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I write to you, my faithful readers, today with a belated announcement:  Akadema® unveiled a new line of gloves back in April called The Patriot Series and here is a description of the series right from their press release.

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The new Akadema line will be handmade in the Company’s Hawthorne-NJ headquarters. Suggested retail price for Patriot Series gloves is $249.99.

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*As of the time of this writing, Baseball Reflections.com does not earn a commission for the sale of any Akadema® gloves, bats, etc. We are fans of the product and wish to promote domestic spending on products made in the US, especially in this difficult economy.

Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers’ lineup tomorrow not as a pariah, but as a prodigal son. All has been foriven after his 50-game exile for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs when he takes the field for the Dodgers in San Diego.

Mannywood, otherwise known as the left-field bleachers, will be back and open for business as a Dodger marketing tool — as National Sports Examiner Paula Duffy notes.

Dodger owner Frank McCourt has been shamelessly passing out All-Star ballots with Manny’s name encircled. (Full disclosure: I voted for Manny several times to be an All-Star this year — but not out of a love for Manny, but to shame MLB and highlight the absurdity of its lax steroids policy).

Even Joe Torre, usually a man who can be counted on to stick up for integrity in the game, publicly voiced his eagerness to get Manny back in the lineup. In fairness, it’s Torre’s job to help the Dodgers win games, not be an embassador for the games. But would it have been too much to ask for Torre to be perfunctionary and staid in his response to the inevitable questions?

As Yahoo notes, when Manny visited Dodger Stadium in early June, he said he was ready to move on and didn’t want to be a distraction.

“I didn’t kill nobody, I didn’t rape nobody, so that’s it, I’m just going to come and play the game,” Ramirez said.

And that’s about the extent of Manny’s remorse (meaning none), and he will probably will say nothing else of substance beyond that as the circus that will surround him starting on Friday. After San Diego, the Dodgers head to New York. Expect the rabid press there to try to give him the business. And expect Manny to give nothing back.

Getting to Manny’s affect on the lineup, it can only be good. He’ll be right back in there hitting in the 3-hole, and his very presence — even if he takes a while to get his stroke back — will make the Dodgers lineup better. And while the offense has been in a bit of a slump lately, the Dodgers have been just fine without him. They’re on pace for 100 wins, and — as TrueBlueLA points out — the Dodgers have the best record in the NL since Manny exited the lineup. In fact, despite shuffling lately, the Dodgers still have the best record in baseball.

One has to feel bad for Juan Pierre, who will be sent to the bench for the second time by Manny — and has done nothing but produce for the Dodgers when called upon. Pierre is hitting .322 on the season, and has not just scored runs and caused havoc on the bases, but has driven in runs. He’s been the player the Dodgers thought they signed to play full-time in the outfield before landing Manny was a dream of the McCourts last summer.

Follow Jim Lakely, the Los Angeles Dodgers Examiner, on Twitter.

As the All-Star break draws near, many teams around the league are looking for upgrades. Your Motor City Kitties are no exception. The Tigers need for a another bat has been well chronicled, and many names have been tossed around the blogosphere. Unfortunately, the Tigers failed to pounce on the one name that I would have liked them to target; Eric Hinske.

On Tuesday June 30, the Pirates made their annual trade with the Yankees, sending Hinske to New York along with cash for two minor leaguers. You may recall that over the past several seasons, the Pirates have made several deals with the Yankees, sending them Craig Wilson, Damaso Marte, Shawn Chacon, and Xavier Nady. The Pirates always seem to get the short end of such trades.

The Yankees use these players to solidify their push to the playoffs, while the Pirates continue to flounder until the next season, when they repeat the process. It has been said that the definition of insanity is to repeat your actions and expect different results. I believe the Pirates’ executives to be insane.

Image by afagen via Flickr

So what’s left for Detroit? Guys like Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott are likely still available, as are Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson, but all will have a bigger price tag than Hinske.

Perhaps, the Tigers’ answer will come from within, as Carlos Guillen is progressing nicely from his shoulder injury that has cost him most of the season. If he can regain any type of the form at the plate he has displayed over the past several seasons, he would be a welcome addition to the Tigers’ inconsistent attack.

The simple facts are that if the Tigers plan to make it to October, the offense needs a boost. If players like Guillen and Magglio Ordonez can find the fountain of youth, they should have enough to get there. If not, and I would not put a ton of faith in that happening, the team must look outside the organization for help.

A versatile left handed hitter that’s capable of hitting the long ball would be ideal. With Hinske’s name scratched from the shopping list, I will throw my support behind Chad Tracy of the Diamondbacks.

