This past Friday, Nick wrote a post with the simple premise – if you can cut one person from each team in the National League, who would it be? And people got angry. Very, very angry. They called us names. They said that it was “the most pointless story I’ve ever read” and “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read” and other “I’ve ever read” type comments. But they also said that “David Eckstein makes pitchers work so hard to get him out, that alone has value”. So we stopped paying attention after that.

Naturally, we’re back for more with the same premise applied to the American League. And if any of you brings up “leadership” as a reason Player X ought to stay, I swear to god, I will go back to my room in my mother’s basement, create an Everquest character that looks like you and destroy it.

Texas Rangers – Vicente Padilla: Starting off with an easy one here. From the moment the Rangers re-signed Padilla to a 3 year deal worth $33.75MM deal prior to the ‘07 season, it really was only a matter of time until this would end badly. In addition to posting poor numbers overall in Arlington, he’s had a poor reputation behind the scenes for years. The process for cutting him may have already started as the club put him on waivers this past week.

The Angels of The Angels  – Gary Matthews, Jr: Every time Matthews puts on a uniform, the Angels’ chances of winning seem to decrease. Another poor signing from the ‘06-’07 off season, Little Sarge has since posted a line of .248/.319/.386, which would be awful for a catcher, let alone for an OFer with a $50MM contract. If that weren’t bad enough, Matthews is also a sub-par defensive player, which should really make you wonder why the Angels haven’t cut the cord yet.

Seattle Mariners – Yuniesky Betancourt: When you have a starting shortstop who can’t hit, you tout his defense. When you have a shortstop who can’t hit or field, you have a big problem. Not only has Betancourt posted a .302 OBP in his career with little to no pop, he has also had a negative UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) over that span. At 27 years old, we’ve already got a very good idea as to what kind of arc his career will take, and that arc is pretty damned flat.

Oakland A’s – Eric Chavez: It’s always sad when promising careers get derailed by injuries. But it’s worse when it drags on. Chavez has been off the field more than actually on it since 2007 and even when healthy enough to play, his performance has been on the decline since 2005. Having admitted that one more back injury would end his career, it’d be a great story if he were to show that he’s not done yet. Chavez is determined to do so, but one has to wonder if that’s actually in his best interest long term. I’m obviously not in a position to tell a player – especially one that’s only 31 years old – to walk away forever. But as a human being, I would hate to see his condition worsen and I fear that a return to the field will cause just that.

Detroit Tigers – Magglio Ordonez: If you consider this one to be heartless, I can’t really blame you since this is entirely driven by money. Magglio’s contract states that if he makes 213 more trips to the plate this year, his 2010 option worth $18MM becomes guaranteed (there’s a similar option for 2011). At this point in his career, Ordonez is not an $18MM player, nor is he all that close to that. His power is nowhere to be seen as he’s been unable to hit the ball into the air (56% of his batted balls have been grounders). I’m sure that the Players Association lawyers would have a field day with this cut though. Luckily enough, I don’t have to deal with such things (why can’t GMs cut players for financial reasons? I don’t get it).

Minnesota Twins – Alexi Casilla: While neither should be given a bat, both Carlos Gomez and Nick Punto at least have value as defensive replacements. And it’s probably too early to give up on a talent like Delmon Young, who really needs to learn how take ball four. But Casilla? The man has logged over 800 ABs in AAA and AA, during which time he has shown that neither his bat nor his glove is good enough to compensate for the other. His biggest asset as a minor league player was his ability to take a walk (which wasn’t exactly eye-popping to begin with). But thus far in his MLB career, Casilla has only gotten on base 30% of the time while slugging .318. Unless you’re saving dozens of runs with the glove, it’s impossible to swallow that. Sure, he’s still cheap. But there are better options out there for the same cost.

Chicago White Sox – Jimmy Gobble: Gobble has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons thus far in his career and his ERA in those years reads thusly: 4.61, 5.35, 5.70, 5.14, 3.02, 8.81, and 7.00 (so far in ‘09). Them’s ain’t pretty. Presumably, he keeps finding work because he’s a lefty. Problem is, lefties have a line of .266/.323/.460 against him so he’s not even useful against them. So I ask you, why does this man have a job? And for the record, I could have also picked anyone who has logged an inning in CF this year for the South Siders. But I’d be damned if I could pick one.

