Interview with Doug Greenwald

Doug Greenwald is the play-by-play voice of the Fresno Grizzlies and I wanted to get his thoughts on the Grizzlies, and maybe a hometown question as well since that's where I'm originally from.


Baseball-Rumors: Let's start with Nate Schierholtz, in 109 games he put up great numbers with Fresno and really didn't slow down after being called up to San Francisco. Do you expect him to be a permanent fixture with the Giants from here on out?

Doug Greenwald: Tough to say with the Giants having a lot of outfield possibilities. Nate obviously put up good numbers in the big leagues but Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, Fred Lewis, Raj Davis, and Dave Roberts along with Eugenio Velez, it'll be a good race to see where everyone will fit.


Baseball-Rumors: Daniel Giese had a good season last year, posting a 3-1 record, 2.82 ERA in 73.1 IP. What's your scouting report on him.

Doug Greenwald: Fastball about 90, good slider, outstanding control. The Yankees just signed him to a minor league contract. Dan spent about nine years in the minor leagues and earned his first call up to the big leagues last September with San Francisco.


Baseball-Rumors: Another prospect that had a great year with Fresno was Brian Horwitz. How good of a player is he and do you expect him to start the year with Fresno?

Doug Greenwald: Brian's an outstanding contact hitter, he's not a power guy as one would expect from a corner outfielder but has consistently been around .300 throughout his pro career. Being that he had a good showing in Fresno last year I'd have to think that he'd be back with the Grizzlies.


Baseball-Rumors: You watched great young pitchers like Matt Cain, Noah Lowry and Tim Linecum. Could they be the next "Big 3"?

Doug Greenwald: Well they are three great pitchers young pitchers. But everytime they took the mound in Fresno it seemed to be the story, and no question that Lincecum was in the light this past season everywhere the Grizzlies were and then the Giants. And while the Giants struggled last season, you saw how many low scoring games in which Cain was involved. I think when you mention those three names whether or not they'd be considered the "Big Three" that's possible you'd at least get a reaction of, "those guys are great young pitchers."


Baseball-Rumors: Another prospect you got to watch, and a player who I think is going to be a very good big leaguer is Fred Lewis. Tell me about what you saw in him coming up?

Doug Greenwald: His speed and his raw ability. Fred has matured from the athlete (he played football in college) to the baseball player. One of my favorite things is seeing Fred put a ball up the gap and watching him run, you had a pretty good feeling he'd be a third base if not an inside-the-park-home run. But I saw Fred and his desire to get better taking extra batting practice and his ability to develop power. The speed has always been there something which is very necessary playing a big outfield in San Francisco.


Baseball-Rumors: Last question for me, I've heard a lot of talk that this upcoming Fresno State football team could rival the 2001 team. How good do you think this team is going to be?

Doug Greenwald: That I have no idea. I don't really follow Fresno State football, I'm not from Fresno originally but Pat Hill (Fresno State head football coach) did ride back on an airplane with us (the Grizzlies) from Phoenix-Fresno and was chatting with a lot of our players.

Looking forward to 2008: Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be reporting to spring training as the defending National League Western Division Champions for the first time since 2002.

Though the team could have stood pat during the offseason and been just as good as last season, they did just the opposite.

Arizona made a big trade with Oakland to bring in right-hander Dan Haren who, behind Brandon Webb, gives them a solid 1-2 punch in their starting rotation, though it did cost them 6 minor league prospects. A price Arizona felt they could afford to pay for a guy like Haren.

That wasn't their only big deal, they traded Jose Valverde, the National League's saves leader in 2007, to Houston in return for reliever Chad Qualls, infielder Chris Burke and reliever Juan Gutierrez. I think Houston made out like bandits in this deal.

One familiar face to DBack fans that won't be returning to the team is veteran 1st baseman Tony Clark. The Diamondbacks negotiated with Clark and his reps but were far apart on the dollar amount and decided to move in another direction. Clark was a big part of this team last season and he's going to be a hard player to replace.

Here's the full list of new arrivals and departures from the team:

Arrivals:
RHP Dan Haren
RHP Connor Robertson
RHP Chad Qualls
INF/OF Chris Burke
RHP Juan Gutierrez
RHP Billy Buckner

Departures:
RHP Jose Valverde
LHP Brett Anderson
LHP Greg Smith
LHP Dana Eveland
OF Carlos Gonzalez
OF Aaron Cunningham
1B Chris Carter
INF Alberto Callaspo
OF Carlos Quentin
1B Tony Clark
RHP Livan Hernandez
INF Jeff Cirillo
RHP Bob Wickman

The Diamondbacks rotation at this point consist of Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Randy Johnson, Doug Davis and Micah Owings.

