MLB Trade Talks: Marlon Byrd, Ty Wigginton, and Cliff Lee on Yankees Radar

June 23rd, 2010 by Shashwat Baxi No comments »

Even though the New York Yankees are in 1st place in the AL East and currently hold the best record in all of Major League Baseball, there are still a plethora of trade rumors and debates taking place in the Bronx.

With the main areas of concern being the bullpen, the bench, and the outfield; everyone seems to have their own opinion about what the Bronx Bombers should do on their quest for their 28th World Series Championship.

Over the weekend, after the Yankees took the series from the Mets, the Bronx was abuzz with potential mid-season trades that the Bombers could execute. There are three main players that most of the radio personalities, sports writers, and fans seemed to be talking about.

The first player is right-handed, utility infielder Ty Wigginton on the Baltimore Orioles. At 32 years old, Wigginton has batted .274 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI for the O's this season. He is currently in the middle of his 2nd year of a two-year contract worth $6 million dollars.

Wigginton is a good player and can play most of the infield positions and even play some left field if needed. However, Ramiro Pena and Kevin Russo are already in place as the back-up infielders with the Yankees.

If the Yankees decide that they need a veteran, right-handed batter, then Wigginton may be their man. He would probably jump at the chance to move onto a championship contender, especially when he's currently on the worst team in baseball.

It's hard to say what it would take for the Yankees to get a player like Wigginton, but you can't think it would cost too many top prospects or cash. The Orioles are in need of young talent and Wigginton will probably not re-sign with the O's after his contract expires at the end of the 2010 season.

The main questions would be whether or not Baltimore would be willing to deal with their divisional rivals and whether the Yankees are looking for another infielder to add to their bench.

The second player is right handed, outfielder Marlon Byrd from the Chicago Cubs. So far this season, Byrd has been batting .320 with 83 hits including 9 home runs and has driven in 34 men.

Also at 32 years old, Byrd is in the first year of a 3-year deal with the Cubs. The contract is worth $15 million over the three years.

Byrd would provide a talented outfielder for the Yankees, who could easily start in place of Granderson at center field when facing left-handed pitchers. The problem with trading for Byrd, is that he would presumably come with a hefty price tag.

The Cubs will probably fall completely out of the NL Central race in the coming weeks, but that won't help the Yankees ability to bargain with the North-Siders. Byrd will still be owed $12 million dollars on his contract and new Cubs owner Tom Ricketts won't be giving him up for cheap.

A trade for Byrd would likely take many more prospects and an exorbitant amount of money. It may not make sense to make the move for an expensive fourth outfielder, especially if it comes at such a steep price.

The last player is left-handed, starting pitcher Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners. This season, Lee is 5-3 with an ERA of 2.55. In 10 games, Lee has struck out 67 hitters while only allowing 4 walks.

Lee is the most coveted player in the MLB right now, especially after his performance for the Phillies in the 2009 season and playoffs. With the Mariners continuing to flounder in the AL West, many teams are looking to deal with M's for their stud ace.

The 31-year old pitcher is set to make $9 million dollars this season and would only be a rental for the Yankees, as his contract is set to expire at the end of the 2010 season. The Yankees have the money to make the move, but they would need to find room for Lee in the rotation.

This move probably makes the least amount of sense, especially with the way that the Yankees' starting rotation has been pitching this season. Unless they want to move someone to the bullpen, there are no spots open for Lee to fill. The Yankees already have CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte as left-handed starters, combined with Javier Vazquez, AJ Burnett, and Phil Hughes as right-handers.

The debate will continue and will probably include a list of other players before the trade deadline comes up. It's hard to say if any of these players make sense based on their contracts, salaries, and positions.

Before Brian Cashman goes and makes any of these moves, he has to remember that the New York Yankees still are the best team in baseball. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada have been battling injuries, while Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira have been having slow seasons. Yet, the Yankees continue to win games.

Who knows what will happen in the coming weeks and months?

It's the Yankees. Anything is possible.

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Posted in Andy Pettitte, Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, MLB, Opinion, cc sabathia, new york yankees

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Oakland Athletics’ Recent Struggles Mean Some Veterans Might Be on Borrowed Time

June 23rd, 2010 by Andrew Brining No comments »

When I first arrived at the Oakland Coliseum for Tuesday's game against the visiting Cincinnati Reds, the sky was mostly blue as the sun was successfully holding streaks of gloom at bay.

