Bleacher Report - Articles by Brett Moore

Why Baseball Should Expose the Juicers in Its Midst

Brett Moore — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:09:46 -0400

Sammy Sosa tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. If you're surprised, you haven't been paying attention.

On the other hand, people were shocked and appalled six weeks ago when Manny Ramirez was outed. Three months before that, Alex Rodriguez got tagged, too.

And each of those times, you heard the fans start saying that phrase again.

You know the one—the phrase that always comes up fairly early in the steroid conversation. The one you hear people say all the time: "If [insert favorite player here] tested positive for steroids, I'd give up baseball. I'd never go to a game again."

Oh yeah?

Fine. Then baseball apparently didn't mean much to you anyway, and the teams and your fellow fans probably didn't benefit all that much from your fan contributions in the first place.

I, for one, want to know who's on that list.

Two down, 102 to go.

I'm tired of the speculation, the uncertainty, the inability to enjoy a game or a great streak without someone asking questions. Baseball has a strict testing program in place now, but no one's sure who was on steroids and who therefore might still be.

So we have to listen to this garbage: "Bet you Albert Pujols is on steroids. No man can hit like that for that long."

"Well, if Pujols is, so was Mike Piazza. No catcher's ever come close to hitting like that."

"Think Randy Johnson might have been on steroids?"

"I'm not sure, but I think Ken Griffey, Jr. was until he got to Cincinnati. Look at the dive his career took."

"Who knows? They were both on the same team at the same time as A-Rod..."

It's offensive. Some of it is downright ridiculous—I've read steroid speculation on Zack Greinke and Raul Ibanez this year.

Please.

Yet every year, anytime someone does something great in this game—especially over a full season—fans will question the legitimacy of the accomplishment. And up to about 2003-2004, they probably should have.

However, MLB has since fully instituted the toughest drug policy in American sports. I'm not enough of a sap to think that there aren't a few players who have been given a break, or that MLB hasn't withheld a few names.

But the baseball brass let us know about fan favorites like Rafael Palmeiro, put a searing spotlight on Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, and suspended one of MLB's most polarizing players in ManRam for a third of a season.

Maybe it's just me, but it looks like they're serious about this.

I'm tired of hearing every standout player, past and present, implicated in steroid discussions. I don't want guesswork anymore. That list should be out in the open, so we know who relied on his natural abilities and who didn't.

Remember what happened to the players named in the Mitchell Report? Nothing.

There were a few surprises, and maybe three or four future Hall of Famers are now unlikely to be voted in.

But how many players do you remember who were named in that report? When the Mitchell Report was released, 84 Major Leaguers were outed.

And get this: People shrug now when you remind them that so-and-so was juicing.

Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Eric Gagne, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, David Justice, Paul Lo Duca, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, Mo Vaughn and Matt Williams—the list goes on, and no one cares about most the guys named.

We as Americans don't care about the guys we know juiced; we only want to talk about the guys we believe juiced and leave that cloud hanging over their heads every time they come up in conversation.

It's not fair to baseball. It's not fair to the players. And it's not fair to the fans.

We should be able to watch a game without wondering who has the bigger collection of needles: the cleanup hitter or the closer.

We should be able to move on, to leave the dark years known as the steroid era behind us, and return to clean baseball, where 40 homers is a feat to be marveled at instead of grounds for suspicion and an extra "random" drug test this year.

Major League Baseball should tell us who tested positive six years ago, let us shout and holler at the list and then allow us to let the names fade into obscurity.

It'll be a few years of embarrassment for some of the players, and a few will probably be denied entrance into the Hall, because for whatever reason, this was cheating without the consequences.

Two down, 102 to go.

And then, maybe, everyone can finally just get back to the game and the way it should played: without suspicion clouding every play, every game, every All-Star season, and every World Series Championship.

Dodgers-Angels: The Run-Up to a Rivalry, 1990 to Now

Brett Moore — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:42:58 -0400

You can hear it, even from the Bay Area.

You can hear the trash talk, the snide remarks, the fans' shouts of support for their winning team. You can hear the calls of this year being different, this one meaning more than the ones before... and none of it about the Lakers.

The Freeway Series has split SoCal again.

As the Angels and Dodgers prepare for the second half of the yearly Freeway Series, the Dodgers, as usual, seem to be scrambling to find a way to knock off their persistent AL rivals.

Good season or bad, no matter who's pitching, no matter who's injured, suspended, batting third or batting eighth, or even who's managing the Dodgers, the one constant for the last ten years or so is simply that the Angels have had the Dodgers' number.

Oh, one more constant: Angels fans never let Dodger fans forget about the domination—or that their World Series series title was exactly 14 years more recent than the Dodgers' last one.

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It wasn't always this way.

I grew up in SoCal. The Angels and Dodgers? They were family. If you rooted for one, you rooted for the other. They were in different leagues, after all, and it was all SoCal. They even used to play in the same stadium. We called it Dodger Stadium, they called it Chavez Ravine. No big deal.

The Freeway Series was the annual final set of exhibition games, the last weekend before the season kicked off. It was a time to gather as baseball fans, crack a few jokes, and enjoy the only time our teams would play each other.

Things began to shift a little as the 90s moved on. Bud Selig instituted interleague play, beginning in 1997. The same year, the all-good-feelings name California Angels suddenly changed, to the much more regional Anaheim Angels. Now they weren't the state team--they were Orange County's team.

And suddenly, the games counted.

You could still root for both. You'd pick one over the other when they played, sure, but it never stung all that much. After all, you still got to see both teams play simultaneously! It was only four games a year; might as well enjoy them, right?

This was actually a fruitful period for the Dodgers, as far as winning went. In the first three years of interleague play, the Dodgers were 9-5 against their Orange County Rivals, who opened up by struggling against the senior circuit.

That didn't last long.

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In 1999, the Dodgers had a problem they were most unfamiliar with: They needed a manager. The club had spent 44 years with two managers; now they'd gone through two more in two years. What were they supposed to do?

They went out-of-house, of course. And they got a man with a loose tie to Dodger history: Davey Johnson, who collected the last hit Sandy Koufax ever surrendered during the 1966 World Series.

But in doing so, they snubbed a relatively young manager and former Dodger catcher who was running the show in Triple-A Albuquerque. Groomed by Tommy Lasorda himself, he seemed like the ideal replacement, but the Dodgers wanted a big name, so they went and hired one.

The shrewd Angels front office was watching. The next year, following the firing of Terry Collins, they hired Mike Scoscia. And Dodger fans everywhere felt a pang as a family member left the organization. Scoscia was their guy. He'd helped lead the Dodgers to win a couple World Series. He was an icon.

And Scoscia knew Dodger baseball. He knew many of the Dodger players, too; he'd helped groom them, after all. It shows in the record, too. But what doesn't show up amidst all the statistics is that this hiring is where the still-young Dodger-Angel fan rivalry began—though it would take time to truly build.

In the 10 seasons Scoscia has run the Angels, the Angels have gone 35-22 against the Dodgers, and 104-72 against the National League (including the 2002 World Series). He knows how to beat the NL, and he and his team do it with frightening regularity. In 2009, the Angels are 6-1 in interleague play, despite being only four games over .500 for the season. By the end of the regular season in 2002, after three years of Scoscia, the Angels were back to break-even against their Angeleno rivals, at 16-16. The Angels won the wild card that year; the Dodgers just missed the NL Wild Card, despite winning 92 games.

The playing field hasn't been even since.

We all know the story of that postseason. The Angels began by dethroning the reigning AL champion Yankees in the opening round, then sent the Twins home in five games for their first AL Pennant. And in the World Series, after a Buckner-esque eighth inning error by superstar Barry Bonds in Game Six and a gem from rookie John Lackey (plus a three-run homer from quintessential Angel Garret Anderson) in Game Seven, the Angels came roaring back to upset the loathsome Giants for their first World Series championship..

Dodger fans rejoiced. The hated Giants had almost ruined the year and brought a wrecking ball to our pride for the next-who-knew-how-long, and the Angels had swooped down and saved us. And they did it with a Dodger at the helm! Glorious!

Dodgers fans celebrated with their Angel friends. Angels fans celebrated with their Dodger friends. And then came 2003.

Angels fans had a new swagger. They gloated. They flashed their World Series everywhere they went. They rubbed everyone's noses in it, even their Dodger pals. And finally, it began to rub Dodger fans' fragile pride the wrong way.

Dodger fans wanted their team to prove they could slay this new Angel dragon. Their SoCal supremacy was threatened; after all, the Padres had gone to the World Series and been destroyed. The Dodgers were the only team in the region to have gone into the fire and survived... until the Angels did it. For the first time, the Dodgers' role as the preeminent team in the region was at stake.

They had no idea their claim to Los Angeles itself was in danger.

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In 2005, still-new Angels owner Arte Moreno decided that Anaheim was no longer a good enough place for his team to play. He didn't want Disney's town on his jerseys anymore. He wanted L.A. So he re-named the Angels for a city over 40 miles away, and successfully pissed off two fan bases at once—and took the final step to create a new and heated rivalry.

Dodgers fans were livid. How dare the Angels? Los Angeles was ours. Had been since '58. Sure, the Angels had played there, too, from '61 to '64, but then they left. They abandoned this town to us. How dare Arte Moreno tread on our turf? We are the legitimate team of the largest city on the West Coast! No one else gets LA! No one!

Angels fans were incensed. Don't lump us in with those bums! We're winners, and we don't play anywhere near that plastic town to the north. This is Orange County! The Angels are an Orange County team for Orange County fans. We don't need LA! Smart SoCal fans root for this team anyhow. If you don't know where the stadium is, you don't deserve to be a fan, much less our owner.

And suddenly, each team's fans knew exactly what the other side thought of their town, of their turf. Of them. A firm line had been drawn in the sand. You're either with the Dodgers... or the Angels. Not both. Not anymore.

You want more evidence? In five seasons, I've never heard an Angel fan call the present-day team the L.A. Angels.

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Which brings us to today.

As usual, the Dodgers have some sort of mental block against the Angels—not to mention the rest of the American League. Dem Bums are running around with the best record in baseball, and the Angels struggled with injuries out of the gate before righting the ship recently. And yet, the Angels have already swiped two of three from the Dodgers--at Dodger Stadium, no less.

And now, the Dodgers head for Angel turf. They'll bring with them starts from Chad Billingsley on Friday and Clayton Kershaw on Sunday, depending on what happens tonight with the Oakland game.

Joe Torre will have to consult his magic eight-ball to come up with a pitcher for Saturday, with both Stults and Milton injured and MacDonald ineffective with the big club. To counter, the Angels will probably be sending Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, and John Lackey to the mound in some order.

Can the Dodgers break even on the season against their AL rivals? Or will Scoscia continue not only his domination of the Dodgers, but of Joe Torre as well?

Series Prediction: The usual. Angels take two of three, and one of them hinges on Scoscia out-thinking Torre.

