Saturday, April 25, 2009

Quick Elias Preview

I expect to have these up and running, updating daily, in a few weeks. However, here's a quick glance at the American League rankings, Tigers in blue, free agent Tigers in bold.

Catchers:
Joe Mauer A 93.333
Dioner Navarro A 80.952
Kurt Suzuki A 79.524
Victor Martinez A 78.571
A.J. Pierzynski A 77.619
Mike Napoli A 77.143
Kelly Shoppach B 70.952
Jorge Posada B 70.000
Rod Barajas B 69.762
Jason Varitek B 69.048
Gerald Laird B 65.714
John Buck B 58.095
Miguel Olivo None 52.143
Kenji Johjima None 50.476
Gregg Zaun None 46.667
Mike Redmond None 45.714
Jeff Mathis None 45.714
Jose Molina None 44.762
Jarrod Saltalamacchia None 43.810
Raul Chavez None 40.476
Matt Treanor None 37.143
Taylor Teagarden None 35.238
Michael Barrett None 34.286
Jamie Burke None 32.143
Shawn Riggans None 31.667
Chad Moeller None 30.238
Jose Morales None 27.381
George Kottaras None 19.048
Rob Johnson None 19.048
Corky Miller None 14.524
Michel Hernandez None 9.286

First Base/Outfield/DH
Aubrey Huff A 92.857
Matt Holliday A 90.857
Nick Markakis A 90.429
Josh Hamilton A 87.857
Magglio Ordonez A 87.714
Jason Bay A 86.857
Mark Teixeira A 86.471
Vernon Wells A 84.000
Miguel Cabrera A 83.529
Justin Morneau A 83.529
Grady Sizemore A 83.286
Bobby Abreu A 82.571
Carlos Quentin A 82.429
Kevin Youkilis A 82.353
Johnny Damon A 80.857
Shin-Soo Choo A 80.000
Jermaine Dye A 79.571
Vladimir Guerrero A 78.857
Carlos Pena A 78.824
Xavier Nady A 78.571
David Ortiz A 78.571
Hideki Matsui A 78.571
Curtis Granderson B 77.714
Jim Thome B 74.286
Pat Burrell B 71.857
Torii Hunter B 71.429
Jason Kubel B 71.429
Alexis Rios B 69.857
Ichiro Suzuki B 69.143
J.D. Drew B 68.286
Marlon Byrd B 67.714
David Dejesus B 67.429
Jack Cust B 67.286
B.J. Upton B 63.714
Nelson Cruz B 60.429
Jose Guillen B 59.143
Luke Scott B 58.000
Denard Span B 57.714
Delmon Young B 57.429
Lyle Overbay B 57.059
Carl Crawford B 56.857
Adam Jones None 56.000
Billy Butler None 55.714
Nick Swisher None 55.571
David Murphy None 55.429
Jason Giambi None 55.294
Ken Griffey None 55.000
Mark Teahen None 53.429
Jacoby Ellsbury None 52.143
Paul Konerko None 51.765
Mike Sweeney None 51.429
Adam Lind None 50.286
Mike Jacobs None 50.000
Ryan Garko None 49.412
Jeff Bailey None 48.571
Ryan Sweeney None 48.286
Coco Crisp None 48.000
Ben Francisco None 47.857
Mark Kotsay None 47.143
Hank Blalock None 45.882
Rocco Baldelli None 44.286
Kevin Millar None 41.765
Gabe Kapler None 41.714
Travis Snider None 41.714
Juan Miranda None 40.588
Travis Hafner None 40.000
Carlos Gomez None 39.429
Marcus Thames None 39.143
Gabe Gross None 38.714
Willie Bloomquist None 37.286
David Dellucci None 37.143
Melky Cabrera None 36.857
Matthew Joyce None 36.571
Chris Davis None 36.471
Michael Cuddyer None 34.857
Gary Matthews None 34.286
Josh Anderson None 34.143
Franklin Gutierrez None 33.714
Endy Chavez None 33.286
Juan Rivera None 33.000
Ryan Freel None 32.714
Wilson Betemit None 24.706
Fernando Perez None 24.286
Jeff Larish None 23.571
Brian Anderson None 23.143
Travis Buck None 20.857
Chris Carter None 20.714
Brayan Pena None 20.714
DeWayne Wise None 19.857
Andruw Jones None 18.286
Mitch Maier None 17.857
Ryan Raburn None 17.143
Wladimir Balentien None 16.571
Rajai Davis None 15.286
Cody Ransom None 13.529
Robert Andino None 12.143
Reggie Willits None 11.286
Kendry Morales None 11.176
Brett Gardner None 10.429
Felix Pie None 9.857
Landon Powell None 7.647
Jonathan Van Every None 5.857
Jerry Owens None 3.000
Trevor Crowe None 1.857

