fastballs at people's heads).

 

The Cubs need Jason Kendall to not be the second-worst player in baseball. The rotation is a little suspect for me, since Marshall is young, Hill is streaky, Marquis is bad, and Lilly is a career .500 pitcher. I don't know what they could conceivably get, though. Matt Morris?

 

Jason Jennings for Felix Pie. Do it, Rock-a-pella!

But you already have Underpants in center. Cubs won't trade with Houston, and Pie is probably pretty close to untouchable, anyway. Jacque Jones, Cesar Izturis, Matt Murton, and Angel Pagan are expendable, in that order.

[vivalaultra 0]

Hmmm....I would like to have Irish Red or the Oxymoronically named Angel Pagan to play next to Underpants...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

To the Reds fans, the worst thing you can do when you're 16 games under .500 is to sell the farm to build a bullpen. To do what, protect non-existant leads? Norris Hopper is a 28 year old rookie with a .337 career slugging percentage in the minors. Ryan Freel is 31, recovering from injury and has a career .379 slugging percentage. Keppinger hits for high averages but he's a singles hitter. Josh Hamilton can not play center field long term. Ken Griffey turns 38 next year. What you are left with is a lineup with no power, and no stars.

 

The desire of the Reds to trade Adam Dunn is maddening as well.

[Fökai 0]

Phillies need pitching.

The Phillies lead the league in runs scored and are last in runs allowed, so that's certainly a fair assessment. The rotation at this point is Hamels, Moyer, Eaton, Kendrick and Durbin. Kendrick can not maintain his success with his peripherals. Durbin's control is awful. The Phils really need another starter to compete this year. Given the market, I doubt they can do it unless they deal Aaron Rowand.

 

What are the chances that Rowand will re-sign with the Phils? If he's looking to test free agency, then why not get something in return for him now? He's an All-Star so his value may not be higher than it is now.

I'm a fan of the trade high theory but I'm not sure how the general fanbase will react. Personally, I feel Victorino is a better defensive outfielder in the first place and heir apparent at center field.

 

A serious question meant to ask of your analysis: don't you feel that Victorino fits at right field? Or is it some factor I'm missing (their future outfield prospects, FA market allowing you to get a RF at a cheaper rate than a CF, etc). I see your point if you feel that they can get a big bat at RF over one at CF.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

A serious question meant to ask of your analysis: don't you feel that Victorino fits at right field? Or is it some factor I'm missing (their future outfield prospects, FA market allowing you to get a RF at a cheaper rate than a CF, etc). I see your point if you feel that they can get a big bat at RF over one at CF.

 

If you take Victorino by himself with no consideration to his teammates, he is most valuable as a center fielder. There are two reasons for this. One, it is easier to land a bigger bat in a corner than it is at center field. Second, Victorino's range is OUTSTANDING. Phillies fans have seen the arm. I watched Victorino play center field on a regular basis in 2005, and I believe he can cover more ground in center field.

 

Aaron Rowand is a free agent after the season. Gary Matthews at 31 had a very good season and got a $40 million contract. Rowand is two years younger and is having a better offensive season. That'll be worth maybe $12 million a year? If the Phillies already have someone who can capably play center, why not spend the money elsewhere where you need it? Third base is a gaping black hole with no players remotely capable of carrying the load in the minors.

 

Right now with no free agents or trades, here is the Phils 2008 lineup.

 

C: Carlos Ruiz

1B: Ryan Howard

2B: Chase Utley

SS: Jimmy Rollins

3B: Wes Helms/Greg Dobbs

LF: Pat Burrell

CF: Shane Victorino

RF: Michael Bourn

[Dandy 0]

Well, my analysis of the Reds should have had several paragraphs of where we needed to sign all these good players and such. However, it is apparent the reds are not going to break the bank, so it is likely they will get some prospects, build on what they do well, and totally try to rebuild where they are pitiful.

 

Dunn strikes out way too much and is usually an adventure in the field. Rob Deer is not who people should mold themselves after. Now I like Dunn for the most part, but he is not who they should build around.

 

Hopper and Freel are not who I would pick if I had better options, but I never talked about specific signing or anyone not already involved in the organization. Freel is a favorite of mine and he is in a BAD year at the plate. When he is stealing bases all over the place and starting at 4 different positions, he's a good player for the Reds.