Kansas City Royals – Jose Guillen: I really could’ve put every Royal who’s 26 years old or over (not named Gil) into a hat for this one. Sidney Ponson? Absolutely. David DeJesus? If the man did not bat lefty, he may not have a job in baseball (kids, learn how to bat from the left side). And while I’m no Mike Jacobs fan (and Kila Ka’aihue is clearly more than ready to replace him as DH), he could at least serve as a cheap power bat off the bench.  Guillen, however, is by far the highest-paid hitter on the team and puts up numbers that simply aren’t good enough to let you ignore the headaches he causes within the clubhouse. And while he’ll continue to be among the top RBI guys on the Royals (which says more about the Royals lineup than it does Guilen) due primarily to his spot in the batting order, his glove gives up as many runs as his bat creates. If I were a Royals player, I’d probably resent the fact that the highest paid guy doesn’t offer much in terms of production nor seems to give a rat’s ass.

Cleveland Indians – Jeremy Sowers: In Single-A, Sowers struck out an impressive 9.5 batters per 9 innings pitched. In AA, that number dropped to a still-respectable 7.7. In AAA, down to a slightly worrisome 5.8. Notice a trend here? Then it really should come as no surprise that in the Majors, Sowers is striking out merely 4.1/9IP in the 300+ innings he’s logged. When you miss so few bats, batted balls tend to find the outfield grass more often (or worse). He had success in his rookie year winning 7 out of his 14 starts to go along with a 3.57 ERA. But his peripherals were poor (3.6 K/9IP, .259 BABiP), and therefore no one should be surprised to learn that his career ERA has been trending down ever since. Sowers just doesn’t seem to have the stuff to consistently get guys out at the big league level. And Cleveland would be better off giving someone else – anyone else – a start in his place.

Boston Red Sox – Julio Lugo: Take it away, Sarah Green!

New York Yankees – Angel Berroa: If you’re a SS, one good season buys you a career of job security as a utility infielder. Back in 2003, Berroa popped 17 dingers and has been living off that accomplishment ever since. Problem is, the man seems to have no idea how to play 3rd base, where the Yankees have been using him as a backup. Lord knows that you’re not keeping the guy around for his offense (career weighted-OBP of .297). So if he can’t do the job you’re asking him to do, why are you keeping him around at all?

Toronto Blue Jays – Kevin Millar: I initially had Vernon Wells here, but  after posting great numbers upon his return from a hamstring injury last August, he deserves a chance to prove once again that he’s not done (though moving him to LF IMMEDIATELY is a good idea). So I decided to go with a less controversial pick in Millar, a guy who looks to be about done at the age of 37. Sure, he may be entertaining in the clubhouse, but so’s the equipment manager (see enough jockstraps and I’m sure you develop a sense of humor). Millar’s defense is not nearly good enough to justify using him as a defensive replacement, nor is his bat useful enough as a pinch hitter. I’m sure it’s not easy to cut guys you like as human beings. But the point of the game is to win and Millar doesn’t help you accomplish that goal.

Tampa Bay Rays – Troy Percival: With a fastball that barely hits 90-91 mphs these days, Percival’s days as a reliable reliever are gone. In his younger years, his teams could live with him walking roughly 4 batters per nine innings because he struck out so many more. Nowadays, that’s getting harder and harder as his body begins to break down (Now go back and reread this paragraph replacing Percival’s name with Jason Isringhausen’s. Still makes perfect sense).

Baltimore Orioles – Mark Hendrickson: Centuries from now, when historians discover that there used to be a sport called “baseball” (and that there used to be something called “land”, but that’s another topic), I’d like to think that they’ll stumble across Hendrickson’s career numbers and immediately think “Holy %(*@ing mother of God! How the ^!#* did this guy keep finding teams willing to pay him &*($-loads of money?” With Scott Elarton still unsigned, Hendrickson has the highest career ERA (5.10) of any active pitcher who has logged over 800 innings or made 125+ starts. And the NBA community is forever left wondering how good this career 41.6% shooter could have been… (Here’s a hint. Not very.)

