Week IV

The calendar says, "Thursday." My class doesn't show for another 45 minutes. I think it's time, ladies and gents, for week four of The Onions!.



We've bounced back here at Control from a nifty snowstorm which closed my office early, canceled my Thursday evening teaching assignment. Today, it got to the low 40s in Syracuse and most of last week's snow has melted. My in-laws, on vacay in Myrtle Beach, called to complain about the weather last night. I took the opportunity to make fun of them and said that next year, they should just give me the $500 they spent on airfare and I'll go on vacation.

Enough chatter.

TRENDSPOTTING

• Tip of the glass to reigny for clocking the longest losing streak in season nine. His 11-gamer heading into the PM2 cycle is keeping my underperforming bunch out of last place in the AL South.
• And while we're on the subject, thanks to Ralph and Mark for handing me a 1-7 record during our interleague meetings.
• Arizona's five-game winning streak is the current Best of the Bigs and is made even more impressive with their sub-.500 home record.
• Speaking of homewreckers (well, if you say it fast it kinda sounds the same), San Francisco is 31-9 on the road. Not what one would call a hospitable guest. They also have top record in the WO at 58-14.
• Boston's Howard Lee is toting the league's longest hit streak at 17 games. He's also sporting league highs in home runs (26) and RBI (82) and is this weeks The Onions! Player of the Week.
• Congratulations to Gene Koehlert, Texas' only league leader from the plate. His 317 at-bats are a source of Texans pride.
• AL pitching is leaving a bit to be desired this year. Of the top 20 pitchers in earned run average, THREE -- Lewis Harang of Rochester, Les Carroll of Chicago and Tom Miller of Texas -- are from the junior circuit. You know the pitching is bad when my team is in the equation.
• Allen Glynn earned two more wins this week, giving the Jacksonville starter 15 on the season. Barring an injury or one of Mark's players running him down with the bullpen cart, he will likely break the single-season wins mark held by Portland's Larry Dickens (24 last season).

WHAT ABOUT NERIO?
A new feature of The Onions!, we'll take a look at how everyone's favorite roid head, Nerio Turner, is faring. Suffice it to say, it's not going well in Washington for the 34-year-old. He has four hits in 13 at bats for the Senators. Nerio has one home run but only seven appearances thus far. Eek.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OR-BER NIETO?
Another new feature, we'll try to track down the world traveling Orber Nieto as he tries to stay with one team for an entire season. All we need is Rock-a-pella to do the theme song.

Anyhow, Orber has been with Houston since a mid-season trade in season eight. In 55 games played, he is hitting .272-16-33 with a respectable .936 OPS. Unfortunately, the 32-year-old is out with a back injury for the next five cycles. This makes injuries to his back, shoulder, knee, hammy and hip during his career. But, with five teams in nine seasons, he's got to have some great frequent flier mileage.

DISABLED, DISMEMBERED AND DISEMBOWELED
Note: Disemboweled was the first "dis" word to come to mind. I need help.

A quick check of the disabled list shows one new member of the 60-day vacation club. Bartolo Cordero of Kansas City is gone for the season with a torn hamstring. Very nice. Five new entries on the 15-day include Hiram Boone and his blistered finger.

INTERNATIONAL FREE AGENTS
Amazing how baseball can mend fences between nations. Venezuelan-born third baseman Carlos Cervantes signed with Washington. Maybe one day Hugo Chavez and the United States will be able to put aside its differences. Of course, Cervantes' record setting $18.2m bonus payment would do it for me too.

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
There was one trade this week. St. Louis and San Francisco swapped minor leaguers.

A draft review is forthcoming. It'll take a few days as I'll be out of town this weekend.

The Onions!

We're a hearty bunch here in Syracuse. In Washington, 12-18 inches of snow paralyze a city. Here, the TV weatherheads say that the roads might be slippery. The 'Cuse is looking at 18 inches of snow by tomorrow morning's rush and the county has banned travel after 6 p.m. At right is a photo of a street near my house.

