katway

Angel Pagan was a 1999 draft and follow who signed in May 2000. Pagan did not play for his high school team. He was discovered in a tryout camp. Scouts projected him to potentially be a 25-30HR hitter once he filled out. But, the Mets have focused Pagan on hitting ground balls to take advantage of his speed especially from the left side. Given the Mets focus on his speed, Pagan is unlikely to achieve his 25-30 HR potential. Pagan is considered raw in most areas save defense and bunting. Pagan has great confidence and is very coachable. He plays a shallow centerfield and projects to be an outstanding defensive player with a good arm. He finished up strong at AAA by hitting .317 in August. Pagan projects to be a backup with good defense and speed -- areas Hendry has clearly been trying to address.

Looks like a good trade for both sides. Philly gets a decent relief pitcher and Clevland gets someone with the potential to be a decent outfielder. Neither player is spectacular.

Not at all. At least not from my perspective. He's a nice hitter, for a 2B, but his defense has always been a problem. It's more of an explanation for why so few teams seem interested in him... I also dispute that the Cubs have screwed him. I remember hearing the guy from Baseball Solutions.com on the radio rattle off the numbers about 2B . Walker was the worst 2B in the MLs at turning the double play in 2003. He platooned in 2004 and was injured for part of 2005 so I don't think he's improved in that area. I think teams are taking those things into consideration. Certainly, if he were a hot item he would have been traded already. Defense is not a static ability. Like hitting people have good year's and bad years. Walker had a very bad year defensively in '03, and was better in '04 and '05. Still below average, but not the travesty that people are making his defense to be. In fact, very similar to Juan Pierre in CF. It might not be static but he is still a below average defender. One could argue that Pierre's defense will improve now that he's playing half of his games in a cozy ballpark. However, I don't think there is a senario where Walker's defense can be improved dramatically. Walker's defense is not that bad. Besides with the Cubs staff, defense is even less of a premium (high K and high BB). The Cubs didn't loose last year because they couldn't play defense at 2nd. This idea that no team wants Walker b/c he can't play defense is shaky to me. First, how many teams are in the market for a 2nd baseman? Second, given Walker's value in terms of contract and production, one would have to think Hendry is asking for a fair trade. Maybe teams don't see the upside of trading a valuable piece of the future for a one year rental. If Hendry didn't want Walker then he shouldn't have picked up the option. A lot of balls have gotten through the infield that shouldn't and the Cubs constantly fail to turn DPs. Walker (nicknamed "the statute" in Boston for his lack of mobility) is a big part of this and it is one of those things that really ticks off pitchers. For instance, Mark Prior is better than league average in every category except for the percentage of ground balls that become base hits. In other words, a ground ball off Prior has a greater chance of developing into a single than a ground ball off of the average pitcher. Is it because ground balls get hit with more authority off Prior or is it because his defense fails him on the mound? As for Hendry. the GM's job is to do what is best for the team and that isn't always going to be what's best for the player. If I'm Hendry, I pick up Walker's option even if I don't plan to start him and even if I think the team might be better by trading him. Clearly, Hendry isn't planning on giving him away and Walker could become a valueable bargaining chip if someone's second baseman goes down during the year. Besides, it's not too late for Walker to prove his value to the club. The more competition, the better the position.

I don't think anyone "hates" Neifi. However, a lot of people disagree with Dusty's use of Neifi, especially in the 2nd half of the year when Cedeno appeared to be ready or at least should have been given an opportunity. Hendry called up Cedeno and all he would do is sit on the bench while Neifi continued to struggle. Even when Cedeno received an opportunity, Neifi would not sit on the bench; instead, Dusty would start Neifi at second over Walker and Hairston. Neifi is a good player off the bench, but he receives far too much Dusty love to the detriment of other players.

It would be great if Hairston could get back on track. When he was with the O's, he was playing very well on offense and defense. His defense had the papers discussing his potential for a gold glove if he would only stop trying to make spectacular plays and settle for less spectacular results from time to time. In other words, Hairston's defense was only falty in the sense that he tried to do too much sometimes. He always was above average at covering ground and gloving the ball. It's the decision making that would get him into trouble. Hopefully, he has matured and can be a much better defensive second baseman than we've had in recent years.

It's times like this that I wish we kept Nomar at a discount... Nomar/Cedeno/Walker > Lugo/Cedeno/Perez

I think it's clear that Hendry has made inquiries and pursued free agents/trades to improve this team. The Cubs have a demand/supply problem. What they need simply isn't available for nothing in return. With respect to some of the focus on defense, the numbers support the fact that the Cubs did have problems on defense last year. For instance, Prior (whoe I think we can agree is above average) gives up more ground ball hits than most pitchers (a below average performance) (see http://www.baseballgraphs.com/main/index.php/site/article/mark_priors_batted_ball_data/)... it may have something to do with our pourous defense up the middle from last year. Thus, I think it would be wise to improve team defense. Where the Cubs may have faltered is failing to bring Nomar back at a discount. Nomar/Cedeno/Walker > Cedeno/Walker/Perez. With the available budget, they could have taken the risk on Nomar.

No. I don't go after him since we need to work Rich Hill and Guzman into the staff.

