Jul 24th 2008 6:27PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

- The Braves continue to indicate that they won’t move Mark Teixeira in hopes of contending for the NL East title, but if the team struggles over the next week, that could all change. Atlanta is already a bit of a longshot to make the playoffs, but two injuries to key players should push them over the cliff and turn them into sellers. Chipper Jones hurt his hamstring again last night in Florida and staff ace Tim Hudson left his start early with ominous-sounding elbow tightness.

If ever there was an omen that it might be time to let go of this season, wouldn’t injuries to the team’s best pitcher and hitter on the same night be it? Teixeira is certain to leave this winter and if Atlanta holds on to him all it will get is a pair of early draft picks. They stand to get much better talent in a deadline deal, even considering Teixeira’s rental status.

- I got a chance to see A.J. Burnett’s rain-shortened start last night in Baltimore. There were plenty of scouts in attendance, though some of them were probably there in hopes of seeing Orioles closer George Sherrill. Burnett has good raw stuff — a fastball he gets to 95 mph with ease and a tough curveball in the low-80s. Still, Orioles hitters made good contact on him. He’s a very good, but fragile No. 2 starter, who could help a number of contenders, but his uncertain contract status continues to make potential suitors cautious. Don’t put too much stock into the Roy Halladay rumors, Burnett is still the most likely to get moved of any of Toronto’s pitchers.Continue Reading

Jul 26th 2008 10:00AM by Mullet (author feed)

As if the lure of Yankees/Red Sox wasn’t enough, now you have the drama of a huge trade to stoke your fire. The Yankees beat everyone to the punch (as they normally do at the trade deadline) and acquired the righty bat they needed in Xavier Nady, and the lefty specialist out of the ‘pen they needed in Damaso Marte.

We know Nady can handle the big city, having hit .264 with 14 HR’s in 265 AB’s with the Mets in ‘06. Marte was property of the Yankees in ‘01, but was traded for Enrique Wilson before Marte could make it with the big club. Now, they make their return to New York … and pending physicals, they may be ready to go today for their Yankee baptism by fire at Fenway Park.

Continue Reading

Jul 26th 2008 5:20PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

- The Mets are continuing to pursue a corner outfielder, but with Pittsburgh’s trade of Xavier Nady and Cleveland’s trade of Casey Blake, the list of potential additions has dwindled. Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are still out there, but New York simply doesn’t have the chips to acquire an All-Star caliber bat. Seattle’s Raul Ibanez is the one name remaining that the Mets have been linked to and is likely in the team’s price range.

GM Omar Minaya probably can’t afford to hone in on one target, though, so it’s likely he’ll make calls over the next few days to gauge what the Padres would want in return for Brian Giles and perhaps what the Reds would want in return for Adam Dunn or Ken Griffey Jr. The Mets are on a hot streak, but the team still has flaws — flaws that can be taken care of in the next few days.

- Manny Ramirez was a very late scratch for Friday night’s game against the Yankees, which the Red Sox lost 1-0, and the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaugnessy is wondering if this is the final straw for the slugger in Boston. “Manny Being Manny” is a mantra that has come to mean many different things over the years, and part of it are these little dramas, which usually come to nothing. But the Red Sox have an option on Ramirez for next year, one they aren’t even certain they will pick up, so perhaps this time it really is THE time to explore finding Ramirez’s replacement. That means a middle-of-the-order bat, one which they could potentially acquire over the next few days. It wouldn’t be a great surprise if GM Theo Epstein started making inquiries about Mark Teixeira, Adam Dunn and Matt Holliday, even if once again, this all amounts to nothing.Continue Reading

Jul 29th 2008 9:21PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

- Mark Teixeira is off the board, leaving a bunch of lesser players in the rumor mill. The best non-Teixeira rumors continue to surround Manny Ramirez, despite the fact that he is unlikely to be moved before the July 31 deadline. The Red Sox might be more reticent than ever to deal Ramirez with Teixeira off the table. He was the most obvious replacement for Ramirez’s production (with Kevin Youkilis moving to left field in a potential deal). But Boston seems so fed up with the slugger it might move him anyway. So the question is, where?