2B/3B/SS
Name Type Score
Ian Kinsler A 94.286
Derek Jeter A 89.011
Alex Rodriguez A 82.993
Evan Longoria A 81.633
Dustin Pedroia A 80.000
Melvin Mora A 76.871
Mike Lowell A 76.871
Alex Gordon A 76.871
Jhonny Peralta A 76.374
Michael Young A 76.374
Orlando Cabrera A 72.253
Brian Roberts A 72.143
Yuniesky Betancourt A 70.879
Placido Polanco B 70.714
Jason Bartlett B 69.780
Mike Aviles B 69.780
Mark Derosa B 67.857
Jose Lopez B 67.143
Adrian Beltre B 66.667
Robinson Cano B 62.857
Ty Wigginton B 62.585
Chone Figgins B 62.585
Marco Scutaro B 62.088
Scott Rolen B 61.905
Ben Zobrist B 59.341
Carlos Guillen B 59.184
Nick Punto B 58.791
Erick Aybar None 57.692
Bobby Crosby None 56.593
Alexei Ramirez None 56.429
Akinori Iwamura None 55.714
Julio Lugo None 54.945
Brendan Harris None 54.121
Aaron Hill None 51.429
Alexi Casilla None 50.714
Ramon Santiago None 50.549
Maicer Izturis None 50.549
Brandon Inge None 49.660
Brian Buscher None 46.939
Howie Kendrick None 46.429
Russell Branyan None 46.259
Cesar Izturis None 45.055
Asdrubal Cabrera None 45.000
Alberto Callaspo None 45.000
Mark Ellis None 44.286
Joe Crede None 43.537
Jose Bautista None 39.456
Nick Green None 39.286
Nomar Garciaparra None 37.912
Willy Aybar None 37.415
Robb Quinlan None 32.653
Jed Lowrie None 32.418
Jamey Carroll None 32.143
Ronny Cedeno None 32.143
Chris Getz None 31.786
Omar Vizquel None 31.044
Adam Everett None 30.220
John Mcdonald None 28.022
Brandon Wood None 24.490
Eric Chavez None 24.490
Elvis Andrus None 23.901
Brent Lillibridge None 23.352
Josh Barfield None 19.643
Tony Graffanino None 17.500
Ramiro Pena None 16.667
Matt Tuiasosopo None 15.986
Gil Velazquez None 14.560
Josh Fields None 14.286
Jayson Nix None 6.786

