MLB: Joe Blanton to the Phils and Other Random Tidbits

In an effort to sure up the backend of its rotation the Philadelphia Phillies shipped off 3 little known prospects in exchange for Joe Blanton yesterday.  The Phillies felt they needed to do something with the Mets having caught them in the standings on the strength of winning their last ten games and guys like Adam Eaton and Brett Myers having horrendous seasons.  Is Joe Blanton really the answer though? 

Even though Blanton has floundered this year in Oakland he has been a reliable arm at the back end of Oakland’s rotation.  He had won 42 contests and posted a 4.09 ERA in the 3 previous seasons leading up to this one.  However, the caveat here is that he has always pitched markedly better in the pitcher friendly confines in Oakland and has been pretty bad when pitching on the road.  Over the past 3 seasons he has averaged 6.7 innings per start while posting a 3.48 ERA while averaging just under 6 innings on the road and posting a 4.70 ERA.  He is going from a pitcher friendly park in McAfee Coliseum to an overwhelmingly hitter’s friendly park in Philadelphia.  This move just seems like the Phillies feel the need to do something and they are just grasping at straws here.  The only thing Blanton may give the Phils is an extra inning a game that Adam Eaton was not.

Don’t look now but Kyle Lohse is inching closer and closer to being a legit Cy Young candidate.  After last night’s 7-inning outing Lohse is now 12-2 with a 3.35 ERA.  Lohse may not have the sexy strikeout numbers or the dominating ERA but he has won his 9 decisions last not lost since May 13 and the Cards have won 11 of his last 12 starts.  With Chris Carpenter currently on the shelf and Adam Wainwright right next to him for the past few weeks Lohse has stepped up and filled the role of staff ace quite ably and is a big reason the Cards are still in the postseason hunt.

In addition to Lohse’s hot streak Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus seem to have both re-discovered their swings at the right time.  Glaus is hitting .360 and Ankiel .354 for the month of July and each has launched 6 home runs in their 13 appearances during the month of July.  In concert with that Ryan Ludwick seems to have re-found his groove since Albert Pujols returned from his 2-week stint on the disabled list.

Yankees Sign Sexson; D-Backs Bring Clark Back

There were two minor baseball moves made today.  The higher profile of these moves consisted of the Yankees signing Richie Sexson after he cleared waivers.  The acquisition of Sexson who was murdering left-handed pitching (.344 Avg./.623 Slg.) means that Jason Giambi (.229 Avg v LHP) will no longer be a full-time player and will sit against left handed pitchers.  Unless Sexson gets his act together at the plate I doubt we will see much of him against right-handed pitchers.  With Hideki Matsui possibly out for the year and Johnny Damon currently on the shelf the Yanks were looking for someone who could bolster the offense in some fashion for the time being.

Ultimately, this is just a drop in the bucket in getting the Yankees closer to the playoff race.  Yes, they needed some help at the plate but with Chien-Mien Wang still on the disabled list Andy Pettite is the only starting pitcher Joe Girardi can count on to consistently give him at least six innings every night he toes the rubber.  Joba Chamberlain is still finding his way and Mike Mussina rarely gets through six innings these days and with a bullpen that has basically been a mess this season outside of Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera the Yankees need some arms who can go deep into ballgames if they want to have any chance of competing with Tampa and Boston down the stretch.

The other move consisted of the Arizona Diamondbacks bringing Tony Clark back into the fold.  Tony Clark had always enjoyed a certain level of success in Arizona but given that current first baseman Conor Jackson is one of the few Arizona players having a good season at the plate Clark, who was not playing particularly well in San Diego to begin with, is going to do little more than be a pinch hitter.  But, it is not as thought the D-Backs gave up anything of significance to get him.

