• Yankees at Red Sox, 4:05 p.m. PT — You’ll be watching this one whether you want to or not. It’s what pays the bills, eh? Chien-Ming Wang goes against Clay Buccholz.
• Angels at Mariners, 7:10 p.m. PT — Jered Weaver and Felix Hernandez… Vlad and Ichiro!… Monkeys and mooses (meese?)… This one’s got it all. Here’s your game of the day.
• Padres at Dodgers, 7:40 p.m. PT — Jake Peavy and Brad Penny hook up for the second time in a week. The big story — at least among people who don’t know much about baseball — is a mysterious substance that appeared on Peavy’s hand in their previous meeting. You’re better than that, though; you recognize that two of the game’s best pitchers will be battling tonight, and that’s what really matters.

Happy, happy…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

At THT, I’ve gone with the popular pick except for AL West (I chose Mariners over Angels), AL Wild Card (Indians over Yankees), and NL Cy Young (Jake Peavy over Johan Santana — there’s my Padres bias kicking in because, hey, someone’s got to have a Padres bias).

I also have the Diamondbacks beating the Tigers in the World Series. We’ll see what happens…

How about you? Any predictions you’d care to share?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Quoth Rodriguez:

If they wanted me here, they would have done something a long time ago. But, in the meantime, I have to put that out of my head. I can’t be thinking they don’t want me here or anything like that. Just do my job.

Here’s the thing. If he’s thinking that he has to “put that out of my head,” then presumably it’s already in his head. Why are the Angels, who don’t exactly lack resources, messing around with this? In general, I believe that relievers are fairly interchangeable, but Rodriguez has demonstrated a consistent ability to dominate hitters and he’s only 26 years old. In my book, locking up a guy like that makes sense.

Quoth Angels GM Tony Reagins:

I’ve said it before, it’s his right (to become a free agent). He’s earned it. We’ve presented a position to them. At that point it was declined… We made what we thought was a fair offer. It wasn’t accepted. They said they were probably going to go year-to-year, which to me, means they’re going to explore their opportunities (in free agency).

Maybe this isn’t what Reagins intended, but how many fans are going to read his quotes and perceive that he’s placing the blame on Rodriguez: “We made an offer, they declined, it’s out of our hands.”

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Even after signing Jose Castillo on Christmas Eve, the Marlins may not be done giving themselves third base options.

Only in Miami, where the Marlins’ owner has trained his team’s “fans” to expect nothing and like it, could this even be in doubt. Castillo hit .244/.270/.335 for the Pirates in 2007. Huh, so he might not be the answer at third?

Other players being considered include Jorge Cantu and Dallas McPherson. Cantu hit .252/.331/.357 last season for the Devil Rays and the Reds. McPherson didn’t play in 2007 due to injury, but hit .261/.298/.478 the previous year for the Angels.

Yep, things sure are looking up in Florida…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Why I find this story interesting:

1. Warner Madrigal is a great name. If the kid doesn’t make it in baseball, perhaps he could try his hand at international espionage?
2. When I was rummaging through the list of minor-league free agents a while back, Madrigal’s 2007 stats jumped out at me. I don’t care if a guy is in the Midwest League, if he’s striking out more than 11 batters per 9 innings, that gets my attention.
3. Madrigal is a converted outfielder. Unlike most of his ilk, he actually hit a little (.287/.323/.458 in over 900 PA), though probably not enough to have a significant career.
4. The Angels lost him due to a “procedural gaffe” on the part of new general manager Tony Reagins. Shades of the Wes Chamberlain snafu of 1990?

Nothing may come of Madrigal. He’s 24 years old and he hasn’t pitched above Low-A ball. Still, the kid has posted some intriguing numbers and could be worth watching. Or maybe one day he will be watching you.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

(Guest blogger TD — thanks, bud! — covered this transaction while I cavorted about the Pacific and was similarly unimpressed.)