Fantasy Baseball's Dirty Half-Dozen: Ice in Their Veins, Bats, and Arms

Brett Moore — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:15:24 -0400

We keep talking about how to improve your team through additions, guys who are just chilling on the wire waiting for you. But what if you don't have anyone on your team you want to drop?

That sixth-round Garrett Atkins pickup in the midst of that run on third basemen seemed like the right call at the time. You needed a masher, and David Ortiz still being around at the top of the fourth round for you seemed to good too be true. You drafted them so high, and they've been so good until this year; why would you give up on them?

But there they are: the guys who are hurting your team while you wait for them to catch fire and become themselves.

The bad news is that owners of these guys might have waited too long at this point, and suitable replacements may be difficult to find. The good news is, the season is still only about a quarter over, so there's plenty of time for someone else to get hot and qualify to fill their shoes on your squad (I'm looking at you, Adam LaRoche).

All the same, you should be looking for replacements for the following six guys who have fallen, and may not be able to get back up.

Garrett Atkins, Colorado Rockies (41 G, .190 AVG, .571 OPS, 3 HR, 14 RBI)

Atkins has been tailing off a little bit for each of the last couple years, but nothing like this. Something has happened to Garrett's swing.

He's been behind on fastballs all year, and his ground ball rate is up from 2008, too. Rotowire.com may have put it best when, in their latest fantasy notes on Atkins, they claimed that he "seems to be most helpful to the Rockies when he's getting beaned by opposing pitchers".

Look, we get it, players go through slumps. But there's no excuse for this from Atkins, especially given that he plays in hitter-friendly Coors Field. It's been almost 150 at-bats, and his replacement, Ian Stewart (.189, 7 HR, 20 RBI), is already in play, so at season's end, it's probably safest to assume whichever third baseman has passed the Mendoza Line will have a job--and the other will have either been dealt, sent back to AAA, or both.

David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (40 G, .195 AVG, .599 OPS, 1 HR, 18 RBI)

I shouldn't even have to put him here, but there's an awful lot of owners clinging to Papi. But like Derrek Lee (below), Ortiz had a major wrist injury hit him last year, and then he lost Manny Ramirez's presence in the lineup at the deadline. Between the two, Papi's power has disappeared; he's hit only ten home runs since Ramirez was traded, and eleven since last May.

It's not even just that his power swing has left him. His strikeout percentage is up seven percent from last year, so that now he's striking out in almost one out of every four at-bats. And in his last two years, we've seen a positively mammoth spike in his pop-up percentage. In previous years, seven or eight percent of fly balls Ortiz has hit were pop-ups; last year, it shot up to 14 percent, and this year it's 18 percent.

Perhaps one of the saddest on-field moments we'll see this year was when Ortiz went 0-for-7, and sadly told reporters very simply that "I don't feel like talking. Just put down, 'Papi stinks'." It's a reminder that the players are human, too, and deal with failure as hard or harder than the rest of us.

I'm not going to say Papi's done at 33—I'm hoping he's not—but he's no longer a help to your fantasy team. Look for a new DH, maybe Hank Blalock from Texas.

Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks (25 G, .190 AVG, .613 OPS, 2 HR, 13 RBI)

Drew was going to be a star, the next big-name shortstop in the NL. He could hit, he could field, he could run, and he might even be more talented than big brother J.D., assuming either could stay healthy. So what happened?

Good question. While you're asking, ask Conor Jackson, Chad Tracy, and Chris Young, too. Drew might actually the best of this bunch this year (and is owned in more leagues than the others, which is why he's listed here and they're not), but none of them are hitting higher than .190, and they were all tabbed as gifted hitters by scouts, management, and peers alike. The four have combined to hit nine home runs between them, on pace for 40 for the year combined.

This core tore up the league for the first 40 games of last year, and now seem to have absolutely fallen apart. It might be possible that all four of these hitters just need a change of scenery, but they're all in their late 20's now, and were expected to have had breakout seasons well before now.

All of these hitters should probably be left on the wire until they prove the scouts right.

Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs (32 G, .248 AVG, .730 OPS, 5 HR, 19 RBI)

Why yes, I am choosing to put his name here while he's on a nice hot streak, notching 12 hits in his last seven games, including two homers.

But watch him as scouts watch him, and everyone keeps saying the same thing: the ball isn't jumping off his bat like it used to.Those line drives he used to hit are turning into lazy fly balls. And those three 30-plus-homer seasons have been nothing but a memory since that wrist-shattering collision with Rafael Furcal back in 2006. The former perennial MVP candidate just ain't what he used to be.

However...this hot streak makes his season look a little more respectable than it has been up to this point. It bothers me that he's nearly doubled his hit total in the last seven games he's played (from 19 to 31), and that doing so has caused a 54-point jump in his BA (from .194 to .248) following his week off.

Which Derrek Lee is the real Lee? Call me a pessimist, but I don't see him going on many tears like this one over the rest of the season. However, I've been wrong before (see Callaspo, Alberto), so this one's totally up to you.

But I still think there are at least ten first basemen more ownable in most formats. He's 33, his wrist has never fully recovered, and he's just not elite anymore. I'd try and sell him high now; there's bound to be someone in your league who sees this as a return to form, even if it isn't you. Beware this choice in your mid-season and '10 drafts.

Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays (45.2 IP, 4-4, 7.49 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, 35 K)

Just as I tag Kazmir as having something wrong, of course, he's put on the DL with a quad strain. But something is very wrong this year with the 25-year-old lefty. He got off to a strong start to 2009, tossing out three quality starts in his first four games; the other was a shellacking where he gave up six runs in four innings to the White Sox. Since then, however, he's given up 29 runs in his last 23 innings for an ERA of 11.34 over his last five games, making it through the sixth inning only once.

His peripherals tell us that we should have seen this coming. Kazmir's K/BB is way down, from about a 2.37 ratio to 1.21. This isn't necessarily due as much to a lack of control as it is a testament to his sudden inability to get the strikeout totals we're so accustomed to seeing from him. He's had a K/9 at or around ten for four of his 5 years in the league; now, suddenly, he's running at 6.9 K/9.

Opposing hitters have accounted for the missing K's by absolutely raking the pitches he throws, hitting at a .316 clip with an OPS of .901. Compare those to Kazmir's career marks of .247 and .729, and you'll get some idea of just how bad this year is for Kazmir.

Right now, you want to throw him in your DL spot, if you've got one, but keep him on the bench or leave him on the wire for someone else when he gets back; you need solid evidence that these trends won't continue this season before you trot him back out there against that murderous AL East again.

B.J. Ryan, Toronto Blue Jays (10.1 IP, 1-1, 2 SV, 8.71 ERA, 2.13 WHIP, 10 K)

Run. Ryan's time is up. His velocity is down from its once mid-90s glory to an extremely hittable 86-89 mph. His breaking pitches don't have the drop on them that they used to, either.

And hitters are noticing. In just over ten innings this year, Ryan has been bombed, giving up ten earned runs in that time, and allowing runs in five of his 11 outings this year. Batters are crushing the ball against him, hitting at a .350 clip, with an OPS of 1.160 (including a slugging percentage of .700). On the strength of those numbers, he lost his job as closer in near-record time to the brilliant young Scott Downs, who's been positively lights-out for this Jays team.

Now, this isn't to say he hasn't had good outings. But nothing ruins a good day or week for your fantasy team than a total implosion by one of your relievers, and with Ryan, you're playing Russian Roulette every time he toes the rubber. If you're one of the owners who has him in any of the 80% of leagues he's still owned in, you should be looking for anything from Mariano Rivera to your dead grandmother to replace him.

BONUS! Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs (36 G, .214 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI)

I firmly believe that Soto has some great years ahead of him as a catcher. I also firmly believe that this isn't one of them.

Geovany Soto has made me a believer in the "sophomore slump". Soto had his three biggest months last year in August, April, and May, and if that's a trend to judge by, this is going to be a hard year for him. His BABIP is down from last year, when it was a reasonable .332; currently, he's sitting on .267, so that has to go up. But it doesn't look like he's going to produce numbers along the lines of last year again—at least in 2009.

However, there's a lot of good things going on with the Cubs catcher. Soto is developing better plate patience: his BB/K rate is significantly better this year than last, and his walks per plate appearance is also up. He's also hitting with the same grounder-to-fly ball ratio as times when he's hitting well.

Soto's not missing anything. It's just a combination of good scouting, good pitching, and bad luck that's getting him out. I'd look for a rebound next year, and maybe even some solid-but-not-great months later on this year.

If good catchers weren't so hard to find this year, I'd say drop him; instead, I'll advocate merely benching Soto for now, finding another catcher to play for a while in his place, and waiting until he starts hitting around .250 or better on a weekly basis, so he can start benefiting you again.

Next column, it's back to the mound again.

Fantasy Baseball's Dirty Half-Dozen: Outfielders

Brett Moore — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:23:47 -0400

Well, we could try to talk about catchers this week, but I promise you—there aren't more than a couple who are flying under the radar right now, certainly none who can keep it up, and anyone worth keeping is long since gone.

So let's jump to the only set of positions we havne't discussed so far: outfielders. And boy, what an odd year it's been for THIS slot in your lineup.

Carlos Quentin just isn't hitting the way we want him to—a bad foot'll do that. Manny's—well, you know about Manny. People in India know about Manny. And Grady Sizemore's bat needs a hat to keep warm.

So you need something to boost your production for these guys, and no one's willing to trade you Adam Jones or Carl Crawford. Here, again, are six guys who are way under-owned in most Yahoo! and ESPN leagues.

We lead off in Minnesota, where amidst the snow and ice, no one can ever find you.

Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins (Available 88 percent Yahoo!/92 percent ESPN leagues)

Jason Kubel, Minnesota Twins (57 percent Yahoo!/52 percent ESPN)

Denard Span, Minnesota Twins (36 percent Yahoo!/54 percent ESPN)

I can't believe my eyes. People left and right are struggling past the infield dirt, and the Twins are hiding not one, not tow, but three outfielders who arguably rank in the Top 30 this year and are less than 50 percent owned. If you're in a 12-team or deeper league, at least one of these guys should be on someone's team, and yet, chances are, they're not.

Cuddyer and Kubel are the guys you want if you're having a power outage Cuddyer is hitting .275 (.836 OPS), Kubel a scorching .336, with an OPS over .900. Cuddyer's got six big flies to Kubel's five, and their run production (Cuddyer: 26 runs & 25 RBI, Kubel 22 and 23) would be a welcome addition to any fantasy club.

Span is another little-known name that Minnesota has groomed right up to the big-league level. In his first full season in the majors, Span's picked up right where he left off in his part-time role the last couple of years, tagging the ball at a .299 clip.

While Span isn't likely to hit more than ten homers in any year, he's already hijacked nine bases, scored 23 runs, and knocked in 20. I wouldn't be surprised to see 30 steals and a .300 AVG from the 25-year-old Span, plus 80 each scored and driven in.

Kubel, on the other hand, is likely to endure a slide at some point this year; he's hitting well above his .275 career average. Even so, Kubel is the poor man's Hunter Pence, despite the fact that they were nearly indistinguishable statistically in 2008 (outside their SB production, of course). I can see Kubel going for 20 or so HR and a MINIMUM of 80 RBI, with 100 well within reach.

