Abreu Shows Signs Of Life Against Former Team

It was starting to look like Bobby Abreu had completely given up on hitting. Going into last night's game, Abreu had posted a .155/.263/.233 line since the beginning of July with five extra base hits and 15 hitless games, earning the Brandon Wood nod of approval. But then on Tuesday night, if only briefly, Abreu knocked some of the rust of for an important game against his former team and wild card leading New York Yankees.

Abreu went 2-5 with two home runs (and two strikeouts but I'm trying to be nice here) to power the Angels to a 6-4 win over the Yankees. He hit his fifth home run of the season in the sixth inning off of A.J. Burnett and then hit his sixth homer, more impressively, in the ninth inning against Mariano Rivera. It was the first game in August that Abreu posted a positive WPA (win probability added).

I'm by no means suggesting Abreu is turning some kind of corner here because he still looks cooked. The .103 ISO (isolated power) is the lowest of his career and, unsurprisingly, he's on pace for career lows in doubles and home runs. And since he has the mobility of a light pole in the outfield, Abreu is a fixture at DH providing negative lineup flexibility. His $9 million 2012 option has already vested but that's future me's problem to complain about. In the meantime, Angels fans will just have to hope Abreu manages to sprinkle a few games like yesterday in with his 0-fers.

Adam Dunn Realizes He's Awful

Adam Dunn has spent the past two games watching the White Sox from the bench as baseball's version of a healthy scratch. While it was two of his better games in July, it gave him some time to reflect on his regrettable season. Despite owning Dunn in fantasy baseball, this is becoming one of my favorite stories of the year. Dunn, one of MLB's most consistent power hitters for 10 years, mysteriously turned into the little league kid who swings with his eyes closed.

Dunn's .158/.289/.299 line is embarrassingly the lowest of his otherwise underrated career. How bad has it gotten for Dunn? His .273 wOBA (weighted On Base Average) is the exact same as uber bust Brandon Wood. (Sorry to pick on you, Brandon. I'll still root for you when you're a Yuma Scorpion next year.) At least Dunn realizes he's a shell of the shell of his former self and even talked retirement with Yahoo! Sports...

“Flat out. I’ll go home. I mean that. Swear to goodness. I’ll. Go. Home. I enjoy playing. Even though I suck. Or have been sucking. I enjoy playing the game. Love it. But as soon as I lose that, I’m gone, dude. It’s true."

snip

“How many games can you play doing this? This is ridiculous."

But Sox GM Kenny Williams shouldn't be expecting a check for the rest of Dunn's $56 million contract in the mail anytime soon. Dunn may acknowledge his suckitude and talk a good game about quitting but that doesn't mean he's actually going to...

“It’s not going to happen,” he says. “Zero chance. Zero. You can’t get this competition anywhere else, dude. I don’t care where you look. Nowhere else. It’s one-on-one, dude. And you can’t find that anywhere."

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Adam, but what you're doing right now doesn't count as competition. I'd suggest taking up ping pong but with your recent struggles making contact with a ball maybe you'd be better served joining a Skee Ball league. I hear those dudes are getting pretty serious plus with enough tickets you can get a sweet mustache comb.

Curveballs for Jobu 6/22/11

Curveballs for Jobu is Offbasepercentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bat boy is Nelson Santovenia.

Nationals 6, Mariners 5.
Wilson Ramos hit the walk-off home run to finish off the 5-run comeback in the 9th inning against the Mariners. My immediate thought was why would the Mariners let Chone Figgins pitch the 9th but it was actually Brandon League and David Pauley with an assist from a Justin Smoak error combining to spoil a solid outing from Doug Fister.

Marlins 5, Angels 2.
The Angels get the dubious honor of halting the Marlins 11 game losing streak and handed Jack McKeon his first managerial win as an octogenarian. The Marlins celebrated by giving McKeon an Ensure shower. Javier Vasquez got the win by managing to allow zero runs on 10 hits over 5+ innings. The Angels continue to find new ways to make me sad during the 2011 campaign.

Rangers 5, Astros 4 (11).
Mitch Moreland hit his second bomb in as many days. Tuesday's was the walk-off variety in the bottom of the 11th. The Astros remained competitive against C.J. Wilson by knocking him around for 4 runs on 11 hits in 6+ innings. I think the Astros could turn things around by following in the Marlins footsteps. Perhaps they could hire a cardboard cutout of Casey Stengel to manage the team.

