A.L. Central Today—March 1, 2007

Happy Birthday to baseball legends Al Rosen and Pepper Martin, whose birthdays are February 29th.  Rosen is 20 ¾ today, while The Wild Horse of the Osage is still dead.  And if you didn’t feel old enough already, poor old Johnny Ray turns 50 today.  Ken Harvey, who only seems to be 50, will celebrate his 29th birthday today by icing down his pulled chest muscle in the Twins’ spring camp. 

CHICAGO

Closer Jumbo Jenks left the Sox first spring training game on Wednesday with “tightness” in his right shoulder.  “I’ve been working all spring on loosening the back of my shoulder because I had no internal rotation,” explained Jenks. “The combination of that and just using bad mechanics, leaking a little bit and dropping my elbow ...

Twins Today, December 8, 2006

The Winter Meetings were, more or less, as wasted week for Twins’ G.M. Terry Ryan.  “The winter meetings aren’t something that are going to be very kind to the Minnesota Twins, especially in today’s market,” Ryan said. “Once some of these signings started coming in, I knew we were in for a tough go.”

The health of hard-hitting Jason Kubel, 24, has forced the Twins to look for additional options in left field.  Kubel underwent arthoscopic surgery in November to clean up the cartilage in his right knee.  The outfielder nearly completely destroyed his left during the 2004 fall league, forcing him to miss the entire 2005 season.  Soreness in both joints bothered him significantly for most of last season.  “Kubel may be better suited to DH ...

A.L. Central Today—Winter Meetings Edition, December 6, 2006

ROYALS

Kansas City G.M. Dayton Moore is trying to get things done this week, his first Winter Meetings in charge of an organization, but he is being philosophical.  “We may do a lot, we may do a little bit, we may do nothing. There’s no internal pressure to do something—there’s internal pressure to do the right thing.  We’re asking our fans to continue to be patient,” Moore continued, “but I’m not asking them to be patient with us losing 100 games again next year.  I’m not asking them to accept that, because we’re not going to accept that. I can tell you that right now. I don’t want to ever have a losing season again. Ever. It’s not fun.””  Being cryptic, Moore hinted, “There are a lot of different scenarios; ...

White Sox Today—Winter Meetings Edition, December 6, 2006

One of the hot rumors on Tuesday centered on discussions between the White Sox and Blue Jays involving centerfielder Vernon Wells.  “We have some tire kickers,” admitted Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. “We have to see how serious [teams] are.” White Sox G.M. Ken Williams said that he could not confirm any interest in Wells, who will be a free agent after the 2007 season, since he is “currently under contract with another team” and mentioned that he was concerned about putting together a team that will all get old and expensive at the same time.  One source suggests that the Sox’ interest in Wells had cooled even before the rumor had fully taken root. 

Part of the reason for the Sox lack of commitment to acquiring Wells stems from the ...

Twins Today—Winter Meetings Edition, December 5, 2006

Two takes on the Twins efforts to land Colorado Rockies starter Jason Jennings.  First, one report has it that the Twins search for starting pitching won’t induce them to trade either their young pitching talent or their strong bullpen arms.  So, how are they going to get a decent arm to supplement Santana, Silva and Garza?  Apparently, they’ll be looking for bargains . . . like everyone else.  And they might break out one of the old tricks – trading for a reliever with intention of converting him to a starter (see Silva, Carlos).  But, how sad a market is it when Twins beat writers start pining for the return of Kyle Lohse? 

However, another report has it that while Ryan has said that while he doesn’t want to weaken the team’s ...

A.L. Central Today—Winter Meetings Edition, December 5, 2006

ESPN’s Jayson Stark suggests that the White Sox have approached the Yankees again about acquiring Alex Rodriguez.  One exec who has also asked about A-Rod says that the idea that the Yanks will trade their much-maligned third baseman is “the same old bull.  A-Rod isn’t going anywhere.”  And, yet, a package of Garcia/Garland, Crede and a prospect like Lance Broadway would have to make the Yankees think hard, wouldn’t it? 

Sox fans can breathe easier as ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Devil Rays are interested in signing clubhouse-presence/out-maker Darin Erstad. 

Crasnick and other sources have chronicled the Twins talks with Colorado about Jason Jennings.  Crasnick suggests that the Rockies would ask for Matt Garza ...

