The passing of the non-waivers trade deadline did not mean the end of trades. Two contenders added a piece to help down the stretch, while a rebuilding team shed itself of veterans and added young players.
Monterrey Sultans and Milwaukee Manic Maulers
Monterrey gets: 2B Nate Cox
Milwaukee gets: 3B Matty McLaughlin (AA)
A former MVP candidate with Salem, Cox struggled this season with a down Milwaukee team. He's not what he once was, but he's still got the ability to drive in runs and he'll add to a Monterrey offense that is only 8th in the AL in runs. McLaughlin, a 20-year-old former first-round pick, probably doesn't project to a future MVP candidate but should be a solid defensive third baseman with power.
Trenton Traffic and Milwaukee Manic Maulers
Trenton gets: RP Quinton Hughes
Milwaukee gets: SP Furio Diggins (AAA)
Trenton hasn't been happy with the bullpen in general and with closer Bernie Corino specifically, so they went out and got a 5-time All-Star and 2-time Fireman of the Year Award winner in Hughes. Hughes's arrival as the closer should make Corino a set up man and lessen the pressure on the rest of the bullpen. It cost Trenton Diggins, who started the season in Fargo's system. Diggins may or may not work out as a 4th of 5th starter, but even if he doesn't, he should have a decent career as a long reliever.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
MVP Question
The early list for post-season awards is up and, as usual, some races are fairly easy to predict (barring anything crazy happening from now until the end of the season, I'd be surprised if either Rookie of the Year vote is even close). Some aren't so easy. But the early list of MVP candidates in the NL raises an important question: Can someone win an MVP award without hitting a single home run all season?
Let's examine the case of Austin's 26-year-old SS William Satou. By some measures, he seems to be a curious choice for MVP. He hasn't hit a single home run all season. He's driven in 34 runs. He's hitting a pretty good but not overwhelming .297. His OPS (on-base + slugging) is an underwhelming .709 (by comparison, the average OPS of the other 4 guys on the list is .913).
But Satou is a viable candidate for other things that he does. He leads the NL in runs (110- only George Lowe at 108 is within 15 runs of that). He's tied for third in triples (8). But his claim to fame is the stolen base- I'm not sure if it's more amazing that he's stolen 124 in 126 games (needing only 11 steals in the last 36 games to break the record), or that he's only been caught once all season. Unlike the other candidates, he plays a pretty good shortstop. And he's done all this for a team that only now, in the midst of his best season, among the NL's elite.
So there are several questions here. Can a player who doesn't hit a home run all season win an MVP award? I would say yes, it's possible. Is Satou that guy? I think he would have to raise his OBP and cut down on his strikeouts a little, but he's close. He'll be up against stiff competition; I know he's not on the list yet, but I'd be surprised if Salt Lake City's Ruben Hernandez doesn't end up in the top 5 and Trenton's Calvin Chang is having a fine all-around season. Would he be in my top 5 this season? I'd say so. We'll just have to wait for the end of the season to find out how this plays out.
Let's examine the case of Austin's 26-year-old SS William Satou. By some measures, he seems to be a curious choice for MVP. He hasn't hit a single home run all season. He's driven in 34 runs. He's hitting a pretty good but not overwhelming .297. His OPS (on-base + slugging) is an underwhelming .709 (by comparison, the average OPS of the other 4 guys on the list is .913).
But Satou is a viable candidate for other things that he does. He leads the NL in runs (110- only George Lowe at 108 is within 15 runs of that). He's tied for third in triples (8). But his claim to fame is the stolen base- I'm not sure if it's more amazing that he's stolen 124 in 126 games (needing only 11 steals in the last 36 games to break the record), or that he's only been caught once all season. Unlike the other candidates, he plays a pretty good shortstop. And he's done all this for a team that only now, in the midst of his best season, among the NL's elite.
So there are several questions here. Can a player who doesn't hit a home run all season win an MVP award? I would say yes, it's possible. Is Satou that guy? I think he would have to raise his OBP and cut down on his strikeouts a little, but he's close. He'll be up against stiff competition; I know he's not on the list yet, but I'd be surprised if Salt Lake City's Ruben Hernandez doesn't end up in the top 5 and Trenton's Calvin Chang is having a fine all-around season. Would he be in my top 5 this season? I'd say so. We'll just have to wait for the end of the season to find out how this plays out.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
If the Draft Were Held Today- Conclusion
To wrap this whole thing up, let's address the question of which class (out of the first four) was the best.
