Bleacher Report - AL Central

Team 80: The 1954 Tigers

Blake VandeBunte — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:32:36 -0500

Year: 1954

Record: 68-86

Win Percentage: .442

Win Percentage Change: .052

Run Differential: -80

Pythagorean Record: 68-86

AL Finish: Fifth of eight

Manager: Fred Hutchinson

Best Transaction

Nothing to speak of.

Worst Transaction

Again, nothing. I’m not kidding. I’ve never seen a collection of trades, free agent signings, and draft picks that resulted in almost no consequences either way. Check it out for yourself.

Upper

Ray Boone’s play at third base. Boone, in his prime at the age of 30, put together one of his finer seasons in 1954. The Tigers offense struggled this season, but Boone did more than his part to shoulder the load. Boone led the team with an OPS+ of 132 and led the Tigers in home runs, RBI, and finished second in batting average (Harvey Kuenn).

Boone was named to the All-Star team and went on to lead the AL in RBI the following season.

Downer

The Tigers bullpen was a mess. The starting rotation was about average in 1954; most of their major trouble was found in the bullpen.

Ray Herbert and Dick Marlowe were the primary arms out of the Tigers pen and posted ERA+ numbers of 63 and 89 respectively. I know that bullpens were used differently in 1954, but these two did not do their part to help the Tigers succeed in 1954. The starting rotation had five pitchers lose at least 10 games.

Summary

This was a fun team in retrospect. It featured a 23-year-old Harvey Kuenn, who led the team in batting this season. In right field, Tigers fans got a look at a 19-year-old Al Kaline. The teenager got 504 at-bats in his first full season, good enough to finish third in the Rookie of the Year voting and even earn a few MVP votes.

Frank Bolling was another good young player on this club that would eventually blossom into an All-Star infielder.

This club made a step forward in 1954, winning more games than they did the previous season. While they were still rough around the edges, this was a club full of talent and just a few years away from great success.

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Chris Getz Gets All-Rookie Accolades: Is Alberto Callaspo Done in Kansas City?

Matt Trueblood — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:29:45 -0500

Last Wednesday, Topps named new Royals acquisition Chris Getz the top rookie second baseman of 2009.

Getz, who played for the Chicago White Sox last season, batted .261/.324/.347 and stole 25 bases while being caught just twice.

At 26, Getz will likely start next season as Kansas City's starting second baseman.

That creates an interesting scenario in the Royals' infield. If manager Trey Hillman does ultimately choose to start Getz, the Royals will have an overabundance of middle infielders. After signing Wilson Betemit in November, that group includes Getz, Betemit, Alberto Callaspo, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Mike Aviles.

Among these, the pertinent name is Callaspo. After a stellar breakout season in 2009 (.300/.356/.457), Callaspo had been the clear incumbent until Moore swapped away Mark Teahen for Getz. It seems inconceivable that the Royals brought in Getz to back up Callaspo, and equally dubious that Callaspo will be asked to surrender his starting spot.

That leaves only one possibility, one that appears more imminent every day, and that could come to fruition by the close of next week's Winter Meetings in Indianapolis: The Royals will look to trade Callaspo.

The market for the 26-year-old (who will turn 27 in April) should be good. A number of would-be 2010 contenders are currently looking to upgrade or reinforce their middle infield depth.

Callaspo's defense will not help Moore move him: 17 errors in 2009 made him a solidly below average glove man at second base. Yet given that his previous track record included back-to-back years with better than average defensive numbers, that consideration will by no means make him immovable.

In deciding whether to pursue him, then, most teams will have to decide how much they buy into his very noticeable power spike in 2009. Prior to last year, though he had never played a full season, Callaspo sported a measly .328 slugging average. Forty-one doubles, eight triples, and 11 home runs later, he had a .457 SLG in 2009, raising his career number all the way to the better side of .400, at .404.

Generally, leaps like that one set prognosticators on edge. It is important to note, however, that Callaspo showed some pop throughout his minor league career, posting slugging averages of .478 and .491 in his last two full seasons in the minors.

