Wednesday, August 21, 2013

What's wrong with Starlin Castro???

First thing's first, we have a bit of news for all you readers.  We at The Full Count will be transferring our hosting over to sportsrants.com.  This should give us an opportunity to get a bit more exposure so make sure you check us out over there, and while you're there, check out the rest of the site.  We will be up and running on there in the next couple weeks, so look for an announcement in the near future about our full transfer over to Sports Rants.


Now back to baseball.  

Starlin Castro isn't having an okay season, he isn't having a bad season, he's having a downright terrible season!!  After collecting 207 hits in 2011 and another 183 in 2012, Castro has been dismal at the plate.  He even has a negative WAR (-.6) good for 5th worst among qualifiers in baseball.  Since about halfway through the 2012 season, Castro has been trending downward and it is simply not improving.  

So why has this happened??

The new regime, led by Theo and Jed (not blaming them at all), really values guys who see a lot of pitchers and get on base at a high clip.  Castro early in his career was not one of those guys.  The new regime has changed Castro's approach, leading him to be more selective at the plate, but it isn't exactly the type of patience they are looking for.  Castro is often taking the first pitch, even ones he can hit, and then expands his zone as his at bats go on.  To illustrate this, Castro is currently hitting .222 on the first pitch.  In 2012, this number was .294 and in 2011, it was .306.  He is simply not attacking the ball like he used to.  While some of this may be as a result pitchers adjusting to Castro and not giving him pitches to hit to start at bats, it does not account for that drastic of a difference.

As a result of being dropped to 8th in the order, Castro apparently isn't happy.  He however approaches his anger in the right way.  He doesn't blame anyone, not Theo, not Dale Sveum, and not hitting coach James Rowson.  Instead, he simply acknowledges that he has to do things his way, not the Cubs Way.  Some people might see this as a blatant disregard for the organization's way of teaching things, but I like his response a lot.  He simply knows that he has to go back to doing what got him to where he is, and that is to 2 All-Star Games before the age of 23.  He points out that he needs to quit thinking at the plate and simply let his athletic ability take over.  To read more about this, you can check out CSN Chicago beat writer Patrick Mooney's article HERE.

Now I don't have any inside information on the situation, other than what I read, but being a former college player (albeit pitcher), I do have some idea of the psyche of baseball players.  Thinking is probably the worst thing you can do, especially while hitting.  If Castro is thinking about being patient, he is already one step behind.  He proved early in his career that he had well above average bat to ball skills, and that is what got him to the big leagues and allowed him to be successful for the Cubs.  He needs to go back to reactionary hitting.  Instead of thinking about working counts and getting on base, Castro needs to use the "See ball, hit ball" approach.  This will allow him to use his incredible hand-eye coordination and in the end, to be a much more consistent hitter who makes solid contact much more often.

Some people are clamoring for Castro to be dealt in the off-season.  That would be an absolutely terrible idea.  Coming off of his worst year by far, his value is a fraction of what it should/could be.  Trading players at their absolute valley is not a good way to do business.  If a team is willing to give you full value for Castro, go ahead, but there is no team in baseball that will do that right now.  So Cubs fans, I preach patience.  In a lost season, these numbers don't matter.  Let Castro go back to his old approach and see what happens.  I for one, think he can return to form and be an integral piece for the Cubs going forward.  Well, here's to hoping anyways.



Friday, August 16, 2013

MLB Friday Funnies: Just a little difference of opinion....

A five game series began at Comerica Park last night in Detroit featuring two of the hottest teams in baseball.  The Tigers had won twelve straight before the Yankees and White Sox cooled them down on the road.  The Royals were also on fire after the All-Star break, going 19-5 before also cooling off. 

It's rare that we get to see a five game series in four days (thanks to today's day/night doubleheader) that pits Division rivals in the stretch run of the season.  Kansas City basically needs to take at least four of five to have a realistic shot at getting back in contention in the AL Central -- a task that got harder after the Tigers took the opener thanks to Prince Fielder ending his power drought against the starter Jeremy Guthrie, smashing a two-run home run in the 1st inning.