Mavs Want Artest; Camby Insulted by Trade

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the Mavericks have offered Jerry Stackhouse and Brandon Bass to the Sacramento Kings for Ron Artest.  It goes on to say that the Kings will not seriously entertain Cuban’s overtures unless Josh Howard is thrown into the mix.  I guess one cannot blame Cuban for trying but I don’t really get the interest here.  Granted Stackhouse’s better days are behind him and Bass had his best season as a pro scoring 8.3 points and grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game coming off the bench in Dallas last year but did he seriously believe the Kings would bite at this?  Or, does he believe the Kings are that desperate to unload the increasingly unhappy Artest?  Surely Artest has more trade value than this.  Heck, the Lakers are reportedly willing to part with Lamar Odom who is a lot more productive than either Stackhouse or Bass are at this stage with likely more productive years ahead of him than Stakchouse does.

What is a bit puzzling about the Mavs reported interest is why the interest is there anyway.  Don’t the Mavs already have Josh Howard who is essentially a slimmer version of Artest?  Is the intent to move one of them to shooting guard?  If so that would definitely be an interesting offense to witness in Dallas.  Then again with Rick Carlisle as the new coach they may be looking for more defensive minded players who can excel in a halfcourt tempo offense.

Switching gears a bit, Marcus Camby tells the Rocky Mountain News that he felt blindsided and insulted about his unceremonious departure from Denver.  Essentially Camby is miffed about how the deal all went down and felt like the team should have given him a heads up about what was going on.  He says he knows this is strictly a business move and the team really does not owe him an explanation but he felt that after six years he would have been treated a little better.  He goes on to say he feels as though maybe the organization is using him as a scapegoat for the team’s failure to advance deep into the playoffs.

I get where Camby is coming from but it is not as though he is the first guy to be treated this way in pro sports.  He just needs to get over it and move on.

The Nets reportedly offered the Nuggets a package of young players and expiring contracts in exchange for Camby but they were not interested in taking any salaries back for Camby.  It is an interesting rumor to say the least.  Why not take back a Josh Boone or Sean Williams and Marcus Williams in addition to say Stromile Swift for Camby?  At least you get some good young talent on the roster in the event Kenyon Martin and/or Nene go down to injury again.  But, obviously, the Nuggets were interested in just dumping salary and saving money instead of competing for a championship next season.  Instead they are looking at Francisco Elson, David Harrison, and Chris Anderson to fill the void left by Camby.

More NBA Rumors and News

The Knicks signed free agent guard Anthony Roberson to a two year deal stoking speculation that Stephon Marbury’s days in New York are numbered.  The signing puts the Knicks roster at 16 players, 7 of which are guards, which is one above the league limit meaning they need to trim the roster by one player.  There is some speculation that Jerome James may be the fall guy here.  The Knicks of course are denying there is any truth to the rumor that they are looking to move Marbury.

In other Knicks’ news Danilo Gallinari has a sore back and is being held out of Summer League competition as a precautionary measure.  After missing his first five shots Gallinari settled in to hit five of his last six shots and score 14 points in the second half of the Knicks first summer league game.

Donnie Walsh also denies rumors that the Knicks are interested in acquiring Ron Artest.  While I am sure Artest would love to come back home and play for his home town team the Knicks do not have a lot to offer other than proposing a potential swap for Marbury.  That notion is not as far fetched as it may seem though.  The Kings need to seriously consider moving the enigmatic Artest who has become increasingly grumpy about not opting out of his contract and they are in desperate need of an established point man in addition to a marquee name.

Beno Udrih is a solid player but I am not entirely sold on him being a quality NBA point guard.  Marbury’s career has probably peaked but his contract is up at the end of the year and they could probably force the Knicks to take Kenny Thomas back given they would need addtional salary to make such a deal work under the salary cap.  This, in turn, frees up an additonal 8.5 million in cap space for next summer which would put the Kings a good 25 to 30 million under the cap with some decent young talent to build around.

The Pacers actually offered the Heat Jamaal Tinsley in exchange for Udonis Haslem.  Fortunately for Heat fans Pat Riley is smarter than that.  There is no way the Heat are going to move their only established post player for a middle of the road point guard.  Not that Haslem is anything special himself but he provides the Heat with their only real low post option on offense.

