Kuzul

Longtime outfielder Juan Pierre, who won the World Series in 2003 and twice led MLB in stolen bases, has reportedly retired from baseball.

Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald passed along the news:

Pierre started his career with the Colorado Rockies in 2000. He made stops with the Florida (now Miami) Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies before returning to the Marlins in 2013.

He won the World Series with the South Florida organization in 2003. He posted a .378 on-base percentage with 12 runs scored in 17 games during the team’s playoff run.

The speedster finishes his career with 1,994 games played across 14 seasons. He had a .295 batting average with 1,075 runs scored and 614 stolen bases. His career high in steals came five years ago with the White Sox when he swiped 68 bags. He topped 60 three times.

Matthew Pouliot of Rotoworld put some of his success in perspective:

Pierre confirmed after the 2013 season that he was hopeful to continue his career. He went unsigned throughout the 2014 campaign, however, and wasn’t on a roster as spring training got underway over the past few weeks.

So he’s decided to step away from the game at age 37 after a terrific career as a prototypical leadoff hitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Miami Marlins haven’t been buyers lately, but that changed in a minor way Saturday evening.

UPDATE: Saturday, November 17 at 10:40 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

According to Sun-Sentinel reporter Juan C.Rodriguez, Pierre’s deal is for one year:

Can confirm #Marlins and Juan Pierre have agreed to a one-year, $1.6M deal. Will ve for playing time in LF.

— Juan C. Rodriguez (@JCRMarlinsbeat) November 18, 2012

—End of Update—

According to Sirius 210 XM 87 Fantasy Sports Radio host Craig Mish, the Marlins have signed Juan Pierre:

The Marlins have signed Juan Pierre more details coming

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) November 18, 2012

It doesn’t come as a big surprise because Pierre has to be affordable, but it’s still odd to see Miami bring a player in right now. After (possibly) pulling a blockbuster trade that sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck to Toronto, dumping salary seems like the only goal owner Jeffrey Loria and management have in mind. 

But they do have to field a team, so there’s that. Because Emilio Benifacio is also included in the potential blockbuster deal, the Marlins desperately need a leadoff hitter. Pierre may be 35, but he did hit over .300 last season and stole 37 bases while with the Phillies.

Pierre has never been the best all-around player, but you know what you’re getting. He’s one of the fastest players in the game, and he’s excellent at finding his way on base.

This will be Pierre’s second stint with the organization. He played with the Marlins from 2003-05, stealing 40-plus bases in each season. 

Don’t expect Pierre to make Miami into a World Series contender, but he’s a great role player to have around. He’s very good at what he does, and he will play with a team-first mentality. If nothing else, he will get on base for Giancarlo Stanton and Logan Morrison, which should help create more runs for the Marlins offense.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Philadelphia Phillies have not yet indicated that they are going to be selling at the trade deadline, but according to Buster Olney of ESPN, if Juan Pierre became available, the Cincinnati Reds would be interested.

Pierre has been a pleasant surprise amidst an incredibly disappointing season in Philadelphia.  He is hitting .317 and has stolen 20 bases in 23 attempts.

This is all coming from someone who was not even supposed to be an everyday player.  He really only became a starter because John Mayberry Jr. was extremely ineffective for the duration of spring training.

This move obviously makes a lot of sense if the Phillies are going to indeed sell.

Pierre is 34 years old, so he would not be a piece of the distant future. Since his entire game is based around speed, as he gets older, age will catch up to him more quickly than others. When that happens, his trade value will obviously decline.

Therefore, it makes sense for the Phillies to trade him while his value is high.

Another good reason to trade away Pierre if a fire sale really does take place is because it would open up his roster slot. Perhaps John Mayberry Jr. could have another opportunity to regain his spot as the everyday left fielder. Perhaps Domonic Brown could even come up and take some of that playing time as well (I don’t think that that should happen, but that could easily be the topic of another article).

In either situation, they would have a potential part of their future gaining experience.

If the Phillies do decide to sell, it makes a lot of sense for Juan Pierre to be one of those pieces on the move. However, if they decide that they want to stick in until the end, it would be somewhat surprising to see Pierre going anywhere.

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!

Follow @spinkickers

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After starting out 2012 sluggishly, the Philadelphia Phillies have put the pedal to the medal over the last week, winning six straight games and seven out of eight against San Diego, Houston, Chicago, and now Boston.

