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By Jimmy, 3/18/2010 10:46 am

If you came to this spring training ritual game hoping to get a glimpse of some of Boston’s new and expensive toys, you really couldn’t ask for a better day.  The offseason front-office strategy centered around pitching and defense, and that certainly manifested itself in the annual St. Patty’s Day extravaganza.

• The guy on center stage was the newly acquired right-hander, John Lackey.  Lackey has a certain goofball “Baby Huey” demeanor about him when he’s giving interviews and such.  But when he steps onto the mound, that image is flipped upside down.  He appears to be a very intelligent, surgical type of pitcher.  Despite having the body of an NFL tight end, Lackey does not rely on gas to overpower hitters.  Instead, he uses pinpoint command and benefits greatly from having a good defense behind him.  He’s not the type of guy who will walk someone in a key spot (in fact, he has not walked anyone this spring).  To beat him, a hitter will need to be aggressive.
• Adrian Beltre demonstrated the reason why the Sox acquired him, by throwing out old friend Alex Cora on an awkward ball that ricocheted off of Lackey’s ankle (he’s fine).  Beltre swooped in, barehanded the ball, and submarined a perfect throw to Youkilis for the out.
• New SS Marco Scutaro, a guy from whom the Sox hope to get steady defensive play along with some decent offensive contributions (something they have not had from a shortstop since 2004), turned a nice double play with Dustin Pedroia in the first inning, earning an appreciative fist-pump from Lackey.

Other notes:

• Fans hoping to wish farewell to (or heckle?) Jason Bay were disappointed, as the All-Star outfielder was held out of action.  I was especially bummed-out, since I had my soapbox all ready for the fans in attendance who planned on booing him.  It’s a rare occasion where I get to display righteous indignation.  How dare the Mets take that away from me.
• Lots of Mets fans in attendance in Fort Myers yesterday, and they were definitely enjoying their team’s “victory”.  Might as well savor those wins now.  Once April arrives, the fun is over in Queens.
• I caught a foul ball off of the bat of Gary Matthews Jr., and immediately I start getting yelled at from the surrounding blue-hairs: “Give it to a kiiiiiid!  Give it to a kiiiiid!”  What assholes.  Listen you miserable geezers, I am a kid.  I will appreciate this ball 100x more than some drooling toddler.  Regardless, not wanting to be descended upon by an army of melanoma zombies, I gave the ball to the nearest 3-year-old.  Fortunately, his mom (a MILF) gave it back.
• My one thought regarding Ron Washington’s cocaine use: so what?  A) He’s not a player, and B) It isn’t a performance enhancing drug.  I don’t remember anywhere near this type of backlash when the news of Tony LaRussa’s DUI broke.  Washington’s “crime” is victimless.  If the Rangers are cool with it, let’s all move on.  Besides, Washington was a player in the early 80’s.  Those guys were pretty much contractually obligated to snort as much blow as their nostrils could handle.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka could see some game action on Sunday.

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By Jimmy, 3/17/2010 9:28 am

Successful Brain Surgery – Ryan Westmoreland’s procedure was successful, but there appears to be much of an uphill climb awaiting him.

Good Morning, Sweet Prince – Perhaps no other player in the Red Sox organization has had their stock rise higher than left-handed pitcher Felix Doubront. “Prince Felix”, 22, might be on some organizational top ten lists by the time April arrives.

Apology Accepted, Admiral Piett – During the flight down here, I managed to snap a photo of a cloud that looked suspeciously like an Imperial Star Destroyer.  Luckily, it did not open fire on our aircraft (an Airbus a320, severely outgunned).

Visiting Krista’s Husband – I’m off to see our new starter in action this afternoon.  See you in a few.

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By Jimmy, 3/16/2010 9:53 am

A New First Baseman – Mike Lowell, having recently returned from an injury, was playing a position he has not one played in a MLB regular season game: 1B.  From what I could tell, there didn’t seem to be very much awkwardness for him at the position.

Big Day for DH – After going 1-21 in the first two weeks of spring training, David Ortiz had an impressive 2 for 2 game, including a bomb over the right field fence on a 3-1 pitch.  Ortiz is confident he’ll see an improvement over 2009.