SP
Name Type Score
Roy Halladay A 94.035
C.C. Sabathia A 93.158
Cliff Lee A 91.316
Daisuke Matsuzaka A 89.298
Ervin Santana A 88.596
A.J. Burnett A 88.333
Jon Lester A 86.228
Zack Greinke A 85.702
Scott Kazmir A 84.211
John Lackey A 83.509
Felix Hernandez A 83.421
James Shields A 81.842
Gil Meche A 81.754
Scott Baker A 81.404
Gavin Floyd A 80.965
Joe Saunders A 79.737
Mark Buehrle A 79.561
John Danks A 79.211
Vicente Padilla A 77.544
Josh Beckett B 75.000
Andy Pettitte B 75.000
Jeremy Guthrie B 74.912
Armando Galarraga B 73.333
Justin Duchscherer B 73.333
Matt Garza B 71.930
Kevin Millwood B 70.526
Shaun Marcum B 70.175
Kevin Slowey B 69.737
Tim Wakefield B 69.649
Erik Bedard B 68.246
Edwin Jackson B 67.719
Jesse Litsch B 65.789
Nick Blackburn B 64.211
Andy Sonnanstine B 64.123
Glen Perkins B 63.246
Jered Weaver B 62.632
John Smoltz B 62.105
Justin Verlander B 61.842
Fausto Carmona None 57.632
Kyle Davies None 55.702
Chien-Ming Wang None 54.386
Jose Contreras None 54.035
Dustin Mcgowan None 53.860
Dana Eveland None 53.684
Brian Bannister None 49.123
Jarrod Washburn None 47.982
Brandon Mccarthy None 47.544
Brad Penny None 46.667
Sidney Ponson None 46.140
Sean Gallagher None 45.965
Scott Lewis None 45.439
Mark Hendrickson None 45.351
Ricky Romero None 44.123
Nate Robertson None 44.123
Dallas Braden None 43.860
Bartolo Colon None 43.684
Jeremy Bonderman None 43.684
Aaron Laffey None 43.509
Matt Harrison None 43.333
Jake Westbrook None 43.246
Scott Feldman None 40.526
Rich Hill None 40.000
Francisco Liriano None 39.737
Carlos Silva None 39.474
Carl Pavano None 39.211
Brad Bergesen None 38.772
Scott Richmond None 38.509
Kason Gabbard None 35.526
Adam Eaton None 34.912
Radhames Liz None 34.825
Koji Uehara None 34.561
Eddie Bonine None 31.930
David Purcey None 30.088
Dustin Moseley None 29.912
Zach Jackson None 27.895
Jeff Niemann None 26.667
Josh Outman None 25.088
Eric Hurley None 24.211
Jason Jennings None 20.877
Ryan Feierabend None 20.351
Rick Porcello None 19.825
Bryan Bullington None 15.789
Kris Benson None 15.789
Dontrelle Willis None 14.211
Trevor Cahill None 14.123
Matt Palmer None 13.070
Chris Jakubauskas None 12.544
Alfredo Simon None 11.930
Brett Anderson None 11.842
Miguel Gonzalez None 3.947
Steven Jackson None 3.947
Casey Janssen None 3.947
Kelvim Escobar None 3.947

