Kuzul

While all of the talk in Philadelphia has been centered around how the Phillies can get BJ Upton into the outfield, the team might be better off looking at Angel Pagan at a more predictable, and consequently better, option for 2013.

It seems as if the San Francisco Giants want to bring Pagan back, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, so this might be a hard fight to win. He just won the World Series, and that is a difficult situation to leave.

However, Pagan himself has never come out on the record as far as I know as to his intentions for next season. Perhaps he wants to try somewhere different. If that is the case, the Philadelphia Phillies need to seriously consider adding Pagan to the lineup.

First, he will serve a purpose similar to what Shane Victorino did when he was in Philadelphia. He hit for a high average, got on base, was always a threat to steal second and had decent power. Of course, if you look at his stat line from last season, this is rather obvious.

He hit .288, led the National League with 15 triples, hit eight home runs, drove in 56 runs and stole 29 bases. He is the type of hitter that the Phillies could use at the top of their lineup to help set the table for the run producing bats of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

Beyond the obvious on-field benefits, it’s safe to assume that his contract will be less than BJ Upton. The Philadelphia Phillies have put far too much money into far too few contracts. Making another large investment in a high-risk player like Upton doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Normally, I am a huge advocate of taking on risks to reap huge potential rewards. Upton does provide that, but it is not the right time for the Phillies. If the risk for Upton doesn’t pay off, the Phillies will be saddled with yet another deal that costs a lot more than it is worth.

Except for the power, Pagan provides virtually every benefit that Upton does and he has been more consistent throughout his career. The Phillies need someone who they can count on to produce, and if he comes at a discount compared to Upton (which he absolutely should), the deal looks even better.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are taking the free agent market seriously. Jayson Stark of ESPN reported Tuesday that the Dodgers are looking at top shelf starting pitchers Zack Greinke, Hiroki Kuroda and Anibal Sanchez.

While each of these three pitchers would obviously help the Dodgers, it is difficult to tell if this is really the best use of all of the money that new ownership is going to be pumping into the franchise.

First, as Jayson Stark also mentioned, the Dodgers have a veteran group of starting pitchers. Clayton Kershaw obviously leads the way as a potential Cy Young candidate every season. Chad Billingsley and Josh Beckett should provide plenty of support as well.

In fact, if Beckett is able to rebound from an incredibly frustrating 2012, he should be more than support. In 2011, he went 13-7 with a very low 2.89 ERA. The reason that I designated that ERA especially is because he posted that in the American League East.

For perspective, in 2011, every team in the American League East was in the top half of Major League Baseball in terms of runs scored. In such a high-scoring division, it is obvious that Beckett did great things if he kept his ERA that low.

With the pitching staff seemingly under control, it seems as if it would be more logical for the Dodgers to worry about the offense. In 2012, they came in 26th in terms of total runs scored. There is a lot of room for improvement in their lineup.

While they do have potential All-Stars at almost every position thanks to a major blockbuster with the Boston Red Sox last July, third base has the potential to be a weak link.

Luis Cruz saw a substantial portion of time at the hot corner last season, and he handled himself very well at the plate with a .297 batting average, six home runs and 40 RBI in 78 games. However, that was a small sample size, and he rarely displayed that much power or average in the minor leagues.

A free-agent option such as Kevin Youkilis might make a lot more sense at third base and be a better use of that money.

Last season was definitely not ideal as he hit .235 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI. However, he did play markedly better once he was traded away from the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox.

Although his average only crept up slightly, he hit 15 home runs in 80 games. When you expand that over an entire season, 30 home runs would definitely be valued at third base.

I know that the Los Angeles Dodgers might be a little bit heavy on former Red Sox, but this situation is entirely different with different management in place. A similar meltdown would almost definitely not occur.

While I do not doubt for one minute that the Los Angeles Dodgers are indeed looking at top end starting pitchers, that strategy is questionable to say the least.

With an offense that ranked near the bottom of the league in terms of runs produced last season, it might not hurt to a little bit more firepower to that lineup.

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Dan Haren was on the verge of being traded to the Chicago Cubs on Friday night for a package that would have sent at least Carlos Marmol to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

However, since that transaction fell through, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com is reporting that the Angels declined their team option on Haren, and he will indeed become a free agent this winter.

According to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto has not ruled out talking to Haren on a new contract.

With all this in mind, is it possible that Haren will return to the Angels next season?

On one hand, last season was definitely below average for the now 32-year-old right-hander. He went 12-13 with a 4.33 ERA. He posted his highest WHIP, lowest win total, tied for the highest loss total and lowest strikeout total since he was 23 years old and pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Obviously, with that season in their recent memory, the Angels did not want to exercise his option and pay him $15.5 million this year.

