The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Tampa Bay Rays struck a deal today that will send secondbaseman Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates in exchange for right handed reliever Jesse Chavez.

The Rays had to pick up the $4.85M 2010 contract option on Aki or buy it out for $650K. The Rays are in desperate need to clear payroll due to a good number of their core players earning raises from last year’s salaries. When the Rays realized that Aki and his salary were expendable they looked for a trade partner and Pittsburgh was all over them.

The Pirates get a Gold Glove caliber secondbaseman with on-base skills and decent speed. He has a career major league OBP of .355 in his three years and that includes a very good .281 AVG. He has been worth 6.3 wins above replacement in his three years in the American League East and valued at $27.3M so his $4.85M contract will be a bargain. I wouldn’t rule out a season of .300/.360/.400 with great defense and double digit steals while playing in the NL Central.

Jesse Chavez has an explosive fastball/slider combo that has averaged 94.5 mph and 88.5 mph respectively. He has below average command and control and also throws a changeup that is below average. He has the tools to be a very good reliever but his .289 BABIP indicates that he may have been a bit lucky last year, although that could be attributed to the high number of homers he gave up (11 in 67.1 innings) and the Rays are hoping that is something that can be fixed by pitching coach Jim Hickey. Either way, with a league minimum salary and options to burn, he is well worth the risk for the Rays who need bullpen help.

The trade looks like a win for the Pirates but it was a necessary deal for the Rays. They have the best seconbaseman in the American League in Ben Zobrist and could not afford the salary of Aki. They did well by adding a player of value while saving the salary and/or the cost to buyout the option. This trade is a win-win for both teams.

Taking a quote from Nate Ravitz earlier this season over at ESPN: “I’m just a big fan of what Zobrist is doing this year, and would like to see more written/said about it”, I have been inspired to write about Zobrist and I can’t agree more that Zobrist deserves more love.

Zobrist has put up amazing offensive stats. Yes, that is right, amazing. Take a look: .297/.405/.543 with a wOBA of .408 and an OPS+ of 144 to go with 27 homers, 28 doubles, 7 triples, 17 stolen bases, and a 91/104 BB/K. He is 3rd in the AL in wOBA, 4th in OBP and OPS, 7th in SLUG, and 6th in walks. Ridiculous numbers for a guy who didn’t have a starting job coming into the season and played over 100 games in the middle of the field.

Zobrist’s defense has been nothing short of Gold Glove worthy.  Here are his ratings:

2B: 21.4 UZR/150, .989 Fielding Percentage, 714.2 innings

RF: 31.5 UZR/150, 1.000 FLD%, 5 Assists, 329.1 innings

CF: 29.9 UZR/150, 1.000 FLD%, 46.2 innings

SS: -4.7 UZR/150, .926 FLD%, 62.0 innings

He also played 38 innings in LF, 13.0 innings at 1B, and 5.2 innings at 3B, all well below average according to defensive metrics but the sample sizes are so small that it’s not that big of a deal.  Heck, his sample sizes are small at CF and SS too so we can’t totally take those into account.  But one this is for sure from scouts and my own eye: Ben Zobrist can handle just about any position on the field and he looked like a Gold Glover at second and in right this year.

To top off Zobrist’s accomplishmets he finished 1st in all of the majors in WAR (wins above replacement player) with 8.5 and 1st in value at $38.2M (while only making league minimum).  Both higher than Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer.  This is why I had him 2nd in my AL MVP standings.

Zobrist had an amazing season and it deserves to get a little more attention and a lot more love from writers around the blogosphere.

(AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

Below are my selections for the 2009 awards in Major League Baseball.  I added stats my winners to clarify why I chose them and I also included some stats on some players that may make you scratch your head.  Agree or disagree, these are my awards:

NL MVP

1. Albert Pujols (1B-STL) – 1st in HR, XBH, WAR, OBP, SLG, OPS, and wOBA.
2. Chase Utley (2B-PHI)
3. Hanley Ramirez (SS-FLA)
4. Prince Fielder (1B-MIL)
5. Troy Tulowitzki (SS-COL)
6. Ryan Zimmerman (3B-WAS)
7. Matt Kemp (OF-LAD)
8. Adrian Gonzalez (1B-SD)
9. Derek Lee (1B-CHC)
10. Ryan Braun (OF-MIL)

