Orioles Acquire Joe Saunders

As I wrote earlier today, the Baltimore Orioles compensate for a shaky starting rotation with a lights out bullpen. Now comes the news of a trade that sends relief pitcher Matt Lindstrom to Arizona for starting pitcher Joe Saunders. The addition of Saunders will likely bounce 24-year-old lefty Zach Britton out of the rotation. Britton’s 3-1 record belies his 5.59 ERA. However, a look at the advanced metrics suggests that Saunders is not much of an improvement over Britton.

• SIERA– Skill Interactive ERA is not that confusing. According to Fangraphs, “SIERA attempts to answer the question: what is the underlying skill level of this pitcher?” SIERA accounts for many factors that attempt to even the playing field for all pitchers and only punish them for their own mistakes. Joe Saunders currently owns a 4.21 SIERA while pitching in the National League West. The man he was traded for, Lindstrom, owns a 3.51 SIERA. The man Saunders will likely bump in the rotation, Britton, has a 4.49 SIERA. It is interesting that Saunders’ ERA is 4.22, which makes sense considering that Arizona is about a league average fielding team. Baltimore is the second worst fielding team in baseball, which helps explain Brittons 1.10 point increase in his real ERA compared to his SIERA. Expect Saunders’ ERA to increase with Baltimore for two reasons: one, he will face better lineups and two, his fielders are now worse.

Baltimore tapped their strongest resource, bullpen pitching, to improve their weakest asset, starting pitching. However, Saunders career win-loss record is heavily inflated due to solid defense. His lifetime ERA of 4.17 is lower than his lifetime SIERA of 4.66. His career season of 2008, when he went 17-7, is significantly attributable to solid defense as his ERA that year was 3.41 but his SIERA was 4.71. Saunders is a slight upgrade over Britton, but the loss of Lindstrom, and his solid 3.51 SIERA, may prove to be the biggest impact of this trade.

The Big Guy

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

Brett Jackson

The Chicago Cubs young 24 year old center fielder, Brett Jackson, made his major league debut, and didn’t  let the club down. Jackson went 2-4 including a walk and a strikeout. Jackson was batting .256 with 106 hits, 22 doubles, 12 triples, 15 homers, 47 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases. Jackson was one of two players to be called up for Sunday’s game vs the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Anthony Rizzo

The Chicago Cubs rookie first baseman, Anthony Rizzo had 2 hits in Sunday’s 6-7 loss to the Dodgers. Rizzo went 2-4 with a single and a game tying homer in the 9th inning to make it 6-6 at the time. Rizzo now has 5 homers, 12 hits, and 13 RBIs in his last 10 games. Rizzo is now batting .310 on the year and was named N.L. Rookie of the Month for July.

Neil Walker

In the Pirates 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Neil Walker contributed with a big blast of his own. Walker went 2-4 with a single and a homer in the 2nd inning to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead, and they never looked back from there. Walker is batting .292 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs on the season for the Pirates.

A.J. Burnett

The Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher, A.J. Burnett, got his 4th win in a row Monday against the Cincinnati Reds. Burnett went 8.2 innings giving up just 2 runs off 3 hits. Burnett is now 14-3 on the season, which ties him for 1st in the N.L. in wins on the season. Burnett has given up just 5 runs over his last 4 starts, including a complete game 1 hit shutout against the Cubs. Burnett is now 8-1 over his last 10 starts and has lowered his ERA from 3.52 to 3.19.

Stephen Strasburg

The Washington Nationals starting pitcher lit it up from both sides of the plate in a 4-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. Strasburg went 6 innings giving up 3 hits while striking out 6. Strasburg also went 1-2 at the plate with 2 RBIs to help himself get his 12th victory of the season. Strasburg is now 12-5 with a 2.97 ERA, and 160 strikeouts, which is first in the N.L.

Hunter Pence

The San Francisco Giants newly acquired right fielder, Hunter Pence, had his first multi-hit game with his new clubs. Pence went 2-5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and 1 run scored. Pence is now batting .267 on the season with 64 RBI.

Yonder Alonso

The San Diego Padres first baseman, Yonder Alonso, continued his hot streak behind the plate Sunday against the New York Mets. Alonso went 2-4 including a double, a homer, 1 run scored, and 1 RBI.  Alonso now has 16 hits over his last 10 games, and has improved his average to .270 on the season.