Tracy has spent the last month on the disabled list, but when healthy, has shown good pop throughout his career, twice hitting at least 20 home runs in a season. He can play first base and third base. He played in the outfield regularly prior to 2006, so he could probably get by there again.

Tracy could be activated by this weekend and while it’s true that he has been injury prone over the past three seasons, it would be a risk to take him on, the Tigers wouldn’t need him to play everyday. He could be used in a platoon situation to help offset the losses of production the team was counting on from Ordonez and Guillen.

Given his injury history and the D-backs roster full of young talent, Arizona shouldn’t ask for a ton in return, as they don’t really have a place for him to play.  Tracy has a $7 million option for next season with a buyout of $1 million, so he should fit into the Tigers’ plans financially as well.

Here’s an interview done by Russ Smith of SpliceToday entitled, “Interview: Craig Calcaterra of Shysterball“. Russ was kind enough to allow up to repost this on Baseball Reflections today.

As the MLB season reaches its halfway mark, Splice has once again consulted Shysterball’s Craig Calcaterra, our favorite baseball blogger. Calcaterra, a lawyer by day, is passionate and opinionated about the sport, as his answers from a weekend interview reflect. Short takes: the Baltimore Orioles are currently boring, but might become “frisky” in the next couple of years; the Dodgers could go wire-to-wire, ending up as World Series champions; and EPSN’s color commentator Steve Phillips is “obnoxious.”

SPLICE TODAY (ST): Mercifully, the interleague portion of the MLB schedule has ended, although it remains as popular as ever with fans. Did you find the match-ups more interesting this year, any revelations from the results, say, perhaps, a growing parity between the leagues?

CRAIG CALCATERRA (CC): No more interesting than I ever do. They’re just games to me. And they seem pretty much like the same games as they were last year. I think the NL has a few more wins than last year, but they’re still the weaker league. And the reason why they are weaker—there are no teams really pushing anyone in the NL to spend more and get better like the Yankees and Red Sox do in the AL—isn’t going to change any time soon.

ST: Which manager is the next one to walk the plank? I’m betting on the Indians’ Eric Wedge, despite GM Mark Shapiro’s vote of confidence. And why do you think, every spring it seems, that baseball writers have the Indians penciled in for the playoffs?

CC: I agree that Wedge is probably the next to go. It’s just so stale in Cleveland right now. The fans are disillusioned. Terry Pluto [Cleveland Plain Dealer] ran a column a week ago in which he suggested that Wedge is going a little nuts too. It’s probably best for him and the team that they pull the plug right now. As for all of the pre-season optimism (which I shared), I think the experts all fell victim to the same thing which trips up so many fantasy players: paying too much attention to second half results from the prior year.

The Indians really played well after the Sabathia trade last season, and everyone figured, “Well, if they can do that for a full season, they’ll be awesome!” Add in Kerry Wood and Travis Hafner returning and the addition of Mark DeRosa [just traded to the Cardinals] and it was easy to talk yourself into good things happening with the Indians. In hindsight, everyone—including Shapiro, I’d add—was counting too much on too many guys with horrible injury histories. If everything had broken just right, this team could have won 90+ games. But how often does everything break just right for anyone?

ST: You’re a Braves fan, and the team, despite not playing quite at .500, is certainly in the hunt for the NL East division title. What can the Braves do to get over the hump and knock off the injury-riddled and lackadaisical Mets and surprisingly lackluster Phils, who can’t seem to win at home? The Braves rotation is solid, even if Derek Lowe’s in a rough patch right now, but they can’t hit with consistency. If you’re in charge of the team, what deal do you make to reach the top again? And is Tommy Hanson the next big pitching star in the NL?

CC: After the past few games I think they’ve given up the hunt. Or at least they should. There’s just no offense there and they’re fooling themselves if they think they can keep up with New York and Philadelphia. I mean really, the Phillies have played terribly recently and the Braves have actually lost ground on them. Nice try boys, but it’s not happening.

Not that I’m terribly disappointed. I harbored suspicions all winter that Frank Wren was planning to punt 2009 and shoot for 2010 as the real year to compete, and with the exception of rushing Jordan Schafer up to the majors to start the season, he has basically held to the plan, however secret it may be. It’s a good plan, actually. You take this season to see if there’s any hope for Jeff Francoeur (nope!), to break Tommy Hanson in in a low pressure setting (so far so good) and to give Jason Heyward a little more ripening time (he’s playing just fine in high-A this year, and will likely finish in either AA or AAA).

