Yardbarker: Chris Snyder

Two young catchers..Montero/Shoppach

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:47:08 -0500

Well if the Mets are truely looking for a catcher, here are two more that are believed to be available.

The Arizona D-Backs have budgetary constraints and a depleted farm system. The Arizona Republic speculates that the D-Backs could move catcher Miguel Montero for a 2B and are losing two key bullpen arms ( Cruz/Lyon). I know it's said Arizona decided they dont like Luis Castillo but if the market doesn't go their way maybe the Brynes/Castillo gets re-examined and can be expanded. Montero is a 25 y/o left handed batter with three years in the league and hit .255 last year.

If they do make a deal, their most appealing trade chip likely is catcher Miguel Montero, whom some clubs might view as an everyday player but whose time has been limited due to the emergence of Chris Snyder. source Arizona republic

It's also been speculated that the Indians could look to move Kelly Shoppach for young pitching. I think he would cost way more then the Mets are willing to give up on a catcher but I thought I'd pass the information along. Shoppach is a 28 y/o right handed catcher who is more of an offensive catcher last year in his first full time season he hit .261 with 21 HRs.

Are the Indians a better team with Kelly Shoppach catching and Victor Martinez playing first base or are they better if they trade Shoppach to fill a need and keep Martinez behind the plate? source Cleveland Plain Dealer

National League Gold Glove Winners

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:06:09 -0500

Bill’s NL Gold Glove Predictions

The National League was actually harder to chose than the other league because there were not as many incumbents who were deemed so much better than their counterparts this year. (Note: these awards were given out to the best player at each single position, including the three outfield positions which were divided into players who played most of their games at a certain spot.)

First Base

Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres

Gonzalez played in every game this season except for one and only committed six errors in 1442 chances. He is tied for the league lead in fielding percentage and was involved in the second most double plays. He has a good range factor and a decent zone rating while being right up there in assists and putouts. He wins this award in a close race with many others in the running, but he is just slightly better then the others.

Others who were considered: Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros and Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Second Base

Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

Even though Utley is third in fielding percentage, .006 behind the leader, he played in 19 more games than Brandon Phillips, who has the best fielding percentage. He had more total chances by far than any other second baseman (110 more than Phillips who came in second). Perhaps because of this he was first in putouts and assists and second in double plays, just two behind the leader. He also has the best range factor and zone rating amount those eligible for the award.

Others who were considered: Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds and Freddy Sanchez of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Third Base

Troy Glaus, St. Louis Cardinals

Glaus did by no means run away with this award, but the facts that he has a better fielding percentage, range factor and one of the best zone ratings among those at this position earned him the award. He had seven errors in 385 chances while helping to turn 27 double plays. His competition was very close though, although he is .008 in front of everyone else in fielding percentage.

Others who were considered: Kevin Kouzmanoff of the San Diego Padres and Pedro Feliz of the Philadelphia Phillies. (Even though Feliz only started 106 games, he was given consideration because of the good percentages he and because of his league leading zone rating. The New York Mets' David Wright would have been next on the list.)

Shortstop

Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies

Rollins had another good season at shortstop, putting up the best fielding percentage in the league by .005 and only committing seven errors in 593 chances. He is second in putouts and just barely second (by .001) in zone rating while coming in third in range factor. While he didn't play in as many games as some of the other eligible players (132), there was not a huge discrepancy.

Others who were considered: Miguel Tejada of the Houston Astros and Cesar Izturis of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Left Field

Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Not committing an error all season long in 284 chances will get you the gold glove. He was also second in assists and first in range factor. While he didn't start any double plays, he converted more putouts than anyone else in the league. This was one of the fairly easy selections as the person who is second in fielding percentage, Carlos Lee at .995, played in 39 fewer games than Braun.

Others who were considered: Pat Burrell of the Philadelphia Phillies and Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies.

Center Field

Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates

At least one good thing will come from another Pirates' losing season with McLouth grabbing this award. McLouth played in the second most innings of any center fielder while boasting the best fielding percentage at .997. The only person to match that was Mike Cameron who played in 30 fewer games. McLouth also had five assists and started one double play with 380 putouts. His range factor is one of the best in the game and flying under the radar for the entire season probably helps him.