A's 7, Mets 3.
The Athletics have won 7 in a row thanks to Bob Melvin or, more likely, interleague play. Jemile Weeks went 1-3 with 2 walks, 2 stolen bases and 3 runs scored. Jason Bay went 3-3 with a triple and a home run. With that offensive outburst, Bay was able to keep his slugging (.322) above his on base (.320) but at least he's only making $18M.

Padres 5, Red Sox 4.
That's gotta be a typo.

Brewers 5, Rays 1.
Zack Greinke struck out 10 over 7 innings and Yuniesky Betancourt even accidentally hit a home run. The Royals made the Brewers take on Betancourt as part of the Greinke trade and Yuni has been every bit as bad as everyone knew he'd be. His .229/.251/.339 line gets the Brandon Wood nod of approval. Which might get renamed the Hanley Ramirez nod of approval.

Other games, but down here...
Phillies 10, Cardinals 2.
Rockies 4, Indians 3.
White Sox 3, Cubs 2.
Diamondbacks 7, Royals 2.
Pirates 9, Orioles 3.
Braves 5, Blue Jays 1.
Yankees, Reds PPD.
Dodgers 6, Tigers 1.
Twins 9, Giants 2.

Adam Dunn's Golden Sombrero

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, no-hitters and Brian Wilson's beard are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.

Adam Dunn picked up his second golden sombrero of the year a mere five days after wearing his first. Dunn has been awful this season and that's probably being too generous. He leads baseball in strikeouts and there are only 14 qualified players with a worse WAR. His .186/.314/.346 line gets the old Brandon Wood nod of approval. Let's check out Dunn's day at the dish...

Top 1st: Dunn struck out looking against Brandon Morrow. Morrow walked Juan Pierre on four pitches to open the inning which I didn't realize was physically possible.

Top 4th: Dunn struck out swinging against Morrow.

Top 6th: Dunn struck out swinging against Morrow.

Top 8th: Dunn struck out swinging against Mark Rzepczynski.

Yikes. I wonder if he's even making contact during BP.

Kila Ka'aihue Is Just Missing Pitches, No Biggie

The Royals incumbent first baseman, Kila Ka'aihue (I pronounce it very quickly like I do worcestershire so people don't realize I'm an imbecile who doesn't know how to say words), is off to a bit of a rough start in 2011. I mean, he's not getting DFA'd or anything but it's still not pretty. Kila is hitting .188/.293/.297 and it can't help his confidence knowing that Eric Hosmer is breathing down his neck. But my man Kila doesn't sweat the small stuff, he's good...

“My approach is fine,” Ka’aihue insisted. “My swing is fine. The counts I’m putting myself in are good. I’m just missing pitches. It’s that simple.

“Once I stop missing them and finding some holes, I’ll be fine. My two hits (Wednesday) night weren’t the hardest-hit balls. They just found holes. I just need a little more of that.”

See? A few more cups of rum for Jobu and that batting average should skyrocket to the .215 neighborhood. Kila didn't produce much last season either dropping a .217/.307/.394 line over 206 plate appearances. At 27-years-old, he doesn't have a whole lot of time to get it going. The Royals locked up Billy Butler who is incapable of wearing a baseball glove and Hosmer is only fit for first base and should be ready soon.

This leaves Kila with two options as far as I can see.

1. Stop missing pitches. It sounds simple enough but when I tried that when I was 10 my strikeout rate doubled and my batting average fell from .083 to .006. So it isn't as easy as Coach Dan made it seem.

2. Look good in black and yellow. You're going to be a Pirate soon.

The Brandon Wood Era Ends In Anaheim

On the heels of a 15-4 routing of the Texas Rangers, Tuesday night saw the sad conclusion to Brandon Wood's career as a Halo. In order for the Angels to clear a roster spot, Wood was designated for assignment. With Wood out of options in Anaheim, the Angels have 10 days to trade, release or place him on waivers. Despite Wood's heartbreaking failure at the major league level, a player with his pedigree and minor league track record will almost assuredly be granted a flier by another organization. A notion that Mike Scioscia was well aware of...

"It was tough, a tough decision," Scioscia said. "He's one of our guys. We just have no way out of this right now. There's no roster flexibility.

"He needs to go play and establish his career. We'll be proud of him when it happens. ... We all had high expectations for what he was going to do when he got his chance at the major-league level but it just didn't happen. Baseball wasn't fun for Brandon last year and it isn't fun for him right now.

