Power Pros Forum

Nice, this is cool, the trade analysis.

Thanks. I think most of my trades panned out well for me, but it's fun to 2nd guess sometimes

I have to say, I enjoy this log. I haven't commented on it much but I have been following.

I appreciate your saying that. I try to notice whether the amount of "views" has gone up since my prior post, but it's often hard for me to remember.

On the trade analysis I do, I am interested in getting counterpoints, other ideas, and maybe learning about considerations I didn't think about before.

The Country's 1st trade was consummated on 4/4, when the Country traded OF Zap (EEEEDDD) for Royals SS/2b Sanchez (DEGEDD).

Comments: At the time, the Country viewed Sanchez as their potential long-term second baseman and they had several OF with similar offensive abilities as Zap, although they were not as good defensively.

Zap has the potential to be an MLB bench player in the short term and a potential starter in several years if he improves his hitting and speed. Sanchez, on the other hand, has failed to improve upon his hitting even though that was his training focus for much of the year. The Country gave up on his offensive improvement and have focused on his defense for the last month, and we hear that while he is improving on his lateral movement, his weak arm is not improving, so he will likely continue to have trouble turning double plays, and his ability to play SS will probably continue to be useless.

Sanchez was a significant part of the offense for the first two or three months during this season, but he is only a singles hitter, and ultimately lost his starting spot when the Country found themselves able to rely on other players for offense, at which time they benched Sanchez for White, signed as a free agent, who has better range and has been performing at a similar offensive level as Sanchez. White has been performing at a similar offensive level to Sanchez for long enough that we can assume that inserting him in earlier in the season would not have resulted in a drop off.

Milledge has locked up the CF spot for years to come as, hopefully, dynamic playmaker, and Erdos and Spillborghs clearly would have relegated Zapp to the bench or the minors for several years, but Sanchez is similarly a bench playe. A bench player who can hit singles and play SS and 2b is more valuable than a bench player who is a singles hitter and plays the OF, but it would have been nice to see how well Zap could develop.

Score: 3/10

The Country made 2 trades with the Nationals, getting back the player they initially traded away.

5/21: received Milledge (EDBEDD) from Nationals for 3b Schrager (EDFDED). Comments: Milledge is on the leaderboards for base hits and steals, and he's played a solid CF.  This was a good trade, that got infinitely better when the Country traded back for Schrager. 

6/17: received Lannan (89 EB SL – two, CB – four, CH – two) and Schrager (EDFDED) from nationals for RF Roney (EEEEDE). Lannan has been a solid pitcher for the Country, and Schrager seems to be a future starter. He's already improved his hitting to DC, and should make a serviceable 3b soon - he already has served as a decent backup, although his arm allows a lot of infield hits when he ranges to his right. Getting him back was a great move. Roney, meanwhile, will likely be a serviceable bench player.  

If we look at both trades together, the Country received Milledge and Lannan for Roney. This was an absolute fleecing of the Nationals

Score:  10/10 

9/25 – 28/2008: Iowa City country at Kansas City Royals

[SORRY, READERS - SEEMED TO HAVE TROUBLE WITH GETTING THE SYSTEM TO RECOGNIZE MY FORMATTING CUES TODAY. I SPENT ABOUT AN HOUR ON THIS AND I'VE JUST GOT MOVE ON TO OTHER THINGS]

Game one: missed opportunities and a walkoff base hit doom the Country

Country Jimenez (98 EB CH – four, CB – one) versus Royals Bannister (90 CA 2SF – one, CU – three, CB – two, CH – three)

Lineup:the Country are using the same lineup as yesterday, in that all their starters except for shortstop Harris and catcher Huisman are playing. Towles plays short and bats ninth; McCurdy catches and bats seventh

Banister started the game by mowing down the first four Country batters, each taking less than two pitches to finish, but with one out in the second, Cust put a changeup deep into the right field bleachers. In the bottom of,the 2nd, the Royals Jose Guillen led off with a sharply hit double into the right-field corner, and was promptly brought home when Josh Hamilton, acquired earlier in the season from the Texas Rangers, hit an opposite field double to left. A bloop single brought home Hamilton, and the inning ended with the Royals having taken a two – one lead

The Country did not put a runner into scoring position until the top of the fifth when Hart led off the inning with a double to left center field. Unfortunately, three infield groundouts ended that threat.

