Trivia: Journeymen

The 1976 season ushered in Major League Baseball's free agency era. Therefore, it should be no suprise that the players who have played for the most MLB teams are primarily guys who have either recently retired or are still playing. Kenny Lofton holds the record for most different teams played for in the playoffs (6) and a DHL commercial even parodied how often he switched teams. During Lofton's career, he played for 11 different teams. However, currently that only puts him tied for second on the all-time list. There are two players who have played for 12 MLB teams. One of them is Mike Morgan, who retired in 2002. The other guy is still playing--and in fact filed for free agency this past Friday. Can you name that player?

The Empire Strikes Back

I had been rooting for the Phillies, but the Yankees got the job done. Oddly enough, I'm kinda happy for guys like A-Rod, Teixera, and Sabathia to win their first World Series. It was even nice to see guys like Jeter, Pettitte, Posada, and Rivera savor this championship for what might be the last time. And yes, perhaps the best storyline for me was Hideki Matsui, aka "Godzilla," taking home the MVP trophy.

The only bad news is that I think this means there won't be any baseball for awhile.

Trivia: Lords of the Rings

The Fall Classic starts this Wednesday night with most of the Phillies going for their 2nd World Series championship ring. In the other dugout, most of the Yankees are playing for their first. But four Yankees--Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera--are looking to win their fifth. As of this writing, no current MLB player has won the World Series five times.

Can you name the last MLB player to retire with at least five World Series championship rings?

What good are bragging rights if you don't brag?

Earlier this month the Urbana Premier League (UPL) wrapped up its 9th baseball season. Time sure does fly. It seems like just yesterday I was getting ready for the draft, trying to get off to the best start possible. After the draft, I posted a brief analysis saying that my '90 Reds would be dangerous. By early May, we had bubbled to the top of the standings, but I still needed to add speed. At the All-Star Break, I reported that my team had found speed, overcome adversity, and was hitting on all cylinders, yet my grasp on first remained fragile.

So after a hard fought six-month battle, how did it all end?

Team IamJabrone pushed me all the way to the final day. And at times I was concerned that my team couldn't hold off the defending champ. I even made an attempt (which was rebuffed) to collude against him. But when the clock finally did run out on this season, the '90 Reds were still on top; and I was celebrating my third UPL championship.

Now there is only one thing left to do.

Mr. Chairman, I officially motion for you to make me king...


As we move toward a new league order...

'90 Reds 116
IamJabrone 112
Westy's Sluggers 98
SuckMyknuckleballs 79.5
Cheeseheads 77.5
Phatsnapper 76
Black Sox 73
Muddy Mush Heads 61.5
TheJimmyDixLongballs 53
Hats for Bats 53
Benver Droncos 42.5
O.N. Thugs 24

P.S. Make sure to write my name really pretty on the UPL Bill.

Trivia: RBI streaks

An interesting stat this postseason is that, as of this writing, Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez have both gone 8 straight playoff games with at least 1 RBI. This actually ties an MLB playoff record with Lou Gehrig.

The major league record during the regular season for most consecutive games with an RBI was set by Tris Speaker back in 1928. Would you like to guess how many consecutive games Speaker had at least 1 RBI that year?

The New Mr. October?

Most mornings when I'm eating breakfast before work, I'll watch a few minutes of SportsCenter. Today they ran some statistics that caught my attention. The following is a comparison between Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson, and Alex Rodriguez through their first 42 playoff games:

Reggie Jackson: 42 games, 151 at-bats, 40 hits, 7 homers, 19 rbi, .265 batting
Alex Rodriguez: 42 games, 158 at-bats, 46 hits, 9 homers, 25 rbi, .291 batting

We all know the media beating that A-Rod has taken in recent years for his struggles in the postseason. But his recent success at the plate seems to put him in good company. Through their first 42 playoff games, A-Rod hit for a higher average, 6 more RBIs, and 2 more homers than Reggie Jackson.

In fairness, as Larry Brown points out, Reggie Jackson batted .400 with 8 homers and 17 RBIs in 15 World Series games for the Yankees. So I think we'll have to wait for A-Rod to play in even one World Series game before the Mr. October comparisons can be made. And, for what it's worth, SportsCenter noted this morning that in Reggie Jackson's very next playoff game (#43), he hit 3 homers.

Joe Mauer with Power

I got this video from Pauly last week. It shows Joe Mauer tipping pitches from 2nd base during a recent game against the Tigers. Pretty interesting if you're into the nuances of baseball:

Hit parade...

