Comments on: Spinning Wheels

By: Ted

Ted — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:59:40 +0000

Kyle: Damn. I missed that completely. So Haren definitely isn’t available.

I heard the Indians might possibly part with Carmona, but I imagine it would take a king’s ransom for him as well.

Any other pitching alternatives? I did read that the Yanks are kicking the tires on Freddy Garcia. That just cracks me up.

By: Andrew J Overton

Andrew J Overton — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:37:03 +0000

I will have to look for that Passan show. I know that Dayton has said more than once this off-season that the all-star pitchers last year that were drafted out of high-school mostly had around 400 innings in the minors. Haven’t verified it, but that is a good way of quantitatively analyzing if someone is being rushed or not. So Dayton’s magic number is 400 and Teaford has 500+ innings, Duffy has 300+ and Crow 200+ (counting independent league). Dayton has also professed to the standard of leaving prospects in the minors too long rather than promoting too early. My projection would be that Teaford makes the roster, Duffy splits another 100 innings this year between AA and AAA with a September call-up. Crow starts at AA and spends the season between AA and AAA if successful. I actually like that the GM expects performance and time in the minors before promotion.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:31:39 +0000

Ted, Haren is with the Angels already. He was traded at the deadline last year.

I think this might be the first year they really had anyone in a position to “win a starting job”. Last year Kila, Dyson, Lough, and Crow were kept pretty late into spring training, and actually Crow might have been the last one sent down. He dominated in Spring Training, didn’t he? Duffy was given a fairly good look early on in spring training, then he got hurt and quit for a few months. But like I said, Moustakas, Duffy, Teaford, and the bullpen guys this year might be the first real threat of breaking camp.

I still don’t see Moustakas up any earlier than June 1. What is it about June? Would 2011 not count towards his ML time? Or would it just keep him from becoming a Super 2?

By: Preston

Preston — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:01:28 +0000

If rushing Alex did anything, it just delayed the inevitable domination he is about to unleash on the league.

By: Ted

Ted — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:19:02 +0000

And now the Red Sox are signing Jenks. Plus the Mariners slammed the door in Cashman’s face when he inquired about King Felix. Cashman has to be feeling the squeeze. Garza won’t be traded to the Yanks, Felix is unavailable…maybe Dan Haren could be had from Arizona (haven’t heard any rumors, but you never know with Towers seemingly in the mood to shake things up), but would Arizona ask for much less than DM likely wants for Greinke? Who else is out there, available, and likely to make a difference? Derek Lowe?

I must be missing someone. And Keith Law made the excellent point that the current market for starting pitchers could prompt a team to make an unexpected trade. Things are perfect for that: teams who want/need pitching, not many good free agents available, and the only current trade opportunities would be costly. If you are Oakland, for instance, why not dangle someone like Gio Gonzalez or Dallas Braden and see what you can get back? Less than a Greinke but probably more than you might otherwise get. I don’t know, probably doesn’t make much sense.

Anyway, things just keep getting brighter for DM and a potential Greinke trade.

By: TobyV

TobyV — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:09:59 +0000

Sean – I agree. What does “He’ll be given a chance to win a job” even mean with the Royals. Dose that mean that if Moose out performs Avilis or Betemit in the spring, that he will be the starter on opening day? Don’t think so.

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:59:18 +0000

Performances in spring training seem to mean nothing with this regime. Good or bad. Didnt Davies get absolutely ripped last spring and all you heard was, he’s our 4th starter. Why? He hadn’d earned it. Getz will bat about .150 and Dayton and Yost will talk about his speed and his defense and anything beside the fact that he doesn’t get on base. Very few players the last 5 plus years have earned their spot in spring training. KC hands it to you and this years rotation I believe will be no different. If that wasnt the case, neither Banny nor Davies would have broken camp.

By: TobyV

TobyV — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:40:31 +0000

Clark – Sorry for going on and being off topic here. But….
In regards to your question; I don’t think a double would have made a difference. To me that would indicate that his issue now is mental rather than ability. I’m also sure you are going to feel that sending him down now to work on things will do no good, because he is alreay damaged goods. But, my point would still apply even if he had never come up early in the first place and spent that time at the AAA level.
I think he has a swing that is not suited for MLB pitching. To correct his problem, they would completely need to revamp his swing. I think with the success he would have contimued to have at the minor league level, nobody in the orginization would have touched it.

By: Deep Dixie Blue

Deep Dixie Blue — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:33:26 +0000

Jeff Passan had JJ Picolo on the radio earlier this week and Picolo was very frank about many of these guys getting a real opportunity this spring. He said that pitchers were different from hitters in that they often didn’t need much time in AAA.

As far as which ones I’d like to see, its hard to narrow it down to just one. I hope we get a chance to evaluate these three (Teaford, Duffy, Crow) at the MLB level this year as well as some others. I think I’ve seen enough of Davies.

Something else that Picolo said that caught my attention was when Passan asked which of the position players would get a chance this year. Of course the first name he mentioned was Moustakas, and he talked like Moose would be given a chance to win a job in spring training although he would not be given the job. But the second name he mentioned was Hosmer. This dovetails with something Ned said at the winter meetings in an interview. I believe the Royals feel pretty strongly that Hosmer is just about ready. It may just be a matter of opportunity for him this summer.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:27:20 +0000

Definitely Crow because doesn’t he have a ML contract? His clock is ticking already I believe because of that. Put him in the pen I suppose, see if something clicks. Keep the ball down.