Back at the end of November, when Cincinnati signed Francisco Cordero, reader Doug Fulkerson offered some suggestions on who the Reds might bring in to bolster the rotation and asked me to do the same. I’ve been meaning to get back to this question for a while, so without further ado and acknowledging that pickin’s are pretty slim this winter, here are a few guys I think I’d target:

Freddy Garcia
Pros: Workhorse when healthy, pitched 200+ innings every year 2001-2006.
Cons: Injuries limited him to 58 innings in ‘07, had shoulder surgery in August, turns 33 in June.
Jason Jennings
Pros: Another workhorse who …read more

Ah, Game 3 of the NLCS. The Rockies return home to Coors Field with a 2-0 lead and the world will be watching. Josh Fogg? Livan Hernandez? Wait, is this baseball or the Chinese water torture?
Sorry, I’ve seen these guys pitch a lot this year and they are excruciating. Both pitchers have the same approach: Let the batter hit the ball and hope that good things happen. It’s earned Fogg and his 60-60 career record the nickname of “Dragon Slayer.” It’s earned Hernandez a World Series ring.
There is winning ugly and then there’s this:

 
ERA
WHIP
K/BB
K/9
OPS

Fogg
4.94
1.53
1.59
5.11
854

Hernandez
4.93
1.60
1.14
3.96
870

Three pitchers in MLB failed to break …read more

Friday belonged to the American League (and the bugs). Today it’s the Senior Circuit’s chance to shine. Two mid-market NL West teams look to complete sweeps against big spenders from the east.

Diamondbacks at Cubs, 3:00 p.m. PT — The good news, if you’re a Cubs fan, is that this one’s in Chicago. The bad news is that Livan Hernandez gets the start for Arizona. Yeah, he’s got an ERA near 5.00 and his peripherals are nauseating, but the guy has been lights-out in the playoffs throughout his career (the World Series is a different story, but we’re not there yet). …read more

Ack, more games! Why wasn’t I informed…
American League

Red Sox at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — This series doesn’t need any more hype. Either you love it or you don’t care. Watch (or don’t) accordingly.
Mariners at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Playoff implications in this one, plus a potentially volatile pitching matchup. Two finesse lefties — the execrable Horacio Ramirez and the too-unknown-to-have-an-unflattering-adjective-attached-to-the-front-of-his-name Aaron Laffey — hook up in this one. Philosophical question for the day: When does batting practice end and game begin?

National League

Mets at Phillies, 10:05 a.m. PT — We’re all anxious to know whether Philadelphia can reach the …read more