Padres, Torrealba agree on 1-year deal

Yorvit Torrealba, one of the few remaining free agent catchers, has agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million deal with the San Diego Padres…
Torrealba recently tried to engage the New York Mets in negotiations on a one-year deal for less than $2 million, but the Mets indicated that they had no interest, given financial restrictions.

Purple Row: Thursday Rockpile: Kershaw vs. Webb, which pitcher do our rivals need more?

Renck also blogs on Yorvit Torrealba and picks up on an interesting question I noticed yesterday, that two of our primary rivals have some honest-to-goodness wild cards in their rotations that they are relying heavily on. Brandon Webb and Clayton Kershaw are both capable of ace level production, but because of Kershaw’s youth and inexperience and Webb’s shoulder, both could swing far south of that in 2010. If either falters, it’s pretty much lights out for their respective teams this season because neither really has a plan B for either of those starters.

Okay, this is where I’m going to segue into a tangent. Who is the bigger risk for their team? A few weeks ago I looked into what the Rockies needed from Jeff Francis (or his replacement if he proves incapable). I knew it wasn’t quite what the team lost with Jason Marquis, so maybe a quick version of the same exercise would be useful for the Webb/Kershaw debate.

Analysis in the link.

Rockies reach deal with Melvin Mora

Influence of Atmosphere.

The Rockies, shut out in their attempt to sign free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera, have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with infielder Melvin Mora, according to major-league sources.

Cabrera agreed to a deal with the Reds on Saturday night for a one-year, $4 million free-agent contract, preferring to remain at shortstop than play second base or move into a utility role.

Mora, who turns 38 on Tuesday, is expected to fill a super-utility role. He returns to the National League after spending more than nine seasons with the Orioles, who acquired him from the Mets at the trade deadline in 2000.

BPro: Rockies Top 11 prospects

Five-Star Prospects
1. Christian Friedrich, LHP
2. Tyler Matzek, LHP
Three-Star Prospects
3. Wilin Rosario, C
4. Jhoulys Chacin, RHP
5. Hector Gomez, SS
6. Esmil Rogers, RHP
7. Tim Wheeler, OF
8. Rex Brothers, LHP
9. Casey Weathers, RHP
10. Eric Young Jr., 2B
11. Michael McKenry, C

Four More:
12. Charlie Blackmon, OF: An athletic outfielder, Blackmon put up good numbers at High-A Modesto. He needs to prove himself at the upper levels.
13. Nolan Arenado, 3B: This 2009 second-rounder has a quick bat, but questions about his power ceiling and defensive upside remain.
14. Juan Nicasio, RHP: Nicasio has a live arm and dominated Low-A, but he’s 23 and his secondary stuff is unrefined.
15. Sam Deduno, RHP: He’s a curveball specialist and could be in the big-league bullpen as early as this year.

Keith Law: Top 100 prospects

NO.  PLAYER
1 Jason Heyward, OF, ATL
2 Stephen Strasburg, RHP, WAS
3 Carlos Santana, C, CLE
4 Buster Posey, C, SFO
5 Mike Stanton, OF, FLA
6 Desmond Jennings, OF, TAM
7 Martin Perez, LHP, TEX
8 Dustin Ackley, CF, SEA
9 Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX
10 Jesus Montero, C, NYY
11 Brian Matusz, LHP, BAL
12 Starlin Castro, SS, CHC
13 Neftali Feliz, RHP, TEX
14 Domonic Brown, RF, PHI
15 Wade Davis, RHP, TAM
16 Aroldis Chapman, LHP, CIN
17 Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, TAM
18 Casey Kelly, RHP, BOS
19 Aaron Hicks, RHP, MIN
20 Brett Wallace, 1B, TOR
21 Logan Morrison, 1B, FLA
22 Tyler Matzek, LHP, COL
23 Jenrry Mejia, RHP, NYM
24 Michael Taylor, OF, OAK
25 Zach Britton, LHP, BAL

Scouting reports for the top 25 should be free, I think.

Jason Giambi agrees to deal with Rockies

Chasing Jason: If you think the woods are scary,..try sitting in Colorado.

Jason Giambi has agreed to a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Rockies, one major league source confirmed to FOXSports.com.

Giambi was a valuable contributor for the Rockies down the stretch last year, batting .292 in 19 games as a pinch hitter and occasional first baseman. Then he went 1-for-3 in Colorado’s first-round playoff series against Philadelphia.

