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Type A/B free agent rankings

November 9th, 2009, 2:38 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Elias Sports Bureau (keepers of all things statistical) has released its official rankings of this year’s free-agent class.

Free agents ranked in  the top 20 percent at their position by Elias are considered Type A free agents. Players ranked in the 21-40 percent range at their position are Type B free agents.

This is important for one reason — compensation. This can have a big impact on a free agent’s attractiveness to suitors (and how anxious their former team is for them to leave).

A team losing a Type A free agent receives two draft picks as compensation – either the first- or second-round pick of the signing team (depending on that team’s record the previous season) and a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.

A team losing a Type B free agent receives just one sandwich pick as compensation.

This past June, the Angels had five of the first 48 picks in the draft including two first-rounders thanks to compensation for losing free agents Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez and Jon Garland last winter.

They could be in for a similar windfall next June with potential departees John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Darren Oliver ranked as Type A’s and Vladimir Guerrero a Type B.

Teams have to offer arbitration to their free agents in order to receive compensation. That deadline will come along in December.

Here are this year’s Type A and B rankings. Keep in mind that some players have contract options which might keep them from becoming free agents:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Angels • Boston Red Sox • Chone Figgins • Dodgers • Garret Anderson • John Lackey • Kelvim Escobar • New York Yankees • Oakland A's • Seattle Mariners • Texas Rangers • Vladimir Guerrero | 4 Comments »

Dye is a free agent, Webb staying with Diamondbacks

November 6th, 2009, 10:56 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer

daniel-craig-takes-a-look-in-siena

Like Daniel Craig a.k.a. James Bond, above, we’re always scoping out player movement. It’s a busy Friday …

Jermaine Dye is on the free-agent market, but Brandon Webb won’t be going on it just yet.

The White Sox have play-almost-anywhere Mark Teahan, and the Royals have … salary relief?

Ok, I like second baseman Chris Getz, but he’s no Teahan.

Neither is third baseman Josh Fields, although he might  could do double duty with the Chiefs at quarterback.

Tiger Woods, Jamie McCourt (Getty Images)

Tiger Woods, Jamie McCourt (Getty Images)

J.J. Hardy is the latest Twins shortstop, Carlos Gomez is a Brewer, and maybe that all frees Mike Cameron to patrol center field in new Yankee Stadium, which CC Sabathia would like.

Oh, and Jamie McCourt didn’t get her job back with the Dodgers.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Orange County guy with her in this picture bought the NL team?

They could become the Los Angeles Dodgers of West Anaheim. Or Cypress.

Posted in: Dodgers • New York Yankees • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Jamie McCourt won’t get the team

November 5th, 2009, 10:45 am by Sam Miller, The Orange County Register

At least, she won’t get her job back with the team.

In case you’re not reading the spectacular single-issue blog Dodgerdivorce.com, a judge ruled today that Jamie McCourt will not be reinstated as co-CEO of the Dodgers. Had she been reinstated, it could have had major implications for the Dodgers — a sale, or more debt — according to Craig Calcaterra. Indeed, he writes, a forced sale of the Dodgers could have affected baseball’s free agency market league wide.

Insofar as the battle for the Southern California market share could be seen as a zero sum game, though, one might consider this bad news for the Angels. A few years of Dodger foundering could only help the Angels in the fight for Los Angeles. Though now we’re probably stretching.

Posted in: Dodgers | Post a Comment »

Here’s the free-agent shopping list

November 5th, 2009, 10:21 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Today is the first day eligible players can file for free agency. They have 15 days to file. Until those 15 days are over, players can only negotiate with their most recent team.