Kyle Lohse

The St.Louis Cardinals starting pitcher, Kyle Lohse, got his 6th straight start in a row against the Milwaukee Brewers. Lohse went 6 innings giving up no runs off 4 hits while striking out 6. Lohse improved to 12-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.79

The Bad

Ryan Braun

The Brewers left fielder, Ryan Braun, went 0-4 in the Brewers 0-3 loss to the St.Louis Cardinals. Braun is now 0-7 in his last two games with 4 strikeouts. Braun is now batting 3.11 on the season after the small 2 game skid.

Matt Harvey

The New York Mets starting pitcher, Matt Harvey, got his 2nd loss in a row Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Harvey managed just 5 innings while giving up 8 hits and 5 earned runs. Harvey is now 1-2 on the season with a 3.86 ERA.

John Buck

The Miami Marlins catcher, John Buck, continued to struggle behind the plate Sunday against the Washington Nationals. Buck went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts and is now batting just .172 on the season. Over his last 10 games Buck has just 4 hits with 12 strikeouts.

Homer Bailey

The Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher, Homer Bailey, couldn’t keep the Reds hot streak alive. Bailey could manage just 4.2 innings giving up 4 earned runs off 9 hits. Bailey is now 9-7 on the season with a 3.98 ERA

The Ugly

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have now lost 5 games in a row after being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs have given up 29 runs during this 5 game skid.

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are by far on the worst streak of any team in the MLB this season. The Astros have loss 30 of their last 34 games and are now 36-73 on the season making them the worst team in all of baseball.

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are battling the Houston Astros for the worst record in baseball after losing 30 of their last 43. The Rockies are now 38-68 on the season and are in last place in the N.L. West.

Look At Me Now!!!

Paul Goldschmidt

          Lets meet the 24 year old 1st baseman from Wilmington Delaware. Goldschmidt was originally drafted in the 48th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but chose to go to Texas State University. After spending 4 years at college, Goldschmidt was drafted in the 8th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. After drafted by the Diamondbacks, Goldschmidt made his way through the minor leagues in just 2 years. 

Starting with rookie ball with the Diamondbacks, Goldschmidt batted .334 with 96 hits, 27 doubles, 18 homers, and 62 RBIs. Then in 2010 Goldschmidt moved up to single A ball for the Vasila Rawhide and improved to a .314 average, 165 hits, 42 doubles, 35 homers, and 108 RBIs.  2010 was Goldschmidts break out year in the minors proving himself ready for the big leagues soon. in 2011 Goldschmidt started the season in AA with the Mobile Bay Bears, and batted  .304 with 112 hits, 21 doubles, 30 homers, and 94 RBIs before joining the MLB. Goldschmidt started his career on August 1st 2011 where he went 1-4 in his big league debut against the San Francisco Giants

     This is year is Goldschmidt’s first season to fully show off his the potential he has, and he is not disappointing. Although Goldschmidt is not technically a rookie because he had enough at bats to qualify him as a rookie last season, this is Goldschmidt real rookie season. Goldschmidt is hitting .300 with 12 homers, 26 doubles, 79 hits, and 42 RBIs on the season. Whats really impressive about Goldschmidt is his power and average against left handed pitchers. Goldschmidt is batting .398, with 7 homers, and 15 doubles, so if your in a fantasy league pick him up when he’s facing a left handed pitcher. Goldschmidt has the night off Monday night, so look for him to be in the line up Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds.

Coach Tom 

Coach Tom’s National League All Star Team

Here are the starting all stars for the National League, and who i believe deserves to be starting for the National League

Coach Tom’s Cacher- Yadier Molina, St.Louis Cardinals

Actual Catcher- Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

The Giants catcher Buster Posey will be starting in the 2012 all star game despite not being first in a single category offensively or defensively. Lets compare my all star to the actual all star. Posey’s average .303, Molina .309. Posey’s hits 77, Molina 82. Posey’s doubles, 15, Molina 15. Posey’s homers, 10, Molina 13. Posey’s RBIs, 42, Molina 45. Posey 1 stolen base, Molina 7. Posey, slugging .480, Molina .513. Molina leads all catchers in every offensive category but 2, and also is above Posey in all but 1 defensive category. Molina should be your N.L. starter.

Coach Tom’s 1st Baseman- Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Actual 1st Baseman- Joey Votto

The Cincinnati Reds 1st baseman Joey Votto has proven himself to get to his 3rd all star game in his career. Votto is ver deserving of the starting role after going  .350 with 93 hits, 50 runs, 33 doubles,  14 homers, 47 RBIs, and 60 walks. Votto leads 1st baseman in virtually all offensive categories including obp .471, slugging .632, and ops 1.103. Fans got it right when voting for former MVP Joey Votto to represent the N.L. in the all star game.

