Lost in Transactions 2/23/09-2/29/09: Nationals’ Bowden resigns

The Atlanta Braves finally got a hitter to come to Turner Field while the Washington Nationals started step one of moving past the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal with the resignation of general manager Jim Bowden. Unfortunately, whoever takes over will find a logjam at first base and center field. Read on for this past week's transactions...



2/24/09

Atlanta Braves signed OF Garret Anderson to a one-year contract.



The Braves had to make this move to add more offense to their club. After losing out on Rafael Furcal and Bobby Abreu, the club finally got a hitter. Anderson isn't as bad a hitter as he's been made out to be. Certainly, he was overpaid, but most players who get out from under the six years' service time tend to be overpaid. Last year in 557 plate appearances for the Los Angeles Angels, Anderson hit .293/.325/.443 with 15 home runs while also stealing seven bases, the most since 2001's 13.



Anderson has been rather consistent over the last four years in his rate stats. While he's certainly at high rate to fall off due to being 37, all of the projection stats (PECOTA, Bill James, Marcel, CHONE, Oliver) project Anderson to be just fine in 2009. That's definitely something the Braves need if they hope to contend.



Washington Nationals released LHP Odalis Perez.



I'm torn about this. On one hand, I do feel that Perez, the Nationals' best starter last year, deserved better than a non-guaranteed minor league deal from the Nationals. And technically, Perez did not sign any contract. (Yes, yes, I know about the offer sheet. It's not a contract.) On the other hand, he needs to realize what his market is in this economy, and it's doubtful he can do any better. He's also harmed his chances of getting an offer from another team, who will want to send a message to him and other players that they can't back out of a deal.



Of course, all it takes is one desperate team, and if Perez can turn in a solid showing in the World Baseball Classic, he'll likely end up with a job.



2/25/09

Cleveland Indians outrighted 3B Andy Marte to Minors.



Marte certainly has fallen a long way since being the centerpiece of the Edgar Renteria/Cco Crisp trade. He hasn't been able to put together a season with any type of success in the majors. He'll head back to Triple-A and will hope to rebuild his value. One way to do that, Andy, is to start getting hits. That means stop swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. He makes solid contact with the ball inside the strike zone, but only sees balls in that area roughly half the time due to his propensity to go after (and make poor contact with therein) pitches outside the strike zone.



2/26/09

Atlanta Braves placed RHP Tim Hudson on the 60-day disabled list.



Cincinnati Reds signed LHP Ron Flores to a minor league contract.



Los Angeles Dodgers signed LHP Brad Halsey and 1B Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league contract.



Mientalphabet has a chance to take over for Nomar Garciaparra in the role Nomar served in last year. Mientkiewicz can now play first, left field, third base and pinch-field at other positions such as second base. Just make sure Carlos Delgado isn't playing when Doug plays second. The club may elect to carry more of a true outfielder, however, than Mientkiewicz as its infield bench situation is already rather crowded.



2/27/09

Kansas City Royals LHP Neal Musser cleared waivers and was released.



New York Mets signed LHP Ron Villone to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.



This is a nice signing by the Mets. For all their fifth starter and end-of-the-game relief acquisitions, they could use some depth in the middle innings. Left-hander Villone does that, as he's been a solid reliever ever since converting from starter after 2002. He'll have to battle for a spot, but even if he has to report to Triple-A originally, he'll definitely see time in the majors at some point.



Philadelphia Phillies released RHP Adam Eaton.



What a disastrous signing. How many people saw this coming? Say "yes" out loud if you did. Whoa—I just heard over a million people say "yes." Pretty cool. Eaton was passable in San Diego from 2004-5 and then was part of a very ill-advised trade by the Texas Rangers in which he headed to the heat for Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young. An ineffective and injured season later, he signed a lucrative deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Three years later, the Phillies cut bait. (How much do you want to bet the World Series year allowed the Phillies to escape derision—except from me, of course—for releasing Eaton?)



Reportedly, the Baltimore Orioles have inked Eaton to a minor league deal. I suppose that's fine, as long as they're not paying him tens of millions of dollars like the Phillies did. Eaton's only 31, so he'll stick around for a while, but if he has any hope of turning things around, he's got to figure out how to reduce his walks, an issue that has gotten progressively worse year by year.



Boston Red Sox signed RHP Steve Green to a minor league contract.



Chicago White Sox signed 1B Brian Myrow to a minor league contract.



2/28/09

Kansas City Royals signed RHP Juan Cruz to a two-year contract with a 2011 club option. Designated INF Esteban German for assignment.