 Tigers fans had to have been feeling pretty good as Prince had been slumping since the All-Star break.  

Major League Baseball was feeling happy too as they took to Twitter to compile their nightly recap of baseball highlights...


But how was starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie feeling about watching Prince go deep?  Guthrie took to Twitter too to give us this gem....


For the avid readers of the Full Count, you know which team I'm going for during this five game series, but everyone should tip their cap to Guthrie for an All-Star sense of humor and Cy Young type presence on social media.

Social media helps fans connect with athletes and vice-versa and helps showcase athlete's personality and humor.  When we see guys like Guthrie, Brandon McCarthy, David Price and Logan Morrison on Twitter making us laugh, it makes us feel relieved that baseball is still a kid's game at heart.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Best Of........

It's a Wednesday evening and I am not doing anything really, so I decided to give you some of my "best of" lists around baseball.  First up is the best MLB players by age....

BEST PLAYER BY AGE

20-Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals
21-Manny Machado, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
22-Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
23-Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins
24-Matt Harvey, SP, New York Mets
25-Clayton Kershaw, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
26-Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
27-Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies
28-Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies
29-Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
30-Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit Tigers
31-Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis Cardinals
32-Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
33-Matt Holliday, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
34-Cliff Lee, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
35-Grant Balfour, RP, Oakland Athletics
36-Carlos Beltran, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
37-David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox
38-Hiroki Kuroda, SP, New York Yankees
39-Derek Jeter, SS, New York Yankees
40-Bartolo Colon, SP, Oakland Athletics
41-Raul Ibanez, OF, Seattle Mariners
42-Jason Giambi, DH, Cleveland Indians
43-Mariano Rivers, RP, New York Yankees

There you have it, the best player by age.  Feel free to dispute my picks if you so feel.  Next up is the best players by country (Had to be born there).

BEST PLAYER BY COUNTRY

Australia-Grant Balfour, RP, Oakland Athletics
Brazil-Yan Gomes, C, Cleveland Indians
Canada-Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
Colombia-Julio Teheran, SP, Atlanta Braves
Cuba-Yasiel Puig, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Curacao-Andrelton Simmons, SS, Atlanta Braves
Dominican Republic-Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees
Italy-Alex Liddi, IF, Seattle Mariners
Japan-Yu Darvish, SP, Texas Rangers
Mexico-Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Netherlands-Didi Gregorious, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
Nicaragua-Everth Cabrera, SS, San Diego Padres
Panama-Mariano Rivera, RP, New York Yankees
Puerto Rico-Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis Cardinals
South Korea-Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Taiwan-Wei-Yin Chen, SP, Baltimore Orioles
United States-Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
Venezuela-Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit Tigers

There are your best players by country of birth.  Some interesting representatives, including Italy and Taiwan.  Other countries like Germany have had players debut this year (Donald Lutz), by I only went by guys who are on active rosters.

