Paul Sauberer - Page 9

Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues... It's déjà vu all over again The Rangers lost approximately 9 million games to injury right now. The big news this weekend is that they have started picking up right where they left...

Notes from the Florida and Arizona camps... Padres The Padres were one of the most active teams this offseason, and that's really saying something this year as many teams were wheeling, dealing, and signing. San Diego acquired basically an entirely...

Notes from the Florida and Arizona camps... Deep in the heart of Texas Well, Surprise AZ at this time of year. If there was one word to describe the Rangers' 2014 season, it was, "Ouch!." They should have replaced the...

Scott Feldman- HOU- Stats- Feldman finished his season Wednesday. He ended up with a 3.74 ERA, the third time in the last 4 seasons he has posted a sub-4.00 mark. The 5.09 he had in 2012 definitely looks like an...

Clay Buchholz- BOS- Stats- Buchholz turned in some decent performances before his last klunker where he gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 4 IP. He is trying to look at the positive efforts as something to build on for...

Chris Coghlan- CHN- Hot- Coghlan has gotten some favorable luck this month. Befroe yesterday's 4-for-4 performance his BABIP for September was .378. Yesterday he raised his average 8 points and his BABIP went up 5 points in a single day....

Matt Clark- MIL- Rookie- Clark may have found himself in the right place at the right time. Last season he played in Japan, hitting .238 with 25 homers and 70 RBI for Chunichi. Clark signed with the Mets before this...

Derek Holland- TEX- Hot- Holland didn't get a decision but he did throw a quality start in his 2014 major league debut. His freak knee injury during the offseason kicked off an avalanche of health issues for the Rangers, but...

J. J. Hoover- CIN- FYI- Hoover is back with the Reds as the season for AAA Louisville is done. Hoover managed to get tagged with 10 losses for Cincinnati in only 46 games covering 55.2 IP before getting optioned last...

Dustin Ackley- SEA- Stats- Ackley credits his second half surge to a change in mechanics. It may not be quite correct. He had exactly the same Batting EYE in each half (.40.) His FB% was also precisely the same (34.1%....

Shin-Soo Choo- TEX- Inj Update- The curse that has hovered over the Rangers this season wasn't finished. Choo has been declared done for the season with a bone spur in his elbow. Although he had hit 4 homers in 90...

Will Harris- ARI- FYI- Harris was called up after posting an ERA of 0.83 since being sent back down to AAA in June. He got into the game last night and lost, running his major league record to 0-3. Harris...

Nick Swisher- CLE- Inj Update- Even if Swisher gets a second opinion on his knee that doesn't include surgery, that doesn't mean he will be productive for the final weeks of the season. He has a HR/FB ratio of 8.3%...

Yoenis Cespedes- BOS- FYI- Cespedes now has a single homer in his 35 PAs with Boston after hitting one out on Sunday. His HR/FB ratio had risen into double digits by the time of the trade from Oakland, but is...

Matt Cain- SF- Inj Update- Cain will have season ending surgery next Monday to remove bone chips. Cain had a stretch for several years where he threw a lot of pitches and a lot of innings. It may be taking...

Danny Valencia- KC- Trade- Valencia was dealt to the Blue Jays in a 3-player deal for Erik Kratz and Liam Hendriks. He will get some time at 3B until Brett Lawrie comes off the DL but then will likely return...

Xander Bogaerts- BOS- Stats- During the Break, Scott Boras was quoted as saying he still had confidence in clients Bogaerts and Stephen Drew. With Bogaerts, Boras has reason to think that he will break out of his slump before too...

Jeurys Familia- NYN- Caution- Familia officially has a tired arm and his use might curtail some. Hopefully this isn't connected with his appearance on July 4th. Familia had been getting into a lot of games but hadn't been worked that...

Marco Estrada- MIL- Cold- Estrada couldn't pull off a third straight quality start, lasting only 5 IP and giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. He also gave up his 27th homer of...

Jose Reyes- TOR- Hot- Regression to the mean is in full swing for Reyes. Through June 23rd his BABIP was at .264 and his average at .247. In the 6 games since then he has gone 12-for-29 with a BABIP...

Kris Bryant- CHN- Hot- Bryant slugged his 4th homer in 5 games since being promoted from AAA. That move came on the strength of 22 homers for AA Tennessee. All of Bryant's AAA hits have been homers so his average...

Mark Buehrle- TOR- FYI- Buehrle will get an extra day of rest before taking the mound tomorrow. Maybe it will help him bounce back from his third non-quality start of the season. Then again, maybe some regression to the mean...

Andrew Heaney- MIA- FYI- Just about everyone is expecting Heaney to make his major league debut soon. The Marlins' Director of Scouting said he "is really close on the cusp of the Major Leagues." The question is when. If it...

Josh Hamilton- LAA- Hot- Hamilton seems to be getting back into form after a slow start coming off the DL. He had his 3rd multi-hit game in a row yesterday, going 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI. Hamilton is...

David Lough- BAL- Hot- Lough went 2-for-3 in his first start in about a week on Sunday and hit his first homer of the year. His average is still below the Mendoza Line at .176, suppressed by a .214 BABIP....

Andrelton Simmons- ATL- Cold- Simmons went 1-for-4 yesterday, getting only his second hit in his last 6 games to drop his average to .259. On the plus side he drew a walk, his first one since May 7th. At the...

Leonys Martin- TEX- Hot- Martin had missed two games due to neck stiffness. He was healthy yesterday but didn't start because the Tigers put a lefty on the mound. Martin was pressed into service when Daniel Robertson was hurt in...

Raul Ibanez- LAA- Cold- Ibanez was only hitting .148 and didn't start last night's game. His slow start can mostly be attributed to bad luck, with a BABIP of .181. He has had similar slow starts each of the previous...

Aramis Ramirez- MIL- Stats- Ramirez turns 36 next month and this is the second time in 2 years that he has had left leg issues. His durability is definitely in question. Ramirez got off to a very good start due...

Daniel Nava- BOS- Cold- Jackie Bradley, Jr. might not be tearing things up for the Red Sox but Nava's performance at AAA Pawtucket recently hasn't warranted serious contemplation of making a switch between the majors and minors. He went 1-for-3...

Adam Jones- BAL- Caution- Jones has had a very poor start, with an average of .252 (despite a .322 BABIP) and a single homer in 29 games. This from a guy who hit 30+ in each of the previous 2...

Andrew Heaney- MIA- FYI- Heaney has an extra day off before his next start on Thursday, due to an off day in AA Jacksonville's schedule. He will be coming off his first poor performance of the year. Last Friday he...

Ben Zobrist- TB- Hot- After having his first hitless game in almost a week on Wednesday, Zobrist bounced back nicely yesterday. He went 3-for-4 with a walk to raise his average to .310. It was his 4th multi-hit game in...

Chris Archer- TB- Hot- Archer pitched very well Saturday, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and walking none while striking out 4 in 6.2 IP. It was his 3rd quality start in his 4 outings this season, making his previous...

Mike Fiers- MIL- Idea- I went to the Nashville Sounds game on Sunday and saw Fiers pitch. He was dominant, throwing 6.2 scoreless IP and allowing 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Of his 96 pitches, 60...

Jim Johnson- OAK- Drop Value- Johnson is out as the Oakland closer after a bad start with his new team. He will be replaced by a committee that sounds like a cast of thousands. This isn't very surprising if you've...