MLB Chatter
Anyone else out there really glad we traded Delmon Young when we did? It briefly looked last season like Young may have put everything together and was beginning to come into his own (.352 wOBA), but his 2011 season has been a pretty large flop (.303 wOBA). And he doesn't have age as an excuse any longer; at 25-years-old, it's quickly reaching the point in his career where he needs to produce or risk fading away.
And yet, somehow, inexplicable, he's one of the big thumpers in the middle of the Tigers' lineup now that Magglio Ordonez is out for the rest of the year. That doesn't bode well for Detroit, who got rolled over by the Rangers last night 7-3.
While the Tigers continue to sink, the Cardinals bounced back last night and beat the Brewers 12-3. Albert Pujols just about single-handedly gave this win to the Cards, which reminds me, holy cow he's going to be a free agent this year.
Rays Chatter
Stuart Sternberg sent out a letter to all the Rays' season ticket holders, and I thought the letter did a good job putting his comments after the season in context. Here's a snippet, but I'd suggest reading the whole thing:
Please do not take my remarks as a complaint -- they were not intended to be. I was not pointing fingers. I was not blaming anyone. I do not mean to sound ungrateful to our fans for their support, and I certainly will not tell anyone how to spend his or her money. I was simply being forthright about a reality that must be faced. It would be easy to assure you and all Rays fans that everything will be fine, but that would be disingenuous.
Addition: And here are some of my thoughts on that letter.
Also, Robinson Chirinos broke a bone "near his right wrist" while playing winter ball in Venezuela. He'll be out 4-6 weeks, which will knock him out of the majority of the winter ball season. Thankfully, it's early enough in the offseason that he should be all healthy well before the season begins, but I'm hoping this injury isn't like a wrist injury, which can sap a player's power for a time even though they're on the field again.
Over at FanGraphs, Mike Newman looked at Desmond Jennings' season. Worth a peek.