The Dodgers have moved to the front of the line for Ramirez, offering an outfielder in return — believed to be either Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier and perhaps prospects. When Teixeira was still available, it was believed they would spin those players to Atlanta for the first basemen, but the Red Sox could hold onto someone like Kemp, who could equal Ramirez’s value when you account for defense. The Diamondbacks are unlikely to make a move for Ramirez, especially considering GM Josh Byrnes’ familiarity with the slugger (he worked under Theo Epstein in Boston). Ditto for the Phillies. The Mets are very difficult to read, with the team claiming they have no interest and media reports saying otherwise.

- The Royals could infuse some late life into the outfield market if they decide to make Jose Guillen available. Guillen signed a three-year, $36 million deal with Kansas City this winter, but there are rumors that he’s unhappy with manager Trey Hillman. Guillen has denied the reports, but he is not known as a great clubhouse guy and he had a very public and messy feud with Mike Scioscia in his last days with the Angels. On the other hand, he is only 32 and is still productive. After hitting .183 in April, Guillen has hit .288 since.Continue Reading

Jul 30th 2008 8:55PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

- The Marlins are the forgotten team in the NL East race, but they have a very real chance at making the postseason and are the most active team less than 24 hours before the trade deadline. Florida is looking for everything. The club is believed to be close to dealing for Mariners left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes. The Fish have also made inquiries with San Diego about Josh Bard and Toronto about Gregg Zaun as they try to shore up the catcher position with Matt Treanor injured.

Most surprisingly, they might be at the head of the pack for Boston slugger Manny Ramirez. A proposed deal would send either left fielder Josh Willingham or right fielder Jeremy Hermida to the Red Sox in exchange for Ramirez, with Boston picking up the remaining portion of the $20 million owed to the disgruntled slugger. The Marlins would also have to agree not to pick up Ramirez’s option at the end of the season. Florida is often accused of being cheap. You can’t say it isn’t trying this year.

- The Jason Bay market appears to be heating up. Both the Rays and Cardinals have had serious discussions with Pittsburgh about acquiring the left fielder. Tampa Bay would seem to have the upper hand since it has the better farm system and does not play in the same division as the Pirates. GM Neal Huntington is believed to have asked for shortstop prospect Reid Brignac and pitching prospect Jeremy Hellickson, with Hellickson believed to be the sticking point. There is also late word that the Red Sox could jump into the Bay talks as part of a three-way deal that would send Ramirez to Florida, prospects to Pittsburgh and Bay to Boston.Continue Reading

Aug 7th 2008 11:02AM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
With the Minnesota Twins needing to make room for Francisco Liriano in their starting rotation as they try to make a run at another division title, it meant that somebody would have to go. That somebody was Livan Hernandez who the Twins had signed in the off-season to be the leader of a young pitching staff.

Well, all Livan Hernandez led the Twins pitching staff in was hits allowed, runs against, and most fans cursing his name. Still, as I said when the move was first announced, the odds were that Livan would only be out of a job for a few days and it turns out I was right (the odds of which were 3000/1). Livan is the newest member of the Colorado Rockies.Livan Hernandez was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies from the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

“We’ve been struggling with our rotation this year,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “He’s a great addition.”Dan O’Dowd has an odd definition of great, seeing as how Hernandez is 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA on the season, and has allowed five or more runs in nine of his twenty-three starts. Of course with the way the Rockies starting pitching has performed at times this year, I suppose Livan can be an improvement. Maybe a return to the National League where he spent his entire career before joining the Twins this season will be what Hernandez needs.

Jul 15th 2008 1:45PM by Will Brinson

Josh Hamilton — as I remarked several times in last night’s live blog — seems like the nicest possible human being alive. So let’s all do him one big favor and ease back on the media coverage of this story, please.

