Prospects for Haren

In the first, they sent a boatload of minor leaguers to Oakland for right-hander Dan Haren and change.

The linked article provides detailed information on the prospects involved. Suffice to say, they aren’t scrubs. Arizona has a very deep farm system and some terrific young talent at the big-league level. When you’re in that position, you can go out and get a guy like Haren.

Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is the centerpiece of the package headed to the A’s. First baseman Chris Carter, acquired a couple weeks ago from the White Sox in the Carlos Quentin deal, is another potential impact player, and I kind of like left-hander Dana Eveland, who is putting up some nice numbers in the Mexican Pacific League this winter.

For the second straight off-season, Arizona has gone out and improved its rotation. On the A’s side, they’re perpetually reshaping the squad, and they’ve come away with a nice haul for an established pitcher (whom they acquired in a similar deal involving Mark Mulder back in December 2004). Seems to me both teams accomplished their objective here.

Valverde for Three

The Diamondbacks also have traded closer Jose Valverde to Houston for right-handers Chad Qualls and Juan Gutierrez, and infielder/outfielder Chris Burke. At first blush, I find it surprising that Arizona would move Valverde, who led the world in saves last year. Qualls certainly isn’t in the same class, but he’s been consistently effective since coming up with the Astros in ‘04 and is an asset to any bullpen.

Burke is a utility guy, handy to have around but not offering much upside. The potential gem here is Gutierrez, who was ranked #5 among Astros prospects by Baseball America headed into the 2007 season. The Diamondbacks appear to be stockpiling good, young starting pitching. Houston, meanwhile, has moved three of its top pitching prospects this week (two others being sent to Baltimore in the Miguel Tejada deal). Presumably the Astros see themselves as contenders in a weak NL Central starting now.

Other Voices

• Beyond the Boxscore
• Bugs & Cranks
• Baseball Musings

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Unfortunately, two of the three games they’re offering on Saturday (12:30 p.m. PT) are complete dogs. Dodgers at Cardinals? Eh, mild playoff implications there. Pirates at Giants. Ooh, the battle for — what’s the opposite of supremacy? — in the NL Central and West, respectively. With luck, you’ll get the Red Sox at Orioles. This still isn’t the best game on tap (that would be Dan Haren and the A’s at Detroit, which counters with Justin Verlander), but at least Josh Beckett is pitching.

My recommendation? The Tigers game doesn’t start until 4:05 p.m. PT, so you still have time to fly to Detroit and see the game in person, assuming it’s not already sold out. Happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Red Sox at Orioles, 4:05 p.m. PT — Not that the Red Sox need my help in the hype department, but a battle between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Erik Bedard could be a lot of fun to watch. Bedard has emerged in a big way this season. He’s fourth in the American League in ERA, first in H/9, first in K/9 (11.20!), and first in strikeouts. With all due respect to perennial favorite Johan Santana, Bedard and Oakland’s Dan Haren have to be the front-runners for this year’s Cy Young Award. Of course, we’ve still got plenty of baseball yet to play…
• Yankees at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Two playoff contenders, two up-and-coming young pitchers; what’s not to like? Philip Hughes got knocked around by the Royals last week in his return from an extended stint on the DL. Fausto Carmona, meanwhile, has been one of the bigger surprises in the AL. His low strikeout rate suggests perhaps another Jake Westbrook, so who knows how long this level of success will last. Still, might as well enjoy it. Cleveland has some terrific hitters; the Indians are getting nothing out of second base or right field, but guys like Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko, Grady Sizemore, and Travis Hafner create serious problems for the opposition.
• Twins at Angels, 7:05 pm. PT — I forgot Kelvim Escobar. He could make a run for the Cy Young Award, too. There are a lot of worthy candidates this year. The Twins need to move over to the NL Central. What are they going to do without Torii Hunter next season?

