Tag: Baltimore Orioles (Page 4 of 5)

Top 10 active MLB games without a World Series appearance

February 21, 2009 / Mike Farley

As we try to turn away from steroid implications and indictments and all of the black clouds surrounding Major League Baseball, we can’t forget that there are games to be played. Yes, the 2009 season is almost upon us. And with Ken Griffey Jr. signing with the Seattle Mariners this past week, where his great career began, it’s worth noting the Top 10 in active players who are not only ring-less, but have never appeared in a World Series game. (Note that we only counted those who are still active or at least played through the 2008 season.)

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

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Hot Stove League: Lots of little movement

January 24, 2009 / Mike Farley

You know it’s a slow week in MLB again when the big news is that Jeff Kent has announced his retirement. And just like Kent does with ease himself, the news stirred up controversy. This volatile player has never quite been a media darling, and has often gotten into it with teammates. But there is now debate about the guy’s Hall of Fame credentials. Okay, he may have the most homers for a second baseman in history, but you can’t tell me this guy is in the same class as a guy like Joe Morgan. He’s just not. And while a .290 career batting average is nothing to sneeze at, 377 homers over 20 years is not exactly Babe Ruth-esque.

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.

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Red Sox, Teixeira close to a deal?

December 23, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

According to the Washington Times, the Boston Red Sox are on the verge of landing free agent first basemen Mark Teixeira.

While the source declined to discuss specifics, there are strong indications that the Red Sox will announce that they have landed the highly-coveted slugger, who has been courted this off-season by several major league clubs, including the Angels, Orioles and Nationals.
The Red Sox have been considered one of the lead contenders in the Teixeira sweepstakes, but it was unclear whether the team would be able to meet the asking price from agent Scott Boras, who had hoped to land a contract for as much as $200 million over ten years. Last week, Red Sox owner John Henry told reporters that the team was no longer pursuing the player, but the statement was widely seen as a negotiating maneuver.
The Orioles and Nationals had hoped to sign him in part because he is a Severna Park, Md. native, and the Nationals were reportedly willing to bid especially hard.
It is still unclear how much the Red Sox offered Teixeira, but there were reports last night that the Nationals had boosted their bid in a last-ditch effort to sign him.

That’s quite a turn of events from the end of last week when it was announced that the Red Sox had pulled out of the running. Maybe Teixeira crapped himself when he realized that he had chased away the Red Sox and Angels with demands (or at least, rumored demands) of a $184 million contract, and he decided to return back to earth. The thought of having to play for the Nationals or Orioles will do that to a man.

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Angels pull out of Mark Teixeira bidding

December 22, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

The Los Angeles Angels became the second club (the Boston Red Sox being the other club) in the same week to pull out of the bidding war for Mark Teixeira by withdrawing their contract offer.

General Manager Tony Reagins was not immediately available for comment. The Angels offered Teixeira an eight-year deal, and though financial terms were not disclosed, it was believed to be worth at least $160 million.
The Washington Nationals, who reportedly offered eight years and $160 million, and the Baltimore Orioles, who reportedly offered seven years and about $150 million, remain heavily involved in the bidding.
Comments made by Boston Red Sox owner John Henry on Thursday night gave the impression that they were no longer pursuing Teixeira. The team had reportedly made him an offer in the eight-year, $170 million range.

This is such a unique situation because clubs are finally standing up to free agents who want extraordinary amounts of money and ridiculous contracts. So now if Teixeira wants to go to a winner, he’d better relax on his contract demands or else take the money and play in Washington or Baltimore next year.

The interesting thing now is whether or not the Yankees will make an official offer. Rumors of circulated that they’ve been interested, but like many people, I’ve always held the impression that they were only involved in the Teixeira talks to drive up the price for the Red Sox and Angels. But now that both of those clubs have pulled out of the race, the Yankees could land one of the top free agents on the market if they wanted to pony up. Stay tuned.

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Hot Stove League: New York, New York (Burnett Officially Signs With Yankees)

December 13, 2008 / Mike Farley

I know this was Vegas, which comes with its own set of distractions, but come on. We all expected a lot more to happen at the MLB Winter Meetings this past week than the Yankees giving CC Sabathia the equivalent of a small planet and AJ Burnett significant real estate on said planet (the Yanks made the latter official Friday afternoon with a 5-year, $82.5 million deal), as well as the Mets signing the best closer out there (K-Rod) and trading for a second one (JJ Putz) to be their set-up guy. Unless the Orioles and Reds swapping Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Freel, or the Rays and Tigers trading Edwin Jackson for Matt Joyce gets your blood flowing, it was kind of a disappointing week, especially if you live 40 miles or more outside of the New York metro area.

We still have Manny Ramirez without a team, and the very real possibility that he could just stay with the Dodgers. Really, doesn’t that make the most sense for this guy’s, um, easygoing, personality and playing style? Meanwhile, the stakes for Mark Teixeira have been upped by none other than the Washington Nationals, who are believed to be offering the free agent slugger eight years at $20 million per. That sounds to me like agent Scott Boras trying to just be Scott Boras. We all know Tex is going to wind up in Boston, Baltimore, or back with the Angels.

And as if Cubs’ fans haven’t suffered through enough misery lately, GM Jim Hendry decided to pull the plug on the Jake Peavy trade. He just didn’t want to inherit as much salary as the Padres wanted him to, and he surely didn’t want to throw Mark DeRosa on a plane to San Diego as part of the deal. Now, the Angels have been mentioned as a team that might pursue Peavy, and you definitely can’t count the Yankees out either. Oh, and by the way, the Yankees have turned their attention to in-house “old reliable” Andy Pettitte now, and have not ruled Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe out yet. Wow.

Meanwhile, the Mets spent so much on closers that they literally had nothing left to go after Lowe. Instead, GM Omar Minaya is talking to the Cubs about a trade for Jason Marquis, and/or re-signing Oliver Perez or Pedro Martinez.

There could be a lot more moves on the horizon, but in a week expected to have a lot of fireworks, the hot stove fired up in New York and nowhere else. Stay tuned though, because deals are known to happen into January, and some, like Ramirez and Teixeira signing, could lead a domino effect for more moves.