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Bailey (AL) and Coghlan (NL) Win Rookie of Year

Jim Vassallo — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:34:41 +0000

Oakland Athletics reliever Andrew Bailey and Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan have been named the American League and National League Rookies of the Year for the 2009 season. Bailey is a native of Haddon Heights, New Jersey and was a struggling minor league pitcher as recently as the 2008 season. Coghlan is a native of Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Bailey made his Major League debut on April 6, 2009 for the Athletics after struggling during the 2008 season with Double-A Midland of the Double-A Texas League. He went 5-9 with a 4.32 ERA in 37 games. But Bailey made the A’s roster out of Spring Training in 2009 and caught on quickly with the big club. He posted a 6-3 record with a measly 1.84 ERA in the Majors in 2009 in 68 games with 26 saves.

Coghlan debuted with the Florida Marlins on May 8, 2009 and never looked back, tearing through National League pitching staffs. Coghlan recorded a .321 batting average with nine homeruns and 47 RBIs in 128 games for the NL East club. Coghlan primarily was the club’s left fielder for the 2009 season but did play one game (seven innings worth) at second base for the Marlins.

On Tuesday, the American League Cy Young winner will be announced. Wednesday, the American and National League managers of the year will be announced. Thursday, the National League Cy Young winner will be announced. Monday, November 23, the American League MVP will be announced and Tuesday, November 24, the National League MVP will be announced.

Pirates Make Another Move

Jim Vassallo — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:39:35 +0000

The Pittsburgh Pirates have made yet another move, trading star shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Pirates are getting shortstop Ronny Cedeno, minor league catcher and former number one draft pick Jeff Clement and right-handed pitchers Nathan Adcock, Brett Lorin and Aaron Pribanic. The Pirates have been trying to rebuild their farm system after a disappointing first half of the season and have made multiple trades already this season to address that issue.

The four prospects going to the Pittsburgh farm system join eight other prospects already acquired this season. The Pirates also received outfielder Lastings Milledge and pitcher Joel Hanrahan from the Washington Nationals this season. The Pirates came into the 2009 season with hopes of a .500 or better season for the first time since the 1992 season when they won the National League Pennant. Those hopes were erased as management started trading players to build for the future. Outfielder Nate McLouth was traded to the Atlanta Braves, infielder Adam LaRoche was traded to the Boston Red Sox and outfielder Nyjer Morgan was sent to the Washington Nationals. Also, minor league pitcher Romulo Sanchez and outfielder Eric Hinske, brought in this year to help lead a young team, were traded to the Yankees.

Jack Wilson, the latest to get traded from the Pirates this season, was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger in 2004. He is hitting .267 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI’s this season. Ian Snell joins Wilson in this latest trade. Snell has been effective in AAA after a disappointing start to the season. Snell is 2-2 with a .96 ERA and 47 strikeouts in six starts with AAA.

Seattle is parting with shortstop Ronny Cedeno, who has struggled this season. He is hitting .167 with 5 home runs and 17 RBI’s in 59 games. Perhaps a change of scenery will help the struggling shortstop produce. The Mariners are also parting with four prospects; the biggest name being catcher Jeff Clement. Clement has not lived up to the hype since being drafted third overall in 2005. This season, he is hitting .288 with 7 home runs at the AAA level.

These moves come with just two days left until the non-waiver trade deadline. Only time will tell if more moves are forthcoming for either of these two teams.

Where Will the Jay Land?

Jim Vassallo — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:58:14 +0000

Trade rumors have been swirling for a couple of weeks now about American League All-Star Roy Halladay and where he will wind up once the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline comes and goes at 4pm Friday. In some of the most recent reports the Blue Jays claim that Halladay will likely still be with the club once August 1st rolls around because there is no team that will ‘wow’ Toronto with the best package of players possible.

Conversations between Toronto and Philadelphia, said to be the front runner for acquiring Halladay, are in a stalemate because the Phillies will not part with top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek. The Blue Jays have repeatedly asked for Drabek along with J.A. Happ and Dominic Brown. The Phillies countered with a package that would include one or more of the following players; Michael Taylor, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson.

Toronto balked at the counter offer from the Phillies and sources claim that both teams are still in negotiations regarding Halladay but that talks turned nasty at one point over the weekend. The second team said to be in the running for Halladay are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but Toronto is said to be asking for three players on the Angels’ 25-man roster in return for Halladay.

Halladay, wherever he lands, will make a major impact on his new team if he is traded at all. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi claims he really doesn’t think that Halladay will be traded by the time the 4pm Friday deadline arrives because he doesn’t believe that any team will want to part with the prospects they are asking for in return. If Halladay does change teams he will likely end up with the Phillies, Dodgers, or Angels. These three teams seem to be the ones that have the talent it will take to pry the Cy Young Award winner from the only team he has ever played for.