1. Season 1
Season 1 tends to have a bit of an unfair advantage, as there are usually a lot more sandwich picks than in any other draft. But the first 32 picks were just as good as any other draft, led by Lonny Gates (#3), Jack Hunt (#4), Amp Palmer (#6), Che Bong (#9), and Mateo Batista (#14). There were some disappointing players, but few outright busts. Extra points for yielding C Rick Anderson (#51-sandwich pick ROY winner and has hit for the cycle in his career), Chan Suh (#97-round 3, 317 career RBI), and Chris Newson (#180-round 5, has a 40 HR and 100 RBI season to his credit).
2. Season 3
This was a top-heavy draft, with the very top being arguably the best in the first four seasons (Jacque Puffer, John Balfour, Ken Keagle, and Barry McEnroe are all big-time stars), but it wasn't quite as deep as the first season. There were some solid picks in the middle of the first round (Vin Logan at #18, Slash Ruffin at #31), but quite a few busts.
3. Season 2
It didn't have the brand names of season 3, but one could argue it had more stars than season 2. The first 2 picks, Turner Dolan and Jordan Newfield, turned out to be big-time, as have Stan Starr (#5), Yogi Anderson (#9), Pedro Candelaria (#11), Willis Biddle (#12), and Garry Wright(#13). Unfortunately, selections like Spike Moran (#14), Tomas Sierra (#21), and Warren Pagnozzi (#23) bring it down.
4. Season 4
This draft is highlighted by Carter Leonard at the top, as well as Watty Miller (#3), Santiago Perez (#6), Stone Curtis (#12), and Sammy Garrido (#21) to go with top 5 picks Fausto Almanza (#2) and Vladimir Bibby (#4). But there are a lot of decidedly average players in this draft.
1. Season 1
Season 1 tends to have a bit of an unfair advantage, as there are usually a lot more sandwich picks than in any other draft. But the first 32 picks were just as good as any other draft, led by Lonny Gates (#3), Jack Hunt (#4), Amp Palmer (#6), Che Bong (#9), and Mateo Batista (#14). There were some disappointing players, but few outright busts. Extra points for yielding C Rick Anderson (#51-sandwich pick ROY winner and has hit for the cycle in his career), Chan Suh (#97-round 3, 317 career RBI), and Chris Newson (#180-round 5, has a 40 HR and 100 RBI season to his credit).
2. Season 3
This was a top-heavy draft, with the very top being arguably the best in the first four seasons (Jacque Puffer, John Balfour, Ken Keagle, and Barry McEnroe are all big-time stars), but it wasn't quite as deep as the first season. There were some solid picks in the middle of the first round (Vin Logan at #18, Slash Ruffin at #31), but quite a few busts.
3. Season 2
It didn't have the brand names of season 3, but one could argue it had more stars than season 2. The first 2 picks, Turner Dolan and Jordan Newfield, turned out to be big-time, as have Stan Starr (#5), Yogi Anderson (#9), Pedro Candelaria (#11), Willis Biddle (#12), and Garry Wright(#13). Unfortunately, selections like Spike Moran (#14), Tomas Sierra (#21), and Warren Pagnozzi (#23) bring it down.
4. Season 4
This draft is highlighted by Carter Leonard at the top, as well as Watty Miller (#3), Santiago Perez (#6), Stone Curtis (#12), and Sammy Garrido (#21) to go with top 5 picks Fausto Almanza (#2) and Vladimir Bibby (#4). But there are a lot of decidedly average players in this draft.
The AL playoff picture with 40 games to go
At the 3/4 pole, the AL is a little more set than the NL, but there are still playoff spots open.
East
The surprising Boston Bambinos (67-54) are trying to end Louisville's 7-season reign atop the AL East. The Legends (64-57, 3 GB) will not go quietly into that good night.
North
With 41 games left in the season, we shouldn't be talking about a magic number, and yet we have to do so. St. Louis (81-40) holds a whopping 32 game lead over Milwaukee, who is currently in second place. So let's set their magic number at 10 and tell the River City Rage's front office to start printing playoff tickets- with a 13 game lead over the #3 seed, they should probably just go right to the round 2 tickets.