WTF is That? – If you’ve never heard of a “cavernous malformation of the brain” before, chances are you expected the worst after reading that Red Sox top prospect Ryan Westmoreland was diagnosed with one.  Here’s a nice thorough write-up on the condition, including the risks and probable recovery period, from Ryan’s hometown paper.  The surgery will happen today in Phoenix.

No Gyroballs Yet – Daisuke Matsuzaka’s bullpen session was once again pushed back to today (tentatively).  It’s becoming increasingly more likely that you will see Tim Wakefield in the rotation to begin the year.

Travel Tip - If you’re in southwest Florida, do be sure to avoid any “Italian restaurants” they may have down there.  Especially if they plan on closing in 45 minutes.  One in particular basically incapacitated me for 24 hours.  Be smart…stick to grouper.

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By Jimmy, 3/12/2010 10:39 am

Smartest Fans in Baseball? -  I’ve made a recent habit of poking fun at Jason Bay here and there, but I have to ask: how big of a douche does one need to be to actually boo him during a spring training game?  The Bay divorce was, given the circumstances, shockingly amicable.  The team never really offered him a serious contract in the offseason, so there is really nothing to be angry about from a fan’s perspective.  To the jackasses heckling Bay yesterday, please do me this favor: go to the edge of the water at Fort Myers Beach, and try swimming to Galveston, Texas.  I promise, it’s not as hard as it looks.  The Red Sox Nation herd needs a serious culling.

Ryan Pimps the Local Guy – Bob Ryan churns out a puff piece centering on the one Boston native actually on the Red Sox, Manny Delcarmen.  Delcarmen moved into the same doghouse as Daisuke Matsuzaka when it was revealed that he was silently pitching with injuries last season.  While this was certainly a dumb thing for him to do, we can’t ignore that there is a double standard at play.  The whole tough-guy mentality inherent in all major sports discourages athletes from talking about injuries, especially from the point of view of casual fans.  At the same time, staying silent will incur the wrath of management.  It’s really a no-win situation.

Florida Incurs God’s Wrath – According to this satellite image, the entire state of Florida is being sacked and plundered by an army of smurfs this morning.  Because of this, scheduled baseball games will likely be canceled.

Dewey’s House On Location - I’ll be flying into Fort Myers tomorrow morning, with a laptop.  Hopefully, the situation mentioned above will be settled by then, and the elements will be favorable for outdoor sporting events.

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By Jimmy, 3/11/2010 8:43 am

Just too predictable:  Yawn.  You could see this Dan Shaughnessy column coming from a mile away as soon as yesterday’s ceremony began.  Writers hold grudges like elderly Sicilian widows.  I stopped reading at the headline.

E tu, McAdam?: Less predictable was the usually rational Sean McAdam flying off the handle just minutes after the harmless show of gratitude ended, dubbing it the moment at which the franchise “jumped the shark”.  Really?  After all the dog-and-pony shows we’ve witnessed during the past decade or so, this one is the straw that breaks the camel’s back?  It seems like Nomar rubbed some newspaper guys the wrong way, simple as that.

Talking turkey: It appears that contract talks with Josh Beckett are progressing smoothly, with the end of spring training set as a target date for an agreement.

Unlikely power source: Yesterday’s most notable in-game moment was Jacoby Ellsbury jacking 2 HRs.  It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he adds some modest pull power to his game as he enters his prime.  He’ll never be Carlos Beltran, but he might approach 20 HRs in a season.

I, robot: The Sox face ex-teammate Jason Bay in game action for the first time this afternoon.  Also in that Mets lineup is another ex Red Sox player, one known for his mental proficiencies…

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By Jimmy, 3/10/2010 10:19 am

We’ve all heard the rumors regarding his imminent transition from the field into the TV studio, and the writing has been on the wall for the injury-plagued player for quite some time.  But, the words still pack a bit of a punch when you actually see them in print.

Nomar Garciaparra, arguably the greatest shortstop in Red Sox history, will announce his retirement this morning.

During 1999 and 2000, Garciaparra was simply one the most fun players to watch in the entire league, with his explosive bat and his penchant for making highlight-reel caliber plays deep in the left side of the infield.  How good was he really during this time frame?

