Weekend Buzz: DeRosa perfect for Pujols
Last week, when CBSSports.com colleague Scott Miller needed someone to help handicap the tight race for the American League's All-Star first baseman, he went to Angels center fielder Torii Hunter.
Not a bad choice at all, but here's what Hunter couldn't -- or wouldn't -- tell Scott:
The guy most deserving of a late boost in the voting is Hunter himself. If you're headed to the polls in these final days of voting (Internet voting closes Thursday night), do yourself and everyone else a favor and vote for Torii.
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| Torii Hunter is only fourth among AL outfielders so he needs your help this week. (AP) |
Somehow, in the last voting totals released by major league baseball, he was only fourth among AL outfielders, behind Jason Bay, Ichiro Suzuki and Josh Hamilton. Hunter deserves better.
And, while we're at it, we'll give you a few more guys deserving of your vote. We're not including anyone already leading in the voting, and we're also not including anyone who plays a position (like first base in the National League) where the voters have already made the obvious and correct choice.
At second base, AL voters have split between Ian Kinsler and Dustin Pedroia. Either would be a good choice, but the guy who should be getting the late vote is Toronto's Aaron Hill, who hit two more home runs Sunday and now has 19 for the year.
At short, Derek Jeter looks better than he has in a few years, offensively and defensively. That said, the vote should be a lot closer than it is, because of the year Jason Bartlett is having for the Rays. As Rays manager Joe Maddon said when Bartlett was hurt last month, "You can lose guys, but don't lose Bartlett. He's the core. He's the heartbeat."
In the National League, Yadier Molina isn't a bad choice behind the plate, but the Braves' Brian McCann would be better.
And in the NL outfield, how about the Rockies' Brad Hawpe, whose 55 RBI trail only Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and
Pujols, Fielder and Howard all play the same position, and yes, Pujols deserves your vote. Ibanez, leading among NL outfielders, deserves his spot, too (even though he's on the disabled list).
But in these final days, we suggest voting Hawpe -- and Torii Hunter.
The other stories to watch this week:
The trading season has begun: Now that the Cardinals and Indians have shown that it is possible to make a deal, can we stop using the parity in the game as an excuse for other teams' inaction? There are players available, if teams are willing to pay.
One team to watch carefully is the Royals, who have been getting calls on both Mark Teahen and David DeJesus. Teahen should interest most of the same teams that wanted Mark DeRosa (the Mets, for example) because, like DeRosa, he can play multiple positions. The word from the Royals is that they aren't in a hurry to move, but of course that was the word from the Indians until the Cardinals made an offer that motivated them to move DeRosa right away.
The Royals created some early excitement in the AL Central, but through Saturday they had lost 31 of their last 44 games. They understand that they're not going to win this year.
The other team to watch this week is the Mariners, mainly because there's a chance Erik Bedard could return to the rotation as soon as this weekend in Boston. If Bedard shows he's healthy, and if the Mariners can convince themselves they don't have a chance to win this year (they finished play Saturday just three games out of first place), Bedard would become the best starting pitcher available on what has so far been a very weak market.
One other pitcher that some scouts have begun talking about is Javier Vazquez, who is having a good year for a Braves team that fell a season-high six games under .500, before Sunday's win over the Red Sox. On the same date a year ago, the Braves were one game under .500 and three games out of first place, and they still decided to trade Mark Teixeira.
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| Maybe the Dodgers need Manny Ramirez back after all. (AP) |
Early on during Ramirez's 50-game suspension, the Dodgers were still scoring and winning without Manny. But look at the numbers now.
In 29 games before Ramirez was suspended, the Dodgers averaged 5.55 runs a game, and hit 24 home runs. In 47 games without him, they've averaged 4.55 runs and hit 34 home runs. They've had two or more home runs in just six of those 47 games.
The Dodgers play three more Manny-less games this week against the Rockies, before he returns Friday night in San Diego.
The pennant races begin: Manny or no Manny, there still isn't a race in the NL West, where the Dodgers led by 6 1/2 games when he was suspended, and lead by seven games now.
But there are races in every other division, and three of them feature big series this week. The Angels and Rangers meet midweek in the AL West, and this weekend features Tigers vs. Twins in the AL Central and Mets vs. Phillies in the NL East.
The Tigers-Twins series is bigger for Minnesota, first because the Twins trail the Tigers by four games and second because the Twins always depend on winning at home. The Twins swept their first home series with the Tigers, coming from behind in the final two games.
This is a big week for both the Phillies and the Mets. The Phils need a starting pitcher for Thursday's game in Atlanta, and the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that one option is Carlos Carrasco, one of the teams' top prospects. Meanwhile, the Phils continue to be one of the most aggressive teams in trying to make a trade.
Mets manager Jerry Manuel has stopped just short of calling for his general manager to deal for a hitter, and Manuel admitted Sunday that this week's trip to Milwaukee, Pittsburgh (for a Thursday makeup game) and Philadelphia is huge.
"This is a very, very crucial time for us," Manuel said. "We have to in any form or fashion survive this."
Three games to watch: 1. Rays at Blue Jays, Monday. It's the first time these teams have met all season. It's Roy Halladay's first game back from the disabled list. It's the first game after the Rays passed the Blue Jays in the standings for the first time this year.
2. Tigers at A's, Monday. Four pitchers 21 and under have been full-time starters in the big leagues this year. Two of them, the Tigers' 20-year-old Rick Porcello and the A's 21-year-old Brett Anderson, match up in this game. It's a little early to predict either one for 300 wins, but it is worth remembering that Randy Johnson didn't throw his first minor-league pitch until he was 22. He turned 25 five days before his first big league win.
3. Angels at Rangers, Wednesday. Yes, this is the week that Manny Ramirez returns to that other Los Angeles team. But this is also the week when the Angels, who took over first place in the American League West on Saturday night, meet up with the second-place Rangers. The best matchup is Wednesday's meeting of eight-game winners, Jered Weaver for the Angels and Kevin Millwood for the Rangers.