If I’m running that show right now, I make sure that Hanson isn’t overworked and that Brian McCann and Chipper Jones don’t kill themselves this year either. I scope around for one more corner outfielder, knowing I have time on my side (we don’t need him until next spring).  Then I plan on starting next season with Hanson in the rotation, Heyward in the lineup, and Jeff Francoeur rolled up in a carpet at the bottom of a reservoir somewhere. Under such circumstances, I like the Braves’ chances.

ST: You’re not a baseball writer who speculates upon who or who didn’t take performance-enhancing drugs. Nevertheless, with A-Rod and Manny Ramirez now tainted, is it fair for fans to put every player over 28 under the microscope? I think the baseball world would be turned upside down if either Cal Ripken Jr. or Derek Jeter were exposed as users. Both Rodriguez and Ramirez aren’t sympathetic characters, but Jeter and Ripken (and Pujols) are “faces” of baseball. Any comment on this?

CC: I guess it might be fair to put guys who’ve been around under the microscope; I just think it would be pointless. To the extent that people (not me, but others) care a lot about steroids, they tend to care about records and Hall of Fame legacies, and really, all of the guys worthy of that conversation have been outed already. The big home run hitters in Bonds, Sosa and McGwire; the big strikeout pitcher in Clemens; the most famous player around today in A-Rod. Let’s say that tomorrow that Jermaine Dye or Chipper Jones or Lance Berkman were exposed as guys who tested positive in 2003. Does it really matter? Does anyone care beyond the first day’s news cycle? Probably not. I’ll grant you that Pujols, Jeter and Ripken (though he was gone before any testing was done at all) would be different stories, but for the most part it’s just become gossip fodder at this point.

I think the next big steroids story is going to spin out of the Sammy Sosa business. ESPN reported the other day that the feds are looking at the Miami doctor who prescribed Manny Ramirez his hormones or whatever they were. The word on the street is that that guy is well-connected with Latin ballplayers. You’ll recall that, despite the fact that so many Latin players have tested positive since the testing program was fully implemented, very few were named in the Mitchell Report or spun out of the BALCO, Radomski, or McNamee stuff. If I were a betting man, I’d guess that this Miami business could be something really, really major, and will yield more names than any of our idle speculation will.

ST: Switching gears, back in November, you told me you were “relieved” that Barack Obama won the presidency, and eschewing all the emotional rhapsody of the win, you hoped his administration would be one that was “very boring, but very businesslike and ultimately successful.” What’s your opinion of his first half-year in office?

CC: So far: very boring, very businesslike, and somewhat successful. He’s got so many balls in the air right now that it’s hard to truly judge how he’s doing, but I think he’s basically getting it right, or at the very least trying to.  A lot of left wing groups are pissed at him, and that’s a good sign. Mostly I’m just happy that we seem to have an adult in the White House for the first time in, oh, 17 years, as opposed to self-absorbed or self-righteous culture-war-crazed Baby Boomer nutcases.

ST: Last Friday, you joked that some Orioles fans get peeved at you for a lack of positive remarks about the now-perennially struggling team. Nick Markakis is a bona fide star, which you acknowledge, but are there any other players who’ve shown promise under GM Andy McPhail’s leadership? For example, I think Adam Jones has loads of potential, but even though he’s young and still learning, he sometimes betrays his talent by loafing in the field or making base-running mistakes (an O’s specialty). Any encouragement you can offer for this woebegone franchise?

CC: It’s funny, because I’m really hard on some teams, but I’ve never really gone after the O’s in that way. I think the readers’ problem with me is that I rarely say anything at all about Baltimore. But that’s because they’re in that not-too-good-but-not-hopeless gray area that makes a team’s essence hard to capture in my daily recaps. The Marlins are in the same boat, as are the Blue Jays, White Sox, and Rockies. Greatness inspires me, so I write a lot about the Dodgers and Red Sox. Audaciousness inspires me, so I write a lot about the Yankees and Rays. Drama and neurosis inspires me so I write a lot about the Cubs, Mets, and Angels. Finally, futility inspires me, so I write a lot about the Nats and Padres, Indians and Royals. The Orioles may be in last place, but they’re pretty decent for a last place team, and I do think there’s a good future in Baltimore, so right now, they just kind of bore me.

