caulfield12

Here's a counter-argument (using the Royals' pen) why having so many good young relievers is another version of Moneyball...exploiting a new market inefficiency, largely because of their horrible starting pitching The reluctant revolution will be these Royals’ lasting legacy. Our own miniature Moneyball situation is playing out almost every day this summer now, the Royals trying to get outs in a way no team in baseball history has ever dared. They planned most of this, an interchangeable group of relievers capable of throwing 95-mph fastballs for any matchup against any team on any day, but already the team’s vision of building baseball’s most effective bullpen is being stretched beyond any precedent in the sport’s long history by a starting rotation that right now is just Bruce Chen and a whole lot of live batting practice. This isn’t what general manager Dayton Moore wants for his team, of course. Moore grew up in baseball watching Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine build Hall of Fame careers in Atlanta. Moore always judges teams based largely on their rotations. He gave Gil Meche the largest free-agent contract in Royals history. He likes to draft pitchers first, pitchers second, and once that’s all taken care of he likes to draft a few more pitchers. The fruits of that philosophy are being at least delayed by an outbreak of Tommy John surgeries to the team’s top pitching prospects. But you can’t argue with economics. So once the Royals looked at what they could realistically afford, Moore did something entirely out of character and shifted his focus away from starters and toward the bullpen. The result is the Royals are using their bullpen more than any other team in baseball history. Again, not all of this is by design. The starters have been mostly awful. But as it turns out, to whatever extent the Royals are shifting their focus and resources to the bullpen, they may be pioneers of baseball’s next frontier. So far, 14 men have made 190 relief appearances for the Royals. They are rookies and veterans, skinny and fat, first-round draft picks and unsigned free agents, from as close as Parkville and as far away as Venezuela. One of them made the All-Star team last year. One of them is a backup outfielder. Two of them fit into a pair of another one’s enormous pants. These men have thrown 222 innings of relief, by far the most in baseball and on pace for nearly 30 more innings than the previous “record,” set by the 2003 Rangers. And while most of the rest of the team has underachieved, the bullpen is the biggest reason the Royals have played above .500 the last six weeks. Now, one more time so there’s no excuses or misunderstandings: The Royals would prefer not to break the Rangers’ record. No matter what else, having your relievers throw so many innings is a clear indication that something’s wrong, like a football team whose cornerbacks have the most tackles. The Royals sometimes carry two long relievers, and they’re wearing out I-29 sending tired arms to Omaha in exchange for fresh ones. But the Royals’ plan on asking more of their bullpen — in an ideal world, with competent starters, they’d have around 35 fewer relief innings and rank around third or fourth in the AL — is an inspired move. This all comes down to money, as most things do. Relief pitchers are cheaper than starters, more plentiful than starters and more replaceable than starters. Just think what the Royals bullpen would be with a healthy Joakim Soria, for instance. The Royals won’t be able to afford Cole Hamels this winter. They’ll only be contenders for Zack Greinke if they can use familiarity and comfort to their advantage. But they can afford a top-level bullpen, and in a baseball world where salaries for starters are rising along with the overall usage of relievers, this is not only smart but absolutely necessary for the Royals to compete going forward. CC Sabathia is baseball’s highest-paid starting pitcher with a contract that averages $24.4 million per year. Mariano Rivera is the highest-paid reliever at $15 million. Advanced metrics indicate the Red Sox had the AL’s best bullpen last year, and their top eight relievers made just under $24 million (most of it by Jonathan Papelbon and Bobby Jenks). The same advanced metrics indicate the White Sox had the best rotation, and their top five starters made $34.3 million (that doesn’t include $16 million to Jake Peavy, who made 18 starts). That’s indicative of the baseball climate. Starting pitchers made an average of $4.9 million last year, compared with $1.9 million for relievers. Accounting for a roster of five starters and eight relievers, that’s vaguely in line with how many outs each group gets. But the Royals’ place in baseball means they’re in an especially good position to take advantage of a market inefficiency, partly because the relievers’ pay scale is much more top-heavy than starters’. That means young and resilient bullpen arms are available at basement rates. For instance, Greg Holland, Tim Collins, Kelvin Herrera and Louis Coleman are each making less than $500,000. Jonathan Sánchez and Luke Hochevar are making a combined $8.7 million. This is the Royals’ loophole. Even on their record-setting pace of reliever usage, the Royals are paying more for each inning from the bullpen than they are the rotation. But the Royals’ spending level is much more likely to buy good relievers: witness a 5.08 ERA from the rotation through Friday and 2.99 from the bullpen. As the Royals wait — and hope — for prospects like Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery to make an impact in the rotation, they have a steady stack of effective relievers already getting outs. That’s generally how it will go, because relief pitchers are usually better early in their careers compared with starters, and injuries are easier to compensate for. One of the unmistakable trends in baseball over the years is heavier use of bullpens. And even if the Royals got to this extreme place by accident, it’s a place they need to stay. This is one place they’re ahead of the trend.Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/09/36501...l#storylink=cpy

