Cleveland Sports Forum

By the way, in that A's-Mariners game, Eric Wedge's team successfully executed a safety squeeze to score a run in the middle innings.

Old dogs and new tricks, I guess.

Tigers offense is en fuego again. It will be tough for anyone in the Central to beat them out.

Apparently, Time Warner merged some companies, so now games from Pittsburgh are blacked out on Extra Innings in Cleveland.

J.R. wrote:Tigers offense is en fuego again. It will be tough for anyone in the Central to beat them out.

Tigers were down 3 going into bottom of 9 and the first two guys got on base, Cabrera then tied it up on first pitch.

Definitely looking like a big year for them. They could add one good SP before the deadline and then would have to be easy odds on favorites

Guess that will make your lady happy. And when she's happy, you're happy, right?

I dont' either Pomeranz or White on Rockies' roster. It looks like they're going with 4 starters for now, so Pomeranz may just be waiting a couple weeks to join the rotation. White was not very good in ST after a miserable couple months in Colorado last year; so far looking like a classic Tribe No. 1 draft choice.

Neither Pomeranz nor White has pitched AAA ball yet either, although teammate Zach Putnam earned a 2-inning save, and Matt McBride is hitting cleanup and playing 1st base for the Sky Sox.

ESPN reports: Pomeranz will begin the season in Triple-A as his spot in the rotation will be skipped the first time through. He will make his season debut with the Rockies on April 15.

You wouldn't believe, J.R. She hasn't shut up about her Tigers all weekend. This is going to be a long summer.

Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) writes that in order for Brewers pitcher Zack Greinke to restore his value, the hurler has to to alter the perception that he can be a troublesome clubhouse presence. Olney writes that there are already some teams who won't consider him because of the reputation he earned in Kansas city.

Rays Claim John Gaub

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [April 5, 2012 at 12:54pm CST]

The Rays have claimed left-hander John Gaub off of waivers, the Cubs announced. The Cubs also announced that they placed right-hander Marcos Mateo on the 60-day disabled list to create 40-man roster space.

Gaub, 26, appeared in four games for the 2011 Cubs after spending most of the season in the minor leagues. He posted a 3.42 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings for the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa affiliate. Left-handed relievers J.P. Howell and Jake McGee made the Rays' Opening Day roster and Cesar Ramos and Alex Torres are minor league options.

Gaub routinely posts gaudy stirkeout numbers and similarly inflated walk totals. Probaby a career AAAA pitcher, but might break through; he didn't have a long minor league career due to injuries early on.

Dodgers Opening Day ceremonies on MLB now. Honoring the '62 Dodgers. LaSorda looks like he put back on the weight he lost.

Vin Scully not feeling well, will miss Opening Day broadcast for only the 2nd time (last time was a conflict with the Masters in the 70s)

Reds, Phillips come to terms on six-year deal

Second baseman to get $72.5 million through 2017 season

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | 04/10/12 5:40 PM ET

CINCINNATI --

When first baseman Joey Votto was signed by the Reds to a mammoth 10-year, $225 million contract by the Reds, Brandon Phillips was concerned the writing was on the wall to end his tenure in Cincinnati.

"I thought I was gone," said Phillips, who was in the option year of his previous contract. "I really didn't think this was going to happen, ever."

Well, it certainly happened. On Tuesday, Phillips was grinning ear-to-ear knowing there was enough money around to keep him too. The All-Star and Gold Glove second baseman was extended with a six-year contract worth $72.5 million that will keep him with the Reds through 2017.

The club re-worked the $12.5 million option Phillips was playing under this season into the new deal.

"I'm not going to lie to you. This is probably the first time I've ever been nervous," Phillips said during his news conference on Tuesday afternoon. "I cried about this. This is where I wanted to be."

A two-time National League All-Star, Phillips has won three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger Award over the past four seasons for the Reds. In 2011, he batted .300 with 18 home runs and 82 RBIs in 150 games. He led all NL second basemen in hitting, on-base percentage, runs, hits and doubles while ranking second in RBIs and slugging percentage.

Although Phillips was not in Tuesday's lineup vs. St. Louis because of a left hamstring, he's been durable. The 30-year-old has played at least 150 games in four of his previous six seasons in Cincinnati.

As valuable as Phillips has been on the field for the Reds, it was clear that his off-the-field charitable endeavors and charisma meant a great deal to the team's ownership and front office. Phillips has been a big contributor to the Reds Community Fund and has never turned down invitation to travel on the club's winter caravan tour and other events.

"Brandon is one of the great second basemen in baseball," Reds CEO Bob Castellini said. "He's also fantastic off the field. He represents the franchise with a big smile all the time. He really relates to the fans and vice versa."

Nevertheless, getting this contract done proved to be a long and drawn-out saga. Phillips was vocal as early as Spring Training 2011 about wanting an extension. His rhetoric only escalated into the season before talks between general manager Walt Jocketty and Phillips' agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, began in earnest in September and dragged through the winter and Spring Training 2012.

