At the outset the Pirates had a solid plan in the outfield. They flanked superstar center fielder Andrew McCutchen with young up-and-comer Jose Tabata in left, and a platoon of Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz in right. It might not have been the heaviest-hitting outfield combination in the league, but it didn’t appear to be a problem area, either. Since then those plans have hit a few snags. Tabata hit the DL, Jones failed to produce even one batting run above average in the first four months, and Diaz has been an unmitigated disaster at the plate. Rookie Alex Presley helped for a while, but he, too, hit the DL. Their need for outfield help persisted until a few minutes before today’s non-waiver trade deadline, when they acquired Ryan Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named later.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rays 10, A’s 8

Moving the Needle: Desmond Jennings singles home a pair to give the Rays a lead, +.300 WPA. Before they knew it, the Rays were down 5-0. Yet somehow Wade Davis found his groove, and retired 17 in a row. Seriously. Five runs allowed, then 17 retired in a row. Odd, odd game it was. It got oder, still, when the Rays went to town in the eighth, raking up seven runs and taking a lead. The big shot came off the bat of Jennings — though it was big in terms of significance rather than distance. (He had taken care of distance earlier, hitting a two-run homer, first of his career, the previous inning.) It was a sharp grounder through the right side, bringing home two and putting the Rays up 6-5.

Notables

David DeJesus: 1 for 4, 1 3B. He drove in three, leading the way for the A’s.

Sean Rodriguez: 1 for 3, 1 BB. He was the only one on the team, other than Jennings, to score more than once. No one on the team other than Jennings drove in more than one run.

Also in this issue: Royals 4, Red Sox 3 | Pirates 5, Braves 2 | Angels 12, Tigers 7 | Mets 10, Reds 9 | Brewers 4, Cubs 2 | Rangers 4, Twins 1 | Marlins 5, Nationals 2 | Blue Jays 8, Orioles 5 | Giants 4, Phillies 1 | Astros 5, Cardinals 3 | Padres 4, Diamondbacks 3

Read the rest of this entry »

Just a few hours after Chris opined that the Indians needn’t go all-in this season, the Indians made a fairly conservative move. To help shore up their outfield, which is currently short Grady Sizemore and Shin-Shoo Choo, the Indians acquired Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs for two prospects. Chicago will pick up some of the $4.7 million remaining on Fukudome’s deal. While the specific prospects aren’t clear at the time of writing, we can still examine how this helps Cleveland’s chances.

Read the rest of this entry »

Astros 4, Cardinals 2

Moving the Needle: Jose Altuve breaks the tie with a single in the ninth, +.448 WPA. The good news: Jon Jay drove in a run with a double in his first official game as Colby Rasmus’s replacement. The bad news: the Cardinals couldn’t muster more than two runs. That opened an opportunity for the Astros in the ninth. They started with a double, and with two outs they had men on first and second. Altuve grounded one right back up the middle, bringing home the first run easily. The second run came around, too, when Jay’s throw got away from cutoff man Albert Pujols. The Cards threatened in the ninth, but could not strike.

Notables

Bud Norris: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. He hasn’t struck out more than five since the first of July.

Clint Barmes: 2 for 4, 1 2B, 1 HR. He’s the one who started the ninth with the double, making him a pretty big figure in this one (even though he got cut down before he got to third).

Also in this issue: Red Sox 12, Royals 5 | Braves 2, Pirates 1 | White Sox 2, Tigers 1 | Mets 8, Reds 2 | Angels 3, Indians 1 | Rockies 3, Dodgers 1 | Mariners 9, Yankees 2 | Brewers 2, Cubs 0 | A’s 13, Rays 4 | Marlins 7, Nationals 5 | Twins 7, Rangers 2 | Giants 2, Phillies 1 | Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0 | Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3

Read the rest of this entry »

The talks started last winter, but they didn’t seem serious. Why would the Cardinals consider trading Colby Rasmus? He’s young, he’s cost-controlled, and he’s a center fielder who has some pop. But he clashed with manager Tony LaRussa, and we’ve seen other players depart St. Louis after such spats. Those talks have heated up again in the past month, gaining momentum as the trade deadline approaches. Today it all came to a head. Early this morning word broke that the Blue Jays were set to acquire Edwin Jackson, whom they’d then flip to the Cardinals in a Rasmus deal. A few hours, everything came together as planned.

Read the rest of this entry »

Twins 9, Rangers 8

Moving the Needle: Jim Thome sets up the ninth inning comeback, +.274 WPA. After suffering a humiliating defeat on Monday, the Twins got right back on the horse Tuesday and actually took a lead in the second. But the Rangers assaulted them with five runs in the fourth. By the ninth it was 8-7 Rangers, but the Twins still had some fight. With a man on first and one out Thome hit one deep, but in the park, to left. Josh Hamilton appeared to have simply missed it. That put runners on second and third. The tying run scored when Elvis Andrus couldn’t field a bouncer in the middle of the infield, and then the go-ahead run scored on a Joe Mauer double. Joe Nathan didn’t make the save easy, but he did strike out the final two batters of the game.