This is a great deal for the Royals, who have now found the replacement for Ramon Ramirez. (H/T Craig Brown at Royals Authority for that quote.) Cruz often doesn't know where the ball is going (5.6 BB/G last year!) but he flat out throws gas. He gave up only 34 hits and whiffed 71 in 51.2 innings last year. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is the mark of someone with filthy stuff.



Side note: As much as some of the moves by the Royals may have been met with consternation (Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Jacobs, Willie Bloomquist), I am glad to see that they're ramping up their efforts to contend. I'm not as much a hater for the Jacobs trade than most; while I am a dyed-in-the-wool OBP fan, I understand that teams can win without OBP (generally speaking, of course—the Angels spring to mind). Of course, to have offense, you need to get on base, but you don't need the team to average a .375 OBP to do so.



The Royals seem intent on increasing their power output, which was definitely a cause for concern last year. What defensive issues they now have with Jacobs (possibly) at first is also mitigated by their addition of defensive whiz Coco Crisp in center field, which allows David DeJesus to shift to left field. Don't count this team out as a Cinderella team.



St. Louis Cardinals signed pitcher Mitch Harris to a minor league contract.



Chicago Cubs signed Corey Koskie to a minor league contract.



Koskie spent most of his career with the Minnesota Twins before spending a year apiece with the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins. He was his usual self his entire career—never great, just solid enough. After a debilitating concussion, he retired, or so he thought. Koskie is attempting a comeback with two years off. At 35, the odds are stacked against him, but there is an opening for a backup first- and third-baseman. Marcel is surprisingly bullish on Koskie in 2009, projecting that he could hit .260/.337/.441 with six home runs in 200 plate appearances. If he can actually do that, he will be a great bench player for the Cubs.



2/29/09

3/1/09

Kansas City Royals signed LHP Bruce Chen to a minor league contract.



Washington Nationals announced the resignation of general manager Jim Bowden.



Bowden certainly had his faults, but he was also rather adept at building the minor leagues. For whatever reason, however, he seemed more intent on creating a logjam at first base and outfield. The new general manager, whether it's Tony LaCava of the Toronto Blue Jays or current assistant general manager Mike Rizzo (responsible for the drafts of Stephen Drew and others from the Arizona Diamondbacks), will have enough on his hands trying to move one or even two of the first basemen (Dmitri Young, Nick Johnson and one of either Adam Dunn or Josh Willingham).



The Nationals aren't as bad as people think. They have a few promising players coming up in the minors (and you can add Steven Strasburg to that list come June) and have enough of an intriguing core at the majors to finish .500 in the next few years if they can make some adept pitching moves—a problem that has plagued the franchise for a while. Scott Olsen has regressed, but if pitching coach Randy St. Clair can bring him under control, suddenly the base is there. They'll have to find new a second baseman and shortstop in the near future, sure, but I look at this team and I see potential. Now about clearing up that logjam...

by Evan Brunell

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies Look To Repeat

The past two years, the National East has been the most exciting divisions in all of baseball. Just like the past two years, the outcome of this division won't be decided until the final week of the regular season.

The Philadelphia Phillies believe they are the team to beat, while the New York Mets believe that they're the team to beat. I agree with the New York Mets. Here are my NL East predictions.

1) New York Mets 92-70

I'm going to be honest with you, this is the third straight year that I have picked the Mets to win the NL East. I've obviously been wrong the past two years, but I think that will change in 2009.

The Mets starting rotation is led by the best starting pitcher in the NL East, and arguably the best starting pitcher in the National League.

Johan Santana finished the 2008 season with a 16-7 record and a 2.53 ERA. If not for a horrible bullpen, Santana would've won 20 games.

Mike Pelfrey will be the Mets number two starter. The 25-year old Pelfrey is coming off his best year. Pelfrey racked up 200 innings going 13-11 with a 3.72 ERA.

The number three and four spots will go to Oliver Perez and John Maine, Perez and Maine combined for 20 wins in 2008. Freddy Garcia, Tim Redding, and Livan Hernandez will battle it out for the No. 5 spot.

The Mets bullpen appears to be much improved. New York welcomes Francisco Rodriguez and his 62 saves. The Mets also acquired JJ Putz from Mariners. Putz recorded 28 saves in 2008, but he will be the Mets setup man.

The Mets offense is expected to score a lot of runs. Jose Reyes will be at the top of the order. Reyes batted .297 with 56 stolen bases and 16 home runs in 2008.

Carlos Beltran is back patrolling center, but left field and right field appear to be questions marks for the Mets.

Despite the Mets having another question mark at second, The corner infielders are anything but a question mark. Thee corners belong to David Wright and Carlos Delgado. They combined for 71 home runs and 239 RBI in 2008.