A major sticking point in negotiations proved to be the desire for a sixth year in the deal. When the new contract is over, Phillips will be 36 years old. The mid-30s is a difficult age for a middle infielder to get another lucrative long-term deal. Phillips now has the security and stability he wanted.

"It was a complicated deal that took a great deal of time trying to get completed," Jocketty said. "We kind of knew what the market was. I think we had a certain number of years in mind that we were going to do the deal. We realized we'd probably have to extend another year and that's what we did. We were able to get the deal done rather quickly after that."

Phillips could have become a first-time free agent after this season had he not signed the extension.

"The thing is I wanted to stay here in Cincinnati," Phillips said. "I told Walt. I told Bob that this is the place I wanted to be. I love it here. I even talked to my agents, 'can you all please, please just make it happen.' I really didn't want to be a free agent, regardless of what the other guys were getting. I just wanted to be in the same area."

Ironically, another second base also received a similarly large extension on Tuesday when Ian Kinsler signed a five-year, $75 million contract with an option for a sixth year.

Besides Phillips and Votto, the Reds also have right fielder Jay Bruce, pitchers Johnny Cueto, Aroldis Chapman and Sean Marshall locked up under long-term contracts. Several young players, like center fielder Drew Stubbs, shortstop Zack Cozart and catcher Devin Mesoraco, are under club control for several more years.

"Along with all the young talent we have on our Major League roster and our deep farm system, we can build the Cincinnati Reds into a winning franchise for many years to come," Jocketty said.

Phillips is the longest tenured Reds position player, and second longest behind Bronson Arroyo overall. Once a top prospect of the Indians, he was discarded and came to the Reds in an April 2006 trade for Minor League pitcher Jeff Stevens. On Sunday, Phillips became the 28th player in club history to record 1,000 hits on Sunday vs. the Marlins.

"When I saw it happened, I said 'mom, I finally made it,'" Phillips said. "It's a great day for me. It just shows all of the hard work I went through. I got designated for assignment when I was with the Indians. I came over here with the Reds and they gave me a second chance to go out there and use my talents and show people I could really play this game. I just took off with it. I've come a long way."

You have to like what Jocketty is doing in Cincy, and how the owners support him.

Strasburg's first 100 innings among best ever

Righty posts impressive strikeout, walk totals to start career

By Matthew Leach | MLB.com Columnist | Archive

Stephen Strasburg's stuff is what made him a national phenomenon. It's the combination of that stuff with exceptional command that makes him a great pitcher.

Strasburg reached inning No. 100 in his already impressive big league career on Wednesday afternoon. It wasn't a particularly memorable inning, marked by a walk, a single, a strikeout and a wild pitch, but it still featured some vintage Strasburg. He finished off Ike Davis with a wicked curveball that simply froze the Mets' cleanup hitter.

It was a pitch with excellent movement and excellent location, and it's that pairing that makes Strasburg stand out. He's displayed it since his 14-strikeout, no-walk Major League debut, and he still has it.

In his 100th frame, Strasburg racked up career strikeout No. 122, which is a historic mark. It's the fourth-highest total in history for a starting pitcher in his first 100 innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. But he's the first pitcher with that kind of strikeout rate to start a career who also sports such a microscopic walk rate.

The hard-throwing righty has averaged nearly six strikeouts for every walk so far in the Major Leagues. That ratio, combined with his high strikeout rate, is unprecedented in the history of the game.

The pitchers who topped him in strikeouts to start a career were all phenoms in their own right: Hideo Nomo, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. But only Nomo went on to enjoy a lengthy career as a starter, and he was never as good again as he was as a rookie. In a related note, none of the pitchers who topped him came anywhere close to having Strasburg's control.

Meanwhile, over the past 20 years, only Roy Oswalt has a better strikeout-walk ratio to begin a career, at 6.47 over his first 100 innings. But Oswalt fell a bit short of Strasburg's K rate, at almost exactly one per inning.

The next three pitchers in strikeout-walk ratio to start a career over the past 20 years, also according to Elias, were Rene Arocha, Steve Woodard and Kevin Slowey. Only Woodard came anywhere close to that kind of strikeout rate, at 85 over his 100 innings, but some of that work was in relief -- where pitchers can let it fly and tend to strike out more batters.

In Strasburg's first 100 innings, he walked 21 batters. Wood and Nomo both had more than twice as many. Prior, who in some ways is the pitcher Strasburg most reminds one of, walked nearly 50 percent more. Wood had 147 K's against 53 walks, a solid 2.77-to-1 ratio. Nomo came in at 129 and 46, for a ratio of 2.80-to-1. Prior was easily the best of the three, at a very nice 3.91-to-1.

And yet he was nowhere close to Strasburg. The Washington right-hander managed an eye-popping 5.81-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is every bit as historic as his raw strikeout total. It's also a better indicator of future success.

The overlap between dominance and control is where greatness can be found. Oswalt had it from the start, and built an exceptional career. Prior had it, and likely would have done the same if he'd stayed healthy. And Strasburg has it.