New York Mets

FB365's Morning Drive 7/3/09

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:40:00 +0000

In Cincinnati, Chris Dickerson is making a case for the full time centerfield job. As Willy Taveras continues not to get on base (NOT A SINGLE WALK IN THE MONTH OF JUNE!!) Dickerson finds himself with a respectable .288 AVG and .389 OBP. He's not doing much with regards to power or stolen bases, but if by chance Dusty Baker decides to bat him leadoff because, deep breath, HE ACTUALLY GETS ON BASE, then he could see a slight rise in value for NL-only and deep mixed leagues.

Francisco Rodriguez blew the save, his third in 10 days. Nothing new here. Frankie has averaged 5.5 blown saves per season since becoming a full time closer, which is about the norm.

This is what I worried about with Kevin Correia. His fastball velocity was back a little yesterday, but not where it was during is hot streak. You can see from the chart below (via fangraphs.com) the upward trend in Correia's average velocity and how it dropped significantly his last outing. Yesterday's outing is represented with the red dot, which indicates an average fastball velocity of just over 91 mph.

A.J. Happ is becoming an interesting starter to watch. Since converting to a full time starter he has shown a nice progression in K/BB rate. Also, Happ's velocity is showing signs of progression as well. He's currently owned in only 37% of Yahoo! Leagues.

Franklin Gutierrez stays hot. He hit .304 with 4 homers and 3 stolen bases in June.

Pitchers are not giving anything to Albert Pujols and he'll take his walks all day long. The beneficiary? Ryan Ludwick. It's been a struggle this season with healthy and a prolonged slump, but he has 7 hits in his last 5 games and 3 RBI in his last 2 games with Pujols getting on in front of him.

Derrek Lee didn't just hit 2 homeruns last night. He hit 2 pure bombs last night. One was a grand slam and Lee collected 7 RBI on the night. Lee hit .333 and slugged .973 in June.

Will there be a place for Jake Fox to play once A-Ram returns from the DL?

I think I'm done betting against Mark Buehrle.

Home Run Trot's June All-Star Team: Pitchers

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Choosing the pitchers for June's team was just as tough as making some of the decisions for the position players. Some of the players below, like Zack Greinke and Jason Frasor, are making their third straight appearance on the team. Others, like Josh Johnson, are making the team for the first time. Take a look and leave your comments. I think it's a great pitching staff.

*Stats as of 7 PM EST July 2

STARTERS:

SP: Zack Greinke, Kansas City
Yes, Greinke had a tough June going 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA and .290 batting average against. Yet he still leads all starters with a 1.95 ERA. He's also tied for the league lead in wins with 10. Greinke has given up only 25 runs. Thus, he makes the team for the third month in a row.

SP: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
Lincecum is behind Greinke with 8 wins. But he leads all starters with 132 strikeouts. He has a 2.37 ERA, the third lowest overall, and has given up only 30 earned runs. Lincecum had his best month of the season in June. He went 4-1 with a 1.48 ERA and .202 batting average against. Lincecum is one reason why the Giants are ahead in the NL Wild Card race.

SP: Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants
Cain joins his Giants teammate on this team. Cain has 9 wins this season. He has only 88 strikeouts but has a 2.48 ERA. He also went 3-1 in June with a .192 batting average against.

SP: Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Yes, Halladay is currently injured. His overall production this season demonstrates why he gets a place on this team. He's 10-2 with a 1.05 WHIP and 95 strikeouts. His ERA dropped from 2.77 to 2.56 during June. Halladay makes the team for the second straight month.

SP: Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
Johnson has "only" 7 wins this season. He also has only one loss. He went 3-0 in June with a 2.95 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Overall, he has 97 strikeouts, a 1.13 WHIP, a 2.76 ERA, and a .228 batting average against.

Friday's Games of the Day

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:40:00 -0800

The Fourth of July Weekend kicks off with a full schedule of games. The Yankees look to start a new winning streak against the Blue Jays. The Brewers and Cubs continue their seesaw NL Central battle. The Brewers need wins to stay ahead in the division because the Cardinals and Reds are battling for positioning in the division. The Mets and Phillies begin a series that will determine which team is in first in the NL East on Monday. These games, and many more, can be found in Friday's Games of the Day.