There have been plenty of disappointments so far—Chad Qualls, John Mayberry Jr, Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino—but plenty of Phillies have made inroads in their careers as they soar past expectations.

The offense seems back on track, with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley set to return within the next six weeks, the starting pitching is as solid as ever and the fielding hasn’t dipped since last year with the exception of a few extreme cases. Even though they are four games back and last in the division, this team seems poised to make a run thanks to a handful of players making the most of their playing time. 

Begin Slideshow

It could just be a coincidence, or there could be something to it.  Adam Dunn is just another example of a player who has been linked with the crosstown Cubs who is headed to White Sox.  Let’s take a look into Kenny Williams’ past.

1. Jim Thome

Remember how Jim Thome always wanted to play with the Cubs?  The slugger tried his hardest to get the Cubs to consider signing him in 2003, but the North Siders decided to go another route and traded for Derek Lee.  Kenny Williams then pulled off a trade for Bartonville, IL native in 2005 much to Cubs fans’ chagrin.

2. Ken Griffey Jr.

Junior was supposed to be the Cubs’ left-handed power threat for years.  Every trade deadline from 2004 to 2007, the Cubs were always rumored to be working on acquiring the future hall of famer.  As soon as his trade value went down far enough, Williams snagged Griffey at the 2008 deadline.

3. Juan Pierre

Traded to the Cubs in 2006 for Ricky Nolasco and a pair of other pitchers, things never worked out like they were supposed to for Pierre on the North Side.  Pierre left the Cubs in free agency after just one year and was snatched up by Williams in a trade after three seasons with the Dodgers.

4. Kosuke Fukudome

The White Sox are happy that the former Japanese superstar never signed with the South Siders, but he almost did.  The Cubs were long seen to be the front-runner to sign the free agent in 2007, and the White Sox were not even known to be considering Fukudome. 

But after Fukudome signed a four-year, $47 million deal to play for the Cubs, it came out that Kenny Williams and the White Sox had actually offered him a bigger deal than the North Siders in negotiations.

5. Jake Peavy

He was always supposed to be a Cub.  The Cubs were rumored for years to be interested in the former Cy Young winner, and despite injury concerns in 2010 were still pursuing him at the deadline.  But the White Sox got to him first, and after initially rejecting a trade to the South Side, Peavy finally waived his no-trade clause and agreed to play for Ozzie Guillen.

6. Scott Podsednik

Obviously Podsednik played for the White Sox first, but don’t forget that the Cubs showed serious interest in signing the outfielder after he was released by the Sox in 2007. Podsednik eventually signed with the Rockies, and the Cubs continued to wonder if he could have been what Juan Pierre couldn’t be for them before Kenny Williams re-signed Podsednik in 2009.

7. Adam Dunn

Dunn is another player in a list of many who was supposed to come to the Cubs to finally fill the left handed power hole they’ve had for years.  The Cubs were seen by many to be one of the front runners for Dunn, before the White Sox came out of no where to sign the slugger.

Ozzie Guillen has made it clear, he doesn’t hate the Cubs, he just hates Wrigley Field.  But what about his GM?  Kenny Williams seems to have a personal goal to grab whoever it is that is currently catching the Cubs’ eye. 

It could just be a total coincidence, but its something to think about.  Maybe Kenny just really hates the Cubs. Maybe he hates how he can put a better product on the field year in and year out but the Cubs still outdraw the South Siders every year.  Who knows.  

Think I’m crazy?  The most recent player the Cubs have shown interest in is James Loney. If the Sox fail to resign Paul Konerko, don’t be surprised if Kenny Williams makes a play at him.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Over the last several years, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ management team of owner Frank McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti have utilized the deferred contract option as a tactic to bring in numerous big name players with highly valued contracts—without paying much up front.

Looking back at several of the players who were still part of the Dodgers payroll in 2010, and who will be receiving paychecks from McCourt into the future, there’s no doubt that many of the deals have failed miserably.

There’s no way of telling exactly what position Frank McCourt is in financially, and just to be competitive, the club may be forced to continue to back-load contracts and pay players deferred cash long after they leave Los Angeles.

Nevertheless, as the 2010 campaign came to an end, some relief began to appear. Six players who were on the team payroll this season, yet never suited up in Dodger Blue, have finally received their last paycheck from Los Angeles. Now, these funds can finally be utilized to fill in a number of gaps on the player roster.

