Waiver Wire April 22

The Docs Let You Know Who To Pick Up!

Brad Penny has three starts under his belt in 2010, and has gone seven innings in each of the starts, while compiling a very impressive 1.29 ERA and miniscule .95 WHIP. Penny also has a ridiculous K/BB ratio of over 4/1, and it looks like he has found his All Star form from 2006 and 2007. Penny has a solid matchup coming April 25 @ SF, and we recommend picking him up, as the NL has plenty of good matchups.

Russell Branyan was probably drafted in most leagues for the first time in his 12-year career and was finally activated from the 15 day DL on Tuesday, but pick him up if he is available. Last season things clicked for Branyan, as he received a career high 431 AB, and blasted a career high 31 HR. Branyan will not help your average, but he will help the Indians offense and your fantasy team.

Dana Eveland might not be available in your league because of his 2-0 record, 1.93 ERA, and 1.23 WHIP, but we recommend picking him up if he is available. He walks too many people, and has a poor K/BB ratio, which means his ERA will come back to earth, but keep starting him as long as he is throwing well. He faces the Red Sox in his next start and they are struggling to score runs, to say the least.

Jeremy Guthrie is 0-2 and plays in the toughest division in baseball, but has thrown the ball well in his three starts. He does not have a win to show for it but he has thrown three quality starts and has a 3.15 ERA, and a 1.25 WHIP. He faces the Red Sox on Thursday, who are struggling to score runs, but he faces the Yankees in his next start. Feel free to stay patient with Guthrie, but we do not think you should start him against the powerful Yankees lineup.

Ike Davis is the everyday 1B for he lowly NY Mets, and is probably already picked up in your league due to over-hype, but we still think you should pick him up if he is available. He has a great track record of hitting, and might hit around .280 with hopefully 20 bombs, but that is expecting a lot from a rookie. He has a nice swing, but a little long, and feel free to pick him up, but do not expect Davis to win Rookie of the Year.

Mike Pelfrey has been dealing aces all season long and is turning into the Mets long-awaited No. 2 behind Johan Santana. Pelfrey was drafted 9th overall in the 2005 draft, and much has been expected from him, but nothing has come to fruition, until this season. In 21 IP, Pelfrey is 3-0, with a 2/1 K/BB, a .86 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and he recorded a save in that marathon game against STL. Pelfrey will either be great this season, or mediocre, but either way he should be on your team right now.

Livan Hernandez, yup that Livan Hernandez, should be owned in your league because he is 2-0 in 16 IP and has not allowed an earned run yet. He faces a good Rockies lineup Thursday, which should bring him back down to earth, but we still think he should be owned and started on a matchup basis only. He faces the lowly Cubs in his next start and Livan Hernandez should be available and ready for you to pick up. Next thing you know, we will recommend picking up El Duque, JK.

Doug Fister has been pitching extremely well and it looks like he will be safe when Cliff Lee comes back in the next couple weeks. In 19 IP, Fister is 2-1, with a 1.42 ERA and a .84 WHIP. He has nine K and only four BB, and faces the very poor White Sox offense next. Get him in your lineup ASAP and take advantage of the matchup against the White Sox.

Chris Volstad has been a little wild, but has still been very effective for the Fish. In 19 IP, Volstad is 1-1, with eight K and seven BB, but he still has a 3.79 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP, while his opponents are only hitting .208 against him. If Volstad can control the walks, he might be a great steal, so scoop him up immediately.

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya
Twitter.com/DugoutDoctors

Rain Delay? Time For a Dance Off

Watch The Kids From FAU and WKU Pass The Time With A Dance Off

Watch this video of a choreographed dance off and faux wrestling between FAU and WKU.

It is silly and it is a proven fact college kids have way too much time on their hands.

VIDEO: Best Baserunning Play EVER!

Watch Fordham’s Brian Kownacki Jump Over The Catcher!

I am positive you do not understand how many times I thought about doing this when I was playing, but it never happened, and I am so proud of Fordham’s Brian Kownacki for making my dreams come true.

Enjoy.

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya
Twitter.com/DugoutDoctors

D’Backs Sign Latest Dominican Phenom Wagner Mateo

The Dominican Republic’s Latest Import

The story behind Wagner Mateo is an interesting one for a kid that just turned 17 years old. Last July 2, the Cardinals signed the newest Dominican dandy for $3.1 million, but rescinded the contract after they found a pre-existing eye injury in his physical.

The Cards let Mateo go last September and the Diamondbacks are expected to sign the kid very shortly.