Others who were considered: Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies and Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets.

Right Field

Hunter Pence, Houston Astros

Pence committed just one error all season long in 156 games and 357 chances. He had an incredible 16 assists and 340 putouts to lead the league in both categories. While he is second in the league in fielding percentage at .997, the leader (Andre Ethier) only started 102 games in right field. Pence also has a good range factor for his position and a decent zone rating.

Others who were considered: Jeff Francoeur of the Atlanta Braves and Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pitcher

Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

While there were a number of pitchers with a perfect fielding percentage and perfect zone rating, Cain had the most total chances and is tied for the most double plays of these pitchers. He also had 24 assists and 14 putouts. While this race is hard to call, pitchers do show their skill when they have to turn a double play so that helps Cain win the award.

Others who were considered: Bronson Arroyo of the Cincinnati Reds and Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Catcher

Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants

While Chris Snyder did not commit an error at this position, he only played in 112 games, which hurts his chances. Molina played in 136 while throwing out a better percentage of base runners (.346 to .310) than Snyder. He also carries a perfect zone rating and was part of nine double plays which is second in the league.

Others who were considered: Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs and Jason Kendall of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 2008 ‘Pitties: Game of the Year

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:58:20 -0500

With Max Scherzer having won the expected massive victory as Rookie of the Year - getting 75% of the votes - it's time to move on to the next of the 'Pitties. The season may have ended without a division title or play-off baseball, but we still had 82 victories in the season, covering a wide ...

The 2009 Diamondbacks Season

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:31:30 -0500

A few days back i wrote a (lengthy) piece on the 2008 Diamondbacks season, with a promise to write a follow-up post about where the Dbacks go from there. This is that post.

That 2008 column ended with a line about the Dbacks facing a mountain of questions going into the 2008 off-season and into 2009. While an admittedly cheesy wrap-up to the post, it was nonetheless true. The Dbacks have a ton of questions they need to answer, and i'm not sure where they (or i) will even begin.

Let's start with a big one: The Big Unit. Randy Johnson is sitting on 295 wins, just five short of they mythical 300. There's no denying it would be a great accomplishment for him, and based on the way he pitched the second half of this season he will get it next year. But will he be in a Diamondbacks uniform? Hard to say.

The Dbacks aren't going to pay Johnson a lot of money. They still owe him something like $41M for his last contract with the Dbacks (no, not this one. The one from before. You know, back from when he won the World Series here?). It's hard to tell what Randy will do; He's always been a bit of a selfish player, but i wonder if he recognizes he should stay here and win 300 with the team he's going into the Hall of Fame with. If he does re-sign here, look for it to be around only $4M, even though he could command upwards of double that in the open market.

Staying in the starting rotation, you have Webb and Haren as the unquestioned leaders. Behind that? Murky. Doug Davis is a crap-shoot as to whether he will be back or not. Max Scherzer will be your number 4, probably regardless of who is here and who isn't. A rotation of Webb, Haren, Johnson, Davis and Scherzer isn't bad. Webb, Haren, Scherzer, Petit, and a started to be named later not as much.

The bullpen is even worse. Depending on who you listen to, the Dbacks need to either get rid of everyone or everyone had an off year and will be better next year. Realistically it's somewhere in the middle. I don't know how you bring Jon Rauch back after his trainwreck of a season here. Chad Qualls is the 2009 closer, mark it down now. He will be fine in that role. Move Lyon back into the 8th inning, i think he will be fine there as well. Either Tony Pena or Juan Cruz are likely gone; Make the other the 7th inning guy.

Billy Buckner and Leo Rosales will be the long-relief guys. What the Dbacks are in desperate need of, and what they have been in desperate need of for years, is a left handed reliever. Sorry Doug Slaten, you are not the answer. Will Ledezma, a late season pickup, could be it. He pitched fairly well in admittedly limited action.

Looking out into the outfield, there is a logjam. Chris Young is the starting Center Fielder. His bat suffered this season, but his defense is gold-glove-worthy. Justin Upton is the Right Fielder. His defense is suspect, but he's only 21. And his bat became electric the last month of this season. In left-field you have some issues.