RP:
Name Type Score
Mariano Rivera A 89.027
Joe Nathan A 87.146
Joakim Soria A 84.144
Jonathan Papelbon A 83.575
Kerry Wood A 82.505
Scott Downs A 80.435
Joey Devine A 79.124
J.P. Howell A 78.537
Matt Thornton A 78.278
Jesse Carlson A 77.157
Takashi Saito A 76.329
Ramon S. Ramirez A 75.190
Frank Francisco A 74.810
Brian Fuentes A 74.776
Dan Wheeler A 74.327
Brian Bruney A 73.361
Grant Balfour A 73.257
Octavio Dotel A 72.981
Manny Delcarmen A 71.843
Bobby Jenks A 71.670
Russ Springer A 71.014
Jose Arredondo A 70.531
Juan Cruz A 69.427
Joba Chamberlain A 68.944
Darren Oliver A 66.529
Rafael Perez B 66.322
Damaso Marte B 66.184
Brandon Morrow B 66.080
Hideki Okajima B 65.666
Brian Shouse B 65.321
B.J. Ryan B 65.114
Scot Shields B 63.112
Jim Johnson B 62.595
Joe Nelson B 62.491
Brad Ziegler B 62.422
Troy Percival B 62.146
Justin Masterson B 61.836
Scott Linebrink B 61.836
Joe Smith B 59.386
George Sherrill B 59.179
Jamey Wright B 59.075
Andrew Bailey B 58.972
Brian Tallet B 58.937
Ryan Rowland-Smith B 58.799
Luis Ayala B 58.558
Jesse Crain B 58.558
Jose Veras B 57.074
Fernando Rodney B 56.936
Rafael Betancourt B 56.901
Jose Mijares B 56.246
Matt Guerrier None 55.349
Brandon Lyon None 55.124
Eddie Guardado None 54.883
Ron Mahay None 54.555
Dennis Sarfate None 54.486
C.J. Wilson None 54.313
Phil Coke None 54.037
Hunter Jones None 53.468
Tony Sipp None 53.468
Jensen Lewis None 53.382
Edwar Ramirez None 53.037
Roy Corcoran None 52.174
Santiago Casilla None 51.967
Chad Bradford None 51.932
Doug Waechter None 51.863
Craig Breslow None 51.208
David Aardsma None 51.208
Javier Lopez None 51.139
Zach Miner None 50.345
Jason Frasor None 50.104
Anthony Reyes None 49.137
Boof Bonser None 49.103
Masahide Kobayashi None 47.412
Robinson Tejeda None 47.378
Justin Speier None 47.188
Shawn Kelley None 45.894
Matt Albers None 45.583
Bobby Seay None 44.651
Shawn Camp None 43.979
Danys Baez None 43.030
Kyle Farnsworth None 42.685
Michael Wuertz None 42.547
Jason Isringhausen None 42.322
Brian Bass None 42.236
Brandon League None 41.201
Miguel Batista None 41.063
D.J. Carrasco None 40.787
Jerry Blevins None 40.580
Joaquin Benoit None 40.442
Lance Cormier None 40.407
Pat Neshek None 40.062
Ryan Perry None 39.562
Sean White None 39.199
R.A. Dickey None 39.165
Jonathan Albaladejo None 38.544
Derek Holland None 38.406
Jamie Walker None 38.337
David Robertson None 37.474
Bill Murphy None 37.336
Dan Giese None 36.991
Cesar Jimenez None 36.680
Brian Duensing None 36.473
Mark Lowe None 35.335
John Bale None 34.748
Josh Rupe None 33.575
Dustin Nippert None 33.299
Luis Mendoza None 33.161
Joel Zumaya None 32.781
Juan Rincon None 30.141
Darren O'Day None 28.865
Vinnie Chulk None 27.019
Clayton Richard None 26.743
Jason Bulger None 25.155
Warner Madrigal None 24.534
Chris Ray None 23.257
Horacio Ramirez None 21.601
Mike Macdougal None 19.289
Rafael Rodriguez None 17.495
Shane Loux None 15.735
Philip Humber None 11.111
Rich Thompson None 9.403
Willie Eyre None 9.213
Daniel Davidson None 8.609
Kevin Jepsen None 8.592
Juan Morillo None 4.762
Anthony Claggett None 3.847
Jack Egbert None 3.520

A few notes:
I still count Magglio Ordonez as a free agent. His option hasn't vested yet, even though it likely will.

Remember, any marginal Type A free agent probably won't net the draft picks. Between the team's unwillingness to offer arbitration in a dampened free agent market and the player likely to accept any arbitration, there are a ton of obstacles to those draft picks.

Orlando Cabrera has a clause in his contract that he can't be offered arbitration if he's Type A.

Positions are calculated as of today. No effort is made to project what position somebody will have played the most games by the end of the year.

The rosters are weird. Last year I used ESPN's rosters, but they no longer have the active rosters on their site (Seriously, what good does a 40 man roster do?). I instead used CNNSI, but am going to have to change that. Off the top of my head, I see Phil Humber, Juan Miranda, and Jack Egbert (all demoted) as well as the late Nick Adenhart, who is definitely not on the Angels' roster. So if anybody knows of a place that updates rosters daily and accurately and can be imported via web query into excel, leave a comment. Thanks.