Left-handed starting pitcher Ted Lilly was recently signed to a three-year, $33 million deal, and although the contract was back-loaded, surprisingly no deferred payments exist that will need to be made once the contract expires. This could be a positive sign for the Dodgers, as Colletti and McCourt finally may be realizing how costly several of these deals actually were.

Still, the offseason is young, and the verdict is out on McCourt and Colletti. It’s already been announced that the team payroll will be increased, but it’s unknown by how much. Yet it is possible that with all the right moves, the Dodgers may find themselves in a position to improve upon a very dreadful year.

The following slides show all nine players who weren’t part of the team in 2010 yet still received paychecks signed by McCourt. Several are finally cleared from the payroll, and while a few will continue to be paid into the future, there is a bit of relief in sight in terms of overall dollars. 

Begin Slideshow

Joe Torre has made it official: he will be stepping down as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of the 2010 season, and thus comes to a close one of the great managerial careers in baseball history.

It is a bitter-sweet end, though, as after 12 brilliant season with the New York Yankees, Torre leaves the Dodgers without having brought a championship to L.A. in his three seasons there.

To make matters all the more wrenching, Torre’s Dodgers reached the NLCS in each of his first two years at Chavez Ravine, but could never get over the hump.

And then of course, there is 2010, which will forever be a footnote to an otherwise brilliant career.

But before we lose the 2010 season to history, let’s take a look back at what went wrong for the Dodgers in this, Joe Torre’s final season.

Begin Slideshow

While “punting” categories can be successful in Head-to-Head leagues, what are the rest of us rotisserie guys supposed to do?  Finding a player who can bring you fortune in one category can help pay the bills at the end of the season.  Stolen bases can be found just about anywhere on the waiver wire, but finding saves can be like winning the out-of-state lottery.  

First up, let’s take a look at some base stealers who could score you some easy points during the second half, followed by some relievers who could find you some cheap saves and have in their possession high strikeout totals.

Easy Steals

Nyjer Morgan – OF, WSH (35% owned) – Despite having an on-base percentage (OBP) of just .313 this season, Morgan is currently second in the NL with 21 swipes.  Now, certainly reaching base is an issue for Morgan and the rest of the Nationals lineup, but when he does reach he’s a lock for a stolen base or two.

Juan Pierre – OF, CWS (41% owned) – After slumping in April and May, in which Pierre had a combined OBP of .304, one thing stayed steady —his stolen base numbers (19).  For the season, Juan leads all of baseball with 32 steals. And with the White Sox playing red-hot right now, Pierre is a steady figure atop the lineup.  Since June 24 th , Pierre is hitting at a .333 clip with an OBP of .415.  Sound like a guy who could steal his way into your heart during the second half?

Andres Torres – OF, SF (20% owned) – This switch-hitting speedster has found a nice home atop the Giants’ lineup during the past month.  He missed a few games with a groin injury, but seems to be healthy again. 

Torres has 17 swipes this season and is hitting over .300 during the month of July so far.  Certainly not a “power” guy, Torres already has 4 homers this month. He may be done in the home run department this month, but his steals and runs scored categories should continue to see production.

Speedsters to Monitor  

Corey Patterson – OF, BAL (11% owned) – Can Felix Pie stay healthy the rest of the year?

Fred Lewis – OF, TOR (5% owned) – A nice AL only option, but is usually omitted from the lineup against left-handed pitching)

Cheap Thrills

Chris Perez – RP, CLE (23% owned) – With fellow Tribe reliever Kerry Wood hitting the DL this weekend, Perez becomes the number one closer on the depth chart.  Now we’re still talking about the Indians here, so save chances may be few and far between, but that’s why this is called cheap thrills.

The strikeout per nine-inning ratio (K/9) for Perez is way down this season (4.7 K/9) compared to his 10.7 K/9 ratio from last season. Either way, your waiver wire is probably scarce with closers, so pick him up if you can.

Mike Gonzalez – RP, BAL (20% owned) – Gonzo hasn’t been able to find much luck this season, pitching in only two innings, acquiring zero saves, and posting a WHIP of 4.50 before hitting disabled list.  On the bright side, he did have three strikeouts in those two innings.  He’s still on rehab assignment, but it appears he could be back sometime within the next week or two. 

Now, along with Perez of the Indians, the Orioles find their closers few save opportunities.  The rehab assignments have been somewhat encouraging if you are looking at Gonzalez on the waiver wire, as he’s posted 10.8 K/9 ratio and has only walked two batters in 11 2/3 innings. 

The other good sign is that his velocity is in the 92-94 MPH range, which has been an issue all season long. 

