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The Cleveland Indians have surprisingly made the biggest splash of this year’s MLB trade deadline. It was tough to say whether they were going to pull off a trade or stick with what they have, but clearly they have shown that they would rather win now by trading for Ubaldo Jimenez.

The Indians acquire Jimenez in exchange for pitchers Alex White, Drew Pomeranz, Joseph Gardner and first baseman Matt McBride. As an Indians fan, I’m not used to being on this side of the trade market, but it was exciting to see the trade go down.

Having said that though, this was not the trade the Indians should have made if they’re that focused on winning. It’s a mistake that could cause trouble, and here’s why.

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Going into Satuday, just 24 hours until the July 31 trade deadline, we all wondered if the Yankees would make the move to get Ubaldo Jimenez from the Colorado Rockies.

Turns out, the Yankees decided it was best to pass up on the Rockies ace and let another team take their chances on him.

According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, the Cleveland Indians will acquire Jimenez in exchange for pitchers Drew Pomeranz and Alex White, first basemen Matt McBride and outfielder Joe Gardner.

Jimenez was on the mound pitching for the Rockies Saturday night but was pulled after the first inning when the deal with Cleveland was finalized.

When the rumors of Jimenez being on the block first started, it was reported that the Rockies wanted catcher Jesus Montero and pitchers Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Ivan Nova, a deal the Yankees refused to take any part of.

The Rockies reportedly dropped their demand of Banuelos out of the package, but the Yankees were still extremely hesitant to make that deal for Jimenez.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees asked Colorado if they could give Jimenez a physical if a deal was about to happen. The Rockies said no, which led to the Yankees passing.

If the Rockies weren’t being honest and open with Jimenez and his health, then the Yankees had to pass on Jimenez.

With less than 24 hours to go, it still leaves the Yankees searching for answers.

Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers will not waive his no-trade clause and will stay with the Dodgers.

Rich Harden of the Oakland A’s is on the verge of being dealt to the Red Sox.

The Yankees also called on Francisco Liriano again, in which they were told that the lefty was not available.

Erik Bedard of the Seattle Mariners absolutely stunk in his return off the DL against the Tampa Bay Rays, as he was not able to get through two innings.

The options on the trade market are almost gone.

Unless the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman waves his magic wand and pulls out a deal from who knows where, it looks like the Yankees might be missing out on the chance to add a starting pitcher.

Less than 24 hours to go.

The clock is ticking on Cashman.

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The Cleveland Indians are involved in a blockbuster deal, only this time the Indians are sending away prospects and receiving star talent, not the other way around.

The Indians sent star pitching prospects Drew Pomeranz (player to be named later) and Alex White along with Matt McBride and Joe Gardner to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Ubaldo Jimenez.  The trade will be official pending the results of a physical Jimenez must complete. 

Indications first came around 7:00 p.m. EST, when Pomeranz was scratched from his scheduled start in Akron.

The Indians have been in talks with the Rockies for a couple days now. At first, the price was seen to be steep, but the Indians felt they were doing what needed to be done.

On the year, Jimenez has posted a 4.20 ERA to go along with a 6-9 record.  This year is not indicative of what Jimenez is capable of, as he is coming off of a Cy Young contending season in which he posted a 2.88 ERA and a 19-8 record.

The Indians must see that Jimenez can turn things around and return to 2010 form, giving up two of their top five prospects.  However, there is a great upside to the Jimenez trade—he is under contract through through the 2012 season with club options for 2013 and 2014 at a very affordable rate.

I do believe that the Indians gave up too much for just Ubaldo. White or Pomeranz alone, along with other players, would have been good deals for both sides.  The Rockies got a great deal picking up two sure-thing starting pitchers.

At the same time, the Indians have the opportunity to come out as big winners.  Adding another ace to the staff puts deepens their rotation.  With Masterson and Tomlin returning to form and Carmona and Huff notching a couple of quality starts of late, these Indians are a team to fear when they arrive at the ballpark.

Cleveland’s front office has been hard at work getting deals done for their hunt for October.  This is the Indians’ second trade since Thursday, and by the looks of it they are poised to get outfielder Ryan Ludwick as well.

With less then 24 hours until the MLB trade deadline arrives, the Indians have made their big move and could be adding one more piece to the puzzle.  Roll Tribe! 