Toronto at New York Yankees: The Mariners broke the Yankees seven-game winning streak but are 7-3 in their last 10 games. They look to have A.J. Burnett and company start a new win streak against the Jays and Brian Tallet. Four of Hideki Matsui's 6 hits off Tallet have gone for extra bases, with one being a long ball.

Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs: The Cubs took the first game of this series on Thursday. The Brewers and Jeff Suppan look to even the season series back up at 4-4 against Carlos Zambrano. Derek Lee has 21 hits off Suppan with 11 extra base hits (4 home runs). J.J. Hardy is only 2-for-19 against Zambrano. Mike Cameron is worse, 1-for-13 against Zambrano.

New York Mets at Philadelphia: The Phillies have lost 3 straight and are 3-7 in their last 10 games. They're now tied with the Marlins for first place in the NL East. The Mets find themselves only 1 game behind. This series will determine who's in first place in the division come Monday. The Phillies are relying on Rodrigo Lopez to get the win. Wonderful.

Bucs Lose Rollercoaster

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:47:27 -0500

From up five early to a 9th inning comeback against Francisco Rodriguez to losing it in the 10th, this one had it all. All except a Pirates win, that is. This one was delayed by rain and it was a make up for an earlier rain out. Striking an irony chord somewhere.

The Pirates jumped on Tim Redding early for five runs. Garrett Jones and Robinzon Diaz each had three hits and two RBI. However, Paul Maholm couldn't hold the lead as the Mets scored eight runs in the middle three frames.

The Pirates tied it up in the 9th off of Rodriguez when Adam LaRoche stroked a two run dinger. But, the Mets countered with a run in the 10th off Matt Capps as Ryan Church singled in Fernando Tatis, who had homered earlier in the game. Rodriguez tossed a perfect 10th to lock it down.

Maholm went 4-1/3 and gave up six runs and 11 hits. Redding gave up five runs and got just seven outs.

The Good

Garrett Jones was single short of the cycle.

The Bad

Delwyn Young was held hitless again and was tossed for arguing balls and strikes.

The Rest

Former Bucco Elmer Dessens made his 4th appearance of the year in relief for NYM.

This was the first time all year that Maholm gave up more than four runs in a home start. He has never been touched for more than six runs in a start at PNC.

The last Pirate to have a double, triple and homer in the same game before his 50th career game was Richie Hebner way back on 5-4-69. Garrett Jones did it today.

Tatis scored four times, establishing a single game high for his career.

Welcome Jeff Salazar. Bucs most recent recall from Louisville was 0-1 in a pinch hitting role in his Bucco debut.

Cuba's Aroldis Chapman Defects

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:25:00 -0500

Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN The Magazine reported today left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman has defected from the Cuban national team.

According to the report, Chapman defected from the team while they were in the Netherlands competing in a tournament, walking right out of the front door of the team's hotel in Rotterdam.

"I walked out easily, right through the hotel door, and I hopped in a car and left," Chapman told cubaencuentro.com, a Spanish web site. "It was easy. Now the plan is to sign with a Major League team."

Chapman is scheduled to fly to Miami on Thursday, according to a source.

This is huge news on this winter's free agency front because, depending on who you ask, Chapman is the most-hyped player to defect from Cuba since Jose Contreras, but appears to have a ceiling far beyond that of the Chicago White Sox veteran right-hander.

Chapman, 21, is a menacing southpaw who brings a fastball that has been clocked as high as 102 mph to go along with a slider and a curveball. Arangure's report suggests that Chapman may need some development time in the minor leagues because his secondary pitches are "only average."

But Buster Olney, also a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, wrote in his blog Thursday morning that some scouts have labeled Chapman's slider and curveball as both "plus" pitches. Olney said that some talent evaluators even see Chapman as a "left-handed (Stephen) Strasburg." That's how insanely talented this kid is.

I saw some of Chapman in this year's World Baseball Classic, and he was nasty. His fastball explodes on the hitters -- I guess anything will explode at 100 mph -- and when he throws his secondary pitches for strikes, hitters have no chance.

