Yardbarker: Rod Barajas

Please Keep Martin Behind The Plate

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:30:12 -0500

I've recently noticed some rumblings from the fans and the media about moving Russell Martin to third base permanently in the near future, and I can't help but question the sanity of those people.

For example, Peter Gammons notes that some people in the Dodgers' organization might be open to moving Martin.

"Russell Martin may have slid backward, and had his attention to the defensive preparation called into question, but he remains a tremendous talent who wants to play every day, and his workload may have impacted his attention to game preparation. There has been some talk that the Dodgers may go after a Varitek or a pitcher-oriented catcher, which would free Martin from behind the plate and take his athleticism to third base, where the coaches feel he could also be an All-Star, a move Torre, Todd Zeile and Craig Biggio all made successfully."

First of all, while even I can admit that Martin has taken a noticeable step backwards defensively, I think it's way overblown because of his caught stealing percentage. Yes, it's low, but he also has one of the worst staffs in the league at holding baserunners. There's maybe 1 or 2 guys who are below average at holding runners on. The rest? They're terrible. I'm pretty sure Ricky Henderson could steal both 2nd and 3rd off Lowe in one pitch.

Secondly, just the mention that the Dodgers might go after another old, multi-year contract seeking, broken down piece of shit is sickening. Do I even need to explain why putting a terrible hitting old motherfucker behind the plate, and moving Martin's bat to a spot where it's less valuable, is a terrible idea? For fucks sake, Varitek might end up hitting below the Mendoza Line before this year is done.

Okay, so just sign a catcher who's better than Varitek then, right? Well, as nice as that would be, please don't say that the other options available are much better.

Here's a list of the catchers who will hit the free agent market: Rod Barajas, Johnny Estrada, Adam Melhuse, Ivan Rodriguez, David Ross, Javier Valentin, Jason Varitek, and Vance Wilson.

Does anybody out there really fucking think that signing any one of those douches to the contracts they want is a good idea? Seriously, the thought of the Dodgers signing Ivan Rodriguez or Rod Barajas to a 3-year 27 million dollar contract makes me want to strangle little children.

And all of this is because the Dodgers apparently can't find a suitable option at third base, right? Well...uh...how about the guy they have now? Look, i'm no huge fan of Casey Blake and his stone golem defense. However, while he's not a great offensive third baseman, his OPS the last 3 years are better than Martin's. Also, is there any real guarantee that Martin can stay healthy at third and that his defense is going to be above average? There are way too many question marks to even consider this.

Finally, are Biggio, Zeile and Torre the best 3 examples Gammons could find? Doesn't that say something about how the moves usually work out? To quote Bill James:

"I've been a baseball fan a long time. Moves like that always fail."

To the point, Torre is the only real example of a conversion success. Yes, Biggio was a full-time catcher for about 3 seasons, but the 1-time All-Star behind the plate was pretty much a hack defensively anyway. As far as Zeile goes, I don't even know why he's mentioned. He didn't even spend one season as a full-time catcher in the bigs before he scrapped that and moved to third.

So basically, none of this should apply to Martin. Neither Zeile nor Biggio had the defensive chops that Martin does, and neither of them were nearly as accomplished at catcher as Martin is. At the very least, Martin is a top 5 catcher in the majors, and to move that kind of player anywhere else toes the line between crazy and insane.

Some people speculate that a move to third base would prevent Martin from declining so steeply late in the year, but what does that really have to do with moving to third? Instead of torpedoing his offensive value by moving him to third base, why not just find a manager with the balls to tell Martin to sit the fuck down on the bench like normal catchers do? Oh right, because it's the Dodgers.

Jays Planning For Quiet Off Season?

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:18:53 -0500

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi is planning for a quiet off season, filled with internal rebuilding and future development. However, he is going to have to compete with the free spending Yankees and Red Sox, as well as the Tampa Bay Rays, who may get some extra spending after their successful season. While the Blue Jays have Roy Halladay and Dustin McGowan in the 1-2 for 2009 (assuming A.J. Burnett leaves), the 3-4-5 spots are up in the air. Litsch, Purcey, and Marcum have done a decent job for the Jays, but they would be smart to go out and acquire a solid pitcher.

