FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the San Diego Padres.
You know that scene in Caddyshack where Chevy Chase turns to Rodney Dangerfield and says, "You're not ... you're not good, Al. You stink" If Kevin Towers was sitting near me right now, that's what I would say. And one would imagine if there wasn't so much ownership turmoil around the Padres right now, someone else might have noticed as well.
* Former Orioles skipper Leo Mazzone on his old employer: "Once I got there and saw how they operated compared to the Braves, I knew I made a mistake the first week of spring training," he said, before chuckling and adding, "I said to myself, 'You know what? I done messed up.' The lack of organization. The lack of discipline. The lack of overall professionalism. I was shocked, and I couldn't believe it."
The man who drove in the run which sent the Rockies to the playoffs is gone.
The Colorado Rockies are shipping utility infielder Jamey Carroll to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named, freeing up money to pursue Tadahito Iguchi.
Carroll, who turns 34 in February, and his $2.15 million salary were deemed expendable even though the Rockies lost starting second baseman Kaz Matsui to the Houston Astros. (...)
Carroll told The Denver Post from his Florida home that he was comfortable in Denver and didn't seek a trade: "I never asked for that. I want that on the record. That's not the type of player or person I am. I know my role. There's nothing negative I will take from my time in Colorado. I was part of a historic run to get a team into the World Series. Those are memories that are going to last forever."
It's hardly the trade that's going to put the Indians back on top of the Tigers in the division, but it's something. The Rockies meanwhile are now squarely in the Iguchi hunt, reportedly having offered a two-year deal. If they can land Iguchi at a cheaper price than what the Astros paid for former Rockie Kaz Matsui (three years at $16.5 million), they will have come out looking pretty good, as Iguchi's hitting numbers are comparable to Matsui's without the stolen bases.
Tadahito Iguchi officially hit the open market yesterday after being released by the Phillies. Of course, the Phillies more or less had their hands forced; under the terms of the contract Iguchi signed with the White Sox three years ago, the Phillies weren't allowed to offer Iguchi arbitration, which means that not only is Iguchi free and clear, but the team that signs him won't have to give Philadelphia any draft picks as compensation. From the Philadelphia Daily News:
"[Iguchi] thinks he can get a job playing second every day somewhere. I think he and his agent are correct in that assumption," said Gillick, who added the Phillies asked him whether he would be willing to play third base.
So who plays third for the Phillies next year? Probably some combination of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett, considering Pat Gillick shot down any rumors of Philadelphia's interest in Mike Lowell.
As for Iguchi, he will be competing with a handful of prominent second basemen on the market -- Luis Castillo and Kaz Matsui, for instance, as well as Marcus Giles and Mark Loretta -- though he has to be considered one of the most desirable.
Carlos Zambrano isn't the only Chicagoan who's got himself a new contract. White Sox free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye has signed a two-year $22 million extension to stay in Chicago through 2009. There is also a mutual option for a third year that would bring the total value of the contract to $34 million. It's not the $91.5 million that Zambrano is getting, but I think Jermaine will be able to scrape by.
It's been an odd year for Jermaine Dye and the White Sox. Of their three potential free agents at the start of the year, only Tadahito Iguchi was expected to still be in Chicago in 2008. Now Iguchi is in Philadelphia, and Dye and Mark Buehrle have new contracts.
It's been a down season for Dye average wise, but he's still fourth in the American League with 24 home runs, and has been producing a lot better in the second half.
Personally, I'm happy that Dye will be staying in Chicago. I won't lie and say that I didn't want the Sox to trade him at the deadline, because I did, but that was before I realized he was injured. I had figured that Dye was breaking down, seemingly ignoring the fact that 33 years old is the new 28 in baseball these days. After basically being forced to take a week and a half off before the All-Star break (Since it was his contract year, Dye didn't want to sit out due to injury), Dye has begun to look more like the man that hit .315 with 44 home runs and 120 RBI's in 2006, and the guy who won the World Series MVP in 2005.
The move also reinforces what Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen have been saying all along. Despite the fact the Sox are currently tied with the Royals for last place in the AL Central, the plans for 2008 do not include a youth movement. The White Sox want to reload and make another run at a World Series title.
Two teams vying for the playoffs made deals for big names. Two last place teams swapped players. Guys you thought were gone ended up staying. Teammates weren't happy. But really, it was just a bunch of vagabond players switching uniforms.
Here are your winners and losers:
Winners:
Atlanta Braves
Sure, they gave up a top young player in catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (that last name is just way out of control) but picking upMark Teixeira -- even though his power's a bit down -- brings a proven power hitter on board and a quality defensive first baseman to boot. If Andruw Jones can knock out of his season-long slump (which he seems to maybe be doing) the Braves have a shot at taking over the Mets in the NL East or at worst picking up the Wild Card. In the long run this might not work out in Atlanta's favor, but for the here and now it did.
The Mets are close to acquiring second baseman Luis Castillo from the Twins for two minor leaguers, according to major-league sources.
Castillo would replace Jose Valentin, who recently suffered a season-ending broken shin when he fouled a pitch off his leg.