2) Philadelphia Phillies 90-72

The Phillies are trying to become the first team since the New York Yankees to win back to World Championships. I just don't see it happening.

It's hard to not like Cole Hammels, but after Hammels the Phillies lack starting pitching depth. Jamie Moyer is coming off his best year since 2003. The 46-year old went 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA. I think this is the year where age catches up to Moyer.

Brett Myers, Joe Blanton, and Kyle Kendrick make up the rest of the Phillies rotation. All three have an ERA well over four.

The Phillies pen will miss their left-handed specialist JC Romero. Romero will miss the first 50-games for failing a drug test. Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge return to make up a very strong back end of the pen.

The Phillies offense is once again arguably the strongest in the league. The World Champions made just one move. Gone is long time Phillie Pat Burrell and his 33 home runs. In is Raul Ibanez and his 23 home runs.

3) Atlanta Braves 85-77

The Braves are much improved this year, but they still find themselves behind the Phillies and Mets.

The Atlanta Braves added 26 wins to their rotations. The biggest addition for the Braves was the signing of Derek Lowe. The 35-year old Lowe is coming off another solid solid season where he had and ERA of 3.24 while pitching 211 innings.

The Braves also added 12 game winner Javier Vazquez.

The Braves also added Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami. Kawakami was the 2004 Central League MVP. Future Hall of Famer Tom Glavin will also return to the Braves.

The most important thing for the Braves bullpen is the health of Mike Gonzalez. Gonzalez will be asked to close for the Braves. If Gonzo can't stay healthy, the Braves will find themselves in a similar situation as they were last year.

The Braves offense received a boost with the signing of Garret Anderson. The three-time all start hit .293 with 15 home runs in 2008. Anderson will play left, with Jeff Francoeur in right. Josh Anderson appears to be the front runner in center.

The Braves have a very strong infield. Chipper Jones hit .364 in 2008 but he once again battled injuries. Yunel Escobar is back at short, and Kelly Johsnon is at second. Case Kotchman who was acquired in the Teixeira trade is back at first and Brian Mccann is back behind the plate.

4) Florida Marlins 84-78

The Florida Marlins surprised a lot of people in 2008 with a 84-77 record. I don't see them catching to many people off guard in 2009.

The Florida Marlins have one of the most underrated starting rotations. Rick Nolasco led the Marlins rotation in 2008 with a 15-8 record. Nolasco struck out 186 in 212 innings.

Josh Johnson returned from injury in 2008 and was outstanding going 7-1. Rookie Chris Volstad had a solid rookie season going 6-4 in 2008. The No. 4 and 5 spot is up in the air for the Marlins. Andrew Miller and Anibal Sanchez appear to be front runners.

The lack of bullpen depth could cause issues for the Marlins. Matt Lindstrom appears to be the front runner to replace Kevin Gregg as closer.

The Marlins offense is led by Hanley Ramirez. The 25-year old Ramirez is one of the best young players in the game. Ramirez is a 30-30 guy. He hit 33 home runs with 35 stolen bases and a .301 average in 2008.

Due to the Marlins lack of run producers, Ramirez will be asked to move out of the lead off spot, and will likely bat third for the Marlins.

5) Washington Nationals 70-92

I am going to be blunt, I don't see much changing with the Washington Nationals in 2009.

While Odalis Perez holds out, John Lannan appears to be a pretty solid prospect. The 24-year old Lannan had a very solid rookie season going 9-15 with a very respectable 3.91 ERA.

The Nationals big free agent pickup was Adam Dunn. If nothing else, Nationals fans will get a chance to watch one of the most powerful hitters in the game. Dunn is coming off another 40 home run season, and will likely have another big year. The same can't be said for the Nats, they will once again struggle in 2009.

Originally published at: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/128233-nl-east-phillies-look-to-repeat

Philadelphia Phillies Bullpen Analysis

Spring is in the air, and all Major League Baseball personnel have reported to spring training. Every team has their sights on the "Holy Grail" (World Series Trophy), but only one will prevail.


The Phillies were that team last year, and they are the only ones that will be referred to as the World Champs this year. Nobody can take that from them until the last out of the 2009 World Series. Even then, the Phillies may be the first team to repeat this decade.

I am going to continue my series on the Philadelphia Phillies; this week I will be focusing on the bullpen. Last year the Phillies bullpen was one of the best in baseball. Led by Brad Lidge, they were perhaps the main reason the Phillies won the Championship.

Let's start off with Brad Lidge. Lidge was acquired by Philadelphia last offseason from the Houston Astros for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary, and a minor leaguer.