Houston, we have a baseball problem. The Astros' baseball mission hasn't exactly gone as planned this season. Their manager Cecil Cooper didn't have a safe landing, and on Friday their starter Brian Moehler got blasted to the tune of 8 hits and 7 earned runs in just 2.1 innings pitched.

How good will Stephen Strasburg be? The Mark Prior comparisons seem fair. Prior went 6-6/3.32 ERA/1.17 WHIP/11.3 K/9 in his first season; and then 18-6/2.43 ERA/1.10 WHIP/ 10.4 K/9 in his second season. Wins and losses are inherently difficult to predict, but I'd guess that while Strasburg's strikeout totals might be similar to Prior's, I'd be surprised if his ERA and WHIP are as good as Prior's in those first two years.

I'm sure he loves it when you call him Big Papi. After starting out the year in a horrible slump, dogged by steroids allegations, and eventually benched, David Ortiz is on the comeback trail. After basically doing nothing the first 2 months, he could still end up with another 30 HR/100 RBI season. Color me surprised.

Phat Albert. Unlike Ortiz, Albert Pujols doesn't seem to do 2-month slumps. He has been amazing this year (again) with .447 OBP/47 HR/.675 SLG/120 R/129 RBI/14 SB. Not bad for a guy who was drafted 402nd in the 1999 MLB draft.

Ichi-jected! Up there with Albert Pujols among the greatest players of all time, yesterday Ichiro achieved another milestone in his career: His first ejection. Way to show the fire in the belly!

Coolstandings revisited

Last year I blogged about Coolstandings, so I figured I'd revisit the subject this year. For those who don't know, Coolstandings.com crunches numbers to see which MLB teams have the best "chance" at making the playoffs based on their performance to date plus the strength of their remaining schedule.

Here are the five MLB teams that currently have the best chance at making the playoffs this season:

Team POFF%
New York Yankees 98.5
Los Angeles Dodgers 94.6
Los Angeles Angels 91.9
St. Louis Cardinals 88.9
Philadelphia Phillies 87.7

The above data seems like good news for the city of Los Angeles. Too bad the news isn't as good for Chicago:

Team POFF%
Chicago White Sox 27.9
Chicago Cubs 11.7

Last season Chicago had the good fortune of seeing both of its baseball teams make the playoffs. At this point, the chances of that happening again this season are about 3.3%.

I think most Cubs fans have already written their team off for this season. But I'm not so sure about White Sox fans. Looking at the standings, the White Sox are just 3.5 games behind the Tigers with about 6 weeks left. So anything could happen, right? Well, sure, a lot could happen. But looking at the numbers, the White Sox making the playoffs aren't among the likely things to happen this year.

Kenny's Pet Peavy

Wow. I didn't see this one coming.

The talk of Chicago the past 36 hours has been the White Sox's trade for Jake Peavy. And really, it's an interesting story on multiple levels. For starters, the Sox have apparently landed a top talent who could help them compete for the World Series this year. Another intriguing aspect is that Peavy rejected a deal to Chicago earlier this year. And, oh by the way, he's injured and can't pitch right now.

My initial reaction to the deal was actually a negative one. Clayton Richard (who was one of four players the Sox traded away in the deal) has actually pitched very well recently. About a week ago I heard Sox pitching coach Don Cooper say that the Sox as an organization would "fail" if it couldn't turn Richard into a "front-of-the-line rotation" pitcher. So at the very least I was thinking that Richard could be a solid #4 or #5 starter for the remainder of this season--and maybe help the Sox make the playoffs.

So admittedly, I didn't like the idea of trading away a potentially solid starter in Richard (plus three minor leaguers) for an injured NL pitcher who played half his games in a pitcher-friendly park. I also didn't like the idea that Peavy had turned down the Sox in May. I figured if he wasn't 100% on board, then why pick him up?

But then I remembered something very important: Kenny Williams made this trade. And Kenny Williams has proven time and time again to be the best GM in Chicago since Jerry Krause.

In analyzing this current Peavy trade, I actually go back to the year the White Sox won it all--2005. Back then, the crown jewel of the White Sox's farm system was a starting pitcher named Brandon McCarthy. And boy, did we keep hearing about how great he was and how highly Sox management thought of this kid. In fact, if he had been in any other organization, he probably would have been starting in the bigs in 2005. But the Sox were so good that year, McCarthy spent much of his time in Triple-A. I remember actually feeling kinda sorry for the guy. But I knew his time would come.

