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Kicking into postseason gear on the beat, John Perrotto welcomes your questions about the Division Series and more.
John Perrotto: Hi everyone. What an interesting first day of the postseason. Kind of hard to beat a no-hitter, huh? Anyhow, on to the Qs and I'll try to provide some interesting and entertaining As.
jmercan (Jersey): I realize the last week of the season had lots of story lines, but I'm surprised there has not been more discussion about opening the season on a Thursday next year.
Am I being too much of a traditionalist, wishing for it to be a Monday? I've embraced advanced statistics like WARP and SIERA and look at BAPIP -- do I need to accept this too?
John Perrotto: I'm afraid you'll have to learn to accept as long as Bud Selig is Commissioner. Bud absolutely loathes that the World Series will stretch in November for a second striaght year. Thus, the season will start earlier. Like you, I've always liked the seasons starting at the beginnning of the week and I haven't even been able to embrace the Sunday night opener. But we've got to get used to it.
Seth (Nanty Glo): This does not deal with the postseason because that is only a pipe dream for fans like me but, how many of the starting pitchers that made up the Altoona Curve rotation have the ability to make a positive impact on the major league level? Am I crazy to get excited about a Pirate rotation consisting of Locke, Owens, Morris, Mcdonald, Ohlendorf/Morton, with Justin Wilson thrown in as a wild card if he can get his walks under control.
John Perrotto: The thing about Locke, Owens, Morris and Wilson is that none of them project as a No. 1 or No. 2 type starter, which is what the Pirates really need. Jameson Taillon is that guy but he is an 18-year-old kid who has yet to pitch in a professional game. By the way, Nanty Glo has special meaning to me. I always stop at the Sheetz there on my way home from games in Altoona.
thome679 (dubuque, iowa): John
What's your take on Brian McCann? He has been very inconsistent. Is he hurt?
Thanks
Patrick O'Connor
John Perrotto: McCann puts a lot of pressure on himself and it's only gotten worse with Chipper and Prado out of the lineup. He has his ups and downs but there is little doubt he is one of the best offensive catchers in the game. He's also a super kid, to boot.
dan (Jersey): I just wanted to put a plug in for more staff chats over the winter and next year. I'm a long-time subscriber and the chats are easily one of my favorite parts of BP. You've got some very sharp thinkers, and having them respond to my questions is always a thrill.
John Perrotto: Well, I'm not one of those sharp thinkers but I appreciate the suggestion and we'll see what we can do.
Frank (Vegas): John,
Will the Bucs actually go after a SP and a RH bat this off-season? and if so, do you see it done via FA, or in a trade for some of their prospects+ a Doumit-type player? And any inkling as to which players they may target?
thx,
frank
John Perrotto: They'd love to trade Doumit for a starting pitcher.
sweet lou (Pitt): Will the Pirates go after a Lance Bergman or Jorge Cantu type at 1B, hoping for a rebound season? And same for SP's (say maybe a Javy Vasquez, Millwood , Chris Young, etc)?
John Perrotto: Their priority is starting pitching and I can see them going after a couple of free agents who are coming off tough or injury-plauged seasons who would be looking more for a chance to pitch every five days than being on a contender. The three you mention fit that description and I wouldn't discount someone like Brad Penny or Erik Bedard, too.
Frank (Vegas): John,
knowing your 1st-hand experience with the Nuttings, do you ever honestly see them spending on ML-payroll equal to other similar markets, or is this just PR speak coming from the FO?
thanks!
John Perrotto: With the way they have stretched the truth on so many matters, I have a hard time believing anything Bob Nutting says until I see it. It's easy to say you'll spend money when you're competitive when you are losing 105 games. Let's see what happens if, two years from now, they get up to the 80-85 win level. Let's see if they spend then or have an excuse not to.
Bobby G (Utah): Is there such a thing as momentum? Like, are the Reds screwed after a no-hitter like that? Are the Twins in trouble after last night's collapse? Or is too much put into that and it's just one day at a time?
John Perrotto: Earl Weaver always said momentum is as good as your next day's pitcher. I believe that --- in the regular season. However, I do believe in the power of momentum in the postseason and any team that loses the first game in a best-of-five series is in trouble.
jjbehr (Syracuse, New York): Well hello John! What's been the key to Carl Pavano's success this season with the Twins? His 17 wins, 3.75 ERA were the most since 2004 (where he went 18-8 with the Florida Marlins).
