Paul Molitor Gets Hit Number 3000 on September 16, 1996

On this day in Baseball History September 16, 1996: Three years to the day when Dave Winfield hit his 3000th hit, Paul Molitor of the Minnesota Twins becomes the first member of the 3000th hit club to do so by hitting a triple in the top of the fifth innings against pitcher Jose Rosado of Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City. In doing so, Molitor became the 21st member of the 3,000 hit club. The boxscore of the September 16, 1996 game between the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals is from The 3,000 Hit Club exhibit of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Here is the 3,000 hit club at the time Molitor joined the club:

1. Unknown Cap Anson
2. 06/09/1914 Honus Wagner
3. 09/27/1914 Nap Lajoie (first game of the doubleheader)
4. 08/19/1921 Ty Cobb (second game of the doubleheader)
5. 05/17/1925 Tris Speaker
6. 06/03/1925 Eddie Collins
7. 06/19/1942 Paul Waner
8. 05/13/1958 Stan Musial
9. 05/17/1970 Hank Aaron (second game of the doubleheader)
10. 07/18/1970 Willie Mays
11. 09/30/1972 Roberto Clemente
12. 09/24/1974 Al Kaline
13. 05/05/1978 Pete Rose
14. 08/13/1979 Lou Brock
15. 09/12/1979 Carl Yastrzemski
16. 08/04/1985 Rod Carew
17. 09/09/1992 Robin Yount
18. 09/30/1992 George Brett
19. 09/16/1993 Dave Winfield
20. 06/30/1995 Eddie Murray

Molitor would finish his career with 3,319 hits and currently sits at number ten on the All-Time hit list. Molitor would retire after the 1998 season and would be inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 with 85.2% of the vote (431/506 ballots).

Molitor would join long time teammate Robin Yount both on the 3,000 hits club and in the Hall of Fame. Yount joined the 3,000 hit club in 1992 and the Hall of Fame in 1999.

According to pages 128-129 of the book The 50 Most Dynamic Duos in Sports History: Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey (2012) by Robert W. Cohen:

In their 15 years of teammates, Yount and Molitor combined for 4,736 hits and 2,605 runs scored. Those 4,736 hits represent the third-highest total even compiled by two teammates (Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke amassed 5,279 hits for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1987-1915 and Paul and Lloyd Waner tallied 4,994 safeties for that same franchise from 1927-1940). Between them Yount and Molitor appeared in a total of eight All-Star Games as members of the Brewers. They placed in the league's top five in runs scored a total of eight times and finished in the top five in hits a total of 10 times.

Will we ever see a pair of teammates come up virtually at the same time and put up the consistent numbers that Robin Yount and Paul Molitor did for 15 season? Its hard to say with the way free agency and player trades work today. I guess we will have to wait and see if that can happen within the next generation of young players coming up in the league.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:

- Click here to access Paul Molitor's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access Robin Yount's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Rickey Henderson Passes Lou Brock With His 119th Stolen Base August 27, 1982

On this day in Baseball history August 27, 1982: Oakland A's speedster Rickey Henderson steals second base on a pitchout against Milwaukee Brewers starter Doc Medich to pass Lou Brock on the single season stolen base list. Brock set his career high of 118 stolen bases in 1974. By the time the game was over, Henderson would steal four bases giving him 122 for the season. Rickey would finish the season with 130 stolen bases.

And here is where things get a little murky.

I grew up thinking that with Rickey Henderson's 119th stolen base, he became the single season stolen base leader. Getting a total of 130 steals for the 1982 season would be the benchmark that many players would have a hard time matching let alone eclipsing. Now, I'm going to ask that you go to either the MLB.com page for the Single Season Stolen Base Record or the Baseball Reference.com page for the Single Season Stolen Base Record. Who do you see listed at number 1 on that list. In case you don't want to check out the links, here are a few screenshots

Ok. Still don't believe what you see? Here's one more screenshot, this one from the Baseball Almanac.com Single Season Stolen Base list:

Some of you out there are thinking to yourselves: Who the hell is Hugh Nicol. High Nicol played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the old American Association (AA). The AA played alongside the National League from 1882-1891 before merging with the National League. Four National League franchises have roots in the old AA: Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The article American Association remembered: MLB celebrates impact of the 'Beer and Whiskey League' by Mark Sheldon from MLB.com dated May 2, 2007 states the following which might clarify things a bit:

Only the Cubs and Braves have been continuously in the National League since its 1876 founding. The Reds, Cardinals and Pirates remain NL Central Division foes and have one of sport's longest-lasting rivalries. The Dodgers, who were formed in 1884 as the Atlantics, also started in the American Association. Like the Reds, Brooklyn joined the National League for the 1890 season.

"All of these teams have their roots in the American Association," Nemec said. "Really, the National League actually has stronger roots in the American Association in some ways than it does National League roots."

Eventually, the American Association was recognized as a full-fledged Major League and all of its players' statistics and career highlights are counted accordingly in the annals of Major League history.