Me? My office closed at 2 p.m. and the college cancelled classes tonight, which means a slightly early Week 3 version of The Onions!

Trendspotting

• Fist pounds to Sandshark who turned an eight-game winning streak into a two-game loser. And, congrats to Memphis for matching him almost win-for-win and keeping San Antonio at bay.
• Boston's seven-game win streak is the top one in the majors.
• Conversely, Buffalo is amid a five-game losing streak.
• Portland's Vin Dali holds the crown of longest hit streak. Of Dali's 27 hits this season, 16 have come during the streak.
• Fausto Valdivia (ARI) and Glendon Borders (VAN) have 14-game hit streaks.
• A.J. Lemke is The Onions! Player of the Week. Lemke is working a 12-game hitting streak and sporting league-leading .412 batting averages and a 1.211 OPS for the Oogle Birds.
• The top 10 pitchers by wins? All NL pitchers. From Allen Glynn (10-1) and Trent Milligan (9-1) to the five tied with seven wins, not a one comes from the American League.
• Oh, and of those 10 pitchers, half of them pitch for either Ralph or Mark.

Disabled and Dismembered

No one joined the 60 this week, but new comers to the 15-day DL include Erubiel Sosa (JAX), Harry Palmeiro (SFE), Julio Castillo (NY) and Ralph Hayes (ROC). Everyone has minor stuff, including a couple of bad knees.

Transactions of the Week

• 50 people (50!) were reactivated from the disabled list throughout the Wailing Onion. Another 45 went on. Oy!
• The first trade in a while sends Santa Fe centerfielder Peter Kim to Memphis for Octavio Guzman and Tony Santiago.

The Onions! Week Two

The Ash Wednesday version of The Onions! as we here at Control will be spending Thursday evening watching the Syracuse-Georgetown basketball game. I don't have a particular dog in this race as I once worked at SU and spent my childhood as a Hoyas fan. It should be a great game.

Trendspotting

• Hey Texas! Way to make losing an art form with the current six-game streak.
• On the flipside Chicago's Black Stockings (9) and San Juan's Reales (8) have the longest winning streaks in the league.
• San Francisco's magic number can start being calculated. The Oogle Birds are 26-4 this season. Their Achilles' Heel? Playing at home, where they've lost **three** games.
• Willie Campos (CHI-N) and Darren Thomas (POR) each have 15-game hitting streaks heading into Wednesday's PM2 cycle.
• Pedro Contreras (BUF) is getting some Nerio Turner-esque respect with eight intentional walks. Not bad for a guy with a .790 OPS.
• Dangerous hitters of the week: Darryl Bravo (JAX) and Sammy Gonzales (NY) who are hitting home runs every 7.60 and 7.68 at bats, respectively.
• From the "Don't Believe the Hype" department, last week's Player of the Week Heath Gwynn (NO) has cooled off. He's down to a 1.200 OPS and has seven hits in his last 46 at bats. Slacker.
• Allen Glynn (JAX), Johnny Robinson (LA), Sammy Dickey (MEM) and Norm Sanders (SF) and Kareem Duckworth are the notable starters with perfect records. Glynn leads all at 7-0. Robinson follows at 5-0, while the rest are 4-0.
• Glynn is The Onions! Player of the Week this week. He strikes out 4.5 batters for every walk issued and rocks a 0.91 WHIP. That's enough for me.
• I changed my mind. Norm Saunders gets the POW honors. Started twice. Won twice. Gave up two earned in 13 innings, struck out 11 and walked five. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Injury Report

The 60-Day grew this week, as LA's Lawrence Fuller (elbow tendinitis), Chicago-N's Heath Fox (same), Santa Fe's Darrin Serafini (same) and New York's Davey Torres (sore shoulder) all hit the long-term list.

Notable names on the 15-day include Washington slugger Nerio Turner (the juicer has a stiff oblique) and Rochester's Sammy Unamuno (back strain).

