( Written by our New Author: KLake13 )

Mets vs. Yankees

Mets opened up six game homestand with the first subway series of 2010, and this game was all pitching, as the Yankees beat the Mets 2-1. Hisanori Takahashi, making his first career MLB start, pitched 6 strong innings, giving up 5 hits and no runs. Elmer Dessens, who came in relief of Takahashi, took the loss. Javier Vasquez kept the Mets hitless through 4 and a 1/3, and striking out six to get the win.

Game changing play came in the top of the 7th with an error by Alex Cora. As a result, the Yankees took a 2-0 lead on a double by Kevin Russo. The Yankees bullpen kept the Mets scoreless until the 9th when Ike Davis hit an RBI double off Mariano Rivera. For more info, check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

Phillies vs. Red Sox

Boston was off to an early lead with a one-run homer by Victor Martinez in the first, but it wasn’t enough as the Phillies went on to beat the Red Sox 5-1. Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth each homered for the Phillies. The only other Boston hits belonged to Adrian Beltre and Darnell McDonald.

Cole Hamels got the win for the Phillies going 7 innings and giving up one run on three hits. J.C. Romero got his second save of the season for Philadelphia. John Lackey took the loss, going 5 innings and giving up four runs on six hits. Check out Phillies Phandom Blog for more.

Marlins vs. White Sox

It was a big night for Chicago’s Alexei Ramirez who hit an RBI double and a three-run homer, as the White Sox went on to beat the Marlins 8-0. Florida bats were quiet most of the night, with the only hits belonging to Gaby Sanchez, Cody Ross, and Wes Helms.

Mark Buehrle got the win, throwing 7 shut-out innings for Chicago, and allowing only 3 hits. Ricky Nolasco, who took the loss, got beat up in his 5.1 innings, giving up 10 hits and 8 earned runs.  Check out Fish Guts Blog for more on last night’s game.

Braves vs. Pirates

The Braves beat the Pirates 7-0. The Braves took an early 1-0 lead on a Chipper Jones RBI. Jason Heyward had three RBI’s on the night. The Braves scored another run in the 7th off Jeff Karstens who pitched 3.1 innings of relief for the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s bats were quiet with their only hits coming from Bobby Crosby and Garrett Jones.

Tim Hudson got the win, going 8 innings for the Braves, and giving up 3 hits and no runs. Ross Ohlendorf took the loss, pitching only 3.2 innings for the Pirates, giving up 6 hits and 7 runs. For more in depth coverage, go to the Braves Baseball Blog.

Nationals vs. Orioles

The Orioles hung on to beat the Nationals by a score of 5-3. Adam Jones got the Orioles off to a quick start hitting a two-run homerun in the 2nd giving the O’s a 2-0 lead. Craig Tatum knocked in a pair of runs in the 3rd. The Nationals got on the board with a run in the 6th on a RBI ground out by Ivan Rodriguez. Willie Harris homered in the 8th, cutting the Orioles lead to 4-3.

David Hernandez got the win, going 5.1 innings for Baltimore, giving up one run, one hit and 5 walks. Scott Olsen took the loss, lasting 3 innings for the Nationals, and giving up 4 runs on 6 hits. Miguel Batista came in to pitch 4 innings of relief for the Nats. Go to Centerfield Gate Blog for more on the game.

TPI took last weekend off and you have my sincerest apologies. On a rather humorous note, the Red Sox have tried to trade the Lance Armstrong of the Baseball World (Mike Lowell) to the Texas Rangers and would look to replace him with….drumroll….Adrian Beltre. I am not a general manager, though I do manage several fantasy baseball teams, but do you think it would be wise to bring in a guy who underperforms and is overpaid, into a fishbowl like Boston???? Do you really think Boston’s fans will have the patience for .250, 20 HR, and decent range/arm???? Not a wise move IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). Yes, I speak in acronyms sometimes.

