So, yeah, his .256/.408/.504 performance for the A’s in 2007 qualifies as a surprise. Just a tad…

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

• Chicago White Sox – These guys won the World Series in 2005 and 90 games last year; now they’ve fallen behind perennial cellar dweller Kansas City in the AL Central and are fighting the Devil Rays for worst record in all of baseball. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has taken to critiquing Miguel Cabrera’s physique (Cabrera, it should be noted, doesn’t play for Guillen’s team) and accusing his players of mass murder. Really, who could have seen this coming?
• Houston Astros – This is the team that lost to the White Sox in the ‘05 World Series. At least Guillen and his boss, Kenny Williams, have survived the season. Phil Garner and Tim Purpura weren’t so lucky. The Astros won just 82 games last year, so their fall hasn’t been quite as precipitous as that of the White Sox, but still, this is a franchise that has grown accustomed to winning. I’m not sure that anyone expected Houston to be a serious playoff contender, but I’m also not sure they expected to see the Astros struggling to stay ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
• Washington Nationals – Yeah, they’re on pace to lose 89 games, but several experts thought the Nats would threaten the ‘62 New York Mets all-time record of 120 losses in a season. The team is unbelievably anonymous outside of Ryan Zimmerman and maybe Chad Cordero. But Manny Acta has gotten a terrific performance from a resurgent Dmitri Young, and his young pitching staff has shown improvement in the second half of the season. I don’t think most pundits had this team coming anywhere near 70 wins; that a team with such a lack of identifiable talent should remain reasonably competitive into September (or at least as competitive as a certain team from San Francisco that shelled out $126 million for a mid-rotation starter) is enough to get Acta consideration for Manager of the Year in my book.
• Magglio Ordonez – He’s having a career year at age 33. After a brilliant run from 2000 to 2003, Ordonez saw his game deteriorate due to injuries. He signed a big contract with Detroit that smelled “like summer armpits” and got into just 82 games in his first season with the Tigers. Last year Ordonez remained healthy but didn’t perform at his previous levels. No surprise, really; the guy was 32 years old and coming off two injury-marred seasons. So the natural next step is, what, MVP candidate? Go figure.
• Carlos Pena – We’ve already talked about him. Pena is up to 37 homers with 22 games remaining. He has an outside shot to finish the season with more home runs than he hit in the big leagues from 2004 to 2006 combined (46). I would say that Pena just needed the opportunity, but he’d had plenty of ‘em and done nothing to suggest that this was possible.
• Jack Cust – Fun story. The former first-round pick had sipped cups of coffee in Arizona, Colorado, Baltimore, and San Diego before finding himself in Oakland. Again. Cust actually spent the 2005 season playing for Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate but at age 26, never reached the big leagues that year. This season, when Mike Piazza landed on the DL, the A’s needed a guy with Cust’s skills — the ability to mash a baseball — and acquired him from the Padres for next to nothing. Cust, whose defensive shortcomings make him a liability in the National League, responded to the opportunity and became Oakland’s most productive player.
• Fausto Carmona – Nothing says “Cy Young candidate” like a 1-10 record and 5.42 ERA. That’s what Carmona did in 2006 at age 22, and now he is one of the best starting pitchers in the American League. His strikeout totals are a tad low, but with the number of ground balls he serves up, it may not matter.
• Josh Hamilton – Taken as a Rule V pick this winter despite having played just 15 games over the previous three seasons, Hamilton stuck with the big club in Cincinnati and is hitting .288/.367/.547 for the Reds in just over 300 plate appearances. The kid still has work to do, but given where he’s been and how far the former #1 pick overall has come to get back to this point in his career, I have a feeling that won’t be a problem.
• Rick Ankiel – Brian Gunn has written a nice article about Ankiel’s success over at Hardball Times (disclosure: I contribute to THT). The Ankiel story truly is amazing. As Brian wrote when Ankiel converted to the outfield, “It’s best to consider Rick Ankiel retired from baseball.” It was very difficult, at the time, to imagine any other outcome. Unless, of course, you were Ankiel, in which case you went out and did the impossible.

That’s the great thing about baseball. No matter what you might have seen, you can be sure you haven’t seen it all…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Pena, in case you missed it, ranks second in the American League with 33 homers through September 1. This is a guy who hit 23 home runs all last year at Triple-A (plus one with the Red Sox). Hot prospect? Well, yeah, like in 2000 and 2001. Pena had his shot with the Tigers, did okay before fading away, and now has come back with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Somewhere along the line, Pena turned into an unstoppable power source. That’s not supposed to happen at age 29. Not without at least some indication that it’s coming, anyway…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

The previous year, Lewis’ only full season in the big leagues, he went 10-9 in 26 starts with a 7.30 ERA. He finished in the top 10 in walks allowed (and just missed the top 10 in earned runs allowed) despite throwing only 127 innings.

On Tuesday, against the American League’s worst offense (White Sox), Lewis coughed up 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings. He faced 23 batters and recorded 10 outs, striking out none.

Welcome back, kiddo.

Let me be clear: This is not Lewis’ fault. He’s pretty clearly demonstrated in the past that he isn’t a big-league pitcher. His numbers at Triple-A Sacramento (2.31 ERA, 8.35 K/9, .203 BAA) have been solid, but still.

Maybe the A’s thought he could be the pitching equivalent of Jack Cust? Sometimes there is no lightning, only bottle…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

There you go. Hope that clears up any confusion…

Post from: Knuckle Curve