Now while this trade may not solve all of the Mets problems, having Luis Castillo teamed up with Jose Reyes atop of their order, it will lead to a lot of runs.
As for the Twins, if there were any questions remaining on how they were going to treat the rest of this season, I think this provides the answer. For now they'll fill the spot with Nick Punto and Jeff Cirillo, and could be interested in Morgan Ensberg at third base.
With Castillo being a free agent at the end of the season, it was unlikely he'd have stayed in Minnesota considering they have bigger fish to fry in Justin Morneau and Johan Santana. There's also Alexi Casilla down at Triple-A who's just waiting to take over the second base position in Minnesota.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Chicago Cubs (55-48) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (55-49)-ESPN 7:05PM Est.
The Cubs are just a win away from a first place tie with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, and they'll look to catch them on ESPN tonight. Of course, all they'll have to do is beat the hottest team in baseball right now, the Philadelphia Phillies. Philly has won 8 of their last 9 games to move to second place in the NL East, and they're doing it without Chase Utley. While the Phillies have lost a game recently, the guy they'll be facing tonight has not. Ted Lilly is 7-0 since June 15th, and has won his last six starts with an ERA of 1.83 in July. Something has got to give! Cole Hamels goes for the Phillies, and he shut down the Cubs back in May, allowing only two runs in seven innings. This game will also mark the return to Chicago for Tadahito Iguchi who has been gone a whole three days. Welcome home, Gooch!
The 21-year-old Dubee, the son of Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee, is 4-4 with a 3.88 ERA, one save and 54 strikeouts in 30 relief appearances this season with Class A Lakewood of the South Atlantic League. The 6-foot-2-inch, 175-pounder has averaged 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and has allowed just two home runs.
Dubee was selected by the Phillies in the 18th round of the June 2006 draft and has gone 5-7 with a 4.05 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 42 games over two minor-league seasons.
The 32-year-old Iguchi was signed by the Sox as a free agent in January 2005 and started at second base throughout the Sox's 2005 world championship season and thereafter. He's a career .273 hitter but is hitting only .251 this season.
Color me surprised. I'll be the first to admit, I've never heard of Dubee, and even though his stats look reasonably nice, I'm surprised that all it took was an 18th-round pick from a year ago to pick up one of the game's better offensive-minded second basemen (as the picture above shows, he's so good he swings with his eyes closed). For ChiSox GM Kenny Williams' sake, I hope Dubee turns out to be a player.
There's no question that the White Sox will be sellers before Tuesday's trade deadline passes, but there may be a new player available. Up until now most trade talk surrounding the White Sox has focused on Jermaine Dye, Jose Contreras, Javier Vazquez, and Jon Garland.
Dye is a free agent at the end of the season, but unlike Mark Buehrle, he hasn't been offered an extension. The Sox also have another player who will be a free agent at season's end, and he just became a lot more valuable.
Considering that the White Sox don't appear to be on the verge of getting anything substantial for Dye and Contreras, the two players they really want to trade, Iguchi might be Chicago's best chance to get something of value in return.
Iguchi is one of the top offensive second baseman in the American League, and is average defensively. He could help the Phillies supplant some of the production they'll be missing without Chase Utley, and the Mets could probably get more out of Iguchi than Valentin. Since both teams are in the same division, they may have to try and outbid each other for Iguchi's services.
Which would be great news for Kenny Williams and the White Sox.
Left on Base is MLB FanHouse's link dump.
The man who drove in the run which sent the Rockies to the playoffs is gone.
Tadahito Iguchi officially hit the open market yesterday after being released by the Phillies. Of course, the Phillies more or less had their hands forced; under the terms of the contract Iguchi signed with the White Sox three years ago, the Phillies weren't allowed to offer Iguchi arbitration, which means that not only is Iguchi free and clear, but the team that signs him won't have to give Philadelphia any draft picks as compensation. From the Philadelphia Daily News:
Carlos Zambrano isn't the only Chicagoan who's got himself a new contract. White Sox free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye has signed a two-year $22 million extension to stay in Chicago through 2009. There is also a mutual option for a third year that would bring the total value of the contract to $34 million. It's not the $91.5 million that Zambrano is getting, but I think Jermaine will be able to scrape by.
Two teams vying for the playoffs made deals for big names. Two last place teams swapped players. Guys you thought were gone ended up staying. Teammates weren't happy. But really, it was just a bunch of vagabond players switching uniforms. 
The Phillies are on a tear, and just got Tadahito Iguchi to fill in for Chase Utley. The Braves just added Mark Teixeira to their lineup. The Mets have to make a move, and it appears they're on the verge of doing so.
Well, that didn't take long. Less than a day after losing Chase Utley for the next month with a broken finger, the Phillies acquired Tadahito Iguchi from the surrendering White Sox (in a move more or less predicted earlier today by our own Tom Fornelli). Who did the Phillies receive? Michael Dubee, a 21-year-old minor league pitcher currently stationed in Class A. From the Chicago Tribune:
There's no question that the White Sox will be sellers before Tuesday's trade deadline passes, but there may be a new player available. Up until now most trade talk surrounding the White Sox has focused on Jermaine Dye, Jose Contreras, Javier Vazquez, and Jon Garland.
