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.

Maybe its the socks?

Tuesday night in Philly, the Rockies were looking for their fifth straight victory and send a message that they were for real.  They started the series well, as Garrett Atkins had a huge game including four RBI on a two run double and a two run home run.  Catcher, Chris Iannetta also added in two RBI as the Rockies went on to beat the Phillies 8-3.  Starter Jason Hammel(6-6) went 6.2 innings only allowing three runs, but scattering nine hits and six strike outs.

The Phillies have now lost five out of six games and three games straight since Cliff Lee’s masterful game on Friday night.  Tuesday’s starter Jamie Moyer had another bad start, and with Pedro Martinez on the horizon, when will the rumors of his demise begin?  Moyer(10-8) went five innings but was charged with six runs on six hits and four walks.  Former starter Rodrigo Lopez came on in relief and gave up two more runs in only two innings of work.  Jimmy Rollins was a bright spot for the Phillies as he went 2-5 with a two run home run, his twelth of the season.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more on this game and the Phillies.

Dunn with another blast

Tuesday night began an inter-division series between the Marlins and the Nationals (look for the Chatter Up! later today).  The Nationals drew first blood in this one even after being held scoreless for the first seven innings.  Going into the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game, the Nats were down 4-0, and thing didn’t look well as Josh Johnson was dealing.  That is when the bats got going though.  In the eighth inning, the Nationals had six runs including a two RBI double by Ronnie Belliard and a RBI single by Guzman.  The inning and game scoring was capped by Adam Dunn hitting a two run home run that put the Nats ahead 6-4 for good.  Nationals starter J.D. Martin only got through 4.1 innings before being pulled, but the relief was solid behind him.  Ron Villone(4-5) got the win in relief working 1.1 scoreless innings and Mike MacDougal got his ninth save of the season while getting through a shaky ninth inning.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more information regarding the Nats.

The Marlins were cruising in this one with Josh Johnson, and will be second guessing themselves for leaving him on the mound for a while.  Johnson got a no decision but was charged with four runs and six hits, all runs from the eighth inning he worked in but could not record an out.  Kiko Calero(2-1) was charged with the loss and a blown save in this game as he only got one out in the eighth.  Former National got the Marlins started in this game with an RBI in the first and scored another run on Jeremy Hermida’s seventh inning single.  Cody Ross who is on fire hit a home run in the fourth and was followed by another home run by PITCHER Josh Johnson.  FishGuts will have more on the Marlins and this game.

Vazquez comes through

The Braves were in need of a win on Tuesday night, as they had been free falling of late.  They sent Javier Vazquez to the mound against the last place San Diego Padres, and got what they wanted.  The Braves were down early, but Vazquez(9-7) got through seven innings only allowing four hits and two runs, while striking out six while throwing only 98 pitches.  The Braves scored in six different innings, putting up crooked numbers in the sixth and eighth to put the game away as the Braves won 9-2.  Adam LaRoche had another RBI since rejoining the Braves, and they got home runs from Martin Prado and Matt Diaz on way to a 9-2 victory.  Prado added another two RBI single in the game while staying on fire for a final line of 3-5 with 3 RBI and two runs scored.  The Braves Baseball Blog has more Braves information for you!

The Padres bats went back to sleep on Tuesday night adn they couldn’t help out starter Tim Stauffer.  Stauffer(1-3) got through five innigns scattering eight hits and three runs and got the loss even though he left with a close game.  Edward Mujica gave up four earned runs in in only one third of an inning.  Will Venable hit his fifth home run in the first inning and scored the only other Padres run on a Chase Headley double in the fourth.

What next?

The New York Mets can’t get out of their own way.  On Friday, they lost a game on a wild pitch and last night the deciding run was scored on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded by the same Pitcher, Sean Green.  In this back and forth game, the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead in the fifth, only to give up four in the bottom of the frame.   The Cardinals then got closer in the eighth on a solo home run by Pujols and tied it in the ninth.  Against Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, the Cardinals got two runs on two doubles by Ankiel and Julio Lugo and a single by Skip Schumaker.  In the tenth inning, after Mark DeRosa was hit to give them the lead, Albert Pujols put it away with a grand slam to left center field.  Kyle McClellan(3-2) got the win while going through the ninth inning giving up only a hit and a walk before the winning inning.