John Perrotto: Health has been a big thing and as the great Matt Swartz points out, the American Idle has had a little bit of luck this season as his peripherals suggest he has not pitched as well as his ERA. It was the opposite last year when his peripherals were good and his ERA was bad. Our stat guys call it regression to the mean. Since I'm not that bright, I call it all evening out in the long run.
jwolshun (Idaho): You've covered the Pirates for a long time, but of all the misery teams, Pittsburgh, KC, Baltimore, Washington, etc. Who's the first to make the post-season and when?
John Perrotto: I'd like to say the Orioles but it's going to be tough because the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays are so good in the AL East. People might laugh but I'd say the Royals. They have a boatload of young talent coming and I like Ned Yost as a manager. I really don't think they're that far away from being really good.
Doc Halladay (Rarefied Air): No question. Just want to give you a place to talk about what I did last night.
John Perrotto: Not to get melodramatic here but there are moments where time just stands still. Last night was one of those times. To throw a no-hitter in a post-season game against one of the most difficult lineups in the game was just a tremendous. I don't know what else I can even add.
Castro (Puerto Rico): Greetings from the land of drug dealing policia! Do you think there's any possibility of us ever getting a permanent team? We'll take the Rays! We'll show up too!
John Perrotto: I think MLB has certainly tested the waters by playing games in San Juan over the past decade but I don't get the sense it is ready to locate a team there. I'll say this, I'd love to cover a team there.
Cambridge (Camridge): Of the eight managers currently in the playoffs, which made the biggest contribution toward his team being there, and which made the least?
John Perrotto: I've always found a manager's contribution to be hard to measure or quantify. I will say this, though, Bobby Cox's steady hand and unwavering positive nature (while remaining realistic) had to help the Braves weather a difficult last month. I caught up with them in early September on the night they fell out of first place and the clubhouse was funereal. Yet there was Bobby, calm as ever, insisting everything would be fine. And it was.
Jennings (Alabama): Rest of career: Posey v. Heyward
Who you got?
John Perrotto: Heyward. I think both are pretty even as hitters but Posey will naturally get worn down by catching.
Will (Mactaquac): Today, there's a rumor that the Blue Jays will trade for Colby Rasmus: what would you think the cost would be? How likely could this be? Please be kind: all of us Blue Jays fans feel today like Lawrence Fishbourne did a few months ago.
John Perrotto: I would say that the Cardinals would definitely want one of the Jays' top young startnig pitchers to start with, likely Shaun Marcum, along with another player or prospect. However, I don't get the sense the Cardinals have Rasmus on the trading block despite his rocky (at times) relationship with Tony La Russa.
Berger (Somewhere in NYC): Hey John. Love your work at BP. Always good to have a beat writer here to mesh with the stat heads. Can you talk about how the beat writers have embraced (or not) the statstical stuff in general and how it's changed (if at all) how you cover the games? Thanks!
John Perrotto: Some beat writers have but I would say the majority have not. The toughest part of using the new statistics in newspapers is trying to easily explain them becuase of the severe space limitations these days and also trying to gauge when the readers begin to understand them to the point that you don't need to continually keep explaining them.
King Cash (Seattle): How big a mess are the Mariners? Is there any hope? As an aside, is the Lueke situation a lost cause as it's just too much of a fan relations nightmare to play him? If so, shouldn't they just cut the cord?
John Perrotto: Well, the worst thing that happened to the Mariners was winning 85 games in 2009 with a team that wasn't 85-win worthy. It raised expectations too high and caused the Mariners to play for now instead of what they needed to do, which was rebuild. Now, the necessary rebuilding has been delayed by two years, the fans are upset, ownership is impatient and general manager Jack Zduriencik, who has made his share of mistakes, is in a tough spot. So the long-winded to your question is its a big mess in Seattle. As far as Lueke, I'm all for giving people second chances. However, as you said, the publicity has been so negative that I don't see how they could ever pitch the kid at Safeco Field.
jay (Long Branch, NJ): You got to kiss all the teams good bye. Gut feeling, besides the Red Sox, who's got the best chance of being in the playoffs next year that isn't in it this year? Who's poised to make a several year run?
