Tag: 2012 MLB Spring Training

MLB Spring Training 2012: Michael Pineda Strong in New York Yankees Debut

In his first start of spring training and as a member of the New York Yankees, Michael Pineda looked very strong over the two scoreless innings of work he put in against the Philadelphia Phillies today.

Other than a lead off, seeing-eye single up the middle by Jimmy Rollins, Pineda was perfect. After Rollins’ single, Pineda forced Placido Polanco to ground out, which would have been a double play if not for a questionable call at second.

But that didn’t matter, as Pineda would go on to strike out the next two hitters. Shane Victorino struck out swinging on a slider in the dirt, and Jim Thome whiffed on a fastball.

Both strikeouts were a good preview of how well Pineda throws his two best pitches.

In the second inning, Pineda retired Hunter Pence, Ty Wigginton and top prospect Domonic Brown all in order for a 1-2-3 inning. Brown might have hit the hardest ball all day, but other than that, the Philly bats didn’t get great contact off the young right-hander.

Pineda showed off his newest pitch, the changeup, to a few of Philadelphia’s left-handed hitters. Although it’s coming along, there is still much work to be done. However, there’s no reason to believe the pitch won’t be ready by April.

It’s tough to comment on his velocity because there were no radar gun readings, but Pineda‘s fastball is electric and he clearly has a nasty slider that will make hitters chase it in the dirt.

This was a great first showing for the second-year man. I know it’s only his first start of spring training, but you have to be encouraged by the success Pineda had against a lineup of solid, professional hitters.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


New York Yankees: 5 Propsects Who Will Make Big Leagues in 2012

The 2012 MLB season is getting closer, and teams are currently seeing which prospects have the stuff to make it to the big leagues at some point this season, and which prospects still need to improve on a particular area before being promoted.

The New York Yankees are no exception. Although most of their 25-man roster is likely set, there are still a number of prospects who have the potential to find their way onto the major league roster at some this year.

Here are five prospects who have the potential and are ready (or are close to ready) to play in the big leagues.

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2012 MLB Spring Training: Chicago White Sox Season Preview

The Chicago White Sox went all in in 2011.

They busted.

When that happens, those who had losing hands are supposed to walk away from the table. Of the people principally responsible for the collapse, though, only two—manager Ozzie Guillen, hitting coach Greg Walker and pitcher Mark Buehrle—actually exited.

Those left—GM Kenny Williams, owner Jerry Reinsdorf, first baseman Paul Konerko, pitching coach Don Cooper and a few others—have more or less bought back into the tournament. They are diminished by their losses and humbled by their failure, but there their chips rest on the felt all over again.

Things will only deteriorate from here. Retaining Williams and Cooper was a mistake by Reinsdorf. Not trading Konerko, John Danks or Gavin Floyd over the winter was a mistake by Williams. The White Sox’s future looks bleak, maybe even black.

On the other hand, one could argue the team has nowhere to go but up. It will be a lonely adventure in a mostly empty ballpark for the White Sox this season, but it will be an adventure, nonetheless. Here’s a complete preview of the year they’ll call: “The Do-Over.”

 

This is the sixth of 30 team previews in 30 days, leading up to the start of the 2012 MLB regular season.

Check out ArizonaAtlanta, Baltimore, Boston and the Cubs.

Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Matt Trueblood offers insight on all facets of each club, profiles their manager, raise key questions, identifies risers and fallers and lays out run matrices for each team based on his proprietary 2012 projections. Check back daily for the next team in the series, or follow Trueblood on Twitter:

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What to Watch For: 5 Reasons to Go to an Oakland Athletics Game in 2012

The past five seasons have been unkind to the Oakland Athletics. The team has been stuck in no man’s land as getting just 80 wins has proven to be a difficult task. Oakland has missed the playoffs for five straight years. Their best season in that stretch came in 2010 when the team finished at .500 with 81 wins.

It has been even tougher during this stretch for the team to get fans into the seats of the O.co Coliseum.  The A’s have an old, unappealing stadium. Management seems to shuffle a mix of young, no-name players with old, washed up players to make up a team that the fans know will not make the playoffs.

Many of those players, due to budget constraints, are in-and-out of the door before the fans can even know their names.

In spite of the A’s going through a rough patch, there are still reasons to watch baseball on that side of the bay. Here’s why a ticket to the A’s game will provide some decent value this year.