Let's dip into the top prospects for each team now

BEST PROSPECT BY TEAM


Arizona Diamondbacks-Archie Bradley, SP, AA Mobile BayBears
Atlanta Braves-Christian Bethancourt, C, AA Mississippi Braves
Baltimore Orioles-Kevin Gausman, SP, AAA Norfolk Tides
Boston Red Sox-Xander Boegaerts, SS, AAA Pawtucket Red Sox
Chicago Cubs-Kris Bryant, 3B, A+ Daytona Cubs
Chicago White Sox-Erik Johnson, SP, AAA Charlotte Knights
Cincinnati Reds-Robert Stephenson, SP, AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Cleveland Indians-Francisco Lindor, SS, AA Akron Aeros
Colorado Rockies-Jonathan Gray, SP, A+ Modesto Nuts
Detroit Tigers-Nick Castellanos, OF, AAA Toledo Mud Hens
Houston Astros-Carlos Correa, SS, A Quad City River Bandits
Kansas City Royals-Yordano Ventura, SP, AAA Omaha Storm Chasers
Los Angeles Angels-Kaleb Cowart, 3B, AA Arkansas Travelers
Los Angeles Dodgers-Julio Urias, SP, A Great Lake Loons
Miami Marlins-Andrew Heaney, SP, AA Jacksonville Suns
Milwaukee Brewers-Johnny Helweg, SP, AAA Nashville Sounds
Minnesota Twins-Byron Buxton, OF, A+ Ft. Myers Miracle
New York Mets-Noah Syndergaard, SP, AA Binghamton Mets
New York Yankees-Gary Sanchez, C, AA Trenton Thunder
Oakland Athletics-Addison Russell, SS, A+ Stockton Ports
Philadelphia Phillies-Jesse Biddle, SP, AA Reading Fightin Phils
Pittsburgh Pirates-Jameson Taillon, SP, AAA Indianapolis Indians
San Diego Padres-Austin Hedges, C, AA San Antonio Missions
San Francisco Giants-Kyle Crick, SP, High A San Jose Giants
Seattle Mariners-Taijuan Walker, SP, AAA Tacoma Rainiers
St. Louis Cardinals-Oscar Taveras, OF, AAA Memphis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays-Jake Odorizzi, SP, AAA Durham Bulls
Texas Rangers-Jorge Alfaro, C, A+ Hickory Crawdads
Toronto Blue Jays-Aaron Sanchez, SP, A+ Dunedin Blue Jays
Washington Nationals-Lucas Giolito, SP, Rookie Gulf Coast League Nationals

There is my top prospect for each team.  Go look them up and get excited for your teams' future.  For my last list, I'm gonna stick with prospects, but I'm gonna get Cubs specific for you Chicago fans.  I will give the top 20 guys, and while I will most likely do a longer and more descriptive list in the off-season, here is what you get for now

CHICAGO CUBS TOP 20 PROSPECTS

1. Kris Bryant, 3B, A+ Daytona Cubs
2. Javier Baez, SS, AA Tennessee Smokies 
3. Albert Almora, OF, A Kane County Cougars 
4. Jorge Soler, OF, A+ Daytona Cubs
5. Arismendy Alcantara, 2B, AA Tennessee Smokies
6. Mike Olt, 3B, AAA Iowa Cubs
7. Pierce Johnson, P, A+ Daytona Cubs
8. CJ Edwards, P, A+ Daytona Cubs
9. Dan Vogelbach, 1B, A+ Daytona Cubs
10. Arodys Vizcaino, P, Disabled List
11. Jeimer Candelario, 3B, A Kane County
12. Rob Zastryzny, P, A Kane County
13. Kyle Hendricks, P AAA Iowa Cubs
14. Gioskar Amaya, 2B A Kane County
15. Christian Villanueva, 3B AA Tennessee Smokies
16. Trey Masek, P, A- Boise Hawks
17. Zach Rosscup, P, AAA Iowa Cubs
18. Paul Blackburn, P, A- Boise Hawks
19. Jae-Hoon Ha, OF, AAA Iowa Cubs
20. Matt Szczur, OF, AA Tennessee Smokies

Monday, August 12, 2013

Miggy vs Mo

It was the type of matchup that baseball fans drool over.  A legendary closer, the best of all-time on his farewell tour matches up against the greatest hitter in the game, limping and clearly hurt.  If this was a game in October it would make the annuals of baseball history alongside other memorable moments like Gibson-Eckersley.  Since it wasn't it will just have to be perhaps my most memorable moment by a Tiger in a loss.   


The fact that Detroit would go on to lose does nothing to damper the moment.  It was beautiful to watch and every honest fan in the stadium will admit it.  

