Jorge Posada labeled Hughes the "best arm in camp"

Labels: farm hands

2005 Record: .426 (69-83), Last place in AL West

2004 Record: .389 (63-99)

Who’s Out: Ryan Franklin (P), Jeff Nelson (P), Pokey Reese (SS)

Who’s In: Kenji Johjima (C), Carl Everett (DH), Matt Lawton (RF), Jarrod Washburn (P), Marcos Carvajal (P)

Notes: The past two seasons were rough for the Mariners, but they made some strong additions to their roster late last season and this winter. Felix Hernandez, who was a top pitching prospect, was brought up last season and lived up to his hype, throwing 97 MPH fastballs past the best hitters in the league. He’ll be back this season, and he’ll start the season just a few days shy of his twentieth birthday. Former Angels’ lefty Jarrod Washburn will also offer support to the starting pitching rotation; he had a good season in ’05 with a 3.20 ERA and 177.3 innings pitched. The most exciting addition to the team, though, comes from across the ocean in the form of Japanese superstar catcher Kenji Jojima. Jojima won seven Gold Gloves in Japan and has a .299 career batting average, and his MLB debut is much anticipated throughout the league. With these new additions, the Mariners have a good chance of getting back to the .500 mark this year, though I wouldn’t peg them for any pennants just yet.

Labels: 2006 team profiles

Sheffield also had some trouble this week, and not just the “I feel duped” emotional kind. Like Pavano, Sheff has been dealing with some back pain that caused him to miss workouts today. Sheff blames his back pain on a bit of over-zealousness, saying that he just needed some rest after taking extra batting practice this weekend. Luckily, Sheff’s back spasms shouldn’t keep him down for more than a couple days.

Florida has been good to some Yankee players, though. Al Leiter, for one, has been tearing it up in practice and impressing Joe Torre along the way. Leiter, who opted for a minor league contract with the Yankees rather than retirement this year, has been pitching well as a non-roster invitee. Torre noted that there is no room on the roster for Leiter right now, but having an extra lefty reliever can never hurt—especially if our starters are heading for the DL already.

Labels: injuries, pavano must die

Besides the befefits of money and security, the contract extension is great news for Sheff's career stats, as it makes hitting the 500 home run mark all the more possible. He currently has 449, just 51 shy of the benchmark, and after hitting 36 and 34 in the 2004 and 2005 seasons respectively, I see no reason for Sheff to fall short. Interestingly, A-Rod’s home run count is up to 429 and could very well hit his 500^th in the same season as his teammate. 2007 could prove to be quite the home run derby…

Labels: rumors, steroids

2005 Record: .414 (67-95), Last place in NL Central

2004 Record: .447 (72-89)

Who’s Out: Dave Williams (P), Ty Wigginton (INF), Joe Roa (P), Alfredo Amezaga (SS), Brian Meadows (RP), Jose Mesa (RP), Rick White (RP)

Who’s In: Jeromy Burnitz (RF), Roberto Hernandez (RP), Joe Randa (3B), Sean Casey (1B), Chad Blackwell (P), Clayton Hamilton (P), Manager Jim Tracy, Third Base Coach Jeff Cox, Bullpen Coach Bobby Cuellar, Pitching Coach Jim Colborn, Bench Coach Jim Lett

Notes: New manager Jim Tracy has had success with the Dodgers in the past, and the Pirates are hoping he can lead the team to their first winning season since the early nineties. In a move that brings some hope to the team’s plight, Pirates ownership boosted the payroll an extra $13 million this off-season, which allowed them to sign seasoned pros like Burnitz, Randa and Pittsburg native Sean Casey. The Pirates will be starting the season with some proven veterans to lead their young core, like last year’s breakout pitcher Zack Duke and the still-improving Oliver Perez.

Labels: 2006 team profiles

2005 Record: .414 (67-95) Last place in AL East

2004 Record: .435 (70-91)

Who’s Out: Roberto Alomar (2B), Danny Bautista (RF), Alex Gonzalez (3B), Joe Borowski (P)

Who’s In: Manager Joe Maddon, pitching coach Mike Butcher, hitting coach Steve Henderson, bench coach Bill Evers, bullpen coach Bobby Ramos, first base coach George Hendrick; Sean Burroughs (3B), Ty Wigginton (INF); Pitchers Travis Harper, Jesus Colome, Dan Miceli, Shinji Mori, Lance Carter, Chad Harville.