The NL East has been busy this off season. First let me address the Granderson trade. Love this move. Absolutely love it. But not for the Yankees. I love it for the Diamondbacks. Dont get me wrong, Granderson will make a fine addition to the already potent/imposing Yankee lineup. But you have to love what the Diamondbacks did. They imported Edwin Jackson, and Ian Kennedy. They have now added two starters to their rotation. Scherzer was good, and Schlereth might end up being a good reliever, but any time you can get a #2 guy to be your #3, it is a good move. Kennedy is definetly a #4 guy and he will thrive in that roll. Great move all around for everyone involved although I think the Tigers got the worst of the deal, which is not a knock on them. It was a fair and balanced trade all around.

Pudge Rodriguez. 2 years from the Nationals. I like what they are doing here. Sure, it is not 2001, but you have to like the fact that the Nationals are trying.   Getting Bruney from the Yankees is a good move.  Strengthens the bullpen.  If they could get another starting pitcher, they might be decent to watch.

Welcome Back, Enrico Palazzo!

Placido “Enrico Palazzo” Polanco has rejoined the Phightin Phils. I like Polanco as a player. I have a soft spot for guys who take pitches, work the count, and make contact. Very valuable. Like a Shane Battier of Major League Baseball. Does the fundamental things right, but isnt a superstar. My question is, where does he hit in that lineup? Are the Phils going to move him down in the order, which kind of negates his value.  Are they looking to move Victorino down?  That is the only downside of this move.  Polanco would not be a good #6 or #7 hitter.  Mark DeRosa/Adam Kennedy I think would have been a better fit. 

Apparently, not thankful enough to be playing professional baseball!

The Mets and Phillies each got a new backup catcher.  The Phillies picked up Brian Schneider while the Mets got Chris Coste.  Calling this move minor would still overplay its signifigance, but what makes it interesting is Chris Coste’s statements about his remaining “a lifelong Phillie”.   Further, Mr. Coste found it “difficult” to sign with the Mets.   Frankly, I am glad players have a little more invested in their employers than simply their loyalty to the all mighty dollar.  However, Mr. Coste, the Phillies just cut you.  They deemed you worthless, so worthless in fact, that they signed Brian Schneider to replace you.  Mr. Schneider  hit .218 last year.  .218!!!!  I think it would be wise for Mr. Coste to close his mouth, cash his paycheck, and thank the heavens above that someone wants to pay him to play baseball.

Moving on, the Braves signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito and traded away Rafael Soriano, who had accepted arbitration.  Really, the Braves moved laterally here, unless you count what was received from the Tampa Bay Rays, right handed reliever Jesse Chavez, as an improvement.  It seems a right of passage for baseball teams to turnover their bullpens.  Usually, guys who one team didnt like move to a team that likes them slightly more.  Is Billy Wagner better than Rafael Soriano?  Not really.  Maybe cheaper, but otherwise, pretty much the same pitcher with similar injury concerns.  Saito is interesting but I think he has fallen from his spot as a stable bullpen presence. 

The Marlins yardsale continues as they have traded away Matt Lindstrom and Jeremy Hermida this offseason.  From Boston, the Marlins received, what else, young talent, in two left handed pitching prospects.  I dont even know what the Marlins got from Houston for Lindstrom.  Let’s just say, for arguments sake, it was a bag of magic beans. 

I cannot comment on rumors because they are just that, rumors.  I am sure there were other moves I missed, such as the Mets setting the world on fire by signing Henry Blanco who should not be confused with Gregor Blanco, because they are not related. 

Wait a second, you are not Cliff Lee....

Oh yeah, another thing, the Phillies just traded for Roy Halladay and three prospects.  If you read NLEastChatter, you knew I said that the Phillies needed pitching.  Well, they got it.  Just not in the way I imagined.  It is a shrewd business move, trading one star for another, especially since it looked unlikely that the Phillies could retain Cliff Lee past 2010.  However, do the Phillies actually get better?  They trade away 2 prospects in Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor and get three players back.  So essentially, for Roy Halladay, several months of Cliff Lee, and three prospects the Phillies traded 5 prospects, which really isnt a bad deal.  However, at the end of the day, entering next season, the Phillies still have one true ace, a solid number two/maybe ace/maybe bust and J.A. Happ.  This is exactly what they had when the season ended.  While Halladay is a great, great pitcher, the rest of the National League East cannot be any more afraid of the Phillies than when they had Cliff Lee. 