Ya got any problems with these, punk? Well, do ya? That’s what the comments section is for. Just remember. I can annihilate you in Everquest.

The White Sox started 2009 with DeWayne Wise playing centerfield. That didn’t work, so the Sox tried Jerry Owens. And when Owens didn’t pan out, Chicago went to Plan C: Scott Podsednik.

For years, the team’s centerfield carousel has been a source of frustration. The Sox haven’t enjoyed a full season of CF goodness since 2004, when Aaron Rowand roamed the middle outfield grass. Since then, in addition to Owens, Podsednik and Wise, they’ve tried Nook Logan, Nick Swisher and Brian Anderson.

The White Sox aren’t the only organization who have struggled to fill a specific position. Far from it.

Let’s take a look at some other organizations and their positions of futility:

Braves (LF): This winter, the Braves signed Garret Anderson to play left field. So far, Anderson has hit .191 with 6 runs and 4 RBI in 16 games. Before Anderson came along the Braves went with a Matt Diaz/other guy platoon in left, and before that Kelly Johnson got a shot, and before that…well whaddya know! Dewayne Wise played a little left for Atlanta in 2004. You have to go back to 2003, when Chipper “Don’t call me Hoss” Jones played there, to find a decent full-time LF in Atlanta.

Red Sox (SS): For the better part of nine seasons the Red Sox had an elite shortstop. His name was Nomar. In 2004 the Sox traded Nomar to the Cubs, and then Boston won its first World Series in nearly 90 years. But they haven’t had a good shortstop since. In fact, they’ve had the opposite of a good shortstop — Julio Lugo.

Royals (1B): It seems they’ve had plenty of opportunities to fill the position with somebody capable, but have instead insisted on the likes of Ross Gload and Mike Jacobs. Kansas City hasn’t had a really good 1B since the 2002 version of Mike Sweeney.

Mariners (DH): For a while, the M’s had the best DH — Mr. Edgar Martinez. Since Edgar’s departure, the Mariners have filled the position with a cast of lesser beings, bottoming out with Jose Vidro in 2007-2008.

Tigers (LF): The Tigers suffered through several seasons of Craig Monroe and his consistently sub-.300 OBP. They really haven’t had even a decent LF since Bobby Higginson in 2001.

Giants (1B): Since JT Snow left after 2005, it’s been a total black hole with a parade of incompetents like Lance Niekro, Rich Aurelia, Shea Hillenbrand, post-steroids Ryan Klesko (a mere 6 homers in ‘07), John Bowker, and now Travis Ishikawa.

Can you think of any positions of futility that we missed? Let us know in the comments section.

Here’s a move I never saw coming, if only because he is sitting on 499 homers and has a guaranteed $14 million contract this year, but the Tigers went ahead and released Gary Sheffield.

On one hand this is so strange, because teams never ever release guys on the eve of these kinds of milestones, do they?  Especially when they are going to have to cough up all that money either way, right?  But maybe it just speaks to how much some of these milestones have been tarnished by the steroid era. Even pitching ones, maybe, now that we have Roger Clemens. After all, the Diamondbacks just let Randy Johnson walk despite his desire to return and his being still good and only five wins away from 300.

I’m actually going to say that I think this deal is good for both the Tigers and Sheffield. Kudos to Detroit for recognizing that as a team with a legitimate shot at contention this year, they need to put the best team on the field from day one, regardless of milestones and any other sentimental garbage, and that that team no longer includes a 40-year old Sheffield who hit .247 in his two seasons with the Tigers and has been wracked by injuries.

At the same time, this is a great chance for Sheffield to hook on with a team that might actually give him some playing time. The Tigers’ trade for outfielder Josh Anderson this week really left Sheffield nowhere to go except riding the pine and occasionally DHing.

Although Sheffield has aged rapidly in the past two years, he still has some batspeed left when healthy, and at the major league minimum he represents a good gamble for some team in need of a right-handed stick.

This is one of a series of posts in which we castigate each team for their offseason blunders and praise them for their wily maneuvers.

