Daily ArchiveTuesday, May 9th, 2006
Posted on May 9, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
AaRr Transactions - Week of May 9th
Acquired Florida OF Joe Borchard for FAAB $18. Borchard was acquired by the Marlins from Seattle, where he was designated for assignment. In Florida, Borchard has an opportunity to play every day in either right or center, and once Jeremy Hermida returns, he will likely platoon with Reggie Abercrombie in center field. It’s envisioned that Eric Reed will be sent down. Abercrombie could also use some time in AAA, but he’s shown just enough to stick, especially in light of the dearth of other options the Marlins have. An OF of Willingham - Borchard - Hermida isn’t all bad. Matt Cepicky was designated for assignment to make room on the Marlins’ roster.
For the Roadrunners, Borchard replaces the injured Cody Ross in the active OF. Ross is currently doing rehab in AAA, and is eligible to come back next week from his broken pinkie finger. Ross, who performed well for the Dodgers in April, could contribute so long as Ken Griffey, Jr. is still out, as Ryan Freel is slumping in CF. That would enable the Roadrunners to send down Jeff DaVanon, whose April hot streak is over.
The Roadrunners also picked up Jason Ellison, the 5th OF for the Giants, for a $0 FAAB bid. Ellison is decent, and contributed last season, especially in the steals department. The acquisition of Randy Winn at the deadline sealed Ellison’s fate last season. But with AaRr’s Moises Alou out for at least two weeks with an ankle sprain, (being replaced by 41-year old Steve Finley), along with the quasi-healthy Barry Bonds, and Randy Winn who injured his knee last night, there seems like ample opportunity for Ellison to get AB’s over the next few weeks.
AARR also sent down injured catcher Mike Lieberthal of the Phillies, and acquired Pirates catcher Ronny Paulino. Paulino seems to be the starter for the Bucs, as manager Jim Tracy prefers his combination of 80% of the offense of Ryan Doumit, and 80% of the defense of Humberto Cota. The Pirates once again are screwing with an offesive-minded catcher by jerking him around - Doumit is now practicing at 1B, taking time away from their last problem - Craig Wilson, who started behind the plate but was moved out to 1B and RF. See also the case of Chris Duffy and Nate McLouth in centerfield - both should be playing regularly to get in a groove, and ideally one would be sent down to AAA, but Tracy keeps jerking them around - there is no real platoon effect with those two. Anyway, Paulino will step in for Lieberthal, and seems to be a decent pickup. Dare I say, if he shows any potential with the bat besides batting average, he could be under consideration for protection.
To make room for the three new Roadrunners, Nationals’ OF Brandon Watson was released. We may have seen the last of him in AAA New Orleans, as the new ownership group may bring an influx of cash and potential free agents into the fold. In any case, he just wasn’t that good, and his sole point in getting him was the fact that he was leading off and had speed. That lasted 10 whole days. The Roadrunners also released Nats’ reliever Gary Majewski . Majewski, aqcuired in the minor league draft, had potential, and responded well to a rough patch in late April. But the bottom line is that closer Chad Cordero only has 2 saves, and the Nats suck, so no vulture wins, or Cordero-overuse saves in Majewski’s future. Lastly, the Roadrunners released Padres OF Ben Johnson. He’s just too green, but we’ll keep an eye on him for the future.
Posted on May 9, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
Overnight Dispatches
From RotoWorld:
Kerry Wood will likely make one more minor league rehab start at Triple-A Iowa on Friday before making his 2006 Cubs debut on May 17 against the Nationals in Chicago. The Cubs are looking for a starter to replace Angel Guzman for Friday’s game, but they won’t use Wood. “You’ve got to stay on the course if we’re going to look at the big picture,” Baker said. “You think about it, but no, you don’t want to do that. He’ll go to Iowa.”
Ryan Klesko (shoulder surgery) has been cleared to begin passive range of motion exercises. The Padres expect to have Klesko back around early August. Adrian Gonzalez, who got the start last night, will see the majority of AB’s at first, the next Mark Bellhorn hot streak notwithstanding.
Dave Roberts had three hits, four runs scored and three steals to help the Padres beat the Cubs on Monday night. Roberts has hit in seven straight. Even better, he’s 10-for-11 in steal attempts after having a down year on the basepaths in 2005.
Armando Benitez was credited with his second save after getting Lance Berkman to ground out to end Monday’s game. Benitez is back in the closer’s role for the Giants, but there hasn’t been much for him to do so far. He was brought in tonight after Jeremy Accardo and Tim Worrell combined to give up three in the ninth, cutting the Giants’ lead to two runs.
Randy Winn left Monday night’s game after five innings with a right knee injury. Winn fouled a ball off his knee. He stayed in to complete the at-bat after a lengthy break, but he didn’t return to the field for the top of the sixth. Consider him questionable for Tuesday’s game. With Steve Finley already starting in place of Moises Alou, Jason Ellison may get the call if Winn can’t go.
Posted on May 9, 2006 by Andrew Flynn
May 9th - Standings and Statistics
Standings: 3rd - 75.5 points 5 out of first Cover Zero 82.5 / GOK 77 / AARR / Pi 69.5 / X 68 / 10PK 66.5 / SJ 66 HR AVG RBI R SB W ERA WHIP K'S S -- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ----- --- --- 46 .2674 204 198 34 20 3.54 1.334 179 9 T-5 7TH T-1 2nd 1ST T-2 3RD 4TH 9TH T-7TH BOX SCORE FOR 05.08 Atomic Roadrunners ab r h bi | bb so avg --------------------------------------------------------- Adrian Gonzalez SD 1B 4 1 1 0 | 0 0 .224 Khalil Greene SD SS 4 1 1 1 | 0 1 .227 Dave Roberts SD OF 4 4 3 0 | 1 0 .275 --------------------------------------------------------- Totals 12 6 5 1 | 1 1 .417 --------------------------------------------------------- RBI: KGreene 1(21) 3B: DRoberts 1(6) HR: KGreene 1(6) SB: DRoberts 3(10) PITCHING ip h r er bb ibb so bf era whip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Armando Benitez S(2) 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 0.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 0.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------