Posey Moving to the Big Easy; Gibson Re-ups with the Cavs

James Posey has signed with the New Orleans Hornets accepting a 4-year $25 million deal on Wednesday.  Picking up Posey is a strong pickup for the Hornets who were in need of a wing player to come off the bench.  Posey gives the Hornets another shooter off the bench who can hit the three pointer but what may prove to be even more vital is he provides the Hornets with a quality perimeter defender off the bench.  He also gives the Hornets a player who has won two World Championships in the past three years with the Heat and the Celtics.

On the flipside of that the Celtics lose a key role player from this past season’s Championship squad.  Posey had six double digit scoring games, seven games of six or more rebounds, and hit just under 40% (.39 of his three point shots off the bench for Boston in the postseason.  Re-signing Posey was a priority for Boston this off season but they just were not willing to give Posey the kind of offer he ultimately recieved from New Orleans.  The Hornets took a calculated risk by trading their top pick for cash in order to free up more cap space to be able to sign an established veteran role player as opposed to spending that money on a rookie who will need a couple of years to develop and it appears as though that gamble paid off for the Hornets.

Another signing of note was announced today as Daniel Gibson accepted a five year deal to stay in Cleveland.  Gibson is a good fit for the Cavs as one of those small point guards who comes off the bench and can shoot the three a-la Janerro Pargo in New Orleans and Leandro Barbosa in Phoenix.  Gibson does not do much for the Cavs by way of handling or distributing the ball but he fills it up from the outside and shot .440 from behind the arc this past season.  The Cavs have no real financial flexibility this summer so retaining Gibson was a priority for them.  Cleveland is in a real precarious situation as they need to make some moves to get better before LeBron opts out and potentially leaves town and they just do not have many options to accomplish that goal.

Camby to the Clippers

The Denver Nuggets, desperate to gain salary cap and luxury tax relief, executed what amounts to a salary dump by agreeing to send Marcus Camby to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the opportunity to swap 2nd round picks in 2010.  From a financial standpoint the move makes a lot of sense for the Nuggets. 

By shedding Camby’s contract which had two years remaining on it they will now potentially be a good $15 million or so under the cap once Allen Iverson’s contract expires at the end of next season.  They will have the flexibility to be able to part ways with Iverson if they choose to do so and go after an impact player on the free agent market.  Obviously the Nuggets would have preferred to unload Kenyon Martin or Nene but it appears as though they cannot give them away at this stage. 

Martin’s career peaked during the ‘03-’04 season, he has had microfracture surgery on both knees, and he is still owed over $46 million over the next three years.  Nobody wants to take the gamble on him staying healthy enough to be a $15 million a year caliber player.  Nene is a tantallizing talent but he too still has a rather hefty contract and has only managed to stay healthy enough to appear in 81 games over the past 3 seasons. 

Lakers Want Artest?

After the initial flurry of free agent activity last week there has not been much to talk about in terms of player movement that potentially makes an impact in the coming season.  Probably the juciest rumor floating around is that the Lakers have reportedly contacted the Kings about working out a deal for Ron Artest.  According to the Sacramento Bee the Lakers are offering Lamar Odom and the speculation is the Kings would want anyone interested in Artest to take back Kenny Thomas’ contract as well.

Artest is a bit of a dicey proposition for anyone, let alone the Lakers.  He has always had a short fuse and has drawn several suspensions from the league over the years because of it.  He is also one who has never been one to shy away from the spotlight or controversy and secondly he has not exactly been the picture of good health the past couple of years.  He missed 25 games due to injury last season as it is and 26 two seasons ago.

The Lakers need to shake things up a bit and bring in someone with a bit of an edge and toughness after this year’s debacle in the league finals where the Celtics made them look soft and inept on defense.  Either Odom and/or Pau Gasol need to be shuttled for someone who is willing to mix it up and grind it out and will not let himself get pushed around.  When healthy Artest can be that guy.  In addition he is a better scorer and defender than Odom is.