Lidge injured his knee after throwing his first pitch in a Phillies uniform. His knee required surgery, and he missed the rest of spring training and the first week of the 2008 season.

Once Lidge returned he was perfect, saving 41 games in 41 chances. Lidge finished the year 2-0 with a 1.95 ERA to go with those 41 saves. He has a 98 mph fastball and a nasty splitter that seldom makes it into the catcher's mitt without bouncing; hitters can't pick up the pitch and flail away while striking out. Lidge had 92 strikeouts in only 69.1 innings pitched.

He has returned to form as one of the top five closers in the league.

Homegrown Ryan Madson is the eighth inning setup guy. He took his game to another level after the All-Star game, adding five mph to his fastball. Madson was finally healthy and became a dominant setup guy the last few months of the season and through the playoffs.

Lefty J.C. Romero was the seventh inning guy in manager Charlie Manuel's bullpen rotation. Romero signed with the Phillies in June 2007 after the Boston Red Sox released him. He has come to Philadelphia and has been a cornerstone of their bullpen ever since.

Romero was suspended for the first 50 games of 2009 for testing positive for a banned substance that he took in an over the counter supplement from GNC. The banned ingredient was not listed, nor was the supplement listed on the banned supplement list supplied by Major League Baseball. Romero will be missed as he serves out his suspension.

The second lefty in the pen is Scott Eyre, who was acquired in an August 2008 trade with the Cubs. Eyre is a situational lefty who was 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 14.1 innings after joining the Phillies last year. He will be counted on to replace some of the innings that J.C. Romero would normally pitch.

Chad Durbin was an integral part of the pen last year. He was counted on to bridge the gap between the starters and Romero in the seventh inning. He had the most productive year of his career, going 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA. He will continue that job in the 2009 season and may also pick up some seventh inning work in the absence of Romero.

Clay Condrey was the other pitcher in last year's bullpen. His job was to also bridge the gap until the seventh inning. He pitched well, but will be tested in 2009. The Phillies brought in some veteran pitchers to compete for the bullpen spots. Condrey may be traded or sent to the minors once Romero returns from his suspension.

Chan Ho Park wants to start, but he was a very effective reliever with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. Park went 4-4 with a 3.40 ERA. If Park does not win the No. 5 spot in the rotation, he will be a valuable piece in the bullpen. He may still give the Phillies some spot starts if injuries occur.

The other veteran pitchers that the Phillies brought into camp that could make the team are Gary Majewski, Dave Borkowski, and Mike Koplove. They will all challenge for a spot in the pen.

In conclusion, the bullpen was a key component to last years World Series run. The bullpen will be a strong point again this season. It is unlikely that Lidge will be perfect like he was in 2008. Romero will be sorely missed for the first two months and while age will start to come into play, there is some depth that they did not have last year.

Bottom line is that the bullpen will be more than good enough for the Phillies to win their third NL East pennant in a row.

Despite Economy, Fans Line Up For Phillies Tickets

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―

Despite tough economic times, die hard Phillies fans lined up early Thursday morning to get their hands on single game tickets for the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies 2009 season.

The spending spree began at 7 a.m. when the gift shops opened their doors to offer a 15% discount to the fans that came early.

For those not interested in the merchandise, the Philly Phanatic entertained early risers who stood patiently for the ticket vendors to open at 9 a.m.

"I left my house at 4:30 a.m. and got down here at about 5:15a.m.," said Don Pizzo, who was first in line. "It's exciting, getting ready to watch the Phillies repeat."

With most people feeling a financial crunch, single game tickets were the hot item on sale.

"One of the nice things about October when the economy was tanking, the Phillies were winning. So we could open up the newspaper and see something good," said Cynthia Leonardi.

Like Leonardi, most of the fans weren't upset about missing out on Opening Day tickets, they were just excited for the Phils to take the field again and bring home another World Series trophy.

Can The Phillies Repeat In 2009?

The Philadelphia Phillies are indeed the World Champions of baseball. The question now are can they do it again and are they good enough to repeat? If you ask each of the players to a man they will crack a smile turn to their right or left and tell you it's only February and spring training has just begun. I, for one, believe they will win a consecutive World Series Championship.

The Phillies have all their bullets in the holster again for 2009 aside from Pat Burrell's walk on the wild side to Tampa Bay. The only true change to their lineup will come in the name of Raul Ibanez, the former Mariner who has been as consistent a player over the last seven years as any.

The Phillies are the most complete and balanced team in baseball serving up two National League MVP's, a World Series MVP, and host of team-oriented chemistry guys who fill their roles like puzzle pieces within the larger framework of the roster.

