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May 26, 2013
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Tuesday, June 22, 2004Grimsley-for-BautistaYesterday, Royals GM Allard Baird traded grab-bag reliever Jason Grimsley to the Orioles for Denny Bautista, a very solid righty pitching prospect. This looks like a steal for the Royals. I think Rany Jazayerli sums it up best over at Rob and Rany: "What Allard has done here is exactly what Dave Littlefield didn't - sign veterans for cheap, then flip them for prospects once it became clear his team was out of the race. The way this season has gone, Allard won't get the credit he deserves for turning one of his lemons into a pretty sweet lemonade." The Royals aren't my favorite team (they rank #3 behind L.A. and Boston), but it's very cool to see such obvious intelligence running the show. It's been said all over the place already, but it's like they got a smart new GM over the '02-'03 offseason... except it's the same guy, Allard Baird. The fact that he's a legitimately great guy is just icing on the cake. Trading placesJust as the Padres demoted one of my favorite players, Jon Knott, the A's called up another one of my guys, infielder Ramon Castro. In Castro's first major-league at-bat, he pinch hit for Bobby Crosby in the 9th inning. Castro reached base on an error by Angels 3B Alfredo Amegaza, and got an RBI when Scott Hatteberg scored on the play. The Oakland Tribune reported today that A's manager Ken Macha plans to use Castro as a late-inning defensive sub, but I hope he gets a chance to hit. If there was ever an organization who could recognize and appreciate how talented a player Castro is, it's Billy Beane's A's. More C+GWhen I do a weekly Comings and Goings, as opposed to the two-a-week variety, it tends to get very long. This becomes a bit of a problem, and this last week, it left me not commenting on 2 transactions I wanted to say something on. Sure, I could always throw it in the next edition, coming this Friday, but instead I'll print it here. Cincinnati Reds acquire pitcher Gabe White and a player to be named from New York Yankees for pitcher Charlie Manning- An interesting change of venue for the two hurlers, as each is back to their pre-deadline 2003 teams. White's struggles in New York were Leskanic-ish, but unlike Curt in KC, it didn't end in release. The Reds, currently with a 4.66 bullpen ERA, decided to reunite White with pitching coach Don Gullett, and see if the southpaw could help lessen the .841 OPS that Reds pitchers are giving up to left-handers. Manning is really nothing to speak of, a non-projectable hurler with only one good number: a 9.09 K/9. Still, Charlie will never see the light of day in the Big Apple, but maybe it gives Brian Cashman someone to pair with Brad Halsey in a deal. I like this trade for the Reds, and while I might say the Yanks are biting the bullet a little too early here, I know they'll acquire someone else anyway. Philadelphia Phillies: Optioned outfielder Marlon Byrd to Scranton Wilkes-Barre of the International League (AAA); recalled infielder Shawn Wooten from Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Not quite the fall from grace that we saw in J.C. Romero last week, but it's the same idea. It wasn't long ago that Byrd and Brett Myers made up the minors' best 1-2 punch, but Philadelphia still is failing to see huge dividends. Myers is slow to put it together, and after a .313/.369/.438 second half last year, Byrd has failed to build as a baseball player. Corey Patterson has seen similar growing pains in Chicago, but the Cubs have always stuck by him, something I think the Phillies should do here. Sure, they are in a division race, but even a cold Marlon Byrd is no more of a threat to scoring runs than Doug Glanville. Petit home/road splitsBelow, Dave wondered about Yusmerio Petit's home/road splits at Capital City. Well, I looked around and found them. I also noticed that Petit pitched a gem on Sunday, 5.2 innings with just one hit and eleven strikeouts. He's now 9-1, with a 2.10 ERA and a 112-21 K-BB in 77 innings this year. At home, Petit is 5-1, 2.53 with a 57-9 K-BB in 42.2 innings. On the road, he's 4-0, 1.57 with a 55-12 K-BB in 34.1 innings. So by ERA and K-rate, he's actually better on the road (though his control has been a little better at home). You can check back here at THT Live for periodic updates on Petit, just like you get updates from me on Jon Knott, Ramon Castro, Henri Stanley, and Bucky Jacobsen. Petit TwoFollowing up on Matthew's Yusmeiro Petit post, you can read a bit more about the Mets' prospect in Baseball America's Daily Dish (scroll down to June 18th). His manager, Blaine Beatty, calls him a righthanded Sid Fernandez, because his fastball (which sits around 90 mph) is sneaky fast. Sickels' comparison to Nelson Figueroa seems appropriate to me. Figueroa had an awesome year in 1996, while also playing in Capital City. He led the Sally league in strikeouts with 200, and was voted the league's pitcher of the year. Actually, I've suspected for a while that Capital City Stadium, where the Bombers play, is a strikeout-friendly park. But minor league home/road splits are hard to find. CNN/SI carried them on their site last year, but they discontinued the practice this year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||