Giants fans had been waiting since the end of spring training for their team to recall top prospect Buster Posey from Triple-A Fresno. The club teased fans by announcing that Posey had a shot to make the big league club in the spring, then pulled the chair out from under them at the last second while sending him back to the minors. (And laughing the entire time.)

“Ha, ha! Posey isn’t going to make the team, idiots. Now go watch Eugenio Velez play everyday…and lead off.”

But then on May 29, the impossible happened: the Giants actually called Posey up from the minors. Better yet, he delivered.

He went 3-for-4 with three RBI in a win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday night and then chipped in three more hits (including a pair of doubles) and an RBI in the Giants’ win over Arizona on Sunday. His two extra base hits allowed San Fran to stay in a game they probably would have otherwise lost. He provided a spark to their offense that has been missing all season.

But while Posey’s 6-for-9 start is thrilling for Bay area fans who desperately deserve to see some offense, there’s no guarantee that the Giants won’t send him back down to the minors once Edgar Renteria and Mark DeRosa return from the DL. After all, Posey is a catcher and Bengie Molina is currently occupying that position. Aubrey Huff, the club’s normal first baseman, is playing left field so that Posey can play first and once DeRosa returns, he can go back to the outfield and push Huff back to the infield. Renteria would then give the Giants’ a surplus of infielders and if Posey isn’t going to play, it makes no sense to store him on the bench.

It’s ironic that a team that couldn’t score runs (the Giants once again rank among the league’s worst in runs scored) before Posey was called up would actually find a way to get rid of one their best hitters, but if there’s a will there’s a way when it comes to GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy. Sabean has been saying for weeks that Posey wasn’t ready to come up and if the 23-year-old starts struggling, there’s no doubt that he’ll have an itchy trigger finger in terms of sending him back down. There’s nothing Sabean enjoys more than torturing fans.

Of course, if Posey keeps hitting then there’s nothing Sabean or Bochy can do but play him. The Giants are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since dinosaurs roamed the earth and they know that they can compete with an average offense because of how good their pitching staff is. He’s not going to hit .667 all season, but if Posey can make himself indispensable then the Giants will be forced to make room for him when guys like Renteria and DeRosa come back. They’ll simply have no choice.

In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

Last up is the NL West.

1. Colorado Rockies (7)
Before I wax poetically about the youthful Rockies, I have an axe to grind about the television broadcasting crew of Drew Goodman, Jeff Huson and George Frazier. Those three form one of the most biased, nonobjective broadcasting teams in baseball history. I’m not kidding. The Rockies never get the same calls as their opponents do. The Rockies never get the national recognition like everyone else does. The Rockies are the greatest team to ever walk the planet and if they played a roster compiled of Jesus, Moses, God and the 12 apostles, Colorado should win 5-4 in extras nine times out of 10. If not, the Rockies beat themselves, because there’s no way Jesus and the gang were better. Don’t believe me? Just ask Goodman, Huson and Frazier. All right, now that that’s out of the way – the Rockies are a damn fine club and should leapfrog the Dodgers in the division this year. Their core – Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, Chris Iannetta, Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez – are all 27 years old or younger and that doesn’t include 26-year-old stud Ubaldo Jimenez, who is absolutely filthy when he’s on. Throw in key veterans like Todd Helton (a perennial .300 hitter) and Jeff Francis (who could win 15-plus games filling in for the departed Jason Marquis), and Colorado has the tools to make a deep run. The question is whether or not starters Francis and Jorge De La Rosa will keep their ERAs below 5.00 and the young offensive players can move forward in their development and not backwards. But outside of the ultra-annoying broadcast team, I love the Rockies from top to bottom this year and believe they can do some damage in 2010.

2. Los Angles Dodgers (12)
Dodger fans are probably thinking to themselves, “Hey clown face – nothing has changed. This is the same team that won 95 games last year, so what’s with this second place nonsense?” And they would be right to think that – I do have a clown face. But whether fans want to admit it or not, owner Frank McCourt’s divorce from wife and former CEO Jamie McCourt will have an affect on their club this season. In fact, it already has seeing as how the Dodgers’ spending was limited this winter. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake should keep L.A. competitive throughout the season and there’s likely to be a knock down, drag out fight between them and the Rockies for first place. But what happens when Kershaw, Billingsley, Vicente Padilla, Hiroki Kuroda and James McDonald start making trips to the DL? Ownership certainly isn’t going to spend money on replacements, so experienced players may have to step up and that usually spells trouble. Plus, if guys like Rafael Furcal, James Loney and Russell Martin don’t rekindle the magic they had earlier in their careers, Kemp, Ethier and Blake may find it harder to keep the club afloat by themselves. Don’t forget that Manny only hit .255 after taking a pitch off the wrist in late July last year, so his best days are likely behind him as well. Do the Dodgers boast the same roster as the one that was so successful last year? Yes, but the power has seemingly shifted in the division.