The rest of the offseason will be filled with what the hell the Mets will do.  The Mets, surrounded by Boston, the Yankees, and the Phillies, have watched all three teams pull off great moves and great signings.  They will be pressed into action.  The Nationals are essentially waiting for the dust to settle to see who will accept signing with the Nationals as opposed to playing in Japan, the Braves are quietly trying to put together a team in a city that cares slightly more about the Braves than the Hawks, but well below the Falcons and college football.  Lastly the Marlins appear to be determining who will show up for Spring Training to decide who they should sign.  With that said, feel free to show up to Marlins spring training.  If you manage to look official you might just join the 40 man roster.

I have decided on the title of my running article which I hope will continue to run on this website. As there were no comments on my previous article, I will assume that a) No One Cares or b) I am the only person reading it.

Where have you gone Mr. Jones?

I dont blame anyone. At this point in the baseball season, nothing is happening. Minor free agents are signing meaningless contracts, i.e., Andruw Jones & Alex Gonzalez, and teams are posturing. Many “sources” provide fodder for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and the like. Will the Blue Jays trade Roy Halladay? Who knows, but it is better to speculate about it then write nothing at all. Hell, if all ESPN and SI can put out is conjecture what the hell am I going to say.

The point is, there isnt much to say. Until the first domino falls, no one knows how this offseason will shape up.

How about Andrew/Andruw/Andru Jones? Remember when he hit 2 HR’s in a World Series game against the Yankees? What happened to him? Did he just lose confidence? Did he not try hard enough? Did he eat his way out of baseball? Or is he a casualty of the steroid era? I mean at this point, how could you at least not speculate that a guy who was productive and durable came crashing to the earth at around the same time steroids became a big deal. I am not saying that he took steroids. The point is that he could have taken steroids or some other performance enhancing substance. Or his career could have simply followed a bell curve, who knows. I certainly dont. However, that is what a blog is for, to voice an opinion and let the people decide one way or another.

For example, from 1997 until 2006, Jones averaged 33.7 HR’s a season. In 2005 and 2006, he managed to hit 51 and 41 HR’s respectively. In 2007, he dropped to 27 HR’s. Now, he is signing a minor league deal worth $500,000. Jones never hit for average, but I do not recall a debilitating injury (Jones did not go on the disabled list in his career until 2008) or anything else that would have slowed his career.

Look, more likely than not, Jones is just a victim of a downward career spiral. He put on weight and might not have had the discipline to maintain his status as an elite player. He never got a huge payday, ala, Adrian Beltre. (I mention Adrian Beltre not because he took steroids but because he had a curiously productive career year which coincided

I would be smiling too if I robbed a Major League Baseball Team

with his free agency year. Beltre has not come close to duplicating those numbers.) It is worth noting that Adrian Beltre had his huge season, .334 AVG and 48 HR’s in 2004. Jones’ best seasons came in 2005 and 2006. Despite being poised to receive a huge payday in free agency, Jones fizzled. One has to wonder why this occurred.

It is a shame because Jones could have been the Griffey Junior of his era. Now he is hoping for at-bats on the White Sox.

I know the steroid angle is played out and that no one cares anymore because most people assume all baseball players are guilty of something. However, any player whose career was productive and who has a rapid decline is under suspicion. Plus, it should be noted, Jones is only 32, which means his career derailed in his late 20′s. A little early for a guy who was pretty consistent over a 10 year span to suddenly lose the ability to hit a baseball, especially when he was never injured.

Please feel free to email any recommend questions or comments about the segment to mrose@nleastchatter.com or go to this forum topic and post a reply. We need questions for our next Chatter Up! Those games are Nats @ Mets and Phillies @ Braves. Thanks for everyone’s participation!