Cliff Lee Stars In "Double Mystery!"

It was somewhat of a slow news day unless you were at the Winter Meetings and got to catch some of the fun sound bytes from Joe Maddon's presser or Mike Scioscia acknowledging the existence of on base percentage. Sure we got to tweet for a couple of hours about a potential swap of the Orioles' Nolan Reimold for the Rays' Jason Bartlett until that deal completely fell apart. Leave it to SI's Jon Heyman to save the day/evening with one little hashtag on Twitter. A little after 6 p.m. Heyman tweeted a second team was offering Cliff Lee seven years...


The "double mystery" hashtag was immediately a big hit with the Twitter nation and it sparked jokes ranging from the Scooby Doo variety to anything having to do with hamburgers. Now I could join in all of the reindeer games and make jokes for the rest of the night but I'd prefer to use my time for more productive endeavors. That's right, it's time for some wild and careless speculation about Lee's secret suitors...

1. Angels
This isn't exactly me going out on a limb since the Angels have been attached to every big name free agent on the market but the Halos do not like going over five years for contracts. I'd personally love to see a Lee, Jered Weaver, Dan Haren rotation but I desperately want Carl Crawford too. This is your last chance Santa...

The mystery: Is Arte Moreno's vast fortune actually from billboards or was he the basis of the Mexican Drug Lord from seasons five and six of Weeds? Either way, I'd like to see more Mary-Louise Parker at Angels games.

2. Nationals
Okay, I promise the speculation will get more careless in a minute. The Nats were rumored to be in on the Lee sweepstakes but denied making the initial seven year bid. Perhaps they made the second one.

The mystery: After the Nats laid out seven years and $126 million to Jayson Werth, it seems far fetched that Washington could afford another deal bigger than that. Unless Obama is funding the Nationals new payroll structure under the guise of this insane health care plan where Tommy John surgery is the only thing that's completely free. (Note: Don't send emails. I know Obama is a White Sox fan and I don't care about "Obama care" because I plan on making enough money from this blog to afford my own personal third world country doctor.)

3. Nippon-Ham Fighters
I told you it was about get wild and careless. It's widely known that Cliff Lee is a big Sumo wrestling supporter and his eighth favorite food is sushi.[citation needed] Nippon could afford the fat cash thanks to their success in meat packing (hee-hee).

The mystery: What is Spam made of?

4. Mariners + Indians
In this scenario, Seattle and Cleveland join forces and each of his former teams would get Lee every other year for six years. Then they trade him before the seventh year of the contract because both teams are still lousy. The good news for Cleveland and Seattle is they'll go down in the history books for co-owning a player for a long term contract. The bad news is they are both contracted after combining to lose 319 games in 2017.

The mystery: Why do people watch Mariners and Indians games?

5. Pirates
After 18 losing seasons and never having an ace-caliber starter, the Pirates splurge and dedicate 87% of their payroll to Lee. Unfortunately, Lee also becomes the 2nd and 3rd starters as well as the first baseman and right fielder. The 20 man roster is an utter disaster.

The mystery: Does futility know no bounds?

How good was Albert Belle from 1994-1996?

The answer is really, really good.

If you can get past the Halloween incident, the throwing the ball into the stands and injuring a fan incident, or the stalking, Albert Belle's career was excellent: .295/.369/.564/143 OPS+/381 HR.

On the Zambrano Scale, Belle was a 7, and that's without the benefit of the rooster in his ear. Despite the serious mental deficieinces, Belle put together such an outstanding three-year stretch from 1994-1996 with the Indians that no one cared.

1994
.357/.438/.714/1.152/193 OPS+/36 HR
1995
.317/.401/.690/1.091/177/50 HR
1996
.311/.410/.623/1.033/158/48 HR

3-year average
.328/.416/.676/1.092/176/45 HR

Belle had a down year in 1997, his first with the Whitesox, but exploded again in 1998, putting together a .328/.399/.655 slash line with a 171 OPS+. Since retiring after the 2000 season, Belle is now a counselor and the assistant volleyball coach at Wennington High School.


Reccomended reading:

The Albert Belle Timeline

The Strange Case Of Tony La Russa And Colby Rasmus

Cardinals' center fielder Colby Rasmus can't seem to find his way into the lineup recently. And your guess why is as good as his since he proclaimed himself healthy following a calf injury. La Russa, however, still refuses to plug him back into the lineup even though Rasmus was on yesterday's original card. Is it just precautionary health measures?...

"When a guy's ready, you give him one more day just to have that peace of mind."

Which doesn't sound weird, except for the part about Rasmus being in the original lineup that was posted for two hours. Rasmus didn't make it an issue after the game, but reading between the lines most writers covering the Cardinals seem convinced that his relationship with La Russa has gotten very bad.

So what's really going on here? How did the relationship get to be so fractured? TLR rationalizes it's an approach problem for the young outfielder...

