Crooked Pitch

Today’s pitch count is 5.

1. Bill Center of the Union-Tribune says that the San Diego Padres are stacked as an organization at third base. He gives some good info on 3B prospects for you guys in deep keeper leagues and leagues that use minor leaguers. He also talks about the injury to Kevin Kouzmanoff and how that’ll effect Chase Headley.
2. By trading Garrett Olson, the Baltimore Orioles have created a long list of potential rotation fillers. This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the 1989 classic baseball movie “Major League”
   

   Board Member 1: I’ve never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime.
   Charlie Donovan: Most of these guys never had a prime.
   Board Member 2: This guy here is dead.
   Rachel Phelps: Cross him off then.

3. Upon being traded to the Orioles, Felix Pie said that he is looking forward to being able to play “every day”. I don’t see that happening, and neither do Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly. That is unless Pie is sure that he’s headed back to Triple-A in 2009.
4. Instead of playing winter ball, Colby Rasmus hit the gym this off-season and significantly bulked up. This seems like good news, and very well could be. But also remember that Jeff Francoeur did the same thing prior to the 2008 season. Also in that same article, Ryan Ludwick semi-jokes about his time in the gym this off-season, and what he hoped to accomplish from it, ”I’d like to hit 50”.
5. I’m sure that everybody has heard the Prince Fielder to Boston trade rumors. Gerry Fraley, writing for The Sporting News, doesn’t think a trade will happen this season, but gives a number of reasons why the Brewers should trade Fielder.

I got a chance recently to catch up with Geoff Young via e-mail, something that  neglected to do for far too long. There aren’t too many baseball bloggers out there with as much pull as Geoff has. He blogs about the San Diego Padres at Ducksnorts, and also writes over at Baseball Digest Daily. Geoff also writes a book every year offering “unparalleled coverage of the San Diego Padres”, it’s called Ducksnorts Baseball Annual.

Please check out Geoff’s awesome Padres coverage at any of the places listed above or follow him on twitter at @ducksnorts.

1. Who helped themselves the most with their Fall & Winter League play? Was it Eliezer Alfonso in the Venezuelan League?

Alfonso’s performance probably helped get him signed. Outfielder Mike Baxter put up terrific numbers in the AFL and could eventually surface as a reserve outfielder, although perhaps not this year.

2. With Khalil Greene out at shortstop what do the Padres plan to do at that position?

If the season started today, Luis Rodriguez, who filled in for Greene after his injury last year, would see a lot of time there. Internally, Sean Kazmar is another option, although he doesn’t have much of a bat. I’ve also heard that the Pads are interested in David Eckstein and Omar Vizquel. Whatever they end up doing, it won’t be real exciting.

3. What’s going on with Jake Peavy?

Right now — and the situation remains fluid — it looks like he’ll be the Padres Opening Day starter. A sale of the team to Jeff Moorad, assuming it goes through, should help stabilize things and hopefully keep Peavy here for a while.

4. What’s Chase Headley have in store for the Padres and fantasy owners in 2009?

I would expect modest improvements from him this year. Maybe .260-.270 with 20-25 homers.

5. Who’s taking over at closer for the Padres? Will they be there as long as Hoffman was?

I’d guess that Heath Bell gets first crack. He was dominant in 2007, but slipped last year, particularly in the second half. Bell won’t be there as long as Hoffman was because no closer holds that role for one team as long as he did. Well, except Mariano Rivera, but he and Hoffman are unique in that regard.

For everyone who reads my weekly post here at Crooked Pitch I have moved to a new domain. You can find my daily updates at RotoSavants.com. As always I will try to supply one from each of the following positions at my weekly review here on Crooked Pitch (C, CI, MI, OF, SP and RP) I will include there current availability which may have changed since my initial review.

C - Jeff Clement - I hope he gets full time at bats, because he has top 5 potential at the catcher position. I don’t think he will take to much time from Kenji, but he could get more at DH to get maybe 4-5 days a week. He is owned in 20% of CBS leagues

CI - Andy LaRoche- How long have we been waiting for this. He still isn’t getting full time at bats, but DeWitt doesn’t have his power and should be back in the minors soon enough. He is also getting starts at 1B which will be helpful with multiple eligibility. He is only owned in 18% of CBS leagues.

MI - Mike Aviles - He is slugging way to much right now, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have good pop. Being a SS and MI should get him owned in most deep leagues. For those still playing a Betancourt type SS for average you should get Aviles as his average is good and he has more pop. He is only owned in 25% of CBS leagues.

OF - Chase Headley - I’m not expecting him to start of like a Jay Bruce and his ownership will likely stay low for a week or so. He is not OF eligible yet, but he is starting there and should have eligibility soon. He will help in most leagues, but at about 300+ AB’s possible remaining this season he will likely hit about 10 homers for the remainder of the season. He is only owned in 47% of CBS leagues.

SP - Charlie Morton - Before AAA he had never pitched like this, but he had thrown 79 innings of great pitching. He then had a good start against the Angels. I would expect several hiccups in his work, but pitching in Atlanta he couls be worth a shot as they know pitching. He is owned in 26% of leagues.

RP - Mike Gonzalez - I know I recommended him last week, but since then he has been activated and hinted that he will close full time. He has already proved his health in his rehab starts so don’t worry about that. He should still strikeout enough batters to be an above average closer. He is only owned in 23% as of this morning on CBS.