Daily Archives: November 28, 2006
At SI.com, Tom Verducci explains the Year-After Effect, which, according to baseball executives and pitching coaches, states that young pitchers should not have their innings workload increased by more than 25 or 30 innings per year otherwise the pitcher elevates the risk of injury or a setback to his development..
Verducci worries about the new crop of starting pitchers that emerged this season, such as Marlins RHP Anabel Sanchez, and references past cases in which YAE has caused problems, such as in 2005, about which he writes…
“For example, let’s look at the YAE for the Class of 2005, the young pitchers who were pushed beyond the 30-inning threshold that season: Matt Cain (+33.1 innings at age 20), Francisco Liriano (+34.2 at 21), Gustavo Chacin (+35.2 at 24), Zach Duke (+44.1 at 22), Scott Kazmir (+51.2 at 21) and Paul Maholm (+98.1 at 23). Liriano (elbow), Chacin (elbow) and Kazmir (shoulder) all suffered significant injuries. Cain (+1.82), Duke (+2.66) and Maholm (+2.58) all saw dramatic rises in their ERAs.”
…interesting…so what does this mean for Mike Pelfrey and his potential for starting at shea in 2007…
Last season, Pelfrey threw 118 innings between his time with the Mets and the minor leagues, meaning that, according to Verducci’s YAE, Pelfrey should not toss more than 147 innings next season, which would be roughly 25 starts.
During a full season, a completely-healthy starting pitcher should be able to make 33 starts in a rotation with four other starting pitchers.
According to Jon Heyman at SI.com, the Hanish Tigers accepted a bid of $25 million in exchange for the negotiating rights to LHP Kei Igawa.
…by the way, i believe his name is pronounced: key…
Multiple reports had suggested that teams would likely bid up to $10 million to speak with Igawa.
The Arizona Republic reports that the Padres, Cubs, Yankees, Mets, Indians, Mariners, Athletics and Diamondbacks are among several teams that bid on Igawa.
At Prospect Insider, Jason A Churchill puts forth an outstanding scouting report of Japanese LHP Kei Igawa.
Regarding Igawa, a veteran scout working for a team in the NL Central, with experience in Japan, Korea and China, tells Churchill…
“He’s a fringe front-line guy, for me, somewhere between that innings eater at No. 4 and the occasional dominant start that good No. 3’s can display five or six times a year. Is he Mark Buehrle? He might be better, but that’s a decent comp. I liken him to guys like Randy Wolf, Buehrle, or someone like Noah Lowry in style.
…thanks to thomas c for the link…
Churchill speculates that Igawa may command a three-year deal worth $13 million.
…this seems light to me…the buzz around baseball had been that he would net a bit less than what Ted Lilly or Gil Meche can expect, so, i’m thinking that means three-years at $27 million, or in that neighborhood…
In 27 starts for the Giants last season, the left-handed Lowry posted a 4.74 ERA, while Wolf, who recently signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers, had posted a career ERA of 4.21 in 190 starts for the Phillies.
The Padres, Giants and Dodgers all appear to be interested in acquiring Red Sox OF Manny Ramirez, reports the Boston Globe.
…the buzz in new york regarding manny is silence…there really isn’t any…go figure…for two years we stumbled around, gossiping about manny and the Mets, and now that he looks to be very much available, and very likely to be moved, the Mets are quiet…unless, of course, they are simply operating quietly…i do, however, sense it is the former…
The LA Times confirms the Dodgers interest in Ramirez, noting that Boston has asked them for three prospects, including OF Matt Kemp, the team’s top outfield prospect.
According to the Globe, though Ramirez has only two-years remaining on his current contract, he will likely ask for at least a one-year extension in exchange for waving his no-trade power.
Appearing on ESPN Radio earlier today, Buster Olney described the Red Sox as finally being ‘fed up’ with ‘Manny being Manny,’ and would prefer to have a more balanced lineup featuring, for instance, JD Drew and Julio Lugo.
Also, Olney explained that the Sox are looking to make a deal similar to the one pulled off between the Tigers and Yankees, which swapped Gary Sheffield and a collection or prospects, though Boston will expect to land at least one major-league ready player in the deal.
According to the Kyodo News Service, the Hanshin Tigers have accepted an offer from a major-league team for the right to negotiate with LHP Kei Igawa.
The winning team will be revealed later today, according to the report.
The Arizona Republic reports that the Padres, Cubs, Yankees, Mets, Indians, Mariners, Athletics and Diamondbacks are among several teams that bid on Igawa.
…thanks to jan for the links…
The Cubs have offered a three-year deal worth $44 million to free-agent RHP Jason Schmidt, reports Henry Schulman in a notebook for the San Francisco Chronicle.
…thanks to brian mcg for the link…
…well, there’s the $15 million per year that we keep hearing will be asked by Scott Boras in exchange for Barry Zito…however, schmidt is offered just three years, as opposed to the seven years rumored to asked by zito’s camp…
…the buzz around schmidt has been that a) he prefers to play on the west coast, though his agent is working overtime to dispel this, and b) no team will give him a super-long deal, like zito wants, because his health is a huge question mark, unlike zito who has never missed a single start in his career…
…if this offer by the cubs is accurate, and schmidt signs it, or one like it, i see no reason why zito should not expect at least five years, if not more, given the two pitcher’s medical track records…
At ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes that the Orioles “have an agreement in place” with free-agent RHP Chad Bradford.
…this is looking pretty close to official, folks…
In the book Moneyball, the following poem is published, which was written by an eight-year-old Bradford (so forgive the spelling.)…
If I were a A grown up
I would be a baseball player
And I would play for the Dodgers.
I hope to play for the Cardinals too.
I hope to play for the Oriole too
And for all the teams I would
Play shotestop.
…so, basically, bradford going to baltimore is a dream come true…now if they can just trade Miguel Tejada, he’ll be all set…
…the buzz from manhattan is that at least 10 teams have placed a bid to negotiate with Japanese LHP Kei Igawa, including the Mets, Padres, Yankees, A’s, Rangers, Dodgers and Angels…
Igawa’s team from Japan has until Friday to accept the highest bid, at which point the winning team will have 30 days to negotiate with the pitcher.
In the San Francisco Chronicle, Susan Slusser writes that the A’s have been in talks with free-agent C Mike Piazza.
…this is perfect fit for mike, where he can dh, catch on occasion, bat third, play on the west coast, win and hang out with a bunch of long-haired surfers and musicians…
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…thanks…