International Free Agents

Hello Enrique Berroa! Buffalo just signed this reliever up for a $7.5m bonus. Pablo Santana joined the Chicago-N organization, thanks to a $2.4m bonus.

Transactions of the Week

Feb. 12: New York declines the Rule V return offer of Wilt Wood from Washington. Good thing to since Wood was heading to the DL.

Feb. 14: Minnesota released David Santayana. Two weeks after his international signing, he wears out his welcome and gets released. Sayonara Santayana!

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The Onions! Week One

Trendspotting

Double Digits: Fist pounds and chest bumps to the four teams that have amassed 10+ wins through 14 games. Take your bows San Francisco (12-2) and the trio of 10-4 Memphis, Phila and Nawlins.

Road Warriors: San Francisco is an impressive 7-0 when its on the road. Only Vancouver's 6-1 mark is close.

Going Streaking with Frank the Tank: Five players have had a hit in each of the first 14 games. Most impressive in the bunch is Heath Gwynn of Nawlins, who is batting .509-6-18 with a 1.600 OPS. Ouch babe. He gets The Onions! first Player of the Week award.

Set 'Em Up, Knock 'Em Down: Jacksonhole's Allen Glynn is 4-0 and rocking a spiffy 29/3 K:BB ratio. He'll get the first Pitcher of the Week award.

Doing More with Less: Remember Philadelphia's 10-4 record? It's being done on the backs of an team offense batting a WO DFL* .206.

*DFL = Dead F--king Last

DL Review

15-Day

Louis Paul: The Chicago hurler has a stiff groin. Nothing one of those Korean massage places couldn't handle.

Juan Ferrer: St. Louis' pitcher has an inflamed shoulder.

60-Day

Luis Osoria (DC): Comes off the DL in five days.

Pascual Lopez (MEM): Nerve irritation in his forearm. Yikes. He's done for the year.

Terry Reed (SFE): Wonky shoulder. Should be back after the All-Star break.

IFA Watch

This week's big signing was the unfortunately named Harry Limon. The Dominican centerfielder got $1.7m. His offensive numbers are indeed offensive, but he covers the field well. He has Johnny Damon's arm, but damn he's fast.

Transaction Watch

Feb. 10: Washington promotes Nerio Turner. In 45 AAA at-bats, Nerio had zero home runs. Eek.

Feb. 8: San Antonio declines the Rule V Return of Jose Perez from Chicago (A). A 28-year-old corner outfielder, Perez is now back at AA.

The Onions! End of Spring Training

If I could pick someone to be my grandfather, I would choose Bill Raftery. I've met Raft a few times over the years in my past life, and he's just a genuine and sweet guy. Plus, think of the gameday access. One of Raft's signature lines is how a player will show "onions" when they make a strong play with onions as euphemism for the male anatomy. That said, our weekly update will hereforth be called The Onions.

INJURY REPORT

Two major leaguers are down for the count. St. Louis' Mickey Dickerson is eligible to come off the 15-day with his back spasm issue. Luis Osoria of Washington remains until the AM cycle on Feb. 13 with a herniated disk in his neck.

INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS

Valerio Pinzon, SS, Dominican Republic to Norfolk. Norfolk is spending some serious cabbage this spring, this time locking up Pinzon with a $10.3m bonus. Valerio projects a high 70s rating with strong 80s level defense and 60s level contact, power and eye.

Rafael Oropesa, LF, Dominican Republic to Chicago (N). Oropesa got $2.9m in bonus money. He projects more as a first baseman than a true left fielder. Average contact, but good power. All in all a nice major leaguer.

Mark Zheng, P, Korea to Washington. A fringe major leaguer if he meets his projections. Zheng pulled a $295,000 bonus from the Senators.

David Santayana, P, Nicaragua to Minnesota. The $220,000 bonus gets Minnesota a nice minor-league arm.