Here Nomar’s two best years as measured by Wins Above Replacement Player, stacked against the two best years from Derek Jeter, a sure-fire Hall of Fame shortstop from the same era:

Unfortunately, Nomar’s  inability to stay on the field for a prolonged period of time after age 30 led to his ultimate downfall from a superstar to a sympathetic icon of hard luck and untapped potential.

Still, he made his mark on the game, and (along with a certain pitcher) was a primary cause of the Red Sox fan frenzy that developed in the late 90’s/early 00’s and still exists today.  Without his half-season of contibution in 2004, the Sox probably do not win their first World Championship in 86 years.

Update: Nomar will sign a one-day contract with the Boston Red Sox today, so he can retire as a member of the team with which he experienced his most profound moments of greatness.  This, of course, opens up the possibility that you will see #5 retired above right-field at Fenway Park in the future.

In my opinion, if #6 is there, I don’t see how you can not have #5 there as well.

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By Jimmy, 3/8/2010 9:57 am

• It appears that the Spring Training Hype Machine has found it’s annual beneficiary in the form of 20-year-old Casey Kelly.  Kelly has pitched impressively against Northeastern University and the Baltimore Orioles (basically the AL East equivalent of Northeastern University), and the puff pieces are flying off the press.
• Knucleballer Charlie Zink, a guy who toiled in the Red Sox minor league system for 8 years while only making one rather disastrous MLB appearance during that time frame, is scheduled to pitch against the Sox for his new team this afternoon.
• What is it about the first warm Saturday of the year that makes everyone act like a drooling half-wit?  While running a simple errand that should have taken all of 10 minutes, I nearly ran over about 12 pedestrians / cyclists.  “Weee, it’s warm outside!  I am at one with nature!  I can ignore the laws of traffic and physics!  I am immune to blunt force trauma!  Weeee!”
• According to this blurb in the Globe, contract talks between the team and Josh Beckett are off to a pleasant start.  Beckett seems like a volatile individual who might start kicking over furniture and brandishing a high-powered hunting rifle if someone says the wrong thing during negotiations, so this one bears close watching.
• Dice-K should be ready to pitch around March 18th.  I’ll actually be in Fort Myers next week, so, there is a chance I will get to see him in action.  If so, I’ll be sure to take one of my  insanely poor-quality photos from about 400 yards away, and post it here for all to enjoy.
• Lack of sleep and work-related stress has me feeling like one of Ben Roethlisberger’s victims lately, so, I apologize for the delay in the team previews.  They will continue today or tomorrow.

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By Jimmy, 3/4/2010 10:44 am

He seems so happy (and sane) here. It's like looking at a photo of a young Senator Palpatine, before the Sith got their claws in him.

For those of you in the New England / Tri-State area who are contemplating a 3-day baseball road trip, I highly recommend making the trek out to Detroit, and following that up with stops in Cleveland and Pittsburgh (in that order).  All three stadiums are great places to watch a game, much more comfortable than the pygmy swamp gulag I have become accustomed to.

Anyway, If I were some sort of god or mystical being with unlimited powers, I would hover over Detroit and play a real life game of Sim City.  You know the drill: demolish abandoned buildings here, build parks there, implement wind power, ensure that there is adequate coverage with evenly-dispersed police stations.  Maybe I’d build a statue of myself.  Hey, nothing Stalin-esque, maybe just a 20-footer in the center of town, so people could pay their proper respects.  I don’t think that would be asking too much.

On to the baseball team.

Arrivals: LF Johnny Damon, SP Max Scherzer, RP Jose Valverde, RP Daniel Schlereth, CF Austin Jackson, RP Phil Coke, SS Adam Everett

Departures: CF Curtis Granderson, SP Edwin Jackson, RP Fernando Rodney, 1B Aubrey Huff, 2B Placido Polanco, RP Brandon Lyon

As you can see, there have been a ton of changes in Detroit, with perhaps more key-player turnover than any team in the league this offseason.  Most of the changes stem from the Granderson trade.  While that trade appears to be a very good move from a long-term standpoint, the impact on the 2010 team is something of a question mark.  See below.

Projected 2010 starting lineup:

Austin Jackson is the major wild card in this lineup, as he will be making his much-anticipated MLB debut this spring.  He was good, but not great, in AAA last season, hitting .300/.354/.405 while playing competent CF defense.  Jackson can run well, but his power never really developed like Yankee fans hoped it would.  Now that he’s 23-years-old, I think we pretty much know what to expect from him.

