Apr 28, 2010 11:42 AM EST
By Christopher Reina
Each MLB team is represented below, marked by a not-so-subtle nod to the general managers we focus so much of our site's attention towards and our namesake.
American League
The Brian Cashman
? Joseph Pawlikowski of River Avenue Blues: "After two impressive starts to begin his season, Phil Hughes struggled a bit last night. He struggled with control, often missing high in the zone and way off the plate. This led to not only four walks, but also just two strikeouts. It?s tough to get guys to swing and miss when you?re missing the zone so often. Despite his woes, he still pitched pretty well, allowing just one run in 5.2 innings. Only six Orioles reached base safely during that span. The bullpen, however, could not finish the job, and the Yanks dropped the series opener 5-4."
The Theo Epstein
? Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe: "On a night in which desperation was evident in their transactions, the Red Sox (and their relievers) were saved by Clay Buchholz. They needed excellence and they also needed innings. They got both. There was Buchholz, cruising through eight innings of last night?s game, having given up a single run. He was keeping the Sox in it against Shaun Marcum and the Blue Jays. He was proving the Red Sox wise for moving Tim Wakefield to the bullpen, and keeping Buchholz in the rotation. But, far more importantly, he was saving the Sox? bullpen. Before the game, manager Terry Francona ticked off the names of the unavailable relievers. There was Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard and Hideki Okajima. None of them would see the mound. That left little wiggle room. ?That was a gutsy performance,?? Francona said of Buchholz. ?I think he threw 80 strikes tonight. The way their guy was throwing, there?s no room for error.?? It took a career-high 117 pitches, but Buchholz was everything the Sox could have wanted in a 2-1 win in front of 14,776 at Rogers Centre, their sixth straight victory by one run. They needed only Ramon Ramirez out of the bullpen, the reliever getting his second career save and first with the Sox, as the rest of the pen got a chance to rest."
The Alex Anthopoulos
? Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star: "Pitchers Rommie Lewis and Josh Roenicke had less than two hours? sleep before joining the Blue Jays for Tuesday night?s game against Boston. There was a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call to get to the airport in Las Vegas, where the two pitchers were throwing for the Triple-A 51s. After that, some restless sleep on the plane, interrupted by the adrenaline rush of a big-league call-up. ?I didn?t care what time the call came,? said Lewis. ?I?ve been working the past 10 years for this moment.? Roenicke is making his second appearance with the Jays but first this season. He pitched well in spring training, but lost out on a major-league job due to an overabundance of relievers on the club. Lewis, a fourth-round selection of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2001 draft, is a career minor-leaguer whose progress was nearly derailed by a peculiar affliction in 2005. Lewis said baseball simply ?wasn?t fun anymore.? He was 22, and the previous season had posted a 1-7 record and 5.61 ERA for the Class-A Frederick Keys of the Carolina League. In his mind, his career was at a dead end."
The Mike Flanagan
? Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun: "Having blown five of their first eight save opportunities this season, and nearly botching one again Sunday in Boston, Orioles manager Dave Trembley said he is taking a new approach with his bullpen. "There is no closer right now for me. Who wants it? Somebody take it," Trembley said Tuesday. "There is no setup guy. Who wants it? Somebody take it." Jim Johnson, who is 1-for-3 in save opportunities this year and 12-for-20 in his career, had taken over as closer this month from Michael Gonzalez, who blew two of his first three chances and is now on the disabled list. Johnson still might get some opportunities, but so will a host of relievers, including Alfredo Simon, who was recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Norfolk and earned his first major league save several hours later. "Whoever can get outs is going to get the chance," Trembley said. "I don't think there [are] any roles. I don't think you can define roles." Four pitchers have saves for the Orioles in their four wins this season: Simon, Gonzalez, Johnson and Cla Meredith, who picked up the first save of his career Sunday after Johnson ran into trouble in the bottom of the 10th against the Boston Red Sox."
The Andrew Friedman
? Steve Slowinski of DRaysBay: "Thank goodness the Athletics have such an anemic offense. If we were facing the Yankees or Red Sox (or really, any team that doesn't have.320 wOBA players plugged into their 3, 4, and 5 slots), Wade Davis might have been knocked out as early as the 3rd inning, a problem for our current six-man bullpen. Davis had fared well in the first two innings, letting up only two hits while striking out two batters; he even picked a runner off first. He wasn't getting first pitch strikes - I counted seven first pitch strikes out of his 23 batters faced - but he was getting enough strikes to keep from falling behind in counts."
