Lackey Reported Injury Is No Surprise

Yesterday Peter Gammons or ESPN reported that starting pitcher John Lackey had a tear in his pitching elbow that may require Tommy John surgery at some point this season. That would make it the second starter in Boston's rotation that has gone down to the injury in two months. Interestingly enough, both pitchers were struggling mightily, and in Lackey's case, still struggling despite still being on the active roster.

Lackey called the report "a lie" and went on to talk about how everyone in the staff has some type of "tear" in their arms. Not necessarily owning up to it, but also not firmly denying that the injury existed. A closer look at his stuff this season would lead one to believe that the account is actually correct and that Lackey is most likely hurt. This is not a numbers thing, and as much as it is painful to go by the eye test, sometimes it's good to use this to try and spot trends in the numbers and reasons why. If a pitcher is pitching poorly and not locating, that's one thing. However if a guy is just hurt and there's nothing he can do to correct the performance without getting it corrected or going on the shelf, that's something certainly worth noting.

A casual fan most likely will not notice these type of changes in mechanics, stuff and slight velocity dips. We've seen guys get by on dwindling stuff in the past, but it's more likely that the pitcher will suffer bad results because they have learned to pitch a certain style, and when that is no longer working they either adjust or fail and retire or get sent to the minors. In Lackey's case, his contract is vastly too large, even if undeserving, to be cut or sent to another club unless they somehow find Arte Moreno and get lucky with a Vernon Wells-esque type of move. Lackey has always relied on the success of his breaking pitches to pitch effectively. Another pitcher similar to Lackey is Oakland starting pitcher Brett Anderson. Although Anderson's stuff is a tick better, their pitching styles are quite similar and Anderson is on the verge of having TJ himself.

Lackey never had quite Zack Greinke 2009 stuff, but there's a clear regression in the quality of his breaking pitches. Without a fastball to get past hitters, I do not see the results changing much from here on out if he stays on the field. The best bet would be to go under the knife, take next season out of the equation, and get the sharpness of his pitches back. If he chooses to be stubborn and try to pitch through it, he may likely be one of the biggest busts in terms of performance vs. dollars paid in MLB history.

Dodgers File for Bankruptcy

     In a less than shocking move, Frank McCourt filed for bankruptcy this morning to give him a chance to keep ownership control of the Dodgers. If McCourt had not filed, there was reportedly "almost no chance" he would make the payroll at the end of June, and therefor would have completely lost control of the franchise due to MLB ownership regulations. This window provided by the filing will give McCourt $150MM in assets to meet his obligations while they hammer out the lawsuit against MLB for not allowing his mega TV deal with Fox to go through.

    McCourt has been making the case that MLB is not allowing him to run his business and save his assets by blocking the TV deal that was set in place under the divorce agreement with Jamie McCourt, and really.. who can blame MLB for not allowing the deal to take place? He has done nothing but deceive the fans of the Dodgers, and put his own personal well-being ahead of the organizational health. Although that is far from uncommon in business, it's a venture that receives a massive amount of attention from media and MLB is putting an end to it right now. It's a wake up call that will surely be noted for many years when a new owner inquires about an MLB franchise.

     The disappointing part is that about 4 years ago I made the prediction that the Dodgers would either win a World Series, or at least be in serious contention right about now. They had the talent in the minors, the payroll to support the gaps in talent, and the fan base to drive a continued run of success. That has fallen by the wayside, and it doesn't appear it's going to get any better either. If you paid attention to this years stocked draft, the Dodgers are not taking advantage of whatsoever due to not being able to go an inch over slot.

I think the general consensus from the fans point of view, and possibly even the league is that they want this to just go away just as they did the steroid era. There are many issues in baseball right now, but this is at the top of the list by far. Hopefully they can just get someone in there as soon as possible, otherwise we may go ahead and forget about the Dodgers as a successful franchise until 2020.

Interleague Play Is Awesome!