Yes, Arizona has, arguably, the best 1-2 punch in the NL West, but you could say the same thing about San Diego (Jake Peavy, Chris Young), San Francisco (Barry Zito, Matt Cain), Los Angeles (Jason Schmidt, Brad Penny) and Colorado (Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook).

Johnson is coming off back surgery and it's highly questionable that he gives them 20+ starts.

Owings was one of the surprises for Arizona in 2007, but not with his arm, but with his bat. Last season, he finished with a .333 batting average, 4 HR's and 15 RBI's in 60 at bats. The biggest surprise coming in Atlanta against the Braves where he hit 2 HR's and drove in 6.

The infield and outfield won't change much from 2007. Chris Snyder (C), Conor Jackson (1B), Orlando Hudson (2B), Mark Reynolds (3B) and Stephen Drew (SS) round out the infield, Eric Byrnes (LF), Chris Young (CF) and Justin Upton (RF) in the oufield.

All-in-all, Arizona is going to be just as strong, if not stronger, than last season. Their starting rotation will keep them in a lot of games and win them a lot of games, they will give San Diego, Colorado and the Dodgers serious competition for the NL West crown.

PREDICTION TIME:

Arizona will be in the race from April to the end of September, but if they're offense can't give their pitching runs to work with, they're going to be in trouble.

I believe it'll take 92-95 wins to win the NL West and I just don't think Arizona will get there.

Arizona - 85-77

Carpenter on the road to recovery

Cardinals' right-hander Chris Carpenter is on the road to recovery after having Tommy John surgery in July.

He's been taking small steps in his rehab and has just begun throwing, albeit, soft toss for the first time but at least it's throwing.

He's scheduled to meet with Dr. George Paletta on Sunday to update his progress and will be in Florida to continue his throwing program on Monday. The usual recovery time for Tommy John Surgery is 12 months, so Carpenter could be on the mound in July depending on how his rehab goes until then.

Angelos killed Roberts/Bedard deal?

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Orioles' owner Peter Angelos killed a deal between the Cubs and Orioles, a reported 7-for-2 deal.

The trade would have sent 2nd baseman Brian Roberts and left-hander Erik Bedard to Chicago for 7 minor league prospects.

Another source says that there was no such deal and says there were no serious discussions between the two teams. It's well known that Roberts is a favorite of Angelos' and has been reluctant to trade him.

Looking forward to 2008, Coverage of all 30 Major League teams

As we get closer to pitchers and catchers reporting on February 14th, we'll begin covering all 30 major league teams, their depth charts, up and coming prospects and expectations for 2008.

With all the offseason movements and free agent signings, a lot of players have changed teams, so it will be a very different look to the 2008 season than when the 2007 season finished.

There will be new prospects that may make a huge impact on their teams, as young players like Stephen Drew and Chris Young did for Arizona, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz did for Boston, Ryan Braun for Milwaukee, who will we see next?

There are a lot of unknowns going into the 2008 season, how many pitchers that are coming off surgery will make an impact for their teams? Guys like Mark Prior, Jason Jennings, Bartolo Colon (still un-signed), Jason Schmidt, Randy Wolf.

There's a lot to cover as we get closer to spring training, so I'll do the best I can to give you every bit of information you'll need before baseball fans make the trips to Arizona and Florida for Cactus and Grapefruit league play.

Kotchman, Izturis agree to 1-year deal with Angels

The Angels have avoided arbitration with 2 more of their players, signing infielders Casey Kotchman and Maicer Izturis on Friday.

Kotchman signed a 1-year $1.45M deal which included an additional $50,000 in performance bonuses.

Izturis signed a 1-year $1.2M contract, he also received a possible $150,000 in performance bonuses.

Rays looking to sign Shields long term

Bill Chastain has an article out this morning, he says the Rays are working on signing right-hander James Shields to a long term deal, possibly a 7-year deal.

The news comes on the heals of the team avoiding arbitration with Carlos Pena, signing him to a 3-year $24.125M contract. They also signed Scott Kazmir to a 1-year $3.785M deal.

The Rays are optimistic that a contract can be complete, maybe as soon as next week. Shields finished the 2007 season with a 12-8 record and a 3.85 ERA.

Padres agree to terms with Ledezma

According to a team press release, the San Diego Padres have agreed to terms with left-hander Wilfredo Ledezma on a 1-year contract. The announcement was made by General Manager Kevin Towers.

Ledezma is one of the candidates to fill the 5th spot in the Padres rotation until Mark Prior is ready to go, which isn't expected to be until late May or early June.

MLB.com's Thomas Harding on Holliday's 2-year deal

With Matt Holliday recently signing a 2-year $23M deal, I wanted to get MLB.com's Thomas Harding opinion on whether this was a step towards a long term deal.

Baseball-Rumors: With Matt Holliday signing a 2-year $23M deal on Thursday, is this a step in the right direction towards signing him to a long term deal?

