Yardbarker: Ichiro Suzuki

Arbitration Day

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:22:17 -0500

All is still quiet on the Phillies front, but expect some sort of news today, as the deadline to offer free agents arbitration approaches. The Phillies have just under seven hours to offer Jamie Moyer and Pat Burrell arbitration or the Phillies will not be compensated should they sign a deal with another team. Since both players are "Type A" free agents, the Phillies would be losing out on two high draft picks (a sandwich pick and a first or second, depending on the record of the team), if arbitration is not offered. Moyer isn't a real concern. It's a guarantee he'll be offered arbitration. The Phillies still hope to bring him back, so there would be no risk should he accept the arbitration (although he's looking for a multi-year deal). It also may sway other teams from signing the 46 year-old free agent. In an era where teams value their farm systems, not many teams will want to part with a first round pick for a player at Moyer's age. Burrell is another story. Some local media outlets are reporting the Phillies will not offer Burrell arbitration. Should this be true, it will be the first stupid move of the Amaro Era. The big fear is should Burrell accept arbitration he'd be a Phillie for at least one more season (I guess that means when the front office says they want Burrell back, it really means they don't). First, while his salary is a concern an arbitrator's not going to give him much more then he made last season ($14.25 million). Burrell was the 29th highest-paid player last year. It's reported he wants a raise to $17 million for a new contract. Only 6 players made more then $17 million last season (Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Beltran, & Ichiro Suzuki). Burrell isn't in the class of player, and odds are wouldn't win that arbitration hearing. Even if he should come back for $16 million; would that be such a bad thing? 30 home runs and 99 RBI's aren't easy to replace. Secondly, why would Burrell accept arbitration? Sure he says he wants to remain a member of the Phillies, but at 32 he's looking for his last big contract. Taking a one year deal here in Philadelphia would only hinder that. Besides, the only way Burrell would accept arbitration is if he could not get a multi-year deal on the free agent market. That's not going to happen. Once Manny & Mark Teixeira sign, Burrell will be the next prize bat available, and someone will give him the 4 years he's looking for. For the Phillies to give up two draft picks because they are afraid Burrell might accept arbitration is ridiculous. The only way Burrell will return to Philadelphia is if they give him a multi-year deal. We all know that's not going to happen. The other two arbitration eligible players are Tom Gordon and Rudy Seanez. There's no shot either receives an offer. Gordon is still recovering from shoulder surgery, and although a "Type B" free agent, Seanez was left off the playoff roster. The Phillies don't want him back (especially through arbitration), and he's a guy who could accept.

Boorstein: Cano Has To Draw More Walks

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:05:03 -0500

Cano's rough 2008 has been talked about a lot, and it's left many fans wondering whether Cano will be as good as we all thought he was going to be. And it's left others wanting the Yankees to ship him out of town.

I wouldn't worry so much. Yes, it was a down year, but it's no reason to give up on ...

Angelswin.com Interview with Dino Ebel

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:31:39 -0500

Interview conducted by Adam Dodge - Angelswin.com Senior WriterAngels third base coach Dino Ebel took time out of his busy off-season to answer questions exclusively for the Angelswin.com online community.Angelswin.com: During the regular season we hear so often from (Manager) Mike Scioscia, ...

Angelswin.com Interview with Dino Ebel

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:48:57 -0500

Interview conducted by Adam Dodge - Angelswin.com Senior Writer

Angels third base coach Dino Ebel took time out of his busy off-season to answer questions exclusively for the Angelswin.com online community.

Angelswin.com: During the regular season we hear so often from (Manager) Mike Scioscia, ...

Most Valuable

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:07:26 -0500

First a Gold Glove, then a Silver Slugger and now the MVP.

Congratulations go out to Dustin Pedroia who was selected today as the 2008 American League MVP (a/k/a the "Kennesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award") - earning himself yet another bauble for what is surely becoming a ...

Veterans Day

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:08:49 -0500

Veterans Day was this past Tuesday and with veteran mainstay Pat Burrell likely to leave Philly, unless he accepts a low-ball offer of 2 year $20 million, I wondered who is the longest tenured player of each organization. Therefore, I decided to take a look at each team's roster and identify the ... Click on the URL to see the longest tenured player(s) for each MLB team, plus a little blurb about each of them.

Ichiro is Tradeable

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:07:44 -0500

Trading No. 51 is not Taboo in the world of Seattle Mariners baseball. They do not have a Japanese owner, and are not prohibited from trading either of their Japanese players.

Moose wins gold glove # 7

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:38:56 -0500

According to Kat O'Brien, Mike Mussina has won the Gold Glove award for AL pitchers. This is the seventh time that he's won the award. Congradulations Moose !

The rest of the AL Winners:

C, Joe Mauer, MIN
1B, Carlos Pena, TB
2B, Dustin Pedroia, BOS
3B, Adrian Beltre, SEA
SS, Michael Young, TEX
OF, ...