A.L. Central Today—Winter Meetings Edition, December 4, 2006

The A.L. champion Tigers only real goal at the winter meetings is to find a replacement LOOGY for Jamie Walker.  Shouldn’t be all that hard.  I hear the White Sox will let you have Boone Logan.  According to Jason Beck of mlb.com, the winter meetings are just a preamble to the Tigers main focus of signing the 29-year old Brandon Inge to a “multi-year deal.”  Holy Charlie Hayes, that would be a bad idea!

With the acquisition of Gary Sheffield, the Tigers are willing to move Craig Monroe or Marcus Thames and superfluous infield reserve Omar Infante (someone has to be worse than Neifi) in a trade.  Now, now, don’t all rush up at once, there’s plenty for everyone.  Wait, wait, why are you all asking about Ledezma?

Still looking for bullpen ...

Indians Today, August 8, 2006

The Indians have signed LHP Cliff Lee to a three-year contact extension through the 2009 season worth $14 million, with a club option for the 2010 season at $8 million, plus incentives that might total another million dollars.  The deal buys the Indians out of Lee’s first two years of free agency.  This is the sixth Indians player to be signed to a long-term deal since April of 2005.  “This signing is a continued demonstration of the commitment in maintaining the present core of Cleveland Indians players,” Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said. “Cliff’s willingness and concern to complete a new contract demonstrates his desire to be a part of that core.”  Lee, 27, has a lifetime 44-25 record with a 4.47 ERA and is currently making ...

Baseball Centrist is back after a mid-Summer slump

After a crazy seven weeks that has forced me to ready and then deliver a presentation at SABR in June; plan and host two family reunions; and a “relax” during a week-long family vacation, I am finally able to resume my duties here at Baseball Centrist.

Thank you all for bearing with me during my hiatus.

If anyone would like to contribute a short, but regular (ideally daily), synopsis of the news from of one of the division’s teams, then please drop me a line.

White Sox Today, July 30, 2006

Despite the Sox recent swoon in which they have lost 13 of their last 17 games and the wild card lead, White Sox General Manager Ken Williams is satisfied with his team. “At the end of the day, we’re pretty good the way we are,” said Williams.  “We like who we are and what we are. I firmly believe if we play up to our capabilities, it doesn’t matter what Detroit or Minnesota goes out and gets,” Williams said. “It’s about us playing to our level, moreso than anything.”  As is Williams’ habit, he acquired the players he wanted (RH relievers Mike Macdougal and David Riske and backup catcher Sandy Alomar) before the last-minute frenzy set in. 

Despite playing the sluggish Orioles, the Sox had to rally in the ninth on Friday (a game ...

Twins Today, June 15, 2006

The Minnesota Twins designated third baseman Tony Batista for assignment on Tuesday.  Brought in to add some pop to the lineup Batista was hitting just .236/.303/.388 on the year.  “We need to change it up a little bit,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of his team.  The Twins will go with a committee at third base, featuring luminaries Nick, Punto, Luis Rodriguez, Terry Tiffee and Juan Castro, in a hope to “add a bit more speed to the offense.” 

As part of the changes to their infield, the Twins recalled Jason Bartlett from AAA Rochester on Tuesday to where they banished him at the end of spring training.  Bartlett was hitting .306/.336/.443 at Rochester, but has he learned to be a “more vocal leader” of the infield as ...

Royals Today, June 9, 2006

The Dayton Moore era begins this week, and not a moment too soon.  In a sense, Moore’s hiring is ironic.  After all, his mentor, John Schuerholz, captained the Royals through their most successful years as a franchise before running the Royals ship around and lighting out for greener and more southerly pastures with the Braves.  So, now Moore comes back, declaring that he wants build the Royals to resemble the Atlanta Braves.  Talk about coming full circle.  “We’re going to build our teams around pitching, pitching, pitching,” Moore said, before adding sensibly, but “I’m not going to sit here today and say we’re going to do X, Y and Z. That would be inappropriate and irrational. “The plan is to have the very best baseball people,” ...

Tigers Today, June 8, 2006

Moral victories are for losers, or so the Tigers might be thinking after consecutive close losses to the White Sox in Chicago.  In both games, the Tigers were done in by shortstop Alex Cintron’s late-game heroics—an eighth-inning, three-run homer on Tuesday and a run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh off Jamie Walker yesterday.  Walker was in the game because Manager Jim Leyland did not want to thrust rookie Justin Verlander any deeper into the game. Faced with two lefties and a switch-hitter due up, Leyland lifted Verlander in the bottom of the seventh following the 23-year old’s 103rd pitch of the evening.  “That’s a golden arm,” Leyland said. “That’s a golden future, and I’ve got to be careful with that.”  “It is tough,” ...