I'll shoot to have these in spreadsheet format with all sorts of friendly sorting tools, sometime next month. There's no rush, since the results are pretty insignificant right now. Leave any suggestions on presentation if you like.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Ninth Inning Thoughts

  • Adam Everett used as a pinch hitter?  Just because he can't hit, that does not mean he can be used in small ball situations.
  • Did I mention bringing Adam Everett on to bunt with no element of surprise is a bad move?  Let Anderson's speed get him over to second and then have Everett (or Larish since you are taking the bat out of the batter's hands, does it really matter which side he comes from?).  I'll repeat this until I'm blue in the face.  Bunting a runner to second base is not sound strategy; bunting him to third base is!
  • Speaking of Anderson, the play in which he was picked off was a balk.  It bothers me to no end that lefties are not called for balks on plays where they step toward home on a pickoff.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Verlander

This is as good as JV has looked in a long time. High to mid 90's with nice command on the fastball and the curveball has been tight and well placed. This is nice to see.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Two Years

Those who started reading this blog last year may wonder who the Brian is who died way too young in 2007. It was two years ago today that a coward senselessly took away the lives of over 30 Hokies, including Brian. For those who weren't around then, check out this post:

http://tigers-thoughts.blogspot.com/2007/04/when-i-got-news-that-there-was-shooting.html

For some of his writings on this site, check out these:
http://tigers-thoughts.blogspot.com/2006/11/gary-sheffield-to-tigers-what-does-it.html
http://tigers-thoughts.blogspot.com/2006/08/trade-analysis-of-casey-to-tigers-well.html

Continue to RIP, bud.

Monday, April 13, 2009

RIP Mark the Bird

It's a sad day for Tigers fans.

Being born in 1985, I never saw Mark Fidrych pitch until MLB Network showed him. I'd seen interviews over the years and was always fascinated. Most importantly, watching him pitch and hearing him speak put a smile on my face when I finally got to see it. It made me wish I was 15 years older so I could have experienced it.

Mark Fidrych was one of a kind, and he will be missed.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

A Lot to Cover

The Final Roster

You've heard by now Rick Porcello and Ryan Perry made the team.  While some teams would hold them back to suppress their service time, the Tigers have never been a team to do that.  I'll argue that they are making the right move here, as pitchers are unlikely to be as productive six years down the road.

Zach Miner, now to be nicknamed Lloyd Christmas (You mean there's still a chance!), enters the rotation.  This is the right move.

To supplement the rotation, the Tigers are going with two long relievers.  Eddie Bonine is a good fit as a long reliever as a control specialist.  He may not eat the innings in a dominant manner, but he'll keep the other relievers fresh if the starter gets rocked.  The same can be said for Nate Robertson, who is a starter waiting in the wings.  I'm a fan of this move, as the Tigers have some flexibility now.

Juan Rincon, Perry, Bobby Seay, Brandon Lyon, and Fernando Rodney round out the pen.  I love the use of the phrase "Opening Day Closer."

It looks like Jeff Larish has the last spot.  That means Brent Clevlen could be traded or put through waivers before the season.

James Skelton
Skelton didn't make the Diamondbacks' roster.  The Tigers, however, didn't want him back and negotiated a deal with Arizona for pitcher Brooks Brown.  DTW has the rundown on Brown.  It looks like a solid pick up.  Once you see Toledo's rotation, you'll see why the Tigers wanted some depth.

Projected Standings
I am moving this weekend and won't have internet until next week.  As such, I'll need to project this year's standings right now so I'm not cheating.  I don't have time to run through

AL East:
1. Boston
2. Tampa Bay (WC)
3. New York
4. Toronto
5. Baltimore

AL Central:
1. Cleveland
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Minnesota
5. Kansas City

AL West:
1. Oakland
2. Texas
3. Los Angeles
4. Seattle

NL East:
1. Atlanta
2. Philadelphia (WC)
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Washington

NL Central:
1. Chicago
2. St. Louis
3. Milwaukee
4. Cincinnati
5. Houston
6. Pittsburgh

NL West:
1. Los Angeles
2. Arizona
3. San Francisco
4. Colorado
5. San Diego

World Series: Tampa Bay over Chicago

AL MVP:  Miguel Cabrera
AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia
AL ROY: Travis Snider (Tons of good canididates here: Wieters, Price, Anderson, Cahill, etc.)
AL MOY: Bob Geren

NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum
NL ROY: Jordan Schafer
NL MOY: Bobby Cox