Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Playoffs

Alex Gonzalez and the Atlanta Braves saved us from the prospect of three sweeps in the first round of the playoffs. It was an improbable win for the Braves in many respects. They were down 4-1 with Brian Wilson, San Francisco's closer, on the mound and Atlanta's offense is one of the weakest in the playoffs. Once the Braves tied it Billy Wagner has to leave with an injury and their fate rests with Kyle Farnsworth on the mound, the Farnsworth who not known as a big game pitcher. That view looked to be confirmed when he hit Freddy Sanchez. The Braves options looked bleaker when Buster Posey was up with the bases loaded and one out. Posey grounded the ball to Troy Glaus, who has not played much third this season, and Glaus passed up on the play at home and went around the horn for an inning ending double play.

Rick Ankiel ended the game in extra's with a solo home run, and hopefully that eliminates some of his bad memories from his pitching meltdown in the playoffs many years ago.

In addition to former Jays Alex Gonzalez, Eric Hinske and Troy Glaus, Tim Collins was indirectly involved in yesterdays outcome. On July 31st the Braves acquired winning pitcher Farnsworth and home run hitter Ankiel from KC in return for Tim Collins, among others.

The earlier game was an embarrassment for the Reds. Too many hit batters and too many errors make for a bad loss. It was surprising to see Scott Rolen make an error and generally not look great in the game. Things looked better for the Reds when Brandon Phillips homered to lead off the game, no repeat no-hitter in the works. Not even Aroldis Chapman could hold back the Phillies but he didn't get any help.

Elsewhere we are back to the AL today with the home teams trying to win and sweep.

Umpires were back in the news yesterday, from Bobby Cox's ejection, to Chase Utley saying the pitch he was hit by "came pretty close to him", and several other close plays. The umpires are under a microscope in the post-season and they aren't faring well.

Here is Utley commenting on being hit:

“It was pretty close. At first, I thought it was going to hit me in the head. Fortunately, it didn't. And he throws so hard. I felt like I thought it hit me, so I put my head down and I ran to first.”

Did it actually hit you?

“I'm not sure.”

What will you be watching for this weekend?

And Happy Thanksgiving to those north of the border.

Posted by Gerry on Saturday, October 09 2010 @ 11:39 AM EDT.

Playoffs - Weekend Special | 24 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

ayjackson - Saturday, October 09 2010 @ 12:30 PM EDT (#223983) #

I had a dream last night that Halladay used to pitch for the Jays, that he was great, and that nobody noticed.

Magpie - Saturday, October 09 2010 @ 04:36 PM EDT (#223985) #

Posey grounded the ball to Troy Glaus, who has not played much third this season

He played exactly 2 innings at third, finishing up a game on September 8. He did spend a week in the minors at the end of August playing third base, as the Braves initially thought they'd use Mighty Troy to replace Chipper Jones.

It was in many ways the play of the game, and it took some nerve - the 543 is never exactly automatic. But while Glaus never had much range at third, he always had a strong and accurate arm and a quick release, and so he has always been very good at starting the DP. And he's a former World Series MVP, so you wouldn't expect him to panic. On the other hand, Chipper was watching....

“He came off the field and said he was about to throw up. Said he’s never really been put in for defensive purposes before [Chipper is laughing here, hardly able to finish the sentence.] When they hit it, I didn’t even know he was in the game. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s Troy.’

Mylegacy - Saturday, October 09 2010 @ 08:49 PM EDT (#223987) #

Watching TB - I'm reminded that late in the season there were rumours that the Jays would be in on Crawford and Pena. I think Carl will be out of AA's comfort zone - but Carlos is a different matter. Watching Pena he seems to me to be - a freakin' near a dead ringer for - Bautista. Low average, high OBP and lots of homers. I wonder...

scottt - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 07:33 AM EDT (#223988) #

Crawford has said he doesn't want to play on turf. That should be the end of that topic, no?

Pena is .196.325.407 for the year with 28 home runs. His splits are 204.329.430/.179.316.359.675.

He's 32, so he might be able to maintain his career line of .241 .351 .490. Any prediction on his next contract? 4 years/45-60M?