“Once we came to agreement on the terms, he obviously had to pass a physical,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said last summer. “We did our due diligence, and we concluded that he had a preexisting injury, and he also is currently dealing with another injury. So having both those issues out there, we realized that it was going to be in the best interest of the club to go ahead and invoke the … clause and void the contract.”

According to MLB.com, the deal will be worth $500K for Mateo, a significant decrease in value from the last deal, but Mateo is a multi-talented teenager. He is 6’2″, around 200 pounds, and can do it all in the OF including run and throw.

“I do think he’ll be a quick mover for someone that is physically mature,” Mozeliak told MLB.com last summer when the Cardinals signed him. “He still has some work to do, but he’s advanced for 16.”

Below are some videos of the kid, and the scouting report is true, he does everything well.

Around the 1:05 mark he hits a titanic bomb and the best part is the reactions he gets from the locals

Wagner Mateo from Kiley McDaniel on Vimeo.

I feel like I am watching old NFL highlights with this music, but the kid shows off the full arsenal in this vid.

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya
Twitter.com/DugoutDoctors

GM Profile: Billy Beane

How Smart is Billy Beane?

There isn’t a GM in baseball who has had more publicity than Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane. He was the whiz kid of his position, utilizing sabremetrics as a major part of his decision making process. His best-seller money ball not only illustrated how he uses advanced stats to make his player personnel decisions but he also took shots at a few other GM’s in his book, insinuating that they aren’t quite as smart as he is.

Beane joined the World of baseball as a highly touted prospect of the New York Mets in 1980. But when he couldn’t adjust well enough to compete at the major league level he was designated to utility outfielder and bummed around from club to club. He played with two World Series winning team but was never put on either post-season roster.

In 1990, with his own playing prospects looking thin, he was approached by the Oakland Athletics to take a job as an advance scout, a position which he held until 1994 when he was named assistant GM. In 1998 he succeeded Sandy Alderson as GM. He has held the position for 13 years and had dealt with one of the more common problems in baseball: limited payroll. In 2010 the A’s start their season with a payroll of 58 million, a far cry from some of the big boys in the American League, including their division rival Anaheim Angels.

So let’s see if Billy Beane is as good as he says he is:

Seasons as GM: 13
Division Winners: 4
Playoff Appearances: 5
American League Championship Appearances: 1

NOTABLE TRADES: Beane never gets the big fish, but that has more to do with the financial state of his team. He has made some smart moves in his day, however. Kenny Rogers for Scott Brosius and cash. He fleeced the Sox to give up productive closer Keith Folke for a declining Billy Koch. He acquired Jermaine Dye from the Rockies for a host of players who you could care less about. And once upon a time he traded for RBI machine Jason Kendall giving up Mark Redman.

NOTABLE FREE AGENT SIGNINGS: This isn’t nearly as Sexy as Brian Cashman’s resume. Beane is constantly working within financial limits and therefore he tends to sign guys who are bargain values and guys who work as pieces of his puzzle rather than being the whole puzzle itself. So many of the guys he has signed such as Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza, and Shannon Stewart were all very good players once upon a time but certainly on the downside of their careers when they went to work for Oakland.

NOTABLE DRAFT PICKS: This wasn’t nearly as relevant for Brian Cashman as his drafting is simply to use players as trade bait to take big ticket players from teams. Billy Beane, on the other hand, drafts to build his eventual major league roster. Here is a list of notable players Billy Beane has drafted:

Tim Hudson, Eric Chavez, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Ryan Ludwick, Rich Harden, Bobby Crosby, Andre Ethier, Nick Swisher, Joe Blanton, and Huston Street. This guy certainly knows how to spot talent, a reason he has probably been at his position for so long.

NOTABLE DISASTERS: This one isn’t as easy as with some other GM’s. Once again, Billy Beane doesn’t go after the big fish. He sticks to the guys who are lower profile and therefore don’t harm him if they fail and make him look like a genius if they succeed. Signing Frank Thomas at the end of his career for 500,000 is a move without risk. If Thomas crashed and burned Beane wouldn’t be hammered for it.

The one signing that could have Beane reeling is the contract he gave to Ben Sheets this off season. Sheets, when healthy, has the ability to dominate like a true staff ace. Sheets problem is that he rarely stays healthy. At 10 million for a year deal it isn’t the riskiest move in the world but it could make Billy Beane look a bit foolish if Sheets ends up spending most of the season on the DL.

BOTTOM LINE: What do we know about Beane? He drafts very well and has one of the better eyes for talent in baseball(or at the very least he has employed some of the better scouts). He works with a limited payroll so he’s forced to be smart where other GM’s have more flexibility to be daring.