BBWAA Selects Evan Longoria as 2008 AL Rookie of the Year

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:06:36 -0500

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria was a unanimous choice as the American League winner of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award. He became the first player in Tampa Bay's 11 seasons to win a BBWAA award. Longoria, 23, was listed first on all 28 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city for a perfect total of 140 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. He was the only player on every ballot. Longoria, who was Tampa Bay's first-round choice and the third overall pick in the 2006 first year player draft, began the 2008 season in the minors and made his major league debut in the second week. He batted .272 in 122 games and 448 at-bats and led AL rookies in home runs (27), RBI (85), total bases (238) and extra-base hits (60) for the pennant-winning Rays. Voting is conducted prior to the start of post-season play. Chicago White Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez, who hit .297 with 77 RBI and 21 home runs, including four grand slams, finished second in the voting, and Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (.280, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 50 SB, 98 R) was third. In all, 10 players received votes. Longoria became the seventh AL rookie to win the award by a unanimous vote and the first since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997. The others were Derek Jeter, Tim Salmon, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mark McGwire and Carlton Fisk. There have been nine unanimous winners in the National League. Longoria is the fourth third baseman honored, joining Eric Hinske, John Castino and Gil McDougald. Player Club 1st 2nd 3rd Points Evan Longoria Tampa Bay Rays 28 a?" a?" 140 Alexei Ramirez Chicago White Sox a?" 18 5 59 Jacoby Ellsbury Boston Red Sox a?" 7 5 26 Mike Aviles Kansas City Royals a?" 2 3 9 Armando Galarraga Detroit Tigers a?" a?" 9 9 Joey Devine Oakland Athletics a?" 1 a?" 3 Denard Span Minnesota Twins a?" a?" 3 3 Nick Blackburn Minnesota Twins a?" a?" 1 1 Joba Chamberlain New York Yankees a?" a?" 1 1 Brad Ziegler Oakland Athletics a?" a?" 1 Previous winners (*a?"Unanimous): 2007 DUSTIN PEDROIA, Boston Red Sox; 2006 JUSTIN VERLANDER, Detroit Tigers; 2005 HUSTON STREET, Oakland Athletics; 2004 BOBBY CROSBY, Oakland Athletics; 2003 ANGEL BERROA, Kansas City Royals; 2002 ERIC HINSKE, Toronto Blue Jays; 2001 ICHIRO SUZUKI, Seattle Mariners; 2000 KAZU SASAKI, Seattle Mariners; 1999 CARLOS BELTRAN, Kansas City Royals; 1998 BEN GRIEVE, Oakland Athletics; 1997 *NOMAR GARCIAPARRA, Boston Red Sox; 1996 *DEREK JETER, New York Yankees; 1995 MARTY CORDOVA, Minnesota Twins; 1994 BOB HAMELIN, Kanas City Royals; 1993 *TIM SALMON, California Angels; 1992 PAT LISTACH, Milwaukee Brewers; 1991 CHUCK KNOBLAUCH, Minnesota Twins; 1990 *SANDY ALOMAR, Jr., Cleveland Indians; 1989 GREGG OLSON, Baltimore Orioles; 1988 WALT WEISS, Oakland Athletics; 1987 *MARK McGWIRE, Oakland Athletics; 1986 JOSE CANSECO, Oakland Athletics; 1985 OZZIE GUILLEN, Chicago White Sox; 1984 ALVIN DAVIS, Seattle Mariners; 1983 RON KITTLE, Chicago White Sox; 1982 CAL RIPKEN Jr., Baltimore Orioles; 1981 DAVE RIGHETTI, New York Yankees; 1980 JOE CHARBONEAU, Cleveland Indians; 1979 (Tie) JOHN CASTINO, Minnesota Twins, and ALFREDO GRIFFIN, Toronto Blue Jays; 1978 LOU WHITAKER, Detroit Tigers; 1977 EDDIE MURRAY, Baltimore Orioles; 1976 MARK FIDRYCH, Detroit Tigers; 1975 FRED LYNN, Boston Red Sox; 1974 MIKE HARGROVE, Texas Rangers; 1973 AL BUMBRY, Baltimore Orioles; 1972 *CARLTON FISK, Boston Red Sox; 1971 CHRIS CHAMBLISS, Cleveland Indians; 1970 THURMAN MUNSON, New York Yankees; 1969 LOU PINIELLA, Kansas City Royals; 1968 STAN BAHNSEN, New York Yankees; 1967 ROD CAREW, Minnesota Twins; 1966 TOMMIE AGEE, Chicago White Sox; 1965 CURT BLEFARY, Baltimore Orioles; 1964 TONY OLIVA, Minnesota Twins; 1963 GARY PETERS, Chicago White Sox; 1962 TOM TRESH, New York Yankees; 1961 DON SCHWALL, Boston Red Sox; 1960 RON HANSEN, Baltimore Orioles; 1959 BOB ALLISON, Washington Senators; 1958 ALBIE PEARSON, Washington Senators; 1957 TONY KUBEK, New York Yankees; 1956 LUIS APARICIO, Chicago White Sox; 1955 HERB SCORE, Cleveland Indians; 1954 BOB GRIM, New York Yankees; 1953 HARVEY KUENN, Detroit Tigers; 1952 HARRY BYRD, Philadelphia Athletics; 1951 GIL McDOUGALD, New York Yankees; 1950 WALT DROPO, Boston Red Sox; 1949 ROY SIEVERS, St. Louis Browns.Source: BBWAAMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.Don't forget to register and log in on The Biz of Baseball site to get updates via your in-box, and see information only logged in members can see.