Chuck - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 08:50 AM EDT (#223989) #

I can't see Pena getting a 4-year deal coming off this season's unimpressive numbers. I would guess that he'll sign a one-year deal for a "reasonable" amount in an attempt to reestablish his value for a run at a bigger contract next year. That "reasonable" amount may still be more than TB is willing to pay which would put teams like the Blue Jays and the Cubs in play.

Thomas - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 09:35 AM EDT (#223990) #

There is another option at 1B who is making an appearance in the playoffs this year: Lance Berkman. I'm not sure the odds of signing him are particularly good, given his preference for living in the South, but he's been a very consistent and underrated hitter over the course of his career.

Mike Green - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 10:55 AM EDT (#223991) #

Of course, Derrek Lee and Huff are also free agents at the end of the year. There's a whole lot of "playing for contract" going on...First basemen and managers seem to be where the action is going to be this off-season.

scottt - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 04:56 PM EDT (#223993) #

I can't see Pena getting a 4-year deal coming off this season's unimpressive numbers. I would guess that he'll sign a one-year deal for a "reasonable" amount in an attempt to reestablish his value for a run at a bigger contract next year.

Coming off a disappointing contract year, I doubt he's eager to put himself in another contract year. Maybe in a hitter friendly environment?

Mick Doherty - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 04:57 PM EDT (#223994) #

Off-topic ...

The teaser for tonight's episode of The Simpsons mentions an appearance by "former major league baseball manager Mike Scioscia."

Did I miss something? :-)

Chuck - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 06:26 PM EDT (#223995) #

Coming off a disappointing contract year, I doubt he's eager to put himself in another contract year.

Eager or not, the choice probably won't be his. With the glut of first basemen on the market, he's not exactly armed with a ton of leverage.

The teaser for tonight's episode of The Simpsons mentions an appearance by "former major league baseball manager Mike Scioscia"

And apparently Bill James as well. From self-published Abstracts in the late 70's to 60 Minutes and The Simpsons in a mere 30 years!

TamRa - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 09:39 PM EDT (#223998) #

I want exactly NO part of signing Pena. With all the 1B options on the market, there's no way he has a role here. I'd resign overbay at the same money in a heartbeat. Pena brings you only one exceptional skill - power. An area in which we do not stand in need.

Mylegacy - Sunday, October 10 2010 @ 11:37 PM EDT (#223999) #

Willrain - they are actually quite close offensively:

Carlos: May 17, 1978, 10 years, 3620 ABs, 230 HR, 650 RBI, 241 / 351 / 490 / 841
Lyle: Jan 28, 1977, 10 years, 3889 ABs, 122 HR, 524 RBI, 274 / 358 / 447 / 805

Interesting, very interesting - eh.

brent - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 12:49 AM EDT (#224000) #

The sooner the team turns over the old JP roster (not counting rookie types), I think the better. I would rather have a different player put up the exact same stats and cost as Overbay than keep Overbay just for the sake of change. The new players that have been brought in have been a much needed breath of fresh air. Lewis, Escobar, Morrow, Drabek even Buck and Gregg somewhat have at least gave the team a different look.

scottt - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 06:55 AM EDT (#224003) #

Well, in a bad year, Pena's a type B. That give him plenty of value. As for a glut, there's Konerko and Berkman, Lee and Dunn. Pena is the youngest of the bunch.

Besides, the AL East on the 4th team isn't where you wanna go to boost your free agent value. It's possibly the worst place to be.

Chuck - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 08:03 AM EDT (#224004) #

there's Konerko and Berkman, Lee and Dunn

And Huff and Overbay. That's 20% of the league's starting first basemen.

Besides, the AL East on the 4th team isn't where you wanna go to boost your free agent value.

We'll soon see if it worked for John Buck.

Mike Green - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 11:29 AM EDT (#224006) #

Thanksgiving errata:

on a very human level, it is hard not to feel sorry for Brooks Conrad, but you have to wonder about management's efforts to ensure that there was adequate middle infield depth in case of injury; they only lost Prado, and that is something that the club should have been able to adapt to,
Jimmy McMath passed away recently. Short career, but great name, and what town would have a high school named "Druid"?

TamRa - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 07:44 PM EDT (#224022) #

relevant to nothing, BtB has their final Power Rankings out and, wouldn't ya know it, the Jays finish 3rd overall.