Aside from another rookie, Scott Sizemore, the rest of the lineup should be familiar to most observers.  The offense appears to be heavily concentrated in the middle of the order, with one elite slugger and a handful of decent hitters to support him, but there are few guys here that shouldn’t be counted on for too much production in 2010.

To be continued (pitching)

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By Jimmy, 3/3/2010 10:24 am

A living, breathing symbol of the incompetence of HoF voters.

A few years ago, I briefly had a roommate from Cincinnati.  Nice girl.  Redhead.  Anyway, one Saturday afternoon she asks me if I would like to try a “Cincinnati Chili”.  Now, I had never heard of Cincinnati Chili at that point, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was a type of dish or one of those things you find on urbandictionary.com.  Either way, my answer was the same: yes.

Let’s just say, I was not a fan at all.  Midwesterners do a lot of things right (BBQ, hot dogs, agriculture, etc.) but they should not be allowed to mess around with pasta.

On to the original professional baseball team, the Red Legs:

Arrivals: 2B Aaron Miles, SS Orlando Cabrera, P Aroldis Chapman
Departures: RP Ramon Ramirez, CF Willy Taveras

Projected 2010 Lineup:

Projected 2010 Bench:

I can’t help but laugh at some of these player profiles you read online.  Yeah, I realize I’m not exactly Red Smith myself, but please tell me if this profile on Drew Stubbs is not completely ludicrous:

“With Stubbs having the inside track to become the full time center fielder, he could make for a nice late-round surprise come Draft Day. His performance in just a brief stint last season showed that he had the power of a Hanley Ramirez and has the ability to be a speedier version of Nate Mclouth (sic).”

The first sentence?  Sure, fine. he’ll probably start.  The second sentence is just completely off the wall.  Nothing Stubbs has done in the minors or majors indicates that he will ever hit as well as Nate McLouth, and the idea that he could even dream of approaching Hanley’s power (career .531 SLG%) is hilarious.

The top of this lineup is fine, and the bottom should hold their own (even if Stubbs fails to hit like Hanley Ramirez) in a division that is not as strong as it once was.

Projected 2010 Rotation:

The Reds actually have a fairly deep core of starting pitchers, if you consider staff ace Edinson Volquez, who will return at some point after the All-Star break, and Cuban flamethrower Aroldis Chapman, who will probably begin his career in the minors but will not be denied for long.  The 5th spot is up for grabs; consider Owings a default entry, as he is one of the more experienced guys competing for that job.

Projected 2010 Bullpen:

The bullpen is far from decided at this point. Maloney and Lincoln will both be vying for that 5th rotation spot, but neither one is a guarantee to make the staff.  Herrera, Rhodes, and Masset all were excellent in 2009 with microscopic ERAs, but none of them are really dominant relievers, and should probably bet on regressing to the mean this season.

Overall, Cincinnati has a solid young team with plenty of guys who could break out.  If lightning strikes in the right spots, I could see them becoming a Cindarella contender in the NL Central.

Team score: 6.71

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By Jimmy, 3/2/2010 10:09 am

Disclose injuries you will – Daisuke Matsuzaka was visited by his old mentor, a Japanese pitching coach named Tsuyoshi Yoda.  Yoda told reporters that Matsuzaka does indeed appear to be in better shape than he was in the WBC at this time last year.  He then walked over the beach and lifted a sunken tarpon boat out of the water with his mind.

Speaking of Japanese pitchers – If the Red Sox ownership group really wants to open up new “revenue streams”, they will sign this pitcher to a minor league deal.  I don’t believe we have seen the combination of baseball marketing with cartoon kitten merchandising yet, so…get it done, Theo.

Disrespecting his elders – After looking at the roster page for Northeastern’s baseball team, I’m realizing that quite a few of the hitters Casey Kelly will be facing tomorrow are actually older than him.  The Huskies’ bats have been quite explosive, scoring 33 runs in the 4 games they’ve played, but how many pitchers have they faced with pinpoint command of a mid-90’s fastball?  Should be interesting.

