White Sox third baseman Joe Crede will undergo back surgery ending his season. Crede was complaining of back problems the whole season and it showed in his stats. He was batting .216 with 4 HR and 22 RBI. He was nearly traded to Anaheim for Chone Figgins this past off season. The White Sox expect him to be ready for spring training with no problems, witch is a realistic assessment.
Tomorrow at 3:00 P.M. CT Padres prospect Kyle Blanks will be in the studio to talk with me. Please call in, the number is 1.646.478.5102.
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While many fans and reporters called out for offense help, it is time to do something when their manager calls out for it too. Ron Gardenhire mentioned in his radio show that Twins need help: "You'd like to have one big bat, another big bat, either in the DH spot, or maybe put him at third base and put [Nick] Punto in the middle of the infield," Gardenhire told KSTP AM-1500. "Yeah, there's options. There's things that we can do here to probably improve it and give us even more depth all the way down through the lineup." The Twins have looked at Devil Rays infielder Ty Wigginton, who is batting .263 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI. Wiggington is in their price range and with the Twins' plethora of pitching, there is a match. But the Cubs also need pitching and bringing back a former Twin who had success there would probably benefit the team too. Jones struggled in his last two years with the team, but has learned a lot from playing in a high pressure environment and would benefit from a trade to the AL. But he is scheduled to make 9 million total over the next two years so the Cubs would have to give a lot of money to make it happen. Jones is batting .230 with 2 HR and 19 RBI this season.
The Reds will shutdown pitcher Eric Milton for the year as he will be recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery. Milton was 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in six starts this season, but has been on the DL since May 9th. This is the second year he has been hit with elbow problems. So the Reds will probably hold onto Homer Bailey for a little while longer and maybe call up Bobby Livingston as well. I do not think it will hurt their rotation too much. Just because both those young pitchers are strong players.
The Washington Nationals are actively pursuing troubled Devil Rays prospect Elijah Dukes. Dukes has been the topic of many trades because he would bring back something in return, and his off the field scuffles are upsetting the team and the Front Office. Dukes would fit nice in Washington. He would be able to step into a leading role with the team and benefit from Manny Acta's style of play. Furthermore, Jim Bowden is known for giving troubled stars another shot. He signed Dmitri Young and Ronnie Belliard, both who had trouble in the off season or the season before. Dmitri Young was released by the Tigers because he was struggling and had some attitude problems while Belliard had some off the field problems. Bringing in Dukes would help the team and could revitalized his slow season, and his troubled start in Tampa. He is batting .196 with 10 HR and 21 RBI. It would also clear his off the field image and a change of scenery, although it is not to a contender, would allow him to start fresh and grow into the ball player he is capable of becoming in a low media environment.
The struggling White Sox are loaded with soon to be free agents, and although GM Kenny Williams said he is not interested in trading, this White Sox team cannot holdup in the strong AL Central with the team they have. The NL West division race is so close already each team is looking for a way to pull ahead. And right now, each team is calling the White Sox about All Star outfielder Jermaine Dye. Dye has revitalized his career in Chicago and will look for a lot of money in the market. So trading him to a team that is desperate for help could bring back a lot of prospects. Right now, the Giants, Padres, and Dodgers have all engaged in talks, but nothing is serious yet. But all three teams have enough prospects to trade to make the White Sox happy. The Padres have a game and a half lead and would have to make room to play Dye regularly, but so would the Giants and Dodgers. Any trade that will happen is far away, and probably wouldn't happen until the deadline.
Roger Clemens was strong in his major league debut, but didn't have to do much to beat the struggling Pirates. After the Pirates got one run in the first inning, the Yankees came right back to score three to give him a comfortable lead. Then Clemens was able to fine tune is pitches to shut down the Pirates through six innings, giving up three runs and striking out seven. He through 69 of 108 pitches for strikes. Although the Pirates tied it in the fourth, the Yankees answered right back in the fifth to regain the lead and then score five more times to win 9-3, their fifth straight win. Good news coming from the game is Roger Clemens felt no discomfort with his groin after the game and Bobby Abreu is hitting again, contributing two hits and an RBI today. He is now batting .260. The Yankees will look to make it six straight wins tomorrow sending rookie Tyler Clippard against former Yankee Shawn Chacon.
The Red Sox sent their best pitcher to the mound tonight hoping that he would walk all over the Diamondbacks. But Beckett really didn't have to do much. With help from J.D. Drew, who had seven RBIs of the teams 10, he was able to out hit the first eight guys in the Diamondbacks lineup. Beckett went eight strong innings, striking out eight and improving to 9-0 on the year. Doug Davis has turned out to be a bust for the Diamondbacks, struggling through four innings. He is now 4-7 with a 3.48 ERA. And the bullpen wasn't great either. Edgar Gonzalez went four innings giving up five earned runs. The Red Sox are on a two game winning streak and will send Julian Tavarez to the mound tomorrow with a comfortable 10.5 game lead in the division.