The following inning, the Country finally tied the game on singles from Milledge, Spillborghs, and Erdos. Two fielders choices, hit into by Dan Johnson and Jack Cust, resulted in the bases being loaded with one out for Hart. Heart took a high outside fastball for ball one, watched a backdoor curveball fall in for strike one, and then smacked a low fastball down the middle of the plate into the waterfalls beyond the left-field fence for a grand slam that gave the Country a six – two lead and sent banister to the showers, replaced by Peralta. The Royals scored in the bottom half of the inning when Olivo singled home a Royal who had doubled. End of six, Country lead six – three

The Royals started the bottom of the seventh with two singles followed by groundout and then Mark Teehan drilled a 94 mile-per-hour fastball over the right-field fence, tying the game at 6 all. 

Dan Johnson started the eighth by doubling into the right centerfield gap, but was stranded on second. Country reliever Andrew Brown started the bottom of the 8th inauspiciously, giving up two singles before recording the first and second outs of the innings without allowing the Royals to score. When the next batter's sharp grounder was corralled by Hart, who easily through the first ending inning, it seemed as if the entire team gave a collective sigh of relief.

In the 9th, the Country pinch-hit for JR Towles with one out and for the first time in a long time, it paid off as Merrill hit a 1-2 curveball into left field for a single and then moved into scoring position when Milledge went the other way on a Peralta  splitter to right field. Again, the Country failed to score as Spilborghs and Erdos lined out to second base.  The Royals made the Country pay as they singled their way to a seven – six victory in the bottom of the 9th.

AL playoff scoreboard:

Twins beat White Sox, fourteen – two
Tigers beat Indians, eight – zero
Mariners lose to Rangers, four – one
Yankees beat Orioles, eight – two
Red Sox lose to Blue Jays, five – one
Angels lose to honeybees, eleven – two

Other notable high scoring games: Diamondbacks beat Padres, 14 – 8, Rays beat Athletics 11 – 9, Cardinals beat Reds, 19 – 1, Mets beat Nationals 10 – 1, Cubs beat Brewers 8 – 0

Game two: Country continue to miss many opportunities, but come out ahead

Country Lannan (89 DB SL – three, CD – four, CH – two) versus Royals Tomko (96CCSL – three, CB – two, SP – two)

Lineup: Harris continues to rest, replaced at short stop by JR Towles

The Country threatened in the first, facing a runner at second with two out for Jack Cust, but Cust flied out to left ending the inning.  The Country threatened in the top of the second inning when Hart and Huisman lead off with singles and then, due to fielders choices, the Country wound up with runners at first and third with one out and Lastings Milledge at-bat. Millage lined a shot right at the third baseman, and Hart was lucky to dive back into third before the double-play was completed.  Spillborghs was jammed, popping up to the shortstop, but when the shortstop dropped the ball, a run scored and bases were again loaded with two out for Erdos, who groundout to second base. When Lannan retired the Royals in order, it wrapped up the second inning with the Country having a one – zero lead

The Country threatened again in the top of the third, putting runners at first and second with two out for White, who popped out into foul territory to the catcher. The Royals threatened in their half of the inning when, with two outs, Alex Gordon, their number nine hitter, doubled to right field. Like the Country, the Royals stranded the runner.

Continuing an unfortunate trend, the Country threatened in the fourth, when Spillborghs singled and stole second with two out, but Erdos flied out to short. The Royals threatened in their half, when the leadoff batter moved up to second and then 3rd on fielders choices, but Lannan induced a slow grounder to 2nd from Josh Hamilton to end the threat. 

In the top of of the fifth, Johnson lead off the inning with a single, and after Cust flied out, Hart followed with his own single, putting runners at first and second with one out for Huisman, who was two for two on the day. Huisman flied out to second, but White got a bloop single into shallow left field, allowing Johnson to score and keeping runners at first and second for Towles, who punched the ball into center field, allowing Hart to score easily. At this point, relief pitcher Peralta was visibly tiring, but was still able to end the inning when Milledge flied out to center. 

The Royals scored in their half of the inning on two singles surrounding a fielders choice. Lannan induced a pop out in fair territory to the catcher, who dropped the ball, allowing a runner to score and putting runners at first and third with two outs and Mark Teahan up up at the plate. Mark popped up in foul territory and the catcher corralled this one. End of 5, Country lead three – two

Peralta started the sixth inning and needed eight pitches to retire Spilborghs, after which time he was pulled in favor of Zach Greinke. Greinke used three pitches, total, to retire Erdos and Johnson. Deardorff was brought in to start the sixth inning, and retired the 1st 3 batters with the help of a double play.