The Dave Dombrowski
? Lee Panas of Tiger Tales: "Austin Jackson is off to a fine start in his rookie season.? We were told he was ready to be a major league center fielder but he has exceeded expectations so far.? It's too early to look at any defensive numbers but he appears to have very good extincts and his range looks exceptional.? He is also producing offensively.? With two more hits tonight, he is now batting .325 with a .385 on-base percentage.? He's even showing some power with eight extra base hits and a .470 slugging average. The only chink in his armor so far has been his eye raising 32 strikeouts in 19 games.? He struck out twice tonight stretching his strikeout streak to 19 games.? According to retrosheet, no player has struck out in that many consecutive games to begin his career since 1952 (day by day logs are not available prior to that season).? He is on a pace for 259 strikeouts which would blow away Mark Reynolds's record setting 223 whiffs last year. The strikeouts are a concern but they would be a bigger concern if he was not also on a pace to get 219 hits.? It's been feast or famine for Jackson in April.? The speedy outfielder has 27 hits and 32 strikeouts in 83 at bats.? So, he has had only only 24 at bats that have been not hits or strikeouts.? That translates into a .500 batting average on balls in play (BABIP).? If you've heard people say that a .500 BABIP is not sustainable, it's because no player has finished above .400 since Jose Hernandez had a .404 BABIP for the Brewers in 2002."
The Mark Shapiro
? Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer: "The Indians, with little reason to celebrate their offensive exploits in April, unveiled their own version of "pick your poison" at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. If that sounds ridiculous, it should. The Indians have been an offensive embarrassment in the first month of the season, but Tuesday night two of their few working parts put Angels manager Mike Scioscia in a jam. Should he pitch to Shin-Soo Choo or Austin Kearns with the Indians clinging to a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning?"
The Bill Smith
? Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune: "By the end, (Francisco) Liriano had pitched eight innings, racking up 10 strikeouts for the first time since July 28, 2006, as the Twins held on for a 2-0 victory. Liriano (3-0) has now delivered three consecutive scoreless starts. He blanked Boston for seven innings and Cleveland for eight before unleashing a series of nasty sliders and high octane fastballs against the Tigers. "It's not even so much his pitching," first baseman Justin Morneau said. "It's his body language and just the confidence he has going. Last year, you could tell he just didn't feel like himself. Now walking around the clubhouse before he starts, you can see how he wants to go out there." "
The Kenny Williams
? Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune: "As woeful as the White Sox have been at the plate, their inability to deliver a key hit with runners in scoring position has been even more miserable. The Sox squandered several scoring chances Tuesday night in a 4-2 loss at Texas that dropped them to 2-6 on the road. They also fell to six games out of first place in the American League Central, and their average with runners in scoring position is now .199.. Finding clutch hitters has become a growing concern for the Sox. Of the starting position players, only Andruw Jones (3-for-9), Carlos Quentin (5-for-19), Alexei Ramirez (4-for-12) and Mark Teahen (3-for-9) are batting above .250 with runners in scoring position."
The Dayton Moore
? Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star: "It?s only 20 games into the season ? but, really, what?s left to say about the Royals? bullpen beyond grabbing a white flag and yelling uncle? Tuesday offered up still another late-inning debacle when Josh Rupe, Robinson Tejeda and Bruce Chen conspired to waste seven shutout innings by Zack Greinke in a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium. It was an appalling waste, but not the only one. Save some blame for an inefficient attack that went one for 14 with runners in scoring position."
The Billy Beane
? Jorge L. Ortiz of the USA Today: "The spirit of Moneyball is barely perceptible in the Oakland Athletics nowadays. Eric Chavez, Mark Ellis and Justin Duchscherer are the only players left from 2003, when the Michael Lewis best seller came out and detailed the small-market team's strategy for success under innovative general manager Billy Beane. The current A's, coming off three consecutive losing seasons, rank eighth in the American League in on-base percentage and 12th in slugging, two hallmarks of the original Moneyball approach. The advanced statistical analysis Beane and his cohorts employed to mine for undervalued gems now is commonly used, not only by executives, but by fantasy league players, as well. Could it be the rest of baseball has caught up to Beane? "Maybe if you're outside this organization, somebody might think that," says Ellis, a second baseman who came up in 2002. "But when you're in the organization and you see the guys they've brought in and the abilities, you know it's going to happen." Indeed, the Athletics' quick start this season ? their 12-8 record entering Tuesday led the American League West ? might be the first sign of a turnaround that began when, a year removed from a trip to the 2006 AL Championship Series, Beane dismantled the core of the club. He traded All-Star pitcher Dan Haren, fellow starters Rich Harden and Joe Blanton and outfielder Nick Swisher. The return packages included lefties Brett Anderson and Gio Gonzalez, now two-fifths of the rotation, outfielder Ryan Sweeney, since-traded outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and minor league first baseman Chris Carter. Fellow power-hitting prospect Michael Taylor arrived in another deal."
