Player Comparison

I wanted to make this player comparison this week.

Player A - 1,391 hits / 225 HR / .290 BA / .856 OPS / 118 OPS+

Player B - 1,747 Hits / 229 HR / .313 BA / .882 OPS / 124 OPS+

Player A is Troy Tulowitzki who announced his retirement this week while Player B is Nomar Garciaparra. I make this comparison because of the talk (not a lot granted) of if Tulowitzki is a Hall of Fame Player. I would simply state that if Nomar isn't a Hall of Famer then neither is Tulo.

Interestingly enough both players finished their careers withe the exact same 44.2 career WAR. And that's not where the similarities end.

Tulo finished with 5 All-Star game appearances, 2 gold Gloves and 2 Silver Slugger awards. Nomar had 6 All-Star game appearances, won 2 AL Batting Titles and 1 Silver Slugger. While both players were greats for their time - I don't think you could make a real Hall of Fame argument for either player.

Link Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Wow - mesmerizing! Math for the win!

- Tom Crean on the lessons he's learned during a year away from coaching.

- Good advice (not just for 20-somethings)

- "Of course.Mark knew. Everyone knew." This is not good for Mark Cuban. Goodbye all thoughts of running for President in 2020.

- Heh heh (I miss Hazel Mae working for NESN)

- Just a spring training reminder!

- The "unknown unknowns" about DIY CRISPR sets are scary to me. So much could go horribly wrong.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Let me state what should be obvious - Donald Trump is a dangerous clown. I'm voting for Marco Rubio... Heh heh - Jeremy Roenick needs to hit the gym... Carl Soderberg has 42 points and a -5 plus/minus for the Avalanche while his replacement in Boston, Ryan Spooner, also has 42 points and a -4 plus/minus but at a much lower pricetag. Nice roster move by the Bruins... Heh heh... Really surprised by this - Troy Tulowitzki ranks first in MLB history in fielding percentage by a shortstop. Ahead of people like Omar Vizquel!... Maybe Ted Cruz really is the Zodiac Killer... Charlie Pierce writes that name Reince Preibus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, must be an anagram for something. But what? Scribe ruin pee? Be epic insurer? Inscribe rupee? Inquiring minds want to know!... Heh heh... If I had a science / physics blog I would call it Particle Man after the They Might Be Giants song... Heh heh - Bruce Springsteen shouts out Pittsburg (in Cleveland)...

MLB Hot Stove

With officially 150 days till 2015's Opening Day here's the first of what I'm sure will be many Hot Stove thoughts.

- I wonder if the Nationals would entertain an offer of 3-years of Clay Buchholz for free-agent to be Doug Fister? I think Buchholz would benefit from a change of scenery.

- Speaking of Boston trade targets - how about Jeff Samardzija of the A's? It would be just like Billy Bean to flip an asset like that. What does Oakland need?

- Troy Tulowitzki's agent comments on the Rockies potentially trading Tulo. Read the comments. Never realized the venom some Colorado fans have towards Tulowitzki. And comparing him to Gretzky, Shaq and Joe Montana? Jeez.

- I would agree with this sentiment.

- For the record - I am sick of stories on A-Rod. To paraphrase Jason Varitek "I don't read about .240 hitters."

State of the Red Sox

Here's five thoughts on the recent shake-up of the Red Sox roster.

1. The biggest difference between the pre-trade deadline line-up and the line-up today is the fact that Boston went from having two players (Ortiz, Napoli) with 25+ HR potential to having five (Ortiz, Napoli, Middlebrooks, Craig and Cespedes). I included Allen Craig even though the most HR he's hit in a season was 22 (but it was in just 119 games). That's a huge difference in pop in the line-up.

2. I have to wonder if Shane Victorino was healthy enough to pass a deadline physical whether he would have been traded too. My guess is he's shut down for the season and dealt once he's healthy. Did I say guess or hope?

3. How do the Red Sox hope to compete for top talent if they are not willing to pay the going rate? The Yankees gave Masahiro Tanaka a 7-year $155 million deal while Boston management looks like it was unwilling to give Jon Lester something comparable to a 5-year $110 million deal.

4. Conversely it should be noted that Oakland had the best record in baseball while relying mainly on young arms (plus 30-year olds Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez). Ace Sonny Gray 24, Tommy Milone 27, Dan Straily 25, and Drew Pomeranz 25 have made a combined 53 starts for the first place A's this season. Compare that to Boston's young arms of Brandon Workman 25, Rubby Del La Rosa 25, Allan Webster 24, and Anthony Ranaudo 24. It looks like Boston is looking to use the A's blueprint next season.