Abreu is much much better offensively, it's not close. And he's has greater value relative to the Cubs needs. I disagree since we also need to look at the end result following a deal. For instance, with no decent free agents at SS or 2b, trading for Abreu leaves us with Abreu, Cedeno, and Perez. Trading for Tejada still gives us the room to obtain Jones with an end result of Tejada, Jones and Cedeno. Tejada, Jones, and Cedeno > Abreu, Cedeno, and Perez. Plus, that's a younger team with a brighter future. I get the feeling Abreu is at the end of his prime years.

Tejada is more valuable than Abreu. He is younger, plays a position with a greater degree of difficulty, and is owned less for the next two years than Abreu. He is as good a hitter as Abreu and has a greater upside.

Weaver has produced 7 years of mediocrity. He had a brief period in Detroit when his ERA was under 4.0. Otherwise, his ERA has always been over 4 and the BAA him has been around .260. He's an average pitcher with an above average price tag who usually comes up short in big games. I think he's going to get a harsh reality check that the Dodgers probably offered him more than any other team will offer.

While it would make some sense for the Orioles to reload, Angelos is afraid of the competition for area fans with the Washington Nationals. The impact of the Nats on his market is serious since we are talking about cable contracts etc. The Orioles would also need to unload Javier Lopez, Melvin Mora, Hernandez, etc. in an effort to rebuild.

I wondered this myself, but Eric seemed to do well last year even while his brother was faltering. Eric has the personality to handle the situation. While Corey is not very expressive, Eric is outgoing and known as a clubhouse leader. I actually think this ordel will make Eric stronger mentaly and I have little doubt that he will be the more successful pro among the Patterson brothers.

Doesn't Rothschild call the game? Do we know that Bud Black doesn't call pitches for Anaheim? I'd be willing to bet that would also be the case in LA (as well as just about everywhere else). Molina's defense is not that much of a difference maker to offset the increased offense Barrett provides. Most catchers call the game. Bengie has a reputation for being one of the best in calling the game and has his pitchers' trust in that regard. The first thing I consider in a catcher is defense and game calling. Offense is the icing on the cake. I think Ausmus (who isn't much of a hitter) is one of the reasons Houston's pitching has been consistently good for so many years. When he talks about catching, he notes that "[a] pitcher has to be able to trust you to call the game...trust you to block balls, trust you to control the running game, trust you to know the situation, trust you to know his mechanics. The more a pitcher trusts you, the more at ease his mind is and the more he can focus on the pitch he's throwing rather than these other extraneous things." Ausmus, like Molina, has the pitchers' trust, I get the feeling that Barrett really doesn't have that trust.

Molina is a very good catcher. I'd rather have his defensive skills and decent offensive numbers than Barretts slightly better offensive numbers and poor defensive skills. If I were creating a team, the first position player I would secure would be a catcher. No everyday player is more important than a catcher. A catcher affects team defense not only by virtue of throwing out base stealers and reducing errors, but by calling a good game. Molina's game calling skills are far superior to Barrett's. The fact that the team's best pitchers would rather have another catcher calling the game speaks volumes about Barrett's ability to call a game and handle the pitching staff.

I would have expected better numbers from him at 23 years of age at A ball. He hit only 4 homers in over 200 at bats at A ball and doesn't seem to have speed. Doesn't seem like we received equal value for JVB.

The only problem is that if we get to the post season we will need another starter to fill in for Clemens.

Yep. If I traded for a Nats second baseman, it would be Vidro and not Soriano.

Jacque Jones will be traded next winter if Pie is ready. He should be pretty tradeable at $10 million over 2 years, since 3 teams offered him more than $15 million over 3 years. Exactly. If I'm Hendry, I'd rather have the problem of having too many outfielders than too few. Guys like Pierre and Jones are tradable since they aren't getting paid too much even if the Cubs have to eat a little of the contract.

I don't see C-Patt going to Boston since the Boston newspapers have pointed out that he is the worse player available to play center field. They have detailed his horrible OBP and the fact that the only time he has been atop the leader board at the end of the year is in strikeouts. In other words, the newspapers have made C-Patt look like the worse move Boston could possibly make such that the club would look real bad picking him up in a deal.

I think nearly everyone would agree that ARod is a better player than Tejada. My only concern with ARod is that he may not be able to play SS again even if he was willing to do so. ARod has added about 20lbs to his frame in the last two years and is a little too tall to play SS throughout his career. So, when I think of ARod, I think of him as a 3rd baseman longterm and no longer a SS. If they go after ARod, then they may have to move ARam.

Tuesday's agreement occurred barely 24 hours after Ponson's release from a Baltimore jail Need more be said? The guy has always been awful off the field and, at best, is high-end mediocrity on the field.

The Padres get better starting pitching since Young is slightly better than Eaton. I'd expect Young's numbers to really improve in a switch from a hitter friendly park like Arlington to a pitcher friendly park like Petco. Otsuka will be a tough loss for them since he does a great job on holds. But, Gonzalez is from San Diego and projects to have a bright future. I'd expect Gonzalez to start right away. I saw Sledge play with the Nationals last year and he reminded me of CPatt with less raw talent. They probably aren't expecting much from him. At the end of the day, I think the Padres improve from last year.

Take a flyer on him with a Demster like contract. But work him in as a long relief pitcher rather than a starter for the first year.

I'd add Hill into the deal only if we can also get Lugo.