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Re: The MLB Thread
RHP Brad Lidge, Nationals agree to one-year deal
by AP
WASHINGTON (AP)—Free-agent reliever Brad Lidge has agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals.
Last season, the right-hander only threw 19 1-3 innings for the Philadelphia Phillies, going 0-2 with a 1.40 ERA and one save. He didn’t pitch until late July because of elbow and shoulder problems in his right arm.
Lidge is a two-time All-Star who closed for the Phillies and Houston Astros during his 10-year major league career, going 26-31 with 233 saves and a 3.44 ERA in 592 appearances overall.
In Washington, Lidge joins a bullpen led by setup man Tyler Clippard, who was an All-Star in 2011, and closer Drew Storen.
The Nationals announced their deal with Lidge on Thursday.
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GREAT little pickup for the Nats if Lidge is healthy. When healthy he's one of the elite late relievers in baseball.
Re: The MLB Thread
Seattle considers moving Ichiro out of leadoff spot to fix anemic lineup
by Tim Booth / AP Sports
SEATTLE (AP)—Seattle manager Eric Wedge says he’s leaning toward moving Ichiro Suzuki out of the leadoff spot as a way to improve the Mariners’ anemic offense.
During the Mariners’ pre-spring training luncheon on Thursday, Wedge said he’s not completely set on moving Suzuki from the spot he’s held since he arrived from Japan in 2001. Wedge said he’s considered the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the Mariners batting order for Suzuki, while thinking about Dustin Ackley, Chone Figgins and Franklin Gutierrez as options for the leadoff role.
Suzuki is coming off the worst season of his career and is entering the final year of his contract with the Mariners. Suzuki hit .272 and failed to reach 200 hits for the first time in his career last season.
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Moving Ichiro lower in the lineup is an obvious one. Maybe testing him out at #2 and seeing how it goes, possibly moving him lower if he continues to decline.
But moving Ichiro is NOT gonna fix the Mariners offensive woes. There are AAA teams with more power in the lineup. No way small ball is gonna compete in the obviously expanding, power-heavy, AL East knockoff AL West.
With a mediocre A's, a weak M's, and a future craptacular Astros... it's looking like the Rangers & Angels are the new Yankees/Red Sox rivalry of the West.
They're gonna dominate that division for a LONG time.
Re: The MLB Thread
Adam Dunn hopes he's done talking about miserable 2011
by Rick Gano / AP Sports
CHICAGO (AP)—Adam Dunn used the first week of his offseason to chill out and get a much needed break from the misery he endured in his first year with the Chicago White Sox.
Forgetting one of the worst seasons for a hitter in major league history, though, was impossible.
“It was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Dunn said Saturday during the White Sox’s winter festival. “I thought I would just be able to go home and blow it off, forget about it, but I wasn’t able to do it, which was not exactly how I thought I would handle it. But at this point right now, it’s over. As soon as New Year’s Eve when I was in bed at 12:01 like everyone, that’s a new year.”
Although he fell six plate appearances short of qualifying for the lowest batting average in modern major league history, Dunn’s season was still a nightmare. He batted .159 over 496 plate appearances with just 11 homers and 42 RBIs while striking out a team-record 177 times.
All that after general manager Ken Williams and the White Sox gave him a four-year, $56 million contract to be the power hitter and run producer he had been for most of his career in the National League.
“I thought it’d be a lot easier,” Dunn said of moving past his struggles. “I thought I’d be able to go through the offseason like `Whatever, it’s over,’ like I do everything else. I wasn’t quite able to do that because, for one, you couldn’t go anywhere without people like, `What happened? What’s wrong?’ Basically looking for me to make an excuse or something. I didn’t have one. Once the offseason went by . all I can say is it’s over and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
Dunn’s streak of seven straight seasons with at least 38 homers ended, and after the All-Star break, he homered only twice and had eight RBIs. He also struggled mightily against left-handers, batting .064 (6 for 94) with one extra-base hit.