Coach Tom’s 2nd Baseman- Aaron Hill, Arizona Diamondbacks

Actual 2nd Baseman- Dan Uggla, Atlanta Braves

This is my biggest snub in all the all star starters. Dan Uggla is batting .234 on the season which puts him 9th between all 2nd baseman in the N.L. while Aaron Hill is batting .300 which leaves him second. Hill and Uggla lead 2nd baseman with 11 homers on the season, and Hill has 86 hits to Uggla’s 64 which again is 9th between N.L. 2nd baseman. To add to Aaron Hills great year, not only being in the top 6 in all the offensive categories, Hill made history of his own becoming the first player in over 100 years to hit for the cycle 2 times in the same year. Most interesting stats are the runs created, 51.4, runs created per 27 outs, 6.61, and isolated power, .213 lead all 2nd baseman. That fans got this one terribly wrong in my eyes.

Coach Tom’s 3rd Baseman- David Wright, New York Mets

Actual 3rd Baseman- Pablo Sandoval, San So  Francisco Giants

This is another pick that was a no brainer for me and concluded to me that fans have no brains. So the Mets David Wright is leading in every offensive category except homers this season with 53 runs scored, 98 hits, 26 doubles, 50 RBIs, 48 walks, .354 average, .447 on base percentage, .560 slugging, and 1.006 ops. This is by far Wright’s best start to a season and it’s not like Sandoval is even close in statistics with Wright. Sandoval is 10th or worse in every category besides average, which technically he hasn’t had enough bats to even qualify for. So sad how someone as in David Wright can blow the competition away, yet doesn’t get rewarded.

Coach Tom’s Short Stop- Willie Bloomquist, Arizona Diamondbacks

Actual Short Stop- Rafael Furcal, St.Louis Cardinals

With short stops looking rather weak this year, Willie Bloomquist would be my starting short stop if I were choosing the starting lineup. Bloomquist is batting  .295 on the season in comparison to Furcal’s .276. Most staggering is that Bloomquist is peaking over the last month hitting .341 in June, while Furcal has been on the down slope hitting just .150 in the month of June. To boast his numbers Bloomquist has just 3 errors on the season, 4 better than Furcal who is sitting at 7. Bloomquist should be starting and couldn’t even find his way on to the all star team as a reserve let alone a starter. Fans got it wrong all over again.

Coach Tom’s Outfielders- Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates, Melky Cabrera, San Francisco Giants, Carlos Beltran, St.Louis Cardinals.

Actual Outfielders- Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers, Melky Cabrera, San Francisco Giants, Carlos Beltran, St.Louis Cardinals.

Lets start with what we agree with and that is Melky Cabrera, LF for the Giants. Cabrera is hitting .352 with 111 hits, 16 doubles, 7 triples, 7 homers, 39 RBIs, 10 stolen bases,and 23 walks on the season. Well deserving to start in the all star. Matt Kemp would be starting if it wasn’t for his early season injury to his hamstring. Kemp was batting .355 with 12 homers and 28 RBIs before being injured on may 30th. Andrew McCutchen will being starting and is still very well deserving of the start as he is hitting .355 with 101 hits, 17 doubles, 4 triples, 15 homers, 52 RBIs, and has the Pirates just 1 game out of first place. The last spot is Carlos Beltran. Beltran is hitting .308 with 84 hits, 10 doubles, 1 triple, 20 homers, 63 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases on the season. Beltran’s consistant play throughout the season have left him far above any other right fielder in the National League.

So here’s both my views and America’s views on who should/is starting the all star game for the N.L.

Coach Tom

Look at me now!!!

Meet Wade Miley, the 25-year-old ace of the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation. Miley picked up his ninth win on the season today as he cruised past the Chicago Cubs to the tune of 8 IP, 3 H, 7 K, 1 ER. At 9-3, Miley has gone at least 7 IP with only 1 ER allowed in each of his last four starts. His 2.19 ERA places his fourth in the National League among all starters. The lefty is in his first full season in the bigs and is yet to allow more than 4 ER in a start.  In his 90.1 IP, he has only allowed 4 home runs. Watch for this Southeastern Louisiana product to continue to successfully pitch to contact for years to come.

The Big Guy