Chapman posted a 4.03 ERA in 118 1/3 innings last year as a 20-year-old pitching in the National Series in Cuba. Unlike other defectors, Chapman's baby face actually gives some sort of evidence that he is as young as he claims to be.

The one knock on Chapman is his maturity. He has been known to show too much emotion and frustration on the mound -- with the umpire's strike zone, for example -- and doesn't always give his manager, coaches, and teammates the respect they deserve. But at 21-years-old, that isn't all that surprising. But that alone would make it absolutely necessary he apply some polish in the minor leagues.

How does this effect the upcoming free agent class? Well, the two biggest fish in the market were supposed to be Oakland A's outfielder Matt Holliday and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher John Lackey.

But with only s mediocre season thus far in Oakland, a little hype has come off of Holliday and if free agency were to open today, he wouldn't be commanding the dollars that he and his agent Scott Boras were expecting.

Lackey, on the other hand, is set to cash in with a healthy season. But that's the hold up. Lackey has battled early season elbow issues for the last two seasons, and I'm not sure if anybody is completely confident in the health of his elbow.

Nonetheless, with teams so starved for quality pitching, Lackey will get his money if he stays off of the DL for the remainder of the season.

But if Chapman is part of this winter's bidding, he will undoubtedly be the big fish in the pond. Estimates are already coming in between $30 million and $60 million for Chapman, but there is no real precedent for a pitcher this young and this talented who has already pitched on the national stage and has been relatively exposed.

You can expect big market clubs such as the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Angels, and Cubs to be interested in Chapman.

The Red Sox should be in the mix, too, but I wonder how eager they are to spend exorbitantly on another international product that comes this hyped, considering that they paid a total sum of $103 million to get Daisuke Matsuzaka to Boston and he hasn't met expectations.

The A's probably won't be players but the White Sox could be, as both clubs have been known to make dents in international signings (although signing Chapman would not be like signing a 17-year-old prospect).

One issue facing Chapman's stay in the United States is that all Cuban players are required to hand over their passports to Cuban officials when making an appearance outside of Cuba. Assuming Chapman followed regular procedures, he may have a difficult time establishing residency in the U.S.

Teddy Mitrosilis is the author of Ballpark Banter. He also writes for Bleacher Report. You can reach him at tm4000@yahoo.com.

Thursday's Games of the Day

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:45:00 -0800

Thursday brings us another short schedule with only nine games scheduled. Thursday is still filled with good games. The Mets and Pirates finish a series that began in June. Houston and San Diego face off in a matchup of teams just out of last place in their divisions. The Phillies look to beat the Braves and stay in first in the NL East. And the Brewers and Cubs renew their rivalry. Those games and more can be found below.

New York Mets at Pittsburgh: This game is a makeup of the June 3 game that was postponed. If Paul Maholm and the Pirates beat the Mets again, will Carlos Beltran comment again about how the Mets shouldn't lose to the Pirates? The Mets are depleted and throw Tim Redding out there. Adam LaRoche has four homers against the Mets since 2006, including one off Redding.

Houston at San Diego: Because a series between two teams in next to last place is better than a series between two teams in last place. The surprising Wandy Rodriguez takes the mound for Houston. Adrian Gonzalez's status for the game is in doubt, which obviously doesn't help the Padres.

Philadelphia at Atlanta: The Phillies need a win here to keep from falling behind the Marlins in the NL East. The Braves would extend their winning streak to four games if they win. Both JA Happ and Javier Vazquez go for their 6th win. Happ has a 9.00 ERA against the Braves. Chase Utley has a .333 average and 5 RBI against Vazquez.

Fantasy Links of the Day

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:55:00 -0800

Plenty of good links can be found in the Links tonight. I think for the first time, I've found conflicting reports on a pitcher. That pitcher would be Gio Gonzalez. For those of you whose teams are injury-riddled, Stephania Bell's Injury Blog discusses the big injuries of the week and KFFL talks about injuries by position.

Closer Links:

Relief Efforts discusses Chris Perez's chances to be Cleveland's closer. Eric Karabell has some bad news for those of you who rushed to your league's waiver wire to get Perez after the Indians traded for him. Some very good prospect links can be found after the jump. Of course, the usual next day links can be found at the end of the post to help you prepare for Thursday.