The Twins have been nursing Cuddyer back to health the last couple of seasons, so his numbers have been less than spectacular. But right now, Cuddyer's not hitting above his head like Kubel is (Cuddyer's career average is .269), but it seems that his power has improved.

And Cuddyer's four SB are legit, too—he's not swiping them through pure speed, but through smart base-running and good timing. I'm projecting Cuddyer to a 20+ HR/10+ SB finish, but that's probably conservative.

Get these guys NOW. You don't want to miss their next big game.

Michael Bourn, Houston Astros (50 percent Yahoo!/47 percent ESPN)

If you were waiting to see if this kid could keep up his hitting, you can stop holding your breath now. He can, as long as you're not looking for power numbers; Bourn has only one homer and 10 RBI. But, oh, the runs this kid scores.

He's got 25 runs on the year already, plus a .289 AVG and 13 SB. Even in a standard 5x5 league, Bourn has value in three of five categories. And remember, he's in a hitter-friendly park over in Houston, so while his average might be inflated, it still helps your fantasy team.

Juan Pierre, Los Angeles Dodgers (43 percent Yahoo!/36 percent ESPN)

Listen, if you're a fantasy player, you're probably following baseball very closely. And you've heard this recommendation from a lot of 'experts' who told you to go get Juan Pierre, because with Manny gone, he's an everyday player now, and gee, he might hit better with more at-bats. But they can't have seen this coming.

Juan Pierre is hitting .434 (23 for 53!) since MLB grounded Manny. Ramirez has 38 more games on his suspension, and it looks like Pierre is making a case to try to stay in the everyday lineup when he gets back. Since going full-time two weeks ago, Pierre has scored 14 runs, driven in nine more, and swiped six bases—all from the leadoff spot.

He should be owned and started in every league as long as he keeps this up. Who knows; he might even homer for once.

Kendry Morales, Anaheim Angels (55 percent Yahoo!/60 percent ESPN)

Before you correct me: I will not refer to them as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That's ridiculous. The cities are separated by 60 miles, and the stadium has been located in Anaheim for over 40 years. They're still the Anaheim Angels to me.

And Kendry Morales has still arrived. He finally has his opportunity to play full-time at age 26, and he's taking advantage of it. He's eligible both at outfielder and 1B, though he'll primarily play the latter with Vladimir Guerrero coming off the DL soon.

That said, Morales has hit a steady .275 this year, with 8 homers and 26 RBI, both new career highs for him. He's 16 games away from his career high in games played, as well. He isn't Mark Teixeira by any means, but he's definitely a nice fill-in if you need a little extra pop. And more importantly, he's heating up—hitting .288 with 4 jacks int he last 2 weeks.

Looks like he'll get about 25 homers this year—a nice under-the-radar boost, should you be facing a power shortage.

In the next edition of Dirty Half-Dozen, I'll let you know who you drafted that's gotta go, no matter how high you took them.

Fantasy Baseball's Dirty Half-Dozen: Infielders

Brett Moore — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:51:33 -0400

To the 95 percent of people who drafted David Ortiz, and haven't gotten rid of him: This is your wake-up call. Ortiz is batting .220, still hasn't homered, and has an OPS of .650. Juan Pierre has a better OPS.

Yes, you read that right. Juan Pierre. In other news, Phoenix is a ski resort because Hell froze over this weekend.

And if you were taken in by Marco Scutaro's hot start, don't worry, you're not alone. There are many still depending on the burst he showed in April, none of whom are paying enough attention to his career .262 BA; as if that's not enough, he's never had double-digit homers or steals in a season.

He might get both this year, but I'd wager he won't even go 15-15.

But what, you ask, do I do now, then? How do I fix the horrendous holes?

Well, that's what the Dirty Half-Dozen is here for.

Here, my friends, are six under-the-radar fantasy infielders who could provide some instant lift.

Todd Helton, 1B, Rockies (Available in 52 percent of Yahoo! Leagues/49 percent ESPN)

Back during Spring Training, there were whispers coming out of Rockies' camp that heralded the Return of Helton. It was said that the back surgery he had during the offseason had worked miracles on his swing, that it had taken five years off his age. Sure enough, about two weeks into the season, the hits began falling. Everywhere.

Helton is presently swinging one heavy piece of lumber, batting .351 with an OPS of .938. And before you claim those are just empty averages, and that his power left him long ago, Helton's already sent four souvenirs into the stands and driven in 21 runs.

There's still something left in that bat, apparently, and he says he hasn't felt this good in years. Sure his average will come down a bit, but you're still looking at a man toting a .329 career average and eight 20-homer seasons.

If both he and the scouts agree this is the best he's looked in years (and they do), you might want to snag him—fast. Helton's experienced a 27 percent jump in ownership on ESPN in the last week, and it's not because the Rockies are suddenly fashionable.

Hank Blalock, 1B/3B/DH, Rangers (32 percent Yahoo!/35 percent ESPN)

On the other hand, if you've got a team short on power but long on average, Blalock might be a solid pickup for you. His .252 BA might look a little scary, but his .571 slugging percentage tells the truth: Blalock has had his homer swing going all season.

He's gotten a quick 10 HRs and 24 RBI, which has him on pace for a remarkable 50 HR and 120 RBI. Expect him to fall off that pace, but realize that a solid 30+/90+ season is not out of Blalock's reach if he's healthy, especially with some of the other hitters in that Rangers lineup.

But don't expect his average to carry you; Blalock's a career .274 hitter, so you might want a few contact hitters to offset some of the damage he could do.

Casey Blake, 1B/3B, Dodgers (72 percent Yahoo!/87 percent ESPN)

Just in case Blalock's not available, there's still Casey Blake. Blake doesn't pack quite the same punch Blalock does (7 HR/22 RBI), but he provides a lot less pain in your BA (.276 to .252).

These two have been almost the same player throughout their careers—similar averages, a little less power for Blake—but remember, Blalock's spent his whole career in the Ballpark at Arlington.

That'll help anyone's numbers. Blake also runs a little more consistent than Blalock—Blalock's got a tendency to start hot and cool off after the All-Star Break, while Blake hits .290 from May to August and cools down in September.

Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B/SS, Indians (28 percent Yahoo!/35 percent ESPN)

Yes, I know both Cabrera and Blalock are owned in almost 75 percent of all leagues. They should both be owned in more—for opposite statistics.

Cabrera came out of the box well this year, and has settled into a steady hitting pattern, knocking the ball around at a .336 clip. He's only got one homer, but he's also driven in 19 runs and scored 28 more.

For the cherry on top, he's swiped six bases so far this year, and that number could definitely go up as long as he's hitting in front of guys like Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner (when he's healthy), and Shin-Soo Choo.

The one worry with Cabrera is that he's only played 160 games at the major league level prior to 2009, and no one's sure how he'll hold up after 150 games in the grinder, especially in a division race like the AL Central, so handle with care, and keep an eye out for a backup plan.

Cristian Guzman, SS, Nationals (65 percent Yahoo!/63 percent ESPN)

Few shortstops are known for their power, though some have little spikes every now and then. Guzman hasn't even been a blip on the radar as far as power numbers, or even steals. But if you need to balance out Ryan Howard's prodigious K rate, you can't pick much better than Guzman.

Guzman is hitting a torrid .390 this season, with an OBP just under .900. Now, that average is pretty empty outside itself and its power to get Guzman to score—he's only got nine RBI and one HR—but with a .390 average and 18 runs in 21 games, it's more than likely worth your while.

Guzman's on a pace to score almost 130 runs, and I wouldn't put it past him because, let's face it, the Nationals know how to hit—and Guzman, it seems, is always on base, just waiting for someone to bring him around.

He's already had a two-week stint on the DL, and came off it just as hot. At the very least grab him before he cools down and ride the average for a few weeks, especially in head-to-head leagues.

Chris Duncan, 1B/OF, Cardinals (73 percent Yahoo!/53 percent ESPN)

With Rick Ankiel and now Ryan Ludwick on the DL, Duncan will likely hit from the four-spot, behind Albert Pujols. Now, if you're not a believer in lineup protection, I suggest you look at the Dodgers' Andre Ethier with and without Manny Ramirez hitting in front of him. The difference is staggering.

Now imagine what a guy with Duncan's power potential could do hitting behind an even better hitter in Pujols. I'm betting Duncan's .282 average will get a chance to rise--and so, too, might his so-far-meager home run total (3).

Even if you are one of the aforementioned skeptics of lineup protection, he's still hitting behind some serious OBP, and it shows; he's got 23 RBI already, helped largely by his .375 BA with runners in scoring position. Worth a flier in my book.

Stay away from:

Scott Rolen, 3B, Blue Jays: His .325 BA is all he's got, and his power numbers have been in continual decline. It's been three years since he hit 20 homers, and it took him three years to hit that many combined. He's a contact hitter now, but he's not on Guzman's level, so that average probably isn't worth it.

Alberto Callaspo, 2B/SS, Royals: A healthy-looking .324 average doesn't look quite so healthy when you realize that at the end of April, this was a guy hitting .380. I'm not sold on him as even a .300 hitter yet (we'll see how much the youngster cools off, and if he can rebound), so pick him up at your own risk. The 17 runs do look tempting, though.

Fantasy Baseball's Dirty Half-Dozen: Pitchers

Brett Moore — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:10:57 -0400

So you're slumping a little bit on your pitching, running behind in your league because Hamels hasn't been what you remember him being, or Chien-Ming Wang decimated your numbers from Opening Day on.

Or maybe it's your bullpen: your relievers aren't much help since Brad Lidge is pitching like that 2006 Pujols homer was yesterday, Ziegler's got the flu, and you tried to find Hoffman's Brew Crew subs while he was out, only to to discover it was more like the Blew-it Crew.

Now that jerk with Santana, Greinke and Broxton is running away with the league in the pitching department. How can you make up the slack?

Here's a few pitchers available in a majority of leagues (Yahoo! and ESPN) who have begun the year well, but whom people are almost completely ignoring.

RELIEVERS

Rafael Soriano, Braves (available in 59 percent of Yahoo!/76 percent ESPN)

Bobby Cox seems to have developed a dual-closer system with Mike Gonzalez and Soriano. Both are capable, but using both gives Cox a degree of flexibility that you don't see with most clubs.

Since Gonzalez is a lefty and Soriano tosses right-handed, Cox can now freely use whichever he needs in a setup role and use the other as a closer. Gonzalez is owned in a majority of leagues, but Soriano is still going unnoticed,

Yes, he's only got three saves, but he's got an ERA of 1.13 and a WHIP under 1, as well as a 22-to-6 K-to-BB ratio. What's not to like?

David Aardsma, Mariners (69 percent Yahoo!/82 percent ESPN)

Listen, if you're struggling for saves, you can't beat a solid closer on a winning team. With Brandon Morrow down for now in Seattle, Aardsma has risen into the closer role, and likely should have been awarded the role before Morrow went down in the first place.