The hottest team in baseball comes to the Big Apple to face a reeling Bronx squad on perhaps their last legs.  Down 3-1, the best hitter in baseball steps in.  The greatest closer ever tries to stop the bleeding.  Two out.  Almost pops out on the first pitch.  Down 0-2 in the count.  Tweaks something.  Limping badly.  Trainer comes out.  Manager comes out.  Shakes it off.  Fouls away pitch after pitch.  One massive swing.  It's out of here.  Tie ballgame.  



Stuff of legends.  Epic.  

Dang, I love baseball.  

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Old-School Baseball

Last night, the Braves and the Nationals met in a great pitcher's duel, but the performances of Julio Teheran and Gio Gonzalez were overshadowed by a couple incidents involving Teheran and, surprise surprise, Bryce Harper.  While the Nationals aren't as good as people expected them to be, this is still a pretty good rivalry between the two best teams in the National League East (sorry Mets and Phillies fans...And the one Marlins fan left).  Yesterday, we saw some fireworks, starting in the first inning and coming to a head in the fifth.  Let's take a look at what happened:


In the first inning, Bryce Harper launched a home run to dead center.  You can see it a little in the video, but Harper chooses to admire his blast, much to the dismay of Julio Teheran.  By the time the ball landed, Harper was probably only halfway to first, and in this blogger's opinion, he absolutely showed up Teheran by the way he watched his ball leave the yard.  Teheran made a mistake and Harper crushed it.  While I love the way Bryce Harper plays the game, in this case, he should have just put his head down, jogged around the bases, and celebrated with his teammates in the dugout.  Now let's fast forward to the 5th inning:


Harper steps up to the plate with a base open and 1 out.  Teheran proceeds to plunk him right below his backside.  Harper takes offense to this, but he doesn't charge the mound, which I respect.  Harper jaws at Teheran and any other Brave in his way while he walks down to first base and the benches clear.  How funny is it when the guys from the bullpen jog in and just stand there?? After a minute or two, things fizzle out and everyone heads back to where they belong, despite Harper still dropping F bombs left and right.  

Last but not least, things continued on Twitter between the official accounts of the Braves and Nationals.  The Braves started thing by firing off this tweet.
In response to this, the Nationals came back with this:


I love when professional baseball teams act like 12 years old on Twitter.

To me, this whole incident was the PERFECT way to handle things in baseball.  Harper started this all by admiring his home run for way too long.  Teheran knew that he had to teach Harper not to show him up.  Did he do this in the late innings?  Did he go above the shoulders when he hit him?  The answer to these is no.  He hit Harper when the situation called for it, with an open base and one out.  He also hit Harper below the butt, where he'll do nothing more than leave a bruise.  I respect the way Teheran handle his business and I also respect Harper for not charging the mound.  Guys these days are too quick to turn baseball into the UFC.  Harper took his base while letting Teheran know, rather profanely, that he didn't like being hit.  Even though the benches cleared, everyone remained level headed and nothing escalated.  These are rivals, but nothing more should stem from this.  Harper showed Teheran up, Teheran explained to him with a 95 mph fastball to the thigh that you don't do that, Harper got mad, but took his base, and the game went on.

Kudos to the Braves and Nationals, as that was one of the more enjoyable games all year from start to finish.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Suspensions....

Biogenesis Suspensions 

It was only a matter of time, but the MLB Witch Hunt  investigation of the Biogenesis Clinic will take one more step further as it hands down suspensions to more than a dozen players today, taking the luster off what is shaping to be a terrific baseball season and will surely dominate the headlines for the rest of the year.  Obviously this is not good news.  That's all I have to say about that.

Read about more here

And some other reactions...





We'll take a day to collect our thoughts and fill you in about what we think as fans, but I don't like this one bit.  It's a sad day for Major League Baseball.  

Saturday, August 3, 2013

In Honor of the National Sports Collectors Convention




The National Sports Collectors Convention is this weekend in Chicago, so we here decided to share our most memorable piece of sports memorabilia. You will get a little story from myself, Chris, Wade, and reader Eric. All of us are fans of different teams, so you will get a bit of variety from all of us. Let's first look at Chris' favorite piece of sports memorabilia.