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Chicago White Sox: 6 Potential Candidates for No. 2 Hitter

The Chicago White Sox have most of their usual suspects returning to the everyday lineup in 2012. Manager Robin Ventura is charged with the task of putting together a regular batting order on his lineup card. One area in which Ventura is considering a change is the second spot in the order.

Ventura is making a case for catcher A.J. Pierzynski to inhabit that spot. Pierzynski did not bat in the second slot all season in 2011, though he did spend most of the 2008 season there.

Six different players hit second last season. Five are back with the club, including Alexei Ramirez, who batted second in 100 games.

Ventura doesn’t really have a true two guy to rely on to move runners and get on base for the big bats in the lineup. The closest thing he has to that player is Alejandro De Aza, who is slated in the leadoff spot. Here is a look at the candidates available to Ventura this spring.

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Fantasy Baseball 2012: Top 30 Second Basemen

It would be misleading to characterize second base as a position of scarcity in 2012.

Yes, there are no certifiable facsimiles of Robinson Cano, Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia, Rickie Weeks, Chase Utley, Ben Zobrist, Brandon Phillips or Dan Uggla after the first 60 picks of a 12-team, mixed-league draft.

But the entire Top 30 list is also chock-full of 25-and-under potential dynamos (Dustin Ackley, Jemile Weeks, Jason Kipnis, Jose Altuve, Gordon Beckham) and veteran stalwarts (Aaron Hill, Neil Walker, Kelly Johnson, Marco Scutaro, Sean Rodriguez) who are still in their prime years—and could break out with just a little good fortune, here and there.

1. Robinson Cano, Yankees 
Skinny: A lead-pipe cinch for 25 HRs/100 runs/105 RBIs/.305 BA over the next five seasons.

2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
Skinny: The reasonable choice for fantasy owners who value power, speed AND high batting average.

3. Ian Kinsler, Rangers
Skinny: My personal favorite for this position—and that was before he racked up 121 runs last season.

4. Dan Uggla, Braves
Skinny: Fantasy owners in Round 4 are praying for 30 homers…and anything above .260 in hitting. 

5. Rickie Weeks, Brewers
Skinny: Let’s assume his 2010 numbers (29 HRs/83 RBIs/11 steals) are a baseline measure of production.

6. Chase Utley, Phillies
Skinny: A reputation pick here, and one that might look ambitious with Ryan Howard sidelined for a while.

7. Ben Zobrist, Rays
Skinny: The quietest 20-HR/100-run/20-steal potential of all middle infielders…and Big Z has OF eligibility.

8. Brandon Phillips, Reds
Skinny: A top-7 candidate for all five categories. Just don’t expect career marks in HRs or RBIs.

9. Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks
Skinny: Don’t be surprised if Roberts passes the 20-20 threshold at age 31. A great addition at Round 12.

10. Dustin Ackley, Mariners
Skinny: Ackley, who possesses the highest upside of anyone outside the top 8, has 15-40-.310 potential.

11. Howard Kendrick, Angels
Skinny: A slightly unfair ranking, given his solid 2011 campaign. Needs to crack 70 RBIs this season.

12. Jason Kipnis, Indians
Skinny: Kipnis is more Pedroia or Phillips than Uggla or Utley. Either way, he’s a long-term keeper.

13. Jemile Weeks, Athletics
Skinny: A dark-horse candidate for 85 runs/.310 average at age 25. Power numbers may never be there.

14. Marco Scutaro, Rockies
Skinny: Scutaro’s value will get a nice bounce around April 10, when he secures 2B/SS eligibility.

15. Neil Walker, Pirates
Skinny: The wild swings in batting average and run production can be frustrating. Don’t reach on Draft Day. 

16. Kelly Johnson, Blue Jays
Skinny: Two full seasons of middling batting average have diluted Johnson’s respectable power potential.

17. Gordon Beckham, White Sox
Skinny: Beckham has too many physical gifts to be this average in his prime. A solid late-round flier.

18. Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks
Skinny: Went on a hitting tear last year after being traded…but the odds of batting .300 for the season are long.

19. Danny Espinosa, Nationals
Skinny: Anything above a pedestrian batting average would boost him into the top 15—he’s that close.

20. Sean Rodriguez, Rays
Skinny: The 2B-SS-3B versatility opens doors for S-Rod. Can he be a steady 15-15 producer?

21. Jose Altuve, Astros
Skinny: A late-season find for the anemic Astros in 2011. Can he amass 30-35 steals in Year 2 of his development?