Callaspo can expect some regression in 2010, but to completely discount his season would be foolish: Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium was the fourth-worst park in which to hit home runs in 2009, meaning that some number of Callaspo's doubles and triples (by the numbers, it looks to be about five) could actually turn into round-trippers in 2010, all else being equal.

After performing these analyses, interested teams will have to decide if they would rather pay $3-5 million for the services of free agent second basemen like Placido Polanco or Orlando Hudson, or pony up the modicum of talent it would take to acquire Callaspo.

Since Callaspo will make the Major League minimum in 2010, Moore need not hurry to get a deal done, and that will push the market value up over time, as Polanco, Hudson, and Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla disappear from the shelves.

At least five teams (the Red Sox, Astros, Cardinals, Braves, and Cubs) should call Moore and inquire about Callaspo. He fits nearly anywhere, because there is no long-term obligation or big money to move.

He could be a stopgap in Chicago until Starlin Castro displaces Ryan Theriot to second; he could take over second in Boston if Dustin Pedroia makes his much-rumored shift to shortstop. He could fill the hole left by Kaz Matsui's expected departure in Houston, finally stabilize the Braves' miserable second base situation, or help the Cardinals' run toward a repeat as NL Central champions.

It will all depend upon who makes Moore the best offer and whether Moore is willing to listen.

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Minnesota’s Free Agent Targets Become Clearer Following Arbitration Deadline

Jeremiah Graves — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:18:08 -0500

Twins general manager Bill Smith had better have the Pohlad’s checkbook ready. As Tuesday night’s 11 p.m. deadline for teams to offer arbitration came and went, it officially sounded the real opening bell on free agency. Don’t get me wrong, I know that free agents, all 171 of them, have been able to sign with teams since November 20th, however, teams rarely sign any Type-A or Type-B free agents prior to the arbitration deadline. If a team signs a player prior to the deadline, the other team will undoubtedly offer arbitration to recoup their losses in the form of draft picks. Tuesday’s deadline, however, was the last opportunity for teams to offer arbitration to free agents. Any players who were offered arbitration now have one week to determine whether or not they’ll accept. Any players who were not offered arbitration just became a whole lot more attractive on the free agent market. The opportunity to sign high-profile players without surrendering draft picks makes them all the more appealing. As such, I’ve taken a look at some of the popular targets for the Minnesota Twins this offseason who were NOT offered arbitration by Tuesday night’s deadline. All of these players who—reportedly and/or hopefully—are on the Twins’ offseason radar are now available, without the added cost of a draft pick. Let the games begin…

Begin Slideshow

Minnesota Twins Offer Carl Pavano Arbitration

Josh Johnson — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:00:00 -0500

The deadline to offer potential free agents arbitration was last night and as expected, the Twins offered arbitration to Carl Pavano. Pavano gained Type-B status which, if he signs with another team, means that he'll fetch the Twins a second round draft pick in next June's draft.

There has been interest from both Pavano's camp and the Twins' front office to keep Pavano in Minnesota. I've mentioned here that while he's not my first choice, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him come back.

Twins shortstop Orlando Cabrera cannot be offered arbitration due to it being written in his contract. Cabrera qualified as a Type-A free agent, but since the Twins cannot offer him arbitration, any team looking to sign him won't have to surrender their first round pick to the Twins. There have been rumblings about bringing Cabrera back as a second baseman, but that's about all there's been.

Several players the Twins may show interest in this offseason weren't offered arbitration. Second basemen Orlando Hudson and Placido Polanco are two players the Twins will likely discuss bringing to Minnesota and neither were offered arbitration by their former teams. Both players would fit into Minnesota's lineup well.

Other players that weren't offered arbitration and which the Twins could target:

Randy Wolf
Ronnie Beliard
Erik Bedard
Felipe Lopez
Rich Harden
Jon Garland
Miguel Tejada
Melvin Mora

All of these players could be discussed by the Twins and now that none will cost a draft pick, their chances of signing greatly increase.

Extras...

