Miguel Tejada back to his old terrain

The Orioles re-contractually obligated Miguel Tejada.  This is not a good move.

Of course, it is not a bad move either.  The Orioles needed a 3B and
Tejada fills that void.  Sure, he has been living off of Houston’s
friendly “pull-hitter” confines, but I guess it is conceivable that he
isn’t as bad as his road stats.

The one thing that could happen.  Tejada COULD have a nice first
half and be moved to a contender needing a versatile bat off the bench.

But the odds of Tejada hitting well, in the AL East, against the Red
Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Rays, pitching staffs, is, well, not good.

So the move seems to be more about a stop-gap at third, then
potential trade bait.  Because Tejada just isn’t a good baseball player
anymore.

But I’ve been surprised before…

Billy Benius strikes again:

Billy Beane is a magician.  He pulls things out of a hat…and simply wins ballgames.

Ok, that is a fallacy.

Beane got a lot of praise for winning with little money.

Now, he gets a lot of crap for losing with little money.

Read the rest of the entry…

So maybe this has little relevance to anything that matters, but
Curt Schilling helped his teams win more ballgames than did Mariano
Rivera, the greatest closer of all time. 

Why do I bring this up? 

Because
I was trying to prove a point to Father the other day.  That point
being how much I, and several others, believe that the closer is
overrated. 

So we were in agreement, that, say, Pedro was
better than Rivera.  Or that Clemens was better.  And I am sure that
had the names come up, Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson and others, would have
been agreed upon as well. 

Read the rest of the entry…

Gary Matthews Jr has a purpose.

He can play all three positions on the field.

That is really it.

Matthews can serve as a bench player who specializes in questionable
defense at all three positions.  And the ability to switch hit.

Everyone knows that his contract was a terrible mistake.  One good season, and a hefty payday comes knocking on his door.

But every team makes mistakes, and the Angels obviously know what
they are doing, as they experience success each and every season.

The Red Sox signed Julio Lugo.

The Yankees overpay for declining years.

Read the rest of the entry…

Joel Pineiro goes where it’s warm

So the Angels saved money, but signed a pitcher that is worse, compared to John Lackey.

Two years, $16 million isn’t bad.  But remember, Pineiro isn’t exactly a great pitcher either.

In each of the three seasons previous to 09,’ he was worth under a
win.  But then all of a sudden, apparently because of a “new arm slot,”
he is all of a deemed “very good.”

Read the rest of the entry…

Yankees agree to terms with Josh Johnson

So the Marlins are under contract for four years with their ‘Ace’
pitcher, Josh Johnson.  Two of which they will pay, and two of which
the Yankees will probably pick up for a couple prospects.

So, New York, you now know that you will have to pay roughly $14
million for his services, and surrender a couple decent or better chips
for his rights.

There was much talk amidst the Adrian Beltre signing, that he was setting himself up for something bigger.

Big market, solid lineup, Giant beneficial wall to his pull-side.

So he takes a one-year deal from the Red Sox, in an attempt to post
better numbers in a park that suits his style a little better.

Now he has financial security for 2010 (option), or he could sign a long-term deal after playing well for a season.

Read the rest of the entry…

Tim Raines reached base more than Tony Gwynn.

Alright, we freaking get it already.  Someone cherry-picked a statistic to favor Raines and help his Hall of Fame candidacy.

But “reaching base” is not always equivalent to, well, reaching base.

Gwynn batted .338!  Raines only .284.

Do we ignore this?

I get it, the argument is to say that Raines is worthy, not
necessarily that he was better than Gwynn.  But sometimes it comes off
as just that.

Read the rest of the entry…

McGwire cheated:

I guess I should touch up on McGwire’s admittance, since I do write a blog about baseball.

Good for him.  No matter how lame he sounded at Congress, he came
out and — I believe — gave us more of an admission than anyone else
has.  Nearly ten years worth of off and on use — which may simply be
when one cycle’s on and off — but nevertheless, it was much greater a
time period than any other.

Read the rest of the entry…

Before I went to sleep last night, I projected, in my head, all of the individual ‘WAR’ totals for the Red Sox.

It went a little somethin’ like this…

Jacoby Ellsbury:  2.5

Mike Cameron:  3.0

JD Drew: 3.5

Read the rest of this entry…

Wow, best defensive third baseman of all time?

According to the well-minded Dave Cameron, it certainly seems like a possibility.

According to UZR, Beltre has posted one negative number, and a bunch
of positive numbers, no less than 9.4.  And the 9.4 extends all the way
up to 23.1.

The negative number is clearly an outlier, and most likely occurred
simply because of the fickleness of the metric, when used for a single
season.

And found via Rob Neyer’s blog, is a nine minute highlight reel of Beltre’s best defensive plays during his tenure in Seattle.

It will be funny throughout the season when Beltre strikes out twice
against the Yankees, the casual fan residing in the Bronx will dismiss
his ability to play baseball.

But the casual fan won’t understand that defense matters too. 
Something that I have been growing more and more aware as time passes.

But then again, why am I listening to the “casual fan” to begin with?

I don’t know, but they get on my nerves, regardless of their ability to analyze, well, “ability.”

But yes, I am officially excited to see Beltre in action.  His range
is clearly superior to Lowell’s now, and Lowell’s even in his prime. 
He plays the ball right at him especially well it seems, and charges
the ball probably better than anyone (Lowell had trouble charging the
ball, as he runs slower than most DH’s).

Granted, Beltre will whiff, he will not get on base all that much. 
But the defense and flashes of power should be more than enough to make
this analyst favor his terms of agreement…

…and enough to make this fan excited too.