Here is the full list of 183 eligible players (with some players’ eligibility contingent on contract options):

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Angels • Boston Red Sox • Dodgers • New York Yankees • Oakland A's • Seattle Mariners • Texas Rangers | 1 Comment »

A first look at some Rule V shopping

November 4th, 2009, 5:27 pm by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Watching Pedro Martinez pitching in the first inning of Game 6 in the World Series, so it seems natural to offer some more pitching advice that likely will be ignored.hansen

I don’t know about the Angels or Dodgers, but I would risk $50,000 on a Rule V draft of Craig Hansen from the Pittsburgh Pirates system. That is, if I had a team (and the money).

Hansen, 26, was diagnosed with a nerve disorder that restricted him to five games this past season. Last month, the Pirates outrighted him to Triple-A, removing him from the 40-man roster.

The Hansen I remember pitching for the Boston Red Sox had a high-90s fastball and a wicked slider.

I have no idea if or when he will recover from the nerve disorder, but a team that could use another high-quality arm in the bullpen should find out.

Posted in: Angels • Boston Red Sox • Dodgers • • • | 5 Comments »

Report: Padilla gunshot wound not self-inflicted

November 4th, 2009, 5:00 pm by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Contrary to earlier reports, Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla did not accidentally shoot himself during target practice in Nicaragua.NLCS Dodgers Phillies Baseball

The Associated Press is now reporting Padilla was wounded by his shooting instructor, a former police captain.

The instructor, handed a jammed weapon by Padilla, accidentally shot himself in the hand, with the bullet grazing Padilla’s leg.

So all the folks who were playing the Plaxico Burress card can now shut up.

Why anyone found humor in a man accidentally shooting himself, going to prison for two years and possibly ending career, I have no idea.

When the Padilla story first surfaced today, it was pretty ironic to hear Internet pundits from gun-crazy Texas, of all places, get on the former Rangers right-hander’s case.

***

Second baseman Akinori Iwamura is excited to take his sharkskin glove from Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh.

Unlike those few folks who will pay to watch the Pirates in 2010, Iwamura will be well-compensated at $4.85 million for the season.Royals Rays Baseball

Iwamura is actually the second member of the 2008 AL Champion Rays to land in Pittsburgh.

Eric Hinske started this past season as a Pirate before being traded to the Yankees.

I think we can understand Iwamura being optimistic about joining the Pirates.

The first Rays team he played on lost 96 games; the next year they were in the World Series.

Posted in: Dodgers • • • • | 7 Comments »

Powerful Jeff Mathis evokes memories of … Brian Doyle

October 19th, 2009, 5:45 pm by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Jeff Mathis is the new Brian Doyle.

The Angels catcher, who now has three doubles in the ALCS, including Monday’s winning RBI shot hat scored Howie Kendrick from first in the 11th inning of Game 3, is doing a pretty good impression of Doyle,Angels Rockies Spring Baseball a 1978 World Series hero for the … New York Yankees.

Mathis (right) is a career .200 hitter. Doyle, who batted .438 in the WS against the Dodgers, batted .161 in the regular season in his major-league career.

Doyle had 9 hits in 23 postseason at-bats (.391) in 1978, getting the call after Willie Randolph was hurt.

I won’t compare Mathis to Gene Tenace just yet … the Angels catcher has to get the ball out of the ballpark first. But Mathis has certainly given the Angels life in this ALCS.

Posted in: Angels • Dodgers • Howie Kendrick • Jeff Mathis • New York Yankees • • • | 1 Comment »

Torre needs to be reintroduced to Billingsley, once an All-Star

October 16th, 2009, 7:27 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer

new-bloom-mug-for-ocrcom6Is Chad Billingsley still on the Dodgers?

That is the one question I can’t get out of my mind, while waiting for the ALCS to start, after watching the Dodgers’ 8-6 loss to the Phillies in the NLCS opener.

Oh there are others — like why Joe Torre didn’t take Clayton Kershaw out earlier in the fifth inning, and who the heck was lefty Scott Elbert warming up to pitch to — but I guess I will get over those.

But why is Billingsley, an NL All-Star in 83373220MH113_80th_MLB_All_July, not only not one of the Dodgers’ first four NLCS starters, and not the first man out of the bullpen in a long role in the fifth?