The Mets had a lot of positives early in this game and it would have been a great win, rather than a demoralizing loss.  Johan Santana helped his own cause with a two run double in the second inning and was picked up later.  While down 5-4, the Mets got a two RBI double from Gary Sheffield followed by a Daniel Murphy double and a Cora single to take a 7-4 lead.  They would not get any other runs in the game.  Santana finished with a no decision while getting through eight innings and giving up five runs on nine hits.  Francisco Rodriguez got tagged with his fourth blown save of the season and Pedro Feliciano(4-4) got charged with three runs as he loaded the bases prior to Sean Green’s appearance.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has all the Mets info you need.

Be sure to check back to NLEC or the team affiliate blog frequently!

If interested in helping the NLEC, please contact mrose@nleastchatter.com

Blanton with another strong game

The Philadelphia Phillies were looking to have another successful series and take two out of three games from the formerly Central division leading St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.  They ended up routing them for the second straight day, led by home runs from Utley, Howard, Rollins and Ibanez, all of the two run variety on way to a 9-2 victory.  Starter Joe Blanton(7-4) went eight innings, having yet another strong start giving up seven hits, two runs and six strike outs as Brad Lidge worked the ninth in a non save situation.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more info on the Phils.

The Cardinals once again had production from their latest trade pickups, but they will need the rest of the team to produce to be successful.  Lugo went 2-4 with a run scored, Holliday was 1-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly and Mark DeRosa was 2-4 with a solo home run for this game.  The rest of the team only had three hits and produced no runs as Todd Wellemeyer took the loss.  Wellemeyer(7-9) went 5.2 innings giving up seven runs, five earned on this day.

HanRam takes one for the team

The Florida Marlins yesterday were able to derail the best team in the National League, by taking two out of three games from the NL West leading Los Angeles Dodgers.  Hanley Ramirez finished with three RBI while going 2-4 with a run scored to lead the Marlins and even was retaliated against by Jeff Weaver for having such a game.  Chris Volstad(8-9) worked 5.1 innings giving up eight hits and four runs but that held up for the win by a final of 8-6.  In the bottom of the seventh inning, Burke Badenhop was ejected along with manager Fredi Gonzalez for retaliation for Hanley Ramirez being hit, or so the umps thought so.  Check out  FishGuts for more Marlins insight.

The Marlins were down 8-0 yesterday before fighting back with six runs between the sixth and ninth innings.  James Loney had a two RBI double and an RBI single, Russell Martin had a two home home run an RBI single by Ethier capped the scoring.  Jason Schmidt(1-1) only lasted three innings while getting tagged for five runs and five hits, but only four earned runs.

A

Kotchman with a bomb

The Braves were only up 1-0 yesterday on the Brewers when entering the sixth inning yesterday but Casey Kotchman and the rest of the team wanted to put this one out of reach.  Kotchman hit a three run home run to make it 5-0 in the sixth after Matt Diaz had produced a run with a single before him.  They added five more runs in the final four innings on a McCann and Kelly Johnson home runs, a Prado Sac fly, and a bases loaded walk for Yunel Escobar.  Derek Lowe(10-7) worked six strong innings only giving up a two run home run as the Braves won 10-2 to take the series in Milwaukee.  The Braves Baseball Blog will have more info on the Braves for you.

The Brewers offense was held in check yesterday by Brave pitching except for one inning in the game.  In the sixth inning after falling behind 5-0, Corey Hart hit his 10th home run of the season to cut the lead to 5-2.  Braves relief pitching though couldn’t hold on to allow them to come back.  Braden Looper(9-5) went six innings giving up seven hits and five runs on four walks to take the loss in this one.

Livan rebounds for a good outting

After the first inning yesterday in Houston, it looked like the same old rubber game for the Mets this season.  Livan Hernandez(7-5) gave up three runs on three consecutive doubles to start the game before the Astros made some baserunning mistakes to get him out of an even bigger inning.  After that, Hernandez settled in for six more innings allowing no more runs than the initial three as the Mets came back to win 8-3.  The Mets had three triples in this game, one each from Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan and Jeremy Reed.  Sean Green worked the final out of the eighth and the ninth inning to get his first save fo the season.  The Mets now return home to face the wild card leading Colorado Rockies for four at Citi Field and hope to bring some momentum with them.  Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more.

