AL Central (Spring Training Notes)

Chicago White Sox

 

• Without the employment of Joe Crede, the White Sox will be evaluating the play of Josh Fields at the hot corner.  The Sox will have Fields starting in their spring training opener on Wednesday, giving him the early opportunity to impress.  Fields took over third base in 2007 when Crede was sidelined with his first back injury and he emerged as a power threat, hitting a very Crede-like .244/.308/.480 with 23 home runs in 418 plate appearances.  Injuries and the play of Crede and Carlos Quentin kept Fields in the minor leagues until July at which point he was recalled and hit a putrid .156/.229/.188 in 35 plate appearances.  His defense at third has been atrocious which he has been attempting improve by fielding ground balls all off-season indicates that the White Sox will probably start the season with a very weak link on their left-side.  Veteran starter Mark Buehrle echoed the sentiments of having a consistent player at the position, telling Phil Rogers "We'll definitely miss him. The last couple of years, when he wasn't out there, a ground ball would be hit to third base and I'd think, 'That's an out,' and then turn around and see it go into left field. Nothing against the other guys, but Joe gets to balls they don't. He definitely spoils you."
  • Speaking of Crede, Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers says that the addition of Joe Crede immediately gives the Twins the inside edge for the AL Central.  Rogers writes that "the signing of Crede, along with Nick Punto's move from third base to shortstop, should give the Twins the kind of solid infield that once backed Brad Radke, Johan Santana, Kenny Rogers and a young Kyle Lohse."
  • White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on the loss of Joe Crede:  ''It's not pitching. He will make [the Twins'] pitching staff better because their defense will be a lot better. He will create double plays. He knows how to play the game. There is one player who didn't grow up with the Minnesota Twins organization, and he played like a Minnesota Twin. He's that type of player.  They will help him, yes. They got better? If Crede is on the field, they're going to be better. I don't think they'll win the division because of one player. They always had a good club and always will be in the pennant race, and you have to handle it the way we always handle it and see what happens.''
  • AJ Pierzynski chimes in regarding Joe Crede's departure and possibility of playing in the Dome: "I'm not a doctor, but I know when I was there [with the Twins], I know we had a different turf, but we had guys all the time that had healthy backs who were complaining about the field. Joe says he's healthy, so we'll see.''
• White Sox captain Paulie Konerko has indicated that he would be open to a trade if the team deemed it necessary.  Although the 33-year-old first baseman will be a free agent at the end of the season, the White Sox may want to hold on to him for the duration of the season as Konerko is a very likely candidate to have a rebound season.  Last year, while battling a early season hand-injury, Konerko had his worst season since 2003, hitting .240/.344/.438 with 22 home runs in 514 at-bats.  Konerko's numbers were thwarted by bad luck thanks to a suppressed .247 batting average on balls in play even as he hit line drives 21.5% of the time.  His average on those line drives in play was .583, well below the MLB average of .718.  If he continues to swing like he did in 2008, his numbers should revert back towards his career line of .277/.352/.491.   

 

Minnesota Twins

 

• Boof Bonser's arm ailments have officially sidelined him indefinitely this spring, as he will undergo exploratory surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday.  To me, Bonser was never going to be the late innings guy most wanted him to be.  Sure he had the velocity but several problem areas -- most notably, lacking the ability to get left-handed hitters out and pitching from the stretch -- would limit his success as a reliever.  His loss isn't as detrimental as losing Pat Neshek or Joe Nathan, it does however, create an issue of depth and now opens up a spot in the bullpen to compete over.  Philip Humber, R.A. Dickey, Rule 5 pick-up Jason Jones and Sean Henn all have the opportunity to win the now available position in the 'pen.  Of the four, I'd have to handicap Humber as the favorite, considering he is out of options.  Then again, Gardenhire has been infatuated with knuckleballers as of late and may consider bringing Dickey north.