There are MLB-offseason">reports that the Red Sox are "serious" about signing Rich Harden which could very well take the Twins out of the running to sign him. But, as with every free agent, anything can happen.

And the reports of Joe Mauer's supposed "deadline " has been refuted by—who else?—Joe Mauer himself . It's funny how quickly some things can be squashed.

Seth Stohs reported yesterday that Twins prospect Danny Valencia is heading to Puerto Rico to play Winter Ball. The Twins have expressed their desire for Valencia to play over the Winter in order to give himself a legitimate shot at making the Opening Day roster.

While that could be true, the likelihood that Valencia will make the Opening Day roster even after playing Winter Ball is small. That's not because he's not ready, it's because the Twins will most likely find a second baseman or third baseman (making Nick Punto the other starter) by that time. If it were up to me, I'd want Valencia to rest over the winter to prepare as well as he can for the upcoming season.

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Carl Pavano Receives Arbitration Offer from Minnesota Twins

Jeremiah Graves — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:38:18 -0500

The Minnesota Twins have reportedly offered Carl Pavano arbitration.

Minnesota had until Tuesday’s 11 p.m. deadline to offer the right-hander arbitration for next season, but chose to do so early.

The decision makes sense as Pavano qualifies as a Type-B free agent and that guarantees the Twins a draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

Additionally, if he chooses to accept the offer, the Twins have shown no hesitation to the prospect of Pavano making an encore performance in Minnesota next season.

Pavano was highly-regarded for his gritty, veteran presence on the young pitching staff late last season. He also produced by going 5-4 with a 4.64 ERA in 12 starts for the club down the stretch, seven of which qualified as quality starts.

The Twins have already had discussions with Pavano about a potential second tour of duty, so it is more likely that if he were to accept the arbitration offer, the club would strike a multi-year deal.

Pavano, 34, has a lengthy injury history that includes an infamous injury-laden, four-year stint with the New York Yankees.

He bucked the trend in 2009 by staying healthy for a full season for the first time since his 2004 campaign with the Florida Marlins.

He pitched 199.1 innings over 33 starts and posted a cumulative 14-12 record with a 5.10 ERA. Those numbers are skewed by an abysmal April. After his shaky start to the season, Pavano went 14-9 with a 4.67 ERA in 181.1 innings.

Despite his injury history and middle-of-the-pack overall numbers, Pavano has garnered interest from a number of teams.

Cleveland has shown interest in bringing him back and it is rumored that a number of National League teams are interested in the right-hander as well.

At his best, Pavano is probably no better than a middle of the rotation starter at this point in his career, but he did finish in the American League’s top five in starts, walk rate, and strikeout-to-walk ratio, so he still brings something to the table.

I look at this situation as a win-win for Minnesota.

If Pavano accepts, we get a reliable innings-eater for the middle of the rotation.

If we sign a multi-year deal—at the right price—it gets even better.

If it comes down to an arbitrator on a one-year deal, Pavano’s overall numbers merit a raise, but not a substantial one.

Pavano’s base salary last year was $1.5 million and he made roughly $4.35 million when performance bonuses were factored in. At worst, he would probably cost the Twins somewhere in the $6-7 million range via arbitration.

Then there is the alternative.

Pavano could decline arbitration and guarantee the Twins a draft pick when he signs elsewhere.

The Twins could then use the money they were going to use to sign Pavano to acquire a different starter or to bolster the infield.

Barring the sudden, unexpected return of the “American Idle” version of Pavano from his tenure with New York, the Twins can’t lose in this situation.

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Tampa Bay Rays Acquire Kelly Shoppach From Cleveland Indians

Adam Bernacchio — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:15:02 -0500

According to the Tampa Bay Rays official site, the Rays have acquired catcher Kelly Shoppach from the Cleveland Indians for the vaunted player to be named later or “PTBNL” as us cool kids say.

I really like this pick up for the Rays.

I have always been a Shoppach fan going back to his days with the Boston Red Sox. I thought the Red Sox were going to reacquire him this offseason, but it was not meant to be.