"It needs to be fun for him again and it will be. We just don't have the development at-bats he needs at the major-league level."

I'm willing to accept, even if it's begrudgingly, that what Scioscia said is true. Wood was finally given the keys to the third base job in 2010 and posted a .146/.174/.208 line which still gives me furious bouts of night terrors. While I see no reason to carry three catchers on the roster or nary a reason to even employ Jeff Mathis, Erick Aybar's return from the DL gave the Angels too many infielders and Wood's 8 strike outs in 15 plate appearances weren't doing him any favors.

The Angels simply could not afford to keep running Wood out there to flail away at off speed pitches if they want to compete for the AL West crown. Wood, a first round pick in 2003 and crusher of minor league pitching, may be a guy who needs that change of scenery to rejuvenate a once bright career. Or, maybe, he's another failed Angels prospect cut out of the Dallas McPhearson mold. I'm hoping for the former since I have more of an emotional attachment to Wood after rooting for him for seven years. I'm also, ever so slightly, financially invested in him after deciding this would be the appropriate year to sponsor his Baseball-Reference page.

And maybe it was. Over the next 10 days, I expect quite a few teams and fans to be kicking the proverbial tires on Wood. So to all of you new Brandon Wood hopefuls, remember I have a B-R sponsorship for sale. It's only slightly used but it's afraid of curves and doesn't recognize when stuff is slowing down. Hit me up if you're interested.

I do wish Brandon all the luck in the world even though it feels like I just eulogized him. Now that the pressure of being the future of the Angels is off of his back, he can get back to enjoying baseball.

Off Base AL Central Preview

Offbase editors Derwood Morris and MTD haven't had much luck previewing things lately-MTD incorrectly predicted Gary Discarcina would come out of retirement to help the Angels win the 2009 World Series and Derwood thought Teen Wolf 3 would be the 2010 summer blockbuster. But here are division previews anyway.

Today I preview the AL Central because my boy Mike at The Golden Sombrero doesn't respond to text messages anymore. Jerk.

Chicago (2010: 88-74)
The White Sox picked up Adam Dunn's Three True Outcomes to DH for a pretty good lineup provided Paul Konerko, Alex Rios and Carlos Quentin don't completely collapse on themselves. Somebody better knock on wood. The good news is Gordan Beckham can't possibly be as bad as he was in 2010. Unless he's been studying the Brandon Wood handbook to future unemployment. Remember when Jake Peavy was a great pitcher? No, seriously, I really want to know. Somebody look that up for me.

Minnesota (94-68)
I'm fascinated by the Twins. Justin Morneau won an MVP that he didn't deserve in 2006 but was well on his way to an MVP season last year before a concussion derailed his second half. I blame that on pee-wee hockey and Canada. Joe Nathan missed the entire season and Joe Mauer went back to not hitting for power. And then Carl Pavano pitched like he belonged in Major League Baseball and they won 94 games. My Off Base prediction for the Twins is that Tsuyoshi Nishioka will hit .387 in 2011 and then .116 in 2012 but they'll still make the playoffs thanks to Gardy's willingness to sac bunt in the first inning.

Detroit (81-81)
Miguel Cabrera had another offseason bout with alcohol and is projected to have another 35+ home run season. There's something to be said about consistency. Austin Jackson's BABIP and OBP should regress in a big way leaving Cabrera and Victor Martinez as the only Major League bats in the lineup.

Cleveland (69-93)
Quick, name a starter other than Fausto Carmona. Shin-Soo Choo is pretty much the bright spot for the Indians until Carlos Santana is fully healthy from his season ending injury in his rookie year. Grady Sizemore is still trying to get his once-bright career back on track after being derailed by injuries. Here's to hoping Grady can play at a high level again and keeps his clothes on.

Kansas City (67-95)
The Royals farm system is loaded. 2011 begins their journey toward World Series Championship contention...in 2015.

The One Where I Hang Out At The Baseball Show

My friends Clint from Diamond Hoggers and Mike from The Golden Sombrero were kind enough to let me come hang out at The Baseball Show podcast this morning. I warned them that I could derail just about any topic they wanted to discuss and I'm pretty sure I backed that up. Here's the description from Diamond Hoggers...