No more steroids or HGH, so… – The great ones will always find new and creative ways to stay two steps ahead of MLB’s testing policies.  Calf’s blood!  Well done, Vamp-Rod.

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By Jimmy,

A few weeks ago, I gave a brief rundown on the guys who will be fighting for a spot in the back end of the Red Sox bullpen this spring, including their projections:

We can now add Casey Fien to the mix, a 26-year-old righty who was claimed off waivers after the Detroit Tigers cut him loose, a move that was necessary to make room for some guy named (maybe you’ve heard of him) Johnny Damon. In any event, Fien was impressive as a reliever in AAA Toledo last year, striking out 10.2 hitters per 9 innings, without allowing many walks or home runs.

Fien’s Marcel FIP projection is 4.59, putting him right in the middle of the group listed above.  Expect him to get a long look in spring training.

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By Jimmy, 3/1/2010 10:53 am

The Red Sox lineups have been announced for the annual “Embarrass the Lace-Curtain College Mofos” event in Ft. Myers on Wednesday.

The starters for the double-header will be:

The more interesting lineup from my perspective is the one facing the Huskies, with notable prospects starting at 1B, CF, and P.

If you’re wondering who Darnell McDonald is, he’s a 31-year-old outfielder who has spent most of the past 9 years in AAA.

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By Jimmy,

Cameron gimpy – Newly acquired center fielder Mike Cameron is experiencing some tightness and will probably not participate in the team’s annual “Academic Beat Down” against Northeastern and Boston College.  From the Globe’s description, it seems like your typical minor soreness, the only red flag being Cameron’s age (37).

Bay fires more parting shots – Nothing vicious, just some critique of the way the medical issues were handled by the Red Sox.  Really, the whole thing is playing out like Damon’s departure, only more Canadian (reserved / polite).  On a side note, I wonder if Bay’s programming allowed him to crack a smile when his country won the gold medal in hockey?  Nah, he probably experienced a syntax error.

Gotta love contract years – Josh Beckett: “I would say that I’m more prepared now than I was four years ago”.  Barring injuries, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the 29-year-old isn’t one of the top 15 starters in the American League this year.

An undead Providence Gray – Those of you who are into Twitter need to be following Old Hoss Radbourn.  The single season win record-holder and Hall of Famer has risen from the grave, and brings his 19th century perspective to us in 140-character nuggets of folksy wisdom.  Really hilarious stuff.

Coming up: the 2010 Cincinnati Reds team preview

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By Jimmy, 2/24/2010 11:42 am

In news that is sure to dampen to mood of anyone who owns a pharmacy in a Latin American country,  MLB will begin testing for HGH in the minor leagues.   Now that the minors have implemented it, the topic will probably be addressed when the next collective bargaining agreement between the MLB players and owners is negotiated.

IGF-1 (the smoking gun detected in these blood tests) is said to remain in the bloodstream for roughly 24-36 hours.  Again (ATTENTION RED SOX MINOR LEAGUERS, cough cough), that is 24-36 hours.

I’m not a huge fan of the idea of giving any governing body the authority to randomly turn people into a pin cushion on a moments notice, and I was never a supporter of “The War on PEDs”, so this news seems a little bit troubling to me.

Oh well.  To keep the casual Middle American fan happy, I suppose you gotta publicly fight that bogeyman.

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By Jimmy,

As I’m sure you know by now, the Red Sox are currently wrapped up in their annual Awkward Personnel Moment of 2010, this time in the form of Mike Lowell.  The Sox were a scrote hair away from trading Lowell to the Texas Rangers before it all fell apart.  The fiasco was highly publicized, and with Adrian Beltre’s arrival via free agency, the 36-year-old (Happy Birthday!) is a man without a position.

Let’s assume that Lowell is untradeable.  This assumption might not be too far off, as Lowell will earn at least $12 million dollars in 2010, and the Red Sox are probably not keen on paying all of that salary given their proximity to the luxury tax line.  Is it possible to get Lowell a decent amount of plate appearances while optimizing the lineup?  I think it is.