With Todd Helton at first base, Giambi isn’t likely to see many starts outside of interleague play. But he should get plenty of chances to impact games as a pinch hitter.

EV Tribune: Mesa unveils plan to keep Cubs; vote Monday

Mesa’s plan was developed after months of talks with the team to prevent the Cactus League’s most popular team from accepting a bid from investors near Naples, Fla.

The $84 million plan was drafted on requests that the Cubs had to develop a Wrigleyville-themed complex, Mesa City Manager Chris Brady said. The city would own the stadium and training facilities. Mesa maintains the current training facilities, but Brady said the team wanted to take that expense and gain advertising rights at the new complex.

MLB: Rockies sign Payton, Lo Duca

Payton, Lo Duca? WTF did he do now!?

Outfielder Jay Payton posted a career-high batting average during his 1 1/2-year stint with the Rockies. He’ll try to revisit those days in 2010.

The Rockies signed Payton, who didn’t play in the Majors in 2009, to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, Rockies player development director Marc Gustafson announced Wednesday.

Gustafson also said the Rockies completed work on a Minor League deal with catcher Paul Lo Duca, a former All-Star who also didn’t play in 2009.

Payton, 37, hit .309 with 33 home runs for the Rockies 2002-03 before signing with the Padres as a free agent. He last played for the Orioles in 2008, when he hit .243 with seven homers and 41 RBIs.

Lo Duca, who turns 38 on April 12, played for manager Jim Tracy with the Dodgers. A .286 hitter in 11 seasons, Lo Duca hit .243 for the Nationals and Marlins in 2008.

Sickels: Colorado Rockies Top 20 Prospects for 2010

Damn, still no Colonel Christian.

1) Christian Friedrich, LHP, Grade B+: He was handled conservatively, and I think that’s great. Only worry I have is the elbow soreness, though it’s not supposed to be a big deal that keeps him from an A-. Both stats and scouting reports are very sharp.

2) Tyler Matzek, LHP, Grade B+: I want to see some innings before bumping him ahead of Friedrich. Got the same grade as Jacob Turner, for the same reasons.

3) Jhouhyls Chacin, RHP, Grade B+: Projects as a very good ground ball-getting inning-eater. Those are valuable commodities.

4) Rex Brothers, LHP, Grade B-: Borderline B. I like him. I like strikeouts. I like movement and velocity. But for some unknown reason I just couldn’t quite pull the trigger on the straight-B.

5) Esmil Rogers, RHP, Grade B-: I don’t think the Rockies get enough attention for their Latin American program. Here’s another live arm they found, though behind Chacin on the development track.

...This is a system that needs more attention than it gets. With Friedrich and Matzek, the Rockies have two of the premier left-handed starting prospects in the game. Brothers is a fireballing bullpen complement, and they have a bunch of live arms from the right side as well. The ranking of Nicasio is aggressive but he looks like a real sleeper to me and I wanted to highlight him. Also watch out for Deduno, who has first-class stuff and showed signs of harnessing it last year.

The hitting is weaker. Rosario could turn into a very good catcher but is a long way away. Young and McKenry will be ready much sooner. I like both of them a lot and I think both are underrated generally. God knows if any of the tools infielders will pan out. Arenado and Wheeler from the ‘09 draft are promising, but I want some higher level data from both of them.

Troy Tulowitzki at head of class - BostonHerald.com

With all due respect to Evan Longoria, Justin Upton and Matt Wieters, the best young player in baseball right now is playing shortstop for the Colorado Rockies.

Schemmel to call Rockies games

Jerry Schemmel finally landed the radio gig he’s always wanted Thursday, when he was hired by KOA radio to broadcast Colorado Rockies games.
[...]
Schemmel, 50, who will give up his role as the longtime play-by-play voice of the Denver Nuggets when he becomes a full-time employee of KOA (AM 850) on Feb. 1, said he already has received permission from the Denver radio station to finish out the season calling Colorado State University men’s basketball games.

Never heard him before. What say you: Good choice?

DodgerSims: 2010 NL West WAR

It’s that time of the year again. The time when I pull out my WAR projections (that will be initially rolled out in a Beta version) for all five NL West teams. These are rough estimates, but I feel they are pretty accurate for the most part. The WAR projections are a combination of Fangraphs and my estimates. Some teams still will be signing free agents and or making trades, so there will likely be more than a few adjustments. Feel free to point out any roster errors, any values you feel are way off, or anything else that stands out.

