Trade Review - NYY/ARI/DET

New York Yankees receive CF Curtis Granderson (Tigers)
Arizona Diamondbacks receive P Edwin Jackson (Tigers) and P Ian Kennedy (Yankees)
Detroit Tigers receive P Max Scherzer (D'Backs), P Daniel Schlereth (D'Backs), CF Austin Jackson (Yankees), and RP Phil Coke (Yankees)

The Yankees
I really like this trade for the Yankees. The best player involved in the trade went to the Yankees, and they were able to acquire him by giving up pieces that they can either easily replace, or no longer need. Granderson is signed to a very team-friendly contract until 2013. He gives the Yankees a true center fielder, with excellent power and speed.

2009 was the 4th straight season where Granderson had at least 60 extra base hits. While his batting average has been falling, his slugging percentage has not dropped in comparison to the batting average. He posted an isolated Slugging (Slugging % minus Batting Average) of .250 in 2007, .214 in 2008, and .204 in 2009. So while his batting average appears to be falling each year, the power remains fairly constant. The fact that he is not hitting left handed pitchers very well is a concern (.183/.245/.239). His batting average on balls in play has been steadily dropping (.362 in 2007, .317 in 2008, .276 in 2009), so this may be at least a part of the reason for the drop in batting average. He still remains a commodity well worth the risk.

The Diamondbacks
I'm pretty confused here. Scherzer and Schlereth are both former 1st round picks, and definite fire-ballers. Scherzer posted an excellent strikeout rate last year (174 in 170 innings), but posted only a 9-11 record with a 4.12 ERA. He spent a portion of the year on the disabled list in July as well. Schlereth made 21 appearances last season, mostly as a left handed specialist. He struck out 22 in 18 1/3 innings. They received a high-ceiling starting pitcher in Jackson, who posted a 13-9 record last year and made the AL all-star team for the Tigers. Kennedy was injured most of last season, and only made one appearance in the majors.

The part I don't get here is that Jackson, while a bit more proven, is not necessarily a huge upgrade over Scherzer. And at this point, Schlereth and Kennedy are both very similar players. Neither has done a ton of things yet in the Majors, and neither really has been given too much of a chance yet. I have to believe that the Diamondbacks know something about both Scherzer and Schlereth that has yet to be seen, or at least that they believe that they are not necessarily going to be better than Jackson and Kennedy.

The Tigers
I really, really like this trade for the Tigers. They have decided that they need to cut payroll in some form, and take Granderson, a very good centerfielder who may price himself out of Detroit soon, and Jackson, a starting pitcher who had an excellent year last season, and turn them into Granderson's replacement (Jackson), a high-potential starting pitcher (Scherzer), and 2 at least useful power arms for their bullpen (Schlereth, Coke). Throw in that they control Jackson for 6 seasons, Scherzer for at least 4, Schlereth for at least 5, and Coke for at least 5, and they really did well to achieve their goal of cutting payroll AND making their team better at the same time.

Overall Review
I really like this trade. Each team addressed needs of their teams, although I still am not sure yet what the Diamondbacks believe that we don't see. It really doesn't bode well for the rest of the American League that the World Champion Yankees went out, took some pieces that they didn't really need for next year's team, and turned them into a better player than they had in center field.

CURRENT WINNER: New York Yankees
LONG-TERM WINNER: Detroit Tigers

Links for 11/9/09

Some links for today...

• Mike Silva at New York Baseball Digest breaks down his top 50 prospects in the Yankees system.
• Ken Davidoff at Newsday.com has a new article about his top 10 General Manager rankings. 
• Ryan Campbell at Love My Team has a good explanation of how free agency works. 
• Joe Posnanski has a great (and self-admittedly long) post about some of the best eligible hitters not yet in the Hall of Fame. Joe has a Hall of Fame vote, so I think it gives a little perspective into his next vote.
  

Congrats

Congrats to the New York Yankees on winning another world Championship.

Time for everyone else to start making themselves better to catch them.

World Series Thoughts

Been a bit busy, and didn't get to catch anything but the highlights for Game 5...

• Chase Utley is hopefully becoming a household name. He's played extremely well, and if the Phillies do manage to come back and win this Series, he's a lock for MVP.
• Game 6's matchup, when I first heard it, made me initially think Red Sox-Yankees. Guess Pedro really was known for that, even more than I thought previously.
• I would love to see the Phillies win tonight, and force a game 7 tomorrow. I love seeing games where they will throw anyone and everyone out there if need be.
• It has been a much better and more interesting World Series than I thought it would be initially. As much as it annoys me that the Yankees may very well have purchased this title, the players on the field still have to execute.
  