Aarsdma has dropped some very impressive numbers so far—1.88 ERA and a 1.12 ERA, 3-for-3 in save situations. His K-to-BB is a little troubling—15-9 for a 1.67 rate—but Aardsma is still young, so it's likely that'll improve somewhat.

Even when Morrow gets back, there'll be days he's unavailable; and look for Wakamatsu to call Morrow anyway.

Andrew Bailey, A's (53 percent Yahoo!/84 percent ESPN)

Okay, what does it take to get this guy some notice? Really, people, he's a rookie who's come out of the box the way Brad Ziegler did last year for the A's, with a 1.27 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP over his first 21.1 innings in the majors. His K-to-BB is equally impressive for his experience, at 24-to-7 (or 3.43).

Sure, he's not the closer but should anything happen to Ziegler (check the last week or so, people), Bailey figures to get a few opportunities (he's already got one save and 3 wins).

There aren't a lot of great closer options available, his peripherals should help you in several other places, in case you began the year counting on Randy Johnson and Ricky Nolasco to help your ERA or WHIP totals.

STARTERS

Barry Zito, Giants (83 percent Yahoo!/90 percent ESPN)

Don't start. I know. He's been a disaster the last two years, and didn't exactly start off the year on a tear. But that's exactly why he's available, and you should be racing to get him now. I've put my money where my mouth is here—I've picked him up in leagues on both sites.

He's put together four straight quality starts, giving up a total of four runs in his last 26.1 innings to drop his ERA to 3.57 and his WHIP to 1.25.

Admittedly, this is aided by the division he plays in—during that stretch, he's thrown 14 shutout innings across two starts against the Padres and Diamondbacks, and gave up all four runs in his other two starts against the Dodgers—but that should be extra motivation to go get him, rather than reason for reservation.

The only concern here is that the Giants rarely give him enough offense for him to actually get the wins he deserves.

Koji Uehara, Orioles (92 percent Yahoo!/95 percent ESPN)

For God's sake, Ben Sheets is owned in more leagues than Uehara, and he doesn't even have a contract. His season ERA isn't impressive (4.01 ERA), but that's the result of one bad start against the Rangers in his second game of the year, where he gave up seven runs and walked four over five innings.

Take away that start, and Uehara's got a 2.90 ERA, a WHIP of 1.06, and a ridiculous 29-to-3 K-to-BB ratio (9.67!!!). He's also 2-3, but remember, he's on the Orioles—wins might be hard to come by.

If your league considers losses as part of its statistics, you may want to dodge this pick-up, but there is no other reason to pass on this waiver-wire steal.

Edwin Jackson, Tigers (52 percent Yahoo!/67 percent ESPN)

Jackson was a prized prospect in both the Dodgers and Rays organizations whom both clubs gave up on, but it's looking like the third club is the charm for young Jackson,as he's finally put his repertoire to work.

Jackson has a sparkling 2.60 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He's 2-2, and the Tigers have the offense to normally get him some wins. He's also packing a 35-to-11 (3.18) K-to-walk ratio. But people are starting to catch on to Edwin, so it's unlikely he'll earn a mention here again.

Hope this helps you out! Next time on the Dirty-Half-Dozen: Infielders.

Boras Leaks Real Drug Behind Manny Suspension: Hair Products

Brett Moore — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:17:06 -0400

On Thursday evening, Scott Boras held another press conference to add to the exhaustive coverage of Manny Ramirez's suspension in order to identify exactly for which drug Manny Ramirez had tested positive.

"These sources have it all wrong," said Boras as he stuffed the wad of money he'd been greedily counting back into his suit pocket. "Manny wasn't using any sort of fertility drug—his virility is certainly not in question. No, Manny was suspended for the use of cytotoxins."

There was a pause as several reporters quickly Googled "cytotoxins" on their iPhones in a race to respond to the statement more fully.

The fastest reporter responded, "Mr. Boras, are you telling us that Manny has been suspended for hair growth products?"

Boras nodded sadly and regretfully. "Exactly. Major League Baseball, Manny, and I all sat down at the winter meetings back in December because Commissioner Selig suspected that Manny had not been joking regarding his dreadlocks' ability to fuel his hitting. Once we proved that his hair was what had sustained his hitting ability from his youth, Commissioner Selig put Manny on double-super-secret-probation, and warned him that if he used any hair care products not pre-approved by MLB, he would be suspended. That is, in a nutshell, why Manny will be suspended."

When it was pointed out that Manny had not actually been at the Winter Meetings at all, Boras stuck his fingers in his ears and began singing that he couldn't hear anyone.

One source claims that MLB told Manny at the end of Spring Training that he had one month to cut his hair, or be suspended. A month passed, and Ramirez' trademark dreads only got longer.

Several Dodgers fans were spotted chopping off a substantial amount of the locks on their Dodger-trademarked dreadlock wigs in what was thought to be disgust. When asked about it, two of them stared blankly and expressed that if Selig had resorted to this, he might soon begin banning fans with similar hair length from the ballpark.

The Funny Side of Manny Ramirez's Suspension: Why He Was Suspended

Brett Moore — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:42:19 -0400

You're not going to believe this, but according to Steve Henson and Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, who have heard from another source, not only was the drug Manny Ramirez taking not a steroid or HGH, it was not used for weight room performance enhancing.

However, it was still a performance enhancer: in the bedroom.

From here:

"The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the substance is supposed to boost sex drive. It is not Viagra, but a substance that treats the cause rather providing a temporary boost in sexual performance, the source said... The source [also] intimated that Ramirez might bring legal action against the physician."

I can't help it. Even knowing Manny's gonna be out for the next two months, I'm laughing my head off.

First off, to everyone who is now backing Jose Canseco and saying he's right, how would Jose know if this is accurate?

On second thought...don't answer that.

Secondly, Manny would likely have been allowed to have the substance had he asked the commissioner for what is known as a Therapeutic Use Exemption.

So imagine walking up to Bud Selig and saying, "Hey Bud, I'm having a little trouble in the bedroom and am going to be taking a, uh, *ahem* 'performance enhancer,' so to speak, that's not on the allowed list. Mind giving me a pass here?" Bud Selig looks back at you after a fit of laughter (can Bud Selig laugh?) and says, "All right, but I'll need a doctor's note."

I can understand his reluctance and that his ego—not even as Manny or as a ballplayer, just as a man—might have gotten in the way. But he still should have "manned up" and submitted whatever paperwork might have been needed when he first came up positive in Spring Training—at least, if he wanted to keep swinging on the field, as well as off of it.

But this has got to be the worst thing that can happen to Manny. This is an ego killer all around. Poor guy.

Yes, this is juvenile. No, it shouldn't be funny. But it is. It...just...is.

I'll stop laughing when the Dodgers start losing. That's scheduled for, oh, this weekend, when Tim Lincecum comes into town.

But for now, this is hysterical, and for me totally absolves Manny of any guilt.

Manny Ramirez Update: Manny Issues Apology, Defense, Has Legit Reason

Brett Moore — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:58:03 -0400

The latest news on Manny: he's wasted no time getting Scott Boras and a defense together. From Yahoo!'s Big League Stew blog:

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and
passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

"I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation."

So Manny's defense against the allegations is essentially as follows: "No, no, you're right, I shouldn't have been taking that; I should have checked first. But it's not a steroid. Sorry, everyone! This sucks."

No argument on the last half. He should be sorry, and it does suck.

As for the rest of it? Yes, it does sound like a pretty standard defense, but... I think Manny is just goofy enough upstairs that he might not have checked whether the medication he was prescribed was banned or not. It was, he got tagged, and there goes a third of his season.

No cover-ups or appeals--he took it, end of story. No past history--again, first foul in 16 big-league seasons.

He's taking this like a man, and that, coupled with his point about the other 15 tests he's taken, makes me believe him.

UPDATE 11:05 AM: You're not going to believe this, but according to Steve Henson and Tin Brown of Yahoo! Sports have heard from a source that not only was the drug he was on not a steroid or HGH, it was not used for weight-room performance enhancing.

However, it was still a performance enhancer: in the bedroom. From here:

I can't help it. Even knowing Manny's gonna be out for the next two months, I'm laughing my head off.

First off, to everyone who is now backing Canseco and saying he's right, how would Jose know, if this is accurate? On second thought... don't answer that.

Secondly, Manny would likely have been allowed to have the substance, had he asked the commissioner for what is known as a Therapeutic Use Exemption. So imagine walking up to Bud Selig and saying "Hey Bud, I'm having a little trouble in the bedroom, and am going to be taking a *ahem* "performance enhancer", so to speak. Mind giving me a pass here?"

I couldn't do it. It's still hysterical, but I can understand his reluctance and that his ego--not even as Manny or as a ballplayer, just as a man--might have gotten in the way.

But this has got to be the worst thing that can happen to Manny. He can't take a swing on the field OR in the bedroom.

No, it shouldn't be funny. But it is. It... just... is.

Manny Ramirez Tests Positive: Dodgers Fans' Worst Nightmare Comes True

Brett Moore — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:28:48 -0400

It began this morning with a text message.

"Bye-bye Manny. 50 games."

I laughed, thinking my old roommate was playing a joke on me. Manny wasn't hurt; he was perfectly fine. I watched him hit last night, and he ran fine, too. But then I wondered, why so specifically 50 games?

Then it started to sink in what my roommate meant.

As I pulled up ESPN, the lead MLB news sent my heart first into my throat, then into my feet. Boston fans had to be eating this up.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Manny Ramirez has tested positive for as-yet-unspecified performance-enhancing drugs, and the Dodgers have already told Triple-A outfielder Xavier Paul to pack his bags and head for Hollywood.

This could not have come at a worse time for Los Angeles and couldn't have come at a better time for everyone else. The Dodgers have a huge leg up—they're six-and-a-half games in front of the Giants and eight-and-a-half in front of everyone else. They've won seven straight, and of course, their MLB-record 13th straight win to start the year at home came last night.

Now, the plug on this club has been yanked.

Juan Pierre will be in left field for the next couple of months, Dodgers fans. It ain't pretty, but get used to it. Will Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, and James Loney be able to step up and shoulder the load? Will Dodger pitchers bat eighth for the next third of the season?

More importantly, will Dodgers fans welcome Manny back they way they did once he'd signed, or will they point their fingers and terrorize him the way Yankees fans are expected to do when Alex Rodriguez returns this week?

Manny has never been accused by anyone of using steroids. He's just kept hitting. Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, and Sen. George Mitchell cast a wide steroid-trapping net, but somehow, Manny slipped through it.

No one thought this goofball and natural hitter was the type. It's possible that this is just an isolated incident, and that it's all as Manny says it is.

And yet, there it is. He's tested positive. His name could forever sit next to Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and A-Rod. Or maybe it'll just sit next to J.C. Romero, tagged by a comprehensive policy with no exceptions, an isolated incident that Manny is expected to attribute to a medication his doctor prescribed for a legitimate medical problem.

Unlucky 13-0, indeed.