As of right now, here is what the lineup looks like for 2009:

C - Rod Barajas, Team Option
1B - Lyle Overbay
2B - Free Agent
3B - Scott Rolen
SS - Marco Scutaro/Josh McDonald
LF - Adam Lind
CF - Vernon Wells
RF- Alex Rios
DH - Travis Snider

Mark Ellis or Orlando Hudson would make a lot of sense for the Jays. Hudson, a former Jay, is hitting very well and may want to return to his former team. As for Ellis, he may want to stay in the American League, making the Jays a possible destination. 2006 first round draft pick J.P. Arenciba is doing very well in Double-A and could come up in 2009 to take over everyday in the catcher spot. Pitching will help them in the division hunt, so it would be smart to go after a pitcher, perhaps Ben Sheets, or a second tier pitcher like Braden Looper.

If the Jays want to compete in 2009, they better be big spenders on the market. However, it would make more sense to prepare for the long term future, as the Yankees and Red Sox are aging teams.

MLB Stock Market - Aug.--th Edition

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:21:50 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon runs down several baseball Bulls and several baseball Bears in the latest edition of Stock Market. Placido Polanco? Oh yea, he's definitely a bull. Ken Griffey Jr.? Ehhhh ... not so much.

Oakland A's: Athletics' future is now and later

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:00:47 -0500

The Oakland Athletics have been wheeling and dealing since the end of the 2007 season. Some of the moves have been met with praise by A's fanatics, while others have caused plenty of rumbling amongst the faithful fans in green and gold. Tonight, A's fans will get to see first hand how some of that trading has affected the club today, while Wednesday night will give fans an opportunity to see how it might have affected the team for seasons to come...

MLB Top Weekly Performances - Catchers

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:46:35 -0500

Who were the top three fantasy performers at each position this past week? Beginning with the catchers, the Screaming Sports team hand out gold, silver and bronze medals to the top three statistical players at every position. Navigational links appear at the bottom of each article.

Athletics lose again - need to find answers soon

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:59:33 -0500

Something has gotta' give, right? The A's can't remain as icy cold as they have since the end of the All Star break could they? When they've gotten stellar performances from their pitching, they've still managed to be outscored by the opposing team. When they've gotten some hitting, the opposition seems to have outpitched the A's pitchers. On a day when the Oakland Athletics ace, Justin Duchscherer, was pitching, you'd expect the latter wouldn't be the case in a loss, but on Thursday night it was....

Athletics' Gonzalez shows grit, but Oakland still loses ninth straight

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:17:08 -0500

Gio Gonzalez got his first Major League career start, unfortunately for him and the A's, it was also his first career loss as well. The 22 year old pitcher, just called up from the Sacramento River Cats, pitched 6 innings, letting up 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, and 1 home run while striking out 4 batters in the loss. The only problem was the first inning, where he let up a three-run homer to Rod Barajas...

When Teammates Attack

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:59:46 -0500

Some see it as a glaring sign that the chemistry in the clubhouse is toxic, others write it off to testosterone-infused meatheads blowing off steam. However you rationalize a fight between teammates, the one constant is that they're normally fun to watch.

We got to witness that first hand again this week when Prince Fielder went after pitcher Manny Parra in the Milwaukee Brewers dugout (we told you not to dip into Prince's can of Pringles Cheez-Ums without permission, Manny). A couple of shoves, a semi-slap to the face in full view of the cameras and suddenly we've got national news.

The Parra-Fielder tussle came just days after Carolina wide receiver Steve Smith took the teammate brawl a step further and broke the nose of Panther safety Ken Lucas in the training camp fight that will ultimately cost Smith a two game suspension and a hefty fine.

Because of the mystery and inevitable gossip that comes with them, teammate-on-teammate fights are a shade more intriguing than the run-of-the-mill sports brawl between opponents. In December of 2006, we separated those fights into convenient categories to better understand them and in light of recent events, it would only seem appropriate to do the same for the brawls between friends.

The "Not on the Same Page" Brawl
For all the talk in baseball about the importance of a pitcher and a catcher being "on the same page", perhaps nothing drives home that point more than seeing what happens when they aren't. Being on different pages often means fists aimed at heads.

Recent examples of pitchers and catchers not seeing eye-to-eye include beastly Royals hurler Runelvys Hernandez attacking catcher John Buck in the dugout in between innings in 2006, Rays battery Dioner Navarro and Matt Garza going at it this summer and a scrap between Texas catcher Rod Barajas and pitcher Ryan Drese in 2005 in which the combatants dusted themselves off and went back to their respective positions the next inning to put up a zero. Professionalism at its finest.