Games 3 and 4 Thoughts

I didn't get a chance to watch either of Games 3 or 4 with a busy weekend, but from the highlights and recaps, a few things stood out to me.

• The Phillies held their ace for Game 5, and there's a chance it may have really cost them. Blanton pitched well, but they really needed to win Game 4, and would have been able to figure it out from there.
• I can't recall ever seeing anyone steal 2 bases on the same pitch like that, but it definitely caught the Phillies sleeping.
• Ryan Howard has really not hit very well, and it seems to be showing.
• Alex Rodriguez is hitting really, really well. Crud.

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Game 2 Thoughts

Yankees evened the series up at 1 each last night, behind some excellent pitching.

- Burnett pitched a great game. He looked really sharp, and the Phillies didn't have a good real answer for it.
- Pedro Martinez is one of the best pitchers I've ever seen. Even with diminished velocity, he baffled the Yankee hitters for the better part of 6 innings, only a few minor mistakes. Otherwise a very well pitched game, but just not quite enough offensive support to help him.
- Mariano Rivera remains one of the best late inning relievers of all time. His team needed 2 innings from him, and he delivered yet again. So money.

Saturday's matchup is somewhat of a let down in comparison to the previous 2 pitching matchups. Pettitte has been one of the best postseason pitchers in the past, and his matchup against Cole Hamels could potentially be really good, or potentially be a slugfest.

Game 1 Thoughts

Congrats to the Phillies for winning game 1 last night. Some thoughts from the parts of the game I watched...

- Cliff Lee looked really sharp. The Yankee hitters didn't see to have a very good feel for what they want to do up there. 10 Ks will do that.
- Sabathia seems to have less control tonight, but made it work.
- Umpiring controversy in the 5th, but thankfully they got that call right.
- Chase Utley is a simply amazing player. 2 HRs last night. Hopefully everyone is getting a feel for how good he really is.
- ESPN provided a really interesting stat: Lee was the first pitcher to have 10 K, 0 BB, and 0 ER in a World Series start. He was also the first to have 10 K and 0 BB in a World Series game 1 in 106 years.

I had hoped it would be a good pitching matchup, and was definitely not disappointed. Sabathia pitched well enough to win on most days, but ran into the buzzsaw that is Cliff Lee.

World Series Preview and Predictions

The World Series starts tonight in New York, and for many baseball fans outside of the Philadelphia and New York markets, it's of little importance. Myself included. I am interested, however, in some of the storylines.

Game 1: C.C. Sabathia vs. Cliff Lee
The last 2 AL Cy Young winners face off tonight, and both have been pitching extremely well during their teams' run into the World Series. Lee is in his first postseason, having posted a miniscule 0.74 era in 24 innings. He is working on 9 days rest, having pitched last in Game 3 of the NLCS. Sabathia has compiled a 3-0 record in this postseason, with a nearly-as-miniscule 1.19 era in 23 innings. Probably going to be the matchup of the series, in my opinion.

The return of Pedro to Yankee Stadium
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel made a very astute decision by sending Pedro Martinez to start game 2 in Yankee Stadium. Pedro has been one of the most successful big game pitchers of the last 20 years, and should have no problem adjusting to the limelight associated with it. Yankee fans love to hate this guy, regardless of whether or not he is no longer a member of their hated rivals.

Which Cole Hamels will show up?
Will we see the one that went 3-0 last year in the postseason and lead his team to a world championship, or will we see the one that has pitched in the NL playoffs to this point (11 ER in 13.7 innings)? The Phillies will need last year's version to show up for them to have a good chance of winning this series.

Is A-Rod going to finally become a champion?
It is no secret how much A-Rod wants a World Series championship, and personally I am pulling for a Phillies repeat. I find it hard to feel sympathy for him because he doesn't have a championship. One look at his bank account causes that.

My Hope: 4 game sweep for the Phillies

My Actual Prediction:
Game 1: Phillies 2-1
Game 2: Yankees 7-4
Game 3: Phillies 6-4
Game 4: Yankees 5-3
Game 5: Phillies 8-2
Game 6: Phillies 6-5

Phillies win 4-2

Sources: Baseball Reference