When 2006 came, the Sox did ship out John Garland, but they ended up bringing in Javier Vazquez. So really, there wasn't an automatic opening in the rotation and McCarthy went to the Sox bullpen. He was pretty average that year, but he was still really young. And I knew, along with all Sox fans, that his time would come.

At the end of 2006, the news came that the Sox were trading away Freddy Garcia; and so there it was--in 2007 Brandon McCarthy's time would come.

Except for the fact that before 2007 even arrived, the Sox shipped out McCarthy as well. And I, along with all Sox fans, was stunned.

Shortly after the McCarthy trade I heard Kenny Williams being interviewed on the radio by Mike North (who is also a Sox fan). North was questioning the trade and basically getting at the same point most other Sox fans wanted to know: How could you trade away Brandon McCarthy, a guy we've been hearing about for years, for two minor leaguers?

In the course of Williams' answer, he of course mentioned how high he was on the prospects the Sox were getting; and in reference to McCarthy's future, he thought he'd go to the Texas Rangers and be "serviceable."

As soon as the word "serviceable" came from Williams' lips, my ears perked up and North immediately interrupted his answer, saying (and I paraphrase): "Wait, wait, wait... We've been hearing from you for years that McCarthy would be a future ace and now you're saying that he'll be serviceabe?!? Serviceable?"

At this point I'm laughing my butt off, mainly because I thought it was hilarious the way Mike North was saying "serviceable." But given a mulligan on the question, I figured Williams would recalibrate his word choice and sing higher praise for the departing Brandon McCarthy--after all, why not?

But no, he repeated himself, responding in his usual calm way: "Yes, I think he'll be a serviceable pitcher for them."

If I recall, North kept repeating the word "serviceable," and I kept laughing. But on a serious note, in a matter of a few seconds I went from believing that McCarthy had a legit shot at becoming a #1 or #2 starter within the next 3 years to thinking that he might be doomed to a career ERA above 4.00. In a matter of moments, I had gone from thinking "These prospects we traded for better be good" to thinking "It might not even matter if these prospects are good."

Nearly three MLB seasons later, McCarthy has been plagued by injuries (currently sitting on the DL) and his ERA has consistently been above 4.00. And as for the Sox? Well, they got John Danks back in that deal--and he's well on his way to becoming one of the better pitchers in the AL.

So as I look at this Peavy/Richard deal, my guess is that Kenny Williams doesn't agree with Cooper's assessment last month that the Sox will "fail" if they don't turn Richard into a #1 or #2 pitcher. I think if Williams saw that type of potential in Richard, he doesn't do the deal. My hunch is that he's seen too much inconsistency for too long in Richard. (Paul DePodesta, of Moneyball fame and who works in the other front office involved in the Peavy trade, has posted his take on the trade here.)

So what about Peavy? How will he do for the Sox? Well, we keep hearing how he was the 2007 NL Cy Young Award Winner, but I think that type of talk is setting the bar a little too high. While Peavy has pitched well on the road some seasons (including his Cy Young year), over his career his road stats away from PETCO are a 3.84 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP. Those numbers are actually pretty close to what John Danks has done this season (4.00 ERA and 1.31 WHIP).

It's hard to predict exactly when Peavy will return to the mound--and it's especially hard to predict how he'll do the final few weeks of a season while adjusting to a new environment. But if I were to guess how Peavy will do over the next three seasons, I'd say that he would be about as good as John Danks. In fact, my prediction is that Danks will actually be better than Peavy in terms of ERA, WHIP, and games won from 2010 to 2012. (Side note: Sometimes it's fun to go back and look at how such projections start to play out. For instance, I just took a trip down memory lane over at the UPL Blog where we discussed Braun, Bruce, Votto, and the Upton brothers in May 2008.)

Up top I mentioned that I didn't like it that Peavy had rejected a deal to Chicago earlier in the season. Well, I've since learned some more info about that. First off, Peavy didn't say "no," he said "not yet." I can appreciate the fact that he liked living in San Diego and didn't want to give up on his team so early in the season. Second, I give kudos to Kenny Williams for being patient with Peavy, and for making it very clear to him that he was very much wanted in Chicago. Furthermore, there are some rumors now that Williams tried to deal for Peavy last July. So in the end, it seems that Williams finally got his guy.

Home Run Derby recap

Admittedly, when it comes to the MLB's All-Star break, I'm a bigger fan of the storylines and tradition than I am of the actual events (Home Run Derby, All-Star Game, etc.). When I was a kid, I liked the Home Run Derby, but now I've cooled to it. I did catch some of this year's derby, and I had to agree with Chris Berman actively rooting against the "dreaded batoff."

