What Each MLB Team Should Be Thankful For

For me, Thanksgiving is the best holiday of the year. It’s one of the few times of the year when all bets are off when it comes to food. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Thanksgiving is also the time of year where we give thanks to what we have in life. It’s no different for all 30 teams of Major League Baseball. Each team has something they can be thankful for.

NL East

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies should be thankful that they have one of the best GM’s in the game in Ruben Amaro Jr. A GM who doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves.

Atlanta Braves: The Braves should be thankful the Minor League Player of the Year, Jason Heyward is on his way. The kid looks like a star.

Florida Marlins: The Marlins should be thankful they are getting a new stadium in 2012. Maybe then they can keep their young stars like Josh Johnson

New York Mets: The Mets should be thankful that 2009 is finally coming to an end. 2010 can’t be much worse.

Washington Nationals: The Nationals should be thankful that new GM Mike Rizzo has more of a clue than former GM Jim Bowden

NL Central

St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals should be thankful for the fact that they get to watch the best player in the game on a day in and day out basis.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs should be thankful that after so many years of being labeled “lovable losers,” they are finally dedicated to winning. Whether or not they are making the right moves to win is another story.

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers should be thankful that they have an owner in Mark Attanasio, who runs a small market team, but has a big market mentality.

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds should be thankful that Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, and Joey Votto are young stars, who should provide a solid foundation for the future.

Houston Astros: The Astros should be thankful that Wandy Rodriguez established himself as a solid No. 2 starter in 2009.

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates should be thankful for the fact that GM Neal Huntington has the team moving in the right direction. The Pirates are making the right moves to compete in the future.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers should be thankful for Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, who appear to be the foundation of the Dodgers’ offense for years to come.

Colorado Rockies: The Rockies should be thankful that they have one of the best and exciting young teams in baseball. The Rockies have finally figured out how to win in Colorado.

San Francisco Giants: The Giants should be thankful for being able to watch Tim Lincecum every five days. His unique delivery continues to amaze fans and baffle hitters.

San Diego Padres: The Padres should be thankful that it appears that they will not be trading star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks should be thankful that Brandon Webb is making progress and looks to be healthy in 2010.

AL East

New York Yankees: The Yankees should be thankful that they are the Yankees. No other team in professional sports has the advantage they have.

Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox should be thankful for their minor-league system, which allows them to trade for players like Victor Martinez and potentially Roy Halladay or Miguel Cabrera.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays should be thankful that they have the most athletic team in baseball and after so many years of losing, they have a winner in Tampa.

Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays should be thankful for the fact they got to watch Roy Halladay pitch in a Blue Jays’ uniform for the last 12 years. He will go down as the best player in franchise history.

Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles should be thankful for that after so many years of not having a clue, they are moving in the right direction. Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, Brian Matusz, and Nick Markakis provide a solid foundation for the future.

AL Central

Minnesota Twins: The Twins should be thankful for Joe Mauer. When it is all said and done, I believe he will go down as the greatest catcher of all time.

Detroit Tigers: The Tigers should be thankful for Mike Ilitch. Despite a ravaged economy in Detroit, Ilitch does his best to put a winner on the field in the Motor City.

Chicago White Sox: The White Sox should be thankful for employing Ozzie Guillen. His press conferences have provided baseball fans with hours of comedy. Oh yeah, the guy is a pretty good manager.

Kansas City Royals: The Royals should be thankful that there is only more year left in the Jose Guillen era in Kansas City.

Cleveland Indians: The Indians should be thankful that Grady Sizemore, Carlos Martinez, Azdrubal Cabrera, Matt LaPorta, and Shin-Soo Choo provide hope for the future.

AL West

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The Angles should be thankful for that they have one of the best run organizations in baseball. The job Arte Moreno and Mike Scioscia have done in Anaheim has been impressive.

Seattle Mariners: The Mariners should be thankful for the fact that if they make a couple of solid moves this offseason, they could win the AL West in 2010.

Texas Rangers: The Rangers should be thankful for GM Jon Daniels. His trades and drafting over the last four years have the Rangers poised to make a run at the AL West crown in 2010.

