Bill Hall has been frustrated in his quest to build on his huge 2006 season. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Okay, I admit it. I dropped the ball on Bill Hall. Heading into the season, I really liked him as a great fantasy option. I mean, jeez, we were talking about a 35-homer hitter with shortstop qualification.

But what a fall from grace Hall has suffered in 2007. He started well enough, homering on Opening Day, but, unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly a portent of things to come, and it’s been downhill since.

There are plenty of excuses to offer up, starting with the fact that in making the transition to another skill position - centrefield - Hall was required to concentrate so much of the defensive aspects of his game, that his offense suffered. Badly. And he knows it.

“It’s probably my fault for getting away from my normal workout plan that I usually do to get myself prepared to play every day,” he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Although he said he wasn’t blaming the move to the outfield, it’s obvious that this has been a factor in his inability to consolidate his breakout 2006 season.

Of course, an injury in early July played a big part. Hall was beginning to roll, recording a 911 OPS in June, but on July 5, he sprained his ankle when he leapt up to try to catch a Ryan Doumit home run, coming down and landing awkwardly. It’s ironic that playing a new position was again behind this woe, a serious sprain that cost him three weeks.

The Brewers actually expected him to be sidelined longer, and maybe he should have been. Since his return, Hall has been rancid. His OPS in a limited July was 699. In August, he’s batting just .200 with a 638 OPS. Since the All-Star break, Hall has been getting on base at a lowly .270 clip - unacceptable by any standards.

Earlier this month, he discovered that his hand positioning had altered from last season, and an adjustment caused him to get hot for about a week. Unfortunately, the recovery was short-lived, and since then, things are getting worse, not better.

Since August 19, Hall is 5-for-25 and he hasn’t homered or driven in a run in any of his last five games.

Last season, Hall emerged as a major revelation for the Brewers, pacing the team in dingers, runs, doubles, triples, RBI and walks. Everything he hit, he seemed to hit hard, with a shocking almost 54 per cent of his hits going for extra bases.

Obviously, his lack of pop (.435 SLG) this year is a major disappointment. But what’s really bringing Hall down is hit lowly .241 BA and .402 SLG against righties, compared to .262/.525 a year ago.

Of equal concern, Hall’s walk rate is down substantially, although as least he’s not whiffing as much either.

Another area of disappointment, from a fantasy perspective, is Hall’s running game, in decline for a couple of seasons. After peaking in 2005 with 18 steals in 24 attempts, he was 8-for-17 last year and is a horrific 3-for-8 this year. Obviously, the ankle is a slight factor here, but that doesn’t explain why he had just three thefts before the injury.

Hall clearly has some serious power potential, as he proved last season. Assuming he can clear the slates for 2008 and throw away a 2007 season filled with distractions, he could be a very nice sleeper on draft day next year.

August 28th, 2007
Categories: BASEBALL, Player profile . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 2 Comments

Blocking shots, like this rejection of a Wally World attempt, is just one of the many skills Gerald Wallace offers that will make him one of the most desirious free agents this year.

Today marks the opening of the NBA free agency period and while there may not be any bona fide superstars available, several key players are hitting the market.

Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and Chauncey Billups are considered the three biggest prizes this season, but the name that intrigues me the most because of what he can bring to the table is Gerald Wallace, especially considering that VC and Mr. Big Shot aren’t expected to be headed anywhere but back to their old teams.

“Crash,” as Wallace is known because of the reckless abandon he brings to the court, is not only a serious stud with across-the-board skills, but he doesn’t turn 25 until later this month, making him a valuable commodity for years to come.

Wallace has foregone a guaranteed salary of $6 million for 2007-08 from the Charlotte Bobcats to see what he can fetch on the open market as an unrestricted free agent. Considering most expect him to be able to land a deal worth at least $10 million per year, it’s a smart move.

Charlotte is hell bent for leather to re-sign him, and will meet with his agent today to talk about what it’s going to take to make that happen. Of course, this is just one of many decisions facing the team this offseason, as we discussed just over a month ago.