John Perrotto: I'll say the Cardinals in the NL and the Athletics in the AL. St. Louis still has Pujols, Holliday, Wainwright and Carpenter in a relatively weak division and Oakland has such great pitching that it only needs a passable offense to be a winnner, and I believe Billy Beane will act to get a big bat this winter. Also remember that Chris Carter really started raking the last couple of weeks of the seasons after a tough start.
SprungOnSports (Long Island): What do you think the biggest factor in the Giants-Braves series is?
John Perrotto: The Braves finding someway to scratch out some runs against the Giants' starters. It's going to be a tough row to hoe for an offense that hasn't been very good for a long time.
Jerry (California): With all of the rumors, what big fish do the Angels land on the open market?
John Perrotto: Arte Moreno is going to put on a full-court press. They are going to be big players for Carl Crawford and will be in on Jayson Werth, too. I have a gut feeling they'll end up with Werth for sure. Even though he's from the Midwest, he strikes me as a SoCal kind of guy.
buffum (Austin TX): Who should play 3B for the Indians next season (cannot be from this set: {Nix, Valbuena, Marte})? Are there any "blocked" prospects in orgs like Tampa, Washington, or New York who have third basemen in place for the next half-decade that Cleveland could trade for?
John Perrotto: I could see them swooping in on a potential non-tender, perhaps a Jose Lopez, maybe an Edwin Encarnacion. Or, irony of ironies, Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Manuel (Oregon): I know it's not baseball, but can we get your college hoops predictions?
John Perrotto: Well, Duke has to be No. 1. Look out for my hometown Pitt Panthers. This might be the year they final get over the hump and to the Final Four.
Christopher (Nashville): Runners on first and third, one out, with a left-hander up (say, Nick Swisher). Is there ever a time that you neglect to hold the runner in order to field the inevitable ground ball to the right side? Teams always seem to hold the runner, even though a single is more harmful than than the stolen base would be. In any case, it seems as though there's some room for innovation in these situations, to go along with the radical shift.
John Perrotto: The next time one of the smart guys on this site has a chat--Tommy Bennett will be here on 10/12--I urge you to ask him. My limited brain power makes it tough for me to answer a question that I'm sure has a more creative answer that I'm capable of mustering. That being said, it's an interesting question.
TLivingston (Sonoma, CA): John, I saw Tony Sanchez in the FSL this year and was impressed with his abilities both at the plate and behind it. Knowing he probably shouldn't have been the #2 overall pick, would it be unlikely to pencil him in as the Pirates catcher for '12?
John Perrotto: That's what the Pirates had in mind when they drafted him and he can get on course with a good showing in the Arizona Fall League after missing a large chunk of the FSL season with a broken jaw.
Bill (Pittsburgh): Who would be YOUR pick for the next Pirates manager?
John Perrotto: I risk angering a lot of friends in baseball by snubbing them but I think Ted Simmons would be a fascinating choice. He's smart, he's got credibility as an All-Star catcher and he thinks outside the box.
Liam (Whippleville, NY ): Who's the best fit for Mets GM?
John Perrotto: Someone media-savvy is a must and John Hart is itching to get back into the GM chair. Sounds like a pretty good match to me.
jay (princeton): Next year's location for Werth/Crawford/Cliff Lee
John Perrotto: Werth-Anaheim, Crawford-Boston, Lee-NY Yankees
SprungOnSports (Long Island): Is the Roy Halladay no-hitter the best pitching performance you've ever seen? If not, what was?
John Perrotto: Yes, for reasons stated earlier.
Farmer Ted (Muncie): No Guillen for the Giants? What's up with that?
John Perrotto: Farmer Ted! Missed you in September in the Progressive Field press box with D-Man and Aussie. I'm surprised as you are. He turned out to be a savvy acquisition for the Giants and now they aren't taking full benefit from it.
California Dreaming (on a Winter's Day): Should Jed Hoyer go into hot stove season thinking, "We're a player away," or "We overachieved and are better served thinking 2012 and beyond"?