After the way CoJack adjusted to the switch and how he started to hit once out there, you are basically forced to leave him in left. Problem is you're paying Eric Byrnes $10M a year to be the left fielder. And i know not many people remember this, but when healthy Byrnes isn't a bad player. He hit .276 in his two full season with the Dbacks, 2006-2007, and has some pop in his bat. Not to mention he's the best base-stealer on the roster, something the Diamondbacks sorely missed this year. From the things Bob Melvin and Derrick Hall have been saying, it sounds like Byrnes will go into 2009 as the 4th outfielder. Hard to put $10M on the bench, but in this case it looks like the best option. He'll get plenty of chances to play.

On the infield you have a total disaster. Shortstop is the only position locked up with Stephen Drew. Drew really came around the last month and is poised to have a seriously good breakout season in 2009. The rest of the infield is completely up in the air. Mark Reynolds will be there, though there's no telling where. Third clearly isn't the best place to put him (though he played pretty well there in 2007). There are a lot of rumors about him moving to second, which is where he played in the minors, to replace Orlando Hudson, who will be gone. Just in the last week there has been some talk of putting Reynolds at first as well.

Where Reynolds plays will depend largely on what the Dbacks do in the offseason. If they can get a good third baseman, Reynolds moves to the right side of the infield. If the Dbacks get a stud second baseman, Reynolds may stay at third. The Dbacks do have some options already here. Augie Ojeda and David Eckstein wouldn't be a bad combo at second for the year. Both are good with the glove and good enough from the plate. If the Dbacks go that route, i could see them going after a third baseman in free agency or through trade, and putting Reynolds at first.

Either way, there are a lot of choices and decisions to be made. The Dbacks could also bring Jamie D'Antona up; He can play either corner infield spot. And, of course, all of this is assuming Adam Dunn is gone as well. There has been talk of the Dbacks trying to re-sign him, but i don't think it will happen. Dunn strikes out too much in a lineup filled with people who strike out too much, and is a defensive liability pretty much everywhere on the field.

The last position is catcher. Unlike every other position on the Dbacks, catcher is locked up. Chris Snyder is the starting catcher, he can play almost every day, and he brings a decent bat to the order. Behind him could be interesting. Miguel Montero has been rumored to be working out at third base in the offseason. If that's the case, Robby Hammock would likely be the back-up catcher.

No matter how you shake it, the Diamondbacks will be a very different looking team in the 2009 season. It would not surprise me to see 8-9 players from this season's team gone next season. And while that is a lot of change, it is not necessarily a bad thing. As we saw down the stretch this season, something needs to be done. Let's just hope the Dbacks can pull the right strings...

D-Backs hang on for win, tighten gap in NL West

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:06:20 -0500

Photo: AP/Ross D. Franklin The Skinny: The Arizona Diamondbacks had an unusual offensive explosion, scoring 5 runs in the second inning, built a 7-3 lead and then hung on for dear life in a 7-6 win over the San Francisco Giants at Chase Field. The Giants' jumped on Arizona starter Brandon Webb early,

Haren baffles Giants in 2-0 win

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:19:04 -0500

The Skinny: Dan Haren will turn 28 years old tomorrow. On Tuesday night, he gave himself and fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks an early gift. Haren pitched his first ever complete game shutout, and tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts, as the D-Backs won their 2nd straight over the Giants 2-0 at Chase [

Webb wins 19th as D-Backs top Padres 4-1

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:56:35 -0500

The Skinny: Brandon Webb allowed just 3 hits and struck out 8 in 7 shutout innings en route to his major league-leading 19th victory in a 4-1 decision that completed a 3-game sweep over the San Diego Padres Thursday at Chase Field. Tony Clark opened the scoring with a sac fly in the 2nd [...]

MLB Buy 'n Sell - Week 22

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:05:55 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith break out MLB Buy 'n Sell and runs down a short list of players you should be buying or selling. Brad Hawpe? Believe it or not, it's time to sell. Torii Hunter? Grab him while he's hot!

MLB Top Weekly Performances - Catchers

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:58:36 -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.