3. San Francisco Giants (15)
Watching the Giants on a nightly basis is like watching a unicorn, in all its mythical wonderment and greatness, frolic around an empty field for three hours, only to be intermittently beaten by some idiot caveman with a club. Only, the ironic thing is that the caveman doesn’t really know how to use the club, so he just flails at the unicorn for three hours until both of them tire out and collapse. San Fran’s pitching staff, in all its mythical wonderment and greatness, is outstanding, but its offense continues to be a cross between a used baby diaper and hot garbage. Reigning two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is the best pitcher in baseball and 25-year-old Matt Cain is a Cy Young-contender in the making. When his heads on right, Jonathan Sanchez can be equally frustrating to hitters and his ’09 second half (which included a no-hitter) suggests that he has a bright future. Barry Zito will never live up to his contract, but he was productive and reliable for the first time in a Giants’ uniform last year and fifth starter Todd Wellemeyer had a great spring. The problem is that GM Brian Sabean hasn’t a clue when it comes to positional talent. With exception of the fun-loving star-in-the-making Pablo Sandoval and future prospect Buster Posey, the Giants don’t have any hitters that will keep opposing pitchers up at night. The offseason additions of Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff, as well as the re-signings of Freddy Sanchez and Juan Uribe should help, but all four of those players are complementary pieces on a good team. On the Giants, they’ll all be counted on as key contributors, which is a problem. This club won 88 games last year – more than any team that didn’t make the postseason. Their starting pitching, Sandoval and their bullpen are rock solid, but if the G-Men hope to make the playoffs this year, then guys like Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Edgar Renteria and Nate Schierholtz (who will finally have the opportunity to play full time) have to step up in a big way. We’ll see if Sabean did enough this offseason to give the Giants a shot.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks (19)
In Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, the D-Backs have an outstanding 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation but the problem is that Webb isn’t healthy. He hopes that his shoulder injury will heal soon and is targeting a late April return, but that might be a little optimistic. Edwin Jackson was a nice offseason pickup, but ‘Zona has to hope that he’ll pitch closer to his first half production of last year (2.52 ERA) and not his second half (5.02). If Webb returns quickly and Jackson pitches well, then the D-Backs have enough pitching to challenge anyone. But there’s a ton of question marks surrounding the rotation (outside of Haren obviously) entering the season. Offensively, youngsters Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds will supply plenty power, while the return of Conor Jackson and newly acquired Adam LaRoche should boost the offense as well. But the key might be outfielder Chris Young, who had a great September after being demoted to the minors earlier in the season to fix his swing. If his September production wasn’t an anomaly, then Arizona certainly has enough offense to compete for the Wild Card. I just don’t trust the pitching and for as good as the offense could be, the D-Backs have several hitters that struggle to get on base on a consistent basis. If Webb were healthy, I could envision this club finishing higher than this. But I don’t think they’ll get out of the gates strong and it could sink their season.

5. San Diego Padres (24)
For a team that was forced to cut costs, the Padres finished a respectable 75-87 last season. Adrian Gonzalez, Kyle Blanks, Chase Headley and Everth Cabrera comprise and solid offensive core, but the problem is that their starting pitching is beyond suspect after the club traded Jake Peavy to the White Sox last year. Mat Latos may soon assume the No. 1 role, but he his little big league experience and there’s just not an ace among Jon Garland, Kevin Correia and Clayton Richard. Those three can certainly eat innings, but none of them are the top of the rotation arm that the Padres need to replace Peavy. The bottom line is that the Pads could surprise this season, but if Gonzo is traded at the deadline like many expect, then San Diego will sink to the bottom of the NL West. And even if he isn’t dealt, the Padres might still fail to get out of the West basement due to their starting pitching (or lack their of).

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]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/03/27/2010-mlb-preview-nl-west/feed/ 3 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/24/cardinals-trade-three-prospects-to-a%e2%80%99s-for-holliday/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/24/cardinals-trade-three-prospects-to-a%e2%80%99s-for-holliday/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:20:21 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=21730

The St. Louis Cardinals have finally found slugger Albert Pujols some protection in the lineup, as the Red Birds traded three minor league prospects to the A’s in exchange for outfielder Matt Holliday according to ESPN.com.