Notes: The Rays are starting the 2006 season with a lot of new faces, most notably former Angels bench coach Joe Maddon. Maddon and the Rays didn’t make any flashy moves this winter, and it seems that they are wisely playing the waiting game while their young core grows (the Rays are remarkably young – the average age of the players on the 40-man roster is 26.68!). Tampa Bay might not be contenders in the immediate future, but they have numerous prospects getting primed for their turns as Devil Rays stars. Outfielder Johnny Gomes has performed very well for the Rays when called up from the minors, and Joey Gathright has the speed and average to make him a potentially stellar leadoff man. The Rays also have pitching prospects working in the minor leagues, and any of these guys could serve as the foundation for a better Tampa Bay team or trade bait for bigger stars in years to come.

Labels: 2006 team profiles

I’ve used Kevin Brown as my whipping boy for the past two seasons, and this was not undeserved. Each time a batter got the better of him, I groaned, because Brown never seemed to be able to get it back together after a slipup. I always felt like he was giving up after the first hit to go by him. Seeing his surly face on the mound reminded me of his fist-smashing roid-fueled rampage, and I’m convinced his bad attitude in the field was bringing the Yankees down. His performance with the Yankees was abysmal; he finished 2004 with a 4.09 ERA and left 2005 at 6.50. And who can forget his contribution to the 2004 ALCS vs. Boston?! Grrrrr…..

The truth, though, is that before Kevin Brown was a Yankee, he had proved himself to be a very dominating and capable pitcher. Even with his hideous numbers in New York, Kevin is retiring from a nineteen-year career with a 211-144 record and a 3.28 ERA. He was a 6-time all-star, has pitched 17 shut-outs and 72 complete games, and was impressive enough to be the highest paid player in the MLB at one point. I don’t know why that Kevin Brown didn’t show up in New York, but I’m glad he’s retiring before he can do any more damage to the Yankees or his own stats.

Colorado Rockies

2005 Record: .414 (67-95), last place in NL West

2004 Record: .420 (68-96)

Who's Out: Todd Greene (C), Dan Miceli (RP), Jamey Wright (P)
Who’s New: Jamey Carroll (INF), Josh Fogg (P)

Notes: I hate to break it to those faithful fans saying rosary prayers for the Rockies, but it doesn’t look like they are setting up for a takeover of the NL west this year — although anything is possible in that division. The Rockies made very few moves during the off-season, and blockbuster moves they most certainly were not. 32-year-old Carroll spent the last four years with the Expos-cum-Nationals, and aside from a promising first year, he’s been average at best. He does offer the Rockies some flexibility, though, as he has experience at second base, shortstop, and third. 29-year-old Fogg pitched with the Pirates for four seasons as both a starter and a reliever, and despite relatively high ERA and WHIP numbers the Rockies are hopeful that he will do well enough to possibly compete for a spot in the starting rotation. Shortstop Clint Barmes should also be available for the complete 2006 season—as long as he’s not heaving any more deer meat over his shoulders this winter—and with his talent, he could rival Helton for star of the team.

Labels: 2006 team profiles

Kansas City Royals

2005 Record: .346 (56-106), last place in AL Central and MLB

2004 Record: .358 (58-104)

Who’s Out: Pitchers Jonah Bayliss, Jose Lima, and Chris Demaria; Matt Diaz (OF)

Who’s New: Reggie Sanders (RF), Doug Mientkiewicz (1B), Mark Grudzielanek (2B); Esteban German (IF); Pitchers Elmer Dressens, Joe Mays, Bobby Madritsch, and Scott Elarton.

Notes: Last year, Royals starters had a combined ERA of 6.00, the worst in club history. The good news with numbers like that is that there is nowhere to go but up, and while new additions like Mays and Madritsch aren’t necessarily capable of single-handedly turning the team around, the Royals’ pitching is better off this year. The Royals’ infield has also improved, and they have good depth with benchmen like Matt Stairs, who can play both first base and outfield and hit .275 last year, and speedy infielder Esteban German. They also have a new uniform for 2006, so if all else fails on the field the fans can gander at the fashion…

Labels: 2006 team profiles

Sammy Sosa: Not only are the Yankees most certainly not interested in old Sammy (pish-posh to those rumors, I say!), it looks like Sammy will be making his miserable 2005 season in Baltimore his last in the majors. After turning down a $500,000 offer from the Nationals on Wednesday, Sammy’s agent admitted that Slammin’ Sammy will almost certainly bid the MLB farewell. Sammy has also not expressed any interest in playing in next month’s WBC, but Dominican Republic manager Manny Acta has said that he’ll be keeping a spot open for him in hopes he’ll change his tune.