The Jack Zduriencik
? Franki Piliere of Fanhouse: "It's been a rough start for the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, Dustin Ackley. Ackley, playing for Double-A West Tennessee in the Mariners organization, has struggled mightily at the plate to start 2010, hitting just .146 without a home run heading in Tuesday. Most scouts I talked to about the lefty-swinging Ackley seem unconcerned, however, about the slow start, and given what I've seen from him in the past I tend to agree. He's too good of a hitter to struggle for too long."
The Tony Reagins
? Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times: Third baseman Brandon Wood, who was batting .087 on Thursday, had his second consecutive three-hit game and hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the ninth inning, to push his average to .197."
The Jon Daniels
? Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram
: "C.J. Wilson called himself a question mark entering the season, an honest and accurate description as he tried to become a quality starting pitcher. Frank Francisco became a question mark after two blown saves the first week of the season, costing him his job as closer. Matt Treanor wasn't even on the Opening Day roster, but quickly became a piece in a catching situation that has been a question mark since spring training. Their performances Tuesday night, though, were undeniably pivotal in the Texas Rangers' 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Treanor homered and drove in the Rangers' first three runs to back Wilson's fourth straight quality start and Francisco's first save of the season. On a busy day for the Rangers in which they sent both Opening Day catchers to Triple A and lost their top home-run hitter to injury, Treanor's performance might have been biggest of all."
National League
The Brian Sabean
? Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News: "Todd Wellemeyer got cozy at his new home ballpark, too, shutting down a dangerous lineup as the Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 Tuesday night. Wellemeyer won for the first time since July 2, pitching into the eighth inning while holding the Phillies to three hits, and the Giants clinched a series victory over the two-time defending National League champions. They have taken four of five on this homestand against the Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, two playoff teams expected to suit up this October, too."
The Ned Colletti
? David Young of True Blue LA: "The Los Angeles Dodgers offense awakened enough to put up three runs when the outcome of the twinbill nightcap in Citi Field was still in doubt , but ultimately it wasn't enough to overcome defensive miscues and spotty pitching as the New York Mets collected eleven hits to offset their own shaky starting pitcher to conclude the sweep of the doubleheader with a 10 - 5 victory."
The Dan O'Dowd
? Jeff Aberle of Purple Row: "At the end of play last night, the Rockies owned the second best run differential (+30)?in the NL behind only the Giants (+34), who have allowed only 56 runs this year. This great differential leads to a Pythagorean record for the Rockies of 13-8, two games better than their 11-10 mark. So why are the Rockies playing below their Pythagorean projection so far this year? It's partially?because Colorado's run differential was built on the strength almost entirely of a few blowouts. The Rockies are 5-1 in games decided by 5 or more runs and have a total differential of +34 in those games (48-14). This means that in their other 15 games the Rockies have been outscored 64-60 (that's four runs per game on offense). Heck, in games when Ubaldo Jimenez, beast that he is, isn't on the hill the Rockies, the team is 6-10 with a +9 differential. In other words, when the Rockies' offense isn't getting cheap tacos for fans along the Front Range, they aren't getting it done. Four of those five?blowout wins occurred at Coors Field, where Colorado is +29 on the season opposed to only +1 on the road. Is 21 games a small sample size? Sure, but it's one-eighth of the season. The Rockies' average scoring of 5.1 runs per game is great--I just wish that they would do it with more consistency on the road."