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The 2011 MLB Trade Deadline is just over 24 hours away, and some big moves have already happened. This week alone, the New York Mets traded Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants, and last night, Hunter Pence was traded by the Houston Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Today, the Milwaukee Brewers made a move as they acquired utilityman Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Washington Nationals in exchange for Double-A prospect Erik Komatsu.

Yet, the biggest name on the trade market that still appears to be floating around is that of Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. Earlier today, ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian tweeted that the New York Yankees were “all over” the right-hander. This is certainly an interesting development as it was rumored earlier this week that the Rockies’ asking price for Jimenez was too high for Yankee GM Brian Cashman.

Still, with the Boston Red Sox reportedly interested in Jimenez, don’t be surprised if the Yanks end up making a deal for Jimenez as the deadline approaches. The Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays have also shown interest.

It’s sure to be an exciting weekend, folks. Stay tuned for more updates on deals involving your favorite teams and players over the next two days!

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Ubaldo Jimenez trade rumors have been showing up everywhere on the web the past few days. Jimenez is without a doubt one of the biggest names available on the trade market this year.

It is uncertain if the Colorado Rockies will trade Jimenez before the 2011 MLB trade deadline, but there are certainly many suitors coming after him. The Rockies have said that they need to be overwhelmed with an offer and every team after Jimenez could do that.

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The July 31 Major League Baseball trade deadline is looming, and it is clear that the Boston Red Sox biggest need is pitching. 

Rumors are swirling about a possible deal for Colorado Rockies ace, Ubaldo Jimenez.

At first glance, Jimenez would seem like a great piece to add to the first-place Red Sox, but when you look more into it, the deal becomes less and less appealing. 

For one, the asking price for Jimenez is very high. The Rockies are asking for two to three top prospects from any team in return. 

The Red Sox would have to clear out their farm system just to get Jimenez. 

Jimenez also seems to be a shell of the pitcher he was in the first half of the 2010 season, when he was as dominant as a pitcher could be. His velocity is topping out in the low 90’s in 2011. He was hitting triple digits with some pitches in 2010. 

In his last 38 starts, Jimenez is just 12-15 with a 4.17 ERA, including a 6-9 start this year with an ERA of 4.20.

Another thing against Jimenez is that history has shown that pitchers ERA’s jump when moving from the National League to the American League. 

Before C.C. Sabathia was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 he had a 3.83 ERA with Cleveland. Sabathia went on to post a 1.65 ERA in his time with the Brewers. When he jumped back to the AL with the Yankees, Sabathia’s ERA moved back up into the three’s. 

It seems that there is just too much risk to be comfortable making a trade for Jimenez.

Maybe he is hurt. Maybe the first half of 2010 was a fluke. But the stats show that Jimenez is not a top of rotation pitcher—and is not worth the prospects that would have to be parted with in a trade.

The Red Sox best move at the deadline would be to pass on a deal for Jimenez. Let him be another teams’ problem. 

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The Boston Red Sox got some bad news earlier this week, when it was made clear that the return of starting pitcher Clay Buchholz was going to come later rather than sooner.

The Boston starting rotation, seen as a major strength of the team going into the season, has been decimated by the loss of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester and Buchholz for varying lengths of time.

Even Josh Beckett went down for a while earlier this season after becoming ill.

Despite this, the Red Sox have managed to hold their own and even maintain a small lead in the American League Eastern Division over their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees.

Relying on ageless veteran Tim Wakefield and a handful of reclamation projects, the Red Sox are getting just enough people out to win more than two-thirds of their games.

Still, there is a strong call for the team to swing a deal for one of the starting pitchers being peddled by teams that are out of contention.

One of the biggest names available is the Colorado Rockies‘ Ubaldo Jimenez, who can apparently be had by any team willing two trade about three Grade-A prospects. Jimenez has been mediocre this season, but he was a top contender for the Cy Young award in 2010.

The Red Sox could easily get him if they wanted. I’m sure a package including players like Anthony Ranaudo and Ryan Lavarnway could get Jimenez in Boston.

The Yankees could easily get him too, if they were willing to cough up the Rockies’ high asking price.

I can’t help but think—and have done so out loud on this site three times today—that this is one that the Red Sox should just walk away from. If the Yankees want Jimenez in the Bronx, let them have him.