White Sox Today, June 8, 2006

Jose Contreras won his 14th consecutive regular-season game on Wednesday when the Sox beat the first place Detroit Tigers, 4-3.  Contreras’ last loss came on August 15, 2005 to the Twins.  Manager Ozzie Guillen believes that Contreras can be better.  “He needs to pick one or two angles, not three or four,” said Guillen of Contreras. “He’s not going to throw a strike that way. Jose was struggling, but he has good enough stuff to get through the problems.”

Sean Tracey was called up from AAA Charlotte yesterday to replace Cliff Politte, who went on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.  “It’s my first time in Chicago. It’s been four years almost to the day since I signed. In a nutshell, it was just overwhelming.”  ...

Indians Today, June 5, 2006

The Indians are partly through a schizophrenic home stand against the White Sox and Angels in which they have gone 4-3.  In their victories they pitched well, winning by scores of 4-3, 5-0, 14-2 and 12-8.  Their losses were just horribly ugly as they were trounced 0-11, 3-10 and 2-14.  The see-saw season and the fact that the Tribe is already 8 ½ games out of first place has been enough to make several fans to throw in the towel on 2006 (which, admittedly, does not take a lot for Cleveland fans).  “I can’t even watch this drivel anymore,” says a typical fan.  “Loyal I am, but come on, how much heartbreak must one city have to take?”  Gee, I don’t know, maybe more than 56 games?  The Indians have three more games left Oakland ...

White Sox Today, May 29, 2006

Having just come off series against Oakland and Toronto, the White Sox visit Cleveland this week before they start a stretch of 22 games in which 19 of their opponents are .500 or better.  The other three games are against the Indians, who are 25-26.  Through 49 games, the White Sox have had the easiest schedule in the major leagues (.162). 

Talk about your high standards . . .  after winning six of seven games, the Sox dropped two at Toronto over the weekend, sparking a string of expletives from Manager Ozzie Guillen.  “‘I think it was a horse-#### game,’’ Guillen said. ‘‘I think when a team can get 14 hits and score two runs, that means we’re not executing. To win a pennant race and to be where we’re supposed to be, you have to do ...

Twins Today, May 24, 2006

On Friday, the Twins will hold an on-field celebration to mark the passage of new legislation that will bring an outdoor stadium to Minneapolis/St. Paul for the first time since 1981.  “In a word, it’ll be historic,” Twins President Dave St. Peter said Tuesday. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the Twins organization to thank the men and women who made this happen.”  Ah, yes.  You’ve really got to hand it to the good people of the Twin Cities for approving a tax hike to build a new stadium.  It’s quite a triumph of democracy!  Oh, wait, that’s right, the Twins and the powers-that-be fought and won the battle to make sure that the people who would be paying the bill for the new park didn’t get a chance to vote on the measure. It’s ...

Royals Today, May 24, 2006

“The Royals are so bad . . .”
“How bad are they?!?”
“The Royals are so bad that they were on a pace to lose 111 games before their current eleven-game losing streak.”
“ . . .  [crickets] . . . “
“Hello?  . . . Is thing on?” 

Of the Royals wins, and you can still count them on two hands (or two feet if you are Mordecai Brown), five have come against the Indians, three against the White Sox and two from the Twins.  Mike Wood has earned three of those wins.  Not exactly Steve Carlton territory, but still it’s impressive.  Wood isn’t in the starting rotation, though.  No, the Royals think that it’s a better idea if they limit their best pitcher to just three innings a week. 

And that’s just the start of the ...

Tigers Today, May 22, 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the best team in baseball . . . the Detroit Tigers.

I’ll let that sink in for a minute.

What does this mean? Well, since 1987, only two teams (2002 Red Sox and 1995 Phillies) that had the best record in baseball failed to make the playoffs.  So, that looks good for the Tigers chances, but it doesn’t really mean anything, especially when you consider that the Tigers’ .674 league-leading mark is relatively low.  Also, through Saturday the composite record of Tigers’ opponents was just .462 while the play nothing but teams that are .500 or better from now through June 28.  And, of course, the Tigers are just one big injury away from sinking, as mlive.com’s Danny Knobler points out.  Still, here ...

Indians Today, May 19, 2006

May has not been kind to the Indians.  They are 7-9 on the month, but were sinking fast before their recent three-game sweep of the lowly Royals.  As the Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes pointed out, calling the months travails “cataclysmic” might to overstate things a bit.  However, Hoynes believed that “several minutes of muted silence with groaning in the background” would be appropriate.  Longtime local scribe Sheldon Ocker was more direct, as usual, saying flatly “the Indians are a mess.”  As the Indians’ losing streak stretched to six games after being swept by the Royals and Tigers, General Manager Mark Shapiro said that they team wasn’t in a must-win situation, but that “there is as much pressure with 124 games left in ...

White Sox Today, May 16, 2006

April showers bring May breakouts, especially from Scott Podsednik who is hitting .450/.551/.725 after getting his first regular season homer in two seasons on Monday.  Role players Pablo Ozuna and Chris Widger have also been excellent this month.  Joe Crede and Jim Thome continue their strong seasons.  Thome actually saw his OPS drop during May, all the way down to 1.059.  This week, A.J. Pierzynski hit his first homer in 55 games to boost his monthly totals to .310/.341/.476.  Paul Konerko has struggled through the last couple weeks, hitting only .224/.310/.388.  Juan Uribe finally had a good week with the bat. He hit .316/.350/.421 over the last seven days. 

Here’s the problem with the way that modern bullpens are used.  Which White ...

Len Barker’s Perfect Game, 25 Years After: Pt. 1, “All I Have To Do Is Stay Strong.”

Len Barker could throw hard back then, very hard. 

Drafted out of a Philadelphia-area high school by the Texas Rangers with the 49th overall pick of the 1973 June amateur draft, Leonard Harold Barker III relied mostly on a fastball that reached 96 m.p.h..  He used it to dominate his competition in the Gulf Coast League and then strike out 140 batters in 124 innings as a 19-year old in the A-ball Western Carolina’s League.  As a 20-year old at AA Pittsfield of the Eastern League, Barker posted a 2.89 ERA and struck out 133 in 159 innings while allowing only 117 hits.  However, Barker was just starting to learn the hard lesson that hitters at the upper levels of baseball were much more selective than those at its lower levels.  For ...

Twins Today, May 15, 2006

Statistical Snapshots of a Hot Team:  After posting a .208/.274/.416 line in April, 1B Justin Morneau has gotten hot this month.  He has nine homers in just 14 May games and is hitting .311/.360/.622 thus far this month.  He is on a pace to hit 44 homers on the year.  RF Michael Cuddyer has also been swinging a mean bat this month, hitting .372/.438/.3605.  He has eight doubles in the 11 May games but no homers.  After hitting only .189/.240/.378 in April, CF Torii Hunter has lashed the ball to the tune of .373/.439/.569 in May.  Additionally, 2B Luis Castillo and C Joe Mauer have posted OPS of .866 and .827, respectively, this month while LF Shannon Stewart is hitting .295 with a .373 OBP during May.  Heck, even DH Rondell White has begun ...

A.L. Central Roundup, May 14, 2006

MLB
Chicago 9, Minnesota 7
Cleveland 2, Detroit 3
Kansas City 7, Baltimore 8

AAA
Charlotte 7, Louisville 3
Buffalo 9, Ottawa 2
Toledo 2, Richmond 4
Omaha 2, Colorado Springs 8

AA
Akron 6, Harriburg 0 in 7
Akron 2, Harrisburg 5 in 8
New Britain and Connecticut were rained out
Birmingham 5, Mississippi 2
Wichita 5, Springfield 1

Hi-A
Winston-Salem and Lynchburg were rained out
Kinston 8, Frederick 7 in 10
Fort Myers is off
Lakeland is off
High Desert 4, Rancho Cucamonga 8

Lo-A
Kannapolis is off
Lake County 1, Delmarva 3
Beloit 0, Kane County 4 in 7
Burlington and Quad Cities were rained out

A.L. Central Roundup, May 10, 2006

MLB
Chicago 5, Los Angeles 6 thru 7 1/2
Cleveland 8, Kansas City 10
Detroit 6, Baltimore 3
Minnesota 4, Texas 3

AAA
Charlotte 2, Indianapolis 3
Buffalo 3, Rochester 6
Toledo and Norfolk were rained out
Omaha 5, Salt Lake 3 thru 7 1/2

AA
Akron 4, Erie 3
New Britain 3, Bowie 0
Birmingham 5, Tennessee 3
Wichita 9, Frisco 4

Hi-A
Winston-Salem 3, Salem 2
Kinston 2, Potomac 3
Fort Myers 2, Daytona 1
Lakeland 2, Vero Beach 2 thru 12
High Desert 2, Bakersfield 0 in top of 1

Lo-A
Kannapolis 7, Lexington 3
Lake County 0, Hagerstown 3
Beloit 0, West Michigan 0 thru 13
Burlington 5, South Bend 9

Royals Today, May 10, 2006

The KC Star’s Joe Posnanski has given up on the Royals.  Apparently, the team’s decision to call up prospect Justin Huber but relegate him to the bench was the final straw for Posnanski.  I hate to say this too loudly for fear of having my SABR card revoked, but the Royals did things right during this past off-season.  What exactly were the Royals assets going into 2006?  They had two solid hitting prospects at AA and about four or five more good hitting prospects that had yet to get more than a handful at bats at even that level.  In essence, they had zero prospects ready to contribute at the major league level.  Further, they had a poor pitching staff, populated, by and large, with inexperienced young pitchers.  Oh, and they were a ...

A.L. Central Roundup, May 9, 2006

MLB
Chicago 9, Los Angeles 1
Cleveland 7, Kansas City 10
Detroit 6, Baltimore 7
Minnesota 15, Texas 5

AAA
Charlotte 2, Indianapolis 5 in 11
Buffalo 0, Rochester 3
Toledo 4, Norfolk 2
Omaha 2, Salt Lake 5

AA
Akron 5, Erie 1
New Britain 2, Bowie 4
Birmingham 3, Tennessee 6
Wichita 5, Frisco 3

Hi-A
Winston-Salem 3, Salem 0
Kinston 5, Potomac 1 in 7
Kinston 11, Potomac 6 in 7
Fort Myers 7, St. Lucie 13
Lakeland 7. Daytona 6
High Desert 3, Bakersfield 2

Lo-A
Kannapolis 3, Columbus 2
Lake County 3, Hagerstown 4
Beloit 5, West Michigan 8
Burlington 2, South Bend 0

A.L. Central Roundup, May 8, 2006

MLB
Chicago is off
Cleveland 3, Kansas City 4
Detroit is off
Minnesota 4, Texas 6

AAA
Charlotte 3, Indianapolis 2 in 11
Buffalo 3, Ottawa 1
Toledo 4, Norfolk 6
Rochester 9, Pawtucket 4
Omaha 3, Round Rock 13

AA
Akron 5, Erie 4
New Britain 7, Bowie 5 thru 14 1/2
Birmingham 2, Tennessee 0
Wichita 5, Frisco 1

Hi-A
Winston-Salem 1, Salem 3
Kinston and Potomac were rained out
Fort Myers 4, St. Lucie 1
Lakeland 7. Daytona 17
High Desert 3, Bakersfield 1 thru 5

Lo-A
Kannapolis 1, Columbus 10
Lake County 6, Delmarva 7
Beloit 1, West Michigan 2
Burlington 3, South Bend 5

Tigers Today, May 8, 2006

After a week that saw the Tigers obliterate the Twins, sweep the Royals and split with the Angels, FoxSports Dayn Perry pegs the Tigers as the second best team in baseball, up four slots from his last rankings.  Unfortunately for the Motor City, Perry lists division rival White Sox as the best team in the sport.  Many Tigers fans must be feeling the same way as our own Buddha, who asked in frustration last week “Would the White Sox PLEASE LOSE A ####### GAME?!?!”

The Tigers open a three-game series under the lights at Baltimore’s Camden Yards on Tuesday.  Nate Robertson (3-0, 3.25), Justin Verlander (3-3, 3.68) and Kenny Rogers (5-2, 3.28) will face Daniel Cabrera (2-2, 4.73), Bruce Chen (0-4, 8.40) and Rodrigo Lopez (1-4, 6.75), ...

Indians Today, May 7, 2006

After staggering through serieses against Baltimore and Kansas City, Cleveland has righted the ship during the last week, going 7-5 against mostly good teams.  The Indians outscored Boston, Texas, Chicago and Seattle by the score of 83-57 over that stretch. 

Left-handed starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia pitched a fine game on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox, picking up the win after allowing one run over five innings.  It was Sabathia’s first start since suffering a strained obligue injury on Opening Day.  “It’s hard when you’re on the DL and the team is struggling,” Sabathia said. “You know you should be out there to help.” “That helps everybody,” 1B Ben Broussard said of Sabathia’s return. “That helps the pitching staff because ...