TREVOR HOFFMAN AUTOGRAPHED BASEBALL
"I don't have a house with a basement full of memorabilia. The few autographs that I own weren't bought on eBay but received in person and probably 90% of those were before I was 15. But that makes each one special for me. This is an era where digital technology replaces everything in written form. Most of my books are on a Kindle. I get my news from websites. I order from Amazon. Catalogs, newspapers, and pretty much anything on paper-stock is all but obsolete to me. Being mentioned on Twitter is now this generation's equivalent of an autograph. Heck, even us at the Full Count literally went insane when the MLB Fan Cave tweeted us. But nothing beats an autograph.
If I had to pick a cherished piece, it would when our family took a trip to PNC Park (the best-looking ballpark in my opinion, by the way). This is pre-2013 version of the Pirates when they were terrible. A match-up with the last place Padres and the last place Pirates in the end of September meant lots of seats and also lots of space during batting practice. We leaned against the rail, hoping for a glimpse of the players and maybe a signature. 
I had just snagged a line-drive during batting practice and feeling pretty good about that. Meanwhile, Trevor Hoffman was coming back to the dugout. With literally no one around, we walked up and hollered at him. He came up to us and signed me and my brother's ball and chatted with us for a bit. Keep in mind that we are little kids. He's not my favorite player or on my favorite team. It's not the most valuable piece of memorabilia I own nor the hardest to get...but it's the most memorable one because it's just that: the experience I remember the most. 
I just wish I had told my brother not to get the same ball, signed by a Future Hall of Fame closer, also get signed by Sean Burroughs. I bet that hurt his ball's value, but I've still got mine..."


Thanks Chris, now let's take a look at what Wade has to say about his favorite piece of sports memorabilia



FRANK THOMAS AUTOGRAPHED BASEBALL

"As a kid growing up in the 1990's, there was nothing that signified summertime than watching my beloved White Sox, and there was no player that mean more to me growing up than Frank Thomas. He signified everything that I loved about baseball and nothing meant more than when he won the World Series with the White Sox in 2005. Frank will always be one of my favorite players of all time, and I can't wait to see him enter the Hall of Fame in 2014."

Thanks a lot Wade. As a Cubs fan, I can surprisingly say that Frank Thomas is one of my favorite players ever and I hope he gets into the Hall next year. Now only if he could make some better beer.....Eric, you're up next!!




1987 TOPPS MARK MCGWIRE ROOKIE CARD
"In recent years, Mark McGwire's name has called to mind video-game-number hitting teams, lifting D-Backs coaches off the ground, steroids and "not coming here to talk about the past.". But in St. Louis in the middle-late 90s, Big Mac was THE man. Monster homers, monster biceps, and the race with Sosa, McGwire dominated my early childhood baseball memories. Now, a lot of scandal surrounds that entire era, but this card still takes me back to before steroids (or sabermetrics or signing money or anything else) could taint the magic of baseball."

Thanks Eric, I actually think I have that card as well, but I'm sure it means more to you than it does to me. Lastly, here is my favorite piece of memorabilia.

"I definitely love card collecting as a hobby, and while I focus more on hockey, I do have some nice baseball stuff as well. Some of my favorite cards include a Starlin Castro autographed card, a Ron Santo and Billy Williams rookie card, and a Javier Baez rookie autograph. Among some of my favorite memorabilia pieces include a Starlin Castro autographed jersey, a Jason Kipnis autographed baseball, a Ryne Sandberg autographed baseball, a Pete Rose autographed baseball, and a Mark Prior/Kerry Wood/Greg Maddux autographed picture. However, my favorite piece might surprise you."