The Josh Byrnes
? Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic: "s Edwin Jackson walked off the mound in the third inning Tuesday evening, he turned and looked toward the scoreboard, as if he wanted to be sure his outing was as disastrous as it probably felt. When the Diamondbacks acquired Jackson in December, they thought they were getting a known commodity: a hard-throwing, innings-eating starter. And they thought his pure stuff might allow him to be even better in the National League than he was last year - and he was pretty good in the AL. It hasn't quite worked out that way. Jackson's fifth start with his new team was a clunker as the Colorado Rockies pounded him for a career-high 10 runs in 2 1/3 innings of a 12-1 loss at Coors Field. "It was just one of those days where regardless of what you threw up there, it was hit hard or well-placed," Jackson said. "You really can't sit and dwell on it. You have to have a short-term memory, get it out of your system and get ready for the next one." "
The Jed Hoyer
? Bill Center of the Union-Tribune: "It was a perfectly scripted Padres win. Solid starting pitching. Solid relief pitching. Speed comes into play on both offense and defense. And the defense comes through with clutch plays at key times. ?That?s sort of the model,? said manager Bud Black of his Padres? 4-1 ?bounce-back win? over the Florida Marlins Tuesday night. ?Well-pitched, well-defended and opportunistic on offense.? A night after being blown out 10-1, the Padres halted their two-game losing streak behind Jon Garland and three relievers."
The Doug Melvin
? Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel: "Why has Trevor Hoffman stopped throwing his changeup -- the pitch that is going to put him in the Hall of Fame? We asked both Hoffman and manager Ken Macha that question after the Brewers' 7-3 loss to Pittsburgh tonight, without getting any real answers. It was evident that Hoffman didn't want to throw his changeup while surrendering five ninth-inning runs, including a leadoff homer to No. 9 hitter Ronny Cedeno and a grand slam to Ryan Doumit. Tossing out an intentional walk to Garrett Jones, Hoffman threw 20 pitches in that inning, and only?three were changeups. He threw 13 pitches -- nine fastballs and four sliders -- before throwing his first changeup. Hoffman has surrendered five homers in eight innings this season after allowing only two in 54 innings last season, and all but one have come on fastballs. Considering Hoffman's fastball tops out in the mid 80s, that's not a good pitch to have hitters sitting on."
The Jim Hendry
? Matt Snyder of Fanhouse: "Starlin Castro is stroking the ball well in Double-A. After another big game, he's hitting .377/.417/.610 with seven doubles, four triples, four steals, 18 RBI, 14 runs and four steals in 18 games. The Cubs' 20-year-old top prospect plays shortstop, but a move of Ryan Theriot to second base to make room for Castro would improve the Cubs defensively. It would appear that if he can hit the ball well in the bigs, the move would make the offense better as well. Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker are currently sharing duties at second, but the two would make for very solid bench infielders (Baker, a righty, can backup at the corners or second while Fontenot, a lefty, could backup up the middle or at third). This would likely enable the Cubs to part ways with Chad Tracy, who isn't doing much of anything for the team. Don't expect a move within the next few weeks, but mid-summer wouldn't be shocking by any stretch. After the Zambrano-to-bullpen play, we know Lou Piniella isn't going to be shy this season."
The John Mozeliak
? Matthew Leach of MLB.com: "Brendan Ryan loves hitting in the No. 9 spot, and it's a challenge for him to hit in front of the pitcher. Yet perception and reality don't exactly mesh. Ryan's best spot in the batting order has been 8th. For his career, Ryan has hit .282 with a .363 on-base percentage and a .420 slugging percentage in the No. 8 spot in the order. That's a nice step up from his overall career line of .271/.328/.362 entering Tuesday night."
The Walt Jocketty
? John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "It seems like a pretty simple concept: Swing at strikes and take balls. It looks easy from my seat in the press box and yours in front of the TV. But we?ve never tried to hit a big league slider. Bill James had a great quote in Sports Illustrated recently: ?Wily Mo Pena never saw slider. They were all fastballs to him.? Jay Bruce has been able to distinguish the sliders from fastballs and balls from strikes lately. He?s reached base seven times in his last nine plate appearances. ?He?s laying off tough pitches,? Baker said. ?He?s making them come in the zone. (Last night), he got two walks and two hits. The walks sometimes are as important as the hits. That means you?re seeing a lot of pitches and seeing the ball and swinging when you need to.? "
The Ed Wade
? Austin Swafford of Astros 290: "Bud Norris didn?t pitch well, but he pitched well enough for the rest of his team to completely let him down.? I?m not saying that five earned runs in five innings should be a winning performance, but I am saying the Astros were completely shut down by a pitcher with an ERA over 8.00 who was on the verge of being moved to the bullpen.? Any time you can make Aaron Harang look like an ace, it?s a pretty bad night."