22. Ryan Raburn, Tigers
Skinny: Raburn needs a hot start to ward off slick fielders Brandon Inge and Ramon Santiago at the 4-spot.

23. Johnny Giavotella, Royals
Skinny: Could make a modest leap in this countdown with a productive spring. Intriguing prospect.

24. Daniel Murphy, Mets
Skinny: An under-the-radar talent who’ll bring modest value to all five categories—especially hitting.

25. Omar Infante, Marlins
Skinny: Expect a noticeable bump in runs…and then hope the versatile Infante flirts with .300 again.

26. Brian Roberts, Orioles
Skinny: In the realm of minor miracles, I’d be thrilled with 10 HRs, 75 runs and 20 steals.

27. Mark Ellis, Dodgers
Skinny: Ellis has 15-15 potential in the Senior Circuit, even at the ripened age of 34.

28. Orlando Hudson, Padres
Skinny: A nice deep-sleeper option for steals and runs—if the Padres get aggressive on the basepaths.

29. Mike Aviles, Red Sox
Skinny: The preferred fantasy placeholder over Nick Punto, while Jose Iglesias gets more seasoning in the minors.

30a. Darwin Barney, Cubs
Skinny: A last-round sleeper for the 2B/SS slot in NL-only and 14-team mixed leagues.

30b. Justin Turner, Mets
Skinny: Good minor-league numbers suggest a mini-breakout in the bigs. Could rise up the ranks during Grapefruit League play.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Seattle Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki Looks to Have Rebound Season in 2012

If any other baseball player on the planet saw his batting average fall to .272 for the season after hitting nearly .330 for his entire 10-year career, there would be maybe only a slight cause for concern.

But Seattle Mariners‘ right fielder Ichiro Suzuki is no ordinary ball player. Thus, there are some major issues to address regarding the future production of the Mariners’ superstar.

Can he rebound from an un-Ichiro-like 2011 season, one in which he batted .272 with an abysmal .645 OPS? Or was last year the signal of an eminent decline for the 38-year-old?

If Ichiro played in a larger media market, this would be a huge story. But being tucked in the damp and cozy confines of the Pacific Northwest, the prognostication of Ichiro is only slightly on the radar of MLB’s hottest topics.

Last week it was announced by ESPN.com, that Seattle manager Eric Wedge is seriously considering moving Ichiro out of his famed leadoff spot. There is a strong possibility that the speedy Ichiro will slide down to the No. 3 slot in the order come Opening Day.

It would be the first time in Ichiro’s 11-year MLB career that he wouldn’t be the clear-cut starting leadoff hitter.

Part of this move is to ignite some life into the motionless Seattle offense that has set several records for futility over the past two seasons. One intention is to move Chone Figgins to the top of the lineup in order to improve his production.

Hitting ahead of Ichiro instead of behind him may provide Figgins with better pitches to hit, while giving Ichiro the opportunity to drive in some runs instead of hitting with the bases empty so often.

But a latent function of Ichiro moving down in the order would be to provide him with more patience at the plate. Having runners on ahead of him—or at least the possibility of such—would give Ichiro a chance to start sitting back and waiting on pitches instead of aggressively applying his patented chop swing early in the count.

With the opposition pitching out of the stretch more frequently, Ichiro can wait to see a fastball—or a certain pitch—and do with it what he has done throughout his career: disrupt the defense.

With Figgins setting the table, and possibly Dustin Ackley or Michael Saunders as candidates for the two hole, Ichiro can initiate some offense, either through hit-and-run executions or simply driving in runs himself.

Last season, Ichiro logged 47 RBI, roughly the same as his career median output. While his overall batting average slumped by his own high standards, he did hit a respectable .302 with runners in scoring position, and his on-base percentage climbed to .401. By comparison, Ichiro batted a sorrowful .249 when leading off an inning. Yikes.

This 2012 campaign will be an interesting one for the Mariners and Ichiro. He is in the last year of his contract, one that will see him earn $18 million this season. Will Seattle extend him to another long-term deal?

Given his age (38), Ichiro needs to prove that last year was an aberration. Most athletes are on the decline by the time they reach Ichiro’s age. Though he still has some bat and foot speed (40 stolen bases), the M’s have to be concerned about how he’ll perform this season in assessing his future moving forward.