Thomas Harding: I don't know if it's going to lead to a long-term deal, but it does get the issue off the table for the next two seasons, which is a plus. It gives the club one distraction fewer as it plays those two years, which is more important than anything at this point.

Players headed for arbitration

MLB.com has a list of players that have filed for arbitration but did not come to an agreement with their respective teams.

Among that list is Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez, Phillies' 1st Baseman Ryan Howard, Orioles' left-hander Erik Bedard, Yankees' right-hander Chien-Ming Wang and Padres' shortstop Khalil Greene.

Arbitration hearings will take place February 1st through the 20th.

Astros should have waited

Ken Rosenthal has an article out today about the Astros acquisition of Miguel Tejada, who was named in the Mitchell Report less than 24 hours after the Astros sent 5 young minor leaguers to Baltimore for Tejada.

Rosenthal brings up a great point, if the Astros waited even just 1 more day, would they have made the deal? If they did, I think they would have been able to part with much less to make the deal, although Orioles' owner Peter Angelos isn't always the easiest guy to deal with.

Here's what could hit the Astros the hardest. The FBI has opened a preliminary investigation into whether Tejada lied in front of a Congressional Committee in 2005 when asked if he used performance enhancing drugs.

When Tejada was asked, he said it was "B-12", the same B-12 that Roger Clemens says he was injected with by former trainer Brian McNamee....see a pattern here?

Tejada's former teammate in Oakland, Adam Piatt, told the Mitchell's investigators that he had bought steroids for Tejada, and produced canceled checks from Tejada for $3,100 and $3,200 respectively.

Speaking of canceled checks, remember when Fernando Vina, an ESPN Baseball Analyst was asked about checks he had given to former Mets' clubhouse guy Kirk Ridomski, said when asked about those supposed "checks" and what they were for? "I don't know what they were for, maybe for picking up dry cleaning."

So now we have 2 separate, but almost matching, items if you will (B-12, canceled checks) that were produced by Kirk Ridomski and Adam Piatt.

Coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it....Rosenthal is right, the Astros should have waited and they may pay dearly for it.

Blanton, A's avoid arbitration

Oakland A's right-hander Joe Blanton, who's been among trade talks since Dan Haren was dealt to Arizona, signed a 1-year $3.7M deal on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Blanton finished with a 14-10 record and a 3.95 ERA in 34 starts in 2007.

The A's also avoided arbitration with closer Huston Street on Thursday, agreeing to a 1-year $3.3M deal for 2008.

Congress wants to meet with Clemens on Jan. 26th

According to an AP report, Roger Clemens was asked to appear in front of congress, in regards to the Mitchell Report, on January 26th.

Letters were sent to Clemens, Brian McNamee and 3 others on Friday by Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Republican Tom Davis.

Part of the letter to Clemens said the following, "The committee asks that you provide testimony about allegations in Senator George Mitchell's report ... that you and other Major League Baseball players used performance enhancing drugs during your professional baseball career."

I'm not saying that Clemens did take steroids or HGH, but if he did and he admitted as much after the story broke, would the story be as big as it is now? Would the media still be asking Clemens about it, would there have been a "60 Minutes" interview? I guess we'll never know.

Justin Morneau reaches agreement with Twins

Kelly Thesier of MLB.com reports that 1st baseman Justin Morneau has signed a 1-year $7.4M deal with the Twins, avoiding arbitration.

Morneau, after winning the AL MVP Award in 2006, followed that up with a .271, 31 home runs and 111 RBI year in 2007.

Even though Morneau's batting average dropped from 2006, I don't think the Twins are complaining about his 31 HR's and 111 RBI's do you?

Cabrera signs 1-year deal with Detroit

Jason Beck of MLB.com checks in, reporting that Miguel Cabrera has signed a 1-year $11.3M deal on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Cabrera, along with teammate Dontrelle Willis, was dealt to Detroit during Baseball's Winter Meetings in Nashville last month.

Holliday, Taveras avoid arbitration

According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, the Colorado Rockies have signed outfielder Matt Holliday to a 2-year $23M deal which will cover his last 2 years of arbitration eligibility. Holliday will make $9.5 million in 2008 and $13.5 million in '09.

The Rockies also signed Willy Taveras to a 1-year $1.975M deal for 2008 which includes $150,000 in performance bonuses.

There had been a lot of talk about the Rockies wanting to get a long term deal done with Holliday, but this 2-year deal is a good start. I would imagine that they could begin talks with Holliday and his agent (Scott Boras) about a long term deal after the 2008 season.

Interview with Jayson Stark

ESPN's Jayson Stark, who has a new book out called "The Stark Truth: The Most Underrated and Overrated Players in Baseball History," was nice enough to stop by and answer a few questions for the site.