 

Cleveland Indians

 

• The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes asked Indians manager Eric Wedge whether star centerfielder Grady Sizemore's sinking batting average was of concern to the team.  After all, Sizemore has seen his BA drop from .290 in 2006 to .277 in 2007 to a career-low of .268 in 2008.  Wedge responded well:  "Batting average, unfortunately for a lot people, it's only been really noted in the last five or 10 years, that it is somewhat of an overrated stat. There are so many other numbers that are more important to a team winning a ballgame -- that's all that matters.  It doesn't worry me."  Batting average has long been categorized as "overrated" by many baseball researchers since the 1930s but has only become accepted in baseball circles in the last several decades.  Though a substantial portion of the media still reports a player's ability based on his BA only, there are plenty other statistics that show true production.  If you were to rank those three season of Sizemore's career based on his BA alone, you would say that 2006 was his best, followed by 2007, trailed by 2008.  Sizemore's OPS for those season (OBP plus SLG) was .907 in 2006, .854 in 2007 and .876 in 2008.  Using a more reliable indicator of performance like OPS and you see that 2008 was actually a better season for Sizemore than his batting average would suggest. 

 

Kansas City Royals

 

• I have felt that the Kansas City Royals might be the team that surprises people in 2009.  According to the 1986 Baseball Abstract, Bill James found that "On the whole, there is an unmistakable advantage to teams that which finished well.  The difference is not enormous, but it is significant."  The Royals went 18-8 in September, finishing off the season the best in baseball and providing optimism to a fan base that had be deprived for quite some time.  If you buy into James's research, one would think that the Royals have the ability to improve in 2009.  Unfortunately, the team seems to make decision after decision that impedes their success.  The latest is the potential move of David DeJesus from the leadoff position to third in the batting order to accommodate for the newly acquired Coco Crisp.  DeJesus has been a lifetime hitter with a .360 career on-base percentage while Crisp has a .331 on-base percentage.  Clearly with DeJesus leading off, it gives the Royals better odds of having a runner on base.  What's more is that when the Royals won 18 of 26, DeJesus batted leadoff in 20 of those games and hit a whopping .388/.443/.565.  Ain't broke, don't fix it. 
  

Detroit Tigers

 

• Jason Beck, MLB.com's Tigers beat writer, noted the anticipation Detroit has for Adam Everett, hoping that his acquisition will shore up the defense that was shoddy in 2008.  Interestingly enough, according to Beck, in efforts to find the best shortstop available, the team consulted John Dewan's Fielding Bible.  Everett was by far the best defensive shortstop in the National League in 2006, his last fully-healthy season, but his injury-shortened 2007 and his painful attempt to perform with the Twins in 2008 makes me question how much the 32-year-old Everett has in his tank. 

Caustiously Optimistic

As the market collapsed on free agents, most available players found themselves settling for much less than they initially demanded.  After months of attempting to secure a contract with a guaranteed base salary of $7 million, the Twins and Joe Crede have agreed to terms on a one-year, $2.5 million (plus incentives worth up to $7 million).  The Twins proved that in today's economy that if you hold out long enough, the cream may sink to the bottom. 

 

In spite of his impressive home run total in 2008, Crede is far from a complete hitter.  Last month I forewarned that Crede's home run production should drop precipitously as a direct result of vacating The Cell for The Dome.  Because he will no longer have the benefit of the lauching pad in Chicago, it would stand to reason that Crede's 2008 slugging percentage will take a hit from its .460 mark.  Crede gained several home runs as an extreme flyball hitter in an environment in Chicago that escorted flyballs towards Michigan Avenue.  In fact, among those hitters that have at least 300 plate appearances, Crede was the most prevalent flyball creator:

 

Player	FB%	AVG.
J. Crede	53.7%	.248
J. Mathis	52.8%	.194
K. Millar	50.9%	.234
M. Thames	50.7%	.241
C. Pena	50.3%	.247

 

Crede's low batting average was in direct correlation to his flyball tendencies.  If he continues this elevated trend, it should be expected that his batting average hoovers around .250 or lower considering the MLB average on flyballs was .223.  Here's something interesting though:  Crede wasn't always a flyball hitter. 

 

Year	LD%	FB%
2003	21.7%	43.2%
2004	16.5%	49.5%
2005	19.0%	45.4%
2006	17.8%	50.7%
2007	14.6%	53.5%
2008	14.3%	53.7%

 

There may be several reasons behind this dramatic shift.  The first being that his back problems caused him to alter his swing, resulting in an upper-cut swing (as you can deduce from the chart above, Crede saw his line drives decrease significantly in 2007 and 2008 when he spent time on the disabled list).  The second would be a conscious effort to change his swing to accommodate for US Cellular home run friendly environment.  Whatever the reason for this change may be, Crede would stand to benefit more if he reverted back to hitting line drives more consistently,  which should be the first thing Twins instructors work on him with in Ft Myers. 