"He's had all the work," La Russa said. "He's never backed off the work, taking batting practice. I think it all has to do with what his concentration is, and what his focus is. I do believe that -- you just watch his swings in batting practice and in the game -- I think he is convinced that he helps us more if he just yanks the ball out of the park. That normally is not the case, because you're limiting yourself to a side of the park and you're vulnerable to too many pitches. We really push, 'Just play the game.' That's what Jon [Jay] does. He plays the game. take a single, take a walk, let the home runs come."

So Colby isn't getting at bats because he doesn't 'just play the game' like Jon Jay does? Rasmus is hitting .268/.352/.501 which might not look as good as Jon Jay's .330/.379/.481 at first glance. But Jay's .376 BABIP compared to Rasmus' .341 suggests Jay has been more lucky at the plate. Plus Rasmus has a better BB% (11.4) than Jay (7.0) which should offset some of the perceived OBP discrepancy.

It doesn't end there though. I completely agree with Vivo El Birdos that this isn't a Rasmus vs. Jay argument. There is room for both of them in the outfield and the lineup. There is something else going on here. This seems like a perfect time for some wild and careless speculation.

1. Inappropriate joke about Colby Rasmus and one of TLR's estranged daughters. Preferably the 25-year-old but you guys can do what ever you want with this one.

2. Rasmus drank the last of TLR's Jack Daniels and he had to drive home sober. *takes shot, bangs gong*

3. Rasmus' -4.5 UZR in center field is simply unacceptable. This is the least likely unless TLR figured out his dial-up password and stumbled onto FanGraphs.

Yovani Gallardo's Bad Day

The Brewers' 24-year-old ace had a worse day than you yesterday even if you mistook the liquid paper as creamer and spent the afternoon in the bathroom. Yovani Gallardo is actually having his best season in his young career with a 3.50 ERA, a .299 FIP and 9.97 K/9. He also inked a 5-year, $30 million extension earlier this year. Everything was coming up Yovani until yesterday.

Gallardo spent 6.1 innings getting lit up by the Dodgers to the tune of 6 runs on 8 hits. He did manage to strikeout 10 and only walk 2 but the ERA damage was done. This would also be the high point of his day. Gallardo and a clubhouse attendant were robbed at gunpoint hours after the game in a grocery store parking lot. That Milwaukee is just incorrigible with all of its armed robbery and gang violence. Luckily nobody was seriously injured so I don't feel bad about making light of the situation. And isn't that all that matters, that I don't feel bad?

The armed man, still on the lamb, approached Gallardo and the attendant in the parking lot and demanded cash and jewelry. The attendant, Alex Snachez, was hit in the head but didn't suffer a serious injury. I couldn't find any details on the amount of cash or jewelry that was stolen. Early wild and careless speculation indicates a watch with a diamond encrusted face the size of a baby's head and a gold rope chain with a Mercedes ornament hanging from it were among the items lost.

This never would have happened if they weren't a on midnight run to pick up 4 dozen vegetarian Hot Pockets for Prince Fielder.

MVP Mike Trout And The Future Of The Angels

Occasionally, I write a post that's pretty much just for me. Sometimes it's necessary to shake loose writers block, sometimes it's to vent about a baseball issue that's bothering me, sometimes it's simply to ramble on about Mike Trout. Well, today you get the perfect storm of all three. Mike Trout was named the MVP of his low A league today so we're going to start with him.

Trout hit 6 home runs and .362/.454/.526 with 45 stolen bases as an 18-year-old at Cedar Rapids. Even with his absurd .420 BABIP, that's a damn impressive stat line for a kid that young. During the Future's Game at the All Star break, scouts were talking (on Twitter) about Trout having 80 speed while being built like a linebacker. Trout was promoted to high A and has struggled a bit. The BABIP tumbled to a slightly more realistic .344 and he's got a couple of home runs to go with a .294/.368/.405 line. Still enough to be the top prospect in the minors as a freshly turned 19-year-old, isn't that right Keith Law...

Ben S (NJ)

Who's the top prospect remaining in the minors?

Klaw (1:52 PM)

Mike Trout.

See?

Trout gives Angels fans something to be excited about in an otherwise disappointing season. My beloved Halos have struggled this season and an early season-ending injury to Kendry Morales and mid season-ending injury to Joel Pinero certainly didn't help. The Angels are 10 games back in the AL West and 2 games under .500. I'm guessing the team .319 OBP is a problem but I'm sure they'll finish with a winning record despite a negative run differential yet again. But that's probably fodder for another post.

Jered Weaver is having an ace caliber season leading the league in strikeouts with a sustainable 3.31 FIP and a 3.03 WPA. Ervin Santana is back to his inconsistent self posting a 4.51 FIP and a 1.89 WPA. I'm still cautiously optimistic that Santana can at least be a decent to good mid-rotation starter. The crown jewel of the Angels season was a pre-deadline deal that landed the Halos Dan Haren over the next several seasons at a below market price. With Pinero returning, the rotation should be solid next year.