But what do those results equal for Billy Beane and company? Lots of first round playoff exits. Beane fields a competitive team every year but they are never capable of winning the whole thing and for any team that is the ultimate goal. Even when they had the best 1-2-3 pitching staff in baseball (Hudson, Mulder, and Zito) they couldn’t seem to make it happen.

But perhaps the real interesting thing about Beane’s resume is what it says about baseball. With all the draft picks he has successfully made and all the players that have come and gone from Oakland you have to wonder how successful Oakland might be if he had more money to play with. This isn’t to say that all teams would be successful with higher payrolls because there are some organizations who don’t have a clear vision or the right people in the right place, but Oakland seems to have a good blueprint but they just can’t a way to keep all the right pieces there at the same time.

The guess is that when Beane’s contract comes up after 2012 he’ll be resigned by Oakland because with their situation he is the best guy for the job, but I’m not sure Beane will ever have the resources to win a ring, but that’s just how these things go sometimes.

Mike Cahill

What’s Up With Dice-K?

Overrated? Overpaid?

What Happened to Daisuke Matsuzaka?

Looking back in history, the 2006 MLB off-season may be one of the worst in history.

Alfonso Soriano (8 years, $136 million), and Barry Zito (7 years, $126 million) were the biggest winners of a free agent class which also included large contracts to Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt, Gary Matthews Jr., and J.D. Drew.

But the most hyped free agent of the 2005 offseason was legendary Japanese pitcher, Daisuke (Dice-K) Matsuzaka. Whether it was the supposed gyroball he possessed, the time he threw 250 pitches in a high school game or the numerous awards he achieved while playing for the Seibu Lions, Dice-K was always in the news.

Because he was still under contract in Japan, teams had to bid for the right to negotiate with the star hurler. The Red Sox ended up winning the right to negotiate, with a bid of $51.11 million dollars. The second place bid (by the New York Mets) was only $39 million.

But the Red Sox still needed to sink more money into Matsuzaka before he was actually a member of their team. Although the negotiations took nearly all the time the Red Sox had, they were able to sign Dice-K to a 6 year, $52 million dollar contract.

Early returns on Matsuzaka were solid but unspectacular, which could be expected given the transition to the American game and culture. While a 4.40 ERA was ok, Dice-K posted an impressive strikeout rate (8.8 per nine innings) and had a decent 2.51 K/BB ratio.

In 2008, the Red Sox got everything they wanted from Dice-K. With an 18-3 record, and 2.90 ERA, Matsuzaka finished fourth in Cy Young voting, and allowed the fewest hits/9 in the league.

But despite his great performance, some red flags came up for Dice-K in 2008. He led the league in walks, and his strikeout rate declined. His BABIP against also declined from .301 to .260, so it was clear that Dice-K was heading for a regression in 2009.

But instead of falling back to his 2006 self, 2008 was a complete disaster for Dice-K. He made two starts in April, allowing nine runs in only 6.1 innings. After two starts, the hurler was placed on the DL, although the Red Sox were rather vague about his injury, calling it shoulder fatigue.
Matsuzaka returned in May and allowed seven runs in 10 innings. Again, he was shut down until later in the year. When he returned, he pitched much better than early in the year, but still finished with a 5.76 ERA in only 12 starts.

The biggest issue now with Dice-K is his injury issues. Late last year, in an interview with a Japanese newspaper, he blamed the Red Sox training methods for his injuries, and said he would never be the same pitcher unless he trained like he was in Japan.

If you break the Red Sox total offer down, they are spending $17.185 million per year for Dice-K, which is just under the $18 million a year that Barry Zito is getting.

For the first half of his contract, Dice-K has an ERA of 4.00, an impressive strikeout rate of 8.5 K/9 and a worrisome walk rate of 4.3 BB/9. While these numbers are alright, they definitely haven’t been worth the large investment the Red Sox has put in.

Currently rehabbing a back and neck injury in AAA, the 2010 season could go a long way in finally proving whether or not Dice-K can be the All-Star pitcher that the Red Sox signed him to be. He is scheduled to make one more rehab start before returning to the majors.

While he hasn’t been as big of a bust as Zito or Soriano, Daisuke Matsuzaka could be on his way there if he can’t turn things around after a terrible 2009.

Brett Kettyle

VIDEO: Mascot Falls Off Dugout

EEK! Lookout Below!

Watch the video below to see the furry wolf type looking mascot fall off the top of the dugout and into the home team’s dugout. It looks like everyone is OK, but he/she took a nasty fall. LOL (sorry).