One Month in: MLB Prospective MVP and Cy Young Winners

Brett Moore — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:33:25 -0400

And so the first month of the 2009 baseball season comes to a close.

The Marlins opened the season hotter than Jessica Alba and Megan Fox combined, and have sputtered a bit since while hanging onto a slim division lead. The Padres, Blue Jays, Mariners, and Pirates have all pleasantly surprised their fans than being much better than the pundits claimed.

The Nationals and Giants opened colder than the Yukon in January, then remembered how to win a few ballgames. And the Red Sox suddenly remembered that they wanted another World Series ring, and began playing like it.

But this is not the place to talk over team accomplishments. No, no, no. This is about the individual awards, and who should be getting talked about; who's going to sustain their pace, and who won't.

First, the NATIONAL LEAGUE:

MVP

Getting the talk: Albert Pujols

What about these guys?: Adrian Gonzalez, Raul Ibanez

Dark horses: Andre Ethier, Carlos Beltran, Manny Ramirez

Pujols is having another monster season; there's no doubt about that. He will put up his 35-40 HR again this year, drive in 100-120 runs, and bat way over .300. That's just what he does.

But Gonzalez has quietly been one of the most underrated hitters of the last several years down in San Diego. And this year, he's off to a monster start, leading the league in home runs (9) and sitting third in slugging (.711, right behind Ibanez' .718 start) and OPS (1.150, .001 back of Ibanez).

You've noticed Ibanez' numbers appearing right beside Gonzalez', and that's because he's having the same sort of monster year.

The reason I'm leaning Gonzalez here is because the Padres were supposed to have no offense this year, and Gonzalez has been the primary reason that the pundits have been proven wrong so far. If the Padres are gonna make a run at the West title, Gonzalez will have to keep hitting.

Prediction: I'm staying safe: Albert Pujols. While I'd love to see Ethier or Manny pick up the award as a Dodger, and I think Gonzalez is highly deserving, I think all will cool off at some point during the season. But if the season ended today, I'd say Gonzalez.

CY YOUNG

Getting the talk: Johan Santana, Chad Billingsley

What about these guys?: Wandy Rodriguez, Dan Haren, Tim Lincecum

Dark horses: Zach Duke, Kyle Lohse, Johnny Cueto

Johna Santana has been a beast for the Mets, and somehow is still only 3-1. Johan is off to one of the better starts in recent memory, with an ERA a shade above 1. That said, it seems like there's nothing even he can do to make sure the Mets win games.

They've found all sorts of ways to blow games this year—even with their rebuilt bullpen—and sooner or later, the Mets will be exposed as the farce that they are when Johan's not pitching. They've already lost two of his six starts through no fault of his own, so we'll see how exactly the Mets play from here.

Wandy Rodriguez has been a silent killer this year, sixth in ERA (2.21) and with a tidy WHIP of 1.13. We've been waiting a couple of years for him to bust out his full potential, and it looks like he's done so at long last.

The big question now is, can he sustain this over 150-200 innings? He's never thrown that much in a season before. However, pitching for the woeful Astros, he's still only 2-2, and will be outshone by other great pitchers on bad teams--and on good teams.

Billlingsley is getting a lot of talk for the Dodgers, and he is off to a great start. One less walk by Jonathan Broxton this year, and he's 6-0 with a tidy ERA of about 2.00. As it is, he's still 5-0 with 2.13.

But I'm not sold yet; I need to see him keep this up all season. That said, the Dodgers needed a new ace when Lowe and Penny left, and Billingsley has proven he can sling it with the best of them.

Which brings us to the best of them. Dan Haren is pitching out of his mind, and just not getting any support-—at all. He got three runs from his offense in his first four games.

His 1.46 ERA is second only to Santana, and he's leading the league with ridiculous numbers in WHIP (0.74!!!!), walks/game, hits/game, and K/BB (6.7?!?), so his 3-3 record is very deceptive. He's doing all he can to prop up a club that's really hurting without Brandon Webb.

Prediction: Tough call. I'd love to see Bills win it, but he's going to have to step his game up another notch to join Haren and Santana. For now I'll stay safe as I did with Pujols and say Santana, but only because I know Haren's had health problems in the past that have derailed some good seasons. If Haren's healthy, at this rate, it's his.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

MVP

Getting the talk: Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler, Victor Martinez

What about these guys?: Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria

Dark horses: Aaron Hill, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones

Notice one thing about the dark horses here: They're all young guys with great offensive numbers the first month. Jones, Markakis, and Hill have all been said to be very good ballplayers, and may even make the All-Star team this year based on their strong starts. But I don't think any of them will be able to keep up this pace or a whole season.

Pena and Longoria both play for the Rays, and though the team has gotten off to a slow start, you can see the wheels beginning to turn after their sweep of the uber-hot Red Sox over the weekend. Pena is proving last year's power surge is no fluke, with eleven home runs already in the books, but is he a complete player?

Yes, but not as much as a couple of other guys on this list—like his aforementioned teammate, Longoria. The '08 Rookie of the Year is tied for seventh in the AL in home runs, leads the league in doubles, and is starting to realize that sometimes, this team will be looking to him to carry them.

He'll have to continue to adjust to that kind of pressure, but by season's end, Longoria will have adjusted and built on his tremendous rookie season. Sophomore slump? I don't think so.

Which brings us to our front-runners. Martinez was a big question mark before the season, since he suffered a tremendous drop-off in his '08 numbers due to injury; he lost 30 points off his batting average and hit only two home runs last season (a year after he hit 25), all in only 73 games.

Well, folks, he's back, and in a big way. He's in the top ten in AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS, and isn't looking like he'll be slowing down anytime soon. Martinez is definitely the front-runner for the AL Comeback Player of the Year right now, but he's gotta watch his back for Justin Verlander (more on him in a moment).

Kinsler has been ridiculous to start the year, a true spark for the Rangers offense. He's tied for second in HR with 9, and third in RBIS (behind Longoria and Pena) with 25. Now, for the love of Nolan Ryan's club, if he could just stay healthy for the whole season, he could stay in this discussion.

But for right now, Kevin Youkilis is in a league of his own. He leads the majors across the board in average, OBP, slugging, and OPS, and by significant margins in all those categories.

While the homers aren't coming at the same rate, he's getting on base, he's bringing in runs, and keeping that Boston offense motoring right along. If he keeps this up, he wins the award without much question.

Prediction: That's the trick, isn't it: Can Youkilis keep this up? Not at this rate, I don't think, but will he continue to be the motor behind this Sawx offense? Probably. Kinsler has also been brilliant all around, and both the Rangers and the Red Sox have other hitters who've stepped up every day, as well.

However, the Sawx win a lot more than the Rangers do, so I'm going to hand the award to Youk, since winning teams more often produce MVPs. However...watch out for Adam Jones and Nick Markakis from the Orioles. They, too, are feasting on the under-performing pitching in their division, and may get into the conversation.

CY YOUNG

Getting the talk: Zack Greinke, Zack Greinke, and Zack Greinke

What about these guys?: Kevin Millwood

Dark horses: Felix Hernandez, Eric Bedard, and (dare I say it) Justin Verlander

I only have those dark horses there because they deserve acknowledgement for the strong starts they've had this year. Bedard is back to being what we saw with the O's two years back.

King Felix is being his usual self, striking out many, keeping the runs down, and this year he's even getting some run support for his trouble. Even Kevin Millwood looks like his heyday as a Brave again—you know, when he'd pitch behind Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz and you still wished he were your team's ace.

But Greinke has been beyond sparkling. He's been unhittable. He finally gave up his first couple of earned runs of the season last week (after a 43-inning scoreless streak, the best we've seen in years), and as a result, his ERA is better than everyone else by a solid run and a half (0.50; second place is 2.10 for Oakland's Dallas Braden).

Greinke's allowing less than a base runner per inning to lead the AL; he, Roy Halladay, and Billingsley are the only 5-0 pitchers in the big leagues so far. To top it ALL off, the far-and-away winner is averaging 11 Ks per game, half a K behind the league leader.

That league leader is Justin Verlander. He's not really anywhere near the Cy Young conversation yet, but I have him in here just to beg the question: Is the former Tigers ace returning to form?

His last couple of games, he's been unstoppable on the mound for Detroit, though his ERA is still a sloppy 5.66 from two bad games in his first four starts. And yet, he pitched into the eighth before letting Seattle out four starts ago, and has allowed a total of one run in his last two starts while K'ing 20 over 14 innings against the Yankees and Indians, two teams with some potent offense. Could he be officially back? Only time will tell.

Prediction: Greinke's got a big lead, and the competition's not that stiff so far this year. Even if he has relatively normal months from May through October, he should take the trophy.

Other awards

NL COMEBACK PLAYER: If he keeps up his recent pattern of quality starts... Barry Zito. There, I said it. Two 1-0 wins by the Giants that he gets no decision for, plus a win in between that he kept his team in by sheer force of will.

I'm beginning to believe in Barry again--which makes the Giants far more dangerous. It gives the Giants one fo the two best rotations in the NL, with Lincecum, Cain, Randy Johnson still being solid, and the budding Jonathan Sanchez. Watch. Out. Let's see how long he can keep it up.

AL COMEBACK PLAYER: Victor Martinez, but keep an eye on Justin Verlander and Eric Bedard, as well. No, I'm not gonna say Andruw Jones. He's still only playing part time.

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Dexter Fowler for now.

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Too early to say; Matt Wieters and David Price are still in the minors. But for now, Dallas Braden of the A's, who's been sensational for a punchless team, particularly when you stop to think that he's been matched up against a lot of great AL number one starters.

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Flip a coin, but it's either Tony La Russa of St. Louis or Joe Torre of the Dodgers. Both teams are playing some fantastic ball right now.

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Cito Gaston, Toronto Blue Jays. 'Nuff said.

Disagree? Tell me about it.

LA Dodgers-SF Giants: Are You SURE That was Joe Torre Managing Tonight?

Brett Moore — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:33:38 -0400

Tonight's blowout by the Giants told us three things definitively. The first is that Lincecum is definitely back in Cy Young form, after a couple of more-than-questionable starts to lead off his '09 season. It also told us that once in a while, the Dodgers' offense is going to sputter, especially against a pitcher of Lincecum's quality.

But above and beyond all, it tells us that Joe Torre DEFINITELY takes some nights off.

I can only think of a couple of Torre's personnel decisions tonight that made sense to me. Ausmus and Loretta pinch-hitting in the eighth and ninth innings, absolutely; they've been hot off the bench to start the year, so I'd have done the same thing.

But the first seven innings or so...whoa, Joe. Let's review.

It began when he filled out the lineup card. First of all, this is Tim Lincecum, in the rubber game of a three game series, against your big divisional rival, away from home. So you make damn sure you bring your A Game to the ballpark that day.

And of course, Joe's "A Game" lineup looks like this:

SS Furcal/2B Hudson/LF Ramirez/RF Ethier/1B Loney/C Martin...

And then things get weird in lineup slots seven through nine.

