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Penske Racing began a search for two crew chiefs at the end of the 2009 racing season. A day after reports swirled around Steve Addington, formerly Kyle Busch’s crew cheif on the 18, moving to the #2 car it’s now been reported that Jay Guy, formerly of the #78, will be the man on top of the pit box for Brad Keselowski in the #12 for 2010.

Guy spent the last 3 years at Furniture Row Racing where his job was mainly to make sure the #78 car would be able to make the field on a weekly basis. While at Furniture Row Racing he worked with youngster Regan Smith this past season as the team qualified for 18 events, averaged a 27.7 finish and was running at the end of 15 races this season.

Moving to Penske presents a similar role for Guy, he’ll be working with rookie Brad Keselowski as he navigates his way in his first full season at the Sprint Cup level. In Guy, Penske Racing is getting an experienced crew chief to work with a talented but young drive. In Penske Racing, Guy will be getting an opportunity to race on a weekly basis which in turn should look better then the numbers the #78 car produced last season.

Fox Sports reported that Guy made the following comment about his future driver Keselowski and Penkse Racing.  “There’s a great upside to him. This is what I’ve worked for the last 20 years, to have an opportunity such as this with a company like Penske Racing.”

Popularity: 6% [?]

It appears that Marco Scutaro is one man in high demand this winter. After having a career year in Toronto last season the 34-year old is seeking a two year or three year deal according to early reports.

In an article on MLB.com Scutaro made mention of the following.

“If an offer is made for two or three years, of course I would like to sign a contract like that,” Scutaro was quoted as saying. “But I have to leave the door open [with the Blue Jays], because you never know what might happen.”

Scutaro must know that he’s leaving Toronto. Afterall the team has already signed Alex Gonzalez and John McDonald to play shortstop next season but he’s doing what any smart free agent does, compliments his former club to appeal to his future one.

And boy are there teams interested in his services. Seattle and Texas are both interested in him at third base, while Boston would like him to play shortstop and the Los Angeles Dodgers are seeking him to play second.

Scutaro is versital in the infield, he’s able to play each position and defensively speaking is an upgrade over the majority of the league. However at the plate he’s coming off a season that saw him hit a career best .282/.379/.409 with 12 homers and 60 RBI. It marked the first time he’s topped 600 at-bats in a season and in truth his two seasons in Toronto are the only in an eight year career that has seen him top even 500 at-bats in a season.

In terms of offensive production at second or short Scutaro is average at best, while at third base he’d be an obvious downgrade considering a career .365/.337/.384 line. He’s proven to be a solid doubles hitter and could be in line to reach double digit homers for the second time in his career next season.

I’ve always thought Scutaro is a solid utility man but hearing rumors of a multi-year deal and that teams were looking for him to man the hot corner obviously have come as a surprise to me.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I have to admit the first I heard of Andruw Jones going to the White Sox happened today when I opened my email box and found out the club had signed him to a contract worth $500,000.

I have to admit the first thing I did was laugh when I read it. Jones started hot with Texas last season but by the end of the year had faded his average was horrible and well honestly had he pulled his groin and missed the whole second half the public opinion of him would be higher.

Jones signed with the Rangers last season and earned a spot on the clubs opening day roster. After a hot start he cooled off as the season went on and by the time the second half rolled around was pretty much useless to the Rangers.

In the first half of the season Jones compiled a .231/.332/.538 line, in the second half those numbers were down to .185/.310/.333. Of the 17 homers he hit last season, 14 came in the first half as did 34 of his 43 RBI’s.

In total Jones had 281 at-bats last season and should he produce like he did in the second half of last season the White Sox will undoubtedly hope that total is lower in 2010. General Manager Kenny Williams has started that Jones is being looked at as a right handed power hitter off the bench and that the club is still exploring other options in the outfield. I suppose that statement didn’t exactly need to be made as well, had Williams said he was signing Andruw Jones to DH or play right field we’d of laughed him out of town.

Jones has 388 career homers, and very possibly could have 400 by sometime summer should he prove productive. Even with those career totals, Jones is no longer the threat he once was at the plate or in the field where he has won 10 gold gloves in his career.

At one point I wondered if Andruw was going to be a hall of famer. Perhaps that was in part because I am a Braves fan but he did have the stats to support my argument. Then midway though the 2006 season things started to go south and well they haven’t picked up too much.

Last Mother’s Day we happened to be in Chicago and stopped by to see the White Sox and Rangers play. Of course before the game we went down by the dugout and well Andruw came by to sign a few autographs. I didn’t particularly care to get his autograph as I had it on a card before but couldn’t resist to ask him if I could get a picture with my son. He obliged and I’ll post that photo once I find it later.

Popularity: 9% [?]