As for that future: They won’t have Huff and probably not Melvin Mora next year, but everyone else in the lineup will be back, with the young (read: good) ones all a year older and wiser. I could see the offense taking a major step forward next year. The rotation has kind of been a disaster, but there is a lot of help on the horizon in the form of Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz and some others. In fact, there may be a starting surplus in 2010 and 2011. While none of them look like top-of-the rotation guys, they’re in much better shape than they’ve been in recently. If I had to guess, I’d say that the Orioles will be frisky next year and straight-out contending in 2011.

ST: Are the Dodgers that good or will they run into trouble should the team make it to the Series and face, say, the Yanks, Red Sox, Rays or Tigers?

CC: Like they say, anything can happen in a short series. They could be the best team around, but if they go cold for three or four days in October it’s all over. That said, I think they’re a really good team. The Manny stuff is actually working to their benefit in that come playoff time they’ll have a well-rested superstar and a guy in Juan Pierre possessing new found confidence who can provide improved depth. Clayton Kershaw is quickly becoming a stud, and could be the Dodgers’ version of Cole Hamels this fall. I wouldn’t bet against them.

ST: Would you rather watch a nationally televised game on ESPN or Fox?

CC: Is suicide not an option? Or TBS?

Seriously, if I had to pick between the two I’d pick FOX at this point, because ESPN has now polluted all three of their weekly broadcasts with either Rick Sutcliffe or Steve Phillips, and those guys are simply obnoxious, broadcast-killing personalities. Wednesday would be great if they’d leave it at Dan Shulman and Orel Hershiser, but no, they stick Phillips in there. I’d even be cool if they stuck with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on Sunday because, even though he gets lots of criticism, you can at least kind of tune out Morgan. Why they decided to add Phillips to that team too is beyond me.

Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are awful themselves, but (a) there’re only two of them, and that beats the ESPN three-man booths (baseball never needs three men analyzing it at once); and (b) the color commentator in the lone ESPN two-man booth—Sutcliffe on Monday nights—is the only color guy in all of baseball more assaulting to the senses than McCarver, so I’ll take the lesser to two evils.

ST: Last week, you praised both Dusty Baker and Joey Votto (of the Reds) for how the latter’s anxiety problems have been handled. Care to expand? The reason I ask is that although chronic depression and anxiety attacks are very serious, it seems like, not to be glib, this is a new fad in MLB. Dontrelle Willis, the life of the party in Florida, and really fun to watch, having these symptoms just seems kind of fishy to me. With the exception of Zack Greinke, who from all accounts was ready to leave the game, I can’t shake the feeling that this sort of malady is a soft excuse for putting a player on the DL and clearing a spot on the roster.

CC: I was just really impressed by the sensitivity Dusty showed in an interview about Votto’s problems a month or so ago. Though no one has been publicly dismissive of guys with emotional problems in baseball, there’s always this certain kind of code baseball people have used to talk about players who are gone for non-injury situations. Lots of “thoughts and prayers,” lots of “we wish him the best.” You get the sense that everyone is doing the moonwalk away from any kind of emotional and personal problems. Baker, on the other hand, talked a bit about the kinds of pressures young players face and seemed genuinely concerned and thoughtful about Votto’s issues. Maybe that’s not praiseworthy in the real world, but in baseball it was huge. As for Votto: He was very open about his anxiety or whatever it was, provided a lot of detail regarding his mental state, and I was really surprised about that for the same reasons. Athletes are conditioned to not show weakness, and Votto was baring his soul, which is not something you see every day.

I’m not sure what to make of all of the anxiety problems this year. By all accounts, Votto and Khalil Greene’s situations were serious, though whether they are actually social anxiety disorders as opposed to some other mental problem I have no idea. Part of me suspects that they’re lumped in with anxiety disorders because Greinke sort of made the term “anxiety disorder” acceptable in baseball circles, whereas depression or any number of other specific neurosis remain new and scary in that world. I voiced skepticism of Dontelle Willis’ thing, mostly because (a) he said he felt great and that his only problem was that he couldn’t pitch; and (b) the “anxiety” only seemed to come up when the Tigers needed to move Willis off the active roster to bring in a productive player. I think there have been a lot of disabled list shenanigans this year—amazingly, Boston’s Dice-K injured at just the perfect time—and it wouldn’t surprise me if Willis’ were another example of it.

ST: As I recall, you stayed up past the witching hour last year and watched the entire All-Star game. Maybe you’ll just tune in for an inning or two this year, or does it still hold some appeal, if only for the sake of nostalgia?