Casey Blake, who normally hits eighth, moves up a spot, because Torre decided to sit the recently-solid Matt Kemp. Why, I don't know; he's only seen Lincecum on two occasions, and is 0 for 4 with a walk. He collected two huge hits last night, and is rewarded by sitting out the rubber match? An odd call, to be sure.

Even odder given that he had pitcher Eric Stults batting eighth, and Kemp's replacement Juan Pierre hitting ninth.

Um, HELLO??? Earth to Joe: Eric Stults does not yet have a hit this year. He's 0-4 with two walks—hardly meriting the eighth spot. The AT&T Park TV flashed an interesting figure—the last time the Dodgers batted a pitcher higher than ninth was in August 1965.

You think there might be a reason it hasn't been done in 44 years? (For the record, the guy they moved up (to seventh!) was Don Drysdale—he of 29 career homers, and someone Alston commonly used as a pinch hitter, so there might have been more than a little justification that time). There is no acceptable reason for this level of gaffe.

And then the game began.

It was clear from Fred Lewis' leadoff at-bat for the Giants that Stults was: A) no match for Lincecum tonight, and B) was no match for his own stuff, as he struggled to throw any strikes that were not crushable belt-high fastballs, and consistently missed the targets Russell Martin set.

In the second inning, facing leadoff batter Emmanuel Burriss, Eric Stults launched his first pitch three feet over the umpire's head.

In addition, the whole time he was pitching Stults was giving up hit after hit, and it didn't even look like Torre began thinking that we needed to keep the game close until Eric was well on his way to trying to give up his sixth run of the night with two outs in the third.

At which point, Torre's hook became too fast, yanking effective pitchers too soon, leaving less effective relievers in to get hit further and surrender more runs. Only the fourth and fifth innings were scoreless tonight for the Giants, and neither effective pitcher (Ramon Troncoso and Hong Chi-Kuo, hats off, boys!) was left in for longer than that inning.

Meanwhile, Scott Elbert threw two innings and gave up a pair of runs, to be replaced by Guillermo Mota, who gave up two more in less than an inning. Not kosher.

I feel like Joe was trying to send some sort of message to Kemp or any of a thousand other players on this club tonight. Apparently, it includes notes like, "Ineffective pitching will be rewarded."

Not Torre's best night. Let's hope he manages to not repeat these mistakes against San Diego.

Dodgers-Rockies: First Series Ends In Grand Fashion For LA

Brett Moore — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:42:51 -0400

The Los Angeles Dodgers began their first homestand by rolling over the San Francisco Giants.

Not much changed when the Colorado Rockies came into town.

The Dodgers completed their sweep of the Rockies on Sunday with a 14-2 win, including a seven-run fifth inning led by Matt Kemp's grand slam to right field. Kemp would add a solo homer in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers their fourth multi-homer game this week and third in three days.

Andre Ethier and Orlando Hudson also each drove in three runs for Los Angeles.

The win was the eighth in a row for the NL West-leading Dodgers. All of the wins have come over division rivals—two against the Diamondbacks, three against the Giants, and now three over the Rockies. The win streak has carried them to a record of 10-3.

Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2) was pounded for seven runs and seven hits in four-plus innings of work. The trouble started immediately for Jimenez, with Hudson doubling in leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal in the first inning to give the Dodgers a lead they'd never relinquish. Ethier followed with his own RBI double two batters later to make the lead 2-0.

James MacDonald started the game for the Dodgers, and threw a strong 4.1 innings before being pulled after walking two batters to start the fifth. Recent call-up Scott Elbert replaced him for his 2009 debut and worked out of the jam.

The Dodgers led 4-0 at the start of the fifth when they broke the game wide open. Manny Ramirez singled, James Loney drew a one-out walk and Russell Martin singled to load the bases. Manager Clint Hurdle pulled Jimenez in favor of Matt Belisle, whom Matt Kemp greeted with his second home run of the year to stake the Dodgers to a commanding 8-0 lead. Elbert, Hudson, and Ethier would also drive in runs in the fifth.

Elbert pitched a solid two-and-two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on three hits. The runs were accounted for by sixth-inning solo home runs by Brad Hawpe and Chris Ianetta.

Ramon Troncoso pitched the last two frames for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers were ridiculously hot over the course of the homestand, outscoring their opponents 50-17 over the six games, and have averaged eight runs per game over their current winning streak while holding their opponents to two-and-a-half.

The Rockies left after the game for a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks starting Monday; they will then head home for six games with the Dodgers and San Diego.

The Dodgers have an off-day on Monday before beginning a nine-game road trip with the Houston Astros, the Rockies again and ending with the Giants in San Francisco.

Stay Off The Marlins' Bandwagon While You Still Can!

Brett Moore — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:54:10 -0400

Take a good look at that photograph, and the teams involved: Marlins-Nationals.

That's been the match-up six of the twelve times the Fish have left their dugout so far in 2009. They've also played three against the Mets and swept the Braves.

And yet everywhere I look, people extol this team and are questioning their predictions for the NL East, wondering if maybe they should have crowned the Marlins before the season.

Before you tag me as just a hater on this club, let me say this: They are a good young ball club with great potential. It's a ton of fun to watch them play. And they are playing great baseball right now.

But every time I turn around, they're flying to the top of everyone's power rankings. And this bothers me a little bit because a lot of people seem to be taken in by the numbers they're putting up.

Well, here's a number for you: 4-7. You know what that is? That's the average record of the clubs the Marlins have played this year.

The Braves are similar to the Marlins in a few ways—smart young club, couple of seasoned veterans, could surprise people and contend. But their youngsters are still trying to get everything put together.

Despite what so many of the so-called baseball 'experts' say, the Mets just don't impress me. They field badly, their rotation is Santana, Maine, and a prayer, and they're fielding a hitting ballclub in CitiField, which is playing like a pitcher's park so far. Their bullpen is fantastic, but that's not much good if your starters can't keep you in the game.

It only gets tougher when you give up unearned runs the way they do (they've given away at least two games so far, one of which was to the Marlins on an otherwise-shutout day by Santana).

And do I REALLY have to bring up the Nationals? The team that FINALLY won a game on their eighth try and have no pitching to speak of? I mean, seriously, this is a team with an ERA of 6.32 and just two guys under 4.00 (who have pitched a combined 10 innings).

Washington has already scored five runs or more on six occasions, and won one. Nick Swisher would improve this starting rotation (granted, he might be next in line for the Yankees, too).

So slow down, folks. The Marlins are playing good ball right now, but let's face it, they SHOULD be beating these teams. They're a good team, and good teams should be beating the guys on their schedule. At the very least, wait till May before jumping on the bandwagon full-force.

Of course, if they're still playing like this at the end of the year, I'll have one mother of a crow to eat.

Five Reasons I'm a New Orlando Hudson Fan

Brett Moore — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:17:23 -0400

I'm not often wrong, despite what my friends, family, boss, and girlfriend all say. But when I am, boy am I ever wrong.

Last year, on Opening Day, I latched onto a rookie third baseman who singled his first time at the plate. All year, I rooted for Blake DeWitt to get more and more at-bats, and he did. I was excited for him to play a full season at second as soon as Kent left, since we now had Casey Blake (a player I've long been impressed with) manning the hot corner.

So when Ned Colletti signed yet another veteran-but-not-star infielder (as glad as I was to be rid of the aging, injury-prone Garciaparra and Kent), I was incensed. I wanted DeWitt, for crying out loud! Continue the youth movement! I don't care if Hudson cost us only $3.4 mil!

It is at this point, even though it's only 11 games into the season, that I feel I should apologize and acknowledge my total ignorance. I really didn't think of Hudson as much more than the pesky second baseman for the rival Diamondbacks, and I thought Blake DeWitt would easily fill the same gap. But I've been watching, and there's a lot more to Hudson than I thought.

I was privileged enough to be at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day. Hudson's cycle is easily one of the most exciting baseball moments I've had the privilege to witness. But there is much more to my newfound respect than that. He has been arguably the most exciting player on the Dodgers so far this year, the way Furcal was the spark for this club last spring before he injured his back.

He's a solid hitter. He's hit a couple early home runs to spark the offense and get the Dodgers on the board. He works the count, at the very least tiring the pitchers, and 11 games in, already has seven walks—each of which brought Manny Ramirez to the plate, giving opposing hurlers two reasons to be nervous—because Hudson is also tied for the team lead in stolen bases with four.

He's a smart fielder. You don't just see Hudson out there taking care of second base. He'll turn to the outfield, several times a game, and help shade Kemp or Ethier this way or that. He makes just about every play look ordinary.

He's a terrific influence on the youngsters. Here's a man who always seems to be smiling when you see him in the dugout. He knows this is a game, and he knows it's supposed to be fun, and he refuses to let any of his teammates forget it--from Manny Ramirez to Brad Ausmus. And he's humble, which leads me to my next point...

He's classy. His first thought when interviewed about the cycle he hit on Monday was "my man Jackie Robinson... was watching out for me." Hudson had no idea that Dodger history was at stake in his first home game. He has also attributed his recent success at the top of the order to the great lineup behind him, and begged fans not to expect him to hit the cycle again because "this is a hard enough game as it is."

And finally, the one thing that blows my mind here, the top reason for my recent man-crush on Hudson...

He's not Jeff Kent in any way, shape or form.

I spent the last couple years decrying Kent's lead feet, his hands of brick, his uncanny ability to see the darkest possible side of every situation and alienate everyone he played with, his inability to stay in the lineup, and the total, utter, stunning disappearance of his ability to hit in the clutch. And that mustache is the kind of thing that gives children nightmares. I can't believe they let him wear that out in public. Only Randy Johnson's 'stache is more terrifying.

So, seriously, Orlando? Dude? Please don't backslide in that direction. We like the change.

Stay Classy, Dodgers Fans

Brett Moore — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 12:22:49 -0400

Dodger Stadium is my personal baseball haven. There are definitely nicer ballparks in the country, but Dodger Stadium is home. I love whenever I come home during the spring or summer and being there early to catch BP and a ballgame between my beloved Dodgers and whoever's in town that week.

Usually.

Rewind to Opening Day in '09. HUGE day for the Dodgers. Orlando Hudson introduces himself to Dodger fans by hitting for the first cycle in almost 40 years. Andre Ethier blasts a pair of bombs. Billingsley was filthy. All against the Giants.

And all around me, the Dodger fans were verbally and physically assaulting the Giants fans.

This is where I begin to have problems.

Sitting in the right field pavilion, I saw about a half dozen Giants fans at different points throughout the afternoon. Each time one would walk to their seat, the entire pavilion would boo them mercilessly—often without necessarily knowing what they were booing about.

This was usually accompanied by a hail of Dodger Dog wrappers, pieces of bun, peanuts, peanut shells, and popcorn.

That's just cruel.

Now, I live in the Bay Area—enemy territory—these days. Have for a while now. Every time the Dodgers come to town, I find my way over to AT&T Park to see my beloved Bums at least once.

And I encounter swarms of Giants fans who—get this—joke with me as we walk up to the stadium, verbally spar good-naturedly about our teams, and then head off to their seats. Yeah, they wrinkle their nose a bit when a Dodger fan sits near them, let me hear it if and when the Dodgers lose, and otherwise totally ignore me.