Oakland A’s: The A’s should be thankful for Andrew Bailey. The 2009 AL Rookie of the Year and a great year and should anchor the backend of the A’s bullpen for years to come–or at least until Billy Beane trades him.

I would like to give thanks to all my readers for taking the time out of their days to read my blog. For that, I am truly grateful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE AND THEIR FAMILIES!!!

 

Andruw Jones Finds A New Home

Another day, another move for the Chicago White Sox.

On Monday, the White Sox inked SS Omar Vizquel to a one-year deal. Today, the White Sox signed another star of the late-90’s/early-2000’s.

According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago, the White Sox signed OF Andruw Jones to a one-year, $500 thousand contract. Jones has a chance to make another million in bonus incentives.

Jones, who hit .214 with 17 home runs and had a .782 OPS in 82 games last season with the Texas Rangers will serve as a backup outfielder for the White Sox in 2010.

As long as Jones isn’t playing on a regular basis for the White Sox in 2010, then this is a nothing with nothing move. Jones doesn’t have much left in the tank and his career is quickly coming to an end.

If there is a situation in 2010 where Ozzie Guillen should use Jones in, it should be as a pinch-hitter against right-handed pitching. Jones hit 13 out of his 17 home runs in 2009 against righties and his OPS was 31 points higher against righties than it was against lefties.

Jones will be 33-years-old next year.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Red Sox Trying To Land Another Ace On Thanksgiving

Back in 2003, Boston Red Sox GM Theo Eptein, along with then Assistant GM Jed Hoyer traveled to Arizona to have Thanksgiving dinner with Curt Schilling and his wife in order to convince Schilling to come to Boston.

The Arizona Diamondbacks traded Schilling to the Red Sox on Nov. 29, 2003 and the rest is history.

Six years later, the Red Sox are trying to land another ace on Thanksgiving.

According to Marc Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, the Red Sox are “putting on a full-court press” to land Toronto Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay.

“They would love to get it wrapped up before the winter meetings (beginning Dec. 7),” their source said of the Red Sox.

It is not known what the Red Sox are offering, but it is believed at Clay Buchholz and perhaps top prospect Casey Kelly would be part of a deal. Remember, the Red Sox were hot and heavy after Halladay at last year’s trading deadline, so it should to no one’s surprise that are all over Halladay now.

Unlike former GM JP Ricciardi, new GM Alex Anthopoulos seems to have a pretty good grasp on how handle trading Halladay. Anthopoulos already has said he would be willing to give teams a 72-hour window to negotiate a contract extension with Halladay–something Ricciardi wasn’t willing to do.

My take on this and the Red Sox offseason in general, is that Theo and company really want to do something big. Whether it’s trading Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, or Miguel Cabrera, the Red Sox want to make a splash.

Acquiring Halladay would give the Red Sox a formidable rotation heading into 2010. Halladay, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka would give the Red Sox one of the best–if not the best rotation in baseball.

I wouldn’t put it past Epstein pulling off this trade before Thanksgiving. Who knows, maybe Epstein will go to the Halladay’s for some turkey dinner in order to get a deal done.

It worked once before right?

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

 

Albert Pujols Unanimously Wins NL MVP

My preseason NL MVP pick: Albert Pujols

NL MVP winner: Albert Pujols

I am shocked that St. Louis Cardinals 1B won the National League MVP award unanimously. The way the voting has been going, I am surprised James Loney didn’t get a first-place vote.

Pujols won his third MVP award today

Pujols received all 32 first-place votes to win his second consecutive NL MVP award. Pujols becomes the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards since Barry Bonds won four in a row from 2001-2004.

Hanley Ramirez finished second followed by Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder. I am a little surprised Troy Tulowitzki didn’t finish higher, but what can you do?

2009 was another banner year for Pujols. Pujols led the majors in home runs (47), runs (124), slugging percentage (.658) and intentional walks (44), and led the NL in OBP (.443).

You know, I really thought Pujols winning the MVP award unanimously would finally make Cardinal fans stop whining and crying this offseason.

But alas, I was wrong.

