Miguel Tejada is headed back to Baltimore after signing a one-year deal with the Orioles worth $6 million. He has agreed to play third base since the club wants to keep Cesar Izturis at shortstop.

From Yahoo! Sports:

Tejada made more than $14 million with the Houston Astros in 2009, the final season of a six-year, $72 million contract he signed with the Orioles. Tejada played shortstop with the Orioles from 2004-07 before being traded to Houston for five players: outfielder Luke Scott(notes), pitchers Troy Patton(notes), Matt Albers(notes) and Dennis Sarfate(notes), and third baseman Mike Costanzo.

Cesar Izturis(notes) played deftly in the field at shortstop with Baltimore last year and is expected to retain his starting position in 2010. Tejada will be asked to play third base, a position that became vacant when the Orioles decided against bringing back Melvin Mora(notes).

“I’ll play in third base, which means a change in my career,” he said. “It’s like the beginning of a new career, but I’ll continue doing my same workout routine to be able continue my career.”

This was a wise pickup by the Orioles as they’ve now completed their infield. Tejada did well for the Houston Astros last season, hitting .313 with 14 home runs and 86 RBIs in 158 games. He might be a disaster at the hot corner, but the Orioles will benefit from his bat.

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/01/23/miguel-tejada-signs-with-orioles/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/08/15/mlb-power-rankings%e2%80%94top-5-and-bottom-5/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/08/15/mlb-power-rankings%e2%80%94top-5-and-bottom-5/#comments Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:56:07 +0000 Mike Farley http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=22663

It’s getting down to pennant race times and there are some incredibly tight races and a lot of teams that are at least in contention. Here we’ll take a look at who we think the Top 5 teams are right now and who the Bottom 5 are as well.

Top 5

1. New York Yankees (73-43)—Not only did the Yankees sweep the rival Red Sox last weekend and make quite a statement, they’ve won 10 of 11 and are 22-6 (.786) since the all-star break. That is just scorching.

2. Los Angeles Angels (68-45)—You have to feel for the surging Rangers and even the Mariners, because neither one is going to catch this fundamentally sound team. If Mike Scioscia isn’t the best manager in baseball, he’s surely the most underrated.

3. St. Louis Cardinals (65-52)—The Cards grabbed Matt Holliday before anyone else could and he’s batting .493 with a slugging percentage of .813 in his first 75 at-bats with St. Louis. Pujols/Holliday has got to be the most fearsome 3-4 tandem in baseball.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-47)—The Dodgers hung on without Manny for a few months, and then cooled off when he returned. They’ve lost 7 of 11 but still lead their division by 5 games and are 32-14 against NL West opponents.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (65-48)—Suddenly with Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, and Jimmy Rollins finally finding his stroke, the defending champs are poised to make another run deep into October and possibly November.

Bottom 5

1. Washington Nationals (41-75)—They recently won eight in a row but still trail the Phillies by 25.5 games and the fourth place Mets by 13.5. So yeah, they’re still the worst team in baseball.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates (46-69)—The Pirates actually looked half decent early in the season, but they did what they always do in July—made a whole bunch of trades and pretty much surrendered the season as well as the next three seasons, as they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games.

3. Kansas City Royals (45-70)—Remember the Royals were 14-12 and everyone started talking about this team being decent for the first time in two-plus decades? We remember, but then they remembered that they were the Royals.

4. Baltimore Orioles (48-67)—This team has some great young players like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis, but playing in that division is almost unfair.

5. Cleveland Indians (49-66)—Once again, the Indians have disappointed and started selling off players. Cliff Lee, like CC Sabathia last year, is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and the Tribe also dumped popular catcher Victor Martinez and infielder Ryan Garko. Next year sure has a familiar ring on Lake Erie.

1. Sabathia, Teixeira choke on applesauce in debuts
The Yankees’ two big offseason free agent signings got off to rough starts yesterday as CC Sabathia allowed six runs on eight hits in just 4.1 innings of work and Mark Teixeira went 0-4 in NY’s 10-5 loss to the O’s. Sabathia didn’t strike out one batter as his control looked completely out of whack and Teixeira left five men on base. Who knew spending gobs of money doesn’t guarantee initial success?

2. Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez: The New Bash Brothers
Clark and Lopez each went deep yesterday…twice. What’s amazing about the feat (besides the fact that Tony Clark and Felipe Lopez each hit two home runs in the same game) is that they were the first pair of switch-hitting teammates to homer from both sides of the plate in a game since Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams did if ro the Yankees on April 23, 2000. The D’Backs edged NL West rival Colorado 8-7.

3. Looks like Hanley Ramirez will be okay in the three-hole
Generally a leadoff hitter in previous seasons, the Marlins moved shortstop Hanley Ramirez into the three-hole this year and he responded on Opening Day by hitting his first career grand slam in the Fish’s 12-6 victory over the Nats. Ramirez also had an RBI double and walked. I know it was only the first game of 162, but Ramirez looked awfully comfortable at the plate.

4. Have the Mets solved their bullpen woes?
It was only one game, but the Mets had to be absolutely ecstatic with the way Sean Green, and newly acquired setup man J.J. Putz and new closer Francisco Rodriguez shut the door on the Reds yesterday. The trio didn’t give up any runs or hits in 3.1 innings of relief work as New York topped Cincinnati 2-1. Again, it was only one game but the considering how bad the Mets’ pen was last year, it’s an encouraging start.

5. The Tigers are going to be bad again this year
It’s a bad sign when you start the season losing 12-5 against the Blue Jays. It’s even worse when your supposed ace only lasts 3.2 innings in his first start. The Tigers’ Justin Verlander was absolutely rocked in his debut, allowing eight runs on eight hits in under four innings of work. The lineup wasn’t bad for Detroit, but their pitching looks like a major weakness yet again.

6. Welcome to 2009, Cliff Lee
One of the better stories in baseball last year was Cliff Lee’s 22-win season. But it’s clearly not 2008 anymore because Cleveland’s ace was shelled yesterday in Texas, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits in just five innings of work. The final blow was Hank Blalock’s 3-run shot off him in the fifth, which gave the Rangers a 7-0 lead in route to a 9-1 victory.

- THE LOVE OF SPORTS ranks the top 20 mediocre members of more popular sports athletes.

- UNCOACHED.COM details why they miss college. (We’ll give you a hint – it has everything to do with a hot chick from Duke University.)

- TONYBLOGS.NET has the highlights of Tigers Woods winning at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

- LARRY BROWN SPORTS has video of a Guitar Hero Commercial where Bob Knight throws a chair at Metallica.

Click Here to see Previews of all 30 MLB Teams

Offseason Movement: One of the busier teams this offseason, the Orioles acquired OF Felix Pie and LHP Rich Hill from the Cubs, while also adding free agents Ty Wigginton, Mark Hendrickson, Cesar Izturis, Gregg Zaun, Ryan Freel, John Parrish, David Pauley, Chris Gomez, Chad Moeller and Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara.

Top Prospect: Matt Wieters, C
Wieters isn’t only the best prospect in Baltimore – he’s the best prospect in baseball. He can flat out rake and once he gets some experience under his belt, he could be a .300 hitter who produces 12-15 home runs a year. Unfortunately, Baltimore fans that were hoping to see him play early this season will have to wait. Wieters is expected to start the first two months in the International League, but could be called up before the All-Star Break with the O’s not expected to be in contention. Some have compared Wieters to Joe Mauer and Mike Piazza.

The Big Question: Can the starting pitching come through?
Jeremy Guthrie will assume the role of ace again this season after posting 10 wins and a 3.63 ERA. After Guthrie is a relative unknown in Koji Uehara, who went 12-0 last year in Japan. Mark Hendrickson adds a veteran arm to the rotation, but he won’t dazzle anyone and Rich Hill had issues with his control last season in Chicago. Throw in David Pauley and this is one of the worst starting rotations in all of baseball.

Outlook: The Orioles have a nice collection of position players starting with Nick Markakis, who is one of the best young outfielders in the game. The club also hung onto 2B Brian Roberts despite offseason trade rumors, so at least they’ll have a quality bat at the leadoff position while Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora and Luke Scott add to a promising lineup. If newly acquired Felix Pie and former top prospect Adam Jones ever develop, the O’s would have one of the better young lineups in all of baseball. But the starting pitching is horrible and the O’s play in one of the toughest divisions in the league. The Rays came out of nowhere last year, but at least they had a true ace in Scott Kazmir and a nice developing youngster in Matt Garza. Baltimore’s lineup shows some potential, but the pitching staff will doom this club once again this year.