So there in is the A-HA!!! moment. The AA and their statistics are recognized by MLB as being accumulated as a Major League. In addition to the AA, the Federal League (1914-1915), the Players League (1890) and the Union Association (1884) are all recognized as being a Major League. The question I have is when were the statistics of the AA formally recognized by MLB.

I sent a tweet to Mr. John Thorn who is the official historian for MLB. Here is what he said:

@BaseballSisco 1968-69 Special Baseball Records Committee ruling. But this only affirmed a view of long standing.
— John Thorn (@thorn_john) August 27, 2014

My other question to Mr. Thorn was concerning the treatment of the AA's statistics as being "Pre-Modern" in the context of today's "Modern" stats:

.@BaseballSisco Not a valuable distinction. When does one such period end and the other begin?
— John Thorn (@thorn_john) August 27, 2014

.@BaseballSisco MLB's official position is that its history and its records run seamlessly from 1876 to the present.
— John Thorn (@thorn_john) August 27, 2014

That makes perfect sense. I'm sure there will be fans that will dispute this and say that Rickey Henderson is the single season stolen bases record holder and not Hugh Nicol who played for the American Association back in the 1880's. If so, then what can you do. Based on MLB's position in terms of its history and the fact MLB has Rickey as number two on the list behind Hugh Nicol then who am I to argue that.

Many thanks to Mr. Thorn for his actually getting back to me. There are many Baseball historians and experts on Twitter whom I have asked questions of and never gotten a response, let alone numerous prompt responses. Definitely give him a follow @thorn_john.

On an aside, if you want to know more of the "Beer and Whiskey" league that was the American Association, I recommend you pick up the book: The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America’s Game by Edward Achorn. It is quite the entertaining book and provides amazing insight to the early years of organized Baseball. I think you all will like it.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Rickey Henderson's career statistics at Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access the article MLB's 200,000th game: How it was determined by John Thorn from MLB.com dated September 23, 2011

Nolan Ryan Wins His 300th Game July 31, 1990

On this day in Baseball History July 31, 1990: Nolan Ryan earned the 300th win of his career as the Rangers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3 in front of 51,533 supporting fans at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ryan pitched 7.2 innings, striking out 8, walking 2 and giving up 6 hits. He was pulled after 146 pitches. Amazing. This made Ryan just the 20th player in history to reach the 300th win plateau.

Here is the list of the other 19 300-game winners at the time Ryan joined the club (in the order in which they reached the plateau):

1. 1888 Pud Calvin
2. 1890 Tim Keefe
3. 1890 Mickey Welch
4. 1891 Charles Radbourne
5. 1892 John Clarkson
6. 1900 Kid Nichols
7. 1901 Cy Young
8. 1912 Christy Mathewson
9. 1915 Ed Plank
10. 1920 Walter Johnson
11. 1924 Grover Alexander
12. 1941 Lefty Grove
13. 1961 Warren Spahn
14. 1963 Early Wynne
15. 1982 Gaylord Perry
16. 1983 Steve Carlton
17. 1985 Tom Seaver
18. 1985 Phil Niekro
19. 1986 Don Sutton

Here is some footage of Ryan winning his 300th game:

On a side note, does anyone out there remember The National Sports Daily aka The National? I remember the fanfare when Editor-in-Chief Frank Deford started publishing this sports newspaper. It just didn't last.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle


For Further Reading:
- Click here for the box score for Nolan Ryan's 300th win against the Milwaukee Brewers July 31, 1990 from Baseball Reference.com

Latinos Making History May 9, 2014

As I wrote on my Baseball Sisco blogpage on May 8, 2014 in the post Five Players to Hit 100 Homers With Three Different Teams, Adrian Beltre became the fifth player to hit 100 homeruns for three different teams. In doing so he joined Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, Darrell Evans, Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome in that exclusive club.

The Cuban Beisbol renaissance continues in MLB with Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox being selected the American League player and American League Rookie of the month of April. He is the first American League player to do so and second overall. His fellow countryman Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the first winning the equivalent National League honors last June.

Courtesy of Von's Card Blog

There was an interesting article on the Cuban Beisbol renaissance in the Majors entitled White Sox, Furthering Legacy, Provide Warm Home For Cubans, Amid Chill by Tyler Kepner from the NYTimes website dated April 19, 2014. The article states:

For the second time this season, it included four players from Cuba: (Alexei) Ramirez at shortstop, Dayan Viciedo in right field, Adrian Nieto catching and Jose Abreu, who signed for six years and $68 million last October, at first base. No team since the 1969 Cleveland Indians had started four Cuban-born players in a game.

That is a forty-five year gap where players from The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela stepped in to fill the gap left by the decreasing number of Cubans in the Majors due to the closing of the Cuban market. Add to this mix players like the aforementioned Yasiel Puig, Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins, Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics and Aroldis Chapman of the Cincinnati Reds to name a few. The future of Cuban Beisbol is definitely growing bright in the MLB. Here are Jose Abreu's statistics up to May 8, 2014.