Here is a classic “Tweet” from a Cardinal fan that will go nameless. “What in the definition of MVP makes Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright better than Tim Lincecum, who was good enough for BBWAA to win Cy?”

Even when one of their players win an award, they still whine about something else that happened over a week ago. It’s unbelievable.

Cardinal fans should be more concerned with whether or not Pujols is going to re-sign after the 2010 season instead of being concerned with Chris Carpenter or Adam Wainwright winning the CY Young.

This is Pujols’ third NL MVP award and will go into 2010 as the early favorite to win the award again.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Royals Sign Former No. 1 Overall Pick, Bryan Bullington

The Kansas City Royals made a minor move today, but the player they signed will have an impact on baseball’s amateur draft for years to come.

The Royals signed RHP and the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 draft Bryan Bullington to a minor-league contract today. Bullington was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and has recently pitched in the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays organizations.

Bullington was the No. 1 pick in 2002

Bullington is the poster boy for everything that is wrong with baseball’s draft and why they desperately need a slotting system like the NBA.

The Pirates drafted Bullington with the No. 1 pick in 2002 for one reason and one reason only: Signability.

Bullington, who was drafted out of Ball State University, was the most signable player at that time. The Pirates took Bullington ahead of more talented players like BJ Upton, Prince Fielder, Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels, Khalil Greene, and Jeff Francouer.

When asked why he took Bullington with the No. 1 pick, Pirates GM Dave Littlefield said at the time “Bullington could be a good No. 3 pitcher.”

Really not something you want to hear about the No.1 overall pick in the draft.

Since Bullington was drafted, he has appeared in a grand total of 13 major league games. In those 13 games he has given up 47 hits and 22 earned runs in 39 innings.

In all fairness to Bullington, he did pitch well after being drafted by the Pirates going 34-17 with a 3.33 ERA in 69 games during his first three seasons.

Bullington hasn’t been the same since he tore his labrum in his pitching shoulder.

Picks like Bullington in 2002 and Matt Bush (San Diego Padres) in 2004 are the greatest examples of why baseball needs a slotting system for their draft. Bad teams need to be able to take the best player available, not the most signable.

Now to Bud Selig’s credit, he has recognized this as a problem in baseball and plans to implement this in the next collective bargaining agreement.

The Royals plan to use Bullington out of the bullpen in the minors. I guess he will never become the No.3 starter he was projected to be.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Chicago White Sox Sign Omar Vizquel

I love when teams make good personnel decisions. It makes me giddy.

Today, the Chicago White Sox signed SS and future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel to a one-year, $1.375 million deal. Vizquel, who is 43-years-old hit .266 with a .660 OPS in 2009 with the Texas Rangers.

Vizquel can still pick-it at SS

I really like this move for the White Sox.

Vizquel will serve as a backup infielder and as a mentor to Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. Who better to serve as a mentor to a young middle infielder than one of–if not the best defensive (cue Cardinal fan crying Ozzie Smith here) shortstop of all time.

The Rangers used Vizquel in this role last year for Elvis Andrus and that worked out quite well.

Not only will Vizquel serve as a mentor, but he can still pick-it with anyone defensively. He is not a washed up player, who is just looking to hang on. AKA: “A veteran presence.”

Vizquel played 62 games in the field last year at short, second and third, and didn’t commit an error. His UZR at shortstop was 5.3, which is very, very respectable. He also had a 3.3 UZR at third, which was better than Michael Young and David Wright.

The 11-time Gold Glove winner will be entering his 22nd season in the major leagues.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Joe Mauer Wins AL MVP; Was There Any Doubt?

My preseason AL MVP pick: Grady Sizemore

AL MVP winner: Joe Mauer

Two nights before the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, I had the opportunity to hang out with Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Joe Nathan at an pre-All-Star Game party at a bar in New York City.

It was by far and away one of the coolest nights of life. How often does someone have drinks with an MVP? Little did I know I was hanging out with two MVP’s that night.

Me and Joe Mauer at the All-Star Game party

Today, Mauer followed in Morneau’s footsteps by winning the American League MVP award.