Shoppach will be catching for the Rays in 2010

The Rays have been looking for a catcher because Gregg Zaun is a free agent and Dioner Navarro was completely useless last year. Talk about a World Series hangover. What happened to him last year?

Navarro hit .295 with a .757 OPS and was an All Star in 2008, but in 2009, Navarro reverted back to his 2006 and 2007 form by hitting a pathetic .218 with a .583 OPS.

Shoppach’s career has taken a similar path as Navarro’s. Shoppach was a backup catcher in 2006 and 2007 and then in 2008 Shoppach had the opportunity to start thanks to a Victor Martinez injury.

Shoppach proceeded to have a career year in 2008 when he hit 21 home runs and had an .865 OPS in 113 games for the Indians. In 2009, Shoppach suffered through injuries and had a down year, hitting only .214 with a .734 OPS in 58 games.

This trade gives the Rays a couple of options. The Rays could now let Navarro go instead of offering him arbitration by the December 12 deadline and re-sign Zaun. This would give them a Shoppach/Zaun tandem in 2010.

The second option would be to keep both Shoppach and Navarro. With Shoppach arbitration eligible as well, I believe the Rays will go with the first option.

If you were to ask me, Shoppach is a much better candidate than Navarro to have a bounce back year.

For the Indians, they will get a back player for a player who was probably going to be non-tendered in a couple of weeks, so it’s not a bad deal for them.

With Lou Marson and top prospect Carlos Santana ready to take over the catching duties in the future, Shoppach was expendable.

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

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Miguel Cabrera On The Market: Can Anyone Afford Him?

Matt Trueblood — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:52:58 -0500

The Detroit Tigers are looking to deal, and in order to save themselves from financial ruin, they are willing to part with superstar first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

According to a Tigers'-core-players-fit-in?" title="Where might these Tigers' c..." target="_blank">foxsports.com report , Cabrera is available if a buyer can be found. Detroit GM Dave Dembrowski, though careful to avoid openly shopping, has been using back channels to contact potential suitors for not only Cabrera, but highly paid stars Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson as well.

Though either of the other two could be the missing piece for a good team, Cabrera would instantly improve any offense into which he could be inserted. The 25-year-old has a career batting line of .311/.383/.542, numbers unmatched at such a young age by any current players not named Pujols. His 209 home runs put him among the 10 best men in history through age 25, and he won his first home run title in 2008 after being traded from one home run-suppressing environment (Florida) to another in Detroit.

Cabrera has been fourth or better in batting average in his league three times, most recently this season (he hit .324). He has cracked top 10 leaderboards in on-base percentage three times and slugging average five times, all in six-and-a-half seasons of Major League work.

If money were no object, Detroit would hang onto its slugging savant. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and with Cabrera due an astronomical $126 million over the next six seasons, Dembrowski must either move Cabrera or face complete financial paralysis for the next half-decade.

The FOX Sports story lists the Mets, Red Sox, Mariners, and Angels as potential destinations for Cabrera. Though the Yankees have an incumbent first baseman in MVP runner-up Mark Teixeira, they might be coaxed into looking at Cabrera as a DH who could occasionally spell Teixeira at first. Certainly, to say the least, they have the money to make the deal work.

Understanding that New York will prioritize Teixeira, however, I will stipulate that the aforementioned four franchises are the primary contenders to bag Cabrera, if he moves. The question, then, is which one has the best shot.

Realistically, any one of these four could afford and assimilate Cabrera. Boston has been searching for a slugging first baseman, operates in a huge market, and has a modicum of talented youngsters, which would be all it takes to land Cabrera unless Detroit decides to eat some of his mega-deal. Ditto for the Mets.

The Angels, despite having switch-hitting first baseman and top five 2009 MVP vote-getter Kendry Morales already on board, might consider moving one or the other of Morales and Cabrera to DH, and have prospects aplenty with which to entice Dembrowski. The Mariners, a perpetual dark horse, could choose to pursue Cabrera only if they cannot lure Jason Bay or Matt Holliday to the Pacific Northwest.