Courtesy of CBS Sports

Speaking of a renaissance, Venezuelan closer Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez seemed to have put all his personal issues behind him this season. Through the month of April, Rodriguez went 13-for-13 in save chances tying Kaz Sasaki of the Seattle Mariners who had recorded 13 saves before May 1st in 2001.

I didn't realize that Rodriguez is only 32 years old. It seems like he's been around forever. The first time I noticed K-Rod was when he was the set-up man for the then Anaheim Angels closer Troy Percival. He was signed as a free agent in 1998 and made his debut for the Angels on September 18, 2002 at the age of 20 during the Angels run to an eventual World Series Title. It's good to see that he's been able to rebuild his career after a few tumultuous seasons with the Mets and seemingly unfocused seasons from 2011-2013. Here are Francisco Rodriguez's statistics up to May 8, 2014.

Well, that's it for now. If I missed any Latino achievements in the Major Leagues, please feel free to contact me at baseballsiscokidstyle@gmail.com, at my Twitter @Baseballsisco, My Google+ +Francisco Hilario (BaseballSisco) and at my Facebook page Baseball Sisco Kid Style. 

Hasta la próxima, no dejamos de jugar el Beisbol,

Baseball Sisco

#baseballsisco

#baseballsiscokidstyle

Three Players Who Are The Team Leaders in Total Hits Doubles Triples AND Homers For One Franchise

My good friend Pete and I do alot of Baseball trivia during the season and last night the first question came out. As I get them, I'll write a post profiling the question and answer(s). Here is the first question:

Three Players Who Are The Team Leaders in Total Hits, Doubles, Triples AND Homers For One Franchise. 

Now I thought about it and immediately thought about who ranks on top of the list in hits and homers and immediately said Hank Aaron. Pete just shook his head. Willie Mays was my next guess and again a head shake. I also thought about which younger franchises in the league could have one player hold the franchise record in singles, doubles, triples AND homeruns but nothing came to mind. Then Pete gave me a hint:

Each player only played for ONE team during their career

The first player immediately came to mind. Hall of Famer George Brett was the first correct answer. In 21 seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Brett hit a total of 3,154 hits with 665 doubles, 137 triples and 317 home runs. The nearest players to Brett in hits is Frank White at 2,006. In doubles it is Hal McRae at 449. In triples Willie Wilson is second with 133. In homers Mike Sweeney is at 197. Unless one of the new Royals players like Moustakas or Hosmer plays their entire career with the Royals, it seems that Brett's place atop the Royals hits, doubles, triples and homers list is safe.

- Click Here to Access George Brett's Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to Access a sortable list of the Kansas City Royals career leaders by category

Something told me that number two would be a contemporary of Brett's who also played for one team during their career. After briefly flirting with Pete Rose (Rose played for Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Montreal), I took a stab in the dark with the guess of Robin Yount which got a resounding "Yes" from Pete.

Hall of Famer Robin Yount played 20 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. Yount hit a total of 3,142 hits with 582 doubles, 126 triples and 251 homers. The nearest players to Young in hits is fellow Hall of Famer Paul Molitor with 2,281. Molitor also follows Yount in doubles (405) and triples (86). In terms of home runs, second to Yount on the All-Time Brewers list is Prince Fielder who has 230. Yount is in jeopardy of falling from this trivia list since Ryan Braun is rapidly approaching the 251 home run plateau. He currently sits at 203 and it would be safe to say barring any major injury that Braun will reach 251 next season.

- Click Here to Access Robin Yount's Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to Access a sortable list of the Milwaukee Brewers career leaders by category

The last one on the list proved to be much harder especially when Pete gave me a last hint:

He played for one of the classic teams not a newer team. 

Now this would prove to be a bit more difficult. My mind gravitated to Babe Ruth but remembered that Derek Jeter is the Yankees All-Time hits leader and Babe played for more teams than just the Yankees. I thought about Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers but he doesn't lead the franchise in home runs (Al Kaline does). So after a few minutes of "flipping baseball cards in my head" (When I think about different Ballplayers, I see them as Baseball cards in my head), I nailed the correct answer on the nose.

The third player is none other than Stan "The Man" Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals.The recently deceased Hall of Famer hit a total of 3,630 hits with 722 doubles, 177 triples and 477 homeruns in 22 seasons. The nearest players to Musial on the Cardinals All-Time hit list is Lou Brock with 2,713. In terms of doubles Albert Pujols had 455 as a Cardinal. In terms of triples Rogers Hornsby follows Musial with 143. Albert Pujols trails Musial with 445 homers. With the departure of Pujols to the Angels last season, Musial's place at the top of each category seems to be safe.

- Click Here to Access Stan Musial's Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to Access a sortable list of The St. Louis Cardinals career leaders by category

So there you have it. I have a bunch of other trivia questions that I will be turning into blog posts during the upcoming season. Have a trivia question for me? Email me, Tweet it to me @BaseballSisco, or post it to my Facebook page Baseball Sisco Kid Style. I look forward to being stumped by you all.