Perhaps most memorable was last July when Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano went after Michael Barrett in the dugout after the two came off the field. One can't really blame Barrett for the run-in because quite frankly, how can you possibly get on the same page as a pitcher who spends most of his time screaming to himself in another language? There's at least a 5% chance that the mythical creature that Zambrano talks to every time he leaves the mound told him Barrett was a Martian trying to take over the minds of his Cubs teammates. Maybe even 10%.

The "I Hope They Beat the Hell out of Each Other" Fight
Imagine being a teammate in the Giants locker room through the majority of the last decade. On one side, you've got well-documented jackass Barry Bonds chilling on his leather recliner watching his personal TV - a TV that has been given roughly the same amount of dedicated square footage in the clubhouse as your entire locker.

On the other side, you've got hillbilly second basemen Jeff Kent who may be the only player in baseball whose reputation as a jerk is comparable to Bonds. In any given season, they are battling for the 1-2 spots on the "teammates I pray I don't have to sit next to on the team flight" list. Suddenly in a moment of glory, these two go after each other in the dugout and are ready to come to blows. If it weren't for the TV cameras zooming in on the brawl, most Giants players probably would have preferred to let them beat the living shit out of each other just in the off chance that they trade broken jaws and couldn't talk anymore.

A similar incident took place in the visitor's clubhouse of Shea Stadium in 1978 when Dodgers pretty boy Steve Garvey and permed-out pitcher Don Sutton went at it after a confrontation centered on Sutton's quotes about Garvey to the media. According to legend, their popularity amongst teammates was such that when someone yelled out "stop the fight, they'll kill each other", the response from one team member was "good."

Of course, both the 2002 Giants and the 1978 Dodgers went to the World Series, so don't be surprised if some enterprising manager sets up sanctioned cage matches amongst team members to see if it sparks a winning streak.

The Rasta Brawl
Just picture your standard teammate fight, only in addition to fists flying there is also massive amounts of hair. Dreadlocks to be exact. One might assume that it would be impossible to inflict pain through 14 solid inches of nappy hair, much like hitting someone wearing a football helmet, but it turns out that the 'do opens up a whole new element of physical damage.

In the case of the Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood fight in 2006 when both were members of the Washington Wizards, Haywood somehow managed to rip out two full dreadlocks from Thomas' skull.

Not being terribly familiar with the anatomy of a dreadlock, I wasn't aware that they could be yanked out of ones head like a carrot being pulled out of the dirt. If Haywood was to fully capitalize on his maneuver he could have started swinging those puppies around like a pair of bullwhips. Nothing stings worse than being whipped with your own dreads.

The "Roids Don't Care What Team you Play For" Cheap Shot
When you presumably have more steroids coursing through your veins than a Barry Bonds - Mark McGwire love child, things like determining whether a guy plays on the same team as you are to be considered trivial. The roids don't care what team they play for, bro. When your friends Winstrol and Dianabol say that you're supposed to be a meathead gorilla, then that's what you do and too bad to whoever happens to be at the other end.

NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski was the quintessential meathead gorilla and teammate Marcus Williams was the person who happened to be close by one 2003 Oakland Raiders scrimmage. Romanowski effectively ended Williams' career when he crushed his eye socket with one punch.

Rather than simply chalking up the incident as an unfortunate run-in with an over-medicated primate, Williams decided to exact his revenge in the courtroom, suing Romo for $3.5 million and eventually being awarded $340,000 in damages.

Probably should be able to get a pretty sweet new eye socket with that kind of coin.

The Innocent Victim Scenario
Unless we're talking about a hockey fight where everyone just lets the guys beat the crap out of each other, inevitably a teammate brawl has to be broken up by someone. Normally a third teammate or a coach has to throw himself in between two enraged maniacs so that no one gets hurt. It's not a pleasant spot to be in.

Take the Brewers incident, would you want to be the person forced to step in between 300-pound Prince Fielder and whatever it is that he wants to get his hands on? Even if he innocently trips and falls on you, that girth would likely do damage to multiple internal organs.

Look at Ray Fosse. In 1974, Reggie Jackson got into a clubhouse scuffle with fellow Oakland Athletic outfielder Bill North. The peacekeeper on the scene happened to be Fosse who was rewarded for his actions with a crushed disk in his neck that landed him on the DL for 12 weeks.

Of course four years earlier Ray Fosse was run over by Pete Rose in the All Star Game separating his shoulder in the process. That has nothing to do with teammates fighting but, man, it kind of sucked to be Ray Fosse for a while there.

