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Once again, thank you to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker for keeping us informed about Japanese baseball.

Regular readers of this space know we are enamored with Yu Darvish. We hope the Cubs eschew the desire to take Albert Pujols away from the rival Cardinals and invest in Darvish instead.

Below is what should be rare video of Masato Watanabe hitting an in-side the park homerun off Darvish, and to Left Field no less.




For informative and easy to read Pitch f/x type chart, please check out this link from NPB Tracker. Have a great day!

Source: NPB Tracker's twitter

Last Monday, Adam Darowski, of Beyond the Box Score, tweeted the Baseball-Reference WAR data of Red Sox players acquired via Free Agency.

Most valuable Red Sox (B-R WAR) who were acquired as FAs: Ortiz (2.3 WAR), Aceves (0.6), Scutaro (0.5), Albers (0.5), Hill (0.4).

I thought that was terrific. I love when people show me a new, slightly different way to look at the game. It doesn't have to be anything revolutionary, but categorical silos or slightly skewed glimpses are great. As a starving blogger, I naturally find this moment of brilliance as a launching pad for our next blog post.

I hoped to look at every team's success at signing free agents, trades, and homegrown players, by their up-to-date 2011 avWAR* for each group. Once again, something happened on the way to nirvana. That's a project that works better in the offseason, or with smaller samples. Maybe we could do it by division, but for starters, let's take a closer look at our favorite team, the Cubs.

*average WAR between Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs

To be more specific on the groups, Amateur Free Agents will be in the 'Homegrown' group, while Rule 5 picks will be in the 'Free Agent' group.

WAR via Free Agency
Aramis Ramirez*: 1.8

A contender should get Fukudome

Kosuke Fukudome: 1.4
Marlon Byrd: 1.4
Carlos Peña: 1.1
Ryan Dempster: 1.0
Alfonso Soriano: 0.7
Reed Johnson: 0.3
Kerry Wood: 0.3
Luis Montanez: 0.2
Koyie Hill: -0.1
Doug Davis: -0.1
Brad Snyder: -0.2
John Grabow: -0.4
SUM: 7.1
AVG: 0.5

*Aramis was, of course, first acquired by the Cubs in one of Jim Hendry's finest transactions, trading Jose Hernandez, Matt Bruback, and a PTBNL (Bobby Hill) for Kenny Lofton and Aramis Ramirez. The trade propelled the 2003 Cubs to the postseason and a date with destiny in Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS versus the Florida Marlins.

The results of this subset are as to be expected. The very well-paid players are at the top of the list, but none of them are having impact seasons. The remaining players were below replacement level, but this could be normal for all teams.

WAR via Trades

We're all counting on you, Garza.

Matt Garza: 1.9
Marcos Mateo: 0.2
Rodrigo Lopez: 0.1
Justin Berg: 0.0
Jeff Baker: -0.1
Jeff Stevens: -0.1
Blake DeWitt: -0.2
Scott Maine: -0.4
SUM: 1.5
AVG: 0.2

This is not looking good for team Hendry. Garza has been pretty good, but they still gave up a lot for him; the jury's still out. Blake DeWitt hasn't panned out, at all, and in fact, none of the other guys are having good years.

WAR via Homegrown Players
Carlos Zambrano: 1.5
Carlos Marmol: 1.5

Castro's the only Cub worth getting excited about.

Starlin Castro: 1.3
Sean Marshall: 1.3
Geovany Soto: 1.3
Darwin Barney: 0.9
Tony Campana: 0.5
Jeff Samardzija: 0.2
Andrew Cashner: 0.1
Chris Carpenter : 0.0
Welington Castillo: -0.1
D.J. LeMahieu: -0.2
Randy Wells: -0.2
James Russell: -0.3
Casey Coleman: -0.6
Tyler Colvin: -1.0
SUM: 6.3
AVG: 0.4

The pride and joy of any Major League franchise is usually their homegrown talent. The finest way to sustain long-term success in baseball is to maintain a strong core of young players who can be used as an infusion of talent to the Major League club, or trade pieces to be used for such talent.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Cubs' only true "keeper" is Starlin Castro. Sadly, that is true not just of the Homegrown talent group.

No player, aside from perhaps Starlin Castro, should be deemed untouchable. The Cubs' brain trust has not earned the right to shut their minds to possibilities of improving in any way.

Trying not to get worked up, but this does not mean improving a club from 67 Wins to even 77 Wins. If you are not going to compete for the title, you should not trade a slew of prized prospects for Matt Garza. It's also a bad idea to spend $10 million on a 1-year rental first baseman who can't get a better offer, especially if Lance Berkman can be had for less.