Doubles in the first by Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee and Geoff Blum after a single by Kaz Matsui provided all three runs for the Astros.  Hunter Pence followed with a single by Blum was thrown out at home for the second out by a mile, followed by Pence being caught stealing while Pudge was at bat.  Brian Moehler(7-6) worked 4.2 innings but gave up five runs on eight hits and walked two in taking the loss for the Astros.

Kearns sends fans home happy

The Washington Nationals completed their second straight series victory with a walk off victory against the San Diego Padres.  Austin Kearns with his first at bat of the game, replacing Adam Dunn hit a walk off single which scored Nyjer Morgan to give the Nats a 3-2 victory.  Josh Willingham homered in the seventh to even them with the Padres at 1 and then Adam Dunn singled home Willie Harris in the eighth inning for the lead.  John Lannan worked eight innings but got a no decision as Mike MacDougal blew his first save of the year for the Nationals.  Joe Beimel(1-5) worked two thirds of an inning and qualified for the win.  Centerfieldgate has more info for you on the Nats.

The Padres started Chad Gaudin pitched well but also got a no decision and Luke Gregerson was thankful for Kyle Banks hitting another home run, this time off Mike MacDougal to save him from a loss.  Greg Burke(2-3) took the loss as he was an out away from getting out of the rally when Kearns won the game for the Nats.

Ibanez keeps the Phils goin

The Philadelphia Phillies welcomed in the Padres to CBP to complete a rain-shortened series from April.  The Phillies battered around the San Diego starter and ace Cole Hamels got the win.  Seven different Phillies had RBI’s, including a two run double by Ibanez and a solo home run from catcher Carlos Ruiz.  Jayson Werth also continued to be hot, going 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.  Cole Hamels(6-5) went seven innings allowing three runs, all in the fourth inning and struck out six to get the victory by a score of 9-4.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more Phillies info, also with a piece on the Phillies latest injury news.

The Padres could only muster four runs against Philly pitching, and two of those came on a Kyle Blanks home run, his second of the year.  Starter Kevin Correia(6-8) didn’t keep them in the game long though as he gave up eight runs in only 3.1 innings.

The Padres move on to Washington for the weekend, as the St. Louis Cardinals, a more formidable opponent come into Citizens Bank Park to face the Phillies.

Zito looks good

The Giants were finally able to slow down the surging Braves yesterday in the series finale in Atlanta.  Zito(6-10) went seven innings of three hit ball giving up only one run, but he did walk five against six strike outs.  It looked for a while that his efforts would be for nothing, until the Giants offense broke through in the top of the eighth.  The Giants scored four in the eighth inning, but none of the runs were earned because of Brave errors while winning 5-1.

The Braves offense went silent yesterday, which hasn’t happened often.  They managed only one run, on a Yunel Escobar home run in the second inning and that topped off their scoring for the game.  Mike Gonzalez(3-3) took the loss as he didn’t record an out in the eighth but also did not take an earned run because of errors.  The Braves travel to Milwaukee this weekend for a three game set, check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more.

Balester gets a tough loss

Last night the Nationals looked to build on a series win against the Mets with the suddenly struggling Cardinals coming in.  The St. Louis Cardinals though, had other plans, as they won a rain shortened game by a score of 4-1.  Rick Ankiel hit a home run in the second inning as three other Cards had RBI’s including Mark DeRosa and Skip Schumaker.  Adam Wainwright(11-6) technically pitched a complete game, going six innings only allowing a single run, but striking out seven against eight hits.

The Nationals sent Colin Balester to the mound since rookie Jordan Zimmermann went on the disabled list.  Balester(0-1) lasted only three innings and left during a rain delay after giving up three runs, two earned and a home run.  Alberto Gonzalez drove Adam Dunn in with a sixth inning double for the Nats only run.  Make sure to check out the CenterfieldGate for more Nats information and insight.