MICHAEL RESTOVICH AUTOGRAPHED BASEBALL

"Michael Restovich???? Who the hell is Michael Restovich???? If you don't know who Michael Restovich is, you can read up on him HERE. Restovich was nothing more than a 5th outfielder who played for 5 teams in 6 years, so why is a baseball autographed by him my favorite piece of sports memorablia?? Well the answer there goes back to April 30, 2006, at a game at Wrigley Field featuring the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. As a fundraiser for high school baseball, we had to sell tickets, and the player who sold the most tickets got to throw out the first pitch. I started asking all of family and friends and sure enough, I sold the most tickets!! I got to throw out the first pitch.
Donning my customized pinstriped Cubs jersey, I got to walk out onto the mound at perhaps the most historical field in baseball. I got to stand where guys like Babe Ruth, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Fergie Jenkins, and countless others and throw to a Chicago Cub. My personal catcher for the day happened to be Michael Restovich. I walked out onto the mound in front of the 40,000 plus, wound up, and fired a strike right over the inside corner. This was definitely one of the best moments of my life so far, and that is why a baseball autographed by a journeyman who didn't last long in the league is one of my prized possessions."

 So those are our favorite pieces of sports memorabilia. Collecting is one of the biggest hobbies that one can pick up, and it is something that brings fans closer to the players that they love to watch. If any of you have a favorite piece, please feel free to share it with us, as we would love to hear about it. Thanks, and if you are in the Chicagoland area, stop by the convention. I won't be able to make it this year, but it is something that you won't want to miss.









Friday, August 2, 2013

MLB Friday Funnies: GIF of the Week

Chad Qualls physically trolls himself
#QuallsFalls

Do you remember that guy who would do a bat flip after hitting a home run while his team was getting mercy-ruled?  Did you ever wish that he would just trip on second base and fall on his face.  And then did you wish someone was recording it and uploaded it on YouTube and it would go viral?  


Chad Qualls, pitching for the last place Miami Marlins against the next-to-last place New York Mets, decided that he was going to go all "Carlos Zambrano" fist pump after escaping a jam in the eighth inning on Tuesday night.

A couple of things wrong with this:

  1. You are not in a game that warrants a fist-pump.  A Marlins-Mets matchup?  The battle for fourth place in the NL East isn't that exciting.
  2.  You are Chad Qualls.  You are with your eighth team in ten years.  
  3. You are pitching in front of, like, 800 people. 
  4. Baseball gods don't like that . This will happen....


That's what you get, dude.  Attention all journeyman middle relievers that play for last-place teams.  DO NOT TRY TO FIST PUMP.

When you're in first place and pitching in a pennant race, go ahead and cartwheel off the mound.  But until then, just trot back to the dugout.  #QuallsFalls provides a learning moment.

One more time... (via @MetsKevin11


And then we're reminded that this isn't even Chad Qualls most epic fall...


And since I know all of y'all are too lazy to click the link....



Apparently this guy's balance isn't the best.  I doubt this will be the last time we see him on Sportcenter's Not-So-Top-Ten as long as he keeps angering the baseball gods by pretending that the Marlins are more important than they are: which is not important at all.

And honestly, I don't care how many World Series the Marlins have had in the last twenty years.  They will always be irrelevant to me.  If any of the two hundred Marlin's fans left takes offense to that, well, okay.  But if Chad Qualls keeps pitching, we'll always have this to potentially look forward to.  Might as well trade him now Jeffrey Loria....



Thursday, August 1, 2013

Trading Deadline Winners and Losers

Winners


Cubs
They got most of their business done before the deadline with the Garza and Feldman deals.  They got a good return in both, especially the Garza deal.  I would have liked to see them move Kevin Gregg for sure, but I don't mind keeping DeJesus, Schierholtz, Russell, and Navarro if the deals weren't right.

Red Sox
They traded Jose Iglesias and 3 virtual non-prospects for Jake Peavy, enough said.

Diamondbacks
I liked the Kennedy deal from their end.  They traded from a position of strength and got back a solid left-handed reliever, a good relief prospect, and a draft pick.  I count this as a win for Kevin Towers against his former team.