However, one bad season does not necessarily mean that the Angels should avoid him at all costs. Sure, he is not worth $15.5 million based on last season alone, but if they are able to bring him back at a lower price, they should definitely be open to that possibility.

Until this season, he had seven strong campaigns to his credit. During that time, his highest ERA was 4.12, but he was typically posting numbers below 3.50. In 2009, he led the National League in WHIP, but he was in the top 10 in four other seasons (three of which were in the American League).

For all of you sabermetricians out there, we all know that wins above replacement is a cumulative statistic, and he is currently ranked 23rd among all active pitchers in Major League Baseball according to Baseball Reference.

His track record seems to indicate that he is a much better pitcher than he was in 2012.

That is why the Angels—or any team for that matter—should not be totally opposed to bringing Haren into their rotation. Yes, he had one bad season, and it is somewhat risky to bet on a comeback.

However, perhaps the Angels need to view it in this way: Because of that bad season, his contract demands will surely be lower. There is a very good chance that he will return to his pre-2012 form though. Therefore, for a lower risk, they have a chance to get a pitcher that they should be paying a lot more money for.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

 
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The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim must have been frustrated with the way that this season turned out. However, it is shaping up to be another busy winter in the City of Angels.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports is reporting that the Angels are looking at potential trades for both Dan Haren and Ervin Santana.

On one hand, it definitely makes sense to try to trade these two athletes. In 2012, Haren only managed to go 12-13 with a 4.33 ERA while Santana was a touch below that at 9-13 with a 5.16 ERA. If the Angels want to try to climb back on top of the division next season, they will obviously need more production out of their starting rotation than these two men demonstrated last year.

However, could that production come out of Haren and Santana themselves? Haren has been a reliable starting pitcher throughout his entire career and has won at least 10 games the past nine seasons. Last season was arguably the worst of his career, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is automatically done.

Similarly, Santana is still in his prime and he is only two years removed from a 17 win season. In fact, even though he finished 11-12 in 2011, he posted a career-best 3.38 ERA during that campaign. Yes, 2012 was definitely a bump in the road, but I don’t think that he has totally gone off that path yet.

As you can probably tell, I am not entirely sold on trading either of these athletes simply because of their history of success. Many players have suffered from bad seasons, and many players have also rebounded from bad seasons. Obviously, the Angels need to decide if they are willing to take the risk associated with keeping a player who might not bounce back, but given such long track records of success, these two men do not necessarily seem like unreasonable risks.

Nevertheless, since it appears that the Angels are willing to trade either of these two men at the right price, they need to make sure that they at least get a fair return. These two men have a lot to offer any team in baseball if they are able to return to form, so they should command at least a decent return.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

 
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Alex Rodriguez could have easily been one of the most talked about stories of the winter, but it is apparently a little bit too early to start talking yet and there may not be any reason to be talking at all.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, no teams have called the New York Yankees to talk about their talented, yet vastly overpaid third baseman.

Rodriguez is still owed a total of $114 million through 2017 according to Cot’s Contracts, so it is going to be difficult to find a team willing to take on that kind of deal. To put it in perspective, in 2012, only eight teams had total team payrolls over $114 million. Of course, Rodriguez is not going to earn that all in one year, but it is an interesting perspective nonetheless.

If Rodriguez were still producing at the MVP level that we have seen from him earlier in his career, perhaps this would not be such a huge problem. However, paying that much money for a 37-year-old third baseman who hit .272 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI in 2012 is obviously a bit of a logical stretch.

With these two factors, it is hard to imagine a team would really be willing to take such a major chance on Rodriguez. On October 24, Joe Girardi told Andrew Marchand of ESPN that Rodriguez will be the starting third baseman for the New York Yankees in 2013.

Now, when you combine all three of these details with the fact that Rodriguez has a full no-trade clause on his contract, it is even more difficult to imagine him moving from New York. While it might be in the best business interests of the Yankees to reduce their payroll substantially by letting Rodriguez move on, the environment does not seem conducive to this type of move at the moment.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

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The entire baseball season is important, but when the season is almost over, there seems to be a special intensity.  Even though a loss in April matters as much as a loss in September, it doesn’t feel that way.

Most of that reaction probably comes from the fact that every loss is viewed under a microscope in September.  We all know that one game can send a team home for the winter or usher them into a playoff run.