Last year, Jimenez, who was an established starter with an ERA typically in the mid- to high-threes, opened the season white-hot and through mid-June, posted an ERA of 1.15.

Sportswriters, who should have known better, openly speculated on the possibility that he might beat Bob Gibson’s modern record for the lowest ERA in a season, 1.12, set in 1968.

Of course, he came back to earth after that, as soon as his luck, in the form of a .215 BABIP (batting average on balls in play, typically about .300), evened out.

Since then, he’s lost some velocity on his fastball, and over the past 13 months, Jimenez has posted a 12-16 record with an ERA of 4.27 over 242.1 innings. Granted, this is in Coors Field, but he’s also in the weaker league and doesn’t have to face teams with designated hitters in their lineups.

These things tend to cancel each other out, so Jimenez should probably be regarded as a pitcher who would pitch about .500 ball on a good team, with a 4.27 ERA right now.

Now, even at that, a starting pitcher on the Red Sox is going to pile up some wins if he posts a 4.27 ERA. The Red Sox seem to put up numbers that look like football scores a few times each week.

The bigger question is whether or not they actually need him, at any price.

The Red Sox have another option. There is a pitcher on staff who has thrown 198.1 innings over the past four years, moving between starting and relieving roles. He’s been equally effective in each.

His entire major-league career, consisting of 89 games, has been with contending teams in the AL East. In those 198-plus innings, he’s posted a 3.22 ERA, a stellar 37 percent above league average for the environment he’s pitched in.

Does this pitcher have any experience pitching in a pennant race? Check.

In September of 2009, he was a regular member of the Yankee relief corps, where he appeared eight times, pitched 16.2 innings and was 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA. Five of those eight appearances came against the Angels, Red Sox and Rays.

The year before, he came up on Aug. 31, while the Yankees were still on the fringe of a pennant race they would ultimately fall out of. It certainly wasn’t his fault. He made two strong relief appearance and then entered the rotation.

Over 30 innings, he posted a 2.40 ERA (with a solid 1.167 WHIP for those who think that is useful to know), and even that is misleading, because he had one bad outing at the end of the season after the Yankees had been eliminated from the race.

On top of all that, he’s pitched well when he’s had to. His career won-lost record is a remarkable 20-2.

Any Red Sox fans out there knows that I am talking about Alfredo Aceves. So do Yankees fans, although probably to their regret.

Aceves was injured last year after making 10 strong appearances early in the season, and the Bombers cut him loose in the offseason. Theo Epstein promptly grabbed him off the scrap heap on Feb. 8, for a paltry $650,000 salary.

For the Red Sox, he has started four games and also stepped in for a struggling starter early in several other contests, racking up a 6-1 record and a 3.24 ERA with solid supporting numbers.

I don’t know about you, but 3.24 in Fenway Park, in the AL East, sounds a lot more impressive than 4.27 anywhere else.

Theo Epstein needs to hold on to his top prospects and patch up the Red Sox’ starting rotation with the addition of an “Ace,” not a pitcher that the media wrongly perceives as being one.

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If you had told me at the beginning of the season that the Rockies were going to be in third place in the NL West with a record of 40-42, 6.5 games behind the first place Giants, I would have called you crazy.

The Rockies have a lineup that can strike fear into any pitcher in the league, and they have a rotation that rivals any (save for the Phillies).

But after watching the Rockies fail to score many runs and the starting rotation struggle to find continuity, much less wins, it is painfully clear that Rockies fans should count their blessings that winning the NL West is still within reach.

The question, though, is what went wrong? Wasn’t this team supposed to be the team Rockies fans were waiting for to follow up the 2007 World Series team?

Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez both signed long-term, big-money contracts this offseason only to show up this year and fail to even come close to meeting expectations. Granted, it is only the first half and both players had breakout second halves last year, but it still begs the question: was that money well spent?

“Tulo” and “CarGo,” as they are known locally, have put up fairly average numbers so far. Tulo is hitting .271 with 16 HR, 55 RBI and a .341 OBP while CarGo boasts a mild, but improving .291 BA with 12 HR, 41 RBI, and a .358 OBP.