For my money, Boston is the best fit. Cabrera could rotate into the DH role whenever the Sox face a tough left-hander, allowing them to sit lefty slugger David Ortiz and get switch-hitting catcher Jason Varitek into the lineup in his stead (Victor Martinez, Boston's big-ticket 2009 trade deadline acquisition, would slide to first). Besides, while all four clubs have financial flexibility, Boston's is greatest.

New York falls next in line, but with holes in their outfield, could as easily choose to chase the less-expensive Bay or Holliday. They could look to free agent options like Nick Johnson to fill their first base void, or try trading for an Adrian Gonzalez or Joey Votto-caliber replacement for the aging Carlos Delgado.

If Detroit were to demonstrate a willingness to pay some of Cabrera's salary, the pool of suitors could expand dramatically. The story suggests they offer to pay as much as $5 million annually for the balance of the deal. That seems unrealistically high to me, and anyway, there are teams that could jump in if Detroit merely offered to help offset short-term costs.

Primarily, this could mean the Chicago Cubs. Chicago will have serious money coming off the books after 2010 and 2011, and could afford to offer a very solid package in return if Detroit would assume some of Cabrera's 2010 salary. It would even be that the two could swap first basemen, with the Cubs sending All-Star Derrek Lee and his $13 million one-year price tag to the Tigers for Cabrera and perhaps $2 million more. Alternatively, Chicago GM Jim Hendry could send Lee to the Mets, and then add whatever prospects he received in return to a potential Cabrera package.

Wherever this prodigious young slugger lands, he will make a tremendous impact in 2010. Teams will pick up the phone for as long as Dembrowski continues to dial it. Detroit's management will simply have to be creative in order to move Cabrera in whatever way best suits the long-term goals of one of the American League's most storied franchises.

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Naked Pictures Of Grady Sizemore Surface On The Web

Adam Bernacchio — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:04:03 -0500

There is some good news for “Grady’s Ladies.”

According to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, there have been at least 15 naked and partially clothed pictures of Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore that have surfaced on the web;some pictures of Sizemore were stolen

The pictures were stolen illegally from his girlfriend’s e-mail account. Sizemore is expected to take legal action against the person who stole the photos.

Today, the Indians released this statement, “We fully support Grady as he deals with this personal matter. The posted photos were stolen from his girlfriend’s email account and a legal investigation is underway.”

Why wouldn’t the Indians support Sizemore? I really don’t see what he did wrong here. If seeing someone naked on the Internet was a crime, then 90 percent of Americans would probably have been arrested at some point.

Without the adult entertainment industry, the Internet wouldn’t be what it is today. As silly as that sounds, that is a fact.

For any of you Sizemore fans who want to see those pictures, they have been taken down from the site they were posted on. At this time, I do not know the name of the site.

Also, in case you wanted to know, Sizemore’s girlfriend is former Playboy Playmate Brittany Binger .

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

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Bert Blyleven Makes Another Pitch at Cooperstown

Jeremiah Graves — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:54:26 -0500

Bert Blyleven belongs in the Hall of Fame.

In fact, he’s belonged in the Hall of Fame for 12 years.

Yet, for 12 years in a row, the Baseball Writers Association of American has erred by leaving him out in the cold when the voting results are announced.

Now in his 13th year of eligibility, Blyleven is down to his final three strikes.

Blyleven’s inability to get inducted has never been a case of talent.

For Bert Blyleven, the numbers have always been there, however, the votes have not.

In a 22-year career that spanned five teams and both leagues, “The Flying Dutchman” put up some very impressive numbers.

Those impressive numbers include 287 career wins, which is good enough for 27th on the all-time list. Almost every eligible player ahead of Blyleven on the wins list is enshrined in Cooperstown.

In fact, plenty of pitchers with less wins that Blyleven have be inducted. Some notable examples include: Jim Palmer, Juan Marichal, Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale, and Catfish Hunter, among others.

Wins aren’t the only statistic where Blyleven’s numbers are Hall-worthy.

