Los Angeles--
The Angelenos have been pretty quiet so far in the Winter Meetings, but they have made a couple of moves...
Freddie Lawrence, at the age of 35, was signed to a two deal worth 3.8 million per. The deal also includes an option for a 3rd year.
Freddie Lawrence is a lifetime .328 hitter and hit .314 last season in 420 at-bats. With his age, his power has went down (only hitting 14 homers last season) but he hardly ever strikes out (46 times last year). As long as he can still hit like he did last season, this may be a good deal for the Angelenos. He can play 1b, the COF positions and also DH.
Los Angeles also signed 27 year old pitcher J.P. Alomar for a little pitching depth. He is rule 5 eligible and was signed to a prorated contract, so we'll see what happens on this move. He's never pitched in the bigs and has never had an era under 4.59 in the minors.
Los Angeles also expressed interest in bringing back Russ Jerchower, but they don't want to spend too much money on him. They also felt slighted at the fact that he was worth close to 14 million in arbitration, but hit the market with a starting demand of 8.5 million. We're sure that's higher now as LA offered him a 4 year contract worth over 39 million including bonuses...So they have pulled out of that race.
That's all for now, but we'll keep all readers updated-
--Angelenos.com
 |
| ||||||
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Angelenos reward Aaron Glass with extension!
Los Angeles--
Closer Aaron Glass, who had a career year last season, converting 42 of 44 saves with a 2.36 ERA and 1.00 WHIP was rewarded with a 3 year contract worth 3.6 million per year. At the age 31, Aaron Glass finally found a groove last season after bouncing around from team to team. His career numbers are not pretty, however, last season is the first time in his career that he was made a full time closer and he absolutely dominated opposing teams.
With an All Star appearance and the Fireman of the Year award under his belt from last season, Aaron Glass looks to improve on that this year.
"We know what we have in the back end. We have a guy who will not lose us ball games. The thing we need to do, is to make sure he gets a chance to pitch every night because that means we're winning ball games....Absolutely no doubt in my mind he was our MVP last year."--Manager buckeye86
Closer Aaron Glass, who had a career year last season, converting 42 of 44 saves with a 2.36 ERA and 1.00 WHIP was rewarded with a 3 year contract worth 3.6 million per year. At the age 31, Aaron Glass finally found a groove last season after bouncing around from team to team. His career numbers are not pretty, however, last season is the first time in his career that he was made a full time closer and he absolutely dominated opposing teams.
With an All Star appearance and the Fireman of the Year award under his belt from last season, Aaron Glass looks to improve on that this year.
"We know what we have in the back end. We have a guy who will not lose us ball games. The thing we need to do, is to make sure he gets a chance to pitch every night because that means we're winning ball games....Absolutely no doubt in my mind he was our MVP last year."--Manager buckeye86
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Angelenos part ways with several players...
Los Angeles--
Del Lunar, Christian Koh, Emil Lopez, Russ Jerchower, Matty Ibanez, and Roy Hume were all released a day before arbitration.
The moves, which were made in order to free up pay roll and make room on the 40 man roster for several players who are either joining the big league club or are Rule 5 eligible.
Russ Jerchower really helped and ailing pitching rotation last season, but demanded well over the amount LA was willing to spend on him. He wanted All Star money, but was nothing more than a 3 spot pitcher at best.
Ryan Ruffin is expected to be the first one added to the ML roster. Ryan Ruffin, who is just 22 years of age, already has pretty good power and the ability to drive in runs. He's limited to DH, but if he hits the way LA expects him to, it won't matter much to them.
Del Lunar, Christian Koh, Emil Lopez, Russ Jerchower, Matty Ibanez, and Roy Hume were all released a day before arbitration.
The moves, which were made in order to free up pay roll and make room on the 40 man roster for several players who are either joining the big league club or are Rule 5 eligible.