Lastly, I'm not sure how to put this. In Chicago's professional basketball terms, Casey Coleman is to the 2011 Cubs as Brad Sellers was to the 1986-87 Bulls. Although Coleman wasn't a high draft pick, like Sellers, he is a highly-touted prospect. What they share in common, around here, is that I don't/didn't trust either of them to play well. Maybe another time, I'll have to explore these feelings. Until then, I hope Casey Coleman becomes as trusty as Carlos Zambrano in 2004.

Walked into the office this morning to see Hall of Fame writer, Peter Gammons, tweet this:

From one who knows pitching:"The command and stuff Pineda gets from that angle is uncanny. He could end up better than Felix"

It looks like he hides the ball pretty well, and we know it's coming in hot.

Let us celebrate this moment in baseball hyperbole.

In essence, this post is an homage, an overstatement rather than simply hitting "retweet". The dozen, or so, regular readers of this space know how beloved baseball hyperbole is over here.

Take a rookie teammate of King Feliz, who's having a fantastic start to a career this season, throwing a dynamite fastball along the way, and say he could end up better than royalty. Brilliant!

By eliminating any mention of where this sage pitching voice came from, I'm thinking it may be from a Seattle employee who doesn't want to place too much pressure on the kid, or hurt any feelings of the slightly older kid, Felix. Who knows, besides the ones in the conversation? It could have come from another player, an advanced scout, a retired seamhead, John Kruk, anywhere.

On this hopeful Monday morning, I'm reminded of our opulent friend, and how this "one who knows pitching" could mimetically open his own scene with "Hyperbole, I has it."



A few more Pineda/Felix images for the eventual slideshow...

FYI: Felix is listed at 6'3, Pineda is at 6'7"

There's room for improvement with body language, kid.

They're definitely speaking Spanish.

Pineda could be MLB's most fan-friendly player.

If you see egregious hyperbole anywhere, please feel free to relay the message to us in our comment section, on my twitter, or anywhere else we may run into one another. Until we meet again.

One hundred years ago, on this day in baseball history, according to NationalPastime.com:

1911: Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida become the first Cuban natives to appear in a major league game as they both make their debut for the Reds. Appearing as pinch hitters in the eight inning, Almeida strikes out and Marsans singles in the 8-3 loss to the Cubs* at Chicago’s West Side Grounds.

This historical footnote ignores the contributions of Esteban Bellán, who we'll get to in a minute.

*From 1893 to 1915, the West Side Grounds were the home of the Chicago Cubs, playing at times as the Orphans or Colts. With the Cubs 103+ year title drought, it means West Side Grounds was the last home field of a Championship Cubs team.

Ty Cobb in 1908 World Series @ Chicago's West Side Grounds

This was going to be a cut and dry post with a few dusty pictures from way back when, but while researching Marsans, we found on the Cuban Beisbol blogspot:

Marsans and Almeida (shown with the 1913 Reds in this Library of Congress photo) were the first Cuban-born players to play in the majors during the modern era (Esteban Bellán first played for the Troy Haymakers of the National Association in 1871).

1913 Cincinnati Reds

I'm very excited about the shoutout to Esteban Bellán, who was born in Havana in 1849. This article from the website Nueva York (1613 – 1945), provides better detail:

Esteban “Steve” Bellán was the first Latin American in the major leagues. He went from amateur baseball at St. John’s College to pro ball, eventually playing third base with the Troy Haymakers from 1869–72. During these years the team won this trophy ball in a 25-10 victory and joined what would become the National League.

Bellán was fast, graceful, and as one sportswriter put it, full of “courage and activity.” His batting average in 1872 was a respectable .278. In 1874, after becoming a U.S. citizen, Bellán returned to Cuba, where he helped form the pioneering Habana Base Ball Club.

There's a finite number of people who find this interesting, and we're glad to be here to celebrate the history.

Up here in New York, the city is already buzzing with locals rushing to get out of town, while tourists from around the globe ask for directions to the Fulton St Subway or Central Park.

People are embarking on their 4th of July plans, near and far, celebrating this country's independence from the motherland.

In the spirit of independence, have you seen what John Buck has chosen to place on his head?

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images (click image to ENLARGE)

Personally, I'm trying to finish up a few things in the office before hopping on a train headed to the north country. This could be the last Reality Tour post in a few days. Fare thee well.

Happy Independence Day, America

Pompeyo "Yo-Yo" Davalillo was born in the oil producing town of Cabimas, Venezuela 83 years ago today. He was 8 years old when his brother, Vic, was born in the more agricultural and picturesque Churuguara. Vic Davalillo would go on to play 16 seasons, with 6 teams in the Big Leagues.

