RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Sports and Wrestling DUCKS ON THE POND: 3/31/05 MLB news updates

jafabian's player to watch this week: Dallas McPherson, 3B, Los Angeles Angles.

Okay, he might not be much to watch this week because he's only batting off a tee with a sore back. And sure, he'll probably miss the first 3-5 games of the season, but he isn't expected to be out for any extended period of time. McPherson is a big reason why the Angels were willing to let Troy Glaus walk. He split time between AA and AAA before his September call up, hitting .318 and belting 40 HR's. They have him pencilled in as their #6 hitter and I bet he moves up to 5 by mid season. If you're drafting a fantasy team, he's worth a late round pick.

Now, onto the latest news updates from

Fox Sports:

Quote:

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Good luck to Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson now that the Jason Phillips-for-Kaz Ishii deal is official.

Putting Ishii and RHP Victor Zambrano in the same rotation almost qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment for a pitching coach, even one as talented and well-paid as Peterson. Zambrano tied for the AL lead with 96 walks last season despite getting traded from the Devil Rays to the Mets on July 30. Ishii's walk rate was the second highest among pitchers who threw a minimum of 162 innings. ...

# Rangers IF Ian Kinsler, moving from shortstop to second base, could force his way to the majors by mid-season, enabling the team to trade 2B Alfonso Soriano for starting pitching.

"I've rarely seen him swing through a fastball," a scout says of Kinsler, who tied for the minor-league lead with 51 doubles last season. "He knows what he can and can't do, takes advantage of hitters' counts."

Kinsler projects to be the type of offensive second baseman favored by G.M. John Hart, and is a tough cookie. He stands close to the plate and frequently gets hit by pitches, but declines to wear an elbow pad. ...

# The Rangers' infield depth also could lead to an off-season decision at first base, where the emergence of Adrian Gonzalez could motivate the club to move Mark Teixeira to the outfield. Such a move likely would not sit well with Teixeira, who has become a solid defender at first after shifting from third due to the presence of Hank Blalock.

"It's a hypothetical question," Teixeira says. "I don't really like to answer hypotheticals. When the time comes, I'll answer it. Right now, it's not going to happen." ...

# The release of Alex Sanchez could leave the Tigers with a strong offensive outfield of RF Magglio Ordonez, CF Craig Monroe and LF Rondell White, but defense would remain a concern. The Tigers would need to hit well enough to grab leads, enabling them to use Nook Logan or DeWayne Wise in center late in games, with Monroe moving to left. ...

# An executive with one of Sanchez's former clubs thinks he can be an asset for the Devil Rays.

"In a smaller ballpark like Tropicana Field, he'll probably be a better outfielder," the exec says, indirectly referring to Detroit's spacious Comerica Park. "When (Baldelli) comes back, he'd be the perfect guy to be a fourth outfielder. You could play him enough to get his bat in the game, then take him out so he wouldn't hurt you defensively. He can hit just about anything." ...

# A scout offers this take on Mariners LHP Jamie Moyer: "It looks like he can pitch until he's 50. But he has to be pinpoint perfect. His margin for error decreases every year. One thing that could keep him around for a long time: Young, impatient hitters who don't swing at strikes." ...

# Jeremy Brown, the much-ballyhooed A's catching prospect in Moneyball, continues to face an uphill battle in his quest to reach the majors.

"Any ball to his backhand with plus stuff gives him a tough time," one scout says, noting that Brown also is slow to second base — 2.1 to 2.2 seconds — with his throws.

Catchers strive to be below 2 seconds. ...

# Keep your eye on that patchwork Marlins' bullpen. RHPs John Riedling and Jim Mecir have struggled, and though both figure to make the team, the 'pen still looms as a potential weak link. The good news: Closer Guillermo Mota has increased his velocity to the 93 to 95 mph range. ...

# A scout who predicted that Royals RHP Mike MacDougal would never duplicate his 2003 rookie season admits he might have been wrong: "His fastball is exploding all over the place," the scout says. "He has better command, a more consistent breaking ball. There's some hope that he might bounce back." ...

# Franklin Gutierrez gives the Indians a third long-term centerfield option to go with Coco Crisp and Grady Sizemore. Before getting demoted, Gutierrez demonstrated not only an improved two-strike approach, but also an ability to lay off — and hit — breaking balls.

"His maturity, professionalism and self-confidence are well above-average for a player his age," Indians G.M. Mark Shapiro says of Gutierrez, who just turned 22. ...

# RHP Andrew Brown, the other player the Indians acquired in the Milton Bradley trade, is throwing 94 to 97 mph with a late-breaking slider, and could be in the team's bullpen before the end of the season. ...