Notables

Nelson Cruz: 3 for 3, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 HBP. He drove in two and scored three times on his perfect night.

Michael Cuddyer: 2 for 5, 1 2B, 1 BB. His wOBA is up over .370 now. It would seem like a good time to trade him, since the Twins could probably get a decent amount of value.

Also in this issue: Red Sox 13, Royals 9 | Braves 4, Pirates 3 | Tigers 5, White Sox 4 | Mets 8, Reds 6 | Angels 2, Indians 1 | Dodgers 3, Rockies 2 | Yankees 4, Mariners 1 | Brewers 3, Cubs 2 | A’s 6, Rays 1 | Marlins 11, Nationals 2 | Phillies 7, Giants 2 | Orioles 12, Blue Jays 4 | Cardinals 3, Astros 1 | Diamondbacks 6, Padres 1

Read the rest of this entry »

For all the chatter surrounding this year’s trade deadline, we’ve seen a dearth of activity. To date only three transactions of note have crossed the wire: Wilson Betemit to the Tigers, Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers, and Jeff Keppinger to the Giants. Other than that we’ve had a lot of words and no trades. The words you’re reading are no different, in that it’s more trade speculation with no actions guaranteed to follow. But it might be the most entertaining rumor to date. Yesterday ESPN Chicago ran some quotes from White Sox GM Ken Williams, and the implications have transaction hounds licking their chops.

“On one hand, you can look toward potentially adding. We’d have to add creatively because of the financial situation right now. On the other hand, maybe this is the most opportune time to turn over the entire roster and get some young, exciting player in here and go that route.”

And away we go.

Read the rest of this entry »

Indians 3, Angels 2

Moving the Needle: Bobby Abreu homers to give the Angels a lead in the eighth, +.484 WPA. The Indians’ run in the first held up through seven, but then the game got interesting. With a man on first and one out in the eighth, Vinny Pestano served Abreu a spicy meatball. He might have had only three homers coming into the game, but he knew exactly what to do with that one. Into the seats it went, giving the Angels a 2-1 lead. But in the ninth Jordan Walden blew the save, and Hisanori Takahashi, who inherited a bases loaded, one out situation, allowed the winning hit to the greenhorn Jason Kipnis, the first of his career.

Notables

Fausto Carmona: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K. It’s never great when you allow seven base runners in six innings. But Fausto spread them out and didn’t even get the help of a double play to get him out of it.

Dan Haren: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 10 K. He and Scott Downs took care of the first eight, but the Angels just couldn’t hold on for the win.

Also in this issue: Royals 3, Red Sox 1 | Pirates 3, Braves 1 | White Sox 6, Tigers 3 | Mets 4, Reds 2 | Dodgers 8, Rockies 5 | Yankees 10, Mariners 3 | Padres 5, Phillies 4 | A’s 7, Rays 5 | Cardinals 10, Astros 5 | Rangers 20, Twins 6

Read the rest of this entry »

The Astros might have the most tradable chits this week, but that doesn’t mean they’re in an enviable position. With ownership in transition and a GM who will, in all likelihood, be searching for employment this winter, there aren’t many easy decisions. New ownership has given a directive to cut payroll by about $15 million next year, but that certainly comes with the caveat of making moves that benefit the team long-term. That’s what makes the deadline so difficult for them. Can they get more value now, or would they be best served in the off-season, when there might be more buyers?

The question applies to a few players on the Astros roster, but perhaps none greater than Hunter Pence. His name appears in trade rumors almost as frequently as Carlos Beltran’s, though his status in the trade market is less certain. The Astros are under no obligation to trade him now, but given the need among contenders for a quality outfield, particularly in the corners, they figure to find a few palatable deals proposed this week.

Read the rest of this entry »

Marlins 5, Mets 4

Moving the Needle: David Wright gives the Mets a lead with a homer, +.396 WPA. Down 3-2 with none on and two outs in the seventh, Carlos Beltran singled. That brought up Wright, who, after going down 0-2, worked the count full before popping one over the wall in left. The 4-3 lead would last just an inning, though, as the Marlins came back in the eighth to reclaim the lead and take the game.

Notables

Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton: both 2 for 4, 1 HR. Both of them were homers to lead off innings, too. Stanton’s shot in the second gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead, while Morrison’s shot in the eighth tied the game at four.

David Wright: 3 for 4, 1 2B, 1 HR. He’s 6 for 14 with three doubles and a homer since coming off the DL.

Also in this issue: Angels 9, Orioles 3 | Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 0 | Red Sox 12, Mariners 8 | Cubs 5, Astros 4 | White Sox 4, Indians 2 | Reds 4, Braves 3 | Rays 5, Royals 0 | Tigers 5, Twins 2 | Dodgers 3, Nationals 1 | Yankees 7, A’s 5 | Phillies 5, Padres 3 | Blue Jays 3, Rangers 0 | Pirates 4, Cardinals 3 | Giants 2, Brewers 1

Read the rest of this entry »