A few weeks ago sources reported that the Atlanta Braves had interest in reliever Billy Wagner to fill the role of the teams closer. Considering that Rafael Soriano who took over the role early last season, and Mike Gonzalez who also has experience in the position were free agents it was unsurprising that the Braves were looking to find an answer at the end of games.

Well the Braves are still interested in Wagner according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Last year the 38-year-old left-hander posted a 1.98 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 26/8 K/BB ratio and limited opponents to a .174 batting average in 15 appearances after returning from Tommy John surgery late in the season.

Wagner is experienced as anyone at the end of ball games. After all he’s been a closer for three different teams in his career. After racking up 225 saves in 9 seasons with Houston, he was traded to Philadelphia prior to 2004. In two seasons with the Phillies he picked up another 59 saves before becoming a free agent and joining the Mets. In his first three seasons with the Mets he picked up 101 saves but late in 2008 tore the medial collateral ligament in his left elbow and his flexor pronator sending him to Tommy John surgery. Wagner hardly expected to be used by the Mets in 2009 and after two games was traded to Boston.

All and all, Wanger has pitched for 15 seasons in the majors and picked up 385 saves. He’s been a six time all-star and only once had an ERA above 2.85 and that came in an injury shortened 2000.

Wagner may not be the safest bet to avoid injury in 2010 but considering the histories of Gonzalez and Soriano he’s no worse a bet. Wagner may not have 10 seasons left in his arm but he still projects as a reliable option at the end of games.

It’s unclear how much money Wagner expects to make though, and while there have been other teams linked to his name there has been no dollar amounts next to them.

If Wagner was to sign with the Braves he’d be giving the team a proven closer, and he’d inturn be getting his best chance at a World Series ring should he be searcing for jobs as a closer only. It remains unclear if Wagner would accept only offers that gave him a chance to be the clubs closer or if he’d sign with a contender as a setup man.

The talks between Wagner and the Braves figure to heat up during the winter meetings.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Lyle Spencer of MLB.com is reporting that Robb Quinlan has interest from a handful of teams.

I suppose this could be correct. Of course Spencer is obvious vague about what the teams have said to Quinlan and well he got the information from his agent so believe what you want.

If I’m reading this I’m believing the interest in Quinlan is mainly made up of minor league offers with invites to spring training. Quinlan is capable of playing all four corner positions but he lacks any real power threat and his average has been down the last few seasons.

Over a seven year span with the Angles, Quinlan hit .281/.326/.408 with 25 homers, 119 RBI and 130 runs scored. His best year came in his rookie season of 2004 when he hit .344/.401/.525 with 5 homers and 23 RBI before suffering an injury during batting practice. In 2006 he appeared in a career high 86 games with 244 at-bats compiling a .321/.344/.491 line.

Since 2006 though his numbers have been 457 at-bats with a .252/.305/.333 line and 6 homers, 15 doubles. He collected 46 RBI and 49 runs scored during that three year span.

His biggest value would undoubtedly comes with NL clubs where he could pinch hit and remain in games as a defensive sub. Quinlan could hold out for guaranteed money if he’d like so there shouldn’t be much of a rush to accept a minor league deal right now as they figure to remain on the table.

Popularity: 11% [?]

On the surface signing Omar Vizquel on the heels of a season in which he hit just .266/.316/.345 in 177 at-bats while a member of the Texas Rangers may seem like a procedural move to round out the bench. However, this is the Chicago White Sox and while Vizquel will be behind Mark Teahen at third, Alexei Ramirez at short and Gordon Beckham at second he figures more often then not to be used as a defensive replacement considering Omar Vizquel at 42 years of age is a better defensive player then all three.

Last season the White Sox were 28th in baseball in fielding percentage only above Arizona and Washington. Only Washington, Arizona and Kansas City committed more errors on the year.

While moving around the infield for the Rangers, Omar appeared at three different positions last season and in 207 total chances committed 0 errors.

On the other hand Alexei Ramirez committed 20 errors at short in 650 chances and was right around average when it comes to range. Teahen had 11 errors in 248 chances at third base for Kasans City last season to finish below the league average for fielding percentage, he’s also a below average fielder in terms of range over the last three seasons. Gordon Beckham who played third last season made 14 errors and finished with a league average .957 fielding percentage. Beckham however did have a higher range factor then most third basemen but it’s unsure  how yet another position change will effect him.

Vizquel still has the tools on defense and manager Ozzie Guillen shouldn’t have any qualms about making late substitutions that bring Vizquel into games.

In a way it’s almost comical that Vizquel doesn’t still have a starting gig. Mind you only 7 times in his 21 year career has he posted an OPS above .700 and five of them came between 1996-2000. A career .273 hitter with a .338 on base percentage and a .355 slugging percentage Vizquel became a star in the majors with the glove and when you compare him to the guys playing today, he’s still a better bet with the glove then almost all of them.