Hitter Links:

T.I.P.S. says don't give up on Hanley Ramirez and that it's time to send Adrian Gonzalez packing.

Injury Links:

KFFL's Injury News.

Stephania Bell's Injury Blog holds some bad news for Carlos Beltran owners as well as other injury news.

Wednesday's Games of the Day

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:35:00 -0800

July begins with several teams either looking to extend winning streaks or stop losing streaks. San Francisco and St. Louis continue a series that impacts the early Wild Card race. Colorado looks to turn their luck around against the Dodgers. Plenty of pitchers are looking for win number eight, nine, or ten on July 1. Nyjer Morgan joins the Nationals. Adam Jones and Marco Scutaro begin July looking to end recent slumps. Those, and plenty of other good storylines, can be found in Wednesday's Games of the Day.

Washington at Florida: The Nyjer Morgan era begins in Washington. He and his new teammates will face the 7-1 Josh Johnson. Johnson is 4-0 agains the Nats in his career. Nick Johnson has a .556 batting average against Josh Johnson.

Tampa Bay at Toronto: The Rays keep rolling. They defeated Toronto 4-1 on Tuesday running their win streak to 8 games and handing Toronto their fourth straight loss. The series finale features James Shields and Ricky Romero, two very exciting pitchers. Shields is 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA in his last three starts against the Jays. Look for him to turn it around thanks to his team being hot right now. He'll get help from Marco Scutaro who is in the midst of a 1-for-16 slump with his last hit coming on June 26.

Boston at Baltimore: Josh Beckett goes for win number 10 against Brad Bergesen. Bergesen was 3-0 in June. Beckett is 4-1 lifetime at Camden Yards. I'm looking for Adam Jones to rebound from a poor June. Doing it against Josh Beckett might not happen. Teammate Luke Scott has a .545 batting average with 1 homer and 3 RBI against Beckett.

Strange Things Are Afoot At The CBP

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:00 -0800

1981 and 2009 ... Say those two years to any Phillies fan and you're liable to get a very strange and confused look. And that's because those are the only two seasons since the birth of organized professional baseball when the Philadelphia Phillies defended a World Series championship.

Why is this confusing? Because as we all know, in his natural state, the Phillies fan (fanicus phillieus) is inclined to boo. It's what we do. But how do you display your world famous temper when you're watching the champs? How can you let a called third strike or a hanging curveball go unbooed? It's undiscovered country and thus the confusion.

In 1981, the Phillies arrived in Clearwater for spring training with a champagne hangover for the first time ever. Greg Luzinski was gone and Gary Matthews replaced him in left field. Steve Carlton was looking for his 3000th whiff and Pete Rose was gunning for Stan Musial's NL record of 3,630 career hits. Oh and there was this nice shiny trophy to defend too. Giddyup.

The season got off to a good start. Lefty got his 3K K and the Phillies opened up a 4 game lead in the NL East. And then came June 12th and the first mid-season work stoppage in MLB history. Lasting 50 days, the strike canceled 712 games and punched a hole right in the middle of summer. As the strike ended, the owners announced a special split-season format along with an extra round of playoffs. And just like that, the Phils were declared first half division champs and were in the playoffs.

When play resumed, Rose got his record hit but with nothing to play for, the team finished the second half in 4th place. And this is where things started to get a little squirrely. Botched sacrifice bunts, sliders in the dirt, swinging on 3-0, missed signs, failure to move runners over, 0-2 fastballs out over the plate ... All the old familiar booworthy signs of a bad baseball team were back.

But how do you boo the team that ended your 97-year wait for The One Ring? And furthermore, how do you boo the team that had already locked up a playoff berth a few months earlier? You don't, that's how. You sit there for the rest of the season dazed and confused until it all ends in a gloomy five-game Division Series loss to the second half winner, the Montreal Expos. Oh well, at least 1982 will be something resembling normal around here.

Fast forward to 2009 ... And in another case of deja vu all over again, we have another change in left field with Pat Burrell moving on and Raul Ibanez taking his place.

And this season has gotten off to an okay start. The Phillies are in first place in the NL East. Ibanez was having a career year before he landed on the DL. Ryan Howard is still mashing taters but looks a lot better in the field. Jayson Werth can finally lay claim to being a full-time player and a healthy Chase Utley is doing his best impression of a healthy Chase Utley.