NBA Free Agent Frenzy

Wednesday marked the first day teams could officially sign free agents and execute agreed upon trades as the moratorium on roster moves was lifted as of 12:01 this morning and there some major transactions going down on Wednesday.  The most notable of which was Elton Brand officially become a Philadelphia 76er.  Corey Maggette accepted an offer from the Warriors reported to be worth $50 million over 5 years which is what Maggette was probably wanting all along.

The other major transaction that went down Wednesday was the official execution of the agreed upon trade between the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors.  Indiana receives T. J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and the rights to Roy Hibbert in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and the rights to Nathan Jawai.  This deal does not make a ton of sense.  In T. J. Ford the Pacers finally get someone who should be able to unseat Jamaal Tinsley whom they have been looking to displace for a couple of years now.  But, to do so, they give up the only real post scoring presence and best rebounder they had which kills any chances they may have had at making any kind of a playoff run.

From the Raptors stand point Ford was expendable as the franchise has become enamored with the idea of Jose Calderon being the starting point guard.  Jermaine O’Neal, however, has seen better days and by trading for him the Raptors now have little to no cap flexibility for the next couple of summers.  O’Neal is still owed over $40 million on the remaining two years of his contract and the Raptors are going to have to decide what to do with Andrea Bargnani by the time O’Neal’s contract expires.  O’Neal can still give a team quality minutes when he is healthy, the problem is he is rarely healthy enough these days to give a team more than 30 minutes a night for 50 or so games.  I have a feeling the Bryan Colangelo may live to regret taking on O’Neals contract for the next two years.

NBA Update: Brand Bailing on the Clippers and Heading East

Both ESPN and Yahoo! Sports are reporting that Brand intends on signing with the Sixers on Wednesday after the deals involving Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth are completed.  Apparently the chance to compete for a spot in the Finals appeals to Brand and the Clippers were not stepping up to the plate the way the Sixers are prepared to do in terms of the dollars involved.  According to Yahoo! Brand became disenchanted with the Clippers after they were unwilling to sweeten their deal after the Warriors came through with a significantly more lucrative offer.  He felt disrespected by the way the Clippers were trying to play hardball with him.

Brand’s decision to bolt for Philly potentially makes things even more interesting for the Clippers.  First, and foremost, will Baron Davis renege on his verbal agreement to sign with Los Angeles.  Was his signing on the dotted line contingent on the Clippers re-signing Elton Brand?  The main thing going in LA’s favor right now is the fact Baron is a hometown boy who would not mind finishing his career in Los Angeles.

This move seems to be setting off a domino effect with several key free agents.  ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that as a result of losing Davis and losing out on Brand they are expected to announce they have come to terms with Corey Maggette and the Clippers will now turn their attention to luring Josh Smith away from the Hawks.

NBA: Brand Following Maggette out the Door?

ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that the Philadelphia 76ers are doing some maneuvering to free up even more salary cap space in an attempt to up the ante on Elton Brand’s services.  Philly GM Ed Stefanski is trying to find someone to take Calvin Booth and Rodney Carney off his hands without having to take anything back in return.  One can only assume he is looking to dump them for cash or a draft pick that would not count against the salary cap for the upcoming season.  If he manages to do this the Sixers would be looking at roughly and additional $2.8 million in extra cap space they could use to front load an offer to Brand that the Clippers may not be able to fit under the salary cap.

Brand has always maintained from day one that his intentions has always been to remain in LA and his agent claims the reason they opted out of the last year of his contract that was to pay him over $16 million was so that he could agree to long term deal in the neighborhood of $12 to $13 million a season to give the Clippers some extra cap space to go out and sign somone like Baron Davis.  In fact, according to Stein, the Clippers locked Davis down so quickly as he was the one free agent Elton identified that he wanted to have as a teammate next season.