After hearing about these signings, these aren’t the numbers fans were hoping to see. Tulowitzki is a player that should be hitting over .300 year-in, year-out. Gonzalez is talented enough that he should be hitting near .350 with more than just 12 homers.

The fans have every reason to be displeased with this team. Thank goodness for a strong supporting cast.

Todd Helton is quietly proving that he is one of the best first-baseman in the league this year by hitting .318 and playing the best defense of any first-baseman. At age 37 and in the twilight of his career, those are simply outstanding numbers.

Along with Helton, Seth Smith is one of the MLB‘s most consistent hitters. He is one of only 5 players to hit over .300 every month of the season so far. This is a list that includes the likes of Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Reyes.

It seems that Smith and Helton are the only ones on the team who can find that needed timely hit with runners in scoring position.

Against the Indians on June 21, Smith hit two home runs in the 6th and 9th innings to give the Rockies a win. Locally, Smith has been known as “Mr. Late-Night” due to his heroics in the late innings of games since he came up to the club from Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2007.

In addition to Smith and Helton, Ty Wigginton (lately) has been a huge help in the lineup. After starting the year by failing to meet expectations, Wigginton has finally found his stroke and is hitting balls out of the park with relative ease. His batting average is climbing and he is beginning to gain the trust of fans.

The pitching staff has had more than its fair share of ups and downs this year. The first, and probably most important storyline from the rotation is the struggles of ace Ubaldo Jimenez. He started the year by going 0-7 while lacking control of his fastball, a pitch he lives and dies by.

Lately it seems that he has finally figured out his control problems, but he still lacks velocity on his fastball. Last year, Jimenez boasted a upper 90’s and sometimes 100 mph fastball. This year, his fastball is ranging from 94 to 96, and sometimes hits 97 mph. Most pitchers would love to have this problem, but for Jimenez, that velocity is key.

Because of Jimenez’s struggles, Jorge De La Rosa was thrust into the spotlight as the Rockies’ best pitcher, until he tore a tendon in his pitching elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. It seemed that nothing could go the Rockies’ way this year in the rotation until Jhoulys Chacin stepped up and became the new ace.

Chacin has shown that he is ready to be a big time pitcher in the MLB. His stuff is nasty and can easily fool any hitter. This pitcher is showing the fans that the Rockies’ future is very bright, with a rotation that will boast Jimenez, De La Rosa, Chacin, Juan Nicasio and Jason Hammel.

But this year, with De La Rosa out and Jimenez still searching for his form from the first half of the 2010 season, Chacin, Nicasio and Hammel haven’t shown that they can pick up the slack effectively.

Chacin has great stuff, but he is still very young and is learning how to be a really effective pitcher in the MLB.

Nicasio has brilliant stuff, but he has a lot to learn before becoming a stud starter.

Hammel needs to find consistency and to beg the offense for run support. There are games when his head simply isn’t in the game, as evidenced by his body language during some games. There are also games when he pitches brilliantly, but the offense can’t get anything going, so he takes the loss after surrendering only a few runs.

If this pitching staff could get 100% healthy while playing to its potential and the offense plays to expectations, this team would easily rival the Red Sox or the Phillies for the best team in baseball characterization.

After 2007, the front office of the Rockies promised fans that it would do anything it could to become a perennial contender. So far, the front office has done its job. Now its the players’ turn to prove that the Rockies are for real.

But if this first half is any indication of what is to come, Rockies fans better hold on tight, because it will be a quick, fast ride right back to the cellar in the NL West.

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Is there anything to pitchers who look significantly better at home as opposed to on the road (or vice versa)?  Should we be playing those matchups more closely? 

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at some of the more notable splits and determining if we should be sitting a pitcher in certain situations:

Ubaldo Jimenez – Colorado Rockies
Home ERA – 6.86 (42.0 innings)
Road ERA – 2.14 (42.0 innings)

His dominance away from Coors Field continued last night, as he tossed a gem against the New York Yankees (not that the environment was any better than his home ballpark), allowing two ER on four H and four BB, striking out seven, over 7.0 innings. 

The biggest difference in his performance?  At home, he has allowed seven HR, on the road zero.

The question is if this is a new trend or something that has plagued Jimenez in the past. 