Mauer, who led the AL in avg. (.365), OBP (.444), and slugging percentage (.587) received 27 out of 28 first-place votes to become not only the second Minnesota Twin to win the award since 2006, but he also became just the second catcher in the last 33 years (Thurman Munson) to win the award.

Ivan Rodriguez won the award with the Texas Rangers in 1999.

Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees finished second and third in the voting. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers was the only other player to receive a first-place vote.

Really?

Someone voted for Cabrera? Voting for Cabrera for the AL MVP is just as egregious as Keith Law leaving Chris Carpenter off the NL Cy Young ballot.

I am going to bet a good amount of money the idiot who voted for Cabrera was the same idiot who voted for Justin Verlander for the AL Cy Young.

But back to Mauer.

When it’s all said and done, I believe Mauer will go down in baseball history as the greatest catcher of all time. I really believe he is that good.

For a catcher to win three out of the last four batting titles is truly amazing. It’s a feat that doesn’t get talked about enough. Just like with Roy Halladay having more complete games than 27 teams in baseball.

15 years from now, we are going to look back at these feats and go “Wow, he really did that?”

And for any Yankee fan who thinks that Jeter or Teixeira got robbed–just be quiet. Seriously, I don’t want to hear it.

Mauer was the best player in the American League this year.

There was no doubt about it.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Derek Lowe: What’s His Trade Market?

On January 13, 2009, the Atlanta Braves signed Derek Lowe to a four-year, $60 million deal. The Braves signed Lowe after they failed to sign AJ Burnett, who signed with the New York Yankees.

Now less than one year later, the Braves are looking to trade 6′6” righty.

Why would the Braves look to trade Lowe just after one year? Well, for one, they feel they have an excess of pitching. And two, if they are able to trade Lowe, they could free up some money to add offense.

The Braves want to unload Lowe

So can the Braves trade Lowe? Let’s take a look at the pros and the cons of Lowe and what teams would be interested in trading for the former member of Red Sox Nation.

Pros

If you trade for Lowe, you are going to trade for one of the most durable pitchers in the game.

Lowe has started 30-plus games every season since moving from the bullpen to a starter in 2002. And since moving to the National League in 2005, Lowe has led the league in starts three out of those five years.

Over the last three years, Lowe is third in the National League in innings pitched with 605. In a sport where quantity counts just as much as quality for a pitcher, Lowe’s durability goes a long way.

Perhaps Lowe’s best asset is his ability to pitch well in big games. We all know what he did in the 2004 playoffs for the Red Sox winning the clinching game in all three series.

Lowe was also solid in two out of his three starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 playoffs.

Cons

Can you believe Lowe is going to be 37-years-old next year? It’s a little surprising considering that he looks a lot younger.

And with Lowe getting older, perhaps his age started to show in 2009. Lowe’s ERA rose from 3.24 in 2008 to 4.67 in 2009 and Lowe’s hits/9 increased to 10.7, which was his highest since 2004 (11/9).

Lowe K’s/9 went down from 6.3 in 2008 to 5.1 in 2009 and his BB/9 went up from 1.9 in 2008 to 2.9 in 2009. And while Lowe is known as a sinkerball/groundball pitcher, in 2009 he threw a lower percentage of groundballs (56.3) than at any point during his career.

It’s never a good sign when a groundball pitcher is throwing more flyballs than ever.

Lastly, the biggest con Lowe has going for him is his contract. Lowe still has three years and $45 million on his contract. The Braves overpaid for Lowe last year and they are going to hard pressed to move that size contract in this economy.

Now that we have looked at the pros and cons of Lowe, let’s take a look at the teams that might be interested in trading for the native of Dearborn, MI.

Milwaukee Brewers: There was a lot of talk recently of a Lowe for Corey Hart swap, but that was correctly turned down by the Brewers.

I know the Brewers are desperate for starting pitching, but even if all things were equal I wouldn’t have made that move if I was the Brewers’ GM.

New York Yankees: The Yankees had their choice between Burnett and Lowe last year and went with the younger Lowe. However, if Andy Pettitte doesn’t come back they feel Phil Hughes is still better suited to be in the pen, then Lowe could be an option.