The Orioles certainly won’t give Gonzo the ninth-inning spot right away when he returns because of Alfredo Simon’s limited success, but you don’t pay a guy $12 million over two years to be a setup man (unless you are the Houston Astros).

Juan Gutierrez – RP, ARI (2% owned) – The Arizona bullpen is a disaster and who can blame interim manager, Kirk Gibson, for keeping the closer role an open audition.  Chad Qualls has been a disaster and the Aaron Heilman experiment lasted for a few days, so who or what’s next? 

Come on down, Mr. Gutierrez. 

In two games prior to the All Star break, he’s pitched two innings, while allowing zero hits and walks, and has struck out one batter.  The K/9 ratio sits right at 7.5 for the season, but Gutierrez has a lively fastball and slide-piece that could see his strikeout numbers increase as we march down the homestretch. 

Another reliever from Arizona who should be on your radar if things continue to be a downward spiral in Arizona is rookie Sam Demel (1% owned).  Demel has pitched 12 innings this season, while striking out 11 and walking just two.

Relievers to Monitor

Brandon League – RP, SEA (2% owned)

Manny Corpas – RP & Franklin Morales – RP, COL (17 % and 3% owned) – Morales is at Triple-A right now working on his mechanics, but has allowed one earned run, walked six, and struck out four batters in six innings.

Written by Reggie Yinger exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Reggie Yinger is a programmer in the IT field and also writes for Baseball Press.com. He previously worked for a Minor League Baseball team and hopes to return to baseball full-time in some fashion. You can follow him on Twitter @sacksjacked .

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Okay so I’m a little late with Part II of my season-long look into the lost art of the stolen base. You can read part I here as a template for what future articles in this series will look like (if you are a new reader of mine). For those that aren’t, yes it’s the same format.

In a league where I’d like to see a 100-steal man, that is no longer possible as 80 has become the new 100 in terms of unattainable records. No one’s stolen even that many since Vince Coleman’s 81 in 1988 so why not make that the new standard, seeing how it likely won’t be reached anyway.

At the current pace, this season unfortunately will hold true to form.

As of June 1 here were the top five league leaders:

1. Rajai Davis (pictured) Oakland A’s.

Stole 12 bases in 14 attempts (85.7 percent) for the month of May. His season total to date is 22 as he stole 10 bases in April, and he’s currently on pace for 69 for the season. When you lead the league in steals, you get your picture in the article.

Last month in was Juan Pierre on the Sox page, this month maybe Athletics fans will come to know the series I’ve come to write.

April: 10/10

May: 12/14

June: ???

With any player you’d obviously like to see him increase his base steals each month as the season goes on. So far, Davis is not disappointing in that regard. In fact, if history is any indication Davis should heat up (no pun intended), this summer as he stole 15 bases last August and 11 in September! In a league without a Coleman this era, it appears he’s the best we got.

2. Juan Pierre, Chicago White Sox

Stole 10 bases in 11 attempts in May. His season total is 22 and he’s on pace for 67 for the season.

April: 9/12

May: 10/11

June: ????

Like Davis, Pierre’s numbers are increasing. However, they are misleading as the league leader after April only stole one base after May 15-exactly half the month.

This means that he stole nine bases in the team’s first 13 games which would have (in theory) put him on pace to steal a very eerie Carl Crawford-esque 26 steals in May, similar to how Crawford stole 21 last May.

When you look at it in that perspective, the always frustrating Pierre simply faded away which he has a history of being a nice player, but despite the speed and ability simply desires to be “good enough” when “great” could be a real possibility. Thus, the story of his career.

3. Brett Gardener, New York Yankees

My pick for “first to fade away” did not disappoint in May only swiping eight bases in 11 attempts, giving him 19 for the season on pace for 57.

As the Yankees continue to improve in the standings, expect him to fade away as getting on base and scoring runs become more important to the team that simply moving up 90 feet.

April: 10/11

May: 8/11

June: ????

Gardner’s numbers are all ready going down. Expect more of the same as he’s deemed “too valuable” and ” versatile” to risk injury.

4. Michael Bourn, Houston Astros

Stole eight bases in 12 attempts in May, giving him 18 for the season and putting him on pace for 54.

April: 9/11

May: 8/12

June: ????

Bourn’s numbers are startlingly going down for a player that was steadily improving last summer in this fashion. Not surprisingly his league ranking dropped from third to fourth. For a team going nowhere, why isn’t he running more with nothing to lose?

5. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers

Finally a wild card to the discussion! The super-youthful (21) Andrus is easily the most promising of the stolen base fraternity (to date) having stole 11 bases in 16 attempts in May.

April: 7/10

May: 11/16

June: ????

Unlike Gardner his numbers are going up, and outside Davis, no one stole more bases in May than Andrus. Only concern is he may have a bit of Nyger Morgan-like carelessness on the base paths already getting caught eight times on the season in only 26 attempts (69 percent).

In a league that prides itself on an 80 percent target rate, 69 percent just won’t cut it. Still, you have to like his aggressiveness and the fact that his team (29-25) is still in first place, (albeit in a very weak division) despite his struggles.

This is a classic case of having to take the bad with the good and Andrus is only going to get better. In fact, last season I predicted he would soon be a league leader in my final article in the 2009 season-long look and had him pegged for 50.

Well, there you have it. Check back around July 1 for the latest installment into the lost art of the stolen base with updates and projections and what it all means.

Statistics and information from ESPN.com and Wikipedia directly contributed to the content in this article.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Last year, you might recall I had a season-long series on the art of the stolen base and whether or not we’ll ever see a 100-steal man again.

While I have my doubts, I will however be continuing that monthly column update with yearly totals so look for that at the beginning of each month for the rest of the season.

With that here is the first installment of 2010:

The top-five base stealers as of May 1, 2010 were:

1. Brett Gardner, New York Yankees

Stole 10 bases in 11 attempts in April for a team that outside of the brief Rickey Henderson years, historically doesn’t emphasize or promote base stealing.

Based on that fact and 100 years of evidence, expect Gardner, while young and exciting, to taper off to around 40 steals by year’s end as the Yankees philosophy has always been to favor power over speed and what is called “small ball”, which has to be seen as an insult to the mighty Yankees.

10 steals in 11 attempts through 23 games (15-8 team record). On pace for 73.

2. Rajai Davis, Oakland Athletics

Like Bourn before him, Davis came on very strong late last year stealing 15 of 18 in August and 11 of 14 in September, to finish fifth in Major League Baseball.

When you consider that the A’s have a history of letting their players run, and the fact Davis lasted this long in Oakland which I had doubted (see previous link) then you have to like his chances this year. Finally, 26 of his final 32 being successful 81 percent is just about his season average from last year (77%), suggesting he hasn’t lost a step.

10 bases in 10 attempts in April through 25 games (13-12 team record). On pace for 66.

3. Michael Bourn, Houston Astros

On a team with not much to cheer for, Bourn will be a season-long bright spot. 

The man not only stole a career best 61 bags last year but got better as the season went on. That’s promising for this year when you consider last year at this time he had six in April.

Stole 9 bases in 11 attempts in April through 23 games (8-15 team record). On pace for 71.

4. Juan Pierre, Chicago White Sox

Pierre hasn’t seen this kind of speed since stealing a career high 64, in 2007 with the L.A. Dodgers, who, like the White Sox are a historically pedestrian team.

Still, if Pierre can stay healthy, productive, and be in the Sox lineup, he should do fine. If the team continues to struggle he could he dealt for help so his future production may have to be readjusted based on his new team’s philosophy.

But for now, sit back and watch him run.

Stole 9 bases in 12 attempts in April through 24 games (10-14 team record). On pace for 87.

5. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

We saw Nyger Morgan accidentally do too well in the Steel City, and thus he forced his way out of town in a never-ending mill of prospect exchange.

While that fate seems inevitable for the young (23), exciting, and affordable McCutchen, right now he’s all the perpetual cellar-dwelling Pirates have.

Enjoy him while you can Pirates fans…both of you. That’s all I have to say.

Stole 10 bases in 12 attempts in April through 24 games (10-14 team record) on pace for 65.

There you have it, the first installment of the 2010 “Stolen Base series”.

Note the new faces. We’ll have to see how long they stick around. Early trends show while it will be a ‘slow’ year on the base paths.

Twenty players currently have 6 steals or more and thus, are on pace for over 50 steals! (52 to be exact).

So while the quantity of exceptional runners has gone down, allowing them to separate from the pack like in most years, the quantity of runners in general hoping to “keep up” has gone up creating even more new faces of intrigue as we try and guess who may take over the torch of this lost art.

Be sure to check back around June 1, and the first of every month, for a continuation on this season-long look into this lost art, one of my favorite in baseball, and all of professional sports.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com