John Perrotto: Well, in a perfect workd, he'd be thinking the Padres are a player away because they are. In fact, they might be good enough to get to the postseason next season if they didn't make a move all winter. However, the Padres don't live in a perfect world. Instead, they live in a small market with a rather underfinanced ownership. Thus, Hoyer always has to be thinking on two levels, next season and beyond.
Christopher (Nashville): Would Carl Crawford have value as a center fielder? I'm thinking Atlanta Braves here.
John Perrotto: That's a great question. I certainly think he could play center field and it will be interesting to see if his agent will market him as such in an order to possibly get more teams in the bidding.
Chase (San Diego): Hey John, I know that postseason play should not be considered for end-of-season awards, but, given we are all human, how much of an impact will Halladay's performance yesterday have on the CY voting?
John Perrotto: The ballots were required to be cast before the first pitch of the first post-season game so the no-hitter is moot. That being said, I had a vote for the NL Cy Young and Halladay was first on my ballot.
Tom (Madison): Thanks for doing this chat! Who should the A's target this offseason?
John Perrotto: I hesitate to throw this name out but the idea of Pat Burrell in an A's uniform intrigues me. Going home to the Bay Area with the Giants really rejuvenated him this year. If the Giants don't bring him back, a logical move would for Burrell would be to jump across the bay.
Press Box Pal (The Pressbox): What is the longest game, innings-wise, that you have attended? And what is the latest you have ever left a press box after filing a story?
John Perrotto: Longest game: 18 innings between Cubs and Pirates in August, 1989 with Jeff King hitting a walk-off home run back at a time when the term walkoff had not been invented. Latest out of the press box: 4:24 a.m. following Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS between to the Pirates and Braves at Fulton County Stadium. I was working for an afternoon paper -- remember them? -- and had a 5 a.m. deadline.
Kevin (Right here): Do you see the Rays trading a starter to make room for Jeremy Hellickson, or perhaps shifting one to the bullpen? Which pitcher would you try to trade?
John Perrotto: That makes sense and I suspect Matt Garza could be the one as the Rays look to cut the payroll.
Moneyball16 (Calgary): Are you hearing any rumours or have any speculation about what the Rays are gonna do with their bullpen next year? Soriano, Benoit, Balfour and Wheeler will all be free agents this winter.
John Perrotto: No way they bring Soriano back since they're cutting payroll and they'll try to build a bullpen on the cheap and use their limited funds in other areas.
AutomatedTeller (Boston, MA): I think the Reds may be screwed, but because they are facing 2 more pitchers nearly as good as Halladay...
How about the Twins? Are they ever going to be able to beat the Yankees in a playoff series?
John Perrotto: I really believe the Twins are good enough to beat the Yankees and I picked them to win the series. That being said, I've got to believe the Yankees are in the Twins' heads, especially since they are now a remarkable 55-18 against Minnesota since Ron Gardenhire replaced Tom Kelly as manager. I'm not a big believer in emotion or momentum but the game is played by humans and we all have our doubts and fears. The Twins have to have both when they play the Yankees.
TheRedsMan (Chicago): Any team that loses the first game of a series is a) likely to be lesser team to begin with and b) faced with the proposition of winning 3 of 4, an unlikely outcome for any team. An explanation of momentum is completely unnecessary.
That is to say, if the Reds lose on Friday, it will not be because they lost on Wednesday. Rather, both losses share the same explanation -- the Phillies were the better team. And if the Reds lose the series, the same explanation holds.
John Perrotto: That needs no answer. :)
Brian Cashman (NYC): The passed ball last night means nothing on its own, but the ongoing discussion of who catches for us next year pretty much needs to be answered in the next month or two. Do I have a kid split time with Jorge or get a full-time C in here? What would you do, John?
John Perrotto: Get a full-time catcher, make Posada the DH, move Montero to another position and realize that Cervelli is what he is, a good No. 2.
Joe Torre (The Unemployment Line): How much value does a team like Pittsburgh or Toronto gain by hiring a big-name manager as opposed to a lesser name? Would the higher salary be more than made up for by the increased buzz, which would presumably improve ticket sales?