Projection: 5th AL East.

1. Ken Griffey Jr. (2521 games, 20 seasons)—He’s played for some great Mariners teams, but his Reds’ clubs the last decade or so were mostly awful. Junior had a shot with the White Sox last season after being traded, and didn’t make it. Can he play long enough for Seattle to become competitive again?

2. Frank Thomas (2322, 19)—Really, the Big Hurt has never sniffed a World Series? Well yeah, he was with the White Sox for 16 years and the team won it all in 2005, his last season with the team. But that October, Thomas was injured and left off the postseason roster, and then signed with Oakland in 2006.

3. Alex Rodriguez (2042, 15)—Does anyone else think it’s not coincidental that A-Rod has never reached the Fall Classic? Dude is a world-beater in the regular season but never seems to match or exceed his capability in the postseason.

4. Carlos Delgado (2009, 16)—Delgado began his career in Toronto right after the Jays won two World Series titles, and while he’s been close with the Mets a few times, he’s still looking for that “brass” ring.

5. Ray Durham (1975, 14)—Ray Durham has been a steady player, but all those years with the Giants (after they were NL champs in 2002) didn’t help his chances to reach the big stage. A late-season trade to Milwaukee in 2008 got him close, but the Brewers lost to Philly in the NLDS.

6. Jason Kendall (1833, 13)—Nine seasons in Pittsburgh says all that there needs to be said.

7. Bobby Abreu (1799, 13)—Abreu left Philly, and the Phillies won two division titles and a World Series. He put up decent numbers with the Yanks, but being A-Rod’s teammate didn’t help matters any (see above).

8. Mark Grudzielanek (1772, 14)—Grudzielanek began his career in Canadian baseball purgatory (Montreal) and has played the last three seasons in American baseball purgatory (Kansas City).

9. Vladimir Guerrero (1750, 13)—This dude has absolutely mashed his entire career, but playing eight years in Montreal ensured a late start in postseason experience. He signed with the Angels two years after they won it all, and is on a very talented team that always seems to underachieve in the playoffs.

10. Miguel Tejada (1713, 12)—Tejada won an MVP award in Oakland and has put up some monster numbers. His link to steroid use, along with A-Rod’s, has not exactly put him in a good light, but it’s still a bit surprising that he’s never made it to the big dance.

Source: Baseball Reference

Anyway, as Manny Ramirez remains unemployed, there were a few other smaller signings and moves this past week….

Okay, this isn’t small but just announced on Friday, Prince Fielder has agreed to a 2-year, $18 million deal with the Brewers that will keep him firmly entrenched (and who could move the guy?) on first base in Milwaukee through 2010. I’m glad for the Brew Crew since they lost out to the mighty Yankees in the CC sweepstakes.

Catcher Gregg Zaun re-signed with the Orioles, the team that drafted him back in 1989. The journeyman player signed a deal worth $1.5 million with a $2 million option for 2010.

The Phillies signed outfielder Jayson Werth to a two-year, $10 million contract and also inked reliever Chad Durbin to a one-year deal worth $1.635 million.

Young right fielder Nick Markakis of the Orioles came to terms on a six-year, $66.1 million deal, covering his first three arbitration-eligible years as well as his first three free agency eligible seasons. Clearly the O’s believe in this kid and want to keep him away from the Yankees and Red Sox.

Two other catchers signed this week—Brad Ausmus reached agreement with the Dodgers on a 1-year, $1 million deal; and Henry Blanco signed a $750,000 deal for one year to back up Padres’ catcher Nick Hundley.

Shortstop Omar Vizquel, who at 41 still looks like he’s 25, has been invited to spring training by the Texas Rangers. Vizquel signed a minor league deal that will allow him to mentor 20-year old Elvis Andrus, and to possibly become the team’s utility infielder. In order to make room for Andrus on the field, the Rangers are planning to move all-star shortstop Michael Young to third base. In addition, the Rangers are said to be casually wooing free agent pitcher Ben Sheets, who lives in Dallas.

Meanwhile, Tom Covill of Yahoo Sports posted this great summary of the remaining big name free agents still looking for work. It’s really kind of mind-boggling, but looking at these tiny deals being signed this past week, it’s clearly about economics and nothing more.