Sisco Kid

2011 ALDS NLDS Predictions

The first pitch of the 2011 MLB Playoff season will be thrown in roughly three hours when Texas Rangers left-hander takes the mound in Texas against the AL Wild Card winner Tampa Bay Rays. In anticipation of today's games, I've decided to make my predictions for the first round of the playoffs. Here goes.

#2 Texas Rangers vs. #4 Tampa Bay Rays
In a rematch from last year's first round match-up, the Rangers have home field advantage when the meet the Tampa Bay Rays. Holding a slight lead in the season series against the Rays (5-4) the Rangers just might be the most balanced team in the AL. But I have a problem going against the hot team. The Rays crawled back from a nine game deficit in the Wild Card race and did so by winning the playoff slot in dramatic fashion with a walk-off by franchise player Evan Longoria. I believe the Rays will ride the wave of euphoria to a first round defeat of the Rangers.

My Pick: Rays over Rangers in Five

#1 New York Yankees vs. #3 Detroit Tigers

In a season where the New York Yankees were picked to finish second and even third in the AL East, the Bombers continued to prove those naysayers wrong all season long rolling along to win the AL East and lead the AL with the best regular season record. They face a Detroit Tigers team who is led by Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander and MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera among others. The Tigers hold a slight lead in the season series (4-3) against the Yankees and the spotlight is shining specifically in the marque pitching duel of C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander. I think the Yankees have the offense that can make Verlander work. There really isn't an easy out in their lineup and I think that will be the deciding factor in who wins the series. I believe there is too much being made about the Yankees rotation issues. I mean, all the playoff teams have pitching issues with the exception of the Philadelphia Phillies.

My Pick: Yankees over Tigers in Four

#1 Philadephia Phillies vs. #4 St. Louis Cardinals

I'm going to go on a major ledge here but I think if anyone in the NL can beat the Phillies at this point in time it is the St. Louis Cardinals. Why? well, like the Rays they are super hot. Pujols, Carpenter and company should thank Mr. Tony Plush of the Milwaukee Brewers for lighting a fire under them. Since that series with the Brewers, the Cardinals are 16-6 and have been playing some of the best baseball in the league and the Phillies have the privilege of playing them in the first round. the season series is firmly in the favor of the Cardinals (6-3). And the Phillies? What can I say. They have an astounding offense, the best pitching in the league and a very capable manager. So I must be nuts with what I have to say next. Right? Even I have doubts in my prediction but what the heck. Never let it be said that I don't like climbing on the ledge for the fun of it.

My Pick: Cardinals over Phillies in Five

#2 Milwaukee Brewers vs. #4 Arizona Diamondbacks

The Brewers come into this series with high hopes after setting a franchise record in wins with 96 wins. This team is offensively stacked and is led by MVP candidates Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. On the pitching side, their rotation in solid. On the other side Arizona is led by Cy Young candidate and 21-game winner Ian Kennedy. They have shown that they can compete with the Brewers having an edge in the season series (4-3). I have to be honest, aside from Juston Upton, I really don't know much about the Arizona Diamondbacks offense. Maybe that's what Arizona has counted on all season while they won game after game on their way to the NL West title. That said, I have a hard time seeing the Brewers losing in the first round.

My Pick: Brewers over Diamondbacks in Four

So there it goes. Lets see if next week I'll have egg on my face or a big smile.

FH

Reds, Rockies and Brewers Invest in Their Futures

With 27 days to go the Baseball juices are flowing within me at a strong pace. Sorry football fans, but I wish I can fast forward to February 14, 2011 (and no it is not for the corporate "holiday" Valentine's Day) which is the voluntary Spring Training reporting date for pitchers, catchers and injured players. Hurry up and get here already, LOL. Ok, enough of that. Let's get to business.

In recent weeks the Cincinnati Reds, the Colorado Rockies and the Milwaukee Brewers have done right by both their teams and their fans by locking up some of their young talent and trading for important pieces to help them compete in 2011. Let's look at the Reds first.

- Cincinnati Reds
The 2010 National League Central Champions have been busy this offseason in signing integral pieces of their team to multi-year deals. Reported earlier today on MLB.com the Reds and the 2010 National League MVP Joey Votto have agreed to a 3-year $38 Million dollar deal. This signing ensures that Votto will be reading Cincinnati Red through the 2013 season. Add the 6-year $51 million dollar contract extension to outfielder Jay Bruce, the 3-year $35 million dollar contract extension to starter Bronson Arroyo with the core group of Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, Edison Volquez and Aroldis Chapman make the Reds a team to contend against in a NL Central division that has become a tougher place to play in with the recent improvement of the Milwaukee Brewers. I'll get to the improved Brew Crew in a few.