AL MVP

1. Joe Mauer (C-MIN) – 2nd in WAR, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and plays toughest position in the game.
2. Ben Zobrist (2B-TB) – 1st in WAR, 4th in OBP, OPS, 2nd in fielding value.
3. Miguel Cabrera (1B-DET)
4. Zack Greinke (SP-KC)
5. Derek Jeter (SS-NYY)
6. Mark Teixeira (1B-NYY)
7. Evan Longoria (3B-TB)
8. Kevin Youkilis (1B-BOS)
9. Chone Figgins (3B-LAA)
10. Adam Lind (OF-TOR)

NL Cy Young

1. Tim Lincecum (SP-SF) – 1st in WAR, FIP, SO, and K/9, tied for 1st in CG and SHO, 2nd in ERA, 3rd in IP
2. Adam Wainwright (SP-STL)
3. Javier Vazquez (SP-ATL) – 2nd in WAR, FIP, and K/BB, 3rd in K/9, 4th in BB/9
4. Chris Carpenter (SP-STL)
5. Dan Haren (SP-ARI)
6. Matt Cain (SP-SF)
7. Jonathan Broxton (RP-LAD) – 76 IP, 114/29 K/BB, 1.97 FIP, 2.61 ERA, .165/.247/.232 against, 0.96 WHIP, 1st in WAR among relievers.
8. Jair Jurrjens (SP-ATL)
9. Josh Johnson (SP-FLA)
10. Ubaldo Jimenez (SP-COL)

AL Cy Young

1. Zack Greinke (SP-KC) – 1st in WAR, ERA, FIP, WHIP, OBP, 2nd in K, CG, SHO, and K/BB.
2. Roy Halladay (SP-TOR) – 1st in K/BB, CG, SHO, BB/9, and P/IP, 2nd in IP and OBP, 3rd in WAR, ERA, and FIP.
3. Felix Hernandez (SP-SEA) – 1st in BAA and SLG, 2nd in ERA, 3rd in IP, WHIP, 4th in FIP and WAR.
4. Justin Verlander (SP-DET)
5. Jon Lester (SP-BOS)
6. C.C. Sabathia (SP-NYY)
7. Josh Beckett (SP-BOS)
8. Jered Weaver (SP-LAA)
9. Edwin Jackson (SP-DET)
10. Mariano Rivera (RP-NYY)

NL Rookie Of the Year

1. Andrew McCutchen (OF-PIT) – 1st in WAR (among rookies) and just read this for more on him.
2. Chris Coghlan (OF-FLA)
3. Tommy Hanson (SP-ATL)
4. J.A. Happ (SP-PHI)
5. Garrett Jones (OF-PIT)
6. Randy Wells (SP-CHC)
7. Casey McGehee (3B-MIL)

AL Rookie Of the Year

1. Brett Anderson (SP-OAK) – 1st in WAR among all AL rookies, 175 IP, 3.69 FIP (8th in the AL), 150/45 K/BB.
2. Elvis Andrus (SS-TEX)
3. Andrew Bailey (RP-OAK)
4. Jeff Niemann (SP-TB)
5. Rick Porcello (SP-DET)
6. Nolan Reimold (OF-BAL)
7. Gordon Beckham (3B-CHW)

NL Manager Of the Year

1. Jim Tracy (COL)
2. Tony LaRussa (STL)
3. Fredi Gonzalez (FLA)

AL Manager Of the Year

1. Mike Scioscia (LAA)
2. Ron Washington (TEX)
3. Ron Gardenhire (MIN)

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Pittsburgh Pirates avoided the dreaded 100 loss plateau this year partially thanks to a rained out game that will not be made up against the Chicago Cubs, leaving them with 99 losses on the season. At this point, who cares anymore? They have 17 consecutive losing seasons and there is nothing to chear about when you lose 99 games. The Pirates’ offense ranks last in the NL in runs (16th), 15th in SLUG, 14th in AVG, 14th in OBP, and 14th in OPS. Is there hope in the future? I think so, and hope’s name is Andrew McCutchen.

McCutchen, the 11th overall pick in the historic 2005 draft, looked like a potential star when I saw him in Spring Training. He hit .286/.365/.471 with an OPS+ of 124, a wOBA of .368, 12 homers, 26 doubles, 9 triples, 22 steals, and 54 walks, and he only grounded into 3 double plays in 433 at-bats in his 2009 rookie season at the tender age of 22.

On defense, McCutchen was gunning runners down in center too with 10 outfield assists and only 2 errors. His UZR/150 was -0.5 but he actually plays a stellar centerfield and should consistently post positive UZR/150 ratings.