Note: It's only fair to credit some of the Phillies current hold on first place to the Mets' injury woes. Carlos Delgado left a huge hole in their lineup. So did Jose Reyes and now Carlos Beltran is out. If those guys are all healthy, then ... Oh, who am I kidding? It's the Mets. I'm loving every minute of this.

Anyway, here's where things are starting to get weird again. You know that place where they handed out those gorgeous World Series rings back in early April? Yeah, the one where they swept all 7 post-season games played there last October? It's called Citizens Bank Park. The home field. Not counting the Nationals, the Phillies have the worst home field record in all of baseball. And the Nats are worse only because they've played (and lost) three more games at home than the Phils. Both teams have just 13 wins at home. Here it is almost July and they've managed to win just 13 games at home.

But that's not all. Oh, no, it's not. These same heroes, the defending champeens and all that, are a tops-in-baseball best 26-12 on the road. Nobody else even comes close to that suitcase record. So let's go to the math. That's a .684 (!) road clip. And a resounding .371 thud at home.

con-fuse (verb), con-fused, con-fus-ing, con-fus-es

To cause to be unable to think with clarity or act with intelligence or understanding.
To cause to feel embarrassment.
To mistake (for another): confused effusiveness with affection.
To make opaque; blur: "The old labels ... confuse debate instead of clarifying it" (Christopher Lasch).
To assemble without order or sense; jumble.

Yep, that pretty much describes it.

An Amazin' Limerick

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:17:33 -0500

There once was a team called the Mets,
Who were more hurt than any team gets.
They just couldn't hit,
Their fielding was s*%t,
To watch them play only upsets...

FB365's Morning Drive 6/29/09

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:19:25 +0000

Grady Sizemore is 6 for 20 since returning from the DL. There may still be time to buy low with owners still worried about a recurrence of his elbow inflammation. I am not incredibly worried about his previous injury. Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus put it this way:

...the medical staff believes that they're beyond the recurrence stage. Bursitis is a painful condition, but once corrected it tends not to recur. It's just the "getting ahead of it" that often takes something like a DL stint or even minor surgery to help.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9075

Aaron Hill keeps on mashing. 19 homeruns now on the year.

Brad Lidge allowed 1 hit (bunt single) and one walk, but did not allow a run to score in his action since landing on the DL. He got the save, but his stuff and control, slider in particular, did not look so sharp.

Tommy Hanson ran the NL East two headed monster this week and came out 2-0. The strikeouts are not there yet, but his stuff looks very good. I don't think he's going to make quite the impact the pre-season hype built up, but he should be a solid option the rest of the way.

Brad Penny matched up fairly well against Hanson, but was struck by the long ball twice (Chipper Jones and Garret Anderson). I'm not a believer in Penny, but maybe Mark from Fantasy Baseball Hot Stove can convince me otherwise.

Zack Greinke gets it done again, though he is clearly not as dominant as when the season started. I would actually be fine with selling high on Greinke for a top-notch hitter right now. After all Greinke did rank number 11 on Razzball's 20 Risky Pitchers for 2009. Also, strikeouts trending down.

Since I said buy low on Wieters he has gone just about o'fer everything. Killing me Matt, killing me.

B.J. Upton had a 5 star day. A homer, stolen base, 2 runs and an RBI. Can you say HUGE second half?

Alexei Ramirez added his 10th homerun of the season yesterday. He now has 10 homeruns and 11 steals. More importantly "The Cuban Missle" has raised his AVG to .267. Ramirez started out very slow last season as well. Does his game rise with the summer heat? I'd buy low to find out.

Brandon Inge hit a game winning homerun off of Jose Valverde. It was Inge's 18th of the season. I have to admit, I sort of liked the guy after his hot start to the season, but I never would have thought he'd be approaching the all-star break with close to 20 bombs. His K/BB rate is pretty much the same as it was last season, but his HR/FB rate is through the roof.

Matt Gamel batted leadoff yesterday. That's interesting if it sticks.