Pompeyo Davalillo was called up on August 1st, 1953 by the Washington Senators, spent about a month with the team, and that would be his only time in the Major Leagues. In his first plate appearance, he pinch hit to lead off the 9th inning, but struck out as the White Sox's Billy Pierce was on his way to a 2-hit shutout. When Pompeyo got his first start the next day, he went a little gangbusters; in his first three starts, he went 3-for-5, 2-for-4, and 2-for-5. He hit his only extra base hit and drew his only walk of the season in his third start, equal to a .583/.615/.667 triple-slash line. He'd finish with a season, and career, .293 batting average, but leg injuries he suffered in the Winter Leagues, and his lack of power and patience, left his career to peak on the dusty diamonds of Triple-A and his homeland of Venezuala.

Pompeyo Davalillo became a manager in Venezuela and Mexico after retiring as a player at 36. He even was able to manage his brother Vic during the Winter in the late 70's. Vic was a member of the Dodgers at the time, therefore managed by Tommy Lasorda in the Summers.

Today, the Davalillo family roots for Pompeyo's grandson, Marco Davalillo Jr, who did very well the last couple of years with the Venuezuelan League Phillies.

He's just 20 years old, and I think* he just got signed by the Quintana Roo Tigers, of the Mexican Leagues.

*I won't know for sure until Tim Dierkes creates MLBTR/Mexico

Feliz Cumpleaños, Pompeyo!


I probably should have written this in Spanish. Oy.

The last time we publicly looked for arms, we used our 12-team H2H league as a case study and concluded with the decision to stick with Marc Rzepczynski. He didnn't last long on the team and turned into Carlos Carrasco, who has been outstanding.

After the jump are five under-owned options, and one over-owned player to avoid.


Homer Bailey
Just coming off the DL is not traditionally where you want to find starting pitchers. On the other hand, Homer Bailey has been striking out batters pretty well and finally blossoming into the Major League starter people expected two or three years ago. His last start wasn't pretty, as he got tagged for 5 runs in 5 innings. Still, he managed to strike out 6. With the mighty Reds lineup providing support and a developing bullpen, we expect his future to be bright.

Carlos Carrasco
I'm a bit surprised to see that many of ESPN and Yahoo fantasy baseball owners are utilizing Cleveland's new C.C. as a streaming starter. He's owned in just 45% of Yahoo leagues, and shot up from 24% owned to a still paltry 54% for today's start on ESPN. Perhaps, he'll hit a wall as many young pitchers do and struggle, but if you're in a deep league with few pitching options, and he's out there, he's probably worth the risk. Over the past 30 days, Carlos Carrasco is 8th in all of baseball with a 1.77 ERA. His ERA has been supported a bit by luck and good defense, but his peripheral stats show he's still been very good: 2.72 FIP and 3.45 xFIP.

Andrew Miller
We don't know if Miller will get another start, but if he stays in the rotation he is definitely worth a roster spot in every league. He'll get run support, with the mighty Red Sox lineup, and aside from staying in one inning too long in his first start of the season, he has shown an excellent, repeatable skill of getting Major League hitters out.

Cory Luebke
Not meaning to repeat ourselves again, but it seems that even after we mentioned him in our May 30th post, the major networks haven't steered enough of the masses to this dynamic young southpaw in San Diego. He recently moved into the rotation and should be good for about 5 or 6 quality innings, especially in home starts at Petco.

Tom Gorzelanny
Going pretty deep here, with a player who's owned in just 3% of Yahoo leagues and less than 1% on ESPN. We've always liked Gorzelanny. As the running theme to this post and any post about fantasy pitching, he's getting strikeouts. He is a flyball pitcher, so don't start him against power lineups or in bandboxes. We don't like his 4.83 FIP this season, but when his abnormally high 1.67 HR/9 number stabilizes, he could go on a nice run.

Kevin Correia
He's having a terrific season in real life, but the inability to rack up strikeouts (4.5 K/9 this season) makes Kevin Correia one player to probably avoid. Maybe we could say a similar thing about Carlos Carrasco, who has been striking out just 5.5 batter per 9 innings, but looking at the pitch values page at Fangraphs shows C.C. has clearly better stuff than Correia. He's currently owned in 46& of Yahoo and 44% of ESPN.

One hundred years ago, Honus Wagner was a 37-year old shortstop on the Pittsburgh Pirates. He would still be very productive for a couple of more years. No doubt the Yankees are hoping their 37-year old shortstop, Derek Jeter, can raise and maintain his production level for the next 2+ seasons.

People who pass away go on living when those who remain remember them. The following is our sincere expression of high regard for man they used to call The Flying Dutchman.