TRADES OF NOTE

Vancouver and Chicago have come to terms on a deal sending WO legend Mikey Hall and cash to Chicago for minor-league first baseman Esamilyn Valentin. Hall makes his triumphant return to the South Siders. He went 6-9 with a 3.34 ERA in 132 innings pitched last season. Hall was a dominant starter for Milwaukee/Chicago before shift to the bullpen in season six. He has been a reliever and spot starter ever since. Hall is in his second year of a three-year contract paying $5.6m per year. Valentin is a defensive minded first baseman with average contact, power and splits. He hit .306 with 16 homers and 93 RBI at AA and AAA last season.

San Francisco and Buffalo agreed on a deal sending 19-year-old prospect Pascual Pena to the Oogles for Bob Harper, Ben Lincoln and cash. Pena, who Buffalo signed as an international free agent in season eight, saw limited action at the end of last season at LoA. The leftfielder has solid offensive projections, including a scary power figure. Harper went 19-3 last season for the Oogles with a 3.39 ERA and just had his second arbitration year, paying out $3.5m. Lincoln also had his second arby year, earning $2.9m. This was on the heels of a season where he made 56 appearances with a 1.36 WHIP and 3.03 ERA.

Thanks for the Draft Picks

There is some advantage to having Donovan Leiter and Benny Aybar pass through town. These Type A free agents landed my Texans five draft picks in the Top 50, including my original No. 13 pick. Not too shabby. Let's take a look at the other Type A's and B's that moved and who will have to pay extra attention to their draft formulas this spring...ahem:

Jacksonville also landed four picks (23, 42, 51, 139) when Sammy Williams (Boise) and Enrique Cortes (New Britain) bolted town.

Boise got three picks (40, 59, 73) for Bunny Stoops and Julio Fernandez. However, it forfeited its original first-round pick when it signed Williams.

Milwaukee gained three picks (36, 48, 59) . Garrett Collins brought the first and last pick when he signed with Chicago, while Tony Tanaka's signing with Memphis resulted in a Type B pick at 48. The Miller Time also hold the No. 4 selection.

On the flip side...

New Britain's first draft pick is in the fifth round, thanks to the signing of Willie Diaz, Bunny Stoops, Dorian Piper and Sammy Williams. They created nine draft picks for other teams with the sandwich picks and a Type B signing.

And finally...

Bret Laker's failure to accept San Francisco's offer means the Oogle Birds pick up a second round pick at number 87

Washington gets Type D compensation for Dennis Rolls, who demanded $7.5m and never signed. That earns andysox a third-round pick at 120.

Coaching Roundup

Someone made a point in the chat area that this year's coach hiring was the smoothest ever. I tend to agree. It was also one of the most lucrative times ever to be a coach -- 11 coaches nabbed $3 million or more. Here's some highest-paid coaching facts:

• Lloyd Staley got $4.7m to oversee Vancouver's defense.
• Houston laid out $4.0m to hire David Pote.
• Pedro Merced of San Antonio is the highest paid 1st base coach at $1.5m, while Portland shelled out $1.4m for third-base coach Matty DeJesus.
• New Britain paid $1.7m for Julian Bravo to mentor its AAA pitchers, making him the highest paid minor league coach.
• Los Angeles laid out $300K+ each for two rookie level coaches.

Record Watch

We're still a relatively young league so most of our career record holders are still active. But, there are a few that could fall in season nine.

HITTING

• Hits: James Gao (FRE) enters season nine as the all-time leader with 1,641. Pat Saunders (FLA) and Dave Adams (ARI) trail at 1,625 and 1,589 respectively.
• OPS: Timo Phillips holds the record at 1.072, but remains unsigned. Al Mendoza sits at 1.053 and with Portland, you never know what could happen.

PITCHING

• Strikeouts: Wayne Ramsey remains unsigned with 1,070 strikeouts. Chicago Black Stockings' Art Shelley is 94 away from claiming the title.
• Worst ERA: William Gonzales and his 6.14 ERA are retired, but Benji Santiago is not. Vancouver will trot out Benji and his 5.85 ERA. You never know.
• Appearances: Al Ibanez (SF) has 542 and is 29 away from Angela Acosta's mark of 571.