This Week in Yankees History (11/9-11/15)

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:23:22 -0500

November 9th - November 15th

November 9th

1889 - Former Yankees P Tommy Thompson (1912) was born. Tommy went 0-2 in 7 games for the Yankees in 1912.

1897 - Former Yankees reserve OF Harvey "Gink" Hendrick (1923-24) was born.
On January 3, 1923, Harvey was traded by the Red Sox along with P George ...

Congratulations to The MLB Gold Glove Winners!

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:25:10 -0500

Greg Maddux won a record 18th Gold Glove.

The MLB Gold Glove Award Winners were unveiled this week. If you missed it, here is a quick recap of the winners.

National League
P, Greg Maddux, LAD
C, Yadier Molina, STL
1B, Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B, Brandon Phillips, CIN
3B, David Wright, NYM
SS, Jimmy Rollins, PHI

Golden Grady Sizemore

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:10:23 -0500

For a season that was such a disappointment as a team, individual members of the Cleveland Indians continue to real in awards.A

We documented the new awards to hit Cliff Lee's mantle.A And not long thereafter, Franklin Gutierrez nabbed one of his own.A And now, it's time for another Tribe ...

AL Gold Glove Awards: How Did We Do?

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:08:36 -0500

AL Gold Glove Awards

Last week, Bill announced his picks for the AL Gold Glove Awards. MLB announced the official list yesterday afternoon, lets see how he did:

Pitcher: the official winner was Yankees starter Mike Mussina (another older player as the NL choose Greg Maddux), but Bill choose the White Sox Mark Buehrle.

Catcher: the official winner and Bill's choice were the same, the Twins Joe Mauer. This one was probably a no brainer!

First Base: the official winner was the Rays Carlos Pena,A but Bill choose Justin Morneau of the Twins . Pena was; however, Bill’s runner up for the award at this position.

Second Base: the official winner and Bill's choice were the same, the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia won the 2007 Rookie of the Year award, won a World Series with the Sox last year also and is in the running, some say, for this years MVP. I doubt he’ll win that, but he will get some votes!

Third Base: the official winner was the Mariners Adrian Beltre, but Bill choose the Yankees Alex Rodriguez. Beltre was Bill’s third choice so he wasn’t that far off now was he?!

ShortStop: the official winner and Bill's choice were the same the Rangers Michael Young. Another possible no brainer, although the White Sox Orlando Cabrera could have been in the running here to challenge Young.

Outfielders: the official winner and Bill's choice were the same for two of the three Center fielders, the Indians Grady Sizemore and the Angels Torii Hunter, but
the third slot went to the Mariners Ichiro Suzuki and Bill choose Orioles rookie Adam Jones. Personally, I can’t believe that Ichiro wasn’t on Bill’s list, but then again, maybe this was one of those name recognition selections on both my behalf and MLB’s or the fact that he played both RF and CF in 2008 might have been why he fell off of Bill’s list.

The only difference is Bill choose a Left and Right Fielders which is how I think the award should be awarded. As a reminder, Bill choose the Mariners Raul Ibanez (who ESPN’s Peter Gammons lists as one of the nicest people in the game on his blog recently) for LF and the Orioles Nick Markakis in RF.

Gold Glove '08: Joe Mauer

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:44:48 -0500

When Torii Hunter walked out the door this past off-season, so did the perennial Gold Glove award for the Minnesota Twins organization. Hunter has established himself as a solid fielder to writers and coaches around the league, and has become a consistent name on the list each November.

This year, no Twin was a given to win one of the honors, but Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer were definitely top candidates.

Morneau did not make the cut, Carlos Pena instead took the honors at first base and became the first ever Ray to win one of the awards. The second part of the M&M combination did receive the honor as the top fielder at his position, ensuring the Twins another year with a winner, and adding another award to his cluttered shelf.

The Gold Glove is Mauer's first of hopefully many, and he adds it to his Batting Title award for his second award thus far in 2008.

Other winners included:

P: Mike Mussina
1B: Carlos Pena, Rays
2B: Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
3B: Adrian Beltre, Mariners
SS: Michael Young, Rangers
OF: Torii Hunter, Angels
OF: Grady Sizemore, Indians
OF: Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners

[As Joe pointed out to us all, Mauer has racked up $50,000 in bonuses thus far with his All-Star selection and now this honor.]

Mussina Wins Gold Glove

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:23:43 -0500

According to Kat O'Brien, Mike Mussina has won the Gold Glove award for AL pitchers. This is the seventh time that he's won the award. Congrats Moose!!!

Here are the rest of the AL Winners:

C, Joe Mauer, MIN
1B, Carlos Pena, TB
2B, Dustin Pedroia, BOS
3B, Adrian Beltre, SEA
SS, Michael Young, TEX
OF, ...