I hope all of you baseball fans have been watching the interleague play over the past week or two. There has been much discussion across many different formats, and writers about interleague play and even more opinions (as usual). One thing you see being brought up a lot is the disparity between the two leagues. It is essentially a known fact at this point that the NL is the worst, and it's really not all that close, especially considering sample sizes over the past couple of decades. Of course, you're at a significant disadvantage by not having (or needing) a DH-type of quality hitter on your bench. If you had such a hitter, you would find a spot in your lineup and on the field for him, a la Lance Berkman. Interestingly enough, I don't feel that the star players in the NL are any worse than the stars in the AL, it's more of a disparity between the lower tier guys and the replacement level players in each league. That is where the true difference shines through in interleague play. But enough on that..

I absolutely love interleague play. I am constantly surrounded by Red Sox fans who are not fans of baseball, more fans of the Red Sox brand and culture associated with "their town/city". It's rather unfortunate, because I think that a lot of people would really come to enjoy the game a bit more if they watched what happened on the field and truly enjoyed the game for what it is. That is the essence of interleague play. So many more factors and possibilities come into play while two differently constructed organizations take the field. To make a comparison from my professional poker background, it's like playing at a table full of talented professional players and then switching to a table with a couple of wild players and seeing how the dynamic changes.. sort of.

What I am really saying is that interleague is for people who love baseball. If you're just a fan of one team, and the success associated with that team, what is your motivation to watch interleague games since you will not see them in the playoffs unless you and the opposing team make the World Series? It's actually part of why the trading deadline in baseball is so exciting for baseball fans. Those of you who did not realize just how good Adrian Gonzalez is before he dawned a Red Sox uniform (aside from what you have heard from media) probably had no clue how good he really is. To me, the ability to scout a player that maybe I have missed or haven't had a chance to see just yet is awesome because I rely on my personal opinions quite a bit when analyzing certain players. It keeps me intrigued, it keeps things fresh, it's what baseball is!

So I ask the readers.. what is your opinion on interleague play? Post here or on the MLB-Persspectives Facebook page and let me know what you think. You can also read my opinions and analysis on Twitter: @MLBPerspectives

Thanks for reading!

Look ahead to Monday's First Year Player Draft

     Around this time every year is where hardcore fans of teams that are performing poorly start to get excited, it's the MLB first year player draft. 2011 has been deemed the Tampa Bay Rays draft, because Tampa has a significant amount of picks this year (12 out of the top 70 or so). Of course, you only amass those type of picks from losing really good players like Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano, but sometimes you also get high picks from guys that don't necessarily match up but you'll take them anyway (Carlos Pena, Chad Qualls, Randy Choate). There is a ton of coverage all over the web from some incredible scouts and writers so I won't go too deeply into advanced scouting reports, but I'd like to share some thoughts on the way this draft could change some organizations.

     Gerrit Cole, the RHP from UCLA is looking like the consensus top talent in this years draft. He's got 4 above average pitches, with 3 of them being "plus" and his fastball is BIG and sits between 94-97 all game. Recently he was clocked at 101 in the 8th inning of his latest outing, almost cementing the top pick this year.. you would think. If it were anybody but the Pirates, I would all but be sure of them taking Cole without batting an eyelash, but they have been reported to be in on all 3 of the top talents and knowing their reluctance to take guys who will command big price tags its possible they shock us once again, a la Matt Wieters.

The thing about the MLB draft is that it's always worked in a sort of "tier'ing" system due in large part that picks are usually not a sure thing unless there's guys that are no-doubters, but those are really rare in baseball considering the failure rate between the day after the draft and the day (if) the player reaches the big leagues and fills his projection or something close to it. Aside from the multitude of picks that the Rays have, worth watching will be the Diamondbacks and the Royals. Diamondbacks with the two high picks, and on the verge of contention and young talent with a subpar rotation and a reputation of going for polished guys. The Royals are interesting because of the recent news that John Lamb is undergoing Tommy John and will likely not a factor until 2013, and Mike Montgomory pitching worse and worse it seems. There are a lot of high expectations for K.C., and they have an interesting decision to make here.