- Colorado Rockies
One of the most exciting teams in the National League made plans to stay that way for a few more years. Last week the Rockies announced that they have signed outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to a 7-year $80 million dollar contract extension which keeps him in Colorado through the 2017 season. Add the signings of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to a 7-year $134 million extension through 2020, pitcher Jorge de la Rosa to a 3-year $32.5 million dollar contract to the core group of rotation ace Ubaldo Jimenez (signed through 2012 with club options for 2013 and 2014), Todd Helton, Eric Young Jr., Ryan Spilbourghs and Huston Street and we see a team that is poised to contend with the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.

My only reservation with the Rockies' moves is that they have invested heavily in Gonzalez who only has two years of experience at the Major League level and in Tulowitzki who has only played in over 150 games twice in his five years in the league. Don't let me rain on their parade, the potential for the Rockies in unlimited with their young studs, hopefully the investment in these players pays off in a big return.

- Milwaukee Brewers
I believe that the Brewers are hoping to go for broke with the moves they made this offseason. Out of the three teams I've profiled here, the Brewers have the most cloudiest of futures. There is no guarantee that superstar players Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder will play together after this season. Management made moves, especially on the pitching front, to make sure that the team is in the best position to compete with the division champion Cincinnati Reds.

The biggest move was the trade for former Kansas City Royals ace Zach Grienke. The Brewers also traded for Toronto Blue Jays starter Shawn Marcum adding him and Grienke to a rotation that already included Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf. The Brewers have Braun signed until the 2015 season, outfielder Corey Hart until 2013, third baseman Casey McGehee and second baseman Richie Weeks are both signed for a more years before arbitration kicks in ensuring that the Brewers will have a good core nucleus together for a number of years even if Prince Fielder is traded or decides to leave Milwaukee after this season.

It is good to see some of the teams that people would refer to as being "small market" teams making the effort to invest in their future. Baseball needs more owners who are willing to take the chance and lock up their players ensuring the their teams remain competitive and their fanbases remain interested in their team. Now if the owners of Pittsburgh and Kansas City can take notes as see how it can be done from the small market perspective.

FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here to read Mark Sheldon's article Reds reward MVP Votto with three-year deal from MLB.com dated January 16, 2011
- Click Here to read Thomas Harding's article CarGo hold: Rox ink Gonzalez to $80M deal from MLB.com dated January 11, 2011
- Click Here to read Adam McCalvy's article Greinke trade caps Milwaukee makeover from MLB.com dated December 19, 2010

Grienke Gets Traded

It was reported yesterday by Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that a trade between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals had been completed. The centerpiece of that deal was the 27-year old 2009 American League Cy Young Award Winner Zack Grienke who had to waive his no-trade option to complete the deal. The Brewers receive Grienke and SS Yuniesky Betancourt. In exchange the Royals get SS Alcides Escobar, CF Lorenzo Cain and pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi, Jeremy Jeffress and $2 million in cash. So what does this trade mean to the two teams.

While the Brewers rotation doesn't have the success of the San Francisco Giants' group of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Johnathan Sanchez and the golden allure of the Philadelphia Phillies rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, I believe the trade puts the Brewers as the third best rotation in the league. Some Cardinal fans will disagree with me. Granted, do I think that Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are a better and proved combination compared to Grienke and Yovani Gallardo (who are believed to be the one-two punch for the Milwaukee rotation) but the Brewers signed Shawn Marcum who pitched in the AL East against some of the toughest lineups game in and game out and Randy Wolf is a veteran pitcher that has pitched in many different situations. I believe the trade gives the Milwaukee Brewers a chance to make a serious run on the National League Central Division title with their core group of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Casey McGehee and Rickie Weeks. Betancourt is another situation. (GRAPH COURTESY of Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

This is his third team in three years (Seattle Mariners 2008-2009, Kansas City Royals 2009-2010) and he has not lived up to the potential take Will McDonald's comments from his article Could 2011 Be Yuniesky Betancourt's Last Year With the Royals? from RoyalsReview.com dated November 28, 2010:

Yuniesky Betancourt's "breakout" year in 2010 took some heat off of the embattled Royals shortstop. I mean, anytime you get a .288 OBP out of a guy over 588 PAs, with horrible defense, you take it. No questions asked. And with a monstrous .400 slugging percentage fueled by a career spike in HR/FB %, you've got a true cornerstone.

Nevertheless, might 2011 be the final year Yuni-bomb spends with the Royals?

Well, we know that he will never get the chance to play in Kansas City for the 2011 season but the projections don't look good. For McDonald to settle for Bentancourt's numbers as a scenario of the "lesser of two evils" says something about Betancourt's playing abilities. Mind you, he was playing for the Royals and McDonald was comparing Betancourt with the rest of the talent at SS with the Royals. The Brewers also re-signed Craig Counsell who provides a dependable security blanket for the team in case Betancourt doesn't work out.

In terms of the Royals, I refer to the wisdom of Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated. In his blog post from December 19th simply named The Greinke Trade Posanski had the following to say about the trade:

The Royals got prospects from Milwaukee, but that in and of itself means nothing. See: Prospects mean nothing. Every team has them. The question from Kansas City’s perspective is this: Did they get PLAYERS who can help them win? I have spent the day asking baseball friends that very question. The answers are mixed. This trade, from Kansas City’s perspective, is complicated and foggy and, in the end, probably pretty unsatisfying (if you’re a Royals fan). We’ll get to all that in a minute.