By the time the Athletics had finished batting practice about an hour later, the clouds had inflicted heavy casualties on the other side and were threatening to win the battle in a romp.

That seems like a pretty good metaphor for the tack Oakland's 2010 season is on at the moment.

What started off in azure warmth is beginning to go cold and gray.

The Elephants have lost five of six games and eight of the last 10. They've fallen four games under .500 (ties a season-high) and dropped 8.5 games off the pace set by the first-place Texas Rangers (sets a season-high).

After finishing May at the top of the American League West, a June swoon—the club is 6-14 in the month—has been the anchor on the contention ship.

Only the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates have been worse for the last 22 days. That's not the company you want to be keeping when rubbing Major League elbows.

Of course, all is not lost...yet.

You don't need a calculator to figure out that, at 34-38, los Atleticos still have 90 games left on the docket.

Translation: forget about the All-Star break, we're not even at the mathematical halfway point so there's plenty of ball to be played.

The team could just as easily snap back to its April/May form as it could fall off the same cliff that's swallowed the Seattle Mariners.

Regardless, the slide comes at a particularly inopportune time because of the Green and Gold's history of having its hand forced by the small-market albatross circling above the Coliseum.

For the last three years, the franchise has wisely used the July 31 trade deadline as a chance to flip veteran commodities for younger ones.

And it's done so at the slightest hint of non-contention.

In 2009, general manager/Moneyball mad scientist Billy Beane sent outfielder Matt Holliday and shortstop Orlando Cabrera packing.

Bob Geren's bunch was 15 games under .500 and 17 games out of first when it pulled the July 24 trigger on Holliday; things had not improved noticeably when Cabrera hit the road a week later.

In 2008, pitchers Joe Blanton and Rich Harden were the veteran centerpieces moved for prospects. Harden took his exit on July 8 with the A's eight games over .500 and sitting in second place, only five games out of the catbird seat.

Blanton walked out the door nine days later with the fellas in roughly the same spot.

In 2007, it was mercurial outfielder Milton Bradley and stoic catcher Jason Kendall on the move. Bradley said goodbye on June 29 with Oakland one game in the black and holding on to third place, 9.5 games out of first.

When Kendall took his leave 17 days later, the wheels were starting to come off as indicated by a 44-49 record and 12-game deficit.

All of the above begs the question, how much longer will seasoned vets like Kevin Kouzmanoff and Ben Sheets be with the franchise given the recent downturn?

The third baseman absolutely must be on some contender's wish-list given the dearth of offensive might available at the hot corner.

For those of you who don't get out to the West Coast much, Kouz has been utterly scalding in June.

Pick your favorite nugget—he's raking at .418 with a 1.097 OPS and he's launched five of his eight bombs this month.

Perhaps most impressively, he's only suffered three hitless games and those came in starts made by Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Ryan Dempster.

Toss in the 28-year-old's quality leather, his $3.1 million contract (expensive by Oaktown's standards, but reasonable by most), and his departure seems like a matter of "when" as opposed to "if."

By contrast, the big right-hander is a tougher sell.

Unfortunately for the A's brass, it's probably a more important one to make given his $10 million salary. If Kouzmanoff's number is big in Oakland's relative world, then that sucker is positively Zito-esque, which makes the fact that baseball's Big Ben has yet to rediscover his pre-injury rhythm doubly troublesome.

The 31-year-old's 6.29 K/9 is the lowest it's been since his rookie campaign in 2001 and his 1.34 HR/9 is the highest since that same year. Meanwhile, his 3.81 BB/9, 4.95 ERA, and 1.47 WHIP are all career-highs.

In other words, the Athletics won't exactly be selling high unless things change.

That's not meant as an indictment of the Olympic gold medalist.

His body of work is incomplete and, frankly, it's a tremendous accomplishment just taking the pearl every fifth day.

Remember, my man is trying to rebound from a serious elbow injury that caused him to spend an entire year gathering dust on the shelf. He literally didn't throw a professional pitch in '09 after a stellar '08 effort was cut short by the torn flexor tendon.

And there's always that pedigree.