Fangraphs has McCutchen’s 2009 production value at $15.8M while only making the league minimum and not qualifying for the batting title due to lack of plate appearances.

The bottom line is that McCutchen is going to be a star. His rookie season was even better than it appears. Among centerfielders with at least 475 plate appearances he ranks 2nd in wOBA behind Matt Kemp, 3rd in OPS behind Torii Hunter and Kemp, and 3rd in outfield assists.

In a full season, McCutchen will be what B.J. Upton should be, annually hitting 20+ homers, stealing 35+ bases, posting OPS’s over .850, playing above-average defense in center, and playing in All-Star games. This kid is a star in the making and Pittsburgh has the player to build a contender around and hope for the future.

You know what’s coming – bring on the week 5 drama! I’ve got a couple Top 5 lists to celebrate week 5 of the 2009 college football season.

Best 5 teams flying under the radar
1. Wisconsin – This offense is hard to keep up with (Avg. 36 pts per game). They’ve got some work to do, but they know it and won’t want to tarnish their 4-0 record any time soon. Quarterback Scott Tolzien has been impressive and kept his turnovers low.
2. Auburn – They have played good football consistently for 4 games, winning none by less than 11 points.
3. UCLA – This team’s 3-0 record actually has some substance to it, with convincing wins over Tennessee and KSU.
4. UConn – Their one loss comes from a last-minute holding call to give UNC a safety to win the game. A shot in the foot, but their level of effort makes them a team to watch out for. Nice win at Baylor, and a 50+ point show vs. URI.
5. NC State – Rusty in their home-opener against a team that would go on to defeat Ole Miss, NC State has handed powerful Pitt a loss and put up 45 and 65 against 2 FCS’s, like you’re supposed to.

Don’t buy these 5 teams… yet
1. Stanford – Like the other 4 teams on this list, I like Stanford, but have a few things keeping me from totally buying into them… yet. I love Stanford’s running game but am not impressed with their schedule (Wins vs Wash, Wash St, SJ State, and a loss to WF)
2. Iowa State – They say this team is turning around. They are 3-1 now and haven’t scored less than 31 points in a game, but as with Stanford, I want to see a win against an at least moderately competitive opponent.
3. Miami FL – They have started out hot and have earned alot of respect over the past few weeks. But after the surprise-factor runs out, you see they were literally an arms’ length away from a loss at Florida State, and looked sloppy vs. Va. Tech. They dont get another conference game until 10/24 and who knows how much they’ll be able to keep the fire going at that point.
4. Cal – We know based on the first 3 games what Cal is capable of. Last game, they lost to Oregon 42-3. We’re not sure which Cal team will show up from week to week here on out.
5. South Carolina -  Sure you beat NC State in the season opener, 7-3, and beat an arguably over-rated Ole Miss team, but I want to see 2 solid, convincing wins the next two weeks before I let the polls tell me yet another SEC team deserves ranked status because of performance, and not SEC bias.

5 Games to watch this week
1. Wisconsin @ Minnesota – Based on what I’ve written above, these teams will either make me look like a genius, or make me eat my words if Minnesota exposes Wisconsin’s offense as an illusion. Wisconsin’s defense needs to improve, because Minn will take advantage if given the chance. Could be a high-scoring game.
2. South Florida @ Syracuse – Congratulations to each of these teams for, by their own standards, good seasons so far. Syracuse – You’re heading into Big East play with 2 good wins behind you. Can you pull off the upset and introduce the world to a new Cuse? South Florida – Your win at Florida State was no fluke, but this game is being flagged even by ESPN’s analysts as an upset alert due to your habit of slacking for these trap games. Who is out to make the bigger statement.
3. LSU @ Georgia – This game is interesting for it’s ranking implications. A 4th ranked LSU boosted it’s ranking with a close win over Mississippi State (funny how one inch can be the difference between 4th and say, 24th). If they play like they did at Miss State, Georgia will win, and the cycle of confusing rankings continues.
4. UCLA @ Stanford – Two teams in the Pac-10 discussion this year meet up. Yet again another opportunity for me to either have made tons of sense, or be searching for some excuse as to why I think UCLA is under the radar, and Stanford is as of yet unconvincing.
5. Nebraska @ Mizzou – Nebraska’s one loss came against a very good Virginia Tech team. Conference play begins this week @ Missouri, who is 4-0. Both teams are looking to re-introduce themselves to conference-title discussion.