John Perrotto: I think it does increase buzz but what it really does is increase credibility. The Orioles are a great case in point. When they hired Buck Showalter, the franchise was suddenly relevant again and the Orioles players I talked to a few weeks after the hiring all said the clubhouse atmosphere changed immediately and became much more professional.
Cris E (St Paul, MN): OK, Rasmus might be staying, but what about Tony? Is he still rumored to be looking around?
John Perrotto: When I saw him in late September, I had the distinct impression he is staying. He didn't come out and say so but he wasn't acting like a guy in his final days.
Nelly (Philly): When does the TBS contract run out? Ernie Johnson is not cut out to be a play-by-play guy. Craig Sager also belongs in the circus.
John Perrotto: The TBS can't end soon enough. I wish it would expired immediately before David Aldridge's utterly incompetent post-game interivew with Roy Halladay.
Jimmy (South Florida): What do you think is a fair contract extension for Dan Uggla, and/or what do you think he can get on the open market in 2011/12? Terrific production at the plate, bad defense, and on the wrong side of thirty -- what's he worth?
John Perrotto: I'd go 3/33, giving a little extra money for him accepting one less year but word has it that his agent is looking for 5/50. Good luck with that.
Trust Fund Baby (Lakeview): Obviously Mike Quade's late season performance has made him a serious candidate to win the Cubs job, but has he also raised his profile enough to be in the running for other managerial openings?
John Perrotto: I think Quade has raised his stock to the point that he is a legitimate candidate. He certainly became a fan favorite with the strong late finish and that has taken the pressure off Jim Hendry as far as feeling he must cave to public pressure and hire Ryne Sandberg. I get the feeling, though, that the Cubs want someone with major league experience and my gut feeling is that Eric Wedge is at the top of the list.
Charles Dahan (Gainesville, FL): Hey John, what are your thoughts about next year's NL East and AL West? Are the Marlins ready to compete? Are the A's going to be able to find enough offense?
John Perrotto: The Marlins are definitely ready to compete. They've got all the pieces in place, sans a good bullpen, to awfully good. As a I said earlier, the Athletics are on the cusp of being an outstnanding team if they can get a bat and see continued improvement from Chris Carter.
JWT (MKE): What do you hear is the market for Prince Fielder this offseason? And do you see the Brewers settling for what the market is, or holding on to him and taking the draft picks?
John Perrotto: Fielder is supposedly the Red Sox' Plan B if they don't get Crawford or Werth. I don't think there will be as much interest in Fielder as one might think because of two reasons. One, he would be a one-year rental with no chance of signing an extension since he wants to test the free agent market in the 2011-12. Second, he isn't the easiest guy in the world to get along with.
McLain Lolich Wilson (Motown): Do you see the threesome of Verlander, Scherzer and Porcello as the building blocks of an annual contender, or as an ace and two guys you aren't sold on yet?
John Perrotto: Building blocks of an annual contender, if the Tigers could build a strong enough team around them.
Sudsy (Cudahy): If you're running the Brewers, do you trade Fielder this offseason or keep him for one last shot with what's left of the (once) young core? If it's the latter, how do the Brewers improve their pitching enough to be competitive?
John Perrotto: I'd trade him now. It seems to me by his actions and attitude that he is no longer happy in Milwaukee and is counting the days until he can leave.
Cambridge (Cambridge): In their prime, who would you rather have in your lineup, Jim Thome or Reggie Jackson?
John Perrotto: Reggie Jackson by a whisker. He was just such a dynamic hitter and his October record sets for itself.
Val Kilmer (Bison): Did Halladay's no-no last night cement his HOF credentials? Not asking for a JAWS answer, just a gut response ...
John Perrotto: Yes, sir.
Dusty (Southern Ohio): How would you rank the importance of the manager/head coach to a team's success in each of the four major professioanl team sports? I'd go (in descending order): #1 football, #2 hockey, #3 basketball, #4 baseball. Thoughts?
John Perrotto: NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB. You can game plan in the NFL to hide your weaknesses and you can substitute in the NBA and NHL to hide your weakness. It's harder to go both in the MLB.
Barry Zito (Home): I still get paid, right?
John Perrotto: Yep. Ain't life great?
Steve (CA): Will Carlos Beltran be on the Mets next season? What about Oliver Perez or Luis Castillo?