 

My lineup and roster up top was if they traded away some players, that would be who was left and possibly called up. Of course they would need to sign free agents or actually pick players up in these trades. The Reds are in need of rebuilding, and Hatteberg and Conine are not who you rebuild around. Clubs will want veterans, and Dunn will go somewhere, hopefully.

 

I was just being realistic, because I could have said "pick up Santana, Haren and Rivera, and have Dunn bat .330."

[Guest •]

What makes strikeouts so much worse than contact outs that it has to be noted in every mention of Adam Dunn? Would you prefer that the outs he records--when not walking, hitting, and homering more frequently than most players--are slow grounders to short?

[vivalaultra 0]

What makes strikeouts so much worse than contact outs that it has to be noted in every mention of Adam Dunn? Would you prefer that the outs he records--when not walking, hitting, and homering more frequently than most players--are slow grounders to short?

 

Why, Czech, have you been reading Moneyball again? I don't understand the knock on Dunn striking out for most of his outs, either. Consider: if you strike out, you see at least three pitches. Dunn usually sees more than that (I'm not sure of the specific number of pitches seen by Dunn per AB, but I'd imagine it's somewhere around 4 or so). Any way you slice it, striking out on a 3-2 count is better than hitting a weak pop-up or a slow roller to short on the first pitch. If you look at Dunn's numbers and disregard the strikeouts and the deceiving batting average, he gets on base at a 38% clip and is on pace to drive in about a hundred runs. Who cares if the 62% of the time that he's not getting on base is because of a strikeout, a line out, a pop up, or a grounder to short? It's easy to look at the 190 Ks and have it jump out at you because 190 is such a big number, but 190 Ks is the same as 60 Ks and 130 lineouts. And a strikeout with a man on first and less than 2 outs is ALWAYS preferable to a slow grounder to short, is it not?

 

The thing that I find more odd than the fact that Dunn strikesout 190 times a year is the near two-year stretch that he went without recording a sac fly. I mean, dude usually hits the ball high and deep, it seems like he would've gotten more than 2 sac flies between 2004-2005.

[Dandy 0]

For me, it is because he is striking out on bad pitches, and sometimes missing by a lot when he swings. Not just the numbers he puts up, but how he does it. It shows me that he needs a major overhaul to be a .300 hitter because he doesn't make contact enough. Others probably disagree. Like I said, that's why I hate it.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Dunn doesn't need to be a .300 hitter. You don't find a player of Dunn's power often. He does not ground into double plays often and is an unusually good baserunner for a player of his type. There is a tendency to look at a bad team and blame the best player. It's often misleading and the worst thing the team can do is trade the player for pennies on the dollar.

[Vern Gagne 0]

If Dunn's probably not coming back next year, why not move him for a couple prospects?

[Guest bigrick0016]

I think what people in Cincy are doing with The Big Donkey is focusing on what he can't do (make consistent contact(, and not focusing on what he can do (hit the ball really far, get on base a lot). I'll admit that if a good deal can be struck I don't see why you wouldn't trade Dunn because the Reds stink. However, by all accounts it seems as if Krivsky does not realize Dunn's worth and will trade him for 50 cents on the dollar. I hope my Indians take advantage.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

FWIW, there was a big rumor that Dunn was about to get traded to the Brewers a couple days ago, but Doug Melvin shot that down very quickly. It was initially reported by a Cinci radio station and spiralled out of control from there, I guess.

 

I think Dunn is a great player. Personally, I laugh at a lot of the statheads...there are very few "perfect" players out there...A-Rods and Pujols don't grow on trees. But people like to nitpick players that strike out too often, despite their power numbers, or players who have a slightly low OPS because they don't walk enough, or such nonsense.

[Guest •]

Yeah, it was Wise and Gwynn for Dunn. WSSP doesn't know what they're talking about.

[UZI Suicide 0]

Dodgers need another starter, thanks to that fuckhead Jason Schmidt.

 

I'm confident in the playoffs with Brad Penny and Derek Lowe, I'm fine with Randy Wolf but his shoulder is always a concern. Chad Billingsly has great stuff but I don't have complete confidence in him yet. He seems to get rattled too easily so I'd like to see them get another arm if possible.

 

The offense was a concern but with the emergence of Matt Kemp and James Loney I think they can leave the offense as it is. All they need to do is figure out a way to get Juan Pierre on the DL so Kemp and Andre Ethier can both start, then drive Nomar out to the middle of nowhere and leave him there and bring up Andy LaRoche at 3B.