Oswalt shuts down Diamondbacks

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:04:29 -0500

The Skinny: Roy Oswalt limited the Arizona Diamondbacks to just 1 hit over 8 innings, and Ty Wigginton hit a 3-run homer in the first inning, giving the Houston Astros a 3-0 victory Sunday at Minute Maid Park. After Stephen Drew singled in the third, Oswalt retired 15 straight D-Back batters before g

Diamondbacks rout Astros 12-2

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:51:28 -0500

The Skinny: The Arizona Diamondbacks brought their hitting shoes to Minute Maid Park in Houston, scorching the Astros 12-2 in a game that was never in doubt. The Diamondbacks scored 3 runs in the first inning off of Astros' starter Wandy Rodriguez and never looked back. The 12 runs was more than enough r

D-Backs pound Rockies 6-2

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:26:40 -0500

The Skinny: Adam Dunn's 2-run single highlighted a 5-run 5th inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks took the rubber game of a 3-game series, beating the Colorado Rockies 6-2. Chris Snyder started the scoring in the 5th with a 2-run homer, and the next batter, Chris Burke followed with a solo shot (his f

Create The Caption #245

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:19:06 -0500

(Usually) Everyday I'll throw out a photo from the AP or one of the bigger sites and you provide the caption. Hilarity ensues. I'm also adding a handful of links at the bottom of the page that you should check out each day.

Yesterday's Winners....

"The Ace of Spades!"- Mark Mc

"Nice! I like that NYPD choke hold out in Center Field!"- Shackey316

"Yankee fans only like me for my barbed wire tattoos."- G-Money>

"DAMMIT!!! Cant get all the way through "Through the Fire And the Flames....goddamn Guitar Hero"- vhscola
_______________________________________

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of the Boss riding around on the field last night?

Daily Links:

Congrats To The Ballhype Duo (Ballhype)
A Look Into The Early MLB Predictions (WSJ)
Dr.Z Remembers (KSK)
On Steve Phillips Atheist Comments (Primoz Forever)
Pittsburgh Pirates The Movie (Mondesi's House)
Tim Lincecum Is A Wuss (Rumors and Rants)
The Army-Navy Game Is On The Move (Merkin Sports)
Cricket Players Are Pretty Badass (Blog of Hilarity)
Chris Snyder Has Some New Equipment To Use (AZ Sports Hub)
All Star Wives! (Rotohog)

Chris Snyder's boys have a new "buddy"

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:13:38 -0500

By now you have undoubtedly heard about the injury Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder suffered. If you are a man you probably even suffered a little bit with him. Well no need to worry anymore because Snyder has a "new buddy" that will take care of everything.

So How Exactly Do You Recover From A Broken Testicle?

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:59:16 -0500

I know it's early, and you probably don't want to be reliving the Chris Snyder injury from last week, but ABC put out a great article on what it's going to take for the Catcher to recover from his broken testicle. I'll try not to gross you out in the blockquote but do read the article if you can stomach it....

Still, a testicular fracture is not something that is easily shaken off. In simple terms, a testicular fracture involves a "crack" in the testicle; the organ retains its shape, but it is damaged. Though different from a testicular rupture, which involves a complete hemorrhage of the testicle, a fracture in this delicate organ can be extraordinarily painful -- and may even require surgery, in many cases.

"It is indeed extraordinarily painful," said Dr. Mark Litwin, professor of urology and public health at the University of California at Los Angeles. Litwin adds that the natural vulnerability of testicles is "one of these anatomical curiosities med students never understand."

"The placement of ovaries makes sense. ... [Testicles] are in the worst place you could put them. They really are in harm's way."

Whether Snyder will be able to reconcile the pain of his injury when he crouches back behind the plate will likely be apparent with his reaction to potentially troublesome pitches, Lardon noted.

Okay, sorry about that. I guess there's no way to really not gross you out when talking about a broken testicle. The rest of the article is a great read though and goes into detail about the psychological aspects of returning from a horrific injury.

Getting Back Into the Game After Testicular Fracture (ABC News)
Today (Or Yesterday) In Nut Shots, Chris Snyder's Broken Testicle (Wait, What?!) (Awful Announcing)