John Perrotto: It's an impossible question to answer until we know who the GM is and if he can persuade the Wilpons to swallow a lot of money in bad contracts (i.e. Perez and Castillo).
Ice Water (Cox's Rotation): In 2004, Derek Lowe went into Yankee Stadium, in Game 7, and allowed one hit and no runs in six innings -- on two day's rest. Why is this rarely lauded as one of the greatest clutch-pitching performances in baseball history?
John Perrotto: I think because the indelible moment of that game is Johnny Damon's grand slam, that seminal moment when it became the clear that the impossible comeback was going to become reality.
sweet lou (Pitt): John,
what's your take on Jose Bautista's year? did anyone see this coming? is there more there than meets the eye ?
John Perrotto: I really thought he was going to hit 64 home runs this season. Kidding. Nobody saw this coming. I always knew he had raw talent but never anything like this. As Charlie Daniels sang in "Legend of Wooley Swamp", some things in this life you just can't explain.
The Duke of Flatbush (Brooklyn): What do the Dodgers do this winter to patch up their rotation on a shoestring budget? Kuroda, Lilly, Padilla are all free agents, and the team needs to find innings to prevent Kershaw and Billingsley from being worked to death.
John Perrotto: I think they'll sign Lilly and then try to patch the No. 4 starter spot with an inexpensive free agent then give the No. 5 spot to John Ely or someone of his ilk and cross your fingers. I just can't figure whey they never gave James McDonald a shot.
GBSimons (Boise, ID): John, can we get your full Cy Young ballot? Ditto if you voted for any other awards. Thanks.
John Perrotto: We're really not allowed to reveal our ballots. I probably said too much by saying I voted Halladay first. Oops.
Dave (Chicago): The A's, unsurprisingly, have said they'll decline Eric Chavez's option for next year. Thoughts about Chavez's career?
John Perrotto: A case of what might have been. I don't think he would have been a Hall of Famer or a superstar but he would have had a pretty good career.
Jason (Sarasota): Do you have a favorite GM?
John Perrotto: Well, I think Theo Epstein has done a very good job of blending scouting and stats, so for a guy who is employed by BP, I admire his work. However, there are a lot of good GMs out who are smart people and good people. It's a very difficult job, literally 365/24/7, and sometimes I don't think fans appreciate how much of their personal lives GMs sacrifice for their jobs.
Derek (DC): Speaking of Showalter, have you noticed that the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Rangers all went on to greater things after he was fired?
John Perrotto: Very true and only time will tell how it plays out in Baltimore. Here's an idea: The Orioles fire him now and win it all in 2011! :)
Matt (Malone ): Are you comfortable being the best of the best at BP now?
John Perrotto: Well, I'm far from the best of the best here, that's for sure. However, I must say that I love my job as editor-in-chief. Great people to work for great people to work with. I am amazed every day by the number of talented people on our staff and excited about the future.
Keith (Atlanta): Was it TBS or MLB who unleashed the craptastic trifecta of Dane Cook, Frank Caliendo, and Kid Rock on us?
John Perrotto: Blame MLB for Dane Cook, TBS for the others. By the way, I've heard a rumor that Conan O'Brien is going to have a show on TNT. Can anyone confirm that?
Ted (New York): Do you see ESPN or one of the networks getting back in the game for the division series after the TBS contract is up, or will it be on the MLB Network?
John Perrotto: I think some of the games will definitely shift to MLB Network when the contract is up because MLB has a vested interest in raising the network's visibility.
warclub (Strongsville, OH): Thanks for the chat. Do you think the Indians will go after a veteran starter at a low cost, and could Chris Young be an option?
John Perrotto: Yeah, someone along the lines of Carl Pavano last season. Chris Young would be a great choice for a lot of teams next season. He's had his share of injuries but he pitched pretty well in a pennant race after sitting out five months.
Matt (Malone, NY): On TBS, Smoltz was pretty good, right? He's no Ron Darling, but he seemed pretty natural.
John Perrotto: John Smoltz was one of the most articulate and intelligent players I've ever encountered. He has a chance to be a star-quality analyst as he gains experience.
Tom (Madison): Do you see Daric Barton ever becoming more than a poor man's Mark Grace?