It would be a long shot, but an option none the less.

Seattle Mariners: Another long shot, but the Mariners do need a number two starter and perhaps the Mariners could bring back the pitcher they traded away almost 12 years ago.

For those of you not familiar with what I am talking about, the Seattle Mariners trade Lowe and Jason Varitek to the Boston Red Sox for Heathcliff Slocumb.

I’ll check that one off as a win for the Red Sox.

Texas Rangers: Unless the Braves ate a significant portion of Lowe’s contract, it would be hard for the Rangers to acquire Lowe.

However, the Rangers could use a guy like Lowe and if they can get the Braves to eat a large portion of Lowe’s contract, then he would make sense for the Rangers.

As I have mentioned, the biggest problem the Braves will have with trading Lowe is his contract. Unless the Braves eat a significant portion of the deal, they are going to have a tough time trading him.

Now if it were my decision–I wouldn’t trade Lowe. This whole “the Braves have an excess of pitching” is comical to me.

Guess what? There is no such thing in baseball. The Red Sox had more pitching depth than any team in baseball going into 2009 and they still had to bring in Paul Byrd off his couch in August.

I guarantee that if the Braves trade Lowe or Javier Vazquez, something will happen to one of their remaining starters and they will be searching for a starter by the July 31st trading deadline.

That’s just the way baseball works.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

New York Mets To Possibly Play In Puerto Rico

Well, if the New York Mets couldn’t win in Citi Field, the three American League ballparks, and the other 15 National League ballparks in 2010, why not try somewhere new in 2011?

According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, the Mets are working on playing some regular-season games in Puerto Rico. The games would be considered road games for the Mets and would be played in Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

The most likely opponent would be the Florida Marlins.

Beltran would be a big hit in Puerto Rico

This is the equivalent of the NFL playing games in London, but people in Puerto Rico care about baseball and this actually makes sense.

Thanks to the signings of Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, the Mets have a large Puerto Rican following. Beltran, who is opening up a baseball academy in Puerto Rico, would sell out the game by himself.

The Mets also have Pedro Feliciano, Angel Pagan, and Omir Santos on the roster who were born in Puerto Rico.

The Marlins being the opponent for the Mets makes a ton of sense as well. Since the Marlins draw like 5,000 fans for a home game, the Marlins would probably generate more revenue from playing three games in San Juan than they would playing three games in Florida.

Hiram Bithorn Stadium was home to the Montreal Expos for some games during the 2003 and 2004 season.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

JD Drew Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

Boston Red Sox OF J.D. Drew underwent surgery on his left shoulder over the weekend to help alleviate the pain in the AC joint that bothered him throughout the season.

Drew is expected to be ready for spring training.

Ever since Drew signed a five-year, $70 million contract before the 2007 season, he has been the subject of great controversy. The controversy being: Has he lived up to his contract?

Drew has been worth the money

The answer is YES!

I know Drew can be frustrating to watch sometimes. Because he has such a low-key attitude, he almost looks like he isn’t trying sometimes. And when he goes into one his annual slumps–it looks like he REALLY isn’t trying.

But if you look at the overall body of work, Drew has been worth the money. The Red Sox have paid Drew $42 million through the first three years of his contract and according to Fangraphs, Drew has been worth $45.2 million.

He is a great defensive player, great baserunner, and has been unbelievably clutch in a Red Sox uniform.

Drew got the biggest hit of the 2007 postseason with his grand slam in Game Six of the ALCS off of Fausto Carmona. He carried the Red Sox through June and July of 2008, and his game winning, two-run home run off of Francisco Rodriguez in Game Two of the ALDS essentially ended that series.

He has more than done his share in Boston.

Now there is one interesting caveat to this injury. The Red Sox do have an opt-out clause in Drew’s contract, which is related to shoulder injuries.

Drew’s deal allows the Red Sox to opt out of the 2010 or 2011 season if Drew spends 35 days on the disabled with injuries related to a pre-existing right shoulder condition or if he finishes next season on the disabled list and can’t play the outfield in 2011.

However, because this injury was to his left shoulder, this opt-out clause doesn’t apply.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg