Yardbarker: Marcus Thames

Rumors: Mets might be a match with Tigers for Magglio Ordonez !

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:28:24 -0500

A recent article in the Detroit News by Lynn Henning suggests that the Tigers might entertain the idea of trading Magglio Ordonez to free up salary.

Lynn Henning says in the article :

A critical question is whether the team can expect to achieve anything other than payroll relief if it trades Magglio Ordonez. The Tigers aren't in favor of trading a career .312 hitter on Ordonez's level, particularly one who consistently hits good pitching. Ordonez would leave a serious hole in a batting order that could be further strapped if Detroit, as expected, settles on a new shortstop known more for his defense than for his hitting.

Ordonez, however, will turn 35 in January and stands to pull $48 million during the final three years of his contract. The Tigers are staring at a potentially tough year at the box office and might need to consider trading Ordonez even if little is obtained in return.

A more realistic possibility is the Tigers would agree to absorb some of Ordonez's remaining money if they could gain a reliever, shortstop or catcher in return.

With the above being said makes me believe the Mets can be a match for Tigers. The Mets have Aaron Heilman who the Mets would love to unload, if the return is right and they also have Scott Schoeneweis who also got his ticket for dismissal this year, plus he has some value. The Mets have Brian Schneider who the Mets think a little less of because of his lacking approach at the plate and his plate calling with pitchers. I would not be surprised if Minaya who has a need for a right handed bat and a left fielder, can find himself calling for Magglio Ordonez's services. The guy hits and he hits for power, he might be the offensive player the Mets need to get them over the hump.

If the Mets were to trade Brian Schneider they can look at a Jason Varitek, Josh Bard, or Jose Valentin's brother Javier Valentin who are all free agents. It's only a amount of time to see the disappearance of Aaron Heilman or Scott Schoeneweis. The Tigers have had interest in Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis in the past. Both of them were discussed when the Mets were in the hunt for a right handed bat offensive bat in Marcus Thames.

What do you think? Make Comments!

The 2008 Starting Rotation: Analyzing By Game Score

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:49:01 -0500

Game Scores, invented by Bill James, is a measuring stick of a pitcher's performance on any given day. The advance statistic accounts for all of the events a pitcher can produce in a start (walks, hits, strikeouts, home runs, innings pitched, etc) and provides ...

Monday Recruitin'

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:16:06 -0500

Update 7/21: Linked to articles on MS S Dennis Thames, FL LB Brandin Hawthorne, MD RB Tavon Austin, GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore, TX S Rex Burkhead, NJ DE Anthony LaLota, various pieces on SC DE Chris Bonds. And more fun Newsome stuff, plus rumor-mongering of a bogus variety.

Re-added SC RB David Sims.

Removed AZ DT Corey Adams (dropped us), MD CB Travis Hawkins (Maryland), VA RB David Wilson (VT), IN OL Zach Martin (ND).

Editorial Opinion: Recruiting Board lives here.

Everybody thought IN OL Zach Martin was going to visit Michigan, then decide, but instead he committed to Notre Dame. This has been an unfortunately common occurrence over the last few years. Geniunely Sarcastic has the details; suffice it to say the scoreboard since 2006 is ND 9, Michigan 1. This overstates things since it doesn't include the likes of Dann O'Neill or Ricky Barnum, who are widely regarded to be players at least equal to the ten players fought over here, but it's a concern.

GS goes for the soothing balm of Dan Mozes, the two-star West Virginia center who became a four-year starter, All-American, and Rimington winner. I'm more circumspect. All-Americans and Rimington Award winners are picked by the media, who know f-all about offensive linemen, and when you've got a four year starter on a team that runs for 300 yards a game he's going to get fawned over whether he deserves it or not. See: Matt Lentz, All Big Ten 2005. Mozes went undrafted by the NFL and was cut in training camp by the Vikings. In all probability he was massively overhyped.

What does suit as balm: Weis' remarkable ability to turn a line not far off Michigan's last year in terms of recruiting hype and returning experience into the worst unit in the country and possibly the worst unit of the decade.

Other stuff: NJ DE Anthony LaLota is listing a number of schools that are all excellent academically, including Michigan. However, he's visited five of his leaders and has a trip planned to a sixth (Penn State) this weekend. Michigan not so much:

"I haven't had a chance to visit Michigan yet and I don't know too much about the new coaches," he said. "I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better. I think they'll do great and I really expect them to have a great season."

If he visits, then we might have a shot; for now we're just hanging on.

MS S Dennis Thames, nephew of Detroit Tiger Marcus Thames, had a lot of positive things to say about Michigan after his visit...

"It was like a dream come true," Thames said of his time at Michigan. "Everything I'm looking for in a college, Michigan had it. Education-wise, everything up there is professional. They know what they're doing. If football doesn't work, they make sure you get your education."

Based on what Thames witnessed in the weight room, he believes the Wolverines know what they're doing when it comes to training, as well.

"Mike Barwis -- that's an awesome dude," he said about Michigan's new strength and conditioning coordinator. "I'd say about 25 pro football players were there. He was helping them work out. It was awesome. He took me through some drills showing me how they do it up there."

... but he's backed off the assertion he made whilst in the Tigers locker room that Michigan leads:

As for his college choice, Thames said, "I will say Michigan is in my top three with Mississippi State and Auburn."

Mississippi State, bizarrely as ever, remains the biggest threat.

FL LB Brandin Hawthorne has five finalists and plans on " committing" August 30th; Michigan is regarded the favorite. Cause of scare quotes:

ESPN 150 Watch Lister Brandin Hawthorne will choose between South Florida, West Virginia, Michigan, Tennessee and Louisville during an Aug. 30th game against Olive Branch (Miss.) to be televised on ESPN, affiliate Web site InsideTheU.com reports.
Hawthorne will then take official visits to all those schools except South Florida and will travel to Iowa State instead.
Last season, the 6-foot-1, 181-pounder racked up more than 80 tackles, 28 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

And by "commit" we mean "announces early leader." And by "five finalists" we mean "six finalists."

GA LB Devekeyan (or "Dede") Lattimore says Michigan is a slight leader:

"I love the tradition at Michigan and they have some good new coaches that are really going to be changing things up," he said. "I like coach Rich Rodriguez and it really impressed me that he was one of the few head coaches (and UCF) that offered me himself. That meant a lot."

Lattimore is a three star with one other big offer, that from Clemson.

And, finally, what would a recruiting post be without more discussion of VA QB Kevin Newsome's status? It would be shorter. Anyway, Josh Helmholdt put up an innocuous story on the Free Press site headlined something like "Michigan's quarterback issues are temporary" that one of the OMG HITS editors at the Free Press changed to "If Kevin Newsome bolts, Michigan has a contingency plan." This set off a completely predictable mini-sitewar between Scout and Rivals with Scout touting Sam Webb's recent conversation(?) with the Newsomes and claiming 1) Newsome was totally solid and 2) if Newsome did end up decommiting it was Helmholdt's fault for writing that article. Helmholdt, for his part, has been writing articles that can be retitled "If Kevin Newsome bolts..." and include references to Jason Forcier and Eugene Smith. Read between the lines.

My contribution: a man named "Crotch Bat." A reader sends along this thread from Something Awful's "Sports Argument Stadium" in which a VT fan/insider(?) says thusly:

What I'm hearing is that Kevin Newsome is all but gone from Michigan and that scenario will play out sooner rather than later. Look for VT and PSU to be in the thick of it for him.

Again, don't shoot the messenger but like I said, none of this stuff is going away and I hear new stuff more and more.

Reasons to give this more credence than you would to your average random internet rumor? Well, there is the claim of deep insider info and the generalized respect shown this guy, who's been posting at SA since 2003. The emailer comments:

I tend to believe him because in the few years I've been reading that forum, he has always been there and is consistently a knowledgeable, intelligent poster.

A reason to disregard: even if he's got the info he claims it's coming from the VT side of things and may be biased or just incorrect. Also: "Crotch Bat." Also also: there was another Rivals even this weekend that was attended by both Bryce McNeal and Newsome; McNeal, at least, didn't detect any floppiness. As always, I throw up my hands and say "hell if I know."

Etc.: TX S Rex Burkhead doesn't mention Michigan here; longshot.

The Detroit Tigers - your second half sleepers

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:02:53 -0500

After acquiring the best player the Florida Marlins ever produced (Miguel Cabrera) and the National League wins leader in 2005 (Dontrelle Willis) in an offseason trade, many thought the Detroit Tigers were the club to beat in 2008. Then young star Curtis Granderson got hurt. Then they lost seven in a row to start the season. Then they lost slugger Gary Sheffield for half of June. Then they lost 10 of their first 12 games. Then all of a sudden, they were in the cellar of the AL Central and everybody was left to wonder, "What has happened to the perennial World Series favorites?" But after stumbling to a 23-32 record entering June, the Tigers started to play more like the preseason favorites. Detroit finished 19-8 in the month of June and started to move up the standings in the Central. Now entering the second half of the season, the Tigs are just 6.5 games behind the first place Chicago White Sox. So are they back? (Read the rest after the jump)

MLB Trade 'Em - Week 15

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 06:24:58 -0500

Screaming Sports' Tommy D breaks out another edition of MLB Trade 'Em and suggests some very surprising moves. Trade Aubrey Huff? K-Rod? You betcha. And while it may sounds crazy, he follows it up with some very sound reasoning.

Tigers Minor League Wrap 7-3-08

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:08:22 -0500

Toledo 4 Columbus 10Mike Hessman hit homer number 27 and added a walk. Jeff Larish doubled twice. Ramon Santiago was 1 for 4 with an error. Anastacio Martinez allowed 3 unearned runs in 4 innings. Francis Beltran was pummeled for 6 runs while only recording 1 out. Erie 2 Akron 0Josh Rainwater [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Tigers Minor League Wrap 7-3-08", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/07/tigers-minor-league-wrap-7-3-08/" });

Is it Thames Time?

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:08:22 -0500

Things are going pretty well for Marcus Thames. Throughout his career he's been a role player. A guy who has been called on to fill in and hit homers. Now, on the wrong side of 30, finally in his first year of salary arbitration, he's being acknowledged as an everyday player. [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Is it Thames Time?", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/07/is-it-thames-time/" });

Monday Morning Manager (My Weekly Take On the Tigers)

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:39:35 -0500

Last Week: 3-4 This Week: (7/8-9: CLE; 10-13: MIN) The Tigers will only have one All-Star on the American League roster next week -- Carlos Guillen -- and if that brings back ghoulish memories of 100-loss seasons, don't go there. The Tigers are a .500 team -- at the moment -- who are simply lacking players with eye-popping numbers. No Tigers made the starting lineup, so to have more than one at-large selection in what has, so far, been a disappointing season, would have been considered a bit of an upset. Too bad for Marcus Thames, though -- and too bad for AL manager Terry Francona, who would have made a bold and daring move by adding Thames to the roster despite his not being a quote-unquote everyday player. Thames's tendency to hit a home run every 10 at-bats or so is not only All-Star-like, it's Hall of Fame-like. But we'll just cut Francona some slack and assume he had too many outfielders from which to choose. Plus, this year's All-Star is Guillen, not Robert Fick or Tony Clark or Justin Thompson or any of the other non-deserving Tigers who made teams back in the day, just for the sake of having a Tiger tag along. Guillen, though having a less-than-spectacular year, numbers-wise (surprised Placido Polanco didn't get the nod instead), is a worthy All-Star, if only for his resume. He's not going to win a Gold Glove, but Guillen is still one of the Tigers you don't mind seeing at the plate when a base hit is in order, or even a home run. He tends to go deep when it matters. As for Guillen's team, this is an important week for the Tigers. Of course, you can pretty much say that for every week going forward; that's what happens when you spend the first quarter of the season sniffing the dirt. But this is particularly important, because you have the Indians -- the wretched Indians (and I love writing that) -- coming to town for two games, then the red-hot Twins invading for four. The Tigers are an unsightly 11-21 in games within their own division. It is literally impossible to win a division or qualify for a wild card with such a horrible divisional record; there are just too many of those kinds of games on your schedule. The Tigers are seven games out of first place -- not an insurmountable deficit, but also perilously close to double digits, and those holes are very hard to climb out of after the All-Star break. What's more, the Twins are going to have to be leapfrogged, sooner or later, if the Tigers want to catch the first place White Sox. Doing well against Minnesota this week in Detroit -- where the Tigers have performed very well lately -- will be very well-timed right about now. Still never thought I'd be as enamored with a 44-44 record as I am this morning.