This photo, of Albert Pujols with Billingsley after the Dodger pitched the fifth in the ASG, is proof that it actually happened.

I realize the Dodgers went 1-8 in Billingsley’s last nine starts, but the Dodgers are starting Vicente Padilla (today) and Hiroki Kuroda in Game 3. Randy Wolf, who opened the NLDS, is almost an afterthought in Game 4.

OK, so Billingsley is in the bullpen. Unlike some of the younger viewers, I am not uncomfortable with starters coming out of the bullpen in the playoffs.

It’s still hard to believe Billingsley, despite his poor September (0-3, 5.16 ERA ) has been relegated to the Ervin Santana role in the playoffs. Or that Elbert would get up to warm up before Billingsley, when it seems the lefty is only on the NLCS roster to face Matt Stairs. If Billingsley in the bullpen, use him.

Or that I have to agonize over another Dodgers game today, before the real wonder begins: Will the Angels and Yankees open the ALCS on Friday, Saturday or Sunday?

Posted in: Angels • Dodgers • Ervin Santana • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Day games in LCS evoke memories of a sunny World Series

October 14th, 2009, 10:15 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer

Day games in League Championship Series. Talk about throwbacks.

If you aren’t old enough to remember when new-bloom-mug-for-ocrcom5all the World Series games were played in the afternoon, you probably won’t appreciate this perspective.

If you’re a television executive, you will hate it.

With the Phillies playing the Dodgers in NLCS Game 2 at 1:07 p.m. (PT) at Dodger Stadium, and the Anaheim portion of the ALCS opening Monday at 1:13 p.m. with Game 3 at Angels Stadium, Major League Baseball might be moving closer to achieving Commissionor Bud Selig’s nostalgic dream of a World Series day game.

There’s a second possible ALCS day game, with Game 6 set at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1:13 p.m.

There has not been a World Series day game since 1987, when the Cardinals and Twins started Game 6 in the Metrodome at 1 p.m. (PT).

The last two WS day games outdoors were Games 4 and 5 at Tiger Stadium in 1984.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Angels • Detroit Tigers • Dodgers • New York Yankees • • • • | 4 Comments »

ALCS-NLCS start times announced

October 13th, 2009, 2:35 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

This is the first time the two leagues have had East vs. West, coast-to-coast matchups since 1988 when the Mets and Dodgers played in the NLCS, the A’s and Red Sox in the ALCS.

Here are the start times for both League Championship Series (all times PT):

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Angels vs. Yankees

Game One at Yankee Stadium — Friday, 4:57 p.m.

Game Two at Yankee Stadium — Saturday, 4:57 p.m.

Game Three at Angel Stadium — Monday, 1:13 p.m.

Game Four at Angel Stadium — Tuesday, 4:57 p.m.

Game Five at Angel Stadium (if necessary) — Thursday, 4:57 p.m.

Game Six at Yankee Stadium (if necessary) — Saturday, Oct. 24, 1:13 p.m.

Game Seven at Yankee Stadium (if necessary) –Sunday, Oct. 25, 5:20 p.m.

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Dodgers vs. Phillies

Game One at Dodger Stadium — Thursday, 5:07 p.m.

Game Two at Dodger Stadium – Friday, 1:07 p.m.

Game Three at Citizens Bank Park – Sunday, 5:07 p.m.

Game Four at Citizens Bank Park – Monday, 5:07 p.m.

Game Five at Citizens Bank Park – Wednesday, Oct. 21, 5:07 p.m.

Game Six at Dodger Stadium – Friday, Oct. 23, 5:07 p.m.

Game Seven at Dodger Stadium – Saturday, Oct. 24, 5:07 p.m.

All ALCS games to be televised by FOX, NLCS games on TBS.

Posted in: Angels • Dodgers • New York Yankees | 23 Comments »

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