Russ Jerchower really helped and ailing pitching rotation last season, but demanded well over the amount LA was willing to spend on him. He wanted All Star money, but was nothing more than a 3 spot pitcher at best.
Ryan Ruffin is expected to be the first one added to the ML roster. Ryan Ruffin, who is just 22 years of age, already has pretty good power and the ability to drive in runs. He's limited to DH, but if he hits the way LA expects him to, it won't matter much to them.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
On our way to LA!
Los Angeles--
The Kansas City Bluebirds are no more. There was rumor circulating for most of last season that the Bluebirds were looking to relocate. Well, those rumors were actually true.
In a shocking move, the franchise has moved to Los Angeles, complete with name change.
"I loved KC, loved the fans and loved being their manager....But this is an exciting change of scenery for me, the team, and the entire organization."--Manager buckeye86.
Good news for KC, it didn't take long to get a new franchise to replace their old one. Arizona also relocated, taking the vacant spot in KC. On things for sure, when the Angelenos' visit KC, it'll be a hostile environment.
With that said, the city of Los Angeles could not be more excited. The team finished pretty strong last season and has some young talent waiting to be brought up! Spring training is right around the corner and we'll keep you updated on all the happenings concerning Angeleno baseball!
The Kansas City Bluebirds are no more. There was rumor circulating for most of last season that the Bluebirds were looking to relocate. Well, those rumors were actually true.
In a shocking move, the franchise has moved to Los Angeles, complete with name change.
"I loved KC, loved the fans and loved being their manager....But this is an exciting change of scenery for me, the team, and the entire organization."--Manager buckeye86.
Good news for KC, it didn't take long to get a new franchise to replace their old one. Arizona also relocated, taking the vacant spot in KC. On things for sure, when the Angelenos' visit KC, it'll be a hostile environment.
With that said, the city of Los Angeles could not be more excited. The team finished pretty strong last season and has some young talent waiting to be brought up! Spring training is right around the corner and we'll keep you updated on all the happenings concerning Angeleno baseball!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Season of disappointment comes to an end....
Kansas City--
For the first time ever, KC will be sitting out the post season! The Kansas City Bluebirds season of frustration came to an end, but it did so on a 4 game win streak. The team that never really got going, showed some flashes, but it was never enough to threaten anything. Finishing 74-88 and 27 games behind division winner Honolulu is not what the defending AL West champs had in mind.
Moving forward, it's clearly obvious that the pitching rotation needs revamped. The Bullpen wasn't too bad, especially at the back end with Aaron Glass who converted 42 of 44 save opportunities with a whip of 1.00 and only giving up 3 homers the entire year. Aaron Glass is also the leading candidate for the AL Fireman of the year award.
The team has a lot of choices to make as well, with the abundance of young offensive talent in the minors that will surely be ready by next season, what will Manager buckeye86 decide to do? We've already assumed and have confirmed that pitching will be priority #1 as it was just horrid this past season.
But, enough about our team, the Season 9 playoffs are underway with some intriguing matchups.
Our pick to win it all: Durham Daddies: Defending champs look to repeat. We're also intrigued by a possible match up between the Durham Daddies and a very much improved Honolulu team (from last season) both teams won over 100 games, but we feel Durham is still too much right now.
Darkhorse pick: Washington D.C. 42's: Probably the best overall franchise, period. The team wins at every level and lost in the World Series last season to Durham. Could they get the revenge this year? It's very possible.
For the first time ever, KC will be sitting out the post season! The Kansas City Bluebirds season of frustration came to an end, but it did so on a 4 game win streak. The team that never really got going, showed some flashes, but it was never enough to threaten anything. Finishing 74-88 and 27 games behind division winner Honolulu is not what the defending AL West champs had in mind.
Moving forward, it's clearly obvious that the pitching rotation needs revamped. The Bullpen wasn't too bad, especially at the back end with Aaron Glass who converted 42 of 44 save opportunities with a whip of 1.00 and only giving up 3 homers the entire year. Aaron Glass is also the leading candidate for the AL Fireman of the year award.