Data in the link.

EV Tribune: Mesa puts Cubs batting cages on hold

Mesa is refusing to upgrade a ballpark used by the Chicago Cubs unless the team enters more serious negotiations to keep spring training here.

The city was about to sign off on roughly $684,000 for semi-enclosed batting cages but on Thursday decided to hold off until top Mesa officials meet the Cubs in Chicago on Friday.

The city had expected the Cubs would welcome improvements that the team requested, Mayor Scott Smith said. But he noted that when a Chicago sports columnist asked Cubs manager (sic - he’s team president) Crane Kenney about the batting cages, no comment was given.

“The silence that came out of Chicago and the Cubs was deafening,” Smith said.

Denver Post: Rox could shift to Hawkins if Betancourt departs

The Rockies have developed a contingency free-agency plan if they are unable to sign Rafael Betancourt, given their conservative return date for Taylor Buchholz.

LaTroy Hawkins, a key member of the 2007 bullpen, has become a top target along with Oakland’s Justin Duchscherer.
...
Manager Jim Tracy said today that his team will be open-minded about adding a piece that would create a more balanced lineup against left-handers. He didn’t mention names, but the club has expressed interest in free agent third baseman Mark De Rosa and second baseman Orlando Hudson.
...
Hudson, who lost his starting job with the Dodgers last September, is much more likely to fall into the Rockies’ price range. Barmes, whom the club has offered a multi-year deal, could still be a pivotal figure in a utility role in the event Hudson falls into the Rockies’ lap.

MLB.com: GM denies Rox’s pursuit of Hudson

NY Times: Wherever He Pitches, Staten Island’s Jason Marquis Wins

If he wanted, Jason Marquis could live where pool covers go unused. Maybe on a prime piece of oceanfront property or in a golf course-abutting mansion out West, popular choices among his friends in baseball. But Marquis, a 31-year-old pitcher, is the local celebrity who has stayed local, returning after every season to the South Shore of Staten Island, where he grew up.

His old Little League coach lives around the corner. His parents and in-laws are within a 10-minute drive, as is his high school, the bagel store, the best man at his wedding and a favorite haunt, the Woodrow Diner. His home, nestled on a residential street, is not gated or hidden by trees. Folks walking by wave because they know him or his family — not because they know of him.
...
His teams have reached the playoffs in every season of his decade-long career — Atlanta (2000-3), St. Louis (2004-6), Chicago Cubs (2007-8) and Colorado (2009) — and, as a free agent, Marquis can choose which club next gets to rub his rabbit’s foot. Pitching in New York, he said, would be the ultimate, and it just so happens that there is a team in Queens that could use a little good luck. The one in the Bronx seems to be doing all right.

Marquis counted the Mets as among teams on his wish list, and they have reciprocated his interest, eager to find a sturdy starter from a group that also includes Joel Pineiro and Randy Wolf.
...
“I’d like to think I’m a reason for [the playoff streak],” said Marquis, who is 94-83 with a 4.48 career earned run average. “Am I the only reason? Not at all, but I’d like to feel like I’ve brought something to the table to help get those teams to where they went. I don’t want to say it’s a coincidence, but there’s something to be said for consistency.”

The 10 worst baseball contracts of the 2000s

Omar, you still have four weeks to make this list!

It wasn’t merely his five-tool ineptitude that sealed the title. No, the Dodgers — easily the most generous gifter of garbage contracts — somehow thought it was a good idea to give an $11 million-a-year deal to a 29-year-old who had a surgically repaired elbow and was coming off a season in which he allowed 31 home runs and walked 87 hitters. It was Dreifort’s best season as a starter, by the way, and his ERA was 4.16. In Dodger Stadium. To know that of the three things a pitcher truly, indubitably controls — home runs, walks and strikeouts — Dreifort was terrible in two categories should have told the Dodgers: run. Run! RUN!!!

They didn’t. They saw the Rockies’ offer of six years and $60 million (!) and upped the per-annum value. At the time, this wasn’t seen as a huge blunder, either. Dodgers GM Kevin Malone told Sports Illustrated: “You could say that Darren’s contract shows that pitching in baseball is at the point where you don’t need to show consistent performance to get a big, long-term payout. That’s not healthy. But you could also say the contract shows we’re an organization willing to take a chance to give our fans a winner. That’s healthy. If Darren does what we believe he can do — give us 220 innings, start 32 or 33 games, win half of them — we’re looking at a bargain.”

BA: Colorado Rockies Top 10 Prospects

From our old friend Tracy Ringolsby:

1. Tyler Matzek, lhp
2. Christian Friederich, lhp
3. Wilin Rosario, c
4. Jhoulys Chacin, rhp
5. Hector Gomez, ss
6. Eric Young Jr., 2b/of
7. Tim Wheeler, of
8. Rex Brothers, lhp
9. Esmil Rogers, rhp
10. Nolan Arenado, 3b

Is Garrett Atkins a viable offseason option at 3B?

He’s not getting a lot of love in the 3B talks this offseason, but he should be.

I can imagine you’re not exactly on the Atkins train right now and that’s understandable but let’s finish up looking at exactly why he’s a great option:

1. Buy low.  His price tag should be sufficiently low enough to make betting on his return worthwhile.
2. Role play.  I can’t imagine he’ll want to be a platooner or back-up guy, but if the Phillies can bring in a DeRosa or Polanco as well, the team can hedge its bets that one will come through.
3. Versatility. If he’s brought in with a DeRosa, the combination of the two prepares you for a lot of inevitable injuries around the field.
4. Lineup.  He’s right handed and this team always needs right handed bats (in the lineup and off the bench.
5. Experience. The playoff and the World Series kind.
6. Age. Still only 30.

Diamond Notes: Jose Contreras interested in the Dodgers?

El Nuevo Herald cites a “baseball source” who believes it’s likely free-agent pitcher Jose Contreras will end up back in the National League West with the Rockies, Diamondbacks or Dodgers. The source indicates at least two American League Central teams are also in touch.

Rencyk: Rockies kick tires on catcher Schneider

Kelly - Springfield. Schneider - Colorado Springs.

Bracing for the potential loss of starter Yorvit Torrealba, the Rockies have expressed preliminary interest in free agent catcher Brian Schneider.

Schneider suffered through a disappointing 2009 with the Mets, hitting .218 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 59 games. The veteran profiles as a backup at this point his career, and is a left-handed hitter who could complement Chris Iannetta. Iannetta hasn’t been promised the starting job. He’s enjoying a strong offseason, and will enter camp determined to win back his spot. But the Rockies are protecting themselves. GM Dan O’Dowd has had varying degrees of interest in Schneider for several years.

Torrealba, who turned down a two-year, $4.5-million deal from the Rockies, is expected to receive an offer soon from the clubs that have called about him, including one from the NL West. I haven’t pinned down the NL West team, but the Giants make a lot of sense since they are expected to lose Bengie Molina and need someone they can trust if prospect Buster Posey needs more Triple-A seasoning.

Diamond Notes: Former Dodgers, Rockies pitcher threw games in Taiwan.

Reports out of Taiwan have linked the former Dodgers pitcher and his Brothers Elephants teammates to throwing games as part of an underground gambling ring. Tsao has denied it all, but reportedly involved with the $2.2 million bonus baby is a gangster nicknamed “Windshield Wiper” (you can’t make this stuff up), who would not only pay large sums for the right-hander to fix games, but also treat him to pre-game sessions with escorts.

Tsao’s girlfriend, news anchor and tabloid fav Natalie Han, can’t be happy to hear that. Neither are the Brothers Elephants, who have announced that Tsao’s contract will not be renewed. Tsao was the first Taiwanese pitcher to play in the Major Leagues and was said to be contemplating a return. First, he’s expected to face criminal charges, and teammates have already begun to squeal.

Old Rockies ties make Dante Bichette a Yankees fan in the Series

Bichette would go on to become a major component of the famed Blake Street Bombers.

“That first season was a dream year for me,” Bichette said. “It finally was a chance for me to play on an everyday basis. I think I finally figured out a lot of things during my last year in Milwaukee. In Denver, I got the chance to prove it on the field.”

During the 1995 season, Bichette led the National League with 197 hits (tied with Tony Gwynn), 40 home runs and 128 RBIs, numbers that had MVP written all over them. But when the vote came in, Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin was the MVP with some average numbers.

“That still is very disappointing for me,” Bichette said. “I think the Coors Field and Denver’s elevation things took it away from me. If they had the voting to do over again now, I think I would get it.”

Not unless you jiggled the.340 BA/.364 OBP a bit. gawd!

Note to Alex Anthopoulos: Follow the Dan O’Dowd Model

How can the Blue Jays realistically compete with the Red Sox and Yankees with Vernon Wells consuming so much of their payroll? The answer lies with Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd.

Kiszla: Weight of world tough to bear for Rockies’ Street

“and my head looking at the ground
tears, stupid tears, bring me down”

All lost, the one thing Rockies relief pitcher Huston Street refused to do was cry. His voice cracked. Anguish moistened the corners of his eyes. But tears? No way. A ballgame blown, Street fought to keep what little this beaten man had: his dignity.

“The lazy step for me would be to walk out of here with my tail between my legs and tears coming down my face, then go home and lay in bed for two weeks,” Street said Monday night, after surrendering three runs in a nightmarish ninth inning that gave Philadelphia a shocking 5-4 victory and eliminated Colorado from the playoffs.

... As the Rockies’ season was dying in the bottom of the ninth and hope deflated from the Coors Field crowd of 49,940, Street did something that might surprise you. He confronted his failure. He did it by watching his own personal horror movie of how it all unraveled during the Phillies’ last at-bat.

Street had walked from the dugout, down a lonely hall and up a flight of steps, then after pausing for several minutes at a chair in front of his locker, proceeded to the video room and watched pitch-by-pitch how he was beaten by a two-out walk to Chase Utley, a double hammered by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth’s single.

Street gazed at the videotape of a 4-2 Colorado lead slipping through right hand. “That’s how I deal with it. I want to see it,” he said. “I don’t want to wonder: Where was the pitch? I want to know exactly what happened… I guess it helps me move past it. But, god, it doesn’t feel good.”

He was one strike away from forcing a fifth and deciding game. “I think it’s foolish to forget. I think it’s also foolish to keep it with you,” Street said. “This game is played by men. Take responsibility. When you get beat, you get beat.”

Lackey: Houston Street and Ryan Howard Illustrate the Closer Fallacy

The answer, of course, is that Street is Colorado’s “closer.” The Rockies were winning 4-2, so Street had to be on the mound. It was Tracy that made the unfortunate decision tonight to not bring Joe Beimel (the only remaining lefty in the Rockies’ bullpen) in to face Howard, but I’m willing to bet you could count on one hand (or maybe even no hands) the managers in baseball that would’ve made that move.

Watching the post-game coverage tonight, not on-air analyst or reporter is questioning Tracy’s decision to stick with Street. He probably won’t take much heat for the move in the Denver papers tomorrow. That’s all because sticking with your “closer” is what’s done in baseball. Now flip the situation around; imagine that Tracy had brought Beimel in to face Howard. Beimel’s a decent but not great reliever with a slight platoon split. If he had given up the hit to Howard, everyone would be frothing at the mouth over Tracy’s decision without even mentioning Howard’s platoon split. In fact, people would probably be questioning the move even if Beimel had gotten Howard out, because that’s how out of place the move would’ve seemed.

Maybe using Beimel against Howard wouldn’t have been a great idea given the history between the two (Howard is 3/10 with a double, a triple, and a homer), but Howard’s platoon split is still about as big as they get and I think it’s telling that no one has even mentioned the thought of pulling Street for a lefty against Howard. It’s not even part of the discussion. Closers are an ingrained part of baseball, but three of the division series ended with closers blowing saves. Why is it so crazy to rethink this model a little bit?

Thanks to Mickliver.

Rob Neyer:  Manuel again turns to Lidge

Of course, the Phillies are probably going to win this series, and if they do win, they’re not likely to drop Lidge from their League Championship Series roster. Scott Eyre’s hurt, which might open a slot for Condrey or Walker.

But if Manuel didn’t have room for Tyler Walker on his Division Series roster, he’s not going to have room for Tyler Walker in his ninth innings. He should have solved this problem in September or, at the very latest, one week ago. Instead it’s still a problem, and it’s going to cost him. Not last night, maybe. But eventually it will.

Let’s assume that the Phillies do beat the Rockies. With the 2008 version of Brad Lidge protecting small leads, I would rate the Phillies as slight underdogs against the Dodgers. With the 2009 version, though? I’ll take the Dodgers in five.

MLB: Umps admit missed call on

Utley hit. Oh...I thought MLB.com was playing a fill in the blank game. Sorry.

In the top of the ninth with Jimmy Rollins at second, Utley hit a pitch from Rockies closer Huston Street that, replays showed, clearly bounced off Utley’s leg while he was still in the batter’s box before landing in fair ground in front of the plate and along the first-base line. A ball that hits a batter while he’s still in the box is supposed to be ruled dead.

...Meals said the crew might have been fooled by Utley, who dashed toward first base without hesitation.

“Chase Utley took off like it was nothing,” Meals said. “He gave no indication to us that it hit him. Whatever percent of the time, you’re going to get a guy that’s going to stop if it hits him.”

Utley gave a reason why he’d run so hard no matter if it did.

“I’m not sure if it hit me—it was cold out there,” he said coyly. “I’ve been on the wrong end of that, where the ball has hit me and I don’t run, and it’s an easy out. So I wanted to make sure that I ran hard to first.

Lauber: EYRE: NO FAN OF GAME TIMES

Hey, don’t be messing with the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association.

By the time the NL Division Series finally resumes tonight, the snow flurries will have subsided at Coors Field. But the temperature still is expected to drop into the 30s during the game, prompting Scott Eyre to ask a reasonable question.

Why not play during the day?

“When you’re in the playoffs, and you’re in a city where there’s a chance of snow at all, yeah, I think it should be a day game,” said Eyre, standing outside the Phillies’ team hotel in downtown Denver yesterday after Game 3 was postponed due to snow, ice and frigid cold. “But TBS paid a lot of money, so they can dictate when the games are played. And they don’t care about us. I used to not understand, but now that I’m older, I understand more about the business end of it.”

...“This is the future of our game,” Eyre said, pointing to his 11-year-old son, Caleb, who was throwing snowballs with his 9-year-old brother, Jacob. “If they can’t watch the game, it’s pretty stupid. Like the World Series, when I was a kid, it was on during the day. There were no games at 9:47. That’s stupid. I understand it’s the greatest time slot, but people who want to watch baseball will watch it whenever it’s on.”

MLB: Game 3 of Rox-Phils NLDS postponed

With the series between the Rockies and Phillies tied at a game apiece, Game 3 has been rescheduled for Sunday at 8:07 p.m. MT. Game 4 has been moved to Monday, with game time to be announced prior to the start of Sunday’s contest.

...Rockies manager Jim Tracy, whose team evened the series with a 5-4 victory in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, said at Friday’s workout that he was well aware that the weather could cause Major League Baseball to step in and postpone Game 3.

“If it’s a day where ... it’s not conducive for either team to be playing baseball, it’s going to jeopardize our fans from the standpoint of being treated to the type of baseball that has been played thus far in the first two games of the series in Philadelphia,” Tracy said.

“If moving it back because there’s going to be much better weather ... that would be the most sensible thing to do ... because, you know, Game 3 in a series that’s 1-1, it’s a fairly pivotal game.

“You’d hate to see a game be determined one way or the other due to the fact that the conditions were not good. Somebody slips that otherwise wouldn’t have, if the conditions would have been much drier and much more conducive for baseball.”

And you wouldn’t want the umps to be nothing short of nice and cozzi either.

Hot Rox: Nawrocki: Braun vs. Tulowitzki, Again

Bill James probably confused Troy Tulowitzki with Władysław Mazurkiewicz. That’s all. It’s a common mistake within the saberserial community.

Over at Bill James’ website, someone asked him about Troy Tulowitzki’s ranking in the MVP race, and Bill noted that he’d put Pujols first, then “Hanley in the mix behind Albert, along with Fielder, Braun, Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley, Tim Lincecum, and, of course, Elijah Dukes. Tulowitski’s a good player, but I can’t really see him at that level.”

First of all, it’s Tulowitzki with a Z, just like Liza. Second of all, Ryan Braun? The two were about as similar as two hitters can be this year: Tulo was ahead by one point of slugging percentage, while Braun had a nine-point edge in OBP. Braun’s small advantage there, plus adjusting for the ballparks, leaves the Hebrew Hammer a half-step ahead of Tulo as a hitter. OPS+ sees it as 144-135 in favor of Braun.

But then you’ve got a good defensive shortstop measured against a bad defensive leftfielder. A nine-point advantage in OPS+ can’t come close to making up that difference.