John Perrotto: No. Barton has his uses as a hitter but he's not as good a consistent gap hitter as Grace became.
Matt (Chicago): Do you see the Cubs landing Dunn or going the trade route to fill 1b? I'm guessing they're not looking to spend a lot of money.
John Perrotto: I think they'll go the trade route.
dogtothedog (toronto): do the jays have any hope of unloading some of wells contract this winter?
John Perrotto: Well, I'm sure they'll try since he is coming off a relative good year but they're still going to have eat the majority of that contract to have any hope of making a trade.
Chris (Cal): Guillen's not on the NLDS roster because of injury...
John Perrotto: There you have it, Farmer Ted and other dear readers.
Matt (Chicago): Do scouts around the league view Tyler Colvin as a viable , everyday player or more of a 4th OF?
John Perrotto: At the beginning of the year, strictly a fourth outfield. Now, opinion is more evenly split.
Shane (Miami): John - Colby Lewis put together a pretty strong season. Do you think this was a mirage or something the Rangers could expect for the next couple years?
John Perrotto: Yes. He's always had a lot of talent and the one thing going to Japan did was teach him the value of throwing strikes.
Michael (NYC): Can the Reds bats reverse with a day off? They lit Doc up in reg. season and yesterday, well yesterday is only one loss. Do you thin their bats can bounce back in a big way?
John Perrotto: I don't think the Reds will give up. The only problem is they've got another tough pitcher to face in Oswalt.
Greg27 (Fort Worth, TX): Mitch Moreland seemed to put up fairly strong numbers when he started getting regular playing time. What's your take and have you spoken to any scouts about his ceiling? Thanks. Love the added features to On the Beat.
John Perrotto: Most of the scouts seem to think he'd be better as a bench player. He intrigues me, though. I haven't had a chance to see him play or talk to anyone from the Rangers to see how they feel he fits in the long-range plan.
Cris E (St Paul, MN): What stunt, magic trick or carefully crafted plan will Kenny Williams execute this winter to get the White Sox back on top? He's always been one for the big move, so now that Ozzie is back for good what sort of options can they agree on for 11?
John Perrotto: I could make a prediction but it would be wrong because Kenny Williams is always full of surprises.
Trevor (Cleveland): Regarding the third base void in Cleveland. Do you think Lonnie Chisenhall will be given a shot if he starts out well in AAA?
John Perrotto: I could see a situation where the Indians get a veteran to start the season then transition over to Chisenhall around the All-Star break. That's very possible.
Cris E (St Paul, MN): "Said too much", huh? So what sort of consequences are you expecting, and from who?
John Perrotto: Oh, not much of anything. Don't fear for my safety. :)
jasonbradleymill (Tucson): TBS solution: 1. Turn the volume on your television all the way down. 2. Listen to ESPN radio's broadcast. For example, Jon Miller & Orel Hershiser called the Yankees-Twins game last night. Listening to Miller's description of Mariano Rivera as "The Great Rivera" is worth it alone.
John Perrotto: I bought MLB At Bat for my BlackBerry this season and have gotten every bit of my $14.95 worth out of it. I like listening to the home team announcers because you pick up a lot of interesting tidbits.
KevinGoldstein (HIs Palatial Estate): John - How familiar are you with prospects and are you familiar enough that you can answer prospect questions for these chats?
John Perrotto: Not as familiar as you, Boss Man. I don't pretend to know nearly as much about the prospects as Kevin Goldstein, which is why I defer to the man when I don't have an answer.
Corey (Cincy): I was really impressed with Travis Wood this year, including his playoff debut yesterday. What kind of numbers would you expect from him next year?
John Perrotto: I think he could be a really good pitcher eventually, maybe a No. 2 type.
kgsturns (ny): You don't see montero, jesus given a chance to break camp with the yanks as catcher?
John Perrotto: It's pretty clear that the Yankees don't think Montero can be an everyday catcher. If that's so, then move him now instead of wasting time at a position they feel he can't handle over the long haul.
John Perrotto: Well, we've hit the two-hour mark and covered just about everything. Thanks so much for all the questions and the interest in Baseball Prospectus. Keep checking the site throughout the postseason for the best in analysis, projections and matchups. Enjoy the rest of the postseason!
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