The team has a lot of choices to make as well, with the abundance of young offensive talent in the minors that will surely be ready by next season, what will Manager buckeye86 decide to do? We've already assumed and have confirmed that pitching will be priority #1 as it was just horrid this past season.
But, enough about our team, the Season 9 playoffs are underway with some intriguing matchups.
Our pick to win it all: Durham Daddies: Defending champs look to repeat. We're also intrigued by a possible match up between the Durham Daddies and a very much improved Honolulu team (from last season) both teams won over 100 games, but we feel Durham is still too much right now.
Darkhorse pick: Washington D.C. 42's: Probably the best overall franchise, period. The team wins at every level and lost in the World Series last season to Durham. Could they get the revenge this year? It's very possible.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Half way home....
Kansas City--
Well, here we are. Sitting at the All Star break, the season is half way over and KC is sitting at 40-51 and 13 games behind Honolulu in the division.
Amongst all of that, there are some bright spots. Nick Alexander, recently acquired in a trade, has started his career off with KC the right way. In 5 games he has hit 5 homers and drove in 10 runs.
Ben Darwin leads the team in home runs with 19.
Lariel Martin leads the team in RBI with 72.
Dave Carson leads the team in .BA, hitting .329
Derrick Leyritz and Russ Jerchower lead the team in wins with 7.
Aaron Glass leads the team in Saves converting 21 out of 23.
The farm system has quite a few bright spots when it comes to individual talent, however, the teams are not doing so hot either.
The AAA team currently sits at 35-57, the AA team is 42-50, the High A squad is 47-45, Low A is 38-54, and Rookie sits at a good 15-10.
As for now, we're going to be sitting back and enjoying the All Star break and festivities...
Well, here we are. Sitting at the All Star break, the season is half way over and KC is sitting at 40-51 and 13 games behind Honolulu in the division.
Amongst all of that, there are some bright spots. Nick Alexander, recently acquired in a trade, has started his career off with KC the right way. In 5 games he has hit 5 homers and drove in 10 runs.
Ben Darwin leads the team in home runs with 19.
Lariel Martin leads the team in RBI with 72.
Dave Carson leads the team in .BA, hitting .329
Derrick Leyritz and Russ Jerchower lead the team in wins with 7.
Aaron Glass leads the team in Saves converting 21 out of 23.
The farm system has quite a few bright spots when it comes to individual talent, however, the teams are not doing so hot either.
The AAA team currently sits at 35-57, the AA team is 42-50, the High A squad is 47-45, Low A is 38-54, and Rookie sits at a good 15-10.
As for now, we're going to be sitting back and enjoying the All Star break and festivities...
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Einar Candelaria traded!
Kansas City--
Einar Candelaria was traded today for Tommy Randolph, Nick Alexander, and Ronn Murphy.
We've been hearing that KC wanted to get younger and also trim payroll, and they did just that. Nick Alexander and Tommy Randolph will be making their big league debuts in The Bluebirds next game, while Ronn Murphy will start his career with a new franchise in the AAA level.
KC fans have been wanting this to happen for a while, partly due to some of the young talent down in the AAA and AA level that may be ready to come up towards the tail end of this season or the beginning of next.
It also frees up 7+ million next season.
Manager buckeye86 commented about the recent trade in a favorable tone..."Well, Nick Alexander is going to be a solid big league ball player, he wasn't really given the shot at Charleston, but he's going to get it here. Tommy Randolph also gives us another arm to experiment with. He'll be used as a spot starter and long relief pitcher. Good splits, but sometimes loses control of his stuff. Hopefully he can revive his career here with us. We hate to see Einar go, but we wish him the best of luck. He is a great guy and a good player"
All in all, Kansas City currently sits at 37-48, in second place in the AL West and 14 games off the pace of Honolulu. It's not looking good for the division or the Wild Card this year, so maybe we'll see more moves being made in order to get younger talent and pitching. If this team had starting pitching (although it has gotten better), who knows where they would be?