But the Bobcats are going to have competition in trying to secure Wallace’s services - probably plenty of it, and given that the latest word is that he’s put his house in Charlotte up on the market, they will have to do one hell of a pitch to get Crash back.

Fans of the Warriors are pushing for their team to make a run at him, and early indications are they might use their trade exception to try to land Wallace. Dallas has also entered the picture as a major player in this sweepstakes. Orlando may also take a run at Wallace.

Although he slipped in some departments from his breakout 2005-06 campaign, Wallace enjoyed a career year last season, especially offensively as he paced the ‘Cats with 18.1 PPG. His rebounding dropped slightly, but he was still the second best rebounder on the club.

An original Bobcat, he was plucked in the 2004 expansion draft after three seasons as a reserve with the Kings, with whom he saw very little action.

Toiling in relative obscurity in Charlotte, Wallace isn’t exactly a household name, but he’s certainly about to break the bank as if he were one. The question is, is Wallace worth $10 million or more per season?

Well, he’s certainly improved offensively since landing in Charlotte, jacking his PPG total in each season, from 11.1 in 2004-05 to over 15 in 2005-06 to 18.1 last season. He may not be a 20-10 man, but he’s pretty darn close. And throw in what Wallace brings in steals and blocks, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a player - especially from a fantasy perspective.

Wallace has endured his share of injuries in recent years, definitely a result of his no-holds-barred play, but he remained relatively healthy this season, setting a career high with 72 games played. He also enjoyed career bests in MPG, APG (2.6) and double-doubles (16). Wallace’s perimeter game developed somewhat (32.5 per cent with 39 three-pointers made), he improved his FT shooting - traditionally his weakness - to 69.1 per cent. While he slipped from 2.5 steals and 2.1 blocks in 05-06 to 2.0 and 1.0 last year, 2006-07 still marked the best overall season of Crash’s career.

And best of all, he improved as the season wore on. After a sluggish first half (16 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.89 SPG, 0.87 BPG and 2.1 APG), Wallace was huge after the break (21.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.19 SPG, 1.11 BPG, 3.3 APG). He did his best work in April, exploding for 24.1 PPG, 9.1 RPG and 3.14 SPG.

If the ‘Cats can retain Crash - and, as discussed, they plan to do their darndest to make it happen - they’ll have a solid, young team with a great chance of making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Put Wallace alongside Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Raymond Felton and the just-acquired Jason Richardson and you’ve got yourself one serious starting five. Crash playing alongside J-Rich could present some major matchup issues for opponents.

The bench — with Walter Herrmann, Matt Carroll (assuming he re-signs), first round pick Jared Dudley and last year’s top choice, Adam Morrison, who should be much better after a somewhat disappointing rookie season - is pretty impressive as well. In a weak Eastern Conference, this team could make some serious gains.

Step one, of course, will be getting Crash back in the fold.

Let the bidding begin.

July 1st, 2007
Categories: BASKETBALL, Player profile . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 1 Comment

Looking for the next big thing to come out of the land of the rising sun? Thanks to Tim McLeod for turning us on to Yuki Saito, a Japanese college pitcher who, while considered a long-term project, is someone whose name will be popping up very frequently over the next several years.

On Sunday, Saito gave up just one run over 5 2/3 innings to lead Waseda University to its first national collegiate championship in over 30 years. He scattered seven hits and fanned six while starting for the second time in as many days.

For his efforts, Saito was named tournament MVP, becoming the first freshman to ever take home the honours. Saito first gained prominence last year when he propelled Waseda Jitsugyo to a national high school championship.

June 20th, 2007
Categories: BASEBALL, Player profile, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 4 Comments

Don’t throw away that autographed Robin Jennings card just yet; he’s back in professional baseball and just a level away from playing in the majors for the first time in six years.

An article I read today in the Columbus Dispatch, while not quite qualifying for our traditional ‘What the Hell Ever Happened to’.’ series, interested me enough that I thought I’d recount the tale of Robin Jennings.