Here are the assumptions I’m making when calculating this:

• David Ortiz, who typically plays in just about every game on the schedule, will see his playing time scaled back a bit against left-handed pitchers after struggling last season.  Lowell, who hit .301/.363/.503 against lefties last year while fighting injuries, will DH for Ortiz against a tough lefty roughly once per week.
• Adrian Beltre is coming off of an injury prone year, but even when he’s healthy, he’ll miss roughly 15 games in a season.  Lowell will fill in for Beltre here, playing 1B while Youkilis slides over to 3B.  I know, I know, Lowell has yet to play 1 inning at 1B in his Major League career.  I’ll wager the deed to my shit-hole condominium that you see Lowell donning the 1B mitt in a handful of spring training games.  The guy is desperately trying to market himself to other teams, and the best way to do that is increase his versatility.
• Kevin Youklilis is chronically bruised and banged up, and will likely not play in more than 145 games (his career-high is 147).  Assuming his missed time isn’t concurrent with Beltre’s (one would hope), Lowell will fill in here.
• Two out of the three players mentioned above will have one stint on the DL (again, not concurrent).  Lowell will start the majority of those games (20 out of 30).
• In 75% of the games that Lowell does not start, he will appear as a late-inning pinch-hitter, getting 1 plate appearance per game.

Considering the above, it is possible that Mike Lowell could see somewhere around 380-420 plate appearances in 2010, were he to stay on the Red Sox for the entire season.  Of course, the more likely scenario is that the Sox end up trading him at some point well before the July 31 deadline, but I just wanted to lay out a possible scenario where Lowell actually sticks around and helps the 2010 Red Sox win games.

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By Jimmy, 2/23/2010 10:36 am

Anyone know where I can get my hands on one of these?

As we enter a new decade, the Pittsburgh Pirates are clearly the diseased runts of Major League Baseball.  They have a terrific stadium, a great city (if you’ve never been there, check it out), and one of the oldest franchises in the league.  It’s getting to the point where Obama should just step in and socialize these guys, am I right?  It’s not that the Pirates are “too big to fail”, but they are too historic to fail.  The Dutchman pictured to the right is furiously spinning in his grave at the sight of Pittsburgh’s annual display of futility.

Will their fortunes finally turn in 2010?  Let’s see.

Arrivals: OF Ryan Church, IF Bobby Crosby, RP Brendan Donnelly, RP Octavio Dotel, 2B Akinori Iwamura

Departures: RP Matt Capps, RP Jesse Chavez

I like what Pittburgh is doing here after the inevitable loss of their closer (Capps) to free agency.  They didn’t go too crazy trying to find a replacement to step in as closer, instead, they signed long-time setup man Dotel for a bargain price.  Also, the acquisitions of Church, Crosby, Donnelly, and Iwamura all fill holes on the roster at minimal cost.  From a pure transactional standpoint, the Pirates have improved.  Now, onto the projections:

Projected Starting Lineup:

There’s certainly lots of potential in the lineup.  McCutchen is the most promising of the bunch, but LaRoche, Clement, and Milledge were all considered upper-echelon prospects not too long ago, and each one has the potential to break out a bit in 2010.  Garrett Jones was on fire in his rookie year, but we can expect him to come down to earth this year.

Bench:

Walker and Church are both guys who could take over easily if someone like LaRoche or Milledge struggles.  The rest of the bench is rather thin.

Projected Rotation:

Bullpen:

If the Pirates do lose 90-100 games again in 2010, it will be primarily due to their pitching staff.  They have a starting lineup full of guys who could be fun to watch this year, but their rotation lacks any true power pitcher, and their bullpen beyond Hanrahan and Dotel is really a mess.

If anything, they appear to be on the right track, as they do have an impressive number of under-25 guys who are promising.  Again, it’s tough to look at the big picture this early without reviewing other teams, but I think finishing in second to last place in the NL Central might be a practical goal for this young squad.

Team score: 6.09

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By Jimmy, 2/20/2010 12:28 pm

Dean Chance won the 1964 AL Cy Young Award, leading the league in ERA and innings pitched.

We’ll kick off our 2010 MLB team previews with the squad that eliminated the Red Sox from the ALDS last season.  The Angels have formed a solid rivalry with the Sox in the last decade, complete with playoff drama and beanball wars.  While they still seem to garner the whole “scrappy/small-ball” image from the media, the Angels won 97 games last year primarily on the strength of their offense, as they were 2nd in the American League in runs scored.