Roger Clemens: We’ve been discussing Clemens future for months now, but the latest clue as to whether or not Clemens will continue to play in the MLB in 2006 comes from beyond the grave. On Tuesday, Roger revealed that his mother had expressed wishes for him to retire shortly before she died last September, leading many fans and journalists to fear that his retirement was ever more imminent. Clemens has made it clear that he will not make any decisions until the WBC has ended, and if he opts to stick with the MLB for another year, he’ll have plenty of choices: the Astros, Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox are all interested.

Johnny Damon: New York’s newest big-name boy won’t have to feel too lonely in the Yankees’ clubhouse this spring: Ex A’s teammate Jason Giambi will be hanging out in the locker right next to his.

Scott Erickson: The Yanks signed this 38-year-old righty pitcher to a minor league deal worth $15,000 per month, or $500,000 per year if he gets added to the 40-man roster. Scott had some good years in the early 1990’s with the Twins, but his recent years have been far from impressive. In 19 games with the Dodgers last year, Scott sustained a weak 6.02 ERA and walked 25 batters; he struck out just 12. Cashman noted that Erickson will “somewhat of an insurance policy” in the unfortunate (but seemingly unavoidable) case that one of our starters suffers an injury.

Spring Training: Football is officially over, and baseball is one step closer to being back in the limelight: Our pitchers and catchers have already reported to Florida, where workouts will begin tomorrow. The Yanks haven’t added any new starting pitchers to the roster this off season, but the bullpen is loaded with new faces like Kyle Farnsworth, Octavio Dotel, and Mike Myers. Jeter, A-Rod and the rest of the crew will join the pitchers and catchers in Florida next Tuesday, and the first spring training game against the Phillies is just two weeks away….

Labels: rumors

With the advent of spring training just days away, the Yanks added one more arm to their bullpen this weekend. Righty reliever Darrell Rasner was picked up off waivers from the Nationals, and the Yanks booted Jason Anderson back down the minors to make room on the roster for their new acquisition. Twenty-five year old Rasner spent most of last season playing AA ball, but maintained a 3.68 ERA after being called up to play with the Nat’s in September.

Labels: roster moves

Now that Chacon’s salary has been settled, the Yanks can go forth into spring training with a new focus: hammering down their starting pitching rotation. They could potentially run with a six-man rotation - - Johnson, Mussina, Chacon, Pavano, Wright and Wang - - but depending on how things go in Florida next month it’s possible that one of those men (guess who) could be moved to the pen.

Just Say No: The International Baseball Federation announced that they will be testing for performance enhancing drugs during the WBC. They will be randomly testing eighty players before the competition begins, and will also randomly select players from each team after each game of the competition. The penalty for using will be a two-year ban from international competition, but major league players will not be penalized by the MLB.

Mistaken Identity: No matter what the roster may say, A’s pitcher Danny Haren will not be playing for the Netherlands in the WBC. As we all know, WBC rules dictate that a player must have familial ties to a country in order to represent their team, but despite the fact that Haren’s father is 100% Irish and his mother 100% Mexican, his name popped up on the Netherlands’ roster last week. Perhaps the Dutch were reaching a bit too far in trying to fill out their roster.

Dropping Like Flies! Barry Bonds has pulled out, saying he owes it to the Giants to be healthy and ready to roll in April. Injury-prone John Smoltz and Nomar Garciaparra have also decided to try to spare their respective teams any potential damage the WBC could cause, and though Andy Pettitte hasn’t officially pulled out, he has admitted that it is likely. The latest drop-out rumor, surprisingly, focuses on P.C.-friendly A-Rod. Personally, I’d be surprised if he backed out after all the “will he or won’t he” hoopla, but stranger things have happened.

Super Bowl Ad: I was not a fan of the superimposed flags on the players’ faces. Creepy.

National Pride: It appears that the WBC will likely come down to two teams, and bettors are giving the Dominican a slight edge over the U.S. If it does come down to those two, the games will be packed with talent and incredible to watch. I’d give the Dominican a slight edge myself, if only due to the fact that they have a history of strong national pride and identity. I foresee the U.S. team holding back slightly in order to stay in shape for the upcoming MLB season.

Labels: a-rod trouble