The trade from Milwaukee’s perspective, I think, is easy to categorize. It is glorious. Yes, they did deal four interesting young players — 24-year-old shortstop Alcides Escobar , 25-year-old (in April) centerfielder Lorenzo Cain, 23-year-old reliever Jeremy Jeffress and 21-year-old (in March) pitcher Jake Odorizzi — and yes, they now appear stuck with Yuni Betancourt as their everyday shortstop, and yes, their farm system is now utterly depleted (though I’ll bet they still have 30 prospects in the Baseball America book).

We see what side of the trade Posanski feels benefited from the deal and it is the team from the AL Central. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea who these players are that the Royals received in exchange for Grienke and Betancourt and I'll post Posnanski's review of the players to give you some information on them:

- SS Alcides Escobar: He’s by all accounts a gifted athlete with above-average speed and brilliant defensive ability. There are even those who think that he will eventually hit. He was a good enough prospect last year that the Brewers dealt away J.J. Hardy and made him their everyday shortstop. But in his first year, he did not hit a lick (.235/.288/.326). His 67 OPS+ — well, not many hitters in baseball history have rebounded from that to have a good offensive career. Ozzie Smith did. Terry Pendleton did. Not many others. Escobar also did not put up especially good defensive numbers, if you put any stock in those. The upside for Escobar is as a superior defensive shortstop who will get on base enough to steal bases and be an offensive plus. But that’s certainly no guarantee, and his future is further clouded as numerous scouts question his work ethic and motivation.

- CF Lorenzo Cain: Nobody questions Cain’s motivation; he seems to be a terrific athlete with even better makeup. The two names I heard most often in comparison are Denard Span and Torii Hunter, a couple of Twins centerfielders whom the Royals have jealously gawked at the last few years. Cain, though, turns 25 in April, and his minor league march has been slow and uneven and injury-plagued. He has only played 22 games in Triple-A. He has shown absolutely no power and only average plate discipline. He has the speed and instincts to be a fabulous defensive center fielder, which he could really show off in the enormous outfield at Kauffman Stadium.

- RHP Jeremy Jeffress: has a great arm — he has been clocked at 100, and he works at 94-to-98 mph. His problem has been control — both on and off the field. He has twice been suspended for testing positive for marijuana. You can pass your own judgments on that, but at the very least the second positive test suggests a player who has not taken his career very seriously. One more positive test, and he’s banned for life. And in the minors he walked 188 batters in 306 innings, though his command came on enough in 2010 that one baseball executive said it “improved dramatically.” He appears to be a reliever now — especially because he has not found an effective third pitch. You never know exactly how relievers with great stuff and questionable command will do.

- RHP Jake Odorizzi: is probably not worth spending too much time on right now — he’s still years away. He pitched well in Low A ball, and some of the people I spoke with like him, think he projects as a No. 3 starter. Others aren’t excited by his stuff and think he will struggle as he moves up in competition. There’s no telling for sure with a pitcher in Class A.

So there you go. It seems that in the short term the Brewers are the clear winners in the Grienke trade. They help their team tremendously in trying to win now before they might lose some young hitting due to salary increases. Give credit to Milwaukee's ownership for stepping up and showing its fanbase that it will do what is necessary (within means) to put a winning team on the field. For Kansas City, well lets say that the team is not only far removed from the 83-win season of 2003 but it seems like it is light-years away from the glory years of the mid 1970's to the mid 1980's. We'll see if the additions of Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francouer can at least help keep the Royals competitive this upcoming season.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here for Zack Grienke's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here for Yuniesky Betancourt's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here for Alcides Betancourt's career statistics from BaseballCube.com
- Click Here for Lorenzo Cain's career statistics from BaseballCube.com
- Click Here for Jeremy Jeffress' career statistics from BaseballCube.com
- Click Here for Jake Odorizzi's career statistics from BaseballCube.com
- Click Here to access Tom Haudricourt's article Brewers pay high price to nab pitcher Greinke from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website dated December 19, 2010
- Click Here to access Tom Rosiak's transcript of the interview given by Zack Grienke on meeting the local press dated December 20, 2010
- Click Here to access Joe Posnanski's blogpost The Greinke Trade from SI.com dated December 19, 2010
- Click Here to access Joe Posnanski's follow-up to his article on the Grienke trade called Uh-Oh from SI.com dated December 20, 2010
- Click Here to access Bob Dutton's article Royals trade Grienke to Brewers from the Kansas City Star website dated December 19, 2010

Winter Meetings Day Three Part Three

Feel asleep soon after coming home from my Rockefeller excursion so here goes:

- Koji Uehara re-signs with the Baltimore Orioles
Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun report that the Orioles have come to terms with relief pitcher Koji Uehara on a 1-year deal with a vesting option for the 2012 season which is pending a physical, includes several escalation clauses that will kick in depending on how many games Uehara finishes. Originally a starter for the Orioles during 2010, Uehara came off the disabled list and eventually became the team's closer for the final month and a half, converting 13 of 15 save opportunities. In total Uehara compiled a 1-2 records with a 2.84 ERA in 43 games. He struck out 55 batters while walking only 5 and giving up 37 hits for a WHIP of 0.955.