The Neal Huntington
? Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review: "Ryan Doumit on Tuesday slammed the door on one of the most frustrating slumps in Pirates history, whacking a ninth-inning grand slam to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-3. The Pirates scored five runs in the ninth off Trevor Hoffman, the majors' all-time saves leader, to snap a seven-game losing streak. It also ended their 22-game run of futility at Miller Park. "That's how you break a streak, (by doing it) against one of the best closers in the game," manager John Russell said. "We battled and found a way to win. That's important for these guys right now." "
The Frank Wren
? David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Bobby Cox says Braves rookie Jason Heyward is taking far too many hittable strikes and limiting his chances by continually falling behind in counts. Chipper Jones says the young right fielder is following a learning curve that every rookie faces, and on nights like Tuesday against the Cardinals, he?s also getting pitched well in crucial situations. This much is certain: Since going 9-for-29 (.429 with two homers and seven RBIs in a six-game stretch through April 16, Heyward?s 3-for-29 (.103) with four RBIs and 12 strikeouts in his past 10 games. ?We?re going to talk to him,? Cox said. ?He?s taking way too many pitches for strikes. [As a result] he?s getting one pitch to swing at right now.? "
The Omar Minaya
? John Harper of the New York Daily News: "What you notice most in this stunning turnaround at Citi Field is that, in contrast to last year, it's the other guys making the crucial mistake or the dumb plays that leave a manager shaking his head. For now, at least, the Mets aren't the ones playing bonehead baseball. It's too early to pronounce them cured of the ills that plagued them in 2009, when their gaffes on the basepaths and in the field made them something of a laughingstock. And as we saw Tuesday night, Oliver Perez is a long way from cured himself. Between Perez and Wednesday's starter, John Maine, it remains to be seen if the Mets can survive the back end of their rotation."
The Ruben Amaro
? Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley: "There are a couple positives with the (Ryan Howard, $125M) deal. The first, obviously, is that the Phillies will not have to look for a first baseman for a long, long time ? barring injury. It is unfortunate, though, that the Phillies have locked up such security at the least important position on the baseball diamond in the National League. Additionally, the Phillies may end up saving themselves several ?million dollars every year theoretically as the post-2011 free agent market may include Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder and both may exceed Howard?s average annual value of $25 million per season. Both players are likely to be signed to extensions (in Fielder?s case, perhaps with a new team) beforehand. Most Phillies fans will love the extension, as it keeps a fan favorite in town for a long time. Stat-savvy fans immediately dislike the deal. Most Phillies fans will come to loathe the deal in several years when the Phillies are hamstrung by Howard?s relatively large salary and declining production."
The Larry Beinfest
? Doug Miller of MLB.com: "Continuing his torrid start to the season, Marlins prospect Mike Stanton has drawn the attention of the club's brass with a dominant start to the week at the plate. Stanton hit three home runs for Double-A Jacksonville in Monday's game with seven RBIs -- the only fitting encore to his performance on Sunday -- when he hit two homers with four RBIs in a perfect day at the plate (4-for-4). He had a double and an RBI on Tuesday."
The Mike Rizzo
? : "If Stephen Strasburg vs. the hitters of the Eastern League was ever a fair fight, it is certainly the case no longer. In the fourth start of his professional career, Strasburg, the big right-hander considered the top pitching prospect in baseball, was literally unhittable against the Reading Phillies, and it is getting harder to come up with reasons why it is in his best interests to remain at this level. Strasburg, the 21-year-old pride of the Washington Nationals' farm system, pitched five no-hit, no-walk, near-perfect innings Tuesday night for the Class AA Harrisburg Senators at First Energy Stadium, allowing his only base runner on a fifth-inning strikeout that eluded catcher Sean Rooney and allowed Michael Spidale to reach first base. The performance -- which came in a 1-0 Senators victory in the first half of a doubleheader, with Strasburg driving in the only run with a fifth-inning single -- improved Strasburg's record to 3-0, lowered his ERA to 0.52, pushed his strikeout total to 23 (against only three walks) in 17 1/3 innings, and called into question whether there is anything left for him to learn in Class AA. "I'm happy with where I'm at right now," Strasburg said. "I'm learning a lot. We have a great team [and] a great coaching staff. When the time comes [to be promoted], I'm going to be very excited. But I'm living in the now. . . . I definitely gotta stick with the program here, gotta go out there and keep building off the previous starts." Strasburg needed only 64 pitches to navigate his five innings -- leaving the game, despite the no-hitter, because of a predetermined pitch limit -- and allowed only two balls to leave the infield, one fly ball each to left field and center field. He threw all of his pitches -- a fastball that reached 98 mph, a curveball and change-up -- for strikes, and only went to a three-ball count twice."
Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Click here to follow his Twitter feed.
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