Additions: DH Hideki Matsui, SP Joel Pineiro, RP Fernando Rodney, RP Brian Stokes
Departures: SP John Lackey, 3B Chone Figgins, OF Vlad Guerrero, SP Kelvim Escobar, RP Darren Oliver, OF Gary Matthews Jr.

Obviously, the offseason hasn’t been very kind to these poor scrappy Angels.  Their best pitcher, their most valuable position player, and their most popular veteran all left via free agency.  Hideki Matsui might be a marginal improvement over Guerrero at the plate, but the losses of Lackey and Figgins will be a little more difficult to fill.

Before I list the projected starters, keep in mind that this batting order is how I’d write it if I were managing the team (in other words, don’t read too much into the batting order).

Starters:

Bench:

One of the assumptions I’m making is a breakthrough year from Howie Kendrick, a guy who has the makings of a batting champion but hasn’t taken the leap yet.  I’m expecting slight regressions from Kendry Morales and Juan Rivera.  It’s difficult to say this with any certainty before I’ve run the other projections, but I think the Angels’ bench is among the strongest in the American League, with Izturis and Mathis being guys who could start on a lot of MLB teams.

Rotation:

Bullpen:

I feel that substituting Joel Pineiro for John Lackey is a massive, massive downgrade that will really hurt the Angels’ efforts to prevent runs from scoring.  Their bullpen will improve a little with the additions for Rodney and Stokes, but it still lacks depth.

The Angels are enjoying a 3-year streak of winning their division championship.  A four-peat will not come easy in 2010.

Team Score: 6.85

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By Jimmy, 2/19/2010 6:17 pm

We’re about to hit the ground running on our annual 2010 MLB team previews, and I just wanted to give an introduction to my methodology before actually posting the previews.

My approach is similar to the same one I used last year; an attempt to isolate run scoring and run prevention via grades given to the position players, rotation, and bullpen.  This year, I’ve decided to go with a numerical 1-10 projection scale, since it’s a bit more transparent than the A-F grades I gave last year.  The scale works like this: based on the numerical grade I assign each player, I am projecting them to be a certain type of player in 2010. 

• 10- Elite players.  Only a dozen or so offensive 10’s exist, maybe five starting pitchers in all of MLB are 10’s.  10’s are typically slam dunk Hall of Famers if they remain healthy. Example: Albert Pujols.
• 9 – A great player.  Players who are strong All-Star candidates, though not quite elite.  Possible Hall of Famers if they are lucky enough to have a long career without too many injuries. Example: Mark Teixeira 
• 8 – A very good player.  Someone who might be a fringe All-Star, but they have some minor yet noticeable holes in their game that keep them out of the top categories.  Example: Josh Beckett
• 7 - A good player.   Definitely above average, someone who is a household name amongst casual fans, but not an All-Star.  Example: Shin Soo-Choo
• 6 – An above average player.  Basically, your typical starter on a bad team.  Your girlfriend probably doesn’t know who he is. Example: Kevin Kouzmanoff
• 5 – An average MLB player.  A great guy to have on the bench.  You don’t want too many 5’s in your starting lineup, but one or two are fine stopgaps. Example: Bobby Crosby
• 4 - A below-average major leaguer.  Clearly someone you do not want seeing too much playing time.  A competent bench option, someone who won’t embarrass himself if called upon to fill in for injured starters.  Example: Eric Hinske
• 3 - An AAAA caliber player.  If he has option years left, he’ll probably be traveling quite a bit over the course of the year.  Would be a regular player only on a bad team.  Example: Bill Hall
• 2 – Your typical AAA caliber player.  Will have great difficulty competing at the MLB level.  Someone who would usually be summoned when rosters expand on September 1st.  Example: Alex Cora
• 1 - A player who has no business being in the Major Leagues.  He is on the roster for one of two reasons: a) the team airplane pulled a Marshall University, or b) he is the owner’s godson.   Example: Nick Green               

The ratings for a projected starting lineup on a fictional team would probably look something like this:

And the bench would also be graded:

You might consider this a cop-out, but I’m refraining from grading catchers on their fielding skills.  There’s just not enough data readily available, and I refuse to go by CS rates alone (since that’s such a small part of what actually happens behind the plate).