Tonight, there’s no need to mention his drug addiction past every time he comes to the plate.

Because, Joe and Tim, we get it. We really do. Hamilton was on his death bed. Hamilton threw away everything. He blew through millions of dollars, literally.

None of those snippy remarks are intended to shortchange his story. It’s a great, wonderful and amazing story. It is one of the greatest comebacks of all time. And it is a truly inspiring event that everyone should know about.

Likewise, Hamilton is the story of the weekend. So let’s be clear — I’m not saying to ignore him. I’m just saying to be more tasteful about the way we approach discussing his story.Continue Reading

Jul 15th 2008 2:22PM by Eamonn Brennan
Alex Rodriguez has had his name besmirched in the most embarrassing ways lately. Madonna? Lenny Kravitz? Couldn’t he and his wife at least find two semi-relevant entertainers to shack up with? Madonna is the best we can do? Joe DiMaggio got Marilyn Monroe, and A-Rod gets Madonna? That just ain’t right.

Anyway, we haven’t really heard A-Rod’s side of things; his comment has been limited to “no comment.” Such is A-Rod’s new media technique: “You have to take the good with the bad and not take yourself too seriously,” he explained later. “I think that’s the one thing that over the first four or five years [in New York], I kept knocking myself over the head, and trying to re-explain myself. If this gentleman asked me that question, I probably would’ve been here for three or four hours trying to explain my personal life — and kind of made an ass out of myself, really.” In other words, A-Rod knows that no answer is good enough for the tabloid jackals, so he gives no answer at all. That it took five years for Mr. Rod to figure this out is most shocking. Derek Jeter never answers anything, dude — why do you think so many people like him?

Also, Jeter gets with, like, Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel and God knows who else. A-Rod gets with Madonna. Sigh.

Jul 15th 2008 3:00PM by Josh Alper
July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

It’s amazing that the Yankees are just five and a half games out of a playoff spot at this point in the season. At one time or another, Chien-Ming Wang, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have been on the disabled list. Hughes and Kennedy were epic disappointments in the rotation and players like Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano haven’t produced resulting in an offense that’s only been league average at scoring runs.

They’ve been saved by surprising returns to form by Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi, as well as the continued brilliance of Rodriguez, but the Yankees enter the second half in a precarious position. That would seem to point to making trades for help in both the lineup and on the pitching staff.

A player like Adam Dunn would make sense as an offensive boost. His high OBP and lefty power are well-suited for the Yankee lineup but if Damon and Matsui come back and stay healthy, how to juggle a lineup that would be overloaded on the left side. The biggest offensive need is getting Melky Cabrera out of the regular lineup but Dunn wouldn’t help on that front either because he can’t play center.Continue Reading

Jul 15th 2008 3:09PM by Eamonn Brennan

Baseball people have long known the story of Josh Hamilton, but 2008 — which now includes last night’s thrilling Home Run Derby performance, not to mention a Sports Illustrated cover story and a hunt for the Triple Crown — has made Hamilton a household name. He’s a tribute to the power of redemption and determination and faith and other nebulous morals that get Rick Reilly warm in the britches, and what good is fighting your way back to the majors if you can’t cash in on your ability?

Get ready, Mr. Hamilton. Baby, you’re (about to be) a rich man: “This is a marathon and we’re very protective of not losing sight of that,” Moye said. “In the beginning, we said we’d wait until the off-season to look at things, but if there’s some association that works out before that, we’ll obviously take a look at it. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and it’s certainly the most amazing story I’ve ever come across. The baseball junkies definitely knew Josh, but I think America learned who he was last night,” Moye said. “The phone has definitely been ringing.” The one downside? Hamilton could still be seen as a risk — is drug use, even conquered, something Gatorade and Nike want to associate their product with? I say yes. Not everyone can relate to the otherworldliness of LeBron James, but plenty of people can relate to the human strength required to beat a universal menace like addiction. Hamilton could be an endorsement beast not in spite of his past, but because of it.