CC: I still don’t know why I stayed up last year. I was doing a running diary for the blog, but no one had a gun to my head to make me complete it, so maybe I’m just sick. I hate to sound like a crank, but the All-Star Game ain’t what it used to be. Too many players, many of whom don’t seem to care all that much. Too many short relievers coming in to fire gas for an inning and thus lowering offense to too great a degree. I’d like to see them cut the rosters down and get rid of the every-team-must-have-a-player rule, but that’s probably not happening.

But yeah, I’ll probably still watch. Especially this year, because the game falls on my birthday, so it’s one of the few nights where I’ll be able to get away with telling everyone in my house to leave me alone and let me watch a game from start-to-finish in peace.

ST: What player, team or trend has surprised you most in the ‘09 MLB season? Something that you’d never have predicted.

CC: It’s going to sound like some lame fantasy addict’s response, but I’d have to say Jason Bartlett down in Tampa. As of Sunday morning, he was at.366/.404/.566. Where the heck is this coming from? He’s almost 30 years old, so it’s not like you could have expected that. There aren’t too many other things that are surprising me greatly. Raul Ibanez, maybe, but I suspect that he’ll be back to his old self once he gets off the DL. I will say that I may have been the only guy out there who picked the Rangers to win the West this year, so get ready for my big “I told you so” column at the end of the season.

ST: You were, not surprisingly, fairly lenient when mentioning future Hall of Famer John Smotlz’s crummy debut with the Red Sox last week. As a Sox fan, I’m baffled at why the Boston front office, as well as that town’s normally nasty media, has treated Smoltz like a messiah. It frustrates me, since Clay Buchholz, who’s withering away in the minors for the Sox, is denied a spot on the club’s roster largely because of Smoltz. Is this an irrational beef on my part?

CC: Smoltz, nothing: I think he’s denied a spot because of Clay Buchholz. If he hadn’t gotten beaten up in his 15 or 16 starts last year, the front office wouldn’t have felt the need to go out and get Smoltz and Penny. Once they got them, I think they had the obligation to use them, if only to showcase them for a trade like they seem to be doing with Penny.

Not that Buchholz won’t get his shot. I’m guessing that one of two things (or both of these things will happen soon): Penny will get traded and Smoltz will prove fragile. If the September/October rotation isn’t Beckett, Lester, Wakefield, Buchholz—with Smoltz either gone or setting up Papelbon—I’ll eat my hat.

ST: What’s the best book you’ve read in ‘09 and the best film you’ve seen?

CC: It’s been a bad year for motivation on these fronts for me. I spent January and half of February between jobs, so I didn’t feel much like tackling anything major. During that time I read a comic book series: Y: The Last Man, which is the story about the last man left after the simultaneous death of every male mammal on the planet. It ain’t Hemingway, but it helped me keep my sanity while I was looking for a job, and for that it’s at the top of the list. If I have to go with a real book with words and everything, I’ll go with The Way Some People Die by Ross Macdonald. I’d read it before, but I decided to re-read every Ross Macdonald book I own back in January (he’s my favorite author of all time), and that’s currently my favorite. Well, either that or The Galton Case.

I’ve seen even fewer movies. With little kids at home we’re a big wait-for-DVD household, but I can’t say that I’ve seen anything life-altering since the beginning of the year. I liked the new Star Trek movie a lot, but given that I named a comic book as my favorite book of the year, that’s probably not too surprising.

ST: Finally, how often are there days during the season when you wake up and think, “Oh, man, I really don’t feel like writing today”?

CC: I’ll grant that there are nights—when I start reading the box scores for my daily recap feature that publishes in the morning—when I think “ah, maybe I’ll just not do it today,” but that’s less a function of the writing itself than it is of sleepiness, and it’s nothing that has persisted past a cup of tea.

Really, though, I’ve practiced law for 11 years, and it wasn’t until I started writing about baseball that I realized, hey, you don’t necessarily have to loathe what you do for a living. I don’t write for a living yet, but doing the blog is the best part of my day and I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

1B/DH Justin Smoak

“Chris Davis has had his struggles at the plate hitting .200 in June.  He is on pace to break the record for most strikeouts in a season.  For a batter, that’s not a good stat to lead in.  Biggest word from Rangers camp is bringing in offensive phenom Justin Smoak.  Smoak is tearing up the minor leagues and currently bats .355 at Triple A Oklahoma.  Smoak was last season’s number one draft pick out of South Carolina.  Josh Hamilton remains hurt and has not had a good rehab stint.  He may not be back until after the All-Star break.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

“All things considered, the Rangers were projected to finish next-to-last in the AL West, something they have been accustomed to this decade.  They have shown progress in pitching and defense, but now their main concern is to get the bullpen and Josh Hamilton healthy.  No one expected (me included) the Rangers to be over .500 at this point in the season and certainly not contending for the lead in the AL West.  June has traditionally been a good month for the Rangers, but not this season.  July is a month where they traditionally lose it. Perhaps their fortunes will turn around.”