Baseball-Rumors: Let's start with a non-baseball question, who are your picks for the Super Bowl?

Jayson Stark: Colts and Cowboys. OK, maybe not. Sorry, no upsets coming from me. Pats and Packers


Baseball-Rumors: Who are your winners and losers of the offseason and were there any moves that made you scratch your head?

Jayson Stark: Gotta love what the Tigers did. No player who changed teams this winter will have more impact than Miguel Cabrera. And I think Dontrelle Willis is definitely salvageable. Pretty good lineup, huh? Their No. 8 hitter will probably be making $13 million a year (Pudge Rodriguez).

And I really admire the way the Diamondbacks have been able to retool and upgrade (Dan Haren) without spending one dime in the free-agent market. Hard to do these days.
Finally, I think the Padres have quietly had an excellent winter. Randy Wolf and Tadahito Iguchi are terrific under-the-radar signings, and for one year to boot. They bought some serious upside in Mark Prior, brought back Greg Maddux, got Jake Peavy extended and might get lucky on Glendon Rusch. I like that team.
Biggest losers (so far): Mets, Cardinals, Marlins (at least in the short term). If the Mets trade for Santana, get back to me -- fast.

Most head-scratching winter: Astros. Drayton McLane doesn't believe in rebuilding. So they've blown up their system to trade for Miguel Tejada and Jose Valverde, and it's tough to be sold on either of them. Think they'd like a muligan on that Tejada deal right now?


Baseball-Rumors: Not getting into specifics of the Congressional hearings but is the whole steroid issue turning off fans at all?

Jayson Stark: I always say that I think most fans have a filing cabinet in their brains. And while they care about this issue, the ones who like baseball still like baseball and still go to baseball games. So what they do is put their feelings about steroids in a file folder in that cabinet. They might get angry at times. They might stop cheering for players they used to love. But they still like the sport. The attendance numbers and ratings show that's exactly what's happening.


Baseball-Rumors: With all the talk about Johan Santana being traded to the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets, will he change uniforms prior to the 2008 season or do you expect him to start the season with the Twins?

Jayson Stark: I don't think they'll keep him, no. Their problem is that they're going to have to change philosophies because the deal they thought they had to have -- three or four centerpiece, big-league-ready players -- isn't out there, and they're not going to get that deal. But here's why logic says they have to trade him:

If they keep him and take the two draft picks, those picks will come in the 2009 draft. Knowing the Twins, they'll probably take two high school players who wouldn't get to the big leagues till like 2014. But if they make one of these deals, even for younger players, that's four or five players who can help them by the time they move into their new ballpark in 2010.

So sooner or later, don't they have to find a way to make a trade? But if they don't change their stance on this, they'll take him to spring training. My bet is still that he'll wind up with the Mets.


Baseball-Rumors: Last question, your new book "The Stark Truth", tell me a little about that and what fans should look forward to with it?

Jayson Stark: Let me ask you something. What do we love most about sports? That we can argue about them, right? Well, this is a book about the most overrated and underrated players in history. And overrated/underrated is the greatest sports argument in the history of arguments. So it's a very lovable book, even speaking as an author who is clearly engaging in shameless book hucksterism right now.

There are some controversial picks here. I know that: Sandy Koufax as the most overrated lefthanded starter of all time. Nolan Ryan as the most overrated righthanded starter. Andruw Jones as the most overrated centerfielder. Etc., etc. But this is not a mean-spirited book. It's meant to be a fun book. It's meant to make people think and debate and laugh. And judging by the response, it's done all that.

It was the No. 1 baseball book on Amazon for much of the summer. And there was a column last week in a Connecticut paper calling it the best sports book of the year, and maybe the best of the last decade. If you haven't read it, check it out. It beats sitting around watching Congressmen mispronounce their favorite baseball names, anyway.

Phillies sign Lidge, Madson

The Philadelphia Phillies avoided arbitration with closer Brad Lidge ($6.35M) and reliever Ryan Madson ($1.4M) when they signed both to 1-year deals on Thursday.

The last 2 arbitration eligible players left are 1st baseman Ryan Howard and infielder Eric Bruntlett.

Downs signs extension with Jays

Left-hander Scott Downs agreed to a 3-year $10M extension with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.

Downs will get $2.25 million this year, $3.75 million next year and $4 million in 2010. He had a breakout year with the Jays last season, going 4-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 81 relief appearances.

Teixeira signs, avoids arbitration

According to AP's Paul Newberry, Mark Teixeira signed a 1-year $12.5M deal with the Atlanta Braves, avoiding arbitration.

Though Teixeira signed a 1-year deal, the tougher negotiation starts after the 2008 season when he becomes a free agent. His agent being Scott Boras, it's not going to be easy for Atlanta to retain him long term.