Bailey Strong In Debut: The Reds top pitching prospect Homer Bailey made his major league debut tonight, going five innings, striking out three and giving up two earned runs. However, his control was a little problem walking four. But it is still early and I am sure this will all be addressed before his next start.
Soriano Dominates Braves: Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano homered off Lance Cormier three times, his first coming on the first pitch of the game. Not only did Soriano dominate the Braves, but his roommate, top prospect Felix Pie did as well. Pie was 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Besides Sean Marshall, who pitched six strong innings striking out four, each position player had at least one hit.
The Cardinals are closing in on a one year deal with closer Troy Percival. Percival through in the low nineties during one of his workouts, and Cardinals scouts weren't worried about any potential injuries. "He's always been a high-adrenaline closer," the second scout said. "For him to be able to go out there in front of a handful of scouts and hit 90 a handful of times, you've got to think that if he's staring at a major-league hitter with 50,000 people watching, he'll add two miles per hour to his fastball." What the Cardinals really liked was his curveball was really working for him and how he worked it into his repertoire. It will be determined if he needs a minor league tuneup after he signs, but nothing has been said just yet.
Phillies Sign Mesa: Jose Mesa has signed with the Philles. He was their closer in 2001-2003, and has 320 career saves, with 107 wins.
The Tigers came into the draft not expecting to see Rick Porcello fall to the 27th spot. And when the White Sox passed on him with the 25th pick, there was no doubt in the Tigers mind he would drop to them. Because why would Billy Beane of the nearly bankrupt A's take Rick Porcello, a client of Boras already asking for a gross amount of money? The Tigers have had great success with thier pitchers, already having success with their 2006 first round pick Andrew Miller at the major leage level. Justin Verlander, the 2004 first round pick, won the Rookie of the Year award and is proving that that wasn't a fluke this year. Rick Porcello, despite being eighteen years old, is still growing and will work quickly through the minors. The Tigers are hoping to use this guy in September 2008, if not sooner. Looking at his stats and where he is still improving, that is very realistic. Porcello will grow into his 6'5'' frame, and will improve upon his 95 mph fastball. His slider and curve have a good upside and his changeup is still improving. The Tigers are looking to have one of the best rotations in baseball by 2010 with Andrew Miller, Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Rick Porcello, and possibly Nate Robertson or Jair Jurrjens, another one of their prospects.
With the second pick in the draft, the Royals had the chance to add an excellent pitcher. Instead, they go with hitting and taking the first hitter, there are many options. Weiters, Vitters, Moustakas, Domingez, or Mills. Weiters is probably your best bet for a future star, and he is a catcher, where the Royals have struggled for years. Despite costs, the overall pay would be worth it. Now if they were to take Vitters, it would force them to move Alex Gordon, or trying to convert Vitters somewhere else. But his hitting is phenomenal that moving him to a position like first might not have much an impact. But instead they take Mike Moustakas, a third baseman who is a above average hitter, good fielder, but lacks speed. Although Vitters is still considered raw talent, he comes into the draft with the best bat and the potential to ease into a starting third base role in four or five years. Now taking Moustakas the Royals are putting themselves in the same situation the Braves are in with McCain and Saltamacchia. They have top prospect Alex Gordon at third base and although he is struggling, will eventually find his swing. Time will tell what will happen, the Royals have at least three years to figure out what they will do.
Weiters decided against pitching and went with catching from here on out and it was the best decision he has ever made. Not only was he able to excel as a hitter in his junior year, but he was able to showcase his defense and grow as a player. That improvement at Georgia Tech was so great this year that there was no doubt in any ones mind that he was to be taken if available. He has matured a lot, and still has time to fill into his 6'5'' frame. He is a switch hitter as well, and will probably start in Lo-A hoping his success there could possible push him to Double-A. The reason I would place him there is so he can get more at-bats with a wooden bat to get a better feel for it. But that is all he will need. The swing, bat, and arm are there otherwise; all he needs is some fine tuning. The Orioles see him with at the MLB in two to three seasons, and that is a very realistic approach. He has the ability to hit 20+ homeruns and a high average. "I'm very excited to be part of the Orioles organization," Wieters said in a conference call. "I really went into the draft with no predetermined [idea] of where I might go and what I might do ... From the time I was picked, I was very excited."