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya
Twitter.com/DugoutDoctors

Fantasy MLB: Waiver Wire

The Docs Tell You Who To Pick Up

As always, in every fantasy sport there are a few players that are available on the waiver wire that should not be, or that can immediately help your squad, and we are here to help you out.

We always recommend not rushing to pick someone up after a hot start, and we also recommend taking a look at the back of their baseball card to see what they are capable of doing. We also think you should not panic if some of your top picks are not doing so well, but time will be running out shortly.

Jose Guillen (OF KC Royals) was the 2000s version of Milton Bradley as he was traded, released, and exiled to Kansas City, but there has never been a doubt of his ability to hit. Guillen has battled injuries and suspensions the last couple seasons, and has been on nine teams in 14 seasons for a reason, but he is still recognized as a proven slugger. We know there are a ton of OF, but take a flier on Guillen if you have room on your bench, as he could end up on a contender and driving in runs in September. The dude is on fire, hitting .367, with five HR, and 10 RBI.

Gio Gonzalez (SP Oakland A’s) – Gio Gonzalez is one of the better young pitchers in the big leagues and Angels OF Torii Hunter said he has the best curveball in MLB. High praise for a kid with a 6.12 ERA in 138+ IP in three seasons, but we still think Gonzo has a lot of upside and might have a good season. Keep an eye on his next start Wednesday night, and pick him up if he throws well against SEA, but he faces the Yankees in his next start, so be patient with the talented lefty, as he has a great matchup against the Indians after the Yankees start.

Zach Duke (SP Pittsburgh Pirates) started opening day in Pittsburgh, and is considered the staff’s ace, but is probably available in your league. Duke is one of the very few aces that are available, and although he will not get more than 11 wins this season, he has a 2.37 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP so far this season. We recommend picking him up, but do not expect too much out of a pitcher that is 16 games under .500 in six seasons. He should be used as a matchup based pitcher, but at least he is in the inferior NL, and there are plenty of teams he will be effective against.

Carlos Santana (Catcher Minors Cleveland Indians) is on fire for the AAA Indians affiliate, hitting four HR in five games so far this season. Santana is one of the best prospects in baseball and one of the few that will make an impact this season. Not many people can name the starting catcher in Cleveland right now, we’ll give you a second … see, either can you, which means Santana will be up before June. If you have room on your roster, or a minor league spot, scoop this kid up, because he can really hit.

C.J. Wilson (SP Texas Rangers) has been a reliever his entire career but the Rangers needed another starter this season, and Wilson has stepped in very nicely. The veteran leader of the young Rangers staff, Wilson is 0-1 in 13 IP, but with a 2.08 ERA, a nearly 3/1 K/BB ratio, with two quality starts, and a rain shortened CG against the mighty Yankees. Wilson will face the low-scoring Red Sox next time out, and we expect a very solid season out of Twitter nations finest.

Keep an eye on:

Daric Barton (1B/DH Oakland A’s) – Years ago Barton was the centerpiece to the Mark Mulder trade, but has not done anything since 2007. He is a career .252 hitter, but he gets on base at a remarkable .356 clip, and maybe, just maybe, this is the season, but the odds are against him. UPDATE: Barton got hit in the elbow Sunday and needs an MRI.

Luke Hochevar (SP KC Royals) – Luke Hochevar was twice the No. 1 pick overall in MLB’s June amateur draft, but has done absolutely nothing in the big leagues. In four seasons, he has compiled a 5.76 ERA, including a 6.55 ERA last season, but through two games Hochevar is 2-0, in 18 2/3 IP, with eleven Ks, and a 2.89 ERA. He is one of the biggest reasons why KC has never been much of anything in the last five seasons, but maybe he can figure things out. He faces MIN in his next two starts.

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya
Twitter.com/DugoutDoctors

GM Profile: Brian Cashman

Take a Deeper Look Into Brian Cashman’s Career as Yankees GM

What’s a GM worth really?

In recent years there has been a shift in baseball where fans, and the media alike, have taken a closer look at the general manager for a teams successes and failure. And why wouldn’t they? A GM is a team’s architect. He’s the guy who puts the pieces into place. Not only is he in charge of the major league roster but he also oversees the scouting department and the direction of the minor league system.

Finding a good GM is a challenge. Just like any other job, it has its share of challenges depending on the company or team you work for. And the key is to find a GM who excels at working within a given structure. Is he financially responsible? Does he understand player development? Does he know how to hire a good scouting staff? Does he know when a team needs a tweak or an overhaul? Does he know when it’s time to let a manager go?