According to Zrebiec and Connolly Uehara set a franchise record by not walking a batter in 32 consecutive appearances spanning 34 innings. He ended the season with a streak of 44 strikeouts since his last walk allowed. So keeping this quality pitcher in the Orioles bullpen for the 2010 season will be a plus for manager Buck Showalter.

- Click Here to access Koji Uehara's career statistics (including Japan) from BaseballCube.com

- San Diego Padres trade for shortstop Jason Bartlett
The Friarhood.com reports that the San Diego Padres and the Tampa Bay Rays made a trade during the Winter Meetings. The Rays sent shortstop Jason Bartlett to the Padres in exchange for pitchers Adam Russell and lefty Cesar Ramos.

In Bartlett the Padres get a good shortstop who hit .254 with 4 HRs and 47 RBI. In 468 at-bats Bartlett had 119 hits (27 2B/3 3B/4 HR) while striking out 83 times and walking 45 walks with 11 stolen bases. Defensively, Bartlett made 11 errors in 1104 innings at shortstop for a fielding percentage of .977.

Tampa gets in Russell a reliever that went 0-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 appearances while Ramos went 0-1 with an 11.88 in 14 appearances.

While Bartlett fills a hole in the Padres' infield, I'm not sure if Russell and Ramos will fill the gaping hole in Tampa's bullpen created with the loss of Juaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano. I think the Padres got the better end of this deal.

- Click Here for Jason Bartlett's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here for Adam Russell's career statistics from BaseballCube.com
- Click Here for Cesar Ramos' career statistics from BaseballCube.com

- The Milwaukee Brewers sign catcher Wil Nieves
Tom Haudricourt on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel announced on his twitter feed that the Milwaukee Brewers had signed catcher Wil Nieves to a contract. The terms were not disclosed as of yet.

In 2010 Nieves, formerly of the Washington Nationals, batted .203 with 3Hrs and 16 RBI. In 158 at-bats he had 32 hits (8 2B/0 3B/3 HR) with 29 strikeouts and 8 walks. On the defensive end, Nieves threw out 24% of base stealers (10 of 31).

Haudricourt says that the Nieves signing was done for the following reason:

it puts another guy in the mix to battle for the backup job behind young starter Jonathan Lucroy. The Brewers still have last year's backup, George Kottaras, on their roster and not too long ago signed former backup Mike Rivera to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training. The Brewers also added minor-leaguer Martin Maldonado to their 40-man roster over the winter.

It was also pointed out to me that Lucroy probably will catch at least 120 games, so the backup isn't going to play a tremendous amount. And I was also told that the report on Nieves is that pitchers like throwing to him, which is an important component.

We'll see if Nieves catches on after Spring Training or ends up wearing a different uniform during 2010.

- Click Here to access Wil Nieves' career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

- Dioner Navarro signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed catcher Dioner Navarro to a contract pending the result of a physical. Navarro previously played with the Dodgers in 2005-2006 before being traded to Tampa Bay where he was through 2010.

In 2010 Navarro batted .194 with 1HR and 7 RBI. In a limited 124 at-bats Navarro had 24 hits (5 2B/0 3B/1 HR) with 20 strikeouts and 12 walks. Defensively Navarro threw out 39% of base stealers (12 of 19). His playing time was greatly diminished in favor of John Jaso and Kelly Shoppach getting time behind the plate.

Gurnick says that Navarro will compete with A.J. Ellis as backup to starting catcher Rod Barajas who recently signed a $3.25 million dollar contract. For the Dodgers this means that former catcher Russell Martin probably moves on for the 2010 after coming off of a fractured hip.

- Click Here to access Dioner Navarro's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

It seems with the last few days that the Tampa Bay Rays are back at the starting block in terms of putting their team together. Since the end of Game 5 of the ALDS, the Rays have lost Peña, Benoit and Navarro to free-agent signings, Bartlett in a trade and Soriano is still unsigned (and as I will report with my next post, the big name of Tampa's free agent's has reportedly signed elsewhere).

FH

Winter Meetings Day One

The Winter Meetings are in full swing in Orlando and there are a few deals that have gone down. Here goes:

- The Milwaukee Brewers get Shaun Marcum from Toronto
The Milwaukee Brewers get 29-year old starting pitcher Shaun Marcum to bolster their pitching staff in exchange for top prospect 20-year old second baseman Brett Lawrie. Marcum had his most productive season for the Blue Jays last season by going 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA. In 31 games started, Marcum struck out 165 while only walking 45 and giving up 181 hits in 195.1 innings pitched for a WHIP of 1.147.