With this type of tension in mind, here are power rankings based solely upon the month of September.  It doesn’t matter how well each team played during the rest of the season. We care about results in the clutch.  I will provide their records from September for your reference.

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The American League Cy Young award race is going to be tough to call. While there are some traditionally dominant arms like Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez or Jered Weaver in the discussion, there are plenty of other arms joining them.

In particular, David Price and Chris Sale are both having excellent seasons and could easily receive votes when the ballots are cast.

So, who has the upper hand right now?

It seems as if last year’s winner will be this year’s winner. Justin Verlander is currently 15-8 with a 2.74 ERA, 223 strikeouts, a .217 batting average against and a 1.06 WHIP.

In context, these numbers are even more impressive. He is tied for eighth in wins, second in ERA, second in strikeouts, third in batting average against and second in WHIP. None of the other pitchers I mentioned above have this type of across-the-board strength. Most of them excel in one area like Jered Weaver in his ability to keep people off base.

His weakest statistic seems to be his win total, but given all the success that he has had this season, part of that number was damaged from a lack of run support. The Detroit Tigers were underachieving at the start of the season, so there were times where Verlander pitched really well but couldn’t bring home the victory.

His first start of the year demonstrated that as he pitched eight shutout innings of two-hit baseball but received a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox. While he definitely has had some bad starts this year, he has also had plenty of great games that he was not rewarded for.

Overall, Verlander has the all-around package to win this award. While it definitely is not as obvious as it was last year, by almost any other standard he is having an excellent season.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

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The Los Angeles Dodgers must be somewhat relieved that Clayton Kershaw‘s injury doesn’t seem as serious as some people might have feared.

Dr. Brian Kelly confirmed what team doctor Neal ElAttrache had suspected, according to an Associated Press report posted on ESPN. Essentially, he can continue pitching without risking further damage to his right hip, which is apparently sore due to his joint being pinched during his pitching motion.

While any injury is obviously less than ideal, the Dodgers are in a position where they need everything to go right. They are currently one game back in the wild-card race with 15 games left to play.

A postseason bid is absolutely still a possibility at this point, and the Dodgers have plenty of time to pull into a playoff spot, but there are slight problems with their recent performances.

Over their past 10 games, they are just 3-7 and have had problems generating offense all September. The road isn’t going to get any easier, either. For nine of the last 15 games, they play the three division leaders.

First, they play three games against the Washington Nationals, followed by three with the Cincinnati Reds. The season will finish with the San Francisco Giants, so the Dodgers will definitely have their work cut out for them.

With this type of challenging schedule, it would be helpful to have Kershaw around. He has electric stuff and is clearly the best pitcher the Los Angeles Dodgers have. Since he does not seem to be in any danger of damaging his hip further, we will probably see him before the year is over.

When there is an important game to be won, Kershaw should be the one on the mound for L.A.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

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Major League Baseball has a pretty robust rulebook to say the least, and as a result, there are many rules that most people haven’t even heard about.

In fact, I want to lay out 10 in particular that I found in the rulebook that I had not necessarily known about. Some of them are kind of funny and some of them are more practical and relevant on the field, but I hope that you enjoy looking through this list with me.

All of the rules are taken directly from MLB rulebook itself which can be found here.

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If Roger Clemens wants to return to Major League Baseball, it seems as if the ball is quite literally in his hands right now.

Over the past week, he has been consistently denying claims to a variety of sources that he wants to return in 2012, although he did make a rather ambiguous statement about his intentions for the 2013 season.

However, to add to this soap opera today, there has been a new message from Houston upper management.

Astros owner Jim Crane told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he wants Roger Clemens to pitch this season for the Astros, but he wouldn’t want him to pitch against any playoff contender.

If you look at the rest of their schedule, the only non-contenders they really play are the Chicago Cubs. The Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers are on the fringe of contention (both are five games back in the NL Wild Card race), but I wouldn’t necessarily say they are necessarily non-contenders.

While they are playing the Chicago Cubs right now, they will not see them again until October in the Windy City. Houston would surely want to benefit from all of the money they could make by bringing him back, though, so I can’t necessarily see that happening.

For that matter, they play the Milwaukee Brewers on the road as well, and they start their series with the Phillies at home this Thursday, September 13. If he was going to pitch against the Phillies, that would take some drastic movement.

Then, the only two series they have left at home involve the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, two teams that are both very much in playoff contention.

Therefore, this is a rather interesting comment from Houston Astros owner Jim Crane. Could this story be dead yet? Honestly, it won’t be over until the final pitch is thrown this season, and then we will start looking at what Clemens meant about 2013.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

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