Tomorrow we’re expecting a formal announcement to be made introducing the Yankee Bowl to the 2010 Bowl Line-up. The bowl game will be hosted in Yankee Stadium up in New York City, where an audience of up to 47,000 will watch the Big East #4 take on Big 12 #7. (If Notre Dame heads to the Champs Sports Bowl, Big East #3 goes to the Yankee Bowl. Also, if the Big 12 can’t send up to 7 teams to bowl games, Notre Dame takes the Big 12 spot.) This could potentially mean some very interesting Yankee Bowl matches (Anyone want to guess the score of a Cincy-Texas Tech match-up?), and coupling this with the draw of New York City could be good news for all involved.

The additional bowl means there will be 35 bowl games in 2010. This means 70 of the 120 IA teams will be playing in a bowl in 2010. That’s pushing 60%. Is this good for College Football? Wasn’t there a time when going to a bowl was special? It’s clear that this bowl has little to do with improving the quality of the college football culture, and more to do with a collective effort to make money. They are entitled to do so, and will probably succeed. Hey, I’d even go as far as to say bowls will continue to pop up until the last bowl comes out in the red. But where is that equilibrium?

In 2008, you could have tuned in the last week to see one of any 34 bowls. You could have, for example, checked out the Motor City Bowl featuring Central Michigan and Florida Atlantic. Or perhaps Penn State vs. USC. All these teams of course look back on their bowl game last season, and all 4 throw those wins, losses, attendance figures, etc, into their bowl stats. Isn’t it a little misleading if you’re bragging on your bowl-streak when over half of IA teams make it to these bowls? That means some of the bottom half of IA get rights to bring up the “b” word when discussing their “success”.

I don’t want to see teams back out of bowl on this principle, and I don’t think the NCAA should stop bowl games from happening if people willingly get their butts on an airplane to stay in a hotel and attend the game. But I think the bowl landscape is changing and with it, we might be doing ourselves a favor if we adjust our lenses in the process. Beware the “B” word.

I don’t like to constantly be complaining about college football rankings. I personally don’t like them, but I wouldn’t abolish them. If it were up to me, there would simply be less emphasis on them and more emphasis on conference record. Without getting into it, I just wanted to share a good post from The New York Times’ college blog, The Quad, called “Coaches Rock the Vote, All Wrong” -

*Houston is undefeated with two quality wins, at Oklahoma State and at home against Texas Tech. Oklahoma State has a loss to Houston and one quality win, beating Georgia. Who is ranked higher in the coaches poll? Oklahoma State, of course — at No. 12 while Houston is No. 15.

*Oregon thumped California, 42-3. Each team has one loss. Oregon has three solid wins (Utah, Purdue and Cal) and a loss to a Boise team ranked No. 5. Cal has two mediocre wins (Maryland and Minnesota) and one gigantic stinker. The coaches vote the Bears No. 18 and the Ducks No. 25.

*Penn State beat Akron, Syracuse and Temple, then melted at the first real sight of competition, losing to Iowa, 21-10. Iowa won ugly (is there any other way for a Big Ten team?) against Northern Iowa and rebounded for wins against horrible Iowa State and mediocre Arizona. Then the Hawkeyes toppled Penn State on the road. Penn State is No. 13 and Iowa is No. 17.

*Yes, as a reminder, the same people voting in these polls account for one-third of the formula that determines the B.C.S. title game. The credibility of the sport is being battered every week.

So let’s open up week 4’s can of worms shall we? We’re in for a ride this weekend, so hang tight as I continue another less-than-mainstream look at college football after week 3, because yes, there is another football team in Ohio other than Ohio State.

Hats off to Cincinnati

Congratulations to Tony Pike, Brian Kelly, and the Cincinnati Bearcats for their current T15 ranking and outstanding performance against OSU (Oregon State… not the other one) this past weekend. The Bearcats fully deserve their ranking after 3 very solid and decisive wins against conference-opponent Rutgers to open the season and Oregon State, both on the road. I’ll go as far as to say Cincy could put one on Ohio State, who struggled against Navy, but played tough vs. USC, and at least keep them on the ropes, if not take their crown as the best football team in Ohio in 2009.

Second Thoughts on a few ACC teams

Checking out the AP T25, I see 4 ranked ACC teams, with Georgia Tech mere votes away. Last week I noted the ACC was a little messy, but it’s been fun to watch these Florida State, Clemson, Miami, and Virginia Tech games, and I anticipate a clear 2 or 3 contenders to emerge in the next 2 weeks.