MLB Injury Extra: Replacements (Week 14)

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:47:45 -0500

Screaming Sports' Drew Thibodeau breaks out another Screaming Sports original. With so many valuable fantasy studs going down with injury, Drew decided it was time to take a look at several replacements. So if you're one of the many fantasy GM's who have been ravaged by injury, then this piece is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Star-Studded Lineup Gets Boost From Scrubs

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:16:57 -0500

"A scrub is a guy who thinks he's fly, and is also known as a busta." Two weeks ago, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed Tigers ultra-reserve Ryan Raburn a "scrub". That game, Raburn hit a pinch-hit solo homerun to put the Tigers ahead and up for good on their way to a 5-1 win against the San Francisco Little People. Since then, the Tigers are 9-2 and their "scrubs" have had a considerable hand in each of the nine victories.

What do these players have in common?

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:53:41 -0500

What do these 2 lists of players have in common? Chone Figgins Asdrubal Cabrera Gregor Blanco Luis Castillo Marco Scutaro Austin Kearns Joey Gathright Brian Schneider Shannon Stewart Julio Lugo David Eckstein Ryan Theriot Jason Bartlett Jamey Carroll Carlos Ruiz Juan Pierre Matt Treanor Daric Barton Andruw Jones Cesar IzturisClint Barmes Eric Hinske Corey Hart Miguel Olivo Jose Guillen Alex Rodriguez Evan Longoria Carlos Lee Cody Ross Jermaine Dye Josh Hamilton Alfonso Soriano Ryan Ludwick Chase Utley Ryan Doumit Ryan Braun Dan Uggla Lance Berkman Mike Jacobs Marcus Thames

Best Waiver Wire Fantasy Baseball Picks Ups from around the web - Week 13

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:12:53 -0500

Need saves and power help? Find out who in week 13's most recommended waiver wire pickups from the Hardball Times, Yahoo! Sports, CBS Sports and FFToolbox.com

Break Out the Brooms

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:56:00 -0500

Thursday was a day for sweeps as eight different teams broke out the brooms against their foes. The biggest of them all was probably Tampa Bay which continued its franchise-best season by finishing off the Cubs powered by Carl Crawford. There are also some nice fantasy options in obscure places (BAL, SD) if you look hard enough.

MLB Status Check (6/19)

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:54:46 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith checks in on some of the mega-hyped offseason stars, as well as the not-so-hyped offseason stars. Who is living up to it? Who isn't? And who is coming out of left field? Billy has all of those answers for you.

MLB Stock Market - June 19th Edition

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:00:15 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon runs down several baseball Bulls and several baseball Bears in the latest edition of Stock Market. Marcus Thames? Oh yea, he's definitely a bull. Roy Oswalt? Ehhhh ... not so much.