To set the stage, does anyone remember Jennings, an outfielder/first baseman who, despite his low draft status, rose to become a Southern League All-Star in 1995 and the 10th best prospect for the Cubs in 1996?

Now 35, Jennings is back in organized baseball with the Nationals organization, playing professionally for the first time since 2003.

The chances of him making it back to the majors are pretty slim, but according to Triple-A Columbus manager John Stearns, Jennings was the best hitter in the minor league camp for the Nats this spring ‘ good enough for him to land a minor league job at Double-A. The team would have actually preferred to place him at Triple-A, but there were too many candidates and not enough roster spots.

Let’s recap his career and how he wound up back in professional baseball.

Taken in the 33rd round in 1991 by the Cubs, Jennings rose through the team’s minor league system fairly quickly, really arriving as a serious prospect after his All-Star season at Double-A in 1995 when he hit .296 with 71 runs, 51 extra-base hits and 79 RBI in 490 at-bats with a strong batting eye (44 walks/61 strikeouts).

The following year, he was even better in a half-season at Triple-A, mashing 18 homers and driving in 56 runs with a fine 880 OPS in 86 games. That earned him his first taste of big-league ball, 31 games with the Cubs down the stretch in 1996.

Injuries stalled his career over the next three years, as Jennings saw action in just 14 games with the Cubs over that stretch before the team let him walk as a free agent.

He signed a minor league deal with the Twinkies in the fall of 1999 and despite an excellent run with their Triple-A team (91 games, 70 runs, 11 homers, 61 RBI, 35 walks, 45 strikeouts, .310/.371/.536), Jennings never got the call and was released on July 25, 2000. The Reds grabbed him a few days later and he mashed his way to a 1050 OPS thanks to five homers good for 27 RBI in 32 games for Cincy’s Triple-A team. Yet his reward for that six-week barrage was to be released.

That winter, Jennings signed with the A’s, and spent 20 games in the majors with Oakland in 2001 before getting dealt to Colorado in July for Ron Gant. He appeared in all of one game as a Rockie and two weeks and change later was again involved in a trade, this time getting sent with Todd Walker back to Cincy for Alex Ochoa.

And then came Jennings’ last hurrah as a big leaguer. In 27 games with the Reds, he hit very well (.286), a performance highlighted by a career day in which he drove in seven runs in a game.

He’s never been back to the Show since.

In 2002 and 2003, Jennings remained with the Reds, playing in Double-A and Triple-A before a shoulder injury that would have required him to miss the entire 2004 season prompted him to throw in the towel and call it a career.

At least, that is, until this winter, when the itch returned. Jennings was filming an instructional hitting video as part of his job with a strength and conditioning company and he suddenly rediscovered his love of the game. So off he headed to try out for the Nationals, and he was good enough to land a minor league gig at Double-A.

As teammate Chris Michalek said, “He came to camp in shape. It’s not like he was sitting around eating cheeseburgers and taking naps.” Oh, damn. So that’s what I’ve been doing wrong.

Jennings recorded a decent 790 OPS in 22 Double-A games before getting a promotion to Triple-A to replace the injured Larry Broadway. Even though he’s picked up the pace a bit lately with six RBI in the last 10 games, Jennings is only batting .230 through 30 games and 100 at-bats, so it’s not as if he’s putting himself on the map for a call up to the majors. While he offers some nice left-handed pop, Jennings struggles mightily against southpaws, and, in fact, he could very well be headed back to Double-A once Broadway returns. And that, perhaps, may again make him decide to call it a day.

Still, I find it more than just a little ironic that he’s outlived all the players that he was traded with or for. Gant is long gone; Walker looks to be finished after the A’s released him last month and Ochoa was cut from from the PaSox last month. Yet Jennings plays on.

June 5th, 2007
Categories: BASEBALL, Player profile, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 2 Comments

Worried about Jamie Moyer’s recent starts? Don’t be. He’s the master of adjustments.

