Frayed Knot

Berkman probably gets less pub than any other great hitter in MLB today, but he's not exactly in charge of bringing the potato salad to the next MENSA meeting if you know what I mean.

Jose Reyes, SS Endy Chavez, RF David Wright, 3B Carlos Delgado, 1B Carlos Beltran, CF Fernando Tatis, LF Damion Easley, 2B Brian Schneider, C Pedro Martinez, P Kaz Matsui, 2B Miguel Tejada, SS Lance Berkman, 1B Carlos Lee, LF Hunter Pence, RF Ty Wigginton, 3B Michael Bourn, CF Humberto Quintero, C Brandon Backe, P

]The Mets originally signed up for two years in New Orleans. I think after this season ends, they'll play another round of musical chairs. All affiliated agreements run for two years so the end of the even-numbered years signals musical chairs time for everyone.

"Maybe after a year and a half in the Twilight Zone that is Sports in LA - he'll go DH in the AL. " It won't take that long. Manny's contract ends after this season and so does his stint with the Dodgers. btw, I heard a brief snippet of an interview with Pirates GM Neil Humtington this morning -- and his answer as to what time the deal got completed yesterday he answered; "3:59"

Innuresting take on the outcome of the whole Manny deal by BP's Joe Sheehan

AG/DC wrote: Knight is the most unlikely rook to come to Queens since Mike Bishop. I hope he becomes King of Beijing. Gold in China would beat trying to fighting off a bunch of rookies just to become a pawn in the 5th starter roulette wheel.

Then the just-recalled Chris Britton didn't want to feel left out so HE gave up a 3R HR too: 12-6 was your final The one thing working against the Yanx is that nearly 20% of their remaining games (10 of 55 - now 9 of 54) are against LAAofA Cubbies wound up crushing the Brewers in their 4-game series in Milwaukee: 6-4; 7-1; 7-2; 11-4 Not over yet, obviously, but that's a major blow to the Beermakers - esp getting Sabathia & Sheets knocked around in back-to-back games. Snakes beat Dodgers in the first of four and have suddenly won 6 of 7 to go 4 games above .500 Webb & Lowe hooked up, DBacks saved a 2-1 win on an 8th inning Fly-out/DP at home

Yeah that's what I was looking for -- and it pretty much confirms what I had been hearing, that he's looked much better of late. In fact, he had a Delgado-like month of July BA-Against: April = .286; May = .255; June = .209; July = .147 WHiP: April = 1.59; May = 1.61; June = 1.33; July = 0.56 The worst thing about his overall line is the walks (not unusual for a young pro) and even they've dropped recently: Walks/9: April = 4.76; May = 5.93; June = 5.25; July = .084 And he's yet to surrender a HR this year - certainly a good sign for a sinker-baller Sounds like he might be close to ready.

BA's look at Pitt's new babies: - Injuries have sidetracked the 24-year-old Andy LaRoche, who is the brother of Pirates first baseman Adam, and he's managed to hit just .217/.348/.316 in 152 big league at-bats with the Dodgers spread over this season and last. An accomplished Triple-A hitter (.310/.412/.544 in 590 at-bats where he's spent significant time in each of the past three seasons. LaRoche's most positive attributes are advanced pitch recognition and a good feel for hitting, as he lets the ball travel deep and has the bat speed to catch up to good fastballs. He's got average power for third base, where he is a below-average defender. - Craig Hansen, 24, was a first-round pick out of St. John's in 2005, and he signed the richest draft deal in Red Sox history, a $4 million major league contract. Promoted to the majors shortly after his signing, Hansen struggled with his delivery and his command for much of 2006 and 2007. He has made strides this year, but his lack of consistent command continues to undermine his mid-90s fastball and his hard slider. Hansen has been part of a struggling Boston bullpen, and has gone 1-3, 5.58 in 32 big league games this year. Opponents are hitting .240 with two homers against him, while his strikeout-to-walk ratio is just 25-to-23 in 31 innings. - Bryan Morris may be the most intriguing prospect picked up by the Pirates at the 2008 trade deadline. The 21-year-old RHP was just hitting his stride in July with low Class A Great Lakes, after missing the 2007 season to Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers' 1st-round pick in 2006 (26th overall), Morris was 2-4, 3.20 with 72 strikeouts, 31 walks and five home runs allowed in 82 innings for the Loons. He runs his fastball up to 94-96 mph and complements it with a plus hammer curveball. He had also shown a feel for an 86-88 mph power changeup that features hard downer movement. - Brandon Moss, 24, was an 8th-round pick out of a Georgia high school in 2002. The MVP of the South Atlantic League in 2004 and the Eastern League playoffs in 2006, he has the upside of a solid regular but was unlikely to get the opportunity to show that in Boston. In 176 games for Triple-A Pawtucket, the lefthanded batter had hit .282/.359/.485. His strong hands and the leverage in his swing give him the ability to hit for power and average, though he can fall into ruts when he becomes too homer-conscious. Though a slightly below-average runner, he covers enough ground and has the arm strength for right field. Moss has career .291/.348/.456 averages with two homers and 12 RBIs in 103 at-bats over 49 big league games.