Einar Candelaria was traded today for Tommy Randolph, Nick Alexander, and Ronn Murphy.
We've been hearing that KC wanted to get younger and also trim payroll, and they did just that. Nick Alexander and Tommy Randolph will be making their big league debuts in The Bluebirds next game, while Ronn Murphy will start his career with a new franchise in the AAA level.
KC fans have been wanting this to happen for a while, partly due to some of the young talent down in the AAA and AA level that may be ready to come up towards the tail end of this season or the beginning of next.
It also frees up 7+ million next season.
Manager buckeye86 commented about the recent trade in a favorable tone..."Well, Nick Alexander is going to be a solid big league ball player, he wasn't really given the shot at Charleston, but he's going to get it here. Tommy Randolph also gives us another arm to experiment with. He'll be used as a spot starter and long relief pitcher. Good splits, but sometimes loses control of his stuff. Hopefully he can revive his career here with us. We hate to see Einar go, but we wish him the best of luck. He is a great guy and a good player"
All in all, Kansas City currently sits at 37-48, in second place in the AL West and 14 games off the pace of Honolulu. It's not looking good for the division or the Wild Card this year, so maybe we'll see more moves being made in order to get younger talent and pitching. If this team had starting pitching (although it has gotten better), who knows where they would be?
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Young talent gets promoted.
Kansas City has a lot of good young offensive talent within the system, and a few of them just got promoted to AA from High A.
Ryan Ruffin a 21 year old DH gets promoted from High A after batting .312 with 13 homers and 62 rbi in 66 games. He is definitely in the future plans for KC. He has tremendous power and will be a good hitter as well.
Sam Porter is a 22 year old SS who has a ridiculous bat. This is his second promotion already this season and in 30 games in High A, he hit .338 with 46 hits and 32 runs scored. Not much "pop" in the bat, but he is a good table setter and a very patient hitter.
Miguel Santana is a 24 year old RF who will make the transition to LF because of Dean Crawford. Miguel Santana played in 54 games for High A KC, hitting .331 with 9 homers and 44 rbi. Last season he played in Rookie ball and made the leap straight to High A at the beggining of this season. He is coming along very quickly. KC would like to see him get a little more power, but as long as he's driving in runs, they'll be happy.
Ryan Ruffin a 21 year old DH gets promoted from High A after batting .312 with 13 homers and 62 rbi in 66 games. He is definitely in the future plans for KC. He has tremendous power and will be a good hitter as well.
Sam Porter is a 22 year old SS who has a ridiculous bat. This is his second promotion already this season and in 30 games in High A, he hit .338 with 46 hits and 32 runs scored. Not much "pop" in the bat, but he is a good table setter and a very patient hitter.
Miguel Santana is a 24 year old RF who will make the transition to LF because of Dean Crawford. Miguel Santana played in 54 games for High A KC, hitting .331 with 9 homers and 44 rbi. Last season he played in Rookie ball and made the leap straight to High A at the beggining of this season. He is coming along very quickly. KC would like to see him get a little more power, but as long as he's driving in runs, they'll be happy.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
58 games through; it only got worse.
Kansas City--
After 58 games, the Bluebirds are a horrendous 24-34, and sit 13GB of Honolulu in the AL West. At this point, KC needs to try and scratch their way back to .500 then work from there.
How has it taken a turn for the worse? The main culprit is starting pitching. With a minimum of 32 innings pitched, the lowest ERA is Russ Jerchower. It only gets worse from there.
The new addition to the rotation is Emil Lopez, and while he only had 9.0 innings pitched in 4 games, he's been fairly solid. He needs to control his pitch count and go deeper into ball games however.
In short, a team with a combined ERA of 5.98 (4th worst in the AL), is not going to win many ball games.
The offense has been a bright spot, but it can't do the job alone.
So, what are the options to fix it?