Was this the turning point for Francisco Liriano? Throwing 92-95 with a slider in the high 80's yesterday. I'm still not convinced, though he kept the ball down nicely yesterday. His last two starts have come against National League foes. His next start against the Tigers will be a big one.

Aaron Cook continues to pull a 2008 on us. Despite allowing 9.1 hits per 9 IP and a 1.61 K/BB rate, Cook continues to put the ball on the ground and get outs. Look, at this point you ride em till he bucks ya.

Jaun Rivera: 44.7% owned in ESPN leagues and 43% owned in Yahoo! Leagues. That's up from 5.3% in ESPN and 4% in Yahoo! On June 9th, but still, .305, 12 HR, 41 RBI...Those numbers are scary close to Carlos Lee right now.

I am going to mention Clay Zavada for 2 reasons. 1) He's awesome. 2) Shout out to Dave from Goose Joak for this sweet 1971 Topps retro card upon request.

Jose Lopez is now 8 for 12 in his last 3 games. He should be in for a nice second half.

As I passed along the other day, it looks more and more like Adrian Beltre will not play through the pain much longer.

Matt Kemp was actually able to fight off Juan Castro for the 7th spot in the Dodgers lineup yesterday. He hit his 10th homer of the year. I bet Mitch Kemp would bat higher than Matt Kemp if it were up to Joe Torre.

Francisco Rodriguez had an embarrassing outing last night. He walked three and allowed one hit, but the bases loaded walk to Mariano Rivera was the kicker. Come on Mets fans! I've watched Frankie pull this kind of stuff for years in Anaheim! Consider yourself lucky he hasn't done it more often in 2009.

Luis Castillo has reached base in all but one game since June 22nd. So why not move him (.279 AVG, .375 OBP) to the 8th spot and hand leadoff duties to Daniel Murphy (.248 AVG, .316 OBP)? Can a Mets fan please help me understand the wacky mind of Jerry Manuel?

How about that Chad Gaudin fella? One hit, 9 K in 8 1/3 innings against the slugging, albeit slumping, Rangers offense. His strikeout numbers are huge over his last 3 starts. His next few starts come against NL West foes. Go ahead and ride him out.

Scott Hairston hit his 9th homer of the season. The bottom line with Hairston is that he has the power for sure and his contact rate and plate discipline have shown improvements over last season. His AVG has been helped by a .347 BABIP and should end up closer to .270. The Padres have a bit of a situation on their hands trying to get playing time between Hairston, Gwynn Jr., Headley and Blanks in the outfield. Deeper leagues will find value in Hairston's power, but he may not get enough regular at bats for standard leagues.

Monday's Games of the Day

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:40:00 -0800

Twelve games are scheduled on Monday as we return to intraleague play. The biggest story is Roy Halladay making his return against the Tampa Bay Rays. We also have Boston facing Baltimore with Jon Lester on the hill. The Mets attempt to make their way past the Phillies in the NL East. Also, Albert Pujols and Tim Lincecum face off in St. Louis.

Boston at Baltimore: The Red Sox are 12 games ahead of the Orioles. The O's are 23-18 at home and the Sox are 21-19 on the road. That makes this an even series. What doesn't make the series even is the fact that Boston swept the Orioles in four games earlier this season. Baltimore's Nick Markakis does not hit Jon Lester. Ditto for Luke Scott.

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh: Rich Harden looks to get back on track while Zach Duke goes for his NL-lead tying ninth win of the season. Alfonso Soriano has Duke's number. He hits .517 off Duke with six extra-base hits, including two home runs.

New York Mets at Milwaukee: The Mets can't find a way to get ahead of the Phillies in the NL East. Fernando Nieve is 3-0 and takes the mound for the Mets in Milwaukee.

Rising/Falling: Goin' with McGehee?

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:43:21 +0000

FB365:

The Rising: Casey McGehee - What do we know about this mysterious character from the Brewers farm system? Well, we know he's on fire. McGehee is currently hitting .344 with 4 HR for the Brewers in 96 at bats. He also caries eligibility at 2B and 3B. Is he for real? In a word; no. One glance at his minor league numbers would be about the last time you would do so. In 2577 minor league at bats McGehee hit .279/.31/.409 with 54 HR. This past offseason he was selected off of waivers by the Brewers form the Cubs. What he has done at the Major League level this month is mostly smoke and mirrors. The AVG is being extremely helped by a .394 BABIP as well as his spot in the batting order. Opponents felt they could pitch to him with Braun and Fielder to follow in the order. Once opposing teams find his weakness and exploit it there will be a big fall off in any type of production from McGehee.