 

Some optimists highlight Crede's increased walk rate as an indicator that he has an improved batting eye.  His walk rate jumped from 4.9% in 2006, to 5.6% in an injury-shortened 2007 and finally to a career-high 8.7% in 2008.  There is no real quantifiable explanation for the increase: he actually swung at more pitches outside of the zone than in previous two years (29.2% o-swing).   One possible explanation could be that in 2008 Crede -- whose lineup position was typically eighth for the White Sox -- was often followed by the powerless Juan Uribe, inciting opposing teams to pitch carefully around the home run machine that was Joe Crede.  After all as Crede was slugging .460, Uribe provided the Sox with a listless .386.  Then again, it could be a case of a hitter developing a better batting eye as he matures.  Either way, it was these walks that helped him secure his second-highest seasonal on-base percentage (.318) of his career.  If his walk rate from last year was a one-season wonder and his flyballs continue, expect his OBP to dip again closer to his career OBP of .306. 

 

According to Fangraphs.com, Crede was paid $5.1 million in 2008 but was valued at $8.1 million, mostly due to his stalwart defense at third base rather than the power numbers that many focus on.  Crede's contract insulates the Twins from most liabilities, so even if Crede is only able to play 97 games and provide 373 plate appearances while producing similar numbers both at the plate and in the field to 2008, the Twins should get a very good value even if Crede season ends at the All Star break. 

 

 

Joe Nathan Breakdown

    In 2009, Joe Nathan will no longer find himself as the lone dominate closer in the AL Central.  Gone are the Todd Jones, Joe Borowskis and Ambiorix Burgoses, upgraded for high quality relievers.  The Royals' Joakim Soria made his grand entrance last year, racked up 42 saves in 2008 while strike out 25% of batters faced and producing a WHIP of 0.861.  Cleveland has acquired potentially the pitcher with the best stuff, albeit injury-prone, in Kerry Wood, who struck out 30% of batters faced and saved 34 games for the Chicago Cubs.  Detroit signed former Diamondbacks closer Brandon Lyon who saved 20 games in the desert before being transitioned back to a set up role.

    How does Joe Nathan's stuff, one that has made a living notching saves at the Metrodome for the better portion of the decade, compare with these and the rest of the league's closers? 

 

Name	FB_WHIFF	VELOCITY	USAGE	Zone%
J. Valverde	.273	95.3	61.5%	73.0%
J. Papelbon	.221	96.1	79.3%	72.7%
B. Ryan	.220	89.7	77.2%	67.0%
K. Wood	.215	96.1	71.1%	70.7%
B. Wilson	.214	96.3	74.9%	64.7%
J. Soria	.209	92.8	73.6%	66.7%
G. Sherrill	.185	90.4	71.5%	62.7%
J. Nathan	.184	95.2	61.0%	61.7%
B. Fuentes	.170	91.8	70.5%	65.9%
K. Gregg	.143	93.4	64.6%	62.4%
J. Putz	.141	94.6	49.7%	60.2%
B. Lidge	.137	96.1	25.1%	54.6%
M. Capps	.134	92.7	81.8%	69.4%
T. Hoffman	.132	87.8	62.3%	75.2%
B. Zieglar	.130	86.6	87.7%	66.9%
F. Rodriguez	.129	92.9	56.8%	61.2%
B. Lyon	.127	92.9	71.7%	67.7%
M. Riveria	.125	93.8	38.5%	46.1%
B. Jenks	.098	94.4	68.9%	67.0%
F. Cordero	.050	95.4	56.0%	47.4%

 

    This is sort of a misrepresentation of Nathan's fastball situation.  MLB.com's Pitch F/X system likes to categorize one of his fastballs as a "splitter" (this categorization should lend some indication as to what sort of action this pitch has).  In truth, the closer has two different fastballs he likes to deploy, one just happens to have a downward burst.  The first of which is a straight four-seamed fastball, which typically registers high velocity and has far greater contact made (a lowly .100 WHIFF).  The second type is a two-seamed fastball that has a strong sinking motion.  In terms of fastballs, the sinking variety is superior at making bats miss.  In 2007, Nathan's WHIFF average on the sinking fastball was .248.  This past season the WHIFF was at .245.  Combining the two fastballs it results in an overall fastball WHIFF of .184.  If he were to rely on the sinking version alone, his WHIFF would rank second behind only Houston's Jose Valverde. 