The bullpen, ugh. Scot Shields and Brian Fuentes should be departing so right there you get some solid addition by subtraction. I have hope for Kevin Jepsen and recently transitioned Jordan Walden. I'm more skeptical about Fransisco Rodriguez Part Two but, as I previously mentioned, I'm no scout. The bullpen should be more effective next season despite what Fernando Rodney has to say about it.

The infield seems to be more or less set with Kendry Morales returning to his slugging role at first base. Howie Kendrick will man second and hopefully become that batting average title contender that he appeared to be in the minors. Erick Aybar will handle short and probably leadoff with his glistening .322 OBP but he plays "Scioscia Ball" so, um, there. Third base will be manned by some sort of Alberto Callaspo/Brandon Wood combo. *wipes away tears* Mike Napoli is no world class receiver behind the plate but he can at least provide some pop. Jeff Mathis and his .220 OBP should be jettisoned to 1902. Hank Conger is on his way up from Triple A but I doubt Scioscia will be a big fan of his receiving skills.

If you made it this far, you're in for a treat. The outfield future of the Angels gets me excited in a way that your sister used to. The Halos called up next-to-top-prospect Peter Bourjos to man center while moving Torii Hunter to right field. Hunter is having a fine season with 18 homers and a .290/.369/.482 line. Is he worth $18 million per season? I don't know but he is a hell of an ambassador for the Angels. The Angels plan on pursuing Carl Crawford in the offseason and wisely put his locker next to Hunter's for the All Star Game.

Allow me to wildly speculate on the Angels hot stove spending. Arte Moreno has no problem opening up the check book when he feels it's deserved and to land Crawford, he might have to write a blank check. Putting Carl Crawford next to Peter Bourjos in center and across the field from Torii Hunter in right, you have the best defensive outfield in baseball. With Trout getting a cup of coffee as a 20-year-old next season, the Halos outfield situation makes me almost schoolgirl giddy.

So fellow Angels fans, there is hope for next season. It also doesn't hurt that the only real competition in the West is a pretty good Texas Rangers team. The A's just keep spinning their wheels and nobody knows what's going on in Seattle. Or maybe I just wrote 700 words to get me through the last month of the regular season.

Curveballs for Jobu

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

Today's honorary bat boy is Mike Stanley.

Phillies 10, Dodgers 9. Trailing 9-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Phils got to work against Ronald Belisario, who couldn't be bothered to record an out in a four-run inning. Then in the ninth, Jonathan Broxton did his best Ronald Belisario impersonation, hitting one and walking a pair, before Casey Blake's error scored two and Carlos Ruiz's double won it on Wilson Valdez Bobblehead Night.

Indians 4, Orioles 1. Jeanmar Gomez (6 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB) won for the third time in his first four big league starts, silencing the Baltimore machine that had threatened to win game No. 41 Thursday night. O's manager Buck Showalter lost his first road game as manager, so now is a good time to start the Bobby Valentine to Baltimore rumors.

Mets 4, Rockies 0. Johan Santana was dominant, throwing 79 of his 115 pitches for strikes in a four-hit, 10-strikeout gem. No father-in-laws were hurt in the writing of this game recap, but a squirrel was run over in the parking lot of my apartment complex.

Marlins 5, Nationals 0. Jose Veras: 1 IP.

K-Rod Pounds Strike Zone, Father-In-Law

I wish Francisco Rodriguez would have pitched last night. It would have made this post title more accurate but I love it nonetheless. In fact, Frankie wasn't exactly ecstatic that he, allegedly the Mets' best reliever, wasn't called upon for the highest leverage situation of the game with the bases loaded in the 8th. When approached by the media, the emotionally stable K-Rod issued some NSFW comments...

"Did I f-----g pitch tonight?" Rodriguez snarled when asked if he was upset that manager Jerry Manuel did not ask him to protect a one-run lead. "Why do I have to talk to you f-----g guys?"

K-Rod was taken into custody after brawling with his father-in-law in a battle that started in the family lounge and ended in the tunnel outside of the Mets' clubhouse. The father-in-law was busted up with some facial abrasions and a head injury and Rodriguez was charged with third degree assault.

Rodriguez will be transferred from Citi Field jail to arraignment today. It's unknown when he'll be available to blow his next save opportunity. Since there is no explanation for the cause of the raucous, I feel there needs to be some wild and careless speculation.

1. A pitching conversation went sour because the Spanish translation of xFIP is "I wish my daughter had married that lovely Alex Rodriguez fellow."

2. K-Rod will not be upstaged in stupidity by Brandon Phillips.

3. K-Rod, drunk on rum and asopao de gandules , mistook his father-in-law for bullpen coach Randy Niemann and blasted away at his face.

4. The father-in-law was unhappy with the terms of the arranged marriage and was demanding 3 more donkeys (my perception of foreign culture is both misguided and inaccurate).

5. It was just a big misunderstanding. They were just practicing for their appearance of Maury next week.

[NY Daily News]