OK, now that you’ve watched it (a few times, I’m sure), let’s see just how savvy those On the Run folks are.

Below is a table of how often the Cardinals have scored six this year, whether it was at home or on the road, and whether they won or lost, plus the gap between “serious” games.

So as of June 29, the Cards had played 78 games and reached the six level in 21 of them, a 27% rate. That was brought down significantly by the two double-digit droughts in cheap refreshment, a 13-gamer at the end of May and a 10-game one at the beginning of June. Before those, it was around 41%, meaning that almost every other day you could get a cheap drink.

The Cards are 18-3 when they put up six runs, which is what you’d expect. If a team is losing a lot of 6 run games, they’ve got some serious pitching issues to address. Interestingly, though, they are 9-3 in these games on the road compared to 6-0 in Busch Stadium. Those three losses, though, came in Arizona, Chicago and Philadelphia, which have never been confused with “pitcher’s parks. They are on a run of scoring six away from home, though, as 11 of the last 12 instances have been away from the shadow of the Arch.

I have no idea what a regular drink costs at On The Run, but I’m guessing $1.25, which means that if you’d bought a drink every time, you’d have saved yourself $21, unless, of course, you wouldn’t have bought one otherwise, in which case you’ve cost yourself $5.25.

Don’t worry, I’ll continue to keep an eye on this and I’m sure you’ll see periodic updates on this crucial part of Cardinal fandom.

This week, we’ll turn our attention to the minor leagues to find out which prospects are most likely to make a fantasy impact this season.

Jhoulys Chacin

Chacin’s value has skyrocketed since the beginning of the 2008 season, when Baseball America ranked him as the No. 18 prospect in Colorado’s system.

After an 18-3 record with a 2.03 ERA in 177 2/3 innings between Low-A and High-A last year, Chacin entered 2009 as the Rockies’ No. 2 prospect.

Chacin has hit the ground running in Double-A this season, posting a 2.92 ERA, 7.67 K/9, and 2.81 BB/9 in 83 1/3 innings.

The 21-year-old has been especially dominant since May 1, to the tune of a 2.29 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in 63 innings.

Chacin features a 92-94 MPH fastball with “heavy sinking action,” according to Baseball America. “He uses the same arm action for his change, which has become an out pitch” for him. His 78-80 MPH curve isn’t quite yet where it needs to be,  but he has shown the ability to throw it for strikes.

His sinking fastball has allowed him to post a career groundball rate of more than 61 percent. Last season, only two pitchers in the Major Leagues induced grounders as often as Chacin did–Brandon Webb and Derek Lowe.

If his curve develops into a plus pitch, Chacin has the potential to become a frontline starter. As long as he keeps up with his current pace, the Venezuelan pitcher should reach Colorado after the All-Star Break, with a chance to become fantasy relevant soon after.

Cameron Maybin

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

If you read my 2009 All-Breakout Team post back in April, you know how much I love Maybin. While the projections I set for him at the beginning of the season are no longer attainable, there’s reason to believe Maybin could have a large fantasy impact later this season.

Through 125 at-bats in Triple-A this season, Maybin is batting .320 with one HR and four steals. While his lack of power is concerning, Maybin seems to be improving on his biggest flaw–his strikeout total.

The following table displays Maybin’s strikeout rate in the minors each of the last three seasons.

YEAR	K %
2007	28 %
2008	31 %
2009	16%

This is more encouraging to me than any HR or stolen base total. Maybin’s plus power and plus-plus speed are sure to make him a 30/30 threat in Florida over the next few years.

At the young age of 22, Maybin is still a few years away from reaching his prime. That doesn’t mean, however, that he can’t be productive later this season. I expect Maybin to get the call within the next month, and start producing solid totals in runs, batting average and steals soon after.

Now might be a good time to stash Maybin away if he’s available. In keeper/dynasty leagues, now is a great time to buy low on the former centerpiece of the Miguel Cabrera trade. Get him now while you still can!

Wade Davis

Wade Davis may be the best pitching prospect that many people don’t know about. While David Price and Tommy Hanson have been getting all the attention, Davis has been dominating Triple-A, which leads me to believe a call-up may be just around the corner.

Davis was named the Rays’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2007. After a mid-season promotion to Triple-A in 2008, Davis posted a stellar 2.89 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 53 innings.