 

    Nevertheless, according to the chart above Nathan's fastball stands up fairly well, 8th out of 20 closers listed.  Ahead of him are power arms in Valvarde, Jonathon Papelbon, Kerry Wood and Brian Wilson (all above 95-mph).  Joakim Soria's fastball has some filthy movement while both BJ Ryan and George Sherill benefit from throwing against the earth's rotation (read: they're left-handed).  What separates Nathan from the Woods and the Papelbons is in his use of the pitch.  Both Papelbon and Wood are predominately fastball pitchers, both throwing their fastball more than 70% of the time but also attacking the strike zone as well.  Nathan, on the other hand, does not use his fastball nearly as much - despite having similar velocity - and does not exercise as much zone precision. 

 

    Nathan's secondary, or rather his out pitch, is his slider.  After setting up opposing batters with one of his two types of fastball, Nathan issues a sit-on-down, hard-sweeping slider that touches the upper 80's and incites numerous empty swings.  Even though it leaves a stream of opponents muttering to themselves on the way back to the dugout, of the slider-featuring closers, Nathan's slider hardly receives top honors.  That privilege goes to Brad Lidge.  Lidge, as you will see, has the dirtiest sliders in the league.  Referencing the fastball table above, Lidge throws his fastball only a quarter of the time while most tend to use it two-thirds of the time, but Lidge is so confident in his slider that he throws it over half of the time.  Thrown in the mid-80s, Lidge's slider has a .496 WHIFF average.  Another way to interpret this WHIFF is to say that every other swing is a miss.  Just to be able to make contact against Lidge's slider is a feat, so you better believe it isn't hit all that squarely.  The Reds' Francisco Cordero, the next best slider, receives 20% fewer swing-and-misses than Lidge's.

Name	SLD_WHIFF	USAGE	Zone%
B. Lidge	.496	55.2%	68.7%
F. Cordero	.396	28.1%	60.4%
J. Nathan	.373	30.6%	65.5%
K. Gregg	.261	21.2%	50.1%
B. Wilson	.260	25.0%	49.3%
B. Ryan	.209	22.8%	50.6%

 

    This is not to discredit Nathan's slider either: his slider still flirts with 40% of swings missing.  In fact, among all the pitches thrown at least 15% of the time, Nathan's slider has the eighth-best WHIFF. 

Name	Type	WHIFF	USAGE	Zone%
K. Wood	curve	.533	29.3%	57.3%
B. Lidge	slider	.496	55.2%	72.7%
T. Hoffman	change	.475	25.7%	67.2%
J. Putz	change	.441	34.8%	55.4%
B. Fuentes	slider	.417	15.8%	64.0%
F. Cordero	change	.415	15.9%	60.9%
F. Cordero	slider	.396	28.1%	60.4%
J. Nathan	slider	.373	30.6%	65.5%
J. Valverde	change	.364	33.9%	67.3%
F. Rodriguez	curve	.362	28.9%	58.0%
J. Papalbon	change	.347	18.7%	62.6%
G. Sherrill	curve	.338	23.8%	65.0%
B. Lyon	curve	.302	24.4%	66.7%
M. Rivera	cutter	.281	52.3%	70.2%
J. Valverde	fastball	.273	61.5%	73.0%
K. Gregg	slider	.261	21.3%	50.5%
B. Wilson	slider	.226	25.0%	49.3%
J. Papelbon	fastball	.221	79.3%	72.7%
B. Ryan	fastball	.220	77.2%	67.0%
B. Wilson	fastball	.214	74.9%	64.7%

 

    Kerry Wood's $20 million, two-year contract looks very accurate in relation to his stuff.  His fastball was the fourth-best among closers while his hammer-curve gets the honors for the best pitch on the market - better than Lidge's slider and better than the legendary Trevor Hoffman cottonball changeup.  Then again, his arm falls off like the Scarecrow's hey inners so you can't assume he will be available from April to October without some ailment.  Joakim Soria lives off of his fastball - one that isn't thrown particularly hard - but gets bats to miss nonetheless.  Without a complementary out-pitch, Soria may be in for a rough patch in 2009.  Brandon Lyon hardly makes a blip on the charts.  Although his curveball is of value (.302 WHIFF), his fastball has pus written all over it.  Short of Wood maintaining active roster status the entire 162-games, Nathan should retain the title of best closer in the AL Central. 