If Ichiro truly bounces back to his prototypical form, the Mariners will gladly ensure that he finishes his career in Seattle.

It’s a bit tricky to evaluate how productive Ichiro is, however. After all, he has set the bar so incredibly high in his career that it’s hard to truly determine that a season in which he tallied 184 hits, stole 40 bases and scored 80 runs is completely terrible.

Especially when taking into consideration that the team as a whole ranked dead last in all of baseball in nearly every major statistical category.

Yet Ichiro and his ball club knows that this is a very important season for him. Ichiro is a tremendously proud person and baseball player. He knows that there is a lot riding on him: if he demonstrates his ability to recover from last year, he can finish his career on his own terms in the next three to five years. 

Unfortunately, if he racks up numbers similar to last year, or somehow regresses even further, it’s possible that this could be his last year in an M’s uniform. Even if Seattle does attempt to retain him, it will not be even close to the $18 million pay rate that Ichiro has been accustomed to for all these years.

Make no mistake, if there’s any player who can iron out the kinks and smooth out the hitting mechanics, it’s Ichiro. But the Mariners as an organization must make stronger efforts and longer strides in becoming a successful and winning ball club as a whole.

Otherwise, Ichiro will continue to lose interest in the excitement for playing for such a dreadful team. After all, who wants to play for the worst offense in the history of baseball?

It’ll definitely be a story to follow all season. Can Ichiro regain his all-world form? Tune in and find out.

 

Follow me on Twitter: @nathanieljue

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry: 9 Who Signed with the Dark Side for 2012

As spring training starts baseball juices flowing, it’s time for a look at the latest members of the “Benedict Arnold Club”, as Matthew Kory of Over the Monster calls it.

If you’re a New York fanatic, there’s always a twinge when you see a former favorite wearing the Red Sox uniform: think Alfredo Aceves. Similarly, members of Red Sox Nation cringe at the thought of seeing someone like 2004 World Series hero Johnny Damon don the pinstripes.  

Making it worse for Red Sox fans is that the player movement along the Boston-New York corridor has been heavily in the Yankees favor over the years, starting with a guy named Babe Ruth.  

Of the defectors in the last 20 years, I would guess Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs sting the most from the Red Sox side. Everyone over 30 will probably remember when Boggs joined the Yankees in 1993. That was bad enough, but seeing him on that horse after winning the World Series just rubbed salt in the wound.

Reliever Mike Stanton is another Red Sox player who found success in the Bronx. At the 1996 trading deadline the Red Sox sent him to Texas for two forgettable players. The Yankees picked him up the following year, and over the next seasons he went 30-12 out of the NY bullpen, earning an All-Star nod in 2001.

From the Yankees side, there have been fewer defections that have come back to haunt them in the past few decades—Aceves and Mike Lowell being the most recent exceptions.

A couple of others that come to mind are David Cone and Don Baylor, thought by many to be the catalyst for the pennant-winning 1986 Red Sox team.

Some players performed reasonably well for both teams: David Wells, Mike Torrez, Ramiro Mendoza and Eric Hinske come to mind.

(In fact, those last two names are the answer to a pretty good trivia question: Who are the only two ballplayers since 1918 to have won a World Series ring with both the Red Sox and the Yankees?)

Others have played for the dark side at the end of their careers: Luis Tiant, Bill Monbouquette and George “Boomer” Scott had twilight stints with the Yankees, while I imagine Yankee fans found it difficult to watch the great Elston Howard play for the Red Sox.

In recent years free agency has created most of this movement, when the Yankees were quite simply willing to pay more than the Red Sox for certain players.

Even before free agency, however, the Yankees always seemed to get the better of the also-ran Red Sox. Many people forget that Babe Ruth was not the only player sold to the Yankees because of Harry Frazee’s money woes in the World War I era. 

Duffy Lewis, Everett Scott, Ernie Shore, Herb Pennock and Carl Mays all contributed to the Red Sox winning five of the seven World Series played between 1912 and 1918. Kory points out they were all sold to the Yankees between 1919 and 1923, leading to the total dismantling of a Red Sox powerhouse that would not even become a .500 team again until 1935. (Of course, the Sox also sold the legendary Tris Speaker to Cleveland.)

Back in the day, Yankee star pitchers Red Ruffing and Waite Hoyt both came from Boston.