One year ago the Detroit Tigers were being praised far and wide, having made headline-grabbing trades for Edgar Renteria, Miguel Cabrera, and Dontrelle Willis, and many prognosticators were predicting a return to the World Series.

Cabrera led the AL with 37 homers.

One of the few to disagree however, was UmpBump’s own Sarah Green, who presciently pointed out that the Tigers had not done enough to shore up their weak pitching. Sure enough, the Tigers pitching staff imploded last year, both in the rotation and the bullpen, and Detroit finished last in the AL Central with a woeful 74-88 record.

Compounding Detroit’s problems heading into the offseason, years of poor drafts, type-A free agent signings, and last years trades had gutted the farm system, which is presently among the most barren in the majors, meaning that a rebuilding project would be unlikely to bear fruit for several years at best. At the same time, Detroit already had the third highest payroll in the majors, at $138 million, meaning that doubling down with more pricey free agents was also out of the question. This meant that the only course open to the Tigers this winter was to try to retool by tinkering with the parts they already had.

All was not lost however. Just as the Detroit staff was not nearly as good as they looked in 2006, they are also not nearly as bad as they looked this past season. Moreover, while the AL Central is filled with several good teams, there is no particularly great team, meaning that 86 or 87 wins could be enough to win, and given that the Tigers’ Pythagorean record actually suggested they were good enough to win 78 games last year, they are not that far from contention.

Perhaps more importantly, the Tigers still have a strong core on offense, having ranked 4th in the AL in runs scored last season. What killed them last year was the aforementioned pitching, and maybe even more so, an atrocious defense, 24th in the majors in defensive efficiency, which made the pitchers look even worse than they actually were.

Not surprisingly then, the Tigers focused on pitching and defense this offseason, and in a series of crafty moves, significantly improved both. First, they announced that Carlos Guillen would be permanently moved to left field for the 2009 season. This allows iron-gloved Miguel Cabrera to settle in at first base, where his defensive deficiencies can be most effectively minimized, and also allows Brandon Inge, a superior defender, to return from to third base from catcher, with catching duties now falling into the league-average hands of Gerald Laird, who was acquired from the Rangers for a couple of fringy minor leaguers, and backed up by free agent signee Matt Treanor and his hot baseball wife Misty May.

The Tigers now had a glut of outfielders, so they shipped Matt Joyce to the Rays for Edwin Jackson, a reasonable facsimile of a no. 3 starter. They also let Edgar Renteria, a disappointment both at the plate and in the field last season, to go to the Giants as a free agent, signing all-glove no-bat Adam Everett to replace him.

Finally, the Tigers went out and used what little cash they had available to bring in Brandon Lyon as their new closer, allowing Fernando Rodney to shift back to the 8th inning where he seems much more comfortable.

Essentially, what the Tigers have done, in other words, is cashed in some of their area of strength – hitting – in exchange for improving their areas of weakness – defense and pitching.

If they wish to have a shot at contention, the Tigers are still going to need some of their pitchers to bounce back – Rodney, Joel Zumaya, and Jeremy Bonderman from injury, Justin Verlander from mysterious mediocrity, Willis from bewildering wildness, Nate Robertson from total and utter suckage – but the good news is that it seems likely that at least some of these bouncebacks will happen, and that just might be enough.

Overall, the Tigers are looking much better heading into 2009 than they did at the end of last season. The emergence of Armando Galarraga, the surprising late-season surge of Zach Miner, and the offseason addition of Edwin Jackson mean that the Tigers are no longer heavily relying on contributions from Willis and Robertson, so any contributions they can make would be bonuses.

Dave Dombrowski and company have done a reasonably good job this offseason to retool the squad from within the constraints that they themselves had constructed. No question that Adam Everett is going to be a black hole on offense, but he is a wizard with the glove, and will make his pitchers better. And while Brandon Lyon is not exactly a bullpen ace, he will certainly be better than Todd Jones/Fernando Rodney, especially if pitches like he did the first half of last year (2.43 ERA). Run production should still be fairly strong overall, but run prevention should be significantly improved.

