Rowand isn’t a bad ballplayer, but it seems to me that San Francisco is buying high. Rowand hit .309/.374/.515 in ‘07 while playing half his games in a bandbox. (His line was a brilliant .319/.380/.557 at home, and a merely respectable .299/.368/.475 on the road.)

The main problem I have with this deal is its length. Rowand is a guy coming off a great year, but before that, he’d had two underwhelming seasons. And he’s always getting hurt.

Like I said, Rowand isn’t bad. I just think that maybe if you’re going to lock someone up for five years, you’d like a little more consistency. His offensive numbers are likely to take a hit on moving out of Philly, he’ll have to cover more ground in the spacious NL West outfields, and he’ll be 34 at the end of the contract. Not a brutal signing, but not one I’d like to see my team make.

Other Voices

• Hardball Times
• BBTF’s Transaction Oracle
• McCovey Chronicles

Post from: Knuckle Curve

One thing I know I wouldn’t have done differently. I’m glad I didn’t trade 3 or 4 kids at the deadline. I think that decision will prove to be valuable for a very long time. People ask about the young players all the time. Teams need young players.

Yeah, trust me, a lot of us in San Diego were hoping you would part with a few of ‘em. Chad Billingsley, for example, might make a nice fit somewhere other than the NL West. Just a thought…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Girardi probably deserves better. As he was in Florida, he’s being set up to fail. With the Marlins, his problem was that he couldn’t drive that franchise into the ground and force the team to move elsewhere. Now he gets to succeed one of the most successful managers in big-league history while one of baseball’s most notorious owners hands the reins over to his sons, who appear eager to leave their mark on the club they’re inheriting.

And you can be sure, they will leave a mark.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Grady Little has resigned as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Presumably this opens the door for Torre, while Little gets to make good on his plan to “play with my grandkids.”

Despite Torre’s track record in New York, I’m not sure he’s the right guy for the Dodgers. My gripe isn’t so much with Torre as it is with the fact that I don’t think the Dodgers are quite where they believe they are in terms of being competitive in the NL West.

As we saw down the stretch in ‘07, this division has become very tough. Frankly, if the Dodgers are going to be a serious player next season, they’ll need to make some aggressive moves over the winter. Actually, they were plenty aggressive last winter; this time they need to be smart as well.

Torre has demonstrated the ability to work well with big-league egos, with guys who are accustomed to fighting for (and winning) championships. How will he respond to a team that isn’t assured a spot in the postseason? How will that team respond to him?

And can his grandkids play with Little’s grandkids, or would that be awkward?

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Post from: Knuckle Curve

You thought I forgot. Go ahead, admit it. You noticed that we didn’t run a poll yesterday, and you thought that I’d forgotten about NL Manager of the Year.

Now, why would I do that?

Right, I wouldn’t. I also wouldn’t vote for anyone other than Clint Hurdle or Bob Melvin for this award. I suppose you could make a case for Charlie Manuel or Ned Yost, maybe Bud Black.

I kinda liked Willie Randolph before The Collapse (TM). Lou Piniella? Not so much for me. His bosses went out and bought the best team money could buy, and he barely managed to win a very weak division. Color me unimpressed.

Am I missing anyone? Manny Acta? I’m actually not being facetious; I could see him getting votes. The Nationals were supposed to be historically bad, but they lost only 89 games. And I guess Bobby Cox always has to be part of the equation.

But really, it comes down to Hurdle or Melvin. In my mind, Hurdle gets the nod because of preseason expectations. I had the Diamondbacks winning the NL West and the Rockies finishing fourth. Hurdle’s club outperformed my wildest expectations. The only other National League teams I can say that about are Milwaukee and Washington, neither of which reached the playoffs.

I’m going Hurdle, Melvin, Yost. How about you? Who do you like and why?

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

• 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). Plus he’s got the most ridiculous curve ball ever. Rich “Ya Shoulda Seen Me in April” Hill goes for the Cubs in his postseason debut. The playoffs are so weird. Last year we had Yadier Molina. This year it’s… Augie Ojeda?
• Phillies at Rockies, 6:30 p.m. PT — The hottest team in baseball comes home needing to win one out of its next two games against a team with inferior pitching. Jamie Moyer has experience on his side, but this may not be enough to overcome a potent offense and what promises to be a raucous crowd.

As always, happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

The story so far:

• AL West
• AL Central
• AL East
• NL West
• NL Central

And now for our latest installment…

• Mets – Only a historic collapse kept me from getting this one right. They were supposed to be the strongest team in the National League, and I had them losing to the Angels in the World Series.
• Braves – You wonder what might have been if they hadn’t traded away Adam LaRoche for Mike Gonzalez and if Andruw Jones had shown up to play.
• Phillies – At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think they had enough pitching. I still don’t, but it appears not to matter. Running Cole Hamels out there every fifth day and having a bunch of guys beat the snot out of the ball in a tiny park turns out to be a pretty effective strategy. Who knew.
• Marlins – Clearly Joe Girardi was holding this club back. Good thing the owner got rid of him. It must be difficult knowing that too much success could force you to keep your team where it is.
• Nationals – Speaking of teams formerly owned by a certain art collector, vive Les Expos! I bought into the hype that said this would be one of the worst teams in big-league history; too bad they couldn’t even finish last in their own division. And forget Dmitri Young; I’d like to know how the Nats got anything out of Cristian Guzman.

