I wonder if he's been hurt. He seems to be awfully young (33) for such a sharp drop, given no history of elbow troubles (??). I think he's been struggling with a groin pull of late.

I like this piece because it's low on snark; from Mike Celizic to Patrick Reusse, so often I get too much of the author's agenda and too little of reality. I know that the point of commentary is editorial -- the author is pushing a viewpoint. But give me someone who shows and doesn't tell over hacktastic pieces that try harder to work in hamhanded analogies and half-baked (sorry!) put-downs.

The author doesn't sound like he's delighting in the demise of the White Sox' playoff hopes; he's explaining them. I think national and even local reporters and columnists have a duty to keep this kind of perspective rather than the various super-biased guises they so often assume (fanboy, attack dog, eternal skeptic, etc). I think bloggers more than cover the need for biased content for teams...

As the article points out, that's a million-to-one occurrence.

The drop in strikeout rate ought to be very alarming, though. It is very rare for a pitcher to maintain any sort of success with that kind of K rate.

seriously, he seems to have lost a little something off his fastball. He's still pretty good at inducing grounders (~45 pct the last three seasons), but his K rate is waaaay down this year (4.17 K/9, vs career 5.95; last year he was at 6.87; he hasn't been under 6.00 since 1999, with 8.73 for Minny in 2003 his career best).

But his OPS allowed is a decent 766 this year (787 career, 752 last year) and he keeps the ball in the park (4 HRs in 58 appearances/innings). I can't see the Twins bringing him back, given all the cheap right-handed relief talent available in the system already (Crain, Neshek, etc.). But he's still useful. Someone will and should pony up $3m-$4m for him next year.

and since you mentioned Lyle:
since the A-S break, here are his stats

Inn ERA hits hr ks bb baa
65.3 4.82 73 9 51 17 .290

with cincy:
Inn FIP GB%
57.0 3.82 48.6

to anticipate ubelmann, he's pitched pretty well for Cincy overall. In particular, that GB pct would, I think, be the best of his career if carried out over a full season (he was at 44.8 pct in 2004).

but he has been pretty awful recently. 26 ER allowed, 5 HRs, 10 BBs and 20 Ks over his last 6 starts (29.67 innings).

Right-hander LaTroy Hawkins pitched for the Twins from 1995 to 2003, and don't be surprised if the team attempts to bring back as a free agent. Hawkins still throws hard, he remains close with center fielder Torii Hunter and his greatest success came in Minnesota. Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson, who joined the Twins' staff in '02, knows Hawkins' mechanics as well as anyone . . .

Unless the Twins are getting Hawkins for less than any of their current pitchers, I just don't see how this happens. Is Rincon signed for '07 yet?

And what value is there to being buddies with Torii Hunter? Especially if the Huntster is gone?

“How do you know so much about Hubris, Joe?” asked Morneau.

“Because Barry Bonds ate it all the time when I was with the Giants. He said it’s the perfect complement to a meal of HGH and Winstrol. Calls it the Breakfast of Home Run Champions. I’ve heard the Yankees keep cases of it in the clubhouse because Jeter and Giambi and Sheffield and most of the others eat it like candy.”

give it up for twayn! and go read the whole thing at She Who Is Preggers But Is Not Lucy

Click here

"I like Hunter too but $12 million is mighty steep.

He may be worth it because he is 3rd in the league in intangables at .387 behind Jeter .452 and Ortiz .423. Manny is last with a rating of .096.

If you can find any centerfielders with a higher intangible rating than we should get him.

Intangibles is the stat that most correlates to winning. It goes intangibles, pitching, hitting and then defense.

They say that baseball is 90% pitching. But here is a little known fact, 75% of pitching is intangibles. Its true, look it up.
Todd"

Good stuff. +25 for Todd.

The Eagle Tribune suggests that David Ortiz will help lure Hunter away. It\'s not too bad of a read. Torii wants to play CF:

The question remains, would Hunter and the Red Sox mix well? When asked if he would consider playing right field, Hunter said, \"The day I don\'t play center field is the day I retire.\"

Enjoy!

SBG fixed link.

Where are you going to find comparable performance for a comparable price? Phil Nevin is a clear possibility and can "play" more positions defensively. Moises Alou might be available, as will be LuGo. But both are quite a bit older than White and Nevin.

I'd also like to see Terry Ryan pursue a veteran, middle-of-the-rotation innings eater. In retrospect (well, I thought so at the time, too), not re-signing Kenny Rogers was a mistake. There aren't too many of those guys around, but I'd favor finding one. Santana plus 4 kids (even if one ends up being Liriano) is just an awful lot to ask.

Surely there are a few veteran guys out there who can give you 6+ innings a night of ~4.0-4.5 ERA performance at $5m-$8m per and who would want to play for a contender?