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes Marcum as being the following type of pitcher:

He is not an overpowering pitcher, usually throwing his fastball in the 87-89 mph range. But Marcum has an excellent changeup, a dependable slider and also mixes in curve balls on occasion. Thanks to that repertoire and his excellent control, he has been a strikeout pitcher (7.3 per nine innings) despite not being able to overpower hitters.

Marcum recovered nicely from his Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow that kept him out of the whole 2009 season. Marcum is a good pitcher who kept the Yankees at bay a few games that I saw him pitch against them. I believe that he will compliment Yovani Gallardo in the Brewers rotation.

In return for Marcum, the Blue Jays get British Columbia native Brett Lawrie. In his second season in the minors with Double A Huntsville of the Southern League, Lawrie batted .285 with 8 Hrs and 63 RBI. He had 158 hits (36 2B/16 3B/8 HRs) and showed very good speed and aggressiveness on the base paths with 30 stolen bases while being caught 13 times. Jordan M describes Lawrie in his blogpost The Brett Lawrie for Shawn Marcum Trade at the BrewCrewBall.com webpage:

I've been on Brett Lawrie's bandwagon since he was drafted, and he's a talented hitter who put up a great year as a 20-year old in AA. But if anyone was expendable, it may have been him. I always felt that Lawrie would hold his own as a hitter even if moved down the defensive spectrum-- as a third basemen or corner outfielder, he would likely be an above-average offensive producer down the road. The problem is that right now, the Brewers have 5 players who fit that description (and yes I'm counting Mat Gamel). Lawrie's value to the Brewers was tied in his ability to stick at second base-- and the Brewers' willingness to trade him, I think, speaks about their confidence that he could do so. I think it also speaks about their confidence to get a deal done with Rickie Weeks, and possibly says something about how highly they think of Scooter Gennet.

Both teams seem to benefit from the deal though the Brewers seem to have the edge in benefiting from the deal in the here and now. We'll see how it plays out in the long haul.

- Click Here for Jordan M's article The Brett Lawrie for Shawn Marcum trade from BrewCrewBall.com dated December 6, 2010
- Click Here for Tom Haudricourt's article Brewers to Get Toronto Pitcher Marcum from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel webpage dated December 5, 2010
- Click Here to access Shawn Marcum's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Brett Lawrie's minor league statistics from BaseballCube.com

- Mark Reynolds traded to the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles made a move to improve their offense from the right side by trading right-handed relievers Kameron Mickolio and David Hernandez for Arizona's Mark Reynolds. In Reynolds, the Orioles get a batter who can hit for power and score runs but is heavily prone to striking out. In four major league seasons with the Diamondbacks, Reynolds has averaged 35 HRs with 100 RBI with 221 strikeouts and 75 walks. Reynolds has lead the league in strikeouts three years running with 204 in 2008, 223 in 2009 and 211 in 2010 while lowering his batting average from .260 in 2009 to .198 in 2010.

In return Arizona gets 6'9" right handed power pitching reliever Kameron Mickolio and minor league reliever David Hernandez. In terms of the relievers Baseball Musings.com describes them as so:

Mickolio strikes out a ton of batters, but he’s wild. In the minors, his walks were high but okay. In the majors so far they are out of control. Hernandez is pretty much in the same boat. If Reynolds can get his batting average back up again, this trade will be a steal for Baltimore.

I guess if he can get his average back up in the .260 to .280 range then the deal will work for the Orioles. Maybe a change of scenery for all the players involved will be beneficial. Have to say this about Reynolds move into Baltimore, he is being traded into a division with some high powered pitching in Sabathia, Price, Beckett, and Lester to name a few and maybe Cliff Lee. He might feast on all the power pitching for the O's or he might just starve on his steady diet of Special K's (sorry couldn't help that one, LOL).

- Click Here for Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec's article Orioles acquire Mark Reynolds from Diamondbacks from the BaltimoreSun.com dated December 6, 2010
- Click Here to access an interesting analysis on Mark Reynolds' at-bats from Baseball Musings.com
- Click Here to access Mark Reynolds' career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Kameron Mickolio's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access David Hernandez minor league statistics from Baseball Reference.com

- Melvin Mora signs with the Arizona Diamondbacks
Not waiting to fill their hole at third, the Diamondbacks signed veteran Melvin Mora to a 1-year $2 million dollar contract. In his 2010 season with the Colorado Rockies Mora batted .285 with 7 HRs and 45 RBI. He had 90 hits (12 2B/5 3B/7 HR) in 354 at-bats and struck out 53 times while drawing 35 walks. Mora will bring some stability to the infield and a good head at the plate than his predecessor. The strikeouts will decrease significantly and I believe that Mora will be more of a table-setter than a slugger for the Diamondbacks. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images)

- Click Here for Melvin Mora's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Ok folks, that's it for now. When I hear of any other moves and trades at the winter meetings, I'll post them.

FH