The Country led off the seventh inning with singles from Cust and Hart, but were unable to score as Huisman popped out to short and White hit into a four – five – three double play. Deardorff pitched a very strong seventh inning, striking out the Royals seven, eight, and nine hitters. 

Towles had a great at-bat to start the eighth inning, putting a two – one circle change into centerfield for a single, but the excitement soon evaporated when Milledge hit the ball sharply to the left of second base and the Royals shortstop initiated a five – four – three double play.  Deardorff pitched another strong inning, again retiring the Royals in order and sending the game into the ninth inning with the Country clinging to a three – two lead.

With one out, Johnson launched a two seam fastball from Greinke over the fence, just beyond the right-field waterfalls, giving the Country a little cushion. Chamberlain started the bottom of the ninth inning, facing the Royals cleanup hitter, José Guillen.  Three pitches later, Guillen was struck-out.  Two pitches after that, Hamilton popped out to the catcher.  Gload managed to single  up the middle, but the next batter flies out to center, ending the game with a four – two Country win.

Notable: the Country were lucky to get all-around solid pitching today. Lannan started the game in spite of reporting in blue condition, and pitched valiantly, allowing one earned run and one unearned run over five innings with three strikeouts. Deardorff pitched three innings of shutout ball, striking out three and allowing only one hit. Chamberlain was his usual, dominant self, using nine pitches and allowing one hit before retiring the side

AL playoff scoreboard:

Twins lose to White Sox, six – one
Tigers beat Indians, eight – one
Yankees beat Orioles nine – three
Red Sox beat Blue Jays, three – two
Mariners lose two rangers, eleven – ten
Angels lose to Honeybees, five – two

With the Twins loss and the Country's win, the Twins fell to five games behind the Country with four games left to play, meaning the Country clinched first place in the AL Central, guaranteeing them a playoff spot

Game three: Royals win game three on walk off hit

Country O'Connor (89 EA SL – three, CB – one, CH – two) versus Royals Hochevar (95 FD (I FORGOT TO NOTE HOCHEVAR'S PITCHES.  I THINK IT WAS...) SL - two, CH - 2)

Lineup: perhaps as a reward for clinching the division, several starters are being given the day off. Milledge is replaced in centerfield by Ryan Sweeney; Hart is replaced at third base by Schrager; Cust is resting and the DH spot will be handled by Merrill; White is replaced at second base by Sanchez, and Towles mans shortstop in place of Harris

The Country got off to a quick start, as Sweeney rounded the ball between the third baseman and shortstop for a single, and then Spillborghs launched a two – one pitch – it appeared that it would clear the fences for his 16th homerun of the season, but it bounced off the wall for a double, and Ryan Sweeney came around from first base to score. Johnson then did his "Spillborghs" imitation, doubling to almost the exact same spot in center field as Spillborghs did, and Spillborghs scored easily. When O'Connor retired the Royals, stranding a runner at third, it closed out the first inning with the Country leading two – zero

In the top of the second, the Country made the most of their opportunities, with Merrill looping a single to left field, moving to second on a wild pitch, to third on a fielders choice, and scoring on a Towles single. In the following inning, the Royals starter began to tire and Johnson made him pay, hitting a solo home run over the right-field fence.  In the following inning, Merrill doubled into the right centerfield gap and came home on a Sanchez single. 

The Royals challenged in the bottom of the fourth, with four singles leading to two runs. End the four, Country lead five – two.

In the top of the fifth, when, with a runner at third and two out, Schrager hit a line drive that ricocheted off the pitcher to the second baseman for final out, it marked the first inning in which the Country failed to score. In the bottom the fifth, Hamilton doubled off the left-field wall with runners at first and second. A mixup between the third baseman shortstop allowed another score. End of five, Country lead five – four

O'Connor allowed a single in the bottom of the seventh before being removed for Shawn Green. Green almost ended the inning without a score, but a bloop single just outside of Johnson's outstretched arms allowed that initial baserunner, who moved to third on fielders choices, to score, tying the game in the bottom of the seventh, 5 all

Green pitched a strong 8th, but got in trouble in the 9th, being pulled after allowing runners to reach first and third with no one out. The Country played with a drawn in outfield, and reliever Andrew "fireman" Brown struck out the first batter he faced, but the next batter went the other way with a slider going to be outside of the plate and knocked in the winning run.