Last season he posted a 3.19 ERA at home, in 2009 he was at 3.34.  In other words, his struggles at home have not been seen before, even after he regressed in 2010.  From July forward he made nine starts at home, only twice allowing more than three ER.

It really doesn’t appear that there is too much to worry about at this point.  Jimenez is too good of an option to put on your bench anyways and you have to think that he is going to correct the problem before long. 

Stay patient and you should benefit.  His next start comes at home against the Chicago White Sox.  Despite his issues, I’d keep him active and take the “risk.”

Mike Pelfrey – New York Mets
Home ERA – 2.96 (48.2 innings)
Road ERA – 6.65 (47.1 innings)

Does it surprise anyone that Pelfrey has excelled at the spacious Citi Field, while getting his clocked cleaned on the road?  The trend continued yesterday, allowing four ER against the Rangers in Texas.

It’s very similar to last year’s split, when he went 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA at home and 5-6 with a 4.95 ERA on the road.  It’s not that he’s an extreme fly ball pitcher, though he has seen a significant jump in his fly ball rate this season. 

Last season he was at 32.0 percent and for his career he’s at 31.6 percent.  This season?  He’s at 41.0 percent, which is an entirely different issue. 

Maybe he’s trying to adjust his style to pitch to his ballpark, but that certainly doesn’t help him when he’s on the road.  He’s allowed 14 HR on the season, only four have come at home.

Pelfrey is more of a pitch and ditch option at this point, but using him when he is on the road, no matter what the matchup, would not be a wise decision. 

He has only allowed less than three ER in two road starts this season.  If he’s pitching at home, he could be worth the flier; otherwise, leave him sitting on the waiver wire.

Colby Lewis – Texas Rangers
Home ERA – 6.13 (39.2 innings)
Road ERA – 3.19 (53.2 innings)

It’s interesting to look at Lewis’ splits, because he’s been burned by the long ball all season long, whether at home or on the road.  While the rate certainly is worse in Arlington (11 HR), it’s not like the eight he has allowed on the road is a stellar number. 

He’s just allowing too many fly balls (51.9 percent), a number that isn’t even close to last year’s solid 44.9 percent.  If he can get that under control, the numbers will improve no matter where he is pitching.

Last season, he got the job done at home, with a 3.41 ERA (vs. a 3.95 on the road).  Another issue in 2011 is worse luck at home, with a 67.3 percent strand rate.  Plus, for some reason he simply isn’t registering strikeouts (5.45 K/9 vs. an 8.89 K/9 on the road). 

Is there any real reason that he’s not striking people out at home?

He’s been pitching better lately, allowing two ER over 13.2 IP in his past two starts, including one at home.  That certainly is a good sign and, if he’s healthy (he is battling a neck issue), he should certainly be active for his next outing, which comes on the road against the Astros. 

It’s worth monitoring, but I would certainly expect him to improve on his numbers at home before long making him usable regardless of where he is pitching.

What are your thoughts of these three pitchers?  Would you play the home/road split with any of them?  Why or why not?

Make sure to check out these other great articles from Rotoprofessor:

• Around the Majors: June 24: Anthony Rizzo, Felix Hernandez, Ubaldo Jimenez & More
• Injury Report: June 25: Shin-Soo Choo, Elvis Andrus, Roy Oswalt & More
• The Trade Counsel: Picking Your Sample Size
• Waiver Worthy: Is The Blue Jays’ Eric Thames Worth Owning?

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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Is perfection contagious? Maybe, maybe not. But since 2010, there have been more no-hitters and perfect games thrown in Major League Baseball than from 2007-2009 combined. And on Saturday, Tigers‘ ace Justin Verlander added to that number.

If perfection is not contagious, then this is all a coincidence. But when you take a close look at the time-line of the no-nos thrown in the last 12 months or so, there seems to be a common link between all of them.

Verlander’s second no-hitter of his career comes five days after Francisco Liriano no-hit the Orioles. It’s also almost exactly one year to the day of Dallas Braden’s perfect game, last Mother’s Day—which was about three weeks after Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter.

Exactly 20 days after Branden’s perfecto, Roy Halladay joined the parade, tossing a perfect game of his own. Edwin Jackson and Matt Garza each pitched a no-hitter, almost exactly a month after each other.

Here is an in-depth recap of the eight no-hitters thrown since last season.

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