South
Here's where it gets interesting: Monterrey (68-53) currently is atop the division; Oklahoma City (63-58, 5 GB) is still in playoff contention, and last season's division winner and #2 overall AL seed Jackson (58-63, 10 GB) is in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
West
Seattle (81-40) is on its way to its 2nd straight division title and should, along with St. Louis, get one of the top 2 seeds and a bye. Helena is 15 games out at 66-55.
Wild Card
Normally, the furious race is for the NL Wild Card spot- this season, it could be the AL instead. There could be as many as 5 teams in the race. Right now, Helena holds the top wild card spot at 66-55, and division rival Boise and Louisville are tied for the last spot at 64-57. Oklahoma City is a game back of those two at 63-58. Jackson is 6 back of the last spot, but has the talent and enough time to possibly put themselves back in the race. Of course, Louisville and Oklahoma City still have designs on division titles.
East
The surprising Boston Bambinos (67-54) are trying to end Louisville's 7-season reign atop the AL East. The Legends (64-57, 3 GB) will not go quietly into that good night.
North
With 41 games left in the season, we shouldn't be talking about a magic number, and yet we have to do so. St. Louis (81-40) holds a whopping 32 game lead over Milwaukee, who is currently in second place. So let's set their magic number at 10 and tell the River City Rage's front office to start printing playoff tickets- with a 13 game lead over the #3 seed, they should probably just go right to the round 2 tickets.
South
Here's where it gets interesting: Monterrey (68-53) currently is atop the division; Oklahoma City (63-58, 5 GB) is still in playoff contention, and last season's division winner and #2 overall AL seed Jackson (58-63, 10 GB) is in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
West
Seattle (81-40) is on its way to its 2nd straight division title and should, along with St. Louis, get one of the top 2 seeds and a bye. Helena is 15 games out at 66-55.
Wild Card
Normally, the furious race is for the NL Wild Card spot- this season, it could be the AL instead. There could be as many as 5 teams in the race. Right now, Helena holds the top wild card spot at 66-55, and division rival Boise and Louisville are tied for the last spot at 64-57. Oklahoma City is a game back of those two at 63-58. Jackson is 6 back of the last spot, but has the talent and enough time to possibly put themselves back in the race. Of course, Louisville and Oklahoma City still have designs on division titles.
The NL playoff picture with 40 games to go
We're entering the last quarter of the season, and many teams have already had their playoff aspirations all but die. Here's how the National League looks right now:
East
It's a 3-way race in the East, with Atlanta currently leading with a 73-48 record, but Washington and Trenton are both only 3 back with matching 70-51 records. They'll all have to play each other, so this division is far from decided.
North
Fargo leads the division at 63-58 and can't seem to shake a pesky Philadelphia squad, currently sitting 3 games out at 60-61.
South
Austin, at 76-45, is the top team in the NL and has a healthy 8 game lead on Houston, at 68-53. If the season ended today, Houston would not only fail to win the division for the first time ever but would also miss the playoffs.
West
Salt Lake City has cruised to a 71-50 record, with Cheyenne being the only threat at 64-57 (seven games back)
Wild Card
Washington and Trenton would make it 3 teams from the east if the season ended today- however, there's a good chance that the 3 east teams will beat up on each other at the end, possibly opening the door for Houston (2 back) or Cheyenne (6 back).
East
It's a 3-way race in the East, with Atlanta currently leading with a 73-48 record, but Washington and Trenton are both only 3 back with matching 70-51 records. They'll all have to play each other, so this division is far from decided.
North
Fargo leads the division at 63-58 and can't seem to shake a pesky Philadelphia squad, currently sitting 3 games out at 60-61.
South
Austin, at 76-45, is the top team in the NL and has a healthy 8 game lead on Houston, at 68-53. If the season ended today, Houston would not only fail to win the division for the first time ever but would also miss the playoffs.
West
Salt Lake City has cruised to a 71-50 record, with Cheyenne being the only threat at 64-57 (seven games back)
Wild Card
Washington and Trenton would make it 3 teams from the east if the season ended today- however, there's a good chance that the 3 east teams will beat up on each other at the end, possibly opening the door for Houston (2 back) or Cheyenne (6 back).
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