Saturday, July 26, 2008

Tribe trading

Looks like the Indians are going to win the award for most deals this season.

Baseball Musings caught the first of two Cleveland deals today. Here's the second one.

Looks like Cleveland is looking to get younger, although the deal for Reyes is a mixed bag. He's young, promising, but has faced injury problems. We'll wait to see what role he earns.

Reyes dealt to Tribe

The Cardinals traded Anthony Reyes to Cleveland for minor leaguer Luis Perdomo and cash. Perdomo will head to Double-A in the Cardinals organization per the St. Louis press release.

Update: The Plain Dealer just posted a short article saying that Reyes will provide "starting pitching depth."

While the Cardinals looked shaky with their starting staff earlier this year, it appears they feel comfortable with the group they currently have moving forward. The deal for Perdomo is an attempt to eventually strengthen the 'pen. He has closer experience in the minors.

ROY running

The Rookie of the Year standings continue to evolve. Here's how it should look if things wrapped up today:

American League -
1. Evan Longoria (3B), TB (.276-50-19-61-6)
2. Alexei Ramirez (2B), CHW (.314-35-8-35-7)
3. Joba Chamberlain (P), NYY (2.30 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 93 K in 78 1/3 IP)

Honorable mention: Armando Galarraga (P), DET; Jacoby Ellsbury (OF), BOS

National League -
1. Geovany Soto (C), CHC (.274-40-17-58-0)
2. Jair Jurrjens (P), ATL (3.02 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 10 W)
3. Joey Votto (1B), CIN (.272-41-13-44-4)

Honorable Mention: Kosuke Fukudome (OF), CHC; Jorge Campillo (P), ATL

NFL rivals MLB streaming

The NFL is dipping its big toe in the pool of online game streaming. The league won't challenge MLB in terms of the amount of content available, but giving fans the opportunity to choose camera angles is revolutionary.
The league and NBC say it is an experiment. They hope to prove they can lure new viewers and people who are already watching at home by adding interactive elements. Viewers will be able to choose from among at least four live camera angles and review statistics that update during the game, according to the league. The league and the network will share in ad sales.

"I think the consumer of media is more and more interested in a greater sense of control over their media experience," said Gary Zenkel, NBC Sports' executive vice president of strategic partnerships. "Whether that translates to sports viewing or not, no one knows. But this is certainly an opportunity to experiment."
As someone who knows a thing or two about cameras, camera angles and covering live sporting events, I think the opportunity to control viewpoints will not be a major draw to watching NFL games online over time. There's a reason the networks prefer the angles they do during games -- those are the best ones. MLB would be even less attractive to watch in terms of choosing your own camera angles. Consider this: choosing camera angles does not mean you'll have the chance to switch angles during play, and the ability to choose angles during play isn't fun. It's work, and that's why people are hired to do it, so the rest of us can watch comfortably at home.

Nady, the X-factor

The Xavier Nady deal that sends an overachieving (breakout?) outfielder to the Yankees is baffling to me. Nady's hitting .330 with a .383 on base percentage, but he's already 29, and he's hit .281 for his career. It's safe to assume he'll fall back to earth a bit, and when a hitter changes leagues he is seeing new arms constantly. Couple that with the fact that Yankee Stadium has a deep left field, plus the fact that New York has pieces returning to replace Nady as a starter if he doesn't deliver, and I'd be worrying as a fantasy owner whether this guy can keep up the pace on what is to this point a career year.

Fantasy Impact: Nady might thrive in New York, but I'd say sell high. He's hit 13 home runs this season, which is nice, but there's going to be a lot of risk involved down the stretch. I'm never a fan of trade-deadline deals that involve hitters from outside the league. It's a lot to ask a guy to figure out an entire league of pitchers over just two months. Deal Nady, and watch your opponent suffer the probable fall.

Pearcing the starting lineup

Steve Pearce is headed to the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Xavier Nady's trade to the Yankees for prospects means the Pirates have an opening in their outfield, and the first report says Pearce will get a shot at full-time at bats.

Fantasy Impact: We've been waiting to see what Pearce can do at the MLB level for a long time. He progressed from A-ball to Double-A to Triple-A last season hitting .347-.335-.320, but this year he's struggled at .258 with 11 home runs. Pearce has a lot of pop, and since he's getting regular at bats he's worth taking a flier on, especially if you need outfield help.