So what happens to the rest of the league if Halladay does not get traded or if the Blue Jays decide to hold onto him even if there is time left prior to the deadline? Many teams could turn to the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners. The Indians haven’t decided yet if they are willing to trade former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee or hold onto him. The Mariners also aren’t sure if they are ready to part with Jarrod Washburn prior to the deadline. If teams are looking for a plan B then they could possibly turn their attention towards Lee and/or Washburn.

Other pitching options for teams looking for relievers include Baltimore’s George Sherrill, possibly the Reds’ Arthur Rhodes, the Diamondbacks’ Chad Qualls, the Nationals’ Joe Beimel and the Pirates’ John Grabow and Matt Capps. It is still difficult to determine whether or not there will be a flurry of minor trades by week’s end or if the Holliday to St. Louis trade will be the only blockbuster deal of the 2009 regular season.

Report: It’s a Done Deal: Holliday to Cards; Three Players to A’s

Jim Vassallo — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:38:59 +0000

It has been rumored that the pending deal between the Cardinals and the A’s for slugger Matt Holliday has been completed. The Cardinals will send three players to the A’s in return for Holliday and $1.5 million. As reported earlier, Triple-A third baseman Brett Wallace will head to the A’s along with pitcher Clayton Mortensen and outfielder Shane Peterson. Wallace was drafted in the first round (13th overall) by the A’s in the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft and has already reached Triple-A. He is hitting .293 with six homeruns and 19 RBIs in 2009. Holliday was traded to the A’s from the Rockies in the off-season and has had a lackluster season compared to his career stats. He is hitting only .286 with 11 homeruns and 54 RBIs in 93 games with the A’s. He will join his Cardinals teammates in time for a three game set with the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Holliday will become a free agent at the completion of the 2009 season.

Report: Cardinals Close to Acquiring Matt Holliday

Jim Vassallo — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:15:32 +0000

The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly close to landing slugger Matt Holliday from the Oakland Athletics. The A’s would reportedly receive Brett Wallace in return. Wallace was drafted by the Cardinals in 2008 with their first overall pick. Wallace is hitting .293 with six homeruns and 19 RBIs with the Cardinals Triple-A affiliate. Wallace projects as a Major League third baseman and could be the bat that the A’s need in the middle of their lineup within the next two years. Check back for more on this developing story as details emerge.

Baseball Blowups

Jim Vassallo — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:00:37 +0000

Baseball has been America’s past-time for quite some time now and it has provided fans all over the country with exciting moments from no-hitters to perfect games, from walk-off homeruns to record breaking homeruns, from underdog stories to surprising stories and many other exciting moments throughout the illustrious history of the sport. But, with every great moment on the diamond comes an embarrassing one.

Aside from the steroid controversy surrounding the sport of baseball there have also been some incredibly entertaining, yet embarrassing, blowups by managers and players alike in the Minors and in the Majors throughout the years. We are writing this article on the heels of Carlos Zambrano’s explosion at Wrigley Field on May 27th when his Cubs defeated the Pirates 5-2.

Some of the most famous explosions over the years have included Milton Bradley, Lloyd McClendon, Earl Weaver, George Brett, Phil Wellman and Joe Mikulik just to name a few. Wellman and Mikulik were Minor League managers at the time of their blowups with umpires while the rest of the list experienced their blowups in the Majors.

So, please enjoy the following videos of managers and players flipping out on umpires during Minor League and Major League games.

George Brett, following an important homerun, had his bat examined by the umpires and it was found to have too much pine tar on the barrel. The umpires canceled his homerun and Brett went balistic. Here is the video:

George Brett Pine Tar

Reporters asked Royals coach Hal McRae a stupid question following a game and McRae proceeded to lose his mind during his post-game press conference.

Hal McRae

A Chicago Cub was thrown out at third on a questionable call and manager Lou Piniella loses his mind on the umpire. Check out the classic kick of the hat…a signature Sweet Lou move.

Piniella

This next video has some explicit language in it but no one should be surprised since it involves former Orioles manager Earl Weaver. Weaver was never kind to the umpires and vice versa.

Earl Weaver

John McLaren, when manager of the Seattle Mariners in 2008, drops one bomb after another during his press conference following yet another Mariner loss.

McLaren Rant

One of the most recognizable fights in baseball history happened during the 2003 ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Pedro Martinez grabbed Don Zimmer’s head and threw him to the ground. Take a look for yourself:

Zimmer vs. Martinez

The name Phil Wellman will never be forgotten in baseball lure, especially within the Minor Leagues. Wellman, a Braves Minor League manager, argued a call and then went nuts after he didn’t get his way.

Phil Wellman

Joe Mikulik is another Minor League manager, for the Asheville Tourists, who lost his mind after arguing with an umpire.

Joe Mikulik

The reason we wrote this article, the Carlos Zambrano ejection from earlier in the 2009 season, is the final video of our collection this time around. Hope you enjoy it. One wonderful fan turned it into a Gatorade commercial. Gotta love it:

Zambrano vs Gatorade Machine