Topics for discussion include but are not limited to the following:

*MTD’s baseball blog Off Base Percentage
*His following the Anaheim Angels
*Edinson Volquez electing a short term contract with the Cincinnati Reds
*The Albert Pujols contract extension
*Will Angels ‘prospect’ Brandon Wood ever pan out?
*We talk about Bo Jackson
*Rob Neyer’s move from the SweetSpot Network to SB Nation
*Who are the most frequently read baseball bloggers?
*The sponsoring of a Baseball-Reference Page
*We give some discussion time to Eric Chavez, Francisco Rodriguez, Nick Markakis, Johnny Cueto, and many more players

And they let me ramble on and on about plenty of other nonsense. The two hours flew by and I'm pretty sure those guys are never going to talk to me again. I'm just kidding, I hope. I think I'm addicted to podcasting now. You can jam my appearance into your ear hole right here...

Micah Hoffpauir's Golden Sombrero

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, cycles and no-hitters are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.

Micah Hoffpauir gets credit for being one of my favorite names in baseball and making the least of his plate appearances. In his 30 PA this season, he has 5 hits and a walk to go with his 11 strikeouts. Brandon Wood nods his head in approval. It took Hoffpauir a mere 5 games with 4 or more plate appearances to record his first Golden Sombrero this year. Unfortunately, for me, the 30-year-old isn't going to be much more than a bench player so these Sombreros might be few and far between.

Usually in special Sombrero situation such as this, I try to break out a nice pinata bloober video but I'm out of them and college football is on. Let's take a quick look at Micah's anti-heroics at the dish yesterday...

Top 4th: Hoffpauir struck out looking against Dave Bush. 3 pitches.

Top 5th: Hoffpauir struck out swinging against Bush. 4 pitches. Micah was trying to get out of there with the quickness. He had the season premiere of Vampire Diaries recorded.

Top 7th: Hoffpauir struck out swinging against Brandon Kintzler.

Top 9th: Hoffpauir struck out swinging against Mark Rogers.

Good game Hoff. Can I call you Hoff?

Curveballs for Jobu

Curveballs for Jobu is Offbasepercentage's daily trip around the ballparks.

Today's honorary bay boy is Dax Jones and he's here to remind you that his only career homer was of the inside the park variety.

Hey gang, I'm back in charge of Jobu today because, quite frankly, I think Derwood packed his bindle and jumped on the train out of town. I'm going to put his crazy looking mug on some milk cartons and see if anything turns up. If you see him on the streets, proceed with caution. He's very unstable and will probably try to sell you nose hairs. Anyway, there were only 6 games yesterday but that doesn't mean I don't have plenty to talk about. Let's get to it...

Rockies 6, Reds 5. It's September which means the Rockies don't just get hot, they catch fire. The Rockies finished off the 4 game sweep of the Reds while extending their winning streak to a season best 7 games. The Rockies scored the go-ahead-run in the 8th inning with the old fashioned straight steal of home. With the squeeze on, Chris Nelson caught Rockies' pitcher Nick Masset asleep at the wheel and swiped home for his first career stolen base. The last time that happened was 4/21/06 by Dan Uggla. CarGo: 0-4, Votto: 0-4.

Cardinals 11, Braves 4. Somehow, Colby Rasmus talked Tony La Russa into letting him play and all he did was go 4-4 with 2 home runs. Those are the kind of shenanigans that will probably get Rasmus benched for three games. Let's see, some guy A. Pujols hit a home run. Nate McClouth managed to get in the game and went 2-2 skyrocketing his line to .178/.284/.269 while getting the Brandon Wood nod of approval.

Giants 7, Padres 3. John Garland threw batting practice to Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe and blog favorite Buster Posey all of whom hit towering home runs. Kevin Corriea wasn't about to be shown up by Garland and teed up a ball for Pat Burrell. I don't know if he threw it underhand or placed it on an actual tee or if they practiced before the game but Burrell smacked that thing 421 feet of off the top of Petco. David Eckstein: 1-4. What's up, little buddy? Good to see you still have work.

Rangers 4, Blue Jays 2. Nelson Cruz went 2-4 with his 25th double of the season to raise his line to .313/.368/.567. He could have really helped my fantasy team if he hadn't made as many trips to the DL as your sister made to planned parenthood this year. Jose Bautista hit his 44th home run of the season. Thankfully, no letters were harmed by this dinger. I'd like to set the over/under on Bautista home runs at 31 for next season. Dewayne Wise led off for the Jays and went 0-4 to see his OBP fall below .300 for the season. Either Cito is just mailing it in now or doesn't understand some basic fundamentals.