Vizquel alone doesn’t fix the defense in an instant but he does when he’s on the field.

Popularity: 9% [?]

When I was writing about Derek Lowe and conversations the Braves had with the Brewers I had to note that they were talking about acquiring Corey Hart. Of course that reminded me of Frank Catalanotto.

Catalanotto was released by the Texas Rangers at the end of spring training when the team opted to use their final roster spot on outfielder Andruw Jones. Being a fan of Catalanotto and considering he had a pretty good spring I figured it’d be a matter of days before he showed up on some teams 25 man roster but March and April passed and May was coming close to an end when news finally came that he had signed with Milwaukee.

At the time of the signing I knew his best chance for at-bats came at the expense of Hart but it wasn’t until August that that happened on a regular basis. By all accounts he had a pretty nice August hitting .296/.397/.407 in 22 games including 15 starts. Oh but stats are stats and what makes August 1st to August 31st any more important then say August 14th to 21st? Hmm.

In his first 45 games with the team he hit .267/.345/.360 with three extra base hits and 8 RBI in 74 at-bats. Numbers that aren’t too bad when it comes to utility men.

That of course brings us to August 14th. When he had a six game streak in which he got hot from August 14-21. He collected 9 hits in 18 at-bats to compile a .500/.550/.611 line, of course negative Nancy would poin tout he had just 2 extra base hits, 0 RBI and a total of 4 runs scored but then again can you really blame the lack of scoring all on him?

Then began the tail spin which warped into a nose dive. Over his last 26 appearances Catalanotto collected 51 at-bats but hit just .216/.273/.333 with a lone RBI.

When the season ended Catalanotto had finished with his worst season in his 13 year career. His final line was .278/.346/.728 which could be considered respectable for a 25th man but below what you expect out of Frank Catalanotto. While the average and on-base percentage were solid, it’s his real lack of pop (even doubles last year) that really make his line frown. He connected for just 6 doubles and one homer that ultimately resulted in a total of 9 RBI and 18 runs scored  in 144 at-bats.

I suppose there will be no shortage of teams interested in Catalanotto as a bat off the bench, something that may appeal more to National League clubs. Whether it’s a major league contract or a minor league one with an invite to spring training remains to be seen.

If I had to make a projection on his numbers for 2010 I’d probably go with something around .27/.348/.412 which is a bit of a boost in the slugging category compared to the last two seasons. I’d predict him to get in the neighborhood of 200 at-bats, hit 2-3 homers, 15-20 doubles with an RBI total around 20.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Derek Lowe signing of last season is proving to be a pain this off-season as the Atlanta Braves seek a trade partner for the right hander who has 3 years and $45 million left on a four year contract he signed last winter.

The knocks on Lowe are that he turns 37 on June 1. He is guaranteed $15 million in each of the next three seasons. And he had a 6.65 ERA in his final nine starts.

With a surplus of pitchers following the resigning of Tim Hudson the Braves have made it clear they are shopping both Lowe and Javier Vazquez and while they have made it obvious they’d rather trade Lowe other teams are likely to take the wait and see approach especially with comparable pitchers as free agents this winter.

The Braves’ most extensive discussions concerning Lowe have been with the Brewers for outfielder Corey Hart. Hart appeared in 115 games for the Brewers last season hitting .260/.335/.418 with 12 homers, 48 RBI and 64 runs scored. He was 11-for-17 in stolen base attempts. If he was acquired by the Braves he would figure to play right field and the Braves would hope he regains some of the pop he showed in 2007 when he hit .295/.353/.539 with 24 homers and 81 RBI.

Lowe finished 15-10 with a 4.67 ERA last season and his 232 hits allowed led the league. He is coming off his eighth straight 180-plus inning season, a streak dating back to him moving into the rotation at the start of the 2002 season. Lowe was pretty good in his first 12 starts, average in the next 12 and a mine filed in his last 10.

He’s only getting older and when I said giving him $15 million because they were jolted by AJ Burnett was a less then wise decision I pretty much envisioned everything that could go wrong once Lowe moved outside of Dodger stadium.

Truth is Lowe is still going to rack up innings, he can have games in which he’s pretty darn filthy out there but the Braves can’t expect there to be a huge list of teams lining up to pick up the majority of his remaining salary considering Jon Garland, Randy Wolf, Joel Pinerio and Jason Marquis can all be had for less and they won’t have to give up anything.

The only way this type of trade gets done is if a team such as Milwaukee is looking to get rid of an overpaid player (like a Corey Hart) who just isn’t the everyday player they are looking for their lineup. Hart was so terrible at the plate last season that he actually began losing at-bats to utility man Frank Catalanotto in August and September.

