From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
With the recent news that Mark DeRosa is on the trade block and the White Sox have possibly landed Jake Peavy, junkies of major league baseball trade rumors got an early glimpse at what promises to be a very interesting July. It's far to0 early to know exactly who will be in the market for what -- or who can afford to take on temporary payroll in this economy -- but it's certainly fun to speculate. Let's do it.
Pedro Martinez, a 37-year-old in the twilight of his career, is still searching for big league work this season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight time All-Star has been spending his time pitching for the Dominican Republic. Thanks to a rousing upset at the hands of the Netherlands, though, the Dominican is done playing.
The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.
They are forgotten men this time of year -- especially with the surprisingly entertaining World Baseball Classic and the daily drama surrounding Alex Rodriguez to distract us. But while most of us yawn indifferently at Spring Training games and count down toward Opening Day, they have something to prove. They are the veterans coming off of a lost season in 2008 (because of injury or otherwise).
And for them, spring games are about re-establishing confidence in their own abilities and instilling renewed faith in those abilities in the decision-makers on their teams.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the ... Eventual landing spot for Manny Ramirez. Seriously, it's going to happen sooner or later, so we'll just assume it's already happened for the purposes of this post. Obviously, if he either signs elsewhere (unlikely) or sits out this season (as unlikely as the holier than thou media embracing A-Rod), we'll have to re-fantasy-spin the entire offense. He's that important to the lineup.
The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday.
Good for the Dodgers. Good for the McCourt family and even for (gulp) general manager Ned Colletti. Mercurial slugger Manny Ramirez has rejected the Dodgers' fourth contract offer this winter, rumored to be a two-year, $45 million deal that featured a $20 million player-only option in the second year of the contract.
Los Angeles' management has apparently had enough.
From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.
Season's Greetings. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
As baseball fans across the country gather to celebrate the holiday season with their loved ones, we here at MLB FanHouse have come up with a present we'd like to give to fans of every team -- even the ones who root for the Yankees, it turns out you folks don't have quite everything just yet.
On a day like Christmas, baseball season can seem an awfully long way off, especially here in the Northeast, where the snow banks are piled four and five feet high. In reality, pitchers and catchers can report to Spring Training in a mere 52 days.
Enjoy the hypothetical gifts for now; it won't be very long before we can all unwrap a very tangible one -- a brand spanking new baseball season.
There was speculation around LA that heads were going to roll following the Dodgers' collapse. Many people blamed Grady Little for failing to properly manage the personalities on the team. Others blamed Ned Colletti for making poor signings (e.g. Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt), and failing to acquire a big bat when one was needed. Well, good thing for both Little and Colletti -- owner Frank McCourt says they'll both be back next year:
Frank McCourt characterized the Dodgers' season as a "disappointment" Sunday but said General Manager Ned Colletti and Manager Grady Little would be back in 2008. ... McCourt, Colletti and Little agreed that the organization should remain committed to building around its young players.
"We put a foundation in place that will serve the organization well for years and years to come," McCourt said. "We need to stick with the plan and not be impulsive because we're getting closer."
You can pinpoint many different problems for the Dodgers this year. I would say the injury to Schmidt, lack of offense from Nomar Garciaparra and Rafael Furcal, as well as the organizational impatience with Wilson Betemit, were the primary reasons for the season's failure. Take those four problems and attribute them however you like, and that's where you can direct the blame. I guess Schmidt is on Colletti, Furcal likely underachieved because he was playing hurt, and Nomar simply underperformed (there was pressure from the fans to re-sign him), and I don't know who's to blame for the impatience with Betemit. Add it all up, and really, I don't think much of the season's failure was attributable to Little or Colletti. On paper, the pieces were in place -- it just didn't play out the way it was expected to.
Certainly the man isn't alone when it comes to signing lucrative contracts and underperforming, but hey, he's an easy target. And luckily for us, he's giving tips on how to get rich:
Honestly, Scott Boras with the devil horns at the end? Come on guys, is that really necessary?
With zero offense over the last few weeks, an injured pitching staff, and a lack of significant moves made at the trade deadline, the Dodgers have found themselves falling out of the playoff race. That's coming from a team that either led, or was second in the division for most of the season. I guess you could blame some of it on season-ending injuries to Jason Schmidt, Randy Wolf, and minor ones to Derek Lowe and Takashi Saito recently. But a lot has to do with the lack of offensive production. As a result, manager Grady Little held a closed-door meeting on Monday to try and revive the team's hopes.
"It was like a baseball chapel, and I was the priest. There was no responding," Little said. "I was just pretty much telling the truth. It's the type of meeting I'm not really fond of giving on a night we're facing a guy like Roy Oswalt."
Little said part of the problem is that individual players are trying too hard to carry the team or to be the player to spark a rally. He said that when guys start trying to do too much, it leads to guys pressing and nothing gets accomplished.
What's the prognosis? The Dodgers are most likely done for the season, barring a serious offensive surge sometime soon. Real soon. It also doesn't help that the Diamondbacks have been unstoppable lately. Now, the better issue might be, where did that come from?
Why is last year's news noteworthy? Because it explains a heck of a lot. Brad Penny put together an excellent first half last year. It was so good that he was selected as the NL All-Star game starter. This year, he nearly repeated the first half performance, and was almost selected to start the All-Star game for the second year in a row. Many people including myself have been wondering if Penny would repeat his second half collapse of last year in which he went 6-7 with an ERA over 6. Well, Penny's recent comments would explain why you shouldn't expect a collapse this year:
"I won 16 games last year, a career high," Penny said, "but when I was struggling, people said I was overthrowing, trying to throw everything 100 miles an hour. The truth is, I was suffering from a bulging disk. I had trouble bending over, but it was easier for people to say I was overthrowing."
With Jason Schmidtout for the year and Randy Wolfon the DL, the Dodgers will need to rely heavily on the experience starters like Brad Penny and Derek Lowe. Knowing this information explains a heck of a lot, and it means the Dodgers should expect another solid half of baseball from their emerging ace.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
The 
There was speculation around LA that heads were going to roll following the Dodgers' collapse. Many people blamed 
With zero offense over the last few weeks, an injured pitching staff, and a lack of significant moves made at the trade deadline, the Dodgers have found themselves falling out of the playoff race. That's coming from a team that either led, or was second in the division for most of the season. I guess you could blame some of it on season-ending injuries to 
Why is last year's news noteworthy? Because it explains a heck of a lot. 