Rangers
While they didn't acquire a bat in anticipation of the Cruz suspension, they aimed big with names like Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Gonzalez, Edwin Encarnacion, and Jose Bautista, they were able to get rotation depth with a guy like Matt Garza.  He already has 2 good starts for them and should definitely help in the playoff run.  A lot of people think they needed to get a bat, but with guys like Feliz, Harrison, and Colby Lewis coming back, their pitching now might be good enough to lead a team that already has a pretty decent offense

Orioles
Getting Frankie Rodriguez definitely helps the back end of the bullpen and they acquired two steady starting pitchers in Scott Feldman and Bud Norris.  I like the guys they got and the fact they didn't have to give up Gausman, Bundy, Schoop, or Eduardo Rodriguez.

Astros
They got a couple of solid prospects in return for Bud Norris, and they got a very good arm in return for Jason Maxwell, which no one saw coming.  The Astros probably could have sold off a couple more pieces, but I like what they did on deadline day.


Losers



Tigers
I hated the Avisail Garcia trade for the Tigers.  Regardless of a Peralta suspension looming, they traded a top 100 prospect for Jose Iglesias, a wizard with the glove who is a well below average hitter.  While Iglesias started hot, he has already started the regression and the Tigers simply gave up way too much for him.  Many people praise their ability to get Iglesias with the Peralta suspension coming, but if you want a good glove and a light bat, guys like Brendan Ryan and Pedro Florimon could have been had for next to nothing and Ronny Cedeno is floating around there as a free agent.  I like getting Iglesias, I just hate the price the Tigers paid.

Mets/Mariners/Marlins/Giants/Blue Jays/Rockies/Twins
These are the sellers that should have sold more.  Marlon Byrd, Michael Morse, Raul Ibanez, Oliver Perez, Tom Wilhemsen, Ryan Dunn, Chad Qualls, Steve Cishek, Justin Ruggiano, Javier Lopez, Hunter Pence, Emilio Bonifacio, Josh Outman, and many others are just some of the names that should have been on the move.  The relutance to sell by teams like this is the reason that there were so few deals at the deadline.

Phillies
This team is confused.  They should've definitely traded Chase Utley to a team like the Royals, but instead it's looking like they're going to extend him.  Seriously considering trading Cliff Lee also would have made a ton of sense.

Indians
The Indians are competing with the Tigers, and although the pitching staff has surprised, they could have used another starter in case any of theirs start to regress.

Pirates
The Pirates should have gone all-in, and despite the best record in baseball, they needed to find a lefty bat in right field and possibly a starter or bullpen arm.  The NL Central is tough and this team can't afford another late season slide.

Royals
If they were truly buyers, they needed to get better in right field and at second base.  Jason Maxwell is an okay platoon guy, but they overpaid for him and he was the only upgrade they made.  They just didn't really get any better, especially not enough to compete with the Tigers.



They Did OK


Padres
Ian Kennedy definitely makes the rotation better, but he's a back end kind of guy.  It does improve the team for 2014 and 2015 though while just giving up a couple relievers and a draft pick.

White Sox
Trading Peavy and getting the Red Sox to assume his whole salary was a good move.  Not to mention they got Avisail Garcia in the trade, but they still should have moved at least Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios.  Also, I expected them to get more in a deal for Peavy.

Rays
Jesse Crain on a conditional type deal was a nice move, but they Rays could use another bat and possible some more bullpen help.

Yankees
Soriano was a nice add given the need for a right handed power bat, but I would have liked to see them move a guy like Phil Hughes.

Brewers
Getting Nicky Delmonico for Francisco Rodriguez was a good move, but this team needed to sell off more pieces to get the winner tag from me.

Angels
They started the salary dump with Callaspo, but I feel this team could have done more to put themselves in a position to win next year.

Athletics
Picking up Alberto Callaspo for Grant Green was a nice move, but they probably could have used another starter.



Who's Left




Reds/Cardinals/Nationals/Braves/ Dodgers

These teams all could have made moves, but there was probably nothing out there that made any sense.