Ballpark Travel

Credit is due to fans for getting this vote right. I previously argued that voting for the all-star game was a hoax and that fans seem to always get the vote wrong. I still argue that several starters on each team are not top performers at their position (Kevin Youkilis , Dustin Pedroia , Giovanni Soto, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro for instance are not having seasons that earned them starting spots), but I am so pleased by the final roster spot that I am willing to call it a wash and maintain my average amount of disdain for the game that apparently still counts thanks to the marketing folks at FOX. Today, Major League Baseball announced that Corey Hart and Evan Longoria were voted into the all star game with the final vote spot. Perhaps this is because no Red Sox or Cubs players were represented in the voting, but nonetheless, these were the most deserving players. Longoria has largely carried the Rays offense with clutch hits and constant contribution in his first two months of h...

The first year of the Dayton Moore tenure in Kansas City, I applauded many of the small micro-management decisions he was making and was immediately excited to see that franchise begin to grow out of decades of failure. For example, as soon as Moore departed Atlanta for Kansas City, he significantly expanded the baseball operations department in the front office. He also acquired my favorite pitcher and future pitching coach, Brian Bannister, for next to nothing. Now I have begun to worry about whether or not Moore will be able to get the Royals out of the cellar for another couple of years. I looked at that roster this afternoon, and unless Royals owner David Glass continues to be committed to putting money into his franchise and the Royals can successfully lure talent to the mid-western city, things are not looking up. Presently, the Royals have to address improvements at catcher (John Buck/Miguel Olivo ), first-base (Ross Gload ), shortstop (Mike Aviles /Tony Pena Jr.) and left-fie...

Anytime that Billy Beane has made a trade over the past couple of years, it becomes just a matter of time until the players that Oakland acquires become integral parts to the A's. Today the Chicago Cubs traded RHP Sean Gallagher, OF Matt Murton , OF Eric Patterson and C Josh Donaldson to the A's for RHP Rich Harden and RHP Chad Gaudin . The time that it takes for Gallagher, Murton and Patterson to have an impact on the A's will be immediate. Each of those three players have been stuck behind the bloated contracts that the Cubs starting 9 plus rotation boasts. None of these players strike me as future superstars, though Gallagher may peak out as a #2 starter, and both Murton and Patterson possess varying abilities. Murton is a gap hitter and an OBP guy that may top out as a Raul Ibanez type, getting a late start and potentially becoming a solid RBI guy down the road. Patterson is the younger sibling of Reds outfielder Corey Patterson and exhibits many of the same ...

Despite my original hesitance about teams acquiring the big lefty, I must say bravo! Doug Melvin and the Brewers front office staff has really positioned this team to be a heavy favorite to potentially make a deep run into the 2008 postseason for a team that has been out of the postseason since 1982. To end a 25 year drought, this would be a team that now features two dominant ace starting pitchers at the top of their rotation in Ben Sheets and now Sabathia, as well as ample young talent. While their bullpen has been shaky all season, this is a team that is capable of going very far. There is potential to see Sheets and Sabathia twice in a short series, teams will have a hard time taking two games from that combination. I have changed my opinion on acquiring Sabathia for one major reason: the Brewers did not have to give up a huge package to get him. I figured that the Brewers would have to give up two or even three of their top prospects and LaPorta is really the only potential futur...

This past week marked the halfway point for all teams. Now that we are over the hump, I would like to give some mid-season recognition to teams. American League Best Team - The Tampa Bay Rays After sweeping the Red Sox and nearly sweeping a 4 game set against the Royals, the Rays are a commanding 4.5 games up on the Red Sox and possess the best record in Major League Baseball. This team is not the best team on paper and still has not received the best performances from many of their offensive contributors such as BJ Upton, Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. They can pitch and I fully expect the Rays to be within striking distance for the rest of the season. While I doubt that they will be atop the AL East at the end of the season, things are starting to really roll in their direction after a five game swing in the last eight days. MVP - Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers While making nearly the league minimum, this is another wonderful story that has made 2008 such a great baseball season. ...

While there still is no solidified ground as to what address CC Sabathia will be playing his baseball in over the next month, there has been enough press to know that he could be on the move. I wanted to quickly discuss my thoughts of trading for Sabathia . I think that if you are a team that is a World Series contender right now (Cubs, Angels, Red Sox , Rays) then adding Sabathia may have some merit, because he would no doubt put those teams at a decided advantage looking towards October. If it is a marginally competitive team that needs starting pitching (Yankees, Mets , most everyone in the NL East or NL West) then I argue that this trade does not make sense. Sabathia is more than likely going to become a free agent at the end of the season which will give Cleveland two draft picks in the compensation rounds of the amateur draft because of his status as a Type-A free agent. This means that if Cleveland is going to trade him, they are going to seek a value higher than the two dr...

In August of 2005, Jeff Francoeur was put on the cover of Sports Illustrated after a torrid start, it was one of the most amazing starts to a career and his month-long streak was far more impressive than what Jay Bruce did in the first week of his big league career. “The Natural” was the title given to him by the popular sports magazine and the baseball community silently gave him the title shared by Charles Dickens’s classic Great Expectations. Closing in on three years later, Francoeur line is: (.239, 8, 41); inspiring attention in a very different way. I will take my turn at explaining what is up with Francoeur in two ways: It is important to remember that outside of the first month of his career, Francoeur has not been the type of hitter that Fred McGriff would endorse. He does not work counts well, he is inconsistent with all aspects of the game, yet still the guy has a great deal of potential and I think everyone can see that. Players that do not work counts well generally will b...