5. The speculation is that with payroll down to just $95 million for next season the Red Sox will use their stockpile of prospects to make a big splash in the trade market. The focus has been on Giancarlo Stanton but the two names I'd like to see on a Boston Opening Day roster next season are Troy Tulowitzki or Cole Hamels. Both would be great.

State of the Red Sox

As of this morning the Red Sox are 9.5 games back in the AL East and 8 games out of the Wild Card. That's worse than 2 weeks ago when I did my last State of the Red Sox. In that post I made 5 suggested moves for Boston to make. So far they have made 2 (bringing up Mookie Betts and getting rid of AJ Pierzynski). I can easily see them making the other 3 moves listed (trading Jake Peavy and Jonny Gomes and signing Jon Lester) and that certainly would be a move in the right direction.

Having said the above - here's 4 more moves I would like to see the Red Sox make.

1. Trade Edward Mujica who just hasn't fit in with Boston. He reminds me of Mark Melancon who just couldn't handle Boston but thrived in the NL. Trade Mujiica to some NL team in need of bullpen help and save yourself the $4.75 million he's owed for 2015. Maybe lump Mujica and Peavy together in a package?

2. Trade Shane Victorino. I cannot stress enough how much I want Boston to make this move. Victorino now just bats from the right side and righty bats are in demand. The Red Sox would have to wait till he gets off the DL but I would much rather see the plate appearances go to Mookie Betts or Brock Holt. Victorino is signed through next year at $13 million so that money would come off the books and give Boston more flexibility.

3. Trade Stephen Drew. Probably would have to eat half his remaining salary for the year but most fans would much rather see Brock Holt or Xander Bogaerts at short or even Jonathan Herrera who is Drew's equal with the glove but at this point worth more than 170 points in OPS at the plate.

4. Trade for Troy Tulowitzki. I know this is a long shot but if Tulo is "quietly" letting people know he'd be OK with being traded - that means he wants to be traded. Tulo has a good size contract but that money is peanuts to Boston. Use Xander Bogaerts as the centerpiece of a deal and include a couple of pitching prospects as well. So let it be written - so let it be done!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Shawshank Residuals. Interest look behind the scenes of the movie business.

- Amazon's tactics confirm critics fears. Not sure how I feel about this just yet. Wouldn't it be natural for Amazon to put books from companies they have deal with in the front of the queue?

- Troy Tulowitzki responds to sign stealing allegation with epic trolling

- Classic HBO Shows now on Amazon Prime. YES!!

- More Gazans blow themselves up than are killed by Israel. Yes some people will insist to blame Israel first. Just like some people say Koch brothers are to blame for Climate Change and high cholesterol.

- What we actually know about Benghazi.

- Steve McQueen gives John Wayne a drunken hug

Tulo to Red Sox

Ken Rosenthal had an article saying that the Colorado Rockies should listen to offers for Troy Tulowitzki. He mentioned the Cardinals as possible trade partners. Ever since reading the Rosenthal article - I've kept wondering "What about Tulo to the Red Sox?"

The Red Sox have top prospect Xander Bogaerts ready to take over for Stephen Drew if Drew moves on via free agency but Bogaerts could just as easily shift to third. What about Will Middlebrooks who was the Red Sox opening day 3rd baseman last season and is on track to be so again next season? Put him in a package with Felix Dubront (an MLB ready starter with 4 more years of team control), Allen Webster (the key prospect the Dodgers gave up for Adrian Gonzalez) and one AA prospect. That's a pretty good 4 for 1 package.

For the Rockies - they get 4 cost effective players including a potential 30-HR 3rd baseman who can play right now in Middlebrooks. Colorado already has 22-year old Nolan Arenado at third and he just won the NL Gold Glove for 3rd basemen. The solution is simple - just move Arenado over to short. He used to be a shortstop and he doesn't have the pop in the bat that you'd want from a corner playing half his games at Coors Field. Dubront would immediately become the Rockies number 3 starter and Webster could be a number 1 some day.

For the Red Sox - they get a proven player who has a career road OPS of .819 - as a shortstop! Tulo's career home OPS at Coors is .934 which is like Big Papi at Fenway. Tulo could play short to start then as he gets older move to third, first or DH.