Hart figures to make around $3.5 million in arbitration this year and by cutting his salary there is no way the Brewers are going to add $15 million back on the books for Derek Lowe. Even if they were to pick up half the salary remaining the

Braves are going to have a tough time selling them on this one as the Brewers as well as every other team know cheaper pitchers who likely will put up the same numbers Lowe did last season are available via free agency.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The Royals agreed to terms with RHP Brad Thompson on a one-year minor league contract. Thompson could be an option at the back end of the Royals rotation, the bullpen or as minor league depth in 2010.

The front end of the Royals rotation figures to made up of Zack Grienke and Gil Meche. Trade rumors have swirled on and off about Brian Bannister who could be the team third starter. He finished the season 7-12 with a 4.73 ERA after dealing with should fatigue midway though August. Kyle Davies (22 starts) and Luke Hochevar (25 starts) also were parts of the rotation for the bulk of 2009 but after seasons in which neither right hander proved to be reliable starters there’s cause for concern.

Davies regressed last season seeing his record go from 9-7 to 8-9 while his ERA rose from 4.06 to 5.27.  Hochevar who has now spent two seasons in the Royals rotation has a career line of 13-26 with a 5.88 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 284.2 big league innings.
As a minor league free agent, Thompson was able to agree to a contract before Friday. The contract doesn’t include a spot on Kansas City’s 40-man roster, but he stands a pretty good chance of making the roster out of spring training, whether it’s as the teams fifth starter or out of the bullpen. Thompson, 28, had a 4.36 ERA in parts of five seasons with the St. Louis, including a 4.84 ERA in 32 appearances (eight starts) in 2009.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Last season prior to the trade deadline the Chicago White Sox traded away DH Jim Thome. While the trade didn’t exactly make headlines like it would have five years ago, it signaled them waiving a white flag in the divisional race.

At 39 years of age Thome is running out of time to win a ring. With the rotation the White Sox have built up and a decent overall offense they offer as good of a chance as any team does of making the World Series next season. Mind you that means any team that plays outside of Boston or New York.

Prior to last season Thome stated he planned to play two more seasons, which at the time was puzzling because Thome had one year left on his deal he originally signed with Philadelphia. I wondered what type of market there would be for an aging DH who can’t play a position. Well that market seems to be as ripe as any though Thome is limited to the teams in the American League for those same reasons. There’s no shortage of teams that look better when you put the name Jim Thome next to the letters DH and in Chicago it may be even better looking for the team and the player.

Following the 2002 season Thome left the Cleveland Indians for the Philadelphia Philles who offered Thome a large contract as they were moving into a new ballpark.  Thome hit 47 homers in his first season with the Phillies to tie for the NL lead and then 42 the next. Injuries struck and coupled with the growth of Ryan Howard it was time for Thome to move on. He was traded to the White Sox and over the next four seasons fortified a lineup that already had big power ability.

Over the past four season Thome has played in 546 games and has posted a .265/.390/.539 line all while hitting 134 homers with 372 RBI. Never-mind he only appeared in 124 games last season, that was in large part to the lack of a position to put Thome at for a National League club. With that being said it’s obvious Thomes numbers were to take a drop last season but it’s worth noting Thome still averaged a home run ever 4.6 games while a member of the White Sox, a number that is up just a tad from his 4.3 in 2008 when he hit 34 homers.

Obviously the man can still swing it.

Does that mean there’s a spot for him on the White Sox? Following his trade last season the White Sox played Scott Podsednik in the DH role the majority of the time. Looking over at the White Sox roster you have to feel that the team is comfortable moving Carlos Quentin back to left field for 2010 and while it’s unclear what the team will do with center and right Alex Rios figures to occupy one of them while the resigned Mark Kotsay figure to act as a fourth outfielder/defensive sub at first base behind Paul Konerko.

You can quickly look at the rest of the team and see there’s nobody who really could provide the production at DH that Jim Thome could. Mark Kotsay isn’t Jim Thome, playing Quentin at DH only cries for another outfielder to be signed, and while I’m as high on Tyler Flowers he’s going to need a bit more seasoning before he puts up those minor league numbers at the major league level.

When Thome hit his 500th career home run it was with the White Sox, he passed Ernie Banks not too long later and while he’s 36 short of 600 there’s still some excitement that he could reach that number this season as he had hit 42, 35, 34 in his last three full seasons with the White Sox and last season was on pace for another 30-plus campaign.

You’d also be hard pressed to find many in Chicago who wouldn’t welcome Jim Thome back. He’s humble and productive and is a great presence in the community and the dugout. He’s also still searching for that ring.

Popularity: 7% [?]