MLB Quick Pitches: The Tigers, the Cuban, and the Bold Prediction

Alright, the bold prediction doesn't have to do with the Tigers, it just fit the theme of the title. Kind of. Anyway, Aroldis Chapman will win Rookie of the Year in the National League. There you have it. It's Quick Pitches.

WHAT I'M READING

• My early pick for NL Rookie of the Year? Why, none other than The Cuban Sensation .

• Josh Beckett wants his to-be-renewed-contract to include a fifth year. But...uhh...he ain’t gettin’ it.

• Ever since the Mike Lowell deal fell through, Texas has been searching for another corner infielder.

• 2004 World Series hero Doug Mientkiwiecz is now seeking his release from the Dodgers because they want him tending the farm down in AAA. How far the mighty have fallen.

•The Threats of the Northwest (Pretty sure I just made that up. I’m talking about the Mariners, by the way) are still on the lookout for a solid fifth starter . Next to impossible at this stage of the game.

WHAT I THINK ABOUT IT

• Despite mustering through a recent injury, Aroldis Chapman should be coming out of Spring Training a confident man.

Sure, he’s had a relatively small sample size to evaluate (8.2 IP this spring) but from what I’ve seen so far, it has been enough to quell any doubt I had heading into March.

My main concern with Chapman was his control. I had heard that, well, he didn’t have any. He could light up the gun, but at the cost of throwing behind batters, at the guy in the on-deck circle, into the crowd, and so on and so forth.

But so far, so good. 12 strikeouts against a measly four walks. (I’ll even break it down for you math wizzes out there—that is a 3:1 ratio. Boom.)

All that being said, it’s still mostly too early to decidedly claim that Chapman is a success. But, since I’m the only person in my office that had West Virginia going to the Final Four, I’m (unnecessarily) on a current bold prediction streak that isn’t going to be starting or stopping with Chapman.

But trust me; he’s going to be good.

• “Look, Josh, we’d love to give you five years, but we’re concerned your shoulder is going to fall off. Literally. We’ve seen it happen. Let’s just stick with four and we’ll all be happy. And if you don’t like that, well then go pitch for the Blue Jays like that other Texan we had back in the day. Roger something or other...”

Understandably, the Red Sox feel that Beckett’s shoulder is a ticking time bomb set to go off somewhere around 2014/2015.

Supposedly they even had these concerns before they acquired him from the Marlins in 2005. Different story now, as he isn’t the 25-26 year-old Josh anymore. By the end of his next deal he’ll be 34-35 year-old Josh, when pre-existing shoulder issues become major red flags.

He’ll get his money, just like John Lackey did, but will he get his fifth year? Nope.

• Even though Lowell’s recent injury (foul ball to knee) has dropped his trade value to somewhere in the  below zero range, the Rangers still appear to be hot on his trail. Or at least “tepid” on his trail. I know that isn’t the expression, and it doesn’t flow as well, but it better fits the situation.

Why they thought Matt Brown or Max Ramirez could step up to be routine backup corner infielders, I’m not totally sure of, but the point remains that they still need the help. Lowell fits the bill and the Rangers have wanted him since the winter.

Texas still seems to think that they can deal Ramirez for Lowell straight up—not so sure of that now. The Red Sox don’t seem as eager to move on without Lowell anymore and Ramirez hasn’t had anything resembling a successful spring.

If any movement was to happen, it would be this week. The Rangers will still try for Lowell and if they can’t get their hands on him, they’ll have to skim the shallow free agent pool.

• If you have ever had any desire to experience the whining of a grown 35-year-old man, read the following quote.

"They gave Eric Gagne and Angel Berroa their releases. But they won't give me mine because they say if Garret Anderson blows out his hamstring, I'm the pinch-hitter."

I’m not sure what Mientkiewicz is going to be looking for. He couldn’t secure a bottom of the roster position with the Dodgers. What’s the next step? Be the 25th man for the Pirates? I guess a job is a job, but the Dodgers offered him a coaching position, which is slightly more glorious than riding the pine in Pitt.

Sometimes you just gotta hang ‘em up. He hasn’t done anything worth noting since his Minnesota days, and that wasn’t much to write home about, anyway.

So Doug, my suggestion to you is this: take the year off, relax, take a coaching position next season, and somewhere in there also shave off that ridiculous soul patch.

• Alright, even though I said it will be “next to impossible” for the Mariners to find a fifth starter right now, it was a bit of an exaggeration. Truth is, by the standards of past Seattle back-of-the-rotation guys, they should be able to find plenty of guys out there capable of going 8-14 with a 5.27 ERA.

Take Nate Robertson, for example, a perfect candidate. Not likely to make the Tigers rotation, making him expendable, he’ll fit right in with Seattle. I hear he even likes coffee.

On top of liking the java bean, he can almost guarantee that he won’t exceed expectations and go something like 12-10. Ok, ok. There was that one year that he did snag an above .500 record, but he promises it won’t happen again.

In all seriousness, they’d still like to get back together with Jarrod Washburn. They had a well-documented breakup , but there’s always hope of reconciliation. Now if they can only pry him from the hands (paws?) of the Tigers..

PD

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