“That was as rough a year as you could see anybody go through. Adam’s awesome. He handled that about as good as I think anybody could handle it,” said teammate Jake Peavy, whose locker was close to Dunn’s at U.S. Cellular Field.
Dunn struggled in the DH role and in a new league. First-year White Sox manager Robin Ventura said he’s planning to give him time in the field at first base to spell Paul Konerko here and there or in the outfield, where Dunn has played more games than anywhere else during a career that began with the Reds in 2001. Dunn appeared in 35 games at first base last season.
“My experience comes from playing and I never felt the same every year coming to spring training,” Ventura said. “I’m not concerned. I’m looking more at how he’s thinking more than anything else. So I’m going to let him just play and we’ll figure it out.
“Not that we’re the same but I liked playing in the field and he’s done that in the past and it would be nice to get him in there to do that.”
In his White Sox debut in Cleveland on April 1 of last year, Dunn had a double, homer and four RBIs. Five days later he underwent an emergency appendectomy in Kansas City and missed the next six games.
“He never got it going. If I had to do one thing over, one singular thing over from last year, I would have sat him out a week longer, at least, after he had the surgery, and got him some at-bats in the minor leagues to get his stroke back,” Williams said.
“I take the responsibility for that”
Dunn has taken some light batting practice during the offseason—in some past offseasons he’s avoided hitting—and said he’s worked himself into a shape where he’s ready for spring training next month.
The White Sox need his left-handed bat more than ever in a division where the Detroit Tigers won last year and now have added Prince Fielder to a potent lineup.
And of course the biggest question for the 6-foot-8 Dunn, who was listed at 285 last year, is this: Can he get back to his old ways of being a power hitter and run producer? He’s 35 homers shy of 400 for his career.
“I don’t know. I don’t buy into the `You need to fail to.’ all that stuff,” Dunn said.
“Everybody says the Packers needed to lose a game before going into the playoffs . why? You want to win them all. I want to be as good as I can for 20 years, however long I play. I’m going in this year feeling as good as I’ve felt in a long time and I’m ready to get started and quit talking about it. Doesn’t matter where I go, I’m talking about it. I realize that comes with (the territory). I really can’t wait for opening day.”
Re: The MLB Thread
A's remain open to signing Manny Ramirez
by AP
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—The Oakland Athletics are open to signing slugger Manny Ramirez but the team is not actively pursuing the free agent.
That was the message Sunday from assistant general manager David Forst, who talked during A’s Fanfest held at the Oakland Arena, next door to the Coliseum. A’s owner Lew Wolff had suggested the move last week.
“We’re open to it,” Forst said. “We do have other things going on and we do expect other additions between now and opening day. We have never been in a situation where we had too many good players.”
Ramirez applied for reinstatement to Major League Baseball last month. He was suspended for 100 games last year but the ban was trimmed to 50 because he sat out nearly all of last season. The suspension would start with the first game he is eligible to play after signing with a club.
“I think it would be fun,” Wolff said. “This should be viewed on the basis of talent. Once he’s served the penalty he should be free to do what he wants. I don’t know what kind of shape he’s in, though I hear he’s in great shape.”
Ramirez, who will be 40 on May 30, ranks 14th on the career list with 555 home runs. He was 1 for 17 (.059) in five games last season for Tampa Bay, which had signed him to a one-year deal worth $2.02 million. He retired from baseball rather than serve his longer suspension.
“I never actually met him,” A’s outfielder Josh Reddick said. “But to have a veteran hitter like Manny? That experience can only help us. We’re a young team and I would look forward to a guy like that, a guy we can learn from.”
Reddick was in the Red Sox organization when Ramirez was traded from Boston to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July 2008. He made his major league debut with the Red Sox exactly one year later.
Reddick said Ramirez left “an interesting” legacy behind.