National League

• Braves at Phillies, 4:35 p.m. PT — Speaking of Cy Young, he’s not there yet, but Cole Hamels will be a serious candidate possibly as early as next year. Chuck James is no slouch himself, although he’s up against a ridiculously deep lineup. Do folks in Philadelphia really think Pat Burrell stinks?
• Cubs at Rockies, 6:05 p.m. PT — Meaningful games at Coors Field in August — what’s up with that? The Cubs and Rockies have identical records (59-55) headed into this one, although the Rox play in a much tougher division. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Cubs had an Opening Day payroll of just under $100 million, while the Rockies check in at about $54 million. Brad Hawpe and Matt Holliday are young studs, and Todd Helton has done a nice job reinventing himself as a productive hitter despite the power outage; the pitching staff, meanwhile, owns a 4.46 ERA (including 4.58 at home) as of this writing. Someone deserves a medal for that.

Got time for just one? Toss-up between Orioles/Red Sox and Braves/Phillies. The former offers a slightly better pitching matchup, while the latter has more far-reaching playoff implications.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Tigers at Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m. PT – Jeremy Bonderman and Roy Halladay? Hello! These two faced each other on Opening Day in Detroit. The Blue Jays won that game, with neither starter figuring in the decision. Also, what’s up with Toronto’s offense? The Jays are hitting .304/.371/.492 as a team. Pretty much everyone except Lyle Overbay and Reed Johnson is contributing. Aaron Hill? I know it’s only nine games, but still…
• Devil Rays at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT – Scott Kazmir battles Johan Santana in this one. After years of mismanagement (Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker — great idea there), Tampa Bay is starting to assemble some serious young talent. No, they still don’t have any pitching beyond Kazmir, but Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, Elijah Dukes, B.J. Upton, and Delmon Young makes for a nice (and potentially volatile) offensive core. This could be a team worth following over the next several years.
• Yankees at A’s, 7:05 p.m. PT – Do you suppose it eats at George Steinbrenner that Kei Igawa hasn’t gotten off to the start that Daisuke Matsuzaka has in Boston? Yeah, I’m thinking it probably does. Igawa faces Dan Haren in Oakland. The A’s right now are sort of the anti-Blue Jays. They’re hitting like a utility infielder (.239/.306/.326). The only guy doing anything is Mike “I’m Still Not Washed Up Yet, So Stop Writing Me Off” Piazza. As for the Yankees, they get enough coverage elsewhere so I won’t talk about them.

National League

• Reds at Cubs, 11:20 a.m. PT – This game probably will keep me from doing my taxes today (yeah, I know I should’ve done them a long time ago). Aaron Harang faces Carlos Zambrano in the Friendly Confines. Bummer about the Cubs’ 3-5 start. Gotta believe their fans were hoping for more after that winter shopping spree. Fortunately for the Tribune Company, which is trying to sell the club, on-field performance doesn’t seem to affect the franchise’s value. Fans, it appears, will put up with pretty much anything after all these years. Meanwhile, Zambrano is walking guys and serving up home runs. That’s not a good combination.
• Astros at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT – Roy Oswalt squares off against Brett Myers. Holy smokes, Jimmy Rollins already has five home runs? That’s nuts. Pat Burrell is hitting .323/.462/.484 in the early going. Are they still booing him in Philly? On the other side, Oswalt was my pre-season pick for NL Cy Young. I made that prediction under the assumption that someone other than Adam Everett and Luke Scott would be leading the offensive charge. Yikes, how is this team even scoring three runs a game right now?
• Brewers at Cardinals, 5:10 p.m. PT – The focus is on Ben Sheets, as well it should be, but Anthony Reyes is no slouch himself. This has the potential to be a fantastic matchup. Plus you get to watch that insane collection of young talent that is the Brewers. Rickie Weeks (.242/.375/.606) is off to a terrific start and hasn’t even committed an error in 77 innings (he averaged one every 36 innings last season).

There you have it. Play ball!

Post from: Knuckle Curve