Twins Notes (Pitchers and Catchers Report Edition)

• La Velle E Neal mentions in his blog that there is development towards adjusting some of the Type A regulations in order to allow for a player like Diamondbacks reliever, Juan Cruz, to be resigned by his current team and then assemble a trade with another team thereby avoiding the need to lose a June draft pick.  This is an intriguing proposition but will probably end up fruitless for the Twins.  Logistically, it feels too complicated.  In order for something like this to work, the Twins would have to wait for the Diamondbacks to sign Cruz to a reasonable contract.  According to the Arizona Republic, Diamondbacks GM, Josh Byrnes said "A solution that works for us and works for him is unclear.  We're at least trying to see how to make this a favorable outcome."  Following that, the Twins would have to negotiate an exchange of players that the Diamondbacks would accept  -- all the while bidding against other franchises that would love his power arm without the lost draft pick associated with him.  Only if the Twins are confident that they would A) receive Cruz at a market or below-market rate and B) not have to give up players that they value, would this adjustment of the Type A regulations lead to a favorable result.  Though the loosened regulation might make it more plausible that the Twins could acquire Cruz, it hard to envision this actually happening.   
• The most recent LASIK success story is, of course, Denard Span.  Span was joined by Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer as two more alumni of the LASIK procedure as well this offseason.  Add prospect Steven Tolleson's name to the growing list of Twins players that have gotten LASIK recently.  Following a full season at Ft Myers (A+) in which he hit .285/.388/.382 in 571 plate appearances, Tolleson advanced to AA where an injury-segmented season had him hitting .300/.382/.466 in 397 plate appearances where he emerged as a hot Twins prospect.  Though a small sample, Tolleson witnessed his production spike in the Arizona Fall League this past offseason, hitting .383/.449/.543 in 94 at-bats.  “There’s a huge difference in the way that I see and that’s got to equate in continued consistency on the baseball field,” said Tolleson.  Josh Johnson has Tolleson ranked at #21 for his top Twins prospects while Aaron Gleeman slotted him at #20. Le Valle reaffirmed Tolleson's non-quantifiable quality of a ballplayer by writing "Steven Tolleson looks like a player. Sometimes its easy to tell the prospects from the major leaguers during these workouts. Tolleson fits right in. I’m sure it helps that his father played in the majors. He’s coming off of a nice Arizona Fall League stint during which he batted .383 and is moving up the list of the Twins’ top prospects. He’s one player I want to see in spring games."  To me, Tolleson is just an impressive spring and progress in Rochester away from finding himself in Minnesota if either Nick Punto or Alexi Casilla are injured. 
• The Mets have signed the remnants of Livan Hernandez to a minor league contract.  "I just feel that we need to have numbers. I think you guys know my philosophy on this: You just never have enough pitching, and starting pitching," Mets GM Omar Minaya said. "Livan can give you innings, he can pitch in different roles." Hernandez stands to make $1 million if he is added to the 25-man roster and another $1 million in incentives.  His time in New York might come sooner rather than later as manager Jerry Manuel indicated that Hernandez has the opportunity to win the vacate 5th starter's spot. 
• Oh yeah.  Welcome, pitchers and catchers. 

 

 

The Others.

Chicago White Sox

 

• The Mighty Whities signed Ben Broussard this week to a minor league contract.  Broussard, a darling of platoon fanatics, hit .186 with the Rangers in 2008 in just 82 at-bats and spent most of last year in the minors with the Cubs and Yankees.  The 32-year-old left-handed first baseman is a career .270/.331/.462 batter against right-handed pitching but has been stymied by the left-handed variety, hitting just .225/.288/.393 off of them.  By all accounts, Broussard will spend the 2009 in AAA Charlotte as roster filler. 