The difference between Dodgers home fans and Giants home fans? Giants home fans know how to show respect to the fans of the other side.

Rivalries are about more than just hating another team and its fans, Dodger Nation. Rivalries are founded because another team has commanded our respect along with our hatred. No matter what else happens, all baseball fans have two things in common: we love the sport, and we're human.

I'd almost dismiss this behavior...except apparently, it's not limited to the Giants.

Last fall, I heard a number of disturbing and violent reports coming from Dodger Stadium during the 2008 NLCS. Apparently, Phils fans with the faith and money to do so had followed their beloved Phils to LA.

And were greeted at the stadium by people who threw things at them and dumped beer on them and swore at them from every seat.

Do Dodgers fans really want to be labeled as the Raiders fans of baseball? A bunch of fanatical hooligans that should frighten opposing fans into being nowhere near the stadium? For Lasorda's sake, we even had a stabbing in the parking lot!

C'mon, folks—it's baseball. It's not worth that.

I'm not saying don't let opposing fans hear it about their team. Rib 'em a little. Something would be horribly wrong if we didn't.

But do it with a little basic human respect. You'd want the same in their park.

I sure as hell do.

Hey, Dodgers Fans: Don't You Wish the Giants Were Better?

Brett Moore — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:33:06 -0400

I hate when the Giants suck.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not exactly a Giants fan. In fact, I've been rooting for the Dodgers since I was 7—almost two decades of bleeding bright blue.

On a scale of teams I hate from 1-10, the Giants are hovering somewhere around 13 on any given day, right next to the Yankees and not far above the Red Sox. So don't go thinking I'm weeping over their latest misfortune of a lineup.

Baseball is less fun when the Giants suck.

Yes, the Giants are the Dodgers' absolute arch-rivals, and no one (with perhaps the exception of the Yankees) can even come close to taking their place. So I should enjoy seeing them stomped into the turf, no matter where or when it happens.

However, something is just missing when the Dodgers are expected to contend for the pennant while the Giants are supposed to make the Padres work to stay in the NL West cellar. Let's face it: it's no fun to just manhandle your rivals all the time.

The reason they're your rivals is because, historically, you've battled back and forth on the sports big stages. Your rivals are supposed to pose some sort of challenge—and maybe even, God forbid, take a few games away from your club.

So it cheapens any victory like Monday's home-opening sweep at Dodger Stadium when the Giants aren't heavyweight challengers—or at least a formidable foe. When elated Dodgers fans come rolling out of the stadium cheering about Orlando Hudson's Opening Day cycle, or Ethier's multi-homer game, or Billingsley and Kershaw striking out a combined 24 batters (against a combined one walk), you keeping hearing, "and he did it against the GIANTS, to boot!"

This is where everyone else else cringes and points out, "Yeah, but they're the Giants. So what?"

You see what I'm getting at? Huge moral victories over evil for a fan base are turned into another victory over a bad team that you're supposed to beat. It sucks all the fun out of it. In fact, this whole opening sweep of the Giants has left a bittersweet taste in my mouth.

The Dodgers shelled a 45-year-old has-been on Opening Day. The next night, Brian Wilson, the Giants closer, followed Bob Howry's fat offerings to Dodger hitters by walking in the winning run to ruin Aaron Rowand's dramatic homer. For a finale, the Dodgers scored seven runs against a team that actually collected MORE hits; difference is, the Giants also gave away at least eight baserunners through plunked hitters, walks, and three fielding miscues.

If this is what our great and mighty foe has sunk to, then wake me up once we've swept the season series, because these games won't be fun in 2009.

Who Else is on Steroid Use List Besides A-Rod? Check Mitchell Report

Brett Moore — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:55:48 -0500

So now, it's official. He even said so himself.

The man who was going to save our sacred home run record from the dastardly Barry Bonds is just like him.

On Saturday morning, Sports Illustrated revealed that Alex Rodriguez's name came up on a list of positive testers on an initial MLB steroid test, before baseball had actually put its banned-substance policy in place. On Tuesday, he admitted it in an interview and apologized for lying to the public.

And yet, by far the most disturbing (and yet fun, in a sick and twisted way) piece to most of us baseball nuts out there is that 103 other guys were on the list.

Think about that. Given that each team carries 25 players at a time most of the year, that's roughly 14 percent of the current active roster. Shameful, yes—but can you really tell me this is totally unexpected?

Now, my fellow residents of the blogosphere, let's face it—we love this news. We get to act outraged, and while it does tarnish our sport's reputation just a little bit more, it is so worth the hours we're gonna spend talking to friends and coworkers and in chat rooms and on Web sites into the wee hours of the morning.

All of it trying to figure out one thing: Who else is on the list?

And this is where I burst your bubble.

You wanna know who else is on that list? Check the Mitchell report.

84 names are listed there as being definitively associated with steroids, though obviously, it's not a comprehensive list. How much do you want to bet that even if MLB caught some of these guys before the federal investigation into the doping going on in the sport (why is Congress involved, again?), more than a few of them were dumb enough to keep using—or at least to think they could get away with it.

I'd wager at least half of our new little list is made up of guys from the Mitchell Report.

Of course, that still leaves roughly 20-50 more ballplayers for us to speculate on, but still...repeat offenders, folks. That's what most of this list is.

That said, now I'm going to get my little bit of fun. I'm gonna come right out and say it: Andruw Jones has got to be on that list.

Now, I'm not saying this as a Dodger fan spurned by his recent departure (I don't think any of us are), or even as a burned one, given the season he just had for us. But seriously, folks. Look at the facts.

In 1996, a 19-year-old Jones grabbed our attention (and the hearts of Yankee-haters the world over) when, in his first two World Series at-bats, he teed off on Andy Pettitte in each of his first two at-bats as part of a 12-1 rout that I still wish had actually set the tone for the Series.

He'd hit five dingers during his August/September stint with the Braves, too, so his power wasn't completely a surprise, but I digress.

In the coming years, Jones would prove his power fairly reliable. He hit 18 dingers in 1997, then varied between 29 and 36 every year from 1998-2004, each year collecting between 148 and 165 hits (with the exception of 2000, where he batted .303 and collected 199 hits).

Then, all of a sudden, in 2005, Jones goes off for 51, and follows it up with 41 bombs—a jump in production that recalls comparisons to Sammy Sosa suddenly hitting 66.

And all the telltale signs were there: Andruw Jones went from being built like Griffey to being built a little more like Bonds or Adam Dunn (who isn't juicing, he's just a big dude). Just as importantly, when Jones came up, he was a definite favorite to get to 30/30 some years, and in his first four full-time seasons, he had 20+ steals every year.

Then, in 2001, his steals mysteriously cut themselves in half to 11—at age 24, so I think we can rule out his legs giving out. Jones hasn't swiped 10 bases since, though, for the last three years, there have been other reasons for that—perhaps because he no longer looks like Bonds but more like Mo Vaughn.

There's another fun one for you. Have you ever had friends who used 'roids? First off, they don't have to work quite as hard as us average Joes at the gym—their muscles are responding better, and building faster.

Ever seen a guy go off the juice? They try to keep the same routine and eat the same way, and it doesn't work anymore. Their metabolism can't keep up, and they look like they should be floating down 5th Avenue on Thanksgiving Day.

The only thing missing for Jones were the weird tendon and ligament-related injuries that come with the extreme stress steroids put on the body. Then, in 2008, Jones spent most of the season complaining about his back and knees. So either he was making excuses for his hitting, or he was really fighting those freak injuries.

Or maybe I'm just bitter over $36 million that should be used to sign Manny. You be the judge. After all, that's what baseball fans are good at.

Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Dem Bums (Pt. I of II)

Brett Moore — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:15:09 -0400

Putting together an all-time team is hard.

Every fan in every sport has tried to sew together a crowd of all-time greats, and we all know how hard it can be to narrow it down. Hell, we have raging debates every year over who made the All-Star Games versus who deserved to go. So there's never a doubt that any all-timer list is going to inspire controversy, argument, and of course, questions.

Now, as a lifelong, diehard Los Angeles Dodger fan, I feel I am totally qualified to put together such a team (don't we all?). But my fingers pause over my keyboard when I remember that the Dodgers had not one, but two eras: Brooklyn and L.A.

And it makes life so much easier by just letting me create a team from each city, and seeing where this magical franchise roster takes me.

Then, of course, there's the issue of criteria. Would Manny Ramirez qualify as one of the all-time greatest outfielders to don a Dodger uniform? Talent wise and career numbers wise, sure—at least in LA. But when four of 514 HR come with the team, does it really count?

Or should we be using what the players did in uniform? What if their finest moments came wearing ANOTHER uniform, even if they spent most of their career with the Dodgers?

So, in the end, I settled on a team-wide standard for the two teams, Brooklyn and L.A.: five years or 2,000 ABs in a Dodger uniform in order to be considered for position players, at least 150 starts for a starting pitcher, and at least 300 appearances from a reliever.

Each team gets a standard starting lineup, a righty starter, a lefty starter, and a reliever. Yes, I should probably have a full rotation; No, there's not enough space in the column or time in my day for that.

And so, I began scouring.

For this article, we're talking about Brooklyn. 67 years of baseball, which concluded 30 years before I was even a Dodger fan, and I had to try and pick out a team.

The manager's tough, too. You've gotta pick from Leo Durocher, Walter Alston, and Wilbur Robinson, among others. I think, though, that a manager for whom the team renames itself for almost 20 years (1914-1932 they were the Brooklyn Robins) usually would be considered a winner, so Brooklyn's manager would be Wilbur Robinson, by a hair over Leo.

Walt spent too much time in L.A. to be considered Brooklyn's man at the helm, and Leo eventually left to manage the Giants. No REAL Dodger leaves for the Giants voluntarily (though by trade is certainly an exception).

And so begins the list, in order of position.

MANAGER: Wilbur Robinson

CATCHER: Roy Campanella

[1,215 G, 4,205 AB, .276 BA/.359 OBP/.500 SLG; 178 2B, 18 3B, 242 HR, 856 RBI, 25 SB]

I'm begging you to argue with me. Come on. There's only one Brooklyn catcher within 200 homers of Campy (Babe Phelps had 43, 199 less), and most didn't play HALF as long as he did in a Brooklyn uniform.

Plus, Roy's in The Hall, and his brilliant career would have continued in L.A. were it not for the tragic car accident that left him a paraplegic.

HONORABLE MENTION: All honorable, none worth mentioning.

FIRST BASE: Gil Hodges

[1,502 G, 5,502 AB, .281/.365/.503; 1544 H, 245 2B, 43 3B, 297 HR, 1,042 RBI, 48 SB]

This is where it starts getting tough. As the dead-ball era wound down, the Dodgers had a first baseman named Jake Daubert—a fine hitter by all accounts, knocking pitchers around at a .309 clip while with Dem Bums, but no comparable power to Gil's (33 HR to Gil's 297 in Blue), though he could certainly have outrun him (179 SB to Gil's 48 and 87 3Bs to Gil's 43).