NOTES: Wolff also expressed some impatience with Major League Baseball’s study committee about the A’s planned move to a new stadium site in San Jose. “We should be in it now instead of waiting for it,” he said. “It’s hard to be patient when it has hurt us everywhere. The only site available to us based on our analysis is the downtown site in San Jose.” … Wolff joked that his grandson no longer speaks to him because of the trade that sent Gio Gonzalez, his favorite player, to the Washington Nationals. … Forst also denied reports that signing Jonny Gomes doomed OF prospects Michael Taylor and Chris Carter to the minors. “That is not true,” he said. “There is a fifth outfield spot and the DH spot. They have an opportunity to be on the 25-man roster.” … A’s manager Bob Melvin said he sees Gomes, Reddick, Seth Smith and Coco Crisp as part of a rotation for the outfield and included Collin Cowgill as a possible candidate for the fifth spot. … The Fanfest drew over 7,000 people.
Re: The MLB Thread
Juan Pierre agrees to minor league / spring invite deal with Phillies
by Rob Maaddi / AP Sports
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Juan Pierre can’t torment the Philadelphia Phillies any longer.
The outfielder agreed to a minor league contract with the Phillies on Friday, getting an invitation to spring training with a club he’s been a nemesis to for years.
The 34-year-old hit .279 with two homers, 50 RBIs and 27 steals for the Chicago White Sox last season, starting 152 games in left field. The left-handed batter hit .329 against lefties.
Pierre is the latest veteran to join Philadelphia, which has won five straight NL East titles. The Phillies have overhauled their bench, adding Jim Thome, Ty Wigginton and Laynce Nix. Scott Podsednik, a former All-Star, also will be in camp as a non-roster player.
All-Stars Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence are Philadelphia’s starters in center and right field, respectively. Raul Ibanez, who started in left field the last three years, is a free agent.
John Mayberry Jr. is expected to get a majority of the playing time in left field, but Pierre could compete with Nix and Podsednik for a platoon role against right-handed pitchers. Nix and Podsednik also bat left-handed.
Pierre leads active players with 554 steals. He has a .296 career batting average with 234 doubles, 86 triples, 16 homers and 484 RBIs in 12 seasons for Colorado, Florida, the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and White Sox.
Pierre has always been tough against the Phillies. He has a .310 average and.361 on-base percentage with 21 extra-base hits, 62 runs and 40 steals in 98 games against Philadelphia.
In 2003, when Pierre played for the Marlins, the Phillies had a particularly difficult time keeping Pierre off base. He hit .397 with a .471 on-base percentage, scored 16 runs and stole 12 bases in 19 games against Philadelphia. The Phillies went 6-13 against the Marlins and finished five games behind them in the wild-card standings. Florida went on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Re: The MLB Thread
Brewers formula may change with Prince Fielder gone
by Chris Jenkins / AP Sports
MILWAUKEE (AP)—Prince Fielder is gone for good. Ryan Braun wasn’t around on Sunday, either.
The two names most frequently mentioned during the Milwaukee Brewers’ offseason weren’t a part of the team’s fan festival in Milwaukee.
And if that’s the way things still look at the beginning of the season, the Brewers insist they’ll be just fine.
Milwaukee doesn’t have its Prince any more—but the Brewers still have a jester in their extroverted outfielder, Nyjer Morgan. Morgan said fans should be confident in the moves general manager Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash have made to put the Brewers in position to keep winning.
“Basically, don’t panic,” Morgan said. “Everything’s going to be OK. We’re all professionals. Doug and Gord, they brought players in to help get us back on top and still continue what we’re doing. There’s no panic.”
The Brewers still expect to contend, even if their formula for winning might change.
After spending the first seven seasons of his career bashing home runs for the Brewers, Fielder recently signed a nine-year, $214 million free-agent deal with the Detroit Tigers.
“I wish Prince the best. I don’t wish him any ill will,” Melvin told fans attending the team’s “On Deck” event, who responded by applauding. “He helped turn this organization around.”
Melvin then got a laugh from the crowd when he added, “And I’m glad he and Albert Pujols are in the American League.”
Braun, meanwhile, is awaiting a decision on his appeal of a potential 50-game suspension under baseball’s drug policy. The National League MVP originally was scheduled to appear Sunday, but he withdrew a few days beforehand with his appeal still lingering.