But Lisa over at Blogger Arrow has managed to stay young at heart and still eagerly looks forward to the Home Run Derby each season; and as such, she's developed a fun tradition of always writing a recap of the event. So without further ado, here's a link to Lisa's 2009 Home Run Derby recap. (You'll see who she really thought shined.)

A mid-summer's post

It's been a fun season in UPL Baseball thus far. (If you're curious, you can check out the mid-season UPL awards over at The UPL Blog.) The last time I gave an update about my fantasy team here in May, I was looking to add speed to my team--and hoping it would be running like a "well-oiled machine in June." Little did I know that the very next day I'd lose Manny Ramirez to a 50-game drug suspension, and the day after that I'd lose Aramis Ramirez to the DL for two months.

Admittedly, when I lost both of those guys, I thought I'd have to tread water until they got back. I wasn't giving up on the season, but I figured I'd have to "keep it close," and then once my team was healthy again, "make a run." But a funny thing happened shortly after those two key personnel losses. My team's one weakness, lack of speed, started to correct itself. I found Michael Bourn and Jason Bartlett on the waiver wire, and they both have helped me with steals. Carlos Beltran moved up from fifth to third in the Mets' lineup, and thus started stealing again. Best of all, Justin Upton finally began to realize his potential and became a power/speed threat. In both runs and steals, my team started to gain a few points.

Looking back on the two months I was without Manny and A-Ram, it turns out I had already drafted their replacements from Day 1--Justin Upton (for Manny at OF) and Pablo Sandoval (for A-Ram at 3B). So, fortunately, not only did the '90 Reds tread water, we did one better. Here's a look at the standings at the break:

Rank		Team	Points	Pts Change	Waiver	Moves
1.		'90 Reds	115.5	0	2	31
2.		IamJabrone	105.5	0	8	32
3.		O.N. Thugs	93	0	12	45
4.		Westy's Sluggers	92	0	9	28
5.		SuckMyknuckleballs	80	0	1	6
6.		Cheeseheads	74.5	0	5	16
7.		Black Sox	70	0	4	10
8.		Phatsnapper	69.5	0	6	31
9.		TheJimmyDixLongballs	67	0	10	20
10.		Muddy Mush Heads	60.5	0	3	13
11.		Benver Droncos	59	0	7	21
12.		Hats for Bats	49.5	0	11	40

And here's a look at my roster:

C	Víctor Martínez (Cle - C,1B)
1B	Ryan Howard (Phi - 1B)
2B	Casey McGehee (Mil - 2B,3B)
3B	Pablo Sandoval (SF - C,1B,3B)
SS	Jason Bartlett (TB - SS)
OF	Justin Upton (Ari - OF)
OF	Manny Ramírez (LAD - OF)
OF	Luke Scott (Bal - OF)
Util	Aramis Ramírez (ChC - 3B)
Util	Michael Bourn (Hou - OF)
SP	Edwin Jackson (Det - SP)
RP	Joe Nathan (Min - RP)
P	Brian Wilson (SF - RP)
P	Chad Qualls (Ari - RP)
P	J.P. Howell (TB - RP)
P	Javier Vázquez (Atl - SP)
P	Dan Haren (Ari - SP)
P	Wandy Rodríguez (Hou - SP)
BN	Freddy Sánchez (Pit - 2B)
BN	Stephen Drew (Ari - SS)
BN	Aaron Rowand (SF - OF)
DL	Carlos Beltrán (NYM - OF) DL
BN	Joel Zumaya (Det - RP)
BN	Jordan Zimmermann (Was - SP)
BN	Ramon Troncoso (LAD - RP)
DL	Ryan Dempster (ChC - SP) DL

When I look at the names on my roster, I know the story behind how each of them got there. And of all those stories, one of my favorites is J.P. Howell.

It all started when one of my closers, Troy Percial, went on the DL. Obviously, I wanted to figure who, if anyone, would be the next closer for the Rays. Everything I read online indicated that the Rays would go wtih a closer by committee, and different fantasy experts gave wildly different recommendations. Many experts said Joe Nelson was the pickup, but several figured it would be Dave Wheeler or some combination of the two. Others guessed even more names, to include Grant Balfour and Randy Choate. I even read a few articles where people speculated Jason Isringhausen would take over as the closer once he got off the DL, and another that said some guy in Triple-A could be promoted and become the 9th-inning guy.