Of course as Rosenthal says - right now the Rockies say Tulowitzki is unavailable. The Red Sox should dangle my proposed package and see if they change their mind.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Troy Tulowitzki didn't have a HR yesterday? What gives? Was he hurt? (Does Blogger have a sarcasm font?)... I can't help but wonder how often Mark Cuban thinks about letting Steve Nash leave as free agent back in 2004. He must regret the move. I think the Mavericks would have an NBA title by now if Cuban had kept the Dirk Nowitzki / Steve Nash dynamic duo intact. I wonder if in his heart of hearts Cuban thinks the same thing... How bad is it for the Red Sox? Jarrod Saltalamacchia has an OPS+ of 11 - think about that for a second... Regarding the FBI closing down the online poker Big 3 sites I can't help but think of the following quote: “The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly” - Abraham Lincoln. Hopefully this will be the catalyst to finally get a bad law off the books. Poker is part of the American fabric - part of our very soul. It is a travesty that it should be illegal... Is it too early to ask if A-Rod can hit .400 for the season? (Really a sarcasm font would be so helpful.)... You think of Steve Nash as assist guy but he's also just 72 points from passing Pistol Pete Maravich on all-time scoring list... If Alexander Hamilton was alive today - would he be a Mets fan or a Yankees fan?... "Too Big to Fail" would be a good title for an Andre the Giant biography... Carl Crawford's OPS+ is -4. Yup - Crawford in negative numbers. That means the Red Sox would have been better off not having him swing at all like a scared little league player. I'm sure he'll break out of his funk but damn it's been ugly so far...

The All-Disappointment Team

Going into the season many fans and fantasy baseball players had high hopes for certain players but not all the big names have pulled their weight. Here's my All-Disappointment team up to this point of the season.

C - Victor Martinez Indians - 0 HR before going on the DL
1st - Richie Sexson Mariners - .675 OPS
2nd - Freddie Sanchez Pirates - .236 BA - where's the guy who won a batting title?
SS - Troy Tulowitzki Rockies - .152 BA before going on DL
3rd - Ryan Zimmerman - just a .718 OPS before going on DL (yet still leads the Nationals in HR and RBI - that's how bad the Nationals are)
OF - Curtis Granderson Tigers - just 3 SB and a .246 BA
OF - Delmon Young Twins - Just 1 HR - the Twins would have been better off trading for the power hitting of Coco Crisp
OF - Gary Sheffield Tigers - .213 BA before going on DL - may be the end of the line
DH - Travis Hafner Indians - 4 HR before going on the DL
EDIT: As Donald pointed out - Andruw Jones should have been listed. He's the worst free agent signing this year.

SRHP - Roy Oswalt Astros - 5.06 ERA - really?
SLHP - CC Sabathia Indians - starting to turn things around but still no back-to-back Cy Young Awards
Closer - JJ Putz Mariners - 7 saves and a 5.21 ERA before going on DL
EDIT: As groug (what kind of name is groug?) points out - Barry Zito should be the SLHP. Mea culpa.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Going into the season many thought that offense would be a problem for the Padres but going into today San Diego holds the best team batting average in the NL with a .282 mark. In fact the top 5 hitters in the Padres line-up are all over .300. San Diego just needs to convert those hits into runs - the Padres are 13th out of 16 teams in runs scored.... 16 years ago today Boston's Matt Young pitched 8 innings of no-hit ball at Cleveland and still lost 2-1. Matt Young wasn't Chan Ho Park or Mike Hampton bad a s a free agent signing but he's up there in terms of the worst free agent signings by the Red Sox... Speaking of bad free agent signings - Barry Zito is now 0-3 for the Giants... Sophomore slump? Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki is hitting just .175 for the Rockies... The adult thing would have been to ignore the story. It was stupid to begin with... Symmetry - both Orlando Cabrera and Miguel Cabrera are hitting .182 for the season. Orlando has more RBI though. That has to be making fantasy baseball owners who took Miguel with their first pick real happy...

Top 5 - NL ROY Candidates

Here are who I see as the top 5 candidates for the National League Rookie of the Year Award:

1. Ryan Braun Brewers
2. Troy Tulowitzki Rockies
3. Hunter Pence Astros
4. Tim Lincecum Giants
5. Josh Hamilton Reds

I have to think that Braun's number will be too sexy for voters to ignore (25 HR and a .331 batting average) but keep in mind that Tulowitzki actually leads Braun in Win Shares (17 to 16) for those sabermetrically inclined.