Jamie Moyer has been roughed up in his last two starts, including last night, when he endured the worst bitch slapping he’s had as a Phillie, courtesy of the Jays.

It’s pretty well time to stick a fork in him right?

Uh, not so fast.

This 44-year-old lefty has been defying the odds with a fastball that can barely break a pane of glass since the Cubs drafted him in the sixth round way back in 1984. Why stop now?

Obviously the Phillies still think he’s got plenty left in the tank. After arriving in a late-season deal from Seattle last year, Moyer really got the job done, winning five times in eight starts including a 4-1 September that helped get the Phils back in the Wild Card race, even though the team seemingly raised the white flag with its moves earlier in the season.

Based on that performance, we corrected assumed that they would want the crafty southpaw back this year. What we didn’t expect was that they would want him for two more years. But sure, enough, Philly handed him $10.5 million in October for another two years of service.

Despite last night’s brutal start, Philadelphia’s faith in Moyer has been justified. He had pitched seven straight quality starts to open the campaign, and prior to last night, had a 12-4 record as a Philly, a run that included going at least six innings 15 times in 16 starts.

This doesn’t sound like a pitcher on his last legs. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Moyer’s name must be included in any discussion of the true workhorses in the game. He’s pitched at least 200 innings in six straight years and eight of the last nine. The only active pitcher with a longer streak is Livan Hernandez, who has done it seven straight times.

That kind of durability is a rare commodity is this age of peanut brittle pitchers. So what if he’s old enough to have gone to Woodstock? Who cares that he started the Geritol Bowl a week and a half ago against Randy Johnson? (By the way, it’s worth noting that this was the first time those two squared off since September 21, 1989 ‘ the longest gap between two starters facing each other in major league history.)

Saturday’s slaughter at the hands of the Jays ‘ 3 1/3 innings, eight hits and seven runs ‘ marked his shortest outing since Moyer pitched just 2 1/3 innings against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 11, 2005. The last time he gave up seven earned runs in a game? Last July, against Boston.

Actually, it could have been worse last night. Moyer managed to avoid one of his greatest nemeses. Because the game was in a National League park, normal Toronto DH Frank Thomas was given the day off. Good thing, considering the Big Hurt has inflicted plenty of pain on Moyer over the years (.356, six homers, 13 RBI).

Obviously, you just need to keep Moyer away from those AL East teams.

Moyer is a definite NL-only league asset, and has some appeal in deeper mixed leagues. He’s proved he’s still capable of going out there and baffling teams. On April 19, he took a shutout into the ninth inning against the Nats (okay, so perhaps I could shut out the Nats too), and 10 days later he had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings against a decidedly better offense in Florida.

I’m definitely concerned that he’s given up six homers in the last three starts after yielding just one dinger over his first six starts, but Moyer’s track record for making adjustments leads me to believe he’ll be able to stem that trend soon enough.

When he came to Philly, Moyer was given a mutual option for 2007 as part of the deal. Many expected that he’d crumble taken out of the pitcher’s paradise that is Safeco Field. After all, his ERA at home the past three years was 3.89 vs. 5.45 on the road. Moving to the bandbox that is Citizen’s Bank Park would be disastrous for him, right?

Again, not so fast.

What we failed to include in our assessments was just how good this guy is at making adjustments. Going from a great pitcher’s park to a fantastic hitter’s park? No problem. Just start getting more ground balls. As basic as it sounds, that’s exactly what Moyer did. As a Mariner last year, he got 209 ground balls outs to 233 fly ball outs. That kind of ratio would have killed him in Philly, so just like that, he made a massive adjustment. In his eight starts as a Phillie last year, the ratio was 83 ground ball outs against 51 fly ball outs.

Apparently, it’s just that simple for Moyer. No wonder he’s been at it for 22 big league seasons and is signed through for a 23rd.

May 20th, 2007
Categories: BASEBALL, Player profile, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 1 Comment