# White Sox G.M. Ken Williams and White Sox manager Ozzie Guilen met with third baseman Joe Crede and told him to relax.

"We said, 'Lighten up, have a little fun, remember Little League, remember high school,'" Williams says. "No doubt the ability is there. It's just a question of whether he will allow it to come out by not putting so much pressure on himself."

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Despite the additions to their batting order, with that rotation the Mets are due for a long season, IMO. The Yankees have no worries about the Mets taking away their fans.

If Alex Sanchez is out there, I think the Rangers should go after him. Bump everyone down one in the order. Having Sanchez and Young as a 1-2 with Blalock, Soriano and Texeira behind them would sound scary to me, especially considering how many SB's Sanchez usually gets each year.

Ichiro won't say so publicly, but his goal this season is .400. Last season he had 50 hits in May, July and August, batting .400, .432 and .463 in those months. He has a 12 game hitting steak this spring when he's typically batting under .300 at this time. I would find the chase for .400 even more exciting than a HR record, considering how this offseason went.

That's it for me this week. Let's hear your thoughts...

Expect a trade or two involving the Tigers before opening day. They are not happy with Jason Johnson. Not at all. I don't know if they could get another starter before the season starts, though.

But that's not the trade to watch out for. Bobby Higginson is as good as gone, and there are two teams who could be interested in him, the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Phil Garner was the Tiger's manager in 2000 and 2001, both of which were big seasons for Higginson. And Garner is a big Higginson fan. Tampa, on the other hand, has a hole to fill in right field, because Danny Bautista retired. In either case, the Tigers would have to eat a lot of Higginson's contract, but they could probably get something for him in prospects. Add to that the Tigers' ability to throw in some pitchers, and they could come out of this very happy.

But who do these teams have to offer? (I'm asking, I really don't know.)

Also, Dean Palmer looks destined to back up Pena and Inge at first and third, and Young at DH. He won't be an everyday player, and his recent muscle pull makes that apparent. But, if he takes good care of himself, he will be a great guy to have on the bench, especially late in games when the Tigers need a pinch hitter. He has looked better at first than at third, which is interesting because he was the Tigers third baseman before he had to retire. He will be a great influence on both young corner infielders, not to mention everyone else in the club house. When he's done playing, expect to see him get a coaching job in the organization, possibly on Trammell's staff.

It looks like Center field will go to Monroe and a defensive substitute. I am guessing that will be Dewayne Wise to start, with Logan going down to get some at-bats in the minors. The Tigers hope Logan will be a future lead off hitter. Wise should give Trammell a solid defensive substitute, much like Kapler is in Boston. This guy knows how to cover the field, and has made some amazing defensive plays. Monroe is good, but this guy is better. What Monroe will bring is consistancy and power later in the line up.

It's looking more and more that if the Tigers can get a lead late in the game, they have the defensive weapons to keep it.

The only thing that might keep them down is their starting rotation, with Johnson extremely inconsistant, and Ledezma still learning how to play in the big leagues. Maroth looks good, and this should become a breakout season for Bonderman, as the Tigers go deeper into the season. Robertson should be addequit, but he needs to lower his pitches per batter. He may not be able to go more than six innings a game.

Alex Sanchez exemplifies the difference between speed as a tool, and speed as a skill.

He has world class speed, yet he is not a good defensive player, as he doesn't read the ball well off the bat. Often he either takes the wrong route to flyballs entirely, or just overruns them. He is also not a skilled baserunner. He was successful on only 59% of his steal attempts last year, and 68% the year before. Generally if your percentage is under 70 you're hurting your team more than helping.

As strong as his batting average was last year, he's not an ideal leadoff hitter, as he doesn't get on base consistently. He walked seven times last year(Barry Bonds had eight in the first week). His career high in OBP is .343, which came in 112 games in 2002. He's almost exclusively a slap-hitter or bunter(which, to his credit, he has become quite good at), with only 14 of his 107 hits last year going for extra bases.

Texas is a lot better off either giving the centerfield job to Gary Matthews, Jr(who is hitting .394 through 33 at bats this spring, and has always been a quality defensive outfielder), or having he and Laynce Nix split time there. Sanchez has a world of talent, but no team expecting to compete would be wise to hand him a starting job until he figures some things out.

Ian Kinsler, who was mentioned in the Fox Sports article, may very well start the season at second base, if Soriano isn't healthy. Soriano still hasn't recovered from his hamstring injury last year, and it showed as he began the spring 0 for 16 with eight strikeouts(ouch). He might start the year either on the DL or at DH. I thought the Rangers should have traded him in the offseason, and he's certainly not doing anything to change my mind on that.