One of those three minor leaguers was Brett Wallace, who was Baseball America’s 40th-best prospect entering the season, while the other two were 24-year old right-hander Clayton Mortensen and outfielder Shane Peterson, who was a second rounder in 2008. Apparently Oakland will also chip in $1.5 million to help pay for some of the $6 million still left on Holliday’s contract.

After a slow start, Holliday is now hitting .286 with 11 home runs and 54 RBI. He instantly makes the Cardinals the favorites to win the NL Central and challenge the Dodgers and Phillies for the NL Pennant by adding much-needed protection behind Pujols in the lineup. His presence in the order should also make players like Mark DeRosa and Ryan Ludwick better as well.

Billy Beane once again did well in a trade. The Oakland GM wanted to get Holliday’s contract off the books (or as much of it as he could), but he also didn’t want to just stick a for sale sign in Holliday’s forehead and give him away for free after trading multiple players to acquire him from Colorado last winter. With Holliday set to become a free agent at the end of the season, Beane did well to not only shed salary, but also get one of the Cards’ best prospects in Wallace.

What will be interesting to keep an eye on over the next two weeks as the trade deadline approaches, is whether or not the Cubs or Brewers will make a big move to counter this trade. Chicago doesn’t have much to offer in its farm system, but Milwaukee, as usual, is stacked and could look to add a pitcher. Although it would require giving up a haul, it’ll be interesting to see if the Brew Crew makes a run at Roy Halladay or the Tribe’s Cliff Lee.

Raul Ibanez: .292-85-23-110-2
Mark DeRosa: .285-104-21-87-6
Milton Bradley .321-78-22-77-5

It’s a pretty average stat line as career numbers go, and don’t forget that he put up those numbers primarily as a DH, and he still only played 126 games due to nagging injuries. Yep, this is the man that the Cubs hoped would save them, to the tune of three years and $30 million. To add insult to injury, DeRosa now plays for the rival Cardinals.

“Let’s see, if I strike out like that 100 more times this year…I still make $7 million! Ahhhh hahahahahahaha!”

And would you look at that; now that Bradley has his money, he can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. Well, let’s qualify that – he’s actually hitting .333…from the right side of the plate. He’s hitting .194 as a lefty, has been suspended for bumping an umpire, sent home by his manager after trashing yet another water cooler, and poisoned yet another clubhouse with his unpredictable temper. Bradley said before the season started that he had changed, that those days of flying off the handle (remember when he tore his ACL yelling at an umpire?) were long gone. How on earth did the Cubs believe him? Didn’t they see the “South Park” movie? Bad people always say they’ll change, but they never do.

So what do the Cubs do with Bradley now? He’s expected to take the next two days off to work on his approach from the left side of the plate with new hitting coach Von Joshua. A good start, but we have some other, admittedly extreme suggestions to the Bradley problem that we think the Cubs brass should consider.

Option #1: Release him
Pros: The clubhouse is immediately free of his melodrama, and everyone can finally breathe again. The Cubs are sixth in team ERA, so the pitching is just fine. The hitters, however, are tight as a drum. Lose Bradley, and we’ll bet dollars to donuts that they start hitting again. The move would also send a strong message to both the team and the fans that management is in it to win it, and that they’re willing to put the team’s best interests ahead of everything else, even if it means Hendry wears egg on his face for the foreseeable future.
Cons: The Cubs would be on the hook for the remainder of Bradley’s contract, which will hinder their ability to find a replacement on the free agent market. More importantly, pride always goeth before a fall when it comes to GMs taking responsibility for their bad contracts (see: Matthews, Gary Jr., and Rowand, Aaron), meaning Hendry is unlikely to say “My bad” anytime soon. From our standpoint, though, paying Bradley to disappear isn’t much different than the millions that the Reds are paying Ken Griffey Jr. in deferred money. Besides, who needs free agents when you have kids like Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox beating the snot out of the ball?

Option #2: Waive him
Pros: This is the more financially sensible move, since anyone who claims Bradley would assume the remaining money left on his contract.
Cons: No one is going to take on that contract. Bradley didn’t have a single multiyear deal on the table when the Cubs signed him, so there is no chance someone is going to suddenly want him for that many years when his value is at an all-time low.

Option #3: Send him to the minors
Pros: It frees up a roster spot with the big league club while allowing Bradley to get out of the spotlight for a while and figure things out.
Cons: He’s still a Cub. Plus, Bradley would surely have to approve such a move, and something tells us his ego is much too large to accept a demotion with anything resembling grace.