Offseason Grade: B+

Acquisitions: Edwin Jackson, Gerald Laird, Brandon Lyon, Adam Everett, Matt Treanor

Losses: Matt Joyce, Edgar Renteria, Kyle Farnsworth, Kenny Rogers, Freddy Garcia

Projected Lineup, Rotation, and Closer:

CF Curtis Granderson
2B Placido Polanco
LF Carlos Guillen
RF Magglio Ordonez
1B Miguel Cabrera
DH Gary Sheffield/Marcus Thames
3B Brandon Inge
C Gerald Laird
SS Adam Everett

SP1 Justin Verlander
SP2 Jeremy Bonderman
SP3 Edwin Jackson
SP4 Armando Galarraga
SP5 Zach Miner/Nate Robertson/Dontrelle Willis

CL Brandon Lyon

- Hot Offseason Action Index -

Detroit had a good offense this year — they were fourth in runs scored, second in homers, and third in OPS. But they were in the bottom five in the league in pretty much every pitching category — runs allowed, opponents’ batting average, strikeouts, ERA, walks. They were also in the bottom five in defensive efficiency and fielding percentage.

So the Tigers actually have two problems: their pitchers are clogging up the basepaths with walks and hits, but their fielders are exacerbating the problem by not getting to balls in play, and mishandling them when they do.

Oof.

Irritatingly, the Tigers thought they fixed this problem last offseason, when they sent Gorkys Hernandez and Jair Jurrjens to Atlanta for Edgar Renteria — this was designed to let them move creaky Carlos Guillen out of shortstop, thus upgrading their defense, while also providing a boost to their offense. They followed this up with a move designed to upgrade both their offense and their pitching, sending six prospects to Florida for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. The six? Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Mike Rabelo, Burke Badenhop, Eulogio De La Cruz, and Dallas Trahern. Eight prospects dealt and not even a playoff berth to show for it. Not even close.

One problem? The Tigers took back with one hand what they gave with the other; yes, moving Carlos Guillen was vital. But no sooner had they upgraded their defense there, than they acquired Cabrera, whose terrible defense presented manager Jim Leyland with but one of many headaches: where do you put Guillen and Cabrera on the same infield?

And to add insult to injury, Jurrjens finished the year with a totally respectable 3.68 ERA in 31 starts and 188 and a third innings. The Tigers would have felt lucky to have such a performance from Dontrelle Willis, who went a grand total of 24 innings and finished the year with an ERA of 9.38. Ouchie.

So now, unfortunately, the Tigers find themselves right back in the same position they found themselves in at the end of last season — except this time, their farm system is depleted and their veterans are another year older. What to do now?

Well, they could use a catcher. A couple of starting pitchers. A shortstop. And pretty much an entire bullpen. No biggie, right?

The Tigers can choose to trade their remaining prospects and hope their veterans bounce back. If that happens — especially if they can get the pitching they need — they could make a run at a playoff spot in 2009. A Rafael Furcal here…a Miguel Montero there…maybe a Trevor Hoffman or Brandon Lyon or Darren Oliver over there…it could happen.

But I think they’re better off looking towards 2011. Trade Magglio Ordonez. Dump salary. Hold a fire sale and pick up as many prospects as possible.

The best time to do that may not be now — I could see Ordonez actually commanding a higher price at the July deadline. And who knows? If they take a wait-and-see approach and things click in the first couple of months of the season, the Tigers could decide to keep Maggs and make a run. But to do that, they’ll need to get creative and find cheap ways to plug their (many) holes now.

-What They Need index-

When word went out yesterday that The Gambler had been shut down for the season, I assumed there was a health issue. After all, he will be 44 in November.

But then I read this:

Leyland didn’t go into any specific reason to shut down the 43-year-old Rogers, although he did say that Rogers was fine physically.

My eyes narrowed in suspcion. The mental wheels turned. But I came up with nuthin’. So color me shocked today to read this:

Kenny Rogers said Tuesday it was his suggestion to come out of the rotation for the rest of the season so the Tigers could evaluate other starting pitchers.

“I told Skip (Jim Leyland) that I didn’t want him to feel like he had to start me anymore,” Rogers said. “I don’t want starts unless I’ve earned them, and the last thing I’m going to do is stand in the way of some development of a younger kid who needs a game or two that could give the information to Skip and the Tigers to have a better read on him.”