In order to win consecutive world championships in any professional team sport there are three ingredients that come to my mind - having your core players staying relatively healthy over the duration of a season and future seasons, a strong team orientation built on selfless chemistry guys, and a stable talent base that can stay together and want to be together for the long haul. The Phillies have all of the above ingredients in place to win for several more years.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, and Brade Lidge form one the strongest foundations in baseball and with role players Jayson Werth, Gregg Dobbs, Shane Victorino, Ryan Madson, J.D. Durbin and others, the old saying applies, the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

What has been most impressive are the intangibles: the clutch hitting, the mental toughness, the locker room stability, the team chemistry, and strong leadership. There are talented teams in both leagues that have the tangibles, but few have the collective intangibles that have enabled the Phillies to rise to the pinnacle of their sport.

We look ahead to 2009 and every team holds out hope that this is their year, but if I am a betting man, and I am not, I may want to hold steadfast to the team that just celebrated a world championship in October 2008.

Phillies' Romero out until June 1

Originally published at: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2009/news/story?id=3907318

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Suspended Philadelphia Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero said Saturday that he wasn't aware of baseball's toll-free drug hotline until after he had already tested positive for a banned substance contained in an over-the-counter supplement.

Romero, who was suspended for the first 50 games of this season for "negligence" in not checking out the supplement, told reporters Saturday before the Phillies' first full day of spring-training workouts: "I was aware [of the hotline] afterwards."

But the 32-year-old lefthander continued to maintain he made every effort to determine the ingredients in the supplement known as 6-OXO, which he says he purchased from a GNC store in Cherry Hill, N.J.

"It's for you guys to decide what negligence means," Romero said. "But I [asked] my nutritionist and my strength coach I've been working with. I took my supplements to another person to make sure the label didn't have anything that ... had any kind of banned substance."

However, an arbitration panel rejected that argument before Romero was suspended in January, in part because he failed to go through proper channels to check the supplement in question.

When pressed by ESPN.com on whether he recalled MLB's making all players aware of the hotline last year in spring training, Romero replied: "They probably did. But we have meetings at 7:30 in the morning, sometimes 8:30 in the morning in spring training. You can take most of the people here, and 8:30 in the morning, their bosses start talking, and they're not going to pay attention to everything they say. ...

"So I'm not trying to say that they didn't say that to me. But I would say I didn't know about the 1-800 number. I didn't have any reason to believe I was doing anything wrong because I was very careful from the get-go. Since the system was in place, I was very careful about it. I was trying to really do things the right way because really, I didn't want none of this to happen."

Romero also said he isn't the only player in the game who is unfamiliar with the hotline, which is run by the National Center for Drug-Free Sport. And he said there needs to be better communication about the system -- "especially with the Spanish-speaking players."

"I have players who are superstars in the game, and they're good friends of mine," he said. "And they ask me, 'WHAT 1-800 number?' So there's definitely a communication thing going on here."

MLB spokesman Pat Courtney declined to comment. But according to one source familiar with the case, Romero almost certainly would not have been suspended if he had consulted the hotline, instead of his nutritionist and his strength coach, about the legality of the supplement.

The source said players are informed about the toll-free number in spring training, given a wallet card with the number and have posters in every clubhouse, reminding them of the existence of the hotline.

In addition, a DVD on supplements and related information is shown in each clubhouse every spring.

However, Romero complained that since he learned about the toll-free number, he had been told that it doesn't respond to players' questions quickly enough.

"After we went through this whole deal, I find out that 1-800 was a very slow process," Romero said. "In order for that to work, we have to send all our supplements before the season. And if you do that, you're going to run out of supplements."

It was because he ran out of a supplement he had used for several years, he said, that he wound up buying 6-OXO. Because the other supplement was "kind of expensive," he decided to try something new.

"So $52 cost me $1.3 million," he said.

Since Romero's positive test, the union has sent a memo to all players informing them that 6-OXO would cause them to test positive for androstenedione, an anabolic steroid that has been banned by Major League Baseball. The supplement was developed by Patrick Arnold, a chemist who served three months in prison in connection with the BALCO scandal.

Romero says the union previously had led all players to believe there was no reason to worry that any over-the-counter supplement would result in a positive test. For that reason, he called his 50-game suspension "ridiculous" and "unfair."

He is permitted to participate in all spring-training drills and exhibition games. But he won't be allowed to pitch during the regular season until June 1.

Still uncertain is whether Romero will pitch for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. He's on the provisional roster and said he "probably will" participate. But he said he first wants to see how his arm feels during spring training.

"They've got me on the roster," he said. "But I've got to make sure I'm smart about it."

Written by: Ayson Stark is a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com.