The Blatant Disregard for Authority
In the current atmosphere of sports, the balance of power between coaches and players has been blurred. Players make far more money, are more indispensable and most are not shy about how to use their newfound leverage. Some do it with contract negotiations or holdouts. Some do it by beating the hell out of their superiors. Either way works.

Of course a player getting physical with a coach isn't exactly a new thing. Reggie Jackson was famous for his showdown with Yankees manager Billy Martin in the late 70's; Nasty Boy Rob Dibble scrapped with manager Lou Piniella in the Cincinnati Reds locker room after a 1993 game. In 1977, Texas Rangers infielder Lenny Randle jumped manager Frank Lucchesi on the field before the game, clocking him in the face and landing several shots before being dragged off by teammates. Lucchesi suffered a broken cheekbone, two cracked ribs and a concussion in the fracas. Randle eventually suffered a trade to the Mets where he had to play in Shea Stadium. Not sure which is worse.

But just this season former Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon took management assault to another level when he choked out GM Ed Wade in the team dining room, proving once and for all that it is not smart for a front office executive to get between a player and his free buffet.

Coaches Versus?Coaches
Probably the only thing more bizarre than watching two players on the same team engage in some fisticuffs is watching two coaches on the same team go after each other.

Coaches are supposed to be the cool-headed ones, who are constantly preaching team unity and giving away game balls and crap. They're like a fraternity whose primary shared trait is that they all have the unenviable task of dealing with professional athletes all day. They're not supposed to be the ones throwing haymakers at one another on the sidelines.

The most notable of the coach-on-coach battles revolve around one small, balding old football "genius" ? Buddy Ryan. In 1985 there were rumors of his run-in with Bears head coach Mike Ditka while Ryan was serving as the coordinator of one of the most dynamic defenses of all time. According to lore, punches weren't thrown, but Ditka cordially invited Ryan out to the back alley when Ryan refused to heed the coach's halftime request during their only loss of the '85 season.

Of course, Buddy did manage to goad one fellow coach into a more physical confrontation while he was on the staff of the 1993 Houston Oilers. In a classic offense vs. defense battle, Ryan took a swing at offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride on the sidelines in their regular season-ending game versus the Jets.

For a guy who looked more like the founder of Wendy's than a hard-nosed football coach, Ryan sure did fancy himself a badass.
Whether it's coaches on coaches, players attacking coaches, players attacking players or someone is getting their dreads ripped out, teammate fights never cease to entertain.

So long as it isn't your team doing the brawling.

Bonus ? ESPN did a Top 10 teammate fights list found here. Some quality ones in there, including a soccer fight taking place on the field during the game. Freaking British people.

Seven unlucky for hapless A's: Eric Chavez gone for season

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:27:00 -0500

Monday was not a good day for the A's. Sitting on a six game losing streak and unable to find a way since the All Star break to put a few wins together, they found out that their singular franchise player, Eric Chavez, will need season ending...

Beer nuts: Maybe it's time to reshuffle the catchers

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:00:40 -0500

With fresh faces on the way for their series in New York, could a catching move also be in the cards for the Phillies? Aside from injuries, teams usually stay the course behind the plate. Heck, if Sal Fasano, Mike Lieberthal and Rod Barajas hadn't been hurt at various points the last few seasons, Chris Coste would have never been given a shot. Looks can be deceiving, but just a hunch that Coste is now the injured party. Following that...

Philllies Phlashback Phriday: 2000 Arizona Diamondbacks

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:18:36 -0500

With the Dbacks coming to town I thought about links of the past between the Phils and Arizona. The Curt Schilling trade in 2000 was the first thing I though of. Curt went to 'zona, and the Phils got Travis Lee, Omar Daal, Nelson Figueroa, and Vicente Padilla. There were a total of 11 former Phils on the '00 Dbacks squad, others include Tuner Ward, Dan Plesac, Kelly Stinnett, David Dellucci, Rod Barajas, and Russ Springer. For a recap of yesterday's series winning win over the Cardinals, along with a look into the Happ demotion and deeper look into the "phlashback" click on the URL.

Bradley Debate Deepens As Rangers Knock Off Nationals, 5-3

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:04:04 -0500

The Texas Rangers' heartening road series victory in Washington, D.C. is underscored by the increasingly troubling absence of outfielder Milton Bradley, whose strained left quadriceps muscle continues to raise questions regarding his long-term future in Texas.