Hopefully, Ben Sheets can turn it around and rattle off a string of quality outings.

But, if he doesn't take the team with him, those blue skies of April and May won't be the only fading memory around the Oakland Coliseum.

If history is any guide.

 

**www.pva.org**



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Posted in Baseball, Ben Sheets, Kevin Kouzmanoff, MLB, Oakland Athletics, Opinion

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MLB Trade Rumors: The New York Mets Should Pursue Seattle’s Cliff Lee

June 23rd, 2010 by Alek Frost No comments »

The New York Mets' Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey told the New York Daily News on Tuesday that they would in so many words welcome Seattle pitcher Cliff Lee with open arms.

"We've been playing great, but to go out and add a guy like (Oswalt or Lee), it might put us over the top," Pelfrey told Peter Botte of the NY Daily News. "You would definitely love to have those guys on your team. I think those are some of the elite pitchers in the game. It definitely can help if you go out and get them."

The Mets have had a few surprises in their rotation this year both good; Pelfrey (9-2, 2.69 ERA) and knuckle baller R.A. Dickey (5-0, 2.82) and bad; Oliver Perez (0-3, 6.28 ERA) and John Maine (1-3, 6.13 ERA).

Pelfrey and Dickey along with ace Santana, have the Mets in contention in the ultra competitive National League East. However for the Mets, history is a precursor for potential disaster and more quality starting pitching never hurt anyone.

Lee (5-3, 2.55 ERA) has had relative success in Seattle after helping guide the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in 2009, with a 4-0 record, a 1.56 ERA and two complete games. His success unfortunately has done very little for the Mariners, who are in the basement of American League West.

The Mets could solidify their rotation by acquiring Lee and make a deep playoff run, not too unlike their run in 2006. In 06' the Mets fell one win short of reaching the World Series after a heartbreaking loss against the Cardinals in Game 7 of the NLCS.

New York's starting rotation consisted of Tom Glavine (15-7, 3.82 ERA), Steve Trachsel (15-8, 4.97), Pedro Martinez (9-8, 4.48 ERA), Orlando Hernandez (11-11, 4.66 ERA)  and a younger John Maine (6-5, 3.60). The arrival of the lefty would mean a rotation of Santana, Pelfrey and Lee. Coupled with the expected return of center fielder Carlos Beltran, the Mets could find themselves in unfamiliar territory.

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Posted in 2010 MLB Trade Deadline, AL West, Baseball, Cliff Lee, MLB, MLB Trade Rumors, Mike Pelfrey, NL East, Sports, johan santana, new york mets

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Pay-Per-View Is a Dying Sport

June 23rd, 2010 by Favre Footlongs No comments »

Pay-per-view used to be a special thing.

I remember back in the early 90's when I was seven or eight years old and all I wanted to see was a WWF pay-per-view.  Back then, it was a privilege if you got a chance to witness one.

Those were the days when the biggest televisions most families had were 27" and if you knew someone with a big screen that was over 40" then you were in heaven.

The big screens weighed about 150 lbs. and consisted of huge wooden base about the size of a large credenza.

Fortunately for me, I not only had a friend whose grandparents had a big screen TV, but they also had the next best thing to go with it: The Black Box.

Other than a dog, the black box was a man's best friend.  You could get all the premium channels for free, unscrambled porn, and any pay-per-view event you wanted just by running your cable through this genius piece of equipment.

My first pay-per-view I ever saw was WrestleMania IX from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev.  I can vividly still picture the main event where Bret "The Hitman" Hart faced defended the WWF title against Yokozuna.

Bret had Yokozuna in the middle of the ring and got him in the sharpshooter and Yokozuna was about to tap.  Yokozuna's manager, Mr. Fuji, threw salt into Bret Hart's eyes and Yokozuna won the title under the bright sun of the outdoor arena.

Immediately following the victory, Hulk Hogan came out, challenged Yokozuna to a title fight and the match began.

Mr. Fuji tried to attempt the same salt throwing tactic, but messed up this time around and accidently hit Yokozuna and gave Hulk Hogan the title in a match that lasted less than 30 seconds.

From that moment since, I have always been in love with pay-per-view events.

Maybe it was just the era that we lived in and we didn't have the access like we had today to watch these events or see the results, but everyone was special.  