The Falling: Juan Pierre - His impact immediately following the Manny Ramirez suspension was nothing short of amazing. However, when Manny returns his fall from fantasy grace will be equally as amazing. Over the last months worth of games for the Dodgers, Pierre has only hit .259 with 9 SB. There is no way he replaces Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier in the lineup anyway. Your chance to sell Pierre for anything at all is nearing its end. Besides, it's not as if he was doing anything different than what Scott Podsednik was doing.

Brett Greenfield, fantasyphenoms.com:

The Rising: Fernando Nieve - With injuries to Oliver Perez and John Maine, the Mets were forced to look for alternatives within their farm system. The 27-year-old Nieve has stepped up and been a savior for a battered Mets team. Fernando has made three starts and currently holds a 1.31 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. In twenty innings he's struck out 13 batters, which isn't terrible. Jerry Manuel has indicated that Nieve will remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Proof that he's been pretty good is in the teams he's faced: The Yankees, The Rays and The Cardinals. He has provided the Mets with a quality start in each of the three starts, has gone at least six innings and has given up fewer than three runs in each. He's still available in many leagues but is worth taking a flier on when you consider the ballpark he'll be pitching in and the potential offense behind him once healthy.

The Falling: Kelly Johnson - The Braves' second baseman was drafted in all leagues likely as a middle infielder and in some, a starting second baseman. Currently batting .215, Kelly has been dropped in many leagues. Among regulars, Johnson has the fewest base hits in the month of June. He's nine for 69 and sporting a .130 AVG. He's yet to homer and has only three extra base hits this month, all being doubles. With such a low AVG and lack of walks, comes few opportunities to score runs or drive them in. Johnson has rendered himself useless and is landing on many waiver wires across the nation.

MLB Notebook Looking for Part Time Writers

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:40:00 -0800

This is an official announcement for MLB Notebook:

MLB Notebook is looking for Part Time writers. I can't put a number on how many we are hoping to add, because if we get 10 really great writers that apply, I will be tempted to add them all. Here are some details on what being a Part Time writer is all about:

2-3 Posts a week - Could be more if you have the drive to do it, but we only expect 2 each week.
Love of baseball - If you don't love the game, we don't love you.
Writing Experience - We would prefer to add writers who have a proven body of work.
Volunteer - Technically this is a volunteer gig, because we have no real money to pay anyone. However, this could change depending on site revenue. But, even though you aren't being paid, the exposure you get here is beneficial.

This gig is great for someone who writes about a single team for another site (like Ricky does), and wants a place to write about other teams and baseball in general.

If you are interested please contact Zach via email: sportsnotebook@gmail.com

Heyman: Cliff Lee, Holliday, DeRosa, Pujols

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:45:00 -0800

Jon Heyman has some valuable information in his article today:

The Indians have started to take calls regarding Cliff Lee, but GM Mark Shapiro says a deal is "unlikely to almost impossible."
Matt Holliday's $13.5 MM salary makes it difficult for him to be traded without the A's chipping in some cash. And chances are that won't happen unless the prospects they get back are great. The Braves, Mets, Giants and Cardinals could all be in on the Holliday sweepstakes.
Mark DeRosa makes sense for the Cards, and the Mets, Giants, Braves, Cubs and Tigers should go after him.
Albert Pujols has only one hit this year with two outs and a runner in scoring position. Nick Evans got two in two days for the Mets.

Thoughts:

Cliff Lee should be dealt to the NL soon, but they are probably asking for too much in return.
As Jonathan mentioned, Holliday won't be an A in 2010, so it just comes to down to a trade or letting him walk for picks. My guess is he's dealt, and the Braves make a load of sense. Hell, maybe Beane is a Francouer fan?
DeRosa will be dealt, it's just a matter of when and where.
Stop throwing out situational statistics for Albert. He is the best hitter in baseball, and has 25 walks this year in the same situation. He gets the job done.