AccuScore: Waiver Wire Wonders

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:48:58 -0500

The latest wave of injuries has taken Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, and Victor Martinez down for an extended period of time. While AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams can't repair the injuries to your star performers, he can provide a quick fix that will make the summer a little more bearable.

Rod Barajas? Seriously?

Sun, 18 May 2008 01:33:49 -0500

Rod Barajas hit two home runs, one of them a grand slam, for the Blue Jays to lead them to a 6-3 victory over the Phillies. No, that's not a typo, that's the same Rod Barajas who stunk it up as a catcher for the Phillies last season. He finished with 5 RBIs on the game, just three shy of what Jayson Werth did on Friday. I guess Barajas didn't like getting booed by the Philly crowd. Click the link for highlights of Barajas' ridiculous game.

Opening Day 2008

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:50:23 -0500

We've been waiting for this day since the 3 game flame-out last October...and it will be over before many of us get home from work. The challenge for many phans today: avoid the internet or sports radio until the game can be watched on DVR this evening. Good luck to all. As for the game: Brett Myers vs. Matt Chico. The last time Chico took the mound, Sept 29 2007, he threw 6 innings, gave up only one earned run and beat the Phillies. Lightening can't strike twice. And I'm expecting a letdown after the excitement of opening up their new ballpark last night against the Braves. Predictions: Corey - Phils big, 9-3. Carson - Phils barely, 6-5. ------------------------------------- Last week, we predicted the 2008 stats for the Phils main players. Today, we go beyond the numbers and lay out our final predictions and expectations for the 2008 Phillies. Corey DL Leader (Player) - Shane Victorino. He'll be out of right field, so he should be able to avoid bullpen mounds, but many steal attempts, a new position with a centerfield wall that has already claimed one Phillie outfielder, and injuries last year make me think he's due for some DL time. Runner-up: Geoff Jenkins (Brett Favre never missed a start, but he ain't no Favre.) DL Leader (Pitcher) - Tom Gordon. Mathieson and Zagurski don't count and even though Lidge is starting on the DL, I don't think he'll be able to match the total days Gordon will accumulate. Gordon will also lead in "Days Not Available" due to minor injury/fatigue/etc. These days are also known as "Billy Wagner Days." Day I'll Want Manuel Fired - Friday, April 11. The Phils finish up a 3 game series with the Muts on the 10th. If it goes bad and the Phils haven't taken care of Washington and Cincy in the first two sets, it could get ugly around here. WSBGM Posts About How Bad The Bullpen Is - It will get mentioned almost daily, but posts with that as the primary focus will hopefully be limited to fifty or sixty... Day I'll Give Up On Pat Burrell - Never! Not this year....or maybe June 25th at Oakland, when Burrell's slump is so bad Maneul puts Jayson Werth in LF and Eric Bruntlett as the DH. Day Carson Dramatically Declares The Season A Failure And We Have To Talk Him Off The Bridge - Probably tomorrow. Carson Record - 82-80, and a 3rd place finish in the NL East behind the Mets and Braves. I know that's going to make me unpopular, but that's what I'm forecasting. This pitching staff is quite possibly worse than last year with less depth leading to more blown games that even our league-leading offense can't continually bail us out of. *Note- during Manuel's tenure the Phils have a 31-42 record in his 3 Aprils, and I foresee yet another losing one this year. Day I'll Want Manuel Fired - 3 seasons ago. Most Hated Phillie - Adam Eaton will defend his title from last season (although, he narrowly beat out Rod Barajas). Contenders to battle Eaton for most hate cast their way: Tom Gordon and the revolving door of the last spot in the bullpen. Song For The Year - Pennywise's Fight Til You Die: Go ahead and try, Or kiss your ass goodbye. People of society are running for their lives. Get up now and go, Or you're never gonna know. Never gonna make it in your houses lying low. Give it one good try, Give it all and fight till you die! WSBGM Posts About How Disgusted We Are With Gillick - Once again, it will get mentioned nearly daily, as it goes hand-in-hand with Adam Eaton and the atrocious bullpen, but I'm hoping to only mention it days after losses, so around 80. Day I Give Up On The Season - Despite my apocalyptic prophecy of only 82 wins, I will not discount what this team is capable of. I love the Phillies, and I'm fully prepared to eat my words and embrace yet another playoff drive. I'm going to sit back and enjoy the highs and get pissed and rant about the lows, but no giving up the season this year; I'm going to stick it out.