Few general managers balance the benefits and costs of in-season trades quite like Ken Williams of the White Sox. Prospects surrendered in July deals, with few exceptions, seldom fulfill their potential. Most grow into complementary players, if they make it all. On the other hand, veteran acquisitions typically return expected value, even if the cost in terms of salary and prospect assets seems steep at the time. For Williams and the White Sox, the benefit of making the playoffs for the first time since 2008 would offset the costs associated with trading talent from a farm system that ranks among the shallowest in the game. Winning the American League Central would give Chicago its best chance to make a deep playoff run. So even with his White Sox holding a 2 1/2 game advantage on the Tigers heading into the home stretch, Williams completed his third summer trade, this time acquiring 28-year-old lefthander Francisco Liriano from the Twins. Chicago sent lefthander Pedro Hernandez and shortstop Eduardo Escobar, a pair of modest, 23-year-old prospects, to Minnesota. The White Sox join the Angels, who traded for Zack Greinke, and the Tigers, who dealt for Anibal Sanchez, as AL playoff contenders who have reinforced their rotations through trade. Already this summer Williams had dealt for Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis, who has batted .273/.387/.495 through 27 games with the White Sox, and Astros closer Brett Myers, who has made four scoreless relief appearances since joining Chicago last weekend. (You can assess the cost in talent yourself at Trade Central.) Perhaps Liriano will be subject to similar small-sample success as Youkilis and Myers, because he's been anything but predictable this season. In fact, the White Sox roughed up Liriano in his last outing on July 23 (seven runs, seven hits, three homers in 2 2/3 innings), but in six starts from May 30-June 25 he struck out 40 in 37 1/3 innings while logging a 2.41 ERA and 0.64 WHIP. Liriano has reached those heights infrequently throughout his career, but if matched up against the lefty-heavy offenses of the AL Central-rival Indians, Royals and Twins down the stretch, then he's capable of big things during his final 10 or so starts. Lefty batters have batted .195/.287/.286 with one homer versus Liriano this season, which is in line with his career .593 OPS allowed to lefties. A free agent after the season, Liriano's wildly-fluctuating results made it unlikely that the Twins would have made him the qualifying contract offer necessary to receive draft pick compensation. So while neither Hernandez nor Escobar project to be future impact players, each possesses at least one plus tool and can help the Twins in their organizational rebuild. That's certainly better than nothing. baseballamerica.com/tradecentral

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 31, 2012 -> 07:03 AM) We had to "Rescue" the pen because the highly paid guy in the bullpen, Crain, got hurt. And you'd have to argue that Nathan Jones was going south or sideways. Both were about equal factors.

Well, from where they're at right now, they've got a very good shot at the playoffs. And the cost for that "ace" is going to be prohibitive. What starters on the market out there would you pick to start a one game sudden death playoff over a healthy Chris Sale? Just a couple.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 31, 2012 -> 07:01 AM) Mitchell has been there for about a week, and put up nice numbers so far. Except for the K's, but he's still at .300 and still walking at a good clip. Has to clean up the baserunning miscues a bit.

Look at how much Dotel, MacDougal and Linebrink cost us salary-wise. Of course, we had to "rescue" the pen with Myers, but they shed Ohman and Frasor and have been able to use that money in other places.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 31, 2012 -> 05:57 AM) Fire KW It was actually ONE double and 2 walks, but still impressive.

But nobody would have taken that contract. We could still have a huge debate over whether someone would take Rios' contract (because of his age and his every other year tendencies) just assuming the contract alone. And he's arguably our best player right now. Certainly best all-around player.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Jul 31, 2012 -> 06:06 AM) Isn't he the guy that Pierzynski didn't get along with in San Francisco, or am I confusing him with someone else? Brett Tomko

MINNEAPOLIS -- After the White Sox's 7-6 loss to the Twins on Monday night, it was difficult to find anyone who was concerned the team's recent fielding woes would turn into an epidemic. And the numbers suggest no reason for alarm; the White Sox entered Monday's game having committed just 44 errors this season -- the second-fewest in baseball. [+] Enlarge Jesse Johnson/US Presswire Alexei Ramirez committed one of the White Sox's three errors on Monday. But there's also no denying that despite a solid defense, lineup and pitching staff, the White Sox are only 55-47, a game and a half better than the Tigers in the American League Central. And for the second time in as many days, errors played a key part in a White Sox loss. Chicago made three fielding gaffes on Monday night, spotting the Twins three unearned runs. The final mistake of the night -- A.J. Pierzynski's wild throw to first on Brian Dozier's sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning -- moved Alexi Casilla to third, putting him in position to score the winning run on Jamey Carroll's game-ending sacrifice fly. And those mistakes came after Alexei Ramirez's fielding error led to an unearned run for the Rangers in their 2-0 win over Chicago on Sunday. "That's just something we've got to clean up," manager Robin Ventura said. "The big ones are the unearned (runs). You just give them something they really shouldn't have." The White Sox also got an unearned run in the fourth inning after Dozier's throwing error put Ramirez on base, but they lost the game in part because of some stellar defense; Denard Span leapt at the center field wall in the fifth inning, taking a home run away from Alex Rios. In the end, there were more than a few defensive plays that directly influenced the final score. Had the White Sox won on Sunday and Monday, they'd be 2 1/2 games in front of the Tigers, and they'd have a little better positioning in the tight American League wild-card race, should they need it. Instead, they were talking about stamping out something that they wouldn't have expected to be a concern."We know that the teams in the division are coming after us," Pierzynski said. "Minnesota's trying to keep their season alive, and whenever we play Cleveland, Kansas City and Detroit, they're obviously gunning for us. We just have to play well. We've been playing really well. Tonight was hopefully just a blip on the radar. We made some mistakes. The one in the ninth inning was the big one that I made. But things happen." Wouldn't we be 3 1/2 games up then, at 12 over, the Tigers 5 over? HMMMMMMMMM. Guess the Twins are leading the AL in runs scored for July.