My worst division by far. I got precisely zero spots correct. I’m okay with missing on the Mets, because a lot of smart folks blew that one, but I’d underestimated Philadelphia, and I need to figure out why.

The Nationals? I’m still blown away by their performance this year. They finished with a better record than their neighbors, the Baltimore Orioles, who spent far more money on salary (albeit rather stupidly).

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Meanwhile, here are the games that matter:

• Marlins at Mets, 10:10 a.m. PT — Dontrelle Willis vs Tom Glavine. I can’t think of a better pitcher to make this start for New York than Glavine. To say the guy is well prepared for this situation is to make a colossal understatement. He’ll face a tough Florida lineup, but also a pitcher in Willis who has been a disaster in the second half (batters are hitting .315/.383/.522 against him since the All-Star break).
• Nationals at Phillies, 10:35 a.m. PT — Like the Mets, the Phillies play a lousy team at home. Like the Mets, they’ll send out a 40-something left-hander (Jamie Moyer) to get the job done. Jay Bergmann counters for Washington, and all of his splits come up bad. He’s much less effective on the road, in the second half, and against left-handed batters (hello Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard).
• Padres at Brewers, 11:05 a.m. PT — How has San Diego’s season come to depend on Brett Tomko? I’m pretty certain that wasn’t in the script. The Padres also have the pleasure of facing a playoff-caliber club on its home turf. Jeff Suppan, who has been stronger at home and in the second half, gets the call for Milwaukee.
• Diamondbacks at Rockies, 12:05 p.m. PT — Arizona has already clinched the NL West. Although the Snakes own the best record in the league, they also don’t have much incentive to play their regulars. The Rockies, meanwhile, have won 15 of their last 20 games and have shown no interest in going home for the winter. Two young right-handers, Yusmeiro Petit and Ubaldo Jimenez, hook up in this one.

There you have it. Fire up a pot of coffee and plant your posterior on the couch. It’s gonna be a fun morning…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

The story so far:

• AL West
• AL Central
• AL East
• NL West

Ladies and gentlemen, the least interesting division in Major League Baseball:

1. Cubs – Somebody had to win the division; it might as well be the team that spent $300 million on free agents.
2. Astros – Why did I like this team so much? Perhaps their recent track record fooled me? I’d expected more out of Morgan Ensberg and Jason Jennings. Instead, everyone got fired.
3. Cardinals – Hey, I got one right. Everything about their 2006 season seemed like a fluke to me. The Cards deserve credit for winning the World Series, but this was a team headed for a fall. Kip Wells avoided 20 losses, and Rick Ankiel is a nice story… maybe…
4. Brewers – I didn’t think they had the pitching, and in the end, I suppose they didn’t. If Ben Sheets could ever stay healthy… There’s a lot of good young talent on this team; suffice to say, I won’t be picking the Brewers to finish fourth again next year.
5. Reds – They and the Astros are battling for fourth place as I write this. What a horrendous bullpen.
6. Pirates – This is their fourth last-place finish in the last 10 years. Their best season during that stretch came in 1999, when they finished in third place with 78 wins. This franchise owes the city of Pittsburgh big time. Here’s hoping the new front office has a clue.

Not bad. I somehow mixed up Houston and Milwaukee, but otherwise did okay.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

The story so far:

• AL West
• AL Central
• AL East

First off, I’d like to thank all the spammers for their excellent suggestions. Some pretty imaginative stuff, although much of it I fear is not physically possible. But really, what are we without ambition?

To the topic at hand. Here are my preseason predictions for the NL West, annotated for your amusement:

1. Diamondbacks – I expected them to be on top, but I figured it would be on the strength of their talented young hitters. Instead, pitching has carried the day in Phoenix. What a bullpen…
2. Padres – Not a bad showing from a team whose skipper had never managed at any level before this season.
3. Dodgers – I overestimated them, although not as badly as some folks did. Injuries to Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Schmidt, and Randy Wolf really hamstrung this club. How could anyone have foreseen those guys getting hurt? Still, there isn’t much holding back the Dodgers — mainly just the front office.
4. Rockies – Wow, what a season. If they’re in the NL Central, they run away with the division. If I had a say, I’d be very tempted to cast my NL Manager of the Year vote for Clint Hurdle. This is a club that had averaged 71.8 wins a year over the previous six seasons, with a high-water mark of 76 in 2006.
5. Giants – At least they found a taker for Matt Morris.

I almost nailed this division. The Dodgers gave up at the end and Colorado went on a tear. Neither of those events could have been anticipated.

Post from: Knuckle Curve