All these questions have very detailed and complicated answers so we’ll be looking at a few GM in this series. First up: Brian Cashman.

No general manager in baseball is given more resources to succeed and under more scrutiny when he doesn’t than Brian Cashman. He can be given credit for 4 World Series Rings in 6 years and is also heavily criticized for a 10 year draught. It seems every year the Yankees reach the postseason but then every year he’s on the hotlist for GM’s to be fired. So what’s the story on Cashman?

YEARS IN SERVICE: 13.
WORLD SERIES RINGS: 5
WORLD SERIES APPEARANCES: 7

NOTABLE TRADES: Well, there’s actually 3 of special significance. First is this past off-season acquiring Curtis Granderson in a deal for a bunch of players you probably don’t remember. The other significant trade was dealing for a CY Young winning Rogers Clemens from the Blue Jays and giving up the often broken down David Wells and two guys no one could name right now anyway. And, of course, taking Alex Rodriguez away from a very desperate Texas Rangers for overhyped second baseman Alfonso Soriano.

NOTABLE FREE AGENT SIGNINGS: I do not have enough time in the day, nor do you, to go through all the free agents the Yankees have signed. But they have signed quite a few: C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixiera, Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Damon. I’m sticking with only mentioning these guys for a reason.

NOTABLE DISASTERS: Kevin Brown, Carl Povano, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens (Round 2), Jason Giambi.

So let’s break down his good points: the A-Rod deal was a steal. The Yankees could afford him and they were only giving up a player that they knew didn’t have the defensive ability to get the job done at second base and also didn’t have the temperament to handle the pressure of October. A-Rod was the games greatest player at the time and so they did the right thing.

Getting Clemens was a brilliant move as well. David Wells had done his job for the Yankees but Cashman was certain Wells was a bit of a head case and prone to laziness. He liked his blue collar lifestyle but it didn’t always translate well on the field.

And I almost need to give Cashman a pass on Giambi. Giambi certainly never earned the kind of money he was getting paid but that isn’t really Cashman’s fault. Giambi was juicing and therefore his numbers were inflated and we will assume Cashman didn’t know any better so he didn’t have the knowledge needed to pass on that Albatross Contract.

But Pavano and Brown are two guys that you have to shake your head at. Brown was a miserable acquisition. His two most memorable Yankee moments are punching a wall which broke his hand and getting shelled in game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. Pavano was almost as bad and what’s worse is every team in baseball knew exactly what the Yankees were getting except the Yankees. They went ahead anyone in desperate need of pitching and got nothing from him but gave him a hell of a nice payday.

Here’s the point when it comes to Cashman, he’s only as good as the salary he has. Signing C.C and Teixiera were great but they didn’t have much to do with Cashman’s ability as a GM. It had everything to do with what Cashman could pay them.

Even when you break down the A-Rod deal, it’s not that the Yankees had the best trade proposal because Boston had beat them to the punch. But Boston couldn’t find a way to fit him in their payroll. So in came the Yankees who have no limit to their spending.

Now, it wouldn’t be right to dump on Cashman because his team gives him a lot of money. Just because a GM has a budget doesn’t make him a good GM. Still, there is something to be said for the kind of direction Cashman takes where it seems as if he just throws money to players like he’s throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks.

And it has to be said that his firing of Joe Torre was a bit suspect. Joe had 4 rings on his resume and a dozen playoff appearances. After multiple seasons without a ring, Torre was fired, but it wasn’t Torre’s handling of the players or the game that got him axed. It was the lack of pitching in the postseason that caused their early exits in October. But Joe got canned because a GM won’t fire himself, so someone has to be the scapegoat.

At the end of the day Brian Cashman is a GM who doesn’t seem like he’d be able to survive in a market with financial constraints. There isn’t much of a minor league system in place and the Yankees are usually a player in the trade market because they can afford to be a place a team goes for a salary dump. If I’m New York, I’d consider giving Cashman his walking papers when the time comes.

Mike Cahill

Video: Bryce Harper Update: April 19

Bryce Harper Hits The Cage

We do not have any new game footage of our new favorite hero Bryce Harper, but we do have an up-close and intimate video of Harper in the cage.

Harper swings for about 40 seconds and looks great, showing tremendous bat speed and we have seen how well he hits it the other way.

We mentioned on our Twitter last week that Harper will most likely be taken with the first pick by the Nationals. Forming what will be the team of the decade with Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.

Harper is hitting .422 on the season, with a team high 15 HR and 42 RBI and will be the No. 1 pick in this June’s draft.

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya

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