1) Trade for a SP? Not likely. We were told "only if it benefited us greatly". So don't expect to see any major moves to "help" the team compete. We wouldn't be shocked to see some payroll cut though.
2) Acquire FA's? Nope. No players are available that could come in and contribute.
3) Help from within? The most likely candidate. That doesn't mean it's sure fire though. There are a few young quality arms within the farm system, but none that are Major League ready. A couple of vets in the farm could be called back up, but there is reason they were placed on waivers in the first place.
With the Amateur Draft coming up, hopefully KC can get that stud pitcher in waiting.
After 58 games, the Bluebirds are a horrendous 24-34, and sit 13GB of Honolulu in the AL West. At this point, KC needs to try and scratch their way back to .500 then work from there.
How has it taken a turn for the worse? The main culprit is starting pitching. With a minimum of 32 innings pitched, the lowest ERA is Russ Jerchower. It only gets worse from there.
The new addition to the rotation is Emil Lopez, and while he only had 9.0 innings pitched in 4 games, he's been fairly solid. He needs to control his pitch count and go deeper into ball games however.
In short, a team with a combined ERA of 5.98 (4th worst in the AL), is not going to win many ball games.
The offense has been a bright spot, but it can't do the job alone.
So, what are the options to fix it?
1) Trade for a SP? Not likely. We were told "only if it benefited us greatly". So don't expect to see any major moves to "help" the team compete. We wouldn't be shocked to see some payroll cut though.
2) Acquire FA's? Nope. No players are available that could come in and contribute.
3) Help from within? The most likely candidate. That doesn't mean it's sure fire though. There are a few young quality arms within the farm system, but none that are Major League ready. A couple of vets in the farm could be called back up, but there is reason they were placed on waivers in the first place.
With the Amateur Draft coming up, hopefully KC can get that stud pitcher in waiting.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Who needs pitching?
Kansas City--
The Bluebirds have been rolling, after starting 4-6, they now sit at 10-9 and currently tied for first place with Honolulu in the AL West. During this turnaround, KC has been getting decent pitching performances from their starters, good relief pitching and a TON of offense...
In their last 9 games, they have put up the following run totals..22, 9, 21, 18, and 14. They have also held their opponents to 4 runs or less 4 times in that stretch, not good, but definitely better than the first week or so.
"I like the way the team has been gelling, they pick each other up. We get somebody on base, he's usually going to touch home plate. We have a good mix of hitters who hit for power and average." "I must also talk about our recent addition Oswaldo Jacquez. He's hitting .378 with 13rbi, 2 homers and a sb in 45 at bats...Not to mention his obp is .440. I think we got ourselves a great player"
KC has also been winning within the division, a key component for any team who wishes to be a contender.
"You have to win around 60-70% of your divisional games to have a really good chance of winning the division. We struggled out of the gate losing 3 of 4 to Honolulu, but we're 5-1 since that series within our division, we currently stand at 6-4" Quoted Lariel Martin, who is tied for the team lead in homers with 9.
The Bluebirds have been rolling, after starting 4-6, they now sit at 10-9 and currently tied for first place with Honolulu in the AL West. During this turnaround, KC has been getting decent pitching performances from their starters, good relief pitching and a TON of offense...
In their last 9 games, they have put up the following run totals..22, 9, 21, 18, and 14. They have also held their opponents to 4 runs or less 4 times in that stretch, not good, but definitely better than the first week or so.
"I like the way the team has been gelling, they pick each other up. We get somebody on base, he's usually going to touch home plate. We have a good mix of hitters who hit for power and average." "I must also talk about our recent addition Oswaldo Jacquez. He's hitting .378 with 13rbi, 2 homers and a sb in 45 at bats...Not to mention his obp is .440. I think we got ourselves a great player"
KC has also been winning within the division, a key component for any team who wishes to be a contender.