Maybe it was just my young age loving the WWF, Bret Hart, and Hulk Hogan like so many other kids my age.  It doesn't really matter the reason, it just matters that back then pay-per-view was viewed as a special event.

Pay-per-view continued to be special throughout the 90's decade.  It was still a rare thing to be able to watch these events.  

We didn't have the opportunities to watch them on the computer or visit a bar and see any pay-per-view we wanted, we had to find someone who was willing to drop $50 or get a group together and split the cost to be able to view these spectacles.

I guess back then, it just felt worth it.

Things have changed so much since then that pay-per-view is dying in my mind. Changes in sports, in television, and in the Internet; all these things are major factors to why pay-per-view will end within the next 10 years.

The most notable changes in sports are the lack of competitive boxing matches and the influx of the UFC.  

We all know the success of the UFC and we all know the lack of solid fights from boxing, but neither are the sole reason for the upcoming death of pay-per-view.  The actual problem with pay-per-view is the television itself.

We became a society that wanted television to change from what we get is what we see to a country that wanted 700 channels so we would be able to have a television program for every single person out there.

Not only that, but we also wanted the ability to watch whatever we wanted when we wanted.  Nothing is special to all of us anymore, it's just personalized programs that each individual can decide to enjoy.

Increases in television programs also created an increase in pay-per-view events.  The WWE no longer just focuses on WrestleMania, Summer Slam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble.

Now they have 14 pay-per-views that creates an event, but not a special event.  The same is the case for the UFC and boxing is just in disarray.

I actually looked at my cable box today and Comcast is offering the boxing pay-per-view this Saturday of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. versus John Duddy in a middleweight bout in San Antonio.

If a boxing pay-per-view is happening in San Antonio, then it isn't going to be that great.

Who's buying this fight?  Julio Cesar Chavez I and Julio Cesar Chavez III?  That's about all I can think of who'd want to watch it.  

The last and most important factor to the destruction of pay-per-view is the Internet. We now finally have the black box of the new century.  Now with a couple clicks we are able to watch any pay-per-view event we want from numerous available web streams and it's all for free.  

I'm not sure if anybody will even be streaming the Chavez/Duddy fight, though, so you may have to drop the $44.99 if you really want to watch that battle.

Streams already give us decent picture quality and solid sound, but the increase in speeds and advances in technology will allow us to watch any event we want in hi-definition quality in the near future.  

Soon we will be able to all watch UFC 148.5 from our smart phones and be twittering about it at the same time.  

Our televisions will connect to these streaming services and we can instantly partake in any pay-per-view event we want from our 100" televisions that is just a wall that transforms to a TV screen.

Some people may think this is a bad thing for sports, just like downloading MP3's is a best thing for the music industry.  I think the other way.

Maybe this decade's black box technology will help these sports improve their products and go back to the time when the events were actually special.  

Maybe we will once again want to gather a crowd of people together and experience the spectacle with friends and be willing to drop the cash on the showcase.

I don't know where it will lead us, but I do know that pay-per-view is not here to stay.

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Posted in Opinion, Sports & Society

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Atlanta Braves 2010: The 10 Most-Likely Successors to Bobby Cox

June 23rd, 2010 by Mike MacConnell No comments »
The end of the 2010 season will also mark the end of the managerial career of Atlanta Braves skipper Bobby Cox. Cox has spent a total of 25 years as the manager of the Braves over two separate stints and has announced that this season will be his last. Since 1990, Cox and the Braves front office have been the model of consistency among professional sports franchises. Cox is fourth on the all-time list for managerial wins and has been named Manager of the Year four times, most recently in 2005. If the Braves finish first in the NL East this season, I wouldn't be surprised if he adds a fifth. His teams have won finished first in their division 15 times: once with the Blue Jays in 1985 and every year from 1991 to 2005 with the Braves. Cox has one World Series ring as a manager that came back in 1995. After this season, Atlanta will be faced with the task of replacing the iconic Cox: no easy task. It's almost impossible to think that the next manager of the Braves will be an outsider with no ties to the organization. Therefore, all of the possible candidates I've chosen except one have either played or coached in the Braves organization. Let me start with...

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Posted in Atlanta Braves, MLB, Preview/Prediction, bobby cox

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