Dodgers Acquire Brandon League By Mike Axisa [July 31 at 12:12am CST] The Mariners have traded Brandon League to the Dodgers for prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom, the team announced. Earlier today we heard that a number of contenders had interest in Seattle's former closer as they looked to bolster their bullpens. League, 29, is owed approximately $1.8MM for the rest of the season before becoming a free agent this winter. He's pitched to a 3.63 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 44 2/3 innings this year, plus his usual sky-high ground ball rate is down to just 46.9%. The Dodgers have lost Matt Guerrier and Todd Coffey to injury this season, so League will add some late-inning depth. Landry, 22, is hitting .328/.358/.559 with eight homers and 15 triples in 376 plate appearances for Los Angeles' High Class-A affiliate this season while spending most of his time in center field. Bawcom, a 23-year-old right-hander, owns a 2.03 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 48 2/3 relief innings split between Single-A and Double-A this year. Neither player ranked among the team's top 30 prospects in Baseball America's Prospect Handbook before the season. A's won in the 15th becoming the king of the walkoff win these days. That's something like 11 or 12 now, most in recent weeks, and almost all of them have found different guys with the GW RBI. This time, weak-hitting Jemile Weeks with a SAC FLY. OAK still 1/2 game ahead of perhaps the best team in baseball, the Angels.

Maybe the reverse of the Borchard/Thornton trade for the Pirates?

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 30, 2012 -> 10:56 PM) If his old coach was using video and s***, my guess is that Coop will be a good change of pace. Coop is all about approach and a new mindset can often cure the ills of mechanics, particularly inconsistent mechanics. Joseph David Magrane (born July 2, 1964 in Des Moines, Iowa) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and is currently a color commentary broadcaster for the MLB Network. He was teamed with play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats from 1998 to 2008 as part of the Tampa Bay Rays television team He pitched one year with the White Sox, but most famous for his time with the Cardinals.

Drew would be a starter at 2B/SS, arguably. Too expensive.

Chris Carter has two more doubles tonight, off David Price. 8 HR, 17 RBI's in just 61 AB's. .279

Since when is Saladino in AAA? Guess he took Olmedo's place. Not sure if he or Mitchell are ready, but we'll find out soon enough. Got a hit in his first game, played SS.

http://www.baseball-umps.com/mlb-umpires/randy-marsh/ E-mail contact for Randy Marsh, head/supervisor of MLB umpires.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2012 -> 09:24 PM) It's unbelievable how the play was right in front of him and he chickened out from making the tough call against the home team. Adrian Johnson, right? That deserves an e-mail barrage to the Commissioner's office on the replay issue. Who's the supervisor of umpires these days? Not Steve Palermo anymore....trying to think. And 3 hit White Sox batters. We need to kick their butts tmrw.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jul 30, 2012 -> 09:22 PM) He should have been out. How was AJ supposed to throw him out? Good Job Twins. You're 14 games under .500 and 11 games behind us. f*** off. Ahead of the Royals though, lol. Well, they were the team with the momentum...and we gave it right back to them in the first. Too many defensive miscues the last two nights, and Span made a great play on the Rios ball to turn the momentum back to the Twins. We got beat by the "PIRAnHAS" again, with the bottom 3 in the line-up doing the damage. WHAT NEW, STONE PONY??

The key is we have to beat the crap again out of Blackburn tomorrow. It's not going to be as easy as last Tuesday's game...

Defense has just killed the White Sox in the last two games.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2012 -> 10:14 PM) Who else is left in Twins bullpen? Duensing, Jeff Gray, Manship, Perdomo, Robertson

Right now, A's and Angels are you two wild card teams. Pirates and Nationals in, what a season so far with Harper arriving and then getting swallowed up by Trout hysteria.

Rios and Viciedo saved this game defensively. Rios with another cryogenic linea. AJ with a chance to be the hero but not a good match-up with lefty.

If the Dodgers don't get Dempster, the White Sox or Rangers will swoop in. The Rangers won't give up Olt or Profar though, that much is crystal clear.