"You have to win around 60-70% of your divisional games to have a really good chance of winning the division. We struggled out of the gate losing 3 of 4 to Honolulu, but we're 5-1 since that series within our division, we currently stand at 6-4" Quoted Lariel Martin, who is tied for the team lead in homers with 9.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
KC pulls off deal...
Kansas City--
Today Kansas City sent distraught veteran Charles Regan to the Scranton Salt Dogs in exchange for Oswaldo Jacquez and Pitcher Ned Caminiti.
The move also helps free up a little more cash in the payroll for KC, who is still a decent amount under budget.
Manager Buckeye86 liked the move..."I think we got a capable replacement in Oswaldo Jacquez. He may not have asgood of a hitter, but I think he'll fill in nicely. We also received a pretty good 20 year old pitcher in Ned Caminiti." He'll be sent to AAA to start his career with us. He looks like he could be a decent #3 guy in the bigs. We'll see..."
When asked what he thought of the team so far after 10 games, Buckeye86 responded.."It's only 10 games, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Obviously the pitching needs to be a lot better, but to be 4-6 with those performances, I'll take it. We're in 2nd place, 3 games back of Honolulu."
He later added-"It's going to be a fun season"
--A little more on the players received via trade.
--
Today Kansas City sent distraught veteran Charles Regan to the Scranton Salt Dogs in exchange for Oswaldo Jacquez and Pitcher Ned Caminiti.
The move also helps free up a little more cash in the payroll for KC, who is still a decent amount under budget.
Manager Buckeye86 liked the move..."I think we got a capable replacement in Oswaldo Jacquez. He may not have asgood of a hitter, but I think he'll fill in nicely. We also received a pretty good 20 year old pitcher in Ned Caminiti." He'll be sent to AAA to start his career with us. He looks like he could be a decent #3 guy in the bigs. We'll see..."
When asked what he thought of the team so far after 10 games, Buckeye86 responded.."It's only 10 games, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Obviously the pitching needs to be a lot better, but to be 4-6 with those performances, I'll take it. We're in 2nd place, 3 games back of Honolulu."
He later added-"It's going to be a fun season"
--A little more on the players received via trade.
 |
| ||||||||||||||
--
|
| ||||||||||||||
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Season 9 underway!
Kansas City--
The Kansas City Bluebirds have high hopes for the upcoming season. Despite finishing last season 80-82, KC finished 1st in the division and put up a good fight in the ALDS.
The major area of concern with KC has to be the quality of pitching in the organization which has been evident in the first two games. They have some capable hitters, but the pitching needs to really step it up in season 9 as a lot of teams are improved.
Manager Buckeye86 expects his team to compete within the AL West, but is also very realistic. "We may have to score a 1,000 runs to have a chance" he said during his post game news conference after falling to Honolulu in back to back games 4-12 and 2-10.
So far, 2 games into the season, the bullpen has been tattooed and we've already seen some roster transactions with Domingo Pascual being called up to replace Rock Clayton who had given up 8 earned runs, including 3 homers in 1.2 innings of work.
If this continues, the Bluebirds may need to score 10 runs a game to have a chance; and we don't see that happening.
The Kansas City Bluebirds have high hopes for the upcoming season. Despite finishing last season 80-82, KC finished 1st in the division and put up a good fight in the ALDS.
The major area of concern with KC has to be the quality of pitching in the organization which has been evident in the first two games. They have some capable hitters, but the pitching needs to really step it up in season 9 as a lot of teams are improved.
Manager Buckeye86 expects his team to compete within the AL West, but is also very realistic. "We may have to score a 1,000 runs to have a chance" he said during his post game news conference after falling to Honolulu in back to back games 4-12 and 2-10.
So far, 2 games into the season, the bullpen has been tattooed and we've already seen some roster transactions with Domingo Pascual being called up to replace Rock Clayton who had given up 8 earned runs, including 3 homers in 1.2 innings of work.
If this continues, the Bluebirds may need to score 10 runs a game to have a chance; and we don't see that happening.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