In 1967 the Yankees embarrassed the Red Sox by getting All-Star and Cy Young reliever Sparky Lyle in exchange for the immortal Danny Cater. 

A surprisingly high number of the 2004 curse-busting Red Sox team also played for the Yankees sometime during their careers. In addition to Damon and Mendoza, Mike Myers, Doug Meintkeiwicz, Mark Bellhorn, and Alan Embree all donned pinstripes at some point.

A few other club members whose names are familiar to most baseball fans are: Kevin Cash, Rick Cerone, Nick Green, Rickey Henderson, Jim Leyritz, Mike Stanley and Tom Gordon.

In all, according to BaseballReference.com, there are some 210 players over the years who have played for both teams.

Last year, the only former Red Sox player on the Yankees major league roster was Bartolo Colon, while Aceves was the only former Yankee on the Red Sox roster. Chances are those numbers will be higher this year.

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Manny Ramirez: Has the Former Star Reformed Since His Positive Drug Test?

Since Manny Ramirez got called up to the Cleveland Indians in 1993, we have seen him become one of the greatest batters in MLB history.

Ramirez’s career has generated over 500 career home runs, two World Series titles and a dynamic personality that has brought an extra layer of color to baseball.

Yet all of these highlights have been overshadowed with the news that Ramirez tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a women’s fertility drug that is used by steroid users to restart their body’s natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It was also reported that Ramirez also had artificial testosterone in his body at the time of the drug test.

Manny was suspended 50 games after the drug test, and has not been the same player since then. Ramirez found himself on the disabled list three times in 2010, and hit only nine homers with the Dodgers and White Sox.

Last winter, Ramirez signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, but only played five games before getting hit with another positive drug test. Facing a 100-game suspension, Ramirez decided to retire.

This offseason, Manny decided that they wanted to come out of retirement and negotiated a deal that would see the outfielder get reinstated and serve a 50-game suspension, assuming that an MLB team would pick him up.

Ramirez got his chance from the Oakland Athletics in the form of a $500,000 contract if he makes the club.

Yesterday, Ramirez reported to spring training in Arizona, appearing to be a changed person.

Manny looked promising in batting practice and presented a much more mature presence than he ever showed us before.

Throughout his brief time with the media, Ramirez continued to reference his new-found connection to God. One of the most telling quotes Ramirez said was, “Sometimes when you don’t got God in your heart, you do stupid things without thinking about it…If you don’t have God in your heart, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Throughout the press conference, Manny was with his wife and child, who continued to give the slugger encouragement.

Ramirez also sounded humble to the press by claiming only God knows if he could still play, along with saying that he was nervous en route to the ballpark.

Obviously Ramirez has a long way to go before he can even play in the majors again. Manny’s suspension lasts until at least May 30th (which is Manny’s 40th birthday), and we have to see what Ramirez’s performance is like in spring training.

But Ramirez’s reformed faith can be a major benefit in helping him once again become an effective MLB player.

Ramirez is a special ballplayer and one of the greatest hitters we have ever watched. This season will be hard for Manny, considering he hasn’t faced MLB pitching in a competitive game in over a year, and his offensive production was already slowing down before his second drug suspension.

Right now, we don’t know how Manny will do in spring training or in the big leagues (assuming that he can earn a call-up once his suspension ends).

If Manny is the reformed individual he has expressed that he has become, Oakland will be a stronger baseball club.

But if Manny gets in trouble again and moves away from the religious message that he has expressed so far this spring, it can be a sad end to a great career.

Manny Ramirez doesn’t need to be the superstar he was with the Cleveland Indians or with the Boston Red Sox. Instead, he now needs to be a role model for an A’s team that is in the middle of a rebuild.

That is an important feature for veterans to express, and it would be fantastic if Manny can convey a strong message that would help these players develop into better ballplayers.

 

Follow me on Twitter @Andrew_Jordan

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Boston Red Sox: Predicting the 2012 Stats of Every Starting Pitcher

In Boston the weather has been a tease this week.  

Two days ago the temps were in the mid 50’s. Yesterday, it snowed. The Fenway Faithful are starting to salivate for the start of the 2012 season. The team was disgraced last year. Hopefully that means there is a chip on the shoulder of many men on this roster.

Most of all, the pitchers.

With a lot to prove and a fanbase anxious for baseball, here is a look at what we can expect from the starting pitchers in 2012.

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