Bench scores would be weighted as 1/5 of the total offensive score. 

We would then move on to the starting pitchers:

Of course, pitchers would only receive one grade.  The final piece would be the bullpen:

To make things simple, I’m considering every non closer a middle-reliever (MR).  Each team will probably have one closer (CL), unless the role is completely undecided, a la the 2003 Red Sox.

Run prevention is 50% of the team score, with the other 50% being run production.  90% of run production is pitching, with 10% being defense (the 90/10 thing is completely pulled out of my ass.  I used 95/5 last year, and in retrospect, it seems like I undervalued fielding.  This is all trial by error).  2/3 of pitching is determined by the starters’ score, with the remaining 1/3 coming from the bullpen. 

That’s pretty much how the system works.  The above team, while scoring a 9.9 in a melodiousness scale, would rate as a 6.54 on the field.

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By Jimmy,

Let’s switch gears for a moment, as I partake in one of my favorite hobbies: ranting about a subject I know very little about.

I’m not one of those people who watches golf on TV.  I just recently started playing the game, and I’m still not quite good enough to play a round on an actual course without embarrassing myself and endangering everyone around me.  However, if there’s one thing I know about golf, it’s that Tiger Woods is probably the greatest to ever swing a club.  A once-in-a-generation athlete, the likes of which we are lucky to be alive to witness.

Now, because of 21st century America’s ”Think of the Children” brand of hysteria, we are being deprived of this athlete in his prime years.  He must now stop playing golf and become a hermit, simply because he shares the same flaws as a huge percentage of  professional athletes.  If someone like Fred Funk decided to bang a dozen porn stars, and was caught red-handed, would the national news coverage even last an hour?  No…Woods is a victim of his own success here.

I think I was just born in the wrong decade.  In another era, Woods would be a folk hero, like JFK or Babe Ruth.  He would keep playing golf, re-writing record books, and his appetite for whores would be the subject of barroom legend.  Now, because of our righteous indignation and our need to be involved with every public figure, Tiger will continue to hide like Bobby Fisher.  It’s McCarthyism all over again, only with infidelity/bad parenting as the source of the new Red Scare.

These days, everyone is concerned about how good of a parent/husband everyone else is.  What we need to realize is that sometimes (most of the time)  it’s not all about us.

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By Jimmy,

It seems like folks are already penciling utilityman Bill Hall’s name into the opening day Red Sox roster.  On the surface, that doesn’t seem too crazy; Hall is a versatile guy with lots of MLB experience.  A 30-year-old who was an All-Star not too long ago.  Seems like an ideal guy to have on the end of your bench.

Are we jumping the gun, though?  A name that I haven’t been hearing much of from the scribes as of yet is Tug Hulett, a utilityman with an impressive minor league track record, acquired from the Royals in November.   The reason I tend to favor Tug (at least, preliminarily) is because he has shown some recent promise at the plate, whereas Bill Hall is languishing in the absolute abyss of his career, performance wise.

Let’s compare both players:

Bill Hall
Bats: R   Age: 30

Defense:
Ideally, whoever manages to grab this roster spot will have the ability to play SS at least somewhat competently, since Jed Lowrie is a massive injury risk (and may even start the year in Pawtucket).  Hall has not played SS since 2006.  That could be a problem, although there are reports that he’s been working on his SS game this spring.  At this point, Hall’s true position is 3B.  He can also play 2B and all three outfield positions in a pinch.

Tug Hulett
Bats: L   Age: 27

Defense:
Hulett’s true position is 2B, which is a better fit for the Sox than a backup 3B at this point.  Hulett has played 73 games as SS over the past three seasons (compared to Hall’s zero).  He has also played some 3B and corner OF, and according to minorleaguesplits.com, he is an average defender at all positions.

Conclusion: I don’t see how one can favor Hall over Hulett, at least without seeing them both in some sort of action this spring.  Hulett, on paper, is superior offensively and defensively, and the odds of him improving in 2010 are much greater than Hall’s.  I can’t really give any points to Hall for his right-handedness; if Mike Lowell sticks around, you would only have 1 lefty on the bench in Jeremy Hermida (I do not consider Jason Varitek to be a valid LHH option).

Free Tug Hulett!