I've been going with 'Koonz' but I have no idea if that's correct or not. I don't know anywhere that has split stats for minor leaguers, but I look at it this way: - the stats from your mid-June post: ... he's got 15 saves with a less-ugly 4.13 ERA and a more-ugly 1.59 WHIP are a whole lot worse than what they are now: 2.87 & 1.30 (47 IPs), meaning that during the time in between he had to be considerably better still in order to bring the overall average down. The only problem with his year looks to be too many walks (23 in 47 IPs) but most of that was probably from early in the year also contributing to the high WHiP Sounds like he might be close to ready.

So Jay Ray Bay might go to the Bay State?

"Interesting fact: Jason Bay's middle name is Raymond. Jay Ray Bay" So it's Jay Ray Bay, who may or may not be a T-Bay Ray.

The three-way Manny-Pitt-Florida deal "almost dead" (Gammons). Florida seems to want Boston to give them several millions more than Manny is actually owed for the rest of the season. Boston still talking to others (Dodgers?) and, like a soap opera, until someone produces a dead body the resurrection is always as close as the next episode.

ChiSox apparently are thinking of using Griffey in CF - which sounds like a disaster waiting to happen if you ask me. Nick Swisher's been there (not great either) but they want him at 1B more often since Konerko's not hitting. Maybe the ChiSox just got him so they can gloat while he passes Sosa's HR total while playing on the south side of Chicago Also LHRP Arthur Rhodes from Seattle to Florida for one-time Met farmhand Gaby Hernandez

="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]Yes, yes. Omar loves the Big Splash. We hear this shit every year. And don't forget that he's obsessed with getting {insert Latin name here]

Easley - 2.7 Reyes - 1.0 Anderson - 1.2 Schneider - 0.4 AReyes - 0.2 Tatis - 0.4 Muniz - 0.8 Sanchez - 0.5 Feliciano - 0.3

The Pads are trying to deal Greg Maddux but he won't leave the west coast (he already blocked a potential Philly deal) and the Dodgers & Pads can't seem to agree on a package so he's probably staying.

I actually think this began by Manny getting scared that Boston WAS going to pick up his option(s) -- and do so only one year at a time and only at the club's convenience. It's gone beyond that now as things have crumbled into name-calling nonsense and threats, but I think that may be what started this insecurity he seems to have about the whole deal. Manny probably sees this time-frame (he'll turn 37 next spring) as his best shot at getting one last long-term contract - say 4 to 5 years - rather than being locked into a deal that pays him well but also keeps him from being a FA until he hits age 38 or 39 and over which he has no control. And even if a new deal doesn't net him the same per-year dollars he's hauling in now he can work it so he's getting paid at least through birthday #40. Hey, it worked for ARod.

2006-2008 combined Bay - 1,496 ABs; .271/.365/.490 - 78 HRs Hermida - 1,110; .269/.349/.448 - 38 HRs Manny - 1,294; .306/.408/.548 - 75 HRs Neither one of them is Manny obviously, and Hermida falls short of both in the power dept. But when you consider not only the injury interuptions but that those [u:1f1fc4f54b]are his first three seasons in MLB[/u:1f1fc4f54b] (late 2005 call-up) he'd look good in just about anyone's OF.

]Looks like Pittsburgh gets screwed I dunno 'bout that, I like Hermida. He was considered the best hitting prospect the Marlins produced aside from Miguel Cabrera. His main problem has been staying on the field but, assuming whatever's been ailing him is now in the past, I might like him over Bay. And especially so if you're Pittsburgh. He's only 24 is and would be under club control for another 3 years after this one. Bay, on the other hand, turns 30 this winter and can go FA after 2009. For Pitt that's exactly the kind of high-upside guy you've got to take a chance on.

Castro's tying run -- gotta run for him.

Well that fucked that come-back

Odd that Jacobs was double-switched out for no apparent reason. There's speculation about a trade with him for Benji Molina.

]ESPN was a-speculatin' that Boston would try to turn Stanton over to Pittsburgh for Bay. That makes sense; deal Manny for several prospects then keep some of those for yourself and spin off others to get yourself a Manny replacement. Bay obviously isn't Manny but he'll do for 50 games. There's just no way Boston's going to deal him for futures only when they're 2 games out with 1/3 of the season to go as if the goal in all this is some kind of salary dump. Will Carroll of BP is thinking along the same lines: I�m hearing that a multi-team deal involving Jason Bay and the Florida Marlins is in the �final stages.� This could involve the previously in-place dealings involving Manny Ramirez as reported by BP�s John Perrotto. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com thinks that Bay could end up in Boston, Jeremy Hermida in Pittsburgh, and prospects flying every which way. My sources agree, though I will update these as details become clearer.

Well that woke me out of my funk