You can also make a case for Dolph Camili, but Gil still out-slugs and out-hits him. And these numbers don't even include the four years Gil played in L.A.

HONORABLE MENTION: Camili.

SECOND BASE: Jackie Robinson

[749 G, 2,743 AB, .323/.412/.495; 885 H, 165 2B, 34 3B, 80 HR, 453 RBI, 120 SB]

Oh, please. Like you thought another name would go here. Jackie didn't just break the color barrier, he outplayed any opposition he EVER had at second base in Brooklyn. Several other players played a similar numbers of games: Eddie Stanky, Junior Gilliam, Babe Herman... I could add several more, but the fact is this: Only Jackie (1947-1957) and Tom Daly (1890-1901) hit at over a .300 clip, and Jackie was the better there, at .323 to Daly's .311.

And check it out—his slugging percentage was almost equal to that of bigger bats Campanella and Hodges beside him. Hands-down, it's Jackie here.

HONORABLE MENTION: Herman (for both his 2B and OF efforts)

THIRD BASE: Cookie Lavagetto

[669 G, 2,274 AB, .273 BA/.368/.380; 621 H, 117 2B, 22 3B, 27 HR, 325 RBI, 43 SB]

The Brooklyn Bums had their best three 3Bs one after the other: Joe Stripp (1932-37), Lavagetto (1938-1947), and Billy Cox (1948-1955). All played about 700 games, and none packed real power, as Cox led the way with 46 HRs.

Cox had that one '55 Series ring to his credit: Lavagetto has The Slide in the '41 Series against the Yankees. None batted .300 (Stripp was the closest at .295), but Lavagetto kept up numerically with the other two in about 100 games less time, so he wins by the same slide he's remembered for.

HONORABLE MENTION: Cox/Stripp (tie).

SHORTSTOP: Pee Wee Reese

[2,004 G, 7,581 AB, .272/.364/.383; 2,063 H, 320 2B, 77 3B, 121 HR, 839 RBI, 226 SB]

From 1940 to 1958, The Dodgers had ONE everyday shortstop. Pee Wee is second on the list of games played, and one of a select few Dodgers to so much as APPROACH 2,000 games in the uniform.

Remember, this was before Ernie Banks and Cal Ripken, Jr. redefined what you expected from your shortstop at the plate; Pee Wee ran the infield, played hard, functioned as the heart of the team, and would eventually be rewarded with a place in the Hall of Fame for it.

HONORABLE MENTION: Are you kidding?

OUTFIELDERS:

Zach Wheat [2,322 G, 8,859 AB, .317/.344/.401; 2,804 H, 339 2B, 123 3B, 109 HR, 1,210 RBI, 203 SB]

Duke Snider [1,425 G, 5,317 AB, .303/.381/.560; 1,609 H, 288 2B, 66 3B, 316 HR, 1,003 RBI, 92 SB]

Carl Furillo [1,626 G, 5,864 AB, .300/.354/.459; 1,762 H, 301 2B, 52 3B, 174 HR, 961 RBI, 48 SB]

You may look at Zach Wheat's numbers and go, "How have I not heard of this guy? When was he FROM?"

Here's why: Wheat was with the Dodgers from 1909 to 1926. He spent nearly his entire career in blue, and is the closest any Dodger has gotten to 3,000 hits. The man's numbers speak for themselves. In many categories, he's still the all-time Dodger leader. His glove was good, too.

No list of great Brooklynite players would EVER be complete without the Duke of Flatbush. Duke is still the all-time leader in HRs in a Dodger uniform, at a hair under 400 (though only 316 of them came in Brooklyn). The man held his own for several years in the Great Centerfield Debate: "Willie, Mickey, or The Duke: Who's better?"

The man now lives in San Diego (and his granddaughter Jenny is a lovely young woman).

It's Carl Furillo where some old-time Brooklyn fans may cry foul. Furillo and Dixie Walker were both fan favorites in the 1940s and '50s—Walker in the earlier, Furillo in the latter. Their stats match up extremely well—both men hit very well, but not necessarily with great power.

There are two things here that earn Furillo the nod: his arm and a ring. Furillo was so renowned for his strong and accurate arm that he was tabbed "The Reading Rifle" when he was still on his way to the majors.

And to seal the deal by the barest of margins, the ONLY World Series ring the Brooklyn Dodgers ever won rests on Furillo's finger, not Walker's, though both had plenty of opportunities.

RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER: Dazzy Vance

[331 G, 304 GS, 2,531 IP 175-118 W-L, 3.08 ERA, 304 CG, 28 SHO, 4 SV, 691 BB, 1,787 K]

Listen, even I thought Don Newcombe's name was as good as engraved here as the best righty Brooklyn ever had. But Dazzy Vance was just that much better. To really get a grasp of the two men, you have to look at their first seven full years (which Vance began with Brooklyn)—or the whole time Newk was with Brooklyn.

Dazzy outdid Don in almost every major category: wins, ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched, and HR allowed all jump out at you. They were close to breaking even in complete games and shutouts, and Newk surrendered less walks and hit batters.

But let's face it—once Newcombe left Brooklyn, his career was a mess. Vance would pitch 11 seasons in Brooklyn, many of them on terrible teams, but only twice would end the year with a losing record (and each of those, he was only one game under .500). Dazzy's a pretty clear winner here.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Newcombe and Burleigh Grimes

LEFT-HANDED PITCHER: Nap Rucker

[199 G, 172 GS, 1,498.1 IP, 77-84 W-L, 2.35 ERA, 127 CG, 26 SHO, 5 SV, 457 BB, 789 K]

All right, so his reputation pales in comparison to L.A.'s best lefty, a fellow named Sanford Koufax, but that's mostly because none of us were alive when this guy pitched.

But Rucker was every bit as good back from 1907 to 1916. For 10 seasons during the dead-ball era, Nap Rucker was SCARY by the numbers. While his record in Brooklyn was only 134-134, his ERA was a tidy 2.35 while pitching an average of 237 innings a year.

His K-to-walk ratio wasn't stellar (in the range of 1.8:1), but anyone he got aboard sure had a hard time getting in. In his first eight seasons, he never twirled less than four shutouts (though he'd only throw one over parts of three seasons as his career wound down).

HONORABLE MENTION: Sherry Smith and Rube Marquard.

RELIEVER: Clem Labine

[304 G, 35 GS, 727.2 IP, 54-39 W-L, 3.46 ERA, 7 CG, 2 SHO, 59 SV, 275 BB, 378 K]

It wasn't until late in the Brooklyn era that the role of a reliever became specialized within an individual pitching staff. Most pitchers in the earlier third of the 20th century were considered iffy if you couldn't count on them for 7 or 8 good innings a day and about 20 complete games in an average year. So narrowing down an actual career reliever is tough, but Labine stands out in Brooklyn lore. Appearing in the third most games of any Brooklyn pitcher, Labine was also a terrific spot starter in the heyday of the Boys of Summer teams in the 1950s, making his versatility nearly invaluable to Brooklyn's success. He would transition from Brooklyn to LA when the team did, but wouldn't stay long; he was traded during the summer of 1960 as his career wound down.

HONORABLE MENTION: Hugh Casey.

I'll be back in a couple days with the L.A. all-timer list, so hang around. Until then, throw down some input! Let me hear who YOU think ruled Flatbush.

Manny: Ending The Dodger Blues, Or Just Adding To Them?

Brett Moore — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:06:19 -0400

"All we need is one big bat, and we're in business."

This line's so often repeated throughout the NL West that frankly, it's becoming as cliche as "Wait 'til next year." The difference is, here in 2008, somebody's acted on it.

On July 31, the LA Dodgers brought Manny and his circus to LA—and the NL West—to try and make a push. Dodger fans everywhere went into a frenzied state as they tried to imagine the possiblities of Manny leading the Dodgers to the postseason—nay, the World Series, given our rotation possibilities!

But then, they add something, almost as an afterthought:

"Now all we need is Furcal back."

"Now Schmidt just needs to get healthy."

"Now we just need Saito to get back to closing."

My fellow Blue-bleeding Bum fans, our team's gotta be healthy to even compete. And the holes we have other than in our bats haven't been filled by Manny's presence.

We have two injured major-league shortstops, and are now leaning on the toothpick wielded by Angel Berroa, who makes me long for the days when we had to watch Cesar Izturis at the plate.

We have a closer who's out of commission for a while, an ace bitten by Dreifort Syndrome (pay Big Money, get Big Injury), and a second baseman who makes the clubhouse tenser than a BoSox fan in Yankee Stadium.

Let's not forget Andruw, whose power numbers have been equaled or beaten by Manny in ten days. And now we bring Manny—and his inevitable circus and media frenzy—to this atmosphere.

Manny, does, however, add to our HORRID shortage of outfielders, I suppose. Since Torre insists on playing Jones on a fairly regular basis (which I'm sure he learned to do with the Yankees—play the guys we pay" could be his motto), now we have five outfielders who think they deserve to play everyday, and four who I'd argue might have a shot at defending that claim (the only thing backing Jones up is the size of his paycheck).

You have noodle-arm, slap-hitting Juan Pierre, who's looking better this year than he has in a while. You have Matt Kemp, who's got 30-30 potential if he can level out his hot months and his cold ones into just plain CONSISTENT ones, and you've got Andre Ethier, the most consistent of the bunch, and a solid contact hitter. Then you have Manny. Who do you play??? Torre doesn't know either—this weekend, all five saw starting time in San Fran. (For the record, I'm arguing for Manny in left, Kemp in center, and Ethier in right—just sayin'.)

Face it, Dodger fans: Manny is not the answer. Have we needed a bat? Yes. Does he provide a great one? Best we've had since Piazza. Let's be frank: Do I even like the guy? Actually, yeah. But is he the answer? NO. Now, if he could play shortstop, too... well, then I might be singing a different tune. If he can make that transition and help Andruw Jones get back to the dangerous hitter and slick fielder he was three years ago, then absolutely he's all we needed.

But I'm almost sure that he can't field even as well as Furcal can (whose defense can be rather porous, by the way) and he can't reverse Jones' suspiciously Bondsian transformation (that's right, I'm suspicious of Andruw). As it is, all he does is add to a glut of outfielders and complicate Joe Torre's life, particularly since the man doesn't seem to know when a superstar has sunk to a has-been and should be benched.

However, he does bring hope. Maybe he'll be here all year next year, and a couple years after that. Maybe when we get some of these checks off the books, we can rededicate it to someone worth the cash--like Loney or Kemp. Maybe we can find a second baseman younger than Kent with similar numbers and less injuries on the market this year. Maybe Kershaw pans out next year.

But for those of you blocking out your evenings for the month of October, think again. This team has had an awfully tough time against the D'backs this year, and it's between those two teams to decide it.

And this just in: They've countered Manny by trading for the one man who can combine Manny's power with Andruw's K rate: Adam Dunn.

Let the playoff run and its ensuing circus in the NL Worst begin.