Option #4: Place him on the 15-day disabled list with social anxiety disorder
Pros: This is our personal favorite. Much like a demotion to the minors, this would free up a spot on the major league roster, while sending a loud, clear message to Bradley that management will not tolerate his immaturity for another minute. It’s like a shock collar for a ball player. Punch the water cooler? Boom, you’re on the disabled list, no injury required. Want management to take off the shock collar? Then quit being a jackass. And while Bradley may not be “anxious,” one could definitely make an argument for the man having one social disorder or another. As an added bonus, Bradley would be incensed with the designation, which is sort of the point; it’s not about you, Milton. It’s about the team. If management has to completely destroy your ego in order for you to understand that, so be it.
Cons: Again, he’s still a Cub. And even if the time away improves his attitude, there is no guarantee it will improve his hitting.

Sweet Lou Piniella apologized for sending Bradley home during last Friday’s game against the White Sox. To us, that was a mistake. There are far too many instances these days of management cowtowing to players that have not earned the respect they think they deserve, and few epitomize that better than Bradley. The man doesn’t just need to be humbled: he needs to be broken, like a wild horse. If the Cubs do not want to make the effort to break him, then they should cut him. Cubs fans have waited far too long for a title to be stuck with this clown for another two and a half years.

According to a report by the St. Louis Dispatch, the Cardinals are “redoubling efforts” to acquire A’s outfielder Matt Holliday, who is 29 and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Even though the club acquired utility man Mark DeRosa from the Indians over the weekend, St. Louis manager Tony La Russa still wants to add a bat to serve as protection for Albert Pujols, who is essentially exposed in the Cards’ lineup with nobody hitting around him.

Holliday certainly isn’t setting the world on fire with his bat (he’s hitting just .274 with 8 HRs and 39 RBI) this season, but he could certainly get hot in the second half, especially if he winds up back in the NL were he’s used to the pitching.

The Cards actually tried to acquire Holliday last fall, but weren’t unwilling to part with the prospects that the Rockies wanted in order to complete the deal. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch speculates that the Red Birds would be willing to include Ryan Ludwick and either reliever Jason Motte or Kyle McClellan, plus a prospect.

St. Louis already has enough offense to battle the Brewers in the NL Central, but if they could acquire Holliday to go along with the addition of DeRosa, the Cards might be able to create some separation in the division.

One of the more coveted veterans on the trade market has officially been snatched by the Cardinals, as the Red Birds acquired super utility man Mark DeRosa from the Indians in exchange for pitcher Chris Perez and a player to be named later.

The versatile DeRosa was a very sought-after player, especially by National League clubs. He can fit as a third baseman for the Cardinals. The Giants, Mets, Braves and Cubs were other teams believed to have had some interest. The Indians have been shopping him for a couple weeks.

DeRosa, who the Indians acquired from the Chicago Cubs in a trade last offseason, was hitting .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs.

Perez has a 4.18 ERA in 29 appearances with a 1-1 record and one save.

Both teams essentially get what they wanted with this trade. Cleveland coveted a young pitcher (Perez is only 24) in exchange for DeRosa (who becomes a free agent at the end of the year) and St. Louis wanted to add another bat to protect Albert Pujols in the lineup. They also needed help on the left side of the infield, which DeRosa can certainly offer.

Kind of rough market when Mark DeRosa is one of the more coveted players, although that’s not a dig at DeRosa, who can play almost every position and is a solid hitter. But one year ago CC Sabathia was the top name making its rounds on the rumor mill, while two years ago it was Mark Teixeira. DeRosa doesn’t really compare to those names now does he?

- According to SI.com, the Mariners have yet to receive any interest for third baseman Adrian Beltre, who Seattle would love to move because he’s in the last year of his $64 million contract.

- One name that continues to be involved almost daily on the rumor mill is Indians utility man Mark DeRosa. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Cardinals and Yankees have expressed interest in DeRosa, but neither are willing to give up young pitching like Cleveland covets.

- The Mets are rumored to be interested in DeRosa, Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson and Orioles one-bagger Aubrey Huff, but Newsday’s Ken Davidoff writes that the club shouldn’t make any stupid trades just to fill a spot while Carlos Beltran is on the DL.

- MLB.com reports that the Diamondbacks could become sellers soon and that pitchers Doug Davis and Jon Garland, as well as second baseman Felipe Lopez could all be on the trade block.

- The Phillies want to add an arm, but the pitchers they’re looking at (Erik Bedard, Jake Peavy, Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo and Jason Marquis) are either hurt or playing for contending teams.

- The Dodgers have interest in Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn according to MLB Fanhouse and Juan Pierre’s name has come up as a potential trade piece.