 

Cleveland Indians

 

• Though possibly the most active team out of all the AL Central teams -- adding closer Kerry Wood, set-up man Joe Smith and third baseman Mark DeRosa this offseason -- Cleveland's local media still believes the division goes through Minnesota and Chicago, once again.  Long-time Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Paul Hoynes, that of the famed 'Hey, Hoynsie' question-and-answer columns, writes that he anticipates the Twins to win the Central followed by the Sox, Indians, Tigers and Royals.   
• The Tribe have enlisted the help of former Twins great Frank Viola as a spring training instructor.  Sweet Music was a teammate of current Indians manager, Eric Wedge, while in Boston in 1992.  Though on the same team, Viola never threw to Wedge in a game.  Nevertheless, Wedge was encouraged to have Viola on board to work with some of the many left-handed pitchers the Indians will feature in camp this spring.  "I heard he wanted to get back into the game so I talked to him over the winter," said Wedge. "With all our left-handed pitchers, we felt he could help us."  Former Twin and current Indian pitching coach, Carl Willis, raved about Viola's presence in camp.  "Viola didn't just have great stuff," said Willis, "he had a great move to first base and he had a great change-up. We're pushing that with some of our lefties."
• Former Indian, Roberto Alomar, decided to take some, albeit small, media attention away from Alex Rodriguez by participating in a good, old-fashioned lawsuit with ex-girlfriend, Ilya Dall.  Dall's suit claims that Alomar, who maybe the first Gold Glover with full-blown AIDS, repeatedly insisted on having unprotected sex despite having "obvious signs of HIV".  The Village Voice, via Deadspin, reports that Dall is a former "arm wrestler" in her home state of New York. 

 

Detroit Tigers

 

•  The following the offseason this year must be a major disappointment for fans that were geared up on the acquisition of Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis (no relation to Carl), Edgar Renteria and Gary Sheffield in the previous two offseasons.  Instead, Motown gets a dose of cross-your-fingers acquistions in shortstop Adam Everett, catcher Gerald Laird and relievers Juan Rincon, Brandon Lyon and Scott Williamson.  Naturally, the core of the Tigers lineup still has plenty of bite, yet it is aging rapidly.  At 30.4 and 29.9, respectively, the Tigers had the 4th oldest lineup and the 2nd oldest pitching staff in the American League.  All for the low, low sum of $137.5 million. 
• With starters Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander returning along with Willis's potential contributions in the rotation, it is not hard to think that Detroit could remain competitive in the Central.  The bullpen, however, with Lyon returning to the closer role, is still a mystery.  Joel Zumaya, who spent a good deal of the 2008 season on the DL, is gunning for the role that was assumed to be Lyon's.  "I've got two guys that I'm going to be fighting for the role," Zumaya said. "They're going to be friends. We're going to be part of the team. But when we're out there, it's going to be competitive." Former Twins minor league pitching coordinator, Rick Knapp, was brought in to be the Tigers pitching coach on his ability to refine relievers. 
  

Kansas City Royals

 

•  Kansas City's 2009 payroll is expected to exceed $70 million.  Though a small number in comparison to the aforementioned $137 million of the Tigers, the $70 million figure represents a 20% increase from 2008.  Yet, the Royals still might not be finished working the free agent market, reportedly looking at Orlando Cabrera, Orlando Hudson and (more plausably) Ray Durham.
• The Royals have toyed with moving outfielder Mark Teahen to second base in 2009.  This is yet another bizarre move for the Royals.  After spending his first four seasons as a third baseman then a fairly decent right fielder in 2007 but a poorer one last season, Teahen is expected to compete for a position that is much more highly skilled than that of a corner outfielder.  The Defensive Spectrum, as I brought up a week ago in reference to Michael Cuddyer, shows that it is much more difficult to slide to the right of the spectrum (DS: 1B -- LF -- RF -- 3B -- CF -- 2b -- SS), if anything, Teahen is primed to become a first baseman -- even if his offense closely resembles that of a second baseman.  Unfortunately, the Royals have two players at first (Mike Jacobs and Billy Butler) and have the need for speedier outfielders to cover more real estate in Kauffman.