“Obviously, people want to talk about it,” closer John Axford said. “They want to try to figure out what’s happening, what’s going on, and obviously I guess that time’s going to come soon. Being with Braunie and seeing how hard he works, I definitely have his back every step of the way.”
And while Braun’s situation was something of a curveball to the team’s front office, the Brewers pretty much knew all along that Fielder wouldn’t be back.
“Once he started saying he was going to get $200 million, I just went, `oops,”’ Melvin said of agent Scott Boras. “That wasn’t going to work here.”
With Fielder gone and Braun potentially sitting out a large chunk of the season, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke hopes to tweak the team’s winning formula. Even with the addition of slugging third baseman Aramis Ramirez through free agency, Roenicke talked Sunday about being more “creative” on offense and playing a different type of game.
“I think some areas, we’re definitely going to focus on trying to get better in,” Roenicke said. “Some things may not be as good. But our goal is certainly to do whatever it takes to get to the playoffs.”
To Morgan, that means manufacturing runs instead of swinging for the fences.
“It’s probably going to be a little more speedy this year,” Morgan said. “You can see that we’re going to have to rely on trying to steal bags and stuff like that, and not worrying about trying to hit those gaps all the time. You can see what they brought in, and understand we still have a great team here and still got a great chance of doing what we’ve got to do.”
And while the Brewers were known primarily for the offensive exploits of Braun and Fielder in recent years, second baseman Rickie Weeks says this team has the best pitching he has seen during his time with the team.
It could be even better than last year, given that Zack Greinke should be healthy to start the season and the Brewers will have a full year with Francisco Rodriguez in the eighth-inning setup role for Axford.
“I’ve been here for a pretty long time now, and we never had pitching,” Weeks said. “Last year was the first time we had pitching. I don’t care how much offense you have, if you don’t have pitching you can’t win ballgames. We have that now still. Prince, he’ll be missed, but at the same time I think we have some pieces in place that will still keep us at that top level.”
And while the Brewers will miss Fielder’s big bat, they don’t seem overly concerned about replacing his leadership. In that respect, Corey Hart said veterans Craig Counsell, LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Kotsay will be missed more.
“It’s more of what he can do on the field for you than what he does in the clubhouse,” Hart said. “I think losing Counsell and `Hawk’ and Kotsay, those guys are more fixtures in kind of the leadership role. Prince is more leading by production.”
Re: The MLB Thread
Roger Clemens returns to the mound with University of Texas
by Leila Rahimi / KXAN-Austin
AUSTIN - Roger Clemens returned to the mound to pitch for Texas in the team's annual Alumni Game. Clemens pitched one scoreless inning and coached the alumni squad.
The former Longhorns pitcher and Major Leaguer struck out the first two batters of the game, and ended his one and only inning forcing a fly ball to Cincinnati Reds Outfielder Drew Stubbs in center field. Clemens and Stubbs were part of an alumni squad that included Padres Pitcher Huston Street, Marlins pitcher Chance Ruffin and Giants Infielder Brandon Belt.
"The Texas guys had their camp last week and I told [Texas pitching coach] Skip [Johnson] I'm going to be able to make it, so it's good to see everybody," Clemens said. "It's good to see Augie [Garrido] and the guys. I tip my cap to the guys. They come back and support it and that's what we did when we were still active or just barely retired. We come back and support the guys. It's a great event for the fans."
The alumni squad beat the Longhorns 2-0. Texas baseball starts its season February 17 against Duke.
Re: The MLB Thread
New Houston Astros owner Jim Crane says he won't change team name
by AP
HOUSTON (AP)—New Houston Astros owner Jim Crane says he won’t change the team’s name.
Crane said last week he was considering a switch. But he emailed a video message to season-ticket holders on Monday saying, “one thing that we are not going to change is the name.”
He says he made the decision after receiving “strong feedback and consensus among season-ticket holders and many fans.” He then added that “the Houston Astros are here to stay.”
The team was established in 1962 as the Colt .45s and has been called the Astros since 1965 when the name was changed to coincide with the move to the Astrodome.