Top 3 teams not named Florida or Texas

1. Cal
2. Alabama
3. Miami

3 Hot Stocks

1. UConn’s running game (Dixon runs for 3td against Baylor)
2. Tennessee’s defense
3. Mid-tier SEC teams (Auburn, South Carolina)

MWC must find W’s this week

There are 2 big games the MWC needs to win to hang on to their argument that they too deserve an automatic bowl qualifier: Utah vs Louisville, and TCU @ Clemson. This weekend won’t settle the debate but even one win will fuel their fire.

Games of the week

1. Texas Tech @ Houston – Can Houston prove it belongs among the best in college football, or will Texas Tech rebound off a tough loss and come out swinging?
2. Cal @ Oregon – A hot Cal team looks to stay on top, while an Oregon upset certainly isn’t out of the question.
3. South Florida @ Florida State – Florid State dominated BYU last week on the road, and the Bulls fight for in-state respect with RsFr. QB BJ Daniels.

(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

The Detroit Tigers are sitting atop the AL Central with a handful of games left to play, a 20-year old starter, no real 5th starter all season, a patchwork bullpen, and a few injury woes.

Among corner position players losing time to injury or alleged disputes about a vesting option are Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, Marcus Thames, and Jeff Larish. The Tigers have lost a lot of man hours, especially in left field this year. That’s where Ryan Raburn steps in.

Raburn, never having 200 plate appearances in any season in the majors, filled in nicely for the injured players listed above.  Jim Leyland played Raburn at five different positions this season and could eclipse 300 plate appearances for the first time in his big leage career.

Raburn is currently hitting .281/.345/.517 with an OPS+ of 121 and a wOBA of .366.  Raburn has 14 homers, 11 doubles, 2 triples and 5 steals in 242 fill-in at-bats.  His HR/FB rate is 15.9% and will be very hard to sustain but it is not impossible.

Raburn has helped offset the underwhelming offensive performances of basically the entire starting lineup:  Gerald Laird (.226/.309/.327), Adam Everett (.236/.287/.325), Brandon Inge (.232/.323/.418), Curtis Granderson (.247/.328/.447), Magglio Ordonez (7 homers in 427 at-bats), and Carlos Guillen (.246/.331/.439).

Raburn has also done well in the outfield.  Overall, he has a 3.7 UZR/150 as an outfielder in 475 innings of work.  His infield work, well, not so much.  Raburn belongs in the outfield.  Fangraphs has Raburn valued at $5.1M with his 1.1 WAR (wins above replacement).  Not bad for a guy with under 300 PAs and making close to the league minimum.

Houston Astros GM Ed Wade, owner Drayton McLane, and president of baseball operations Tal Smith met with Cecil Cooper in his office on Monday to inform him that his time as Houston’s manager was over. They decided to point the finger at the manager at the bottom of the totem pole with only 13 games left in the season. Was the firing just? It may have been, but, he is not the only one to blame.

Cecil Cooper, since taking over for Phil Garner, had a 171-170 record. Not too bad, at least not bad enough to warrant a firing on it’s own. The reason he was fired was becuase upper management needed a scapegoat and Cooper lost the respect of his players.

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle notes that “Cooper burned some bridges last year when his veterans became convinced he lied to them during a team meeting.” He also mentions that “[Cooper] lost a few players that day. Two veterans say that on the day Aaron Boone tearfully told his teammates he was to undergo heart surgery, Cooper used the moment to get on his guys for not playing harder. To say his timing was bad would be an understatement.”

You obviously can’t win with a manager your players don’t trust and have little respect for. Soft spoken and nice guy Lance Berkaman said “I do think something has to change. The environment is not good.”

Cooper is not the only one to blame. 

Owner Drayton McLane is the number one guy to blame.  Sure he approved a budget that crossed the $100M plateau but he has the money for it.  He also has money to approve at least a league average budget in the draft but decides to go under slot and never over it.  David Coleman has a great article on McLane and how he spends his money.  In his article he notes that “[2003, 2006-2009] the Astros have spent the least amount of money on draft picks of any team”  This has lead to the Astros having a bottom-of-the-barrel farm system the last 5-7 years.

And don’t go blaming GM Ed Wade.  He has done a decent job.  Blame McLane for hiring other bum GMs that have this team eating bad contracts.

Sure, there were problems at the bottom with manager Cecil Cooper, sure some of the players are having poor seasons, but the problem is, and has always been at the top with owner Drayton McLane.  He can point the finger all he wants but his team will never win as long as he is pointing it.