Through 84 Triple-A innings this season, Davis has posted a 2.89 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.

The 2004 third rounder is an intimidating presence on the mound, standing 6’5” featuring a low-to-mid-90s four-seam fastball, and a nasty 11-to-5 curveball. Davis also has a straight changeup and an improved cutter. According to Baseball America, “Davis simply needs to refine the consistency of his overall feel and his delivery, particularly with his release point.” Doing this would help cut down on his walk totals.

The 23-year-old profiles as a future No. 1 starter. His immediate future is likely dependant on Andy Sonnanstine, who owns a horrific 6.61 ERA through 81 2/3 innings for Tampa this season.

Because of this, a promotion for Davis is possible, and would make him a hot commodity on the waiver wire across the fantasy baseball community. This situation is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Other prospects who have a chance to make a fantasy impact this season include: Clay Buchholz, Matt LaPorta, Chris Tillman, and Justin Smoak.

I know these aren’t the only prospects who will make an impact in the second half, so who did I miss? Feel free to offer up any suggestions!

From the very beginning, the goal of the 2009 season for the

With the season now three months old and nearing the mid-point, it’s time to see just how the Orioles have been doing in meeting their objectives.

It is probably generous to call the performance on the field so far respectable. Sporting a 32-40 record, the Orioles are in last place in the AL East.

However, there have been a few rays of hope that give indication of a brighter tomorrow.

To illustrate how the Orioles have gotten to their current record as well as what blocks to the foundation have been laid so far in 2009, let’s look in-depth at five players, moments or statistics that reflect the current state of the Birds and then five that reflect some hope for the future:

How the Orioles Got Here – 32-40, 12 games out in the AL East:

Starting Pitching: 19-30 record, 5.40 ERA

Sometimes I think the “Baseball Gods” have a cruel sense of humor. After relishing in some of the best starting pitching in the game for more than two decades, the starting pitching for the Orioles in the current decade has been abysmal.

Baltimore has not had a pitcher win more than 15 games in a season since Mike Mussina won 18 games in 1999 and no Orioles pitcher has reached the 20 win mark since Mike Boddicker in 1984. Given the current starting staff, it will be a while before anyone challenges that level.

So far in 2009, the nine pitchers who have started games for the Orioles have a combined record of 19-30 with an ERA of 5.40. The average length of start has barely been above the minimum needed to qualify for a win at 5.40.

Road Blues: 11-23 record, .238 batting average, 29 home runs, 3.88 runs scored per game

No team in baseball has had as much of a disparity between performances at home and on the road in 2009 as the Orioles. Baltimore is 11-23 away from home and their bats seem to be getting lost in baggage claim at the airports.

As a team, the Orioles are hitting .238 while scoring 3.88 runs per game with 29 home runs and 126 runs batted in.

Adam Jones is the only starter hitting above .300 on the road and veteran Melvin Mora is languishing at .200 with zero home runs and 4 runs batted in away from home.

June 5-7: Starting pitching vs. the Oakland A’s – 4.2 innings, 18 earned runs, 34.68 ERA

Perhaps no series better exemplifies some of the struggles the Orioles have had on the mound in 2009 than the 3 game set against the Oakland A’s.

In the 3 game set that concluded a disappointing West Coast road trip, starting pitchers Jason Berken, Rich Hill and Jeremy Guthrie were abysmal.

Neither Hill nor Guthrie made it out of the first inning. Berken made it into the fourth inning, but surrendered 9 earned runs in the loss.

The Orioles’ hitters didn’t fare much better in the series as they hit .200 and scored only 5 runs as the Orioles were out-scored 21-5 in the three games.

Felix Pie: .224 batting average, 2 home runs, 6 runs batted in, 1 stolen base

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Felix Pie is a reminder that not every trade works out.

A talented prospect who had struggled during his brief appearances at the major league level with the Chicago Cubs, many though all he might need was a fresh start.

When Baltimore acquired Pie in the off-season for pitcher Garrett Olson, some thought the trade had the potential to be a windfall for the Orioles while others saw it as two teams trading disappointments.

You can’t blame Andy MacPhail for making the trade as Pie has been compared to current Orioles centerfielder Adam Jones and who wouldn’t want two Adam Jones’ in the lineup?

Given a chance to start in left field, Pie struggled from the very beginning and is now relegated to an occasional late-inning appearance as a pinch runner or defensive replacement.

Six losing streaks of three or more games with only two winning streaks of three or more games

One sign of a struggling team is the susceptibility to long losing streaks and inability to post sustained periods of success.