I'm not sure how much trade value Bobby Higginson has anymore, with his contract. Both the D-Rays and Astros will be without their starting right fielders(Baldelli and Berkman, respectively) for the first part of the season. That could mean something. I'd be surprised if any major prospects were traded, though.

I totally get why Sanchez is a journeyman, however I question if he might become more consistent on a team like Texas with a solid batting lineup and a park more conducive to hitting than Comerica. A leadoff man with a good average and speed can sometimes go from a competent player to an all-star with solid players behind him. And considering that the wild card will most likely come from the AL East again I don't think teams can afford to rest on their laurels on dealing if they want in on the post season.

I've always questioned if Higginson's slide offensively over the years can be attributed to moving from Tiger Stadium to Comerica Park. I'd love to see him go to Tampa. You just know hitting in Tropicana would do wonders for his power numbers. This move might be a few years too late for him though.

I think Sanchez could become a fine player, but I'm not sure being in Texas would help his defense or plate discipline. Those aren't necessarily things that improve simply by being in a better lineup. I think the best place for him is a team that can afford to be patient with his development(assuming he decides to try to develop). Maybe Kansas City.

The thing about Higginson is that arguably his best year came in 2000(his only 30 homer season), which was Comerica Park's inagural season. So his power outage can't be attributed only to the stadium.

He'll be 35 in August, so it's quite likely that he's just not ever going to be the kind of hitter he once was.

Sanchez could become a good player, but he needs to learn how the game is played. The Tigers really tried to teach him, but he just doesn't seem to get it.

I'm not happy with Higginson, either. He's playing it cool saying he always turns it on with a week and a half to go in the preseason. That would be fine if he wasn't in the process of playing himself off of the team while everyone else is doing a damn good job of playing themselves onto the team. He won't get to start again until Friday. I just don't see him on this team on opening day. I don't how the Tigers will lose him, but he won't be coming back to Detroit. Not unless he has a unbelievable performance Friday that force Tramm to keep playing him, and he continues to build on it. And I just don't see that happening. No one can just turn it on when they have been off for so long. Not consistantly. It will be Maggs in RF, Monroe in CF, and White in LF. White won't start every game, and he won't have to, becuase the Tigers could wind up with both Logan and Wise on the team, or maybe Alexis Gomez, whom Trammell really likes because of his attitude. The Tigers will be able to move Monroe to LF enough to rest White, and hopefully keep him healthy.

Things are looking real nice for Brandon Inge:

Inge is in sync on plays at third
Eighth-inning exhibition shows he has learned reflexes, not mechanics, are the key at hot corner.
By Tom Gage / The Detroit News

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- If a player can prove beyond a doubt with one outstanding inning that he's mastered a relatively new position, Brandon Inge proved it Thursday with three consecutive outstanding plays at third base.

They occurred in the eighth inning of the Tigers' 6-3 victory over the Mets with nonroster pitcher Mike James on the mound.

• Inge drove to his backhand side and threw out the runner for the first out.

• On the second, he cleanly gloved a short-hop scorcher.

• The third was a dive to his right to stop a would-be double.

The partisan Mets crowd of 6,275 at Tradition Field responded to the display with a standing ovation. James responded with gratitude.

"After the first one, I told him, 'Good play,' " James said. "After the second, I told him, 'Great play.' After the third, I said, 'Where do you want to eat tonight? I'm paying.' The crowd was standing for him and I was, too."

Known for his athleticism when he was a Tigers catcher, Inge surprised even himself this time.

"You know what, when the ball is in my glove sometimes, I'm like, 'How in the world did I catch that ball?' But I've talked to guys who've played third base a long time and they say that's all third base is. It's nothing about mechanics, it's all about reactions."

I hope he can add to the 3B position for the league. There really aren't a whole lot out there that make me go "wow", at least for fantasy baseball purposes!

Alex Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, Adrian Beltre, Melvin Mora, Aramis Ramirez, Eric Chavez. Then there's Mike Lowell, Troy Glaus, Hank Blalock, Chipper Jones, and, assuming he can hit away from Coors, Vinny Castillo.

A pretty good era of third baseman we're in right now.

I'll go with ARod, Rolen and Chavez. Everyone else has been either inconsistent or injury-prone in the past few years. Or completely sucks defensively.

You get penalized for defense?

Most major leaguers have off-years or injury-plagued ones here and there.

As a homer I must say Hank Blalock is neither inconsistent, injury-prone or poor defensively.