davemakovec

It's not just the innings, it's the number of pitches. I cannot find any statistics to back this up, but I remember reading that he was in the top five in the majors in pitches thrown. That's probably more important than IP, and he threw a lot of pitches.

I think the big thing for management should be to see if he survives this season after he got over-worked in 2009. That should be more the concern than if he is a #1 or a #2. He'll grow into it if his shoulder doesn't explode.

I don't care what the calendar or the meteorologists or the astrophysicists say, the first day of spring is when pitchers and catchers report! Every day gets better until Opening Day!

How is Jim Edmonds a better deal? He's 10 years older, can't field anymore, and probably can't hit anymore. Anyway, it's a steal for Oakland, and I hope he continues to do well.

A friend and I went there for about a week when I was teaching in France. The highlight of the trip had to have been renting bikes and riding a circuit around the Dingle Peninsula - it's a tiny little town, people are very friendly, there's music in every pub, and it is very, very cheap there.

I don't think Pineiro is for real. That career-best-at-31 season sure looks like an outlier to me. The Angels are not paying much, and have the money to absorb a hit, so it will not hurt them, but I just do not think his one good year will be sustainable.

I think this is a GREAT signing for the D-Backs - career OPS over .830, OBP over .340, 25+ HRs per year... He's a solid player, and the D-Backs just filled a hole for dirt cheap. There is really nothing not to like about this from the D-Backs' perspective. LaRoche, on the other hand, well, he missed his shot at a big payday, but he's still relatively young.

To me, this seems similar to the Brewers signing two Cardinals pitchers, hoping that they would not suck away from the Cardinals' superior infield defense. Aging, injury-prone outfielders with question marks coming off career years hitting in Arlington may not be an exact parallel, but I can hope that following Bradley with the Byrd signing turns out as poorly for the Cubs as following Suppan with Looper did for the Brewers.

There are two things that I want to mention: 1. Someone mentioned Parra coming out after a bad half-inning with a look of fear on his face. Someone else noticed earlier in the season that when Parra was on, he was pitching steadily, taking his signs, and moving at a quick pace. When he was off, he was pacing the mound, shaking off signs, and generally taking his sweet Doug Davis-esque time out there. 2. When people say lefties take longer to develop, it might just be because coaches give lefties every chance in the world to succeed.

My first thought on seeing this was that it means the end of the Jason Kendall Era in Milwaukee. That thought filled me with such a radiant, all-consuming joy that I have had no other thoughts since then. Yeay!

For the record, I was stunned when my friend texted me with this news, and thought it was a horrible trade. I still think it's a horrible trade, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Realistically, Gomez is not going to start hitting .270 or putting up a .340+ OBP this year. Maybe next year, or the year after. He is very young, with tremendous defense and a little bit of upside with the bat. I'll give him a shot. As for the comparison to Michael Bourn and how he "figured it out," Bourn "figured it out" to the tune of a 97 OPS+. That is not exactly stellar. As for Rickie Weeks, he will not be great in 2010. A wrist injury is the worst thing to happen to a hitter, particularly one who depends so much on his hand speed. Look at guys like Derrek Lee or David Ortiz who suffered wrist injuries - these things take a season of hitting with the power of, well, Carlos Gomez before they start pounding the ball again. Weeks may be good next year, but I would not expect a full season of his 2009 performance. The big question in this deal (after Gomez's development) is how this will help them get pitching. $14m will not get John Lackey, and even if it did, that is only one starting pitcher. I expect something more along the lines of trading Gamel for a #4 with #2-3 upside (like a guy rumored for Hardy: Brandon Morrow), signing Washburn, and taking a flyer on a broken-down heap like Mulder. Anyway, I hope Gomez reaches some of that potential, and at least I get a chance to see one of my favorite (now former) Brewers more often since I moved in 2008 from Madison to the Twin Cities. I wonder what number Joe Mauer will wear now that Hardy is going to take over #7?

That is just fearsome - that would allow LA to put together the most dominant set of three hitters in the league, with the possibility of keeping them all around for the next five years or so - through their prime years.

Hawing, I watched the Cardinals-Dodgers game last night, and the only white towels were the ones being waved by the players as they rolled over for Los Angeles. Oooh! Burn! Honestly, though, it looked like they just gave up. That's nice to see. Albert Pujols, who everyone was predicting was going to personally destroy the LA pitching, continues his homerless streak to a full month.

So classy, walking the guy who's one HR behind Baseball Jesus, and tied for the league lead in RBI, after coughing up two runs in extras. So classy. This Axford kid throws hard. Almost too bad he's not throwing at Pujols for that bush-league stunt courtesy of LaRussa.

Texas called up some of those dynamite minor-league arms they had waiting around, including the dynamite arms they got from Atlanta in that dynamite Texeira trade. Mike Maddux is good, but he's not dynamite. Sidebar - how many times can you fit dynamite into a post before you feel stupid? I hit four. Wait, five.

Funny, I was tracking this on Gameday, then Looper hit Lee, and I had to take my dog outside. Seeing who was next, I figured, "Well, here comes a 3-run HR from Blum." I get back, and sure enough, it was. Hopefully the offense can continue to overcome the Geoff Blum onslaught and get Looper a (not so) well-deserved W.

What's magical about September? So Kendall can keep a roster spot all year? What benefit does that have? 40-man roster, service time, all that jazz. If you're going to argue that Kendall doesn't deserve a roster spot and should be cut today, I'm not sure that I can make a good counter.

I don't think it'll affect his trade value all that much - seriously, among MLB SS's, espn.com has him at 18th in OBP, 16th in SLG, 18th in OPS - that's pretty close to dead last among regulars. Unless people look at previous years (which they will), his trade value couldn't go much lower. His OPS ranks behind such world-beaters as Adam Everett, Brendan Ryan, and Jack Wilson. It's also not like he's Adam Everett with the glove. If they were gonna dump him, it's either right now (announcement pending), or prior to the season.

To answer the question in the title, every day. It's two weeks until September. Give one of our Catchers of the Future a cup of coffee, and start him every day as an extended try out for next year. Until then, though, it'll be six days a week.

When the Cubs and Cardinals play each other, I have a firm policy of rooting for a natural disaster.

Sarge, Difelice's stats aren't that bad against lefties. Ironically, CV's stats against righties are. Anyway, getting bombed in the eighth to waste a very good pitching performance really sucks.

I wasn't meaning to imply that CV lost this one by himself, but he did lose that Braves game by himself. This one goes on CV, Stetter (some time to lose the strike zone), Coffey, Macha, and the offense, who have gotten destroyed by Joel Pineiro. That is, of course, barring a miracle.

I was really worried when I saw that CV was coming in - didn't he single-handedly lose a game for Manny Parra earlier this season? He has not been good lately. Why not Difelice?

What a game by Parra. This one would qualify as a great outing for any pitcher in baseball, let alone one just back from the minors because he was sucking. For those of you watching (or there), how was the crowd when Parra walked off at the end of inning?

That's a frustrating failure to score, right there. You can't give up too many chances like that.