I don’t really see how the Angels were even players here given that they threw $50 million at Gary Matthews Jr. last winter to play Hunter’s position. Matthews had a nice little Damion Easley type season, which isn’t bad, but which also isn’t worth $10 million a year.

Presumably Hunter’s presence pushes Matthews to a corner outfield spot, reducing the latter’s value even further. I guess the good news, if you’re an Angels fan, is that the franchise has plenty of dough and can afford to be a little careless at times. Best hope it doesn’t happen too often, though.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Glavine returns home
Will one year in Atlanta
Erase his last start?

White Sox ship Garland
To Angels for Cabrera,
Have no pitching left

Three years of Lowell
Only in Red Sox Nation
Is he a bargain

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Knuckle Curve and you’ll never miss another article…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Meanwhile, we’ve got two AL teams looking for the sweep on Sunday:

• Red Sox at Angels, noon PT — The situation is looking bleak for the team that slaps “Anaheim” at the end of its awkward name. Jered Weaver and Curt Schilling hook up in this one. The Angels desperately need to find a way to contain David Ortiz. Yeah, good luck with that. Also, they need to start hitting. Did I mention it’s looking bleak for them? Yes, I believe I did.
• Indians at Yankees, 3:30 p.m. PT — Jake Westbrook? Roger Clemens? Should be a mismatch, but Clemens finally overstayed his welcome — 6.18 K/9 this year. Still, the guy is one of the top 10 pitchers ever to play the game; if anyone has a little extra in reserve, it’s Clemens. The Indians have hit .329/.453/.614 over the first two games, while New York checks in at .121/.216/.273. It doesn’t get much uglier than that.

Happy watching!

P.S. If your team is out of it, and you just can’t bear to watch someone else bask in the glory, be sure to visit my friends at EMQB and Squib Kick for the latest football news. They’ve got your back.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• Yankees at Indians, 2:00 p.m. PT — Andy Pettitte has the postseason experience (18-6, 4.08 ERA over 34 starts), but Fausto Carmona has been a monster in ‘07. One relative weakness of Carmona is his record against left-handed batters. Granted, most pitchers would kill for a .275/.333/.377 line against anyone, but if you’re looking for something that the Yankees might be able to exploit, this is as good a bet as any. Pettitte, meanwhile, stumbled down the stretch, posting a 5.86 ERA over 35 1/3 innings in September.
• Angels at Red Sox, 5:30 p.m. PT — Kelvim Escobar faces Daisuke Matsuzaka in this one. Escobar was a serious Cy Young contender headed into the season’s final month before bonking hard. Matsuzaka didn’t fare much better toward the end. Both of these guys posted ERAs well north of 6.00 over their final seven starts. It’s a testament to their offense that the Red Sox can afford to run a complete non-entity at shortstop every day. The big question for the Angels is which Escobar shows up today. If it’s the guy who dominated AL batters for the first five months of the season, they should be in good shape. If not…

Happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

First off, the American League West:

1. Angels – They’ve won the division, as expected. The team from Anaheim still has a chance to finish with the best record in all of baseball; that’s good because I also picked the Angels to win the World Series.
2. Rangers – What was I thinking? Probably that their offense couldn’t be too bad in that park. Sammy Sosa is a feel-good story. Well, sort of… I guess. The rotation is terrible; I expected better out of Kevin Millwood and Brandon McCarthy, which probably was a mistake.
3. A’s – How bad would they be if they hadn’t traded Mark Mulder for Danny Haren? Re-acquiring Jack Cust was a shrewd move, as was finally dumping Jason Kendall. This is a smart organization; it shouldn’t take long for them to get back on top.
4. Mariners – They’ll finish with a winning record, which is amazing. Steady production throughout the lineup, mediocre rotation, stellar bullpen. If Mike Hargrove hadn’t unexpectedly stepped down mid-season, I’d give him strong consideration for Manager of the Year.

I feel pretty good about the Angels and A’s picks, but totally bombed on the other two. Ah well, maybe the AL Central will be better…

Post from: Knuckle Curve