Through the first 3 months of the 2009 season, the Orioles have had 6 occasions where they have lost at least 3 games in a row, with 3 of those streaks being at least 5 games.

At the same time, the Orioles didn’t post a streak of 3 or more wins in a row until they won 5 straight games over the Blue Jays and Tigers in the last week of May.

Of course, they followed that brief winning streak with losses in 10 of their next 12 games.

They recently put together a second 5 game winning streak against the Mets and Phillies, but then lost 3 straight to the Marlins.

Why the Future Will Be Brighter:

Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

You can’t talk about the future for the Baltimore Orioles without starting with these two talented youngsters.

Since being called up on May 14 and being given a chance to play regularly in left field, Nolan Reimold has shown flashes of brilliance with a .276 batting average, 8 home runs and 17 runs batted in.

When Matt Wieters made his much-anticipated debut for the Orioles on May 29 it was more of an event than a game. No one really cared that Wieters didn’t have a hit in the game, they were just excited to see him.

After a rocky start, Wieters has settled down and illustrated why he has been such a hot prospect.

In 20 games, he is hitting .250 with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in. However, in his last 12 games Wieters has hit .318 with both home runs and all 6 of his RBIs.

Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken, David Hernandez

There has been much discussion and excitement about the pitching prospects that the Orioles have been cultivating in the minor leagues. They may not ever reach the level of Palmer, McNally and Cuellar, but they certainly should be an improvement over the starters the Orioles have thrown out there in recent years.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The first three of the young guns have made their major league debuts this season and while they have all had rocky moments, each has shown promise that one-day they can be a quality major league starter.

You can actually argue that Brad Bergesen should be considered a quality major league pitcher right now. In 12 starts, he has posted a 4-2 record and a 3.94 ERA.

He earned a complete game victory over the Atlanta Braves and has pitched into the sixth inning in 11 of his 12 starts.

It has been more of a struggle for Jason Berken, but he registered a victory over Toronto in his major league debut and also has had solid starts against the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets.

Though David Hernandez is now back at Triple-A, he pitched well in 3 starts with the Orioles and allowed only 1 run in earning the victory in his career debut against Detroit.

The best part is that this was just the first wave of talented young pitchers. Within the next year, you can likely expect to see Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz making their debuts at Camden Yards.

June 18: Baltimore Orioles 5, New York Mets 4

If the Orioles ever want to be a true contender, they will have to get used to making the kind of comeback they made against the New York Mets on June 18.

Trailing 4-2 after 7 innings, the Orioles scored once in the eighth inning to cut the margin to 4-3.

However, with superstar closer Francisco Rodriguez ready to shut out the lights in the ninth, the Orioles didn’t seem to have much hope of continuing the comeback.

Matt Wieters led off the inning with a double and the Orioles eventually loaded the bases with no outs. A walk to Adam Jones forced in the game-tieing run and the winning run soon scored on a single by Aubrey Huff.

Batting Leadoff and Playing Second Base: Brian Roberts

Now that the Orioles are seemingly out of contention, some in the national media have rekindled discussions about how Brian Roberts would be a welcomed mid-season addition for any  number of contending teams.

The response from Orioles fans, and I hope also from the Orioles front office should be: NO, NO, NO!

Brian Roberts is good for the Orioles and by signing a 4-year contract in the off-season, Roberts has shown that he wants to stay in Baltimore.

Roberts remains one of the top leadoff men in baseball (.292 batting average, 53 runs, 15 stolen bases) and if the Orioles do start making a run at respectability in the next couple years, there is no doubt that Roberts will be among those leading the way.

What an Outfield Duo: Adam Jones and Nick Markakis

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Though Jones’ bat has cooled off a bit over the last couple weeks, he has clearly illustrated this season that he is the real deal and will be a quality center fielder in this league for many years to come.

When you combine Jones with right fielder Nick Markakis, the Orioles possess two of the brightest young outfielders in the game of baseball.

The Orioles will be able to pencil in both Jones and Markakis in the starting lineup for years to come and the duo should eventually become the two faces of the organization with multiple All-Star appearances between them.

The Orioles may not have had the successful first half of 2009 that they would have preferred, but the foundation continues to be laid for what should certainly be an exciting future.

Sports Diamond.com: a general sport equipment site that focuses on baseball and softball.

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Akadema Professional: They make what the pros use for baseball and softball.

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iFungo: They are a distributor to the pros and those who wish to go pro.

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Booyah Village: a general sport equipment site.

http://www.booyahvillage.com/mlb.html