And actually, considering that his contract is up at the end of the season and that he’s given up 25 earned runs in 18 and two-thirds innings over his last four starts, he’s either ridiculously selfless—helping the ballclub at the expense of trying to re-establish any sort of free-agent value for himself—or completely demoralized and thinking of hanging up his spikes for good.

Or maybe both.

I’m still not sure what to think. Guys?

Hot dag, yo, are we the only sports blog not banned in China? Or are we in fact banned in China and we just don’t know it?

That is one looong cup of coffee: it had been 21years in between minor league starts for Tom Glavine when he took the hill for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Sitting Andre Ethier in favor of Juan Pierre: not necessarily the worst decision ever.

If you could be pals with an athlete, would you pick Ryan Spilborghs? I would pick Tim Wakefield, so we could all go bowhunting together.

CJ Wilson’s not making any new friends.

Boston’s playoff odds are a little bit longer, post-deadline. But they get a little bit shorter if Joba keeps hurting.

The Tigers: Now Open 24 Hours. (Because they never close.)

ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the New York Yankees have filled their vacant catcher’s spot by trading reliever Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for Pudge Rodriguez.

It’s fairly obvious why the Yankees would do this. Without the injured Jorge Posada for the rest of the season, the team would have been relying on Jose Molina to get way too many at-bats between now and October. Molina has an OPS of .586 and a negative offensive Win Share of -1.4 so far in 2008 and that just won’t do for anyone, let alone the vaunted Yankees.

Pudge is having a decent bounce back year after posting a horrid .294 OBP last season. While he won’t match the offensive output that a healthy Posada can achieve, the new Yank is a defensive upgrade and can still hold his own at the plate.

But my initial reaction was why Detroit would do this. Upon a bit more reflection, I’m thinking that this makes some sense. Make no mistake, the Tigers are not throwing in the towel and this is not a salary dump. GM Dave Dombrowski loves a good bullpen power arm, and with the uncertainty surrounding the health of flamethrowers Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney, coupled with the ineffectiveness of Todd Jones, Dombrowski pulled the trigger to bolster their troubled pen.

Farnsworth’s fastball regularly clocks in around 95-96 mph, and he also has a slider that he uses when he’s ahead of the count. His main problem this year has been the long ball, giving up 11 in just over 44 innings. Ouch. When it first opened in 2000, Comerica Park was known as a hard place to hit homeruns, but this has actually reversed itself over the past couple seasons. So we’ll have to see if Farnsworth will have better luck avoiding the dinger in Detroit. This does not, however, solve their problem of relying heavily on closer Todd Jones. The righty Farnsworth will probably take the innings that used to be thrown by Rodney, who sports a 5.40 ERA.

At this point this is merely speculation, but I’m assuming that Brandon Inge is going to take over regular catching duties for the Tigers unless there’s another trade up Detroit’s sleeve within the next day. Inge is a far better defensive player at third base than he is behind the plate, but he is serviceable. Offensively, he’s not that much worse than Pudge although he does strikeout a ton.  So the Tigers upgrade their bullpen, downgrade their backstop defense, and take a small step back offensively.

And who’s going to fill the set-up role that Farnsworth is vacating in the Bronx? Good question. Unless they call up a lefty from Scranton, I don’t think it’s going to be Damaso Marte who was acquired along with Xavier Nady just a few days ago because he’s currently the only southpaw in the Yankees pen. Perhaps it will be Edwar Ramirez or Jose Veras, both of whom have become big parts of the relief corps in 2008 despite their relative lack of experience at the big league level.

Both Farnsworth and Rodriguez are free agents at the end of the season as well, so although the Yankees take on the bigger contract (prorated), it’s nearly a wash financially considering the Yankees’ resources.

I like this deal more from the NY perspective than I do Detroit’s, but at least it’s something that makes sense for the Tigers as well.

Note: It’s been brought to my attention by a little thing called “research” that techincially, Jones was deposed as closer by Rodney a few days ago. This doesn’t affect the evaluation or anything, but just in case someone wants to cause an uproar over the error, I’m doing it for you.