TamRa - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 07:45 PM EDT (#224023) #

and of course, my inability to get the linking device to work as i want it to continues:

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2010/10/11/1745177/btb-power-rankings-end-of-2010-season-data#storyjump

scottt - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 08:11 PM EDT (#224024) #

Their model probably overvalues homeruns. It's no secret at this point that the Jays had a very low runs scored/homeruns ratio.

DaveB - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 08:27 PM EDT (#224025) #

Pena could be a relative bargain as a Type B coming off a bad year. Watching him in the playoffs, I swear he's the best .196 hitter I've ever seen! Anyway, despite that faint praise, I'd much prefer him to Overbay. Pena's three best seasons, including one of near MVP value, have been the previous three years; Overbay's best year is ancient history. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Pena has another 3-4 productive years and at 32 he has the potential of a monster season or two. He had a horrible BABIP this year at .222, second worst after Hill. He's not just a power bat. He gets on base, plays good defense, runs the bases well. Admittedly you can look at him and Overbay and wonder if he's worth the extra $5 million plus per year, and maybe he isn't. But if you do that with all of your FA moves, you end up with a cheap, low risk, mediocre team. Even in a bad year, Pena was part of a team that won the AL East so there's no doubt you can win with him. As for him wanting to come to Toronto, why wouldn't he? The team is improving, there would be good bats around him, seems to be a HR hitter's park, he knows the AL East and AL pitchers, and there might even be a familiar face as manager if Martinez gets the job.

I agree that Pena, or a similar high-priced veteran FA, doesn't seem to fit AA's philosophy but he is in a tough spot. If Lind had played 25-30 games at first base this year, he would have a much better idea of exactly what he needs at the position. There are no prospects on the horizon other than perhaps Cooper. AA is basically forced to spend lots of money or high prospects on a 1B solution that improves the team for the next 3-4 years, or guess that Lind can handle the position in addition to figuring out how to hit lefthanders well enough so that he doesn't have to be platooned.

brent - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 10:34 PM EDT (#224028) #

I wonder if anyone thinks it would be a worthy exercise to establish which players on the 25 (or 40) man rosters have the most overall value. This would include contract, years of team control, expected performance, etc. Establishing how much of an asset a player is something as a group I think the Box could do quite well. I mean, the offseason is a long time and there are a lot of knowledgeable fans here. It might also raise the profile of the Box as players move and other blogs want to see who they are getting and what kind of asset are they.

scottt - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 10:38 PM EDT (#224029) #

The problem with Toronto is that he'd be facing some pretty tough pitching and he hasn't hit well at Rogers Stadium since 1987.

Of course, if you offer him more money then anybody else he'd be here, but is that realistic?

scottt - Monday, October 11 2010 @ 10:52 PM EDT (#224030) #

Which players have the most value? According to what they've done, or what they are likely to do? Sadly, none of the position players are known for repeated performance. You can almost make a case for Wells, but he's possibly the most overpaid player in baseball now.

bpoz - Tuesday, October 12 2010 @ 05:18 PM EDT (#224062) #

IMO T Snider has the most value. Already about 600 ABs in the ML, twice he was "going good or on a hot streak" 1st time just before the injury & 2nd time Sept 28,29,30 hit a HR in each game. so he could put up pretty big numbers. Right now he is controllable and cheap. The Jays can just renew him.
B Cecil:- Very valuable like Snider but he has a proven track record. Rising star to help build a strong team. Low cost so if he gets injured you have not sunk $MIL unlike Marcum who will get arbitration.
S Marcum:- V Good pitcher with the proven track record. Arbitration eligible, so he will get $4-6Mil, I think. But if he gets injured in 2011 you 1) don't get your $ value. 2) What do you do with him for 2012. Trade value is diminished and how much are you willing to pay him.
J Litch:- Rising star until injured. Arb eligible but should not cost much.Over the course of 2011 he should return to near his old form, rotation need 7-8 SP over a full season. If 2011 is a poor year for Litch he is your 5-8 guy who cost little so the overall loss to the team is small. But if he is successful then he helps keep your rotation strong through injuries for a full season and you have SP trading options at some point for further improvement.
Zep $ Drabek:- Like Litch but not arb eligible so cheaper. Drabek's very high ceiling means that at some point the team will be willing to suffer any growing pains, so 2011 may be some pain for a stud in the near future.

Is this what you wanted. I found it interesting.

Playoffs - Weekend Special | 24 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.