AL playoff scoreboard:

Tigers beat Indians, 10 – 8
Twins beat White Sox, 11 – 5
Angels beat Honeybees, 11 – 4
Mariners defeat Rangers, 9 – 2
Red Sox lose two Blue Jays, 5 – 4
Yankees beat Orioles, 5 – 4

Game four: Strong pitching brings Country win and series split

Country Depablos (93 DC SL – four, CB – four) versus Royals Meche (96 BA 2SF – one, HSL – two, DCB – four, CH – two)

Lineup: Erdos, Cust, White, and Huisman had the day off, replaced by Shrager at DH, Sweeney in left, Sanchez at second, and Towles at catcher

The Country got off to a quick start against the Royals star pitcher, with Spillborghs singling with one out and scoring all the way from first on a Schrager double over the centerfielder's head. With Schrager on second, Dan Johnson launched a Meche changeup over the right centerfield fence for a two run homer. Depablos was dominating in the first inning, striking out two batters and inducing a fly out to White for the third. End of one, Country lead three – zero

In the bottom of the second, the Royals Guillen reached first on an error by SS Harris, and moved up to third on a Hamilton double. Ross Gload bounced the ball to first base and Johnson threw home in time to tag out Guillen, leaving runners at first and third with one out. Oddly, when the next batter, Olivo, flies out to center, Hamilton did not try to tag even though he waited expectantly at 3rd. Perhaps he thought a throw homewould be to close, but this writer thinks the Royals were too conservative in that situation. Regardless, Pena knocked a one – two pitch just outside the reach of second baseman Sanchez, allowing Hamilton to score. When the inning ended on a soft grounder to second, the game entered the third inning with the Country leading three – one.

The score stayed at three – one until the seventh inning when singles by Sanchez, Towles, and Spillborghs resulted in a run scored in the bottom half of the seventh, and when Ross Gload singled to right with one out, it was only the fifth hit given up by Depablos so far. Another single and a fielder's choice resulted in a run scored. End of 7, Country lead four – two

That remained the score of the game, as neither team scored and Chamberlain recorded his 33rd save of the season, allowing one hit.

Notable: while the Country offense has been inconsistent, the solid pitching is a good sign heading into the playoffs. Starter Depablos went 6 – 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run and one unearned run on seven hits with five strikeouts. Green pitched a solid 1 – 1/3 innings, striking out 2 and allowing no hits and no runs, while Chamberlain pitched one inning, allowing one hit with two strikeouts and no runs.

Hart was named player of the week for the week ending 9/28. During this week, Hart hit 560 with three home runs and nine RBIs

AL playoff scoreboard:

Twins lose to White Sox, eleven – five
Tigers lose to Indians, eight – seven
Mariners lose to Rangers, four- one
Angels beat honeybees, five – one
Yankees lose to Orioles, five – zero
Red Sox lose two Blue Jays, three – five

AL Playoff Picture: 

The Yankees, Mariners, and Country have clinched their divisions, with the Yankees having the best record at 91 wins and the Mariners and Country tied with 90 wins. The Red Sox clinched a wild-card spot and it looks like the final wild-card will be either the Twins or the Tigers (the Tigers are one game behind the Twins). With two games left, the Mariners, Country and Yankees are all fighting for a first round bye. 

The Red Sox will be the top seeded wildcard, meaning that they will play the division leader with the worst record and the division winner with the second best (or worst) record will either play the Twins or Tigers. While the Country will surely play for wins in the hopes of getting a bye, they would probably also prefer to play the Twins in the first round as opposed to the Red Sox or Tigers

Next up:

While the Country play the Twins, against whom they have won 10 of 14 games, the Mariners play the Honeybees, against whom the Mariners have won 13 of 20 games, and the Yankees play the Rays, against whom they are 500 (seven – seven). 

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If this is '08, aren't there only one WC?

^

Hochevar should have a level 1 slider and level 2 chg.

Umm...yeah. I finished my season and just noticed that. 1 wild card and no bye week. Kinda embarrassed about that!

On 5/23, the wheeling-dealing Country struck a deal that brought in catcher Sean Riggins (DFFBDD) from Rays for SS Sneed (EFEEDE). 

Comments: at first glance, it may seem that the Country merely swapped bench players, but the Country got rid of a player who needs a lots of development to play his defensive position at the major league level and even more development to hit, and received a solid defensive catcher who can make contact, although he has shown no promise of power whatsoever.  

Score: 8/10, if you ignore the fact that the Country have three other backup catchers on their staff. 6/10 if you consider those other catchers.