Noticeably absent from all of these theories was a one J.P. Howell. Yet when I looked at the numbers, he had been far and away the best reliever the Rays have had for the past year-plus. All of Howell's peripherals were what I look for in a pitcher, and I figured it was only a matter of time before the Rays had to give Howell the job by default. So I decided to pick up Joe Nelson (because that's what the experts said to do) and I picked up J.P. Howell (because that's what I wanted to do). I think I dropped Nelson about three days later. A few weeks after that, the Rays' bullpen blew a 10-run lead which Howell had nothing to do with. Since then, he's picked up the majority of their saves.

Over the past month, Howell has tallied 3 wins, no losses, 3 saves, a 2.61 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and 10 Ks in 10.1 innings pitched. Those are nice stats, but even now Howell is flying under the radar. In fact, Thor Nystrom over at Rotoworld still lists Howell at the bottom of the Tier 4 closers with a question mark.

But that's enough talk about the first half of the season. Right now I've got to be focused on the second half. I'm glad that my team has done as well as it has, but there's a long way to go. My 10-point lead is misleading for two reasons: 1) I'm running well ahead in innings pitched and 2) I'm vulnerable to losing points in many categories on any given night. We have 11 weeks left, and my lead could literally go away in two or three days.

This isn't going to be easy. As I size up my top three competitors, I recognize that I'm going up against the Greatest of All Time (O.N. Thugs), the Defending Champ (IamJabrone), and the Manager of the Half-Season (Westy's Sluggers).

Like I said, this isn't going to be easy. There will be injuries. There will be ups and downs, unexpected slumps, and other teams will make a run. Between now and October 4, I need to beg, borrow, and steal my way across the finish line.

Whatever it takes.

NuttyBuddy

Former MLB pitcher Mark Littell is taking the phrase "stand behind your product" rather literally...



And if you can't get enough of Littell's NuttyBuddy taking a 90 m.p.h. fastball at point blank range, then here's another video for you viewing amusement.

Today's lineup

1.Nomar Garciaparra
2.Manny Ramirez
3.Johnny Damon
4.Trot Nixon
5.David Ortiz
6.Shea Hillenbrand
7.Derek Lowe
8.Pedro Martinez
9.Brian Roberts
10.Jay Gibbons
11.Melvin Mora
12.Jerry Hairston
13.Jason Giambi
14.Alfonso Soriano
15.Raul Mondesi
16. Aaron Boone
17.Andy Pettitte
18.Jose Contreras
19.Roger Clemens
20.Carlos Delgado
21.Vernon Wells
22.Frank Catalanotto
23.Kenny Rogers
24.Magglio Ordonez
25.Sandy Alomar
26.Bartolo Colon
27.Brent Abernathy
28.Jose Lima
29.Milton Bradley
30.Casey Blake
31.Danys Baez
32.Craig Monroe
33.Dmitri Young
34.Alex Sanchez
35.Eric Chavez
36.Miguel Tejada
37.Eric Byrnes
38.Jose Guillen
39.Keith Foulke
40.Ricardo Rincon
41.Bret Boone
42.Mike Cameron
43.Randy Winn
44.Ryan Franklin
45.Freddy Garcia
46.Rafael Soriano
47.Scott Spiezio
48.Troy Glaus
49.Francisco Rodriguez
50.Ben Weber
51.Alex Rodriguez
52.Juan Gonzalez
53.Rafael Palmeiro
54.Carl Everett
55.Javy Lopez
56.Gary Sheffield
57.Mike Hampton
58.Ivan Rodriguez
59.Derrek Lee
60.Bobby Abreu
61.Terry Adams
62.Fernando Tatis
63.Livan Hernandez
64.Hector Almonte
65.Tony Armas
66.Dan Smith
67.Roberto Alomar
68.Cliff Floyd
69.Roger Cedeno
70.Jeromy Burnitz
71.Moises Alou
72.Sammy Sosa
73.Corey Patterson
74.Carlos Zambrano
75.Mark Prior
76.Kerry Wood
77.Matt Clement
78.Antonio Alfonseca
79.Juan Cruz
80.Aramis Ramirez
81.Craig Wilson
82.Kris Benson
83.Richie Sexson
84.Geoff Jenkins
85.Valerio de los Santos
86.Benito Santiago
87.Rich Aurilia
88.Barry Bonds
89.Andres Galarraga
90.Jason Schmidt
91.Felix Rodriguez
92.Jason Christiansen
93.Matt Herges
94.Paul Lo Duca
95.Shawn Green
96.Oliver Perez
97.Adrian Beltre
98.Eric Gagne
99.Guillermo Mota
100.Luis Gonzalez
101.Todd Helton
102.Ryan Klesko
103.Gary Matthews