Blyleven’s 3,701 career strikeouts rank him fifth all-time, he’s 11th in games started with 685, he’s ninth all-time with 60 shutouts, and he’s 13th on the all-time innings pitched list with 4,970.

Blyleven’s career 3.31 earned run average tops current Hall of Famers Phil Niekro, Fergie Jenkins, Robin Roberts, and Dennis Eckersley.

Clearly the numbers are there, so what’s the issue?

It seems that voters haven’t yet made a big push to get Blyleven in because of his lack of the so-called “benchmarks” for entry into the Hall of Fame.

Blyleven never won a Cy Young Award, he didn’t reach the 300-win plateau, he was only an All-Star twice in 22 years, he won 20 games in a season just once, and he only led the league in one of the key pitching categories once, in 1985 when he paced the American League with 206 strikeouts.

Despite his lack of a standout season or any of the archaic benchmarks, one needs only look so far as his overall body of work in comparison to his modern-day counterparts to see that he belongs.

How many starters will ever reach 287 career wins?

How many starters will ever strike out more than 3,000 batters again, let alone reach his lofty mark?

How many starters—in the age of pitch counts, specialty relievers, and the six-inning quality start—will ever come close to pitching 242 complete games or 60 shutouts?

Blyleven’s already rock-solid numbers, although unchanged since he retired following the 1992 season, figure to grow more impressive as the era of the workhorse pitcher fades farther into the past.

Blyleven was a pitcher cut from a different cloth.

He wanted to start and finish a game on the mound with the ball in his hand. Too many pitchers now are content to earn the quality start and hit the showers.

Take for instance Blyleven’s 242 complete games and 60 shutouts.

Randy Johnson is the active leader in complete games pitched with 100. The modern-era workhorse, Roy Halladay has just 49.

Johnson is also the active leader in shutouts with 37, followed by Tom Glavine with 25.

No one is going to catch Blyleven any time soon, meaning that his lofty, Hall of Fame-worthy rankings will remain intact long passed the end of his 15th year of eligibility.

Arguments can be made that Blyleven’s numbers are a product of his lengthy career, that he lost too many games, or that he never had one standout season to hang his hat on.

All of those arguments could be valid, but all are easily disputed by simple facts.

Blyleven’s career spanned just as many years as Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, and Roger Clemens. All of whom are considered to be first-ballot Hall of Famers.

No one would ever claim that their successes were a result of pitching for two decades, as opposed to raw talent.

All four of the aforementioned pitchers also had the good fortune to pitch for winning, playoff-caliber teams for most of their careers.

Blyleven pitched in two World Series, in 1979 with Pittsburgh and in 1987 with Minnesota. He only played in the postseason one other time, in the 1970 ALCS with the Twins.

Most of his career was spent toiling for mediocre clubs that hovered at or below the .500 mark, no doubt that impacted his won-loss record in a big way.

Finally, the lack of a standout season is a moot point. How many pitchers have won a Cy Young Award or 20 games only to fade into oblivion?

A pitcher’s Hall-worthiness shouldn’t hinge on whether or not he had one stellar year somewhere along a 22-year journey that saw him finish among the game’s elite in numerous categories.

Blyleven didn’t need to win an award or have a standout year to show that he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

The numbers, as they always have been, are there.

Now it’s time for the BBWAA writers to finish what Blyleven, and his infamous curveball, started and vote him into the Hall of Fame.

The voters, despite not yet making the right decision, have been moving in the right direction.

After receiving just 17.5 percent of the vote in 1998, his first year of eligibility, his totals have grown nearly every year.

Last year he finished with 338 total votes for 62.7 percent, still shy of the 75 percent required for induction to the Hall of Fame.

Blyleven’s slow march toward the 70 percent mark is important as well, because every player who has reached 70 percent of the vote has subsequently been elected to the Hall of Fame.

Even more encouraging is that since 1980, only four players have received over 60 percent of the vote and not ended up in Cooperstown.

All signs point toward Blyleven’s eventual induction.

With no sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famers on the ticket this year and a whole slew of holdovers, this could finally be the year that Blyleven gets his due.

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